《Vampire Summoner's Rebirth: Summoning The Vampire Queen At The Start》


 Chapter 1 A Glorious Death

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    In front of me stood a man who I had never been able to equal in strength. A man who was once an archangel, who dared to defy god and fell from his grace, bing a fallen angel, andter on, the Prince of Pride of the Gates of Hell, Lucifer himself.


    Since I began my journey,  I''ve always been trying to reach new heights. After having conquered over a hundred Gxies, taking over billions ofs and star systems, and having an enormous Intergctic Empire, it was rather obvious that my next goal was to move towards the next stage.


    Indeed, the next stage¡­ Hell itself.


    The Gates of Hell were in front of me at that time, in the middle of outer space. Itsponents and its powers worked differently than anything I had ever seen before. My fleet of spaceships stood still as they gazed at the enormous gate zing with demonic mes.


    At that time, I didn''t waste any time thinking about it. Instead, I stepped into the danger ahead. Everything else had be dull, and I craved for greater challenges. At that time, I was really reckless. Now I realize that I should have been better prepared. I shouldn''t have stepped into this territory which I was so unfamiliar with so easily¡­ Despite that, there were no regrets in my mind.


    The Gates of Hell led to Hell itself. A dimension of its own gued with Demons and Demonic Beasts, governed by the Archdemons of the Goetia and the Seven Princes of Hell, the ruler was the Prince of Pride, Lucifer.


    My powerful troops managed to get this far. We managed to reach thest Layer, where we confronted him after countless hardships and conquering most of Hell itself.


    I, Asmodeus Von Sange, the strongest Vampire in the Entire Universe, had decided to challenge Lucifer, the Prince of Pride, the Root of Evil, the one that defied God himself.


    CLASH!


    I moved at an incredible speed, enhancing my body with countless spells and techniques. My Blood Qi was pumping through my body, enhancing it millions of times over. The same techniques I had used to defeat Gxy-Realm Hegemonies seemed to barely amount to anything against this man.


    "What''s wrong, Asmodeus? Feeling tired already?" he asked smugly, his delicate and wless face only made this more frustrating. The man''s long blonde hair waved around the zes of hell, as his entire body exuded an aura of darkness and light like I had never seen before.


    It twisted spacetime itself, and everything around us obeyed him. Hell itself was alive, and it was part of his own self. It moved to his will and destroyed my troops one by one as it brought me to myst moments.


    My entire body was constantly being burned and regenerated back by the mes of hell. My soul was cracking apart into fragments, my power was leaking, I was in myst moments.


    I had used every technique, every power I had learned. Every spell, every form of attack, strategy, everything. But before this absolute might, I was nothing. Everything was reduced to ashes before his mes.


    At the end¡­ I was the one that got too cocky.


    Should I regret my decision?


    No, I couldn''t really regret it.


    I smiled back at him defiantly as my eyes zed with crimson-red light. My entire body exuded all the power I could muster. The power I had used to destroy entire star systems and conquer entire gxies.


    The power of all the Gxy Cores I had assimted within me were resonating in thisst moment. However, before Lucifer, a being that defied even this power, this seemed like a mouse defying a lion.


    Despite the tragedies of my troops dying and my closepanions giving their lives for me, I couldn''t help that I regretted none of  this¡­ I was having the time of my lifetime.


    I wanted to fight more, to see how far I could reach. For a being as strong as me to finally be given a challenge of this height¡­ I was rather sorrowful that it might soone to an end.


    CLASH! CLASH! CLASH!


    I moved at an incredible speed towards Lucifer, my vampiric wings moved me through the zing hell at blinding speed. I reached him in an instant and showered his half-naked body with enormous punches and countless other techniques and attacks. Spells, weapons, artifacts, everything I had emerged around me and attacked him.


    Gigantic des pierced his body as spears punctured his skin. A mace crushed his shoulder and an axe sliced through his back, a hammer thundered with powerful lightning and hit his head, as a massive tower shield hit him in the face.


    But in a second, the mes covered it all and turned all these millenary treasures into ashes in an instant¡­ How strong is this man?


    "Hahaha! You''re an interesting one, Asmodeus! You''re the first  man ever  to evene down to hell to actually die against me! Your struggles are hopeless, but admirable. I can find some entertainment in all of it. Now show me what you''re made of, Asmodeus!"ughed Lucifer.


    He rushed towards me as he epassed his entire body with all the power of Hell itself. An entire Dimension obeying his will and boosting his power through the roof.


    I had to receive his charge with all I had as well. The Gxy Cores resonated across the entire Universe, their power being pumped towards my body and soul. This was it, thest struggle.


    Like two zing meteors, we shed against one another and began covering each other''s bodies with powerful blows, twisting each other''s bodies, and breaking apart our flesh into pieces, only to relentlessly regenerate back.


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!


    I was silent through the fight, but there was a sickly smile on my face. I was enjoying this thoroughly, and he realized it, smiling back andughing maniacally.


    "Gahahahahah! Are you enjoying this, Asmodeus?! Yourst struggle before dying miserably? Come! Shine as bright as you can before you fall to your eternal slumber!" heughed.


    "You talk a lot for someone that is already dead." I said.


    "Hoh?! Bold bastard! Bluffing your way through won''t- W-What?!"ughed Lucifer.


    In that veryst moment when Lucifer''s blows were tearing me apart and I couldn''t regenerate any longer, I decided to use myst resort and try to kill him.


    In exchange for my life.


    If I was going to die anyways, why not use that?


    My Origin Core.


    Origin Cores are a crystal that grows in the depths of your soul. The stronger you grow, the stronger it grows as it epasses your total power. Magic, Strength, everything¡­


    My Blood Qi resonated within it as all the energies I had umted through this entire time converged together into a massive spark of power. Enough power to probably end half the Universe if I wanted.


    "Can you take this head-on, you bastard?" I asked with a sickly smile.


    And I saw it in his face.


    Lucifer¡­


    Felt fear.


    "Ahh¡­! Ahhh¡­! W-Wait! Stop! Unngh¡­?!"


    FLASH!


    My Origin Core resonated with all the light it could, all the power I could muster. My life, my soul, everything¡­


    "Die, you son of a bitch."


    BOOOOOOOMMMM!!!


    I felt my entire being explode into pieces. My very self fragmented as the darkness of the empty void greeted me quickly.


    But for a faint few seconds, I heard Lucifer''s screams in agony, his entire soul and body were being greatly damaged.


    It was such a pity I wasn''t able to see him die¡­ but that was it...


    ¡­


    Perhaps the only regret I have as my consciousness fades away is that I was never able to ept Eleanora''s feelings.


    I hope that one day, in another life, we can meet again.


    -----


    BOOOOMMM!!!


    Asmodeus Von Sange, the Emperor of over a hundred Gxies and the owner of the greatest Intergctic Empire in the Universe died on that day. Giving away everything he had, even his Origin Core, the very core of his own self¡­


    Lucifer took the blow head on, as he saw how a massive vampiric specter made of crimson-red energy devoured his entire body across an immense explosion.


    His entire body was thrown down into the depths of hell as hell began to shatter. The dimension itself shattered but barely stopped beforepletely breaking into pieces.


    Lucifer''s entire body ended charred, scarred, and in pain.


    His soul was greatly damaged as well.<sub> </sub>


    But he was still alive.


    Of course, you''ll need more than that to kill the Prince of Pride.


    Lucifer slowly stood up, his entire scarred body slowly regenerated back, but his soul was too damaged, its regeneration would take eons.


    "Y-You damn¡­ bastard¡­! You really got me! To think he would sacrifice himself before letting me take away his life! Tch¡­! Fine! Asmodeus Von Sange, I will give you a second chance just because I can''t let this slide! You bettere back to me so I can beat the living shit out of you this time around!" he muttered, as Lucifer utilized the grand powers of Hell itself, manipting all the souls left behind, and all the consciousness fragments and shattered origin cores, putting all of them together into a single soul.


    "I will make sure that you don''t have it easy this time around though." Said Lucifer, cursing the soul of his nemesis before letting him depart into another world¡­


    -----


    The moment I died I thought that was going to be it. I thought I was a goner. Without a soul to sustain my own thoughts and mind, I should have surely died this time around. And no, not the conventional death where your body just dies and your soul is brought somewhere else, the death¡­ death. The one where you disappear forever. Your consciousness is embraced by the dark void, and you stop existing as a whole.


    However, against my wildest dreams, I was still conscious, somehow, despite all of my expectations, I had not been ended yet. Something had manipted myst fragments of consciousness, myst fragments of soul and the shattered pieces of my origin core, and brought me back up.


    Who did this?


    The only one I could think of was¡­ Lucifer. But there was no way that he would want to reincarnate me. So it was obviously someone else, somebody else¡­


    But who?


    I couldn''t really think straight. My mind felt dizzy. Many times I went to sleep with my thoughts wandering around aimlessly. At some point, I began to have physical senses once more.


    Was I given a body now? But why can''t I see nor hear yet? What am I?


    I felt a warm liquid crossing across my small little body- Wait, I had a small little body now? What?


    This liquid epassed my entire body and let me rest inside. I could sense the vibrations across my body, it was the beating of a heart, not my own small heart, but another bigger one above my head.


    Who could it be?


    Wait, am I that foolish to not realize it? It is quite obvious that the only one whose heart this could belong to was¡­ my mother. Or well, better said, my new mother.


    I had been somehow reborn as a baby, and I was currently inside the belly of my mother. It didn''t take me too long to realize something so obvious.


    I could barely move, however. I tried using my aura, my powers, anything, but nothing came out. I was left hopeless and helpless inside of my mother. But somehow, I felt a soothing feeling, something epassing my entire being that rxed me.


    Her humming suddenly resonated, she was humming something, a small little melody. A feeble little melody that mortals perhaps sing to their young. How long has it been since I was a mortal? Eons, perhaps. I hadpletely lost touch with what it meant to be alive sometimes. So this was it. I don''t know how I came to be a baby now, but these feelings made me feel rather happy and fulfilled.


    I let her soothing songs rx my thoughts, the memories of my past were slightly fragmented, however, trying to recall them only brought me headaches, I simply decided to not think for now, and to sleep until I could one day be born again.


    However, as I slept and woke periodically, I couldn''t help but think what kind of world could this be, and why¡­ why was I reborn? What was the purpose behind this reincarnation of mine?


    I gave up my life, my Origin Core was destroyed, reincarnation should be impossible. But someone had enough power to actually regenerate an Origin Core of the caliber of the one I held.


    But well, my powers were not here. Either they were sealed or¡­ lost forever.


    Hmm¡­


    "La~ La~ Laaa~ Grow big and healthy, my little treasure¡­"


    The voice of a woman resonated across my senses. It was youthful and filled with life. This was my mother. I could understand hernguage right away. It was themon tongue used in manys I had visited.


    Could I have been reborn on a I governed? If that was the case, my beginnings should be smooth sailing.


    Being embraced by my mother''s tender words, I felt a sudden heat in my chest. I suppose this was the simplistic happiness and fulfillment we feel when we are embraced by the love of a mother.


    I never experienced such a thing as I was an orphan in my previous life. But of course, I also didn''t have a consciousness like this in the belly of the mother that abandoned me back then either¡­


    Perhaps I will end up an orphan in this life as well, although I hope that is not the case.


    Time went by, as I felt like my body was growing bigger and bigger.


    Until the day of birth.


    The canals in front of me opened as I was suddenly grabbed roughly by arge hand, slowly bringing me towards the outside.


    "Push harder, Mary!"


    "Ugh¡­! Ahhh! Nngh¡­! C-Come on¡­!"


    "Harder! You can do it!"


    "Ahhh¡­ M-My baby¡­ Would youe out already?! Uagh¡­!"


    I heard two voices. My mother''s voice was easily discernible. She was pushing me out of her womb, meanwhile, the voice of a young man was also here, probably my father, or perhaps her brother? I had yet to learn more, as I couldn''t open my eyes yet.


    Pop!


    Suddenly, I felt like my head had been freed from the embryonic liquid, and I faintly opened my eyes, being greeted by the dim light of candles around me. The wooden ceiling, and the dark atmosphere, it was probably night. Of course, I couldn''t really cry, I didn''t feel like it, but I had to open my mouth and breathe, which actually forced a reaction in my body which made me scream, crying like a baby would usually do. I suppose I couldn''t go against my own body''s reflexes.


    "Buuuuaaaah! Buuaaaahh!"


    "Ah! I-It''s there!"


    The one I assumed was my father quickly dragged me outside of my mother''s womb. After the head was out the rest of the body wasn''t so hard to get out. The umbilical cord was easily cut  as well, it hurt a bit, which made me cry even louder¡­ How embarrassing.


    "I-It''s a boy, Mary! My boy¡­"


    My father cried tears of joy as my mother held me in her arms, her beautiful and wless face smiled back at me, kissing my forehead.


    "Wee to this world¡­ ke." She said. It seems my name has already been decided.


    My mother''s beauty was just as I expected. Her long brown hair, beautiful emerald eyes, and wless porcin skin. Of course, this was the beauty of a mother for someone such as me.


    And then there was my father, a youthful and muscr man, he had a stoic face yet there was a handsomeness to him. He also had short brown hair, and sharp ck eyes.


    My mother''s name was apparently Mary, while my father''s name¡­


    "Joan, he calmed down all of the sudden¡­ He''s¡­ very calm in fact¡­" pointed out my mother.


    His name was Joan. Such simplistic names. I suppose these people are mere humans.


    And I¡­ Wait, I was reborn as a human? I remember that even before, I was born as a Vampire¡­ Being a human would certainly prove to be difficult.


    My parents immediately pointed out how calm I was. I had ended crying some seconds ago as I stared at the two. I felt like moving right now but my body was weak. But I managed to touch my mother''s nose.


    "Uwah¡­! My little prince! You''re so cute!" she said, as she kissed my forehead.


    "L-Let me hold him!" said my father enthusiastically.


    "No! Now it is time for his meal. You must be hungry! Go on." said my mother, revealing to me her nude bosom.


    Right¡­ humans¡­ do this.


    In my previous life as a vampire, I only needed to hunt a small rat and drink its blood, but here¡­ well, I require the sustenance of my mother''s milk.


    Sigh¡­


    For the Emperor of an Intergctic Empire, doing this was rather embarrassing.


    -----

 Chapter 2 Reincarnated In A World Of Spirits And Mysteries

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    It has been around a month since I was reborn.


    I was reborn against all expectations, as a little human boy. I didn''t know what world I was in, nor what I was going to do in here. But it seems I could barely do anything anyways.


    All the power I had cultivated was gone. The Blood Qi I could use was gone, the Vampiric powers I had were gone too. The only thing I could do was helplessly rest in my cradle while looking at the ceiling for the entire day long.


    Eventually, my mother woulde to pick me up and feed me milk. My father was also here two to three times a day. He seemed to be working hard outside the house. I had faintly seen through the window that there was a big farm with crops growing out of the dirt.


    ? My family was no royalty nor anything like that, we were farmers. And not the ones with money, they were barely wearing leather clothes, so we were rather poor. Assuming how poor we were by the rate of crops, most likely these crops didn''t evenpletely belong to us. Perhaps my parents are giving arge portion to whatever nation, duchy, or country they''re living in.


    Due to that, we don''t make enough money and therefore our clothes are quite pitiful. To think that I, the man that conquered countlesss and over a hundred gxies was reduced to being a poor human farmer.


    "Guuhhh¡­"


    I muttered this as I looked into the distance angrily. I gritted my teeth, but I had no teeth, I gripped my fists, but they were so little and feeble it was very difficult! Agh! Damn it all! I want my powers back! No way in hell I am going to stay like this, right?


    Right¡­?


    ¡­


    Sigh.


    I have begun to believe this is some sort of curse. My powers had been restrained from flowing out of my own soul¡­ something wrong is going on in here. Did Lucifer really reincarnate me? If so, it makes sense now. He cursed me and wanted to see me struggle whileughing back at me. That damned fallen archangel! He didn''t die¡­ he actually survived my all-out attack at the end.


    Well, deep inside I also had that fear, that it wouldn''t actually kill him and all of this¡­ would be in vain. So hopeless it made me frustrated beyond belief! I grip my fist even harder as my eyebrows furrow angrily.


    "Gguuuhhh¡­!!!"


    My mother noticed my weird and bitter face asy in my cradle, she looked at me worriedly and grabbed me, holding me in her tender arms.


    "What''s wrong, ke? Are you feeling alright, dearie? Is your tummy hurting?" she asked.


    "Guhh¡­ Muh!"


    I tried to speak but I could not. It was still very hard, I tried to tell my mother that I was very frustrated, but she didn''t get it.


    "Huh?" she had question marks all over her face. She was indeed very confused over my weird antics.


    "¡­Muh."


    I sighed and gave up on that. Even if I could speak, I couldn''t let my parents know my past. They would probably feel creeped out if they were to learn I used to be a being of such a caliber, and even more, they wouldn''t believe and only call me insane or something, so there wasn''t any point in doing that.


    I had wondered what I should do now. I should probably grow stronger somehow, cultivating Mana is the first step to enhance my body and soul, which could let me grow stronger. Perhaps if I can manipte enough Mana, I could bring back my old techniques, spells, and arts, and probably relearn my millenary Soul Devour, which allowed me to devour souls and strengthen myself quickly.


    Nheless, I had no idea if this world had any advancements in magic. Magic in the entire universe was a fact, every world developed some kind of magic anyway, so it was impossible for this world no matter what to not have any magic at all. I had to just discover the magic systems made up by this society of humans, learn them, replicate them¡­ and boom! Magic is mine once more!


    I will use my magic to probably boost my growth and- Well, I don''t know what else. Fighting Lucifer? Well¡­ it feels stupid at this point.


    Perhaps I shouldy back and¡­ rx for once.


    My entire past life was filled with hardships, battles, and more, until the point, I conquered it all and grew bored. My entire mind and body were sharpened through battles, rxing to me was a chore and I couldn''t do it properly.


    I regret this deeply, of course. I wish I could have enjoyed a better childhood.


    Although this seems to be a poor family, it is already better than my previous life childhood, and my parents seem to care for me as well.


    Maybe¡­ I should simply try to protect them and start anew, like Eleanora always wanted.


    Eleanora¡­


    My mother suddenly noticed I had be sorrowful out of the sudden.


    "ke? Dearie? What''s wrong now? Are you hungry? Want some more of mama''s milk?" she asked gently, rubbing her tit over my face.


    Agh! Wait! You perverted woman; I don''t want this!


    "Gaahhhh¡­!!!"


    I pushed her breast away from my face. I am sorry for being rude, mother, but you''re a stubborn woman, I didn''t want this!


    "Eeeh? Y-You don''t want mama''s milk?" she asked, feeling down.


    Ah¡­ Now she''s making me feel guilty.


    Fine¡­


    I ended up drinking her milk for the rest of the day, and then took a nap.


    A baby''s life is not as easy as they say.


    ¡­


    My daily routine continued like this for several days and weeks, caged inside my room and my cradle, until I was already half a year old.


    After many hardships, I was finally able to move a bit! Well, mostly walk on four feet, which is very hard in this weakling body¡­


    So, after a lot of boring baby life, I had finally decided to crawl outside of my cradle and get to know the world outside.


    My mother and father were not here, so it was the perfect time.


    I sneaked outside the cradle and walked over the wooden floor.


    With all my strength, I pushed the door open.


    But what greeted my sight was rather¡­ not expected.


    There was a cat-sized golden-brown rat, seemingly made out of some sort of energy, looking at me while twitching its ears.


    This was certainly not a normal rat.


    I stood there looking at it for a few seconds, and quickly moved back.


    Was this a monster?!


    "Chuuu!"


    The rat, however, gently reached me and licked my face. After that, it began running around me adorably.


    Wait, this damn bastard is cute! Is this the house pet? I never saw him before.


    I didn''t know that in this world they domesticated rats. That''s something new for me. Perhaps this world is based on rat tamers? Well, that would be certainly disappointing if it was the case¡­


    "Chuu! Chuu!"


    Suddenly, the rat generated soil out of thin air and left it on the ground.


    "Huh?"<sub> </sub>


    T-This is¡­


    Magic!


    -----


    Magic, an essential power that everyone in the Universe could wield as long as they had Mana. And Mana, an essential power that everyone in the Universe harbored inside their souls, even if a little bit, everyone should have Mana one way or another.


    Those with a lot of it at the beginning were called geniuses and talented people, while those with little starting mana were called talentless. Anywhere you went, it was like this. However, even talentless people were able to conjure magic as long as they trained diligently.


    However, this rat used it like nothing to make up some dirt! Odd, who the heck are you even?


    "Chuuuu!"


    The rat was fond of me and licked me, and then, it offered its back to me.


    Oh?! You want to be my mount? Good choice! I see that you''re a sharp rat to realize who I am really! I will take your humble back.


    Carry me outside, my humble steed!


    Imanded the rat to carry me outside, as it began to slowly walk over the corridor outside my room.


    However, my parents quickly emerged at the other side, stopping us from going anywhere else.


    "H-Hey! That''s my mouse?!" asked my father.


    "Idiot, you let it go around the house again!" sighed my mother.


    I tried to escape from them with my humble steed, but we were hopelessly captured by the vicious and strong hands of my parents.


    Damn it!


    "Calm down, Earth Mouse¡­ And why were you carrying ke with you? You''re awfully independent for being a low-rank Earth Spirit¡­" sighed my father.


    Earth Spirit? Wait¡­ Spirits? Does this world have Spirits? From all the knowledge I had umted over many years in my previous life, I know that Spiritse in all sizes and shapes, but essentially, they''re living beings made up mostly out of elemental energy.


    This mouse¡­ I see, so that''s why it had this glow on it and could use earth magic. It was actually an Earth Spirit. But my father who seems like amon human has an earth spirit? This seems odd.


    "Chuuuu!"


    The Mouse didn''t seem to like my father grabbing him, but he suddenly turned into energy, pure and glistening light, and flew towards my father''s chest. For a moment, I noticed my father''s chest glowing brightly, as if he had some sort of core inside of his chest, where the spirit entered.


    I¡­ I had never seen such a power before. How strange¡­ What kind of world is this? Perhaps it is one I had not conquered before¡­


    "You''re going to stay in my Spirit Orb for the rest of the day, I am not going to let you out!" said my father, reprimanding his Spirit.


    "ke, dearie, are you okay?" sighed my mother, looking at me with worried eyes.


    "Baah! Imma okay!" I muttered. And suddenly, I realized I was able to muster some words at half a year.


    "Oh?!"


    My two parents were suddenly frozen in time.


    "Y-You can talk already?!" asked my father in shock.


    "By the sacred spirits!" said my mother, as she raised me high into the air.


    "Our son can already talk!" the two said at the same time, celebrating this urrence.


    It was still very hard to make up words, but I ended telling my mother "I''m okay", which triggered this entire thing.


    "B-ke, can you say mama?" asked my mother.


    "Say papa too!" said my father.


    Ugh¡­ Who do you think you are?! I won''t obey you simply because you tell me to say your¡­ Well, they''re my parents, fine.


    "Ma¡­ma¡­! Pa¡­ Papa!"


    "Uoooohhhh!" my father almost exploded out of surprise.


    "Oh, my son¡­ You''ve really said it!" said my mother, as she began crying out of joy.


    They''re so exaggerated, what''s so special about a baby speaking? Everyone speaks at the end of the day! Wouldn''t it be natural to do it as soon as possible? What''s so special about doing something somon?


    Ah, well, I cannot really understand humans sometimes, they''re so strange and bizarre for getting surprised over things that are so normal that- Ah! Right! The spirits!


    "Spiwit?" I asked. I couldn''t form veryplicated works, so I pointed at my father''s chest and asked about spirits.


    "Oh! You''re interested in Spirits already, ke? Well, you''ll surely develop one at some point¡­" said my father, as he carried me in his arms and mother followed him at his side.


    The two quickly sat down in the chairs around the table. They were in the mood to speak about it just because I asked, such serviceable parents! I guess it is not so bad to have them.


    "If you can understand us, then I guess it isn''t bad to introduce you to this as soon as possible." Said my mother.


    "Wha¡­?" I asked curiously.


    My mother''s chest suddenly glowed with bright golden light, as a mass of energy came out of it and suddenly materialized in the floor, a sheep. Indeed, there was now a very fluffy sheep in front of us, this was¡­ my mother''s spirit?


    It had fluffy fur over it, and two golden horns, but it seemed rather weak and calm¡­ I could sense some hint of Life Attribute within it, it was probably a Life Spirit.


    "You see that? These are spirits! Amazing, isn''t it?" asked my mother.


    "Wooow¡­"


    I was left rather speechless, my eyes shone brightly in surprise at this. I felt happy to finally see some disy of magic at longst.


    "Everyone develops a Spirit Orb inside their chest while growing up, whenever you reach a certain age, usually five or six years, you will develop your own personal spirit¡­ It could be anything!" said my father.


    "A spirit grows stronger with you, so whenever you have a spirit, you''ll need to do a lot of activities with it so it can grow strong." said my mother.


    "Well¡­ yeah, although our Spirits can''t¡­ really fight." Sighed my father.


    "Oh¡­"


    It appeared that my parents were not very talented, as they stated they had weak spirits that couldn''t fight.


    "But even then! They''re still useful! Yeah, yeah!" said my mother.


    "My Earth Mouse helps me make the soil of the crops rich so the nts can grow!" said my father.


    "A-And my fluffy sheep¡­ can produce wool so I can sell it¡­ though it costs a lot of Mana¡­" said my mother.


    I see¡­ so this is what it feels like to belong to a humble family.


    -----

 Chapter 3 Birthday And A Stroll Outside

    -----


    Spirits, a concept that I''ve seen on the manys I had once visited in my previous life. Usually, spirits were the materialization of an element. Most of the time, they were madepletely out of elemental mana.


    However, this time around, these spirits were clearly different. This, whatever it is, feels and looks different as well. I had never visited a where people were naturally born with such a thing as a Spirit Orb inside their chests.


    Even though there are manys with many different people with their own types of abilities and powers, they always followed the same rules at the end, and still were all Mana-based. Sometimes there were things such as the Mana Core, which was the materialization of mana that helped someone to conjure magic more easily and umte extra Mana there.


    But Spirit Orbs? I did not know of such a thing before. The only thing thates closer were Spirit Stones, which were special stones that grew in areas withrge concentrations of spirits, and were infused with elemental power.


    But Spirits and Spirit Orbs in this world seem to followpletely different rules. First of all, people are born with a Spirit Orb, and it grows to maturity around five to six years of age, where they usually awaken their Spirit through a Spirit Awakening ceremony.


    Each person has their own unique spirit, but they''re usually cataloged through certain types¡­ but I haven''t been able to learn anything about it, talking is hard and my parents seem oblivious even aboutmon knowledge. Perhaps because they were never taught anything and what they know is what they see. I suppose theyck whatever education this world might give.


    After someone awakens a Spirit, ording to them, their Spirit Orb grows stronger and can utilize mana to form Spiritual Essence, which helps in "Cultivating" this power, somehow, I don''t know how that goes, but they said that there are certain techniques to use Spiritual Essence with Mana.


    This actually means that until I reach five or six, I won''t be able to use Mana! Agh! So frustrating! I want to conjure some magic already!


    If this world follows the same rules as the entire universe, then I could conjure over a thousand spells from the get-go as long as I can use Mana. I had been living for thousands of years, and I had umted great amounts of knowledge in magic formte creation. Conjuration of magic is nothing hard for me.


    But that''s not all, with Mana, I could also relearn my previous techniques, fighting techniques, weapon techniques, martial techniques, and everything I''ve ever learned. As long as I can acquire the usage of Mana, I will be able to slowly climb to the top with all my previously gathered knowledge.


    If I can reach the top of this world, I will be able to finally move out of it and go back to the Outer Universe to take back my Intergctic Empire. I don''t even know how many years it has been since I died¡­ I am rather concerned about those I left behind.


    However, there is also another side of my mind that is growing every day, every week, and every month that passes, one that says that I should rx,y back, and live a life here¡­


    And such thoughts had begun to be reinforced every day the longer I live with my parents. I''ve begun to grow very close to them¡­


    I''ve been mostlyying in my cradle. Without Mana, I cannot do anything extraordinary, and my body is that of an ordinary human, so I cannot train anything yet as I am a baby. If I overexert my body, I might even break a bone.


    Due to this, I cannot do much more than admiring the window and the scenery outside. I''ve been trying to ask my parents to bring me outside, but they''re just amazed by my tiny words andugh it off, often caressing me or kissing me.


    Ugh! I am an Intergctic Emperor! Obey me!


    ¡­


    Of course, it won''t work, and certainly, I cannot go revealing my identity to them. At the end, I musty low and ept my new life and fate as a baby¡­


    A human baby.


    And it has already been a year since I was born.


    "Happy birthday, ke!"


    "Happy birthday, dearie!"


    "Happy birthday, little ke¡­"


    Aside from my parents, there was another old woman at my side. This was my grandmother. She was my mother''s mother. She''s a gentle woman, and rather nice to me too. She often takes care of me whenever my parents are busy working in the fields.


    Her name is Matilda, and her Spirit is "Golden-Horned Goat"  a simr Spirit to my mother, as it has golden horns and is kind of like a bigger sheep¡­ it has a stronger attitude though, and she''s often carried by it whenever she goes as she has a hard time walking by herself now.


    This goat can''t produce wool, but it produces rich milk. However, it costs my grandma mana, so she cannot produce it infinitely without growing tired. But usually, she gives me three cups of goat milk every day, saying that it will help me grow stronger.


    In front of me, there was a small cake covered in goat milk cream and colorful fruits sliced over it. I don''t know where they got the money to make such a fancy cake, but I can tell that grandma did it, she''s the best chef here. My mother still has a long way to go.


    "Twanks¡­" I said. I had to be grateful for my family. I''ve been reborn and I don''t see any point in not epting them as my people. I''ve already embraced them as my family.


    A dumb smile emerged on my lips¡­ It has been a long time since I''ve felt this happy before. My past life was so filled with wars¡­ I never had time to truly celebrate with those I love.


    -----


    "MEEE!"


    The next day after my birthday I woke up to a goat licking my face. I opened my eyes rather disgusted by the smell of its saliva, as I looked into the creature. Grandma was sitting over its back while smiling. She was very old to the point her entire face looked like it was filled with wrinkles. Her once youthful cheeks were now falling, and her eyes seemed tired from living.


    I don''t know how much time is left for Grandma, humans live very little timepared to other races, their lives are fleeting like the breeze, without realizing it, they''ve already gone¡­


    "Gwandma?"


    "Little ke,e with me while your parents are still sleeping, I want to show you something."


    Grandma held me with her weak and tired arms, as her goat walked out of the house.


    The door opened as a beautiful scene greeted my sight.


    Wondrous greenery like I had seen only through the windows. The beautiful grasnds expanded over several kilometers making small hills. It was as if there was a sea of grass.


    The breeze was strong this morning. It felt a bit chill, but it was not so cold either, the warmth of the bright sun atop the skiesforted us.<sub> </sub>


    The sky was mostly clear, although there were a few clouds going on here and there. The beautiful scenery reminded me of a fews I had visited with simr scenery.


    They were often soothing to the mind and soul.


    I had once thought about retiring¡­ with Eleanora anding to one such to spend the rest of our lives in peace and finally make a family.


    Now that it has all ended, I feel rather regretful I never had the chance to do it.


    Eleanora¡­ I wish you could be seeing this with me.


    "It''s pretty, isn''t it?" asked grandma, waking me up from my daze and deep thoughts.


    "Pwetty!" I said.


    "Right? Heheh¡­ This is the world outside, little ke! Your parents don''t want you to look outside yet because you were born a bit sickly and think you might catch a cold¡­ but I still wanted you to show you the world we live in¡­ The Nature, the Skies, and the Sun¡­ Everything always fits together so wonderfully¡­ It feels like it is a work of art, a beautiful painting, isn''t it?" she asked.


    "Yeah¡­" I said.


    Indeed, it all fit perfectly. In my previous life I never had the opportunity to just sit down and admire¡­ the world we lived in, the beautifuls I visited, and the cosmos beyond.


    Our house seemed to be ced in arge vige. There were many houses like ours all around the ce, each one closer to a farm with a few cattle and crops growing out of the ground.


    The vige was mostly protected by arge wooden wall all around us, but there were many farms outside the walls too. Our house was luckily inside, and so was our farm.


    We didn''t have cattle though, but I guess my family''s spirits produced wool and milk to sell, so there''s that.


    To the distance there was arge mountain range, and- Eh?


    There was also a tower.


    A massive, scarlet-red tower.


    Without even needing any power within me, I could already tell that this tower emanated a powerful presence¡­ a demonic aura within it.


    It was incredibly far away, perhaps hundreds of kilometers, but it was so big I could see it even from here.


    That was¡­ a Demonic Tower.


    Demonic Towers, I know what they are¡­ they are constructions made by Demons from the Gates of Hell, portals to their Dimension which can let them bring forces from Hell itself.


    Usually, I fought against them and destroyed them in my previous life as they were focal points where many Demons spawned, invading entires.


    I had not fought against Lucifer just because. The forces of Hell had been trying to conquer the universe for a long time, I wanted to deal with him and end this stupid Universal war once and for all.


    I remember having destroyed hundreds of these things, but now, this thing seemed unreachable¡­ and it crept me out. I felt a sudden shiver down my spine only to imagine if the Demons were to evere out of it and invade this¡­


    And take away everything from me again.


    "ke? What''s wrong?" asked my grandma, as she noticed I was looking at the scarlet tower in the distance.


    "Oh! You''re looking at the tower? That''s the Tower of Demons. It is a millinery tower where all the evil and malice of the world was once sealed millions of years ago! Ah well, now it''s called a  Dungeon too, and people go inside to hunt Demon monsters for resources¡­" said my grandma.


    "Wha¡­?!"


    These people actually sealed the tower and now they''re using it to hunt demons?! What kind of insanity is this? Do they know they''re ying with fire?!


    "It is said that there are stronger demons the higher you go¡­ but people had only been able to explore a few floors¡­ It is a dangerous ce." Said my grandmother.


    If it''s so dangerous, why do they keep going there?! Are they stupid or something?!


    And the Demons¡­ what are they nning? Why are they not doing anything yet? They let themselves be sealed and now they''re lying low?


    Or¡­ is this world''s top superpowers even capable of fighting off Demons¡­


    "The world of Spirits is very big! I''ve never explored everything as I''ve barely gone around the country, but it is said that there are four other Towers like this one all around the world." Said my grandmother.


    "WHA?!"


    This is indeed bad news. Whoever was able to deal with them must be long dead by now if that was millions of years ago¡­ Are there people in this world¡­ strong enough to seal these five towers again before the demonse out once more?


    I don''t know but¡­ something deep down inside of my heart is telling me that this tower¡­ is overflowing with power.


    Perhaps in a few years¡­ it might finally release this power and break its seal.


    -----

 Chapter 4 This Is Living Hell

    -----


    Since that day with grandma that I got to know more about the world and how beautiful it was, alongside its name, Spiritias, the world of Spirits and Spirit Masters.


    Anyone that acquires a Spirit after awakening and trains it to be strong enough is called Spirit Master. They''re known for using their Spirits for battle but also to help other people¡­ of course, there are also those that use it for devious motives. I might do both as long as it benefits me or my family, although I am still quite powerless.


    My grandmother showed me about the ce where we lived and the outside world, and well, the eerie Demonic Tower in front of us. Since the day I saw it, I''ve been having disturbing nightmares about my previous life. The wars we had, the bloodshed, everything that was lost against these damn Demons.


    This had only been reinforcing my resolve as I grew up little by little, every day, every week, every month¡­ as I spent time with my parents and my grandmother, I''ve been growing closer to them, even when I initially felt embarrassed of it.


    But the threat of the Demonic Tower had made me realize that I am still in this Universe, I am not in some sort of haven where I can rx¡­ even now, at the end, I have to work hard so I can grow stronger and have nice revenge against these damned Demons.


    It has already been two years since I was born. Only a month ago I celebrated my second birthday, that time around I ate proper food for the first time instead of just milk and fruit/vegetable puree. My father is a dexterous hunter, so he brought a wild boar for my birthday which I enjoyed thoroughly. I wished I could have a bigger stomach to eat more¡­


    Perhaps in three more years, I will be able to finally awaken my Spirit and also be able to use Mana so I can finally begin fighting¡­ I hope. For now, there''s nothing else for me to do except try to learn about this world and spend time with my family.


    "Who''s the cutest little boy there is?"


    "¡­"


    "Who is it?"


    "¡­"


    "You!"


    "¡­"


    My mother was once more ying with me. It''s not like I didn''t love my mother, but it really felt embarrassing to be called a baby all the time. She noticed I was dead serious while looking at her, but she only giggled.


    "Hehe, ke, you''re such a grumpy little baby!" sheughed.


    "I-I am not a baby¡­" I sighed. At two years of age, I could now speak more eloquently.


    "Eh? Then a toddler! Fufu¡­" my mother giggled as she kissed my forehead and began to tickle my tummy.


    Hey, that''s unfair!


    I slowly lost my serious face as I exploded intoughter. She was a very ruthless woman, to think she could hit me so low!


    "Bwahahaha! Bwahaha¡­!"


    I began tough like babies do, and my mother mercilessly blushed at this and smiled rather fascinatedly, tickling me even more than before. She was indeed a ruthless and merciless woman.


    "Hehe, my son is so cute when he smiles¡­" said my mother.


    "Mama¡­ stop!" I cried. As I waved my hands around and touched her own, stopping her once and for all.


    "Ah¡­!"


    Suddenly, we locked res for a while. However, my mother''s eyes shone brightly as she continued tickling me after that. Ugh¡­ How much longer¡­ will I suffer?!


    ¡­


    It has been a few months since then, and now, I was walking around rather easily. No more days spent crawling around on the ground! I can now move independently on my own, and finally, explore the vast world outside to my liking!


    "No, you''re not going outside, it''s too dangerous for a two-year-old!" said my mother, as she stopped me from walking outside the house.


    "But mom¡­" I sighed.


    "No buts! You''re still just two years of age, dearie¡­" sighed my mother.


    "Come on, Mary, the child wants to explore the world outside. why are you being so overprotective?" asked my grandmother.


    "Well it was because you didn''t stopped me when I was a child that I ended with this big scar from a horned rabbit attack, mother!" said my mother, as she suddenly showed an ugly scar she had on her stomach.


    "A-Ah¡­ Well¡­" muttered my grandmother, suddenly feeling defeated.


    "Come on Mary, that happened so long ago, you can''t keep ming your mother for that." Sighed my father.


    "I¡­ I am not ming anyone! I am just stating that my son is not going out on his own." Said my mother.


    "Then how about we go out with him to the town? I saw other children ying around the za while being apanied by their parents." remarked father.


    "Ooohh! I want to go to the za!" I proimed.


    "T-Then let''s go all four of us, alright, dear? I-I am sorry for acting a bit reckless with the boy, but looking at his adorable emerald eyes who always seek adventure really makes my heart ache¡­ He is a child; he wants to explore too and learn about the world¡­" said my grandmother.


    "This¡­ Okay, fine¡­ Let''s¡­ go there, I guess. I get it." sighed my mother as she patted my grandmother''s shoulders and smiled back.


    Good, no family drama here. I am d my mother is mature enough.


    And like that, I was held by my mother''s arms and the four of us went to the za. The floor of the vige was paved in some areas, and the "za" was a small natural fountain that they had ced a lot of rocks around. Crystalline water was flowing out of it naturally. This is where most people get their water I believe.


    "Look, ke! A lot of other kids your age! Do you want to go y with them?" asked my mother with bright eyes.


    "Ugh, not really¡­" I said.<sub> </sub>


    "Come on, don''t be shy! They look like good kids!" said my mother, petting my head and leaving me sitting over the grass in the middle of the za while she, my father, and my grandmother looked at me from afar, giving me thumbs up.


    Is this some joke for them?!


    -----


    Against my will, I was forced to y with kids. I actually wanted to explore the town and see more spirits, and if there were some other ways to acquire magical power, perhaps artifacts I could use to acquire Mana and conjure spells right away. But my mother was incredibly overprotective, so that was a big no.


    The za was a boring ce, there were some trees here and there, some grass around, a few wooden seats, and some people selling food and other things. Apparently, at the end of each week, this entire ce gets clustered with people selling their own stuff. My parents usuallye here to sell wool, milk, and crops.


    I sat down on the grass and looked around, there wasn''t much I could do other than inspect the ce and see into the streets I couldn''t explore. There were some areas where they were selling very shiny jewels that emanated some magic from within, and others¡­ even demonic energy. Are those the drops from the demons that spirit masters hunt in the tower? Perhaps over the years, many demons had ended up escaping the tower and multiplied outside, so there might be the possibility that they''re being hunted even outside.


    On the other side, there were some restaurants and I saw a few people selling the corpses of big wild boars and a red-colored lion¡­ indeed, thatst one must be a Beast, which were the equivalent of monsters in the world of Spiritias. I guess calling them monsters doesn''t matter either.


    I also saw a few other people carrying the corpses of small humanoid creatures with red skin and sharp horns atop their heads, they had tiny dysfunctional wings resembling bat-like wings behind their backs, these were the corpses of some kind of Demon¡­ Indeed, it seems that they popte the world the same way as Beasts. Hmm, maybe they''re lessmon.


    Another area was selling butchered Beast and Demon Materials¡­ It appears that materials are used to both evolve Spirits, enhance their abilities, and obviously, to craft armors and weapons.


    The entire ce looked like a western-style town. There wasn''t anything eastern about this ce¡­ I suppose this is that type of world.


    The people that looked strong had powerful and colorful auras on them, some walked wearing all sorts of armors made of beast and demon parts. I even saw a few Spirits here and there, such asrge Gecko-like spirit covered in mes, another flying spirit resemble an Eagle made of lightning, and there was even an enormous wolf made of shadows. I saw a floating eye with bat-like wings emanating a bright red light, and on another asion, I saw a massive cow spirit from which the owner took milk from.


    However, not all of them were beasts. I also noticed a few weirder ones, a small fairy-like spirit with pink light around her. There was even a spirit that was just a pickaxe being carried by a miner-looking man. Simrly, I found people with spirits in the shape of a shield, a sword, a spear, and even one in the shape of chopsticks¡­


    I wonder what Spirit will I get? I''ve been recently feeling some kind of warmth in my chest, is this the Spirit Orb growing? Hmm¡­


    As I pondered these things, a group of kids suddenly noticed my intense gaze, especially when the leather ball they were ying with reached me and I didn''t throw it back.


    "Hey, throw it back!" a kid around three years of age called me, he was a few centimeters taller than me, and had short ck hair and brown eyes.


    "Who is he?" wondered a second one, a blonde boy with aquamarine eyes a bit younger than the other.


    "Hey¡­ Do you want to y ball?" asked a third, a girl this time. She had short, pink-colored hair, and a pin over her head in the shape of a flower. She wore a pink dress and her eyes shone with purple light.


    "¡­No." I said, as I threw their ball back at them and ignored them.


    I don''t want to have anything to do with kids. I am too busy inspecting the town to care about- Ugh?!


    The ball suddenly hit my leg again, this time strong, to the point it makes me trip over my face, making the kids chuckle at me.


    I looked angrily at the kids as the two boys averted their gazes from me and began to whistle.


    "Very funny¡­" I muttered in anger.


    "Come on! Throw it back!" said the girl with a bright smile.


    "Sigh¡­ But stop annoying me after that." I said, as I threw back the ball and saw them y around.


    However.


    Bump!


    The ball once more reached me.


    "Come on! y!" said the blonde.


    "Will you stop annoying me if I y a match with you?" I sighed.


    "Yeah, sure!" said the ck-haired boy.


    "Then¡­"


    A malicious smile emerged on my lips as I felt like my eyes shine bright red, I moved my legs swiftly and kicked the ball with all the force I could muster in a good position where all the force of my muscles was put into action. This was just a basic strength bncing technique. Even at two years of age, controlling my own muscle strength is as easy as breathing.


    BOOM!


    Despite my small stature, the ball was sent flying andnded right into the face of the ck-haired boy, as he fell over the floor.


    "Uagh!"


    "Ahh! Chris!" cried the blonde.


    "Wow, you''re strong!" said the little girl.


    "Now stop annoying me¡­" I said.


    However, at the end, I ended ying with them through the rest of the morning. I never thought I would find this much fun ying with a in leather ball with some kids¡­ I guess I have be so bored even this was of some entertainment to me¡­ The ck-haired boy''s name was Chris, the blonde was named Eric, and the girl was named Erika. They were actually my neighbors¡­ I guess I might see them periodically.


    It was rather fun¡­ I wonder if these kids will grow up to be rather strong on their own. Hm, I could nurture their talent, maybe.


    Although I wish I could just go out and hunt, I don''t have the strength to even do that¡­


    -----

 Chapter 5 Mother, I Crave Violence

    -----


    The world of Spiritias is a mysterious ce. I had not visited such a in my previous life at all. I''ve begun to wonder where this world could even be located within the Map of the Universe, but I am left with no answers despite my vast knowledge.


    I had yet to see a world that locked their own people from using magic so much as this one, although perhaps I was simply untalented, and I couldn''t use Mana properly.


    I had recently begun to feel as if the interior of my very soul was strangely dark. There was something within it stopping me from using many of my soul''s innate talents.


    Even if I had the body of a baby, if my soul was truly as strong as it was before, I could easily dominate this world entirely. However, most likely because I detonated my Origin Core, alongside this strange "Curse", I cannot use this power at all, I have to start from zero.


    But even if I could start from zero, with my knowledge alone and some mana, I could reach far¡­


    However, that doesn''t seem to be the case.


    It has been approximately two months since my encounter with those children. At first, I really didn''t care about them, nor I have any interest in them.


    They were fun to y around with, I had a knack for younglings, as there were many children within my empire that I protected and brought from slums. Even then, I wasn''t someone that particrly enjoyed being with them all the time.


    Nheless, perhaps because I am now a child, I''ve begun to enjoy it for some reason. It is particrly bizarre for me, a person with a mature mind that has lived thousands of years in my previous life, to enjoy ying around as if I were a child.


    But there''s certainly something that soothes my heart and calms my mind when I do this, perhaps as the body of a child, I must act like one sometimes to feel rxed and happy.


    Happiness¡­ I had not felt such a feeling much in my previous life, despite my grand aplishments.


    Chris, Eric, and Erika had begun to grow a bit inside of my heart. Although it would take a long time for me to actually consider them my friends, but I suppose there''s a lot of time ahead before I can even awaken my Spirit yet, which is actually rather frustrating.


    Due to this frustration, I decided to change my ns and begin growing stronger right away without waiting for the avability of Mana.


    Originally, I had nned to train my Magic Power and Mana Pool while I was a small toddler, as my body wasn''t as developed as it would be when I reached my teenage years or a bit older than that.


    However, those ns were broken as I must wait until I am five to even do this. Because of this, I''ve decided to switch my ns and begin training my physical body, yes, even as a two-year-old.


    p This might be a challenge by itself, but there is no other choice, and I dislike wasting time.</anda>


    First of all, Mana is not everything.


    Although Mana is the fuel to most powers, there are other energies residing in the body and soul of a person.


    Mana is the primary source of our supernatural powers and the most direct way to attain them, however, there are two other energies, Aether and Qi.


    Aether is the energy of the soul, often called Soul Power, Soul Energy, Phantasmal Aura, and more. Aether is a unique energy that your soul produces, which you can repurpose into a usable force for your own techniques and powers.


    It could be possible to conjure magic using Aether only, but it is extremely hard. Of course, not for me. But the thing is, my soul is extremely weak. I cannot even discern my Aether nodes yet, even less my Aether Veins, without that, I cannot even begin to extract Aether from my very soul, which might even weaken it and make me sickly if I attempt to do it forcefully.


    Your soul grows with your body. As long as I can keep growing older, my soul will naturally grow older as well, and I might be able to utilize it better.


    This leaves the only usable energy for me as of now.


    Qi.


    Qi is the energy of the body, the muscles, the bloodstream, the bones, the flesh, the beating of my heart, every kic energy used inside my body for it to be kept alive and moving, it is all fueled by it.


    Some civilizations call this power Vitality, other Stamina, some others Aura. I call it Qi.


    Since I reached two years of age, my Qi had begun to slightly awaken. There are several pressure points in the body of a human, which are not different from the humans here. When you awaken each pressure point, Qi will begin flowing like streams of power across your body.


    This is my current goal.


    There is also the Core of your Qi foundation, which is in the heart, if I awaken each Qi Pressure Point and my Qi Core together, I will be able to wield Qi as easy as I was able to do it before, although limited to the pool of a toddler¡­


    To awaken the Pressure Points and connect them, I also need to first awaken my Qi Veins.


    Therefore, I''ve sit down in my cradle, barely managing to sit cross-legged during the middle of the night where there was nobody watching, and I began to sense my own body.


    Concentrating on this task without any supernatural power to help me was arduous beyond belief, especially because I had to concentrate to an extremely precise point.


    I needed to do it, however.


    I had to concentrate¡­


    Concentrate¡­


    I have to feel¡­ the Qi.


    The vitality, the power flowing through my physical body.


    Qi, awaken¡­


    FLASH!


    -----


    It only took me two hours, but I had managed to finally achieve "Feeling" my Qi.


    It was a weak, very weak energy flowing over my body. It had yet to fully awaken.


    I will forcefully awaken it now.


    If I were less of an expert in this, I might even risk crippling my entire body.


    And in the worst-case scenario¡­


    Killing myself.


    However, I was confident that I could do it, as I''ve always done it. I closed my eyes once more and concentrated my mind back on the task. In a few seconds, I easily managed to finally feel my Qi.


    I followed it around as it traversed my body, the Pressure Points were dormant.


    I pointed my finger into my chest while infusing the little bit of Qi I could use, and efficiently moving the tip of my tiny finger.


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!


    A tremendous pain hit my entire body as three Pressure Points were forcefully awakened by the fast movements of my finger imitating sharp needles, I gritted my teeth as small tears came out of my eyes. Having such a weak and tiny body really made things more painful.


    "Hahh¡­ Ungh¡­"


    However, a few seconds after that, I felt my Pressure Points flowing with power, they had awakened, and the Qi was flowing relentlessly.<sub> </sub>


    Good.


    Only three had been awakened, and the Core had yet to awaken because I was required to first awaken the other ones. If I awoke the core without the others, I would die due to the overcharge of energy, crippling my entire body. It could even stop the beating of my heart.


    I swallowed saliva, rxed, sighed, and then continued.


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!


    Three more Pressure Points were forcefully awakened. My movements were swift and precise. Efficient as I could possibly make them by controlling 100% of my body in this state of hyper concentration.


    I continued through the entire night, awakening more and more Pressure Points.


    At some point, my pain was immeasurable, and I began to have a fever, falling unconscious.


    ¡­


    When I woke up, I felt anew. My body didn''t hurt, and my vitality was overflowing from my body as if my surroundings had be a river of yellow-gold light.


    I managed to awaken them all, even the Core.


    This is the change when someone truly awakens their Pressure Points and then the Qi Core!


    Ahh, power! At longst! I''ve been missing this!


    Even when it is so small, insignificant¡­ this is a good starting point, with just this it is enough for me to slowly rise.


    Although the Spirit Awakening might aid me in this regard.


    I heard noisesing from the first floor, they were my parents talking, cooking, and so on.


    Now that I had my Qi, I was able to concentrate it into certain senses of my body and enhance them. This came out naturally, of course. I was able to easily do it because I had practiced countless times in my previous life.


    The usage of Qi for me was even more easy than breathing, perhaps. However, this simplistic Qi won''t do. I require stronger versions of Qi of different elements to utilize their powerpletely.


    However, for now, the basic enhancement of my auditory sense, sight sense, smell sense, touch sense, and even the awakening of my sixth sense which allows me to detect things around me without me hearing nor seeing them has also all awakened.


    I sensed my amount of Qi, I currently have approximately, in numbers, around 30.


    This is terrible, I am very untalented.


    A human child of my age should at least have 100.


    But I have 30! Ugh.


    What is wrong with this damn untalented body?! I am beginning to feel like Lucifer has put a damn curse on me that only makes things harder for no reason other than for his own amusement.


    Is this bastard looking at me while I struggle?


    I quickly gave a middle finger into the sky.


    If he''s looking at me right now, he must see it.


    "Fuck you." I said.


    ¡­


    Of course, no response, I was alone in my room.


    I sighed, shaking my head. Perhaps I had begun to grow insane.


    The life of a toddler is truly filled with hardships.


    Now¡­ having Qi alone won''t do, I cannot simply have this.


    There are ways to enhance your Qi.


    Qi is directly connected to your body state. If you constantly work out and have a healthy diet, your body will naturally be at its peak, which is where most of the Qi can gather and emerge.


    Therefore, I must work out as a two-year-old-kid.


    Hm¡­ this is certainly a ridiculous thing.


    But why not? I have absolutely nothing else to do.


    I must also practice martial arts. All the techniques that can use the body would do, or well, the lowest tiered ones I can use¡­


    Cultivating the Qi flowing through my body will also be essential. I also would be required to transform my Qi at some point.


    Qi Transformation, the ability to transform normal Qi.


    It is more of a technique than ability, and it can be used right away after Qi Awakening.


    By using certain techniques, or even items and materials, I can refine Qi and transform it into other types of Qi.


    As a former Vampire the Qi I was the best at was¡­ Blood Qi.


    To refine Blood Qi I require the usage of blood, fresh blood.


    I could use my own blood if I wanted, but that will probably kill me. If I drain my own blood and consume it to transform my own Qi into Blood Qi, I will end up dried like a mummy and die miserably and foolishly.


    "I need fresh¡­ fresh blood!" I proimed, as my mother suddenly entered the room.


    "Huh? Fresh blood?" she asked.


    "Mother, bring me the freshest blood you can find." I said.


    "W-What are you talking about?!" she asked while raising an eyebrow, picking me up with her arms and carrying me outside.


    "I require it for greater purposes¡­" I said.


    "No, blood is bad, you''ll get all nasty¡­" she sighed.


    "Ugh¡­"


    ---

 Chapter 6 The Mysterious Girl

    -----


    Over the year my quest for blood has been null. I cannot find blood.


    I see that they often bring meat to the house, but my father butchers the beast he hunts outside, and I am not allowed to walk on my own outside nor go sneak out to the corpse.


    I have already reached three years of age by now, and I''ve been spending most of my time in my house. I''ve met Chris, Eric, and Erika a little bit over the week, usually once per week because my mother is not keen on me going outside all the time.


    It has been roughly a year since I meet them, although our time together has been short, I''ve begun to understand a bit about who they are.


    Chris seems to be growing into a stubborn and adventurous young boy. Eric seems like he''s chicken-hearted and worried about the smallest of things, and Erika is gentle-hearted, almost to the level of a saint¡­ Perhaps she''ll change after puberty or something.


    Of course, that alone can''t really exin everything that a person has as traits, although they are kids, so it''s not like they''re so incredibly deep.


    However, I''ve noticed something¡­


    People look at Erika very strangely for some reason.


    I don''t know why, nor do the other two kids know why.


    Some even talk about her in between whispers. I''ve heard some of the things they have said, but they''re never explicit.


    However, things such as "It is that girl¡­", "Why is she ying with kids?", "She''s not really a human¡­" and so on was disturbing. What is Erika?


    I cannot tell yet. My eyes are far from awakening and evolving into Eyes of Truth which allowed me to discern the story of a person by merely ncing at them.


    I had not given up in my search for fresh blood, however. But I must step aside from my research for the moment as I simply decided to cultivate my Qi across my body and slowly exercise whenever nobody was looking. Even by using Qi, it was hard and arduous, and rather painful.


    The enhancement of my senses is now possible, of course, it is the most basic enhancement. Within this ability, the most basic one is the expansion of the range of my senses.


    But can I attack? And what about going to hunt? Maybe if I can get my hands on the corpse of a monster, I can get both blood and mana-infused materials. I could do something with that, perhaps.


    As I was wondering this, my mother was cooking near me, I had been dragged down to the first floor today and I simply decided to sit down and wait for lunch while meditating and gathering Qi through my Pressure Points directly into the Core.


    Thanks to my efforts, my Qi could be said to have gone from 30 to 40¡­ but even then, that''s very little.


    Knock, knock.


    However, someone knocked on the door today. My father was outside with the crops so it couldn''t possibly be him, my grandma was in her room taking a nap, so who was it?


    "Who could it be?" my mother wondered, opening the door only to be greeted by a small pink-haired girl.


    "D-Does ke live here¡­?" she asked timidly.


    "Oh my, it is Erika, right? Yes! ke is here dearie,e in. I-I am surprised you came by yourself¡­" sighed my mother.


    "T-Thank you!"


    Erika hade to visit me in my house for some strange reason. Aside from ying ball or wandering around the za with her and the other boys, I don''t think there''s anything about me that would give her that much attention. So why did shee here?


    "ke! How are you?" she asked with an adorable smile.


    "I''m good. I was¡­ meditating." I said.


    "Meditating? Ah! Wanna go y? I was bored¡­ Chris and Eric didn''te out when I went to their houses¡­ They must be busy!" said Erika.


    "Busy? What can kids be busy with?" I wondered.


    "T-Their parents said they were¡­ doing stuff." Said Erika.


    Hm¡­ They probably don''t want them to meet with Erika anymore.


    She''s mysterious, something makes the townspeople see her differently and discriminate against her. Strangely enough, my family either does not know or simply doesn''t care about that, which means it is not something as bad as people make it up to be.


    I sighed as I looked at the girl. I might have conquered many worlds but I always tried to make those that served me happy. I disliked seeing those that were innocent and deserved to live a fulfilling life be miserable. I was perhaps quite a ruthless man, but not without a heart.


    I pitied her, I felt bad for her, and I suppose if it is possible within my power, I will help her be a bit happier.


    "Anyways, sure, let''s y¡­ What do you want to y?" I asked.


    "Let''s y the house!" she said.


    "House? Why do you like to y that so much?" I sighed.


    The house, a game that kids y, it is about them pretending to be adults¡­ it is embarrassing to an extent.


    "I do! It''s fun! Look, I brought my teacups and teapot! Miss Mary, can we y on the table?" asked Erika.


    "Oh my, so you''re ying that? So cute¡­ Sure thing dear! Oh! I got a small table here¡­ use this one." Said my mother, bringing a small little table with small chairs to sit on.


    The two of us sat down as Erika brought the cups over to the little table. She began humming a soothing song.


    "Hehe, ke, I''ll be mama, and you''re papa!" she said while giggling as she took out another little thing from her leather bag, it was a small doll made of wood, which was incredibly well detailed. She called her doll "Belle".


    "Belle can be our baby!" she said.


    "Sigh¡­ Sure." I sighed.


    I don''t understand this game at all, ying ball seems more fun than this, but Erika really likes it.


    "Erika do you want to be a mother in the future?" I wondered.


    "Ah! Yes! I want to make a family!" she said.


    "Why?" I wondered.


    "Eh? B-Because¡­ I will never be alone if I have a family!" she said.


    "Oh¡­" I said.


    So simplistic, yet there''s such a pure hint of innocence in her thoughts¡­


    "Don''t you have a father? You''re not alone." I said.


    "Daddy is the best but¡­ he''s old¡­ he doesn''t y much¡­" she said.


    "I see¡­ Well, if you want to, you cane more often. I don''t mind." I said.


    "Ooh! R-Really?" she asked.


    "Yeah, I am always bored anyways. And my mother doesn''t let me go out, if youe in then she doesn''t mind." I said.


    "S-Sure! T-Thank you, ke! Let''s y Home all day!" she said.


    "Ugh¡­ I would prefer not to." I sighed.


    "Here''s your cup of tea, dear!" she said, as she gave me her wooden cup. There was no tea in it, she was just pretending. It was all a pretend game, a roley of sorts.


    "Thanks¡­ It is very tasty. You''re very good at making tea." I said.


    "Oh my¡­ T-Thank you!" she said.


    She''s very innocent, although this is quite cringy. I am allowing her to do such embarrassing things to me because she''s only a young child and I pity her.


    "Here''s your tea, Belle-chan! Make sure to drink it all to grow big and strong¡­" she said, her doll stood still.<sub> </sub>


    After that, she took out small wooden tes and put mud on them in the shape of cakes.


    "Here''s cake!"


    "Oh, looks very tasty. I am very lucky to have such a talented wife." I said.


    "Heheh¡­"


    Erika giggled cutely while blushing a bit.


    We pretended to eat while talking whatever little thing came out, although my curiosity was eating me away, and I ended asking her more personal things, even if they were a bit rude.


    "Erika do you got a mommy?" I asked.


    "Mother¡­? Ah¡­ Papa said that I had one!" she said.


    "Is that so¡­?" I asked.


    "Yeah¡­ But he said she went away¡­" she said.


    "I see¡­ I am sorry for asking¡­. I hope she can be okay wherever she is." I said.


    "Hm! I am sure she''s happy." She said.


    "You''re a good-hearted girl, Erika¡­" I sighed.


    "I-I am? Hehe¡­ you''re a nice kid too¡­!" she said.


    "Eh?"


    Erika then moved near me and hugged me.


    "W-What is the meaning of this!?" I asked.


    "ke will you¡­ stay with me? You won''t reject me like everyone else?" she asked out of nowhere.


    "Huh? I¡­ Sure, it doesn''t bother me to be with you, Erika." I said.


    "T-Thanks¡­ H-Here''s your gift because we are ying pretending!" she said, as she suddenly gave me a faint little kiss on my cheek.


    "Ah¡­ That wasn''t necessary¡­" I sighed. I still have a hard time dealing with kids.


    "Hehe, you''re all red now!" she said.


    "It is your fault; little girls don''t go around kissing little boys." I said.


    "S-Sorry¡­ But you deserved it because you''re my husband now!" she said.


    <o>,m "Ah, right, we are still ying, but don''t let it go that far. It is just a game¡­ Anyways, can you serve me more cake?" I said.</o>


    "S-Sure!"


    Erika happily put another ball of mud over the wooden te, as we pretended to enjoy it, of course, we didn''t eat it.


    I wonder what''s going on with the other kids¡­ Eric and Chris were good friends of Erika, and she just said they rejected her? Why?


    Tch¡­


    I don''t know why but I feel suddenly betrayed.


    Are these kids not as good-hearted as I originally thought?


    Well¡­ they can easily let themselves be influenced by their own parents.


    Perhaps they didn''t want to be part of these rumors anymore and decided to cut their ties with Erika.


    She''s just a child, bunch of hypocrites¡­


    She''s just a kid¡­ What has she done so wrong to deserve such treatment?


    Ugh¡­ Well, this is always like this.


    Every I''ve visited¡­ Every Gxy¡­ All around the Universe where there is intelligent life.


    Discrimination, bullying, fear¡­ all these thingsbined always emerge. People discriminating against children for things that perhaps their parents did, which they are at no direct fault at ismon.


    Many times, they are even punished for merely existing.


    This is why I wanted to conquer the Universe, because I was going to make it all my Empire, all of it would change, all of this discrimination, all of these sick customs¡­


    Perhaps I was fueled by my desires as I was myself an orphan child discriminated for my "ursed lineage" as a Vampire.


    I know firsthand this pain very well.


    "Erika, I will protect you." I said.


    "Eh?" she suddenly dropped the wooden cup on the ground.


    Maybe¡­ I shouldn''t have said that.


    Despite being so old, I had my times when I acted recklessly. Even if it''s only words, I had said something out of my mind without thinking it twice.


    I suppose that even as an old fox, there''s still a traumatized child within my mind that wants to help those that had suffered the same things he had suffered.


    "Nothing¡­ Never mind." I said.


    "N-No¡­ I heard it! Y-You will protect me?" she asked. Her shiny eyes suddenly began to glow with golden light.


    "I¡­ I will." I said.


    "B-ke¡­ Y-You''re such a charming prince sometimes!" she said while blushing and covering her face.


    "Charming prince¡­? What are you even talking about?" I sighed.


    I''ve heard she reads a lot of fairy tales, so she probably gets influenced by such things a lot.


    "N-Nothing! N-Never mind¡­" she said while giggling cutely.


    Suddenly, I sensed the creepy stare of Something at our left side.


    We slowly looked at That.


    It was my mother with a smile, as her eyes shone brightly in fascination.


    "Fufu, so you''re doing such things at such an age! My son is really a prince charming!" giggled my mother.


    "M-Mother! Take that back!" I cried.


    I shouldn''t have said a single thing. I regret this.


    -----

 Chapter 7 Broken Friendship

    -----


    Since that day that Erika had begun toe visit me every day without fail.


    From the weekly times I would see her here and there, our rtionship and friendship deepened faster as she came to visit me every day.


    She often interrupted me while I meditated and expanded my Qi, but it wasn''t unpleasant, as I was able to meditate even while speaking or doing basic things. One of the various aspects of Qi usage is infusing it into your very mind and split your consciousness to multi-task.


    At some point, she began to sense as if something weird was happening with me. She clearly sensed there was an aura of some sort around me¡­ but she often kept silent about it, without bothering herself with pointing it out, which was good because I wouldn''t had wanted my parents finding out I was doing something dangerous enough that, if done wrong, could cripple me forever.


    I''ve been trying to visit Eric and Chris again. I saw them the other day ying in the za, the two kids who were always nice treated me as always.


    "Oh, ke! Wanna y ball?" said Chris.


    "My aunt said that I got faster!" said Eric.


    "Oh¡­ Sure. But have you seen Erika? I saw her the other day and she said that you guys are evading her." I said.


    "Ah¡­"


    "Well¡­"


    The two kids suddenly got a bit silent.


    "Well?" I asked.


    "Sigh¡­ It''splicated. Mom and dad said that we cannot get involved with her anymore¡­" sighed Chris. The ck-haired boy seemed a bit regretful.


    "Yeah, my auntie and uncle said the same¡­ We can''t, or they won''t teach me Spirit Techniques when I finally awaken my spirit¡­ You know it''s very important!" said Eric.


    "But didn''t you two enjoyed her presence? Weren''t we¡­ friends?" I asked.


    "Y-Yeah¡­ But¡­ We can be friends with you, ke!" said Chris.


    "Yeah, but¡­ not Erika." Said Eric.


    "So fast¡­" I sighed.


    "Huh?"


    "What?"


    These two left her side so fast over simplistic interests¡­ You make me feel ashamed to have thought you were my friends. Well, they''re children influenced by their parents after all. Sigh.


    "You''ve left her so fast despite having been friends of her for so long. If that''s the case, I don''t want to be your friends anymore. Scram now."


    "W-What?!"


    "ke?!"


    "Don''t you understand? She''spletely alone by herself. Discriminated by everyone for a reason we don''t even know about yet¡­ you just ept it and move on?" I asked.


    "¡­"


    "¡­"


    The two kids suddenly clenched their fists, they understood my words rather well. They felt frustrated. But I guess I shouldn''t be using big words with children, they still won''t understand I suppose.


    "M-Mom said she''s not a human!" said Chris.


    "What?" I asked.


    "S-She said¡­ T-That Erika is not a human¡­" said Chris.


    "I heard you the first time¡­ But why?" I asked.


    "I don''t know!" said Chris.


    The kid became angered the more I asked. I suppose it also hurt him deep down.


    "I-I am not going to meet Erika again¡­ I-I don''t have anything against her but¡­ My studies and my future are more important." Said Eric. The blonde boy, who was always a coward, suddenly grew bolder over his personal interests.


    "You two liked her yet you leave her aside¡­ Well, whatever." I sighed. I was going to walk away but Chris continued trash talking me. Children are seriously annoying.


    "Tch! And what makes you think you''re better than us?! Your parents are just¡­ idiots!" said Chris.


    "What did you said about my parents? Take it back." I said, as I moved towards Chris. I suddenly felt an impulse to force him to take back those words. My family has been raising me all this time with care and time. Even as a child, I felt it was my duty to reprimand him.


    The ck-haired boy looked at me with a defiant smile, as rage was flowing through his face.


    "Y-You don''t get it?! She''s discriminated for a reason! If your parents can''t even discern that, and let themselves get involved with her¡­ they''ll eventually end up being targeted too¡­ Your family are all idiots¡­!" said Chris, looking at my eyes from above. The kid was taller than me.


    "You dare call my family like this? This is thest chance you have, Chris. Just because we are friends, take it back. Have nobody taught you that it is wrong to insult somebody''s family? I have never done this to yours." I said.


    "T-Tch! I won''t take it back! And to be honest¡­ Y-You''re a creep anyways! You don''t even act like a kid, sometimes you feel like an old man! What is even wrong with you? Weirdo!" said Chris. As he pushed me back with his strength, trying to throw me onto the ground.


    However he quickly discovered that my body, although small, was as hard as a log and as firm as a rock.


    "H-Huh?"


    "Flowing Fist Technique: Punishment Of the Ignorant."


    "Eh?!"


    I infused Qi into my fists and moved my fists as if they were two flowing rivers, in a second my fist shed against his chest and stomach like two arrows that had hit their target as swiftly as possible. Two beams of shing golden light came out of them. Of course, it couldn''t even be said to be hits, more like gentle pats. I wasn''t going to hit a child, even if he was enraging me.


    "Wha...?!"


    Chris felt shocked, I didn''t actually damage him severely, but this type of hit really hurts. This is why it is called Punishment of the Ignorant. You are not meant to damage someone for being ignorant, but you punish them for being one, and then guide them to open their eyes after their learn their lesson. Perhaps a little scare so he would let me alone.


    "Aghhh¡­! H-How did you move so fast?!" he asked, as he kneeled due to losing his bnce.


    "I am well versed in martial arts." I said.


    "M-Martial¡­ Arts?"


    Chris rushed forward towards me. As I felt his Mana began to awaken due to his rage. His body began to overflow with Mana, as mes began to emerge from his fists. Is this a sign of his spirit soon to awaken? We are four years old after all¡­ so it''s possible.


    I looked at him calmly.


    "You think that your mana is enough to even make me falter. Fine, try your best, my former friend."


    "S-Shut up, idiot!"


    He roared angrily as he tried to hit my face several times, his zing fist were hot, if I were to be touched by them, I would suffer severe damage.


    sh! sh! sh!


    However, his attacks were clumsy and predictable.


    "You''re terrible at fighting, what with that posture? Move your fists swifter, not stronger. Someone that can''t even hit their target doesn''t even deserve to call himself a fighter. Do you n to be a Spirit Master with such feeble movements, Chris?" I said.


    "S-Shut up!"


    He continued to try to hit me, as I evaded swiftly and then, I reached to his left side without him even realizing.<sub> </sub>


    I gathered my Qi into my palm as I put on a posture of eternal harmony and peace. My entire aura suddenly calmed itself to the point of pure tranquility.


    And I moved my palm towards the left side of his rib, touching it gently.


    A wave of invisible energy suddenly shaped as arge palm hit Chris, pushing him a meter away from me and throwing him to the ground.


    BAM!


    "Ugh...!"


    He fell to the ground, as he put himself into a fetal position while gritting his teeth. He was fine, however.


    "Agh..."


    "Don''t worry. It only hurts. The fist of tranquility doesn''t leave any damage, if I don''t want it to." I said.


    Indeed, the Fist of Tranquility is a technique where I can choose to either damage a person''s innards and burst them into pieces, or not, only overflowing their bodies with energy, which makes them tired. There''s the initial push, but that''s it. Even a four year old kid can survive that.


    "W-Who¡­ taught you that?" asked Chris.


    "Myself." I said.


    I looked to Eric after that. The blonde boy was trembling in horror on the ground. Sitting on his butt and gritting his teeth.


    "Y-You monster¡­! Leave Chris alone!" he said, as he rushed forward and protected his friend.


    "Sigh¡­ First of all, he insulted my family. You never insult a person''s family. Second, I don''t like hitting kids anyways. This was just a punishment. There is no actual damage to his body, only the pain of defeat." I said.


    "W-What are you?" asked Chris.


    "I am ke, your friend¡­ But not anymore. I don''t want to have anything to do with you nor Eric. Don''t daree closer to me or Erika ever again." I said, as I walked back home.


    "Nngh¡­ W-Who cares anyways?! Get lost!" said Chris angrily.


    "ke¡­" sighed Eric. He seemed saddened.


    I went back home with a bitter expression on my face, to think that things would end this way. I would have liked to not utilize violence. But I felt it was necessary to uphold justice over the discrimination to Erika, and also to his insult to my family.


    Even as the thousand-year-old man I was before, I always hit in the face those that dared to offend those I loved, and in this life, I won''t falter either. I am no pushover. I am a fervent believer that a fist can sometimes speak a thousand words, and my fist spoke to Chris, and told him that he was not even at my level. Nheless, deep down I still feel rather ashamed I hit a kid. Maybe I let my emotions get the best of me. I should had simply ignored them.


    I am getting too emotional, I should calm down... Maybe I took it too personal. Even as I am right now, I feel like there''s a lot of room for my own personality to grow. I suppose such expereinces were never there in my previous life.


    ¡­


    Although¡­


    It feels so bitter.


    I really¡­ would have liked them to be my friends.


    I clenched my fist, as I felt exhausted. Utilizing Qi was very exhausting, I almost used it all in just those two techniques.


    I have to be careful to not overuse it, or I might damage my Pressure Points.


    "Sigh¡­:"


    Suddenly, I sensed someone following me.


    I quickly stopped walking and confronted it.


    But it was a pink-haired girl.


    "Erika?" I asked.


    "B-ke¡­ W-Why did you fight with them?!" she asked.


    "Did you see that? I am sorry. You shouldn''t had seen that." I sighed.


    "B-But weren''t we all friends? W-Why¡­ why are you fighting¡­" she sighed, tearsing out of her eyes.


    "I had to do it to uphold justice to my beliefs. I couldn''t tolerate them talking bad about you, nor how Chris insulted my family¡­ This is how I am. I am not a conventional person that sucks it up and cries in a corner when people insult me or those I love. I fight back." I said.


    "¡­ke." She sighed, slowly moving towards me, and hugging me.


    Her warm tears began to cover my chest as I sighed. I caressed her silky pink hair as Iforted her.


    "Y-You''re the only friend I have¡­ Nobody¡­ nobody likes me¡­" she cried.


    "Don''t worry¡­ I am still your friend¡­ You will never lose my friendship, as it is worth a hundred Gxies. So make sure to treasure it." I said.


    She looked into my eyes as she smiled.


    "Hm! I¡­ I-I will treasure it¡­ D-Do you treasure my friendship?" she asked.


    "I do." I said, as I hugged her back.


    "ke¡­ Sniff¡­ Buaaah¡­!"


    Erika began to cry loudly. I don''t know how many things she had gone through, but I felt like she was letting out all her frustrations now, all her sorrows, all her pain.


    She had umted a lot of that.


    Poor child¡­


    "Now, now, don''t cry anymore. Such a pretty face is better when you''re smiling as radiantly as you always do." I said.


    "Ah¡­" Erika suddenly blushed at my honest words.


    "Now let''s go back to my home, I think mother''s lunch is almost ready¡­" I said.


    "S-Sure!" she said, as she smiled back while I wiped her tears.


    "Good, that''s a better face." I said.


    She suddenly held my hand tightly, without letting it go.


    We walked back home while holding hands, which felt embarrassing.


    "Oh my! W-What is this?! Little Erika! Have you already conquered my boy''s heart?!" she asked.


    "W-What? No! I mean¡­ That''s not it! She''s holding my hand because¡­ She was a bit vulnerable before." I said.


    Erika let go of my hand as she smiled back and then went to hug my mother.


    "Erika¡­" said my mother.


    "T-Thank you, miss Mary¡­ for being so nice with me¡­" she said.


    "Ah¡­ Dear¡­ Oh dear¡­ Of course¡­ You''re such a precious little angel. I don''t care what others would ever say about you." Said my mother, hugging back Erika and kissing her forehead.


    I have a good mother.


    -----

 Chapter 8 The Doll Maker

    -----


    After deciding to cut ties with Chris and Eric, I''ve been ignoring them every time I see them around the za. I mostly go there with Erika, although the intense res from people get very annoying, there''s nothing much I can do over it, so I''ve decided to just ignore them.


    Mere res don''t hurt anyone anyways, as long as they don''t daree and insult us in the face, I will not chase down every person thates across and looks at us strangely.


    Erika is very strong, she had already learned how to ignore such res, and has been ignoring them very well, as if they were not there anymore.


    I had tried to sneak once into the forest with her so I could catch some small animal and extract its blood, but my parents are always everywhere I am, so they caught me and brought me back home.


    Erika had even spent some nights in my room, sleeping on a second bed. Now that I am about to be five years of age, sleeping in the cradle won''t do, so I am sleeping in a small bed. There was another bed too, which used to belong to my mother, so that''s where Erika sleeps whenever she wants to stay here.


    I''ve been growing more interested in her abilities, however. As I recall my fight with Chris, I remembered that he had used Mana even when his spirit had yet to be born.


    So why couldn''t Erika do that too and practice to grow stronger? So over a year, I have been trying to teach her how to grow stronger using her Mana.


    She had been doing it very clumsily. But she can do it, she''s certainly capable of sensing her own Mana, which is incidentally pink colored like her hair.


    Over a year I''ve been trying to teach her, and well, she had actually managed to learn a few basic techniques in the usage of Mana such as Mana Control, Mana Sense, and Mana Reinforcement. It was arduous because she''s not really talented, but my teaching abilities are on point even now that I''ve been reincarnated.


    She can now control mana better, enhance her senses using it, and also reinforce parts of her body at will too. However, that''s kind of all¡­ I tried teaching her spells in secret, but she was too confused to use them, she might need a bit more time, and perhaps some written books to help her conjure spells.


    But in this world people don''t use conventional spells though, but spirit techniques which uses their spirits¡­ So maybe she''ll be able to learn that faster than spells.


    I had once tried to sense her Pressure Points and her Qi, though.


    "Now calm down, and rest on the bed, I will slowly sense your body''s Pressure Points, so rx." I said.


    "I-If I can unlock them, will I be able to move amazingly like you did back then?" she asked.


    "I think so, but calm down for now and let me do my job, Erika." I said.


    "O-Okay¡­!"


    Erika closed her eyes and rested on the bed as stiff as a log. I hadn''t told her to close her eyes but whatever.


    I infused Qi into my hand and then inserted it into her body like a wave.


    There''s a method to awaken Pressure Points through the usage of an external Qi user. It was hard to do it myself, but I can easily awaken another''s person''s Pressure Points if I do it myself.


    I haven''t done it with my parents because they''ll make a fuss and question me how I even knew this stuff, but Erika is an intelligent girl that always keeps our secrets, so I trust her more.


    I expanded the waves of Qi trying to find her Pressure Points but¡­


    "Huh?"


    There¡­. There were none?


    How?


    She had no Pressure Points.


    Strange, I had never seen someone in my entire past life without some. Even the most bizarre aliens I''ve meet had Pressure Points and could cultivate Qi.


    But she doesn''t have any? How is that even possible?


    Is she¡­ really not a human?


    What is Erika then?


    I stopped doing this a I looked down at her. I began to inspect her body some more using Qi Waves, and then I realized something bizarre.


    She was hollow.


    There were no organs inside of her.


    There were no bones.


    What¡­?!


    This¡­ Erika¡­ W-What kind of entity is her?


    I almost fell on my butt over the disbelief and the strange, bizarre feeling I felt all over my head. I looked at Erika not with fear, or something, but with concern.


    She suddenly opened her eyes as she looked back at me.


    "Hm? ke?" she asked innocently.


    "¡­Nothing, it seems that you''re more talented in Mana usage, Erika¡­ So just stick with that for now." I said.


    "O-Oh¡­ alright." She said while nodding.


    She seems to be unaware of her own body structure.


    Who¡­ can answer my questions now? I can''t just tell her what I saw.


    She will most likely feel just as terrified.


    Who wouldn''t feel terrified when they discover that they''re not even humans? That¡­ your entire body is actually just hollow?


    I can''t tell her this.


    "Erika how about we go y for now? Wanna y ball?" I asked.


    "Yeah!" she said happily.


    For now, I decided to simply leave this thought aside¡­ I will try to find answers soon.


    ¡­


    After many days since then, I had managed to convince Erika to bring me to her home.


    "B-But it''s a bit dark and cramped inside so¡­ D-Don''t point it out¡­ My bed is a mess too¡­" she said.


    "Sigh¡­ Instead of just talking about that why didn''t you just fixed it then?" I asked.<sub> </sub>


    "Eeehehe¡­ I would rather spend time with you than waste it making my bed¡­!" she said.


    "Hm, you''re justzy." I said.


    "Geh¡­"


    As I reprimanded her, we reached Erika''s home, which was outside the wooden wall of the vige. Rather far away from the rest of the entire vige.


    She slowly opened the door with a key, as the darkness of the inside greeted us.


    "Daddy, I''m home!" she said, walking inside.


    "Ahh¡­ Dear, wee back¡­" her father greeted us. He was sitting near a desk only with a few candles illuminating the darkness of the entire house.


    He looked old. A man around his mid 50''s to almost 60''s¡­ I can''t believe he''s the father of her.. Did he have her so old? She''s almost five years old like me.


    When I entered the room, Erika presented me to her father.


    "Papa! He''s ke, my best friend! I''ve talked to you about him, right?" she said, as her father kissed her forehead and hugged her as a greeting.


    "Ooooh! I see! So you''re ke! Boy, thank you for being such a good friend with my little girl¡­ She''s always so lonely, and I am not fun either, so she doesn''t want to stay with this old man all the time¡­ I am deeply grateful for offering such a long friendship with her¡­ Y-You¡­ you mean a lot to her," he said. The old man didn''t have pink hair, but gray hair and pale blue eyes. I couldn''t really find anything that made him look like Erika¡­ Maybe she descended more from her mother?


    "It is nice to meet you, sir¡­" I said.


    "Name''s Gustav. Feel free to call me just with my name. Formalities are not my thing, haha." Giggled the old man.


    He seemed weak, his entire body¡­ his Qi was slowly emptying, his vitality was running low, his body will soon perish out of old age and exhaustion.


    But I also felt this glowing bright light of mana in his chest, his Spirit Orb was Rank 1 like my parents, but it was a few stages higher, so he was fairly strong, magically.


    If I could relearn my Hands of Nirvana, I could¡­ do some treatment to his old body and give him a few years of lifespan, but¡­ without Mana, that''s impossible, and even if I had, I would need immense quantities of not only energy but divine power, something I cannot possibly fathom to get for years toe.


    "Thank you Gustav, sir." I said.


    Erika quickly infused mana into a light bulb as the entire home was illuminated, and several things hiding in the dark were revealed to me.


    "Hehe, look! My daddy is a talented carpenter!" she said.


    The entire room was filled with many furniture pieces masterfully crafted by the old man. I felt amazed by his great crafting talent. However¡­ there was something disturbing breaking the sense of beauty of this ce.


    Countless wooden dolls were hanging around the entire home. Many of them unfinished, sitting in the corners, above other furniture and more. So many I couldn''t count them all¡­ there were threads, fabric, and cloths around, and even hair¡­


    Was he a doll maker? Erika''s doll must have been made by him.


    His desk was filled with things that he used to carve through wood as well, and there was actually a long leg-shaped wooden piece resting on the table, which he quickly covered with cloth, as if he didn''t wanted me to see it.


    "D-Don''t let yourself feel intimidated! I sell furniture and dolls, the people love to buy them, that''s how we get through the year." Said Gustav.


    "I see¡­ You''re very talented." I said.


    "Ooh, thank you! It is nice to be recognized from time to time, hahah¡­"ughed Gustav. He seemed honest, an honest and gentle-hearted man. I couldn''t discern any malice within him at all, even through constantly inspecting his Aura of Emotions which every person has through my enhanced eyes using Qi. He was a genuine person.


    But he¡­ held a dark secret. I don''t know what it is but it might be rted to Erika.


    Erika led me to her room upstairs, which was a mess with clothes of her spread all around the ce, and dolls, countless dolls she used to y with to not feel so lonely. It was honestly rather sad.


    "You really got a mess in here¡­ Alright, we are going to clean all of this, Erika." I said.


    "Eeeh? But let''s y doll house!" she said.


    "No buts! We are cleaning this." I said.


    "Geez¡­ O-Okay¡­ Don''t get angry¡­" she sighed.


    We spent roughly two hours cleaning her entire room, it was really a big mess.


    However, when things were tidied up, it really looked like a pretty girl''s room.  It was a good job well done.


    "Better¡­" I sighed in relief. I am rather obsessed with cleaning.


    "Phew¡­ Okay, now let''s y!" she said.


    "Sure thing." I said.


    And like that, I meet all her doll friends. She had named all of them. She remembered each of her doll''s names as well¡­ It was quite impressive she had such amazing memory.


    After that, her father invited me to have dinner with them, and I epted. In there I was able to see his Spirit¡­ his Spirit was a Tool Spirit named Puppeteer Threads, which glowed with pink light.


    He used them to not only control puppets and make them work as servants, but also, he used them to move around objects with ease. It was an incredible useful Tool Spirit.


    "Hoho, amazed, ke? You''ll get an amazing Spirit as well! I am sure of it, you''re a talented kid after all, very talented kid." Said Gustav.


    "Daddy will I get a Spirit too? I want a strong one!" said Erika.


    "Hehe, of course you will, dear. You''re a strong girl." Said Gustav with a smile. Although his smile carried a bit of mncholy.


    "I can''t wait!" said Erika while smiling radiantly.


    "Hm, now, time to eat!" said Gustav.


    Gustav served us some nice pork stew with potatoes. It was rather generous in the amount of potatoes it had, alongside carrots, while it had little meat here and there, but it was still good and filled the belly.


    "Phew, thanks for the dinner." I said.


    "It was yummy!" said Erika.


    "Hehe, I am d you liked it." said Gustav.


    After the dinner, I had told my parents I was staying with her beforehand, so Erika invited me to sleep in her room.


    She didn''t have a second bed, but her bed was enormous, so both of us could sleep there ratherfortably.


    -----

 Chapter 9 The Diary Of A Craftsman

    -----


    "ke, did you have fun here?" she asked.


    "Indeed. It was a fun experience, Erika. See? You can also invite me to your house. I had my fun as well. You father is a good man." I said.


    "Yeah! I know¡­ Daddy is the best¡­" she said.


    Erika quickly fell asleep after she took a warm bath, and I decided to close my eyes at her side. While she had yet to let go of my hand.


    ¡­


    Suddenly, in the middle of the night I woke up.


    I found that her warm hand was not holding my own anymore, as I looked at my side, Erika wasn''t there.


    Was she in the bathroom? I guess I shouldn''t worry so much.


    I decided to close my eyes and sleep again, but I heard sounds down stairs.


    Could her father be working thiste at night?


    Erika¡­


    I had a bad feeling about this¡­


    I swiftly jumped out of bed as I slowly walked through the darkness of the night.


    Infusing Qi into my eyes allowed me to use the Night Vision Technique, so I was able to clearly see through the dark without many problems.


    I swiftly and stealthily moved downstairs, without making any sound.


    I reached the first floor rapidly after I had checked that the bathroom on the first floor was not being used by her.


    Within the darkness there were many candles light around.


    And then I saw the figure of an old man, Gustav, working intensively into something, crafting something, sticking things together, as his Puppeteer Threads moved around.


    I noticed that the gentle eyes were gone, as his eyes had turned obsessed, he was sweating profusely all over his face, and swallowing saliva.


    While murmuring something as he worked on something he had on the table.


    "Erika¡­ You have to grow up a bit now¡­ Erika¡­ Don''t worry¡­ dear¡­ Daddy will fix you up¡­ So¡­ tired¡­" he sighed. He was working with all his might and soul into something¡­


    I nced at that something using my Night Vision.


    There was arge doll with pink hair.


    Her stomach was open, and she had various limbs missing.


    She looked like Erika.


    Her eyes¡­ were open.


    And she seemed to be in pain.


    "Papa it hurts¡­"


    Eh?


    It spoke¡­


    "Stop¡­"


    It spoke again.


    "I can''t¡­ You must¡­ grow up dear¡­ I can''t¡­"


    Gustav muttered those words, answering the speaking doll.


    Was he using his powers over this doll so it could speak?


    No¡­


    I had my suspiciousness before but¡­


    This is¡­


    "Daddy¡­ Will I be a real girl one day?" asked the doll.


    "Yes¡­ Y-You will be a real girl one day¡­. I¡­ I promise you¡­" muttered her father, as little tears began to flow out of his old eyes.


    My eyes looked into the doll as I noticed that¡­ there was a glowing orb in her chest, shing with bright pink light, and¡­ Aether.


    Where there is Aether, there is a soul.


    This was¡­


    Erika''s soul?


    "I want to be a real girl so I can marry ke¡­"


    "Y-You will surely marry him¡­ I will¡­ make sure that you will be a beautiful woman¡­"


    Why?


    Why is she¡­


    She''s¡­


    A doll.


    Not in all my previous life had I felt this feeling of pain in my heart.


    I gritted my teeth intensively, as I swiftly moved back to Erika''s room.


    I rested on the bed, sighing.


    I can''t believe what I''ve seen.


    Erika¡­ she''s a doll.


    She''s¡­


    That''s why she was hollow inside.


    That''s why¡­ she didn''t have Pressure Points.


    This is why she didn''t have Qi and was only filled with intense quantities of Mana.


    Her father¡­ what¡­ what did he do with his children?


    Did¡­


    Did he make her into a doll?


    What kind of¡­ sick bastard would do such a thing to their daughter?!


    My mind began to be eaten away by the horror of such a thought. I had seen many horrors but such a horror as this still impacted me.


    So this is why they say that Erika is not human.


    Someone spread the rumor around the vige that she wasn''t a human, that she was¡­ a doll.


    Or something happened that made it obvious to them.


    I felt the urge to confront them, but the procedure that¡­ Gustav was doing seemed delicate, I didn''t wanted to interrupt them.


    I forced myself to close my eyes, and slept.


    Although I had strange nightmares that night¡­


    I was surrounded by dolls as they all looked down at me.


    "You saw it! You saw it!"


    "Stop, move away!"


    "You saw her now!"


    "I did¡­ So what?!"


    "You know the truth!"


    "Eh?"


    "The taboo that the old man did!"


    "Taboo?!"


    "The taboo that went against the Holy Spirits!"


    "What are you even talking about? This is a¡­ Could it be? A prophetic dream?"


    The dolls continued to speak, floating around me.


    "You know! You know the taboo!"<sub> </sub>


    "The sin has been revealed!"


    "The doll child¡­!"


    "And the puppeteer father!"


    "Hehehehe¡­!"


    "Hahahahaha¡­!"


    "Gyahahahaha!"


    ¡­


    I opened my eyes in shock.


    I gasped for air as I covered my face with my hands, cleaning the sweat off my face.


    What was that?


    What¡­ was that just now?!


    It was¡­ so horrendous.


    But I have a strong heart. I decided to calm myself down, as I''ve seen worse horrors at the end.


    I sighed in relief, closed my eyes, and mediated for half a minute.


    After that, my mind was clearer and my thought shaper¡­


    ¡­


    And there she was. Erika was sleeping soundly atop the bed, like nothing had ever happenedst night.


    Could it had been all a dream?


    Maybe¡­ Erika is not really¡­ that¡­


    Right?


    No¡­ Who am I trying to trick? I know very well she is that¡­ a Doll¡­


    "Erika¡­" I sighed, as I looked at her with contempt.


    I touched her little hand, it was warm.


    What kind of magic does her father uses to make her seem so realistic despite being a doll deep down? Her body produces warmth, and her eyes can cry, she can consume food and convert it into energy such as Mana¡­


    Her entire existence is incredibly intricate.


    But¡­


    What monster is her father to have¡­ done such a thing to his daughter?


    I cannot stay here.


    I quickly moved away from the bed, looking back at Erika sleeping soundly.


    I swiftly moved to the stairs and head downstairs.


    Her father was there, sleeping over the desk.


    He sensed me walk downstairs as I did it particrly loud, he opened his eyes and looked at me.


    "Ahh¡­ ke¡­ You''ve woken up early this morning." He said.


    "Gustav, what have you done to Erika?" I asked.


    My question shocked the man, as he looked at me with trembling lips and eyes wide open.


    "Y-You¡­ saw that¡­?!" he asked.


    "So you''ve confessed it rather quickly¡­ Erika¡­ She''s a doll, right?" I asked.


    "¡­No! My daughter is¡­ my daughter is a girl¡­ a real girl!" he said.


    "Eh?"


    The man began to deny the truth, as he grabbed the little hair left on his head, frically pulling it out as if he was undergoing a psychotic attack.


    "Calm down!" I said. I quickly touched his chest and infused Qi into it.


    "Ungh?! Ahh¡­ Ahh¡­"


    A slight pain woke him up from his daze, and then, he began to gasp for air, but quickly after, he felt better.


    This is a technique known as "Wave of Peace", it is supposed to break the bones of the one it touches. But if you use it without the intention of damage, it has the effect of bringing tranquility into the mind of even the sickest old man.


    "W-What¡­ was that?" he asked in shock.


    "A technique of my own. You''re feeling better now. Gustav, I want you to tell me the truth¡­ Did you kill Erika?!" I asked.


    "Ah¡­! No¡­! I would never¡­! I would never do such a thing to my daughter! If ever¡­ I wish I could had¡­ I wish I could had saved her¡­" he sighed.


    "Saved her?" I asked.


    "I¡­ I don''t want to talk about this¡­ Please, read this¡­ You will¡­ understand in due time what had happened to my dear Erika¡­ I only want her to be happy¡­" he sighed.


    The man handed me an old book, no, a diary with his own notes. This was old, moving many years in the past, when he was way younger¡­ this book is older than Erika for sure.


    "¡­"


    I stood in silence, I moved near a chair and began reading it, while ring down at Gustav to not try anything tricky.


    ¡­


    (September 27, Year 3382 of the Spirit Awakening Era)


    Since wife constantly asked me to get a diary so I could record my every day for the future, I decided to buy a small clean book for it. It cost rather expensive at 2 Gold Coins, but the job we have at the capital surely pays for it rather easily.


    Well, and even I didn''t have one, my wife was the third princess of the Kingdom of Goldriver, so I suppose I could have asked her for money¡­ But I feel like abusing the status of my wife for such things is dishonorable. A man shouldn''t go asking their wife for money. If I can work on my own using my talents, I can more than easily buy my own things.


    Since I was born in the little Orange Vige, I dreamed abouting to the capital, to think my life would lead to knowing the love of my life, who also secretly ended up being the third princess of the Kingdom¡­ It all feels like a dream when I look back at what I''ve reached¡­


    I will keep working on making excellent furniture for the royals and the aristocrats, it seems that my artistic talents have finally paid off! Even more, my dolls are also selling good with all the young girls, so my business are blooming.


    I am already a well-known craftsman of the Capital¡­ I couldn''t be happier.


    ¡­


    (November 2, Year 3382 of the Spirit Awakening Era)


    Today I have received news that had blown me away, my beloved wife, Cattalina, is pregnant with our child¡­ after being married for four years now, being blessed with a child so soon has made me rather surprised, but I will make sure to work hard to raise my child as much as I can.


    Also¡­ there are some rumors about a strange disease going around the farther territories of the Kingdom, but with our magic here, it is very unlikely that any disease could even affect us.


    ¡­


    (January 5, Year 3383 of the Spirit Awakening Era)


    Today I''ve managed to design new types of furniture that will revolutionize the capital, sentient ones! Using my knowledge about golem creation and my special Spirit Tool, it is possible to make permanently sentient furniture by inserting Spirit Orbs inside as cores. I''ve only done it with animal and monster cores, but if I could find that of an human, things would be very good! I could¡­ even make them into dolls for people to have loyal servants! This could lead to a great new era¡­


    ¡­


    (March 4, Year 3383 of the Spirit Awakening Era)


    My beautiful wife Cattalina has been growing a bit restlesstely, her pregnancy has left her rather tired, she''s always resting and sometimes grows a bit grumpy¡­ But even then I still love her dearly.


    Her belly has grown biggertely, I am so excited to see our child be born in the future¡­


    Oh, I am still preparing the sentient furniture and dolls, but it should be done. I had to get my hands dirty a bit and buy some spirit orbs from humans that were formerly criminals in the ck market, but I have already done it, its time to try it out¡­


    ¡­


    (April 10, Year 3383 of the Spirit Awakening Era)


    Things have gone terrible wrong.


    The sentient furniture went berserk, and they almost killed the people that I was presenting them to¡­ apparently, the souls of these people are still within the spirit orbs, fueling them with their former criminal instincts.


    The entire showcase was a failure, and the royal family have lowered their view on me¡­ I feel ashamed of myself, even more now as the older brother of my wife, the second prince Augberto had showed evidence I bought the spirit orbs illegally¡­


    The King has decided to exile me from the Kingdom due to the dishonor I have brought to the royal family¡­


    D-Damn Augberto! I knew he had something to do with this! He actually wanted me out of this because¡­ I could have be a future King if my wife were to be the Queen, even though I had said several times I didn''t want such a role¡­ he still saw me as a target.


    But my wife and our child¡­


    Cattalina seemed angered at me, but she still loved me despite what I''ve done, and decided toe with me and live in a faraway Vige¡­


    ¡­


    -----

 Chapter 10 The Truth

    -----


    (May 5, Year 3383 of the Spirit Awakening Era)


    My wife has just given birth to our beautiful daughter, her name is Erika, and she''s just as beautiful as her mother such long and beautiful pink hair¡­ she''s dazzling, she has the royal bloodline within her, and could even be a princess.


    My little princess¡­ Your father is really¡­ a shameful man¡­ But I will make sure to protect you and raise you with all the love I have¡­ you''re the most important treasure of my life.


    ¡­


    (June 7, Year 3383 of the Spirit Awakening Era)


    Since our daughter was born we have been working hard around the crops to make some more vegetables, using the saved-up money I had, I got myself some wood and began to carve it, making up some furniture and other things, and selling them off quite easily. With this we could maintain ourselves.


    In the side, I''ve begun to craft dolls for my little girl so she can always have toys to y with.


    ¡­


    (July 21, Year 3383 of the Spirit Awakening Era)


    Things had been going rather fine, we had been hiding the fact that we formerly belonged to the family of royals of the Kingdom to not cause a ruckus. My wife does likes this simpler farmer life as well, we are doing fine¡­ I am happy to be with my wife and my daughter, and don''t need anything else.


    ¡­


    (February 1, Year 3384 of the Spirit Awakening Era)


    A lot of things happenedst year¡­ But we have managed to pull through things. Erika is growing bigger and even more dazzling. Her little hands always hold on to my tired fingers, she''s such a pure angel. My reason for living¡­


    ¡­


    (May 5, Year 3384 of the Spirit Awakening Era)


    My little girl is now a year old. I can''t believe it has been a year since she was born. She''s growing so big and healthy; her puffy cheeks are so cute. My wife is as beautiful as ever as well, she''s working hard in the fields with me. We are doing just fine.


    ¡­


    (August 8, Year 3385 of the Spirit Awakening Era)


    My girl is now two years of age, and she couldn''t be more beautiful¡­ but¡­ there''s something odd.


    Just yesterday our girl began to cough and suffer a strong fever, no matter the item or potion we used, no matter her mother''s healing spell, she wasn''t healing.


    We brought her to a doctor and an alchemist, and he found out she was inflicted with a strange disease that has been affecting some of the young children around this town¡­ around all the towns of the Kingdom.


    The Kingdom had quarantined itself from the outside world and closed its walls, leaving all themoners to suffer this disease, which only affects young children between one amd three years of age.


    My little Erika¡­


    This disease is strange, many call it the Curse of the Demon King of Sloth, a disease that spread around the world after thest Demonic Tower exploration several years in the past when the survivors of a raid came back after having tried to conquer the 20th floor and failing miserably¡­


    There''s¡­ no current cure to it other than praying to the Holy Spirits.


    Erika¡­


    ¡­


    (August 19, Year 3385 of the Spirit Awakening Era)


    After having seemingly recovered and feeling healthy again, Erika suddenly got worse out of nowhere, and began to cough blood. My dear little angel, please don''t die on us¡­ I¡­ I don''t know what I will do if you''re gone. I don''t know what¡­ No¡­


    No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No.


    NO!


    Erika¡­


    I¡­ I¡­ I won''t let you die! No!


    ¡­


    (August 20, Year 3385 of the Spirit Awakening Era)


    Our daughter gave herst breath the next day, but I wasn''t going to let her truly die. In between tears and without letting my wife know I extracted her Spirit Orb from her chest, and utilized forbidden magic through a Dark Magic Grimoire I had acquired to seal her soul in her Spirit Orb¡­


    T-This way, she won''t die.


    My Erika¡­


    Your beautiful little soul¡­ I will treasure it¡­


    I will give you a strong body that will never fall to diseases.


    You will be strong, and live the life you were deserved to have.


    My little beautiful princess¡­


    I won''t let you die.


    I will¡­ bring you back, no matter how many years it takes¡­


    ¡­


    (November 5, Year 3425 of the Spirit Awakening Era)


    After arduous work for years and years¡­ after working so hard¡­ after going to visit her body''s graveyard andforting my sorrowful wife¡­ I have finally managed to do it.


    Erika!


    Erika, you''re finally back¡­


    I had made the perfect doll, the strongest most durable wood, all my forbidden magic knowledge, and the power of my Spirit¡­ All for my daughter¡­


    Erika¡­ Wee back.


    ¡­


    (November 6, Year 3425 of the Spirit Awakening Era)<sub> </sub>


    Why?


    Why don''t you love her back?!


    Cattalina! She¡­ she said that she wasn''t our daughter.


    She said that our daughter had died, and what I''ve done was create a monstrosity.


    H-How can she call her own daughter, the one she had in her womb, as a monstrosity?!


    Against our daughter''s desires, her sorrowful cries, and her supplications, my wife ran away from the house, without even being able to face her.


    Why? She''s¡­ our daughter.


    Why would you¡­ think such a thing¡­


    Cattalina¡­


    ¡­


    (May 6, Year 3430 of the Spirit Awakening Era)


    My little girl finally made a good friend. She had grown fond of him¡­ his name is ke.


    She just celebrated her birthday in his house. She told me they had made her a cake, and even feed her well. ke is a good boy, he takes care of my little girl, and doesn''t discriminate against her despite the rumors¡­


    My Erika is not a monster¡­ she''s a human, and he knows it, he can see through her beautiful soul.


    My beautiful girl is growing more and more. I have to keep up with her growth and make more pieces for her, adapt and slowly change her body so she can continue growing and maturing, despite being made of wood.


    My girl always asks me if she can be a "real girl"¡­ it pains me that she had realized what she is sote, when she''s already in love with that boy.


    She wants to be a real girl so he can love her back and the two can have a family.


    Erika¡­ Your thoughts are so innocent and noble¡­ my little girl¡­


    I will make sure that you grow up¡­


    But¡­ I don''t know if there is a way¡­ to give you flesh body¡­


    ¡­


    I closed the diary as I looked deeply into the old man in front of me. Despite all the years I''ve lived and all the tragedies I''ve gone through I couldn''t contain the bubbling emotions inside of my heart.


    The sorrow I felt as I experienced this man''s hardships made me realize how strong and perseverant, he was. To dedicate years after years to bring her back¡­ but only as a doll.


    It only brings me to the understanding of how harsh reality always is¡­ how disappointing it often is.


    Despite all of that, Erika is here, growing by his own hand, his own craft¡­


    I am not a moralistic person. I don''t find this particrly wrong. The girl had already died, the father wanted her back¡­ I suppose what he had done might had been what I would have also tried to do in his ce.


    Who can I even trick? I might have tried things even crazier than those.


    I never had a child in my life but¡­ I can already tell I would treasure it more than anything in my life.


    Because of this, I understand his suffering and his decisions, as crazy as they might sound. Well, I was already an insane man in my previous life.


    Perhaps I can empathize with him due to this.


    "I see¡­ You''ve had it hard, Gustav¡­ You''re a strong man." I said.


    "ke¡­"


    Gustav looked at me with sorrowful eyes, I sighed as I hugged the old man.


    "Eh? Y-You''re hugging me?" he asked in between tears.


    "Indeed. I am not a corny person, but sometimes I just feel like doing what my heart is telling me to do. Gustav, I will take care of your daughter, rest assured." I said.


    "B-ke¡­ Despite knowing the truth¡­ you¡­?" he asked.


    "What? Of course I will still protect her and see her as my friend. Do you think I am such a superficial person? I am not." I said.


    "Boy¡­" he said.


    "You worked hardst night¡­ Although it hurt me to hear her little words, I understand the pain you''ve gone through, and her strong desire to be a real girl too¡­ I will one day find a way¡­ I have the knowledge to do it, I only require the power and the resources." I said.


    "W-What? You¡­ know of a way? How?!" he asked.


    "I know many things, Gustav. I will use this knowledge and bring her back, in the flesh¡­" I said.


    "Why¡­? Why are you so¡­ devoted to her?" he asked.


    "I am not really devoted to her. Doing this for a friend is something natural thates from the depth of my heart. I once had¡­ many friends. And I lost them all. I don''t want the same thing to happen ever again¡­ And I will treasure her." I said.


    "I-I see¡­" Gustav nodded, without questioning me anymore.


    "Anyways, I will go wake her up, she was sleeping soundly. That girl is always a sloth," I said.


    "She sleeps to recover her Mana, it is the fuel of her body¡­" said Gustav.


    "I see¡­ The work you''ve done on her is wonderful. You''re a skilled craftsman of the first category." I said.


    "T-Thank you¡­ To be recognized after so long¡­ It fills me with a bit of happiness and embarrassment¡­ haha¡­" sighed Gustav.


    "I''ll help her grow stronger, so you better hang on for now with us, you hear me?" I asked.


    "Y-Yes¡­ I won''t go down until I see my girl be an adult¡­" said Gustav.


    "Good¡­ Here." I said. I touched the man''s shoulders and infused Qi into his body, forcefully awakening his Pressure Points and his Core. They were old and he won''t get much of it but¡­ if he can slowly umte Qi, his body will repurpose it to extend his life a little bit more, even¡­ if a few more years, that''s enough.


    If I had Hands of Nirvana, I could extend his lifespan indefinitely¡­ but that''s a technique I have yet to attain.


    -----

 Chapter 11 Talent Awakening And Spirit Summon Ceremony

    -----


    It has been three months since my fifth birthday, and today, my chest was glowing very bright red. It was time to finally awaken my Spirit.


    After such a long time¡­ after all the things I''ve lived in this little time as a child in Spiritias, I can finally awaken the special power that everyone has, alongside Mana.


    However, unlike the other kids such as Chris, I couldn''t use Mana before my awakening, and I still can''t¡­ Why? Is there some sort of talent for Mana Usage I don''t possess? Such an annoying thing.


    Since the incident with Erika things had¡­ not changed at all. I had not revealed to her that I know that she is a Doll, as it might depress her to know such a thing.


    I want her to keep being friendly with me, and to not be afraid of me thinking that she''s a monster or something, perhaps, for now, while she''s still maturing.


    Her soul is way older than she is, but her father had kept her in a deep slumber until he managed to get her new body.


    I have not told anyone about the truth either, nor any of my parents either. I had kept this a secret.


    And today was the day.


    All kids at age 5 and above gathered around the shrine, a special area with a strange monolith that was overwhelming with spiritual light.


    This ce was where the spirit awakening happened, with the intervention of a priest from the Holy Spirits Church, a child would awaken their talent and spirit.


    We were with Erika waiting for our turn. I could see Chris and Eric in the distance, the two had continued being friends¡­ I am d for them. They had grown rather big and stronger, I can tell.


    As the kids continued to move forward, the priest awakened them and named out their talents and spirits.


    Indeed, aside from Spirits, there are Talents, Talents are like innate abilities, something a person can have, sometimes it is just something such as enhancing their ability to learn magic or others bing better at crafting, other times it might give them a powerful boost to their strength or growth, and so on.


    "Talent: None, Spirit: Tea Pot!"


    "Wow¡­ Such a useless spirit¡­"


    "Poor kid, his life is condemned to be a tea maker¡­!"


    "Hahah!"


    "Talent: cksmith, Spirit: Gnome!"


    "Ooh, those two go hand by hand!"


    "That''s the kid from the cksmith, right?"


    "Yes, thatbination goes in the family."


    "Talent: Fisherman, Spirit: Fishing Rod!"


    "That''s a bit fitting!"


    "Well, isn''t that kind of useless though?"


    "Not really, he could bring a lot of fish¡­"


    And then, Chris stepped in.


    FLASH!


    His chest glowed with bright crimson colors, as mes surged from his surroundings, making a fiery aura.


    Suddenly, a powerful entity was summoned before him, although it was small and young, it contained endless potential.


    It was a beautiful white-colored nine-tailed fox with many red and orange tattoos and markings over its body.


    "W-Wow¡­!"


    "That''s an amazing one!"


    "He''s very talented!"


    "Talent: me Wizard, Spirit: Nine-Tailed Fire Fox!"


    Everyone was rather shocked after this news. He was really the rising star of the vige. One could already tell he had a bright future ahead.


    Chris smiled back at everyone, then noticed me, and red at my eyes with a cocky smile.


    Such childish behavior.


    Eric came afterward. A glowing bright green light came out of his chest and many vines and flowers emerged around him. The blonde boy''s spirit was a nt spirit.


    "Talent: Druid, Spirit: Crimson-Blood Rose Vine!"


    "Amazing!"


    "That''s an even rarer nt spirit than his parents had¡­!


    "His uncles must be proud¡­"


    After a few other kids, it was finally our turn.


    Chris and Eric were near us.


    "Hello, ke, Erika¡­" said Eric, he was at least polite enough.


    But Chris looked at both of us rather scornfully and didn''t say a single word.


    "Hello, Eric." I said.


    "Now''s my turn¡­ Wish me luck!" Erika moved towards the monolith.


    Despite having a doll body, her spirit orb has been developing normally, and¡­ she awakened a spirit against many others'' expectations.


    FLASH!


    Erika closed her eyes as she felt the glowing light surging from her chest, it emanated a strong and beautiful brilliance like many had never seen before. Suddenly, several figures emerged, her spirit was actually made out of many bodies¡­ an incredibly rare one.


    "W-Wow¡­!"


    "T-Those are¡­!"


    "So many spirits?!"


    "No, it''s only one made out of many bodies¡­"


    "A-Amazing¡­ T-Talent: Princess¡­ Spirit: Royal Doll House!" said the priest, even he was shocked beyond belief.


    "A princess talent?!"


    "I had never seen such a talent before¡­"


    "And such a powerful spirit¡­"


    "Hehe, did I shock everyone?" asked Erika.


    "You did, amazing work!" I replied, as I petted her. Her spirit was a group of dolls of many appearances, all of them with different clothes and holding different weapons. It was amazing.


    "Now I am next¡­"


    I moved forward and looked into the monolith.


    I wonder what sort of garbage Lucifer will give to me¡­


    I touched the monolith as the priest infused mana into my chest.


    FLASH!


    I finally felt the flow of mana originating from my body!


    Although it was terribly weak!


    Ugh¡­


    Nheless, spirit energy gathered and materialized in front of me.


    And what came out was¡­!


    POOF!


    A book?


    A red-colored book, which fell over the floor motionlessly.


    Everyone looked at it in surprise.


    "Hm¡­ Maybe it is a Magic Book? There¡­ are a few Spirits like that too!"


    The priest grabbed the book and then read the pages, they were all empty.


    "No¡­ It has nothing on it¡­ It''s just¡­ a book?" he said.


    I grabbed my spirit with my hands, and it was indeed just a book.


    "Talent: None, Spirit: Book!" said the priest, he didn''t know what spirit was this even, and yes, I had no talent.


    I could see everyone''s looks right now, they were filled with pity, some with scorn, and others with disgust.


    Eric and Erika looked at me worried, while Chris wasughing his ass out.


    "Hahahha! A book?! Seriously?! You''re such an untalented brat, ke! Serves you right!" he said, as his spirit suddenly formed a fireball and threw it at me.


    FLASH!


    Insolent little child.


    I waved my hand faster than anyone here could see and I threw the fireball back at him.


    BOOM!


    "Uaggh¡­!"


    Chris was thrown on the floor, crying out loud.


    "W-What was that?"


    "Did you see that?!"


    "No¡­ it was so fast¡­"


    "Who is this kid?"


    "Does he has power outside talent and spirit?"


    "There''s no way¡­"


    I walked outside the shrine without saying a single word other than with Erika. My parents were also at my side, all looking at me with a bit of pity.<sub> </sub>


    "W-Well, maybe you can make pages indefinitely and keep notes forever! Isn''t that nice?" asked my father.


    "Yeah! You could even sell these pages¡­ Paper is actually incredibly expensive, son! You got a gold mine!" said my mother.


    "Yeah! Just like us, you also got a production-based spirit, nothing bad about it, dear." Said my grandmother.


    "Y-Yeah! Cheer up, ke, you''re still strong on your own! You even reflected that fireball from that idiot!" said Erika.


    "I know? I wasn''t even that disappointed. I don''t really care about the spirit or whatever, now that I can use Mana¡­ Hehehe¡­ That''s all I need anyways." I said with a smile.


    Mana was everything.


    If I have Mana¡­


    I can do everything!


    But not right now¡­ I felt very tired, this damn book was so hard to summon.


    After this, I walked back to my room with Erika, who sat down at my side while ying with her new spirit. I was sitting over my bed while my mother was cooking lunch, as I inspected my book.


    Every page was nk.


    Was there really nothing in here?


    So I can just begin writing?


    Hmmm.


    I took out a pen and as the tip of the pen touched the book, suddenly it glowed and showed strange letters.


    I see, so there was really something in there!


    [Insert your Name]


    [Name: ¡­]


    "Name? Fine¡­"


    I quickly wrote down my new name.


    [Your new name has been registered]


    The book showed new colors and suddenly, something strange emerged.


    Numbers and letters.


    What''s this?


    -----


    Name: ke Hunter Goathorn


    Race: Human


    Spirit Orb Realm: Rank 1 (Initial Stage)


    Job ss: None


    Subss: None


    Level: 0 / 10


    EXP: 0 / 10000


    < Health Points: 25 / 25 >


    < Mana Points: 10 / 10 >


    < Strength: 20 >


    < Agility: 15 >


    < Vitality: 10 >


    < Intelligence: 30 >


    < Dexterity: 15 >


    Spirits (0/1):


    Skills:


    Title Skills:  None


    Avable Stat Points: 0


    Avable Skill Points: 0


    Curses:


    EXP required to level up x100


    Proficiency required to learn techniques and skills x100


    Mana/Qi/Aether Recovery speed decreased by -50%


    -----


    What is the meaning of this? Who are you joking around, stupid book?


    Is this some sort of stupid game for you, Lucifer?


    Also, this book apparently doesn''t count as a spirit? It says I can summon another spirit?!


    So I actually just don''t have a spirit at all?


    ¡­


    And is this? Stats, Skills, Jobs?


    How can I get a Job?


    [Required conditions to change Jobs: Unknown]


    Thanks for nothing.


    How can I get a new Spirit?


    [Summon Spirit? You will randomly be given a Spirit based on the Souls of your Fallen Comrades]


    <Yes> <No>


    W-What?


    Fallen¡­rades?


    My allies? Those that died at my side?


    I can bring them with me?


    You''re kidding me, right?


    This cannot be real¡­


    Am I dreaming?


    "Erika, is this real life?" I asked her.


    "Huh? Yes?" she asked while raising an eyebrow.


    "¡­"


    I looked up at the ceiling as I began to think about this ridiculous situation.


    And then¡­


    Another message showed up in the book.


    [A Direct Message from Lucifer has arrived!]


    [Do you ept to Open]


    <Yes> <No>


    Lucifer?!


    You bastard¡­


    What does he have to tell me?!


    I touched the yes button and then¡­


    [Hello, sorry for taking so long with your little gift, Asmodeus- Ahem, or better said, ke, right? Pff¡­! Hahaha! ¡­Anyways, as you can already see, five years have passed since I reincarnated you in this mysterious new world not even YOU have visited before! It is a very unique world, so make sure to enjoy it thoroughly, little ke¡­]


    [I have left you not without the power to grow stronger! Despite being talentless, I have also given you the means to grow stronger, just like those Isekai that are so popr nowadays with the sinful souls thate here! Ah yes, because I thought it would be too easy, I made it super hard for you to level up and do all of that, so it''s all better and more worth it, eh? What do you think? This Grimoire has the power to bring you to me one day¡­]


    [Are you up for round 2, little ke? Maybe this time around you can stand more of a chance, and you don''t end up killing yourself in the process! Hahahahaha! Okay, bye! Have fun. I will be watching over you, very closely~ Ah, Erika is a very cute girl! You''re such a gentle-hearted man!]


    ¡­


    This damn bastard has really been watching over me all this time!


    Am I now a show for him?


    All of my life¡­


    Spectated by him and who know how many other demons¡­


    So all my life is just some show for this bastard?


    How frustratingly infuriating!


    ¡­


    But this idiot has given me the opportunity to grow stronger through some easy means¡­ even with the curses¡­


    I will make sure to go back one day and kick your ass off, Lucifer.


    -----

 Chapter 12 An Accursed Gift

    -----


    So all of this is like a game to you, Lucifer? Do you think I will do ording to the script you''ve already made? Who exactly do you think I am? Well, aside from him pretending to not have been hurt by my attacks, it is clear that he wasn''t lying about the other things. This power can indeed help me grow stronger at a fast pace¡­


    However, I am conflicted. I don''t want to use a power given to me by this bastard¡­ It feels wrong, and I don''t think it wille so easily¡­ Could there be a side effect or something else he''s nning with this?


    Hmm¡­ But this isn''t exactly so bad either. If he said this will eventually lead me to him, I might finally find him once more after I grow and surpass my limits in here, and beat the shit out of him.


    ¡­


    "Sigh¡­"


    I sighed as I looked up at the room''s ceiling.


    Despite all the emotions bubbling inside of my heart, I kept myposure and sighed. I decided to close my eyes. Today was a tiring day, I will sleep for an hour or two and then think what to do.


    Having a calm and stress-free head is the best to make better decisions, as I am right now, I might act recklessly. Taking a nap, despite how stupid it sounds, will help me rx and calm down my impulses.


    Erika noticed me sighing.


    "B-ke, I know you got¡­ an underwhelming spirit but it is no reason for you to¡­ feel bad. You''re already amazing by yourself and¡­ I know you will grow even stronger by your own means. I know it because I''ve been at your side for years now." Said Erika, the adorable girl was trying to cheer me up. Her efforts weremendable, and they indeed cheered me up, but the reason why I was like this wasn''t because of the spirit.


    "Thanks, Erika, I think I need to sleep a bit more, I woke up too early this morning." I said.


    "Oh, then let''s take a nappie together." Said Erika, as she jumped onto my bed and cuddled at my side.


    Taking naps¡­ something I would never do in my previous life because I thought it was a waste of time to even sleep, being a vampire and all¡­


    But now that I have the vulnerable body of a human, I get tired rather easily, and cannot be awake for years like I used to.


    Erika cuddled at my side as I caressed her pink hair. I closed my eyes without saying another word and she did as well, we ended falling asleep rather fast and soothingly, the calm breezeing from the open window was just fine as well.


    ¡­


    "ke! Lunch time!"


    I woke up to my mother''s screams. Can''t this woman be less loud? There are children sleeping here!


    ¡­Ah, lunch, right.


    "Erika, let''s go eat." I said.


    "Muwhuhwh¡­"


    Erika was making weird sounds while cuddling over the cushion, she still wanted to sleep.


    Despite having the body of a doll, I would guess that her mind and souls till grow tired after using a lot of mana to move her body around, so she required sleep almost the same as a living flesh body.


    She even dreams and more, despite not having a brain. Her creation is rather fascinating, but it could be said she''s something like a golem. Other people might go as far as to call her Undead.<sub> </sub>


    But above all of that, Erika is my friend.


    In my previous life I had gathered many allies, many friends¡­ They were all at my side at all times, working together to help me assess so many areas I had conquered I would had never been able to do it all myself.


    Despite enjoying my time alone, I had to admit that their presence always cheered me up, without them, I often felt rather empty. Over the years, my heart ended growing soft, I suppose.


    My crew¡­


    Eleanora¡­


    I wonder if I can summon you like the book said?


    If it is possible to bring them all back as spirits¡­


    Then¡­ Maybe I might end up using Lucifer''s tool.


    If I didn''t want to be tricked by it, I simply have to find a way to make this entire book''s powers my own, and assimte itpletely.


    Like that, Lucifer''s authority over this power will be lost, and I will acquire all of it.


    But how long might that take me? I don''t know, defying the authority of a being such as him seems almost impossible.


    But maybe there could be roundabouts in this new world I am in. There are many new possibilities.


    "ke!!!"


    My mother once more interrupted by deep thoughts, as I decided to jump out of bed with Erika and went to eat lunch with my family.


    "Miss Mary, let me help you!" Erika said, using her Royal Dolls, which were the size of normal dolls, to carry tes with food. They were able to naturally float in midair and had swift and precise movements, they all moved and worked to her very will as well.


    "Oh my, such a useful Spirit, dear, it is as if you got your whole squadron of friends now." Said my grandmother.


    "Yeah, with this, I''ll never be alone¡­" said Erika with a cute smile.


    "Well, you would never be alone either way." I said.


    "B-ke¡­ Yeah, I know¡­!" Erika looked at me while blushing.


    What an adorable child.


    While having lunch, my parents and my grandmother continued trying to cheer me up, but now that I felt refreshed after taking a two-hour nap, I felt rather light, and didn''t seem to be bothered anymore. I had cleared my mind. Sleeping seemed like a magical potion in how it can so easily calm my stress.


    "Don''t worry about it, I will find my own ways to grow stronger. Who said spirits are everything?" I said.


    I said that while already knowing I might summon a new spirit¡­


    -----

 Chapter 13 Taking A Decision

    -----


    If I wanted to use Lucifer''s powers, then I guess there''s no point in waiting anymore. I really want to summon a Spirit, a useful one this time, but I cannot simply do it in front of everyone.


    Why? Well, what if the spirit retains their memories and begin calling me "Lord Asmodeus!" all the time? It will obviously bring a lot of suspicion. I would prefer for it to never be found out that I am a Reincarnated person, if possible.


    So I had decided to wait until tonight to move out into the wilderness. Using the swiftness and agility that infusing Qi across my body can give me thorough usage of some basic-level Body Enhancing Techniques.


    Talking about Qi¡­ And Aether, I had not seen them in the Status Page.


    Are these "Stats" not real? Or not considered in the level ups or calctions? Perhaps they''re the power "outside of everything" that not even this Status can dominate.


    I suppose already seeing how in this world nobody even knows about Qi and even less about Aether, I could easily abuse this as my own Unique Power¡­


    Even without this stupid gift of Lucifer, I might be able to grow stronger decently fast as long as I can refine different types of Ki and find certain materials to do that.


    But the Qi I am best at using is¡­ Blood Qi, of course.


    That''s why I will kill two birds with one stone and try to hunt down any wild beast I can find outside, with my bare fists.


    And well, the aid of a new spirit, if possible.


    Spirits cost Mana to summon, but can be kept around indefinitely after that.


    Whenever they "die", the spirits go forcefully back to the Spirit Orb, and might take a few days to regenerate and be capable of summon itself once more.


    Also, you can store the spirit while still being alive as well, and the next time it''s summoned, the mana cost will be reduced¡­


    Spirits are connected to the user''s Mana as well, so they drain the user''s Mana to conjure their power as they don''t have their own personal energy source.


    I suppose I will have to leave the Mana I have for my spirit this night, although I still have the desire to see if I can learn any conventional Spell.


    For now, I decided to walk back to my room, I was not in the mood to walk around the town. Although now that I was considered old enough at five years of age, I could go take a trip around and learn and find new things, but I am more interested into cultivating my Qi.


    I sat cross-legged on my bed and closed my eyes, entering into a state of meditation. I made the Qi flowing from my Core move around my Qi Veins all across each Pressure Point, slowly nourishing them.


    This was a simple Meditation Technique named [Qi Flow Technique] it is one of the most basic there is, and the only one this small body can currently use.


    Erika had gone back to her home after lunch as she wanted to show her spirit to her father, and might note back until tomorrow, so I can be by myself.<sub> </sub>


    The hours passed, I ended taking another nap to prepare my mind for the night, and after having dinner, everyone went to sleep. A farmer family sleeps around 9 PM to wake up early in the morning and work in the field.


    After waiting around three hours to make sure everyone was sleeping, I opened the window of my room and jumped out.


    My house had two floors, so the jump was roughly twelve meters, nothing hard, infusing some Qi into my feet made them light as a feather. I was able to step on the air before reaching the floor through the [Cloud Step Technique] which literally allows someone to walk on air.


    Although it costs a lot of Qi¡­ so I cannot really use it freely.


    Making sure nobody was watching, I swiftly moved to the forest outside the vige''s walls, by jumping over them by using Cloud Step Technique, of course.


    There were some guards on standby, usually the vigers take turns so they can guard the ce at night in case there were Bandits. These attacks aremon in viges, so the people have to be cautious.


    I easily evaded everything and made my way into the dark and eerie forest nearby, where the Hunters of the Vige usually go to hunt down wild animals. My father is also a Hunter who usually joins the weekly Hunts where they take down Wild Boars or Grizzly Bears.


    They do it to get the meat, the pelt, and the spirit orb inside, which they sell for money, but well, the duchy has been recently asking for more and more hunts, so my father has been forced to participate in two or even three hunts a week¡­


    I hate how they order the people around here to work and risk their lives so much¡­ But I guess it is not as if they had any other options. Everyone is poor after all and we are technically all owned by the Kingdom and the Duchy in here as "citizens", going against the Duke''s orders means we are viting our ruler''s decision and going against thew¡­


    Infuriating, I know. I don''t like to be ordered by anyone, but as of now, I am merely 5 years of age, so I have not participated in these hunts.


    I reached the forest and then walked directly inside. Many kids my age would be scared of even entering this ce, however, this seemed like the perfect ce for me.


    Summon.


    I summoned the Grimoire once more, and quickly moved the pages, finding the page that said [Summon Spirit 0/1].


    [Summon Spirit? You will randomly be given a Spirit based in the Souls of your Fallen Comrades]


    <Yes> <No>


    It is random, so I don''t know if I will get anyone I specifically want.


    But at the very least it is something¡­


    -----

 Chapter 14 Summoning My First Vampire

    -----


    I pressed the <Yes> Option without hesitation. As the Grimoire began to produce magic circles around, and then, it generated one right in front of me.


    I stepped back a few meters, realizing the runes used by these magic circles were iprehensible to me. What were they?!


    I could, however, feel the faint demonic energying from it. Could this be Demon Magic?


    Demon Magic, a special type of magic that only Demons from Hell can use, it is based in their unique energy merely named Demonic Energy when it is unrefined, and Infernal Energy when it is refined and used by Archdemons.


    So Lucifer really did this, he used his unique magic to create this thing that automatically makes up a summoning formation using demon energy¡­ interesting.


    FLASH!


    Suddenly, a bright red light came out of the magic circle in front of me, as my mind cked out¡­


    ¡­


    "Hm?"


    I found myself in apletely ck space, where a faint white mist covered everything giving it a cold and mysterious atmosphere to it all.


    "Where am I?"


    I looked around without hesitating, walking across the vast ckndscape, until I found something.


    A faint figure in front of my sight, it seemed to be made of red energy, and emanated a strong amount of Aether¡­


    The figure was amorphous and hard to discern, and it seemed to have been once split into pieces but then forcefully stitched back together.


    For a moment, I looked at this figure in silence, until I realized it had a feminine figure and long hair.


    "A-Asmodeus¡­?"


    Suddenly, I heard the voice of a young woman talk to me in my previous life name.


    That voice¡­ How can I not recognize the voice of my firstpanion, friend, and ally in my previous life?


    The one that stood at my side when everything just began.


    When I was just a Vampire kid in the slums, hiding from the sunlight in the trash while crawling in the night looking for anything with blood to eat.


    She was also a Vampire, or well, Half-Vampire, and I had found her near dead back then¡­


    Had I not shared the blood I had gotten from the rats I hunted, she would had died.


    And I would had never gotten such a wonderful ally and friend.


    "Eleanora." I said.


    "Yes¡­ My lord¡­ It has¡­ been so long¡­" she muttered. Her words were being constantly interrupted by strange eerie glitching sounds, as if she was a broken record that was having a hard time reproducing sounds.


    "You''re here¡­" I said. I was being moved by my old memories; emotions began to bubble inside of my chest as I continued to move towards her.


    I grabbed her hand tightly, despite being blurry and made out of faint essence.


    I wasn''t going to let her go now that she was right in front of me.<sub> </sub>


    Eleanora''s soul¡­


    "My lord¡­ I have¡­ missed you¡­ so much¡­" she cried.


    I couldn''t even notice her face, her soul appearance was deformed by the damage it took, but I knew it was her, how could I not know it was her?


    "Calm down, don''t talk for now, I will bring you outside¡­ I will revive you as a spirit." I said.


    "Spi¡­ rit?" she asked


    "There will be time for exnations afterwards¡­ Eleanora, you don''t known how much I''ve missed you¡­ I¡­ I am sorry for what I did¡­ This time, I will make sure to notmit the same mistakes." I said.


    "My lord¡­"


    Eleanora seemed moved by my words, as her faint and ghastly body hugged me tightly.


    "I will never let you go, ever again¡­" I said, as I felt as if Eleanora was crying over my chest.


    FLASH!


    I suddenly regained consciousness and control of my body, as I saw the magic circle suddenly materialize something, absorbing almost all my Mana. A figure quickly emerged, taller than me, and beautiful to the point that many would have their eyes stuck on her for minutes.


    A beautiful woman emerged before me, with pale-white skin, as white as porcin, sharp, crimson-red eyes shining with bright light, long wine-red hair reaching her hips, which was as silky as it could be, shiny and healthy, and a slender figure, she was just as I remembered her.


    Adorning her beautiful body there was a set of clothes she liked to wear. Eleanora wasn''t verydy-like, and often liked to wear clothes that could facilitate her usage of her fast-movement abilities. she wore tight ck pants over her legs, decorated with ck chains around her wide hips, ck and sharp heels, a white shirt that was barely containing herrge chest, and a ck coat.


    Her presence emanated a strong Aura, everything around her was powerful, despite having been remade as a spirit. I could clearly sense her inner power dwelling within her.


    "Eleanora, I am d to see you back¡­" I said.


    "Hmm¡­? Ah¡­ Oh? Eh? I¡­ I am¡­ back! I have a body once more¡­? My lord Asmodeus- Huh?!"


    Eleanora looked at me as she noticed my appearance.


    I was but a little, five-year-old boy.


    I didn''t even look like I looked in my childhood of my previous life. I didn''t have pale white skin nor crimson eyes, even less white hair.


    ¡­It could be said I looked very in.


    "It is me, Eleanora. I have reincarnated as a mere¡­ human." I sighed.


    "S-So cute¡­"


    "Huh?!"


    Eleanora suddenly jumped towards me and grabbed me with her arms, I was so smallpared to her almost two meters of height that I was left hopeless. She was always taller than me, even in thest years of my previous life, I was always a midgetpared to her size.


    "Lord Asmodeuuuus!"


    -----


    Author''s Note: Can you guys rate the novel with reviews? If we get 10 Reviews, I''ll make a mass release! Also, make sure to vote with your Power Stones if you''re enjoying the story so far, thanks.

 Chapter 15 Eleanora, The Vampire Queen

    -----


    "I am so happy to see you again! I am so happy, so, so happy! It has been so long¡­ So long since that day¡­! I''ve been waiting, relentlessly for this moment¡­ Ahh¡­ How much of a bliss is to see you again, and now you''re back in your younger years, so cute and filled with innocence!" she said. Her eyes shone brightly with excitement, as her adorable smile showed her sharp teeth.


    Eleanora had exploded in happiness, it seems. It was to be expected after such a long-awaited reencounter. I was happy as well to finally find her once more. I smiled and let her embrace me in her hugs.


    "I am also very happy¡­ But you should calm down for now." I said.


    "Ah! Y-Yes¡­ S-Sorry." She apologized.


    POOF!


    Suddenly, without realizing, Eleanora''s appearance changed, it was as if she had be way smaller, almost my same size¡­ and looked younger as well.


    Did she just became a child?


    Her clothes had changed into a cute ck and red dress as well.


    "I-Is there something wrong?" she wondered.


    "Have you not noticed how you became small?" I asked.


    "Hm? Huh?"


    Eleanora was shocked to see herself having changed. Her body suddenly turned small out of nowhere.


    [You''ve summoned [Half-Vampire Spirit: Eleanora]


    [Eleanora has entered her [Energy Saving Form]


    [In [Energy Saving Form], Spirits be small in appearance, and can slowly umte power to unleashter on in battle as they go to their [Battle Form]


    So Spirits have such a thing. This is why Eleanora turned into a little girl almost my age now.


    Well, it makes more sense to have a spirit like this than a full-grown adult¡­ I guess it is fair.


    "You''ve entered in an Energy Saving Form automatically, Eleanora. It is a way for you to umte power over time and unleash it in Battle Form, your adult form." I said.


    "Oh¡­ S-So this world is very different I see¡­ I don''t even know how I was truly brought back, by just giving you one nce, my lord, I can already notice you''ve be very weakpared to before¡­" sighed Eleanora.


    "Guh¡­ You don''t have to rub it in my face¡­ And you too, you''re not even as strong as you used to be." I said


    "I am afraid I have indeed be weaker¡­ Now I cannot be of any use like this¡­ I am a useless being¡­" she cried.


    "Don''t feel like that, stand up, I need to check something on you." I said.


    "Hm?" she wondered.


    I looked into the book and¡­ there was indeed a new page, in this page, Eleanora showed up.


    -----


    Name: Eleanora


    Spirit Race: Half Vampire


    Spirit Type: Blood / Dark


    Spirit Realm: Rank 1 (Initial Stage)


    Level: 0 / 10


    EXP: 0 / 10000


    < Health Points: 30 / 30 >


    < Strength: 25 >


    < Agility: 20 >


    < Vitality: 15 ><sub> </sub>


    < Intelligence: 15 >


    < Dexterity: 20 >


    Skills:


    [Half-Vampire: Lv1]


    [Charm: Lv1]


    [Blood Edge: Lv1]


    [Shadow Sneak: Lv1]


    Title Skills:


    [Vampire Queen: Lv1]


    Avable Stat Points: 0


    Avable Skill Points: 0


    -----


    I see. Unlike me, Eleanora is way stronger, andes with Skills, even. That''s obvious, she''s a Summoned spirit, while I am the summoner. If the summoned spirit is weaker than the summoner then what''s the point?


    She has over 5 points in almost everythingpared to me, however, her Intelligence is lower¡­ Her Skills are five if you count the Title Skill.


    Half-Vampire seems to be a Skill that gives her an enhancement to all her stats by a small amount when she drinks blood. It also weakens Blood-type weaknesses¡­


    Charm is an easy to tell Skill, her appearance is pretty and she''s indeed quite charming, so she probably can have a better and more favorable interactions with others, making others easily trust her, maybe.


    Blood Edge seems to be the ability of all those with Vampire Bloodline of manipte blood and make it as sharp as des, giving it an "edge", she cannot manipte much as of now.


    And Shadow Sneak allows her to meddle with shadows and hide in them for a bit.


    And that''s it.


    It isn''t nearly as big as her original repertoire, and her bodyposition seems to be materialized, but she''s made of spiritual energy, and cannot properly cultivate Qi without a physical body.


    However, Aether seems to be very high on her due to her previous life soul being damaged but still containing her power. Perhaps I can make her use it and cultivate it.


    She doesn''t have Mana because her energy source is my own Mana¡­ So to conjure any Skill, she requires my own Mana. Blood Edge and Shadow Sneak are the only Skills that can be activated, and they cost a variable amount of mana per activation depending in how much she wants to do with them. But the minimum is 1 Mana for a single blood projectile.


    I already spent 7 Mana Summoning her so¡­ The Mana I have left is only 3.


    "My lord, are you done?" she wondered.


    "Yes, look at this, this page shows your Status. Lucifer, that bastard, revived me and gave me this to grow stronger. He intends to go for a second round and desires us to grow stronger through these means¡­ Of course, I won''t move ording to the script, but its not like I won''t use this to my advantage." I said.


    "L-Lucifer¡­! That bastard¡­ I see. So he wants such a thing, my lord." She sighed.


    "Don''t call me "my lord" anymore. I have already stopped being Asmodeus¡­ Eleanora, from now on call me ke, my new name." I said.


    "ke¡­?" asked Eleanora.


    "It is as in as it sounds, but I like it. I''ve grown to like it." I said.


    "Understood, ke." Said Eleanora.


    "Ah, this feels a bit weird, but I will have to get used to it¡­" I sighed.


    "I-Indeed¡­" sighed Eleanora while giggling.


    Eleanora was quick to understand the whole situation after I exined to her a bit more, she also heard about my new family and more, and even about Erika¡­


    -----

 Chapter 16 First Encounter, Gray Wolves

    -----


    "So you have been interacting with this girl named Erika, huh? I-Is she better than me?" she asked while pouting. Her Energy Saving Form reminded me of our younger years in our previous lives, when she was small and always depending on me for everything.


    "Erika is my friend, Eleanora. One of the first friends I''ve made in this life¡­ She''s a girl with a big past behind her initial simple appearance. And no, she''s not better than you." I said.


    "T-That''s a relief¡­!" she said.


    "You''re only concerned about that?" I sighed.


    "N-No! Of course, we should begin our hunt right away, my lord- I mean, ke!" she said. She is going to have a hard time leaving formalities aside.


    One of the factors that, despite being so close with Eleanora still made me feel distant from her is how she treated me in my previous life.


    She always held me as someone not equal to her, as someone above her, and for all that time, she always spoke to me as "my lord". Without realizing it, she formed a barrier between the two of us that couldn''t be easily surpassed because she couldn''t see me as someone equal.


    It was rather obvious that¡­ we loved each other. Due to her desire to not bother me with things such as romance and because I was too focused on my own goals, it never went anywhere. This is also a reason why Eleanora is someone so special to me. ¡­Because I love her, even now. After so long, by just seeing her face, I feel my heart beating faster.


    I suppose because of this embarrassment I felt, in thest years of my previous life, I grew more distant from her.  Perhaps in this new life I should embrace her¡­ and tell her how I feel. After all, I don''t want tomit the same mistakes.


    ¡­


    However, for now, I cannot do that, it would be too sudden, things need time to develop. I must help her get used to this world and grow stronger at my side. She seems to be able to level up as well, so we should begin hunting beasts and see how this strange mechanic exactly works.


    "ke, have you refined Blood Qi?" she wondered.


    "Not yet, I have been confined in my home by my parents until now¡­ It has been rather infuriating, but I''ve been practicing Qi this entire time. Now it is finally the time to hunt something and absorb its blood." I said.


    ? "Very well, because I can feel three creatures rushing towards here!" said Eleanora, her eyes shone brightly as she seemed to feel excited.


    She has sharper senses than I do, I wasn''t able to properly detect any living being yet. As we had gone out to the forest to practice my abilities, it seems that we have already encountered a good practice target.


    "Very well, where are theying from?" I asked.


    "Left." She said.


    I looked to my left, gathering Qi into my palms. The bushes began to tremble as three creatures emerged from them, they were together and obviously in a pack.


    Wolves, Gray wolves, to be exact.


    I had heard from father that he and his group had encountered them. They''re opportunistic eaters that try to take bites off the meat of the giant wild boars they hunted down. These are smaller and slimmer than the wolves I''ve seen on others and looked more like wild dogs. Of course, two little children were easy prey, especially in the middle of the night.


    "Wolves? I suppose they were not goblins; I had been expecting the usual clich¨¦." Said Eleanora.


    "I don''t know if Goblins are even in this world, but I''ve seen Imps." I said.


    As I leisurely talked with Eleanora, one of the wolves leaped towards me at a fast speed. His movements were swift and precise, his jaws opened wide.


    I could see the threat right in front of me. But I had seen this countless times, my fear for death was near null, this made it so I could stand before danger without problems.<sub> </sub>


    I moved my fist swiftly, like a flow of water, with tranquility and harmony. This was a strange Technique for a Vampire, right? But it was the most effective for now.


    "Flowing Fist Technique: Fist of Tranquility."


    BOOM!


    My fist moved so swiftly the wolf wasn''t able to see me move at all. It reached his chin and blew him away into the air.


    His corpse fell onto the floor motionlessly.


    Fist of Tranquility is a technique that helps me choose if I either want to punish or kill.


    It generates waves of Qi that enter the foe it hits and can crush its internal organs. Or it can hit them strongly, but without doing damage.


    Of course, I selected the first one, because I wasn''t going to let go of my first prey.


    The wolf''s internal organs had already burst inside, it died instantly.


    "Oho! Wonderful!" said Eleanora. She waved her hand and suddenly a mass of blood emerged out of thin air, gathering around with blood essence, and shaping itself into a de.


    FLASH!


    The de reached the second wolf''s head, piercing its skull and killing it on the spot, cold-bloodedly. The wolf wasn''t even able to see what was happening and it died, just like that.


    The third wolf looked at both of us with utter horror, as it began to step back, gritting its teeth, it knew we were dangerous.


    "Graar!" it suddenly began to run away.


    "You''re not going anywhere." I said, grabbing a stone from the floor and firing it.


    Precisely, a single stone.


    Why? Well, using Qi, you can make anything a lethal weapon.


    A stone is already rather lethal if it hits someone very strongly, but what if I throw it at the speed faster than bullet?


    The stone broke through the wind itself and reached the wolf, hitting its head in an instant.


    BOOM!


    It pierced through with ease, leaving a bloody hole, the wolf died on the spot as well.


    Hm, that was rather easy for my first hunt.


    -----


    Author''s Note: Can you guys rate the novel with reviews? If we get 10 Reviews, I''ll make a mass release! Also, make sure to vote with your Power Stones if you''re enjoying the story so far, thanks.

 Chapter 17 Gaining EXP And Forging A Physique

    -----


    [You''ve earned 100 EXP]


    [You''ve earned 100 EXP]


    [You''ve earned 100 EXP]


    [You learned the [Throwing Technique: Lv1] Skill]


    My first Skill and it is about throwing rocks. Why haven''t I gotten one for my Techniques?


    It seems that Qi or Aether-rted abilities or techniques are simply not registered into the Book as Skills¡­ Did Lucifer miss this? Is he an idiot? Yes, he is.


    I immediately noticed various things. Eleanora''s kills can give me full EXP, each wolf is 100 EXP, and by doing certain actions, I can learn new skills.


    -----


    [Throwing Technique: Lv1]


    Skill Proficiency: 0/10000


    Enhances the power of the action of throwing all sorts of projectiles alongside their speed by +10% with each level.


    -----


    I see. To level it up, I am required to gain Skill Proficiency and enhance its power by an additional +10%... Meaning that I can just constantly throw things to gain proficiency? Hm.


    I suppose we are going down to the very basics.


    p I began to pick up some stones while Eleanora praised me.</anda>


    "Wonderful job, ke! Where do we store the corpses?" she wondered.


    "Leave them there, I don''t have any dimensional inventory to store things for the moment." I said.


    "Oh, I see¡­! Huh? ¡­Why are you picking up stones?" she asked.


    "I gained a Skill named Throwing Technique. I don''t know if you can learn it too, try to throw rocks." I said.


    "Oh, very well!" Eleanora said, grabbing the stones and firing them at the nearby tree.


    After throwing ten times, nothing happened.


    I see, so there are certain Skills that can only be learned by me.


    I would assume that Summons have specific skills they can learn and are not as free to develop as I am¡­


    "I cannot learn it¡­" she sighed.<sub> </sub>


    "Don''t worry about it, your abilities are already impressive by themselves." I said while petting her head.


    Eleanora sighed with a faint smile.


    "I suppose! I am a Spirit now, huh?" she said, as she walked at my side, and I extended my hands towards the fresh corpse of the wolf.


    I pierced its neck with my index finger, and then began draining its blood.


    "Qi Refining Technique."


    FLASH!


    By infusing my own Qi into the corpse and then bringing it back to my body, I can refine the Qi by making it absorb all the blood from the corpse.


    I lose normal Qi and bring back Blood Qi, as simple as that. This is how other elements are usually achieved, the higher the quality of the item you''re refining your Qi with, the greater the quality of the new Qi as well.


    I couldn''t see any notification from the book, but I clearly felt I gained a good amount of Blood Qi after doing the same with every corpse. At my current age I have around 40 to 50 Qi at max. I used it all repeatedly, so now I got a new separate Qi that is flowing through my body, aside from the normal one, which is never annoyed by any other type of Qi, thankfully.


    "I''ve gathered enough Blood Qi now¡­ I suppose I can use some techniques and also begin the refining of my body." I said.


    "Oh! Are you nning on making yourself into a Vampire through Blood Qi?" wondered Eleanora.


    "Not really, being a Vampire only brought me many hardships at my younger age, but I do n on gaining something of a physique simr to it, it shouldn''t be so hard. I''ve already memorized the basics, I canbine the most effective physique and methods I''ve learned and make the strongest of them all that can also be used even by a toddler¡­ though I require a lot of Blood Qi to slowly form it, so we areing to hunt regrly¡­ I will begin immediately." I said.


    I sat cross-legged in the middle of the forest as I began to make the Blood Qi flow through my body. Making it flow as if it were blood itself, across my veins gave me an unexpected boost to my capabilities, it made my bloodstream flow rapidly as my heart began to beat faster. This was the specialty of Blood Qi, it was very effective at enhancing all your physical body basic functions such as bloodstream flow, breathing, heart beating, digestion, and more.


    There were even certain techniques that could consumerge quantities of calories at once for explosive growth in strength for a bit of time, before copsing, but that might be left for another day when I am cornered.


    The bright crimson-red essence flowered around my Qi Veins and began to slowly refine them into special Blood Qi Veins, meanwhile, my Qi Core was also being refined, and from its white color, it turned crimson red.


    As a master that has used Blood Qi for thousands of years, I can aplish such feats in seconds. Even as a toddler, now that I can finally use the power that I''ve specialized the most, it is a walk in the park.


    FLASH!


    For a moment, the Blood Qi also reached all my Pressure Points and even my eyes. A side effect of such a thing is making my eye color turn red temporarily, this is good, as it enhances my vision and I can now be able to use the advanced form of Night Vision, Dark Vision, I can see even clearly at night than ever before. Everything seems clear to me, even in this dark forest.


    This is the power of Blood Qi.


    I gathered all the knowledge I had umted in my previous life and created a new Physique Technique out of all of this umted knowledge. Let''s call it the ultimate physique that a genius such as myself can aplish.


    Vampiric Blood Emperor Physique.


    FLASH!


    My body suddenly emanated the aura of an Emperor if only for a bit, the power surging through every inch of this little body was beyond this world. I had already created something that defied this world''sws, and I could already feel the world reacting to my actions¡­


    -----

 Chapter 18 Vampiric Blood Emperor Physique

    -----


    I have created the Vampiric Blood Emperor Physique, that was as of now, enhancing all my physical abilities and body functions.


    This Physique requires a lot of fuel, and I have not near as enough.


    Physiques can be engraved into the body through what I call Qi Runes, simr to Mana Runes, Qi Runes are like marks in your very body structure made out of Qi that permanently get stuck in your body, and make it slowly change and evolve.


    I have remembered that the curse made my Qi and Aether recovery decrease, but that''s the only ce I''ve seen these elements being recognized in the book, has Lucifer purposely not added them? Hm¡­


    The flow of crimson-red energy filled my muscles, bones, and even internal organs.


    I''ve already designed the Vampiric Blood Emperor Physique to have many Tiers.


    As of now, I can only use the Tier 1.


    Tier 1: Muscle Reinforcement.


    Although my other body parts are being reinforced, it is very faintlypared to the others, my muscles have been being reinforced the most in these few seconds.


    And then it ended midway through.


    Damn it, out of Qi already?


    That onlysted a few seconds!


    Agh¡­


    How infuriating.


    "I can''t cultivate more, I need more Blood Qi¡­ these corpses are now mummies. There''s no more blood to take, let''s go hunt some more until dawn." I said.


    "I see, it seems you''re devoted to it. But while you were cultivating, I took out these shiny orbs from the corpses." Said Eleanora.


    "Oh?"


    Eleanora showed me three shiny spherical orbs form the Wolves carcasses.


    "Right, these are the Spirit Orbs¡­ Hm. Maybe I could find a way to incorporate them into my Cultivation?" I wondered.


    I touched one of them and then¡­ something odd happened.


    [Spirit Orb Detected]


    [Spirit Orb is of equal Rank than user]


    [Spirit Orb can be absorbed]


    [Absorb?]


    <Yes> <No>


    Hm?!


    The Book showed these words now.


    I can absorb Spirit Orbs? Of course, I already had the powers to absorb energy from before, but in this life, they would cost gargantuan amounts of mana, which I don''t have.


    However, now¡­ the Book can help me absorb spirit orbs?


    Right away, I can see some interesting things.


    First of all, it seems that it has to be of my same Rank to be absorbed.


    Second, I can also reject it and keep it as a material¡­


    "Eleanora, can you absorb this?" I asked.


    "Let''s see¡­" Eleanora touched the orb, but nothing happened.<sub> </sub>


    "No, I cannot." She said.


    "I see. Another power that can only work on me. Well, these Spirit Orbs can be sold for good money, I require money to stop being a viger and be a proper citizen, I''ve heard that you need a hundred gold coins. If I want more opportunities, bing a citizen and moving over to the Duchy or the Kingdom''s capital might bring more fortuitous encounters and opportunities to grow stronger¡­" I said.


    "Hm, it is quite hard to decide¡­ Maybe just absorb one to see how it goes?" she asked.


    "You''re right¡­ Absorb."


    FLASH!


    The Spirit Orb on my palm suddenly turned into pure spiritual essence and flew into my body.


    I suddenly realized my Mana was recovered by 6, and that I gained a bit of essence inside of my own spirit orb, enhancing its quality very slightly.


    This means¡­ I can both regenerate mana and nourish my Spirit Orb Cultivation by absorbing other Spirit Orbs of my same Rank? This is wonderful news¡­


    They could be treated as lowkey mana potions as well, interesting! I will keep them in my pocket for now.


    While waiting for my Qi to regenerate, we moved deeper into the forest, acting without hiding so any monster could jump at us and bring themselves to my te.


    After twenty minutes, four Wolves showed up out of nowhere. Is there a big pack sending groups around the entire area? Well, more blood qi for me, and EXP, I suppose.


    Although I would need to kill around one hundred Wolves to get enough EXP for a level up. I can already see why this is a hard handicap¡­ I doubt there are enough wolves around here, but I will make sure I can hunt anything I can find.


    Also, if I can kill all the wolves around here, it would be for the better, so there won''t be attacks on the viges or the hunters when they go looking for wild boars or grizzly bears.


    "GROAR!"


    The wolves jumped towards my defenseless little boy body.


    Oh no, whatever will I do?


    "Eleanora, take two yourself, I''ll take the other two." I said.


    "Understood!" said Eleanora, jumping to battle.


    Meanwhile I concentrated my newfound power into my hands, gathering Qi into the tip of my fingers.


    "Vampiric Blood Emperor Technique: Blood ws."


    FLASH!


    My right hand suddenly was covered by blood essence, as threerge ws emerged from it, metallic in appearance and luster, and sharp as des.


    This was an incredibly basic attack technique, which works as somewhat of a shing weapon too. It is fairly cheap as well, can itst as long as you can keep it from shattering.


    One of the wolves attacked me from my left side, as I twisted my body and shed its face with my new ws, its eyes were easily pierced. The wolf cried in pain at this attack, wildly attacking me with his jaws.


    "GRAAA!"


    However, this was the perfect opening, against a mere wolf there is no point in evading, I can kill you right away!


    SLASH!


    I pierced the wolf''s head using my Blood ws, piercing it from the chin all the way up into the skull, leaving its head impaled into my ws.


    Blood began gushing out right away, I instinctively licked my lips, infusing Qi into the corpse and then draining it of all its blood as I formed even more Blood Qi.


    "GROAR!"


    The other wolf attacked my back, its speed was abnormally fast as I noticed this one used mana, boosting its speed¡­!


    CLASH!


    -----

 Chapter 19 Acquiring A New Skill

    -----


    CLASH!


    I intercepted the wolf with my leg, kicking it away and making sure to hit its eyes, a good weak spot.


    "Awooo¡­!"


    The wolf gave a pitiful groan as the pain of having its eyes damaged made it dizzy. Perfect and ideal situation for me to attack now.


    I threw away the corpse stuck to my Blood ws and reached this wolf in an instant, using my strength and speed, I tried to slice its head with a single and strong shing swing of my ws!


    SLASH!


    However, the wolf managed to evade in time and then jumped onto me, throwing my small body to the ground.


    Boom!


    "GRAAAHH! GRARWR!"


    The beast began to gnash my blood ws with its furious bites, its saliva and horrid breath began to fill my face, what an unsettling beast..!


    Just as I was about to kick it, Eleanora showed up and kicked it for me with a swift movement of her legs. Despite being in her energy-saving form, her stats were still almost the same, her strength was simr to mine, so she was able to do as much without even spending mana.


    "Awooo!"


    The wolf cried in pain as it fell to the floor, rolling around. It looked at us with horror. I noticed the wolves Eleanora was sent to kill were already dead on the floor, with agonizing expressions on their faces.


    "As your spirit, let me kill this one for you, ke." Said Eleanora, rushing towards the wolf like a sh of crimson-red essence, and grasping the weakened wolf''s neck, twisting it with superhuman strength.


    Crack¡­!


    "Awoo¡­!"


    The beast gave a veryst cry and died as it had its neck twisted the other way around¡­ I noticed that Elenora had snacked on some blood from the wolves she killed. Her Half-Vampire Skill gave her a boost to her stats temporarily, usuallysting a minute.


    [You''ve earned 100 EXP]


    [You''ve earned 100 EXP]


    [You''ve earned 100 EXP]


    [You''ve earned 100 EXP]


    [EXP: 700/10000]


    I had already stood up and petted Eleanora''s head, her hair was soft and silky.


    "Good job." I said.


    Eleanora suddenly blushed a bit while leaving the wolf''s corpse on the floor, her sadistic smile was changed into one of cute embarrassment.


    "I-I am just doing my job." She said with a warm smile.


    "I might have almost gotten bitten for real there¡­ Ah, they broke." I sighed, the Blood ws broke into pieces and dissipated into blood essence.


    "Blood ws are strong but they''re quite frail." Sighed Eleanora.


    "Can you make some using Blood Edge?" I wondered.


    "Yes! I can. But it takes its time." Said Eleanora, as she spent 2 Mana to make the same as I did.


    "I see¡­ I had reced Qi with Mana as well just now to make my ws. I didn''t have much Qi to waste but now¡­ I think I am full once more." I said. I had already drained the blood of the wolves we just hunted, and extracted their spirit orbs, saving them in the leather bag I brought.


    I continued hunting whatever we found. Mostly we found either Demon Rats, which were giant rats the size of cats, and a few more wolves before it was getting toote already.


    I had practiced my Throwing Technique and tried doing a variety of other actions to trigger the acquisition of more Skills, nothing seemed to work until I suddenly acquired something called [Acrobatics] due to my swift movements.


    -----


    [Acrobatics: Lv1]


    Skill Proficiency: 0/10000<sub> </sub>


    Upon activation, enhances the swiftness of your movements and the nimbleness of your body by +10% with each level.


    -----


    With that said and done, we decided to move back to my house. I watched as my own Status, the stats had suddenly increased without me realizing it, even if my level didn''t go up.


    Is this the effects of my new Physique and the constant usage of Qi? The physique slowly permanently increases the power of the body after all, so that''s possible.


    -----


    Name: ke Hunter Goathorn


    Race: Human


    Spirit Orb Realm: Rank 1 (Initial Stage)


    Job ss: None


    Subss: None


    Level: 0 / 10


    EXP: 1950 / 10000


    < Health Points: 25 / 25 -> 28 / 28 >


    < Mana Points: 10 / 10 -> 12 / 12 >


    < Strength: 20 -> 24 >


    < Agility: 15 -> 18 >


    < Vitality: 10 -> 13 >


    < Intelligence: 30 -> 31 >


    < Dexterity: 15 -> 17>


    -----


    I had tested if it was due to absorbing the Spirit Orb by absorbing another one, and suddenly realized Intelligence went up by 1. But nothing else increased.


    Does consuming spirit orbs increase my stats randomly by 1 or 2? It is interesting¡­ I suppose it is because I am cultivating my spirit orb at the same time, right? It must be that.


    But at the same time I also got some bonuses from the physique, even if it doesn''t show as a skill or something.


    If I consume the pile of Spirit Orbs, I got, I could enhance my stats even more¡­


    But I also want to start saving money.


    Ugh.


    Maybe I could just sell the wolf pelt and meat? Maybe I could get something out of it.


    Prioritizing my strength should be my goal, hoarding capital can wait a bit more, I suppose.


    At least I will continue consuming and absorbing spirit orbs until I begin seeing no more changes into my stats, after that, I will hoard them and sell them off.


    When I came back home, I left all the corpses of the wolves, which were drained out of blood in front of the house and sneaked back to my room.


    "S-So this is this is your humble room¡­ It isfy." said Eleanora, fascinated by the room''s rustic look.


    "It is like that¡­ For now go back to my spirit orb." I said.


    "O-Oh, already? I wanted to stay around here some more¡­" she sighed.


    "I will present you to my parents tomorrow." I said.


    "Ohhh! Alright then!" she jumped into my spirit orb, and I quickly decided to sleep.


    -----

 Chapter 20 Eleanora And Family

    -----


    The next morning I woke up with a lot of energy, almost refreshed. I stretched my arms and yawned.


    Jumping out of my bed, I nced at my mirror. a brown-haired boy with a delicate-looking face and emerald eyes greeted me. This was me.


    I suppose I had not changed much since I was a baby, I still have a very baby-like face¡­ Well, most people still consider five-year-old kids as babies.


    Is this the reason why Eleanora said I was cute? Well, her form as a little girl was also very cute


    It felt like we went back to our younger selves of our previous life in a way.


    It was a nostalgic night, indeed¡­ And I suppose she also had the same feeling.


    "ke, you''re awake?"


    Suddenly, I heard the voice of Eleanora inside of my head.


    It appears that Spirit Summons can speak into the mind of their Masters.


    I tried speaking into her mind as well without moving my lips.


    "Yes, I''m awake¡­ So we can use Telepathy?"


    "Indeed, I just discovered it. I think that''s how spirit and mastermunicate in battle, ording to the info you gave to me¡­"


    "I see¡­ That''s interesting¡­ It doesn''t seem to consume any mana like telepathy once did in our previous lives, this must be limited to us."


    "I think the same."


    "For now, I''ll go down to greet my parents and grandmother, and show you to them, please make sure to be polite with everyone, and don''t adress me as "my lord" nor as "Asmodeus"¡­"


    "U-Understood, I will be polite, don''t worry."


    "Thanks."


    I moved downstairs and found my parents and my grandma enjoying breakfast already.


    "Ah, you woke up early today, champ." Said my father.


    "Did you sleep well, dearie?" asked my mother, as she kissed my cheek.


    "You still look a bit sleepy, look at that little face of yours." Giggled my grandmother.


    "Good morning¡­ I have something to show you all." I said.


    "Huh?"


    Everyone then fixated their eyes into mine.


    "Last night I had a weird dream and¡­ the book I had¡­ seems to not be really a full spirit," I said.


    "Full spirit?" asked my father.


    "What do you mean?" wondered my mother.


    "I mean that the book wasn''t my spiritpletely, there''s something else¡­ That is also my spirit. Remember Erika''s spirit? She has a single spirit made of many bodies, the same is for mine. My Spirit is not a Book, but a girl that wields it¡­" I said.


    "A-A girl?!" asked my mother.


    "What?" asked my father.


    "Y-You mean¡­!" asked my grandmother.


    "Look. Summon Spirit."


    FLASH!


    A mass of spirit energy emerged out of my chest, as Eleanora showed up in her energy-saving-form. She held the Grimoire, pretending it to be like her weapon or whatever, just part of the act.


    She was so cute everyone stood there in silence staring at her. She resembled a princess right out of a fairy tale after all. Her dress, her fair white skin, sharp crimson-red eyes, and her long, silky, and bright wine-red hair made her really look like royalty.


    "T-This¡­!"


    "It''s really a girl!"


    "Oh my!"


    "I am pleased to meet you all, I am ke''s spirit. I will be on your care." She said.<sub> </sub>


    "S-She can talk!"


    "What?!"


    "I''ve never seen a spirit speak!"


    "Indeed, she can speak and all, she''s very intelligent too, I am just as surprised. I guess I was really quite talented at the end." I said with a smug smile.


    "Y-You really were!" said my father.


    "Indeed! So cute! Wait, what''s her name? What''s your name dear?" asked my mother, as she rushed to the side of Eleanora as fast as she possibly could and petted her head.


    "My name''s Eleanora." She said.


    "Ooh, such a refined name." said my grandmother.


    "She''s really like a little princess, isn''t she?" asked my father.


    "Yeah¡­ Perhaps. She''s strong too¡­ But I have yet to practice anything with her, I have yet to learn any spirit technique¡­" I sighed.


    "Hm, creating one at your age might be a difficult feat." Said my father.


    "Indeed¡­ A-And the Scrolls are so expensive¡­ We can''t really¡­ afford them," sighed my mother.


    "I think I have some money saved up¡­" said my grandma.


    "But mom you can''t spend it on that." Said my mother.


    "Yeah¡­ Save it for yourself." Said my father.


    "But little ke can be strong if he learns a strong technique! If he grows stronger, he''ll one day repay it to me. I know he will, he''s my precious little boy after all, right?" asked grandma.


    "Grandma¡­" I sighed.


    "B-But¡­ That''s the money you''ve been saving your entire life." Sighed my mother.


    "Let ke be for now; he just got his spirit." Said my father.


    "Geez! For being his parents you''re not even trying to help him." said my grandmother while crossing her arms.


    "No, they''re right, keep the money, grandma. I will find my own ways to grow stronger, don''t worry." I said.


    "Oh my, those eyes are zing with conviction! Okay, okay I get it¡­" giggled my grandma.


    "(You''re very humble all of the sudden¡­)" giggled Eleanora through telepathy.


    "(I''ve grown very fond of my new family¡­ I never had one after all¡­)" I answered.


    "(ke¡­)" she sighed.


    "So? Little Eleanora, do you eat anything?" asked my mother.


    "Spirits can eat too to gain energy; my goat goes out to eat grass sometimes." Said my grandma.


    "Eat¡­? S-Sure!" said Eleanora.


    She quickly sat down at my side as mother served us some warm milk with toast covered in butter and fruit jelly. There was also a bit of beef jerky made out of boar meat and cheese.


    "Ah¡­ So tasty¡­" sighed Eleanora.


    "I''m d you like it." giggled my mother.


    Knock, knock.


    Suddenly someone knocked the door, and I went to open the door.


    "ke! Good morning!"


    Erika jumped on me and hugged me and kissed my cheek as usual.


    "Good morning, did you sleep well?" I asked.


    "I did! I''m hungry though!" she said.


    "Come to eat with us then- Ah." I muttered, as I saw Eleanora ring down at Erika with  murderous intent¡­


    -----

 Chapter 21 How To Cook Wolf Meat

    -----


    I opened the door to greet Erika, as Eleanora noticed her as well, and saw her hugging me and kissing my cheek.


    Her eyes suddenly emanated a murderous intent, and her entire little body was unleashing an aura of bloodthirst¡­


    However, the moment Erika noticed the new girl, she also looked at her in surprise.


    "W-Who is she?" she asked.


    "She''s¡­ my spirit. It seems that my true spirit was her, not the book. Like your spirit, the book was only a part of the spirit." I said.


    "Eh?! S-So that happened? I can''t believe it, its just a girl¡­ How can it be a spirit?" asked Erika.


    "We saw him summon her." said my father.


    "Yeah, many wouldn''t believe it, but it just happened in front of our eyes, we can''t deny it." said my mother.


    "Yes, although I''ve seen humanoid spirits before, I''ve never seen one as detailed before." Said my grandma.


    "She''s very unique." Said my mother.


    "(ke! Who is she?!)" asked Eleanora through telepathy.


    "(I told you about her, right? She''s Erika, my friend.)"


    "(F-Friend? Do friends kiss each other cheeks?)"


    "(She''s just a kid, why are you being so harsh?)"


    "(B-But¡­!)"


    "(Eleanora you can kiss my cheek if you want too, will that make you happy? If possible, I don''t want you two to fight.)"


    "(K-Kiss?! I would never dare offend you like that¡­!)"


    "(Offend me? We are equals now; this is why I don''t want you to treat me formally anymore.)"


    "(ke¡­)"


    "Eleanora, don''t be unpolite ande to greet her. Erika, greet Eleanora." I said.


    Eleanora slowly walked to our side, as Erika greeted her with a gentle smile. Erika wasn''t actually jealous, just surprised. She''s still shy with other people, so seeing someonepletely new show up surprised her a bit.


    "N-Nice to meet you, Eleanora. Let''s protect ke together." Said Erika, as she extended her hand to Eleanora.


    "¡­Yes, I think the same, let''s protect him together, Erika." Said Eleanora, as the two girls shook hands.


    But then I realized Eleanora''s eyes glowed with bright light as she raised her eyes in surprise.


    "Y-You are¡­?"


    "(Don''t tell her that she''s not human, don''t point it out)" I told Eleanora through telepathy. Due to her acute senses, the moment she touched Erika she realized that her body wasn''t that of an human.


    "Hm?" asked Erika curiously.


    "You''re¡­ very cute." Said Eleanora, petting Erika''s head.


    "Uwah¡­ Y-You''re cute too¡­" said Erika while blushing.


    "Oh my! They''re besties already!" said my mother while looking at the adorable girls fascinatedly.<sub> </sub>


    "Nowe eat with us, Erika, or the milk will get cold." Said my grandmother.


    "O-Okay!" Erika said.


    At the end both girls sat down at each side of me, although Eleanora still looked at Erika with jealously by how close she acted with me sometimes.


    "(Why is Erika not human? What is she?)" she asked me.


    "(She''s a Living Doll, it is a long story¡­ It''s thanks to her father that she was able toe back to life in such a form, she died at a very young age.)" I told her.


    "(I-I see¡­ So she had her own hardships in such a body¡­ I apologize for being rude to her by ring at her murderously.)" apologized Eleanora.


    "(Don''t worry about it, just don''t do it again.)" I said.


    "(Understood¡­)" she answered.


    After breakfast, my fathermented something.


    "Ah! This morning there were a lot of corpses of wolves right in front of the door, they were drained of all the blood too¡­ I picked them up and saved them in the storage, does someone want to help me out butcher them? I don''t really know how they showed up there, it''s very mysterious but¡­ finders'' keepers, right?" asked my father.


    "What if they died of a disease?!" asked my mother.


    "No, they had clear wounds over their bodies, they were clearly dead because they were killed¡­" said my father.


    "Well that''s very suspicious, you''re talking about it as if it were simple." Said my grandma.


    "It''s not like it hasn''t happened before, I remember that in the past there was a generous hunter that often left carcasses of monsters he hunted in front of the doors of poor people." Said my father.


    "Oh right¡­ those times¡­" said my mother.


    "Huh? Who was that?" I asked.


    "We don''t know, but he was a man that gifted dead animals to people. Obviously so we could eat them¡­ It happened several times, and we were helped by this anonymous figure as well." Said my grandma.


    "I see¡­" I said. This seemed to be an interesting little story. I thank whoever did this, as it made what I did less suspicious.


    I had to do this with these corpses because there''s no way I can hide so many corpses, and I cannot go sell them myself either without getting suspicious res and people telling me I am lying, I am just five after all.


    So instead of just wasting the corpses, I decided to bring them here.. Father can butcher them, sell the pelt, ws, fangs, and more, and we can keep the meat.


    "Wolf meat is very tough, but if you boil it enough or mince it with some spices, it can be good¡­ Wolf Meatloaf could be a nice dinner." Said my mother.


    "Ooh! Alright then, let''s work hard, ke, Eleanora, Erika, help me out! You''ll have to learn how to butcher animals eventually, so how about learning from me?" asked my father with a bright smile.


    "Sure! I am thankful." I said.


    "That''s my boy!" said my father, petting my head.


    "B-Butchering? That seems a bit scary¡­" sighed Erika.


    "Don''t worry about it, it isn''t as scary as you may think. You will get used to it eventually." Said Eleanora.


    "R-Really?" asked Erika.


    "Yes, don''t worry." Said Eleanora.


    "It is something important we must do eventually; we''ll have to hunt more in the future and earn money. I want us to eventually be citizens so we can get more opportunities, saving money is essential." I said.


    -----

 Chapter 22 Butchering With Father

    -----


    "Welp, there are many ways we can earn money too, though, I am sure that your father is a citizen, right? I remember he was exiled, but he was still a member of high society¡­ right, Erika?" asked my father.


    "I-I don''t know very much¡­" sighed Erika.


    "Ah¡­" sighed my father.


    "Don''t talk about those things to her." whispered my mother to my father, elbowing him in the ribs.


    "Augh¡­! O-Okay, sorry." He apologized.


    "Anyways! There are indeed many ways to earn money, but because we need to maintain the family and feed everyone, we cannot really save a hundred gold coins¡­ Actually that seems very unrealistic." Sighed my mother.


    "Yeah, the prize is way too much." Sighed my father.


    "Some ways are¡­?" asked Erika.


    "Ah right, well, selling beast meat, corpses, materials are the mostmon, hunting them down and selling the spirit orb inside of them which is the most valuable thing¡­ but these wolves came without it." said my father.


    "Another way is cutting down lumber and selling it. There''s a lot of lumberjacks here so lumber doesn''t sell for so much¡­ But it is something avable everywhere." Said my mother.


    "You can also work in the shops around here, but I doubt they''ll employ any of you because you''re too young." Said my grandma.


    "I guess you can also sell crops, but those we eat ourselves or we sell too, we also have a quota we have to give to the duchy¡­" sighed my father.


    "I find it weird, howe we must pay a quota if we are not even part of the Kingdom as citizens?" I asked.


    "That''s because we are being protected by these walls. They were constructed by the duchy to protect viges¡­ they help us not get ravaged by wild animals at night. It is very good, although the price we have to pay is a bit exaggerated. At least we don''t have to pay taxes other than that- Ah, right, the hunting too." Said my father.


    "Don''t you think giving the crops away and the hunts count as the taxes? This is ridiculous." I sighed.


    "ke¡­ I''ve never heard you act so defiantly against the crappy government¡­ Good job." Said my mother, giving me a thumbs up.


    "Yeah, I can tell you''re a person that thinks about the greater picture but also consider other things in depth, this boy is very intelligent! Kids at five years of age are only thinking about pooping, sleeping, ying, and eating." Said my grandma.


    "Hmm¡­ But don''t go saying that out loud, or you''ll get into trouble. Some of the guards that work in here are people from the duchy, citizens. if they hear a person talking bad about the duchy, they''ll report you. They just want a promotion at all costs, throwing away the life of a young child is of no consequence to them¡­" sighed my father.


    "Don''t worry father, I get it." I said.


    "For now how about we go butcher? I can give you all a part of what we earn selling the stuff." Said my father.


    "Really, father?" I asked.


    "Yeah! You better work hard for it, I want you to start off your little capital. I want my son to be a citizen too." Said my father.


    "Thanks¡­" I said.


    "No problem. Now let''s get to it before I begin procrastinating again¡­" yawned my father.


    "We''ll go attend the crops too, so get to your own thing for now." Said my mother.


    "Yeah, have fun." Said my grandma.


    We quickly got into the room where father left the corpses. There were over ten of them we had hunted downst night.


    "The good thing is that they came drained of all the blood so they''re ready to be butchered easily, and the meatst longer when the blood is out." Said my father.<sub> </sub>


    "Oooh¡­" I said. Pretending to be surprised.


    "A lot of wolves!" said Eleanora, also pretending.


    "Uegh¡­ T-This is a bit disgusting¡­" sighed Erika.


    "Everything is a bit disgusting in life. We gotta get used to the disgusting stuff, hahaha!"ughed my father, grabbing a sharpened knife and piercing a wolf''s stomach, opening it wide and letting all the guts fa;; out.


    "Uwaagghh¡­" cried Erika, covering her face.


    She''s a doll and technically cannot vomit, her nausea is only caused due to her own mind, not a body response¡­ she should get used to it quickly as long as we force her a bit.


    "Come on Erika, grab this knife and cut this one''s stomach." I said.


    "T-That''s a bit¡­!" she cried.


    "Come on¡­" I said.


    "M-My spirit can do it!" she said.


    "No is no, you''re going to do it yourself¡­ Now get to it." I said.


    "Guuuhh¡­" Erika cried, as she pointed the knife, shut her eyes, and stabbed the wolf''s stomach.


    SLASH!


    aaaash!


    She opened it with one single fell swoop, that was great.


    "Ugh¡­ Oh? I did it- Gyeeh!"


    And then she saw all the gutsing out.


    "Hahaha! Good job! Not bad for a newbie, now, ke. Here, my son, do one yourself." Said my father.


    "Very well."


    I picked the knife and cut off the beast''s stomach, took all the guts out, ced them in a bucket, and then quickly cleansed all the insides, leaving the ribcages empty and clean. Afterwards, I quickly started to cut off the skin and taking off the entire pelt.


    "W-Woah¡­!" my father reacted in surprise as I began to masterfully butcher the entire beast. The skin came out quickly through my special techniques, and the entire monster ended up red-colored, as there was no skin on it anymore.


    "Done. I even removed the face; this pelt could make a good coat perhaps." I said.


    "I-Indeed¡­ My son you got some great natural talent for this!" said my father.


    "Do I? I guess¡­" I said.


    [You learned the [Butcher: Lv1] Skill]


    Oh? I guess I can only learn survival-like Skills? Butcher is a very weird Skill to have, it is something just natural, can it even be used in battle?


    -----

 Chapter 23 Another New Skill?

    -----


    [You learned the [Butcher: Lv1] Skill]


    -----


    [Butcher: Lv1]


    Skill Proficiency: 0/10000


    While butchering, naturally gives you the insight to masterfully take out the parts of a monster and detect which one is the best. It also gives insight into which parts can be more valuable. This ability enhances its effects with each level.


    -----


    I suppose it not only helps with taking out pieces but also gives me insight in terms of quality and value? I see. It might evolve into something simr to an Appraisal-like Skill, perhaps¡­


    Though¡­ the Proficiency needing 10k is a bit too exaggerated to level it up, this will take me years to level up, what a pain¡­


    Oh well, at the very least I will be butchering a lot of monsters each day from now on¡­


    "Son, you''re way too good at this! I think you just surpassed me with natural talent¡­" sighed my father, he felt defeated.


    "I have nothing to teach you¡­" he sighed.


    "Well there''s still Erika, let''s teach her together." I suggested.


    "Oh right!" eximed my father, his eyes shone brightly.


    "Chuuu!"


    Suddenly, his spirit was summoned out of his chest, Earth Mouse.


    "Oh! So that''s how other spirits are?" asked Eleanora, seeing the little mouse walking around.


    "Yes, this is my Spirit, Earth Mouse¡­ It is nothingpared to you though, Eleanora." said my father.


    "It is cute, can I pet it?" asked Eleanora.


    "¡­Sure, why not? Come here rat." Said my father.


    "Chuu?!" Earth mouse looked at Eleanora with surprise, she was a spirit like him, yet she was way stronger¡­


    "Ah, so cute¡­ I love pet rats." Said Eleanora, grabbing Earth Mouse and petting him carefully.


    "Chuuu¡­ Chuu¡­" Earth Mouse resisted, but ultimately was overwhelmed by Eleanora''s pettings.


    She does indeed like rats, in our previous life she had a farm of rats of various colors and breeds she held as pets, they were all well clean too, and cute and strong. Each one wielded an element as well, they were her monster pets, and worked with her in battle sometimes. They were known as the "Rat Squadron".


    I guess she misses them, they were her precious pets¡­ Very so often we grow so attached to our pets that we see them as members of our family as well. I had my own pets as well; I missed them too.


    "Hehe, I never saw someone like the rat so much." Giggled my father.<sub> </sub>


    "I can see potential in him, why don''t you train him?" asked Eleanora.


    "Train him? Well, Spirits cannot grow stronger by training as we do¡­ It usually takes a lot of effort for us to receive the Blessing of the Holy Spirits while defeating a strong enemy, after hunting a lot of boars, I cannot grow stronger so easily unless I invest in materials to do rituals and weird things that rich people do to enhance their spirit orbs." Said father.


    "Hm? Blessing of the Holy Spirits?" I asked while raising an eyebrow.


    "Well, you don''t know, son? I guess you''ve never killed a beast before¡­ When you kill a monster, your Talent grows stronger. Even if you don''t have talent, you also grow a bit stronger. Usually, the first time you kill something, you immediately receive the blessing, but gradually it bes harder¡­ Whenever you gain it, you kind of "feel it", you know?" said my dad.


    What? Is that Leveling Up? So the people in this world do indeed "level up" but don''t have any way to tell other than the sudden boost they get by ying beasts¡­ I see.


    So father probably hit a barrier on his level somehow, and now he needs to beat monsters that are way stronger than what''s found around these forests.


    Wait, that means that my father, despite his looks, is quite strong.


    I have indeed felt like his Qi was off the charts sometimes, but I thought that was just the natural Qi of a grown adult¡­


    When people level up, it appears that their Qi naturally increases, which is also connected to the strengthening of their bodies.


    "I see¡­ I didn''t know that happened, must be exciting¡­" I said.


    "Y-Yeah!" said Eleanora.


    "Maybe we could hunt one day?" wondered Erika.


    "When you grow a bit more, you''re way too young for that. I started hunting at ten years old." Said my father.


    "Is that so¡­" I said while averting my gaze.


    If he knows I slew all these wolves, he''d probably lose his sanity.


    "So Spirits can also do this?" I asked.


    "Yes, Spirits share our strength and grow stronger as well, but this Rat only develops abilities that make the dirt richer, and my Talent: Farmer, does not do much with fighting either¡­ So most of the bonuses I get are just physical strength. Although I am pretty good using a long spear." exined my father.


    "Ooh, I''ve never seen you holding one before," I said.


    "I only take it out when it''s time to hunt, I''ll show it to youter, son." Said my father.


    At the end, we continued butchering the wolves with a lot of energy while chatting with father. We ended up taking around two hours doing the whole thing. After that, we separated the pelts and left them drying over the roof of the house, so they would get dry.


    After that, we cut down all the meat from the bones and separated them as well, mother took arge bowl of the meat and began to cut it into tiny pieces rather masterfully until it turned into meat paste.


    After that, she poured in salt and other spices, including lemon juice too, and then left it resting for the rest of the day.


    While lunch was still a bit far away today, we decided to go to the za and enjoy a day off there, ying ball for the most part, although I also liked to look around and inspect the people and their spirits, just by looking I can sometimes learn a lot of insights¡­


    Some people noticed Eleanora''s appearance and looked at her weirdly though.


    -----

 Chapter 24 Preparations For Tomorrow

    -----


    After the za, we decided to go back for lunch. My mother had prepared wolf meatloaf, alongside a side of mashed potatoes and a lot of sd to go with it.


    The meatloaf was tasty, despite wolf meat being rough and rather smelly, she managed to make it delicious by cutting it down until it became like paste, and then recing the bad scent with the spices and the lemon, these ended up making the meat very tasteful.


    She had even added whole boiled eggs inside, whichbined well with the meat. The mashed potatoes were creamy and had a bit of goat milk on them, and the sd was refreshing.


    In my previous life I never had the motivation to sit down and enjoy such a meal before. I often satiated myself by just drinking blood. Now that I had a human body, I can understand the greater pleasures of eating food, especially if it is carefully cooked by my mother and grandmother.


    Eleanora, despite being rather vampiric, was a spirit, and her weaknesses as a Vampire were mostly all lessened or negated. She also didn''t had much appetite in our previous life, but now, surprisingly, she was enjoying the food a lot.


    Spirits do eat, I''ve investigated enough by asking my parents, they often have a preferred meal. For my mother and grandmother''s spirits, they like eating grass for the most part, meanwhile, my father''s rat can eat meat, bones, roots, and also nts, and anything, pretty much like rats.


    However he had stated that the rat''s preferred meal is raw potatoes and carrots.


    And Eleanora? I guess her pte might be moreplex. But she probably has a taste for blood. When we hunted down the wolves, she enjoyed their blood a lot, even though she left most of it for me to convert into Blood Qi.


    "Make sure to sleep early today, son, tomorrow morning we are going to go sell the wolf pelts." Said my father.


    "Oh, that soon?" I asked.


    "Yeah, it is better to do it now. There''s no need to dy the money we can get right now, right?" asked my father.


    "I suppose you''re right." I said.


    This is a good thing. I will be able to see what the prices of wolf pelts are and calcte the prices of other things this way. I can also sneak around and perhaps even sell the spirit orbs I had umted from the wolves. This might be the first time I am allowed to go to the markets, so this brings great and new opportunities that I cannot possibly miss.


    "Can I go too?" asked Erika.


    "Well? If you want to, Erika. But ke has told me you''re a heavy sleeper, so I don''t think you''ll be able to wake up early¡­ Haha." Laughed my father, while gently petting her head.


    "Muhh¡­ I will sleep early today, right after dinner then!" she said.


    "No need to push yourself so hard, but sure." Said my father.


    "How has your father been, Erika? Has he eaten the meals we sent to him?" wondered my mother.


    My mother had recently been sharing our meals with Erika''s father. She had made some small wooden boxes using her Crafter Talent and has been using them to store meals and leave them hot for several hours, she gives them to father most of the time while he''s out in the fields or hunting with the rest of the vige.<sub> </sub>


    She had recently begun to give meals to Erika and her father whenever she''s not here. My mother is a very good woman to think so deeply of others wellbeing. She has restored my faith in humanity.


    "Yes, miss Mary, he said they were very yummy. He had recently been feeling quite well¡­ Since ke''s visit he has felt healthier and has more energy than before." Said Erika.


    "I see, he must have gotten a second wind then!"ughed my grandmother.


    "I am d he''s feeling better. Despite his age, he''s a strong man." Said my father.


    "Indeed, take care of your father, alright, Erika?" asked my mother.


    "I will¡­ T-Thank you for being so nice to us." Sighed Erika, as little tears began to pour out of her eyes.


    "Aw, don''t cry, dear." Said my mother, hugging her.


    "(My lord your friend is quite the crybaby)" said Eleanora through telepathy.


    "(Yes, she''s very emotional, but her will is very strong.)" I answered.


    "(I suppose¡­ Will we go hunt tonight as well? We must gain EXP as fast as possible to level up, my lord¡­)" said Eleanora.


    Eleanora was also able to level up like me, although she was just summoned, and had little attachment to anyone here, so the only thing she had in mind right now was spending time alone with me and leveling up to grow stronger.


    I understand her mindset, but I would like if she could have other things in mind than that. Life is more than just growing stronger, now that I''ve been reborn, aside from such a goal, I also have begun to enjoy the little moments. Perhaps because I had never done so in my previous life, so I never realized how precious every little thing can be.


    "(Yes, we''ll go. Don''t worry about it, for now, try to get ustomed to the people here.)" I told her.


    "(V-Very well¡­)" she sighed.


    That Erika''s father had been feeling better was obviously thanks to me. I had used my Qi to stimte his Pressure Points and open his Core, making him naturally generate and umte Qi across his body.


    Qi is said to be able to increase the lifespan of a person, and even give them new youth and energy. Although her father is still in hisst years, he might be able to hang out with Erika for a bit longer.


    I am d I was able to do this, and I might as well do it with grandmother as well, she''s slowly feeling more and more lethargic¡­ Human lives are so fleeting, even when I know this very well, I cannot help but feel a sorrow each time I think my grandmother might soon pass away¡­ I want her to stay with us as much as possible.


    -----

 Chapter 25 A Touching Conversation

    -----


    "Oh my, ke?"


    After lunch, I began to massage my grandmother''s shoulders while she was resting on the couch inside the living room.


    "Grandmother, how have you been feelingtely?" I asked.


    "Oh, I am fine, dear. You don''t have to worry about this old woman." She said with a gentle smile.


    "I see. How are you feeling though? Is your body feeling more tiredtely?" I asked.


    "W-Well¡­ for years now. It justes with growing old." She said.


    "Don''t push yourself too hard. My mother and my father can do things just well, you don''t really need to work in the fields." I said.


    "But if I don''t work hard, how can I repay them for what they have done for me? I can''t just be dead weight." She said while shaking her head. She was a stubborn woman.


    "Your spirit can provide milk for us to drink and sell, that''s more than enough." I said.


    "Yeah, but I don''t feel right making my little goat do all the work herself." She said.


    "Sigh¡­"


    I cannot really convince her.


    At the very least, I will do the same as with Erika''s father, and extend her lifespan a little bit with this method. As I massaged her shoulders gently, I slowly poured Qi into her body, so masterfully and slowly that she couldn''t really notice.


    As the flow of Qi epassed her body, I stimted every single pressure point, and then, her core. In an instant, a flow of Qi began to gather inside of her chest, and then slowly distributed itself across her body.


    She was feeling rather sleepy, so she didn''t realized it too much and ended falling asleep due to how rxed it caused her to feel.


    "Zzzz¡­"


    I covered her with a mantle and left her there. Hopefully she can rest well for now, she had been pushing herself too much for her age. It is already rare for a person to live this long in a world as unforgiving as this one¡­ We must treasure every day we still have her with us.


    Grandmother¡­


    I nced at her for a bit more as Eleanora, who had gone back to my Spirit Orb, seemed to notice this attachment.


    "My lord, you''ve grown so attached to these humans¡­" she sighed.


    "I have¡­ I would have never thought that an old and cunning fox such as myself would grow attached to the fleeting lives of humans as much as I have¡­ Perhaps after losing everything, I began to realize that I must appreciate what I have better¡­ I am sorry for never having given you or my friends such appreciation." I sighed.


    p "M-My lord¡­" she sighed.</anda>


    "Eleanora, now that I have you with me once more, I will treasure every day with you as well¡­ I promise to make up for all the time lost, and for all the mistakes Imitted." I said.


    "Y-You don''t have to¡­! I am already honored to be back with you¡­" she said.<sub> </sub>


    "No, if I don''t do this, I don''t think I can call myself a man anymore." I answered.


    "¡­"


    Eleanora fell silent. A Spirit and its master can share their emotions a little bit, and I could clearly feel her bubbling emotions of happiness inside of her heart, but she also seemed to feel embarrassed.


    I went back to my room, Erika had already gone back home to bring her father meatloaf, so I rested on bed and decided to nap until dinner. As a child, the stamina I have is very limited, sleeping frequently is necessary. If my bodycks stamina, I might even lose maximum Qi capacity and deteriorate my Physique Cultivation, so I cannot really skip this.


    ¡­


    While sleeping, I found myself within a strange ce. It was like apletely red ce, the dirt was red, the sky was crimson, and there were three moons atop the sky, all three of them were a shade of red.


    "Where am I?" I wondered.


    "My lord? You''re here!"


    Eleanora greeted me, as she hugged me from behind.


    "Eleanora? This ce¡­ is this the interior of my Spirit Orb?" I asked.


    "Yes! This is the ce I stay when I enter your Spirit Orb¡­ It is very peaceful." She said.


    "I can tell, perpetual silence and not a single life in here¡­ It is like a desert." I said.


    "Yes¡­ I don''t know how it works but maybe every person could have such a ce inside their spirit orbs¡­" said Eleanora.


    "I see. It is something I should investigate further¡­ For now, this seems like a good ce to actually train while sleeping, this way I won''t lose time even while my body and mind rests." I said with a smile.


    This ce had a lot of potential uses. I could practice fighting techniques, and even magic, perhaps. Although I have yet to investigate the limits of this internal space.


    "Ohh! That is indeed a wonderful idea, my lord!" said Eleanora.


    "You''re calling me "my lord" once more, Eleanora. I''ve told you to call me casually with my name." I said.


    "I-I apologize! My lord- I mean, ke!" she said.


    "I know it''s hard, and that you''re doing it out of respect, but that very respect is also what¡­ I feel  has created a wall between the two of us, this is why now, I want our rtionship to be¡­ more personal. I want you to be not just a servant, but my family." I said.


    Eleanora''s eyes suddenly shone brightly with crimson-red light, her little form seemed to make her expressions and emotions even cuter.


    "S-Suchpromise¡­ I-I will make sure to treasure such emotions, my lord- I mean, ke." She said.


    "Thank you." I said, as I petted her head as she seemed to have be rather happy.


    For now, I should focus on this internal world and what can I do here. This has really been quite a surprise¡­ perhaps I could do even more than I imagined.


    -----

 Chapter 26 Grinding Skill Proficiency Efficiently

    -----


    A few hours passed as I slept, and I was testing the interior of my Spirit Orb. I had concluded that this world was somehow an illusion yet not.


    The world by itself seemed realistic, grabbing the dirt was possible, even rocks could be thrown around and they would make an impact in the floor. There was a gentle and cold breeze, and it seemed realistic.


    However, on the other hand, the "realistic" bodies we had in there were not really our own, or well, at least for me. My body in here was just a projection of my soul, something called Astral Projection, it is when a soul projects itself in the shape of how you see yourself as.


    I had tried using Eleanora''s help to bring things from here outside, but it proved to be impossible, the dirt would disappear when carried outside.


    Maybe it could be said that this was very simr to a virtual reality world.


    In my previous life there were several civilizations with a lot of technology that were able to simte worlds through virtual reality. I had used such technology to train myself in many ways, and it proved to be quite useful.


    This, could be said to be simr, however, I had not heard of this from anyone¡­ This could quite possibly mean that not many can do such a thing as entering their own Spirit Orb, and this might be my own unique ability.


    Nheless, I found something intriguing, although there were no monsters to kill and gain EXP from, grabbing rocks and throwing them using Throwing Technique¡­ increased my Skill Proficiency.


    There was nothing to butcher here, but by analyzing the different rocks lying around and even some strange grasses and flowers, Butcher''s proficiency increased, as it was a skill that could also be used this way.


    And by exercising in various ways, while also running around, jumping and more, gave me a few points in Acrobatics Proficiency.


    Eleanora also noticed this within her own Skills, she also shared the curse with me, so growing for her would be 100 times as hard.


    However, there was a wonderful opportunity in this internal "virtual" world, we could slowly gain Skill proficiency while practicing Skills.


    It appears that I cannot learn new Skills though, I had practiced doing other things such as martial arts, and even sparred against Eleanora a bit. Also, my physical body doesn''t increase in strength either, or any of my Stats, apparently.


    But Skill Proficiency kept rising, even if by +1 point just by throwing a rock. I need 10k proficiency to level up the Throwing Technique¡­ so I require to throw 10k rocks, perhaps.


    "This is amazing! In here we can really train our abilities!" said Eleanora. She was summoned just a day ago, so I didn''t med her for not realizing this sooner by herself. She most likely slept in here whenever she came here.


    "Indeed, this is quite good, with this, even with the penalties we have, we can gain some extra time to practice skills and gain proficiency¡­ Although it seems that magic cannot be conjured here¡­ So I will have to practice that outside, but I do feel the flow of Mana and Qi¡­ and even more strongly Aether." I said.<sub> </sub>


    "I do feel the same¡­ perhaps this is a good ce to practice the flow of energies as well! And Aether! With Aether, you can strengthen your soul and add yet anotheryer of power to you! Perhaps if you could relearn your Soul Devouring technique, you could even devour souls to make your soul stronger at a quicker pace, or even cause mutations on it!" said Eleanora.


    She was very hyped.


    "Skills don''t seem to be possible to learn, but we can umte proficiency, and about techniques outside the Grimoire? Perhaps these do work¡­ But let''s first continue sparring and gaining skill proficiency. Before starting Aether Cultivation, let''s first practice our current skills, while also innately making the flow of Aether rush through our souls," I said.


    "Oh, ssic multi-task practice! Very well!" said Eleanora. She was used to my harsh multi-task trainings.


    The ability to both controls the flow of energies around your body to strengthen it and then refine the energies, while also moving your body and practicing other techniques or skills, this is what I call efficiency.


    Of course, not many can even do such a thing. They would instantly faint on the floor without being able to concentrate their minds on these two taxing actions at the same time.


    But Eleanora and I had been practicing this since we were mere children in our previous lives. Thousands of years of practice had sharpened our minds, even after reincarnation, we can keep up with such a harsh training without anyplications!


    And like that, we trained and trained, until I woke up when my mother called me for dinner.


    I realized I had gained around 600 proficiency in all three of my Skills, and the flow of Aether, Mana, and Qi around my body and soul had be a little bit better¡­


    It works! I can really do this¡­ Did Lucifer not see thising?


    The amount of time that passes  is the same though, there is no time dtion between the outside world and inside the Spirit Orb, but that doesn''t really matter for now.


    Erika wasn''t here for dinner and stayed in her home. She had sent a little doll here, part of her incredible Spirit to send the message that "she was staying with daddy".


    p The doll, which was red-haired was seemingly made of wood with a white dress and holding a staff, stayed with us while we ate. Apparently, Erika already learned how to share her senses with it, and could see us a bit with it.</anda>


    This proved to be annoying when I went to sleep, because the doll wanted to sleep at my side¡­ I decided to not allow it, as I told Erika to stop controlling the doll and go to sleep herself.


    The doll seemed saddened, but it nodded, and dissipated into spirit energy.


    -----

 Chapter 27 How To Use Magic 101

    -----


    Two hours after my parents went to sleep, I jumped out the window and marched back to the forest. In there, we explored for a little bit, finding no monsters in close vicinity.


    "I guess while we wait for them toe, we can practice magic." I said.


    "Magic!" said Eleanora in surprise.


    "Have you been able to utilize magic?" I asked.


    "No, I had tried before, but I cannot, it simply doesn''t work," she sighed.


    "It is just as I thought, magic as we know might be "blocked" from being used in here by the world''sws¡­ but perhaps it only works with spirits due to your specialposition¡­ But it is worth a shot to use it myself¡­ Basic Mana Controlling Techniques should be easy to relearn." I said.


    Even in my previous life''s Universe, everyone was born with a magic and element affinity.


    However, as you grew stronger and umted more Attribute Particles, which are the very particles that make up elements themselves, just about anyone was able to use all elements.


    Although in a mortal''s stage, it was incredibly hard to use elements other than your own affinity, but as you developed divine energy and then gained attribute particles, this became easier and easier.


    After crossing into the God-Realm, then Great God-Realm, andstly, Supreme God-Realm, an influx of Attribute Particles could be attained, and even more Law Comprehension. Thisst concept is something ofte game for divine entities. The more youprehend an element, the stronger it bes and the highest your defenses against it bes¡­ I had 100% Comprehension in all Elements; however, I have lost all my Attribute Particles, which made up all the power of my elements to begin with.


    Specializing in an element was still very important, even as strong as I was. My strongest element was always Blood and Darkness, while the other elements were not as strong and often used as support or as pirs to createposite magic with various elements, while using my main ones as the core of such powerful spells and techniques.


    "You and I should already have 100% Comprehension in all Elemental Laws, this is not something that is just in the soul or the body. It is something of the mind,prehending something to a transcendental level cannot be taken away unless my very memory was fragmented, but it was not¡­ therefore, theprehension of all elements for me is perfect and so is yours. Your inability to use magic is only because of this world¡­ but your maniption of blood and darkness using your Skills is masterful to stay the least." I said.


    "Indeed, I have kept my Elemental Law Comprehension¡­ This is why perhaps my Blood and Darkness Skills are even stronger than they should be for a Spirit such as myself." Said Eleanora.


    "Hmm¡­ Let''s see for now¡­ I will try out every basic spell for every element and discard what I can use or not." I said.


    "Understood¡­ But your Mana is¡­" she said.


    "Don''t worry, I can absorb a Spirit Orb if my Mana goes down. Although, I will be losing money, it is worth the investment if it is for magic practice." I said.


    "You''re more than right." Said Eleanora.


    Eleanora kept an eye on our surroundings while I stood still and concentrated my mind into the flow of mana. I began to construct several runes mentally, and then a magic circle.<sub> </sub>


    Spell conjuration was something incrediblyplex, although the majority of my crew developed innate magic and were all more like sorcerers, including me. In the stage I am right now, as a human child with no talent, I have no such sorcery to aid me, and I must go to the very basics and conjure magic spells through the creation of runes and magic circles, binding the runes in ce, infusing mana into them, and generating the power of the elements.


    Runes are simple though, and so are magic circles themselves, but theplexityes when you have to bind hundreds of Runes to make a simple spell¡­


    But¡­ what are Runes?


    Runes are words, in a way, words that represent what you want Mana to shape itself as. To make the most basic Wind Element Spell "Wind Cut" I must first concentrate on a dozen runes. Each rune is a single word, each wordbines into a phrase, and that phrase is the conjuration for the spell.


    Magic circleses with it, binding all runes in ce and not letting them go away from your conjuration. They''re the table that holds your runes and magic, and also the tool that absorbs the mana into the runes. Fusing the concepts and words of the runes, their meanings, and more, into magic.


    I quickly began to conjure such a spell, in hopes of being able to use any magic. Everyone has a single element affinity, and to be honest, there is some fun in using a single element, and specializing on it, but if I can use all elements right now, it would be for the best.


    "Wind, Flow, Cut, Fly, Strong¡­ Wind Cut."


    I created every Rune, as they began to rotate around my hand, a magic circle bound them together into a wonderful painting made of mana. As the element of wind answered my call without any problems, a small gust of transparent wind flew towards the nearby tree, leaving a deep cut.


    SLASH!


    The cut in the tree wasn''t too deep though, the tree didn''t get sliced in half as I had expected¡­ Ugh.


    But¡­ it worked; I was able to use magic!


    "Eleanora! It worked!" I celebrated, like a child that had discovered that he was talented in something, I couldn''t help but celebrate by raising my hands.


    "I saw it too! Good work!" said Eleanora, as she petted my head¡­


    Okay, that might had been quite embarrassing.


    "You don''t have to pet my head." I sighed.


    "O-Oh! My bad!" she apologized.


    -----

 Chapter 28 How To Increase Mana Capacity 101

    -----


    My Mana was gone. A single spell cost more Mana than what I had, this drained me and left me exhausted. I was able to use Wind Magic, and perhaps I can use every element as well, but the most basic of spells cost all the Mana I had! Ugh, how talentless can I get? At the end, I decided to absorb a Spirit Orb I had in my pocket because I felt a bit exhausted after using my Mana.


    [Spirit Orb has been absorbed]


    [You regained +7 Mana]


    Hahh¡­ Much better now.


    Without Mana, a person grows tired and fatigued. Even more when the mana disappears in an instant, incredibly quickly and out of nowhere. It might even leave sequels in your mind or soul, and even cripple you.


    This is worsened when you have an incredibly low amount of Mana such as myself¡­ this is useless, I cannot properly use magic in battle if a single newbie-level spell leaves me drained. I can probably constantly absorb Spirit Orbs to regain mana, but that''s just inefficient. I might as well just use the powers I have avable within me.


    Even Eleanora''s magic-like skills seem to use less of my Mana than the Wind Cut Spell. And its power wasn''t all that impressive either. Although it appears that this world''s knowledge of magic is incredibly low, they all rely on their spirits to do everything and in what they call Spirit Techniques.


    Is this why they don''t use conventional magic? I remember that Erika''s father had said in his diary he had a book of forbidden spells¡­


    Perhaps I should try to get that.


    But for now, I can assume that this world''s level of magic knowledge is not near enough as others I had visited. One of them such as Magi, the world of mages, a that was popted by mages and governed by them¡­ I had spent arge amount of my childhood there after leaving the trash I was born in with Eleanora.


    In that world I learned many things about magic and magic conjuration, and Eleanora did so as well¡­pared to that ce, in here, everyone has no idea how to use magic aside from through their spirits.


    And the only ones that could have a remote idea of how to use magic, the spirits, are not even allowed to use it! Then I guess I shouldn''t expect much¡­


    I could practice more magic spells, and waste away my spirit orbs, but I can already assume that if I can use wind, one of my least favorite elements which affinity I barely had before, then I can safely assume I can use every element, but I just need more Mana and Magic Power.


    There are ways to increase Mana permanently, one of them is by simply cultivating it and refining it constantly through the body like Qi or Aether.


    The other way is by using special magic tools, consuming potions, and certain foods, that can increase the power of my Magic and increase my Mana Pool.


    And well, there''s the concept of this world, such as Cultivation. The Spirit Orb in this world is what produces a lot of Mana aside from my very soul.<sub> </sub>


    While my soul began to produce mana after my Spirit Orb awakened, it only produces roughly 30% of it, while the Spirit Orb takes 70% of it.


    So without the Spirit Orb, I would be even more talentless with magic¡­


    Without it, I would only have like 3 points of Mana! What a terrible talent. I feel ashamed of myself now.


    The cultivation of a Spirit Orb happens through various methods, although I must investigate further. My father had said that killing monsters helps, drinking mana potions made out of spirit orbs by an alchemist, which is the expensive method only used by aristocrats, and there are also other ways such as techniques of mana cultivation and refinement.


    I suppose I can practice theter because I can easilybine my previously learned techniques with this world to make the most efficient ones even with my measly amount of mana.


    And of course, there''s the method I had not included because I think it is something ridiculous, leveling up. I need 10k EXP for that. Each wolf gives 100 EXP, I need to kill 100 wolves. I doubt there are many wolves around this forest, in fact I believe I might had killed half of them yesterday.


    And now I''ve been sitting here for two hours with Eleanora, and none had shown up. They''re clearly not here anymore or scared of the "monster" (me) that took them down. My only hope now is to seek new prey around, as they''re clearly not approaching me anymore. I currently have 1900 EXP¡­ I still need to kill at least¡­ 81 wolves.


    Ugh.


    "Eleanora, we are tracking them down, let''s try to follow any scent or clues, we need to find that wolf nest¡­ or any damn animal, I want EXP." I sighed.


    "Very well!" said Eleanora.


    We quickly began to move across the forest as I had already given up on the idea of using magic to fight for the moment.


    "So magic won''t be a thing?" she sighed at my side as we ran around.


    "For now, until I can procure arger Mana Pool¡­ My father said that after killing a lot of monsters he felt stronger and even his mana had increased, so leveling up can directly increase my Mana Capacity¡­ it is the way to go." I said.


    "I also want to Level Up and see how it is!" said Eleanora. She seemed a bit childish than at other times. Well, perhaps because she indeed looked like a child now. Maybe she was trying to act cute, or maybe she was simply being more open and honest now that we could adress each other more casually, but there was certainly a charm to her innocence even after thousands of years of having lived together.


    -----

 Chapter 29 Walking Mushrooms Are Tricky

    -----


    As we moved across the forest, we came across something, arge mushroom walking with two feet, at least a meter and a half tall. It was taller than me but not as big as my father. It looked at us with two eerie crimson-red eyes.


    The mushroom was white-colored and had a red and white cap. It had two small limbs with what seemed to be very soft-looking fingers. This thing didn''t look threatening at all, but closer inspection told me it was actually poisonous and might be able to produce a venomous cloud of spores. With my current body, it would be a pain to die from poison¡­ so I better stay away from it.


    "Gruuuooohhh¡­"


    It noticed us as it began to slowly crawl towards us.


    "A Walking Mushroom¡­" said Eleanora.


    "Eleanora, swiftly kill it from a distance." I said.


    "Understood!"


    Eleanora quickly gathered my Mana. I felt 5 Mana were used in an instant. Blood emerged out of thin air, gathering around her tiny hands, she pointed it at the Walking Mushroom and then fired!


    FLAAASH!


    The mass of blood quickly shaped itself as if it were a shing attack, shing through the mushroom''s body cleanly, leaving it cut in half.


    SLAAASH!


    "Gruuuooh?!"


    The Walking Mushroom was an easy prey, it died on the spot with ease.


    [You gained 100 EXP]


    Well, at least this is something.


    I took out the knife that my father had gifted me on my fifth birthday, as I shed open the stomach of the mushroom which had not been shed properly, and took out a slightly bigger spirit orb, it was covered in goo.


    "This is good enough." I said with a smile, as I saved the spirit orb in my pocket.


    What about the corpse? This was venomous so it cannot be eaten, burning it will make a venomous cloud as well, so I will just leave it here to rot and go back to the forest naturally.


    "For now let''s continue."


    "A-And the corpse?"


    Eleanora asked the same question¡­


    "People can''t eat venomous things, they''re not like we were back then, even I¡­ I think I won''t be able to handle it." I sighed.


    "But this is such a waste!" she said.


    "Don''t eat it!" I said, as Eleanora almost tasted the mushroom.


    "Does nobody buy these, for real?" she asked.


    "I don''t think anyone would buy poison unless they want to kill somebody¡­" I said.


    "O-Oh¡­ I suppose you''re right." Said Eleanora.


    Eleanora was a bit stubborn. The truth was, she was greedy deep down, but wasn''t I also very greedy before? I might have be a bit less greedy, I guess. There are always people willing to buy anything, I am sure of it, but the chances of encountering someone willing to buy the corpse of a venomous walking mushroom in this little vige was dim. I am sure it could be used for alchemy; I can see the potential in the materials by just looking, but it''s not worth it, nor do I have any way to easily store it.


    We continued advancing through the forest as we found more Walking Mushrooms than we thought. There was three more right around the corner. It made me wonder if there was a colony here.<sub> </sub>


    Using rocks I had picked up, I fired them with incredible speed towards them using the Throwing Technique. The +10% damage dealt was really apparent as they became powerful blows. I discovered that three shots were enough to finish off the Walking Mushrooms as long as I could aim at the middle of their eyes, where their nervous system was located. They didn''t have brains but this was their weak spot.


    BOOM! BOOM!


    Using both hands as someone who is ambidextrous, I was able to fire the rocks right in the middle of the forehead of the Mushroom six meters away from me.


    After that, I picked another rock and fired the third.


    BOOM!


    "Gruuoohh¡­"


    BUMP!


    The Walking Mushroom fell to the floor, its eyes rolled out.


    It died instantly.


    [You gained 100 EXP]


    "Hah!"


    Meanwhile, Eleanora, for the sake of not using all my Mana, used her long nails to fight, which she can grow as des by only spending 1 Mana.


    SLASH! SLASH! SLASH!


    The second Walking Mushroom was bathed in shing attacks before it could fire any poisonous spore cloud, as its entire body was sliced apart into pieces and died on the spot!


    "Gruuoohh¡­"


    [You gained 100 EXP]


    Thest Walking Mushroom was a smaller one, looking at us with anger it rushed directly at us and then unleashed a poisonous cloud.


    POOOF!


    The poisonous cloud spread around, as Eleanora and I retreated back.


    "That damn thing¡­ the poison is not so strong, but it seems that it could paralyze a target." Said Eleanora.


    "Indeed¡­" I said.


    It would be so nice if I could tame this monster.. Having a creature that can paralyze others using a poisonous cloud would be very useful. But how can I tame monsters in this world? In my previous life, I simply used my Intent and my Aura, forcing myself on the wills of defeated monsters until they decided to obey me.


    But here? I don''t have such overwhelming might, so my approaching methods are terrible and won''t work as intended, only angering the beast more. I suppose I could damage it and force it, but that might risk the creature using this smoke even more. Therefore I decided to not waste my time and fired three rocks at it consecutively.


    CLASH! CLASH! CLASH!


    The three rocksnded with incredible precision, the Walking Mushroom twisted its face in pain, and dropped dead in an instant.


    [You gained 100 EXP]


    "Phew, let''s wait for the smoke to dissipate a bit." said Eleanora.


    After the poison was mostly gone, we picked the spirit orbs and continued moving.


    -----

 Chapter 30 Alpha Gray Wolf

    -----


    Soon enough, we reached an area in the forest with a river. This is the ce where the peoplee to retrieve water, it appears. Aside from the water wheels inside the vige, there is this alternative for those that live outside the wooden walls and have yet to go look for water.


    Of course, they have to get through the dangerous forest, but during the day it is often safer. With the Walking Mushrooms nting themselves in the floor and sleeping, and the wolves not appearing as they''re nocturnal hunters. Well, most of the time.


    Near the water, we encountered a band of five wolves drinking while also eating what seemed to be¡­ a young brown bear.


    "(Eleanora, I''ll kill some of them from a distance, you catch those that try to run away.)" I told to Eleanora through telepathy.


    Eleanora nodded as she obeyed me without refusing. I held a rock into my hands and infused Qi into my hands, strengthening them.


    FLAAAASH!


    The rock flew at an incredible speed, like a bullet, it pierced the forehead of a wolf right in front of us, which had yet to notice us because it was so concentrated on satiating its hunger.


    BANG!


    "Awoo¡­!"


    The wolf gave a pitiful groan and died on the spot.


    [You gained 100 EXP]


    I had no time to look into the floating Grimoire, as I pointed another rock at the second wolf and fired it.


    BANG!


    The back of the wolf''s head was pierced in an instant as well, leaving a hole behind, and brutally killing it on the spot.


    [You gained 100 EXP]


    At this point the other three wolves began to panic, looking for where the attacks came from, two of them left their prey and decided to run away in fear.


    "(Eleanora!)"


    "(Understood!)"


    Eleanora went to follow the two wolves while I confronted the one that stayed.


    It wasrger than the other four, and it was refusing to leave his prey even when two of hispanions just died in front of him.


    His face was scarred, and he was at least twice as big. His fur seemed old and with white parts around their gray fur¡­ It looked skinny, but also rather strong. Its aura was wild and beastly. Mana began to pour out of its spirit orb as it epassed its body and strengthened him instantly. This monster even knew how to control mana.


    Beasts in this world are not born with Spirits, unlike humans. Instead, they can develop innate abilities that spirits can, this is why many call them "Spirit Beasts". However, low-level ones such as wolves, bears, and walking mushrooms cannot do much with mana, but this wolf here at least knew how to enhance his body strength and speed.<sub> </sub>


    Wild beasts have another potential, their bodies and their spirit orbs are packed with their essence. I''ve heard from my father that those that can reach Rank 2 in Spirit Orb Cultivation are able to create another Spirit using materials. From whom? Spirit Beasts¡­


    Technically, every Rank allows a person to create a new Spirit inside their Spirit Orb, which can be made using materials. But there are even methods that directly convert living Spirit Beasts into Spirit Summons too¡­ As long as they''re willing.


    Nheless, there was no time for me to think about these things, the wolf leaped towards me faster than I could have expected, roaring loudly, its sharp ws shed the wind and unleashed aura attacks that could even pierce through a tree.


    BOOM!


    I jumped away as the long-distance attack hit the ground, making it tremble loudly. I red back at the beast as I noticed it was very strongpared to the others, not just a bit. This thing was an Alpha Gray Wolf, a stronger version of the others, and might even be something like an evolved form.  A fitting prey for a child.


    "GRAA!"


    It roared again, leaping towards me a second time. I evaded his charge and jumped over its head swiftly, my movements were fast thanks to the enhancement of my body using Qi and my new Physique. I had a lot of Blood Qi umted after all.


    "Blood ws."


    I generated blood ws over both of my hands and shed through the wolf''s back while I was there, opening two enormous wounds which leaked rivers of blood.


    "Aooo¡­!"


    The wolf cried in pain as it gritted its teeth and directed its raging anger at me. A strong bite reached me in an instant while I was in midair and jumping away from it.


    It caught my leg and bit it hard.


    CLASH!


    I felt a lot of pain, but the bones didn''t break. This wasn''t thanks to my new Physique which could enhance my body to be strong, my skin was also covered with an outeryer of Qi, named Qi Skin, this technique could advance further and be harder and harder. Currently, I was using the lowest technique, Bronze Skin. Using the enhancement of my body, I gave a twist in midair and kicked the wolf''s chin, throwing it through the air.


    BOOM!


    Itsrge bodynded on the floor rather ugly, the wounds on its back were terrible too, it was struggling to live despite the lethal wounds. I looked at my leg, there was still the mark of its jaws, that will make an ugly scar. Nheless, I couldn''t care less about scars, I moved forward relentlessly and attacked while the wolf was down and weakened. I grabbed the rocks in my pocket and fired them all at once, like flying projectiles, they fell over the wolf''s body and left bloody holes in each part where they impacted!


    CLASH! CLASH! CLASH!


    "Gryaaooo¡­!"


    The Wolf let out a strange scream of pain, as it tried to stand up, attempting to give me another bite, but instead, it received a strong kick in the head, followed by my special technique.


    Flowing Fist Technique: Skull Smasher.


    CRAAASH!


    -----

 Chapter 31 It Was Me

    -----


    Flowing Fist Technique: Skull Smasher.


    CRAAASH!


    Using my fist alone, I crushed the wolf''s skull with a special technique that dealt extra damage against skulls, specialized in one-shotting low-level beings. The wolf couldn''t even give a pitiful scream as it died on the spot, its entire head exploded into pieces, however¡­


    [You gained 100 EXP]


    [You gained 100 EXP]


    [You gained 1000 EXP]


    Oh? 1000 EXP?


    So such a strong opponent rewarded me with ten times as much EXP than a normal Gray Wolf¡­ Alongside that, I also collected the EXP from Eleanora''s hunt. After three minutes of waiting for her, she came back with both corpses in her hands.


    "They ran away several meters, so it was hard to catch them, but here they are!" she said, throwing the corpses   alongside the other ones.


    "Excellent, good job." I said, as I petted her head.


    Eleanora blushed a bit as she seemed happy to help.


    I quickly decided to collect the Spirit Orbs and we continued moving forward after covering the corpses with nts, so they wouldn''t get picked at by other predators. Like that, we hunted down a few other wandering wolves that were alone but couldn''t find any other Alphas.


    However, in the way, we also eliminated a group of ten Walking Mushrooms, led by a bigger one named Walking Mushroom Queen. The battles were not as interesting or challenging as the Alpha wolf. The Walking Mushroom Queen was a joke and just died after 8 rocks in the head.


    When it was already 4 AM, we decided to move back with all the loot we got, mostly carrying a dozen wolf corpses back home, and leaving them by the backyard door this time, where people wouldn''t be able to see them so easily if they wandered by.


    I sighed in relief as I moved back to my room and changed clothes. I had roughly over 30 Spirit Orbs now, should I absorb them all and see what happens, or wait to see how much they cost?


    Hm, I am better off waiting for now, money could afford more things at the end of the day, however, if the prices are disappointing, I will consume them and acquire more power.


    But for now, I dozed off, I was exhausted. A human''s body is not a vampire''s body after all.


    ¡­


    I practiced inside of my Spirit Orb with Eleanora, mostly gaining more Skill Proficiency, until I was awoken up after 3 hours of sleeping by my father.


    "ke, wake up, remember that we have to go sell the pelts early this morning." He said.


    "Ah¡­ Okay¡­" I sighed. I really shouldn''t had gone to huntst night now that I think about it¡­


    Lazily, I went to take a bath and then wore clean clothes, until I heard something.


    "W-What is this?!"


    The voice of my mother scared me, as I ran downstairs, finding her and my father looking at the pile of wolves.


    Oh that was it.


    They weren''t surprised yesterday so why now of all times?


    "M-More wolves? This is the second time already!" said my mother in shock.<sub> </sub>


    "W-What is going on? Who is doing this?" wondered my father.


    "It must be¡­ someone very nice!" I said, acting childishly as I moved near the corpses.


    "Wow! Look at this, father, a big wolf!" I said.


    "Eh?!"


    My father''s eyes opened wide as he looked at the wolf.


    "I-It can''t be¡­ T-That''s an Alpha! Its head is missing but still! This thing often costs¡­ a gold coin!" said my father.


    "Huh? That much?" I asked.


    "W-Who would even gift us such a thing?" wondered my mother.


    "Perhaps they just forgot about them and left them here for some time toter pick them up?" wondered my father.


    "Yeah, there''s no way anyone would leave such things here¡­ It is clearly not something normal¡­" said my mother.


    "I will bring them to the vige and ask if anyone left them near my house¡­ I cannot simply ept this generous offer so easily¡­ this is a lot of money¡­ If that persones back, I will be in trouble if I have sold it all!" said my father.


    "Yeah, dear, it is better to act responsible." Said my mother.


    Huh? Why are they so¡­


    Sigh¡­


    Should I reveal to them that I hunted them down? There''s not much point in hiding it now, I don''t want them to sell off my prize. It mighte out as shocking but there''s no other way. My parents ept me and love me, I know I can trust them on this secret. The secret of my great and amazing strengthpared to anyone in the vige of my age.


    "Sorry¡­ mom, dad, I lied, I was the one that brought the wolves yesterday and today." I said.


    "WHAT?!"


    They both looked at me in shock. The disbelief was very clear in their eyes. They couldn''t believe that a little five-year-old boy such as myself did such a feat. It was easy to tell they thought I was bullshitting my way through so we could keep with the money ourselves. So I had to show some evidence, of course. I took out my leather bag and showed them a pile of over 30 Spirit Orbs. They were once more left speechless.


    "I butchered them off the wolves¡­ I went at night when you two were sleeping. I just wanted to try out my power. It seems that Eleanora and I are very strong, so it wasn''t so hard to hunt wolves¡­" I said.


    "T-This can''t be¡­ My son¡­ Y-You''re really this strong?!" asked my father.


    "ke? A-Are you¡­ for real?" asked my mother.


    "Yes, please believe me¡­ I am just trying to get used it so I can join my father in hunting in the future¡­" I sighed.


    "My son¡­" sighed my father.


    "But¡­ this is¡­" muttered my mother.


    "He''s a Hero."


    Suddenly, the voice of my grandmother resonated behind my parents.


    -----

 Chapter 32 Hero? What A Convenient Excuse

    -----


    "He''s a Hero."


    Suddenly, the voice of my grandmother resonated behind my parents.


    "H-Hero?" the two repeated.


    My grandmother walked outside the house, her eyes filled with wisdom.


    She looked directly into my eyes.


    "Since the moment I saw little ke, I realized that he wasn''t a normal child¡­ He was born talented, gifted¡­ He is someone that is destined to be a Hero." She said.


    I had never expected my grandmother to think of me as a Hero. I wasn''t particrly a heroic figure. In my previous life I only did what I thought was good for my own benefit and that of those close to me, I didn''t help anyone for "the greater good", and to be honest, I wouldn''t do it now either.


    But it seems that Hero is not just a person that helps others and act heroically here, a Hero seems to be some sort of figure, a person with amazing and great strength, innately born with such talents.


    Am I such a person? It could be easily said that I am, based in the standards.


    Even the most talented kid in my vige, which should be either Chris or Eric, cannot even fathom to be beat me inbat, even while having incredibly strong spirits andrger pools of Mana than me.


    I have barely abused my System aside from three Skills, where only Throwing Technique and Acrobatics hade into y the most.


    Most of what had made me strong is simply my knowledge of my previous life. I had used it to cultivate Qi and use techniques I had learned previously, fusing them together and maximizing their effects while also lowering their requirements to be suitable for my new body.


    Eleanora is also part of my strength now, but she had always been at my side in my previous life, so I can''t really say I am cheating the system by having her with me. I always had her¡­


    Nheless, this ce seems to not have a clue about what Qi is, and perhaps even less about what Aether is. All concepts which I had mastered to perfection in my previous life.


    My parents looked at my grandmother in surprise as I stood still. I didn''t wanted to say a thing, and acted rather surprised.


    "Our child¡­ a Hero?" asked my father.


    "R-Really?" asked my mother.


    "Yes! I know it is hard to believe¡­ But I had my suspiciousness yesterday. ke hunted down those wolves at the end¡­ And even more, he also used some strange power to revitalize me while giving me a massage¡­ that could be his gifted powers as a Hero." Said my grandmother.


    It seems that my grandmother is way sharper than I had originally thought. She immediately realized all these things by herself, it surprised me greatly.


    She just pretended to not know? This surprised me even more. I guess even as a human, she had also ended up gathering a lot of wisdom, despite the short amount of time humans live.


    ? "What''s a hero¡­?" I asked.<sub> </sub>


    "A Hero is a figure of strength, dear. They''re called one-man armies. A person capable of turning the tides of battle with their mere presence¡­ Heroes are geniuses amongst geniuses. From the time they are born, they showed special abilities and even more, had even more special spirits with them¡­" said my grandmother.


    "S-So that was it¡­ ke¡­ our ke¡­ Is such a figure!" said my father. He ended up believing everything quite fast. I couldn''t help but thank my grandmother deep down, this pretext of being a Hero ended being useful in convincing my parents of my peerless talent.


    "My boy, you''re really that talented? I-I can''t believe I gave birth to you now¡­" sighed my mother in shock.


    "Don''t say such things, mother, I am very happy to have you as my mother, and you too, father¡­ Even with this strength and what I am developing now¡­ I am still grateful to be with you two." I said.


    "Ah, I feel like I don''t deserve such a boy¡­" sighed my father.


    "Come here!" mother said, as she began to cry all of the sudden, tightly hugging me.


    "Oh, ke!" my father said, as he also hugged me along with my mother.


    The two began to cry tears of happiness. Being a Hero was such a great deal¡­ even though this was only spection from my grandmother at the end of the day.


    It appears that Heroes are able topletely change the fate of their families. Perhaps there were other cases such as mine? If that''s the case, it wouldn''t be so hard to help my family be citizens using my strength to hunt beasts, gain money, and so on.


    After all, strength is everything at the end. With that, you hunt monsters, sell them, and make money, and with money, you can get anything.


    It is just as easy, and it has always been this simple even in my previous life.


    These rules never change, wherever you are where there''s a society.


    I have absolutely no interests in bing anyone''s hero, but I will use this to my advantage to justify my strength, it certainly is convenient. I have to thanks my grandmother for saving me in that situation.


    After the touching moment where I had to calm down my parents over their happiness, we decided to go back home as I exined a few things to them, summoning Eleanora at my side.


    Of course, nothing about reincarnation nor the Grimoire''s powers were included, and I made sure to make of that information as secretive as possible. I wouldn''t be of any use to reveal to my parents such things, it would only creep them out if they were to learn they raised a thousand-year-old vampire¡­


    I will definitely never reveal such a thing!


    For now, things settled down after talking for a while.


    "My son, even as strong as you might be, I am also worried about your safety¡­ As a mother, I hope you don''t sneak out at night again¡­ I-I don''t know what I would do if you recklessly ended up risking your life and¡­ I¡­ I don''t want my boy to get hurt!" my mother cried, as she hugged me once more.


    I had to say something to convince her that I must hunt¡­


    -----

 Chapter 33 Going To The Market

    -----


    "I understand your concern mother¡­ I know I am still too young, but I feel that within me, I must hunt. Something, perhaps the will of the Holy Spirits are telling me that I must face challenges and grow stronger. There''s a mission that I will have to fulfill one day." I told her.


    I bullshitted something using the name of the Holy Spirits, god-like spirits that people pray to through religion.


    "My son¡­ S-Such braveness!" said my mother, her eyes sparkled as she admired me.


    "I understand¡­ I will teach you how to hunt- AH, even if you''ve hunted a lot already¡­ But I feel this is my duty as your father." Said my father.


    "Thank you, dad. I really appreciate it." I replied.


    My father smiled gently as he petted my head and kissed my forehead.


    "I love you son. I will do whatever I can to help you out in these years you have before growing into an adult." He said.


    My father was surprisingly supportive of me, unlike my worrywart mother, he was willing to help me out to learn how to hunt, even though I could be the one to teach him. Nheless, I will take his teachings and perhaps I can get to teach him a few things in return as well.


    I am honestly more worried about them than myself. I know I will do good no mater what, but what about them? I am concerned something bad could one day happen, and I won''t be here to help them.


    In such case, I want my parents to also grow stronger if possible. If anything, I could teach them Qi and use it as an excuse as "the mysterious power of the Holy Spirits" or some bullshit like that.


    "Well, for now how about we wrap things up? You two have to go sell the pelts, right? Mary, let''s prepare breakfast for them so they can eat whenever they get back." Said my grandmother.


    "A-Ah! Y-You''re right mother, I guess I went a bit too far¡­" sighed my mother.


    "Don''t worry mother, I am fine, and I will be fine as well. The Holy Spirits have guided my path, and they''re blessing me with their fortune." I said.


    "Oh my son, it seems you''ve been given an oracle?" asked my mother.


    "S-Something like that¡­ Yeah." I said, averting my gaze from her.


    "Heroes are often given whispers by the Holy Spirits; they''re guided for greatness!" said my grandmother. I was d she was a big Hero fanatic, she seemed to know all of this sort of stuff.


    My bullshitting was being backed up by my grandmother, with this, it was impossible for my parents to not believe me.


    Once more, I am eternally grateful for my grandmother''s amazing help in this regard. She really just helped me a lot¡­ I am eternally grateful for this old woman''s wise words.


    "Very well then, let''s get to it then, son," said my father.


    "Okay!" I said, as we walked outside the house carrying the pelts.<sub> </sub>


    The sun was already rising in the horizon, and the morning was slowly getting warmer from its bone-chilling coldness. The grass below our boots was fresh, and the sounds of birds chirping around could be heard everywhere, it was a peaceful morning.


    Some of the people had already woken up and were wandering around their homes and farms, I saw a few spirits as well, mostly farm animal-like spirits, which were verymon around here, such as cows, horses, goats, sheep, pigs, and more.


    We moved to the za, where my father told me that there merchants that stood there buying things before going back to the capital.


    There was around five to six merchants, each one buying and selling stuff. They were mostly selling anything they couldn''t sell around their travels. Sometimes there were interesting offers, and there was a variety of items I hadn''t had the opportunity to see in great detail before.


    "Look, son, those are Potions, they''re super expensive¡­ That one Mana Potion costs¡­ fifty gold coins! There''s no way I am buying such a thing¡­" said my father in shock.


    Potions seemed expensive because alchemist were rare. I think that''s because not everyone was born with the Talent rted with alchemy such as Alchemist, and someone without such a Talent cannot develop the ability to make products so easily. They needed years of training and more, only to produce low quality products, while Alchemists with such rted Talents can develop Skills and even be able to make products of high quality.


    I suppose its not as if there''s ack of producers, its just that the rich people monopolized all the talented alchemists into theirpanies and use their high-quality products as an excuse to ask for tremendous sums of money.


    The other rich people that buy their stupid potions do it happily, of course, but poor people like us cannot possibly afford this thing, and by just inspecting it, I can already tell that it is barely above average in quality.


    Do these absolute imbeciles really think they can trick me with this garbage? And they''re asking for 50 gold coins for it? If I were given the materials, I can make better potions than anyone in this world.


    ¡­Actually, that gives me certain ideas.


    "How much for the Mana Potion?"


    "Huh? ke?!"


    My father looked at me with surprise.


    "Hm? Boy? Do you think you can afford it?" asked the merchant, he was a man on histe twenties with short blue hair and yellow eyes, perhaps an unexperienced merchant.


    "Is the price really 50 coins?" I asked.


    "Yes, and it is in an offer! Usually, these high-quality potions are way above that price, usually around 100 small gold coins!" said the old man.


    "I see, what materials are used for it?" I asked.


    "Hm?! Well, t-that''s a secret!" he said.


    "I can already tell that the spirit orbs used for this potion are of terrible quality. If anyone were to buy these products, they would end up disappointed." I said.


    -----

 Chapter 34 A Bet With A Merchant

    -----


    "W-What do you know about these potions, you''re just a serf kid!" he asked.


    "I know that theponent you''re using for the Mana Potion is poisonous." I said.


    "Eh?!"


    He reacted; I knew it.


    My eyes never deceive me!


    Although I cannot use Eyes of Truth yet, I can enhance my eyes using Qi, and then I can use the power of the Butcher Skill, which also allows me to inspect the quality of items, with bothbined, I was able to discern dangerous toxins inside the potions.


    "If you don''t want me to divulge this information, just tell me what the ingredients are." I said.


    The old man looked at me with anger.


    "Why would I care if you divulge any words? Who would believe a kid?!" he asked.


    "The fact that you''re freaking out over the measly words of a serf kid such as me already proves to me that you''re lying." I said.


    "Ungh?!" the merchant looked at me in shock, people had already begun to gather around.


    My father was freaking out, looking at me as if he was about to have a heart attack.


    "B-ke stop!" he cried.


    "This damn kid is making a fuss over wanting a damn recipe?!" muttered the merchant.


    Suddenly, the merchant spoke to me, whispering to my ears.


    "Berehilde Grass, Morning Dew Flower Petals, Spirit Orbs, Mana Stones, and Water! Fine with that now? Not like you''ll ever be able to make it! A-And it is something everyone knows anyways¡­" he said.


    "I see, so the Berehilde Grass is not well refined, making the toxins it possesses leak into the whole potion? Yes, perhaps one single potion won''t do bad, but several ones could potentially cripple the magic of a person, and you''re selling this off so expensively?" I questioned, whispering near his ears.


    "Ungh?! How do you know so much?" he asked in shock.


    "I have the insight; my Talent is Alchemist." I said.


    p "A-Alchemist? I see¡­ it makes sense¡­" the old man said.</anda>


    He was an idiot, and I love to abuse idiots.


    This old man could be a potential connection to what I seek¡­


    It is worth a shot.


    "Are you by any chance looking for Alchemists for your little business? This time I can guarantee you a Potion without side effects with less cost and time to make." I said.


    The people had already stopped looking like the discussion was over, changing to a private talk.


    My father was left dumbfounded as he looked at me talking like an expert.


    "You''re only a kid, how can I even trust you this much? And are you even capable of doing what you said?" he asked.


    "I am more than capable. Give me the materials used for this potion here and I will bring you a potion tomorrow morning." I said.


    The man looked into my eyes, which were zing with so much confidence that he couldn''t believe I was just a kid.


    "If I fail, I''ll pay you the cost of the materials by double the price. I won''t be able to pay, so you can enve me." I said.


    "W-What?! ke stop!" said my father.


    I stopped my father with a single stare.<sub> </sub>


    "Trust me." I said.


    "B-ke¡­" my father muttered as he looked at me.


    "Heh¡­ You''re messing with the wrong man! A ve with the Alchemist Talent would sell for a lot, you know? Alright then! Here, but you''ll have to sign this." said the man.


    He gave me a paper which would be our contract.


    "Good." I said.


    I had read it all, it was ording to what we spoke, there were no small print I missed.


    "Hah! I hope you prepare yourself to be enved, ke¡­ Now scram off here. You stink like wolf." He said.


    "Thanks for your business." I said with a smile, I carried the materials in a bag with my father.


    "ke, what the heck¡­ how¡­ eh? How did you even¡­ did that?" he asked.


    "Do what?" I asked.


    "Talk¡­ with a merchant and even manage to do such a thing? Also you have no Talent¡­" he said.


    "I am a Hero, father, I have many talents. The Holy Spirit has whispered to me the right words and I had only said them. They''re guiding me and they said this was the path I had to take now. This is my challenge, a trial I must undergone. Father, they will guide me, and I will make the best potion." I said.


    "M-My son¡­ Are the Holy Spirits¡­ so talkative?" wondered my father.


    "Yes, way too much, they''re annoying at times." I said.


    I''ve once more managed to bullshit my way through this.


    In my previous life and even in this world, the talent I had the most was¡­


    Bullshitting.


    Since I was a kid in my previous life, I saved my own life countless times like this.


    And I''ve used it to scam countless people as well.


    But what''s the best thing you need to have when you try to bullshit someone else?


    Confidence!


    Endless confidence!


    My eyes zed with such confidence that the merchant couldn''t do anything but believe me.


    My voice was firm, I never faltered. My words were straight and to the point.


    He realized I was saying something right, because I knew it with my knowledge. That potion was indeed going to cripple someone if they drank many of them, and he could get potentially caught by the merchant guild for selling defective goods.


    I believe he knew all of this and decided to give it a shot, and even if he were to be wrong, he would get a ve with an Alchemist Talent.


    Of course, I have no such talent, it was yet more bullshit I had said.


    I didn''t even ask for his name, but I know his face.


    I will bring to him tomorrow morning the best potion he has ever seen on his entire life.


    After this incident, we went to sell wolf pelts.


    -----

 Chapter 35 This Is Merely Childs Play!

    -----


    The wolf pelts sold for 5 Small Bronze Coins each¡­ a silver coin is 100 Small Bronze Coins, and we had around 20 wolf pelts, so we got exactly a single silver coin.


    A gold coin is 100 silver coins, and that''s all the economy of this feeble world, I think. At least better than the credit-based economy of the Outside Universe. Not like I avoided too much with thew, as long as I had strength, I just took whatever I wanted. Although there might be moreplicated things in the capital of the Fiefdom, due to being a serf, our education is very limited, so Ick knowledge, and asking tomoners will often me their angered res or sometimes "scram kid!" so I just decided to learn by myself slowly.


    We had yet to butcher the Alpha Wolf yet, so we couldn''t make that 1 gold coin out of it.


    But why does Alpha sell so wellpared to the shittier wolves? Well, mostly due to its danger level. An Alpha Gray Wolf is considered a Middle Stage Rank 1 Spirit Beast, they''re strong enough to ravage an entire group of spirit masters.


    I suppose I fought against such a thing¡­ I had dealt with it with rtive ease. I suppose it wasn''t as weak as I originally thought¡­


    Also, the pelt itself is dozens of times more durable than the normal gray wolf, and it is often used to make special equipment sold to Spirit Masters that be Adventurers, Hunters, or Mercenaries.


    Aside from that, I decided to see how much I could sell a Spirit Orb for. The Spirit Orbs were way more expensive. I was able to get 20 Bronze Coins for one, I had over 30, so I could get 600 Bronze Coins, which were 6 Silver Coins¡­ Not bad for a hunt of two days.


    However, I decided to save them for now. My father also sold the bones, fangs, and ws which were used as materials, and we got an extra silver coin out of it.


    With two silver coins and a bag with items to make a Mana Potion, we went back home.


    My father was still surprised, and very nervous, after all, I had promised the old man that if I failed, he could enve me. Something that he was already having nightmares of.


    "ke! What you did was very reckless! I can''t believe I even let you do such a thing, my son, you must reconsider! I won''t let you do as you please anymore! As your father, we''ll go back, and you will apologize to the man and give him back the materials!" said my father.


    "¡­Father, trust me!" I said, my eyes shining with confidence as I emanated an aura of Qi.


    "Ah¡­!" my father looked at me with surprise once more.


    [Eleanora] had activated the [Charm: Lv1] Skill]


    [The person has a more favorable impression of your words]


    Thank you, Eleanora.


    "The Holy Spirit is guiding me, father, this is a turning point in our lives." I said.


    "B-ke¡­" my father looked at me as his face suddenly filled with emotions.


    "Alright¡­! Damn it, but¡­ how are we going to do this?" he asked.


    "Leave it to me. And if possible, let''s keep it a secret from the rest." I said.


    "A-A secret¡­ But¡­ Your mother will kill me!" he said.


    "Trust me, father!" I said.


    I was being so dramatic that my father had no choice but to ept.


    After we were done, we walked back home where we were weed by everyone.


    My mother became incredibly happy after learning we earned two silver coins, which was a lot for us poor people.


    "T-Two silver coins in just two days?! That''s crazy!" she said.<sub> </sub>


    "Right? It is!" said my father.


    "And its all thanks to you, dear¡­ You''re so talented¡­ But next time, go hunt with the help of your father, okay?" asked my mother.


    "Sure thing mother." I said.


    After everything settled down, I decided to go pay a visit to Erika.


    Indeed, that''s where I would be making my potion.


    Erika''s father had a lot of things. He used to be a crafter, carpenter, and even had done alchemy himself.  He had tobine all these arts to make living dolls, and Erika herself.


    When I reached Erika''s house early in the morning, the old man opened the door.


    "Ah, ke? Erika''s still sleeping¡­ Want me to wake her up?" he asked.


    "No, don''t worry about it, I came here because I wanted to ask you for a favor¡­" I said.


    "A¡­ favor?" he asked.


    I convinced the old man into letting me use his Alchemy Items very easily. I just had to tell him theplete truth.


    "Y-You''re really¡­ done such a thing?" he asked.


    "Yes, I need money, and this is a shortcut to it. Even as young as I am, you''re never too young to earn money." I said.


    "Y-You talk like an old man sometimes¡­" he said.


    "It must be your imagination." I said.


    The man had arge cauldron where alchemy was done.


    He even decided to clean it for me and wash it a bit.


    After that, he put the whole thing over several rocks and a bonfire below.


    "Do you want me to do it for you? I am quite a good alchemist¡­ Well, I am a bit rusty." He said.


    Certainly, I could have asked him to do it to get out of this situation easily, but I was confident in my own Alchemy Skills.


    "Don''t worry about it, I am confident in my own skills¡­" I said.


    The reason why that Mana Potion was so low quality was that it was made rushed and by someone with barely any experience. It was steamrolled, someone with just the Alchemist Talent infused mana into the materials and forced them to turn into a potion. A horrible way to make products, I can tell why it was so horribly refined that the toxin of one of the ingredients wasn''t properly refined.


    Of course, in my previous life I had practiced and mastered Alchemy because it was necessary to learn how to make items to hasten my cultivation, so it was an essential thing I learned.


    Refining these items was like child''s ypared to the entire stars I once merged using alchemy alongside other Gxy-Realm-level materials to form the Marvelous Andromeda Dew, a special potion that enhanced my Cultivation and helped me surpass Rank 8 of the Gxy Emperor-Realm.


    -----

 Chapter 36 Potion Making And Acquiring A New Skill

    -----


    I quickly crushed ten of my Spirit Orbs into dust, as the man had not given me any spirit orbs as he saw that I had a bag with them.


    After they were turned into dust, I also turned Mana Stones into dust.


    Mana Stones are special ores mined from Magic Mountains. They can recover a big amount of Mana when absorbed and can be absorbed by anyone. But they''re often used as alchemyponents and materials to make Mana Potions that truly regenerate Mana.


    Absorbing Mana Stones for a person would be like absorbing Spirit Orbs for me, minus the slight increase in cultivation.


    After pouring the dust of both spirit orbs and mana stones over five liters of boiling water, I let it rest for a few minutes, slowly mixing it until the dust waspletely merged with the water and turned it blue-colored.


    This is where the blue color of Mana Potionses from.


    After that, I cut down the herbs and put them both in water separately.


    Washing them off their toxins and any other bugs there might be on them, and then, I added them to the mix.


    Berehilde Grass and Morning Dew Flower Petals are very rare grasses that I had not even encountered in the wild yet. These two nts are said to have strong magic properties and can hasten mana regeneration when consumed, however, the Berehilde Grass can cripple you if you consume too much of it due to its toxin.


    I learned as much just by looking at them with my eyes. Seeing such materials in detail was of great insight. I can already tell that these are grown in special farms to be sold to Alchemists¡­


    Erika had woken up midway through my alchemy, and she opened her eyes wide as she saw me working carefully.


    "Wow, ke, what are you doing?" she asked.


    "A potion, I have yet to use any magic but now I will begin, this is what will differentiate me from others." I said.


    Of course, Alchemy is based on making magical items! So you have to use magic, not just throw items, and boil them down, that will only give you a poisonous soup.


    While keeping some Spirit Orbs in hand, I began conjuring Alchemy Magic, the lowest of spells should be more than enough to make the work of someone with a Talent for Alchemy look like garbage.


    "Infusion, Assimtion, Components, Alchemy¡­ Synthesis!"


    FLASH!


    The runes shed out of my hand and rotated around the entire cauldron, the ingredients suddenly began to glow with bright light, as I continued to conjure more and more runes as I consumed almost all my Spirit Orbs while trying to keep the conjuring up.


    Erika and her father looked at the scene in awe as I continued to conjure Synthesis, the simplest yet the strongest Spell of Alchemy, it literally lets you fuse materials and make new products out of them.


    Of course, there was also all the masterfulness of my craft added into the mix, all the things I had learned by myself were added too, my meticulous preparation, the conjuration of runes in very specific ces, and more¡­ everything came together until it was done.


    FLASH!


    The mana potion glowed with a bright yellow light, forming a golden aura around it.


    [You have made a Unique-Grade Item, Mana Potion!]<sub> </sub>


    [You learned the [Alchemy: Lv1] Skill]


    Oh? An Alchemy Skill!


    Look at that¡­ it appears that I have been rewarded for my efforts.


    And well, the potion is only¡­ Unique Grade¡­ Ugh, this is actually garbage for me, but I suppose it is gold for the people here. He was already selling a Normal Grade Potion at 50 coins, a Unique Grade is two grades above, so it should be way better¡­ and without any aftereffects as well.


    Items seem to have grades, from Normal, Rare, Unique, Mythic, Legendary, and so on. They determine the quality of the product and how strong or great their effects can be.


    With this, I can not only make a bottle but at least¡­ around ten? I had used a lot of water, but the effects were not diluted due to Synthesis, this amazing Alchemy Magic Spell is really useful even now.


    I could even use it to merge materials and craft equipment, but that would be forter, I am exhausted.


    Exhausting my mana and then recovering it with spirit orbs over and over again was really a massive pain, and I am already dealing with a strong headache¡­


    "A-Amazing! S-Such an incredible Mana Potion! I had only seen something barely simr when I saw the Saint of Alchemy make her potions for the Royal Family!" said Erika''s father.


    "Wow! ke, you''re so great!" said Erika.


    I was receiving praises from left and right, but I was too tired to answer, I sat down in a chair and ended up passing out on the spot.


    ¡­


    I found myself inside the Spirit Orb, Eleanora had been sleeping there most of the time but she woke up when I was talking with the merchant and has been whispering things to me, she even helped me convince my father by using her Charm Skill.


    "You did a splendid work!" she said.


    "Ah, did I pass out?!" I asked.


    "Y-Yeah¡­" she said.


    "Huh¡­ Oh well, let''s spend some time together." I said.


    "Sure!" she said happily.


    Spending time with Eleanora was bliss for me, after five years without her, I had thought I would never see her again, and I had already assumed that I had lost her forever.


    Having her here at my side always filled me with joy.


    "You were very incredible there, fufu... Your father was freaking out a lot!" She giggled as we were training Aether.


    "Indeed¡­ It was very hard to convince him, but it is now done. I have to simply make the potions and bring them back to the merchantter¡­ In fact, if I bring them right now, he''ll go even crazier¡­ He could be the connection I require to make my family into citizens¡­" I said.


    -----

 Chapter 37 Outstanding Quality

    -----


    I had acquired a new Skill, Alchemy. It appears to be based in, well, doing Alchemy. I have begun to think that Skills could be said to be small Talents. Each time I do something worthy of being called a Talent in this world, it is turned into a Skill, and with that, I might be on pair if not greater than Talents of such Skill in the future¡­


    I could be an overpowered all-rounder! Although it still leaves me with a bad aftertaste to use something fabricated by Lucifer¡­


    Sigh¡­


    ------


    [Alchemy: Lv1]


    Skill Proficiency: 0/10000


    Grants the ability to utilize Alchemy Techniques and Alchemy Magic Spells with greater ease. Enhances the sess rate of your Alchemy by +10% and its quality by one Grade with each Level. There''s a 10% chance for Items created through Alchemy to develop special effects and unique abilities with each Level.


    -----


    Oh? This is more than I had imagined¡­ it even enhances¡­ automatically anything I make by one grade? This means that if I make a Normal-Grade Potion, it will always turn into a Rare-Grade Potion no matter what.


    This is indeed aw-defying power that defies logic itself¡­ so this is the power of Skills.


    Ah, well, I had simr powers back then. I had even developed the power to manipte Fate to an extent, although Lucifer was able to overpower it because he had an even greater power over it¡­


    Nheless, what was important was not that, but that I had acquired a new Skill.


    With this Skill I will be able to make even greater items, perhaps if I make a Unique Grade, it will turn into a Mythical Grade item¡­ With such talent, I could easily get a ton of money.


    The problem is starting the business. These materials I just brought cost several gold coins, but by making ten potions out of it, the man should be able to recover the money and make some profit, of course, he''ll also have to pay me.


    Or I could just give him a single potion and keep the others? After all I only told him I was making a single one¡­ the others could be kept and sold separately. I could easily make a lot of gold coins out of it, although not many people here have the money to pay for it aside from other merchants.


    The problem is that this merchant will notice this and will end up telling me where I got these potions, and that''s certainly quite troublesome. I cannot easily hide them from him unless I was going to drink them for myself.


    Drinking them would be not a bad idea either, they seem to be potent, and could even recover my Mana and even enhance it permanently¡­


    I might as well try out one after I wake up.


    ¡­


    After spending some time with Eleanora, I finally woke up, finding myself sleeping in Erika''s bed. Erika was ying in the floor with her dolls.


    "Ah¡­ How long did I slept?" I wondered.


    "Ah, ke! You''re awake¡­ I was so worried! Dummy, don''t do that again¡­ Father said you were pushing yourself very hard doing that magic thing¡­ Specially because your mana is so low¡­" she said, standing up and rushing towards me.


    "Sorry for worrying you, Erika. But I had to do it because this was an important bet." I said.


    "B-ke¡­" said Erika.


    "How long did I sleep?" I asked.


    "A-Around four hours?" she said.


    "That long?!" I asked in surprise. I quickly jumped out of Erika''s bed and rushed down stairs.<sub> </sub>


    "Ah ke, you''re here, look, I bottled them up for you."


    Erika''s father showed me ten mana potions already bottled for me.


    "Ah¡­ Thank you, you shouldn''t have done it¡­" I said.


    "There''s no problem, your amazing Mana Potion left me shocked. I had thought that my own Rare Mana Potions were already great, but I had only seen Unique ones once in my lifetime¡­ these can be sold for a lot more!" he said.


    "How much can you estimate?" I asked.


    "Each one is most likely worth five hundred gold coins¡­ Well, that''s without inting the price. These greedy merchants might even sell it as much as one thousand, or one thousand and one hundred¡­" sighed the old man.


    "Hm, I see¡­ I will bring them to him then, there''s no time to waste¡­ Ah, I guess I can drink one for myself, as a reward." I said.


    "Wait, you''re drinking something so expensive?!" he asked.


    I opened the bottle and drank the entire potion.


    It had an aromatic and sweet vor, like drinking a colt tea.


    In a second, I felt my Mana and Magic Power increase permanently.


    Incredible!


    [You''ve gained +12 Mana and +6 Intelligence]


    [Your Mana has recovered to maximum value]


    12 more Mana and 6 Intelligence just like that?! W-What is this potion?! It''s amazing¡­


    But even then, it is not as much increase as I had expected. Perhaps because it is not really intended to increase power permanently but just to recover Mana.


    Nheless, the recipe by itself was overly simplistic. A low-level item with excellent grade was still low-level, to increase my Mana and Intelligence even further, using special materials and more time and effort would be necessary¡­ Also, if I were to use higher Ranked Spirit Orbs, it would be better too.


    -----


    [Mana Potion (Unique-Grade+)]


    A simple Mana Potion made with Berehilde Grass and Morning Dew Flower Petals. It is the mostmon Mana Potion sold widely across Spiritias.


    Due to its quality, it could have only been made by an amazing Alchemist, an expert amongst expert, peerless in the art of Alchemy.


    Recovers arge quantity of Mana and has a chance to permanently increase Mana and Intelligence Stats.


    -----


    Now, I was tempted to drink all the others, but I gritted my teeth and resisted the temptation. With 12 more mana I would be able to do a bit more now, but still, it is not near as enough.


    Having done this, I quickly went back to the Merchant, this time alone.


    -----

 Chapter 38 A Substantial Boost!

    -----


    I had stopped midway through as I was thinking deeply about what to do.


    My greediness got the best of me. as I walked back to Erika''s home and began drinking all potions, leaving only one behind.


    Yes, I could get more money out of them, but what''s money if there is not strength for me to use and grow stronger with it? I had promised the Merchant a single potion, the rest are just extras for me.


    Eleanora had slightly influenced me in this, but I couldn''t help but think that she was right. I knew that I could leave them forter when I needed to regenerate Mana, but I needed the Mana now, so I could cultivate it and slowly increase it more over time.


    Cultivation is like investing in gctic stocks, you need to invest a lot of credits to make any actual money, so I require a lot of Mana to "invest" so I can get more out of it at the end.


    So drinking them all was my only option.


    While stuffing myself with them, I began to feel a bit dizzy, but I managed to drink them all while Erika and her father looked at me dumbfounded.


    "B-ke¡­ you just drank so much¡­ gold¡­" sighed Erika''s father.


    "Eh¡­ Is your tummy okay?" asked Erika.


    "Yes, I am okay¡­ Ungh¡­ Perhaps a bit stuffed¡­ Ah¡­ Yeah, I am fine." I sighed, sitting on the floor.


    My stomach was filled with potions, which made me feel rather sickly.


    My mana was also overflowing as it was regenerating constantly, I ended gaining a good amount of permanent Mana from it, and even my magic power, which is named Intelligence in this Grimoire, also increased.


    [You''ve gained +38 Mana and +19 Intelligence]


    [Your Mana has recovered to maximum value]


    [You have reached the maximum value of Mana and Intelligence that can be gained out of this Potion: Mana: 50/50 / Intelligence: 25/25]


    It seems that the amount I gain with each potion was random, although I noticed that it began to decrease as I drank more, I ended up reaching the limit of how many permanent stats I could gain out of this Potion type¡­ interesting, so there are limits to this?


    Perhaps I just need to make the same potion but slightly different now. Although to "slightly change it" I require new materials, and such materials cannot be easily found around here.


    I looked into the Grimoire while slowly recovering, as I found the changes in the numerical values.


    -----


    Name: ke Hunter Goathorn


    Race: Human


    Spirit Orb Realm: Rank 1 (Initial Stage)


    Job ss: None


    Subss: None


    Level: 0 / 10


    < Health Points: 28 / 28 >


    < Mana Points: 12 / 12 -> 62 / 62 ><sub> </sub>


    < Strength: 24 >


    < Agility: 18 >


    < Vitality: 13 >


    < Intelligence: 31 -> 56 >


    < Dexterity: 17>


    -----


    Good. 62 Mana seems to be a good enough amount of Mana for now. With this, I can easily begin to nourish my body and open up my Mana Veins. I could even begin the creation of a Magic Circle inside of my soul, although I don''t know if it will even be possible for me as of now¡­


    I simply had to look at my own hands and the rest of my body to realize there was a faint, blue-colored auraing out of my entire body, this was the amazing aura of all the Mana I had gained by drinking these Mana Potions.


    This entire thing ended ying to my favor more than I could have imagined. I did a good job in taking this opportunity when I had it, even if I risked making myself look strange in front of my father, it was something I had to risk.


    Thankfully, my father is a simple man, and he didn''t seem to mind it after a while, believing the bullshit I told him about the Holy Spirits.


    To be honest, I felt bad to be such a filthy liar to the only people I care in this world, so I will try to make up for it from what I might earn from this opportunity.


    "Now, I shall be going." I said.


    Erika and her father looked at me with eyes wide open as I walked off. I suppose they were surprised over my strange behavior and antics, but there was nothing I could do at the moment.


    I made my way back to town and found the merchant there, he had just sold a rusty set of armor for a price that should be deemed illegal.


    "Thank you for your preference, dear customer!" he said.


    He acted way more polite with those that paid him money, I see. A typical merchant, I suppose.


    "I am back, here''s your potion." I said, putting the blue-colored bottle over the table.


    "Huh? So fast? Don''t tell me you just mixed everything with water and came here thinking that''s a potion?" he asked angrily, as he grabbed the bottle and looked at it.


    Suddenly, I saw something emerging out of his chest. It was a strange Tool Spirit resembling a pair of sses. I had never seen one of these before.


    He wore it and then the Tool Spirit glowed brightly with golden light, this was followed by his face quickly changing from angry and dissatisfied to utter disbelief.


    He looked at the bottle several times and then back at me for around twelve times until he sat down in his chair and gently deposited the Potion inside a wooden box, covering it with many types of leather for it to be well guarded.


    "So?" I asked.


    "How¡­? How were you able to make such a thing¡­ I can''t believe it. A Unique Grade¡­ item¡­" he said.


    "Yes, I did it. I told you I was talented, but nobody in this vige ever provided any opportunities for my talents to blossom." I said.


    "Y-You''re a gold mine! I can''t believe it! You¡­ This potion alone would cost roughly a thousand gold coins! D-Do you think you can make more like these?!" he asked.


    -----

 Chapter 39 Winning The Bet

    -----


    I had surprised him more than I had expected. The Merchant was exploding with happiness and at the same time with disbelief. I guess he got more out of it than he could had ever thought.


    "Without a doubt, I can make more of these, but not without a price. Also, you said you were going to pay me for making this potion, right? You don''t want to vite the contract we made and receive a punishment from it, I hope?" I said.


    "O-Of course¡­ I wasn''t going to scam you or something! So your name is¡­" asked the merchant.


    "Name''s ke. Just call me like that." I said.


    "My name is Eustace Alfredo Silverte¡­ It is nice to meet you, ke¡­" said Eustace, his stance, personality, and even his politeness suddenly had a big shift as he began to see me with more respect due to having showed him what I was capable of.


    We shook hands as he sat down once more, he still was coping with it, he couldn''t believe this was real life.


    He then began to look into his reserves and took out several gold coins, giving me a small leather bag with coins.


    "Here''s four hundred coins for your work, this is what an Alchemist would be normally paid to make a dozen of Potions, but those would only be Normal Grade, what you made is Unique Grade, above Normal and even Rare Grade¡­ These potions with such quality are often bought by royalty, boy!" said the man, his eyes seemed to have turned into $ shape.


    Four hundred gold coins seemed like a fair trade, I had calcted the price before, he had supplemented me with the materials, and even more, Erika''s father also helped me with telling me the estimated price of the potions. The materials I used were roughly around 300 Gold Coins, he will probably get a thousand if not a bit more out of it.


    Also, I drank all the other potions I got out of these materials, so I believe it is more than fair. Pursuing more money will enrage him, and my goal as of now is to gain his trust.


    My future might depend on this.


    I was also d he wasn''t scummy enough, within my expectations there was the small thought that he might try to kidnap me and turn me into an alchemist ve. It was a possible thing he could do, after all I was a serf kid who nobody would ever care aside from my parents, who had no strength, nor money.


    But he seemed to have some moral codes at the very least, even though he had epted the bet with me as a potential ve.


    These contracts are interesting, they can even force people to act more decently. I should perhaps force him to make another one with me, if possible.


    But forcing the situation even more could make me look suspicious.<sub> </sub>


    "This money should be enough." I said.


    "Of course! That''s more than you will ever earn in your lifetime¡­" said the merchant whileughing.


    "What are you going to do then, do you have more materials? I can make more potions. I need money to make my family citizens and then purchase a house in the main city¡­ Most likely, I will also bring my friend''s family with me." I said.


    "Hmph, you got big dreams, ke¡­ Well, for now I am going back to the capital. I will travel around the Kingdom for the rest of the year, but you''ve got talent. I am going toe back next year, probably in the Spring¡­ If I can meet you again, I think I will have somemissions for you." He said.


    I suppose he wasn''t going to bring me to the capital, that was one of the question. He is not as generous as I thought, or perhaps he doesn''t want to invest too much on me. He is a realistic person. I suppose that if he can see that I''ve survived another year, he''llmission me again.


    Probably, he will slowly supply me with money over the years until I gain his trust and he''ll help me more, but for now, this is more than enough. I suppose I could invest the money I got and buy more mana potion ingredients with it, make more mana potions, and sell them.


    "I see. I am very grateful for your help; I''ll be waiting for you next year¡­ By any chance, are you selling more ingredients to make mana potions?" I wondered.


    "Not at the moment, they''re often sold inside the capital in apothecary stores, and they''re not cheap. There are more things that can be sold other than potions, you know? Sometimes it is best not to invest too much. Unless I can see that this potion can actually sell, I won''t ask you to make more¡­" he said.


    Yes, he was very realistic as a man, I can understand his point of view. I guess I shouldn''t have expected much either. This is enough for me now.


    With this money, I could make my entire family into citizens, but that''s about it. We wouldn''t have enough money to even buy a small house in the duchy, or anything of that sort, so it would be wasted money.


    It is better to save it for now and slowly umte more gold coins. But who said I can do this trick to only one merchant? I will try to find others that could be looking for alchemists to work with.


    I am also a proficient Crafter, and I am pretty sure I am very good at Forging as well, but who would believe a five-year-old kid like me that I have so many talents? It will take some time.


    "That''s a pity. Do you know of any other merchant around here that might sell them?" I asked.


    "No, they''re all just selling low-grade potions and don''t have more materials. I think they''re shady too, don''t go showing your talent to anybody, a serf kid like you could easily get kidnapped¡­" Eustace replied.


    -----

 Chapter 40 Surprised Parents

    -----


    "I guess you''re right¡­" I said.


    I looked around at what he was selling. There was a lot of expensive things I could afford but that would be a waste of money. Although what I wanted to have was a good weapon more than anything.


    My fists and body were a good weapon, but something like a spear would always do good. Armor is too heavy, and I don''t have the body to wear it¡­ Perhaps magic essories that enhance spirit power? Hm¡­ No.


    I guess I won''t buy anything. There''s nothing that interested me around the market. I had considered buying mana potions of lower grades and drinking them to gain stats, but the Grimoire''s information told me they wouldn''t give me anything, and well, some of them were roughly made and could even cripple my mana.


    "I''ll see you in another day then, take care, Eustace. You turned out to be a more honest merchant than I thought." I said.


    "Well, what did you think I was?" asked Eustace while raising an eyebrow.


    "A very honest merchant!" I said. I wasn''t going to just tell him I thought he was an overly angered old man, especially because he looked to be around histe twenties.


    Saying my goodbyes to Eustace, I decided to make my way back home. On the way, I found Eric and Chris who were practicing with their spirits.


    It is rather obvious that Chris had a clear advantage, he had a Fire-type Spirit while Eric had a nt-type spirit. There is the expected type of mashup in this world''s spirits. Certain spirits would be stronger against others, and vice versa.


    However, aside from type the deciding factor was always the Spirit Master and their cultivation of their Spirit Orb. Those with high ranked Spirit Orbs had stronger spirits, and based in this strength, they could sometimes even overpower those with type advantage.


    There are also the concepts of Talents that a Spirit Master developed, which would also make a difference in battle, andstly, the ability to gain Blessings, which are in my Grimoire'' terms, Leveling Up.


    It appears that everyone in this world can level up, but they don''t know it is leveling up. They think it is a mystical blessing given to them by the holy spirit after undergoing trials and defeating strong monsters or doing a lot of tasks rted to their Talents, such as crafting if you''re a crafter or making potions if you''re an alchemist.


    I am guessing these kids are still level zero like me, they had probably not even hunted once yet, and are just showing off in the za for the people to just praise them. They belong to families that are mildly higher in authority over the vige, mostly due to family members having stronger spiritspared to themon families.


    Mixing myself into this fight would be meaningless, but it is still interesting to see them fight and slowly develop their abilities. I wonder how far they wille¡­ Although I had said I didn''t wanted them as friends anymore for what they had done to Erika, I still think I could forgive them as long as they''re sorry to me and her. I could even take them as my disciples.


    Unlike Erika, they have living bodies that can harbor Qi, with their talent for magic through their spirits andbined with the power of Qi and Martial Arts, they could certainly be formidable. But I am not willing to share my Martial Arts with just anybody, unless they be very loyal along the way.


    I made my way back to my house after all of this. It was already gettingte. I was greeted by my mother and my father, they seemed worried. My grandmother was sitting on the couch nearby.


    "ke you''ve been missing the entire day, where have you been? You were at Erika''s house?" asked my mother.


    "Yeah, I was having fun there¡­ Sorry to not tell you I would take so long." I sighed.


    "Kids gotta have their fun from time to time," said my grandmother.<sub> </sub>


    "Ah, it''s fine, if it is there I guess its fine¡­" said my mother.


    "But you were missing all this time¡­ Huh? Where are the materials you got from the merchant?" asked my father.


    "I made them into a potion with the help of Erika''s father, he''s an alchemist after all, so I asked for his help." I said, showing to my parents a sack with gold coins.


    They looked at the shiny gold coins, which were four hundred.


    They almost dropped dead out of surprise.


    "W-What?!" asked my mother.


    "S-Son, you asked help from Erika''s father¡­ so that was your n all along!" said my father.


    "Yeah¡­ I did." I said.


    I technically asked for his help, so I was not lying there.


    "But this money¡­ Shouldn''t you give it to him if he did it?" asked my father.


    "No, I did it, he guided me in the making of the potion. The Merchant''s name is Eustace, he said he''lle next year tomission me again. We can make money slowly like this, maybe in a few years we''ll be able to be citizens." I said.


    "That''s¡­ my son¡­ so you''ve grown already¡­ To think that at the age of five you would already be able to supply the family with money¡­" sighed my father.


    "Mother is very proud of you!" said my mother, as she hugged me tightly and kissed my forehead.


    "ke, aren''t you Talentless? Perhaps not having a talent makes you able to learn any talent?" wondered my grandmother.


    "Perhaps that might be the case, grandma¡­" I said.


    I just went with the flow for now, I was d my parents didn''t asked too many questions and were already aware of my many talents as a future "hero" or whatever. I will use this excuse for the next antics I might do in the future.


    For now, we decided to have dinner, I was starving. After that, I ended going hurriedly to the bathroom, drinking so many potions ended giving me indigestion, having such a weak human body was really quite unsightly sometimes¡­


    -----

 Chapter 41 Slowly Strengthening My Foundation

    -----


    It has been two weeks since I sold the potion and I''ve been doing a variety of things. I had been training my Qi diligently and cultivating it across my body as much as possible.


    I''ve also been cultivating Mana and Aether as well, however, as I am now, it cannot really increase that much in just two weeks, but it is a starting point at the very least.


    I''ve been trying to figure out new ways to utilize these energies. Qi is good for Martial Arts of all sorts, and Mana¡­ well, Magic. Aether is good fit using Aura Techniques, but my Aether is not even strong enough yet.


    In numerical values, I would need a minimum of 1000 Aether to gather enough power to form an Aura, but I have yet to even reach half of it. I am approximately at 180, close to 200¡­


    In a few months- no, perhaps years¡­ It is frustrating, I know, but I''ve already lived years in this world, I am sure that I can wait longer.


    Meanwhile, the opening of my Mana Veins had yet to begin. I was simply letting my Mana cover my body for the moment, slowly getting it prepared for the opening of Mana Veins, which might be painful.


    In this world, people''s Mana Veins are not activated, and seem to be atrophied. The same happens to my body, if I can open them, my Magic will be able to conjure itself faster, and it might even cost less Mana too.


    It is a mystery why this world''s people have atrophied Mana Veins and Qi Veins. I would guess that it is because they had been depending in their Spirits for everything since the beginning, without knowing anything else than nourishing their Spirit Orbs, getting "Blessings" aka Leveling Up, and other things they have as an advantage over other worlds.


    Due to these immediate powers they can gain and work with things that are moreplicated and painful to acquire, such as Mana Veins, Qi Veins, and the usage of such things for the creation ofplex Magic Conjuration and Martial Arts had not even been explored yet.


    I suppose there might be some that had, but it never became popr all around the world. That''s because it is something that requires effort, and why would you put effort into cultivating Qi when you can just use your Spirit to do everything for you? Such is the mentality of the people here.


    There is also the Talents factor, which are like sses. With both Spirits and Talents, I can see how it is very unrealistic for me to believe that they would had already been able to cultivate Qi and Aether if they''re just using the powers they''re already born with instead of cultivating the innate energies of every living being.


    My maximum amount of Qi has increased by a few dozens, and my Mana by only a few digits  progress is still progress though. I could get even more progress if I could level up, however, due to my parents knowing that I was hunting at night, they had prohibited me from doing so which meant I have to go hunt during the day now.<sub> </sub>


    Of course, I can just disobey them, but I would have to either hide the corpses or leave them aside, which is a waste of money, so I preferred to simply go hunt during the day with my father.


    Wolves don''t appear as much in the day, they''re nocturnal hunters, however, we had still caught a few while we were hunting. My father seemed exceptionally strong, more than I had thought, and he was able to go one on one against a wolf with ease. Even maintaining a good pace against a whole pack. He was a masterful user of the spear, despite having a Farmer Talent. I could tell he had polished this talent over the years of hunting.


    The Skills that he gained over leveling up helped our farm as well. The nts grew healthier and there were less chances for pests to eat them away, and the vegetables often maintained their freshness for longer.


    There might be more hidden potential in my father, but because he''s a stoic man that usually doesn''t delve deep into his own capabilities aside from his physical potential, such things had been unexplored.


    The monsters had be rare in the firstsyers of the forest surrounding the vige, therefore, even after two weeks of hunting, I''ve barely gotten much EXP, I am still yet to reach the 10k required to level it up¡­


    However, I''ve been leveling other things, such as Skills. I have not been able to learn any new Skill yet, as I''ve concentrated more into cultivating my energies inside of my Spirit Orb''sndscape. I''ve been practicing Throwing Technique by throwing rocks around, alongside Butcher whenever we had to butcher something we hunted with father. Alchemy can also be practiced if I use Synthesis with two rocks to make a bigger one. I haven''t tried it in more detail than that, Synthesis requires a lot of Mana to make bigger things, and I don''t have that amount yet.


    Therefore, my Throwing Technique has reached Level 2 a few days ago, alongside Acrobatics. Meanwhile, Alchemy might be around three tenths of the required proficiency to level up, and butcher is over halfway through.


    I could already notice the changes that Level 2 Throwing Technique and Acrobatics brought. Greater power, speed, and precision while throwing items was acquired, alongside greater agility and nimbleness while moving and evading enemy attacks.


    It wasn''t easy to level up these Skills though, and now that they require 20k proficiency, it might take way more for me to reach such amount of skill proficiency in this time¡­


    And about normal magic? I''ve been able to practice all the elements I could imagine. I was able to conjure two to three of the most basic spells of each element, but I did notice that they were not very strong, my affinity with them was dim. However, I have discovered that my Blood Affinity is high, alongside Darkness¡­ just like in my previous life.


    -----

 Chapter 42 Beast Slayer

    -----


    Thanks to the Mana Potions I had drank, my Mana had increased to a good amount even though it had only been a slight increase. My Intelligence had also increased quite highly, with that, I had gotten enough fuel to use more magic and also my magic itself does more damage.


    Intelligence apparently also reduces damage taken by magic attacks, so I had be unknowingly more resistant to magical attacks. This also includes spirit attacks, as they are magic based¡­


    In fact, I had not checked the Statspletely, inspecting what they do was interesting.


    Health Points: Your health value, when you receiverge wounds, it decreases constantly, bleeding also decreases health points constantly. It will only reach zero when you''re already dead.


    Mana Points: Your mana value, the more mana you have, the more magic you can use, and the more spirit techniques can be used as well. Spirits require mana to sustain themselves in the physical world and to use their abilities, if it reaches zero, you may suffer a headache and otherplications.


    Strength: Your strength value, it is based on your physical strength. The higher it is, the stronger you are physically and the more resilient your body is as a result. There is no strength without a corpulent body. More muscles meant more physical defense.


    Agility: Your agility value, it is based on your speed of movement, reaction, evasiveness, and instincts. The higher your agility, the faster and less heavy you will feel, until you be as weightless as the wind.


    Vitality: Your vitality value, it is based on your body''s vitality, how long it can keep up, the total energy of your body, and how much you can continue moving and being awake without needing to rest or sleep. Higher vitality also increases physical and magical defense and decreases the time you feel fatigued.


    Intelligence: Your intelligence value is based on your mind''s intelligence, capability of calction, and therefore, the power of your magic as magic itself requiresprehension and intelligence to be capable of being used. This stat decreases the damage you receive from other magical attacks and also increases the power of your own magic. It also increases affinity the more you have. The conjuration time for all magic is reduced the more Intelligence you have. Magic bes easier to use overrge quantities of umted intelligence.


    Dexterity: Your dexterity value, it is based on your ability to do things dexterously. This includes moving your own body, the usage of all sorts of weapons, and your own mind''s capabilities ofprehension, time of reaction, and thought process speed.


    ¡­


    These were pretty much all the information I got from each Stat; it was very basic stuff. I quickly memorized it all and now I know what each stat does. The more Intelligence I have might also mean that I will be more intelligent for real. Something I never thought possible as intelligence itself is what I already have.


    The intelligence of my previous life is within my memories, so why is not my intelligence way higher then? There might be other factors applying in this calction which I had yet to discover.


    Also, it might appear that the Vitality Stat is very closely rted with Qi or Stamina, as it is often called in other ces, so perhaps this Stat might help me indicate how much more Qi I have, as it is based in the vitality of my very body, and the energy that is contained inside, which flows around.


    The more I cultivated Qi, the higher this Stat increased, while other stats such as Health Points and Strength also increased by a little bit¡­


    After hunting so much, I had also acquired my first Title Skill over thosest two weeks.


    -----


    [Beast yer: Lv1]<sub> </sub>


    A Title given to someone who has in over 50 Beasts.


    While holding this title, your damage dealt against Beast-type creatures is increased by +10% with each level. Alongside that, you gain the ability to easily detect Beast-type creatures from long distances and have an easier time tracking them down. By hunting more beasts, the Title can level up.


    -----


    Unlike titles as I thought they would be, these ones in the Grimoire can level up and enhance their passive effects. +10% more damage against Beast-type creatures is a good bonus, even more the secondary effects of having an easier time tracking and detecting them.


    However, even with this Title in effect, the decrease of wild beasts had be very prominent, and I might be forced to move deeper into the dungeon. If it wasn''t for my father who won''t let me, saying it is too dangerous for a five-year-old.


    I suppose he''s right, but I am not a normal five-year-old, father.


    We had yet to bring Erika on the hunts. Mostly because my parents seem worried something might happen to her. They think that being a girl means being weak, so they don''t want her to go into the wild and get into danger, despite having the two of us protecting her back.


    I might bring her on my own in the next days of hunting, but tonight, I will proceed to hunt on my own, as I''ve decided that hunting horned rabbits which are already incredibly rare won''t do me any more favors.


    "ke?"


    Even walking mushrooms had be incredibly rare. I cannot keep up with this anymore, I require bigger prey and more Blood Qi, the higher the quality of the blood, the stronger my Blood Qi can be and the faster my cultivation of my body can be, the physique I had forged for my body requires sustenance after all. If I want to grow stronger, I must push myself even at my age¡­


    ? "ke? Son?"


    "Ah¡­ Yes?"


    My father was talking to me, but I was too deep in my own thoughts to hear him well¡­ we were currently hunting once more today, after having eaten lunch with mother and grandmother, and also Erika and Eleanora.


    "Are you okay? You seemed dizzy¡­" said my father.


    "Ah, don''t worry about it." I said.


    I shouldn''t get too deep into my own thoughts, or I might lose the notion of time.


    -----

 Chapter 43 Magical Herbs

    -----


    Today was a rather beautiful day, the sun was shining brightly atop the vast blue sky, there was not a single cloud, and it seems that there couldn''t be a better day to go out and forage in the forest.


    Looking for a hunt wasn''t all that my father did with me in these days, we also looked for things we could gather. Mushrooms, seeds, wild berries, fruits, herbs, and so on, anything that could be of any value or that could be eaten.


    There is arge variety of wild mushrooms around, although most of themck any magical properties and cannot really be good at alchemy and mostly serve as good food ingredients or¡­ poison.


    The same could be said for the wild herbs in this ce. There''s nothing special but some are good at treating specific things, such as calming down fever, helping with indigestion, or even doing some good for stomachache.


    Although these herbs are not magical, I had thought about certain recipes for potions that could use them, maybe I could make very lesser Health Potions with them, and use the Alchemy Skill to enhance their rarity¡­ This is why I''ve been collecting them whenever I saw them.


    p I had thought about doing something simr to Potions, but different at the same time. Pills which can also be refined through alchemy, but require apletely different technique. Pills can harbor more effects than Potions can, but due to this, they have a stronger effect on the body that might affect it negatively if eaten excessively¡­</anda>


    However, they can be consumed faster than Potions, as they''re small candy-sized consumable items that can be easily eaten. Their effects would take ce right after swallowing them, and they could bring explosive changes in the body temporarily¡­ or permanently.


    Due to these things, even if the ingredients are not magical, a good alchemist such as myself can still make out something good with them. As long as I had spirit orbs to add to the mix, of course.


    I''ve collected a fair amount too, and I''ve absorbed a few during this time too, increasing my stats by mostly one random digit at a time. By consuming them, I feel like my spirit orb is being nourished, but it seems that the cultivation of a spirit orb is also closely rted with the level of the spirit.


    Spirits have levels after all, just like the spirit master, and it all corrtes together. Spirit orb rank and cultivation, spirit level, and spirit master level, if all three conditions are meet, then the spirit orb rank will increase, which might bring even more changes.


    Currently at level 0, I cannot do much, and Eleanora herself is also at Level 0, although she had been earning shared EXP from my hunts and vice versa, so we are at a simr amount of EXP. Whenever I level up, she''s most likely going to level up as well.


    We foraged around the forest and quickly came upon a new herb I had not seen before.


    It was purple in color with red-colored flowers. It was beautiful and stood out from the grass.


    It was growing below a tree, right above what seemed to be a roting piece of wood.<sub> </sub>


    "Oh, that herb¡­ Watch out, ke, that one is dangerous. It is a very venomous herb, even touching it might make your hands scorch for a while¡­" my father warned.


    "What''s the name of this herb?" I wondered.


    "Its called Snake''s Tongue, I believe. It is a venomous herb, but I''ve heard that the flower can be used to make potions that enhance physical strength explosively for some time¡­ I believe Adventurers use them to enhance their power in battle, the after effect is dizziness¡­ I believe." He replied.


    "Oh, interesting¡­ Qi Coating." I remarked.


    I quickly coated my hands with Qi and pulled out the herb, looking at it, it emanated a strong citric scent.


    "W-What are you doing? I told you that it was going to scorch your hands- Eh?" my father quickly realized nothing was happening to me.


    "Don''t worry about it, sir, your son is very talented. He covered his hands in Mana to grab the herb without any problems!" Eleanora assured, backing me up.


    "I-Is that so? I didn''t know such a thing could be done¡­" said my father hesitantly.


    "It was hard to learn but I figured it out¡­" I exined opening a leather bag and throwing the herb inside. This bad was special, it was infused with Runes of my own creation using the Space Magic spell "Pocket Space", effectively making this little and inconspicuous bag into an Inventory with an internal space inside, the items are stored in slots, and currently I can only make bags with a maximum of ten slots, but that''s enough.


    Of course, Pocket Space Runes can only store inert objects. I infused them into an item and made it into an Inventory Bag because using the spell alone will destroy the pocket space and whatever I throw inside. Living things cannot go in, and certain objects that might be too strong will get spit out. It is a low-level Space-Attribute spell after all, not as perfect as a true Storage Spell, such as Dimensional Storage.


    This is why newbie magicians make Runes out of this spell and infuse them into a bag, effectively creating such an item. I had already shown this special bag to my family, but I didn''t wanted it to be widespread, and said it was something that I found out while foraging in the forest, sometimes things can be found lying on the forest''s floor after all, which used to belong to someone else that died there.


    It would be problematic if it bes widespread that I can create such a valuable item so easily. Unlike Mana Potions that are a staple everywhere, spatial storage bags are incredibly rare, it might bring me more trouble than opportunities¡­ for now.


    "That bag is pretty useful, I have to admit it." Said my father.


    -----

 Chapter 44 Hunting With Father

    -----


    With this herb I could create a physical strength-enhancing Potion or Pillter on, which might bring a nice buff to my physical strength and prove to be extremely useful in battle if I were to fight a strong enemy with stats greater than my own. It was a good find. I could even synthetize the deadly poison into equipment, such as poisonous needles, that I canbine with my Throwing Technique Skill¡­ I had already begun to n the creation of various throwing weapons.


    I had money and there are a few shops that make equipment around here. I could pay someone to make me some long and sharp nails and knives to throw at enemies, or even big iron balls that could crush someone''s skull. However, poisoned needles seem like a good assassination tool if there is ever some nuisance in my life that I want to get rid of¡­


    "You n on using the herb for alchemy? I never thought my son would have a knack for alchemy! I guess you would realistically make a pretty penny out of being an alchemist in the capital¡­ The only thing I want the most out of you is for you to be a sessful man but be careful going  around grabbing and whatever you find around¡­ okay, son?" asked my father.


    He was genuinely concerned about his young son, I could understand him very well, although I was not a child but someone older than him, that could easily give him various lessons. I decided to agree because he was a man I''ve grown fond of. As someone that never had parents, I was happy to finally have them.


    "Sure, father, sorry for being rash all the time¡­ I simple get these inspirations that I cannot easily resist¡­ Thankfully this Inventory Bag is very useful to store the dangerous stuff." I said.


    "It sure is!" my father agreed, as he petted my head and smiled.


    Holding his spear he led me around the forest until we finally found something to kill, a wandering lone wolf, who had a very big wound on its back. It seemed desperate and skinny, bloodthirsty, and hungry, and ready to strike at any moment.


    "That wound¡­ it looks strange, doesn''t it?" asked Eleanora.


    "So you noticed, little Eleanora? I thought so as well¡­ It looks like it was made by some kind of blunt weapon¡­ Let''s put this old wolf out of its misery." Said my father, pointing his spear at the wolf, his entire body seemed to exude an aura of strength.


    Indeed, this was my father, a hunter.


    "GRAARR!"


    The old wolf roared back at us, jumping straight towards me, the smallest and easiest target.


    I conjured magic, as I gathered the runes within my mind and used chant-less magic. A magic circle appeared in the palm of my hand as shadows gathered at my will, a small spear made out of darkness emerged, materializing, and firing itself towards the wolf.


    CLASH!


    "Awwooo¡­!"


    The wolf tried to evade and managed to do so, the spell was slower than its movements. However, the Shadow Spear Spell was still strong, and managed to pierce its left shoulder, throwing it off bnce for my father to take the opportunity.<sub> </sub>


    "HAAAH!"


    My father roared, as he infused mana into his spear and attempted to pierce the wolf''s head. But the wolf, however, evaded. Its instincts were strong and kee. It was so hungry it had adrenaline rushing all throughout its body.


    "GRAA!"


    The wolf tried to jump on my father''s back but I held a rock and threw it at the wolf''s stomach, piercing through the thin flesh and making the wolf lose bnce once more, provoking it to fall on its the side.


    "Now!"


    My father quickly shed against the wolf once more, his spear pierced through its body several times with a rather good technique. The wolf tried to evade as it jumped, but the wounds were weakening it by the second.


    In ast attempt to attack him, the wolf managed to jump over his spear as its jaws opened wide, almost about to mp down on my father''s face.


    However, before I could rescue him, my father pulled a knife out of his pocket and pierced the wolf''s chin from below, stopping its charge and causing it to fall.


    He grabbed his spear once more and fiercely pierced its thin neck, making the wolf struggle during itsst moments while drowning on its own blood.


    My father looked at the old wolf while sighing in relief. His eyes seemed filled with remorse. each time he killed a beast, I could see a hint of guilt within his eyes. He was not as insane as I was, he was able to feel remorse for taking another life, even if it was a wild beast that would have tried to eat me.


    Nheless, feeling remorse didn''t mean that he wouldn''t do what he had to do, but the guilt was also part of being human, I suppose¡­ Oh, but that guilt is not even present in my own mind, no matter how many lives I take¡­ I suppose in that regard, father, we are very different.


    But without a doubt, I was happy that he was able to showcase his strength to me. I had purposedly not killed the wolf quickly so he could have some practice. I wanted him to get in better form, and what''s better than field practice? Hunting will help him keen his senses. I will soon awaken his Qi, so I want his body to be as healthy and strong as possible.


    "Good hunt, father. You''re pretty amazing!" I said. I disliked pretending to be childish, but I had gotten used to the act.


    "Hahaha! It''s nothing much, son, it was thanks for your help that we took it down, did you receive any Blessings yet? We have been killing monsters for a while now." He said.


    "Hmm¡­ I don''t think so, maybe I need more kills." I mused.


    -----

 Chapter 45 [Bonus Chapter] Lets Call It A Day

    -----


    "Hmm¡­ I don''t think so, maybe I need more kills." I mused.


    "Haha! That sounded strangely eerie¡­ Anyways, can you save this one in your bag? Let''s go around for another hour and then let''s go back. It seems that the forest is mostly empty of beasts in the firstyer." Said my father.


    "Sure." I agreed.


    We continued exploring, but we couldn''t find anything notable, aside from a small trio of young Walking Mushrooms, which were only the size of cats. We still yed them. They had small spirit orbs which were still worth something.


    We couldn''t pity these weak and smaller creatures. They were still a pest in most farms and if we let them thrive, they''ll sneak into the farms at night and eat the nts and infect the soil with their spores. My father had already suffered many loses in the past due to these monsters, so exterminating them  on sight was encouraged.


    "Four spirit orbs for today, not bad at all. How do you feel? Do you still fear taking another life?" wondered my father.


    "Hmm¡­ At first, it was rather terrifying¡­ But I''ve gotten a bit used to it¡­ I still think sometimes about it, but then I realize that I am doing it to survive¡­" I reply.


    "I see¡­ I know it''s hard, son, but when you feel the weight of every little life you take, yet you keep doing it for your survival or that of your beloved ones, it means you''ve grown up. You''ve adapted very quickly to this life as a Hunter. I was thinking about bringing you into the Group Hunts we do in the second and thirdyers¡­ the monsters there are very dangerous, so we go inrge groups to take them down¡­ Maybe in a year or two though, your frame is too small still," he said.


    "Oooh! Really? Then I will be waiting for that moment, father. Thanks for offering me the opportunity." I said.


    "Yeah! You''ll surely be a good hunter! Well, to be honest, I wish you could be an alchemist before a hunter¡­ but you never know how that might go, so it''s better if you know both." He said.


    "Yeah, I agree¡­ It is better to learn as much as I can." I said.


    My father was a nice person. I had a lot of fun when I was with him. Despite my past life persona resurfacing from time to time and reminding me that I was someone way greater than my father, I can''t help but admire him.


    The simple life of a hunter, even for a being such as me, that had reached the stars and beyond, was admirable. The simplicity of hunting, taking the lives of others, for his own survival and that of his family, for the thrive of his son, his offspring, and the descendant of his lineage¡­ it is all so extrinsically beautiful in a way I cannot describe properly¡­


    Perhaps this happiness I felt came with the happiness and the beauty of being alive. Despite having thought I would die and would be dead forever when everything ended against Lucifer¡­


    "(Your new father is a good person, my lord. He also got a lot of potential, whenever he awakens Qi, I believe his power might even double!)" said Eleanora. She was more interested in superficial things such as these, as she hadn''t spent years with my father.


    Nheless, in these weeks, she had grown fond of my family and their hospitality. Much like me, Eleanora grew up without parents, and perhaps, deep down, she was slowly filling the void left behind by such a thing.


    "You''re very strong, sir." She said.


    "Oh? Thank you, little Eleanora, you''re also a formidable spirit! To think you can even speak and all¡­ It feels like I got daughter all of the sudden." Laughed my father.


    "D-Daughter? Do you see me like that?" asked Eleanora while blushing.


    "Oh yeah, why wouldn''t we? We already weed you in the family." replied my father, with a gentle smile.


    "I-I see¡­ that makes me happy." She said.<sub> </sub>


    I held Eleanora''s hand tightly while walking back home with father. She blushed back at me as I smiled at her. I was d she was feeling weed, it soothed my heart. I really didn''t want her to feel detached from me because I had grown close to this new family.


    "(I see that you''re also enjoying my family''s kindness. I am d.)" I told her through telepathy.


    "(My lord¡­ I-It is not what you think¡­ I¡­)" she muttered.


    "(You don''t have to hide it¡­ I always feared you would feel detached from me as you saw me with my family¡­ And well, didn''t I tell you to stop calling me "my lord"?)" I sighed.


    "(Uwah! S-Sorry¡­ It is still a bit hard¡­)" she admitted.


    "(Well, we had been together all that time, and we are together once more¡­ I suppose it is hard to forget these customs.)" I said.


    "(That''s right¡­)" she sighed.


    "(Slowly, you''ll get used to it. I want us¡­ to grow closer than before, Eleanora. Is that okay with you?)" I asked.


    "(C-Closer? You''ve never told me that in our previous lives¡­)" she said.


    "(Amongst the many regrets I have¡­ there is one regarding you¡­ In these years I''ve spent with this family, I''ve realized how beautiful a fleeting life can be, and I''ve realized how foolish I have been to not truly enjoy the long life I once had¡­ With you¡­)" I sighed.


    "(Ahh¡­ T-To say such things out of nowhere¡­ You don''t have any shame? Geez¡­.)" she sighed.


    "(Sorry, maybe it came out awkward? I won''t say it again.)" I said.


    "(Oh! N-No! I didn''t mean it like that¡­ I do like it¡­ when you get like this¡­)" she said.


    "(Really?)" I asked.


    "(Yes¡­ I also think the same¡­ I also¡­ Want to grow closer to you, Asmodeus¡­)" she said.


    "(Eleanora¡­)" I said.


    "(Asmodeus¡­)" she said.


    "Erm¡­ son?"


    As of now we were looking at each other''s eyes with Eleanora, until my father interrupted our romantic telepathic speech.


    -----

 Chapter 46 Goals

    -----


    My father stood at our side; we were in front of the house''s door. For a moment we had continued to speak telepathically and without realizing it we were looking deeply at one another''s eyes. Eleanora blushed so much she resembled a tomato, as she quickly averted her gaze from me, and her hand slipped off my grasp.


    "Sorry, sir¡­" she said, as she entered the house.


    "ke¡­ Are you and Eleanora¡­ into something?" he wondered.


    "What? W-What are you talking about, father¡­ That''s¡­" I said. I couldn''t help but feel awkward. Despite having lived thousands of years, I was incredible inexperienced in romance, making me very weak in this subject.


    My father suddenly smiled.


    "I don''t really have anything against it, but make sure to not forget about Erika, you''re very important to her, you know?" asked my father.


    "Ah¡­ Yeah, I will not forget about her, don''t worry." I said.


    I didn''t understand what he meant. I wasn''t going to forget her, she is my friend. Why would I forget a friend? I am not a feeble man that forgets friends because I would get involved into a deeper rtionship or bond with Eleanora¡­


    ...


    Oh, I see. He meant the other part of Erika''s bond¡­ I am not foolish enough to not realize the young girl has a romantic interest in me¡­ But it is not something I would like to address. She''s too young and still developing. Such emotions might be fleeting for her in her youth.


    But I suppose¡­ there is a possibility.


    Ah, as I said before, I suck at this. I feel like I shouldn''t trouble myself with these things for now. I doubt Erika is in any hurry either, so let''s move this to the far future.


    Maybe after I can bring her body back¡­ I know the ways butck the resources to do it. I know I can find her bones in the grave she has¡­ so there''s the primary ingredient, but for the rest¡­ I would need a lot of items.


    Ah, these thoughts shouldn''t resurface while I am about to eat¡­ Well, this is the bad thing about having lived for so long. your mind is filled with many thoughts, flying all over the ce, it is hard for me not to have deep thoughts about everything and slowly disassemble every subject of thought that emerges in my mind.


    "Wee back! What did you got today?" my mother wondered.


    <o>,m "Most of the firstyer is empty, at least around where we live, so we just got a wolf and hunted three little walking mushrooms, we got the spirit orbs at least."  my father replied.</o>


    "Oh, I see! That wolf looks very old, I doubt the meat will taste good¡­" sighed my mother.


    "Yeah, we better use it aspost for the most part." Said my father.


    "I''ll butcher it for you." I said.


    "Oh, sure, you really like to do that stuff, don''t you?" asked my father.


    "Well yeah, its not that hard and it helps me rx." I said.<sub> </sub>


    "Hehe, an innate hunter like you, Joan! Today he''ll butcher wolves, in the future, giant dragons!"  my grandmother eximed. She had very high hopes of my future. It could be said she was the most enthusiastic of the three. Sure, grandma, I will bring you a dragon one of these days.


    I rushed back to the room where we butchered the monsters and store the meat, and quickly began to work on it. Removing the blood through my Blood Extraction method that quickly transforms the blood of a corpse into Blood Qi and lets me store it inside of my body.


    After the corpse was emptied of its blood, I quickly peeled off the skin and then took out the guts. I even decided to cut off all the meat from the bones so I could gain the most Skill Proficiency out of it.


    It took me roughly half an hour at fast speed. Eleanora hade over here at the end curious about what I was doing. It seemed she felt disappointed after realizing I was once more butchering things.


    "Someone as great as you shouldn''t be butchering animals¡­" she sighed.


    "Don''t worry about it, I kind of enjoy it myself." I said.


    "Ah¡­ Oh well¡­" she sighed.


    "The meat is done¡­ it does look old, but it could be triturated and then marinated to be edible¡­ I will tell mother that it would be a waste to leave it forpost¡­ especially because meat attracts bugs." I said.


    "Hm, I suppose that''s right, wolf meat always ends up tasty when your mother makes it¡­" said Eleanora.


    "Right? My mother is quite a talented chef!" I said proudly.


    "I''ve been taking some cooking lessons from her¡­ I-I want to cook for you¡­" she said.


    "Oh? Really?" I asked surprised.


    "Yeah¡­ A-And about what we spoke of  before¡­" Eleanora said, sitting at my side as I left aside the disassembled body.


    She sat very close to me and held my hand.


    "Eleanora¡­?" I asked.


    "What¡­ other ns do you have for this life? Aside from growing stronger¡­" she asked.


    "Well, I''ve said a few of them¡­ Including giving my family a better ce to live, making money, growing stronger¡­ Ultimately, I also want to visit the Demonic Towers of this world¡­ and discover their secrets. If possible, I want to protect this world which has brought me a family I love¡­ destroying these towers is the solution." I said.


    "I see¡­ So you also feel that dreadful aura from them?" she wondered.


    "Yeah¡­ They''re not here just to be decorations. I know Lucifer has some macabre n around them¡­ in the past it was said they flooded this world with Demons, and it might happen in the future¡­ I fear that I might be the trigger for such an event to happen again¡­ After all, he did say he wanted to give me trials¡­" I sighed.


    "¡­I will stand at your side, as I''ve always done before¡­ Okay?" she assured.


    -----

 Chapter 47 Memories Of The Past

    -----


    Eleanora looked at my eyes with a strong conviction, she wasn''t going anywhere either this time around, and had decided to stay at my side wherever I want,  whatever I did.


    "That''s a relief. With you at my side things are way easier." I said.


    "I-Is that so? I always thought I was a burden back then¡­ It took me a while to be strong enough to be useful¡­" she sighed.


    "Eleanora¡­ You''ve never been a burden to me." I said.


    "E-Eh?" She muttered, as I looked deeply into her eyes.


    "Never say that again¡­ You''re my partner¡­ the one that has always stood at my side." I said.


    "You''re also¡­ my partner too¡­" she said.


    "You don''t know how happy I felt after I summoned you¡­ I had taken it for granted that¡­ I would never be able to see you again." I sighed.


    "A-Asmodeus¡­" Eleanora said, blushing more.


    She suddenly hugged me after I uttered those words, rubbing her face against my chest¡­ I couldn''t help but pet her silky red hair.


    "I''ve always wanted to hug you¡­ like this¡­ We never had the opportunity back then¡­ Even if your body is different¡­ I can see it in the shape of your soul, you''re still Asmodeus¡­" she said.


    "Of course I am¡­ You''ve also changed a bit yourself, haven''t you? Now you''re all small," Iughed.


    "I-I''m only the same size as you!" she defended.


    "Haha, you''ve be cuter." I said.


    "C-Cuter¡­?!" she asked in surprise.


    "Sorry¡­ Anyways, doesn''t being children again take you back?" I wondered.


    "Yeah¡­ Back when we were children in our previous lives?" she asked.


    "That''s right¡­" I sighed.


    ¡­


    It has been thousands of years since then, but I can still vividly remember the slums of the I was born on. A where only the most trashiest of people around the star system lived.


    In these slums is where I was born. Finding myself alone since I was only a toddler. The first thing I felt back then was¡­ thirst.


    I was a Vampire child from the beginning, not a human turned into one.


    I never got to meet my parents, nor know of my past, I only knew I thirsted for blood above all else.


    I had begun to move myself since I was a tiny baby, moving my small hands, my nails grew ck ws that helped me crawl more easily.


    My vision developed very quickly as well, and my sense of smell too.<sub> </sub>


    I even remember those first days of consciousness, and how hungry I was.


    I couldn''t find anything to eat, nor anything to sate my thirst.


    Any normal children would have died, but because I was a Vampire, my body was naturally resistant to hunger and even pain, I was able to endure it for days until I finally found something, a ck rat.


    That first prey I had¡­ a ck rat.


    It was the deciding factor, my first fight for survival, and the thing that taught me the vor of blood.


    I fought against it at the same time it fought against me. It didn''t feel intimidated by my small appearance, in fact, it saw me as an easy meal.


    It had tried to devour me too, it was hungry, just as much as me.


    I remember the pain of its bites, how it even tore apart my flesh when I was just a child.


    I guess it was like my baptism in battle. Since then, my life has been one battle after the other, all of it for survival.


    When I defeated it and crushed its neck, I drank its blood, so warm, so sweet, so tasty¡­ it brought me a new world of experiences.


    My wounds regenerated after I drank enough blood, but I had to always hide in the trash when the light of the sun emerged in the day. I had adapted to a nocturnal lifestyle, hunting rats for days, months, even years.


    I was constantly running away from trouble. Thugs at every corner of the slums, their targets were always people weaker than them, and children in the slums were the most abused. Without strength to fight back against adults, they were robed all the time, often kidnaped, and sold as ves on a daily basis too.


    You never knew what could happen to you. I would usually wake up finding a group of people trying to kidnap me for being a rare specimen. I had to fight for my life and couldn''t even rest most of the time, even hiding inside the trash was not enough sometimes, I had to fight back.


    And when I finally took the lives of other people was when I tasted an even tastier blood, and when I kept killing more while surviving, while enduring horrendous wounds that pierced my lungs and made my intestines blow out of my stomach, I kept drinking blood, drying them up like mummies.


    One day I found one like me, however.


    That day was when the world I was living began to slowly change.


    Before that time, my world was filled with mist everywhere. Everything was covered in a thickyer of mist. Any other living being that came into contact was an aberrant beast within the mist.


    I was living in hell, a hell where I would never wake up from, until I found someone that was different, someone weak, about to die, just like me.


    It wasn''t aberrant, but weak¡­ and somehow, pity and empathy emerged in my primitive mind.


    I had slowly be less than a wild beast and had begun to develop my thoughts more deeply.


    Eleanora, a little half-Vampire child was starving in the streets, covered in wounds, back then, she looked like she was only bones, about to die.


    I could have easily just killed her and ate her¡­ but I couldn''t bring myself to do so. Something inside of my told me: "she is like me"¡­


    I brought her to safety in that day¡­ and I gave her blood, I shared with her the rat blood I had, the first few drops were like an ambrosia for her. Bringing life back to her dried out body.


    -----

 Chapter 48 A Meeting That Changed My Life

    -----


    At that moment when I brought to her the lifeblood that she required to sustain herself, she barely opened her eyes, looking at me weakly. She seemed to stare at me in silence.


    Her little hand had extended towards me as she slightly touched my own hand. She couldn''t say a word, none of us knew how to speak even. But we knew, deep down, that we had made some sort of connection. It was a very dim connection back then, but since then, it had been deepening more and more¡­


    After a few days of resting and being fed blood asionally, Eleanora woke up and began to walk. I had decided to leave her after that. As I moved to leave, she began to follow me like a puppy that wanted more food out of a stranger''s kindness.


    I had tried to tell her to not follow me, that there was a limit to my kindness, but she wouldn''t budge, even when I hit her like the barbaric and beastly child I once used to be.


    She let herself be hit and continued to follow me. At some point, I couldn''t bring myself to harm her anymore, so I let her stick with me and I shared my food with her a bit.


    At some point, she brought me her own food, two rats she caught herself.


    She shared them both with me, she even let me drink as much blood as I wanted before she could drink any¡­ that moment was when I realized she was my partner.


    We survived together back then, against the giant bugs, against the thugs, against the monstrous sewer creatures that sometimes would crawl out in the night, looking for vulnerable children to eat¡­


    It was a living hell. But with someone at my side, it didn''t seem so hard anymore.


    We learned how to speakter. We learned how to express our thoughts, and we became even closer, we knew what the other was doing, and we cooperated to bring down enemies.


    Without realizing it, at some point,  I had made a very good friend. One with a friendship that wouldst thousands of years¡­


    I looked at her now. Although very different from back then, she still had that certain resemnce as when she was a child in our previous life.


    After living a thousand years, dying, and then reincarnating here, I finally realized that I really wanted her to stay with me forever, but it was when I had already lost her.


    But¡­ I am d she''s back.


    "Remember the sewer rats we used to eat daily?" she wondered.


    "Ugh¡­ I do. You don''t have to remind me of such things." I sighed.


    "Heheh, those were some wild times¡­" she sighed.


    "Yeah¡­ I also remember that in such a is where we meet our teacher¡­" I sighed.


    "Oh¡­ that old man¡­" Eleanora recalled.


    "He was a hell of an old man but¡­ he taught us a lot of important lessons¡­ and well, he even taught us how to use Qi." I said.


    ¡­


    It was back then, thousands of years back in my previous life when Eleanora and I were only six years old. We got into a gang fight by ident and we were targeted for being the infamous Vampire Twins, as they called us. We were rather murderous, so we had a bad reputation with the people¡­ many of them would attack us on sight.


    Because we were Vampires, a very rare and special race, they wanted to kidnap us and sell us off as special ves to some perverted old rich man or something. We were like walking money bags for these people. Even other children would try to sell us off, the only ones we could rely on were each other.<sub> </sub>


    However, we were beaten harshly. There was even someone using Light and Fire Magic¡­ our ultimate weakness, our regeneration was not strong enough to resist the elemental weaknesses we had, and we got beaten to a pulp.


    In our direst moments, we realized we were near a ce named "Dojo", an old man came out, bursting the door open in anger over the fuss going on outside of his ce, and ended up beating everyone, actually, he just killed them¡­


    "Hmph¡­ Damn flies¡­ And what do we got here? Kids? Bloodsuckers at that!"


    The old man was not human, he resembled some sort of green-skinned old man, like a goblin, with a sharp nose and long ears, alongside long white hair¡­ his eyes shone with bright yellow-gold light.


    He seemed cunning and evil by nature, he inspected us as if we were goods.


    "Hmm¡­ Not bad, not bad¡­ You''ll do."


    He carried us to his Dojo back then, and the next day, we were greeted with cold water dropped onto our faces.


    "Wake up already, you shitty ass brats! I''ve decided to teach you my greatest techniques! You got talent! It will be interesting to teach bloodsuckers too! I am pumped!" heughed.


    "W-Who¡­ who are you?!" I asked.


    "Nngh¡­ Asmodeus¡­" Eleanora seemed scared back then.


    "Who am I? My name doesn''t matter, what matters is that you should show some reverence to your savior!" he said.


    He suddenly rushed towards me at a speed I could not even discern with my vampire senses, as his hands moved around like a flowing river, hitting my entire body masterfully. It felt as if the entire strength of a river was falling over me, and each hit hurt more than the other.


    "Flowing Fist Technique: Punishment Of the Ignorant!"


    With that very technique was when I felt utter and true pain.


    It felt as if I was going to die.


    Everything around me began to spin.


    It was the end¡­


    But then I realized that nothing truly happened to me


    My body was¡­ fine.


    Everything was okay.


    He had somehow given me the pain of death, yet I was not even damaged.


    This was the principle of the Flowing Fist Technique.


    -----

 Chapter 49 A Ruthless Teacher

    -----


    Our teacher was¡­ an interesting man to say the least.


    After beating the crap out of us whileughing maniacally, we realized we were not even damaged.


    "W-We were not damaged? The pain is not here¡­" said Eleanora.


    "H-How? What did you do? Did you manipted our minds?" I had wondered.


    "Manipte minds? What? I am not some Mindyer to do something so unsightly¡­ This is what''s called Martial Arts." Said the old man back then.


    "Martial Arts¡­" I muttered.


    I suddenly realized back then that such a power would finally help me be someone strong. That could fight back against all these threats that wanted to sell us off as products...


    And I knew that there was a reason why this old man picked us up after all, so I had boldly asked him to teach me.


    "Please¡­ teach me!" I asked.


    "Hoh? You''re more willing than I imagined! Good! What about you, girl? You want to learn, or you want to get out?" asked the man.


    Eleanora, who would never leave my side, also epted without saying another word.


    "I ept!" she said.


    "Good! Gyahahaha! Prepare yourselves! You''re going to experience PURE HELL!"


    The old goblinughed eerily, as he suddenly began to beat us senselessly¡­ for the entire day.


    But then when we woke up, there were no wounds, no pain, nothing.


    It was so strange, was he sadistic and just liked to see others suffer?


    I only realizedter on that what he was doing was forcefully opening our Qi Veins by stimting our Pressure Points. Each hit he gave to us was painful because he was hitting our Pressure Points and shaking our Qi Core.


    When an entire week of beatings ended, we suddenly felt strange, as if our entire bodies were exuding a strong golden aura from within.


    "Good! You''re very resilient! Any other kid would have died from that! Vampires are really amazing! You just awakened Qi, you stupid brats!" heughed.


    "Qi?!" we asked at the same time.


    "With Qi you''ll be able to use all sorts of Martial Arts! It is the very basis to utilize the power you''ve seen me use to beat the shit out of you all this time! Gyahahaha!" heughed.


    Martial Arts¡­ Qi¡­ those concepts which we never knew about back then were revealed to us by that old goblin. We learned about the power of Qi, the Pressure Points, the Qi Core, and the usage of the body and mind together in Martial Arts.


    With Martial Arts, our power would quickly skyrocket, and we would be able to do virtually anything, or so he said¡­ the first lessons we had were simple. We were forced to spend all our Qi while trying to imitate his techniques against him.


    Long story short, we got beaten for another week and then a second and third week following that.


    However, after a month passed, we finally began to grasp the principle. He was a terrible teacher, he only asked us to forcefully learn things by ourselves while hitting us all the time.<sub> </sub>


    He was probably also taught this way, so there was nothing we could do other than try to attack him while copying him.


    "The very principle of all intelligent beings to develop as people is to imitate one another! By imitating one another we learn how to speak! By imitating one another we learn how to eat, how to cook, how to express ourselves! Martial Arts is the same! Watch closely as I beat you a thousand times and copy what I am doing until you finally can do it yourself!"


    It was arduous training, and it took me half a year until I finally learned my first technique.


    It was back then, in the middle of another fight where we were being beat down.


    Eleanora got kicked in the head and was knocked out instantly, meanwhile, the old goblin attacked me with a barrage of fists, hitting all my pressure points and making me squirm in agony.


    However, I suddenly felt as if things were moving slowly around me, adrenaline was pumping through my veins as it merged with the Qi flowing through me.


    <o>,m In a second, my fits also flowed through the air as if they were two beautiful rivers, and several hits reached the old goblin, he opened his eyes wide, he didn''t feel any pain though, he was way too strong for that.</o>


    But when I hit him, after over half a year¡­ I finally made him step back.


    "Gyahahaha! You''ve finally grasped it, you stupid bloodsucker! I was already thinking about throwing you back into the trash! Good! Good! You''re just starting though!"


    Indeed, this was just the beginning of such a long journey. He apanied us for a long time, teaching us many things.


    Over time, he softened towards us and became gentler, although his sses were always rough and ruthless to the very core¡­


    "He was a crazy old man¡­ I can''t believe I am going to say this but¡­ I miss him, I guess¡­" said Eleanora.


    "Well, that was so long ago¡­ But he still remains within our memories, huh?" I sighed.


    "Y-Yeah¡­" sighed Eleanora.


    "Comparing that life to this new life, we really got a better starting point in this one, huh?" I wondered.


    "That''s for sure¡­ Let''s start again together, shall we?" asked Eleanora.


    "I was waiting for you to say that¡­ Haha¡­" I said.


    We quickly stood up and walked back to the dining room. There was some freshly made goat milk cheese apanied by another wolf meatloaf. There was so much wolf meat that we had been eating it for two weeks now, but it was better than sewer rat blood, so I couldn''t reallyin.


    "What were you talking about for so long that it took you a while toe out?" wondered my mother, looking at both of us while squinting her eyes.


    "About¡­ spirit techniques!" said Eleanora.


    "Yeah¡­ that! Eleanora is getting pretty good at them." I said.


    "Hmmm¡­ Okay then! Enjoy the food! I hope you haven''t gotten tired of wolf meat already¡­" she said.


    "It is better to eat it than throw it into the trash," I said.


    I disliked being a wasteful person.


    -----

 Chapter 50 Incident

    -----


    The days went by peacefully as we did our daily routines. Without realizing it, a week had gone by, and it was the day that father went with the rest of the Hunters in the group to go hunt Larger and stronger beasts.


    This hunt didn''t ur just from them wanting to collect meat, if that were the case, we would just hunt some meat from elsewhere.


    The problem was that the second and thirdyers of the Dark Forest surrounding this entire area harbored strong monsters, and from time to time, they would go out of their originalyers and might even begin to attack the vige.


    Due to that, this extermination quest was given by the Duke himself, who also wanted Boar Meat from the Wild Boars that could be hunted from the secondyer onwards. Gigantic monsters that had utterly tasteful meat, which was highly desired by nobles. In here, normal pigs as I knew them back in my previous life did not exist, even the cattle were simply modified monsters, and I suppose they never could make Boars into cattle due to how savage and strong they are.


    Although there are "chickens" with snake tails that are not venomous, which seem to be cockatrices, and we got "cows" that are three meters tall and covered in horns, we don''t have pigs.


    And well, due to the variety of cattle animal spirits, things such as milk, wool, and fat can be acquired from them, although not meat.


    As an item that cannot be produced through spirits, delicious meat will always be in high demand, and killing these damn boars also helped in keeping the vige safe, as they had the tendency to attack it.


    Seeing my father off with arge group of around fifteen more hunters, I wished him good luck. He had done this plenty of times, and this was why he was also high level, by killing these humongous beasts.


    The day went by normally, I spent it mostly with Erika and Eleanora, we were practicing martial arts.


    Erika was learning them even without having Qi, as it could be reced with Mana in high quantities, but Qi would always be better.


    But because Erika has no Qi, she had to use herrge pool of Mana instead, which also served as the lifeblood of her doll-like body.


    Although she had a whole army of dolls to fight for her, she also wanted to learn how to fight by herself, so she asked me to teach her some days ago.


    "Gather your Mana in your legs, and then kick me with all the strength you got." I ordered.


    "R-Really? You''re not going to get hurt?" she asked.


    "No, don''t worry,e at me." I encouraged.


    "B-But¡­" she said.


    "Oh? Are you scared? I wouldn''t me you¡­" I said, acting cocky always triggered her.


    "I-I am not scared!" she roared, as she raised her leg and suddenly kicked me with all the strength she had.


    CLAASH!


    Her doll body was made of no mere wood, it was made of a special material reinforced through alchemy made by her father. It was wood, yes, but it was modified and recreated using several other materials, to the point it was more resilient than metal.


    Getting kicked by her was like getting kicked by a giant bar of metal. This is why Erika had such great potential as a physical fighter, if she could learn these techniques and use them, she could really beat a lot of cocky people that would believe she''s weak due to her looks.


    However, I was able to easily stop her kick as I smiled back at her.


    "Good! Now continue kicking, or was that all?" I asked.


    "I-I got more!" she said timidly yet filled with courage, as she continued to kick me, dancing around while doing so.


    She had learned some technique by herself, fusing her dancing technique she had learned from her father long ago, and merging it with the finesse of her Princess Talent. What emerged was something majestic. It was as if she was a ballerina, dancing around while raising her legs, but each time she did, an incredibly powerful kick fell over me, almost making my entire body sink to the ground.


    CLASH! CLASH! CLASH!<sub> </sub>


    I simply defended myself for the moment, but then I decided to go into the offensive to see how she could defend herself.


    I moved towards her and packed my fists with Qi, punching her consecutively without any real technique put into it, mere fists, which could be called Qi Fist, if you want to give a name to everything.


    "Uwawaawahh! Y-You''re going too fast¡­!"


    Erika lost bnce while trying to evade and defend, and fell off to the ground.


    "Ouch¡­" she sighed.


    I extended my hand towards her as she smiled back and took it, standing back up again.


    "Sorry, was I too much of a brute?" I asked.


    "No¡­ It''s fine! I like it when you''re rough¡­ It makes me feel like you''re finally taking me seriously¡­" she said.


    "I see¡­ Well, want to practice some more?" I asked.


    "S-Sure!" she said.


    Eleanora was looking back with a mildly jealous look in her eyes.


    "A-All that speech about wanting to grow closer but what about this girl? Geez¡­" she sighed, murmuring to herself, although I could clearly hear her.


    Suddenly, in the middle of our training, I heard my mother''s cry.


    "JOAAAAN!"


    I quickly looked back as I felt a dreadful feeling.


    I rushed towards my mother while leaving everything behind, as I saw her crying desperately.


    The group of Hunters were carrying around six people, they were all severely wounded¡­


    My father was one of them, he was pale, his vitality was very low, and he had a tremendous wound on the left side of his torso, which was patched up roughly by the other hunters.


    "Joan! No, Joan! Please, don''t die on me!" my mother cried.


    "What happened here?!" I roared.


    "T-There was something else that showed up, a bigger and stronger monster¡­ it waspletely red-skinned, and the size of a giant!"


    "It had two giant ck horns¡­ and it was carrying a massive club¡­"


    "It attacked us and stole the whole boar¡­ we couldn''t do anything¡­"


    "A red-skinned giant with horns?!" I repeated in disbelief.


    That''s a demon!


    -----

 Chapter 51 Blakes Resolve

    -----


    My father was pale. The energy of his body was fading away, and so was the light of his eyes.


    His hands trembled as he raised them.


    "Son¡­ Where¡­ where are you, son¡­"


    I immediately ran towards my father, containing the tears I never thought I would shed for another person in my life.


    "I am here¡­ father." I said.


    My father''s emerald eyes looked into my own, as a small smile emerged on his lips.


    "ke¡­" he muttered.


    My father''s Qi was slowly decreasing, the vitality of his body was slowly decreasing every second.


    My mother was crying desperately while clenching her fist.


    "Don''t cry¡­" he said.


    "Don''t leave me, Joan! Not when¡­ When I am pregnant again¡­" she cried.


    Pregnant? My mother is pregnant again?


    "Ungh¡­ Haha¡­ What a way to know such good news¡­" he let out a mutteredugh.


    I looked into my father''s pale face, he seemed to be on death''s door.


    He looked at me while holding my mother''s hand.


    A tender smile emerged on his lips, as his eyes seemed to be filled with sorrow.


    "I am sorry¡­ ke¡­ Your father¡­ was not as strong as he made himself to be¡­" he cried.


    His eyes began to swell as he tried to contain his tears. I could see that my father didn''t want to go like this¡­


    I remembered my life in here¡­ For almost six years I''ve been living here with my family.


    With my father¡­ His cheerful personality, his strong and unwavering nature.


    I don''t want him to go either. This is way too sudden.


    "Remember¡­ Mary¡­ ke¡­ I will always love you¡­ Okay?" he asked.


    "Don''t say such things! T-There might be medicsing at any moment! R-Right?" asked Mary.


    "Who would even want toe to heal this old man¡­?" he sighed.


    "But¡­! Someone, bring someone to heal my husband! Why is nobody doing something?!" roared my mother.


    "With what money?" asked one of the survivors.


    "EH?!" asked my mother.


    "A doctor¡­ a healer¡­ or a priest¡­ there are only one of each in the vige, and each one of them cost a fortune to hire! D-Do you think we have money?!" asked another.


    "H-How can¡­ you say that¡­" muttered my mother.


    My father caressed my mother''s hand as he smiled.


    "Its fine¡­" he sighed.


    "No, it''s not fine!" she cried.


    My mother''s face was twisting in sorrow and frustration, as I stood there looking at my father.


    Erika reached the scene as she stood looking in silence.


    "ke¡­ Y-You''re the only man in the family¡­ after¡­ I go¡­ It''s all up to you¡­" said my father.


    "Father¡­ No¡­ You won''t die on me." I said.


    I wasn''t someone resourceful to not have thought about such a future as of now. I had umted herbs with healing properties even if they were only good at healing stomachaches all this time because I knew they would one day be useful.


    And I''ve been making special pills using Alchemy in Erika''s house using them because of the possibility of a day like this toe.<sub> </sub>


    By using Alchemy, the dust of Spirit Orbs, medicinal herbs, and all my efforts, I had already made what I called Healing Pills. They were no higher than Rare-Grade, the highest I could make.


    I don''t know if they''ll work on my father, but I also had magic at my side.


    Even if I had to reveal that I had such a talent to the crowd around, there was no time for me to falter.


    I took out several red-colored pills from my Spatial Bag, and gave three to my father, alongside a cup of water I filled using the Water Magic Spell "Water Drop".


    "Father, trust me and eat these." I told him.


    "W-What? What are these?" asked my mother.


    "They''re special pills that hasten the regeneration of the body and lessen pain¡­ I''ve made them using Alchemy¡­ Father, listen to me and eat them, quickly!" I said.


    My father opened his eyes wide as he looked at me while raising his eyebrows.


    "T-This is¡­" he muttered.


    "QUICK!" I roared.


    My father swallowed saliva, as he opened his mouth and I put the pills inside. He began to bite them with all the leftover strength he had, as I gave him a cup of water.


    He drank the water faintly, as he gasped for air.


    "Ungh¡­ Hahhh¡­ Agh?!"


    Suddenly, my father''s entire body began to palpitate.


    It was as if his heart was beating incredibly fast.


    His Qi went insane, flowing everywhere.


    These pills hastened regeneration by spending the Qi of the body.


    I could see the wave of golden energy flowing inside of his body, reaching the enormous wound on the side of his ribs while quickly beginning to gather a lot of energy to the area.


    "Agghh! Uaaggh¡­!"


    My father began to groan in pain, the wound healing was even more painful than I thought.


    "B-ke! What did you give to your father?!" asked my mother.


    "It is a healing pill, the pain that he is going through is natural, the cells of his body are being forcefully divided so the lost tissue can be recovered." I exined.


    "W-What?" asked my mother in disbelief. She didn''t know anything about this.


    My father began to develop a fever, as his entire face turned red. Something wrong was going on.


    The people around us quickly looked at the scene.


    I desperately took out the bandages around his wound and found the problem.


    His wound was already rotting.


    "Damn it!" I roared.


    This was¡­ the power of Demon Energy.


    Demons leaked this energy everywhere and coated their bodies with it naturally.


    Anything they hit was always going to get this energy stuck to them.


    It was an energy from another dimension, if it gets inside of wounds, it might even stop their regeneration.


    There was a lot of rotten tissue already. Although the effects of the pills were strong, they were not able to fight against this.


    "The necrosis is not so deep, Eleanora,e assist me!" I said, summoning Eleanora.


    I took out a knife from my pocket.


    I will have to cut out all the rotten tissue myself.


    -----

 Chapter 52 Healing My Father

    -----


    "I won''t let you die, father¡­ I will do anything I can to let you live, so resist for now, endure it!" I roared.


    "S-Son¡­!" cried my father, as he began to tightly clench his teeth.


    Eleanora emerged at my side.


    "Eleanora use Bloodwork and take out the infected blood, I will cut out the rotten tissue myself. Can you do that?" I asked.


    "Of course, leave it to me!" she said.


    Eleanora nodded as she pointed her hands at my father''srge wound, her powers activated as she began to discern the blood within the wound. Her ability over it was outstanding, I trusted her more than anyone.


    <o>,m Suddenly, dark-red blood began toe out, it seemed coagted and reeked horribly. My father began to groan while gasping for air loudly.</o>


    Everyone around us looked on in disbelief at the scene.


    "Endure this, father." I said.


    "B-ke, wait! What are you doing?!" asked my mother, trying to stop me.


    Erika suddenly rushed to my mother''s side and stopped her from interrupting.


    "M-Miss Mary, please wait! Let ke do what he wants to do¡­ Trust him!" she said.


    My mother looked at Erika''s eyes while tears continued to flow from her eyes.


    She looked back at me, as I began to work.


    Utilizing the Tier 1 Death Magic Spells "Sterilization" and "Disinfection", I coated my de with them and cleaned it in an instant.


    I pointed the sharp knife at my father''s wound, and quickly discerned the areas with strong necrosis, I began cutting out all the tissue and throwing it into the ground desperately.


    Meanwhile, I conjured the Life Attribute Spell "Life Transfusion" and "Metabolism Enhancement", these two basic spells let the user transfer their own life force to someone else to hasten their regeneration, while Metabolism Enhancement enhances the metabolism of a target, making their cells work faster, their blood pump faster, and more.


    My father''s wound quickly began to lose the rotten areas as I cut them away while healing all the exposed flesh and using Sterilization and Disinfection over it.


    I began to consume Spirit Orbs I had saved up in my pocket while doing this. Recovering the Mana I was constantly losing. I used my Qi to increase my Life Force to its limit and managed to transfer it to my father, hastening his regeneration.


    Through the entire procedure, my father''s groans became louder and more agonizing, but he was enduring everything well, he was a strong man after all.


    Eleanora was stopping the blood from leaking out now, as she had filtered out all the Blood infected with the necrosis.


    However, I noticed the damn demonic energy persisted in the wound, if I left it like this, it would open once more and mess with him. I had to do something about it.


    I quickly covered my hands with Qi and then conjured the Light Magic spell "Holy Light", a very basic spell that conjured a light that can''t damage anyone except demonic beings, and dissipates evil energy.


    It is very weak against demons, actually, as it cannot even directly damage them, at most, you will blind them temporarily.


    However, to take out demon energy, this was the best I could use.


    I coated my hands with this bright holy light and inserted my small hands inside of my father''s wound.


    "Aaaaagggghhh¡­! Aaaagggh¡­! Aaahhh¡­ Hahhh¡­"


    My father cried in agony, but there was no other option.


    I suddenly felt an evil energy dwelling within his wound, as I quickly pulled it out as if it were a malicious parasitetching onto my father.<sub> </sub>


    And indeed, what I found surprised me more than I thought, the mass of energy seemed to be struggling to escape me, suddenly amassing, and forming into some sort of demonic specter.


    What sort of demons are able to do this so easily? Didn''t the giant just attack and run away? Or did my father''s group go through way more than what that guy said?


    "Grryyarrr!"


    The mass of energy, resembling a demonic specter, roared back at me, trying totch onto me now.


    I red down at it with wrath, as I covered it in holy light and quickly made it dissipate into nothingness.


    "Grrryyyeeh¡­"


    It released a pitiful groan before dying. I saw that my father''s wound was finally improving now¡­ I continued to conjure the spells I was using, as the wound finally regrew enough tissue. I quickly used disinfected threads and other things, and stitched the skin together, while stopping any internal hemorrhage.


    "Hahh¡­ Unngh¡­"


    My father was groaning, he had survived the operation.


    I wiped the sweat away off my forehead, as I quickly conjured the Ember Spell and burned all the rotten tissue on the floor into ashes.


    I sighed in relief.


    My mana was almostpletely gone.


    But my father''s life energy was now good, he was slowly recovering.


    He needs to rest now.


    The people around us had been looking at what I was doing with a mixture of surprise and disbelief.


    Many were left dumbfounded.


    "W-What sort of powers did he use?"


    "I detected so many elements¡­"


    "T-That kid¡­"


    "That''s Joan kid?"


    "What kind of person is he?"


    I ignored them all as I made my way back home while carrying father with Eleanora and my mother, and quickly put him to bed.


    My grandmother seemed rmed, asking what was happening all the time.


    "W-What is happening, Mary? Mary!" she cried, while my mother was rushing to attend to my father''s needs.


    "The hunting expedition failed, and a strange monster attacked¡­My father was wounded but I managed to heal him." I said.


    "Huh?! I-Is Joan okay?" asked my grandmother.


    "Yes, grandma, don''t worry about it." I said.


    I sat down at the side of my father after that, looking at him as he slept peacefully. I rested in a chair while sighing. I had somehow managed to do it. That was quite close. I am now very thankful that I managed to drink those mana potions.


    -----

 Chapter 53 Clemency

    -----


    KNOCK, KNOCK!


    Although I wanted to rest for now, the house door was suddenly being knocked on violently by many people. I rushed out to find my grandmother dealing with a bunch of people. Erika was there, she seemed to have been talking with my grandmother about the things that had happened. I looked out as I found around 6 people.


    "I told you that he is very tired! Go away!" Roared my grandma.


    "But your grandson¡­ ke¡­ He can heal my husband! Please! I will give you anything! Anything I have!" cried a woman, around the same age as my mother.


    "My father is dying¡­ Please, ke!" cried Chris.


    Eric and Chris were also here, it seems that Chris'' father ended up wounded as well as did Eric''s uncle. The two boys were supplicating me to help them now. Alongside these two, another four people were there.


    "We can''t afford a priest¡­" cried Eric.


    "But you¡­ W-We''ll give you anything¡­ I¡­ I don''t want my father to die¡­ He''s getting worse!" cried Chris.


    "So please¡­ Do something! I implore of you¡­" cried Eric.


    "Please¡­"


    "We''ll give you anything you want!"


    "We don''t have much, but I got a lot of cockatrices!"


    "I-I can give you crops¡­ Everything I have!"


    The people were desperate.


    But did I have enough to heal the other six people that were wounded in time as I did with my father? If their wounds were just as terrible, there wouldn''t be much hope.


    And if I try to do something and fail, I will be med for it.


    I looked down at the people. Their faces filled with despair¡­ their eyes filled with sorrow¡­


    It reminded me of my mother and of myself.


    ¡­


    "Shut up! Stop asking my grandson to do the impossible! He already used all the mana he had and everything else! You want him to do even more?! How do you expect him to do this? He''s just a child!" said my grandma.


    "B-But¡­"


    "He''s¡­ the only hope¡­"


    "Please!"


    "W-We won''t ask you anything more, ever!"


    "But what if he fails at saving them? You''ll me him for it, won''t you? Also you people are always bashing on us all the time, what do you even have to offer?" asked my grandma angrily.


    These people all belonged to families that looked down on Erika, and due to our rtionship with her, they also began to look down on us and discriminate against us. They had even not allowed my mother to join the usual meetings between mothers that are often made in the vige.


    "¡­"


    I was standing there in silence there.


    Eric and Chris rushed to my side as they kneeled, despite their own pride.


    "Please, ke! I am sorry for being so stupid before! Please, save my dad!" cried Chris.


    "Sniff¡­ Sob¡­ ke! Help!" cried Eric.


    Perhaps if they were grown men, I wouldn''t be so moved. But they were children. The experience of losing a father figure is not something that will help in their growth.<sub> </sub>


    And for old time''s sake¡­


    Suddenly, I felt the little hand of Erika touching my shoulder.


    "B-ke¡­ Please¡­" she said.


    "Erika¡­? You pity them?" I asked.


    She nodded faintly.


    I looked back at the kids.


    "Okay. But you better pay well after all of this! Also, don''t me me if they die while I am trying to help them! Lastly, give me all the spirit orbs you''ve ever umted, I will need them!" I said.


    The people suddenly smiled, their eyes once more filled with hope.


    "First! Gather all the people in the same house, that way I can assess them all at the same time¡­ Eleanora,e with me. Erika, can you bring your father with me? Also, ask him if he has any medicine or anything that could help, I will pay for it." I said.


    "B-ke¡­ Okay!"


    Erika quickly rushed back to her home, as the people led me to the home of Chris, where all the wounded were gathered.


    "Thank you, ke!" cried Eric.


    "ke¡­ I am sorry for having been an idiot this entire time¡­" cried Chris.


    "Shut up already, stop crying! Are you men?! And don''t thank me, thank Erika, she''s the one that hadpassion for you¡­ Despite all your discrimination against her¡­ She pitied you and wanted me to help you." I sighed.


    Chris and Eric looked at me with surprise.


    "E-Even after everything?" asked Chris.


    "Erika¡­" muttered Eric.


    "Sigh¡­ Now let''s go, go look for spirit orbs, I need them." I said.


    "O-Okay¡­" said Chris.


    "But for what?" asked Eric.


    The ability to absorb spirit orbs was notmon, so they didn''t know I could absorb them as they were instead of processing them into potions and regain Mana through this method.


    "Don''t ask questions or I won''t help you!" I said.


    "O-Okay, sorry!" said Eric.


    The two kids went to look for spirit orbs as did the other people with us.


    I looked at the six men lying in the beds, at least I had Eleanora with me.


    I began to quickly give a brief inspection of their wounds, they were different wounds, my father had indeed received the biggest one, while all of these ones here had smaller wounds, spread around their bodies, one of them even lost their entire arm.


    The wounds were rotting and the people in here didn''t know how to properly heal such infections, especially because energy from another dimension wastching over the wounds.


    For serfs like us, advanced medicine and healing magic is something incredibly expensive and rare. Healing-type spirits are even rarer, and there wasn''t any that would offer their services without a hefty fee.


    Although most of these wounds seemed not lethal, most of them had necrosis and would keep infecting the blood with rotten blood, making the people sicker and have even higher fevers, they could even contract a disease if this continued as it was.


    "Eleanora, do the same thing you did to my father with all six of them." I said.


    -----

 Chapter 54 A Small Memory Of The Past

    -----


    Erika hadeter on, bringing her old father, who had brought green-colored sks, only six of them, which had a special healing tonic he had been saving in his storage for some time.


    They were expensive, but there was no point in thinking about money as of now. We quickly gave one to each person, alongside some of my own pills, although I still saved some for my father for the next few days.


    The entire operation continued for an entire day without stopping. I used magic and everything else I could do. The people around assisted me with utensils, warm water, and other things, while I brought myself to my limits.


    The spirit orbs were disappearing constantly as I constantly healed my mana over and over again, strong headaches were hitting me constantly, my head felt like it was about to burst open.


    When I ended up patching thest wound, I felt like I was finally able to rest, and without realizing it, dropped unconscious on the floor¡­


    "ke!"


    "I-Is he okay?"


    "He''s too exhausted¡­"


    ¡­


    I found myself within the fragments of my past, the memories of my previous life, of that long life.


    I sometimes remember that life as a long dream, sometimes I don''t recognize myself within those memories.


    In these years, have I changed that much?


    Ipare myself to my old self in such a life, and I can''t help but think that I have be weaker, softer, and more¡­ human than ever before.


    Perhaps because I am now a human and not a Vampire?


    Nheless, it feels odd.


    These memories¡­


    Why are they surging now of all times?


    In such memories¡­


    There was a little girl with long white hair.


    Resting on a bed.


    Her smile seemed pure, filled with innocence. Her bright yellow-gold eyes looked at me tenderly.


    But she seemed weak¡­ she was weakening with every passing second.


    Her entire body was slowly growing weaker, the life was flowing out of it.


    And her breath¡­ was growing slower.


    She held my hand tightly, as her eyes released small tears.


    "Papa¡­ Don''t be sad¡­"


    An indescribable sorrow took over my entire being.


    I gritted my teeth as I looked at the girl, while Eleanora held my hand and looked at the girl with pity.


    "I am sorry¡­" I cried.


    "It''s fine¡­" she sighed.


    "No¡­ It''s not fine¡­" I insisted.


    "You did¡­ what¡­ you could¡­ right? That''s what matters¡­" she said weakly.


    "What I could?! But¡­ it was not enough¡­." I cried.


    "I am happy¡­ even if we¡­ spent little time together¡­:" she said.


    "AH¡­!"


    Tears began to flow from my eyes, as I looked at this girl.


    "Don''t leave me¡­" I muttered.


    "Don''t worry¡­ I won''t¡­" she said.


    "Saphira¡­" I sighed.


    "As long as you remember my name¡­ and who I was¡­ as long¡­ as I remain in your heart¡­ I will never be truly gone¡­ right?" she said.


    A radiant smile surged across the girl''s face, as her white teeth shone brightly.


    Why are you smiling even before death?


    Saphira¡­


    I remember who she was now.


    I remember you¡­


    You were the first person aside from Eleanora that I lost.


    And¡­ the first person I couldn''t save.


    I couldn''t save you no matter how hard I tried.<sub> </sub>


    No matter what I tried to do.


    I simplycked the power, the resources, the time¡­


    She was a special girl¡­


    I remember meeting her in the sewers, barely hanging on by herself.


    She was a special girl, a half-specter.


    Half-specters are people whose one parent was often human and the other a specter.


    But what are specters? They were a race of people from my previous life. Non-corporeal beings that had many supernatural abilities.


    But the problem was¡­ half-specters were unable to live until reaching maturity, their bodies would simply stop working.


    They wouldn''t be able to maintain themselves and they would perish.


    Specters need to absorb energy from the environment to sustain themselves, something they do naturally.


    But half-specters don''t possess this ability and their physical bodies cannot consume enough food topensate for the energy they need.


    Saphira¡­


    She had the power to see through walls.


    Thanks to her, we were able to learn many things and even learned a lot of secret ns from enemy organizations.


    Like this, our small guild was able to defeat many enemies, and thanks to that little girl¡­ we also learned what love was.


    She always called Eleanora and I "mama" and "papa"¡­


    I see now¡­ Saphira¡­


    This is why¡­ I suddenly had such frustration over letting others simply die.


    Because I didn''t want to repeat the same thing that happened to you.


    Icked magic knowledge back then, even less medical knowledge, or any of the abilities I can use now, even as I am weaker than that former self.


    And due to being ignorant in everything, I couldn''t save you.


    I wish I could turn back in time now¡­ to the time back then.


    And save you¡­


    ¡­


    But she''s right¡­ As long as you are within my memories, you''ll never truly die.


    ¡­Right?


    Saphira¡­


    "You''re seeing it too?"


    "Ah?"


    Suddenly, I found Eleanora at my side, hugging me from behind.


    "Eleanora¡­?" I asked.


    "I saw it¡­ Somehow, we seem to be able to share dreams too¡­" she sighed.


    "¡­"


    "You miss her?" she asked.


    "¡­Don''t you?" I sighed.


    "Hm¡­ Even after thousands of years since her death¡­I cannot possibly forget about my little girl¡­" sighed Eleanora.


    Eleanora''s hand tightly held mine.


    "It has truly been a ride, hasn''t it?" she sighed.


    "Yeah¡­" I sighed.


    "I see why you helped those people¡­ and why you helped your father so desperately now¡­ Saphira wouldn''t had let you simply ignore them, right?" asked Eleanora.


    "¡­"


    "And within that girl¡­ Erika¡­ You see Saphira in her, don''t you?" asked Eleanora.


    "¡­"


    "I guess you don''t have to say anything¡­ I am the one that understands you the most¡­" she said.


    "¡­Thank you for being at my side, Eleanora¡­" I said.


    "I will always stay at your side¡­" she said.


    -----

 Chapter 55 Friends Reunited

    -----


    I had discovered that the ability to dream and delve into my past life''s memories could be shared with my Spirit, Eleanora. With that, she seemed to have seen what I saw¡­


    It made me feel rather happy to know there was someone that could rte to what I felt.


    It honestly makes me feel embarrassed to think about it, especially because I had tried to suppress my feelings a lot in my previous life.


    Especially¡­ after Saphira''s death. I ended up bing someone even colder and expressionless than before. I ended up seeing emotions as a weakness I couldn''t have.


    I suppose I''ve gone back full circle¡­ to think that I would once more treasure my emotions.


    I had to die to finally do it once more¡­


    But I wonder if what I am doing is okay.


    What would my past self say about the me of now?


    Would heugh at how pathetic a man I have be?


    Or would he smile back at me, and tell me that it was the right thing to do?


    What¡­ is the right thing to do at the end?


    It''s all always depends on our own perspectives, on our own morals¡­


    But at the end of the day, what''s right or wrong¡­ it''s what I decide.


    I cannot say that I will change abruptly from one day to another.


    It is actually impossible. My own mind is different, I cannot possibly be apletely different person.


    But I can once more slowly open up the things I''ve caged my entire previous life.


    Perhaps what I am feeling now¡­


    This feeling of happiness of having saved my parents, and of¡­ having stopped these people from dying is what it felt like to be human.


    I was never a human after all¡­ until now.


    However, human-like emotions were always within my heart.


    "Eleanora¡­" I said.


    "Yes?" she asked.


    "Do you think I''ve be weaker?" I asked.


    "¡­No." she said.


    "You don''t?" I asked.


    "No¡­ You''ve be much, much stronger now¡­" she said.


    "Why? Aren''t¡­ I softer?" I sighed.


    "Softer? That''s not right. You''ve be even stronger, because you''re able to carry on even with these emotions on your shoulders¡­ Maybe it is my own personal opinion but¡­ I like the person you''re slowly bing¡­" she said.


    "You do?" I asked.


    "It''s not¡­ like you''re changing. It feels more like¡­ I am finally getting to know the real you." She said.


    "Ah¡­"


    The real me?


    Was I all this time¡­ wearing a mask?


    ¡­


    "I see¡­ Thank you for offering me your perspective, Eleanora¡­ I always thought you disliked my family¡­" I sighed.


    "Eh? W-Well, a bit before¡­ But after some time¡­ I realized they had helped you a lot! In fact¡­ I''ve never seen you so happy before, in all our previous life¡­ Seeing you so happy with these people¡­ soothed my heart." Said Eleanora.


    Happiness¡­ Right, I had forgotten what it truly felt like to be happy in my previous life.


    I had sometimes felt happy, but those moments were fleeting.


    Not as many as these I''ve experienced in this second life.


    "Eleanora¡­ Our second life is just starting but¡­ there will be many dangers ahead¡­ I think I''ve found a new goal," I said.


    "A new¡­ goal?" she asked.


    "Help me defeat these demons¡­ I must seal these Demonic Towers, and stop these monsters from lurking around the world where my family belongs¡­" I said.


    "Of course! You shouldn''t have even asked that question." Said Eleanora.


    "Then, let''s go back, enough of sleeping¡­ I don''t like to ck around." I said.


    "Understood!" said Eleanora.


    Within our dreams, she smiled radiantly.<sub> </sub>


    Such a beautiful smile¡­


    "I''ve never seen you so happy before either." I said.


    "Huh?" Eleanora asked, while she suddenly blushed.


    I smiled back at her.


    "Nothing¡­ Never mind." I said.


    ¡­


    When I opened my eyes, I found myself inside of my own room, sleeping in my bed.


    I sat up in bed and quickly found three people around me.


    Erika, Chris, and Eric.


    "Y-You''re awake! ke!"


    Erika was the first to react, jumping onto the bed and hugging me tightly.


    "Y-You worked so hard! Are you feeling okay now? Y-You had a very strong feverst night¡­ We were worried¡­ Did you have a headache?" asked Erika.


    "I feel better now¡­ Thank you for worrying about me, Erika¡­ But I am fine now, you don''t have to worry." I said.


    "Really? You''re sure?" she asked. Her bright eyes looked into my own.


    I smiled and petted her head.


    "Yeah, I am fine." I said.


    Chris and Eric, who seemed to have been sleeping just a few minutes ago opened their eyes wide open.


    "ke!"


    "Y-You''re awake!"


    The two kids also jumped onto the bed and¡­ hugged me.


    "I am so happy you''re okay!" said Chris.


    "S-Sorry for pushing you so much!" said Eric.


    "You two¡­ you''re hugging me?" I asked in disbelief.


    "Ah¡­!"


    "Sorry, we didn''t mean to!"


    The two boys quickly retreated.


    They seemed to be relieved I had woken up.


    "You two stayed in here as well? What about your father, Chris? And your uncle, Eric?" I asked.


    "E-Everyone is okay! It''s all¡­ thanks to you¡­" said Chris.


    "Thank you so much, ke¡­ you literally saved everyone''s life¡­ I¡­ I am so grateful!" said Eric.


    The two kids began to cry.


    I would have tried to reprimand them but¡­ they were just kids¡­ They were not even teenagers yet.


    I would be too much of a tyrant if I were to tell them to stop crying out of happiness for their beloved ones to have remained alive.


    "¡­I am d." I said with a smile.


    "You really saved them¡­ You''re an amazing person, ke¡­" said Erika. Her admiration towards me seemed to have skyrocketed even more now.


    She was hugging me very tightly and suddenly kissed my cheek.


    "Mooch!"


    "Hm?!"


    I looked at Erika with a surprised look.


    "Heheh¡­ You deserved it¡­ Papa said that what you did was amazing¡­ and he said that the potions were on the house, you don''t have to pay for them¡­" said Erika.


    "¡­I see. Don''t kiss me like that again out of the blue¡­" I sighed, as I petted her head again.


    POOF!


    Suddenly, Eleanora emerged at my side.


    She was angry.


    -----

 Chapter 56 A Change

    -----


    Eleanora emerged at my side, and quickly looked at Erika angrily, she was filled with jealousy, I see. Perhaps I shouldn''t have let the girl kiss me, but it was quite sudden.


    I didn''t feel embarrassed over it but was surprised by it. She did it out of nowhere¡­ I don''t know what to feel, but I suppose it made me happy she sees me in such a way, I suppose Erika is my family¡­ No, she had always been my family.


    "Uwah! E-Eleanora¡­!" said Erika.


    Eleanora was pouting while crossing her arms.


    "Come on, don''t get too clingy with ke! Y-You already gave him a kiss so back off for now¡­ He needs his own personal space!" she said, while hugging me and pushing Erika back a bit.


    Erika got angrier too, pouting back at her.


    "I-I was just happy to see him being fine! D-Don''t be like that!" she said.


    "He already understands your happiness, no need to get so personal over it!" said Eleanora.


    "Eleanora, cut if out, you don''t have to be so over the top with this¡­" I sighed.


    After I said that, we started a telepathic conversation where we were only ring at one another while the other three kids looked at us with confusion.


    "B-But she kissed you and all! How can you let it slide so easily, master? You have to tell her that she can''t do that so easily!" said Eleanora.


    "Erika is my friend, don''t worry too much about it, she''s just a child¡­" I said.


    "I-I know¡­ But still¡­" she sighed.


    "If you want to kiss me as she did, you''re free to do so¡­" I sighed.


    "T-That''s not it! Kissing is¡­ s-something special that you do after a long time¡­ Not something you give off so easily¡­ she''s really a child if she did such a thing so easily¡­" sighed Eleanora.


    "You''re acting more childish than she does now¡­" I said.


    "Geh¡­! Don''t say such things¡­" sheined.


    "Eleanora you''re someone special to me. Don''t get worried over these small interactions. My rtionship with Erika will not suddenly separate us or something¡­" I said.


    "Ah¡­ I guess¡­" she said.


    Eleanora was just very jealous over nothing¡­ Erika was only a child, she shouldn''t worry about a child.


    Anyways, after all of this, Chris and Eric tried to apologize to me.


    The two kids kneeled before me.


    "I am sorry¡­ For everything¡­" said Chris.


    "Hm?" I asked.


    "F-For being rude to you¡­ for acting so stupidly¡­ I was just¡­ jealous of you¡­ and of having Erika for you¡­" he said.


    "What?" I asked.


    "T-This¡­ I¡­" he muttered.


    "Chris, you shouldn''t be apologizing to me, apologize to her¡­ It was because you left her as a friend that I decided to stay at her side and leave you behind. What you did to me is of no consequence to me. I am not someone that grows resentful against children. You''re at your growing pace, after all, we allmit mistakes, and we all had our own fits of rage from time to time¡­ It is part of growing up as a person to experience these things, all the emotions we can develop, and all the things we experience¡­" I said.


    Chris and Eric looked at me while I said those words, their eyes shone brightly.


    "N-Nobody had ever put it like that before¡­" said Eric.


    "ke¡­ I am sorry¡­ still¡­ You''re a good person¡­" sighed Chris.


    "Apologize to Erika already, stop going around it!" I said, showing him my fist.


    "O-Okay! Sorry, Erika!" said Chris.<sub> </sub>


    "Ueh?!"


    Erika then saw Chris and Eric bowing their heads to her.


    "Y-You''re the one that convinced ke to help our parents¡­ It was all thanks to you¡­ We are sorry for discriminating against you¡­ for all these stupid things¡­" cried Chris.


    "We don''t care about looks¡­ or anything other people would say¡­" said Eric.


    "Y-Yeah¡­ We know it has been a long time since we were friends¡­ But¡­ I hope that one day you could let us be friends again¡­" said Chris.


    "We don''t really deserve the friendship of someone as good as you." Sighed Eric.


    Erika blushed a bit as she saw the two boys looking at her while in tears.


    She covered her face in embarrassment adorably, as Eleanora giggled at the scene.


    "Your friends are really adorable." She said through telepathy.


    "Ah¡­ Yeah. I suppose they are¡­ In each of these children, I see her¡­" I sighed.


    "Saphira?" she asked.


    "Hm¡­ The innocence and cuteness of a child¡­ the inexperience, the willingness to learn, the curiosity¡­ everything¡­ I see her all the time¡­" I said.


    "¡­ke." Sighed Eleanora.


    Nheless, there was no time to be stuck in the past all the time.


    "Y-You two¡­ Stop bowing your heads¡­ It''s okay¡­ ke was always the one that was angered by you but¡­ I am not¡­" said Erika.


    "Eh? Y-You''re not?" asked Chris.


    "But why? After we left you behind¡­" said Eric.


    "I just couldn''t hate my friends¡­" said Erika.


    Chris and Eric were moved by Erika''s words.


    The pink-haired girl moved their hearts so much they began to cry once more.


    Erika was really a forgiving child. Perhaps because she was still growing, or maybe¡­ she has thepassion and empathy that her father has.


    A man very much dedicated to his daughter to the point of obsession, but whose only intentions had always been to help her and see her happy, even after dying.


    Erika is a very unique being, even amongst the countlesss I had traveled to in my previous life¡­ I had never met someone like her.


    Chris and Eric looked at Erika with shiny eyes and rivers of tearsing out of them.


    "Y-You''re really an angel, Erika¡­" cried Chris.


    "Sorry¡­ I am sorry¡­" cried Eric.


    The ck-haired boy and the blonde boy continued to cry for a while. It was indeed quite mildly annoying, but in the end, they calmed themselves down.


    "Erika, you''re okay with this?" I asked.


    "Yeah! I can''t really hate my friends after all!" said Erika.


    "Sigh¡­ You''re too nice for your own good sometimes¡­ But I suppose that is the virtue that makes you the most special. " I said.


    Though, it is more of a w...


    "B-ke¡­"


    -----

 Chapter 57 Disciples

    -----


    I looked back at what I''ve aplished in this little life I''ve had.


    A second life filled with many new things I''ve experienced.


    Despite having explored the vastness of the universe, despite having gone through gxies,s, and had met many people through my previous life journey¡­


    I never meet with such emotions, or perhaps¡­ in those times, I simply didn''t let myself experience them.


    Despite always having them avable, despite always having the option to experience them¡­ I ended up neglecting them.


    Perhaps because I was too weak to be able topromise again. Maybe¡­ I wasn''t being someone strong, I was just being weak¡­ I didn''t wanted to show the emotions that made a person vulnerable after all.


    But I guess it could be said that, just as Eleanora pointed out, I wasn''t bing a new person in this life.


    I was simply¡­ discovering my true self.


    "You children are really a handful¡­ At longst you''ve stopped crying! Sheesh¡­ Well, now that you''ve all made up, Chris, Eric, you better make sure to repay the favor that ke has given to you and your parents!" said Eleanora.


    "Eleanora, don''t get too ahead of yourself¡­" I sighed.


    "But you have to ask them for that! After all what you did cost you and Erika a lot, didn''t it? Those potions from Erika''s father¡­ didn''t they cost a lot of gold coins each? But he gave them to you for free!" said Eleanora.


    "Right¡­" I said.


    "And well, you also used all your mana multiple times and more¡­" said Eleanora.


    "Hm¡­ I just felt it was not the right time to ask for it." I said.


    However, it seemed that the two children agreed with Eleanora, as they nodded at her words.


    "You''re right!" said Chris.


    "Yeah¡­ ke, please ask us anything!" said Eric.


    "¡­"


    I looked at the two boys, their eyes were zing with conviction.


    Erika looked at me expecting me to say something.


    I infused Qi into my own eyes as I red down on them.


    Life was overflowing from their little bodies.


    I also felt a lot of Mana.


    They got talent.


    Fine, this will do.


    "Alright. I will take you two as my disciples." I said.


    "D-Disciples?!" asked Chris.


    "W-What?" asked Eric.


    "Y-You mean¡­ you''ll teach them?!" asked Erika.


    "Technically speaking, you''re already my disciple, Erika, the first one. So you got an advantage over the two." I said.


    "M-Me? Am I a good disciple?" she asked.


    "The best I''ve ever had!" I said with a smile.


    Erika''s beautiful eyes shone brightly in happiness.


    I''ve been teaching Erika Martial Arts this entire time, she had also been learning Mana Maniption from me, and it could be possible for her to conjure real magic like the ones I can do, as long as she develops enough Mana Maniption.


    This worldcks the conventional Magic I know about, so it would be a great "cheat" to my disciples if I teach them these types of magic conjuration. Of course, everyone has an affinity in specific, but technically, everyone can use every element.


    The ability to use every element of magic is what makes a powerful wizard. If you can use them all,bine them, and use every element when it is needed, you be someone truly formidable. I had already showcased this when I healed my father and then with the others.


    "I know of special techniques. I have learned them on my own, and I''ve learned many other things¡­ I don''t want to go into detail, and as my friends, I want you two to keep this a secret, the same way Erika does¡­ I will teach you ways to grow stronger that you never thought possible, and you''ll be my disciples. As my disciples, you better not disappoint me, alright?" I asked.


    The two kids seemed excited of what was toe, a life filled with training and hardships, but that might help them grow stronger faster than they had ever thought.


    "You don''t resent what happened to your parents?" I asked.


    "Ah¡­"


    "That''s¡­"<sub> </sub>


    "Do you know who did this? It wasn''t just a wild beast." I said.


    "It wasn''t?" asked Chris.


    "They said¡­ a giant with red skin¡­ I had never heard of a monster like that before." Said Eric.


    "That''s a demon. You know demons, right?" I asked.


    "Demons!" said Chris.


    "F-From the tower?! But¡­ they shouldn''t be around, right?" asked Eric.


    "After all, the towers were¡­ sealed long ago, the demons stoppeding out¡­" said Chris.


    "But I know that there are demons that escaped and survived outside, right? Are those¡­ the ones that hurt my uncle?" asked Eric.


    "Exactly, and perhaps¡­ I don''t know how  but I have the feeling that there might be something else going on¡­" I sighed.


    "Something else?" asked Chris.


    "What¡­ could it be?" asked Eric.


    "This world¡­ everything¡­ it might change in the future more than you think. For that future, all of you must grow stronger, there is no time to waste, you know?" I asked.


    The two kids looked at me with surprise, looking at the floor after that.


    The two clenched their fists and moved almost at the same time.


    "Okay¡­ I''ll do it¡­ I''ve seen you use some strange powers too¡­ Can you really teach me to use them?" asked Chris.


    "You can?" asked Eric.


    "Of course I can, I will teach them to you because you''re my friends." I said.


    Erika smiled at the scene, she seemed very happy that we made up.


    I was honestly happy as well.


    I quickly jumped out of bed, as I felt a sudden change in my entire body without realizing it before.


    I felt¡­ limber? I also felt as if there was way more Mana flowing through my body, and my muscles had strengthened.


    Could the things I did yesterday have somehow helped me develop?


    -----


    Name: ke Hunter Goathorn


    Race: Human


    Spirit Orb Realm: Rank 1 (Initial Stage)


    Job ss: None


    Subss: None


    Level: 0 / 10


    < Health Points: 28 / 28 -> 33 / 33 >


    < Mana Points: 62 / 62 -> 71 / 71 >


    < Strength: 24 -> 29 >


    < Agility: 18 -> 24 >


    < Vitality: 13 -> 19 >


    < Intelligence: 56 -> 61 >


    < Dexterity: 17 -> 22 >


    -----


    Ah¡­ It is true. My stats had increased. Could this be because I also consumed a lot of Spirit Orbs? Alongside pushing myself to my own limits¡­


    Even without fighting, I still grew stronger out of such a situation.


    In a way, it was a challenge by itself, I have to admit it¡­


    -----

 Chapter 58 Savior

    -----


    Through the consumption of Spirit Orbs, I can grow stronger little by little, perhaps one or two digits increase with each Spirit Orb.


    I had lost count of how many I consumed because all the people I was helping supplied me with more to use.


    I felt like my head was about to explode back then because I was exhausting my own Mana over and over again multiple times and then regenerating it back.


    I also constantly used my life energy through my Qi, and gave it to the wounded, healing them, I ended up awakening their Pressure Points and Qi Core at the end to make it easy for them to gather Qi.


    I suppose the same happened with my father yesterday, if he awakened Qi and slept through it all, he must slowly feel stronger.


    Aside from that, I constantly manipted Mana and conjured magic, all while also keeping a constant mana supply on Eleanora.


    I also found out I gained two new Skills, but I never got the chance to check my Grimoire until now.


    The Normal Skill [First Aid: Lv1] and then the Title Skill¡­ [Savior: Lv1].


    These Skills¡­ they emerged after I did all of that, and their proficiency was rather high too, perhaps due to all the healing I did.


    It is worth checking them now that the three kids were talking with Eleanora, so I had some free time for myself.


    -----


    [First Aid: Lv1]


    Enhances your ability to do first aid on other people. The act of healing wounds of any kind through any method is enhanced by +10% with each level, while also granting a passive buff that enhances passive regeneration of the target by +50% for 24 hours. You have an easier time being able to detect wounds and other problems in a person''s body.


    -----


    [Savior: Lv1]


    A Title Skill given to those that have saved many lives and have put the lives of others before them, even risking their lives for others.


    Enhances the usage of [First Aid] and its effects by +10% with each level. Your usage of Healing Techniques and Spells bes twice as effective. While saving others, your capabilities are enhanced temporarily.


    -----


    These two Skills were very useful in their own way. I could already detect how I could use them to save other people¡­ I guess. They seem to not work on me, however, so it might be something that I can only use for others.


    I don''t know how much I will be healing other people though, but maybe I would end up bing a popr healer in the vige. Maybe I could even ask for money in exchange, but at a much cheaper price than the healers and doctors of the vige.


    I think I might have gotten these two Skills in the middle of helping these people, that might be why they seem to have healed way faster than my father did¡­


    Oh well.


    After this entire incident and after reforging my friendship with Chris and Eric, I decided to go look for my father, while Chris and Eric decided to do the same. Erika also went back to her house, as she wanted to go take care of her father.


    "Erika, tell your father I am very grateful." I said.


    "Sure! I''lle backter to have lunch!" said Erika, as she ran back home.


    I went to look for my father, and I found him sleeping in the bed with my mother hugging him.


    A faint smile emerged on my lips, as I saw my father alive, breathing, and resting peacefully.<sub> </sub>


    I could notice a strong flow of Qi all around his body, after I forcefully awakened his Qi, and then healed him, he seemed to be developing it rather quickly.


    I looked at my mother, she seemed exhausted¡­ I should awaken her Qi while she sleeps now.


    I touched her shoulder and quickly infused Qi inside of her body, and like a river of golden energy, I manipted it into reaching her sealed Qi Core and her Pressure Points.


    Because she had them closed for so long, they seemed very tightly shut, this might even wake her up in a bit of pain, but I am willing to just lie about what I was doing.


    FLASH!


    I quickly saw my mother''s body overflow with Qi and Mana. She seemed rather talented, she had to just use and polish such skills.


    Although I don''t know if my mother would ever be willing to learn Martial Arts, at the very least, I can teach her Mana Maniption to strengthen her Spirit.


    I know that as I grow up, there will be a point where I will walk away from my family to do what I must do.


    If that momentes, I want to see them strong enough to be able to defend themselves and survive¡­


    But there was something else within my mother that I noticed.


    There were two more lives within her.


    Two hearts, very small, were beating inside her womb.


    She was indeed pregnant, and the children ended up having their Qi awakened as fetuses¡­


    I suppose they might be born as innate Qi users in this case. They appear to have suffered nothing bad.


    When they''re this young, their pressure points and Qi Core are very fresh and new. It is very easy to awaken them, but if I fail, I could have identally killed them.


    But there is no way for an expert like me tomit such mistakes.


    I suppose this is why my mother was overflowing with more Qi than I thought.


    It is not only her Qi but that of¡­ my two new siblings.


    They''re twins¡­


    So I am really going to be an older brother.


    I don''t really know what to think of all of this.


    But I can''t help but smile a bit¡­


    I will make sure to be a good figure for the two.


    Hah¡­ To think I would get excited about such things¡­


    I am d I was able to save you, father, you will get to see your other two children grow as well.


    -----

 Chapter 59 Working Hard

    -----


    My mother woke up to find me at her side.


    She felt rather dizzy after what I did to her, awakening Qi might be tiring at first.


    "Uh¡­ Huh? ke? Ah! Dear!"


    My mother quickly hugged me as she found me awake.


    "I was so worried! I am d you''re okay¡­ Did youe to check on your father? Sigh¡­ You worried me just as much yesterday! Are you doing okay now?" asked my mother.


    "Yeah, I am fine. I think all I needed was to nap¡­ Anyways, mother, do you know how father is doing?" I wondered.


    "Ah, yes, he woke up a few hours ago and seemed to be fine, he even ate a bit before going back to sleep¡­ But I believe he''ll need a few days to recover well." Said, my mother.


    "I see. I am just happy he''s okay. This is all I cared for." I said.


    "ke¡­ Your abilities were the reason he was able to survive¡­ what you did back then¡­ When I saw you with my two eyes¡­ I couldn''t recognize you¡­ But¡­ Not in a bad way¡­ I just¡­ I couldn''t believe my boy had grown so much¡­" she said.


    "Ah¡­ Well, I still got a lot of things I want to learn, I am still learning myself what all these abilities I have truly are¡­" I said.


    "I see¡­ But it was fantastic what you did there! Was that magic, perhaps? Or something else, I wonder?" wondered my mother.


    "It was indeed magic. I''ve been practicing the usage of my Mana." I said.


    "Ooh¡­ But I just¡­ I''ve never seen someone wielding so many elements¡­" said my mother.


    "It might be some sort of blessing from the Holy Spirits¡­ But it came out naturally from me¡­ Mother, make sure to not tell this to anyone outside of our circle¡­ I don''t want this to spread out." I said.


    "I-I know! I would never go around revealing my son''s secrets¡­" said my mother.


    "Thank you¡­ I knew I could count on you. I just want to¡­ develop these abilities for now. Maybe in the future, I will feel more confident." I said.


    "Sure¡­ But I am just still wondering how you were able to develop all of that¡­" said my mother.


    "Well¡­ You''ll learn more in the future, don''t worry about it, for now, it would be better for you to rest¡­ I think you must be very tired as well." I said.


    "O-Okay then¡­" said my mother.


    She quickly cuddled at the side of my father, as the two continued to sleep.


    I felt a soothing peace when I saw my parents sleeping peacefully.


    Things had gone fine, everything was now okay¡­


    Hahh¡­


    What a relief.


    Now¡­ what do I do?


    "Maybe you should eat breakfast¡­" said Eleanora.<sub> </sub>


    "Ah, you''re right¡­ I am a human after all." I said.


    ¡­


    Since the incident that things changed a bit in the house.


    Because my father had been the one that worked the most bringing the water from the wheel, hunting monsters, selling their meat and pelt, joining the hunting groups, and more, I had decided to provide on his ce.


    This meant that there were now a bunch of tasks I had to do, and less time to train on my own. However, I had to do it so I could help my family, there were no buts in this sort of situation.


    Bringing water was easy, we actually didn''t need to go look for the wheel anymore, I can produce water using the Water Drop Spell, a liter of water costs me roughly 10 mana, so I can produce a lot of water over the 70 Mana I have and then store it for the next couple of days.


    This also helps me understand water magic better, enhancing my proficiency with it, by merely just producing it.


    <o>,m Ah well, there are many myths saying that water produced out of magic cannot be drunk or tastes bad, and in some sorts of ways, that''s true.</o>


    If you suck at magic.


    But I have a higherprehension of the Elemental Law of Water, in fact, it is of 100%. So I have alreadyprehended most of it.


    The proficiency, however, was reset after I died, so I need to relearn the proficiency, but by using my already learnedprehension, it doesn''t seem so hard.


    The same could be said of all the other elements.


    However, the only thing I can safely produce for now is fire and water, and in small quantities, anything like precious jewels out of earth magic, or metals, ores, and other things, seems impossible for the moment.


    Maybe in the future, I could generate gold ingots out of earth magic and shape them as coins, andpletely flood the market with my illegal copy of the gold coins¡­ Or not.


    I don''t know, but if there are other people with Earth-type spirits, there might be others that could do the same thing, but they aren''t, so there is certainly some incentive to not do it.


    Or are the gold coins themselves special in some sort of way? I have not noticed it before, but now that I take a look at one, it is apletely different metal, isn''t it?


    "Eleanora, did you ever notice this?" I wondered.


    "Hm? W-What?" asked Eleanora, I ended up interrupting her while she was eating arge sandwich.


    "The gold coins¡­ this is not conventional gold, isn''t it?" I wondered.


    "Hm? Oh? Isn''t it more like some sort of¡­ pseudo divine material?" wondered Eleanora.


    "So you could also tell¡­" I said.


    Divine Materials were special materials infused with divine power, worth millions of more than just normal magic materials.


    But this gold¡­ it was called Spirit Gold, and it seemed to be a special ore of this world, perhaps the conventional gold that we both knew about wasn''t even present in this world, everything was different, even if slightly so.


    Actually this gold¡­ it is amazing, it has many mana-conducting properties.


    I could even use it as materials.


    -----

 Chapter 60 [Bonus Chapter] Breathing Techniques

    -----


    Amongst the many things I had experienced in my previous life, one of the things that I remembered well were Divine Materials, special materials imbued with divine power that had incredible properties and cost millions of cosmic crystals, the currency of the outer universe.


    It has been a few days since the hunting incident, and I was sitting at the table while checking this gold coin¡­ I suppose even the gold of this world is different from the one I know about.


    And interestingly so. Using this metal to make weapons would be good, it seems to be able to conduct a lot of mana by itself¡­ I suppose this is why gold is so valuable to make it a currency, huh?


    "Dear, the breakfast for your father is ready, can you bring it to him?"


    My mother was cooking near the table and had prepared a te with bread, tea, and fruits for father.


    "Sure."


    I didn''t have any issue by helping my family out, I quickly held the table with the food and moved towards my parent''s room, there, my father was looking into the window with a calm smile.


    His eyes were mildly closed and rather sleepy. However, he was sitting in a certain position I had caught him, which was by crossing his legs and putting his arms over his thighs.


    He was passively moving the Qi around his body to enhance its effectiveness and power, quite literally, this was one of the basics of Qi Cultivation.


    The most basic technique that I can automatically do, even now, I am doing it without thinking over it, it is named Qi Breathing Technique.


    You breathe in a particr way that makes your Qi flow across your body in a certain way. I had taught this to my father yesterday, actually, and he was already able to do it without paying much attention to it, he was just admiring the scenery outside.


    "You''ve surprised me, you got pretty good at it already, father." I said.


    "Ah, ke! D-Did you bring me breakfast?" asked my father in surprise.


    "Yeah, what''s wrong with that?" I asked.


    "Y-You''ve never done that before¡­" he said.


    "Well? You''re my father, I don''t see anything wrong with that." I said.


    I put the table over the bed and my father quickly stopped his practice and decided to dig in.


    I moved near his body and began using some basic healing magic spell, from the Life Attribute Magic, a Tier 1 Spell named "Life Infusion" around his wound.


    The wound itself had closed, but it still was mildly fresh, so it might take over a week if not a month for the wound to recoverpletely.


    I used First Aid to enhance my Life Infusion, this was a small treatment I did to his wound every morning to hasten the recovery.


    I had told my father about this newly awakened energy he had within him, which I just called Qi.


    He didn''t understand at first, but he really didn''t have to. I just told him that it was a gift of the Holy Spirits, separate power of Mana, and that he had to cultivate it to surpass his limits, as he had hit a progression wall that he couldn''t surpass as he hasn''t been able to level up in years.<sub> </sub>


    So the only way for him to grow stronger was through cultivation away from the Talent powers he had already tapped into.


    He epted it fairly easily, after I saved his life, he was very trustful of me, which was for the best.


    "S-Son, you don''t have to check me every day¡­" he sighed.


    "Don''t be like this, it is my duty. I''ve awakened healing abilities, so I have to train them too." I said.


    Although I was doing this for my father, I was also practicing First Aid and gaining Skill Proficiency out of it, so it was killing two birds with one stone. I actually did the same with all other six people from the hunt, every day, it took some time out of my training time, but it helped me develop my First Aid and Savior Skills.


    "You''re such a hard worker¡­ I am proud of you but I am worried you''ll keep pilling responsibilities on yourself¡­ You know? Kids gotta be kids, you need your free time to enjoy your childhood¡­" said my father.


    My father was being very considerate, I even felt a bit moved, but there was no need for him to be so considerate to be honest, I can very much enjoy these activities and they don''t feel like a drag.


    But I can guess where he is trying to go with this¡­ For the moment, I finished the First Aid and saw that everything was doing fine with him. He was better than before, that''s for sure.


    "For now eat up and rest. And you don''t have to worry, dad, I got my friends and we''ll y around and practice magic together. I am enjoying my childhood¡­ I am just worried because you''re my father, is that bad?" I asked.


    "N-No¡­ It''s not bad¡­ I am just¡­ so surprised to have such an amazing child¡­ Sometimes it feels like a dream..." he sighed.


    "I also have an amazing father." I said.


    "B-ke¡­" my father cried, he was about to begin crying.


    What a crybaby old man¡­ I shouldn''t had said that out of the blue.


    He suddenly hugged me tightly as he began to cry tears of happiness.


    "Come on, you''ve been crying all the time, aren''t you going to be the father of two more?" I reprimanded him.


    "O-Oh¡­ You''re right¡­" he said.


    "So for now rest up, and practice the breathing technique, after you rest and heal back to full, you''ll find out that there might be changes in your body." I said.


    <o>,m "Changes?" he asked.</o>


    "I won''t spoil it to you, so keep working hard while resting." I said.


    "Heh, alright then. I won''t disappoint you next time¡­ I will make sure to use this power and grow stronger! Your dad is going to be the strongest hunter!" he said.


    I like my childish father''s spirit.


    -----

 Chapter 61 A Wandering Healer

    -----


    It has been almost a week, and I have been busy doing the many things I had previously mentioned. Alongside that, I''ve been spending more time with Chris, Eric, and Erika.


    Of course, Erika is still the closest to me, and shees to my house almost every single day to stay in here, we have practically be her second family at this point.


    Chris and Eric were slowly growing closer to me and Erika once more. We saw them every one or two days, sometimes we spent entire days practicing magic and seeing the limits of our Spirits. I have also awakened Qi in Chris and Eric, and I have taught them the same thing as my father, the Qi Breathing Technique.


    They''re still having some issues with it, as they cannot keep concentration as much as my father can due to his own experiences, calm demeanor, and his own mature nature, and as these are children, they have problems with maintaining their attention in what they''re doing.


    For now they just have to practice this and create a foundation . There will be techniques I will teach themter on along the line. And as of Erika, who is more advanced than them as she had learned various Unarmed Fighting Techniques, I had taught her the Mana Cultivation Technique, which uses simr principles than the Qi Breathing Technique, but with Mana.


    It usually not rmended to do for younglings as Chris and Eric, but Erika has no other energy to work with at the moment, so she''s using this to strengthen the power of her magic.


    She cannot nourish her physical body though, so this mana is mostly used to do something else.


    Nourish her soul.


    Indeed, I had secretly taught her about Aether and also about Mana. I told her that she had a "talent" for it, just not to tell her that I know she has a doll body without Qi and used my abilities to help her "see" her own soul.


    So what she is doing now is making her soul flow from her Spirit Orb all the way into her Soul, nourishing it, this is what''s called Soul Cultivation, and she''s strengthening both her Mana and Aether.


    She''s unique. Children of her age wouldn''t be able to do this, even I have difficulties doing this every night, but she was doing it with utmost ease.


    Perhaps thepleteck of a true body had made it incredibly easy for her to use Mana to nourish her Soul, often people without experience would feel pain in their soul when they did this, but Erika felt no pain at all.


    Because shecks a flesh body, she''ll have to skip in improving into that aspect and go directly into Soul Cultivation! It will take a while for her to showcase her true talents, but I am expecting great things for her.


    And aside from all of this, I''ve been hunting around what I can find.


    The First Layer had turned into a deserted forest, not even wild wolves appear in the night, but I''ve been keeping myself around this ce for the moment, the EXP I''ve gained over almost a week seems almost like nothing, and the necessity for more Spirit Orbs have made me push myself to the secondyer of this very big forest.


    This is theyer where my father and the other hunters were attacked by the mysterious demon, whose power not only almost killed half the group, but it was even able to steal the giant boar they just hunted with all their effort.


    To be strong enough to carry a five-meter-big Giant Wild Boar like that¡­ that demon must surely be a Boss-ss One at the very least.<sub> </sub>


    I suspect it might be a Club-Wielding Red Demon, and if its red-skinned, it might even be able to wield fire magic.


    Tonight, I''ve decided to go in the secondyer and explore with Eleanora. Chris and Eric are not ready yet, but Erika coulde if she practices more with her Dolls, and manages a way to use Martial Arts with them too, perhaps even infusing them with Aether to strengthen them¡­


    But for now, there are other things I want to do.


    Since that incident,  I''ve gained some sort of status within the vige.


    People look at me with surprise, some even point their fingers at me and say "the savior child!".


    And other times, people who haveplications ask me to help them in exchange forpensation.


    Due to this, I''ve begun to go to the vige alone sometimes, and the people flock around me naturally.


    ¡­Of course, this is also an excellent way to gain more proficiency in First Aids and Savior Skills! I also get paid with food and other things, even monster pelt or spirit orbs, so I take it all, especially that I''ve gotten a shortage of these things in the family with my father being bedridden.


    By gaining the favor of the people, I could even one day manipte the masses¡­ but for what purpose? Perhaps I might end up finding one in the future. Of course, for the moment I still stay mostly low-key, just some child with mild healing abilities that the people like, nothing too much.


    The guards of the Duchy have kept an eye on me but seem to not find anything suspicious about me. However, I am mostly avoiding the Church Priests, I''ve heard that they have been trying to find me, thankfully they don''t know where I live because my house is very far away from the main vige, even though we are still within the walls.


    The church of the Holy Spirits is rather corrupt on its own way, I wouldn''t really want to get involved with them if possible¡­


    For the moment, I already knew most of the people that always needed help.


    "Ah, the Savior!"


    An elderly woman approached me.


    "Yes? Is there something you need?" I wondered.


    "Ah, my left shoulder has been hurting me for so long, and my back too¡­ I''ve been having such a hard time walkingtely¡­" she sighed.


    -----

 Chapter 62 A Good Harvest

    -----


    "I think this will do, please endure it for a bit." I said.


    I quickly used my hands and gave a quick massage to the woman''s back and shoulder, which was infused with Life Infusion, First Aid, and Qi.


    FLASH!


    "Ooh!"


    The elderly woman''s entire body began to flow with a golden glow, the little ck cat spirit with her seemed more energetic too, reflecting her recovery.


    This ck cat seemed like a recon spirit. It seemed to be able to meld in shadows, an interesting spirit, but the elderly woman mostly uses it aspany for her.


    "Do you feel better?" I wondered.


    "Yes¡­ You''re such a miraculous child, please take this!" the woman said, giving me a few silver coins, three spirit orbs, and a bag of potatoes.


    "Thank you for your help, my family will really appreciate it." I said.


    "I-It''s nothing! You''re such a nice kid¡­ what you did to me would had cost a fortune, but you just ept anypensation¡­ I wish I could give you more¡­" she sighed.


    "Don''t worry, this is more than enough. My mother is pregnant and my father is wounded, so the two cannot work, I have to somehow find food, your potatoes are appreciated." I said.


    "Oh my, you''re such a hardworking child¡­ Take care, dear." Said the elderly woman, petting my head and walking away back to her home.


    Sess, it appears we got a lot of potatoes, these will feed us well through the week, this woman was rather generous. Acting good and like a saint really adds up to the charm of a "miraculous savior child" or whatever.


    I continued walking around the vige while picking up people that required my help. In the poorest ces is where the priests never stepped in, so the people there were in most aid and I wouldn''t get involved with them either, it was a win-win for me.


    I ended helping an old hunter get his leg fixed, which was wounded from the bite of a wolf. I healed the fever of a toddler, helped a young woman regain her taste senses by stimting her tongue taste buds with Qi and then healing them with magic and First Aid, fixed the back of an old man, healed the wounded back of a hunter who was attacked by a wild boar, and more.


    After all of that work, I ended with more than I thought, dozens of Spirit Orbs, animal pelt, meat, vegetables, fruits, milk, wool, and some silver coins, there was an old woman that gave me a gold coin too.


    This was a rather good harvest. Perhaps one of the best days of the week, I''ve been doing this daily now, and it has helped supply my family with stuff. Due to this, my poprity as a Savior has increased.


    I don''t know how long I can keep this up, but I will take the weekend off from my Savior duties to cool down the poprity and make the priests less restless over me.


    I don''t know yet what they truly want out of me, but there might be some ideas, such as them wanting to recruit me as a priest or even send me to some weird priest school. Forcing me to work for them using the church as a pretext, or even asking me for all the rewards I''ve gathered saying that I''ve been taking them while faking to be a herald of the holy spirits, there are many things.


    Thankfully in this era, people cannot easily just register the face of someone and share it around, so I am a mysterious kid, and I can use the Tier 1 Illusion-Attribute Magic "Fake Appearance" to slightly change my face. Even if very slightly, I will always look different to the people, so my original face would be even harder to discern.<sub> </sub>


    Of course, they recognize me because it is well known that the Savior Child has a golden aura around him, which I produce with magic, if I take it out, there''s no need to worry about that.


    It is all meticulously borated, but it works, and that''s what matters.


    "You''re really bing more popr¡­" said Eleanora.


    "You think so?" I asked.


    Eleanora has been watching me my goody-two-shoes job from within my spirit orb all this time, and she had conflicting emotions over it. But as long as I exined to her it was because of the benefits and not because I was actually having some sort of heroplex, she felt more relieved¡­


    "Oh well, as long as you don''t do it for free¡­ It is fine, you help your family with it too." Said Eleanora.


    "Of course, I want payment for what I do, there''s nothing free in this world after all." I said with a smirk.


    When I came back home, I surprised my mother, my grandmother, and Erika there with a big haul of items and food which I poured over the table from my Dimensional Storage Bag, which I had been upgrading slowly, adding more runes, so it has more slots.


    "Wooow! So many things! Wait, is that an eggnt?! Let''s put this one in the oven, Mary!" said my grandmother. She liked eggnts.


    "So many potatoes and carrots¡­ I guess we won''t starve at all thanks to the generosity of the people¡­" said my mother.


    "Ah! An apple!" said Erika.


    "The people seem very fond of the Savior Child," I said rather cynically.


    "To think my son would be such a figure¡­" said my mother.


    "And all those that spoke bad behind our backs because we weed Erika are now swallowing their words too, gyahaha!"ughed my grandmother.


    "ke this is amazing¡­" said Erika.


    "It''s nothing much." I said with a prideful smile.


    After sorting out everything, we had dinner together with father, who managed toe out of bed as he had been feeling better now.


    And tonight¡­ I was going out for a true hunt. I''ve been craving for more Blood Qi for a while.


    I want to see if I can find any clues about the demons too, if possible.


    -----

 Chapter 63 On Search Of Demons

    -----


    I escaped my home that night after I made sure that everyone was sleeping. Using Acrobatics helped me move swiftly, jumping out of the second floor in my home through the window wasn''t hard at all. I was even able to use the basic Technique "Slow Fall" to make my falling speed slow down, something that consumed a bit of Qi and could make it easier for people to travel swiftly.


    Eleanora was already at my side, as she looked over the forest that my father hade back from on the verge of death¡­ we had explored this ce yesterday and more, but we have barely hunted much as the poption of monsters had been decreasing.


    It wasn''t only because of me overhunting it, the forest was enormous, there was no way I alone did it all¡­ there was simply a greater predator now lurking through the other Layers of the forest hunting the weaker beasts.


    Of course, and my assumption were the demons.


    From everything I''ve investigated by speaking with the many people around the vige, I''ve discovered that demons do exist outside the Demonic Tower. They''re a secondary group of "monsters" but they''re often rare and a minority.


    They are often exterminated by the Kingdom and Church''s soldiers as they''re often more malicious and intelligent than wild beast who act by instincts and often don''t go out of their way to kill people as long as they''re not around their territories.


    But demons are different, and I know them way more than the people of this world. After all, I''ve been fighting them for hundreds of years. The reason why demons are like this is not just "because", their very existences thrive in the agony and suffering they can take from their prey.


    They possess what''s called Demonic Cores inside their bodies, which absorb negative energy from their prey and nourish them. The more they absorb, the stronger they can grow and the more demonic energy they''ll produce.


    Think of nts that absorb carbon dioxide and produce oxygen, it''s the same here, they absorb negative energy and then they produce negative energy.


    But the way to get this negative energy is by¡­mitting evil acts, simply any action of "malice" against another living creature is enough. Making them suffer, torturing them, and more, all of it produces negative emotions from prey, which turn into a ck smoke.


    This ck smoke that is often invisible to most eyes can be seen by demons, and they thrive on it. Absorbing it and devouring it. Of course, they also require eating, so they often eat their prey after exhausting them of their negative energies.


    Of course, nobody seems to know this truth, and they simply see demons as evil because they''re just made evil, and not because of their very natures forcing them to be like this to thrive and survive, as negative energies seem to be an important part of their diet.


    Back in Hell, I remember seeing demons torturing the souls of mortals that fell there, the most sinful were attracted to the Dimension of Hell as if it were a ma, and then would be caught in enormous schools of thousands or even millions. Being tortured in masse for the mass production of negative energy.<sub> </sub>


    In this dimension, demons are more civilized, and had even formed societies, but of course, those thate here are the more barbarian castes of demons, simr to Goblins or Orcs.


    "Here we are¡­" said Eleanora, looking into the forest.


    "Let''s get in, we''ll rush to the Second Layer while ignoring the First Layer, it is mostly empty by just checking it anyways." I said.


    p "Understood. Let''s hunt some demons¡­" said Eleanora.</anda>


    Although the Giant Wild Boars were from the Third Layer, there have been recent cases of young Adventurers going missing in the vige. I have mostly ignored this aside from learning this information, but it had been said that these Adventurers, often of the lower ranks, had gone to the Second Layer as the First Layer just doesn''t have monsters anymore, or they''re extremely rare.


    If this is true, then¡­ Demons might not only be thriving in the Third Layer but could have begun to move to the Second Layer in search for food. If this happens and they end up reaching the First Layer, there isn''t anything stopping them from discovering the vige and one day attacking it.


    If that happens¡­ I don''t know if I will be prepared enough to fight against such a big threat. Therefore, I must work hard from this point onward, and try to gather as many clues as possible about the demons in the Grand Forest surrounding our vige and the Duchy.


    After all, not only the vige would be affected, but perhaps the smaller viges surrounding us, and even the Duchy itself¡­ if I can gather enough information, perhaps sharing it with the Duchy so they could prepare extermination forces against the demons could be a possibility. Although I would very much like to get rid of them all by myself to get the most EXP, that seems highly unrealistic.


    I cannot go throwing my life away now, there is no guarantee I will have a third chance at life, so I cannot simply recklessly charge intoplete danger. This very expedition will be done stealthily, although my intention is very much to hunt demons, if I am faced with too many of them that the challenge is greater than what I can properly handle, escaping is a valid tactic that only the fool would call cowardly.


    I look into the distance as I travel across the forest at a fast speed, reaching the confines of the First Layer, which is usually marked by markings done by hunters, and several sticks stuck in the ground all around, making a small "barrier" that of course can be easily passed by just jumping.


    As I jumped over the fence made of spiky wooden spears, I rise my spear, which I had taken from my father, as I look in front of me.


    It seems that the demons'' sulfuric scent had already contaminated this ce¡­


    -----

 Chapter 64 Wild Imps

    -----


    Demons whoe from hell always produce a sulfuric scent from within their bodies. This is the actual scent of demonic energy, and this was the very scent I felt in the wounds of my father and the other Hunters.


    "My lord, this reeks like demons¡­ Just recalling their scent is making me boil with fury¡­" sighed Eleanora.


    "I would be lying if I said that it didn''t provoke the same reaction from me¡­ Demons were our biggest enemy for ourst four hundred years before we perished against their King, Lucifer¡­" I sighed.


    "But now its different. Even if this second chance was given by Lucifer himself¡­ We''ll make sure to use it and then make him fully regret having given you a second chance!" said Eleanora.


    "Yes, you''re right¡­ For now, let''s not think these things anymore, concentrating on the present is what''s important." I said.


    "You''re right¡­ Sorry for recalling these things¡­ I just want to cheer you up." Said Eleanora.


    I smiled as I petted Eleanora''s head.


    "I appreciate it¡­ Now let''s go." I said.


    Eleanora nodded as she epted my petting happily.


    FLASH!


    We began to move across the forest like two shadows across the darkness. The moonlight lightly illuminated our path, as we guided ourselves through our sharp senses of scent.


    At some point, we reached our destination, a ce with a strong amount of sulfuric scent. We hid beneath a tree as I lowered my presence as much as possible by slowing down the metabolism of my body, and I looked into what was moving within the bushes.


    It was a pair of red-skinned goblin-like creatures.


    They were no bigger than a meter tall, and their bodies looked mildly skinny, with big bellies, only wearing some loincloths. They had sharp ears and noses and were bald. With red-colored skin as bright as a tomato, and with sharp orange eyes. They had a small ck horn in the middle of their forehead.


    These are¡­ demons.


    "Demons?" asked Eleanora through telepathy.


    "Yes, they appear to be¡­ Imps." I said through telepathy.


    Imps, the Demon Race that is one of the weakest. They''re small, skinny, and often not too special, but they make arge quantity of the poption of the first fewyers of the Dimension of Hell, and have many tribes, their appearances change depending on their bloodlines and castes. Sometimes they grow bigger and stronger and can even be muscr giants if they evolve into higher forms, such as Imp Demon Lords.


    They have little demonic energy, and their physical strength is low, at most they can conjure some basic demon magic¡­ we should be able to handle this pair.


    Honestly, I cannot wait to kill them. I''ve been thirsty for Blood Qi for a while¡­ Now this is the way for me to get it at longst. Qi and Blood Qi can be stored much like Mana, but they slowly fade away unlike Mana, and cannot naturally recover easily.


    Normal Qi recovers naturally over time, often by sleeping and resting, but Blood Qi is a special type of Qi, a Qi refined through materials, blood, which cannot be naturally produced normally.<sub> </sub>


    Of course,ter on there are special physiques and techniques that grant the power to naturally produce Qi of various elements. My own Physique by itself should be able to produce it naturally after it reaches several Tiers ahead.


    But for now, to continue nourishing it, I require more blood, or my progress will be slowed down. I have barely increased my stats thisst week aside from when I overworked myself healing people, but doing that every day is too unrealistic, tiring myself to death will only ultimately cripple me.


    So the beings in front of me were the way.


    "Eleanora, distract them with your abilities, I will kill them while they have their eyes on you." I said.


    "Understood." Said Eleanora.


    Eleanora quickly rushed forward. I had already detected a bit of their total power by sensing their presence and analyzing their bodies. They were not too strong, but around the same level as Eleanora. She was still an infant-stage spirit after all, but she could do as much as distracting. Her abilities that she had gathered through her life were more than enough for her to make the most out of her current capabilities, exuding a total power that might often surpass what stats and skills stay about her.


    It could be said that it was the same about me, even without Mana previously, I was already stronger than what my current power level said about me, which was often based in mana too.


    Eleanora rushed towards action, circling around the Imps while her fingers moved around.


    She suddenly activated the Bloodwork Skill, and began to manipte Magic Blood which was generated out of magic, and suddenly generated a thread out of it, a very hard one.


    "Blood Thread Technique: Crimson Wrapping."


    She was particrly good at using threads and blood after all, one of such techniques was this one.


    Boosting her technique''s power using her own soul''s Aether, which was naturally higher due to her soul being naturally stronger as a Spirit. The red threads came out of her fingers, surprising the two foraging Imps as they were suddenly wrapped by threads and stuck together!


    "Giiigyaaa?!"


    "Gagya!"


    Eleanora tightly stuck the two Imps together with her Blood Threads, wrapping them strongly with the power of her Aether infused into it. The only energy that belonged to her and which she could slowly cultivate and rise in power.


    The two Imps noticed her the moment the threads wrapped around them, as the two humanoids looked at her from behind a tree where she was hiding, until she revealed herself while smirking maliciously¡­ that smile has always been the prettiest one she makes.


    When she is a about to hunt prey.


    I moved swiftly after that, as the Imps were about to conjure magic against her.


    Red mes and demonic energy surged out of their bodies, as Demon Magic was being conjured¡­


    Not before my sight.


    -----

 Chapter 65 Crushing Demons

    -----


    "Gugyaaa!"


    One of the Imps angrily screamed at Eleanora, as her threads were strong enough to wrap them, but actually couldn''t easily pierce through their skin. Her Skill was simply not strong enough, but there were other ways to fight at the end, wrapping them for me to finish them off was one of the many tactics we could do as Master and Spirit.


    The Imp that roared back at her didn''t simply do it to intimidated her, as it conjured a strange, red-colored me from within its body, pointing it at her and shooting it like a bullet.


    This was one of the basic Demon Magic Spells ''Demonic Ember''. This was perhaps one of the magic elements I wasn''t able to conjure, although it was simr to Dark and Fire elementsbined, it had a uniqueness to it as it was fueled by not Mana but Demonic Energy, therefore, as a magic that was ruled by other dimension''s power, it was naturally strong even if it was the weakest spell demons could conjure.


    It not only could burn the skin and flesh but also could burn a bit of the soul, and it would cause more pain the more sins the target held within them. The more regret they had, the stronger the damage they would take. This is how most Demon Magic worked.


    However, it wasn''t hard for Eleanora to evade.


    "Hmph!"


    She jumped to the floor and suddenly forced the two Goblins into the ground, the mes hit the tree behind her, leaving arge wound in its bark.


    BOOM!


    The darkness of the me spread around the tree and left darkened bark, as if it were rotting.


    This was the malicious power of demons, capable of inflicting rotting wounds. Normal people, even the Hunters, didn''t stand a chance against such a power. Only powerful Adventurers or Soldiers/Knights, might ever be able to fight against them properly.


    As the Imps were on the floor and they were stopped from conjuring any more magic, I made my move, rushing closer to them and pointing the tip of my spear towards them.


    As someone who has lived hundreds of years, it is an insult to not be considered an expert in almost every weapon ever made.


    Using a spear can be made as masterfully as using my own body, but I have more confidence in using my own fists more often, however.


    Nheless, to honor my father, I will make sure to kill the demons that made him go through such a suffering with the very spear he had always has wielded.


    I have yet to even refine things such as Spear Qi, so advanced techniques cannot be done yet¡­


    However! I can very much just infuse some Qi into the spear and¡­!


    Dragoon Spear Technique: Double Piercer!


    My arms moved incredibly fast as the Imps looked in horror, they couldn''t even discern my movements as the spear moved in two different directions at once, or well, that''s the illusion they created.


    CLASH! CLASH!


    "Grraaagyaaahh!"


    "Greyyaaggh¡­!"


    In two hits, the Imps had their heads pierced by the de of my father''s spear, as their heads were skewered by the long de, their skulls cracked open, and their brains sttered over the floor at the same time.<sub> </sub>


    Dragoon Spear Technique is one of the most basic spear techniques I know, and therefore, the ones with the less cost of Qi.


    If I hadn''t used a technique, it would had been very hard to pierce the hard skulls of demons, even less with the body of a five-year-old.


    Therefore, using a technique that spent Qi was necessary.


    My Grimoire shone brightly as its pages began to turn around, two messages showed up written on the pages that I could see.


    [You have gained 400 EXP]


    [You have gained 400 EXP]


    [The Blood of Demons has soaked your weapon]


    Hm? The blood of demons¡­ has soaked my weapon?


    Aside from the generous 800 EXP, which is worth eight Gray Wolves worth of EXP, probably due to the higher rarity and strength of Impspared to wild animals, there was this mysteriousst message.


    I looked into the tip of the spear, soaked in the blood of demons, it emanated a small aura, too small to properly discern it, and it quickly dissipated away afterwards.


    The blood a demon¡­ How could I have forgotten?


    So that was it¡­ the message seems rted to the weapon I have equipped, soaking it in the blood of a demon means that the weapon has the chance to be¡­ a cursed weapon.


    This simplistic wooden spear has such a potential?


    Hmm¡­


    Well, I cannot worry about that for now, I quickly pierced the two imp''s bodies with my fingers and began to drain their blood out of their bodies, converting it all into my Blood Qi.


    After that, their bodies ended up with most of their blood drained, and could perfectly be eaten¡­ there are also Demonic Cores inside their chests, which I could use in somethingter on.


    For now, I stored both corpses inside my Dimensional Bag, which I had crafted by infusing Space Attribute Magic Runes into a simple bag of leather.


    It was as if the bag of leather had a ck hole inside that sucked anything I put closer to it, its way of activation was by infusing around 3 points of Mana to it, so it couldn''t be carelessly used, and it cannot store nor vacuum living organisms, if they''re alive, the magic will be negated.


    Due to this I cannot abuse this power, but atter stages, spatial magic can be terrifying, such as deleting space where a target is located andpletely killing them, and more¡­ but I''ve never been that good at it. My greatest affinities will always be Darkness and Blood, so I must focus on them while using other attributes as support.


    "Excellent job!" said Eleanora.


    "I wouldn''t had been able to do it as easily without your help¡­ Hm?" I said, as we suddenly noticed some presences approaching.


    The cries of the Imps had brought some of theirrades.


    -----

 Chapter 66 Tricky Creatures

    -----


    [EXP : 7600 / 10000]


    It has been weeks since my first hunts and I''ve umted a lot of EXP, now after killing these two Imps, I gained 800 EXP very easily. I suppose Demons are the go-to prey I should have always aimed to.


    However, I believe that if I had gone seeking them before, I might have died. I have definitely grown stronger from those first days I hunted Gray Wolves. If I had gone against Imps, I might have not been able to properly hunt them, even more as Eleanora wasn''t with me.


    Now, I need 2400 more EXP to finally level up to Level 1 and see what can happen after leveling. I know from my father and what I had investigated that people that levels up, which they call "Blessings" grow stronger physically and magically.


    I don''t know if anyone has the same type of level cap as I do, it might be different with each person. I''ve also heard that Talents can "awaken" and enhance themselves over gaining many Blessings¡­ but that''s a discussion for another day.


    "There is a few walking towards here!"


    Elenora quickly alerted me of the presence of more demons, there was a trio walking directly towards here, probably curious about having heard the screams of theirrades, we did a bad job at trying to cover their screams.


    "Yeah, I heard them, let''s hide." I said.


    We quickly hid behind a tree and waited for the trio to reach the ce.


    I purposedly left the two heads of the imps on the floor. The demons quickly sensed the scent and flew towards them.


    They seemed scared and looked around fearfully.


    Without realizing it, they had already stepped over a circle made of Eleanora''s Blood Thread.


    "Fufu¡­ Fools, you''ve stepped just in our trap." She smiled.


    With a gentle pull of her hands, the Blood Threads tightened right around the Imps legs, suddenly wrapping themselves around their foot and lifting them off the ground.


    In a second, the Imps ended being held upside down while Eleanora used the support of a very high and strong branch on a tree, her own strength was enough to lift three small Imps, who had the same weight as 6-year-old kids.


    "G-Gugyaah!"


    "Grakaha¡­!"


    "Grugahgh¡­!"


    They screamed in surprise, as they quickly tried to cut the threads desperately. But I already had them within my grasp. I grabbed the big and hard stones I had collected inside of my bag and pointed them at one of the heads of the imps upside down.


    It was moving very fast all around, but my precision and throwing speed had been enhanced even more now that the Skill itself have reached Level 2.


    This is the power of the mere Throwing Technique!


    FLASH!


    Iunched the stone towards the Imp''s head, which moved almost as fast as a bullet.


    CLAAASH!


    The stone hit the Imp''s head, leaving arge wound on its head. Blood spurred everywhere, as the Imp began to scream in pain, it probably received a contusion as it was now trying to speak but not even words came out, only groans.


    The other two Imps looked at it with horror, not desiring the same fate as their friend.


    CLASH!


    [You gained 400 EXP]


    Another stone quickly finished their friend off, as I gathered air in my lungs once more, doing a basic breathing technique to stabilize my body''s bnce.


    Another stone quickly flew towards a second, who tried to evade but ended up causing the one hiding behind it to be hit by the stone instead, its forehead was blown away as its eyes seemed to distort by the pain.<sub> </sub>


    CLAAAASH!


    That one suddenly fell unconscious, it died on the spot.


    [You gained 400 EXP]


    I looked at thest Imp who was trembling in fear, it suddenly managed to take a knife it had, and cut down the thread made of blood that Eleanora had made.


    SLASH!


    BUMP!


    The creature quickly fell to the floor.


    "Damn it!"


    Eleanora gritted her teeth in anger, making a new thread would use some Mana again, she felt like it would be a waste against just a single enemy.


    "Eleanora, let''s surround it!" I said.


    "Understood!" she said.


    Eleanora and I rushed towards the Imp, whose reflexes were nothing to scoff at. Filled with fear and the drive to survive, its body began to quickly pump adrenaline through its blood stream.


    The Imp roared angrily as its ears released steam, demonic energy gathered from within its chest as its knife suddenly was coated by a red aura.


    The Imp reached us in a shy and speedy manner, faster than one would expect from them after I¡äve in four of them so easily. Imps were actually strong, I had been defeating them easily with cheap tactics, but an upfront fight like this one is not something as easy.


    Nheless, I wasn''t one that shied away from a challenge, even when I was smaller than the Imp itself, who was around a meter and twenty centimeters.


    He looked down on us with a desperate anger, as its knife quickly tried to reach me.


    By infusing Qi around my body, especially my arms and legs, I intercepted the Imp with my spear.


    CLAAASH!


    "Gruugyaaa!"


    The Imp angrily roared in my face; its disgusting breath covered my face as I made a disgusted expression. I quickly moved faster than it imagined a boy of my age could, as I kicked its legs and made it trip.


    "Gryyeh?!"


    I quickly pointed the spear towards its head, but the Imp managed to roll away over the ground from my attack, which only reached the floor and got slightly stuck in an old tree trunk.


    CLASH!


    The three seconds that it took me to take away the spear from the tree trunk were enough for the speedy demon, as it leaped over me while pointing its knife to my face.


    However, another figure emerged behind it while it lowered its guard from back attacks, Eleanora came with a strong hit to its crotch, a kick using her sharp heels.


    CLAAAASH!


    "GYYYYEEEEEEHHH¡­!"


    The Imp gave a loud cry of agony.


    -----

 Chapter 67 More Are Coming

    -----


    Eleanora kicked the Imps crotch, and I couldn''t help but feel bad for it deep down. I dislike taking down my enemies by torturing them. Although I do have many friends with sadistic tendencies, I wasn''t someone that took joy in torturing others, even those I despised.


    However, this was a good tactic, and I didn''t shy away from ying nasty if that could benefit me, however. Eleanora knew she could defeat it, so to my own pain as a man, I had to see him suffer as his lower parts were crushed.


    CLASH!


    The Imp crashed to the ground after the initial hit from Eleanora''s heels. The loincloth covering these parts was shrouded in blood.


    "Grryyyagagahggh¡­"


    It began to cry agonizingly.


    "Don''t worry, I will end your suffering." I said.


    The Imp seemed weakened, but it gritted its teeth in anger, as little tears came out of its eyes out of pure pain. Its hand trembled as it pointed the knife at us.


    "Grrryyyaaaaaggh!"


    It roared like a wild beast, willing to avenge his destroyed reproductive organs.


    However, it was weakened andter lethargic.


    A mere movement of my spear as I moved it below its body, and the de of the weapon managed to pierce the Imp from the chin all the way into its brain while the demon leaped towards us.


    CLAAASH!


    "Greeggh¡­!"


    The Imp vomited a mouthful of blood as it looked down on me with red-shot eyes, barely alive and in the verge of death, it pointed its index finger at me and a me hit me directly.


    BOOM!


    "Ugh¡­!"


    "Ah! My lord!!!"


    Eleanora angrily kicked the Imp into the ground and hit its head until it died, as she ran towards me worriedly.


    [You gained 400 EXP]


    The demonic mes impacted me directly, but I had covered my body with a Veil of Blood Qi beforehand. Something basic for protection that I had already done the moment the battle against it began.


    The demonic energy tried to spread over my body, however, and burn through me, but Eleanora quickly waved her hands as darkness pulled away the demonic energy from my body.


    "Are you okay?" she asked while I sat down.


    "Yeah, don''t worry, thanks for helping me¡­ Phew, that was tougher than I imagined¡­ We are not as strong if we don''t use cheap tactics¡­" I sighed.


    "Well, we have to start from somewhere¡­ Even Imps seem hard to kill, but this is how we must grow stronger." Said Eleanora.


    "You''re right." I said.


    I stood up and cleaned my clothes from dirt, walking towards the three corpses of the Imps, and storing their corpses inside my bag.


    "Maybe we should go back for now, however. I see that you''re tired. You''re only a five-year-old child. Fighting beings as strong as demons is tiring to you. As you said earlier, one step at a time, right?" she asked.


    Eleanora was worried about me, and quite recently she had acted very motherly towards me. I suppose my physical appearance is the reason behind this, she sees me as someone adorable that should be protected, despite knowing very well I am the Asmodeus of before but encased in this shell.


    However, I was quite tired indeed, perhaps going back for now was the way to go.


    I had umted enough Blood Qi, so this might be enough to cultivate my Physique for the next few hours.<sub> </sub>


    "Okay, let''s go back¡­" I said.


    "Alright!" said Eleanora happily.


    We began walking away from the ce, but as we walked only around ten meters, and we almost reached the fences made by the Hunters that separated theyers, we suddenly came across a scene, as we hid behind some trees.


    There was another trio of Imps, they were not wandering around, but were devouring the corpse of a Gray Wolf.


    The Gray Wolf seemed like a young adult, and it looked healthy, it had a lot of meat which they were chewing off the bones while sitting over some logs.


    <o>,m They conversed in their demonic dialect, which I was able to understand.</o>


    The words they spoke were simple, however, as they didn''t had much intelligence.


    "Chewy food¡­"


    "Needs some salt!"


    "Blood seems tasty enough¡­"


    Perhaps I could interrogate one of them and ask them for information.


    But is it possible? Seeing how strong they are, catching one alive and then forcing it to somehow speak¡­ it would involve severe torture.


    I don''t like torturing the enemies I will kill, but when ites to interrogations, things change. It is necessary to torture others to make them talk after all, it is a basic rule you learn in the slums.


    Such teachings remained within my mind even as I grew older¡­ although I often left the torture to my more sadistic allies, such as Eleanora, who enjoys to see suffering those she despises.


    "Eleanora¡­ Do you think we could catch one?" I wondered.


    "C-Catch one?!" she asked in shock.


    "You can''t?" I asked.


    "¡­I can! But we''ll need to cut their limbs so they can''t escape easily." Said Eleanora.


    "Sounds good to me¡­ We need to take down two of them, however. I will leave alive the smartest one, the one that speaks the most eloquently¡­" I said.


    This conversation was all through telepathy, of course.


    I pointed out a spherical rock I had made into such a shape myself by using the Earth Magic Spell "Shape Earth". This was the most optimal shape to throw stones, and as I made them extra heavy by using the Gravity Attribute Spell "Increase Weight" which only works in physical objects I hold with my hands. It became even deadlier.


    FLASH!


    Iunched my attack without faltering, hitting the one closer to me and impacting its head.


    BANG!


    "Gryyyaaggh¡­!"


    It cried in agony as it got hit, falling to the floor and struggling to assess what was happening.


    The other two Imps quickly jumped off their seats, as Iunched a smaller rock to finish off the Imp before the other two could notice us.


    CLAAASSH!


    "Gryeegh¡­"


    [You gained 400 EXP]


    -----

 Chapter 68 This Is Merely A Scratch

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    The two other Imps quickly noticed our presences and our locations, as they red at their deadrade, grabbed their weapons, and rushed towards us.


    I had already run out of stones to throw, so I quickly decided to run around in circles through the forest, while Eleanora had sneaked around, jumping over the tree branches, and lurking behind the Imps while using Shadow Sneak Skill, which allowed her to merge with the shadows and be even more stealthy.


    "Graakuhah! Grakuh! (Bastard! Kill the bastard!)"


    "Grakegagha! (I''ll eat a little children''s tender meat tonight!)"


    The two spoke rather grossly and were enraged beyond belief. Although they were malicious, unlike most people believed, Demons are resentful and form strong bonds aspanions. Usually a trio of Imps would be siblings, and not justpletely unrted.


    And unlike most people believe of barbarians, they grow stronger by helping one another, usually siblings have a strong bond and protect each other backs. Killing each other dumbly like some goblin species do when they get angry at one another is notmon within demon societies and tribes, protecting their young or their siblings is a valuable lesson they teach to one another.


    This is how they can thrive and survive even in the harsh environments of the desertic wastnds within the Dimension of Hell.


    And because of this, it is to be expected that they would react like this.


    Yes,e closer, follow me, you fools.


    FLASH!


    Suddenly one of themunched the javelin they were holding.


    I quickly jumped to my left side to evade it, only for the other to intercept me at a fast speed, boosting its speed through the usage of Demonic Energy.


    CLASH!


    It used its own spear, trying to pierce my chest. It didn''t used a normal piercing attack, as it enhanced the spear with demonic energy and used what''s called Demon Weapon Technique.


    "Graaaaa!"


    I intercepted it with my spear, as I used a technique of my own.


    Dragoon Spear Technique: Impact Attack!


    CLAAASH!


    Impact Attack is a simple technique, by gathering Qi into the tip of the spear, it generates an impact shockwave that might blow away a target or the weapon reaching up to me.


    The powerful shockwave easily impacted the Imp''s own spear technique. My technique was obviously superior to that of a mere infant like this one.


    The Imp realized the superiority of my attack, as the shockwave generated by the spear''s attack blew it away, throwing it off bnce and making it fall to the ground.


    I tried to use this opportunity to attack, but the second Imp that had thrown its javelin at me had quickly took it once more and threw it again towards my direction.


    I had to quickly evade the deadly attack, moving back a few meters.


    CLASH!


    The javelin it threw got stuck into the tree near me, as I grabbed it as a secondary weapon and imbued it with Qi. As they say, finders keepers.


    I used Throwing Technique, which could be used with any object I threw, and by being enhanced by the Skill''s power, the javelin flew towards the Imp that had fallen off the ground.


    FLAAAASH!


    "Gryagu?!"


    CLASH!<sub> </sub>


    The Imp attempted to evade but the Spear pierced its left shoulder, getting stuck in the floor.


    "Gryyyaaaaa!"


    It cried in pain as its sibling that had originally thrown the javelin at my gritted its sharp teeth and angrily red at me.


    "Graaaaooo!"


    It roared and leaped over me, biting my hand as I desperately tried to move it away from me, but its sharp fangs made for a great way to hook itself into my flesh. The pain was great, I gritted my teeth and quickly decided to kill it with my spear, as I had nned to save this one forter, but I suppose the one I got stuck into the ground would do!


    Dragoon Spear Technique: Head Splitting Attack!


    CLAAAASH!


    Pointing my father''s spear at the angered Imp grabbing my hand with its fangs, I pierced its skull cleanly. The spear went through its brains and sttered them off from the hole I left behind.


    "Gryayaargghh¡­!"


    It finally let go of my hand as it gave ast scream of agony before dying.


    [You gained 400 EXP]


    I looked at my hand as I noticed the necrosis already beginning, damn it. I hadn''t lowered my guard, I had my guard high, in fact, but there''s not much I can do myself.


    If I had my guard low, it could had perfectly managed to bite my neck and kill me, but I had to sacrifice my hand.


    The fingers seem to be broken, at least three of them.


    Eleanora quickly jumped over the Imp attempting to take down the javelin piercing its shoulder and she mercilessly sliced its limbs with her sharp ws imbued with hardened blood.


    SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH!


    "Gryyyyaaaaaeeehh¡­!"


    Leaving it in the ground with his limbs gone, Eleanora flew to my side once more to assist me.


    "My lord!" she cried.


    "Eleanora, quickly extract the blood with necrosis, I will purify the wound¡­" I said.


    I took out a knife and quickly and mercilessly cut down my own flesh, it was painful, but I had gone through greater pains in my previous life to falter against this.


    "Okay!"


    She quickly began to work, cleaning my wound and taking away the necrosis in the blood. After that, I conjured Light and Life spells and purified the wound.


    She quickly sealed it as I used fire magic to cauterize the open wound, and then it was finally done.


    The broken bones should slowly regenerate over time as I used "Bone Reinforcement" and "Metabolism Enhancement" over them, the cracks were not too big either, and I could move the fingers but it was painful.


    "Are you feeling okay?" she asked.


    "I am, don''t worry. This is merely a scratch." I said.


    "You were a bit reckless there¡­ Ugh, I should have helped!" she cried.


    -----

 Chapter 69 Interrogation

    69 Interrogation


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    "Don''t worry, I already told you I am fine. You did what I told you to do. If you had interrupted me, you wouldn''t had been able to sneak behind and the n would have failed." I said.


    "Sigh¡­ Alright¡­" she sighed, as she suddenly hugged me.


    "But that really scared me¡­" she sighed.


    "I recognize your concern, Eleanora, but crying over it won''t really help, I am thankful but really, you don''t have to make a fuss over it. I have always gotten wounded in my life. Although now that I am not a Vampire, my regeneration factor is slow due to my Physique being at the beginning stages¡­ But nheless, it is still better than the average human of my age. Though I''ve heard young kids can regenerate wounds and even broken bones quicker." I said.


    "That''s¡­ true, I guess. You''re right, I shouldn''t be so dramatic¡­ Alright! I''ll make this one Imp pay for it!" she said with a smile.


    "For now stop its bleeding, it is on the verge of death." I said.


    "O-Oh, right!" she said.


    Eleanora flew towards the Imp and began to close its wounds by making Blood Patches, coagting the blood, and filling the wounds with them, stopping bleeding.


    I looked at my wounded hand as I took some leather I had packed up, disinfected it, and wrapped it around it. Three fingers were broken but I could still grab things using them with the other fingers and my thumb.


    I stored the other two Imps into my bag, as I looked at thest Imp gasping for air while ring at us with both hate and fear.


    "G-Grryyaagh¡­ Grakukaha! Trakuaha! (Butcher! We''ll butcher all of you! You''ll die! We''ll make you scream!)"


    It was talking a lot of nonsense.


    "It is saying some very weird things." Said Eleanora.


    She also knew Demonic Tongue, as we had explored the Hell Dimension together before, learning another tongue was easy back then, and such knowledge stayed with me even now.


    I looked down into the Imp as I took out a knife and coated it in a slimy liquid.


    This was poison.


    Where did I get it?


    Well, I crafted it.


    Picking poisonous mushrooms and herbs wasn''t hard, they''re everywhere, and my father always told me to evade them.


    Just like when you make a potion, it is also possible to craft a poison with a lot of poisonous mushrooms and herbs.


    The resulting product was a hideous slimy, purple-colored liquid.


    Well, this one poison was a variant I made, it was made to paralyze prey, but I have not used it too well recently because I didn''t wanted to waste it on monsters I could kill without the need for it.


    I had originally made these set of poisons for my own self-defense against human enemies, also. Poisoning a prey I might eatter is not good, even if I use Antidote on itter, the meat will end up tasting badly.


    Therefore, it was more for other malicious people in the future that could threaten me or my family¡­ but I suppose it can also be used as a torture tool.


    Coating the tip of the knife with this slimy substance, I decided to slowly pierce the Imp''s chest with it.


    "Gryaaaaaahh!"


    The Imp cried in pain, it was also imbued with a toxin that enhanced the physical senses of a target, making pain ten times as arduous.


    I looked into the demon''s eyes with a smirk.


    "Grakugata¡­ Gramukah. (You''re now mine. I will torture you until you spit everyst bit of information you have.)" I said, using their own dialect.


    The Imp was leftpletely shocked, it never guessed an inhabitant of the world they were invading could speak their own tongue so eloquently.


    "Grryyyyyhhh¡­"


    He looked at me defiantly while gritting its teeth.


    "Bold¡­ It won''tst long. Everyone always have a limit¡­ After that limit is reached, they''ll spill anything¡­" I said with a smile.


    ¡­


    After approximately ten minutes of torture, the Imp spoke everyst bit of info it could.


    Only ten minutes though¡­ I''ve seen goblins endure more, what a pathetic demon.


    The information I acquired from it was interesting, but there was a greatck of details that this low-intelligence creature couldn''t exin properly, so it was understandable that it couldn''t exin everything. They were just slightly more intelligent than monkeys after all.


    But from what I learned, there is a camp around 150 or 200 meters from here, where many Imps are living there alongside¡­ Imp Champions or other Demons with them.


    So they even got a Camp already¡­ if they continue to spread, the vige might really be in danger. I cannot let this slide easily; I should really get there and kill them.


    But¡­ it would be too hard, if I go against an entire camp, I''ll die.


    As annoying as this is, I have to let it slide for now and go back home.


    At the very least, killing the Imp gave me the necessary EXP to level up, so I can go back home with something good having happened to me.


    Piercing the Imp''s head with my father''s spear, it died on the spot. Thanks for the information, good friend.


    The moment the Imp died, the Grimoire''s pages began to change, as new text emerged written on it.


    [You gained 400 EXP]


    [EXP : 10000 / 10000]


    [You have Leveled up from Level 0 to Level 1!]


    [All your Stats have increased!]


    [You gained Bonus Skill Proficiency!]


    [You gained Bonus Stat Points and Skill Points]


    [You received the Bonus Gift [Level Up Gift Box (D)] inside your bag!]


    [Your body will recover]


    What?! Level Up Gift Box?


    And my body¡­ it is recovering?


    A simple level up that took so long to do¡­


    And my hand¡­


    It began to recover, the cracks in the bones, the wound, it all recovered, leaving only an ugly scar behind.


    So leveling up can fully recover me?


    [Automatic Recover will onlyst until Level 10]


    I see¡­ is this some sort of beginner''s aid, Lucifer?


    And I even acquired an item¡­


    He really designed this like a stupid game.


    -----

 Chapter 70 Level Up

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    [Eleanora] has Leveled up from Level 0 to Level 1!]


    [Your Spirit Power increases]


    [Your Spirit''s Skills have gained Bonus Skill Proficiency]


    [Eleanora] has gained Bonus Stat Points and Skill Points]


    [Eleanora] has learned the Skill [Blood Bat Transformation: Lv1]!]


    "Ah, I''ve also leveled up? I feel stronger all of the sudden¡­ Hm? I think I can do something else now¡­" said Eleanora.


    She quickly realized she had changed and gained a new Skill. It appears that my Spirits might level up close to me, at least Eleanora will, most likely.


    She gained a new Skill as well named Blood Bat Transformation. A Skill that allows her to transform into a small blood bat, I assume.


    This is a basic Vampire ability we possessed in our previous lives. It worked well to do recon and sneak around while flying high into the skies.


    Of course I doubt I could ever use it now for the moment¡­ but Eleanora can, which could bring her the ability to do some nice recon on her own in the middle of the night. The transformation doesn''t seems to drain Mana aside from the initial cost, so it seems good.


    I could also use it to camouge her into a more normal-looking Spirit than a Humanoid Spirit¡­ Maybe.


    However, there is something else, the Skill Points and Stat Points.


    Eleanora pped around using her wings as a little bat no bigger than the palm of my hand, she looked fluffy and adorable.


    While she did that, I checked my Status to see the things I had.


    -----


    Name: ke Hunter Goathorn


    Race: Human


    Spirit Orb Realm: Rank 1 (Initial Stage)


    Job ss: None


    Subss: None


    Level: 1 / 10


    EXP: 0 / 20000


    < Health Points: 33 / 33 -> 58 / 58 >


    < Mana Points: 71 / 71 -> 106 / 106 >


    < Strength: 29 -> 46 >


    < Agility: 24 -> 39 >


    < Vitality: 19 -> 42 >


    < Intelligence: 61 -> 91 >


    < Dexterity: 22 -> 45 >


    Spirits (1/1): [Half-Vampire: Eleanora (Rank 1 Initial Stage)]


    Skills:


    [Throwing Technique: Lv2]


    [Acrobatics: Lv2]


    [Butcher: Lv1]


    [Alchemy: Lv1]


    [First Aid: Lv1]


    Title Skills:<sub> </sub>


    [Beast yer: Lv1]


    <o>,m [Savior: Lv1]</o>


    Avable Stat Points: 10


    Avable Skill Points: 10


    Curses:


    EXP required to level up x100


    Proficiency required to learn techniques and skills x100


    Mana/Qi/Aether Recovery speed decreased by -50%


    -----


    I felt it all around my body already, the Stats did indeed increase greatly, the power I had gotten wasn''t anything to scoff at¡­ A single level up gave me more stats than I could have made on my own aside from drinking the Mana Potions, which also had their own limit.


    My flow of Mana, my physical strength, the durability of my body, my agility, senses, reflexes, stamina, and even the flow of my Qi and Aether had strengthened¡­


    And I also had ten Stat Points and ten Skill Points¡­ I can already assume a few of the things they could do, but it is better to check it in the Grimoire itself.


    I began to browse through the Grimoire until I saw a page showing their function.


    -----


    [Stat Points: Can be relocated into any Stats to increase them. After initial relocation, Stat Points cannot be retrieved back. HP and MP increase stats by +2 with 1 Stat Point instead of +1]


    [Skill Points: Can be used to learn Skills in the Job ss Skill Tree or used in Skills to strengthen them. 1 Skill Point = 1000 Skill Proficiency Points]


    -----


    Oh? Interesting. It appears I can get ten and ten points with each Level. I can use the Stat Points for¡­ well, give myself one more stat for each¡­ and then Skill Points allow me to learn new Skills from a Skill Tree or¡­ use them to strengthen already existing Skills.


    I should quickly relocate the Stat Points first, but what should I invest?


    Mana, of course.


    All my Stats should go to Mana, it is one of the most important Stats, without it, Eleanora won''t be able to showcase her abilities, and she''s a strong asset in my party.


    And without it, I won''t be able to use as many Spells. 10 Mana Points seem hard toe by, it would take me I don''t know how long to make it, while strengthening my body doesn''t seem as hard than increasing my max amount of Mana¡­


    [You''ve relocated 10 Stat Points into 20 Mana Points!]


    Oh, 20? It seems that while other Stats are 1 = 1, Mana Points and Health Points are 1 = 2¡­ I see. That makes it even better then.


    20 Mana means I can conjure around four to five more Spells, and that also means Eleanora can use Bloodwork and Shadow Sneak more freely as well.


    Now, let''s see the Skill Tree.


    Do I have any? I don''t have Job ss¡­


    When I found the page, there was arge tree painting that showed in the roots the [ssless] on it.


    And then, it branched upwards into small bubbles, each bubble showed a Skill icon, there were only a few of them, not as many branching Skills as I would had imagined.


    The Skills that a ssless could learn were also not the strongest nor anything focused on fighting. It appears that they were all "generalist" Skills, such as Acrobatics, First Aid, and more.


    I wondered if I could learn them by myself without having to waste Skill Points for them, but then I checked them well, and their descriptions said "Only learnable through Skill Points or through Special Conditions", I suppose Lucifer had covered that area.


    Although they seemed simplistic skills, they were still Skills I wouldn''t be able to learn normally anyways. Such as Savior and First Aid, they required very specific conditions to learn.


    Then¡­ I only had ten Skill Points, each Skill cost just that to learn, so I could only pick a single Skill.


    There were a dozen of them, and if I get 10 every level, I could learn most of them after reaching Level 10¡­ but wouldn''t it be good to save some points forter? If I can get Skill Trees from Job sses¡­ then there will be better Skills to waste my points on.


    Hm¡­


    -----

 Chapter 71 Acquiring New Skills

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    I decided that, although thinking for the future was important, stopping my own growth or inhibiting my possibilities of surviving over not wanting to spend Skill Points to save forter was an idiotic idea. It is better to spend what I have now and gain something I can use in the present.


    I looked into the Skill Tree with utmost detail, there were many interesting Skills, but most of them were passive skills with passive effects. Some of them were more interesting than others.


    There was the [Robust Body: Lv1] Skill that increased the growth of Physical Stats, the [Gifted Magic Apprentice: Lv1] that enhanced the growth of Magic Stats, the [Hawk Eye: Lv1] Skill that allowed me to see from very far away, the [Traps and Snares: Lv1] that could allow the ability to create Traps efficiently, the [Heavy Drinker: Lv1] Skill that doubled the effect of all Potions and Pills, and more.


    At the end, I picked an interesting Skill that looked like the most special of the bunch, it was a simple-sounding name, but its effects were more incredible than what it made itself up to be. It simply allowed me to grow faster, and it was sitting there just for me to grab, as if it were a gift made by Lucifer¡­


    [You have exchanged 10 Skill Points and learned the [Hard Worker: Lv1] Skill]


    -----


    [Hard Worker: Lv1]


    A special Skill that only those that endlessly work hard can acquire. Skill Requirements to unlock the Skill to be exchanged for Skill Points has been filled. Learnable only through Skill Points.


    Increases Skill Proficiency and Experience Points earned by +20%. The harder you work, the more payback you will receive, but the greater the challenge will be.


    -----


    It looked interestingly simplistic, it simply enhanced my growth¡­ by a whopping 20%... it wasn''t even at Level 10, it could go all the way to level 10, and perhaps enhance the growth of EXP even more.


    It is a Skill that rewards the hard worker, so I decided to pick it up. It was also one of the few that could only be learned through Skill Points, and it would have been a total waste to not acquire it.


    After that, I decided to move into other things, Eleanora.


    She had also ten points of each, so I wanted to see how she could spend them.


    Apparently, she wasn''t capable of doing anything, she wasn''t able to see her Status nor control these points, but only I, through the Grimoire, could do it.


    "Hm¡­ Where could I add your Stat Points?" I wondered.


    "Perhaps more agility or dexterity? Or greater physical strength." She said.


    "Hmmm¡­ Let''s divide it." I said.


    Lastly, her Skill Points.


    Eleanora and seemingly all Spirits had their own incredibly big Skill Trees.


    I saw her Skill Tree through the Grimoire and showed it to her, not only there were some new Skills, but there were also some other Skills she used to have in her previous life, which she could "relearn".


    Unlike me, Spirits cannot naturally learn new Skills so they either learn them through Leveling, Evolving, Ranking Up, or through the Skill Tree.


    So I decided to see what could be of use for us now.


    After looking for a while, I found something good.


    -----


    [Spirit Link: Lv1]<sub> </sub>


    Can only be learned through Skill Points.


    Grants the ability to Link the Spirit with the Spirit Master, Spirit and Master can share 10% of their Stats with one another, alongside a single Skill with only 50% of its total power. The Skill can only be selected once. Level up will increase the Skill Limit and Shared Stats.


    -----


    Wondrous.


    This skill was just what I wanted¡­ With this, we could share each other Stats by 10%! And even more, we can pick a single Skill from one another to "Link" it, although it will only showcase 50% of its total power, it is more than enough!


    [Eleanora] has spent 10 Stat Points and gained +4 Strength, +3 Agility, and +3 Dexterity]


    [Eleanora] has spent 10 Skill Points to learn [Spirit Link: Lv1]!]


    "Ohhh! I learned something? And I feel¡­ kind of stronger!" said Eleanora.


    "Indeed, it could be said you''ve grown stronger now¡­ I have relocated your Stat and Skill Points now. You''ve now learned a Special Skill that will allow us to Link with one another." I said.


    "L-Link?" asked Eleanora.


    "Yes, simply think about using it and it should happen." I said.


    "Okay¡­"


    Eleanora closed her eyes as I held her hand, and suddenly, we felt as if both of our souls touched with one another, linking.


    Suddenly, inside of my mind, I saw several floating bubbles.


    [Pick a Skill to Link from [Eleanora]


    [Charm: Lv1]


    [Blood Edge: Lv1]


    [Shadow Sneak: Lv1]


    In front of me, three bubbles showed up with Skill Icons on them, it seems that I cannot just Link any Skill, only these three Skills were avable to Link for me.


    It was already possible for Eleanora to use the Charm Skill with me for a small, shared effect, making my words slightly more believable, and well, making me "charismatic", but its effects are stronger when the user itself has the Skill, of course. This is how Eleanora seems so charming to everyone, to an extent, although it does not go as far as being considered Brainwashing, I think.


    Blood Edge also allows ess to the Bloodwork Arts she uses. This Skill also allows for Blood to be conjured and deal damage with, it can also be made sharp and hurt others, it could be developed in a lot of ways.


    Andstly, Shadow Sneak allows me to merge with darkness and shadows for stealth purposes, at more advanced levels, it should allow me topletely dive into darkness as if shadows were like water, swimming through it all with ease to not be detected by enemies.


    All three Skills seemed useful on their own unique ways, so I couldn''t properly decide which would be the best one yet¡­


    Hmm¡­


    -----

 Chapter 72 Spirit Link

    -----


    Charm seems strong, if I could use it on myself, convincing people and acting more charismatic could be one of my strengths¡­ the thing is, I am not such a person.


    I don''t consider myself charismatic, and I actually dislike standing out unless it is about doing business and more. Like it happened with the merchant, but otherwise, I would like to use other methods to approach people, not with just looks alone.


    Blood Edge was a strong candidate, but I would prefer to leave Eleanora in charge of this power for now, she''s way better at handling it than me, as it would only be 50% of its power if I use it.


    So due to this, I decided to pick thest.


    [You''ve created a [Link] with [Eleanora]''s [Shadow Sneak: Lv1] Skill and 10% of her total Stats]


    A sudden wave of power permeated my entire body and soul once more, I could feel my strength growing a bit more¡­


    So this is it! the power of linking to Eleanora''s 10% of her Stats¡­ even 10% can be game changing. This was worth more than I ever thought.


    [Eleanora] has created a [Link] with [ke]''s [Hard Worker: Lv1] Skill and 10% of his total Stats]


    And Eleanora finished choosing, and picked the best option too, she had probably gone through the same mental image that I did if she was able to pick.


    Her entire body also exuded a new and strong aura from within, so this entire thing worked wonderfully, she had indeed grown stronger out of it, and so did I.


    "I¡­ I linked to your newest Skill¡­ I just couldn''t miss the opportunity to use it! Even if the effect is halved for me¡­" she said.


    "I understand the feeling. Growing faster is a priority¡­ I also Linked with Shadow Sneak because it seemed like the most useful for me¡­" I said.


    "Ooh, I see! Very fitting of my lord''s tastes." She said with a giggle.


    What did she meant by that? That I like dark things? I am not edgy.


    With that said, I looked at Eleanora''s Status now that things were settled, the Grimoire showed it to me with ease by merely thinking about it.


    -----


    Name: Eleanora


    Spirit Race: Half Vampire


    Spirit Type: Blood / Dark


    Spirit Realm: Rank 1 (Initial Stage)


    Level: 1 / 10


    EXP: 0 / 20000


    < Health Points: 85 / 85>


    < Strength: 76 >


    < Agility: 71 >


    < Vitality: 62 >


    < Intelligence: 37 >


    < Dexterity: 68 >


    Link Skills:


    [Link (ke): [Hard Worker: Level 1]


    Skills:<sub> </sub>


    [Half-Vampire: Lv2]


    [Charm: Lv2]


    [Blood Edge: Lv2]


    [Shadow Sneak: Lv2]


    [Blood Bat Transformation: Lv1]


    Title Skills:


    [Vampire Queen: Lv2]


    -----


    Her Stats¡­ aside from my Mana and Intelligence, she was surpassing me by far.


    Having only leveled up once, she already had a lot of Stats, and that''s not including my shared 10%, which is invisible.


    But that also means I get to have 10% of her big stats, so it is greatly beneficial for both of us, this is why it is named "Spirit Link".


    Eleanora''s first Skills, the ones she came with have all be Level 2 a few days ago, she had been working hard in increasing their proficiency. I think the Vampire Queen and Half Vampire ones just reached Level 20 after I let her drink demon blood and she gained proficiency as "a vampire" or something.


    These Skills only make her even stronger, and now that they''re Level 2, this is even more notorious. For the moment, it was enough to observe numbers, I decided to slowly make my way back home while testing Shadow Sneak.


    I covered my body with the Skill, by using some Mana, a veil of shadows coated my entire body, which allowed me to mix with the darkness of my surroundings, alongside my shadows and more.


    Its effect was halved, but it was still just as good, butpared to Eleanora, the intensity of the darkness and how much I could merge with it was not as big as hers.


    Nheless, we used it together and we escaped the forest, running back to my room.


    After that, I silently dropped onto my bed¡­ my human body was very tired¡­ Having a human body that gets tired so quickly is indeed bothersome, especially if its that of a toddler.


    Children my age really shouldn''t be doing something so dangerous, but there''s no helping it.


    There is an ugly scar on my hand, but now the pain is gone, and it has fully recovered¡­ I suppose there''s this full recovery by leveling, but only up to Level 10¡­


    Looking at my hand, I felt more and more tired, so I covered my body with the nkets, and decided to sleep.


    Eleanora ended up cuddling with me at my side. I could have objected, but I was too tired, and she knew about it. Abusing my weakness and exhaustion to cuddle with me and rub her face over my shoulder.


    ¡­To be honest, I didn''t mind her being like this. It honestly made me happy.


    ¡­


    When I woke up it was once more another day, but there were a few things I quickly remembered now that I had woken up and felt energized. Aside from the beautiful suning from the window and the clean blue sky with barely any clouds, there was something inside of my mind.


    "How could I forget?" I sighed.


    "Uwah! Eh? Good morning¡­" said Eleanora.


    She seemed to have been sleeping. Spirits can also sleep like humans I suppose. Our Link actually made it possible for her to sleep even better if she wanted¡­ it appears to be the case.


    "Good morning, Eleanora¡­ I forgot about something I acquired after Leveling up¡­ a gift pack or something¡­ How can I get it? it said¡­ inside my bag?" I wondered.


    I looked inside my bag, aside from the demon corpses, there was a strange metallic box, seemingly made of bronze or something¡­


    -----

 Chapter 73 [Bonus Chapter] Level Up Gift Box And Cursed Weapons

    -----


    I grabbed the box and looked at it.


    It looked interesting; I don''t think I have ever seen something like this before¡­


    It emanated a strange aura from within.


    -----


    [Level Up Gift Box (D)]


    A special item of D-Grade gifted to you for leveling up the first time, by opening it, you can acquire a random item within the D Rank Item pool, including Equipment, Consumables, and more.


    -----


    I see¡­


    It gives me items?


    Out of nowhere?


    How does this even works? Creation Magic? How does it even generates random items?


    These things are confusing me beyond belief. Does the Grimoire makes it out of magic? What sort of magic?


    I remember that there was magic capable of creating items. After reaching a certain level of magic power and divinity, it was possible for me to create items out of thin air with mere thoughts.


    I used such powers to create special equipment for my troops and also to generate an endless storm of legendary weapons which made Lucifer have a slightly hard time against me.


    Hm, oh well, let''s open it, no point in wondering about it over and over again. I am wasting too much time.


    I opened the box and¡­ a bright light came out of it.


    FLASH!


    The box suddenly disappeared, and what remained was something.


    An item left behind.


    And it was¡­ what is this?


    A card. An item card of some sort¡­?


    It looked green, and it had the words "EXP" on it.


    It looked as if it were made of stic, but I had never seen it before.


    -----


    [X10 EXP Card (D)]


    An EXP Card that enhances your EXP learned by x10 for 1 hour. Usable only once.


    -----


    As simple as that, it was an item that multiplied the EXP I gained by x10¡­


    Sigh.


    This again.


    Perhaps if I were a teenager dreaming of RPG games, I would find this exciting.


    But this entire System thing is really something I dislike. It feels as if Lucifer was just watching over me and trying to get out of me some type of amusement?


    Hm¡­ Well, I cannot just trouble myself with this forever, I have to continue living my life.


    But why is he giving me this?


    First the Hard Worker Skill and then the EXP Card.


    Doesn''t thispletely defeats the purpose of being cursed with low EXP earning?


    Perhaps it is a way to help me¡­ well, I guess.


    Its not like it is too game changing. The Hard Worker Skill is permanent, but it seems it could take a while to even Level Up one day, and for now, the EXP Card can only be used once for 1-hour effects, so I cannot abuse it for prolonged periods of time either.


    I saved the card forter, it mighte in handy whenever I am facing many enemies at once and I feel confident in being able to defeat them, maybe.


    "What was that?" wondered Eleanora while yawning.<sub> </sub>


    "¡­You sneaked into my bed and ended sleeping at my sidest night." I said.


    "Eh?! Ah¡­" Eleanora was caught red-handed, she was even sleeping under my nkets, even her legs were coiled around mine, as if she wanted to share our warmth.


    "Well, I don''t mind it, but next time you should ask first." I said.


    I petted her as I gave her a smile.


    "A-Asmodeus¡­" she muttered while blushing.


    Eleanora covered her face with her hands and then averted her eyes from me, she had grown too shy out of the sudden.


    Now, the demon topic.


    What do I do?


    Should I tell my parents?


    If I tell them I went to kill Demons they might go insane.


    So perhaps I should keep that a secret for now.


    Should I keep them and just eat the meat over time?


    Or maybe go sell them? I saw other people sometimes bringing the corpses of Imps. The same way as monsters, they are eaten for their meat.


    It appears that after death, the demonic energy leaks out and they''re not lethal to eat¡­ Although it appears they''re used as alchemy materials too, and crafting materials as well.


    Their skin is very hard so it can make some good leather armor.


    And about the demonic cores? They''re not exactly spirit orbs, so I would need to investigate that into more detail and see what people use them for.


    Have people somehow adapted the usage of demonic energy or see it as something evil that shouldn''t be used? It can''t certainly be used the same as mana¡­


    And¡­ father''s spear.


    When I took it out of the bag where I stored it, I noticed it was emanating an eerie presence from within¡­


    This is¡­ quite interesting.


    It is already a Cursed Weapon it seems.


    Huh?


    The Grimoire suddenly showcased a page with the exact image of the spear right at its side when I grabbed it¡­


    -----


    [Cursed Wooden Spear (Rare-Grade): Lv1 (EXP: 0 / 1000)]


    Bonus:


    +30 Attack


    +10 Speed


    +5 Magic


    Special Abilities:


    Demonic Predation: Can grow stronger by predating in Blood, Spirit Orbs, Demonic Cores, and more. It can grow faster if it consumes the blood of Demons.


    ursed Wounds: Inflicted wounds with this spear might not heal as fast, and rotting would begin faster.


    Description:


    A Weapon made out of strong wood for its handle and a sharp de made of iron for its tip. If used by a skilled fighter, it can pierce through an enemy''s body.


    After soaking in Demon Blood, it had evolved into a Cursed Weapon.


    -----


    I didn''t even know weapons had Levels too¡­ apparently it can level up by absorbing energy. So it is alive? Interesting¡­


    It gained two new Abilities, which seem to be fitting of a Demon. I suppose I can use them to properly fight them even more easily than before.


    This seems like an interesting weapon, and if it''s my father''s weapon, I might as well keep using it¡­ he has yet to recover, so I will take as many demon lives as possible with it.


    -----

 Chapter 74 Gluttony

    -----


    This seems like an interesting weapon, and if it''s my father''s weapon, I might as well keep using it¡­ he has yet to recover, so I will take as many demon lives as possible with it.


    When he''s finally awake, he''ll have a powerful spear for himself.


    ¡­Or maybe I should just buy him a new and better spear with the money I haveter, while keeping this one for myself.


    Yeah, that sounds more reasonable.


    Or well¡­ the Imps also carried weapons themselves, each one of them held a sharp Javelin with themselves. That could be used by others too, and they were also soaked in Demon Blood and emanated strong presences.


    In fact they were already Cursed? Or about to be cursed because they were overflowing with demon energy, they constantly used it over them.


    Demonic Energy has the potential of cursing objects after all, which might strengthen them, but it makes them¡­ well, hungry, as if they were alive.


    The spear of my father had be one that doesn''t affect me, but it is very hungry, and it seems to emanate an air that just wants to eat something.


    Maybe even me if I don''t feed it well.


    Eleanora began to admire the spear, as she asked me if she could hold it.


    "Can I hold it? The aura of darkness and pure dread it emanates its just so nice!" she said with a smile.


    "Sure, I wonder if you cold practice your spear technique¡­" I said


    I gave it to her and then¡­


    SPARK!


    As if negating itself from being held by anyone than myself, the spear released sparks of ck lightning that scared Eleanora a bit.


    "W-What is this?!" she asked.


    The spear didn''t wanted her to hold it, it felt as if it was trying to scare her away or attacking her.


    And then the Grimoire acted¡­


    [The Cursed Weapon has already chosen you as its only Owner]


    [The Cursed Weapons desires a name given to it by its Owner]


    Oh¡­


    And it wants a name?


    I''ve seen countless Cursed Weapons before, but this is the first time I see a weapon wanting a name from someone.


    "It seems that the Cursed Weapon catalogued me as its owner, so it doesn''t want to let it be touched by anyone than me¡­" I sighed.


    "Oh, makes sense, I am also happy to be only yours," said Eleanora while nodding.


    That sounded slightly worrying, and I don''t know what to think about Eleanora seeing herself as something that wants to be owned by me¡­ I better have heard it wrong or interpreted it weirdly. Yes, let''s go with that, it is better to think that.


    "It even wants a name all of the sudden¡­" I said.


    "A name¡­? Maybe you could name it after a friend?" asked Eleanora.


    "A friend from our past? Hm, well, their souls might be revived in the future through spirit summoning, so maybe not for now." I said.


    "Then¡­ I don''t know." Said Eleanora.


    "Gluttony." I said.


    "Huh?" asked Eleanora.


    "I''ll name the Spear Gluttony, because it seems to be eager to eat¡­" I said.<sub> </sub>


    "I-I guess that''s a fair name!" said Eleanora.


    [You have named your [Cursed Weapon] as [Gluttony]


    [Gluttony] seems content with its name]


    It likes the name at the very least¡­


    The weapon exuded an evenrger aura than before, and I couldn''t help but wonder in what sort of thing would it be in the future. I had possessed many weapons in my previous life, many of them were Magic Weapons and Cursed Weapons.


    After they''re enhanced enough or go through a special awakening, these special weapons are capable of evolving and gaining new forms and capabilities, it could be the same for Gluttony.


    "Gluttony is an interesting name¡­ Is it hungry now? I wonder if it can devour the meat of the demons, perhaps we can feed it that." Said Eleanora.


    "Hmm¡­ Hold up." I said.


    I quickly opened my bag once more and began to use Gluttony''s de to pierce the flesh of the corpses, their chests were carved open as I took out red-colored jewels one by one.


    They were loaded with demonic energy, and indeed, these were Demonic Cores. I looked at them and immediately thought about Spirit Orbs.


    If I can absorb them, can I absorb these?


    I touched them and tried to focus.


    The demonic energy flowed around me as it seemed to reject my body, even trying to damage my Qi Veins.


    Hm¡­


    FLASH!


    I opened my eyes once more, as I realized it was too early to try to absorb these, I was able to assimte demonic energy in my previous life, I used it to make Demonic Blood Qi, a special power capable of decimating demons with their own medicine.


    But for now, manipting demonic energy seems hard, maybe if I form my own demonic core¡­ but that''s impossible for the moment.


    FLUOSH!


    Meanwhile, Gluttony was trembling for some reason, as if it were going wild.


    The moment I moved the demonic cores near it, it trembled even more.


    Is it hungry? Does it wants to eat the cores?


    How can it do that?


    "Oh, is it hungry? Perhaps it can devour the Demonic Cores by piercing through them? It might be worth a try!" said Eleanora.


    "Right¡­


    I put the demonic cores in the floor and pointed Gluttony''s de at them, and then, attempted to pierce through one of them with the tip.


    CLAAASH!


    A sudden sh of red light came out, the core suddenly grew into ss-like material, as its entire power waspletely drained, it even was left transparent, and it began to shatter into tiny sand pebble sized pieces.


    The Grimoire quickly showed what happened, but I was already very sure that Gluttony had just devoured the Demonic Core¡­


    [Gluttony] has devoured the [Demonic Core]!]


    [Gluttony] has gained EXP]


    [Gluttony] is growing stronger!]


    Interesting¡­ this is indeed a different Cursed Weapon than the ones I remember.


    -----

 Chapter 75 A Spear That Levels Up

    -----


    The power of Gluttony was rather incredible, I had decided to let the weapon absorb all the Demonic Cores I had instead of trying to sell them, for the moment prioritizing the growth of my weapon was my goal.


    Crash! Crash! Crash¡­


    After every Demonic Core was devoured by Gluttony, only transparent sand was left from the formerly red crystals, he wasn''t able to devour them in the literal sense, but after piercing them, all the power in these crystals waspletely absorbed, so they turned into very thin ss that fell into tiny pieces.


    [Gluttony] has devoured the [Demonic Core]!]


    [Gluttony] has gained EXP]


    [Gluttony] has devoured the [Demonic Core]!]


    [Gluttony] has gained EXP]


    [Gluttony] has devoured the [Demonic Core]!]


    [Gluttony] has gained EXP]


    ¡­


    [Gluttony] has Leveled Up from Level 1 to Level 2!]


    [Gluttony] is growing stronger!]


    Gluttony suddenly leveled up, as Eleanora and I noticed how the spear began to glow with a bright red color, and a few parts of its body was covered in ck steel¡­ But only a bit.


    I checked the Status of the weapon through the Grimoire, and its bonus stats had increased.


    The power it could give to me while wielding it had been enhanced, how amazing.


    -----


    [Cursed Wooden Spear: Gluttony (Rare-Grade): Lv2 (EXP: 50 / 2000)]


    Bonus:


    Attack: +30 -> +35


    Speed: +10 -> 13


    Magic: +5 -> 7


    Special Abilities:


    Demonic Predation: Can grow stronger by predating in Blood, Spirit Orbs, Demonic Cores, and more. It can grow faster if it consumes the blood of Demons.


    ursed Wounds: Inflicted wounds with this spear might not heal as fast, and rotting would begin faster.


    -----


    Hm, seeing at the Stats, I can already notice that it gains more by leveling up. I had never seen a weapon that could grow through this method, even the ones I had made before didn''t grow like this but required me to spend materials and enhance them with these materials.


    But this weapon¡­ well, it was alive, and perhaps thanks to its connection with the Grimoire, it was able to Level Up. It appears that it gains experience through the absorption of Demonic Cores. I don''t know if it can gain Experience Points in other ways, perhaps by ying demons too? But we would have to try that out on another asion, as of now, I don''t have any ns regarding killing demons.


    Taking a closer look into its Ability it does indeed says that it can predate on blood, spirit orbs, demonic cores, and more¡­ I guess it might also work with spirit orbs, but these are rare now that I can''t find them as easily. Even going into the Second Layer gave me only demonic cores, the demons are probably hunting down every single monster for food.


    Oh right, there was the wolf corpse¡­ I saved it in my bag, it should have a spirit orb¡­


    I took out the wolf and then opened its chest, taking out the spirit orb from it.


    It was intact.


    Let''s see¡­


    I used the spear to pierce through the spirit orb, and in an instant, it cracked open, an essence came out of it and rushed into the spear.


    The spirit orb then turnedpletely transparent, drained of all its energy.<sub> </sub>


    FLASH!


    [Gluttony] has devoured the [Spirit Orb]!]


    [Gluttony] has gained EXP]


    [Gluttony] is growing stronger!]


    [Gluttony] learned the [Beast Spirit Summon] Special Ability!]


    "What?"


    I looked into the spear onest time.


    A single, weak, and small spirit orb helped the weapon unlock a new ability.


    "Eleanora, did you see that?" I asked.


    "Yes¡­ For a faint moment, I saw something resembling a wolf entering the spear¡­ C-Could it be? Are Spirit Orbs¡­ do they contain the soul of the beast?" wondered Eleanora.


    "Hmm¡­ Recalling how Erika came to be, that''s quite possible¡­ Her soul is after all within her Spirit Orb, so it is possible that all Spirit Orbs possess souls¡­ But this new Ability it learned¡­" I said, as I began to look at the weapon''s description once more.


    In there, a new Special Ability appeared.


    -----


    Beast Spirit Summon: Grants the Ability to Summon a Beast Spirit from the Spirit Orbs it had absorbed which will be the embodiment of the spear''s powers. These Beast Spirits grow stronger as the Spear does.


    -----


    Even after absorbing so many Demonic Cores, it didn''t got anything like this, but after absorbing a single Spirit Orb, it gained such an incredible Ability.


    But how does this works, exactly? Grimoire, can''t you offer some more detailed information?


    ¡­


    Nothing.


    Let''s see by myself.


    I tried infusing my Mana into the spear and tried to activate the ability while holding the weapon tightly.


    "Beast Spirit Summon."


    FLASH!


    Suddenly, I felt like I lost over half my Mana in an instant, and then, the spear began to generate arge cloud of red and ck smoke, which slowly took the form of something¡­


    A gray wolf.


    The gray wolf made of darkness and red energy quickly materialized in front of us, standing there in silence.


    "E-Eh?! A beast spirit was really summoned!" said Eleanora in surprise.


    "Indeed¡­ This is big. To think the spear of my father would hold such potential¡­ I wonder if I can turn more weapons into Cursed Weapons with extravagant abilities¡­ Well, for now it would be better to only concentrate into this one." I said.


    "I agree¡­ But is there a limit of how many you can summon?" wondered Eleanora.


    "Hmm¡­ I don''t think so, but the cost of Mana is big, and judging by its appearance and the status of this summon shown by the grimoire, it will probably die in a few hits, and it cannot level up nor grow stronger by itself¡­ it is all tied up by the Spear." I said.


    "Interesting¡­ Nheless, if you can let it absorb more Spirit Orbs, more forms could be unlocked!" said Eleanora.


    "Yes¡­ This is indeed very interesting. I will make sure to use this to my advantage¡­" I said.


    -----

 Chapter 76 Beast Familiar Summoning

    -----


    The wolf in front of us seemed to be quite a problem. I didn''t know how to "call it back".


    Indeed, it was impossible to bring it back to the spear, once summoned, the summon would remain until it dies¡­


    This is indeed quite a problem. I can''t go showing it off to everyone. Although I could mask it as another Spirit¡­ But it would be annoying to exin to everyone how I suddenly got a second spirit out of absolutely nowhere.


    Once the mana was used, the spirit remains as it is and it doesn''t drain any more Mana, so I suppose that''s better, but it cannot grow stronger either, it will remain at the strength it is summoned as.


    Spirits can grow stronger as the Spear does, but perhaps there are some hidden values that could strengthen them somehow¡­


    Due to that, I tried checking if this wolf made of darkness and red light had any Status whatsoever, and it had. However,pared to our own Status, it was very minimalistic.


    -----


    Name: N / A (Chose a name)


    Type: Beast


    Rank: H


    Race: Gray Wolf


    p < Health Points: 20 / 20 ></anda>


    < Strength: 12 >


    < Agility: 15 >


    < Vitality: 10 >


    < Intelligence: 5 >


    < Dexterity: 15 >


    Buff: +1 Agility, +1 Dexterity


    Skill: [Furious Bite]


    Growth: 1/20


    -----


    Is this really the power of a simple Demonic Spear? I feel like Gluttony might have changed after I named it, this is seriously out of my expectations. Although it cannot level up or something, it has a Skill, and even¡­ Buffs?


    What is this? I had never thought I would find a new Grimoire Function through the acquisition of a Cursed Weapon. This is interesting and fascinating¡­ However, I cannot help but find this entire thing rather ridiculous.


    Now on top of normal Spirits I can summon these weaker Beast Spirits as backup¡­ Is this Grimoire building me into bing something simr to my previous life?


    The more Mana I have, the easier it will be to summon duplicates of this Spirit¡­ Imagining an entire pack of them is rather interesting.


    But for now, I could summon a second one, but I don''t think I will, it is already very weak, and it would be a waste of Mana¡­ Also, I don''t know where I can put them.


    Actually, I could summon many of them over the days and if I can find somewhere where I can store them¡­ but perhaps I shouldn''t try doing that for now.


    "Despite the intimidating appearance¡­ It is very weak, without even having to look at the Grimoire Status¡­ It is very weak¡­" sighed Eleanora at my side.


    "Yeah, it could probably get killed by another gray wolf, probably¡­" I sighed.


    "¡­"


    The wolf seemed to look at us with sadness in his empty eyes, I think he understood our words.


    Hmm¡­ Ignoring his eyes, I can see that he has special things. First of all, the Skill


    -----


    [Furious Bite]


    Furiously Bite a foe with its deadly jaws, increased damage dealt by +20%.


    -----<sub> </sub>


    Oh, it can use this without the need for Mana? I suppose it is better than I thought, it can increase its damage dealt by +20% as long as it bites an enemy.


    Now the problem is getting to bite a foe without getting killed beforehand¡­


    Aside from that, it has¡­ Buffs.


    While it is summoned, the Gray Wolf has increased my Agility and Dexterity by +1¡­


    I see, so this is another part of these mysterious Beast Summons, they can increase my Stats as long as they''re summoned. I think this is quite a big surprise. If I can summon many, or get new types of summons that could give different enhancements, things might be better for me.


    I exined these mechanics to Eleanora, as she nodded and found it rather interesting.


    "I see¡­ It is quite a pity I cannot buff you though! I don''t like these summons, they might end up making me seem as useless!" she said.


    "¡­I doubt it, they''re weak. I would say they''re more like expendable summons, while you''re a main leader of them." I said.


    "Oh! I guess I can think of it like that." Said Eleanora.


    She was very simpleminded, I see.


    And then, there was another thing¡­


    Growth.


    What is this Growth thing? It shows one out of twenty¡­


    -----


    Growth: 1/20


    Required Spirit Orbs of the same type as the Beast to strengthen the Beast Rank.


    -----


    Oh, I see. So the more Spirit Orbs of Gray Wolves the spear absorbs, the stronger this Wolf can be.


    And I can summon it over and over again too¡­ Hm, this is indeed quite broken. Is there no limit to it other than my own Mana?


    Well, if it enhances the Beast Rank, it might cost even more Mana¡­ Meaning I won''t be able to summon them as easily either.


    Also, twenty Gray Wolf Spirit Orbs are very expensive. I could use those spirit orbs to make potions instead, and you''re asking me twenty of them to increase its rank?!


    ¡­


    Anyways, as of now, this is it- Oh.


    I think I found the limit of how many I summon, by touching an area of the Status near the Growth, it said something¡­


    -----


    Maximum Amount of Times it can be summoned per Rank:


    Rank H: 5 Summons at the same time.


    -----


    So by increasing Rank I can summon it more times at the same time? I see, so it had a limit, but the limit of five is still rather high, even if they''re trash and might die easily, they can still be useful.


    I could even use them as dummies for my disciples to use to practice their Skills or Abilities.


    Well, anyways, aside from all of this, what should I do with this¡­?


    Ah, a name?


    "I will call you Fenrir." I said.


    [The Name [Fenrir] has been assigned to the [Spirit Summon: Beast Gray Wolf]


    -----

 Chapter 77 Progression

    -----


    After trying many ways, I ended realizing that the best way to hide the wolf was by putting it inside of my Shadows. Indeed, thanks to my Link with Eleanora, I can not only get 10% of her Stats as invisible buffs, but also, I decided to link with her Shadow Sneak Ability, which allows me to manipte my shadows slightly.


    Fusing this Skill effect with Shadow and Darkness Magic Tier 1 Spell "Expand Shadow", I was able to store the wolf inside. Of course, I cannot store anything else than these spirit summons because they''re actually materialized, but if I try physical objects, they cannot get inside.


    I don''t know if I can fit another four of them inside, but if I can, I will try to summon them over time so I can always have five very weak mobs to back me up¡­ at least I can get +5 Agility and Dexterity if I have all five of them summoned¡­


    I looked to my own Spear with a bit of surprise, this thing had brought more than I had expected. To say the least, such a thing was very unexpected, but it isn''t as if it was unusual lfor me. In my previous life I had many powerful weapons, within them, there were those capable of being "embodied" into beastly forms.


    Perhaps because Spirit Orbs are Souls, this is the weapon''s way to "summon" these souls and the shape of these souls make these spirit summons into different ssifications. It seems their ranks can increase as the spear "devours" more spirit orbs as well, which only makes it more interesting.


    It could be said that the spear is an extension of my own powers, as it is already connected to me through the Grimoire¡­ Although I don''t know if I could be able to use its powers without wielding it, I am not someone that is so bad at fighting with one to end up losing my own weapon¡­


    ¡­Although I better not say another word in that regard, life always has surprises.


    .


    .


    .


    It has been three days since the "hunt" I did against the Demons, and I''ve been spending these days training my own Skills, Spells, and also Techniques, while also beginning to slowly teach my new disciples, Chris, and Eric, all about Qi. Well, to a small extent without making it suspicious¡­ If I show to them that I know too much, it will seem a bit weird to them.


    Aside from that, I have not gone to hunt in the Second Layer yet. Why is that? Well, because of the difficulty of the battle. Although I have indeed grown stronger after leveling up, and now I even got a strong weapon with me, it still not a feasible thing to risk my life as much as I did that night every single night.


    It is simply not feasible; I require some days to rest and settle down before I attempt anything risky. If I don''t, I will feel like I am trying to kill myself, wasting away my life like I once did in my previous life.<sub> </sub>


    That''s not something I want to do.


    For now, I have been practicing weapon techniques using my spear, but I don''t seem to be able to learn a "Spear Technique" Skill no matter how hard I try. Perhaps I would need to get a "Job ss" before even thinking about getting specific weapon technique skills¡­


    Nheless, Skills are meaningless other than by enhancing my ability to use certain abilities or do certain things, I can still very much use Spear Techniques even if the Grimoire doesn''t give me a Skill regarding that. I don''t need this power that Lucifer has given to me to grow stronger.


    Even if it took a long time for me to level up, I had already been growing stronger on my own ways all this time, and I n to do the same as I continue growing up as a child.


    I don''t like being dependent on such a power. My own power is still the best one and the one I can always trust the most. I''ve been using these days to cultivate my physique. The special ability I had engraved into my body using the Blood Qi I had gathered from the demon''s blood.


    As the physique is refined, my physical stats naturally grow higher, although very slowly at that, I need immense quantities of Blood Qi to even make a big difference, but gaining strength over time is fine by me, I am a patient man.


    I suppose one of the useful things about this Grimoire is that I can see my progress through numerical values, which makes it slightly more clear to me. Nheless it is not like I cannot tell when my muscles and bones grow stronger, or my skin bes tougher.


    The Vampiric Blood Emperor Physique is a special Physique I had created using the knowledge of thousands of years I had umted through my previous life. It contained the best aspects of every physique I''ve ever have, and holds incredible potential, as it grows stronger through the refinement of Blood Qi in my body, it might unlock special superhuman capabilities within me.


    As of now, slightly increased physical strength, heightened senses, and the ability to jump higher are already included and permanently added into my repertoire of capabilities.


    But there are more ways I could use Blood Qi¡­ Such as the Vampiric Blood Emperor Techniques, the strongest techniques I know which I have refined in my previous life to the level they could fight against Lucifer himself¡­ but they cost Blood Qi, and Blood Qi is used to enhance my physique¡­ therefore, I cannot give myself the luxury of wasting this precious Qi in techniques to fight, when the others work just fine.


    For the moment, that is.


    And as of now, the three kids that I''ve known in this life since I was a year old, were sitting around me, for yet another lesson of how to fight using martial arts.


    -----

 Chapter 78 Children With Great Potential

    -----


    The demon corpses I had acquired were sold already in the market, I had gone by my own to sell them, and got a few gold coins out of them. Demon corpses are way more expensive than normal wild beasts for the fact that they possess greater levels of energy, rich energy that can be used for advanced alchemy or¡­ well, eating.


    Indeed, eating demon meat doesn''t actually give any bad side effects to the people of this world. for some reason, and it is said that it can even strengthen people''s bodies and physiques, so a filet from Imp meat is quite expensive and only sold in big restaurants, there are only two of such restaurants in the entire vige.


    I had saved some for myself and decided to try it out, eating it, but I didn''t got any power from it. Perhaps special methods are required to be used, such as a Spirit and a Talent for Cooking¡­ but I don''t have such things for now.


    Nheless, it has been two days since I sold those things, and a total of three days since the Imp Hunt, thanks to the healing I got from leveling up, which will remain up to Level 10, I was able to quickly recover the wound in my hand, which even had some bones broken.


    Nheless, an ugly scar remained there, which I''ve been masking by using some Illusion Magic of Tier 1 over it. I am using Life Magic of Tier 1 to slowly heal the scar so it disappears, but it might take some time.


    Nheless, today was another day I nned to spend growing stronger through non-hunting methods that can risk my life, mostly through the constant practice of Skills, Spells, and Techniques. Endlessly repeating something will slowly increase its power, or so is how I understand how the power progression of this world works. And well, it had always worked like this even outside of it.


    Manipting mana inrge quantities and making it flow through my body will slowly enhance its maximum value and also make me regain my control over this essence of creation, making the Qi flow through my Qi Veins and my Qi Core will also make it increase slowly in maximum capacity, and then there is Aether, a more tricky to use essence which I mostly practice its usage with Eleanora in my dreams, inside of the Landscape that I can ess through sleeping inside of my Spirit Orb.


    It is quite dull, but what makes it fun is the people around me and the world I am living in. Slowly learning more about one another is something that I value, and learning more about my friends is something that I see as precious, slowly learning what they''re capable of, their true powers, and how to slowly make them progress is something I take joy in doing.


    Perhaps because in my previous life I never truly took disciples, despite having been given the opportunity countless of times¡­ I wanted to amend for those past decisions and do them now. As I regret many things, one of such regrets is never leaving an apprentice in my previous life that could carry on the legacy of my abilities and techniques.


    Although I don''t n on dying any time soon now, it is important to me to teach my friends how to fight. In this crude world where monsters and demons roam everywhere, making them stronger is a priority I must do in haste. I cannot ck off in this regard.


    And it is not like they will be the only ones benefiting from it, having these three confidents is very important, I need strong people at my side that can keep my secrets, and which I can use all my capabilities freely without worrying about them seeing them and growing suspicious because of it.


    Always changing party members is not my style, and I prefer locking myself with these three than finding a whole new group, although new additions are also weed if there is any possibility in the future.


    Based in the fights against the Demons, it can already be assumed that even with all the power I have now, it is hard to survive on my own¡­ if I had powerful allies at each side, it would had been less likely for me to be damaged to the extent that one of my hands broke¡­<sub> </sub>


    Although I don''t want them to risk their lives pointlessly, this is why it is important to make them grow stronger first, not as strong as I am, that would be too hard and might take a long time, but strong enough that they, together, can stand a chance against an Imp at the very least.


    We are all children after all, I cannot expect them to destroy dragons in a few days of training, but I can expect that as time goes on if we start training from a young age.


    "ke, you''re going out with your friends again? Don''t wander too far away from home, alright?" asked my mother, as I was packing things up inside my bag, she had made a few sandwiches and other dishes to eat as lunch with my friends.


    "Don''t worry mother, I will be back in a few hours to have lunch with you and the rest." I said.


    "Okay dear¡­ You''ve grown so much¡­ I miss when you depended more on us¡­" she sighed.


    "I am just trying to fill the void left by my father who is bedridden, don''t worry, I won''t go ahead of myself." I said.


    "Okay¡­ Take care then." She said, as she kissed my forehead and let me go.


    My three friends greeted me as I walked outside my house.


    "ke! Did you bring snacks?" asked Erika.


    "Let''s spar today! I feel like I could show you some more of my fire!" said Chris.


    "Hello ke¡­ Ugh, Chris! Stop being so bold, you''re challenging ke every day now!" sighed Eric.


    They were not perfect¡­ But they were good kids. I am going to train them and make them grow into the strongest men alive.


    -----

 Chapter 79 Qi Manipulation Lessons

    -----


    The sky was clear today, and the sun was shining brightly as well, the beautiful grass below our boots was waving by the gentle breeze of the morning.


    The three kids were all sitting cross-legged in the floor in front of me.


    Chris, the ck-haired boy, is rather stubborn and yful, and a bit childish at times, but he is very strong-willed as well. His talent is me Wizard, and his Spirit is the interesting Nine-Tailed Fire Fox. He has a talent over mes that easily surpasses all of us. My Tier 1 Fire Attribute Magic Spells cannotpare to the mes he can naturally conjure by merely thinking about them.


    Eric, the blonde boy, he is actually rather chicken-hearted, and always worried about every little thing, but I can say that he''s simply concerned about us because he cares about his friends. He has the Talent of Druid, and his Spirit is the Crimson-Blood Rose Vine. He has an ability over manipting Nature, and also Life Magic, which can be used for healing. However, Druids also seem to be able to offer buffs to their allies.


    Andstly, Erika, the pink-haired girl, she has quite the long backstory, and is actually a doll without a living body, and could be considered something closer to an Undead. She is a gentle-hearted and lovely girl; she is always trying to make her friends happy and forgave Chris and Eric despite how badly they treated her before.


    Her Talent is the mysterious Princess Talent, while her Spirit is an even more mysterious one named Royal Doll House. We are still developing her abilities, but she had learned basic martial arts such as kicking and giving strong punches, while also being able to evade blows and predict enemy movements.


    Despite not having Qi, she can use her Aether and Mana to enhance her unliving body and give stronger blows, I believe there could be ways to use Nature Magic to enhance her wooden doll body, or even make it "alive" once more, but that would be left forter, when I can get the resources and the magic I need. Of course, this would be a temporary enhancement, as the real end goal is giving her a true flesh body once more.


    "For now you three have been growing rather strong, I can tell that you''ve learned a few techniques, especially Erika, who started training with me way back. You two will have a hard time catching up with her, but you can use the Qi energy I''ve unlocked from your body some time ago." I said.


    "Qi¡­ ke, do you think it can go together with my fire?" asked Chris.


    "Yes, there is the iteration of Fire Qi, which can enhance your fire-attribute magic and even your techniques¡­ Hm, I think you should already be able to use it,e here, Chris. I will help you refine Fire Qi, as you''re a natural me Wizard, you can use your own fire to refine the Qi." I said.


    Chris was a hardy boy; I know he can take a bit of pain and exhaustion that refining Qi for the first time causes to the body and mind. His father was a muscr man that got hit hard in a leg, so he''s in a simr situation like my father. I suspect that Chris might one day grow as big as his father, which means that he would have a great body for martial arts.


    Concentrating in pure magic even if he has the Talent of a me Wizard would be aplete waste of potential. Fusing Martial Arts with Magic and the Spirits of this world can cause great enhancements to the fighting potential of everyone after all, I am the living proof of that.


    "You''re for real?" asked Chris


    "Yeah, yeah, I was nning on also helping Eric refine Nature or Life Qi, either of the two should have high affinity with his Talent and Spirit." I said.


    "Ooh! I wonder if I could heal better with that¡­" said Eric.


    "You would certainly be able to enhance your own vitality and regeneration, Qi is often used for your own body than to create external phenomena, that''s where Manaes into ce, but by fusing both, well, greater things can be achieved." I said.<sub> </sub>


    "Wow¡­ I wish I could have Qi¡­" sighed Erika.


    "Don''t worry, you got an insane amount of Aether, your soul is very strong, Erika, we can work with that, and you might even be able to use an Aura soon, something way more advanced than the boys can do." I said.


    "Ooooh! Hehehe, I am going to surpass you two even more now!" said Erika rather adorably.


    The two boys felt a bit dispirited by having her surpass them even more now than before, but they also smiled at her. They seemed happy to see her as energetic and cute as she had always been.


    Chris quickly stood at my side as he summoned a beautiful and small nine-tailed white fox with many orange and red markings over its body, which was able to float around.


    "Foo!" it said.


    "Now, gather your Qi as I''ve taught you in the palm of your hands, all while asking your spirit to conjure fire-attribute mana and make it flow into your hand as well, both Qi and Mana will meet, and the refinement process will begin automatically¡­" I said.


    "Okay¡­" said Chris.


    He closed his eyes as the wondrously golden energy known as Qi began to flow across his body at a rapid pace, while his spirit began to generate fire-attribute mana, which also flowed rapidly across his body.


    The two energies quickly met with one another, suddenly generating a bright orange-red light.


    FLASH!


    "Ugh¡­! I-It burns! Uagh!"


    Chris began to groan in pain, it really is quite painful at the beginning.


    "Now, to refine it, use your Intent and force both energies to maintain abination with one another, the pain is clear, but you have to bear it. There is no path to power where you won''t shed tears, blood, and sweat, Chris, remember this." I said.


    -----

 Chapter 80 Sparring

    -----


    FLASH!


    The Qi and Fire-Attribute Mana merged together, Chris groaned a lot, but he was pretty good at bearing pain. He gritted his teeth and continued refining the essence, after a few seconds, he was able to do it. The Qi flowing out of him suddenly changed, turning from gold to fiery red.


    This fiery red Qi was Fire Qi, and it flowed with a strong heat and a fierceness that only the fire element has. After this, I guided Chris to make this Fire Qi flow through his entire body, it was painful to him, as if he was burning from the inside out, most practitioners of Fire Arts always had to go through this initial burning pain sensation.


    However, after some time, he got used to it and ultimately, the mes became more and more warm andfortable instead of being painful.


    When he finished, he was left exhausted, however, he had converted most of his Qi into Fire Qi, but that also used his Mana and Qi¡­ the Fire Qi was stored sessfully within his Qi Core, and his conventional Qi was slowly regenerating.


    At least, unlike me, the kids don''t have the curse of making their energies regenerate half as fast, so he''ll recover his Qi rather quickly.


    "Phew¡­ Ugh¡­ I am so tired¡­" sighed Chris, resting on the grass and sighing. His ck hair was all messy and his spirit was also tired, resting over his chest.


    "Good work, you''ve done it. Now practice this at home whenever you got the time to umte more Fire Qi, I will teach you ways to use it in the future." I said


    "Hahah¡­ Thanks¡­" sighed Chris.


    "Chris, are you okay?" asked Eric worriedly.


    "He''s exhausted¡­" said Erika.


    "Now''s your turn, Eric¡­" I said.


    Eric looked at me with fear as I touched his shoulder. He seemed to think I was some sort of specter or something, because he grew rather pale. Probably imagining that he would go through the same pain as Chris did made him have a bit of fear.


    "Fear not, Nature and Life Qi refinement is way less painful," I said.


    "R-Really?" he asked.


    "Yes¡­ Now let''s do it." I said.


    The same process was done with Eric, his spirit helped at making Nature and Life Attribute Mana while he refined both elements and his Qi.


    He had an innately lower amount of Qi than Chris though. Mostly because Qi is based in your body type and Ericpared to Chris is way skinnier and smaller, the blonde boy is made to be a spell caster more than anything, and he has the brains to think about strategies even in the middle of battle while Chris is more of a muscle brain.


    Nheless, not learning how to use martial arts and Qi would be a total waste, so I still forced him to learn as much as possible-


    "Uaagh! It hurts! ke, you lied to meeeee¡­!"


    The almost six-year-old boy began to cry a bit as he was feeling as if several thorny vines began to pierce through the inside of his body. Well, this was how it was. Depending in how the nature of your Qi was, sometimes it would hurt more than other times.


    "I am sure it doesn''t hurt, grow some backbone and bear with it!" I said.


    "Uuuggh¡­" cried Eric, as he gritted his teeth and continued refining the Qi, until it was finally done.


    At the end, he refined a double element Qi, Nature and Life Qi, both elements are very closely rted with one another to the point even a child with the affinity for the elements should be able to refine the double-element Qi.


    I could refine it too, but there''s no point when I''ve alreadypromised with my current Physique that requires Blood Qi, my specialization. But having my other two friends have other elemental Qi will widen the range of abilities we can use as a team.


    "Hahaha! You''re a crybaby!" said Chris.


    "You also cried like a girl before!" said Eric.<sub> </sub>


    "I-I didn''t!" said Chris.


    The two kids who were always close friends began to fight against one another childishly.


    "Are you implying girls cry? I am not a crybaby¡­!" said Erika, she got into the fight out of nowhere, she probably dislikes when people associate being weak to girls.


    "Sometimes, I have a hard time believing these children are our new recruits¡­" sighed Eleanora through telepathy.


    "Well? It is better than not having anything¡­" I said.


    "That''s¡­ true," she sighed.


    "They also remind me of her¡­ a bit. I want to do what I couldn''t do to help her back then and make these kids into strong people," I said to her through telepathy.


    "And as your loyal servant and friend, I shall help you do so as well," she said.


    "Ahem! Now that things are done for. We should really begin some practice. Alright! Who wants to fight me?" I asked.


    "Me! Me!!!" said Chris.


    "I want to! I''ll show you my moves!" said Erika.


    "I-I would prefer to practice my magic¡­" said Eric.


    "Hm, Eric,e first then! You''re the one with the least desire to fight, so I have to be extra rough with you so you grow a backbone quickly." I said.


    "Eeeh?! I-I said I didn''t wanted to!" cried Eric.


    The blonde boy seemed a bit scared, he knew I was quite rough around the edges sometimes.


    ? SLAM!


    "Uagh!"


    Chris patted very strongly the back of Eric, almost making him trip over the ground.


    "What was that for?!" he asked.


    "Eric, go for it! Show me what you got!" said Chris while giving him a thumbs up.


    "T-This is¡­ Ahh¡­ My uncle and my auntie are going to get mad with me if Ie back home with bruises¡­" said Eric.


    "Don''t worry about that, ke never truly damages you." Said Eleanora.


    "What? How?" asked Eric.


    "It is a pretty cool and shy technique he has! Flowing Fist¡­ Technique? Or something!" said Erika.


    "I-I see¡­ Well¡­ Alright, fine¡­" sighed Eric.


    "Good!" I said.


    -----

 Chapter 81 Erics Growth

    -----


    "Eric! Come to me with everything you''ve got to offer offensively." I said.


    I had decided to start the training with the fearful boy. I dislike pushovers but I do like Eric''s attitude and nature, he is a good boy, he just needs to grow a backbone and he''ll be more admirable.


    So for that reason I am willing to sacrifice my own time and effort and make him grow one at the expense of excruciating pain!


    Yes, I am going to make him suffer a bit. Don''t worry, he won''t actually suffer any actual damage.


    These are the specialties of the Flowing Fist Technique that the stinky and old goblin once taught to me and Eleanora. Sadly, she cannot properly use these techniques due to herck of Qi, but perhapster on I can figure a way to transfer my Qi to her ethereal spirit body.


    The Flowing Fist Technique is a Martial Art that deals damage to the nerves of a foe and can directly damage their Qi Veins and Qi Core, alongside their Pressure Points. But if done correctly it can also only deal superficial pain and not actually deal damage at all, this is the technique''s specialty, to cause pain but not deal damage.


    It was made for sadistic people like that detestable goblin.


    But they also are good at "massaging" the Qi Core and Qi Veins forcefully, which in fact enhances Qi regeneration and flow. In a way, the more you''re hit with these when they don''t cause any damage, the faster your Qi can grow.


    "Soe here and fight me." I said.


    "Sigh¡­ Okay¡­" sighed Eric.


    He stood in front of me as his Spirit was one more summoner. It was a beautiful mass of thorny dark green vines covered in bloody red roses, it seemed to not be so big, but it can spread its vines around and do a lot of interesting ystyles.


    But it is all up to Eric''s own ability to fight and if he can truly utilize the vines to their full potential. Aside from fighting, they''re able to conjure healing magic spells, so his family specializes into body treatment, well, a bit, his uncle was also a hunter and got damaged and his healing couldn''t heal such profound wounds, his auntie wasn''t able to do anything regarding that.


    Their healing is of the low-grade, and often deals with superficial damage or the healing of the body through therapies such as massages and more. They also make low-grade potions using herbs and their magic, which is the major source of ie. They''re not certainly rich or anything, but they got a way better living conditions than the rest of us.


    Nheless, their healing is not as good as mine, apparently, as I was the one that was capable of healing everyone, Eric''s auntie assisted me, I do remember a bit of that.


    "Come. I will let you strike me first." I said.


    "Okay¡­!" said Eric.


    Eric quickly ran towards me through the usage of Qi. Enhancing his legs using Life Qi augmented his physical capabilities, and through the Metabolism Enhancement Spell, the Life Attribute Spell I have taught to him, his physical abilities were enhanced enough that he looked like a bullet rushing towards me.


    How cute.


    CLASH!


    His hand tried to impact me with force, forming a palm, he attempted to push me back by striking my chest. I felt the impact but¡­ sadly, my body was already very strong.


    "Eh?"


    He wondered why I wasn''t even budging by his attack.


    "Hm? Have you attacked yet?" I asked.


    "W-What¡­ Your body is as hard as a log¡­!" he cried.<sub> </sub>


    "Then I''ll go." I said.


    "Wait!" he cried, as I moved swiftly towards him.


    I raised my leg and kicked his stomach with a simple attack without using any technique other than the sheer strength of my body.


    CLASH!


    "Ugh¡­!"


    Eric felt like the air of his lungs quickly flew out of his mouth for a moment, but instead of being blown around the air like usual, his hands were tightly grasping my leg.


    "I got you¡­! Vine Thorns!"


    FLASH!


    Suddenly, his spirit stretched its thorny vines all around my leg, tightly wrapping it with its sharp thorns, it would probably pierce my skin if he was going more serious.


    "Oho?" I asked in surprise, as Eric attempted to grab my leg and throw me around.


    But that wasn''t going to work.


    I stood firm in a single leg and then jumped, pushing my entire weight over his entire body, as he had my other leg tightly wrapped using his spirit, it was an easy task to push him down by jumping and then putting the weight of my body in the leg he was grabbing.


    This is a ss amateur mistake, they always think they can trap you by grabbing your legs, but you can simply use this against them.


    "Agh!"


    BUMP!


    He fell over the floor as he looked at me with a bit of a tired expression.


    "You didn''t evensted a minute, but I liked your strategy. Sadly, it is easy to counter." I said.


    "Hahh¡­ Okay, you win¡­" he sighed.


    "Let''s fight once more, I want to see you throw more fists. Have you tried using your legs? How about youbine them with your vines? Come on, Eric, stand up!" I said.


    "B-But first get your leg out of me¡­" he cried.


    "Oh¡­ My bad. I often get too immersed in fighting¡­" I apologized.


    I forced Eric to stand up and fight again after I covered him in a few healing spells, he put himself in a new stance and began throwing fists, kicks, and other attacks he had been thinking about, using his vines like ropes to entrap enemies is also useful, and if he can use them to make his foes trip that also works, he tried doing thisst strategy a couple of times, but I was able to easily predict them and evade.


    The boy was growing stronger, and the more I made him fight, the hardier he grew and the sturdier his body would be as well, he was overflowing with great potential.


    -----

 Chapter 82 Chris Blazing Magic

    -----


    After fighting with Eric, he was too tired to continue anymore even if I healed him, so he quickly went to rest while Erikaforted him by petting his blonde hair as he rested over the grass fields.


    Chris was the other kid most eager to fight against me, so I quickly decided to get into a fighting stance against him because he was way fiercerpared to Eric, his fighting style could be said topletely insane, a berserk, in fact.


    I had already healed him with my magic, and his Mana and Qi recovered a bit more thanks to him not being cursed like I am, so his internal energies recover way faster, in fact, twice as fast as me because my regeneration is halved thanks to the curse.


    "Chris, are you ready? I won''t go easy on you anymore; you''ve shown some serious growth now." I said.


    "Okay¡­ Me neither, ke! I''ll show you that I can also be someone reliable!" said Chris.


    He was obsessed with being a reliable man, probably because of his own father. What happened to him really left an emotional impact on the young ck-haired boy. He looked for a way to be strong and reliable like his muscr father, so he wanted to grow stronger for that.


    Chris probably sees me as his rival in some sort of way, although I cannot really take a child seriously, I can at least ept his desire and motivations to grow stronger and guide him towards the path he desires. His emotions are noble.


    Chris'' spirit was summoned at his side, as it suddenly grewrger, up to the size of an adult dog or so, it had arge aura of mes, and it seemed like a very strong spirit even at the level Chris was.


    I saw that his newly acquired Fire Qi already began to be used, covering his body with a zing aura, Chris seemed to have increased the amount of pressure that his own presence emanated in a split of a second.


    Although he was still a small and still cute six-year-old kid, so I cannot really take such a young child seriously¡­ Nheless, he was very serious about it, and the young boy quickly rushed towards me while covering himself with mes.


    CLAAASH!


    His fist was the first thing that shed against my arms, as I decided to give him a heel sweep and throw him into the ground.


    "Hah!"


    However, he saw through my actions, probably because I was getting rather predictable by the amount of times I do this with the kids, as he jumped and evaded my heel sweep, using this opportunity to generate a fireball and shoot it at my face with the aid of his spirit.


    FLASH!


    "Hmph! Not bad!"


    CLASH!


    I covered my arms with my Qi and easily hit the fireball with them, dissipating the mes with ease, only for a smoke wall to cover my vision.


    Oh, interesting, was this part of his n?


    I sensed the presence of Chris lurking behind me as he tried to kick me in the back, I caught his leg but he suddenly twisted his entire body around, throwing me down.


    BUMP!


    "Hah!"


    Chris celebrated as he was about to attack me with a punch in the face, but I blocked it with my fist and then, jumped from the ground by infusing mana into my back and releasing it through the usage of the Tier 1 Wind-Attribute Spell ''Gust''.


    POOF!


    "Woah!"


    Chris lost his bnce as he saw me getting up in a second, he pointed his fingers at me and unleashed a rain of fire fireballs towards me, which I evaded or intercepted with my bare hands covered in Qi, although one of them managed to sneak, a six one, which hit my belly and forced me to step back a few centimeters.


    Impressive, he has really improved.<sub> </sub>


    However, I wasn''t going to lose to my disciple so easily either!


    FLASH!


    "Huh?!"


    Suddenly, Eleanora emerged behind Chris, as she had used Shadow Sneak to sneak behind his back''s shadow, and used her blood threads to wrap them around his legs and pushed him down.


    "Uwah! W-Wait, that''s unfair!" he said.


    "Unfair? You''ve been using your spirit all the time, isn''t it fair I use mine too?" I said with a smirk, as I quickly was about to attack Chris, but he stood up and burned the threads, asking his spirit to deal with Eleanora while he intercepted me with his arms covered in fire.


    "Hahh!" he roared, as I shed against him with a powerful kick.


    CLASH! CLASH!


    "Uagh¡­!"


    My kicks were way stronger than he could handle them, the impact felt through all his bones, he was hardy but not enough to take me head on.


    I jumped over by propelling myself using the Gust Spell once more, and then gathered darkness around my hands and conjured the Shadow Attribute Spell ''Shadow Bullet'', firing it repeatedly against him.


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!


    "Uuaggh¡­!"


    He tried to unleash fireballs against me, but my magic attacks were more precise and stronger, the bullets hit his body strongly, throwing him down.


    I quickly reached him and gave him a gentle karate chop in the head.


    SMACK!


    "Ouch!" he cried.


    "I win." I said.


    I looked at Eleanora, who had also defeated his spirit fairly easily, by wrapping it around her Blood Threads and inhibiting its movements.


    "A-Amazing¡­ I really can''tpare with you yet¡­" he said.


    "No, you''ve grown very strong already, I was surprised a few times¡­ You simply need to learn more techniques and you''ll be able to easily be even stronger." I said, as I gave him my hand and he stood up.


    "Thank you, ke¡­ It really means a lot that you can help me grow stronger¡­ Y-You''re really a good friend!" he said, as he suddenly hugged me.


    "Don''t worry about it." I said with a mild smile.


    "H-Hey! Why are you hugging ke?" asked Erika while pouting jealously.


    "That''s what good friends do!" said Chris.


    The two kids ended discussing over who could hug me¡­


    -----

 Chapter 83 Erikas Turn

    -----


    Chris and Eric were sitting next to one another while resting, they had been exhaustedpletely after the fight and they were drinking some fruit juice I had shared with them that my mother had made, it was refreshing and cold when I used the Ice Attribute Spell ''Cooling'', that could make drinks colder, which are way more refreshing with this heat.


    "Wow, that was amazing, Chris, you''ve really improved a lot¡­" said Eric.


    "Y-You think so? Heheh¡­ Well, you were not half bad either, Eric. Tough you''re still a bit too rough around the edges, maybe you need to practice a bit with me." Said Chris with a cheeky smirk.


    Eric grew a bit paler about the prospects of fighting with the brute of Chris.


    "N-No thanks, also your fire is super effective against my vines, they would be defeated way too fast! I prefer ke¡­" said Eric.


    "Eeeeh? You''re no fun, Eric! Come on, I''ll go easy on you because we are friends!" said Chris with an even more malicious smirk.


    "I cannot trust you when you''re smiling like a maniac!" said Eric.


    "Hahah! Come on! I''ll beat you good, so you grow a backbone like ke says!" said Chris. He began to tickle Eric''s belly yfully.


    "S-Stop! Don''t tickle me!" said Eric.


    While the two kids yed around, Erika approached me.


    "ke, my turn now! Let''s fight!" she said.


    "Fight? Ah¡­ you want to fight as well? I didn''t nned today to end up bing a fighting tournament¡­" I sighed.


    "Eeeeh? But you asked who wanted to fight! And you always say that to grow stronger we have to spar a lot and see each other''s strengths and weaknesses!" said Erika, reciting my own words.


    Truth be told, I was tired. After I had fought the two kids, I really didn''t felt like fighting a third time, even less with the fierce Erika, who had grown even stronger now that she realized that her special body is spectacr for fighting closely ranged thanks to being as tough as metal¡­


    Her body is obviously tougher than mine, it feels as if she had alreadye with a max-leveled low-grade physique from the get-go, so her body strength and defense are clearly high.


    Add that to her insane amount of Aether which she had already learned to infuse into her body, and then her own Mana and the tricky Spirit she has, and she bes a threat that even I must recognize.


    Sigh¡­ However, I cannot easily tell her "no" after I ended making her want to fight, despite being ady, she had grown more and more obsessed with fighting, something that I don''t regret doing but that I feel bad of having enforced into her¡­ Her father, who wishes her to be a respectabledy, might not like how much she likes to fight now.


    Despite that, Erika is still rather smallpared to the other kids, but her bodyposition, as I said earlier, is very strong.


    "Okay¡­ Let''s fight, but let''s not overextend it for too long. Also, try to use the Aura I''ve taught you to use, so I can see your progress. I assume you''ve been practicing it, right?" I asked.


    "Yeah! Every day I got the time!" she said.


    "Okay then, let''s do it." I said.<sub> </sub>


    Erika quickly walked to the other side of the vast grasnd, as I looked at her eyes, she was looking at me as well, rather intensively at that. I couldn''t tell what she was thinking half the time, sometimes she would seem rather childish and like any other kid her age, and other times, she would end up acting overly mature for the age she seems to give away.


    Well, the truth is, Erika is way older due to the age of her soul, she had died several years ago after all, and was then revived into this doll body after her father did a lot of research¡­ so she is technically way older than five years old.


    But now, this is not the time to think these things, Erika was in front of me, ready to fight and put all her soul into it, she really wanted to grow stronger, and I respected such a will. Not many people would be so motivated as she is, even less if they had gone through what she had experienced, and even less if they knew they were a doll body¡­


    "I aming!" she said.


    FLASH!


    In an instant, the battle began, Erika enhanced her legs with her Aether and her Mana, and rushed towards me while unleashing her Aura at longst.


    It had the color of pink and purple, and seemed almost illusory and dreamy, something I had not seen before since my previous life¡­ I see, so she has such elements?


    The color of an Aura often shows the elements that a person has the most affinity and is the most proficient with, for example, if you''re good with fire, your Aura will be red if you''re good with water or ice, your Aura will be blue and azure, and so on¡­


    And these elements, purple and pink, they''re most likely¡­ Illusion, Dreams, and Nightmares. These are her main magical elements, which she had yet to even utilize.


    CLASH!


    Erika shed against me with her legs. Unlike the legs of Chris or Eric, her legs were incredibly hard, to the point they felt like a log falling over my arms.


    CLASH! CLASH!


    I tried to defend against her kicks, but they were so strong I was pushed back. I had to go into the offensive if I wanted to stand a chance against her onught of kicks.


    "Flowing Fist Technique: Star Shower."


    FLAAASH!


    My fists were suddenly covered by my own Aura of blood, while I also mixed it with my Qi, I moved my hands incredibly fast, like a shower of stars falling over Erika in an instant.


    CLASH! CLASH! CLASH! CLASH!


    "U-Uwaaah¡­!"


    Erika was surprised over my sudden attack, but she quickly regained herposure and counterattacked!


    -----

 Chapter 84 Insane Battle Junkie

    -----


    Flowing Fist Technique has a ring weakness against Erika, this is because shecks Pressure Points and Qi Veins to attack, so the blows I give to her doesn''t impact her as much¡­ unless I try to actually harm her body.


    And that''s what I was doing now because I couldn''t simply let her have her away against me. Of course, these blows were not too strong so they would end up destroying or cracking her body, as it was very hard, but the impact would cause a great deal of pain to her because her creation is so detailed, she can also feel pain when her body is hit.


    This is probably a way for her father to make her body even more realistic in a way, also, if she feels pain, she won''t be as reckless, so her body won''t end up breaking.


    This is why I have to use my Star Shower Technique, which directly uses my own Aura to fight.


    And oh, Aura? well, I had already re-awakened it some time ago, after all, every night I practice and train the usage of Aether with Eleanora, which is the base to create an Aura, an all-epassing enhancing power that can enhance the physical body and make the blows of martial arts be able to reach farther and generate a more impactful attack.


    Aura has endless branching as well as you learn how to use it, things such as Aura Guardians are a thing, materializations of your own Aura that can take the shape of a guardian that can fight for you above your body, or even Aura Weapons, materialization of your Aura but made into weapons.


    But none of those can be achieved as of now. For the moment, simply using these techniques is enough to push her back.


    ? For a few seconds, that''s it.


    Erika went all out this time around, as she quickly regained herposure while she was catching my fists with her arms and hands, and sometimes even managing to evade them.


    Seriously, this girl is powerful.


    CLAAASH!


    "Wow! You''re so strong, ke!" she said, with a cute and innocent smile, which only made the fight even more eerie based in how strong she was¡­


    She reached up to me as she began to spin around, using the ''Dancing'' Skill within her [Princess] Talent, shebined it with her Martial Arts and began to spin around while shing against me with her powerful kicks.


    CLASH! CLASH! CLASH! CLASH!


    This was one of her deadliest attacks, thebination of her spinning increasing her momentum and then her graceful movements while dancing, add it up with the powerful kicking martial arts, boosted through Aether, Mana, and her new Aura¡­


    It was overwhelming.


    CLAAAASH!


    "Ungh¡­!"


    I was pushed down with ease, and I couldn''t easily handle her with Martial Arts alone, if I got too hard on her, I might end up breaking her parts and that''s not something I want to do, but if I go too easy on her, I end up dealing no damage to her and she can continue attacking me instead.


    So, I have to use Magic.


    I touched the ground as I suddenly conjured Earth-Attribute Magic.


    "Rock Wall!"


    TRUUUUMMM¡­!


    "UWAH?!"


    Erika was surprised as I erected a wall of stone before her, her kicks were easily blocked by the extra thick rock wall, as she lost bnce and ended shing over the hard wall rather strongly.


    I quickly rushed around the wall and conjured the Shadow Attribute Spell "Shadow Spear" and pointed it at her.


    "Shadow Spear!"


    "Eh?!"


    FLAAAAASH!


    The shadow spear reached her in an instant, shing over her and exploding into ck smoke.


    BOOOM!<sub> </sub>


    "Hahh¡­ I used a lot of Mana into that one¡­" I said, while gasping for air.


    I looked at her once more as the ck smoke dissipated, but Erika jumped out of the ck smoke before I could even see her well, and shed against me with a powerful punch in my chest.


    BOOM!


    "Ugah¡­!"


    I suddenly felt as if my lungs were emptied of their air, and I was thrown away at least three meters¡­


    CLASH!


    "Phew¡­ That really surprised me now!" said Erika, as she saw me in the floor.


    I quickly stood up as I covered myself in shadows, Eleanora wasn''t here for a reason as well.


    "Erika, you''re surprising me a lot, you''ve really grown into a strong girl¡­ But you''re still missing a few things, let your friend teach you a few things." I said pridefully.


    I wasn''t going to let this young child beat me. I cannot let her get cocky!


    "Heheh! Let''s keep fighting then!" she said innocently, rushing towards me with her usual speed.


    FLAAASH!


    However!


    "Eh?!"


    Suddenly, Eleanora emerged behind her through her shadows, and used her Blood Threads to tie down her arms and legs, throwing her down into the ground.


    BOOM!


    "Uagh¡­! Oi! Eleanora! You always do this!" said Erika.


    "If so, you should had already seen iting." Said Eleanora.


    "Heheh¡­ I did!" said Erika.


    "What?!" asked Eleanora.


    Suddenly, Erika''s Dolls emerged all around her.


    Her powerful Spirit Royal Doll House, had been finally summoned.


    And this was why she was so fearfully strong.


    In simple terms, a Princess is the child of the governor of a Kingdom, a King.


    And therefore, they''re able to govern over an entire nation, and have their own armies as well.


    What does this means? Well, that Erika''s Dolls are like a whole mini-army and can work as their own independent team.


    Her Dolls are incredibly unique. In simple terms, each one of them is like their own little fighter, and they are assigned sses as well. There are Soldiers, Priests, Mages, Shielders, Warriors, and Archers, and she canmand them at will.


    Did I mention they can float around and are good at coordinating with one another?


    Eleanora saw as a dozen of small dolls were summoned around her, the Mages pointed their staffs at her and conjured fireballs, while the Priests healed Erika, the Shields, Warriors, and Soldiers attacked Eleanora''s legs, and the Archers fired arrows from a distance at her head.


    -----

 Chapter 85 Playing Nasty

    -----


    Eleanora saw as a dozen of small dolls were summoned around her, the Mages pointed their staffs at her and conjured fireballs, while the Priests healed Erika, the Shields, Warriors, and Soldiers attacked Eleanora''s legs, and the Archers fired arrows from a distance at her head.


    "Damn it!"


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!


    Eleanora had to forcefully retreat. The Dolls were not strong individually, in fact they are very weak by themselves, but when there is a dozen, all together working as a team¡­ well, that''s when they get dangerous.


    "Eheheheh¡­ Hehehe!"ughed Erika, reaching up to me.


    Sheughed innocently, but there was a certain innate malice to herughter. It felt as if I was fighting a final boss that was a possessed doll¡­ Ah, I don''t want to think that of her but she really gives such a vibe.


    CLASH!


    CLASH!


    CLASH!


    Her bare hands were enough to put a lot of damage into my arms, I felt as if some of my bones slightly cracked.


    This girl is really troublesome. I have to put her down, she''s going a bit too overboard now.


    I quickly utilized a few body-enhancement Spells such as Metabolism eleration into my body, and quickly decided to attack her.


    "Flowing Fist Technique: Palm of Destruction!"


    I intercepted her as she was dumbly attacking me while slowly losing her reasoning and hit her in her chest with a powerful palm attack.


    Palm of Destruction was a small and easy to use attack, in simple terms, it allowed me to easily unleash a damaging shockwave all over the body of someone.


    Even with your incredibly sturdy body, Erika, you''re still bound to feel some pain with this!


    CLAAASH!


    "Uaaagh¡­!"


    Erika was pushed away by the strong Palm of Destruction, as I managed to finally overpower her. But I wasn''t going to let her stand again, I was too tired to continue fighting, I had seen everything she had to offer for the moment.


    "Eleanora!" I said.


    I reached Eleanora and used my kicks and punches to destroy the dolls pestering her, as Eleanora rushed towards Erika and wrapped her around her Blood Threads, reinforcing them with her Aura and pushing her down into the ground.


    "Uwah¡­! Let me go, Eleanora! Don''t be like this¡­" cried Erika.


    "You''ve lost, Erika, give it up¡­ I am tired, we can y some more after we eat something." I said.


    "Oh¡­ Okay, you win then!" said Erika, as she used her enormous strength and just destroyed Eleanora''s Blood Threads with her arms and legs alone¡­


    CLASH!<sub> </sub>


    "T-This girl has really grown into something else¡­ I think you''vemitted a mistake by teaching her how to fight¡­ You''ve created a monster¡­" said Eleanora to me through telepathy.


    "But isn''t that better? So she can be strong enough to fend by herself and help in battles¡­" I said.


    "W-Well¡­ Yeah¡­" she said.


    ¡­


    After the fight with Erika, we decided to have a pic to rest from the training and spars, I had taken out the food my mother had given to me to share with my friends, aside from the cooled fruit juice, there were also sandwiches made with wolf meat (there is still a lot in stock, dried, that''s it) and cheese.


    Cheese is pretty expensive, even more the butter in some of the sandwiches, but thanks to all the favors I give to the people, they have given me small pieces of cheese, and sometimes a whole bar of butter, other times I get coins instead, which can also be used to buy better food.


    I''ve been singlehandedly maintaining the house using my First Aid Skill and my Savior Title Skill alongside my Healing Tier 1 Spells. It seems that I am already a popr healer for all the poor people, as I never ask for anything in exchange and people often pay me with whatever they got in hand.


    Sometimes they cannot pay me, but I don''t mind that much, as I got to use these Skills and gain more proficiency in them either way.


    Using First Aid in the kids healed them pretty easily inbination with some tier 1 healing spells, this skill is very useful, and I am rather thankful to have gotten it.


    Anyways, as we enjoyed the sandwiches and the fruit juice, the kids spoke about the fights.


    "Erika, you''re way too strong. Can we sparter?" asked Chris.


    "Sure! I can spar with you, Chris. It''s gonna be fun." Said Erika.


    I was worried. What if Chris'' mes end up burning Erika''s wooden body?


    Then again, perhaps her father had already thought about a method to make her wooden body resistant to mes.


    Nheless, it would be better if the fight didn''t urred all together, but I am afraid I would only awake suspiciousness if I tried to stop them.


    I decided to put a spell over Erika''s body without her realizing, which was named "Water Curtain", an invisible curtain of water covering her that decreased fire-attribute magic damage.


    It wasn''t much but it should work, and she didn''t realized it because she was fixated into devouring the sandwich in front of her.


    She is able to eat through special magical methods in her body, it appears that all the food she digests is turned into pure magical energy, I don''t even know if the concept of going to the bathroom is there for her¡­ nor I want to know.


    It is rather frightening the level of detail that her father had crafted her body with sometimes, so it is better to not delve too deep into the intricate processes inside of her doll body.


    "You two are really the battle junkies of the group¡­ Don''t break each other legs while fighting though¡­ Okay? I am already getting worried sick of all the crazy stuff Chris does." Sighed Eric.


    "Okay, don''t worry, Eric, I''ll go easy on him!"ughed Erika.


    "Hm, I wonder how true is that statement¡­" I said.


    Erika was getting more and more crazy with her fighting methods; I was growing worried about this¡­ but there isn''t much I can do over it other than guiding her.


    -----

 Chapter 86 The Dukes Orders

    -----


    p It has been a week since the spar with the three kids, and we had been working together to grow stronger. We have not gone to hunt yet, however, as I wanted them to train before anything, and its not like there is any living being in the First Layer by now, you could call it a pic area by now¡­ the Demons are really hungry, huh.</anda>


    I do n in going there once more, the knowledge about the demons being in the forest is already spread around the entire vige and probably the duchy, so there was no point in telling them I encountered some Imps on my way to the Second Layer.


    I''ve been already preparing myself to create an internal Magic Circle inside of my Soul as of now, gathering the magic knowledge and the practice and patience to do it, I will mostly use all my Mana in the process as well, and if it goes badly, it might backfire and damage my soul.


    A Magic Circle is a special formation that all magic users make into their souls, it helps them conjure magic spells as it is like a permanent shortener of spells. By using the runes in the magic circle, you''re capable of shortening the conjuration of spells and make them faster, while also making them stronger.


    The Magic Circle can slowly grow stronger and offer a greater boost to the magic power and mana regeneration speed through gaining more runes into its body, which you have to slowly refine into it. After reaching a certain amount of Runes, the magic circle increases in a Tier, and after a ritual of refinement, it can increase to the next Tier and offer even greater bonuses.


    If it wasn''t clear enough, the people of this world clearly don''t know a thing about them, so I will be the first one to ever make Magic Circles, a miracle amongst miracles for the people in here who are too reliant in their Talents and Spirits, and well, the Spirit Orb Cultivation, which seems to be a thing, although not as advanced either.


    Talents are interesting, and I''ve discovered more things about them as I see my three friends develop. First of all, they''re not so different from what I can do with my own Grimoire, but without the Skill Points or Stat Points deal, unlike me who has the chance to use them as I please, their own Skill Points and Stat Points seem to always be automatically used to acquire new Skills or increase their stats ording to their Talent.


    So in a way, a Talent is no different than a Job ss¡­ some good Talents oftene with Skills right off the bat. But what are Skills whenpared to my own? Well, very much the same, they''re special non-magical abilities people can use inherently by using some Mana.


    Although they''re all Level 0, Chris, Eric, and Erika all have one Skill from their Talent.


    Chris has the Fireball Skill, which allows him to shoot fireballs without having to conjure them, and they''re naturally stronger too. Then there is Eric with his Nature''s Blessing Skill, which is like a better First Aid, but he needs healing magic to back it up, and he''s still getting better at that, and then there is Erika''s Dance Skill, which allows her to¡­ well, dance very well.


    Her skill seems like the most useless of the three but she had fused it with her Martial Arts and it became an amazingplementary Ability that allows her to move more gracefully, precisely, and amazingly in a fight¡­


    And well, as they Level Up or receive "Blessings" by killing living beings, people can gain more Skills, although this seems random, sometimes it happens and other times it doesn''t happen.


    My father had been working in the farms and I have been able to see his Talent as a Farmer through the Skills he had. Father had a total of four Farmer Skills, which seem to be all he got after maxing the Talent to max level, apparently¡­ I don''t know if there is even a max level, I am mostly assuming there is, but maybe he just needs bigger prey now.


    These four Skills are nt Empathy, Enhance Soil, Tireless Worker, and Gardener¡­ Yes, my fathercks any otherbat Skill, and the ability he has with the spear is purely based in what he had learned by himself. He told me that all these Skills worked in enhancing the farm, so it is way better than most other folk¡­ but that''s it.<sub> </sub>


    Nheless, I can already see a lot of talent in them, if my father could learn Qi and Magic Spells, he would definitely be able to use these Skills inpletely new ways. But for now, he''s mostly resting and sometimes attending the farm¡­


    I want him to recover so I can help him grow stronger, but for now I am just telling him to use the breathing technique to enhance his Qi.


    I had recently finished eating breakfast, and I was feeling rather ready to go train some more today, however, something unexpected had happened.


    "ke, there''s a big group of people outside, is there something happening?" asked my grandmother.


    "Is it?" I wondered.


    "These people¡­ Wait, they''re going to hunt?!" asked my mother.


    I rushed outside my house, as I saw all the surviving hunters grabbing spears, they were being led by a new pair of people I had not seen before, they came from the main duchy, and were¡­ not as poor-looking as us.


    "What is happening here? Why are they going to hunt now that the forest is infested with demons?" asked my mother.


    "The Duke had said that we need to hunt again¡­ It''s not like we can go against the Duke, we live on his territory¡­" said a hunter.


    "The Duke¡­ ordered people to go hunt for wild boar?" I asked.


    "Yeah¡­ I am also afraid, but we have to do it, even if we don''t have as many men now¡­" sighed another hunter.


    Hm¡­ this is certainly troublesome.


    I suppose I have to go as well.


    -----

 Chapter 87 Joining The Hunt

    -----


    Apparently, the Duke had ensued an order to the people of this town, he wanted more boar meat, and didn''t seemed to care about the hunters that got hurt in the attack of the red-skinned ogre that was spotted.


    Effectively, this is how I had expected people of aristocracy to behave. There are many factors that would give him a reason to not care.


    One of them is that he is in a higher stand of society while we all are serfs in here. A serf''s life is not even worth a silver coin. It would be unrealistic to believe that he would think of us as valuable people.


    I believe he doesn''t even have any pity of anything that has happened here, our problems are not his problems, but his problems are our problems.


    This is how these things work, and there isn''t any other way around it.


    It is how society is formed.


    Those above the poor will always have a greater priority above anything else, their wills are our wills.


    But what if something happens to us? Well, we are items, merely disposable for him, if one dies, many others can take their ce.


    I believe he might had fully expected all those hunters to die and even then, he simply thought that more people should take their ce.


    If they die, then that''s fine as well, more can take their ce after that.


    If the entire vige dies? It doesn''t matter, another vige can take their ce.


    This is how it works.


    If we don''t want to die, we have to get better at hunting, or we''ll simply die and get reced.


    Of course, based in my previous life experiences, I have never been someone that would bend the knee to anyone. But circumstances are different now, I don''t possess the power to rebel against those in higher authority than me, at most, because I am a child, I am allowed to stand and see how everyone dies until it is my turn when I reach adulthood.


    But I won''t let it happen anymore. I have grown strong enough to at least change the lives of the people around me, and that''s enough for me to take the decision of joining this hunting team for today.


    Perhaps I cannot rebel against the society I''ve been born in yet, but eventually, with enough power, I will be able to do so. And one cannot gain power without taking risks either.


    In life and in all societies across the entire Universe, there were two absolute things that mandated everything.


    Power and Money.


    Power is Money, and Money is Power, both are like Yin and Yang, theypleted one another and without one, there can''t be the other.


    Because of this, I must umte enough power, through power I can umte more money, and through money, I can gain even more power.


    Both willplement one another as I raise in this hierarchy, and one day, I will stand in the same position as this duke, and tell him what''s wrong with him, and if he doesn''t obey, I will kick him in the face, take over his entire family and take away everything that belongs to him.


    This is what I did in my previous life countless times. Why wouldn''t I be able to repeat it as I''ve done it a thousand times and more? I will do it.


    But for now, the present at hand is different, the circumstances are different, and I must adapt to them to survive and slowly step forward into the path I''ve been forging this entire time.<sub> </sub>


    For my father¡­ I have to do it.


    No, for my family and friends as well.


    This life is very different than the one I''ve had before¡­ I have made many new things, and found other things as well, there is a new joy in my life, that of family.


    And I don''t want to lose them.


    I will go hunt with these people, protect them, and not let them lose their lives, while I also profit from this if I can get enough EXP from whatever I hunt.


    I also want to go further into the forest now that I''ve rested enough, I feel like I am ready to see what''s there.


    I walked towards the group of hunters, bringing my spear.


    The people instantly recognized me as they looked at me with surprise.


    "A child? Wait, that''s the child that healed the hunters back then¡­ ke, is it?"


    "ke, what is going on?"


    "You''re too young to join us¡­"


    "I won''t take "no" as an answer. I have healing abilities, so I am the most fitted to apany you lot. I will take care of your backs and you''ll do the same for me." I said.


    The people looked at me with surprise, as I expressionlessly looked at them back. There was a certain presence that I was exuding, and this presence wasn''t any power, even as a child, I had a very strong confidence, which didn''t seemed reckless or childish at all.


    They had already seen me do miracles, and it was possible they were being convinced by that fact as well. Eleanora at my side reinforced their thoughts, as she seemed domineering and her dark presence made her seem strong.


    "ke?! What are you doing? I won''t let you go hunt on your own! Are you crazy?" asked my mother, as she moved to my side and looked at me with concern clear in her eyes.


    "Mother, this is something I have to do. You''ve seen me improve this entire time, right? I will soon be six years of age¡­ My father is sickly, even as young as I am, I have to make sure to rece him¡­" I said.


    "But¡­" she muttered.


    "Fear not, I will take care of him well enough." said Eleanora.


    "E-Eleanora¡­" sighed my mother.


    The leader of the hunting group, a man with long red hair and a scar in the middle of his face, who had a small, red-colored dog at his side, nodded.


    "Fine, but stick close to us, understood?" He asked.


    "Understood." I answered.


    -----

 Chapter 88 The Hunters

    -----


    My will was too strong, and my mother was incapable of changing my mind, I understood her concern, but Eleanora convinced her at the end, saying that she would protect me at all costs, while I told her that I wasn''t going to actually fight, but dedicate myself at healing, which was obviously a big lie.


    She believed it nheless thanks to abusing Eleanora''s Charm over me. She''s capable of conjuring the effects of this Skill, and by putting them over me, I am capable of bing more convincing to others, and even my mother cannot escape such a power, at the end, she let me go.


    Erika, Chris, and Eric wanted to join me as well, but I was not willing to hold responsibility for them, if they were to get damaged, I didn''t know what I would tell their parents, and because this is being done publicly and not secretly, I didn''t wanted to risk this.


    I rejected all three of them and left them in my house with my mother, father, and grandmother, as I made my way into the forest with the rest of the hunter group.


    The forest seemed calm today in the morning, and the hunters all had grim faces, they seemed worried about what was toe, and my presence didn''t seemed to calm them, even by considering the abilities I had to heal wounds.


    I can already tell that these people were very worried about the future and its prospects, there were many things that could go terribly wrong today, after all, there was nothing saying that the same demon from before wouldn''t show up, or something even worse.


    The invasion of demons into the forest is a serious issue, and it is already well known by the people, Adventurers sometimes adventure into the forest to hunt them down, but most of the time they onlye back with a single imp or two, they''re terrible hunters because they''re very low-ranked adventurers.


    What they can do is very limited, and high-ranked adventurers simply are not even around, they go to other ces with bigger prey to hunt and more missions to do, usually in the capital or the duchy is where they gather the most, as the Adventurer Guild is there.


    Although there is a small building here which could be said to be like a small Adventurer Guild, what they offer cannotpare to the things in the duchy.


    Therefore most of the hunters'' forces are just the serfs, who have polished their strength over the years of hunting wild animals and growing stronger through leveling up, or well, as they call it here, blessings.


    I didn''t knew the exact Talents of the people in here, but I knew that based in their postures and auras, none of them had one that boosted the power of using weapons or physical abilities, and their Summons were also not impressive.


    Only the leader had something that seemed useful, a Red re Dog, which he had been training and leveling for some years by now, and was a loyal and powerfulpanion.


    The rest of the hunters had small and often useless spirits, because we are serfs after all, you can''t expect them to have great Spirits and Talents, if they had, they wouldn''t be here to begin with but would had be adventurers, earned money with their power, and might have better lives.


    After all, your life in this world seemed determined based in what sort of spirit or talent you got from birth, like a random thing, those will be born at better conditions than others¡­ sometimes, bloodlines of family might enhance the chances for children to have better spirits or talents, but it is never a guarantee.<sub> </sub>


    The spirits that I saw from the other dozen of hunters were mostly lesser creatures, such as Dragonflies, Horned Rabbits, Small Turtles, and Swimming Fishes, which were mostly smaller than a house cat. There were some that had weird and even more useless-looking things which they didn''t even summoned, such as Chopsticks, Handkerchief, and Grass¡­


    Certainly, I believe everyone would be able to awaken some sort of strength out of their spirits, even as strange as they are, but I am not willing to simply train the entire vige, and I prefer to concentrate in a small group of my family and friends at most.


    These people''s fates are not my problem, but that doesn''t mean I will let them die pointlessly today, and well, I also wanted to see if I could gain EXP out of this hunt, and perhaps some recognition of the hunters. If so, I could gain the ability to join more hunts, where ethe possibilities of surviving against powerful monsters increases as I have many other allies to rely on.


    These people were quite admirable, despite the Talents they had, which were not focused in fighting, and despite the Spirits they had, which were mostly not so useful, they all held a great strength nheless, leveling by ying monsters over time still built up power in their muscles and bones, and just like my father, they had be good at the spear.


    "I can''t believe we brought a child¡­ ke, make sure to watch your back and step aside whenever something appears, alright, boy?" asked the leader, his name was Gradus, and he was a renowned hunter in the vige.


    He had actually retired from hunting as he had grown too old, but he was forced to participate by the Duke due to theck of hunters.


    "I am a good friend of your father, Joan. I am not nning on risking your life today, nor for you to fight, so you better keep yourself behind us, ke. Did you heard me? I am taking responsibility for you today." Said the man.


    "I understand. Thanks for letting me join." I said.


    "Geez, you''re such a well-mannered kid! All my kids grew up to be punks, seriously, they never give their old man a break¡­ Ahaha!" heughed.


    "Ah, I see¡­" I said.


    As we spoke, the bushes in front of us began to move suspiciously.


    "There''s something there!"


    -----

 Chapter 89 Delving Into The Forest

    -----


    While Gradus spoke, the bushes in front of us began to move suspiciously, the entire group stopped moving as someone pointed out silently at it.


    "There''s something there!"


    The entire group stopped moving as we looked into the bushes together. I held my spear tight and gathered the Qi across my body, ready to fight what might possibly be a small monster. However, Gradus stepped in front of me and put himself before me, as if trying to protect me.


    The rest of the hunters quickly assembled around me as if I was being the only one protected by them, it appears that they were good at coordination, but I felt this was a bit overexaggerated, especially with someone like Eleanora at my side.


    "Stay behind me, ke." Said Gradus, holding his spear tightly, his Red re Dog began to groan at whatever was behind the bushes.


    FLASH!


    Suddenly, it jumped towards us, as it was a red-skinned creature, an Imp, who was holding into a knife.


    "GRAAARR!"


    It roared angrily at us but it didn''t attacked us, as if it was attempting to scare us out. He immediately could tell he wouldn''t win against a group of hunters assembled together, and because he felt cornered, he couldn''t find any other way to deal with us than by revealing itself.


    "An Imp!"


    "Wait, hold up, it is scared¡­"


    "He''s trying to intimidate us so it can escape."


    "Gradus, what do we do?"


    Gradus looked at the Imp while squinting his eyes, the Imp was trembling in fear.


    "Kill it." he said.


    His orders were absolute, the entire group of Hunters quickly decided to gang over the Imp, as I watched their fighting ability, Gradus was the first one to charge forward.


    His spear moved faster than the wind for a bit, reaching the Imp. However, the demon was fierce as he was agile, he moved away from his attack sessfully and attempted to stab his stomach with the knife it was holding.


    However, another hunter stopped the Imp from moving as he fired an arrow into the Imp''s ankle, making it cry in pain.


    "GRYYARR¡­!"


    It cried rather loudly, this scream¡­ I recognized it, it was the scream Imps use to call for reinforcements! This is bad, we have to finish it quickly.


    The Imp roared loudly as he jumped away from the spear from another hunter, as a fireball suddenly came out of the Red re Dog from Gradus, hitting his back.


    CLASH!


    "GROAR!"


    However, Imps were incredibly resistant to low-level magic, their skin was hard and demons naturally had a high resistance to magic by itself as they were naturally shrouded by demonic energy, which disrupted mana.


    The Imp, even with an arrow on his knee, leaped towards a hunter and threw away his spear, using his sharp ws to sh his face.


    "Aaagghh!"


    "GRYYAARR!"


    The Imp was clearly going desperate as everyone began to attack it, it tried to evade but several spears pierced its back, the creature let go of the hunter as Gradus caught it off guard and pierced its head from behind.


    CLASH!


    The spear went through the Imp''s head all the way into his forehead, the creatureid motionless while being skewered by Gradus spear.<sub> </sub>


    "That Imp was strange, was it too powerful?" wondered Gradus.


    The hunter group was certainlypetent, but Gradus was right, that Imp was stronger than usual.


    Suddenly, the Grimoire showcased that I had gained some EXP¡­


    Hm? I gained EXP? But I didn''t killed anything.


    Is this because I am part of the "party" of hunters? Even when I didn''t helped, this seemed a bit too much.


    However, unlike the unusual number of EXP an Imp would give, it was only half of it¡­ I see.


    Next time, I will ask Eleanora to participate in the fight to gain the full EXP.


    "Agh¡­ My face! It hurts!" cried the hunter that got shed on his face mildly.


    "ke! Please help him out!"


    "He''s bleeding¡­ his wounds might get bad soon¡­"


    "Understood." I said.


    I used my role as a medic and quickly moved towards the affected hunter, a man with short brown hair and green eyes. He seemed to be a lone hunter without family, but he was still a valuable member of the group.


    However, I could already tell hecked the ability to fight well, he probably was a newbie in this group,cking experience at dealing with monsters, he ended letting the Imp sh his face.


    I moved towards his face and saw that there was a big I I I mark on his face, nothing much I could do other than close them and disinfect them. My hands glowed with bright light as I conjured some low-level magic spells and then First Aid to back it up, in an instant, the pain was relieved from his face, as the wound closed, but the scar was still there.


    "Do you feel alright?" I asked.


    "Ah, you''re my savior¡­ It doesn''t hurt anymore¡­ Y-You''re really a miracle kid¡­" he said.


    "Don''t worry about it. I am here to help you survive." I said with a smile.


    "Such a reliable kid."


    "He''s really good at healing."


    "Incredible, how does he do it?"


    "Don''t ask him his abilities, that''s rude."


    As the people pointed out my good job at healing the hunter, I saw that my grimoire showed some new changes. Everyone already knew that this grimoire was something like part of Eleanora, so they didn''t asked me strange questions¡­


    [Skill Proficiency has reached the sufficient Number]


    [The Skill [First Aid: Lv1] has increased to Level 2]


    [The Title Skill [Savior: Lv1] has increased to Level 2]


    After having healed so many people over thesest days, I had finally managed to level up First Aid and Savior, which brought an even greater enhancement to their abilities.


    With this, I might be capable of healing even better wounds, and also recover scars better as well as disinfecting. First Aid mostly works as an enhancement of basic tier 1 healing spells, but it does its work very well.


    However, amidst the tranquility of the aftermath of this small fight, the bushes around began to move suspiciously once more.


    So it really managed to bring friends here¡­


    -----

 Chapter 90 Demon Ambush

    -----


    Imps are a vicious species of demons, they''re natural invaders that are well-organized and also highly social with one another, they also hold strong grudges and often forge strongpanionship bonds, unlike the savage and barbaric goblins, Imps do care about one another, and when one of their tribe members die, they make sure to find the culprit and kill it at all costs.


    When they heard the Imp, we found crying in fear, the bastards immediately moved here. It appears that this entire forest, specifically speaking, the secondyer that we had to cross to reach the thirdyer where the Giant Wild Boards unhabituated, was already filled with Imps to the brim.


    This was bad, it means that they''re multiplying faster than I had originally thought. We hade here to hunt Giant Wild Boars, but they might had as well gone extinct if they were already hunted down by these many demons.


    "More Imps?!"


    "Wait, four?!"


    "No¡­ five!"


    The group of hunters quickly reassembled together around me and Gradus, as they nced at the Imps emerge from the bushes they were holding rusty weapons and had angered expressions in their faces, looking down at the corpse of their friend, their faces grew constantly bitter.


    "ke, stand behind and heal whoever is injured¡­" said Gradus.


    "Okay, I''ll let my spirit participate in the fight, is that alright with you?" I asked.


    "Ah¡­ Yes, well, okay." Said Gradus.


    "Then I am in your care." Said Eleanora with a smile.


    Despite her form resembling a little vampire girl with a cute dress, she was deadlier than they could ever imagine, and I was about to showcase them what my spirit was truly capable of.


    For the moment, I had thought about using the x10 EXP Card I had acquired to get a lot more of EXP, if there were five Imps here, that would be 2000 EXP, but if multiplied by x10, that would be 20000, enough EXP for me to level up again.


    Should I do it or save it forter?


    I don''t think there is any better time than now that I am being helped by other Hunters, by myself I wouldn''t be capable of fighting five at the same time, if not more toe soon, although the card only works for an hour, it is enough for me.


    I quickly took the card out of my bag and used it with a simple thought, the card turned into bright green light, but because it was inside of my pant''s pocket, nobody saw what happened]


    [You have activated the X10 EXP Card]


    [You will gain ten times more EXP for an hour!]


    [Your spirits will also be benefitted]


    Whatever Lucifer was thinking by gifting me this, I don''t care, I will use this to my heart''s content and level up again! And there was something else I had not known before, apparently spirits can also gain x10 EXP from this glorious item, meaning that Eleanora will most likely level up at the same time as I would, excellent.


    "Eleanora, use Shadow Sneak and your Blood Thread to trap the Imps! Behind their backs, and then attack them lightly, while letting the other Hunters finish them off. As long as you participate in the fight, we''ll get the EXP!" I said to her through telepathy.


    "Understood!" she said through telepathy as well.


    FLASH!


    Suddenly, Eleanora shrouded herself in shadows and dived into the shadows of all the hunters, and then jumped around, reaching the shadows of the trees nearby. This was her strategy; she had the ability to turn herself into shadows and attack from behind! The other people watched in surprise at what she did, but I knew that Eleanora was someone amazing already.<sub> </sub>


    "Where did she go?!"


    "She disappeared!"


    "What kind of magic was that?"


    "Don''t worry about it, she''ll help." I said.


    "Men! Don''t let the Imps get the first blow, fight!" roared Gradus, at the same time as the Imps jumped towards us, all five of them circled around us.


    They coated their weapons with Demonic Energy and viciously began to sh against the hunters, while one of them stayed in the back and suddenly began to fire Demonic mes at them.


    BOOM! CLASH! CRASH!


    Luckily, most of the hunters were carrying wooden shields and were able to protect themselves from the fireballs being fired asionally, all while resisting the sh against the Imps as best as they could.


    "RAAA!"


    Gradus roared furiously as he shrouded his spear with mana and then mes lighted up from the element of his spirit, the mes shaped as a furious dog as I saw something I had not seen before, his spirit was nowhere to be seen¡­ it had fused with his spear.


    "Spirit Weapon Infusion!" he roared, as he shed against one of the Imp''s shields, and his spear attack unleashed an explosion of mes, blowing the Imp away through the air.


    BOOM!


    "Gryyarrr¡­!"


    The Imp shed over the floor and tried to crawl back, but I held a big and round stone I had in my bag and fired it straight into his forehead, striking him down.


    CLAASH!


    "GRYAR¡­!"


    One down.


    Gradus looked at me with surprise. The stone I had fired was infused with my Qi and that was why it was so powerful and fast, but he didn''t knew this truth, even less that I had a Skill that helped me at throwing things and increased the damage of impact they caused.


    "I-Incredible, ke!" he said.


    "It is nothing! Let''s concentrate in the fight, sir!" I said.


    Gradus nodded strongly as he agreed with me, the battle was still on and there were another four Imps to fight, they were viciously attacking the other Hunters, who were notably weaker than Gradus, they were all mostly in defensive stances, giving openings to the Imps from left and right.


    Three of the Imps were unleashing weapon techniques infused with demonic energy, while another was attacking from the back with magic, pressuring the group.


    But then, Eleanora attacked.


    -----

 Chapter 91 Demon Magicians

    -----


    Eleanora had sneaked behind the Imp that was firing magic, it was a Mage-type Imp, apparently. Much like normal humans, Imps had something simr to Talents, sometimes there would be those more talented at certain tasks, this was mostlymon with all Demon races.


    The Mage Imp was wearing robes that enhanced magic power and also a staff that increased his total demonic energy capacity so he could conjure more demon magic, it was a rather obvious build he had there, and Eleanora decided to take him down as quickly as possible because of his annoying nature as a mage.


    BOOM! CLASH!


    "That damn Imp Mage is so annoying, he keeps firing demonic mes!"


    "Damn it¡­ they''re too strong!"


    "How can we even fight against these?!"


    "My spirit was knocked out with a single swipe of their weapons!"


    BOOOOM!!!


    Suddenly, before Eleanora could reach her target, the Imp Mage gathered his demon energy and fired arger than usual demonic me, shing against one of the hunters struggling to keep a defensive stance against the Imps.


    "Aaaagghh! It hurts!"


    The mes of demons had a hard time sticking in a person''s body or clothes, but the impact of their mes was the problem, they held a strong curse that inhibited regeneration naturally, and even made wounds rot, burns from these mes were often lethal.


    "HAH!"


    I roared loudly as I pushed forward, shing against one of the Imps near the man that had been hit with the fireball, I kicked the Imp in the ankles and made it trip over, the other Hunters quickly attempted to skewer it alive, but the damn agile thing sneaked away in time while throwing a knife, which hit another hunter in the leg.


    CLASH!


    "Ugh! Damn thing!"


    "Aaagh! Help! Help meeee!"


    The hunter that was burned had his entire hands burned, the wounds had already begun to rot, so I quickly decided to cauterize the wounds first by burning all the necrosis away.


    "This will hurt you, prepare yourself! Ember!" I said.


    "Eh?! GYAAAAHH¡­!"


    The hunter began to cry like a baby as his hands were burned, the necrosis quickly turned into ashes as I enveloped his hands in healing light after that, fusing several tier 1 spells together, the pain receded and his hands healed back, but they were nowpletely covered in burn scars.


    "Ahhh¡­ T-They''re good? I don''t feel any pain¡­" he said in surprise.


    "I had to cauterize the putrid flesh, I apologize if I surprised you." I said.


    "T-Thanks!" he said, quickly standing up and shing against the Imps again.


    I moved towards the hunter with the knife on his right leg, as he began to look feverish all over his face. The knife was most likely infected with some sort of poison or even worse, the Imp''s feces or piss. Which can most likely act as a poison as well due to the amount of bacteria it has, entering an open wound would infect it quickly.


    I quickly pulled out the knife mercilessly as the man rested over the floor, he twisted his body in pain as he gasped for air.<sub> </sub>


    "Hahhh¡­ Aghh¡­ Just a single wound can kill us¡­ damn demons!" he muttered.


    "I won''t let you die, calm down." I said.


    I quickly saw a fountain of blooding out of his wound, which was already infected and smelled badly. Without Eleanora to help using her blood maniption, I decided to simply burn his wound until all the rotten flesh was turned to ashes through my ability to control mana.


    "Ember."


    FLAASH"


    "Uuaaaggh¡­! Unngh¡­! Y-You''re cauterizing it?! Agh¡­!"


    "Calm down and remain in silence." I said, as I quickly used my own knife to cut down the rotten flesh while it burned, and then, I sealed the wound once more with fire and covered the burned flesh with healing magic and the help of First Aid.


    "Uugh¡­ Ahhh¡­ Agh¡­"


    However, he was still feverish and most of the infection might had already reached his bloodstream, that''s why I quickly infused some Qi into his body and forcefully awakened his Qi Core in the process.


    FLAAASH!


    "Agh! W-What is thissss?! Unngg¡­"


    "Shut up for once. Seriously, you guys are such crybabies¡­" I sighed, letting myself rant a bit, as I let the life energy deal with his fever, that should be enough.


    I moved away leaving him in the backlines, as I saw Eleanora acting.


    Eleanora quickly sneaked behind the Imp that was firing demon fireballs, as her Blood Threads moved swiftly and stealthily around him, in a second, the Imp was thrown into the ground and pushed down, his face shed over the hard rock beneath his feet, breaking his long nose in the process.


    CLASH!


    "GRYAA!"


    The Imp looked at his back to see Eleanora behind him, only for her ws to reach him in an instant, piercing through his neck and shing his head off. I guess she didn''t need the Hunters help.


    "GRUUAH¡­"


    Thest groan of agony made the other three Imps fighting the Hunters nce behind them for a split of a second, finding their magerade more than dead, as Eleanora quickly grabbed his head and threw it at them for an even greater fear factor.


    "Here''s your friend." She said to them int heir samenguage. The Imp''s faces twisted in utter anger and frustration as they began to go wild, their barbarically attacked the hunters even more furiously than before, only for their wild nature to be their doom.


    "WOOF!"


    A roaring red wolf made of mes reached one of them from behind, as the Imp was diving on his own madness he was incapable of detecting the dog reaching him and biting his neck from behind, while using his ws to sh his back and burn through his flesh.


    "GRYAAAA!"


    The Imp groaned in agony as it quickly fell into the ground, struggling to survive, it hit the red dog hard with his knife, making it poof out of existence, only for the figure of Gradus to emerge behind his disappearing spirit.


    -----

 Chapter 92 Gradus Strenght

    -----


    Spirits were able to "die" but can be revivedter at varying cooldowns of time. Sometimes they take an entire day to fully recover, some even weeks, depending in how strong they are, they would take longer and longer toe back.


    Of course, there are ways to speed up this process, namely with alchemy-made items of various degrees and ranks, but those can most of the time only be afforded by the rich, anyone below them has to just wait and suck it up.


    Gradus had used his dog as a bait and let it die in front of the Imp, only for him to decide to kill the Imp off at longst.


    p However, the Imp was smarter than he thought, it quickly predicted his spear falling over his head as he rolled to the left and kicked Gradus'' stomach with his slender leg.</anda>


    CLAASH!


    "Agh!"


    Gradus gritted his teeth as he was forced to step back, only for his spear to move swiftly, chasing down the Imp.


    "GRYA!"


    The Imp tripped over the floor identally due to his clumsiness, helping it avoid the uing spear that almost pierced its head. It was a lucky bastard, but that was better for me, more EXP for me as well, if I don''t touch the Imp at all nor Eleanora do it, I will only earn half, so I cannot let that happen.


    I quickly grabbed another well-polished stone from my pocket and fired it towards the Imp''s using my Qi and reinforcing it with Throwing Technique. The powerful stone hit the Imp''s forehead strongly, making it bleed from his nose and ck out in a second. It wasn''t dead though, but Gradus'' spear made sure to kill it, as he pierced the Imp''s neck and killed it on the spot.


    CLASH!


    "Phew¡­ Good work, ke!" he said.


    "Let''s take down the other two." I said.


    "Yeah!"


    Gradus quickly rushed towards the other two annoying Imps. Their anger and fury had increased the more of their members died, as if the anger itself fueled their total strength, they only grew stronger but wilder, this was part of the Demons special abilities.


    Demons are supernatural living beings from another dimension, the power they have is incredible and some of them can have many innate abilities.


    Amongst the many they possess; the power of Berserk Mode is one of them. Any demon that is utterly outraged will lose their temper and go wild like a beast, but this will also multiply their physical strength greatly.


    Sometimes they would be so wild that they would attempt to kill even friends, but these two were well aware who were their true enemies, and attacked the hunters relentlessly, the two had already destroyed their small shields, and were approaching to finish them off for good, something I simply couldn''t let it happen.


    Gradus was faster than me though, as he quickly kicked one of the Imps away from the group of Hunters that were weakened by resisting their wild blows for too long.


    "RAA!"


    CLAAASH!


    "GRAA!"


    The Imp, however, decided to leap hover his body and ravage his head, taking away his long hair furiously. Gradus was a strong and hardy man, as he quickly shook off the Imp from his body and kicked it again, only for the Imp to bite his leg with its sharp teeth.


    CLASH!


    "Fuck!"<sub> </sub>


    FLASH!


    However, a sh of darkness reached him as Eleanora showed up, wielding a spear we had stolen from the Imps back then, she pierced the Imp''s back several times in consecutive blows, making it groan in pain as it tried to fight back.


    CLASH! CLASH! CLASH CLASH!


    "GRAAAA!"


    Meanwhile, Gradus had no time to rest nor help Eleanora, the other Imp quickly sneaked behind him while groaning loudly and angrily as if it was attempting to make Gradus recognize his existence. The hunter quickly twisted his body as his spear intercepted the furious Imp''s knife, shing against it only for the hard knife to end up slicing in half his wooden spear.


    CLAASH!


    "S-Shit!"


    Gradus gritted his teeth as the Imp kicked him in the balls angrily, making him groan in pain and threw him into the ground to finish him off. Despite how strong he was, he had grown old.


    But I was there to prevent his death, in these small splits of a second, I was already moving towards the Imp, as I raised my Cursed Spear and infused it with Mana.


    "Dragoon Spear Technique: Triple Thrust!"


    "GRAA?!"


    CLASH! CLASH! CLASH!


    I moved my spear at an increasing speed, so fast it generated illusions as if there were many other spears moving across the wind, each of the spears shed against the Imp in an instant, leaving threerge holes on his head and ying it instantly.


    BOOM!


    His motionless body fell over the floor as I looked back at thest Imp, which was groaning in pain as Eleanora smiled maliciously, piercing his entire body slowly, bit by bit.


    I wasn''t against her sadistic tendencies, but she was doing something unnecessary, the cries of an Imp will attract more Imps at the end¡­ even if that''s potentially more EXP for me, I have to take into consideration the lives of the people here and my own too. If we fight too many Imps, we might die before we can even reach the vige.


    "Eleanora, kill it already." I said.


    "Ah! U-Understood!" she said, as she used her sharp heels to crush the Imp''s head, sttering its brains all over the floor.


    "GRAH¡­!"


    SPLAT!


    With thatst sound, tranquility took ahold of the entire battlefield, as everyone was gasping for air, even I was extremely tired, and I quickly sat down over the floor, looking at the Grimoire.


    It had only been roughly 6 minutes since I used the card, this long fight onlysted that much¡­ unbelievable, it was too short for how long it felt.


    But on the bright side, I had leveled up.


    -----

 Chapter 93 Growth

    -----


    I looked into the grimoire for a brief moment, as I saw the results.


    [Calcting EXP¡­]


    [You gained 26500 EXP!]


    [EXP: 26500 / 20000]


    [You have leveled up from Level 1 to Level 2!]


    [All your stats have increased]


    [You gained bonus Skill Proficiency!]


    [You gained +10 Skill Points and Stat Points]


    [You acquired the [Demon yer: Lv1] Title Skill!]


    [You acquired the [x5 EXP Card] x1 Item!]


    [All your health and stamina has been recovered]


    Another EXP Card? But this time it is half of that¡­ Does it means that I will get another one at Level 3? Perhaps thest one unless I get something like x1.5 EXP Card going by the logic shown in here¡­ Maybe this is an incentive to level up faster at early game by Lucifer? I cannot really tell, but this certainly softens the struggle a little bit.


    However, Lucifer is not really someone that likes to give without anything in exchange, he will probably only give these at early stages, and then leave me on my own atter ones, I have to utilize these things as efficiently as possible, perhaps they''re the key to reach Level 10 faster.


    I looked into my Status and quickly decided to spend the 10 Stat Points, using 5 of them in Mana and the other 5 in Intelligence, as I wanted to make my magic spells stronger.


    After that, I quickly checked the Skill Tree and saw the avable Skills in there, and filtered out the ones I couldn''t earn naturally, giving me a list of Skills that seemed interesting.


    I only thought it for a few seconds as there wasn''t much time to waste by going around each Skill for too long, and I selected the Skill that could help me the most as of now.


    Because I had already invested my Stat Points into magic stats, I decided to bnce it out using the Skill Points into a new Skill that could enhance my body strength, one that cannot be learned naturally as ites from the body when one is born, that is¡­


    [You have exchanged 10 Skill Points for the [Robust Body: Lv1] Skill]


    Robust Body, a Skill that enhances the growth of all my physical Stas passively, meaning that the more I work out, the more my muscles will grow stronger, the faster I will be, the more resilient I will grow, and even my bones could be enhanced and be sturdier.


    This could be said to be a Skill resembling a Natural Physique, whiches with someone after they''re born, it is not something that can be learned, but something that peoplee out with innately. I don''t know if there is a Talent that grants Robust Body naturally after birth, but this ability had allowed me to acquire something that I wouldn''t be able to get naturally.


    I looked into my Status now that it had finally increased, Level 2 was a small number, but it seemed to bring me more stats than normal people would get.


    -----


    Name: ke Hunter Goathorn


    Race: Human


    Spirit Orb Realm: Rank 1 (Initial Stage)


    Job ss: None


    Subss: None


    Level: 1 / 10 -> 2 / 10


    EXP: 6500 / 25000


    < Health Points: 58 / 58 -> 82 / 82 >


    < Mana Points: 126 / 126 -> 216 / 216 >


    < Strength: 46  -> 62 >


    < Agility: 39 -> 51 >


    < Vitality: 42 -> 54>


    < Intelligence: 91 -> 117 >


    < Dexterity: 45 ->  67 >


    Spirits (1/1): [Half-Vampire: Eleanora (Rank 1 Initial Stage)]


    Link Skills:


    [Link (Eleanora): [Shadow Sneak: Lv1]


    Skills:


    [Throwing Technique: Lv2]


    [Acrobatics: Lv2]


    [Butcher: Lv1]


    [Alchemy: Lv1]


    [First Aid: Lv2]


    [Hard Worker: Lv1]


    [Robust Body: Lv1]


    Title Skills:<sub> </sub>


    [Beast yer: Lv1]


    [Demon yer: Lv1]


    [Savior: Lv2]


    Avable Stat Points: 0


    Avable Skill Points: 0


    Curses:


    EXP required to level up x100


    Proficiency required to learn techniques and skills x100


    Mana/Qi/Aether Recovery speed decreased by -50%


    -----


    This looked good enough. I had looked into Eleanora''s Status, and she already assigned her Stat Points, deciding to add them into Strength Agility and Dexterity almost evenly, while the other 10 Skill Points were used for her to acquire the [Assassination: Lv1] Skill, which allowed her to increase her damage by up to 50% if shends a hit to an enemy without it realizing and from behind, a perfect attack from a stealthy fighter that uses threads and meddles in the shadows such as her.


    -----


    p Name: Eleanora</anda>


    Spirit Race: Half Vampire


    Spirit Type: Blood / Dark


    Spirit Realm: Rank 1 (Initial Stage)


    Level: 2 / 10


    < Health Points: 85 / 85 -> 125 / 125 >


    < Strength: 76 -> 99 >


    < Agility: 71 -> 94 >


    < Vitality: 62 -> 77 >


    < Intelligence: 37 -> 47 >


    < Dexterity: 68 -> 82 >


    Link Skills:


    [Link (ke): [Hard Worker: Level 1]


    Skills:


    [Half-Vampire: Lv2]


    [Charm: Lv2]


    [Blood Edge: Lv2]


    [Shadow Sneak: Lv2]


    [Blood Bat Transformation: Lv1]


    [Spirit Link: Lv1]


    [Assassination: Lv1]


    Title Skills:


    [Vampire Queen: Lv2]


    Avable Stat Points: 0


    Avable Skill Points: 0


    -----


    Seeing her stats, my Vampire Summon had increased her power rather well, she had acquired a greater physical fighting capabilities that greatly surpassed my own, as she was a spirit, that was to be expected. And to be honest, I was happy she had grown stronger.


    Although she was also affected by the same Curse that I was, she was able to benefit from it too by earning way more stats naturally than what a single level up would give to her. She smiled back at me as she absorbed the blood of the Imp corpses leisurely, as if saying "I am incredible, aren''t I?".


    "Hahh¡­ That was hard. We almost didn''t made it¡­ My spear broke too." Sighed Gradus.


    "It was hard¡­"


    "Those Imps¡­ they''re terrifyingly strong!"


    "What do we do now?"


    "Wait¡­ did ke fought too?"


    "Yeah, he helped a lot, despite being so young¡­"


    "He''s already stronger than most of us¡­"


    -----

 Chapter 94 The Hunt Continues

    -----


    The Hunters began to praise me a lot without me realizing it, but I didn''t really need any praises, I had already been given what I wanted, EXP, and although I also saved their lives, I didn''t do it to expect anything in return.


    "I did what I could, but it was mostly thanks to everyone that I was even able to help to begin with. Without you putting your life on the frontlines, I would had never been able to fight and hit down the enemies... Also, Sir Gradus was the biggest helper, his strength was admirable, I am left in awe¡­ He reminded me of my own father," I said.


    "Ahahaha! Come on, that''s not true, at the end I almost died, if it wasn''t thanks to your spirit and you¡­ I would had most likely kicked the bucket¡­" sighed Gradus.


    "It was pure luck that we were able to help," I said.


    Gradus smiled back at me with a tired expression.


    "Kid, you''re way too humble." He said.


    "Haha, I am just trying topensate for my father''s absence¡­" I said.


    I quickly moved towards Gradus and used my hands, infusing them with Qi. He was too tired to resist, so infused Qi into his body and awakened his Qi Core. Not because I was interested in helping him develop Qi, but having it flowing through his body would quickly ease his exhaustion.


    "W-What is this energy I feel?!" he asked.


    "Just some healing magic." I said.


    "Ah¡­ Y-You''re an amazing healer¡­" he said.


    "I''ll do the same with everyone, this magic will help you¡­ regain some stamina." I said.


    I ended "massaging" every person in the hunting group, some cried a bit when their Qi Core awakened, but everyone had it awakened at the end, everyone felt stronger and some even younger than before, as if they had gained more youth out of nowhere.


    They all called me a saint, as if my hands were able to bring miracles, but I ignored their praise and said they were simply magic spells I had at my disposal from an old book that my grandmother had, and that convinced them enough.


    p The group quickly gathered the corpses of the Imps, as I asked them if I could store them inside my bag, many were surprised of its spatial capabilities, but I just said it was a treasure that my grandma gifted to me as well. Some began to say that my grandma was way too rich, but Gradus shut them up and reminded them to be humble and grateful with me, he ended being more helpful than I thought.</anda>


    "Now that we are done here¡­ What do we do? Should we continue the hunt? We had already killed six Imps¡­ but without the Boar, the Duke might¡­" said Gradus.<sub> </sub>


    "We can''t really go back?" asked another hunter.


    "We should try to hunt tomorrow; these damn demons came out of nowhere to attack us¡­" sighed another.


    "No, we cannot really do that! We have to bring some results, even if a small young wild boar at least! We can use it as an excuse to exin the demon problem, maybe the Duke will pity us and send a stronger Adventurer Party to deal with them, or even Knights!" said a third.


    "Hmmm¡­ I feel refreshed and only a few minutes passed since killing he Imps¡­ the day is still young, and I got a new spear that ke gave to me, which he said was from the Imps, it is good enough¡­ My mana is also regenerating faster thanks to his help, so let''s do this, let''s search for three hours at most. If we don''t find anything else, we go back and rest until tomorrow to resume the hunt." Said Gradus.


    The hunters seemed to have mixed opinions, but doing this was the best for me, as I still had the effect of my x10 EXP Card which I wanted to use right away and not waste it, if we could find more Imps, even if its hard to deal with them, I want to risk it for the benefits.


    I had leveled up as well, and my strength had increased greatly alongside that of Eleanora, I am confident we can handle things better. Especially because the Hunters now had Qi flowing through their bodies and might have several times their original stamina now.


    Qi also helped recover Mana faster, so most of them had their Mana almost full once more, it was a good opportunity to continue attempting to hunt for a wild boar.


    "But it might be dangerous¡­ What if we find more Imps?!"


    "Can we handle them? Maybe there is a tribe of them¡­"


    "Hmph! Stop being so cowardly! We are here to hunt a damn boar! Also, with ke and Gradus here, we can deal with Imps and even be healed by ke, that boy is an amazing healer! Also consider that we can earn money off their corpses too, Imps sell way more expensive than Gray Wolf, who had just disappeared by now, as hunters we are not earning money if there isn''t anything we can hunt, killing these Imps with this team will benefit us all and bring more food to the table of our families." Said one of the hunters, the one I had healed from the demonic mes.


    The other one that had a sh on his face nodded in agreement, and the one I saved from a knife on his leg also agreed, they seemed to have taken a liking on me, and saw me as someone great that might guarantee their survival, perhaps I had influenced them through Charm plus Savior¡­ but this is great, if it means I can get more EXP, I will dly take their fondness to heart.


    "Hm, well said, we are going." Said Gradus.


    Those thatined sighed as they waved their heads and stood up, they couldn''t help but agree with the Hunter''s words at the end.


    And like this, the hunt resumed.


    -----

 Chapter 95 Demon Gate

    -----


    "Is this really okay? Isn''t it better to just walk back home for now? You seem a bit tired."


    Eleanora spoke to me through telepathy, concerned about me.


    "Don''t worry, after leveling up, not only I recovered all my health, but my exhaustion also faded away, this onlysts until Level 10, but it is a good incentive to keep leveling up until that point¡­ For now, I want to find anything we can kill to get more EXP out of the card I used."


    I told this to Eleanora as her eyes shone brightly, realizing what was everything about. I had not just epted this without any reason, I had already decided I wanted to grow stronger by defeating more monsters and gain more EXP, it was a thing I was going to do because I felt like I would be wasting the card if I didn''t.


    "I understand now¡­ so that was why I had suddenly leveled up as well, that card¡­ how much does it multiply EXP?" she asked.


    "Ten times¡­ This is why I don''t want to waste it." I said.


    "Oh! I see¡­ So that''s why I leveled up so fast¡­ I feel like my strength had increased a lot from Level 1, each Level increases our power a lot, doesn''t it?" she asked.


    "Effectively. I had yet to use the wolves I had in my shadows yet, but those are better as Stat Increasers for now, each one increases my AGI and DEX by one point, five of them is +5 to both stats, that''s enough to give me a small advantage. However, whenever we are in a dire situation, I will bring them out for some diversion or bait, they''re not strong enough for anything else¡­" I said.


    "That''s true¡­ Although if you were to use your spear more, you would had been able to deal better with the Imps¡­ But I understand that you can''t as the Hunters are trying to protect you a lot¡­" said Eleanora.


    "Well, even as strong as I got at Level 1, I am still fairly weak, fighting against five Imps at the same time, especially as strong as they were now out of nowhere would had probably forced me to retreat at the end, they could had killed me¡­ the Hunters served well their purpose as supporters and meat shields." I said to her.


    "Ohoho, so that was your thinking, my lord! I had originally thought you were doing this purely out of goodwill, but my lord is always a step ahead! There is nothing you do without a big reason where you benefit from it, isn''t it?" she asked.


    "¡­Well, I am not as evil as you think, but yes, there is a lot to benefit from this party of hunters, with them distracting the Imps, it was an easy job, although a bit arduous, to kill them off one by one, way easier than when we fought against the Imps before." I said.


    "Hm¡­ But talking about the Imps¡­ What is exactly going on in here? Is the camp where the Imps are increasing their numbers somehow? I am fairly sure Imps cannot increase in numbers this fast, they''re not goblins after all!" said Eleanora.


    "You''re right, I would say the same as well, they''re not goblins, how is it possible for them to multiply this fast? Demons have cycles of reproduction unlike goblins, so they shouldn''t be able to be so many unless¡­ It can''t be¡­" I said.


    Suddenly, a thought emerged in my mind, if this is true, then things are way worse than I had imagined.<sub> </sub>


    "You mean¡­?" asked Eleanora in disbelief.


    "What if the Imps areing from¡­ A Demon Gate?" I asked.


    "D-Demon Gate?! In this low-level world?!" she asked.


    "There is nothing really confirming this hypothesis but¡­ perhaps Lucifer had already begun a full-scale invasion in this world, and he put me in here just to see me struggle to survive what''s toe¡­ If there is really a Demon Gate spawning demons directly from Hell or the Demonic Towers here¡­ Then that means that the Imps might not even stoping until we find the Gates and destroy them¡­ This is already just beyond earning EXP, I cannot let this go on for too long, or the entire vige would be threatened¡­ Even if we risk in losing a potential EXP spot, it is better to secure the safety of the vige¡­" I said.


    "But my lord, how can we even do that? We don''t even possess enough power to get into the center of the hive and get to destroy the gate¡­" she said.


    "This is why we need reinforcements, soldiers, knights, adventures¡­ If we can manage to convince the Duke that there is a Demon Gate here or that the invasion of Imps is toorge for us to handle¡­ but would that greedy old man even invest money in this small vige to be saved? Hmm¡­" I sighed.


    "Y-You shouldn''t put all of the responsibility in your shoulders." She said.


    "I know¡­ The vigers are strong in some areas, but not near as enough to kill all the Imps and other Demon types that might be lurking around¡­ Unless we use the power of money¡­" I said.


    "Money¡­" said Eleanora.


    "Hm¡­ For now, this is more of a long-term n, I doubt we''ll ever find the Gate here, thisrge forest has Five Layers, and we are still in the Second Layer, this means that the Gate is most likely spawning Demons in the Fifth Layer while the demons slowly descend into the otheryers as they hunt down any living being there. But the closer we get to there, the moremon the demons be¡­" I said.


    "Wild Boars are powerful monsters, perhaps they might still be alive, struggling, but still alive." Said Elenora.


    "That''s my hope, but it seems that even before leaving the secondyer, we got somepany, red-skinnedpany¡­" I said.


    Suddenly, a group of three Imp Scouts showed up right before the line that closes the secondyer with the third one.


    And there was another, different demonmanding them.


    -----

 Chapter 96 Massacre

    -----


    The entire group stopped moving as we nced at the Imps emerge from the bushes, they seemed to be waiting for us by how calm they were after seeing us. Were they spying on us from afar? My senses were unable to even detect them.


    Also, they seemed more prepared, they were wearing leather and wooden armor, and were holding not-so-rusty weapons this time around, they also seemed sharper and more vicious than the others we fought.


    And to boot, the one behind them was the demon that set rms on all of us, this thing wasn''t a simple run-of-the-mill Imp, this thing wasn''t even an Imp.


    It had the size of a grown man, slender arms and legs, muscr frame, enormous torso, and gigantic arms that looked like logs, his skin was blue-colored, and it had a single blue horn growing on his forehead, while also having long, green-colored hair, and sharp yellow-gold eyes.


    This humanoid-looking demon was a Blue Oni, a more intelligent Ogre-type Demon that oftenmands lesser demons, such as Imps.


    It wasn''t wearing armor at all, and it seemed to be observing the ce in silence, his eyes seemed to have a greater sharpness than the Imps themselves, he was definitely way more intelligent.


    "T-This is¡­ a blue demon?" asked Gradus at my side.


    "Wait, don''t give a single step¡­"


    "That thing is strong¡­"


    "Can you feel it? the power it emanates¡­"


    "Do we have to fight this thing?"


    "If we kill it, we can make a big profit out of it though¡­ I had never seen this thing; it is bound to cost a lot."


    The Blue Oni gritted his sharp teeth as he looked at us, and then smiled, beginning to speak in a dialect the hunters didn''t understand, except Eleanora and me.


    "Pitiful humans, you''ve walked in the wrong direction, you''re walking straight towards our base, and you believe we''ll let you pass through easily? We''ll kill you and eat your corpses before even letting you give a single step forward."


    It spoke with a domineering voice, and seemed highly intelligent, he probably was a guard of this area of the Layer and might be guarding this area from any intruders or monsters that might attempt to pass through.


    Nobody heard his warning because they didn''t understood his words, and by checking his stats, he seemed to be perhaps twice or thrice as strong as an Imp, he was certainly a higher being, but was he impossible to beat? No.


    I will take a shot while I have the opportunity, my EXP Card is already at itsst 40 minutes, I cannot waste much more time babbling pointlessly.


    p I held a stone tightly with my hand, and enhanced it with mana and qi, firing it directly into the Oni''s face.</anda>


    FLAAAAASH!


    "Huh?!"


    CLAAASH!


    "AAAGH¡­!"


    The Oni groaned in pain, he looked down on us way too much to realize he wasmitting a terrible mistake at wasting his time speaking, I took the opportunity while he spoke to fire a stone directly on his face, breaking his nose and making him groan in pain.


    "We don''t have time to waste here! Let''s kill them and advance." I said.


    "You''re right, ke! Let''s bring them down, they''re money so we can feed our families!" said Gradus.


    "RAAA!"


    "OORRA!"


    "UOOH!"<sub> </sub>


    The Hunters roared as if trying to cheer themselves as we all charged together like a small army, their spears pointing out at the three Imps and the damaged Oni, who locked his eyes on me hatefully.


    "I am going to fucking tear you to shreds!" he roared.


    "Come and try me." I said with his dialect, greatly surprising him.


    "H-How can a human speak demon tongue?!" he asked in surprise.


    "You''ve spent years in this world ruled by humans yet you haven''t learned the human tongue, you''re the ones behind." I said.


    "You stupid child!!!"


    The Oni roared angrily as he rushed forward whilemanding his band of three Elite Imps, as I call them, who were way more experienced-looking, stronger, and intelligent than the other Imps we killed before.


    "RAAAA!"


    Gradus moved forward as he unleashed a strong piercing blow against the trio of Elite Imps, but all three of them jumped away from his attack with incredible agility, while pointing their daggers at him and firing them off!


    FLASH! FLASH! FLASH!


    CLASH! CLASH! CLASH!


    However, the other Hunters, with their newfound Qi fueling their speed and movements, they were able to intercept the deadly daggers with their shields, which I had previously repaired using Nature magic that helped at regenerating broken wood.


    "ORRA!"


    One of the hunters thrusted his spear towards an Imp in midair, but the Imp evaded even in midair and grabbed the spear, using his strength to force the Hunter to give him the weapon.


    However, another hunter quickly intercepted that Goblin and a second and third one, all three of them tried to attack the Imp, but the other Imps wouldn''t let that slide, as they quickly attacked the three hunters together, falling over them like meteors by shrouding themselves in demonic energy.


    CLAAAAASH!


    "Uuuaaggh¡­!"


    "Unnggh¡­!"


    "What the?!"


    They were way better coordinated, and amazing at fighting. They were even better at moving in midair by unleashing force through the maniption of demonic energy, making them incredibly formidable foes. They were really the Elite Imps; they deserved such title.


    The trio of Hunters thrown into the ground were quickly attacked by the Elite Imps, as their daggers began to stab them in the legs and arms.


    "GYAHAHAHA!"


    Amidst theirugher, Gradus and Eleanora moved forward. Eleanora used this opportunity to use Shadow Sneak, emerging behind one of the Elite Imps and attacking it in the back by enhancing her Spear with her Aura, which she had regained through the Aether training we do every night inside thendscape that is located in the interior of my Spirit Orb.


    "Blood Spear Technique: Crimson Pierce!"


    CLAAASH!


    "GRYYYEEEHH¡­!"


    The Imp cried in agony, as Eleanora''s blow was packed with a lot of newfound strength.


    -----

 Chapter 97 Intense Battle

    -----


    Thanks to the amazing new Skill that Eleanora acquired, Assassination, as long as she surprises her enemy in an attack, she can increase the damage output up to +50%. It was definitely a broken Skill, but it only worked when she acted sneaky, and most of the time, after an initial attack, the enemy would already expect her to attack from behind eventually, so the Skill wouldn''t activate anymore.


    This is why the Skill was named Assassination, Assassins don''t fight battles that take minutes, they''re trained to kill as swiftly and efficiently as possible, through stealthy methods and more, Eleanora had the perfect build for that in this world, which came rather unexpected, as she was more of a strong physical fighter with great stamina in my previous life, while I was more of a magician at our early stages.


    Of course, as we grew up and grew stronger into higher realms of existence, we mostly became all-rounders of both physical damage and magical damage, but in our early days of our previous life, she was always a tank and warrior-type fighter, while I was a magician and strategist.


    Eleanora was able to replicate her weakest techniques thanks to having regained her Aura thanks to our Aether training we have been doing every night, and thanks to that, she shrouded the normal-looking spear in her hands with her Blood Aura, and unleashed a deadly piercing blow that seemed like a gigantic needle made of blood.


    The piercing blow hit the Imp''s neck in an instant, piercing through his flesh and prating his bones, killing it on the spot. This was truly what Assassination was all about, leveling to Level 2 really benefitted Eleanora more than we thought!


    The two other Elite Imps were pushed away by Gradus blows, which pierced their leather and wooden armors and moved them away, leaving the three Hunters in the floor wounded severely.


    I quickly ran to their help, as the rest of the hunters dealt with the Blue Oni, whose blows were incredibly potent, a swing of his club easily threw the hunters into the air. He was powerful beyond an Imp level of strength.


    I ignored him, however, as he had his eyes locked on me, but I let the Hunters handle him, hecked a piercing weapon for some reason, and preferred to pummel his enemies with pure strength, which actually was beneficial to me as it didn''t opened wounds directly and didn''t cause infections, as long as that happened the Hunters would be able to endure more, and now that they were boosted with Qi energy, they had be more formidable as well.


    I reached the three wounded hunters in an instant, as I quickly decided to treat their injuries with magic and First Aid, they had multiple stab wounds over their legs and arms, so it wasn''t going to be easy, but this was bound to give me a great amount of Skill proficiency.


    I moved as fast as possible, using several spells of magic at the same time, thanks to my recent Level Up and my allocation of Stat Points, my Intelligence and Mana Points had increased, so I had a greater pool of Mana and my Magic had be more intense in power.


    With that, I quickly cauterized the wounds with even more proficiency in the maniption of Mana that high Intelligence Stat granted, as I then healed their wounds with the healing spells and the boost from First Aid and Savior Skills.


    In a minute, they were all tidied up and ready to fight again.


    "A-Amazing, you''re an incredible healer!"


    "ke¡­ we owe you one¡­"


    "Ah! Let''s go help Gradus!"


    The three hunters stood up, their bodies exuded a small aura of Qi, which overflowed with bright light, it seems that they had leveled up the moment Eleanora killed that one Elite Imp through shared EXP, a concept that also extends to others that had participated in the fight than just us.<sub> </sub>


    Thanks to that, their bodies had grown stronger, and their stamina was overflowing, their Qi seems to have increased as well after leveling, something of an experiment I had done ended giving me some interesting results.


    CLAAASH!


    Gradus attacked the Elite Imps with his spear, but the two Elite Imps were evading swiftly while throwing rocks and other throwing weapons at him, the trio of hunters assisting him ended helping him at blocking the attacks using their round wooden shields, while attacking using their spears once more.


    CLASH! CLASH! CLASH!


    The Elite Imps were incredibly fast, and they evaded almost every attack, but by evading, they lowered their guards to Eleanora who had just disappeared from the scene in that moment, and suddenly emerged behind another Elite Imp, her spear shrouded in blood aura as she unleashed another surprise attack.


    "Blood Spear Technique: Rose Garden!"


    "GUAH?!"


    The Imp suddenly saw an illusory scena round him, as the blooding from Eleanora''s spear shaped as countless and beautiful crimson roses dancing around him, and then, several piercing attacks showered his entire body in an instant through Eleanora''s incredibly fast movements thanks to her very high Agility and Dexterity stats!


    CLASH! CLASH! CLASH! CLASH!


    "GGAAAHHH¡­!"


    The Imp groaned in agony as it vomited a mouthful of blood, filled with holes all over its body, it quickly fell over the ground while barely being able to stand. Eleanora''s Techniques didn''t consumed much of my Mana, but used her own Aether energy, which was the power of her very soul. Due to having a naturally strong soul from her previous life, she had a cheat-level amount of Aether even after weakening from reincarnating.


    Thanks to that, her ability to use these techniques, after finally regaining her ability to use Aura, was outstanding, and she still had enough Aether for a few more blows.


    BUMP!


    "Finish it before it recovers!" said Eleanora, as the four hunters at her side quickly ran towards the dying Imp in the floor, which was trying to use demon magic to recover.


    -----

 Chapter 98 Hight Ranking Demon

    -----


    Gradus led the trio of Hunters to finish off the Imp that Eleanora had thrown into the ground half-dead, as they pointed their spears at it before it could regenerate and began to pierce its head, sttering it into the ground and spreading its shredded brain over the floor.


    Thest Elite Imp furiously went berserk, using his innate Berserk Mode ability, he attempted to kill the four Hunters by unleashing a powerful Demon re, but Eleanora kicked it off bnce and then used her Blood Threads to stick his hands together, changing the direction of his magic as she moved his hands upwards through masterfully manipting the blood threads.


    I moved forward without wasting a single second, pointing the spear into the Elite Imp as the demon gritted its sharp teeth and looked at me hatefully, his eyes suddenly shed with bright red light, and a strange shockwave of energy hit me.


    Wait, this pathetic Imp has a Demon Eye?!


    Suddenly, I felt as if my muscles became paralyzed and even my heart stopped beating for a single second! I felt like I was dying! This is a Demon Eye of Paralysis! How can this lesser Imp have it? What are the odds for such a ridiculous thing?!


    "Unnggh¡­!"


    I groaned in pain as I quickly used my Qi to unleash a shockwave of energy, taking away the demon energy inside of my body paralyzing my muscles and my heart, as my heart quickly began to beat once more, and I felt like my life came back to me. My mind felt dizzy, but I quickly pushed through it by using Metabolism eleration, a Tier 1 Life Attribute Spell to enhance my body and mind.


    "GRAGUH?!"


    The Imp was left speechless as he nced at me advancing slowly towards him, I enhanced my Spear, Gluttony, with my Mana and feed it with Qi as well, the enormous crimson-red eye of the spear opened wide as a blood red aura was unleashed.


    "Die¡­"


    "GRAAAAHH¡­!"


    CLAAAASH!


    Without any fancy techniques, I simply trusted the spear into the Imp''s face and pierced its brains out of its skull, in an instant all of the brains sttered over the floor and the demon died on the spot.


    BUMP!


    Its body fell into the floor with a thud, as I gasped for air.


    Eleanora quickly rushed to my side to assist me.


    "My lord! Are you okay?! I didn''t knew that demon had such power, it seemed to not work on me, but it did on you¡­" she sighed.


    "It worked on me because I am a human, you''re a spirit¡­ It doesn''t matter, I killed it at the end¡­ Hahh¡­ I only need a bit more of EXP and I can level up and recover once more, let''s kill the Oni." I said to Eleanora.


    "Understood!" said Eleanora.<sub> </sub>


    I quickly showered my body with light, as I conjured the Light and Life Magic Spells Recovery Light and Enhanced Regeneration, all boosted with the Level 2 First Aid and Savior Skills together, it made it possible for me to be able to heal myself even faster and more efficiently.


    I had no wounds on my body, but I felt tired and pained, but that pain receded for the most part as I used these spells on me. The power of a Demon Eye wasn''t something to scoff at, I was surprised a mere Imp, even if Elite, would have such a power.


    Demon Eyes are special abilities that Demons are born with, it grants them the ability to utilize special abilities to those they re with their eyes. It consumes demonic energy, and it also works through demonic energy being directly infused into you.


    The paralysis eyes are a particrly deadly one, as it can paralyze muscles, and the heart is made of them, so it can even paralyze the heart, stronger beings can even live with a paralyzed heart, but a human child such as me is not such a case.


    Nheless, I had survived such a deadly attack and I was fine by myself, I had to simply endure this pain and quickly look forward at what to do next, such as killing the Oni.


    Gradus and the other three Hunters were done with the hunt as well, and had leveled up as well, it was obvious by how they were overflowing with new energy, it appears their stamina and health had also greatly improved after leveling up, the powers I have of recovery might also be working on them, perhaps every person has this at their first ten levels? I don''t really know how to tell, but it felt like it.


    "OORRRAAA!"


    The Oni looked at us hatefully as he swung his enormous club, sweeping away the Hunters fighting against him and leaving most of them on the floor with pained expressions, they seemed to be alive, but they might have several internal injuries.


    We quickly moved without a second thought, Gadus led our party as the other three Hunters surrounded me, and Eleanora had already disappeared from the ce and melded into the shadows of the forest trees around us, quickly disappearing. The Oni was fixated into me, and he didn''t noticed how she just disappeared.


    "You humans are weaklings¡­ but you were capable of killing my three dogs¡­ For that, I have to admit you bunch is somewhat decent¡­ Especially you, child-"


    "Stop talking so much."


    FLAAAAASH!


    <o>,m CLASH!</o>


    "AGH!"


    I had fired another stone right into his forehead once more, his speeches were pointless, and I simply used that opportunity to hit him in the head again. He was left dizzy as blood came out of his broken nose. He looked at me with his bloodied eyes rather hatefully.


    "You¡­ you¡­ YOOUUUU!"


    "Here hees!" said Gradus.


    The Blue Oni began to charge directly towards us angrily, his entire body was unleashing a strong aura of demonic power, and his enormous club was shrouded on it. This one wasn''t going to be an easy win.


    -----

 Chapter 99 The Might Of An Oni

    -----


    After throwing a rock into the Oni''s forehead for talking too much, the young demon angrily roared back at me, raising his club weapon. His eyes seemed to suddenly turn bloodshot red, as if he was activating his Berserk Mode. Usually Demons would only activate them when they were damaged already, the more damaged they were, the stronger they would grow.


    This is why one had to quickly finish off a demon instead of letting them stall for time. However, this Oni seemed capable of unleashing his Berserk Mode out of pure rage, a special trait that Onis have, who are a natural race of demons who belong to the Ogre-ss and are good at going berserk and smacking everything on their way.


    They certainlyck any finesse in their ways of fighting, and techniques are null, they only abuse superhuman strength and the infusion of demonic energy into their bodies to fight. However, that would be more than enough for him to kill every single person in this group with ease.


    The blue-skinned demon reached up to us in an instant thanks to the boost of his speed given to him by the Berserk Mode he activated. His entire body began to utilize his demon energy, as the demon core inside of his chest was resonating with overflowing power.


    This seems like an interesting challenge. Will we be able to pull through it? Of course, Eleanora was there to support me, but for now, she will remain in the shadows and wait for the perfect opportunity to strike.


    "I am going to tear you into SHREDS!" roared the Oni, reaching up to me in an instant, his club quickly began to descend over my head.


    The other Hunters opened their eyes wide as they were not able to protect me in time, but that was okay by me, I had purposedly stood  here and let him approach him.


    Why? Well, if he doesn''t get closer I cannot him with my spear.


    Gluttony!


    Using Metabolism eleration, Wind Burst, and Ember, I enhanced my speed by elerating my metabolism, all while using Wind Burst to unleash a burst of wind from behind me, and then, used Ember to propel me in the air through mes that pushed me upwards from below my feet.


    CLAAAASH!


    The Oni''s club hit the ground and generated spiderweb-shaped cracks all around, but I was able to sessfully evade in time.


    "You bastard¡­!" roared the Oni, about to move the Club against me once more, however, I was already shrouded in shadows.


    Yes, this was the Link Skill I acquired from Eleanora, Shadow Sneak.


    FLASH!


    "Huh?! What!"


    The Oni looked at me with surprise as I shrouded myself in shadows and then used Shadow Sneak to jump inside of his Shadow temporarily, this can onlyst for three seconds at most, but that''s enough to move around his body within his own shadow and then emerge behind him.


    Gluttony was already shrouded in mana and qi and was unleashing a massive blood red aura from within, so ominous that it ended giving up my position behind the Oni.


    The Oni quickly realized I somehow emerged behind him, as he tried to catch me, but it was toote, his reaction speed wasn''t the best now that he had activated his Berserk Mode.


    "Dragoon Spear Technique: Sky Eater."


    "Ah¡­!"<sub> </sub>


    The Oni looked at me in disbelief as I moved my hands and arms with incredible swiftness, activating one of the old techniques I once used when I was around my teens in my previous life.


    Sky Eater, the power to eat the sky itself. A mildly over exaggerated name, but a definitely strong Spear Technique.


    Gluttony moved faster than the eye of the Oni could perceive it, as it seemed like an illusion of countless spears emerged around me, all of them began to pierce through his entire body in consecutive blows, blowing off chunks of flesh out of his body!


    CLASH! CLASH! CLASH!


    "UUUUUAAAAAGGGH¡­!"


    The Oni groaned in agony as he was showered in the piercing blows of Gluttony, the massive dark and red aura that Gluttony emanated suddenly began to shape itself as a furious ck specter, each blow into the body of the Oni resembled this furious specter biting through the body of the Oni!


    "T-This is¡­ a mere¡­ child¡­! Unngh¡­! Uuaaggh¡­! D-Damn it!"


    However, within my expectations, something that interrupted my attacks happened, the Oni simply brute forced his way out of my constant attacks as his club reached up to me and hit me cleanly in the left side of my body.


    CLAAASH!


    "Unggh?!"


    I felt like two ribs broke in that instant, and one of them pierced my left lung, the main was severe and my breathing suddenly became agitated, all while my lung began to be filled with blood, an horrendous pain and sensation that made my mind feel numb.


    BOOM!


    I was blown away in that very second into the ground, rolling around and hitting a nearby tree, somehow managing tond while sitting, I looked into the Oni while vomiting blood.


    "Hahh¡­ Ungh¡­ Y-You bastard¡­ You''re really a menace¡­ damn kid¡­"


    The Oni smirked back at me defiantly, his entire body was filled with enormous holes bleeding out rivers of blood, he was gasping for air, weakened, and looking at me with resentment.


    "I am not done yet¡­"


    I put the spear into the ground and used it as support for me, as I stood up, gasping for air, I vomited another mouthful of blood and quickly pierced my own flesh with my hand, relocating my cracked ribs where they should belong, and then wrapping them around using Blood Cloth, a Tier 1 Blood Magic Spell that let me manipte blood, coagte it, and turn it into something simr to a cloth, it wasn''t anything strong, but it helped me closing wounds.


    I took out my bloodied hand out of my torso as I saw the enormous hole I had made. This was certainly giving me more pain than I thought, but I quickly healed and closed the wound¡­


    This is not over yet¡­


    -----

 Chapter 100 Taunting The Enemy

    -----


    The hunters who were being overwhelmed by the power and aura of the Oni looked at me with eyes wide open, almost popping out of their sockets. They seemed to be incapable of believe what they were seeing, a kid of my age suddenly fixing his own broken ribs by just piercing his wound mercilessly?


    Well yes, the pain was excruciating, but my mind was so used to pain now that it only felt like a sensation, a small burning sensation that only kept me more awake. My legs trembled but I quickly infused Qi into them until they stood straight.


    My mind was unwavering, and my body perhaps not as much, but through my techniques and magic, I could make it a bit closer to the state of my mind.


    The Oni saw how I stood up, he was sure that I had died, he noticed how I touched my wound and used blood to close it all, blood magic was even more effective than healing magic for me because of my Physique.


    "You can use Blood Magic¡­? Are you a Vampire?" he asked while vomiting blood again, his entire body slowly started to glow with red energy, covering the wounds, he was trying to heal himself.


    I cannot let him do that. Ipletely ignored his question, as I had no time to speak with someone that was about to die, and I moved forward relentlessly.


    "My lord! Are you okay?!" asked Eleanora through telepathy.


    "I am good, I will distract him some more. The hunters will assist me, you wait for the right moment and then¡­ chop his head right off." I told her.


    "Understood¡­ I trust you!" said Eleanora through telepathy.


    Our bond that has been forged for thousands of years cannot be broken, our mutual trust is as unwavering as my mind, and if I tell her to trust me, she''ll trust me. I know she resisted the urge of saving me when I was hit, but it is the pain I have to bear for our n to work.


    It is a simple n after all, nothing tooplicated. We are just going to abuse Eleanora''s Assassination Skill and wait for the perfect opportunity for her to show up behind the demon and chop his head right off, killing him instantly.


    After all, there are two ways to kill a demon, even destroying their heart won''t do, there are only two ways, hitting them in the head, beheading or sttering their brains in the floor, and the other is by destroying the demonic core they have, which will break them from the inside out, and it is the real equivalent to a heart for them, while their normal heart doesn''t seem to matter if its destroyed, as they are even capable of regrowing one and live for several hours without one until they regenerate a new heart.


    Demons are supernatural beings from another dimension after all, created by the Fallen Archangel Lucifer, their supernatural abilities are akin to those of Vampires or even greater as they raise in the Ranks as Demons. Supernatural reflexes, speed, strength, regeneration of limbs, bones, internal organs, and more is all possible, the only true way to kill them is by the two methods I said.


    If you only cut their arms and legs, they''ll eventually regenerate and attack you again, relentless like cockroaches if not even more vile and annoying to kill, and with a sense of cooperation that makes them hard to deal with, they valuerades and bonds, like humans, which make them resentful, they are intelligent like humans too, which make them able to adapt easily.


    They are a gue that could easily conquer the entire Universe, and that''s exactly what Lucifer has been doing this entire time, and why we were trying to stop him, aside from just trying to find a challenge, there was a duty I had to kill this bastard.<sub> </sub>


    Even in this peaceful world he''s already infecting it with his malice and his demons, and who knows how many worlds have sumbed already¡­


    This blue-skinned Oni is but a steppingstone in the middle of my path, there will be even stronger demons ahead of my path, I cannot falter nor waver against this obstacle, or I might never be able to reach my goals and fulfill my duty, the new duty I have given to myself.


    "So you''reing to me already¡­! You relentless brat¡­! Hahaha¡­ I like your attitude, I like those eyes¡­! Show me¡­ show me what humans are all about!"ughed the Oni, as he swung his club several times against me. Using abination of various tier 1 spells and Shadow Sneak, I evaded swiftly while meddling with his shadow and them emerging out of it constantly, Wind Burst gave me the short burst in speed I needed while Metabolism eleration enhanced all my senses and even my total strength.


    "FIGHT!!!" I roared to the Hunters, as they quickly were led by Gradus, and pointed their spears at the demon while I distracted him with my evasion and my spear, his hits were strong and sometimes I wasn''t able to evade in time, having to defend against him using Gluttony.


    CLAAASH!


    "Unngh¡­!"


    Gluttony was good at intercepting blows, but I didn''t knew if it couldst such strong attacks, it was already showing some cracks on its body.


    The other Hunters began to attack the Demon while he was concentrated on me, they innately learned how to cover their spears with their recently awakened Qi and began to pierce through the Oni''s back and arms while I kept him busy.


    He tried to attack them several times, but I stopped him and made him look towards me if he didn''t wanted to have his chest pierced by my spear.


    CLASH! CLASH! CLASH!


    "Unnngh¡­! You damn cockroaches! You dare interrupt my glorious battle¡­!" groaned the Oni while gritting his teeth, he attempted to attack the four Hunters aiding me, but I quickly pierced his arm with Gluttony and made it blow up into pieces by infusing Qi inside until it exploded like a balloon.


    BOOOM!


    "AAAGH¡­!"


    "Where are you looking at?" I asked.


    -----

 Chapter 101 The Last Struggle!

    -----


    By infusing Qi and Mana into gluttony, I was able to fill the wound I made by piercing the arm that was holding the club from the blue-skinned Oni. This made it so his arm inted like a balloon and exploded into pieces. This technique consumed a lot of Qi, but it left him incapacitated to use the club, as it fell to the ground, and I quickly kicked it away the second after.


    The Oni''s eyes quickly changed from defiant and berserk to pained and¡­ fearful.


    "Unngh¡­! Aaaghh¡­! Y-You damn brat¡­" he muttered, looking at me while gritting his sharp teeth.


    The other Hunters quickly attacked him in conjunction once more, as theirbined piercing attacks using their spears pushed him away, leaving his back filled with even more wounds.


    CLASH! CLASH! CLASH! CLASH!


    "Uuaaagggh¡­!"


    BOOM!


    His entire body fell over the floor as he gasped for air, his arm had been blown into pieces and whatever was left of it was now bleeding intensively. I was surprised he was able to resist the pain so much, but demons are usually insane, so pain is not an obstacle to their thought process, but often an incentive to go even more insane.


    I swiftly moved towards the Oni, thinking that I could finish him off before Eleanora had to bother, but I was wrong. He did something I was half-expecting him to do.


    FLASH!


    The leftover Demonic Energy  he had exploded out of his body as his cut off hand regrew in an instant, like a crab regrowing a w, it emerged while sttering blood everywhere, and he quickly stood up, looking at me while infusing his fists with demonic energy.


    "You''re relentless¡­" I said, as the Oni smiled with a lunatic expression, and pushed forward, leaping towards me and suddenly unleashing a barrage of storming punches.


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!


    Each of his fists became way stronger than before, and so did his style ofbat, as if he had been learning how to fight better since our fight started. His movements became swifter, and he was able to evade some of my own attacks, hitting my shoulder, stomach, and legs constantly.


    CRACK! CRASH! CLASH!


    I felt some of my bones cracking, but I continued pushing forward while gritting my teeth, using Blood Cloth, I used my own internal hemorrhage to contain my broken bones from making me fall over the floor.


    "RRAAAA! BLAKEEE!"


    The hunters tried to attack, led by Gradus, but they were suddenly thrown away with enormous punches in their guts, knocking them out instantly, the Oni had be faster than me now, and I was not able to stop him from doing that now.


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!


    "Unngh¡­!


    "B-ke¡­"


    "No¡­!"


    "Kid¡­!"


    They muttered somest words before falling unconscious, but I paid no attention to them, they had already been plenty of useful, and although the demon had grown stronger, his entire body was tired, and his demonic energy was exhausted, he was moving merely by instinct and adrenaline alone.<sub> </sub>


    CLASH! CLASH! CLASH!


    I used my spear to intercept his blows, but it continued to show more and more cracks, Gluttony might end up breaking before I can finish off the Oni¡­


    But I didn''t had to really finish him off, I just had to give myst push¡­ And I had alreadye out with a special technique that I have created in here.


    "Gluttony Spear Technique: Flesh Tearer!"


    "Unnngh?!"


    The Oni looked at me in horror as my spear was shrouded in thest Mana and Qi I had, overflowing with it, I unleashed vertical sh that tore apart arge chunk of the flesh of his chest, his blood sttered everywhere, as he agonizingly cried in pain.


    "UUUAAAGGH¡­! Y-You damn¡­ Brat! I am going to-"


    FLASH!


    And the Oni was left paralyzed as he felt an ominous presence emerge behind him, in an instant the shadows behind him materialized into a beautiful Vampire girl, as she looked at him like a prey, her spear moved swiftly and was shrouded in the power of her Blood-Attribute Aether.


    "Blood Spear Technique: Rose Garden."


    "Ah¡­ W-What¡­?!"


    Eleanora unleashed her strongest attack against the Oni from behind, boosted by Assassination, her spear was shrouded in the Aura of Blood she could generate, and countless mirages of red roses suddenly appeared around him, as if he found himself trapped inside a garden of them.


    But suddenly, each rose became a piercing spear attack, piercing through his neck from all sides, his flesh was torn apart, and then, all the piercing power reached his bone, cracking it and¡­ blowing his head off at longst.


    "T-This¡­ I¡­ died¡­?"


    The Oni muttered thosest words as his head fell over the floor, looking at his own body that was still standing up, he had died so fast he didn''t believed it, but darkness quickly took over his consciousness, dying on the spot.


    I fell over the floor almost unconsciously, as I felt the warmth of recovery magic covering my body, I had leveled up and my body was being automatically recovered¡­


    "Ah¡­ Eleanora¡­ Good work." I sighed in relief.


    Eleanora sat down at my side, as she sighed.


    "My lord! Why didn''t you let me attack earlier?! Are you a masochist or something? do you like to be shrouded in wounds? You have to take into consideration that you''re a children still! What are you? Only like six years of age! And you already want to be filled with scars? Please be more considerate with yourself!"


    Eleanora began to reprimand my recklessness. It was all finely calcted, but I appreciated how much she worried about me. She was the woman I most loved, so I was happy that she cared so much about me.


    I held her hand and smiled back at her.


    "Thank you for worrying, but I am good now¡­" I said. "More importantly, we need to check the Hunters, I have to heal them¡­ Thankfully, I brought some extra Spirit Orbs I have been saving for a while¡­"


    -----

 Chapter 102 A Bountiful Harvest

    -----


    I absorbed the couple of Spirit Orbs I had saved and recovered my Mana quickly, using this Mana, I began to heal every Hunter as I could, their wounds were not so bad as mine, so they were mostly okay, some had a few broken bones, but they were suddenly healed naturally, they all ended leveling up from the shared EXP of the Oni, it seems, so the healing I had to do was mostly for their superficial wounds that still remained there.


    I looked into the Grimoire afterwards, I had gained arge amount of EXP, the effects of the x10 EXP Card were still on, and there were approximately twenty minutes left. I had gained 1500 EXP from the three Elite Imps, who each one gave 500 EXP rather than the 400 EXP they usually give, and then I also gained 5000 EXP from the Oni, who was a very high-leveled and high-ranked Demon, so the amount of EXP he gave was tremendous.


    Boosted by the effects of Hard Worker and then the x10 EXP Card, the amount of EXP I gained was¡­


    [Calcting EXP gained¡­]


    [You gained 78000 EXP]


    [Your Level has increased from Level 2 to Level 3]


    [Your Level has increased from Level 3 to Level 4]


    [Your Level has increased from Level 4 to Level 5]


    [All your stats have increased]


    [You gained bonus Skill Proficiency]


    [You gained Stat Points and Skill Points]


    [Your Spirit Orb Stage has increased from Initial Stage to Middle Stage! Your Spirit grows stronger!]


    Three Levels in one go! It waspletely worth it to kill that damn Oni. And with leveling to Level 5, something strange happened, I felt as if my Spirit Orb, the strange jewel that every person has in this world, began to shine brightly.


    It started to shine with red light, and then it quickly went off. The energies it emanated flowed across my body, and I felt as if I was growing stronger from it. Apparently, the higher level you reach, the stronger the Spirit Orb bes, and this also makes your Spirits Stronger.


    The Spirit Orb is the "organ" that produces the most Mana aside from the soul itself, so increasing its Stages and then Rank meant more Mana and Mana Regeneration, and stronger Spirits.<sub> </sub>


    Those that reach Rank 2 can even summon a second Spirit, and with each Rank, another spirit can be summoned, I don''t know how many people at Rank 2 or higher are in the vige, but there is probably less than the fingers of my hand.


    It appears that it is just very hard to level up, so people cannot easily reach higher realms of their Spirit Orb "cultivation", although I wouldn''t call it like that if it''s tied to Leveling up their Talent¡­ But even a "talentless" man such as myself can learn Skills anyways, although that must be rted to my Grimoire giving me the advantage of choosing whatever I want, other people doesn''t seem to have the same advantage as I do, so this is kind of my "cheat" in a way.


    As I let the people healing, I looked into my Grimoire, in there, my Stats had increased. I had not realized it yet, but my body felt a bit sturdier than before, and there was a certain nimbleness to my entire physique.


    It seemed that leveling up also enhanced my Physique''s power, the more I leveled up the stronger it would grow alongside my own body. My soul had grown bigger as well, a bit bigger, and my Mana was overflowing from my body.


    With a stronger and healthier body came even more Qi, so everything had increased exponentially, I was perhaps twice as strong as I was before killing the Oni, all in just a few seconds¡­ I remember how hard it was to grow stronger in my previous life, but in this world, by simply killing, you can grow stronger¡­ I suppose this is what incentivizes people to dangerous jobs such as Adventurers, Hunters, and more¡­ By putting yourself in constant danger, one can grow stronger and climb the social hierarchy.


    I had 30 Stat Points, so I decided to utilize them right away. I had decided to use them once more into my Mana, putting all 30 into Mana to increase the amount of "fuel" I have. I almost ran out of it in the battle, and it really put me in a pinch that I had to manage it too much, so having more Mana means I can use more Magic and perhaps even be capable of creating a Magic Circle inside of my soul eventually, that would be of great help with my growth.


    And now, I also had 30 Skill Points that I could spend in anything I wanted. There was a handful of Skills to grab, so I filtered the ones that couldn''t be learned naturally and found a few of them that I could grab. A Skill usually costs 10 Skill Points, but some of those costed more.


    However, I had already decided my next Skills, so I quickly picked them up. I had previously choose them already, and they were all Skills I couldn''t learn naturally as they were gifted to someone when they were born, or through other special Talents I don''t have.


    These Skills are ssified as the Skills normal people learn through leveling up with certain Job sses, I don''t know yet how this works for other people, but their Skill Points might be spent automatically unlike what I can do.


    Nheless¡­ these Skills would vastly enhance my fighting ability and growth.


    [You exchanged 30 Skill Points to learn the [Hawk Eye: Lv1], [Gifted Magic Apprentice: Lv1], and [Heavy Drinker: Lv1] Skills!]


    All these Skills would be useful in my journey ahead, although they might stay at Level 1 for a while, but their help wille in handy from now on.


    And with that, I''ve also bought all the Skills that cost 10 Skill Points¡­ anything else that cannot be naturally learned costs over 20 Skill Points, sadly¡­


    -----

 Chapter 103 New Skills

    -----


    I had gained three and new incredible Skills. They were not the craziest there could be, as I''ve heard that there are people with Skills capable of unleashing explosive attacks or storms, but these three Skills will aid in my overall capabilities to vastly surpass what a normal human can do.


    I had chosen Hawk Eye to enhance my vision, Gifted Magic Apprentice to make my Intelligence, Wisdom, and MP growth even greater, while having an easier time conjuring magic, and then Heavy Drinker to multiply the effects of all consumable items, mostly potions and pills.


    Their descriptions were short, but insightful.


    -----


    [Hawk Eye: Lv1]


    A Skill that grants the user the ability to have eyes simr to those of Hawks. Your sight is capable of augmenting towards a direction, being able to clearly see even from very far away. The distance in which things can be seen is enhanced over each level.


    -----


    [Gifted Magic Apprentice: Lv1]


    A Skill for those gifted with magic. Your ability to grow your Mana, Intelligence, and Wisdom Stats per level is enhanced greatly with each level. You also have an easier time conjuring magic and forming and creating spells.


    -----


    [Heavy Drinker: Lv1]


    A Skill that helps those that like to consume and drink. Your ability to drink items that can heal energies is enhanced, the effects of Potions, Pills, Food, and other things that recover energy or grant other special effects is doubled, and it increases by a percentage with each level.


    -----


    Those were the Skills. I had seen them back then when I had just reached Level 1, and since then that I had been wanting to have them in my repertoire. Now that I have them, I think I can use them to grow stronger.


    Gifted Magic Apprentice is like the opposite version of Robust Body, enhancing magic stats instead of all the other physical stats, then there is Heavy Drinker to double the effects of all consumable items, and then Hawk Eye for a better sight.


    I nced at my Status as a smile emerged on my lips.


    -----


    Name: ke Hunter Goathorn.


    Race: Human


    Spirit Orb Realm: Rank 1 (Initial Stage -> Middle Stage)


    Job ss: None


    Subss: None


    Level: 2 / 10 -> 5 / 10


    EXP: 8500 / 45000


    < Health Points: 82 / 82 -> 176 / 176>


    < Mana Points: 216 / 216 -> 456 / 456>


    < Strength: 62 -> 120>


    < Agility: 51 -> 90 >


    < Vitality: 54 -> 100 >


    < Intelligence: 117 -> 195>


    < Dexterity: 67 -> 138>


    Spirits (1/1): [Half-Vampire: Eleanora (Rank 1 Initial Stage -> Middle Stage)]


    Link Skills:


    [Link (Eleanora): [Shadow Sneak: Lv1]


    Passive Skills:


    [Acrobatics: Lv2]<sub> </sub>


    [Robust Body: Lv1]


    [Hard Worker: Lv1]


    [Hawk Eye: Lv1]


    [Gifted Magic Apprentice: Lv1]


    [Heavy Drinker: Lv1]


    Active Skills:


    [Throwing Technique: Lv2]


    [Butcher: Lv2]


    [Alchemy: Lv1]


    [First Aid: Lv2]


    Title Skills:


    [Beast yer: Lv1]


    [Demon yer: Lv2]


    [Savior: Lv2]


    Avable Stat Points: 0


    Avable Skill Points: 0


    Can gain 10 Stat Points and Skill Points with each Level.


    Curses:


    EXP required to level up x100


    Proficiency required to learn techniques and skills x100


    Mana/Qi/Aether Recovery speed decreased by -50%


    -----


    Hm, Good. Although¡­ I feel quite annoyed, it had already grown way too convoluted, it already takes three pages in the Grimoire to look at my entire Status¡­ This is why I feel like these sorts of game-like systems are always wed to be a mess.


    I will not be looking at this again unless I level up again, so I don''t have to feel so bad, although looking at Eleanora''s Status is also my priority now that she had also leveled up to Level 5 with me and her Stage has been enhanced to Middle Stage.


    Indeed, Spirits have the same Rank as your Spirit Orb, when your cultivation of spirit orb increases, the power of your Spirits skyrockets instantly, now, Eleanora is even stronger than before, and she¡­ well, she''s obviously surpassing me in everything except magic by now.


    <o>,m But that''s good, in a world dominated by spirits, having a strong spirit that can protect you is a must, so having Eleanora being strong is  the best possible thing that could happen.</o>


    "Level 5 really feels nice¡­ I have truly leveled up a lot, my lord. But did you get any other gift like before?" she asked.


    "I told you to not call me "my lord" before, Eleanora¡­ And no, I didn''t got any other gift, so I only have the x5 EXP Card as thest thing I will get, I suppose this was just to incentivize my leveling quickly¡­" I said. "I have picked three Skills as of now, will you use your Stat Points and Skill Points? I can use them for you as well¡­"


    "Oh, no, I will do it myself, let me see¡­" said Eleanora. She had grown quite independent and wanted to arrange her stats and skill points herself instead than letting me do it. I think it gives her a sense of customization to her own power which she seems to have grown fond of.


    Eleanora continued being a min-maxer, as she had once more spent her Stat Points in Strength, Dexterity, and Agility, with a bit on Vitality as well. From the group of Skills she can pick, she chose two, both were 15 Skill Points each.


    [Eleanora has learned the [Illusion: Lv1] and [Stealth: Lv1] Skills!]


    She of course acquired Skills that can aid her at hiding and striking when the target least expect it, to be expected of Eleanora, she had grown more and more obsessed with ying the role of an assassin in battle, so these two special Skills fit her nicely.


    The first one grants her the ability to generate small illusions that could deceive a target, something like tricks might be more effective and so on. Meanwhile, Stealth will allow her to conceal her presence even better than before, and even camouge with ease.


    With these two Skills and Shadow Sneak, she has really be quite the stealthy fighter.


    -----

 Chapter 104 Hunting The Giant Wild Boar!

    -----


    Eleanora''s stats had increased more than they would had increased normally thanks to having enhanced the Stage of her Rank from Initial Stage to Middle Stage, giving her an amazing boost to her stats, which were all higher than me except a Mana and Intelligence, although shecked Mana as a Spirit, who lived out of the Mana of the Spirit Master.


    -----


    Name: Eleanora.


    Spirit Race: Half Vampire.


    Spirit Type: Blood / Dark


    Spirit Realm: Rank 1 (Initial Stage -> Middle Stage)


    Level: 2 / 10 -> 5 / 10


    < Health Points: 125 / 125 -> 265 / 265 >


    < Strength: 99 -> 268 >


    < Agility: 94 -> 193 >


    < Vitality: 77 -> 132 >


    < Intelligence: 47 -> 83>


    < Dexterity: 82 -> 164 >


    Link Skills:


    [Link (ke): [Hard Worker: Level 1]


    Passive Skills:


    [Half-Vampire: Lv2]


    [Charm: Lv2]


    [Spirit Link: Lv1]


    Active Skills:


    [Blood Edge: Lv2]


    [Shadow Sneak: Lv2]


    [Blood Bat Transformation: Lv1]


    [Assassination: Lv1]


    [Illusion: Lv1]


    [Stealth: Lv1]


    Title Skills:


    [Vampire Queen: Lv2]


    Avable Stat Points: 0


    Avable Skill Points: 0


    -----


    Although she was growing to be stealthy, her stats could easily allow her to be a tank if she wanted, but she was more inclined into attacking enemies with other types of movements, and more secure blows where she cannd critical hits that increase damage thanks to her Assassination Skill, further cementing her devotion towards this ystyle.


    Now that we ended checking our growth, it was time to move on. The Hunters were already beginning to wake up, although I had woke them up ahead of time by using my Qi and infusing it into their brains.


    The brain, filled with vitality, would forcefully wake up from their unconscious state. Most of them were now fully healed, and everyone survived, barely. However, we had yet to find the Giant Wild Boar.


    "Ahh¡­ W-What happened? Did I fall unconscious?"


    "Oh¡­ The demons are dead?"


    "T-This is¡­ ke, you did this?!"


    "Incredible¡­"<sub> </sub>


    "His spirit is also powerful; she probably did help a lot as well¡­"


    All the Hunters began to assess what had happened, the majority was praising me, but I wasn''t someone that liked to be praised to be honest.


    "It was all thanks to the efforts of everyone¡­ Hahh¡­ We barely made it. I have healed you, but because you helped in defeating the demons, you''ve gained another blessing, and your wounds have healed." I said.


    "I-Incredible¡­ we did received a blessing, I feel stronger!"


    "Hm? I think I learned a new Skill, I feel like I have a new power or something inside of my head."


    "Amazing¡­"


    Gradus stood up and cleansed the dirt off his clothes, as he nodded.


    "You''re someone incredible for your age, ke¡­ What you''ve done have left me speechless¡­ I can barely imagine your future because you''re brimming with potential, boy. Your father should be proud of you." Said Gradus. "Now, perhaps we should move back, hunting another Wild Boar would be¡­"


    Suddenly, as if by a strike of luck, the trees behind us began to crack apart, the forest began to shake entirely, and an enormous figure emerged, driven by the scent of fresh blood, a monstrous wild boar suddenly broke into our conversation.


    "W-What?! A wild boar!"


    "What kind of luck is this?!"


    "I can''t¡­ believe it¡­!"


    <o>,m "Shit, its charging straight to here! Stand up, prepare to fight!"</o>


    "The star of fortune has finally shone upon us!" celebrated Gradus. "Men! Let''s kill this thing and let''s go back home with a big prey! Tonight we are dining boar meat!"


    "RAAAA!"


    The Hunters all raised their spears as I smiled, this also went ording to n. Eleanora had already told me that a wild boar was close by as she had detected it when she was scouting the area in the form of a small bat, and now, driven by the fresh blood of the demons, it quickly emerged here.


    The monster was like a wild boar, with long brown hair, a spike mane, two sharp tusks capable of piercing through trees with ease, and two sharp eyes, it was almost 5 meters tall, so it was a healthy adult.


    It was indeed lucky, but I feel like we deserved this strike of luck after all the things we went through. The Boar was a powerful monster, but not as cunning nor having many abilities as demons, it was simply a brute creature that charge against anything on its path.


    The hunters enhanced their spears with mana and threw them as javelins, piercing the wild boar''s back.


    "GRUUUOOHH¡­!"


    The boar gave a loud groan of pain as it began to attempt to charge against Gradus, but I moved forward and defended him this time. I concentrated my Mana and Qi into my spear and quickly unleashed several piercing blows in quick session.


    The spear moved to an incredible speed, as I used the same techniques I utilized against the Oni, Sky Eater and Flesh Tearer!


    CLASH! CLASH! CLASH! CLASH!


    The spear moved so fast it generated afterimages of itself that continued to pierce through the defenses of the wild boar, its eyes burst into bloody pulp by my blows, and its entire body was pierced by the weapon, bleeding everywhere.


    Gradus and I jumped away from it before it was to sh in front of an old tree behind us.


    CLAAASH!


    "Eleanora!" I said.


    "Understood!"


    Eleanora moved swiftly, jumping from within the shadow of the wild boar and using her spear once more, infusing it with Aura and then falling over the Wild Boar like a meteor.


    "Blood Spear Technique: Scarlet Fall."


    Eleanora used her own body weight to enhance the strength of her spear, as the tip pierced through the wild boar''s skull.


    FLAAAAASH!


    BOOOMMM!!!


    The entire head exploded by the mere impact, as blood and brains sttered all over the ce, the weakened boar died on the spot. It was a strong beast, but nothing asplicated to fight as a near undying Demon like the Oni.


    The Wild Boar gave a whopping 1500 EXP, when multiplied by x10, it ended being 15000 EXP.


    [Calcting EXP Gained¡­]


    [You gained 15000 EXP]


    -----

 Chapter 105 A Calm Aftermath

    -----


    After we found the Boar, the Hunters were all filled with joy, it was finally time to go back and rest. It had been a long hunt, and we ended fighting unexpected foes in the form of demons, but we were able to reach the prey we were seeking¡­ However, this was still rather bad.


    To think that we had to go through so many demons just to reach a wild boar was ridiculous, the amount of these demons is too much, and it seems that this ce should really be taken care by the Duchy itself if the Duke doesn''t want the entire forest to be filled with demons.


    If the demons are let to be, they''ll end up forming an army and invade the rest of the duchy, they''ll go through each vige, one by one, until they only leave a barrennd behind.


    "We finally got the boar¡­"


    "Your spirit is really powerful, ke¡­"


    "You''re the hero of today''s hunt, thank you foring with us."


    "We are forever grateful."


    "Indeed, you''ve saved our lives more than once today. To think that we had to go through so many demon to just find a wild boar¡­ I remember the old times when wild boars dominated this forest and there were way too many, every time we entered it, we would encounter one after an hour of searching, instead of having to take over half a day like today¡­" sighed Gradus.


    "The Demons¡­ were they not here before?" I asked. "Are they a recent thing?"


    Gradus looked at me with contempt and nodded.


    "Indeed, they only appeared around a few years ago in this volume, before they were not that many and often asmon as goblins, which only you can find around the Third Layer¡­ after you pass through the Third Layer it is Wild Territory which goes all the way to the snowy peaks you can see faraway, in there it is said that there is a white dragon that keeps the mountains in perpetual snow¡­" said Gradus. "But anyways, that dragon ain''t doing crap for us, the demons are slowly devouring anything in our forest until nothing will remain except them¡­"


    "Hm¡­ I see. So the Demons perhaps have begun an invasion just a few years ago, if they are not thinned out every day, they''ll continue to reproduce¡­" I said. "We need reinforcements from the Duke himself, he needs to invest a bit in this, this is really a serious matter. If the demons overrun the vige they''ll simply continue moving forward and destroy everything on their path until they reach his duchy and knock on his door, by then, there won''t be much he could do other than run away and lose all his riches in the process."<sub> </sub>


    "Ah¡­ T-That''s right¡­ I guess I had not thought it too deeply but indeed if the demons are not thinned out¡­ bad things will eventually happen. Not only the entire vige is in danger, but the entirety of the duchy is in grave danger, everything could go awry if we let them reproduce¡­" said Gradus. "Little ke, you''re strong, you can even take down demons¡­ But even then, you won''t be able to take down an entire army of demons¡­ We really need help."


    "Yes, I agree¡­ After we prepare the meat and send it to the duke, I would like to prepare a "gift" for him, with a note. Is that possible?" I asked. "I swear it won''t be anything bad, but it could make him realize the state of the vige."


    "Hmm¡­ Sure thing." Said Gradus. "The guards that send back the meat do ept other things to be sent as offerings to the Duke¡­ We can also give them a message. But those guards are very untrustworthy, they see us as pretty much ves, I don''t even know if they''ll tell him or justugh it off and call us insane and never tell him anything¡­"


    p "Indeed, that''s why I will prepare him a beautiful gift." I said. "It is just demon meat; I am sure he''ll like the premium meat of an Oni."</anda>


    "Oh yes, perhaps that could giant some favor from him!" said Gradus. "Good idea, ke."


    Yes¡­ It is an excellent idea, isn''t it? I will send him a wondrous and delicious gift, and a note telling him to get his shit together and help this ce if he doesn''t want his duchy to be overrun by demons before it is toote.


    We quickly moved back to the vige after packing up the boar inside my bag. In the way, we encountered four Imps scouting the area and a pair of Gray Wolves, which all were killed by me and Eleanora for the most part, they were easier to kill now that our stats had skyrocketed so much, and I was able to utilize that x10 EXP Card until thest minutes, earning a nice amount of EXP.


    Each Imp gave me 400 EXP, while the two gray wolves was 100 EXP each, that multiplied by x10 plus +20% from Hard Worker gave me enough EXP to level up to Level 6. With that, I had increased my stats once more, I spent the Stat Points into Mana as always, as I am capable of boosting my other stats using magic, so Mana is the priority that I must increase, and it is also the fuel of Eleanora, so I cannot really pick other stats for now, while I saved the 10 Skill Points forter.


    Eleanora ended adding all her points to Strength for this time, as she felt like she didn''t had enough strength to one-shot low-level enemies yet, even though her strength is already superhuman¡­


    At the end of the journey, we finally reached the vige, and we were greeted by my family and the families of the hunters, who were all worried.


    "ke, you''re back! And you''re¡­ COVERED IN BLOOD?!" cried my mother, almost falling unconscious out of horror.


    -----

 Chapter 106 Butchering Is Easier Than You Think

    -----


    After finally convincing my mother that this blood was that of the monsters we fought and that I waspletely healthy, as she checked my own body multiple times after seeing me covered in blood, the entire group of hunters began to quickly butcher the boar while it was still fresh.


    The sun was slowly setting in the horizon, so we had to hurry up before it was to be dark at night, and my mother decided toe help at butchering. She of course knew how to butcher animals as someone that lives in a vigeposed mostly of hunters, and she was rather good at it.


    The kids all came back when they learned that I was back from my hunt, Chris, Eric, and Erika began to help me at butchering too, but they were very clumsy at it, so I had to teach them a lot while we were at it.


    "Man, draining blood is going to take a long time¡­" sighed Gradus.


    "Don''t worry about it." I said.


    I touched the entire boar and using Eleanora''s assistance, I drained all the blood out of the corpse of the boar, absorbing it and then converting it into Blood Qi, gaining a great deal of this energy, which quickly began to nourish and enhance my physique, I was getting closer for the Physique to increase in Tier.


    "Y-You drained its blood?!" asked Gradus.


    "Yes, my spirit gives me the ability to manipte blood, you''ve seen her doing that already, right? It is her power¡­" I said. "I often take the blood of what I hunt like this, so feel free to ask me to extract the blood of anything you''ll butcher."


    "S-Sure, we''ll take it into consideration."


    "Indeed¡­"


    "You''re very useful, aren''t you?"


    "ke is really a future Hero or something, I am sure of it. We are witnessing a future hero!"


    The Hunters were all surprised by me once more, something I disliked, but that I had to do to get this tasty Blood Qi for myself, also, to hasten the butchering of the entire beast before it were to grow nasty. Blood was often the primary cause of corpses beginning to rot.


    "Uwah, the boar is way too big, we''ll never finish butchering this thing!" sighed Erika, she felt tired, even though she didn''t had a living body, most likely because she innately usesrge quantities of mana to move her own body constantly, so she also grows tired like other people do when they move a lot, but this exhaustion actuallyes from her soul.


    But even then, like any other person, she''ll get better and better at resisting exhaustion as she progresses her cultivation and enhancement of mana the same way people''s bodies grow stronger through exercise.


    "Indeed, I can''t believe you butcher monsters every day, ke! This is too much¡­" said Chris. "I can''t take it anymore¡­ Oof¡­" Chris sat down over the grass while gasping for air near Erika.


    "Aghh¡­ I am beat¡­" sighed Eric. "ke, spare us some time to rest¡­" Eric ended sitting over the grass as well, all three kids looked almost dead of exhaustion.<sub> </sub>


    "Okay, you can rest. I never asked for your help to begin with." I sighed. "We''ll cook some boar meatter so we can enjoy it together."


    "Ooh! Boar meat!" said Erika, smiling happily. "Been a while since I have eaten some!"


    "Oh yeah¡­ I love boar meat¡­ It is so tasty¡­" said Chris. "I can tell why the Duke is so obsessed with it, it is just the best meat¡­"


    "But is the vor worth all the effort the hunters have to put?" asked Eric. "ke already told us they had to kill several demons before reaching the boar to begin with¡­ The forest is getting more and more dangerous, or so says my uncle and auntie¡­"


    "It certainly is not worth it in the long run, anything is more worth it, just raising animal cattle, even¡­" I sighed. "However, aside from the orders of the Duke, it could be said that hunting wild boars is like a ritual that this vige has been doing for years, also if you defeat one you can easily get blessings and grow stronger quickly."


    "T-That''s certainly right¡­" said Eric. "I suppose¡­"


    I left the kids talking for a while as I used a separate and cleaned spear with Eleanora using her own to cut down the giant boat, we moved around the giant internal organs aside, which can be used for alchemy, apparently, and then we took out the entire pelt, therge tusks, and whatever was left of the head, after that, cutting down the entire thing was an easy process through spear techniques.


    SLAAASH!


    BOOM!


    Arge chunk of the wild boar was cut off by Gradus as he had infused his spear with mana and merely unleashed a simple sh into therge carcass. I did the same, and so did Eleanora, until the entire thing was cut down intorge chunks, which were cut down into even smaller chunks, like that, until the entire monster was made into chunks of around 40 centimeters, there were many.


    The ones that we were not going to eat were mostly all going to the Duke, so I saw that one of the wives of the hunters brought her daughter, and they began to use bird-like spirits that emanated an icy aura, freezing through the chunks and conserving them this way.


    Interesting, and then they just have to melt the ice when they reach the kitchen of the duke, isn''t it? how convenient, I guess there are all sorts of spirits in this world.


    Therge thing left after butchering the creature was a glowing orb of around 50 centimeters sitting over the floor, this was the boar''s Spirit Orb.


    "ke, we have all concluded that you should be the one to keep the Spirit Orb, son. You put most of the work in there, and helped us big time, so you deserve it." said Gradus.


    "Ah¡­ Thank you very much for your kindness." I said.


    -----

 Chapter 107 Dont Be So Cowardly

    -----


    The hunters all offered me their gratitude in the form of this gigantic Spirit Orb. I had intended on asking them for it in exchange for some money, as I had a lot of gold as savings and I was willing to buy it at a cheaper price than I could get it in the market, but at the end, they gifted it to me.


    "Ah¡­ Thank you very much for your kindness."


    "No problem!"


    "You really helped us out there."


    "I hope you don''t go hunt alone though; it would be dangerous¡­"


    "Make sure to bring some meat to your parents and your father too!" said Gradus.


    I had not really expected them to be this nice with me, this was the first time we truly interacted with one another, and it could be said that I had forced them to find the boar, so I cold gain more EXP¡­ but at the end, these people were grateful I had saved their lives, and also that with my help, we were able to get this job done.


    Now, deep down, I felt a bit bad for having forced them to work, but at the end of the day, things ended rather well, so there wasn''t much I could think of. I had to just ept the gift and not think badly of myself, I will try to be more considerate.


    I had realized that this people¡­ they were my friends, perhaps. The neighbors I always ignored had their own lives, their own families, and each and every one of them had their own personalities.


    Since when did I ever had such a feeling before? It feels like I had put myself in their shoes for a bit, is this¡­ Empathy? Yes, it is¡­ Such an interesting feeling. I had not felt empathy in a while, but I had begun to develop it in this second life. First with my family and now with these brave hunters.


    This entire vige¡­ Perhaps I really like it. I had not imagined myself in this situation. Deep down I still thought I was rather cold-hearted with others, but at the end, I had grown fond of these people.


    I don''t really like to be a sentimental person. It is hard for me, mostly because I had forgotten about my emotions long ago, regaining them really feels quite strange, but it does makes me feel more alive than before.


    So this is what it feels to be a human, huh?


    The smiles of the hard-working hunters brightened the night, as we quickly decided to celebrate by roasting enormous chunks of meat from the boar. Of course, most of it was going to the duke, but the boar was so big that he would never notice that we took a part for ourselves, and it was already a tradition to have a big dinner with boar meat after a sessful hunt.


    At the end, I decided to bring my mother, my grandmother, and my father, who was now able to walk well enough toe out and enjoy some food with the rest of the hunters.


    Chris, Eric, and Erika were stuffing their cheeks with the meat of the boar, and the rest of the hunters began to drink beer while singing with my father, the wives of the hunters including my mother were also celebrating with the hunters, some were cooking and others were serving more food, they were happy to help.


    "T-This meat is really good! I can''t stop eating!" said Erika. "Maybe we could eat it every day? There''s a lot!"<sub> </sub>


    "No, the rest is going to the duke." I said. "This is all we''ll get for now."


    "Ugh¡­ I see¡­" sighed Erika. "I wonder if we could get some more by buying it."


    "This meat is way too expensive and the duke always buys it, so I doubt it." said Eric. "The best thing you can do is go hunt a boar."


    "Yeah, but how could you hunt a boar?" asked Chris. "We are all kids after all, so I doubt we could be able to do such a thing to begin with."


    Hunt a wild boar¡­ It could be a good trial for the kids. Although they''re developing their Qi and Mana pretty well, they need to level up gain enough power and slowly unlock their true potential. And all three of them got very strong Talents, which are all three stars at the very least.


    Talents seem to have stars that determine their rarity, Chris me Wizard is a four-star talent, Eric''s Druid is a three-star talent, and Eleanora''s Princess Talent is five-star.


    Meanwhile, someone with no talent like me is zero star, the lowest possible talent, so I would be often called a waste of oxygen by the elite.


    People can be born with low star talent but a strong spirit, but the Talent is still important, it determines their future potential and even how fast they can progress, level up, and even break their level cap.


    I don''t really know if there are other ways to cultivate a spirit orb, but only those with three-star talents and above can even reach higher ranks of spirit orbs¡­ Perhaps there could be hidden ways in other countries, but in here everyone judges you based in the Talent.


    As someone talentless, I can only reach a certain level and then my growth would stop, but that doesn''t seem to be the case with the Grimoire.


    Something will certainly happen after I reach Level 10¡­ I am almost sure of it.


    "Hmm¡­ Perhaps we could go huntter on, you all need to grow stronger after all." I said.


    "E-Eh? Us?" asked Erika.


    "Y-You must be mistaken, ke¡­ How can we go hunt ourselves?" said Eric. "We are very weak¡­"


    "Don''t be such a coward, Eric!" said Chris. "If we can go hunt, then we''ll be able to gain blessings and grow stronger as well, maybe we''ll be able to help ke on his hunt as well."


    "Oohh! Sounds fun, I''ve been wanting to hunt monsters for a while myself¡­" said Erika.


    -----

 Chapter 108 Strenghtening Gluttony

    -----


    The celebrations were almost ending, as my father and my mother walked to my side and began to pet me and kiss me while hugging me, my mother had not been drinking alcohol, but my father was reeking in alcohol and wasughing and smiling all the time.


    "My son is the best!" heughed. "I love you so much, my little boy!"


    "Come on, dear, you got drunk again¡­ Look at you, you''re all red now." Laughed my mother. "Hahaha!"


    "Hic¡­ Ahh¡­ Hehe¡­ My precious wife! I love you so much too¡­" he said again. "I am happy¡­" My father suddenly rested over the table.


    "W-When I get back to full health¡­" he sighed. "I swear I am catching a big game¡­"


    "Ahaha, it is fine, father. I am d you''re happy¡­" I said. "Don''t worry about things and slowly recover at your own pace."


    "Sniff¡­ My son is so nice¡­" he cried. "I don''t deserve such a talented young man¡­"


    It seems that my father was the type of drunk that began to praise everyone and open up more when he was all filled with booze. I petted his head and smiled faintly.


    We quickly ended carrying my half-asleep father back home with my mother and my grandma behind us, as we ced him on bed.


    "Zzzz¡­"


    "He''s really a handful, isn''t he? He seems a bit frustrated he wasn''t able to help, but he''ll get back at it when he gets healthier¡­" said my mother.


    "Yeah, I know. My father is a hard worker¡­ He just has to take it easy for some time." I said. "When hees back, I will apany him in the hunts."


    "Sounds like a good idea¡­ Now, you go back to your bed, dear." Said my mother, kissing my forehead and hugging me. "Go take a bath first, you reek at blood and sweat."


    "Okay¡­"


    I moved to the bath and had a cold bath at the night, while Eleanora was in her bath form flying outside and speaking to me through telepathy.


    "Erika and the other two kids went to their houses now; the rest of the hunters are mostly all back home by now as well. They carried the meat of the boar inside a storage house." Said Eleanora. "My lord, they seem to not really care about the demons in your bag, so I guess we can keep them."


    "Yeah, I assumed as much." I said. I used magic to clean myself, manipting water and washing every corner of my body until I waspletely well clean, and I dried myself with some wind magic.


    I walked outside and quickly changed clothes, feeling refreshed, it was time to assess some of the gains we got, especially the giant spirit orb and the demon corpses and cores. After all I have to prepare the Duke''s gift.


    We moved to the storage room inside of my house as Eleanora entered the window in her bat form and transformed back to her humanoid form, emerging as a small and adorable vampire girl.


    "Let''s go." She said.


    We walked into the storage room, and we put the pile of Imp corpses and the Oni. I quickly drained out their blood and converted it into Blood Qi, and then, I asked Eleanora to cut them down into pieces, the Imps were going to be our meat for the rest weeks, so we don''t have to waste money in buying expensive meat in the market.


    Meanwhile, the Oni had another fate, as I butchered him out and left his head well clean, putting some spells that conservated it, mostly Death Attribute Spells such as "Preservation", and the Life Attribute Spell "Disinfect".


    "Hm, it looks quite pretty, my lord, it will be a wonderful gift." Said Eleanora with a devilish smile.<sub> </sub>


    "Isn''t it? I am sure the Duke will love it." I said. "Now, these are the Demon Cores, right?"


    I looked atop the table, there were several red-colored jewels and one that wasrger than the others, the Oni''s jewel. As he was a high-ranked demon, his demon core was way bigger.


    All of them were snacks for Gluttony.


    I raised my spear and quickly pierced each demon core with the tip. Each core lost their light and became transparent afterwards, gaining some EXP with each demon core, until the spear leveled up.


    [Gluttony] has absorbed the [Demon Core]!]


    [Gluttony] gained 200 EXP]


    [Gluttony] has absorbed the [Demon Core]!]


    [Gluttony] gained 200 EXP]


    [Gluttony] has absorbed the [Demon Core]!]


    [Gluttony] gained 200 EXP]


    ¡­


    [Gluttony] Level has increased from Level 2 to Level 3!]


    [Gluttony] Level has increased from Level 3 to Level 4!]


    Excellent. It had also gained a bit more of EXP by absorbing the blood and lives out of the ones it killed, so Gluttony had grown plenty of strong now. The one thing that was left was the giant spirit orb sitting there.


    And the best way was to absorb it as well, it was no use for me if it was just going to give me a lot of Mana and that was it, it was better to just give it to Gluttony, my weapon, which has helped me greatly in fighting the demons and other monsters.


    Actually, by solely absorbing the demon cores, the cracks and damage it had quickly disappeared, and it gained a new ck-colored metallic luster, it felt as if it was slowly gaining more decorations and growing more beautiful, as if the weapon itself was evolving.


    ? "So the beast orb is left?" asked Eleanora.


    "Yes¡­ Time to eat, Gluttony." I said with a smile. The spear seemed to somehow understand my words, as it emanated an eerie aura from within.


    I pointed it into the orb and pierced the entire orb with the sharp tip.


    CLAASH!


    CRACK!


    The entire spirit orb cracked into pieces, as the energy flew inside of the spear and infused it with new power and energy¡­ Gluttony suddenly felt a great power surging from within it, as I suddenly saw the phantom of the wild boar emerging from it.


    -----

 Chapter 109 Wild Boar Spirit Familiar

    -----


    Aside from the Wild Boar''s Orb, I had also absorbed some of the spirit orbs of the two Gray Wolves using Gluttony as well, as the summon of the Gray Wolves Growth went to 2 / 20, with 18 more, it might grow stronger or perhaps increase a Rank, but Gray Wolves are pretty rare¡­ Unless I find their spirit orbs in the market. They''re very cheap so maybe I could just waste a bit of money on them? Hm¡­


    [Gluttony] has devoured the [Spirit Orb]!]


    [Gluttony] has acquired the ability to summon a new type of Beast Spirit!]


    "Oh, it learned it?" asked Eleanora. "Can it summon a wild boar now?"


    "I wonder the same, let''s check it right away¡­ Summon Beast, Wild Boar." I said.


    FLAAASH!


    Gluttony suddenly gathered some of my Mana, around 100 of it, and quickly began to materialize it into a gigantic mass, almost two three meters big, barely fitting in the room.


    POOF!


    "GRUUOH!"


    A gigantic three-meter-big wild boar showed up, but it was pitch ck, and had red eyes, alongside a white horn growing from its forehead. The tusks were sharper but smaller, and it seemed to emanate a dark aura of malice¡­


    "Hah¡­ This one seems way stronger than the Gray Wolves, doesn''t he?" Iughed. "It also¡­ it is not H Rank?!" I asked in disbelief.


    "W-What Rank is it?" asked Eleanora. "Is it a higher Rank?"


    "It is¡­"


    I quickly looked into the boar''s status, as I decided to name it "Orcus" in a whim.


    -----


    Name: Orcus


    Type: Beast


    Rank: G


    Race: Giant Wild Boar


    < Health Points: 150 / 150 >


    < Strength: 120 >


    < Agility: 55 >


    < Vitality: 90 >


    < Intelligence: 1 >


    < Dexterity: 35 >


    Buff: +2 Strength, +2 Vitality


    Skill: [Berserk Charge]


    Growth: 1/10


    -----


    It was way stronger than the Gray Wolves¡­ In fact, the Gray Wolves werepletely left obsolete without even being able to showcase their power at all, Orcus was ruling now! I am sorry, Fenrir, but unless you grow any stronger, I am going to rece you.<sub> </sub>


    "Incredible¡­ G-Rank¡­ Look at his stats, Eleanora." I said, as I showed her the status of Orcus in the Grimoire. Her red eyes quickly opened wide in surprise and awe.


    "It is not as strong as us, but it is indeed a strong creature! We could use it as a mount, no?" asked Eleanora. "What can the Skill do?"


    "It seems to be a basic offensive move¡­" I said, as I checked it.


    -----


    [Berserk Charge]


    Charge towards a certain direction furiously, increasing total movement speed while moving to a direction by +50%, upon hitting a target, damage is increased by +40%. May knock out a target instantly.


    -----


    "It is a good Skill!" said Eleanora. "It can increase its speed by merely charging and it deals a lot of damage that can even knock out a foe instantly, amazing, Orcus!" Eleanora began to pet the giant boar with her hand, Orcus seemed pleased to be given love.


    "Gruuoohh! Gruooh¡­"


    From within my shadows, I suddenly heard the saddened howls of the Fenrir I had summoned for stat boosts¡­ I felt a bit bad for them, and I also realized one of them disappeared. Is it because I summoned Orcus? I see, so now instead of getting the boost to agility and dexterity from that one Fenrir, I am getting a boost to Strength and Vitality, interesting.


    "There will be more time for experimentationster, for now, go back to my Shadows, Orcus." I said. Orcus immediately obeyed me, jumping into my shadows, and barely fitting inside¡­ I don''t think I would be able to fit another four of them inside my shadow, it is already getting tight with a single one.


    I need to find another way to hide them, maybe leaving them inside the forest would be a good idea? But there isn''t really any other option, unless I confess my parents that my spear suddenly began to act weird and now has summoning powers¡­ No, I am not telling them a thing. Let''s just leave it as it is for now¡­


    "Gruoh!"


    Orcus was ying around with the four other Fenrir, but they didn''t seemed to like him, and were always trembling in fear due to his intimidating presence¡­ well, you''ll have to endure your new friend for now, if you die out of fear, I am not summoning you anymore!


    "Well, I suppose that''s it, let''s go sleep for now¡­" I said while deciding to wrap things up for the moment and leave the rest of the work for tomorrow, I was actually quite tired.


    "A-Actually, there''s a thing I want to show you¡­" said Eleanora, as she suddenly stopped me from walking outside by putting herself in front of the door.


    She closed the door slowly and looked at me with shiny eyes, slowly approaching me and getting closer and closer¡­ Eleanora¡­ Is she nning something?


    Eleanora then touched my shoulders as she began to caress them a bit.


    "E-Eleanora?" I asked. "Is there something else that you want to talk? And why are you so close?"


    "Yes¡­ T-There''s something I really need to tell you, it had begun to happen for a while now but I cannot really keep hiding it from you¡­" she sighed. "I¡­ I really can''t."


    "What¡­ What is it?" I asked. Whatever it was, it seemed quite important. Although this level of closeness seemed to imply strange things. I don''t know if I should let her have her way, as I am still a children¡­


    Eleanora began to move her dress upwards as I took a peek of her stockings, suddenly, she began to move her hands around her thighs, which were smooth and as white as porcin¡­


    "Here¡­" she said. "This¡­" She pointed out at something.


    p And that something was¡­!</anda>


    "This spear you gave me that belonged to the Imps! I save it by wrapping a cloth around my thigh¡­ Actually, for a while it began to glow strangely, I think it became a demon spear!" she said. "What do you think?"


    "Ah¡­ Eleanora, you should had been more direct." I sighed.


    "Eh? W-What''s wrong?" she wondered.


    "Nothing¡­ Never mind¡­" I sighed.


    She''s really a tease.


    -----

 Chapter 110 Eleanoras Cursed Weapon

    -----


    Eleanora showed me a spear she had, this very spear had been growing stronger ever since I gave it to her and she bathed it in the blood of the demons we defeat as a daily basis, I still didn''t knew if it waspletely the truth, but it really seemed that something like that was truly happening, the spear itself was evolving strangely.


    It was the same way as Gluttony? Certainly not, it was acquiring a different nature than Gluttony. Every Cursed Weapon was always unique unless you mass produced them through a simr method, but whenever they surged naturally like Gluttony and Eleanora''s spear, they developed their own unique traits.


    And they were often based in the wielder and their tendencies, Gluttony probably got these abilities because I am also a gluttonous entity from my previous life, I liked to devour and absorb the power of my enemies and constantly sought more power¡­ I was often called the Gluttony King¡­ although my name was Asmodeus, the same name as the Archdemon of Sloth, which doesn''t match, but whatever.


    But what facet of Eleanora could had been transferred into her spear?


    Looking at the spear closely, I noticed that the rock tip had now turned a bit metallic in luster, and more refined, it was also red-colored, the handle made of wood was reinforced as it seemed to have evolved into a cursed weapon fully by now.


    The wood had turnedpletely ck, and was incredibly sturdy, perhaps it would gain a metallic coverture as it evolved further. Cursed weapons were able to transform the energies they umted into materials to refine their own bodies automatically. It was a wondrous sight to behold when they evolved.


    Cursed weapons are a strange type of undead-type monster, this is why they can evolve, and in this world, they even acquire the ability to level up. I wonder if there are other cursed weapons in this world¡­ there should be, they had been with demons for way too long. There is no way that someone didn''t tried getting their weapons covered in blood or had killed a lot of demons using a weapon in specific for a long time¡­


    Perhaps they''re not somon, but there should be people that has them here and there, or maybe they''re precious treasures of aristocratic families, perhaps.


    However, the thing with cursed weapons is that they cannot be taken away by the wielder, if someone attempts to rob your cursed weapon, it will attack the robber and then fly back to you somehow, if not, it will end up destroying itself rather than being wielded by anyone else.


    The only way for this to not happen is if the wielder dies and the cursed weapon is left without a wielder and master, in that case, they''re very picky and will seek a master simr to their original one, so they won''t take just anybody.


    "Interesting, it has really be a Cursed Weapon¡­" I said. "Let me see check the status using the Grimoire¡­"


    "Okay¡­" said Eleanora. She showed me the spear more closely as the Grimoire was able to show me the status of the weapon of my summon.


    -----


    [ursed Scarlet Wooden Spear: Envy (Rare-Grade): Lv2 (EXP: 100 / 2000)]


    Bonus:


    Attack: +40


    Speed: +15


    Magic: +5<sub> </sub>


    Special Abilities:


    Soul Predation: Can grow stronger by devouring other Living Beings Souls and Spirits.


    Blood Absorption: Can Absorb Blood to umte power and then unleash it in an explosive attack.


    ursed Wounds: Inflicted wounds with this spear might not heal as fast, and rotting would begin faster.


    Description:


    A Weapon crafted by Imps made out of strong wood for its handle and a sharp de made of stone. If used by a skilled fighter, it can pierce through a foe''s body.


    After soaking in Demon Blood and Spirit Energy, it had evolved into a Cursed Weapon.


    -----


    And there it was, Eleanora''s weapon looked interesting if not amazing. It had three Abilities and only one of them was in Gluttony, ursed Wounds, the other two werepletely original. Also, this weapon was named "Envy". Did she renamed it herself?


    "Eleanora, did you name the spear?" I asked.


    "Yeah! I named it Envy. I also wanted to go with the same style of Sins as names for the weapon, like you did." Said Eleanora. "Envy fits her because she seems envious of other living beings, so she slurps their souls."


    "I can see that. One of her Abilities is Soul Predation, she can absorb the souls of living beings and¡­ Spirits. Wait, so it can absorb the spirit of a person, devour it? Does it means that the person won''t have a spirit anymore? Well, perhaps it can only be triggered if the person dies first¡­" I said. "Although it still seems strange, we would need to one day test it out if we ever find some bandit to torture."


    "Indeed, sounds like a good idea." Said Eleanora. "I heard from the locals that a nearby vige is being constantly threatened by arge group of bandits that dominate a hill."


    "Oh? Well, that will be left forter, let''s make sure to not forget about that." I said. "For now¡­ Let''s see¡­ the other ability it has is Blood Absorption. It can store blood and unleash it in attacks. I think you''ve used this one as well, right?" I asked.


    "Yes, the red-colored tip seems to be able to absorb the blood of the things I hit, by umting it, I can unleash a strong attack." Said Eleanora. "It can help me utilize moreplicated techniques."


    "I see¡­ Your weapon seems to definitely have good potential, especially because it can devour souls and spirits, so it doesn''t conflict with my own spear that devours cores and orbs¡­ It is a good match that doesn''t interrupt one another''s growth." I said. "Keep using it, I am sure it wille very useful as time goes on."


    "I will¡­ I am quite happy of it¡­ It is my little spear, my friend¡­" said Eleanora. She smiled innocently as she caressed her lethal weapon, her smile quickly turned rather eerie, almost murderous¡­ But that was also quite adorable.


    -----

 Chapter 111 A Plan

    -----


    After having seen Eleanora''s weapon, I decided to see my own Weapon, Gluttony. After all, when I made it devour the Demon Cores, it gained a lot of EXP and it has leveled twice, a significant increase in power was expected.


    -----


    [Cursed Wooden Spear: Gluttony (Rare-Grade): Lv4 (EXP: 1500 / 4000)]


    Bonus:


    Attack: +35 -> +45


    Speed: +13 -> +19


    Magic: +7 -> +11


    Special Abilities:


    Demonic Predation: Can grow stronger by predating in Blood, Spirit Orbs, Demonic Cores, and more. It can grow faster if it consumes the blood of Demons.


    ursed Wounds: Inflicted wounds with this spear might not heal as fast, and rotting would begin faster.


    Beast Spirit Summon: Grants the Ability to Summon a Beast Spirit from the Spirit Orbs it had absorbed which will be the embodiment of the spear''s powers. These Beast Spirits grow stronger as the Spear does.


    Description:


    A Weapon made out of strong wood for its handle and a sharp de made of iron for its tip. If used by a skilled fighter, it can pierce through an enemy''s body.


    After soaking in Demon Blood, it had evolved into a Cursed Weapon.<sub> </sub>


    -----


    And indeed, there it was. It seems that no matter the quality, it still gained the same amount of stats per level. Which is +5 Attack, +3 Speed, and +2 Magic, because it gained two Levels, it ended earning +10 Attack, +6 Speed, and +4 Magic.


    A substantial increase in power, it hasn''t doubled in strength, but it certainly acquired a great deal of attack power, and by moving the spear around, I quickly noticed that it became easier to move it around, as if the spear itself had be even lighter. My movements were also swifter.


    Is this the cause of its increase in Speed? Interesting. I am always interested and amazed by how these strange mechanics y out in the real world, every number having a true meaning in the real world is something interesting to try out, and rather addictive to see increase.


    Was this Lucifer''s intention? To make me addict to these bizarre game-like mechanics? Perhaps this as a whole is a new way to torture people for the sadistic King of Hell and the Prince of Pride.


    I quickly decided to leave the spear at the side of the bed, as I sat down over my bed at longst and decided to cover myself in nkets. It was time to sleep. It has been a long day, but I can finally rx for a bit¡­ This human body is very weak, but I am slowly making it get used to constant exhaustion. What I always admired of humans was their adaptability, although they''ve always been weaklings, when you force them to adapt and train hard, they''ll eventually continue growing stronger almost endlessly.


    I wonder if this world''s humans are like this? Well, seeing how they''re benefitted by Spirits and Talents, I doubt they have to even put that much hard work if they''re talented from the get-go. However, seeing the people of the town alone had made me realize that they have been working hard for their own strength, many of them were not the most talented, and some of them not talented at all, yet they were still able to raise a spear and fight with it, eventually, they slowly became better at it even without having a Talent rted to wielding such a weapon.


    These humans¡­ I guess they''re worthy of admiration. As the thousands of years I have lived, I have seen many people before, those that work hard to achieve their goals and aplish feats that surprise me are always admired by me.


    However, despite how this day turned out to be good, the future looks grim. I have to prepare for what''s toe, I can rx tonight, but I cannot rx tomorrow, nor the entire next week, I must train and continue enhancing my abilities¡­ the demons are slowly creeping closer, and the only salvation we''ll ever have is our own strength.


    The Duke¡­ I am doubtful he''ll even try to help us. I don''t know what his mentality is, but I can make some guesses, he''s the type of people that cannot value the effort of others, and has lived in luxury so much that he can''t probably even see how things truly are¡­ I don''t know if the gift I will send to him will work, but it can surely give him a scare. As long as I leave a memory on his mind, it''s all good to me.


    Things will progressively get worse, defending the whole town seems¡­ unrealistic. The demons are not advancing fast, though, it might take them months or over a year to get into the town, and if we progressively thin out their numbers, there might be some hope to dy the inevitable. However, when things finally happen, I want to be prepared. If things cannot be resolved with the strength I will have by that time, the second n I have is to run away simply and shamelessly.


    I will use the money I''ve been saving to run away with my family and my friends. The rest of the people? Well, I cannot be a hero. I am a realistic person to the bone, if I don''t have the resources to save everyone, I simply won''t. Sacrificing myself is unnecessary, people die, humans have small lifespans anyways, I have lived for thousands of years, I have gotten used to death more than anything before.


    As long as I can keep those that are precious to me alive¡­ It is all I truly want. This is why I must not grow¡­ closer to the rest of the townspeople. I have to keep my emotions at bay, so the pain of leaving them behind is not so strong on me. But even now¡­ It is indeed frustrating. If I only could have a fraction of my original strength¡­ Well, I''ll do everything I can to get stronger.


    -----

 Chapter 112 The Dukes Surprise

    -----


    The Duke of the Duchy of Goldsand woke up to some good news, it seems that the wild boar meat he had requested over a month ago had finally arrived at his doors, and his chefs were swiftly beginning to cook it for him after he gave his servants a few orders.


    He had been craving for this delicacy for a while, and with so many responsibilities as having to maintain an entire duchy, from the enormous mountains of paperwork to the constant remodeling of the duchy, to having to deal with the underground organizations and while trying to please the annoying Merchant Association so they don''t suddenly disjoint themselves from his duchy and leave him with a pummeling economy, he really just wanted to have some break and eat something delicious.


    He already had overweight problems because he ate every time he was stressed or nervous, and that was every day, every single week, and every month, and year¡­ Nheless, he had family as well, a beautiful pair of twin daughters that were slowly growing into the treasures of the duchy, while his loyal wife often helped him at paperwork, although she had other duties such as taking care of the entire castle affairs for him, and also attending the reunions in the Production-based Guilds such as the Alchemist Guild and the cksmith Guild. She was just as busy as him.


    "Hahh¡­ I can finally eat wild boar again. Thesemoners really took a long time now. The Hunters only have to do this single thing once or twice per semester and they take so long!" sighed the duke. "Some ended getting wounded or something¡­ Hahh, not like I have time to worry about somemoners lives when my duchy already gives me so many concerns. The poor will always be poor, so they might as well be useful, they''ll get better or something¡­ Later, I guess."


    The duke was very responsible for his duchy and his people, although he was always more inclined about just earning as much money as possible and maintaining the entire ce, his father, the King of the Goldriver Kingdom has given him the task to raise this small duchy into a ce that could truly make the Kingdom feel proud of it, and through thesest 20 years, he had been doing everything he could possibly do to reach this point.


    However¡­ he couldn''t wait to retire, but the ones that he could give his duties to, his twin daughters, were still on their six years of age, he would need to wait at least another 12 years for them to get into an age where they would be able to work for the duchy and finally let him rest and retire.


    But until then, he had to endure¡­ Nheless, he was a selfish man that only cared about himself and his family and didn''t seem to value the lives of themoners as much, at least those outside of his duchy such as the farming viges were not much of his concern, his duchy was already surrounded by farms he had started himself, as he thought that outsourcing the production of cattle and vegetables and fruits to faraway viges waspletely stupid and something that onlyzy aristocrats did.


    However, he often did these selfish requests, asking for wild game to eat, his family also enjoyed the food, and it was quite a delicacy. And even then, his duchy still acquired around 40% of the production of resources from these many small viges surrounding the duchy, so he had yet topletely gain independence from them.


    The farmers and the hunters in such viges were especially useful, he had to admit it, even though they were so far away from him that he had a hard time caring about them.


    At the very least, now that the wild boar meat was here, he felt happy and even joyous, his family wasing here in a few minutes, and he couldn''t wait to see his two little princesses, which were the two shining stars of his life and his beloved and smart wife, who always took care of things when he was too exhausted.<sub> </sub>


    However, as he waited while sitting on his throne and reading some documents, a soldier approached him with arge wooden box that seemed to have been isted with ice magic from the inside, which made it release an icy aura.


    "L-Lord Duke¡­ there is a gift sent to you by one of the Hunters that came along with the frozen wild boar meat." Said the soldier. "The hunters said that you had to specifically open it, as it was some premium demon meat they found from a strange and strong demon they fought."


    "Demons? Hm¡­ I see, let me see, I bet it is some good steaks then?" wondered the Duke. Eating demon meat was not rare in the world of Spiritias. Demons have popted the entire world and although they were not asmon as monsters, they were actually moremon than wild beasts. And in some areas, there wererge concentrations of demons that were often hunted down.


    Demon meat seemed to be toxic while they are alive, as they''re packed with demonic energy. However, when the demon dies and the meat is left to rest for over a day, the demonic energy naturally disappears and the meat can be consumed, often said to have a smoky vor, although their taste and texture varies. Very so often, strong demons had a delicious meat while weak demons such as Imps had a mediocre-vored meat.


    In a world ustomed to consuming the meat of monsters, consuming demon meat was nothing far-off, and they were somon that most people already associated demons to just another type of monster rather than anything else, even though their true origins came from the Demonic Towers spread around the vast world of Spiritias.


    The Duke slowly opened the box rxedly, as his eyes slowly changed from disinterested to morbidly disturbed and disgusted!


    "W-What the¡­?! What''s the meaning of this?!"


    What the Duke found inside the box was the head of a blue-skinned demon sticking its tongue out disgustingly!


    -----

 Chapter 113 A Message From The Village

    -----


    The Duke looked into the box in horror, dropping it into the ground out of disgust. His Spirit, shaped as a glorious golden-colored chicken cried angrily a the soldier, while using itsrge ws to kick away the box from the Duke''s presence¡­


    This was the Duke''s Spirit, the Golden Cockatrice King. Although it seemed impressive and was almost three-meters-tall, with a great amount of physical strength and innate abilities and magic, it wasn''t the strongest spirit out there, nor the Duke had been enhancing his level or spirit orb past a certain point where he hit a progression wall and stopped caring about such things as he had to put his time into taking care of his duchy first.


    "CRYYAAA!"


    The angered cockatrice almost attacked the soldier, it had a strong and prideful personality, and hated it when someone tried to y a prank on his master.


    "W-Who did this?!" roared the duke.


    "D-Duke, I don''t know! One of the hunters?! I swear that it wasn''t me!" cried the soldier, kneeling before the Duke.


    The soldier wasn''t some random man, it was one of the soldiers that has been working for the Duke for almost 7 years now, and he had interacted a lot with him, and even his two little girls seemed fond of him and his gentle personality and correctness¡­


    "Sigh¡­ W-Why would they send me the frozen head of a demon? Do they want me to chop their heads off this badly?!" asked the Duke. He sat down again in the chair as the soldier suddenly noticed a strange note in the floor.


    "I-I don''t know, Duke¡­ But it seems that there was a note in the box, look." Said the soldier, giving the Duke a paper note with some wonderful handwriting on it.


    "This is¡­?!"


    The Duke began reading it out loud, as his face grew progressively more angered, and his eyebrows started furrowing.


    "Dear Duke of Goldsand, I am an anonymous hunter from this vige of humble farmers and hunters. Yesterday''s hunt was filled with dangers you can''t even imagine, we encountered over three different groups of demons before even reaching a Wild Boar, and thest group had a high-ranking Demon, a Blue-skinned Oni, whose meat I have offered to you for you to enjoy¡­"<sub> </sub>


    "Blue-skinned Demons are said to be high-Ranking''s demons that can even end an entire vige if they grow strong enough over time. These demons only appear in specific areas where there are Demon Gates, meaning that this vige''s forest is being most likely infected with demons non-stop¡­ Sadly, this also means that the lives of these people are being threatened. As this continues to happen, the forest will continue growing more dangerous, and your precious Wild Boars are nearing total extinction in the area."


    "Even if you don''t care about us and let us all die hopelessly, the demons won''t be satisfied with that. They''re vicious, malicious entities that are not even original from this world. They will continue their march relentlessly, devouring all things they could find, and eventually, they will find your duchy and invade it, destroying anything you''ve ever loved. I have sent this head to you so you could ask an expert of its authenticity. I request your help and cooperation in helping us fight against the Demons before they destroy our vige, and then decide to destroy the rest of the Duchy. We are still in early stages¡­ It can still be stopped¡­ It all depends in your goodwill. Sincerely, an anonymous hunter¡­"


    The duke''s face slowly moved from being angered to being filled with contempt and concern. He looked once more into the frozen head of the blue-skinned Oni, as his face progressively grew more and more concerned, as if he had been awakened of something.


    The impactful gift ended doing just what ke wanted, it generated an impression, even if negative, it would still work as a warning. However, if the Duke were to help or not¡­ it all depended on his goodwill at the end, just as he had written down in the paper.


    "Lord, is there something you think about this letter?" wondered the soldier. "I think¡­ Even if this was very disrespectful¡­ We should help. This is not just a problem from the vige alone, if the demons truly end up destroying the vige and then move on¡­ they might also target more viges but eventually they''lle directly to the duchy. I agree with the hunter in some things¡­ Demons are not truly like monsters, they''re malicious and more cunning than even goblins, and also more organized as well! If we let them grow¡­ The Duchy would end up like the four duchies that were destroyed by the Demon Lord that emerged in the neighbor Kingdom of Silvertide¡­"


    The Kingdom of Silvertide¡­


    Four of its duchies were destroyed by a Demon Lord that evolved from a High-Ranking Demon when the duke where this Demon Gate emerged decided to not care for the viges being destroyed by the demons to save up money and resources, this ended giving the demons enough time to grow to insane levels of strength, to the point they were able to conquer four duchies.


    The Kingdom of Silvertide is still in a fight against this vicious Demon Lord until this day, and because they had decided to not invest resources early on when the problem was still on a small scale, now they were investing even more resources just to keep the demons at bay, the Kingdom''s economy was slowly crumbling, and it was reaching its greatest crisis so far.


    It was a problem that was slowly reaching an international level, if the Demon Lord were to manage to take over the Kingdom''s capital, it would continue its march, attempting to conquer other Kingdoms, and the Kingdom of Goldriver was the closest one to the Kingdom of Silvertide.


    The Duke realized that if hemitted the same mistakes as this Duke, everything would be lost.


    -----

 Chapter 114 The Dukes Decision

    -----


    The Duke suddenly realized that if he were to be a fool like that one Duke, he would end upmenting everything at the end¡­ Demons were not something that could be taken lightly, even less a presumed Demon Gate.


    Demons were present in the wild everywhere in the world, but when there were such high concentrations of them in a small area such as that forest¡­ then bad things could happen and that could mean a total invasion from demonsing out of their ursed Demon Gates, which connect directly to the "Demon World" as the people of Spiritias calls Hell.


    "Damn demons¡­ Even to this age when their Demonic Towers are sealed and there arerge cities around them where Adventurers constantly thin out their numbers¡­ They''re stilling to the maind using their damned Gates¡­" He sighed. "This¡­ will be a long-term investment, but I suppose I cannot act foolishly and arrogantly if this is really what''s happening there."


    The Duke''s loyal soldier looked at the Duke with eyes filled with hope, he knew that his Duke was a selfish and greedy man, but he wasn''t stupid. He had gained all his wealth and brought his Duchy to this point out of his intelligence, and he wasn''t someone that would end up risking his Duchy out of blind arrogance and selfishness.


    There was already a bit example in the neighboring Kingdom of Silvertide, if he were tomit the same mistake as those greedy and selfish men that didn''t wanted to assist a poor vige being attacked by a tide of demons, he would regret itter.


    "My lord¡­ I knew you would take the correct decision." Said the Soldier.


    "Hmph, because you brought this to me, you''re going there, Markus." Said the Duke.


    "E-Eh? Me?!" asked the Soldier. He never expected to be included into all of this.


    "Don''t make me that face! You might be from a Noble Family, but you still enlisted yourself as a Soldier and Knight! So you''ll do as I say! Right? Heh¡­ Take it as your punishment for bringing me this head¡­" said the Duke. "You could had perfectly checked the box beforehand, fool."


    "I-I just wanted it to be a gift for you, Duke!" Cried the Soldier. "Sigh¡­ But it''s alright, I am willing to go help these people. As Markus Allbright, I am willing to help the people. This is what my father taught me. We knights are born for the purpose of fulfilling our duties, and our greatest duty is to assist the Kingdom and its people. Commoners or not, they''re an important part of our Duchy!"


    "Sigh¡­ What an intoxicatingly righteous little kid¡­" sighed the Duke, waving his hand. "Now go, gather a small team, and go make sure there is indeed a Gate there, after confirming it to me, I will invest more money and send arger group of Soldiers¡­ And probably mercenaries."


    "U-Understood!" said the soldier, as Mark began to slowly walk away with the box on his hands. However, the Duke stopped him midway through.


    "Wait." He said.


    "Yes?" asked Markus.


    "Make sure to find the one that sent this letter and this box¡­" said the Duke. "I want to know who he was."


    "Ah¡­ U-Understood, although that might be hard if you want to punish this man, sir¡­" sighed Markus.<sub> </sub>


    "Punish him? Yeah, I might be angered he send me a chopped off head, but this opened my eyes¡­ I want to know who he is and reward him." said the Duke. "Also his writing was spectacr, and if he was strong enough to take down such a strong demon, it means he''s both talented at fighting and also incredibly intelligent¡­ I need men like him, find him!"


    "Understood! It will be done as youmand, my lord!" said Markus, slowly walking away.


    The Duke sighed as he walked out of the throne and slowly made his way towards the dining room, where he found his wife and his two daughters about to eat lunch, the food was almost ready. He greeted them all as he sat down over hisrge chair, he seemed more worried and stressed than other times.


    "Dear, is something happening?" wondered his wife.


    "Yes¡­ Problems that might escte into something too big if we don''t take care of them while we can¡­" he sighed. "I always thought my duchy was already good, but I never take into consideration stuff like this, so it always end up impacting me¡­"


    "Problems? What is it this time?" asked his wife.


    "Demons." Said the Duke.


    "D-Demons?"


    The Duke''s wife seemed surprised, her sharp aquamarine eyes and long blonde hair were radiant, and her appearance was still youthful despite being in her mid-thirties already. She was indeed a beautiful woman that illuminated the Duke''s path like a shining star.


    However, the moment the woman heard the word "demons" is when she suddenly changed, growing concerned and even worried¡­ She knew very well that demons were incredibly vicious monsters capable of vicious atrocities, she had experienced such atrocities firsthand. Seeing demons as mere monsters was never a good idea.


    "Indeed¡­ Someone reported to me that there is a Demon Gate in the vige that bring us wild boar meat. This ce is also the same where those hunters were wounded by a demon." Sighed the Duke. "Back then I didn''t had the time to care about them and just asked them to bring it to me¡­ I can''t believe they beat so many demons just to get to the wild boar¡­"


    "T-Those people?!" asked his wife. "I-I see¡­ So that''s how it ended¡­ There is a Demon Gate there? That would exin the giant demon that attacked them beforehand¡­ You were very skeptic about it and now you just changed your mind and believe them?"


    "Well, after what I sent to me, I cannot not believe them anymore¡­" sighed the man. "They sent me the head of a Blue Oni, a high-ranking demon, often ssified as a D-Rank Monster."


    The woman''s eyes opened wide once more¡­ Blue Oni were more intelligent and vicious that mere Imps¡­ if there could be more of them, demons would progressively grow more coordinated¡­ this was really bad news.


    Whatever it was, they had to prepare for the worst.


    -----

 Chapter 115 A Week After

    -----


    It has been a week since the Wild Boar hunt, and the Hunters that participated were still recovering. Despite how much I healed them, some were still too exhausted, and they required rest. Even more, there is a secret behind my healing magic which is also the reason why people that are healed from near death feel so exhausted.


    The reason being that healing magic enhances the metabolism of the body and makes cells duplicate at a rapid pace, this means that lifespan is slowly cut off a person''s body, and they slowly grow more tired, this can be recovered as they rest over time until they reach their full condition, but healing magic causes such things, the constant duplication of cells makes it so the body requires more calories and enters into a pseudoatose state if the person doesn''t eat enough food.


    Thankfully everyone ate a lot of meat that night from the wild boar, so they got enough fats and calories to make their bodies resist the burden, although many were still recovering up until now. Of course, there is way more than just physical damage and the physical burden, there is also the mental burden of the stress they went through and more¡­ All of this is umted, so it is obvious they''re tired.


    Nheless, I shouldn''t think too much about these people, I had a good rtionship with them and they''re acquaintances, but I cannot develop my bonds too much with others than my family and friends¡­ Growing attached to this towns people might not be good if I end up having to run away. I know I''ve thought about protecting them, and I did so in our hunt, but I cannot bring this to a bigger scale than that¡­


    This entire week I''ve been practicing my Magic and training my Skills, I discovered that doing exercise increased the skill proficiency of Acrobatics and Robust Body, while practicing magic constantly increased the skill proficiency of Gifted Magic Apprentice, all three of these Skills are soon to Level up because of how much I workout while multi-tasking into conjuring magic, an arduous work, but thanks to using Qi to replenish my stamina, I can do this for prolonged periods of time.


    Robust Body granted 1 point of skill proficiency ever sit-up I did, and I required 10k, so I had to do 10k, I have been doing them for over the week, but I cannot get past a few hundred before copsing, the body of a child is problematic in things like these, but I am quite healthy, so my stamina and magic capacity are developing at a rapid pace.


    Through this week, I''ve been mostly going around town and healing people for some money, or food, or anything else they offered, I was a rather popr person at this point, but I always used magic to make myself slightly unrecognizable, so people wouldn''t be able to tell what was my true appearance¡­ It is better this way because the priests of the Holy Spirit Church are constantly chasing me down, and they have begun to be better at finding where I am.<sub> </sub>


    Well, if they''re so annoyed of my work, perhaps they should also go healing people for almost no pay, right? Oh, I guess that''s too much for them. Most Priests are often qualified as them as they got special abilities or magic that allows them to heal others, although there are also some that can support and deal strong damage, the church of the Holy Spirits often employs orphans as priests.


    They''re in this town mostly just to judge new Talents for young children every year. They go healing people, but they often ask fees, which should be illegal because they''re supposed to work without lucrative interests, but in this town filled with uneducated serfs nobody is going to lecture a priest, they''re often figures of high authority.


    Eleanora had been holding back the impulse of killing them as they chased us down, I have seen that I am already stronger than some of the weakest priests, and I could easily kill them if I used some cheap tactics, but there''s no point in that, even if killing them gave me EXP, I don''t want to make a fuss.


    But Eleanoracks a lot of self-restraint, so I have to keep her inside of my Spirit Orb, so she doesn''t go out of control¡­ it is a bit annoying, but this is how it is. Aside from that, I have been working with Erika, Chris, and Eric, mostly helping them grow stronger while they helped me spar, which allows me to practice my fighting abilities, magic, and skills more proficiently. They''re bing better.


    Andstly¡­ Andstly, I was here, sitting over the dirt as I used the Tier 1 Nature Magic Spell "nt Growth" to enhance the growth of the nts of the farm. Yes, I''ve been doing this for a while. If I overuse this Spell, the nts might end up overgrowing and then drying out by overconsuming their own nutrients or end up turning into monsters if I infuse too much mana¡­ who die after a bit anyways as well. So I cannot simply grow nts in an instant, what I do is give them a little "boost" every day, often taking around 10 minutes to enhance the nts of the farm with this Buff.


    Over time, they had been growing over four times as fast, without any other incident or problem, this is the limit of how much I can enhance nt growth without deteriorating the nts in the process or outright killing them. However, thanks to this, we have vegetables ready to eat or consume. The nts in this world are simr to some of themon nts I''ve seen humans raise in my previous life. Such as tomatoes, lettuce, potatoes, carrots, and more. However, there are some weird ones such as star-shaped carrot-like tubers named Star Dew, which are as sweet as fruit, these sold for quite a lot of money as they''re rare and hard to grow, so I''ve been selling them to make some extra side money.


    -----

 Chapter 116 Teaching Magic Is Not Hard

    -----


    "¡­And done."


    I looked into the Star Dew in my hands, it was not really a fruit but a tuber, but people called them like this because they said they were as sweet as dew. And to be honest, it is an over exaggeration. Having tasted truly sweet things in my previous life, I can ensure you that this tuber is not as sweet as just another sweet potato.


    These are often eaten after being boiled, and are considered a delicacy that is very rare, their vor has a fruity fragrance to them, and I think they can even be used to make sweet pie, name Star Dew pie. These had been my side money project, and I''ve already grown two entire batches of around 50 each, which I sold for fifty silver coins each batch, which is a lot of money for just some tubers. A silver coin can buy a single one of these, but a silver coin can also feed a whole family by buying cheaper products.


    These tubers are mostly consumed by the rich aristocrats back in the duchy, as most of the merchants thate heree to buy all the fruits and vegetables to bring to the duchy where they resell them for even more expensive prices. If we could move ourselves to the duchy and sell our products there, we would be able to make even more money¡­ but the journey to the duchy is very long and takes roughly two to three days, it is sadly not something we can do easily and leisurely.


    I''ve been practicing my Alchemy Abilities inside of Erika''s home, although I have not visited the ce as much, today after having enhanced the nts was my day of going to make some alchemy to her house. I walked towards her house rapidly, as I disliked to waste time, all while I conjured the spell Gust constantly, but not to enhance my speed but just to practice magic. I was constantly practicing any spell at almost all time except when I slept, this way, my Mana would be constantly trained and would slowly increase over time.


    It could be said that this exercise also applies to all other Skills and also my own muscles, magic is like muscles after all, if you stop exercising and ck off, it will slowly weaken. Although in this world I got a Spirit Orb that aids in the stabilization of Mana, I prefer to not ck off, I''ve never been a man that likes toze around if possible. Even though I see my new life way more rxing than my previous one, I am still overworking myself. My family and friends have noticed this and had told me to take it easy, but I really can''t.


    And about magic by itself, although people find it strange that I can use magic of many elements, nobody possess enough knowledge to really know if that''s too rare or strange enough to deserve more attention, so aside from the initial surprise, they often don''t mind it. I don''t know how others with more magical knowledge would react, such as in the capital of the Duchy of Goldsand, for example.


    People seems to be able to learn magic with knowledge and time, and a lot of practice, spirits, and talents aid at this if they got a good enough pair, such as the kids that are my friends, all of them got good pairs of spirts and talents, whichbine with one another andplement each other for the best results and aid in their practice of magic. However much like in any other world I have visited in my previous life, simply shaping an element, and then throwing it around is not really magic in my eyes, and people has to learn about the element''s principles, specific runes, and even magic circle formation, but such knowledge is very limited in this vige, and there is nowhere where you can learn this.<sub> </sub>


    Therefore, people often just uses the "raw" magic power they have, instead of trying to make upplicated spells, which only consumes even more Mana and make them quickly weaken after their initial MP pool is gone. I discovered from my grandmother''s words that there are magical academies that teach all about magic and also spirits and talents, and often only let talented students attend there, these academies are often just locked for rich kids, children of aristocrats, or incredibly talented prodigies.


    Of course, I need no teacher for magic, in fact, I am the teacher here, and I''ve been teaching my whole family and friends a few simple spells that align to their main elements, Chris has already learned five Tier 1 Fire Attribute Spells, such as Fireball, Fire Whip, zing Enhancement, Heat Body, and Fire Wall, Eric has learned six Tier 1 Nature Attribute Spells, such as nt Growth, Life Enhancement, nt Vine Control, Wooden Shield, and Verdant Light, Erika has learned four Tier 1 Illusion/Emotion Attribute Spells, such as Illusory Mist, Camouge, Charming Appearance, and Mirage Creation, and so on¡­


    My father, mother, and grandmother have a harder time memorizing magic forms, even more runes and magic circle creation, which waspletely foreign andplicated to them, so they have only learned two spells at most. Children are able to learn things progressively faster than adults as they''re developing, the same reason why children are able to learn newnguages easily while they''re still kids, but when they''re already grownups, it bes very hard.


    My father''s affinity is Earth, while my grandmother and mother''s affinities are Life, these two elements are strong by themselves, and the spells they have learned are just very small things that I just "came out with", it is already a fact I am a magic genius and that I received "enlightenment" from the Holy Spirits, so aside from a few questions, they didn''t seem to be too shocked when I taught them spells myself¡­


    And here I was, in front of Erika''s home, I quickly knocked the door, as Erika opened the door hurriedly.


    "ke! Wee!"


    -----

 Chapter 117 Alchemy Time

    -----


    I reached Erika''s home in an instant, as I knocked the door, she quickly opened the door. She looked as radiant as ever, her unchangeable body gave her an almost synthetic beauty, but her soul alone infused into such a body made it livelier than many alive people I''ve ever met, her warm smile, despite her cold body, was radiant and innocent, and her eyes, despite being artificial, were filled with the life and innocence of youth. Her long pink hair was shiny today, perhaps she took a bath. Her father had made her body so she could manually clean it, apparently, so even taking baths is okay.


    He had really made sure to get everything right for her, the only problem there could be if somehow termites began to live on her, but I don''t know if there are termites in this world to begin with. I haven''t seen any, and all these houses are made of wood¡­ I guess people either take good care of their homes or a species of insects capable of eating wood just doesn''t exists¡­ Which I doubt it, seeing how there are so many monsters of all shapes and sizes into more farawaynds¡­ Nheless, there was no time to delve into these thoughts, I had to do other things first, which were of more importance.


    "Hello, Erika, how have you been?" I asked.


    <o>,m Erika looked at me as she smiled even more happily, this girl was always happy¡­</o>


    "Good! You saw me just yesterday and you''re asking me how I have been as if we were separated for so long¡­" she said. "I bet you missed me, heheh¡­" The girl giggled adorably as she imagined that my basic manners were somehow because I missed her.


    I cannot really tell her that I didn''t missed her because that would only sound more rude, and this girl is too overly sensitive to take my honest self too well.


    "You''re right, I missed you." I said. "I''ve be here as always to make some alchemy, can I enter?"


    "Y-You did?!" She asked while blushing. "I-I thought you would say "no" or something¡­ A-And yeah,e in, sorry for not letting you in right away. This home is your home, ke. You always let me stay in your house so the least I can do is to let you in here as much as you want!"


    "Thank you."


    I walked inside the house as I found all the things I always find in here, therge quantity of dolls spread everywhere, the tools, and all of that, her father really doesn''t clean, doesn''t he? Well, I am nobody to talk bad about their home, they can do whatever they want in there. At least it seems that it is not because Erika is fine with it, but it seems that her father seems to be morefortable in a space like this with all things avable for him to grab at any given¡­ moment, I suppose.


    Meanwhile, the second floor is cleaner and where Erika always keeps clean with her dolls, they work hard to please her and they are even cooking and cleaning for her whenever they can, well, the same ability as her father''s Spirit, which are only strings, while Erika ended having entire dolls as her spirit, a rather interesting thing that happens in this world, where parents often have children with "upgraded" versions of their spirits, although this is notpletelymon.


    "Ah, ke, wee back." Said Erika''s father, the old man seemed more tired than other times, and he was sitting over a wooden chair while reading a book with the light of the suning out of the window, he had a small cup with warm tea at the side. "My girl has been talking about how you wereing today, she was wondering what sorts of things you wille out with¡­"<sub> </sub>


    "Oh, I see that Erika talks about me, huh?" I said while giving Erika a smile, the girl only blushed more. I had found a small entertainment into teasing her sometimes. Perhaps a child''s body really makes you slightly childish, or maybe I am just slowly bing more open-minded about thoughts and activities that do not rte to growing stronger? Whatever is the case, I enjoyed this. Although maybe I should stop overthinking everything methodically.


    "T-That''s not right! I¡­ I¡­" Said Erika, while stuttering to find an answer, but she was only growing progressively more embarrassed. I moved to her side and petted her head.


    "Don''t overthink it." I said. "Want to see me doing alchemy?" I asked. Erika''s eyes shone brightly in excitement, she always enjoyed chatting with me of whatever things she had in her head while I was doing alchemy, these were our little moments together that Eleanora was often jealous of, for some reason.


    "S-Sure!" She said. "I really wonder what you''re going to do today, you''ve been mass producing those healing pills for most of the time, I guess there''s not many materials in here aside from some lesser healing herbs."


    "I have thought about a few new recipes using demon materials." I said. The moment I said those words, the father of Erika looked at me with surprise.


    "I was told that you participated in the fight against several demons before reaching the wild boar by Erika¡­" He said. "I couldn''t believe it at first but¡­ is it true?"


    "Kind of, I wouldn''t had been able to reach that far without the assistance of the good people at my side, the hunters were of great help at surviving this hard environment and the whole challenge¡­" I said. "I was only there as a healer and supporter, but they rewarded me with a lot of the materials. I thought about using them and designed some basic recipes, I''ll use them now, is it okay for you?"


    "Yes, yes, it is okay for me¡­ You''re like my second son by now and seeing how much my daughter is close to you, I hope you take responsibilityter, that''s all I want in exchange." He said.


    "Responsibility?" I asked while tilting my head.


    "Ahaha! Never mind¡­ Go on." He said.


    -----

 Chapter 118 Demonic Eye

    -----


    I took out the items from my bag, I had prepared arge assortment of materials that I butchered out of the bodies of the demons. Before sending the Blue Oni head to the Duke, I cut off most of his hair, horns, fangs, and his two eyes, that''s because those materials had arge quantity of demonic energy concentrated into them. I had also decided not to cut down his ears because that would make him way too unrecognizable.


    ? Aside from that, I also had a lot of demon bones, which were obviously stronger than normal monster bones from here, and the bones of demons were of various colors, not just white, the Blue Oni''s bones were actually ck-colored, and the Imps often had red or orange bones.


    Strong enough demons have bones so hard that they are made of metallic materials, often called Demonite Calcinate, which was the name of the material that was sold in the vast outer universe auctions, the metal extracted from demons'' bones is a strong and durable metal made to even build high-grade spaceships and weapons that can harbor demonic energy.


    Since the invasion of the demons into the vast Universe that the people began to utilize their bodies as materials, and over the eons, demonic energy became a widespread energy that was used for all sorts of technology, of course, I know a lot of all of that. I wasn''t the best at machinery though, but I know enough to at least make a spaceship, mechs, and demonic technology weapons, all of the most basic stuff, I am a novice after all as I was more of a battle-oriented leader while I left the rest of the work to my subordinates¡­ If I ever am able to summon one of those that was in charge of machinery and more, I might be able to recreate it here, although it will be a long and methodical process.


    Nheless, aside from the Blue Oni Materials, I also had another assortment of materials. The blue and red skin of the Oni and the Imps was a precious material for alchemy as well. Their internal organs that are often not eaten also save secrets.


    The stomach of a demon has a unique assortment of enzymes and bacteria that allows them to devour and assimte all sorts of energies and transform them into demonic energy, and they''re often called the "Demon Acid" out there, it was a special fluid used to convert other sorts of energies, be it Mana, Qi, Aether, Cosmic, and more energies into Demonic Energy.


    For now, I don''t have the healthy means to extract it, so for now I am using the internal organs raw into the preparations I am going to make¡­ Lastly, there is a special organ, the demon heart. It is not just  anormal fleshy heart, it is actually made out of special muscle fments capable of pumping demonic energy across the body at an increasing speed, the more excited they are, the faster it pumps demonic energy, this is why it is often used to create another liquid named "Demon Conductor" that can conduct demonic energy.


    And well, how to forget the prize of that day¡­ I''ve been maintain this from rotting alongside the other materials, it is a yellow-colored eye I extracted from one of the Elite Imps, it is the Demon Eye of Paralysis. It was not a surprise to learn that by using special procedures, you can rece one of your eyes by a Demon Eye, and if things go well and the heal is sessful, you can even gain its powers.


    I n to put this eye into my left eye.


    I have already done countless surgeries before in my previous life, mostly to heal allies or myself, as I was a Vampire with great regeneration, it was easy to modify my own body and add new organs and so on, I was constantly infusing demon eyes into my body, and I could switch them around based in the situation, of course, that came with the physique of a True Vampire God, something I am not anymore. The most I can afford an eye through a painful method, but there is Eleanora to assist me in the operation.<sub> </sub>


    A Demon Eye of Paralysis is very strong, and it would help me greatly, the thing is, to add it into my body I require to be able to harness demonic energy¡­ and this is why I am going to start to make my body get used to it by making some Demon Potions that heal Demonic Energy into the body, they will directly infuse a clean and high-quality amount of demon energy into my body, which is specially made to not be as harmful as the normal one.


    The procedure is simple, I will constantly drink these potions to gain demon energy and force my physique to absorb it and adapt it into my body, it will be painful, but the results shoulde in a few days¡­ I also think that it might be even faster as I have Heavy Drinker, which also has the passive effect of making toxic drinks less toxic the higher the level of the skill is. So it is ideal for me.


    The other method would be to make a demon core but putting one inside of me when I already have a Spirit Orb might end up in catastrophic ends, so I won''t do that for now, it is better to just make my own body absorb the demonic energy through my physique, and also do the same with my soul. I don''t need to produce it, storing it is enough, and that can be done through extensive practice, nothing hard.


    "Wow, you got such a big assortment of items¡­" said Erika. "T-These are all demon parts?"


    "Yeah. I n on making some potions for me." I said. "I want to try out something¡­"


    "Something? I wonder what!" said Erika curiously. She still had the mind of an innocent child very much, so she often spoke very childishly, but that only made her more adorable.


    I petted her head and smiled.


    "It is a secret, but I will show it to you when I am done."


    -----

 Chapter 119 Spending Time With Erika

    -----


    "A secret?" wondered Erika curiously.


    "Yeah, for now let''s keep it a secret, I am working on a big project of mine so I want some privacy, but you can still watch anyway." I said. "Just stay silent and don''t interrupt me¡­ Okay?"


    Erika was an obedient girl, she nodded happily and stood in silence while admiring what I made. I moved back to working into what I was doing, after assorting the items I quickly looked into the pot of alchemy, where I poured some water and then dissolved some Spirit Orb dust and began to boil it all.


    It took roughly an hour for the water and the spirit orb dust to converge together and make Mana Water, it is actually toxic, and it needs the special herb to make mana potions, drinking this would probably give me an intoxication. However, it was a basic base material for most potions and also pills, which I make my solidifying potions.


    After the water was boiling and had taken a blue color, I started by adding demon blood, around five litters of it, and left it boiling while slowly moving the water and the blood for half an hour, it was a methodical process, but I have a lot of patience, such work is nothing much for someone like me.


    After the water and the blood fully blend together, the water turned dark red, and became very slimy. This was the perfect time to add the other materials. I decided to soften the blow of the demonic energy by adding the typical lesser healing herbs I use to make healing pills. I had cut it down into pieces and then started to boil it all. After that, I added the dust of the demons'' horns, the cut off skin which I made into meat paste, and then the dust of their bones, the hair was added atst because it burns quickly.


    "Isn''t Alchemy like just making a big stew?" wondered Erika. That remark made meugh. This is a very basic form of alchemy so yes, it is like making dew, but there are other items and artefacts that makes alchemy way moreplicated, from the extraction of oils from products, to the vaporization of essence and more¡­ but I can''t do any of thatplicated stuff here.


    "Yes, essentially is it cooking with extra steps." I said. "But this is definitely not a stew you would want to eat."


    "I-I know¡­" She said. "Looks yucky."


    "It does¡­"


    The boiling liquid and all the materials began to meld over the time, I left it boiling and decided to spend some time with Erika, things would be done in roughly four hours, so there was nothing for me left to do, as I had already used Synthesis on all the items several times, they needed to be left resting while boiling and mixing all the essential materials together.


    As I spent some time with my friend, Eleanora was growing rather jealous, and wanted toe out. She seemed to dislike when I spent time alone with Erika. With any of the other two kids she was okay with it, but with Erika she began making some little remarks. She never insulted the girl, and she had actually begun to grow fond of her because of her pure heart and honesty, but her nature was hard to control even after dying and reincarnating as my spirit in this new world.


    "I see you''re enjoying your time together¡­" She said. "H-How nice of you¡­"


    "Eleanora, stop this¡­" I sighed.<sub> </sub>


    "I-I am just happy for you, my lord¡­" She said. "T-Though you always say such romantic things to me¡­ And now you''re having a nice time making this young girl blush for you all the time¡­"


    "Sigh¡­ You cane out if that''s what you want." I said.


    "T-There''s no need¡­" She said. "I am your servant¡­ Just your spirit. I shouldn''t get involved more than that in your personal life¡­"


    p "Don''t start this again, you want me to tell you that you''re important to me?" I asked. "Eleanora, I told you the same sermon yesterday. It seems that you just like me to act corny with you just so you can be happy¡­"</anda>


    "T-That''s not it! E-Erm¡­ I¡­" She said. "N-Never mind me¡­"


    I sighed internally once more, I spent most of my time with her, yet she gets jealous with Erika. I don''t want toplicate myself with such weird and forced drama, so I decided to ignore her until she stopped being so grumpy. I wasn''t inviting her out because I just wanted time with Erika, as I''ve been too busy sometimes, so I haven''t spent enough time with her. She is my first and best friend in this world, despite her childishness, she''s good hearted, and also someone honest.


    For someone that has experienced his fair share of betrayals on his previous life, having good-hearted and honest people at my side that won''t betray me is a must, this is why someone as unlikely as Erika is a good friend for someone like me, despite our clear differences in thought process and personalities.


    I went upstairs with Erika who invited me to her room, as she wanted to show me her new dresses that her father sewed for her using his threads and abilities.


    "Do you like this one?" She asked. "Oh, or this one!"


    The girl showed me two dresses, one was pink-colored with many white frills that made it look like something a princess would wear, the other was a white-colored dress, it was less extravagant and had flower-like decorations.


    "The pink one goes with your hair but the second one is simpler, so I like it more." I said. "You would look good in both of them. ¡­Nheless, have your dolls grown stronger or developed something new in this time?"


    "S-So both are good then? Okay¡­ I also like the second one more¡­" She said. "And yeah! Wanna see? There''s two new dolls that suddenly showed up."


    -----

 Chapter 120 Doll Houses Amazing Potential

    -----


    Erika''s Spirit, Doll House was incredibly unique and had a great assortment of abilities, it was able to attack, defend, heal, and now, it seemed to have two new members. Her Dolls consist of a few fighters, some mages, a few archers, and then healers, their individual attacks are subpar and can be easily resisted, but when they all work together to kill an enemy is when they show their true worth and the immense potential they possess.


    It is an incredibly unique spirit that consists of many bodies at the same time, even if one body is destroyed, the others will remain, and the destroyed body will regenerate back rather quicklypared to other spirits that takes days toe back, often taking less than an hour to revive¡­


    Of course, because of the number of bodies, it also consumes a lot of Mana, however, Erika has an incredibly unusual high amount of Mana thates from having been using Mana since she was revived into her doll body. She constantly used mana for everything unknowingly, which, like a muscle, trained her Mana and made its quantity increase more over time.


    "Here, look!"


    Erika sat down over the bed at my side, as she showed me the two new dolls. One of them resembled a small dwarf¡­ Yes, it was a small, bearded man wearing what cksmith usually wear, alongside a small steel hammer. And the other was a girl with brown hair and emerald eyes wearing farmer clothes.


    They seemed to be two new "sses" within her Doll House, cksmith and Farmer, but she had no idea how to use them yet. She was able to duplicate dolls, but not to make an infinite amount, if she wanted another mage, for example, she would need to change the ss of another of the existing Dolls. However, it is often better to keep her team bnced.


    However, it all depends in which kind of abilities these two new dolls could have, we would have to test them out first.


    "Your cksmith¡­ Have you tried ordering to do "its job"?" I asked. "Perhaps that might trigger something.


    "Umm¡­ Do your job!" said Erika at the little dwarf doll.


    The doll looked at her and tilted its head, and then, it extended one of its hand, asking for something¡­ Maybe it needs a piece of metal to start working, or an ingot? Can it make ingots?


    I took out a bronze coin from my pocket and gave it to it, the doll looked at the piece of metal as it nodded, suddenly, something wondrous happened after that, it summoned an anvil and its own hammer gained a strong aura of heat, the dwarf started hitting the coin with the hammer and it slowly shaped it as something¡­ an ingot?


    "W-What is it doing with your coin?!" she asked. "It is taking its time¡­"


    "Only a coin won''t be enough for much, but¡­ Oh?" I asked in surprise. "It made something¡­"


    "What''s that?" she asked in surprise.<sub> </sub>


    The doll suddenly walked to our side and then gifted us what seemed to be a small finger-sized ingot it had made, it took around thirty minutest to make it, and it was hot to the point it almost burned my fingers, but I took it using magic and submerged it on water for a bit.


    "I-It can do what cksmith does! But it is so small that it can only craft small stuff¡­" said Erika in disappointment. "That''s not that good¡­"


    "You''re mistaken, Erika¡­ This new doll is amazing." I said. "You could perfectly ask him to make small essories infused with magic if we use the right materials, such as rings, nes, bracelets, earrings, and more¡­"


    "O-Oh! Right¡­ You''re right, ke¡­!" She said. "And maybe if I make all my dolls into tiny cksmith, they could craft something bigger together? But that would cost a lot of Mana¡­ Phew¡­ That one ingot cost me a lot, it left be a bit dizzy, heheh¡­"


    "Hmm¡­ For now we shouldn''t abuse your powers, if you overuse your Mana, you will end more tired. You''re someone that cannot use your mana too much¡­" I said. "Be careful."


    "Okay¡­ What about the Farmer one? Hmm¡­" she said. "I guess it can enhance nts and take care of them? And do other farmer stuff, I don''t think we can show it here though."


    "Yeah, well, I''ll see what it can doter." I said.


    Erika suddenly rested over her bed while feeling a bit tired, maybe she''ll need to increase her mana some more before attempting to use all these cksmiths that she was nning to make.


    "Sigh¡­ I wish I could be normal¡­" She said. "I hate getting so tired and dizzy¡­ My body is fine but my mind¡­ It sometimes gets all strange and its hard to not get sleepy."


    Hmm¡­ That must be because of her soul getting tired of using too much Mana at the same time, this cksmith drained a lot of her mana, I guess she will need to practice with it first.


    Nheless, her mana should recover quickly as she has an insane mana regeneration, but we have to still deal with her dizziness when she overuses it, something that could help her soothe the mind inside of her soul, as she has no brain inside of her body¡­


    I wish time cold go faster, so I could have the necessary strength and resources to bring her body back. As long as I grow strong enough, my magic will progressively get better, enough materials to make a few ritual magic circles and then¡­ it should be possible to "revive" her, although it wouldn''t bepletely a revival with how she was originally as a human¡­ But I guess it would be close enough for her to not mind.


    The creation of homunculi is something widespread in the Universe after all, anyone knows how to make some even without proper magic technology, as long as you got enough materials and the magic necessary to do the trick¡­


    -----

 Chapter 121 I Always Knew The Truth

    -----


    Erika seemed a bit saddened all of a sudden. She rested on her bed while I was still at her side, and she looked at me with sorrowful eyes. She was perhaps thinking many things, despite how innocent she was, or how pure hearted she was, the situation in which she was now was hard, and it was slowly eating away at her own sanity¡­ But even then, it was perhaps the only way for her father to bring her back.


    I respect the man for trying so hard and finding a way, and I am sure that Erika also wanted deep down to have a second chance at life¡­ but how she looked right now¡­ Was she thinking something?


    "ke¡­" She said.


    "What is it, Erika? You became sad out of nowhere now¡­" I sighed.


    I caressed her little head a bit, as she looked at me even more intensely, her eyes were filled with many emotions that were hard for an old monster like me to decipherpletely.


    "It''s¡­ nothing¡­" She said, as she shook her head and looked at the other side of the room, not wanting to make eye contact with me.


    "¡­"


    I sat there in silence, with my usual expressionless face. Despite how young I was now; I always had this expressionless face that was sometimes hard to shape into the emotions I wanted to convey to people. Even my way of speech sometimes felt "too robotic" because I was always used to talking down to others, but now that I am on equal footing with many people. Speaking formally and respectfully was something I still have a hard time getting used to.


    But I wanted to¡­ Make her feel better. As the first friend I ever had in this world, as the girl that filled my daily lives with more than just the sorrowful thoughts of my past before Eleanora were to be summoned once more at my side¡­ I wanted to see her happy.


    I held her hand silently, so she could feel the warmth of it.


    Erika raised her eyebrows in surprise, looking back at me with shock. She seemed to not have expected that from me out of nowhere.


    "Tell me what you have in your mind." I said.


    "¡­It''s just that¡­ It is hard to keep this¡­" She sighed. "I wish I could tell you¡­ But if I do¡­ If I do¡­"


    Erika began to stutter as her eyes suddenly began to cry tears. These tears¡­ how were they made? Could they be magic? Or¡­ an expression of her very soul manifested into this body?


    But I stopped myself from wondering and thinking so many irrelevant things, I had to pay attention to her.


    "If I do¡­"


    Erika looked back at me, as her lips were trembling in fear of what she was going to say.


    "If I do¡­ you''ll hate me¡­" She said. "So that''s¡­ why I cannot tell you¡­"


    "Hate you?" I asked. "I would never hate you, Erika¡­"


    "You would¡­ You just don''t know it yet¡­" She sighed. "Everybody that knows hates me¡­ I am not¡­ I am not normal¡­"


    "You are¡­" I said.


    "No¡­! I am not¡­ I¡­" She cried. "The rumors are all true at the end¡­ I am not normal¡­ I am not even real¡­ I¡­"<sub> </sub>


    "Erika, I know¡­" I said.


    "Eh?"


    Erika looked at my eyes in surprise, as emotions began to swell inside of her heart, her soul resonated with a golden glow, as her aura emanated from her body as if her emotions were showing through it.


    She looked at me as if she couldn''t believe what I said, she even ended sitting down on the bed as she realized the meaning of those simple words.


    "I know that you have a different body¡­ I know everything long ago, like¡­ over a year ago." I said. "I''ve not changed my opinion of you¡­ I would never hate you because of that."


    "W-What¡­? You knew¡­? Y-You knew I am¡­ I am¡­ a doll?" She asked.


    "You''re not a doll, Erika¡­" I said. "You''re a real girl, and my friend."


    "Ah¡­!"


    Erika suddenly looked at her own reflection within my eyes, as her eyes were wide open, tears suddenly began to glow like endless rivers, as her Aura waved around like a sea of pink and golden glow¡­


    "ke¡­!"


    She suddenly jumped towards me, and threw me on to the bed, while hugging me tightly, and rubbing her face over my chest. She continued to cry loudly, as if she were very scared of me knowing this¡­


    I smiled faintly, as I began to caress her head.


    "I always knew¡­ Don''t worry¡­ I still¡­ See you as my friend- no, as my family." I said.


    "ke¡­ You will never leave me?" She asked while crying.


    "As long as you don''t want to depart from me, I won''t." I said.


    "I would never¡­ I want to stay forever ever with you¡­" She cried. "I was so scared that you would know and then¡­ You would end up finding me¡­ disgusting¡­ Or¡­ like a monster¡­"


    "You''re not a monster¡­" I said. "You''re my adorable and good-hearted friend, Erika."


    I hugged Erika back with my arms, as she rested atop my body while rubbing her face over my chest. Her tears were warm, and tainted my shirt. But I didn''t care, I just wanted tofort her.


    To make her feel happy¡­ And to make her feel like she was loved. I know that her father also had given her such a feeling, but she has grown at my side, and she also wanted such affection from me.


    She hugged me tightly as she seemed to be filled with both sorrow and happiness at the same time¡­ Things escted quite quickly but¡­ I was happy to see her like this, it meant that her insecurities might be gone from now¡­ or perhaps, just a few of them.


    -----

 Chapter 122 The Tears Of An Innocent Soul

    -----


    "Rx now¡­ There''s no need to cry so much¡­" I said. "I promised your father that I would find a way to bring your body back. So I cannot really leave your side until then."


    "Y-You promised my father¡­ such a thing?!" She asked while blushing and looking at me filled with embarrassment. "W-Why do you promise such an unrealistic thing?! T-That''s¡­ Not something possible I¡­ My body¡­"


    "I know, as long as there is even a small bone left, it is possible¡­" I said. "Trust me, Erika, I know a way."


    Erika looked at me as her hair covered her face a bit, she moved her hair away from the front of her face, as she nodded.


    "Okay¡­ I¡­ I trust you just because you''re the one saying this¡­" She said. "But I am just happy¡­ As I am¡­ My greatest fear was losing you because you were to know the truth¡­"


    "Don''t worry, you''ll never lose me." I said.


    "N-Never? ke¡­" She cried, as she hugged me again. I could feel her entire body over mine.


    "You''re such a crybaby, aren''t you?" I sighed. "Calm down, Erika¡­ Everything is going to be alright as long as we are together in this¡­ As long as you stay at my side, I''ll lead you to a brighter future¡­"


    What I said sounded rather hypocritical, but I just wanted tofort her with these measly words¡­ Maybe deep down, I thought of them aspletely stupid, and even a bit corny, but this was what I wanted her to know, this was what I wanted her to feel¡­ I wanted to see her happy, to see her how she was¡­ as always, as radiant as the sun.


    Within the darkness of my past, that constantly haunted my mind and my memories, aside from my family, Erika was always there to give me a hand, to smile back at me, and to offer herpanionship and friendship. I suppose that she was one of the people that healed my heart, the least I can do is to do the same for her.


    "Y-You say such corny things sometimes¡­" She said. "B-But I can''t help but feel like¡­ I want to believe them¡­"


    "You''re the corny one hugging me so much¡­" I sighed.


    "A-Ah! S-Sorry¡­!"


    Erika tried to move away from me, realizing she was really viting all my privacy by resting on my body and rubbing herself on me as if I were her new bed¡­ But I stopped her and held her held her hands with my own.


    "No, don''t go." I said. "I like that you''re clingy¡­ I also want you to hug me¡­"


    For some reason, my pale face turned slightly red, and what I said made my chest feel a bit heavier, while the beating of my heart elerated.


    "R-Really?" She asked.


    "Yeah¡­" I said.


    "ke¡­"


    Erika hugged me back, as we rested on the bed like this. For some reason, I didn''t want this to stop. It soothed my mind and my heart, and made me feel like I was happy. I continued hugging her back and caressing her silky pink hair.


    "See? Now you''re finally back to how you were¡­" I said, as I cleansed her tears. "You''re prettier when you''re smiling."


    "Smiling¡­" She said. "ke¡­ You¡­ Y-You mean a lot to me¡­"


    "You also mean a lot to me." I said.


    "N-No¡­ I didn''t mean it like that¡­ I¡­" She muttered. "I¡­ W-Well¡­ I-I want to promise you¡­ W-When we grow up¡­ I¡­ I''ll marry you!"


    "Huh?"


    Erika grew even redder, resembling a tomato at this point, she averted her gaze from me but was constantly looking back at my surprised eyes.


    "P-Papa said that¡­ T-That''s what we should do¡­"<sub> </sub>


    "Your father said that?!"


    "A-And¡­ He said that when we love someone¡­ W-We marry them¡­"


    "¡­"


    "S-So¡­ W-Wait for that moment¡­"


    "Sigh¡­ You''re always talking things that make little sense¡­"


    I thought that she was just joking around, but she furrowed her eyebrows.


    "I am serious!"


    "Ah¡­"


    "Papa said that when we marry¡­ We can spend the rest of our lives with the one we¡­ we love¡­" She said. "S-So¡­ I want to spend the rest of my life with you¡­ J-Just like you said you''ll stay at my side¡­"


    "Oh¡­ I did say that¡­" I said. "This is¡­ I¡­"


    Erika looked back at me, she seemed filled with conviction, but I was an old monster, it was hard for me to deal with something that a little girl was promising to me for the future. What should I tell her? Should I ept? Should I decline? If I decline, her heart would be broken, and that''s not what I want. I suppose I have to go with her n for now, I am sure that perhaps in the future, she''ll change her mind¡­ After all, she''s just a child talking childish things.


    "¡­Sure," I sighed. "I''ll wait."


    Erika became happier, as she smiled back at me and moved her face closer  to my own, and suddenly kissed my cheek.


    "E-Erika, why are you doing this¡­?" I asked.


    "B-Because I¡­ I love you, ke! T-That''s what people that love do¡­" She said.


    "Sigh¡­"


    I moved to her side and kissed her cheek. Kissing felt¡­ strangely not as I expected, it was nothing special, yet the emotions conveyed in such an action made it somewhat unique.


    "B-ke¡­ You kissed me¡­" She said.


    "I had to give it back or I would feel bad¡­" I sighed.


    I petted her head as she seemed to be filled with happiness now, more than I ever thought she would feel¡­ She was so happy her eyes were sparkling and shining incredibly brightly¡­


    "You''re happy now, aren''t you?" I said.


    "You¡­. You make me happy¡­" She said. "More than anything¡­"


    "I suppose you also make me happy¡­" I said.


    ¡­


    After what had happened there, we quickly moved back to normal, and I went downstairs, where I made the potions at longst, after that, I invited Erika to have dinner at my house, and she ended telling everyone she was going to marry me when she grew up¡­ my family made a fuss and constantly teased me, it was very annoying. I wasn''t going to regret what I did, but it really felt like it was not something I didn''t think over very well¡­ I feel ashamed of myself.


    And at night, Eleanora was rather grumpy, furrowing her eyebrows a lot. She ended upcuddling at my side while sleeping, and hugging me tightly, as if trying to convey her thoughts through such actions.


    -----

 Chapter 123 A Week After

    `It has been a week since the incident with Erika, where I hadforted her and ended doing some childish promises so she could stop crying. I had not thought them very well, and this ended making my family tease me constantly about ending up marrying her. My grandmother was constantly asking me that I should at least have three children, and that, if possible, as long as I grew into an adult with her. I don''t believe that''s possible; Erika doesn''t have a body for that yet, and I am also not going to do such a thing as such a young age.


    If even, through this entire time I have never put a single thought about sexuality, as Vampires our sexuality is mostly dulled out, we are a race that lives thousands of years and can only be killed, but virtually never dies as long as we drink blood and maintain ourselves away from the light of the stars. Because of this, reproduction was never a must because it is a method that short-lived beings use to propagate and continue their existence as a kin. However, although it was possible, Vampires most of the time never had children, my existence and that of Eleanora were miracles, and perhaps our parents were wild vampires without any background that simply took advantage of a mortal for whatever motive.


    Well, there were older Vampires in my previous life, I was actually a renegade from the Vampire n that ruled a big chunk of the Universe, as someone that wasn''t pure-blooded. The most extremist Vampire saw my existence as unsightly, and dedicated themselves to hunt me down. Of course, ultimately that didn''t ended well because I ended killing each one of those that thought they were smart enough to attempt to hunt me down, and I drank their blood out of their bodies until they were left like dry carcasses. Thanks to drinking the blood of all those pure-blooded Vampires, I ended evolving into one as well, it was very convenient.


    The Vampires continued pestering me for a while, alongside the Dragon n too, who somehow were allies with the Vampire n, they also ruled another chunk of the Universe¡­ Well, at the end they all fell, although not all battles went smoothly. Certainly having the capabilities of a pure-blooded Vampire came in handy, such as the higher regeneration speed, and even the ability to regenerate and stay alive even if my head was sliced off, something that helped me greatly through my journey.


    Nheless, and moving out of this annoying topic, I have slowly drank all the Demon Potions that I made with Erika''s father cauldron help. Drinking the first one was a bit painful, it felt as if my body was slowly melting from the inside out, but I managed to stabilize the flow of Demonic Energy and using the hep of my physique, I suppressed this energy and gathered it near the eye I was going to rece, just to make that part of my skull feel more ustomed to the flow of demonic energy, which felt as if corroding acid was flowing through your blood vessels.<sub> </sub>


    At the end, I was able to umte all of this demonic energy in that area of the skull and things ended quite well for me now. I was mostly ready to do the next state, which was imnting the eye, this procedure is delicate and it often takes a long time, around 10 hours, but I n to do it tonight with the help of Eleanora. As of now, I am in the middle of the vige, where most people are. I had just finished healing someone from their backpain and got a few copper coins in exchange.


    However, some unexpected stalkers emerged.


    "Hey you! Kid! Stop there!"


    -----`

 Chapter 124 Annoying Priests

    -----


    As each day passed,  I moved to the vige to heal the people in need to gain some easy money or some food that we need. My father is getting better and he had already started going back to the farm, mostly doing very simple stuff with the help of my mother and Eleanora, while I also help sometimes, but I concentrate myself more into training. I have been maintaining the farm for a while so I deserve a break from it.


    Nheless, if it wasn''t for what I''ve been doing here, we wouldn''t have as many savings nor food. My mother had been working in the farm fields with my grandmother''s goat and her sheep, but that''s the extent of their capability, and as the weeks go by, my mother''s stomach grows bigger as well, so in some time she won''t be able to do too many things. Thankfully my father is finally back for that at least, but hunting is still not allowed by mother yet.


    Although it is not needed anymore, I am still saving money for the things I want to buy and the future. So healing some people from their back pain, or a big wound they got from a farm animal or something is the way to go for the moment. I''ve been searching for spirit orbs from beasts that I have yet to find, they''re very rare by now but some people still got spirit orbs from Gray Wolves or Walking Mushrooms they had yet to sell from back then, so whenever I saw something in the market, I would buy these.


    I''ve umted a good amount, although finding Wild Boar Spirit Orbs is impossible. Gray Wolves and Walking Mushrooms are not so rare, I just have to search well, there is a lot of people that put some mantle over the ground and sell out antiques or magic items they don''t need in this market, so I buy it from them at a very cheap price. I have currently umted 14 Gray Wolf Spirit Orbs and around 13 Walking Mushroom Spirit Orbs. I am nning on using them soon on Gluttony to enhance the power of Fenrir, he needs 20 Spirit Orbs to be "Enhanced" or something, so I need to collect 6 more Gray Wolf Spirit Orbs, meanwhile, I could guess that a Walking Mushroom Summon would be even weaker than Fenrir, and it probably also needs 20 Spirit Orbs, so I have to keep hoarding for now.


    "Thank you so much for your help, young boy, here." An old man handled to me three copper coins; he was obviously a humble person that lived inside a little wooden house. His Spirit was a Catfish that floated around him.


    "Oh, thank you for your gratitude, I will take any offerings." I said, grabbing the coins and putting them in my pocket, 3 Copper Coins is still money anyways, even if little.


    I walked outside the old man''s house, ready to depart back home for the day, but suddenly, I found myself being persecuted by a trio of men wearing white robes with yellow decorations and big crosses stered on their robes, one of them was holding a wooden cane with a red crystal on top of it.


    "Hey you! Kid! Stop there!"


    "Tch!"


    I knew who they were, I had seen them some time by now, every time I go around town from home to home, they find me and chase me down. These are the Priests of the Church of Holy Spirits, I know the leader of the trio, it is the same priest that reveals the talents and spirits of children when they hit 5 years of age. He was a very annoying bastard, to say the least. He was the one leading this party and always chased me down, asking me to stop because he wanted to ask me some questions.


    Every single time he would show up, and I had grown to expect him, but this time it was a bit different, they were even using magic indiscriminately. Is helping the people a crime now?


    "I''ll catch you with my endless Holy Chains!"<sub> </sub>


    One of his allies, a younger priest with red hair and blue eyes I had not seen before suddenly brought out his Spirit, Holy Chains, and it did exactly as one would expect from its name, it summoned several chains made of holy light to capture a target, and they were incredibly fast and could extend as long as he infused mana, apparently.


    The chains moved across the air with ease, without being hindered by gravity, and chased me around even as I moved around the houses. I enhanced my speed with Metabolism eleration and Gale, enhancing my blood flow for greater reflexes and swifter movements, while Gale produced a stream of winds around my body that helped me at leaping farther with ever step.


    The chain wasn''t able to catch up with me, and I cleverly moved around every home in zigzag patterns, even going back near the house of the old man and then knotting the entire chains around several houses. The people all around the town were surprised, looking at the scene as enormous chains made of light were all knotting one another ridiculously.


    "W-What is happening here?!"


    "T-Those chains are from a priest!"


    "They''re chasing that kid!"


    "Wait, that kid is the saint! What do the priests want with him?"


    Some people even recognized me somehow, which deeply disturbed me. I didn''t wanted anyone to recognize me but even the amount of face changes I could do had a limit. The human mind can remember the patterns of many faces, eventually, some people would begin to recognize me even if I changed my face appearance using Illusion Magic.


    "Aaggh! Damn kid!" the red-haired priest cried, as he exhausted himself from his Mana and gasped for air, his spirit was entangled all around the street. I had jumped over the rooftop of the house near the priest and looked him down.


    "I guess your chains are not that endless."


    "Y-You¡­!"


    -----

 Chapter 125 Confrontation

    -----


    This new priest was really annoying, he had a childish personality and seemed to look at me with utter hate. What have I even done to him? Oh right, I guess I just ridiculed him. Will this create a grudge now? Really, mortals make grudges out of the smallest of things, they don''t even learn from their mistakes. They just hate them instead. How do they expect to grow if the only thing they feel is frustration and hate each time they fail? Well, he looks young, perhaps around his early to mid-teens. I didn''t know priests could be this young. I cannot expect a youngster to have the same patience as an old man such as myself.


    "Get down from there, you damn ruffian!" He cried. "Or else¡­!"


    ? "Or else what? You priests keep chasing me down as if I''ve been doing crimes when I am just helping the people and getting something in exchange." I said. "There have been several times when people cannot afford to pay me but I don''t really mind. I am just helping them, I don''t expect anything back, those goodhearted enough can give, and those without anything to give can always give me a smile and a "thank you". That''s all I need. So why? Why are you chasing me down as if I have done some sort of crime?"


    I decided to confront the priest, while the other two that were with him, including the Priest that checks the talents and spirits were going around town following the chains that were spread over all the houses, the red-haired priest had a short yet sharp hair, looking as if he was an urchin or something.


    "Y-You¡­! Do you think we are chasing you down because we think you''re a criminal?! Have you been thinking this the entire time, stupid kid?!" He roared. "Juste down and apologize! The Head Priest just wants to talk to you and thank you for what you''ve been doing! He even thought about inviting you to be a priest at your damn age!"


    "Huh?"


    I looked at the man while squinting my eyes, was he saying the truth? I activated the Emotion-Attribute Magic Spell of Tier 1 named "Emotion Aura Detection", which allows me to see the emotions of people as auras of colors, when someone lies, their aura usually bes bluish green, which means they''re holding back their true emotions to pretend to say something false.


    I looked into this mans'' emotion aura, and it was red, gold, and orange, like the zing mes. He had no speck of emotions that he was holding back, in fact, he''s the upfront type that probably doesn''t even know how to pretend or even lie¡­ He''s saying the truth, without a doubt.


    I looked at him and decided to ask him again.


    "Are you saying the truth?" I asked while remaining in silence for a while.<sub> </sub>


    "Yeah! That''s the truth, you dumb idiot! Nowe down and apologize!" He roared. "Agh, my Mana is all depleted, and my Spirit got all entangled! This is the fucking worst¡­"


    Now that it hase to this, what should I do? Should I keep escaping or should I confront them for once and see what they really want? He''s saying the truth but even then, there could be ways to mask emotions, perhaps he was even brainwashed, or he doesn''t actually know the truth behind these actions. If he doesn''t know the truth, then he cannot really lie about something somebody else told him.


    Maybe I am being a bit too overly cautious in that regard, but I will wait for the Head Priest and the other Priest toe here and ask them personally the same thing¡­ And well, they didn''t take that long. The two reached the red-haired man as they helped him pull back his spirit, but due to theck of mana, the spirit simply moved back to his spirit orb and dissipated. The man almost fell to the floor if it wasn''t for the two priests that caught him in time.


    The Head Priest was an old man, looking like he was on his 70''s already, or even older, he had a long white beard and a bald head, and tired eyes. Meanwhile the other priest was a man on his mid thirties with short brown hair and sses, his eyes were as sharp as knives and looked at me hatefully¡­


    "I waited for you toe because I wanted to ask you a few things as well, if you dare attack me again, I won''t even talk to you again." I said. "Do you really intend to do what this man told me? Congratte me and attempt to invite me into bing a priest?"


    The two priests looked at one another and nodded in silence, they seemed to be intimidated by my position. A child of my age doesn''t go around jumping rooftops so easily as I did, but it doesn''t be so hard when you can use a slight amount of wind to help you jump higher.


    As they nodded, they began to speak, the brown-haired man with a sharp gaze and eyesses spoke first, seemingly a bit tired of me in his tone of voice.


    "The Head Priest has been insisting on catching you because he wants to talk and met the legend of the vige. You''ve been helping the people for a long time now and it feels wrong for him to not somehow talk to you, seeing how what you''re doing is our job, but you''re doing it even better and without expecting any remuneration." He said. "If possible, we would like to recruit you as a priest, your abilities are very useful."


    "Indeed, young man,e down here, let us talk for a while. I know of a restaurant right there where we can sit down, share a meal, and talk about the good things you''ve done." Said the Head Priest. "It would be nice to know you better."


    -----

 Chapter 126 Meeting The Priests Cautiously

    -----


    "Hm¡­"


    Looking at their Emotion Auras, the Head Priest had a pink-colored aura, seemingly filled with serenity,prehension, and also calmness. There was a hint of bluish color at the upper border, so there was also some intention behind his goals, but most likely they are making me profit for them. Meanwhile, the man with a disability on his sight that is for some reason wearing sses in front of his eyes seemed to have a calm white and gray color. That meant that he was calm and concise, although the lower border had a lot of red color, he was quite angered, a silent and calm anger.


    However, I am by no means interested in bing a priest, so this entire meeting would be pointless, but I am interested in receiving apensation. But thispensation is most likely linked with bing a priest, isn''t it? It would be annoying to tie myself with an organization such as the church, unlike Adventurer Guilds, they got strict rules that their priests must follow, all of that is not for me.


    But¡­ I am too interested in the reward, and perhaps I could talk my way out into some sort of deal that could benefit both parties without getting forced to join them. I could perfectly work as an external helper that is paid amission for aiding them in whatever job they do¡­


    If I could build up connections with members of such an important organization that spawns all over the continent across dozens of nations¡­ Then it would be quite beneficial. I could also fall into their trap too, but I have prepared myself if something unexpected happens, after all, I got Orcus and Eleanora with me, and also Gluttony which I have stored in my shadows.


    If they get ahead of themselves, they''ll only end up with their blood spilled before they can even manage to touch me. I am not someone that would walk directly into a possible trap without having many aces below my sleeve. Nheless, I was too interested in money and resources as of now. I really need them if I want to do all things I''ve promised as of now, and I am not someone that breaks promises, I aplish them, even if they take a long time.


    "Okay¡­" I said. "But if you try anything funny, you''ll deal with the consequences." I swiftly jumped from the rooftop, the priests tried to stop me from doing that, thinking I would break my legs or something, but I fell over my won two feet like nothing. Easily softening the fall using a small cushion made out of wind¡­ Wind Magic is incredibly convenient for these little things, even at Tier 1. However, I cannot really maintain flight yet. I would need a higher tiered Magic, and for that, I must make a Magic Circle inside of my soul, but that''s even harder to do, so that will be left for another asion.


    "I-Incredible, are you adept at Wind Magic as well?" Asked the Head Priest.


    "Something like that." I said.


    "Surely, whatever spirit you might have¡­ It is something incredible, isn''t it? May we see it?" Asked the brown-haired four eyed priest.


    "No." I said coldly, walking at the side of the Head Priest.


    "Lead the way, I don''t have all day." I said.


    "B-Be more respectful with the Head Priest, you damn brat! If you''re going to join us, you gotta learn some damn manners!" Roared the red-haired youngster, he tried to summon his chains but they didn''te out this time.


    "I am being as polite as I can, but as you can see, I am just a poor street rat. A serf doesn''t know the manners of the rich folk." I said with a smile.


    "I-I am not rich! I used to be a ser too, you know?!" the red-haired youngster continued to bark.


    "Head Priest, four eyes, can you two shut up your barking dog? I know you have him well taught but he''s getting annoying." I sighed.<sub> </sub>


    "D-Dog?! Now you''ve done it!" He roared, but he couldn''t even reach me and almost fell to the ground again. He has a terrible training with mana usage, how can he feel so weakened after it is exhausted? He should try to train and reinforce his mana some more, and perhaps do some workout, he''s quite thin.


    "Jack, stop your barking already." Sighed the brown-haired man. "And my name is not "four eyes", my name is Seth Bonfire, from the Bonfire Family of Nobles. But as a Priest, I''ve regenerated my family''s prestige to serve the Holy Spirits, you may refer me by my name if you want, but not through your insults."


    The man with the sses named Seth Bonfire was quite sharp. His mannerism and speech were way more advanced than those of the red-haired youngster named Jack, and he seemed to be trying to be polite with me, so I decided to agree with his request.


    "Then I shall call you Seth from now on." I said.


    "And your name, what is it?" He asked.


    "My name? Call me nk." I said.


    "nk? What kind of name is that?" He asked while raising an eyebrow.


    "I didn''t knew this was going to be an interrogation. What''s next? My date of birth? What''s my blood type?" I wondered.


    "¡­"


    Seth looked at me while squinting his eyes, he quickly fell silent and ignored my gaze as he looked back at Jack and began to use some healing spell to make him feel less exhausted.


    "Forgive him, nk, Seth is sometimes a bit too stiff with things. Now let''s go. My name is Ellergest and I am the eldest priest of the town, are you one of the children that I awakened their talent and spirit?" He asked.


    "No, I don''t think so. I awakened my magic alone." I said. "I don''t need anyone''s help."


    ? "I-I see¡­"


    I wasn''t going to reveal my identity to this old man, it was better to remain as "nk" for now.


    -----

 Chapter 127 The Hight Priest Ellergest

    -----


    "So nk¡­ Why did you started this to begin with? I see you now and you''re very young, are you around your eights? Nines?" Ellergest wondered, as he looked at me with intrigue, he was wearing a white mage cap with a cross on top of it, it looked a bit hrious but that seemed to be the uniform of the Head Priests of this world.


    "I am¡­ Nine." I said. "I am just not that tall."


    I decided to simply lie about my age and say that I am nine years of age. I seem to look older than almost seven. I guess it is because of the development of my body through the powers of leveling up and training my body through my new physique.


    "I see¡­ W-Well, we wanted to thank you for what you''ve been doing. You see, it is usually our job to take care of the people in need but sometimes they don''t have the money for our services, and the church is in charge of our transactions. They usually won''t let us do things for free¡­" He said. "But you have been working for all these people, healing them every day, and receiving whatever little thing they had to offer you. That is very heart warming, and I feel like you''re a good kid."


    "Oh, is that so? So the church controls you? Is it not because you''re a greedy man, Ellergest?" I asked.


    "N-No, that is not because of that¡­ I am a man of humble origins, I used to be a meremoner when I was a youngster and was recruited into the church at the age of five. Since then that I''ve been serving them for this entire time." Said Ellergest. "I am no different than you and Jack here, Seth might have a different origin but he''s also a humble man at the end of the day."


    "¡­"


    I looked at the three for a few moments and then nodded. He was not lying, and the other priests, Jack and Seth seemed to be silent while he spoke, they were very respectful of him.


    We were already inside of the restaurant, it was a small tavern, in fact, which sold beer and other foods such as meat, cheese, potatoes, and bread, nothing too fancy because it was where very poor people came to grab a bite after job.


    "I see¡­ Well, where is the reward?" I said. "I only approved of this because I wanted it."


    "Ah, you''re indeed a greedy young man, well, that''s good. It is good to be ambitious at such a young age, but that sometimes will bite you back." He said.<sub> </sub>


    This man truly believes I don''t know that? Compared to all the things I have gone through and learned, he''s like a kid to me, not the other way around. Being greedy doesn''t mean I will do things recklessly, it is a basic emotion of any intelligent and even unintelligent beings. Maturing means being able to not be driven by it to the point of making stupid mistakes, and I make sure that I don''t make mistakes if possible.


    "Don''t worry, I am not stupid." I said. "I won''t do anything reckless, and I trust you, priest, you''re a good man, right? You just told me that. How will it bite me in the back when your priests told me I was receiving a reward?" I wondered. "Are you perhaps lying to me? Were you trying to bring me to a ce with a lot of people to make me feel cornered and intimidated? Look at my eyes, priest. Do you see any fear in them?"


    "Ah¡­!"


    Ellergest looked into my eyes, the only thing he saw as the color of my irises, and nothing else. He began to suddenly move a bit back, resting his back against the chair, and then blinking for a bit. It seems that I have managed to make him realize that I am not someone he can fool around with nor teach stupid things that every childrenmit mistakes for.


    "You''re an incredible child, nk¡­" Heughed. "There is no need to be so wary with us, rx. Here, this is thepensation we wanted to give to you." The priest suddenly took out a small pouch with silver and gold coins mixed together¡­ there were approximately a few hundred of them, that''s a lot of money.


    "This much money? Handling it to me out of nowhere? Why? You could simply ignore me and do as you please while I take care of those that cannot pay to you, why even give me money?" I wondered. "I simply can''t understand your actions."


    "I guess you''re a very pragmatic young man, but when ites to understanding basic human emotions, you be very dull and ignorant." Said Seth. "Gratitude is a thing, we felt happy because you helped those we were not allowed to help, and we also felt bad because of that, so we decided to pay to you for all these people instead."


    "You''re really a stubborn brat, can''t you understand something so simple? People sometimes feel thankful about stuff! What you''ve done is¡­ honestly pretty amazing." Sighed Jack, growing embarrassed at the end. "I can''t even heal as much as you do, I can barely conjure one or two spells a day¡­"


    "Basic Human Emotions? Gratitude?"


    Right¡­ I hadpletely forgotten that such a factor was always present with lesser beings such as mortals, especially humans, who are the most emotionally unstable creatures in the entire Universe. I suppose there are such factors, and by analyzing the emotion aura, they''re not lying. To think I have such an ability yet I don''t even understand them aside from looking at their colors and discerning their minds from that¡­ I am really quite foolish, despite having lived for so long, I suppose I never interacted enough with mortals to realize these things, or perhaps I did and I simply¡­ closed my own emotions at the end.


    -----

 Chapter 128 You Cant Change My Mind

    -----


    These people¡­ I guess they''re good people, aren''t they? ¡­I still cannot trust them too much, in fact, I can''t, but there is a better impression of them in my mind now. I hope they don''t break it on another asion. Gaining trust from me is a very hard thing to aplish. I should congratte them for attempting to do it so easily and quickly¡­ However, at the end of the day, people always have many facets of themselves. But for now, I will hear them out some more, and take their coins as well, there is no reason not to.


    I grabbed the bag of coins and stash it beneath my robes, of course, I threw it inside my shadows behind their watchful eyes, as I continued looking at them and I nodded.


    "Then I am also grateful for your help. I am a very poor serf, so this money wille in handy for my future." I said. "Although you said I am greedy, I don''t spend my money foolishly and I only save it to maintain my family and help them survive while I save a bit for my own future."


    "Hm, I guess I should apologize, I shouldn''t had said that of a young child." Said Ellergest. "Anyways, now that we are done with this, what about joining us as a Priest? As a Head Priest, I can easily make you my Pupil, and I can teach you many things such as spell creation and theory, and other things that normal serfs andmoners don''t have any idea of."


    "This is the opportunity of your life, kid. If you join us, you can get out of this vige and know the world while we go on pilgrimages and you''ll even get paid for it." He said. "You can easily lift up your family from poverty as well, like I did! Now they all live in the capitalfortably."


    "It is indeed a life-changing opportunity for you, nk. Only the talented and blessed by the Holy Spirits will ever be given such an amazing opportunity as joining the Church as a Priest Pupil." Said Seth. "Join us and change your life forever."


    The three priests all agreed that the best thing I could ever do in my entire life was bing a priest, it was an easy way out of poverty without actually having to wage wars like soldiers do. So there is way less danger of death, you''re also protected by three priests that teach you, all while you get paid for it by the church and you can even bring your family out of poverty and leave them livingfortably in the capital like Jack did¡­


    However¡­


    "I refuse."<sub> </sub>


    Jack, Seth, and Ellergest opened their eyes wide as they looked at me with surprise and awe, any other child would have said yes without even hesitating, especially a serf that knew that they had no future. Although it was very tempting, I have other ns. Learning from the priests would be interesting but I want to explore this world by myself and with the people I choose to stay at my side. If I want to learn more about this world I have to go to some sort of academy for a couple of years, something that could teach me more about concepts I don''t know about this world, such as Spirits and Talents, and the Holy Spirits, the Land itself, the sky, and a way out of this world to reunite with those that survived from my crew¡­ but that would be for a long time from now.


    I don''t have the will to chain myself to this oppressive organization. Even if these priests have good intentions, apparently, the entire organization can''t be this good, especially seeing how they always ask for fees for their services, can they even call themselves a church if they do such a thing? I suppose this world''s people can do whatever they want and call themselves a church anyway. Well, whatever''s the case, I nced at the priests and awaited their response.


    The three priests seemed impacted, but Ellergest was the one to speak first.


    "W-What did you said? nk, don''t you know what you''ve turned down? Serf kids barely have opportunities to evene out of their viges, no matter how much money you save¡­" He said. "Even if you be amoner by paying the fee, what''s even your talent? What are you going to do for society? Risking your life hunting down monsters and selling them like adventurers? Be a soldier? Those are the only two options, and both have very high risks! You won''t know when you''ll die in such professions¡­ Are you really willing to abandon such an opportunity as bing a prestigious priest, an influential figure in the future with your amazing abilities, just to hack and sh some monsters for money?"


    Ellergest seemed the most impacted, he didn''t liked how people wasted their lives hunting monsters to gain money and found that working towards such a goal was wasting away my entire life. They didn''t Know that I was good at Alchemy, even less that I have a great talent at crafting all sorts of magical items as long as I have the materials, and that I am actually a very decent architect, and even more, I am quite good with finances and statistics, and I can run an entire enterprise as long as I build the money and the connections, and well, wait a long time as well, as it doesn''t take just a second to make.


    But yes, even with knowing I can do all those things, I am also willing to hack and sh monsters. Kill them, absorb their power, and continue growing stronger and earning money out of that, because that''s the most fitting job for someone like me that only killed and killed more through my entire first life, for thousands of years, I only know about death, blood, and ambition.


    "Yeah, I have already decided I will be a Hunter like my father."


    -----

 Chapter 129 The Current Situation Of The Church

    -----


    "Like your father you say¡­ You know your father wouldn''t probably be a hunter if he was given such an opportunity at his young age, right, kid?!" Asked Jack. "You''re just a stubborn little brat for thinking you can even aplish anything by pure strength! Eventually your mana will run low, you can''t endlessly fight either. One day you''ll realize that life is a fragile thing, you can''t just waste it away by being a reckless idiot! I¡­ I learned that the hard way!"


    Jack confronted me angrily as he drank thest bit of beer on his cup. He was clearly drunk by now but he was giving me a sermon as if he knew more about life than me. As someone that actually has died before I know very well how life can be, even if I lived longer than you. However, I understand you and your ignorant point of view, and I get it, my father wouldn''t be a Hunter either. I just used him as a realistic excuse because exining them my true motives would only put me in more trouble than I want to.


    "I don''t care about what you think about me or my goals," I said. "I came here exclusively to make a deal with you, you can think anything you want as long as you don''t bother me."


    "Eh?! You damn disrespectful brat! I''m gonna smack some sense into you-"


    Jack was about to stand up and attempt to hit me in the head, I was already readying my hand with Qi to hit him first, but he was thankfully stopped by Seth.


    "Jack! You''re already drunk, settle down for now and shut up." He said, as he looked back at me. "Very well then, nk. We are not here to force you to do anything you don''t want to but¡­ You said a deal? What deal? What do you have in mind?"


    Seth seemed to be the intelligent type, he immediately analyzed the situation and decided to act ordingly, epting my decision quickly and without bothering me anymore all while being interested in what I had in mind. It is very obvious that he''s a rare breed among humans. As most of them are tantly stupid, but perhaps this changes with Nobles or stronger people, maybe. This world is vast after all, there are many people.


    Ellergest heard my words and realized by looking into my eyes that he cannot convince me otherwise, there was no intimidation factor from figures of higher authority that would force me to just ept so I can end up giving a good impression to them. In fact, I was very different from a child of my age desperate for the approval of the adults, I only cared about myself and my family. He couldn''t use something as simple as his authority to make me his pupil-ve to go on pilgrimages, perhaps it worked with the idiot of Jack because he''s just an idiot, but with me it won''t work, not at all.


    "So what is what you want to make?" He wondered. "Making a deal with such a young child would truly be troublesome¡­ But maybe things can just be kept between the four of us, right?"<sub> </sub>


    "Indeed." Said Seth.


    "Ugh¡­ Whatever." Sighed Jack.


    "Well, the deal is simple, if you want my help I can give it to you, but you''re not poor people at all, so you''re going to pay me. Let''s call it amission." I said. "I heard Jack cannot heal too much a day, well, I can heal probably up to thirty times a day, I believe, so I can help you heal people that is going to pay you, and you give me a part of that fee. I am sure that you''re better healers than me, but can you heal as many times? More times means more profits, I can also treat other things you probably can''t."


    "Interesting¡­ So that was your proposal? Indeed, we wanted to recruit you and make you into a priest due to your amazing talents, nk. You have several cases of people reporting that you healed their ugly scars, you even helped someone regain hair, another person said he regained a lot of stamina like never before, and that it was a permanent effect, and others had even said you cured their lung cancer." Said Seth. "Is your magic this potent, child? You''re really a Saint then, a Saint Blessed by the Holy Spirits¡­ It is really a shame you didn''t wanted to join us. In the future you could even be a Holy Saint of the Church and be part of the Ultimate Council where all the Saints across thends gather, bing an incredible figure of prestige and influence across the entire world¡­ So much wasted potential¡­ It breaks my heart."


    "Enough, Seth¡­" Sighed Ellergest. "But yes, I guess we can do that, actually we oftenmission mercenaries and magicians to do jobs for us or to help us subjugate demons that are infesting private properties. There was this one time we paid a band of mercenaries to help us eradicate a group of Goblins that settled down inside an abandoned manor from a Noble. It was a hard to do job, but we managed to aplish it, other jobs also include things such as exorcism where we need a strong mage to support us."


    "I see, so it is possible then?" I wondered. "Also, have you not heard about the demons in the forest? Why are you, from all people, that can wield holy magic from all things, not dealt with them yet?"


    "We received orders from the church to not do anything for the moment." Said Seth. "It is not something as simple as walking there and getting it done, the Hunters are serfs and they are not even citizens, nobody cares if they die, but I am a Noble and Priest, and so is Lord Ellergest while Jack is an Apprentice Priest with citizenship¡­"


    -----

 Chapter 130 Negotiations With Priests

    p -----</anda>


    "Our deaths mean way more and we must handle our lives with care. I am not implying something like you people don''t matter, but the church doesn''t want their members to die pointlessly without a proper n." Said Seth. He had a point there, but at the same time, it still felt like they were being irresponsible andzy, just doing whatever their "bosses" say is very stupid. It is clear that this church is more like apany with a boss that just tells their workers what to do than an actual church where priests cannot just be ordered around even for higher authorities as much.


    "We are not allowed to do anything against the demons unless they begin attacking the town, but I have heard from rumors amongst other wandering Priest Groups that Knights areing here soon, directly from the Duke." Said Ellergest. "Some said that the Duke was gifted the head of a demon to "wake him up" and do something about the demons¡­ Whoever did that was certainly gambling. He could had gotten his head chopped off instead¡­ Oh well, whatever''s the case, knights might being next week, perhaps."


    "I see¡­ Well, that is good news. May the Holy Spirits bless the one that sent the head, he could have saved this entire vige from destruction¡­ I hope those knights and soldiers arepetent, however." I said. "It would be a pity that they all came to just die pointlessly. Anyways, let''s go back to the main topic. I can work for you for a fee, a part of what you''re paid."


    "Interesting way to make you into an ally¡­ Oh well, there''s no other way around it then?" Wondered Ellergest. "If you''re really meaning to do such a thing, we take jobs from Monday to Sunday from 6 AM to 8 PM. You cane to the small church here and we''ll quickly bring you with us. Most of the jobs we do leave us exhausted after we use our magic so much, so we''ll be able to take more jobs with you at our side¡­"


    "Excellent then¡­" I said with a smile. "Now, let''s talk about the fee."


    The fee, I wasn''t going to do this for free, church or not, you''re going to pay me for working for you, no matter what, and therefore, I want to be paid fairly and simply put, given the money I deserve, the money I want is not that much. I am a humble man after all, I just want a part of that fee, a small part that showcases my efforts depending in what I do.


    "If I do the whole healing myself, you''ll give me 80% of the fee, if I only support you, I am okay with just 50%." I said. "I think that''s a fair amount for my efforts."


    "Y-You''re asking for way too much, you rat kid!" Roared Jack, his entire face was red like a tomato, and he seemed to be growing redder due to being drunk. He was already talking incoherencies, I don''t know why priests are just allowed to get drunk but I guess they call alcohol the holy drink or something.


    "I think that''s a bit too much for what you''re worth, nk." Said Seth. "But then again, we have yet to see if all those things are true¡­ Perhaps? We should agree to your demands when we see what you''re capable of doing."


    "Hmm¡­ Yeah, I suppose that''s right." Said Ellergest. "Come to the church tomorrow morning at 6 AM so we can bring you with us."<sub> </sub>


    "I see, that''s good then." I said. "But can''t I continue doing my own work for those without enough money to pay for the fees?"


    "Yeah, you can do whatever you want, being a serf also makes it so nobody cares about you enough to bother. The church won''t do anything against you as long as you''re just a kid doing what kids do¡­" Said Ellergest. "Although there are some very conservative priests that would try to stop you because they would say you''re doing something illegal, thankfully we are not corrupted by money, we are simply doing what the church wants to, prioritizing those that pay is sadly the only thing we can do."


    "Sometimes, we hold special events where we try to heal those that can''t pay, but not everyone can be healed. Some people have things that are very hard to heal or solve, a broken bone, or even a missing eye¡­ Those things are a bit beyond our capabilities, only Lord Ellergest here is Rank 2 as of now, both of us are yet to reach that Rank with our Spirit Stones.we have not been able to receive the Blessings of the Holy Spirits as much without having to vanquish evil to gain positive karma." Said Seth.


    "Positive Karma?" I wondered.


    "It is the essence of what you gain by defeating a monster or doing what your Talent is about. Everyone gains positive karma over time, and when a set amount is reached, the Holy Spirits will bless us with a Blessing, which will enhance all our capabilities, even physical strength. I might look old but I am fairly strong!" Said Ellergest.


    So that''s what they call EXP? Positive Karma¡­ I suppose it makes sense in a way, killing "Evil beings" such as monsters, demons, beasts, and even "evil" people such as bandits, thieves, and more all would give you "Positive Karma" of course there is the obvious thing about killing normal people giving Karma too, but they are probably neglecting that aspect for the positive ones so they mask the reality of a crude system where people simply level up by killing other living beings.


    "We need to vanquish more evil for Positive Karma¡­" Sighed Jack. "I am getting closer to my eighth Blessing; I can feel it! We need to exorcise some ghosts, undead, or something¡­" He sighed while drinking some more beer, or whatever was left from the cup.


    "I see how it is¡­" I said. "Anyways, I guess that''s it for now."


    -----

 Chapter 131 Plans

    -----


    After the whole incident with the Priests, I had decided to move back home now, and ended up spending the rest of the day thinking about this whole thing and more about this world I am living in now. It really felt like the world was unraveling itself more as I spoke with those men that knew more than I did about how things truly were within this world. I might be knowledgeable about many things, but I still don''t know everything about this world, nor its concepts. Knowing things such as Positive Karma and the Blessings rtion was interesting, and also learning that the Priests know Spell Construction is probably also surprising. I had assumed they could know something, but this was very much confirmed, people in this world do know about making spells as I thought, but only a certain group is taught this whilemoners are often left without knowing this general knowledge.


    Spells are dangerous, they can give a person more power than a simple Spirit can as long as they have Mana. Perhaps the entire Nation wants to not give this power to the general poption, so they leave it as something exclusive of people above a citizen status, Soldiers, Priests, and Nobles, perhaps, there might be Magician Schools for all I know out there, but they''re probably expensive enough that only Nobles can afford them to begin with. Keeping such a power was magic not as wide spread within the general poption, but known enough to be a daily life thing, just that everybody cannot just easily use it.


    That I can innately conjure magic of all elements means that it seems as if I was taught by somebody about all of this, despite that not being the truth. I cannot easily reveal all my spells in front of these Priests, but just what''s needed¡­ If they see that Eleanora doesn''t have any rtion to my magic either, they''ll probably freak out a bit, but I don''t really care about that. For the moment I would like to not show them what I am truly capable of.


    "I really don''t like those priests, if you let me be honest¡­" Said Eleanora. "Their auras of holy light really brought me back memories when we fought those arrogant Angels¡­"


    "Ah, those guys? Well, there were also several other organizations that we defeated that used holy magic, they really thought that it was the bane of a Vampire?" I sighed. "At some point we were able to just bathe on it without problems."


    "Well yeah¡­" She sighed. "Back on our home there were these Crusaders guys from that one organization¡­ They always preached about being humble and good-hearted, but they were just even worse than us, and just enved people by tricking them into thinking they were good people that would help them find a home¡­"


    <o>,m "Oh well, aren''t you recalling way too far back in the past, Eleanora?" I sighed. "For the moment I believe these Priests are okay at most. I am not saying I trust them, because I don''t. But I cannot miss this opportunity either, and I got the tools necessary to defend myself if there was ever any case of treason. I know there are always many variables in battle, but I also got you, and I trust you and your strength."</o>


    "A-Asmodeus¡­"


    Eleanora quickly changed her demeanor as I told her those honest words. I may not trust those people, but I trust my own strength and her, who is always at my side, if things go awry, I trust that she''ll help me and we can get out of the situation together. I know that sounded childish, but it has been like this ever since I met her in my previous life. We have always gotten out of trouble together, and we''ll continue doing so.


    "Well, it is gettingte now¡­ After dinner, we are starting the surgery, I believe you''ve practiced enough?" I wondered. I had bought some skulls from animals, their whole heads including the eyes, and left Eleanora practice using them, she ultimately learned how to do surgery and she was ready for it. In her previous life she had done surgery countless times to my body, and I had done the same to hers, but I cannot really do surgery to my own eye withoutmitting too many mistakes.<sub> </sub>


    I am leaving that job up to her to realize, it is simple by now, after having absorbed demonic energy into my body and everything else. It should be possible to transnt the demon eye, I can hide its new appearance using Illusion Magic of Tier 1, changing the eye color shouldn''t be anything hard to do.


    "Oh, that¡­ Yes, I am ready." She said. "It shouldn''t be so hard, are you going to do it while being conscious?"


    "Yes I must, I need to infuse demonic energy into the eye socket so the flesh adapts to the eye from a demon¡­" I said. "It will be painful but I''ve gone through worse pains, such as that one time I was torn in half, or that other time my body was turned to shreds and I thought I had died but I slowly regenerated back from the meat paste left¡­ At that one point I realized that the only way to kill me now was by destroying my soul, so I started to fortify it to not have weaknesses¡­"


    "The good ol'' times¡­ Ah, well, I don''t think that particr memory is any good." Sighed Eleanora. "Nheless, we are mostly ready for it, right?"


    "Yeah, everything should be ready by now¡­" I said.


    "aaaake! Come eat dinner!"


    My mother called to me, as I quickly decided to walk downstairs, being greeted by her, my father, and my grandmother, Erika was not here at this hour, deciding to walk back home after staying most of the day helping my father and mother on the farm with me.


    "Ah, ke, you''re looking awfully tired today, what''s wrong, son?" Asked my grandmother, she seemed concerned about my health.


    "Tired? Oh¡­ Don''t worry about it, grandma."


    -----

 Chapter 132 Demonic Eye

    -----


    I had realized it quitete, but I looked awfully bad. My face was very pale and I even looked like a zombie, is this umted exhaustion in my body? Sometimes I forget this body is a fragile seven-year-old child, so I should go easy on it for now on, for some time. Well, I will dedicate myself to just heal people after the transnt of the eye tonight. Maybe I need to just sleep without practicing Aether maniption every night, perhaps that takes part of my mind and I cannotpletely rx and sleep.


    For the moment I decided to just go with my ns originally, but this exhaustion that I feel might be a bad thing for me¡­ I cannot remain like this or it will worsen, I should take a few days off too, perhaps.


    For the moment, everybody was already sleeping inside their rooms, so Eleanora and I moved to the storage which I have already disinfected previously. Eleanora had few surgical tools that I shaped out of normal tools such as kitchen knife, fork, and spoons using the Earth Magic Tier 1 Spell "Shape Mineral" which helps me shape minerals, but it is very hard and it takes a long time, and Mana, so I''ve been preparing them for a long while.


    After getting the basic procedures done, I sat down on the table. This was indeed going to be very rough, but I was going to abuse healing magic to brute force it down, the body getting used to the foreign eye is also going to be painful, but this is a power I need to continue growing stronger, the ability to paralyze a foe is strong, I cannot miss this golden opportunity.


    "Are you ready, Asmodeus? I won''t be gentle with you." Said Eleanora. "It''s going to hurt¡­ a lot."


    Eleanora was not being dishonest, and that''s what I like about her. She was worried about me and thought that this was a bit too crazy, even for me. At this stage it would be too risky to do, but I wanted to take the risk for the benefits.


    "Yeah, I am ready." I said.


    "Okay then¡­ Sigh¡­ Let''s do it." She said. "I will control your blood flow and also not let you bleed as much, good thing you took off your clothes because there will be a lot of blood sttered around¡­"


    "Go ahead."


    "Alright¡­"


    Eleanora quickly took the knife, slowly moving it near my eye, she carefully put it all the way down from the side of the eye, an incredibly sharp pain crossed through my skull, the nerves were tingling more and more as they detected a foreign and cold object touching the eye and piercing through the flesh around it. Eleanora was not going to cut the eye because that would cause too much bleeding, so she was going to scoop I out, carefully cut the veins, and then connect these veins to the other new eye, alongside the other things.


    I remained calm despite the sharp pain, I was using spells with it, of course, although I had no spell that couldpletely inhibit pain, I had spells to make it slightly lesser, such as the Illusion Magic Spell called "Dulled Pain" that convinces my own mind that the pain is not severe and makes it so I don''t begin to convulse in agony but I still feel the pain as strong as the brightness of the sunlight in day with clean skies.


    Quickly after, Eleanora forcefully pulled the eye out of my socket as blood and other viscous liquids came out. My eye socket was nowpletely ck and inside there was a lot of fleshy walls, where the eye came out there were all the veins connecting it to the rest of my internal skull structure and brain.<sub> </sub>


    She pulled it as far as it could go, which was half a centimeter, and then carefully used a sharp knife to cut down the eye from the base. Another sharp pain, enough to make someone have a heart attack out of the agony rushed through my body, it made my hands tremble slightly, but it wasn''t anything too much.


    After that, Eleanora ced the eye in a different te and gently grabbed the demon eye, quickly using her Blood Maniption to maintain the blood loss to a minimum as she connected the nerves, veins, and more into the new eye perfectly, we had studied this Imp Eye before and it was almost the same as another human eye.


    While doing this, I used demonic energy to stabilize the rejection that my body was showing against the new eye, and slowly made the eye gain life once more, now connected to my own life, the eye started to feel warmer, and then Eleanora connected all of the veins and I used healing magic to forcefully connect the flesh and cells together.


    Although it was "simple" the procedure was incredibly slow as we had to be very careful about everything, things took a longer time than expected, and when Eleanora ced the eye inside and then I used some more healing magic over my eye to stabilize things out, it was already 5 AM and my parents were slowly waking up from bed.


    "It''s done¡­! That was close¡­ I-It hurts?" Asked Eleanora.


    "Yes, a lot, it feels like my head is burning." I sighed. "Let''s go sleep for now."


    "What about the priests?" She wondered.


    ? "I don''t care about them that much; I''ll go after sleeping." I said.


    I felt exhausted due to the enormous quantity of pain I went through and wanted to sleep for a while longer, ignoring the priests asking me to go to them at 6 AM, I decided to spend the rest of the morning sleeping on bed¡­


    When I woke up, it was around 3 PM, and I still felt a sharp pain in my eye, and wanted to sleep for some more time, but it was enough for now, I had to wake up.


    And as I stood out of bed, suddenly the vision of what I could see slightly changed.


    "T-This is¡­?!"


    -----

 Chapter 133 The Power Of A Demonic Eye

    -----


    I ended up sleeping for hours and hours until I woke up more refreshed. That was truly quite the excruciating sleep, sleeping while having so much pain really is hard¡­ Especially in this body, which is slowly getting more and more exhausted. However, despite the pain, I felt refreshed when I woke up, and quickly decided to stand out of bed. The moment I readjusted my sight with my new Demon Eye, I suddenly saw something else¡­ It felt as if everything was filled with more colors than before, and there was essence flowing everywhere.


    No, this essence has always been here, these are the invisible and natural rivers of Mana that flow across the entire world. I had sensed them before, but I have never seen them like this until now in this life. The Demon Eye gave me the ability to "see" the natural flow of mana in the environment, interesting¡­ If I had some sort of way to absorb these rivers of invisible Mana, it would be even better, but this mana is infected with the world''s source energy, and it is naturally reabsorbed into the world as it travels everywhere. If it is absorbed forcefully, it bes dangerous.


    But that wasn''t everything, by looking outside the window, I was able to see arge zing me¡­ but that wasn''t really a me, it was a red auraing from the depths of the faraway forest, from the thirdyer onwards, there was a gigantic presence that emanated¡­ demonic energy, indeed. This energy was demonic energy, most likelying from either the Demon Gate or¡­ something even worse which we have yet to encounter.


    This eye gave me the ability to see natural Mana in detail alongside Demonic Energy from very far away, incredible¡­ But the surprises didn''t end there either. When I walked downstairs, I sensed the Mana and Qi of my three family members from very far away, as if I could detect them even farther than my own detection abilities could¡­ Incredible, so this is the advantage that Imps have? Perhaps I should also rece my other eye¡­ Well, it would be a waste until I find a special one.


    This ability to "see" through basic energies is a passive effect of every Demon, apparently, so I don''t need any Mana or Demon Energy to use it, and I can just turn it on and off with ease as well, how amazingly convenient!


    However, I have yet to try out the other Demon effect, the power of the Demon Eye of Paralysis. But I need a target for that power¡­ So I decided to move back to my room stealthily and summon out Fenrir, one of his copies which I still had saved, and decided to use him as a target.


    "Growl?"


    The wolf looked at me confused while tilting his head, as I looked at him intensively and activated the power of my Demon Eye. By controlling the stored Demonic Energy in my Skull and then infusing it through the veins connecting to my eye, the Demon Eye glowed with a bright scarlet me, and an invisible ray of demon energy hit the wolf made of gray phantom.


    BOOM!


    "GROWL?!"<sub> </sub>


    The wolf cried way too loudly, thankfully, I had conjured "Deafening Barrier" a Tier 1 Wind Magic Spell that creates a sound barrier that doesn''t let the sounde out within its range.


    The wolf only cried in surprise for a few seconds as it was being affected by Paralysis. I had to lock my sight into it intensely for it to work well, but when it was finally done the wolf waspletely still, and even when I ordered it to move it could not.


    However, that onlysted around 5 seconds, that''s the amount of time I can paralyze something. Maybe it canst longer if I use all my spare demon energy, but I have no time to do something so wasteful yet, due to that, it onlysted as much before it was dissipated and the wolf was back to normal. I called it back to my shadows and sat down on my bed while thinking about the powers.


    It was pretty good, I think I can use it in battle and it wille in handy, I just need to keep making Demon Energy Potions for it though, because I cannot naturally create demonic energy nor I can consume it directly from a target like blood that I convert into Qi.


    To consume demonic energy I must first refine it from the materials of demons into potions, which refine the demon energy enough for me to be capable of resisting its corroding effects and be able to store it inside of my body. It isplicated and slow and hard, but that''s the way of doing it most effectively.


    And to get more demon potions, I need more demon body parts, hence, I have to hunt them down¡­ But now that I am so exhausted, I don''t think I can do something like that yet¡­ I just decided to leave a small rune stuck into my demon eye using Illusion Magic, which costs almost all my mana, as runes are very hard to make, this rune will permanently leave the spell effect active over my eye, camouging it as a normal eye, whenever it needs more mana, it will drain it directly from me.


    Runes are easy to make, that''s also the basicposition for spells, but when you infuse a rune into a living being or an object, you can "infuse" the effect of certain spells and leave them activated constantly, on living beings they will drain the mana from the living being, and on other physical objects it will simply grow weaker until breaking, unless someone gives it more Mana.


    Making a rune is easy as well, it is as simple as infusing several runes that mean a "thing" and thatposes the entire spell circle, but into a physical object or living target, the runes are naturally stuck in the target like that.


    -----

 Chapter 134 Eleanoras Request

    -----


    Now that I was done practicing my demon eye usage, I quickly decided to take a warm shower using Water Magic and Fire Magic to make the water very warm. I often prepare warm baths for my family this way as well. My mother, father, and my grandmother all like to sleep through this method, which I guess is pretty good for them. They can take warm baths thatfortably rxes their muscles so they lose the stress umted over the day. There is nothing like a warm bath, even now in my second life, I havee to enjoy them even more than before.


    "I suppose that your eye is working fine then?" Asked Eleanora, she seemed slightly annoyed for some reason- Ah, I never thanked her for helping me.


    "Yeah, it wouldn''t have been possible without your help, Eleanora, thank you for helping me." I said. "I am very grateful, so I owe you a favor."


    "Owe me a favor?" She wondered. "I-I am happy with just your gratitude! But what do you truly mean by owing me a favor?"


    "It is what Erika taught me, when someone does something good for you without you expecting it, that''s when you owe someone a favor back as well¡­" I said. "Sigh, I know it is childish, don''t worry about it."


    Erika had taught me this some time ago, and she always says that she owes me so many favors that the only form to repay them is by marrying me and having many children with me, each one would be her "favors" which really frightens me, is the power of owing a favor this powerful? In my previous life there was no such concept, the cold and crude Universe only knew about death. If you want something you kill somebody and take it from them, if you want power, you kill somebody else and take it from them. Nobody would ever do something for you unless they were your underlings whom you have taken away their freedom to serve you. For a long time, that''s how I saw the world and everything else.


    But I guess this childish little girl has slowly influenced me in ways I never thought possible, although the things I have learned in my previous life are still there, always protecting me from acting like the na?ve child I am supposed to be. I am slowly learning from people I never thought I could learn from, such as a little girl. However, I don''t know what sort of things her father is telling her, but she''s surely noting out with things like that on her own, right? There''s no way a girl her age would say that she wants to have many children with me when we grow up and marry¡­ Sigh, now I''ve finally begun to feel once more ashamed of having epted such a weird and awkward proposal¡­ That girl is really something else. Maybe having no brain really makes her a bit dumb¡­ Ah, I should never say that in front of her though.


    After Eleanora heard my strange words, she felt slightly embarrassed for some weird reason. She started to stutter while working on what to ask me, she didn''t even knew what to ask me to do! Eleanora is really just as much of a handful as Erika sometimes.


    "A-A favor¡­ T-Then¡­ How about¡­ Erm¡­ C-Can I take a bath with you, my lord?" She asked while stuttering every single syble.


    Take a bath with me? Is that it? I don''t know what''s so special about that, I remember that when we were children in my first life, we also took baths together inkes or rivers. But is that favor worthy of having helped me get a new Demon Eye? Well¡­ if that''s what she really wants, I am nobody to reject her will.


    "Very well¡­ But right now?" I wondered.


    "Y-Yes¡­" She muttered.


    "Thene out¡­ I guess." I sighed.<sub> </sub>


    FLASH!


    Eleanora summoned herself out of my Spirit Orb, emerging out of pure spiritual energy and mana and jumping onto the floor right before the bathtub, her clothes were still on though, was she going to wash with clothes? Well, the clothes of a spirit are strange, I suppose they''re like part of their bodies.


    However, she did just as I thought she wouldn''t do, she began to strip in front of me and took out every single piece of cloth in her body while blushing at me, her long ck and red dress, her bra, her panties, the ck stockings, and the heels, and then any hairpin, leaving her long and silky red hairpletely free.


    Mind you, she still had the body of the pact form" she uses most of the time because if she takes her original form from her previous life, she uses too much energy. But I felt slightly relieved that it was this form, as it didn''t had any enormous body that might not fit in the bathtub, as it was very small. Her pale-white body was getting redder as she slowly approached the bathtub.


    "I-I will get in then¡­" She said. "C-Can I wash your back?"


    "Yes, of course¡­ But are you sure this is going to pay you back?" I wondered.


    "Yes¡­ Absolutely!" She said while blushing more and looking directly at my eyes, I could swear for a few seconds that her pupils zed with a strong red color, she was somehow enjoying this for some strange reason. Well, I couldn''t say her body was beautiful because it was just the body of a girl in her 8 to 9, I am not interested in little girl''s bodies after all, but she looked healthy and her skin was silky and beautiful, the most beautiful part of Eleanora has always been her face, eyes, and hair though, and in this form, she looked as adorable as always.


    She sat down in between my legs and rested over my belly for a bit, while she began to move the water over her legs and then asked me something.


    "C-Can you wash me?"


    "Okay¡­"


    And like that, we ended washing each other in a very Intimate way I never thought I would, it was¡­ a cute experience, although it appears that Eleanora enjoyed it more.


    -----

 Chapter 135 The Truth

    ------


    I had decided to move down to eat with my family, and was greeted by my parents and my grandmother who were already about to eat lunch. I suppose I skipped breakfast altogether. My mother and my father were a bit rmed though, as I have slept for way too long.


    "ke! Why did you sleep so long? Are you feeling down?" My mother asked. "My mom said that you were looking way too exhausted yesterday, is it because of that? I see you doing exercise and practicing magic every day, plus all the things you do in the vige. For your age you should really rx and grow up before doing those things!"


    My mother began to reprimand me without even letting me give her an answer. Whenever I was about to talk, she continued speaking. She seemed to be very worried about my health. Despite the abilities I have and my own strength, I still have the body of a human, so I suppose that her concerns are justified. I am just being a bit reckless with myself because I know I can take it, but while doing this, I am also disregarding the health of my own body¡­ Despite that, and sadly, I cannot really stop trying to grow stronger, it is very ingrained into my nature.


    "ke, you gotta take a break sometimes. How about you spend the day off today? Just spend the day sleeping and resting, or help your mother in the house instead. I am sure it is more rxing and less taxing to do than training all day." Said my father. "I am already recovered for the most part, so let your old man take care of the farm like he always used to do."


    "Dear, listen to your parents, they want the best for you." Said my grandmother.


    Now how do I tell them that I must go see the priests? They''re going to pay me good if I help them, and they already gave me a big pouch of gold and silver coins, with which we could live for a month or more in the expensive capital. My goal is to gather enough to live for at least a year, but also to use it as investment to buy items and produce new items through alchemy to sell and make more money out of it, that''s my goal when I get there¡­ Additionally, I will be also trying to save money and invest in a property where I can make a shop, this small shop will slowly grow bigger until it bes apany. My ownpany of alchemy items.


    ¡­I cannot really tell them such ns though, they were nned by looking at the big picture, and my parents are very narrow sighted. They only think about the present, and although I also do it, I also have to think about the future and what to do, I cannot simply sit down, watch the clouds, and think that somehow the future me is going to resolve whatever problemes his way. This is not how I work as a person. My entire previous life I have been nning and designing my life and my future, and thanks to that I''ve won many battles and grew so strong to the point that I was almost able to defeat Lucifer, the root of all the problems urring in the Universe.


    ¡­But here I am, I failed and was somehow reincarnated by his mercy, which is still one of the biggest insults I have ever received in my life. Sigh¡­ Well, I have to do what I am nning all while trying to bnce it with my daily life. I never thought that being a human child would be this hard. It seems that I was looking at humans wrong this entire time, even in their short lives and as weak as they are, they''re filled with challenges greater than what I thought they had.


    "I''m sorry. I will try to not work so hard from now on, but I really have to go after lunch today¡­" I said. I decided to quickly exin my parents and my grandmother, the most trusted people of this life, what had happened yesterday regarding the Priests of the Holy Spirit Church, I skipped some parts that were a bit questionable, such as my actions and attitude against them, and mostly went straight to the point of exining certain things.


    And I also showed them the bag of money.<sub> </sub>


    "G-Gah, so much money!" Said my father.


    "J-Just how much did they pay you?!" Asked my mother.


    "O-Oh my¡­" Said my grandmother while covering her mouth.


    "They said it was in gratitude of everything I have done to help the people without asking for money." I said. "After that we made a deal where I would help them to heal more people and they would pay me¡­ Priests for some reason ask for money due to thews of the church to heal people, they''re like doctors but worse¡­ Anyways, they''ll ask for my help to heal people with money and I get a good share of it."


    "H-Has ke be the breadwinner of this family already?" Wondered my mother.


    "S-Son, this is a bit too much, you''ll exhaust yourself!" Said my father.


    "I am also worried but¡­ I think we should let him do it." Said grandmother.


    "Eh?!"


    My mother and my father looked at my grandmother in shock, but she was right, they should just let me do it and stop being so annoying over it. It was the best opportunity I had in a long time, that one merchant already was gone, but this could both help me gain more connections and also money, which is important. Also, if those with money get to know my talents and I make good connections with them as well, it would mean more business opportunities when I begin building mypany in the capital. Everything counts.


    -----

 Chapter 136 The Trust Of Parents

    -----


    My grandmother seemed to be the most concerned about me, but she also was intelligent and insightful. She was able to see through what was going on, and also realized it was a good opportunity. Even old humans grow more experienced over time and canpare a bit to my thought process. This is why I admire my grandmother, most of the time her thoughts and opinions are mildly aligned with mine unlike my parents that are always overly worried about everything without being able to see the big picture, so they often cannot agree with me unless I convince them with extraordinary feats.


    "He''s right, we should let him do it. ke, I am very worried about you¡­ You know that grandma loves you lots, right? But also¡­ I see that this is an opportunity you cannot really miss¡­" She said, as she caressed my head and kissed my cheek. "You''re a very intelligent boy, and I believe you''ll bring this family out of poverty¡­ Grandma trusts you. Take care of yourself and don''t push yourself too hard though! One step at a time, dear."


    "Grandmother¡­"


    I felt slightly moved. My grandmother has alwaysprehended me the best and she was also the first capable of understanding my words when I was a baby too. There is something in this old woman that makes her very wise. I suppose¡­ that alsoes with time. She knows what I am nning to do as well, she might be worried, but she knows that I am filled with the conviction of realizing my goals.


    "But mother¡­" Said my mother, looking at grandma with a disappointed expression.


    "Marie! Stop being so stubborn already! You''re always so overly concerned about this boy; don''t you realize how strong he is? He has already taken down demons! Do you think he''s going to get scammed or something? He''ll probably beat down anyone that tries to make him a fool." Said my grandmother. "As his mother, it is your duty to support him, not to stop him from progressing. It is your duty to see him grow and help him do so, not to stop him midway through to grow up as a dysfunctional man that is a good for nothing! I raised you like this and you''re the woman you are because I did everything I could to guide you, do the same with your son!"


    "Ah¡­" My mother looked at grandma with eyes wide open, she suddenly realized it, and she looked at me once more, her eyebrows were down and she still looked very worried. "SIGH¡­" She sighed very loudly and then looked back at me and smiled.


    "I-I suppose¡­ that my boy has grown already in all this time without mommy ever realizing it¡­ You''re not even ten years old and you''re already thinking about the big picture?" She sighed.


    "It is something I''ve been thinking about for a while. I just want to make a lot of money for now." I said. "In this world, the other thing that rules over everything aside from strength is money. It is important to use every opportunity I have to grow stronger¡­ but also to save up money for the future."


    "¡­You''re right. Okay, you can go." Said my mother.


    "H-Hey! I have not agreed to it!" Said my father.


    "Joan! Are you going to stop your son now?" Asked my grandmother.<sub> </sub>


    "No, actually, I just wanted to tell him something before he made this decision." Said my father.


    My father walked to my side and looked at me with a smile. His eyebrows furrowed a bit as he seemed to be looking at me as if he were proud of me, but at the same time, I could see some hint of regret in his eyes, as if he was also wishing I could keep being a kid for longer. The same as my mother.


    "ke, you''re growing way too quickly to be honest. But I could only realize how big you''ve grown when I got injured¡­ Without anyone even asking you, you began taking over all the responsibilities of the house, and even went out hunting with the other hunters¡­ I wish I could have the opportunity to teach you more, but it seems you learned by yourself more than I could even teach you¡­" Sighed my father. "I just want to go out to hunt some more with you soon, and¡­ I also want to teach you a few farming techniques, I got skills for something, you know? I''ll let you do it but¡­ You have to promise your old man that you''re not going to forget your family when you grow up, alright?"


    "Of course¡­ I will never forget my family¡­ You''re the people that has been with me since the beginning¡­ I would never leave you behind." I said. "I am working hard for that very reason, because I want all of us to live well andfortably¡­ I just want to make your lives better, because I am really grateful for all the things you''ve done to me."


    "S-Son¡­"


    "My boy¡­"


    My mother and my father suddenly began to get all emotional. Their eyes started to tear up and their lips began to tremble nervously. The two jumped on me and hugged me tightly out of the sudden, surprising me.


    "We love you!" Said my mother.


    "My boy, you''re really working so hard¡­ I-I will also work hard, you''ll see!" He said.


    "Mom¡­ Dad¡­"


    I felt even more moved. For some inexplicable reason, the cold heart I once had began to slowly get melted by the love of these two simple humans, the concept of parents was never within my mind in my previous life. I grew up in a harsh world without love, and only hardships¡­ But I''ve begun to realize how much of a bliss is growing with people supporting me and loving me. It feels as if I was growing again, as if I was finally experiencing what it is to live as a person.


    ------

 Chapter 137 Im Glad To Have You With Me

    -----


    My parents hugged me tightly, showering me with their love. In my previous life¡­ I never had this sort of love from anybody, and when I grew up and was surrounded by many, my personality and my nature naturally drove away my own servants. The closest people I would have considered friends away from growing closer from me aside from as just servants that fought for me and obeyed mymands. I was never able to truly experience a feeling so warm,fortable, and all-epassing as this one. I never would had thought that two simple humans would had ever done so much for me without giving me any material other than the most basic food and shelter.


    My cold heart had been slowly melting ever since I was reborn in this world. Be it the will of Lucifer or whatever, I was rather certain that this life was different, and that what I was going through wasn''t just some plot. This love was genuine, and this world as well¡­ Lucifer might be lurking behind, but he wasn''t really able to exert his powers over my life aside from the grimoire, and even that seemed seemingly limited¡­ This life and these experiences, they were all genuine and real ones.


    So this is what it feels to be loved¡­ I have finally realized that I found my real family and¡­ perhaps, that I''ve finally begun to live at longst. I still think of my previous life and my many experiences, and they shaped my nature and my thoughts. I cannot really change how I am in such aspects, and I won''t be a coward, a crybaby, or something else for just epting my emotions. But it is indeed something that is improving my life, and is making me truly happy to be alive.


    "Mom¡­ Dad¡­ Thank you. I also love you two." I said.


    "Oh¡­ B-ke¡­"


    "My son¡­ Y-You said you love us?!"


    My mother and my father were left shocked. I had never said that before since I was born, but now, it simply came out of my mouth without realizing. Love¡­ what a mysterious feeling. It sometimes feels like it drives you crazy, it is a motivational force stronger than even the desire of growing stronger, but it only makes such a desire even greater for my case.


    "Yeah¡­ I am happy that you''re my parents. Don''t feel down, you''ve done more than what I could have ever asked for¡­" I said with a smile.


    "Uwaaah! You''re such a nice boy!"


    "My son¡­!"


    My mother began to cry even more, she was beginning to get a bit annoying, and my father was hugging and kissing my forehead all the time. It felt a bit annoying too, they were too clingy, but¡­ It also made me happy. There was a stupid happiness inside of me that I wished it wasn''t there, but it only continued to grow bigger and bigger as I felt how genuine their feelings were.


    "Good, good! He''s not going anywhere, so just let him do what he wants. He''s a smart and strong kid, he got the best of both worlds already. The only thing left now is letting him go along his path, I am sure that it will be for the better of our family¡­" Said my grandmother.


    At the end, we ended up eating lunch almost half an hourter due to how crybaby my parents were. But things ended quite nice, and around 3 PM I moved out of my house and made my way towards the church of the Holy Spirits, a small cathedral that was in the middle of the town. There was priests in the entrance and some guards as well, stopping me from getting through. The cathedral was made out of bricks and mostly covered in moss, it looked old and almost ruined, but they used it anyways. Maybe it was quite old.<sub> </sub>


    "Hey! You got permission to enter the cathedral at this hour, young man?" Asked one of the soldiers protecting the ce. These soldiers could be used better if they went to the forest and killed demons instead of wasting their time protecting a ce nobody cares about.


    "Yeah, Priest Ellergest invited me here to help him in healing people. Is he here?" I wondered.


    "Priest Ellergest?! You? A serf kid? Yeah sure." Said the soldier, trying to dismiss me.


    "I am not lying¡­" I sighed.


    "How can you prove it?" He asked. "You probably want to get healed or something for free, don''t you?"


    I looked at the man and resisted the urge of cutting his hand and then healing it back to prove him that I can heal, but I decided to be patient and looked at him with an innocent face.


    "Could you please call him? Tell him that my name is nk." I asked, as I gave him a silver coin.


    The man took the coin and looked down on me, he looked around and nodded.


    "Okay but if he says he doesn''t know you I can''t do anything else." He said, walking inside. Money always works, in any world you are, money is the king and it will even make people do things they were unwilling to do. It is the greatestnguage that even connects people that would never associate with one another.


    I waited patiently until the man finally walked back with Ellergest, he looked at me with a nervous smile, he was even sweating a bit, it seems that he got shocked when Ellergest recognized my name and thought that I was like his pupil or something. Insulting the pupil of a priest is a big offense, so he might have fucked up big time in there. But don''t worry, I won''t say a thing.


    "H-Here it is, nk!" He said. "H-Have a good day!" The soldier quickly walked away.


    "Ah, nk, you came superte, we already went to a few ces already and we were having lunch now. Want toe join us while you exin why you''re sote?" Asked the bearded man, looking at me rather angrily. I had just eaten, but I decided to join them out of courtesy. My body physique makes it consume a lot of calories, so I can allow myself to eat a second lunch.


    -----

 Chapter 138 The Little Priestess

    -----


    Ellergest invited me to eat inside the cathedral, and I epted after thinking about it for a little bit. We walked inside the building and we made our way into the gardens that it had in the "backyard" where there were a few other priests eating round wooden tables. I saw Seth and Jack in there. The two were eating what seemed to be stew with mushrooms, meat, and potatoes, while drinking some wine in wooden mugs.


    "Ah, but if it isn''t nk. You came quitete." Said Seth, the man''s eyes were increasingly sharper as he red at me. He seemed to be hiding his anger because I camete, but it isn''t as if I can do anything about it, I just camete and that''s about it. He cannotin against me too much because that would weaken our rtionship, and these priests still value me rather highly.


    "Where were you?! You said you wereing today in the morning, but you were nowhere to be seen!" Said Jack, he was growing furious, the man had red hair, and when he grew angered it looked like he was being set on fire.


    "I was busy attending to my farm, after that I helped my mother cook lunch¡­ I am a busy person despite my age." I said. I sat down at the side of Jack, while Ellergest sat down at the side of Seth.


    "I see¡­" Said Seth, amodating his sses. "Do you believe that you can get away with it by giving us some measly excuses? Your share will be reduced by minus ten percent for beingte."


    "So you''re trying to benefit from this?" I asked.


    "Benefit? Children must be taught discipline-"


    "Come on, Seth, cut it out. Don''t be so overly strict with him, he''s not really our pupil for you to waste your energies lecturing him. Also he seems as stubborn as you. You two will only end up discussing more and I want to eat in peace." Sighed Ellergest, quickly shutting down Seth.


    "A-Ah¡­ Very well, I apologize¡­" Sighed Seth, as he resumed his meal and closed his eyes while eating. Hepletely changed personality the moment he was scolded. Jack also looked at me angrily for a few seconds before eating in silence. Ellergest also started eating as a young priestess girl with blonde hair suddenly brought me a small te of stew.


    "Here it is¡­ nk, right?" She said with a smile.


    The girl seemed to be seven or eight, she was probably going to either be a nun or a priestess, although her clothes were closer to nuns in fashion. Her hair was long and fluffy, almost as shiny as gold. Her eyes were filled with light, and the pupils were of a clear yellow. There was something strange about her. By just looking at her presence I felt a strong holiness dwelling within her. Could this be the power of her Spirit or the magic affinity she has? She definitely has a holy light affinity like everybody else here, but she seemed even stronger¡­


    Her Holy Aura had hints of Fate, Life, and other light-aligned elements of the bright spectrum of elements. This was strange. The only thing I couldpare the aura of this girl that came out of nowhere was to¡­ the old Angels I once encountered and fought in my previous life.<sub> </sub>


    Angels, much like demons, exist. I had encountered a few of them, but unlike I thought, they never felt that their duty was to defeat demons, or well, the angels of nowadays thought like this. Each time I found one of them, they were often rogues that traveled acrosss, another was a female bounty hunter that was paid to y me, and the most dignified I ever found was a knight serving the duke of a corrupt. He ended up being killed and absorbed by me, which granted me an affinity with light, life, and other bright spectrum elements.


    Unlike demons who were everywhere and whose origins were widely known, angels were mostly a mystery, but by devouring his memories I had learned they came from another dimension named Heaven, where a self-proimed "Only God" created them to rule and protect the Universe.


    Of course, something happened that made them not do it, and also made them so rare¡­ Apparently there was an era in the Universe that everybody referred as "The Dark Ages" where little is known, but it was said that an Evil that came from another Universe invaded our own, and all the Angels, led by the Archangels, had to in him, many died, and their forces were weakened severely ever since then. The angel I devoured back then had no memories of participating though.


    And this girl, for some odd reason, had the aura of one of such angels. Even Eleanora within my spirit orb sensed it. But the girl was not ominous, she seemed innocent and mostly just another human of this world. But what''s with this weird aura? It makes me feel uneasy, but I cannot really show my face of uneasiness or they''ll think I am acting suspiciously.


    I epted the girl''s te and she smiled back politely, she sat down near Ellergest as the old man petted her head and smiled, the girl also began eating from another small te at the side of Ellergest.


    "Thank you." I said.


    "No problem!" She said happily.


    "Hoho, surprised by her beauty? This girl is Elisabeth, or that''s the name I choose to give to her. She is a girl with great talent that I adopted as my disciple from the orphanage." Said Ellergest.


    "An orphanage?" I asked.


    It seems that the priests are allowed to adopt any children they deem worthy of being a priest, and they can raise them into bing one easily as well¡­ How long has Ellergest been raising this strange girl? I couldn''t really feel anything ominous from her, but her eyes which were as bright as those angels I once met made me feel uneasy¡­


    -----

 Chapter 139 Questions And Answers

    -----


    "Nice to meet you! You''re nk, right?" Asked Elisabeth. "Lord Ellergest told me about you, you''re the one saint everybody is talking about in town, isn''t it?"


    "Yeah¡­ I suppose that''s me. I don''t do it for fame though, so I don''t really care about their praises." I said.


    Elisabeth seemed quite sociable despiteing from an orphanage. I suppose she was well raised even in such a ce where she wasn''t given the love of parents. Or well, that''s simply me amusing based on appearances. Who knows what sort of other thoughts she might have, or if she was raised by Ellergest for a long time. Nheless, when I answered her question, she seemed to grow excited, her eyes shone so brightly that they were like stars.


    "Woow! You''re so humble!" She said. "I admire your work, nk, I really do! I hope we can work together from now on." Elisabeth smiled back at me innocently. Her aura slowly began to lower in power until it almostpletely disappeared. Was she on alert with me present here? How odd. I really shouldn''t be any sort of threat for her¡­ Unless she can see my true aura? Hm¡­ I better not jump into conclusions for now.


    "Isn''t she the best girl?" Said Ellergest. "She''s incredibly talented at holy magic, but she''s still learning. I am trying to teach her but she always has her mind elsewhere¡­" Sighed the old man.


    "I-I am trying harder too! But Runes and Magic Circle creation is soplex¡­" Sighed the girl. "My head hurts when I try to remember the entire form to make a magic circle¡­"


    "Well, you''re only seven years old, it is natural to not be able to learn spells right away." Said Seth. "It took me a long while to learn the very basic spells, and that''s when I was already a young adult."


    "I only know two Spells¡­" Sighed Jack.


    Hm, it seems that everybody here is more ipetent than my friends? Eric, Chris, and Erika all learned a couple of spells already in less than a year of being taught by me. Perhaps there is something that I do that lets them learn faster? Maybe I am just a better teacher overall, I don''t know what kind of strategies they use to teach another person how to use spells.


    "I see¡­ Since when has she been with you, Ellergest?" I wondered.<sub> </sub>


    "For around three years by now. I adopted her when she was merely four, I saw great potential within her so I quickly brought her here and began to teach her, although she was too young and barely learned anything regarding magic, but her spirit is very helpful, and she learned most of the discipline of a priestess by now¡­ She''s brimming with talent." Said Ellergest.


    Now it makes me wonder what sorts of spirits everybody here has. I only know that Jack has those chains¡­ but what about everyone else? I would assume that they got things rted with light and life elements if that''s a prerequisite to be a priest. Although the spirit of Jack doesn''t seem to be rted with healing. It is holy and that''s enough for them to recruit somebody as a priest, although it seems fairly stupid. What they mostly seek is people with talent at healing¡­ I feel like the church is merely trying to monopolize allmoners with healing abilities into their private organization that asks for money.


    In exchange for shelter, food, and education, they use their healing magic to make them money, all while themoners that need the most help are ignored. What sort of church is this? In the manys I have visited churches are always organizations that are there to help the poor and needy (aside from mindlessly praying to a god). But this church is more of a privatepany by itself, that somewhat represents figures of such high authority as holy spirits¡­ Perhaps they might even be just made up so people obey them.


    "Are priests only allowed to be priests if they have healing magic affinity or holy light affinity spirits?" I wondered.


    Ellergest quickly decided to answer my question. "Of course not, nk. If that were the case where would we have so many priests with us?" He asked. "However, our specialized division must beposed of them. We are the healers for a reason, and we are employed for that purpose. Although I am also the head priest of this church, I have many other responsibilities. Most of the priests you see here having lunch have different elements than the ones we have, these people are given other tasks. Mostly helping in the farms, raising cattle, and more. We are not just people that go healing and asking for money, we also do other activities without asking money in exchange other than food and materials from the people we aid."


    "Oh¡­ I see."


    It seemed that the priests were all mixed bunch, they did more things than what I truly expected of them, but they also didn''t do all that much either. It was a convoluted mess of the most part, but this mess was also quite interesting in some areas, I would say they did some volunteer work, or well, not so volunteer if they''re getting a part of the work they do. But for some reason the church has privatized the healing to make the most money out of it, while making themoners more miserable. Healers that are not part of the church are apparently rarer. I wonder what''s the point of doing this aside from money, howe themoners just don''t outright hate the church? Well, ignorance is a big factor.


    After we finished eating, we quickly moved forward, we had no time to rest as Ellergest said that there was a mildly urgent request from a noble living in this town. There are a handful of nobles in this town that got the most money, and they havepletely privatized healing services for themselves and perhaps merchants.


    -----

 Chapter 140 Moving On To A Nobles House

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    We found ourselves in front of arge house,pletely different-looking than themoner houses. It was also quite away from the center of the town and more to the southwest, surrounded by calmer streets which also had simr-looking houses, but way smaller. There was also a big influx of merchants and the Adventurer Guild was right at the other corner of the streets, making this area of the town quite safe as well. I couldn''t expect more of the house of the "elite" which are the nobles, families that are given the title of nobles by the Kingdom, for either having done something that helped the Kingdom as a reward, or perhaps because they bought the title using money, such as most of how the merchants did it.


    Seth is a noble from a family of knights, apparently, although I have no idea how they got their noble title it is probably rted to that as they are knights that protect the Kingdom and everything else. He has close ties with other noble families that his knight family protects, and there are many other knight families amidst everything as well.


    The house in front of us could be considered more like a manor. It was quite good-looking, and something I wished we could have to live morefortably with my family. Although I wouldn''t really want to live in this town, these nobles are more like the backwater ones. The poorest ones that own most of thesends and decided to move here because rentability is cheaper, and they get to boss around everybody instead of the capital where greater elites are, and they have to lower their heads instead.


    Of course, within the King and the Duke''s mind, these backwater nobles are of no importance and they wouldn''t even care if they were eaten by demons. But I suppose the Duke of our Duchy is not an idiot and responded quite quickly to the demons, so his knights might be on their way here, to hopefully resolve the problem withpetent strength and magic power.


    "This house is the noble house of the Copperhand Family. They''re a family of merchants that make money off a smallpany that sells all sorts of products to other nobles that can afford them, they make skin care products, hygiene products, and more. People in here cannot really afford them but the citizens in the capital got way better pay and can afford such things¡­" Said Ellergest. "The family is divided in three houses, this is the house where the family of the cousin of the head lives with his children, wife, and two concubines."


    Ellergest exined to me and Elisabeth what this ce was. The girl with fluffy golden hair seemed to nce at therge house with a wondrous expression on her face, as if she was living a fairy tale. Perhaps our minds were aligned at this moment, as we both thought about how nice it would be to have such a big house.


    "I wonder if in the future we could have a house like that, Lord Ellergest¡­" She said,


    "Hm, well, we priests live in the church quarters. We usually don''t have our own properties, we discard most of these riches to the church as well¡­ But it is not as if there is something stopping you from doing so. If you work hard and save money, it should be possible, Elisabeth." Said Ellergest, petting the girl''s head.


    "I really dislike this girl."


    I suddenly heard the voice of Eleanora whispering to my mind, she often doesn''t like any sort of girl I encounter so that''s not rare, but for once I couldn''t help but agree with her. It is not as if I hate her or something, nor I have any resentment against her, and I believe she''s just a genuinely happy girl, but her aura creates an aversion to me and Eleanora that no other holy light user around us can create. I have begun to wonder if she possesses Heaven Element, the element only Angels can wield, which always created this uneasiness within myself and that of my allies¡­ Although certainly, it might not be as strong as the one wielded by them.


    "Well, let''s go in, we cannot wait for the second concubine of Lord Markus any longer." Said Seth, he seemed rather worriedpared to the rest of us, perhaps he feels some sort of kinship with other nobles, even though there is no such thing as kinship between nobles, and families are either allies or rivals.<sub> </sub>


    "Ahh¡­ I-Is it okay to enter this ce? It looks way too fancy." Sighed Jack.


    "Stop overthinking things and get in." Said Seth.


    The guards of the house greeted us. The entire property was surrounded by walls, the entrance was the only area where you could sneak a sight of the interior, which had the house surrounded by a garden of flowers.


    "Oh! Those must be the people from the church, is that the Head Priest Ellergest?" Asked one of the guards.


    "Precisely, the very same. I havee with two of my apprentices for today, as they seem to be quite talented." Said Ellergest. The two guards looked down at us, they gave a brief look at my clothes and began to judge me immediately. They quickly realized I was a serf. However, Elisabeth was way better dressed, and also quite pretty, so the two guards ended with their eyes locked into the young girl.


    "Nice to meet you! My name is Elisabeth and I am an Apprentice Priestess¡­ I am still an apprentice, but I will do my best!" She said, The guards immediately felt moved by her "cuteness" and her aura of holiness to the point they blushed.


    "And my name is nk." I said. "I can heal."


    "Elisabeth, such a pretty girl!"


    "If you ever grow up without getting married, would you think about marrying my son?"


    "E-Ehh?" Elisabeth looked at the two guards as they praised her beauty and asked weird things from her.


    -----

 Chapter 141 The Case Of The Sick Noble Lady

    -----


    "E-Ehh?" Elisabeth looked at the two guards as they praised her beauty, despite only being 7 years old, which was honestly quite strange and bizarre. What sort of beauty standards do people of this world have to praise the beauty of such a little girl? Ah, well, whatever is the case, I don''t care.


    "S-Sorry but I am engaged with the Holy Spirits, I cannot really marry anybody if I be a priestess¡­" Said Elisabeth. "I-I am so sorry!"


    "Oh, d-don''t worry about it! I said it on a whim¡­"


    "Please, go on, missy."


    And like that, we were allowed to enter the property with ease. I quickly began to realize that Elisabeth had another "ability" within her that made her very likable, her appearance. She was way too good looking to be a serf, despite that, she was found inside an orphanage, despite looking like a noble girl by how pretty she was. Ellergest probably uses her as a "card" for him and his group to be allowed more easily across ces. She probably has some Charm Skill as well within her Talent. However, it probably is an inborn Skill, she seems weak, probably not higher than Level 2.


    "Wow, they let us on easily." Said Jack.


    "Elisabeth''s appearance made her look like a noble girl, so they were easily softened." Said Seth.


    "But why wouldn''t they let us in even without her?" I wondered.


    "Guards are always overly dramatic and sometimes act as if they don''t know anything because they want some sort of money to let us in. It is nonsensical but it is allowed as long as the master doesn''t find out¡­" Sighed Ellergest. "This is why sometimes we were stopped by them, and they wouldn''t let us pass even when we were called by the lord unless we somehow gave them some bribery."


    It seems that even the guards were corrupt. I couldn''t really believe that those that were already paid and served the lords were asking for even more money even if that made his lord go through risks. Or perhaps I could believe it. Now that I think about it, greed is a strong emotion that drives people to do insane things in exchange for valuable things¡­ And this society seems corrupt enough.


    "So that''s how it is¡­ Is Elisabeth okay with this?" I wondered.


    "I-I don''t know, I don''t really do anything¡­" Said Elisabeth. "But do you think I''m pretty, nk?"


    "Huh? Me? Yeah, you''re pretty, that''s why they let us pass without asking for money¡­" I said.


    "I-Is that so¡­? Heheh¡­" Elisabeth began to giggle while covering her cheeks, which grew redder. Have I made her blush? She reminded me a bit of Erika.


    "Oi, don''t start flirting in front of us, you kids." Said Jack.


    "How interesting, so nk is interested in Elisabeth? Maybe we can use this to tie him to the church." Said Seth.<sub> </sub>


    "Oho¡­" Said Ellergest while caressing his beard.


    "What? Stop messing around with me, I only stated a fact, it was not driven by personal emotions." I said.


    "A-A fact?" Asked Elisabeth while blushing even more. "B-nk, you''re so nice with me¡­"


    "Hm¡­ I believe this is getting a bit out of control, don''t think anything unnecessary. Our rtionship is merely professional." I said, trying to cut down any corny thoughts this girl I just met could hold, but she didn''t seem to be obeying me.


    "Sure, sure~" She giggled.


    Kids these days are quite irritating, and this girl in specific seems way more than just an innocent girl. I could clearly notice a strange look she gave to me, was she teasing me? Only Eleanora has ever teased me I believe, and not that far. This growing frustration¡­ Could her teasing be working? Impossible, it must be my imagination. Yes, that must be it. I decided to simply ignore her for now.


    We reached the interior of the house, which was decorated with all sorts of beautiful decorations. Paintings of the family were everywhere, beautiful, and regal-looking furniture adorned the ce, and there were three maids and three butlers that greeted us in the entrance.


    "Wee, Lord Ellergest." Said the head butler.


    "Thank you, we came to take care of the second concubine, Lady Treebark, where might she be?" Wondered Ellergest.


    "Upstairs, please, follow me." The Butler quickly began walking forward and then upstairs, leading us to the room where the concubine was, through our entire trip we saw two children, a red haired girl and a green haired boy hiding beneath some walls looking at us suspiciously. Could these be the noble''s children?


    And as we reached the room of the concubine, we were greeted with a sickly woman sitting in her bed. She seemed weak and barely alive, her breath was slow, her heartbeat was also very slow, and her entire face was as pale as a corpse, yet there was still some life left before she were to pass away.


    At the side of the bed there was a little blonde boy, the same color of hair as apparently his mother, and the son of the concubine and the noble, he was at the side of his mother looking at her sorrowfully while holding her hand. She seemed unconscious. The moment the boy noticed us, he looked at us with eyes wide open.


    "Lord Carl, the priests that your father has called are here." Said the butler.


    "Uwah! F-Finally! P-Please heal my mother! She has been feeling sickly for weeks now, but two days ago she fell very ill and has barely drank water or eaten anything¡­ I-Is something happening to her? Can you heal her?" He asked. The boy was in his early years still, probably between 10 and 11, he noticed Elisabeth and me, but locked his eyes onto her for a few seconds before looking at the oldest looking of us and the leader of our group, Ellergest.


    "Calm down, boy. We are going to do things methodically." Said Ellergest. "First of all, we  to know how she began her sickness and what her symptoms were. Do you know the exact date in which her sickness began?" Wondered Ellergest, sitting near the woman and using magic to cover her body with a bright white light that seemed to scan her body, although he didn''t seem to find anything out of it.


    -----

 Chapter 142 She Was Poisoned!

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    The boy named Carl Copperhand was the son of Markus Copperhand and Lady Treebark. The blonde woman on the verge of death over this bed. He was around 11, and he seemed to be quite the crybaby¡­ But I could understand him. I would also feel a strong sense of grief if my mother were to be on the border of death. Not as if I would ever allow such a thing to ur to begin with.


    Ellergest attempted to calm him, but the boy continued crying. He seemed very affected and could barely muster words, but as he spoke, we learned that his mother had been ill for almost half a year by now. It all started with very small symptoms, which slowly began to worsen. She continued to grow pale, weaker physically, with indigestion that included diarrhea and puking, and even hallucinations. What kind of diseasest this long without killing the patient but gives her all sorts of weird symptoms? I have not known much about diseases in my previous life because I was never affected by them as a Vampire, but it would certainly be dangerous for us to get closer to her, and also for Carl as well.


    "S-She hasn''t moved from her bed for over a day now, s-she''s not breathing well either!" Cried Carl.


    "Hmmm¡­" Ellergest began to analyze the woman''s pulse, it was weak, he also heard her breathing by putting his ear close to her mouth, and realized she didn''t had any sort of respiratory problem yet her breathing was bing very slow.


    "She''s on the verge of dying¡­ Seth, use your spirit and try to utilize mes of recovery." Said Ellergest.


    "Understood." Said Seth, approaching the woman in bed as he suddenly summoned his spirit.


    FLAAASH!


    A white me suddenly emerged out of his chest, it was the size of a fist, and seemed to have a glowing core in the middle of its ming body. This strange spirit was named¡­


    "Sacred me Wisp!" He said, rather dramatically. Seth seemed to be a fan of his own spirit, and loudly chanted its name.


    "Oooooooh¡­"


    The wisp floated around the woman, analyzing her although itcked any sort of facial expression, it was able to generate an eerie-sounding voice that resembled the voice of a girl. Seth quickly began building runes, and then a magic circle appeared in front of his hands. As the Spirit received the magic and its effects, and suddenly shapeshifted its body, turning into golden mes that covered the woman.


    FLUOOOSH!


    "Uwaaah! M-Mother!!!" Cried Carl, thinking that she would be burned, but the mes were not burning her, they were actually slowly healing her. mes of Recovery was a passive buff-like spell that apparently enhanced the natural recovery of health of a target, it couldn''t directly heal, but it could maintain her in a better state for a bit longer.


    "Calm down, boy! Your mother is fine, this is a fire that heals, it doesn''t burn." Said Jack, who had the job of stopping and calming Carl, although his scary face, nature, and personality weren''t really good at keeping a child in check.


    "B-But mom!" Cried the boy.


    "Please, calm down. Everything is going to be okay¡­ We will do everything we can to heal your mother." Said Elisabeth, smiling warmly at Carl, as the boy looked at her angelic appearance and couldn''t help but feel captivated, stopping his mourning and calming down at the end.<sub> </sub>


    "O-Okay¡­ You promise?" He asked.


    "We do!" Said Elisabeth while smiling innocently.


    Meanwhile, Seth sighed in exhaustion. Amodating his sses which were falling down and then sitting over a nearby chair, he seemed to be exhausted out of his Mana. When somebody uses their entire mana. Tcauses a shock in the body that makes you feel tired. Although he seemed exhausted, he was able to resist it pretty well, he had quite possibly experienced this same pain and exhaustion several times, making his body more adapted to it.


    "Hahh¡­ I-I think that''s myst use of the day." Sighed Seth, he had used the spell a few times already, apparently, so he wouldn''t be able to do it until his Mana could fully recover over the next hours.


    "Hmm¡­ Ngh¡­!"


    Suddenly, Lady Treebark slightly woke up, moving around the bed while gritting her teeth. She seemed to be in pain, but not due to the mes, something else within her was giving her such pain, this "disease".


    Ellergest and I began to analyze the woman in more detail as Seth was able to dy her death for a bit. Ellergest continued using his "scan" spell, while I used my Demon Eyes by using a minuscule amount of demon energy that I masked its presence using illusion magic.


    When I looked into her body, I realized there was something within the interior of her body. it had spread everywhere, and it looked like a ck soot that emanated a dreadful aura from within. Was this the disease? No, it looked like some sort of energy that has been sitting inside of her for a long while.


    "This woman¡­ She is not sick." I said.


    "Eh?" Asked Carl in surprise.


    "What do you mean she''s not sick?" Asked Jack. "What else would it be?"


    "She was poisoned." I said.


    Everybody in the room suddenly raised their eyebrows. They suddenly put all their attention into the words I was saying.


    "There is no sickness that wouldst over half a year with such symptoms that wouldn''t be lethal. She should be already dead if it were truly a disease. This woman has been slowly poisoned over time, slowly, with little bits of poison, probably daily if not biweekly. Her symptoms became worse as she continued putting more of this poison into her body. The indigestion, the hallucinations¡­ These things that havested way too long are not a disease, they''re the result of poison." I said, as I looked at Carl with a gaze filled with conviction, so the boy could believe me more.


    "That¡­ Makes sense. I have been scanning her for a while but I still cannot really find any sort of pathogen inside of her body. Usually people that have some sort of disease immediately would show some sort of color where these pathogens are but¡­ I cannot find anything." Said Ellergest. "If she was poisoned, then what she has inside is poison, not a disease¡­"


    -----

 Chapter 143 The Poisons Composition

    -----


    Poison, a lethal substance that can be found in many ces, sometimes inside of nts, certain types of chemicals, or by mixing animalpounds. Although there is also venom which is a poison produced by animals and monsters, oftening out of a snake''s fangs, for example, both are different in that poison is harder to cure and clean from the body. While venom can often be treated by usingpounds made by the animal that wields it. Many venom cures have been created out of the same venom from these animals and monsters, sometimes their blood, or even from the liver or pancreas, where most of the white cells are located.


    And this woman, Lady Treebark, the second concubine of Markus Copperhand, a Noble of low rank, was poisoned by somebody over a long time. Perhaps even before she began to show symptoms. I have seen this case before, nobles poisoning one another, even happening in the family itself, when a man has too many wives, they would try to take each down other. And quite possibly, the next victim could even be Carl. But why would they do this?


    "M-My mother was poisoned¡­ B-By whom?!" Carl lost hisposure once more, growing more altered, now that he realized that someone has been trying to kill his mother this entire time, the boy couldn''t help but grow desperate. Knowing that there was someone wishing his mother''s death was not something that could be easily to digest, especially for an immature eleven-year-old kid.


    "Calm down." I said. "We can look for who did itter, after we gather clues, but our job here is actually healing her. We have to first find out what sort of poison it is."


    "A-Ah¡­ R-Right¡­" He said, as he sat down and sighed, his breathing became altered and he seemed to be coping with everything going on as much as possible, but his weak heart was failing him, and he was growing too desperate.


    "If it''s a poison, then the Antidote Spell might work." Said Ellergest. He suddenly conjured another magic circle,bining many runes into the empty air, as the magic circle started to rotate around, then, the magic generated a sparkle of yellow light that fell over the woman''s mouth, as if it were an elixir.


    "Ungh¡­ Aaghhh!"


    The woman began to struggle, she started to scream out of nowhere the moment she was given the Antidote spell. Presumably capable of healing low-rank poison. Ellergest'' face grew rmed as he realized that the antidote somehow worsened her condition, as the poison that resembled soot inside of her body suddenly became more active, moving around like a stream of ck and red energy. The antidote only made this "sleeping" substance wake up, and this was beginning to wear down her body even more.


    "Aaaaggh! Uuaagghhh¡­!" The woman continued to scream in pain, as Carl grew restless.


    "It didn''t work?! By the Holy Spirits, what have I done¡­?" Muttered Ellergest, as he suddenly began to panic. Wait, seriously? Aren''t you the head priest? It seems he''s inexperienced with dealing with poisons. However, he quicklyposed himself although Carl roared angrily at him.


    "W-What have you done to my mother?! Damn priest!" He cried. "Heal her! Heal her back!!!"<sub> </sub>


    It seems that the priests tried what they could, it is my time to step in before they end up ruining things. The other day they spoke as if things always went smoothly, but it seems that sometimes even priests can fail to do their job well¡­


    I walked near the woman and touched her forehead, her screams suddenly stopped abruptly, as she fell onto the bed motionlessly and inplete silence. What I had done was not something hard to make, it is part of the Qi Maniption Techniques. I infused Qi into her head and put her into aatose state, it willst some minutes, so it is nothing too big. It is called "Mind Shock" and it doesn''t work with very strong opponents capable of withstanding it, such as Imps or strong humans.


    "S-She calmed down?" Asked Carl in surprise, the other priests all looked at me with surprise.


    "H-How did you do that?" Asked Jack.


    "It is a technique that uses mana to calm down the mind, I call it Mind Rest." I said. Renaming the technique that never belonged to me was a good way to patent it. If I ever teach it to somebody else, they''ll have to say that I created it.


    "S-Shepletely calmed down though¡­" Said Ellergest. "I see¡­ So this is part of the incredible abilities of the Saint." Ellergest caressed his beard as he looked at what I was about to do attentively.


    I began to quickly analyze the woman''s body using my Demon Eye once more, and decided to use a few spells inbination with my eyes to see through her skin and flesh. These spells were mostly the Life Attribute spell "Analyze Life" and the Light Attribute Spell "X-Ray Vision" quite literally, thebination of these two spells allowed me to see through the interior of her body with my eyes and nothing else, they cost a lot of mana whenbined though.


    I quickly started to analyze her interior, finding that this ck soot was something strange akin to a¡­ demonic being. I could clearly sense demonic power from within, it had a very small amount of demon energy, but that somehow was keeping this substance alive, while slowly killing the woman from the inside. I began to analyze it further, as I quickly realized that if it were raw demon energy, it would have already killed her before. They feed her with apound of it, the same thing I used to gain demon energy myself, blood.


    The blood of demons can be ingested and it wont kill a person immediately, over time, the person might even be able to expel the blood and the demon energy by going to the bathroom and experiencing some indigestion. However, if it''s digested for such a prolonged amount of time¡­ this "soot" which is like a materialization of the demon energy stuck into her body would emerge, and stick into her body, slowly making her sicker over time.


    As for my job here, I have to take it out before she dies.


    -----

 Chapter 144 My Driving Force Will Always Be Gain

    -----


    If I aggressively take out the soot, it will only kill her. I have already analyzed it and it will end up tearing her apart from the inside out, this is because the soot has stuck to her flesh, the interior of her blood vessels, even her heart and her lungs, before I can even take it out, she would be dying  due to bleeding and I wouldn''t be able to heal so many internal injuries like this. My healing has limits and I cannot do everything in the world after all. I could easily take it out by putting my hand over her mouth and using my demon eye to channel my demon energy, and then vacuum all the demon energy with the soot, but as I said, that will only tear her apart from the inside out.


    There needs to be other procedure that doesn''t straight out kill her in the process, and I believe it mighty within the abilities of other people as well. Although I will also do what I can to cooperate and get the most share out of this, this family seems rich, and I''ve begun to realize the benefits of healing rich people, lots of money.


    But for that I needpetent priests, Jack doesn''t know a thing, and he seems inexperienced, also his spirit is not made for healing. Seth is knocked out of the fight, he''s still conscious but barely able to articte words due to exhaustion. Ellergest mana is going down quickly, he seems to have used it a lot for other people today, but he might be able to help. Andstly, Elisabeth''s experience is near null, but she is said to have incredible talent. Also, she seems to have Heaven Magic, the opposite of Demon Magic and what could potentially be the key to heal this woman.


    Therefore, Elisabeth and Ellergest will do, and even then, this entire thing might be just a bet, with the possibility of this woman still dying at the end¡­ However, we have to do what we can as this is the job I am going to be paid for. I don''t really feel any attachment to the life of this woman, nor this kid, and I wouldn''t care about them if it wasn''t because I am going to get paid. I only care about my family. I might seem like a good person because that''s what is most beneficial in this society, but I don''t consider myself someone willing to sacrifice himself for others. And my driving force is gain.


    Nheless, I feel like it is my duty, as someone as great as I, to show these damned demons that their stupid blood cannot work as a good poison, and therefore, I will heal this woman as best as I can- It is totally not because I care. I just hate Lucifer and his demons, they''re detestable. I hate how they use their blood as poison, it seems ridiculous but it works for some reason¡­ How frustrating.


    "Hmm¡­ What she has inside of her is not true poison, it is not a chemical, nor some sort of extraction from nts¡­" I said. "This poison is demon blood." I quickly decided to reveal the truth to the people around me, so they would be able to better understand the situation.


    "Demon blood?! So she was given demon blood every day, or perhaps weekly¡­!" Said Ellergest. "Demon meat is consumed widely as a cheap food, if cooked well, it shouldn''t be poisonous, so she was given raw demon blood, most likely¡­ It still has traces of demon energy when raw, the same for meat, so it is often considered poisonous without being cooked¡­" Ellergest knew a lot about demons.


    "D-Demon blood? But my mother has only been eating normal food, stew, meat, and a cup of wine¡­ Although she stopped drinking wine half a month ago¡­" Said Carl.


    "I see¡­ They most likely put a bit of blood in her wine every day she drank." I said. "Wine''s vor is very strong, so it''s hard to tell when it has other substances on it¡­"


    "T-That can''t be¡­ I-I''ve¡­ been bringing her wine for all these days¡­" Cried Carl. "A-Am I in fault for my mother''s sickness?!"


    "No, calm down¡­" I said. "Who gave you this wine?"


    "T-The maids¡­ in the kitchen, I even saw them pouring the wine¡­" Said the boy. "I-It can''t be that through the wine, right? Maybe the food? But the food was also made by the maids¡­"


    "We''ll interrogate all of them. Jack, be useful for once and go catch them with your chains. If they had done something like poisoning the food of a noble, it is a grave crime!" Said Ellergest. "Quickly!"


    "A-Ah, understood!" Said Jack, darting outside of the room as we quickly heard the screams of the maids around the house, he began catching them very easily.


    "However, maids alone¡­ why would they want to poison a noble? They''re most likely working for another person, either someone from outside¡­ Or someone from here." I said, looking at Carl as he suddenly swallowed saliva.<sub> </sub>


    "Carl, has your mother been in any fight with your aunts? The first concubine and the wife of your father?" I asked.


    "¡­"


    Carl suddenly fell silent, as he began to think.


    "I-I need to think about it¡­"


    "Very well, sorry for bothering you but this is grave¡­" I sighed. "Elisabeth,e here."


    "E-Eh?"


    Elisabeth walked to my side and she tilted her head in confusion.


    "W-What can I do to help?" She wondered.


    "Summon your spirit, I want to see what it is and how it can help." I said.


    Elisabeth looked back at Ellergest, as the old man nodded silently.


    "Okay then¡­! Come out, Heavenly Seraphin!" Said Elisabeth.


    FLAASH!


    Suddenly, a bright holy light came out of her chest, slowly materializing into a small, baby-sized Spirit that also resembled a small young child, with feathery wings behind his back, wearing a white toga, and holding a small arrow and bow.


    Just as I thought, her spirit is¡­ an angel!


    -----

 Chapter 145 An Angel As A Spirit?

    -----


    I had detected from the very beginning that Elisabeth''s was unusual, her aura of heaven light was one part of it, but I quickly realized she was just a normal girl that had been raised with care by this old man and the other priests. What gave me this uneasiness wasn''t exactly her, but what she had within her. This spirit¡­ the spirit that I sensed; this was it.


    When it finally was summoned, a Seraphin showed up, resembling a young boy of four or five, it looked angelic, and was wearing a toga and golden sandals. He had a pair of feathered white wings. His hair was blonde and long, and his eyes aquamarine. All while holding a golden arrow and a bow with his hands. This was the "heavenly Seraphin". This was a spirit, yet for me, it was indescribably an angel.


    First of all, how did an angel end up here of all ces? What happened in this ce? Howe an angel appeared here? It doesn''t make any sense, right? Yet here we are, this angel appeared in front of me without any other question about it. It was just that, an angelic spirit. Howe an angel became a spirit? Did it die and was reincarnated as one? Could he be simr to Eleanora in that regard? There were many questions inside of my head, but the Seraphin seemed rxed, without even minding me. He smiled warmly and gently, petting Elisabeth''s head.


    "This is Elisabeth''s Heavenly Seraphin, her spirit has been helping her survive since she was born and abandoned into the orphanage." Said Ellergest. "This spirit is both strong, fast, and also possesses the ability to heal by itself. It has some strange magic which she had inherited, but we are still having a hard time finding ways to make her create spells using it. It appears that their magic is an even holier version than holy light magic or something¡­ But she''s not that good at helping as of now due to the limitations of the spells she has yet to learn¡­ Though, her Seraphin is strong and can fight. What do you have in mind, nk?"


    "Hmm¡­"


    What do I have in mind? Well, it is quite simple, I will use the holy power of this Seraphin and my own Qi, and fuse them together to form Heavenly Qi, a special Qi that can be made using Heaven element and Qi. It is incredible powerful but if used correctly, it won''t hurt the body, and it will disintegrate the demon blood and the demon energy with ease as well.


    But I cannot tell him that, of course, so I have toe out with a lie that doesn''t sound like one, I will just not mention the details but tell him the truth. After all the best lies are those that have a lot of truth to them.


    "I will use Seraphin''s holy powers with my magic. I believe I can create a special light that can traverse inside her body and disintegrate the demon blood and energy inside." I said. "It will be difficult though, and we might need your assistance, so I will need you to help me too."


    "Hmmm, I see. You''ve healed many people before¡­" He said. "I guess we can give it a shot, she''s already about to pass away if we don''t do anything now."


    Ellergest quickly decided to help, but he didn''t summon his spirit yet. It seems that for some reason he was trying to not summon it. I wondered what sort of weird spirit he had, or something.<sub> </sub>


    "Why don''t you summon your spirit?"


    "My spirit is too big, if I summon him, he''ll destroy this entire room¡­ He''s strong, and can heal too, but this space is too narrow, we would waste too much time bringing her outside too, and it would be for nothing, my spirit can heal but not poison." Said Ellergest. "I also have a second spirit, which is just as big."


    "I see¡­" I said. Right, Ellergest is a Rank 2 Spirit Master, each Rank a person has grants them a new spirit to use, which can be either summoned through the usage of materials, the corpse of another monster, or sometimes they emerge naturally.


    "My Seraphin said that he''s willing to help!" Said Elisabeth. "B-But only if you be my friend!" Elisabeth began to talk nonsense like the little girl she was. I didn''t know if the Seraphin really told her that or she was making it up, but Ellergest looked at me while nodding. For some reason I feel like I was being set up for some sort of scheme, but I did not have the time to analyze this for now, and I ended up agreeing to her simple request.


    "Sure, whatever." I said. "I''ll be your friend if we can heal her."


    "Really?" Asked Elisabeth, as her eyes shone brightly with excitement.


    "¡­Yes." I sighed. "Now, touch my shoulder, You too, old man."


    "Don''t call me old man!" Said Ellergest, as he touched my right shoulder while Elisabeth touched my left shoulder. I asked them to channel their magic power into my own body, and Elisabeth began to use her own spirit for that. The spirit magically infused its spiritual Aether energies into her, converging her mana into the Heaven Element.


    The moment I received the two streams of powerful elemental mana, I felt as if I was being overflowed with energy and power. I calmed myself down as much as possible as I looked at the woman in front of us. She was pale and on the verge of death. I had to hurry if I wanted my pay. I gritted my teeth and then I gathered these energies into my chest, where the Qi Core is located, and thenbined them with my Qi and slowly began to refine this Qi into Heaven Qi, until a sizable portion was made after around five minutes of patiently waiting¡­ The two watched what I was doing with astonishment.


    -----

 Chapter 146 Healing Lady Treebark And Seeking The Culprit

    -----


    I gathered the energies into my hand and then touched the woman''s chest, pushing the Heavenly Qi into her dormant Qi Core. Part of my n was also awakening her innate Qi Core and her Qi Veins and Pressure Points; this would give another boost to the Heavenly Qi as it would be supported by the newly awakened Qi energies flowing through this woman''s body. I activated the Qi Core right away, as the light of heaven element began to emerge from her chest, covering her entire body with it.


    FLASH!


    The woman''s interior quickly began to change, as the demon energy and the demon blood started to slowly reduce into tiny particles and disappeared after a few seconds. The level of concentration I had to put into aplishing this feat was great, exhausting my mind greatly¡­ However, at the end, her body was cleansed, and new Qi was flowing through her body, so she should be feeling way better now. Nheless, when I finished, I felt exhausted, falling to my knees without wanting to.


    "Ugh¡­"


    "nk! Are you okay?" Asked Ellergest.


    "nk¡­" Said Elisabeth.


    "Yes I am fine¡­" I sighed. "Don''t mind me, I am a bit tired. I''ve done more things than you think today." I looked at the two concerned priests as I calmed down their concern. I didn''t like making people worry about me, and I can bear with my own burdens without any problems.


    The moment we healed his mother, Carl ran towards her, and hugged her. The boy once more began to cry desperately, he saw that she was breathing faster and that her heart was beating faster as well. It seems that we have done a good job- more like I''ve done a good job.


    In fact, Lady Treebark started to wake up, slowly opening her eyes and looking at her surroundings, she seemed healed right away. What was keeping her sleeping was no longer there after all.


    "M-Mother? Mother!" Carl began to cry as his mother woke up and nced at him with curiosity, wondering what was happening around her, and what was going on. I could understand that she was feeling surprised about everything, she probably didn''t even realize when she fell unconscious due to the sickness. However, this is good, if she''s awake we can find more clues about who did this to her.


    ¡­And Jack was back with the maids, chained together.


    "I am back¡­ Here they are. They were actually fighting back. I first tried to bring them with me but one of them, this ck haired one, attacked me with a snake spirit¡­" Sighed Jack. "Well, they''re all neutralized now."


    <o>,m The maids looked elsewhere as if they were pretending to not know a thing. They were also pretending to be scared and that they had no other way out of this situation. I could see that they were good pretenders. But those eyes won''t convince me. I am pretty sure one of them, or perhaps all three of them, put demon blood into the woman''s food. I am going to find the truth and then I''ll get rewarded with even more money.</o>


    "T-The maids? Ah! W-What''s going on in here?!" Lady Treebark began to panic, she realized she was surrounded by many people.<sub> </sub>


    "You were poisoned just now, Lady Treebark. I am the head priest of the holy spirits church and these are all my priests as well. We just healed you, well, nk did it." Said Ellergest, pointing at me.


    "I see¡­ So it wasn''t a sickness but poison? W-Who poisoned me?" She wondered, as she looked at me.


    "Well, we are about to find that out now." I said. I looked at the three maids. Now that she was healed, we could just walk away and leave it at that, but that was impossible. Even if I wanted, Ellergest seemed to want to find the truth as well, as someone that is a priest and also somewhat likes to enforce thew if possible.


    "Now spit it." Said Jack. "Whom of you poisoned thedy? I bet you did it, ck haired, you attacked me out of nowhere!"


    "I attacked you because you were trying to **** us! You just came towards us and began speaking suspiciously, and then asked us to submit to you!" Roared the maid, who was the eldest as well. "You were asking suspicious questions too, so of course we thought you went insane¡­ I was merely defending myself and the girls."


    "Huh?! What did ya say?!" Roared Jack, about to smack her before Ellergest stopped him.


    "Stop this. This is not the way of doing things for a priest, Jack.  Be more dignified, your position is not that of a street thug anymore." Said Ellergest, as Jack sighed.


    "R-Right¡­ Sorry." Jack seemed incredibly well behaved when it came to the head priest.


    "Well, let''s begin with some simple questions and go directly into the main topic." I said, walking towards the maids and looking at all of them from below, as they were sitting on the ground.


    "Did any of you put demon blood in the wine or food of Lady Treebark?" I asked ominously, all three women grew as stiff as a tree, and remained silent while looking at the floor for some time, without saying a single word. It seems they''re not that willing to cooperate. However, I am able to see the aura of emotions within them, and I could see that all three of them had different auras.


    There were three maids, the oldest is the ck-haired maid, who seemed to be in her 40''s, she had short hair and looked dignified and experienced. The other two girls looked less experienced, one had long brown hair made into a ponytail, and the other had short red hair, all three of the maids had brown eyes. These younger girls were almost the same age in theirte teens and seemed quite inferior to the oldest maid.


    I began analyzing their auras of emotion and found that the ck-haired maid had a red and yellow aura, the one with brown hair had a pink to yellow aura, and the red haired one had¡­ an aura of green and blue. What could this mean, I wonder?


    "Speak. Or you''ll force me to make you speak." I said.


    -----

 Chapter 147 Spit Anything You Know!

    p -----</anda>


    Now that Lady Treebark was awake thanks to no longer having the "Demon Soot" as I will call this substance, she seemed confused about what had happened to her. It appears that much like her son; she had no clue about what happened. She didn''t know who poisoned her, or even why. But I would guess she might not be telling the truthpletely. However, as she is a noble, I cannot just question her so leisurely, if she gets angered, she could have the authority to end our visit here and send us out of this house. I am no longer the authority I once used to be. I am a human child, therefore, I must abide by this world''s society even if it''s a pain. Of course, in this world the strong can also have great authority, but even now, I am not strong enough to do that with nobles.


    ¡­But that changes withmoners, such as the maids. These women are in charge of the kitchen, they cook all the food that is eaten, and serve all the drinks that are served as well. I believe one of them must have something to do with this entire incident and using the spell that allows me to see the emotional auras of people, I will find this out.


    There were three maids, the oldest is the ck-haired maid, who seemed to be in her 40''s, she had short hair and looked dignified and experienced, her aura was red and yellow. The girl to her left, the one with brown hair and a ponytail had a pink and yellow aura, and thenstly the red haired one had an aura of green and blue¡­


    "Speak. Or you''ll force me to make you speak. Who of you poisoned thedy?"


    I asked so directly that it was obvious they were going to lie, and of course, I would be able to easily use my magic to see who is lying and who isn''t. I can deduce a lot from their lies. It is easy to see through their faces as well. I have seen thousands of faces and expressions in my previous life, from humanoids to the most bizarre-looking aliens there are. It is hard for me to even let a lowly human like these get away with a lie without me realizing it.


    "I have not done such things! I''ve served this house for years, I-I would never poison thedy! I was frightened by this man, he suddenly jumped towards us and attacked us with his chains! It has happened before with some thugs in the town. They think that because we are maids they can easily overpower us and **** us or something¡­ I have taken down countless thugs with my snake, and I don''t fear doing so to protect my life and that of these two girls which I am responsible for¡­" Said the ck-haired maid. "Also, why is a child acting as some sort of detective? I know you''re a healer but you shouldn''t be stepping above your own boundaries, child!"


    "Silence, woman." I said. "I am the one that l asks the questions here." I unleashed a small amount of my Qi aura; the woman immediately grew stiff. I could have used my Demon Eye, but that would be a waste of precious demon energy which I am storing for more important matters. However, by checking her Emotional Aura, I found that there was no lie in her words. She was incredibly confident and also quite reliable as a woman. It seems she''s a responsible maid that had gone through hardships and had be quite strong willed.<sub> </sub>


    "Y-You might be a priest apprentice but that doesn''t give you the right to call me like that¡­!" She muttered, resisting the fear she felt by being put below the aura of my Qi. Interestingly, this maid ispetent. I suppose this noble family hit the jackpot with her.


    "nk, I believe you''re going a bit too far there, although¡­ I kind of want to find the truth as well." Said Ellergest. "What about you two, girls? If you confess your sins to us right now and repent, the Holy Spirits may forgive you."


    "I didn''t do a thing!" Said the brown-haired maid, she seemed more upfront than even her superior. "Unhand me now! I dislike these stupid chains¡­ Lady Treebark, I am happy that you''re back!"


    Lady Treebark looked back at the maids confusedly, she didn''t seem to understand the chaotic scene that was going on right now and was feeling rather dizzy at this point. Her son was taking care of her but she needed more rest and perhaps a meal, she looked very frail and malnourished, a day or two like this would probably kill her out of starvation. In fact, her malnourishment would have probably taken her out sooner than the Demon Soot.


    I looked at the maid again as Lady Treebark was in silence listening and trying to understand what was happening. I saw that her aura didn''t change, she was just very angered, wasn''t she? But she was not lying¡­ Hm, this is quite annoying, are all three of them so stubborn? If it wasn''t them and they don''t know, then what about the butlers? Or the wife and the first concubine? If the maids were not, even the two other children of the Lord could be the ones behind this entire thing, but I am sure they wouldn''t let me interrogate them so easily due to their authority. I am already stepping over my boundaries as a serf kid.


    "I-I didn''t do anything, please believe me¡­!" Muttered the pink-haired maid. "I-I have always cared about Lady Treebark; I love to see her smile every morning¡­! Poisoning her would be a sin I would never forgive myself for!" She was lying. I could see it in her face, her expressions were different from the two other more upfront maids, her eyes were looking around nervously, and her aura¡­ was blue.


    -----

 Chapter 148 Demon Pawn

    -----


    Ellergest also noticed something weird going on with this maid. The girl with pink hair was less confident than the others, and being younger wasn''t the actual reason. She was lying, and this old and experienced man was able to tell a bit, although as for me, I waspletely confident in my analysis.


    "You''re lying." I said. "It is clear in your face. Why did you put demon blood in the Lady''s wine? If you don''t answer in 10 seconds I will strangle you to death."


    "E-Eh?! You''re just a kid! A healer at that, what can you even do- Ugh?!"


    I quickly moved my hand towards the woman''s neck, my hand was smaller, but its strength was recognizable. The girl started to gasp for air immediately. She was tied by chains so she couldn''t even resist my hand pressing down into her neck.


    "Nine¡­ Eight¡­ Seven¡­" I said, counting up to one, in which number I would kill her. I could easily pay for the damage, a maid was just amodity for nobles, dispensable just like the life of a serf.


    "Unngh¡­! Guuaaaggh¡­!"


    "W-Wait! What are you doing, you shitty kid?!" Asked Jack, desperately attempting to stop me. "You shouldn''t use force to make people talk, that will never work-"


    "Uggh¡­! O-Okay! I''ll talk! Please, don''t kill me! Uuaaggh¡­!"


    I quickly took away my hand from her neck, as I looked at her eyes.


    "Speak."


    "I-I didn''t do it because I wanted to! I-I was forced¡­!" She cried. "I-If I didn''t do it, the Lady said she would send some mercenaries to kill my family in the vige! I-I couldn''t really refuse her words¡­!"


    As the girl spoke, everybody in the room fell silent. Lady Treebark looked at her with surprise, raising her eyebrows. She quickly began to ask her questions.


    "Gabri? H-How could you do such a thing¡­?" She asked. "But¡­ Did they really force you? And who?" Lady Treebark seemed to take pity on her due to the reasons the girl did this. If I were the girl, I would have just told Lady Treebark that somebody wanted to kill her and she could have put my family into safety, or just stopped the one about to do it before she could¡­ Then again, it is hard even for me to imagine myself in such situations, because if I was a girl I would never let myself be the maid of somebody.


    "Lady? Who?" I asked.


    "T-The one¡­ Lady¡­ Ugh¡­! Aaaghh!"


    Gabriel began to tremble, her entire body started to get colder as she tried to say her name, but she suddenly felt as if she was being taken over by an intense feeling of fear, so powerful that it made her breathe heavily, her heart started to beat faster as well.


    What is going on?! Is this a curse?


    "Gabri!" Cried the ck-haired maid.


    "W-What is happening to you?! Is she sick?" Asked the brown-haired maid.


    "Q-Quickly take away your chains from us!" Said the ck-haired maid, as Jack nodded nervously.<sub> </sub>


    "Wait, don''t!" I said, as I quickly detected within the pink-haired girl''s body the presence of some demonic energies gathering within her! I never saw this before, howe some sort of demonic power cane out of nowhere into her? Was this a hidden curse that only activates after doing a certain thing? This is¡­ high level demon magic!


    Jack wasn''t able to hear my words in time as his chains quickly retreated back to his own Spirit Orb, seemingly he had run out of Mana already so he wouldn''t have been able to hold for much longer.


    "Graaaaahh¡­!"


    Gabri started to scream as if she was being taken over by some sort of strange force, screaming like an insane person. The other maids looked at her in horror as they quickly tried to move away, but Gabri''s reflexes were suddenly enhanced, her entire body turned pale, and her eyes became red.


    "GRAAAAH!"


    "Gyyaaah! Gabri, what''s wrong with you?!"


    The little pink-haired girl roared like a demon, attacking the brown-haired maid, and grabbing her with her hands, which suddenly grew long nails resembling ck demon-like ws I''ve seen on Imps before. Even more, from her forehead, a small red horn started to grow.


    This is something I had seen before; it had been a long time¡­ This is called Demon Metamorphosis! It is when a humanoid is cursed by a demon and made to drink demon blood, by the power of the curse, they won''t die, but they''ll go through a transformation by themand of their "master" and turn into Lesser Demon¡­ To think I would see such a thing in this world! So there are people using demon blood like this? Or is there some sort of demon behind this entire thing?


    Well, there is no time to overthink this now.


    Ellergest quickly moved forward faster than I did.


    "To think that this girl was infected by the curse of a demon!" He said, raising his staff and infusing it with holy light. "Bright Beam!"


    FLASH!


    From within his staff, arge concentration of mana suddenly transformed into a bright ray of light, firing, and reaching the pink-haired girl, hitting her directly into her chest and throwing her into the ground.


    BOOM!


    "Aghh¡­! Graah¡­"


    Gabri''s entire body seemed to be burning, she was agonizing on the floor while her blood started to evaporate. It seems that I didn''t have to worry that much, Ellergest is quitepetent.


    "W-What''s going on?" Asked Elisabeth in surprise, the little girl stepped back several steps, getting in front of Lady Treebark and her son, Carl, who were both paralyzed over the ridiculous scene in front of them.


    "Demon Pawn¡­" Said Ellergest. "When somebody that has learned the way of using demon powers curses somebody else and makes them drink demon blood, they go through this transformation and be wild and savage Demon Pawns¡­ Usually, they can only get killed after transformation, they be no longer humans, but demons. It is good to take her out of her misery." Ellergest walked towards Gabri, pointing his staff at her.


    -----

 Chapter 149 Demon Transformation

    -----


    Ellergest approached the struggling maid, who had suddenly transformed into a Lesser Demon through special means. The one behind this entire thing had put a curse on her, wherever she were to try revealing the dy" identity, this curse would take over her and she would be a Lesser Demon, how interesting.


    It seems that whoever is behind this is not just a mere jealous wife or concubine, or if she is, then it is someone with a way deeper background than we thought. This makes me think that this entire noble family might be involved in a greater plot.


    How annoying, I just wanted to make some money by healing some rich people, not get myself involved in such a mess¡­ However, because it involves demons, it has be quite personal now. It frustrates me to know that demons have seeped their poison so deep into this world''s society that even people use them for their selfish purposes. Well, not like I wouldn''t do it, but it still irrationally angers me. I suppose it could be said I just hate demons rather childishly. But that''s how I am.


    As Ellergest approached the demon girl, he was about to deliver a killing blow to her. The old man seemed ruthless, he was perhaps well experienced in fighting demons, and he called Lesser Demons "Demon Pawns" which makes sense to me. The best would indeed be to kill her right away before she recovers and tries to attack somebody else.


    However, it seems that the rest of the people didn''t want that, even after seeing the girl not being the same as she was a few seconds ago. She had even attempted to bite off the neck of the brown-haired maid, yet the two seemed to not want her to die.


    "W-Wait! You''re actually going to kill her?!" Asked Jack in horror.


    "G-Gabri¡­ Who did this to her¡­?!" Asked the ck-haired maid.


    "No, please don''t kill her! Gabri is like my sister¡­!" Cried the brown-haired maid.


    "Don''t get yourself tricked! This demon is now wearing her body, Gabri is dead. Her soul is trapped in this body and will only deteriorate, it is my duty to bring her down and send her to the Holy Spirits¡­ She confessed her sins, and she''ll be forgiven, do not worry! The mercy of the holy spirits knows no bounds¡­ I will take away the pain in your face, girl." Said Ellergest. He seemed to have been used to taking people down like this, and his expressions¡­ It seems he was filled with sorrow and regret, but he was also filled with motivation to do it anyway. It was painful for him to kill a young girl with a big future ahead of herself, but he had no option than to do what he believed was the right thing to do.


    However, I wasn''t guided by such types of fanaticism over religions, and I stopped him before hemitted a terrible and foolish mistake that would only ruin our entire investigation.


    "Wait." I said. "Ellergest, don''t be a fool. Don''t you realize hat through her we can learn who did this?"


    "What? nk, you of all people are trying to stop me?" He asked.<sub> </sub>


    "I am not against killing demons¡­" I said. "However, she knows information that we won''t be able to figure out otherwise. Let me handle this¡­ I think I can figure out something, give me more of your Holy Light Attribute Mana. You too, Elisabeth, quickly."


    "Eh? M-Me? O-Okay!" Elisabeth said. She was a rather obedient girl.


    "What?! Do you know that you cannot really save her, right? It won''t work!" He said. "Once¡­ a person turns into a Demon Pawn, they won''t go back, no matter what. We have tried so many things, so many spells, so many spirit abilities, so many skills¡­ But the only solution is to either kill them or trap them somewhere, where they only dive deeper into their own insane demonic minds¡­ I was once forced to take down my own apprentice because I was plotted against by a Demon Cultist and he was converted into a Demon Pawn! Y-You know the pain and how it feels? But I had to do it¡­ And you won''t stop me from taking this girl out of her misery!"


    The old man got rather angered. He thought that a way to heal these people was impossible. Even when I just showed him how I took away the curse of Lady Treebark. I suppose being old doesn''t always mean being wise, he''s clearly ignorant with a severeck of touch.


    ¡­But that''s to be expected of people that originate from this world. They cannot really see the wider picture, they are incapable ofprehending things beyond what they see with their two eyes. Maniption of energies is something basic you learn in the outer universe, even demon energy can be manipted, dispelled, and more with enough mastery over Energy Maniption.


    After all, all energies converge into the single energy that fuels everything in existence, Dimensional Essence. Once you''re able to grasp this knowledge andprehend even a small speck of it, you are able to manipte all other energies with less difficulty. Although myprehension over the maniption of Dimensional Essence was incredibly low, below 1%, it was more than enough to be able to easily manipte all other energies.


    Even as a child this knowledge andprehension remains, and this is what helps me easily shape Mana, Qi, Aether and¡­ Demon Energy.


    "You saw me dispel a Demon Curse on this woman and you still doubt me?" I asked. "I have figured my own ways. I know we have yet to know each other better, old man, but stop being so foolishly ignorant for once in your lifetime."


    "Ah¡­! nk, you''re going a bit too far in there!" He roared angrily. However, a little hand touched his white robes, Ellergest stopped moving as he looked down.


    "Papa, trust him! I think¡­ He''s someone we can trust." Said Elisabeth. "My Seraph said he knows how to do stuff!"


    "Your Seraph said so¡­? Hmm¡­ Sigh¡­ Very well." Elisabeth convinced Ellergest faster than any of my words. This old man had a weakness for this girl.


    -----

 Chapter 150 Trust

    -----


    It was good that Elisabeth somehow trusted me, although it is very odd that her angel trusted me. I suppose this angel doesn''t have any memories of a possible previous life, because I am fairly sure most of the angels in the outer universe would quickly realize who I was by merely taking a nce at the natural aura surrounding my body. After all, I wasn''t the Emperor of over half the Universe for nothing. Everyone knew my name back then¡­ But I wonder if anybody remembers me now? I sometimes wonder how long it has been since I died.


    Well, that has no bearing on the current problem ahead of my path today. I really thought I would just take it easy but I am now being forced to resolve a crime- Well, it is no longer a normal noble drama if it involves demonic powers, so I want to see the end of this drama and reach a conclusion.


    Elisabeth believed me and made Ellergest trust me fairly easily. I am still wondering how that''s even possible, but I just realized this old man is literally a childpared to my mind. Bending his own will because of his cute adoptive daughter is quite ridiculous, not something you would expect from an ancient being, but he''s just probably around 80, so that''s a child to me.


    Only humans are so foolish to even be fooled and convinced so easily by a little and "cute" creature such as a child, but Ellergest was weak against her innocent charm. I suppose he''s really like her father figure if she called him "papa".


    "This old man kind of reminds me of you now, my lord." Said Eleanora, speaking after being in silence for a while.


    "Hah, well, as if I would ever change my opinion or do something I would regret for anybody like that-"


    "Well, what about Erika? I am pretty sure you did something that made you regret itter¡­ I am fairly sure you''re weak to her¡­ And me too, right?" Asked Eleanora.


    "¡­I don''t know what you''re talking about, Eleanora. Stop talking nonsense. I am someone with incredible patience but that doesn''t mean I will let somebody fool me or tease me!" I told her through telepathy, as she giggled a bit.


    "Okay, sorry¡­ Fufu."


    Has she gotten cocky? Hm¡­ Well, it is not like I dislike it. Being freer from her responsibilities had made her develop her individuality better, and that¡­ I like that.


    Anyways, Ellergest was convinced, time to dispel this curse. I had done this before many times, I remember even freeing an entire of people from this curse that had be a filled with demons that were formerly the''s original inhabitants. It is fairly easy to do after you grow strong enough, but for now I would guess it is quite hard even to heal a single person on my own.<sub> </sub>


    This is why I need the Mana from these two. Their holy attribute is stronger than the light magic I can conjure, which doesn''t have any attribute particles added to it to be even remotely strong. If I had a Magic Circle, I could fill it with Holy Light Runes to enhance the power of my Light Magic as well, but that would be too inefficient seeing as I want to mostly specialize in my affinity elements while leaving all other elements as support.


    This is why I will need more allies in this life. I cannot do everything alone. In my previous life my allies were ridiculously strongpared to anything else, only below me, so they were good fighters that helped me in the battles, but aside from that, I was able to do most things on my own¡­ but in this life, I cannot give myself that luxury so easily.


    p This is why I must ask for their assistance, of course, the two ended up epting and put their hands over my shoulders, infusing the Holy Light-element Mana into my body once more.</anda>


    I merged it with my Qi, and generated Heavenly Qi, as I touched the burnt demon woman''s forehead and quickly gathered my mind into the usage of this technique once more. I looked into the woman''s body through my Demon Eye, being able to easily detect demon energies with it even better than just a normal eye.


    I saw her entire body flowing with a current of red energy that was burning her from the inside. It was taking over her entire body and constantly twisting her insides, the metamorphosis was still very early and it can be reversed without the need for absurd levels of power.


    FLASH!


    I infused the Heavenly Qi inside of her and her entire body was purified in mere seconds. The demonic energies wriggled angrily as if trying to resist, but they turned into ashes and disintegrated quickly after the heavenly qi flowed through her body. I also activated her Qi Core and everything else in the process to give her enough stamina and vitality to survive through the entire ordeal. The heavenly qi healed her burnt wounds for the most part as well, although it left some ugly burn scars around her chest and arms.


    "Aahhh¡­ Agh¡­"


    Gabri slowly fell asleep after groaning a bit, although I was able to destroy the curse. The appearance she acquired didn''t change that much. There was still a red horn on her forehead, and although I cleansed the demonic powers, a part of it fused with her very being. I suppose I cannotpletely heal a Demon Pawn yet, so she ended with these powers sticking to her. Although¡­ isn''t this good? Oh, well, in this society she might end up discriminated against. Might as well try to take them out.


    I quickly moved towards her while everybody else looked at her in silence, she calmed down and the dreadful presence she emanated was gone. I took out a small knife I had and cut off her demon horn from her forehead cleanly¡­


    -----

 Chapter 151 Finding The Culprit

    -----


    After cutting the horn on her forehead, I closed the wound with some healing magic and wrapped some bandages around her forehead. I guess I can keep this horn. Seems rather high quality, almost at the same level as the Oni''s body parts. I also cut down her long ck w-like nails, and two small red spikes growing from her shoulders. That should make her look moderately normal, I guess, as long as she hides her unnaturally sharp teeth¡­ And I got some nice materials out of it.


    "And done¡­" I said.


    "T-That''s¡­ you cut off her demon parts?" Asked Ellergest.


    "They''re mine now, don''t think about asking for them." I said, saving them inside my pouch.


    "Y-You can keep them I guess¡­" Said Jack while raising an eyebrow.


    "I suppose they can fetch some money. You''re quite opportunistic¡­ A-Anyways, the thing is¡­ she''s healed! Incredible, so the dispelling power you used with Lady Treebark also worked with this girl!" Said Ellergest.


    "Yes, apparently. Now, let''s get this done with, I am very exhausted from this entire ordeal." I sighed, I quickly pped Gabri''s face strongly, which made the two other maids bark at me angrily.


    "Y-You kid! Don''t p her like that, she just got healed!"


    "By me."


    "R-Right¡­"


    "nk I think you''re being a bit¡­" Muttered Ellergest. I looked the man in the eyes and he stopped talking.


    Gabri slowly woke up, as she opened her eyes and the first thing she saw was my bored expression.


    "Ugh¡­ Wha¡­ What happened to me?" She wondered. I didn''t have the time to exin things, so I just went to the important question.


    "You''re now healed, tell me who made you put the poison into the wine, now." I said.


    "Uwah! Y-You¡­ ugh¡­ Healed?" She wondered. "Ugh¡­ My head¡­"


    "Speak!" I said.


    "Uwaaah! Okay! T-The one that did it¡­ Ah! I remember now¡­ She made me also drink something¡­ it was bitter and weird, and it burned my throat when I drank it, but she forced me¡­" She cried. Even tears started toe out of her eyes, I don''t know if it was my intimidation or that she recalled these things painfully. "The one that did it was¡­ Lady Cassandra¡­ Ugh, I think Lady Charlotte also had something to do¡­ I-I don''t know why they want to kill Lady Treebark, but I am a mere servan.  I cannot really refute them if they order me such a thing, especially¡­ if they threatened my family¡­ Ah, now that I spoke, they''ll kill them¡­!"<sub> </sub>


    "Charlotte and Cassandra?! So they want to kill me¡­" Cried Lady Treebark. "To think they would go so far as using demon blood from all things¡­ But¡­ Cassandra? I never knew she had such ability to utilize Demon Sorcery¡­"


    "It seems that you don''t know a thing about this family, Lady Treebark." I said expressionlessly, as I walked outside the room.


    "Ellergest,e with me, we have to bring this to the Lord, is he in the house, even? What about the two perpetrators?" I wondered.


    "Lord Mark is on a trip to the capital, but Lady Cassandra and Charlotte must be in their rooms!" Said Carl. "H-How do we do it then? We have to call papa¡­"


    Treebark''s son seemed rather worried. If we just let this slide and ignore everything, they''ll try to kill her again and that wouldn''t be really good. Mostly because I don''t want this demon curse to spread around leisurely, this is the town I care for, I don''t want anything catastrophic to end up happening.


    To think things escted to the point I would have to confront some nobles today¡­ What a pain. Well, we got evidence from Gabri, Treebark, and also everybody else saw the demonic energies, that''s enough witnesses and also proof of this happening.


    "Hmm¡­ Then let me handle things from now on, nk, you don''t need to take the initiative, as the Head Priest of the Holy Spirit Church, I can arrest people that vites thews of thend. Assassination attempt by poison is a grave crime!" Ellergest was inspired and walked at my side, alongside Elisabeth and Gabri. I left Eleanora inside of Treebark''s room, hiding beneath the shadow of the bed as the woman spoke with her son and the other two maids. The butlers were outside the room as well and heard everything that was happening, so they stayed there protecting the women.


    We walked towards the room of Cassandra, the First Concubine of Lord Mark Copperhand, she was inside her room as of now. His three consorts mostly isted themselves inside their rooms to do things of their own. Apparently this is how nobledies lived their lives without much to do through the day, although they also assess paperwork and transactions, so perhaps they were doing that now.


    Ellergest knocked the door and heard the voice of the woman behind everything, she seemed to not have even detected the curse was activated, or she would have panicked and escaped knowing someone triggered Gabri to say the truth, meaning that she doesn''t have control over the curses she creates. Did she make them through alchemy alone? Perhaps the sole usage of demon parts for vile acts makes these people being called "Demon Sorcerers" even when they themselves cannot properly conjure demon magic.


    I would guess she was expecting all healing effects to be futile. Leisurely waiting for us to leave at the end to see Treebark agonize and die¡­ But why did she want her to die to begin with? Well, perhaps there is a power struggle between the three consorts of the Lord, they want his attention and money, or maybe they also want their children to be given higher positions, eliminating the mother of one of them and perhaps her sonter on would be beneficial for Cassandra, I suppose, as it seems that she also has a son.


    Knock, knock.


    "Yes? Who is it? I am busy!"


    "Lady Cassandra, we have a few words to share with you."


    "¡­What?!"


    Ellergest opened the door without asking for her permission, quickly surprising her.


    -----

 Chapter 152 Lady Cassandra

    -----


    ? "Lady Cassandra, we have a few words to share with you."


    "¡­What?!"


    Ellergest opened the door without asking for her permission, quickly surprising her.


    SLAM!


    The doors opened wide by the strength of Ellergest, as the woman inside greeted our sight with a terrified expression on her face. She was a woman seemingly in her early 30''s. The woman was Cassandra, Lord Markus First Concubine, and the one that forced Gabri to drink the blood and be cursed. Also gave the poisonous blood to Treebark every so often through her daily cup of wine, slowly poisoning her until the state she was in just a few minutes ago.


    "Y-You! Who are you?! Ah¡­! The priest! Priest or not, you don''t have the authority to enter the room of a noble! I can use my connections and the influence of my husband to take you away from your position, even as a Head Priest!" She roared angrily, standing up from her chair in front of a desk where she had a lot of piled up papers. She was wearing a red dress with various frills, and her long red hair and sharp green eyes made her look like someone of noble origin, indeed.


    "Lady Cassandra Copperhand, you''re guilty of having used Demon Parts through vile means and attempted the assassination of another noble, Lady Treebark, alongside forcing this innocent child, Gabri, into obeying your vile means through extortion and the usage of Demon Sorcery!" Ellergest hit the ground with his staff, making the entire ce be illuminated with a bright light.


    "Uugh¡­! W-What are you even talking about?! I didn''t do anything like that! They''re clearly lying! That bitch of Treebark has always been trying to get more attention from my Lord, she probably wants to get rid of me by framing me! That girl¡­!" Muttered Cassandra. "Gabri, I never expected you to betray me! I guess you''re really siding with her, huh?! I never did anything like you''re saying, I can''t believe you''re¡­ such a vile little whore!"


    Cassandra began to grow more angered, frustrated, and fearful; her entire aura of emotions went from purple to blue to pale azure in colors, showing that she was saving up many emotions and lying, she was pretending to be impacted and feeling betrayed, and was shamelessly bashing everything at her two victims.


    "Y-You''re lying, Lady Cassandra, please confess your crimes! You''re a noble so you won''t be punished as much as long as you do!" Cried Gabri, imploring her master to be honest.


    "W-What?! You dare set me up like this, you little whore?!" Roared Cassandra, as she suddenly grabbed a knife she had nearby and pointed it at us. Suddenly, her aura began toe from within her body, a dark-red aura, and then from within, the figure of something humanoid emerged, made of this dark and red energies¡­ Is this demonic energy? But it''s also a spirit¡­<sub> </sub>


    Cassandra infused her knife with this energy, shamelessly firing it towards Gabri to kill her in the spot. A noble killing a servant is not a surprising sight, they often kill their servants when they are angered or do something unforgivable, they''re nothing less than products to them, items they can discard and rece, killing one is often not even punished, even though murder is a crime in thisnd, it can be easily paid a fee to evade going to prison, Nobles have many privileges abovemoners. A murderermoner would probably get their head chopped off in the guillotine if caught.


    "Uwah!" Gabri cried, as she tried to shield herself using her spirit, a small creature emerged from within her chest, resembling a floating puffball, there was no other way to describe it, it was pink-colored and had big green eyes, but that thing won''t defend her well.


    I moved swiftly to help her for now, I wouldn''t want her to die. I unleashed a projectile of darkness, gathering it in one ce and firing a Darkness Bullet towards the knife, which blocked it in midair and sent it flying, getting stuck in the ceiling.


    CLASH!


    "W-What¡­? A mere child has such magic power¡­" She muttered, ring hatefully at me.


    "You witch! You dare attack us after finding out your crimes? We could have speak this rationally but you decided to step ahead of your own boundaries¡­ Noble or not, a criminal is a criminal!" Roared Ellergest, it seemed as if aside from this entire ordeal, he really had some sort of resentment against nobles, which fueled his motivation to catch this woman and bring her to justice.


    "It is obvious you did it now that you attacked us." I said. "And what''s with your aura? it reeks like that of a demon¡­ You''re using demon parts to enhance your spirit or something?" I wondered. I had heard about the power of "upgrading" spirits by fusing them with materials, but that''s incredibly costly and it can only be done once per spirit¡­ Could she had used demon body parts to enhance her spirit and acquire demon magic? Is this possible in this world?


    "Tch! You two inept men don''t understand a thing about being a woman! All the hardships thate with it, it took me so long to be a noble concubine¡­ I even gave him an heir! But out of nowhere he got this Treebark woman. He constantly praises her and only has eyes for her! She pretends to be so nice and gentle, but she''s just a bitch! She gave him another male heir and is trying to take away my ce as his concubine! D-Do you think I won''t feel insulted?! I am being reced¡­ No, even Lady Charlotte is being reced by now¡­!" Muttered the woman. "H-How can¡­ he forget about our love so easily?! Unforgivable! I just decided to take away everything he loves now, so he can love me again!"


    Incredible, she quickly realized she had no other options than to just speak her mind out. It seems she''spletely insane. And jealous too. I suppose¡­ women are quite frightening when you put them like that.


    -----

 Chapter 153 The Corrupted Mistress

    -----


    "You''re confessing your crimes so easily?" Asked Ellergest, surprised over the woman''s openness with her crimes. However, Cassandra smiled maliciously back at them.


    "Of course, I will have to just get rid of you two and whatever other priest is in here, it''s not so hard!" Sheughed.


    "What makes you so confident?!" Asked Ellergest.


    "Do you want to see, old priest?" She asked. "Demons are wonderful beings¡­" As Cassandra spoke, her aura of dark and ck energies began to surge more from within her chest, materializing intorge and muscr, red-skinned legs, which slowly formed a torso.


    "Theye from another world, and onlye here to destroy everything. They only know about destruction." She said. "They''re resilient, intelligent, and ruthless¡­ I admire demons. Since I was a little girl, I have admired their power¡­ I wanted such power to myself." The aura she generated continued to materialize, until it formed an entire muscr torso, already reaching almost three meters of height, arms as big as logs started to materialize after that, alongside a neck and a head.


    "I researched more, and I discovered their powers¡­ I found people that researched them too, and they helped me finally awaken¡­ I have been enlightened by the demons. They''re really superior beings to us¡­ I wonder why we fight so much against them? Isn''t this world so rotten already? We should just let themy waste over the entire world¡­ Isn''t it?" She said. "My husband was the only man I''ve ever loved, but he never loved me back, even when I used Demon Sorcery¡­ That Treebark dispelled his curse and made him fall in love with her¡­ Do you know how frustrated I felt?" The demon''s arms materializedpletely, and then, its head began to grow long and spiraling horns.


    "The only thing holding me back was my husband and my son, but now that I know my husband doesn''t love me anymore, I will have to be a bit drastic with my approach. The cute Charlotte was a nice supporter, she''s still cursed!" Sheughed. "With the power of the demons, I can do anything I want. Isn''t it wonderful? I don''t know how you healed Treebark and Gabri, but I''ll curse them again anyways¡­ After I dig up the ground and put your corpses there, of course!"


    The woman smiled deviously as she began tough hysterically, I could feel demon energy rushing through her entire body, even her brain, and inside her brain I also saw something strange, there was a weird growth of flesh inside that was somehow parasitizing her head. What the hell is that? Now that''s surprising, I had never seen something like that¡­


    However, there was no time to investigate it, her spirit had emerged, and it looked like a Red-skinned version of the Oni we once fought in the forest with the hunters, but it was three meters tall instead, and intimidating to the core. His face was ugly, with big tusksing from his lower jaws. He had red fiery skin, and furious orange eyes, white horns grew from his forehead spiraling upwards, and he had long silvery-white hair that looked like it was made of metal. It only wore a loincloth made of tiger fur wrapped around his crotch, and his entire body was like that of a muscr titan.


    I can see why she has such an enormous amount of confidence. This woman merged demon powers with her spirit and acquired incredible power. She''s still Rank 1, perhaps around Upper if not Peak Stage though, but the power she emanates seems to be even greater than that. It was incredibly intimidating to the point even I felt rather shocked. However, I quickly regained myposure as I decided to bring out my Spear, Gluttony, out of my shadows.<sub> </sub>


    Ellergest noticed my movements, but he didn''t pay too much attention to it, as he reloaded himself with more mana by eating a green leaf he had in his pocket, all while pointing his staff at the woman and her strange demon spirit.


    Elisabeth was behind us, frightened by the demonic sight of the spirit of Cassandra Copperhand, a woman who had already been brainwashed by Demon Cultists, most likely, and is fascinated with them to the point of embracing them into her body in such a manner.


    Gabri almost fell unconscious out of the horror, as she began to slowly walk back outside of the room, the tension was getting higher with each passing second, whoever made their first move would have an advantage¡­ However, we were quite restricted here, there were people we had to protect, and then there was what Ellergest said about not wanting to destroy a part of the manor fearing it would cost a fortune to repair it¡­ but was that even justified now?  We should really just go all out.


    However, this demon spirit''s power¡­ and the woman herself. They were strong, stronger than me, of course. Can I win? Most likely not, even less without Eleanora here, as she''s protecting Treebark and the rest. If I were alone, I would run away and attack her from a distance while going around in circles, that''s my fighting method against those that are stronger than me, while seeking some way to turn the tables in my favor.


    This scenario, however, forces me to fight her upfront, I have no other choices as it would end up in a catastrophe if I make her chase us around. There''s no way that Ellergest, as furious as he was now, would let that even happen. Elisabeth and Gabri were close together while behind us, as Cassandra finished speaking, she looked at her demon spirit.


    "Beautiful, isn''t it? My Demon Spirit used to be a mere Tool Spirit that helped me at sewing. But with the power of the Demons, I could evolve it into somethingpletely different¡­ Behold¡­!" Sheughed. "This is my truest self!"


    "GRUUUUOOHHH!!!"


    The giant Oni roared, rushing towards us while making the floor tremble with his very steps. How thrilling.


    -----

 Chapter 154 Fight! Against The Demon Witch!

    -----


    "You demon cultists have gone too far! Don''t you realize that using demon parts to enhance your body or modify your spirit will make you go insane?!" Asked Ellergest in anger. "You''re already a lost cause, I suppose! ¡­nk! Hang out tightly, and protect the girls, I will handle this myself!"


    "What are you talking about-"


    TRUUUMM¡­!


    Suddenly, Ellergest''s entire presence was enhanced, from within his body, an aura of pure golden light emerged, epassing all our surroundings. From within his chest, an energy that reminded me of something emerged, something¡­ draconic.


    "This is not a spirit that you can handle easily¡­" He said, as he suddenly touched his chest. "I am sorry, Lord Mark, but I will have to leave your house a bit destroyed¡­! Come out, old dragon!"


    FLAAAASH!


    An enormous sh of bright light came from within the old man''s chest, surprising everybody around him. I was also left surprised, although I wouldn''t call myself speechless, but it was indeed quite surprising what I was seeing with my very eyes.


    It was a regal figure, a being of bright light. It was serpentine in appearance, with an enormous head, and jaws that could easily tear apart the head of a person effortlessly. Its two shiny eyes shone brighter than the stars in a clear night. Its entire body was covered in golden metallic scales, it had fourrge arms ready to rip apart anything they reached¡­ and two enormous coral-shaped horns that looked like the crown of a king of the skies.


    "Hmm¡­ To think you''ll finally call me for something, old man¡­" It spoke, as his voice sounded both wise and serene, but at the same time annoyed, as if he had just woken up from a long slumber.


    "My bad, you''re just too much of a pain to summon sometimes¡­" Laughed the Head Priest, as Elisabeth, Gabri, and I looked in awe at the Spirit Ellergest had summoned.


    This being was, without a doubt, a dragon. I remember seeing dragons in my first life, many times. I have fought them, I have eaten them, and they hated me the most as well. Vampires and Dragons never got along in the Outer Universe, two enormous families shing against one another for eons. Dragons, much like Vampires, are spread around the entire universe, and even other universes.


    It is slightly surprising to see one, but not that much. I had assumed I would one day find one, but to think that there was one as a spirit inside of this old man''s spirit orb is surprising. It seems he cannot summon him all the time though¡­


    "T-That spirit¡­! A Rank¡­ a Rank 2 Spirit?!" Asked Cassandra in shock, the mana essence that the dragon emanated wasn''t merely Rank 1, no, this thing was Rank 2, and not just Initial Stage either. This old man was quite clearly someone strong that hid his strength, quite possibly because unleashing it tires him and consumes too much Mana, it does make sense, slightly.


    "What''s so fun about ying with the lives of the innocent?" Said Ellergest.


    "Eh?" Asked Cassandra.


    "What''s so amusing about seeing people suffer?" Asked the old man again.


    "Do you think that the wicked thinking you''ve developed is somewhat your true self? How is this amusing to you? What do you take life for, exactly? How could you ever forget what being a human is like?"" He asked once more.


    "What sort of bullcrap are you talking about?" Asked Cassandra. "My entire life I''ve never been treated like a human¡­ The demons embraced me in their power! Your bullshit of morality doesn''t mean a single thing to me!"


    "Nay. That''s not human nature, that''s the demon inside of you. And I trained my entire life to exterminate them¡­ Now, let me show you what a priest is truly capable of."<sub> </sub>


    Ellergest''s entire aura began to glow even brighter than before, as bright light suddenly shot from his entire body, shing against Cassandra. Her dark power erupted like an explosion, as her demon shielded her from the light.


    "I will take whatever I want with my two hands¡­! And nobody is going to stop me!!!" Laughed Cassandra, rushing forward without saying another word, revealing several daggers around her legs, wrapped using belts, she held two daggers with her hands and infused them with demonic power, firing them towards Ellergest.


    "Hah! As if some stupid daggers would damage my master when I am present, you stupid woman!" Laughed the Dragon, as he waved his tail strongly, an enormous explosion of light was unleashed, shing against the daggers!


    CRAAAASHHH!


    "Heh¡­!"


    However, Cassandraughed. Wait, those daggers¡­!


    BOOOOOOMMMM!!!


    The daggers unleashed an explosion in a single second after being hit by the tails of the dragon, sting the entire room with a loud and destructive shockwave!


    CRAAASH!


    The entire ceiling fell apart into pieces, as the floor started to crack and fall apart! The entire room was being destroyed by the sh between two powerful Spirit Masters! I had to move quickly or I''ll get crushed by the rubble, damn it!


    I gritted my teeth and grabbed Elisabeth and Gabri with all the strength I could muster, the two girls werepletely speechless by the explosions and the fight, and easily let me grab them because they couldn''t even react in time. I jumped into the main corridor, just in time for the entire room to fall apart into the floor below. We were on the third floor of this manor, a fall from such a height could easily kill these two girls. Not me, but I would still be heavily damaged and the rubble could bury me as well, I wasn''t going to take stupid risks.


    "W-Wha¡­ What is happening?!" Cried Elisabeth.


    "Your father is fighting." I said.


    "Ehh¡­?! My papa did all that destruction?!" She asked.


    "W-What is this¡­?  Can you¡­ even call this a fight?" Wondered Gabri.


    I looked back as I saw Ellergest floating in the sky, around twenty meters above the floor, while Cassandra was standing on the floor while smiling like a demon would.


    Their two spirits were shing against one another, the demon and the dragon, fist against w, horns against horns, scales against red skin, darkness against light.


    It has been truly a long time since I saw a fight like this.


    -----

 Chapter 155 Blake Is Clearly Not A Mere Child

    -----


    ke nced into the battlefield with an astonished look into his eyes. He was concentrated into the fight; the two spirits were of almostparable level of power. Despite Cassandra''s spirit not being Rank 2, because of the forbidden power of the demons, it had be incredibly powerful, surpassing even her natural Rank. Meanwhile, Ellergest'' spirit, the Holy Dragon he had summoned, although it looked infantile to ke''s eyes, it was obvious that this spirit was in another leaguepletely. Dragons were dragons for a reason.


    Their movements were incredibly quick as well, on apletely different level. For normal people such as Gabri and even Elisabeth, it felt as if they were looking at two blurs, one was gold and the other red and ck, the two were fighting in midair while the two masters assessed the enormous quantities of mana necessary to summon such powerful spirits.


    CLASH! CLASH! CLASH!


    The Demon was furious and berserk-like, his enormous muscr body moved at an incredible speed despite its big and heavy body. Its fists were incredibly big and strong, a single punch left a big mark in the scale armor covering the entire dragon''s body, it was a mesmerizing sight to behold for someone like Gabri and Elisabeth, and ke also began to grow worried himself. This entire fight had started from this incident of a woman being poisoned. Thinking back then, he never would had thought that such a thing could escte into such a battle against a person that had embraced the power of demons but lost her sanity in the process.


    "RROOOAARRR!!!"


    The Holy Dragon roared, his enormous ws shed through the entire body of the demon, and his enormous tail hit him into the stomach, pushing him down into the ground in an instant!


    CLAAASH!


    "GRUUAH¡­!"


    The giant red demon red angrily at the dragon, who was as long as five meters, shing brightly with enormous quantities of holy light. The dragon didn''t lose a single second as Ellergest conjured a Spirit Technique; the first ke had ever seen.


    "Spirit Technique: Dragon Meteor!"


    Magic spells, runes, and the strong bond that Ellergest had with his dragon all converged together into a wondrous awe-spiring power that began to run through the entire body of the dragon, making it fiercer, stronger, and faster.


    In a mere split of a second, like a true meteor, the dragon fell over the demon on the ground! The sh was so intense that the shockwaves generated created dozens of cracks around the ground within therge backyard that the residence had!


    CRAAAASSSSSHHH!!!


    The powerful attack hit the demon intensively, crushing it deeper into the ground, as Ellergest continued to infuse more of his power.


    "Finish him off!" He roared.


    "GRAAAAH!"


    The demon, however, wasn''t going to let itself be destroyed so easily! It suddenly moved with incredibly swiftness, as if it knew basic martial arts. Twisting its own body, the strong arms and legs wrapped around the dragon''s long, serpentine body, crushing it tightly and bending the scale armor, and then¡­!


    CRAASH!<sub> </sub>


    The demon used such an enormous force to put the dragon down as if he were a wrestler! The Dragon was surprised, as his entire momentum was lost as it was used against him. He suddenly felt the enormous force and weight he was applying to the demon being thrown back at him as he was pushed down!


    BOOM!


    "Uuuggh¡­!"


    "What?!" Ellergest muttered, as he saw his dragon annoyingly groan in pain. He quickly looked back at where Cassandra was, without finding her either! "Eh? Where did she go-"


    Ellergest senses sharpened in that instant, as he was able to sense the dark force behind him. Cassandra emerged like a mass of shadows that had hidden from his sight in an instant and attempted to lurk behind him to kill him. After all, it was always easier to y the spirit master than defeating the spirit himself!


    The woman smiled maliciously, wearing a crimson-red dress that fitted her malicious smile and her green eyes, which were slowly turningpletely red as well. Her hands moved swiftly, firing two daggers infused with explosive demonic energy towards Ellergest!


    ke saw the scene as he gritted his teeth, he had predicted this oue beforehand, Ellergest was too old for closebat battles, his dragon was mighty and could even resist the blows of the powerful demon spirit, but Ellergest waspletely different! Without having enough time to create a shield spell, the old man would be killed!


    "D-Damn it¡­!" Muttered Ellergest, as he gritted his teeth and was about to unleash an attack, but it was toote, the daggers were moving across the air, reaching up to his body, if they were to be touched, like bombs, they would explode and consume him into the powerful explosion.


    FLASH!


    However, using his incredible speed, and the power of Tier 1 Wind Magic to maneuver in the middle of the sky, ke moved forward, joining the battle in the most unexpected way possible! Ellergest and Cassandra were surprised as they saw the young boy emerge, covered in his ck hood as his dark and red spear unleashed a truly demonic power rivaling even Cassandra!


    "(I won''t be able to resist the explosion normally¡­ Unless I generate a powerful enough blow that can overpower the explosion and push it away from my range¡­!)" Thought ke in a single second, as he suddenly recalled his long past, fusing several techniques he had learned through his life alongside his innate vampiric powers dwelling within his ever-developing physique!


    Ellergest was bbergasted as he saw ke unleash a blood-red aura from within his entire body, epassing his demonic cursed spear, and unleashing an incredible technique! His spear quickly began to move, as if it were many at the same time, generating afterimages made out of red energy that shed against the two daggers!


    "Blood Dragoon Spear Arts: Scarlet Sea!"


    SPLAAAASH!


    And as if it were an illusion, Cassandra saw as his amazing spear movements turned into some sort of sea made of pure blood, rampaging her daggers as they exploded, and moving away the explosions from his range swiftly and barely¡­!


    BOOOM! BOOOM!!!


    "I-Impossible...! How can a mere child do such a thing?!"


    -----

 Chapter 156 Battle Between Powerful Spirits

    -----


    The Holy Dragon looked back at Ellergest in the distance as he was miraculously saved by the child he had with him! The dragon was left speechless, he had never seen a child do such a thing ever before. Children were talented sometimes and could have amazing hidden potentials as they developed and gained Blessings by ying monsters. However, they took time to blossom, even years.


    But¡­ ke was a different child altogether, he was not even a child in mind nor soul, but a being that has lived for thousands of years and once fought against Lucifer, the King of all Demons in his previous life! Of course, who else than ke and Eleanora would know of this? It was obvious that even this old dragon would be left as bbergasted as Ellergest.


    However, a sense of panic hit the dragon as he realized that his master could have possibly died or been heavily injured if he didn''t protect him in that instant! If it wasn''t for of ke¡­ he would have most likely perished with his master without even being able to do anything.


    He had grown old, that''s for sure. Since he was summoned by Ellergest that he had grown from a mere egg to a hatchling, all the way to the adult dragon of now. However, after years without fighting, he grew rusty and was incapable of fighting the overpowering might of this furious demon. Asking constantly for more mana from his master was not something that he should be doing in such a situation either!


    "You damn demon¡­! You know what I hate more than working, demons!" Roared the Holy Dragon, talking nonsense to boost his confidence, as the demon looked at him with surprise, his enormous arms and legs were suddenly not able topletely overpower the giant dragon, as the Holy Dragon opened his jaws as he began to shake his serpentine body like a snake being grabbed by a person would do.


    "GRAAAA!"


    The Holy Dragon roared, as a sh of bright light came from his mouth, a beam of powerful burning light hit the giant demon right into its head, blowing it off into the sky!


    B O O O O M M M !!!


    "GRAAH¡­!"


    The Demon groaned in pain, forcefully being thrown into the sky, his arms and legs lost their strength, as his entire face began to fade away by the burning sensation of holy light against the power of demonic spirit energies.


    "I am not¡­ fucking done yet!!!"


    The Dragon flew into the skies, shing against the demon constantly! While the demon was in midair, he flew constantly around him, hitting it with his incredibly hard head and his sharp horns, shing and slicing through the demon''s flesh, and inflictingrge quantities of damage against him!


    CLASH! CLASH! CLASH!


    "RAAAAAAHHH¡­!"


    The Holy Dragon suddenly gained a second wind, recalling his past as a youthful Holy Dragon that once protected the young Ellergest this entire time, he waved his tail several times as if it were a deadly whip, whipping the demon''s head and almost sting it apart!


    CLAAASH!


    "GRUUUOOH!"


    However, while in midair, the demon reacted at longst, his entire muscles began to grow bigger and bulged out of nowhere. His fiery eyes gained an even stronger fieriness than before, and his aura of demonic darkness continued to grow fiercer¡­! It was a resentful demon soul that had been forced into bing a spirit, it developed a berserk-like nature because of how much it hated to be a ve for a human, and it unleashed all his rage against the enemy that his master forced him to fight against!


    CLAASH! CLAASH! CLAASH!


    The demon''s enormous fists were suddenly covered in his demonic aura, gaining a metallic shine to them, as if his skin suddenly turned into a red metal, gaining even more weight and therefore more strength when hitting a target! His fists hit the dragon''s stomach, and his entire long body, alongside his jaw, eyes, and even cracked his golden horns! The dragon was suddenly being bathed by a shower of powerful meteor-like fist attacks!<sub> </sub>


    The explosive fist attacks resonated with loud explosions of demonic energy, leaving deep wounds over the body of the holy dragon, quickly putting it off of his momentum, and forcing him down once more.


    BOOOM!


    "D-Damn it!!!" Cried the Dragon in frustration, as he controlled the light making his body and suddenly shaped the scales covering his body, making them into sharp spikes that pierced through the fists of the demon as he hit him!


    CLASH!


    "GRAAKH¡­!"


    The Demon stopped hitting him as he suddenly found his entire hand pierced by holy spikes that were in fact the dragon''s own scales.


    "Haha, an old trick that always works!" Laughed the dragon, waving his tail like a whip and hitting the demon in the chin!


    "Ummph!"


    And then, the dragon tail wrapped around the demon''s head, as the dragon jumped out of the ground and flew into the air, rotating around the demon and twisting his entire head!


    Crack¡­ CRACK!


    "GRUUUOOHHH¡­!"


    The Demon roared in agony, using his arms to grab the dragon''s tail and push him down, slowly tearing apart the spiritual flesh of the holy dragon, making both spirits grit their teeth in agony as they resisted the pain!


    "Die, you fucker!" Roared the holy dragon, speaking words that shouldn''t be said by someone as holy as he was!


    CRASH!


    The Demon''s eyes opened wide, as his entire head was suddenly mutted out of his neck! Blood-like essence began to leak out of the wound in the neck, as the strange physiology of the spirits should already state that the spirit would die now by being beheaded, and it would poof out of existence into spirit energy and go back to his master¡­


    However, without a head, the demon continued moving.


    "W-What?! AAAAGH!"


    The Dragon groaned in agony, as his tail was grabbed and he was suddenly thrown like a ragdoll onto the ground!


    BOOOOOMMM!!!


    -----

 Chapter 157 The Tricks Of A Demon

    -----


    The Holy Dragon grew frustrated and restless, he was being manhandled like nothing by this damn spirit, and it seemed that beheading it won''t work either! This was perhaps because the spirit itself still had arge quantity of its spiritual energy assembled into a body. When a spirit is strong enough, they are able to take severe damage but continue fighting.


    Spirits are not like humans or other conventional living beings, even demons or monsters cannotpletelypare with how spirits physiology works, although they can be incredibly frail and disappear with a single and strong blow into the head, when they are strong enough, even a blow in the head won''t easily take them down.


    This is because spirits are made with what''s called Spiritual Energy, a special energy that is contained within the Spirit Orbs of humans in the world of Spiritias. This spirit is condensed andpacted through the power of Mana and Aether. Each Spirit has a soul by themselves, spiritual souls, even if they die, they can be infinitely summoned back again, revived! However, depending in the strength of the soul, they''ll take a long time to wake up once more and be ready to be summoned and fight.


    Spirits utilize the Mana of their masters and their own Aether topact their spiritual energies into a body, materializing it into existence, naturally, they don''t have internal organs but do have something akin to blood, which is the liquification of their spiritual energies flowing across their materialized bodies, which allows them to better spread their power around their bodies.


    And because of this, spirits can be beheaded and survive if their spirit, Aether, and mana is high and strong enough! and this demon spirit was unique, as it also implemented demonic energy into its spiritual body, and his soul was that of a demon forcefully fused with the master''s original spirit.


    Even while he was beheaded and his sliced neck was constantly "bleeding" and leaking a lot of precious energy in the form of a liquid spiritual essence, the demon was relentlessly fighting and alive as ever! He used his enormous strength to take ahold of the Holy Dragon''s tail, pushing him down into the ground ruthlessly and quite mercilessly.


    BOOOM!!!


    The demon''s head smiled from the distance, as the holy dragon looked at it! He was bbergasted to realize the head was still somehow conscious even if afar from the body, and to make it worse, the head suddenly gainedrge and skinny spider-like legs, and started to crawl around the battlefield, slowly attempting to fuse back with the spirit body!


    "I cannot let him do as he pleases¡­!" Muttered the Holy Dragon, he was going to fight and not let this demon get closer to Ellergest at the very least, no matter what.


    Meanwhile, above the ground, a fight between humans continued. The wicked Cassandra had unleashed her powers and revealed her true identity as a Demon Worshiper and a Demon Sorcerer, with the intention of using her curses to make the entire Copperhand Family sumb to her will and her wicked desires, Ellergest couldn''t stand this anymore and fought her. their spirits were fighting by their own, but she was a tricky woman, she knew that killing the master was easier.


    However, in her attempt at assassinating Ellergest when he lowered his guard in thest moments, the boy known as nk by Ellergest, or as we know him, ke, emerged with incredible speed and reflexes, unleashing a wonderful technique using his cursed spear.


    "Y-You''re a mere kid¡­!" Muttered Cassandra, bewildered by the appearance of the boy that could reflect her explosive demon daggers with the movements of his spear.


    ke looked back at her expressionlessly, despite having the appearance of a child, the enormous pressure he emanated was not¡­ normal at all.<sub> </sub>


    "A mere kid? I suppose you''re right. I am merely a kid." Said ke without even denying the truth.


    "nk, you saved my life there¡­ But¡­ What kind of technique was that? I have¡­ never seen anybody use such powers before¡­ Is this magic? And that spear¡­ Wait¡­ this demonic power¡­ Don''t tell me you have¡­!" Muttered Ellergest, his wisdom quickly helped him at figuring out the truth. However, ke ignored him.


    "Ellergest, you''re old and slow, stay behind me, support me with your magic." Said ke.


    "What?! You''re not telling me that you''re fighting this woman?!" He asked.


    "I can handle her." Said ke, although he seemed to be a bit nervous deep down. "As long as your dragon keep that demon busy."


    "You¡­ Just what¡­ what kind of children are you, nk?" Asked Ellergest in disbelief of his enormous and endless confidence. The boy seemed to be ready to fight without even hesitating, Ellergest couldn''t even see any sort of fear on his eyes, his hands were not trembling, nor his eyes were looking around terrified. Although he was sweating severely due to pushing his human body to its limits to do what he did, he waspletely¡­ confident.


    An endless confidence forged through thousands of years of living in the harsh environments of the Outer Universe, after battling countless wars, defeating countless enemies, and conquered countless worlds¡­ the human boy standing before Ellergest was something that the old man would never be able to possibly imagine!


    "Would you stop asking stupid questions?" Sighed ke, ignoring Ellergest as his eyes shed with bright red light, a second after, Cassandra flew to his back and shed against him. He was barely able to see through her movements because Ellergest was annoying him so much with pointless questions. The woman had shrouded herself in shadows and moved at such a speed that even surpassed Eleanora!


    CLAASH!


    Her ws suddenly grew longer, like those of a demon, as ke quickly realized she was not just a summoner of a demon spirit, but she had also cursed herself, and had most likely drank demon blood as well! ke noticed that her body continuously turned redder, and her ears grew pointer, alongside her eyes that had be crimson red, she easily gave off the aura of a demon¡­


    "So you''re also transforming yourself into a Lesser Demon¡­?" Wondered ke.


    -----

 Chapter 158 Ellergests Efforts!

    -----


    The impact of her demonic ws against ke''s spear was strong, pushing the boy back through the skies as he barely managed to keep his bnce. The woman quickly moved towards Ellergest as she managed to push away ke from her sight.


    "You''re not surprising me anymore!" Said Ellergest, waving his staff as light magic circles emerged in front of his body, each magic circle activated and fired spears made of light, shining brightly as if they were stars themselves, showering over Cassandra and stopping her momentum. The bright light of the attacks also dispelled her shadows, without giving her the ability to easily sneak around.


    FLASH! FLASH! FLASH!


    "Uuaaggh¡­! Such a bright light¡­! H-How does it hurt so much?!" Cried Cassandra, she didn''t realized that as she turned herself slowly into a demon, she was also inheriting their weaknesses!


    "Foolish witch! Do you truly believe that bing a demon is all good without any penalties?!" Roared Ellergest. "I will show you what humans are truly capable of and put you out of your misery!"


    Ellergest spoke with a powerful and domineering voice, as Cassandra gritted her teeth and began to block his powerful Holy Light Spears! However, Ellergest realized these attacks were too slow and heavy, although they did big damage, he needed something faster. He quickly modified his own spell and renamed it!


    "Holy Light Arrows!"


    FLASH! FLASH! FLASH!


    The spears were suddenly reduced in size, as the magic circles fired these spears constantly, like shing bright stars falling over Cassandra''s entire body! Cassandra flew around attempting to evade, but it was futile! Her evasion skills were quite terrible, she had not practiced battle at all, and her experience in close range was also quite bad. Although in her childhood she learned how to use a dagger and how to move swiftly behind enemies, she was incapable of evading such incredibly fast attacks!


    CLASH! CLASH! CLASH!


    The arrows continued to rain over her body as her transformation into demon that she was using to fight in more even terms against these two foes had begun to only make her take more damage than she could have wanted¡­ Cassandra had hunted monsters whenever she could, and her Talent had leveled up due to that. However, her talent was not abat one, as it was a talent that specialized in observation, [Appraiser]. A simple Talent that allowed her to analyze and observe things with more detail than others.


    Although she was failing in the battle already by being attacked severely by Ellergest''s magic, she was analyzing his movements, the conjuration of his magic, and more, and was slowly adapting, moving to the side and predicting the movement of even the light arrows!


    Ellergest eyes opened wide as he realized her movements were quite incredible, and that this supernatural adaptability might be something that came from her Talent and Skills included within it! However, Ellergest himself also had a Talent of his own various Skills, and had received dozens of blessings as he in monsters through his life¡­ and demons too.


    The old priest quickly decided to activate these powerful Skills which often required Mana to activate, as he unleashed them!


    "Holy Barrier, Light Enhancement¡­"


    FLASH! FLASH!


    Suddenly, Ellergest covered himself in a barrier of holy light, and then, an aura of light epassed his body, he had conjured two skills that enhanced his defense and also the damage that his light-attribute magic could dealt!


    "Buffing yourself won''t do anything, you stupid old geezer!" Roared Cassandra, reaching up to Ellergest after fully adapting to his light arrows and evading their trajectory swiftly, her daggers reached up to him as she fired them with extreme uracy!


    "sh Step!"


    FLASH!<sub> </sub>


    However, Ellergest was able to have time now unlike before, and utilized another Skill, sh Step! This Skill covered him in light and let him move a few meters away from his original position at a shy speed, resembling a ray of light!


    "Eh?!" Cassandra looked back, as the mighty Ellergest''s hand suddenly gathered a sphere of light within its open palm!


    "Bright Nova!!!"


    FLAAAASH!


    Ellergest unleashed a simple spell, which unleashed a sh of light as bright as a supernova, it was so bright that Cassandra was forced to close her eyes! However, instead of stopping her movements, she pushed forward and attacked Ellergest! Her eyes were closed, but she could still see! This was the power of an Appraiser, the Talent she had evolved even allowed her to see even when her eyes were closed. She was able to see the silhouette of Ellergest in front of her, and she moved forward!


    And unlike Cassandra, Ellergest was also weak to his own light, and had to cover his face from the light of his own spell, quickly creating an opening!


    CLASH!


    Ellergest reacted in time, however, as he intercepted the demonic ws of Cassandra. However, her strength was already in the realm of the supernatural, and Ellergest old body was being pushed down from the sky!


    "Hahah! I got you, old man- Ungh?!"


    However, Ellergest had more tricks below his sleeve!


    "Thread of Judgement!"


    Ellergest activated one of his most expensive Skills he had acquired on hisst Levels, which allowed him to bind a target using Thread of Judgement! This white thread made of light wrapped instantly around Cassandra stopping her movements and tightly putting her in the same position she was. However, it didn''t stopped her strength to exerting over Ellergest, as he gritted his teeth while falling from the skies!


    Meanwhile, ke was observing the battle and constantly rushing around while trying to chase down Cassandra and Ellergest, he was fast, but these two were simply like blurs of light moving around the sky, it was taxing for his small body, but he was managing!


    "BLANK!!!" Roared Ellergest, as he knew that the boy was close by!


    FLAAASH!


    A burst of green winds emerged before Cassandra, surprising her greatly! She looked back at ke with eyes wide open, as his spear neared her neck! She was entangled in the threads of judgement and was unable to counter!


    "You don''t have to scream, old man."


    SLAAASH!


    -----

 Chapter 159 The Witchs Memories

    -----


    Cassandra felt the cold de of ke''s spear piercing through her neck, as she felt that her life was about to be taken away from her. Her eyes fixated into ke who was ruthlessly ring at her neck with a cold stare, her teeth couldn''t help but grit. Everything until this day, where these priests had arrived went well¡­ Her life was finally improving after having lived miserably for so long¡­ It made her feel extremely bitter.


    Glimpses of her past reemerged within her corrupted mind, making her remember her frustrations, her fears, and the reasons behind her actions.


    Cassandra was born in a poor family in the red-light districts of the Goldsand Duchy. Many people would think they would be fortunate to be born inside such a big city, but there was also a great amount of corruption in such a ce, the red-light district was where all the trash gathered, which the duchy''s duke and the other nobles hid from the public, a ce where all those that were poor and miserable went, and where corruption and crimes were an everyday thing.


    Cassandra was the eldest daughter of his mother, a prostitute of the red-light district that sold her body to earn money. She was a woman with an expressionless face, without any hint of humanity left in her eyes, cold and ruthless to her daughter. Several times, the woman would me Cassandra for having been born, and for even having decided to take care of her, as if she thought it was a mistake that she didn''t threw her into the trash when she was born.


    To her mother, Cassandra was nothing more than a waste of money and space.


    "I should had never raised you¡­ Having a daughter had only ruined my own life even more! Die! Die!"


    Her mother would push Cassandra into the ground and constantly punch her face, since she was merely 3 years of age, sometimes the pain was so unbearable that the girl fell unconscious in the ground, often waking up several hourster, confused, hungry, and sorrowful, filled with pain all over her face.


    At such a young age, she didn''t knew why she was going through so much, her small mind and her immature nature couldn''t really understand why she was being treated in this manner, and she feared her mother, but at the same time, as a child, she desired her love andfort, and always forgave her bad treatment¡­ Mostly because she did not know better.


    Anything Cassandra remotely did would piss off her mother, who would hit her to relieve her own stress, as her life was just as miserable, and she couldn''t live with the fact her daughter might be a bit less miserable than her.


    Her mother barely brought any food to her, and she was often confined in the small room where she lived, with nothing but rags to wear and with not even a bed to sleep over¡­ Many times she was forced to catch bugs and rats to eat due to the hunger killing her. She was never bold enough to steal fruits or food from other people outside, fearing she would get beaten even worse than how her mother beat her.


    Everyday her mother came to the room, she reminded Cassandra that she would one day be a whore like her, and that she would use her pretty face to serve many men and earn her mother money so she could finally live on her own. Cassandra slowly figured out the reason a monster like her mother even decided to have a daughter and take care of her was because she wanted her to grow up and sell her body, give the money to her mother, and let her live off it¡­


    "You better make yourself worth when that timees, Cassandra! You''re a pretty girl, so I am sure that everyone would want you¡­ Well, you''re 6 years, in four more years I suppose I can begin selling you off. There is a lot of bastards that are drooling for a little girl after all¡­"


    "¡­"<sub> </sub>


    "You''ll earn me a lot of money, girl, you''ll surely do¡­ You better do, I am not sacrificing myself for you for nothing¡­"


    "¡­"


    Cassandra remained in silence, without knowing fully what sort of job her mother even wanted of her. As time passed, something that surprised her happened, her mother ended having another child, it was another girl. Her mother decided to make of that girl her second daughter and raise her to also one day be a prostitute that could pay for her when she was old.


    Although such a horrendous fate awaited such a small little baby, the young Cassandra couldn''t help but love her sister. Her innocence, her cute appearance, and her bright and big eyes made her happy, she raised her sister as if she were her daughter, as her mother was never present in the day.


    "Ruby¡­ Your eyes are so beautiful¡­ Like¡­ ruby jewels¡­" Cassandra said, as she had named her sister as Ruby due to the beauty of the girl''s red eyes, as she held her when her sister was merely two years of age.


    ? "Big sis¡­ I''m hungy¡­" Cried Ruby, rubbing her face over her sister''s chest.


    "Me too¡­" Sighed her sister. "But don''t worry, we''ll get to eat something soon. You have to endure it, okay? As long as we are together like this, I think I am already satisfied¡­"


    "Satisfied?" Asked the little Ruby.


    "Yeah¡­ As long as I have you with me¡­" Sighed Cassandra, hugging her little sister as the two cuddled in the cold winter night, covered in various rags. "I''ll protect you no matter what¡­ So for now, endure the hunger a bit more, okay? I''ll bring you¡­ something to eat tomorrow morning¡­"


    "Okay¡­" Sighed Ruby. "A-As long as I am with big sis¡­ I am satisfied too¡­"


    As her little sister slept, Cassandra looked into the mirror of that night, the moon was shining brightly with its moonlight. She didn''t knew that in such a day, things would end up changing forever.


    -----

 Chapter 160 A Hard Life

    -----


    The next morning, Cassandra was visited by a prostitute that was a partner of her mother, apparently, her mother was found dead in the streets, stabbed to death by a drunk man that wanted services for free. Her mother apparently had rejected him and spit on his face, making the man go insane, taking a knife and stabbing her in front of the other prostitutes, who couldn''t even help her out of fear, most of them ended running away, leaving Cassandra''s mother to her bitter fate.


    The man escaped, and had not been caught yet, and even the authorities didn''t seem to care about the death of just "another whore nobody cares about"¡­ Even the guards and soldiers didn''t answered the prostitutes, pushing them away and back to the red-light district, without letting them walk inside the capital of the duchy where most of themoners with some money and the nobles gathered.


    "Sorry girl, your mother is dead¡­ I¡­ We couldn''t do anything¡­ Damn, you''re still too young to start the job¡­ And you got a little sister? He best shot you got is going to an orphanage. I can bring you there. Your mother was¡­ my childhood friend. It is the least I could do for her."


    "¡­Thanks."


    Cassandra was left shocked by the news, but despite such a sorrowful death, she couldn''t help any sympathy for her mother, and only pitied her¡­ At the end, she didn''t felt a pain in her heart for her mother''s death, but she felt hollow. Perhaps the abuses of her mother made her this way, someone incapable of rting her emotions.


    The prostitute brought Cassandra and Ruby to an orphanage, where things seemingly seemed to improve¡­ Only on the surface, as things became worse. The kids abused the two girls, and were unwee of her. They disliked someone else taking away the food from them, and constantly stole their food and abused them.


    It became hell in earth, even worse than her previous living conditions. In such a ce, Cassandra learned more about how the real world truly was, the strong devours the weak, it was thew of the jungle even in society. If she didn''t fought for her food, she and her sister would die of starvation. And without a penny left from her mother, as she was stolen of her money most likely by the prostitutes themselves when she died, she had absolutely nothing than¡­ her fists.


    And a rusty knife she once found when she was digging for insects or nt roots in the orphanage backyard. It was an old and rusty knife, with almost no sharpness¡­ But no kid had such a weapon in the orphanage.


    Cassandra was forced into an unjust world, a young girl born without opportunities, without any sort of hope, she decided to fight for her survival.


    The next day, after Cassandra grabbed the piece of bread given to her to feed herself and her sister by the nuns, she ran back to the room where the beds where to feed her sister resting there, and she was, as always, chased down by a group of kids.


    "Cassandra, give us the bread!"


    "You little bitch, why are you running so fast?!"


    "Catch her!"


    Cassandra had smartly lured them into a dark area of therge and old orphanage building, and was cornered by them, as she stood still in the darkness, the trio of boys slowly walked towards her, pointing their fingers at her, they had spirits, but much like anymoner, they were useless spirits that didn''t had any force, and they were all Talent-less, without Skills either.


    "Why is she standing there?"


    "No matter, catch her!"


    "Give us the bread already!"


    "¡­"<sub> </sub>


    Cassandra awaited them until they got very close, and then, her spirit emerged. Indeed, spirits, everyone had one in this world after all, the three kids before her had useless spirits such as a River Grass, White Cloth, and Conch, and they didn''t even had Mana to summon them for too long, often preferring to use their fists to fight and force other kids to give them their food and even money, if they ever had it.


    "What the¡­?!"


    Cassandra looked at them expressionlessly as she unleashed several threads into the kids, these threads were very weak, and couldn''t do much at all¡­ However, they managed to entangle their foot together, and made them trip into the ground.


    TUMP!


    "Uaggh¡­!"


    "T-Those are spirit threads?"


    "Y-You whore!"


    "¡­"


    Cassandra looked down into the kids as she took out her rusty knife, she didn''t smiled, she didn''t looked like she intimidated or sad either, there was a frightening look of utter indifference in her face.


    "W-Wait¡­! What are you doing- Guaaggh!"


    "H-Help!"


    "No¡­ stop!"


    Cassandra used the rusty knife to stab the kids in their throats, roughly and painfully, she killed all three of them before they could scream for too long and be noticed, and stole anything they had with them before running back to the room, without anybody noticing¡­


    The next day, the corpses of three kids that died agonizingly were found, causing amotion in the entire orphanage, and this continued for the next months, as the corpses of those that always abused the younger children and extorted them for their food were also found death in a simr position¡­


    Over the time, and years, many kids knew who it had done, but they never spoke a word, some were simply and utterly terrified of Cassandra, the "Butcherer" as they called her, while others followed her, and saw her as their savior for having killed all the bullies.


    Cassandra developed a pleasure for taking the life out of miserable people she abhorred but justified it inside of her mind thinking that it was for her little sister, who had been growing more over time.


    However, things gave a sudden change once more when she reached 10 years of age, as Cassandra was suddenly bought by envers, sold off by the nuns of the orphanage alongside various other girls her age, and even including her little sister¡­


    -----

 Chapter 161 Sorrow And Pain

    -----


    Cassandra was enved against her will, and although she had considered escaping with her sister, Ruby was caught before she could bring her to the outside and run away, and after seeing her sister chained and being brought inside a wagon, she couldn''t do much than to follow her and protect her and find a way to escape out of this predicament together. Cassandra had already killed many times, and she was not the same girl as before, her past shaped her into someone ruthless, but her mind had yet to be corrupted by the darkness of the world. Deep inside her heart, there was still a light of hope, as long as her sister was there.


    "So your name is Cassandra and this little girl is Ruby¡­? Hmph, you better put your weight in this house."


    Cassandra was bought with her sister by a noble family, thedy of the noble family was a ruthless woman, who had bought her to be a maid in the house. She was initially treated well by the other maids, but the woman was a sick person, she enjoyed making the maids suffer for entertainment. Unlike Cassandra and Ruby who were born in poverty, this noble woman was someone that always had everything in her life, so overly bored of her luxury, she sought pleasure in making those miserable even more miserable.


    She tormented Cassandra and Ruby for anything, if they evermitted a mistake, they were hit by the whips that this noble woman had for a spirit, it was strong and hurt a lot, and each time someone did something that displeased her, she would summon her whips and whip them out into the ground, until they werepletely covered in blood.


    Over time, Cassandra tried to resist the urge of killing her, as she was her master and she was being forced to obey her and serve her so she and her sister could have a better life together. Even with the abuse, they finally had twofortable beds to sleep on, and two or three plentiful meals a day, alongside clothes and even some payment.


    But the abuse was slowly making Cassandra lose her temper, and even more as she saw thedy hitting her beloved little sister, Ruby, who alwaysmitted mistakes because she was so overly nervous, her little hands were always trebling, and every night Ruby would cry while hugging her, she was suffering too much.


    However, despite the sorrow, she contained herself, telling Ruby that she had to endure the pain, and that this life was way better than fending off by themselves in the streets and starve to death, or being caught by some man and getting assaulted or captured¡­ Ruby understood, but still feared thedy''s whips, and often ran away whenever she saw her, this, ended creating a sense of revelry against thedy, who began to target Ruby more and more¡­


    Cassandra continued to endure with her sister, but one day, after Ruby had just reached her 8 years of age, she suddenly disappeared. That morning Cassandra didn''t found her, no matter where she went, and when she asked thedy, she said she had not seen her anywhere, and if she dared to escape the house, that she wasn''t allowed inside anymore.


    Heartbroken, Cassandra tried to look for Ruby all around the town whenever she had free time, asked the people, and more, but she couldn''t find her. She was such a pretty little girl with red eyes, howe nobody could ever find her?<sub> </sub>


    Over the weeks, and months, Cassandra felt dispirited, her entire world was breaking apart, and she felt pain for having let her sister run away¡­ She thought about her every day and night, praying for her to be well, but her reason to live was fading away, as her sister was no longer here¡­ Nheless, she continued to live, until one night, while cleaning the house at night, she heard the sound of a girl weeping.


    Unmistakably, that small little faint weep was her sister''s voice, Cassandra almost went insane, looking for her sister everywhere in the house, she somehow was in here, but how? She searched everywhere, and even began to grab the keys of ces she wasn''t allowed to enter and explored the underground dungeon, finding countless corpses of former ves that were said to have disappeared by older maids¡­ they were all here, dead.


    She continued walking, searching the weep of Ruby, until she finally found her sister, Cassandra was impacted by what she saw, as her eyes began to cry desperately, her little sister Ruby was chained inside a cell, her entire body was covered in horrendous scars, her face was burned, she was missing her left eye, and all her hair, and even more horrendously, her two feet were cut off and several of her hand fingers were missing¡­


    "A-Ahhh¡­ Ruby¡­! RUBYYYYY!!!"


    "Bwig¡­ shis?"


    Her sister''s tongue was cut off so she couldn''t talk, and her words came out distorted, horrendously. Cassandra was attacked by a sense of pure horror, pain, disgust, suffering, and grotesqueness. The one behind this was nobody else than the Lady of the house, the mad woman kept ves here and tortured them until they died in the most horrendous ways, she choose the most rebel ones, who dared to run away from her beatings, and did all sorts of horrendous things.


    Cassandra always thought that rich people were different, that unlike her, because they grew with riches and everything in their lives, hey were never forced to do horrendous things such as killing¡­ But she was wrong, the world, both poor and rich people, they were all insane, corrupt, they were worse than demons.


    Cassandra freed her sister and put her on some clothes, covering her little and horrendous face, as Ruby was so traumatized she couldn''t help but cry and cry while attempting to hug her sister, her entire body was almost skeletal, starving and barely being given food to stay alive¡­ That day, Cassandra intended to escape.


    -----

 Chapter 162 Anger And Vengeance

    -----


    Attacked by the horror of her little sister having been tortured so horrendously, Cassandra couldn''t help but feel an utter frustration, horror, and sorrow as she saw little Ruby in such a terrible state¡­ She only had one thing in her mind now, to escape and help her recover somehow, but to do that¡­ She couldn''t leave things be. She had to avenge her sister and torture the monster that did this to her.


    "Shiwster¡­ It hurtsh¡­ Where weye you?"


    Ruby cried desperately, hugging Cassandra, for months she had gone through horrendous torture, and her entire body was marked by such a terrible physical and psychological trauma, that many times she had attempted to kill herself, and her tongue was cut off for that very reason, as she often tried to bite her tongue.


    "I am sorry, Ruby¡­! Ruby, I was looking for you everywhere¡­ I am so sorry, I love you! I am sorry! Your little body¡­ What¡­ What has that monster done to you?! I¡­ I will bring you away¡­ We''ll escape¡­ After we kill that whore¡­ after¡­ we torture her! I''ll steal everything she has¡­ And we''ll live off that¡­ I will find a way to heal you¡­ No matter what!!!"


    "Shiwster¡­ Where weye you?"


    "R-Ruby, I am here¡­ I was looking for you¡­"


    "Where? I can''t see you¡­"


    "Ah¡­"


    Despite having a single eye, that eye was burned by acid, and Ruby waspletely blind. Cassandra touched her sister, touching her face, kissing her scars, her bald head was covered in so many scars, it was so horrendous to touch her rugose skin and painful to Ruby as well¡­


    "I am sorry¡­ I am sorry¡­" She cried.


    "Sniff¡­ Big shishter¡­! Don''t leave me¡­" Cried Ruby.


    "I won''t¡­ I will never leave you¡­ Absolutely not¡­ Never!" Cried Cassandra.


    Cassandra wrapped her sister around her torso using her spirit threads and drinking the mana potions she found in the storage. She held a fine kitchen knife in her hand, and sneakily entered the room of the Lady, who was sleeping soundly. There were guards, of course, two butlers, who were swiftly silenced by having their mouths wrapped by magic threads and then getting their throats stabbed repeatedly before they could even react.


    The door was open after that, and quickly closed tightly, as they found the one behind everything sleeping leisurely. Her husband was always in trips, as he was a merchant that moved merchandise everywhere by himself, so this woman got to enjoy the entire manor for herself and do whatever she wanted in this free time¡­ She had everything so easy and leisurely, Cassandra couldn''t help but envy her life, how nice everything was, how clean she always was, how pretty she was, how pretty her clothes were, how tasty the food she ate was¡­


    Cassandra wrapped the woman''s arms around the bed before she reacted, and then poured a toxic potion the woman herself used in her victims to paralyze their bodies all inside of her mouth, forcing her to gulp it down.


    "W-Wha¡­ Agghh! W-What?! Ca¡­ ssandra?!" The Lady looked at Cassandra with bloodshot eyes, without the ability to move, she summoned her floating, purple-colored whip, and attempted to attack her.<sub> </sub>


    Cassandra evaded the attacks and used her threads, which she filled with Mana until they became incredibly hard to wrap around the whip and crush it until it exploded into spiritual smoke¡­ the spirit won''t be able to be summoned in hours after dying, and the Lady was leftpletely defenseless.


    "How nice¡­ Isn''t it?" She asked. As the Noble Lady looked at Cassandra and noticed a lump she was carrying wrapped around her back. That lump slowly moved, as her disfigured and burned face emerged behind Cassandra, a little and horrible girl that was once incredibly pretty, the girl she enjoyed torturing and making "ugly", the girl she enjoyed taking away all her beauty and innocence¡­ Ruby.


    "Y-You found Ruby?!" Asked the Noble Lady.


    "Lady Cassiopeia, I''ve been a good servant this entire time¡­ I''ve always done what I thought was right, I endured your abuse because I thought it was the price I had to pay to live well with my sister¡­" Sighed Cassandra. "But you did something that I cannot let slide¡­ you did something unforgivable¡­"


    "C-Cassandra, stop this! Don''t you know who my husband is?! If you ever darey a finger on me I will¡­! UGYAAAH!" Lady Cassiopeia was interrupted by a knife piercing her hand, she couldn''t move an inch due to the paralysis poison, and the threads wrapped around her limbs¡­


    "You whore, you think you can interrupt my words? After all the shit you''ve done to us¡­ to my sister?" Asked Cassandra. "Do you think I give a fucking damn about who your husband is?"


    Cassandra pointed the knife into the face of thedy, as it quickly began to pierce her nose, cutting off the skin as blood began to drip, thedy screamed, but her screams were dulled out by the threads wrapping around her mouth, she could only moan loudly desperately.


    "You were born in luxury and lived a life like a rich woman¡­ Why couldn''t you be satisfied with that alone?"


    "You had food, all the food you ever wanted¡­"


    "You had a nice and warm bath, and precious clothes¡­ Beautiful jewels¡­"


    "What else could you ever want? You had a house, a husband that loves you¡­ What else did you wanted?"


    "You have everything¡­ I bet you had such a happy childhood, didn''t you? I bet you had tons of friends that loved you!"


    "I bet you had everything you''ve ever wanted, didn''t you? You always had it all!"


    "Yet¡­ Yet¡­ It wasn''t enough, isn''t it? You had to be a fucking bitch, isn''t it? You had to torture people to feel a thrill, right? I can rte a bit to you, in that sense, I also feel a thrill every time I kill bastards."


    "But this time¡­ it is different¡­ I think I will stretch this out a bit¡­ So I can feel better. So bear with it until you die, okay?"


    -----

 Chapter 163 Despair And Malice

    -----


    Cassandra avenged her sister, as she enjoyed torturing and hearing the screams of agony that Lady Cassiopeia cried while having her body yed the same way she did with Cassandra''s sister. She burned her face with a candle, she cut down her legs, she took out each of her hands fingers one by one, she scooped out one of her eyes and then burned the other with acid, she cut down her entire and beautiful hair, and burned her head¡­ And she left her entire body covered in wounds, bleeding and dying.


    However, Cassandra couldn''t let her die slowly, there was a chance she would live, so at the end, she gave a knife to her sister, and the little Ruby was guided by her hand to stab the woman that did all the things to her in the throat, multiple times¡­ Despite being weakened, a strength surged from within her heart, as the little girl repeatedly stabbed the woman, as tears came out of her single blind eye.


    Lady Cassiopeia died agonizingly, crying, even, but the sisters had no mercy, and after being done, they grabbed all the valuable things they could possibly find, packed them into a special spatial storage bag the woman had, and escaped after setting the entire manor on fire.


    The two sisters escaped in the middle of themotion, deep into the forest¡­ Cassandra continued walking and walking while carrying her little sister, for days, weeks, and months, using the money and other things they got, they got food and new clothes, while Cassandra tried to find a way to heal her sister.


    However, in this world, magic that could regenerate limbs or such enormous scars as the girl had was very rare¡­ and incredibly expensive as well. Over time, although Ruby ate and felt better sometimes, there was a strange sickness that caught her, and the little girl began to slowly weaken.


    After almost a year since they escaped, Ruby had difficulties breathing, and her physique was growing thinner despite eating every day¡­ Her body continued looking skeletal, and Cassandra didn''t knew what was happening to her.


    One day, she brought her to a doctor, who was horrified by her appearance, but told Cassandra what she had¡­ the Doctor was a man with a "Medic" Talent, but even his expensive concoctions and abilities were of no use.


    "This¡­ girl¡­ She''s poisoned." He said.


    "P-Poisoned?" Asked Cassandra.


    "This is the poison of a Venomous Colopentra, a giant Spider monster¡­ It once swarmed the Duchy hundreds of years ago, and was in, however, its venom is so intense that it has no cure. It attacks the body slowly, making it grow weaker and thinner, it doesn''t kill right away, it often takes almost a year¡­ In such ancient times, it was called the Slow Agony¡­" Muttered the Doctor.


    "No¡­ No! Y-You can''t do anything?! But it is such an old venom!" Cried Cassandra.


    "No, there are no cures, all this money you''ve given me, it can buy the most expensive potions in the market, but anything that can heal the venom is nowhere to be found, her limbs cannot be regenerated either with potions, somebody with the talent for healing must help you in that regard¡­ But recovering a limb is more expensive than all the money you have."


    "¡­"


    "I''m sorry girl¡­"


    Cassandra looked at her sister who was resting in the bed, barely managing to breathe, and having a difficult time even hearing or managing to feel her sister through touch.


    "She''s¡­ she will die in a few days from now, at most, three days." Said the medic. "Why don''t you leave her here and have her¡­ pass away peacefully?"


    "No¡­ But¡­ Ruby! Ruby!!!" Cried Cassandra.


    Apparently, Lady Cassiopeia had not gone out without cursing her onest time¡­ She had poisoned her sister while torturing her, using this ancient venom to bring her a slow and painful death.


    Cassandra stayed with her sister through thesest three days, without going anywhere, without eating, and without even going to the bathroom, she only drank some water, and that was it.


    She stayed with her, hugging her and touching her handscking fingers, kissing her scarred cheeks and caressing her scarred head, whispering to her little sister that everything would be okay, that she would always¡­ stay at her side.


    "Big sis¡­"


    "R-Ruby, don''t speak¡­ You must save your strength¡­"<sub> </sub>


    "Big sis¡­ A-Although these days were painful¡­ you were¡­ always¡­ with me¡­ I am happy¡­ to be your sister¡­"


    "Ah¡­ R-Ruby!"


    Cassandra began to cry desperately while hugging her sister, as her warm tears covered her sister''s shoulders.


    "Don''t leave me, Ruby! Please, I-I don''t know what else I would do without you!"


    "S-Sister¡­"


    "You''re my reason to live! You''re my world! D-Don''t go¡­ Please¡­"


    "Big shish¡­ I''m¡­ so¡­ tired¡­"


    "Ruby!"


    "I love¡­ you¡­ Please¡­ find¡­ happiness¡­"


    "Ah¡­!"


    Ruby gently smiled back at her sister, as she kissed her cheek, after that, she suddenly stopped breathing, and her heart slowly stopped beating. The breath of life slowly dissipated from her, as sheid motionless, and her body slowly started to get colder.


    She was dead.


    "A-Ah¡­! Aaaahhh! Rubyyyy! RUBYYYYYY!!!"


    Cassandra cried desperately that night, as she saw her sister pass out¡­ But despite her painful life, she smiled at the end, and kissed her cheek. Despite having gone through all these things, Ruby stayed as a happy girl till the end¡­ But Cassandra had changed already, she was a murderous woman, sadistic even, and with thest bit of humanity that died with Ruby, the only thing that was left was¡­ a monster.


    Tormented by monsters, she had no other choice than be one herself to survive and protect her sister. But at the end, it was all so pointless¡­ At the end, Ruby died, and¡­ And¡­ Cassandra could not do anything about it.


    Hopeless, heartbroken, and bitter, she slowly grew up into a dark and cold-hearted woman, working as a tailor by using her ability, and taking down any bastards that she saw fit.


    Eventually, as she sought ways to grow stronger despite being so talentless, she found a man with a ck robe, and a strange tattoo on his right hand.


    "You seek the power of the demons, yes? What are you willing to do to be embraced by them, woman?"


    "¡­Anything."


    She had lost everything, and therefore, she had nothing to lose now.


    "Excellent."


    -----

 Chapter 164 The Demon Cultists

    p -----</anda>


    When Cassandra final found them, she was enlightened. The power of the demons was vastly superior, and it could offer even those that were weak and seen as talentless trash to rise and be strong. The power of the demons, their blood, their flesh, and their demon cores, they were all wondrous items used often in alchemy, but there was a branch of alchemy and magic that used them for nefarious purposes.


    One of such purposes was fusing demon parts and souls with humans and grant them demonic powers beyond their mereprehension. The Cult of Demons was formed for this purpose, and for hundreds of years, they had been recruiting more and more people, and had be a massive underworld organization.


    Cassandra finally found them, and immediately joined them. She received enlightenment and realized the incredible power of demons, who for her, were more virtuous than humans themselves. Cassandra hated humans more than anything, and her interests and desires aligned well with the Cult of Demons.


    She was given a ritual of initialization, where many often died as they could not bear the suffering that caused embracing the power of a demon or their soul, but Cassandra embraced it without even screaming nor faltering once through the entire procedure, her entire body drank and bathed in demon blood, she ate their flesh raw, and her chest was open with a knife, where a demon core was ced.


    A ritual transformed her Spirit by fusing it with the Souls of various Demons, giving it a new and powerful appearance, and granting her power above everything she had ever thought possible¡­ This ritual even gave her a Talent, and new Skills¡­ And she became a Demon Sorceress.


    Using her newfound powers, she served the Cult of Demons happily, cursing nobles to do their bidding and helping them grow as an underworld organization, all while she used her power to brainwash a noble to make her his first concubine after his wife, so she could finally enjoy living as a noble herself.


    Everything was going excellent¡­ Cassandra had nothing else to lose now, without her little sister, she had be a true monster, and enjoyed being one. Without her sister to hold her back, to remind her that she was a human, she had no reason to continue trying to be a civilian, she tormented the fortunate and brought their souls as sacrifices, all while enjoying her life as a noble, and even being blessed by a child¡­


    But as she was about to be beheaded, Cassandra remembered her past, and all the horrendous things she went through, including the death of her sister, that only wanted her to find happiness¡­ Has she really found the happiness she wanted? Was this really it?


    And then, she recalled her child. Despite having been born after she had be fully corrupted by the demonic powers, deep within her rotten heart, there was a small hint of light the moment her little child was born. Her son slightly reminded her of Ruby, and his eyes were also red like hers¡­


    "My son¡­ Leo¡­" She thought. "Ruby¡­ No¡­ I cannot die here¡­ I won''t let myself get beheaded by this mere¡­ CHILD!" Cassandra roared back at ke, who was about to behead her with his Gluttony Spear.


    "What is she even talking about- Ngh?!" Muttered ke, surprised by the sudden strengthening and endurance that Cassandra''s neck bone received!


    CLANK!


    The de of his spear was suddenly stopped by her bone, and it didn''t even let him push forward! ke began to enhance his body with the many Spells he had at his disposal, his muscles even bulged out of proportions a little bit and used fire and wind to create force to push his arms further, but the bone was not being pierced!


    Ellergest noticed what was happening as he desperately tried to alert ke about what was happening, as he quickly detected that Cassandra was suddenly changing to the worse!<sub> </sub>


    "I won''t¡­ Let you¡­ Kill me!!!" Roared Cassandra, her chest suddenly exploded with demonic energy, generating a powerful, all-consuming shockwave!


    TRUUUUMMM¡­!


    "B-nk!!!" Cried Ellergest, forming a barrier of light and trying to reach ke to protect the boy from the deadly attack! However, he was too slow, and ke was bathed in this demonic power!


    BOOOOMMM!!!


    The explosion resonated around all the surroundings, shaking the entire backyard and sending shockwaves of demonic energy all around the surroundings of Cassandra! ke was overwhelmed by this wave of corrosive and toxic demonic energy that could easily consume a person and turn them into ashes in seconds, as he gritted his teeth!


    His mind was not desperate, however, he was calm despite such a situation! He grabbed his spear Gluttony, andmanded it to spin around rapidly, while absorbing all the demonic energy!


    "Gluttony, DEVOUR!!!" He roared, as he fell from the skies while Gluttony began to spin around, suddenly generating a syphon effect that started to absorb the surrounding demonic energy attempting to burn through ke''s human body!


    FLUOOOOSSSSHHH!!!


    Cassandra looked at the distance as she was surprised by what she was seeing! ke, a mere child was moving his spear in such a masterful way while absorbing the demonic energy surrounding him, quickly stopping such an energy from consuming him as she wanted!


    "W-What¡­ sort of kid is this?!" She asked in surprise. However, she quickly clicked her tongue, as she infused mana into her neck and the wound made by ke quickly recovered back.


    Ellergest had been thrown away almost a the same time as ke, and he had choose to protect himself using his barrier of light, the intensity of the demonic energy shockwave ended throwing him into the ground, and he was having a hard time standing up with such an old body.


    "nk¡­ where is he?!" He muttered, barely managing to stand up using his staff, as he scanned the surroundings, finding ke in the ground, standing straight but sighing and gasping for air, the boy was exhausted beyond belief, his small body could only take so many burdens¡­


    -----

 Chapter 165 Turning The Tables With The Power Of Qi!

    -----


    As Ellergest saw ke being so tired and exhausted, he realized he had been being a terrible mentor. To think he would let his new young apprentice face such danger by himself, it was already impressive he somehow survived through the entire ordeal. He desperately looked at his Gold Dragon, who was still wrestling and desperately fighting against the Demon Spirit, whose strength could even surpass the dragon sometimes.


    "Damn useless lizard, how long are you going to take to defeat that thing?!" Muttered Ellergest. The Golden Dragon heard his master''s words, roaring back at him.


    "If it wasn''t because you''ve been doing nothing but cking I wouldn''t be so old and weak now!!!" Cried the Dragon.


    "Well if you weren''t sozy I would had made you fight more!!!" Roared Ellergest.


    For a moment, the Demon Spirit stood still while looking at both of them roaring to one another wildly, he felt a bit shocked, and didn''t knew how to respond to this stupid scene.


    CLAAASH!


    The Golden Dragon used this opportunity to whip the demon''s chest with his enormous, scaled tail, without letting it regain his head so easily, he quickly unleashed a breath attack, sting the demon spirit several meters away!


    BOOOOMMM!!!


    "Now move your ass and go help the kid!" Roared the Golden Dragon, as he saw Ellergest already running as much as his old body could across the grass in the backyard of the manor.


    Meanwhile, ke looked into the distance, as Cassandra seemed to be doing something strange, she was conjuring demonic energies and mana, and fusing them together to enhance her body, which continued to grow more and more demonic as time went by.


    "Hahhh¡­ Is she trying to reinforce her strength to finish us off in one attack?" Thought ke, as he began to gasp for air, his soul was forcing his body to move at this point, but his body was barely responding, the amount of damage he took was still big, and his entire body felt stiff. "If only I could have my former strength¡­" ke couldn''t recover his stamina in time, even his Qi seemed mostly exhausted¡­


    However, a sudden white glow covered his body, his various wounds closed, and his stamina was slightly recovered, alongside the energy of his body and even his mind was calmed down as the headache he was having quickly dissipated.


    ke looked behind him, finding the old Ellergest who had just conjured a strong healing spell on him, the old man seemed just as worn down as him, but was standing on his ground even better due to the power he had.


    "nk¡­ You must escape, go back to the manor, bring Seth and the others, and escape¡­ This woman''s power cannot be handled so easily¡­ She had corrupted herself with demonic power way too much¡­ Call the church, adventurers, mercenaries, bring them all here!" Said Ellergest. "This woman might even destroy the entire vige if we don''t do a thing!"


    Ellergest attempted to persuade ke, but the boy was not a scaredy cat, he was a man that had lived thousands of years, wiser than him in everything except the knowledge of this world. His mind was unwavering, despite the odds, he knew he could win if he yed his cards correctly, like he always did against the countless enemies he fought on his previous life, with the exception of Lucifer¡­<sub> </sub>


    "I won''t." Said ke. "I know I can defeat it. You''re a good fighter. I hate to admit it but you''ll have to do."


    Despite sounding rather foolish and immature, the voice of ke was strong and determined, not naively so, but so confidently powerful that it even made Ellergest feel a chill down his spine. This wasn''t some na?ve confidence, this was the confidence a man that has lived thousands of years had over his own strength, his own body, and the experience he had umted over all this time.


    "Y-You''re saying that I am not apetentpanion to fight with?!" Asked Ellergest, misunderstanding what ke said, the thing is, his old soul had a hard time asking for help from others, even less recognizing another person''s strength. He found such things as corny and useless, so he spoke so directly and indirectly sometimes that his words came out confusing, making people be confused if he was insulting them or praising them.


    "You''re useless, but not that bad." Said ke.


    "Eh? What does that even means?!" Asked Ellergest.


    "¡­" For a moment, ke looked into the face of Ellergest expressionlessly, scaring the old man by how expressionless he could be. "You''ll help me."


    "Okay, I get it! Damn you have a hard timeplementing or asking for help to people, don''t you?" Asked the old man.


    "Stop talking nonsense and let''s get over with it¡­" Said ke, as he touched Ellergest shoulder.


    "What are you doing- UUOOHH?!"


    FLUOOOSH!


    ke quickly infused Qi inside of Ellergest, awakening all of his Qi Veins and even the Qi Core in a mere second, filling the old man with a new and rejuvenating energy that quickly filled him with stamina.


    "T-This is¡­ You used this before, didn''t you?" Asked Ellergest, realizing a new sort of energy he had never felt before started to flow through his body, unlike other people that often cluelessly thought this was magic, Ellergest immediately realized this was not magic, but something else entirely, a new power he had never seen before was flowing across his body! ¡­But somehow, he also recognized it as very closely rted to Life Energy, a concept that most healers had about a special type of energy that flowed inside of people. Their healing spells specialized in infusing this energy inside of people to heal them.


    Could Qi¡­ be closely rted with Life Energy, or be this very concept? ke had thought about it for a while, but he didn''t really had the time to do some in-depth thinking when there was an insane demon woman about to one-shot both of them.


    If they didn''t stopped her now, the entire town might be in danger¡­ And he wouldn''t really want that to happen to this vige before he gets his pay.


    -----

 Chapter 166 Demonic Mutants

    -----


    Within the interior of the manor, Elisabeth suddenly sensed the powerful shockwave of demonic energy shing over the house. The energies were almost phantasmal, crossing through physical objects with ease! Elisabeth, the young apprentice priest who was even referred as a future saint knew that this energy could be deadly to people! Without thinking it twice, she ran with Gabri inside the room where Lady Treebark, her son, Seth, and Jack were, and then unleashed all her Mana!


    FLAAAAAASH!


    A sudden sh of light emerged from within her, covering everything around her, she quickly shaped the entirety of the light into a big barrier, covering the entire room with it and saving everybody inside from the dark and red-colored demonic energies that shed upon the entire building!


    BOOOOMMMM¡­!


    "Uuggh¡­!!!" Elisabeth groaned, as she pointed her open palms upwards, maintaining the barrier in ce was an incredibly hard job to do, but she couldn''t really falter now, or she knew that the people could even die if they came in contact with so much demonic energies!


    Lady Treebark and her son Carl panicked, asking the girl what was happening now.


    "W-What is happening now?!" Asked Treebark.


    "Mom, I''m scared¡­!" Cried Carl.


    The young and innocent Elisabeth smiled back at them, her eyes were innocent, but they were also filled with powerful conviction and strength.


    "Don''t worry¡­ Everything is going to be okay!" She said. "Trust¡­ me!"


    "Girl¡­" Muttered Lady Treebark.


    "D-Damn it!" Cried Jack, grabbing a small sk on his pocket and drinking its blue contents, as his mana quickly regenerated! He moved towards Elisabeth and touched her shoulders, infusing his energy!


    Crack¡­ crack!


    Just at that time, the barrier suddenly began to crack, the demonic energies were powerful! However, with Jack''s help, suddenly, holy chains emerged around the barrier, reinforcing it and tightly keeping it still, without cracking anymore!


    "Big brother Jack!" Said Elisabeth, her eyes were filled with hope as she saw the red-haired hot-headed young man helping her.


    "I ain''t letting a little girl do all the work!!!" He roared stubbornly.


    "Ngh¡­ I must help as well¡­! I don''t know what''s going on, but I know this is bad by just looking at all this sheer amount of demon energy in our surroundings!" Said Seth, waking up from his slight unconsciousness, as he had regained some Mana through his rest, and he infused it into the barrier created by Elisabeth as well, reinforcing it!


    FLUOOOSHH!!!


    Golden mes emerged, surrounding the chains and the barrier, fusing everything together into an enormous barrier made of golden chains created by fiery mes! The beautiful and almost blinding sight left the maids, Lady Treebark, and Carlpletely baffled!


    TRUUUMM¡­!


    Suddenly, the demonic energies finally dissipated, as the surroundings started to be purified by the light emanated by the barrier, and it was finally safe to stop holding up the barrier.


    FLASH!


    The barrier quickly dissipated as if it were a bubble, as the three priests fell into their knees, gasping for air after having managed to protect the people.<sub> </sub>


    "Hahh¡­ Ugh¡­ T-That was close¡­" Sighed Elisabeth.


    "Yeah¡­ What the heck is going on outside? That Cassandra woman is getting beaten by Ellergest, right? Is¡­ is the old Ellergest winning, right?" Asked Jack nervously.


    "What is going on outside?" Asked Seth.


    "Lady Cassandra was found to be the culprit behind the poisoning of Lady Treebark, and she was used of using Demon Sorcery, Lord Ellergest went to apprehend her, but she rebelled and is now fighting¡­" Said Elisabeth. "A-And nk is there for some reason! I don''t know why he''s fighting against the woman as well, but somehow¡­ He''s handling it, he''s very strong, actually!"


    Elisabeth words were quite impactful, the priests had never expected the small nk to be this strong, they knew he had a lot of talent for magic, and that he could somehow use different elements spells too, but to think he was also amazing at fighting was quite shocking, just how talented could this random boy be?


    Frustrated over seeing how a kid was helping more than him, Jack decided to walk outside the room.


    "I''ll go help Lord Ellergest, I can help in something at the very least, my chains can restraint that woman!" Said Jack.


    "No, Jack, you mustn''t! Thatdy is too strong! She has made a pact with demons, she''s dangerous, not something we can handle!" Cried the little Elisabeth, almost convincing the stubborn young Jack if it wasn''t because he was too stupid to ept it.


    "I''ll go anyways¡­! I have to help somehow or I''ll feel useless in here!" Jack said, opening the door of the room, as a sudden ck fog filling the entirety of the manor greeted him!


    "W-What the¡­?!"


    And suddenly, from within, arge red-scaled tail emerged, with a spear-like bony tip, it pointed directly towards Jack''s throat, so fast he couldn''t react in time!


    "Ngh¡­?!"


    CLASH!!!


    However, a metallic sh resonated in the surroundings, as Jack looked in surprise as a small red-haired girl wearing a gothic ck dress emerged out of the shadows, protecting him from the scaled tail using a red spear!


    "Huh?!"


    Jack dumbly fell over his own butt into the floor, as he looked at eyes, dark ws, and figures emerge from within the ck fog, they were¡­ demons- No, they were people turned into Lesser Demons! Lady Treebark realized who they were based in their clothes, those clothes were the clothes that butlers used!


    "T-Those are my butlers!" She said in surprise.


    "GRAAAAH!"


    The first butler jumped out of the ck fog into the room, his entire body gained a red-colored skin and was covered in ck spikes, with two demonic horns growing from his forehead and a enormous ck ws!


    The red-haired girl that had showed up, Eleanora, quickly began to sh against the demonized butler, using her powerful spear, she began to pierce through his body rapidly, surprising everybody!


    CLASH! CLASH! CLASH!


    "(My lord, the demonic energies had corrupted some of the people here¡­ they became Lesser Demons!)" Said Eleanora, contacting ke through telepathy.


    -----

 Chapter 167 Chaos Inside The Manor

    p -----</anda>


    The Demonic Energy that Cassandra unleashed were not only to get Ellergest and ke away from her sight, but also with the intention of taking care of the people inside the manor! She wanted them all to either be Lesser Demons or be eaten by them. She couldn''t simply allow them to survive after everything that happened, and she nned to just discard this entire family, grabbing her child in the process, and then running away when she was done with the priest and this annoying child.


    She knew her child would be okay because he had been born after she underwent the demon ritual, and her son was a special child capable of wielding demonic powers and that was born with them. Naturally immune to most negative effects that demonic energy had.


    However, ke had already predicted this and had left Eleanora there to protect the people in that ce for a reason. Of course, he was not doing this out of goodwill, but if his contractor died, who would pay him in the end? It was important to keep Treebark alive, at the very least.


    He heard Eleanora''s words, and he was slightly surprised by what was happening. He had actually predicted this would happen within his many predictions, but didn''t think that Cassandra would be strong enough to contaminate others in an instant, and had thought that she was capable of doing this with curses that took some time, such as the curse on Gabri.


    But he was wrong. Cassandra was deeper than he imagined, and was willing to sacrifice everything and start over again in another duchy after this battle was over. She unleashed a demonic energy shockwave that thankfully didn''t reached as far as outside of the territory of the noble family, but did reach the manor, covering it on this toxic fog that can even mutate humans into Lesser Demons! Thankfully, Elisabeth, Seth, and Jack protected those inside the room, but those outside¡­ met a different fate.


    The demonic energies corrupted and cursed their bodies, and all their bottled-up negative emotions fueled their transformations into Lesser Demons. Wild and savage, and unable to even control themselves, they transformed and attacked those that were still humans inside the room where Treebark was.


    The group of butlers that had yet to enter into the room were corrupted by this darkness without Elisabeth being able to help them enter into the room, and became Lesser Demons, losing their sanity. Many would think they were lost and that they should get in quickly, but would they be able to? The people inside the room were exhausted, the priest''s trio was out of mana now, for sure. The three maids were useless aside from cleaning, their spirits were of no use and they were low Level as well, without any knowledge of magic spells conjuration.


    Lady Treebark might be strong as she was a Noble, and her Spirit was supposedly powerful, but she was weakened due to the poison she was just recently healed from, and her son was not strong either as hecked experience and was low level, in fact, he had yet to kill a single monster, so he was only Level 1.


    The only one that could do anything now was Eleanora, so she quickly and swiftly moved forward. shing against the Butler that attempted to enter, the Lesser Demon had a sharp and spear-like tail, and was hungry for the flesh of his boss, Lady Treebark. His negative emotions which he had bottled up, such as his jealousy of the rich wereing out with his desires after he had turned into a demon. His priority now was to kill her and quite possibly feast in her flesh and blood.


    Eleanora was nervous, she didn''t knew what she should exactly do with the butlers. Should they kill them? Should she somehow let them live? She asked this to ke, as he quickly thought for a few splits of a second about it. He was certainly able to heal people from their demonic transformations to an extent, but should he bother with the butlers? At the end, to remain neutral in this whole conflict, he decided to just tell Eleanora what he thought should be the best.


    "Knock them off, break their legs and arms so they can''t move, wrap them around your blood thread and do whatever else you want, but don''t kill them. It is better to heal themter, maybe this could increase our pay if we let all the butlers alive." He said rather cunningly, without realizing that his actions were quite merciful.<sub> </sub>


    "Very well, that''s not going to be hard to do, if you let me break their bones¡­ Fufu¡­" Eleanora giggled.


    "Orcus will aid you as well." Said ke, the moment he said that fiverge ck-colored wild boars emerged from the shadows of Eleanora, these were the summons that Gluttony could create, which ke had previously summoned and stored inside of Elenora''s shadows, which were way bigger than his. ke had figured out a way to reduce their size, so they were all able to fit inside of the room and were ready to fight! They were not so strong individually, but together could be strong using their special Skill [Berserk Charge].


    -----


    [Berserk Charge]


    Charge towards a certain direction furiously, increasing total movement speed while moving to a direction by +50%, upon hitting a target, damage is increased by +40%. May knock out a target instantly.


    -----


    "GRAAAH!"


    Suddenly, two more Lesser Demons emerged form outside the room from within the ck fog, attempting to attack Eleanora, however, they were met with the berserk charges of fiverge wild boars, crushing them into the ground!


    BOOOMMM!!!


    Everyone else except Eleanora was left surprised. They suddenly saw five spirits in the shape of wild boars emerge from the girl''s shadows,  and they all concentrated their strength together to fight against the Lesser Demons, throwing them into the ground with enormous strength, they were sure to have heard some bones cracking, even!


    -----

 Chapter 168 Eleanora To The Rescue

    -----


    Five furious Wild Boars with ck fur and red eyes emerged out of Eleanora''s shadows, charging through the use of their Special Skill [Berserk Charge] they managed to pin down the other two butlers that had turned into Lesser Demons into the ground behind the one Lesser Demon Butler that Eleanora was fighting.


    BOOOOOMMM!!!


    The five wild boars continued spamming their abilities, unlike conventional Spirits, Beast Spirit Summons from Gluttony didn''t need any mana to use their Skills, and could constantly spam them and abuse them, although they were frailpared to normal spirits like Eleanora, they were still mighty if all fivebined their efforts.


    The Lesser Demons they were fighting were crushed as their arms and legs were cracked. The sound of bones breaking resonated around the entire room, making most of the people terrified by the horrendous sound. They looked outside to find the two demons crushed almost to death. Their arms and legs were broken and only one boar had disappeared into ck smoke as it died after being hit ten times. They were surprisingly tough, despite how much ke thought they were not that good! Or perhaps the demons were the weak ones?


    With thest demon fighting Eleanora, she quickly decided to finish him off, her spear pierced through his shoulders, legs, and then his crotch, making the poor butler scream in utter agony as he fell into the ground and began to twist his demonic body in pain¡­


    "That was¡­ surprisingly easy. They are too weak. I guess her demon energy is not that strong." Thought Eleanora, pointing this to ke, as he nodded.


    "It seems she has yet to be a true threat if the ones she converted are so weak that even Gluttony''s summons can beat them¡­ Oh well, apprehend them and go in the lookout, there is the wife of the noble still there. Her daughter and also the son of Cassandra, catch them before they get out of the manor or attack those inside that room." ke ordered Eleanora as she nodded quickly, wrapping around her blood thread the three demon butlers, and dropping them inside her shadows, she quickly went around the manor, leaving the Wild Boars protecting the door.


    The people inside were still left speechless¡­ They had yet to know who that girl was! She hadpletely ignored them, she didn''t even address them at all, she was¡­ it was as if she didn''t even recognize their existences.


    "W-Who was that girl? I have never seen someone so strong like that before¡­" Said Seth. "S-She defeated that demon with just a handful of hits into his body¡­?"


    "And she captured them with some sort of blood thread¡­" Said Jack. "I-It seems more effective than my chains¡­"


    "W-Woah¡­ I felt a faint presence from her, she seemed very simr to nk¡­ Wait! Could she be his spirit?" Wondered the little Elisabeth, her innocent face suddenly smiled excitedly, figuring out the truth and quickly being sure of it.


    "nk''s spirit?! There''s no way there would be such a human-looking spirit!" Said Jack.


    "Y-Yeah¡­ But she didn''t seem human  I have never seen such long ears, red eyes, and long red hair like that before, and her skin was as white as porcin, she didn''t even looked alive, and had a faint spiritual energy presence¡­" Said Seth. "She aided us too, so she''s not hostile, thankfully."


    "She''s¡­ No way she''s that stupid kid''s spirit, she''s way too cute! Why can''t I get a spirit like that?!" Cried Jack, as Elisabeth and Seth looked at him expressionlessly¡­<sub> </sub>


    Meanwhile, Eleanora rushed across the corridors of the manor, trying to dissipate the ck fog by spinning her spear around, much like ke''s spear. Her spear also had the power of absorbing energies, and it began to slowly absorb the demonic energies, as it was ustomed to consuming the blood of demons already, and it had begun to grow hungrier now that it drank some of the blood of those lesser demon butlers, wanting more and more.


    "You can have all of this strange fog, my dear Envy~" Said Eleanora, cleansing the demonic energies around the house and the ck fog. As she reached the third floor and found several strange creatures crawling around, rats and bugs that lived in the house which suddenly were infected by this demonic energy, turning intorge one-to-two-meter big demonic monsters!


    "GRUUOOHH!" A giant ck rat jumped towards Eleanora without even doubting for a second, the monstrous creature resembled a two-meter-big, ck-furred rat with horns growing all over its body, even on its own eyes. The creature looked both insane and in agony, and Elenora quickly continued spinning her spear, as she shredded the rat into pieces with it!


    CRAAASSSHHH!


    "GRYYEEH¡­"


    Ast cry of agony was let out before Eleanora was covered in blood and guts, the other monsters looked at her with rabid eyes. Quickly jumping towards her to devour her, giant cockroaches and rats that could eat a whole person were shredded into pieces by Eleanora''s spear, as she ughtered everything while moving forward towards the area where she felt a sign of life. Entering the room and finding a woman on the floor, concealed within a water bubble.


    This was Charlotte, a beautiful green-haireddy with blue eyes that was the wife of Lord Markus, the Lord of this Noble House. She had a special Spirit named Undine, which was a very strong Water Spirit that allowed her to manipte water. It seems she was safe in this bubble. Charlotte noticed Eleanora entering the room, as she opened her eyes wide open.


    "Y-You girl! Who are you?!" Charlotte asked in surprise, as Eleanora looked at her.


    "I am a passing priestess." Said Eleanora. "Are you alright? Then stay here and don''t move. We''ll deal with things going on outside." Eleanora lied a bit, and it seems that the woman believed her rather quickly after she saw her covered in blood and guts from monsters that Charlotte had ran away from.


    "W-Wait, don''t go yet! My daughter! Please find her!" Cried Charlotte.


    "¡­How much will you pay for it?" Asked Eleanora cockily.


    "P-Pay?! Ugh, you damn greedy priests! Fine! I''ll pay you well for her, so bring her to me safely!" Cried Charlotte.


    "Hmph, you better pay¡­" Said Eleanora, as her red eyes intimidated the soul out of Charlotte, as she nodded nervously.


    -----

 Chapter 169 As Long As You Pay Me

    -----


    "My Lord, it seems the woman named Charlotte has a daughter. She said she''ll pay us good for rescuing her daughter. But what should I do if I find her converted into a Demon Spawn?" Eleanora spoke to ke in the middle of his battle. However, ke''s incredibly fast thought process immediately generated an answer to her, which was delivered promptly through the telepathy ability that a master had with their spirits.


    "Do the same with the butlers, break her legs and arms and knock her out. As long as she''s alive she can be healed. This family is rich, they might pay us well if they ask me to heal her afterwards. If she''s not a demon, bring her to her mother obviously. ¡­However, if you happen to find Cassandra''s son, try to assess the situation, and immediately contact me again. That kid is someone I am quite interested in, and his future seems grim if his mother is defeated today¡­"


    "¡­Understood!" Eleanora didn''t doubt at all the thoughts of her master, quickly darting upstairs as she found more demonized rats and cockroaches. Small animals that hid beneath the walls of the house who all turned into demon monsters through the demonic energy wave that Cassandra had unleashed.


    Eleanora pointed her crimson-red spear at the beasts that jumped towards her without a second of a thought, shredding them into pieces one by one. Her spear''s de was incredibly sharp, and the powerful Cursed Weapon named Envy was capable of absorbing the blood and souls of those it in, enhancing the power of the spear greatly!


    Eleanora also had a greater status than ke, although she wasn''t capable of conjuring buffing spells that enhanced her physical endurance, speed, and stamina like him, she had a lot of high raw stats to work with, and her Strength stat was absolutely phenomenal, helping her shred these beasts into pieces with ease by spinning the spear around.


    CLASH!


    "There!"


    Eleanora quickly reached the stairs to thest floor, quickly finding an interesting sight. There was a little girl inside a crystal, while dozens of abominable monsters were trying to attack her. The crystal was beginning to crack and might shatter soon.


    "Moooom! W-Where are you?!"


    The girl was calling for her mother rather pathetically, but it seemed that she protected herself from turning into a demon through her own spirit, which granted her the ability to create very hard crystals¡­ It was an interesting Spirit, and quite different than that of her mother.


    Eleanora saw the girl was fine and not converted into a Lesser Demon and quickly rushed to y the beasts. The girl quickly noticed her and asked for help, but Eleanora ignored her and continued shredding the monsters apart into pieces, covering her entire crystal in blood and guts.


    "Uuaaggh! D-Disgusting! Hey! Stop doing that and help me!"


    "Shut up." Said Eleanora, her crimson-red eyes red down at the girl, as she felt a sudden chill run down her spine and she quickly shut up obediently.


    "HAA!"


    CLAAASH!


    Eleanora pointed her spear into the crystal, shattering it into pieces and freeing the girl from her own cage. The monsters tormenting her were in in just seconds. Eleanora greatly surprised the girl, who had never seen such a disy of might before.


    "Just who are you?" She wondered.


    "I am a priest¡­ in training." Said Eleanora, lying. This was the lie ke told her to say to others that were not the priests themselves.


    "T-Thank you, is my mother safe?" She wondered.


    "She is downstairs in her own room. I yed the demon beasts there. Let me guide you downstairs for now." Eleanora said, quickly grabbing the girl''s hips and carrying her with her arms.


    "Uwaaah! W-What are you doing?!" The girl asked while blushing.


    "You''re too slow and probably too pathetically weak, carrying you is faster and safer." Said Eleanora expressionlessly. She was a lot like ke whenever she was with other people than him.<sub> </sub>


    "B-But this is embarrassing!" Cried the little girl, as Eleanora ran downstairs without any problems, reaching her mother''s room in no time.


    "Tell me, did you see another kid, your stepbrother?" Asked Eleanora with an expressionless and cold stare. The girl felt both intimidated and a bit excited, she blushed a bit by having her so close to her face, averting her gaze embarrassedly.


    "You mean Erdrich? I saw him while I hid, he ran away whilepletely ignoring me¡­ I am actually quite worried but I was too scared to go after him and now I am too surprised to have thought about him until now¡­" She sighed. "C-Can you go after him?!"


    "Okay. As long as you pay me afterwards." Said Eleanora.


    "P-Pay you? Is money the only thing priests think about?" Sighed the girl. "By the way, my name is Emilianna!"


    "Ok." Said Eleanora,pletely ignoring the cute Emilianna''s words, who looked rather simr to her mother.


    SLAM!


    Eleanora opened the door of her mother''s room loudly, finding her there.


    "M-My daughter!" Cried Charlotte, running towards Emilianna.


    "Mother dearest!" Cried Emilianna, as mother and daughter hugged one another tightly.


    "T-Thank you!" Cried Charlotte, thanking Eleanora.


    However Eleanora remained expressionless.


    "Now don''t walk outside and hide in that closet, seal yourself with magic if possible." Said Eleanora. "I won''t hold any responsibility if you die out of your own foolishness."


    Eleanora had no time to mess up, ordering mother and daughter to get inside a big closet. The twobined their magic and created a bubble and a crystal barrier, protecting themselves from the toxic smoke outside and the asional demon beast that mighte.


    "Please bring back Erdrich!" Cried Emilianna.


    "Hm." Eleanora nodded silently, rushing outside the room, and sealing it with her own Blood Work techniques, covering the door with magic blood and then reinforcing it into a hardened material.


    FLAAASH!


    Eleanora resembled a sh of red light as she moved upstairs, suddenly closing her eyes and expanding her Soul Aura to detect any signs of life forms close by.


    "There!"


    Until she finally found something.


    ------

 Chapter 170 The Half-Demon Boy

    -----


    Eleanora''s eyes opened wide as she reached the fourth floor of the building, moving across the corridors while killing the asional demon rat or demon cockroach, until she finally found someone. It was a boy with short red hair. His entire skin had turned red-colored, and his eyes were orange and red. He had two ck horns over his forehead, and seemed to have increased his muscture, as his clothes were all torn apart around his body.


    He was desperately fighting the demon monsters, as a dozen of them were swarming him mercilessly. It seems that the boy was indeed part demon, but unlike the others, he could keep himself sane and was fighting to survive.


    "Hahhh¡­ W-Why is all of this happening?!" Cried the boy. "I don''t understand a thing! Mother¡­ Where are you?!" Cried the boy, trying to fight back the monsters, but they were already biting his legs and arms, and he was desperately punching and kicking them away.


    "There you are, you''re a sneaky boy, aren''t you?" Eleanora reached Erdrich in an instant, surprising the half-demon boy as her spear shed in half the rat that had jumped right towards his face!


    SLAAASH!


    "UWAH!"


    The boy fell to the floor, looking at Eleanora bbergasted. Her powerful Soul Aura and her appearance¡­ everything within her was fantastical, she looked like an amazing knight princess from some sort of fairy tale he could have read when he was younger.


    "Y-You¡­ who are you?!" He asked in surprise, Eleanora''s presence was incredible. Vampiress '' charm quickly affected him, as he started to feel embarrassed by just being at her side.


    "You seem to have inherited your mother''s powers, and you don''t seem brainwashed nor malicious. I suppose you''ll survive, but your future looks grim. Stay close to me, boy, I''ll y them." Said Eleanora.


    "Mother¡­? These powers are from my mother?!" Asked the boy rather doubtfully, he didn''t know what was happening. He was born in this house and raised by his beloved mother, who always spoiled him. He had been living a peaceful life without knowing the grim past of her mother, and even when Treebark was beginning to get sick, he didn''t knew what it was, even less that it was provoked by her mother''s curses.


    SLASH! SLASH! SLAAASH!


    Eleanora shed apart the beasts, quickly noticing she was umting a lot of EXP. Although without ke at her side, she was incapable of seeing her own status, it seems that if he wasn''t closer to her, she had the option of umting the EXP and then distributing it if she choose to. ke had shown the same capability when he had fought many monsters at the same time, defeating them all after umting a lot of EXP granted some bonus EXP when it was finally distributed.


    This was a strange hidden ability. Perhaps not even intentional that the Grimoire gave to them, the more umted EXP that they had yet to distribute, the more bonus they would get. Of course, they were incapable of umting it over a long time, and the most that EXP hassted while being umted before being automatically distributed has been 10 minutes.


    The rats and cockroaches died by Eleanora''s might. Her nimble and dexterous movements showcased the experience of someone who had fought for thousands of years. Although her weapon of specialization was never the spear, she had fought using one for a few hundred years, good enough for her to acquire enough experience to use it masterfully.


    "A-Amazing¡­" The boy muttered.


    "Why did you escape from your sister?" Asked Eleanroa.


    "I-I did it because I didn''t want her to see me like this¡­ I am a monster now¡­ I-I don''t know what happened but¡­" cried the boy. "I won''t be epted anymore as I am¡­"


    <o>,m "Bullshit." Sighed Eleanora, as she touched the boy''s chest, absorbing the demonic essence flowing through him and redirecting it into her spear.<sub> </sub></o>


    "W-Wha¡­?!"


    The boy suddenly found himself turned back into a human!


    "Done. Your transformation triggers when you absorbrge quantities of demon energy. It seems you can generate some through the demon core in your chest, but you need practice for this. It was simply a forced transformation." Said Eleanora. "Don''t worry."


    "A-Ahh¡­ T-Thank you!" Cried the boy, as he began to actually cry while hugging Eleanora''s dress and covering her in his tears and snout. Eleanora made a disgusted expression in her face, mercilessly kicking the boy away.


    CLASH!


    "Uagh!"


    "Pervert, don''t dare touch me. My body is only for my lord." Said Eleanora ruthlessly, her eyes shone bright red as she pointed her spear down into the boy.


    "O-Okay! Sorryyyy!" Cried the boy. Eleanora sighed as she quickly held him with her arms and ran downstairs.


    "I-I am not a girl! Don''t carry meeee!" The boy cried more than his sister as Eleanora carried him downstairs and threw him inside of the closet where his stepmother and his stepsister were.


    "There he is." She said.


    "Erdrich!" Cried Charlotte. "I am so happy you''re okay¡­"


    "Brother!" Said Emilianna, the two hugged the boy tightly, showering him with affection.


    "Now my job here is done, remember the money you owe to me¡­ I wille with my master to get it. If you don''t do as you promised¡­ then there will be consequences." Said Eleanora, as if she werepletely devoid of any emotions of empathy, she said such words to them. Of course, deep down, she felt slightly happy they were okay. Perhaps the despicable human emotions of this world were affecting her, and she disliked it a lot.


    Eleanora darted outside the room after that, sealing it once more and then rushing where Carl and Treebark were, finding that there was a big army of dozens of rats and bugs trying to get inside the room while she wasn''t there, the Wild Boars summoned by ke were fighting bravely but more than half of them had perished by now.


    Eleanora covered her spear with blood and unleashed a powerful barrage of attacks through a technique!


    "Blood Spear Technique: Crimson Rose Garden!"


    CRASH! CRASH! CRASH!


    -----

 Chapter 171 Someone Unreachable

    -----


    As Eleanora fought to defeat the monsters and umte even more EXP for her lord, all while protecting those that will eventually pay him. ke was with Ellergest fighting the powerful demoness Cassandra, whose entire body had begun to be more and more demonic.


    Her power had been enhanced some minutes ago as she unleashed her demonic power in a shockwave, with the attempt at distracting them by making those inside the manor into demons. However, the two had not even batted an eye at the manor or what was happening there.


    Although Cassandra unleashed a greater amount of power and showcased her might, she had already reached the limit of her body, and the overwhelming demonic power she had been cultivating and umting for so many years had reached the limit of how much she had umted.


    If it wasn''t because Ellergest and ke were also exhausted, she would have been overpowered, but now, as both parties were tired, the fight only became more intense and desperate. ke fought in the frontlines, flying into the skies through the usage of the Gust Tier 1 Wind Attribute Spell to maneuver in the air, all while Ellergest offered support in healing magic and long-ranged attacks.


    ke had thought about using the magic he had, but his Mana was not infinite, he had already gone down to half of it, and although it regenerated at a decent pace, using more advanced elemental spells would only drain his mana in big chunks constantly. After all, keeping himself in the middle of the air was also something that cost Mana.


    The woman''s ws were as sharp as his own spear, and they had already shed through his body several times. Even though he covered his body with robes made out of wild boar and demon fur and skin, it seemed to not be enough to grant him enough endurance, and he was constantly covered in blood due to the many shing wounds he had over his small body.


    Ellergest offered healing and protection in barriers asionally, but Cassandra was incredibly fast at both attacking and moving, whenever ke or Ellergest healed themselves, she quickly made up new wounds, bothering them tremendously.


    Nheless, she had also been worn down. The bright light attacks of Ellergest had be her weakness as she embraced the power of the demons, which came with their weakness to holy light, all while ke unleashed several Spear techniques using Gluttony, attacking her body and piercing her flesh easily with the incredible sharpness of his cursed spear.


    "I won''t die¡­ I won''t die! After everything¡­ I won''t die here! Even if I have to kill a kid and a stupid old man, I won''t hesitate!" Cassandra screamed dramatically, as ke couldn''t help but have enough of her stupid attitude.


    CLAAASH!


    Her ws shed against his spear, as he quickly noticed her worn down body. She was barely fighting due to her adrenaline. She had already fought too much and sustained too much damage¡­ ke had saved a small amount of demonic energy just for this moment.


    "Bullshit." Said ke to her words, as Cassandra suddenly noticed one of his eyes shining bright red, as a ray of demonic energy suddenly struck her body!


    SPAAARK!


    "Uaggh!"


    She suddenly noticed her entire body being paralyzed! Her muscles felt paralyzed, her heart suddenly stopped beating, and she felt even her mind feeling dizzy. This was the power of ke''s Demon Eye of Paralysis, but its effects onlysted a small amount of time, and even if her heart was stopped, she was now a half-demon, and could even sustain such a thing.


    He had to quickly behead her to end her.<sub> </sub>


    Cassandra forced her body to move, tearing apart the muscles of her arms as she tried to shield herself from ke''s spear, gritting her teeth and ncing furiously at ke!


    <o>,m "Y-You¡­ damn¡­ brat! You got a demon''s¡­ eye?!" She cried, as ke''s spear reached her throat, piercing through her flesh and then reaching her spine.</o>


    "Don''t worry, I will make sure to use your body materials well, now rest." Said ke mercilessly. His expressionless face made Cassandra suddenly feel as if she was ring down into an endless dark abyss.


    Her entire life she had pursued strength to not be stomped on by others, to not be manipted by others, she was always trying to find a path to walk through, even after the death of her sister¡­ But now, she quickly realized that there were certain people that she would never be able topare.


    Whoever was ke, he was someone unreachable.


    "Nnnggh¡­! Aaaaggghh!"


    With ast cry of agony, Cassandra was beheaded. The cold and sharp de pierced through her neck and shed it cleanly. ke''s face remained expressionless and cold, as if he was looking at a mere monster in the forest he had in countless times.


    SLAAAASH!


    Her head and her beheaded body fell down into the ground, sttering over the garden, a pond of blood and flesh was left behind, all bloodied¡­ He looked down and nodded.


    "The job is done." He said coldly. After all, he hade here for a job.


    ke noticed her soul which was slightly infested with demonic energy flying away back into the manor, he looked at it for a bit, as he let her go, a soul was no threat to anybody, she wasn''t even a Ghost.


    "Aggh¡­ M-My son¡­ My son!"


    Cassandra had died, yet her soul, filled with regrets, rejected going back to the cycle of transmigration, and flew towards the manor, looking for her son.


    She remembered that she had indeed something precious¡­ but she had strived too far into her own path, to the point that she ended disregarding the possibility of leaving her son without a mother.


    Her soul was weak, and part of it was slowly dissipating away. She flew as much as possible, finding Erdrich at longst. He was scared of everything, and being embraced by Charlotte and Emilianna.


    -----

 Chapter 172 What A Big Waste Of My Time

    -----


    "Erdrich¡­" She muttered. But her son couldn''t hear her nor see her.


    She slowly moved towards him, and caressed his face, kissing him and hugging him.


    "I am¡­ sorry¡­ Mother was never a good person¡­ I hope¡­ you can be someone better than me¡­" Cassandra began to cry, regretting her actions, as she slowly dissipated.


    Erdrich heard the voice of his mother in thatst moment, looking around, but finding nothing.


    "M-Mother¡­"


    Cassandra''s consciousness slowly melted away into a bright and endless light, as thest thing she saw was an enormous river made of bright spiritual light¡­ The legends and myths of the religion of the Holy Spirits¡­ could they have all been real?


    "This is¡­ the Spiritual River of Reincarnation¡­? It was all¡­ real. I hope that one day¡­ I could meet my sister once more¡­" She thought, as her soul was washed away by the spiritual light¡­


    ---


    What a big waste of my time.


    I had never expected that things would escte to such insane proportions. I hade here to merely heal a person but I ended up fighting a woman whose powers had been enhanced by demon materials. This was certainly a day filled with surprises, but in the end, I came on top thanks to my efforts and those of this¡­ old man.


    If it wasn''t because I trained my body to this point and constantly used magic to master it once more to this extent, I wouldn''t have been able to fight with someone so strong at my current level. Of course, the power of the Demon Eye came in clutch at the end.


    I am exhausted beyond belief. I am resisting the urge of falling unconscious relentlessly, this was a tiring day. I had healed a woman from her demon curse, then fought and healed another person, and then I ended up having to defeat the culprit behind everything all in just a couple of hours.


    Now what''s left is retrieving the corpse so I can use it as materials, but if I do it now, the man that was married to her and her son mightin, so I will have to do itter. But there''s no way I am giving up such high quality materials, this is all I need right now. With these materials of her body, I can make some more Demon Energy Potions to use my eye more times.


    And I could even extract some of her body parts and imnt them on my own. Her ws were rather strong, I could use that, or perhaps I could also rece one of my hands entirely to see if it could be possible to gain some of her powers¡­ Or an arm? Hm, her body proportions are too different, perhaps that''s not a good option for now.


    Maybe I should try to find information about how she did all these experiments on herself. I hate demons, but I admit that they have power. If I could imnt a good Demon Core inside of my chest, I could acquire the ability to naturally generate demon energy. Perhaps within her documents there could be an exnation in how she did it using techniques and materials of this world.<sub> </sub>


    Nheless, my work was done. I quickly flew however I could down to the ground, ignoring the corpse of the woman whose name I don''t remember anymore, as I walked towards Ellergest. The old man was barely managing to keep himself alive with his healing spells.


    "Y-You did it¡­ You''re an incredible kid¡­"


    "Ny percent."


    "Eh?"


    "I did the ying, I investigated the curse, and I did pretty much everything. I deserve ny percent of all the pay. Fair, right? I am even giving you ten percent out of pity; you should be thankful I am not a greedy person."


    "W-Wha¡­?! You just killed a person and you''re talking about money out of the sudden?!"


    "Hm? What''s wrong? Didn''t you say she wasn''t a person anymore some minutes ago? Are you suffering from Alzheimer?"


    "Agh! You''re really such a weirdo sometimes, kid! Sigh. FINE! I know you did all the work, but we still supported you! ¡­Nheless, youe from a serf family, so I''ll do some charity and let you have ny percent¡­" Said Ellergest while cleaning his robes from the dust and blood.


    "Good. You''re reasonable enough." I said with a smile. "Now let''s go inside the manor, we got something to do. My spirit secured the lives of everyone inside. Even those that turned into Demon Spawns."


    "D-Demon Spawns? What?! You mean that the people inside turned into Lesser Demons?!" Asked Ellergest.


    "Precisely. The shockwave the woman unleashed hit the manor. Some of the people inside turned into demons. Don''t worry, those were naturalized. My spirit broke their arms and legs and left them on the ground half-death, some healing should be done and then we''ll profit from that as well. Isn''t it nice?" I asked. It was an incredible opportunity to reap even more benefits.


    "Y-You''re really a demon¡­" He said slightly. "But¡­ sure. I guess."


    Ellergest was a reasonable and old man, he knew what was convenient at the end, unlike an immature person, he didn''tin so much nor acted surprised all the time, but still, I could see that there were certain things that we diverged in our thinking processes. Nheless, I was sure that I could trust him a small percentage, perhaps 10%. That small trust already puts me at ease for now.


    Now, there''s the need of cleansing the butlers turned into demons, taking away their demon energy and cutting their horns and ws, which are precious high-quality materials for me. After that, we''ll deal with cleansing the house from the corpses of the demon monsters, which are even more materials. I suppose this entire mission brought a lot of bountiful harvests to me. With so many materials avable I could even make essories and some pieces of equipment cursed with demon blood¡­ A whole set of cursed equipment wouldn''t be so bad, I really need more defense.


    -----

 Chapter 173 Presenting Eleanora To The Priests

    -----


    As I walked however I could back to the manor, I found Eleanora, who ran to my side. She seemed a bit tired and covered in blood. Ellergest had never seen her before, so he reacted rather exaggeratedly when he saw her.


    "W-Who is that girl?!" He asked in shock.


    "She''s my spirit, Eleanora." I said with a smile, as I petted her head. "Good job, you deserve praise and a gift."


    "I did what I could¡­" She said, "And a gift?!" She asked rather surprised, as I nodded.


    "I was thinking of making more equipment for you, we could also buy something as well, you can equip a spear so perhaps other equipment can also work." I said.


    "O-Oooh! I want a chest te and some rings!" She said, acting quite spoiled.


    "Don''t get so spoiled though¡­" I sighed. "We have limited funds and materials."


    "U-Understood, sorry¡­" She apologized.


    Ellergest continued ring at us, as he opened his jaws in surprise as if he had seen a ghost or something. It deeply annoyed me so I confronted him and asked him why he was looking at us like that.


    "What''s wrong?"


    "I-I''ve never seen a spirit like this! And it can talk so much back to you?! It is like a person!"


    "Of course, isn''t your dragon one as well?"


    p "Ah¡­ Well, that happened after he grew very old, he didn''t talk back when he was an infant!"</anda>


    "Hmph, well, whatever is the case, my spirit is rather special¡­ Come back to my Spirit Orb for now, Eleanora."


    "Understood."


    She had been tired after the fight, so I quickly decided to bring her inside of my Spirit Orb for her prompt recovery. Ellergest was rather shocked about the "strange" spirit I had, and this was the primary reason why I disliked showing her to other people too much¡­ But it seemed that it wasn''t that bad either. Spirits alwayse in all sorts of shapes and sizes, so Eleanora wasn''t that surprising to him, thankfully.


    There are many things I want to assess now. I will decide to leave it to Ellergest and the priests. I am here only to do the job I was told, the technical things must be taken care of by them. For now I really just want to go back home to meet my family and probably Erika. For some reason, despite having lived for thousands of years without the need of any emotional support, I feel like her smile illuminates my day a little bit.


    Despite my emotions always being frozen, I felt like this fight put me a lot closer to a second death. Something I really wouldn''t want now, that I had been given a second opportunity. Even if such an opportunity had been given by my enemy, as I believe.<sub> </sub>


    Perhaps I am self-reflecting too much, this is not my usual self¡­ I had certainly changed a bit. Nheless, I should concentrate on something more important than my casual thoughts after a tiring battle, something regarding my grimoire.


    The grimoire floated in front of me, but Ellergest could not see it. Indeed, I had discovered that merely by willing it, the Grimoire could bepletely invisible to other people, this was convenient so I could check my stats and¡­ what I had gained.


    Apparently Eleanora had in a lot of Demon Monsters that surged from the manor when the wave of demonic energy hit it. It was an unexpected yet weed reward. She had in dozens of them, plus the EXP from that woman was enough to give me a great amount. And even more, when EXP is umted in big quantities without being distributed, it can receive a bonus for some reason. I don''t know if this was intended by the Grimoire or is the effect of the Hard Worker Skill that enhances EXP gained, but whatever the case, I received a bountiful reward.


    Eleanora yed around 38 Demon Monsters around the entire manor, each one gave 200 EXP, the same as an Imp, but they were way easier to y for her¡­ Or perhaps we had grown very strong without realizing it. Aside from that, the woman gave me 25000 EXP, which was quite insane. It seems she gave me a good amount of EXP due to her strength¡­ This also confirms that non-monsters/demons also give EXP.


    Now, the possibility of killing people to gain EXP seems quite appealing, but for now I will refrain myself frommitting crimes. I am not strong enough to fight the authorities of this nation over it. Unless it is justified murder, such as someone that deserves it and I would instead be praised by it, such as this woman who did evil deeds, bandits, thieves, and the like, I won''t go around senselessly killing others.


    Ding!


    [Calcting EXP gained¡­]


    [You gained 39120 EXP!]


    [Level 6/10][EXP: 39220/50000]


    [The [Acrobatics: Lv2], [Robust Body: Lv1], and [Hard Worker: Lv1] Skills Level has increased]


    Not enough EXP yet¡­ But I am getting closer to another Level Up. Eleanora also gained almost the same amount of EXP if not a bit more as she did all the ying job of those low-level mobs.


    And something surprising also happened, three of my Skills leveled up right after I received the EXP, Acrobatics became Level 3, Robust Body Level 2, and Hard Worker also Level 2¡­ I wish Hard Worker could have increased in level before receiving the EXP so I would have acquired a greater EXP bonus, but that''s that, I cannotin more than that.


    And¡­


    Ding!


    [Proficiency Points have reached the required amount 20000/20000]


    [You learned the [Spearmanship: Lv1] Skill!]


    After all of this time using a Spear, I have finally acquired the Skill. This entire time I thought I needed a specific Job ss or something, but it was just that to learn the Skill. I required twenty thousand proficiency points, an insane amount of points. It seems that not having a Talent doesn''t mean that I cannot learn the skills from other talents such as Spearman, but it takes way longer for me to learn them than a normal person would be able to.


    -----

 Chapter 174 The Rejection Of A Father

    -----


    After having acquired the Spearmanship Skill, I couldn''t help but think something¡­ Does this confirm that I can just learn any Skill? Although Ick a Talent, I am not bound by their limitations. Incredible, so this is how this works?


    Somehow, it has be more exciting, perhaps I should continue trying out Dagger Techniques and other weapons¡­ Although it took me so long to just learn Spearmanship that I don''t know if I should give it a go.


    At the very least, I will continue practicing martial arts using my fists and legs, that should eventually build up to some fighting skill, perhaps Martial Arts or Unarmed Fighting Technique? Whatever the case, this are excellent news for me.


    Now, let''s see the description of this Skill.


    -----


    ? [Spearmanship: Lv1]


    Skill Proficiency: 0/10000


    A Skill that has been made through your endless effort over using the spear. Your masterful usage of this millenary weapon has given you the ability to wield it even better than before. Your dexterity in the usage of the Spear, alongside all damage dealt using Spear Techniques is increased by +20% with each Level. Attacks using the spear have a 10% chance to inflict Intense Bleeding on the wound of a target.


    -----


    Incredible, I didn''t expect this to be such a good bonus. It enhances the damage and the dexterity of its usage. I wish I could practice it now, but I am too tired and I have an old man at my side spying on me. It would certainly be weird if he looked at me using my spear.


    Anyways, the Skill alsoes with the ability to inflict Intense Bleeding, well, only 10% chance, but that''s still interesting. Is this a fixed status effect? This world really is ruled through strange game-like mechanics, but I have to just embrace it for now and use them to my advantage.


    And another thing¡­ the Skill proficiency requirements lowered. It was 20k before, but now it went to 10k. Why is that? Does it mean that the only hard part is actually learning the damn Skill, but after that, I can increase its level normally like anybody with a Talent rted to spears?


    ¡­No, wait, that doesn''t seem to be the case. After all, I have a curse that makes me have to do several times the same effort to level up a Skill. While some people would only take a few months, it might take me over a year, if not more.


    But it seems that I am capable of learning Skill Proficiency faster thanks to Hard Worker, as it enhances my Skill Proficiency earned alongside my Experience Points. And now that Hard Worker increased in level to level 2, it increases Skill Proficiency and Experience Points earned by +40% instead of +20%... It took a long time to level up this Skill, so I am quite d.<sub> </sub>


    It seems this Skill gains proficiency by simply earning EXP and Skill Proficiency, so after earning so much EXP and leveling up thanks to the EXP multiplying tickets, it gained a lot of skill proficiency. Today''s battle was more fruitful than I could have ever expected.


    Now, I wonder what other Skills I could get or level up? Now that I have a +40% bonus to the Skill Proficiency earned, perhaps leveling up some skills or earning some others would be more simplistic.


    Anyways, after the battles ended, I moved to the manor and things slowly began to wrap up. Ellergest took care of mostly everything after me, he exined everything that happened, and the Lord of this house, Carl, came running back from his trip in a nearby town after five hours of being told, the trip through carriage was rather quick at that.


    The man was left speechless about everything going on and said that he needed a lot of time to process what had happened. Apparently Cassandra had been brainwashing him for a long time, and now that she died, this curse disappeared. The man felt disgusted with himself, fully knowing it was all a brainwashing curse after we exined everything to him¡­ He didn''t seem to ept Erdrich as his son either, and he told us that he didn''t knew what to do with him.


    "I can''t have a child from that woman here¡­" He sighed. "Even less if¡­ as you say, he inherited the demonic powers of her¡­" The man said in between tears.


    "Hmm¡­ It is true. We cannot really let the boy live his life freely if he''s a half-demon." Said Ellergest. "But as nk said, he is in full control of his powers. He was born from Cassandra who had modified her body and spirit orb with demon parts and inherited such power. Even then, he still has your bloodline¡­"


    "But I can''t¡­ I don''t want to risk the lives of my two other children, nor Charlotte or Treebark¡­" Sighed the man. "I can''t¡­ What if he goes insane one day and rampages around our manor?"


    "¡­Certainly, that''s a possibility. ¡­Then, how about this? Let us adopt him. The priests always adopt children from the orphanage who have potential. The orphanages themselves are also handled by the church, the money we earn goes to the orphanages as well¡­" Said Ellergest.


    "Lord Priest, are you willing to do such a thing?" Asked the man.


    "The boy is innocent for the sins of his mother, he cannot be punished by them. That would be injustice¡­ I understand your fears, but he''s someone with talent. We could use him as a fighter, a war priest with the power of demons fighting for good instead of evil." Said Ellergest.


    "I suppose this is it¡­" Sighed the man. "I will continue paying for him every month¡­ It is the least I can do."


    "Hm, you''re a good man." Said Ellergest.


    I suppose that wraps up what had happened. Elisabeth was rather surprised, alongside Jack and Seth about what I had done. They didn''t believe it when Ellergest told them that I had beheaded the demon woman, but after Ellergest showed them the corpse, they couldn''t deny it anymore. They over exaggerated and acted rather childishly, which was very annoying.


    -----

 Chapter 175 Separation

    -----


    The Demon Kid, Erdrich, had fallen unconscious after being rescued by Eleanora, and we promptly took him away from the family while the Lord''s Wife, Concubine, and his two children were sleeping. The women were also brainwashed. It resulted in that Charlotte was an ally of Cassandra and helped her make the poison for Treebark, but that was also due to a brainwashing curse that made her feel very close to Cassandra as if she were her dearest sister that would do anything for her but now that she came back to her senses, she deeply regretted what she did and asked for forgiveness to Treebark.


    "B-Brother¡­" Emilianna, the green-haired noble girl that was the brother of Erdrich cried when they took him away while he was sleeping. She was barely holding on herself, she had overused mana to protect herself and fell unconscious as well, but just barely woke up and saw him being taken away.


    "Don''t take my brother away, please! Dad, how can you give my brother up for adoption?!" Cried Emilianna, feeling utterly heartbroken.


    "Emilianna¡­ Your brother is someone cursed. He cannot be kept in here or he would endanger the lives of all of you¡­" Sighed her father. "Please, you have to understand¡­ The Priests will raise him and keep him safe. He has a power that could endanger the people around him. He needs to learn how to use it to do good instead of evil¡­ Cassandra did to all of us."


    "¡­But I love my brother! How can you do this to me?! Erdrich! ERDRIIIIICCCHH!" The girl began to make quite the scene, but her mother quickly grabbed her away in her arms while she continued struggling and crying.


    Meanwhile, the little Carl was more mature, although he was still sad that everything turned out to be this way. He was also feeling bad for his older brother Erdrich, and he hoped that he coulde to visit him.


    "C-Can brothere to visit us?" Asked Carl.


    "No, he mustn''t step into this house¡­ ever." Said his father.


    "W-What?! But father!" Cried Carl.


    "Carl! You''re a man, your sister might cry, but you have to keep yourposure!" His father reprimanded Carl, as the boy fell silent.


    "If you want to, you cane to visit him in the church on the weekends¡­ It would be the least you could do so the young Erdrich doesn''t feelpletely abandoned." Said Ellergest.


    "¡­Fine, if Carl and Emilianna behave through the week, they might be allowed to go see their brother at the church." Sighed the lord, despite showing a calm demeanor, he was also furious about what Cassandra had done to him and Treebark, and somehow now that she was dead, he seemed to be ming the young Erdrich a lot for it and wanted him away from his sight.<sub> </sub>


    I cannot me him. Although I can''t imagine myself on his situation, I would say that I would feel the same way if I were the same type of feeble human withck of experience as him. I suppose it is to be expected. He cannot possibly see the incredible potential the boy has. But I do.


    He could be a good pawn, an ally that can use the power of demons would certainly be a powerful servant that I could employ in several types of scenarios and missions. In my previous life I had thousands if not millions of subjects, I am rather ustomed to having many serving me, and I feel it is right to raise those with potential to be at my side serving me and protecting me.


    After all, I was a Lord, and a lord must always have his subjects. I cannot do everything in the world, even less now, so having a lot of such subjects is necessary¡­ Also, because I earn EXP so slowly and my development is slow even after all these bonuses I have, having many allies that canpensate for what Ick has be even more necessary now that I am a feeble human.


    Erdrich¡­ He seems very interesting. I wish I could just adopt him, but I guess I cannot do that. I would have to go on the hard way and try to make him a "friend"¡­ Sigh, how frustrating. Well, these are the things I have to go through as a human now.


    After everything finally ended, we moved back to the Church, as the orphanage was right at its side, and Erdrich was given a small bed to rest in whenever he woke up, Ellergest would be called by a nun to exin to the boy what happened to him¡­ and his new life.


    And about Cassandra, the body was going to be cremated, but I took it for myself as part of thepensation with the excuse that they were now demon materials. Ellergest didn''t argued to it because he was too tired to doubt me and discuss with me, and just let it slide. I wrapped her corpse with leather and saved her inside a bag with Spatial Expansion inside. It has a limited amount of space so the corpse barely was able to fit inside. I had thought about cutting her into pieces but that wouldn''t be a nice sight to the priests in front of me.


    After all of that, Ellergest invited us to the same tavern we visited the other day to celebrate today''s arduous victory. In there, Elisabeth, Jack, and Seth didn''t stop pestering me about how I was able to defeat her and why my spirit was so strong.


    "H-How are you so strong, you damn kid?!" Said Jack. "L-Let''s fight right now! Let''s see how strong you are! Hic¡­" He waspletely drunk after just a single beer, what a weakling.


    "I am not interested in fighting you." I said coldly, I didn''t really want to fight any longer.


    "nk, you were amazing! And your spirit was also amazing! You''re so amazing! Amazing, amazing!" Said Elisabeth.


    -----

 Chapter 176 Celebrating At The Local Bar

    -----


    "nk, you were amazing! And your spirit was also amazing! You''re so amazing! Amazing, amazing!" Said Elisabeth, sounding like a broken record. I didn''t know what to say to her other than ignoring her¡­ Hm, well, she''s talented, maybe I could try stealing her from Ellergest and adding her to my crew one day.


    Perhaps acting kind to her would make that easier in the future. Yeah, acting kind is not so hard, I''ve gotten used to such a thing. Although if I act kind with my family and friends, it is usually genuine.


    "Thank you, Elisabeth. But you were also quite incredible in there. It was all thanks to our collective efforts." I said with a mild smile. It was of course all a fabrication; I really didn''t care.


    "Oooh! I-I helped a bit as well¡­" She said, as she began to giggle and blush. She looked like a baby, somehow, slightly cute, I suppose. "I hope you can apany us in the future as well, so we can be together and y demons!"


    She seems to have been taught rather well by Ellergest. Her motivation to y demons is somehow charming to me. Perhaps because I also want to y demons more than anything, I suppose she has good chemistry with me in that regard.


    "Sure, let''s kill as many demons as we can." I said. "And one day we''ll go to the demon towers and kill even more."


    "Yes! Let''s kill all the demons!!!" Said Elisabeth, raising her arms happily.


    It was very childish but my vision of her suddenly changed, she looks very promising! If she wants to kill so many demons, she''ll surely grow stronger to ovee their incredible strength.


    "Y-You two are getting a bit obsessed with killing demons¡­" Sighed Seth at my left side. "Moreover, nk, you''re interesting, just how strong are you? I can''t believe a child your age is this strong."


    ? Seth was very doubtful of my powers and was already suspecting I was hiding many secrets. He was the sharpest of all the other priests in here, more than even Ellergest, and unlike the three dorks, he was also a noble that was ustomed to asking people things directly and usually didn''t had any respect for anyone as he always felt he was in a higher position than others. An annoying bastard.


    "Well, believe it." I said. "But even then, you''re misunderstanding something, Seth." I said to him as he looked back into my eyes while readjusting his sses.


    "Oh? What is it?" He asked sharply.


    "I was helped tremendously by Ellergest, I only barely did anything¡­ other than cutting her head." I said. "It was all thanks to him."


    I had to do this so he would stop pestering me, acting cockily would only get me so far with someone so annoying as him. Sadly not everyone can be an empty-headed dork like Jack or Elisabeth, there is always intelligent people capable of doubting your actions and realizing you hold many secrets. Giving them credible reasons behind your actions is a must, or these people will simply continue annoying you and might even be a threat if they were to ever discover your powers and secrets.


    If things were to get any worse and he were to discover my capabilities, I would feel forced to silence him, which is not something I would like to do, as that might only bring more suspiciousness to me and couldpletely ruin my life.


    "Hm¡­ Certainly, his dragon is very strong, you got a lot of talent though, be prouder of yourself." Seth said with a slight smile, it seems he didn''t hold any more suspicions, or he was pretending to not¡­ I don''t know, but for now I will sigh in relief internally and look elsewhere¡­<sub> </sub>


    My eyes ended on Elisabeth once more, who was sitting to my other side, she was eating a dessert. It looked like pudding with vani vor covered on fruits and cream on top, a typical meal for children sold at a mildly expensive price, this dessert is made out of eggs and milk, which are both expensive. Therefore, the price is naturally high.


    "Hehe, want some, nk? Do you like pudding?" Elisabeth smiled, her bright eyes seemed to shine as her face, which was as pale as silk, seemed to blush a bit.


    I had never tasted this food before, so I might as well try out the vor. In my previous life I just drank blood, but in this life as a human, the requirement to eat is big, which makes it so I can eat food and enjoy the many vors. It is as if a whole new world of possibilities opened inside of me, and although I hate to admit it¡­ I like eating.


    "Okay." I said, as Elisabeth took out a spoonful of pudding with cream on top alongside a small strawberry, and offered the spoon to me.


    "I-I used it though, is it okay?" She wondered.


    I quickly ate the pudding without answering her childish question, I don''t really know why that would be a problem.


    The sweet, eggy, and milky vor alongside the creaminess and the sweetness and citric juices of the strawberry all merged together into a dance of vors inside of my mouth. I wished I could taste it longer but I ended up swallowing it too quickly. A bit of grief hit my heart for a bit after that, but the happiness of having eaten something so deliciously sweet soothed such grief seconds after.


    "Uwah, you really ate from my spoon¡­" She said. "Hehe, it is like an indirect kiss¡­ Fwee¡­" Elisabeth began to cover her face in embarrassment while looking at me shyly.


    "Huh? What sort of nonsense are you talking about?" I sighed. "Please don''t talk weird things, Elisabeth."


    "O-Oh, sorry! I-I didn''t mean to offend you¡­" She said while waving her head. "H-Here, want some more?" Elisabeth offered me another spoon of pudding, and I epted it, because it was free and it tasted sweet.


    "Sure¡­"


    "Hm, you two already look like a couple¡­" Said Jack.


    "Well, Elisabeth is yet to be a nun so she could still marry him." Said Seth.


    I red angrily at the two idiots, as they shut up immediately. I am getting tired of dealing with so many stupid humans every day.


    -----

 Chapter 177 A Great Amount Of Rewards

    -----


    Ellergest finally came back from the bathroom, it felt as if he went down the toilet because he took almost half an hour toe back, nheless, he brought my pay. A big sack of coins.


    TUMP!


    He put the sack on the table, as the other priests all looked into the sack of coins with surprise and awe. They had never seen so much money together I suppose.


    "Here it is your pay, nk¡­ I also included the bonus that thedies gave to you for helping them bring Emilianna to Charlotte, and so on¡­ In total, it is about 150000 Telis. I also decided to add the bonus of my own for your good job of 20000 Telis." Said Ellergest.


    "Telis? How much is this in coins?" I asked.


    "What? You don''t know Telis? This is the currency that most of the nations use¡­ Sigh, you''re really a serf kid, did you just buy everything by coins and not Telis? I suppose even the people that sell things here don''t know very well." Sighed Ellergest. "Anyways, Telis is the currency we use in this nation, and in several others as well. A small bronze coin is 50 Telis, a big bronze coin is 100 Telis, a small silver coin is 500 Telis, a big silver coin is 1000 Telis, and a small gold coin is 5000 Telis, while a big gold coin is 10000 Telis, like that. You get it? Easy, I didn''t have enough Gold Coins and they paid mostly with a lot of Bronze and Silver coins so this is why it is so much, big gold coins are rare to find so we have to make up with many cheaper coins."


    "How strange, I remember that in the past there was a merchant that sold things by coins." I sighed.


    "Well that''s not so strange, he was probably from a nation where they treated it like that, but the prices must have been the same anyways¡­ This small-town deals with coins of other countries, that merchant probably used Mixed Currency, which is often allowed. The coins you have which you''ve showed me have different values depending on it, those that might had been buying your products were buying them for these lesser coins, which are way smaller than the country coins." Said Ellergest, hepared the coins of Telis with the ones I had, they were indeed very different-looking, even the "gold coins" I had were actually very smallpared to the big almost doubloon-like big gold coin of Telis, interesting.


    There is so muchplexity to this that I have begun to not care so much. I will just hoard a lot. Perhaps I should change the coins I have with Telis soon. However, wasn''t that merchant from this country though? Perhaps he scammed me and gave me coins from another country''s coins? But the other sellers also epted them anyway¡­ Come to think of it, I do have some small Telis mixed with my other coins. Ah, this currency thing is such a mess, I wished there could be Credits now, although I had criticized it in the past, now I really want them back.


    "Nheless, whatever the case was, with this money you can easily pay for your entire family to get out of being serfs and bemoners. And even go to the capital and get yourself a small, rented house. They usually go by 80k Telis a month." Said Ellergest.


    "That''s a lot of money, I don''t know if I can even make so much every month." I sighed. "Also, don''tmoners need to pay taxes for living in the city? That would be annoying¡­"


    "Yes they need to pay taxes, it usually depends in how much you make a month, but sometimes taxes increase when the Duke requires more funds¡­ Usuallymoners are paying around 10k Telis a month for each person, having too many children without a good-paying job is not convenient." Said Ellergest.


    "Hmph, it certainly isn''t¡­" I sighed.<sub> </sub>


    Life will still be hard even if I get us to the capital, I will have to somehow find a job that could at least give us 150k Telis a month, which seemspletely insane¡­ Could there be demon or monster subjugation requests though? Maybe bing an adventurer and hunting monsters to earn Telis could be profitable? But they would need to be high quality monsters. Things like Gray Wolves or Imps barely sell for anything, Wild Boars sell well but they''re too rare¡­


    The other option is to invest and be an alchemist, sell products, and earn money to make even more products, eventually building a shop that I can expand into something greater, such as apany. My skills at the market are amateur level in my previous life, but it seems that people here is overly stupid, so even being an amateur in the Outer Universe market between many worlds and star systems seem to be very good in here¡­ Ah, if I could have that one greedy dragon I once tamed, he was very good at negotiations and all of this. Maybe I should try summoning him in the future.


    I suppose bing an alchemist/crafter while also hunting for my own materials would be the optimal way of doing it. I have to put both of my talents into y to generate the most profits after all¡­ But for that, I need to grow even stronger than how I am currently.


    "I see¡­ Thanks for exining this to me." I said, grabbing the big sack of coins and storing it away.


    "Uugh, that''s a lot of money!" Said Jack. "W-Well, I got even more in my savings anyways¡­" Jack crossed his arms.


    "Hmph¡­ I am a noble so my savings are rather high, my parents are also sending me money every month, I am investing a part of it into stocks fromrgepanies in the city, I can generate small profits out of it passively." Said Seth with a smile.


    Hm, so stocks also exist in this world? I could perhaps spend a part of my savings into doing that then, although the gains would be so small, but over time, the money would umte, the more you invest, the more you earn over time.


    "Stocks?" I wondered.


    "Yes, it is investing in sessfulpanies and buying a small part of their actions, you slowly earn some money over time if you pay a manager that will sell your actions when they are higher than before you paid them, and then he''ll buy them again when they''re cheaper. There are other more advanced methods as buyingrge quantities, you''re given a small percentage of what you invest. So you should spend hundreds of thousands to make a good profit every year." Said Seth. "I have invested a few dozens of millions by now, and over the years they had tripled. I''ll use this money for my retirement."


    "Hm¡­ Interesting." I said.


    "Are you interested in such a thing, young nk? I could be your handyman in that, you got a good capital, so why not?" Wondered Seth with a greedy smile.


    I don''t know if I can trust him.


    -----

 Chapter 178 Investing In The Future With A Single Coin

    -----


    Should I trust this noble man?


    ¡­


    No. I will not for now, I cannot risk my money. I prefer to not make any profit for now while still having my money than risk it in aplete stranger.


    "No, thanks." I said.


    "Eh?! But¡­ I can help out!" He said. "Of course, I will also take a small amount as my payment, but I can guarantee you profits over a few months!"


    "No. I don''t trust you enough. We have only met for a few days, I cannot trust you." I said.


    "¡­So cold." Sighed Seth, feelingpletely heartbroken. "But I understand, I guess I would do the same in your situation¡­ In this day and age, it is hard to trust other people. But I swear I have no malicious intentions, I am a priest, a man of the holy spirits, I would never do anything evil!"


    "I don''t care." I said. "Any person can lie after all."


    "¡­Sigh." Seth sighed another time, as he looked defeated. He seemed to want to make some profit out of my investments.


    "Hahaha! He''s pretty reserved to himself, isn''t he?" Laughed Jack, mocking Seth.


    "Shut up¡­" Sighed Seth, drinking some beer.


    "What''s actions?" Asked Elisabeth.


    "Erm, like buying a part of the shop of someone, by doing so, you earn a bit of their profit, if you buy various small parts, you get a lot of profit." I said.


    "Ooooh! Maybe I can spend my savings, Seth!" Said Elisabeth.


    "Hm? Elisabeth, you got some savings?" Asked Seth interested, as the little girl took out a small pouch of money, there was only a single gold coin and a few dozen silver coins, and a handful of bronze coins.


    "Hehe, how much can I make with this?" She asked happily.


    "Ah¡­ That''s¡­ not even 10k Telis¡­" Sighed Seth. Elisabeth was a little girl and probably didn''t have much savings, also Ellergest took over all her expenses as her adoptive father, so she had small savings that she probably asionally used on buying food or clothes, ending in such a small capital.


    "Here." I said, taking a small silver coin and putting it inside her pouch. "Here is my investment on you."


    "Oooh! B-nk! R-Really?" She asked happily.


    "Yeah, keep it safe." I said.


    "Y-You''re so nice!" She said, jumping towards me and hugging me.


    I guess the mission of earning her affection was rather simple, although having to endure her overly affectionate nature kind of reminds me of Erika, Elisabeth is very simr to her. I better never show Elisabeth to Erika, I don''t know how much Erika can be jealous of other girls, as she seems to be okay with Eleanora, but it is better to not risk it.


    I decided to gently pet her head just to make her slightly happier. The moment I did, she got happier as I expected. It worked rather well, I guess I am getting the knack on all of this "affection" thing that humans are so much into.


    "Eh? He''s even giving her coins now?" Asked Jack, opening his mouth wide.


    "H-He really must love her." Said Seth.


    "nk, are you interested in her? Well, you''re very talented so I guess I could give her as your bride for the future¡­ Hm, but an arranged marriage with a serf is a bit¡­ Well, you''re talented so you could make up for it!" Said Ellergest.


    "Would you three stop messing with me?" I sighed. I red at all of them until they began tough. Theyughed at me. Sigh¡­ Perhaps I shouldn''t be so kind to Elisabeth, it is only lowering their impression of me.


    "Hahaha! Don''t be so shy!" Said Ellergest.<sub> </sub>


    "You''re such a hard kid to deal with, rx for a bit!" Said Jack.


    "nk, don''t be so closed like this, we are all allies here. We fought together, now we arepanions." Said Seth.


    "¡­"


    They were talking nonsense as I expected. Humans really love to talk about friendship andpanionship more than anything, they''re an incredibly corny race, and I hate how I am one as well and I am beginning to feel empathy for their own emotions. I feel the same, and I hate it. I hate being human!


    Sigh¡­ Comining won''t get me anywhere- Eh?


    Elisabeth looked at me lovingly, with a rather adorable smile, she looked like¡­ an angel.


    "Hehe, I am d you joined us, nk, we haven''t been this lively in a long time¡­" She said. "I hope we can be friends!"


    "¡­Sure." I sighed. I guess I have sessfully made her my friend now, it was rather quickly.


    "Then we''ll marry when we grow up!" She said.


    "¡­Elisabeth, please stop talking nonsense, we have met for just a day." I sighed. I wanted to go back home. I hate when children be so stubbornly annoying.


    "Hehe, I was joking!" She said. "Come on, rx, let''s eat some more food!" She said happily.


    "I suppose I could eat some more¡­" I said.


    And like that, we enjoyed arge dinner and Ellergest paid for all of it. I was actually incredibly hungry, and due to my hastened metabolism thanks to my physique and the power of my Metabolism eleration Life Attribute Tier 1 Spell, I was able to digest and absorb a lot of food into energy and mana, quickly recovering my reserves of Qi as well.


    "Phew, thanks for the meal." I said, finishing my twentieth te of food.


    "J-Just how can you fit so much food inside that tiny stomach?!" Asked Jack in surprise.


    "H-He''s really a monster." Said Seth while readjusting his sses.


    "You really eat a lot! I guess kids really got fast metabolisms¡­" Said Ellergest.


    "Eat this sandwich now, nk!" Said Elisabeth, offering me a sandwich she had saved.


    "Thank you." I said, grabbing it and eating it in a few bites. I felt like I could continue eating for a bit longer, but I decided that it was enough for now.


    "You eat a lot, if youe to work with us tomorrow, I''ll prepare you a lunch!" Elisabeth suddenly offered me a lunch made by her.


    "Look at her, she''s already practicing how to be a good wife!" Laughed Jack, mocking this misunderstanding.


    "Hahaha! Elisabeth is really going for it!" Said Seth.


    "My girl has grown up a lot, hasn''t she?" Cried Ellergest.


    Sigh¡­


    After today''s arduous work, I moved back home and decided to go straight to bed. Tomorrow and the next day I wanted to practice my magic more in detail. I will probably make preparations to create a Magic Circle inside of my soul, level up several Skills, and probably attempt to learn some more. And also, I want to go hunting with Erika, Eric, and Chris, they''re all quite strong by now, even if only as support, I want them all to gain battle experience, even if we fight demons.


    This world is definitely not weing for the weak. We must fight and continue fighting, level up, learn skills and magic, and be people that can stand on our own two feet¡­ I also want my father to grow stronger, but I don''t know how hard it will be to teach him some things. Andstly, I want to figure out a way to summon another spirit, waiting just to reach Rank 2 seems exasperating¡­ There must be another way.


    -----

 Chapter 179 The Cultists

    -----


    With the death of Cassandra by the hands of the Priests and the new mysterious boy helping them out, the news about her death spread like wind across every inch of the vige, and even traveled into the duchy''s city. Beneath the watchful eyes of the guards and soldiers, there were many areas that such guards could not reach, these red-light districts harbored the worst of the worst in this society, from drug dealers, bandit groups, thieves, and even worse organizations, cults.


    In the world of Spiritias, Cults are not rare, although there is a main religion based in the Holy Spirits, which are believed to have created the world of Spiritias, there are also many pseudo deities that people often saw as equals to Holy Spirits. Most of these entities were monsters that brought cmities to the world. There were always people that prayed towards these entities, or even legendary figures such as heroes or saints that once lived in this world and helped the people prosper.


    Since the invasion of demons in the world of Spiritias thousands of years ago, cults have grown more prevalent as they began to utilize the invaders as their figures of benevolence. There was always wicked people such as Cassandra that saw "beauty" in demons, as entities of great power that came from another world, they often were thought to be the "true gods'' messengers" and some people formed cults to pray for them and give them offerings.


    Of course, most Cults never got anywhere else as they didn''t have the resources nor the power to do anything important, and most of the time they were caught by the church of the Holy Spirits and promptly destroyed, with most of their members punished by bing criminal ves or being outright executed in the guillotine.


    Because most nations were very religious, acts of paganism were greatly punished. Although people were free to think whatever they wanted, they were not free to say it out loud so easily, even less make cults about their own beliefs. The church always disapproved such things, especially those cults that pray upon demons, considered as the ultimate nemesis of humanity in Spiritias, which even the Holy Spirits hated and abhorred.


    Demon Cults were often destroyed a few months after being made. They were very often caught and their members punished. However, there were certain organizations that grew out of proportion, with members that had actual power¡­ and the ability to share this power with members.


    Cassandra had been part of such a cult since her little sister died, seeking power above all in a world where your talent and your starting spirit often dictated your fate, she sought the power of demons. She joined one of such cults. In exchange for her donations and also her loyalty, she was given unprecedented power.


    This mysterious cult resulted to be bigger than she had expected at first, and ended up spanning over many nations, it was an enormous underworld organization which cooperated with all matters of bandits, drug dealers, thieves, and other illegal organizations.


    By all means possible, and by abusing their connections and demonic powers, they sought more resources to growrger so one day they could teach the world that demons are the true path towards salvation, and that the embracing of demonic powers should be normalized. Even though it held countless of negative side effects, such as growing insane due to demonic energy, mutating into monstrous demonic abomination, amongst many of the side effects of using demonic monster parts to modify the body and the spirit of a person.


    Cassandra was a rather important member, as she was one of the few members that had managed to infiltrate the high society using her illusion and charm demonic magic, and was going to bring even more riches to the cult. However, her sudden death was quite impactful, the leaders of such a cult had promptly gathered within a secret hideout, wearing ck coats that covered their entire bodies and hoods to cover their heads, they sat around a round table with therge skull of a demon lighted by candles.


    "Cassandra''s death was sudden and surprising."


    "She was a good asset, what a pity."


    "I am sure she has managed to charm her entire family with her powers. What exactly happened?"


    "She tried to step over her own boundaries and decided to poison the second concubine¡­ She was caught after the priests went through extensive deduction based on various things¡­"


    "We never told her to attempt the assassination of any of her family members! That foolish and jealous woman! Couldn''t she be happy with what she had?"<sub> </sub>


    "She was greedy and you know it. She couldn''t ept her husband getting a second concubine after her. She had patience for various years but ultimately decided to kill her, as her son might have ended up being given the head of the family instead of her own son."


    "But she got too jealous and ended up doing something foolish¡­"


    "I am actually quite surprised, whoever found her out might have simr powers to us, only demonic energy wielders can detected demonic energy as amazingly¡­"


    "Who could it be?"


    "The Head Priest of the vige where she was living in, he has three assistants- no, in fact, there is a new kid¡­"


    "Kid? Whom?"


    "It is¡­ information about him is very faint, but he''s someone everybody in that vige calls a "saint", his healing powers had been healing many people. Even diseases that had never been cured before were healed by him, and he''s even revitalizing people through strange new means."


    "Our spy in the church there said that the kid has been interacting with the Head Priest a lot, but had rejected the invitation to be a priest apprentice¡­"


    "They said that he has the power to fight Cassandra, and together with the Head Priest, they in her."


    "Huh, what''s his age?"


    "¡­Apparently, he''s nearing 8 years of age."


    "What?!"


    The entire room remained in silence. They had expected a teenager, at most, but not¡­ someone below 10 years of age.


    -----

 Chapter 180 Malicious Plans

    -----


    "¡­Apparently, he''s nearing 8 years of age."


    "What?!"


    The entire room remained in silence. They had expected a teenager, at most, but not¡­ someone below 10 years of age.


    The entire cult remained in silence as they heard the news about Cassandra, especially those about being in by somebody below ten years of age. Although he received the aid of the Head Priest, this boy¡­ was someone incredible if he had aplished such a feat.


    "You''re telling me that a kid that is not even ten years of age has defeated Cassandra?! Is he a prodigy that was born with a powerful spirit or something? Maybe he''s Rank 2 due to some special item he consumed?"


    "¡­No."


    "Are you sure he''s a human? Maybe the "kid" was a halfling or a dwarf!"


    "No, he''s a human boy¡­ It was confirmed by our informant."


    "It is a pity that the informant hasn''t managed to get in the team of the Head Priest yet."


    "Now that the kid is using thest spot, he will probably not recruit anymore members¡­"


    "It would be ideal if we could get that spy near the kid to get more information. Try to tell that person to get as close to him as possible."


    "Understood¡­"


    "However, is this really true? How can a kid be this powerful? It shouldn''t even be more than two years since his awakening! Has he been ying monsters and receiving blessings constantly?"


    "It is a mystery, we only know he''s capable of using a powerful magic spear and a wide range of elemental magic without any previous teaching, he''s a natural magic genius."


    "This kid¡­ if he really defeated someone as strong as Cassandra with the help of the Head Priest, then that kid cannot be left alive¡­"


    "If he grows into adulthood, who knows how strong he will be? Will we even be a threat to him by then? Our strongest member is only Rank 3¡­ Although we have many resources and connections¡­ The higher ups are not interested in this smaller vige to even care about giving us their power."


    "Well, about that, there''s another topic we must discuss regarding Cassandra¡­ Her son."


    The group of people quickly fell silent, looking at one another. The child of Cassandra was a rather interesting specimen, a being born as a half-demon without any negative side effect, something they had been looking for all this time.


    "You mean the half-demon, the Cambion?"


    "Yes, the child that Cassandra gave birth to¡­"


    "After many attempts over generations with many of the women in our cult, a pure and healthy half-demon was finally born, huh?"


    "Has he been reported to control his demonic powers without losing his mind?"


    "Cassandra reported this some years ago when she exposed her son to demonic energy to help him get used to it. It was a secret between her and her son, but he was able to shapeshift into an Oni-type Cambion."


    "Incredible, a perfect Cambion¡­ We must get him, what has happened to him?"


    "He''s been put in the orphanage, and he''s going to be adopted by the Head Priest, it is surprising how they decided not to kill him on the spot, but this opens the possibility for us to retrieve him."<sub> </sub>


    "Now, now¡­ How are you even nning to do that when he''s living in the middle of all those religious people? They''re all strong light mages as well, our demon parts are weak against the magic they wield, we must be careful."


    "Hmm¡­ Indeed. Well, that''s why the Demon Gate that has been artificially opened over there will serve its purpose."


    "Oh, so it is growing bigger now? Are there more demons than simple Imps?"


    "Yes, apparently, the hunters fought an Oni, but he was defeated¡­ mysteriously by another¡­ kid."


    "Wait¡­ the kid is¡­?"


    "Yes."


    "¡­"


    "¡­"


    "¡­"


    "He can kill an Oni?!"


    "Kill him quickly! We can''t let this kid get in our ns!"


    "If he''s actively participating in all the things that involve our ns, we cannot let him grow any stronger¡­"


    "Do not worry, we''ll kill two birds with one stone after we manage to amass enough demonic energy, we''ll overrun the vige, catch the Half-Demon, and kill the kid and the Head Priest."


    "The Demon Wave¡­ is it soon to emerge?"


    "Yes¡­ have patience, my brothers."


    -----


    Erdrich looked into the mirror of his room. After all that happened almost a week ago, he has spent all this week in the church inside of his small room, being fed two meals a day. He hasn''t wanted to walk outside ever since, fearful of the world outside and also of what he truly was.


    He was also fearful he was no longer with anybody, alone. With his mother dead because she was an evil demon that tried to poison his beloved and gentle aunt, and with his father deciding to disown him, what else did he have now? His siblings were far away from him and he felt hopeless.


    No matter how much he was told that his mother was a monster, he really couldn''t ept it. He had good memories of Cassandra, his beloved mother always worked hard and did everything to make him happy. Bringing him nice clothes, special potions to control his demonic powers and even strengthen him secretly, spoiling him, hugging him, kissing him, and teaching him a lot of things¡­


    "Erdrich, one day you will be the head of the family. When that dayes¡­ I want you to be a just man, someone that can reach the hearts of the people."


    Recalling his mother''s tender words, he couldn''t help but cry a river, as he rubbed his face against the bed. He felt lost, without purpose. He didn''t want to do anything with anybody, and didn''t want to interact with anybody either¡­


    "Am I really a monster?" He cried, as he looked into the bright moon atop the night sky.


    Knock, knock.


    However, his depressing thoughts were interrupted by the knocking of his door. When the doors opened, a pair of children near his age greeted his sight.


    -----

 Chapter 181 A Week After

    -----


    (ke''s POV)


    It has been a week since Cassandra''s death. Her corpse was maintained by my magic and put inside my Inventory Bag, which I had modified with Space Magic Runes to create arge internal dimension to store things. This dimension keeps most things from rotting as well. If I could share this magic and show how easy I could do it, I could be able to make a fortune, but that would bring too much attention, these type of bags are very rare and considered treasures, only high-ranked adventurers or nobles have them after all.


    I might begin selling them sparingly if I ever open a shop with enough backing to not get persecuted by authorities over it. I may sound cowardly but being overly cautious with things like these is never wrong. For now I will continue making money on my own ways.


    p Although the current me can only conjure Tier 1 Space and Time Attribute Spells, which are no more than a handful, it seems its enough to pass produce these bags¡­ Magic like this is very rare even for nobles who often are gifted with stronger Talents and more powerful Spirits.</anda>


    Nheless, I am still thinking about what I can do with Cassandra''s corpse. I had thought about dismantling her and using her for demon energy potions to stack a bit on them, so I can always refill demonic energy to use my Demon Eye of Paralysis more often, as it consumes a lot of energy. I had also thought about using her body parts for other things, such as crafting items and tools, or even modify my own body with her own body parts, but they seemed notpatible.


    Her eyes were not special so I didn''t had the incentive to put one of her eyes into myst human eye, and to be honest it would be too risky to attempt to imnt a whole arm, or even the demon core she had¡­ which brings a new question too. The Spirit Core she has¡­ she somehow managed to mutate it into what I''ll call an "hybrid core".


    In simple terms, she used her powers and rituals with demonic energy to modify her core and give it demonic properties, thispletely changed her original spirit into the big demon she was able to summon, it was impressive. If I could use this magic to my own benefit or spread it with arge army of people, everybody could get powerful spirits without even needing to be born talented or have enough resources to buy monster parts to create a spirit with them after reaching Rank 2.


    But¡­ I can see why the church doesn''t want that to happen, this magic that uses demon materials is way too powerful and convenient, if it bes widespread and epted for people to gain power using demon parts, the status quo of nobles being the naturally stronger peoplepared tomoners would be broken. Although ites with side effects, I could easily perfectionate this technique and bring it with barely any side effect, and after trying enough, perhaps without any at all.<sub> </sub>


    I better keep this a secret¡­ I also got a lot of the books she possessed, which I stealthily stole from the scene and stored into my bag. I had been reading them for a while, learning about Cassandra''s past was rather intriguing, she went through a lot. But I was unable to find much info regarding the strange and powerful Cult behind her. It seems that the investigation regarding that still is ongoing.


    So, anyways, for the moment, I will just leave her corpse in the bag and see what I can do with it, I have been studying her spirit core and I had considered modifying mine, but it seemed to be toopromising, I might be able to get demonic energy like this, but it could impact my growth negatively. I wish I had a guinea pig to try these experiments on¡­ But humans are hard to get without bringing too much unwanted attention, and quite honestly, I am not interested in bringing such problems to my life.


    But¡­ there are certain humans that these humans think are not worthy of their rights, criminals. They are often publicly executed and they pay a hefty sum for capturing certain criminals as well. I had considered capturing criminals myself and get some prize out of them, or even keeping them for my own experiments. The problem is where could I eve put them? I would need to build some sort of underground facility, even with Earth Shaping, a Tier 1 Earth Magic Spell that can shape the earth and build tunnels and underground caves, I would need an incredibly long amount of time and also mana, which Ick, so that idea was quickly scratched.


    For now, experiments in human scum is not a thing that I can do yet. I need to experiment more though, and practice alchemy as well as the creation of Homunculi, as I want to give Erika a new body, it is essential that I must practice. Cassandra is a good specimen that might be a good material for Erika''s new body, but I need more, possibly female bodies.


    I won''t go on a killing spree though, that''s not my style. I will simply go on as usual and focus on my current problems and projects as of now. The demons in the forest are bing moremon than ever, and there is a growing fear in the poption, but the arrival of the knights from the duchy seems to have calmed the people. Going out to hunt demons won''t be as easy now with these knights going around everywhere.


    Through this week I''ve been working for the priests while practicing my magic and techniques, gaining some proficiency along the way while earning money every day. My rtionship with these people has improved, but a week is not really a long time for me to even trust them, so I keep my distance from them most of the time.


    However, tonight, I was forced to act by Elizabeth, the demon child is still unwilling toe out of his room, I will beat some sense into him. He''s too powerful and useful to be left rotting away inside his room. He will make a powerful ally, even if he doesn''t want to.


    -----

 Chapter 182 Visiting The Half-Demon Child

    -----


    Through this week I''ve been trying to find ways to summon new spirits. I had touched the Grimoire, looked into it, sniffed it, and I had even tried to write on it to see if I could do something with it. Anything I wrote in the empty pages was quickly deleted without any trace left, it seems that conjuring magic against it doesn''t work, as magic passes right through it. The item seems to have some sort of invisibility trait to it, which probably goes as high as Lucifer''s Existence Realm itself.


    What are Existence Realms? Well, in simple terms it''s the rank that an existing being is in. For example, Demigod, God, Great Gods, and so on are all Existence Realms, perhaps. Although they often take a variety of names and they''re never too clear, but it is often quite simple to guess you be a godly being when your energies suddenly being to merge and transcend into divine energy, which I once wielded.


    When I fought Lucifer, I was about to reach the Universal Realm, being capable enough to swallow and absorb an entire Universe¡­ But Lucifer stood in my way, his army of demons overrunning the entire Universe, I had to quickly stop them from ruining everything, so I went to his Hell. And¡­ well, that''s that. I am here now, I guess it never truly worked. Anyways, Lucifer''s Existence Realm was above Universe Realm, he was truly a monster not even my powers could fathom.


    Ultimately, this tool he has given me for his own amusement, the Grimoire, cannot be damaged by the current me. But perhaps one day I might achieve enough strength to do so¡­ hopefully. But for now, modifying it is impossible, and the summoning of spirits is strictly connected to it.


    But what about my soul? I had checked it a million times by now, inside the Origin Core of my soul, there''s certainly something that I can detect. Lucifer roughly patched it all together, fusing my Origin Core with the all the broken ones of my subordinates. This has ultimately fused my soul with them, but all of their powers are sealed, and they''re unlocked as I summon them, it seems. This is probably why Eleanora and I have our powers so connected with each other. I have tried getting inside my Origin Core¡­ and I have managed to do it, but the intensity and the energy used to do this are too much for the current me, and I can only peek inside for a few seconds before being too exhausted to continue.


    The interior feels like an enormous dark ce, extending for several kilometers, if notpletely endless. And inside I was able to see faint, phantasmal figures standing in silence. Perhaps my subordinate''s souls are there, and they''re randomly picked when I finally summon a new spirit, apparently.


    I will have to keep working hard and reach Rank 2 eventually, I am sure that reaching Level 10 should also help, perhaps by then I will be very close to reach Rank 2. Even if it takes days, weeks, months, or even years¡­ I will get all of them back eventually, all of my friends- I mean, my servants.


    But I wonder¡­ who else is next? I wish I could select them myself, there are so many fitting servants for the job of helping me in a new world, but it seems random. Even Eleanora being summoned was an act of pure luck, I was very lucky to have managed to summon the first ever ally I had in my previous life. This is why I treasure her a lot I suppose. It is strictly that and not because¡­ I have strong feelings for her.


    Hm¡­ Perhaps both.


    Sigh, being a human is really a pain, all of this thing about feelings and everything else. I really miss having an immortal vampire body that didn''t bothered me with strong emotions and annoying sexual drive. My body is still far from reaching adolescence, but I cannot help but notice women and girl''s body more now, especially every time I think about Eleanora''s adult form in specific, I can''t help but grow strangely agitated. Being a human is surely the worst curse I could had ever received, Lucifer must beughing at my misfortune from Hell.


    But it''s usually on Eleanora, or beautiful women I see in the vige¡­ Little girls are¡­ they look like dolls, I cannot really feel any attraction, even though Elizabeth and Erika pester me a lot even as children. I am not dense enough to realize they might be developing romantic interests, but my mind is elsewhere, so I really cannot answer such childish feelings. Thankfully, they have not said anything so I am only just guessing things. At this point I''ve grown soft enough to see them as my little sisters, or something remotely close to that. Elenora is¡­ well, in my eyes she''s different, but only because its Eleanora. She maintains her child form because it helps her conserve energy and it costs less Mana to summon her this way.<sub> </sub>


    All things considered, today I had just finished my work with the priests, we had gone around healing some nobles, while they let me heal somemoners for free. I got a good bag of money, but in the middle of dinner in the tavern, Ellergest mentioned the half-demon child Erdrich.


    "He has been keeping himself inside that room all this week, no matter how much we try, we cannot let him get out¡­ I don''t want to provoke him or something, if he awakens into a demon, it would be dangerous and I might¡­ be forced to take him down. With that fear in mind, I''ve been rather cowardly in confronting him." He sighed, he seemed rather tired.


    "Hm, then let me handle him." I said confidently.


    "You? Handle him?!" Laughed Jack. "You''re just a kid, nk!"


    "I took the life of her mother, it is the least I could do to¡­ help him recover." I sighed, faking some regret.


    "W-Well¡­ You''re right, but I am also partially in fault of that as well¡­" Sighed Ellergest.


    Suddenly, Elizabeth held my hand tightly and smiled rather pumped up by an idea inside her childish mind.


    "T-Then let''s go together to cheer him up, nk! Let''s bring him tasty food!"


    Hm, maybe conquering his stomach could work, he''s a kid at the end. Elizabeth is also cute; I could use her to catch his attention. Her gentle nature let people lower their guard in front of her, she''s quite useful to soften the hearts of the unwilling.


    -----

 Chapter 183 Eleanoras A Little Bit Jealous

    -----


    After dinner in the local tavern, I walked to the church headquarters with the priests, Elizabeth was not letting go of my hand, and Eleanora was roaring angrily at her, although she couldn''t listen to her because she was inside her Spirit Orb.


    "Ggrrr¡­ that girl is really stepping over her boundaries with you, my lord!" She said angrily. "Why are you letting her grab your hand so leisurely? It is lewd!"


    "What are you talking about, Eleanora?" I sighed. "I''ve told you that she''s a friend. She''s an orphan so she seeks attention and being epted, it is normal for her to act overly affectionate. I''ve shown her affection as well, it is part of my n."


    "R-Right¡­" Elenora said, quickly calming herself down. "You''re doing more of these "friends" that humans always talk about, isn''t it?"


    "Yes, the concept of loyal friends is not so far away from loyal subjects." I told her. "I will make her a very loyal and good friend, so she''s always there to aid me with her powers. In this world where I cannot use all my power, I must use the powers of others to my advantage."


    "I see! Now that I think about it deeply, it is a very intelligent and well-thought n, my lord!" Eleanora said fascinatedly. "I could had never expected more from you."


    "I told you a hundred times to never refer to me as "my lord" ever again, didn''t I?" I sighed.


    "O-Oh, sorry¡­ Asmodeus." She sighed.


    ? "Eleanora, you''re¡­ someone I treasure a lot. I want us to grow closer, using honorifics will only further increase the size of the wall between the two of us." I said to her, as Eleanora seemed to smile within thendscape of the Spirit Orb.


    "Yes, I understand¡­" She said. "I-I apologize for getting worked over it¡­ I should had always assumed it was part of Asmodeus'' great ns from the beginning!"


    "Well yes, that''s it." I said to her. "And this kid I will go meet is also someone like this, someone that will be another asset- I mean "friend", yes, that."


    "Huh, the demon child, right?" She asked. "The one I caught!"


    "Indeed, that one."


    "He''s very strong, I remember."


    "He has a good potential; I will use his power."


    "Always taking advantage of everything you can, you''re truly the same as in your previous life, aren''t you, Asmodeus?"


    "Although it pains me to admit it, I have changed a lot¡­ But I try to remain like I used to be, even if it has be progressively harder."


    "Being a human is really horrifying, I can tell!"


    "Yes, well, sometimes. I have begun to like certain things. This family is¡­forting and nice."


    "Hoh¡­ I suppose I share the same thought; I''ve grown rather fond of this "family" concept¡­"


    "We shall build a family together one day in the future, are you willing?"


    "L-Like¡­ bing your wife?!"


    "That''s a bit of a stretch¡­ But perhaps."


    "Ooohh¡­ T-That''s¡­ I¡­ I have to think about it¡­"


    "I suppose it is too hasty to think about such things for now¡­ Anyways, we are here. Keep quiet for the moment, Eleanora. I will be quite busy."


    "U-Understood!"<sub> </sub>


    After having talked with Eleanora, we have already reached the front of the door of the room where the kid was. Erdrich was an entric boy, he seems to be extremely shy despite wielding such amount of power, and also being a noble. Perhaps the death of his mother has affected him a lot, but she was insane and tried to kill us, it''s not like we had much of an option in that regard.


    But¡­ should I attempt to feel empathy for him?


    Empathy¡­ it is something I don''t know if I had truly developed in my previous life. Although I did feel bad when some of mypanions died, I kept moving forward and fought for them. Perhaps now that I am a human and my emotions are not so dulled out by the cold heart of a Vampire''s body, I can feel empathy as a stronger emotion than before.


    What¡­ would I feel if my mother was the one that died in such a tragedy?


    What would I feel?


    I¡­


    I would feel terrible, of course.


    The mother of this second life¡­ I can confidently say I love her.


    She''s someone that is always there for me, someone that raised me since I was a baby, and¡­ someone so precious to me that I cannot really think of a recement.


    Losing her would be extremely painful.


    Indeed¡­


    Ah, now I get it.


    I see.


    I can tell that it feels terrible¡­ He must be going through a lot of pain. Losing someone so important to his life¡­ it feels as if everything is being brought down, isn''t it? His entire life is being tore apart.


    After his father threw him away of the house by targeting his hate from his mother towards him and also partially out of fear¡­ now he''s alone. His mother is dead, his father doesn''t want him nor love him, and his siblings¡­ seem to be forced to distance themselves from him.


    He''s alone.


    Loneliness¡­ I am fine with it.


    But¡­ is he, someone that doesn''t have all the experience I gathered in my life¡­ fine with being alone?


    Living his entire life surrounded by people that loved him and cherished him¡­ Of course he''s not alright with being alone.


    Hm, empathy really helps at seeing how a person''s mentality might work byparing it with yours, but there''s just as much as you can guess before you begin making incorrect assumptions over a person''s mentality. The best way to find out more is by asking directly.


    "Are you ready, nk?"


    "Yeah."


    "Alright¡­ Let''s do this!"


    Elizabeth was pumped up, as she knocked the door gently, and then I opened it hastily. I wasn''t going to wait for him to open it anyways. Even if its rude, I don''t really care.


    -----

 Chapter 184 Meeting Erdrich Again

    -----


    The moment we opened the door, Elizabeth''s hand got tighter, she was nervous. I didn''t let go of her hand to calm her down. Despite her willingness to help the boy, she was very nervous because shecked social interactions I suppose.


    "Calm down, Elizabeth, leave this to me." I told her, reassuring her.


    "O-Okay¡­ I am counting on you, nk!" She said.


    I let go of her hand after that to get inside the room, she quickly came behind me. The boy was over his bed, but when he saw us it seemed as if he had frozen, he looked like a statue.


    "W-Who are you?!" He asked out of the sudden, fearfully moving backwards. It seems that he had never been a noble son, he hadpletely devolved into a person afraid of everything. Has the trauma been so severe already? Ellergest should had really attempted to help him earlier, that old man is really way too stupid.


    "My name is nk." I said. "This is Elizabeth."


    "N-Nice to meet you." Said Elizabeth, giving him a gentle smile.


    The boy was surprisingly open despite his fear, quickly stating his name.


    "I-I am Erdrich¡­"


    "We know." I said.


    "Erdrich! Why are you noting out? They told us it has been a whole week since you got here and you haven''t walked away!" Elizabeth said, walking to Erdrich''s said.<sub> </sub>


    She sat down in the bed at his side, as she petted his head.


    "Are you afraid?"


    "¡­"


    Erdrich tightly hugged his legs, as he didn''t directed his eyes at her.


    "I-I am¡­ I don''t know what to do¡­ I don''t know¡­ if I should even be alive¡­" He cried. "I mean¡­ My mother was a demon, that''s why she got¡­ killed¡­ Aren''t I a demon too? A monster? If I walk out of the room¡­ Won''t I hurt people? I don''t want to hurt people¡­ I don''t want to¡­ make people upset¡­ It was all because of that that my father threw me off the house¡­ My mother was¡­ evil¡­"


    Erdrich was containing his tears, but he quickly broke into a weep, his tears covering his legs as he attempted to cover his face with his hands. Elizabeth instinctively hugged him.


    "E-Eh?"


    "It''s okay¡­ Y-You''re not a monster!"


    "¡­!"


    -----

 Chapter 185 Rage

    -----


    Erdrich looked at Elizabeth''s bright golden eyes, as he felt slightly captivated. She was also crying out of the sudden. If there''s something to say about her is that aside from her incredible magic and spirit, Elizabeth is a very empathic girl. She''s capable of putting herself in the shoes of the people she just meet, and rte to their emotions so strongly that she feels their sadness or happiness very easily.


    She''s also said to have the power to see through the intentions of people, if they''re either bad or good¡­ strangely enough, despite my shady intentions, she doesn''t seem to even detect them. Perhaps to her, I am a good person.


    "W-Why are you crying?" Cried Erdrich.


    "Because¡­ It makes me sad to see you like this¡­" Cried Elizabeth.


    "W-Why?!" Asked Erdrich.


    "W-Why¡­ why shouldn''t I?" Sighed Elizabeth.


    "Ah¡­"


    I walked to the two as looked down at Erdrich.


    "Erdrich, despite being a half-demon, there is a big reason why you weren''t killed on sight. Your father still loves you, but he''s afraid of your powers." I said. "He doesn''t want you to hurt the family like your mother once did¡­"


    "S-So that''s¡­ it¡­" He cried. "Then¡­ it is just as I thought¡­"


    "Erdrich, our group of priests, counting me, Elizabeth, Seth, Jack, and Ellergest all took ce into what happened to your mother. We are all responsible for her death." I said. "And as such a responsibility, we must take care of you."


    "S-So you were¡­ the ones that killed her?" Erdrich looked at me and then at Elizabeth, the girl that was crying¡­ In his mind, there was no way such an adorable and honest girl could had taken the life of his mother.


    "Partially, but¡­ I was the one that sliced her head." I said coldly, as I looked ruthlessly and emotionlessly at the boy.


    "E-Eh?"


    "I killed her with the assistance of Ellergest."


    "W-Wha¡­? You?!"


    "Yes, me."


    I wasn''t going to keep it a secret from him that would only build more tension in the future. It was better to tell him things upfront directly.<sub> </sub>


    The moment Elizabeth heard what I said, she tried to reprimand me.


    "B-nk! How can you say that?! You don''t have to¡­ tell him so directly!" She reprimanded me, trying to stop me from talking anymore, but I grabbed her arm and moved her aside gently as I looked at Erdrich from above.


    His face grew darker, as he began to unleash a strong demonic aura. He was pissed off.


    "What''s wrong? Are you angry? How do you feel? Are you anguished? Do you feel frustrated? What do you have to say to me?" I asked, provoking him. "Are you willing to forgive me or are you going to teach me a lesson for killing your demon mother?"


    "Y-Youu¡­!"


    "What''s wrong? Are you afraid of me?" I asked. "Do you think I''ll kill you like I did with your mother? ¡­Quite honestly, it is not so hard."


    "Y-YOUUUUU!"


    Erdrich''s skin suddenly began to grow redder, as if many me-like tattoos started to grow from his chest, which glowed bright red. His entire skin was engulfed by those red tattoos as his skin slowly turned redder. A pair of ck horns grew from his forehead, as his ears grew sharp and long, two enormous tusks surged from his lower jaw, as his eyes turnedpletely red.


    "Come at me."


    "RAAAAAA!!!"


    "W-Wait!"


    Elizabeth tried to stop us, but I quickly conjured a Wind Barrier and she was stopped by the might of my Tier 1 Wind Attribute Magic. Meanwhile, Erdrich roared and rushed towards my side,pletely covered in miasmic demonic energy, resembling a furious demon no simr at all to how he looked before.


    "I''m gonna kill you! DIE!"


    The hadpletely lost his reason, and this was what I wanted. Not only I wanted to see how far he could go, but I also wanted him to get everything he had inside his heart out right away, without any roundabouts.


    "Do your worst."


    CLASH!


    -----

 Chapter 186 The Simple Dream Of The Half-Demon Boy

    -----


    Erdrich roared loudly, moving forward at a fast speed, the demonic aura epassing his body continued to enhance his physical capabilities and his speed. The first thing he did was attempting to punch me. I easily blocked it with my arms, but he moved forward, jumping, and twisting his body midair, attempting to give me a powerful kick in the head.


    CLAAASH!


    I blocked it with my bare arm, the strength of that leg was powerful, but thanks to the reinforcement of my body through Leveling Up and also thanks to Tier 1 Spells such as Body Strength Enhancement, Iron Skin, and so on, I was able to enhance my physical defense.


    "Not bad at all."


    "SHUT UP!"


    Erdrich continued his onught, unleashing a variety of attacks using his arms and legs, he resembled a monstrous demon from Hell. He was surprisingly strong, and moved surprisingly well, as if he had been taught how to attack using his own body.


    However, he had yet to even reach my strength. I blocked his movements without much difficulty, as I pushed him to reveal more of his strength.


    "What''s wrong? Is this all you''ve got?" I asked provocatively, Erdrich was very easy to provoke, as he attacked me even more furiously. His fists suddenly gained demonic mes as they started to hit me. I evaded some and blocked a few others.


    "Weak!" I proimed, as I kicked him in the stomach, throwing him into the ceiling strongly.


    CLAAAASH!


    "A-Aaggh¡­!"


    Erdrich fell into the floor quickly after. He attempted to stand up, but I put my leg over his back, pushing him down.


    p "You''re too weak, Erdrich. Don''t you understand? You''re too weak to avenge your mother. You can''t even touch me."</anda>


    "Y-You¡­ Ugh¡­ M-Mother¡­"


    Erdrich began to cry once more, as he seemed to slowly shapeshift into a human once more. the demonic energy was quickly cleansed by me with a wave of my hands.


    "How do you feel now? Did you get everything out?" I asked.


    "¡­" Erdrich didn''t answered, looking elsewhere angrily.


    "Your mother was a threat to other people''s lives, Erdrich. You are too."


    "¡­"


    Erdrich seemed even more angered, as he covered his face with his hands, cleaning his tears.


    "I-I am not!"


    "How so? Look what a mess you''ve made into your room¡­ Are you telling me that you wouldn''t identally kill people by going berserk like this?"<sub> </sub>


    "T-That''s¡­"


    "Erdrich. You were given a chance. You''re a demon that can easily kill people, you know how easily they could have decided to kill you so people could feel safer?" I said. "However, they had given you a chance to be someone that instead would use his strength to help others. You have to show people that your strength can be used like anybody else''s strength, and show your family, especially your brother and sister¡­ that you''re the same Erdrich they know about."


    Elizabeth slowly walked towards the two of us, she seemed quite angered after we had a small fight, well, you can''t really consider this a fight to be honest. I just helped the boy get all the anger and frustration out of his heart; it was only going to make things worse if he kept it all saved up.


    "You two dummies, why did you fight?!" She cried. "It was very dangerous¡­"


    "S-Sorry¡­" Sighed Erdrich. "nk is¡­ right. I got carried away¡­ What happened to my mother¡­ It was partially her fault at the end¡­ I can''t me you all for it."


    Erdrich took it¡­ surprisingly well. I thought he was going to hate me for the next years, but he suddenly realized everything very quickly, perhaps I underestimated his intelligence, he might be someone smart and reliable enough in the future.


    "I-I am sorry, nk¡­ You did what you had to do to protect the people¡­ I know that my mother also attacked our house¡­ She intended to kill auntie Treebark¡­ She''s like a second mother to me." Cried Erdrich.


    "Come, stand up, we have to clean this mess." I said, as I extended my hand. Erdrich took it, as he stood up.


    "Okay, you two clean this mess right now! And make friends!" Said Elizabeth angrily.


    "Don''t be so grumpy, Elizabeth." I said, petting her head.


    "Sorry again¡­" Erdrich said.


    He seemed to still be very sad, but our interaction ended cheering him up a bit. Even though I gave him a kick in the stomach, he looked just fine. The powers he have might possibly include enhanced self-regeneration.


    Anyways, I was left surprised, are humans, specially young ones, capable of showing such maturity? I tried to check if he was lying, but he seemed to be very honest with his words. We cleansed the mess in the room before the priests reached the room, finding nothing wrong going on¡­ Except a small hole in the ceiling.


    Erdrich was still quite confused about what he could do now. So I told him the most basic thing that a person coulde out with in such a harsh world as this one.


    "You have to grow stronger." I said. "Do you want a rematch one day? Or to show people that those with demon powers are not¡­ bad? Then grow stronger and help people with the priests, I guess."


    "T-That''s it!" He said, as if I had enlightened him. I am not really into helping people like a hero, but he''s from this world and seems to be a righteous kid, so it fit him quite nicely.


    "I will grow stronger with everyone¡­ And we''ll have a rematch one day!" He said, acting surprisingly childishly after he showed a lot of maturity by how he understood everything. I guess a kid is a kid no matter what.


    "Well said, Erdrich! That''s the spirit! Let''s grow stronger together!" Said Elizabeth.


    "You two are too young to go around ying monsters though¡­" Sighed Ellergest.


    "It is not so hard to do, there are a lot of demons going around the forest by now. Isn''t a task of the priests to y demons?" I asked.


    "Well¡­ yes." Sighed Ellergest. "Maybe we could find a way to help the knights, and in the way, get blessings out of ying demons for you kids to grow stronger."


    -----

 Chapter 187 Fenrirs Evolution

    -----


    It has been three days since the incident with Erdrich, and he has been adapting well. Ellergest, Jack, and Seth seemed to have weed him well into the group, and he was showing signs of slowly gaining back part of his sanity, although it still seemed rather dangerous to provoke him, as his demon powers triggered based on his emotions. If he got too upset, he would sometimes begin to emanate a strong demonic aura, so we have to contain him. I have begun to teach him how to control demon energy in secret, but he''s going to take some time to learn the basics.


    At the very least I awakened his Qi and it immediately turned into Demonic Qi, it seems that demon energy is so prevalent on his body that it instantly mixed with his Qi. Demonic Qi has strong properties but it is extremely hard to manipte, he''s going to take a while to master it. Aside from that, his mana levels are above the norm for his age and talents, so he''s an incredible genius, apparently.


    He also has a Talent named "Demon Knight" which was the Talent he was born with. It is quite interesting because it is only known for humanity to gain talents, demons have never been seen to have the power of talents, levels, and other things. But because his mother was a woman that modified her body using demon body parts, he inherited such power naturally, and became a half-demon with human''s powers, such as talent, levels, and skills.


    He has a spirit, which he has been unable to summon for now, he seems to always try to get it out, but it seems to not do so, as if the spirit itself was not obeying him¡­ It was the first time this has happened for Ellergest, so he was very surprised. But we settled it by thinking that he would eventually be able to summon his spirit, whatever a spirit from a demon would be.


    As of now we have not gone to hunt yet, Erdrich and Elizabeth had been mostly learning things inside the church while I help with healing and other things to earn money. However, recently I managed to buy enough spirit orbs to upgrade my Spirit Beasts.


    Spirit Beasts are the spirits I can freely summon inrge quantities using the power of my Spear, Gluttony, whose powers were linked into my soul and therefore they show even in the Grimoire. Gluttony has the power to devour souls, and when it devours spirit orbs from beasts, it can summon a copy of the beast, the beast has a "base" which can only be strengthened by feeding Gluttony more spirit orbs of the same type of beast. I also managed to get a new beast spirit summon by feeding Gluttony the spirit orbs of Walking Mushrooms. Tonight, I decided to check the new upgrades.


    "Your spear never ceases to amaze me¡­ To think it can gain new creatures to summon or even strengthen the summons!" Said Eleanora. "Gluttony has truly be an unique weapon of its own."


    "Indeed¡­ Now, Fenrir, Spore,e out."


    I spread out my shadows and several spirit summons came out. After Gluttony ate a lot of spirit orbs, it increased the max amount of times I can summon spirit beasts. Although they cost a lot of mana for each individual summon, through Mana Cultivation, my MP has been increasing passively, and I''ve also gained proficiency in magic and skills, there is no day where I don''t grow stronger, even if a little bit.


    "Woof!"


    Fenrir barked loudly, thankfully I had put a deafening barrier made out of Tier 1 Wind Magic. It can deafen sounds froming out of inside the invisible barrier, so Fenrir can bark all he wants¡­ well, the Fenrirs, as I''ve summoned around three of them, alongside all the other Orcus and the two Spores I have.


    Fenrir had grown stronger after "evolving" and he became a meterrger, so big that he can now carry me on his back. He looks fiercer, and his fur turnedpletely ck from its former grey, he also gained a single unicorn-like horn growing from his forehead, which emanated a strong quantity of energy.


    Beast Spirits don''t consume mana upon summoning them and can infinitely use their Skills without the need for their own MP, it is a mystery how this happens, but my guess is that they can absorb energy from the environment. I can also do it and increase my natural regeneration of Mana and Qi, but their level of natural absorption of energy from the environment is incredibly efficient, as they seem to always be energetic- although they die very easily with a few hits anyway, even in this evolved form.


    -----


    Name: Fenrir


    Type: Beast


    Rank: H > G<sub> </sub>


    Race: Dark Horned Wolf


    < Health Points: 20 / 20 -> 85 / 85 >


    < Strength: 12 -> 70 >


    < Agility: 15 -> 80 >


    < Vitality: 10 -> 40 >


    < Intelligence: 5 -> 20 >


    < Dexterity: 15 -> 45


    Buff: +3 Agility, +3 Dexterity


    Skill: [Furious Bite], [Dark Howl]


    Growth: 0/30


    -----


    "Wow, Fenrir has surely grown stronger!" Said Eleanora, checking the Grimoire, which she was also able to see if I allowed her.


    "Yeah, by merely summoning him, I also gain +3 Agility and Dexterity, and his new Skill [Dark Howl] make foes that are not so strong paralyzed in fear, which gives the opportunity to strike¡­ If we use him in team hunts with more of my allies, we could easily surround arge group of monsters or demons and hunt them down swiftly." I looked at Fenrir, who was waving his head. He and his clones sat down over the floor and werezily acting like house dogs. Eleanora was fascinated by them, as she started to pet them all, their fluffy fur¡­ was enchanting to her.


    "You''re the cutest dog! Yes, you!" She said, petting them all. Sheter rested over the floor in between all the Fenrir dogs.


    "This is heaven¡­" She sighed happily.


    I didn''t knew what to say, but I am d she''s happy.


    -----

 Chapter 188 Spores Evolution & Eleanoras Fixation With Fluffy Creatures

    -----


    Fenrir would prove to be a strong ally. Unlike Orcus he doesn''t have as much overwhelming strength, but he has greater agility and intellect, which helps at listening to my ownmands. The higher the intellect of beast spirits, the easier they can listen to mymands and alsoprehend what I am saying. Orcus is very strong and can do simple things if I tell him to "charge" or "attack with all you got", but anything remotely moreplex enters through one of his ears ande from the other, he''s a dumb pig.


    But Fenrir is different, his intelligence is rather high, making him very capable of learning and listening tomands, like normal real life dogs. Beast spirits also seem to same their memories even if they die. If they die, the ones I summonter will be able to recall what they learned before, so they constantly learn new tricks and more things. Fenrir evolved version also gives him greater senses of smell, making him an excellent tracker.


    However, there''s the third beast spirit which I cannot forget, as he''s even more intelligent than the evolved Fenrir despite being smaller and weaker, and even one rank lower¡­ and that''s the Walking Mushroom Spirit, which I named Spore.


    -----


    Name: Spore


    Type: nt


    Rank: H


    Race: Walking Mushroom


    < Health Points: 5 / 5  >


    < Strength: 6 >


    < Agility: 20 >


    < Vitality: 5 >


    < Intelligence: 40 >


    < Dexterity: 10 >


    Buff: +2 Intelligence


    Skill: [Poisonous Spore]


    Growth: 12/20


    -----<sub> </sub>


    The Spirit Orbs for Walking Mushrooms are not hard toe by, I always buy them whenever I find them in the market, Spore only needs 8 more to evolve, so he''s getting closer to getting a new Skill and even better stats. I hope he can learn magic next to use that Intelligence he got. And different from the conventional Walking Mushrooms, he''s much more appealing to the eyes, as he resembles a big red-cap mushroom with white dots on top, with small legs and arms and a little face. It seems to always be slightly sleepy, but Spore is surprisingly attentive to my words, his 40 Intelligence does not betray me, despite being rather weak, he''s also speedy with 20 Agility, so he can run around stealthily and wait for an ambush to use Poisonous Spore, his signature Skill.


    Much like the actual Walking Mushrooms, if not even better, Spore can unleash poisonous spores that could cause some status effects. I can produce my own poison, but Tier 1 Poison is very weak and cannot do much, Paralyzing eye consumes precious demonic energy so I cannot give myself the luxury of using it all the time and waste this energy, so Sporees into ce when I need to weaken a strong foe, or a group of foes.


    His Poisonous Spore generates a cloud which can spread for a handful of meters, it can cause dizziness, damage over time, and slight paralysis that mightst only a few seconds, but those few seconds is all we need to take down small fry.


    I was rather pumped up to go hunting by myself and test the potential of my new Spirit Beast Summons, so after having dinner, I immediately jumped off the window. I have waited a week and a half since I''ve gained any sort of EXP, and I was growing bored, to be honest, so I decided to immediately go into the forest. I know my bounds, I''ve defeated a woman stronger than even that Oni from back then, so I know how far I can reach, if something bad happens or a foe I cannot defeat shows up, I don''t really mind escaping.


    But the thing I want the most honestly are spirit orbs and EXP. I want more spirit orbs from Gray Wolves, Walking Mushrooms, and Wild Boars to strengthen my spirit beasts, but it seems that monsters are all being eaten up by the demons, which is a pain. But I might as well still try to find anything I can kill. If I can find some new monster, I could add it to my group of summons as well.


    I''ve been investigating more about the region where I am living and everything else, mostly my investigation is biased towards "monster spots" which are known as ces where monsters are seenmonly. Our entire vige is surrounded by a big forest where demons are overturning it, so to get to a spot with new monsters I would need to cross it and reach the Far Green Grassy ins, which is arge piece ofnd coveredpletely by grass, with barely any trees, in that ce it is said that giant snakes, slimes, and even boars and bull monsters show up rathermonly. Demons have yet to reach such an area as it is very far away from here. I might be able to get there flying, but for now I will limit my hunting grounds to the forest.


    Eric invited me to go to his house yesterday, so I will being tomorrow morning. He seems to want me to show the magic I''ve taught to him to his parents, perhaps they want to learn it from me, and in exchange he promised me to pay me with alchemy recipes, sks, and rare ingredients. His parents run a small shop which sells potions and medicine, so it is a good ce to investigate all of that. Eric has be even more valuable as a friend.


    "Fenrir!"


    p I summoned 7 Fenrirs this time, only leaving 3 Orcus, and also 2 Spores which are sitting inside of my shadows. I made the Fenrir spread around me, while I mounted the "alpha" which is the assigned leader of the Fenrir pack.</anda>


    "Woof!"


    "Quiet down!"


    "Awroo¡­"


    "Asmodeus you don''t have to be so rude with the fluffy Fenrir¡­"


    Eleanora seemed to love the dogs. I remember we once had a three-headed dog in my previous life, she was very fond of the creature¡­ I wonder if I will be able to summon him once more.


    Or maybe¡­ is Fenrir¡­?


    ¡­No, there''s no way.


    -----

 Chapter 189 The Lost Knights

    -----


    Eleanora seemed to love the dogs. I remember we once had a three-headed dog in my previous life, she was very fond of the creature¡­ I wonder if I will be able to summon him once more.


    Or maybe¡­ is Fenrir¡­?


    ¡­No, there''s no way.


    ...


    As I mounted Fenrir with Eleanora and we ran inside the forest, I asked Fenrir and his clones to use their strong sense of smell to quickly chase any sort of smell that could indicate a monster or a demon nearby, anything does, I just wanted some EXP to feel like I''ve not wasted my entire week.


    In the meantime, I checked my progress through my Status.


    -----


    Name: ke Hunter Goathorn.


    Race: Human


    Spirit Orb Realm: Rank 1 (Middle Stage)


    Job ss: None


    Subss: None


    Level: 6 / 10


    EXP: 39220 / 50000


    < Health Points: 192 / 192 -> 200 / 200 >


    < Mana Points: 525 / 525 -> 531 / 531 >


    < Strength: 136 -> 142 >


    < Agility: 104 -> 112 >


    < Vitality: 117 -> 124 >


    < Intelligence: 228 -> 235 >


    < Dexterity: 152 -> 159 >


    Spirits (1/1): [Half-Vampire: Eleanora (Rank 1 Middle Stage)]


    Link Skills:


    [Link (Eleanora): [Shadow Sneak: Lv1 -> 2]


    Passive Skills: [Acrobatics: Lv3] [Robust Body: Lv2] [Hard Worker: Lv2]  [Hawk Eye: Lv1 -> 2] [Gifted Magic Apprentice: Lv1 -> 2] [Heavy Drinker: Lv1 -> 2]


    Active Skills: [Throwing Technique: Lv2] [Spearmanship: Lv1] [Butcher: Lv2] [Alchemy: Lv1] [First Aid: Lv2]<sub> </sub>


    Title Skills: [Beast yer: Lv1] [Demon yer: Lv2] [Savior: Lv2]


    Avable Stat Points: 0


    Avable Skill Points: 10


    Can gain 10 Stat Points and Skill Points with each Level.


    Curses:


    EXP required to level up x100


    Proficiency required to learn techniques and skills x100


    Mana/Qi/Aether Recovery speed decreased by -50%


    -----


    My stats had not increased crazily, but they had slowly been increasing, that''s for sure. Some Skills also raised in level, which is very convenient, Shadow Sneak finally reached Level 2 so it is way easier to stealthily merge into the shadows at night specifically, and the other skills give better passive effects. Heavy Drinker is specially useful, doubling the power of all sorts of potions and even food and other things that can grant special stats or restore HP and MP is very useful, it even works with demon energy potions, so I get even more demonic energy thanks to it. Hawk Eye enhanced my vision even further, and now I can even see through the dark at long distances without problems, andstly, Gifted Magic Apprentice aids at my ability to manipte magic and create "new" spells, although I mostly just rediscover the spells I once used in my previous life.


    Spearmanship and Throwing Technique are getting closer to level up too, and I''ve been making new projectiles for my Throwing Technique, mere stones won''t do anymore against powerful foes, so I''ve been buying rusted weapons and armor scraps from the market which are often very cheap, and I''ve used the "Material Shape" Tier 1 Earth Attribute Spell to clean their rust and shape them into balls. I cannot make them into strong weapons or something with the quality of the steel, but I can make them into Steel Balls to throw around, very heavy and dense, they''ll be able to easily pierce through the skulls of my foes.


    "Woof! Woof!"


    Suddenly, the alpha Fenrir speaks to me through some barks, but through our minds, what he''s thinking is easily transferred to me as knowledge. It seems the whole pack were able to smell a big concentration of mana and demonic energy around 30 meters from here to the east, so we quickly decided to move there.


    "Let''s go!" I ordered Fenrir and the rest, as they all quickly moved to the east and rushed forward as fast as possible, their dark fur easily merged with the darkness of the night, making them lethal creatures for ambush.


    "Oh, finally some ughter, I was getting tired!" Eleanora said. She took out her spear and infused it with Aether and some of my mana, making the weapon glow with a bright red aura. I also took my Gluttony just in case, while keeping my pouch with Steel Balls close by to throw at foes from a distance.


    As we finally reached the area, the wolves stopped, slowly lurking around our target. Using Hawk Eyes, I was able to see something rather surprising. It was a group of knights. Two of them were in the floor, covered in wounds and with spears piercing their heads, they were dead. The other five were fighting desperately against Imps, over a dozen of them mounting¡­ Gray Wolves?! And there was a big Demon mounting a giant Wild Boar! It was¡­ an Oni just like the one from before. Hoh, this is getting exciting.


    But what the heck are these knights doing here? Why did they came here at night from all things? Or did they get lost? Well, there''s no point in holding back, I''ll take down the demons and monsters and get all the EXP and Loot I want. I''ll deal with the knights and ask questionster. But just in case, I''ll cover my face with a ck mask, Eleanora too, which I also created using Material Shape and the leftover steel scraps, alongside some ck painting made out of the ck blood of demons. This mask helps to camouge my scent to the demons as it is covered in their nasty odor.


    "Spread and attack!" I ordered the Fenrirs, as I brought out three Orcus and also the two Spores, which I decided to make into a team. The Fenrirs circled the Gray Wolf-mounting Imps, while the three Orcus and the two Sores immediately went for the big boss mounting the giant wild boar.


    "W-What the¡­ wolves?!"


    "These are different, watch out!


    "No, they''re not attacking us!"


    As the knights were confused about what was happening, I jumped off into action with my Fenrir, as he immediately roared, giving a loud howl.


    "AWOOOOOOOO!"


    A strong aura of darkness epassed the hearts of the demons and monsters¡­ and also the humans, who were all temporarily paralyzed by fear. Fenrir''s roar proved to be quite useful.


    -----

 Chapter 190 Knight Lucas

    -----


    It was a terrible day for the knight squire Lucas, a young man that had enlisted in the Golden Knight Order through his connections thanks to his nobility as a member of a small noble house. Since he was a child that he always dreamed about being a knight. When he acquired the [Squire] Talent at the age of 5, his future was more than set, and he worked hard every day to acquire the skills of a knight. However, because the requirements to increase the power of a person was not only resources but also ying monsters and demons, his growth was greatly stopped due to the overprotective nature of his parents.


    p Being born with the Silver Shelled Snail Spirit, which was not good at fighting but was a rather defensive spirit made him put even more effort into his training. When he finally reached the age of 12, he enlisted in the knight academy, where he was taught the basics and managed to learn Swordsmanship and Shields Manship, the ability of his snail allowed it to transform into a big shield that could help him at defending in battle, but it was very heavy and his small frame made it hard to carry such a big creature around.</anda>


    However, due to this efforts, at the age of 15 he was finally given a quest alongside his group of knights,manded by General ncy, the group moved into a nameless vige with over a thousand people and a few nobles. The mission was simple, exterminate the demons overrunning the forest surrounding the vige. The duke was recently given a report that an Oni was found and defeated by the efforts of many brave hunters, thankfully with none of them dying. The knights felt pumped up, especially because they were all newbies and needed to gather more experience at defeating demons, the so-called "enemies of humanity".


    After having heard the horrors that demons were capable of doing after learning what they did with the nearby nation of Silvertide, Lucas was filled with the conviction of stopping them before a new Demon Lord were to be born from this new breeding nest of fiends.


    Things the first days went well, small groups went into the forest and in the Imps scattered about, sometimes big groups of Imps would show up, but they were able to fend them off with minimum damage. They underestimated them, those that managed to escape came back with more Imps, they learned their patterns, their strategies, and how they fought. Each day that the knights came to y more demons, they were surprised by traps and tricks, until one day, they learned that Imps¡­ were not as simple as goblins or other "intelligent" monsters they had defeated in the past.


    Demons are malicious by nature, tricksters, schemers, and above all, they valued each other highly, like humans do. Each lose was taken painfully, and their resentment drove them to seek ways to defeat foes they couldn''t defeat normally. Despite being weak, they had brains and numbers over the knights, they had to find ways, to abuse their environment and then¡­ to strike them all down!


    It was only midday when they went into another hunting session led by General ncy, but this time things went badly. Using the same route they always used, the knights were suddenly ambushed by several traps, pitfalls leading to holes filled with spears, a handful of them died agonizingly through this way, the general included. General ncy, who taught Lucas all he knew died so suddenly that the young squire was still processing his lost. But he had no time to do so, right after that, another group of Imps showed up after they managed to fend off the one that ambushed them, mounting Gray Wolves and led by a demon they had never seen before mounting a giant wild boar, the knights were chased deep into the forest, going up into a nearby mountain, desperately calling for help but receiving no signals of anybodying for them.


    As they were young and unexperienced, one by one, they began to fall by the traps and tricks of the Imps, until only seven of them ended surviving, the seven of them were chased and then¡­ ultimately surrounded. Filled with fear in their young and unexperienced hearts, the knights desperately fought. In just a few minutes, two of them died gruesomely, and Lucas himself, out of mana, was unable to fight at 100% his strength, with his snail already having died some time ago, it would take a long time for his spirit to be capable of being summoned again. Left desperate and without much to do against these terrible odds, he started to regret having be a knight.<sub> </sub>


    It was a terrifying job, he should had listened to his father who ran a store in the capital, he should had just studied to be a merchant, even without a merchant-rted talent, inheriting his father''s knowledge and the store would be more than enough¡­


    "I should had listened to my father¡­"


    However, as the five surviving knights were already drowning in despair, a mysterious wolf howl shook their hearts, filling them with even more fear, so fearful was his heart that he feltpletely paralyzed.


    The knights saw a group of wild ck wolves entering the battle out of nowhere. At first, they believed they came for them, but it was the opposite. The ck wolves began ravaging the Imps and the Gray Wolves, biting their necks savagely by abusing their swifter movements and stronger jaws alongside bigger sizes, each ck wolf was around double the size of a gray wolf, the imps and their weapons were also futile, the wolves showcased incredible intelligence and coordinate, evading lethal attacks, or taking them in non-lethal areas of their bodies, tearing apart their foes mercilessly.


    And leading such a big pack of ck wolves there was two¡­ children, wearing ck masks and mounting the bigger of all the ck wolves, at their side, three medium-sized wild boars being mounted by tiny walking mushrooms also showed up.


    "What on earth is happening¡­?"


    Lucas couldn''t help but wonder if he was dreaming.


    -----

 Chapter 191 A Vengeful Red Oni

    -----


    ke moved swiftly forward,manding his Fenrir to circle around the Imps and the Gray Wolves tamed by them, the ck wolves, as the knights called them, easily tore apart the foes one by one. Their coordination was superb and their movements swift and precise, this was thanks to their increased stats after bing G-Rank monsters from H-Rank, the difference in stats was very notorious. However, another thing also helped, the strong howl of the alpha Fenrir was able to paralyze the foes¡­ and the knights as well. This only made it easy for ke and his wolves to take down the demons and monsters.


    The ck wolves easily evaded most lethal attacks, and although some of them took a few hits from the Imps spears and arrows, they managed to survive and defeat all the small fry in a matter of seconds. Of course, ke was not going to bother with them, if his summoned spirit beasts could take them down just fine with just a bit of damage inflicted upon them, the only one he had to care for was the big wild boar and the Oni mounting it.


    ke quickly ordered the three Orcus to surround the big wild boar that was leading the other gray wolves with the Oni on top, all while the Spores sitting over two of the Orcus immediately began to spray clouds of poisonous spores over the enormous wild boar, which was slightly paralyzed by Fenrir''s Dark Howl.


    "W-What the? Who are you?!" The Oni mounting the giant Wild Boar couldn''t help but ask, as he looked at ke and Eleanora angrily, trying to decipher their faces but finding out they were wearing metallic masks covered in the blood of demons, an act of profanity to their culture, these were monsters he had to y!


    "A red Oni, he looks weaker than the Blue Oni of the other time." Said Eleanora.


    "Yeah, let''s quickly y him." Said ke.


    "B-Blue Oni?! You''re talking about my brother- Cough! Ungh¡­ t-this poisonous cloud is even affecting me, a demon?!"


    The Red Oni was a man with little patience andck ofmon sense, above all, he was a fool. A conceited demon that was born strong and evolved to be even stronger, his brother was in some time ago, and since then he had been wanting to avenge him, this is why he had been setting up such a n to kill thisrge group of knights. Although he was already about to seed, having killed their general and over half their group, now he was greeted by two children and arge group of strange monsters.


    "GRUUOOH!"


    The three Orcus charged forward, they were half the size of the enormous wild boar, but the three were big and strong enough to attack it from all sides and knock it off bnce. The enormous wild boar fell to the side, throwing the Oni on top into the ground.


    BOOM!


    "Demon mes!" The Red Oni desperately roared, as he conjured several fireballs made out of demon magic and fired them against ke and Eleanora.


    Eleanora jumped forward, swiftly waving her spear and unleashing a strong sh overcharged with her Aether and Mana from ke, the strong sh destroyed most of the fireballs, hitting the Oni in the chest and leaving a deep wound. The demon quickly rolled through the ground, vomiting a mouthful of blood.


    "How weak! We have truly be stronger than back then¡­" Said Eleanora.


    "Well, the other spirit beasts helped. Spore proved to be very useful¡­" Said ke. He immediately noticed that Spore had poisoned the Oni so severely that his muscles were getting constantly paralyzed, he was losing blood internally, and his mind was dizzy.


    The best way to defeat strong foes was by weakening them first, this was a golden rule that ke often used on his previous life. Now that he finally had the means to weaken them with Spore, he was going to use this power to his heart''s content.


    "Y-You bastards¡­ I won''t go down without a proper fight!!!" The Red Oni roared. His entire body exuded a strong Demonic Aura, shaping itself and materializing into a red armor! ke immediately recognized this power as "Demon Magic Armor", it was a special ability that certain high-ranked demons could randomly have. It allowed them to materialize their demon energy into armors to protect their bodies. It even came with the ability to also materialize the demon energy into weapons.<sub> </sub>


    FLASH!


    Arge longsword was summoned by the demon, materialized out of the rich demon energy he had. He moved forward as he swung his enormous de strongly, shing against Eleanora as the two unleashed strong shockwaves. Their power was almost equal, but the Oni didn''t count ke to be mixed into the fight. The boy swiftly moved behind the Red Oni using the speed of Fenrir, pointing Gluttony into the demon, and jumping upwards, falling into the Oni''s body while Eleanora kept him busy. He used the ssic Dragoon Knight Spear Technique!


    "Dragon Spear Meteor!"


    CLASH!


    ke coated his spear with his Mana and Qi, unleashing an explosive and piercing attack by falling from a high distance by pointing his spear downward! He missed the head, piercing through the demon''s left shoulder all the way down, tearing his left arm and also part of his ribs and left leg instead.


    "AAAGGH!"


    The Red Oni cried in agony; he waspletely surprised by ke. The young boy was able to pierce through his strong armor and sliced through almost half of his body!


    "You bastard!"


    The Red Oni was about to furiously attack ke, but Eleanora was there and reacted faster, unleashing her strongest attack, her spear moved like a guillotine, chopping off the Oni''s remaining arm and then the ankles of his legs, putting him down into the ground in an instant!


    SLASH!


    BOOM!


    "Gyyaagggh¡­!"


    The Red Oni was crying pitifully, and ke immediately decided to mercilessly finish him off so he wouldn''t be bothered anymore. His spear quickly reached the demon''s neck, slicing it thinly, like a warm knife going through butter.


    SLASH!


    It was done.


    ke assessed the battlefield, there were only corpses and¡­ a group of trembling knights.


    -----

 Chapter 192 Level Up And A New Skill

    -----


    I had rushed forward with everything I had, and things ended¡­ incredibly quickly. Not only the wolves became strong enough to easily kill Imps and Gray Wolves, but the Orcsbined attack against the Wild Boar plus the two Spores helped at weakening the Oni. Eleanora and I finished him off quicker than ever before. I suppose even Onis don''t seem to be a big threat to us. Not like I will go around lowering my guard in front of demons, you never know what sort of crazy thing they wille out next with.


    After ying all the foes, I made sure there was nothing else around through Hawk Eye and Mana Sense, and there were indeed a handful of Imps with Gray Wolves running around, so I sent my Fenrir to catch them, and in just half a minute, they brought all the runaways'' corpses. Their kills are my kills, so I gained all the EXP.


    In total, I had in roughly 21 Gray Wolves and 26 Imps, alongside 1 Red Oni and 1 Wild Boar. Gray Wolves and Imps gave approximately 200 EXP each, while the Red Oni gave 10k EXP and the Wild Boar 5k. Not bad at all, all the EXPbined plus the [Hard Worker] Skill at Level 2 made it for an evenrger amount.


    Ding!


    [Calcting EXP¡­]


    [You gained 34160 EXP]


    [Your Level has increased from Level 6 to Level 7]


    [You gained 10 Skill Points and Stat Points]


    [Level: 7 / 10] [EXP: 23380 / 60000]


    [You learned the Skill [Intimidation: Lv1]


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    [Intimidation: Lv1]


    Your presence naturally frightens others, slightly lowering the foe''s stats. The Skill effect increases in power if those you met do not know you. With enough intent, the intimidation can cause problems in the psyche of a target, or even cause temporal Fear Paralysis, although it is a low chance. The intensity of the Intimidation and its stat debuffing effects increases with each level.


    Its passive effect can be toggled on and off


    -----


    I gained a new Skill out of nowhere¡­ Intimidation, huh? it might prove to be nice, although if I am chasing down weaker prey, it could be detrimental to me, so it doesn''t seem to be the best Skill out there. Although it could prove to be useful if I am in a closed space surrounded by foes.


    This was a fruitful harvest; I have in a lot of monsters and demons all gathered together. It could be said I was incredibly lucky in that regard. But there''s probably a big reason why they were all here together ambushing these knights¡­


    "Oi you all, can you move?"


    [Intimidation: Lv1] has been activated]


    "GYYAAH!"


    "D-Don''t get close!"


    "W-What sort of dark aura is that?!"


    "Is he¡­ something worse than a demon?!"


    "K-Keep yourposure!"


    Ah¡­ Intimidation activated right away; they''re frightened. It would certainly be nice if I could kill them and get more EXP out of it. They have seen my powers after all. Yes, seems¡­ like the right course of action.


    ¡­But I won''t do it.


    They''re knights given the task of protecting the vige, killing them will only make the vige even less protected. Even if this group of ipetents were surrounded by Imps, I cannot just kill them.


    They''re useful assets, I could even help them train to grow stronger or something, that might even let me enhance my magic and skills as well and see the capabilities of humans here.<sub> </sub>


    But a kid teaching these grown ups? I suppose I am dreaming too much.


    For now, I toggled off Intimidation and quickly calmed them down, all while Eleanora grabbed my bag and stored all the corpsesying around, they were all ours of course.


    "Calm down, I mean no harm." I said.


    "T-That''s the voice of a child?"


    "I thought he was some sort of halfling¡­"


    "Are you a kid?"


    "Why¡­ you''re so damn strong?!"


    "That was amazing!"


    It seems that Intimidation was really frightening, the moment I toggled it off, they went back to normal for the most part.


    "I am a wandering hunter¡­ I work with my familiars and my spirit¡­ Why are you all here? If it wasn''t because I arrived in time, you would all be dead."


    "T-That''s¡­"


    "Well, you''re not wrong."


    "We got trapped in the demon''s tricks¡­ we were chased down, cornered¡­"


    "Our general¡­ sniff¡­ General ncy¡­ He¡­ he died so suddenly!"


    "General! General¡­!"


    The group of knights began to cry like babies as they recalled their general''s death. It seems they had it rough. I decided to not move them out of here yet, and quickly used the Ember spell to create a small bonfire. I took out some pots and tes, and quickly decided to cook a quick stew. Using the dried meat I have for my travels, water using magic, some herbs I had saved, salt, pepper, some bones, and potatoes and carrots, everything started to boil rather rapidly.


    I also began to boil some herbal tea to calm their minds. I wanted them to tell me everything that happened so I could get a better perspective. I decided that the first thing I had to do was feeding them, they seemed all malnourished and almost starving. I covered the two corpses of the soldiers left with some mantles so they wouldn''t disturb them so much.


    "Come, let''s eat something together. You all look malnourished, there''s no way you''ll make it back like that." I said.


    "T-Thank you¡­"


    "You''re so nice¡­"


    "Is this okay?"


    "Yes, it''s okay,e quickly." I said, almost ordering them to break the ice, they were overly childish and I dislike crybabies.


    "Asmodeus, is this alright?" Wondered Eleanora.


    "Yeah, I don''t see why not. I am hungry anyways." I said.


    "O-Oh, then let''s enjoy a meal together. We can ask them what happened then." Said Eleanora.


    "Precisely. I think the demons¡­ are beginning to evolve and be more coordinated. There''s no way they would had been able to do this to them so easily without prior nning." I said.


    "Yeah¡­ this is all way too shady." Eleanora said, as I saw that the stew was almost ready.


    -----

 Chapter 193 Taking An Opportunity To Build A Connection

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    The knights quickly sat around the bonfire, as I took out the wooden tes and began to serve everybody some stew. I made sure to at least put some meat and a potato in each person''s te, and then gave it with herbal tea and arge piece of bread. The knights were so happy eating that some continued to cry. It seems that they owe me a lot. Perhaps I could use these people to get more connections with important people, or at least people of the high society. Knights tend to be from noble families,moners often be soldiers, but the title of a knight has more prestige and the nobles won''t let just anybody have it.


    "Ah, this stew is so good¡­ T-The spices¡­ It has been a long time since I ate something soforting¡­"


    "Sigh¡­ I wish the general could be here¡­ Sniff¡­"


    "Eating this reallyforts the heart¡­"


    "Hahh¡­ The tea really clears up my mind a bit."


    "It is painful to know we are the only survivors¡­ But it is also¡­ it fills me with joy to still be alive after what we went through."


    The knights began to talk about their experiences and thoughts, while Eleanora sat down at my side, almost sticking her body to mine. She said it was "because it was cold" but spirits usually are not affected by temperatures of the environment, so she was being clingy. Not like I mind.


    "Hm¡­?! T-This stew is very nice¡­" Said Eleanora.


    "What? You too? I just put basic ingredients in there." I sighed. "Maybe the bones I added are special, they''re from the wild boar we got the other day. The jerky is gray wolf and Imp."


    "I-Imp?!" Asked one of the knights.


    "Yes, demon meat can be eaten after being purified. Salt is capable of easily purifying demon meat so after that I dried it into jerky and eat it very so often, it is tasty." I said. "Aren''t you happy? You''re eating the meat of these monsters that took down your friends, call it a revenge or something."


    "A-Ah¡­ that''s right¡­"


    "Damn demons¡­"


    "We never thought they would be so strong and intelligent, the first week we spent it hunting them down so swiftly¡­"<sub> </sub>


    "Oh yeah? Tell me more about your situation." I said. The knights quickly began to open up a bit more. Theforting food, drinks, and the bread really opened their hearts to me, making it easy to know what they were thinking, and also what they just went through.


    One of the knights named Lucas exined me most of what happened. They had been hunting demons since they arrived in the vige, but recently they had gotten smarter and even used traps against them. Their general died in a pitfall trap, and after that, the Oni leading the Imps chased them down into the depths of the forest. They ran for hours and ultimately ended being cornered by over twenty imps. What surprised me the most was that they are already taming monsters.


    Perhaps the monsters disappeared not just because they ate them, but they''re probably also taming them and trying to use them as mounts. An Imp and a Gray Wolf separately are not the big deal, but when they worked together like now, not even the knights could easily take them down. Especially because the Imps covered their weapons with their blood, which is poisonous to humans in most cases.


    Demon meat carries their blood, if it''s not purified, the demon meat cannot be eaten or¡­ well, it''s going to intoxicate the person that digest it and may kill them.


    Anyways, that''s not really the topic now. The knights exined to me that they were chased down and weakened, forced to use every bit of their mana, and had their spirits in one by one, even if they''re nobles and have great talents and spirits, they''re still Rank 1 anyways¡­ their general was supposedly peak Rank 1, but still not Rank 2 yet.


    Are those at Rank 2 and above really that rare? Hm, well, whatever''s the case, the knights were all nobles just as I imagined, and all those that died were also nobles. Their families are going to get quite sad after learning about the death of their young knights.


    "We owe you our lives¡­" Said Lucas. He was a man on his 15 or 16, quite young for being a knight in active duty I would say, he needed a lot of experience and practice to be truly strong. He looked rather in-looking to be a noble, unlike the beautiful Erika that immediately shows her ties to nobility. Her father had crafted her body identical to her original body. Lucas had short brown hair, almost red, and brown eyes. He said he was part of a merchant family that owned a series of small to mid-sized stores in the duchy where they sold all sorts of varied products.


    "I should had never been a knight." He sighed. "I should had listened to my father¡­ I really don''t have the knack for being in the frontlines¡­ I thought it was easy but this was¡­ it was¡­ so horrendous¡­"


    "Hm, it is natural to feel that way. But you were doing alright killing normal Imps and other monsters, right? It is not that you''re weak, you simplyck experience, you''re young. If you survive and keep getting stronger, you''ll be able to be better at what you do." I said. "But certainly, keeping yourself inside a store is safer¡­ But I would say you''re quite admirable, walking outside of your family tradition and deciding to serve your nation with your strength¡­ That''s not something others in your position would do."


    I obviously praised him to cheer him up and get on his good side. Eleanora was making weird faces as she saw me praising this young knight, but where there are chances, I don''t shy away from acting ording to the situation.


    "T-Thank you, you''re very modest¡­ you''re the amazing one here, for having done everything here¡­ You''re truly an incredible hunter, and so young as well¡­! I owe you my life¡­ If you ever need anything, I''ll help you out!" Said Lucas, the other knights agreed.


    It seems things went well. After eating the stew, we quickly moved back to the vige, picking the corpses that Fenrir detected using his sharp sense of smell.


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 Chapter 194 Goodbye For Now

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    Using Fenrir''s help, we detected every corpse from the knights. Some of them were being slowly eaten by small rats or other little animals, which we quickly eliminated. They were so small that their EXP given was minuscule. After we picked each corpse, we swiftly moved back to the vige where we secured all the corpses inside the church. Corpses in this world are treated by two ways. Commoners and below have their bodies cremated and the ashes are kept in a jar or buried underground by the families. Meanwhile, Nobles have special graveyards where they bury the bodies of their family members after being purified with holy magic. This process is done because the Mana leaking out of corpses ends up corrupting and turning into miasma, which subsequently may turn corpses into Undead.


    Of course, this doesn''t happen so often inside forests because corpses are quickly eaten away by scavengers before they can raise as Undead. However, humans love to preserve their bodies, so the risk of them turning into Undead eventually is quite high. This is why anybody below nobles who can''t afford to pay for a ce in the public graveyard have their deceased family members cremated. Meanwhile, nobles who can afford it will have their family members "purified" by holy magic, which essentially dries their bodies into mummies, that won''t decay as quickly and the leftover mana will also be purified and cleansed.


    I would say they should just cremate the bodies and not waste space into useless graveyards, but humans overvalue their lives too much. Maybe because they have such fleeting lives that they usually see their beloved ones pass away in front of them. Having short lives does change the mentality of a person a bit. Even I have begun to change due to this reason, and many more. I might eventually begin to think that being a human is not so bad¡­ Which slightly sickens me. But in the other part, there are many things in this life that had brought a lot of happiness to me. Happiness has always been a rare emotion in my previous life, so I have begun to appreciate things more. I fear Eleanora has also been infected¡­


    Before reaching the church, I had stored all my Familiars inside my Shadows. The Knights were very surprised when they saw this, but I told them to not talk about these Familiars and these shadow storage powers I had, as it would be a bit annoying to exin it. By abusing [Intimidation] a little bit, I had actually managed to make them slightly understand what I said, and they seemed okay with it. You never know if they''ll eventually talk, but it seems that for now they''ll remain in silence. Thankfully, these knights were all grateful and honest people. Maybe you could call them a bit na?ve, but that''s good as well. Abusing na?ve people is my specialty, and making na?ve people indebted with you is the best way to gain their loyalty.


    Nheless, I wasn''t overthinking this too much, nor I was going to push myself into them either. I quickly left them into the church without taking off my mask. Eleanora was inside my Spirit Orb by now so everybody just saw a little kid leading a group of blood-covered knights. The priests quickly greeted them rmedly, and so did the rest of the knights that were gathered in the church. I didn''t had any point in staying here any longer, as I didn''t wanted to get too involved into this.


    "I''m leaving now, you''ll get help from the church. It is up to you what you doter on. If you''re willing to continue fighting or go back to your homes. Quite honestly, both options are fair." I said, as I slowly walked away.


    "W-Wait!" Lucas ran towards me, putting his hand in my shoulder. "You never told us your name¡­"


    "Hm? Ah, my name is nk. I work through the week with the church healing people asionally." I said. "If you ever need my help you can find me through the week here."


    "I see¡­ Thank you, nk. I''ll make sure to pay you back one day." Lucas said as an honest smile surged on his lips.


    "¡­Sure, do as you may."


    I walked back into the streets and quickly disappeared into the shadows using Shadow Sneak, the knights were unable to follow me with their eyes as I had melded with the shadows and the darkness of the night. As I moved back home, Eleanora began to speak with me about everything that had happened. She seemed slightly concerned.


    "My lord are you sure about having revealed so much information to them?"<sub> </sub>


    "It is fine, Eleanora, don''t overthink this."


    "I see you''re strangely more carefree than before¡­"


    "I am slightly sleepy. But don''t worry, nk is my second name. Nobody knows about my true identity as ke. They don''t know where I live either¡­ I also want them to actually repay me in the future. Seeking my second identity with the church would be ideal."


    "I see¡­ It makes sense now I suppose¡­ You''re always thinking several steps ahead!"


    "Don''t overexaggerate. These "Schemes" with these humans cannot even be called that. They''re so simple minded it is like ying with children. Other races in the Universe¡­ well, some were very hard to deal with, especially entities such as Mindyers or High Elves."


    "You''re right. Compared to them, humans are really nothing¡­ You had many difficulties dealing with the squid-faced Mindyers."


    "Indeed, but their technology was great, so I had to get it. Fighting them back then would had been suicide seeing how big theirwork of colonies was¡­ But they were always opportunistic bastards. They''re probably letting go loose now that I am gone."


    "Hahh¡­ You''re right. I hope those that survived from our group are okay."


    "I hope for that every day and night, Eleanora. I really hope for that¡­"


    "Well, it is not like you can do much about it for now, right? Let''s rest for the moment."


    "Yeah, I agree."


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 Chapter 195 Erics Journey

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    Eric woke up like any other day. However, today was quite special, his friend, ke, wasing to his house today. Since he meet ke several years ago that he had always thought of him as someone quite interesting. ke was always very serious, his face often never changed expression, and he seemed devoid of emotions most of the time. At first, Eric couldn''t help but think of ke as a scary kid. But slowly, he learned more about him and got to know him better. He learned about his family, who were all nice and honest people, and then he saw him interacting more and more with them and then Erika. He quickly realized Erika was something like "his weakness". She was someone that always caught him off guard.


    He learned that the intimidating ke could also smile andugh. He slowly grew more fond of him. Even though they ended fighting for a year, they reconciled after some time, and became friends once more. He learned how mature ke was for his age, and continued to find even more interesting and intriguing things about him. Over time, and without realizing, he saw ke as a good friend. And ke too, saw Eric as a friend, someone valuable to him. Eric was good friends with Chris, and quickly reconciled with ke, but always thought of ke as higher. As if he was the older brother of the three, even though he was their same age.


    ke ultimately did something on his own ord and decided to give him powers and magic he never thought he could develop. Not even his uncles who were great alchemists and medics had ever taught him anything like ke did. He often wondered if ke was even a human to begin with, his powers were shrouded with mystery¡­ But there was something on him that made him someone very reliable, an aura of someone greater. An innate leader that guided others and helped them grow stronger and even discover their own capabilities. For ke, there was nobody that was untalented. Everybody had potential, they simple had to find it and, over time, make it grow.


    Eric was always a gentle-natured child, often bullied by others because he used sses and had poor vision. When Chris came to his life, he quickly protected him from bullies, and even as he grew up and continued to be rather bullied by children, Chris and ke were always there, and even Erika. Eric had always thought of himself as somebody weak that always relied on others for his own survival, it made him feel bad and even weaker than he truly was. It made him think he was someone useless. His spirit was developing very slowly, and he had no Skills yet as he had yet to receive Blessings by ying monsters¡­ But then ke decided to teach him his abilities, and Eric quickly realized that he also had his own strength.


    ke quickly went from an older brother figure to¡­ someone even greater than that for Eric, something simr to a master, a teacher, someone that taught him how to be stronger and also how toprehend magic and the power ke called "Ki". Using all he had, he quickly learned everything ke taught him. He awakened his Ki and practiced Ki Maniption Technique every day alongside Mana Maniption Technique. Without realizing it, he felt his Mana and Ki grow exponentially, even without receiving Blessings. He learned how to create Magic Circles and conjure spells that were often only taught to those that attended Magic Academies, and he even learned new spells that went in tandem with his own Spirit.


    When he showed what he had developed to his parents, they couldn''t help but grow happier. They wanted to meet ke as well, and Eric wanted to request ke to also show them how to use Magic. In that, ke found a new business opportunity. However, if he showed it to everybody the nobles might cause a fuss that a child was spreading the ways of using magic circles to meremoners, so he decided to limit it to his own friends. Eric was happy when ke epted, as he offered him various valuable things such as ingredients, recipes, and other items that his uncles sold. ke was quickly convinced with that; Eric knew very well his friend was someone that loved money and material goods.<sub> </sub>


    After bathing and eating breakfast Eric decided to calm his mind and nervousness by reading a few books he had. They were all medicine books containing information about a great assortment of nts of all types, these books were passed down by his family of medics and alchemists for generations, and were very valuable, he was going to let ke read such family treasure because he was his best friend. But he himself was still hallway through the second book, and as he read and reread more, he memorized more and more knowledge about all sorts of nts and recipes for potions and other alchemy items. He knew that his friend in the future would want to be an Adventure, and he was willing to grow stronger himself to walk by his side. Even if he wasn''t the best at magic norbat like Erika and Chris, he was going to use his knowledge to make up for it.


    Eric had yet to know what his parents thought about him bing an Adventurer, but he was willing to try everything he could to convince them. It was his dream to explore the world at the side of ke, Chris, and Erika after all, even if his duty would be to take the medicine shop after his uncles grew older, he wanted to have an adventure he would never forget.


    "Eric! Your friend is here!"


    Suddenly, he heard his aunt call him from his small room. Eric jumped off his seat nervously, almost falling into the floor, and quickly crawling back up.


    "A-Alright!"


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 Chapter 196 Assessing My Gains

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    The next morning I woke up quite early. I only had a sleep of around 4 hours but that was more than enough to be honest. Before doing anything, however, I suddenly began to think about my life and how much I''ve experienced so far. As of now my mother will probably given birth to my twin siblings in a few months, which might also align with my eight-year birthday. Although I never mention it, this is one of the things that always lingers in my mind. I do remember that I detected she was pregnant just a few days before I reached seven years of age. Now it has been almost seven months, and my mother''s belly is rather big. I often go inspect her state and I''ve researched some things with the priests too, finding out that children in this world have various gestation stages.


    Apparently it is not insane to see mothers that might hold their children for more than eight months, sometimes ten months. Depending in the children''s developing mana and their spirit orb, which might take some time to develop if they have exceptional talent, some mothers had given birth after a year of gestation, which was odd for the humans I know, but these humans might bepletely different from the ones I always knew. Their Spirit Orbs are a clear sign already¡­ Perhaps my mother might gestate the twins for over eight months, this is why the assumption of giving birth near my birthday came. If that means they''ll be born even stronger, then I hope she takes as long as she wants.


    Anyways, moving on to other topics, I had a lot of corpses to take care of from yesterday''s hunt, and a big pile of Beast Cores and Demon Cores as well. I rushed into the storage and began butchering them with the help of Eleanora one by one while my parents and grandmother were soundly asleep. Using the Deafening Barrier Tier 1 Wind Spell, I was able to easily deaf any sound we made inside the storage, so things went rather well. There were over twenty corpses from Gray Wolves and Imps which I wouldter on sell. Wolf meat is nice, but we already got a lot of meat stored in the house, both monster and demon meat I and my father have hunted over this entire time. I''ll still leave some for reserves inside my Inventory Bag, but the rest will be sold.


    Except the blood, and even Imp body parts are still precious for my experiments, so I''ll keep them as well. I can make demon potions out of them and also eating them restores demon energy. So they''re going mostly for me. The Cores will be absorbed by Gluttony while their souls were already eaten by Eleanora''s spear. Eating the Cores of Demons strengthens my spear a lot, and after eating twenty of them plus the Oni Demon Core, it gained a great upgrade in Attack Power. Additionally, devouring the Monster Spirit Orbs made Fenrir reach almost the necessary threshold to evolve again, needing around 8 more Gray Wolf Spirit Orbs. I will buy them whenever I find them in the market.


    As for Orcus, a single Wild Boar Spirit Orb filled 5/10 growth points, it seems that Orcus can grow quicker because the Spirit Orbs of Wild Boars are rarer and bigger, so a single orb gives him 5 Growth Points while Gray Wolves only can give 1 Growth Point to Fenrir, the same for Spore. I just need to find another of these incredibly rare Wild Boars and I might be able to evolve Orcus. He''s already useful as a tank and a powerful heavy hitter, but I wonder if he''ll be as big as an actual wild boar if he evolves¡­ We''ll see whenever that happens, Wild Boar Spirit Orbs are too rare, just as rare as the monster itself.


    There was a lot of blood as well, which I converted it all into delicious Blood Ki, with this enormous quantity I got over a single night, I was finally able to use it to upgrade my Physique. The enormous quantity was quickly poured all across my body, as I felt my entire body self-strengthen itself to an even greater level. Physiques have Tiers, and each Tier brings an enhancement to the body and even special abilities. Having used all this Blood Ki, the Tier 1 Muscle Strengthening waspleted, giving me a nice bonus to my Strength Stat and other physical stats. And with that, I have finally entered Tier 2 of my Physique, which has finally let me unlock Vampiric Eyes.<sub> </sub>


    It could be said that Vampiric Eyes is the ultimate form of Evil Eyes, it can evolve into multiple ways, and each Vampire can develop different abilities with their Vampiric Eyes. My Vampiric Eyes immediately absorbed the Demon Eyes I had acquired, and even improved it, turning it into Vampire Eyes of Paralysis. The paralysis is stronger, and I can now use Mana as well to activate it. But it be stronger when used with abination of energies, Blood Ki, Mana, and then Demon Energy. Also, the physique also detected the demon energy flowing through my body and assimted it even more into my body. I might even be something like a Quarter Demon in the future. Although I hate demons, I have to recognize that if I can get Demon Magic, that would be very useful. Most creatures in this world have little resistance against it as well.


    I had yet to acquire any Skill regarding my Physique or the power of my Paralysis Eye, so I guess Skills are ruled by other things, and mostly show up after certain things, and are also somehow restricted. Apparently those that reach max level in their Talent can upgrade their Talent somehow. I have yet to learn how they can do this though, so I should ask someer. Perhaps I''ll be allowed to get a Talent after reaching Level 10¡­ I am not so far from there anyways.


    When we finished our butchering work with Eleanora, it was already almost 6 AM and my parents were already waking up, so we quickly saved everything and then went to take a bath¡­ together. Eleanora insisted in "cleaning my back" so I had no option but let her bathe with me. I had considered this as something very intimate, but she seemed okay with it. I am very fond of her and I trust her more than anybody, so I think she would be the only one I would allow to take a bath with me.


    After having a breakfast with my parents, I rushed outside of the house towards Eric''s house. Today he was going to lend me a lot of books in exchange for teaching his parents a bit of magic, and awakening their Ki as well, which is very easy. I am quite knowledgably about alchemy and everything else, but the nts of this world and everything else is aplete mystery to me. His medicine books and medicinal nts and mushrooms encyclopedias made by his own family will be of great use to my research.


    I was honestly surprised when Eric offered me such valuable books, I suppose he had really grown fond of me as a friend. I can''t help but feel rather happy that I have someone so loyal to me this early in my life.


    -----

 Chapter 197 Erics Family

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    "Are you not nervous? This is the first time you go to Eric''s house!"


    Eleanora interrupted my thoughts, as I was already thinking about the great amount of knowledge I would acquire today. To me, knowledge was something great that was valued even above strength. With proper knowledge, understanding, andprehension, you can do many things. One of such things is growing strong too. This is why I often value it so much. I''ve wished for a while to find some sort of library to read many books, but this vigecks any of them, and even the noble houses have little books which they don''t let me read either.


    "Why should I be nervous? In fact, I am quite excited."


    "E-Excited?"


    "Yes?"


    "Y-You''re not into boys, right?"


    "¡­Eleanora, have you grown clumsier over time? What sort of joke is this?"


    "Ahah¡­ S-Sorry, I didn''t meant to sound rude¡­"


    "I am not interested in boys; I am interested in the things Eric will lend to me. Eleanora this is the first time I see youugh this much though. Was that really a joke?"


    "M-Mildly¡­ Ah! Am I getting too absorbed in human customs?"


    "Certainly. It was a really bad joke as well¡­"


    "S-Sorry."


    "Don''t apologize. It is fine, I can see that you are in high spirits today. Behave well with Eric''s family if possible. Remember that you''re now the spirit of a human, not the vampire you once were."


    "I understand. I will behave, please don''t worry about it."


    "Okay¡­ And stop treating me with manners, be more carefree with your speech. Don''t feel forced to speak with me as if I were a figure of authority¡­ Like the other kids talk to me."


    "T-That''s very hard after I spent thousands of years treating you like this, you know?"


    "Hm¡­ I suppose you''re right."


    When we reached Eric''s house, Eleanora found it rather beautiful, and so did I. The house of Eric was a three-floor house with arge amount of moss growing over certain areas, vines as well, and there was arge tree spreading its branches through the upper half of the house. Atop therge tree, there were stairs and a small room too. Was that a tree house? Eric''s family used this house as their shop too, so the first floor was open and attending customers. There were just a few adventurers purchasing healing potions and some other things, so we politely waited before they were done to talk with the shop owners, Eric''s aunt, and uncle.


    "Hello dear, is there something you need?" A radiant woman near her 40''s greeted me, with long blonde hair and bright emerald eyes. She seemed serene in nature. This was most likely Eric''s aunt.


    "I came to met Eric, is he in the house? I am his friend ke¡­"


    "Oh! Y-You''re ke! Oh my! You''re the one he always speaks about the most aside from Chris and Erika!"


    "Is that so¡­?"<sub> </sub>


    "Yeah! I''ll bring him right away! ERIC! YOUR FRIEND IS HERE!"


    The woman suddenly screamed all the way up to the third floor. His uncle quickly came from behind the counter, bringing a few potions freshly made to put for sale. The man seemed slightly younger than the woman and had short ck hair and brown eyes. I can see that Eric''s aunt was probably either his mother or father''s sister, while the uncle is his aunt''s husband but he''s not rted to his family through blood.


    "Oh, is this ke?" He asked. "Wee to our small shop. We make potions and all of that here. You''re Eric''s best friend, isn''t it?"


    "I seem to be. I wasn''t aware he valued me this much¡­" I said.


    "Oho, of course he does." Said the Aunt. "He really always talks about you every time he goes to meet you with the other two kids. I am really happy you''re my child''s friend. Chris was also a good kid, but you''ve really changed him since he became your friend¡­"


    "Is that so?" I wondered.


    "Yes, he often was a cowardly boy." Sighed the Uncle. "But since he met you that he slowly began to develop more, he grew more self-confident and also more studious¡­ He has already learned how to make good potions with Alchemy Magic, which his Druid Talent could learn rather easily!"


    "You''re like his big brother at this point! So feel free to stay here as long as you want." Said the Aunt. "Oh, maybe you could stay over the night as well?"


    "I will think about it."


    I heard Eric walking downstairs hurriedly, clumsily putting on his sses as he suddenly blushed a bit, getting all red.


    "Geez! W-Why are you talking all these embarrassing things to ke?" He cried. "N-Nice to meet you again, ke. Sorry, my aunt and uncle are a bit too annoying."


    "Not at all. I wasn''t aware you valued me so much." I said.


    "I-It''s not like that! ¡­I mean, maybe, but¡­ Agh, let''s go to my room for now! I got a big tree house to show you too! Wanna see it?"


    "Sure."


    Eric quickly grabbed my arm and led me upstairs, as his uncle and aunt never removed their happy smiles from their faces even when we moved upstairs. Eleanora was surprised by how talkative they were, but they ended embarrassing Eric quite a lot.


    "Your uncle and your aunt seem quite talented at Alchemy." I said, as we moved upstairs.


    "Y-Yeah, maybe." He said. "They''re actually pretty good, but because we are serfs we can''t get a good spot to sell¡­ They would be making way more money if we could bemoners and move to the capital."


    "Hm, I see¡­ I didn''t knew you were notmoners. You got a lot of things and the house is quite big." I said.


    "Yeah but that''s because my family has worked very hard over generations in this house¡­ It has a long history. Even all the books we got were slowly umted over the previous generations, ke!"


    "I see¡­"


    -----

 Chapter 198 A Great Collection Of Books

    -----


    "Eric didn''t you wanted me to teach your uncle and your aunt some magic and Ki maniption?" I sighed. Eric had brought me to his room and quickly closed it. It seemed he felt embarrassed by his own family a little bit.


    "Y-Yeah, but that can be forter, right?" He said. "This is the first time I bring a friend to my house¡­"


    "What about Chris?" I wondered.


    "Chris? Ah, I have thought about it, but he''s so hyperactive that it wouldn''t suit him to just sit here with me." He sighed. "But you''re different, you''re calm and smart like me, ke, so we can get along easily!"


    "Hm, I suppose you could say I have more temper." I said while rubbing my chin.


    Eric quickly moved around his room, which was a bit messy. It was covered with many books and pages spread everywhere, sks with half-made potions, medicinal herbs pilled over a small piece of furniture, and even animal skin drying out near the open window. It was quite obvious he was someone passionate about research and alchemy. I suppose we''ll get along even better than before.


    "Here! Look, these are the books I wanted to show you, there are six of them. One of them documents over a hundred species of Medicinal Herbs and their various uses, the other documents over sixty species of Mushroom species, if they''re edible, and even if they''re poisonous, this other documents several wild animals and monsters that live within these woods and also the grassy ins past the forest, this other has several potion recipes, this other has how to use alchemy magic, and this one is¡­ M-My own book. I have been writing it, it is about the usage of magic circle and Ki maniption." Eric said, as he showed me thest book. It was only around a quarter filled, but it had even detailed drawings which were almost realistic. He was an incredible artist.


    "You did this?" I said, reading through the book at fast speed, I quickly found that the detailed exnations went wonderfully along with the drawings,plementing everything together.


    "I did¡­ Sorry for not telling you beforehand¡­ I know it was a secret, but I really wanted to write about everything you taught to me." Said Eric. However, I ended petting his shoulders, he grew slightly nervous out of the sudden, his face turning red.


    "No, Eric! This is fantastic! I wouldn''t had been able to do half as great as you did by writing a book!" I said. After all, my own Grimoire didn''t let me write anything on it, each time I tried the letters quickly disappeared.


    Eric continued to grow redder like a tomato for some reason, mostly embarrassing of being praised, as steam even began toe out of his ears.


    "Uwawawahh¡­"


    "Eric¡­?"


    "Ah!"


    Eric suddenly fell into the floor as he sighed tiredly. I think I overstepped my boundaries. Eric has always been a shy boy, and dislikes to get too close with people, even friends. Perhaps touching him like this shocked him. I quickly used some healing techniques using Ki and spells using Mana and quickly calmed him.


    "Hahh¡­ S-Sorry about that¡­" He sighed in relief. "I get a bit too nervous when¡­ people get too close to me. Please don''t do that again."


    "Sorry." I said. "Nheless, this book is amazing. Well done."


    "Really? You''re happy about it, ke?" Eric said, his eyes had not shone so bright ever before.


    "Yeah. Are you passionate about writing by any chance?" I wondered.<sub> </sub>


    "I am a researcher! I love to research everything. But these books¡­ they had documented almost anything that there is within the boundaries of the vige, so there isn''t much for me to research after I had memorized most of the books. I am rereading them for the fourth time by now¡­"


    "Truly?!"


    "Y-Yeah!"


    "Amazing, so you''ve got all of this info inside of your brain already?"


    "Indeed. I am studying hard every day because I¡­"


    "Hm?"


    "I want to go with you into an adventure when we grow up, ke¡­"


    "An Adventure?"


    Oh, now I remember. I had told my friend that when I would grow up, I would be an Adventurer because it was the job most fitting for me. I wanted to explore the world, hunt creatures, and learn many things. The adventurer profession will facilitate everything regarding my interests, even the ultimate challenge of climbing the demonic towers.


    In that time, all three of them seemed intimidated by my dreams, I could understand them though, they were children who had grown conceited of their lives in the safety of their homes. However, ever since then I''ve noticed that they had been working extra hard. Erikately had told me that she''ll also be an Adventurer to stay by my side, and Chris seems to be having the same idea.


    ? The least of the three was Eric. I never truly expected someone so immersed into his own books and research to want to explore the dangerous world outside. But I was wrong. I suppose Eric is someone that also has the free heart of an adventurer.


    "I see. So you want to be an adventurer as well, Eric? Are you sure about this?"


    "Y-Yeah¡­ Even if I am the weakest¡­ I will make up for it with my knowledge and everything else!"


    "Don''t worry, you may be weak but your abilities are special and rare. You don''t have to overthink it, we''ll protect you."


    "B-ke¡­ I''ve always wanted to explore the world outside and research every monster, nt, and other thing I could find¡­ Since I''ve read these books that I''ve felt inspired to write new ones for my family¡­ I know this goes against my family traditions but I¡­ I really want to go with you!"


    "It''s okay, you don''t have to get so worked over it. I will help you convince your uncle and aunt. For now, let me read these books, they seem interesting."


    "O-Okay! Let''s read them together¡­"


    Suddenly, Eric stuck to my shoulder and began to read the books with me, pointing at drawings and other things with his fingers. Wasn''t he afraid of getting too close to people?


    -----

 Chapter 199 Two Weeks Later

    -----


    At the end, I didn''t even had to teach Eric''s aunt and uncle as much, as he had already written a quarter of a book about what I had taught him. It only took about three days for them to finally form a magic circle and conjure some basic magic. Eric''s aunt had the Apothecary Talent, while his uncle had the Gatherer Talent. Both talentspleted each other, and they probably met in their simr field of work. His aunt was good at doing alchemy andbining nts, while her husband was good at gathering said nts and more. He even had a Skill named [Herb Appraisal] which allowed him to see detailed information about any nt he saw with his eyes, with such amazing Skill, it wasn''t rare that the two became sessful even while being serfs.


    I had also awakened their Ki, which was quite easy. The two felt very strong since then, and said they had slept even better than before, while also having more stamina more often. I taught them how to merge Ki with Mana, and I left Eric to teach them the rest from what I''ve taught to him which he''s writing on his book. He had also lend me the books, which I''ve read through these past two weeks attentively, learning about the herbs, mushrooms, animals, monsters, and even various recipes. Although I seem to have inherited my photographic memory from my previous life, I am sure that Eric will still be better for the job of gathering and making potions than me, especially all these new recipes. Well, not like I will give up in the alchemy aspect, as I am better at making my own potions than him or his family. But my way of making potions is a bit revolutionary, and could bring a lot of unwanted attention, so I also have to learn the old-fashioned ways and find a good middle ground between the two.


    Nheless, I have decided not to teach them alchemy because they would find it very weird that a child knows more of alchemy than them¡­ But their Alchemy Magic book was quite useful, it even had magic circles for simple alchemy magic, and it helped me to see andpare them with my own Alchemy Magic, it resulted that this world''s alchemy magic was oversimplified for the saving of Mana, which was way better than my own Alchemy Magic in such aspects, while my Alchemy Magic required more mana output (almost constant) and had greater results. I had been enlightened since then to improve my own magic with the knowledge of this world''s magic. The people of this world doesn''t just conjure weaker magic. It is not that its weaker than mine, they simple have adapted their magic conjuration to suit their smaller Mana Pools. If I can absorb this knowledge and merge it with my own magic, I could perfect it even more than I could in my previous life!


    In fact, realizing this, I began to see humans a bit better than before. I suppose¡­ Humans do have talents that I had yet to recognize. Now I regret calling them fools a bit, and I have begun to consider that within their simple minds, there was a wonderful and enlightening brilliance. But this world in specific¡­ Perhaps because they had been isted from the rest of the Universe for so long, they had been able to develop their own culture and had perfected their own research with magic and mana even better than before.


    And since then, two weeks have passed. I have spent most of the week with my friends. Chris and Erika had noticed I am meeting up with Eric a lot more, and the two thought of it as suspicious, so they ultimately also came to visit Eric''s house and all four of us were staying in his house for the night. He seemed to be reluctant, but his aunt and uncle were way too happy for him to have so many friends, so they forced him to let us pass the night here. Through the two weeks I had also spent a bit with Elizabeth, Erdrich and the priests, mostly doing some normal field work. Erdrich is opening up some more, but its going to take some more for that. We also went to hunt in the forest, and we ended taking down a few Imps.


    Surprisingly, Elizabeth and Erdrich leveled up instantly that day, although Erdrich''s spirit had yet to develop for some reason. Elizabeth ended learning a new Skill named [Automatic Regeneration Blessing] which allowed her to conjure a blessing over a target, allowing them to automatically regenerate health. That Skill alone is better than any of my healing spells¡­ She''s going to continue growing stronger as a priestess until she''ll easily surpass me in healing and light magic. I can see she has a bright future, especially with that insanely strong Angel Spirit, whose origins I have yet to fully research. And as for Erdrich, he gained [Demon Gaze] that allows him to easily intimidate and temporarily paralyze and lower the stats of a target, the paralyzing effectsts like two seconds though, so its nothing like my Vampiric Eyes of Paralysis, but it works for ambushes.


    And as of now, all four of us were reading a big book about monsters and animals over therge bed that Eric had. He seemed embarrassed to have us all in here, especially because Erika and Chris were not quiet like us, and were always screaming about how awesome the monster drawings were.


    "Wooow! Look at that big thing! What''s that, Eric?!" Asked Chris.<sub> </sub>


    "That''s a Crystal Horned Deer, it is a very rare magical beast. I think they went extinct some years ago due to over hunting¡­" Said Eric.


    "Ooooh! And what''s this bug?" Asked Erika.


    "That''s a Giant Steel Praying Mantis. They dwell in the Grassy ins and have steel-hard exoskeletons with strong de arms, they''re very dangerous!" Said Eric.


    "Amazing! I want to catch one!" Said Erika.


    "Yeah! I bet I can melt his exoskeleton with my fire!" Said Chris.


    "Y-You two are so noisy¡­" Sighed Eric.


    -----

 Chapter 200 The Spirit Tree

    -----


    After dinner we were inside of Eric''s room and we constantly talked about the book contents. Well, mostly Chris and Erika who had been left out about all of this for two whole weeks. I can tell why they felt a bit sad and joined together toe annoy us. It''s not like I mind being with them, but Eric seems annoyed by how noisy they are, and I can''t help but agree with him.


    They continued reading through the pages happily. Erika was sitting all over the bed and moving the pages each time she saw a new drawing, she didn''t even bothered reading. Well, not like they had a good readingprehension. Chris didn''t know how to read yet and Erika had been taught the basics, but her father had told me she has been unwilling to learn how to readtely, and even asked me to teach her myself in exchange for items he has stored. I had epted so I might be teaching her stuff theing week.


    "Oooh¡­ And what''s this one?" Asked Erika. She had opened the nts book and went to thest page directly, as if finding them all boring. The nt that was shown was¡­ a gigantic tree. I hadn''t reached this page before, and this book wasn''t the ones that Eric had lend to me, it was one he had said was a copy of the nt ones he lend to me, or more like the original while the one he gave to me were copies he was remaking because the old ones had very delicate pages that were slowly decaying. I had not paid attention to it until I saw that gigantic tree drawing.


    "Oh, that''s a giant tree! Look, it showsnd below it and¡­ are those mountains? They''re too small!" Said Chris. "Hey Eric! Is there a tree this big out there?"


    Eric seemed a bit tired of exining things, but when they asked him about this gigantic tree, he couldn''t help but grow a bit more serious. Eric nodded and then began to read a bit of what the pages said.


    "Yeah, I''ve read this a couple of times. It was written by the grandfather of my grandma''s grandfather¡­" Said Eric. "I don''t know if its even real. My aunt and uncle always say it was just a fairy tale or something¡­ This is called the Spirit Tree, Yggdrasil."


    "Spirit Tree?!" Asked Erika. "Does it has spirits?"


    "Certainly so!" Said Eric. "But it is moreplicated than that¡­ Apparently this giant tree is said to be far away, far into the oceans, in another continent¡­ It is said that this tree is the origin of all spirits in the world for some reason. And there is a tale that it gave birth to humanity through its fruits! Elves are said to be Yggdrasil''s messengers, but they''re rare people¡­ I don''t know if there had even been an elf in this vige."


    "Elf?" Asked Chris.


    "They''re people with pointy ears, and often have colorful hair, like green, gold, red, blue¡­" Said Eric. "In the book there are some illustrations about them¡­ It says they live for thousands of years and have powerful magic like nobody else."


    "Woow¡­ Is there such a big tree out there?" Wondered Erika. "Maybe we could climb it one day?"


    "Hmm¡­ W-Well, I doubt we''ll ever be able to get to another continent-"


    "I think we can get there eventually. Yggdrasil Trees are filled with great mysteries and are often the creators of life¡­ If I could find one, I could gain a lot of knowledge and power¡­" I said to myself, but my words endeding out of my mouth.


    "Huh?" Asked Eric while tilting his head.


    "Yeah! We''ll get the tree one day!" Erika said. "If ke is confident about it, we''ll get it!"


    "Are Yggdrasil Trees that amazing?" Asked Chris.


    "I¡­ Erm, well yeah." I said.<sub> </sub>


    "You sound like you know them? I''m sure this is the first time I showed this to you, ke¡­" Said Eric.


    "Yeah, I just read all of it in this page and I made a lot of assumptions. Well, isn''t it true though? If this tree really exists, I bet it has a lot of magical and spiritual power. We could gain unprecedented strength."


    "Right¡­ You''re right I guess, but crossing the seas¡­ Isn''t that a bit risky though?"


    "Certainly so, but it should be doable. Aren''t there boats in this world? We just need to buy one or pay someone to bring us to another continent where this tree might be. Perhaps in this continent it is barely a fairy tale but if its in anther continent, that continent''s people could know more about it and treat it as an everyday thing."


    "Oooh, sounds interesting!" Said Erika. "I''ll go anywhere you go, ke!"


    "I guess me too. I can''t let you go around by yourself. You''re a bit too reckless sometimes after all. I''ll take care of your back." Said Chris.


    "T-This ispletely insane! You can''t be serious about this! T-That''s¡­ just impossible!" Said Eric, getting all worked up over something we''ll do far in the future.


    "Come on, Eric, what happened with your adventurous soul?" I asked with a smile. "I told you we''ll protect you. Don''t you trust your friends?"


    Eric opened his eyes widely for a bit, as he nodded timidly, smiling a bit.


    "Y-Yeah but¡­ Sigh¡­ I guess you''re really hopeless, ke!" Said Eric. "I''ll have to go, I can''t let you go without a proper medic and alchemist, you''ll be dead in a week without me."


    "Haha, that''s a bit too much¡­" Said Chris.


    "A bit too much? You''re so reckless every time you do mock battles with ke that you end up all covered in bruises. If it wasn''t for my healing and treatment you would be always covered in painful wounds¡­" Said Eric, reprimanding Chris.


    "Well, I suppose you''re someone we''ll definitely need." I said.


    "Yeah, it''s not the same without you, Eric!" Said Erika.


    "Haha¡­ Y-You''re being a bit too exaggerated¡­" Giggled Eric with embarrassment.


    -----

 Chapter 201 A Diary Written By Erics Ancestor

    -----


    Erika and Chris continued reading the other books, while Eric began to talk with me about the Yggdrasil Tree, as I had grown rather curious about it. Eleanora as well, she was also quite curious after all. In our previous world, we have possessed many of these trees. They are spread all over the world and are said to be branches that were cut from an original Cosmic Yggdrasil Tree that epass all of the Universe, spreading its seeds in several worlds. These seeds are said to reach certain worlds and flourish by draining energy. They purify the air and create habitable atmospheres, pretty much terraforming an entire.


    They are a great mystery, but in my previous life I had untapped several of its secrets. I had even managed to find a "path" that could lead me to the real Yggdrasil Cosmic Tree, but I was unable to reach it as I had decided to fight Lucifer first. His army of demons were infesting the universe and he was always getting on my way, so I did it out of pure anger now that I think about it¡­


    ? One of the great reasons why the Universe was so filled with life everywhere was thanks to the many seeds of Yggdrasil. Even in worlds that didn''t had the trees, they might had had them once, and then the trees might had withered, but life continued in such worlds and simply adapted to harsher environments over time through evolution. Of course, some rare worlds also adapted life on their own without the help of Yggdrasil Trees, and others were created by Gods. I assume this world is like that type of world, one created by Gods, which people call the "Holy Spirits".


    These worlds are usually not present at mere sight in the outer universe, as the gods protect them from the dangerous universe outside by putting them in self-contained pocket dimensions. This is perhaps why I never met Spiritias in my life before¡­ But this also opens another question, where did this tree came from? Did the gods, the Holy Spirits, nted it? Or did it somehow found its way in here? Or was this world originally one made by an Yggdrasil Tree that then somehow became a self-contained world? There are too many questions, and I am afraid Eric might never be able to answer them. I am left hopeless in my research for such rich knowledge, sadly.


    ¡­Nheless, I can still enjoy this life as it is, even the littlest of things excites me, and I am constantly learning more about this world as it is. The Book said things about the tree birthing humans and elves¡­ and perhaps other races through its fruits. This kind of fits with the Yggdrasil Trees I know about. They''re usually good sources of magic and spiritual energy. And I remember nting a lot of them inside my own Divine Realm, a small dimension that beings that have reached the god realm and beyond create inside their souls¡­ which is strangely simr to the Spirit Realm inside my Spirit Orb, something that apparently nobody else than me has for some mysterious reason.


    Anyways, I decided to continue asking Eric about many things, anything he knew about the tree would suffice. I was thirsty for any sort of knowledge or even his own hypothesis, the boy showed a lot of great talent and intelligence, so I was sure he could give me more info or his own view about this entire "myth".


    "The World Tree of Yggdrasil is said to possess great secrets¡­ What my ancestor documented here is the surface information. It seems as if he had traveled the world and reached the tree, which is a mystery in many ways." Said Eric.


    "Hmmm¡­ I see. Do you know anything else about this?" I asked him.


    "Well, I am quite happy you''re so interested on it. I have made a lot of spections and hypothesis about it! What I think is that this tree might be rted with some of the notes of my ancestor here¡­" He said.<sub> </sub>


    "Notes?" I wondered.


    "Look¡­" Eric pointed at the notes in the book, as I found several interesting things.


    It read like this:


    "After incessantly seeking the Spirit Tree, I have found it. Deep within therge mountains made out by the gigantic corpse of an Ancient Titan, a god that once walked amongst men, I have found it, Yggdrasil. The enormous tree boasts a gigantic size, anybody within this continent can clearly see the tree all the way into the skies. Only because the continent where Ie from is in the other side of the world is that people in there cannot see it."


    "The natives of this area are mysterious. I had never seen such people before. They call themselves "Messengers of Yggdrasil" and have pointy ears and colorful hair. I had spoken with one of them. They seem to not like me. They dislike visitors and possess enough magic power to even fend off entire armies of humans. I suppose this is why this area of the continent was said to be a "wilderness where men should not step on". Not only monsters are incredibly powerful but the Elves of this ce are zealous and xenophobic."


    "However, even amongst all of this I have found some good people. Apparently there were humans in here, and many. There are several tribes of humans spread across these vast wilderness. Some call themselves Amazon, boasting brown skin and enormously strong physiques, even the women are as tall as the men and they are incredibly well adapted to live in these areas of the world. I have even found "Brownies" little people that seem to remain child-like for all their lives, they live beneath the tree roots and seem to be amazing at controlling the earth. They seem more fairy-like than even Elves, and are strangely nice with me¡­"


    "And then, there are Lizardmen, lizard-like folk that are savage and rude. I was caught by them and I was almost eaten alive before I was able to convince them that it was better to let me live in exchange for my knowledge. Strangely enough, a woman of their tribe was interested in me and I spent a night with her. I never thought I would have such a passionate night with a lizard woman¡­ But thanks to her, they let me go."


    Hm, there are indeed very interesting things there, and then¡­ some weird things at the end.


    -----

 Chapter 202 A Journal Filled With Mysteries

    -----


    "These notes are very interesting¡­ They talk about the different folk that lived around the tree and more. It seems this ancestor of you was very amazing. And it is told so realistically that I doubt it was a fairy tale made up by him. Even the part where he¡­ he does it with a lizard woman." I said.


    "Y-Yeah, that''s a bit weird¡­" Said Eric. "But if we ignore that, we can find a lot of interesting information I had never hear or read anywhere else before! I was mostly scared of even searching for this ce primarily because of this knowledge though. He always talks about how dangerous the monsters are there¡­"


    "Hm¡­ You''re right. We''ll have to gain a lot of blessings (levels) before we even reach that ce. We''ll better explore the continent and find powerful monsters or demons before even moving out." I said to Eric, as he seemed to nod.


    "You''re right!" Said Eric. "Ah, there is more info here, thest notes are about my ancestor interacting with the Elves. They said a lot of things I didn''t understand well though¡­"


    "Oh? Let me see¡­"


    <o>,m What was in the notes was as follows:</o>


    "After two years of interacting with the Elves at a surface level, and with the help of the Female Lizard Woman, who resulted to be an important figure in the tribe, I was able to finallymunicate more with the pointy-eared people. This lizard woman ended being unexpectedly helpful, and I am rather happy I met her. The Elves were zealous but found me "pure-hearted" after seeing how a lizard woman had opened her hear to me. They said that "If the dragon descendants have found you worthy of their love, then perhaps you''re not half bad." And since then, I was epted in a small vige below the Yggdrasil''s roots. I was forced to move with the lizard woman of course, because she was my trantor as well. ¡­I also had no idea the lizard people were descendants of dragons."<sub> </sub>


    "Since then, I have begun to interact way more with them. The Elves are very prodigious at the usage of magic, and they seem to naturally have multiple spirits. Some even had the power to create or enhance spirits, modifying them and increasing their power at will using magic or materials harvested from the forests. I saw some of them acquiring new spirits by merely interacting with the Spirit Tree, something wondrous I never thought I would see with my very two eyes. For all of us humans'' spirits are very hard to obtain and make stronger, but for Elves they''re varied and an everyday allies. They''re treated as friends, helpers, and even citizens that stand equally to them. I have yet to see them with a definite spirit, as they seem to have multiple ones which they share around¡­ Do they even have Spirit Orbs?"


    "The lizard woman had self-proimed herself my wife, and used this pretext to aid me into meeting the Elf Queen, the leader of the elves. It seems all tribes in this area are at peace and respect one another. The Elves cherished how the dragon descendant, the chief of the lizard folk, had found a husband in a human, and the Elf Queen, finding this something incredibly rare, called us to meet her."


    "She was a woman said to have lived thousands of years, if not hundreds of thousands of years. Her eyes shone as bright as pearls and her hair was pure white, reaching down below her ankles. My self-proimed wife was angered how much I was eyeing her, pping me from behind with her tail multiple times until I snapped out of the enchanting charm of the Elf Queen. Despite being so old, she looked as young as a girl in her early twenties. She spoke about many things, finding this union strange yet interesting, and saying that our child was going to be the Dragonborn¡­ I had never heard of that, and I was even more shocked when I realized the lizard woman was supossedly pregnant with me¡­ I suppose I am a father now."


    "I learned many things, secret about magic, how to treat nts, how to make them grow. I learned the essence of magic. How great it was, and how vast everything was. I learned to connect myself with nature and the elements, the spiritual energy flowing through my soul and my body. I spent five years with them learning all I could, and those five years were something I will never forget. I spent such time with her, the lizard woman, named Elrathinn. She was apparently the long descendant of Fafnir, and ancient dragon god. Our child was born quickly, as an egg. And she took care of it for around 6 months until it hatched. Unlike the lizard folk, he was half human and half dragon. The elves seemed very happy, as if he was someone destined for greatness. We called him Fafnir, after the ancestor of the lizard folk."


    "After all these years. I learned things I never could had guessed from the Elves. The truth of the world. The truth about the tree¡­ The tree itself was designed long ago to purify the world from contamination and malice. The Elves call the Yggdrasil''s parents as the "Ancient Creators" who perished by the same power of their creation as the tree turned against them. An Era of darkness was quickly purified by the tree. The tree brought back life to a dying world, the Ancient Creators remained somewhere, they were not all gone! However, the tree created the elves, the people, everyone here from its fruits¡­ We are not simply living our daily lives without a greater purpose. There is something deeper in all of this¡­ But I fear that I might not be the chosen one for such a task. I have already done my part. My little Fafnir will now live with my mother, as she had told me that it was my time to go back to my home. I felt sad, I wanted to stay longer with her and my son, but I understood I didn''t really belonged here¡­ If someone ever read this, please, find my son, and tell him that I love him more than anything."


    -----

 Chapter 203 The Mystery Of Fafnir And The Spirit Tree

    -----


    What I had read was quite interesting and shocking in many ways. Besides the intense rambling of Eric''s ancestor, which made it very hard to understand certain parts, there were also things I understood. And after intense rereading, I had begun to understand even more. Apparently this man had¡­ a child with a dragon descendant, the "lizard folk" he spoke about were in fact the children of an ancient dragon god named Fafnir. The child was called Fafnir and then¡­ he was left there with his mother and the Elves. For some reason it felt as if somehow it was all predestined. They needed him for this child to be born, and when he did what he had to do, he was given some knowledge and then told to go back to where he came from. I can tell it was a rather harsh way to send him away, and he seemed heartbroken as well. But I can tell he was fine because he found somebody else and had a family again here, which Eric descends from.


    However, this book¡­ Doesn''t it has a lot of information and exposition I never thought I could find inside a book held by serfs? The information I got from here was just¡­ beyond my wildest expectations in so many ways... Not only I learned about the Elves culture, but also about how they were able to manipte spirits and interchange them around something that seemspletely impossible to me and anybody else in here. This simply opens up an incredible amount of new possibilities, but also worries me about how powerful could these beings be. Also, if they were able to do this, then about what us and our spirits? What makes us so different from them?


    Another thing, in thest ramblings of this man, he said that the tree of Yggdrasil was designed by the "Ancient Creators"¡­ for some reason this feels strange. It doesn''t align with my assumption of the Holy Spirits. Also, it appears that the Ancient Creators turned against the Tree when they found that it was trying to overtake the world. Apparently and for some strange reason, the tree found them unworthy, and fought against them. The tree won the war, but some of them survived and are still present even now. The tree then cleansed the world, which was implied to have been contaminated and then used its powers to fill it with magic, spiritual energies, and created humans'' elves, and everybody else¡­ How odd. I don''t know if this man was rambling or hallucinating¡­ Or perhaps everything he said is genuine.


    Now I really want to go to that tree and see with my two eyes what''s going on in that ce. But¡­ to get there, I am going to at least take a few more years, probably ten years¡­ Well, whatever''s the case. My birthday was sometime ago and I am now eight¡­ I guess I need to wait some more years. Although I am already earning a lot of money, if I can save enough, then we can move to the capital too. Agh, there is also the problem with the invading demons. There are just too many things to take into consideration to even think about the future ahead. I suppose there''s no option than to just leave these thoughts forter.


    Over the night, we talked about what we rad with Eric, he began to understand a bit more, but we were also left in the blue about many things. Erika and Chris joined the conversation but they were unable to specte as well as the two of us, but they sometimes gave some interesting perspectives. Nheless, we decided to quickly sleep as it was gettingte. There were two small beds over the floor made out of nkets and with some cushions. Erika choose to sleep with me and Chris slept by himself. Although it seemed as if he was a bit jealous of that¡­ Did he wanted to sleep at my side or with Erika? Well, whatever the case, we dozed off rather quickly.


    ¡­


    When I woke up I found Erika sticking to me tightly. Her body was very strong, so she was crushing my ribs with her arms, and her legs were tangled around mine, tightly, which made it even painful. I was resisting it for a while to not disturb her, but I had to wake her up now, I couldn''t take it anymore.


    "Hmm~ ke''s¡­ Scent¡­ So nice¡­"


    However, before I could wake her up she was sticking her nose into the back of my neck, sniffing my skin and my hair as if it were a flower or something. I felt strangely weirded out, and Eleanora was furiously spitting fire out of her mouth figuratively within my Spirit Orb Realm out of anger.<sub> </sub>


    "S-She''s stepping over her boundaries!!!" She roared back at me. "S-Stop her!"


    Erika continued to rub her face into the back of my neck and then continue sleeping with her face over all of my hair, seemingly in delight of the smell. I don''t know what sort of scent my hair has other than herb oil extract which I use to make my shampoo. Ah, well, maybe that I the scent she likes?


    "Erika¡­ Let me go." I sighed, slowly crawling my way out of her strong arms and legs.


    "Nyoooo¡­" She cried half asleep, trying to drag me back to the bed. "I wan sleep more with ke¡­"


    "Erika that''s enough¡­ You''re hurting my body, your body is quite hard, you know?" I sighed.


    "O-Ohh¡­ Yawn¡­ Sowy¡­" Erika yawned as she seemed to be very sleepy. I don''t known how she can get so sleepy if her body is not even human¡­ Well, her soul might be tired.


    "Enough, it is time to wake up." I said, caressing her hair. She didn''t listen though and continued sticking to me.


    After a struggle thatsted half an hour, I was freed from Erika''s grasp. Everyone in the room ended waking up from themotion, and Eric was reprimanding Erika for being so noisy and clingy with me...


    -----

 Chapter 204 Time To Go Hunt

    -----


    After a struggle thatsted half an hour, I was freed from Erika''s grasp. Everyone in the room ended waking up from themotion, and Eric was reprimanding Erika for being so noisy and clingy with me. I calmed him down telling him she was just a child, and he sighed and seemed to forget about it quickly after. While we were talking about whatever Chris and Erika came out with in the morning, Eric''s aunt and uncle entered the room bringing breakfast to Eric''s bed.


    "Time for some breakfast dearies~" Said his aunt with a happy and gentle smile. "I hope you guys like fruit jam and herbal tea, this is what we mostly have for breakfast~"


    "Oooh! Is it sweet, missy?" Asked Erika. If she was a puppy she would surely have her tail wagging happily.


    "Yes dear, it is sweet. I am sure you''ll like it." Said Eric''s aunt.


    "There is also some goat milk and cheese, and a few more toast if you are still with hunger after that." Said his Uncle, putting a bottle with goat milk and cheese. This goat milk and cheese had a faint magical aura around it.


    "Oh, this goat milk and cheese is made by my grandmother." I said. "I can recognize it anywhere."


    "Ooh! ke, is your grandmother thedy that sells homemade goat cheese and the milk?! Amazing! She makes it out of her Goat Spirit, right?" Asked Eric''s Aunt.


    "Yes, the Goat Spirit eats a lot of grass though, after eating grass for like half a day it can finally give some milk. My grandmother became a master of making cheese out of it¡­ It is part of our ie too. Thank you for buying her products." I said to Eric''s Aunt and Uncle. The two smiled happily and suddenly petted my head.


    "Don''t worry about it, dear!"


    "Yeah! Yeah! We love her cheese, you''re a good kid! Such a hardworking kid!"


    The two seemed proud of me for some reason. Over this time I had grown rather close to me, more than I thought. They were overly affectionate and seemed to just love me. I suppose Eric''s aunt and uncle are like this. I bet that in time they''ll act like this with Chris and Erika as well.


    About Erika''s incident¡­ various years ago I remember that Eric had stopped meeting with Erika alongside Chris. This was mostly due to the rumors of Erika being a puppet. It was well know rumor around all the neighborhoods. People didn''t wanted their children to be involved with a weird child like her. However, after they saw what I did for everybody alongside Erika in that time I healed the Hunters that came with my father from a failed hunt that people slowly changed how they saw Erika. After all she had used her dolls to help the people alongside me, she was of great help and even stitched some wounds herself. Seeing her acting so nice even towards people that treated her badly moved some of these people''s hearts.


    In that moment I suddenly realized that humans were not so irredeemable, that they could change their perspective and how they thought of others through actions. Many of them simply went silent about Erika and decided to not badmouth her nor her family again, but others were more open about their change of mind, Eric and Chris came back to us and asked for forgiveness back then, but the only one they should had asked for forgiveness was Erika. Surprisingly so, she forgave them very easily. Erika is simply¡­ a pure-hearted girl, perhaps way too pure-hearted. She is someone that somehow makes me want to protect her. Well, luckily, she''s very strong, so I don''t really have to protect her.


    This sentiment was obviously shared with Eric''s aunt and uncle, and Chris parents. Eric''s aunt and uncle quickly realized she was a good-hearted girl, and since yesterday that they had been treating her like a daughter now. They were as of now petting her head.


    "You''re such a cute little princess, Erika¡­" Sighed Eric''s aunt. "Again, I am sorry for everything¡­"


    "Yeah¡­ We were awful." Sighed Eric''s uncle.


    "D-Don''t worry about it! That''s on the past, we are all friends here!" Said Erika, childishly grabbing the hands of Eric and Chris. "Right?"


    "Y-Yeah, but you don''t have to get so corny over it!" Said Chris rather embarrassedly.<sub> </sub>


    "Haha¡­ That''s how Erika is." Said Eric with a smile.


    After Eric''s aunt and uncle left us, we continued having breakfast as I quickly decided to talk to my friends about my next course of action in their training. At this point I was like their teacher in terms of growing stronger. I had been teaching them for years now how to use Ki and Magic Circles, and today I had decided to bring them to the wilderness to hunt monsters.


    "Today is the day, we can''t keep dying this any longer." I said.


    "Dying it?" Wondered Eric.


    "What is it, ke?" Wondered Erika.


    "We are going to hunt monsters¡­ or demons. Well, whatever we find." I said.


    "Eeeh?!" Asked Chris. "R-Really? But my parents haven''t allowed me yet¡­"


    "M-My aunt and uncle are going to go crazy if they know about this!" Said Eric.


    "T-That''s¡­ sure! I can just keep it a secret from papa." Said Erika.


    "Erika! How reckless can you be?!" Asked Eric fearfully.


    "T-That''s right! This is beyond what we can possible do! We can''t just charge straight to that dangerous forest and then get mauled by monsters¡­" Sighed Chris.


    ? "What are you talking about? I''ve trained you all this time for a reason. I have been preparing you so you can easily deal with low-rank demons and monsters! You''re now going to prove to me that your training hasn''t been for naught! If you don''t receive a blessing today¡­ I will not bring you with me when I grow up and be an Adventurer."


    I had to be harsh to give them motivation. And it worked. The moment I said those words, all three of them suddenly began to emanate strong mixed Auras of Ki and Mana¡­


    "O-Okay! I get it¡­" Sighed Eric. "I''ll do it."


    "That''s a bit¡­ Ugh, fine!" Said Chris.


    "Alrighty! Bring it on! Fighto fighto!" Said Erika, she was the most pumped up of the three.


    -----

 Chapter 205 Exploring The Forest And Looking For EXP

    -----


    Before going anywhere we had to prepare properly. First of all, armor, and weapons. I had been teaching them how to fight with their bare hands, magic, and each of their spirits all this time. But the kids all have some preference in weapons though.


    Weapons are essential, especially when you are a child with small physical strength. Weapons can offer great pration, piercing, and shing power that our bare hands cannot easily do. Although it requires a great mastery over techniques to use weapons properly, it is not as if they had not been training on their own.


    Realistically speaking, the only one that could use their bare hands to fight in here is Erika, as she''s made of an incredibly hard, steel-like wood, her hands are as hard as steel weapons if not harder, she can easily punch through trees, although not enough to blow them away into the air.


    Chris is a me Wizard, that''s his talent, but I had taught him how to use his big body and his fists, so he can fight at closebat even as a magician. But because of his Talent, he gets bonuses when using Staffs, Wands, and the like. Due to that, I just taught him how to use a wooden staff as a weapon, and he had  be rather good at smacking foes with it.


    And as for Eric, he''s a Druid, they''re not strictly ssic magicians, as they''re magicians of the wilderness and have broader bonuses although not as strong as me Wizards with staffs and wands. I taught him how to use small knives and bows.


    His precision with the arrows are pretty good by now, and he can enhance his precision using the Life Attribute Tier 1 Spell named "Eyesight Enhancement" which costs little Mana and itsts for several hours. He''s mostly proficient at enhancing the arrows with magic as well, and he had be rather good at ranged fighting.


    However, Erika¡­ I wouldn''t just let her use her hands to fight, so I have also given a sword. She was surprisingly good with long swords despite their heaviness, mostly because she''s monstrously strong herself. She has be good at smacking with it and shing, and that''s good for me as well. She''s so resilient and physical strong that I am not too concerned about her. She also has her army of living dolls from her incredibly amazing Doll House Spirit, which has swordsmen, spearmen, axe warriors, healer priests, mages, archers, and even rogues and thieves for scouting areas.


    She''s a one-girl army pretty much. Well, not that much, her dolls can only be created up to a certain amount, and if some die and she needs to create new ones, they cost mana for each one. She has to use them with care so they don''t die so easily by charging recklessly at foes. She has learned a bit about this, but in this hunting session she''ll learn even more about micromanagement. I will be there to help the three of them if things go bad, but I will leave the hunt to them for the most part, as I want to see how they can do by themselves.


    After having breakfast, we quickly washed our faces and went off. In this world you can''t take baths all the time, water is precious even when there are tools that produce it, and bathsck drainage as well, so it isplicated and takes a lot of time to take a bath. Usually I take a few baths through the week and use the Clean Spell to clean my body other times.


    The Clean Spell is an easy to learn Tier 1 Light Attribute Spell that cleans surfaces, including a person''s body. If it were more widespread, many people could be more clean, all my friends already learned it. They can use low tier spells of other elements than their affinities just fine, so there was no problem in learning the spell in question. Of course, only the weakest and simplest spells, spells of other elements than their affinities that could deal substantial damage cannot be conjured by them at all.


    We told Eric''s aunt and uncle that we were going to my house for the day, and that I''ll bring back Eric to them before dinner. After that we pretended to move through the road back to my house as the two stood outside their shop looking at us for a while, but when they finally moved back to the shop, we swiftly made our way into the woods. Nobody saw us get in, so we sessfully managed to get inside of the "dangerous" forest.


    The three of them were oddly nervous despite having the strength to easily kill Gray Wolves and Imps if they worked together. I couldn''t me them, unlike me they were children without the experience of someone that lived thousands of years, and well, they had lived their entire lives being intimidated by the existence of monsters and demons.


    "We are really doing this¡­" Sighed Eric.<sub> </sub>


    "Yeah¡­ Ugh¡­ ke, can''t we go back?" Asked Chris.


    "Don''t be such chickens! Aren''t you into the mood to smack something?" Asked Erika while holding a big great sword I had bought for her in the market made of hard steel. It waspletely covered in rust, so it was very cheap, but repeatedly using Clean on it and then washing it with a lot of water made it look anew quite quickly and easily.


    "You knew this was going to happen eventually. Don''t worry, whenever you get used to killing, it won''t be so hard anymore. You know that Adventurers have to kill other living beings to live, right? Chris, your father is a hunter, you should know this." I said.


    "I-I know! I''ve killed rabbits before¡­ Hunting practice¡­ But nothing like monsters¡­" Sighed Chris.


    "You''ll be alright." I said.


    We walked deeper into the forest as we found ourselves in the secondyer of the forest already. The woods became darker and thicker and the wild animals were rare in here, small rodents and the like were nowhere to be seen, and as we walked closer to the thirdyer, the presence of demon energy and miasma became higher.


    While we walked in silence, the bushes around us suddenly began to move. I quickly detected a pair of Gray Wolves moving towards us, they had sniffed us from afar. I''m d Gray Wolves are bing less rare now¡­ Maybe they had a mating season? I heard that monsters grow and reproduce quickly.


    "Graaah!"


    "Roar!"


    p The two Gray Wolves pounced in front of us, as Chris and Eric gritted their teeth, while Erika smiled excitedly.</anda>


    "Prepare yourselves, this is the first of many battles you''ll have ovee through your lives. Now show me all the training we have done has bene worth it!"


    -----

 Chapter 206 Team Work Against A Pack Of Wolves

    -----


    In front of us there were two Gray Wolves. They were already quite rare, so this was a good find. I''ve not hunt into the forest thesest days, so I hoped they would slowly be less shy. I think I had overhunted them so much that they inherently started to evade all the areas I often visited with Eleanora. It is good they''ve finally lowered their guards. I had lowered my own presence through the No-Attribute Tier 1 Magic Spell "Stealth", it is a lesser version of Erase Presence, and lowers the body''s ability to unleash its own natural auras. This way, it is easier for someone to not be easily detected by others, including the sharp noses of the Gray Wolves. I put myself in the back of everybody, as I led them to battle. They were two Gray Wolves and nothing much, so this shouldn''t be a hard fight for them.


    "Groar!"


    The two Gray Wolves rushed forward faster than the kids could react. One of them, thergest of the two, quickly leaped directly towards Erika, as she seemed to be the smallest and most delicate based in her build. She also exuded the least life aura of the kids, so they thought she was physically weaker.


    A bad decision.


    Sometimes, appearances can be deceiving.


    CLASH!


    "Awrooo¡­!"


    Erika quickly responded, spinning around like a ballerina and using her strong legs to kick therge Gray Wolf''s chin, throwing him upwards into the air. Her intense kick didn''t end there, as she jumped off the ground and began to shower the wolf with consecutive kick attacks without even using her sword. She was rather good at kicking, and I had taught her many techniques that used her legs thatbined them with her [Dance] Skill from her [Princess] Talent.


    CLASH! CLASH! CLASH!


    Her kicks showered the Gray Wolf agonizingly, as the creature cried in pain and was quickly thrown into the floor once more, its entire body was demolished, with many internal fractures and wounds bleeding out. The Gray Wolf was struggling in the floor to crawl away, but Erika quickly finished him off mercilessly by swinging her sword slicing its head cleanly off.


    SLASH!


    "GRAAH¡­!"


    BUMP!


    The head rolled through the ground, as Erika sighed in relief. She has definitely grown quite well, this was her first kill yet she did it without even thinking it twice. Could it be that her artificial body has also made her rather cold-hearted and ruthless? Well, she''s such an overly emotional and clingy girl in everything else that it was quite surprising how merciless she was against another life. Her dolls barely helped because she didn''t really need any assistance for now, but I am sure that against stronger beasts, she''ll need their support.<sub> </sub>


    The moment she finished off the Gray Wolf, a white light suddenly epassed her body, blessing her with new strength. I suppose even her doll body can grow stronger, or perhaps was her soul strengthened? Nheless, she had leveled up by merely killing a single Gray Wolf. Indeed, those without a Curse can grow way faster. Although because I take too long to level up, my stats seem to increase more per level as apensation. Seeing Erika level up made me wonder what would happen when her soul were to be transferred to a new body? Would her level reset? Hm¡­ Well, for the moment, I looked into the other side of the "battlefield", as Eric and Chris were struggling to evade the fast charge attacks of the Gray Wolves.


    "GRAAH!"


    The Gray Wolf pounced forward and shed its sharp ws towards the two. Eric ran around cowardly while Chris was swallowing saliva while barely managing to evade. I couldn''t help but feel frustrated after seeing them struggle with a mere Gray Wolf when Erika did such an excellent job, even more when they had magic and spirits that were even better suited forbat.


    "Fight! Don''t be cowardly! Let the wolf scratch you or bite you, I can heal youter. Erika can too with her Priest Dolls!" I roared, telling them to not worry about their safety.


    "Yeah, we can heal youter!" Said Erika, her Priest-dressed dolls were at her side.


    However, Eric and Chris didn''t seem to be convinced by our words, as they continued to cowardly evade the attacks of the Gray Wolf. I was just about to go smack their heads and make them snap out of it when Eric gritted his teeth and hit the ground. I thought he had fainted or something, but I saw him suddenly conjuring Nature-Attribute Magic and summoning his Spirit all at the same time, creating what''s called Spirit Technique, whichbines magic and a spirit to create a unique technique.


    "Spiky Vines!" Roared Eric, as vines suddenly grew out of the ground right below the Gray Wolf, entangling its four legs. The Gray Wolf quickly felt the sharp spikes piercing through his flesh.


    "Now, Chris, go all out!!!" Cried Eric, as Chris nodded and decided to move forward, summoning his Fire Fox and then gathering the mes of his Spirit within his staff.


    "Fireball!!!"


    FLUOOOSH!


    He summoned arger than usual Fireball and fired it straight towards the Gray Wolf''s face, impacting it strongly. The mes spread out through the wolf''s body, burning through the dry fur and roasting the creature alive.


    "GRRAAAH¡­!"


    The Gray Wolf gave out ast pitiful groan of agony before dropping over the floor, charred ck due to the fire engulfing it whole. As it was magic mes, Chris and his spirit were able to control their intensity and easily extinguished them after the Gray Wolf died. Right after the creature fell, the two kids finally glowed in bright white light in the same fashion as Erika just some seconds ago, they had surely raised their Level as well, at longst, everybody was now Level 1. Leveling from Level 0 shouldn''t be as hard as it was for me.


    -----

 Chapter 207 Dont Get Too Cocky!

    -----


    "Hahhh¡­ I feel way stronger than before¡­ Even though I am a bit tired¡­ What is this feeling?" Wondered Eric, as he looked into his own hands. He looked just the same to me and the strength he gained through a single level up wasn''t even that much, but for him it seemed to be a big enhancement.


    "You''re right¡­ I do feel stronger. Did my Mana just regenerated too?" Wondered Chris. It seems that Mana do regenerate through leveling up,pletely at that. I don''t know what''s the logic behind that, but it seems that others also are affected by it up to a certain point, also, wounds and scars can be healed by leveling as well. But I''ve heard from Ellergest that this onlysts up to ten levels or around that.


    "You guys are such chickens! Come on, stand up! Don''t think we are done here, we gotta get tons of Blessings to be as strong as ke!" Said Erika, crossing her arms rather pridefully of her kill.


    "You did well, although you two were overly cowardly when your skills should had made it easy to defeat the Gray Wolves. You''ve be way too cowardly because of yourck of experience. Already at eight years of age and can''t even kill a wolf?" I sighed, feeling disappointed in my disciples and friends.


    "T-That''s not something normal!" Said Chris. "E-Even my father said he first joined the hunts when he reached the age of 14¡­"


    "Yeah¡­ It is a big quick for us to begin hunting big game at the age of 8. I know that you''re worried about us and getting stronger is definitely a must but¡­ there''s a long way to go before we begin our adventure, right?" Asked Eric.


    "No!" I roared, hitting the two with a slight karate chop. I infused Ki into their bodies and made the Ki shock their nerves, making the two scream in surprise.


    CLASH! CLASH!


    "Uwwagh!"


    "Ouch!"


    The two rolled through the ground but then stood up without finding anything wrong with their bodies. In fact, their bodies were revitalized, as they didn''t felt tired anymore. The two looked at me with surprise.


    "I told you to not be ckers! I won''t let anybody in my side to be a coward. You''re going to hunt at least¡­ ten! Ten creatures EACH!" I ordered, as if I was reprimanding these children that are not aware of their own incredible potential.


    "O-Okay, but why did you hit us?!" Roared Chris, as he seemed to want to hit me back. Obviously quite childish, but he actually contained himself, mostly because he felt no pain anymore, nor exhaustion.


    "H-He hit us hard, I can still remember the pain but¡­ my body feels lighter and did all my exhaustion went away?" Wondered Eric.


    "This is a secret technique that uses Ki. I can choose to either hurt you or not. And if I choose to not hurt you, I can even infuse Ki and healing magic to heal the exhaustion out of your bodies. It is a good way to train resistance to pain and agony too! We''ll do that after we are done with today''s hunt." I said while crossing my arms. Training them to resist pain and agony was a must if they wanted to get anywhere in this world. If they freak out about a wound or something and end up bing weaker in battle, the enemy can easily abuse that.


    "R-Resistance to pain?!" Asked Chris fearfully.<sub> </sub>


    "Y-You''re not serious, right, ke?" Asked Eric while smiling nervously.


    I looked at the two kids kneeling in the floor coldly.


    "I am dead serious."


    I suddenly felt as if the two kids had chills run down their spines. Was I too ruthless? Well, this was just basic training. I was trained this way by that damn old geezer back in my previous life. If you''re not rough now, they''re going to grow into softies that cry for every scratch in their bodies. I am not their father or something, so I don''t care if they end up hating me at the end of their training. This is just the best for them. I hope they eventually understand.


    "Yeah, don''t be such cowards! Alright, let''s get going, ke!" Said Erika. If she was a puppy she would definitely be wiggling her tail happily and rapidly due to how excited she was. In fact sometimes she really looked like a puppy.


    "A-Alright¡­ Hey! What are you doing with our prizes?!" Asked Chris, as he saw me taking out the Spirit Orbs from the Gray Wolves corpses.


    "This is my reward for all the training I''ve given to you for free!" I said. "Don''tin or I am going to beat you again, Chris. ¡­But you can keep the corpses, they would sell for some pennies."


    "Y-You''re exceeding yourself, ke!" Comined Chris, as Eric petted his shoulder and calmed him down.


    "You know how ke is, Chris, don''t make a scene now. We are trying to grow stronger together after all. He also uses those Orbs to strengthen himself, so it is not bad." Eric seemed to be rather cheerful todaypared to Chris.


    "I am okay with him taking the whole wolf if he wants to! I owe ke too much toin." Said Erika with a cheerful smile.


    "That''s the spirit! Learn more about her you two." I said. "Be grateful of your benefactor and friend."


    "Ggrrr¡­ You''re just getting overly cocky¡­" Muttered Chris while gritting his teeth.


    "Hahaha¡­" Eric didn''t know what else to say so he began tough nervously as always.


    We quickly moved forward after they allowed me to save both Gray Wolf carcasses inside of my Inventory Bags. I had created two more which I brought with me, as the first one was already filled with things. But creating some more wasn''t hard at all. I had thought about gifting them some of these if theyplete their trial today. And while seeking monsters, we had already reached the thirdyer of the Forest, the demonic energies were strong here¡­


    -----

 Chapter 208 Time To Fight Demons

    -----


    From the two Gray Wolves I ended earning 100 EXP. It seems that when someone other than Eleanora or my Familiars kill monsters below by supervision or assistance, I can only get half of what they got. Nheless, 100 EXP is wee, anything is wee to be honest.


    We moved forward without hesitating, reaching the thirdyer with the kids was something I had already nned. I wanted to fight some demons again, and if possible, we could even sneak deeper and find where the Demon Gate might be located. If I know its coordinates, I couldeter on with Eleanora and then destroy it. I know the possibility of getting more demons for EXP is tempting, but it is also a big threat that will only continue to escte further out of control. I prefer to destroy it than to let the menace grow further just for some EXP.


    Before leaving the vige I remember that I saw arge group of Knights gathering around the church. Perhaps they mighte here soon as well since I rescued Lukas and his surviving knights that the news about the demons being cunning and too strong spread out. The Duke ended realizing that his fiefdom was in too much danger, and decided to send even more men here, with the help of the priests as healers and light magic users, which the demons fear, they mighte here for a full crusade to eliminate all demons. Although I have no idea if they''ll do it now or in the next couple of days. If they do it now, it would certainly be annoying to get in the middle of it. Especially because I saw Ellergest and his priests in there, even the little Elizabeth might participate.


    "Something''s off around here¡­ Where are we?" Wondered Erika.


    "Yeah, how deep does this forest even go?" Asked Chris.


    "I can sense¡­ this energy is not just mana, there''s demonic energy here! I remember when ke showed it to us¡­ It is intoxicating and it feels like it takes the air away." Said Eric.


    "You''re right. We have reached the thirdyer of the forest. In here is where demons roam the most. Gray Wolves are incredibly rare, but Giant Boars might appear sometimes¡­" I said. "To be precise, this ce is where I''ve bought you to fight demons. The weakest and mostmon of them are Imps, which are red-skinned and small, almost the same height as you guys¡­ Ah, Eleanora found a sizable group of eight! Sweet, let''s go."


    I had sent Eleanora off before we even got into the dungeon by ourselves. She used Shadow Sneak and Stealth to sneak away into the forest undetected, and jumped around the tree branches seeking the deeperyers. She had already reached the thirdyer while the kids were fighting the Gray Wolves. When she finally got here, she began to quickly search for prey until she finally found a scouting group of eight Imps. Well, not really scouting, they were hunting and were bringing arge amount of horned rabbits and two gray wolves back to their vige. Perhaps following them might give us the location of the gates, but I really wanted the EXP, so I told Eleanora to go seek another small group to follow or find the Demon Vige by herself while we took care of the eight Imps.


    I guided my group swiftly through the forest. The enhancement of their bodies through Ki allowed them to move faster and run swiftly, and they got exhausted way slower than before. Erika barely felt any body fatigue if anything, so she could probably run while holding her breath for hours.


    "W-We are fighting demons now¡­" Sighed Eric.


    "This is a bit too much now¡­ Eight as well?!" Asked Chris.<sub> </sub>


    "Don''t worry, Erika will assist you with her dolls." I said to them.


    "W-What about you?" Asked Chris.


    "I will watch from the sidelines and make sure the Imps don''t escape." I said with a calm smile.


    "Y-You''re the coward here!" Chrisined, as Eric seemed even more dispirited as he heard I wasn''t fighting.


    "I am not a coward, you blockhead, I am merely standing by because if I help, the entire challenge will be trivialized. At this point I can just kill Imps without issues. This is a training for YOU, not me." I said angrily, as I felt the impulse to smack the stubborn Chris in the head again, but I contained myself. "Stop doubting yourself so much, Chris. This is not the kid that threw that fireball at me the other day, or are you? I thought you were bolder."


    "I-I¡­ Right! I am not a chicken!" Said Chris. "I''ll show you! I''ll freaking show you I am strong!"


    He suddenly began to release fire out of his eyes as Eric and Erika got slightly scared. This was happening a lot recently, whenever he got pumped up, Chris would begin generating zing mes out of his body, most of the time his own eyes.


    When we finally reached the area where the Imps were, I quickly told everybody to move slowly. We sneaked behind the trees and bushes, finally peeking at the eight Imps, they had decided to take a break and were sitting around a bonfire, roasting their prey. They had lowered their guards, it was the perfect time to strike.


    I told Chris and Eric to fight first. Eric quickly nodded, having gained some more self-confidence, he put his hands into the floor and suddenly used once more his Spirit Technique. In a second, vines sprouted out of the ground, entangling around half of the Imps, while the other half was surprised by the sudden monstrous nts that they felt shocked, a good time to strike them from behind.


    "Now go!" Imanded, as Erika and Chris decided to move forward. There were too many targets and the possibilities of them running away were high. Because of this, the two had to be fast and precise.


    -----

 Chapter 209 Decimating Imps

    -----


    An army of dolls flew in midair,manded by Erika. There were Warrior Dolls holding swords, spears and axes, alongside Magician Dolls with staffs and books. The group were in total around twenty-five, and they swiftly began swarming three Imps at the same time, specifically those that had yet to be entangled by Eric''s vines. The warrior dolls had magical weapons that were part of them. They were not the toughest but could cut through skin and flesh just fine, they swarmed one of the Imps in a second, shing and piercing through his body like bees stinging a person that annoyed their nest.


    "GRYYYAAAAH!"


    The Imp cried in agony as it couldn''t get them off his body no matter how much he struggled or tried to throw them away. With his body already tattered in wounds and covered in blood in just a few seconds, he lost his strength and fell to his knees, right where Erika wanted him, as she swiftly pounced towards the Imp and sliced his head off with her sword, without any hint of doubt. She was my type of subordinate, merciless, ruthless, and doubtless at the time of killing an enemy. She had great potential.


    SLAAASH!


    The Imp''s head rolled through the ground quickly after. A second passed since then and Erika was already closing in the second Imp without hesitation or even a hint of exhaustion in her eyes. The second Imp was being attacked by her Magician Dolls, being burned by small fireballs, and being wounded by small slicing winds or rocks conjured at them. A single doll''s power was miserably low, but when they unified as a swarm, they were powerful.


    SLAAASH!


    Another head rolled down quickly after, as Erika continued her merciless hunt for the Imp''s head. Meanwhile, Chris was already dealing with two himself. Gritting his teeth and while his legs trembled and his entire body was shrouded in his own sweat, he began fighting them. The Imps were unarmed and easy to take down. He ordered his Fire Fox to fight a third Imp, as the small fox flew around unleashing a Fire Breath out of its tiny mouth. Meanwhile, Chris used his fists and his staff to fight. Covering his fists with mes alongside his staff, he smacked the head of an Imp while kicking another through a zing Kick.


    CLASH! BOOM!


    "Hahh¡­ I am not a coward!!!" Cried Chris, containing the tears froming out of his eyes. He was doing his best to ovee his doubt, weakness, and cowardliness. He continued hitting the two Imps as they tried to fight him. One of the Imps quickly conjured a Demon Fire and threw the fireball at him, but he intercepted it with the staff I have bought for him and then unleashed a spiral vortex of fire from within the red jewel on top of the staff, which was a Low-Quality Fire Spirit Stone, a magic stone infused with the power of the Fire Attribute.


    FLUOOOOSSH!


    The spiraling vortex of mes engulfed the Imppletely, burning it to a crisp. Despiteing from Hell and having great resistance to fire element, the fire made out of spirits contained holy elements within, which could still damage Imps. This is something I had discovered in this world just some months ago. Apparently the elements generated by spirits were way stronger than what one could form conventionally through magic spells. A fireball made out of the Fireball spell and one made through the Spirit Energy of Chris'' Fireball werepletely different. His fire was very special, and could damage even those I once thought had a resistance to such elements, such as most demons.


    "GRUGRAAAHH¡­!"<sub> </sub>


    The Imp screamed loudly in agony, attempting to attack Chris while it was being burned alive, but Chris responded with a punch on the Imp''s chin, throwing him into the air. The second Imp he was fighting was so intimidated it tried to run away, only to be taken down by a strong Fireball on its head.


    BOOM!


    "GRUAH¡­!"


    CLASH!


    The Imp fell into the ground, barely alive. Chris swiftly moved forward, angrily that everything was being so intimidating to him. He was a child after all, I could understand why he felt that way. He was scared of the world and everything dangerous about it, but he really wanted to explore it and find new things, new experiences, and new sights. He had to force himself to be strong because no matter how much he tried, his heart was still afraid. Those that can ovee such a thing will one day be strong and great people.


    CRASH!


    His staff hit the half-dead Imp in the head, crushing the skull wide open, the brains easily sttered over the floor, bloody and disgusting. Chris seemed about to vomit but his spirit touched his head, the small fox seemed to have the ability to relieve his stress.


    "Hahh¡­!"


    Meanwhile, Eric didn''t wanted to stay still, he used his vines to crush four Imps in a single attack, he entangled them and then used the venom oozing out of the spikes from the vines to kill them. It took some time, but the venom could be deadlier as the spikes grew sharper and pierced further through the flesh. He had used most of his mana for it, but he had done it quite alright. He fought by distance like he was supposed to do based on his Talent, but I''ll force him to fight in close range as well. He was using his bow to finish off two Imps that he captured which had yet to die and were trying to free themselves using Demon Fire. His bow technique was bing rather great at this point.


    The intense fight quickly ended, with all three of the children shrouded on blood and the Imps as dead as they can get. The amount of EXP they earned quickly let them all raise to Level 2, although they celebrated, Chris and Eric seemed slightly tired. I suppose it was time for a break before the hunt continues, they have to kill 22 more.


    -----

 Chapter 210 The Power Of [Command]

    -----


    [Calcting EXP earned¡­]


    [Bonus EXP has been umted]


    [You earned 2400 EXP]


    [Level: 7 / 10] [EXP: 25780 / 60000]


    [Skill Proficiency has reached the required amount: 20000/20000]


    [You learned the [Command: Lv1] Skill!]


    Command?


    Just as we decided to take a break from hunting by using what the Imps hunted and their bonfire to make some grilled horned rabbit meat and a wolf meat and bones stew with potatoes and carrots I brought, I suddenly saw I gained some EXP and also¡­ a Command Skill. Such a skill was not present in the Skill Library where I can exchange them for Skill Points at all. In fact, such skills are very limited so I didn''t know what else was avable for me to learn.


    I decided to check the Skill description before making further and pointless conclusions, it is always better to simply check the Skill than anything else.


    -----


    [Commanding: Lv1]


    Skill Proficiency: 0/10000


    A Skill granted to those who have learned how tomand, teach, and guide others. Their ability to guide and make others stronger is of such a great level that they begin developing innate abilities to further enhance such power. Whenmanding others,manded troops receive a +10% bonus to all their stats. Passively, their stats, skills, and levels can grow at a rapid level.


    -----


    Oh, I see how it is. A brand new and interesting Skill, it might be a nice Skill that could help my allies grow stronger rapidly, although the bonus it is currently giving is nothing that much, it seems to have the potential to grow further and be even more insane in that regard. That +10% Bonus to all Stats seems like a great thing, to be honest. Does this means that by merely ordering Erika, Chris, and Eric to fight, they''ll suddenly receive a temporary bonus to all their capabilities? Incredible¡­ The power of this world''s Skills is still surprising me even now. Just how many of these Skills are out there? I feel like I am further developing an obsession with acquiring as many as I possibly can.


    But for now, it was better to leave it aside and concentrate in the present. I looked at the stew, which was boiling, the wolf meat jerky was good to make stew, and in a few minutes it should be done, whenever the potatoes are fully cooked.<sub> </sub>


    "How is the butchering?" I asked, as I saw the three kids using knives to open up the chests of the Imps, they were just learning the basics about butchering, and were all blooded and covered in entrails, they were doing a terrible job.


    "Good!" Erika cheerfully said, taking out a bright red Demon Core with her bare hands out of the chest of an Imp she defeated.


    "Uegh¡­" Chris muttered, containing his impulse to vomit. "C-Can''t we do something less disgusting?"


    "It is part of being an Adventurer to know how to dismantle the beasts you defeat, Chris. We are not going to just kill monsters and bring themplete into the town or something, right?" I asked. "You need to know what to cut, what can be eaten, and what''s valuable about them. It ismon sense. Your father is a Hunter and I was really hoping he could have imparted such wisdom on you, but it seems that you''ve been rather spoiled by your family if he had yet to teach you anything."


    "T-That''s not true! I am not a spoiled child¡­" Said Chris while angrily groaning. "Father has taught me many things¡­ But he never went into details about butchering. He did taught me how to cut boar''s body parts and their meat but demons are a new territory altogether¡­"


    "Well, think about them as humans, maybe that can help? Butchering Imps is like butchering humans, they got some areas that are very thin andck meat, but their entrails, mostly their torso, is filled with all the oozy things that might be valuable." As I said that, all three of my friends stared at me in silence.


    "What?" I asked.


    "N-Nothing¡­" Said Chris.


    "ke did you ever butchered a person?" Asked Eric while tilting his head in confusion.


    "It is scary how much you know!" Said Erika.


    "Well¡­ No, but that''s how I think about it." I said. "I''ve butchered an Oni, which are taller and even more human-like demons, so they''re like people¡­ That''s all, don''t get the wrong idea."


    As I said those words, they quickly dropped their questions and I then called them to eat stew. I washed their hands from the blood and used the Clean spell to clean their faces and clothes so they wouldn''t smell terrible while we ate. After that, we sat down around the bonfire to enjoy some quick meal. It was still early in the day, not even 3 PM yet, so we had a lot of hunting to do next, but a small break to recover energies is never a bad thing, especially because I''ve be rather fond of cooking.


    Not because I am a corny human that enjoys cooking or something, but it is because I''ve realized there might be some power within me awakening that can enhance meals. I had already seen it with the knights back then, and since then I''ve been helping my mother cook for the whole family every day, multiple times a day. And since then, I''ve discovered that if I use mana while cooking, the meals end up tastier and even grant special bonuses to those that eat them, temporarily making them stronger and more revitalized.


    Chris and Eric quickly began to enjoy the stew, dipping pieces of hard bread below the warm soup and wolfing it down afterwards. The Gray Wolf jerky meat in the stew had been hydrated and became chewy and tasty, and the potatoes and carrots could fill their bellies quickly as well. Erika, however, rushed to my left side and sat down to eat at my side, resting her head in my shoulder. Chris and Eric were ring me down with a bored expression¡­ What do they even want me to do? To throw her to the side? I would do it if it wasn''t because she''s my childhood friend.


    -----

 Chapter 211 A Small Break

    -----


    "It is very tasty!"


    Erika was wolfing down the stew without any manners, as she sat at my side. She was enjoying the meal I had prepared for her. I think this might be the first time she eats something I''ve cooked. I suppose it probably means a lot for her.


    "Is that so? I am d you like it."


    "It is amazing you can cook already, ke! You will make a perfect husband!"


    "¡­Again with that."


    I sighed as I averted my gaze from Erika, who was looking at me as if I were a rare prize. For a while now she had been obsessed with things like these. It reminded me a bit of Elizabeth. Do girls in this country are taught to say such strange things? I don''t know what to say but I shall ignore her for now.


    "Y-Yeah, I guess¡­" Said Eric.


    "But shouldn''t the husband hunt? It''s the wife the one that cooks¡­ He hasn''t hunted a single thing today!" Said Chris.


    "SHUT UP, DUMMY!!!" Roared Erika, as if she transformed into a ferocious beast, Chris was so scared he fell off the trunk he was sitting on, thankfully he had eaten all the stew so nothing spilled over him. "ke hunts almost every day, right? His Blessings are way more than ours, he''s super strong! He already has hunted enough for months of meat. I''ve seen the storage on his house¡­ He keeps his family well feed with his own efforts!"


    "I-Is that so? You hunt alone?" Asked Eric.


    "Well, obviously." I sighed. "Eleanora and I can hunt anything you''ve fought with ease. I''ve not done it because I am mostly busy in other things. Also, you three take like seventy percent of my daily free time¡­"


    "O-Oh¡­ Amazing¡­ I guess you''re really above us, huh?" Laughed Eric a bit cheerfully. "It is a long way to go for us yet¡­"


    Chris slowly stood up and sat down again. He seemed rather annoyed at Erika. "Did you had to scream so loud, Erika? As the years passes you''re bing more and more childish, you don''t even seem to grow up¡­"


    "Eeeh? Rude!" Said Erika while crossing her arms. "I am merely protecting ke''s pride¡­ As her future wife!"


    "Again with that¡­ I''ve never epted any of such things, Erika, stop talking about delusions." I said. I wanted to quickly cut off any of such strange thoughts from going around her head, but she was a blockhead so it obviously didn''t worked.


    "Hehe, you can say all you want but I will conquer your heart eventually with my womanly charms~ I will grow pretty like my mommy¡­" Said Erika while blushing a bit. She was so much of a blockhead that she never understood any of the things I told her. Will she ever developmon sense? ¡­Well, now I feel a bit down. Due to her current body, she wont really grow unless¡­ her father makes another model for her whenever she bes a teenager or a young adult.


    "Erika give it up, ke is not someone that can be easily convinced by looks¡­" Sighed Eric. "He''s not someone like you think!"


    "Eeeh? And you know him more, Eric? Do you like him or something?" Asked Erika while looking at Eric as her eyes squinted. Eric suddenly became red like a tomato, and began to stutter while speaking.


    "W-What are you talking about?! I am merely his friend!" He asked angrily. Eric was constantly readjusting his sses. "I just¡­ appreciate ke a lot¡­ He''s my best friend."


    "Eh?! What about me?!" Asked Chris as he heard Eric.<sub> </sub>


    "You''re too! But you''re such an idiot sometimes, Chris!" Sighed Eric while crossing his arms. "It frustrates me¡­ But ke is smart like me so we get along better!"


    "Geez¡­ You''re a smartass so you think you''re better than me, huh?!" Chris was very conflictive today.


    "You''re so annoying today! Just rx!" Said Eric.


    "Ugh¡­ And Erika, if ke doesn''t wanna marry you, I am here too! I-I am strong andpetent¡­ You can marry me when we grow up too!" Said Chris while blushing a bit. Erika looked at him and quickly made a weirded out face.


    "Huh? No way." She said.


    "GUH¡­!"


    Crack!


    For a moment, I felt as if Chris'' heart shattered into pieces. I don''t know what was that about but it seemed that Erika''s overly cold response has made him rather dispirited out of the sudden. If he continues to be like this we''ll never finish this training by how much heins about everything¡­


    "Erika you didn''t had to be so cold." I said to her. She looked at my eyes and slowly approached her face to mine.


    "But I only want you¡­" She said while blushing.


    "You''re getting too clingy and overly corny today as well¡­" I sighed, as Erika''s arms wrapped around my left arm while she rubbed her face over my shoulder.


    "Hehe, not like you''re stopping me¡­" She giggled mischievously.


    "Chris! Chris!!! Hang on there!"


    And Eric was trying to revive Chris from his heartbreak. He seemed to be having a hard time. But this was the perfect opportunity for Eric to practice the healing spells I taught to him so he began using them in quick session. His mana had recovered quite a lot after he ate my cooking, it seems that it really gains some sort of magical properties, interesting¡­


    "Erika¡­ You know that Eleanora doesn''t like you getting clingy with me¡­ That she''s not here right now doesn''t mean you can step over your boundaries. We are friends, nothing more than that." I said to her. But the little girl was stubborn, as she pouted until her cheeks got red.


    "I don''t care¡­! I''ll¡­ I will beat her!" She said.


    "¡­What does that even means?" I wondered.


    Maybe I was so old that I really didn''t understand these types of thoughts that children often had when in love. At the very least I wasn''t a dense person to not realize she loved me. But still, this is not the time to be in any kind of romantic rtionship, so I have to try to make her reconsider her feelings. Although she''s so stubborn and blockheaded that it seems like a task more challenging that fighting a Demon Lord.


    -----

 Chapter 212 The Incredible Power Of The [Cooking] Skill

    -----


    Ding!


    [Skill Proficiency has reached the required amount: 20000/20000]


    [You learned the [Cooking: Lv1] Skill!]


    Oh, again? This is the second Skill today. It seems that today, despitecking level ups, there are many great gifts. I have already acquired Command, but now I got the Cooking Skill. It makes sense, seeing how my meals have begun to be capable of revitalizing and even recovering Mana, it was an obvious oue, and quite honestly, I was expecting to get a Skill rted to it eventually, but not as quick.


    -----


    [Cooking: Lv1]


    <o>,m Skill Proficiency: 0/10000</o>


    A Skill learned by those that have dedicated a great part of their lives to cook meals for others. Those that put their hearts into their cooking and do it so they can help others recover and feel better are the ones that might awaken this power. Meals prepared will gain additional effects and will automatically recover a certain % of HP and MP based on ingredients and Skill Level. Some meals might randomly gain special effects. Proficiency at the time of cooking is also increased greatly, and the user''s cooking often tastes great no matter what, revitalizing those that consume it and calming their hearts.


    -----


    This is better than I had expected! The moment I learned the skill, the meals I had cooked suddenly and logic-defyingly gained a magical glow to them that only I could see. The kids were still eating happily as of now, and as they continued filling their bellies, their health and mana was probably recovering even quicker.


    "Uoooh! Is it my idea or the food just got tastier?" Asked Erika. "You''re so amazing at cooking, ke! I love it!"


    "Y-Yeah¡­ It''s true, something happened, it just all became so tasty¡­ even more than before!" Said Eric.


    "Hahh~ My heart is calm now¡­" Sighed Chris. It seems my food could even heal heartbreaks.


    I also began eating myself a second portion of stew with a stick with skewered horned rabbit meat. The food was tastier than I thought, I barely had any salt and other spices, so why? Is this all the skill''s doing? Can Skills truly be such powers? They''re almost god-like in how defying they are. They are even stronger than most low-tier to mid-tier spells, and their effects are permanent all while growing with one-self¡­ If I could had developed and discovered skills in my previous life, I might had stood a better chance against Lucifer.


    Still, these Skills really seem nonsensical based in how they work. I had just learned the Cooking Skill an automatically the meals I had improved¡­ Well, there''s no point in wondering about this any longer. If I grow strong enough I might be able to discover the truth and secrets behind the Skills of this world, Levels, Stats, and Talents, but for now, it is better to concentrate in what I have in front of me.


    A trio of very happy kids¡­ I guess they are well fed now. It is about time to move on and continue hunting, I won''t let them go around cking after a meal.<sub> </sub>


    "Alright, now that we are done, let''s continue. Eleanora has already told me that there''s a group of eleven Imps led by a Lesser Oni close by here. They''re being lured by the smell of the food, so this is perfect." I said.


    "EEEH?!"


    All three kids suddenly jumped off their seats in shock, getting nervous out of nowhere.


    "What''s wrong?" I asked.


    "Y-You didn''t even told us!" Cried Eric. "We were rxing while demons were lurking around?"


    "This is bad! We need to get ready!" Said Chris. "Where''s my staff?!"


    "This is sudden but I can understand it, ke''s meals are the tastiest, so its obvious they were lured by the delicious food he prepares!" Said Erika while nodding and grabbing herrge sword, letting it rest over her small shoulders. "Dolls, [Formation]!"


    Suddenly, Erika summoned her dolls and suddenly used a Skill named [Formation], probably a new Skill she just learned. It seems that it allowed her to better coordinate her own Dolls and also make them create specific formations that increased certain stats and granted bonuses to their powers and abilities, an interestingly fitting skill. I suppose her [Princess] Talent also gave her the ability to control military groups through skills like these. It is good that she got an incredibly multiple body-type of spirit that can work with such skills.


    "Fire Fox,e out!" Said Chris, summoning his spirit as he finally found his staff.


    "I''ll get ready¡­" Said Eric, as he suddenly summoned his spirit without making a fuss like Chris and took out his bow and arrows. The vines making up his spirit suddenly entangled the arrows, infusing them with spirit energy. It seems he had a new skill or technique to showcase.


    "T-There is a Lesser Oni? What are those though?" Asked Chris nervously.


    "I would say they''re Imps undergoing Oni transformation." I said. "Although they''re several times stronger than Imps, they''re weaker than Onis themselves¡­ With Eleanora we have already defeated Onis, but you''ll do it this time. I''ll assist you with Skills and Magic from the sides, but I want you to put team effort into defeating him."


    "An Imp undergoing evolution? So they''re the ones that turn into the mighty Oni demons¡­" Said Erika.


    "Yes, just like us, Demons can also grow stronger by devouring souls and negative emotions. If an Imp is evolving into an Oni, it means he has eaten a lot of souls already. Maybe most of them were from wild monsters here¡­ but I bet there might be some human souls in there as well. We''ll fight someone that has already fought and defeated humans, so don''t be too confident in your own powers and above all, be cautious. This is not a game, its real life. If you lose¡­ it means death. Understood?" I asked them. Chris, Eric, and Erika looked at one another and nodded afterwards.


    "Good. Here theye." I said. The trees and bushes began to wave as a group of red-skinned demons emerged, being led by a Lesser Blue-skinned Oni, a rare breed.


    -----

 Chapter 213 Slaughtering More Demons

    -----


    The Imps emerged, being led by a blue-skinned Lesser Oni. The Lesser Oni was simply a few centimeters smaller than the Blue Oni we once fought before. But his aura wasn''t less threatening. He still had some red patches of skin around his body, showing that he was still in his process of metamorphosis into a Blue Oni from a red-skinned Imp. It usually takes them a few days, but no more than a week to fully evolve and grow. Unlike humans who grow over time with each year. Imps and most demons are born and quickly grow. In just a week they grow into the size that we often see them as, and be young adults. After a month of training, they be mildly experienced and already go into the wild to hunt.


    Therefore, the only way to "grow up" more is for them to devour souls and the flesh of the living beings of this world they''re invading, they consume it until their demon cores gain enough essence to begin evolution. In such evolution, they receive a rapid growth spur until reaching a tall Oni-type Demon. But this varies a lot. Imps are one of the mostmon weak demon types, but there are many others as well spread through the scorchingnds of Hell and its eightyers. Usually those start even stronger, so I am rather thankful that Imps are the only thing we have seen for the majority of the time.


    If stronger Demon Tribes were to emerge in here¡­ I don''t know if I would even be able to do anything at all. The Shadow Benders, the Blood Parasites, the Winged Gargoyles, the Resentful Gorgons¡­ all of them are powerful Demon Tribes that start simrly to Imps, but can develop to even more monstrous and lethal forms. Some evene with innate abilities unique to them, sch as Gorgons having the power to petrify with their gaze, or Shadow Benders being naturally adept at manipting shadows and merging with them, they can wipe out entire viges in a single night by mixing into the darkness of the night¡­ all of these demons are lethal even on their infancy. Imps are pushoverspared to them¡­ and that''s for the best.


    "Huh, so this was the smell of- Huh?!" The Oni spoke with the Imps, as he felt shocked to find us ready to fight. He quickly analyzed us as he spoke on his demon dialect, everybody didn''t understood him except me.


    "Y-You bastards! You killed the hunting team?!" Roared the Lesser Oni, as hemanded the Imps to quickly fight us. I suppose he didn''t put much thought into it. "Kill these damn children!!!"


    "GRYA!"


    "GRYAHAHA!"


    "GRUOH!"


    The Impsughed maliciously, holding swords and spears they had roughly made from materials found in the forest and move forward. One of the Imps immediately jumped like a frog into the air and then fell directly towards Erika, who they underestimated based in her looks.


    CLASH!


    Erika swiftly intercepted the falling de held by the Imp with her own sword, as she gritted her teeth and looked into the demon''s eyes directly.


    "Gryhih?!" Asked the Imp in surprise to see a little girl holding her own against a demon like him.


    "Ballerina Kick!!!"


    FLAAAASH!


    Erika suddenly caught the Imp with her kicking legs while spinning using her [Dance] Skill. Infusing her body with her Aether and Mana, she reinforced her legs to hit even harder than before and crushed the skull of the Imp on her third kick, throwing the unmoving body through the ground!


    CRAAAASH!


    BOOM!<sub> </sub>


    The body fell over the floor, as the Lesser Oni and the other Imps stared at it for a few seconds. They immediately realized they couldn''t underestimate a little girl no matter how she looked.


    "Now go and fight!" I roared. I immediately decided to use the [Command] Skill I had acquired to enhance all their Stats by +10%. The moment I said those words, a magical aura suddenly epassed Chris, Eric, and Erika at the same time, enhancing their capabilities greatly! I had never thought it would work so quickly and wondrously as it did, but the three immediately felt stronger. They didn''t had any time to point it out though.


    "Gryahahaha!"


    A trio of Imps rushed towards Eric, but Chris moved in front of him to defend him. He infused his staff with mes and unleashed a spiral of fire that caught one of the Imps within the mes. After that, he hit another with his staff in the head, knocking the Imp out in that second. Chris felt surprised he knocked out an Imp with a single strike. This was most likely Command enhancing his strength, plus the meal made through Cooking, which has enhanced his capabilities amazingly. He didn''t had time to overthink it though, as the third Imp closed in and shed his back with their sword drenched in their blood, only to be saved by the chest te he was wearing.


    CLASH!


    "My chest te broke with a single sh?! Damn it! Fireball!!!" Chris roared, as a giant fireball hit the Imp behind him directly in the face.


    BOOM!


    "GRYYAAAH¡­!"


    The Imp fell down but suddenly crawled back like a cockroach, grabbing Chris legs and stabbing one of his legs with a knife. The pain was severe and made Chris agonizingly cry, but his Fire Fox acted before him, engulfing the Imp in holy mes!


    "FOOO!"


    FLUOOOSSSHH!


    "UGRYYAAAHH¡­!"


    "U-Uggh¡­" Chris fell to his knees while Erika and her dolls fought in the frontlines. I quickly decided to assist him, looking into his wound and cleaning it with Clean, extracting the demonic energy lingering inside and then closing it with a lesser Healing Spell which was enhanced through the First Aid Skill, which had already reached Level 2, making even my low-tier healing spells rather good.


    "Better?" I asked. Chris eyes shone brightly as he saw me healing him, he nodded confidently.


    "Thank you!" He said, as he joined with Erika in the fight, throwing fireballs at the Imps to keep them at bay. I saw the Blue Oni wandering around. What is he nning?


    -----

 Chapter 216 The Demon Gate

    -----


    Eleanora explored the wilderness while her master, Asmodeus, or ke, as he is called now, was hunting with the three kids he had been growing up with. Deep inside she couldn''t help but desire to be at his side and see the growth of these children as well, as she had grown fond of them after these many years she had experienced life with them. However, due to her mission to scout for demons and also try to find their vige, she had been quite busy.


    Constantly draining bits of Mana from her master to not bother him as much, she used Shadow Sneak to sneak through the darkness of the shadows below the treetops. She had been chasing the faint traces of demonic energy in the environment, finding several groups of Imps, and quickly giving her master the coordinates to these Imp groups direction. However, she was also investigating something, as she moved deeper into the forest, she found that there was arge group of Imps all together, led by several Onis.


    "What''s this¡­? This is not something those children can handle¡­" She said in surprise.


    p She continued chasing down therge group of Demons led by the Onis, until she found herself in the front of arge, open area¡­ and there it was, almost a hundredrge houses made out of wood, with many strange red and ck crystals made into monoliths decorating the entire vige. There was even a watchtower and walls made of wood with sharp rock spikes on top for wild monsters to not get inside.</anda>


    "This is a¡­ a vige?"


    Eleanora quickly realized there was a vige in the middle of the forest, right at the end of the thirdyer where the greatest density of demons reached¡­ hundreds, if not even more. In the middle of this vige, she saw something just as shocking, hundreds of demons preparing, forging weapons, and preparing armors, and also roasting many creatures to eat. In there, she noticed several human bodies, from adults to children. There had been recently several cases of disappeared people in the forests, the knights and adventurers that had been seeking them had also been disappearing¡­ these people seem to all have ended in the bellies of the demons.


    Those not strong enough to overpower them nor smart enough to see through their tricks and traps would quickly fall to their demise by going deeper into the forest. The hunters had been banned from entering the forest but a few bold one''s had gone alone, only to nevere back. Young children often yed near the forest, some unfortunate ones were seen by sneaky and stealthy Imps, grabbed away, and eaten. Could you me the demons for wanting to survive, or the people for being foolish? Eleanora didn''t cared for either side nor pitied either side, she waspletely neutral in that regard¡­ or so she would wish. But as she continued living with ke as a human, she slowly became fond of this race.


    This, inherently, had made her appreciate them to a small extent, which brought a lot of rage boiling deep within her heart as she saw the bodies of children being grilled and eaten ruthlessly by the demons who prepared for something. But what could they be preparing for? Eleanora scanned the vige while sneaking around,pletely undetected by the demons, in the middle of the vige there was arge stone gate, which was currently closed. It was decorated with many beautiful red, purple, ck, and blue jewels and had strange demonic markings, alongside having several magic circles engraved both in the floor surrounding the gates and also over the stone gates themselves.<sub> </sub>


    It took her a split of a second to immediately guess what this was¡­ as if the enormous demonic aura emanating from it wasn''t obvious enough¡­ this was the Demon Gate. And it looked artificial. Eleanora knew this because she had seen both versions in her previous life. Natural Demon Gates were distortion in space and time that naturally happened or that were provoked by an incredibly strong demon, the Archdemons that ruled eachyer of hell had the power to open gates to other worlds, but rarely did this if they were not given permission by Lucifer, their King.


    Therefore, such gates resembled red-colored cracks in the middle of the air and would often close after a few hours or days of being opened, unless there was a powerful Archdemon fueling it with demonic energy to maintain it opened, they would close themselves in time before all demons could invade the world. However¡­ there was the second type of gate, an Artificial Demon Gate. Such gates were often not made out by demons, but by other races. Cults that adored demons often used their carcasses and materials to make Demon Magic and Ritual Magic, creating artificial gates that opened and led to certainyers of Hell.


    Such gates were capable of being opened as long as there was fuel for them, often in the form of mana, demonic energy, or souls. And based in the hundreds of wailing phantoms surrounding the gates and being feed to them¡­ the demons were using the souls of the damned they had hunted and eaten to fuel this gate. But¡­ did they truly made it? Eleanora quickly noticed a Gray-colored Oni with golden hornsmanding the Imps to carry the phantasmal souls of the damned into the gates, all while reading a strange, red grimoire which showed drawings about this process. Such drawings had letters of this world.


    "So such a gate was made by people of this world¡­" She thought. "But why and how?"


    Making Artificial Demon Gates was an incredibly hard task, especially without someone telling the people how to make it. Such effort often took a lot of resources and not many were willing to take the gamble and randomly figure out how to make a Gate. Every so often, those that made one had already a pact with a demon, a strong and intelligent enough demon to guide them¡­


    "The Cult rted to Cassandra¡­ Could they be behind this?"


    -----

 Chapter 217 Demon General

    -----


    Eleanora quickly began to sort out everything in her mind. Since her master acquired the books from Cassandra that she had learned quite a lot about her experiments and a mysterious cult that had given her everything she needed to aplish her goals. It was a cult that gave her everything and in exchange, she would marry a noble using her charming magic and slowly seep her influence and that of the cult into the nobles of this Kingdom. The process of this mission was still on going and on an early stage, and it was promptly ruined when ke and Ellergest defeated Cassandra.


    However, how did Eleanora guessed that such a cult was behind this, when there could be many different cults of demons doing this? this world was vast and there was no real reason why not there wouldn''t be manypeting cults that adored demons and used them to gain power and seek enlightenment. However, she recognized them due to their mark, a mark that resembled a red moon with bat-like wings at each side and a ring with a magic circle in the middle of the moon. This mark she had seen tattooed in the neck of Cassandra''s corpse and was also found through the various documents ke got from her.


    Of course, so the church could continue the investigation themselves, such documents wereter on given to them after ke extracted all the info he could, only taking a single day in doing so. The documents had appeared in the church magically after that, but nobody could find who brought them there nheless, Ellergest has been investigating them this entire time and the church alongside the knights hade out with various conclusions themselves, which ke had also overheard on the days he worked with Ellergest and his group of priests.


    "The Red Moon Mark is here as well, in the gates!" She thought, quickly connecting the dots to realize something big was going on in this forest. This gate was purposedly put in here for some reason, and it had been bringing more and more demons over time. However, Eleanora saw the quantity of demons there were and realized that if they went towards the vige right now, they could easily overturn itpletely and¡­ kill everybody easily.


    But why haven''t they done this yet? They had months to do this, years maybe. But they had simply been preparing even more without a hurry of starting something yet. It was rather clear that whoever was that gold-horned gray Oni, he was working for the humans behind them and has been preparing this entire army of demons for a nned invasion to the vige. And now that she was seeing them prepare for thest things¡­ their invasion could be tomorrow, or past tomorrow.


    Or worse, as close as¡­ today.


    "This is bad." Thought Eleanora. "I must tell this to my Lord immediately¡­!"


    Eleanora ran through the treetops at fast speed, jumping through while being undetected. However, she quickly heard the voice of various humans a kilometer away to the east, where the vige of the humans were. She ran there to look what was in there, and she found over 40 Knights, 100 Soldiers, and twenty Priests being led by Ellergest engaging in a battle against hundreds of demons!


    "It already started?!" She thought, quickly sending all the info towards ke through their telepathy. She noticed that the demons were circling down the group of soldiers, knights, and priests. Their numbers were way higher, the duke had not prepared enough for such an enormous army of demons to be hidden in the depths of the forest this entire time! And to make things worse, the humans seemed to be losing. They were thest stand before the entire vige was overrun by demons, if they lost, everything else would be lost as well.


    However, before Eleanora could go back to ke, the presence of an immensely strong demon was lurking behind her! She never realized it right until now. Eleanora quickly looked behind her, finding less than twenty meters away from her the same Gray Oni with holden horns¡­ Running straight towards her and ncing at her! When did he realized she was lurking around? He never made it obvious! Eleanora''s mind ran with many thoughts. As someone who had lived for thousands of years, her mind was calm,posed, and cold as her heart. She began to calcte, and if she ran towards ke, she would end up bringing the demon towards him¡­ Perhaps ke would survive running away, but the children¡­ they would surely be crushed with ease.<sub> </sub>


    Eleanora armed herself with determination and quickly began circling the vige right after realizing the Gray Oni was following her. The demon quickly realized she noticed him by now, and began to rapidly run, chasing her. his enormous aura exuded the power of a Rare Breed of Demons, and one even above Adult Oni. This was a demon that could be called¡­


    "This guy is¡­ a Demon General! To think that this Gate has been here for so long for a demon to have devoured over a hundred human souls and evolve into a Demon General¡­" Thought Eleanora. She knew the thresholds that demons required to evolve. The more souls they ate, the more they could evolve, and only those who have devoured over a hundred human souls could be Demon Generals, strong enough to be capable ofmanding thousands of weaker demons and enhance their strength through powerful Magic.


    "You''ve already noticed me, haven''t you? Running is futile!"


    The Gray Oni quickly began to talk back to Eleanora, as she gritted her teeth. The only thing she could do now was confronting him and buying as much time as possible for ke to get to where the knights and priests were and somehow find a way to defeat this absolute monster!


    However¡­ Eleanora had other ns aside from that. She looked into the vige, which was being mostly emptied of demons by now with only the General left¡­ and then she looked into the Demon Gate.


    "You got a very pretty toy right there, mind if I look at it?"


    "Tch! Where are you going?!"


    Eleanora ran straight towards the vige, easily destroying the barrier erected around it with sheer strength and moving towards the Demon Gate!


    -----

 Chapter 219 Overwhelming Enemy Numbers

    -----


    (Some hours ago¡­)


    Ellergest had woken up early this morning. Although his old bones were not as strong as they used to be, he was still the strongest Spirit Master of the Vige, it was his responsibility to watch over the people and protect them, even more as he was the High Priest of the Church of the Holy Spirits in here.


    Due to being particrly busy with his own life and his friends, ke (or nk, as they know him) had not attended the church for a whole week, which was all the time Ellergest and Lukas spend nning the crusade towards the forest, which would put an end to the demon''s den and quite possibly to their menace to the entire fiefdom.


    He had prepared this carefully and had armed both Soldiers and Knights with great equipment using the church and the duke''s funds. His priests were also well equipped with magical essories that enhanced both maximum Mana and Magic and Mana regeneration speed. Alongside that, hundreds of healing potions had been purchased from the nearby Apothecary Store, where Eric''s uncle and aunt worked.


    The old priest had lived a long life filled with both challenges and happy moments. It has been a while since he went against such arge-scale threat aside from Cassandra''s incident, which ended evolving into such a battle unexpectedly. However, deep down, Ellergest wasn''t sure that he would had been able to win against her without the help of the mysterious yet incredibly strong boy, nk.


    Now that the boy had been disappeared for a week, he couldn''t count on his strength and talents. It wasn''t as if he had always done so, and he was already preparing things on his own, relying on the boy wouldn''t be good, and it was thankfully never on his mind to do so, but it would surely be nice if he were here to help out. But sadly, he wasn''t. Ellergest was an old man with a lot of experience in battle, especially against demons, the otherworldly invaders of this world that had be themon threat of all of humanity.


    Today in the morning, Ellergest gathered with Lukas, other Priests, and Knights inside the church. Elizabeth and Erdrich were also present here as they were Ellergest adopted children and were strong enough to deserve to take part in this discussion.


    Over a table there was a map of the forest made long ago, showing the threeyers it had. Eachyer became more denser and darker as the trees grewrger and blocked the sun from the sky. it was shown through marks and drawings the different types of monsters that roamed this ce, and demons as well. There were certain rivers andkes that were used as ways to lead the people through certain routes as well, and Ellergest was showing several areas he marked with small wooden figures.


    "Since the beginning of this demon invasion that I''ve been investigating the radiation of demonic energy using my abilities and magic. I had discovered that the deeper one goes into the forest, the more dense the demonic energy bes. Which is incredibly abnormal, if there was a natural Demon Gate, we would be receiving high quantities of demon energy enough to create streams of red-colored essence in the skies, turning the skies red over time. However, this doesn''t happen, yet there is such a high quantity, all concentrated in here¡­ the center of the thirdyer, the area we all call the Demon''s Den." Ellergest said, pointing at a marked area in the map.


    "How have you been able to detect demon energy so far away, Lord Ellergest?" Wondered Lukas.


    "It is not easy, but an old man like me has his tricks. All priests that can wield light and life element magic eventually learn the power of holy magic, which is theplete opposite of the demons, and their weakness. By manipting the holy light element and slowly learning new rune forms and magic circles, I''ve been able to design specific spells that allow my senses to detect demon energy. It is not easy but it is not so hard either. My Spirit helps a lot with that. The drawback is the smell, demonic energy smells like burning wood, and it gets intoxicating at times¡­" Sighed Ellergest.


    "Wow¡­ Amazing¡­"


    "To think that Lord Ellergest can detect demons from so far away¡­"


    "Lord Ellergest, were you able to detect how many demons are there, exactly?"<sub> </sub>


    The Knights in the room began asking various questions to Ellergest, as the old man began answering them one by one patiently.


    "Yes, I had detected the demon''s quantity, I had roughly made an estimate. They''re more than us¡­" Sighed Ellergest.


    "By how¡­many?" Asked Lukas while swallowing saliva.


    "There might be roughly¡­ six to seven hundred." Said Ellergest, his eyes filled with contempt.


    "Wha¡­?!"


    "S-Seven hundred?!"


    "This is¡­ don''t we need more troops to stop them all?"


    "Even if they''re the Imps which we can y many with our troops¡­ aren''t the number of troops way too much for us to handle? Unless we have a high-ranked spirit master that has bombardment magic¡­"


    "But even then, can such explosive magic target hundreds at a time? Someone that strong wouldn''t even care about helping us in the first ce unless we paid them billions!"


    "Calm down you lot!" Said Ellergest, mming the table and shutting down all the nervous Knights and their ramblings. The priests remained in silence and calm, as they had ns of their own as well. "I had not nned things out for you to panic so much! We are not alone here, the vige is also willing to help us, and we priests possess strong fighters and attackers as well, I have not invested so much in Mana Potions for not to use them¡­ We''ll use our holy magic to defeat dozens of demons at a time. We need the protection of the soldiers and the knights for that though, so you''ll all be our shields."


    "I see¡­ But what sort of help will¡­ the vigers give?" Wondered Lukas.


    The door suddenly opened, as a handsome young adult man entered the room, holding into a spear.


    "I want to present you someone. This is Joan, Farmer, and Hunter..." Said Ellergest.


    -----

 Chapter 220 The Union Of Groups

    -----


    Ellergest had nned something rather interesting to deal with the demons. Aside from the obvious spamming of strong long-ranged and wide-ranged holy light magic spells to deal with multiple demons at a time, there were other things that he had nned. He had thought that using the very environment like demons had shown to do was quite ideal. Luring the demons towards traps that could shake them off and even drive their groups into separate and smaller groups could be the way they could win.


    Ellergest, of course, had also considered asking for more troops from the Duke, but recently the Duke has stated he had no more immediate troops avable, as the rest were being used to guard nearby viges and also the capital of the fiefdom. A Dungeon had emerged half a year ago and keeping the monsters inside of there at halt froming out and making a Dungeon Break was as priority.


    Because of this, Ellergest had to do with what he had at hand. The Vigers had approached him before he even had the idea, and he quickly realized that the "useless" spirits that many vigers had were not so useless in actuality. Many vigers had dirt-digging spirits that they used for their farms, whichckedbat capabilities. Or well, that''s what they believed rather fervently, even thought Ellergest realized they had a much better talent than they ever thought. Using his second spirit, which was also capable of digging and slowly manipting dirt, he decided to set up a n.


    "Those Stealth essories you gave to us helped wonders, Lord Ellergest." Said Joan. He was one of the strongest hunters out there, after receiving arge wound and being healed by his son, ke, he had to rest for several weeks, but now he was back up and stronger than ever before. He had learned how to properly use his Rat Spirit, capable of digging and manipting soil, alongside the other simr spirits that his friends also possessed.


    They were given special and expensive magic essories, often in the form of rings or bracelets, which conjured the Stealth Spell over people as long as Mana was given to the item. The Hunters used their special hunting routes and evaded most of the demons, reaching the thirdyer and setting up special pits and traps underground through the usage of their spirits¡­ and dozens of expensive Mana Potions. Ellergest ended investing a lot on them, but their work would prove to be useful!


    "I had employed Joan and other Hunters and Vigers with special dirt-digging and soil manipting Spirits, which all converged together into a team and went to the thirdyer using Stealth essories. They made countless traps and pitfalls in there, which are all marked in this map." Said Ellergest.


    "I-Incredible¡­ But even with Stealth essories, howe you were never attacked by the demons?" Asked Lukas. "We used them as well but at the end we¡­"


    "It is easy, young Knight." Said Joan. "We have experience in these areas, we have been hunting monsters for years, since I was eight years of age that I went into the forest to hunt rabbits and other creatures. All these hunters are my childhood friends, we all hunted together and learned from our mistakes¡­ Although, many also died in the process, and recently, with the disappearance of the hunters¡­ I felt like I had to do something other than attend my farm. For my family and my little son."


    "I see¡­" Said Lukas. "I am happy to have such experienced people at our side. I hope we can get along in these times and in what''s toe¡­ I swear I shall do everything I can to aid this vige and defeat as many demons¡­ Even if it ultimately costs my life."


    "Hahaha, don''t sweat it." Said Joan, patting Luka''s shoulders. "We got each other on this. I am also going. A lot of us are being given armor and better equipment¡­ I haven''t told this to my son, but knowing this, I bet he''ll chase me around if I ever tell him that I am going to the forest to hunt demons and put my life on the line."


    "Even the vigers¡­?" Asked Lukas.


    Several other hunters entered the room, they were all childhood friends of Joan, strong hunters that had protected this vige from wild monsters for many years.<sub> </sub>


    "Of course, we might not have gone through the same training as you knights, but we surely can fight demons and monsters."


    "Yeah, young man, leave it to us!"


    "This is our vige¡­ There''s no way we ain''t going to help!"


    "We are even willing to sacrifice ourselves if we can have a better chance at winning."


    "We got our wives and children here¡­ we can''t just sit down and watch as you do all the work for us." Said Joan with a confident smile. Lukas and the other knights felt inspired by the hunter''s words. They were all strong-willed men with iron wits, they had in the horrors of the forest for years since they were children¡­ Who could be more suited for this task than them?


    "With that said, there are a few things that we must prepare¡­" Said Ellergest. He spent the next hour exining many things to the knights and vigers, and when things finally ended, everyone quickly dispersed, to prepare for the crusade at longst.


    Elizabeth remained at the side of Ellergest, concerned about her friend who had note to see her for a week by now. She had already begun to develop strong feelings for him, but he had suddenly disappeared, it was rather obvious she would feel concerned.


    "Papa, where could nk be?" She sighed. "If we could have someone as strong as him with us¡­ I am sure we could have higher chances of winning¡­ But he''s gone."


    Ellergest sighed, fully aware that his adoptive daughter was already developing strong feelings for that mysterious and overly mature boy. He couldn''t help it, she was a girl driven by her emotions, so its not as if he could force her to change how she thought.


    "I am sure he''lle eventually whenever he realize what we are doing¡­ Have some faith, Elizabeth." He said, petting her head. "He must be doing something important for now."


    -----

 Chapter 221 The Demon Army Approaches

    -----


    Led by Ellergest and Lukas, the knight-soldier-viger-priest alliance army marched through the forest after having prepared well enough. The vigers had created arge road by cutting down many trees, all the way to the thirdyer, which the army of hundreds was following. The map that Ellergest had marked was registered within one of the priests Spirits named [World Map], a special spirit without any ability forbat, but that had the power to map areas and also copy maps and register them within itself.


    "Lord Ellergest, we are approaching the thirdyer. Don''t you think it is strange that there hasn''t been any wild monsters or even demons getting in the middle of our journey?" Wondered Seth, one of Ellergest closest retainers and priests.


    "Perhaps our numbers are scaring them, there''s no way a pack of wild Gray Wolves will get close to an army of over a hundred armored soldiers, Seth." Said Ellergest. "Be at ease, thanks to the Map and also my own Senses, I can already feel the demons¡­ they''re actually approaching us from the front, just as nned."


    "T-They''reing for us?!" Asked Jack, the red-haired young priest with the Chain Spirit.


    "Yes¡­ This is something I had been specting for a while, but the demons must be led by someone very intelligent, either a Demon General or¡­ they''re being controlled by a Demon Cult. Or worse, both." Said Ellergest. "They''re not stupid, the moment they realized we wereing here they immediately decided to start their conquest. This is the day we''ll do everything we can to stop them. I have investigated the documents found in the room of Cassandra, the half-demon we y with nk¡­ They''re probably rted to the Demon Gate that I am hypothesizing to exist in here..."


    "Demon Gate?" Asked Seth. "But Lord Ellergest, you said that¡­!"


    "I said there wasn''t a Natural Demon Gate. You know the difference? One is made through magic by the demons from their own world, the other is made by¡­ people of this world using materials from demons and magic forbidden to us, demon magic." Said Ellergest. "Natural Demon Gates distort time and space, even the sky turns red when there''s one¡­ but the artificial ones open a small window to Hell, where more demons cane as long as the gate is feed with souls and other energies¡­ I am already guessing it is theter."


    "Y-You''re saying that there is bad people making the demonse here? Why would they do such a thing? Aren''t demons'' humanity''s enemy?" Wondered Elizabeth.


    "¡­" Erdrich made a bitter expression, as he recalled his mother and also¡­ the things she was involved with. Evil people willing to sacrifice others to bring these monsters to this world¡­ Although he was the result of such experiments, being born as a half-demon, he didn''t valued these entities as brothers or his kin and saw them as enemies. Each time Ellergest spoke about them, he felt even more bitter, as if he was in fault for this.


    "Who knows?" Sighed Ellergest. "Elizabeth, in your life, you''ll encounter all sorts of insane people. Some simply do things for motives we cannot understand. Their own minds are twisted by their own selfishness. Our task as priests is to stop them and protect the innocents threatened by their insanity."


    "Well if you ask me, they just want to make themselves stronger through ways that affect innocents." Sighed Seth. "There are people like this everywhere. They''re probably raising all these demons for a reason rted to this. They want them to take over the nation so their enemies are taken out easily¡­ These Demon Cults don''t truly adore demons, they use them as tools for their own nefarious purposes."


    "Demons can still be legally used for several things, such as alchemy, item crafting, and even eating. They''re widely epted, what makes them different from us is that they use them for experiments, they also modify their own bodies and try to be demons themselves¡­ That is what it must not be allowed¡­" Said Jack.


    "I-I see¡­" Elizabeth sighed, as she suddenly noticed Erdrich feeling all dispirited and down.<sub> </sub>


    "B-But¡­! Is it not possible for good people to want to use them for good things?" She wondered.


    "Hmm¡­" Ellergest looked at Elizabeth and her bright eyes, she seemed concerned about Erdrich. "That is a delicate topic of conversation¡­ However, there are victims to all of this. Those that unwillingly were given demon powers¡­ that were used as experimental subjects¡­ or those born with them naturally. These people are innocent, and must be protected, not punished."


    "I knew you would say that! See, Erdrich? Don''t get sad¡­ You were born this way you couldn''t help it! Feel happy you''re alive for now¡­ What your mother did or not¡­ it isn''t something you must carry as a burden." Said Elizabeth. "I am sure you''re a nice person, use the powers you have for good!"


    "E-Elizabeth¡­" Erdrich felt moved by the words of the little girl, as he smiled and nodded. "You''re right¡­ Sorry for concerning you."


    Ellergest, Jack, Seth, and Lukas smiled at one another, as the old man petted the head of Erdrich.


    "I am surprised Elizabeth said such words. You''ve surely grown a lot." Sighed Ellergest. "And indeed, it is like she said, Erdrich. It all depends in you how people will see your powers. If you do bad things and hurt innocents, your powers will be seen as evil, but if you help others and protect this vige with the powers given to you when you were born¡­ Perhaps people might begin to see what you are with other eyes."


    "Lord Ellergest¡­" Sighed Erdrich, as he felt inspired by the words of the wise High Priest. "You''re right! I will¡­ I will do my best here, even if I am young and unexperienced¡­ I will help as much as I can."


    "Hm, you''re a good kid." Said Ellergest. "Show them what you''re truly capable of."


    The army marched forward, as Ellergest looked into the distance, sensing the demonsing closer¡­ it was an enormous army of at least four hundred, not all of them, but over half. Thins were escting incredibly quickly, but Ellergest had thankfully prepared for such an oue, which he had already predicted beforehand.


    "Now prepare yourselves, the demons are closing in¡­ The traps¡­ Joan! Are they ready?" Asked Ellergest.


    "The magic circuits are ready to activate whenever you give us the order, Lord Ellergest." Said Joan.


    "Very well¡­"


    -----

 Chapter 222 Discovering The Demon Gate

    -----


    (ke''s POV)


    The moment we finished our small break, I immediately received several messages from Eleanora through Telepathy. Not only she had found the vige where the demons wereing from, but she also found an Artificial Demon Gate. These are great news and finally, at longst, we had discovered the dens of these damned cockroaches! I felt happy, but immediatelyposed myself and calmed my heart, that was beating fast. I looked into the distance and continued to listen to what Eleanora was telling me while realizing there was something very bad happening right now around the entire forest.


    "Not only the vige has the Demon Gate, but it also has the same mark that we once saw from the documents found in Cassandra''s room, my lord!" She said. "This probably means that the cult behind her has also been preparing this Demon Gate for a long time!"


    "So that''s how it was." I said to her. "Eleanora, do you think you can destroy the Demon Gate beforeing back? If you engage against too many demons you''ll surely die, it would be better for you toe back to me, as I need your help in here."


    "Well, the thing is¡­ there''s a massive army of at least four hundred demons running straight towards the vige right about now!" Said Eleanora.


    In that moment, I felt a chill run down my spine. My family was still in the vige, everybody rted to my friends as well, and even the stupid priests and the knights and soldiers. I was in the thirdyer as of now, running straight back to the vige could take a few minutes, but I should be able to outrun the demon army and quickly bring my family out of the danger¡­ But what was truly happening right now? Eleanora had only found the vige right now, who wasmanding the demons to invade it? Why haven''t they done it before if they had so many numbers?! And¡­ were the cult nning to destroy the vige now that their spy (Cassandra) had died?


    So many questions were overflowing through my head, I felt dizzy and almost sickly by thinking about the many possibilities that this could cause to everybody in the vige. I had to hurry! I perhaps should be able to rescue Erika, Eric, and Chris families as well, the carriage I had prepared was big enough, but more than that is futile. I will have to leave the vige behind. There''s no way I can defeat an army of four hundred demons by myself, and the knights and soldiers seem unprepared-


    "But there''s something else happening!" Eleanora interrupted my train of thoughts as she spoke once more about something happening right before her eyes. "The Priests¡­ Knights¡­ Soldiers¡­ Even Hunters! My lord, there is an army of almost two hundred men rushing and shing against the four hundred demons!"


    "What?!" I asked in surprise. I, for once in my lifetime, was genuinely surprised about this and reacted rather childishly about it. I was simply concerned and at the same time intrigued about what was happening. I had not attended the church for a week as I was busy with my friends¡­ to think the old man of Ellergest would pull out a two hundred men army in that time. He''s really incredible for being an old human.


    "I can see Ellergest, and all the priests you''ve befriended¡­ There is also Lukas the knight and¡­ HUH?! T-This is your father and his hunter friends all wearing armor and holding iron weapons¡­ they''re charging against the demons with the knights and soldiers! T-The Priests are staying behind using healing magic and readying wide-range holy light magic¡­ Impressive, the entire formation seems unbreakable, and they''re already shing against the demons!" Said Eleanora. I felt my heart beating faster once more out of the emotions I felt. I cursed my human body for being so overly sensitive, as I swallowed saliva.


    "My father is joining the cause? And Lukas as well¡­? What''s the meaning of this? I¡­" I muttered, quickly losing myself in my own train of thoughts.<sub> </sub>


    Once more I forcefully calmed myself and sighed, closing my eyes and opening them once more. It seems that my own father had joined the army that went against the demons. To think that that''s what he has been doingtely every time he went off the house at around 5 PM¡­ he went to train with the knights and his other hunter friends. I should had paid more attention to my own father. Maybe¡­ I underestimated him. I thought he wasn''t someone that would willingly join an almost hopeless battle against such a big army of demons. Perhaps¡­ I thought my father was a coward.


    I was wrong. My father seems to be, in fact, an idiot. And also, someone incredible at the same time. Such a convolutedbination of traits¡­ Hah, but I can''t help but smile a little bit. Is this¡­ pride? I feel prideful for my own father for being a brave man capable of risking his life to this extent for us. He''s surely thinking about my mother and the child inside of her womb, grandmother, and¡­ me. He''s fighting for me.


    My father¡­


    I never had a father in my previous life, so I was never able to truly experience what it felt to have one. I now understand once more what it feels to love a father for their bravery and strength. I suppose¡­ As a man myself, I must go assist my father. As the eldest son, I cannot simply let my old man do all the work. I''ll join and ensure his survival.


    "Then we are going there." I told Eleanora.


    "B-But it might be dangerous, so many demons¡­!" Said Eleanora.


    "Don''t worry¡­ We got two hundred men with us as well, Eleanora." I said. "Don''t underestimate humans."


    "¡­You''ve really changed a lot." She sighed. "¡­Ah! It seems I was found out by the Gray Oni I told you about! He''s incredibly strong- Eh?! He''s a Demon General with a powerful Aura Spirit!"


    "Hm?!"


    -----

 Chapter 223 Brave Friends

    -----


    The moment Eleanora told me about my father fighting, I felt moved. I didn''t wanted to go back to the vige and leave him to die. I wanted to be at his side, shoulder to shoulder, and help him fight¡­ and win. I had never felt this inspired to help another person from the kindness of my heart. This was a feeling like nothing I had felt before. Was this what it felt to be a human? Although I might never truly change how I am at all, I have changed¡­ in other ways that usually don''t show in the surface, perhaps small changes that are improving my own perspective of life and people. I will never change how my nature or my personality truly is, nor my convictions, ambitions, and dreams. I will never stop being Asmodeus¡­ However, there''s nothing wrong with also being ke, the human boy.


    Right after that, I decided to tell mypanions about it. Eric, Chris, and Erika listened to my words carefully, their faces grew darker the more they realized the enormous threat that the demons created for the vige. I told them about my father as well, and I gave them two options.


    "You cane with me and fight the demons, putting your lives on the line¡­ I will do everything in my power to keep you alive, but not even I know if we''ll survive. Or¡­ you may choose to go back to the vige and quickly escape with the rest of your families, I won''t me you if you pick this option, it is logical and-"


    "WE''LL GO WITH YOU!"


    "Eh?"


    All three of them jumped over me and roared back to me, with their faces extremely close to mine. It honestly scared me and made me flinch for a second. I didn''t knew they were so willing to put their lives on the line to such an extent¡­ they were so young. Well, my age, but¡­ their mentality shouldn''t be the same as mine, they''re clearly children, stupid and na?ve. Ah, I guess that''s why they decided toe with me. They had leveled quite well for now but¡­ I am not sure if we can truly make it out, even less when there''s another three hundred demons.


    "Are you sure about this?!" I asked.


    "Yes!" Said Chris.


    "I am¡­" Said Eric.


    "I will follow you anywhere, ke!" Said Erika.


    "But you¡­ you may die!" I said.


    "You said you were going to do anything you could to keep us alive, we believed you." Said Chris. "I can''t just run away like a chicken anyways, I will protect my vige¡­ I bet my father is there as well, he''s also a hunter you healed! I want to stand at your side as you fight with your father as well, ke."<sub> </sub>


    "I don''t want to be a coward anymore¡­ I-I know I can fight, I got the magic and the talent¡­ I just have to go and do it! I know you''ll¡­ protect my back, all of you. I trust you¡­ because you''re my best friends." Said Eric.


    "I''ve in many demons already and they had yet to be a challenge to me! I am sure I can y a few more while I am at it! Don''t worry about me, ke¡­ I trust you''ll cover my back. I will never leave your side¡­ Never ever! I will stay by your side and protect you as much as you''ve protected me¡­ I want both of us to survive and grow up so we can marry!" Said Erika.


    Once more, I felt strange. Moved by the burning passion and emotions of myrades, I realized I had truly changed the lives of people in this world already. All of my friends were the living proof of that. I can''t really me them for wanting to do something so reckless that might kill them, they feel indebted with me for all the things I''ve done for them. I should feel happy about having such loyal subjects, but¡­ I also feel an even stronger feeling. I feel like they''re my family, part of my own kin. I couldn''t help but smile like an idiot as I sighed, they''re really hopeless. Despite feeling happy, I also should feel angered at them for being such reckless idiots.


    But aren''t I quite reckless, despite thinking I am quite smart? At the end of the day, I always jump into danger after preparing just a bit. I''ve always been called a genius by many, but in truth¡­ I am also a reckless man.


    "Fine¡­" I sighed. "Let''s do it then."


    I ended summoning all the Beast Spirits I had summoned through Gluttony beforehand, bringing out ten Fenrir and ten Orcus, alongside ten Spores. The limit was ten for each one of them, so I had already reached it¡­ If I wanted to make more than ten, I had to use Spirit Orbs of their respective Ranks, which I did had, but didn''t wanted to waste right now unless we were truly desperate.


    I quickly told them three to mount the Fenrir I summoned, as the four of us rushed through the forest over the giant ck wolves whose mere presences created enough fear in the hearts of Imps that they felt paralyzed when they howled. I also have Gluttony with me, and all the magic I''ve learned until now. I¡­ am even ready to make a Magic Circle inside my soul, even in the middle of a battle it should be possible, but I won''t do it unless it is incredibly necessary, as it takes a toll on my body.


    "I can see something!" Said Erika. "T-The people is fighting the red-skinned demons there! Ah¡­ there are a few blue ones mixed! Dozens between the hundreds!"


    "So there are also Onis?!" Said Chris


    "I can see¡­ a handful of big giant ones!" Cried Eric.


    Naturally, I was also seeing through the army using my [Hawk Eye] Skill¡­ And indeed, the army wasn''t just easy to kill Imps, there were dozens of Blue Onis mixed in between, and also giant demons¡­ this fight won''t be an easy one.


    -----

 Chapter 229 Blake Against Mad Erdrich

    -----


    ke hurriedly ran as fast as possible with Eric, Chris, and Erika where the Priests were located, as they were closer to the frontlines where ke assumed his father could be. Of course, he let go of four Fenrir and three Orcus apanied by three Spores to go look for his father. The war was intense and there were many corpses of both demons and humans lying around everywhere, although ke was worried about his father and his closerades in the priest''s group, he was also considering the insane amount of EXP he could get from this war. He decided to immediately send several of his other Spirit Beasts to y the demons within his surroundings, and while doing so, he finally reached the priests.


    While getting here, he had felt two powerful presences. One of them was when Elizabeth awakened her Spirit''s Transformation Ability, a powerful holy and divine energy that seemed all-epassing. And then thetter, which had just happened in a big explosion of demonic energy, which came directly from Erdrich, who was right in front of him. ke told his friends to quickly y the demons that wereing from the woods incessantly, all while he confronted Erdrich and protected Elizabeth and Jack barely by erecting a barrier using the Tier 1 Earth Magic Spell [Earth Wall], which crumbled seconds after taking the damage from the overflowing demonic energying from Erdrich, allowing the half-demon boy to see Elizabeth and Jack in the floor, and assuming the worst, that they were both dead by his own powers.


    "What''s gotten into you, Erdrich?"


    "B-nk¡­?!" Muttered Erdrich in between his terrifying demonic voice.


    ke knew very well what was happening to him. Erika, Eric, and Chris were confused about what was happening, but as they were busy dealing with the iing Imps and joining with everybody else in the chaos of the battle, they were unable toe and ask ke as easily.


    "(Are his demon powers taking over him? What provoked this? Hm¡­ Well, I don''t have time to find out¡­)" Thought ke, immediately being confronted by a storm of Demon mes reaching him in an instant.


    FLUOOOOOSSSHHH!


    The blue demon mes reached him in an instant, as he swung his Spear, Gluttony, and quickly pierced through the spiraling vortex of demonic mes, destroying it in midair!


    SLAAASH!


    BOOM!!!


    Erdrich''s eyes, now fully demonic, opened wide in slight awe. However, his demonic nature, now fully controlling his body, was sharp and merciless, quickly seeing ke as his new target. ke was constantly thinking what was happening to him, and the most obvious answer could be that his demon and human part had yet to fully unify, creating an alter-ego out of Erdrich''s own demonic power. Something, perhaps emotional damage, weakened his human will, enough for the demon to take over.


    "I will have to beat some sense into you, friend. I don''t have all the time of the world, there''s my father and a lot of EXP waiting for me." Said ke. For a slight second as he spoke, Erdrich once more regained his human voice.


    "K-Kill me¡­!" He cried. "I¡­ I killed Elizabeth and Jack¡­ I¡­ am a monster!"


    ke raised an eyebrow as he heard the boy''s cry.


    "What? I have yet to even use your powers. You''re too useful to be disposed of, Erdrich." He said. "And no, you didn''t killed them. I protected them before you could harm them¡­" ke pointed at Elizabeth and Jack in the floor. Jack was being healed by a strange Ki Aura that ke left over him, this was an invention of him that merged Ki and Mana named Healing Ki Bandages, they were bandages made out of materialized Ki and Mana loaded with healing spells effects and his [First Aid Lv2] Skill, they were barely keeping Jack and Elizabeth alive for now.


    "I-I didn''t¡­? I¡­ I¡­! Nnnggh..! AAAGGH¡­! T-The demon¡­ I have a demon inside¡­ nk¡­! Kill me¡­! I am too dangerous! AKH¡­ AAAAGGGH¡­!"


    Erdrich began to cry in between groans, within his own mind, he was fighting against a monstrous entity dwelling deep within his subconscious, the alter-ego that epassed his demon side. ke couldn''t help but find him a weakling for being taken over by such a feeble little ego, which he would be able to easily devour with his sheer willpower. However, it wasn''t as if he could expect so much from an unexperienced child.<sub> </sub>


    "I won''t kill you, Erdrich." Sighed ke.


    FLAAASH!


    He quickly flew towards Erdrich by using the [Gust] Tier 1 Wind Attribute Spell to help himself fly at a fast speed through the air, and quickly pointed his spear towards Erdrich''s chest!


    "Blood Spear Arts: Thousand Blood Needles."


    His spear suddenly moved at an incredible, superhuman speed, creating mirages out of Blood Ki Aura, which began to materialize into hundreds of spear-sized needles that started to pierce through Erdrich''s chest! The boy had grown up to four times his original size, resembling a fully grown man-demon by now, the attacks covered his entire chest despite such an enormous body!


    CLASH! CLASH! CLASH! CLASH! CLASH! CLASH!


    "GRAAAAHHH¡­!"


    The Thousand Blood Needles was a Technique that caused a great amount of pain and suffering, but dealt little damage in actuality, it was an ideal technique to use against someone ke didn''t wanted to kill but make suffer enough to snap out of his insanity!


    BOOOOMMM!!!


    The intensity of ke''s attacks threw the man-demon into the ground, making him roll through the floor as he vomited a mouthful of blood.


    "Ungh¡­ Grrrr¡­ GRAAAH!"


    However, Erdrich quickly got back up like nobody''s business, his resiliency and stamina had multiplied several times the moment he became fully red-skinned, and these new ck-colored runic tattoos were also enhancing his strength and stamina even further! He ran straight towards ke, shing against his spear with his giant ws!


    CLAAAAASH!


    ke couldn''t help but smile as he felt the exhration of a challenge¡­ the power that Erdrich was emanating was truly surprising to him! This also meant that the half-demon boy was truly a promising subject, this only made ke want him toe back to his senses even more.


    "Heh, you''re not half-bad¡­!" Said ke with a defying smile.


    "GRAAAAAHHH!!!"


    -----

 Chapter 232 A Mysterious Spirit

    -----


    ke''s fists moved as if they were rivers of water, with incredible precision and gracefulness that only a master of martial arts that has practiced it for thousands of years could attain! Even in this small body of his, martial arts never let him down, and ke always knew that he could use them in cases when he had to quickly finish a foe, especially one with his bare body undefended!


    Erdrich''s attacks couldn''t reach ke at all, as they felt weakened and lethargic. Erdrich on his totality was weakening down severely, and he was constantly failing to even hit ke once! To make things worse, ke''s attack each hit one of his pressure points strongly, shocking his body, each hit felt as if a wave of electricity crossed through the interior of his body, his nerves were already getting dull of the pain they were trying to take!


    "AAAGH¡­! N-No¡­ I must¡­! I can''t¡­!"


    The demonic alter ego attempted to fight back even while sustaining incredible amounts of damage, ke evaded each hit but he noticed that more demonic energy was cursing through his veins, overpowering the pain and even his weakened state¡­


    "You seem to have an interesting ability, but if you push yourself anymore, you''ll die." ke said, as his sharp eyes resonated with contempt, looking at his own hand. "Should I knock him out? If I do, he won''t even be able to help in this war¡­."


    As ke considered this, within the interior of Erdrich''s mind, another fight was happening. Erdrich slowly gained more ground within the mind scape of his soul, while the demonic alter ego was slowly being pushed away, as his epassing darkness wasn''t consuming Erdrich''s mind as much as before. However, even now, the demon alter ego still had the upper hand.


    "I won''t kill nk¡­ He''s my friend!"


    "You''ve barely met him for a month!"


    "I-I¡­ He is one of the few people that don''t treat me like a monster¡­!"


    "He killed our mother, you fool!"


    "He did it because he had to! He had to save the people in danger¡­ My mother¡­ was not a good person!"


    "Wha¡­?!"


    "My mother was someone that was going to hurt my father and my siblings, whom I love! It was¡­ the right thing to do!"


    FLASH!


    A burst of bright white light emerged from within Erdrich''s words, as his emotions shed against the vengeful nature of the demon alter ego. A typical fight that hassted since creation, light against darkness, even within the depths of a man''s heart, there is such a constant battle.


    "You will only be humiliated¡­ you only be stepped over by others¡­! Do you truly want this?!"


    "I-I won''t¡­ be stepped by anybody! My friends¡­ are not like that. Elizabeth is always nice with me¡­ ke always is teaching me new things and sees my potential more than anybody¡­ and Ellergest and everyone else¡­ they''re already like my family! You think I can simply¡­ forget them all and go into a crazy rampage?!"


    Erdrich fought against his alter ego, as both minds shed against one another, despite his words that seemed fueled with his human emotions, the darkness of his resentment, embodying the demonic alter ego taking over his body, was still stronger.


    "No matter what you said, you can''t lie to your heart, Erdrich!"<sub> </sub>


    "N-No¡­! I won''t simply¡­ let you control me¡­!"


    "It is futile!"


    The alter ego was overpowering Erdrich with each passing second, as Erdrich mind was once more beginning to be engulfed in the darkness¡­


    "The sins of my sister¡­ shall not be carried by her son."


    "Eh?"


    Amidst darkness and despair, Erdrich heard the voice of someone resonating within the depths of his chest. The spirit orb, dormant until now, suddenly awakened, and from within, the soothing voice of a girl resonated within his mindscape, speaking to him and his alter ego.


    "W-Who is that?!"


    The alter ego couldn''t help but grow strangely afraid, as the light within Erdrich continued to expand and spread out inrge quantities, his darkness began to be consumed and dissipated in an instant.


    "I heard the cry of a child dear to me, entrusted to me by my sister¡­ I cannot simply ignore him."


    This voice, which wasn''t recognized by Erdrich as he had yet to be born when she was alive, was from nobody else than the sister of Cassandra, Erdrich''s mother! And she didn''t even made it a mystery, as she spoke about it carefreely, even though Erdrich couldn''t understand a thing.


    "Ngh¡­ no¡­! Stop! T-This power¡­ It ispletely foreign to demons!"


    The demonic alter ego was being burned alive by the spiritual light of Erdrich''s newly awakened spirit, as he was weakening and losing his will to fight and take over the boy''s body.


    FLASH!


    And within the outside world, ke''s eyes opened widely for a few seconds, as he saw Erdrich Spirit Orb awaken. From within, a beautiful little girl with long red hair and pale blue eyes emerged, phantasmal in nature, she hugged her master, as all the demonic energy within his body flew away, and his body quickly shapeshifted back into the original size of a boy, however, his body was weakened, and he looked to be almost to the bones, his strength waspletely drained in the battle.


    "Nngh¡­ Ahh¡­! B-nk¡­?"


    Erdrich''s eyes opened barely, as ke finally sighed in relief and walked to his side, analyzing the newly awakened spirit that seemingly saved Erdrich from the coursing demonic energy that not even ke couldpletely take away from the boy.


    ke immediately noticed this spirit was a human-type spirit, and a strange one at that, it seemed to have no particr element at all, but had the power to appease his fury and the demonic alter ego he held within his heart. It is often said that a spirit shapes itself to the desires of their wielders, although sometimes theye out as "useless" ones, there is no real useless spirit, only people that don''t know how to use them¡­


    -----

 Chapter 234 This Battle Is Far From Over

    -----


    As Erdrich was being healed by the demon blood potions that ke had prepared, in the side, he put his hand in the floor, and then ced his fingers underground. The bodies of all the soldiers, priests, but mostly demons lying over the floor suddenly began to grow pale and then drier over a few seconds since he did this.


    "Blood Extraction."


    FLUOOOSSSH!


    Below everyone''s noses and only with Erika who had a higher perception ability noticing, ke absorbed the blood of over a hundred corpses surrounding him all while transforming them all into Blood Ki in an instant! Thanks to his improved abilities which he had been enhancing over the years, not only he was able to turn Blood into Blood Ki, but through the "Ki Cleansing Technique" he was able to clean the Blood Ki and then imbue other elements into it to transform its elemental power.


    Like this, as he feed Erdrich some potions, he unleashed several streams of golden Ki which connected with Elizabeth and Jack, as he drained a bit of their remaining Holy Light-Attribute Mana and fused it with the cleansed and pure Ki he transformed from the Blood Ki, creating, once more, the pure and healing essence of Holy Light Ki!


    FLASH!


    "You canze all you want once the war is over." He said with a merciless tone of voice, as he infused this healing Ki into the bodies of Erdrich, Jack, and Elizabeth, while sharing a bit with everybody else through a small Ki Domain, fueling everybody with new stamina and vitality.


    "Ah!" Erdrich suddenly woke uppletely, as he gasped for air and began to cough some of the blood potion he had been forcefully drinking. ke was being so rough he felt like he was drowning. "Cough! Cough¡­! Ugh¡­ Hahh¡­ Eh? nk!"


    "So you''re finally awake." Sighed ke as he looked at Erdrich while sitting in the floor. "You''re okay now?"


    "Y-Yeah¡­" Erdrich sighed in relief, looking at his own body and seeing no demon parts now. However, quickly after, his memories of the entire fight reached his mind, making him realize he had gone insane.


    "I-I am sorry for what I did¡­ I really couldn''t control myself¡­ The demons spoke and¡­ something inside of me awakened¡­ I was unable to fight back¡­" He sighed, as Erdrich quickly started to cry. ke wasn''t into overly dramatic scenes, however, and quickly stopped him from crying with a karate chop.


    "Ouch! W-What''s with that?!" He cried.


    "No need to cry like a baby, we all get it. Your powers simply went out of control. Even then, you helped clean a lot of the demons in such a form, so you helped nheless. We can discuss what truly happened to youter, Erdrich, we are in the middle of a war." Said ke while sighing.


    "nk is right." Said Seth. "For now, it would be better if we join the frontlines as quickly as possible, I can''t even imagine what they''re up against if we had such a hell in here to deal with."


    "What you did was dangerous, but you didn''t hurt anybody thanks to ke. I will forgive you for this for the moment, Erdrich, but after this is done, we''ll have a long talk!" Ellergest spoke, as his giant holy dragon quickly flew behind him.


    "Oi, old man, are you done with your sensitive speech? There''s a ton of demons in the front lines, we gotta hurry if you don''t want to be useless again!" The dragon quickly broke the tension.<sub> </sub>


    "Do you always have toe and interrupt me when I am lecturing the children?!" Asked Ellergest angrily. "Ugh, but yeah, we gotta hurry, exnations and the like can wait forter!"


    As Ellergest spoke, the majority agreed. ke might be strong and smart, but he was still a child, nobody was going to obey him aside from his very close friends that knew he was a reliable leader. Because of this, which ke already knew about and assumed, he left the leadership to Ellergest, the oldest and most wisest of everyone here (without counting his secret previous life). Everyone obeyed and respected the old Ellergest after all, so he was the perfect tool to make everyone do as he wanted.


    At the same time, Elizabeth and Jack finally regained their consciousness. Jack noticed the big wound made by a cursed sword on his stomach was now healed, but a big and ugly scar was left behind, and it still hurt like hell whenever he moved, but he felt his stamina and vitality, alongiside his mana, quickly recovering thanks to ke''s Holy Light Ki Treatment.


    "I-I am alive? I can''t believe it¡­ I was surely dead¡­" Sighed Jack, touching his face as a few tears came from his eyes. "I have too much to live yet¡­ I guess I can''t die for now."


    "You can pay meter for the healing services I''ve given to you." Said ke with an emotionless and expressionless demeanor, making Jack more annoyed than anything.


    "You sure took a long timeing here, you brat!" Jack barked back.


    "Is that how you treat the one that healed you?" Asked ke while squinting his eyes¡­ he was honestly intimidating even while not using the skill.


    "Geh¡­" Jack muttered, as he suddenly felt a tiny girl hugging his torso.


    "Jack, you''re alive!"


    "Elizabeth¡­"


    Elizabeth had also woken up just now, she wasn''t that wounded, and had mostly sustained burns through demon fire generated by shockwaves from Erdrich, which were promptly healed by ke. She had fallen unconscious before the fight even started due to overusing her Mana when she summoned her angel and transformed it into an "adult" form.


    "Seems like everyone is better now, good!" Said Erika while nodding, she had one of the biggest MP pools, only below ke, who only had a lot of Mana because he drank those Mana Potions back then and also constantly trained his Mana for it to passively increase over time. She had been using her dolls almost nonstop to treat everybody.


    "nk! Thank you for healing us!" Elizabeth quickly ran towards ke and ignored Erika who did most of the work, hugging him tightly.


    ¡­Erika''s face quickly darkened as she saw this mysterious new girl being a bit too close with ke.


    -----

 Chapter 236 A Hunters Strength

    -----


    Joan was in the frontlines fighting for his vige and his family. Since the entire thing began that it has been ups and downs constantly. The battle began with a great advantage, as therge pitfalls he had created with the other vigers worked wonderfully, and many demons died in the spot. But the sheer amount of demons was so vast that even with suchrge losses of soldiers, they were continuing to move forward without stopping, seemingly as if they were an endless army of demonic fiends.


    The young man had been fighting beasts his entire life, since he was a child that he went off into the woods with his friends to hunt monsters and wild animals to eat. The life of serfs was hard, sometimes they would only be able to have a decent meal if they risked their lives in the wilderness to hunt creatures most of the time stronger than him. In the past, Giant Wild Boars had arger poption, and they often stormed the vige, leaving houses and ntationspletely destroyed. Because of this, Joan and his friends went off to hunt them regrly, pushing themselves to their limits and with the help of many other vigers, therge poption of Giant Wild Boars was reduced over time.


    However, when the demons came, things became even more problematic, even some of his old friends perished against these demons aside from the wild boars¡­ Over the years, the demons became even moremon, and things only became worse as the wild boars turned scarce, the lord of the fiefdom too a liking in their meat, and constantly requested their hunt as well, making things even harder for them¡­ And since that incident where he almost died when a Red Oni emerged in the middle of their hunt that he had been thinking about his life, and everything he had achieved.


    How much he loved his wife, his son, and even his wife''s mother, which he already considered as his own grandma due to how motherly and caring the old woman was. He loved them all, they were the pir of a life of hardships which he had built block by block¡­ it has been a hard life, but without them being there for him, he wouldn''t know what to even do with his life. They were the most precious treasure he had¡­ and he has always been willing to give up his life if he could protect them. Without even doubting it, he ended joining the troops alongiside various other vigers that thought like him, armed with high quality armor and being given weapons other than farming tools, they readied themselves for battle, with even stronger wills to fight than the knights and soldiers. Unlike them, they were fighting to protect the vige, which was like their home, the most precious thing in their lives, they couldn''t simply allow themselves to lose.


    Joan didn''t told this to his son, ke, because he knew that the boy would try to stop him. Since he was born that ke was different than other children, he developed very quickly and always seemed smarter than his own parents, always being several steps ahead as if he was always nning what to do next carefully¡­ Joan, a simple man, was happy to have such a brilliant son, he knew that his child would be someone very important in the future¡­ he couldn''t let him die while trying to apany him to war. He made this a secret he only told to his wife, keeping the truth away from ke.


    "GRYA!"


    Arge Imp, an Imp Warrior, a mutated breed of Imps with greater physical strength and muscr body rushed towards Joan as he was delving into battle. He immediately sensed the creature approaching. Even though his Talent was the mere [Farmer] Talent, it came with a few perks that allowed him to sense creatures approaching through the vibrations of the dirt, [Ground Sense]!


    "HAH!"


    Joan immediately pointed the new spear given to him by ke. He had not allowed the knights to take it away even if it looked rusty, this spear was crafted by his son using both demon bones and wild boar tusks and was even enhanced with some strange magic. As he gave away the spear that he used for years to his son, which was renamed as "Gluttony" by his mischievous child for some reason, he decided to wield a new spear made by his own offspring, which he named Pride. As he felt pride in his son''s amazing talents and couldn''t help but show off how amazing the spear he made for his father was.


    CLASH!


    The spear hit the Imp Warrior''s chest, piercing through the wild boar leather and bone armor with ease and crushing through the demon''s demonic core and his heart all at once!<sub> </sub>


    "GRAHHH¡­!"


    BAM!


    The Imp fell down in the floor as Joan kicked it, the creature attempted to unleash demon fire against him, but Joan mercilessly pierced the demon''s head with the spear after taking it off the creature''s chest. Demons were not like normal living beings, sometimes even a hit that should be lethal, such as the heart, wouldn''t kill them, the only sure kill was by crushing their heads!


    CRASH!


    p "Hahhh¡­"</anda>


    Joan sighed in relief as he killed another demon once more, having killed over fifty himself at this point, he had long ago lost he count of how many demons he had in¡­ and how manyrades at his side had fallen as well, the frontlines were ruthless, and the demons in the front continueding out endlessly¡­


    As the young man tiredly gazed into the army of demons, he felt his tired body ache with pain, he was already overexerting himself, but he couldn''t stop now. He knew that if he stopped¡­ everything might be over. At the very least, he wanted to kill some more demons.


    "A useless and untalented father like me doesn''t belong in the great life my son will once have in the future¡­ Before I kick the bucket, I''ll make sure to take as many of you down with me!"


    Joan valiantly charged forward with soldiers, knights, and the surviving vigers. Everyone drenched in blood and wounds¡­ many lethal already. They knew they were going to die today, but their hearts were inspired by the words of a simple farmer, and everyone was willing to die with glory.


    -----

 Chapter 237 Taking Down Giant Demons

    -----


    An enormous demon giant walked across the battlefield. These creatures were evolutions of Imps who branched from them as they decided to invest their power into size and raw power, sacrificing their cognitive abilities and be virtually very stupid.


    However, when they were so big and strong, intelligence was often not necessary, especially as these enormous giants, who could reach heights to up to fifteen meters were led by various smaller Imps being carried on their backs, who often also brought long-ranged weapons such as bows and even threw stones to shot down foes from afar.


    These giants, named as Trolls by the army, were a great threat and annoyance at the same time. Although over half their numbers died in the massive pitfalls they created, there were still around seven of them roaming around, attacking the frontlines with their enormous legs and fists, and shooting down people from afar with the Imps climbing over their backs.


    "GRUOOOH!"


    One of the Demon Giants noticed Joan and his group marching forward, led by the Imps it carried, it quickly moved towards the direction of the warriors that were in the brink of death. The enormous creature moved at a rapid speed despite its gigantic size, using its bare feet to crush the floor below and throw away several armored knights, who began to fall like flies over the ground, ceaselessly.


    CLAAAASH!


    The shockwave generated by its footsteps, shook the entire battlefield, as Joan and his allies gritted their teeth before the mighty giant, not even the Giant Wild Boars were as big as these terrifying monsters, and there were no spirits that could easily deal with such creatures. Ny percent of the poption had spirits that couldn''t even beat a monster by themselves. Most of the world of Spiritias, or at least themon poption within this area of thesends, often used their spirits toplement their fighting strength, not let them do everything in battle. Therefore, it was extremely rare for spirits such as Eleanora or the Doll House from ke and Erika respectively to emerge, spiritspletely capable of fighting on their own, and exceeding in strength, sometimes being stronger and more capable than their masters.


    Joan had a small rat capable of digging and shaping dirt, and had zero offensive capabilities aside from very well prepared pitfall traps underground, alone, it couldn''t had the strength to make them in enough time to dig the grave of that Giant Demon rushing towards Joan andpany.


    "Joan, the Giant Demon ising, let''s run around to evade it like we have been doing with the others!" A young knight holding a strange shield in the shape of a snail''s shell, which was actually his spirit, ran towards Joan, it was knight Lukas, who had been covering Joan''s back this entire time.


    "Lukas¡­ No, I cannot run anymore. My legs are too weakened, and I feel like my bones are about to fail me now¡­." Muttered Joan, barely keeping himself standing by putting his weight over his spear and ying smaller Imps that thought he was too weak to fight back rather leisurely¡­


    "What? Then I shall carry you!" Said Lukas. "We can''t possibly lose someone as strong as you! You''ve taken almost a hundred yourself! J-Just how strong can you be, sir?"<sub> </sub>


    "I am no sir¡­ I am just a father. I''ve lost a lot to these damn demons¡­ I am staying here, and I''ll keep ying them until I drop dead." Said Joan while breathing heavily, his heart was beating rapidly as he took out a small sk with a red liquid inside, a health potion, which he drank in an instant, feeling a bit of his vitality and stamina being recovered, while his bones and muscles didn''t ached as much now. "That thing¡­ I''m taking it down."


    ? "W-What?! The Giant Demon? Without proper preparation that''s impossible¡­" Said Lukas. "Sir please snap out of it!"


    "Shut your mouth." Said Joan rather roughly. "I appreciate yer help, knight. But¡­ I am not someone that escapes danger when its right in front of me, all while those I ma trying to protect ar behind me¡­" Said Joan, as Lukas'' eyes opened wide.


    "The role of a father is to put himself in front of his family when danger ensues¡­ I am not running away¡­ I am staying, and I''ll keep the demons at bay until my entire body is torn to pieces."


    Lukas'' heart was inspired by the incredible will of Joan. Somehow, he reminded him of a boy he once met, the masked boy that saved him from the demons. Someone that spoke sharply and precisely yet had an incredible heart. A man without many words, that simply showed through actions how big his will was.


    The young knight looked into his sword and his shield, his spirit, the snail that had been apanying him through his entire life¡­ He couldn''t disappoint him after he almost died back then, he wanted to bring glory to his family and his spirit friend.


    "Then I am staying with you, sir." Lukas said, filled with the willpower to fight. Through his entire life he had always doubted if he could be someone strong, given a Talent that wasn''t certainly outstanding, and given a Spirit that couldn''t do much other than defend a bit, he always thought of himself as someone mediocre, a "background character" that couldn''t do anything by himself, always relying on hispanions or hismander. After what happened when everyone died in that incident, he lost his hope to be someone strong, and had even thought he would die in that moment¡­ but that boy hade. He rescued everyone and gave them the will to keep on living, so one day they would avenge their fallenrades and kill as many demons as possible.


    To Luka''s response, Joan couldn''t help but smile back and nod.


    "Not bad for a kid raised in nobility! Alright then¡­ Let''s see if we can take that big guy over there. I will be counting you, sir knight."


    "Likewise!"


    -----

 Chapter 238 The Endless Army Of Demons

    -----


    Joan didn''tmanded anybody, but his words and will, and especially how amazing he was at fighting drove people naturally to his side, knights, soldiers, long viger friends and people that hunted with him, everyone was led by him without the young man realizing it. He was incredibly charismatic despite how he never thought of himself as anything much. Charging forward with his group of over twenty men, he began to pierce through dozens of demons at once. His spear, drenched in the blood of demons, constantly asked for more and more demonic energy and blood to sustain itself. Although Joan had noticed something odd with his weapon at this point, he had not paid attention to it as this was the middle of an intense war where the smallest of distractions could mean their demise.


    "CHARGE!!!"


    Joan roared like a barbarian more than a soldier, as the rest of his men ran forward, shing through the demons with great strength and precision. It seemed that Joan was developing something more than merely being a Farmer, or perhaps, he had already exceeded the power that a Farmer was thought to have, as he had leveled up many times, especially in this war were he had in many demons, he constantly felt stronger, although due to the umted exhaustion, it was hard to tell if he had truly grown at all.


    Unlike his son''s refined spear techniques, he didn''t had any particr name to his techniques, which he only had sharpened through the constant use of the spear as his best weapon againstrge prey like the wild boars. Hecked any skill to supplement the weapon as well, and merely used it through his umted experience.


    CLASH! CLASH! CLASH!


    His spear moved swiftly in the frontlines as he hit three Imps consecutively with the tip of the spear, piercing through their heads and sttering their brains out into the floor. Joan sighed once more, noticing arger demon behind him!


    "Who¡­?!"


    Redder skin, arger frame, and a muscr body, wielding a big, ck sword. Without a doubt, that was an evolved demon, a Red Oni! And not only that, but it came with many other Imps behind him, all of them were ss Imps, being either Warriors, Thieves, Assassins, Berserk, and more. Sometimes, when Imps couldn''t evolve, they ended "pseudo evolving" into these ss-type Imps. Their growth would be stopped forever but they would have greater strength than their peers from the get-go.


    "Grugrah! Kragahah gekh!" The Red Oni spoke a demonic tongue nobody could understand but themselves,manding the dozen of Imps to rush towards Joan. They had already set him as a target and wanted to stop him from doing anything funny until the Giant Demon could reach them so they could be easily finished with strong stepping attacks. Joan noticed that hisrge kill count constantly made him a threat to the demons, who were fairly intelligent little bastards.


    "Come at me!" Joan roared without any hint of cowardliness like his son often does, as his spear moved like an extension of his body. Lukas who was at his side also helped, swinging his long yet light silver-covered sword and shing through the Imps. Some of them heldrge shields made out of monster bones and leather, capable of withstanding Jean''s attacks, only for a [Shield Bash] from his Silver Snail Spirit to quickly push them away and then finish them off with a strong piercing attack with the tip of the young knight''s sword, piercing through the Imp''s neck.


    CLASH!


    "GRAAH¡­!"


    Several Imps alreadyid dead in the floor, as the Red Oni couldn''t believe how strong these humans could be. However, as someone that was fighting to gain newnd and make his own kin prosper, the Red Oni ran forward and confronted Joan, requesting a 1v1 fight.<sub> </sub>


    "GRUKAH!"


    Or well, he forced it. The Red Oni leaped into the air and shed against Joan with his sword, Joan hurriedly defended himself with the small shield he was given, which he attached to his left arm.


    CLASH!


    "You bastard¡­! Are you angered I killed your friends? Come at me!" Joan provoked the Red Oni, as the demon roared, showing off his sharp teeth and suddenly imbuing demonic energy into his de, which gained a red-colored demonic me covering it all¡­ Joan quickly realized this was Cursed mes, a different type of Demon Fire that could cause severe and painful burns imbued with curses that drained away the stamina of the target they wounded.


    "You damn demons always with your tricks¡­!" Joan roared, pushing forward as he swung his spear, unconsciously infusing mana into it, as it suddenly shed with a bright ck light, covering it as well! "What¡­?!"


    Joan was shocked when this happened, as his spear shed against the Red Oni''s sword, a shockwave of cursed dark energies was unleashed into the sky, shaking the surroundings loudly as the Red Oni was taken aback.


    "Grukah?!" The Red Oni groaned in surprise, realizing that Joan had a Cursed Weapon as well, and a strange one at that! The demon quickly took notice of the spear draining away part of the mes from his sword, and somehow copying it temporarily, as Joan''s spear was also imbued in such mes, which didn''t burn him!


    "This is¡­ What kind of spear did my son made?!" Wondered Joan, although he didn''t had time to think, and quickly used this opportunity of surprise to attack the Red Oni with a strong barrage of piercing attacks, one after the other, like a rain of needles!


    CLASH! CLASH! CLASH! CLASH!


    The Red Oni was forced into a defensive stance as he gritted his teeth. The demon quickly moved forward recklessly and angered by the strange weapon of this human, attempting to slice his hands so he wouldn''t be able to wield such a weapon that shouldn''t belong to humans! The Red Oni''s cursed sword was imbued with even more demonic energy, as an explosive me sh shed against Joan with great intensity!


    "RAAH!"


    BOOOM!


    -----

 Chapter 239 A Farmers Potential

    -----


    Joan quickly intercepted the Red Oni''s attack with everything he had, using the strength of his legs to resist the great attack, as the mes exploding out of the sword spread out rapidly. His body was being burned! However, from within his spear, arge quantity of darkness emerged, slightly covering his body from the mes and stopping the burning sensation. Joan, protected by also the steel armor he was wearing, quickly decided to attack back while the Red Oni was in midair, pointing the spear''s tip into the Demon''s head and moving it up by spinning it through a "drill technique" he often used against stubbornly tough foes!


    CLAAASH!


    "GRAAAAHH¡­!"


    The Red Oni cried, as his left eye was pierced by Joan''s spear, but the spear did not stop there, piercing forward through the bone and reaching the skull''s interior, scrambling the interior of the demon''s skull and quickly cracking the head open!


    BOOM!


    The Red Oni''s head exploded, as Joan was left covered on its own flesh and blood. The spear''s darkness was like a gluttonous specter, quickly absorbing the guts covering him alongside the blood, and even he curses and the mes¡­ he was wounded, but not terribly as he had expected to end against a Curse me user.


    "Hahh¡­ That''s the eighth Oni of today." Sighed Joan for a few seconds to regain his breath, as he suddenly felt something within the depth of his soul awaken, information rushed into his head, as he heard the voice of the world announcing something.


    "Skill Proficiency has reached the required amount."


    "The Skill [Bloody Harvest: Lv1] has been learned."


    "The Skill [One with the Earth: Lv1] has been learned."


    "What the¡­?"


    Joan had stopped learning Skills years ago. He had thought he had reached the limit of how many Skills a Farmer Talent with a low rarity as One Star could ever learn¡­ But after having in so many foes, led a group of knights and soldiers into a war, and having defeated powerful demons, he was rewarded by the voice of the world. His own Talent was still developing and evolving, even if he never thought about it too deeply.


    "I thought I would never learn a new skill again¡­ But why now of all times?!"


    Joan always thought that he was rusty by now, but these two new Skills developing within him made him feel anew, ke''s father still had room to grow, he had simply needed more time to develop than others. The young man gasped for air for a bit in disbelief, quickly running back with the rest and finding Lukas fighting the other Imps, giving them a hand right away.


    He had no time to test his skills nor even see their descriptions, as that wasn''t even an option to begin with! People only had a very limited understanding of their capabilities and skills, and were not even able to properly understand the concept of levels, especiallymoners. Thanks to his Grimoire, ke was able to see through his own status in fine detail, but other people were only left to assume things based in what they heard from the voice they called "the voice of the world" which announced their growth every time they leveled up or gained skills.


    This is why they often called these urrences as "Blessings from the Holy Spirits" as such a calming voice was always thought to be that of one of the Holy Spirits, and therefore, hearing its voice was attributed to receiving their blessing. Joan couldn''t help but smile as he slew Imps, while still tired and exhausted, he suddenly stepped in the floor and felt something strange, it was bending slightly to his weight? It was something that had not happened before.


    "What is this¡­?!"<sub> </sub>


    "GROOOARRR!"


    However, before Joan could test further what was this new power, the Demon Giant, which thesest ten minutes has been running towards them finally reached the frontlines, stepping into the floor and making everything tremble!


    BOOOM!!!


    The enormous foot of the giant were thunderingly hitting the floor, cracking it down and generatingrge holes where knights, soldiers, and vigers alike became trapped within the rocks and stones, left to their demise as a giant foot crushed their entire bodies like ants.


    CRAAASH!


    "Gryyyaaaah!"


    "H-Help!"


    "Gruuuaaaahhh!!!"


    The gruesome scene could not be stopped as the agonizing cries of the soldiers fighting the war resonated across the battlefield, Joan gritted his teeth angrily as he immediately decided to run straight towards the Giant Demon recklessly. Because the demons constantly poured from all sides, the formations were being constantly broken and only the generals could keep the men together, there were many faraway groups too far to unify with Joan''srge group of fighters, and because of theirck of coordination, they were being massacred like flies.


    Lukas noticed Joan charging forward without stopping, swinging his spear fiercely as he slew more demons, the battle was bing more and more intense as death was creeping in the backs of everybody. Any misstep and their death would be guaranteed, the young knight knew that Joan was someone incredible, and he was already willing to give up his life to defend this vige and avenge his fallenrades with this inspiring man, quickly roaring back at the men with him.


    "CHARGE! Follow Joan!" He roared loudly, stepping forward rapidly as he used his spirit to defend from therge groups of Imps jumping towards him like bugs, which he slew with the swing of his de one after the other!


    SLASH! SLASH! SLASH!


    p "Hahh¡­ We gotta hurry¡­ Hurry!" He roared fiercely, as the rest of the men followed the young knight from behind. Someone, however, was more distinguished than the rest, another Hunter perhaps in a simr level than Joan at this point, with a zing dog at his side and a strange spear cursed with demon blood as well.</anda>


    "Sir Gradus, you''re here!" Lukas said with a smile.


    "I''ve managed to get through and join your party¡­! That insane man¡­ is he really nning to take down that monster?!" Asked Gradus, an old friend of Joan.


    -----

 Chapter 240 A Reckless Strategy

    -----


    "This power I just gained¡­ What sort of ability is this?"


    Joan was wondering this deep within his own mind as he ran forward towards the Giant Demon. The monstrous titan mercilessly slew the soldiers as it wanted, unable to fight something so big, they mostly ran away. Only a few talented magicians were in here, firing fireballs, slicing winds, and icicle spears at the giants from afar. Although their magic was strong, Giant Demons were resilient, and these magicianscked enough MP to abuse their magic.


    "I remember¡­ I¡­ When I stepped, I am pretty sure I bend the dirt below me. It was almost unconsciously, but I do remember that somehow, I "willed it"¡­"


    Joan continued to think what his power could be. This was certainly not [Bloody Harvest] at all, but most likely¡­ [One with the Earth]! It was just an assumption, but it perhaps allowed the young adult man to bend the dirt below his feet! And the best part was that he didn''t even felt any MP being lost by using it, as if it was a mere action of his body¡­ or more like a reaction from dirt itself to his body.


    "Damn it, I need more time to test this but¡­ Mouse,e out!"


    Joan quickly summoned his spirit, the Earth Mouse, a creature good at digging and¡­ shaping dirt a bit. To make useful traps it needed a long time of preparation, and itsbat power, aside from the slightly lethal rat fangs it had, was very low. However, he knew that nobody was better at digging and shaping dirt than this little mouse.


    "Chuu!"


    The Earth Mouse jumped out of Joan''s chest,nding spectacrly over his head. However, he was quickly horrified when he saw all the demons surrounding them in the battlefield.


    "CHUUUU!"


    "Calm down! We are doing something special today¡­ Oi, you can use my Skills, right?" Asked Joan to his spirit, as the mouse nodded.


    Indeed, if the bond between spirit and master was very strong, spirits could sometimes learn a special ability named [Spirit Link], something that ke had already unlocked with Eleanora. Joan had already unlocked this some years ago with his Mouse, allowing his spirit to wield selected skills. As of now, it could only use two from him, so he quickly took out an useless one and put [One with the Earth] on his Earth Mouse with a mere thought.


    "Take this new one and use it to dig as much as you can¡­ I want you to make a big trap for this bastard! Can this Skill let you do it quickly?" Asked Joan, his eyes met with his spirit, the two had shared years of bonding together, and the mouse was more than capable of understanding what he spoke about.


    "Chuu!"


    The mouse nodded in affirmation after a few calctions¡­ the new power of Joan might be the key to win this fight after all, but he was too much of a brute to use it properly, his Earth Mouse, however, was more than capable of using it way better, as it was a spirit of the earth, directly connected with the element. There was just nobody better for the job!


    "Then go! I''ll protect your back, dig around the giant with everything you''ve got!!!" Roared Joan,unching his Earth Mouse near the giant, as the mouse cried in surprise and a bit of fear, quicklynding in the ground as several Imps noticed it and tried to attack it!


    SLAAASH!


    However, Joan reached them first, as his spear swung horizontally, unleashing a dark gust of cutting winds against them, cutting the weak Imps into pieces, and letting his Earth Mouse dig underground, away from the Imps hands!<sub> </sub>


    Lukas and the rest quickly caught up with Joan, ying countless demons in the way. The young knight seemed surprised by what Joan had just done though!


    "Sir Joan! What have you done?!" He asked.


    "I got a n. I learned a skill that could help¡­ I sent my spirit to do the job, let''s buy him time in the meantime¡­ Evade the giant attacks and let''s take down the little ones climbing over it!"


    "Alright!" Lukas said without doubting Joan''s words, he was already too deep into the battle to even falter, deciding to obey someone with way more fighting experience than him!


    The soldiers ran forward with Joan, as they began massacring more demons. Meanwhile, the Giant Demon noticed this big and organized group, and thought of them as more annoying ants, moving towards them and ignoring the other groups that were all getting massacred. His enormous foot made the earth tremble, making it slightly harder for the Earth Mouse to dig through the underground.


    TRUUM¡­!


    TRUUM¡­!


    TRUUM¡­!


    The steps of the giant approached; each step made the hearts of the men doubt about the whole situation. Could they even fight such a creature? What were their chances without proper long-ranged magic like nobility? Their spirits were not the strongest either¡­ So why? Well, because of a single man that wanted to y them. Joan had always inspired the hearts of the people due to his heroic actions in the vige, Gradus, apanions of his, knew very well of his nature.


    However, as if fate itself was trying to insult his heroic will, Joan suddenly noticed something even more terrifying¡­ another Giant Demon chasing them from behind! It was emerging from within the woods, perhaps having been hiding there until it saw another like him.


    "T-Two¡­?!" Wondered Joan as a defying smile emerged on his lips. "Fine¡­ I''ll also work hard, not like the Earth Mouse stole the skill from me¡­!"


    "GRUAAAH!"


    The giant closest to them quickly moved forward, as his giant foot hit the ground where the entire group was! All the men quickly evaded, but one of them was too slow, and ended tripping over the ground, about to be crushed!


    "Move aside!!!" Joan roared, as he imbued mana into his legs and kicked the man away with all his strength, all while the giant foot neared over him!


    TRUUUUMMM¡­!


    -----

 Chapter 241 A Farmers Last Stand

    -----


    In that moment, Joan wished the dirt below him could bend, and it did. He suddenly felt as if a hole in the ground was formed by the dirt bending to his will lightly, as the giant foot hit the ground, he was saved by finding himself underground.


    TRUUUUMMM¡­!


    "Ah¡­ It worked¡­!" Muttered Joan, a momentter, he pointed out the spear into the Demon Giant''s foot and pierced through its skin, flesh, and bone while making the spear spin!


    CRAAAAASH!


    "Nggh¡­! GRUUUOHHHH¡­!"


    The Demon Giant immediately felt the agonizing pain on his foot as it moved it away. Joan immediately jumped out of the hole, surprising the Imps climbing over the giant. A second after, he didn''t wasted any minute, using his spear to sh through the giant''s foot once more, slicing through and shing the demon''s toes!


    SLAAAASH!


    The demon giant once more cried in agony, stepping aside while blood gushed out in immense quantities from his wounded foot. Joan gasped for air as he didn''t believed he made it alive out of it. And just after that, a telepathic message from the Earth Mouse reached him. Apparently, the preparations were ready! Joan had to merely lure it there¡­


    And well, it wasn''t going to be hard.


    "GRAAAARRRR!!!"


    The Demon Giant immediately set Joan as his most hated target, running straight towards him with everything it had, the demon tried to quickly step over him, but Joan managed to evade the enormous foot of the titan. Jumping away from its range and then reaching the designated area where the Earth Mouse had used [One with the Earth]!


    "Come here you bastard!" Joanughed, as the demon furiously jumped towards Joan with all of his might!


    CLAAAASH!


    Joan bended the dirt below him, putting himself underground andpletely evading the giant''s body, which fell straight over arge quantity of clean dirt that was way too suspicious looking!


    TRUUUM¡­!


    "Gruah?!"


    A second after, Joan activated the trap, as the Giant felt the dirt opening into an enormous hole and falling right inside of it! The hole was roughly twenty meters deep, enough to keep the monster trapped for a few minutes. But it wasn''t as if Joan was going to allow the giant to live! He recklessly jumped inside the hole without thinking it twice, pointing the spear into the giant''s head and piercing through its skull!


    Joan imbued hisst bits of mana into his entire body through the techniques his son had taught to him, piercing through the demons'' skull as several cracks emerged over it, and then¡­!


    CRAAAASH!


    An explosion of brains and blood sttered over the entire hole, as Joan once more found himself diving into guts. Only for his strange spear''s specter to clean him from them and greedily devour everything. He had yet to even figure out this magical item at all, but at the very least, it was strong enough to allow him to live this long in the middle of the battlefield.<sub> </sub>


    Joan found himself over the giant''s corpse, as dozens of Imps began to crawl towards him, pointing weapons and angrily roaring. He had been exhausted after overusing his Mana, and was gasping for air. His head felt like it would burst in any moment, and the approaching giant in the background wasn''t helping at all.


    Joan slowly stood up, defending himself from the giants. Lukas and the rest wanted to go down but the fall was way too big. If they were to jump from there, they would surely end up breaking their legs. Joan desperately fought with no mana and barely any strength or stamina in his body, his breathing was getting heavier as he was growing more exhausted with each passing second. The imps viciously provoked him and hit him in the back, kicking him around to make him lose his bnce.


    "RAAAH!"


    Joan roared, his eyes bloodied. His spear pierced through the skull of another Imp, only for two to attack him from the back, pushing him down into the ground, as his weakened body rolled pitifully.


    "U-Uggh¡­ S-So this is it¡­" Joan muttered, looking at the eight Imps left walking towards him, he had no strength to fight anymore, and his potions were also all exhausted.


    FLASH!


    ? However, a ck shadow suddenly covered the sky from the sun above, as Joan noticed several of such ck shadows jumping from outside the hole. The shadows moved swiftly, as they attacked the Imps, crushing their necks with their sharp fangs, or shing them with their piercing ws.


    "Gryyah!"


    "Grah¡­!"


    "Woof!"


    Joan''s eyes opened wide open as he saw a group of four ck wolves as big as two meters massacring the Imps mercilessly¡­ just from where did theye?


    "I''ve finally found you." One of them said with a voice that Joan couldn''t help but easily recognize, it was the voice of his son, ke.


    "B-ke?! No¡­ how?!" Joan asked in disbelief, dropping in exhaustion over the floor as he looked at the fierce wolves.


    "I can exin it to youter, father. You''re in the verge of death." Sighed ke''s voice, as Joan suddenly noticed strange walking mushrooms sitting over the wolves, spraying some spores over the Imps, and quickly paralyzing them on the spot, making it easier for the wolves to take them down.


    Lukas and Gradus watched as they saw Joan being carried to the surface by a group of wolves, they quickly offered him potions to recover a bit of his stamina and health, while the wolves looked into the distance, noticing the monstrous demon giant approaching¡­ And from faraway, within the demon''s settlement, a sound of a loud explosion resonated.


    BOOOOOMMM!!!


    Everyone, even the demons, directed their gazes towards the explosion''s direction, as they saw a cloud of red smoke forming into the skies¡­ ke immediately heard Eleanora''s words within his Spirit Orb, as she had appeared inside the moment her spiritual body was destroyed by the explosion generated when she decimated the artificial demon gate.


    "My lord, there''s a Demon General in the settlement¡­! I am not sure if it still alive after the explosion, but there is a high possibility that it is!"


    "A Demon General you say?"


    -----

 Chapter 242 Saving The Life Of A Reckless Father

    -----


    (ke''s POV)


    When I finally found my father, he was almost about to die. It seems he had in a Giant Demon all by himself, which really surprised me. My father had also been leading the charge in the frontlines, and has been ying dozens of demons, perhaps almost a hundred by himself. I had never thought that my father could be this strong, but I suppose that the Ki Breathing Technique I taught him coupled with the Cursed Weapon I gifted to him ended helping in the long run. My father is a highly skilled man, despite having a Talent that doesn''t aid him on battle, he had polished his own abilities over many years. I have to recognize him.


    When I found him with my Familiars, I rushed to his side after having helped Erdrich and the rest recover through abination of food and low-tier healing spells boosted through [Cooking] and [First Aid] respectively. The two girls, Elizabeth and Erika had been ring at one another strangely, well, mostly Erika. I''ll have to deal with thister, although I am not interested at all in these girl''s love rivalry. There are more important things than that, such as the entire war going on against these demons. We have barely pulled out a victory in the backlines, ying most of the demons there. I had ran straight towards my father, and when I finally found him and helped him, an explosion in the Demon Camp happened.


    I immediately knew what happened there, as Eleanora was sharing her vision with me, she had decided to destroy the Demon Gate, and due to the instability of the demon energy, the souls, and the mana it was umting, it generated a powerful explosion that ended engulfing her and the Demon General that was chasing her. This demon was described to be a Gray Oni with golden horns, it was surely a strange color for a demon. Demon Generals evolve after a demon has devoured over a hundred souls, and they''re vastly strongpared to the Red and Blue Oni, superior to them and even the Demon Giants.


    It is impossible for me to go see if the Demon General is alive or not right now, as Ick any tracking Beast Spirit Familiar. Sending a wolf might help, so I sent one. But unlike Eleanora that can easily climb trees and hide, the wolf might have a hard time reaching there in time, or it could get ambushed by a group of demons and die. I wish I had some sort of flying Beast Spirit Familiar, but there''s no flying monsters in this forest, or perhaps there was, but they''re long gone by now.


    Well, there was no time to overthink things. There was a Giant Demon walking straight towards us, and another few already noticing what was happening here. Now that I had retrieved my father, the best course of action would be to retreat and bring him to safely, but with such a big opportunity to earn EXP as this one, I cannot help but feel the desire to stay here. My blood was pumping and my heart was beating fast. Was this the thrill and excitement of a good challenge? In my previous life Icked the warmth of the living as I was born as a Vampire. But this feeling¡­ it is very exhrating.


    I hate to admit it, but I might had always been a battle junkie. I am a man that loves challenges, battles against odds, and to struggle until the very end to defeat a powerful foe. I''ve never truly enjoyed stepping over pathetic ants as much as facing a foe way over my league. Perhaps I am someone obsessed with battle, or perhaps it is one of the few things that made me feel alive when I had a cold and undead body in my previous life¡­ Perhaps that was one of the reasons that drove me into fighting someone like Lucifer. Whatever''s the case, I have already made up my mind.


    This entire war happened out of nowhere, and I am stillcking a lot of information about how everything was set up behind my back, but I can''t help but praise the Priests and Knights for acting so quickly. I suppose the demons are also to be praised for how big of an army they had mustered, although over half of their numbers are down by now, there''s still the other half, furiously marching towards us, a sea of EXP¡­ Perhaps this day I might finally reach Level 10. I cannot waste such an opportunity. I am, after all, quite the opportunistic man. And if that Demon General is still alive, aside from Ellergest, I might be the only one that could defeat him, as I know the weaknesses of most types of demons.


    "All of you are too wounded, Lukas, bring my father to the backlines, there''ll be several priests there to attend all of your wounds properly. I could heal you but I have to save my own Mana." I said, as Lukas, the knight, was surprised by my voice.<sub> </sub>


    "Y-You''re nk?!" Asked Lukas.


    "He''s my son, ke¡­ What''s nk?" Asked my father.


    "A second name I took, but I guess that was for nothing at the end. Nheless, you two go away for now." I said, waving my hand, as the wolves began to run to the backlines.


    "W-Wait, ke! What are you doing?!"


    <o>,m As my father cried but without the ability to move after fighting so much, I ignored him. I am sorry, father, but I will make up for itter. I can exin thingster as well, but for now, I have to put all my concentration in what''s in front of me, a giant I wanted to take down by myself.</o>


    "GRUUOOHHH¡­!"


    Demon Giants are an interesting caste of demons, I wonder how much EXP can I get out of one¡­ Well, I can only find out if I y one.


    -----

 Chapter 243 Eleanoras Back

    -----


    I had ran into the frontlines before everyone else, who were still tailing from behind. The explosion happened just a few seconds ago, so Eleanora probably cannot be summoned for a while. She is currently resting inside of my Spirit Orb, and seems to be recovering. By analyzing her a bit, I''ve discovered a few things about Spirits and how their death and revival works. It seems that the core of a spirit is the Spirit Orb, therefore, as long as the orb is not broken, they won''t die. Whates out is something simr to an Astral Projection, if it dies, they need to take some time to recover and build a new one. Although it seems that because Eleanora is quite strong, and has a very powerful soul, her Astral Projection might take less time to recover than other Spirits.


    Although I dislike showing emotions, I had to reprimand her a bit. After all, she ended sacrificing herself without asking me beforehand, and we had yet to even test or know if she could truly revive or be the same as before.


    "Eleanora, what you did was reckless. Although it helped, it is also not something I approved of¡­" I sighed.


    "I apologize¡­" She said. "The Demon General was too powerful and fast, I was going to die anyways, so I simply decided to take the Demon Gate with me. I managed to lure him very close to the explosion, I hope he takes at least some damage from it."


    "I understand your thinking and reasoning behind it, and I see that there''s no problem regarding this through a logical standpoint¡­ But as someone that holds you very dearly, I feel obligated to reprimand you for this. The next time you do something reckless, consider me within your calctions." I said as technically as possible.


    "I-I understand¡­ I am d you think like this of me, my lord. It truly¡­ makes me happy to serve you. But now that things happened, isn''t it nice to discover more of my capabilities as a Spirit? As long as you''re alive, I am practically immortal!" She celebrated.


    p "Yes, that''s how all Spirits are though, unless the Spirit Orb is shattered¡­ I don''t know if a person can live without one though, as it is a vital part of their lifeblood¡­" I considered. "Nheless, when do you think I can summon you again?"</anda>


    "I am already midway through¡­ I think in around ten minutes?" She wondered. "I believe that I am still rather weak, so it is not that long of a time, but as I grow stronger, reconstructing my Astral Projection will take longer."


    "I see, makes sense to me. I will fight until you can be summoned again. I need your assistance as you''re vastly stronger than me in terms of stats and skills¡­" I said.


    "Yes, for now, may I assist you with a bit of my Soul''s Aether? I can epass your body using my Soul Aura, would that work?" She wondered.


    Soul Aura, the power that Eleanora had developed, it helped her unleash Techniques that would otherwise cost a lot of Mana. By using her Aether within her Soul, she can unleash these Techniques and fight even more mightier than other Spirits. If we could teach spirits to use Aether, there would perhaps be a new era in this world in terms of spirit advancement and strength, but I prefer to keep this technique for ourselves.<sub> </sub>


    "Sure thing, though, don''t push yourself too much."


    "I would say the same, but you seem excited¡­"


    "I can''t deny it."


    FLASH!


    Suddenly, the Soul Aura of Eleanora began to epass my entire body. It was red in color, and was very simr to the Blood Aura, an advanced technique that can be developed through my Vampiric Physique. Of course, this one is weaker, but it seems toe with a few perks. This Aura slowly drains my own Mana as well, as Eleanora and I are connected, but the enhancements it gives are good. However, I won''t overuse it as this could be detrimental to Eleanora. At most, I''ll use it until she fully recovers, abusing this power could ultimately weaken her past ten minutes.


    TRUUUMMM¡­!


    Before I could even get ustomed to this new Spirit Soul Aura, a giant demon foot hit the ground, making the floor tremble as countless cracks emerged. Most of the knights and soldiers had evacuated by themands of Lukas, but a few stayed, I couldn''t save them as they were too stupidly close to the demon and ended falling into holes made by the cracks that emerged when the demon''s foot hit the ground, some died and others barely survived. I wish I could aid them, but I had my hands full right now, and I cannot be in two ces at the same time without Eleanora.


    The Giant Demon had already reached the area where I was with a few of my Beast Spirit Familiars. I quicklymanded them to run away from the range of the demon, circling it around. the smaller Imps were all running away as well, as they often were also targeted by the demon who couldn''t differentiate between ally and enemy when hitting the ground with his enormous legs. I ran to the left side and quickly circled the Demon, it was big and a single step could traverse a lot of meters, but it was still slow, it wasn''t even able to detect me. I immediately realized part of my new speed enhancement was this aura flowing through my body, and perhaps my blood pumping through my body at a fast speed, my white skin was turning red out of the excitement and exhration.


    A smirk surged in my face as I directed my spear, Gluttony, towards the giant''s left ankle. Without hesitating, I swung it, shing through the giant''s foot, and slicing his ankle. The demon immediately screamed in pain, falling to his knees due to the imbnce it felt. And this is how you take down a giant.


    -----

 Chapter 244 One Man Army

    -----


    SLASH!


    Another sh of my spear reached the giant''s right ankle, with both sliced, the giant was incapable of keeping afoot properly, falling to his knees and then into the floor head-first. His entire body was incredibly heavy, with both fat, muscle, and bonebined, I couldn''t help but imagine how many materials I could get out of these giants. It was going to be a good harvest.


    The Demon immediately noticed I had jumped over his legs, slowly trying to move them to shake me off, but I jumped around dexterously and reached the demon''s back, finding a group of five imps pointing bow guns at me. They seemed to be quite rustically made but could shoot arrows at a close distance with great power. I didn''t feel threatened by them, however.


    "Kill the bastard!"


    "Damned child!"


    "Human, die!"


    Their words, which I could understand, didn''t meant a thing to me. I quickly conjured the Tier 1 Fire-Attribute Spell [Fireball] andbined it with the Tier 1 Wind-Attribute Spell [Gust], forming apound spell named [zing Storm]. It was small despite its name, but it was devastating enough to take five Imps at the same time. I couldn''t conjure it constantly because of the Mana Cost, but thanks to Eleanora''s Aether, I could reduce the cost of Mana of this strongbined spell!


    FLUOOOOSSSSH!


    The zing winds took over the five imps in a second, a few arrows were still shot at me, I evaded two and quickly intercepted a third, but a fourth managed to reach me, piercing my shoulder, the pain was bearable. But it still slowed me down. I reached the Imps being burned alive as I swung my spear, slicing them in half to make sure they died. I forcefully took out the arrow from my shoulder and blood quickly began gushing out of the rotting wound. Damned poisoned arrows. I put my hand in the wound and tore apart the rotten flesh while covering the wound with Holy Ki I had umted, stopping the bleeding by wrapping a piece of cloth after disinfecting the wound.


    "Are you okay? Even an arrow might be lethal when they''re poisoned with miasma from the demonic energy the demons produce, my lord¡­" Said Eleanora.


    "I am alright, I''ve even gotten my hand cut off, remember? Don''t worry about it." I reassured Eleanora. My physique had evolvedtely so with that, I had a better self-regeneration, as long as I stopped bleeding and disinfected the wound, it should regenerate in a few minutes.


    While patching the wound, I was already over the giant''s head, his arms were trying to catch me as he attempted to roll over the floor to not let me hit his giant head, but I acted quicker than he could, infusing Eleanora''s Spirit Soul Aura into Gluttony alongside my own Blood Ki, an explosion of red energy was shoot down from the tip of my spear, resembling a redser, as it hit the giant''s head, cracking his skull and sting his brains out. The most secure way to kill a demon was this without doubts!


    BOOOOMMM!!!


    As the demon''s brains sttered over the floor, I noticed a System notification. The Giant gave me a whopping 5000 EXP, not bad at all. It is way more than the Onis could ever give to me, and the only one superior to it might had been Cassandra, the half-demon woman. With that said, I was done with this big giant, only for another two to get closer to us. But I wasn''t going to do this alone, the other Beast Spirits were few, but they were not useless.


    "Orcus, Fenrir, Spore, attack!"<sub> </sub>


    "Woof!"


    "Gruooh!"


    "Foo!"


    The three Spirit Familiars ran towards their positions, suddenly circling an unsuspecting Giant. The Orcus, with their mighty strength, weight, and tusks, hit the giant''s ankles, quickly throwing it off bnce. The demon was tough enough to resist the Orcus'' tusks, but it still ended falling to his knees. The Fenrir came afterwards, carrying Spores over their backs, they jumped over the giant''s back and in the Imps over them right before throwing spores over the giant''s face, paralyzing spores!


    "G-Gruooghhh¡­?! Cough¡­ Cough¡­!"


    The Giant quickly felt paralyzed, falling into the floor near-unconscious, the Imps feltpletely confused and their faces quickly hanged into pure despair as they saw me crawling over the giant''s head. Unlike true giants, these demon giant are fairly weak, they have giant bodies, yes, but are not almighty, nor they have supernatural resistance, regeneration, or resilience like the actual Giants or Titans I''ve once fought in my previous life. They were just giant meat bags.


    CLAAAASH!


    "GRAAAHH¡­!"


    I quickly crushed the giant''s head with the same attack as before, shing the Imps that hurriedly ran away from me, while the rest were caught by the Fenrir. Thest Giant looked at the scene, feeling confused, whilecking the understanding ability to discern if what was happening was somehow good or bad. However, the Imps mounting his back panicked, directing a giant ballista at me, it was made of wood and stone, but enhanced with their demonic blood. I immediately jumped away and hid beneath the giant''s corpse, as the ballista''s arrow hit the giant and exploded with enormous quantities of demonic energy.


    BOOOM!!!


    To think these bastards had such a weapon. I quickly looked up again, seeing them struggle to put another of those enormous and explosive arrows, I immediately and stealthily ran towards them, abusing Shadow Sneak, the Skill I acquired through Eleanora''s Skill Link, and reached the shadow of the demon giant that was carrying these Imps. I started crawling over his leg while the giant noticed something, but I was quick enough for his slow mind to not retaliate in time. I jumped over the Imps and grabbed one that was carrying the giant arrow, crushing his head with my bare hands through the various enhancements I had.


    "Gryyaaaeegggh¡­!"


    CRAAASH!


    The other Imps immediately detected me, but it was toote. I moved to the left and the right, swinging my Spear precisely and gracefully, their bodies dropped into the ground below, shredded into pieces.


    -----

 Chapter 245 Slaughtering Hundreds

    -----


    "GRAAAH!"


    As the giant noticed I had in the little friends he had, he immediately tried to crush me like a fly I jumped over the top of his head as I saw his hands hitting the shoulders, another hand suddenly moved to my side, as I parried it with my spear with a quick action.


    CLAAASH!


    I was sent through the air. I should had killed him while I could but he moved too quickly, even crushing the skull takes a couple seconds. I immediately attempted to fly in midair through [Gust] but was quickly surprised by a sudden attack from below. I noticed my familiars being assaulted by over twenty Imps led by four Red Oni and a single Blue Oni. Cavalry finally arrived, huh?


    Several Demon mes were directed at me from the Onis as well. I noticed two of them were holding staffs, they were magicians, not brute fighters. This might exin their fire that could reach so far in the sky, which was most likely an advanced Spell from their unique Demon Magic. The mes were fast, following me around as if they had a tracking ability. I quickly realized this spell was named [Chasing Soul me]. It was made so it would chase down the soul of the target, a deadly attack that could even deal direct damage to the soul. If I allowed magicians to get into the army, even more casualties would be generated.


    BOOOM!!!


    One of the mes hit me hopelessly. I had already readied myself for the impact as I permeated my body with the Spirit Soul Aura of Eleanora, but to not let her carry the entire burden, I also allowed myself to be burned, thanks torge quantities of Blood Ki, I had reinforced my Skin and Muscles, and the burns from demon mes became lesser. Nheless, it was a challenging fight to y a giant all while magicians from below were pestering me.


    "Gluttony!"


    I called into Gluttony''s special ability, as I swung him into my own body, without cutting any part of my skin, Gluttony absorbed the mes, quickly freeing me from them. My soul was slightly damaged, but nothing too much. I had bear with greater pain than this before. My body was slightly roasted though, but I bathed myself in Holy Water generated through Tier 1 Water and Holy Light Magic spells, the burns slowly reseeded, some areas of my body ended with scars, but I didn''t really care.


    I directed my fury towards the ones below while I evaded the enormous arms of the giant that were trying to catch me as if I were a fly. Gathering my Mana and Blood Ki within my hands, I decided to do a simple long-ranged attack, shaping the Mana and Blood Ki into dozens of sharp spears, my Mana was already running low, below 40%, but I still had some to go before I could drink some of the Mana Potions I stole from the priests.


    "Blood Judgement."


    This was a lesser version of a ssic Spell I''ve used before named Blood Judgement. It was of course weaker, but it could easily shred into pieces these damned demons once and for all. The spears moved swifter and faster than I expected them to do, as they reached the demons. Several Imps met their demise in mere seconds, but the Oni defended against them by swinging their weapons enhanced with their Demon Energy, the two magicians suddenly generated a barrier, defending themselves from my magic.


    CRASH! CRASH! CRASH!


    The Blood Judgement still kept them busy, even though it wasn''t capable of breaking their barrier, which most likely ran by their demonic energy quantity. If I kept attacking them with magic, the barrier would ultimately break as their demonic energy ran out. Meanwhile, without wasting a single second, I parried another attack from the giant using my spear.<sub> </sub>


    CRAAASH!


    "GRUUOHH!"


    Suddenly, an enormous fist was about to crush from, reaching from above. However, I quickly decided it was a good moment to slice his hands off. I loaded Gluttony with almost the rest of my Mana while still keeping some to keep myself afloat using Gust, all while I used Fireball to propel myself higher into the sky, reaching the giant''s fist and then piercing it through!


    BOOOOMMM!!!


    A ray of Blood Ki pierced through the giant''s hand, as I loaded his limb with this vicious energy and the enormous hand quickly exploded, leaving him without a hand, the demon giant cried dumbly. What a stupid creature.


    I didn''t wasted any second, reaching the giant''s arm and running through it. His other hand attempted to catch me, but I evaded swiftly through abination of [Shadow Sneak] and [Acrobatics]. After that, I recklessly jumped straight towards his face. The giant thought he could eat me, opening his mouth and showing me his teeth. That was what I was waiting for.


    "Blood Judgement!"


    "GRUHO?!"


    A rain of blood spears suddenly filled the giant''s mouth, quickly slicing and piercing through all of his insides, his eyes quickly rolled in agony as he fell down into the floor, his throat being tore apart by the attacks, exploded into a blood fountain.


    BOOOM!


    Without wasting time, I directed my gaze towards the Onis, one Red Oni was in but the rest was defending from my Blood Judgement through a Demon Barrier, but that barrier easily broke, almost at the same time as my Blood Judgement stopped attacking them. Filled with confidence, the Oni charged at me with the rest of the Imps, and several others that joined them just a few seconds ago, all while the Magicians behind them conjured the same magic as before, [Chasing Soul me] dozens of times. Despite being against the odds here as my energies were being drained with each fight, I couldn''t help but smile, the stench of blood and death permeated my entire body. I felt in my element.


    Let''s continue the carnage, I can''t help but want to bathe in more blood.


    -----

 Chapter 246 The Power Of {Blood Judgement}!

    -----


    Despite always holding an expressionless face, I couldn''t help but smile now. How long has it been since I bathed on so much blood? How long has it been since I could go all out? After all these years of being a child, I''ve finally umted and cultivated enough power to at least do a small carnage such as this one. And oh, how much nostalgia does this brings to me! This side of me had been dormant for so long that I couldn''t help but believe I have turned into someone else¡­ But no, it still there, the side of me that craves destruction and blood¡­ And it makes me so happy to remember it!


    While facing this challenge, I directed my hand into the corpses lying around, in a second, dozens of streams of blood flew to my hands, being refined instantly into Blood Ki. I had spent most of it after using Blood Judgement twice, but I knew that I could get it back like this. I quickly drank two Mana Potions and felt my Mana quickly refilling, as the Grimoire showcased how my MP Stat was filling to almost 90%! With this, it was more than enough.


    If it could be calcted in numbers, I currently had refilled over 10k Blood Ki, each Blood Judgement cost 3k, so I can use this up to three times. However, brute forcing my way through would be unwise, as much as I like carnage, I am not brainless, and I like the gratification of victory through any method, not just brute strength. Therefore, I decided to move forward, fusing [Fireball] with [Gust] and then Blood Ki, forming a brand-new Spellposed of three elements, still being within the Tier 1 Magic Realm, but so strong it could slightly and temporary rival Tier 2!


    FLUOOOOSH!


    ? Within my hands, crimson red mes, as red as blood itself emerged, dancing like zing winds as they suddenly grew more and more in size as I infusedrge quantities of Blood Ki¡­ I called this Spell [Crimson Blood mes]!


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!


    I directed these mes towards the Soul Fire conjured by the Demons, impacting them and destroying them before they could reach me, all while I ran straight towards them. Imanded by Crimson Blood mes to form a protectingyer around my body, which allowed me to easily fend off the smaller soul-damaging mes that the demons conjured! But that wasn''t all¡­


    FLUOSH!


    I unleashed a fireball using these mes and hit one of the Imps closest to me, who had quickly dropped all of his fighting will when he saw hoe easily I fended off his superior''s magic, but it was toote. The mes quickly took over his body but didn''t simply burn through him, they absorbed his blood, drying him up like a mummy.


    "Gryyyaaaaaahhh¡­!"


    I couldn''t help but smirk before the scream of agony of the Imp, Iughed afterwards, I couldn''t help but find the sight before me as hrious! This was the power of these mes; I''ve finally attained enough mastery over Blood Ki to generate them once more¡­ With these mes, I can consume entire armies. They have the power to absorb the Blood of the beings they burn, instantly refining the blood into Blood Ki as well, and therefore, leaving their corpses like dried up mummies. This Blood Ki helps the mes growrger, spreading out. Just as they did right now, as they began to engulf the rest of the Imps and two unfortunate Red Onis that thought they could brute force their way through, hahaha!


    "Burn all of you! Go back to the hell you came from! Crawl to your fiery abyss, and don''t daree back!" I proimed, rushing into the Onis and shing their bodies into pieces, they attacked me of course, but my mes fended most of them. Though some weapons pierced my shoulders and arms, it was calcted. I quickly pierced the heads of those that got some lucky hits, burning my wounds through my mes, and easily cauterizing them in the process.<sub> </sub>


    SLASH! SLASH! SLAAAASH!


    I shed through using Gluttony, as my spear seemed to be enjoying the thrill and bloodshed of battle. I pushed forward while constantly being attacked, as I burned my own wounds countless times to minimize damage and purify any infections. The Crimson mes spread out like the gue, burning through dozens of Imps. The Onis were smarter and evaded them, directing their magic and physical attacks at me. A rain of arrows suddenly reached me but I unleashed a storm of red mes into the sky, turning the arrows into ashes. A few hit my back, but didn''t pierce through my lungs.


    Receiving too many wounds was still exhausting, but I was able to recover my exhaustion by consuming the Blood Ki I extracted from the corpses, refilling my Stamina and giving me further Vitality, as long as my body could bear the burden, I could fight more and more. And I did, reaching the magician Onis and quickly unleashing the power of my Vampiric Eye of Paralysis, quickly stopping them from conjuring magic!


    SPARK!


    "G-GRAH¡­!"


    "GREAH?!"


    It was as if red lightning hit their bodies and stopped them from even reacting or speaking other than groaning in the moment of shock. Hopelessly, the Onis saw as I sliced their throats with my bare hands, using the [Blood ws] Blood Emperor Technique, as my spear wasunched seconds ago, reaching the head of a Blue Oni that was trying to sneak attack me from behind.


    SLASH! SLASH!


    I swiftly absorbed their blood, refining it into more Blood Ki. Without realizing it, dozens of corpsesid around my surroundings, as I continued ying more and more demons, there was an endless carnage. It wasn''tpletely one-sided as they kept inflicting wounds on me, but I made sure they were not lethal, nheless, I had to admit it, I was being reckless. But where would the fun be without going straight towards your enemies once in a while? Well, I don''t have to worry much, as always make sure to be several steps ahead of them.


    "Blood Judgement¡­!"


    -----

 Chapter 247 This Is How Vampires Fight

    -----


    Blood rained over dozens of demons as I felt the EXP flowing towards me, I umted it through the Grimoire''s Ability to umte EXP, which granted bonus EXP the more it was umted. It was a power I''ve been using for a while, something often referred as [EXP Combo] or whatever. The more EXP umted I had before receiving it, therger the bonus would be. Perhaps this is also a way topensate for my slow progress, although it feels like a glitch more than anything fair. But well, knowing the damned Lucifer, would he ever do something fair?


    It had its ws, if no more EXP was umted after a minute, the EXP would be automatically distributed, I cannot hold it infinitely, but this cooldown is reset each time I gain a bit of it, as long as I keep ughtering demons, I can keep the bonus up. I believe this is my only ticket towards reaching Level 10, alongside using the 1.5 times EXP Ticket which I will use in thest moment, when all the EXP is distributed.


    As I heard the screams of the demons, I noticed I had already in way over a hundred, 99% of the troops were weak Imps, some more armed than others, but they were all the bottom of the food chain in terms of strength, ughtering them in masse wasn''t hard for me as I could absorb their Blood into Blood Ki and refill my energies. However, Onis were getting moremon, and I was struggling against so many at the same time, especially because they were way stronger in both physical power and magical powerpared to Imps. I had to retreat a few steps while using long-ranged attacks and my Crimson Blood mes and my spear as my primary way of defense. Eleanora should be able to be summoned in roughly 3 more minutes, so I''ve been killing demons for seven, enough for everyone in the backlines to reach the frontlines some minutes ago.


    Naturally, they were surprised when they saw my abilities, but I had no time to exin to them, nor I was interested on it, they had many questions but the pressure of imminent death quickly told them that this wasn''t the ce nor the time for questions. I noticed Jack and Seth in the backlines leading the rest of the priests alongside Elizabeth and Erdrich. The children were no longer recklessly charging into the frontlines thankfully.


    Aside from that, Eric, Erika, and Chris were running to my side, each one mounting the Fenrir I left for them. They had received the aid of the priests and everyone else, so they had taken little damage, although I noticed a few bruises and burns in the hands and faces of the kids, while Erika had some damage in her doll body, but the make permeating it made it hard to see, her legs had a few cracks though, and so did her arms. This can be healed through the Nature Magic Tier 1 Spell named nt Healing, which heals nts. It works on Erika because her body is made out of wood, which is obviously a nt, even if dead, the wood can heal this way. Normal healing magic can also heal her, but nt Heal seems more efficient and less MP consuming.


    "ke!" Erika ran to my side, jumping off the Fenrir and quickly swinging her enormous Cursed de with a pirouette using her [Dance] Skill, as she spiraled through the air and fell like a meteor over a group of six Imps, crushing half of them and slicing in half the rest.


    BOOM!


    "You''re so far into the frontlines, we finally found you!" Erika began ying more Imps. She had gotten used to killing more than the boys, mostly for reasons I had exined earlier, such as her body, different from that of a human, and her stronger mental strength.


    "Erika¡­" I said with a mild smile, as I was covered in blood, she quickly stopped running to my side the moment she realized how I looked.


    "Uwah! Y-You''re all red! Is this all blood?" She asked. "You''ll take a bath after this is done, alright?"<sub> </sub>


    "Don''t worry, I can clean myself¡­ Blood Gathering."


    FLUOSH!


    I gathered all the blood covering my body into a sphere over my hand, and quickly refined it into Blood Ki, the liquid turned into red essence, flowing into the interior of my hand. My body continued to unleash streams of Mana and Blood Ki, as I unleashed spears of blood and blood mes against the faraway Imps, while keeping the Onis at bay.


    "A-Amazing¡­!" Erika said with her mouth wide open, while spinning and jumping around, as she took care of anybody trying to sneak into my back. She was a verypetent fighter, especially these dolls floating around me casting healing spells, I guess they noticed I had a lot of wounds over my body, which I''ve been cauterizing and ignoring afterwards.


    "ke, don''t think you can just take care of them all by yourself!" Chris said, as his fox floated around him, unleashing storms of tiny fireballs. They were small but when they dozens were fired at the same time, they were like machine guns. He had also learned an ability that allowed him to instantly set fire traps in the floor, perhaps by leveling. By merely touching the floor with his foot, he left a magic circle that when demons stepped over, exploded with a fiery ze, kind of likendmines. He was dishing out a lot of damage through this method, which I might copy in the future, as it seemed rather useful.


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!


    Hisndmines proved to eb rather amazing, and with Erika covering my back, I noticed Chris, who was behind her. He was using his bow to unleash explosive arrows infused with a lot of nature mana, when they hit the ground, they exploded into vines that entangled foes, making it easy for the three of us (Erika, Chris, and I) to pick the demons that were trapped within the vines.


    "T-The frontlines are too much for children like us, ke, let''s pull back!" Eric said timidly.


    "You can pull back, I will continue moving forward, there''s no way I am missing all of this!" I said with adrenaline pumping through my blood.


    -----

 Chapter 248 The Demon General Appears

    -----


    Minutes passed, we continued moving forward with the help of the healed knights and soldiers. However, my father had been sent back to the backlines and probably he was in the vige by now, healing with the rest of the surviving but heavily wounded soldiers. The demons had been mostly fend off in the backlines and there were little possibilities of them getting into the vige, perhaps smaller groups, but there were knights and soldiers stationed there, as I was looking at things through a Fenrir I snuck into the woods near the vige.


    Meanwhile, as we delved deep into the fourthyer of the forest, the Imps began to die in masse thanks to our coordinated attacks. The priests, with their stamina and mana back to full,bined their magic and conjured wide-range holy light spells, sting dozens of demons, including the strong Onis. Giant Demons were gone, there weren''t that many to begin with, all while the rest of the demons were being in to the point their numbers were now less than a hundred. We were managing after so many hardships, almost 40% of our troops were dead as well, the casualties were severe, but each death motivated the soldiers to move forward with greater might and will.


    I had never thought of humans as anything other than a weak race of short-lived creatures,cking the ability to see into the big picture, but as I experienced the life of a human, I''vee to understand andprehend them better, they''re an interesting race, perhaps slightly admirable. They persevere through many hardships despite being so weak, even with the spirits of this world¡­ I suppose I am rather okay with being a human myself. Although through this battle, I''ve also shown my darkest side, even my friends saw how I delighted myself bathing in blood, controlling it, and ughtering the demons. But it wasn''t as if pointing it out would help at all, and they simply concentrated into what they had to do right now.


    "W-We are somehow pulling through!" Celebrated Lukas with a smile, his entire armor scratched and damaged as he sighed in relief. He was right behind me with the rest of the army, he had decided to join the army instead of staying with the survivors in the vige. I never thought the young knight I helped back then would be an important leader of the soldiers and knights gathered here.


    "There''s probably less than a hundred¡­! I can''t believe how many blessings of the holy spirits I''ve received!" Said Gradus, the hunter I once apanied to hunt giant wild boars with the other hunters. He knew me rather well, and since he got here with Lukas that the two had been covering my back when Erika was too busy dealing with demons herself. The hunter, who had retired, still had it on him, especially after leveling up in here for a while.


    While those that perished won''t be able to return home, the survivors wille back home even stronger than ever due to the massive quantities of EXP we are earning, war is indeed a feast of EXP. In a world like this, I can imagine whole countries waging war against one another just to strengthen their troops through leveling up. Although I am not sure if humans can level up by killing one another. Cassandra was a special case as she was more of a demon than a human, but what about pure humans? ¡­Well, that question is better left for another case.


    As the demons were cornered and pushed back, Ellergest reached my side, while conjuring low-cost magic to y the annoying Imps. He was rather filled with vitality, so even old men can feel rejuvenated after leveling up, huh.


    "nk- I mean, ke! That''s enough, you don''t have to continue staying in the frontlines, it is too dangerous, you''ve been fighting too much, you''re a child!" The annoying old man, concerned about my health, tried to stop me.


    "What are you even talking about? The main dish has yet to arrive¡­" I said with a smirk, as my face, covered in wounds and blood seemed slightly terrifying to him.


    "Main dish? ¡­Your body is covered in wounds, boy, you''re going to die if you continue fighting!" He said angrily.


    "Stand aside." I said to him, without any other word, I walked forward. My followers by my side. I might be acting immature on his eyes, but for me, he was the immature one. But I cannot me him, he had no idea of who I truly was.


    ? "F-Foolish kid¡­ I will at least stand by your side to protect you!" He sighed, running behind me as Jack, Seth, and Elizabeth also walked to his side, the entire party of Priests was here.<sub> </sub>


    "That''s ke?! He''s covered by blood¡­!" Jack said.


    "He''s quite the barbarian." Sighed Seth.


    "ke¡­" Sighed Elizabeth.


    "To think he can keep fighting for so long¡­ I have yet to reach his realm at all¡­!" Said Erdrich.


    The priests were good at fighting, and their battle capabilities improved as they leveled up in the middle of the war and attained new Skills, getting used to ying the weaker Imps and crushing them like Ants, they immediately moved forward to y bigger prey, as thest Onis, mostly Red Onis and a few Blue Ones were struggling to maintain a formation. But I knew that this wasn''t the end yet, after all, and as I said earlier, the main dish had yet to arrive.


    Indeed, the main dish, him.


    TRUUUMMM¡­!


    A sudden presence made everyone felt a chill run down their spines, many of the soldiers, even the demons stopped fighting, looking behind into the being that had emerged. His mere presence generated an enormous Aura, his very soul had a shape.


    It was the Demon General, of course. A gray-skinned Oni with long golden horns, sharp red eyes, and ck scales growing over his body, alongiside a long, draconic tail. His entire body was wounded, he was missing an arm, surprisingly, and the rest of his body had burnt wounds, with one of his horns shattered. Great work, Eleanora.


    "You damn humans¡­!" He muttered in rage, gritting his teeth.


    "Finally, the star of the show is here." I proimed with arms wide open. "Come!"


    -----

 Chapter 249 The Frustration Of The Demon General

    -----


    Demon Generals were frighteningly strong Demons capable of attaining a great deal of strength, surpassing the lesser-rank demons, and finally stepping out of such a realm. Of course, demon realms were incredibly wide as there were many types and evolution branches. Demon Generals were not a race, but a ssification, they were special demons that had reached a third stage of evolution and attained the ability to control lesser demons within their domain. Sometimes demons they dominated through sheer strength, and other times demons they themselves created through breeding or other methods such as summoning rituals.


    This Gray Oni couldn''t be really said to be an Oni, but it slightly looked like one, however, if I could analyze him, he would look more like a wingless gargoyle. His skin was gray like stone and it was covered in several ck scales that were like incredibly hard stone or even metal. Their horns were made of ores they consumed and their scales also gained such properties. His horns were golden because he most likely ate a lot of hold, from somewhere. Although his wounds being barely healed from Eleanora''s fight said that hecked a great regeneration factor, perhaps he was an iplete evolution or maybe he wasn''t as talented, therefore he wasn''t able to attain regeneration abilities, which was often a must have for Demon General sses and above. Maybe this was also the reason why hecked wings?


    He was far away, looking down at us from over a pile of corpses, he seemed to be gritting his teeth, but he had yet to fight, was he doubting? Perhaps he was analyzing the battlefield. Maybe he wasn''t that confident into winning now that his army was being massacred, but it also felt like he was somehow forcing himself¡­


    "Ggrrr¡­ The entire army is already gone?!" He muttered, not many could notice as he was far away, but the people already had felt his presence, many were searching for him with their gaze.


    "Fight them?! But I¡­!"


    "No, I am not a coward¡­!"


    "Of course, I''ll show you that I can easily massacre these lowly humans¡­! Don''t look down on me!"


    The Demon General continued talking alone, as if some sort of voice was whispering to his mind. Was this the one controlling him or ordering him around? could they be part of the cult? Well, I have no time to search, he began to move.


    FLUOOOOSH!


    An instantter, his Soul Aura was unleashed, despite being wounded, the Soul Aura was still as strong as Eleanora had detected it to be back then. It was gray and ck, and seemed to have the Darkness element as its primary strength. The moment he jumped off the pile of corpses, an armpletely made out of his Soul Aura emerged, shaping as a new and monstrous shadow arm. Even wings made from his aura emerged behind him, showing how masterful his maniption of such a power was.


    "T-That demon¡­ Who is he?" Asked Ellergest. "I have never seen a demon this powerful before¡­ Only the Demons of the neighboring Kingdom could be this strong as those fools let them breed for too long but this is¡­ Could it be on pair?!"


    "No, it is not." I said. "But it might one day be like the ones invading that ce¡­ This is a Demon General, or let''s call him a pseudo-demon general, he seems to be weakened¡­" I said with a smirk.


    "He looks like he''s ready to fight." Said Seth.


    "Can we even handle such a monster¡­?" Asked Jack.


    "Jack you have chains, if you doubt, then how can we even fathom to win? Your chains might be essential." Said Ellergest.<sub> </sub>


    "I''ll also help from behind¡­!" Said Elizabeth. "I can gather the priets for a super strong attack¡­!"


    "Do that then." Said Ellergest. "Go with the other priests!"


    "Alright!" Elizabeth who was quite smart, ran to the backlines to gather with the priests to coordinate a powerful spell from a long distance, all while we watched the demon approach.


    I quickly told Chris and Eric to stand behind, while Erika recklessly stood right at my left side without moving away. I tried to tell her this was too dangerous but she didn''t listen. Well, if thingse to worse, I''ll have to kick her away to save her life. I don''t have to worry about the details, she has a tough body.


    The demon army all quickly began to shiver before their General, stepping back from his enormous and powerful presence, they were too afraid to even dare offend him. The figure of the demon was quite domineering to them, although for me, he was merely a wounded Gargoyle that probably got the help from the Cultists to devour a hundred souls.


    He stopped walking forward, only being around twenty meters away from us. Ellergest''s Golden Dragon emerged from within his Spirit Orb after having been resting for a while, his splendor seemed reassuring to the rest, Ellergest was a powerhouse, but he was old and slow, so he could actually die if he were alone fighting this demon. Luckily for him, I am here as well.


    "Are you the ones leading this demon army?" Asked the Gargoyle, he spoke the dialect of humans, shocking our army.


    "Y-You can speak thenguage of humans?!" Asked Ellergest. "Wait, are you a tamed demon?!"


    "Me? Tamed? I am merely cooperating with your kin for mutual benefits. But one of you sacrificed themselves to destroy the demon gate¡­ Do you know how long it took to set it up?! Those working with me are already furious I let that happen¡­ I will have to reap your souls to please them¡­ And of course, to feast on you damned monkeys¡­ You think that killing small fry suddenly makes you strong? Let me show you what true strength looks like!" The gargoyle said with a sadistic smile, his wings grew in size as he suddenly disappeared from where he was in an instant, moving at a speed that only my Vampiric Eyes could detect.


    FLASH!


    And he was moving directly towards me, pointing his hand into my chest.


    "I''ll start with you, little child!"


    CRASH!


    -----

 Chapter 250 The Battle Begins

    -----


    His movement was fast, nobody around me noticed when he moved, he simply disappeared from our sight and we were not even able to catch him- Well, I did. My Vampiric Physique not only allowed for greater natural regeneration, more strength, and other enhancements, but also allowed my eyes to be Vampiric Eyes, attaining the ability to see things that move at incredible speeds, or even other spectrums of light and colors normal people would never be able to see. With this ability, I was able to see the Demon General move at a lightning speed.


    And he was reaching up to me, pointing his hand into my chest. Did he wanted to pierce it and turn me into a donut, perhaps? How interesting, he''s a really bold and direct type of demon. Maybe he would make a good subordinate, but I am more interested into killing him for the Experience Points than making him a friend of mine, nothing personal, but I hate demons.


    "I''ll start with you, little child!"


    CRASH!


    The demon proimed those words as he immediately thought he was going to get through me, only to see that something incredibly hard blocked his fist, Gluttony moved on its own to protect me, I had already assumed it would do that. The weapon had developed a zealous and overly protective nature. The weapon moved on its own and blocked the demon''s fist before I could properly react, the fist was powerful though, easily leaving several cracks in the spear.


    "Huh? This weapon¡­ a Cursed Weapon- Ungh?!"


    The Demon immediately felt a phantasmal presence within the Spear attempting to devour him, Gluttony has the power to devour demonic energy and she or he really loves it. When a demon touches the weapon, it will immediately attempt to drain their lifeblood, the demonic energy that flows through their bodies. It was an amazing trait it had.


    The moment the demon pushed back, however; I followed him. Perhaps because I wanted to get closer to him tond a hit, or maybe because I wanted to distract him so he wouldn''t unleash a rampage into the rest of the group, who could all die if he hit them. The demon gritted his teeth in surprise I was actuallying at him, as he suddenly smiled and looked at me with his sharp red eyes.


    "You''re a reckless fool if you think you can evennd a hit on me!"


    "Blood Judgement."


    Of course, I didn''t thought I would evennd a hit on him while he''spletely boosted through the roof with his Soul Aura, so I decided to unleash a rain of Blood Spears through Blood Judgement. I had umted a good amount of Blood Ki anyways, so this was the perfect opportunity to use it against him, dragging this fight wouldn''t be good.


    "Huh?! Blood Ki Projectiles?!"


    The gargoyle attempted to evade them with his frightening speed, but he wasn''t able to evade dozens of attacks, especially because they were tracking him from behind. When he moved to the left and evaded thoseing from the right, dozens going to the left hit him all at once, and when he moved above, to evade those below, the ones from above and below hit him from both sides! Of course, his body was able to withstand the hits as he was incredibly durable, he not only had a stone-like skin but his scales were metallic, granting even more defense against both physical and magical damage.


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!


    "A-Are you a damn Vampire or something?!" Asked the demon in shock, but I ignored him, I had no time to start a conversation with someone that I nned to kill. I ran towards him through the abuse of Acrobatics and Shadow Sneak, reaching his back before he could realize, and unleashing a storm of piercing spear attacks.<sub> </sub>


    "Blood Spear Technique: Blood Dragon!"


    I swung my spear once with all my force, infusing dozens of points of MP andrge quantities of Blood Ki, unleashing a powerful attack. Gluttony''s entire body was covered in Blood Aura, shaping itself into the giant maws of a dragon made of blood. The dragon engulfed the demon and exploded, hitting him. Suddenly, several piercing wounds appeared over his entire body, each fang was like the piercing blow of this spear.


    "W-What the¡­?!"


    CLAAAASH!


    The Demon seemed tock an incredible amount of experience inbat, as he was getting surprised with each of my attacks. Or was that, or he merely never expected me to be this strong. Nheless, he seemed to be alright, gasping for air, he looked at me, quickly deciding that I was enough of a threat to take me on.


    "You''re dead." He said with a piercing re, as his Darkness began to gather within his Soul Aura, shaping into countless of floating swords, and then firing them at me. "Phantom Sword Storm!"


    FLASH! FLASH! FLASH! FLASH!


    I couldn''t help but smile, the possibility of sessfully evading them all was near impossible, and each sword could blow a piece of my body if they hit¡­! Now this was a fitting challenge.


    "Gluttony, don''t disappoint me now!" Iughed, swinging my spear like a crazed man, as I began to intercept each projectile, explosions of darkness spread out ck fog, making things only worse to my sight, but thanks to Vampiric Eyes, I was able to nce through the fog and intercept the projectiles. One of them, unluckily, reached my left shoulder.


    BOOOM!!!


    Only for my Crimson Blood mes to protect me, as I had conjured them just now. The protective barrier of fire was always a good option if I wanted to block more attacks or projectiles I couldn''t intercept in time with my spear or other attacks.


    "You''re incredible¡­ for being so young, you''re even resisting one of my strongest spells?! You''re too dangerous to be left alive! I must kill you at all costs before you be too big of a problem!" Proimed the demon, emerging behind me in an instant as his fists fell over my body like falling meteors.


    CLASH! CLASH! CLASH! CLASH!


    -----

 Chapter 251 Desperate Battle

    -----


    Gluttony moved like the hands of a clock to block he hits from the demon. The weapon''s endurance having been enhanced with arge quantity of demonic energy, mana, and blood ki I have infused into it since the beginning of the battle. The blows were strong despite Gluttony absorbing the demon''s attacks through the weapon''s ability to absorb demonic energy. Each hit was some demonic energy absorbed, but the damage of each hit was too much, provoking the spear to crack more and more, until it split in two.


    CRAAAASH!


    I fell down into the floor due to sustaining such an immense pressure, I had survived an attack that would had surely killed me, but at least three ribs were broken, luckily none had pierced a vital organ, but the pain was severe. Meanwhile, Gluttony ended being split in two, I had not let go of my weapon, so each piece was in my hands.


    The demon didn''t ran to my side immediately, gasping for air. Everyone else in the battlefield was far away, their attacks wouldn''t easily reach us, the priests were preparing a special attack, Eric and Chris were too afraid to get closer (I can''t me them), and Erika was running here, but she was too slow topare with the demon''s speed, always ending up not being able to catch up with us.


    "Hahh¡­ My energy was drained?" The Demon sighed. The energy drain was slightly exhausting, but his demonic energy recovered very quickly, so he was slowly getting better, although gasping for air was something he was doing right now. "That strange weapon¡­ It is not a normal Cursed Weapon at all¡­"


    He slowly walked towards me, looking at my defeated body in the floor, he noticed the expression I was making, one filled with¡­ no emotions other than excitement.


    "Smiling until the end?" He asked with a sickened re.


    "You''re really an idiot." Iughed.


    "Wha¡­?"


    FLAAASH!


    And from within his shadows, the figure of a woman emerged. It was nobody else than her, my spirit! It has been over thirty minutes since her Astral Projection died, she could had been summoned for a long while, but I''ve been waiting for this moment all this time, a moment where he would lower his guard, because Eleanora''s strengthid innding hits when foes least expected it through [Shadow Sneak], [Assassination], [Illusion], and [Stealth] Skills!


    Eleanora''s spear, Envy, quickly pierced through the demon''s chest, surprising him. She had attempted to hit his head but she noticed arge concentration of Soul Aura there, his aura had moved by itself and protected his vital point. Eleanora was not nitpicky so she immediately pointed her attack into his chest, piercing through his Demonic Core and damaging it by leaving arge wound on it!


    CRAAAASH!


    "GRAAAH¡­!"


    The Demon looked at Eleanora as she smiled, her attacks continuously pushed him away, as an enormous ray of Blood Ki that I transferred to her was unleashed from her free hand, blowing the demon several meters away.


    BOOOM!!!


    "Asmodeus!" She cried, saying my old name, she reached to me. She didn''t had to worry though, I was fine, I quickly stood up, ignoring the pain of the three ribs broke, tough I quickly realized my left leg was also dislocated, but nothing that a kick smack couldn''t fix.


    CRACK!<sub> </sub>


    "I am fine, don''t worry." I said, moving my leg around to check if it was alright. "I was merely faking being weakened to lower his guard, you''vended a good hit, with his Demon Core cracked, the Demonic Energy he can use is limited. He is no longer as strong as before." A smile surged on my lips as Eleanora''s eyes opened wide in surprise.


    "More importantly¡­" I said, as the demon that was hit by Eleanora with everything she had quickly began to stand up. Although the fluctuations of demonic energy rushing through his body were now disrupted and had decreased by almost 90% of what they originally were, his soul was still powerful, and so was his Soul Aura, the expression of his soul, which quickly began to take shape into an enormous giant made of phantasmal gray and dark energies¡­


    "You¡­ It''s you! The one that¡­ ruined everything¡­! Cough¡­!" The Demon coughed, vomiting a mouthful of blood, as several spheres of darkness emerged around him, rotating rapidly. "DIE!"


    He immediately directed all the spheres of darkness towards us, as Eleanora and I quickly decided to block them, as we were not fast enough to evade them all.


    FLASH!


    However, a brightness closer to the brightness of the sun itself suddenly emerged before us, as an enormous and glorious Dragon appeared. It took him long enough to catch up, but now that the demon was weakened, it should be possible to follow him around!


    "GROOOAARRR!!!"


    The mere roar of this mighty dragon reverberated across the surroundings, as a sh of light was unleashed, spreading out like a shockwave that quickly consumed the darkness of the demon''s magic. The gargoyle looked at us with disbelief, filled with rage as the powerful dragon from Ellergest was exuding a gigantic aura of light.


    "ke¡­ I''ve finally caught up with you¡­ Howe you can fight this demon all by yourself?!" Ellergest asked in shock and disbelief, as his magic suddenly hit me like a bath of light, my ribs slowly went back to their original ce, and I felt slightly more revitalized. Having such apetent mage at my side was always useful, I suppose.


    "I guess you''re useful in some things¡­" I said.


    "Eh?! Was I ever useless to you?!" Asked Ellergest in disbelief.


    "RAAAAH!"


    The Demon suddenly lost his patience, with blood and wounds, his aura shaped into a monstrous specter, covering his body like a suit of armor, and then, through the enhancement acquired with it, he rushed to our side at a shing speed.


    CRAAAASH!


    Ellergest'' dragon intercepted him, as his scales, hard enough to resist his blows, served as a good shield. His light gathered into several rays of light, all hitting the demon, too fast for him to properly evade.


    FLASH! FLASH! FLASH! FLASH!


    -----

 Chapter 256 The Cult Of Beelzebub

    -----


    Within arge and dark hall, a group of people covered in ck robes looked into a mirror reflecting what had urred just some minutes ago within the Forest surrounding the vige where ke lived. Before their eyes were all the hard work of over ten yearsid waste, as hundreds of demon corpses decorated thendscape. The Demon Settlement waspletely and utterly sted into smithereens by the explosion caused when the Artificial Demon Gate was destroyed, and now there was nothing left at all, not even the possibility for demons toe back through said Gate.


    The figures within this dark hall remained in silence, as their faces showed grim expressions. What had happened was never within their expectations. Who would had believed that a mere army of no more than 150 men would had managed to destroy an army with over 500 Demons? As they analyzed the battlefield, however, they quickly realized that the soldiers alone would had never been able to win.


    This was a cooperative work that took many powerful priests, vigers that knew the terrain more than anybody, and incredibly talented individuals capable of ying hundreds by themselves. Even their Demon General, whom they believed would had been able to clean things up at the end was ultimately defeated by incredibly talented children.


    Yes, the most humiliating thing was that the ones that inflicted the most damage aside from the Head Priest to the Demon General were a bunch of children and their spirits. The sight was utterly ridiculous, making the figures grimace what had happened while growing increasingly unrestful. What should they do now that things hade to this? Of course, they had many other options and ns, but this n which had been worked for over ten years getting destroyed in a single day was utterly terrible for their morale.


    "T-The Artificial Gate we made is destroyed so easily¡­"


    "The Demons we brought and raised to invade this fiefdom¡­"


    "The glorious demons we raised¡­!"


    "¡­"


    Amongst the figures, a taller one remained in silence as the others seemed to despair. It quickly spoke with a cold tone of voice.


    "Do not falter, in the great scheme of things, this doesn''t matter as much. This entire ce was merely a small vige. Although our ultimate n was to take over the fiefdom with these demons just as our lords have guided us to do, this only dys the inevitable! The Great Archdemon Beelzebub shall one day be brought to this world, and he shall bring the ultimate end!"


    "The ultimate end¡­!"


    "Ah, how glorious it would be to see a Great Archdemon!"


    "The other branches of our organization are all working hard for this same goal. Our Lords are guiding us, do not falter! We can continue doing this, we shall keep persevering¡­ As long as there are a few of us, we can rebuild everything. With the power of the demons by our side¡­ We shallplete our goal."


    The figures seemingly raised their morale by the words of their leader. Despite having their ns of taking over the fiefdom in the next monthspletely destroyed, as long as they remained alive, they would simply begin to work in something once more.


    ¡­


    As the meeting between these people ended, the leader of the branch of this organization moved towards his secret chambers, sitting over his chair, and contacting the Lords through the power of a special magical artifact in the shape of a red crystal ball. As he infused both Demonic Energy and Mana into it, the ball glowed bright red, and several shadows suddenly answered his call.


    "Do you have any picture of how the child looks like?"


    ? A terrifying and lugubrious voice spoke through the crystal ball, as he man nodded rapidly.


    "Y-Yes, my Lord." With a wave of his hand, red and purple essence flew from his head into the crystal ball, infusing his memories and images stored inside of his mind into the magical artifact.<sub> </sub>


    "I see¡­ He seems powerful and brilliant, and so very talented¡­ Such a promising future..."


    "Is this the one that took away the Cambion from us?"


    "Yes, he is the one. A mysterious child indeed. So much power, ability, and potential. It feels like he''s not really a child."


    "He was seen developing the ability to fuse with his spirit at this early age¡­"


    "Is this how he ultimately defeated the Demon General? Amusing."


    "He received the help of various others¡­"


    "What shall we do with this?"


    "Hmmm¡­ For the moment. Let''s observe. You, prepare things until then. Materials for another Artificial Demon Gate will be delivered soon, alongiside some new items. Make sure to not stand out, the entire issue with Cassandra was because she stood out too much¡­ That Cambion is a precious specimen, we shall procure him on its due time. But for now, let''s observe and prepare."


    "Yes, my lord."


    As the Lords cut off the connection with their servant''s magic artifact, they remained in silence within their dark temple, as they directed their gazes towards an enormous floating spherical-shaped red crystal. Many would thing it was an ordinary ruby of insane size, but those in this ce quickly noticed it wasn''t something so simple.


    It emanated a bizarrely strong aura of pure Mana and Demonic Energy essence, thebination of both elements so magistral that it created changes within its environment. This rich energy was being constantly absorbed by these figures, nourishing their strength and powers.


    "A Demon Core such as this is truly a wonderful item¡­ Our power is being nourished at a rapid pace."


    "Indeed¡­ The Demon Towers are truly filled with treasures beyond ourprehension."


    "Therger organizations that arepeting with us seem to have been seizing more floors. We cannot lose¡­"


    "Our pact with Lord Beelzebub is strong, as long as we can summon his Avatar, we''ll have our wins secured. But the path towards such a goal is arduous¡­"


    "Do not falter, fellow brothers¡­"


    Within the floating core, a faint heartbeat could be heard.


    -----

 Chapter 257 The End Of A Battle

    -----


    (ke POV)


    Things ended rather well at the end. When I was finally healed through the constant leveling, I stood up and walked back with everyone. Although some were very happy and celebrated our victory, there were many others mourning the dead. This wasn''t the ce nor the moment to celebrate yet. Despite having won, the loses of many lives were impactful for the people. I cannot really say if I feel impacted or not. I never knew any of those that died, and I only protected those I knew. But that doesn''t mean I cannot respect the dead, especially those honorable souls that gave their lives for this battle protecting their families.


    Humans¡­ I always thought they were a race of pathetic weaklings, and perhaps they still are. But nevertheless, I have grown to appreciate their reckless courage and bravery, and the strong bonds that they make with others. Despite having such fleeting lives, they seem to harbor strong emotions and because of such short lives, they value each second. Perhaps now that I am a human, I can know and understand this better. Especially because I''ve never felt this alive before. As I stood in silence in front of the battlefield, covered in blood and scars, I couldn''t help but find the cold wind of the afternoon quite soothing.


    We have won a war after many sacrifices. The least I could do was to stay in silence and observe the battlefield, and think about the dead, even if I had never met them, even if I didn''t had any rtionship with them. Honoring the fallen is not something to be ashamed of, it is something that must be done. Even in my previous life, as I lost many of those that served me, I always mourned their deaths and remained in silence for several days, thinking about them. Because I know that as long as they remain within my mind and my heart, they will never truly die.


    Do i sound weak by thinking in such things? Perhaps. But to me, it is not bad. It has helped me to see things through different perspectives. In the positions where my previous life always found himself, I never truly realized how things were for the rest, how other people truly experienced life. It is¡­ quite impactful. I''ve sometimes forgotten that I am also now a frail human boy.


    Despite my victory and how strong I am, I still feel weak and small, so smallpared to the greatness I''ve seen in my previous life. A near-endless universe. I also had humble beginnings in my previous life, but they were harsh and without many emotions, fights after fights, with no aftertaste other than blood in my mouth. This really made me think about many things, but before anything else, I wanted to check on Eleanora. After our fusion ended, she went immediately back to my Spirit Orb.


    "Eleanora, are you alright?"


    "Ah! Yes, I am alright. After the fusion I was weakened so I came back to the Spirit Orb to recover, my lord."


    "I''ve told you to call me by my new name."


    "Oh right¡­ I am alright, ke. You don''t have to worry."


    "Hmm. Did you leveled up?"<sub> </sub>


    "I did. I am Level 10 right now. My Status as a Spirit has also risen I believe. But now I''ve hit a wall¡­ Is there a way to break over Level 10?"


    "Yes, I have unlocked something new. We shall look upon itter."


    "Very well¡­"


    As I remained in silence for a few moments, I saw the survivors quickly carrying the corpses of the fallen soldiers. Without doubting for a second, I decided to join them. I called upon my Fenrir and Orcus and began to carry the bodies wrapped in cloth. The priests were all praying to the Holy Spirits, while I saw a few priests that had also ended dying in this battle, which were being mourned heavily. Most of the priests that participated here knew one another for years, the loss of their friends must be impactful and painful.


    Despite this being a victory, it came with a lot of bitterness. Although many feel like celebrating, they also feel like its not right to celebrate in front of all these bodies, it would be disrespectful, perhaps. Looking at the Priests, Jake had barely made it. He was the most wounded of those that survived, and if it wasn''t because I helped him with Healing Techniques that used Ki while also cleansing the demonic energy inside of his wounds, he would be dead by now.


    After the war and the death of the Demon General, the remaining demons, which were a few dozen ran away immediately. I caught a few with my Beast Spirits, but they were faster and the entire army was tired, we didn''t chased them down. I wasn''t able to chase them down as I had to attend everything here. While I helped everyone carry the corpses of the fallen, I used [First Aid] and a wide arrange of Tier 1 Healing Spellsbined with Ki to heal the wounded, there were many that were still hanging on life with lethal wounds as well.


    Aside from the proficiency I can gain by healing in masse, there is also something else behind my actions. I simply respected these soldiers, they came to fight a near impossible war and somehow won, I couldn''t help but respect them. Out of respect and because I could, I began to heal them with the aid of the other priests. Of course, I am also going to be paid for my servicester by Ellergest, so it is a win-win for me.


    "ke, you''re amazing, after fighting so much you''re still pumping with energy¡­!" Said Elizabeth. "A-And that fight was incredible! Did you fuse with your spirit?!"


    "He is surely unique. I had never seen a Rank 1 Spirit Master fuse with their spirit before. Isn''t that a technique that can only be developed after Rank 3 because Spiritsck enough spiritual essence to merge before that Rank?" Wondered Seth while readjusting his sses.


    These two were pestering me a lot while I was working¡­


    -----

 Chapter 259 A Celebration Feast

    -----


    After half an hour of healing and moving the bodies back to the vige, the priests gathered together in front of the bodies, led by Ellergest, they all began to pray to the Holy Spirits. Glowing lights began to descend from the sky and stared to cover the bodies of the fallen. With my Demon Eyes, I was able to see the souls of the fallen, some had stayed lingering within their corpses, but quickly felt the embracing light, weakening and slowly flying away.


    I see, this was a method to not let the corpses be Undead, isn''t it? So there are Undead in this world, huh? I kind of want to fight some now. If I could find Undead Monsters, I would use their Spirit Orbs and absorb them through Gluttony to create Spirits of them to summon in masse. Ah, now that''s interesting.


    Nheless, thinking about these things was not necessary, it was time to celebrate. I couldn''t deny it, this human body gets hungry very quickly after using a lot of Mana and other energies, so I am absurdly hungry. I would easily jus begin eating the demon''s meat, but it needs to first be purified and cleansed, and such a process is too slow to eat immediately.


    Because of that, I decided to share from my own storage, where I still had the frozen meat of the Wild Boar I killed when I rescued Lukas. I also have a lot of already purified demon meat which I had prepared for any cooking asion, so I brought everything with the help of Erika, Chris, and Eric. I wanted to mostly roast and grill it all in skewers.


    My mother and my grandmother insisted oning as well after knowing everything concluded, they wanted to see my father too. My mother had yet to know I participated in the war, but she''ll probably know in this meeting. I have to steel myself for her lecturing, after all, her almost eight-year-old child shouldn''t be involved in such arge-scale war at all. Having a family is warm andforting most of the time, but issues such as these makes it problematic sometimes.


    When we arrived at the church''s backyard, the bodies were quickly moved inside arge storage room that was purified and cleansed beforehand. Ellergest said that they''ll be preserved in there until they were buried in their graves.


    For the moment, it was finally allowed to celebrate our victory. When everybody saw therge amount of meat and other food I brought from my own personal storage, the soldiers seemed shocked. The church had already begun cooking some stew and bone soup, but theycked a lot of food to fill people''s stomachspletely.


    "Uuuoooh! So much meat!"


    "I-Is this Giant Wild Boar Meat?!"


    "A-Amazing¡­ But isn''t this too expensive?!"


    ? "Is this okay?"


    "Yes, this is all my own meat which I''ve hunted and preserved through magic. I have decided to share it with everyone." I said with a slight smile. The soldiers felt happy that they would be able to eat so much meat, good meat was overly expensive, especially that of a rare specimen such as the Wild Boars. Poor soldiers like them could only hope to eat such a quality of meat.<sub> </sub>


    As they celebrated, I quickly began to prepare things, my mother and my grandmother also wanted to join and cook with us. Everything was rather harmonious. Ellergest took this opportunity to raise the morale with a speech to the soldiers.


    "It is all thanks to you that we have won against the demons. The sacrifice of the fallen will not be forgotten, and tonight we shall celebrate our victory alongside the souls of our fallenrades. Let''s make sure to enjoy ourselves for all those that cannot do so right now, so we can tell them that everything is alright now, and that their lives were not in vain!"


    Ellergest was surprisingly good with his speeches, the people cheered immediately after, and they quickly began to celebrate. I noticedrge barrels with beer being brought by the knights as a gift to all the soldiers, and the party finally started when everybody began to drink alcohol.


    One of the things that I often enjoyed even as a Vampire aside from blood was alcohol, but now that I am a child, I would be seen as weird if I ever drank beer, especially because I am not even a teenager yet. Anyways, we distributed the food for a while, after that, I finally decided to sit down in front of an empty table to enjoy myself some meat, stew, soup, and fruit juice. However, a swarm of people I knew ran to my side, sitting around.


    My mother brought a giant piece of roasted meat to cut down into slices alongside arge pot with vegetable sd, while my grandmother helped her. Both of their spirits also brought my father, wounded as he was, he really wanted to congratte everyone (especially me) for the big victory. He seemed to be recovering quickly from his exhaustion thanks to the Ki that flows through his body. His meeting with my mother was quite emotional, my mother even began to cry a lot. I had never seen her this way before, it made me feel like my father was a reckless idiot for worrying her so much¡­ but then I realized I was also quite reckless.


    "Well, at the end ke rescued me. I cannot believe how strong he has grown¡­ I am now sure he''s blessed by the Holy Spirits more than anybody!" My father said while hugging me and petting my head. My mother immediately reacted with shock.


    "W-Whaaat?! ke! Y-You¡­ Don''t tell me that you went to war?!" My mother screamed back at me, her concern quickly turning into the fury of a concerned mother against her reckless son.


    "Mother, I can exin it-"


    "You''re so irresponsible! What if you died?! I know that you saved your father but still! Everything is fine and nice now but I will have to reprimand you more tomorrow, alright? But for now, well, let''s celebrate. I don''t really want to stress myself more¡­"


    "Oh¡­ Very well."


    My mother was surprisingly flexible about it¡­ Although I can guess she will reprimand me to her heart''s content tomorrow.


    -----

 Chapter 260 A Great Meeting

    -----


    Although my mother decided to dy the lecturing for tomorrow, there were other things I had to do. Such as exining my "two lives" as Seth said. I wouldn''t consider them two lives, more like simply protecting my family by pretending to be someone else. There wasn''t anything wrong with that, but now that things came to this where both met with one another, there''s no point in keeping it a secret any longer. I dislike any sort of drama, so I am willing to exin things as I enjoy my food.


    Especially now that the priests joined the banket in therge table with everybody else. To name a few, all of my family was here, even my grandmother, then there was Erika, Chris, Eric, Elizabeth, Erdrich, Seth, Ellergest, Lukas, and even the Hunter I once went to hunt a Wild Giant Boar with, Gradus, who was a good friend with my father. Erika and Elizabeth ended sitting at my left and right respectively, without leaving me alone for a single second.


    Girls are overly clingy as always, I wish the boys would had sat at my side, or my parents, but they didn''t allowed me to change seats. I guess I''ll have to ept my fate for the moment. Nheless, now that everyone was here, questions quickly began to shower over me, starting from the oldest here, Ellergest, the most curious about who I truly was, and my family. He seemed to have the desire to form a rtionship with my parents and probably get a better hold of myself too. I had even guessed he could even ask them to be my tutor so he could gain jurisdiction over me.


    Despite being a good person, this old man was also cunning and scheming. He hasn''t lived so long without learning one thing or two in his life. If he can get ahold of myself he would be able to control me and use my strength for the priests and the church''s benefit. I trust my parents though, so I am hoping they won''t agree with him so easily. And at the end, I still have thest word in these matters, as I am the owner of my own life.


    "I am d to be able to finally meet with nk- I mean, ke''s parents! I know about Joan being a great warrior, but this is my first time meeting you, Mary, you seem pregnant. It seems that the little ke is about to be an older brother, hohoho!" Ellergestughed cheerily, everyone seemed okay with him intruding with my family.


    "This is also our first time meeting you in person like this, Head Priest." Said my mother humbly. "I apologize if my child has put you in any hard situation or if he has stressed you out, he''s a proactive child¡­ I don''t know what to do with him sometimes! Every single day he goes to the backyard and spends the next three hours dong intensive exercise,ter he sits down for another three hours meditating and manipting mana constantly, and the next hours after breakfast he throws stones into the air and conjures all sorts of magic, all for it to "earn proficiency" as he says!"


    "Mother, do you have to tell him everything?" I sighed. I felt disappointed my mother would open her mouth about such things. I always thought she didn''t mind them. I guess I was terribly wrong.


    "I see! So he''s really a rascal! Isn''t he?" Laughed Ellergest. "Don''t worry about it, he hasn''t given me any problems, he''s a bit rough around the edges though but he''s a good person deep inside, always helping others. Although a tad bit greedy, but it is understandable seeing that he wants to save money so you all can move to the fiefdom''s capital." Ellergest smiled while winking back at me. Wait, was he trying to not say the things I made him stress about? He didn''t even mentioned all the times I call him "old man"¡­ This is odd. Is he nning something?<sub> </sub>


    "I already heard from the kids that he uses his magic to heal people, so wonderful! I never thought my little boy would be such an amazing priest apprentice. It would be honestly ideal if you could recruit him into the church, I heard you get paid well, right?" My mother, who was actually just as greedy as I am, began to think that I should be a priest. Indeed, this was the worst timeline possible.


    "Oh yes, I have offered him the job multiple times, but he always refuses¡­" Sighed Ellergest. "I don''t know if he understands that the job of being a priest conveys more than just being religious!"


    "I am not bing a priest." I said firmly. The old man and my mother looked at me with bright eyes¡­ menacingly.


    "Hahaha! Sorry Head Priest, but my son is built as a warrior! He always told me he wants to be either an Adventurer or a Hunter, or both. He is not into the whole religious and holy stuff that priests do. And I fully support him! I''ll grind each thing I know into his little head before he reaches his teenager years." Said my father, quickly supporting my decisions. I knew I could count on you, father.


    "Eeeeh?! But if he bes a priest he''ll have his future pretty much secured, dear! Are you thinking straight? Maybe the wounds made you a bit stupid?" Wondered my mother, ring at my father rather sadistically. Yes, this was my mother''s truest self. She was pushy and often took decisions over my father, who, despite being so strong, has a weakness for her.


    "B-But he really wants that! It''s his dream, Mary! You can''t simply tell your son to forget his dreams and do as you say, right? We have to support him, especially if he got the talent for it! My son will be someone very important; I can already tell¡­ If we don''t let him grow stronger and develop his true talent forbat, I will never be able to forgive myself." My father said.


    -----

 Chapter 262 New Opportunities 1

    -----


    "Moving to the capital? Well yeah, ke is nning to do it and bring us with him." Said Eric. "We already talked this before, we are all saving money ourselves."


    "Eh?! Really?" Asked Ellergest. "I suppose that''s incredible¡­ You kids are way more organized!"


    "Yeah, simply dreaming about bing something we want won''t do, we have to work hard each day to slowly reach that goal, Head Priest!" Said Chris.


    "ke taught us how to save money, and he also help us at earning it!" Said Erika.


    "Well¡­ Yeah." I sighed.


    I''ve mostly taught them to hunt animals and sell the materials. Animals unlike monsters or demons give little EXP to none, but their meat and pelt can be sold for a decent pricing. I''ve also let the three of them work as healers for the clients I have around the entire vige, doing healing for any payment the people could give to them. Even Chris who is the worst healer can help an injured grandma. They also use special spells to enhance the soil and the growing crops of other families, receiving a big of their harvest and sometimes even money from them.


    They don''t have near as enough money as I do, but they''re slowly building a capital. I know that Erika''s father has a small fortune saved up, and Eric''s family can easily afford living in the capital by now based in how much money they have earned and saved working as apothecaries. The only one I am worried about is Chris, whose parents are as poor as mine if not poorer. He will begin to proactively hunt bigger game to earn more money though. His father should be healed by now so he will apany him.


    "You kids are pretty well grounded despite talking so much about your dreams, I am impressed." Seth said with a smile.


    "Well, of course. I won''t allow these three to simply spout nonsense without doing anything themselves. One of the biggest thing that people like us at the bottom must do is work hard, harder than anybody. Each day we must work to grow stronger and earn money, without resting! I''ve engrained this deep inside of their skulls so they know very well what to do. They''re not mere children, they''re serious about what they said. And for us, bing an adventurer is not a dream, it is a goal we are slowly approaching."


    My words left everybody speechless for a bit. Perhaps I overdid myself speaking like an adult, but now everyone was quite used to how I am. Nheless, it slightly left a long-standing impression, something I actually dislike doing. I better not talk so big for the uing future.


    "W-Well, you''re certainly well taught by your family." Sighed Ellergest. "Nheless, I would like to still extend my hand and help you kids¡­ I have a big proposal for all of you, which I''ve been thinking for a while."


    "Proposal?" I wondered.<sub> </sub>


    "Now that I''ve seen how talented are your friends, I might as well include them¡­ Yeah, you know that in the capital there are several Guilds, right?" Asked Ellergest.


    "Yes, there is the Adventurer Guild, but there is also the Magician''s Guild, the Chef Guild, the Merchant Guild, and there is a small Mercenary Guild too." I said while nodding.


    "Well, all these Guilds are mostly owned by nobility at this point, even the most humble of owners was given a nobility title they bought using their money and investments." Said Ellergest. "Long time ago, they decided that nourishing the children''s talents was something that needed to be prioritized, and each Guild opened a School of their branches, teaching children that wanted to be one day such professions."


    "Ooh! So there''s a Magician''s School?" Wondered Erika.


    "Yes, but aside from these schools, there is an even more prestigious ce, the ce where only incredibly talented youth or nobility attends, a ce founded by a group of nobles that wanted their children to be taught privately, it is named the Academy Westford, and it not teaches children magic, but it also teaches them fighting techniques that suits their style and bodies, basic knowledge, history, mathematics, alchemy, magic theory, and even dungeon exploration and monster biology!" Ellergest said. "I had already nned bringing Elizabeth and Erdrich here, but I want you four to join as well, ke and your friends!"


    "Eeeeeeh?!"


    Erika, Eric, and Chris reacted in shock, being invited to an academy where only nobility or incredibly talentedmoners went was something that seemed like one in a million chance to happen. I had guessed he would invite us to some sort of school, but I never thought the most prestigious academy of them all. The best thing is that these academies, which I''ve already studied before, seem to not be simple and stupid schools with stupid children bullying one another. It is a prestigious ce where they teach several things unique to this world which I''ve been slowly discovering.


    Things such as the study of spirits, their origins, how to create new spirits through special spirit creation rituals, how to enhance and evolve spirits, how to learn Spirit Techniques, and all of that. There is even more too, such as allowing groups of students to explore small dungeons owned by the academy and nobles. Such dungeons which I''ve hoped to explore for so long, filled with monsters and EXP! Since the moment I knew that the dungeons were being owned by nobles that didn''t allowed anybody to enter due to its precious resources, I felt frustrated.


    But now, this might be the opportunity to grow stronger by exploring them, if I be a student of this academy, I will be able to explore them, gain more EXP, and also collect more Spirit Orbs of various types and qualities. Although I would absolutely hate to be surrounded by annoying children, I am willing to bear with it if I can gain such wonderful benefits.


    "And that''s not all, after passing theplete education, you can directly receive Adventurer Licenses, Merchant Licenses, and more directly, without the hassle!"


    That sold it for me.


    -----

 Chapter 263 New Opportunities 2

    -----


    The moment Ellergest offered us the opportunity to go to such a prestigious academy, the children were left speechless. Not only my childhood friends, but also Erdrich and Elizabeth who seemingly had no idea this was happening at all. I remained calm but I couldn''t help but feel excited about such an opportunity, without even doubting it any second after I had meticulously thought about it beforehand, I epted the offer.


    "W-What should we do?" Asked Erika nervously. "I don''t really know if we got the talent to be in such a prestigious ce to begin with!"


    "Y-Yeah, I am going to get bullied because I am a serf¡­" Said Chris.


    "This is a great opportunity but¡­" Muttered Eric.


    "We ept the offer." I said stoically, without waiting for their response. There''s no way I am going to let them reject such an offer and an opportunity. There''s no point in worrying about bullies or something, I doubt there will be any if the school isposed of mostly well-behaved and taught noble children.


    "Huh?! you decided it so fast¡­!" Said Erika.


    "A-Are you sure though?!" Cried Chris.


    "Ugh¡­ No way¡­" Sighed Eric.


    "Don''t be so cowardly! There''s no point in worrying about the details." I said while waving my hand. The three wanted to argue with me, but knew I would easily beat them if ites to a battle of words.


    "Oho, you quickly went for the conclusion immediately, didn''t you, ke?" Asked Ellergest while caressing his beard, he knew very well what I wanted and he nodded while realizing it.


    "Yes, if we can go there and skip the annoyance of getting those licenses, the better. How long does it takes?" I wondered.


    "The academy is prestigious but it doesn''t allow anybody below 10 years of age, so you''ll have to wait until then. There are four years that you must attend it, but the years can be shortened based in academic sess, if you''re outstanding and always have good grades, you can skip years sometimes." Said Ellergest.


    "Hm¡­ Interesting. Tell me more about what they will do each year." I said as if I was interrogating him.


    "R-Rather interested, aren''t you?" Laughed Ellergest. "The first year is mostly spent studying and doing written exams, but there will always be field tests and missions, and you can even recruit a member of the adventurer guild or the other guilds you''re interested to guide you through special quests to earn more points in the academy. The second year is about studying spirits andbat, there are many tests that will include trips to the dungeons and also fights between students to showcase their talents. Lastly, third and fourth year are mostly spent on dungeons and the field you want to specialize, so it is not boring at all if you were wondering."


    "Seems bearable." I said while rubbing my chin.


    I dislike the idea of attending ssrooms, it all seems stupid, but if I can bear with it for the first year, the next years can be spent doing the things I am interested in the most. And even then, the first year will also include doing quests for the adventurer guild and more, so I can get used to these things. And of course, the ultimate price of licenses without any hassle are also very tentative.<sub> </sub>


    "Ten years, huh? So in a bit over two years from now for the four of us." I said.


    "Elizabeth is also around your age, and Erdrich too, so you all can get into the academy together, children." Said Ellergest.


    "Hm, so this was your n all along, Head Priest." Sighed Seth. "Do you want to make the nobles angered by bringing such a big group of serfs into their prestigious academy?"


    "Ohohoho! What are you talking about? This is all for their benefit!" Laughed Ellergest.


    It seems the old man had underhanded motives now that I inspected things better. Maybe he wants to show the elitist nobles that there are also many talents within the serf andmoners? Perhaps this could all be an borate n to make the nobles invest more into their citizens instead of hoarding all the resources for themselves. Or I am merely imagining things, whatever the case, Ellergest was up to something.


    "Are you not putting Jack in there then?" Asked Seth.


    "He''s already grown up and past 14, it would be weird to put him there. Even more, as he''s part of the church, it might get harder. He''s already registered as an apprentice priest, while Elizabeth and Erdrich aren''t." Sighed Ellergest. "It''s better to get them there before they register, if they ever want to."


    "I-I was going to say that I wouldn''t really like to be a priestess¡­" Said Elizabeth. "I want to adventure like ke and her friends as well!"


    "I-I am not even sure about my own future but I can''t see myself bing part of the church either¡­" Said Erdrich.


    "Hm, expected responses from both of you. Be it your way then." Sighed Ellergest.


    "T-These are amazing news¡­ My son is going to such an academy!" Cried my mother, she was freaking out and growing euphoric.


    "Like this, his future does seem quite promising!" My father said with a smile.


    "I couldn''t expect less from him, he works the hardest. Perhaps way too hard sometimes¡­" My grandmother added.


    "Well, for now we should enjoy the food. We can talk more in the uing days." Said Ellergest, quickly cutting the conversation from overextending. I was quite thankful was I was already getting bored and tired of it. without them annoying me any longer, I happily began to eat more, filling my hungry stomach. The act of eating and filling my stomach wasn''t something I could truly experience in my previous life. It is quite the bliss.


    While I ate, I began to think about various things, especially my Status. Now that I got to Level 10 it should have changed a lot. Each level grants a substantial increase on Stats, and I can even acquire a ss and a Subss now. I have never heard of people getting two Talents, so this is quite interesting. But I''ll have to wait until this feast ends and everyone go to sleep to final adress all of this, or perhaps tomorrow morning.


    -----

 Chapter 265 A New Function Unlocked!

    -----


    Eleanora had rather amazing stats, she was someone that specialized the most in stealth and powerful single hits. In her previous life she was an incredible all-rounder though, but in this life she started to specialize in agility and surprise attacks, using her special arrangement of Skills to easily ovee challenges. Her ability to infiltrate enemy territory through agility and stealth is also very good.


    -----


    Name: Eleanora.


    Spirit Race: Half Vampire.


    Spirit Type: Blood / Dark


    Spirit Realm: Rank 1 (Upper Stage)


    Level: 10 / 10


    < Health Points: 433 / 433 >


    < Strength: 426 >


    < Agility: 344 >


    < Vitality: 216 >


    < Intelligence: 125 >


    < Dexterity: 307 >


    Link Skills:


    [Link (ke): [Hard Worker: Level 2]


    Passive Skills: [Half-Vampire: Lv2] [Charm: Lv2] [Spirit Link: Lv1]


    Active Skills: [Blood Edge: Lv3] [Shadow Sneak: Lv2] [Blood Bat Transformation: Lv1] [Assassination: Lv2] [Illusion: Lv2] [Stealth: Lv2] [Blood Threads: Lv1]


    Title Skills: [Vampire Queen: Lv2] [Demon yer: Lv1]


    Avable Stat Points: 50


    Avable Skill Points: 60


    -----


    Her stats had increased quite nicely after she reached Level 10. A Spirit Level Cap seems to always be the same as their master, and their level up at almost the same pace as well. This also made it so Eleanora was cursed with the slow progression of needing x100 her total EXP to level up. However, despite this, we didn''t allowed this misfortune to negatively affect us, and we persevered, moving forward with everything we had.


    "Oh? You acquired [Blood Threads] and [Demon yer]? Amazing, when did this happened?" I wondered.


    "Just yesterday, actually!" Said Eleanora. "I sometimes acquire skills when leveling. I thought I would never get new Title Skills, but I suppose I was wrong." Eleanora smiled radiantly, looking at her smile made me experience a soothing feeling.


    "I see, that''s good. You''ve been using that technique for a while now and you were able to finally make it into Skill¡­ Now, what should we do? You don''t have Mana Points sadly, and your other stats except Intelligence are quite high¡­" I said.


    "Ugh¡­" Eleanora sighed.


    "Hm? What is it?" I wondered.


    "D-Does this means I am dummy?" She wondered, feeling rather heartbroken by the Status.<sub> </sub>


    "Ah, no, of course not!" I said. "It clearly only means something based in magical power. Eleanora you''re the smartest woman I''ve ever met, so don''t worry."


    "Ah, my lord- I mean, ke!" Eleanora said while feeling relieved. She had be slightly more emotional over the years. I suppose Eleanora had also gone through many changes since she became a Spirit, but because she doesn''t want to trouble me, she never addresses them with me.


    "Anyways, what do you think?" I wondered. "You don''t use magic at all for the most part, so increasing Intelligence wouldn''t be good stat-wise. Of course, this doesn''t mean you''re not intelligent in actuality, remember this, Eleanora."


    "O-Okay, I get it¡­" She sighed with a mild smile. "Well¡­ In the fight against the Demon General I felt like Icked Dexterity to evade him properly, and because he was out speeding me, I also felt like Icked Agility¡­ I want to add 25 to both, can I?"


    "Of course, they''re your Stat Points, you can distribute them however you want¡­ I don''t want to control you in such things. But let me tell you that your analytic ability is on point. I was also going to say something regarding that but you pretty much took the words out of my mouth."


    "Hehe, I guess I shall increase Agility and Dexterity for the moment then- Wait, but what about Strength?!" She eximed. "Ick muscles or anything, so I cannot exercise like you to gain more Strength or Health or Vitality¡­"


    "Hm, true¡­ How about this? Distribute 10 to Strength and 20 to Agility and Dexterity¡­" I said. "Is that alright for you?"


    "Oh, I want to give it more to Strength though¡­ How about 15 to Strength, 15 to Agility, and 20 to Dexterity?" She wondered.


    "Sounds good to me."


    "Alright!"


    [Eleanora] has spent 50 Stat Points]


    [Eleanora] gained +15 Strength and Agility and +20 Dexterity]


    With that, we were mostly ready. I had not taken into consideration another factor that increased our stats, Increasing the Stage of our Rank. Spirit Orb Ranks are divided into Stages, Early Stage, Middle Stage, Upper Stage, and Peak Stage. Each Stage signals a greater mastery over the spiritual power of the current Rank, and the stronger the Spirit too. Which means that each Stage grants a substantial and generous amount of stats.


    "And done!" Said Eleanora. "What should we do now, there are some Skill Points left¡­! Maybe we should use them?"


    "I know I told you that I didn''t wanted to order you around regarding your own points, but for now I would ask you to wait a bit. Remember yesterday? When I told you I reached max level?" I asked her.


    "Oh¡­ you said something about changing ss?" She asked.


    "Indeed. It seems the Grimoire has a new ss changing function, so let''s check it for now." I said.


    I quickly turned the pages of the Grimoire, as it quickly showed a new set of pages with glowing letters in them.


    [Wee to the [ss and Subss Changing] Function]


    [You can Change sses and Subsses after reaching Level Cap, further increasing your Level Cap]


    [Each time you Change sses, your Level is reset to 0]


    "I see, this might reset our Levelspletely." I said.


    "It sounds interesting¡­" Eleanora said while looking at the Grimoire at my side. "But do we keep our stats?"


    "Yes, I believe so. This is the way that people grow stronger as well. Apparently their Talents awaken after reaching Max Level, and they might receive new and stronger Talents in exchange."


    "Awakening¡­ Is there anybody with an Awakened Talent in the vige?" Wondered Eleanora.


    "Probably anybody within Rank 2. Ellergest is my bet. There are other adventurers that I''ve felt had Rank 2 or even 3 Auras, they were merely passing by. None of them participated in the war because they probably moved out somewhere else." I said. "I bet those also were Awakened Talents¡­"


    -----

 Chapter 266 Time To Acquire A Talent

    -----


    Awakening Talents, an interesting capability that people of this world might be able to achieve if they have enough power and reach the max level in their current Talent. It is not something I know much about, but perhaps Ellergest has awakened his Talent for all I know. But what I have never heard about was¡­ two Talents.


    In this Grimoire, Talents are called "sses", and aside from the first ss, there is also a Subss. Literally, a second Talent that one can have. Is it possible for someone to have two simultaneous talents at the same time? It was incredibly intriguing to me, and I wished I could ask away to knowledgeable people about it, but I didn''t had the time to go talk with the priests yet.


    I quickly decided to keep looking at the pages, as they changed their information over time, showcasing new things I had not seen before. The Grimoire, as if reading my mind, began to exin to me what sses and Subsses were.


    [sses and Subsses are regarded as [Talents] in the world, and you can change them each time you reach max level. Usually, into a higher-grade Talent, which people might refer as [Talent Awakening]


    [Main sses] are special Talents that are designed mostly for main things, such asbat or enhancing, protecting, or creating things. Meanwhile, [Subsses] are made to support the Main ss. They''re not as strong, but they''re vital to enhance the main talent so it can showcase new capabilities]


    [sses and Subssese with their own Special Skills which can be learned through leveling or constant practice of certain actions. Additionally, Talents grant a passive boost to the activities rted to the Talent]


    [Disy Avable sses and Subsses?]


    "Disy."


    The Grimoire once more began to move its pages, until we arrived at two pages showing words in them, arranged together were the names of Talents. There were three Main sses and three Subsses, they all were one star.


    -----


    [Avable Main sses]


    [Spear User: ¡ï] [Apprentice Magician: ¡ï] [Invoker: ¡ï]


    [Avable Subsses]


    [Farmer: ¡ï] [Fisherman: ¡ï] [Alchemist: ¡ï]


    -----


    Nothing rted to Blood or Ki, huh? I guess there is not a big avability of Talents as I had originally thought. In fact, this is quite disappointing, I would had wanted something like [Blood Magician] or at the very least [Martial Artist] but I seem to not have the knack for either of the two. What I have was Spear User, Apprentice Magician, Invoker, Farmer, Fisherman, or Alchemist. Interesting. The first option thates to mind is picking Spear User and using the Talent to enhance my ability to use the Spear Techniques.<sub> </sub>


    I can guess that Apprentice Magician would be nice if I want to enhance my ability with magic and perhaps try to conjure Tier 2 Magic, but for that I better create a Magic Circle inside my Soul first. Meanwhile, Invoker¡­ Is this something like Summoner? Maybe a lesser version of it, perhaps.


    And then there are the Subsses, I can say that all Talents I got are merely rted with things I''ve done, except fishing, I don''t remember fishing at all. Is this somethingpletely new, perhaps? It is interesting what a Fisher could do with Skills and all¡­ But there isn''t arge Lake nearby, only rivers, I can''t fish anything big or interesting unless I find argeke or go to the sea. Lastly, there is Farmer and Alchemist. I can guess Farmer is because I''ve been tending the crops for my parents using magic so I can enhance the soil and make the crops grow faster and healthier too. And then Alchemy because I practice it, obviously.


    I have to think this through. These two Talents might be what I am stuck with for a long time. Seeing how it took me three years to reach Level 10, there''s nothing telling how long I might take leveling all the way to 20 without enough resources. I might reach the age of 10 and enter the academy and still without reaching level cap due to the low avability of monsters, wild beasts, or demons in the forest. Now that we killed hundreds of them, it might get harder to find prey. And if I overhunt the wild monsters too much, they won''t reproduce and make things harder for the hunters and the vigers that find sustainability with them.


    [Compared to Main sses which require to kill monsters to gain EXP, Subsses grant the special ability to passively gain EXP by doing the actions rted to them]


    [For example: Fishing for the Fisherman Talent, Farming for the Farmer Talent, or creating items through alchemy and gathering valuable and rare resources for the Alchemist Talent]


    Oh? This is new! So Subsses can gain EXP not by killing but through other means? Wait, are Subsses and Main sses levels separated?


    [Subsses and Main sses Levels are the same level of the user]


    I see¡­ The Grimoire has be rather talkative. Did it gained the ability to answer basic questions regarding the details of the powers it gives?


    [Affirmative. You may call me [Guider], I am an artificial magical intelligence, or AMI for short. I am here to answer the holder of the [Grimoire]''s questions regarding the powers the Book may grant, and the various abilities within it, or anything regarding the Status]


    Interesting. The Grimoire was able to speak directly to me through writing letters over the pages with a magical, red-colored paint which dissipated a few seconds after forming words. It also seems to be able to read my thoughts¡­ It is convenient, but also slightly frightening.


    [Fear not, AMI does not intrude into the wielder''s personal life. AMI is only interested in aiding the wielder''s in learning andprehending the power of the Grimoire]


    Hm, don''t read my mind unless I ask you a question directly.


    [Understood]


    At the very least it is quite serviceable andcks a personality. The probability of revolving and annoying me seem small. I hope it continues like this, to be honest.


    -----

 Chapter 267 Changing Main Class And Subclass!

    -----


    Now that I know that Subsses can gain EXP individually from merely fighting monsters, I gained a slight amount of hope. However I cannot really hope that I will gain easy amounts of EXP over time. I can already guess it won''t be anything too easy, but so be it. Before making up my mind, I wanted to inspect thest thing, however. Something rted to the Invoker ss. I asked the Guider and information emerged over the Grimoire''s pages quickly after


    -----


    [Invoker: ¡ï]


    The First Talent within the branch of the [Summoner]. By leveling up and evolving this Talent, new Talents rted to Summoning might emerge after reaching max level. This Talent enhances the ability to summon special Spirit Familiars, different from the conventional Spirits that inhabit Spirit Orbs. But it also can enhance Spirit Orb Spirits.


    -----


    Interesting, so it is rted with Summoners. Perhaps this could be a good way to enhance the power of Gluttony and maybe make it mine now? It still connected to Gluttony, but what if¡­ I could acquire it for myself?


    Guider, can this do it?


    [Uncertain. However, it does seems to be able to enhance the Beast Spirits you''re able to summon. There are new Skills rted with them as well.]


    Hmm¡­ This would be quite the gamble. And it might be better to simply pick the other more straightforward choices. But something is telling me to go this way. Perhaps it really has what I want¡­ If I can enhance the power to invoke spirits, I could create my own personal army, just like in my previous life.


    Alright, I guess I have decided my Main ss. But now, Subss? Fisher? No, I won''t take this one for the moment. I am honestly between Farmer and Alchemist. Farmer might be able to do some amazing things with our crops, but ultimately it won''t help me in anything else, perhaps. I know my father developed interesting powers, but even then¡­ I feel like Alchemist has a more broad usage, and it will be useful for the rest of my life as well. I feel greatly inclined to choose this one above the others.


    And I will, I''ve already made up my mind.


    [You have selected the [Invoker: ¡ï] Main ss]


    [You have selected the [Alchemist: ¡ï] Subss]


    [Your Level has reset back to 0]


    [Your Level Cap has risen to Level 30]


    Level 30?! Isn''t this a bit ridiculous¡­? I never knew it would reset so much! How can I even get so much EXP to reach Level 30 in any time soon? I will have to delve in every single dungeon or monster-infested area and genocide as many monsters as I possibly can to even get enough EXP.


    ¡­But somehow, this seems rather exciting.


    I don''t know why, but something inside of my head had changed for some time. I feel excitement in the act of grinding Experience Points, for some strange and bizarre reason. Maybe the exhrating feeling of leveling up, and the long road that brings up to that satisfaction¡­ It is a great gratification that cannot be easily attained in other ways.<sub> </sub>


    Anyways, what about my Status, did it increase?


    I swiftly checked my own Status, finding no changes. It seems that changing Talents doesn''t give any instant powerup at all, how disappointing¡­ I guess I really have to earn everything through hard work. Well, not like I''ve ever wanted it to be any other way.


    "I have finally changed the Talents." I said with a proud smile.


    "Oooh! What did you choose? I also just feel like I broke through something. Is this my level cap increasing?" Wondered Eleanora. She was of very good humor today.


    "Precisely. Our new Level Cap is¡­" I said, fearing to make her disappointed.


    "It is¡­?" She asked excitedly. Unlike me, she''s incapable of seeing her own Status unless I let her see it through the Grimoire. She''s able to tell when she levels up thanks to the "Holy Spirit''s Voice" that announces level ups and skills acquisitions.


    "Level 30¡­" I sighed, Eleanora''s face quickly grew paler, until she looked like she hadpletely turned into stone.


    "¡­Eleanora?!" I asked in shock, as she quickly woke up from her daze.


    "I-It took so long to reach Level 10! And now¡­ L-Level 30?! Uagh!" Eleanora cried like I had never seen her before; her face was truly filled with despair.


    "I know the pain. But this is also part of the fun, Eleanora. Let''s see it that way. I''ve already cursed Lucifer so many times before that I feel like it doesn''t has a meaning." I sighed.


    "ke¡­ I guess it was fun to hunt with you¡­ But hunting in this same forest for another two years seems a bit¡­ boring." She sighed.


    "I know. I n to eventually move to the grasnds and explore them in search for new prey before reaching ten years of age. I could even bring my father to reassure my parents that I''ll be alright, or even the priests for healing." I said with a nod. A new n to earn EXP quickly emerged in my mind, exploring the grasnds past the woods was an interesting idea. I''ve heard that higher level monsters roam there, more dangerous than here. The forest makes for a natural wall that protects the people of this fiefdom from these natural monsters.


    They''re not aggressive so they rarely get into this territory. And when that happens, adventurers emerge and quickly dispose of them. This town is used as a ce where adventurerse to rest after hunting in the grasnds as well. Hell, we could even hire an adventurer as a guide. Of course, with Ellergest''s money. I decided to exin what I had on mind to Eleanora, as she nodded and understood things better as well.


    "I see! It doesn''t sound so terrible now¡­ But what Talents did you pick?" She wondered again.


    "Invoker, which seems like a Summoner Talent, and Alchemist." I said. "Both were ideal for what I wanted to do¡­ It seems that Invoker might help me further develop the abilities of Gluttony, and perhaps make them truly mine as well."


    "You''re as insightful as ever, my lord." Eleanora said with a pleasant smile. "I-I mean ke¡­!"


    "Don''t sweat it. I know it takes a while to get used to it." I sighed.


    -----

 Chapter 269 Skill Library! Buying Invoker Skills!

    -----


    "Look at these potatoes, you''ve worked hard today as well, haven''t you?"


    I brought all the harvested potatoes, carrots, and cabbage back home, as my grandmother greeted me with a happy smile. She quickly grabbed a potato and analyzed it. She seemed rather happy about it, but I almost thought she would give it a bite or something.


    "Yeah, the harvest is plenty today as well, grandma. Is mom here?" I asked, looking around.


    "No, she went to the church today. She wanted to meet the High Priest so he could give her his blessings for her child to be born healthy." My grandma said. "It''s just a little tradition we do here. You also were blessed by a priest before being born."


    "I see¡­ (It is kind of like baptism I''ve seen in others with humans, but this is done before they''re born instead to after, huh?)" I said while nodding, with the help of Eleanora we ced the vegetables over the table and began to wash them from the dirt or any other little bug that got in.


    And while doing so, the Grimoire popped out of thin air in front of me, opening its pages and showing a new notification.


    [Required Skill Proficiency has been umted]


    [You have learned the [Agriculture: Lv1] Skill]


    Oh? A new Skill out of nowhere? And its name¡­ Isn''t it rted to Farming?


    -----


    [Agriculture: Lv1]


    Skill Proficiency: 0/10000


    A basic ability that Farmers might learn over the years of agriculture and tending crops. It grants the ability to use MP to enhance crops growth speed and quality by +20% with each level. It also grants basic insights about agriculture through the form of Appraisal-like information shown inside the user''s mind.


    -----


    Oh?! So it is like the spells I''ve been using all this time. Perhaps this is why I acquired the skill so soon? ¡­Then again, I''ve been helping my parents with the crops since I was four years of age, even without magic. But still, I learned this Skill rather quickly. It might be a goodbination with my other spells. Skills are an interesting power that can bebined with spells to create even more amazing results. First Aid is already a good example of how Skills can enhance spells or be enhanced by spells.


    [Due to your great insight about the usage of Skills and Spells, your Intelligence has risen by +2]


    Ah, another of those. They had been happening from time to time through the years. Stats might increase over time as I grow or learn things. I get this message a lot when I cultivate Mana and Ki.


    Nheless, and moving back to the Skill I just got, it reminds me that I had the [Farmer] Talent avable to me before. It seems I might not be restricted with Talents and I could earn some of the Skills as long as I do the specificbors for them, continuously, for years.


    But also, Hard Worker helps too, it increases EXP earned and Skill Proficiency earned, and it is already at Level 2. Even then, if a monster gives trash EXP the EXP I will get from it even with Hard Worker is still trash. I am still midway through Level 0 to Level 1, so this might take a while, especially because no monsters had been sighted at all for a while.<sub> </sub>


    And well, I am not saying that Talents are useless in that regard, they offer bonuses to their specific jobs and also, Subsses grants EXP by doing their rtedbor too. Although I''ve only made a two potions this week, I gained 100 EXP with each potion, so it was rather good. Hard Worker seems to also affect such EXP, so each potion actually gave 140 EXP each.


    But that''s not all. They also got Skills, ssless Skills are always avable even when I change sses, and I''ve gotten most of them already naturally, although I still bought a few others too. But I''ve been saving my Skill Points to buy new Skills from both of my new Talents. And by flipping the Grimoire''s Pages, the Skills avable emerge in a small list.


    -----


    <Skill Library>


    Main ss: [Invoker: ¡ï]


    [Create/Delete Familiar: Lv1] 10 SP


    [Summon/Unsummon Familiar: Lv1] 10 SP


    [Familiar Storage Expansion: Lv1] 20 SP


    [Familiar Synthesis: Lv1] 25 SP


    Subss: [Alchemist: ¡ï]


    [Brewing: Lv1] 10 SP


    [Synthetize: Lv1] 15 SP


    [Gathering: Lv1] 15 SP


    [Apprentice Alchemist Recipe Book: Lv1] 20 SP


    -----


    Currently, I have 50 Skill Points, so I could learn a few Skills if I wanted, but I''ve been checking the Skills in detail before taking any rash decisions. Both Talentse with four learnable Skills, and nothing else. I suppose that''s mostly the norm in this world. People oftene with a single Skill after birth that goes with their Talents, and then learn more as they progress and level up. I''ve deduced that people might automatically use Skill Points as they grow and level up, instead of having the ability to choose what to pick like I do. Thanks to my Grimoire, I possess this unique ability.


    The first thing that I have been analyzing through the week were the Invoker Skills, they were very¡­ uninteresting? They were all about things I was already able to do through Gluttony. Of course they''re uninteresting because they don''t bring anything new, but they actually do. As they will let me make Gluttony''s powers mine by being able to summon the familiars and create them without having to use the spear as a medium. It is certainly just what I wanted from the beginning, but it alsoes with two different Skills.


    [Familiar Storage Expansion: Lv1] and [Familiar Synthesis: Lv1] are new Skills that Gluttony has no power to imitate. The first one grants the ability to create a storage inside the Grimoire to store the Familiars I''ve summoned as if they were cards, and the second grants me the ability to fuse Familiars together to boost their stats. They''re certainly good, but I need the other two before I can properly use these¡­ Honestly, what a pain.


    -----

 Chapter 270 Calculations

    -----


    As of now, I can only learn three Skills out of the four there are for Invokers, but there are also the other Skills for Alchemist which I''ve been ignoring for a little while. However, they might be just as important in my quest for more strength. Alchemy helps me create all sorts of items the better I am with it. I could create potions to increase my stats and even to enhance my abilities. Or even other items to do a variety of new things. Even special bombs can throwing items can be created through Alchemy at higher levels. However, I''ve already calcted that it should be possible to learn every Skill at around Level 7 or 8. So that''ll leave roughly 22 levels with free Skill Points that I can save for the next Talent. That''s 220 Skill Points.


    Of course, it will take a long time to reach that part unless I can find a dungeon somewhere. But I''ve always been someone that likes to enjoy the road towards a goal more than reaching a goal instantly. There is nothing more gratifying than reaching a goal after an arduous journey towards it. As long as the journey is filled with thrill, I have noins. Nheless, this ss Changing function can let me really save up a lot of Skill Points and Stat Points through resetting my level, which seems rather nice. However, there is another thing that I''ve been thinking for a while.


    Hard Worker is my path towards a faster progression, each Level rises the EXP and Skill Proficiency earned by +20%. At Level 2, it has +40% bonus. And Skill Points can also be used to level up Skills. If I can use 1 Skill Point, it gains 1000 Skill Proficiency. Currently, the Hard Worker needs 20k Skill Proficiency, so 20 Skill Points to level up to Level 3, where the bonus would be +60%... And then up to Level 4 it might require 30k Skill Proficiency, or 30 Skill Points, to rise it all the way to +80% bonus EXP and Skill Proficiency. With this, I could use all my 50 Points to get +40% more bonus to EXP and Skill Proficiency. Isn''t that nice? I could use it right away and immediately receive these bonuses. However, I feel like if I do this, I will still have to wait at least over a year to get anew more new Skills.


    Due to this, I prefer to just get the Skills I want for now and get them all up to level 8, and then using the Skill Points I earn from that point onwards, I will try to max out Hard Worker. I''ve calcted already that Skills require Skill Proficiency based in their level x1000. So doing a quick calction, I will need 440000 Skill Proficiency to raise Hard Worker to Level 10. That''s roughly 440 Skill Points. I can get 220 Skill Points after buying all skills and reaching Level 30, and then I''ll need to level up another 22 times to max out the skill. Putting it like that, it still quite hard. And there''s no doubt there will be other Skills I will be interested on¡­ Saving Skill Points for those is also necessary. Managing Skill Points is a serious business, not something that I can do carefreely.


    However, I am sure that I can at least leave Hard Worker at Level 5, where it will grant a +100% Bonus to EXP and Skill Points, quite literally doubling my gains. With that, I can just save the rest of the Skill Points and leave the decisions for the me of the future. Nheless, for the desirable moment, I really want to experiment with my Summons, especially because I can get a new one with the Dark Crow Spirit Orbs I''ve umted. However, the other Alchemy Skills do look tempting. Though I''ve been wondering if I could maybe learn Brewing and Gathering by myself. Synthesis is also possible through Alchemy Magic of Tier 1. But I am sure that the Skill version is way better in that regard. Perhaps much like Agriculture, I could learn all three of those skills over time instead of wasting Skill Points.<sub> </sub>


    But there''s another Skill that I am sure cannot be acquired naturally¡­ [Apprentice Alchemist Recipe Book]. This Skill is genuinely amazing. It grants a new feature to the Grimoire, arge section about recipes that can be unlocked over time as I find new materials, these recipes can easily help me deduce how to use the alien materials of this world which I have little knowledge about, and it seems it even grants the ability to create my own recipes and enhance them. To make things more incredible, it directly enhances items made through these recipes and can increase their quality and effects amazingly greatly. This is a must get Skill!


    But the cost of 20 SP is really painful, especially because I also want Familiar Synthesis which costs 25 SP. If I use all my SP right now and buy the three first Skills in the Invoker Talent, I will have to wait roughly¡­ 5 levels before I can buy Familiar Synthesis and the Recipe Book Skills. Ugh, that might be over a year, especially with absolutely no monsters in sight. The entire forest is mostly emptied of them and it might take a while for the ecosystem to slowly recover. My only choice for levels is going to the dangerous Grass ins that extend past the forest, where adventurer parties gather.


    There is also the White Dragon Mountain Range that surrounds our territory, in thergest mountain peak, it is said that there''s a white dragon sleeping there that once caused disasters in the past. That entire mountain range is filled with cave systems that lead to rich magical ores and nests filled with countless beasts (EXP bags). Honestly, I want to explore all of these ces eventually. But I should not get ahead of myself, or I''ll only get myself killed.


    -----

 Chapter 271 Monster And Demon Ranks

    -----


    Of course, the solution for such a dilemmays in the Summons. As long as I have my army of Familiars I will be able to fight even stronger monsters than me (to an extent), through coordination and hard work. Especially now that I have the [Command] Skill that enhances the stats of those below mymand or that hear my orders. As long as I got a big army of familiars at my side, I can explore further and take over many foes at once. Registering in the Adventurer Guild is impossible until I reach teenager years, but I could request the help of other adventurers as well.


    Although I might as well just bring my friends then. Nheless, I had thought about a n, making Eleanora use her Full Energy Form which looks like her adult self to register in the adventurer guild and let meplete requests this way. Of course, when I get my own license after the academy it will be easier, but this is a roundabout way I had considered. There''s no way my parents are going to allow meplete quests for them either, and I don''t want to ask favors to Ellergest or the priests either. Eleanora is the person I trust the most, so she''ll have to do.


    But all these are mostly ns for the far future. I''ve been thinking about resting for a few months and slowly gain proficiency in various skills while cultivating more Mana and Ki to enhance my physique. I want to also earn EXP through Alchemy while practicing my Familiar Summoning, and I even got some ideas to create new magical seeds through Alchemy to create magic-infused crops that could be enough to make poor man''s mana potions that could increase my Mana permanently by small amounts.


    I also don''t want to risk my life just after that big war. I am obsessed with leveling and growing stronger, but there are also now new ways to do it which are safer, so there''s no way I am not going to take them for the moment, especially when I am still growing. At the very least, I want to wait until my mother gives birth to see my siblings. If I end up dying without even being able to see them, I don''t know if I would be able to forgive myself. Exploring the Mountain Range or the Grassy ins is very dangerous after all, monsters over Rank F roam there. From what I''ve learned through the Adventurer Guild escapades I''ve had where I just ask questions politely to the people while acting as an innocent child, I have learned that monsters and adventurers have a rank system apart from Spirit Orb Ranks or Levels (which people is unable to properly calcte).


    The reason behind this new Rank System is to assess everyone without discrimination. Why? Because there might be amazingly capable warriors such as my father that have a nonbat Talent and even a low Spirit Orb cultivation at Rank 1 Initial Stage yet can fight monsters than mere wild animals through abination of skill and experience, his physique is also not something to scoff at. Even if his spirit orb is weak, his body is strong.


    Therefore, I''ve learned about the Ranking System used mostly in this world. Spirit Orb Ranking is still rather fundamental to assess someone''s strength, but there are some exceptions that can beat those at higher spirit orb ranks than them due to their greater Skills and physical strength. Levels are also a thing after all, and not all people that has leveled up a lot has cultivated their Spirit Orbs enough. Of course, to attain the perfect harmony, all things must be abused, but not everyone has the talent to do it all, and often specialize and keep growing even more through specialization, surprising all-rounders.


    The Rank System is quite easy, it starts from H Rank all the way to SSS Rank.


    I Rank monsters areparable to Dark Crows and Horned Rabbits, or even Walking Mushrooms. And Adventurers around Level 0 to 3. It seems that not everyone can gain a lot of EXP as I do thanks to Hard Worker, even without the curse I have that extends my requirements to level up, some people take years to level up because Dark Crows and Horned Rabbits give miserable amounts of EXP


    Anyways, here''s a list I''ve written in my Grimoire''s [Notes] pages, where I can keep all notes I want to save information to readter and to remind myself whenever I forget something important. Starting from the lowest to the highest.


    <Monster Ranks>


    I Rank: Monsters such as Horned Rabbits, Dark Crows, and Walking Mushrooms who pose little threat to anybody if left alone.


    H Rank: Monsters such as Wild Cats, Dual Horned Rabbits, Gale Birds, Big Bugs who pose a substantial challenge.


    G Rank: Monsters such as Gray Wolves, Alpha Gay Wolves, Goblins, who are dangerous and might even threaten a big group of people if they''re unprepared.<sub> </sub>


    F Rank: Demons such as Imps, Imp Warriors, and other creaturesparable to them.


    E Rank: Monsters such as Giant Wild Boars are here, and also Onis, Blue and Red. Demon Giants might be included too, although they have little documentation and there are ways to abuse their clumsiness, but these monsters are more than qualified to be able to destroy entire towns.


    D Rank: Apparently, the Demon General was here. Someone capable of dealing with an entire unprepared army and even destroy a town with mere magic. D-Rank Monsters are serious threats that might cause an entire fiefdom to arm against them¡­ However, it also depends in the race or where they live. The Grassy ins have not been taken over by humanity because it is filled to the brim with dangerous D-Rank monsters known as "Field Bosses" who control certain areas and lead their kin.


    C Rank: Things even worse than Demon Lords, this might include Wyverns, Drakes, Giant Snakes, Golden zing Lions, and other monsters I''ve seen extermination requests in the Adventurer Guild, these roam the Mountain Range and are often far away from civilization. Their power is without a doubt very dangerous, but thankfully they are very territorial so they keep themselves within their zones.


    B Rank: This is where Demon Lords begin to be ssified. Powerful enough to take over several fiefdoms at once, control other demons and make thousand men armies. This might even include Lesser Dragons.


    A Rank: Even worse than Demon Lords, Demon Overlords, they''re evolved Demon Lords, capable of taking over an entire country. They exists and some had already taken over countries that yed with fire too much. Cultists attempt to summon them to bring humanity toward destruction and give their world to the demons (for some stupid reason). This could include Young Pure Blood Dragons and other mythical beasts.


    S Rank: These monsters are even more unspecified; nobody is asking to kill these because they''re so rare. But it is said that in another continent even S Rank Monsters are not so umon. Demon Overlords that have evolved to be as strong as S-Rank might as well be vessels to Archdemons from Hell.


    SS Rank: Even more terrible, Demon Kings. It is known that there are at least five Demon Kings in the entire world, most of them are governing the Demon Towers.


    SSS Rank: Legendary beings that might include Leviathans, Ancient Dragons, Titans, or what people call "Demon Gods". Of course, that might be overexaggerating, as there are Archdemons above that.


    ¡­I am sure that there are even stronger beings, perhaps, and the Ranks could be loose for all I know. Based in my base stats, I am E Rank possibly, but when I use my Ki, Magic, and other abilities, I might be able to reach D Rank or beyond. With Eleanora at my side, perhaps higher. But even then, I don''t feel confident about taking down D Rank monsters on our own. I have to grind my way into higher ranks to be able to challenge stronger monsters, meaning more EXP. It won''t be easy, but that''s where the fun is.


    However, the level of challenge in this world feelspletely different than the outside universe, mere E-Rank monsters being able to destroy an entire town already shows a lot. This world might be several times stronger than any I''ve visited before. It feels as if it is truly¡­ a higher ne of existence.


    I fear I might not even be in my previous Universe anymore, but one way stronger, wilder, and vaster than my imagination could have ever fathomed.


    -----

 Chapter 272 Acquiring New Skills!

    -----


    Nheless, I had already made up my mind about what I was going to pick for Skills for the moment. The Recipe Book looked tempting, but for the moment I will dy it forter. For the moment, I want to prioritize the acquisition of the Invoker Talent Skills before anything else, especially that Synthetize Skill¡­ But it is required to learn the other three first, so I will have to wait for the usage of such an interesting talent. If I can get some levels out of making potions and gathering rare herbs through my Alchemist Subss, that might hasten my avability of Skill Points. But for now¡­


    [You have exchanged 40 Skill Points]


    [You learned the [Create/Delete Familiar: Lv1] Skill]


    [You learned the [Summon/Unsummon Familiar: Lv1] Skill]


    [You learned the [Familiar Storage Expansion: Lv1] Skill]


    [The Skill Section has been reorganized]


    Oh? It seems that things have changed a bit inside of my own Status. Apparently, Skills have been reorganized and there are new Skill sections. Is this a way to not make everything convoluted? Let''s see¡­


    -----


    Name: ke Hunter Goathorn.


    Race: Human


    Spirit Orb Realm: Rank 1 (Upper Stage)


    Job ss: [Invoker: ¡ï]


    Subss: [Alchemist: ¡ï]


    Level: 0 / 30


    EXP: 2160 / 5000


    < Health Points: 295 / 295 >


    < Mana Points: 667 / 667 >


    < Strength: 265 >


    < Agility: 195 >


    < Vitality: 208 >


    < Intelligence: 348 >


    < Dexterity: 225 >


    Spirits (1/1): [Half-Vampire: Eleanora (Rank 1 Upper Stage)]


    Link Skills:


    [Link (Eleanora): [Shadow Sneak: 2]


    Passive Skills: [Acrobatics: Lv3] [Robust Body: Lv2] [Hard Worker: Lv2] [Hawk Eye: 2] [Gifted Magic Apprentice: Lv2] [Heavy Drinker: Lv2], [Intimidation: Lv1]


    Active Skills: [Throwing Technique: Lv3] [Spearmanship: Lv1] [Butcher: Lv2] [Alchemy: Lv1] [First Aid: Lv2], [Command: Lv1], [Cooking: Lv1] [Agriculture: Lv1]


    Magic Skills: [Blood Edge: Lv1] [Create/Delete Familiar: Lv1] [Summon/Unsummon Familiar: Lv1] [Familiar Storage Expansion: Lv1]


    Title Skills: [Beast yer: Lv1] [Demon yer: Lv2] [Savior: Lv2] [ughter King: Lv1]


    Avable Stat Points: 0


    Avable Skill Points: 10


    Can gain 10 Stat Points and Skill Points with each Level.


    Curses:


    EXP required to level up x100


    Proficiency required to learn techniques and skills x100


    Mana/Qi/Aether Recovery speed decreased by -50%


    -----<sub> </sub>


    I see, they had indeed changed, now there is a "Magic Skills" Section where all the new Skills went. So these Skills arepletely magic, huh? Andstly, it seems that Blood Edge is also purely magical, so it was added there. Apparently Gifted Magic Apprentice doesn''t count as magical as it merely enhances my talent with magic, it doesn''t have any direct effect. And Alchemy is probably not considered purely magic, perhaps something different as materials and technique is also needed.


    Nheless, now I only have 10 Skill Points, which feels rather frustrating to think about, but I''ll have to just level up to get more Skill Points. For the moment, I should check these new Skills.


    -----


    [Create/Delete Familiar: Lv1]


    Skill Proficiency: 0/10000


    A unique ability of the Invoker Talent, allows for the creation and deletion of Summons through the absorption of Spirit Orbs from monsters. Created Familiars can be assigned names and remain in the form of Cards stored inside the Grimoire until Summoned. Each Level increases Summoned Familiars Stats by +20% (Invisible Boost) and allows for the strengthening of Familiars to higher Ranks, and for the creation of higher Ranked Familiars.


    Current Monster Rank Creation Avability:


    Level 1: [Rank H] [Rank G] [Rank F]


    Avable Summons:


    [Fenrir (Beast)]: [H] [G]


    [Orcus (Beast)]: [G]


    [Spore (nt)]: [H]


    -----


    Oh? So does this means I am only limited to create up to F Ranked Familiar Summons? This might also mean I cannot strengthen my Summons past F Rank for now¡­ I guess I''ve never had the opportunity to do that yet. I would assume I could make them E and maybe D Rank if the Skill level ups again, right? At the very least I can choose any summon I want as long as I have them to begin with. Therefore I need to collect them by finding new monsters'' spirit orbs to convert into familiars.


    I suppose I can still get Orcus, Fenrir, and Spore to F-Rank. Although the avability of Spirit Orbs is shortening, all three of them should be closer to evolving already, as I''ve been picking up Spirit Orbs for a while and feeding these items to them. Currently only Fenrir managed to evolve into a Dark Horned Wolf and he had already be incredibly strong. I don''t know what could happen if Spore evolves, and also Orcus¡­ I am slightly excited to see the results.


    -----


    [Summon/Unsummon Familiar: Lv1]


    Skill Proficiency: 0/10000


    A unique Skill of the Invoker Talent, grants the ability to Summon the Familiar Cards created through Summon Creation and the quantity of how many can be summoned at the same time. Each Level grants a higher quantity of Summons that can be maintained at the same time alongside increasing the stats of Summoned Familiars by +10% (Invisible buff) with each level.


    Maximum Quantity of Summons that can be Summoned:


    Level 1: [H Rank: 15 Times] [G Rank: 25 Times]


    -----


    [Familiar Storage Expansion: Lv1]


    Skill Proficiency: 0/10000


    A Unique Skill of the Invoker Talent. It grants an expanded Storage of Summon Cards where Summon Cards can be stored inside the Grimoire and grants the ability to turn back Summoned Familiars into Summon Cards to store them inside the Grimoire by spending some Mana.


    Current Storage Expansion:


    Level 1: +30 Storage


    Avable Summons:


    [Fenrir (Beast) (G Rank)] x10


    [Orcus (Beast) (G Rank)] x5


    [Spore (nt) (H Rank)] x4


    -----


    This is just what I had expected. With this I can not only summon my own Familiars, but also store them as Cards inside my Grimoire! I feel like this Talent was made for me.


    "Phew, I am back~ Huh? ke? You''re done with the crops so early today?"


    My mother had finally arrived at home after an hour of going out, safely. We were also done washing the vegetables we just harvested, and Eleanora was cutting some to make a stew. She was an excellent user of any weapon, so giving her a knife made her a great cook.


    Of course, I had to teach her how to cook a bit, and my mother also helped. She seemed filled with the determination to cook meals for me.


    -----

 Chapter 273 The Warmth Of Family

    -----


    "Phew, I am back~ Huh? ke? You''re done with the crops so early today?"


    My mother had finally arrived at home after an hour of going out, safely. We were also done washing the vegetables we just harvested, and Eleanora was cutting some to make a stew. She was an excellent user of any weapon, so giving her a knife made her a great cook. Of course, I had to teach her how to cook a bit, and my mother also helped. She seemed filled with the determination to cook meals for me.


    "Yeah mom. Thanks to Eleanora we finished rather quickly today." I said while looking at my Grimoire, where the new Skills I had obtained were showing their effects. Nobody could see the Grimoire except me, so it wasn''t a bother to have it in front of me.


    "Lady Mary, your son poured water over me twice!" Eleanora suddenly spoke. I had never expected her to say that out loud. She had truly changed¡­


    "Eh?! ke! What with that attitude with your little Spirit? Isn''t she the cutest? You don''t have to bully her! ¡­I never thought my calm son would enjoy doing that with their own summon!" My mother immediately began to reprimand me as she sat down in the chair.


    "Hohoh, it is mere y from children, Mary. You don''t have to get so worked over it." My grandmother quickly came to the rescue.


    "She said she was nasty because she was covered in dirt so I washed her." I said rather reluctant to apologize for something I cannot really recognize as an offense. "Also, Eleanora, I never thought you would just tell my mother about this¡­"


    "Y-You said I had to be more casual with you¡­" Said Eleanora while fidgeting her fingers.


    "Right¡­ I guess being casuales with a change of attitude?" I sighed.


    "I was really annoyed¡­" She sighed.


    I guess I wasn''t being careful enough. Instead of acting childish about it, I should simply apologize and promise to not do it again. After all, being in bad terms with her wouldn''t be beneficial, especially because that would break my heart. And fighting with a broken heart is not good.


    "Okay, sorry. I understand. I won''t do it again." I said, apologizing to her.


    In response, Eleanora opened her eyes wide in surprise. I had never seen her so surprised before. Seriously, what''s wrong with apologizing?


    "T-There''s no need to apologize like that¡­!" She said slightly embarrassedly.


    "No, I have to apologize for it." I said. "Are you okay with forgiving me? I will give you apensation in the future to make up for it."


    "S-Sure! But¡­ cpensation? Like what?" She wondered. My mother and my grandmother were watching both of us in silence. I quickly decided to move this conversation for another asion.


    "Let''s talk about this on another asion¡­ Anyway, mom, I am hungry, can we make lunch?" I asked, quickly changing the topic. Eleanora was still red, she seemed to be thinking things.<sub> </sub>


    "Careful, ke! Elizabeth and Erika are still there, you know? I never thought I would have such a Casanova son!" My mother said while giggling.


    "He''s really going for three girls at once? Wow¡­ Well, it''s not like its rare. Isn''t there a family with a man with four wives?" Asked my grandmother.


    <o>,m "What nonsense are you two talking about?" I asked while sighing. I decided to begin cutting meat to cook, and poured water inside arge pot we use to make stew.</o>


    "Ohohoh! Youth is really something wonderful and adorable, isn''t it?" My grandmother giggled, as my mother quickly came to my side to help me cook. Seriously, if these two women weren''t so obsessed with romance between kids, things would be way more peaceful and less awkward.


    "Come on, don''t be so grumpy!" My mother said while petting my head. "Eleanora! Come here to help too, don''t stay there, girl."


    "O-Okay!"


    Eleanora ran to our side and began helping us cook. Now I helped at cooking at a daily basis. I had already told my family about my Cooking Skill, something not even my mother nor grandmother possessed, and everyone quickly realized its amazing healing and boosting capabilities.


    My mother even began saying that if the government caught me with such a power they would make me a ve to cook for nobles. So I better not show this power to anybody, suddenly being able to magically turn cooked food into healing items that even boost stats is not something normal at all.


    Nheless, my family has been enjoying such a food, and my father has been recovering very fast thanks to the food I help prepare, which can restore Health and Mana slightly, and also refill Stamina even quicker.


    "So how''s your father?" My mother asked, as we left the stew boiling in a pot.


    "He''s feeling alright, but he''s currently napping. I left a wolf watching over him if anything happens." I said.


    My Familiars ability was already known by my parents and the locals. But because everyone in the world can summon Spirits, it isn''t treated as odd for some reason, perhaps because they don''t know the details such as being able to summon multiple monsters at once and so on. The most spective vigers simply think I got many spirits and are done with it.


    My status as a Priest Apprentice was quickly spread out as well, this sort of status made me slightly untouchable for those that wanted trouble, as they would be messing up with the church. Of course, I am not a Priest Apprentice, but I will dly use the rumor to my advantage.


    "Those wolves you can summon are a real help! Though the boars are stronger¡­ I do wonder if you can cut them for meat though?" My mother wondered. Certain spirits can give meat to the wielder, apparently, just the same as how my mother''s sheep can create wool and my grandmother''s goat can grant milk. There are also chicken spirits thaty eggs that can be eaten and so on as well.


    "No, they cannot be extracted for materials, if they''re killed they simply disappear, and they don''t give anything in exchange. But that might change if I can someday summon something powerful." I said while thinking about the possibilities. "Maybe one day I would even summon a dragon, who knows?"


    -----

 Chapter 274 Two Little Surprises

    -----


    Of course, I have not forgotten the Subordinates I have within my Origin Core. I had already worked hard to find somehow a way to summon them prematurely, but everything seems to be connected with my Spirit Orb Rank. I am slowly increasing its spiritual essence through cultivating it with Mana, but I can only get far enough before I hit a wall of progression that I can only overpower through Leveling, which grants instant stat bonuses that modify the body and spirit orb. I am getting near Rank 2, in two more Stages, but that would be roughly twenty or even thirty levels, so it might take up until I reach the Academy before I can summon a second Subordinate.


    ¡­Unless I can find a roundabout. Apparently, I''ve been analyzing how everything urred back then. The Grimoire has the power to drag a soul from the ones trapped inside of my Origin Core. And I''ve already managed to be able to put my own consciousness over the Origin Core of my soul so I was able to see the souls trapped in there. I just need to find out a way to grab them and forcefully pull the out of the Origin Core and nt them in a vessel. The Vessel being my own Spirit Orb, however, because the Spirit Orb has a limit to how many Spirits can be connected to it depending in the Rank, it is quite hard to find a fitting vessel.


    Unless I put them in the Spirit Orbs of other people¡­ Which doesn''t seem right to me. I had thought about creating artificial bodies for them, like golems, but that wouldn''t be enough, perhaps. Another thing was¡­ to turn them into Familiar Summons. If I could summon catch a living monster, infuse the Soul of a Subordinate in their Spirit Orbs, kill them monster and absorb the sprit orb¡­ Wouldn''t that Subordinate soul be a registered Familiar Spirit? Of course, it is just a theory, for this I need to first find a way to grab a soul from within my own Origin Core, and also find a way to infuse a Soul into a living Monster''s Spirit Orb.


    I know how to do both, but theplicated thing is how to reach such a thing. I can develop Soul Magic, but I need at least Tier 2 Soul Magic and a stronger Soul to do it. Tier 1 Soul Magic won''t do. But to be able to conjure higher Tier Magic I need a Magic Circle, which also will strengthen my Soul. So after today''s lunch, I''ve finally decided to start with step 1: Create A Magic Circle inside my Soul. This might also help me at being able to ultimately transfer Erika''s soul and spirit orb into a new flesh body, but that would be for the far future.


    "ke? Son?"


    My mother suddenly called me, as I was able to snap out of my many thoughts. Seriously, having such a big list of things that I need to do is really stressing me out. I need to calm down and live life one step at a time. I am not as strong as I used to be, I cannot rush things and quickly get to the results I want.


    "Oh, is the food ready?" I asked.


    "Yes, let''s serve. JOAAAN! Come down!" My mother said, as she screamed at my father who was resting on the second floor.


    "Okay¡­"


    The footsteps of my father could be heard from above, as he slowly began to walk downstairs while I helped my mother to serve the food over the table. Aside from the stew Eleanora and my grandmother made tomato and cabbage sd, and there was bread made yesterday.


    "Yawn¡­ Lunch''s already done? I still remember having eaten breakfast some time ago¡­" My father said grumpily while walking downstairs, most of his upper body was bandaged.<sub> </sub>


    "That''s because you slept for like five hours dear." Sighed my mother. "It''s already lunch time, we got some delicious veggies that ke harvested today."


    "Oooh! The ones enchanted with his magic?" He wondered.


    "Yeah, those." I said.


    "Since you''ve begun helping the crops that everything just tastes great!" My father said happily, sitting at my side between me and my mother, as my grandmother sat to the side opposite to him. Elenora naturally also sat down to eat with us as always.


    "It''s nothing much, you''ve always like exaggerating, dad." I sighed while waving my head. My father often loves to exaggerate the things I make, he seems passionate about being prideful over my achievements, even the littlest of them. I suppose this is how parents are.


    "It''s no exaggeration." Said my father with a smile. We quickly said some prayers to the Holy Spirits, which I don''t hold any faith to, and then we began wolfing down the food, we were all secretly starving as it has been five hours since we ate in the morning, I was also tired and needed to recharge my energies.


    "Hm! This is good!" My father said, eating arge potatoe with a single bite. "So? How did it go?"


    "Oh? Ah! Yeah, the High Priest gave me his blessings, he said we are going to have two." My mother said rather saddened. Instead of being happy, she seemed worried we wouldn''t be able to afford two more mouths to feed.


    "T-Two?!" My father asked in surprise. His eyes seemed shocked, and doubt was clear on his eyes. I knew she was going to have twins but I didn''t said it to them until now. My mother easily noticed my father''s expression.


    As a poor serf family, it was natural to feel doubtful or fearful of having to feed two more mouths, especially seeing how things are constantly getting more expensivetely due to the shortage of products caused by the war of demons, which made most wild animals, the vige''s greatest profit maker, disappear. Things were getting harder over time despite such a big victory.


    -----

 Chapter 275 I Can Confidently Say It

    -----


    If it wasn''t for my spells, crops would be having a  hard time growing due to the contamination in the air made out of the miasma emanated from the demonic blood poured over the forest. Even if most was cleansed through the priests'' magic, this contamination would remain. Without harming anybody but the crops, who are weaker and more delicate to these changes¡­


    "I''m sorry¡­" My mother suddenly said, feeling guilty of having two children inside of her womb.


    "D-Don''t feel guilty about such a thing! I-It is all right! In fact, I am super happy of that!" Said my father. "Aren''t you excited you''re having two siblings, ke? Right?" My father asked with a smile, trying to lift everyone''s spirit.


    "Of course I am happy! I will make sure to help them grow and teach them everything I know before I go to the Academy." I said. "And even then, you''ll alle with me. Don''t worry about money, mom."


    "B-ke¡­"


    "Hahaha! You don''t have to carry the entire family''s weight, son. That''s your father''s job! We have alreadyted a big sum of money from all the demon corpses and demon cores we sold, and the government also paid us for fighting, so we should have enough money to feed those two little seedlings." My father said with a bright smile.


    <o>,m "Joan¡­"</o>


    My mother suddenly felt emotional, begging to cry.


    "Thank you¡­ for being with me."


    My father quickly embraced her in a tight hug and kissed her forehead.


    "You don''t have to cry over it, it''s all going to be alright! T-Things are getting harder, but we are working even harder to make up for it!" My father said cheerfully, as my mother nodded.


    "I-I will also keep working hard. I got a lot of wool¡­ I-I''ll make a lot of clothes to sell." My mother said, feeling inspired to work harder as well.


    "You don''t have to sweat it. If it was up to me you should be the one resting all the time, you''re already the hardest worker here carrying those two little potatoes." My father said. As a farmer, he had such ways of speech.


    "I think the same, mother, you should be resting by now. No more helping in the crops, that''s what I''ll do with father and Eleanora." I said. "Grandma, you can take care of mom, right?"


    "Sure, sure! I''ve always taken care of this little girl of mine, no worries son." My grandmother said reassuring us more.


    "B-But¡­" My mother muttered.


    "It is fine¡­" My father said. "Actually, I wanted to tell everyone that I am already healed! I was just cking off for a little, hahaha!" My father took out his bandages and showed the scars he had, flexing his muscles. I noticed he had healed a lot, but he wasn''tpletely healed, in fact, moving his arms hurt a lot based in seeing how he was gritting his teeth.


    "Hah¡­ T-That''s a relief!" My mother said. "I had thought we should expand the farm a little bit, right? ke''s magic could help with your Skills, we have missed your Farmer Skills¡­" My mother said.


    "Heh, to think that a farmer such as myself would be missed for his Skills." My fatherughed cheerfully.<sub> </sub>


    My father was faking it. It was rather clear to me he was pretending to be healed just to reassure my mother that things were going to be alright.


    "Father you don''t have to push yourself, I got a lot of saved money and-"


    "ke! That money is yours!" My father suddenly roared, hitting the table.


    "But¡­!"


    "No buts. That money is yours! You earned it. I ain''t going to ask my son for money! Where''s my dignity as a man?" My father said while crossing his arms. "I know that all of you kids need a lot of money to make up a life in the big city, I can''t just deny you that future, right? I know every little coin you got there will count for what you want."


    "¡­Father."


    "I-I think the same¡­" My mother said. "ke, keep your money. I know you want to spend it so we can bemoners and all, so what would happen if you spent it all to make our livesfortable now? All what you''ve been saving up for will fall, especially now when things are getting more expensive¡­ With this intion who knows how expensive the things you''ll want would be, right?"


    "¡­Right."


    "Your help is more than enough, your magic to make water and to enchant the crops has already been a big help, son, you don''t have to sacrifice anything more than that- Also that wolf upstairs was super creepy! Do you have to keep that thing so close to me?!" He asked.


    "I understand¡­" I sighed. "And the wolf is staying. It is to check if you''re alright or need help."


    "Hahaha¡­ You''re a bit too overly protective¡­" My fatherughed nervously.


    "I-I will also help¡­ I-In anything I can, so please, count on me as well." Eleanora suddenly spoke, her eyes seemed filled with the motivation to help.


    "Thank you, little Eleanora." My mother said. "We''ll be counting on you as well."


    "Yeah, you''re a reliable girl." My father said. "Make sure to keep my son in check too!"


    "T-That''s a bit hard to do, ahaha¡­" Eleanora giggled a bit, as everyoneughed with her.


    I couldn''t help but smile myself. I was really lucky to have such a wonderful family with me. These people¡­ they have truly changed me. I don''t know if for the better¡­ or the worse. But I am sure that they had make me happier.


    Even Eleanora seems to be motivated to be with them and help them. I suppose even she has gotten invested into everything and considers herself part of our family. Well, that''s for the better. I am rather happy things turned out to be this way. I have to protect them and make them happy, that''s the least thing I can do for them.


    I suppose I can confidently say that I love my family.


    -----

 Chapter 276 Creating A Magic Circle Inside My Soul!

    -----


    After we were done with lunch, my father decided to take the rest of the day (by my mother''s suggestion) and get to work tomorrow morning. I helped wash the dishes with my mother before she went to the bathroom and then back to her room to rest until dinner. My grandmother said she would sew some scarfs and hats with my mother''s spirit wool, so she would keep herself busy. With nothing else to do, I decided to walk to the backyard and sit down cross-legged over the grass. Eleanora had decided to enter my Spirit Orb for what I was going to do.


    "Are you sure it will work as you are right now?" She wondered.


    "Creating a Magic Circle is nothing too special. And yeah, I had already calcted I would need around 600 MP, which I''ve sessfully umted. That should be more than enough to build the Magic Circle and at least a hundred Elemental Runes." I said to Eleanora.


    "I wish I could get a Magic Circle as well, but due to myck of personal Mana, it seems impossible." She sighed.


    "I think you could help me though." I said.


    "Help? How so?" Eleanora wondered.


    "Remember that you''re inside my Spirit Orb right now, which is connected to my soul. I will make a Magic Circle inside of my soul by umting Mana inside and then creating several runes which I will keep together generating a ring that takes a fragment of my very soul to make. This is a technique invented by old magicians in the outer universe eons ago, which had granted magic brand new abilities, such as chant less and magic circle less magic." I said to Eleanora, as she kept listening attentively.


    "Yeah, I know¡­ And?" She wondered.


    "Sigh¡­ You''re not the brightest, aren''t you? Well, you''ve always been the muscle head of the two." I sighed.


    "H-Hey!" Eleanora felt slightly embarrassed.


    "You can help me in creating the Magic Circle by adding a fragment of your soul, this way the Magic Circle that is born will be several times stronger, and will also be shared with you as if it were your own magic circle as well. Which means¡­?" I asked.


    "Oh! ¡­Which means?" She asked.


    "¡­Sigh. It means you will be able to also use magic." I said.


    "OOOOH! I see. Sorry to not understand¡­ It has been ages since I used magic." She sighed.


    "It''s fine." I sighed. "I am already used to it, and it honestly makes you cute."


    "I-Is being clueless cute?!" Asked Eleanora. "W-Wait, don''t tell me that''s the charm you find the most atractive of me¡­"


    "Not really, the most atractive thing about you is your bloodthirsty side." I said with a smile.


    "I-I wasn''t asking for real¡­" She answered nervously. "But really? how''s that charming?"


    "I don''t know, I might have weird fetishes." I said.<sub> </sub>


    "Y-You''ve really gotten more open about your thoughts, haven''t you, my lord? ¡­I-I mean, ke." She said.


    "I would say the same about you, little girl that asks my mother to reprimand me¡­" I said rather teasingly.


    "I-I did it in a whim, sorry¡­" She said.


    "No need to apologize, I had already apologized to you. Anyways, let''s begin this, enough chit-chat. Let''s leave that for after we are done."


    p "Alright! What should I do now?"</anda>


    "I will guide you through each step. Let''s first meditate for ten minutes to concentrate enough."


    "Very well."


    We quickly started the meditation. I closed my eyes and slowly made my Mana circte across my entire body. I also began to pour Spiritual Essence from my Spirit Orb into the rest of my body, and slowly began to merge both Spirit Essence and Mana into a singlebined essence, which looked like a rich and rainbow-colored river flowing across the interior of my body.


    Eleanora already began helping as she slowly infused more of her spiritual essence into the stream. Over time, when we had reached the peak of concentration, I gathered all of this enormous quantity of Mana, which had depleted over 600 MP from my reserves, and slowly deposited it into the interior of my soul. I used the Spirit Orb as a shortcut to reach my soul from my own body.


    FLASH!


    The enormous quantity of energy reached the interior of my soul, flowing everywhere. It was rather chaotic, I had lost my touch a bit. I quickly and desperately gathered all the energy with Eleanora''s help, and then used a part of this man with a fragment of my soul, which I detached rather easily with a slight amount of pain and formed a Magic Ring.


    To form a Magic Circle, one first needs to create two Magic Rings, which are ring-shaped materializations of pure mana and the soul of the user. It is the pir of the creation of the Magic Circle, a special way of cultivation of Magic more advanced than merely making Mana circte around the body. As it allows the strengthening of magic by the umtion of elemental runes. The more runes you forge inside the magic circle, the more power will elemental magic attain.


    I am fairly sure nobody has magic circles in this world because of howplicated it is to make them. People often simply rely in their Spirit Orbs or Spirits to control and circte elemental magic. Of course, they know about normal magic circles for spells, but I bet not many had ever thought about something as outrageous as putting one of those inside your soul permanently.


    "I-It''s almost done¡­!"


    Eleanora slowly took a part of her own soul and put it into my own soul, I slowly merged it with the spiritual essence and Mana, forming a second ring. Using both rings, I assembled the magic circle and fused it into my soul, getting permanently merged in it.


    FLAAASH!


    A magical aura suddenly surged from my body, I felt as if my magical power was overflowing! This entire time I''ve been only using the most basic magic, but the path towards higher Magic Tiers has finally been opened to me!


    -----

 Chapter 277 The Power Of A Magic Circle, Stronger Magic!

    -----


    "Ugh, I am so tired¡­! I-Is it done?" Eleanora asked.


    "Not yet, we are slowly forming the Runes¡­" I said.


    "What element will you choose?" She wondered.


    "I checked, my affinity is Blood and Darkness as always. The other Elements are merely used as support, so they don''t need many Runes to strengthen themselves, using the higher tier magic even without runes boosting them is already useful enough. If I want them to deal actual damage, I can fuse these elements with my main affinities as I''ve done already." I said to Eleanora, as she seemed to understand rather quickly.


    "I see, I suppose that''s the best thing you can do as of now¡­ So which runes will you make then?" She wondered. "Wasn''t Soul Runes also good?"


    "Yes, I can as of now make a hundred runes. I actually have already calcted, with 30 Soul Attribute Runes is enough to use Tier 2 Soul Magic, the rest of the runes will be put into Blood and Darkness evenly. These runes will also affect your magic, as you''ll be able to use magic through magic circles too, not just your natural magical-skill abilities." I said.


    "It is alright by me! If you think you can bring one of ourrades back to us sooner, then I am all up for it!" Eleanora said happily.


    "That''s a good response¡­"


    FLASH! FLASH! FLASH!


    And then, I quickly began to mold the leftover essence into many runes, thirty Soul Attribute Runes and 35 Blood and Darkness Runes. With that, I can begin practicing the Tier 2 Spells. Even though my Magic Circle will be a fresh Tier 1 Magic Circle, a magician can always use a tier above their own magic circle (although with a lot of effort). This is how I was able to use Tier 1 Spells without even having a magic circle, effectively having Tier 0.


    After roughly half an hour, the magic circle was finally finished, it was filled wondrously with red, ck, and yellow runes shining brightly, illuminating all of my soul. That wasn''t all, as I felt my connection with Eleanora strengthen even more than ever before. I also felt as if my Mana was flowing even more naturally towards her.


    "Oooh! T-This feeling is amazing!" Eleanora said happily.


    "You can feel it as well? The Magic Circle is finally done." I said with a nod.


    Eleanora quickly jumped off my Spirit Orb as I summoned her, and she suddenly pointed at the sky, forming magic in seconds.


    "re!"


    FLUOOOOSSH!


    A sudden spiral of mes emerged out of a small, red-colored magic circle in the tip of her fingers, shooting up into the skies and then exploding.


    BOOM!!!


    The explosion was rather potent, with this you can easily set in fire a house and perhaps kill Gray Wolves with a single shoot. This was the Tier 2 Fire Attribute Spell [re] a stronger version of [Fireball] with a greater range and explosive power to it.


    Of course, it was enough to kill small fry, but bigger prey won''t easily get down with one of these, or multiple ones. I am sure that demons can even resist Fire Attribute due to Hell being in mes all the time, so even if its Tier 2 Magic, it won''t do much damage even against Imps.<sub> </sub>


    But it was surely shy.


    "I-I can finally use magic on my own! Yaaay!" Eleanora began to jump around, as she suddenly conjured even more Magic. "Gust!"


    FLUOOOSSSH!


    A gust of winds surged from her feet as she was able to fly high up in the sky. Then, she turned into a small blood bat through her [Blood Bat Transformation: Lv1] Skill, reaching even higher in the sky. Seeing her use that Skill reminded me of her own Skill Points for a moment, which she had yet to use. Maybe she had gotten some new ones? It would be worth to check them out.


    However, there was no way I would be able to bring her down now, she was incredibly happy ying with her magic. I couldn''t possibly interrupt her¡­ even if I wanted.


    "Lightning! ¡­Lightning? Uwah!"


    Of course, I didn''t had infinite Mana, the moment it ran out, Eleanora fell off the sky. Even her transformation required Mana, so she ended falling into the floor. I quickly caught her with my arms, but she was rather heavy, so she ended making me fall.


    BAAM!


    "Ugh¡­"


    "B-ke! Sorry!"


    "It''s fine. I was d to see you happy¡­ ugh."


    Eleanora quickly jumped off me and stood up, cleaning her clothes and mine from the dirt. She seemed happier than ever before. Is using magic something she had wanted for a while? Even though it is particrly weakerpared to her main element affinity which are the same as mine?


    "You seemed way too happy, I couldn''t possibly bring myself to stop you." I sighed.


    "Hahah¡­ Sorry about that. I had forgotten how fun it was to use elemental magic. Even if it is weakpared to my main Skills." She said while shrugging.


    "I agree, magic is certainly fun even when you use it for thousands of times over, for eons, even. Magic never ceases to amaze me and make me wonder how far I can get with it." I said with a smile. We both sat down again, as I quickly decided to ask Eleanora if she had thought about her Skills yet.


    "So? Have you thought about your Skills? You got a lot of Skill Points on standby." I said to her.


    "I-I don''t know¡­ There are many options, it is quite hard to decide." She sighed. I had once showed her the options she had a week ago. But she seems to have been thinking for a while and cannot properly decide. I guess I will have to properly help her decide, she''s sometimes too indecisive.


    "Well, let''s check them again through the Grimoire and decide together now." I said.


    "Okay!" Eleanora quickly agreed.


    -----

 Chapter 278 Eleanoras Skill Tree

    -----


    The Grimoire emerged out of thin air and quickly opened. Its pages fluttering over as the breeze seemed to be moving them, but the book was actually moving by itself, until it finallynded into the section of Eleanora''s Status, right at the side, there was her Skill Library. Skills she had already picked would not show up. And it seems that since I acquired two new Talents, she got a few new Skills.


    -----


    <Skill Library>


    [Spirit: Half Vampire]:


    [Shadow ws: Lv1] 10 SP


    [Dark Arrows: Lv1] 10 SP


    [Shadow Barrier: Lv1] 10 SP


    [Blood Needles: Lv1] 10 SP


    [Blood re: Lv1] 15 SP


    [Crimson Armor: Lv1] 15 SP


    [Shadow Trap Creation: Lv1] 15 SP


    [Bloodthirsty Wrath: Lv1] 20 SP


    [Spearmanship: Lv1] 20 SP


    [Ninjutsu: Lv1] 20 SP


    [Shadow Shuriken: Lv1] 20 SP


    [Nimble and Soundless Movements: Lv1] 20 SP


    [Blood Aura: Lv1] 25 SP


    -----


    Amazing, she has a great assortment of Skills, way more than she had before! And they''re all very specialized into her own capabilities. She had a few new Skills starting from Ninjutsu. Thest time I saw her Skills, it only got up to Spear Technique. It seems that as I grow, she can also unlock new and better Skills, but they''re also more expensive Skill Point wise.


    "There''s something new? Ninjutsu, Shadow Shuriken, Nimble and Soundless Movements, and Blood Aura? Ooh! Blood Aura is a strong one! Maybe it can allow me to use our legendary Blood Aura?" She wondered, her red eyes shining brightly with enthusiasm. I could tell she was getting excited about using such a powerful Skill.


    Indeed, Blood Aura was a powerful Ability that Vampires could develop. It was one of the first powers that we developed in our previous lives that truly made a sizable difference. It could be used to enhance the body and even the soul several times, and also granted special heightened senses and allowed for the use of greater Blood Arts. It was the staple of any Vampire that wanted to grow stronger and also a pir to our cultivation.<sub> </sub>


    I have already managed to get the gist of it and used it a bit against the demons two weeks ago, but I had yet to even make it a Skill like Eleanora is capable of. Maybe if we pick it up, I could also use it for myself. After all it is possible to use Eleanora''s abilities through our Spirit and Master Connection, just not the extent where it bes my own Skill like with [Spirit Link]. Still, Shadow Sneak is an amazing Skill to evade hits and also hide, so I am not regretting having chosen it.


    "I want to pick Blood Aura, it looks like it is quite promising." Said Eleanora rather filled with determination.


    "I see, that''s minus 25 points, but you still got 35 more to go." I said. "Ninjutsu seems rather interesting, have you considered it? It seems to be a way to use the elements in shy ways."


    "Hmmm¡­ I''ve considered it, but I want something more direct. The single Ninjutsu seem rather weak and I would need to level up the skill to get more, which is a pain¡­" Sighed Eleanora.


    "I see¡­" I sighed.


    "I kind of want Spearmanship, after all I use Envy a lot, just like you use Gluttony. Thanks to this spear I can deal way more damage than I would be able to do alone. Cursed Weapons are really great. Enhancing her powers through Spearmanship would be the way to go." She said while nodding.


    "I see¡­ You got 15 Skill Points left then¡­" I said while analyzing everything.


    "Hmmm¡­ Oh! I want Shadow Trap Creation. With that it might be easier for us to catch monsters and also it could help us catch them even while we are not there." Said Eleanora. "As long as we leave some nice bait."


    "You''re right, it doesn''t sound so bad¡­" I said while nodding. "We could even lure some monsters into it as well¡­ If we spam them and put dozens of shadow traps in a single area, it could prove to be rather devastating, and the MP price is not bad at all either!"


    "Then it is decided!" Eleanora happily said.


    [Eleanora] has exchanged 60 Skill Points]


    [Eleanora] has learned the [Shadow Trap Creation: Lv1] [Spearmanship: Lv1] and [Blood Aura: Lv1] Skills]


    And done. We both know what Spearmanship can do, but Shadow Trap Creation and Blood Aura got some interesting descriptions, so I rechecked them through the Grimoire after Eleanora quickly began unleashing her Blood Aura, my Mana had recovered a bit by now, and she was also using her own Aether within her soul topensate for the rest of the required Mana.


    -----


    [Shadow Trap Creation: Lv1]


    Skill Proficiency: 0/10000


    A unique Skill of Shadow/Darkness Magicians. It grants the ability to create a mass of Darkness and Shadows which can be ced anywhere. Whenever it is touched after being ced, it will activate and a dozen of shadow tentacles will capture the prey, trapping them in ce. It is also capable of draining the prey from their energy and mana slowly, weakening them. The trap''s efficacy and grip power is increased by +20% with each Skill Level, alongside its ability to slowly drain the captured prey from its Energy and Mana by +10% with each level.


    -----


    Oh! This is not bad at all. We could definitely use this. Eleanora has an amazing insight. I suppose I shouldn''t had doubted her at all to begin with. With this we can easily ce these dark traps that can be barely seen at night and easily catch some prey. Monsters and animals still roam the woods, but are rarer and more timid now, we could pick up those remnants by using these traps. It is a rather cheap and underhanded method, but it gets the job done.


    I do wonder though; can it hide at in sight in the day? I would guess that any animal would find weird a mass of obscurityying over the forest floor¡­ Unless it has camouging abilities, or maybe the shadow is not so dark so it resembles a normal shadow? It would be nice to ce them near trees withrge shadows if that''s the case.


    -----

 Chapter 279 Creating A New Familiar

    -----


    Moving on to Eleanora''s new Skills, there''s the amazing Blood Aura, which I''ve been thinking for a while as I analyzed the power of Shadow Trap Creation.


    -----


    [Blood Aura: Lv1]


    Skill Proficiency: 0/10000


    The most fundamental power of a Vampire. By activating this Skill, the innermost Blood Energy and Mana is gathered within the user''s body, conjuring an aura of blood red color. The Aura can be used to enhance the entire physique of the user, temporarily increasing all Stats by +20% with each Skill Level, it also enhances the damage dealt by any Blood Attribute Spell or Skill by +20% with each Skill Level and allows for heightened senses and vision that can pass through solid objects. However, it constantly drains Mana and Blood Energy.


    -----


    Incredible, in the form of a Skill, Blood Aura has be even more impressive and useful. Blood Energy is the same as Blood Ki, it merely has a different name as "Ki" as a whole concept doesn''t seem to exist in this world, so it is called "Energy" instead, which seems to be alright to me. But this also means that Eleanora''s traps can also drain Ki, which seems rather¡­ amazing, to be honest. They not only weaken monsters'' vitality but even their magic power, this way they''re ready for the chopping board.


    "Excellent, Eleanora. I think we are ready. We got some free time for now. We have to go tomorrow to Erika''s home, but for now let''s go explore the forest and see if we can find any monster. Let''s try our luck." I said.


    "Alright, I also want to try out my new Skills and the Spells I got!" Said Eleanora. "But what about your Mana?"


    "Fear not, I''ve prepared an assortment of snacks and fruits." I said, I quickly took fruits from my bag and shared them with Eleanora. They were green apples, pears, and peaches I got from the people I''ve sold drinkable and clean water made out of magic.


    "Ooh, dessert! But alone is kind of boring¡­" She said.


    "That''s why we''ll make a fruit sd." I said. "This way the [Cooking] Skill will activate and allow the food to also restore my MP quickly."


    "Ah! With what?" She wondered.


    "Let''s make whipped cream with the cow milk I got yesterday. With magic it should be still good to drink."


    "That sounds good!"


    And like that, we spent twenty minutes making whipped cream and then fruit sd, which we enjoyed with my grandmother, while we left some for my parents over the table. With that, my Mana had recovered rather quickly, already over 60%, so that was more than enough for now. Food made through [Cooking] doesn''t simply restore MP right away, but it enhances the natural restoration by arge margin. Usually up to +40% speed at the recovery of MP. When we got outside, we were not done yet, as I had around twenty Dark Crow Spirit Orbs I wanted to use.


    "Wait up, Eleanora, we have to get this new Summon already, I think we should have enough Spirit Orbs to raise it to G Rank right away." I said.


    "Oh? The Dark Crow? I really thought you just forgot about it. You''re sometimes just thinking so many things¡­ You often forget the most crucial things. Just like how much you dyed Magic Circle creation." She said.


    "¡­I know I often tend to drift in my thoughts so much I forget important things, you don''t need to tell me. Having the brain of a kid is hard, it cannot store so many thoughts and it grow stressed quicker than my previous life brain, sadly." I sighed. "I hope this can be changed whenever I reach higher tiers of Physique Cultivation. Well, anyways, Absorb."


    FLASH!


    [You have absorbed 22 [Dark Crow] Spirit Orbs]


    [A New Familiar is avable for Summoning [Dark Crow (Bird) (G)]!]<sub> </sub>


    G Rank right away!


    And this is also my first Bird-type Summon!


    [Please, choose a name for [Dark Crow (Bird) (G)]


    A name¡­


    Alright, let''s give you a legendary one.


    [ck Crow (Bird) (G)] has been named as [Huginn]


    The legendary name that the Dark Crow of Odin that represented "Thought" was named after. The only name I''ve chosen without inspiration was Spore''s name, but well¡­ I couldn''t think of much when he''s just a small walking mushroom.


    "Create Huginn."


    FLASH!


    A sudden card emerged in my hand, with the picture of a ck crow over it, it also said "BIRD G" and that was it. The cardcked other information and was merely the recipient of Summons, with them I can store them inside my Grimoire for easy movement so I don''t have to carry them inside my Shadows, which has a very limited space.


    "Summon."


    FLASH!


    Without waiting for a single second, I summoned Huginn through the created Summon Card. The Card shed with bright light and then turned into a mass of white essence, shaping itself into a beautiful crow, it was slightly bigger than the Dark Crows themselves, who reached roughly 30 centimeters, this one was nearly 45 centimeters, and was almost a meter big. It could easily be considered a really big bird.


    "CRAA!"


    A glorious crow emerged, it had ck and shiny feathers,rge wings, a sharp beak that resembled a spear, and sharp red eyes glowing with an aura of eeriness. His ws also were sharp and could easily rip through flesh. It was a rather simple-looking animal, but abnormally big, and with red eyes, which seems to be a trait of my Familiars, all of them look slightly "darker" or "vampiric".


    This made me think that Familiars might be influenced by the Summoner''s Affinities. Because of this, my Summons are ck and Red in color scheme as my affinities are Darkness and Blood¡­ Although Spore is also purple and white.


    "Oooh! This bird is rather cute and big!" Eleanora said happily. "I wonder if it can lift us?"


    "I doubt it, we are too heavy. We would need to summon an even bigger bird for that¡­ Or a Griffin." I said, as I walked towards Huginn and touched his head.


    "Craa¡­!"


    It seemed well tamed right off the bat, there were no problems.


    Now, time to see his Status!


    -----

 Chapter 280 Comprehending The Powers Of An Invoker

    -----


    In front of me stood Huginn, arge crow capable of doing something I never thought would be handy until now, by looking at his stats, I also realized he wasn''t made for fighting.


    -----


    Name: Huginn


    Type: Bird


    Rank: G


    Race: Dark Shadow Crow


    < Health Points: 40 / 40 >


    < Strength: 30 >


    < Agility: 150 >


    < Vitality: 10 >


    < Intelligence: 40 >


    < Dexterity: 50 >


    Buff: +6 Agility, +4 Intelligence


    Skill: [Voice Mimic] [Shadow Flight]


    Growth: 2/30


    -----


    His stats were not bad, it was expected for a Familiar at G Rank to have such low stats. But what surprised me was that it had 150 Agility. That was¡­ something way too huge. I suppose the rest of his stats being so low are topensate for this. Huginn is probably faster than me as he can fly without the requirement of Mana and might out speed me with the use of his second Skill over a race. Of course, let''s look at each Skill separately.


    -----


    [Voice Mimic]


    A Skill that allows the perfect copy of the summoner''s voice. The voice can be transmitted anywhere the Crow goes, and the summoner is able to freely decide to speak or not.


    -----


    [Shadow Flight]


    The Familiar shrouds themselves in shadows, enhancing their flight speed by +50% at day and +200% at night. Additionally, it grants the power to transmit the Familiar''s vision with the summoner.


    -----


    Amazing. Huginn was never made to fight, despite his frightening sharp beak and ws¡­ He''s actually the perfect scout!<sub> </sub>


    Not only I can use him tomunicate from long distances but I can even see through his own eyes at night, and he receives a boost to his speed by merely activating a Skill that has no MP cost at all. Familiars are really amazing; I can simply summon them and not worry about MP consumption at all unlike with Eleanora.


    Of course, Eleanora is way stronger, but still, Familiars have their use and are also worth the pain of getting enough Spirit Orbs to summon them. I was using Eleanora before as a scout, but Huginn might beat her in that role, and be also better for the job as Eleanora is better off standing by my side as my main Spirit and source of strength than going away from me.


    I remember that some Dark Crows had the power to fire spheres of darkness. They were very weak though so they didn''t do any damage. Huginn cannot do such a thing sadly, it seems that Summons are different from their origin most of the time. It is as if the Type of Summon decides what they actually do. The Walking Mushroom Spirit Orbs I used to make Spore were not able to create any spore that could paralyze or anything, Summons might be able to developpletely unique powerspared to their original monsters.


    And if I am understanding things better¡­ Summons might be ssified depending in their type. Beast Type Summons are in charge of fighting and charging at the enemy upfront, meanwhile, nt Type might be capable of distracting the enemy or inflicting status effects, and Birds might be for scouting, reconnaissance, and anything rted to it.


    Each Familiar Type has a role, and as an Invoker, it is my duty to put each role together to make a team capable of working in tandem with each of their abilities. Meanwhile, the Spirits from my Spirit Orb could be considered the bosses that maintain everything together, alongside myself, of course.


    "A-Are you ready to go?"


    Eleanora quickly made me snap out of my thoughts, as I quickly realized I had been thinking too much once more.


    "You''re right, let''s go. Huginn, go ahead of us and scout the woods, look for any monster or animal you can find."


    "CRAA!"


    Huginn gave out a loud crow-like cry and flew into the skies. His wings shrouded themselves in shadows, as even before the light of the sun, his speed was enhanced by +50%, amazingly flying across the skies with ease. Well, that''s the power of 150 Agility.


    "Let''s go."


    Eleanora and I dashed into the forest, looking around, it seemed as if everything was calmer than ever. The forest might be even safe for toddlers to walk around now by how empty it all felt. However, there should be living beings somewhere. I really am craving to hunt anything. I do remember saying I didn''t wanted to affect the ecosystem, but I''ve already lost my patience so I will take back those words I said before, for the moment.


    "This ce is really empty, we had been running around for an hour now¡­ Are we already in the thirdyer?" Wondered Eleanora.


    "Yeah, I am seeing things through Huginn. It seems there is really barely any life." I sighed.


    "CRAA!"


    Suddenly, I heard Huginn''s cry and through his eyes I saw what seemed to be a group of five Horned Rabbits running away from a pair of hungry gray wolves. Finally, something! And it is Horned Rabbits, something I never managed to catch before because they disappeared when I was still incapable of going out to hunt.


    "Huginn saw something to the northeast, follow me!"


    "Alright!"


    With Eleanora behind me, we ran over the trees and quickly reached a small meadow within the forest, the horned rabbits were running as fast as possible from the pair of hungry Gray Wolves, but sadly that was going to be my meal.


    "Eleanora, catch the rabbits, I''ll deal with the wolves!"


    "Alright!"


    Eleanora swiftly ran towards the rabbits through the treetops, using her Blood Threads to create a in mere seconds and then putting it right in front of the rabbits running desperately. Too desperate to see through what had happened just now, they ended being captured quite easily by the. Their horns were tough but they were unable to break through the easily. These were low-rank monsters, so there wasn''t going to be any exciting fight.


    Meanwhile, I reached the wolves, but quickly noticed something. One of them was overly fat?


    -----

 Chapter 281 The Dangerous Farther Lands

    -----


    "Grawr!"


    One of the gray wolves barked angrily at me, showing me his sharp teeth. Meanwhile the second Gray Wolf stood behind him, looking at me angrily. I was ready to take their lives swiftly, but I quickly changed my mind.


    That overly fat wolf was pregnant, it was a female. If I killed her, wouldn''t I be ruining the ecosystem even more? If she got pups waiting to be born¡­ It would be better to leave her as she is. They were hunting rabbits to eat because they were quite hungry. The male¡­ looks very pale.


    "My lord, I''ve got the rabbits!" Eleanora said, reaching my side while carrying the struggling creatures in her Blood Thread Net. "Shall we dispose of them? What are you waiting for?"


    "Well, they have yet to attack me. Those two are most likely a pair. The female is pregnant too¡­ I cannot bring myself to kill her, that would only make the gray wolves even rarer. As a source of leather, meat, and spirit orbs, if I make their poption go down even more by killing her, I would be negatively affecting the vige, sadly."


    "Oh, I see¡­ Should we let them go then? They seem reluctant despite my Aura being clear enough to tell them we are stronger than them¡­" Sighed Eleanora.


    "Hmm¡­"


    I opened my Inventory Bag, which had a small pocket space inside and quickly took out arge piece of purified demon meat, I had been using to make sandwiches, but it is twice as big as a horned rabbit, so this should be enough to fill their stomachs.


    "Here."


    I threw therge piece of meat as it rolled over the ground. The two wolves seemed surprised over the enticing smell, perhaps nobody had ever given them food before. The male slowly and curiously sniffed the meat, grabbed it with his mouth and quickly ran away with the female afterwards.


    I noticed that the female suddenly stopped walking for a bit, looking at my eyes.


    And then she ran away with the male again.


    "Well, that was disappointing, I thought they would kneel before you and ask to be your pets¡­" She sighed. Eleanora might be acting more cocky now, but she still held me in high respect.


    "Expecting that of wild animals is not right, Eleanora. They''re not tamed." I said. I decided to quickly end the horned rabbits, who were all males, by ripping their little souls out of their bodies through the Tier 2 Soul Attribute Spell [Soul Hand]. As its name implies, it allows me to create a hand made out of my soul which can be used to touch other souls.


    I didn''t destroyed the little souls, and simply let them go after killing the rabbits. Like this, I can practice this Spell, which will be the one that will allow me (hopefully) to drag out the souls of my subordinates from within my Origin Core. But first I have to practice until I feel confident about doing such a thing.


    [Calcting EXP earned...]


    [You earned 350 EXP]


    350 EXP for five horned rabbits¡­ Not bad. Each rabbit gives 50 EXP plus the +40% bonus from hard worker makes it 70 per Rabbit, 70 x 5 = 350. And with this, we also have five new Spirit Orbs to use right away. With that, I could immediately get a new Summon, but I will wait until we get back home.


    For the next hour, we scouted the forest thirdyer with Huginn, finding some stray horned rabbits here and there. I selectively killed only the males, while leaving small young ones and females. This way they can keep reproducing as quickly as possible.


    Without realizing it, we reached the outskirts of the forest, and what greeted us was a beautiful grasnd up to the eye could see. The beautiful clear blue sky and the bright sun were almost like a beautiful painting.<sub> </sub>


    "So these are the Grassy ins¡­" Eleanora said. "It is such a beautiful ce."


    "Yeah, despite being dangerous, being here really soothes the heart." I said, admiring the surroundings.


    ¡­And then, we saw it.


    It was so big that it easily blocked the sun from the sky as it flew.


    Its enormous scale-covered wings shone bright red, and his eyes, green in color, locked themselves on Huginn flying over the grassy ins.


    "GROOOAR!"


    An enormous Wyvern flew towards Huginn, faster than the crow himself, and catching him in seconds with his gigantic ws. The monster''s aura was so potent that even I had to admit it sent chills down my spine.


    "CRAAA¡­!"


    CRASH!


    With a single snap of his jaws, the Wyvern crushed Huginn until it exploded into ck smoke and dissipated.


    "Grrrr¡­?"


    The wyvern felt confused looking around, the dark smoke was numbing his vision. However, he seemed to be looking for us, the two little ants that wandered outside of the safe forest.


    "We have to get out of here, this thing¡­ it is way too strong!" Eleanora, quickly dragged me by my robes into the forest, before the giant wyvern could notice us. We ran as fast as possible, without looking back, until we found ourselves in the forest firstyer.


    We rested over the floor, gasping for air. That thing¡­ it was strong. At least D Rank- no, C Rank! There is no way I can beat that, even with everything I got. The Demon General was already incredibly tough even when everybody attacked that thing at once, and even when it was already weakened.


    How strong would a monster such as a Wyvern be then? Even with those scales that could easily block most magic and weapons¡­ that fiery breath, wings that allow it to always fly and have advantage in any battle¡­ It was truly not something that can be defeated with anything I have.


    I simply¡­ can''t find any solution to it other than run away and not fight it.


    "That thing¡­ It was amazing. I never thought a mere wyvern would scare me so much, hahaha! Eleanora, I think this world is really strange! These monsters are way stronger than they should really be¡­ It is as if this game had a difficulty setting and it was set to Hell! Did this bastard of Lucifer knew this and this is why he threw me here? Haha¡­"


    "Laughing after going through a situation where you could had died¡­ Truly fitting of my lord." Laughed Elenora.


    "I''m going to kill ¡­ that damn wyvern one day" I said, while slowly walking back home with the rabbits we got.


    -----

 Chapter 282 Earning Skill EXP Efficiently

    -----


    ? It has been two weeks since my encounter with the Wyvern and things had been advancing at a slow yet steady pace. While training my Skills I have taken no breaks either, consistently using my Skills to gain Skill EXP proficiently. However, as I gained more skills over the time I acquired my Grimoire, it has gotten hard to gain Skill EXP for all of them consistently, I have only 24 hours a day after all. Therefore, some days ago I had decided to select a few Skills which I will prioritize their training over the course of my life, the most important ones for my current daily life and also for the future toe. Seeing my Skill List as of now, I had many Skills.


    First of all, Title Skills cannot be easily trained, I cannot train them easily due to their big requirements. The only one that can be used constantly is Savior, which by merely healing other people I can gain Skill EXP. However, the other three, Beast yer, Demon yer, and ughter King requires me to constantly kill certain categories of living beings, which is not always avable due to my lifestyle as a serf child. Beast yer grants Skill EXP depending in the Beast-type monster I y.


    Beast-type Monsters include things such as Boars, Horned Rabbits, and Gray Wolves. I had already tested it beforehand and Giant Wild Boars grant 100 Skill EXP while Gray Wolves grant 50 and Horned Rabbits only 20. The requirements are 10k for Level 2 as usual, but I have yet to kill enough Beast-type monsters to reach Level 2, where I will receive and enhancement on damage dealt against these type of monsters.


    Secondly, Demon yer is the same, but thanks to the demon war, I had acquired arge quantity of Skill EXP for it. Imps give 40 Skill EXP for Demon yer, while Onis give 60 Skill EXP and the Demon General gave 2500 Skill EXP. It was certainly a good grind, I am already almost at Level 3 in this Title Skill, which will increase my damage dealt against demons, the primary enemy of this world.


    Lastly, ughter King is tricky, it gains Skill EXP by killingrge quantities of enemies in a battlefield. Picking up small fry over time won''t give enough Skill EXP. Killing Horned Rabbits only gave out 1 or 2 Skill EXP, which was a pain. The way to level up this Title Skill is by ughtering many foes at once, which might be possible inside a dungeon, but for now, it might remain at Level 1 for a while. I could had leveled up in the demon war, if it wasn''t because I learned it after it ended.


    Moving on, Link Skills such as Shadow Sneak gain bonus Skill EXP from Elenora herself. So the Skill EXP earned by this Skill is shared between the two by 50%, which made it recently reach Level 3 because Eleanora has been grinding Skill EXP for this Skill for a while now, constantly fusing into shadows anding out of them. At Level 3, Shadow Sneak bes even better at helping me meddle with shadows and even darkness, and it has begun to grant an additional speed bonus while in shadows.


    Then there are the passive Skills, Acrobatics is the easiest to train alongside Robust Body and Hawk Eye, all three of them require physical or simply actions that need to be repeated constantly and don''t waste any energy other than physical energy at small quantities. For Acrobatics I realized that jumping around trees grants the most Skill EXP, usually between 5 and 10. Meanwhile, jumping around could give from 2 to 4. It seems that the more I jump from higher ces and do risky maneuvers, the more Skill EXP it gives.<sub> </sub>


    For Robust Body, it enhances resiliency and physical defense alongside strength, lifting heavy objects constantly gives around 10 to 15 Skill EXP, while doing pushups gives 1 Skill EXP every 1 Pushup. However, the best way to level up Robust Body is by receiving damage into my body, such as practicing martial arts with my friends, especially with the boys who hit the hardest, or with Eleanora at night.


    Andstly, Hawk Eye is the easiest, merely requiring me to "see". Simply inspecting things from slightly afar gives me from 1 to 5 Skill EXP, and if I try to look into the faraway mountains for several minutes, I gain around 15 Skill EXP every 20 to 30 minutes. But my vision gets cloudy if I try too hard, so I have to be careful to not affect my vision negatively.


    Because they''re the easiest to use with almost no cost, I am prioritizing the level up of these three Passive Skills. Acrobatics is already Level 3 and soon to be Level 4, while Robust Body already reached Level 3 and Hawk Eye as well. At Level 3, Robust Body and Hawk Eye have given me a stronger and more durable body and a sharper vision respectively. Robust Body now has a passive HP regeneration bonus effect, healing roughly 1% HP every 10 Minutes. At higher levels, I assume it could be incredibly reliable for long fights, so I have to do as much exercise and sparring matches as possible to level up this Skill in specific.


    Aside from three "primary skills" there are the secondary passive Skills I have been also practicing, but that aren''t as easy, Gifted Magic Apprentice, Heavy Drinker, and Intimidation. The first Skill is the fourth easiest to level up, it merely gains Skill EXP by manipting Mana and conjuring Spells, but my own Mana is not unlimited either.


    However, every time I do Mana Maniption across my body to enhance my Physique and also gain more maximum Mana, I gain roughly 5 to 10 Skill EXP every 10 Minutes. Sometimes 1 per minute and other times 1 every two minutes. However, as I''ve been doing this constantly since the moment I got the Skill, it was already Level 3 and soon to be Level 4. My proficiency with magic in this body has be even better.


    -----

 Chapter 283 MP To Skill EXP Conversion

    -----


    Thanks to the Magic Circle I had created inside of my soul; my magic control has been enhanced amazingly and my affinity with Tier 2 Spells has also be rather good. However, Tier 2 Spells usually cost over 200 MP, so they''re not something easy I can conjure, when I can only conjure them three times a day seeing how slow my MP recovers. As of now, my MP is roughly over 600, it takes 12 hours to restore 60% of it, and with another 12, its often at 100%. I make sure to use all my MP every day if I know I won''t go out to fight. Because of doing this, my MP naturally increased over the days, from 1 to 3 points daily. Well, its not much, but beggars can''t be choosers.


    I have noticed that after reaching Level 3, the Gifted Magic Apprentice Skill has gained a new bonus effect that increases the speed of my MP regeneration by roughly +10% while also decreasing MP used for spells and other things rted to magic by -5%. It is a good bonus, and it might develop further as I level up this precious Skill, so I have to quickly get it to Level 4 for even greater bonuses. This Skill might also be the pir of my magical prowess as I mature and develop in this world.


    Andstly for Passive Skills, there is Heavy Drinker and Intimidation. Sadly, those two Skills remain at Level 2 and Level 1 respectively because leveling them up is not easy. Drinking water doesn''t give Skill EXP for Heavy Drinker, but only if I drink potions constantly. Usually the lowest grade Demon Potion I can make grants 10 to 20 Skill EXP, but making them takes hours, so its nothing easy. I am trying to level up Heavy Drinker alongiside Alchemist together, but simply drinking all my potions is also not the best I can do, as it would be better to save them for emergencies. Hence, the problem with leveling up this skill. Nheless, even at Level 2 it still has a good bonus, so there''s nothing lost.


    And then Intimidation, this Skill has been the hardest to gain Skill EXP since it acquisition. This Skill requires me to intimidate beings with my might. It also requires me to switch it "on", but that would be detrimental if I were to intimidate people I don''t want to scare, especially friends and family. I also can''t ask Eleanora about this, or my friends because once they get used to it, there is no more Skill EXP earned. Intimidating monsters and wild animals seems like the way to go, but with the recent scarcity of creatures, it has be harder to find monsters to practice skills with. And just as I said before, once they''re intimidated once or twice, the skill doesn''t affect them anymore. It still stuck at Level 1, with roughly 70% of the Skill EXP necessary to level up. Perhaps in the next months it might increase for all I know.


    After the Passive Skills there are Active Skills, unlike Passive Skills whose effects are always active and enhancing my physical body, Active Skills require an activation, amand of some sort. Some of them need an amount of MP to activate, and some can be activated for free and merely enhance physical fighting. Some are also moreplex than others. As of now, I have collected arge amount of Skills, but arge part of them were acquired not that long ago, so they have yet to have too much time to gain enough Skill EXP. The Skills are Throwing Technique, Spearmanship, Butcher, Alchemy, First Aid, Command, Cooking, and Agriculture.<sub> </sub>


    The primary skills I''ve been constantly practicing with, as they don''t require anything special such as ingredients or something to activate have been Throwing Technique, Spearmanship, and First Aid. Throwing Technique is easy, I just have to grab stones and throw them. I usually throw them to a nearby tree which I''ve carved over the years with my stones, having already a 20-centimeter-deep hole where my stones oftennd. Each stone usually grants 1 Skill EXP and that hasn''t changed since the moment I got the Skill.


    I usually did this a hundred times a day, the first level needed 10000 Exp, so I had to do this a hundred days to level it to level 2, which happened over a year ago, after that, I had to take 200 days to level 3, and recently, it took me 300 days to reach Level 4. It is the same for most of the Skills. At Level 4, Throwing Technique has be more reliable, increasing damage dealt and also speed up to +40%. Alongside that, there''s now a "critical chance" bonus of 10%, where damage would be tripled if a critical hitnds. Critical Hits are something new, but they can sometimes happen if an attack hits a weak spot of a foe, such as their eyes or ankles.


    ? Moving on, Spearmanship grants Skill EXP by varied quantities. Usually by simply stabbing a dummy I''ve made out of hay, cloth, and wood, it grants 1 Skill EXP, a multiple stabbo grants bonus Skill EXP sometimes up to 10. However, that''s as much as you can get in terms of practicing solo. If I do it with friends, I can constantly gain more Skill EXP often at 50 per sparring match, but its hard to keep up with me because they often get tired very quickly, with the exception of Eleanora and Erika, which are often my primary sparring partners.


    Also, I think that due to our constant matches, Erika has learned the Swordsmanship Skill, and uses her de rather proficiently. Anyways, Spearmanship also has Techniques and Arts, such as Blood Spear Arts or Dragoon Spear Technique, they''re special technique I use with my spears, they all cost MP and Ki, so they''re not something I often practice daily, but weekly instead. Unleashing a simple Art grants 20 Skill EXP, often directly converting the MP used into Skill EXP, costlier ones will also grant even more Skill EXP, but cost even more MP.


    -----

 Chapter 284 An Analysis Of The Skills

    -----


    I acquired Spearmanship not too long ago, but I often consistently get between 70 to 150 Skill EXP a day, with 300 or more in the day I practice Arts and Techniques. I prioritize the usage of my MP and Ki into cultivating my body to gain more stats, so the leveling of skills is slower, but I prefer to increase the strength of my foundation, the body, than leveling up skills. Nheless, Spearmanship had gained a lot of Skill Proficiency in the battlefield against the demons.


    Thanks to the ability of draining their blood and converting it into Ki, I was able to keep up in the battlefield for way longer than usually, something that can only happen in such scenarios, so thanks to that Skill EXP that Spearmanship umted in the demon battle, it recently got to Level 2. At Level 2 the Skill makes my usage of spears even more precise and daily, the tip of the spear is often enveloped by an invisible aura that increases its sharpness too.


    Andstly, as for First Aid, it is the easiest as well, I merely need to conjure low tier 1 Healing Spells in anybody that is slightly wounded. Using it on myself doesn''t work though, it has to be used in someone wounded. But I''ve been using my father as my dummy for First Aid, as he''s always in pain and I often bathe him daily in healing spells so he can feel better. The fight against the demons made him surpass his limits, which left his body too scarred and exhausted.


    Healing exhaustion also grants Skill EXP for First Aid, depending in the level of exhaustion. My grandmother and Erika''s father receive weekly massages in the shoulders by me, which often make them feel more youthful and energetic. If I do this daily, they feel even better, but Ick the time to dedicate an hour a day for them, so I often leave this to twice or thrice a week. Usually, I gain roughly 500 Skill EXP each week for First Aid, and because I go around the town healing people sometimes to gain money or food, it recently reached 30000 Skill Exp and got to Level 3, after over a year since I acquired it, this skill has been one of those that had level up the fastest.


    ¡­And then there are the other Skills, Butcher, Alchemy, Command, Cooking, and Agriculture. All these Skills work by doing certain non-fighting actions. Butcher gains roughly 10 to 20 Skill EXP each time Ipletely butcher a creature, their size also matters, so Horned Rabbits give 10 while wolves might give over 20. This Skill has recently reached Level 3 and it helps at detecting the best parts where I can butcher a corpse, and also even in battle, as it sometimes gives me insights about monsters weak points.


    Alchemy has been practiced eagerly since its acquisition, mostly by making potions and pills of the simplest and lowest of grades I can. The Skill itself enhances their qualities and effects, so even the lowest grade bes "mid-grade" in this world''s standards sometimes. I''ve mostly made Demon Potions to restore demon energy, but also I''ve been making Strengthening Potions and Pills that gran temporary boosts to Strength and Vitality.<sub> </sub>


    Each potion is often 20 Skill EXP, sometimes 30 Skill EXP if they''re higher grade sometimes. Pills can be produced inrger quantities, so they''re often 3 to 5 Skill EXP. I usually can only make a few weekly, so I often gain 200 to 250 Skill EXP each week, since I acquired this Skill that I''ve been trying to level it up, but just recently it got to Level 2, after roughly three years since its acquisition! I need better equipment and more ingredients if I want to gain more Skill EXP, but for now, I guess this is good enough.


    Command is easy to understand and also to use, but it has some conditions, such as I can only use it when I am at leastmanding a minimum of 3+ allies. So I often use it with my friends when we all gather to spar. Usually each use of Command gives 1 Skill EXP with eachmanded ally. Themand effectsts until a battle end, such as a sparring match, and when I gather with friends, we do roughly twenty sparring matches, this happens thrice a week usually, and they''re six, so I can earn roughly 1440 Skill EXP each month, not enough to level it fast, but it''s alright. It should soon reach Level 2. It is a new Skill so I can''tin here.


    Lastly, Cooking and Agriculture. These are easy to understand and do, and I usually partake in their Skill EXP grind each day several times. For cooking, I''ve been waking up early each day to help my mother and grandmother make food, usually each day I earn 20 Skill EXP through all the food we make, that''s around 140 Skill EXP a week, and in four weeks, which is a month usually, it is 560 Skill EXP. This is a new Skill so its still Level 1, but it might reach Level 2 in a month or two, whenever I begin cooking more.


    Agriculture is the same, enhancing the soil and nts and harvesting them grants Skill EXP, each day I roughly get 20 to 30 Skill EXP when I tend the crops with father and mother, or nt new seeds. So after two weeks, I got 300 Skill EXP out of 10000¡­ Yes, it will take a while, but this is how it is. It''s also a new Skill, so I can''tin.


    And well,stly, Magic Skills. They''re the newest of the bunch, it includes Blood Edge and the three Summoning Skills, Create/Delete Familiar, Summon/Unsummon Familiar, and Familiar Storage Expansion. They''re all tricky to level up and gain Skill EXP, so they''re still at Level 1, well, because they''re fairly new as well, so I can''tin¡­ However, I''ve roughly figured how they work.


    -----

 Chapter 285 A New Familiar Summon

    -----


    ? Magic Skills are quite amusing, they only work through the usage of MP only, and can be quite deadly, but also they''re the hardest to level up and at the same time, the simplest. As I had exined earlier, usually when using Skills, MP is directly converted into Skill EXP. Using Blood Edge once allows me to create and shape blood into a sharp attack. Often fusing it with Blood Arts to create ws or blood des, usually they cost between 20 to 40 MP for the most simplest of ones, but bigger stuff costs over a 100 MP. But of course, that also ends up enhancing Skill EXP by 1:1 the used MP.


    Blood Edge seems to be a strong skill that I want to improve, as Blood is my primary magic affinity, it will probably be a pir of my strength in the future, especially when I face monsters such as that terrifying Wyvern and beyond. This is why I''ve been using 150 MP each day only for it, which has given me roughly 1050 Skill EXP each week, this converts to 4200 Skill EXP, Blood Edge is around a month-old skill but I am already halfway through Level 1, so I can finally reach Level 2 in around a month and a half from now. The other 450 MP I have, or a big higher than that, are used to cultivate and gain more MP over time and, well, use the other three Summoning Skills, which are very important to level up. Usually, I use 150 MP a day for Blood Edge, another 250 in Cultivation/Spell Casting Practice, and the other 200+ MP are used in the Summoning Skills.


    The three Summoning Skills, Create/Delete Familiar, Summon/Unsummon Familiar, and Familiar Storage Expansion are all necessary to strengthen my Familiars, which are also going to be a pir of my strength in the future. The more I summon and fuse "equip", the more Bonus Stats I can gain temporarily, and the more useful minions I could have. Each Summon have their own unique ability to them, and even the Horned Rabbit Familiar I created some days ago is useful on its own.


    First of all, Create/Delete Familiar is the easiest Skill to gain Skill EXP from, I simply need to constantly create Familiar Cards. Which are stored in my Grimoire. I can store up to 70 Cards in my Grimoire, and thesest weeks I have been constantly making more Cards each day. Usually H Summon Cards cost roughly 30 MP, while G Rank Summon Cards cost 60 MP. However, the MP spent is directly converted into Skill EXP by a 1:1 ratio, so I am still earning a good amount of Skill EXP even if I only summon three or four cards a day.


    It''s important to level up this skill the most, as it will allow for the creation of higher grade Summon Cards. As of now I am restricted to H and G, and if I reach Level 2, I might unlock F and E, hopefully. After a week of creating four G Rank Cards daily, I got 3360 Skill EXP for the Skill, I''ll need another month to reach max level, but it won''t take as long as I imagined thanks to having started with a lot of MP right away. If I had gotten this Skill way earlier, it would had taken a long time, but now that I have over 660 MP, it is not so bad.


    Secondly, with Summon/Unsummon Familiar, it''s the same, but without any MP Cost, creating the Cards is what costs MP and summoning the familiars from Cards has no MP cost, but converting them back into cards does cost a small amount of MP, usually 10. I always summon every card I create right away to get Skill EXP for this skill, which is roughly the same as the previous Skill, so this Skill is also around 3360 in EXP. The higher the level, the more Summons I can bring at the same time. This skill is important if I want to make an army in the future.


    Andstly, Familiar Storage Expansion also doesn''t require MP, and it gains Skill EXP over time by merely storing cards. The amount of EXP is half of the others though, so if I store a Card that costs 60 MP to create, it will gain 30 Skill EXP and not 60 Skill EXP. Nheless, as of now, it has reached roughly almost 2000 Skill EXP after two weeks of constantly saving Cards. The Skill EXP can only be earned once the card is stored, taking it out to summon it and then storing it again doesn''t grant additional Skill EXP, as I''ve experimented greatly.


    "Chuu!"


    And well, my new Familiar Summon, the Horned Rabbit, was digging the backyard as usual.


    "Chu! Chuuu..."


    It was arge horned rabbit, roughly the size of a house cat. I had named him Usagi, and it had evolved to G Rank after I feed him enough Spirit Orbs of the Horned Rabbits we have been cautiously hunted with Eleanora over the two past weeks. The Beast-type Summon had interesting Abilities:


    -----


    Name: Usagi


    Type: Beast


    Rank: G


    Race: Wild Horned Rabbit<sub> </sub>


    < Health Points: 40/40  >


    < Strength: 30 >


    < Agility: 90 >


    < Vitality: 30 >


    < Intelligence: 50 >


    < Dexterity: 90 >


    Buff: +6 Agility, +3 Dexterity


    Skill: [Jump] [Dig]


    Growth: 18/30


    -----


    It went from Horned Rabbit to Wild Horned Rabbit, so it gained stripes and arger and sharper horn. Even then, this Summoncks offensive capabilities even though the horn might be sharp. This Summon specializes in Agility and Dexterity the most and has two Skills [Jump] and [Dig]. With Jump, it is able to jump up to thrice its normal jump height, which might be good to evade attacks or get over foes, and with [Dig] it can dig quite quickly. Not as quick as my father''s Spirit, which is tens of times faster and more efficient, but if I gather a lot of Usagi, I can make pitfalls in a few minutes. Sadly, there aren''t any big enough monsters worth the effort.


    "aaake!"


    And Erika had just arrived.


    "Let''s spar! Let''s spar! I''ll show my new sword moves!"


    "You''re as eager as ever."


    -----

 Chapter 286 Meeting With Friends

    -----


    Due to the size of the vige, most houses are separated by several meters and we usually haverge and expansive backyards where we can have our sparring ytime. Usually I gather with my friends thrice a week, although Erikaes to visit almost daily. Eric and Chris who also live neare to visit five times a week usually, spending the weekend with their families. I have also gone to visit their houses from time to time. Usually I got to do Alchemy at Erika''s home, while I go research for this world''s herbs and ingredients at Eric''s home. I have yet to visit Chris'' house though, but it seems he doesn''t want me to go there because he says he has many siblings and it''s too messy.


    Nheless, everyone came today to "y" as some of them call it, although I am seriously just training them so they can grow stronger. Aside from the energetic Erika who came jumping across the grass like a rabbit, there was Chris, Eric, Elizabeth, and Erdrich behind her. Elizabeth and Erdrich don''t have as much free time over the week, but still manage toe two to three times a week to y with all of us. After a month since everyone met each other, they have begun to get along surprisingly well. At first Erika seemed to be quite jealous of Elizabeth for some reason, but the two girls are now like best friends, so I suppose that changed quickly.


    Meanwhile, Erdrich had grown friendlier with everyone else, and has opened much more than before. He was quite shy with everybody, but now he is slowly lowering his guard. Well, with my training, it is obvious he''ll do. After all I''ve been letting him get all his frustrations out with a punching match all while I teach him how to use Ki, Mana, and Demonic Energy. The three energies he can manipte will make him an incredibly strong fighter in the future, as a half-demon he has a great potential.


    "aaake!"


    "I already heard you the first time, Erika." I sighed.


    Eleanora was at my side practicing magic and quickly waved her hand at Erika to greet her. We were simply practicing Skills to gain Skill EXP while sitting in the backyard when my friends came.


    Erika suddenly jumped over my body like a rabbit. I could had evaded but it would had been slightly rude to just let her fall over the floor, so I ended catching her¡­ however, her body weight was so heavy that I ended falling over the grass with her.


    BAAM!


    "ke! How are you? I missed ya!" She said with a bright smile.


    We have not seen one another for almost 5 days now, this was mostly because both of us have been busy. I''ve been doing a myriad of things myself while she have been busy in her home. Her father had begun teaching her how to create Dolls and also seems to have discovered new Skills she could use to repair and create dolls, which he wants her to learn and master.


    "I am good, Erika¡­ Can you get up?" I sighed. Her face, as usual, was way too close to mine.


    "Okay!" She said, Erika suddenly kissed my cheek and smiled cutely, quickly jumping away from me.


    I could feel the growing irritation of Eleanora behind me. Since she acquired the Blood Aura skill that she has gotten better at unleashing a powerful aura like this.


    "You don''t have to do that, you know? It was highly unnecessary." I sighed.


    "But that''s how we  greet since we were little kids¡­" Said Erika.


    "¡­Right."


    "ke!"


    "How are you?"


    Chris and Eric were the second group to reach me, the two ran to my side and also greeted Erika.<sub> </sub>


    "I am doing alright." I said. "I''ve been mostly hunting rabbitstely, and you?"


    "My father has been teaching me how to use a shield!" Chris said. He had brought arge wooden shield covered in wolf leather.


    "I had been mostly studying, though the other day I finally made my first potion, you should had been there to see it!" Eric said, his eyes shone brightly.


    "I am d you two had been working hard this week." I said. "Are you two ready for some sparring matches? I also want to teach you how to fight better. Chris, are you serious about using a shield by the way?"


    "I am! This shield''s been with my father for years, he gifted it to me for my birthday!" Chris said, he had recently reached eight years of age. He was older than all of us by a bit over two months.


    "Very well, I will teach you some techniques with it, and how to use Ki and Mana to make your shield stronger." I said.


    "Eh?! You know techniques about shields? I thought you only used a spear¡­" Said Chris.


    "I have practiced with a shield myself, I simply dislike it." I said. Of course, that was a lie, I had mastered several shield techniques in my previous life, they would go to waste if I don''t teach them to him.


    "Well, is that so? Thanks a lot then!" Chris said with a cheerful smile.


    "You''re using a shield because you''re all squishy, Chris?" Erika giggled while she began elbowing Chris stomach.


    "I-I am not squishy, but not everybody can be as durable as you, Erika¡­" Sighed Chris.


    "I guess you''re more of a long-ranged magician yourself, using a shield might be good in certain situations where you''re cornered and we are too far away to assist you." Said Eric while readjusting his sses.


    While the kids discussed, Elizabeth and Erdrich were already here.


    "Hey, how''s it going guys?" Erdrich spoke with a rather carefree demeanor.


    "ke! Erika! Chris! Eric!" Elizabeth said all our names, rushing to our side. She began to hug all four of us one after the other. She was affectionate with everybody.


    "Elizabeth! Long time no see! How are you?" Erika said, hugging Elizabeth back.


    "I''m good! I missed you!" Elizabeth said.


    -----

 Chapter 287 Training Elizabeth With Hand-To-Hand Combat

    -----


    After everyone greeted one another, it was time to assess things. My friends had already made me their "leader" of the group long ago, without even talking about it. Therefore, wherever I spoke to all of them, they would quickly listen to me. I directed my gaze to Erdrich and Elizabeth, my primary targets today for sparring sessions.


    "Have you two trained as I told you?" I wondered. Almost a month ago I had taught Erdrich and Erika how to use Ki, and told them to practice the breathing techniques for the rest of the month. I have been testing them slowly, but without teaching them anything concrete because I wanted them to first build a good enough foundation.


    Both of them already had a veryrge quantity of Ki themselves. Even the small and delicate-looking Elizabeth was stronger than one might think at simple nce. If Ki could be calcted as a Stat, both would haverge quantities. Perhaps Elizabeth would be around 500 without even training it or cultivating it yet, while Erdrich might be near 700 or 800. I know that Ki increases over time as a body develops, but without my training I would easily have less than them, both untrained.


    If it wasn''t because I cultivated for years since my birth, I wouldn''t have enough for everything I''ve done so far. Training my Ki has been of great help for the growth of my strength. This just showed these two had great talent for martial arts. Indeed, even the little Elizabeth could be able to fight well. Maybe not with fists but perhaps with the typical staff of priests, or maybe a hammer.


    "We have put some training, yeah." Said Erdrich. "I have felt this "Ki" thing bettertely, is this something to do with learning better martial arts?"


    "I have been running around like you said I should, ke. It was fun and my body doesn''t feel as tired as before either¡­!" Elizabeth replied. Before having her Ki Core awakened, Elizabeth was slightly sickly physically, and couldn''t run too far or fast, or she would get very tired. But since I awakened her Ki, she had be more energetic and her stamina had increased several times.


    "Good, you two should be ready for the training then." I said with a nod.


    "Training?" The two wondered.


    "First of all, you two will have a match with me, and while fighting I will impart on you my knowledge."


    "By fighting? Sure. Though I don''t really know how you''ll do it." Erdrich replied while feeling slightly doubtful of my abilities as a teacher.


    "You''re underestimating ke, Erdrich, you''ll get your ass kicked!" Said Chris.


    "I''ve already had my ass kicked before, not like it can get any worse." Erdrich replied to Chris.


    "F-Fighting? But I am a girl, I can''t easily fight¡­" Said Elizabeth.


    "Girls can fight too!" Erika said to Elizabeth.


    "Don''t feel afraid of giving me a punch, Elizabeth. It is important for you to grow stronger in this world. We are still in this small vige, but eventually we''ll move on beyond these boundaries." I said to Elizabeth, petting her head. "Give it a try."


    "Geez¡­ Okay. I get it!" Elizabeth said. She seemed to be feeling slightly more motivated.


    "Then let''s get to business."


    And like that, I decided to first spar with these two. I wanted to spar with them two times each, just to make sure things were alright, I''ll rotate between the two, of course. The first one was Elizabeth, as I didn''t wanted her to sit down and wait while doing nothing. The rest of my friends decided to spar against one another themselves. Erika versus Chris and Eric as usual. Erika was a literal monster in terms of offense and defense, and even utility, so the two kids had to team up against her if they wanted to stand a chance.<sub> </sub>


    "Elizabeth, concentrate the Ki within your body and make it flow into your arms as I taught you before. Also, can you feel your Mana?" I wondered.


    "Y-Yeah, Ellergest taught me how to manipte my Mana¡­" She said. "And Ki¡­ it feels light¡­ Oh? I don''t remember it being so light and easy to manipte!"


    Her bright eyes shone with golden light, as Elizabeth suddenly began to emanate an aura of both Ki and Mana mixed up together of the same color as her eyes.


    "Good, now. What moves do you know?" I wondered. "I had taught you plenty of things, but what do you prefer?"


    "I-I¡­ Erm, I like using my staff. I am not good at kicking, I don''t know if I am good at punching either¡­" She said.


    "Alright, let''s try bare fist fight first and then we can move to use weapons." I said. "Come at me wherever you feel like."


    I stood there while waiting for Elizabeth. She was wearing a blue dress this time instead of wait. I had told her it was better to wear something that would be easier to wash from things such as sweat and perhaps blood.


    "A-Alright!"


    Elizabeth clumsily rant towards my way, as I felt her Ki and Mana gathering in her fists, her fist timidly reached my chest and hit me. It was such a gentle pat of her hand that I felt like she wasn''t even taking this seriously. I noticed her arms trembling a bit. Maybe I shouldn''t force her to fight? But¡­ if she doesn''t know how to fight, whenever her MP goes out, she''ll be dead weight. What if she''s alone, without anybody to protect her and out of MP? She''ll die. She has to have more options.


    "Elizabeth, your punch is too soft, what are you doing?"


    "S-Sorry¡­!"


    "Don''t apologize, hit me harder."


    "But I don''t¡­ like hurting others¡­"


    "Hm¡­ I know it is hard, but for your friends and for your father, that old man¡­ You have to learn how to fight with something more than Mana."


    "D-Don''t call papa an old man!!!"


    However, out of nowhere, I ended enraging Elizabeth for calling Ellergest an old man.


    BAAAM!


    -----

 Chapter 288 Elizabeths Special Ki Aura

    -----


    Elizabeth''s fist quickly reached me, as I put my arms to block her attack. My instincts reacted by themselves this time, her punch was indeed quite strong. Hitting my two crossed arms, I felt the intensity of her small fist create shockwaves into my entire body. Her muscles and bones might not be strong, but thanks to herrge quantity of Mana and Ki, she was able to enhance her strength quite a lot, especially by creating that shockwave.


    BAAAM!


    I ended stepping back a few steps, as I opened my eyes widely. Elizabeth was pouting angrily at me because I called her adoptive father an old man. I had done this so many times that I got used to it. I never thought she would get pissed about it. I''ve called him like that before while she was present, but it seems that just now she let this angere out of her.


    I looked at my arm, finding it had some bruises. She was very strong to leave one like that. Of course, I might had lowered my guard because it was her. If I had activated my Defensive Techniques and Spells, I would had been able to take that fist better.


    "Oh?! That was good!" I said.


    "Eh?!" Elizabeth quickly realized she had hit me harder than she wanted. "S-Sorry! Did it hurt?"


    "A bit, but that was the point of this. Now channel that rage some more, Elizabeth. Remember all those things that have frustrated you and made you angered, and get them out. Channel that anger and point it towards me!" Iughed a bit, as I looked at her reaction.


    "What¡­ made me angry?" She wondered. "But I haven''t¡­ Well¡­ I¡­ I often get angry when Jack leaves his nasty clothes over the floor in his room, and I have to go clean them¡­ Or when Seth leaves his room all messy with books everywhere, and I am the one that has to organize them back¡­ Or when¡­ Ellergest cuts his beard and leaves the white hair all over the bathroom!"


    Elizabeth suddenly began to remember small things that irritated her but that she never voiced out. Erdrich looked at her with wide eyes, beginning to think she was slightly not as he had always pictured her, perhaps. And certainly, I was the same.


    "How does these things make you feel?" I wondered.


    "A-Angry! I want to¡­ I want to tell them to be more careful and to not be so nasty!!!" Elizabeth cried, she was still quite innocent over the things that made her angered, but this anger was good enough for her Ki Aura to explode out of her body, her hair began to wave around by the power of her aura, as she jumped towards me rapidly, her fists suddenly shing against me several times consecutively.


    CLASH! CLASH! CLASH!


    As her fists were covered in light, they resembled falling stars hitting my body. She was getting faster. The light element she wielded increased her speed the most. I had seen offensive light magic used by experts before, it specialized in speed, even the powerful wielders I fought in my past life all specialized in movement. The moment Elizabeth''s body was shrouded in this light, she became frighteningly fast.


    FLASH! FLASH!


    I blocked her fists while she began running around me. I decided to start attacking her as well to test her evasion, quickly pointing my fist towards her face, but she quickly evaded it by moving down and then moving her fist towards my chin. Oh, that''s a good move.


    BAAM!


    However, my palm caught her fist as I quickly decided to grab her entire arm and twist it, quickly stopping her barrage.


    "Uagh!" She cried in surprise, quickly snapping out of it.


    I let go of her quickly after, as her own Aura seemed to have healed the pain of her arm quickly after. Not only her aura granted speed, but it also enhanced her basic HP regeneration speed and could even heal pain quickly¡­ She was built to be a fighter.<sub> </sub>


    "That was amazing, I never thought you would fight this fiercely." I said.


    "Ouch¡­ That hurt a bit but the pain¡­ Eh? It''s gone?" She wondered, as Elizabeth began touching her arm.


    "This is the special effect of your Ki Aura, your Element of Light seems to not only enhance your movement speed greatly, but also your Health Recovery." Elizabeth heard my words, as the pupil of her eyes widened in surprise.


    "Wooow! So it is like that, eh? I am built to fight then!" She said while jumping out of the ground and suddenly hugging me. "I-I''m sorry for hurting you though¡­"


    "Don''t worry, I also hit you back, this is how sparring works. Did you got a better gist of it?" I asked Elizabeth, as she nodded rapidly.


    "Yeah!"


    "Very well then, go rest for the moment, we''ll spar after I spar with Erdrich."


    p "You''re not tired?"</anda>


    "Not at all."


    "Uwah, you''re really built different¡­"


    Elizabeth walked back with everybody else who had finished sparring as well, and they received their praises.


    "Amazing, I never thought you would be so fast at fighting, Elizabeth!" Erika said.


    "That was great, I had never seen a user of Light Magic using their element like that." Chris added.


    "I-I wonder if we could share Healing Spells Magic Circle Forms¡­ I''ve heard priests are the best at healing." Eric seemed to be interested in somethingpletely different but used this opportunity to ask her.


    "Hahaha, thanks! And sure, Eric, I can show them to you!" Elizabeth was happy to have friends near her age. The church only had old men and women, or at most, teens above 17 not interested in children.


    Erdrich quickly walked towards me after seeing that match.


    "That was interesting, I never thought the little Elizabeth could get so good at fighting¡­" He said while rubbing his chin. "Okay, let''s fight then! I want to see what you can show me."


    "Alright,e at me."


    -----

 Chapter 289 Erdrichs Unique Fighting Style

    -----


    Erdrich fighting style, unlike everyone else here, is merely fist and kick based. He''s a pure martial artist. Since he was taken by the church that he had been trying different weapons, but nothing seems to go with him, so he had kept himself using his mere fists and legs. Well, there''s nothing wrong with that. If it wasn''t because my body is frailpared to his, I would be using my hands and legs as well, they''re more flexible too. But using a spear is the best for long-rang physical attacks that can reach the enemy while keeping a good distance from them at the same time.


    "Alright! Here I go!" Erdrich roared, his entire body began to exude the powerful aura of his half-demon side. He had been able to channel and better control his demonic instincts and also his demonic energy thanks to the meditation training I''ve taught to him. Of course, there''s something more than that, his Spirit.


    The spirit of Erdrich is still a mystery to me, but from what I remember, it spoke the first time it appeared. It also had a slight resemnce to Cassandra, his mother, but it was way younger. His Spirit is probably a human-type spirit, but also had some ghostly and phantasmal appearance. As of now, he had not been able to bring the Spirit out, but from what I can recall, it was thanks to her that he was able to regain hisposure after going insane with his demonic powers.


    This spirit might have probably been born from his desires to remain human, a spirit that is not really powerful, but has the special ability of helping him regain his senses and stay calm andposed. The only way I could bring that spirit outside once more is¡­ if I enraged Erdrich to the point he went as insane as before, but that would be dangerous, too dangerous. The soldiers and knights have agreed to keep this secret due to Ellergest''s request, but if he goes changing into his full demon form, he''ll attract the gazes of our neighbors, even if they''re pretty far away, they''ll easily notice something odd.


    Therefore, if I want to test his Spirit abilities we''ll have to first find a special area where we can bring him to go all out against me. But for the time being, simply helping him gather Ki into his body and learn martial arts should be enough.


    "Erdrich, you have three different energies inside of your body. Your Mana, your Ki, and your Demonic Energy." I said, as Erdrich slowly began to gather his monstrous and uncontroble aura into his body, without letting it leak out.


    "Unlike Elizabeth, your Aura is almost uncontroble due to the vtile Demonic Energy, youck a lot of control over it, which makes it very prone to go out of control. You have to learn how to gather and shape your Aura and permeate your body with it." I said to Erdrich, as he nodded.


    "Yes¡­ I get it. I have been meditating for a while now. You''ve helped me more than I could have ever asked you for, ke¡­ I think I''ve got the hang of it, a little."


    FLASH!


    Erdrich''s Aura simply grewrger after he said that. For a moment, I felt like asking him if he was saying the truth, but then, something shone brightly within his chest, as it all gathered into his body. His Aura suddenly stopped looking like a zing me and ended resembling merely a glowing red light permeating his body thinly. Interesting, he seems to have been practicing his control rather well.


    "RAAAH!"


    And a second after, without previous warning, Erdrich ran towards me. Or well, more like jumped. He was five meters away from me but jumped to me all the way from there, jumping high into the skies. He had an incredible inhumane strength and agility granted by his half-demon race.


    Naturally, I enhanced my body with my Mana and Ki and used a few Spells such as [Iron Skin], [Metabolism eleration], [Bone Reinforcement], and more, and caught his blow with my bare palms.


    CLAAASH!


    "Hahah¡­! I knew I wouldn''t be able to best you even with a surprise attack¡­!" Erdrichughed. He seemed to have expected me to easily intercept him.


    "Is this all you''ve got, Erdrich?!" I asked with a smile. I felt my heart pumping as the excitement of fighting someone strong began to make my blood boil. A second after I swung my left leg towards Erdrich and kicked him in the chest. He took the kick head-on only to punch me in the face.


    BAM!<sub> </sub>


    However, I intercepted his punch with the palm of my right hand, only for another fist to reach my stomach, blowing me away.


    CLASH!


    "Ugh¡­!"


    I ended flying into the sky and then falling over the floor. I quickly maneuvered in midair and managed tond withoutplications. But the punch he gave me in the guts was strong, like the punch he gave me back then when he went insane. Has he already managed to channel such power without going insane? Interesting!


    "I caught you cking!"


    Suddenly, the shadow of Erdrich emerged above me. Another jump. Little bastard.


    CLAAASH!


    This time, I enhanced my leg with my Ki Aura, as an explosion of red energy flew to all directions, generating a thunderous shockwave.


    TRUUMM¡­!


    "Guh¡­?!"


    Erdrich didn''t took that kick in the guts all that well, as I quickly grabbed him by the clothes and threw him away, he rolled into the floor pathetically, as I ran towards him with a smile I couldn''t contain.


    "Come on, Erdrich! Don''t disappoint me now, it was finally getting good!"


    I raised my leg and was about to kick him in the face, but Erdrich smiled back at me, his eyes zing with demonic re as he evaded my kick and thennded a kick of his own into my chest.


    CLAAASH!


    "Ngh¡­! Not bad!"


    -----

 Chapter 290 Dont Worry, This Is Just A Normal Fight!

    -----


    CLASH! CLASH! CLASH!


    Erdrich unleashed a thunderous barrage of kicks against me, moving like a furious Asura. His skin was slowly turning red as his eyes zed with demonic mes. I remember that this exact thing was happening to him back then. However, although he was getting pumped up by the fight, he didn''t seem to be losing his mind at all. Was meditation and the control of Ki what he needed to properly control the vtile demonic energy?


    "Hoh, you''re getting better at this!" Iughed, I quickly decided to retaliate after taking a few kicks. I moved swiftly and directly towards him while Erdrich''s fists attempted to hit my face, evading such big arms wasn''t a problem at all for my smaller and nimbler body, [Acrobatics] also helped in that regard. Grinding the Skill up to Level 4 was proving to be a great thing!


    I gathered Mana and Ki into my right fist, Blood Ki in specific, and then, I let it all out into an explosive punch into his face.


    BOOOM!


    "Guuaaaggh¡­!"


    Erdrich immediately flew away from my sight. It seems that I overdid it a bit there. He fell over the floor, rolled through the grass, and ended half-dead there. I think I have indeed overdone it. Maybe because he was showing signs of growing stronger and getting the gist of it, I had assumed he had managed to obtain the iron nerves and furious berserk will he had before, but it seems a mere punch in the face with enough strength to shatter a boulder was enough to almost knock him out. I remember that back then, he took all my hits just right, even with my spear.


    I quickly ran towards him with Elizabeth and the rest, they all were looking at me with angered res. I seem to have enraged them all due to my actions. I felt slightly bad for what I did, after all he was excited and I ruined his fight because I thought he would be capable of taking a big hit¡­ Well, he''s partially to me for tricking me!


    "Are you alright, Erdrich?" Elizabeth asked, as she tried to heal him but quickly remembered that actual light magic that could heal normally would hurt him due to being half-demon weak against these elements.


    "Y-Yeah, I am alright." He sighed. Erdrich quickly sat down over the floor and looked at me with a swollen face.


    "That was a good match, you''ve surely gotten stronger¡­" I said. "I¡­ I might have gone a bit too hard on you, you tricked me into thinking you have attained the strength you showed to me back then."


    "I-I was getting through it still, but I guess I also went overboard, this is a sparring match after all." He sighed. "I-I am the brute here¡­ Are you okay?"


    Erdrich body slowly went back to his original size. Each time his skin would slowly turn red, his muscle mass would grow twice as big, giving him an orc-like body wrapped in strong and iron-hard muscture.


    "Yes, I am alright. Your techniques were very good, you looked like a furious Asura." I said.


    "Asura? What''s that? But thanks anyways." He said with a giggle, feeling slightly embarrassed of being praised.<sub> </sub>


    "Geez! You two are such brutes hitting each other like that! You even created shockwaves!" Elizabeth began to reprimand us. "You think you could do this if you were closer to a house? You could had destroyed it!"


    "S-Sorry¡­ You''re right." Erdrich apologized.


    "You''re exaggerating, Elizabeth. Don''t be so sensitive. This is two men giving their all in a fight. You''ll understand when you begin putting more into your fighting, you''ll evenprehend the thrill of fighting!" I said.


    "Eeeh? You''re just cocky, ke! Just apologize." Erika said while crossing her arms.


    "I am not apologizing¡­" I said pridefully.


    "Hahaha! You two girls will never understand ke if you keep trying to make him do things he won''t. He''s just built different." Chris said.


    "He''s too prideful, don''t ask him to do the impossible." Eric said while shrugging.


    Erika and Elizabeth seemed to sigh in unison as they decided to let it go.


    "Well now! Elizabeth, time to fight me again. After you, Erdrich will fight me again, and then we can continue with our other training and teaching sessions as usual." I said.


    "Eeeh? Barely like ten minutes have passed since I fought¡­" Sighed Elizabeth.


    "Come on, do your best."


    At the end, Elizabeth fought me rather well. She was getting slightly better at grasping her aura''s true capabilities. Moving faster and more precisely. She was also unleashing rays of light from her fists and legs whenever she tried out faster kicks and punches, showing that she had great potential. Her healing capabilities were also tested as I had decided to hit her a few times in the stomach, shoulders, and her leg. The bruises left and muscr pain quickly were healed after a few minutes of fighting, her aura seems to be quite promising.


    After she was left almost knocked out because I overdid it a bit, I fought again with Erdrich, this time he went all out from the beginning, turning all of his skinpletely red and even showing a few ck tattoos that emerged around his red skin, even his horns grewrger and he was around x2.5 times his size. His kicks and punches shattered the ground and created powerful shockwaves, and I had to go a bit all out against him, using some Flowing Fist Techniques such as [Skull Smasher] and [Punishment of the Ignorant] into his pressure points to beat him easily.


    Nheless, he was quite promising, so I had increased my expectations for both him and Elizabeth. And after the sparring sessions ended, we quickly decided to have a small break where we ate some lunch I had premade, mostly sandwiches with demon and rabbit meat alongside the veggies we have harvested in my family''s farm, and also mayonnaise I made myself from chicken eggs I got gifted to me from someone I healed with First Aid and some oil. The food was delicious and easily recovered our stamina.


    -----

 Chapter 292 The Truth About The World

    -----


    "Papa got so angry he threatened the priest of forcefully expulsing him out of the church through his authority." Said Elizabeth. Ellergest was often referred as "papa" by her.


    "Hm, that old man''s been doing god''s work then." I said with a nod. "An actualpetent holy man, that''s a weird thing."


    "Well, you don''t have to worry about it, ke, everything''s alright." Said Erdrich. "My siblings came to visit me a few days ago, I had fun with them."


    "At the very least your siblings seem to not have forgotten you." I added.


    "Yeah, they''re good kids¡­" Erdrich seemed to smile each time he remembered his family.


    "Well, anyways, have you guys heard the newstely? There''s a big Red Wyvern roaming the Grassy instely! Some said it came from the faraway Snow Mountains where the dragon is sleeping." Chris said while trying to change the topic into something less sensitive.


    "Ah yes, I had gone out with Eleanora and we went there. We met the creature firsthand. It was vastly stronger than what a Wyvern should had been, it easily ate one of my Familiars." I sighed.


    "Indeed, it was a mighty beast. You children should not go there by any means." Eleanor added. She had been mostly inside my Spirit Orb meditating, but came out to eat and ended joining us. She''s like just another member of the party and considered as much as a friend as I am.


    "Not like we''ll go, that''s all-just ke''s insanity for wanting to fight giant monsters." Said Chris. "I''ll just stay here until we go to the academy."


    "Likewise¡­" Said Eric.


    "You guys are no fun." I sighed.


    p "Eh? You''re the unfunny here! If we die then what fun there is to life?" Sighed Chris.</anda>


    "C-Calm down, Chris¡­" Eric tried to calm down Chris, who was prone to scream his opinions.


    "I heard about the wyvern as well. The priests seemed worried, but they already put an extermination request in the Adventurer Guild." Said Erdrich. "Although no current Adventurer is even capable of fighting a normal Wyvern, even less that stronger one."


    "I''ve also heard from the priest that strange things are happening to the far north of the continent¡­" Said Elizabeth.


    "Eh? What''s happening?" Asked Chris fearfully.<sub> </sub>


    "Well, you guys know about the Demon Towers spread around the world, right? And about the continents of the world of Spiritias?" Asked Erdrich.


    "W-Well¡­" Muttered Chris.


    "I only know that there''s another continent where the World Tree might be¡­" Said Eric. "But not really any specification."


    "Well, you guys are serfs so I guess it''s fair you don''t know a thing." Sighed Erdrich. "I am still a noble, so I was taught a lot about our world. Perhaps there should be a school here to teach children¡­ Ah, even then, serfs might not be allowed inside."


    "Just tell us already!" Erika said, exasperated.


    "Okay, I get it, don''t scream at me, Erika!" Erdrich angrily replied. "Anyways, the current continent where we are living is simple named the "Central Continent", although I''ve heard some people calling it Em. But my father always said that just Central Continent was the better term that everyone would understand. We are currently in the Fiefdom of Goldsand located in the Large Kingdom of Goldriver. Our Kingdom was named after "gold" and its fiefdoms and duchies as well due to therge resources in gold we had in the past, which were mostly all exhausted from the mountains that were avable, and not upied by dragons or monsters¡­"


    "Oh, interesting. So this continent is named Em?" I wondered.


    Not even my parents or my grandmother knew about this continent''s name. They also didn''t knew how to read, so it has been quite hard to learn about this world as much as I would had wanted. Especially because I am a serf, noble teachers won''t simply teach me things just because I ask them nicely, and I am not willing to waste my money on them.


    "Yeah¡­ Anyways, you know about the Silvertide Kingdom, right? The nearby kingdom to ours, which is in the middle of a war against an army of Demons led by a Demon Lord¡­ Well, this is not just happening in our neighboring Kingdom, there''s another big war against demons breaking out to the north, especially because the north faces directly with the "Lost Continent"¡­ In there, there''s a big army of demons pouring constantly from, and moving directly towards this continent and the other two neighboring continents." Erdrich exined.


    "Yeah, the rumors are about that, the Demons are getting more vicious, and they said our nearby Demon Tower, which is far away from here, had been reacting strangelytely. Some think that a Demon King might had been born in the Lost Continent¡­ So this might be a reason behind the demons growing restless and the invasion we had a month ago." Elizabeth said worriedly.


    "Lost Continent? Demon King?" I asked. "What''s this all about? Erdrich tell me more."


    "Erm, well, the Lost Continent once had a name, it was named the Umbra Continent, but it waspletely conquered by the Demons around a hundred years ago. It was said that the Demon Towers there constantly poured demons until the ten allied Kingdoms in that continent fell to their demise. Since then, people referred to the Continent as the "Lost Continent."¡­ Back then, a Demonic Deity had been born, and had decided to conquer our continent, but was defeated by Seven Anonymous Heroes that embarked in a journey there¡­ the threat of the demons was halted only for about a hundred and eight years though, just eight years ago, the demons suddenly began to multiply everywhere."


    "Eight¡­ years ago?"


    Wait, isn''t that the time I was born in this world?


    "Not only that, but some Demon Towers also began to actively pour miasma into the environment, monsters began to grow stronger by two or three ranks in certain areas! Thankfully in here and the Grassy ins such contamination hasn''t reached, but that strong wyvern might be a signal that the miasma that makes monsters stronger has already reached the mountain range." Erdrich said.


    -----

 Chapter 296 Easy Quests

    -----


    To register Eleanora in the Adventurer Guild, we needed to take a request from the guild andplete it. The test by itself was incredibly simplistic. I don''t really know why those three guys from before were saying it would be somethingplex or hard enough it would be better to simply join their party¡­ But certainly, there were things that made me intrigued about what they said. Such as the ability to bring a non-adventurer to an adventurer party. I decided to ask Eleanora to ask about this to the receptionist.


    "I heard from those three Adventurers that it is possible to bring a non-adventurer to an adventurer party, is this true? Can non-adventurers help atpleting quests?" Eleanora asked.


    "Oh yeah! If the person is capable enough, you can receive help from them. Mercenaries, Hunters, and ves who are not registered can aid you inpleting quests, of course, you''re going to be the one to distribute rewards." Said thedy.


    "¡­Is there an age restriction?" Asked Eleanora.


    "Age¡­ restriction?" Thedy asked, she didn''t seem to understand.


    "Yes." Elenora replied coldly.


    "Erm¡­ Not really? though it would be weird to bring an unexperienced child toplete a quest. I wouldn''t rmend it. However, if someone happens to die in a quest with you, without being registered in the adventurer guild, we can''t be responsible for them. Only with registered members is when we''ll take things in ordance with our rules." Said thedy. "Of course, I trust you that nothing such as that will happen."


    "Of course, I was merely asking. There is¡­ a capable young boy that might assist me. You''ll get to know him better." Said Eleanora.


    "A-Alright¡­ Is he your apprentice or family member, by any chance?" Wondered the receptionist.


    "Erm¡­ (My lord, what do I say?!)" Eleanora asked to me through telepathy.


    "(Tell her that I am your apprentice and young brother)" I told her.


    "H-He''s my little brother and is also learning magic with me. Hunting little creatures is a starting, so he can get some blessings of the holy spirits by going through trials." Elenora replied.


    "I-I see. I hope you can take care of him. ¡­Now, we should begin this. There is a series of quests in that wall, please pick any below H Grade." Said the receptionist.


    "Only H Grade?" Asked Eleanora with slight disappointment.


    "It is prohibited by anybody that is not an adventurer to do anything more than H Grade Quests. Some non-adventurerse toplete these sometimes, even children can do them." Said the receptionist.


    "I see¡­" Eleanora walked towards the left wall, inspecting it.


    There were only three current H Grade Quests. And even ifpleted, they were always avable. These quests seem easy enough and might had beenpleted even bymoners with no fighting experience or talent, as long as they didn''t had other methods to earn money. Perhaps my father had been doing these sometimes. Even Serfs seem to be allowed to do them, even when they''re so limited to what they can do as they''re notmoners.


    "The Quests are¡­ "Bring Four Bitter Weed", "Defeat One Walking Mushroom and bring its cap", or¡­ "Defeat a Horned Rabbit and bring the Horn". That''s it, they all seem quite simplistic¡­" Eleanora said.


    "Hm¡­ Well, pick all three of them, we can easilyplete them. I already have some horns of a horned rabbit, which are pretty good alchemy materials, the cap of a walking mushroom and the Bitter Weed is what weck currently. But what''s a Bitter Weed though?" I asked.<sub> </sub>


    "In here it says that when it is turned into a paste, the Bitter Weed is good to treat pain, stop bleeding, and also irritation." Said Eleanora. "It''s not actually easy to find it because it looks almost the same as ordinary weed."


    "Huh, might be the reason why I never found it¡­ Perhaps it has so little magical power in them that I always ignored these weeds in exchange for rarer herbs." I sighed. "If I had the Alchemy Book, it woulde in handy now."


    Eleanora walked back to the receptionist with three papers in her hands.


    "I''ll take all three." She said.


    "Oh! You think you can do it in a single day? You mustplete the quest in 24 hours. If you fail, you''ll have to wait a whole week and pay again if you want to try it. Are you sure?"


    "Yeah, doesn''t seem hard." Said Eleanora, confidently.


    "V-Very well then, I wish you good luck!"


    <o>,m With that done, Eleanora walked outside the adventurer guild. She ended taking a stroll across the vige while looking around a bit more. There were a few things we had discovered today.</o>


    "Apparently, there were quests about "Demonic Beasts Extermination" too." Said Eleanora.


    "Yeah, I saw them. Apparently the forest we usually visit faces the opposite direction of the road leading to the fiefdom''s capital, in there, there are several fields where monsters appear. It seems the demonic miasma of the demons in the war ended spreading outside of the forest due to the priests purification¡­" I replied.


    "¡­Do you think that even when they did their best to purify the forest, there''s still some more of this demonic essence?" Eleanora wondered.


    "Yeah, from what I read, the demonic essence formed a mid-sized swamp or something. We should go investigate that area, while also using this opportunity to hunt more monsters that aren''t just horned rabbits, the asional walking mushroom, and a gray wolf or two." I decided.


    "Very well." Eleanora immediately ran towards the forest.


    I quickly emerged out of her shadows and summoned one Huginn Card. The lustrous ck crow quickly flew off into the skies.


    "Huginn, find a walking mushroom for us."


    "CRAA!"


    Without disobeying my orders, the crow went on his way. I am sure he can defeat a mere Walking Mushroom by himself and bring back the corpse for uster. Meanwhile, we decided to look up for this "Bitter Grass", whatever it was. I simply had to put my eyes in the ground and search. After we are done with this, however, we''ll go look into that swamp, I am sure I''ll find interesting creatures there.


    -----

 Chapter 298 A Welcome Surprise

    -----


    A Lake Catfish and a Wind Hawk emerged from these nobodies'' chest. I was slightly amused by their variety of spirits. I remember that a wide amount of kids had very disappointing spirits in the awakening ceremony, but these three had surprisingly interesting ones at that.


    "Eleanora, take care of the catfish, I''ll y the hawk."


    "Understood."


    We moved swiftly, shrouding ourselves in shadows and immediately evading the elemental attacks thrown our way. A ssh of highly pressured water and gusts of slicing winds, bothing from the spirits'' mouth and wings respectively. The twobined attacks impacted the ground and a nearby tree strongly, making the tree easily crack in half.


    So they were quite capable at the end, huh.


    Well, their reflexes are terrible though. In a second after their attack, I moved behind the midget and immediately swung my Gluttony against his legs and arms, slicing them all with several consecutive attacks. His spirit might be strong but his body was incredibly weak.


    SLASH! SLASH! SLASH!


    "EEEH?!"


    ? Falling to the ground, he immediately attempted to attack me desperately using his Spirit, but arge ck wolf emerged from my shadows behind me, jumping over the small hawk and biting its head, immediately making the spirit explode into green smoke.


    "GRAWR!"


    Fenrir was quite strong after he received the boost of the Skills I acquired from the Invoker ss, which passively increased the stats of all Summons. The small bird, although strong with wind magic, didn''t stand a chance.


    "M-My legs¡­ my arms!" The midget cried, desperately agonizing.


    "Calm down, its not so bad. At least I didn''t killed you, right?"


    I looked at Eleanora after saying such words. She had already sliced one of the man''s legs, and also destroyed his catfish in a simr manner, but knacked him out by giving him a karate chop in the neck.


    "And done¡­ Huh, they had some tricks but they''re nothing special at the end."


    "Yeah, and we got some nice test subjects."


    "Oh? Is that why you didn''t wanted to kill them?"


    "Indeed."


    I quickly used the [Blood Patch] Spell on their wounds, which makes it so their own coagted blood bes a hardened patch that stops bleeding. All three of them had already fallen unconscious due to the shock and pain, which was for the best.


    "So what do you n to do with them? They might not be able to live so long with their limbs chopped off and having lost so much blood." She said.


    "We''ll bring them to our underground base and do some experiments on them. I am sure nobody is going to miss this trio of thugs." I said. "I was thinking on using your powers and see if we can convert humans into vampires¡­"<sub> </sub>


    "Oh! That''s indeed something I''ve been wondering for a while." Eleanora replied.


    "Also, I want to see if we can put demon limbs on them, so I can see how it affects their body metabolism, and if its possible to readjust it and find a way to make it stable¡­" I added.


    "Hm, are you nning on putting the demon''s limbs on you as well?" Wondered Eleanora.


    "The Demon General had very strong arms and legs. This human body is feeble, even as a child my age and all¡­ And even with my physique, I need a greater boost. But recing an eye and then entire limbs is apletely different subject altogether. So I need some guinea pigs to see what''s the best procedure." I said. "We''ll also see if they can be Vampires, if that''s the case, they''ll have enough endurance to be able to withstand the experiments."


    "Amazing nning, my lord. But what about their spirits? They might go rampage even if they''re tied up." Eleanora said.


    "I can already use Tier 2 Seal Magic on them after acquiring my Magic Circle inside my Soul. It shouldn''t be hard to create [Sealing Chains] and seal their Spirit Orbs¡­ Well, let''s do it now, each spell costs 60 MP, so its nothing too much. The chains will be fueled by their own Mana, this is why they cost so little." I nodded. I decided to conjure the spells, unleashing transparent-looking magical chains into their spirit orbs. This can only happen so easily because their spirits are defeated and their masters'' unconscious, otherwise, it would be too hard to use in a battle.


    "To think you can even seal the spirits that these people are so proud of¡­" Eleanora said.


    "Not to the extent it can be used in battle. And I can probably only do this because their Spirits are still Rank 1 Initial Stage." I sighed. "Nheless, looks like the Horned Rabbits are back, alongiside Huginn¡­"


    "CRAA!"


    "Chuu!"


    Right after we finished our conversation, the familiars came back. The three Horned Rabbits brought arge quantity of dark green grass in their mouths, while Huginn brought a whole walking mushroom with his legs. I also had some horned rabbit horns inside of my spatial bag, so this should be more than enough toplete all the quests.


    "Good work you all,e back to the Grimoire for now." I quickly turned them back into Summon Cards, storing them inside the Grimoire.


    We walked back to the adventurer guild with Eleanora, as I hid within her shadows using [Shadow Sneak] like before. Eleanora brought everything needed toplete the quests, surprising the receptionist.


    "E-Eh? You only took¡­ like an hour?! No¡­ it hasn''t even been fifty minutes!" Thedy said.


    "Yeah, it wasn''t hard to find the creatures." Said Eleanora. "Is this amount of Bitter Weed enough?"


    "I-It is more than enough! Do you wish to sell everything or just the necessary amount?" Wondered thedy.


    "All of it."


    "Very well¡­ L-Let me calcte your prize. I''ll also bring you your adventurer medal!"


    The youngdy ran across the second floor of the building and took thirty minutes toe back with everything else. It seems that the Adventurer Medal was made on the spot there with some sort of magical artifact.


    -----

 Chapter 300 [Progenitor Vampire] And Experimenting

    -----


    Feeding blood to my three new guinea pigs wasn''t hard at all. Thanks to the power of Blood Ki, I can actually haste the production of blood inside of my body to arge speed, and refill it without fearing blood loss. However, I need to eat a lot to regain energy and calories. But I can eat when dinner is ready. For now, I must concentrate in the new subjects. And interestingly enough, the Grimoire has seemingly reacted to the creation of three vampires.


    [Eleanora] has created three [Servants]


    [Servants] can share a part of the [Progenitor]''s power and will be absolutely loyal as long as they''re weaker than the [Progenitor]


    [Eleanora] has acquired the [Progenitor Vampire: Lv1] Title Skill]


    [Eleanora] has acquired the [Blood Envement Contract: Lv1] Magic Skill]


    Oh? Interesting, Eleanora acquired three servants, apparently, and they seem to bepletely loyal to her. Although as of now, they were all unconscious again after drinking blood. Nheless, she got two Skills out of it, which is an incredible surprise. Perhaps Eleanora''s true potential has been finally untapped. She became a Progenitor Vampire faster than I thought. Perhaps what triggered it was acquiring three servants. And maybe as the only "true" Vampire right now, the world itself might had qualified her as the Progenitor.


    -----


    [Progenitor Vampire: Lv1]


    A Title that can only be given to the Progenitor Vampire, the first Vampire to have ever existed in this world. Thanks to the Vampire''s innate powers, it is possible to enve others and transform them into Lesser Vampires or other creatures. As long as they''re substantially weaker than the Progenitor at the beginning of the Blood Envement Contract, such servants will stay loyal forever.


    For each Servant that the Progenitor acquires, their stats increase by +5% as long as they''re within a suitable range from the Progenitor (200 meters). Additionally, the Progenitor acquires the ability to learn Skills and Magic more easily, and damage dealt using Blood-Attribute and Dark-Attribute Magic and Skills is increased by +30%, while the Progenitor can drain 5% of a target''s HP with each sessful attack. The power of this Title increases as the Progenitor develops further.


    -----


    Oh? This is incredible, I wish I had this Skill for myself. However, as I am still a human, that can''t do. I also don''t want to be a traditional vampire right now, a weakness to sunlight would be detrimental to me. It is still better for me to develop through my own Physique and slowly acquired Vampiric abilities without the side effects.


    -----


    [Blood Envement Contract: Lv1]


    Max amount of Servants: 3/5


    A Skill acquired by Vampire Progenitors. It grants them the ability to create Blood Envement Contracts by sharing their own blood with a target who is either willing, or severely weaker than the target, the sess of this contract and transformation is only of 70%, if the contract fails, the target will either die or mutate into a vampiric monster, which cannot be properly controlled by the Progenitor.


    When a target goes through a sessful transformation, it bes a [Servant] and is loyal to the [Progenitor]. Alongside this, [Servants] can share 5% of their [Progenitor] Stats and develop unique Abilities.


    When contracting a target, there''s a certain chance of them transforming into one of these Vampire species:


    [Blood Wight: 50%]<sub> </sub>


    [Ghoul: 40%]


    [Lesser Vampire: 30%]


    [Subordinate Vampire: 20%]


    [Vampire Knight: 10%]


    [Pure-Blood Vampire: 1%]


    -----


    A very borate Skill that reminds me of my past. It appears that how it worked before is applied in this Skill as well, but it gains a few perks, such as the stat boosts. Also, it seems that the chances of transformation are shown directly, which is a big help. The rarest is the Pure-Blood Vampire, which can develop incredible powers and whose stats would probably double or triple upon transformation.


    However, as I''ve already checked them, it seems that they didn''t even be Lesser Vampires. Fat and Scrawny turned into Blood Wights, while Midget is a Ghoul. I suppose those have the higher chances, so I can''tin. However, as these are lesser species that don''t even wear the "Vampire" name on them, they''re very patheticpared to what I had in my previous life.


    However, there''s also the possibility for them to grow stronger and develop further. Although I don''t really have any intentions to make them stronger though, they''re merely guinea pigs. If I ever go serious about making a Vampire band, I might pick stronger and morepetent targets without such a troubled past as scum.


    Nheless, their stats went up a bit, but only a bit, without being Vampires, that''s all they can get. Additionally, Blood Wights seem to be slightly more lean to pure Undead, so they had begun to reek like garbage, and the Ghoul is too weak and small.


    "They''re really pathetic." Sighed Eleanora.


    "Not like we''ll ever employ them to fight, this is all experimentation¡­ Eleanora, bring me the Demon limbs I have prepared. The Imps for now, they''re not really worthy of Oni Limbs." I sighed.


    p "Very well."</anda>


    Eleanora opened arge spatial bag and took out a pile of limbs, putting them over a smaller stone table. I looked at them, as Eleanora swiftly generated Blood Threads and other things to help me in this transnt experimentation.


    "Their regeneration abilities should be enough to adapt to new limbs. They can''t regenerate new ones, but this should work, right?" I wondered.


    "I believe so, we don''t lose anything trying to our heart''s contents anyways!" Eleanora answered with a smile.


    "Indeed¡­ It has been a while since I had such a big amount of guinea pigs¡­" I couldn''t help but feel excited to experiment and do things I''ve been holding back from even attempting. I am sure that nobody will miss these scums, as long as I take down the most shittiest of trash, nobody will miss them, and probably they''ll even be happy that they''re gone.


    "Let''s begin stitching the nerves¡­"


    -----

 Chapter 302 A New Familiar

    -----


    Could it be that perhaps due to the Spirit Orb being tainted with vampiric essence, I can absorb it easily? But why is this a thing? Maybe due to my physique?


    [Your [Physique] is strongly reacting to the [Spirit Orb] granting you the privilege of absorbing it without negative side effects]


    [Absorb?]


    <Yes> <No>


    As if answering my own question, the Grimoire immediately replied what I had in mind. This is all because of my own Physique, just as I had thought.


    "Yes."


    Without thinking it twice, I absorbed the beautiful red spirit orb. The entire crystal glowed with bright red light, emanating a bit of darkness as well, as it turned all into essence that flowed into my body. My body quickly absorbed everything within it, as I felt that I grew slightly stronger.


    My body emanated an aura of blood red light, and my veins glowed so bright I was able to see them below my skin for a few seconds. When everything finally ended, I felt renewed.


    [You have absorbed a [Blood Spirit Orb]


    [All your stats have increased by a small amount]


    [Your [Physique] has developed further]


    [The [Physique] Feature has been created in the Grimoire after further consideration by the Grimoire''s AMI (Artificial Magic Intelligence)]


    [You acquired the [Lizard (G)] Summon]


    What? I acquired a new Summon as well¡­ And Lizard?!


    After further inspection and a bit of an exnation to Eleanora, I realized my stats had increased by roughly +3 ~ +4, with +10 in MP by merely absorbing this corrupted Spirit Orb. Alongside that, it was possible to inspect my own Physique and its abilities, alongside its current progress through the Grimoire.


    However, the most surprising thing was a new Summon, which was actually¡­ the Fat man''s Spirit.


    -----


    Name: re


    Type: Lizard


    Rank: G


    Race: Fire Smander


    < Health Points: 40/40 >


    < Strength: 20 >


    < Agility: 60 >


    < Vitality: 20 >


    < Intelligence: 90 >


    < Dexterity: 60 >


    Buff: +4 Intelligence, +4 MP


    Skill: [Fire Tongue] [Fire Breath]


    Growth: 0/30


    -----


    Amusing. It appears that I can summon my own Fire Smanders now. There''s a limit of over ten of these, and with the Bonus to Stats that they can give to me, I could actually gain more MP! Which also means¡­ that I can also use Skills more each day and gain even more Skill EXP, conjure more magic, and many other things. I had already tested it, however, and it seemed to be a quarter as strong as the actual summon of this man, the fire''s power was mid at most, and its range was very limited, but it could still be a good helper if I made several of them.


    However, the problem came with making it grow. Is there even a Fire Smander monster out there? If not, the Summon might end up stuck at G Rank forever¡­ Well, these Familiars are made to be reced eventually, so for now, I will simply use it as much as I can. Perhaps if I acquire the Synthesis Skillter, that one might allow for the fusion of Familiars, so the weaker and older Familiars will not be wasted in the future.


    This also still means I can get new Familiars out of those I steal from the guinea pigs I turn into Vampires¡­ All thanks to my own Physique as well¡­<sub> </sub>


    "Grimoire, what are the odds of acquiring a Familiar from a Spirit Orb?" I wondered.


    [For monsters, chances are always 100%]


    [For humans and simr races, whose Spiritual Orbs are special and sealed with a strength that cannot be easily absorbed, there''s usually a small chance. As of now, you only had a 40% chance to acquire that Familiar]


    "So monsters have no chances of failure but human spirits do¡­ Well, that''s fair. If it were this easy, I would acquire arge army of new Spirits by merely raiding a band of bandits¡­ But how can I strengthen the Familiars from human''s Spirit Orbs?"


    [They can be feed with any Spirit Orb of monsters that are of their same type as long as they''re below or at the same grade as them]


    "So I can just hunt lizard-type monsters to strengthen the Fire Smander Familiar¡­"


    [Affirmative. As your horizons broaden and you encounter more Monsters, you''ll have to select which ones to turn into your Familiars, after all, there''s a limit of how many you can summon and hold in your deck]


    "Right¡­ I''ll have that in mind."


    Of course, I can increase my deck size through leveling the Expansion Skill, which is done through summoning and deleting summon cards, so I can confidently say I got a lot more to do than ever before. As of now, this is the amount of Summon Cards I possess.


    -----


    Current Storage Expansion:


    Level 1: +30 Storage


    [Fenrir (Beast) (G Rank)] x20


    [Orcus (Beast) (G Rank)] x15


    [Usagi (Beast) (G Rank)] x3


    [Spore (nt) (G Rank)] x4


    [Huginn (Bird) (G Rank)] x4


    [re (Lizard) (G Rank)] x1


    Current Storage: 47/50


    -----


    I originally had 20 slots, but I gained +30 from the Storage Expansion Skill. With this, I can create up to 50 different Summon Cards, which is already amazing. With 20 Fenrir and 15 Orcus, I am already a one-man-army. Although they''re barely stronger than their monster counterparts, while Orcus is still weaker than a true Wild Giant Boar. Of course, there''s something called "Buffs" that Familiars give when they are created and put into my Grimoire''s deck. An Invoker is not only about being able to bring weak familiars, but each familiar makes me slightly stronger as well.


    As of now, these are the buffs I am receiving from all my Summoned Cards, stored, and materialized:


    -----


    Health Points:


    Mana Points: +4


    Strength: +40


    Agility: +84


    Vitality: +40


    Intelligence: +36


    Dexterity: +87


    -----


    Having a lot of Fenrir give me a ton of Agility and Dexterity, while Orcus is the only summon I have that grants Strength and Vitality. Huginn and Usagi also give abination of dexterity, agility, and intelligence. Spore only grants +4 Intelligence now that he''s H Rank.


    I have to properly distribute my Bonus Stats and reorganize my deck, but that''ll wait forter. For now, I have to continue assessing my experiments.


    -----

 Chapter 306 A Second New Familiar!

    -----


    "You hate demons yet you''ll transnt their pieces into your body¡­ How different are you to the cultists of this world then?"


    "I am merely using demons as my tools, Eleanora. Also, these limbs have already mutated. Can''t you sense the Blood Essenceing from them? I believe they have absorbed arge quantity of vampiric energy from the bodies of these three."


    "T-That''s right¡­! I guess it could be different from demons themselves¡­ It feels more like you''re making a custom vampire arm without getting their aftereffects because it wasn''t originally their arms, actually. Eh?! Wait, a second, that''s really smart!"


    "Heh, so you''ve realized¡­" I said with a smile.


    Of course, I had actually not thought that far, but Eleanora was right. These limbs were of demons that are not weak to sunlight, silver, and other of the stupid weaknesses of vampires. If I enhance it with vampiric power but it still not the actual arm of a real vampire, then it won''t have their weaknesses but gain a lot of their power.


    "This is pretty interesting then¡­ But you said you were enhancing the arm even more, right? How are you doing it?" She asked curiously.


    "I have nned to use Magic Runes to enchant the arm and also let it absorb more things with its newly developed power." I quickly told Eleanora what I had in mind.


    "I-I see¡­ It might actually work then." She replied while nodding.


    "Well, for now, I''ll absorb these two Vampiric Spirit Stones first¡­"


    I looked into the two Vampiric Spirit Orbs in my hands, both from Scrawny and Midget. They had a Catfish and a Small Hawk as Spirits if I recall it correctly. That would make for a second Bird-type and¡­ a new Fish-type Spirit. Well, that''s if they actually be Familiars, if not, then I won''t be able to do anything about it.


    [Two Spirit Orbs with arge quantity of energy have been detected]


    [Absorb?]


    <Yes> <No>


    "Yes."


    FLASH!


    Both Vampiric Spirit Orbs turned into red essence, flowing directly into my hands and then into my body. The power I gained back then quickly emerged once more, a smile emerged in my lips as I felt my physique growing stronger by the second, my stats once more increased by a small amount, but all of it umted over time, so every little point counts.


    [You have sessfully absorbed the Spirit Orbs]


    [Your Stats have increased by a small amount]


    [Your Physique has grown stronger. Physique Tier Rank has increased from Tier 2 Rank 1 to Tier 2 Rank 2]


    [You acquired the [Fish (G)] Summon]


    I couldn''t acquire the Bird Summon, but I got the fish. Interesting! What can Fish-type summons do anyways? I would guess it can just shoot water like it did originally? I do remember that Familiars usually have special abilities that are oftenmon in their Summon type, such as Beasts being good at physical blows, birds at scouting, nts at inflicting status effects, and Lizards¡­ I don''t know, magic? Maybe they''re not as restricted either¡­ Well, I might as well name the new summon and check it.


    -----


    Name: Moby


    Type: Fish


    Rank: G


    Race: Big Lake Catfish


    < Health Points: 120/120 >


    < Strength: 60 >


    < Agility: 20 >


    < Vitality: 80 ><sub> </sub>


    < Intelligence: 20 >


    < Dexterity: 20 >


    p Buff: +4 Vitality, +4 HP</anda>


    Skill: [Swimming] [Water Ssh]


    Growth: 0/30


    -----


    Interesting. This creature is not as I had originally thought. I remember seeing it fight before. It sshed water at high pressures which was rather powerful, and it was quite fast too, but now that I see its stats, it is incredible slow and relies on physical endurance. It has arge amount of HP and Vitality, with a good enough Strength amount and its buffs are also rted with resilience. It is also the first Familiar that can buff HP.


    It might be on pair with Orcus in being so low at Intelligence but having a body made to tank hits¡­ It is also looking at us with a very dumb looking face and can apparently float in midair without problems. I had already tested re''s Skills; they were both offensive ones. One allowed her to p something with her tongue covered in mes and the second to unleash a fire breath.


    But don''t Moby''s Skills sound a bit simplistic? Well, we can always test it.


    "Moby, use Swimming."


    "Gluop!"


    The fish gave a strange sound, and then suddenly began to swim in the ground itself. It was as if it was treating all of its surroundings as liquid water¡­ Interesting. It is a pity it is so stupid, so I can''t reallymand him to do anything remotelyplex. If he was, I could ask him to infilter ces by passing through the walls.


    "That''s an interesting ability." Eleanora said.


    "Indeed¡­ Now, Water Ssh." Imanded.


    "Gluop!"


    Moby suddenly sshed us with arge amount ofke water¡­


    SPLASH!


    "Ugh¡­"


    "¡­"


    "So it does nothing more than that?"


    "I¡­ Erm, well, it seems to be the case-"


    [Your Evasion and Agility have increased by +20% for 10 minutes]


    "What?!"


    "Huh?"


    In a moment, I felt strangely more flexible and agile. What is this? It is merely just some water the fish sshed on us, but we suddenly turned incredibly fast and flexible¡­


    "It seems that Moby''s ability is a temporal buff, it activates when sshing water in a target, and it increases their Evasion and Agility by +20%... It cannot seem to be able to attack other than body mming though."


    "Huh¡­ Well, that might be handy. If we ssh your Familiars with this, we can all be speedier for ten minutes! Isn''t it quite good? And the Cards buffs are Vitality and HP too! At the very least you could have one for the buff."


    "Yeah, I''ll keep this one and see if I ever need to adjust my stats to be a Tank, but for now, I''ll keep recing some with more re Cards."


    However, for now, I had to concentrate in another thing¡­ the Demon''s Limbs.


    -----

 Chapter 310 The New Talent

    -----


    While having lunch, my parents quickly decided to talk to me about something, while my grandma remained mostly in silence. It seemed that they had been discussing this for a while and finally decided to adress this to me in lunch, while we were all gathered and with plenty of time to talk about various topics.


    "ke, dear¡­ With your father, we wanted to talk to you about something." My mother said, feeling slightly nervous. My father nodded to her words.


    "Hm? What is it?" I wondered.


    My two parents looked at one another as my father decided to start the conversation.


    "As you know¡­ We had gone through a lottely these months. With the demons, the whole wild boar incident, and the knights¡­ Well, it has been a year filled with many things, so we never truly had the time to think about these things¡­" My father said, scratching the back of his head. "But, you know, we have been pretty open about your abilities, the powers you choose, and even these new Familiars you can Summon, mostly because we didn''t wanted to annoy you while you were working so hard to maintain the family while I was bedridden¡­"


    "But things have changed now and now that we are slowly going back to our former stability, it would be good if we could adress these things and¡­ your abilities properly, honey." My mother said.


    "My abilities¡­ Hm, I guess you''re right in that. I''ve been mostly assuming you epted them and I''ve barely exined what they truly are¡­ Or the true nature of my powers." I sighed. "To be honest, there are things I have not exined to you because I didn''t think you would understand them well, but I suppose if you''re concerned enough, I should share some of it."


    "Yes¡­ W-Well, one of the things I''ve been wondering is¡­ How is it possible for you to summon these weaker Familiar Spirits? Also you can use all sorts of elements of magic, and even healing magic¡­ And above all, this energy you call "Ki"¡­ I know your grandmother said that you might be a Hero or something, but is that really the truth, dear?" My mother asked concerned. "Perhaps the Appraisal Ceremonymitted a mistake and you actually might have a Talent for all we know."


    "Yeah, and also about Eleanora, that girl¡­ and the book you got at first ce. I believe they''re connected somehow, right? Just what is she?" My father asked.


    "Well¡­ I guess I''ll have to exin to you things a bit more properly." I sighed.


    Of course, I wasn''t going to tell them theplete truth of my origins or those of Eleanora, as that would only bring me more misfortune than anything. But for now, giving them better exnations about the powers I have sugar-coated might do the trick to calm them down. I was already half-expecting the day they would begin asking me such questions, so I''ve already thought out about a good excuse and a made up tale about this.


    "I was chosen. Grandma wasn''t wrong." I sighed.


    "Eh? S-So it was true?" Asked my mother.


    "Are you not lying to us, right?" My father asked.


    "No, the Grimoire I received is a wondrous Spirit that contains various powers. When the Appraisal Ceremony ended, it was true that Icked a Talent and that my Spirit was a Book, but it was in fact named Grimoire, and it has the power to help me grow faster than other people, but only by going through a hundred times more challenging trials." I answered with a calm and expressionless face. My parents quickly believed it due to my great talent at lying, and well, there was also some truth within such lies.<sub> </sub>


    "M-More challenging trials?" Asked my father. "So¡­ perhaps all you''ve gone through¡­ I know you hunt alone nowadays but¡­ Sigh¡­ So this was intended to you from the very beginning?"


    "ke, are you really telling the truth, dear?" Asked my mother.


    "Yes mother¡­ In fact, I''ll show it to you. The Grimoire is always there for me, you simply can''t see it unless I wish for you to see it." I said, quickly materializing my Grimoire and making it visible for everybody else. My family gasped in unison as the floating book emerged, zing with a red aura of magic.


    "I-Incredible¡­" My father said.


    "It can turn invisible?" Asked my mother.


    "Woah!" My grandmother was the most shocked, if it wasn''t for father''s quick response, she would had fallen off the chair.


    "Sorry for surprising you¡­ Open." I ordered, as the grimoire opened its pages and the pages began showing magical words and elemental essences.


    "This Grimoire allowed me to conjure elemental magic of low tiers, but as I grow stronger and receive more blessings from the holy spirits bypleting their trials, I will be able to develop my magic and powers further." I answered. I quickly manipted my Mana and showed them a fireball, a small floating ice, a floating stone, spiraling green winds, and even electricity for a few seconds.


    "Y-You''re really someone chosen by the holy spirits, son!" My grandma said with fascination.


    "And this¡­" I said, taking out a card from my Grimoire. "The Grimoire also allowed me to summon these Familiars through cards. Sometimes when I defeat monsters, these monsters will turn into familiars, they''re very weakpared to normal spirits, but they''re useful, I am still developing this power, but it has to do with something else¡­ My new Talent."


    "New Talent?" Asked my family in unison.


    This was something I will only tell my family because I''ve lived with them for years, enough to trust them to this extent. But if possible, I would like this to still remain unknown for the most part. If it is ever revealed such as when I enter the Academy, it will make an uproar. I want to prepare for that moment and grow strong enough.


    "Yes, my new Talent, Invoker."


    -----

 Chapter 312 A Bit Of History

    -----


    Now that things were clearer to my parents, they felt more relieved to know the origins of my strength and unnatural talent with magic alongside the summons that I''ve begun to slowly introduce to our family without many exnations. While doing that, my father began asking me how I was generating so many coins even while doing this, as it was at an unnatural speed. So I had to tell them about Eleanora''s ability to turn into an adult form which they had seen sometimes in the war, and how she registered in the Adventurer Guild by pretending to be a human.


    "I-If anybody finds out the truth you might be punished, my son¡­!" My mother said.


    "Don''t worry, mother. We are rather cautious. We are only doing the smallest of quests for now to not bring any attention to us. But even such questse with a good pay which umtes over time." I said.


    "It is certainly a good source of ie. I haven''t registered as an adventurer myself though, but at my age as a Hunter, I canplete some of the low rank quests." Said my father.


    "So it is allowed? I thought serfs were not allowed to¡­" I said.


    "No, that changed some years ago when the King of our Kingdom changed the policies of the Adventurer Guild which were rted to the Nation. It was only due to our nation''sws that serfs were not allowed to take up arms and defeat monsters for prices, but that changed after serfs showed to be strong hunters many times in the past." My father said. "With that came a new hero for us! Although we still don''t have all themoditiesmoners got, we are way better than before. Back then we weren''t even allowed to go hunt monsters without permission, and we also had to give out most of what we hunted as taxes."


    "I see, that''s good to hear. I suppose this ce is not filled with mindless nobility." I said.


    "In the past, there were many ipetent nobles but after the constant wars, only the most suited to survive in a world filled with monsters and demons remained and reformed the nations and kingdoms from their ruins. Nowadays, thanks to the Intercontinental Alliance, even Nobles are forced to go to war to defend the world from the demons." Said my father.


    "Intercontinental Alliance?" I asked.


    "Yeah, I don''t really know much, aside from what I''ve heard from Ellergest, the Head Priest. He said that this Continent was named Em and there were other continents making an alliance. Because of this Nobles were forced to bepetent. Ipetent nobles ended being invaded by demons if they were too careless, and something like what happened to our neighbor country would had happened to us." Said my father. "I trust that the Fiefdom''s Lord is a good natured and intelligent man to have invested a lot of money into sending us equipment, consumable items and even soldiers and knights to get rid of the demons here."


    "Hm, yeah, he was intelligent enough." I said with a nod.


    Of course, sending him the head of an Oni really impacted him, probably.


    "OH."


    My mother suddenly gasped, as if she remembered something.


    "What''s wrong?" Asked my father.


    "I just remembered¡­ yesterday when ke and you were out in the fields, a Priest covered in bandages named Jack came here!" My mother said.


    "Wait, Jack?" I asked in surprise. "What did he want? I am also pretty sure I didn''t told them where I lived! Did Elizabeth leaked the info? Hm, she''s not someone I can trust I suppose¡­"<sub> </sub>


    "Hahaha, no, I told them beforehand." My father said. "In the big feast we had after the demon battle."


    "Oh¡­"


    I suppose this was going to eventually happen at the end.


    "Anyways, the little Jack said that in a week from now the Lord of the fiefdom woulde personally here¡­ alongside his family, apparently. He said that he came here for some sort of good motive, but we don''t know exactly what it is." My mother said. "Some specte that it might be to reward us for the demon battle that we won, but that would be way too good to be true, right?"


    "Certainly¡­" I sighed. "But that''s still within the realm of possibilities."


    "I guess we can only wait and see what''s going to happen." My father said while scratching his chin.


    Whatever the fiefdom lord wanted here was something I couldn''t truly guess. Although we assumed that he''s a good person, he might even have ulterior motives¡­ But we can''t really find out until it finally happens. For now, I have to prepare.


    After I had my lunch with my parents, my mother asked me to help her wash the dishes and then the clothes, so I had to oblige as her son. It wasn''t anything hard, as I''ve grown used to this. Washing the dishes was easy with magic, but I can''t just waste my MP all the time to do the most mundane of things either.


    We use a special soap that Eric had gifted to me, which is made through alchemy by his apothecary uncles. It is rather expensive at one small silver coin, but he gifts me one almost monthly, so we use it to both wash clothes and dishes.


    "Can you go leave the clothes outside so they dry out with the sun, dear?" My mother asked me. Her stomach was growing bigger and that was making it difficult for her to work outside the house and carry stuff. Of course, her sheep helped however she could, but even then, she had to ask my help.


    "Sure thing mother, go rest upstairs for now." I said. I apanied my mother upstairs and left her resting over her bed.


    "You''re such a good son¡­ I am happy to have conceived you." She said out of the blue with a serene smile.


    "¡­Mother." I sighed, feeling slightly moved.


    "Zzzz¡­"


    Ah, she fell asleep.


    -----

 Chapter 313 Going For That Sweet Bandit Bounty

    -----


    After I covered my mother in nkets and left a Fenrir watching over the front of the door and an Usagi below her bed, I moved downstairs and quickly asked Eleanora to help me at putting the clothes outside so they could dry out. As Winter came closer, sunny days such as these were bing a rarity, so we had to use this opportunity to dry our clothes quickly. Of course, I can also use magic, which I''ve nned to use in winter when it was too cold outside for us to put clothes to dry. In such case, I would be spending a few hundred MP, which are precious for the training of my Skills, so I only wanted to do this when it waspletely necessary.


    "This is an incredibly mundane work, I would hadined long time ago, but now I am just used to this." Eleanora sighed, looking at the other side of our backyard as my father was in the fields with my grandmother.


    The three spirits my family had were helping as well. At this point my grandmother had taught her goat how to move the dirt below and harvest potatoes in batches easily, she simply sat down over her spirit and let the creature do the rest. The Sheep was also learning with the goat, with that and father and his spirit, the Earth Mouse, they were making it a quick work.


    "This is thest harvest before winter, isn''t it?" Wondered Eleanora.


    "Yes, these must be thest batch of potatoes, carrots, and onions we can get before Winter hits. We''ll leave them in the storage, I''ll use some magic to preserve them afterwards. I remember the first five years when I couldn''t help at all with magic, in such times the potatoes and other tubers we saved for winter would often go bad or get covered in moo¡­" I sighed.


    "And even then, your family still ate them, right?" Eleanora asked.


    "Well yes, and we got stomachaches¡­ But it seems this world''s people is very resistant to stomach infections than the feeble humans I''ve met in my previous life." I pointed out.


    "Quality of life improves little by little as I used magic to make things slightly easy for us. Of course, back then I barely had MP, but now I have a lot, enough to do many things." I nodded.


    "Hm, have you changed the Cards you''ve got?" Wondered Eleanora.


    "Yes, I''ve gotten more MP as I had nned¡­ But even then, I can''tpletely rece the others which are useful, although I''ve considered making less Fenrir and Orcus, ten and ten seem okay for now." I said.


    p My current Card Order and Bonus Stats were as follows:</anda>


    -----


    [Fenrir (Beast) (G Rank)] x10


    [Orcus (Beast) (G Rank)] x15


    [Usagi (Beast) (G Rank)] x2


    [Spore (nt) (G Rank)] x3


    [Huginn (Bird) (G Rank)] x4


    [re (Lizard) (G Rank)] x15


    [Moby (Fish) (G Rank)] x1


    Current Storage: 50/50


    -----


    <BONUS STATS FROM SUMMONS>


    -----<sub> </sub>


    Health Points: +4


    Mana Points: +60


    Strength: +30


    Agility: +66


    Vitality: +34


    Intelligence: +88


    Dexterity: +36


    -----


    I''ve sacrificed strength and vitality in exchange for more MP and Intelligence, something I wanted to do for a while and which I''ve finally managed to do so. With this, I can deal more damage with magic and activate my Skills more than usual. Although I had considered making all my 50 card slots into Lizards which would give me +200 MP and +200 Intelligence, I had decided to leave things as they were for now. If I ever know I won''t be doing any hunts at all, I might change into this "full grinding mode" in the near future.


    After we were done with the clothes, we decided to quickly go off with Eleanora towards the forest, telling my parents we were going to try to hunt some horned rabbits for today''s dinner. Of course, that was a lie, as we quickly moved towards our real destination, a small area known as "Abandoned Canyon" which took us around an hour and a half to get there even while running, it was very far away from the vige.


    This small canyon was said to have been formed long ago by a fight between dragons. And it was deep and dangerous. It is said that monsters are not somon in these areas, which their various caves are used instead for bandit''s hideouts. It was already reported to the guild by a party of adventurers and then several merchants that there was a big settlement of bandits in this dangerous ce, but because the areas are so stretchy, not many had dared toe here.


    Especially because normally, it would take roughly four hours to get here by walking, which is the normal for people that cannot run over trees like we do thanks to the enhancement of Ki and my Physique. The day was still bright and the sun was shining over the canyon''s depths, there was a small, stretchy road leading hundreds of meters down. There was no life in here aside from very resilient weed growing in the cliffs. This area was right at the left side of the road that led to the fiefdom''s capital, but not that close to the "Londs" which is a mid to high level hunting ground for monsters.


    "Huginn, go look for any life down there."


    I quickly summoned all three Huginn I brought with me, while I had left another one in my house. The three crows cried loudly, quickly flying down through the canyon. We decided to prepare for battle while being in here, as I took out my Spear and enhanced it with Ki.


    "Shall I go down as well? I can turn into a bat." Said Eleanora. One of her abilities allowed her to turn into a Blood Bat.


    "No, it is fine, let''s leave this to the- Oh, it seems they already found something."


    I quickly received some mental image from one of the Huginn I sent down, it was flying right in front of arge cave which was being guarded by a group of three men wearing ragged clothes and holding rusty spears.


    "Huh? A crow?"


    "Go away! Crows give bad luck!"


    The guards began throwing rocks at Huginn, who quickly flew upwards back to me.


    "I already found the route, let''s go." I told Eleanora, as we quickly ran downwards.


    -----

 Chapter 314 Infiltrating The Bandits Hideout

    -----


    "Moby, Water Ssh."


    "Guuoop!"


    SPLASH!


    [Your Evasion and Agility have increased by +20% for 10 minutes]


    The only reason I had Moby with me was not because I wanted more HP and Vitality, but because the Skill of this fish was useful. [Water Ssh] increased Evasion and Agility over a target, I had never truly expected Fish-type summons to be Supporters, but it seemed that despite how useless it looked aside from its big body, it had a very interesting buff.


    At the very least, I had to keep one with myself to get the buff, which cost no MP at all either, but that was all the creature could offer.


    "So, what do we do now? Should we ambush them, kill them, or try to bring them alive?" Wondered Eleanora.


    "We''ll kill their leader and bring his head as a proof we exterminated them. The others will remain alive so we can turn them into Blood Cores." I said with a smile.


    "Huh, so you''re not even seeing them as people anymore, fufu. I''ve missed this ruthlessness of you, my lord." Eleanora said.


    "I''ve told you plenty of times to call me ke." I sighed.


    "I-It is hard to get used to it even after years¡­" Eleanora protested.


    "Whatever, we are here." I sighed.


    We shrouded ourselves in darkness to do a surprise ambush attack, slowly sneaking across the stretchy road in the canyon and then seeing the three guards sitting in front of the entrance. They seemed tired and half-asleep already.


    "Spore, paralyze them."


    FLASH!


    I quickly summoned the only Spore I brought, as the small Walking Mushroom suddenly emerged before our sight, Moby quickly buffed him as well. The three guards were facing the opposite direction,pletely unaware that a small mushroom suddenly began breathing air and then unleashed a cloud of purple dust.


    This was Spore''s [Poisonous Spore] Skill, which wasn''t that poisonous as to kill people, but it was capable of paralyzing by a small chance a target. I wanted to use Spore rather than wasting Mana and Demonic Energy using my own paralyzing eyes, which can only paralyze while I am looking at a target.


    "W-What the?!"


    "Akh!"


    "Is this poison?! Ugh!"


    Two of them suddenly fell paralyzed in the floor, losing their ability to speak while the third one was unaffected and panicked, trying to desperately grab his spear only for Eleanora to wrap his body with her Blood Threads so fast he wasn''t able to see who did it due to the smoke screen produced by Spore.


    "Who are you people?!"


    The bandit cried, as the three of them attempted to bring their Spirits out, however, I stopped them midway through, crushing their spirits with the tip of my spear the instant they appeared. From what I saw, they were a small spider that was probably poisonous, as it was purple-colored, a small ck cat, and then a red bird.


    "Sleep for now." Eleanora said with a smile, smacking their heads gently until they fell unconscious.


    "Spore, go inside and spread the spore, don''t kill them with the Poisonous Fog though."


    "Foo!"


    The little walking mushroom was exceptionally smart due to his high Intelligence Stat, following my orders, he immediately ran inside the bandit hideout and began using his skill repeatedly, until purple smoke began toe out of the entire cave, all while the bandits started to panic.


    "Earth Wall."


    TRUUUM!


    Before they could escape, I used the Tier 1 Earth Magic Spell [Earth Wall] and locked the bandits inside their own cave, which I''ve already checked had no other way out than the entrance.<sub> </sub>


    "T-This is exceptionally easier than I thought¡­" Eleanora said.


    "I told you it wasn''t going to be anything hard." I shrugged.


    As we waited patiently for things to wrap up, we heard the desperate voices of the bandits inside.


    "T-The entrance is closed?! Someone used earth magic!"


    "What the fuck?! Who woulde to this damn abandoned canyon?!"


    "Break the entrance, force it out!"


    "Cough¡­ I can''t move! Help!"


    "Boss, someone else is paralyzed too- Akh!"


    "T-There! There''s a weird mushroom walking around, catch it!"


    "I-I can''t move my hands¡­! What is this?!"


    They were certainly resisting, but Spore was smart and small, he hid behind the various things the bandits had stolen, and continued to run around spreading the spore, which cost no MP.


    However, eventually, somebody caught him and killed him easily, he had little HP after all.


    POOF!


    [Spore] has died]


    "Hah, I should had brought more of them." I sighed.


    "Can''t you summon another one?" Eleanora wondered.


    "I can but I can''t get him inside. I can only summon familiars within my line of sight." I said. "We''ll have to get in."


    "Then allow me the honors." Eleanora said, suddenly kicking the wall open with her strong legs.


    BAAAM!


    RUMBLE!


    The wall broke down as lots of dust came out, we quickly delved inside, finding a third of all the banditspletely paralyzed in the floor. Their spirits were all useless things as well, not all of them had great ones. The rate of people owning useful spirits was not the highest after all, sometimes they were handkerchiefs, actual books, pots, or a small stick.


    Eleanora began to knock them all down with a kick in the head, barely making sure that they were still left alive. Meanwhile, I rushed alone into the depths of the cave, quickly sensing the presence of bandits hiding beneath the walls.


    "RAAAAH!"


    One of them suddenly jumped out from a small room carved in the cave, raising an axe infused with his Mana, alongside sending arge yellow bee at my face. However, my eyes shed with bright light, quickly paralyzing the man''s body before he could hit me.


    FLASH!


    "Akh¡­! Unngh?!"


    I moved my hand, grasping therge bee which was the size of a fist and crushing it without any effort. The spirit dissipated into thin air, as I immediately knocked the bandit out with a kick in the forehead.


    BAAAM!


    The other bandits quickly emerged, all of them pointing their weapons or spirits at me. None knew magic at all, meaning that they weren''tplex threats.


    -----

 Chapter 315 As Easy As It Can Get

    -----


    "T-That''s a kid?!"


    "Doesn''t matter, kill the damn brat! He killed Jon like nothing!"


    "You shitty kid! Is this all your doing?!"


    Three bandits rushed in. I quickly recognized the face of one of them, that was the Brigand Barbaros, a man that is being wanted dead or alive that has been part of several bandit groups that had been constantly destroyed. He somehow always managed to escape mysteriously, only to form a new bandit groupter and begin his piging and thievery once more.


    "Naturally." I said, taking out sphere-shaped iron chunks I had saved inside my pocket and throwing two at the same time towards the faces of the two other bandits than the boss.


    BAAM! BAAM!


    "AGGH!"


    "M-MY EYE!"


    Naturally, Level 4 [Throwing Technique] was as useful as ever. Granting a great attack increase and also uracy enhancement, I was able to throw two iron balls at the same time with a single hand to two separate directions. This way, I blinded both bandits in a single go. However, this is the world of spirits, and therefore, when someone is cornered, they usually bring their spirits out, even as weak as they could be.


    "Gyysha!"


    "Roar!"


    The two bandits didn''t had shitty spirits at that, arge three-meter-big anaconda appeared, alongside a dog made out of darkness, both looking fierce, they immediately charged my way.


    "HAH!"


    I swung my spear and pierced their heads without any trouble, however. Spirits of this level, as Rank 1 Initial Stage, were incredibly weak. It wasn''t anything hard to easily kill them without any problems. A spirit is stronger than their user, but their growth is still connected to them, and due to their nature as beings made out of spiritual essence, they usually die after a few hits or a very strong one towards their head.


    POOF! POOF!


    With both spirits disappearing from my sight, I locked my eyes into the two men bleeding in the ground, kicking their heads and knocking them out in the spot, quickly realizing the boss was¡­ gone.


    "Huh? Where did this bastard went?" I asked, pretending to be surprised.


    Suddenly, I heard the breathing of somebody right behind me. The man had suddenly be invisible and pointed a sword towards my neck, quickly swinging it.


    "DIE, YOU BRAT!"


    SLASH!


    CLASH!


    However, I easily intercepted his sorry excuse of a surprise attack, sweeping his legs and making him fall over his face.


    "AKH!"


    "Barbaros, a Brigand Boss wanted for eighty thousand Telis. It is presumed that your Spirit or Talent might give you the ability to easily sneak away or even¡­ be invisible, huh?" I asked with a smile. "Seems like the rumors are right."


    "S-Shit!"


    The man, having lost his weapon as he had dropped it when he fell over the floor, quickly tried to crawl away while abusing the power he had to turn invisible. I chased him back rapidly, throwing my spear into his right leg and sticking him over the rocky floor.


    CLASH!


    "GYYAAAH!"<sub> </sub>


    A pathetic scream resonated across the caves. It wasn''t that strong at all, the man was more like just very good at escaping, huh? He just ran away from me¡­


    "I guess a fitting challenge is not something you''ll give me, right?" I sighed.


    Eleanora quickly appeared at his side, as her sharp heels pierced his right hand, while I crushed his left hand with my hand.


    "Aagghhh! S-Stoooop! I-I''ll give you anything here! Please spare my life!"


    "Oh really?" I asked with a smirk.


    "Y-Yes!" He cried.


    "Hm, alright then!" I said with a nod. "As long as you answer a few questions, I''ll let you go."


    "Eh?! Questions?"


    "Yes. First question: Where are the other bandit hideouts?"


    "T-There''s a map in the second room here, you can find them all in the map marked with a cross!" He cried. "T-They''re all just lowly and shitty thieves that don''tpare to me, so you can have them all for yourself!"


    "Hoh, so fast at selling yourrades¡­ Second question: Are you rted with nobility or any organization?" I asked.


    "N-Nobility? A brigand such as me?! That''s not even a thing!" He said. I quickly tightened my foot over his hand, as he cried out a bit and spoke. "W-Well, there''s someone employing me for it¡­! B-But I can''t really say who he is or he''ll kill me if this bes widespread!!!"


    I continued asking him various things, he answered them all half-heartedly. Sometimes he simply denied responding to my questions, but ultimately, I think I had asked him almost everything I could. However, the things he didn''t wanted to answer truly made me enraged, so I decided to change my ns with him.


    "S-So will you let me leave now?" He asked desperately.


    "Hm¡­ Change of ns, Eleanora, turn him into your servant."


    "Eh?!"


    "Alright."


    If he bes a servant, he''ll speak all he knows anyways. I can behead him afterwards without many problems.


    "Agggh¡­!"


    Eleanora used her Skill [Blood Contract] and shared some of her blood with him. The man began to struggle to survive, his transformation was half-way through it but¡­


    He died before fully turning.


    "Huh, no luck this time, eh?" I sighed.


    "Well, that''s all there is to it." Elenora said.


    We had captured roughly 13 Bandits in this raid. But there''s no way I have the capacity of carrying all 13 of them back home. So we decided to make of this bandit hideout our second underground base for the moment. We carried all the paralyzed bodies inside again and lined them up. Eleanora began turning them all until she reached her limit of servants she could have all while I was picking up all the things they piged. There was a small fortune in here. As always, stealing from bandits is an easy way to get money.


    There were thirty small gold coins, five big gold coins, three hundred small silver coins, and a few thousand bronze coins, that was a lot of Telis. I ended packing everything inside of my Inventory Bags I''ve already made. They were able to store everything without issues, but they''re incapable of storing living things.


    "They''re ready."


    "Very well, let''s begin the interrogations."


    -----

 Chapter 316 A Shocking Result

    -----


    Because I am way too curious, I ended interrogating all the bandits that we turned into servants of Eleanora. Sometimes they ended dying though, but usually three out of five became some sort of Vampiric monster. We asked them all sorts of things, but they barely knew anything that their boss didn''t. After wasting my time for two hours, they were all in. I didn''t had the necessity to have anyckeys for the moment, even less weak vampires that can''t weaklings that can''t evenpare to a Lesser Vampire, as they all ended turning into ghouls or blood wights.


    "Well that was a rather useless time waster." Eleanora sighed.


    "We still got plenty of rewards for our honorable efforts¡­" I smirked.


    With a knife, I carved the chests of all the bandits and gathered their Spirit Orbs in a pile, 13 Blood Spirit Orbs really for the taking. However, I am rather well aware that absorbing them all at once will only be detrimental as my body has to adapt to absorbing the energies with each one. At most, I''ve absorbed two at the same time.


    "For now, let''s save these, I''ll absorb them over the next hours."


    When we were truly done, it was already night outside. I was already imagining my mother reprimanding me foringte for dinner.


    Packing the heads of the bandits inside a bag, we rushed to the adventurer guild and then put the bag over the table.


    "Elearose! Good night! Did you hunt horned rabbits again- UWAAH!"


    The receptionistdy opened the bag, looking at the heads of the bandits sticking their tongues out. All of them died rather gruesomely.


    "I exterminated the bandits..." Eleanora replied.


    "R-Right¡­" The girl sighed, taking a deep sigh and then closing the bag again while looking around.


    "If you go around with the heads of people, you might bring unwanted attention¡­" She whispered. Simply bringing some of their belongings is enough to tell us it was them¡­"


    "Hmph, that wouldn''t do though." Said Eleanora.


    "Sigh¡­ A-Alright,e here please¡­ This is big. If I am right, the head of Bandit Barbaros is inside this bag, isn''t it?" The youngdy asked.


    Eleanora nodded silently. She wasn''t with me this time, as I had hid in her shadows.


    The girl led her upstairs, where Eleanora met¡­ the Adventurer Guild Master himself. It was an old man on his fifties with a white and short beard, and a bald head. He had an eyepatch in his left eye, and was smoking a big cigar. There was also a fluffy creature resting over his desk, resembling something like a rabbit, but it had white angelic wings and a blue jewel on its forehead. Was this one of his Spirits?


    By simply sensing his presence, he was a Rank 2 Upper Stage Spirit Master. Meaning he probably had a second spirit around elsewhere as well. He had a powerful presence was well, and his eye was filled with experience and sharpness.


    "So this is her?" Asked the man, looking at Eleanora.


    "Yes, Sir Musk, she''s Elearose." Said the girl.


    "Hm, I see¡­ What''s wrong, you''re way too mute for an adventurer." The man said, asking Eleanora to talk.


    "I am merely waiting for my pay." Said Eleanora coldly.


    "Heh¡­ Well, we brought you here for that. You see. This thing¡­ it is rather big. You brought us the head of a bastard that the Adventurer and Mercenary Guilds had been chasing for over five years now. I can''t just give you a sack of coins and let you go as it is." He said.


    "Oh? Then what?" Asked Eleanora.


    "You''ll be rewarded with a Rank Up from G to F Rank." He said. "Alongside that, we want to ask you if you want to remain anonymous about this or to make it clear it was you. Famees with tons of benefits. Adventurers wille to make parties with you, and you might even be employed by nobility too, earning you a lot of cash in the process."


    "Hm¡­ I would prefer to remain anonymous. Fame is a pain, honestly." Eleanora said.<sub> </sub>


    "Gahahahaha! Quite so! Hey, I like thisss¡­" Laughed the man. "You''re hot as fuck too, where did you even came from? Hey, want toe have some drinks with me tonight?" He asked with a slightly perverted gaze.


    SMACK!


    However, the receptionist suddenly smacked his head with a karate chop.


    "Agh! I-I was just joking to lower the tensions, Anna! Don''t get so serious, geez¡­" The man acted childishly as he crossed his arms. He seemed to be well acquitted with the receptionist for her to just treat him like this.


    "You said you wouldn''t be inviting other women for drinks!" Anna reprimanded Musk.


    "Okay, honey! Don''t get angry now, I was joking! A joke!" The man implored for the youngdy''s clemency.


    "Hmph!" The girl said angrily, crossing her arms. "Sorry about that, Elearose. The guild master is also my husband¡­ He''s a Casanova sometimes, but I am here to calm down his childish behaviors." She said.


    "Hm¡­ I see. You two have a big age difference though." Eleanora said.


    "Heh! I might be old but I am quite good at seducing youngdies¡­" The man said with a smirk.


    "And I am thest one you''ll ever seduce, right?" Anna said with a deathly stare.


    "Y-Yes honey¡­ Don''t look at me like that now¡­" The guild master pathetically averted his gaze from the receptionist.


    What an odd yet charming duo.


    However, we don''t really care about their romantic rtionship, so I quickly told Eleanora to force them to continue the previous topic.


    "Can we go back on topic please?" Eleanora asked.


    "Y-Yes, about that¡­ Here''s the pay, I already had it ready for some time now. I''ve been hoping and praying for someone to take down this bastard." He sighed.


    "You''re strong, why didn''t you do it yourself?" Eleanora asked.


    "Ahahaha¡­ Being a guild master has all my hands full every single day. And without my lovely Anna I would already be dead by overwork. I can''t even find a day where I am free nowadays, with monsters and demons popping out from everywhere¡­" The man sighed.


    "Hm, I see¡­" Eleanora said, grabbing the sack of coins.


    "That''s eighty thousand Telis for you, Rose." The man said. "And tomorrow we''ll have your medal ready so you''re an official F Rank, impressive work as always!"


    "Can I go now?" Eleanora asked


    "Yes, yes, sorry for stealing so much of your time." The guild master said.


    "Alright, goodnight." Eleanora walked away expressionlessly, closing the door behind her.


    With this, we have once more secured a good amount of capital.


    -----

 Chapter 317 I Learned From The Best

    -----


    The pair at the guild were certainly peculiar. I had never expected that youngdy to already be taken by the guild master, an old man on his fifties, or so he looked to be in his fifties¡­ Thedy was probably in herte twenties, but definitely not in her early thirties.


    For now, however, that didn''t really had anything to do with me or my life, so we moved back to my house after we were done putting the corpses back in the underground hideout I had. Vampiric monster corpses were valuable as materials for me.


    Although I won''t directly consume them or something, I can still make Vampiric Essence potions out of their flesh and bones, which can give me a bit more of Blood Ki to enchant my Physique. I like to use every little material avable for me if possible.


    As we went back home, I looked into the Grimoire, which I''ve been ignoring for some time now. There were new texts showing up inside of its pages, apparently I have yet to test if killing normal humans give EXP, but killing those transformed by Eleanora or those transformed by demonic body parts do give EXP.


    And plenty of it.


    [Calcting EXP Earned¡­]


    [You earned Bonus EXP]


    [You earned 26800 EXP]


    [Your Level has increased from Level 1 to Level 2]


    [Your Level has increased from Level 2 to Level 3]


    [Level 3/30] [EXP: 5800/30000]


    [All your Stats have increased]


    [You gained Stat Points and Skill Points]


    "Oh, what a bountiful harvest¡­ Two levels in a row!" I celebrated. Eleanora had also felt she leveled up the same time I did.


    "This is certainly amazing." She said. "Killing humans converted into Vampires is the best source of EXP!"


    "Don''t say it out loud now¡­!" I reprimanded her.


    "A-Ah, right¡­ I am sorry." She apologized.


    Nheless, the amazing efficiency of EXP was insane. It was roughly 1k EXP for each Bandit converted into vampiric monster, that''s already an amazing number. Isn''t that higher than Onis sometimes? If the Oni is weak enough, they often give less than 1k EXP from what I remember from the war¡­ So this is certainly incredible numbers.


    Maybe due to the power and rarity of this type of monster such as vampiric creatures, the EXP they give out is way higher. And the best thing is that even those that die midway through the transformation also gave us 1k EXP, so it works either way!


    I guess I''ve found an efficient way to abuse Eleanora''s power and at the same time, get rid of all the pest threatening this vige or any adjacent vige as well. Monsters are now recovering their poption, but even then, it would be more efficient to level up hunting bandits. I never thought I would be giving a favor to this people''s society by killing their own kin. I suppose that was a thing in my previous life as well, but I am amazed that it is overly convenient for me.


    When we got back home, my mother reprimanded the both of us. Eleanora was rather frustrated she was added into the scolding, but she was already like her daughter too.


    "I am sorry, we ended getting sidetracked when we began catching some horned rabbits, look, I even got a new Fish Summon!" I said, showing my mother the big Moby, which surprised her a bit. The enormous fish appearing out of the blue was indeed quite shocking.


    "GLUOP!"<sub> </sub>


    "Uwaah! Get that thing out of here, ke!" My mother angrily said. "We were just worried about you, try to note back sote, okay? I know it is hard to control your impulses for hunting, which seems to be the thing that gives meaning to your life at this point, but be more careful out there¡­ Recently they said there are bandits near the canyon."


    "Ah, don''t worry about it, it was just reported someone exterminated them when Eleanora went to get her rewards for hunting the rabbits." I said.


    "Y-Yeah! That''s right." Said Eleanora.


    "Ohh¡­ I guess they''re working pretty efficiently now, huh?" My grandmother said in the side.


    "Come on, Mary, the boy is a hunter like his father, don''t get angry at him. Haven''t you seen the army of beasts he got? He also handled tons of demons back then! For once, trust his strength a bit." My father said, trying to get my mother off me.


    "SIGH¡­ Sometimes it feels like I am the only one worrying here." My mother sighed.


    "I am sorry, mother." I sighed. "Here."


    I took out something from my pocket, it was a small bottle with a mixture of floral oils I had extracted to gain EXP through Alchemy some days ago. And also, it was a gift I prepared for her.


    "Eh, what is this?" She wondered.


    "This is cologne I made for you, it has the scent of various flowers I''ve made out with Alchemy." I responded.


    "Ohhh¡­" My mother gently opened the small bottle, smelling the scent. In seconds, she felt like she was in the clouds.


    "Oh my~ W-What is this~?!" She cried in shock.


    "It is so you can always have the sweet scent of flowers, like the beautiful flower you are." I said with a gentle smile, trying to get in her good side.


    "G-Geez! Complementing your mother at my age¡­ F-Fine, it is a beautiful gift, I''ll take it." She said, kissing my cheek. "Alright, let''s go eat dinner, it must be ready by now."


    "Sure."


    My father looked at me in disbelief, almost bbergasted.


    "You''re good at this." He admitted.


    "I remember you always had her a small gift whenever she got angry too." I said. "I learned from the best."


    "Heh, and you''re good atplementing your father as well, huh? You brat!" My father said, scratching my head roughly.


    After that, we had some peaceful dinner. Mother had made her famous meatloaf, this time with abination of horned rabbit and gray wolf meat we had leftover, it was rather delicious.


    After that, I moved back to my room and locked it, quickly taking out my gains, thirteen Blood Spirit Orbs. I''ll slowly absorb them over the course of the night.


    -----

 Chapter 318 An Incredible New Familiar!

    -----


    As the morning came, I opened my eyes. I had been sitting over the floor in silence for all the night, slowly absorbing one Blood Spirit Orb at a time, usually between intervals of thirty minutes. The Blood Essence flowing across my body was truly amazing in quantities. Blood Essence was another term for Blood Ki, but I usually only use it when this Blood Ki is so rich and concentrated with Mana as well that it turns into something called Blood Essence. Ki with Blood Element is just Blood Ki, but when Mana is added, it bes Blood Essence. But there can also be Blood Essence without Ki.


    Nheless, I had awakened the Ki of all the Bandits before killing them so I could maximize profits, something I had missed on doing with Fat, Scrawny, and Midget, my three guinea pigs which helped me learn a lot of things. I now know the most efficient way to acquire materials to enhance my Physique cultivation and also the richness of my Blood Ki, all while increasing a bit of my stats permanently each time I absorb them, and there''s a bit of a chance to get a new Familiar Summon as well.


    I looked into my Grimoire as the sunlight from the morning bathed my body.


    p [13 Spirit Orbs have been absorbed]</anda>


    [Your [Physique] has been enhanced from Tier 2 Rank 2 to Tier 2 Rank 4!]


    [All your stats have increased]


    Oh, my physique just jumped two Ranks! Usually, each Tier of a Physique brings a new Ability, and they have a total of ten Ranks to reach the next Tier, jumping two Ranks at once is nothing but insane. Absorbing spirit orbs is really the way to do it.


    Normal Spirit Orbs were not giving me any permanent stats at all by now, but the ones from these bandits still gave me a few bonus stats to keep permanently, so it is quite a good deal. Although I don''t know how long that willst before I grow too strong for the spirit orbs to give me any stats anymore, just like those of monsters I usually hunt here, which are too weak.


    And well, there was something else than stats¡­


    [You acquired [Bug (G)] Familiar]


    [You acquired [nt (G)] Familiar]


    I got only two Summons this time. It was slightly disappointing after absorbing 13 Spirit Orbs, but there''s only a small chance to get the Spirit into a Familiar. It could be said I didn''t had good luck this time around, two out of thirteen is not a good number at all.


    Nheless, both of these new Familiars are interesting new finds. Bug G is a big, palm-sized bee like the one that one of the bandits had. It is yellow and covered in golden brown fur, it has a big and sharp stinger, and seems rather tame.


    Secondly, the nt G Summon is definitely different than Spore. I do not recall any of the bandits using a literal apple as a spirit, so it is new. nt G is a small Apple with a face on it, which rolls over the floor.


    ¡­And that''s it.


    Of course, although their appearance seem small and disappointing, I am sure they have some sort of interesting ability at the very least, even Moby had something to go for him. I am hoping the same for these two. This is the first Bug type Summon I get as well¡­ I wish I could had gotten the spider though, that one looked way better.


    -----


    Name: Apul


    Type: nt


    Rank: G


    Race: Wandering Apple


    < Health Points: 60/60 >


    < Strength: 25 >


    < Agility: 40 ><sub> </sub>


    < Vitality: 25 >


    < Intelligence: 70 >


    < Dexterity: 25 >


    Buff: +4 MP, +4 HP


    Skill: [Fruit of Life] [Magic Juice]


    Growth: 0/30


    -----


    First of all, there was the apple. This creature seemed to have no offensive power whatsoever, and simply rolled on the ground. Sometimes, it would grow roots and walk, but then would continue rolling until I gave it an order. It had a high amount of Intelligence so it can understand them fairly well. Hisbat abilities are useless, but he has a special ability, well, two.


    This Familiar is made for consumption.


    It has two Skills, and both are a one-time use power that also "sacrifices" the Familiar itself, and both are Skills that restore health or¡­ mana.


    -----


    [Fruit of Life]


    Sacrifices the Familiar and turns it into a shiny red apple named [Fruit of Life] which can restore 500 HP upon total consumption.


    -----


    [Magic Juice]


    Sacrifices the Familiar to turn it into Apple Juice named [Magic Juice] which multiples natural MP recovery speed by x3 upon total consumption for 24 Hours.


    -----


    When I looked at this I waspletely shocked. This small apple, no big than the palm of my hand¡­ It had such amazing abilities! The first one restores a fixed amount of HP which doesn''t escte by %! 500 HP for me is more than the maximum amount I have. Eating one of these apples would restore all my HP, and probably most of the HP of anybody I know. Probably Ellergest would only restore like 30%, but still, it is as amazing as a high-grade health potion, if not better due to its fixed recovery and not percentage based.


    Also, Health Potions usually don''t recover HP right away, but hasten the normal recovery of the body and also stop bleeding, but this¡­ this is insane. It is way better than any potion. And the Magic Juice is also very good, tripling MP recovery speed means that I can refill my MP three times a day, or probably full, meaning more Skill EXP. And the best thing is that itsts 24 hours¡­


    Wait, what if I use them as alchemy materials? Wouldn''t that make even better potions? Hm, I''ll have to test it out.


    However, the only drawback was that the Familiar Spirit disappears afterwards.


    No matter how much I think about it, the drawback seems like nothing much at all. The cost of summoning this Familiar is roughly 70 MP, but in exchange I get either x3 MP recovery speed or a 500 HP recovery item! Isn''t that better at the end?


    -----

 Chapter 319 A Second New Familiar With Great Potential

    -----


    No matter how much I think about it, the drawback seems like nothing much at all. The cost of summoning this Familiar is roughly 70 MP, but in exchange I get either x3 MP recovery speed or a 500 HP recovery item! Isn''t that better at the end?


    Of course, the bonuses it gives are also quite interesting¡­ +4 MP and +4 HP make it a pretty decent card. If I go for a full deck of these, I''ll have +200 HP and MP, which would give me not only a lot of tankiness but amazing amounts of Mana.


    But I''ll rather have attackers than an army of useless apples that can only sacrifice themselves to be useful¡­ well, moving on to the next Familiar, this one seems to have also surprised me.


    -----


    Name: Queen


    Type: Bug


    Rank: G


    Race: Honey Bee


    < Health Points: 30/30 >


    < Strength: 60 >


    < Agility: 80 >


    < Vitality: 25 >


    < Intelligence: 60 >


    < Dexterity: 70 >


    Buff: +3 Strength, +3 Agility


    Skill: [Sharp Stinger] [Swarm]


    Growth: 0/30


    -----


    [Sharp Stinger]


    Deals damage with its sharp stinger, increasing Damage Dealt by +10%. Has a 10% chance to deal Critical Damage which increases Damage Dealt by an additional +30%. Chance for Critical Damage increases the more Familiars of the same type are attacking a single,mon target.


    -----


    [Swarm]


    By using 50% of its total HP, this unit cany an egg that will create another unit of the same type within 24 hours. Units created through the Eggs are not counted in the Grimoire''s Bonus Stats and cannot be converted back into Cards. Units created through eggs are only half as strong as the Familiars. When all units attack together, their damage dealt is increased by +1% with each unit.


    -----


    It is said that bugs are good at multiplying, and bees usually live inrge colonies as well. Is this why this bee has such a power? It not only is good with more of its kin, but by sacrificing half its HP, it cany eggs that will give birth to new units of the same type within 24 hours.


    Does this mean I can actually get my own swarm of bees? The more bees there are, the more damage they can deal together¡­ However, they also have clear drawbacks, such as not bing part of my grimoire, they cannot turn into cards either, so it is not easy to store them. But maybe I could just get them inside my shadows like I did before acquiring these Skills.


    Summoning these Bees cost 50 MP, not so much at all, and if I drink Magical Juice from the Apple every day, I would be more than capable of affording these Familiars¡­ Maybe making my own little swarm doesn''t sound so bad.


    I doubt they''ll be good in long term unless I invest a lot of Bug Spirit Orbs on them and make the Bee evolve into¡­ something else, I suppose. But for now, I don''t see it being that good long term, but short term? It is certainly an interesting project.


    After I turned the Apple I summoned into Magical Juice, the juice suddenly sshed over a ss I had prepared beforehand, the juice was sweet and aromatic, just like fresh apple juice, and slightly cold too.


    [Your MP Recovery speed has been tripled for 24 hours]


    The Grimoire told me what was happening right away¡­ a 24 hour long buff is amazing. With this, I could probably use some of the earned MP to make more Juice and also stock up on apples. I''ll try to make at least one or two a day, making more would end up slowing down my progress.


    "And as of you¡­ Use Swarm."


    I ordered the Bee to do what it was best for, and it suddenlyid an egg over the desk in front of me. Its HP went to half of it. I tried healing it with some low tier healing spells, that aren''t as good as the apple, but the bee seemed to have a fixated HP.


    "I see¡­ I had never tried this out but it seems that Familiars can''t be healed in any ways, your HP is simply fixated in whichever number was left after receiving damage, huh? Well,y another egg then."


    "BBZZZ!"


    The bee quickly made ast cry,ying a second egg and then disappearing into bubbles of light. The bug was gone, but now, there were two smaller and weaker versions of itself left. If they''re the same with abilities and all¡­ then they might be able to continue the cycle of dying andying more eggs, slowly multiplying into a true swarm. I don''t even need to create another of these then.<sub> </sub>


    After analyzing things patiently, I checked my Status.


    -----


    Name: ke Hunter Goathorn.


    Race: Human


    Spirit Orb Realm: Rank 1 (Upper Stage)


    Physique: Vampiric Blood Emperor Physique (Tier 2: Rank 4)


    Job ss: [Invoker: ¡ï]


    Subss: [Alchemist: ¡ï]


    Level: 1/30 -> 3/30


    EXP: 5800/30000


    < Health Points: 320/320 -> 386/386 >


    < Mana Points: 707/707 -> 793/793 >


    < Strength: 300 -> 353 >


    < Agility: 222 -> 275 >


    < Vitality: 233 -> 286 >


    < Intelligence: 382 -> 455 >


    < Dexterity: 250 -> 303 >


    Spirits (1/1): [Half-Vampire: Eleanora (Rank 1 Upper Stage)]


    Physique Abilities: [Tier 1: Body Strengthening] [Tier 1: Enhanced Senses] [Tier 2: Vampiric Eyes (+Demon Eyes of Paralysis)]


    Link Skills:


    [Link (Eleanora): [Shadow Sneak: 3]


    Passive Skills: [Acrobatics: Lv4] [Robust Body: Lv4] [Hard Worker: Lv2] [Hawk Eye: 4] [Gifted Magic Apprentice: Lv4] [Heavy Drinker: Lv2], [Intimidation: Lv1]


    Active Skills: [Throwing Technique: Lv4] [Spearmanship: Lv3] [Butcher: Lv3] [Alchemy: Lv2] [First Aid: Lv4], [Command: Lv2], [Cooking: Lv2] [Agriculture: Lv1]


    Magic Skills: [Blood Edge: Lv2] [Create/Delete Familiar: Lv1] [Summon/Unsummon Familiar: Lv1] [Familiar Storage Expansion: Lv1]


    Title Skills: [Beast yer: Lv2] [Demon yer: Lv2] [Savior: Lv2] [ughter King: Lv1]


    Avable Stat Points: 20


    Avable Skill Points: 40


    Can gain 10 Stat Points and Skill Points with each Level.


    Curses:


    EXP required to level up x100


    Proficiency required to learn techniques and skills x100


    Mana/Qi/Aether Recovery speed decreased by -50%


    -----


    Oh! What an amazing increase in stats¡­ I hate to admit it, but I''ve be rather addicted to see the numbers going up.


    -----

 Chapter 320 Familiar Synthesis

    -----


    Not only have my stats gone up by a lot, but yesterday several Skills simultaneously leveled up after I had finally reached enough Skill EXP, all those at Level 4 were reached painstakingly after years of constant practice, which had be more easy to do now that my physique has developed a lot. I''ve also realized that cultivating my physique granted Skill EXP to all body-rted Skills, so that might had boosted their level up speed as well.


    Currently, I also have 40 Skill Points, and 20 Stat Points I have yet to assign. I am tempted to use all my Stat Points into Strength once more, overpowering an adult man as an eight-year-old child truly felt great. However, for now, I''ll spend the Stat Points into Intelligence, as I want to boost the power of my low tiered Spells.


    [You have exchanged 20 Stat Points]


    [Your Intelligence has increased by +20]


    With that done, it was time to spend the 40 Skill Points I had umted. And the obvious choice was nothing else than thest Skill in my Invoker Skill Tree!


    [You have exchanged 25 Skill Points]


    [You learned the [Familiar Synthesis: Lv1] Skill]


    -----


    [Familiar Synthesis: Lv1]


    Skill Proficiency: 0/10000


    As an Invoker, you not only have the power to summon familiars, but also to synthetize andbine them, creating brand new Familiars. New Familiars created through Synthesis can only be created through it but are registered in the Grimoire. Only Familiars of the same Rank can be created. To Synthetize Grades above E Rank, Spirit Orbs are required. Certain types of Familiars can only be created through Synthesis.


    Avable Synthesis:


    Level 1: [H Grade] [G Grade]


    Level 2: Locked


    -----


    Hm, it is just what I had expected it to be! With this, I can possibly bringpletely new Summons to life¡­ But the thing is, once I discover them I still need to do the same form to create them, meaning that Synthetized Familiars will naturally require even more MP than the other ones. So¡­ hopefully they''re strong and useful.


    Hmm¡­ Let''s try it out for now.


    "Familiar Synthesis."


    The Grimoire pages suddenly showed up a special set of pages, each one had a small orifice where I could ce a Summon Card. I analyzed it for a bit, and then took out two Random G Grade Cards I had, [Fenrir] and [Huginn] and ced them.


    Synthesis also had its own independent cost of MP, usually seemed to vary depending in the card grade, perhaps, but as of now, it was asking me 50 MP for the fusion, quite costly, but fine.


    FLASH!


    I saw both cards suddenly unifying together in a sh of bright light, and what came out of it was¡­


    [You have synthetized [Bug (G Grade)] Summon Card]


    A new Bug type Summon Card!


    What is it this time?


    I looked into the Card''s appearance, and it resembled a¡­ A Rhinoceros Beetle.


    Huh, so a Beast type and a Bird type Card creates a Bug type card? Hmm¡­


    I tried doing it again, wasting 50 MP and a Fenrir and Huginn Card, the same card came out.


    I see, so it is not random, there are fixed recipes.


    Well, let''s see what this is about¡­ Come out.


    FLASH!


    BOOOM!


    Suddenly, an enormous, three-meter big Rhinoceros Beetle came out. It was so enormous that it made the floor tremble, and it barely fit inside of my room!


    "Shit! Come back! Now!"


    FLASH!


    The creature quickly went back to a card, as I was left in the floor surprised.


    It was a bit too big.<sub> </sub>


    "ke! ke?! What was thatmotion?"


    Knock, knock!


    My mother suddenly knocked the door.


    "It was¡­ Erm, a summon."


    "Oh¡­ Well, don''t summon them inside if they''re going to make the entire house tremble!"


    "Okay, I get it. Sorry."


    "Hmph¡­ Come downstairs for breakfast dear."


    "Alright."


    As my mother walked downstairs, I was finally left alone to analyze things properly.


    -----


    Name: Brutus


    Type: Bug


    Rank: G


    Race: Big Rhinoceros Beetle


    < Health Points: 100/100 >


    < Strength: 90 >


    < Agility: 10 >


    < Vitality: 80 >


    < Intelligence: 30 >


    < Dexterity: 10 >


    Buff: +3 HP, +3 Strength, +3 Vitality


    Skill: [Horn Charge] [Grapple Throw]


    Growth: 0/30


    -----


    This thing is monstrously min maxed.


    By sacrificing Agility, Intelligence, and Dexterity, this is definitely a strong Familiar. I had never expected Bugs to be so strong as this. I suppose they''re not that tied to types. This thing is definitely a fighter and defender. I could bring him out in situations where I need a living wall.


    Both of his Skills were interesting, Horn Charge is simr to Orcus Charge, and enhances his speed a lot while using it, charging at an opponent, and piercing them with its sharp horn. The other makes it possible for Brutus to grab an opponent and throw them into the ground furiously¡­ or so it says on its description. Both Skills enhance his damage dealt by a lot.


    Honestly speaking, I am a bit surprised, his buff gives three stats at the same time, this is the first time this happens. Perhaps more Synthetized Familiars will give triple buffs? If that''s so, synthetizing only for the triple buffs would already be amazingly useful. However, experimenting eachbination of cards will be painful, and a real MP waster.


    Hm¡­ Nheless, the more Skill EXP I get, the faster I''ll be able to synthetize higher ranked Familiars, because my other Skills¡­ Well, they''re all already at Level 2 just after I created Brutus twice.


    [The [Create/Delete Familiar: Lv1] [Summon/Unsummon Familiar: Lv1] [Familiar Storage Expansion: Lv1] Skills have leveled up]


    [You gained +10 Familiar Card Storage]


    [You can now Create and Summon F Grade Familiars]


    I couldn''t help but smile as I saw these words in front of me. I had just reached the 10k EXP for all three Skills almost simultaneously. With this, I can store ten more cards, which means even more bonus Stats, and alongiside that¡­ F Grade Familiars!


    "I''ve already gathered enough Spirit Orbs to turn some of you into F Ranks, so eat up all you want!"


    It was a feast for my Familiars.


    -----

 Chapter 321 Evolved Familiars

    -----


    "I''ve already gathered enough Spirit Orbs to turn some of you into F Ranks, so eat up all you want!"


    It was a feast for my Familiars.


    As I was having breakfast with my parents having sleepy expressions in their faces, I looked into the leveled-up Skills.


    -----


    [Create/Delete Familiar: Lv2]


    Skill Proficiency: 0/20000


    A unique ability of the Invoker Talent, allows for the creation and deletion of Summons through the absorption of Spirit Orbs from monsters. Created Familiars can be assigned names and remain in the form of Cards stored inside the Grimoire until Summoned. This Skill allows for the strengthening of Familiars to higher Ranks, and for the creation of higher Ranked Familiars.


    Current Monster Rank Creation Avability:


    Level 1: [Rank H] [Rank G]


    Level 2: [Rank F]


    Avable Summons:


    [Fenrir (Beast)]: [H] [G] [F]


    [Orcus (Beast)]: [G] [F]


    [Usagi (Beast)]: [H] [G] [F]


    [Queen (Bug)]: [G]


    [Brutus (Bug)]: [G]


    [Spore (nt)]: [H] [G] [F]


    [Apul (nt)]: [G]


    [Huginn (Bird)]: [H] [G] [F]


    [re (Lizard)]: [G]


    [Moby (Fish)]: [G]


    -----


    [Summon/Unsummon Familiar: Lv2]


    Skill Proficiency: 0/20000


    A unique Skill of the Invoker Talent, grants the ability to Summon the Familiar Cards created through Summon Creation and the quantity of how many can be summoned at the same time. Each Level grants a higher quantity of Summons that can be maintained at the same time.


    Maximum Quantity of Summons that can be Summoned:


    Level 1: [H Rank: 40 Times] [G Rank: 35 Times]


    Level 2: [F Rank: 30 Times]


    -----


    [Familiar Storage Expansion: Lv2]


    Skill Proficiency: 0/20000


    A Unique Skill of the Invoker Talent. It grants an expanded Storage of Summon Cards where Summon Cards can be stored inside the Grimoire and grants the ability to turn back Summoned Familiars into Summon Cards to store them inside the Grimoire.


    Current Storage Expansion:


    Level 2: +40 Storage


    -----


    Seeing these Skills having leveled up truly made me excited. I''ve been working for over two months now to level up these three Skills, and it is finally done.


    Now that I have Apul and his Magic Juice, it might still take a few months, but not as many to level up these three Skills once more.


    I had already let my oldest summons absorb the Spirit Orbs I had with me, which I could only use on them. I could had used the ones I had for Spore into Apul¡­ if it wasn''t because I had already feed them to him beforehand and was letting him hang around 29/30 Growth for a while until I was finally able to upgrade him to F Grade.


    I can''t look at their Stats right now because I am sure they had grown bigger than before, if I summon them here, they''ll surely make a bigmotion, and I honestly don''t want that to happen right now¡­


    "ke, dear, after we are done with breakfast help me peel the potatoes, yes?" My mother asked.


    "¡­Actually, Eleanora can do that. I''ll be busy checking my Summons for a little while¡­"


    "Eh?" Eleanora asked-


    "ke! Don''t leave your spirit to do everything!" My mother reprimanded me. "Eleanora is not your ve or something."


    "W-Well, I wouldn''t mind helping in his ce¡­" Eleanora said.


    "No, dear, you''re also part of the family, it would be unfair if he asked you to do everything." My mother said reluctantly.


    "Ugh, fine¡­" I sighed.


    At the end, I helped my mother peel the potatoes until she finally let me go. There was no farming duty to do today, as we had harvested thest things yesterday and the seeds were already nted, I had already enchanted them with magic and [Agriculture] so the only thing left was a lot of free time.


    I decided to go to the forest, however, as there might still be some onlookers around my house, and when I found a good and peaceful enough opening in the forest, I sat down and quickly summoned the upgraded F Grade Familiars.


    The first batch were all my three Beast-type Familiars, Fenrir, Orcus, and Usagi all have almost doubled in size. Fenrir seemed shrouded in an aura of darkness, while Orcus was zing with mes atop its thick skin, and Usagi had grown as big as almost 100 centimeters, and had two horns that looked to be made of white jewel, sparkling with a magical aura.<sub> </sub>


    -----


    Name: Fenrir


    Type: Beast


    Rank: F


    Race: Dark Shadow Horned Wolf


    < Health Points: 135/135 >


    < Strength: 110 >


    < Agility: 100 >


    < Vitality: 60 >


    < Intelligence: 50 >


    < Dexterity: 75


    Buff: +5 Agility, +4 Dexterity


    Skill: [Furious Bite] [Dark Howl] [Shadow Step]


    Growth: 0/50


    -----


    -----


    Name: Orcus


    Type: Beast


    Rank: F


    Race: Giant zing Wild Boar


    < Health Points: 180/180 >


    < Strength: 140 >


    < Agility: 65 >


    < Vitality: 120 >


    < Intelligence: 20 >


    < Dexterity: 45 >


    Buff: +4 Strength, +4 Vitality


    Skill: [Berserk Charge] [Thick Skin] [zing Fury]


    Growth: 0/50


    -----


    -----


    Name: Usagi


    Type: Beast


    Rank: F


    Race: Dual Horned Rabbit


    < Health Points: 70/70  >


    < Strength: 70 >


    < Agility: 130 >


    < Vitality: 50 >


    < Intelligence: 100 >


    < Dexterity: 120 >


    Buff: +6 Agility, +3 Dexterity, +2 Intelligence


    Skill: [Jump] [Dig] [Dual Magic Horn]


    Growth: 0/50


    -----


    Their stats had increased a lotpared to their G Rank counterparts, but their summon cost all went to 100+ MP, so they''re not as easy to summon. Of course, I can always summon the lower ranked Familiars, but these are special in that they''re way stronger at the end. Not only stat wise, but their buffs, appearances, and skills were also enhanced.


    Fenrir now has the ability to use something simr to Shadow Sneak through his [Shadow Step], which allows him to traverse across shadows for a few seconds, with a limited time. Orcus has a zing back that allows him to unleash fiery charge attacks that explode into mes around him and his opponents, and Usagi''s two horns can do two separate magics, the first one can unleash a small restorative and buffing spell that enhances HP Recovery Speed and increases other stats by +5% for 10 Minutes, a nice small buff, the other horn can shot a Magic Laser that calctes damage based with his Intelligence Stat.


    Overall, the beasts had be mightier.


    -----

 Chapter 322 A New Experiment

    -----


    Aside from the three beasts, there was Spore and Huginn who had reached F Grade. Something odd had happened especially to Spore, who was small and oddly cute. The mushroom cap he has suddenly changed in shape and resembles a big hat that a magician would use, and it now wears patterns painted over his face that make them look like he''sughing, sort of like¡­ a clown. And well, Huginn became bigger and more intimidating, though he seems to be able to shapeshift his size to an extent.


    -----


    Name: Spore


    Type: nt


    Rank: F


    Race: Dark Trickster Mushroom


    < Health Points: 60/60 >


    < Strength: 50 >


    < Agility: 100 >


    < Vitality: 60 >


    < Intelligence: 130 >


    < Dexterity: 80 >


    Buff: +4 Intelligence, +4 Agility


    Skill: [Poisonous Spore] [Poison Fog] [Mind-scrambling Smoke]


    Growth: 0/50


    -----


    -----


    Name: Huginn


    Type: Bird


    Rank: F


    Race: Dark Shadow Stalker Crow


    < Health Points: 70/70 >


    < Strength: 70 >


    < Agility: 180 >


    < Vitality: 50 >


    < Intelligence: 100 >


    < Dexterity: 80 >


    Buff: +6 Agility, +4 Intelligence


    Skill: [Voice Mimic] [Shadow Flight] [Shadow Feather Projectile]


    Growth: 0/50


    -----


    Spore continues with his set of hazardous Skills. His newest Skill produces a pink smoke that can cause confusion or even madness for a few minutes to any enemy that smells it. This Skill could be used for a variety of scenarios when I would want to just turn someone mad¡­ maybe.


    Lastly, Huginn''s new Skill is the first Attack he has gotten, alongside an increase on his Intelligence, which calctes his damage using this Skill. With this Skill, he can attack from the distance by firing feathers made out of his own shadow.


    "I suppose F Rank Familiars are really stronger than G Rank, the difference is very noticeable¡­" I said.


    "Indeed." Eleanora admitted.


    Incidentally, I still had some Skill Points left, so I attempted to use them to see if I could Level up the Summoning-rted Skills. However, I quickly found out that there was a problem. Skill Points requirements escted the stronger certain Skills could be.


    Because of the incredible potential of my Summoning Skills, I required 10 Skill Points to merely give 1000 Skill EXP to a Skill rted to Summoning¡­ That''s problematic. Does this also affects other Skills?


    I tried it out with other Skills, but Summoning seemed to be the only troublesome one, particrly.


    This only makes me wonder what''s the true power of Skill Points, what sort of essence are they?


    If they escte based in the power and potential of a Skill, they might be good only to level up Skills I acquire naturally or that I was able to get when I was Talentless.


    Well, I can still use them to learn Skills from Talents, so it is not as if they had be useless, and the requirements to level up [Hard Worker] had not changed either.


    I suppose Summoning in specific is some sort of Power that cannot be easily improved through Skill Points, I''ll have to keep that in mind, I suppose.


    "But what about you? You''ve surely grown stronger." I said, quickly averting my attention to Eleanora. "Let me see your status a bit."


    -----


    Name: Eleanora.


    Spirit Race: Half Vampire.


    Spirit Type: Blood/Dark


    Spirit Realm: Rank 1 (Upper Stage)


    Level: 3/30


    < Health Points: 554/554 ><sub> </sub>


    < Strength: 613 >


    < Agility: 462 >


    < Vitality: 289 >


    < Intelligence: 197 >


    < Dexterity: 450 >


    Link Skills:


    [Link (ke): [Hard Worker: Level 2]


    Passive Skills: [Half-Vampire: Lv3] [Charm: Lv3] [Spirit Link: Lv1]


    Active Skills: [Assassination: Lv3] [Illusion: Lv3] [Stealth: Lv3] [Spearmanship: Lv2]


    Magic Skills: [Blood Edge: Lv4] [Shadow Sneak: Lv3] [Blood Bat Transformation: Lv2] [Blood Threads: Lv2] [Shadow Trap Creation: Lv2] [Blood Aura: Lv2] [Blood Envement Contract: Lv1]


    Title Skills: [Vampire Queen: Lv3] [Demon yer: Lv1] [Progenitor Vampire: Lv1]


    Avable Stat Points: 0


    Avable Skill Points: 30


    -----


    This has made me think about how to Level Up [Spirit Link]¡­ That Skill has been Level 1 since we acquired it. Could Skill Points be able to Level it up? Well, it seems to be earning Skill EXP Naturally over time by using the Linked Skills, but still, it is taking ages. Well, aside from that, Eleanora''s Strength that surprised me a bit.


    "Hm?! You''ve surely grown stronger but what''s with that monstrous Strength?!" I asked. "I''ve calcted your Strength Stat Growth and there''s no way it would increase this much¡­"


    "I ended finding a way to put my Stat Points into Strength! I didn''t wanted to be weaker than my Master." Eleanora said with a smirk. "After all, Spirits are supposed to be stronger than their Masters, isn''t it?"


    "¡­Certainly, but this is a bit of an exaggeration now." I sighed.


    "I can now smack a stone wall into rubble like the other day! Isn''t that great?" Asked Eleanora.


    "Yes, you were rather incredible there¡­ I would say it was rather charming." I sighed.


    "C-Charming?" She asked.


    "Well, especially when you''re ruthless and murderous with your opponents, that''s really charming of you. I feel like my heart beasts faster each time I see you unleash your strength." I admitted wholeheartedly.


    "M-My lord¡­" Eleanora suddenly blushed, covering her face with her hands.


    "Have you thought about learning a new Skill yet?" I wondered.


    "N-Not yet, I am mostly thinking about saving the Skill Points for now until I feel like Ick something." Eleanora replied.


    "Hm, that''s a good idea." I nodded. "For now, let''s go to the underground hideout, I want to try out something there¡­"


    .


    .


    .


    "UUOOOOH!"


    The groan of my Demonic Arm as it devoured the corpses of the bandits resonated underground. Its original human arm shape suddenly transformed into a monstrous demonic beast, devouring the offerings I had for him.


    "Hm, I can feel you''re certainly growing stronger. Do you like these offerings?" I asked with a smile.


    "I do, Master! They''re filling me with energy¡­!"


    The demonic arm spoke as I had given him the authorization, and did so rather happily as he began to devour everything. I had decided that keeping too many of these bodies would be too much for my alchemy, so I ended deciding to make the arm eat most of them, while also working as an experimentation for me.


    At the end, the arm had grown stronger. It didn''t had any stats I could see, but I could feel it had be tougher, and filled with more energies, particrly with a lot of Blood Essence, which was promptly shared with me.


    "I suppose this is a more clean and efficient way to clean up the piles of corpses we end up holding here." Eleanora replied while analyzing things out.


    "Indeed¡­ Now I want to do another experiment, let''s go out and find some monsters, preferable Gray Wolves."


    "Another experiment?" Eleanora wondered.


    When we came back to the surface, I asked Huginn to find some Gray Wolves, and after an hour of searching, he found an old and weary Gray Wolf, a good specimen to experiment on. It was old already, and it wasn''t going to help bring more of his kin anymore either.


    "Ggrrrr¡­!"


    When we had him surrounded by my Familiars, Eleanora quickly caught him with her Blood Threads.


    "Now what insanity you want to do?" She wondered.


    "Make a Blood Pact with him." I said.


    "Eh? With this beast?" Asked Eleanora.


    "Come on." I said.


    "Okay¡­ I don''t think it''ll work, but let''s try it out." Eleanora said.


    She activated her [Blood Contract] Skill and then dropped a bit of her blood inside the wolf''s mouth, making the beast swallow the blood right after.


    "GRAARRR¡­!"


    -----

 Chapter 323 A New Vampiric Companion

    -----


    Unlike people, beasts are easier to handle. Even when they''re loyal to their Master as Vampiric Monsters, they still have egos, canin, and do a bunch of other things that might ruin our ns. Therefore, I had simply eliminated any servant Eleanora made and used them as materials.


    But things suddenly changed inside of my mind as I saw the wolf in front of me. The creature, an old wolf covered on scars, with a missing left eye, half his bodypletely bald, and his ws and fangs broken down due to the many battles he had gone through suddenly captivated me.


    He was a true warrior.


    Although this was merely an experiment when I did this, when he survived, and his fur began to regrow bright red, his eye became as red as a ruby, and his fangs and ws regrew new, I suddenly found myself contradicting my own decisions.


    "Woof!"


    The wolf had sessfully turned into a Vampiric Monster. It was a sess at first time, but it seemed that after we did it, the Grimoire was able to calcte how likely it was, and it ended ending at around 20% chance for a monster to transform, and another 80% for them to die midway through.


    This wolf was either amazingly lucky or had great potential from the beginning. Perhaps the tenacity of an old wolf that had fought many times, or maybe somethingpletely different¡­ But the truth was before our eyes, he had be a new creature.


    And most impactful thing, he wasn''t affected by sunlight, a rarity amongst vampiric beasts, it was already a keeper.


    "I want to keep him." Eleanora said without even asking for my opinion.


    "Fear not, I also want to keep him." I sighed. "I was actually just nning to harvest his blood spirit orb before, but now, I just want to keep this guy."


    The wolf began to smell Fenrir and his pack of clones, as they began to circle one another like dogs usually do. It seems they were getting to know one another.


    "Woof!"


    It seems that Fenrir recognized the wolf, barking at him in recognition.


    "Fenrir seems to have gotten a friend." Eleanora giggled.


    "Hm¡­ Very well, your name shall be¡­ Blood." I said with a nod. "Your skin is just as red as blood, so it''s fair, isn''t it?"


    "Woof! Woof!"


    Blood seemed happy to have received a name at all, wagging his tail happily and then beginning to lick my face and that of Eleanora afterwards. Eleanora is a fan of dogs in general, so she was happy to have a new loyal pet for herself.


    "Blood is such a good boy! There, there! Such a cute little doggy!"<sub> </sub>


    Eleanora sometimes changes a bit when she''s with a dog she likes.


    At the end, Blood had evolved into a High Rank Blood Beast, a special type of Vampiric Monster. They can usually be just Summoned by high ranked Vampires, but there is also the possibility of convert a beast into one through sharing your blood with them, but the chances are so low not many would ever bother. He not only regained his energy and youthfulness, but his scars were also mostly gone aside from the one on his missing eye, and his fur had be lustrous and red as blood.


    "Woof!"


    "You''re such a good boy, there, there! Uwahhhh~ You''re so fluffy!!!"


    Eleanora was  having a fun time, but this wouldn''t do. I wanted more experiments. Blood will be left as he is, but I need something else to see if my experiments could be true. After I sent two other Huginn to scout the entire forest in separate directions, we quickly found some horned rabbits.


    We caught them and then forced blood down their throats. They all died at the end though, but when I took off their Spirit Orbs¡­ they gained a beautiful red color. It was not as high quality as human spirit orbs, which I''ve grown slightly addicted to, but this did the job as well, giving me a bit more of a push for my Physique, and a few stats permanently.


    Like that, I left pack of four F Rank Fenrir with Blood hunting down any beast they could find and bringing it to me alive. With that said, the week went on peacefully as I have decided to not hunt Bandits for the moment, although I had their locations, they were all farther away from home, tacking a trip to their hideouts would take me entire days, not something I can afford at my age without making my parents worried sick.


    As I slowly summoned more Familiars to send to hunt while I was "AFK", I also saw the Bees slowly multiply each day, all while I summoned three Apul a day, two of them turning into [Fruits of Life] and another into a Bottle of [Magical Juice].


    When the week finally came to an end, we were summoned to the vige chief''s home, which was more like a small-sized manor by how big it was. This was my first-time walking or even meeting the vige chief, who was a short man with a funny-looking moustache, he had a son around his fifteens that was inheriting his merchant skills, apparently. But that''s all I''ve heard about him pretty much.


    Not only I was here with my entire family (grandma included), but Erika, Chris, and Eric and their families were also here. The priests hade naturally as well, Elizabeth, Jack, Seth, and Head Priest Ellergest. The Knight Lukas, which I had once saved and which also helped in the fight against the demons, and several other hunter families that joined the battle, who all represented this vige and were held on high regard despite being serfs.


    "Oh, but if it isn''t our strongest Hunter, Joan!" The Chief said.


    "It is good to see you again today, Rohan¡­" My father said with a forced smile, he seemed actually angered at him. I could notice that because my father was grasping his hand very tightly, until the man''s hand was all red.


    "Ungh¡­ You don''t have to be so rough¡­" Chief Rohan groaned slightly frustrated.


    "I am sorry, I just remembered the time you forced us to go hunt wild boars and almost killed half our squadron because you didn''t know there were demons in the forest, and didn''t wanted to listen to me either!" My father said with an even more forced smile, patting the chief''s shoulders.


    "Hahaha¡­ Y-Yeah¡­ I-I already told you I was sorry!" The chief cried.


    Why does it feels like my father is intimidating the damn chief?


    I guess my father never stops amusing me.


    -----

 Chapter 324 The Dukes Arrival

    324 The Duke''s Arrival


    -----


    The vige chief, which I had never the opportunity of meeting was named Rohan, and he was a small, fatty man with a funny-looking moustache. However, unlike some of the nobles we had meet, he seemed very humble looking, although his clothes were notably better than all of us serfs and even those ofmoners, he didn''t seemed all that fancy, aside from being fat. Which probably meant he had never gone through any problems with food unlike us serfs.


    My father, due to his Title as Wild Boar Hunter that seemed to have earned himself a great deal of fame, seemed unfazed by his title and authority as a chief, and acted as equals with him, even treating him slightly bad.


    "Come on, dear, don''t be so grumpy in front of the chief, the Duke ising. Behave a bit in front of your son." Said my mother, quickly calming my father''s anger.


    "T-That''s right, Joan, listen to your wife, she''s a very wise woman." Said Rohan. "I already told you I was sorry several times before. It has been months since then, can''t you cut me some ck? I''ve been busy doing a variety of things for the vige. Not everything revolves around you."


    "You¡­!" My father groaned, attempting to grab the chief''s neck but he quickly stopped himself. "SIGH¡­ I guess you''re right. It must be tough."


    "I-I''m d you understand¡­" Sighed the chief while feeling relieved. He didn''t seemed to even be above Level 1 and was probably weaker than a Gray Wolf. My father''s bare hands would easily strangle him to death, if not break his neck before even killing him due tock of oxygen.


    However, there was no point in such things. Especially now that the Duke, the famous man that controls out Fiefdom hade to meet us in thisrge banket the chief had prepared. We were all sitting inside of hisrge house, there were several tables filled to the brim with food, alongside chairs spread through the hall.


    The chief seemingly had no servants of his own unlike the Nobles I''ve seen, and all the people working here were probably paid to serve food and cook for him for this banket. I recognized a few faces from the Inn''s Tavern area, there was even the chef that prepared food in the kitchen, a tall and fat man with a bald head that always was immersed on his cooking.


    I even saw the receptionist we always see back in the Adventurer Guild, thankfully Eleanora was hidden inside my Spirit Orb and she didn''t recognize my face as I''ve used the help of Eleanora''s [Illusion] magic to modify the appearance of my face and make it look different.


    "Wooow, so many tasty foodies!" Erika began devouring anything she found over the small tables before the Duke could evene.


    "Cut it out, Erika! Be more mindful, you''ll be able to eatter." Her old father stopped her barely walking with a staff, as she quickly obeyed him.


    "S-Sorry¡­" She sighed.


    "Erika really doesn''t know how to behave." Sighed Eric.


    "Huh, yeah¡­ She makes it too obvious¡­" Chris answered, his cheeks were full of food he had stealthily grabbed from the nearby table.


    "You cut it out too!" Chris father, a tall and bearded man with a body that resembled a gori spoke, pping his son''s head and quickly making him stop eating whatever he had hid in his pockets.


    "Chris this is an important time, you''ll meet someone like the Duke and his family, please behave." Her mother spoke, quickly making the rebellious kid shut himself up.


    I suppose there wasn''t any need for me to intervene when their parents were here.


    "Ah! He''sing! All of you shut your mouths!" The chief angrily said, as he ran into the door entrance, four figures quickly made their way inside the hall, followed by another four behind them. Thest four were fully armored having sharp expressions in their eyes. They were probably knights. I also recognized Lukas with them, who was the fifth that came right behind those four.


    The four people that entered the room first were all unarmored, they were wearing regal clothes that easily could tell they were nobility. One fatty man, not so different looking from the chief''s appearance, but with sharp, hawk-like eyes led the four-member group. Behind him there were two almost identical twin sisters wearing a ck and a white dress, with long brown hair and emerald eyes. Andstly, a tall and graceful-looking woman with the same color of hair and eyes as the twins walked behind them, her graceful appearance made most of the people gasp.


    "Before you is the Duke and his family, show your respect." A man as tall as a boar spoke, walking in front. Except from his head, his entire body was covered in armor, with a longsword sheathed tightly stuck on his hips by a wrapped belt. He looked domineering, with short white hair, and a clear cross-shaped scar across his brown face. His face was stoic, resembling a statue, and he had a sharp and short white beard as well.


    Quickly, everybody kneeled before the Duke''s family. I would had preferred to die before kneeling to anybody, even a human, but my father with his monstrous strength forced me down and looked at me with a very serious expression. I had to bear with this for now.


    "Good. You did a good job at preparing this banket, Rohan. I didn''t expect this to look as good as it does, especiallying from such a small Frontier Vige." Said the Duke with a rather cocky voice.


    "Y-Yes my lord, I''ve done everything in my power to give you the best we can offer from both our harvest and our wild game. O-Of course, Wild Boar meat is included." Said the chief, seemingly fearful of this small, fatty man.


    The Duke smiled as he nodded, the banket quickly started as everybody was allowed to sit down and eat in peacefully... Although most people was too nervous to have any appetite.

 Chapter 325 A Peaceful Banket...

    -----


    As we were in the middle of the banket, the Duke decided to speak about everything that had happened, apparently. He seemed to be rather pleased by the various aplishments of this vige, alongside the expansion that has been happening since the humble beginnings of this ce, many years ago.


    "As many of you can guess, I''vee here personally to congratte all of you for what you''ve aplished. From the sessful hunt of Wild Boars every year, to the constant supply of your bountiful harvest, alongside the sessful extermination of the demon settlement, this vige had gone through a lot, but had perseverated through everything rather amazingly." The Duke said with a rather pleased voice.


    "Thank you very much sir." Said the chief. Everybody else seemed to nod and lower their heads to the Lord''s gratefulness.


    Meanwhile, I couldn''t help but think this wasn''t enough. Sure, thanking us was good, but is that it? I''ve heard thatmoner status can be granted if one does great feats and is rewarded by a Lord, but was this all he was going to give us? A mere "thank you very much for your service"? Ridiculous. If it wasn''t for my position, I would surely scream at him and ask for something more.


    However, my father, once more, surprised me.


    "My lord, with all due respect¡­" My father asked, suddenly raising his head.


    "Hm? Who might you be?" Asked the Duke.


    The chief quickly told the Duke about my father''s identity.


    "Oh! Wild Boar Hunter Joan! And his talented son as well, that child at your side, isn''t it?" Asked the Duke.


    "Y-Yes, that''s me. I am d you know about my Title and my son. He''s an incredibly promising young man." My father said.


    "Of course I know him, he was the one that sent the head of an Oni to me!" The Duke said while crossing his arms.


    "Eh?!" My father asked, looking at me with shock.


    "If you excuse my rudeness, that was only done to make it apparent to our wise Lord that demons were attacking the forest and invading it. showing the head of an Oni was necessary to showcase the level of danger, as Oni are stronger demons than mere Imps." I said with a graceful and calm tone of voice, everybody was suddenly surprised I was able to speak as eloquently as a Noble, if not even better.


    "T-That''s true. I had already forgiven you of such an insolent act due to the circumstances, and from what I''ve heard, at eight years of age no less, you''ve joined the battle against the demons and their settlement, did you not? Every now and then I also head about a young healer wandering around the vige, which resulted to be you as well, young ke." Said the Duke. "You''re an interesting child, and as promising as your father."


    "Thank you very much for yourpliments, sir. I don''t deserve such words." I said as gently as I could, even though it was making me sick.


    "Now, speak, Joan, what it is that you needed to speak with me?" Asked the Duke to my father.


    "Well, I was thinking that, if possible, we could receive the Commoner Status due to our feats. Many people has risked their lives, many serfs died fighting and protecting your territory, my lord. For all those that survived such a tragedy, and for the families of the heroic men that had fallen, don''t you think it is only fair to reward them with the status of a Commoner, which could make our life easier?"


    The Duke suddenly fell silent, looking at my father''s eyes. His wife, quickly whispered something to his ears, as he looked back at her eyes, she seemed gentle-hearted and good natured, unlike him.


    "Hmm. Although such a request is filled with insolence, I can''t help but feel like I have to agree with it." Sighed the Duke. "All of you have indeed done a lot for my fiefdom. I''ve gone through many things myself. I do remember that once, I was someone more selfish than now, I oftentimes could not see the big picture either, and was delving on my own ego. I now know that you''re allpetent people that have hearts of gold. And su-"<sub> </sub>


    Crack¡­ crack¡­!


    Suddenly, the speech of the Duke was interrupted by the sound of wood cracking and shattering. The ceiling above us was suddenly beginning to crack slowly, stopping right above the Duke.


    "Huh?"


    "My Lord, watch out!"


    The tall knight ran towards the Duke and his family, as the other knights were too slow to react.


    Suddenly, half of the ceiling broke apart and fell down.


    BOOOM!!!


    The amount of dust suddenly spread everywhere alongside an enormous quantity of debris. The people all around was panicking as I looked back at the ceiling, suddenly, mes began to emerge from outside, beginning to quickly spread through the old wooden house of the chief.


    "W-What is happening outside?!" The Duke cried, having been barely protected by the tall knight, and suddenly finding his two daughters in the floor, hit by arge piece of wood. His wife had protected them but seemed unconscious, with blood covering her entire face.


    "AGATHA!!!" The Duke cried in shock.


    A second after, we heard a thunderous and monstrous groan.


    "GROOOOARRRR!!!"


    It was so loud and terrifying that it sent shivers down the spine of everybody here. Me included. I knew who this beast was because I had seen it firsthand before. Eleanora''s voice quickly reached my mind as she also had recognized the monster.


    "That''s the Wyvern!" She cried.


    "I know¡­" I sighed.


    There was no time to waste. First of hand, I had to secure the safety of my family and my friends. I looked around as I saw the house quickly catching more fire, the door was closed right behind us, so I ran there without hesitation and imbued Blood Ki into my leg.


    CLAAASH!


    -----

 Chapter 326 A Wyvern Attack!

    -----


    CLAAASH!


    The door was sent flying across the sky, as I quickly roared to everybody to get out immediately, only to be greeted by the neighboring two other houses being set aze by the deadly Fire Breath of the Wyvern.


    "GROAR!"


    The Wyvern was flying in circles around the vige, constantly roaring and looking down, as if it was looking for something in specific. The people in the vige was panicking, a monster as strong as a Wyvern that could even fly was a threat nobody here could even fight against properly.


    "RUN!" I roared, quickly telling the people to run outside the house.


    "Go to the forest!" My father quickly caught up to everything without panicking as much. My mother was a top priority due to her pregnancy, if she inhaled the deadly smoke produced by burning wood, the children in her womb might be endangered.


    "Joan, what is happening?!" My mother began crying desperately. Thankfully we had left grandma at home, the wyvern was attacking this side of the vige, so the rest seemed untouched yet.


    "A Wyvern descended from the mountains!" My father roared, the people that ran outside the burning building quickly grew even more panicked as they saw the enormous reptilian beast fly across the skies, despair clear in their eyes. "Mary, run to the forest, there''s less monsters now and they don''t approach big groups of people, it is a good hiding spot!"


    "The Wyvern doesn''t seem to be attacking people out of hunger, it is looking for something!" I said, pointing at the beast who had not even bathed an eye on us yet.


    "AGATHA!!!"


    Once more, as I saw everybody run outside, I heard the crying scream of the Duke inside the burning building, as two knights were left incapacitated and were quickly being set aze by the fire nearby.


    "Shit, the Duke''s in danger! Where''s the chief too?!" Asked Chris father, running to our side, seemingly willing to help.


    <o>,m "ke,e here!" My mother suddenly tried to drag me away from danger, but I quickly moved away from her hand.</o>


    "I''m staying here! I''ll go help!" I roared, quickly summoning ten F Rank Fenrir and Orcus, and leaving half of them for the people running away. "They''ll protect all of you, stay in the forest!"


    "B-But ke!!!" My mother cried, as I quickly ignored her. Chris'' mother suddenly grabbed her and dragged her away, the woman was surprisingly strong physically.


    Seeing my mother go off, the next task was obviously rescuing the Duke.


    FLUOOSH!


    "S-Shit, these mes are not normal!" My father cried, seeing the mes quickly spread out furiously.


    "We have to somehow get in! Most people got out but those near the Duke are probably about to kick the bucket!" Chris father, named Halberd, spoke.


    Meanwhile, I heard Erika telling her father to go away while she could stay here.


    "No! You''reing with me, Erika! Fire is dangerous for your body!" Her father screamed, trying to convince.


    "But I want to help ke!" Erika cried.


    "Enough!" I roared. "Erika, stay put and don''t get near the mes! I am going in!" I said, quickly stepping into the fire.<sub> </sub>


    "Wait, ke!" My father grabbed me by my shirt and quickly dragged me back outside.


    "What are you doing?!" He roared back at me.


    "Sigh, you''re always so cautious, father." I sighed, maintaining my calm in this desperate situation.


    I quickly summoned Eleanora outside and decided to conjure a spell with her, this was a Tier 2 Water Attribute Spell named [Aqua Bubble] it created a bubble of water around a target, making them resistant to mes in exchange for making them weak to ice and lightning element.


    "W-What is this?!" My father asked.


    "I can only cast this a few times, all of you go inside, let''s bring them all out!" I roared, quickly entering the zing hall once more, I had already tried to ssh water everywhere, but Icked enough MP to waste it all into conjuring a torrent of water big enough topletely set off this inferno, this entire house wasing down soon as well.


    "AGATHA- Akh!"


    I quickly reached the Duke, grabbing him and running outside.


    "Stop! STOP! My wife and my daughters!" The Duke cried like a child.


    "Don''t worry, they''re also being dragged outside!" I said, as the Duke noticed my father, Halberd, and Eleanora holding three other figures. Chris''s father was enormous and tall, big enough to hold two girls with his two big arms, meanwhile, Eleanora brought the Duke''s Wife outside.


    "A-Ah¡­! My wife!" The Duke slowly crawled towards his wife, who was unconscious.


    While this happened, we quickly ran inside again, helping the knights, the chief, and his family to run outside. Two knights were already dead, but Lukas and the tall knight had survived alongside another one that was still breathing. After everybody was outside, I quickly sshed water over them through the power of Moby, whose Water Ssh was also able to generate a bit of refreshing water. This buff would be good as well to help them run away, which I''ve also sshed over the group of people running into the forest.


    "We somehow made it¡­!" My father said, seconds before the entire house of the chief crumbled down into an explosion of mes and dust. The Wyvern was still circling the skies with a menacing re.


    BOOOM!


    "Duke! Are you alright?!" The chief ran towards the Lord of the Fiefdom, who seemed okay.


    However, his wife seemed to be at death''s door. I had checked her beforehand and she had a contusion in her head. The priests had managed to run away and had quicklye to help after leading the people into a safe area of the forest.


    "Let me handle this!" The Old Ellergest said, his face filled with concern about the many dangers of the Wyvern getting into our vige.


    FLASH!


    A sh of bright light bathed the Duke''s wife, quickly healing her visible wounds, but she still seemed unconscious and barely breathing. Why?!


    "GROOARRR!"


    Meanwhile, the Wyvern suddenly noticed us.


    -----

 Chapter 327 Lets Hunt This Wyvern

    -----


    FLASH!


    A sh of bright light bathed the Duke''s wife, quickly healing her visible wounds, but she still seemed unconscious and barely breathing. Checking her through my Ki, I was able to detect that her skull was slightly cracked, and she as bleeding inside her brain, the coagting blood will kill her in a few minutes, she was still bleeding from her nose due to this.


    "S-She''s still not waking up!" The Duke cried, looking back at his daughters, which were fine but unconscious due to the shock. "A-And my daughters!"


    I had to do something to save the Duke''s wife, I was the only one that knew what was happening to her.


    "GROOOARRR!"


    However, the Wyvern finally noticed us, ring furiously at us and then, flying down at a fast speed.


    Opening its enormous jaws, the beast unleashed a zing inferno.


    FLUOOOSH!


    "NOOOOO!"


    The Duke''s scream was quickly stopped as the mes never reached us. Ellergest and Elizabeth''s magic resonated together as arge Light Magic Barrier was conjured, whose power was something I couldn''t conjure myself even at Tier 2 Magic without spending thousands of MP. Although I knew most of the MP was being supplied by Ellergest, a Veteran, it was still an incredible thing.


    CRASH! CRASH! CRASH!


    Suddenly, the Wyvern boldly rushed down with its sharp ws and began to sh the barrier furiously, the barrier immediately began gaining cracks all over, quickly being about to shatter.


    "Agh! Stop!" Elizabeth cried, gritting her teeth.


    FLASH!


    Suddenly, a small Cherubin appeared, her Spirit, which quickly began covering the Barrier with enormous quantities of light, reinforcing its durability, and solidifying it temporarily.


    "ROOOARRR!"


    The furious Wyvern suddenly began using its enormous, three meters big jaws to bite through the barrier and then bathe it with its mes.


    And while trusting Elizabeth and Ellergest, I ran towards the Duke''s wife.


    "I can help her. She has a wound inside of her skull that is making her bleed inside, if this continues she''ll die in a few minutes."


    "Eh?!"


    The Duke was shocked that I was able to know such a thing.


    "There is a way to help her, however, move aside!" I quickly moved the Duke away, as I borrowed Eleanora''s Blood Threads and inserted them inside of the Duke''s Wife nostrils.


    The Blood Threads quickly moved across her nose, reaching all the way deep and then sliding across her blood vessels.


    "Blood Maniption."


    FLASH!


    Activating the Blood Maniption Art was hard for someone that wasn''t in direct touch of blood, but now that I had been able to get inside her blood vessels, it was easy to quickly bring the blood umting from the duke''s wife brain all the way down through her nostrils.


    SPLASH!


    Suddenly, arge amount of blood sshed out of her nostrils, as the Duke was once more shocked.


    "W-What are you doing to my wife?!" The Duke couldn''t help but scream in horror.<sub> </sub>


    "Calm down and listen to me." I said, I am extracting the blood from her internal bleeding through a special magic, leave her bleed out for now, I am already casting a healing spell inside her skull!


    "W-What? You can do such a thing? Something not even normal healing magic can do!" He said in surprise. "Y-You''re not lying?!"


    "Shut up for now and just sit there! There''s a giant lizard trying to kill us!" I roared back at the Duke, who was getting in my nerves. The little man, intimidated by my roar, quickly sat down over the floor, looking at my eyes fearfully.


    Crack¡­ crack¡­!


    "Agh! I can''t keep the barrier any longer!" Elizabeth cried.


    "I''ve never been good at barrier making, actually¡­!" Ellergest said. "Come out already,zy Dragon!"


    FLASH!


    Suddenly, arge, five-meter-long Dragon made out of light emerged, looking like a serpentine Asian dragon roaring loudly.


    "ROAR!"


    The Dragon of Light that Ellergest could summon was definitely a good contender against the Wyvern, as he quickly flew towards the beast and stopped the wyvern from hitting the barrier constantly.


    CLAAAASH!


    "GROOARRR!"


    The Wyvern, however, was furious, ferocious, and above all, seemingly stronger than Ellergest Summon. This was due to Ranks specifically. Certainly, the Rank 2 Light Dragon was powerful and was probably high level as well, but this beastly wyvern was a monster one or two ranks above its normal level of threat due to the Demonic Miasma that the Demon Lord in the Lost Continent has been spreading across the entire world for ages now.


    Monsters all around the world were growing stronger than they usually were due to this, almost at the same time I was born in this world. Because of this, the Wyvern''s might was something beyond what it should actually be for a monster like this.


    CLASH! SLASH! BOOM!


    The two reptilian beasts began to fight one another ferociously, ws against ws, and tails against tails. The Spirit of Ellergest seemed to have an advantage in terms of magic and skills, which he could share from Ellergest to an extent, shes of bright light and the explosive zing breath of the Wyvern began to spread over us, the barrier had to still tank these blows which generated furious shockwaves.


    I looked back at the Duke''s wife, she seemed to be fine now, although she lost way too much blood and needed a transfusion, hopefully from one of her daughters. But it was no longer as lethal anymore.


    "She should be fine now¡­"


    "R-Really?"


    The Duke asked while crying constantly


    "Yes, now¡­"


    I looked high into the skies, checking at the wyvern, it was taking some damage, but those scales were incredibly tough. The magic fired at the creature was only dealing, at most, 20% of its original damage, those scales reflected arge amount of their total power, as if they were magic mirrors. Imagining an armor made out of them was making me smile. This monster, despite how mighty it was, was as treasure trove.


    Although the situation was dire and almost iprehensible due to the reason behind this territorial beast to arrive here, I knew this time, I had to y it.


    Back then I had sworn that I would kill it after all, it was time to do as I had promised.


    Taking out Gluttony from my shadows, the spear began to overflow with ck and red essence, forming an aura of terrifying power.


    "Father, let''s hunt this Wyvern."


    "What¡­?!"


    -----

 Chapter 328 Devicing A Plan

    -----


    ording to what I have researched, Wyverns were D Ranked Monsters, which were already terrifying enough to destroy entire viges and even threaten big cities if their numbers were more than three. However, it was stated that the Wyvern living in the Mountain far away wasn''t a normal one, it had been mutated through the Demonic Miasma and had turned even stronger than normal Wyverns. Some catalogued it as a C Rank Monster, while some said it could evenpare to a B Rank Monster depending in the intensity of the Demonic Energy.


    B Rank Monsters werepletely capable of wiping out an entire city by themselves. Most attacks were ineffective against them and they were vicious, having enormous quantities of stamina and health that kept them going for days without needing to rest. They were beasts that only lived in the depths of the wilderness of the continent, often treated as "Field Bosses" by Adventurers, they were terrifyingly strong beasts that not even B Rank Adventurers dared to fight unless extremely necessary. ¡­Or so was what I had researched in the Adventurer Guild with the help of Eleanora. Even now, in a world where everybody was born with a Spirit and a Talent, monsters were so strong that multiple people had to fight them together to stand a chance.


    This Wyvern, for whatever reason, hade here and ended interrupting this special asion. Even almost killing the wife of the Duke in the process. Although his impression of us might had increased after healing her, the entire horror of it and everything else might make him even more doubtful if this Frontier Vige would be able to survive the dangerousness of monsters outside. If we don''t defeat the Wyvern right now and show him that the people in this vige are capable of defeating these monsters, then his trust towards my father and the rest of the Hunters might plumet.


    And well, I also wanted to enact what I had sworn to myself before, I wanted to defeat this wyvern.


    "Father, let''s hunt this Wyvern."


    "What¡­?!"


    My father''s shocked expression was notably obvious. As someone that had never fought a flying monster before, it was obvious he had no clue how to even hunt the creature down.


    "Again with your insanity¡­!" Ellergest said. "Leave this to us, you don''t have to get involved!"


    "That Wyvern is in apletely different level than even Cassandra, ke." Said Seth. "Don''t think you can just help because you want to."


    "We''ll have to take that thing down by ourselves, or maybe scare it enough it will fly away." Said Jack.


    "ke¡­ What do you have in mind?" Elizabeth, however, ignore the three of them and quickly asked me what I was thinking.


    "You got an idea?" Chris approached me and asked as well, who had stayed in here with Erika and Eric.


    "I-I shouldn''t even be here but I couldn''t think about leaving you guys behind¡­" Sighed Eric.


    "What n?!" Asked Erika, furiously asking as if she was dying to fight that monster.


    "It won''t involve any of us getting hurt¡­ if it works properly." I said, looking at my father. "Don''t worry father, I am not nning on engaging closely to that beast, nor any of us should do that, it will be a sure death."


    "T-Then what do you even have in mind?" My father asked.


    "We''ll lure it with our attacks from a distance, while Eleanora here¡­" I said, as Eleanora materialized from within my shadows. "¡­Will create a trap with the help of father''s Spirit and my Rabbits." I quickly summoned the four Usagi I had stored as cards, the Duke, and the chief, who had never seen me summon Familiars before opened their eyes wide in shock.<sub> </sub>


    "Just how many Familiar Spirits does this boy has?!" Asked the Duke.


    "I am an Invoker." I said. "My specialty is summoning familiars."


    "I-Invoker?!" The chief cried in utter disbelief.


    "There''s no point in hiding it any more anyways." I said while waving my head.


    "So your n is to lure the wyvern into an underground trap?" My father asked.


    "Didn''t you take down Demon Giants simrly? You are able to shape the dirt below your feet, father. It was one of your newly awakened Skills." I said, as I recalled that he had done that in war, but my father had not used such power ever since.


    "T-That''s¡­ the power I used drain my MP by a lot, unless I have MP Potions, I can''t properly do this. Ick the amount of MP that a mage would have, which is necessary to use this skill." He said.


    "Well, you''ve drunk the Apple Juice I gave you, right?" I asked. "Don''t you feel your Mana bubbling more?"


    "M-My Mana?" Asked my father, quickly closing his eyes, sensing the faint aura of blue color that his mana produced. "I-I had not realized it yet but my MP is indeed at full¡­ And it is recovering quickly whenever I use it to activate a Skill! I am pretty sure it took over 12 hours to recover at full, I used the farm just some hours ago but its full again?!"


    My father often used his MP to tend the farm, as he had the [Farmer] Talent, using the Skills rted to his Talent cost MP, which he most of the time usedpletely just so our nts could grow healthy. Of course, with my help that process had be smoother, but apparently he still wasted all his MP into doing this process. Perhaps emptying his MP daily also increased it over time through many years, which would also exin how he has such a high amount of it despite being a Farmer.


    "What juice?" Asked Chris Father.


    I quickly took some bottles from my bag made out of wood, and quickly made everybody drink them. The sweet juice revitalized them, and suddenly made their MP recover at x3 its original speed, everybody noticed the difference quickly after.


    "Incredible, what sort of Magic Fruit did you use for this?!" Asked Ellergest.


    "Apples."


    "Eh?!"


    "Now, listen to me, I''ll need everybody''s help¡­ Let''s lure that wyvern, trap it, and kill it for good!"


    -----

 Chapter 329 Attack!

    -----


    It had only been a few minutes since the fight between Ellergest spirit and the Wyvern began, however, I''ve been using every single minute to exin them my n. My father and my friends quickly trusted me in what I had in mind. My father was easy to convince once I told him I had no intentions of actually going into a physical fight against a Wyvern, which could easily cut me into pieces with its ws or incinerate me into ashes with its zing breath.


    The priests felt doubtful, but the situation was desperate, and they quickly ended epting to listen to me and then decide if they wanted to cooperate or not. We didn''t had much time at all either, as Ellergest'' dragon was already filled with wounds and might end up emptying its HP in the next minutes. Although Ellergest healing magic could heal his own Spirit''s HP, he was already at his limit too, and wanted to save MP for whatever I had in mind as well. He had already managed to lure the Wyvern high into the skies, so it had yet to attack the vige again. But it would probably descend once more whenever the dragon spirit dies, seeking whatever it was trying to find in here.


    "The n is rather simple, by using my father''s Spirit which can use some of his Skills, these rabbits I have, and Eleanora, we''ll create a trap underground, big enough to fit the entire wyvern." I said. "After that, we''ll attack the creature with everything we have until its breaths itsst."


    "And how do you hope to aplish such a thing? Wyverns are not stupid, they''re smart creatures!" Said Ellergest.


    "Not so smart, if they were lured into this area, the creature is already furious and ferocious as it is. Something must have lured it here. We''ll simply attack it from a distance. I have the means to attack it, the beast is easy to provoke as well, despite being "smart". It is merely observant, but our trap will be covered so it wont be able to see it. In fact, the underground digging is already halfway through."


    My father was gasping for air as he was using most of his MP to supply his spirit, which had dug underground from below the barrier alongside my Horned Rabbits, which I''ve created another four of them by recing other summons, it was a desperate situation so I had to do this.


    "It is working¡­ There is already a big pitfall being made, in another minute it should be ready. But that pitfall alone can handle it?!" Asked my father.


    "Eleanora has the power of creating special Traps made out of Shadows with a Skill she learned, we''ll use that to create a deadly trap that can keep the wyvern underground. I''ll trust Jack''s chains to wrap around the wyvern''s jaws so its breath attack wont hit us while it is struggling."


    "What?! Me?!" Jack asked in surprise. After two months he had finally recovered from the battle against the demons, but now he had been taking things quite too easily for too long.


    "What? Lack the backbone to do something so simple? You''ve been practicing the usage of your chains for a while now." I said, quickly putting pressure on him.


    "Okay¡­ I get it! I''ll do it." Jack epted things way too fast, surprising me quite a lot.


    "How do we lure it though, ke?" My father asked me while feeling rather worried, after all, that was the most dangerous part of our n.


    "Indeed, that''s the hardest part, but I''ve got some ns¡­ Ah, is the pitfall ready?" I wondered.


    "It should be¡­" Said my father, quickly realizing things were almost ready.


    Because they dug underground, they did it in a way that the floor didn''t copsed into the pitfall yet, but if any sort of weight was put over this thin floor, it would quickly and easily copse.<sub> </sub>


    "Eleanora."


    "On it."


    Eleanora quickly disappeared, turning into a small Blood Bat, and then flying underground through the tunnels made by father''s spirit and my horned rabbits. In thirty seconds, she was already able to make a very big Shadow Trap reinforced with tons of MP. My MP was already below half its maximum quantity, if I kept doing this for too long, I would easily run out of energy.


    This entire strategy was a dangerous bet, but if it truly worked¡­ then it would be a pleasure to see that monster agonize in the floor as it bleeds out itsst.


    "Now, let''s do it."


    I quickly grabbed some Javelins made out of wood with the tips crafted from sharpened rock, and handled them to my father, Chris'' father, and everybody without long-ranged attack means. The Duke and the chief also were made to hold one, but it was more for their own self-protection. The knights also decided to cooperate due to trusting my father''s judgement on trusting my idea.


    "T-Then I open the barrier?" Wondered Elizabeth.


    "No, protect the chief and the duke''s family in here, we''ll go out and distract the wyvern. Do you think you can hold on for a minute or two more?" I asked Elizabeth.


    "I think so¡­! With the Apple Juice you gave me, my MP is refilling fast!" Elizabeth said. She was trying her best but even now, she seemed to be having difficulties. Her trust over my judgement, however, was big andmendable, I had to praise her for such a level of trust she had for me.


    "Very well then, let''s go!" My father said, leading the party.


    We quickly ran outside the barrier, as I summoned all five of my F-Rank Crows and told them all to annoy the wyvern. They flew directly towards the beast, as the light dragon was already about to die.


    "CRAAA!"


    The annoying crows began firing projectile feathers against the Wyvern, greatly irritating the monster until it finally turned its attention towards them when the dragon suddenly died, exploding into magic essence.


    "GROOOARRR!"


    -----

 Chapter 330 Trapping The Wyvern

    -----


    "Huginn, use Shadow Feather Projectile repeatedly!"


    "CRAAA!"


    The fiverge ck crows began bombarding the Wyvern with their attacks, by spreading out their wings, they were able to shoot five small feathers made of shadows, which I''ve tested were as sharp as stone arrows and held just as much strength as arrows when fired from their same distance. They cost no MP to use but had a cooldown of ten seconds with every five feathers, this is why each Crow was made to coordinate themselves, firing their feathers three seconds after the other, this way they can keep a constant attack without all of them having to wait ten seconds together.


    "GROOAR!"


    The Wyvern easily deflected their attacks, however. Some of the feathers ended getting stuck in between its scales, barely piercing its skin, but most of them proved to be just distractions against such a mighty beast.


    However, already slightly injured by the fight against Ellergest Spirit, the Wyvern was already quite tired and also, ferocious and more berserk than ever. The creature viciously chased down the Crows which I ordered to circle the sky for a few seconds as we got into position.


    "Now, lure it down slowly!" I told them through mymands.


    The birds quickly obeyed me. The Wyvern had once killed one of them so easily, but now that they had evolved to F Rank, Huginn was way faster than it was before, and now it was barely able to escape the wounded wyvern''s Fire Breath.


    "GROOARR!"


    ? The wyvern viciously chased the birds down, as I grabbed arge iron ball from my bag and enchanted it with the Tier 1 Gravity Magic Spell [Weight Increase] using it to its limits until the weight of the ball I was holding increased by ten times, and then, as the wyvern suddenly managed to get a bird into its jaws, I fired the ball as fast as I could, enchanting my entire body through my Physique and Ki, alongside using my Demon Arm for the throwing process, which was several times stronger than my other arm.


    FLAAASH!


    BAAM!


    The iron ball flew across the skies at an insane speed, reaching the wyvern''s left eye and hitting it strongly. The wyvern groaned in agony as one of its weak points suddenly began to bleed out intensively, the creature groaned in agony, but wasn''t knocked out like other monsters would, quickly ring down at us furiously as the Huginn it had on its jaws quickly disappeared after being bitten.


    "GROOARRR!"


    The wyvern, however, suddenly kept itself above the skies, readying a deadly fire breath above us without even attempting to go down. The bastard probably guessed there was something odd!


    "NOW!"


    However, I quickly gave everybody the signal, as everybody enchanted their javelins or other weapons with their Mana as I had instructed them, alongside Ki, and then they fired them into the sky. The javelins flew incredibly quickly, reaching the wyvern''s open mouth and suddenly piercing through the interior of it, which was softer than its exterior body, the tongue it had ended being pierced by many javelins at the same time, inhabiting its ability to properly unleash its breath attack.


    "GRAAAARRRR¡­!"


    "It worked!" My father said.


    This was all thanks to my ability to connect my Ki with others, this way, I infused my own Ki into their weaponsbined with that of theirs, guiding the weapons across the sky so the hits would end up being urate.


    "Now, Huginn, annoy it and lure it down right here!"


    Imanded Huginn as the remaining crows quickly flew towards the wyvern, firing their feathers at the monster. The creature furiously roared back and then flew down, chasing them as they flew directly toward us.<sub> </sub>


    FLAAAASH!


    The sound of the wyvern''s enormous wings breaking the sound barrier could be heard, as invisible shockwaves were unleashed across the skies, easily lifting up the debris around us and then¡­!


    BOOOM!


    The wyvern fell over the ground, crushing all my crows in the process. It wasn''t even a second before the floor below the monster quickly copsed, the beast gave out a groan of confusion and surprise.


    "GRAAAR?!"


    CLASH!


    The enormous wyvern fell to its demise, falling down the pitfall we had just created, twelve meters deep was all we could make in this short time frame. The beast immediately attempted to crawl back up, its fire breath shooting up like a re from the depths of hell. The spears piercing its throat and tongue had already been incinerated into ashes by its own breath.


    FLUOOOSH!


    As the mes emerged from the pitfall, I saw as the Wyvern tried to crawl back using its limbs'' ws, even its front limbs had sharp ws albeit only two instead of the four ws of its legs. However, it quickly despaired once more as the Shadow Trap of Eleanora already activated, twenty ten-meters-long tentacles made of shadows began to entangle the entire monster from crawling out of the pit, tightly wrapping the monster down.


    "GRAAARRR¡­!"


    "It''s working!" Said Eleanora.


    "Jack!" I said, as the red-haired priest nodded.


    He ran towards the pitfall and summoned his Golden Chains, which quickly flew down, with his uracy, he easily managed to wrap them around the wyvern''s head, tightly shutting it down.


    "GRRRRR¡­!"


    The Wyvern attempted to open its jaws multiple times but several other shadow tentacles entangled the beast''s jaws. The Shadow Trap onlysts about ten minutes before it is dispelled once it is activated, so we had to kill this thing before it was toote.


    "Now, go all out!"


    My father roared, as he led us all into firing everything we had against the beast. I brought all the Summons I could and sent them down, the Fenrir and Orcus began to furious bite and charge against the wyvern''s limbs, while everybody else attacked with magic and javelins they fired themselves.


    "GRRRR¡­!"


    Five minutes after, the Wyvern was still alive but its HP must be already below half. I quickly gathered all the Blood Ki I could and conjured [Blood Judgement] into the monster''s head, raining it down with spear-shaped blood projectiles.


    "There''s no escape."


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!


    -----

 Chapter 331 Killing The Fire Wyvern!

    -----


    CRASH!


    "GROOARR!"


    Suddenly, Jack''s Chains broke and ended dying as they were a spirit, the wyvern had managed to forcefully break them ahead of time, suddenly firing a deadly breath upwards.


    "FALL BACK!"


    My father quicklymanded as everybody obeyed his orders, moving back once more.


    FLUOOOSH!


    As the mes reseeded, the wyvern suddenly fell silent.


    "It suddenly went silent?" Asked Chris'' father.


    "I''ll go check." My father quickly ran near the pit, timidly looking down. I followed him from behind and looked at the beast. It was not breathing and was also not responding to stones I threw at it.


    "It''s dead." I said, the moment I felt the body suddenlycked vital signs and its internal Ki had depleted, it was obvious.


    "W-We did it¡­" My father said, falling to his knees.


    "R-Really? That worked?" Ellergest asked in disbelief.


    "W-We defeated a Wyvern!" Jack cried in happiness.


    "Ahh¡­ T-This strength! We have surpassed a Trial of the Holy Spirits!" Seth proimed.


    I saw as everybody celebrated our victory while their bodies began to glow with bright white light. This usually happened when somebody leveled up. And of course, they were not the only ones to earn EXP.


    My grimoire pages quickly showcased my gains.


    [You have defeated [Lesser Fire Wyvern (Elite)], you earned 25000 EXP]


    [Your Level has increased from Level 3 to Level 4]


    [You gained Stat Points and Skill Points]


    [You acquired the [Dragon yer: Lv1] Title Skill]


    I see, 25k EXP for a single monster is indeedpletely insane. I don''t even remember the Demon General giving me this much EXP. Could this wyvern be even stronger than him? Maybe it was equally strong, but due to being able to fly, it was as real problem¡­ the demon general might had been harder due to having over a hundred demons as an army too.


    I also got Dragon yer as a Title by killing a Wyvern? I suppose they''re considered a very lesser type of dragon then¡­ Well, that''s it for me.


    -----


    Name: ke Hunter Goathorn.


    Race: Human


    Spirit Orb Realm: Rank 1 (Upper Stage)


    Physique: Vampiric Blood Emperor Physique (Tier 2: Rank 4)


    Job ss: [Invoker: ¡ï]


    Subss: [Alchemist: ¡ï]


    Level: 3/30 -> 4/30


    EXP: 5800/30000


    < Health Points: 386/386 -> 406/406 >


    < Mana Points: 793/793 -> 823/823 >


    < Strength: 353 -> 385 >


    < Agility: 275 -> 295 >


    < Vitality: 286 -> 306 >


    < Intelligence: 475 -> 505 >


    < Dexterity: 303 -> 323 >


    Spirits (1/1): [Half-Vampire: Eleanora (Rank 1 Upper Stage)]<sub> </sub>


    Physique Abilities: [Tier 1: Body Strengthening (+Demonic Arm)] [Tier 1: Enhanced Senses] [Tier 2: Vampiric Eyes (+Demon Eyes of Paralysis)]


    Link Skills:


    [Link (Eleanora): [Shadow Sneak: 3]


    Passive Skills: [Acrobatics: Lv4] [Robust Body: Lv4] [Hard Worker: Lv2] [Hawk Eye: 4] [Gifted Magic Apprentice: Lv4] [Heavy Drinker: Lv2], [Intimidation: Lv1]


    Active Skills: [Throwing Technique: Lv4] [Spearmanship: Lv3] [Butcher: Lv3] [Alchemy: Lv2] [First Aid: Lv4], [Command: Lv2], [Cooking: Lv2] [Agriculture: Lv1]


    Magic Skills: [Blood Edge: Lv2] [Create/Delete Familiar: Lv2] [Summon/Unsummon Familiar: Lv2] [Familiar Storage Expansion: Lv2] [Familiar Synthesis: Lv1]


    Title Skills: [Beast yer: Lv2] [Demon yer: Lv2] [Savior: Lv2] [ughter King: Lv1] [Dragon yer: Lv1]


    Avable Stat Points: 0


    Avable Skill Points: 5


    Can gain 10 Stat Points and Skill Points with each Level.


    Curses:


    EXP required to level up x100


    Proficiency required to learn techniques and skills x100


    Mana/Qi/Aether Recovery speed decreased by -50%


    -----


    Without doubting, I quickly decided to spend all my Stat Points and added them to Strength, while using the rest of the Skill Points into buying the Skill I wanted.


    [You have exchanged 10 Stat Points]


    [Your Strength has increased by +12]


    [You have exchanged 20 Skill Points]


    [You learned the [Apprentice Alchemist Recipe Book: Lv1] Skill]


    Wait a moment, why did I get +12 Strength instead of the usual +10?


    The Grimoire quickly answered.


    [Due to your growth, Stat Points can now give more Stats. The more you raise your stats, the more stats will Stat Points give. As of now, every 5 Stat Points, you gain +1 Bonus Stat to the assigned Stat]


    I see, well, I guess that''s a good thing, all things considered.


    However, the important part was the new Skill.


    It didn''t appeared like a new book, however, this new Skill emerged as new pages in the Grimoire itself.


    -----


    [Apprentice Alchemist Recipe Book: Lv1]


    Skill Proficiency 0/10000


    A Skill that only incredibly talented Alchemist can learn. It grants ess to a special Book that can materialize out of thin air, where an alchemist is capable of essing a series of recipes that are unlocked over time and the Skill Level, it also grants detailed information about Materials which are then registered in the book. Through the book and the required set of special Skills, Synthesis can be done anywhere.


    Avable Recipes for Instant Creation:


    Level 1: [Lesser Health Potion (Normal Grade)], [Lesser Mana Potion (Normal Grade)], [Lesser Antidote Potion (Normal Grade)], [Spike Bomb (Normal Grade)]


    Level 2: ???


    -----


    Oh, this is interesting, not only it can help me develop new recipes easily, but it evenes with a set of recipes that I can do anywhere as long as I have the materials. So I don''t even need a Magic Cauldron to make these specific set of items, although I''ll need it to make anything that is not within the Instant Creation List, but I am sure those might be the key to level up further this Skill and also my own Level, as doing alchemy grants EXP. In resume, making more potions has be more simpler, as long as I only set for the bare minimum, if I want anything of higher quality, I''ll have to do it manually through a Magic Cauldron, I assume.


    Although I wanted to inspect the abilities of my Alchemy Book further, I was interrupted by Erika and my friends, who were crying tears of happiness. Oh right, I suppose this was as very emotional and exciting moment for everyone¡­ I should y along.


    "Amazingly done, everybody¡­ I told you we would do it." I said with a smile, although it was clear my human body seemed slightly tired after all of this.


    -----

 Chapter 332 Stealing The Wyverns Parts

    -----


    "I-I can''t believe we were able to defeat a Wyvern¡­ This is insane, they''re incredibly strong monsters! Especially this one, it was probably as strong as a C Rank Monster, or higher¡­" Eric said.


    "T-That was crazy!" Chris said. "Though I need to rest a bit, I am too tired now¡­ It feels like a lot of excitement hit me hard¡­"


    "That''s all the adrenaline you felt, it now hits you hard." I sighed. "Don''t worry, you''ll feel better after some rest."


    "I feel like I grew stronger again¡­ Is this the Level Up you talked about, ke?" Erika wondered.


    "Yes, that''s what you got, Erika. This Wyvern gave a lot of EXP." I said.


    It had already been some time since the challenge I gave to the kids about Leveling up their Skills, and at the end of the arduous training I made them go through which involved merely making them use their Skills over and over, they had managed to strengthen their skills, proving me right. I didn''t have toply with anybody''s wishes and I won the bet, so I was able to ask them anything I wanted. Of course, I simply asked them to continue the training that they had been doing, I doubt they had anything I really wanted.


    The concept of EXP, Levels, and Skill EXP and Skill Levels were very loosen in this world. As people was not aware of being able to see their Statuspletely unless in the Appraisal Ceremony, they always thought levels were rted to Holy Spirits trials, and Skills were very loosen, some knew that by using them repeatedly they would grow stronger, but not many knew how exactly this worked, but indeed, merely shing a tree would make your Swordsmanship stronger eventually, over several days.


    After our conversation, which simply included the kids being happy about their progression, we regrouped with everybody else. When the Adventurers from the Adventurer Guild ran here, the Wyvern had already been in. The Duke waspletely shocked by all events and had passed away before the wyvern would had been in, being moved to the house of a noble.


    "I''ll do my best to tell the Duke that things went well." The Knight Captain, a tall man said. He was strong, but probably not enough to fight one-on-one against a Wyvern, he had cooperated silently alongside another knight and Lukas, while the other two had died by the fire, which was rather tragic for them. They still seemed slightly relieved things ended without anybody else dying.


    After that, we quickly gathered back with the families that hid in the forest, everything seemed to be alright. Most of the mothers were crying out of how scared they felt, and some hunters seemed frustrated for not being allowed to fight, well, not like they would had done much.


    Ultimately, we all went our separate ways back home, the house of the Duke which had him and his family of one son and his wife was destroyed, so he''ll have to build a new one. The other two houses set aze were turned off quickly by the power of Moby, as I had left four F-Rank Fishes using Water Ssh repeatedly over the smaller houses, only leaving small damage. There weremoners living in those, but they managed to escape in time too, so there were no casualties in that regard.


    I wanted to badly butcher the Wyvern and extract all of its precious materials for myself, the scales would do wonderful armor, the fangs and ws could make amazing weapons, and the flesh, blood, and bones could also be all consumed and also used for alchemy, especially its internal organs overflowing with Mana and Spiritual Essence. And above all, the Spirit Orb it had could potentially be a Wyvern Familiar, something I wanted very badly.


    Although things were decided to be left for tomorrow, I ran outside the house to look at the wyvern''s corpse, which was being left alone. The beast was around five to six metersrge, so nobody in their right minds would ever attempt to steal it or do something with a pit of over ten meters to crawl back from, except me.<sub> </sub>


    Seeing that there were three Adventurers surrounding a bonfire while guarding the pit, we infiltrated with Eleanora into the pit through Shadow Sneak, and got in there rather easily, we spoke through Telepathy to not be detected.


    "We should take out some blood and the Spirit Orb for now, if we take more than that it will be too obvious." I said.


    "Very well." Eleanora said, quickly turning into a Blood Bat and entering the interior of the wyvern''s guts through its mouth. She pierced the interior until she came back covered in blood, guts, and holding the shiny, red-colored spirit orb with the size of a watermelon.


    It was enormous!


    "Ugh¡­ You really make me do horrendous things." She sighed.


    "I am sorry." I said, quickly sshing her with water.


    ? SPLASH!


    "Hahh~ This is the first time I feel you did this well." Said Eleanora.


    "For now¡­ I bet the Duke will want the entire corpse for himself, seeing how highly priced it might be. And he''ll make an excuse that it is a way topensate for his difficulties in here, so let''s just take the scales of the back, some, and sporadically so to not set a pattern and make it seem as if they are wounds." I said.


    "Alright." Eleanora nodded, as we began taking scales from the wyvern, especially those surrounding its wounds, which would make less obvious someone came to steal materials.


    At the end, we got ourselves thirty palm-sized Wyvern Scales, which were harder than iron. Alongside that, we drained a lot of blood, took away its liver, a few fangs, and some ws which were already cracked.


    Eleanora once more entered the wyvern and also brought some chunks of meat so we could enjoy itter. And with that, we flew back home stealthily, nobody realizing what we had done.


    -----

 Chapter 333 Precious Wyvern Materials

    -----


    It was already the next morning, after taking materials from the wyvern I felt too tired, so we simply decided to sleep. Eleanora had forgotten on getting inside my Spirt Orb, so she was sleeping right next to me, cuddled between the nkets while hugging me tightly, her head was sleeping while resting over my chest. I had to admit it, she was rather charmingly beautiful.


    "Hmm¡­ Master¡­ You''re so adorable¡­ Let me cuddle¡­ cuddle¡­" She began speaking through her dreams, something I had not seen her do often. I was surprised she was able to dream in such a special body as that of a Spirit, but I was quite happy she was enjoying herself; I suppose.


    "Eleanora, wake up already¡­ It is morning." I said, gently caressing her face and then giving her a kiss in her forehead.


    "Uguh?!" She asked, suddenly opening her eyes as she felt that kiss. I knew that would wake her up.


    "K-Kiss¡­! You kissed me, my lord?" She asked.


    "I do it often, what''s so special?" I wondered.


    "A-Ah¡­ I-It''s just¡­" Eleanora began to giggle childishly for a bit, but then realized she had her legs all over mine and was getting a good share of my body warmth, quickly jumping out of the bed due to the shock of doing something that was quite outrageous for her.


    "S-Sorry for getting ahead of myself there¡­" She cried, bowing her head.


    "I can''t really get you, sometimes you''re flustered about this, and other times you treat me as someone equal¡­ Don''t be sorry. I get that inside the Spirit Orb you might feel lonely, you''re allowed to sleep at my side as much as you want." I said, quickly sitting on bed.


    "ke¡­" Eleanora said while feeling a bit better. "Yeah, it feels cold and lonely there. I don''t remember ever being weak against such things before, but this world has showed me the warmth of family and friends, and also the warmth you''ve showed me these years¡­ I can''t help but miss it when I am alone."


    "I see, it is good you''ve opened to me some more." I said. "For now, you''re free to sleep wherever you want anyways."


    "Thank you¡­ I love¡­ sleeping with you." She said while blushing a bit.


    "That much?!" I asked while raising an eyebrow.


    "Y-Yeah¡­ Ah! Did it sound weird?" She asked.


    "¡­Well, I am surprised something so little makes you so happy, but so be it." I said. "More importantly, I want to try to absorb the Wyvern Spirit Orb."


    "Oh, good idea." Said Eleanora. "I wonder if you can though, isn''t it a very high Rank?"


    "I am wondering the same, let''s try it."


    I quickly took the watermelon-sized crystal sphere containingrge quantities of mana and spiritual essence, and touched it, trying to absorb it.


    However¡­


    [You can''t absorb a Spirit Orb a Rank higher than yours.]


    [Additionally, to turn this Spirit Orb into a Familiar, Level 4 [Create/Delete Familiar] and [Summon/Unsummon Familiar] Skills are required.]


    "So I can''t, there are restrictions, this thing is stronger than what I can take, huh?" I sighed.


    I had already imagined it would turn out to be this way anyways, but still, it left me a rather bad taste.


    "Huh, so it is not possible? That''s such a letdown¡­" Eleanora seemed to agree with me.


    "Grimoire, when can I absorb this exactly?"


    [Whenever you reach Rank 2 in your Spirit Orb Cultivation.]


    [Additionally, if you want it to turn into a Familiar, Level 4 [Create/Delete Familiar] and [Summon/Unsummon Familiar] Skills are required.]<sub> </sub>


    [If you absorb the Spirit Orb before Level 4 in such Skills, the Spirit wont turn into a Familiar and you wont be able to do this after you reach such Skill Level.]


    [It is rmended to wait until you grow stronger, master.]


    "I guess I can''t really use it for now¡­ Not only I need Rank 2 Spirit Orb Cultivation, but also I need Level 4 [Create/Delete Familiar] and [Summon/Unsummon Familiar] Skills, well, that is not happening any time soon." I said, nodding to myself.


    "For the moment, will you keep it?" Wondered Eleanora. "Though¡­ If you consider selling it, you might be able to get a good sum."


    "I agree, it would be a good idea to sell it- but no! I won''t do such a thing yet." I sighed. "I''ll simply patiently wait for my Wyvern Familiar, I''ll be able to eventually summon enormous Wyverns for battle, what else would I want? Patience is a virtue I''ve had all these years, I can wait."


    "To be expected of you." Eleanora said with a gentle smile.


    "For the time being¡­ About these Materials, can I make something through the Recipe Book?"


    I opened the Recipe Book and saw the materials I had collected registered already in there.


    -----


    [Lesser Fire Wyvern Scales (Unique Grade)]


    The scales of a powerful Lesser Fire Wyvern, they possess resistance to magic damage and especially of the fire element, alongside giving greater defense than most normal metals, onlyparable to mithril. However, recipes that use this level of material are not avable yet.


    -----


    [Lesser Fire Wyvern Liver (Unique Grade)]


    The Liver of a Lesser Fire Wyvern, it contains arge quantity of Vitality, Mana, and Spiritual Energy which can be used for all matters of alchemy. However, recipes that use this level of material are not avable yet.


    -----


    [Lesser Fire Wyvern Fangs (Unique Grade)]


    The Fangs of a Lesser Fire Wyvern, ferocious and strong, they can easily tear apart most basic types of armor. They''re sharp and made to bite through bones, thick skin, and easily slice muscles, good for making weapons. However, recipes that use this level of material are not avable yet.


    -----


    [Lesser Fire Wyvern ws (Unique Grade)]


    The ws of a Lesser Fire Wyvern, sharp and strong, they have the power to sh through most armor. They''re sharp and made to sh through bones, thick skin, and easily slice muscles, good for making weapons. However, recipes that use this level of material are not avable yet.


    -----


    [Lesser Fire Wyvern Blood (Unique Grade)]


    The Blood of a Lesser Fire Wyvern, sweet and slightly spicy, by drinking it directly, it can grant strong aphrodisiac effects and increases fertility in women. It can be used for all matter of alchemy. However, recipes that use this level of material are not avable yet.


    -----


    "I suppose I can''t use it for much at my Level of Alchemy, I need to quickly practice more."


    -----

 Chapter 334 The Dukes Invitation

    -----


    "You can''t use anything?" Wondered Elenora.


    "Alchemy is the power to merge the magic within items into brand new creations. Even with all my experience and mastery I have over it, if I don''t have enough magic power to use high level materials properly, I can''t use them well. I could try, but the result would be underwhelming and it might even fail, resulting in a wasted material." I sighed. "Grimoire, what Level of Alchemy would I need to use these materials properly in this world? I know that my own experience itself is not enough, right?"


    [Precisely, master. You require at least Level 4 [Alchemy] but even then, the higher level the better, there might be still chances of failure at Level 4, but if you reinforce your alchemy through other Skills in the Skill Tree such as [Brewing] and [Synthetize] you can increase the sess chance of creating items. Additionally, Level 4 of the Alchemy Book is also needed to unlock special recipes that use Wyvern materials.]


    "Hm, I see¡­ I guess I''ll have to level up faster to get those Skills and also Level up those Skills to a required level. I would want to do this before leaving the vige, if possible. There''ll be a long grind for my goal." I sighed.


    "Cheer up, we''ll manage to do it quickly. Now that you have many talents and powers, it is easier to do alchemy, we could even try to mass produce items!" Eleanora said. "For more EXP."


    "Yes, thanks to the book, mass producing bes possible, we need to gather more Bitter Herb and Oil Extracts from Wild Flowers at least¡­"


    I summoned the four Rabbits and sent them off into the forest to look for materials. I gave each one a small bag where Huginn would help them store the materials in there using their dexterous legs.


    "With that done, I guess we should go down to have breakfast." I said. "There''s also some meat we got; we should enjoy that at ater asion though."


    After taking a bath I met with my family once more, everybody seemed to be having a peaceful morning, it was a rather intense day yesterday. My mother looked like she couldn''t take any more surprises for the day.


    My father seemed rather cheery of course.


    "Yesterday''s battle was amazing, all thanks to our son, Mary!" He said. "You should had seen himmanding us, his n was amazingly detailed and ended in total victory against the wyvern, some said that beast was the same in the mountain terrorizing the people walking around the Vast Grasnds! This probably means we beat something almost at B Rank in level of strength!"


    "I-I know, you told me that yesterday as well, honey." My mother sighed. "Still, that was so horrendously dangerous¡­ I know its over but I can''t help but worry it might happen again. Also, is there a reason why it came? Wasn''t it territorial?"


    "Yeah, I have the same question." Said my father. "Nobody has figured out why it came, but some said it was looking for something."


    "Maybe someone stole the wyvern''s egg! Agh, damn it, I should had been awake when it came. I slept through the whole thing." My grandmother said, her sleep was incredibly heavy so it was rather hard to wake her up.<sub> </sub>


    "The egg?" Asked my mother.


    "Don''t you remember that anecdote we once heard from your father, Mary?" Asked my grandmother, probably talking about her deceased husband, my grandfather. "From the vige where he came from, a Wyvern had attacked because a dumbass stole their egg. Those winged lizards have amazing smelling sense, it tracked its egg all the way to the vige and set aze the house of the man that stole the egg, quickly taking the egg away after the man got turned into a charred corpse!"


    "O-Oh¡­" My mother said.


    "So Wyverns are very vengeful, huh?" I wondered. "Maybe the Wyvern we defeated also had an egg here, but who stole it?  An Adventurer? We need to investigate this case further¡­"


    "Yeah, let''s go talk with the Duke, he should be awake by now, the chief came some time ago to tell us to go there whenever we had time." My father said.


    After having breakfast, we quickly moved outside with my father, leaving mother and grandmother at home. We reached the noble''s residence where the duke and the chief were staying, and after having to convince the guards we were invited here, we were able to enter and quickly found the duke and the chief, alongside their families, inside the hall of the house''s first floor, alongside a few hunters that were in yesterday''s banket. After formal introductions, we quickly began a conversation about everything that transpiredst night.


    We exined everything from the ns we had to the entire strategy done right, the wyvern''s death, and everything that happened afterwards. Killing a D-Rank Monster was already an incredible feat in this world due to the level of difficulty that monsters of higher ranks had, each one growing usually several times stronger than the previous Rank, but one that was strengthened through Miasma, as it was already proven by experts that analyzed the corpse this morning, was an incredible feat that deserved more than just congrattions, apparently.


    "It is incredible how you were able to defeat such a mighty beast! You have my regards, hunter Joan and his son¡­ I am also very grateful to you, young ke. Not only were you able toe out with a n to defeat such a mighty beast, but also saved my wife''s life¡­ I am indebted to you." He said.


    "I-Indebted to me?!" I asked in shock.


    I had never thought things would develop into this.


    ? "Yes¡­ I have thought more about everything, I had already decided to give you all Commoner Status, but through this experience, I realized how dangerous this world truly is, and how precious are people like you, who fight these beasts and protect us, especially my wife and my two daughters." Said the Duke, as his twin daughters were eating a sandwich,pletely ignoring his words. These girls were only a year younger than me.


    "Therefore¡­ I want to do something for you and your father- and of course, the other children that also helped, I am impressed by your incredible talent." Said the Duke. "Tell me anything and I shall consider it! Come on, go on and ask!"


    -----

 Chapter 335 Revealing My Talents

    -----


    We could ask anything.


    The Duke suddenly dropped those words as if nothing. Not only this meant a lot, something that could even change our entire lives, but it also meant that he was seeing potential in our strength and talents and saw that we could be of great service to his fiefdom.


    Eventually, I would move out of this ce and go on as I please as an Adventurer, discovering this world''s secrets and growing stronger is my actual priority, but if I can defeat the demons invading it in the way, then by all means necessary, I could potentially service this fiefdom as a soldier in the battlefield if that lets me kill as many demons as I want, killing two birds with one stone.


    Nheless, I had yet to consider other further ns in my life, and I wasn''t going to set my life to service someone, if possible, it wont be anything that willst more than a year or two, and even, I might change my ns midway through, so who knows.


    However, this was incredibly important, although he said he would think about what we asked, which meant he wouldn''t do anything we asked, this still gave out a lot of possibilities to ask about the wildest of things I could imagine.


    Everyone fell silent while the Duke sit down there, waiting for a response. Not even my father knew what he wanted to ask, being granted themoner status was already amazing enough, that''ll save us a lot of money too.


    Due to everybody''s silence, I decided to ask the Duke my wish first.


    "My lord, with all due respect, I have a wish."


    "What is it? Speak your mind."


    "I would like to be given the Noble Status."


    "Denied."


    Well, at least I tried.


    "Sadly I can''t simply give you a Nobility Status not because I don''t want to, but because it is not possible for a Duke alone, I would also need to ask the King himself, a request, which would cost a lot of money, more than you imagine. Sometimes, Merchants pay for Nobility status and gain a Title for their entire family, but those are often the most wealthy of them." Said the Duke.


    So it has to do with the Duke not wanting to spend a dime on me, I suppose. Or maybe, too much for it to be worth it at all. Now that I had asked that, I honestly didn''t knew what to prioritize asking for, I had thought about being given the job of a servant for a noble family, but that would be troublesome and annoying, and although our lives might improve, it would also mean serving another person, I don''t want my family to also do such a thing either, they''re living freely and happily here after all.


    However, the thought about my Alchemy Abilities quickly came back to my mind. The book I had acquired through a Skill had the power to materialize items, if I could properly mass produce them, wouldn''t it be possible to make good profit out of them? Maybe if I open a shop¡­


    "Could it be possible to be given permission to open a shop in the capital of the fiefdom?" I asked.


    "A shop?!" My father asked, he had already been shocked when I asked to be promoted from Serf to Noble, so this shouldn''t had been as shocking.


    "A shop¡­ you say?" Asked the Duke. "Why? Are you an Alchemist or a cksmith to be able to create items?"


    So the existence of objects called "items" do exist in this world. It is quite surprising how game-like some things are, but I suppose it is convenient for me at the end. And well, if I want to be an Invoker and also make items, there''s no point in hiding my abilities.


    "I have the Alchemist Talent as my second Talent." I said.


    "Wha¡­? Didn''t you said you were an Invoker?" Asked the Duke.


    The knight at his side quickly looked at me with a serious expression.


    "Lying about your own Talents is a crime that can even be punished with capital punishment. Boy, you''re an incredibly talented young man, don''t waste your life saying such lies." The knight said sternly.


    "I am not lying. Erika, you know that I''ve been making potions for some time now, right?" I asked my friend.


    "T-That''s right! ke is very talented; he had learned a lot from papa¡­ I am sure he must have that Talent too!" Said Erika.


    "But the possibility of someone having two Talents ispletely ridiculous, there has never been-"<sub> </sub>


    "For now, bring Ellergest here and also the crystal that allows Appraisal." Said the Duke in silence.


    "Yes sir." The knight that was interrupted immediately obeyed the Duke''s orders.


    Five minutester, the old priest was here to check me out.


    "If you''re lying about this ke you''ll get punished for it¡­ You''re really a fool." Sighed Ellergest.


    "I have no intentions of hiding my talents if that means I''ll have a better life if they''re recognized." I said with confidence, touching the crystal.


    FLASH!


    And within there, my Status appeared, which I had not seen before in detail, this crystal indeed was one of Appraisal¡­


    -----


    Name: ke Hunter Goathorn.


    Spirit Orb Realm: Rank 1 (Upper Stage)


    Job ss: [Invoker: ¡ï]


    Subss: [Alchemist: ¡ï]


    < Health Points: C >


    < Mana Points: A >


    < Strength: C >


    < Agility: B >


    < Vitality: C >


    < Intelligence: A >


    < Dexterity: B >


    Spirits: [Half-Vampire (Rank 1 Upper Stage)]


    -----


    This Status was very strange, it didn''t showed any numbers but showed the Talents, their stars, the Spirit Orb Rank, and the Spirit. Numbers were nowhere to be seen but stats showed their values through letters. Skills were also not shown.


    However, as I analyzed this item, everybody else was left dumbfounded, falling in silencepletely.


    "H-He¡­ He has two talents sir." Said Ellergest. "Invoker and Alchemist!"


    "Y-You''re sure?!" The Duke stood up and ran towards the crystal ball, checking it with his two eyes. "Incredible!"


    -----

 Chapter 336 Requests

    -----


    "T-Two talents¡­"


    "Does he really has two talents?"


    "Papa, let me see!"


    The Dukes wife and his two daughters quickly ran to my side, looking at the crystal ball dumbfounded. The twin brown-haired girls looked at me with new eyes, although back then they hadpletely ignored my presence and seemed to be in their own world, out of nowhere they had their eyes fixated in my appearance.


    "Wow¡­ You''re so amazing despite wearing rags!"


    "Two talents¡­ And I have just one, that''s not fair, I am nobility!"


    One of them was strangely gentle, although she pointed out my clothes, and the other was jealous.


    "C-Calm down, girls, let''s go back for now¡­" The Duke''s wife said, bringing her daughters away. I was relieved, they were quite annoying.


    The conversation quickly shifted into my two talents, but after some time, things between the higher ups calmed down, after the Duke finished talking with everybody, he nodded.


    "Very well, to make a shop in the capital you need a special license, being a merchant also helps, but I''ll grant it to you without any hassle. Probably next year you''ll be able to open the shop, it will be rent free for a year, but after that you''ll have to begin paying rent for the small building. It is roughly five small gold coins. Do you understand the incredible responsibility of what you want to do? Even as a child, I can see incredible potential in you." Said the Duke. "I am willing to make exceptions. Also, Ellergest told me you we are moving to the Academy in a few years, it would be good if you relocated your entire family to the capital by then, alongside your friends and their families too."


    "What?! Moving to the capital?!" My father couldn''t help but feelpletely shocked by that. As a farmer, moving to the capital was something he probably didn''t wanted, being away from the countryside, the freedom, and the wilderness was painful for him.


    "Yes, you got the potential to work as a soldier andter be ascended into a knight, Joan, your amazing potential could serve the fiefdom well- Of course, this is all up to your considerations." Said the Duke. "After all, you''re the father of ke, you''ll decide wherever you want him to go to the capital or not, and if you want to follow his footsteps."


    "Well¡­" My father looked back at me, as I directed my gaze towards his with conviction.


    "We''ll have to talk about it, I suppose¡­" He sighed with a smile. "But really, I am not¡­ made to be in the big city, I love the countryside, going hunting, and all of that¡­ the big city is just not made for me, I don''t think my wife or her mother would also want to go there."


    "I see¡­" The Duke said, rubbing his chin. "Well, there''s still a year from then, so for now think about this more deeply. There is also special housing for the children that go to the academy. Our duchy is one of the biggest in the country already, thanks to my hard work, the Academy was made by the Union in here so young talents can flourish and also grow stronger by going into the Dungeons. Although we don''tpare to other Academy Cities, we are still flourishing. If you want to, this license could be dyed until you enter the academy with your friends so you can open the shop when you move to the houses provided by the academy."


    Things seemed incredibly convenient, but I guess the Duke was indeed an honest man that had decided to repay those that saved the life of his family with great things.<sub> </sub>


    "Sure, I suppose that''s good enough." I said.


    I had already guessed my parents were not going toe with me, sadly. It seemed that I couldn''t simply make them follow me wherever I went. I had considered things more carefully, and I guess it would be better if the security of this vige could be increased further instead of simply moving to a safer area.


    "Then, what do you all want?" Asked the Duke. It seems that alongside me, my friends and my father were allowed to ask anything they wanted. The Duke had taken a liking on my friends, apparently.


    "I would like to request a Shop License for my uncles!" Said Eric. "Please!" He quickly kneeled.


    "Your uncles¡­ Oh! Are they the two apothecaries?" Asked the Duke after Ellergest whispered to his ears. "Of course, I had already thought about it, your wish will be granted."


    "Thank you very much! Finally¡­ Their shop will finally be recognized!" Eric began to cry tears of happiness.


    "I-I¡­" Chris quickly was the next to talk. "C-Can I get a lot of money? My family needs¡­ we are a lot after all¡­"


    "Money? Hm¡­ Sure thing." Said the Duke. "The rewards will be fifteen small gold coins, is that alright?"


    "Oooh! Y-Yes! Thank you! Thank you!!!" Chris began to cry, the money reward was a lot and would be enough for several years to maintain his big family, which was facing difficulties recently.


    "Fifteen gold coins sound amazing but¡­" My father said. "I would like to request to use the money of the wyvern we defeated to build a wall."


    "A wall¡­?" The duke asked.


    "I''ve seen that other viges in the Frontier have ten- to fifteen-meter-tall walls made out of logs, is it possible to construct one as well for our ce? If there''s a wall, we''ll be protected from most monsters and we can also live more peacefully, it would also be possible to expand our farms without fearing to get too close to the forest with a wall." Said my father. "This is my only and humblest request."


    "Hmm¡­. I see. Wild Boar Hunter- No, Wyvern yer Joan, your wish is truly humble and admirable, I shall do everything I can to create a wall, I agree, this vige is brimming with both talented children and strong and great people, a wall is nothing hard to do, but it will take its time." Said the Duke.


    "Thank you very much!" My father bowed, forcing me to bow as well.


    I suppose I am truly different than my father. While he always thought about the security of the vige, I was only thinking about running away into a safer ce. He''s someone dedicated to his people¡­ One of my greatest mistakes was not being someone that cared enough, I let my subordinates all die because of my recklessness. Maybe I still have a thing or two to learn from my father.


    -----

 Chapter 337 The Truth About Erikas Past

    -----


    "Thank you very much!" My father bowed, forcing me to bow as well.


    I suppose I am truly different than my father. While he always thought about the security of the vige, I was only thinking about running away into a safer ce. He''s someone dedicated to his people¡­ One of my greatest mistakes was not being someone that cared enough, I let my subordinates all die because of my recklessness. Maybe I still have a thing or two to learn from my father.


    As things seemed to be almost over, Erika was left with her request. She stood there in silence for a while,pletely different from her former self.


    "I-I have a request too¡­" Erika said.


    "Ah, the girl with the doll spirits, aren''t you? You''re also a talented one. Ask away." Said the Duke. "If its money what you want, you''ll get the same reward as the boy."


    "I would like¡­ I would like to meet my mother, Cattalina!" Erika said boldly, the entire hall fell silent.


    "Cattalina¡­?" Asked the Duke.


    "Cattalina¡­ The only Cattalina I know is your elder sister, is it not?" Asked the Duke''s wife.


    "My sister Cattalina?" Asked the Duke.


    "My father said my mama''s name was¡­ Cattalina Goldriver." Said Erika. "My papa was exiled long ago due to a crime hemitted, but due to circumstances, my mama ended running away back home¡­ Since then, papa has been taking care of me. I want to meet Mama¡­ C-Can you help me find her?" Erika asked humbly, as tears began flowing from her eyes.


    "Y-You¡­ What''s your name?" The Duke asked with a face filled with intrigue. "And your father''s name?"


    "My name is Erika¡­ And my papa''s name is Enriko." Said Erika.


    "¡­"


    ? The Duke fell silent.


    "Enriko, the Doll Maker, is it not?" Asked the Duke.


    "Y-Yes¡­" Erika sighed, suddenly feeling a strong pressure from the re of the Duke.


    "This is aplicated matter, but if you''re truly saying the truth, then I am your uncle, girl." Said the Duke.


    "U-Uncle?!" Asked Erika.


    "Well yes, you''re the daughter of my older sister, daughter of the King! That also makes you the granddaughter of the King." Sighed the Duke. "You could quite possibly get a nobility title if the truthes¡­ We''ll have to report this to the King and my sister, who had been lonely ever since she left the vige where she lived with her husband, I suppose this is the ce then, isn''t it?"


    "Yes, this must be¡­" Sighed Erika.<sub> </sub>


    "But¡­ there''s something odd. My sister said her daughter died long ago, howe¡­ are you a second daughter of hers? If so, why are you so young?" The Duke asked.


    "I-I¡­ Well, I¡­" Erika muttered, she quickly found out she couldn''t properly answer that.


    Simply saying "my father stuck my soul into a doll body" wasn''t something that would be good. I don''t know if what he did is even legal, and that could easily put him in jail even at his age for something that could be cataloged as "desecration of the dead".


    "I can answer that myself, my lord." I said.


    "Oh, ke?" The Duke asked, quickly changing his expression.


    "I know Erika since I was but a year of age. I''ve been with her since the beginning, she''s someone that has a mysterious yet sad past. Erika, technically, had almost died." I said.


    "Eh? She did¡­?" Asked the Duke.


    "I''ve learned the truth about what happened to her from her father directly. When Erika was born, she was inflicted with a mysterious Curse that stopped her growth and development. Her mother had given her for dead, but her father continued working hard to find a cure. Eventually, he found it, almost while she was dying. Due to the curse, her body had to be slowly modified by her father to allow her to move and grow, as a doll maker, he had to rece some her limbs for prosthetic limbs, sadly¡­" I said countless liesbined with truth.


    "I-I see¡­ a Doll Maker is indeed a master of such craft." Said the Duke, his family and everybody else in the hall remained in silence.


    "I humbly request for Erika''s mother to be held responsible for her daughter as well, even if she doesn''t desire to meet her, to at least give her somepensation." I said. "She should also be given the benefits that entail being a daughter of the royal family."


    "ke¡­" Erika said, as she began to cry.


    "Hmmm¡­ It is tooplicated, this matter has too many details that cannot bepletely conveyed, and if her mother gave her for dead, I don''t know if she''ll ever truly recognize her¡­My sister had been very depressed for a long time, and I have not known where she is in some time as well, it will beplicated and take its time, but I will try to see what I can do. I cannot give you any promises, young Erika, but if we find more proof of what you say being true, then we''ll still request a nobility title, and even somepensation for everything." Said the Duke.


    "Ah¡­ Thank you very much¡­!" Erika said, in between tears.


    "However¡­ if what you said is, by any chance, false, there is a punishment." Said the Duke. "If what you said is false, you might be thrown to jail or even exiled from my fiefdom."


    "A-Ah¡­ I-I see¡­" Erika quickly went back to her doubtful and fearful self, feeling frightened.


    "I don''t know how far your father is willing to cooperate, Erika, but it wouldn''t be bad if we go meet himter to talk to him about this." I said. "Maybe he could have more proof of these things."


    "R-Right, you''re right, ke." Said Erika while nodding weakly. "I hope papa can help as well¡­"


    And like that, our meeting ended with bittersweet feelings, we were granted several things, but what had happened with Erika only brought more mystery and intrigue to this entire problem with her family. After we were done there, I quickly decided to move to Erika''s father home, and my father decided to get his nose into this as well, so he apanied us.


    -----

 Chapter 338 A Worried Father

    -----


    We reached Erika''s home with my father and Erika after walking across the vige. Erika seemed slightly nervous now. We hade here for the sake of Erika''s family. As she wanted to meet her mother, she had to get the approbation of her father if she wanted to get more information about everything, and probably ask his help at speaking with the Duke regarding this entire situation. Her father was very weak and old, and he might die before Erika could even meet her mother at this point¡­ This is why it was important to try to convince him.


    When we entered the house, her father was awake, sitting near a desk where he was crafting something that resembled an arm. It was most likely a doll''s arm, probably something he was making through his fantastic magic and spiritual techniques which allowed him to create Erika''s body to the level of realism it has.


    "Father¡­"


    Erika approached her father, as the old and gentle man smiled.


    "Ah, dear, how was it? Did you behaved in front of the Duke?" He wondered, petting his daughter''s head, and giving her a kiss in her cheek.


    "Yeah¡­" Erika said.


    Suddenly, her father noticed the two of us behind her.


    "Huh? Joan? ke? Is there a reason you came here? Do you need something?" Wondered Erika''s father.


    "Enriko, I came to help out the kids." Said Joan.


    "Huh?" Erika''s father seemed confused altogether.


    "Father¡­ Well¡­"


    Erika ended slowly exining what had transpired with the Duke.


    "What?! Erika¡­! You did what?!" Her father was shocked. "You have to know that your existence shouldn''t be known to the Royal Family¡­ Your mother¡­ she¡­ Well¡­ She thinks you''re dead. If they were to know you''re somehow alive right now¡­ There might be a conspiracy against you or something¡­ ugh¡­!" Enriko began to suddenly panic, as he felt a strong pain on his chest and began to gasp for air.


    "Father!" Erika, hugged her father as he was too tired.


    He probably almost had a stroke.


    I quickly moved to his side and used Ki to relieve his stress and also make his blood flow normal again.


    "Hahh¡­ Erika¡­ I''m sorry for being so ipetent¡­" Her father cried. "I just¡­ I am afraid of what might happen to you if they get their hands on you¡­"


    "Why? What would happen?" Erika timidly asked.


    Erika''s father looked at my father for a few seconds.


    "Because of your body¡­ they might say you''re a fake, or something worse, just a monster in the appearance of my daughter¡­ Your mother is¡­ someone emotionally unstable, she''ll¡­ if she finds out you''re not truly made of flesh then¡­ a fate worse than death might await the two of us¡­" her father said while panicking.


    "Ah¡­! What? What have I done?!" Erika cried, realizing the situation she had created.


    However, I had already nned countermeasures to such a situation, which I had previously predicted long ago.<sub> </sub>


    "Don''t worry, I''ll find a way out of this." I said with all my confidence.


    "Eh? ke?" Asked Erika and her father at the same time.


    "I''ve already made up my decision to protect and help Erika. She''s like my sister, my family. There is no way I will let her suffer this much. I''ve already nned things out, and I''ve also allowed her to ask the Duke all of this because I am confident." I said with a nod.


    "Huh¡­?" My father quickly wondered what was going on, joining Erika and her father in their trio of confused expressions.


    "However, I will need the aid of Erika''s father for thest touches." I said.


    "What?" Asked Erika''s father.


    "ke, what are you talking about? How can you possibly just solve this enormous problem?" Asked my father. "You may be strong but this is clearly out of your scope-"


    "Father, alchemy is a wonderful thing, isn''t it?" I asked.


    "Alchemy?" He wondered.


    "The Holy Spirits have spoken. They had said Erika is an important figure in this world. They had guided me and told me what I must do to help her in such a predicament. You''ve trusted me before; can you trust me once more?" I asked my father, looking straight into his eyes.


    "ke¡­" My father muttered, suddenly feeling filled with emotions.


    "W-What do you have in mind?" Asked Erika''s father.


    Of course, I couldn''t make a Homunculus yet, Icked the tech, materials, and above all, the level of magic power required for such a task. And alongside that, I''ve also changed my mind about the homunculus n, and wanted Erika to acquire other body that wouldn''t risk her soul through a transference. I wanted to, instead of recing Erika''s current body, reinforce it and make it evolve into her own thing, while also still being recognizable as a human.


    "I will need to learn some of the secrets behind your Illusion Attribute Magic first." I said.


    For starters, we''ll need to solve this problem soon, as soon as possible, therefore, the modification of her body, which will be a gradual change I will monitor myself, must be dyed a bit more.


    "W-What? How did you know I can use such an element?" Asked her father.


    "Erika has begun to develop the element as well; it was obvious you used it to create her body." I said.


    "Ah¡­ You''re really a magic genius." Erika''s father said. "¡­Very well if it is for the sake of Erika¡­ I will do anything."


    "You''re a good father." I said with a nod.


    Erika seemed confused through this entire exchange of words, she didn''t knew what would happen from now on, but her life might give a new turn altogether. Now that I''ve grown strong enough, I suppose I can begin the creation of this item, a special pendant made through alchemy.


    It is a mystical item I''ve used in my previous life to deceive others, an item named after a God of Deception and Trickery¡­ Loki''s Ne.


    -----

 Chapter 339 Time To Make Something Special

    -----


    In my previous life, I''ve used the power of Loki''s Ne for a long time, abusing it and evolving this mystical item to deceive others. As my primary affinities were always Blood and Darkness, when I tried using other elements, they always came outckluster in their effects. However, when I crafted a special essory imbued with the element of illusion, I was able to bring out the power of this element as if I had an affinity for it.


    And that wasn''t all, but this powerful ne was modified by me, using my own blood and soul to enchant it and make it evolve over time. It stood at my side until myst moments while fighting Lucifer, and I know its very simple recipe, using material that can be found in almost any world, even this one! In fact, this world offers some brand-new materials that could make the item even stronger.


    Even now, I felt rather confident I could do it, but I needed the help of Erika''s father. Or more like, the magic circles that he used. As long as I could memorize them within my mind, I would be able to use his advanced magic to imbue the gem that I would be using in the creation of the pendant. The crystal, however, needed to be special, capable of holding a lot of magical power and not easily break. Jewels imbued with magic are mined in this world from mountains, I''ve seen them in the market, but most are garbage-tier, and cant even fathom to be what I need.


    Therefore I''ll have to just create my own Loki''s Heart, which is the jewel I create to use the power of this ne. I have already gathered enough materials for its creation, but I needed something I cannot make myself¡­ Illusion Attribute Essence, which can only be created through people that has an affinity for this mysterious element. Therefore, I needed Erika''s father help.


    After my conversation, I quickly exined her father what I had in mind. In simple terms¡­


    "It is a ne that can fool anybody. It will be special made to be bound with Erika''s soul, which is very powerful, and will allow her to enchant her body with Illusion Essence, making of her existence even more realistic to others¡­ It will bepletely impossible for anybody below Rank 5 of Spirit Master Realm to be able to see through her, I believe. The Holy Spirits had told me Erika''s Soul is over fifty times stronger than normal people of her age, therefore, by merely using her soul to fuel the ne''s power, it can gain incredible magical potency." I said. "Of course, the ne can''t bring any power to her other than this¡­ but it might develop unique features."


    "I-I see¡­!" Said Erika''s father, who seemed knowledgably about the usage of magic items. "I had already heard you have two Talents, and one of them is Alchemist! Perhaps what you''re saying could truly be real¡­ I want to believe you because you''ve done so much for me and my daughter¡­" Her father sighed. "Now that things are already done, the Duke who is rted to Erika''s mother might call her at any moment, there''s no point in trying to negotiate with nobility, perhaps he himself is curious about it all¡­ We might even have to bet it all on this item." Erika''s father looked back at his daughter. "ke, tell me what I should do."


    "Very well, just wait here for now, I''ll go back home to bring the materials I''ve collected. I''ve used some saved money to buy them in my strolls around the market." I said. "Let''s go, father."


    "O-Okay¡­" My father feltpletely shocked about everything happening. It was normal, of course, I couldn''t me him for feeling this way.


    p After we got home, I had to exin things to my mother, and then held a small conversation with my father, who seemed worried about this entire thing.</anda>


    "Son¡­ are you sure about this?" He asked.


    "Hm? Yes?"


    "But¡­ This is too dangerous now, ke. You''re messing with people such as the royal family¡­ If Erika''s ne is found out and then the origin of it is revealed, wouldn''t they target you for deceiving people?" He wondered.


    "So you''re telling me that I should give up and let Erika suffer her fate?" I wondered.<sub> </sub>


    "No¡­ I am just¡­ well, I¡­" My father seemed doubtful, he didn''t knew what to do. "I just don''t want your future to be affected by this."


    "Sigh¡­ I know how you feel, father. I know your concerns as well." I said. "But there''s something within me telling me that I cannot simply abandon them now. I am confident in what I can do, because it has shown to be effective several times, in the direst of situations. I want to hold into this hope and not let it go."


    "¡­"


    My father looked at me with a conflicted look, but then he sighed.


    "Hah¡­ There''s no point in trying to convince you, you''re so young yet I cannot even fight that will of yours. I know that even if I tell you to not do this, you''ll still do it." Sighed my father. "Alright, just go. I''ll trust you."


    "Thanks dad." I said with an honest smile.


    As I reached my room, Eleanora spoke to me through Telepathy.


    "That was a rough conversation, my lord. Your father is quite worried about your future¡­ Maybe you should had listened to him." She said.


    "I know¡­ But I am more interested in seeing if creating the Loki''s Ne is possible." I said.


    "But are you going to just give it to Erika?" She wondered.


    "I''ll make another one for me using therge Loki''s Heart we''ll make. I''ll divide it into two halves. That way, I can easily tell Erika''s state." I said.


    "And maybe spy on her?"


    "If she''ll develop connections with nobles and the royal family it wille in handy to peek at what they talk about after all¡­"


    -----

 Chapter 340 Processing The Materials

    -----


    When I was back to Erika''s house, I brought with me a bag with items. The materials I was using for this was a small chain made of iron that I had cleansed and shaped using magic from rusty weapons I bought at a cheap price, a strong Spirit Orb I had harvested from a Bandit, which I had saved until now, imbued with the power of the Blood Element, several other lesser spirit orbs from monsters, andstly, the blood and scales of the wyvern, alongside one of its eyeballs.


    Of course, the Alchemy Book was too low level to mass produce items using the wyvern materials, but there was nothing saying I couldn''t use them to make things traditionally, it would simply be¡­ extremely hard. Thankfully, Erika''s father had a Magic Cauldron of very high quality, which was perfect to make items through [Alchemy].


    "T-These items¡­ Wyvern''s Eyeball, scale, and blood?!" Asked Erika''s father. "These premium items would cost so many Telis! Did you stole them from the wyvern''s corpse?"


    "Well it is already quite obvious." I sighed. "I hope you can keep this a secret, for Erika."


    "Sure thing¡­" Erika''s father sighed.


    Erika was looking from the distance rather nervously but remained in silence.


    ? "Then what do we do now?" Her father wondered.


    "I must first see the magic circles you used to create Erika''s body, especially the magic that makes her so realistic." I said. "We''ll use them and amplify them by a hundredfold with these high quality items.


    "So that''s your n¡­" Her father said, quickly taking an old book from his bookshelf, and cleaning the dust from it. "This is the book that contains all of my magic research, take a look and read it. You''ll probably take at least a week reading it all, so don''t hurry yourself."


    "I see¡­" I quickly opened the book.


    Grimoire, copy and paste.


    [Understood]


    FLASH!


    The Grimoire quickly unleashed a bright light nobody could sense as I quickly began passing through all the book''s pages. After merely two minutes, all of its content was copy pasted into my own Grimoire. This was the [Memo] ability, which allowed me to mentally write or draw whatever I wanted inside of my Grimoire, this also included copy and pasting information, drawings, and anything else inside books into my Grimoire. And of course, I can easily memorize them thanks to my high Intelligence Stat, the higher it is, the easier it is to memorize everything.


    "And done." I said while sighing in relief. I got a small headache by memorizing it all, but I think it was good enough to continue with the creation of the item.


    Of course, Erika and her father looked at me with shock,pletely dumbfounded.


    "W-What did you even do?!" Her father asked in shock.


    "Hm? Well, my Intelligence Stat is quite high after going through many Level Up- I mean Trials." I said. "So I can memorize everything quite easily. The book is very interesting, you''ve documented the entire creation of Erika''s body, the magic circles, the magic circuits, and everything¡­ Your creation is truly incredible, we could use this information to make more dolls, maybe an army!"


    "An army of me?!" Asked Erika in shock. "Nooo! I don''t wanna!"


    "Hahaha¡­ He''s just joking, Erika." Her father petted her head.<sub> </sub>


    "Yeah¡­ I''m merely joking, don''t worry. That''s just¡­ impossible." I said.


    Of course, I was lying. With all this knowledge, there was no way I wouldn''t use it in the future. Erika''s father research was also one of the things I was looking forward the most. Now that I have it all within my head, I''ll make sure to use it one day. Perhaps creating golems by modifying the design¡­ would be more than possible.


    But for now, it is better to move on with my ns.


    "Now that I''ve learned the basics, let''s continue." I said. "I''ll need your assistance, Erika, and also your father''s help."


    Like this, I quickly gathered all items together and put them inside the Magic Cauldron as it began to boil its magical essence in liquid state. The materials began to merge as we used [Synthesis] together. Erika had a special Alchemist-type Doll that could use [Lesser Synthesis], by summoning ten of them, he current limit, we were able to amplify our Synthesis speed and efficacy, even the Wyvern materials began to meld together with everything else thanks to her assistance. Her Spirit, [Doll House], is truly an amazing power.


    FLASH!


    "I-I can''t believe I am Synthetizing Wyvern materials; this is a dreame true for an Alchemist such as myself¡­!" Erika''s father said with excitement. I suppose a fellow alchemist can alsoprehend my excitement.


    "Ugh, all my Mana is getting drained¡­ How long will thisst?" Wondered Erika.


    "We need to do this for another thirty minutes, so persevere." I said. "Drink this juice."


    I quickly gave the two some [Magical Juice] produced from sacrificing Apul Familiars I''ve saved up for some time now. As they drank them, their MP began to regenerate thrice as fast.


    "This potion is amazing!" Said Erika''s father. "I have never drank something so tasty yet effective¡­ It doesn''t heal MP directly but its enhancement in the regeneration speed is outstanding."


    "It is another power that my Familiar Spirits can create, as an [Invoker], this is merely one part of my capabilities." I said pridefully.


    "Amazing¡­" Erika said.


    "Well, no need to praise me so much for some sweet juice, let''s continue."


    After thirty minutes, I quickly had already created a special Magic Circlebining all the magic circles I learned from Erika''s father book and fused them together into one of incredibleplexity.


    "Now¡­!"


    As I mentally chanted the magic circle''s runes, it quickly emerged out of thin air, circling down the many runes andbining them together with the various circles surrounding them to create a Magic Circle on its totality. I felt a strong pressure within my Magic Circle inside of my soul, but this was an obvious thing when creating such powerful magic circle.


    FLASH!


    -----

 Chapter 341 Creating A Powerful Magic Jewel

    -----


    I quickly connected my Magic Circle with the Mana of Erika and her father, asking for their Affinities to enchant the Magic Circle to its pinnacle of power. It was so strong that I wasn''t able to bear with itsplete power on its totality, but with the assistance of two magicians with the affinity for Illusion Attribute, it was working! With that done, the magic circle quickly unleashed a wave of pink and purple essence, pure Illusion Attribute Essence, flowing into the Magic Cauldron and enchanting the synthetized items together.


    "This better work¡­! Synthesis!"


    I once more used Synthesis, adding all the MP I had into it.


    FLAAAASH!


    A bright white light came from within the Magic Cauldron, blinding us all for a few seconds.


    When things finally ended, I slowly stood up, looking inside the magic cauldron, a bright red colored jewel was floating over the liquefied magical essence within it.


    As I held the item, a smile rose in my face.


    -----


    [Loki''s Draconic Crimson Heart (B Grade)]


    A special red jewel imbued with the power of Blood Element, Spiritual Essence, and Illusion Essence, and infused with the power of several Magic Circles of the Illusion Element. Additionally, because Lesser Wyvern materials were used for its creation, it has gained a Lesser Draconic Essence within itself. The culmination of it all has created a powerful magic jewel which, if imbued in the right item, might awaken incredible magical powers rted to Illusion, Blood, and Lesser Dragons.


    -----


    "Excellent!"


    It was better than I had expected, I couldn''t contain my excitement so I ended shouting how excellent the item was. Of course, it appears that Erika nor her father are able to see through the information of items like my Grimoire showcases to me. Each time I see a new item, the Grimoire registers it and even with a small drawing of it at the side.


    This jewel was better than I could had expected, it seems that adding the Wyvern materials was the right call, as it strengthened its quality to B Grade, which is already an item of tremendous price. This alone could easily cost hundreds of thousands of Telis, if not millions.


    Erika''s father quickly took a small monocle and suddenly inspected the item. The monocle shone with a bright gold light, generating a small magic circle atop of it. This Item was an Appraisal Monocle, apparently made by a Magician with the Appraisal Skill, they''re very rare and often only very rich nobles have one, it seems that this is a lesser version as it can''t inspect people''s status but only inspect items.


    "I-Incredible¡­ It is even imbued with the power of Lesser Draconic Essence, and it is B Grade in quality! ¡­This is truly the work of the Holy Spirits, ke!" He said. "You''ve been guided well by them, I suppose I can''t help but believe you now¡­"


    "I am d you were able to believe me, sir." I said with a smile.


    "Woah¡­ this jewel is sparkling¡­" Erika said, touching it with her finger.


    ? SPARK!<sub> </sub>


    "Ouch!"


    "Erika, don''t touch magic items after they emerge from the magic cauldron without special gloves like ke did." Said her father, reprimanding her.


    Special Gloves were often used by Alchemists, often named [Protective Items] which are used by all sorts of crafters and alchemists. These items are essential for [Creators] as items that are recently created often emanate a strong aura of magic which can hurt someone that touch them directly, to ignore this side effect, special items that can protect against Magic Sparks were created. I borrowed some from Erika''s father, andter on bought my own.


    "Now what do we do with this?" Wondered Erika''s father.


    "Isn''t it obvious? We''ll craft a special item with this." I said with a smile. "The ne I told you about¡­"


    "Oh! Will that also be done through alchemy?!" He asked.


    "Of course¡­ But this time, I want this to be divided in two." I said.


    "Two?" Her father asked.


    "Indeed, the truth is, I also want a ne for myself, so I made the jewel purposedly big so I could slice it in half." I said. "Also, if two pendants are made from the same jewel, they''ll gain a magical connection, this way I can easily check on Erika''s state and always know if she''s alright¡­ or not."


    "I see¡­ That''s very convenient." Said her father, rubbing his chin.


    "S-So we''ll share two halves of the jewel?" Wondered Erika, suddenly blushing. "L-Like in that novel I read about a prince that gave the princess the half of a heart-shaped jewel, so both kept them and made them feel together! When they came closer, their pendants would resonate with one another and¡­!" Erika continued speaking about romance books she had been reading.


    Due to her father''s inheritance as a noble, he had tons of expensive books, romance, and fantasy for the most part, which seemed to belong to Erika''s mother. She had been learning how to read exclusively to read these stories, and thesest years she had been reading them nonstop. Perhaps she''s getting weird ideas about marriage from them now that I think about it¡­


    "Erm, not really something like that¡­ But sure." I said, without wanting to throw her off her fantasy that much.


    "Yaaay!" She said happily. At least she won''t resist in using the item.


    After we finished talking, we quickly moved to the easier creation of the ne, as I threw a chain made of iron, another wyvern scale, demon and wyvern blood, vampire blood from Eleanora and also my own, and then half the jewel, alongside a few other lesser spirit orbs as catalyzers, and then began spamming [Synthesis] for several minutes until the item finally shaped itself together. After one was done, I did the second, and it was over.


    Two, almost identical nes were lying over the desk, glowing with bright red and purple essence¡­ these were improved versions of my original Loki''s Ne! And to boot, I had turned them into self-growing Cursed Items!


    "Incredible¡­ these items are amazing¡­!" Erika''s father couldn''t stop praising the "creation of the Holy Spirits".


    -----

 Chapter 342 [Loki’s Cursed Crimson Draconic Necklace]

    -----


    Two near identical nesid over the table in front of us. They were shining with bright, magical auras, and seemed to be enveloped in a dark and cursed ck essence as well. This was due to being Cursed Items. However, I had already exined that it was better to use Demon Blood to strengthen equipment. This way, Cursed Items, once equipped, be soul-bound, this means that if anybody tries to steal them from the wielder while they''re alive, the item is going to reject them, or could even attack back.


    I had already shown Erika''s father the de Erika had, which was also a Cursed Weapon, and my own Spear. In fact, he knew about Cursed Items, but using them was often a taboo within the Kingdom, as the Church of Holy Spirits prohibited them due to their dangerousness. However, it was already quite well known by Nobles that some used them anyways due to their amazing


    -----


    [Loki''s Cursed Crimson Draconic Ne (Unique-Grade): Lv1]


    [Effects]


    [Mana Points]: [+150]


    [Intelligence]: [+50]


    [Agility]: [+20]


    [Dexterity]: [+20]


    [Abilities]


    [Illusory Deception]: Enchant the body passively with a deceptive and illusory veil that can easily shape the body into different ways depending in the Mana applied and control over the ne''s powers.


    [Blood Core]: The ne can absorb blood from foes and strengthen itself alongside the user through [Blood Aura] or [Blood Arts], more abilities can be developed over time.


    [Lesser Draconic Aura]: The wielder of this ne gains the power of generating an aura of Draconic Might, which can intimidate others with weaker wills. This Aura could develop into something greater if developed properly.


    Description:


    An incredible ne crafted by meticulously merging various types of high-quality materials, it possess the ability to create a veil of illusion to trick others, and it can also grant a [Lesser Illusion Attribute Affinity] to its wielder, strengthening Illusion Attribute Magic.


    After soaking in Demon Blood, it had evolved into a Cursed Item, which is soul bound in anybody that equips it first. As a Cursed Item, it possess a Soul that can develop over time and Level Up.


    -----


    This item''s status was simply phenomenal. It enhanced my MP and Intelligence, alongside Agility and Dexterity by merely equipping it. Without even doubting it for a second, I equipped mine around my neck, as I quickly felt the ne''s cursed soul touch my own and create a bond. Immediately after, I felt its power coursing through my veins.


    "It works perfectly, now, Erika, wear yours to make the soul-bound contract. With that, nobody will be able to take away that ne from you." I said.


    "A-Alright¡­" Erika seemed slightly doubtful but trusted me and quickly wrapped the ne around her neck.


    FLASH!


    Her entire body quickly resonated with it, as Erika''s soul was even stronger than mine currently, mostly because mine was shattered into pieces while her own soul had been strengthening over all this time due to her body nature, her soul quickly made a soul-bound contract with the ne, making the item glow with a bright golden light.


    "W-Woah¡­ What is this light?!" She asked shocked, as a pink veil of essence quickly covered her body and then became invisible.


    Her ne not only had simply shone brighter, but it also seemed to have changed in appearance, as the metallic chains became gold and her jewel redder. It had evolved due to the strength of her soul¡­ That''s quite interesting.


    "As I told you before, your soul is very strong, Erika, you''ve upgraded and evolved your ne by merely equipping it." I said with a nod. "Of course, that was also within my expectations¡­"<sub> </sub>


    "Ooh¡­ T-Thanks for this gift, ke¡­ It means a lot to me. I hope it can help when I need it the most." Said Erika with a gentle smile.


    "It will." I said.


    "Well¡­ T-That was that¡­ Hahh¡­ I am so tired¡­" Erika''s father sighed, as he quickly sat down. "For now, it would be better if you moved back home, ke, it is already quitete."


    "Yes sir, I was already thinking about it." I said, quickly packing everything that was mine and deciding to walk away.


    "W-Wait, ke, can''t you stay?" Erika wondered.


    "I would like to go sleep in my bed, Erika. I''lle back tomorrow, don''t worry." I said.


    "Oh¡­ Okay." She said. I gently petted her head, quickly sensing that the magic was working properly.


    "Have a goodnight."


    As I walked outside of her home, I quickly decided to summon Eleanora at my side in her Energy Saving Mode, or as like to call it [Petit Form]. She seemed jealous that I had gifted such a thing to Erika.


    "S-So I guess she''s more important than me¡­" She said while pouting a bit.


    "That''s not true." I sighed. "Eleanora, don''t get jealous with a child. She''s just talented and someone that has made my everyday brighter even before you coulde at my side, she holds a special ce in my heart. A ce that not many can enter."


    "And how much space does she takes? A quarter? A third? Or half of it?" She wondered while being slightly cocky.


    "What sort of nonsense are you talking now?" I sighed. "Let''s say that you take over half of it, is that okay now?" I asked.


    "Over half of it?!" She asked in shock. "Then my lord should make me a special essory¡­"


    "You already have a special cursed weapon¡­ But sure. I have already nned in giving you a special item to strengthen you. There are items known as Spirit Armor, which can be worn by Spirits, normal items cannot be easily worn by spirits aside from simple weapons¡­ I''ll need to find some recipes first, but I''ll make up something to make you even stronger." I said.


    "Woof!"


    Blood quickly surged from Eleanora''s shadows, barking like a small dog.


    "And something for Blood too, I hope?" She wondered.


    "¡­Sure. I''ve heard there are Monster Armor as well." I sighed.


    "Hm?"


    Suddenly, Eleanora stopped walking towards our destination, looking elsewhere.


    "What is it?" I wondered.


    "I feel something¡­ somewhere¡­" Eleanora said. "There!"


    Suddenly, she ran behind arge house.


    -----

 Chapter 343 A Wyverns Egg

    -----


    As I followed Eleanora, Blood quickly hid in her shadows again, the enormous red wolf was not something that could easily go around, especially his aura and color made it evident he was dangerous, even at night where there were barely anybody around.


    Eleanora quickly reached behind a house, as she looked over a small pile of dirt surrounded by grass. I looked back at her but she was ring intensively into the ground.


    "Eleanora, what is it?" I wondered.


    "I can feel it¡­" She said. "Is there a monster down here? How has nobody realized this?"


    "A monster?" I asked.


    I quickly concentrated my own senses and then locked them into the ground down there. Suddenly, I felt the presence of something powerful, it was an incredibly strong vitality.


    "There''s indeed something down there¡­"


    I quickly summoned three Horned Rabbits of F Rank and told them to dig underground, the three horned rabbits immediately began digging down as the dirt began flying over the air. There was indeed a hole in here that was just recently made and filled with dirt, was there a monster hiding below?


    "Huh?"


    "This is¡­"


    However, instead of a monster, there was¡­


    "An egg?!" Eleanora asked in surprise.


    "Why''s there an egg in here?" I wondered.


    I quickly dug out the rest of the dirt and took out the egg, which had roughly the size of thirty centimeters. It was not white, but red and covered on brown spots. Inside of it, I was able to sense a strong vitality.


    It was obvious what this was.


    "This is the Lesser Wyvern Egg¡­" I said.


    "Eh? So that was what it was giving such a strong vitality¡­" Eleanora said. "Wait, howe it just ended dug underground?"


    "Hm¡­ We should better go to our underground hideout before anyone spots us first." I said, quickly covering the hole with dirt again and running away.


    When we reached my small underground hideout, I ced the egg over a pile of hay. The vitality within it was growing weaker by the second as the egg grew colder, it was probably going to die in a few more hours if it stayed underground, with barely any oxygen to take. This underground hideout is well ventted, so it should be fine.


    "This egg must have been of the Wyvern that came to attack us, the house was also very close to the former home of the Chief¡­ This means that the wyvern attack was provoked by somebody." Eleanora quickly realized.<sub> </sub>


    "Indeed. I am d you could realize it by yourself." I said. "I had the same thing in mind. Somebody must have brought the egg here and nned the wyvern''s attack, probably thinking the wyvern would wipe out the entire vige¡­ this feels like a revenge attempt. The wyvern would had been able to probably set aze the entire ce if it wasn''t stopped."


    "It would had never been able to find her egg because it was underground¡­ of course." Sighed Eleanora. "But its scent might had remained, enough to make the wyvern attack everywhere trying to find her egg."


    "So this egg is an orphan." I said while touching the eggshell, it was incredibly hard, as hard as stone. It wasn''t something that could be easily shattered, even if I grabbed the egg and hit it into the floor, it might not easily gain cracks.


    "Who would had brought it here?" Wondered Eleanora.


    "Probably¡­ this might had been a desperate attempt to wipe out the vige with the Duke in it¡­ by the cult of the Follower of Demons, the same ones that provoked the entire Demon War incident and even raised a Demon General¡­ Well, it failed for now. Maybe this was theirst attempt, as it seems very far-fetched. I doubt thy can replicate it without taking so many risks." I wondered.


    "Huh¡­ Perhaps we should try to seek more clues about them. Who knows who might be lurking around?" Wondered Eleanora.


    "Good point¡­ But for now, what do we do with this?" I sighed.


    "Maybe omelet?" She wondered.


    "It would be a waste to eat it. Also, the fetus is already formed, so it doesn''t have much yolk." I said. "I suppose¡­ we could raise it on our own and tame it."


    "Tame a wyvern?" Eleanora asked. "That sounds¡­ great! The problem is how are you going to get it epted though?"


    "I can just say it is a Familiar in the future¡­ Maybe. For now we''ll bring him out asionally, although it is just developing, which might take a long time to hatch." I said, quickly walking towards the egg and touching it. "However, there''s a special method that can ensure a beast''s obedience when they hatch aside from raising them, if we do a Blood Contract with it while it is still inside the egg¡­"


    "But wouldn''t that be dangerous?" Eleanora wondered.


    "Indeed, it would be dangerous, but the benefits would be amazing. Wyverns are Lesser Dragons and have the potential to evolve into True Dragons if raised well. A Blood Contract would also help me gain a bit of its power for my own¡­ For now we can''t make that spirit orb into a familiar, but having a tamed Wyvern wouldn''t be so bad¡­" I said, caressing the egg gently.


    "Then it is decided¡­!" Eleanora said with excitement.


    "Let''s do the contract together then¡­" I said. It was possible to use Skills from a Spirit at the same time as them through the Master and Spirit connection, so I quickly decided to activate [Blood Envement Contract] and pour my own blood into the egg.


    The drop of blood hit the egg as it suddenly began to spread out, generating many runes around which began glowing bright red. The egg quickly turned as red as the crimson blood I poured over it, gaining a menacing aura.


    FLASH!


    "It is¡­ a sess!" Said Eleanora. "Though I don''t know what it might evolve into¡­"


    "We''ll see once it hatches, but it will surely be of great use." I said with a smile.


    -----

 Chapter 344 Raiding Yet Another Bandits Lair

    -----


    I knew that I could had reported the Wyvern Egg to the Duke or the Chief so they would had known what attracted the Wyvern here, but I was sure the Duke might had kept it for his own family, or even sold it. Therefore, I prioritized my own gains and kept the egg for myself instead of talking anything. Like that, the egg has been slowly developing within the underground hideout for thest days.


    Through these days, the Duke had finally gone back home, with no notices about Erika''s mother yet, but he had promised that he would send a message with a servant whenever he would get some news. For the moment, my ns had not changed much, I was still going to spend the next years here until I could be of age to go to the academy and level up further in there with the many dungeons they own.


    While practicing me with friends and teaching them how to grind skills and gain levels efficiently, I have been doing some shady work myself. Just two days ago, I assaulted the nearest bandit hideout there was. There was only five men in there, and it seemed like a small hideout that was simply storing low-quality potions I took for myself, alongside any other loot they had. After transforming them into Vampires and killing them, I earned around 10k EXP from them, which was not enough to level up. I''ve been earning more EXP over "AFK" grind from my Familiars around the forest, but it is not near as enough.


    However, tonight, I had once more gone into an assault. I decided to ask for dinner earlier and then went to sleep earlier as well, only to jump out of my window and move towards my next destination, a third bandit hideout. This one was located into the depths of the Canyon, a dangerous ce which takes day to get in there¡­ of course, if you can''t fly.


    Thanks to Tier 2 Wind Magic, I was able to easily hover down to the depths of the Canyon and then explore it with Eleanora while hiding within the shadows that the night offered to us. It seems that from what I''ve learned by interrogating the bandits, they had discovered already that their leader was captured and killed, and they had begun moving further away from the nearby vige in fear to be captured, this is why they moved to the depths of this canyon, hoping nobody would find theirir.


    "Oh, I think that''s the entrance." Eleanora pointed at the entrance of a cave which was being illuminated by two torches and was being protected by two men sitting overrge rocks holding spears, there were also bear traps spread around, probably for any nearby monster that might try to infiltrate.


    I quickly decided to spread out my senses through my [Aura] the embodiment of my Soul which I''ve been slowly strengthening through Soul Cultivation Techniques, and quickly detected several living beings inside the cave.


    "There are¡­ roughly 36¡­ Oh, there''s more¡­ another 6?" I wondered.


    "So 42?" Eleanora wondered.


    "I don''t know, thesest 6 feel extremely weakpared to the healthier 36." I said. "This is a big hideout if there are 36 men surviving in this empty rocky area, they probably hunt regrly for food and also have arge reserve of food they have stolen, perhaps¡­ Thesest 6 might be prisoners or ves."


    "ves¡­ Bastards." Eleanora muttered.


    "Don''t worry, they''ll end up bing the enved. You can have all the fun you want with them after we are done." I said.


    "Heh¡­ I will." Said Eleanora. "So what strategy are we doing? The same as before?"


    "It never fails, but we''ll ramp it up a bit beforehand. I detected someone very strong inside, perhaps another leader of the bandits, his Spiritual Essence alone exuded the aura of someone around Rank 1 Peak Stage." I said.


    "Peak Stage?! That''s stronger than you¡­" She said.<sub> </sub>


    "Hm, well, not for long." I said. "Spore,e out."


    FLASH! FLASH! FLASH!


    Quickly, I summoned three Spores, after their evolution to F Rank, they had grown stronger in their specialty, hazardous attacks. With the addition of the powerful new Skill [Mind-scrambling Smoke], I trusted they could easily put everything in chaos inside of there, and this is why I also summoned three of them.


    "Camouge Veil."


    I conjured the Tier 2 Illusion Attribute Magic [Camouge Veil] and covered their bodies, making them almost invisible within this darkness. Thanks to my new ne, my Illusion Magic is stronger and more effective as it has the effect of granting a [Lesser Illusion Attribute Affinity], with this, I felt rather confident that the Spores would be able to do a lot of chaos.


    "Eleanora, take down the guard swiftly." I ordered her. "Then free the Spores from your shadows and let them get inside the cave as usual."


    "Very well."


    Eleanora quickly disappeared within the darkness, using Shadow Sneak at Level 4, and then she slowly surged from behind the two guards, swinging her hand and her spear at the same time and beheading both men before they could even say a single thing.


    SLASH! SLASH!


    Thanks to Eleanora''s [Assassination], [Illusion], and [Stealth] Skillsbined with Camouge Veil conjured over her, she was incredibly stealthy in her movements, gaining bonus damage when attacking someone by surprise, she easily beheaded them.


    With a loud thud, both heads rolled over the floor, as the bodies were swiftly retrieved by Eleanora''s shadows. It was better to kill these right away than let them alive for our ns. I''ve also learned how to infect Spirit Orbs that are dead with the Blood Contract to at least make them red-colored, so it is not all that bad¡­


    Eleanora then nodded to me as I quickly used [Shadow Sneak] as well and got into the entrance. She freed the three Spores and then, as usual, I erected a wall of stone, quickly closing the entrance.


    The screams of the bandits inside could be easily heard, fresh EXP was already being served on my te.


    -----

 Chapter 345 The Powerful Bandit Boss

    -----


    Spore repeatedly used [Mind-scrambling Smoke] inside the cave. Thanks to it not costing any MP, they were able to constantly use it as much as they wanted, and with the power of [Camouge Veil] they became unseen. The perfect strategy. With that said, the bandits tried to quickly find the one doing this, beginning to run around. However, my sharing my eyesight with one of the three Spores, I was able to see that they were easily going around without being spotted yet.


    "Gyyyaaahh!"


    "My head! My heaaaad!"


    "Help!"


    "G-Get away from me, bastards!"


    The bandits began to panic, some of them were unaffected, as the attack usually doesn''t affect everybody, there''s always some resistant to these, however, those affected began to fight against those that weren''t, or just anybody near them. After all, this is the special power of [Mind-scrambling Smoke].


    This skill scrambles the mind of people and turn them temporarily insane. Coupled with paralyzing spore and poisonous fog, some were already dropping over the floor paralyzed, while others were screaming loudly and attacking one another.


    While two Spores were spreading their Skills effects, one of them was guided by my order, quickly delving into the depths of the cave, and following the six life signals I felt before, when it arrived, it reached a small cave section where people was sleeping over the floor, some were slightly awake. There were tworge and muscr men unconscious in the floor and covered by many scars, alongside four women chained too, they were sleeping except one, a girl with blonde hair and clothes that looked like nobility, but that were torn apart savagely, her eyes seemed lifeless.


    However, as themotion outside began to happen, she quickly looked into the entrance of the cave, but while being chained there, she had no way to go look what was exactly happening, until she noticed Spore standing right in front of her.


    "Ahh¡­ Monsters¡­" She muttered. "Please¡­ kill me¡­"


    "¡­"


    Spore remained in silence and quickly gave her his back, running outside of the cave once he inspected everything.


    "Wait! Please just kill me!" She cried desperately.


    What have they done to her to desire death so much?


    Hm, I can already imagine, to be honest.


    "What is happening here?!"


    Suddenly, the roar of a giant resonated within the interior of the cave.


    TRUUUM!


    His steps shook the ground below, as the panicking bandits quickly were paralyzed by his roaring shout. The man emerged from his small cave, looking at themotion inside. I was able to take a good look at the presumed leader of this bandit hideout, thergest I''ve found so far. The man was covered on scars, and his body was muscr, towering over two meters. The attacks of Spore were weakening him, as he quickly felt affected the moment he got out of his smallir.


    "Akh¡­! What the fuck is this smoke? What is happening?!" He roared, quickly taking out a small potion from his pocket and drinking it, suddenly, he felt way better. Is that an Antidote Potion?


    "My head feels like it is spinning even after drinking this¡­" He muttered. "Huh?"


    He quickly spotted one of the Spores who was trying to immobilize him by spraying more of its spores, but it was already useless, the man was able to resist them rather well.


    CLASH!


    Suddenly, an enormous golden axe emerged out of thin air and hit the Spore, easily slicing it in half. The man quickly grasped the weapon that appeared out of nowhere, it was a Weapon-type Spirit, this is not the first time I see one, as I''ve seen adventurers with swords, spears, and smaller hatchets or even shields, but this axe was so far the biggest and strongest looking I''ve seen so far in this world.


    "Mushrooms? Some stupid mushrooms got in?" He roared angrily, quickly beginning to move forward. His senses were sharp, easily spotting another Spore that quickly tried to run away from him by mymands, but the man''s speed was superhuman, easily slicing the Spore in half once more.


    SLASH!


    "Grryyeehh¡­!"


    POOF!<sub> </sub>


    The second Spore was sliced in half, exploding into bubbles of light and disappearing.


    "Odd, these are Spirits? So this attack was made by someone!" He roared angrily, pping his bandits to make them wake up from their daze, but it wasn''t working, nobody was listening to his words.


    "Damn it¡­!" He roared angrily, pushing forward, and spotting the third andst Spore, shing it with his axe.


    sh!


    "Gryyyyyhh¡­!"


    POOF!


    As the third Spore disappeared into bubbles of light, he looked into the entrance, which was blocked by my spell.


    "HMPH!"


    CLAAAASH!


    The wall crumbled apart, as we quickly hid with Eleanora behind arge rock. I analyzed the man''s strength, it was weakened thanks to Spore''s efforts, but it was still a formidable foe.


    "Should we run?" Wondered Eleanora.


    "Run? When there''s such a big bag of EXP in front of me?" I asked, I couldn''t help but feel as my heart began beating faster and my blood began pumping across my body, I was feeling the thrill of a good opponent. Been a long while since I felt this way, honestly.


    "Who is there?!" Roared the man, looking around.


    I quickly gave orders to Eleanora through Telepathy.


    "I''ll distract him by summoning some Familiars around, find the right moment and attack him with everything you''ve got from behind!"


    "Roger that!"


    Nowe, Fenrir, Orcus, Huginn!


    I summoned my two powerhouses, Fenrir, and Orcus by the quantity of five and five, alongside another five Huggins that emerged atop the sky.


    The man''s face quickly curled in a smile as he saw the ridiculousness of the situation.


    "Spiritsing out of nowhere¡­?! Oi, oi, what kind of fucking shit is this?"


    "ROAR!"


    "GRUOOH!"


    Fenrir and Orcus, in groups of five and five ran towards the man directly, unleashing their strongest attacks without hesitation. Orcus unleashed mes through his charging attacks, catching the man from all four directions!


    ? CLASH!


    "Unnggh¡­! AGH¡­!"


    FLUOOSH!


    He was suddenly enveloped on mes!


    -----

 Chapter 346 Against Edgard The Berserk!

    -----


    The White-haired man had a sharp white beard, and his body was covered on muscles and various scars. He wore the simplest of clothes made from monster leather, a loincloth, and some pelts behind his back alongside brown boots. He looked more like a barbarian than a man who had turned into a bandit. Then again, the others didn''t looked much different. However, his strength was the real deal. This is why I knew that I had to go all out on him from the beginning and try to attack him by surprise using Eleanora''s specialized Skills.


    "GRUOOHHH!"


    Five Orcus roared, their bodies as big as Giant Wild Boars ran straight towards the man, shing on him from behind, in front, and to the left and right side. Their enormous and muscr bodies were also covered in mes as they had evolved, and quickly unleashed this explosive re into the man''s body once they impacted against him.


    CLASH!


    "Unnggh¡­! AGH¡­!"


    FLUOOSH!


    He was suddenly enveloped on mes. He began to scream in agony, but suddenly, a smile surged on his lips once more, showing his sharp, wolf-like fangs.


    "UUOOOHHHH!"


    His muscles suddenly began to bulge, as his entire body size increased by half. His entire body unleashed a red aura, and it seemed that he had increased his own strength¡­ Is this a Skill? What Talent is this? A Warrior Talent of some sort?


    CLAAASH!


    His axe swung strongly against the Orcus in front of him, easily crushing its head and killing the beast on the spot, turning it into bubbles of light.


    "Another dud! Is there an army of guys here summoning spirits or something?!" He muttered.


    "GRUOOH!"


    Another Orcus hit him in the chest while he killed one of them, quickly throwing him down into the floor. For a few seconds, he gave a good enough opening. We melded into shadows with Eleanora, quickly lurking behind the man and pointing our weapons, imbued with our energies, against him!


    "Blood Spear Arts: Rose Garden!"


    "Dragoon Spear Arts: Triple Thrust!"


    Abination of two Spear Arts was unleashed almost in tandem, as the man was suddenly enveloped in several attacks that melded together. It felt as if he was being consumed by pure pain as red was the only thing he was able to see!


    CLASH! CLASH! CLASH! CLASH! CLASH!


    "GRUUUAAAHH¡­!"


    BAAM!


    His body, covered on wounds, quickly hit the ground, and then rolled over it, his desperate gaze quickly and weakly looked at the two of us, as we didn''t even allowed him a second to properly recover, Orcus moved forward, crushing him into the ground with their weight, as the Fenrir I summoned emerged from the shadows, biting his arms and legs.


    "ROAR!"


    "GRUOH!"


    "AAGHHH¡­!"


    The man roared in furious agony, his body was extremely tough, as if his muscles were made of steel, the bites from Fenrir and the crushing blows of Orcus were barely dealing superficial wounds, and our own attacks left holes over his back, but didn''t seem to be enough to kill him. From what I''ve analyzed, he must have [Axe Arts], [Berserk Mode], [Automatic HP Regeneration], and probably other matching skills with his build. He was a pure Berserk.


    "RAAAAAAHHH! You damn midgets, who the heck are ya?!" He roared, suddenly punching a ferocious Fenrir with his enormous fists and killing the familiar on the spot, his legs moved faster, easily crushing two of the Fenrir biting each leg. Afterwards, he punched an Orcus in the gut as his Axe moved on its own and began to kill another one.<sub> </sub>


    BAAAM! CLAAASH! TRUUUM!


    "Edgard, the "Berserk". Bounty: five hundred thousand Telis. Preferably dead." I said, without answering his question.


    "Huh? Bounty hunters?! Those damn Cultists said that this damn area was safe from the public!" He muttered with half of his body covered in burns, he swung his enormous arms and crushed another Orcus'' head with it, making it explode into bubbles of light.


    BOOOM!


    Did he said cultists? Interesting. I might have to catch him alive to interrogate him¡­ But it would be quite hard, seeing how strong he is. It would certainly be more convenient to kill him right away.


    "I''m not leaving from here without your head." I said. "I need the money after all."


    "Heh, cheeky brat! You''re missing a few years before you can even fathom to match the one and only Berserk of these Lands! I''ve fought Giant Wild Boars with my own fists! Whatever tricks you''re using to bring so many summons, you ain''t going to defeat me!" Heughed.


    "Is that so?" I wondered, quickly melding into the darkness and dissaspearing from his sight, as Eleanora also did the same.


    FLASH!


    "Huh?! Shadow Sneak? Damn it¡­! Get out and confront me, cowardly bastards!" He roared angrily.


    "CRAAA!"


    The Huginn immediately began pestering him, as I also brought fifty Queens with me, the enormous Bees that could multiply. When they turned into such a big swarm like right now, they were the perfect familiar to annoy others with!


    "BBBZZZ¡­!"


    "Bees?!" He muttered in shock, as countless bees began to pierce through his skin and deal critical hits consecutively, his entire body began to bleed. He swung his arms, crushing several of them on the spot, but they continued to weaken him while the crows attacked with their feather projectiles from afar.


    "Damn crows!" He roared, throwing his axe into the air and hitting two Huginn, quickly killing them on the spot.


    But that''s exactly what I wanted him to do. In that very moment he threw his axe, he lowered his guard once more.


    Sneakily, we emerged with Eleanora behind him once more!


    Demon Arm!


    "ROOARRR!"


    "Huh?!"


    My enormous Demon Arm shapeshifted, turning into a giant bony spear and covered in countless other sharp teeth with various eyes. Using my arm alongside my spear and Eleanora''s support, we furiously attacked his back.


    CLASH! CLASH! CLASH!


    "GRUUAGGH¡­!"


    BAAM!


    He fell down the floor as he saw with horror my monstrous arm.


    -----

 Chapter 347 Merciless

    -----


    "W-What the fuck are you?! You''re¡­ Are you a Demon Cultist?!" He asked, as his axe quickly fell down towards us as if it had a mind of its own, and well, it had as it was a Spirit.


    CLASH!


    However, I intercepted the enormous axe with Gluttony, shing against it. Gluttony unleashed a storm of darkness and blood and quickly enveloped the entire axe with it, as Eleanora helped me attack it while it was trapped.


    POOF!


    The axe quickly cracked, shattered, and exploded into smoke, quickly dying. As it was s spirit, it was probably way more fragile than an actual weapon.


    "My Axe¡­!" The man roared, quickly standing up again, his entire body continued growingrger, as if he had no end to his powerful set of skills to use. "You''re going to pay for that¡­! RAAAAH!"


    The man roared like a barbarian, rushing towards us and unleashing countless fists attacks. Eleanora quickly stopped him by moving her spear incredibly quickly, all while she nted a Shadow Trap below him and captured with him with countless shadow tentacles trying to entangle his body.


    "Unngh¡­?!" He muttered in shock, trying to free himself from everything going on.


    "What''s going on?! You''ve gotten slower!" Eleanora provoked him, as I confronted him with my Demon Arm, shaping it as countless tentacles covered with sharp teeth and wrapping them around one of his arms as I used [Shadow Sneak] to get behind him while he was being distracted by Eleanora and her Shadow Trap.


    "Say goodbye to your arm."


    "Unnggh?!"


    CRUNCH!


    My Demon Arm quickly bit through the man''s arm, crushing his skin, muscles, and bones, and tearing apart his muscr arm in a single second. A second after that, it devoured it as his free arm reached up to me and threw me away, a calcted move as I knew I would get a retaliation after that.


    p BAAAM!</anda>


    I was hit strongly, a hit strong enough to kill a Wild Boar. I felt my human arm''s bones cracking and shattering, as two of my ribs broke as well. If it wasn''t thanks to my Physique, I would had taken even more severe damage, so this was a pro.


    I ended in the floor, as the man gritted his teeth and looked at me with fury.


    "Damn brat!!!"


    He ran towards me, ignoring Eleanora and breaking free from her Shadow Trap as he attempted to crush me with his legs by falling over me.


    However, I had umted more than enough blood.


    "Crimson re."


    FLUOOOSH!


    "UNGH?!"


    BOOM!


    His entire body suddenly was covered in scarlet red mes. Crimson re was the powered-up version of re which had Blood Attribute Ki added into it, creating a powerful technique, as long as he was bleeding, the mes would continue burning through his body and absorbing his Blood!<sub> </sub>


    "AAAAGGH¡­!"


    The man quickly lost bnce and fell down into the floor, rolling pathetically. A second after, I stood up while infusing Blood Ki into my entire body alongside two hundred MP, enough for my Physique to regenerate my wounds and even readjust my crushed arm back in ce. The bones were still cracked, but aligned back together they would easily regenerate, especially when I ate an Apple right after that.


    [You have recovered 500 HP]


    The Apples that Apul could create were like game-like items, merely giving it a bite made it turn into bubbles of light and its effects were instantly applied to me, my bones easily regenerated back together, as my HP was full once more.


    "AGGGH¡­! W-What are these mes?! It hurts so much!" The man cried. "H-how did you just regenerated your wounds by eating a damn apple?!"


    "You see¡­ this battle was rigged from the start." I said.


    "Demon Arm, time to feast." I said with a smile.


    "Yes Master!" The Demon Arm spoke, scaring the man even further.


    "G-Get away from me¡­! Ungh¡­! AAAHHHH¡­!"


    Completely weakened by my mes and the many wounds over his body, Elenora and I quickly cut down his limbs and then used Blood Contract to turn him into a Vampire. He was still alive, after turning into a Ghoul, so we threw him into her shadows and then returned to the rest of the bandit hideout.


    Some bandits had tried to run away, but were caught by Fenrir''s pack, which was being led by Blood, our trusty tamed Gray Wolf that had evolved into a Blood Wolf. He was still on his developing phase, so I didn''t forced him to join the fight as he might had gotten crushed to death by this man.


    After the fight against this famous Bandit, we captured the rest of the bandits, turned them into Vampiric beings, and then decided to interrogate them. Some died while transforming, but it really didn''t mattered. However, the other bandits barely knew anything, their boss was the one that knew the most.


    Apparently, all these bandits had been employed by the Demon Cultists, a man named "ck Fang" paid them almost a million Telis to capture a young Noble Girl and her servants who were moving through carriage. This Noble girl¡­ the guy didn''t knew who she was, but she was special for some reason. They kept her captive here, and he constantly said that they never raped her because she was too special¡­ but the rest of her female servants were being raped repeatedly in front of her. Perhaps her lifeless eyes were due to the horrors she was forced to see.


    Anything else¡­ he didn''t knew.


    "T-Then can I join you guys? I am a super strong Berserk¡­! I have a Two Star Talent and my Axe is super strong too! Please, my Queen Eleanora- GEH¡­!"


    CLASH!


    I pierced the man''s forehead with a knife, killing him on the spot.


    "No." I said, as I took out my knife from the man''s forehead, blood sttering out of the wound as his eyes rolled.


    "Hahah¡­ That was quite ruthless." Eleanora giggled at my actions.


    "I am sure you wouldn''t had wanted this idiot with us, right?" I wondered.


    "Definitely no." Eleanora said.


    "And well, it is not as if he''ll be wasted¡­" I said with a smile, piercing his chest with my knife and quickly butchering out a glowing crimson orb.


    "Hoh¡­ This one''s strong¡­"


    -----

 Chapter 348 Great Gains

    -----


    [Calcting EXP Earned¡­]


    [Bonus EXP has been granted]


    [You earned 125000 EXP]


    [Your Level has increased from Level 4 to Level 5!]


    [Your Level has increased from Level 5 to Level 6!]


    [Your Level has increased from Level 6 to Level 7!]


    [You earned Skill Points and Stat Points]


    [All your stats have increased]


    [You acquired the [Kin yer: Lv1] Title Skill]


    "Three Levels in one sitting¡­"


    I was just about to Level up to Level 5 anyways, the Bandits alone gave me enough EXP for at least two more levels, so I guess it is fair I gained three levels now. With this, my stats have increased substantially, and I got a nice amount of Stat Points and Skill Points as well¡­ And of course, I acquired a rather wicked Title Skill.


    -----


    [Kin yer: Lv1]


    Skill Proficiency: 0/10000


    A Skill acquired by those that had in over 50 beings from their same race. You''re someone so ruthless that you''re capable of ying those of your same race without a problem, and feast on their blood. Damage dealt against those of your same race is increased by +30% (With an additional +10% Bonus Damage with each Title Skill Level). Additionally, you earn Bonus EXP of +20% when ying those of your same race.


    -----


    Oh, this is really a wicked Title. It even incentivizes to y more humans, huh? I wonder if it counts with demons though, seeing as I have an arm that is technically a demon. Well, these guys were ghouls when I killed them, does that still count as humans at the end? Hmph. I suppose I can''t really tell for sure. Nheless, this is just telling me to y more humans. As long as they''re bandits or criminals, I''ll be praised by society, so it is all the better for me anyways. I''ll dly take the Title Skill.


    For now, I assigned the 30 new Stat Points into my Strength, because I felt like it was faltering even when fighting against that bastard. I''ve been doing anything I can to make myself physical stronger, but even with the Familiar Buffs and everything else, I still wasn''t able to properly block his hit without receiving severe damage. Strength not only makes me physically stronger, but strengthens my muscles, bones, and everything else, making me virtually stronger in all aspects, Vitality is better in such a deal, but without increasing physical damage dealt, so I prioritize Strength instead.


    [You exchanged 30 Stat Points, you gained +30 Strength]


    With that my entire body strengthened even more, I could even feel my muscles growing slightlyrger, although it wasn''t even noticeable for anybody but me¡­


    And about the Skill Points¡­ I have 35, almost enough to buy everything I am missing from the Alchemist Skill Tree, but for now I''ll buy two Skills and ten wait to level up again to buy thest.


    [You exchanged 25 Skill Points]


    [You acquired the [Brewing: Lv1] and [Synthetize: Lv1] Skills!]


    -----


    [Brewing: Lv1]


    Skill Proficiency: 0/10000


    Enhances an Alchemist''s Ability to brew new substances together, enhancing their effects greatly when two substances merge into one by +20% with each Skill Level. Additionally, there''s a +10% chance per Skill Level for brewed materials to be of higher Rarity Grades when created.


    -----


    [Synthetize: Lv1]


    Skill Proficiency: 0/10000


    The basic ability of every Alchemist, grants the power to Synthetize items together, with greater results when done inside specialized Magic Cauldrons. Enhances Synthesis Sess Rate, Chance for Higher Rarity Grades, and Synthesis Speed by +25% with each Skill Level. Additionally, the user can synthetize items even without a Magic Cauldron, but the bonuses are only of +10% with each Skill Level.


    -----


    Brewing and Synthetize are goodplementary Skills for the Alchemist Talent. Brewing enhances the ability to brew andbine substances, giving major boosts to its sess rate and quality, while Synthetize is the same as [Synthesis] the Spell I know and can use freely, but as a Skill, it receives a major enhancement and bes way better overall.


    -----


    Name: ke Hunter Goathorn.


    Race: Human<sub> </sub>


    Spirit Orb Realm: Rank 1 (Upper Stage)


    Physique: Vampiric Blood Emperor Physique (Tier 2: Rank 4)


    Job ss: [Invoker: ¡ï]


    Subss: [Alchemist: ¡ï]


    Level: 4/30 -> 7/30


    EXP: 1500/70000


    < Health Points: 406/406 -> 466/466 >


    < Mana Points: 823/823 -> 913/913 >


    < Strength: 385 -> 485 >


    < Agility: 295 -> 355 >


    < Vitality: 306 -> 366 >


    < Intelligence: 505 -> 595 >


    < Dexterity: 323 -> 383 >


    Spirits (1/1): [Half-Vampire: Eleanora (Rank 1 Upper Stage)]


    Physique Abilities: [Tier 1: Body Strengthening (+Demonic Arm)] [Tier 1: Enhanced Senses] [Tier 2: Vampiric Eyes (+Demon Eyes of Paralysis)]


    Link Skills:


    [Link (Eleanora): [Shadow Sneak: 3]


    Passive Skills: [Acrobatics: Lv4] [Robust Body: Lv4] [Hard Worker: Lv2] [Hawk Eye: 4] [Gifted Magic Apprentice: Lv4] [Heavy Drinker: Lv2], [Intimidation: Lv2]


    Active Skills: [Throwing Technique: Lv4] [Spearmanship: Lv3] [Butcher: Lv3] [Alchemy: Lv2] [Brewing: Lv1] [Synthetize: Lv1] [First Aid: Lv4], [Command: Lv2], [Cooking: Lv2] [Agriculture: Lv1]


    Magic Skills: [Blood Edge: Lv2] [Create/Delete Familiar: Lv2] [Summon/Unsummon Familiar: Lv2] [Familiar Storage Expansion: Lv2] [Familiar Synthesis: Lv1] [Apprentice Alchemist Recipe Book: Lv1]


    Title Skills: [Beast yer: Lv2] [Demon yer: Lv2] [Savior: Lv2] [ughter King: Lv1] [Dragon yer: Lv1] [Kin yer: Lv1]


    Avable Stat Points: 0


    Avable Skill Points: 10


    Can gain 10 Stat Points and Skill Points with each Level.


    Curses:


    EXP required to level up x100


    Proficiency required to learn techniques and skills x100


    Mana/Qi/Aether Recovery speed decreased by -50%


    -----


    My stats had increased nicely this time around, especially now that I''ve reached over 900 MP. Three Levels in a row is not something that happensmonly¡­ It has already been almost half a year since the demon war, so it is nice to get some more Levels continuously. I am not sure if I''ll be able to reach Level 30 when I enter the academy, but I''ll try to get near that as much as I can.


    "Everything''s organized now." Eleanora said, as she had pilled up every Spirit Orb from the Bandits.


    "Great, let''s save this feast forter, we have some to deal with someone else inside that cave."


    "Oh, the captives?"


    "Hm, Eleanora, you better not act rude¡­ If she''s someone important, she could be our ticket to gain a lot of connections with nobles."


    "Very well¡­"


    -----

 Chapter 349 Rescuing A Gold Mine

    -----


    Afterpletely looting the bandits, we quickly moved towards the area of the cave where the captives were located. I have kept an eye on them using Huginn, it seemed that the blonde girl had fallen asleep after some time of asking the crow to kill her, she seemed more devastated than the rest, even though I am sure that she is the noble in question.


    ording to that man, she wasn''t touched, so her reactions might only be based in what she had seen done to her servants. I suppose wishing for her death would be a bit exaggerated if she didn''t experienced their pain by herself¡­ But well, whatever.


    "Hey, wake up."


    I threw a ssh of cold water into her face, quickly waking her up.


    SPLASH!


    "UWAAAH!"


    She cried loudly, moving her arms and legs until she stepped back and then locked her eyes on me and Eleanora.


    "W-Who are you?!" She cried.


    "We are Adventurers." I said.


    "Indeed." Eleanora added.


    "A-Adventurers¡­? R-Really? This is not a dream?!" She cried, her eyes seemed desperate, but I could notice some light back to them.


    "It certainly is not a dream." I said.


    "We have taken out most of the bandits in this hideout, after interrogating them, we killed them all." Eleanora said. "ording to what we learned, you''re a noble, right?"


    "Y-Yes I am!" The girl cried, getting into her knees. "M-My name is¡­ Frederica Eastbern, I am the daughter of the Merchant Guild''s Guild Master¡­ I was¡­ I don''t know how long I''ve been here¡­ Maybe like a week¡­ or perhaps two weeks¡­" She cried, quickly calming herself down.


    "I see." I said. "So you''re a big shot, and the daughter of the Merchant no less¡­"


    "T-That''s right¡­" She sighed.


    "Alright, Frederica, we''ll free you. Do you think you can walk? We are at the bottom of the Canyon, the way up will take a long time."


    "I-I don''t know, my legs feel so weak¡­" She sighed.


    "Hmph, as spoiled as a noble I guess." Eleanora sighed.


    "Well now, let''s just put her in our shadows alongside these people¡­ Who are they, by the way?" I wondered, pointing at the people sleeping around her.


    "A-Ah¡­ Those are¡­ my servants, my three maidservants and my two manservants." She sighed. "My manservants were tortured for information¡­ while my maidservants have¡­ been defiled by those absolute monsters¡­" Frederica began to cry, recalling what she had seen. "Ah¡­ I am so d you''re here¡­ It has been such a long hell¡­ I don''t know how much they have suffered¡­ Please, bring them to safety, they''re probably going to die soon¡­"


    "Got it, don''t worry." I said. "As long as there''s enoughpensation, we Adventurers will do anything."


    "C-Compensation¡­ Of course! Anything¡­" She said.


    "That''s what I like to hear." I nodded.


    "How are we bringing them out then?" Eleanora wondered.


    "Put them inside your Shadows, your Shadow Sneak should be high level enough, right?" I wondered.


    "Should be¡­"


    Eleanora expanded her shadows, after we cut down the metallic chains, we put them all inside.


    "W-Wha¡­ What''s going on?! Heeelp!" Frederica began to panic.


    "Calm down, this is a Skill that stores people inside shadows, you''ll be safe." I said.<sub> </sub>


    "A Skill¡­ Okay¡­" She sighed, quickly epting her fate.


    With that done, we moved outside of the cave and then flew using Tier 2 Wind Magic out of the Canyon, barely making it, as my MP was almost empty by now.


    "What should we do now? We can''t possibly bring her to her home yet, it is in the capital." Eleanora said.


    "I know, we''ll go to the Adventurer Guild first, they''ll know what to do¡­ For now, we should convince Frederica to give us credits. If we leave her in the adventurer guild and then leave, it is possible she might just forget about us altogether." I said. I was being more cautious than before, but you''re never too cautious in this life.


    "You''re right¡­"


    As we brought out Frederica, she seemed confused.


    "Ah¡­ We are out? The forest¡­ It is all so dark¡­" She sighed.


    "For now we''ll go back to the vige where we came from." I said. "Frederica, can you walk?"


    "N-Not really¡­ I am too tired, and my legs hurt¡­" Sheined. Despite trying to act humbly, she was being very cocky. She looked to be around my age, if not a year older.


    "I''ll carry you then¡­" I sighed.


    Maybe carrying her like this would earn me more bonus points of gratification so she canpensate me betterter.


    "C-Carry?!"


    I grabbed Frederica and carried her with my arms. She was surprisingly light, like a feather.


    "You''re very light, more than I thought." I sighed. "Let''s go then."


    Frederica was surprised, raising her eyebrows as she blushed.


    "Y-You''re so strong¡­!" She said. "W-What is your name?"


    "Name''s¡­ My name is ke." I said. "In the Adventurer Guild I am known by another name, don''t adress me as ke there, if possible."


    "O-Okay ke¡­" She said with a smile.


    "Name''s Eleanora. But they call me Elearose." Said Eleanora.


    "You two are a strange pair¡­" She said. "Is ke your son, Lady Elearose?"


    "S-Son?!"


    Eleanora was surprised over such an assumption, as if she was being called old, mostly because she was in her True Form that made her resemble a young adult woman.


    "No, Elearose is my¡­ aunt. We are not actually rted but she''s someone important." I said.


    "I-I see¡­ Were you the owner of that crow from before?" Frederica wondered.


    "Yes, it is one of my spirits¡­" I said.


    "Oooh¡­" Frederica seemed surprised.


    I had to keep some things a secret, however, my name wasn''t that much of a problem to give to her. Eventually, when the adventurer guild is finished handling her and we met once more without the guild staff around, I''ll reveal her my true identity and that of Eleanora as my spirit.


    I am mostly keeping my true identity a secret due to the adventurer guild, after all, if they know of Eleanora''s true identity as a spirit, they''ll probably punish us orpletely take away her adventurer license and kick us out.


    As we continued moving across the forest, Frederica continued asking anything she wanted. She was very annoying, but I guess that''s how youngdies often are¡­


    -----

 Chapter 350 A New Familiar

    -----


    When we arrived at the Adventurer''s Guild Entrance, we were greeted with a ruckus,ing while carrying a bag of heads bleeding over the floor, while also bringing a beautiful youngdy in my arms really shocked everybody in there. At this hour most adventurerse to eat dinner and drink until night in the adventurer guild.


    "W-Who are those?"


    "Wait, that''s Elearose!"


    "That''s the kid that is always with her¡­"


    "Ugh, that reeks like shit! What are they bringing with them?!"


    "The other day she brought five bandit heads, I heard¡­"


    "Shit¡­ She''s a real deal¡­"


    Elearose had made herself quite the reputation. We had been approached by a few other adventurers over our time as ones, wanting mostly to add her to their party as she was incredibly strong andpetent, of course, that was impossible as she was my Spirit. Those that got turned down epted it in a variety of ways. Some angrily tried to hit her in the face and received a good beating, while some epted it humbly and then moved on.


    "W-Wee¡­" The receptionist looked at us.


    "Can we talk upstairs?" Asked Eleanora.


    "As usual." I said.


    "A-As usual¡­ Very well." She sighed.


    We quickly moved upstairs and greeted the Guild Master. We swiftly showed him our bag of heads, including the bounty of five hundred thousand Telis, he was shocked as always.


    "Y-You hunted this bastard?! You know he''s like¡­ super fucking strong?!" He asked in shock. "He had been running away for years! Thest time I fought him, he ran away when I gave him an opening¡­ And now you just bring me back his head like its nothing¡­" The Guild Master looked at us in surprise. "And who''s that girl?!"


    "M-My name is Frederica Eastbern¡­ I-I am a Noble that was kidnaped by these bandits¡­" Frederica spoke as we instructed her.


    "Frederica Eastbern?!" The Receptionist asked. "We have been looking for you for so long! There is a bounty of a million Telis made by your father! He has been so worried about you, dear!"


    "Eh?! My father has been looking for me?! Is my father here?!" Frederica asked.


    "No, but I''ll contact him right away, he should being tomorrow morning if I tell him through a magic device!" Said the guild master.


    "Thank you! Thank you so much! Frederica began to cry while being on my arms. At the end, I managed to ce her over a seat. Eleanora also brought out all the servants within her shadows.


    "T-That''s Shadow Sneak?" Asked the Guild Master. "And the servants¡­"


    "I-I didn''t knew you had such Skill, Elearose¡­" The receptionist said.


    "It is within the policy of the adventurer guild that its not necessary to disclose personal information." Eleanora said.


    "Yeah, that''s right." I said.


    The receptionist and the guild master looked at one another and then sighed.


    "Yeah, yeah¡­ But you have so many secrets its hard to ept it so easily." Sighed the girl.


    "For now, we should quickly bring you the money of the bounty, the reward for bringing Frederica and her servants will be paid by her father tomorrow." Said the guild master, quickly using a device simr to a telephone to send a message to the Noble.


    After we were given our sack of coins, Frederica and her servants were brought to the receptionist and the guild master''s home, which was right behind the adventurer guild, it was humbler than I  had thought. I used some healing magic on everybody, and imbued Ki into them to keep their vitality strong. I made Frederica eat an Apple from Apul as well to recover her hunger and exhaustion, and then she fell asleep right after taking a warm bath and being given humbler but cleaner clothes to wear.


    "She''s sleeping like an angel¡­" Sighed the receptionist.


    "Well, we are going now, it is veryte." Said Eleanora.


    "Yeah, we''lle back tomorrow morning to check how things are." I said.<sub> </sub>


    "Very well then! Have a nice night." She said.


    We trusted her so we didn''t had to worry¡­ although I left two Huggins watching over the house, and two Fenrir hiding inside Frederica''s shadow just to make sure she''s safe. When we returned back home, I sat down over my bed while Eleanora quickly went to her [Petit Form] and covered herself in nkets, she seemed exhausted.


    "You''re not sleeping, my lord?" She wondered, inviting me to cuddle with her.


    "I''ll be absorbing the Spirit Orbs for now, but you can sleep if you so desire." I said, beginning to slowly absorb each Vampiric Spirit Orb extracted from the bandits.


    ? "Sigh¡­ Very well then¡­" She yawned.


    .


    .


    .


    When I opened my eyes again, it was already the next morning. I had sessfully absorbed all of the Spirit Orbs, and my stats had risen slightly as I checked my Status¡­ However, there was something new as well, from the over thirty Spirit Orbs, I was only able to get a single new Spirit Familiar. Unlike monsters which are a guarantee, people''s spirits are only a small chance, so this only meant I had terrible luck or perhaps that chance had decreased as I absorbed too many spirit orbs from people¡­ nheless, I had acquired a single spirit familiar, and well, it was the one I was the most interested on anyways.


    [You acquired the [Material (F Grade)] Familiar Spirit]


    "Material, huh¡­ You''ve be ck colored and are smaller, but you''re indeed that ruffian''s Spirit¡­" I said with a smile, admiring the big, ck-colored axe in my hands.


    -----


    Name: Ax


    Type: Material


    Rank: F


    Race: Living ck Axe


    < Health Points: 150/150 >


    < Strength: 160 >


    < Agility: 120 >


    < Vitality: 50 >


    < Intelligence: 50 >


    < Dexterity: 70 >


    Buff: +5 Strength, +4 Agility


    Skill: [Strong Strike] [Vertical sh] [Crush]


    Growth: 0/50


    -----


    It was a Living Weapon made into a Familiar.


    I never thought this could actually be a thing¡­ but it seems to be possible. With this, I can mass produce a weapon that can understand basic words and even attack on its own when wielded by someone. I am not really that good using axes, but I might as well try them out now.


    -----

 Chapter 351 Growing Stronger

    -----


    Apparently, Material-type Monsters exists in this world, somewhere. I would guess they''re like a type of Cursed Item that fight on their own, maybe they could be ssified as Undead as a soul inhabits them, but they''re ssified as "Material" anyways. I wonder what other Material-type Spirits could be acquired¡­ Perhaps a Golem, maybe? How about a Living Armor? Hm, the possibilities are certainly endless, and they''re strong too.


    The only weakness Ax possess is that it cannot move on its own. Itcks Telekinesis to lift itself up, so when it is summoned, it usually just falls over the floor. Also, it has an HP which is the durability, so when it receives enough hits, it disappears. Making it frailer than normal weapons, perhaps.


    However, such weaknesses arepensated by the amazing benefits thates by being able to summon weapons as much as I want, or well, it is limited by the amount of slots I can make, but still¡­ And also, it has three Different Skills, so anybody that wields them will be able to unleash three powerful attacks without any MP cost right off the bat. I suppose that''s more than enoughpensation.


    "Eleanora, are you good with Axes?" I wondered.


    "Err¡­ Well, I can try." She said, quickly lifting a tentacle made of shadows, and holding Ax with it.


    "Hm, that''s good enough, I envy your great use of shadows, Ick that on my own without having to waste so much MP." I sighed. "Nheless, I guess I can use Gluttony with one arm or- Oh, well, I could just summon a bunch of Ax andunch them at a foe, perhaps."


    "Oh, that sounds specially devilish." Eleanora said.


    "Well, we might go hunt Goblins soon, if I can get a Goblin Familiar, we''ll acquire humanoid familiars so they can use weapons better¡­ Unless you can use a weapon, boy?" I wondered, looking at the fluffy Blood resting over our bed. He had acquired the [Size Maniption] Skill yesterday when leveling up, and can now shapeshift his size, something Fenrir can''t.


    "Arf?" Blood tilted his head in confusion.


    "Don''t worry about it, Blood!" Said Eleanora, petting the wolf. "You''re good as you are! You''re slowly growing, no need to rush it."


    "Arf! Woof!" Blood began barking while wagging his tail, he loved to be spoiled by Eleanora.


    We had introduced him to my family some time ago, they were not that against him because they had gotten used to have Fenrir around. But unlike Fenrir, Blood is not odorless, so we have to give him a bath weekly to not make the house stink, it was one of the rules my mother imposed on me if I wanted to take care of a tamed wolf.


    Monster taming is fairlymon in this world, from people with spirits that let them easily enve creatures, to others with [Tamer] Talents or its variations, people using the help of monsters is not umon, and with spirits added into the mix, having monster or monster-likepanions have be something of everyday.


    Usually, tamed monsters get a special cor, which was what Blood was wearing right now. It is something that can be purchased in the adventurer guild after registering him as a tamed monster for one small silver coin, the price was worth it, this way, people don''t look at Blood weird, or don''t try to attack him in the middle of the streets either.


    As Eleanora woke up and began ying with Blood, I looked into my status once more.


    [You have reached [Peak Stage] of the [Rank 1 Spiritual Orb Realm]


    [Your Stats have increased]


    [You learned the [Spirit And Master Connection: Lv1] Skill]


    "Oh, so that happened¡­"


    -----


    Name: ke Hunter Goathorn.


    Race: Human


    Spirit Orb Realm: Rank 1 (Upper Stage) -> (Peak Stage)


    Physique: Vampiric Blood Emperor Physique (Tier 2: Rank 4)


    Job ss: [Invoker: ¡ï]


    Subss: [Alchemist: ¡ï]


    <o>,m Level: 7/30</o>


    EXP: 1500/70000


    < Health Points: 466/466 -> 493/493 ><sub> </sub>


    < Mana Points: 913/913 -> 945/945>


    < Strength: 485 -> 512 >


    < Agility: 355 -> 372 >


    < Vitality: 366 -> 382 >


    < Intelligence: 595 -> 627 >


    < Dexterity: 383 -> 412 >


    Spirits (1/1): [Half-Vampire: Eleanora (Rank 1 Peak Stage)]


    Physique Abilities: [Tier 1: Body Strengthening (+Demonic Arm)] [Tier 1: Enhanced Senses] [Tier 2: Vampiric Eyes (+Demon Eyes of Paralysis)]


    Link Skills:


    [Link (Eleanora): [Shadow Sneak: 3]


    Passive Skills: [Acrobatics: Lv4] [Robust Body: Lv4] [Hard Worker: Lv2] [Hawk Eye: 4] [Gifted Magic Apprentice: Lv4] [Heavy Drinker: Lv2], [Intimidation: Lv2]


    Active Skills: [Throwing Technique: Lv4] [Spearmanship: Lv3] [Butcher: Lv3] [Alchemy: Lv2] [Brewing: Lv1] [Synthetize: Lv1] [First Aid: Lv4], [Command: Lv2], [Cooking: Lv2] [Agriculture: Lv1]


    Magic Skills: [Blood Edge: Lv2] [Create/Delete Familiar: Lv2] [Summon/Unsummon Familiar: Lv2] [Familiar Storage Expansion: Lv2] [Familiar Synthesis: Lv1] [Apprentice Alchemist Recipe Book: Lv1] [Spirit And Master Connection: Lv1]


    Title Skills: [Beast yer: Lv2] [Demon yer: Lv2] [Savior: Lv2] [ughter King: Lv1] [Dragon yer: Lv1] [Kin yer: Lv1]


    Avable Stat Points: 0


    Avable Skill Points: 10


    Can gain 10 Stat Points and Skill Points with each Level.


    Curses:


    EXP required to level up x100


    Proficiency required to learn techniques and skills x100


    Mana/Qi/Aether Recovery speed decreased by -50%


    -----


    After having absorbed a Peak Stage Spirit Orb from that guy that had a bounty, I naturally finally broke through Upper Stage. Now I am at Peak Stage, thest Stage before reaching the next Realm, Spirit Orb Rank 2. With that, I''ll be able to finally acquire a Second Spirit. I have tried inspecting my Soul to grab the souls of my allies outside before, but it has been futile.


    Now that I am so close to reach Rank 2, I feel like it is rather pointless to continue trying. It would be better to not waste time putting my soul in danger and simply try to get to Rank 2 as fast as possible, even though I am sure it will take me months¡­ But it is now a rather realistic goal.


    "Well, let''s go eat breakfast and then go met Frederica, we need to be there when her fatheres back." I said.


    "Oh right, the noble girl¡­" Eleanora said. She didn''t seemed to have taken a liking on her.


    And quite honestly, me neither. But a noble is a noble, and nobles mean money, so we might as well go.


    -----

 Chapter 352 A New And Powerful Skill

    -----


    I looked into my Status once more as I made my way back to town. I had already enjoyed breakfast with my family and told them we had something important to do in town, mostly regarding selling monster carcasses, so they let me go easily.


    -----


    [Spirit And Master Connection: Lv1]


    Skill Proficiency: 0/10000


    Grants the ability for the Master and its Spirits to connect with an even greater level of bond. Only those that have reached Rank 1 Peak Stage and above can unlock this power, and only when they have established an incredible bond of friendship andpanionship with their Spirits. This Skill strengthen the Bond of the Master Soul with their Spirit Soul and grants them the ability to share their powers with one another, temporarily granting the power to use the other''s Skills by spending a slightlyrger quantity of Mana, alongside granting the ability to use Spiritual Techniques.


    Enhances the power of Shared Skills by +20% with each Skill and grants the ability to create a "Bond Connection" for 10 Minutes, which enhances synchronization and the strength of both master and spirit. While in this state, Mana is naturally recovered at twice the speed, Skills and Spells costs half Mana, and Spirit Techniques that exceed limitations can be ushed, but after its power wears off, a great amount of exhaustion will take over the master''s body. Consecutively using "Bond Connection" will wear off the Master and Spirit until both have a high possibility of dying.


    Current Spirit Techniques:


    Level 1: [Spiritual Resonance: Spiritual Shield], [Spiritual Resonance: Elemental Spirit Weapon]


    Level 2: ???


    -----


    This was an incredibly interesting Skill. It seems that only those that have a strong bond ofpanionship and friendship with their Spirits can actually unlock it. This might exin why some people at higher ranks it might not have, but I am fairly sure Ellergest has used Spirit Techniques before, so it is probably that he has the Skill at a high Level already.


    This is a rather useful Skill, and those Techniques that are unlocked every level seem also quite interesting. I can now apparently create a Spiritual Shield based on Eleanora''s Elements and strengths, alongside temporarily transforming Eleanora into an Elemental Spirit Weapon¡­ Amusing.


    "Eleanora, wait a bit." I said, quickly going behind arge house and then asking Eleanora to use this power.


    "C-Convert myself into a weapon? That''s even possible?" She wondered. "But aren''t there already some weapon-type spirits?"


    "Yeah, but this is different, it seems that non-weapon-type spirits can also temporarily be weapons through this technique, let''s try it out." I said, as Eleanora sighed and then nodded.


    "Very well."


    "Then¡­!"


    [Spiritual Resonance: Elemental Spirit Weapon]!


    FLASH!


    The moment I activated the Spiritual Technique, I felt that 10% of my Mana was drained in an instant, infusing itself into Eleanora''s Spirit body and then making it shine. Her body quickly began to change, shapeshifting into a long and majestic shape, with red metallic luster.


    "Huh? Eh?!"


    Eleanora then found herself floating in midair, in the form of a¡­ long sword. So that''s her Spirit form? I had imagined another spear, but perhaps that would had been rather redundant as I had Gluttony and she has Envy with herself. The sword was beautifully decorated with red roses made of a metallic spiritual material, the de was sharp and thin, making it look ferocious yet refined. Additionally, around the handle, rose vine-like decorations appeared around it.


    [Spirit: Eleanora] has transformed into her [Elemental Spirit Weapon Form]: [Crimson Rose Piercer (Two-Handed Longsword)]!]


    "You''ve be a beautiful weapon, Eleanora."<sub> </sub>


    I quickly held her with my hand and felt an enormous power concentrated within the weapon, overflowing through it all. It quickly merged with my body and enhanced my capabilities. This transformationsted roughly 10 minutes before Eleanora went back to normal, I might be able to extend it if I spend another 10% of my Mana though.


    "T-This sensation is rather new¡­" Eleanora said. "But I feel like I want to y any enemy for you, my lord!"


    "Hm, perhaps even your mentality and instincts transform into those of a weapon, interesting." I said with a nod.


    "Let''s see then¡­"


    FLASH!


    I swung Eleanora''s weapon form strongly against the sky, as a sh of red-blood color was unleashed from her de, flying up into the skies and slicing several birds within a flock of them that were flying over 100 meters above the ground in mere seconds.


    SLAAASH!


    The birds weremon bird animals, so the EXP they gave was nothing, but this was still a great way to see how effective this transformation was, and indeed, it was amazing.


    "Amazing, this will surely be handy in the future!" Eleanora said.


    "So you can create Aura shes of Blood Attribute, that''s interesting¡­ Let''s see¡­"


    CLASH!


    Suddenly, as I swung Eleanora''s de horizontally, her de suddenly shapeshifted, elongating into vine-like chains with spikes, and whipping the floor strongly with them, making the ground below us tremble slightly.


    "So you can even transform into a whip-sword!" I said in amusement.


    Whip Swords are special swords capable of transforming into whips with divided sections which unify back into a de. This mechanism works by infusing mana into these weapons. However, doing this with Eleanora doesn''t cost any Mana.


    "I-I am also impressed! I didn''t thought I was so strong¡­" Eleanora said.


    "Well, this should be enough for now¡­" I said, quickly letting Eleanora turn back to her humanoid spirit form.


    FLASH!


    "Phew¡­ I feel slightly tired after that." She sighed.


    "Hm, so it also exhausts you." I said while analyzing my body, I certainly felt tired as well.


    However, my Ki was quickly recovering this exhaustion naturally, but I know that if I overdo it, I might end up overexerting myself to the point I could die, so I better be careful with this.


    "Are you tired for just transforming me into a weapon?" She wondered.


    "It is a technique that synchronizes our bond, so it also tires me out. But I''ll get better in a few minutes. Let''s go to the adventurer guild for now, it is gettingte."


    "Very well!"


    -----

 Chapter 353 Meeting An Important Merchant

    -----


    When we arrived at the adventurer guild, we quickly moved to the house where the guild master lives. In there, we found arge carriage that looked quite expensive, frilly decorated with golden paint and other decorations such as wings and flowers, it had two white-colored horses as well as two men armed with armor sitting at each side of it.


    "Could this be the carriage of Frederica''s father?" Eleanora wondered.


    "It should be¡­" I said.


    "Wee, Elearose and her little brother!" The receptionistdy weed us to the house, opening the door and letting us walk inside.


    The moment we reached the interior, we found a tall man with a sharp pair of eagle-like eyes, and a pointy white mustache, his hair seemed to be well taken care of, and he was wearing very noble-like expensive clothes.


    Frederica was right at his side, as the man raised an eyebrow when he saw both of us, analyzing our clothes and everything with a single gaze.


    "S-Sir Eastbern, these are Elearose and her little brother, the ones that rescued your daughter and her servants." Said the guild master, who was right at our left side.


    "Hmmm¡­" The noble man slowly walked our way, but his daughter was faster, reaching the two of us and suddenly hugging me.


    "My hero is here!" She said with enchanted eyes, her father''s eyes quickly popped out of his face as he saw his daughter acting all too close with me.


    "Frederica, get away from that dirty serf!" He roared, quickly grabbing his daughter by the neck of her dress and pulling her away from me. Quite honestly, I was thankful he did that.


    "Uwah! B-But father! Don''t call him serf! I''m pretty sure he''s amoner!" Frederica angrily protested.


    "Commoner or serf, all the same!" Said the man. "They might had rescued you but you must know your position as a noble of your caliber, my daughter. Don''t touch them, they look nasty and their clothes are just rags! What if you get an infection or something? Think about your health for a bit!" The man said angrily.


    "F-Father, don''t be so rude with them!" Said Frederica, protesting against her father. "They''re good people, don''t treat them like this!"


    The man quickly gave us a gaze once more, wore a pair of gloves, and then extended his hand towards us.


    "I¡­ apologize for acting like this. I suppose I should be grateful to you two for saving my daughter and defeating those devil bandits. It''s just¡­ I can''t let my daughter act like this withmoners." The man said. "Ahem! Well, as it was stated, there was a bounty for those bandits, and also, there is a reward for finding my daughter. I am¡­ very grateful for this, despite the difference in sses, I am not a man without honor."


    The man quickly brought a big sack of coins and ced it over the table.


    "This is the million Telis of the reward¡­ Plus, another million for my gratitude to have brought her to me with no wounds and unscathed." Sighed the man as he smiled. "Thank you very much. From the bottom of my heart."


    "Ah, it was nothing. We go around hunting bandits and we found her identally." Said Eleanora.


    "Indeed, we are grateful you could reunite with your daughter, Lord Eastbern." I said with a nod.


    Both of us had to handshake the lord as he didn''t took away his hand from our front. Thankfully, he didn''t asked us to kiss his hand or something.<sub> </sub>


    "Hmm! You two are well behaved." He said with a nod. "Then, we shall depart."


    "W-Wait! Father, how can you just go away now?" Asked Frederica, stopping her father.


    "Frederica! Don''t act spoiled now, you must quickly go back home and take a bath. We also must treat your servants injuries and mental health as well. You insisted on keeping them, so we''ll need to help them recover." Sighed the man. "You also must resume your Magic Studies and Spirit Control Studies, alongside general knowledge, such asnguage, mathematics, and alchemy theory."


    "But father¡­ Can''t we bring them with us? Oh! Maybe we can pay them to be guards?" Asked Frederica, smiling back at Eleanora and then directly into my eyes, she seemed to be fixated on me.


    "No is no! They''re adventurers and hunters, they live a life filled with danger, the tranquility of the capital is probably not something they want, even less be restrained in a life of servitude to a noble family." The noble knew very well our mentality.


    "Hold on a minute, Lord Eastbern." I said. "Do you require extensive healing of Lady Frederica''s servants both physical and mental health? I think we can help in that regard."


    "You can help?" The noble man looked at us while raising an eyebrow. "How so?"


    "We are rather well versed at healing magic, and also at psyche healing magic as well." Eleanora said.


    "We can heal whatever trauma those people had." I said.


    "Hm?! Is such a thing possible?" Wondered the man, filled with doubt about our words.


    "Y-You two can do that?!" Frederica wondered.


    "Please trust us. We do so as we said, we would want to ask for a single favor in exchange for any mary reward." I said.


    "And if we fail, you may take the rewards you''ve given us back." Eleanora added.


    The receptionist and the guild master were both looking at us in shock,pletely in silence.


    Frederica''s father slowly walked towards us as he inspected our faces, as if he was trying to see if we were lying, but as we betted all the money we just earned, he seemed to no mind it.


    "Well, if what you say is false, I shall take my money back then, there''s no oue where I won''t win." He said with a confident nod. "You may do as you please."


    "Thank you."


    With that said, we quickly moved towards the servant''s room.


    -----

 Chapter 354 Healing Mind And Body

    -----


    As we found the servants resting over their beds, we quickly began moving. We requested to have the door closed while we did this, of course, as we didn''t wanted our powers to be leaked too much into the public, especially because Elearose and my identity are two new identities I created for certain things, I don''t want them to get found out like nk''s identity, if possible.


    "Well, let''s begin with the basics, their bodies seem exhausted beyond belief, to the point their pressure points had been shattered." I said, analyzing the bodies of the servants. "Their Ki has yet to be awakened, so let''s do that to restore their Pressure Points, this should create a chain reaction into their bodies which might restore the incredible damage dealt to them¡­"


    "Broken bones¡­ this one has internal bleeding, if it is not treated soon, he''ll die." Eleanora said. "Let me treat him."


    "I''ll leave him to you." I said.


    We both quickly walked around the room, healing all the servants physically before mentally. We ended spending the next three hours intensively treating their bodies. Certainly, Ki is an amazing power, it can be used to restore a body from wounds and damage, and even restore stamina and energy, filling a person with new vitality.


    "I think we are mostly done physically, but mentally¡­"


    Eleanora looked at the women within the servants, they had recently woken up, but had no response. Their eyes seemed ckened,pletely devoid of light. The things they had gone throughpletely broke their minds to the point they don''t even feel any will to survive. The guild master told us they had refused to eat as well; it seems they want to die.


    "I''m sorry, but I can''t let you die yet." I said, touching the head of one of the maidservants.


    Tier 2 Illusion Attribute Magic: Mind Maniption!


    And¡­


    Tier 2 Dream Attribute Magic: Memory Eater!


    FLASH!


    Both of such spells can only work if the target is unconscious and does not resist, but this woman wasn''t even resisting in the first ce, so aplete takeover of her mind was without problems. Quickly, I used the spell''s powers to manipte her mind and her memoires and used Memory Eater to devour her memories and destroy them, quickly bringing her mind and memories back before being captured by the bandits. She quickly fell asleep after that.


    "This should be it." I said. "It wasn''t as hard as I imagined¡­ I can do this more."


    "Then let''s." Said Eleanora.


    We quickly did the same with the rest, even the males who were not vited, but retained such painful memories. Thanks to Eleanora being able to conjure spells now, things became way easier to get do as we divided our work.


    At the end, my MP was almost at zero when we finished, even though I had drank the Magical Juice from Apul, Tier 2 Spells use too much Mana, and we were using them constantly as well.


    "Oof¡­ I think we are done." Sighed Eleanora.


    "Indeed. This was exhausting." I sighed, quickly resting over a chair.


    After resting for a few minutes, we walked outside. Frederica''s father still seemed skeptical about what we had done, but the servants quickly woke up after that and then we swiftly asked them if they remember anything after the bandit attack.


    "The bandit attack¡­? R-Right¡­ Something happened, right? But¡­ what? Did we got rescued?" Wondered a manservant.


    "Lady Frederica! I am so happy you''re okay!" Sighed a maidservant.


    "Hahh¡­ I feel so tired¡­ Has something happened? Why are we here?" wondered the second maidservant.


    "You guys¡­ you''re okay? W-Wha¡­" Frederica was left shocked, but she quickly decided to not adress what happened to them, as it might awaken memories I had devoured. She simply exined to them that they were left unconscious by some sort of toxin until they were rescued.


    "Thank you for rescuing ourdy, from the bottom of our heart!"


    "Thank you! Thank you so much!"<sub> </sub>


    "We are very grateful for what you''ve done."


    "We can never thank you two enough."


    All the servants kneeled and thanked us. It felt awkward, but this was our ticket towards what I wanted, so I simply nodded to their gratefulness.


    "It is nothing, don''t worry."


    Frederica''s father looked at the two of us shocked.


    "W-What sort of magic did you do?" He asked, as we had moved to a separate room so the servants wouldn''t hear our conversation.


    "Healing Magic." Said Elearose. "We don''t want to talk about what we did, it is a secret."


    "But fear not, there wont be any adverse reactions." I said. "If anything, they''ll feel even better after fully recovering."


    "I-Impressive¡­" The Merchant Guild Master said. "So¡­ what sort of favor did you wanted to ask? For doing something like this to my daughter''s beloved servants, I suppose the only thing I can do to repay you is giving you more money, right? Is that what you wanted?"


    "Oh no, money is enough." I said. "What we wanted to ask was for¡­ connections."


    "Hm?" Frederica''s father eyes quickly shone with a sharp glint. "Connections, you say?"


    "As the Merchant Guild Master, you''re one of a kind, are you not?" I asked. "In the future, I''ll open an Alchemy Item Shop in the capital, I would want your help in setting things up."


    "Huh¡­ So you want my patronage, I see." He said. "I suppose that''s a rather immense reward you''re asking for¡­"


    "We also would like to join the merchant guild for now." Elearose added.


    "¡­Fine." Sighed Frederica''s father. "I shall also give you my patronage whenever you open your shop. But it will also depend in the quality of the items you make. If it is something awful, I will immediately stop supporting your shop, so you better practice for the next months until you open your shop, you hear me?"


    "We shall not disappoint you. In fact, here''s a few free samples. I am sure I will improve upon the recipester." I said, quickly taking out of my Inventory bag ten potions, five were red and five were blue, these were Lesser Health Potions and Lesser Mana Potions.


    "T-They''re shining?!" He asked in surprise. "A-And Mana Potions! Those are rather expensive! You can make them at your age, boy?"


    "I can, with my sister''s help." I said with a smile.


    "Please, give it a taste and see for yourself." I said, offering the man the potions.


    He quickly opened the Mana Potions I had painstakingly made some days ago using the Alchemy Recipe Book, and drank a bit of one of them.


    "Ngh?!"


    FLASH!


    His entire body quickly shone with a blue light, as his MP was restored a bit.


    "No adverse effects¡­ a delicious, sweet, and soothing tea-like vor¡­ and it is effective immediately after consumption! I-Incredible¡­! This quality can only be expected of Royal Alchemists!"


    He seemed pleased.


    -----

 Chapter 355 A Job Well Done

    -----


    "So?" I asked with a smile.


    The man looked at me with awe, his mouth opening dumbfounded as he quickly closed the precious bottle with Mana Potion, which had its weight worth in Telis.


    "T-This¡­ what is your talent?!" He asked.


    "These are merely Lesser Mana Potions I made, and my Talent is Alchemist, one star." I said.


    "Only one star?! What Skills do you posses?!" He wondered.


    "I would like to keep that a secret for now¡­" I said. "But whenever I open my shop, I will reveal you more of my secrets as we forge a connection between merchant and alchemist."


    "I-I see¡­ You''re quite the cunning child for your age." Sighed the man. "Tell me your name."


    "Name''s ke Hunter Goathorn." I said.


    "Alright¡­ And your sister?" He wondered.


    "Elearose Hunter Goathorn." Eleanora said.


    "Alright¡­" The man had no idea about our infamous hunter family as he came from the outside, so he didn''t reacted in any unexpected way after hearing ourplete names. After that, he wrote down the names into his small book and then used a devise to take pictures of us, which he stuck into his book. This world''s magic items were rather advanced, although incredibly expensive, so only nobility or filthy rich people able to buy a noble title like this man were able to use them leisurely. "Very well, with this, I''ve registered both of you in my Magic Notebook. If we ever met again, I''ll use this to identify, no matter how old you might have grown or how much you have changed."


    After a handshake, our negotiations were done.


    "You can take these potions as a souvenir, free of charge." I said. This way, the man would owe me even more favors.


    "Huh¡­ Very well then, I shall take this to my guild and show everybody how talented you are." Said the man. "It will be a pleasure to do business with you."


    As a fellow man that sought riches, he knew when he struck gold and didn''t wanted to let go of me at all. He was also smart enough to not make a fuss over my age, as he wanted money over anything else. He certainly didn''t cared about the "morality" of a child working or not.


    "Excellent." I said with a smile.


    "Very well, is it really okay for me to take them though?" He wondered, at the end he still felt guilty.


    "Yes take them." I said. "It is a souvenir of goodwill."


    "Heh, you''re a smart kid." The man said, quickly lowering his guard with us a bit more and even smiling.


    After our negotiations ended, he quickly decided to go back to the capital, as he stated he didn''t liked the smell of the countryside. Frederica began to whine about being separated from me for a long time, and implored me to go with her, but I refused.


    "Please,e with me!" She cried. "I-I can make you my manservant! You''ll have a better life than in here!"


    "No thanks, Lady Frederica. I have many things I must do, and I must protect my family with my sister." I said.


    "Y-You can bring your entire family!" She said.


    "Frederica! That''s enough!" Her father quickly reprimanded her.<sub> </sub>


    "But daaaad!" Sheined.


    "Frederica, the boy said he was opening a shop in a year and a few more months in the capital, so you''ll be able to meet him there if that''s what you want so much." Sighed her father.


    "Wow! Really?!" Frederica asked happily. "I-I can help you in your shop by then!"


    "Sure¡­ if that''s what you want." I sighed. Honestly, I just wanted her to leave.


    "T-Then see ya!" She said, waving her hand. "Until we meet again!"


    "Take care, Lady Frederica." I said with a poker face, as she entered her carriage and quickly left our town with her servants and her father.


    As we saw them leave, Eleanora began teasing me.


    "It seems my lord has an incredible luck withdies, something you didn''t seem to have back then." She said.


    "I honestly think this is just a small series of coincidences." I sighed.


    "Really? First Erika, then Elizabeth, then the twins of the Duke seemed to be very grateful and eyed you a lot¡­ and now Frederica, a noble and rich girl¡­ If you can marry her, wouldn''t you have ess to the riches of the guild of merchants?" Wondered Eleanora.


    "Stop it already. I have no such desires. My only desire is growing stronger, exploring this world, and protecting those that matter to me¡­ everything else is merely a steppingstone." I said with all seriousness.


    "Fufu¡­" Eleanora only giggled as she petted my head.


    "Why are you treating me like this now?!" I asked angrily.


    "Oh? Did you forget you''re my little brother now?" She wondered with a teasing smile.


    "Right¡­"


    At the end, I kept the act until we finally went back home. I decided to keep a secret what had happened with Frederica to my parents and the priests for now, as it had nothing to do with them. But I will eventually tell them the truth of everything when I go to the capital with some of them. I know my parents don''t want to go to the capital, but I feel like I still should tell them about this when the timees.


    Elearose had already be a rather distinguished adventurer, and she was recently promoted to F Rank Adventurer after bringing so many bandits with her. With that Rank, the possibility of being able to pick up F Rank Quests such as Goblin Extermination. I already wanted to go to the Londs, a lower leveled areapared to the Grass Lands. I''ve heard there are Goblin Nests over there, alongside other high leveled monsters such as Horned Wolves, Giant Lizards, and the asional Butcher Bird.


    However, for now, I wanted to rx, I was too tired.


    "Kyuu!"


    And just in the entrance of my house, I found four Double Horned Rabbits bringing bags with materials they harvested from the forest, Bitter Grass, Lesser Healing Herbs, and even Uni, spike fruits that are a primal ingredient for what I want to create with Alchemy next¡­ Spike Bombs.


    "Good job you four, go back to gather more materials." I ordered them, as the rabbits quickly flew back to the forest. As they didn''t need to sleep or eat, they could work nonstop for 30 consecutive days before they suddenly went back to Card Form, but I can simply resummon them by then.


    Being an Invoker is certainly very convenient.


    -----

 Chapter 356 A Month Later, New Familiars

    -----


    It has been a month since Frederica''s incident, and I''ve dedicated it fully to gather materials and not do much alchemy at all, as I wanted to gather a lot of materials to mass produce items and get tons of EXP that way. In this month, we have hunted only another group of bandits in the Canyon, which were thest remnants of thisrge group of interconnected bandit groups, it wasposed of 22 men, which all became my EXP and delicious Blood Spirit Orbs.


    I didn''t got a single new Familiar from them, however, as I''ve been rather unlucky in that department, but my stats had risen nicely as I gained another level by hunting these men and additionally hunting monsters that wander around the Canyon, such as Big Horned Rabbits, Dark Crows, and packs of Gray Wolves.


    Through the month I''ve been training every skill possibly, but I''ve prioritized my Summoning Skills and magic practice, while exercising as much as I could to enhance my physique-rted skills. My physique in specific has been enhanced after devouring many Blood Spirit Orbs, especially those from former humans, while monster blood spirt orbs only gave a lesser amount.


    In my free time, I''ve also been Synthetizing Familiar Cards together to try to get new Familiars, and after trying out every possiblebination, I was able to get two brand new Familiars out of it, which would be three if we added therge Rhinoceros Beetle to the mix. They all ended being F Rank, but I am still unable to Rank Up the other Familiars below F Rank as I can''t find Bug, Fish, nor Lizard-type monsters to feed them their Spirit Orbs, but I believe I''ll be able to find some in the Londs.


    -----


    Name: Shell


    Type: Lizard


    Rank: F


    Race: Rock Turtle


    < Health Points: 150/150 >


    < Strength: 80 >


    < Agility: 40 >


    < Vitality: 100 >


    < Intelligence: 80 >


    < Dexterity: 40 >


    Buff: +5 Health Points, +5 Vitality


    Skill: [Harden] [Seismic Wave] [Spinning Shell]


    Growth: 0/50


    -----


    -----


    Name: Falco


    Type: Bird


    Rank: F


    Race: Wind Falcon


    < Health Points: 50/50 >


    < Strength: 50 ><sub> </sub>


    < Agility: 180 >


    < Vitality: 40 >


    < Intelligence: 120 >


    < Dexterity: 90 >


    Buff: +5 Agility, +5 Intelligence


    Skill: [Gust] [Slicing Wind] [Hawk Eyes]


    Growth: 0/50


    -----


    One was a giant Turtle of almost two meters of height, with a stone-covered shell, and the other arge, one meter and a half tall falcon with green feathers and bright golden eyes. These beasts were big, and as their ranks increased, Familiars would simply continue growing in size.


    The Turtle was as rather fantastical tank with its high HP and Vitality, but it also offered a good amount of offense and was rather smart as well. Its skills were useful as well, [Harden] doubled its HP and Vitality for 30 minutes, with a cooldown of an hour afterwards, while [Seismic Wave] used the turtle''s enormous weight to hit the ground, generating a mini earthquake which might bring foes out of bnce or could even luckily throw them inside a pitfall.


    Andstly, [Spinning Shell] enhanced the turtle''s Agility and Dexterity and made it spin, being able to easily hit foes from afar with great speed, and due to its weight, it could easily kill most monsters below F Rank with a single hit. Shell was an overall useful unit, and at F Rank, it easily overpowered the other Familiars on strength alone.


    And then there''s the Wind Falcon, this Familiar is slightly simr to Huginn, but has some differences, Falco specializes a lot more into elemental magic damage with Gust and Slicing Wind as its primary methods of attacking, but it is also good at scouting with Hawk Eyes, which allows it to see even farther than what Huginn can do, so it is a better scouting unit than him. Well, Falco is literally blind on night, so Huginn takes over his duty at this time, as he can see through the dark.


    Aside from Familiars, my Level has reached 8 and I''ve grown slightly stronger from a month ago, and I might be close to reaching Level 9, I''ve used the 20 Skill Points I had umted into [Hard Worker] making the Skill reach Level 3, increasing my total EXP earned by +60%.


    -----


    [Hard Worker: Lv3]


    Skill Proficiency: 0/30000


    A special Skill that only those that endlessly work hard can acquire. Skill Requirements to unlock the Skill to be exchanged for Skill Points has been filled. Learnable only through Skill Points.


    Increases Skill Proficiency and Experience Points earned by +60%. The harder you work, the more payback you will receive, but the greater the challenge will be.


    -----


    Now I need 3 more levels to get 30 Skill Points and level up Hard Worker to Level 4, which might grant an additional +20% bonus, being up to +80%. Like this, I n to slowly upgrade the level of this Skill using Skill Points so I can, in exchange, level up faster.


    However, aside from all of this level up business, there''s something even more important that has happened in my life, the birth of my siblings. My mother had finally given birth a week ago, she did it rather well and without anyplications, as my grandmother helped her. I healed her with First Aid + Healing and Restorative Spells so she wouldn''t die out of exhaustion or pain, and the children were delivered easily.


    I¡­ was rather shocked when I saw them in the flesh, it was certainly a different experience than what I had imagined. In my previous life I never had a family, even less siblings. Having two siblings now was a rather big responsibility, but I couldn''t help but feel happy about being given the chance to have siblings.


    The children ended being twins, and had brown hair like my mother, with bright green eyes, one was a girl and the other a boy, although as babies, they looked identical. The girl was named Anna and the boy was named An.


    Since that day that I''ve been helping my parents take care of Anna and An, but as babies, they don''t do much other than sleeping.


    Though, every time I see them sleep peacefully, I can''t help but feel a soothing feeling in my heart.


    -----

 Chapter 357 My Two Little Siblings

    -----


    The reason behind the two F Rank Familiars created through Synthesis was because the [Familiar Synthesis: Lv1] Skill had already reached Level 2. Now, I can possibly create E Rank Familiars using Synthesis, but because Ick E Rank Familiars, I can''t do this yet. The other skills are getting closer to level 3 already, so I might be able to upgrade some of my F Rank Familiars into E Rank, as I''ve umted a lot of their respective Spirit Orbs. Synthesis Familiars are hard to make though, as I can only produce their cards by fusing the respective cards that create them, therefore, they usually take three times as much MP as the others, this is why I''ve only summoned 1 Shell and 3 Falcos for now, more than this would be destroying my daily MP.


    Nheless, all of such things didn''t seem to matter, as it was my turn to change my sibling''s diapers. I asked Eleanora for help, but she seemed unwilling, so I had to take over the trial by myself. It was arduous and filled with suffering but remembering how my mother did the same when I was less than a year old reminded me that I had to give her back such a favor by helping her with my siblings.


    "Babaaaahh!"


    The little Anna''s bright green eyes were open wide as her tiny hands pointed at me. Just yesterday she had be rather active, exploring the world with her eyes and tiny hands, although she can''t even move yet.


    "And done¡­ You''re all clean now. Magic is sure convenient when changing diapers and washing babies." I sighed, I''ve been using water and light magic such as [Water Ssh] and [Clean] to clean the two children whenever they got their diapers nasty. I''ve also spent some of my savings buying a lot of new clothing that are used as diapers, as Anna and An usually use two diapers a day.


    "Buuuhh¡­"


    Anna gave out a groan as she seemedpletely clueless about whatever I was talking about. I sighed a bit as I smiled and gently petted her little head, it was very warm. Suddenly, her tiny hand reached to my own, as she tightly grabbed my index finger. Her hand was so small and delicate that I was afraid I would hurt her.


    "Bahh¡­"


    "What''s wrong?"


    I looked at the little Anna as she suddenly¡­ smiled.


    "Bah!"


    "You''re smiling¡­ I think this is the first time you smile, Anna."


    She kept extending her other hand towards me, and I couldn''t help but give her my other hand''s index finger to grab it, as she held both of them, she seemed happy. Her little fingers were very warm, warming up my cold hands.


    I couldn''t help but smile myself.


    "You''re precious¡­" I sighed in lower voice, as I let go of her little hands and gave her a kiss in her forehead. "Sleep for now."


    I gently covered her in nkets and left her there. Anna was very calm most of the time, and after a few minutes, she fell asleep almost immediately.


    "Baaaahh! BAAAAH!"


    However, her twin brother quickly woke her up as he began to cry.


    "What''s wrong, An? You''re such a crybaby¡­" I sighed, as I went to look at him.


    "Buhh¡­ Sniffle¡­ BAAAH!" An suddenly began to cry even louder when he saw my face, as if I had spooked him.


    "Mother, can youe? I think An is hungry."<sub> </sub>


    "Coming!"


    My mother quickly walked to the second floor and entered the room where both babies were, which was also the room where my parents slept. She gently held him in her arms and began breastfeeding him. He indeed was hungry.


    "I''ll go finish what you were cooking then." I said.


    "Thank you dear." My mother replied, as I ran downstairs.


    "Life with babies is surprisingly busy." Eleanora said, appearing at my side.


    "Well, would you look at that, a coward has appeared." I said, while looking at the stew my mother was preparing.


    "I-I am not a coward!" Eleanora angrily said.


    "You said this family was also yours, but you don''t even want to help at dealing with the children." I sighed. "I can confidently say you''re a coward."


    "Ugh¡­ I-I just am not good with kids, okay?!" Eleanora angrily said. "I¡­ apologize for not helping. I''ll try."


    "Oh you''ll surely will, I was already nning on forcing you to help anyways." I said. "But I''m d you''ve changed your mind. The next diapers will be changed by you. My mother was alsoining you don''t help at all."


    "Ugh¡­ Okay¡­" Eleanora sighed, she lookedpletely defeated.


    "I''m home!"


    Suddenly, my father entered the house by opening the door wide open, bringing with himself a small wild boar calf, a young giant wild boar usually has the size of a gray wolf, and their meat is usually tender and more delicious as well, it seems that his hunt went well.


    My father had resumed his hunting sessions with his hunter friends thesest weeks, and had brought something almost every day, even if small. He had said "I cant let my kid bring meat every day, I also gotta work myself!". And so, he had been in charge of bringing meat to the house since then.


    "Oh, a young wild boar¡­ Can I have the spirit orb to strengthen Orcus?" I wondered.


    "Hmmm¡­ Sure." My father hesitated for a bit but decided to still gift the spirit orb to me. "We could sell it but its not as if we have any money problems."


    "Thanks father. Food will be ready soon, bring that to the storage." I said.


    "On it!" My father quickly went to bleed the wild boar carcass as I decided to serve the stew, with recently baked bread and herbal tea.


    My family quickly gathered to eat together, as we enjoyed yet another day together.


    Knowing that in a year and a half I''ll have to leave my house has made me appreciate each day I spent with everyone even more¡­


    -----

 Chapter 358 Time To Spar More

    -----


    It has been a week ever since then, and today, I have gathered with my friends once more. This time, I wanted to bring them to a special hunting quest that we had taken from the adventurer guild.


    They all had gone hunting by themselves by now, either with their parents, protectors, or with me. Last week we had a small hunting session with Erika, Chris, and Eric, where I lend them all the kills they could find.


    As of now they''re more than capable of hunting Gray Wolves, Horned Rabbits, and even Shadow Crows without issues, and we even encountered arge herd of giant wild boars, which we hunted four of them. My level, thanks to the alchemy I''ve been doing in the background and also the boost granted by [Hard Worker] once more increased by one, reaching Level 9.


    And of course, monsters. They had begun to multiply a lot thesest months, and the forest has never been this lively before. Enormous herds of over fifty wild boars roam freely eating vegetation, gray wolves'' packs had never been thisrge before, and horned rabbits had multiplied so much they have be a problem as they have begun to eat the crops of the vigers.


    Hunting has be once more a big activity in the vige to keep the monster poption at bay, adventurers and hunters alike join together inrge teams to go hunting almost daily, my father have joined a few of them too.


    I have yet to truly figure out how did monsters multiply so fast in here, but I can guess that it might be because of the miasma left by the many demons dying, although they infected some areas near the swamp, miasma also made monsters multiply faster as it enhances their body growth and help them mature faster, meaning they can get more children faster too.


    However, the previous issue had yet to be addressed, a rather faraway area of the forest had been infected with too much demonic miasma, making monsters mutate into Demonic Beasts. Adventurers had barely done much about it, and hunters are not strong enough to get there leisurely either. Strong adventurers just go hunt at the grasnds and the others usually get better paid with less risks in the londs, so this "Miasmic Swamp" as it has been called has been left mostly alone, letting the mutated creatures in there mutate too much.


    The guild master decided to give Eleanora, the most active adventurer so far, a special quest to go explore this area and find anything that might give a reason behind the monsters mutating so fast, which came with a good reward in Telis, which means we are going too. But it would be a waste if I didn''t bring my friends to help them level up, so I decided to gather them into a party. Elizabeth and Erdrich had alsoe but without the other annoying priests, as this was a rather major secret I didn''t wanted anybody to know about.


    And quite honestly, I also wanted to use this expedition to see their growth and interact more with everybody, as thisst month and a half I''ve been doing too many things on my own.


    "So is everybody ready?" I wondered, inspecting everyone.<sub> </sub>


    <o>,m We had all gathered early in the morning for this expedition, as it might take us an entire day or even more toplete it. I also didn''t just wanted to explore the area and investigate, I wanted to eliminate as many Demonic Beast as I could find to destroy this threat from attacking the vige. And well, to get as much EXP as I can. If there''s some big boss monster there, that would be ideal.</o>


    "I am! Anytime, ke! Let''s have fun together!" Erika said with high spirits, she had herrge sword sheathed and was even holding a small shield I had crafted for her in her left arm. She was also wearing some armor over her shoulders and chest for extra protection.


    "I am a bit nervous¡­ But I can''t miss this opportunity to show off how much I''ve grown!" Chris said with a smile, he was wearing simr small armor equipment over his body, alongside a long staff with a red jewel on top, a magic weapon he bought with his savings, which enchants his fire magic power, he also uses it forbat as I trained him to use staffs as his main weapon. They''re all martial art techniques.


    "Ugh¡­ I shouldn''t really go there but thinking about what sort of materials might be lying in that faraway ce fills me with enough curiosity to join you guys¡­" Sighed Eric. "I''ll keep myself in the back though¡­" Eric seemed slightly nervous, more than Chris. His clothes were simpler, but chest and shoulder armor were a necessity, alongside that, he had a new bow his uncle and aunt bought for him, and a Spatial Inventory Bag I gifted to him to store his potions and other items.


    "Anytime ke! I''m as good as ready." Erdrich said, he was wearing a pair of knuckles made out of bones from the wyvern that Ellergest managed to get for himself, hemissioned a crafter from the vige to make them for him as a gift for his birthday. After I infected them with demon blood, those knuckles became deadlier and have greater strength, while being able to absorb blood from monsters to grow stronger and evolve. His clothes were the simplest and he only brought chest armor protecting where his heart is, anything else would get in the way of his half-demon transformation, which he has mastered quite a lot.


    "Me too! I''ll heal and protect you guys¡­! Let''s purify this area so it doesn''t be a big problemter." Elizabeth said, she had been worried about this swamp before I even told her about it. It appears the priests had discussed this but seemed reluctant to go investigate, as they''re quite cowardly. She wore the simplest clothes but chest and shoulder armor, alongside a golden staff her father gifted to her, and a tiara that enchants her magic power.


    The entire party was more than ready to depart.


    "Then let''s go on our first adventure together, everyone." I said, leading everyone into the woods.


    -----

 Chapter 359 Going Into One Last Adventure

    -----


    As we walked into the woods, everyone followed my lead. It wasn''t as if they didn''t knew how to move themselves around the woods, as they had gone on their own expeditions before, and their parents/protectors had taught them well how to orientate themselves within the enormous forest that surrounded our vige. As for Erika, as her father was too old, she had learned almost everything from me. At this point it felt like she was always my little sister. And while we were at it, I checked my status.


    -----


    Name: ke Hunter Goathorn.


    Race: Human


    Spirit Orb Realm: Rank 1 (Peak Stage)


    Physique: Vampiric Blood Emperor Physique (Tier 2: Rank 5)


    Job ss: [Invoker: ¡ï]


    Subss: [Alchemist: ¡ï]


    Level: 7/30 -> 9/30


    EXP: 35400/90000


    < Health Points: 493/493 -> 546/546 >


    < Mana Points: 945/945 -> 1012/1012 >


    < Strength: 512 -> 563 >


    < Agility: 372 -> 418 >


    < Vitality: 382 -> 431 >


    < Intelligence: 627 -> 688 >


    < Dexterity: 412 -> 461 >


    Spirits (1/1): [Half-Vampire: Eleanora (Rank 1 Peak Stage)]


    Physique Abilities: [Tier 1: Body Strengthening (+Demonic Arm)] [Tier 1: Enhanced Senses] [Tier 2: Vampiric Eyes (+Demon Eyes of Paralysis)]


    Link Skills:


    [Link (Eleanora): [Shadow Sneak: 3]


    Passive Skills: [Acrobatics: Lv4] [Robust Body: Lv4] [Hard Worker: Lv2] [Hawk Eye: 4] [Gifted Magic Apprentice: Lv4] [Heavy Drinker: Lv2], [Intimidation: Lv2]


    Active Skills: [Throwing Technique: Lv4] [Spearmanship: Lv3] [Butcher: Lv3] [Alchemy: Lv2] [Brewing: Lv1] [Synthetize: Lv1] [First Aid: Lv4], [Command: Lv2], [Cooking: Lv2] [Agriculture: Lv1]


    Magic Skills: [Blood Edge: Lv2] [Create/Delete Familiar: Lv2] [Summon/Unsummon Familiar: Lv2] [Familiar Storage Expansion: Lv2] [Familiar Synthesis: Lv2] [Apprentice Alchemist Recipe Book: Lv1] [Spirit And Master Connection: Lv1]


    Title Skills: [Beast yer: Lv2] [Demon yer: Lv2] [Savior: Lv2] [ughter King: Lv1] [Dragon yer: Lv1] [Kin yer: Lv1]


    Avable Stat Points: 20


    Avable Skill Points: 10


    Can gain 10 Stat Points and Skill Points with each Level.


    Curses:


    EXP required to level up x100


    Proficiency required to learn techniques and skills x100


    Mana/Qi/Aether Recovery speed decreased by -50%


    -----


    My MP has finally reached 1k, and my other stats had increased quite nicely as well. My skills had stagnated in level, but they''ll soon level up as I''ve been training them nonstop diligently.


    "Ugh, this is boring, when are we finding a monster?" Wondered Erika.<sub> </sub>


    We had been walking for roughly and hour nonstop, but Erika seemed to be growing bored already.


    "Come on, Erika, you can''t expect monsters to appear at every corner of the damn forest." Said Chris.


    "Yeah, be more patient." Said Eric.


    "Ugh, both of you are so boring." Sighed Erika. "ke, can''t we mount your wolves to get there faster?"


    "No, walking is a good exercise to raise Strength and Vitality Stat, so we are walking with our legs, exercise your muscles, everybody. Also even your stats increase over time, Erika. The more you use your soul, the higher your Mana and Intelligence will rise." I said. Although Erikacked muscture to develop through exercise, by moving her body using her soul, like a muscle, her soul develops too. The more her soul grows stronger, the more Mana and Intelligence she gains.


    "Uuuggh¡­" Erika groaned.


    "Well, I guess this is a good opportunity for all of us to talk about we had been doingtely." Erdrich said, he was always bringing out new topics when things got staled.


    "Hm!" Elizabeth nodded. "Last week we went to the wilderness with papa and the other priests!" Elizabeth said as she began to talk about what they didst week.


    "You did?" I wondered. "Which area?"


    "The londs! They wanted us to level up so we wouldn''t be behind you in terms of leveling. Papa said he wanted me to Awaken my Talent as soon as possible." Said Elizabeth.


    "I see- Wait, I''ve never known what''s your Talent all this time." I said.


    "Oh, my talent? Well, it is Priestess! It is only one star though, but papa said it has the potential to evolve into the [Saint] Talent, a three-star talent!" Said Elizabeth.


    "A [Saint]?!" Chris asked. "Aren''t those the women of legend that brought healing and happiness to the kingdoms in the past? It is said that a Saint is born every hundreds of years, usually because a great catastrophe is about toe to this world¡­ they''re like the hope of the people or something, alongside those with the [Hero] Talent." Chris added.


    "Interesting, so there are legends regarding talents¡­" I said.


    "Eeeeh? I don''t think I am THAT important, after all I wasn''t born a Saint." Said Elizabeth.


    "That''s right¡­" Chris said, quickly calming down.


    "Well, what did you hunted?" I wondered.


    "We went to an abandoned vige which was being taken over by a group of Goblins, there are a surprisinglyrge amount of tribes of them." Said Erdrich. "We had to exterminate this Goblin Settlement which was too close to our vige here. It wasn''t anything too difficult because we had Ellergest with us, and the goblins were less than a hundred, but I''m pretty sure I "Leveled up" as you call it, a couple of times."


    "Yeah! We learned new Skills too." Elizabeth said. "I''ll show them to you whenever there''s an opportunity."


    "I see, well, I am looking forward to that."


    The moment I said such words, I felt a strange odor quickly reach my nostrils, as I looked into the distance using [Hawk Eyes], spotting arge concentration of ck essence with a toxic, acidic smell. This was miasma, it seems we have finally reached our destination.


    "We are here."


    I quickly made everyone stop, as Erika''s eyes shone the brightest the moment she realized what was happening.


    "We are finally in the swamp?!"


    "Yes we are here¡­ Stop for now, I need to inspect if it is actually safe to get inside, miasma can intoxicate our bodies."


    I quickly walked forward and inspected the area using Falco, Familiars seemedpletely immune to the miasma, and so was Eleanora. I directly entered the range of the miasma, but nothing seemed to be happening to me. It was diluted enough to not be toxic as long as we keep our noses high above the ground.


    "It should be safe as long as you don''t directly smell the source of the ck fog, let''s get in."


    Everyone nodded silently, as we began to advance.


    However, quickly after, we sensed several bushes shake, as creatures quickly crawled out of their nests the moment they sensed our presences.


    It was a gray-furred group of wolves.


    "Oh, it''s just Gray Wolves, easy peasy~" Erika said. However, the wolf that emerged first suddenly opened a third and then a fourth eye over its face, alongside its tail, which was thrice as long and ended in a de-like bony tip.


    "GROAR!"


    "¡­Wait, those aren''t normal Gray Wolves at all!" Eric cried.


    "Demonic Beasts! They are way closer to the vige than I imagined¡­!" I said, quickly taking out my spear Gluttony from my shadow. "Let''s kill them quickly! There might be more groups nearby!"


    -----

 Chapter 360 Against Ferocious Demonic Beasts!

    -----


    Demonic Beasts are monsters infected with Miasma produced by demon corpses rooting away, or their blood spraying over the floor. Because of therge demon battle that urred some time ago, a lot of demon guts and blood ended being sttered over the forest floor. Some ended mixing into the ground, and ended infecting it with demonic energy, which after some time, ended turning into Miasma.


    Like this, over time, it continued to move across the forest, reaching these faraway swamps which are usually not visited by anybody. Although most of the forest was cleansed by the priest''s magic, this area ended being one of the few ces they couldn''t properly reach due to its distance.


    When monsters are infested with miasma, they either evolve and grow even stronger, or mutate and be Demonic Beasts, gaining traits from the Demons from another world and even being able to manipte demonic energy, just like this pack of roughly twelve Gray Wolves, who have mutated into horrid versions of themselves, with extra eyes, limbs, heads, and erged tails with de-like tips.


    The rming fact, however, was that they were way closer to the vige than I had imagined. It could be possible that they had already begun an expansion outside of the Swamps. And above all, that these Demonic Beasts might be being controlled. From what I''ve researched, they''re not cooperative with one another, even between the same species. This only means one thing, there might be some sort of leader that holds authority over them.


    "GROAR!"


    The first Gray Wolf to move forward attacked furiously, swinging its long, ded tail like a whip and trying to pierce my head with its tip.


    CLASH!


    However I swiftly evaded the simplistic attack, as I swung Gluttony with all my strength and shed the wolf''s tail cleanly, blood sprayed everywhere as the beast gave a groan of agony.


    SLASH!


    "GROARRR¡­!"


    The beasts reflexes were faster than normal Gray Wolves, the moment I sliced its tail it pounced at me with furious speed, opening its enormous jaws and attempting to bite my entire head. This wolf''s jaws were twice as big as the normal wolves, probably gigantism provoked by the miasma infecting its body.


    CLASH!


    Its jaws snapped right above me as I evaded his ferocious and lethal attack in time. I reinforced my Demonic Arm with Demonic Energy I''ve saved up and quickly pierced the wolf''s neck with it, grasping the beast''s jugr and quickly snapping it.


    CRASH!


    "GRYARR¡­!"


    The beast attempted to sh me with its ws before dying, but itcked the strength as it died almost instantly. I dropped the body in the floor, as the other Demonic Gray Wolves were already charging forward against our group.


    "ROAR!"


    "Finally, some monsters!" Erika said happily, as she had been craving for violence, apparently.


    SLASH!


    Her enormous sword attempted to sh the wolf running towards her.


    CLASH!


    However, she ended hitting the ground as the wolf swiftly evaded her attack with its superior speed and dexterity. To the surprise of the wolf, however, Erika didn''t end her attack there, as she swiftly began to spin while holding into her sword and using the [Dancing] Skill from her Princess Talent,bined with her Swordsmanship, she became a spinning sword.


    SLASH! SLASH! CLASH!


    "GRYAR!"


    The wolf attempted to defend himself from her attack but Erika''s speed while spinning was superb, in mere seconds her sword shed through the wolf''s body multiple times, as blood sttered over her sword. As it was cursed, the de began to easily absorb the blood and grow stronger.


    SLASH!<sub> </sub>


    With ast shing attack, the wolf''s head ended rolling over the floor, as Erika seemed slightly pumped up now. I don''t know what I''ve made her not, but it appears she had grown into quite the battle junky.


    "GROAR!"


    Two more wolves approached me from left and right, as I summoned Eleanora to take care of one, Blood, the Blood Wolf which was formerly an old Gray Wolf was also summoned by her side, as both fiercely fought against the two Gray Wolves.


    "WOOF!"


    Blood barked furiously as his aura suddenly unleashed a red color, generating blood through his newly awakened [Blood Edge] Skill and shaping the blood he summoned into small des which he fired from a long distance against his opponents.


    CRASH! CRASH!


    "RAAR!"


    "GROOAR!"


    Both Demonic Gray Wolves roared furiously at Blood''s attacks, as they suddenly unleashed auras of their own, of a simr red color as Blood''s Aura, but darker, mixed with ck color. These auras were Demonic Energy!


    "GRAARR!"


    One of the wolves opened their mouths and unleashed an enormous Demon Fireball. Demon Magic was lethal as it could infect wounds with demonic energy, a substance that easily made wounds rot away and could cause death in mere seconds.


    "WOOF!"


    Blood, however, didn''t fear the magic. He immediately conjured more Blood and shaped it into a shield, this was his other Skill [Blood Barrier]!


    BOOOM!!!


    The Demon Fireball exploded before the Blood Barrier, strong enough to easily shatter the barrier, but not strong enough for it to reach Blood afterwards, the barrier sessfully blocked the deadly attack!


    FLASH!


    Meanwhile, Eleanora emerged behind the wolf that had attacked Blood, as her Spear, Envy, swiftly pierced the wolf''s jugr, and then swung horizontally , slicing the creature''s head mercilessly!


    SLAAASH!


    Thanks to her amazing assortment of Skills specialized on stealthy movements and assassination, she received bonus damage whenever she surprised an opponent with an attack, giving her the ability to easily kill this monster strengthened with demonic energy.


    "GRARR!"


    The other wolf attempted to attack Eleanora while she was killing the wolf that attacked first, however, four F-Rank Fenrirs emerged from within the shadows of the Demonic Gray Wolf, fiercely biting its legs and incapacitating it!


    "Perish."


    CLASH!


    Using Gluttony, I pierced the wolf''s head and absorbed its blood through the weapon''s powers, strengthening it.


    Meanwhile, the rest of my party continued to fight the rest of the Demonic Gray Wolf pack we encountered, as I quickly gazed at arger figure at the distance, hiding behind some trees.


    -----

 Chapter 361 A Powerful Mutated Demonic Beast!

    -----


    Because I wanted my friends to level up and gather battle experience on their own, I have put my Familiars mostly at bay and only used them whenever things didn''t go as expected, as I''ve given the order to the Fenrirs lurking in my shadows to attack that Demonic Gray Wolf that tried to attack Eleanora''s back.


    "You didn''t really need to help me; I would had easily sliced it apart using the Ax you gave me." Said Eleanora while pouting.


    "The wolves wanted to fight as well; we got a whole pack of them after all." I sighed. "Although everyone seems to be handling things alright."


    I looked at the fights urring around me while keeping an eye at the beast slowly approaching us.


    "Light Ray!"


    Elizabeth unleashed a bright ray of light that impacted a wolf in front of her, burning its skin while temporarily blinding its eyesight.


    "RAAA!"


    Right after that, Erdrich ran forward, as his body quickly grew in size and red tattoos in the shape of mes began to emerge across his body. His fists hit the blinded wolf''s head like a hammer, crushing the beast into the ground.


    CRASH!


    The sound of the wolf''s skull shattering could be heard, that was a brutal way to kill a beast. Excellent.


    "ROAR!"


    However, another wolf approached Elizabeth from the back, thinking she was a defenseless girl besides her magic. However, Elizabeth''s senses, enchanted by her magical aura quickly reacted, as she swiftly evaded the wolf''s bite attack and then infused mana into her fists, punching the beast in the guts.


    BAAAM!


    "GRYAR¡­!"


    The wolf momentarily rolled over the floor, as the holy light energy of Elizabeth infected its body, weakening its demonic energy, which was like the beast''s lifeblood.


    "HYAAA!"


    Elizabeth used her staff to smack the wolf''s head, infusing Ki into her weapon so it could easily do more damage.


    BAAAM!


    "AWOOO¡­!"


    The wolf gave a pitiful howl as it died on the spot. Although her physical strength is not the strongest, thanks to her Holy Light Ki Aura enchanting her powers and giving her greater speed, reflexes, and super effective damage against demonic beasts, she was quite the lethal priestess.


    Meanwhile, as Erika soloed two wolves on her own with the aid of her various Dolls assisting her, Eric and Chrisbined their strength. Eric used his Spirit''s powers to control vines underground, catching Demonic Wolves with such vines and then using his spirit''s newly acquired skill [Drain] to drain away the wolves'' HP and MP slowly, weakening them in the process.


    "Take this!"


    After that, Eric fired several arrows together, imbued with his Nature Element and hitting the three wolves he caught with his vines, which quickly exploded as they hit the wolves'' bodies turning into woody branches that trapped the wolves even more, not even their sharp and ferocious jaws or their ded tails could free them so easily!


    "Well done Eric!" Chris said, quickly finishing the wolves by summoning his Fire Fox Spirit, which was now looking like a young juvenile than a baby fox. The mes invoked by Chris quickly consumed the three wolves into fiery and bright red explosions.


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!


    And as I nodded to their excellent teamwork, I looked into the distance, as arger than usual Gray Wolf approached. This beast was definitely a former Alpha Gray Wolf who had mutated into a Demonic Beast. It was around three-meters-tall, and it had three heads, each head had a single eye like a cyclops, but they were enormous, and shone with bright red light. Above all, it had three tails with sharp spear-like tips, and another pair of legs so it could run even faster.<sub> </sub>


    "A three-headed wolf?!" Asked Erdrich in surprise.


    "AWOOOOOO!"


    Suddenly, the three-headed wolf howled loudly, as several shadows lurking around us until now emerged, ten- no, twenty more Gray Wolves emerged, all of them mutated into Demonic Beasts.


    "M-More Gray Wolves!" Erika said in shock, although she was smiling.


    "That''s an Alpha, isn''t it?" Wondered Eleanora.


    "Yeah¡­" I said, looking at the beast from the distance. "It is nice it brought us even more EXP, but if it hangs around with us for too long, it might be too much of a problem, so let''s y it quickly."


    I quickly looked at everyone preparing to confront this new group of wolves.


    "Everyone, we''ll take care of the big one, make sure to not die!" I said, I couldn''t help but smile a bit as I felt my heart beating faster. This monster wasn''t weak at all, it was in fact, very strong! The thrill of a good and challenging fight really excited my small child''s heart.


    "Eeeh? That''s not fun! I want to fight it too!" Erikained, as she beheaded a Demonic Gray Wolf leisurely.


    "It is too strong for you guys, so until now, make sure to grind as many levels as you can from this big pack!" I ordered them, using [Command] to enhance their stats and strengthen them at the same time. As I rushed towards the boss, I also noticed another dozen more Demonic Gray Wolves approaching, the pack was big.


    "ROAR!"


    The Three-headed Demonic Wolf immediately noticed me as I approached it, barking furiously at me. Its three eyes suddenly shining bright red, just before I could approach it, a sudden change in my bnce made me almost trip over the ground.


    TRUUM!


    "W-What the¡­?!" I muttered in surprise, as I realized this beast was even stronger than I had previously thought.


    "My lord!" Eleanora cried, quickly trying to help me, but the wolf pounced at her furiously.


    CLAAASH!


    Its six legs had sharp ws, as all six limbs attempted to slice Eleanora into pieces. Eleanora gritted her teeth furiously as she used her spear to intercept each hit, quickly attempting to mix into the wolf''s shadows, only to be stopped by the wolf itself.


    "Ngh?! It can control shadows as well!" Eleanora said, as the wolf''s tails swept her into the ground.


    BAAAM!


    "Eleanora! Quickly eat an Apple!" I said.


    "Ugh¡­" Eleanora quickly tried to get up, as she took out an apple from her pocket and bite it, the apple quickly turned into bubbles of light.


    [Eleanora] has restored 500 HP]


    Not only this wolf was strong, but it had a Demonic Eye of Gravity, and above all, it could control Shadows.


    Now this is interesting.


    I knew this ce wouldn''t disappoint me.


    -----

 Chapter 362 The Dangerous Demonic Eye Of Gravity

    -----


    I ran towards Eleanora the moment I saw her fall into the ground. The moment she ate the apple and restored her HP, the three-headed wolf immediately activated its eyes once more.


    FLASH!


    The three eyes shone bright red, and suddenly manipted Gravity around us. The power of his Demonic Eye was amplified, as he actually had three of them together. In mere seconds, the monster was able to create a gravity field around us and shake it as he pleased.


    TRUUUMMM¡­!


    "Ugh¡­!"


    Eleanora quickly tried to keep her bnce but she was lifted off the ground and shaken, the same happened with me. However, even amidst this strange and unpredictable attack, I kept my cool.


    Mostly because I also had a Demonic Eye.


    FLASH!


    My eye shone bright red, as I infused Demonic Energy into it.


    In mere seconds, an invisible spark of lightning hit the three-headed wolf, as its entire body suddenly stopped moving, bingpletely paralyzed.


    "Orcus, charge!"


    I summoned four Orcus using my Grimoire, as four enormous wild boars with their backs covered in zing mes emerged, rushing towards the three-headed wolf.


    "GRRRRR¡­!"


    The wolf groaned angrily as his three jaws gritted their fangs.


    CLASH! CLASH! CLASH! CLASH!


    Four Orcus attacked the beast at the same time, attempting to crush its entire body on the spot.


    However, it was incredibly heavy and strong, the Orcus could only set part of its body aze as their powerful tusks and charging attacks barely did any damage.


    "GROAR!"


    And right after that, I felt a sharp pain in my Demonic Eye, as the wolf suddenly broke free from the Demonic Eye''s effect and unleashed a furious barrage of attacks using its three tails, shing against all four of the Orcus. It pierced their bodies several times, making them all explode into bubbles of light.


    POOF! POOF! POOF! POOF!


    So it is strong enough to break free from my Demonic Eye, huh? Well, this eye was from an Imp, so it is quite obvious it is not that strong, but it should have been evolving with my Physique. This only means one thing, this Demonic Wolf has more Demonic Energy than I do.


    Usually, there is a simple rule when demons fight against other demons, the one with greater reserves of demonic energy can easily overpower the other''s abilities or even curses, dispelling them by using brute force.


    "AWOOOO!"


    The three-headed wolf howled furiously, as it quickly ran towards us while we were still trapped in the Gravity Field!


    "ROAR!"


    Its three jaws immediately reached me, as they attempted to bite through my body and tear me apart. However, I quickly reacted.


    CLASH! CLASH! CLASH!


    I evaded its three jaws while maneuvering in the Gravity Field. It wasn''t as if I was a novice at maneuvering at zero gravity, as someone who has explored the vastness of the cosmos.


    "Take this!"


    I infused Blood Ki and Mana into Gluttony and quickly threw it as if it were a javelin. The energy imbued into my weapon guided it until it reached the wolf''s face, piercing the first eye from the row of three heads.


    CLASH!


    "GRYAAARRR¡­!"<sub> </sub>


    The wolf gave out a strange agonizing groan, as one of its eyes was destroyed. I had no other option than destroy them if I didn''t wanted to be annoyed by its Gravity manipting powers.


    FLASH!


    Meanwhile, Eleanora turned into a Blood Bat and then sneaked behind the wolf, using the speediness and feather-like weight that such a transformation gave to her to easily attack the wolf from behind. Her spear moved magisterially as it was imbued with her Blood Aura and her Shadows, unleashing several piercing attack against the beast''s entire body!


    CLASH! CLASH! CLASH! CLASH!


    "GRAARRR!" The wolf groaned furiously as its pelt was able to easily lessen the damage dealt by Eleanora. The beast immediately used Shadow Maniption to grab Eleanora''s shadows and bring her closer to it so it could bite her and tear her apart.


    However, I was there.


    "shing Light!"


    FLAAASH!


    "GRAR?!"


    I conjured the Tier 1 Light Attribute Magic Spell [shing Light], an almost inoffensive spell with the mere ability to conjure a sh of bright light. However, this was enough to easily weaken the shadows of the wolf, freeing Eleanora and helping her regain her bnce,nding into the floor.


    "GROAR!"


    The wolf was blinded momentarily, as it freed me from the powerful Gravity Field.


    "That''s more like it! Shell! Spin!"


    I summoned Shell, the enormous Rock Turtle, as therge beast immediately began to spin around at a high speed, shing against the three-headed wolf''s body and pushing it into the ground!


    BAAAAM!


    "AWOOO!"


    Shell attempted to attack it again, but the wolf furiously fought back, trying to attack. However, Shell hid inside of his turtle shell, as the wolf continuously attacked its resistant shell. By using Harden, his Vitality and HP doubled, making him even more tanky.


    CLASH! CLASH! CLASH!


    While the three-headed wolf was distracted attempting to kill Shell, I ran towards it and summoned ten res I had inside my Grimoire, who were enhancing my Intelligence and Mana Stats, and ordered them all to use [Fire Breath]!


    FLUOOOSH!


    Countless mes covered the three-headed wolf''s body, consuming its fur and burning its skin and face. The three-headed wolf quickly attempted to kill the res I had summoned by using its shadows.


    However!


    "Shell, [Seismic Wave]!"


    TRUUUUMMM¡­!


    I ordered Shell to unleash [Seismic Wave], causing a small earthquake that quickly made the three-headed wolf lose its bnce. The earth below him began to crumble and crack, as the wolf immediately ran away from his original position, fearing to fall into a pitfall!


    "Now!"


    And as I gave themand, Eleanora and Blood emerged behind the panicked three-headed wolf, the twobined their techniques and magic together, generating dozens of spear-shaped blood projectiles and firing them at the beast!


    CLASH! CLASH! CLASH! CLASH!


    "GRAARRRR¡­!"


    The three-headed wolf couldn''t help but cry in agony as it was showered by lethal attacks, its entire body being covered on deadly wounds that began bleeding intensively.


    This is it!


    -----

 Chapter 363 Great Gains

    -----


    The three-headed wolf continued to scream in agony as my Lizards continued firing their Fire Breaths at it, while Eleanora and Blood surprised the beast with a shower of blood projectiles. And at the same time, I quickly mounted a Fenrir and melded into the shadows with him, reaching the three-headed wolf in an instant.


    "What''s wrong? Feeling a little bit troubled there?" I asked. "Ax!"


    FLASH! FLASH! FLASH!


    I quickly summoned the five Ax I had saved up in my Grimoire, and by manipting them through the [Wind Gust] Tier 2 Wind Attribute Spell, Iunched them at the three-headed beast one after the other, as the living weapons unleashed their strongest attacks.


    CLASH! CLASH! CLASH! CLAAASH!


    "GRYYAAARRRR¡­!"


    The wolf gave out a pitiful groan unbefitting of an alpha of his species, the axes piercing through his flesh crudely as blood continued to bleed out of itsrge wounds. I happily absorbed his blood and then merged it with Gluttony, which I had grabbed back from the ground just now!


    I aimed the head in the middle of its three heads, and thenunched the spear with my Demonic Arm for extra strength!


    CLAAASH!


    "AWOOO¡­!"


    The wolf agonized, as the spear pierced through its middle head, but it didn''t died yet. Perhaps I had to kill all three of its heads for it to die? How troublesome of a beast.


    "You''re a persistent bastard, aren''t you?" I sighed, as I immediately reappeared behind the monster, just for its three tails to attack me.


    "WOOF!"


    Blood emerged before me as he unleashed his [Blood Barrier] several times, creating tenyers in a mere second.


    CLASH! CLASH! CLASH!


    The three-headed wolf''s tails hit the barriers instead, breaking them one after the other, but ultimately failing to hit us as we swiftly evaded while the tails destroyed the barriers Blood created.


    Perhaps I need some aerial support.


    "Falco! Huginn!"


    "CRAAA!"


    "CRYAA!"


    Four ck crows and three green falcons emerged in the skies, as they attacked the wolf from above with slicing winds and shadow feather projectiles, bombarding its entire body and putting more tension on it.


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!


    The dangerous beast quickly noticed the presence of aerial attacks, as it swiftly evaded them one after the other, quickly reaching my way once more. Its three enormous jaws quickly attempted to devour me.


    However, this was exactly what I wanted!


    "Spore!"


    I summoned two of the Spores I had in my reserves and let them unleash all their spore attacks inside the open jaws of the three-headed wolf.


    POOOF!


    "AAGRR¡­.!"


    The wolf immediately felt the adverse effects, losing bnce and suddenly rolling over the floor. The two Spores were almost devoured before I brought them back into Card Form and stored them.


    "GRARR¡­ GGRR¡­!"


    The beast struggled, trying to stand up but feelingpletely dizzy. The powerful skills of Spore were all dedicated to annoying the target with paralyzing poison, poison that deals damage over time, and even smoke that makes a foe confused.


    I slowly walked towards the wolf, as I took back my spear stuck into its body.


    "GGRRR¡­"


    The monster''s eyes locked into me, as he attempted to create another Gravity Field.


    However, it failed.<sub> </sub>


    "GRAR?!"


    "You''re out of Demonic Energy, aren''t you? What a pity, it would had been fun if thissted a bit longer."


    Infusing Ki and Mana into my spear, I sliced the wolf''s necks all at the same time. It offered almost no resistance, as its body waspletely weakened by all the attacks it ended taking.


    SLAAASH!


    The three heads rolled over the ground, as the fresh scent of blood filled my nostrils.


    "That beast was more troublesome than I imagined." Eleanora said, emerging at my side with Blood.


    "Yeah, well, a beast is a beast. Let''s not put too much hope into a monster like this."


    I quickly stored the entire beast carcass into Eleanora''s shadows, which were already big enough to store hundreds of things inside, as I quickly joined the fight with everybody else.


    .


    .


    .


    After half an hour of fighting without stopping, we found ourselves sitting over dozens of corpses of Demonic Gray Wolves. The amount ended reaching almost sixty. It was a gigantic quantity of wolves in a single pack, led by this three-headed creature. If they had ended sneaking into the vige, casualties were almost guaranteed even if the adventurers and hunters were to take measures immediately.


    [Calcting EXP earned¡­]


    [You earned 208000 EXP]


    [Your Level has increased from Level 9 to Level 10!]


    [Your Level has increased from Level 10 to Level 11!]


    [All your stats have increased]


    [You gained Stat Points and Skill Points]


    [You learned the [Shadow Maniption: Lv1] Skill]


    Level 11 already¡­ It didn''t took me as long as I imagined. And not only that, but I acquired a new Skill, and it is one that wille very handy in the future from now on.


    -----


    [Shadow Maniption: Lv1]


    Skill Proficiency: 0/10000


    Only those incredibly proficient in Shadow Magic can acquire this Skill. It grants power over the element of shadows limited by the Skill Level and mastery over Shadow Magic, the range of this Skill is also dependent in the Skill Level. Additionally, it grants a +20% enhancement to the power of any Shadow/Darkness Attribute Magic Spell, alongside special techniques unlocked with each Skill Level.


    Avable Shadow Techniques:


    Level 1: [Shadow Domination] [Dark Whip]


    -----


    Hoh, now this is interesting! [Shadow Domination] seems to grant the power to Dominate inanimate objects and turn them ck-colored, granting them special and magical properties, it is something simr to enchanting or even cursing and could be used for weapon creation. And [Dark Whip] creates arge whip made of shadows to strike or capture enemies, simple and useful enough. The more this Skill level ups, the more abilities I will be able to unlock, this seems rather interesting.


    However, for now¡­


    [You have exchanged 30 Skill Points]


    [The [Hard Working: Lv3] Skill has gained +30000 Skill Proficiency]


    [The [Hard Working: Lv3] Skill has Leveled Up!]


    Of course, I have my priorities.


    -----

 Chapter 364 Taking A Small Break

    -----


    After the hunt of Demonic Gray Wolves ended, we decided to quickly take a small break before continuing our investigation. I had taken a good look at everybody''s progress over the battles, and although some of them struggled and even ended wounded, they all pulled through until the end.


    As they are not Cursed like I am, everyone ended leveling up way more than I did. While I gained 2 levels, everyone else probably gained six or eight levels, depending how low level they were. I don''t know what level caps they have, but I''m fairly sure they had surpassed Level 10 some time ago now.


    And talking about stats¡­


    -----


    Name: ke Hunter Goathorn.


    Race: Human


    Spirit Orb Realm: Rank 1 (Peak Stage)


    Physique: Vampiric Blood Emperor Physique (Tier 2: Rank 5)


    Job ss: [Invoker: ¡ï]


    Subss: [Alchemist: ¡ï]


    Level: 9/30 -> 11/30


    EXP: 32900/110000


    < Health Points: 546/546 -> 586/586 >


    < Mana Points: 1012/1012 -> 1072/1072 >


    < Strength: 563 -> 603 >


    < Agility: 418 -> 458 >


    < Vitality: 431 -> 471 >


    < Intelligence: 688 -> 748 >


    < Dexterity: 461 -> 501 >


    Spirits (1/1): [Half-Vampire: Eleanora (Rank 1 Peak Stage)]


    Physique Abilities: [Tier 1: Body Strengthening (+Demonic Arm)] [Tier 1: Enhanced Senses] [Tier 2: Vampiric Eyes (+Demon Eyes of Paralysis)]


    Link Skills:


    [Link (Eleanora): [Shadow Sneak: 3]


    Passive Skills: [Acrobatics: Lv4] [Robust Body: Lv4] [Hard Worker: Lv2] [Hawk Eye: 4] [Gifted Magic Apprentice: Lv4] [Heavy Drinker: Lv2], [Intimidation: Lv2]


    Active Skills: [Throwing Technique: Lv4] [Spearmanship: Lv3] [Butcher: Lv3] [Alchemy: Lv2] [Brewing: Lv1] [Synthetize: Lv1] [First Aid: Lv4], [Command: Lv2], [Cooking: Lv2] [Agriculture: Lv1]


    Magic Skills: [Blood Edge: Lv2] [Shadow Maniption: Lv1] [Create/Delete Familiar: Lv2] [Summon/Unsummon Familiar: Lv2] [Familiar Storage Expansion: Lv2] [Familiar Synthesis: Lv2] [Apprentice Alchemist Recipe Book: Lv1] [Spirit And Master Connection: Lv1]


    Title Skills: [Beast yer: Lv2] [Demon yer: Lv2] [Savior: Lv2] [ughter King: Lv1] [Dragon yer: Lv1] [Kin yer: Lv1]


    Avable Stat Points: 40


    Avable Skill Points: 0


    Can gain 10 Stat Points and Skill Points with each Level.


    Curses:


    EXP required to level up x100


    Proficiency required to learn techniques and skills x100


    Mana/Qi/Aether Recovery speed decreased by -50%


    -----<sub> </sub>


    I have umted 40 Stat Points which I''ve had yet to distribute, as I''ve been thinking about my Stats for some time. The necessities of what I want to prioritize the most are always changing as I develop, but I''ve noticed that the stats that grow the slowest are Agility, Vitality, and Dexterity.


    However, thanks to enhancement magic and the assistance of Eleanora and my Familiars, alongside my friends in here, those stats are usually not as important as dealing as much damage as I can. All my past Stat Points had been distributed to either MP or Strength for obvious reasons, dealing more damage means I can kill my opponents faster¡­ And that three-headed wolf didn''t go down as easily, perhaps due to myck of physical damage.


    Hm, it is not good to be impulsive about these things, but I suppose I''ll go for the safest option.


    [You have exchanged 40 Stat Points, you gained +40 Strength]


    FLASH!


    Much like always, the moment I applied those Stat Points into my Strength, I felt my body and muscles develop rapidly, which usually hurt quite a lot. However, this time it didn''t hurt at all.


    "Huh, it didn''t even hurt this time¡­" I said, looking at my body.


    "Perhaps it is due to your developed physique?" Wondered Eleanora.


    "Hm, you might be right."


    "Hahh¡­ I''m tired¡­" Erika sighed, looking like she was exhausted out of her life.


    "Ugh, that was so intense¡­" Eric sighed. "Should we go back home now? We have hunted more than enough, right?"


    "Y-Yeah, I think even ke would agree." Said Chris. "Right?"


    "Haha, of course this was merely a warmup." I said. "I already told you we were going to the swamps and quite possibly defeat anything that was controlling these monsters in the process. And we''ll do so. This will make you all stronger, and also forge our bonds aspanions. If we can learn from one another''s techniques and magic while learning battle experience, when we go to the dungeons in the capital, we''ll be able to coordinate even better."


    "Y-You''re insane¡­" Eric said.


    "Well, that''s that! Not like we can really change his mind." Chris added.


    "Can we eat something before at least?" Erika asked with puppy eyes.


    "Food¡­ I''m hungry¡­" Elizabeth groaned, looking like a noodle over the floor by how weak she felt.


    "A good meal might raise everyone''s spirits." Said Erdrich.


    "SIGH¡­ I know you''re all asking me to make food, I''ve brought everything necessary." I sighed.


    I quickly took out arge pot, made a bonfire, and cut down vegetables and meat I brought with myself, added water using magic, and some salt and spices, and began boiling everything. This was a quick stew made out of wild boar meat, potatoes, carrots, onions, and other things we harvest in my house. Usually when people exhausts their MP and Ki, they feel incredibly hungry, so this is essentially for them, a super fortifying stew.


    As the stew was being prepared, I began feeding my Ne and Gluttony some of the blood from the carcasses lying around, while Eleanora stored them afterwards. I had Huginn and Falcos surrounding our perimeter so they could alert me of any monster that might appear as well.


    "ke, what are you doing?" Wondered Erika, getting closer to me.


    "Oh? I am absorbing the blood of these monsters, Cursed Weapons and essories grow stronger by absorbing blood. Want to give it a try?" I wondered.


    "Eh? So that''s how they do it!" Erika said in surprise, quickly taking out her de. "T-Then¡­!"


    C L A S H!


    She quickly pierced the body of one of the carcasses lying around, as blood began to be absorbed, making her sword shine bright red.


    F L A S H!


    "Uwaaah!"


    Erika was suddenly startled by the bright light, as I managed to catch her with my arms.


    "Are you okay?"


    "Y-Yes¡­"


    Erika was blushing a bit, as I quickly noticed something.


    Her sword had changed shape.


    -----

 Chapter 365 Weapon Evolution

    -----


    "Would you look at that, your sword has evolved, Erika."


    I pointed at Erika''s sword, but she didn''t seem to be paying attention, instead, she was simply looking at me while growing redder.


    "Erika?"


    "AH! Y-Yes!"


    She quickly stood up straight and looked into the sword in the floor.


    "Eh? It really changed! Is this evolution?"


    Erika quickly grabbed her sword again. Instead of looking ck and rusty, it now had several red decorations over its de, and any rusty part waspletely cleansed, the sword looked brand new now. It was shining with an eerie bright red aura.


    "Indeed, my weapon has already evolved three times by now, every time they do, the weapon gains bonus Stats and also increase their Level Cap." I said.


    "E-Eh? Weapons have stats?" She wondered.


    "I guess you can''t see them yourself, but yes, just like us. The more you feed these cursed items with blood or souls, the stronger they grow." I said. "Make sure to feed them the blood of what you hunt whenever you go into hunting by yourself."


    "I see¡­ I will!" Erika said happily. "M-More importantly¡­"


    "Hm?"


    "It has been a while since I went to your house, ke¡­ Can I go take a visit?" She wondered.


    "Sure, my parents are missing you. You can also meet Anna and An again." I said.


    "Oh right! Your siblings!" She said. "I wonder how big they have grown¡­ they were so cute thest time I saw them!"


    "They''re really cute." I said with a nod.


    "And can I stay overnight too?" She wondered.


    "Sure."


    "And sleep in your bed too?" She asked again.


    "Sure."


    "Yaaay!" Erika began to celebrate by raising her arms happily.


    The rest of our group was ring at our conversation in silence, but I quickly noticed a rather deadly gazeing from¡­ Elizabeth.


    In a second, as if she turned into a sh of light, she appeared right before us.


    FLASH!


    "Eh?! Elizabeth?" Erika asked in surprise.


    Elizabeth, however, ignored Erika as she directed her gaze at me.


    "Can Ie to your house too? I''ve never had the chance! It is unfair that Erika can and I can''t!" She pouted childishly.


    "Elizabeth¡­ Since when you have acted like a spoiled girl?" I wondered. "And sure you cane-"


    "W-Wait a second! She can''te the same day I do!" Erikained, crossing her arms.


    "Hm? Why not?" I asked.


    "B-Because it is our special time together!" Erika angrily answered.


    "B-But I also want special time together with ke¡­" Elizabeth asked.


    These two little girls were like little sisters to me, but Erika has been someone I''ve known since I was a toddler, it is obvious that my bond with her is stronger than Elizabeth. However, Elizabeth seems rather reluctant toe to my house¡­ It is rather obvious those two girls might like me, but¡­ they''re kids, I can''t really have the same feelings towards them.


    How can I deal with this situation without breaking their hearts? I don''t really want to make this worse.


    Hm¡­


    "Well, you cane the day after, Elizabeth." I said.


    "R-Really ke?" Elizabeth asked.


    "Yeah." I said. "Erika, I hope that''s okay."<sub> </sub>


    "Ugh¡­ y-yeah." Erika sighed.


    I felt the obligation of petting both girls in their head to calm them down. Elizabeth''s eyes seemed to be shining brightly, while Erika seemed slightly angered, but didn''t voiced her opinion about it at the end.


    <o>,m "Huh, how nice¡­" Eleanora said behind me. "You''re really a Casanova, aren''t you, my lord?"</o>


    "Eleanora, stop this¡­" I sighed.


    After trying to resolve Eleanora''s jealously, which had evolved into some sort of teasing she does with me, the stew was ready. We quickly sat around the bonfire and began eating the delicious food to recover our stamina.


    And while I ate, I noticed that Chris, Eric, and Erdrich were giving me looks of pity.


    "What?" I wondered.


    "It must be hard, isn''t it?" Sighed Chris.


    "Being popr with girls is surely a thing of ke¡­" Eric said.


    "I don''t know if I should feel jealous or relieved." Said Erdrich.


    "Look, it is not something I wanted, okay?" I said. "It just happened¡­"


    "I-I think it is better that way to be honest." Eric sighed in relief.


    "Yeah, I would hate to be in your ce to be honest." Chris said.


    "Sometimes people that are too powerful have to pay a price for what they have." Said Erdrich.


    "You three are not really taking this seriously are you?!"


    "We are!" Said Chris. "We are taking it seriously. It must be an arduous task, my friend." Chris processed to pat my shoulders. "But I''m sure that you can perseverate."


    While the girls were talking by themselves, Eleanora included, the boys seemed to have circled me to talk about something as well¡­


    "Hey, ke, which one do you like?" Wondered Erdrich.


    "¡­What?" I asked


    "Come on, you got three girls drooling for you man, who do you like?" Wondered Chris.


    "You''re too young to talk like this Chris, stop imitating your father''s way of speech." I sighed.


    "G-Geh¡­ That''s how I talk!" Chrisined.


    "I-I am quite curious as well¡­" Eric said.


    "So which one?" Wondered Erdrich.


    "I don''t want to talk about this¡­" I sighed, I felt like my soul was leaving my body as this trio of clowns were asking me something incredibly awkward.


    I can''t just tell them "I am actually a thousand-year-old reincarnated soul, so I feel no attraction to them", can''t I?


    "I believe they''re all my friends." I said. "I am not good with romance or anything like that. I am¡­ simply happy as long as we are all together and united. I hope whatever feelings they have for me are not something that will separate us one day."


    "A-Ah¡­ ke¡­" Chris said.


    "Of course not!" Eric said. "We''ll be friends for as long as I live!"


    "Y-Yeah, same." Erdrich said. "Sorry if it felt weird that we pressured you."


    "I guess¡­" Chris said.


    I sighed for a bit, as I gave them all a few pats in the back.


    "Being young is sure hard, isn''t it?" I sighed


    "Huh?"


    "Here he goes talking like an old man again¡­"


    "What does that even mean?"


    -----

 Chapter 366 Exploring Farther Territories

    -----


    After the food was ready, we decided to quickly eat to continue our journey. We sat around the fire and I shared a te of stew and a slice of bread with everybody, while also giving the Magic Juice made out of Apul, this way their MP will also restore quickly.


    As always, these kids seemed to over exaggerate about my cooking.


    "Hmmmm~! Ahh! So tasty!" Erika sighed, as her eyes shone brightly. "ke''s food is always such a tasty treat! I don''t know how he does it but it always feels so nice to eat his food!"


    "Yeah, you''re right, all my tension and stress is gone with a few spoons of this awesome stew." Erdrich added.


    "He might be a bit pushy or ruthless sometimes, but he sure loves cooking if his food is always so tasty." Laughed Chris.


    "Yeah, it was really shocking to know he had such an amazing talent at it." Eric added. "I love his food as well, he cooks better than my aunt!"


    "I-I''ve never eaten stew this tasty before, the meat is so soft as well as the potatoes and carrots were well boiled¡­" Said Elizabeth. "It is a magnificent meal, and the juice and bread go well with it! ke, you would make an incredible husband!"


    "I want seconds!" Erika said, as she had already finished her te. "ke''s going to be my husband so he''ll make yummy food for me every day after we get married! And then we''ll have lots of kids!" Erika began to daydream and spoke out whatever she had in mind.


    "What sort of weird fantasy are you even talking about?" I sighed. Well, she was young so I guess it is only natural to have such weird thoughts sometimes, they''re quite childish. "Erika if you don''t behave I won''t give you seconds."


    Erika''s smile quickly transformed into a gloomy and depressed expression.


    "Sorryyyy¡­" She began to apologize while lowering her head.


    "Sigh¡­ What am I going to do with you?" I sighed, quickly serving her more stew, this time I added more vegetables. "Also eat the carrots and onions, they''re nutrition even for your body."


    Her body is capable of absorbing nutrition and transform it into Mana, but I have also noticed that nutrients, vitamins, and all of that is also absorbed into her "living wood body" and therefore it makes her healthy as well. Vegetables in specific have more of this than meat which has protein, something her body doesn''t require as much as our fleshy bodies.


    "Here."


    "Uwah, thanks!"


    Erika quickly began to dig in again, as everyone had also finished their tes.


    "Seconds, please!" They almost said in unison.


    "Sigh¡­ Can you let me eat? You eat way too fast." I said, quickly serving them more before I was finally able to eat myself. They ate faster than what their size and ages could say about them.<sub> </sub>


    I had tasted my own cooking as well, and it was rather alright. It wasn''t anything insane as they said. Probably because they had never tasted many delicious things before, they believe what I made to be something of high-ranking cuisine. The ability of the [Cooking] Skill is the one enhancing vor and nutritional intake, while also granting food I made some sort of healing effect, although it is not as immediate or effective as actual healing items.


    When we finished eating things, we packed everything up and decided to move on at longst. Everyone was better than before. The hunt we did was intense and they all wanted to go back home due to their exhaustion but eating some of my food and then drinking Magic Juice to recover their MP faster was all it was needed to heal their exhaustion.


    "It seems that my lord''s cooking is very effective at healing exhaustion." Eleanora pointed out, sitting over my shoulders in her Blood Bat Form, which was small and unexinably fluffy looking.


    "Yes, I suppose." I sighed.


    I had sent three Huginn and two Falcos to scout the area before us while we were having lunch, and through my ability to share my vision with them, I was able to explore more the surroundingnds of the "Miasmic Swamps" as I''ve called them. It appears that there are several presences surrounding us around fifty meters away from us, so if we move forward, we''ll definitely fight another group of monsters.


    Which means more EXP!


    ¡­However, aside from my joy of earning tons of EXP and Leveling Up, there''s another thing to all of this, the mystery. There is certainly someone controlling these monsters. I was already able to tell due to how well coordinated the Demonic Gray Wolves were. The Alpha seemed to be controlled by something else as well.


    And doesn''t this all seems¡­ rather artificial? As I saw the entire area from the skies using my Familiars, I realized the entire swamp was made into a specific circr shape, withrge ck pirs made of what seem to be ck crystal forming some sort of cycle.


    Is someone behind this? Certainly, monsters alone can''t do something soplex. Demons, maybe? I feel so much Demonic Energy everywhere that it is rather hard to guess if they''re demons or just demonic beasts.


    Oh well, we''ll find out as we get closer to the swamps.


    "Ugh, the smell is getting rather strong around here." Erika pointed out.


    We had been walking for roughly half an hour by now, and we had reached even deeper into the swamp woods. The miasma was releasing a toxic fog which was harmful for most people. If it wasn''t thanks to everyone having mastered Ki to enhance their physical abilities to resist basic poisons and toxins, everyone would already be unconscious. And of course, Erika is immune to these sorts of toxins anyways.


    "Yeah, that''s right¡­" Chris said.


    "W-We should really go back home now¡­" Eric seemed scared.


    "Come on, don''t be such a chicken!" Said Chris.


    "Ah¡­ I can feel something approaching." Elizabeth stopped the group from talking any longer, as the bushes surrounding us began to shake.


    -----

 Chapter 367 Fighting A Large Group Of Demons!

    -----


    We were surrounded. I had already seen them beforehand and I purposedly walked straight towards their ambush because I didn''t fear them in the slightest. Whatever these monsters were, they were only walking EXP bags for me.


    The bushes shook, as they emerged. I had already expanded my Aura and my Supernatural Senses and detected over twenty signals of life surround us. They were all carrying demonic energy, so they were either demons or demonic beasts, both things we didn''t had to doubt at all at the time of killing them.


    "Gryhihihihii¡­"


    "Woof!"


    The figures quickly emerged, a pack of ten Mutated Demonic Gray Wolves, five of them were two-headed and the other five were three-headed. Were they all as strong as the Alpha?! And not only that! They were being mounted by Imp Warriors, twice asrge as normal Imps, packed with muscles and bone and leather armor, and holding Cursed Demonic Weapons imbued with ck and red crystals.


    "W-Wait a second! These are Imps?! They''re bigger than normal!" Eric cried, stepping back and bumping over Chris back.


    Chris smiled defiantly against the challenge. "And they''ve got those big wolves that ke took care of! So many of them¡­ can we even fight all of them?! Didn''t ke had a difficult time dealing with a single one?! Heh! This is getting thrilling!"


    "Why are there demons in here?! Weren''t they all exterminated?" Asked Erdrich furiously.


    "Must be survivors from the war! Papa said there were many that ended surviving at the end¡­ Could they had escaped to the depths of the woods near the swamps?" Wondered Elizabeth.


    "These are only ten wolves though; I feel more presences behind them¡­" Said Erika.


    "For now, we''ll take care of them!" I said while using [Commanding] on all my friends. Their stats suddenly began to increase as they felt stronger than before thanks to the Skill''s effects.


    SPLASH!


    I summoned Moby right after that, as therge fish sshed us all with water, sparkling our clothes with it and then enhancing our Evasion and Agility.


    "Ugh, what with that fish?!" Asked Erika surprised.


    "It will make you faster, don''t overthink it!"


    "GROOARRR!"


    The Imps didn''t waited for us to speak any longer, the first one immediately leaped towards us. The giant three-headed wolf was literally the same I had beaten an hour ago, but it seemed slightly¡­ weaker? Is this because I had leveled up twice and my strength and physical abilities had improved? Whatever was the case, I easily avoided its attack by moving down my body.


    CLASH!


    And then, pointing my spear at it, I pierced the wolf''s chest, its heart quickly exploded inside of its body, as the wolf vomited a mouthful of blood, slowly losing some of its bnce and making the Imp mounting it panic.


    "Ugraah!" The Imp cried, as the wolf barely managed to keep itself standing.


    Even with a heart destroyed, it can still fight? Is this because it has been mutated into a Demonic Beasts? Certainly, demons are capable of surviving even having their hearts pierced.


    "Gggrrr¡­ GRAWR!"


    The wolf roared once more as it leaped towards me a second time. The Imp mounting the beast suddenly charged hisrge Demon Axe with his Demonic Energy, unleashing a horizontal attack against me.


    CLAAASH!<sub> </sub>


    However, a barrier made of light protected me, as Elizabeth right behind me was raising her staff and conjuring the spell.


    "Gryah?!" The Imp was shocked, as I took that opportunity to strike, enhancing my agility and body by the infusion of Blood Ki into my physique, I jumped several meters into the air, reaching over the crazed demonic wolf and then piercing the Imp''s head with my spear, reaching deep into its torso, and then piercing the wolf''s head as well. A second after, I sliced both of them vertically.


    SLAAASH!


    Both bodies fell into the floor right away, as blood sprayed everywhere, my entire body ended covered in the red blood of both demons. However, the EXP was worth it.


    "ze Storm!"


    While I had in my first victim out of the ten wolves being mounted by Imp Warriors, the rest of my party continued their fight. Chris pointed his staff against one of the approaching foes as a storm of zing mes erupted from the ground right below them.


    FLUOOOSH!


    "AWROOO!"


    "GRYAAH!"


    The scream of the two-headed wolf and the Imp were music to our ears, as Chris smiled rather cynically, quickly calling over his Spirit.


    "Spirit Technique: zing Fox Charge!"


    "Koon!"


    The small Fire Fox gave a small and slightly adorable groan, as Chris'' zing Fire Aura erupted from his body, both Mana and Ki were infused into his Spirit in a split of a second, as its entire body suddenly grew five times its original size, resembling a furious and enormous fire fox with three zing tails. This was Chris'' new Spirit Technique!


    "GROOAR!"


    FLUUOOSSSH!


    The enormous Fire Fox charged against the burned two-headed wolf and the Imp Warrior, shing against them in a loud explosion of fire, consuming them and burning them until they ended as ck as charcoal.


    BOOOOMMM!!!


    The explosion spread out further, catching two other mounted wolves and burning their bodies. Although they managed to run away and survive, these Spirit mes were persistent. Even if Demons were resistant to the fire element, when Ki and Spiritual Essence were added, such mes became more intense, enough to sometimes surpass their resistance against such elements.


    "Eric!" Chris called his friend as the two mounted wolves made their way towards them.


    "Damn it! I-I know!" Eric cowardly said, although his eyes seemed filled with a sharp confidence.


    His spiritual energy and, Ki, and Mana were infused into two arrows he pointed at the wolves and imps at the same time using his Cursed Bow. Thebination of all the elements together suddenly generated a sh of blight, both arrows were fired at the same time, impacting both mounted wolves at the same time, and then, exploding!


    <o>,m BOOM! BOOM!</o>


    ck vines suddenly began to grow out of the arrows, entangling the bodies of both of them!


    -----

 Chapter 368 Intense Battle

    -----


    Eric''s new Arrows were a creation of mine, of course. I had suggested him to leave his arrows submerged on Wyvern and Demon blood, as it would make them stronger and turn them into Cursed Arrows, with even a small chance to give them draconic effects. The two arrows he fired were submerged in thisbination, turning them into cursed arrows.


    When he infused the power of his Nature Element Ki and his Spiritual Essenceing from his Vine Spirit, a new technique was created, as Vines made out of Demonic Energy and a Dark Essence emerged, viciously entangling his foes, and absorbing their blood and demonic energy in the process!


    "The ck Demonic Vines really worked¡­ I guess I could call this a Spirit Technique as well?" Eric wondered while looking at the scenepletely bbergasted. His Spirit emerged around him in vines and red roses.


    "Gyshi!" It gave a small little sound. It seemed he was able tomunicate with his strange spirit rather well.


    "Graawrrr!"


    "Gryarraaa!"


    However, they were not dead yet.


    "Eric, don''t lose focus, let''s finish them!" Chrismanded, as he and Eric quickly finished off the two Imps and the wolves.


    They had surely grown stronger. It simply didn''t made any sense I would remain as the only one capable to take on monsters here. As they could level up several times faster than I did by not possesing Curses, it was obvious they would feel stronger quicker as they hunted many monsters and leveled up.


    "Go!"


    Erika was in the frontlines already fighting. Although we decided to not separate from one another by more than a few meters to remain in a group, she was a group by herself. The many dolls she could summon all emerged at once, quickly changing Jobs into Archers in an instant and bombarding one of her targets, a three-headed demon wolf being mounted by a horned Imp Warrior with hundreds of magic arrows.


    "Graarrr!"


    The Imp roared furiously as he was swinging hisrge de, unleashing aura shockwaves of his demonic energy around to destroy the annoying needle-sized arrows. Only for Erika to close by faster than the demon or the wolf could had predicted.


    "Gotcha!"


    CLANK!


    Her enormous de hit the Imp''s head with an enormously loud sound of metal crushing the bones of a living being. The Imp''s entire skull was shattered into pieces as its eyes flew off into the ground, the wolf immediately attempted to fight, as it suddenly attempted to bite Erika''s body with its three jaws!


    CLASH! CLASH! CLASH!


    However, the wolves were suddenly stopped as they bite through her body, immediately realizing she was not made of flesh at all, even their jaws felt pain and many of their fangs broke out of them when they realized Erika couldn''t be easily torn apart with bites alone.


    "GRAR!"


    Erika quickly tried to slice the three heads with herrge sword, but the wolf stepped back nimbly and evaded her blows. The three heads opened their jaws and decided to fight with magic, conjuring demonic mes and firing them at her!


    "Shielders!"


    FLASH!


    Her thirty summoned Dolls suddenly changed Jobs in an instant, turning into Shielders. They were not bigger than 30 centimeters but they were wearing metallic armor and shields twice as big as their bodies. By using their ability to float in midair, they assembled together into a formation, shielding Erika from the mes. Although many of them took the mes and began to burn into ashes, Erika was protected sessfully.


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!


    The fireballs continued to reach her and explode one after the other, as her dolls continued to turn into ashes. However, Erika sessfully caught up to the wolf and attacked it once more, spinning with her [Dance] Skill and employing her [Sword Mastery] Skill together into a spinning and deadly attack.


    CLASH! CLASH! CLAAASH!


    "AWROO!"<sub> </sub>


    The wolf had two of its heads beheaded in an instant, as it managed to step back and counter attack Erika with its sharp tails which ended on ded tips.


    SLASH!


    CLASH!


    However, Erika masterfully parried the tail attacks and then conjured a sudden explosion of pink-colored fog,pletely consuming the wolf in the process.


    POOF!


    "GRAWR?!"


    The wolf was suddenly left confused, as the illusory smoke began to confuse its own senses of direction, smell, eyesight, and even hearing. Suddenly, it felt as if the wolf was seeing several illusions of Erika round him, and he viciously attempted to fight them all with his tails and his only head, failing miserably as all were illusions.


    This was Erika''s new Illusion-Attribute Spell [Illusory Smoke], it is simr to what Spore can do, but even more strengthened thanks to her Loki''s Heart Ne. The wolf which now had only one head easily fell to this trick and began to attack the illusion of Erika, while the girl quickly began to slice through its body, damaging it constantly.


    SLASH! SLASH! SLASH!


    "And now¡­! Blood de!"


    FLASH!


    Her sword which had evolved recently used all the blood it absorbed from each sh from the wolf and shone bright red, generating a Blood Aura shaped into an even bigger sword and then¡­!


    SLAAAASH!


    "GRAAAAWRRR¡­!"


    The entire wolf was sliced in half, mercilessly.


    BOOOM!


    The enormous shing attack continued behind the wolf, impacting another one and slicing it in half as well¡­ the attack continued, easily slicing dozens of trees behind.


    "Excellent work!"


    I couldn''t help but praise her as everyone fought relentlessly. She had already gotten the hang of her two Cursed Items effects and used them to her advance wondrously.


    "GROAR!"


    "WOOF!"


    However, there was no time to stop and talk about our different moves or techniques, as two other wolves mounted by savage Imp Warriors closed in, Erdrich was right ahead of me so he intercepted both, his size suddenly tripling as muscles covered his entire body.


    CLAAASH! CLAAASH!


    He suddenly stopped both wolves from attacking us with his fists'' gauntlets, and then, spun his entire body while holding into the wolves'' jaws, turning them upside down and crashing them into the ground!


    BAAAM!


    -----

 Chapter 369 A Total Massacre

    -----


    "Battle Demon Arts: Double Grip!"


    BAAAAM!


    The two wolves were thrown into the ground as Erdrich amazingly showcased his physical strength. Steam beganing out of his body as he was spending countless calories and energy to maintain his demon transformation, but it paid of quite well, his strength was tremendous.


    "T-That''s a Half-Demon?!"


    "So the Half-Demon came to our hideout¡­!"


    "We are getting massacred! Where are the Vipers?!"


    "We should tell our master about this!"


    I suddenly heard the whispers of the Imps as they gritted their teeth and fought against my group. It seems that they recognized Erdrich as the "half demon" and that there were¡­ Vipers? Alongside a "Master" of sorts. Hmph, just as I thought, all of this was too shady to have been naturally formed in such a short amount of time, there''s a culprit behind this.


    "What?!" Erdrich muttered. "ke, did you hear what they said?"


    "Yes, I did. Let''s leave one of them alive while we crush the rest." I ordered everyone.


    "Got it!"


    At their response, the aggressiveness of our attacks intensified. At the same time, I decided to summon my Familiars, quickly surrounding the remaining four pairs of wolves and imps with six Fenrir and six Orcus. Huginn and Falco were offering aerial support by attacking using their long-ranged attacks from above, while Fenrir used [Shadow Step] to meddle with the shadows and bite the legs of the enemy wolves putting them on distress. Meanwhile, Orcus charged furiously at the other beasts, burning them in the process through the mes over his back.


    All of thatbined with ten Fire Smanders which I ordered to unleash Fire Breaths constantly while Shell began to spin using his [Spinning Shell] attack quickly made all our foes grow desperate. The others that were watching a few meters from afar quickly decided to step in when they saw theirrades were not enough for us. With all four of the wolves crushed by thebined attacks of my Familiars and friends, coupled with the other Imps which were struggling to even evade our blows, they didn''t had any other option.


    "SHAAAA!"


    A group of five Demons emerged. These were Demons I had not seen before in this world, but that I could surely remember from back then in my previous life. They were Vipers. These Demons were snake-like in appearance, with a human-like torso covered on scales and the head of vipers. Usually they had two to six arms depending in the amount of arms and size of their bodies, they could be Low Ranked, Mid Ranked, to High Ranked. They all held ck and red weapons imbued with demonic blood as well and seemed fairly strong.


    There were two groups of five members each, each group of four members with four arms with a six-armed leader leading them to battle. The leaders seemed to know magic, as they held several magic essories around their bodies which enhanced their mystical prowess.


    "These damn wolves and Imps are useless to even protect our territory! Shaaa!"


    "Kill these stupid kids, shaaa!"


    "SHAAAAA!"


    The two groups immediately charged at us without even waiting for us to regroup. Vipers were more vicious and incredibly fast, even faster than the Demonic Wolves. My friends struggled to intercept their attacks, and I had to put my Familiars at full power to support them, ending up sacrificing a few in the process.


    And that wasn''t the worse part about Vipers.


    "I''ll poison you to death! Demon Magic: Hellish Poisonous Smoke!"


    They knew deadly Poison Magic.


    POOF!


    Suddenly, an enormous cloud of purple smoke emerged out of one of the six-armed Vipers raising his staff. I quickly called everyone to step back and not get closer to the smoke.


    "Don''t touch that smoke! Step back!" I ordered.


    Everyone quickly stopped engaging the Vipers as thest surviving Imp ended getting caught in the poison and died while agonizing, blood spraying out of its eyes, mouth, nose, and other orifices. I see, so it is a Bleeding Poison. It causes constant Bleeding the moment it infects a target, they''re deadly for most people.


    "Elizabeth!"


    I called Elizabeth as she ran to my side.


    "Summon your Spirit, let''s create an Anti-Poison Field."<sub> </sub>


    "Eh?! How can we do that?"


    Elizabeth seemed clueless, but I only required her spirit''s powers.


    "Just summon it, I''ll do the rest."


    "A-Alright!"


    Elizabeth didn''t doubt my words as she summoned her Spirit, a small and young-looking angel, a Cherubin wrapped on white clothes.


    Elizabeth quickly held my hand as I channeled her power into my own body, mixing it with my Ki and Mana and her Spirit''s Spirit Energy, fusing it together and then invoking a field of white and bright light surrounding us.


    FLASH!


    The poisonous smoke was quickly consumed by the light, dissipating, as the rest of the Vipers were bathed in the light, feeling weakened out of the sudden, their movements became slower as well.


    "SHAAAA¡­! A-Angels?!"


    "This is Angelic Magic?!"


    "G-GYEEEEHH!"


    "It burns! SHAAA!"


    "C-Cowards, don''t step back!"


    One of the leaders tried to stop them from acting so cowardly, but this was the perfect opportunity for us to strike! Without even needing to tell my friends to attack, they charged forward without faltering. Erika was the first to strike down a Viper that gave her his back, shing the demon in half mercilessly with her massive sword as Blood Aura emerged from the weapon and her ne, the sudden roar of a dragon was heard, as the phantom of a wyvern emerged from her ne after it drank enough blood. This was thanks to her Ne''s special Ability [Lesser Draconic Aura], which mine also had.


    "GROAAARRR!"


    "Nnggh?!"


    "S-Shaaaa¡­!"


    "Gryeh!"


    The Vipers suddenly feltpletely paralyzed in fear. Ibined Erika''s effect with my own [Lesser Draconic Aura] by feeding my ne Blood Ki and activating it at any moment I wanted instead of the asional activation that happened with Erika, fused with the [Intimidation] Skill and my [Demonic Eyes of Paralysis], four more Vipers were caught up in this mess and left to our mercy.


    And I had taught my allies to have no mercy against Demons.


    Chris unleashed a storm of mes and consumed one of the Vipers until it turned ck as charcoal.


    Eric fired a barrage of arrows which the Viper''s blocked with their tough scales, only for the arrows to explode into ck vines that wrapped around them and drained their energy.


    Erdrich furiously crushed them while they were being caught by Eric''s attacks.


    And Elizabeth shoot down another by firing a ray of light into their face.


    SLASH!


    CLASH!


    BOOM!


    CRASH!


    It was a total massacre.


    -----

 Chapter 370 Demon Fusion

    -----


    After six of the four-armed Vipers felled by our attacks, the remaining four, two four-armed ones and two six-armed ones felt immediately terrified. It was good though; terrified enemies were the easiest to kill.


    "Tch¡­! Useless garbage! Mid Ranked are really just the bottom of the barrel at the end¡­!"


    "We''ll have to take you on ourselves then, shaaa¡­!"


    The two six-armed seemed to be a woman and a man, the two took into some sort of special stance, giving each other their backs as their six arms suddenly summoned magic cursed weapons, they resembled daggers, scythes, and small axes. The other two Vipers remained in the back clearly terrified.


    "Don''t worry, you two will be a worthy sacrifice!"


    "Shaahahaha!"


    The two began tough. Suddenly, I realized they might be nning something dangerous, as I immediately fired a [Darkness st] against them with everything I had to stop them.


    BOOOM!


    However, the st was quickly stopped by a surge of demonic energying from the floor below them. A demon magic circle emerged in an instant, constantly inscribing countless runes across the floor and then merging together.


    "SHAAAA¡­!"


    "S-Spare usssss¡­!"


    The two four-armed Vipers were suddenly consumed by the power the six-armed ones conjured, as they turnedpletely into energy which was transferred towards them. After that, in mere seconds, their bodies melded together as their voicesbined into one.


    "Demon Fusion Arts: Lesser Basilisk!"


    FLUOOSH!


    An enormous burst of power was unleashed, as a Domain made out of Poison Attribute Demonic Energy emerged within ten meters around the two six-armed Vipers. Their bodies quickly merged into one, which grew up to four times their original size, with an elongated and snake-like body, and a gigantic head with five eyes, the fifth eye being located right between the other four, and being thrice as big, andpletely red.


    "SHAAAAAAAA¡­!"


    The enormous beast was a High Tier Demon Beast named Basilisk. However, this one wasn''t as strong, probably because these Vipers didn''t held enough power to actually transform into the true Basilisk. This was a technique high rank demons know named "Demon Fusion Arts", it allows them to merge with one another to temporarily transform into Demon Beasts or higher tiered Demons.


    It was invented by an Archdemon in the past, which was troubled about his troops being a bunch of weaklings when he was conquering nations in Hell, so he decided to simply merge them together into stronger Demons. The price for this transformation is usually their lives, however. There are two types of fusions, temporary ones that kill them after the fusion stops, or permanent ones which take away the former members of the fusion''s will and turn thempletely into wild beasts. And it seemed that this one was theter.


    "T-They fused together?!" Erika asked, gasping in surprise.


    "This is insane¡­" Chris muttered.


    "This is bad, this is really bad! We should totally run away now guys! ¡­Err, guys?!" Eric cried, although nobody had the intention to run away.


    "Eric, you can run if you want to, but we are beating this monster. If we let it go around in the wild, it might follow us and attack the vige." I told him.


    "Y-Yeah¡­!" Elizabeth said. "I''ll beat this monster and show papa I am strong as well!"


    "Damn it¡­" Erdrich said, while smiling a bit. "This is getting out of proportion¡­ I had no idea demons could fuse!"


    "High Ranked Demons seem to be able to, now, careful!"<sub> </sub>


    BAAAM!


    The Basilisk immediately attacked, mming its tail into the ground and shaking it. Countless cracks appeared as a shockwave was unleashed, the ground started to crumble below us as the beast continued to hit the ground with its tail. Was this its primary method of attacking?


    FLASH!


    It was not.


    The moment I thought this was the only thing it could do, the Monster''s fifth eye shone bright red, as a sh of demonic energy suddenly hit me. I immediately generated a barrier of magic around me to defend myself, but the barrier broke in an instant. My Demonic Arm moved automatically, blocking the attack.


    BOOOM!


    Crack¡­ crack!


    It didn''t hurt, I didn''t felt any pain, but I felt a numb sensation. The Demonic Hand suddenly began to be covered by a coverture of stone, as it slowly tried to reach my body but it suddenly stopped midway through. I see, so this creature can use the Basilisk''s specialty, [Demon Eye of Petrification].


    However, it hasn''t constantly used it, it is probably like any other Demonic Eye, requiring an activation and a necessary amount of demonic energy to use once. It can probably use it a few more times, but it cannot overdo it. So it is trying to choose its prey wisely. Aiming at me was certainly intelligent, as I seem to be the greatest threat.


    "ke!" Erika ran to my side, looking at half of my petrified arm.


    "What happened?!" Elizabeth quickly ran to my side as well. Eleanora jumped in front of me as she decided to join the others in distracting the Basilisk.


    "Be careful! Whenever its fifth eye shines red, run away from the ray it emanates!" Imanded the rest. "My arm was petrified."


    "Eh?!" Erika was shocked. "C-Can I do something?! Priests!"


    FLASH! FLASH! FLASH!


    Suddenly, ten Priest Dolls appeared and pointed their staffs at my arm.


    "I can also heal you! ¡­Or I can try!" Elizabeth desperately attempted to help me.


    "No, it''s fine."


    Without any problem, I used my spear to break apart the petrified part of my arm and made it crumble into pieces.


    CRASH!


    The wound quickly opened, as the red flesh within my arm began to bleed, the two girls felt terrified about what I did.


    "Y-Your hand!" They cried together.


    "Don''t worry, I know a special technique¡­" I said, quickly invoking my shadows as I took out the three-headed Alpha Gray Wolf I had fought before, and quickly invoked a mass of shadows named [Shadow Net], covering it entirely.


    While hiding it from the girl''s view, I put my arm inside the shadow, as the entire arm shapeshifted into a monstrous arm and devoured the entire corpse of over three meters big.


    CRUNCH! CRUNCH! CRUNCH!


    -----

 Chapter 371 Against A Powerful Demonic Beast!

    -----


    FLASH!


    My arm immediately regrew anew, as if nothing had happened.


    "And done!" I said with a smile.


    "Eh?!"


    "Your arm is back?!"


    "It is a special technique as I said! Just don''t overthink it."


    The power of the Demonic Arm was more than just what it has been shown before. It also had the wondrous ability to regrow lost parts, resist Demonic Eyes attacks, and devour and assimte other demons. Demonic Beasts were also included into its menu.


    But that wasn''t all¡­ I felt something new surging from within my Demonic Arm''s in terms of power. A smile curled from my lips, as I quickly ordered the two girls to join me in battling the Basilisk.


    "SHAAAAA!"


    Meanwhile, the Basilisks was suddenly trapped. Eleanora had jumped into battle and immediately acted smartly, knowing the monster was wild and while hearing my telepathicmands, she created a powerful andrge Shadow Trap and ended trapping part of the Basilisk''s body, around a third of it, in shadow tentacles, inhibiting its movements and temporarily stopping the monster from mming the floor dangerously.


    "Eric, help me out!"


    Eleanora quickly ordered Eric, as the timid boy nodded.


    "O-Okay! Spirit Technique: Vampiric Dark Vines!"


    Eric immediately took four arrows and imbued them with his Spirit''s powers and his own Mana and Ki, as they shone with a devilish ck and red aura instead of his usual green and yellow aura color.


    FLASH!


    The four arrows hit the Basilisk''s body, but its scales were too hard for the arrows to pierce through even when enchanted. However, they were still strong enough to get stuck in between the scales themselves.


    BOOOM!


    A second after, all the arrows exploded into ck smoke, as countless ck vines emerged one after the other, entangling the Basilisk''s entire body and beginning to trap it even more. The vines slowly attempted to drain his energy away, as the Basilisks weakened even so slightly.


    "Now!!!" Eleanora roared,manding the rest. She also fought, enchanting her spear with her Blood Aura and then firing it as a javelin. Her spear quickly began to unleash red blood mes, enhancing its power even further.


    "zing Fire Arts: Chain Fire Explosion!" Chris roared, channeling his strongest spell as countless red lines made of mes entangled the Basilisk.


    "Battle Demon Arts: Bone Crusher!" Erdrich roared monstrously. His two arms suddenly grew two times their already enormous size, as his arms channeled all of his power, moving incredibly as if they were giant meteors falling over the Basilisk''s entire body.


    At the same time, the chain of explosions conjured by Chris emerged, bombarding certain areas of the Basilisks and leaving deep wounds while also evading Erdrich''s masterfully. This took Chris all of his energy to properly control his own element, but he also received his spirit''s aid.


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!


    "SHAAAAAA!"


    The Basilisk furiously roared, as its fifth eye suddenly unleashed a red ray against Chris!


    FLASH!


    "S-Shit¡­!"


    However, three Fenrirs jumped right in front of him and blocked the petrification attack, turning into stone statues themselves, which quickly broke apart into particles of light.


    "Phew, ke you saved my life¡­" Chris sighed.


    Meanwhile, Eleanora immediately attacked.


    "Blood Spear Arts: Crimson Javelin!"


    FLAAAASH!


    She threw her spear directly towards the Basilisk''s head, piercing its fifth eye!


    CLAAASH!


    "SHAAAAAAAA!"


    The oversized snake screamed in agony, as blood began toe out of its big and bubbly eye like a fountain. Eleanora quickly smiled at the Basilisk losing its special ability.<sub> </sub>


    However¡­!


    "SHAAA!"


    CLASH!


    Even after being attacked many times, the Basilisk had an incredible amount of stamina. It broke free from its restraints and then it used its own long tongue to grip the spear Eleanora threw at the beast, throwing it away.


    "SHAAAAA!"


    Suddenly, its fifth eye began to bubble with demonic energy, the wound it had recovered quickly, as a ray of red light suddenly reached Eleanora!


    "Ah¡­!"


    BOOOM!


    However, there was no statue left, as that Eleanora turned into pink mist and dissipated. She had used [Illusion] masterfully to drive the attention of the attack!


    "That thing regenerated its eye?!" Erdrich said.


    "C-Can we even fight it?!" Eric asked.


    "Wait! It only regenerated the eye, look, the other wounds are still as we left them!" Chris pointed out.


    "That''s right. The Basilisk is strong enough to have a powerful regeneration factor. However, it is already tired enough that it decided to prioritize its fifth eye over the other wounds." I said, quickly appearing in front of everybody.


    "My lord, do you feel alright?" Eleanora wondered.


    "I am, but-"


    "SHAAAAA!"


    The Basilisk interrupted my words, as the beast suddenly jumped into the skies and then began falling over us. It was so big it probably decided to merely use its own, ten-meter-big body to crush us with his sheer heavy weight alone.


    CLAAAASH!


    We managed to evade in time, but the enormous heavy weight hitting the ground made it tremble, as cracks emerged everywhere, the floor where we were standing crumbled apart, as we were forced to step back several meters.


    "Shit, it''s gone berserk!" Chris said.


    "We have to attack it from a distance then!" Elizabeth said, as she charged her Mana into her staff an then unleashed a ray  of light against the monster. "Holy Light Arts: Shining Beam!"


    FLAAAASH!


    BOOM!


    The beam hit the Basilisk''s directly, burning its skin and worsening its wounds, but the beast relentlessly stood still and furiously looked back at Elizabeth.


    "Eh?!"


    "SHAAAA!"


    In a split of a second, it leaped once more towards us so fast we could barely do much than run away from its range.


    However, for me, it was a perfect timing!


    I moved in front of Elizabeth, who had been paralyzed out of shock, as I pointed my Demonic Arm at the Basilisk jumping straight towards us.


    Suddenly, an eye popped up from the palm of my Demonic Arm''s hand, as a sh of gray and purple light emerged from within it, suddenly expanding into a wave.


    TRUUUUMMM¡­!


    "SHAAAAA¡­!"


    The Basilisk suddenly found itself floating in midair, incapable of moving further.


    Indeed, this was¡­


    The Demonic Eye of Gravity!


    -----

 Chapter 372 The Last Strike!

    -----


    When I had devoured the corpse of the three-headed Demonic Gray Wolf, my Demonic Arm had also digested the entirety of its body and assimted it. I had already done many experiments before when I created this arm and saw how it was capable of absorbing and assimting powers from other living beings, specifically demons. It was more like a gamble if it would turn out with it, but at the end, it seems that the gamble was worth it. My Demonic Arm had acquired the three-headed wolf''s special Demonic Eye, the Demonic Eye of Gravity!


    By using arge quantity of Demonic Energy, this eye is capable of creating a Gravity Field where a foe can be trapped inside. In this Gravity Field, the foe cannot move easily and will be restrained. Its powers can be still unleashed, but both its mind and body will be inplete shambles.


    "SHAAAAA!!!"


    The Lesser Basilisk was furious, roaring everywhere. It tried to attack but ended rolling over its own body while floating in midair. It seems that the ability to assimte eyes is also a thing my own Demonic Arm possess. Those wolves eyes were too big to fit into my own skull anyways, so this makes things easier¡­


    However, I cannot endlessly use my Demonic Eyes. Each use puts a strain into my entire body, and they require Demonic Energy, which I might not always have avable. If we put things into numbers, my total Demonic Energy quantity would be less than 600, and each Eye activation costs roughly 200 or more. I''ve already used my Demonic Eye of Paralysis before so I had almost exhausted my Demonic Energy, but thanks to having devoured the corpse of that wolf using my Demonic Arm, I recovered a good amount, roughly 400/600.


    That''s enough for two activations of the Demonic Eye of Gravity, or a constant activation that quickly drains away the Demonic Energypletely, which was what I was doing right now!


    "Now, attack!"


    My friends seemed confused, but choose to act now and ask questionster, pointing their weapons at the floating Basilisk as magic and weapon techniques rained over its body.


    CLAAASH! BOOOM! CRAAASH!


    "SHAAAAAA¡­.!"


    The Basilisk mustered itsst Demonic Energy and attempted to turn me into a stone statue by firing a beam of such power against me, fully figuring out that I wasn''t able to properly move while using the Demonic Eye of Gravity unlike the original wielder of this eye could.


    However, I simply had to sacrifice my Familiars!


    "Sacrifice yourself!"


    "WOOF!"


    "GRUOH!"


    A Fenrir and an Orcus jumped ahead, as the two mustered the entire beam by themselves, quickly turning into stone statues and then breaking apart into particles of light quickly after.


    "SHAAA¡­!"


    The Lesser Basilisks screamed in pure frustration, as I decided to let go of the Gravity Field and behead it with Gluttony now that it was too weak to even move.


    "It''s over!"


    SLASH!


    Its head rolled wonderfully across the floor, as a fountain of delicious blood sprayed out of its sliced neck¡­


    It was finally over.


    Everyone quickly dropped into the floor,pletely exhausted.


    However, I slowly walked towards the Basilisk''s head, and devoured it using my Demonic Arm behind everyone''s eyes, trying to get the Demonic Eye of Petrification.<sub> </sub>


    But¡­


    "Hmph, so it didn''t work this time?"


    It didn''t worked.


    It appears that there''s only a chance for the Demonic Eye to be acquired through this method. Perhaps this eye wasn''t even that "authentic" as this Basilisk wasn''t a true one but made out by two Vipers merging together.


    Well, at the end, I still got a good amount of EXP, my grimoire showcased the numbers after a brief calction.


    [Calcting EXP earned¡­]


    [You earned 214200 EXP]


    [Level Up!]


    [Level Up!]


    [Your Level has increased from Level 11 to Level 13!]


    [All Your Stats increased]


    [You gained Bonus Stat Points and Skill Points]


    Good, I leveled up again. This is the third time I level up this day. This exploration has surely been quite fruitful in regards of EXP, and that Basilisk alone gave out 55k EXP. It seems that powerful enough foes will grant a nice amount of EXP right away.


    And now, we should really just continue, I am sure we''ll reach the Swamps if we walk a few more minutes¡­ However, everyone is too tired to move.


    At the end, I had to take a break and feed them more of my revitalizing food, I also gave them all an Apple created through Apul I''ve been stocking up in my Inventory for a while now, I had near a hundred of them, so I didn''t mind sharing so they could get back up to full energy.


    However, the small snack time didn''te without annoyances, as many questions were bombarded my way almost nonstop. Mostly how I was able to use that Gravity Field. I had to simply tell them it was a Gravity-Attribute Spell, but it was too tiring to showcase it again.


    "Now what are we going to do with these Viper bodies?" Wondered Chris. "Will they fetch a good price?"


    "They''ll definitely fetch a good price." I said. "I was thinking on selling around half of them, alongside half of the Basilisk''s materials, the rest we''ll keep them for ourselves, mostly so I can use them on alchemy. I could make you special essories or other items with them, what do you think?"


    "Ooooh!" Eric quickly was hyped over my offer. "That would be awesome! Maybe you could teach me as well, ke!"


    "Sure, I don''t mind, you''ve got the talent, Eric." I said with a smile.


    "Cool! I heard that the ne you made for Erika was made through Alchemy! My aunt and uncle said that the creation of magic items through alchemy is even moreplex than potions, and can only be done by masterful alchemists, you''re surely amazingly talented! ¡­Ah, I wonder if I can even learn that then¡­" Sighed Eric. "I don''t have an Alchemist Talent like you after all."


    "Don''t worry, the Druid Talent would do just fine." I said with a nod. "I learned the Alchemy Skill even before acquiring a Talent, so I am sure I can do the same for you."


    "Oooh! You''re getting me all pumped up!" Eric seemed to shine with talent, I had to polish this diamond in brute.


    -----

 Chapter 373 We Must Prepare For Whats To Come

    -----


    I had made some sandwiches back at home for this asion, as I quickly gave everyone one to eat to recover their exhaustion. As I had mentioned before, I also shared an apple for each one, alongside some herbal tea I had prepared using herbs that Usagi gathered for me each day with the help of Huginn''s dexterous ws.


    The sandwich in specific was made out of dried meat with gravy sauce I prepared out of the meat of wild boar, mostly the juice left by the stew my mother made yesterday. I had also prepared baked potatoes because some couldn''t really be satiated with that alone, and began eating several baked potatoes with butter on top.


    "Nom¡­ Nom¡­! Ah, even this simple baked potato is delicious!" Chris pointed out.


    "The butter is so creamy¡­" Elizabeth sighed dreamily.


    "I''ve never liked potatoes by how in they are but this is different!" Eric added.


    "Ah, I feel like this is a d¨¦j¨¤ vu¡­" I sighed.


    Will this scene repeat every time I give them food?


    Well, nheless, this is not bad.


    It kind of makes me happy to see them all energetic.


    This battle was really something that pushed us all to our limits. I was able to see everybody''s growth the most. Our fighting wasn''t the most synchronized, but it was surely something that only high ranked adventurers would had been able to pull out.


    It feels like all my hard work has been paying off at longst¡­ well, all our hard work. Everyone was fighting together in here. For a moment, as we fought that giant Basilisk, it felt like I was in my previous life, leading my servants into battle.


    "I want to congratte all of you for your amazing performance." I said without hiding my pride for their growth. "It seems that all the time I''ve invested on all of you is paying off, you''ve grown very strong, and you''re certainly, and finally, friends I can trust in battle. Your strength, everyone, is genuine."


    "Oohh¡­" Eric gasped.


    "B-ke¡­" Chris muttered.


    "Woah¡­" Erdrich seemed surprised.


    "I never thought you would say that like that¡­" Elizabeth was quite bbergasted.<sub> </sub>


    "Same! He''s always saving up everything so it''s hard to get him to open up sometimes¡­" And Erika was surprised I had opened a bit to them.


    "Hmph, don''t get the wrong idea!" I added. "This doesn''t mean you''re the strongest out there. This world is filled with dangers. You have simply¡­ reached a level of strength that can be barely recognized. But from now on, we''ll continue fighting even more dangerous enemies, and we''ll continue growing stronger. There''ll be times when you''ll feel like despairing, and there will be times when you won''t really know what to do anymore¡­ You have to reinforce your wills, and prepare for the worst."


    I quickly made my mind clear to all of them, our road was still ahead of us. This was just the beginning of our lives, we were all young after all, we have reached a lot, but this was clearly not the pinnacle, nor the end.


    "Yeah, you''re right¡­!" Chris said. "I''ve grown pretty strong but this is obviously not enough, right? Hahaha¡­! My dream might be the simplest of all of us but I really want to go to a Demonic Tower one day and challenge it. Ah well, I''ve always admired my father for being a hunter¡­ I want to honor my family and be someone strong enough to be able to go through even more terrifying challenges and, at the same time, protect my family and this vige we have all grown up into! Ah, I said it all¡­" Chris seemed surprised with himself.


    "Chris¡­" Eric felt moved. "I-I am not really a battle junkie like you guys but¡­ I''ve always wondered what''s at the other side of the horizon, of the Gray Mountains¡­ I''ve always wanted to explore new ces and find new herbs, nts, mushrooms, and even monsters. I want to document the world as much as I can and discover its wondrousness. I know I can''t just let you guys do everything for me so¡­ I''ll try to get stronger as well."


    These two seem to have a clear path ahead, it seems. Although they''re still young and prone to change their dreams and perspectives of the world as they experience more, I am sure they''re stubborn enough to not change their dreams that much.


    "I also want to explore the world and¡­ meet my mother and the rest of my family! Also I want to go to the Academy! And¡­ and¡­ I want to stay at ke''s side. So I gotta get stronger, that''s a given!" Erika''s dream was not as simple as the other two, as it involved political drama with her family. But I''ll try to aid her in such a dream, not only because she''s my friend, but because I am rather intrigued about everything myself. I believe there''s something I need to find out.


    "Haha, you guys really got everything decided at this point¡­" Sighed Erdrich. "I¡­ I don''t really know what I want. The entire problem with my family¡­ or my mother and my father and¡­ my siblings too¡­ I¡­ I honestly wish I could go back in time sometimes. But¡­ Every time I am with all of you guys, I feel like I am happy, and that I can¡­ bear with everything horrible that has happened to me, even if a bit. I want to stick with you guys as long as I can!"


    "Erdrich¡­ I hope your family can ept you one day." Said Erika. "I am sure that as long as you do good deeds and show the world you''re not a demon but a good person, they''ll eventually learn and ept you again!"


    "Yeah, yeah!" Elizabeth nodded. "I also want to stick with everybody here! Although papa says I''ll one day be a Saintess, I feel like I don''t want to be confined in a church for all my life¡­ I want to go in more adventures!"


    Everybody shared their own dreams and thoughts. They were so young yet so ambitious, I couldn''t help but feel rather excited about the future that awaited us¡­ but s, it isn''t as if our first adventure here had yet to end.


    "Everyone, save what else you have to say forter. Our first adventure has yet to end, isn''t it? And from now on¡­ I feel like you''ll have to take a decision." I said. "Are you¡­ willing to take the life of another person?" I asked everyone, as their cheerful smiles and expressions changed.


    This was a question I had to ask them before we stepped forward.


    Our enemies might not only be just demons anymore.


    Even if they''re still kids, the sooner they get used to this, the better.


    -----

 Chapter 374 Moving Forwards

    -----


    Elizabeth had already seen me y a human before, or well, half a human, Erdrich''s mother. After she went berserk, it was Ellergest and me the ones that in her before she were topletely wipe out the entire noble''s house. However, even now I felt doubtful.


    "W-What with that question out of nowhere?" Wondered Chris.


    "It is clear what I meant, Chris." I said. "In this world there''s people that will always get in your way. There will be people that will do unforgivable things to you or those you care for. If you were to ever meet them, would you spare their lives so one day they cane back to you even stronger than before, just to try to ruin your life once more¡­ or will you y them and put an end to their threat in there?"


    Silence quickly took ahold of the group.


    I knew I would get this response; it is not easy for them at their age to really decide of such a caliber. Although they had in demons which have as much intelligence as humans sometimes, and even monsters¡­ killing human themselves still feels bad for them. It is inherent in their race as a whole.


    Even I felt that slight sensation when I killed my first bandits in this new body. Human nature simply tells someone, inherently, that killing another human is somehow incorrect. Perhaps it is a way for the preservation of our race, or whatever other instinct.


    Well, there''s also the instinct of desperation, where a human would kill another if they had someone they desperately needed, such as food, water, or shelter. Of course, that''s all just a case in the endless variables.


    But it is a well-known fact that you must y your enemies if the chance is given. It is better if they''re gone out of the picture than let them live so they cane backter.


    Only the most self-centered cowards would easily spare another without conditions.


    Of course, if you can make a Soul Envement deal, or something else, sparing an enemy might be possible, maybe if I turn them into loyal subjects¡­ but in most cases, beheading is the way.


    "Well, I am asking you this because the foes we''ll fight in the future are not just monsters or demons. In this world it appears there are many corrupt people, some would use their own powers to torment others, or you. The Cultists we had been dealing with are all humans, you know? Priests themselves hunt them down and kill them mercilessly because they know they''re a threat. Would you be willing to kill these cultists? There''s probably one of them controlling these monsters, and if my spection is true, he might be nning topletely destroy our vige with the demonic beasts he''s been amassing here."


    I went straight to the point.


    For a moment there was more silence.


    Well, if they''re not willing I will just take out those by myself and let them just y the demons and monsters, it is not a big deal at this age, maybeter they''ll learn.


    However, Chris stood up, gripping his fists.


    "Well¡­ Of course I think its bad¡­" He sighed. "But¡­ my father once told us that he had joined a Bandit Extermination team with most of the hunters in the vige. He told me that the bandits were getting out of control, kidnaping children and women, and that the vige men gathered together to kill them all¡­ He said he killed people because he wanted to protect his family¡­" Chris said. "I want to be someone like my father, or even better¡­ So I am willing to do this as long as these people deserve it!"


    "Hmph, that''s an unexpected response but that''s good enough." I said with a nod.


    "M-Me too!" Erika suddenly said. "If those people are bad, then I won''t have mercy! ¡­B-But I might let my dolls do it instead of me."<sub> </sub>


    "Hm, that''s good enough as well-"


    "I will too." Erdrich added.


    "Me too." Elizabeth then said.


    "Oh?" I was honestly surprised the two of them decided the same. "There''s no turning back after this point. But don''t worry, I won''t force you if you''re really not prepared."


    "Papa has already done it¡­ he says he ys those that strive from the path of righteousness so I''ll do the same!" Said Elizabeth.


    "I just hate those damn Cultists for brainwashing my mother, I wont have mercy." Said Erdrich.


    "Hm, I see¡­ Well, Elizabeth, try not to be guided too much by ck and white perspectives, there might be a time you''ll be driven into a corner if you only decide to y those you consider only evil. There might be "good" people that, at the end, could be worse than those you consider "evil"." I told her.


    "Huh? Really?" Wondered Elizabeth.


    "Yeah but I guess in these circumstances it doesn''t matter much¡­" I said.


    Eric was the only one that didn''t seem to want to kill people.


    "I-I¡­ There''s no way I can do that¡­ I¡­ I''m sorry, ke¡­" Sighed Eric.


    However, instead of feeling angered, I patted his back.


    "Don''t worry about it. There''s a role for every person in the world. Don''t feel forced if you can''t. We''ll take care of it." I said.


    "Ah¡­ Thanks¡­" Eric thanked me while lowering his head in shame.


    "Well now, as we step forward, we''ll finally find the swamps, there''s an underground area I''ve already detected, which my rabbits had dug an entrance. Follow me. I can sense several presences from there." I said, leading my party. They seemed to have cheered up a bit, and didn''t seemed as gloomy as I had imagined.


    I suppose the kids in this world are stronger willed than I had imagined. This might be a world with civilizations, but it still wild, death ismon, bandits terrorize the small viges, and crazy cultists want to bring demons to consume the entire world. If they don''t steel themselves soon enough, they''ll end up regretting it in the future. Eric might be a special case, but I am sure he onlycks resolve. He''ll slowly learn as he lives that mercy can only do more bad than good.


    -----

 Chapter 375 Finding Some Mysterious Abandoned Ruins

    -----


    "It seems you have taught these children quite well, my lord." Said Eleanora.


    "You''re still calling me "my lord"?" I sighed. "I''ve been trying to tell you to adress me normally for years now¡­"


    "I-I''m sorry, I just¡­ it''s feels embarrassing to call you by name¡­" She said. Eleanora quickly broke her character as she blushed.


    "Well, I guess I am at fault for that. You''ve been calling me like that all of my previous life¡­" I said. "I never stopped you back then¡­"


    "Indeed¡­ Well, now that you''re my Master and I am your Spirit, I feel like it is even more fitting to not adress you so without some sort of honorific!" Said Eleanora while puffing her chest.


    "Fine¡­ Do as you wish, whatever makes you happy, I am happy too." I said, I''vepletely given up on that.


    "More importantly¡­ do you really believe them when they said that?" Asked Eleanora.


    "Partially¡­ I know they might be still doubting. But they will eventually learn." I said. "Part of life is to learn and experience new things that will make us learn even more. You could say that it is like an endless cycle of experiencing something new and understanding it. Even as bored as I felt sometimes¡­ now that I''ve been reincarnated, I feel curious about everything, and learn every day something new. I suppose I''ve been looking at the big picture for way too long, narrowing my eyes from the obvious things in front of me."


    "Oh¡­" Eleanora sighed while feeling strangely surprised. "Have you be wiser or dumber? I wonder¡­"


    "Hey now! Don''t just say that out of the blue¡­" I reprimanded her. Eleanora only chuckled a bit.


    I suppose we have indeed grown closer if she feels the freedom to joke with me like that.


    As our telepathic conversation came to an end, we reached the swamps.


    In front of us, there was argeke made out of ckish water, bubbling as if it were boiling. From within, there were many floating bones and rotting carcasses. There were almost no trees around this boiling pool of miasma.


    However, right in front of this swamp, there was an underground facility. Something that might had been built some time ago, as it seemed slightly ancient.


    A hole had been made thanks to the cooperation of my Horned Rabbit Familiars, leading all the way down to this ce. The jump was long though, so we had to slowly descend through flight.


    "S-So this is all Miasma¡­" Said Elizabeth. "Should we try to purify it?"


    "It is useless. This much quantity is too hard to purify, after we are done here, we''ll call the help of the priests to purify this swamp." I said. "If we take care of most of the danger in here, I am sure even those cowards wille here eventually. Though I might need your help at persuading them."


    "O-Oh¡­ Well, I will do my best to convince papa and the rest, leave it to me!" Elizabeth seemed filled with the conviction.


    "Make sure to act very cute, that always convinces the adults and boys!" Said Erika.


    "I-I will!" Elizabeth said while feeling even more motivated.


    Erika seemed to be rather experienced in such things¡­ Is she trying to say that she convinces me by being cute? Hmph, I will let this slide for now.


    "Well anyways we are going down this hole I dug with my familiars." I pointed down at the hole, everybody suddenly stopped talking and looked at the hole.


    It was several meters deep, too many to even count. They couldn''t even see the bottom.


    "¡­What?" Asked Chris. "Are you sure?"


    "This feels a bit risky¡­" Eric sighed. "Maybe we should go back home for now and tell the adults about this I am sure they can do something¡­"<sub> </sub>


    "Come on Eric, we have to go on ourselves." Said Erdrich. "Or how else can we grow stronger and Level Up as ke says?" Asked Erdrich as his bloodlust was rather clear, he really wanted to beat those cultists.


    "Y-You''re letting out a lot of bloodlust¡­" Eric pointed out.


    "Oh? I am? Hahaha! My bad." Laughed Erdrich, patting Eric''s back so strongly he made Eric almost empty the oxygen of his lungs.


    "Augh¡­ P-Please don''t pat my back so loud¡­" Eric cried, as Erdrich quickly realized he was damaging our slightly frail friend.


    "O-Oh, sorry about that buddy." He apologized.


    "Anyways! How do you n for us to go down ke? Do you got a n? Ah! Are you using your crazy magic again?!" Erika seemed excited about seeing my "crazy magic".


    "Yes something like that. But to save Mana, Eleanora is carrying us down." I said. Eleanora quickly nodded as she suddenly generated several shadow tentacles and used them to wrap all of us into a ball, grabbing us without any problems and then expanding her Vampiric Wings.


    "W-Wait, this is too inefficient!" Eric cried.


    "Trust her." I said with confidence.


    "And on we go!"


    FLAAAAAASH!


    Eleanora quickly flew down so fast everyone felt like they skipped a beat.


    CLAAASH!


    When we finally hit the surface, Eleanora''s legs shook the ground below, generating a small earthquake. At the same time, we heard a loud echo. It seemed wended in a very wide space.


    "Light."


    FLASH!


    I conjured the Tier 1 Light Attribute Spell simply named [Light] that can illuminate spaces that are shrouded by darkness. The sphere of light flew near the ceiling and stayed there, illuminating everything.


    What we saw was a dungeon-like room,pletely filled with skeletons, broken magic items, magic circles halfway made, and several corpses and body pieces of monsters and demons.


    "T-This ce is¡­ some sort of ce were they did experiments?" Wondered Eric, looking around.


    "It does seem to be the case¡­" I analyzed, quickly realizing there was only one path which was right in front of us to continue.


    "Through here, let''s go." I guided them, as we walked forwards.


    However, as we moved on, I suddenly felt the presence of a few entities- no, countless of them.


    And they were all marching directly towards us.


    -----

 Chapter 376 An Army Of Undead!

    -----


    Within the depths of the Mysterious Underground Dungeon, a man sat down over an old chair, looking into a red orb in front of him. He seemed old, with a long ck beard and sharp, red eyes, almost demonic in nature. His entire body seemed decrepit, and his entire life force was almost null. It seemed as if he hadpletely lost all of his life essence, and was merely a dry mummy. However, he moved, due to the magic power coursing through his body, and something else than that as well¡­


    He looked into the red orb as if pondering it, seeing the projections that emerged. Invaders had entered his ancient hideout. This ce where many preparations were made through the years had now bepletely abandoned of people, all the cultists that were here ran away to a different hideout,pletely giving up on this area of the country, which had been a strategic hideout for many years.


    "Hmph, so they hade¡­ I am surprised they''re all a bunch of kids though." He muttered with anger. "But I do recognize some of them¡­ these kids participated in that battle¡­ Many of my precious demons were in then¡­ That ck-haired kid is particrly a damn bastard! He''s the one leading the rest as well¡­ Just who is he?!"


    The old man seemedpletely frustrated. He had been thest one to stay in this ce, and he decided to make of this old and abandoned dungeon his new hideout. Fueled by demonic energy, he had already lived longer than he should had, and has been nning a revenge against the vige where those that stopped the demon invasion resided.


    "If it wasn''t for these bastards we would had probably been able to take over the capital¡­ I even ordered someone to ce a wyvern egg in their vige and somehow they even killed that damn beast! Just who are they exactly?!"


    The old man was not merely just a very oldckey of the Cult of Beelzebub, but also someone that originated from this Vige. He was someone that was expulsed from the vige in the long past, someone that was said to be a monster for his powers and the ways he used to hunt monsters, someone that was feared¡­


    "Every time I see that damn vige still standing it fills me with so much rage¡­" He muttered. "Even my damn old soul can''t stand this any longer¡­ And those children, do they really think they can go against me now that they havee all the way here?"


    Deep down, the old man knew that they might be more dangerous than he really make them up to be. After all, if they had even in the Lesser Basilisk, their strength was noughing matter anymore.


    However, he was not without tools¡­


    "Hmph, well then, I suppose I should use one of my trump cards against them. I suppose that''s something you''ve earned for yourselves." He said, his right-hand index finger suddenly rose, as it shone with ck light. Such dark light quickly began to spread out across the entire abandoned dungeon, as all the corpses, bones, and other body parts lying around, which amounted almost a thousand, slowly began to move.


    "Rise."


    .


    .


    .


    (ke''s POV)


    The presences were not only in front of our path, but also behind! I am fairly sure there were no demons or monsters in the room when we arrived, yet the enormous group of entities following us from behind wasrger than I could had possibly imagined. This wasn''t something normal at all, there were entities following us from behind.


    "ke, there''s something behind us!" Chris said.


    "And in front of us¡­ What''s that?!" Erdrich pointed out.<sub> </sub>


    "Huh? Bones? No¡­ there''s also demons! But they''re¡­ strange¡­" Said Erika.


    "Ugh, it stinks here¡­" Said Elizabeth.


    "T-Those¡­ d-don''t tell me¡­ N-No way¡­ there''s no way!" Eric cried.


    "What are they?!" Chris asked.


    "U-U-Undead!"


    Eric panicking answer was all everyone needed to quickly realize we were not fighting run-of-the-mill demons, but their undead versions. It seems that whoever is living in this ce has the capacity of rising the dead and control them, a Necromancer.


    So there are such magicians even in the world of spirits¡­ I suppose for a Necromancer, the only thing that matters is having affinity for the Death Element. As long as they do, they can easily control the dead and do all sorts of things with them. I myself should be able to rise Undead as well, but they would be too weak as Ick proper Death Element Affinity, so I''ve thought of it as pointless, even more now that I have my Familiars.


    The steps of countless Undead could be heard, as their otherworldly groans made some of my party members feel a chill down their spines. Skeletons, zombies, and even evolved versions of them such as Skeleton Knights, Thralls, and even Rotten Giants moved forward. There were roughly¡­ I don''t know. I couldn''t properly calcte all of them as their presences were dim due to being dead already, but I could tell there might be hundreds, and dozens of the higher ranked ones leading them.


    This was not something we could easily deal with, but it was still something we could take advantage of! I mean, look at all this EXP!


    A smile emerged on my lips as I couldn''t help but feel joyful about this Undead Army, the more the merrier! As long as there''s tons of Undead, there will be tons of EXP. Keep theming! I don''t care!


    "Undead are frail in the joints, try to knock them off bnce by hitting their legs in specific! They might be relentless, but their bodies are still frail." I said to everybody, as they readied their weapons and magic.


    "GROOOOAAAARRR!"


    "OOOOOOHHHH¡­!"


    "GRAAAAH!"


    The Skeletons were the fastest ones, they were of all shapes and sizes, some smaller and others bigger, but they were all predictably easy to knock off bnce!


    CLASH!


    -----

 Chapter 377 The Endless Undead Army

    -----


    I quickly moved forwards, kicking one of the skeletons in front of me. It looked to be a human skeleton based on its size and anatomy. I easily kicked its legs which broke instantly, making it fall into the floor.


    BAAAM!


    The skeleton quickly attempted to attack me with the rusty sword it held from the floor, but the impact of falling into the cold floor broke its arms as well, and it was trying hopelessly.


    CLASH!


    I crushed its head with my own foot as if it were a pathetic vermin, it easily died in an instant, as I saw a small soul suddenly fly away out of the skeleton, being guided elsewhere¡­


    "See? They''re not so hard to deal with!" I said. "However, it would be better if we narrow it done so they don''t flood us from everywhere, they might be weak, but their numbers are too many, and were caught off guard in the middle of a stretchy corridor. Earth Wall!"


    "Earth Wall!" Elenora quickly understood what I wanted to do, as we both conjured Earth Wall several times, forming a barricade surrounding our group. There was an entrance, so the Undead wouldn''t panic and try to do something like destroying them, but the entrance was narrow enough, only letting them walk inside our area one by one.


    Dividing our group into two groups that took care of left and right, we immediately began smacking Undead. Skeleton were the fastest so they flooded us firsts. After seeing how I taught them to fight, everyone began hitting their legs and then crushing their skulls after they fell, like this, piles and piles of bones piled up around us, as the skeletons were leftpletely helpless.


    They seemed to be weaker than Imps based in their stupid and predictable movements. Anyone with some battle experience would be able to defeat Skeletons even with their weapons. But if this army of undead flooded our vige, the entire vige would bepletely destroyed in a single night.


    "Now, charge! Aim at the legs!"


    Erika lead her Dolls as she had managed to resummon her thirty dolls after most of them died when we fought the previous group of monsters. This time she turned most of them into Spearmen wielding long spears. Using their ability to levitate and easily fly around, the dolls she invoked began to pierce the skeletons and zombies'' legs, destroying them and making them all fall one after the other in a line.


    "HYAAA!"


    CLASH! CLASH! CLASH! CLASH!


    And by using her big sword, she crushed them one by one as if she were ying around. Although her face seemed very serious about the whole ordeal.


    "OOOOHHHH¡­"


    As the skeletons became rarer, zombies and thralls started to slide inside our "room". Zombies were harder to kill than skeletons, surprisingly, as the flesh covering their bones mitigated strong blunt hits. However, they were still frail and their flesh was rotting, so it wasn''t so hard to get rid of them. Particrly, burning them into ashes was a good way to kill them. Chris'' mes were especially useful as they were spiritual mes, they didn''t generated smoke or anything of the sort, so we didn''t asphyxiated in the underground by getting everything with smoke.


    "Burn! Burn all of you!"


    Chris was rather stressed, he seemed to hate how disgusting Undead looked, so he was panicking while firing fireballs and res at the Undead, especially through the small area where they were able to enter, burning them all from behind.


    "zing Fox Charge!"


    "GROOARRR!"


    His Fire Fox suddenly absorbed his Mana and turned five times as big, charging towards the Undead and devastating them all. Chris was taking down them all. Their weakness to the Fire Element was particrly useful right now as Chris was gaining the spotlight.<sub> </sub>


    Well, I wasn''t going to remain a sitting duck either. I had lost several Familiars in the previous battle, but I had decided to summon a lot more for this and rebuilt my bonus stats, maxing out MP and Intelligence. This meant I summoned a lot of Fire Smanders.


    With over twenty of them grouped together, it was a storm of mes being unleashed, the Undead were all taking the mes and burning easily, as if they were all made out of paper. This fire was simr to Chris, so it didn''t particrly produced any ck smoke, though the smell of burnt rotten meat was something we had to just deal with.


    "GROOARRR!"


    However, our fun quickly stopped when arge High-Ranked Undead emerged- no, three of them at once. Ignoring their own kin being burned to ashes, they marched forward, they were High Skeleton Knights, wearing ck Armor which protected them from the mes of my Familiars, and with phantasmal mes of their own covering their eyes like will-o-wisps. They carriedrge ck swords and shields, and seemedpletely capable of taking on our hits with ease, and they did.


    "T-Those look strong¡­" Eric added.


    "They are¡­" I said. "However, not as strong as the Lesser Basilisks, by far¡­"


    FLASH!


    Before the skeletons could slide through the corridor we formed, I used [Demonic Eyes of Gravity] and conjured a Gravity Field, stopping their movements and making them float in midair.


    Completely confused about what was happening, I quickly ran towards them and used the Gravity Field to my advantage, easily allowing me to maneuver in the air. Infusing Mana and Ki into my spear, I pierced their chests and crushed the Spirit Orb I detected in each one of them, making quick work of them.


    CLASH! CLASH! CLASH!


    BAAAM!


    Their motionless bodies fell over the floor one after the other almostically.


    "See? They were not that much." I said while I let my Fire Smanders continue their massacre.


    "Ah¡­ It had to be ke, isn''t it?" Sighed Eric.


    "That was insane¡­" Said Chris.


    "Wait, ke, look!" Erika suddenly panicked as she was ying some zombies, as a gigantic hand suddenly broke through the Earth Walls and attempted to grab me.


    CLAAASH!


    "GRUOOOHHHHHH!"


    "A Rotten Giant¡­ so they finally made their way here."


    -----

 Chapter 378 The Power Of Elizabeth

    -----


    Amidst the Undead Army, aside from the feeble Skeletons, the mmable Undead, and the slightly stronger Skeleton Knights, there were a threat that had been advancing slowly, mostly because they were incapable of getting here in time. Their size and physical strength alone put them almost at D Rank in terms of monster strength, where Skeletons and Zombies are F Rank at most and the Skeleton Knights E Rank.


    These are¡­ Rotten Giants. Monstrous beings made up of many rotten corpses and bones stitched together through advanced Necromancy. It wouldn''t be a lie to say I''ve fought several of them through my past life, mostly due to confronting many Necromancers through the Gxy who sought my Vampire Body, which had always seemed to be a high ranked material for Necromancy.


    Nheless, after being reincarnated in the world of Spirits such as Spiritias, I never thought I would truly see the work of a Necromancer in action, or at least, not so soon. This probably means that despite the difficulties and limitations that Spirits might give to people when they awaken their powers, there must be arge quantity of unknown and powerful enemies out there.


    Perhaps even closer to me than I had imagined!


    CLAAASH!


    The gigantic Rotten Giant''s hand shed against the walls made of stone we had erected with Eleanora to stop the charge of the Undead, quickly opening the way for dozens of them to sneak inside.


    "Oooohhh!"


    "Graaahhh!"


    "Groooaahh¡­"


    Undead began to groan hungrily as they saw our living flesh, their lifeless eyes showing a ruthless and emotional glint that only made me smile slightly.


    "T-That Rotten Giant destroyed our whole strategy!" Eric cried.


    "Damn it¡­!" Chris roared, swinging his staff and unleashing fireballs around him with the help of his spirit. Several Undead that got closer to him began to burn to a crisp, but he had a limited amount of MP,  overdoing this would only bring him to more exhaustion.


    "ke! What do we do now?!" Erdrich roared, his body grew a few centimetersrger once more as countless red tattoos emerged over his entire body, until he turnedpletely red. ck tattoos quickly began emerging over his red skin asrge horns appeared over his forehead, his nails grew into monstrous ck ws, which he used to sh the undead and shake away those that tried to climb his big body to overwhelm him.


    "Elizabeth! Use that Spell now!" I ordered Elizabeth, but she seemed to hesitate.


    "T-That Spell?!" She asked. She had learned a special Skill some time ago after leveling up, which was perfect to exterminate Undead and Demons. "But if I conjure it, Erdrich might get hurt!"


    "Don''t worry about that, I''ve already prepared for such a scenario!" I said, giving Erdrich a potion from my pocket. He quickly grabbed it and ate it whole, ss and everything.


    FLASH!


    "Ungh?!"


    Suddenly, a ck aura surged from his body.


    "What the heck is this?!" He wondered.


    "I had assumed there would be a time someone would bring something that could hurt demons very badly. This is a Demon Fortification Potion. It gives you more Demonic Energy to withstand stronger blows. Use it to coat your body and prepare yourself!" I said.


    This was a potion I had already drank myself, as I had an eye and an arm which were totally demonic, I had some partial weakness to holy light and other specific spells that dealtrge amounts of damage against demons.


    This was merely just a spare one I had anyways, I had not thought that far in regards of Erdrich, but it was just for myself. But it is certainly convenient now. I might end up making more in the near future for him.<sub> </sub>


    "Okay then!" Erdrich immediately obeyed mymands as he coated his body with this dark and red aura, and Elizabeth received my thumbs up.


    "Now!"


    "Okay¡­!"


    Elizabeth suddenly gathered therge quantities of Mana she possessed within her entire body and then imbuing them into her special Holy Staff, a sh of bright golden light emerged from within her weapon, resembling a miniature star.


    "Holy Light Arts: [Exorcism]!"


    FLAAASH!


    A wave of pure holy light was unleashed all around us, so powerful it quickly epassed all of us and the demons within all our vicinity and even far beyond that. The weaker Skeletons and Zombies were turned into ashes in an instant, while the Skeleton Knights only struggled for a bit before disappearing.


    "GRUOOOHHH¡­!"


    The Rotten Giants began to groan in agony, most of their bodies began to burn and turn into ashes, although they were very big so they were resisting quite well. Nheless, Elizabeth didn''t just conjured it once, but twice.


    FLAAASH!


    Another conjuration came right after the first one, the Rotten Giants weakened even more and all the small fry turned into ashes. This was our moment. I rushed forward and unleashed Fireballs imbued with my Blood Ki, Crimson mes surged, which were not weak to holy light. I used them to finish off the amorphous Rotten Giants one by one by crushing their Spirit Orbs inside of their bodies. Shaping the Scarlet re into arrows, they quickly aimed at the surviving Undead, burning them once and for all.


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!


    When the light finally reseeded, everything had be oddly calm, but a tired Elizabeth sighed, falling into the floor while seemingly looking feverish. She had worked hard.


    "Elizabeth!" Erdrich ran towards her alongside everybody else, as they looked at her.


    "I-I am fine¡­ Just tired." She sighed.


    "You overdid it too much this time!" Erika said.


    "ke did you had to force her to do it twice?!" Asked Chris angrily.


    "She could barely handle it¡­" Eric muttered.


    "She did it on her own ord, I only asked her to do this once." I said. "She''s the reckless one here. But I like that. Well done, Elizabeth."


    Unlike everybody else, I head patted her, and smiled back at her.


    "I''m d I could help¡­" She said with a sweet smile.


    -----

 Chapter 379 Treating Elizabeth

    -----


    "But still! She can''t even move!" Erika reprimanded me.


    "Don''t me me for this." I sighed. "And don''t get ahead of yourself, Erika. Since when you have spoken to me in such a tone?"


    "Ah¡­ Sorry¡­" Erika apologized. "I am a bit agitated after everything¡­"


    "Hmph, well. You were the ones that decided toe with me after all my warnings. I told you dozens of times how dangerous this trip to the swamp would be, yet all of you insisted oning to prove yourselves to me." I said. "Don''t get cold feet because we fought a lot of Undead. You''ll be fighting even more soon."


    "Ugh¡­" Sighed Eric. "Okay¡­ But I just hate their horrible smell."


    "T-Their rotting faces and all¡­ Uegh¡­ I am going to have nightmares today." Chris said.


    "I guess this is the first time you see Undead." Eleanora pointed out, emerging at my side. She had fighting in the frontlines all this time with Blood, her loyal Blood Wolf, and the support of a small Fenrir Squad.


    "Have you seen them before?" Wondered Erdrich.


    "Yes, it was back in your house." I said. "It was not something you would like to hear, but there were Undead monsters there."


    "I-I see¡­" Erdrich muttered, he didn''t wanted to really talk about the time his mother went nuts and tried to kill everybody.


    "¡­Nheless."


    I quickly kneeled and looked at Elizabeth, checking her temperature. She was feverish, amon symptom created by overusing Mana. If this is not treated this will only get worse and incapacitate her, or it could even cripple her Mana Cultivation.


    However, it seemed as if her HP had gone down. I had also seen this before, when Mana was overused more than the limit shown in numbers, HP would be used instead, and inrge quantities, usually by a range of 1 MP = 10 HP. Her HP was extremely low, even when I couldn''t truly see it.


    "Here, drink this."


    Swiftly, I took out a potion from my pocket and made her drink this. It was an experimental potion that used Apples made from Apul as a primary ingredient, they were able to heal arge quantity of HP and even restore stamina and exhaustion. But because it is hard to create, I only have a handful of them.


    "Hmm¡­ It tastes like apple juice¡­"


    Elizabeth slowly drank the red-colored potion, as she suddenly burped and blushed, covering her mouth.


    "A-Ah, sorry¡­"


    "It''s fine."


    I head patted again to reward her for her efforts. However, I could also feel the strangely jealous re of Eleanora and Erika behind me.<sub> </sub>


    "Oh¡­" Elizabeth quickly felt better, as a glow of mana flowed across her body. I had also given her a small Lesser Mana Potion, which also restored her MP enough for her to feel better. "I feel better now, thanks a lot, ke!"


    Elizabeth innocently thanked me, although the rest were still slightly mad at me for having "forced" her to over exceed herself, even more because she didn''t got angry at me for that.


    "Can all of you stop ring me like you want to kill me now?" I sighed, quickly taking some sandwiches from my bag. "Here, let''s eat something."


    Their faces quickly changed from narrowing eyes to eyes wide open with happiness clear in the brightnessing from them, they immediately snatched the food from my hands and began eating. They might be quite intelligent and maturepared to other kids their age, but kids will always be kids anyways. Simple minded and easy to make happy with the simplest of things.


    "Oh, this sandwich is different?! What is this white sauce? It is so creamy¡­" Erika pointed out.


    "I had never eaten something like this. It''s certainly not cream though." Eric said.


    "Woah, it is quite eggy too? But not too much." Erdrich noticed.


    "Ah, that''s mayonnaise. It is made out of eggs and oil." I said. "It is technically a whipped cream. Its vor is a goodplement for sandwiches."


    "A-Amazing¡­" Elisabeth wolfed down her own sandwich in a matter of seconds, drinking some more potion she had left afterwards.


    "I want another!" Erdrich asked like a spoiled child. Well, he used to be nobility so some habits die hard.


    "Me too! Seconds!" Erika said. "Or I won''t keep moving!"


    "Don''t worry, I prepared a lot."


    I quickly shared more as I saw them all eat. I also ate one myself, but these kids had a very hasty metabolism and felt hungry all the time. Although my Physique asked for tons of calories to develop, I had eaten a lot of meat beforeing here to save up energy in my physique, an ability I had acquired by its power developing.


    Food made through the [Cooking] Skill was certainly useful. It was like mini potions, as I saw my HP and MP go up by a few digits each time I took a bite out of the sandwich, perhaps one of the reasons it was so addictive for them was this.


    Because of the power the [Cooking] Skill granted to my food, I had felt motivated to cook more food and save up on potions, whose materials were rarer and more expensive. I had been making potions for a while now, trying to save up as many as I can for when I open my shop.


    However, we couldn''t sit down here for too long, there was a whole abandoned dungeon-like underground area we had to explore, and the enormous magical powering from its depths indicated there was a big boss waiting for us. I could already tell it was probably a member of the Cult that inhabited here not so long ago, who had, for some strange reason, rejected the idea of leaving this ce.


    Perhaps the Necromancer behind this Undead attack had some sort of specific grudge against our vige as a whole? Maybe he could even be the culprit behind the Wyvern''s attack for all I know.


    Well, I''ll only know when I get to him. But if he''s truly a Necromancer capable of controlling D Rank Undead, then he''s no small fry.


    It is not an exaggeration to say this could be our greatest challenge so far.


    -----

 Chapter 380 Great Gains And Level Ups

    -----


    Well, I''ll only know when I get to him. But if he''s truly a Necromancer capable of controlling D Rank Undead, then he''s no small fry.


    It is not an exaggeration to say this could be our greatest challenge so far.


    [Calcting EXP Earned¡­]


    [You and your Party in [F Rank Undead: Skeletons, Zombies] x283]


    [You and your Party in [E Rank Undead: Skeleton Knights] x33]


    [You and your Party in [D Rank Undead: Rotten Giant] x4]


    [You earned 386100 EXP]


    [Your Level has increased from Level 13 to Level 14!]


    [Your Level has increased from Level 14 to Level 15!]


    [Your Level has increased from Level 15 to Level 16!]


    [All yours Stats have increased]


    [You earned Stat Points and Skill Points]


    [You acquired the [Undead yer: Lv1] Title Skill]


    Excellent, the amount of EXP we earned this time around was truly delectable. Each F Rank Undead was 500 EXP a pop, while the E Rank were 1000 EXP and the Rotten Giants 10000 EXP, that alone was roughly 214500, and when 80% of it was added into it, I ended earning the astronomic amount of 386100, enough, with the other EXP I had umted beforehand, to level up three times in a row.


    If this system can be easily abused, I could just enve that Necromancer and force him to produce more and more Undead for us to y, but as of now, the only material left after killing them all are their ashes and Spirit Orbs.


    Which strangely enough, are both high quality alchemy materials, especially Undead Spirit Orbs, the first time I''ve ever see them before. So even Undead have them? So how do they form though? Do the Undead get it as they turn into monsters or do they get them when they''re manually created by a Necromancer?


    I would assume manually crafted Undead won''t have spirit orbs while those that are produced through magic and mass produced might develop one over time¡­ maybe. It is still quite the mystery for me.


    Nheless, having leveled up thrice are great news!


    Why?


    Well¡­


    [You have exchanged 40 Skill Points]


    [The [Hard Worker: Lv4] Skill has earned 40000 Skill Proficiency]


    [The [Hard Worker: Lv4] Skill has leveled up!]


    -----


    [Hard Worker: Lv5]


    Skill Proficiency: 0/50000


    A special Skill that only those that endlessly work hard can acquire. Skill Requirements to unlock the Skill to be exchanged for Skill Points has been filled. Learnable only through Skill Points.


    Increases Skill Proficiency and Experience Points earned by +100%. The harder you work, the more payback you will receive, but the greater the challenge will be.


    -----


    Excellent! With this, I can earn double the amount of EXP I used to learn before! The ridiculous amounts of EXP I need might be finally offset a bit now¡­ Although it seems that this is only Level 5, if I reach a higher level¡­ let''s say 10, can''t I earn +200% EXP? That would certainly be an insane amount of Skill Points I would require to spend though, so it might not bepletely worth it if I have new Skills when I finally reach Level Cap.


    As of now, I am Level 16, I have another 14 Levels before reaching level cap, each Level grants 10 Skill Points, so I can earn up to 140 before reaching level cap and unlocking a new Skill Tree where I can spend them. And to Level up Hard Worker to Level 10, I need roughly¡­ 350 Skill Points, so I would need to wait until I reach Level 21 after hitting max level to finally max Hard Worker¡­


    That seems too much. Maybe I will just settle down with this number, or level it up twice until Level 7 and then save the rest of the Skill Points for myself. It is better to spend my resources wisely. If I go too much for growth speed but have no strength to showcase at those high levels, then it would be quite in vain, isn''t it?


    I am sure that my next ss Change will be huge, as I might acquire more Summoner Skills to unlock using Skill Points, I can''t act recklessly and spend them all. If possible, I would want a few saved for that moment.


    -----


    Name: ke Hunter Goathorn.<sub> </sub>


    Race: Human


    Spirit Orb Realm: Rank 1 (Peak Stage)


    Physique: Vampiric Blood Emperor Physique (Tier 2: Rank 6)


    Job ss: [Invoker: ¡ï]


    Subss: [Alchemist: ¡ï]


    Level: 11/30 -> 16/30


    EXP: 8000/160000


    < Health Points: 526/586 -> 636/692 >


    < Mana Points: 543/1072 -> 743/1233 >


    < Strength: 643 -> 748 >


    < Agility: 458 -> 562 >


    < Vitality: 471 -> 574 >


    < Intelligence: 748 -> 902 >


    < Dexterity: 501 -> 611 >


    Spirits (1/1): [Half-Vampire: Eleanora (Rank 1 Peak Stage)]


    Physique Abilities: [Tier 2: Body Strengthening (+Demonic Arm)] [Tier 2: Enhanced Senses] [Tier 2: Vampiric Eyes (+Demon Eyes of Paralysis +Demon Eye of Gravity)]


    Link Skills:


    [Link (Eleanora): [Shadow Sneak: 3]


    Passive Skills: [Acrobatics: Lv4] [Robust Body: Lv4] [Hard Worker: Lv2] [Hawk Eye: 4] [Gifted Magic Apprentice: Lv4] [Heavy Drinker: Lv2], [Intimidation: Lv2]


    Active Skills: [Throwing Technique: Lv4] [Spearmanship: Lv3] [Butcher: Lv3] [Alchemy: Lv2] [Brewing: Lv1] [Synthetize: Lv1] [First Aid: Lv4], [Command: Lv2], [Cooking: Lv2] [Agriculture: Lv1]


    Magic Skills: [Blood Edge: Lv2] [Shadow Maniption: Lv1] [Create/Delete Familiar: Lv2] [Summon/Unsummon Familiar: Lv2] [Familiar Storage Expansion: Lv2] [Familiar Synthesis: Lv2] [Apprentice Alchemist Recipe Book: Lv1] [Spirit And Master Connection: Lv1]


    Title Skills: [Beast yer: Lv2] [Demon yer: Lv2] [Savior: Lv2] [ughter King: Lv1] [Dragon yer: Lv1] [Kin yer: Lv1]


    Avable Stat Points: 50


    Avable Skill Points: 10


    Can gain 10 Stat Points and Skill Points with each Level.


    Curses:


    EXP required to level up x100


    Proficiency required to learn techniques and skills x100


    Mana/Qi/Aether Recovery speed decreased by -50%


    -----


    My stats had grown nicely since this morning, I have gained several Levels now. This entire trip waspletely worth it, despite the hardships, of course.


    Nheless, it is slightly frustrating my Skills are still taking their time to Level up, even though they have a +100% Bonus to Skill EXP. They certainly can''t level up as fast as the Level of sses themselves. I''ll have to dedicate myself to level them up after we are done here.


    Now, where should I spend my Stat Points?


    -----

 Chapter 381 Eleanoras Growth And A New Useful Material

    -----


    While my party was eating a resting for a ten minute break, I looked into my Grimoire quite intensively. Eleanora was diverting their attention from me so I could have some time for my own thoughts without getting interrupted every second.


    Now¡­ what do I increase this time?


    I am quite tempted to keep adding more Strength, but right now in this situation, magic is king. If I can strengthen my magic and burn those undead with my Scarlet re, then it would be more efficient to increase my Intelligence. That would also make my memory clearer, which can help me recall my past life with even more detail¡­


    However, increasing Agility doesn''t look that bad either, especially when it is one of those stats that had been slugging down before the others. If I give it a nice boost, it couldpare better with the others.


    Hm¡­ dividing the stat points wouldn''t be that good, the more stats I pour into a stat at the same time, the better the results. If I divide them too much and add to too many of them at once, I will barely notice the changes.


    Well, let''s go for Agility for now, I feel like I don''t have to worry too much in dealing magic damage when I have such a strong magic ss cannon such as Elizabeth with us.


    [You have exchanged 50 Stat Points, you gained +50 Agility]


    FLASH!


    Suddenly, I felt as if my muscles tensed up for a few seconds, but quickly calmed down. It wasn''t the same pain as when I increase Strength, it was slightly relieving, to be honest. Without realizing it, I had be incredibly light. Although that feeling quickly faded away.


    "I see, so these are the effects of increasing Agility by arge amount¡­"


    As I saw Eleanora speaking with the rest about their fighting styles, I checked her own Status. She had grown stronger, quite a lot, in fact.


    -----


    Name: Eleanora.


    Spirit Race: Half Vampire.


    Spirit Type: Blood/Dark


    Spirit Realm: Rank 1 (Peak Stage)


    Level: 16/30


    < Health Points: 1434/1434 >


    < Strength: 1103 >


    < Agility: 902 >


    < Vitality: 601 >


    < Intelligence: 507 >


    < Dexterity: 955 >


    Link Skills:<sub> </sub>


    [Link (ke): [Hard Worker: Level 5]


    Passive Skills: [Half-Vampire: Lv3] [Charm: Lv3] [Spirit Link: Lv2]


    Active Skills: [Assassination: Lv4] [Illusion: Lv3] [Stealth: Lv3] [Spearmanship: Lv3]


    Magic Skills: [Blood Edge: Lv4] [Shadow Sneak: Lv3] [Blood Bat Transformation: Lv2] [Blood Threads: Lv2] [Shadow Trap Creation: Lv2] [Blood Aura: Lv2] [Blood Envement Contract: Lv1]


    Title Skills: [Vampire Queen: Lv3] [Demon yer: Lv2] [Progenitor Vampire: Lv1] [Undead yer: Lv1]


    Avable Stat Points: 130


    Avable Skill Points: 160


    -----


    She was the only one I could properlypare my stats with, and well¡­ She was as insane as I imagined her to be. Her stats were incredibly high at Level 16. Her Level Ups were always synchronized with mine, so she was always at my same level. At this Level, her Strength Stat was already way past 1k. Her stats had increased a lot after she reached Peak Stage of Rank 1 as a Spirit, earning as much as +100 to both HP and Strength and +50 to everything else¡­ that added with her high growth and everything else made her incredibly strong and lethal.


    She was a strong spirit, and it didn''t bothered to me at all that she could have several stats higher than me. That was the whole purpose of spirits after all, to be vastly stronger than their masters and offer them incredible strength so they can survive this world with their help. This also affected our ability to do Spirit Link, and even her power to transform into a Spirit Weapon. The more stats she had, the stronger she would be in this form.


    Nheless, she had a lot of saved Stat Points and Skill Points she had yet to use. Her Skill Tree, unlike mine, was immense and filled with an amazing variety of different Skills. However, because of this, it was quite hard for her to focus on something and she had a hard time deciding things. For now, she was fine, butter she should really put some more time into administrating these points, or I''ll do it myself.


    "Well, this is next¡­"


    I looked into the pile of Spirit Orbs we had gathered, alongside ashes. These ashes, despite their simplistic appearance, were a very sought-after material for alchemy, known as [Purified Ashes of the Fallen].


    -----


    [Purified Ashes of the Fallen (Rare Grade)]


    The ashes created as a result of purifying powerful Undead who held ursed spirits within their bodies. These ashes contain great amounts of Spiritual Essence and Soul Essence within them and are highly sought after for the performance of high ranked alchemy. They can be used for either the creation of potions, magic items, and even the enchantment of equipment. These ashes contain the Holy Element, which is specially strong against Demons and Undead.


    -----


    Indeed, despite havinge from an Undead, they''re an incredibly pure item that contains the Holy Element within them! Merely using them on potions can enhance their power greatly. Making them very strong healing potions or mana potions. I can also use them to enchant equipment and grant them the holy element, which was particrly stronger against Demon and Undead.


    Although I have a Cursed Weapon, I had also thought about crafting a Holy Weapon. Cursed Weapons are good, but against Demons they''re not that strong. If I could get a Holy Weapon for such asions, I would be able to deal with both situations at the same time.


    Unlike Cursed Weapons, Holy Weapons are imbued with the power of Holy Light and the Light Spectrum of Elements, capable of channeling elements such as wind, fire, earth, and water instead of the Cursed Weapons that can only channel darkness, death, illusion, nightmare, blood, and so on.


    Maybe in the near future I could make myself a Holy Weapon of some sort, but if possible, something small that doesn''t bring too much attention, like a dagger¡­


    Ah well, for now, I should concentrate in my other haul of items, the Spirit Orbs.


    If I am not mistaken, if I absorb these¡­ I could quite possibly acquire Undead-type Familiar Spirits!


    -----

 Chapter 382 New Undead-Type Familiar Summons!

    -----


    I began absorbing the Spirit Orbs one by one rapidly. I didn''t really had the time to sit down and meditate. Because they were not bing my strength but new Familiars, I had no need to particrly sit down and wait for the energies to stabilize into my body. However, my absorption of these Undead ended only at the Skeleton and Zombies.


    The Skeleton Knights and the Rotten Giants were E and D respectively, which I couldn''t absorb just yet¡­ Although I am sure I should be able to level up the Skill enough to be able to absorb them eventually. The Summoning Skills were close to leveling up soon, so summoning E Ranked Familiars might be possible within this week.


    However, for now, I decided to save the rest and look at my brand-new Spirit Familiars, which were indeed Undead themselves.


    -----


    Name: Bone


    Type: Undead


    Rank: F


    Race: ck Skeleton


    < Health Points: 100/100 >


    < Strength: 130 >


    < Agility: 90 >


    < Vitality: 100 >


    < Intelligence: 70 >


    < Dexterity: 70 >


    Buff: +4 Strength, +4 Vitality


    Skill: [Steel Bones] [Aura of Intimidation] [Bone Projectile]


    Growth: 0/50


    -----


    -----


    Name: Rot


    Type: Undead


    Rank: F


    Race: Blood Zombie


    < Health Points: 160/160 >


    < Strength: 90 >


    < Agility: 70 >


    < Vitality: 160 ><sub> </sub>


    < Intelligence: 60 >


    < Dexterity: 60 >


    Buff: +4 HP, +4 Vitality


    Skill: [Self Regeneration] [Aura of Famine] [Undead Wall]


    Growth: 0/50


    -----


    They had changed from how I remembered the Monsters themselves. The Skeletons turned ck and wore some ck armor over their bodies, although it was rusty. They also didn''te with weapons like the others. Meanwhile, the Zombies red mostly red, with bloodshot eyes. They were certainly frightening to see for someone that had never seen undead before, maybe even more than the original Zombies.


    These two Undead had particrly be stronger than their original ones. The Skeletons were more resilient and held immense physical prowess. Meanwhile, they also had some amazing Skills such as Steel Bones which enhanced their Physical Damage Defense by +50% while activating it, their Aura of Intimidation that weakened foe''s stats depending on how many there were umted, the more the better, and then Bone Projectile, which let the Skeleton sacrifice a body part tounch as a powerful long-ranged attack at the cost of part of their HP.


    Meanwhile, the Zombies had the power to self-regenerate fromrge wounds and attacks quite rapidly, while their Aura of Famine weakened foes as well, the more the merrier. Aura of Intimidation lowered foe''s Attack while Aura of Famine lowered their Defense. Meanwhile, the Zombies also had the power of Undead Wall, an ability that can be activated only when there''s at least two of them closer, they unify as a wall of dead flesh that triples their physical and magical defense. However, upon activation, they disappear as cards, simrly to Apul when he turns into juice or an apple to consume.


    The Undead Walls can move by mymands apparently but die off after some time. Nheless, they''re perfect to be used as strategic points, or to build barricades when fightingrge quantities of foes at once, which is ideal if I want to earn enough EXP to Level Up in the future.


    "W-Wow, did you just make the zombies and skeletons your familiar spirits?! That''s a thing?" Asked Erdrich in astonishment.


    "So he can turn just any monster into one, huh?" Wondered Chris.


    "So cool¡­" Eric seemed to havepletely changed his view of disgusting Undead, as he seemed to admire the two I summoned, who followed my verymands.


    "Can''t you also turn the Rotten Giant and the Skeleton Knights?" Wondered Erika.


    "I wish but I am limited to my Skill Levels. The nest time I level up the Summon Creation Skill, I should be able to use the Skeleton Knights, but the Rotten Giants are too strong, so I''ll need to level up the skill again, perhaps." I said with a pragmatic tone of voice.


    "Wow so you can''t just summon whatever you please, huh? Even Summoners who are so cheat-like go their own limits." Chris analyzed.


    "I also have simr limits¡­ My [Doll Creation] Skill can only let me summon around forty Dolls at once, and in exchange of a lot of MP¡­ I need to level up the skill as well so I can bring more." Erika said. The other day I helped her see the limits of her Skills to analyze them in more detail and in that time we discovered her current limit was forty dolls.


    However, because her MP is very closely tied with her own energy and stamina due tocking a body that generates energy by itself like our fleshy bodies normally do, she cannot overuse her MP, and it is usually over 50%. Below that, and she''ll get even worse than Elisabeth. So usually, twenty dolls is her actual limit without overdoing it, and what I had rmended her.


    "Summoners are also quite limited." I said. "Well, the stronger we grow, the more Summons we can bring with ourselves. Erika is also a Summoner so that makes me feel like we are not as rare. And well, everyone is technically a summoner of their own Spirit." I said with a sigh. "Nheless, these guys might prove to be very strong, and they have no apparent weakness to holy light, I believe."


    Because they''re Spirit Familiars made out of spirit energy, theyck any element, like all my other spirits, and are element-less. Therefore, they have no weakness to any particr element, nor are particrly strong against another unless they conjure an elemental attack, but those are rare and only three of my Familiars have a proper elemental attack Skill.


    "So I can conjure Exorcism and they won''t die?" Wondered Elizabeth.


    "Yeah, they''re technically not corpses¡­ Chris, try to take this one down." I said, as Chris nodded and suddenly began to hit the Zombie until it finally disappeared. It took him a while.


    POOF!


    It quickly turned into light bubbles and disappeared.


    "Woah, it is really not a normal Undead at all¡­"


    -----

 Chapter 383 The Necromancers History

    -----


    Asking for Chris help also let me see some things. The durability of a Zombie is amazing, their regeneration, high vitality and hp make them formidable tanks. And perhaps due to theirck of emotions and pain receptors, which other Familiars seem to have, albeit slightly dulled out, they can take a beating without issues, even if it breaks their heads or leaves a hole in the middle of their chest. It took Chris roughly six hits to finally take down a Zombie, even with his fire. The mes he conjured did nothing but burn it a bit, the zombie, unlike the other ones we fought, wasn''t at all bothered by it.


    "A-Amazing, your Undead are sure better than whoever brought the others we fought." Said Chris.


    "Yeah, shouldn''t you be called a Necromancer now, technically?" Wondered Eric.


    "Nah, I prefer to simply be referred as Summoner. I don''t particrly like Necromancers¡­" I said.


    After all, they were a big pain in the ass in my previous life. It wasn''t until I grew strong enough to defeat them all that I was freed from their tyranny and chasing. I made sure to crush each one of them, and even took down their Necromancy Organization which was taking control of severals. I even fought against their "Undead God" a low-tier Divine Entity they got most of their power from and destroyed it.


    However, Necromancers here seem different. I am fairly sure there is no Undead God here for them to bring their necrotic powers. Whoever is controlling these Undead is way stronger than them, even. I had already spected that this world could be of a "high essence quality", meaning that everything here is absurdly powerfulpared to the Outer Universe, despite seemingly looking normal for us and even these children.


    This Necromancer capable of drawing the power of death without the aid of a cosmic entity, therefore, is stronger than the ones I had fought before in some ways¡­ Could this mean I have already surpassed my past self-strength in those times? But in this world, I still seem not strong enough¡­ just how high does the bar of this world goes? I had even spected this could be apletely different Dimension with differentws from my own Universe altogether.


    Well, it is not like I will get any answers through these spections. For now, it is fine to assume this Necromancer might have an amazing affinity with the Death Element and also could quite possibly hold the power of a specific Spirit that allows him to control a raise Undead Monsters more easily as well. Abination of this plus the ability to level up and develop Skills would make for an incredibly formidable foe.


    "For now, we should advance, we are getting closer to the area I sense this enormous powering from. You have to all prepare for the worst. Do you feel ready to take down a dragon if that''s the case?" I asked everybody. I was, of course, exaggerating. But I wanted to know how far they were willing to go.


    "We are!" They roared together, Eleanora at my side smiled a bit.


    "You''ve raised them well." She whispered to my ears.


    "Hm, they''re a fine bunch. And they''ll grow even stronger in the future¡­" I said to her. "Alright then, everyone, let''s go!"


    I quickly led them party, as we marched forward across the dark corridors. Elizabeth swiftly conjured several spheres of light which spread out across the underground area, illuminating everything within our range and showing the various things in the floor, there were broken magic items, broken corpses, and of course, a lot of rats and other little animals dwelling around. They were not monsters so theycked much value, and had no spirit orbs to talk about, so I mostly ignored them.


    As we moved forward, the fetid stench of rotten flesh began to get stronger, and we began seeing more bones spread around. They were certainly not enough to turn into skeletons though, hopefully.


    "Ugh¡­ Just how strong is this "Necromancer" guy?" Wondered Chris.


    "Very, if he can control D Rank monsters¡­ He''s no ordinary joe." I said.


    "Damn¡­" Chris said.<sub> </sub>


    "Getting cold feet?" Erdrich asked with a cheeky smile.


    "What? Of course not!" Chris said. "We are doing this¡­ I am not backing down."


    "Yeah, that''s right!" Erika said. "But how do Necromancers even work? I''ve never heard of them before¡­"


    "Hm, they use the power of Death Attribute Magic to control Souls and insert them into the lifeless bodies of formerly living beings, turning them into Undead Servants. Usually Necromancers can forbid their own lives and turn into Undead themselves, enhancing their power further¡­" I said. "Of course, Spiritse into use as well. This Necromancer might have a special Spirit that enhances his Necromancy powers even more for all I know."


    "Oh, I see¡­" Eric said while seemingly taking some mental notes. "Ah! Wait¡­"


    Suddenly, he recalled something.


    "What is it?" I asked.


    "I¡­ I think I remember something. A tale my uncle told me. When he was younger¡­ About someone in our vige that was ostracized by the church priests for being able to wield Death Magic and having a strange Spirit." Said Eric. "It was a scary and rather sad tale¡­"


    <o>,m "Tale you say?" I wondered, looking back at him.</o>


    "Yeah¡­" He said. "It is about a child that was named the "Son of the Reaper"¡­ He was someone normal at first, but when he awakened his Spirit, which emerged in the form of some sort of Reaper thing, he changed. He suddenly realized his powers, and from a younger age, began to use them to raise the dead back to life. He thought he could protect the vige like that, but the people was disgusted by his power¡­ The church back then was not as developed, and they saw his as dangerous¡­ however, they never did anything until he endedmitting an atrocity."


    "A-Atrocity?" Erika asked while feeling slightly scared over the simple tale.


    "Yeah¡­ He¡­ He killed his parents and raised them as zombies!" Eric said, scaring Erika.


    "Whaaaaat?! That''s nuts!" Erika said.


    "I see¡­" I rubbed my chin. "Could this man have survived and hold such a strong grudge against our vige to the point he''s willing to stay here while the rest of the Cult escaped?"


    However, a second after, I sensed footsteps several meters away from us, countless of them.


    "Ready yourselves, that guy already sent a second batch of EXP our way. Let''s make sure to receive it with open arms."


    -----

 Chapter 384 The Necromancers Rage

    -----


    It waspletely impossible!


    An incredibly old looking man nced into the orb in front of him. The projectioning from the artifact evidently showed what this group of younglings had done to his army of the dead.


    In just a few seconds¡­ theypletely eliminated his army, and even turned them all into ashes and Spirit Orbs. The man''s face waspletely filled with astonishment. It had been a long time since he saw somebody be capable of ying his entire army


    And it was indeed with the help of a wielder of light magic, a Holy Mage, or well, as this world''s church called them, a Priest. However, this Priest was but a young girl brought by this group of kids. Howe she was so strong?


    "Just how many Blessings of the Holy Spirits has this young Priest received to be able to even eliminate the powerful Rotten Giants so easily?!" The bearded man eximed, his almost skeletal hands hit the table in front of him, as the orb over the table ended rolling and falling from the table.


    CRASH!


    The orb shattered into pieces, as the projection quickly dissipated. The man''s furious eyes only ended growing even more frustrated as he saw what his rage had provoked. Immediately after, he conjured a phantasmal hand from his own hands, grabbing the broken orb and reassembling it together using phantasmal essence.


    Suddenly a ghostly presence possessed the Orb, which began to float in front of him, even if shattered, it suddenly began working just as before, but this time, it had gained sentience.


    "These children are not ordinary at all. What sort of children has this vige been raising until now?" The man wondered. "Well, no matter. It is not like that''s the only Undead I have. I''ll bet everything on thisst batch, my strongest so far. And while we are at it¡­"


    The man''s dark presence began to emerge from his body, as he looked into arge red crystal that was located behind him. His old and weak body slowly walked towards the crystal, containing only the most purest of demonic essences¡­


    His old and skeletal hand slowly caressed the gigantic crystal, as a sick smile emerged on his old and dry lips.


    "I might as well just do it¡­"


    Meanwhile, within the Miasmic Swamp, the miasmic ck waters began to bubble intensively, as several amorphous figures slowly began to crawl outside. Monstrous and mutated undead monsters, skeletons, and other horrendous creatures began to crawl outside, slowly moving towards a straight path, like an army hearing themand of somebody.


    Their numbers quickly went from a handful to a dozen, and then twenty, thirty, forty, fifty¡­ their numbers quickly increased with each passing second.


    "I''ve been preparing this for so long now¡­ Those damn children are threatening my ns, but so be it. It is not as if my current numbers can''t destroy that vige until nothing remains. Without the knights and soldiers to protect you, how will you be able to handle this?"


    .


    .


    .<sub> </sub>


    (ke''s POV)


    "A-Atrocity?" Erika asked while feeling slightly scared over the simple tale.


    "Yeah¡­ He¡­ He killed his parents and raised them as zombies!" Eric said, scaring Erika.


    "Whaaaaat?! That''s nuts!" Erika said.


    "I see¡­" I rubbed my chin. "Could this man have survived and hold such a strong grudge against our vige to the point he''s willing to stay here while the rest of the Cult escaped?"


    However, a second after, I sensed footsteps several meters away from us, countless of them.


    "Ready yourselves, that guy already sent a second batch of EXP our way. Let''s make sure to receive it with open arms."


    The footsteps of countless Undead was easily heard by all of us. We quickly stopped moving, as the figures of zombies, skeletons, andrger beings than them emerged. Rotten Giants were there, by more than ten, while Skeleton Knights and Armored Zombies were almost asmon as the normal zombies and skeletons we saw before.


    While Skeleton Knights wore armor made out of rusted metals, Armored Zombies were covered in bones protruding from their bodies, and strange ck crystals as well, which enhanced their defenses. All Undead, in fact, had one of these weird crystals, which turned into ashes when Elizabeth unleashed her powers before, so I was not able to get any sort of example to inspect.


    But from what I can tell by merely watching them, these were some sort of Demonic and Miasmic Crystal made by the crystallization of such corrupt energies, which enhanced the power of Undead and Monsters by several times. These Undead in particr held many of such crystals, to boot.


    "T-Those Undead look mighty strong this time!" Eric said while trembling.


    "Come on, get your shit together Eric!" Chris roared, getting in front as his Fire Fox emerged, flying around, and unleashing an Aura of mes, which quickly epassed us at the same time I brought Moby to do his trick to enhance our Agility and Evasion.


    It seemed that Chris had gained a new Skill named [Aura of mes], not only did it enhance his MP Regeneration Speed, Agility, Dexterity, and Intelligence by +10%, but it also did the same with anybody he conjured it over, bing a valuable buff.


    "I suppose it is time for my new Undead to shine." I immediately waved my hands as several Summon Cards emerged one after the other out of my Grimoire. Most of my Familiars died in thest fight, so it was time to fill up the gaps, and I''ve umted just enough MP to summon until the veryst slot I had avable- of course, I had to drink a Lesser Mana Potion after that.


    FLASH! FLASH! FLASH! FLASH! FLASH!


    Suddenly, twenty ck Skeletons emerged out of thin air, holding Ax with them, which enhanced their power further through Moby''s and Chris'' buffs. Alongside them, there were 10 Blood Zombies, which organized into a line in front of me.


    "Now¡­ Undead Wall!"


    -----

 Chapter 385 The Power Of {Undead Wall}

    -----


    [Undead Wall] was a special Skill that the Blood Zombies had; its power was simply yet amazing. It could fuse two or more Zombies together into a grotesque wall of rotting flesh, unifying all of their defensive stats and enhancing their skills!


    -----


    [Undead Wall]


    As long as there''s at least another Blood Zombie near the user of this Skill, the user and the target fuse into a [Temporary Summon] named [Undead Wall of Rotting Flesh] for 1 Hour. The fused Undead Monsterbines all the Defensive Stats of its ingredients but cannot move. The level of the Skills it has is based in how many Zombies are merged together.


    The [Undead Wall of Rotting Flesh] possess the [Dread Tentacle] [Rotting Breath] [Menacing Aura] and [Auto Destruction] Skills which it can use freely as long as it lives. After the hour passes, the Undead Wall will automatically Self Destruct or, if the master desires, simply disappear without leaving anything behind.


    -----


    It was incredible!


    "Now¡­ [Undead Wall]!"


    FLASH!


    Suddenly, three Blood Zombies in front of me shone with bright red light, as their entire bodies merged together into a grotesque mass of flesh, suddenly, it expanded into the shape of a ten meter tall and thirty meter wide wall madepletely out of rotting flesh, with jaws, eyes, tentacles, and the limbs and bones of the Zombie.


    "GRYYEEEEHHH¡­"


    The Undead Wall gave a truly frightening groan, as if it was agonizing by merely existing. Suddenly, countless fleshy tentacles covered on venomous acid emerged from its body, waving around like whips, and quickly catching nearby Undead, strangling them and crushing them into the ground. This was the Undead Wall''s [Dread Tentacle] Skill.


    "A-Amazing! Did the Zombies just merged together?!" Eric asked inplete shock.


    "Indeed!" I said with a smile. "And that''s not the only one¡­!"


    although Summoning the Zombies themselves costs Mana, fusing them costs nothing, so it is not hard at all to create more! The other seven Zombies quickly turned into two more Undead Walls, forming arge barricade. Their wide and tall sizes made it impossible for the Undead to easily go over them, even less crawl over them as they attacked and even bite back.


    Even the enormous fists of a Rotting Giant nearby was unable to destroy the Undead Wall it targeted, their HP and defenses were insanely high, even more when I merged the Walls together as well.


    "Now¡­ Merge once more!"


    The Undead Walls suddenly connected tendrils with one another, and began to share their power, turning into a grotesque and single entity which was divided into many corridors, all of them bleeding and palpitating as if slightly alive, all while secreting a horrid stench.


    Not only that, but as the Undead Walls ate skeletons and zombies, their HP recovered constantly. they were more than capable of keeping up for way longer! There were no Undead behind us, so we were not struggling as much as before.<sub> </sub>


    But that wasn''t all!


    As I created two more Undead Walls, the ck Skeletons holding Ax quickly fought back, using the Ax I had summoned for their weapons amazingly masterfully. Swinging the weapons furiously as Ax unleashed its three Skills at the same time, [Strong Strike] [Vertical sh] and [Crush], all of them began to slice and shred their foes into pieces, quickly bringing a greater advantage than anything else ever seen before with my Familiars.


    Skeleton Knights tried to overpower my ck Skeletons, but the buffs I had given to them coupled with the support of the Undead Walls made it impossible. Their bodies were cut into pieces by the powerful Ax, the only thing capable of withstanding their mad attacks were the Rotting Giants, who continued punching the Undead Wall furiously, without being able topletely destroy it, but weaken it with each slow attack.


    My party waspletely bbergasted by what I had aplished in these few minutes. However, they couldn''t simply stand still and watch, I immediatelymanded them to aid my Skeletons. Their stats were clearly higher than any of my Summons, so they were more than likely to be able to fight better.


    "Doll Fusion: Archers + Mages! Magic Archers!"


    FLASH! FLASH! FLASH! FLASH!


    Erika quickly showcased her own amazing powers, as she unleashed a brand-new Skill she had acquired, the ability to merge Dolls together into stronger Advanced sses. This cost a lot of MP, so she only used it on ten and ten of them, merging twenty into only ten. The Magic Archers wererger and looked better than the Archers and Magicians, and held magic bows they materialized in the instant they were born from the fusion.


    "Magic Arrow Rain!" Erikamanded her Dolls, as countless small arrows made of magic suddenly began falling from above the Undead Walls, crushing countless undead in front of us.


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!


    "W-Woah¡­" Erika herself was surprised by her Doll''s power, but she couldn''t falter right now.


    CLASH!


    Arge Skeleton Knight reached her, swinging its enormous ck de against her. Any normal girl would had been sliced in half in that instant, but Erika intercepted the Skeleton Knight in time using herrge sword, as an Aura of Blood and Illusion emerged from her weapon and her ne respectively.


    POOF!


    Suddenly, a purple cloud emerged out of thin air, spreading over dozens of Undead at the same time, suddenly generating illusions around them, showing as if the other Skeletons were Erika and us. The Skeletons began to foolishly hit one another desperately, trying to kill the illusion of us.


    The Skeleton Knight himself began smacking skeletons and zombies alike,pletely fooled by the illusion of Erika, as she swung her sword and began exterminating the Undead one after the other, using her Illusion Magic to the fullest potential she had. With the support of her Dolls, her physical strength, her magic and her weapon and ne, it wouldn''t be an over exaggeration to call her a one girl army!


    "SHAAAA!"


    But just in that moment, some faces we recognized emerged, Vipers!


    However, this time, they were not the same we saw before.


    -----

 Chapter 386 Undead Demons

    -----


    Vipers were powerful Demons we had fought before, probably right below the control of the Necromancer who were still alive. Until now we have been fighting mostly Zombies made out of Imps body parts and other monsters, but this was the first time we encountered a group of over thirty Vipers, all of them Zombies.


    Their eyes were dropping out of their sockets, and their scales were falling off their bodies as well. Some parts of their bodies were modified as well, as theirrge amount of arms was restructured into different monster arms, some in the shape of giant crab ws, another in the paws of a bear, some had arms that were long scythe-shaped bones.


    And a few others had bony arms with many des. Some even had arms with the heads of Gray Wolves and other Demons, imbued with a variety of Demonic Eyes ready for picking! However, the dangerousness of their presences was obvious, whatever demonic eyes they had, they were not going to be something we would be able to get rid of easily. I might even have to just crush them before they get closer.


    Who knows if there''s some dangerous demon eye with them? It is better to be safe than sorry.


    "SHAAA!"


    Suddenly, a group of Zombie Vipers who had hands stitched with magic wands and spirit orbs suddenly began to channelrge quantities of Mana and Demonic Energy together, something that Demons shouldn''t be able to do, but Undead could as they were modified through the usage of Mana.


    FLASH!


    Suddenly, an enormous magic circle emerged before the Undead Wall, suddenly summoning a spiraling storm of purple mes¡­ these were Poisonous mes!


    FLUOOOOSSHH!


    The mes barely affected Undead, who were immune to status effects, however my Undead Walls began to burn quite easily. The power of this magic was quite formidable. Several of my ck Skeletons were also caught into the fire, burning and turning into bubbles of light alongside the Ax they held, it was total chaos.


    BOOOOOMMMMM!!!


    However, despite my army gettingpletely destroyed, I couldn''t help but smile due to the thrill of such an interesting battle. Especially when my own army didn''t just include Familiar Spirits.


    "RAAAAAH!"


    Chris immediately jumped into the fight, roaring like a furious berserk despite being a magician. He jumped into the battle and began beating down the Zombies getting closer, while his Fire Fox Spirit suddenly gained an enormous size epassing itself on mes and then letting him mount over it!


    "GROAR!"


    The Fox roared like a wolf, biting, and burning the Skeleton Knights making a wall with their bodies in front of the burning Undead Walls, crushing them and turning them into ashes. Seconds after, Chris swung his staff, as a spiraling attack of fire hit the Undead around him, burning them and throwing them away.


    "SHAA!"


    The Zombie Vipers immediately tried to attack him, as they charged straight towards him while he constantly unleashed mes around his surroundings. The power of his level ups had not gone in vain, he had be admirably powerful.


    ¡­However, he wasn''t strong enough to boldly jump into danger for more than a few seconds.


    "Ungh¡­! Shit!"<sub> </sub>


    His MP was decreasing a lot, and his mes became weaker as a result of not using as much Mana. The Vipers attacked, trying to sh him with their bone weapons or poison him by firing balls of slimy venom from their mouths. Chris'' spirit quickly created me walls to protect him, but without Mana the Fire Fox Spirit turned smaller, quickly weakening.


    "Damn it!"


    "SHAAA!"


    A Viper rushed towards him, pointing a sharp bone as he intercepted it with his staff, thrown into the floor. Suddenly, he realized dozens of zombies and skeletons were getting closer, and closer¡­


    CLAAAASH!


    However, a spear imbued with Blood Aura fell right in front of him. The enormous shockwave it unleashed brought down countless Undead to the floor. The monsters slowly tried to stand back up, but a graceful and beautiful figure moved swifter than them, meddling with the shadows and shing them apart by the dozens with a single horizontal sh using her spear.


    SLAAAASH!


    BOOOM!


    Countless bones and pieces of flesh exploded against her Bloody shes, as she unleashed several techniques, not only infusing my own Mana, but her own Aether to save off as much Mana to not make me overuse it.


    Of course, it was Eleanora, the strongest Spirit we had with us, and my strongest subordinate.


    "Shadow Trap! Blood Threads!"


    Eleanora merged Shadow Trap with Blood Threads, as she had already set them up in the floor, using [Illusion] to make them partially invisible amidst the darkness of these corridors, and quickly moving her blood threads to activate them all in quick session, as hundreds of shadow tentacles emerged from the floor, catching more and more Undead and crushing them into pieces.


    "Come! Don''t get too ahead of yourself!" Eleanora quickly saved Chris, bringing him back to us.


    She swiftly rejoined battle, only with her loyal Blood who had gained the Shadow Step Skill recently and easily merged within her shadows, jumping around, and catching the Undead by manipting tendrils of darkness, pulling down the undead into his darkness and then tearing them apart with his sharp fangs and ws.


    "Damn it, she''s too good¡­ Sorry, I got ahead of myself." Chris sighed, quickly getting up.


    "Don''t worry, you did your best." I said, rather forgiving of my friend, mostly because he bought us a lot of time so we could recover our MP. Thankfully as we drank the Magic Juice produced by Apul, our Mana recovered at thrice their original speed.


    And I also absorbed the Spirit Orbs we had acquired before. As the only one capable of absorbing them directly by just touching them, I was able to refill my MP quite quickly, each F Rank Spirit Orb recovered roughly from 40 to 60 MP, it wasn''t as good as Mana Potions which could restore as much as 500 MP in one drink, but they were certainly cheaper to get.


    "I am ready¡­" I said with a smile, as I heard the footsteps of something even more terrifying getting closer, a chimeric zombie made of many stitched pieces,rger and stronger than mere Rotting Giants.


    "GRUOOHHHH¡­!"


    -----

 Chapter 387 The Rampaging Mad Half-Demon

    ? -----


    BOOOM!


    BOOOM!


    BOOOM!


    My Undead Walls were ultimately destroyed, as their HP reached zero, I swiftly ordered them to use [Self Destruction], the three I had created alongside the biggest one all exploded, generating an enormous shockwave of energies which took down dozens of Undead, so many that most of our front was cleansed.


    Although there were still around a bit over a hundred left, even the Rotting Giants were falling, half of them were already destroyed by thebination of Erdrich''s monstrous physical strength and Elizabeth''s holy magic, while Eric dedicated himself to support us with his entangling vine arrows and healing magic, which he was bing progressively better as a Druid, especially his buffing magic.


    Spells such as [Strengthen Physique] and the Skill [Children of the Forest] were surprisingly good at boosting our stats by a few digits, which all stacked with previously mentioned buffs, bringing a surprisingly high amount of power that barely surpassed our limits.


    "Battle Demon Arts: Furious Asura!"


    TRUUUMM¡­!


    Erdrich unleashed one of his strongest Skills, which he had been learning as he Leveled up his special ss and Half-Demon Powers. His entire body was alreadypletely red, and as he gained ck tattoos which almost covered his entire body, new, gray colored tattoos emerged over his charcoal ck skin.


    His fists grew to a ridiculous size for a split of a second, hitting the Rotting Giants in front of us and crushing one of them. Their enormous and amorphous bodies exploded into pieces, as Erdrich didn''t stopped there, quickly hitting a second one and blowing it away with all his fury.


    "RAAAAAHHHH!!!"


    However, he had done quite the miscalction, as he began to go in a rampage, attacking everything around him without thinking. Some of the Vipers were stepped over by his enormous body, getting ttened over the floor, while two more Rotten Giants pushed forward and stopped him from moving any further, using their many jaws to try to bite through his skin, which was too hard for them to be able to hurt him.


    "Gggrrr¡­! RAAAAH!"


    Erdrich rampaged, unleashing the fury of an Asura as a second pair of horns grew over his head, a long tail emerged behind him, hitting one of the Rotten Giants and throwing it away. His hands reached the other and easily tore it into pieces with furious and zing fists covered on demon mes.


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!


    The Rotten Giant thrown by his tail quickly got up, thinking it could fight him now that he was distracted, but Erdrich reacted in time, like a beast. He jumped into the air and then fell like a meteor over the other, crushing it on the spot and making its entire body blow into pieces.


    It was a brutal showcase of power!


    However, as all of us were fighting against the army of Undead, and especially the tricky and powerful Vipers and their Demonic Eyes that could Paralyze, Confuse, or even create Illusions, the roar of a furious entity was heard,ing straight towards us.


    TRUUM! TRUUM! TRUUM!


    Its footsteps quickly generated earthquakes, as the surrounding Undead were all crushed by enormous legs made up of many arms and legs stitched together, getting ttened over the floor one after the other.


    From within the darkness, several heads emerged, as if we were fighting an hydra, dozens of eyes red at Erdrich, as the head of Basilisks, wolves, and even a wyvern emerged from the darkness, with long snake-like necks!


    "SHAAA!"


    "GROAR!"


    "WOOF!"<sub> </sub>


    "Ungh?!"


    CLAAAASH!


    All the heads attacked Erdrich at the same time, but his enormous size, of over six meters intercepted them all, only for the enormous heads to bite through his gigantic and muscr arms, and his shoulders and back!


    "AAGGGHH¡­!"


    "Erdrich!"


    Everyone quickly got scared, as Erdrich, losing all his reason due to over exceeding himself, couldn''t hear us, roaring like a madman as he began to swing his arms and then unleashed a furious barrage of zing fists against the Undead Giant.


    CLASH! CLASH! CLASH! CLAAASH!


    "RAAAAAHHH¡­!"


    Suddenly, one of his fists gained a ck me which seemed to turn everything within its surroundingspletely cold, as if the temperature had dropped several grades. Pointing that fist into the Undead Monster, and crushing its Basilisk head, burning it with an explosion of ck fire.


    BOOOOOMMMM!!!


    "Hahhh¡­ Aggh¡­"


    Erdrich remained in there, barely standing. For a moment, we thought the monster was gone, only for a moment. I knew that thing wasn''t done yet.


    FLASH!


    I moved as swift as possible towards Eric, but it seemed I was a second toote.


    Six more heads emerged from the darkness, opening their jaws against Erdrich, gathering Mana and Demonic Energy¡­ and then unleashing an enormous,bined breath attack against him, resembling an all-consuming beam.


    FLAAAAASH!


    "AAAAAGHH¡­!"


    As the enormous power began to consume Erdrich''s entire body until his body began to burn to a crisp, I quickly acted, pointing my Demonic Hand towards Erdrich, and utilizing my Demonic Eye of Gravity, generating a Gravity Field, and then pulling Erdrich into my own shadows in time. Eleanora did the same with everybody else, just in time before the monstrous beam were to consume all of us.


    BOOOOOOOOMMMM!!!


    The gigantic beam impacted the underground area where we arrived, destroying the walls and ceilings, and trapping us down here. The enormous attack made the entire underground tremble, the ceiling crumbled apart as countless boulders began to fall, I was sure that there was a loud earthquake out there.


    When everything calmed down, we quickly emerged out of the shadows, looking at theplete disaster in front of us. And Erdrich who ended being knocked out. His wounds were quite severe, as most of his skin was charred, however, when he went back to his human form, like a snake, his demon skin was peeled off as if molting, healing him in the process. I guess he has such an ability.


    And of course, dozens of eyes red at us the moment we emerged out of the shadows, the monstrous being quickly made its presence clear to all of us present¡­


    -----

 Chapter 388 The Aberrant Undead Boss Of The Dungeon

    -----


    I had seen this monster before in my previous life. Over twelve heads of different monsters. Most of itsposition was carcass pieces. And its entire body was epassed with an Aura of Dread made up by thebination of countless wailing souls.


    This thing was a High Rank Undead, one of the things that only the most expert of Necromancers could ever make, and even then, they required the aid of their Cosmic Deity, the Undead God, to properly build them. Yet this bastard somehow made it all by himself. Often called the pinnacle of the Undead a Necromancer could build.


    An Undead Chimeric Hydra.


    A mismatch of countless body parts merged together, an utter chaos of an undead monster with a near endless stamina, incredibly magical powers, and the ability to take down entires with enough time.


    Thest time I fought one was on my previous life''s younger years, when I was less than a hundred years old. This was an Ultimate One, who had wiped out three continents out of the it was sent. Of course, this one isn''t capable of such destruction in that scale, but it might be because it had yet to be fullypleted¡­ or perhaps because this world''sws and physics were different than my previous life Outer Universe.


    Everything in this world seemed powerful, even the stones, the earth, and the grass we stepped over every day. A monster capable of destroying continents might as well only be ssified as a powerful monster capable of destroying only a nation¡­ but well, isn''t that frightening enough for my current self anyways?


    But is this being as strong as it seems? With the power of Holy Light, we might be able to overpower it. However, that alone might not do. I knew the Necromancer would send our way a monstrous creature such as this one, so I''ve been waiting, letting Elizabeth save her MP as much as possible, all for this moment.


    "So the bastard finally got out his most precious pet." I said with a smile, pointing my spear against the titanic monster, easily surpassing over twenty meters of height, it was so big it had to kneel to walk across these tight corridors, which might also be an advantage for us.


    "W-What is that thing?!" Erika asked in disbelief, looking at the monster.


    It was more intimidating than the Demon General we once fought by far, and even that Wyvern. Based in the strange power level of this world, this monster alone might be C Rank, something capable of destroying entire nations. That beam alone could had turned us all into ashes if we didn''t hid in time.


    "That''s¡­ huge¡­" Chris said.


    "It is stuck though?!" Eric asked in shock. "Why?"


    "It is too big; it can get to us in this tight corridor. That Necromancer wasplete stupid if he really sent that to us while not waiting for us to reach the bigger room ahead. However, its heads can still stretch a lot."


    "SHAAAA!"


    "GROAR!"


    "WOOF!"


    "GRUOH!"


    Suddenly, as I said that, the Hydra did just that. Four of its longest heads stretched easily towards us. One was the head of a giant snake, the other that of a wyvern, the third that of arge alpha gray wolf, and the fourth resembled a boar head, with exaggeratedly long tusks.


    "Get ready, it''sing! Eleanora!"


    "Got it!"


    Eleanora quickly emerged before me, as the two of us immediately jumped to action. The rest swiftly evaded the enormous heads trying to crush them with their size, as Erdrich was swiftly stored inside of Eleanora''s Shadows.<sub> </sub>


    "AWOOOO!"


    Blood howled furiously, as six other Fenrir I had just summoned emerged around him, his squad was back to him as the gloriously majestic red wolf suddenly brought the attention of most of the heads by using his new Skill, which was the same as Fenrir''s Skill [Dark Howl]. This Skill was a powerful Provoke-type Skill that immediately brought the attention of any Monsters to the user of the Skill.


    "SHAAAA!"


    "GROAR!"


    "WOOF!"


    "GRUOH!"


    All four heads immediately attacked us. The Basilisk headcked eyes that could petrify, but it held a deadly poisonous breath, unleashing it against us as we shielded ourselves by unleashing a shockwave of winds using the Tier 2 Wind Attribute Spell [Storming Gust]!


    FLUOOOSH!


    As Eleanora conjured it with me, the enormous gust of winds quickly dissipated the poisonous smoke, at the same time as it shaped as countless tiny des and began slicing through the face of the Basilisk. Its head was already very damaged by Erdrich''s attacks, making it an easy target!


    I kept summoning Fenrirs in the background to distract the other three heads, as Eleanora and I joined together, unleashing several shing attacks against the Basilisk head from its head to the neck, using both of our spears, we danced like two shes of red light together, spiraling across the long, snake-like neck of the monster.


    SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLAAASH!


    "SHAAAA¡­!"


    The Basilisk was quickly sliced into pieces. The powerful ck mes that Erdrich unleashed contained a Curse that weakened the monster''s stats, making it capable of being cut by our constant attacks more easily, way more easily!


    CLAAASH!


    The entire head fell into the ground, sliced apart into countless slices. I quickly noticed a dozen of wailing souls emerging from it, trying to bring it back to "life" once more. However, Eleanora jumped forward, stabbing each vicious phantasmal soul with her spear, which had the power to eat the souls of what she killed.


    "Gryyaaaaeeehhh¡­"


    As the souls agonized and were consumed by her Cursed Spear, the other three heads quickly noticed one of them just died on the spot, and immediately decided to attack us.


    And that wasn''t all, the other heads were slowly charging power to unleash yet another destructive attack. If we can''t do something right now, we''ll get sted into smithereens.


    Thankfully, I had a n.


    -----

 Chapter 389 Against The Undead Chimera!

    -----


    As I distracted the heads with the aid of Eleanora, I summoned a Huginn and quickly made it fly towards the rest of my party, who were still trying to figure out what to do. It wouldn''t be an overstatement to say the entire monster''s aura intimidated them so much their very minds seemed in shambles. It was a desperate situation.


    "CRAAH!"


    Huginn flew towards Erika, sitting over her head and peeking it with its beak until she suddenly snapped back to reality.


    "Ah! A-A bird that ke Summoned?!" She asked, looking at Huginn.


    Quickly, I infused my voice into Huginn, and used the [Voice Mimicry] Skill he possessed to transfer my voice into the crow. Erika quickly heard my voice through the bird.


    "Erika, calm down. Quickly go help the rest to snap back to reality, I''ll need all of your help right now!"


    "Eh? Ah! R-Right!"


    It was understandable that they would panic to such an extent, but there was no time to just sit around. Erika quickly ran towards the rest of the group, Elizabeth, Chris, and Eric, who were all snapped back to reality by the [Intimidation] Status Effect they had when Erika smacked their heads with a ruthless karate chop. Her wooden hands surely hurt when they hit them.


    SMACK! SMACK! SMACK!


    "Hey, snap out of it!"


    "Ah!"


    "Eh?!"


    "W-Wha¡­?!"


    The [Intimidation] Status effect inflicted them some sort of mental paralysis and confusion, but now that such a thing was gone by the surprise attack of Erika, the trio went back to normal. The four immediately saw me fighting alongside Eleanora, as a second head suddenly fell into the floor. However, more heads tried to devour us, we were jumping on their noses constantly, barely managing to escape from the sure death of being snapped by those enormous jaws.


    As I did that, I multi-tasked, infusing my voice into Huginn and talking with everybody. Exnations over why Huginn could do this were unnecessary and they thankfully did not asked for it. My n was simple though, I wanted them all to aid Elizabeth into readying her strongest Exorcism spell and then st the Hydrapletely.


    "What? So you want me to kill that thing? Even with two Exorcisms which is my limit I don''t think I would be able to!" Elizabeth was slowly beginning to panic again.


    "You can!" I said through Huginn. "As long as Erika, Chris, and Eric aid you with their magic."


    "H-How can we do that?" Asked Eric.


    "Eric, remember the time I taught you that Spell?" I asked him.


    "Eh? You mean the Magic Connection- Wait, that''s it!" Eric, who was the smartest despite being cowardly, immediately realized what I had in mind.


    Around a week ago I had taught Eric a special Spell nobody else could learn due to theirck of attention. Eric also had amazing photographic memory, so he was the chosen one to carry this spell''s knowledge. It was named Magic Connection, and it was something I always used with others to form powerful Ritual Magic, abination of many magician''s magic together into an enormously strong spell to take down powerful and big foes.


    My n was to let Eric conjure this Spell and then create a Ritual Magic Circle in the floor, channeling the power of the four kids together, they should be able to form what I''ve called [Yggdrasil''s Cannon] by channeling the power of Eric''s Nature and Life Magic with the Holy Light Magic of Elizabeth.


    "You want me to use [Yggdrasil''s Cannon]?! That''s nuts! I can''t¡­ I just can''t!" Eric said while panicking.


    "You couldn''t do it alone due to yourck of Mana, but with everyone else, it is possible! Eric, for once in your life, gain some courage and do it!" I roared back at him. "If we don''t do this, we are doomed!"<sub> </sub>


    "Ah¡­!"


    Eric''s eyes quickly were shocked, as they lost a bit of their light.


    For a moment, he fell silent, as he suddenly felt the hand of his friend, Chris, over his shoulder.


    And then, Erika and Elizabeth''s hands over his shoulders.


    "Come on Eric, let''s do it." Chris said.


    "We''ll support you." Erika said.


    "ke is not someone that would say such things without having them nned beforehand, let''s trust him." Elizabeth added.


    "Then¡­?" I asked.


    If it was up to me, I would do it myself. But currently I am busy dealing with the heads. Eleanora and I are the strongest here, and we have saved up our energy the most. If we don''t distract the heads, everyone is just going to get eaten before they can conjure anything.


    "Okay, I''ll try, don''t me me if it goes badly!" Eric cried.


    "It won''t." I said. "I''ve already calcted it."


    Eric immediately grabbed a staff he had been gifted by his parents, made out of what was called Lesser Yggdrasil Wood. It was unknown if it was actually the Yggdrasil Tree itself, but there are a few Spirit Trees out there named Yggdrasil as well, one of them is "lesser Yggdrasil". When I touched the staff itself, I immediately felt a mystical and spiritual connection back then.


    This staff was a perfect catalyst for the [Yggdrasil Cannon] Spell, a powerful Tier 5 Spell capable of decimating anything Undead. However, the spell can only be used with a catalyst, and this staff itself was good enough! Eric didn''t know where did his uncle and aunt got this for him, as they kept it a secret, but seeing how one of his ancestors could had visited the real tree, this might be a family relic for all we know.


    Eric hit the floor, as an enormous magic circle began to quickly construct itself. The staff channeled mystical and ancient spiritual powers within the circle, slowly building it up in mere seconds. The rest of the children stayed with him, joining him by infusing their Mana and elements. Erika used her Priest Dolls for Holy Light Element, while Chris infused his Mana for the most part, which was still useful.


    FLAAASH!


    Suddenly, the power of all four of them began to slowly connect, as Eric nervously chanted the incantation, a sudden sapling emerged out of the ground, growingrger andrger into a young tree, and then, an adult one. The tree slowly shaped itself into a cannon-like appearance, as the four kids were amazed by what they were seeing.


    The innate spiritual powers Eric held within his Spirit Orb activated, as his vines shone bright gold, entangling the cannon made of wood and changing its power and shape, making it stronger and morepact¡­


    Enormous quantities of Mana and Spiritual Essence gathered together, as Eleanora and I swiftly ran away from the range of the attack, the cannon quickly shone brightly, as if it were a star itself, the power of Exorcism conjured by Elizabeth merged with Eric''s affinities, forming a truly wondrous magical spell.


    All four of them quickly gathered their resolve, opening their eyes once more. Threads of spiritual and magical essence flowed into Eric and the ever-growing tree. All four of them synchronized their voices.


    "Ritual Magic: [Yggdrasil Cannon]!!!"


    FLAAAAAAAAASSSSHHH!!!


    It was as if the entire world suddenly turnedpletely white.


    -----

 Chapter 390 The Power Of Yggdrasil

    -----


    The Yggdrasil Cannon was unleashed on its totality, as a beam of pure Holy Light and Life Element impacted the Chimeric Undead Hydra.


    The Hydra''s various heads tried to shield the main body from the damage, quickly being turned into ashes in the process. Their groans of agony werepletely overpowered by the enormous sound that the beam provoked. The Hydra''s entire body slowly began to fade away as well, the power of lifeing from this attackpletely negated the Undead''s veryposition.


    ? "GRYYSSHHAAAA¡­!"


    The scream of the beast was ear wrenching, as it waspletely incapable of retaliating back at all against this overwhelming life force.


    BOOOOOOMMMM!!!


    An enormous explosion filled everything with whiteness. With so much light, it was impossible to hide within the shadows, and we had to hide behindrge boulders, barely resisting the enormous quantity of spiritual and magical power in the surroundings.


    However, everything eventually came to an end, and what remained of it was merely just a pile of gray ashes and several spirit orbs spread around. This Undead was probably a built Undead, without a personal spirit orb, its interior was most likely just several other Undead''s spirit orbs, for the most part.


    After such a purifying white light, I was incapable of seeing, everything seemed ck to me. I had to quickly heal my eyes using some magic to regain my sight after a bit.


    "Ahh¡­ It is over?"


    I heard the voice of Erika, as I quickly found her at my side, she was hugging my arms tightly. Eleanora was also at my other side doing the same, she was surprisingly scared.


    "T-That was too much¡­"


    Eleanora sighed, slowly opening her eyes and looking around.


    "Yeah, it is over." Chris muttered, I found him in the floor with Eric and Elizabeth.


    Everyone seemed fine, I guess we managed to pull it out.


    "Everyone''s okay? Can you see?" I asked them, some seemed to have temporarily lost sight, but Elizabeth''s healing magic took care of that.


    At the end, we sat down over the floor. Everyone was exhausted too do anything else. I already confirmed the death of the Hydra, so I quickly decided to bring out Erdrich and feed him a Demon Potion, which quickly gave him enough demonic energy to heal his wounds naturally.


    "Ah¡­ Wha¡­?! Eh?"


    Erdrich looked around astonished, he didn''t really knew what happened after he passed out.


    We had to exin him things, but he quickly understood.


    "So we won¡­ amazing¡­"


    Erdrich seemed to barely believe it. He had faint memories of having fought the Hydra, the titanic monster was not something we were properly prepared to defeat, it was barely a win if I would say so.<sub> </sub>


    "I-I can''t believe we did it¡­ Ah! My staff?!"


    However, something happened with Eric''s staff, it had suddenly grown as big as a tree, and wastching into the ground without moving at all. No matter how much he tried to pull it out, the tree was stuck there.


    "Oh, it turned into a tree?!" Asked Erika.


    "Where did you even got this anyways?" Chris wondered.


    "My uncle gifted it to me¡­ He just said it was a family treasure, and that I had to take care of it¡­ N-Now it turned into a tree?! This is ridiculous!" Eric said.


    I slowly walked around the tree, inspecting it. The entire thing was alive. It seems his Staff truly became a small tree of roughly three meters of height. Nheless, it still can be pulled out and turned into a staff again, although there will be a lot of leftover wood.


    No matter how strong the tree is, it won''t be able to live down here without any light, so it wouldn''t be unwise to pull it out and nt it back in the vige. But truly, what is this thing?


    I do remember that his ancestor saw the Yggdrasil Tree of this world back when we read that diary, but it didn''t said anything about bringing a branch with him. Maybe he really did and just didn''t added it to the diary?


    If this is a family treasure then that''s very likely. However, why was itying there until they gave it to Eric? He''s certainly talented¡­ Maybe his Druid Talent resonates with this staff the best? Maybe¡­ well, all my spections are just maybes.


    "Don''t worry, we can pull it out and bring it to the surface after we are done here." I said to Eric. "We can make you a new staff from one of its branches, and we could even nt the tree in the vige¡­ Spiritual Trees are very special, it might be able to protect the Vige with its blessings."


    "R-Really? Can it do that?" Asked Eric.


    "Yeah, I believe it ended turning into a tree because it reacted to the magic and also to your Talent, Eric." I said with a nod.


    "My Talent?" he wondered with confusion clear on his eyes.


    "Yeah, don''t you remember what we read back then?" I asked him. "Your ancestor visited the Yggdrasil Tree. This is a family treasure¡­ but they never gave it to someone that came before you, right? It was alwaysying there in your house."


    "R-Right¡­" Eric seemed intrigued.


    "It could be that your Talent is just more unique within your family than you thought. They had been waiting for someone with the [Druid] Talent and you showed up. Also your Spirit seems slightly suspicious to me, didn''t it just merge with your spell before? Maybe it might also have something to do with the Yggdrasil Tree for all we know." I said with intrigue.


    "T-That''s¡­ a crazy theory." Said Eric. "But we don''t really know if all that could even be true, my uncle and my aunt don''t want to tell me either, they''re saying it''s a secret they''ll tell me when I reach an older age for some reason¡­"


    "Age?" I wondered. "Why would age matter in such a thing? Maybe they meant something else¡­ Perhaps they want you to develop your powers further, or even¡­ discover the truth yourself?"


    "Eh?!"


    -----

 Chapter 391 Level Up Frenzy

    -----


    "To develop my powers and discover the truth?" Eric wondered. "W-Well, I guess¡­ Anyways, we shouldn''t be rally hung up into this for now. We got things to do, right?"


    "You''re right, for now¡­"


    I quickly enhanced my body strength and then grabbed the tree, pulling it out of the stone floor with all the strength I could muster. Some roots broke, but that wasn''t really a problem. If this whole tree grew out of a small branch, I am sure it can take some beating.


    "For now, let''s store this in my bag."


    I stored the whole tree inside the biggest Spatial Bag I''ve made so far, everyone felt slightly shocked by how easy it was, thanks to being able to Conjure Tier 2 Spatial Magic, the bags I can make by imbuing Spatial Runes into them have be better.


    "Woah¡­ I forgot you can just do that." Eric said.


    "ke is ke I guess." Chris said.


    "Can''t you make some for us too, ke?" Asked Erika.


    "Sure, you''ve earned it. I''ll make one for each one of you. But you guys better not go around showing it to people, keep it a secret and only store things when nobody is looking." I said, as they seemed to understand.


    "I am tired¡­" Sighed Erdrich. "What should we do now though?"


    "We should advance¡­ The room in front of us by walking through this corridor is thest one. After checking that we should be able to find the one behind everything¡­" I said while narrowing my eyes.


    "The one behind everything¡­" Erika said. "The Necromancer?"


    "Yeah, that." I said rather carefreely. "Usually, Necromancers are way weaker than their own Summons. There''s a reason why they bring Undead, they''re not that strong themselves."


    "Oh, so probably it is easy?" Asked Elizabeth.


    "Not so much though, they''re always tricky. Don''t let your guard down¡­" I said. As I walked forward. However, everybody else was sitting in the floor and couldn''t really move.


    Right, their MP is probably empty¡­ Maybe they should recover a bit eating something and drinking potions.


    "Please let us wait for a few minutes at least¡­" Elizabeth supplicated me.


    "Yeeahh¡­" Erika sighed.


    "Ugh¡­ My head hurts a lot¡­" Ericined.


    "My entire body hurts¡­" Erdrich added.


    "I want to take a long nap¡­" Chris said, feeling all down.


    "Ugh, fine, here!"


    I quickly unpacked another haul of food, this time I brought out some skewered meat, sandwiches, fruit sd, and even some stew leftover from the one we made before. Everything was still warm thanks to the power of the special bag which I was now able to enhance with Time Attribute Runes, making it as if time goes slightly slower inside these spatial bags, this way, food goes cold way slower, and well I might one day throw a living being inside and see what happens.


    "Uwaah! So much food! Nom! Nom!" Erika began wolfing down everything as much as she could.


    "Ahh¡­ I was so hungry. Using my powers really leaves me so hungry man¡­" Erdrich said, eating stew.


    "Fruit Sd! I really wanted something sweet!" Elizabeth said.


    "Yeah, the whipped cream is just the best over it too!" Eric praised my simplistic preparations.


    "Damn, I can''t get enough of this roasted boar meat¡­" Chris said.


    "My lord''s delicious food¡­ I just can''t get enough of it¡­" Even Eleanora joined everybody else.


    "Well, you better hurry. We are going to eat for only five minutes! We cannot dy this any longer." I said, quickly eating a few things myself while looking at the Grimoire''s Notifications.


    [Calcting EXP Earned¡­]


    [You and your Party in [F Rank Undead: Skeletons, Zombies] x124]


    [You and your Party in [E Rank Undead: Skeleton Knights] x72]


    [You and your Party in [D Rank Undead: Rotten Giant] x20]


    [You and your Party in [C Rank Undead: Lesser Chimeric Undead Hydra (High Rank Undead ¨C Boss type)] x1]


    [You earned 868000 EXP]


    [Your Level has increased from Level 16 to Level 17!]


    [Your Level has increased from Level 17 to Level 18!]


    [Your Level has increased from Level 18 to Level 19!]<sub> </sub>


    [Your Level has increased from Level 19 to Level 20!]


    [All yours Stats have increased]


    [You earned Stat Points and Skill Points]


    -----


    Name: ke Hunter Goathorn.


    Race: Human


    Spirit Orb Realm: Rank 1 (Peak Stage)


    Physique: Vampiric Blood Emperor Physique (Tier 2: Rank 6)


    Job ss: [Invoker: ¡ï]


    Subss: [Alchemist: ¡ï]


    Level: 16/30 -> 20/30


    EXP: 168000/200000


    < Health Points: 692/692 -> 772/772 >


    < Mana Points: 1233/1233 -> 1353/1353 >


    < Strength: 748 -> 828 >


    < Agility: 612 -> 692 >


    < Vitality: 574 -> 654 >


    < Intelligence: 902 -> 1022 >


    < Dexterity: 611 -> 691 >


    Spirits (1/1): [Half-Vampire: Eleanora (Rank 1 Peak Stage)]


    Physique Abilities: [Tier 2: Body Strengthening (+Demonic Arm)] [Tier 2: Enhanced Senses] [Tier 2: Vampiric Eyes (+Demon Eye of Paralysis +Demon Eye of Gravity)]


    Link Skills:


    [Link (Eleanora): [Shadow Sneak: 3]


    Passive Skills: [Acrobatics: Lv4] [Robust Body: Lv4] [Hard Worker: Lv2] [Hawk Eye: 4] [Gifted Magic Apprentice: Lv4] [Heavy Drinker: Lv2], [Intimidation: Lv2]


    Active Skills: [Throwing Technique: Lv4] [Spearmanship: Lv3] [Butcher: Lv3] [Alchemy: Lv2] [Brewing: Lv1] [Synthetize: Lv1] [First Aid: Lv4], [Command: Lv2], [Cooking: Lv2] [Agriculture: Lv1]


    Magic Skills: [Blood Edge: Lv2] [Shadow Maniption: Lv1] [Create/Delete Familiar: Lv2] [Summon/Unsummon Familiar: Lv2] [Familiar Storage Expansion: Lv2] [Familiar Synthesis: Lv2] [Apprentice Alchemist Recipe Book: Lv1] [Spirit And Master Connection: Lv1]


    Title Skills: [Beast yer: Lv2] [Demon yer: Lv2] [Savior: Lv2] [ughter King: Lv1] [Dragon yer: Lv1] [Kin yer: Lv1] [Undead yer: Lv1]


    Avable Stat Points: 40


    Avable Skill Points: 50


    Can gain 10 Stat Points and Skill Points with each Level.


    Curses:


    EXP required to level up x100


    Proficiency required to learn techniques and skills x100


    Mana/Qi/Aether Recovery speed decreased by -50%


    -----


    Already Level 20? Now, now¡­ this is really getting out of hand. This amount of EXP will not be something I''ll be earning any time soon with normal monsters. I guess situations where I get to kill hundreds are very rare, I might as well be happy and celebrate about it while I can, the EXP requirements will keep increasing more and more.


    Well, I don''t have much time to look at my Status now, we need to keep going. I have a bad feeling that if we take too long, we might end up regretting it¡­


    -----

 Chapter 392 The Army Of Death Approaches

    -----


    "Man, it''s sure calm today."


    "Yeah, it is awfully silent."


    Within the surrounding forest of the vige, a group of twelve hunters were foraging around, looking for prey. Now that the Wild Boars had been breeding more and faster, their numbers had increased drastically, and there was a risk of them attacking the vige while the walls were still in construction, therefore, the chief has been paying the hunters to hunt wild boars moretely, to keep their numbers low and reduce the risk that these enormous and territorial monsters offered to the daily lives of the people in here.


    "We came here for our biweekly hunt but there isn''t any boar."


    "We haven''t sighted a single boar in two hours, what''s going on?"


    "Oi Joan, can you tell?"


    One of the hunters pointed at a tall man with a shaggy beard that looked into the depths of the forest. His senses were incredibly high and acute due to his high-level hunting wild boars for years since he was a teenager.


    "There isn''t any. I can smell their feces but nothing else. It feels weird."


    "Maybe those bastards of the adventurer guild hunted them down?"


    "No way, those guys can''t handle giant wild boars."


    Although there was an Adventurer Guild, Adventurers themselves often ignored Giant Wild Boars due to their enormous size, a small party of four adventurers with no prior knowledge would easily get overpowered by wild boars, even more if there was a big pack nearby, with many of these monsters chasing them down, mortality rates were high.


    Due to the vige mostly having Adventurers at D Rank and below, they were unable to coordinate well enough to y wild boars of enormous sizes, and because it was mostly prohibited to target infant giant wild boars, as the hunters wanted them to grow up first, adventurers most of the time limited themselves to hunt down remnant demons that sometimes were seen wandering far into the forest, gray wolves, horned rabbits, and shadow crows, or going into the road that led to the capital of the fiefdom to hunt things such as big lizards and goblins.


    Because of these many reasons, vigers who had been granted Titles as Hunters were the ones that took care of big monsters that wereter butchered into food to feed their families. More so often hunting the Giant Wild Boars due to their delicious food and their enormous bodies, withted arge quantity of meat. The Duke has, of course, been asking for meat as well to be moved to the capital for himself and also to be sold to nobles, as it was treated as a delicacy.


    "Adventurers are terrible at hunting big monsters that often call for allies. Although some had tried to join our hunts, they''re too scared or sometimes just find it not worth the effortpared to hunting goblins or whatever else there is in the road of the londs." Said Joan, as he looked into the distance again. A little mouse made out of brown light emerged from his bag and quickly began scurrying around. "Search for a wild boar little guy."


    "Chuu!"


    The little mouse ran into the forest like always. The other hunterscked spirits that were useful, most of them had not be adventurers in the first ce due to theirck of spirit power and talents. The majority here were talentless and had useless spirits that couldn''t fight nor move around.


    Even though Joan''s spirit was seen as little but nothing than a mouse, it was seen as an incredible useful spirit for hispanions, who often relied on the rat making small pitfalls to trap wild boars or to search for them and lure one out of their packs.


    "I''m sure my mouse is going to find something, for now let''s wait here and rest a bit, we had been walking for tow hours." Joan quickly stopped the other eleven hunters as they sighed in relief, sitting in the soft forest floor covered by dried grass and deadwood.<sub> </sub>


    Joan looked around, feeling slightly worried, his son was nowhere to be seen, and although he trusted on ke''s strength, he couldn''t help but worry as the father he was.


    "Did ke really came to the forest? I haven''t seen him anywhere." Gradus, an old hunter walked to the side of Joan alongside his loyal Fire Dog.


    "Yeah I am worried too." Sighed Joan. "But that kid''s so independent now¡­ He''s already nning on going to the capital to that fancy academy and all, I can''t really take a grasp of what he has inside his mind¡­" Joanughed a bit sad by how quickly his son had grown up.


    "Well he''s someone incredible, I am sure he must be safe. He came with his friends to hunt, right?" Asked Gradus.


    "Yeah he brought Erika, Chris, Eric, Erdrich and the priest girl, Elizabeth¡­ If something happens to those two kids we are going to get yelled at by nobility and priests together." Sighed Joan. "I really hope he''s not making them go through anything weird."


    "Hahaha, with ke you never know what he''s up to." Gradus sat down and took a sandwich, cutting it in two halves and giving one to Joan. "Here."


    "Oh, just when I forget my lunch¡­" Laughed Joan, epting the sandwich with dried meat, tomato, cabbage, and some gravy sauce.


    Joan looked into the horizon as he seemed to be slightly worried. Aside from his son''s whereabouts, which would get a big scold whenever he''s back, he was also worried about the wild boars.


    Why were they noting?


    Such territorial monsters suddenly running away was very strange.


    Unless¡­ something more dangerous than them had suddenly emerged in the forest.


    "Huh?"


    And as he was in the middle of eating, Joan suddenly stopped and looked confused. Gradus immediately noticed.


    "What''s wrong?"


    "This is¡­?!"


    Joan''s face quickly distorted in shock, as he was seeing what his mouse was seeing while hiding behind arge log.


    It was an enormous group of hundreds of undead marching like an army straight into the vige.


    -----

 Chapter 393 Buying Time

    -----


    "What''s wrong? Joan?" Gradus immediately stood up, the bearded hunter who had previously retired but wanted to hunt once more quickly felt tensed up by Joan''s expression.


    "Shit¡­ Why now?!" Joan quickly stood up. "Everyone, we are going back to the vige, quickly!"


    The other hunters immediately reacted with annoyed expressions or surprised ones, Joan didn''t had much time to exin things, the army of undead was less than a hundred meters away from them.


    "My mouse spotted an enormous army of undeading straight to the vige! We have to quickly tell everyone about this and prepare a defensive formation with all our fighters avable! Come, let''s go back, there''s no time!" Joan immediately began running towards the vige. The other hunters quickly began to panic, as they believed their leader and immediately began running behind him.


    "Undead? Are you serious?!"


    "You didn''t saw something different, right Joan?"


    "There''s no way Undead are here, there hasn''t been for a while! The forest got purified by the priests some time ago too!"


    "It''s the truth! I saw their rotting corpses walking in two feet. There were also weird undead with them, not only skeletons and zombies of people but also monsters with weird appearances, some looked mutated!" Joan said in panic, gritting his teeth.


    The other hunters, already having what was happening confirmed by their trustful leader, quickly seemed to panic even more, running faster.


    "We have to call the priests, and quickly!"


    "Ugh, there''s something smelling horrible here¡­ Wait, the Undead?!"


    "Yeah." Joan replied. "They''re about a hundred meters away from us, if we slow down even a second we''ll probably get caught by them."


    "What?!"


    "Shit¡­!"


    "Hurry, hurry!"


    As everyone ran, Joan began to panic more, feeling like the same thing that happened half a year ago with the Demons was repeating itself once more. They had yet to even have a year and something catastrophic was happening once more. Now that Joan had three kids to feed, he couldn''t simply sit idle in his farm.


    Even though ke was independent and helped in the house by bringing food and other things weekly, his father didn''t simply wanted to benefit from his son and be sedentary. He had been not only hunting wild boars but also gray wolves and horned rabbits inrge quantities with his hunter friends to feed his two little children brought to the world just recently.<sub> </sub>


    They hade to the world just a month ago and they were still very small and fragile. They had to be taken care all the time, so his wife and her mother were constantly taking care of them. Now that he had to spend money constantly buying leather for their diapers, buying higher quality food for their baby food, custom baby clothes so they don''t freeze to death at the cold night, and more, Joan needed an enormous amount of money that merely farming didn''t gave, so he was proactively hunting, almost daily, to sell the things he hunted and also bring fresh meat back home.


    If the entire vige was overtaken by monsters, even worse, the terrifying Undead, the life of his children would be threatened, especially the two little twins, so small and fragile that it would be an almost impossible task to bring them away if they were running away. And even if they ran, where would they go? The nearest vige was several kilometers away from here, walking over the dangerous monster-infested forest with babies was something incredibly dangerous.


    "Shit, shit, shit¡­ I have to dy them!" He quickly looked into his bag, a special bag modified with spatial magic runes that increased its interior size by fifty times, and quickly took out a blue potion his son had gifted to him for his birthday alongside the bag, this was an extremely expensive Mana Potion which were also rare and hard to make even for his talented son.


    Joan immediately infused all his Mana into his Spirit and then drank the potion while running as fast as possible, some potion came out of his mouth as his body was shaking while running, but he drank almost all of it in a single gulp. Mana immediately began to recover as he felt the flow emerge from his body, only for him to direct it towards his spirit once more.


    "Now, little guy! Soil Maniption!"


    FLASH!


    Suddenly, the mouse that had been in front of the undead army immediately activated one of Joan''s Farmer Skills he had acquired in the battle against the demons, manipting the soilpletely and digging constantly underground, in less than a minute, an enormous hole opened in the ground, as several undead began to fall into it stupidly.


    "Yes!" Joan smiled as he suddenly felt nausea all over himself, almost fully depleting his mana twice caused a terrible mana sickness that made his body limp and his mind dizzy. If it wasn''t for his high stats he would had fallen unconscious.


    Half of the undead army was sessfully stopped on their tracks as they fell down a pitfall twenty meters deep into the ground, with sharp spikes reinforced with Soil Maniption. This special skill of the Farmer Talent was amazing, but it was too costly with Mana, and Joan had little time every day to practice it due to his low MPpared to his son and his friends.


    "Grooarrr¡­!"


    "Gaaahhh¡­!"


    "Woof! Arf!"


    The Undead began to roar and bark, as there were also mutated wolf undead and the like, slowly crawling their way back to the surface with their sharp ws and endless stamina. Joan''s efforts were only to dy their arrive by a few minutes, although a dozen of Undead were pierced by the spikes, many walked out of them like nothing.


    Undead were terrifying in the fact that merely hitting their vitals didn''t kill them, sometimes they would remain "alive" even as theycked heads or limbs, incredibly vicious in nature. And while Joan and the hunters finally reached the vige, the figure of a ck cloaked man appeared behind his undead army.


    "Hmph, to think you could fall for such a trap¡­"


    -----

 Chapter 394 The Old Necromancers Undying Resentment

    -----


    A cloaked man whose only body part that could be seen were his skeletal hands, long white beard, and sharp red eyes below his ck cloak looked into the army of Undead he led. A bit over fifty of his Undead were quickly caught in a pitfall trap of twenty meters deep, many of them were trapped there due to being pierced by the spikes in there, while the other half was slowly attempting to crawl back, although not managing to do an excellent work as they fell back constantly.


    The man had walked outside of his dungeon the moment he left the giant Hydra Undead to deal with the pesky children that invaded his domain. He had already decided this long ago, but their invasion motivated him to do what he had been nning for years, umting materials to make his Undead army of almost five hundred. The ones he had left with the kids were merely "failures" or weaker undead he didn''t seem to care as much, even the Hydra was merely an experiment he made which he abandonedter.


    With that monster blocking the escape route of the dungeon, he was sure enough those kids would either by the Hydra''s power or by being buried alive by the crumbling dungeon as the Hydra rampaged everything. Although his smile was quickly moved into an annoyed expression the moment he looked into a group of undead from his army falling into such a simplistic trap.


    Although he was initially annoyed, he ignored the fallen undead and ordered the rest of the army to circle the pitfall, evading it swiftly in the process, all while he looked into the small creature running away from his sight.


    "So you''re the culprit, a spirit capable of manipting soil¡­" He said while narrowing his red eyes. The old man pointed his staff, made from rotten ck wood and with many skull and bony decorations as a blue me emerged from within it, overflowing with death essence.


    "Phantasmal re, die!"


    FLASH!


    A small fireball made of phantasmal fire reached the small and scurrying mouse, as the mouse quickly dug underground, hiding from the explosion.


    BOOM!


    "Chuuu!"


    The little mouse began digging deeper and deeper while advancing further, quickly attempting to reach his master.


    "Tch, damn rat¡­ Well, whatever." The old man sighed, looking into the distance while sitting over a throne made of bones carried by two Rotten Giants and guarded by tens of Skeleton Knights.


    He noticed therge vige, which had grown in size several times since thest time he could see it from here. It was now over three times the original size he remembered, and had over three times the original inhabitants, with many big buildings that never existed in here before.


    From his passing memories, traumas he would rather not remember emerged one after the other. The voices of the people telling him he was a freak, a monster, and something that should exist constantly swarmed his mind, making his desire for revenge grow deeper and more monstrous.


    "Y-You''re a monster¡­!"


    "It is not natural to do that¡­ You can''t simply do that!"


    "Wh-What are you?!"


    "We don''t want to be your friends anymore¡­"


    "You''re not my son! I never had a son!"<sub> </sub>


    "Please, just leave! Leave this vige and nevere back again!"


    "We''ll call the priests to apprehend you!"


    His old teeth began to grit furiously, as the old man looked into this same vige. Almost 90 years since his departure from there, he was finally back. Perhaps all those people that caused him suffering were gone now, but his anger and resentment was not gone. He could not rest in peace until he were to turn this entire vige into ashes. He was going to burn it all, not only for the cult he joined, but for his own personal and wicked motives.


    "It is time for you to pay back¡­ The ones that did all those things to me might not be alive anymore, but their children surely are¡­ That''ll be good enough to satiate this swelling resentment I have inside my rotten heart¡­" He thought. "I have forgotten my humanity and I''ll embrace this pain to finally evolve into a greater being."


    Arge red jewel incrusted into his throne glowed with eerie and demonic red light, imbued with enormous quantities of power.


    "After finally oveing my trauma¡­ I shall be reborn anew."


    .


    .


    .


    As the hunters almost reached the vige, they couldn''t help but talk in panic to adress the situation. Many of them were unaware of what were Undead truly aside from bedtime stories to scare them when they were children. What they barely knew was that they were a type of monster often seen in folk tales that were undead corpses risen through strange sorcery into monsters thatcked the qualities of the living yet were alive somehow. Their endless appetite for flesh made them predate the living the most, and they were a danger to all humans.


    Unlike other monsters who were territorial or simply hunted other animals or monsters to sustain themselves, much like wild beasts, undead were supernatural beings that were not part of the order of nature at all. Their very existences were a vition to that. Undead only happened in areas withrge quantities of miasma and phantasmal essence, often in old battlefields or dungeons, but this forest had always been safe of that.


    "Is there really someone capable of bringing them here?"


    Therefore, what everyone thought was that somebody artificially used Death Magic to bring the dead back to "life".


    "None in the vige that I know of¡­"


    "Yeah, people that can control and rise the dead are rare, and often seen as evil!"


    "Toying with souls and desecrating the bodies of people¡­ How horrible¡­"


    "There''s a tale my grandma told me, about someone in the vige that once was born with those powers¡­" Gradus said while helping the tired Joan walk back to the vige. "The Tale of Reaper Child¡­"


    -----

 Chapter 395 The Reaper Child

    -----


    Joan''s eyes opened in surprise as he heard Gradus speak about that tale, the tale of a child born with the power to manipte and control souls and infuse them into dead corpses to create Undead.


    "The Reaper Child? You mean the Son of Death?" Asked Joan.


    "Reaper Child, Son of Death, Necromancer, he had many names." Gradus sighed. "It was said that he was a son of the devils when he was born due to his white hair and red eyes, and his family was ostracized for such a thing. Back then our vige wasn''t big enough, there weren''t adventurers in our vige and the church were still ruled by old and archaic rules that discriminated against specific elements or spirits people might be born with."


    "Those times¡­ the Dark Age that ended roughly 70 years ago?"


    "Yeah, those times¡­ My parents told me they were rough. Those times were when the first signs of the Demon Kings rebirth were appearing and the monsters and demons alike were growing stronger and stronger over time¡­"


    "The heroes saved the world but these times came right after them, as if the demons were not done enough¡­ Thankfully, a group known as the Bravers managed to defeat those armies¡­"


    The Dark Ages was a period of time thatsted several hundreds of years after the ancient Heroes, led by the Summoner King An sealed away all Demonic Towers. The ages before them were known as the most dangerous and chaotic of them as demons poured incessantly from the Demonic Towers and invaded the world. This age was known as the Infernal Age, but little is known about it aside from the Ancient Heroes who were born amidst such chaotic times.


    The Dark Ages, which were dered to have officially ended over 70 years ago still left many superstitions and other beliefs behind the old vigers. Especially in these times when the church of the holy spirits used tactics to manipte people to target certain groups of people, discriminate them, and keep them busy from actually realizing the corruption in the government.


    Keeping the sheeple fighting against one another and discriminating one another was the smart choice for the nobles and the church. This way, as the Dark Age continued and people kept starving to death or getting mauled by demons and monsters, people would never realize their problems were due to the government. The totalck of security to protectmoners and small viges that lived constantly in fear, the food getting more and more expensive, and taxes raising up constantly to the point thousands ended in the streets with nothing but their rags¡­


    Due to these many reasons, the Dark Age created an enormous amount of superstitions incentivized by the church priests to cause fear and distrust on people, which were back then almost all corrupt except for a few righteous ones such as the young Ellergest of those times, who constantly was trying to fight against corruption until a new government finally reached most of the nations and the continental alliance, incentivized by richer nations and the powerful races of demi-humans was set in motion.


    These changes followed with many coup''s that overtook older leaders and regimes. It could also be said that the connections and the strengthening of the adventurer guilds helped at the Dark Age to finally end, although some neighboring nations, due to the ipetence of its rulers, has already been overrun by demons once more.


    Because of these many reasons, the discrimination of people was big, especially based in their physical appearance, the talents they could be born with, or the spirits they possessed when they awakened them at the age of 5 years of age. This vige was once small enough for such superstitions to remain for many years, the child that had been born as an albino was discriminated and his family ostracized.


    And things didn''t improved at all when he reached the age of 5, as he awakened his spirit and talent¡­


    "In those times, the albino kid awakened his Talent, it was a Five Star Necromancer, and his Spirit was something nobody had ever seen before either, my grandma said it looked like the reaper itself."


    "Back then they thought he was the herald of death that hade to take their lives."


    "Many panicked, and people constantly harassed his family until hell broke loose¡­"


    "I don''t know the details but they said they forced his family to attempt to capture him so they could burn him in the stake or something¡­"<sub> </sub>


    "Man, those times were horrible, how could they do that to a kid?!"


    "Well, they didn''t."


    Gradus quickly looked at the other hunters while gasping for air as he ran with everyone tailing him from behind.


    "At the end, that kid went nuts. He killed his parents, raised them as undead, and then attacked the whole vige with his monsters. The priests destroyed his undead but he managed to run away¡­ Since then, the Kingdom had been trying to capture him, but after a few sights, he simply disappeared¡­ However, many suspected that the armies of undead that, through the years attempted to attack the Kingdom''s other fiefdoms had been all his job¡­" Gradus said while narrowing his eyes.


    "If that kid was raised well and taught how to properly use his powers, he would had be an incredible ally to humanity, but we made him our enemy instead¡­" Sighed Joan. "He kind¡­ of reminds me of my son, ke. If he had been born in those times, I don''t know what would had happened to him¡­ People was really nuts in the Dark Age¡­"


    "C-Could that Necromancer be back? But shouldn''t he be dead already?!"


    "We need to bring the Priests out as fast as possible!"


    "I''ve heard that twenty years ago there was an Undead army thatpletely took over a vige and left it in ruins¡­ Undead are way worse than demons!"


    "If that''s really him¡­ Then may the Holy Spirits protect us¡­" Gradus sighed, as the hunters finally saw the vige''s wooden walls, which were already halfway made.


    "We are back!"


    "Quickly, hurry!"


    The hunters reached the five guards in front of the wall''s gates, as their panicked faces quickly scared the guards, all of them being knights left in the vige to protect it just in case by the Duke''s goodwill.


    "What''s wrong?! Why are you back so early?"


    "Oi! Don''t run!"


    "UNDEAD! UNDEAD ARE MARCHING HERE!" A panicked hunter cried.


    -----

 Chapter 396 Panic

    -----


    Two babies slept carefreely over their cradles, as a mother looked at them with a gentle smile. Although she felt extremely exhausted of having to take of them all day, she felt rewarded each time she saw them sleeping soundly. Although they were really quite noisy despite havinge to the world just a month ago.


    "Sigh¡­ I wish you could had been a bit like ke, he was always so calm even as a baby." Sighed Marie, as she covered her two children, Anna, and An, with nkets so they could sleep well.


    "ke is one in a million. I would guess he was very intelligent even after being born." Said Marie''s mother and ke''s grandmother.


    "Yeah, you''re right, mom." Sighed Marie. "Ugh, I am so tired¡­ I want to rest and sleep as much as these two."


    Maria quicklyid over the bed while sighing in relief, as she was thinking about how her husband''s hunt was going and if her son was having fun in his little adventure with his friends. She already knew how strong ke could be (although not its full extent) so she was fairly sure he could handle most of the wild creatures living around the vige.


    However, Marie''s nap was quickly interrupted by someone desperately knocking the door. When she went to open it, she found Joan, covered in bruises, and sweat as if he had ran a marathon.


    "Marie!"


    "Dear?!"


    Joan quickly hugged her wife.


    "We spotted hundreds of Undeading to the vige, you and the kids have to hide!"


    "Hide?! Eh?! Undead?! Wh-What about ke?!"


    Maria quickly began to panic.


    "I don''t know but he might being this way, knowing him¡­ For now, you and your mother and the twins hide in the underground safe room we built with ke!"


    There was a special andrge underground room built exclusively for times like these. ke had built it using his Earth Magic in conjunction with his father''s assistance. Because running away from the vige would be too tedious and dangerous, hiding underground and waiting for the problems to be solved in safety was more efficient.


    "O-Okay, but where are you going now?!" Asked Marie panicking, her mother quickly walked downstairs.


    "I have to go defend the vige on my own¡­ If things go awry and everything is overtaken, you can use that small cave we built recently to run into the londs, there is a shovel and other things, so you''ll have to open up an entrance to the surface but it shouldn''t be that difficult." Joan said desperately, already thinking about the worse.


    "B-But!" Maria couldn''t help but panic but also was growing more concerned about him. She didn''t mind using a shovel to dig underground at all, as she was no longer pregnant and had more strength once more, but she didn''t wanted her husband to risk his life a second time already.<sub> </sub>


    "It''s fine! I am alright, I won''t sacrifice myself if things go to the worse, I''ll escape ande to see you." Said Joan. "I''ll try to look for ke too, but the Undead are just getting here, we can''t stay talking for more!"


    "O-Okay, I get it! Mom!" Marie quickly asked for her mother''s assistance, as she held Anna and her mother An, and the two quickly ran into the stairs built inside the house, closing the wooden door behind, as Joan quickly covered it with a carpet made of gray wolf fur.


    Joan quickly closed his door and ran into the frontlines, as he noticed Lukas, the promoted knight leading the small squadron of knights that were left in the vige, they were all running into the frontlines.


    Thankfully, the wooden walls were halfway done where the undead were marching towards, leaving the unprotected area of the vige behind them. The Undead might be able to get inside through there but would need to circle it around and would take a long time, so they might be more easily spotted and eliminated.


    Alongside them, Musk, the Adventurer Guild Master quickly set a special request to all adventurers present, offering one small gold coin for every Undead in. The Adventurers, who were all considering running away from the vige immediately felt pumped up, their greediness quickly gave them a reason to help the vige survive.


    Meanwhile, all priests of the church were quickly brought outside, as their head priest, Ellergest, gathered them into a single squadron thar ran into the frontlines, as the majority of them were wielders of holy light magic or life magic, they were the natural nemesis of Undead and could cause the most damage to them, they were the most required and the ones every viger put their faith into.


    Joan reached the frontlines the same time as he was called by Lukas and Ellergest at the same time. As the strongest Hunter of the vige he was well known by everybody, and also trusted. They required his help to properly coordinate everyone.


    "So Undead this time, huh?" Lukas sighed. "It hasn''t even been a year since the demons and now this¡­"


    "Hmph, strange. We have not seen any traces of necromancy around these areas. The only ce that we were not able to properly investigate was the Miasma Swamp, mostly due to the dangerous poisonous smoke it has, but we have periodically purified the surrounding areas¡­" Ellergest.


    "And where the heck is Elizabeth?!" Jack roared.


    As of now, the entire group was gathered around a camp set up right behind the enormous wooden walls, as they were discussing everything.


    "She went with ke; I am fully responsible for that child''s irresponsibility." Sighed Joan. "I apologize for this, but currently, we cannot go freely into the woods looking for them¡­"


    "Your damn kid keeps putting our Elizabeth in danger! Where the heck are they?!" Jack roared furiously.


    "Calm down, Jack. Bashing this at the kid''s father won''t really get us anywhere." Seth stopped Jack as he adjusted his sses.


    "I am just as worried as you two but¡­ I know what''s more important right now." Ellergest said. "Let''s quickly erect a barrier before it is toote!"


    -----

 Chapter 397 Phantasmal Mimic

    -----


    (ke''s POV)


    When we finished resting for a few minutes, we quickly stood back up and ran into the direction where the Hydra was. Now that it waspletely turned into ashes, there was nothing left for us to see, no Undead were left either, I couldn''t sense a single moving thing at all.


    "Everything''s empty¡­" Erika said, as we reached an enormous an empty room, the ceiling being as high as three hundred meters.


    "This ce''s enormous¡­" Chris said.


    "Wait, I can feel something¡­ demonic energy." Erdrich pointed out. "There!"


    The half demon boy quickly led us to a certain corridor I had noticed seconds before him. I had felt the demonic energy as well, but for my senses, it felt like it was dispersed everywhere. However, as a half demon, Erdrich seemed capable of discerning specific smells between the demonic essence itself.


    And whatever was in this corridor, it might be the one that created all Undead in here. However, I simply couldn''t sense anybody. And as we walked further, we suddenly felt a chilly wind across the corridor. There was probably some sort of door open that led to the surface in there.


    "Wait, there''s nothing here¡­" Elizabeth said while crossing her arms. "Where''s the bad necromancer at?"


    The room we reached was small inparison with the previous hall. But it was filled with bones, shattered crystals, spirit orbs in pieces, and corpses lying around. And of course, an entrance to the surface with a stair leading up. The size of the stairs were gigantic, even a Rotten Giant would had been able to climb to the surface easily through there, but not the Hydra we fought.


    That monster might had been trapped in the underground and the Necromancer couldn''t bring it outside, so he decided to throw it at us instead to make sure we would die. Well, it didn''t worked as he intended.


    "Just a lot of broken items and more corpses¡­ Ugh, I think I am getting used to seeing corpses already." Sighed Eric while calming down a bit.


    "This ce, it reeks at a strong amount of demonic energy!" Said Erdrich. "Something I''ve never smelled before, it is too strong¡­"


    "Too strong? More than the Demon General?" I wondered.


    "Y-Yeah¡­" The half-demon boy said. "We have to hurry, this guy probably ran away and might be nning to attack the vige or something!"


    "Yeah, I guessed as much." I said, quickly grabbing everything of value I saw, even shattered crystals and spirit orbs were useful to me. And oddly enough, I found a chest as well.


    "Hm? What''s that?" Asked Erika wondered, running to open the chest.


    "Wait! Erika!"


    I tried to stop her but the treasure chest opened itself the moment she touched it. In that instant, an enormous mass of ck phantasmal tentacles, bones, and eyes emerged from within the treasure chest. The bones immediately shaping as countless legs.


    "GRUOOHHH!"


    "Wh-Wha¡­?!" Erika was startled, as the Undead monster took this opportunity to attack her.


    Hundreds of sharp bones gathered together into an enormous arm, quickly attacking her. Erika instinctively parried the attack using her enormous sword, but the force of the attack made her fall over her the floor anyways.


    CLAAASH!


    "Ungh! What is this thing?!"


    FLASH!<sub> </sub>


    Without thinking it twice, I quickly reached up to Erika, infusing my Ki into my spear and unleashing a vertical attack against the monster''s arm made of bones, easily shattering the many bones and breaking the enormous strength it held.


    CRASH!


    "GRYYEEH¡­!"


    The monster quickly stepped back in shock, as I looked at the creature. This was perhaps the st guardian" that necromancer left just in case we were to somehow survive. It wasn''t a normal Mimic monster, but something made out of many wasted materials, I could easily call this thing a Phantasmal Mimic for now, which seems good enough.


    "Some sort of makeshift undead made of bones and other cursed items. Let''s call this thing a Phantasmal Mimic¡­" I said.


    "GRUOH!"


    The monster immediately attacked, several bones emerged from the interior of the chest as they flew towards me like sharpened and rusty des. I immediately began rotating my spear to protect myself, easily fending off every bone.


    CLASH! CLASH! CLASH!


    However, that was merely a distraction, as from within the phantasmal form of the monster, which seemed to be made of dozens of broken and shattered souls, a ck me emerged, firing dozens of ck fireballs imbued with resentment and evil energies, which could cause severe curses into anybody it touched.


    "Shit¡­!"


    I swung my spear constantly as Eleanora appeared behind me to assist me. She touched the floor and then red crystals emerged from the blood, generating a wall that protected not only me but the rest of our party.


    "Blood Crystal Wall!"


    CRASH!


    The enormous wall made of red crystals grew so fast it made a crashing sound by breaking the floor beneath. This was a Tier 2 Blood and Earth Magic Spell thatbined Earth Wall and Blood Magic to create crystals made of the user''s own blood which were incredibly hard the stronger the user''s magical powers were.


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!


    The ck Fireballs began bombarding the crystal wall as the crystals resisted well enough to buy us some seconds to reorganize ourselves.


    "Wh-What''s that thing now?!" Eric cried. "Just how many damn monsters we have to fight today¡­?"


    "Snap out of it!" Chris said, smacking Eric''s head to bring him back to reality from his panic. "ke, how do we kill that thing?!"


    "It shouldn''t be so hard but it is a strange Undead, it is made of only bones and cursed materials, so it is like an incredibly flexible golem-like entity." I said. "We have to eitherpletely shatter every piece of its body, find a core which seems to not exist¡­ or break its soul into even more pieces than it already is."


    "Break¡­ its soul?!" Elizabeth asked.


    "Cover me, I''ll do it myself."


    I haven''t been practicing soul magic for naught.


    -----

 Chapter 398 Against The Powerful Undead

    -----


    Of course, the easy way out would be to purify it with holy magic. But this undead seemed high ranked, my holy light magic was very weak inparison as Icked affinity for it, so it was of the lowest possible level. Elizabeth could help in that regard if it wasn''t because she''s extremely tired, if I overexert her more for now, she might end up shattering her soul. When magicians overuse a certain element above their own limits without precautions, their soul might take a burden and take direct damage. Her spirit also helped, but it seems tired after using that magic that killed the Hydra.


    At the very least, Elizabeth needs to rest for ten minutes if she doesn''t want to shatter her soul. I cannot let her die now, or Ellergest and the priests would kill me when I get there. And it is not really my style to make other sacrifice themselves for me anymore, even less when it is just against a mere undead that is just a bit stronger than the others.


    Interestingly enough, my affinities with the Dark Spectrum of Magic are not half bad. While my strongest affinities are Darkness and Blood, which could be called to be "Level 5" if we give them levels, the Dark Spectrum elements all have between Level 1 or 2 Affinities as well, meaning that I have a proper affinity for Soul, Phantom, Death, and other simr elements of magic to an extent, although Illusion is the weakest at Level 1, which was the reason I needed a special ne to reinforce the affinity.


    And such affinities are also growing stronger as I forge my Magic Circle inside of my soul with the Runes of Soul Element, which made it possible for me to, after a lot of practice, to use Tier 2 Soul Magic rather easily. I cannot do something as extraordinary as extracting the souls of my previous life''s subordinates trapped inside my soul''s Origin Core, but I can use it to damage and shatter the soul of this Undead.


    "Cover you?! It''s that all?" Asked Chris.


    "Yeah. Attack that thing with everything you''ve got! Elenora, youe with me." I said.


    "Understood!" Eleanora obediently said, rushing to my side.


    "Alright then!" Erdrich roared.


    "If attacking it is all we need to do then¡­ I''ll do it!" Eric said.


    "I-I can help as well- Agh¡­!" Elizabeth tried to help by conjuring magic, but only a dim light emerged before she felt weak. Her cultivation wasn''t near as high enough so she could continuously use powerful magic like this.


    "Elizabeth, stay behind us. You''ve helped us enough with your elemental magic, without you we wouldn''t had been able to bring out the special spell I taught Eric." I said. Eric was able to fight by using his bow, even if he didn''t used elemental magic, he had the [Bow Mastery] and [Magic Arrow] Skills, which were good enough to offer long-range support.


    "B-But¡­" Elizabeth said.


    If only I could create a Magic Circle inside her soul and helped her gather elemental runes, things would had been easier for her. But I had yet to find a proper way to help them create such things, even more, magic circles are dangerous to make and could kill someone by destroying their souls by ident, I don''t feel confident enough to give one to somebody for the time being, even less now in this dire situation.


    "Just do as I said!" I roared back; Elizabeth quickly stepped back as she nodded.


    "Elizabeth we''ll cover your back as well." Said Erika, holding her enormous ck sword which now gained a red color as well, her ne began glowing with red and purple light.


    "Leave it to us." Erdrich said, his body quickly bulging in size as his body mass became double as big in mere seconds.


    "Yeah, we can do this¡­ Just another bastard we gotta take down¡­ We can do this!" Chris cheered himself up, although deep down he seemed fearful. His Fire Fox Spirit emerged around him, imbuing his body with a fire aura, and everyone else as well, boosting our stats.<sub> </sub>


    "I am tired too but I''ll offer you support with my arrow¡­!" Eric said while gritting his teeth, he couldn''t help but tremble in fear but he was still mustering the strength to help us. His arrow quickly began to glow with a bright golden light, as he activated the [Magic Arrow] Skill.


    "Now!" I roared, as the entire group pointed their weapons at the monster in front of us.


    "GRUOH!"


    The Phantasmal Mimic had just finished reconstructing its skeletal arms made of countless bones, as it saw several gigantic fireballs falling over its body conjured by Chris.


    "Fire Spirit Arts: Fox Mystic Fire!" Chris roared, as the mes immediately turned into small fire foxes, attacking the Phantasmal Mimic and biting its phantasmal soul and bones, and the rest of its body constantly, and then exploding in a chain reaction!


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOOM!


    "GRRYYEEEHH¡­!"


    The Undead really felt that pain as it hurt directly into its soul. Although Undead were incapable of feeling normal pain, if one hurt their soul, they will scream in agony as it was the only sensitive part of their very beings. And just as I imagined, Spirit Energy-imbued magic can hurt souls too!


    "Now!" Erika said, as she ran into the frontlines with her Dolls who all had be [Warriors] and [Magic Swordsmen] holding big axes and magic swords, and unleashing small little techniques thatbined together into a powerful swarm of attacks, shattering the monster''s bones and damaging the soul too.


    "Blood de Arts: Crimson Cross!" Erika unleashed her newest technique she learned herself, imbuing her sword with her Mana and Ether flowing out of her powerful soul, as an enormous cross-shaped attack made of crimson energy impacted the Phantasmal Mimic while it tried to evade!


    BOOOOMMM!!!


    "ORRAAAH!"


    And just after that, Erdrich''s fists were imbued with the power of his demonic energy and mana, surging as countless phantoms in the shape of fists hitting the Mimic countlessly!


    CLASH! CLASH! CLASH! CLAAASH!


    And while it all happened, I made my way sneakily into the Mimic''s back using [Shadow Sneak].


    -----

 Chapter 399 Hurry, To The Surface!

    -----


    As the Phantasmal Mimic was bombarded with countless attacks, I quickly reached its back using [Shadow Sneak]. Eleanora quickly emerged at my side as well, as the two of us channeled the power of the Tier 2 Soul Attribute Magic Spell [Soul Pierce], the only spell of this tier capable of hurting Souls directly.


    Imbuing the power of the spell into the tip of our spears, we immediately attacked, reaching the Phantasmal Mimic''s phantom soul surging from its various bodies and piercing it with our weapons. Normally, it would deal no damage as the soul is intangible, it cannot be hurt with physical attacks, but that''s different when magic and spirit energy is added, and it gets even worse with this spell''s power and demonic energy and vampiric energying out of Eleanora, my weapon, and my own body.


    CLAAASH!


    "GRAAAHHH¡­?!"


    The Phantasmal Mimic immediately panicked. It wasn''t killed with one hit, of course, and its body immediately reacted. A swarm of sharp de-like bones flew towards us, attempting to sh through our bodies. However, Eleanora intercepted them and shielded me using her Blood Threads, however, I also used this opportunity to try out my new Skills.


    And this was¡­ [Shadow Maniption]! Within this Skill, there are special Shadow Techniques, and the ones avable at Level 1 are Shadow Domination and Dark Whip! While the Phantasmal Mimic was struggling to get our spears out of its phantasmal soul, I immediately intercepted the hundreds of bones fired my way by unleashing [Shadow Domination], a Shadow Technique that not only allowed to imbue pure darkness into an item, but to possess them, slightly simrly to how Necromancers can imbue souls into items to turn them into undead.


    FLASH!


    Suddenly, Eleanora''s eyes opened wide as hundreds of sharp bones suddenly turnedpletely ck, obeying my will as they began to unleash ck auras. The bones stopped in midair. This felt a lot like using Telekinesis, but it was moreplex, I had to put my mind to control each bone. Well, it wasn''t as if it was hard for someone with a mind as monstrous as mine.


    "GRAH?!"


    The Mimic lost control over most of the bones it was controlling to stand up, the treasure chest immediately fell into the ground, as it panicked, immediately attempting to close itself so it would be able to protect itself from my uing attack.


    CLANK!


    However, the two spears piercing its soul stopped the beast from escaping my punishment, as a hundred ck bones fell over its body, imbued with the darkness of Shadow Maniption and Shadow Domination, the bones were reinforced by thrice their original shing power, weight, and durability, easily beginning to chip away the treasure chest that was the main vessel of the soul, all while slowly beginning to sh the soul countless times.


    SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH!


    "GRYYSSSHHHAAA¡­!"


    The Phantasmal Mimic roared in agony as an explosion of ck mes erupted from within its body, shaping as enormous demonic hands and sweeping around its main vessel, trying to intimidate us to move away.


    However, that wasn''t going to stop us.


    "Shadow Domination!"


    I had already imbued the power over my own Spear and Eleanora''s spear, Gluttony and Envy, as the spears turnedpletely ck and with the help of Eleanora''s Blood Threads, we moved them deeper into the Phantasmal Mimic''s phantom soul, making the monstrous creature made of many souls to scream in agony.


    CRAAASH!


    "GRYAAAAEEEHH¡­!"


    However, the bastard was strong enough to unleash another storm of ck mes, as Erika moved forward, imbuing her sword with her Aether and unleashing another cross attack, intercepting the mes and also hitting the Mimic once more.


    CLASH!


    "GRUUOHH¡­!"


    The Phantasmal Mimic quickly attacked Erika by unleashing a storm of shing bones, as I quickly intercepted them with my own ck Bones, a battle of bones was unleashed, as the bones began chipping one another, small pieces started exploding everywhere.


    CLASH! CLASH! CLASH! CLASH!<sub> </sub>


    "Ugh¡­! [Job Change: Priests]!" Erika cried, the many Dolls around her immediately changed their appearance, turning into priests and then releasing countless small rays of holy light, impacting the entire Phantasmal Mimic''s furious soul.


    "A bit more¡­!" Eleanora said.


    "Now!" I roared.


    While Erika distracted the Mimic, Eleanora quickly absorbed my Mana and controlled her Blood Threads once more, manipting the spears which I was also trying to push further into the soul of the Phantasmal Mimic, until finally, both spears pierced the deepest part, reaching the Soul Core itself, and shattering it into countless pieces!


    Crack¡­ crack¡­!


    CRASH!


    "GRUOOOHHHHH¡­!"


    The Phantasmal Mimic erupted in agony, the countless souls stitched together to make up its soul exploded outside and separated, wailing in agony. However, I used Shadow Maniption and captured the souls into a made of several Dark Whips unified together, bringing them all towards me.


    I took the souls and devoured them all, using the other Tier 2 [Soul Eating] Spell, the lowest tiered spell that allowed the consumption of souls to reinforce the user''s soul. Of course, these small and weak souls would amount to nothing much in terms of power, but it also had the power of giving me part of their memories.


    BAAAM!


    The entire shattered treasure chest and all the bones it had fell into the ground. Some blood beganing out of the treasure chest, as its interior revealed rotten flesh from an actual Mimic as well.


    "W-We did it¡­" Said Eric.


    "Well, wasn''t THAT hard." Chris said.


    "It was all thanks to ke though, that spell he used was crazy¡­!" Erdrich noticed what I did.


    "Ah, well, maybe I could teach it to you one day." I said. "If you have enough affinity."


    Just as the battle ended, I saw the Grimoire showing some EXP earned.


    [You and your Party defeated the [Shadow Phantasm Mimic (D Rank)] x1]


    [You earned 200000 EXP]


    [Your Level has increased from Level 20 to Level 21!]


    [You earned Stat Points and Skill Points]


    A single level was more than I expected from this thing, it ended being D Rank, the same Rank as that Wyvern. If we were able to deal enough damage it meant this thing was weaker than the Wyvern or we had grown way stronger since then, or both.


    Nheless, we didn''t had any time to lose here.


    "Let''s go to the surface, quickly!" I led everyone, as we made our way into the surface, finding ourselves in the forest once more. The putrid smell of rotten flesh and miasma filled the entire air, the Necromancer might had not gone alone to the vige, but with an army at his disposal¡­


    -----

 Chapter 400 The Power Of [Instant Creation]

    -----


    "I can smell rotten meat here, that necromancer is surely going to the vige now!" Chris said.


    "Damn it!" Eric cried.


    "I feel like we ended provoking this ourselves¡­" Erikamented.


    "No, it wasn''t because of us. He has been nning this for a while now, most likely." I said.


    "What? How did you know?" Wondered Erdrich.


    "I ate those souls making the Mimic''s makeshift soul." I said. "I saw part of their memories; they were wandering souls from a nearby graveyard. They saw what he had been doing. It is easy to specte based in that information that he had been nning this for a while. I was also able to see his face."


    As we ran over the back of Blood and three other Fenrirs, we talked hurriedly about what I saw, all while I multi-tasked. I had several materials stocked inside of my own bags which I brought with me, so I opened the Alchemist Recipe Book section of the Grimoire and used such materials for [Instant Creation].


    [Instant Creation] is the ability thates with the Alchemist Recipe Book Skill, it allows for the instant creation of a small and specific pool of items as long as there''s materials nearby. I don''t even need to put them into the grimoire, as long as they''re within my possession, the materials disappear automatically from my bag.


    I had already ran out of potions for the most past, so I began quickly creating more. The Small Lesser Potions of red, blue, and green color began to emerge one after the other, as they were grabbed by Eleanora and stored in her own Spatial Bag.


    The scene was surprising for everyone, seeing me materialize potions out of thin air was not something normal, the Grimoire was invisible to all of them.


    "Wh-Where are you getting all those potions from?!" Chris asked.


    "W-Woah¡­ you''re just materializing them out of thin air, ke?" Eric asked. "Is there such a skill?"


    I sighed as I made the book visible for them.


    "This is the Alchemist Recipe Book, a special Alchemist Talent Skill that allows not only for the creation of new recipes using already existent ones but also allows for the [Instant Creation] of a certain pool of items. The materials are in my bags but they are discounted as I create more potions. I had just ran out of them and we will need a lot of Antidote Potions to fight the Undead and the Necromancer." I said.


    "Alchemist Recipe Book¡­?" Asked Chris. "This is the first time I''ve heard of such a Skill before¡­ Ah, you''re an Invoker too, right? Maybe it is abination of your summoning and alchemy¡­"


    "Maybe." I said.


    "Amazing, the power to merely create healing items so easily¡­ Without even needing proper items and utensils, even if they''re lesser than the ones made manually, you could mass produce them¡­!" Eric said while his panic flew away in an instant.


    "Perhaps." I said.


    "But why Antidotes though? Aren''t you wasting materials?" Asked Erika.<sub> </sub>


    "No. Necromancers can control miasma and poison, so it is natural we need countermeasures. Additionally, throwing an Antidote Potion in the face of an Undead will deal a lot of damage to them." I said. "We didn''t try that before because I was confident we could deal with them, but based in the memories I saw, it is possible this army is reinforced with Miasma, so they''re inherently poisonous and therefore stronger. Merely reaching their range will make us smell their poisonous gases excreted from their pores. Here, everyone drink one. This Lesser Potion has been modified to enhance Poison Resistance for half an hour upon drinking it."


    I quickly handled everyone a potion, even Erika. She might be a doll but Miasma can still affect her over time, even if it hit her directly, it might rot away her wooden body or make it stiff, if she drinks this antidote her wooden body can be reinforced.


    When everyone drank the Lesser Antidote Potions, me included, our bodies glowed for a few seconds with a green hue, the same color the potions had.


    "T-This is delicious, what did you used?!" Eric asked.


    "I used the leaves of the tree you created out of your staff, they''re excellent materials." I said with a smile.


    "Eh?! You can modify the recipe so much?!" Asked Eric.


    "Yeah, as long as it matches, I can rece the ingredients with new ones. There''s still a few hundred more leaves, and in addition to the potions we also got Apples and the Magic Juice to restore our MP and HP, here, drink this as well." I handled everybody a bottle with Magic Juice from Apul, my Apple Spirit, so everyone got their MP recovering at thrice the original speed.


    "Ah, I feel much better now¡­" Elizabeth sighed. "The Antidote Potion not only help us with poison but it has some sort of stamina boost because I feel so well now."


    "Might be an after effect of using Lesser Yggdrasil Leaves as ingredients¡­" I said while rubbing my chin, as I created a Lesser Mana Potion, a sudden announcement appeared.


    [Enough Skill Proficiency requirements have been met]


    [The [Brewing: Lv1] Skill has Leveled Up to Level 2]


    [The [Synthetize: Lv1] Skill has Leveled Up to Level 2]


    [The [Alchemy: Lv2] Skill has Leveled Up to Level 3]


    [The [Apprentice Alchemist Recipe Book: Lv1] Skill has Leveled Up to Level 2]


    [New Recipes for [Instant Creation] are now avable: [Poisonous Smoke Bomb (Normal Grade)], [Combustion Bomb (Normal Grade)], [Lesser Holy Water (Normal Grade)], and [Lesser Stamina Potion (Normal Grade)]


    Hoh, now this is interesting! Just when I needed something like this, it showed up. Now I can put all those purified ashes I got to a good use immediately! Holy Water is even more effective than Antidote Potions, and if Ibine both, those Undead will weaken so much even a toddler could take them down!


    With a smile in my face, I bottle containing pure water materialized out of the Grimoire''s pages.


    It shone with a divine light¡­


    -----

 Chapter 401 Creating Useful Items In Seconds

    -----


    As my Alchemist Recipe Book Skill Leveled Up without me expecting it, new [Instant Creation] items appeared in front of me.


    -----


    [Apprentice Alchemist Recipe Book: Lv2]


    Skill Proficiency 50/20000


    A Skill that only incredibly talented Alchemist can learn. It grants ess to a special Book that can materialize out of thin air, where an alchemist is capable of essing a series of recipes that are unlocked over time and the Skill Level, it also grants detailed information about Materials which are then registered in the book. Through the book and the required set of special Skills, Synthesis can be done anywhere.


    Avable Recipes for Instant Creation:


    Level 1: [Lesser Health Potion (Normal Grade)], [Lesser Mana Potion (Normal Grade)], [Lesser Antidote Potion (Normal Grade)], [Spike Bomb (Normal Grade)]


    Level 2: [Poisonous Smoke Bomb (Normal Grade)], [Combustion Bomb (Normal Grade)], [Lesser Holy Water (Normal Grade)], and [Lesser Stamina Potion (Normal Grade)]


    Level 3: ???


    -----


    And one of such items was¡­


    -----


    [Lesser Holy Water Recipe (Normal Grade)]


    A Holy Water imbued with a slight amount of holiness, it is capable of fending off monsters and hurt Undead, drinking it might satiate thirst and recover stamina a bit. It can be used as a material to create greater potions.


    Required Ingredients: [Water x1] [Holy Light Element-Imbued Material x1]


    Required Skills: [Brewing: Lv2] [Synthetize: Lv2] [Alchemy: Lv2]


    Required ss: [Alchemist ¡ï: Lv20+]


    -----


    Interesting, this item has a lot of requirements even though the ingredients required are not even that many, and I''ve got the perfect material for these.


    -----


    [Purified Ashes of the Fallen (Rare Grade)]


    The ashes created as a result of purifying powerful Undead who held ursed spirits within their bodies. These ashes contain great amounts of Spiritual Essence and Soul Essence within them and are highly sought after for the performance of high ranked alchemy. They can be used for either the creation of potions, magic items, and even the enchantment of equipment. These ashes contain the Holy Element, which is specially strong against Demons and Undead.


    -----


    I have gotten tons of these when we fought the Undead, and now that I''ve got the perfect recipe for them, without even doubting it for a bit, I began mass producing Lesser Holy Water Bottles in masse!


    POOF! POOF! POOF! POOF! POOF!


    A small bottle with a pure and clear liquid inside, water, emerged one after the other, as I couldn''t help but smile. Eleanora quickly saved them all, my bag still had more space if needed, and water was easy to produce when I could use Water Magic to produce water with ease.


    However, there was another Item that interested me¡­<sub> </sub>


    -----


    [Combustion Bomb (Normal Grade)]


    A device filled with gunpowder and other explosive materials. Although simple in construction, its mes can spread far and wide and inflict burns in addition to the physical damage from the explosion.


    Required Ingredients: [Ashes x2] [Gunpowder x2] [Crimson Ore x1]


    Required Skills: [Brewing: Lv2] [Synthetize: Lv2] [Alchemy: Lv2]


    Required ss: [Alchemist ¡ï: Lv20+]


    -----


    Interesting¡­ I do have ashes with me right now, but gunpowder? The only thing that could be used for gunpowder that is mmable enough would be wood, and for Crimson Ore? That''s a certainly specific material, but it is actually a wide variety of mmable ores imbued with fire element. I''ve seen them around the market, lesser ones are not expensive enough so I''ve bought them out of curiosity. I never thought they would be such a pir ingredient, I only had ten of them, and small in size, but should suffice.


    "Blood, break that lumber in there!"


    "WOOF!"


    I ordered Blood to do as I said, as the wolf used its ws to break a lumber lying in the forest as I jumped over therge piece of broken wood, touching them. I immediatelymanded the Grimoire as all ingredients were met, in mere seconds, dynamite-like bombs ring with red color materialized one after the other, until ten were made and swiftly caught by Eleanora''s bag.


    POOF! POOF! POOF! POOF!


    "A-Amazing, these are Combustion Bombs!" Eric said, looking at the one Eleanora held in her hand. "You can even make those?!"


    "An easy task." I said.


    "Incredible, my lord''s powers are truly evolving beyond what you were capable of doing before¡­" Said Eleanora while almost whispering to me to not let everyone else hear her remark.


    "Indeed, these Skills powers are certainly something truly unique, but we don''t got time to waste, let''s go." I quickly ordered Blood to carry me once more, as we swiftly moved across the woods.


    Finally, one of my Falcos spotted the Undead army. They were hundreds of zombies and skeletons, and just as I guessed, although they looked normal in appearance, they were all imbued with a Miasmic Aura that enhanced their power further. Although they looked to still be the same low ranked undead he used to attempt to overwhelm us before. Nevertheless, that bastard was sitting right in the middle of his army of up to five hundred undead.


    His throne, made of bones and which was a giant undead by itself, was being carried by two Rotten Giants stitched with many monster parts, making them look menacing and stronger than they usually are. And not only that, but there were also over fifty Skeleton Knights guarding him, and¡­


    "GROAR!"


    Two enormous and scaled winged reptiles, Wyverns, with him. They were not normal wyverns, however, as they were dead, and their scales as ck as the night. They were Undead Wyverns named Shadow Death Wyverns and seemed stronger than the normal Wyverns they were made out, emanating ck auras of powerful miasmic energy.


    "This bastard¡­" I couldn''t help but smile at the challenge, as everyone else noticed my reaction.


    "What did you see?" Asked Erika.


    "Wyverns¡­" I said while narrowing my eyes and looking into the distance.


    "Eh?!" Eric immediately panicked. "D-Did you said W-Wyverns?!"


    "Yeah, the Necromancer has two of them guarding him, alongside having two overpowered Rotten Giants, and his whole throne of bones is actually a Giant Bone Golem¡­ He has five powerful high-ranked Undead at his disposal as bodyguards, and fifty Skeleton Knights around him, to boot, he got four hundred other undead surrounding him, although a part of his army fell down a pitfall¡­" I said while rubbing my chin.


    Wait, was that pitfall made by father?!


    -----

 Chapter 402 Back To The Village Barely On Time

    -----


    "Falco, try to find any surrounding humans as quickly as possible!"


    "CRAAH!"


    I ordered the four Falcos I had summoned to quickly do as I said. The four green-feathered falcons flew across the skies inspecting every nook and cranny with their amazing eyes but spotting no humans wandering around.


    "Sigh¡­"


    I sighed in relief, thinking about the worse that could had happened. Today my father and several other hunters, including Gradus, came to hunt for wild boars. But apparently they were able to escape in time, thankfully.


    "Apparently there is nobody around, but the Undead Army might reach the vige in roughly fifteen minutes, we have to hurry!" I said. "Blood, Fenrir, go as fast as you can!"


    "WOOF!"


    Blood led the other three Fenrir, as they moved at sonic speed when they were enhanced by my [Commanding] Skill, which at Level 2 enhanced all Stats by +40% as long as the onesmanded follow my decisions and orders. Their speed was naturally enhanced, moving at incredible speeds.


    "We have to hurry¡­ If those Undead get to the vige first, we''re going to have a hard time trying to protect everyone else¡­" Erika said.


    "But what do we do now? Do we leave everything to the adults?" Eric asked. "W-We should! We can''t get involved more than we did, we have done enough¡­!"


    "Don''t be a coward now, Eric! There are FIVE HUNDRED Undead! Did you heard ke?! If we don''t do anything, we''ll regret itter. We are strong, we have to use this strength to help the adults!" Said Chris.


    "I agree, I won''t run away from this." Erdrich said. "That vige is where my family lives, if anything happens to them, I won''t be able to forgive myself."


    "Indeed! We are fighting! I won''t let any nasty Undead touch my papa!" Erika said recklessly.


    "I agree, we should regroup with papa Ellergest and the rest of the priests, they must be in the front of the vige''s walls! They''ll know what we should do!" Said Elizabeth.


    "Heh, aren''t you all a bunch of goody-two-shoes?" I sighed with a smile. "Indeed, we are all fighting. Eric, you''re free to escape if you want. But I''ll keep your tree for the meantime."


    "E-Eh? But that''s a family relic¡­ You have to give it backter!" Eric said while pouting.


    "Don''t be so selfish, I''ll give you a new staffter!" I sighed.


    "Ugh, fine¡­ I''ll fight too anyways!" Said Eric. "I can''t trust you enough to leave it to you¡­"


    "Hah, I guess that little trick did it." I said.


    "Trick?" Erika wondered.


    "What trick?" Eric asked.


    "Well, you''re rather greedy, incentivizing you to fight using the tree was the right call." Iughed.


    "Ugh¡­" Eric felt slightly scammed.


    "Look, the walls!" Elizabeth pointed out, as we finally reached the vige walls, rushing into the entrance.


    "Stop right there! Who is there?!"


    Suddenly, a group of knights appeared above the wooden walls, sitting over a wooden fortress built right behind the walls, some even pointed arrows at us while panicking, and there were six enormous ballista lined up over the walls alongside four catapults behind. These were all equipment the Duke left behind after he left, which he bought thinking this vige needed more protection as it had survived a war against a demon army. However, the moment they saw our faces, they rxed.<sub> </sub>


    "C-Children?"


    "Who are you kids?"


    "Wait, they''re mounting wolves?"


    "The only one that would do that is¡­!"


    Suddenly, a young knight ran in front of the others.


    "ke! You''re back! Your father is dead worried about you!" Lukas quickly greeted us.


    "Lukas! Open the gates now! The undead areing right behind us!"


    "OPEN THE GATES!" Lukas roared.


    The knights and soldiers guarding the ce panicked, they didn''t wanted to open them to risk letting monsters or undead get inside through this area of the walls which were already finished.


    "But if we open them the undead¡­!"


    "They can still enter from behind, idiot! It doesn''t even matter that much; we will only be able to hold them off for a bit until they realize the walls behind are yet to be finished!" Lukas pped the head of one of the knights as they quickly opened the gates.


    CREAAAK¡­!


    The gates quickly opened a little bit, as we all got inside. The guards were all shocked when they saw four enormous wolves enter, but many knew I was the "special child" of the vige, as my identity as a summoner was well known after the demon war, and Blood was also known as a tamed monster, he has his cor and all.


    Lukas quickly ran to our side as he led us to a camp nearby. As we ran there, we saw several hunters, adventurers, knights, and other volunteers getting ready to fight the Undead. Our numbers were roughly two hundred people, it wasn''t as bad as I thought, but if they charge recklessly they''re all going to die anyways. We needed a strategy.


    "Here! Ellergest is here with your father,e!" Said Lukas, leading all of us inside, as we left the wolves outside the camp.


    The old Ellergest greeted us first, alongside his twockeys, Jack, and Seth. My father and Gradus were also in there. I was happy to see him healthy and alright.


    "ke!"


    My father ran to my side and quickly hugged me while kissing my forehead and cheeks, his shaggy beard made my face tickle.


    "I am so happy you''re okay, I was so worried, you brat!" He said, quickly getting angry after his emotional hug. "Don''t go into the forest so recklessly!"


    "Sorry, but I really didn''t knew there would be an army of undeading here¡­" I said.


    "W-Well, that''s right but still¡­!" My father said angrily.


    "For now we don''t have time for this, dad. But I am also happy to see you healthy, I was worried." I sighed.


    "You''re not the one that should be worrying about me¡­" He sighed. "Anyways, your mom is safe in the underground room we made."


    "That''s good, I was about to tell you to go there and tell them to do that, it saves time¡­" I said.


    After hugging Elizabeth emotionally, Ellergest quickly called for the strategy meeting to begin, there was even a map over the table showing the entire vige and the surrounding forests. Now that we had a fortress and half-made walls, defensive strategies were viable.


    -----

 Chapter 403 Strategy Meeting

    -----


    The strategy meeting began quickly after we arrived. For some reason Ellergest respected me a lot now, and recognized both my talents and intelligence, allowing me to join the strategy meeting with various other priests, hunters, and even Musk, the Adventurer Guild Master, who didn''t recognized me thanks to the magic I used to conceal my original appearance, he didn''t recognized Eleanora either, as she was in her small form, and her clothes were different too. Although her red as blood hair and eyes were hard to not recognize, she was also hiding in my shadows, if that helped.


    "So you''re ke, that Summoner brat!" Musk said while looking at me with a smile. "I can tell by merely sensing your Aura, you''ve got an awful lot of Mana for your age."


    "I''ve been training my Mana flow and also receiving the blessings of Holy Spirits." I said.


    "I can tell that! All the other kids with you are also awfully strong¡­ Amazing, so you kids are really the stars of the demon war after all. We are sorry for not being able to help back then due to several constraints, but I''ve made sure to make it different this time."


    Apparently, Musk put up a special request he had prepared for these times into the adventurer guild, offering a small gold coin for each undead in by an adventurer. Naturally, all Adventurers got pumped up and immediately decided to join, although they had, apparently, originally thought about escaping. Damn bastards.


    Most of the Adventurers in this vige''s Adventurer Guilde from other nearby viges or the capital, so they don''t even have much attachment to our small vige. Instead of helping the people it is more convenient for them to escape. Some more cowardly ones had already escaped even when such a juicy reward was being offered, but others stayed here.


    "Thanks for your cooperation, Musk." Ellergest said.


    "Yeah, much appreciated." Said my father.


    "Now¡­" Ellergest touched the map, pointing at the forest. "ording to what ke just told us, some of his bird familiars are inspecting this area, and the army is right here."


    "Yeah, they might reach the ce in less than twenty minutes." I said.


    "We are now going to erect a Holy Light Barrier around the vige to protect it from dark magic attacks." Said Ellergest. "And attacks in general. We can hold it on for roughly half an hour at most¡­ the rest depends on you."


    "Wait, the priests are not going to fight?" Asked one of the hunters here.


    "We are, I will fight alongside my three disciples." Ellergest said. "The rest must remain in the safety of the vige; do you want me to send all my people to their deaths? Our holy magic might be effective against Undead, but it doesn''t instantly defeat them. We can''t simply resolve this all on our own, especially when they''re five hundred undead and five powerful high ranked undead, and even a necromancer with them, which might even be that old man that has been causing chaos around our Kingdom all these years!" Ellergest angrily roared, reprimanding the hunter.


    There wasn''t really any time to waste so I had already told them, although limitedly, everything we did and we knew about. I told them the truth about going to the Miasmic Swamp, and about fighting Undead and reaching the hideout of the necromancer. Although we didn''t told them we fought over a hundred undead as it would be too much for them to take. But we told them we fought a sizable group and then a chimera undead, without going into details.


    It was already spected that the Necromancer was someone that belonged to this vige in the past, the same necromancer that must have been causing chaos around the entire Kingdom''s territory over many years. Some years ago he even wiped out an entirerge vige with an undead army, and now he had finally set his sight on us.


    "ke, is this right? Are there really two Wyvern Undead with him?!" Asked my father.


    "Yeah, they''re stronger than normal wyverns too." I said.


    "Ah¡­!"


    "This can''t be¡­"


    "How can we even win then?!"


    "Not only they can fire powerful fire, they can even fly and attack with ws¡­"


    "The barrier will protect us even from aerial attacks." Said Ellergest. "But we can''t keep it up for too long, weck Mana Potions, we only have around twenty of them and-"<sub> </sub>


    "I can help in that regard; I''ve prepared a lot of things." I said, quickly taking all items and putting them into the table, alongside many others around the floor.


    Everyone''s faces quickly warped into astonishment, as they were left utterly bbergasted by all the items I brought out.


    "I have around sixty Lesser Mana Potions, there is also a hundred and twenty Magic Juice that triples natural mana regeneration, alongside that, there are sixty Lesser Health Potions and three hundred Apples that can heal 500 HP a pop. I''ve made forty Antidote Potions and I''ve made eighty Holy Waters, alongside some bombs."


    "EEEH?!"


    Everyone reacted in the same manner, some people fell off their seats, Ellergest, the one that thought he had already seen everything I was capable of doing once more was so shocked he pulled out his beard and even took some hair with it.


    "Wh-What is this, ke?!" Asked Ellergest. "Y-You¡­! Where did you hid all these things?!"


    "I made them with Alchemy¡­ I can offer them all to you." I said. "We are in a dire situation, if this can protect my vige, I am willing to give it to your priests and the rest of the fighters."


    "ke¡­"


    "This kid is really a saint¡­"


    "Amazing¡­"


    "Thank you!"


    "¡­Of course, with a price." I said, everyone quickly changed their face expressions.


    "You greedy brat!"


    "Oi! Isn''t this a dire situation?!"


    "Howe you think about money now?!"


    My father began tough at what I said.


    "My son''s like that."


    Ellergest sighed.


    "I knew you would say that¡­ Sure, we''ll pay collectivelyter, don''t worry." He sighed.


    "Hm, I agree. You''ve done a splendid job making all of this in advance." Musk added.


    It seemed that I''ve made an excellent business deal here.


    -----

 Chapter 404 Planning A Way To Fight The Undead Army

    -----


    "But how exactly did you made these?!" Jack asked, grabbing a Holy Water. "This is¡­ Holy Water?! For real?! The essence is smaller than normal but it still holy light in there¡­"


    "I used my own Alchemy Skills¡­" I said without wanting to reveal theplete truth, my friends also remained in silence, they were good at keeping secrets, a part on why my abilities were only leaked into the public when I used them in front of many people, they had never truly revealed anything I''ve showed them or taught to them without my permission.


    "But Holy Water is not something you can make through Alchemy¡­" Seth added. "You require the power of a special Holy Ritual that imbues pure water with the blessing of the Holy Spirit of Light¡­"


    "Yeah¡­" Said Jack. "You know a priest that did this or something?"


    Elizabeth was growing angered at her two senior''s questions, and quickly interrupted them.


    "Ugh shut up you two! Stop asking so many questions! We don''t have enough time!" Elizabeth boldly spoke, the two priests quickly felt taken aback. The cute and innocent Elizabeth had changed a lotpared to back then, in a little over half a year, she had gone through many experiences that have changed her and made her bolder.


    "E-Elizabeth! You dare raise your voice against us?!" Seth said.


    "Wh-What¡­? Since when you have screamed at us?" Asked Jack.


    "Ugh if you weren''t such idiots all the time!" Elizabeth said while pouting and crossing her arms.


    Ellergest sighed.


    "Although I agree with Elizabeth I''ll have to stop you there. Don''t raise your voice against them, no matter how stupid they are or how much they try to get their noses where they don''t belong." Ellergest sighed. "I''ve learned already that ke is a box of surprises that keeps on giving and seems seemingly endless. It is better to just ept things now and ask questionster, especially in this situation¡­ Now¡­!"


    Ellergest quickly changed the topic, as he began to tell us about the groups of fighters. Apparently, the knights were going in the front, with Lukas leading them. A group of Adventurers will be right behind them and would assist them and even move to the frontlines. Meanwhile, the hunters will remain as support around them, as they were generally weaker than knights and adventurers with a few exception such as my father''s group who were all quite high leveled, other hunters were not that strong.


    And aside from them, there will be a "special group"posed of my group alongside Ellergest and his two apprentices. My father offered himself to join, but he was told it was better for him to remain with the hunters to lead them andmand them. Even adventurers seemed to recognize his figure, so he was better off in there than with us.


    "The n is simple; we''ll use the Holy Water to weaken the Undead in masse and attack them while they''re in their weakest point. ording to ke theye imbued with a Miasmic Aura, getting closer to them without throwing holy water or an antidote potion over their heads might poison anyone and might even kill them¡­ So we have to be careful. We priests will support you as well using holy magic to st as many as we can. With enough mana potions here I can get going for a while, the barrier can also keep up for as long as fifty minutes as well, so we can take ourselves a bit more time with everything¡­" Ellergest said.


    "However, the problem are not really the normal Undead, as long as you slice their heads or break their cores in their chest, they should die." I said. "The problem are the two undead wyverns, the rotten giants and the bone golem protecting the necromancer, and that''s without even mentioning the old man himself, who might be saving a lot of power."<sub> </sub>


    "I''ll deal with the Necromancer myself¡­" Said Ellergest. "If its really him¡­ I think it is my duty. My dragon should be strong enough, and I''ve managed to convince my second sprit as to cooperate as well."


    "Lord Ellergest, do you think you can handle it?" Wondered Musk.


    "I am already old enough¡­ I wouldn''t mind giving up my life if things go awry at the end, as long as I can protect the people here¡­" The old man said. "I''ve lived enough."


    "Wh-What?! Papa what are you saying?!" Elizabeth angrily said. "I won''t let you die!"


    "T-That''s right!" Jack said.


    "We''ll be at your side; you won''t die today." Seth reassured him.


    "Hmph, you three are really stubborn over making this old man live longer, my body''s already falling into pieces¡­" Sighed Ellergest with a chuckle. "But fine¡­ Ah, and about ke andpany, it is painful to make you kids fight right now, but you''re all way stronger than most of the people that is going to fight today, I would say you''re only below me and Musk, if even¡­ I''ll have to ask for your assistance, don''t worry, I will do anything I can to support you and heal you if necessary. Those that specialize in long rangedbat stay at my side."


    "Very well!" Eric said, feeling more reassured.


    "I mean I can fight physically too but with these many potions its better to use magic from a distance I guess." Sighed Chris.


    "I''ll assist you guys with my light magic¡­ I feel better now after resting for a bit." Elizabeth said.


    "Then Erika, Erdrich, and I will be in the frontlines. I''ll use all my Familiars to give us as much advantage as possible. Don''t get surprised when I summon Undead, I''ve made a few of them my familiars." I said, quickly telling them this beforehand so they wouldn''t end up panicking or something.


    "Y-You''ve made Undead your familiars?!" Asked Ellergest.


    "Zombies and Skeletons. My zombies are red and my skeletons ck, so they''re not hard to identify, don''t attack those, they''re your allies." I said to everyone, as they nodded after a bit of looking at me with shock.


    The fight was about to begin.


    -----

 Chapter 405 Getting Rid Of Trash

    -----


    "Load the catapults!"


    A group of soldiers quickly packed a catapult with ten bottles of holy light wrapped around some thin ropes. They were doubtful about wasting such precious item in such a weird way, but apparently it was very useful at fighting the Undead, and ke hade with the most efficient way of using them.


    "Everyone''s talking about that brat¡­ Somehow he brought almost a hundred holy water bottles and he keeps bringing more!"


    "Is it okay to waste such an item like this though?!"


    "Ellergest approved his idea so we have no choice¡­"


    The soldiers loaded all four catapults with the holy water bottles, and then directed them into the forest distance, right where the Undead Army was located. A barrier of holy light already erected around the entire vige, protecting it in the shape of a dome.


    Several priests, almost all of them, which were almost forty of them, were gathered around an enormous magic circle in the middle of the vige, gathering their mana into the Holy Barrier Magic Formation that the wise Ellergest created in a matter of minutes.


    At their side there were several vigers bringing them potions whenever their MP was about to deplete, keeping up the barrier for fifty minutes was all thanks to these Lesser Mana Potions brought by ke, as the others avable were very few, only amounting to twenty.


    The priests closed their eyes, concentrating themselves into creating the barrier. But one of them seemed not as concentrated, looking around nervously.


    "(To think that the bastard old man would choose this time to attack¡­)" He thought. "(If thingse to this, I should try to ruin this formation when everyone least expect it¡­)"


    However, to his surprise, a group of knights appeared right behind him.


    "Priest Jonathan, right?"


    "Eh?!"


    The young priest was shocked by the sudden appearance of these people.


    "Y-Yes, what do you want?! Don''t you see I am concentrated mainting the barrier?!"


    "Lord Ellergest has called you for the strategy meeting."


    "Eh?"


    "He says you''re an incredible priest and that he has recognized your talent¡­"


    "Oh?!"


    The priest, however, suddenly puffed his chest. Jonathan might be a member of the Cult of Demons of Beelzebub but was also aplete idiot. He was a young man at his early twenties but grew up as a thug that trembled in excitement for any sort of praise¡­ and money. The cult itself was something he joined out of necessity for money but ended bing his life career as he began working as a priest to be their insider.


    Ultimately, he had lived such a dull and boring life that the mere mention of someone praising him or recognizing his efforts was something that made him tremble in excitement. He was the same priest that tried to get Erdrich apprehended for being half demon by using excuses of the Dark Age''s superstitions, but ultimately got demoted by Ellergest and threatened that if he continued with his little show, he would get his priest title stripped away from him.


    Since then he had been lying low, trying his best to regain his renown, cleaning the church every day was one of them, helping the priests with money or other things, and acting like a gentle and humble Samaritan.


    Now, he thought he was finally given his proper recognition.


    He quickly walked towards the camp, with a smile on his face.


    "(Well I can sabotage thingster, I just want this stupid old man to promote me, I can pretend I managed to surviveter when I run into the capital after this vige is gone¡­)" He thought as he entered the camp.<sub> </sub>


    Suddenly, threads made of blood and shadow whips wrapped around his body, all while a strange, electrifying sensation put his entire body into a paralyzed state. The next thing he saw was a young boy, the bastardly kid he had heard helped stop the demon invasion into the vige. One of his eyes was glowing bright red¡­


    "E-Eh?! Akkhh¡­! Wh-Wha?!" Jonathan groaned in pain as he tried to free himself, but failing miserably, his magic was barelying out.


    "He''s the one, ke?" Asked Ellergest, walking in front of Jonathan.


    "Yeah, I saw him in the memories of those souls." Said ke. "He''s the traitor, he has been colluding with the cult for a while. He was most likely behind the dy of the adventurers in the demon invasion and also brought the egg of the wyvern to the vige with the help of the necromancer¡­"


    "T-That''s¡­!" Jonathan couldn''t even speak, but he was already feeling despair.


    "Hm, I see¡­ It all makes sense now." Sighed Ellergest. "Since you arrived at our vige that yourck of background was odd enough. No priests be priests without a big background and proper rmendation from other fellow priests. I let it slide but after what you did against Erdrich, I began having suspicions. It is a taboo to follow the superstitions of the Dark Age, even less use them as a pretext to attempt to kill a child¡­"


    "W-Wait! Lord Ellergest, please wait!" Cried Jonathan.


    "What should we do?" ke said.


    "We must throw him into jail of course, then we interrogate him." Said Ellergest.


    "He has a bomb inside his stomach." ke said.


    "Eh? Oh¡­ So you''re nning tomit suicide?" Asked Ellergest.


    "He can''t be due to the paralysis, but it will wear out soon." Said ke.


    Jonathan struggled, as he was such a prideful man, he would never try to kill himself even for the cult, but he was willing to use the bomb as an excuse to threaten them, as they wanted him alive. He thought he was a special bargaining chip by himself!


    "It can''t be helped then¡­" Ellergest said, as everyone began walking outside the camp, only one remained, Musk, the Adventurer Guild Master.


    "E-Eh?!" Jonathan looked at the old man as he smiled back at him.


    "You know how they knew me back then before I became a guild master?" The old man said, slowly closing his face at Jonathan.


    "H-huh?!" Jonathan began to tremble in fear, feeling an enormous sense of dread.


    "Musk, the Bandit Killer..." Musk said, implying his experience killing people.


    A long de quickly closed into the neck of Jonathan.


    "Sorry kiddo, but I can''t let you just walk around with a bomb inside your stomach."


    "S-Stoooop!"


    SLASH!


    As Jonathan''s head rolled over the floor and a blood trail was left behind, the army of Undead slowly approached the vige¡­


    "It''s time." ke said, looking into the distance atop the fortress behind the vige''s gates.


    -----

 Chapter 406 The Battle Begins

    -----


    His dead-like eyes looked into the distance, as the sight of the vige where he had been born, and where he had been exiled appeared before him. Resentful memories of his past emerged one after the other, blossoming like flowers on spring. He was once a weak and afraid little boy¡­ But now, he was a powerful ruler of death, with hundreds of servants at hismand.


    "It is finally time¡­" He said with a cold voice. "I will destroy everything, and finally let go of these bitter memories¡­ All of this shall end today."


    ¡­


    Within the vige''s walls, a soldier looked into the distance using a special magic device in the shape of sses. They were enhanced with Runes of the [Enhanced Vision] Spell and allowed a person to see through long distances by imbuing some Mana into them.


    Such magic items were incredibly expensive, a mere soldier would never be able to afford one themselves, but such expensive magic items were handled to them by Ellergest, as they had to keep watch from the distance.


    The soldiers were all nervously sweating, afraid of what was toe. Although everybody in the vige had prepared, and there were even adventurers with them, the odds were still against their favor.


    A young soldier suddenly spotted something at the distance, a ck dot slowly moving towards the vige from afar.


    "Huh? Some sort of¡­ bat?"


    However, after a few seconds, that "bat" slowly grew bigger and bigger, until the man realized that creature was not a bat.


    "Eh?! This is¡­!"


    It had ck scales, rotting flesh, red eyes, sharp fangs, and enormous wings with a long tail ending in a de-like tip. To make it worst, it was bigger and more terrifying than the one that had attacked the vige before, shrouded in an aura of miasma, darkness, and death.


    "ROOOOAARRR!"


    "W-Wyvern! A Wyvern is getting closer!"


    The soldiers immediately cried in horror, as he gritted his teeth, the rest of the people immediately reacted, as an enormous catapult and ballista loaded and slowly began to aim at the flying beast, as the people there panicked, the monster was more than what they could possibly handle.


    "GROOARRRR!"


    The furious Death Wyvern mere presence sent shivers down the spine of most of the people present, the vigers heard the monster''s nightmarish roars, as they felt their hearts beating faster in their fear of death.


    The roar of the enormous wyvern, being as big as twenty-five meters of height came with a gigantic breath attack made out of blue phantasmal mes, which impacted the barrier around the vige immediately.


    BOOOOOMMM!!!


    An enormous explosion of darkness and death essence impacted the holy light barrier, which resisted the breath attack barely. The priests inside the vige gritted their teeth, some even falling to their knees as they had to bear with the impact force.<sub> </sub>


    Their assistants immediately handled them Lesser Mana Potions, including the ones that ke had made. The Priests had already drank all the ones they had in reserves, and had barely felt their MP recovering, however, when they drank these potions, not only their MP was back inrge quantities.


    Even their MP recovery speed became ridiculous, hastening to an incredible speed for a long period of time, not only this allowed them to hold the barrier for longer without needing to drink a potion again, but it also eased their headaches produced by overusing Mana.


    "These potions are amazing; with this we can resist the wyvern''s attack better¡­"


    "Not only they recovered almost all my MP but the potions hastened the natural recovery as well!"


    "Yeah, I don''t feel any headache anymore¡­"


    The priests looked into the distance, as they saw the enormous wyvern using its ws and tail to hit the barrier. It was unable to unleash that powerful breath attack at all times, so it had to fight with its body while still waiting for its throat to umte more energy to unleash that explosive blow. Although unlike living wyverns, it didn''t felt pain when overusing the breath attack, the requirements for mana were still big.


    "Now we have to let the people in there deal with that monster¡­."


    "May the Holy Spirits bless them¡­"


    "It is the only thing we can do now, brothers and sisters."


    The priests prayed to the Holy Spirits, as the Undead Army finally emerged within the forest. More soldiers spotted several zombies and skeletons lurking around the forest inrge quantities, until they finally emerged out of the dense forest, only fifty meters away from the walls of the vige.


    "They are here! The undead!" The panicked scream of a soldier alerted everybody else, as many soldiers and magicians specialized in long range attacks quickly moved near the walls of the vige, pointing their weapons and magic attacks.


    This was a defensive battle after all, they weren''t going to charge directly into the enemy when their numbers were so high. The original n devised by Ellergest and Musk was to first take down the initial wave of Undead and then charge towards the forest.


    The initial part of this n was named "Defensive Battle" and the second phase was "Behead the General" which included sending their Elite Group into the forest to kill the necromancer in charge of everything.


    If there was an army of hundreds surrounding them, they would never be able to aplish such a thing, of course. Therefore, the initial n was to y as many Undead first until the path was cleared.


    "Now¡­ FIRE!"


    Lukas roared, raising his magic sword as everyone else obeyed hismand. Adventurers, soldiers, hunters, and anyone that wanted to help immediately attacked. As the zombies and skeletons got closer and closer, seeking the life essence these living people emitted, they were immediately greeted with a rain of hundreds of arrows, most of the imbued with the power of skills or magic.


    BOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOM!


    The arrows reached the Undead, exploding and taking many monsters at once.


    -----

 Chapter 407 This Is Just Starting

    -----


    ke and his friends were in the frontlines, due to ke''smands, they had yet to fight themselves, and were not joining in the phase 1 of the fight for obvious motives, they needed to save their strength, mana, ki, and stamina for phase 2, where things would finally get real.


    Nheless, it wasn''t as if ke wasn''t helping in other ways, as he had used his Commanding Skill and his Cooking Skill magisterially,bining both buffs by feeding most of the people here with his cooking and alsomanding them with Lukas help. Although they would never listen to a kid, if he was near Lukas, someone that was now promoted as a Knight Commander, they would listen.


    ke quickly realized how valuable it was to have a friendship with Lukas, and how saving his life back then allowed him to do things such as these without any issue, as Lukas trusted him more than almost anybody else. He was perhaps one of the few people that wasn''t his childhood friend or family that trusted his intelligence and strength the most. If it wasn''t thanks to Lukas (and Ellergest), he would had never gotten into the strategy meeting to begin with.


    "Fire! Don''t stop!" ke roared. An invisible aura of power suddenly boosted everybody''s stats, as the people strangely felt stronger and faster, and even their uracy raised!


    Countless arrows were fired from the walls, most of the arrow users didn''t had any Skill for arrow usage, but they simply imbued their arrows with Mana and made the arrows explode whennding somewhere, even if it wasn''t a target but the ground.


    Countless magical explosions happened one after the other, as ke''s sharp eyes looked into the distance. Without realizing, the people felt more confident and stronger than before below hismand. They felt as if someone of incredible wisdom and power was behind them, watching their every move andmanding them magisterially.


    And of course, they were, if only they could know that ke''s true identity was that of a warlord of the outer universe, a Vampire tyrant who had participated in thousands of battles and had incredible military knowledge and held countless tactics below his sleeve.


    Most of the tactics being used here were all his ideas, which he decided to let others reinterpret into their own ideas by only giving small hints and suggestions. This way it wouldn''t seem as suspicious he had such amount of knowledge, while still helping and even manipting others.


    BOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOM!


    Another set of explosions reached the forests, as the trees were reduced to ashes alongside dozens after dozens of Undead. However, bigger Undead emerged from behind the others that were simply used as bait so people would weaken their Mana and Energy. Skeletons wearing ck armor, and zombies covered on spikes quickly made their way forward.


    The attacks from allies could easily get through the holy barrier, and people could walk in and outside of it with ease, as it only stopped Undead and Demons from getting inside. Erdrich was a half demon, but due to his human side, he was able to be inside the barrier. However, it was well known that if he unleashed his demon side, he might get hurt or expulsed by the barrier into the outside.


    "Are you sure we shouldn''t fight?! The Necromancer sent a Wyvern here! The monster''s attacking the barrier constantly, ke!" Said Chris. He was one of the most stubborn friends of ke. A kid who would grow one day to be an incredible man, but that had yet to learn a lot about patience.


    "RROOAARR!"


    Although he wasn''t wrong. The wyvern was furiously attacking the barrier, which put a lot of pressure into the priests. However, ke remained calm andposed, looking into the distance.


    "Patience is a virtue, Chris." He said with while narrowing his eyes as he nced at the Wyvern. "Our preparations are alreadyplete."


    "Preparations?" Asked Chris.


    "Of course, the ballista and catapults are not for the small fry¡­" Said ke with a smile.<sub> </sub>


    "FIRE!" ke roared immediately after. The soldiers and adventurers aiming at the Wyvern immediately fired their attacks.


    "ROOOARRR!"


    The Wyvern didn''t even realized what wasing towards it, as five bottles filled with holy water wrapped around rope suddenly impacted its face. Countless pieces of ss pierced its eyes and mouth, while the holy light began to burn its face and immediately the rest of the body. The aura of miasma and death the monster had suddenly reseeded, growing smaller and weaker.


    "GRAARRR¡­! GRAAHH¡­?!"


    The Death Wyvern immediately noticed these changes, it suddenly became harder to p its wings, and the burning holy water made several parts of its body turn into ashes immediately. However, as it tried to recover its body using its fast regeneration, several arrows of enormous size reached its body. Now too slow to evade them, the enormous ballista arrows of over five meters of height and with almost a meter big des easily pierced through its entire body, three at the same time!


    CLASH! CLASH! CLASH!


    "GRAAARRRRGH!"


    These ballista arrows were not normal either, they were covered in both Antidote and Holy Water, making them extremely deadly for the interior of the wyvern,pletely covered with poison and miasma! The Wyvern''s Spirit Orb was also cracked and almost shattered, making the beast lose most of its power.


    Without being able to fly anymore, the monster fell from the skies, sliding through the exterior of the holy barrier and beginning to burn with holy fire, until it fell into the floor right in front of the vige, covered in mes andpletely dead. ke noticed its soul flying away, it was made of several souls stick together. He quickly devoured it without thinking it twice, stopping the Necromancer from being able to rise another Wyvern using it.


    BAAAM!


    The enormous body of the wyvern fell, as the people saw in shock what they had done. With collective effort, they were able to defeat a powerful D Rank monster using a catapult and a three ballista arrows!


    "W-We did it¡­?!"


    "The wyvern''s dead!"


    "Amazing¡­!"


    As the people cheered, Lukas, Ellergest, and Musk immediately called everyone to go back to their positions. This war had yet to be over after all.


    -----

 Chapter 408 The Necromancers Powers

    -----


    "Amazing, they took down the wyvern¡­" Chris said, as he quickly realized that annoying and trying to force ke to take matters into his own hands was a bit too much. "Sorry about that¡­ I guess I didn''t had much hope¡­"


    "Hm, maybe you should begin to trust me more, Chris." ke said. "It has been years now, but you''re always overly wary of me, and sometimes you don''t trust me either."


    "Ah¡­" Chris looked into the distance, seeing many Undead trying to get through the barrier but hitting its walls imbued with holy light and beginning to burn and turn into ashes. "Sorry, I¡­ I guess I am like that."


    Chris trust issues were a thing ke had noticed for a while now. He began to think that the youngling might still have some sort of resentment against him of some sort, which ended being channeled into this doubt. Although this wasn''t the time for this, he didn''t wanted his friend to doubt at thest second and end up costing his life.


    "Why?" ke asked.


    Chris looked down a bit and then spoke. "Well, I guess¡­ I just feel a bit jealous of you¡­ That''s all."


    "Hm, I suppose that''s to be expected." ke said cockily, only making Chris sigh. "Nheless, I can understand that jealously of yours. I am also jealous of other people. I''ve always been jealous of others, since I remember being aware of my own self."


    "Eh? You are?" Chris asked. "But you''re so strong and everything¡­"


    "Hah, as if that would even matter. We are all inherently jealous of one another, greedy, and more. It is within our nature as¡­ humans." ke said. "Don''t worry, what you feel ispletely normal. I''ve been jealous of you as well, you were more gifted at magic than I am, and your spirit of fire is incredible, I wish I had it."


    "O-oh¡­ really?!" Chris asked.


    "Yeah, I am also quite jealous of all my friends, this is why I have you close  to me. This jealously is generated by my ownck of strength in certain areas. If I was as strong as you think I am, why would I bother making friends and allies that I can trust in battle? My trustes from the jealously I have against your amazing talents, which I wish I had." ke chuckled a bit. "I know that sounded a bit pathetic, but I''m hoping you get what I said."


    Chris opened his eyes, seeing ke with new eyes once more.


    "Yeah, I guess¡­ I get it now. Sorry again, I was being a dumbass." Said Chris with a smile.


    "It''s fine, you''ve always been kind of the dumbass of the party." Said Erika whileughing.


    "H-Hey! Were you spying on us?!" Chris asked.


    "Well we are all here¡­" Said Eric.


    "Yep." Erdrich said. "You two are very good friends."


    "Fufu, I didn''t thought you were jealous of ke like this, Chris." Elizabeth giggled a bit mockingly.


    "Ugh¡­" Chris sighed, but at the end decided to keep looking into the battle as ke''s sharp eyes assessed everything. For a moment, it felt like he wasn''t even a kid, but someone grown up, who had umted lots of experience in battle.


    Not only for Chris, but for all the kids here, ke always gave out that impression, that he was¡­ someone more than what he truly was. As if there was someone else inside of his own soul than the child, someone grown up, with incredible ambition and the experience and power to back it up.<sub> </sub>


    "In a few more minutes we shall go, prepare yourselves¡­" Said ke. "We''ll put an end to this."


    As ke said this, the battle continued. The long-ranged attacks proved to be incredibly effective, countless Undead began to fall one after the other, more than a hundred had now perished, and now the numbers were reaching two hundred. The soldiers, knights, hunters, and adventurers all unified their strength, firing magic and arrows at the undead.


    The undead were wary of the barrier hurting them, so they remained at a long distance and unleashed magic attacks of their own to break the barrier of find a crack to open a small hole through it. Large groups of Undeadmanded by their necromancer gathered one after the other, firing sts of darkness and darkness spheres channeling the dark miasma inside their bodies, slowly trying to corrupt and break the barrier. Even the lesser zombies were able to use this simple magic due to the miasma they were imbued with, enhancing their physical and magical strength.


    However, each group was swiftly spotted by ke, Ellergest, and Musk, who were in the frontlines. They immediately guided their respective groups and eliminated these groups of Undead with long ranged attacks, and if they were too fast or strong, they were sted with holy water bottles and antidote bottles until they weakened enough.


    This way, thanks to ke''s items which he made in a hurry using [Instant Creation], the tides of battle, which looked very into the Undead''s favor changed. The people''s morale began to slowly rise, as ke looked into the distance. His two Bird Summons, Hawk and Huginn flew around, inspecting the surroundings.


    "Hm?"


    Suddenly, ke noticed something.


    The Necromancer raised his staff, as the Undead hemanded began to change. Their entire bodies suddenly started to¡­ mutate.


    "Hmph, there''s no helping it, I might had underestimated you all¡­ [Forced Necrotic Evolution]!"


    FLASH!


    Suddenly, a sh of phantasmal essence reached every Undead reaching the walls, as the people protecting the walls suddenly realizing something was wrong with the Undead, attacks were taking a while topletely destroy them now, and their bodies and appearances changed as well.


    "GROOARR!"


    "OOOOHH¡­!"


    "KAKAKA¡­!"


    The zombies grew countless muscles, looking like walking hulks of flesh, while the skeletons gained more and more bones, resembling giants made of bones. And the worst of all, those high ranked undead right behind them also changed.


    CRASH! CRASH! CRASH!


    Their attacks became more intense, until a big group of Undead suddenly all concentrated their attacks into an area of the barrier¡­


    And broke through.


    CRAAASH!


    -----

 Chapter 409 Go Back To The Grave You Belong

    -----


    A group of over a hundred Undead broke through the barrier!


    Ellergest face grew darker as he looked into the priest within the interior of the vige, they were all fine. They even took down the spy that might had attempted to ruin the barrier.


    He noticed some of the priests were resting over the floor while kneeling. Some were even over the floor almost unconscious. They had simply reached their limit, even with the help of ke''s potions.


    "This might be our limit¡­" Ellergest said, quickly fearing what had yet toe. However, as the one in charge of most of this entire operation, he couldn''t back down.


    Chris and everyone else within ke''s team panicked as they saw the Undead getting in. They were not normal Undead either, as they were enhanced. The Necromancer had used what ke assumed to be a Skill to forcefully evolve the Undead.


    "Change of ns." ke said while looking at the distance. His friends immediately looked at his direction. "We are fighting."


    "Eh? But what about saving energy? I think they could handle things, right?" Wondered Erdrich.


    "I know, but I changed my mind." ke said. "As things go, these people won''t be enough to defeat the Undead, especially these evolved forms. We have to hurry with phase two. We''ll go, defeat this horde of a hundred, and then rush to the Necromancer. I''ve realized this man had yet to even reach a limit, and by what I''ve seen spying on him, he seems too rxed even when he had already lost over half his army¡­"


    "T-Then he''s way stronger?" Wondered Eric.


    "Precisely¡­" ke said. "I presume that, seeing how he''s so rxed even when his army is being defeated easily, he has more aces below his sleeve than just the second Death Wyvern, the two Rotten Giants and his Giant Skeleton. He''s probably so strong himself that even with everything he has lost, he is confident on his victory- no, in fact, it has seemed as if he had been carelessly letting us get ahead of him."


    "Wait, what? Why would he go to such lengths for mocking us?" Asked Elizabeth.


    "Can''t you realize?" ke asked. "He''s someone that hates this vige and everyone inside, even if we had never meet him in our lives. He probably wants to give us hope, only to crush it and see us suffer. He doesn''t merely wants to wipe us out, he wants to see every one of us suffer as much as possible before we die¡­ and then join his horde."


    "T-That''s way too scary! He''s really insane!" Eric said.


    "Of course, cultists are insane." Sighed Erdrich. "This man, whoever he was back then doesn''t matter anymore¡­ I''ve learned that being a human doesn''t simply mean being born as a human but acting as one. This old man has lost all his humanity, he''s a monster."


    "And we are pretty good at ying monsters." Chris said with a smile.


    "Let''s go." Said ke, as his entire group suddenly¡­ jumped right off the walls, which were over thirty meters above the ground as if nothing!


    "H-Hey! Kids!"


    "They jumped off?!"


    "What the heck?!"


    The soldiers guarding them suddenly panicked as they saw the kids jump off the walls, only to notice ke suddenly wave his hand. The shadows below the kid''s bodies shapeshifted, as several enormous wolves, Fenrirs, emerged one after the other, carrying them across the sky andnding into the ground.


    A group of thirty knights, twenty hunters, and several adventurers led by Musk and Ellergest immediately spotted ke descending into battle.


    "ke! What are you doing here?! Didn''t you said you would save energy?" Asked Ellergest.


    "There''s no time, we are going." Said ke. "I''ve saved Potions anyways, I think we can handle it, but we''ll need your help and everyone else here. Let''s hurry. That Necromancer is ying with us, if we don''t confront him directly, everyone willment itter."


    "He''s that strong?!" Ellergest asked looking at ke''s eyes.


    "Yeah, he''s probably stronger than Cassandra and the Demon Generalbined." Said ke. "We''ll need every little trick we got to kill him, if even¡­ the odds are against us even more than I had predicted."<sub> </sub>


    "This kid''s analysis ability is amazing¡­" Musk said.


    "You''reing too, old man." ke said.


    "Old man?! I am not that old¡­!" Musk, the Adventurer Guild Master said. "Also if all of us go and leave behind the vige, it''ll be destroyed before we can do a single thing!"


    "I''ve got a n." ke said with a smile.


    "A n¡­?" Ellergest and Musk asked at the same time, as ke''s father got closer.


    "If its ke¡­ it might be worth a shot to trust him this one." Said his father.


    "Father¡­" ke felt moved by his father''s trust.


    "You gotta believe us! ke back then y a giant hydra!" Said Erika out of the blue.


    "Yeah!" Elizabeth said. "Well, we did itbined¡­"


    "I helped a lot too, don''t leave me out of this!" Eric said.


    "It was abined effort." Said ke.


    "H-Hydra?!" Ellergest asked. "Did you just said you defeated a Hydra? Those are C Rank monsters!"


    "If webine our strength and magic, it was possible, but even then, that Necromancer might be even more monstrously strong¡­." Said ke.


    "Oi, we don''t have more time to talk around here, just trust ke and let''s get moving!" Erdrich said, rushing everyone to move and fight, as a group of ten giant zombies ran towards them.


    "Gruuoohhhh¡­!"


    Suddenly, the Giant Zombies opened their monstrous jaws, unleashing miasma and ck magic everywhere, attacking from a distance despite their enormous sizes.


    "Miasma! Don''t get near it!" Ellergest said. "Wait! ke, where are you going?!"


    "If we simply let them intimidate us, we''ll never get through this." ke said, valiantly jumping out of his Fenrir into the air, as his spear emerged out of his shadows, alongside several sharp bones, hundreds of them which were all from the phantasmal mimic, imbued with his [Shadow Domination] Shadow Technique!


    "Go back to the grave you belong."


    FLAAAASH!


    Suddenly, the enormous swarm of ck bones and ke''s spear flew towards the Zombies, swarming them and quickly beginning to cut them all into shreds! Meanwhile, ke''s Gluttony viciously pierced through the zombies spirit orbs, almost shattering some and destroying others, making all ten giant zombies fall in a matter of seconds!


    Everyone was left speechless¡­


    "H-How strong¡­ has he grown since thest time I saw him fight¡­?" Ellergest asked,pletely bbergasted.


    "Not even I, his father, can tell¡­" Joan said with a smile. "This boy will be a legend one day, I can assure you, head priest."


    -----

 Chapter 410 Blakes Amazing Growth

    -----


    The Necromancer looked into the distance, as he saw his army of Undead finally breaking through the barrier. At his side there was thest Death Wyvern of the two, as he smiled and patted the Undead Beast''s head.


    "See? It wasn''t so hard. I had to give them a little push." He said with a smile. "I have not been growing stronger thesest decades for nothing."


    His hand slowly began to change, as the skin over it began to peel off and turn into small dry particles, revealing the dry muscles surrounding the white bones, which also began to peel off. He smiled, looking at his skeletal hand.


    "The transformation is almostplete¡­"


    Within his chest, his Spirit Orb began to tremble, emittingrge quantities of spiritual essence and death and phantasmal energy¡­


    "After I devour a few more souls, I should be able to finally awaken my truest potential¡­"


    Aside from his own Spirit Orb, a strange red jewel was incrusted in the middle of his thorax, emitting demonic energy across his body. Despite being a human such energy was not negatively affecting but elerating his¡­ "transformation".


    However, although he felt confident on his victory, there was still something¡­ tickling him off, and it wasn''t his itchy dry and dead skin peeling off his bones.


    He looked into the distance, noticing a group of brave warriors battling the horde of Undead trying to break through the barrier and destroy the walls of the vige.


    There was a young boy within them, leading his group of younglings.


    Despite his age, this child had be rather well known to the cultists.


    He was someone they had to eliminate, as his potential and strength were incredible.


    Within his dry, old, and dead heart, he still felt a slight doubt¡­ this child, despite looking young, was someone he couldn''t underestimate.


    Having lived for so long, he had already underestimated many, and paid the price.


    Even if it was a kid, he wasn''t going to underestimate anyone.


    "If they''re reallying here, then I shall add you to my horde as a reward for your bravery¡­"


    ¡­


    A storm of ck bones shredded into pieces of blood and flesh ten Giant Zombies in less than thirty seconds, as ke tested his new capabilities. Those mere bones he had picked up from the Phantasmal Mimic ended bing a rather useful temporary set of deadly weapons. They were sharpened by the Undead to be extremely deadly and were also incredibly sharp.


    He had saved them inside the small space within his shadows through the Shadow Sneak Skill and brought them out when he wanted to test their lethality. A swarm of sharp objects that can easily shred flesh was certainly lethal.<sub> </sub>


    "It works nicely¡­" ke thought. "However, there are several things I have to take into consideration."


    ke had been analyzing the power of his [Shadow Maniption] Skill and its Shadow Techniques since he began utilizing them. The power of [Shadow Domination] was interesting and held an incredible potential. It not only allowed him to use his shadows to "possess" inanimate objects, but also to control them as if it were Telekinesis.


    However, how could he control hundreds of flying weapons withoutpletely exhausting his MP? That''s where the amazing ability of [Shadow Domination] shone the brightest. It only costed MP to initially infuse shadows into an inanimate object. However, after that was done ke was free to utilize the item and even manipte it through Telekinesis without spending a dime of MP!


    However, there was also a limitation, his own mind. Although his mind was of a monstrous size to the point he could control a hundred projectiles at the same time, there was a limit, projectiles had to be light weighted or they would put too much pressure into his mind, and his limit was already all these bones around him, and his spear, and perhaps a few dozen more.


    Although he couldn''t simply take over the entire world using this Skill alone, it was still somethingmendably incredible. And he was going to use it to its full potential once he acquired or made more weapons for himself.


    For now, these bones will do, and perhaps, the weapons the skeletons were holding as well!


    ke walked towards a Skeleton that was crushed into the floor, as he quickly imbued it with his Shadows with a smile. The Skeleton suddenly began to move, even without a phantasmal soul and its core shattered.


    "Oh, so it works like this as well¡­"


    ke quickly realized the shadows became like a puppeteer strings, and he could move this skeleton as if it were alive. However, the pressure into his mind was rather severe, he probably cannot make a sizable army. Also, skeletons by themselves are frail, what made his bones lethal was the ability to fly as they pleased anywhere.


    "Break."


    CRASH!


    However, with a single movement of his hands, the entire reanimated skeleton broke into pieces, as he quickly reced the shattered bones he had with new and sharper ones, alongside covering the skeleton''s rusted weapon with his [Shadow Domination], until the de turnedpletely ck.


    Another of the powers of [Shadow Domination] was the ability to not only control "possessed" items, but also to enhance their strength, weight, sharpness, and so on, as if they were a buff to inanimate objects!


    "GROAARRR!"


    A furious Demonic Beast Gray Wolf suddenly jumped over ke, but the boy remained still as he looked at the wolf approach, merely waving his hands sent an enormous quantity of bones towards the wolf, beginning to shred its entire body. The fur was hard and so were its muscles enhanced with demonic energy, but that was where his spear entered into action.


    CLAAASH!


    Using the enhancement of [Shadow Domination], ke swiftly reached the wolf''s head and pierced it through with his spear, absorbing the blood within the beast and at the same time filling his weapon''s hunger.


    "Another one down, eighty left."


    -----

 Chapter 411 Intense Battle For Survival

    -----


    ke''s entrance into the battle shocked everyone around them, as some began to wipe their eyes using their hands, trying to realize what they were seeing. Not many knew that the boy that had been healing people around was also the possessor of such incredible magic and skills. Nheless, ke paid no mind to onlookers, solely focusing on the battle.


    "GROOARR!"


    The Undead were not going to sit and watch either, as dozens began running forward, not aiming at the people in front of them in specific, but at the walls behind them. They knew the walls were still on their development stages, the base was made out of abination of wood and stone and reinforced with Magic, but it was still not the strongest, if several Undead, especially these powerful ones, gathered in front of the walls, the walls themselves might easily fall.


    "Where do you think you''re going?!"


    Chris, however, faced a horde of twelve zombies and skeletons, stopping them from getting into the walls. Although the rest of the group that was trying to stop them was fighting many at the same time, these Undead easily bypassed them and ran around their foes, reaching their destination.


    Chris'' staff red with mes as the tip of it suddenly glowed bright red. In mere seconds his entire body unleashed an aura of mes as well, converging with his staff and then his Fire Fox Spirit, which flew into the tip of his staff!


    "Mystic Fire!"


    FLUOOOSSSH!


    An enormous me of white and blue mes emerged, covering the entire body of the undead in mere seconds. The mes, imbued with spiritual energy had a special sacred element added to them, bing extra deadly against these Undead!


    However, as they were all upgraded and enhanced by the Necromancer, their power was also noticeable, many of the Undead, even while being covered on mes, kept running towards the walls.


    "You damn¡­! Fire de!"


    Chris immediately followed with more Fire Magic, conjuring five two-meter-long des made of fire and firing them at the Undead. The des proved to be effective, as they easily pierced through the bodies of zombies and skeletons alike, and then, exploded.


    BOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOM!


    The Undead that were targeted exploded, taking with them anybody around them. Chris sighed in relief as he took twelve Undead in a few seconds, although by carelessly spending arge quantity of his MP.


    "SHAAA!"


    However, once he lowered his guard, they attacked. A trio of enormous six-armed Vipers who were actually not Undead at all, but that were infected with Miasma and were stronger, with ck scales and red eyes, reached up to Chris!


    "Holy Dragon Breath!!!"


    FLAAASH!


    However, a glorious dragon made of holy light emerged before him, unleashing a powerful st of light against the Demons, consuming them into the sh of light and almostpletely turning them into ashes!


    BOOOOMMM!!!


    "Hmph, so there are even Demons here! That bastard''s not a simple necromancer, that guy really became a master of these demons! Did he enved them?" Wondered the Dragon, as Ellergest walked near him.


    "It seems so. Chris, are you alright?" Ellergest asked.


    "Y-Yes, Lord Ellergest¡­" Chris sighed. "Ah!"


    However, his break was quickly broke by a mass of twisting flesh with eyes and tentacles that came rolling towards him!


    "OOOHHHHH¡­!"


    "That''s a Shapeshifting Abhorrent Flesh¡­" Ellergest said, quickly pointing his staff at the undead monster, made up of countless of rotten corpses merged together until it resembled a rolling meatball.


    "Light sh!"


    TRUUUMMM¡­!


    However, before Ellergest could even conjure his magic, an enormous mass of bones emerged from the underground, shaping into a gigantic skeletal hand and attempting to grab him!


    "What the¡­?!"


    CLASH!


    The enormous hand made of bones which was as big as ten meters was swiftly destroyed by the fists of the half-demon boy, Erdrich, whose body size had grown several times!


    CRAAASH!


    The bones fell into pieces, but quickly began to move around, trying to reassemble themselves through phantasmal essence residing within them.


    "Lord Ellergest, be careful!" Erdrich said, as Ellergest felt surprised the boy that once cried for an entire week inside his room had be so brave.


    "It has only been a year since you came to us but you''ve surely changed, Erdrich." Ellergest said while caressing his white beard.


    "Eh? T-There''s no time to talk about stuff like that now- Agh!"


    Erdrich suddenly felt several bones emerging from the ground, as whatever was underground which infiltrated into the interior of the barrier, began to make several sharp bones emerge one after the other.


    "Damn it!"


    "RAAAH!"


    Chris and Erdrich worked together, beginning to smash the bones that sprouted off the ground constantly. Ellergest supported them with enhancement magic, long-ranged magic, and healing magic, while his dragon furiously took down anything that got near that might be too big of a threat.


    ke noticed Chris and Erdrich had made a group with Ellergest in the middle of the battle. They had distanced themselves too much from the main group, forming obvious gaps in their coordination.


    Whatever was underground, it was attempting to separate them and pick them one by one.


    "Wh-What is this- AGH!"


    CRASH!


    One of the adventurers in the frontlines suddenly had his chest pierced by a sharp bone emerging from the ground, as he suddenly vomited a mouthful of blood and fell half-dead into the ground.


    "This is¡­ Don''t get too far from one another¡­!" ke quicklymanded everyone else, as guild master said the same thing, making the adventurers that had strived too far away from the group quickly regroup, but many began to fall one after the other, and even some soldiers as well. Theck of coordination between adventurers was sure a weakness.


    CLASH!


    "AGHH¡­!"


    CLASH!


    "GRYYAAEEGH¡­!"


    CLASH!


    "H-HELP!"


    As the Undead were being in, the bones underground continued growingrger, as if the destruction of the smaller Undead made whatever was underground even bigger, deadlier, and madder!


    "Goddamn it!"


    However, the guild master had enough, as he grabbed his enormous hammer and imbued his Mana into it, his Spirit, in the shape of arge golem made of stone, enhanced his strength as it covered his body with an armor made of sharp ores.


    "Earthquake!!!"


    TRUUUUUMMMMM¡­!


    -----

 Chapter 412 Against The Aberrant Miasma Slime!

    -----


    By the furious attack of Musk, the Adventurer Guild Master, the entire ground in front of him trembled, crumbling and cracking! ke who had already been thinking about a countermeasure was quickly surprised Musk was so quick to find a way to get the monster out of the underground.


    BOOOM!!!


    An enormous hole opened underground, as a mass of countless bones and stitched souls emerged! The entire group of surviving warriors, aposition made of knights, soldiers, hunters, an adventurers, opened their eyes wide before the monster in front of them!


    "GRUOOOHHHH¡­!"


    The creature was entirely made of bones unified by a slimy ck and phantasmal blue essence, with two glowing red eyes, which were in fact its core. This monster wasn''t merely a Bone Golem as ke thought, but something akin to a Slime!


    "A Miasma Slime!" Ellergest, who had lived a long life and fought many powerful monsters, immediately recognized the creature!


    "Miasma Slime?!" Jack at his side wondered, as he had quickly joined the fray with Seth too. The two had doubted if they had the wits and strength to jump into the frontlines, but due to Jack''s recklessness, Seth ended being forced to join as well.


    "Ah! I remember we once fought one, four years ago¡­ You weren''t there yet." Seth said while he readjusted his sses. His sharp eyes shone bright gold, as his magic was channeled. "However this monster is not like the one we exterminated back then, this is way stronger, and it is filled with bones it can control at will!"


    "Yeah, the one we fought was a juvenile and small one, this thing is a full-fledged adult, and enhanced through the powers of this damn Necromancer." Said Ellergest.


    "Holy Chains!" Jack recklessly jumped into the frontlines as everyone else except ke''s group were shocked at what they were seeing, his chains immediately reached the Miasmic Slime, trying to wrap around him.


    SPLASH!


    However, the slime easily ignored Jack''s powerful Spirit, as it slid through the holes in the chains and freed itself without issues. Quickly noticing Jack and firing three bone projectiles at him!


    "Ah, shit!"


    "Holy Light Barrier!"


    FLASH!


    However, a little blonde girl with an angelic appearance emerged before Jack, conjuring a powerful magical barrier to protect him from the bones, which, strangely like ke''s [Shadow Maniption] were also imbued with ck miasma, changing their color, and allowing the slime to control them in midair.


    CLASH! CLASH! CLASH! CLASH!


    The Slime immediately fired some more against Elizabeth, trying to break her barrier by chipping it down with hundreds of attacks at the same time.


    "Damn it, my spirit is not that well suited for battle." Said Seth, however, he quickly acted anyways. Combining his Ki and with his Mana and using his newly acquired Magic Bow to fire several arrows at the slime to distract it! "However, I have not been practicing this and using my saved-up money to buy a Magic Bow for nothing!"


    Each arrow was specially made as well as they were coated in holy light by Seth, set to explode upon contact with a monster, each arrow he fired immediately exploded into a sh of bright light, damaging the slime lightly and annoying it, quickly making the monster aim at him.


    "Light Arrow Shower!" Seth quickly took five more arrows and fired them together, as the arrows reached high above the Slime and then fell like falling stars!


    BOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOM!


    "GRUUOOOHHHH¡­!"


    SPLAAASH!


    The Miasmic Slime grew furious, as its body spread out into several tentacles and attempted to grab nearby people to crush and devour at the same time. However, Musk immediately intercepted one of its strongest attacks aimed at many.


    "Rock¡­ HAMMER!"


    CRAAAASSSSHH!


    An enormous, tempestuous blow shook the entire air as a shockwave that broke the sound barrier sent flying several onlookers away, as the slime received the full impact, its entire body, however, as it was made of liquid, easily resisted it!


    SPLASH!


    The slime simply fell as if it were madepletely out of ck water, only to easily restructure itself and point several bones at everybody, shaping some as gigantic arms which it controlled through some sort of telekinesis made from the very miasma it could control!


    CLASH! CLASH! CLAAASH!


    These enormous bone fist began shing over the ground, punching away the surrounding fighters and bringing chaos everywhere. The Miasmic Slime was extremely powerful, and it had been tanking hits easily!


    However, ke andpany were not simply looking, but charging straight at it¡­ from the skies!


    "You damn kids¡­!"


    Ellergest quickly realized something was blocking the light of the sun atop the skies, as a group of ck dogs led by a red dog flew down towards the Miasmic Slime from above! It was ke and Eleanora mounting Blood, while Eric, Chris, Erdrich, and Erika followed them from behind.


    Surrounding them there was a gust of winds conjured by ke, which allowed the wolves to fly across the skies temporarily, and then, they all recklessly charged down!


    "A-Are you sure this is going to work?!" Asked Eric desperately.


    "Yeah, I am ny percent sure." ke said with a smirk, reassuring Eric.


    "Wait, only ny?!" Eric asked.


    "Just do it!"


    Chris hurried Eric, as the timid and cowardly Eric quickly pointed his arrows at the Slime from above using his newly reinforced bow, which in the span of two minutes, was enhanced with ke''s magic using the wood of the Lesser Yggdrasil Tree born from Eric''s staff by using the Tier 2 Nature Attribute Magic "nt Control" to wrap the wood around Eric''s weapon!


    "Agh, don''t me me if I miss!" Eric said, as he suddenly channeled the power of his Mana, Ki, and the Spiritual Energying from within his Spiritual Orb, as his Vine Rose Spirit emerged, merging with his bow, and making it blossom with many red roses, his arrow shed with bright green and golden light, unleashing a powerful ray of light!


    FLAAASH!


    BOOOOMMM!


    "GRUUUGYH?!"


    The Miasmic Slime gave out a weird groan, as it suddenly was pierced by this light!


    -----

 Chapter 413 Theres No Time To Waste

    -----


    The Miasmic Slime''s entire body suddenly had a hole in the middle of its entire Miasma. Although it had yet to even die, the attack that Eric unleashed provoked the slime to suddenly open a path for someone to enter through, which was ke''s n!


    A second after Eric''s arrow attack, Chris quickly channeled his Mana into his Fire Fox, making it grow bigger and fiercer, with many zing tails!


    "zing Fox Meteor!"


    "AROOOO!"


    The Fire Fox suddenly imbued itself with so many mes as it fell down towards the Miasmic Slime that it took the shape of a falling meteor. Everyone around quickly saw what was happening, feeling shocked by the firepower of Chris!


    "Wait, wasn''t Chris right behind me?!" Ellergest wondered, quickly realizing the boy moved quite fast thanks to the Fenrirs lurking around shadows, which allowed for ke''s team to easily relocate themselves.


    BOOOOOMMMM!!!


    The enormous mes went through the "tunnel" created by Eric''s arrow attack, easily unleashing countless spiritual mes inside the interior of the Miasmic Slime, making its watery and slimy body tremble and break apart!


    SPLAAASH!


    However, the Slime, damaged as it was, tried to quickly evade an even deadlier uing attack,ing from ke and Eleanora above, which it already had detected!


    The slime desperately attacked the surrounding fighters, unleashing bones, and its own slimy tentacles, and it even tried to shoot down ke from above as well! However, Musk and Ellergest were there, putting a stop to its movements as Ellergest formed a cylindrical shaped barrier to stop the slime from getting out of its hole while Musk unleashed his powerful blows using his hammer, which invisible shockwaves created enough force to pull away the watery body of the Miasmic Slime.


    "Hold up right there!"


    Erika immediately joined the battle as she was following ke from behind and quickly decided to step forward. Quickly changing all her Dolls jobs into Priests and firing small rays of holy light, which whenbined together into a shower, began to affect the Miasmic Slime, annoying the beast which was very susceptible to losing its focus from whatever attacked it.


    "GRUOOHHH!"


    The Miasmic Slime furiously began to slowly structure itself, only for its body to fail it as a cloud of purple and pink magical essence began to confuse its perception and senses¡­


    "Illusion Magic: Dazzling Cloud!" Erika said, having conjured one of her favorite Spells to confuse foes, which even worked on slimes, apparently. Her ne shone brightly, enhancing the power of her spell even more as well.


    "Perfectly done, Erika." ke said, as he quickly charged forward with Eleanora.


    "Master." Eleanora said.


    "Very well¡­ [Elemental Spirit Weapon]!"


    FLASH!


    Eleanora suddenly shone bright red, as her entire body began to shapeshiftpletely into a glorious and beautiful sword. Her spear remained with ke as he had used [Shadow Domination] on it and served as a third weapon he held with a small [Shadow Whip]!


    "Excellent, this should be more than enough!"


    ke immediately jumped off Blood, the loyal red wolf, as he fell down from the skies, reaching the Miasmic Slime in the floor and quickly protecting himself from its countless bone attacks by using his own ck Bone Projectiles.


    CLASH! CLASH! CLASH! CLASH!


    "GRUUHH?!"


    The Miasmic Slime was not dumb enough to not realize what was going on, as it immediately tried to escape, only to be greeted by magic attacks from its surroundings, ke quickly reached the Slime, whose entire body could simply not restructure properly thanks to Erika''s Confusion Spell.


    However, hundreds of tentacles reached ke, who easily sliced them all using Eleanora''s Weapon Form, which had the shape of a beautiful red sword.


    SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH!


    "There¡­!"


    ke quickly spotted his target, two glowing red orbs floating amidst the liquid body of the slime, which he swiftly reached as he sliced through hundreds of tentacles, piercing them and shattering them into pieces.


    CRAAAASH!


    "GRRUUUHHHHH¡­!"


    The Miasmic Slime gave out a pitiful scream of agony, as its entire body trembled, quickly turning into jut pure miasma and slime, and stopping its movements. ke quickly grabbed that soul and devoured it without doubting it a single second. His soul quickly absorbed the soul of the powerful Miasmic Slime, as ke''s psyche began to grow stronger, it seems he had reached a threshold and made his soul stronger by eating enough souls.


    FLASH!


    Eleanora quickly went back to her spiritual form as being in her weapon form exhausted her and also exhausted ke, costing a lot of MP to make things worse. ke had only used her in such a way because she was the only one powerful enough to slice through the miasmic slime''s tentacles and the two hard cores, which ke had noticed should be incredibly hard to not melt inside the miasma thatposed the slime itself.


    "Phew¡­ That was a bit too much." She sighed. "And that''s not even the final boss."


    "Yeah, this is far from over¡­"


    When he arrived in the ground, Eleanora sighed, as she rested her head over ke''s back.


    "Amazingly done, ke!" Ellergest praised the child.


    "I-I never thought you could turn your spirit into a sword¡­ I was honestly worried you jumped straight into that slime, you could had gotten eaten alive!" His father seemed worried. "¡­However, you defeated it at the end. I guess I shouldn''t get angry over this¡­"


    "Sorry for worrying you, father. But things are going to get even harder from now on." ke said.


    "We don''t have any time to celebrate after all, now that the Undead are gone, and there''s a path outside, let''s quickly hurry towards the Necromancer. Anyone brave enough to fight him follow us, the rest stay here and protect the vige!" The brave Guild Master seemed willing to go against the Necromancer.


    ke quickly began drinking Mana Potions alongside his friends and those willing to join into the "Behead the General" phase, as he once more mounted therge Red Wolf Blood, and with Eleanora behind him, moved outside the holy barrier. There was no time to waste.


    -----

 Chapter 414 New Techniques And Abilities

    -----


    (ke''s POV)


    After ying the Miasmic Slime, I decided to quickly move to the forest. We had no time to waste, the Necromancer was a big threat, and I had the feeling it was growing stronger constantly. His phantasmal presence was growing by the second. I felt the urge to y him before he were to be a threat I wouldn''t be able to properly handle.


    And as we moved towards him, I gave a few nces to the Grimoire, it seems EXP was finally distributed as a few minutes have passed since thest time I earned EXP, the bonus EXP from umtingrge quantities of EXP and also from the Hard Worker Skill were also applied.


    [You and your Party have in [Zombie (F Rank)] x64]


    [You and your Party have in [Skeleton Soldier (F Rank)] x72]


    [You and your Party have in [Miasmic Giant Zombie (E Rank)] x66]


    [You and your Party have in [Miasmic ck Skeleton Warrior (E Rank)] x42]


    [You and your Party have in [Death Wyvern (D Rank)] x1]


    [You and your Party have in [Miasmic Slime (D Rank)] x1]


    [Calcting EXP earned¡­]


    [You Earned 452000 EXP]


    [Your Level has increased from Level 21 to Leve 22!]


    [Your Level has increased from Level 22 to Leve 23!]


    [All Your Stats Have Increased]


    [You gained Stat Points and Skill Points]


    [The Level of [Command: Lv2] Skill has increased to level 3]


    [The Level of the [Blood Edge: Lv2] Skill has increased to level 3]


    [The Level of [Shadow Maniption: Lv1] Skill has increased to Level 2]


    [The [Blood Edge: Lv3] Skill has awakened into the [Blood Arts: Lv3] Skill]


    [The [Blood Arts: Lv3] Skill has gained several new Blood Techniques]


    [The [Shadow Maniption: Lv2] Skill has gained two new Shadow Techniques]


    -----


    [Shadow Maniption: Lv2]


    Skill Proficiency: 153/20000


    Only those incredibly proficient in Shadow Magic can acquire this Skill. It grants control over the element of shadows limited by the Skill Level and mastery over the power of Shadow Magic, the range of this Skill is also dependent in the Skill Level. Additionally, it grants a +20% enhancement to the power of any Shadow/Darkness Attribute Magic Spell, alongside special techniques unlocked with each Skill Level.


    Avable Shadow Techniques:


    Level 1: [Shadow Domination] [Dark Whip]


    Level 2: [Shadow Strings] [Dark Puppeteer]


    Level 3: ???


    -----


    Now this is interesting. Shadow Maniption now has two more Shadow Techniques, and they''re just what I had thought they would be after my small experimentation using Shadow Domination. By leveling up the Skill, an extension to this Shadow Control Ability emerged in the form of Shadow Strings and Dark Puppeteer.


    -----


    [Shadow Strings]


    Creates strings made of shadows and darkness which can be used to control inanimate objects that had been previously possessed using Shadow Domination. These strings can allow for greater and more dexterous maniption. One string can be used for each finger in both hands.


    -----


    [Dark Puppeteer]


    Enhances Shadow Strings and Shadow Domination ability tobine effects when activated, while also allowing for the ability to attach Shadow Strings into the shadows of other things, living or not. The ability to control such target''s using Shadow Strigs is entirely dependent in the target''s strength, resistance, and the user''s magic power and skill level.


    -----


    Interesting! This might certainly be useful in the near, very near future.


    And of course, somethingplete unexpected happened as well, Blood Edge evolved into Blood Arts. I nced at Eleanora''s Status but her own Blood Edge had yet to awaken in such a way.


    Is there some condition I fulfilled that allowed the awakening of the skill? Well, perhaps increasing my knowledge of blood magic, as I''ve boosted my body capabilities using Blood Magic to reach enough strength to slice through the Miasmic Slime''s Cores.


    -----


    [Blood Arts: Lv3]


    Skill Proficiency: 23/30000


    Only those incredibly proficient in Blood Magic can acquire this Skill or awaken it from the Lesser Skill [Blood Edge]. It grants control over the element of blood limited by the Skill Level and mastery over the power of Blood Magic, the range of this Skill is also dependent in the Skill Level. Additionally, it grants a +20% enhancement to the power of any Blood Attribute Magic Spell, alongside special techniques unlocked with each Skill Level.


    Avable Blood Techniques:


    Level 1: [Blood Flow eleration] [Blood Edge]


    Level 2: [Blood Pump] [Blood de]


    Level 3: [Bloodlust] [Crimson ws]


    -----


    I see, these are more straightforward. I believe I can use most of such abilities through Blood Ki Techniques and Magic. Is this a way for the Grimoire to recognize these techniques and make them into a Skill? Like this, with each level, the techniques are enhanced in powers and effects by +20%, at this point, at level 3, they''re enhanced by +60%, which is amazing.


    -----


    [Blood Flow eleration]


    Enhances the speed of blood flow, sharpening senses and increasing Agility, Speed, Dexterity, and Evasion by +10% with each Skill Level for 10 minutes.


    -----


    [Blood Edge]


    Maniptes the blood of the user or any blood at hand, making it as sharp as a knife, damage dealt increases by +10% with each Skill Level.


    -----


    [Blood Pump]


    Make your blood pump and boil, enhancing your Strength and Vitality by +10% with each Skill Level.


    -----


    [Blood de]


    Shape your own blood or any at hand into a sharp de to slice your foes, increasing damage dealt by +15% with each Skill Level.


    -----


    [Bloodlust]


    Let out all your bloodlust, intimidating foes and lowering their Strength, Agility, and Dexterity by -5% with each Skill Level, only works on intimidated foes.


    -----


    [Crimson ws]


    Coat your hands with your own blood or any you''ve got at hand, sharpening, and hardening it into sharp ws that can easily slice through metal, bones, and flesh. Damage dealt increases by +15% with each Skill Level and Ignores -5% of the foe''s Defenses with every Skill Level. Last as long as the ws break.


    -----


    This is better than I had imagined¡­ With this not only can I enhance my own stats a lot, but I''ve got a nice arrangement of attacking Techniques I can easily use that are enhanced even more¡­


    I wonder if that Necromancer can be intimidated¡­ I''ll have to find a way.


    -----

 Chapter 415 Confrontation Between Old Friends

    -----


    "They defeated the Miasmic Slime¡­"


    The Necromancer narrowed his eyes, as the opportunity to sneakily destroy the vige waspletely out of the question now. Even more, the hole in the barrier was repaired, and over half of his troops were eliminated. Forming a path, ke andpany had now made their way towards him.


    However, it wasn''t as if he was afraid. He wasn''t going to run away now, not now. Not after everything he had aplished, not after all he had done to get here after all this time.


    "I won''t back down, nor escape¡­" He said with a smile. "If what you want to do is fight¡­ so be it."


    His Wyvern roared furiously, pumped up for the battle that was toe. His two Rotten Giants, who were the strongest he had ever risen with a power equal to D Rank monsters, and the rest of his army, who were still almost two hundred roared in unison.


    "My family¡­ It''s already here¡­"


    ¡­


    ke charged across the forest atop of Blood, as he looked into his new abilities with a smile. From within the palm of his hand, blood began moving around, forming from his own Blood Ki which he had been umting inrge quantities throughst week. One of the bad things about Undead was that they didn''t gave any Blood Ki, as theycked any living Blood. Some Demons and Demonic Beasts were mixed in between, but they didn''t gave as much as he would had wanted.


    Nheless, he had umted so much over the past months that he had more than enough to unleash several Blood Judgements together, one of his ultimate Blood Techniques thatbined both Mana, Ki, and Spiritual Energy. With such power, he managed to defeat the Demon General back then, and might had to use this¡­ and something even beyond that to defeat the Necromancer.


    ke is someone that has quite a tunnel vision, once he sets into something, he continues into it until he reaches his goals. He doesn''t let anything distract him from such goals. Since the moment he explored the Miasmic Swamps until now, he had been willing to y whoever was behind the Undead and Demons.


    In two years, he was going to leave his vige, and he didn''t wanted to leave everyone to their deaths with such a big threat lurking around. Eliminating them all before leaving was his top priority. He was not going to stop until this man waspletely defeated, his soul shattered, and with his old body rotting below the ground.


    "We are here."


    FLASH!


    ke and everyone else suddenly felt a strange, phantasmal energy surrounding them the moment they stepped forward into the forest. They had entered the Necromancer''s Domain, a Phantom and Death-Attribute Domain formed by the excessive amounts of Mana the Necromancer exuded, forming a natural area which he dominated. His senses expanded across thisrge area; his eyes were almost everywhere.


    Alongside ke''s friends, his father and Gradus alongside five other Hunters came, alongside Ellergest and Seth and Jack, and of course, Lukas with his knights and The guild master with a few adventurers who were all D Rank, the highest ranked adventurers in the vige. Although they were D Rank, they earned such a rank from doing several quest and being adventurers for years, earning merits, but they had not in any D Ranked Monsters aside from the Miasmic Slime they helped at killing.


    "So you''vee."


    The old voice of the Necromancer resonated across the entire forest surrounding everybody. His harsh and old voice made everyone''s spines shiver, as the temperatures in their environment quickly lowered, and the entire forest looked strangely gloomy, dark, and phantasmal. Even small Will-o-Wisp, extremely weak ghosts wandered around, adding to the creepy environment.


    "You''re the Necromancer behind this?" ke was the first to speak.


    "Ah, the child¡­" The harsh and dry voice of the Necromancer spoke. "Yes, I am. I have decided to not run from you."


    "Before we go and kill you, I want to ask you a question¡­" Ellergest said. "Are you¡­"


    Ellergest fell into silence for a bit but then mustered the strength to speak.


    "Are you Kyle, the young boy that awakened the Necromancer Talent over eighty years ago?"


    Ellergest words resonated across the entire forest, forming an echo.


    The Necromancer didn''t respond but remained in silence.


    But ultimately, he spoke.


    "Yes, I am." He responded harshly. "What about it?"


    "K-Kyle¡­"


    Ellergest suddenly felt surprised, everyone did. Only ke remained calm andposed. He had already guessed it could be him. There were many spections but no confirmations until now, the surprise was probably because these people were hoping it wouldn''t be this way. Some hoped it could be someonepletely unrted¡­ but not that one boy from the old past, that was once exiled because of his powers.


    "Don''t you remember me, Kyle?!" Ellergest asked.


    "¡­"


    "It''s me¡­ Your friend, Ellergest!"


    "¡­"


    The moment he said such words, everyone felt even more taken aback.


    "L-Lord Ellergest, you were friends with this necromancer?!" Asked Jack.


    "I had my suspicions, Ellergest lived in this vige back then after al." Said Seth.


    "Yeah, I was born not in nobility but was amoner. I rose to nobility through many achievements over my long life¡­" Sighed Ellergest. "And Kyle¡­ he was my friend, my childhood friend. We grew to be like brothers."


    "So it is you¡­"


    The voice of the Necromancer resonated across the dark forest, as everyone heard his indifferent tone of voice.


    "Kyle¡­ there''s still time to stop¡­" Ellergest said. "You don''t have to do this! There''s¡­ another way! You can''t simply try to destroy our hometown¡­ The times have changed, people has changed!"


    "But I have not."


    The voice of the Necromancer was filled with indifference and devoid of emotions.


    "K-Kyle¡­!"


    "Don''t call me by that name anymore."


    "But¡­!"


    "I am no longer your friend."


    "Kyle, I''ve always prayed for your soul ever since you left, I had¡­!"


    "I have no friends; I have no family. I am alone with my horde¡­ And that''s how I shall remain."


    -----


    "Kyle, there''s still time! I could help you, let me help you!" Ellergest grew more desperate, as his face twisted in pain for his friend''s fate.


    "Help? Time? Ellergest, you''ve always been a fool, haven''t you?"


    "Eh?"


    "You''ve never changed at all either, have you not? Since you were a child that you''ve been a fool, filled with hopes and dreams¡­"


    "Kyle¡­"


    "I hate that. I''ve always hated you."


    "¡­"


    "While you enjoyed a beautiful life with your family, I was shrouded in darkness, in abuse, in fear¡­ I hated seeing you smile, I wanted to punch your face until you bleed and cried¡­ And now, I can finally do this, even as we are both old and decrepit."


    "This is not true¡­ You''re lying, Kyle!"


    Ellergest surprised everyone as he opened his heart to many for the first time, even ke looked back at the old man, pitying his fate.


    "Lying? I am not lying. And time to change? There is none. It has been so long ago¡­ The only thing that remains within this rotten heart is hate and resentment. I am so old I am falling apart; do you truly think I can change now? I''ve gone too deep¡­ The only path left for me is to continue going down and embrace it. I''ve already embraced it, in fact."


    "You''re insane! How can you think that killing everyone is going to somehow solve your problems?!"


    "It might not do a single thing, but it has been¡­ one of my greatest desires since I left the vige."


    "Y-Your greatest desire?!"


    "Yes, my greatest desire has been to burn this vige to the ground, to see everyone withering in agony as Iugh from above. To see you all crying, bleeding, and asking for help¡­ To see your suffering andugh at you. The same way you did this to me¡­ The same way¡­ you¡­ YOUUUU¡­!"


    With the mes of resentment lighted by Ellergest''s words, the Necromancer began to scream in fury to all of the people here.


    "KYLE!"


    "Shut up."


    "Don''t make me do this, friend¡­"


    "Don''t call me Kyle, don''t call me your friend. I am none of those things. If you get in my way, I''ll kill you, and don''t worry. That''ll not be the end for you. If you want to join me so badly, I will let you stand by my side as my loyal undead¡­ How about that?"


    "Bastard¡­"


    Ellergest lost his temper.


    "That''s right! Those are your real emotions, isn''t it?!"


    "You mad bastard!"


    "Hahahahaha! HAHAHAHAHA!"


    Theughter of the Necromancer resonated around everyone''s surroundings, as their hearts grew more and more concerned about what was happening. The ground below began to tremble, and so the surrounding bushes and trees.


    Undead began to walk forward, being incredibly close in a mere second, as countless skeletons and zombies also surged from the floor, not only humanoids, but demons and monsters as well. Every corpse that had died and rotten in this forest area was reanimated, moving towards them without stopping, incessantly.


    "Now have a feast, my children!" Laughed the Necromancer.


    Suddenly, there were not just two hundred Undead, but almost a thousand!


    ke was left surprised, not even he noticed them approaching¡­ it was as if the surrounding mist in the forest worked as some sort of magic to make the undead undetectable unless they''re less than ten meters close¡­


    Ellergest seemed to be losing his temper as everyone began fighting, his Holy Dragon Spirit surged from within his body, unleashing a bright light. And at his side, an enormous turtle made of stone, with the shell covered in hard metallic rocks and crystals, being as big as five meters, majestic and old.


    "Oi, Ellergest, don''t lose your temper!" The guild master roared back at him.


    However, he quickly noticed Ellergest shedding some tears. The guild master''s eyes opened wide; this was the first time he saw this old man crying.


    "After all, this is how it''ll end¡­" Ellergest whispered to himself. "So be it¡­ SO BE IT!"


    FLAAASH!


    His staff suddenly shone brightly with golden light, hitting the ground. A wave of holy light purified his surroundings, generating an immense change in the environment.


    The mist suddenly disappeared within a fifty-meter radius, and all Undead began to wither in agony as they stopped moving. The weakest ones immediately turning into ashes while the stronger ones were paralyzed, unable to make a single step.


    And then, Ellergest started chanting a spell nobody had ever heard before.


    "Oh Holy Spirits, as your greatest follower, I''ve dedicated my entire life to your cause. Please, with all honesty and humbleness, I ask for your blessing, I ask for your aid, I ask for your divine light! Please, I implore of you, open the gates to the sky! Gates of Heaven!"


    FLAAAAASSSSSHHHH!!!


    Suddenly, in front of everyone, an enormous amount of light emerged, changing, and shaping into a beautiful gate to heaven itself, an arc of light quickly was erected from within the gates, as they showed everyone the right way to go through the forest, shining with right light and burning anything that got closer that was an enemy demon or undead.


    Ellergest''s eyes began to shine with divine light, as ke and everyone else noticed his Spirit Orb was shining so brightly it was about to burst! His own level of power also increased, his Spirit Orb suddenly reaching Rank 3!


    "Wh-What is this¡­?!" ke muttered to himself, even he felt slightly shocked! "Can a priest channel the power of a higher being to such an extent that he can enhance his own cultivation temporarily?! However¡­ the burdens must be atrocious to his body¡­!"


    "P-Papa?" Elizabeth asked Ellergest, as the old man smiled back at her.


    "We don''t have much time, this powerful spell takes away a year of my lifespan every ten minutes, let''s go."


    "Eh?! WHY?!" Elizabeth asked in shock.


    "Wh-What?! Why are you using something like this?!" Jack roared back.


    "We don''t have another option¡­" Seth sighed.


    "Against Kyle, we can''t hold back¡­" Ellergest said firmly. "And¡­ I am partially in fault for his fate. I am¡­ responsible for what has happened to him."


    With the lead of Ellergest, the entire group went through the Gates of Heaven, quickly reaching where the Necromancer was hiding.


    -----

 Chapter 416 A Clash Between Powerful Spirit Masters

    -----


    The Necromancer suddenly felt shocked. Although he had remained calm and evenughed at Ellergest attempts at reaching his rotten heart, he felt angered and shocked the old man had such enormous amount of power.


    "A Spell that channels his faith with the Holy Spirits?! What sort of bullshit is this?!" He muttered.


    However, deep down, he quickly realized that Ellergest always had such potential. After all, that old man when he was young had an amazing talent with magic, a weak yet full of potential Holy Dragon Spirit, and was incredibly hard worker, even when he was born with a one-star Talent.


    But¡­ just how high was Ellergest level to reach such a power? And if his level was so high howe he wasn''t a Rank 3 then? It seemed that leveling bes incredibly hard after reaching a certain level, where the monsters that give enough EXP are too hard for people at that certain level, and most of them decide to merely retire.


    This was something that also happened to the Necromancer, who felt frustrated that leveling wasn''t something he could possibly do anymore, killing monsters gave such meaningless amounts of EXP without having to risk his life that he sought other ways to gain power, one of them was through demons, rituals, and magic items.


    The modification of his own soul and body through demon body parts, and the usage of forbidden magic books with spells and rituals never seen before¡­ With all of that and more, Kyle found a path towards power he had never imagined, one where he had to forbid all hints of humanity.


    However, how could someone such as Ellergest that had not lost his humanity grow this powerful? Of course, it was through decades of faith as a Priest, and even having reached such high skill levels that his own mind and soul had contacted the Holy Spirits a couple of times.


    "This forbidden spell he had used¡­ This bastard, he is overpowering my [Underworld Domain] like tis nothing! Is he even using a Skill at all? Those chanting¡­ they were like Ancient Forgotten Magic from the old times. When people had yet to be born with Spirit Orbs¡­" Kyle muttered to himself. "Has he been taught the Gospels of Aria? I had heard from the cultists that the dan church had that Ancient Holy Grimoire saved, but I never truly believed it¡­ To think it still exists, and that Ellergest has read it and learned its forbidden spells¡­!"


    He grew more restless, gritting his teeth furiously as he felt the enormous quantity of holy light piercing through his Underworld Domain, a powerful Skill he had learned when he reached Level 50, whichbined all his knowledge and magic together. Such Skills learned at veryte levels were known as [Ultimate Skills] by many and were said to be the epitome of what a Talent can reach.


    [Underworld Domain] not only allowed Kyle to create Undead automatically based in any rotting corpses underground, or even mere bones, but it enhanced his elemental power of darkness and death, and also enhanced the power of his Undead topletely greater levels. However, it seemed that he had finally found a weakness to such a powerful Skill¡­ And its name was [Gates of Heaven].


    "Underworld Domain¡­ Gates of Heaven¡­ I suppose they''re certainly contrasting¡­ To think Ellergest from all people woulde here to stop me¡­ No, I must not allow him." He said, looking into his army of Undead, his staff began to re with phantasmal mes and miasmic essence, as he quickly infused it all into the surrounding Undead. If he let them go against Ellergest, they would just turn into ashes. However, such holy power couldn''tpletely overpower stronger, higher ranked Undead¡­


    "I''ll just have to¡­ adjust my ns a bit, [Undead Synthesis]!"


    FLAAASH!


    Hundreds of Undead began to converge together into enormous masses of rotten flesh and bones, one after the other. From within, stronger and more powerful, but less in quantity Undead emerged, forming a group of six. The old man slowly stood up from his bone throne, looking into the distance as the arc of light continued approaching.


    "[Anti-Magic Barrier]!"


    FLAAASH!


    Bybining the power of Death which is capable of negating not only life but also other elements at higher levels, he incredibly created an invisible barrier surrounding his body, which was the barrier''s limit, as the arc of light quickly continued reaching him. He swiftly stepped forward, reaching the ground and standing in front of Ellergest''s light.


    "Come at me, you coward!"


    The old Necromancer roared to the heavens, as the arc of light reached him in an instant.


    "RAAAAH!"


    The scream of fury of Ellergest resonated across the sky, as he emerged from within the clouds, mounting his Holy Dragon.


    CLAAAASSSHHH!


    An enormous sh between darkness and light happened, making the entire forest tremble. The floor cracked and crumbled, countless trees were blown away, and the only ones unfazed were all the undead behind the old necromancer.


    Their roars created shockwaves that only made the entire scene more chaotic. However, the old necromance smiled as he faced his old friend, his hand raised as a specter made of phantasmal essence emerged behind him.


    "Come, Reaper, it is time to reap his soul!"


    From within his Spirit Orb, a floating skeleton wearing a ck cloak and holding an enormous scythe emerged behind the old necromancer, his first spirit, and the only and truepanion he had ever had since he was exiled from his vige.


    "[Phantasmal Scythe]!"


    "[Holy Dragon Breath]!"


    Both old menmanded their spirits, as the Reaper''s scythe grewrger and covered in miasma and phantom, while Ellergest'' Holy Dragon opened his enormous jaws, charging a powerful magic attack.


    CLAAASH!


    A st of holy light shed against a powerful shing attack using the purest essence of death! The concentration of two elements which countered one another generated an incredible yet expected reaction, an enormous explosion.


    BOOOOOOMMMM!!!


    -----

 Chapter 417 No Longer Human

    -----


    "Ahahaha¡­! You''re slowing down, you damn old man!" Laughed the old necromancer, as his staff moved forward, conjuring a storm of spiraling phantasmal mes, and impacting Ellergest directly.


    BOOOOMMM!!!


    "Unnggh..! T-This fire!"


    Ellergest had no choice but to step back, losing his bnce and then falling into the ground, rolling over the grass. However, he quickly got up, summoning his dragon and his turtle at each of his sides, some blood wasing out of his arms as he had over exceeded his limits when he shed against his old friend.


    "I thought you were stronger, what''s wrong?" The old necromancer asked, as he noticed his hands began to fall apart more and more, his skin and his muscles falling apart, leaving only bones.


    "Y-Your arms¡­" Ellergest muttered. "What¡­ what is happening to you?" Ellergest asked, as he suddenly spit a mouthful of blood, his spiritual and holy power slowly beginning to channel into his chest.


    "What is happening to me?" Asked the old man, noticing that the group with Ellergest reached him at longst, appearing right behind him. His Undead were given the job of taking care of the small fry, as the Death Wyvern led the others to battle. "Well, didn''t I tell you that I have stopped being a human? I am no longer Kyle, your friend. I no longer have a name¡­"


    The old necromancer suddenly grabbed his old and mummified skin and peeled it off his own face grossly, taking away skin and muscle, leaving half of his face turned into a dry white skull¡­ from within his eye socket, red light began to emerge¡­ The old necromancer''s voice changed, sounding monstrous and phantasmal, as if he was no longer speaking with his own vocal chords.


    "A Lich¡­?!"


    Ellergest immediately realized what his friend had turned himself into¡­ a Undead. And not a simple one, but a race of Undead known for being the strongest out there, the ones that were even said to be the Kings of all other Undead, Liches.


    "This frail human body is no good. I had decided¡­ to be something else now. Age wont matter anymore to me." The old necromancer said. "I can live as long as I want, Ellergest!"


    "But you''re no longer alive, you''re dead!" Said Ellergest, his golden staff gained the power of his spiritual energy and holy light, as he quickly charged forward with his two spirits towards his old friend.


    "Death is only a phase after life. Come on, why don''t you join me?! Don''t you want to be at my side so much, you coward?!" Laughed the necromancer, half his face was a white skull, and the other an old man.


    CLASH! CLASH! CLASH!


    Both of their staffs shed against one another, generating sparks of darkness and golden light. Their spirits battled ferociously atop their heads, as the Reaper unleashed countless shing attacks against the Holy Dragon, who was barely resisting them by reinforcing his scales. Meanwhile, a second spirit also emerged from within Kyle while Ellergest least expected it.


    "But you know¡­ I am quite versed in more things than merely using this old staff! Elemental Spirit Fusion!" Heughed, as another skeleton emerged behind him,pletely covered with ck armor from head to toe. The spirit did not attack, but suddenly converged with the old necromancer''s body, giving him his armor and an enormous ck sword.


    FLASH!


    "Y-You''ve reached this point already?!" Ellergest asked in shock, seeing as his friend had be an enormous ck armored half skeleton.


    "And this is not even my limit now!" Laughed the old necromancer, as he swung his enormous sword, Ellergest barely evaded by jumping back, only for the sword to impact the ground and unleash an enormous explosion of phantasmal mes that erupted from the ground as spirals.


    BOOOOMMM!!!


    "Unnggh¡­!"


    Ellergest managed to defend himself by conjuring a barrier of light around his body, as he quickly brought his turtle.


    "I can do this as well, now that I am Rank 3¡­ Even if temporarily¡­ That ke could do it, then why can''t I?!" Ellergest roared, as his turtle suddenly reached his body, converging with it.


    "Master, sorry for being such azy spirit this entire time¡­ Let me give you my strength." The Turtle said.


    "Don''t worry, my child. Spirit Fusion!"


    FLASH!


    Ellergest body suddenly grew muscr, as an armor of rocks grew over his entire body, his back was also covered by an enormous turtle shell with spikes, and his hands gained enormous metallic spikes resembling gauntlets, his staff had suddenly merged with such gauntlets, turning them into gold, and shining with holy light.


    "I''m gonna smash that skull of yours!" Ellergest lost all patience, rushing towards the old Necromancer who felt shocked by his sudden boost of speed!


    CLAAASH!


    His fists shed against his old foe''s enormous ck sword, as the sword barely resisted his enormous fists, but it wouldn''t be able to resist countless punches!


    CLASH!


    "You know¡­?!"


    CLASH!


    "I¡­!"


    CLASH!


    "Was always¡­!"


    CLASH!


    "Better than you¡­!"


    CLASH!


    "At fighting with my fists!"


    CLAAAASH!


    "Unnggh?!"


    The old necromancer gritted his teeth as he looked at Ellergest furiously, channeling his phantasmal mes into his sword and his entire body and screaming with undeath fury!


    "You damn¡­ OLD BASTARD!"


    FLUOOOOSSSSHHH!


    The mes took over Ellergest''s entire body, as he felt his soul beginning to burn! However, Ellergest didn''t give up, screaming his lungs out and unleashing his light.


    "Nnngghh¡­ GRAAAAH! [Tectonic Tremor]!!!"


    TRUUUUMMMMM¡­!


    The old Ellergest hit the ground with his enormous and muscr arms, shaking the entire ground surrounding him, making the floor crumble, and creating several spiderweb-shaped cracks, the necromancer was forced to escape not by the fear of falling into a hole, but because from within the ground, rays of holy light emerged one after the other!


    FLASH! FLASH! FLAAASH!


    The shing light was so bright it made the necromancer close his only eye for a bit, losing a part of his vision which Ellergest used to surprise him!


    "[One Hundred Rock Spears]!"


    And right in front of him, a hundred spears made of sharp rocks were conjured.


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!


    -----

 Chapter 418 An Intense Battle For Survival

    -----


    ke looked into the distance, his eyes narrowing at what he saw. A fight between two powerful Rank 3 Spirit Masters was something beyond his own expectations. Their showcase of power and elemental maniption was incredibly high. In his previous life, magicians which he hadpared to these two would never be able to aplish such levels of power, even less have such incredible amounts of Mana and Spiritual Power to do this.


    This world, Spiritias, was certainly something out of his expectations, as always. This fight alone quickly confirmed one of ke''s hypothesis, that this world''s entire structure, itsws, its elements, and even the Holy Spirit that ruled it all¡­ they simply were of a higher realm altogether to his previous life''s "Outer Universe".


    The only concise answer to such a thing would be that he was probably no longer in his previous Universe, perhaps not even in the same Dimension. Spiritias was a world beyond his previous Universe, but it was still a self-contained "world". So many mysteries and questions arose within his mind that he couldn''t keep himselfpletely calm. However, he had to assess the situation.


    He wished he could join the fight and help Ellergest kill that old bastard, but it was yet to be the time. The two old men were beating one another furiously and ferociously, and even Ellergest, although bing a temporary Rank 3 Spirit Master by sacrificing one year of lifespan for every ten minutes, was showcasing amazing capabilities.


    "So this is how Spirit Fusion is really used¡­" ke thought to himself. "I can''t join this fight, I wouldn''t be able to even keep up, even if I also fuse with Eleanora¡­ I have to wait for an opening, and then act. But for now¡­" He thought, quickly looking in front of him as a group of powerful Undead blocked his path and that of everyone with him.


    One powerful Death Wyvern, stronger than the one before, six Giant Undead Chimeras, two Rotten Giants, and the strongest of them all, a titanic Bone Golem stood before their path. Each one for ke, however, were merely big bags of EXP.


    "ROOOARRRR!"


    The Wyvern seemed to have his target already set, as the monster immediately flew directly towards ke with everything it had. However, ke remained calm as he confronted the powerful creature.


    "Everyone, the Bone Golem is the strongest of them all, we cannot take down all these powerful monsters alone,bine your strength and don''t falter!" He said, quickly using his [Command: Lv3] which enhanced everybody''s Stats by +60% as hemanded them!


    A wave of invisible energy reached everybody, as their bodies were reinforced and even their magic power and health points, everything! Feeling anew, they immediately shed against the Giants Undead Chimera, made up of dozens of Undeadbined together, who were the first to reach them. The Bone Golem and the Rotten Giants seemed to stand behind in silence, as if they were guarding the fight between their master and Ellergest.


    "Not fighting, huh? Are we that weak for them?!" Asked Joan, as he quickly unleashed several spear attacks against a Giant Undead Chimera''s arm which shed into the ground.


    CLAAASH!


    A ck specter surged from within ke''s father spear, as ke noticed his father was getting better at handling the cursed weapon. The bacsh that cursed weapons had could be canceled if they were feed blood and souls at least thrice a week, which ke had taught his father. Especially if such cursed weapons were feed constantly, they would grow stronger over time as well!


    "GROAR!"


    The ck specter that emerged from Joan''s spear wrapped around the arm of the Giant Undead Chimera, as the brave hunter rushed across the arm of the giant and quickly pierced its various heads, but quickly realized it had almost no effect.


    "Aim at the core, Joan!"


    Gradus quickly rushed towards Joan, mounting a Fenrir as his own fire dog unleashed a powerful Fire Breath, covering the entire body of torso of the Giant Undead Chimera.


    FLUOOOSSSHH!


    "GRUUOOHHH¡­!"


    "The core¡­!" Joan muttered.


    "Every Undead has a core, father, in their chest, often times. Crack it!" His son roared back at him, as he and his friends confronted the Death Wyvern''s ferocious Death re Breath!


    BOOOOMMMM!!!


    "Holy Barrier!"


    Seth and Jackbined their power with Elizabeth, conjuring a barrier to protect everybody with them. The phantasmal ck mes were sessfully blocked, but the furious Wyvern used its three tails to m the barrier and shatter it into pieces in a few hits!


    CRAAASH!


    "Aaggh¡­!" Elizabeth cried, suddenly falling into the floor. "Uggh¡­ Ah!"


    Her eyes opened wide, seeing the enormous Wyvern''s rotten face slowly moving towards her, opening its jaws¡­


    CRASH!


    Elizabeth''s head should had beenpletely destroyed before she could defend, but a beautiful pink-haired girl stood in front of her, with a big sword, she singlehandedly stopped the Wyvern by using her sword and making the wyvern bite on that instead!


    "GRRRRR!"


    The Death Wyvern ferociously roared back at Erika, as Erika roared back, her ne suddenly channeling the blood and souls it had consumed until now, as an enormous Draconic Aura surged around Erika''s entire body, forming into a ferocious Wyvern as well, the one they had in back in the vige when the Duke and his family were attacked.


    "GROOOARRRR!"


    "GRAAARRR?!"


    The Death Wyvern was shocked, and almost intimidated, but quickly roared back and stepped forward, using its front ws to attack!


    CLASH! CLASH!


    However, it was once more stopped, as Erika was not alone. An arrow reached the Wyvern''s left front arm, wrapping it around ck vines covered with sharp spikes, while its other arm was stopped by Chris mes, which he controlled to coil around the Wyvern''s arm!


    And from the skies, ke emerged, pointing his spear at the Wyvern''s head, and immediately trying to pierce through its chest from behind!


    "ROOAARRR!"


    The Wyvern quickly let go of Erika''s sword, spreading its wings and then pping them rapidly, generating ck winds and sending away everyone in front of him!


    FLUOOOOSSSH!


    "That''ll hardly do anything¡­"


    However, ke used the Tier 2 Wind Attribute Spell [Counter Pressure] to resist the wind force and then reach the Wyvern with his strongest spear technique!


    "Vampiric Spear Arts: [Blood Dragon]!"


    The Draconic Auraing from his ne merged with his spear, as an enormous mass of Blood Ki with Mana shaped itself, coiling around ke''s spear, and roaring like a dragon, impacting the Death Wyvern''s chest!


    "ROOOARRRR!"


    CLAAAASSSHH!!!


    -----

 Chapter 419 Growing Stronger In The Middle Of A Battle

    -----


    ke looked down at the Death Wyvern that fell into the ground, crushing its Spirit Core and then grabbing the monster''s soul, eating it without any problems. His eyes shone bright red for a few seconds, as his Physique began to develop even more. One of the ways to enhance the Physique of the Vampiric Blood Emperor was by devouring powerful Souls, and he has been feasting on them since he was able to acquire Tier 2 Soul Magic.


    [Vampiric Blood Emperor Physique: Tier 2] Rank has increased from Rank 6 to Rank 8!]


    [All your stats have increased]


    [Blood and Darkness Element Magic has be stronger]


    [Your Senses have been sharpened permanently]


    Now that he was Rank 8 of Tier 2, his entire physical body was enhanced, and not only that, but all of his senses also received a great enhancement. Blood and Darkness Magic became stronger as a result as well, and he might be able to conjure stronger spells now.


    "Good." ke said, as he saw the Grimoire. The EXP earned has yet to be distributed, as he was still in the Bonus Skill Mode, where as long as he killed something within a small frame of time after the first kill, he would continue umting EXP, which wouldter be distributed to him with a multiplied bonus.


    And certainly, he had no time to waste. Once the Death Wyvern died, he still had to deal with the other Undead. The powerful Giant Bone Golem and the two High Rotten Giants were behind the other Undead, seemingly guarding the fight of their master with Ellergest, while the other tens of Chimeric Rotten Giants, made up of many zombies and skeletons merged together were pushing the entire group with their overwhelming physical might and magical power.


    However, there was also advantages in the team, there was a powerful Domain of Light that Ellergest left behind as he unleashed his power and opened a path for everyone to walk across the Domain of the old Necromancer, such Domain remained here, boosting the power of holy light magic and also healing magic, while severely weakening the Undead.


    This was also a reason why they didn''t tried to step too deep into their foe''s position, as the Undead remained mostly around the border of the yellow gold domain over the floor. The Wyvern could fly so it was capable of ignoring the terrain''s effects, but the other Undead were not as skilled.


    "GRUOOHH!"


    The Chimeric Rotten Giants quickly began to unleash their Magic, thebined magic power of over twenty undeadbined together into a single giant made for a powerful magic power. Large Phantom Fireballs began to fall over the entire party, as Elizabeth swiftly conjured her Holy Barrier to protect everybody.


    FLAAASH!


    The barrier was once more erected, as countless Fireballs made of phantom blue mes began to fall constantly, impacting the barrier and slowly beginning to shatter it.


    BOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOM!


    "Their magic is way too strong¡­!" Elizabeth cried.


    "Damn it¡­!" Jack roared, about to help Elizabeth with his mana, but he was quickly stopped by ke.


    "Jack, I need your help, use your chains to trap those five giants in front of us, we''ll take them down while they''re restrained." ke suggested.


    "What? Are you crazy? There''s no way my spirit can do so much as trapping five of those things with its body!" Said Jack. "I think one or two is the limit¡­"


    "You don''t know your limit until you try! Do it!" ke roared back at Jack, as he used his Command Skill at Level 3 to give Jack an order.


    The moment Jack decided to do as ke said because he didn''t had any other option, his entire body began to glow with an invisible new power. The ability of Command at Level 3 enhanced all of his Stats by +30% as long as he obeyed themand of someone, this also included HP and MP, vastly improving Jack''s Mana input!


    "Agh, screw it! I almost died back then, I don''t n to almost die again!" The hotheaded Jack roared, his eyes shining bright gold as his Holy Chains emerged from his hands. His powerful Spirit feed upon hisrge quantity of MP, which was now enhanced by +30% alongside its recovery rate being enhanced by x3 by drinking Magic Juice created by ke''s Familiar Spirits.


    FLAAASH!


    The chains reached the five Chimeric Rotten Giants that were showering the entire group with a shower of fireballs made of phantasmal mes, extending the longest Jack had ever tried before, wrapping around all five giants in an instant!


    CLAAASH!


    The sound of all the giants being stuck together and wrapped tightly echoed across the dark and foggy forest, as everybody was left shocked at the scene!


    "Nnnggh¡­! Fuck! Do it quickly! I can barely keep it for a few seconds!" Jack cried, drinking a Lesser Mana Potion ke had given him beforehand.


    "Well done Jack!" Joan, ke''s father said, as he rushed to the frontlines once more with Musk, the Adventurer Guild Master, and Lucas, the new Knight Commander. These three were the ones with the highest defensive power and specialized in close ranged battles.


    ke didn''t stopped there, immediately jumping into battle right behind his father, Erica and Erdrich followed him from behind as the two strongest close-ranged fighters aside from him, while Eleanora was already rushing over Blood right at his side. Everyone else was also mounting Fenrirs, even Joan, Musk, and Lucas, for enhanced mobility in battle.


    "Now!"


    As Joan was about to reach the giants, a group of Huggins and Falcos flew above the Chimeric Rotten Giants, using their long-ranged magic attacks to deal meaningless amounts of damage wasn''t what ke ordered them to do though, as they were holding small bottles with Holy Water with their dexterous legs.


    "Craaa!"


    One of the Huggins quicklymanded the rest of the birds, as they all dropped the Holy Water bottles over the heads of the Chimeric Rotten Giants,pletely covering them with Holy Water and immediately weakening them!


    CRAAASH!


    "Now, bring them back to the graves they belong to!" Joan roared, pouncing forwards with his Spear. "[Bloody Harvest]!"


    CLAAAAAASSSSH!


    -----

 Chapter 420 The Might Of A Farmer

    -----


    Bloody Harvest, one of the two Skills Joan acquired in the Demon War when he managed to reach a very high level with his Farming Talent. Joan has been a hunter since he had memory of, even with a Talent that was not fit for battle, he used his wits and umted knowledge to fight against powerful monster such as Giant Wild Boars and win, bringing food and money to his house that farming alone couldn''t bring.


    However, a miracle had happened when he reached a high level in the Demon War, he acquired two powerful Skills [Bloody Harvest] and [Soil Maniption]. The second was his most used to create ground traps and pitfalls using his Spirit, but the first one was only used a couple of times due to its dangerousness.


    What it did was very simple, and it seemed almost unfitting of the Farmer Talent, but it merely granted Joan the ability to unleash a powerful blow against a foe using a Farming Tool as his weapon. The damage dealt was multiplied with each sessful harvest in his farm each year, resetting every year.


    It was an odd skill, but right now, it was perfect.


    Especially because this year''s harvest was plentiful!


    FLAAASH!


    His Cursed Spear gained a phantasmal ck aura, as it shone bright red. Like his own son, Joan was born and polished to be a fierce warrior, his Talent shaped itself to his will, granting him what he had always desired¡­ an Attack Skill!


    "[Bloody Harvest]!"


    Joan felt over half his MP being drained out of his body and feed into his Cursed Weapon and the Skill Activation itself, as his movements suddenly became incredible fast, jumping out of the Fenrir he was mounting and reaching the five Chimeric Rotten Giants wrapped around the Holy Chains of Jack.


    His spear reached the Giants, unleashing an explosive and piercing blow.


    CLAAAAASSSSSHHH!


    "GRUOOHH¡­!"


    One Giant fell in an instant, as its core and soul were destroyed by the incredibly strong blow, while the other four Giants were damaged severely, ready for the picking!


    Musk, the Adventurer Guild''s Master rushed forward, the light of the moon shone above his bald head as he raised his enormous hammer and swung it against the Giants, unleashing a powerful tremor that broke through their bodies, killing another one and weakening the rest!


    "[Tectonic Hammer]!"


    BOOOOOMMMM!!!


    "GRAHHH¡­!"


    With three Giants left, Lucas quickly saw an opportunity. He had been leveling a lot ever since the time hismander perished by the hands of the Demons, and even more after the Demon War, now having reached a very high level, although yet to reach Rank 2 in his Spirit Orb, he had be sharper and better at swordsmanship.


    "Elemental Spirit Weapon!"


    Lucas transformed his Silver-Shelled Snail not into the Shield it could be, but in a second and beautiful silver sword he wielded in his right hand, while his left arm held a strong magic sword hemissioned using demon materials to make it even more lethal. His small size wasn''t good for powerful blows, but he sure was good at agility!


    FLASH! FLASH! FLASH!


    He moved around the air, jumping out of the Fenrir that brought him there, as he quickly began spinning in midair, using his powerful [Swordsmanship Arts] Skill to unleash countless shing attacks against the Chimeric Rotten Giants, ultimately slicing one in half and destroying its core!


    SLAAAASH!


    "GROOHH¡­"


    BOOOM!


    The third Giant fell, as the other two immediately tried to freed themselves from the chains, which finally broke as Jack couldn''t contain them anymore.


    CRAASH!


    However, they were already too damaged, although they didn''t feel pain, their bodies couldn''t move properly after being hit so many times. The two remaining Giants were greeted by ke, Eleanora, Erica, and Erdrich, as the four swung their weapons of choice, spears, arge sword, and fists, unleashing powerful techniques and demolishing the remaining two Chimeric Undead Giants.


    CLAAASH! CLAAASH! CLAAASH!


    "GRAAAH¡­!"


    The two Chimeric Undead Giants struggled for a few seconds, unleashing phantasmal mes that were quickly destroyed by ke''s Holy Water that he was constantly creating using his Grimoire and spraying over them. The two giants ultimately died, ending like piles of rotten flesh and dry bones.


    The other Chimeric Undead Giants were only four more, which were being attacked from a distance by Eric''s Arrows and Chris Fire Magic, all while Seth and Elizabeth unleashed theirbined Holy Light Spells. Seth exceeded with his magic arrow as well, bing a ratherpetent long-ranged attacker.


    The four Chimeric Undead Giants left fell one by one as ke andpany aided the rest at taking them down, following the lead of Joan and Musk, the group destroyed the giant''s legs and made them fall. Their magic was powerful and lethal, but thanks to the Domain of light, it was greatly weakened as long as the Undead were close to the domain itself.


    "[Crimson ws]!"


    SLASH! SLASH! SLASH!


    ke wasted no time, taking down thest Chimeric Undead Giant by slicing through its chest and carving out its Spirit Orb with his hands, which were now covered by solidified blood that formed into sharp and menacing-looking crimson ws.


    "OOOHHHH¡­"


    The souls of the Chimeric Undead Giants quickly began to fly away, attempting to run back to their Master. ke immediately noticed that these Undead might be able to enhance their master''s power by feeding him with their very souls, something he had seen Necromancers do all the time.


    But he wasn''t going to let them get away from him.


    "You''re not going anywhere."


    ke generated a using Shadow Strings from his Shadow Maniption Skill and captured all the Souls while jumping around over a Fenrir, quickly capturing the souls, and absorbing them as if they were noodles, his Physique once more grew stronger.


    [Vampiric Blood Emperor Physique: Tier 2] Rank has increased from Rank 8 to Rank 10!]


    [All your stats have increased]


    [Blood and Darkness Element Magic has be stronger]


    [Your Senses have been sharpened permanently]


    -----

 Chapter 421 A Desperate Plan

    -----


    After devouring the souls of all the Chimeric Undead Giants that were trying to run away back to their Master, ke felt his Physique growing stronger once more.


    [Vampiric Blood Emperor Physique: Tier 2] Rank has increased from Rank 8 to Rank 10!]


    [All your stats have increased]


    [Blood and Darkness Element Magic has be stronger]


    [Your Senses have been sharpened permanently]


    [Your Physical Strength has been enhanced permanently]


    Now that he had reached Rank 10 of Tier 2, ke only needed to eat another set of tasty souls to reach Tier 3 Physique, a huge thing for someone his age. It meant that his Physique would finally be decently powerful and he might be able to develop brand new Vampiric Powers, just as he had originally nned since he created this Physique when he was younger.


    "Excellent, and just in time for the main dish."


    ke looked at the Giant Bone Golem and the two High Rotten Giants, the three strongest Undead immediately decided to fight, seeing that the fight of their master against his rival might be interrupted by ke andpany.


    The Bone Golem resembled a throne made of bones, but it quickly began to reassemble itself, as millions of bones began floating around and turning into a gigantic chimeric beast-shaped bone creature, with multiple heads andrge bone wings, which were then covered by phantasmal essence.


    "OOOOOOHHHH!"


    Hundreds of wailing souls echoed from within the enormous Giant Bone Golem which now gained the name of "Chimera" by using the bones of countless monsters and beasts to take shape, of course, this included humans as well. The enormous Golem Chimera quickly reached over 25 meters of height, smaller than the Hydra they fought before, but still incredible powerful and intimidating.


    The other two High Rotten Giants were not as strong, but certainly more powerful than the Chimeric Undead Giants, their bodies were amorphous masses of ck and red flesh with countless jaws and eyes spread across their bodies, alongside sharp bony spikes for protection. They immediately grew two sets of over twenty legs and arms from different organisms they have assimted, such as monsters, beasts, or humans, and began marching towards their foes without wasting a single second.


    ke immediately realized they were not stupid either, not charging together but separating. The two High Rotten Giants surrounded the group led by ke and made them stick together almost forcefully, while the Giant Bone Golem Chimera charged upfront. Several of its body bones began to fly around like a swarm of flies, being directed towards ke''s group. Their sharp shapes and quantity might instantly shred into pieces anybody that was caught in between their bones.


    The entire group knew this, as they immediately began tobine their magic together with Ellergest''sst help, his domain left behind. Using ke''s idea, Seth, Jack, and Elizabeth conjured their Magic Auras andbined them with their weapons. Eric was immediately prompted to join their Ritual Magic, fusing his Nature and Life Element that went so well with Holy Light Element.


    "If we want to defeat that thing¡­ We''ll have to use that again." ke said to Eric, quickly taking out arge branch from his pocket, it was the Lesser Yggdrasil Tree Branch!


    "Eh?! What do you mean?!" Asked Eric in shock.


    "Yggdrasil Wood has an amazing magic storage capacity; it can channel holy light and life magic the most. Use this as a staff to channel your power." ke handed another three branches to Elizabeth, Jack, and Seth. The trio felt slightly confused.


    "What the heck is this for?!" Asked Jack.


    "Is this just a tree branch?" Seth asked.


    "No¡­ We used this before to defeat a powerful Undead Hydra, just trust ke!" Elizabeth said.


    "But then what do we do with this? We were nning to unleash abined Ritual Spell against the Bone Golem; how can the branches improve anything?" Asked Jack.


    "Eric, Elizabeth lead them, I''ll distract the Bone Golem with everyone else. I am counting on you two." Said ke, without exining anything else to the hotheaded man, and jumping into battle with everyone else.


    "ke!" Erika quickly ran behind ke, as her sword unleashed a powerful vertical sh of her Ki, such technique often referred as Aura sh.


    CLAAASH!


    An enormous mass of bones was about to hit ke from above but was luckily stopped by Erika. ke knew he had her with him, but Eleanora was also there, jumping out of Blood and immediately concentrating her Aether and Mana from ke into her spear, making an ever-growing aura of Aether growrger, spiraling outwards and shining crimson red, shaping itself into a furious dragon!


    "Blood Spear Arts: Thunderous Blood Sea!"


    FLUOOOSSSSHHH!!!


    The enormous spiraling sea of blood hit the mass of bones, impacting it further and pushing it away. Each bone was destroyed into tiny ashes as they were consumed by the powerful attack Eleanora unleashed. For a moment, the entire surroundings became pure red as the blood sea consumed the enormous Bone Golem, without affecting it as much, but keeping it on ce for a while.


    SPLAAAASH!


    "GRUOOOHHHHH¡­!"


    The Bone Golem struggled to get out of the enormous bubble of blood that Eleanora ended conjuring, as it began to slowly tear apart the bubble using its enormous bony limbs.


    SPLASH! SPLASH! SPLASH!


    However, it was still held still tightly, as ke was given the time to act as well, having already activated both of his Demonic Eyes, the Demonic Eye of Gravity and Paralysisbined together with Intimidation!


    FLASH!


    An electrifying wave of power reached the Golem Chimera, putting it on ce for a longer time, all while the rest of the group was fighting with the two ferocious High Rotten Giantsing from left and right rapidly!


    "I can only keep this up for half a minute¡­ Eric hurry!" ke roared back at his friend, as the furious Bone Golem roared, unleashing bones outside of the bubble and trying to attack ke while he was on ce trying to concentrate to keep the bone golem in there.


    CLAASH! CLAASH! CLAASH!


    -----

 Chapter 422 A Devastating Attack!

    -----


    Erika''s figure and over twenty of her Dolls emerged before ke, all of her dolls had be Magic Swordsmen, covering their small swords with mes, and unleashing several shing attacks in unison with Erika. While ke and Elora held the bone golem in ce, Erika was given the task of defending both of them. Of course, her strength had evolved and advanced a lot over this time, leveling up a lot enhanced her physical strength and magical power, and the Erika of right now was much different than the one from before.


    CLAASH! CLAASH! CLAAASH!


    Her sword ushed several Aura shes consecutively, as the small and adorable girl valiantly defended the boy she loved. ke smiled at her amazing bravery, praising her incredible techniques. She had been raised well and all the effort and time he put into teaching her was now paying off greatly.


    "Erika, hang in there!" He said.


    "I can¡­ keep up!" Erika said, shing into pieces arge piece of bone that attempted to pierce through her body.


    CLAAASH!


    Smaller bones began to sh through her arms, but they didn''t bleed, as they only gained scratches. Unlike everyone else here, Erika''s body was made of an incredibly hard wood, as it was a magic doll''s body. She was able to withstand many blows, the sharp bones attacking her still hurt her, as she was equipped with pain reception magic so she could detect danger, however, right now, she couldn''t falter.


    "RAAAAAHHH!"


    CLASH! CLASH! CLASH! CLASH! CLASH!


    While everybody else was busy dealing with the two powerful High Rotten Giants who wereing from left and right, forcing the team to split their fighters, Erika singlehandedly stopped a storm of bones emerging from the blood bubble with her dolls.


    Her arms and part of her body began to retain countless scratches as pieces of wood began toe out her body. However, ke quickly brought out his ace¡­ or aces.


    FLASH! FLASH! FLASH! FLASH! FLASH!


    Having drank two Lesser Mana Potions, leaving him with only threest ones inside his Inventory Bag, ke immediately refilled his Grimoire with new Familiar Spirit Cards, one after the other!


    "Come! Giant Flesh Wall!"


    He immediately summoned 40 Familiar Spirit Zombies and merged them together into an enormous wall of flesh protecting Erika from the bones as the wall of flesh started to fight back, resisting the constant attacks.


    "GRUOOHHHH!"


    The Bone Golem roared back, trying to free itself from Eleanora''s Blood Bubble. It was working, slowly, it would get out andpletely rampage everything!


    FLASH!


    However, just in time, an arc of light emerged right behind ke, as the young boy couldn''t help but smile the same way he had done even in his previous life.


    Behind him, the three priests and Ericbined their magic and Ki, as the branches of Yggdrasil moved by themselves, converging into an enormous cannon-shaped trunk that began to gather their magic.


    "Yggdrasil Cannon!" Eric and Elizabeth roared, channeling their Mana and Ki into it and then firing a tremendous, Undead exterminating beam of life and holy light!


    FLAAAAASSSSSHHHHH!!!


    The enormous attack reached not only the Bone Golem being kept still, but also both High Rotten Giants nearby that got right in the middle of the beam stupidly trying to stop it from reaching their big boss.<novelnext>  </novelnext>


    BOOOOMMM! BOOOOMMM!


    Both Giants exploded into pieces the instant they were caught in the beam, as the beam continued its course, reaching the enormous Bone Golem and impacting it with everything it had!


    Naturally, the Golem fought back with its phantasmal essence, but it was nothing but futile!


    "GRUUUAAAARRR¡­!"


    The wailing cries of hundreds of souls making up this powerful bone undead echoed furiously, as it was overtaken by the power of Yggdrasil Cannon, consumed by the light, and turning into ashes! ke didn''t wasted any time devouring the souls that made that Undead, boosting his Physique''s strength in the process.


    However, the beam was stronger than they imagined, reaching farther into the fight between the old necromancer and Ellergest, and impacting the necromancer which Ellergest smartly put right into the range of the attack by hugging his body with his enormous arms and standing still!


    "You''re going down, no matter what!"


    Ellergest looked at his friend as he hugged his body and then conjured rocks and stones to capture him in ce. He knew the beam wouldn''t affect him as much due to his elemental resistances and affinity, taking the bet!


    "What the¡­?!"


    BOOOOOOMMMM!!!


    "Nnngggh¡­?!"


    The Necromancer groaned in agony as his entire body was overtaken by the beam of light. The life and holy light within it began to turn his armor and his enormous sword into ashes, as his fusion with his spirit dissipated. His bones began to burn and his skin and flesh disappeared in an instant, leaving him in the pure bones.


    "You bastard¡­!"


    The necromancer roared with utmost fury, attacking Ellergest with his magic, but within this beam of light, nothing came out as everything was consumed. His very hands were bones and barely hurt the old man who was still merged with his powerful Mountain Turtle.


    "Let me go¡­! Let me¡­! Uuuaaggggh¡­!"


    FLAAAAASH!


    The light reached the confines of the forest, burning through the Necromancer''s entire domain and destroying it in the process. To the old Kyle, the whiteness was like living hell, consuming his entire being. The hatred burning through his soul remained, somehow, all his Mana was poured to free himself, as his bones shaped into spikes, piercing Ellergest''s body and making the old priest vomit blood.


    "Uggh¡­ Kyle¡­ Stop this, that''s enough!" Ellergest fell to his knees, and so did the old Necromancer.


    "Youuu¡­ I cannot forgive you! I have to at least¡­ I have to at least kill you! You bastard¡­!" Kyle muttered. "I bet you''ve had it all good through your life, haven''t you?! When did you even struggled?! When did you even shed a tear formed from your suffering and hardship?! I''ve worked so hard¡­ for this moment¡­ All for it to banish in front of me¡­"


    The old Necromancer looked into the clear blue sky, as memories of the past shed through his mind.


    "Kyle¡­ I am sorry¡­" Ellergest said.


    -----

 Chapter 423 Past Memories

    -----


    Kyle was born in one of the poorest families in the Vige. And since he was born that he was sickly and weaker than other children as well.


    Born with pale white skin as pale as candlewax, white hair, and red eyes, he was strangepared to everybody else. Many thought of the child as the bringer of pestilence, mostly because the very day that he was born, the farms of many people began to dry out and die one after the other.


    Farm animals began falling dead out of nowhere, and many of the elderly fell ill and died only a week after. Since that day that people immediately saw the children as something of a bad presage¡­ a bringer of death.


    Kyle''s parents desperately tried to protect their son from the abuse, guarding him inside their home. The two of them still loved him even if he was strange, and even if many people believed the problems were attributed to him.


    In the past, where Demons ran rampart everywhere even more than nowadays, superstitions and the maniption of the church weremonce. Priests were corrupt and used these rumors and superstitions to concentrate the attention and hatred of the poption not into the unjust government, but into certain unlucky individuals.


    Many people died because of this discrimination, and such age was called the Dark Age for this very reason. The danger of demons was the greatest so far, and this created desperation and despair in the minds of many people, living thinking that at any moment, they would get killed by invading demons.


    "Mama, why am I different?"


    He was only four years of age when Kyle began to wonder why he was differentpared to everyone else. Looking at his reflection in the water every day, he quickly realized he was very strange and different. His hair was white, his skin was very pale, almost as pale as someone that has died, and his eyes were red. Whenever he walked into the sunlight, his skin burn a lot and grew irritated, he often couldn''t eat most food and felt sick, and sometimes he would get fever for several days, barely making it out.


    "You''re¡­ you might be different Kyle, but you''re my son, and we love you as you are. Don''t¡­ listen to people." Her mother always told her.


    Kyle knew why he was different already, his appearance and everything else. Many called him the Cursed Child. It felt as if his very birth was a mistake, and everyone wanted him dead because he brought famine and death when he was born.


    However, his parents always told him about the Talent and Spirit Awakening Ceremony, once held when someone reached the age of five. The boy always thought that whenever he could awaken a new power, a new Talent that might be useful and help others, he would clean his name as a Cursed Child, and help everyone, while making them understand that he was someone good hearted.


    Each day, a boy named Ellergest woulde to visit him. He was someone he meet once when he was brought to visit the church for healing his burnt wounds. Ellergest was incredibly talented at magic even before awakening a Talent, and therefore he was being taught the basics in the church at his young age.


    The two children were very different, but the young Ellergest was friendly even against the Cursed Child and decided to be his friend. Perhaps at first out of pity for his fate, butter on, the young Kyle grew on him, the two became inseparable.


    Many looked down on Ellergest, someone was promising as him getting involved with Kyle was something wrong. Ellergest parents didn''t really mind it even when Kyle was referred as a Cursed Child and wanted  their son to have a good time with his new friend anyways. However, the discrimination slowly began to affect Kyle even with the support of a friend, every day he grew more nervous despite his young age, and his father was growing rather restless as well, incapable of being able to bear with the discrimination, and channeling his frustration into his wife and son.<novelnext>  </novelnext>


    "Ugh¡­"


    One day, Kyle suddenly felt sick after eating their meal, and threw up afterwards. This was a rathermon thing now, due to his weak health.


    "Kyle, are you okay? Maybe I should give you some warm water first?" His mother was always willing to help him, but his father grew restless.


    "You damn brat, you throw up the food I worked so hard to bring to the table?!" It was almost every day, his father constantly screamed at him.


    "Dear, please calm down, he''s just sickly. Little Kyle has always been like this¡­" Kyle''s mother defended her son, but her father was growing sick of her pity for him.


    "Shut up you bitch! I am sick of you too!"


    Even after never raising his hand against his own wife, Kyle''s father pped the woman''s face and threw her into the ground.


    "Moom!" Kyle cried, running towards his mother.


    "You better get a good spirit and a talent once the awakening ceremonyes, or I am not going to maintain this failure of a child! You''re only bringing his to our ruins!" His father angrily barked like a mad dog, always ming everyone else for his life choices.


    That day, Kyle meet up with Ellergest as usual, in the backyard where the trees shade protected Kyle from most of the sunlight.


    "What''s gotten into you out of the sudden, Kyle?" Wondered Ellergest, already being six years of age when Kyle was about to be five. He had awakened a Talent as a one-star Priest, and was epted as a disciple of the church, his future looked bright.


    "Am I a failure, Ellergest? Am I really a Cursed Child?" Wondered Kyle.


    "Eh? Again with that?" Sighed Ellergest. "You''re not a Cursed Child, Kyle¡­ Just ignore these people that treat you like this. Eventually, they''ll move on¡­"


    -----

 Chapter 424 Accursed Child

    -----


    Although Ellergest always tried to cheer up Kyle, he never truly saw through his friend''s true emotions and feelings. The feeling of destion and loneliness. The feeling of despair and resentment swelling inside of his young heart¡­


    "Hey, Kyle, look!"


    However, such negative feeling flew away each time he spend time with his best friend. Ellergest used his light magic to create mirages using his newly learned spell named [Light Mirage] and created several and beautiful butterflies, dragonflies, and bees flying around Kyle.


    The little young Kyle''s eyes opened wide in surprise, as he saw the beautiful mirage of countless of his favorite bugs flying around, flowers quickly began to emerge from the ground, as the white-haired boy found himself surrounded by nature.


    "Oooh! So cool!" Kyle quickly was brought back to reality from the world of his insecurities and sorrow, smiling happily.


    Ellergest always felt like Kyle was his little brother, someone he had to make happy and protect. He couldn''t help but smile back as Kyle enjoyed the illusion of magic.


    "Magic''s pretty cool, right? I am sure you''ll awaken something amazing once the awakening ceremony starts!" Ellergest said. "Don''t worry about it, everything''s going to be alright! Things never stay the same for too long. We are in an ever-changing world of countless possibilities, Kyle."


    Ellergest filled his young and saddened heart with hope and dreams, giving Kyle the happiness to smile and look forward to the uncertain future.


    "You''re right! I want to explore the world one day too¡­ Can you apany me, Ellergest?" Wondered Kyle.


    "Explore the world?" Wondered Ellergest, the young boy rubbed his chin. "Sure! I was already nning to go around ces. I kind of don''t like how the entire church is structured. Don''t you think its weird? I''ve always wanted to make a change. I am sure we can do something if we join forces."


    "Yeah!" Kyle said.


    "Now Kyle, how about I teach you some moves? My father said that I could teach you how to fight with hand to handbat." Said Ellergest.


    "But I am too weak for that¡­" Sighed Kyle.


    "Don''t worry! I''ll go easy on you. Come on." Laughed Ellergest.


    "Ugh, you just want to bully me¡­" Kyle said while looking dispirited again.


    "Eh? That''s not it, I just want you to grow strong by yourself, I am sure you''ll eventually grow up and get stronger." Said Ellergest. "Come on, let''s try it. I can teach you how to channel mana too."


    "Mana¡­" Kyle seemed attracted by that word. "O-Okay!"


    Like that, Kyle''s magic and hand-to-handbat sses resumed. He learned how to better control the flow of Mana from his body even without awakening his spirit or talent yet, and was even taught basic element-less spells by Ellergest, which were taught to him by experts in the church.


    "This Spell is named Mana Transfer; you can give Mana to someone else using it. And this one is called Mana Sense; you can sense your surroundings with it!" Ellergest showed Kyle many new magic circles written in paper, as the young Kyle tried imitating them, sometimes seeding and other times failing, but he seemed to have a lot of tenacity, never truly giving up.


    "Hahh¡­ I am so tired¡­ I don''t want to fight anymore. I don''t like punching¡­" Sighed Kyle.


    "Come on, hit me more. Use the Body Strengthening Spell I taught you!" Said Ellergest.


    "But I don''t wanna hurt you¡­ You''re my best friend, Ellergest¡­" Kyle sighed, getting all saddened.


    "Aw,e on now, don''t get like that! You''re so weak that it wont even hurt anyway." Laughed Ellergest, provoking his little friend.


    "Geez, you bully! Take this! And this!" Kyle was very prone to provocation, as he quickly began hitting Ellergest with all he had. He indeed had very weak punches.


    "Hahaha! See? You can do a lot once you''re provoked. We have to work in your patience, Kyle." Laughed Ellergest as he was being hit by Kyle''s tiny fists.


    "D-Don''tugh at me!" Kyle angrily said, hitting faster, but not very effectively¡­<novelnext>  </novelnext>


    These times were the times Kyle remembered the most, the times he liked to be alive, the times when he was truly happy and smiled. With his friend, the one that has been the pir of his life the entire of his childhood¡­


    Even when that day came.


    "Spirit¡­ R-Reaper? And¡­ T-Talent¡­ Five Star¡­ Necromancer?!"


    The priest looked at the young white-haired boy who touched the crystal of awakening, his eyes growing filled with more pity for his fate, but quickly remaining silent after that. He didn''t judged the boy, but the other people, all watching, couldn''t help but nod as they knew the boy had something strange.


    "Necromancer? What''s that?"


    "I had never heard of such a talent."


    "But it is five star! It must be powerful! Right?"


    "Necromancer¡­ I''ve heard of that word before. In the past, the Great Tyrant of Death was born with such a Talent. They say that Necromancers can control the dead and bring doom to everything!"


    "What?!"


    "Well, I couldn''t had expected anything less from the ursed child!"


    "Right¡­"


    "And his spirit¡­ what sort of spirit is it?"


    FLASH!


    When Kyle''s spirit showed up, the people gasped in horror as they stepped back almost instantly. The creature in front of their eyes was a skeleton made of phantom, covered by a ck cloak, and holding a scythe¡­


    "T-The reaper¡­"


    "It is the reaper!"


    "He brought upon us death!"


    "B-Burn¡­!"


    "Burn him!"


    "Burn that child before we are all doomed!"


    Many of the people panicked, asking for something insane. Kyle''s mother quickly grabbed her son and ran away from the church as many people followed her from behind, but were too cowardly to actually act, leaving her be.


    However, theing days, many threats were sent to Kyle''s family. Papers with messages about burning the ursed Child, about exiling him, or even some insane people that asked Kyle''s parents to sacrifice him for the Holy Spirits to be appeased.


    There were all kinds of insane people in these times, and they showed their true colors as they grew desperate. Rumors spread by ignorant people began to quickly take over the minds of the citizens of the vige¡­


    Soon, Kyle''s life became a living hell.


    -----

 Chapter 425 The Lonely Soul And His Only Friend

    -----


    "Kyle! Hey! KYLE!"


    Several dayster, Ellergest came to visit Kyle. It has been almost two weeks since hest saw him. After the awakening ceremony, Kyle''s family waspletely ostracized from the rest of the vige and they were being discriminated. They were not even allowed to go buy food or anything, and very so often, people would stop by their house and throw stones at their home.


    Children gathered behind the "ursed Child''s house" only to throw rotten fruit, vegetables, and blood to their house. They were living hell itself.


    However, after finally managing to sneak outside of his home, as his parents no longer allowed Ellergest toe visit Kyle, Ellergest received no response from the house no matter how much he tried to call for his friend.


    "Kyle! Are you there?"


    The young Ellergest sighed, his golden eyes seemed saddened, losing their light. What had happened to his friend was something too harsh. Both his Spirit and his Talent were thought to be rted to his "Curse" and some even called him the Child of Death now.


    "Look, I don''t care if you got that spirit, or even that Talent! You''re my friend¡­ I would never leave you behind! You hear me? Never!" Ellergest cried, knocking the door.


    The small face of Kyle peeked through he window of his house, as he saw Ellergest knocking the door. His mother was currently sleeping while his father had ran off somewhere else, as usual.


    "I just¡­ want to talk¡­ Look, I brought you some food and water too¡­"


    Kyle gritted his teeth as he cleansed his tears and walked towards the door.


    "Leave me¡­"


    "Kyle?! Are you okay? Have you had something to eat?!"


    "¡­Why are you here?"


    "Because you''re my friend! Open the door! Come on!"


    "You shouldn''t get involved with someone like me¡­"


    "B-But¡­"


    "I only bring you trouble¡­ I am cursed¡­ I shouldn''t get involved with you. I am going to ruin your life, like I''ve done¡­ with my parents¡­"


    "Kyle¡­ I don''t care if you ruin my life, you''re my friend¡­ You''re like my little brother. You''re literally¡­ my family."


    "¡­"


    "I don''t want to abandon you¡­"


    No response.


    However, the door slowly opened, as the little Kyle was crying. His clothes were tattered and he seemed to be all nasty, he hadn''t taken a bath since the ceremony, it looked like his entire family had gone downhill since that day.<novelnext>  </novelnext>


    "Kyle!"


    Ellergest hugged Kyle tightly, as he cleansed his tears with his clothes.


    "Why do you keeping when you know I''m trouble¡­" Cried Kyle.


    "I-I already told you why! I don''t want tove my friend behind¡­" Ellergest said, head patting Kyle''s white hair. "You''re very important to me, you know?"


    "¡­You''re important to me too." Kyle cried, hugging Ellergest back. "I''m sorry for treating you badly, sniff¡­"


    "It''s fine¡­ That''s what big brothers are for. Come on, how about you take a bath?" Sighed Ellergest.


    "We have no water¡­" Sighed Kyle.


    "There''s a river nearby, let''s go there." Ellergest brought Kyle to the forest, where he was able to clean himself and also have a healthy meal. They even caught fish in the river and ended having them grilled for dinner.


    Through the day, Kyle told Ellergest about his family. His father became an alcoholic and was wasting all the money they had into drinking himself to death. Meanwhile, his mother was sleeping all the time, and he often saw her consuming herbs and mushrooms she picked around the forest, well known for being drugs, so she could forget everything and sleep.


    Ellergest grew more and more concerned, Kyle couldn''t stay with his family any longer. However, Ellergest couldn''t really invite him to his home either, his parents wouldn''t allow it¡­ It was a very bad situation.


    At the end, Ellergest helped Kyle making a small camp in the outskirts of the forest, inside arge and old tree which was mostly hollow. Kyle didn''t wanted to go back to his house anyways, as his father would beat him whenever he was back. This was one of the reasons his eyes were purple and his face all swelled up.


    "What''s going to happen to me, Ellergest?" Cried Kyle, as the night arrived.


    "I¡­ I will think of something. You''ve gotta be strong, you hear me?" Ellergest said. "For now, how about you make a camp here? I''ll bring you stuff over time; you may visit your house whenever your father''s not there and pick your stuff too¡­"


    "Okay¡­" Kyle sighed. "It''s cold¡­"


    "I¡­ I know¡­" Ellergest ended staying the whole night snuggling with Kyle to give him bothpany and warm, at morning, he quickly ran back home while Kyle decided to go back home.


    As the weeks, months, and even years went by, the rumors of the child never truly disappeared. Kyle had gained a status simr to that of a ghost, haunting the vige. Although his parents barely saw him and never spoke about him any longer, people would sometimes report to have seen a boy with white hair and red eyes with a ck cloak walking near the forest.


    Like this, three years passed, people grew so restless that they began to extort Kyle''s parents every day, the young boy had just reached eight years of age and had learned many survival techniques from Ellergest.


    However, his magic scared him. He had discovered that whenever he used his magic, nts would dry out and little animals would suddenly die and lose their life. And often times, strange wandering souls would approach him. He was scared of his powers, and how they were rted to death itself.


    "Kyle, I''m back!" Ellergest quickly came back to Kyle''s house, a small camp the two had built around this old and hollow tree, bringing some new clothes and a few other useful things.


    "Ellergest¡­" Kyle quickly ran towards his friend, giving him a small bottle with a blue liquid. "You''ve done so much for me, yet I can never repay you¡­ Here! I-I made this in secret¡­"


    -----

 Chapter 426 A Decision

    -----


    "This is?" Ellergest held the bottle.


    "It''s a mana potion. The other day I learned Alchemy so I gave it a try¡­ Is it good?" Wondered the little Kyle, his red eyes always captivated Ellergest, he was adorable and pure-hearted, someone Ellergest always felt he needed to protect with everything he had.


    "Amazing, these things cost a lot of gold, you know? You could probably slowly build a capital if you make more, and you could even move out to another safer ce where they don''t know about you." Ellergest said with a smile, patting Kyle''s head.


    "But¡­ I don''t want to leave you." Sighed Kyle, hugging Ellergest.


    "Kyle¡­" Sighed Ellergest. "You will have to eventually leave this ce, you know? I am not being harsh with you, but this¡­ it is for the best of your safety."


    "Will youe with me?" Kyle asked.


    Although it hurt him, Ellergest had to tell Kyle the truth, giving him false hope wasn''t a good thing.


    "I can''t¡­ Sorry. We will met one day of course. I will look for you." Said Ellergest.


    "Sniff¡­" Kyle began to cry.


    "You''re such a crybaby. It has been a while since you were a baby, you''re eight years old now, you shouldn''t be crying around as much." Sighed Ellergest.


    "B-But¡­" Kyle cried a bit more, as Ellergest cleansed his tears.


    "Come on now, everything''s alright. You still gotta make like a few dozen more of those, right? We are not departing yet. Let''s enjoy ourselves some fish. Did you caught any?" Asked Ellergest.


    "I did! I did!" Kyle ran back to a and brought out five fishes he caught. "Today''s a big haul!"


    "I see, looks nice! Let''s make some then. How about some stew too?" Asked Ellergest.


    "I love your stew!" Kyle said.


    "Alright, alright." Ellergest giggled, seeing Kyle all energetic always made him happy.


    Days like these became moremon as Kyle began to live most of the time in the forests, weeks, months, and years went by. Collecting the necessary materials to make the potions was very hard and rare, so Kyle always had a hard time finding the right items. It took him three years for him to manage to make twelve Mana potions, which were sold by Ellergest, earning him a lot of money, enough to move out.


    However, Kyle hadn''t moved out yet, even now that he was eleven years of age, he stayed in the forest because he didn''t wanted to leave behind Ellergest, who have be the pir of his life since he was three years of age.


    "You''ve got enough money now, Kyle¡­" Sighed Ellergest, now at twelve years of age, he had grown up a lot, but Kyle remained small and although less sickly, still looked younger than he was.


    "But I don''t want to leave you¡­" Sighed Kyle. "Without big brother I don''t know what I''ll do¡­"


    "Sigh¡­ You''re alreadypletely independent now,e on buddy. You can do it. I''ll guide you through the road and into the next vige. I''ve even got you the map ready." Said Ellergest.


    "I am scared of the outside world¡­ What if they discriminate me too?" Asked Kyle.<novelnext>  </novelnext>


    "They won''t, don''t worry about it." Ellergest said with a calm smile. "Remember to just keep your secrets for yourself."


    Kyle sighed, as he looked into his own small and pale hands, and then sighed another time, gripping his fists. This entire time he hasn''t been growing up for nothing. His mentality had changed. He didn''t wanted to be just a little brother anymore. It was hising of age already, he wanted to be a man now.


    "Okay¡­ I''ll do it¡­! Tomorrow¡­" Kyle smiled back at Ellergest.


    "Haha, alright. That''s the spirit." Ellergest said, petting Kyle''s head. "Food''s almost ready so let''s eat for now."


    "Okay! I''ll eat everything to be filled with energy then!" Kyle said while feeling pumped up.


    Ellergest seemed worried of Kyle''s future, but he also had his own life to care about. Eventually, the next day came, and Kyle wanted to amend things with his parents even if a bit, walking back home.


    This morning was strange, however, as a cold white mist covered the entire vige, making the young Kyle feel afraid. The cold temperatures didn''t affected him as much as he imagined, as he had been leveling up by hunting small critters with Ellergest help, as a part of his training to gain better physical capabilities.


    He knew that his parents would be at home at this hour, although thest time he came to visit them was a month and a half ago. Somehow, as he walked there, Kyle felt the presence of souls wandering around, they seemed to be telling him to not go.


    "Don''t¡­"


    "Danger¡­"


    "Master¡­ danger!"


    "Unggh¡­ S-Shut up¡­" Kyle sighed, he disliked the creepy souls that sometimes whispered to him, always ignoring them, despite these souls wanting to help him.


    He slowly opened the door using his own small key, as he entered the house, finding both his father and mother, who directed their gazes at him. Their faces looked pale, and their eyes were devoid of light¡­ they seemed to be like rabid homeless people now, barely looking like Kyle even remembered them.


    "Mom, dad¡­"


    "Kyle¡­ So you''re back." His father said, looking at him with eyes filled with¡­ resentment.


    "My son¡­ I have not seen you in so long now¡­" His mother sighed, her eyes seemed to be devoid of light, but she curled up a strangely creepy smile. The once caring and lovable mother seemed to have changed by her abuse of drugs.


    "I-I am leaving town¡­." Kyle said.


    "What?" His father asked. "You? You''re leaving?!"


    "You can''t¡­" His mother said. "You can''t leave yet¡­ Kyle."


    Kyle was suddenly surprised as two more people appeared behind him, two tall men wieldingrge knives, and another person walked right from behind a shelf, holding arge ck leather bag¡­


    In that moment, the young child''s eyes were filled with true despair.


    -----

 Chapter 427 You’ve Brought This Upon Yourselves...

    -----


    "So this is the kid, huh?"


    "He really came back, that person spying those two kids was right¡­"


    "Now, stand still, you cursed brat."


    The three men that Kyle had never seen before slowly walked towards him, pointing knives and even a bag.


    "W-What is happening?!" Kyle asked. He tried to look for ways to escape but he was surrounded. Kyle was clumsy as well, and was unable to fight, even less adults. "Mom?! Dad?!"


    He cried to his parents, but they seemed to not be willing to help him. His father even grabbed the axe he often used to chop wood back then and pointed it at him, smiling like a madman.


    "Kyle, you should had ran away¡­ Now, we can''t go against the chief." Said his father.


    "I''m sorry, son¡­ But I cannot let you go. You must¡­ die." His mother said, smiling desperately. Her face was filled with¡­ insanity.


    Kyle''s entire world began to crumble apart, as he feltpletely scared. Suddenly being grabbed by a man behind him. He struggled, trying to run away.


    "Stop! W-What are you going to do to me?!" He cried, struggling until a knife pierced one of his small hands, the pain was unbearable as he screamed in agony, crying desperately. Despair was taking over his entire mind.


    "AAGGGH¡­! S-Stop! Shtop!" he began to scream, as the old man that stabbed his hand quickly pointed a knife to his throat.


    "Shut the hell up you damn monster." He said. "We''ll burn you in a cross as an offering to the Holy Spirits¡­"


    "After you die, we''ll be finally freed from your curse! You''ll pay for all these years you made us go through such agony!"


    "It is all your damn fault! You should had ran away already, now prepare for your fate, you monster!"


    "No! Stop! Noooo!"


    Kyle began to scream, as he was being pushed inside a bag. Another knife reached his back, piercing his little body, and then another stabbed his left leg, making him bleed and scream in pain.


    "Stop! It hurts! Sniff¡­! No! NOOOOO!"


    "As long as we don''t kill you get we can stab you as much as we want!"


    "Stay quiet you damn brat!"


    Kyle cried, asking for help to his parents. But the two seemedpletely unaffected by his screams, by his pain, by his tears¡­ They looked at him with tired eyes, filled with hate and resentment¡­ It even felt as if they were saying "Serves you right".


    "Mom¡­? Dad?" Kyle cried, but there was no response. "Eller¡­ gest¡­"


    Kyle suddenly lost consciousness over the pain he felt, as his body was about to be thrown inside the bag.


    "He fell asleep? This damn brat¡­"


    "Well, I''m sure he''ll wake up after we burn him."


    "I can''t wait to hear his screams as he burns¡­"


    "Serves him right for cursing us¡­"


    The two parents of Kyle looked at the three men nervously.


    "S-So will we get the money?" Asked the father.<novelnext>  </novelnext>


    "We brought him to you, right?" Asked the mother.


    "Yeah, you''ll get your money so you can keep drugging and drinking yourselves to death¡­"


    "Pathetic parents for a monster of a child I guess."


    "At least they finally gave up in the idea of raising this monster."


    As Kyle fell unconscious, he heard these words very clear.


    "He''s a monster, there''s no way we had a monster as a son¡­ He''s not our son, it must have been some sort of demon that got inside of my wife, but she''s fine now."


    "Yeah, I-I don''t know what I must have been thinking¡­ I was probably cursed by someone before, that''s why that thing came out, but he''s no child of mine¡­ I-I don''t know why I was so stupid before, I should had¡­ realized it long ago."


    His father and his mother spoke, hurting Kyle''s heart even more.


    "I can tell, a monster like that would had nevere out of a human¡­"


    "Yeah, that kid''s really a monster."


    "We gotta hurry and burn him before he grows stronger¡­"


    The young Kyle was already inside the bag, as his eyes opened. All the emotions he once held, all the attachments he once had for these people¡­ they all suddenly banished. A strange force, or perhaps, his truest nature as a Necromancer finally resurfaced.


    Even when Ellergest tried so hard to make him someone that was a good person¡­ there was simply no use anymore for being a good person. And neither to fear his own powers anymore¡­


    Tears flowed from his eyes, as his Spirit suddenly emerged, like a ghost, right outside of his bag, and freed him.


    SLASH!


    Swinging its scythe, in a single second, the man holding Kyle was sliced in half, his scream of agony barely could be heard as his death was almost instantly. Blood and guts spreading all over the floor.


    The people inside the house suddenly felt as if time stopped. Their faces were filled with horror at what they saw. The Reaper itself, the spirit of death himself, hade, and taken the life of a man in front of their eyes.


    "W-Wha¡­?!"


    "What the¡­?!"


    The two men that came to pick up Kyle suddenly fell to their knees, looking in horror at the white-haired boy slowly standing up from the ground, walking outside of the bag he was thrown into. His eyes were glowing bright red, as he was covered in blood¡­ his eyebrows furrowed with resentment, and a calm anger.


    "You''ve¡­ brought this upon yourselves."


    With a mere thought, his Reaper moved swiftly, looking down at the two attackers over the floor, its hollow eyes glowing menacingly¡­


    "W-Wait¡­ Wait a second! I was paid to do this! This is not my fault! I swear! I¡­!"


    SLASH!


    "GRYYAAAAAAGGGHH¡­!"


    A single sh, and the man''s entire torso was sliced in half, his two halves fell over the floor, covering the entire house with blood and guts¡­ the sickening smell of blood spread out, filling the entire house.


    -----

 Chapter 428 We Can No Longer Go Back

    -----


    Kyle looked at the second man standing, his legs trembled with fear.


    "What''s wrong?"


    Kyle asked the man in front of him.


    "Wasn''t this the monster you wanted to see?"


    "Eh?"


    "Aren''t I¡­ the monster you wanted me to be?"


    "No.. I¡­ I was wrong! Please spare my life! Don''t kill me! Please don''t kill me!"


    The man, who had an useless spirit and no talent kneeled in front of Kyle, asking for forgiveness.


    Kyle''s merciless eyes looked down at the man. For a fraction of a second, within his mind, the face of Ellergest emerged, and his words.


    "You''re a good kid, Kyle. Don''t let these people affect you."


    For that very second, he flinched, doubting himself.


    However, he suddenly heard someone lurking behind him. Suddenly noticing an axe reaching his face.


    CLASH!


    However, his spirit''s scythe stopped the axe from reaching Kyle, as the young boy opened his eyes wide open.


    "Father¡­?"


    His father looked at Kyle with eyes filled with insanity, gasping for air. His eyes were growing desperate, as his face became pale.


    "K-Kyle¡­!"


    His father suddenly dropped the axe out of horror. The red eyes of his son were so scary he fell to his knees and began crawling away rapidly.


    "P-Please forgive me! I was¡­ I was just scared! I¡­ I''ve always loved you, you know?! Y-You''re my son! I¡­ I was manipted¡­ Yes! That''s it-"


    SLAAASH!


    However, Kyle had no pity any more¡­ a sh of his scythe was all he needed to sh through his father''s legs, blood began gushing out of his legs like crimson rivers.


    "GRYYYAAAAAHHH!"


    His father began to scream in agony, as he started crying out of pain, gritting his teeth.


    "K-Kyle¡­ Stop this! STOP!" His mother cried. "I-I''ve always been good with you, right?! I''ve always¡­ Always!"


    Kyle, however, seemed different, waving his head and beginning to cry.


    "You never really loved me¡­ mother."


    "Eh?"


    "The only thing you loved were your drugs¡­"


    "Ah¡­! N-no! Please! Sto-"


    Kyle pointed his small hand at his mother, conjuring phantasmal mes. The mes emerged as if they came straight from the depths of hell, covering his mother''s entire body and burning her body and soul.


    FLUOOSH!


    "GYAAAAAHHH! NOOOO! KYLEEEEEEEEEE¡­!"


    Kyle looked at his mother burning with eyes filled with sorrow, yet, somehow, he couldn''t stop himself from doing this. Quickly after, he pointed his hand at his struggling father, as he began to scream for help.


    "Help¡­ SOMEONE HELP MEEEEE!"


    FLUOOOSH!


    The phantasmal mes reached Kyle''s father, spreading over his body and making his entire body wither in agony.


    "UUAAAAGGGGHHH¡­!"


    Kyle quickly directed his gaze at thest standing man, as he was pointing a knife at him.


    "D-Don''t get closer¡­! I-I can throw this knife straight at your throat¡­!" He cried.


    Kyle remained in silence, as he looked at the corpse of this man''s friend, which slowly began to move out of nowhere, slowly crawling towards this man.


    "Oooooohhh¡­"


    It began to growl with a guttural sound, as if it was struggling to even speak.


    Kyle did the same with the corpse of his burning mother and father, and the other friend of this man.


    "Eat him." Kyle said.


    "GAAAHH¡­!"<novelnext>  </novelnext>


    "GRUUAAAH!"


    "GRAAHAHAHAH!"


    The zombies began tough manically, as they ran towards the man and swarmed him. His knife was nothing against them, as he began to be torn apart into pieces.


    "Gyyyaaaaeeegggh¡­! Stoooop! STOOOOOP!"


    His scream of agony could be heard even into the vige, as many people began to gather around, confused of what was happening. But nobody was brave enough to step into the house.


    Kyle remained in silence as he saw the man being torn apart and devoured by the bodies of his own parents, reanimated through his magic.


    His bloodied hands were trembling, as he looked at himself. He wasn''t happy for what was happening, yet he felt relieved. He wanted to die, yet he wanted to continue living and fight for his own life.


    "What¡­ have I done?" He wondered; his hands were trembling.


    Creaaak¡­


    The door of his house slowly opened, as the figure of a young boy, almost his age, appeared.


    It was Ellergest.


    "Kyle? What''s going on? I heard screams and came running here! KYLE! KY- Eh?"


    Ellergest suddenly looked at the scene in front of him.


    Blood and guts everywhere, the dismembered bodies of people, a horrid rotting smell.


    And a white-haired boy, the one he had raised as his little brother standing in the middle of all, while a reaper floated behind him, its scythe covered in fresh blood.


    "Eller¡­ gest?" Kyle asked, looking at Ellergest desperately. "I-I can exin¡­! I was attacked, they were going to¡­!"


    However, Ellergest''s face was filled with horror.


    He had no pity for Kyle anymore.


    He looked at him with disgust and shock.


    "Kyle¡­ what¡­ what have you done?!"


    "I¡­! Ellergest¡­ D-Don''t look at me with those eyes!"


    "Y-You''re¡­ a monster¡­"


    "No¡­! I¡­"


    Ellergest quickly readied his magic, as bright light emerged from his hands, a small holy dragon appeared, coiling around his body¡­


    "G-Get away from here¡­" Ellergest said. "Or else¡­ I¡­"


    "Ellergest, please!" Kyle cried.


    "Don''t get any closer¡­" Ellergest said, his voice was trembling. "DON''T GET ANY CLOSER!"


    Kyle''s red eyes shone brightly, as they began to cry, tears flowing from his eyes.


    The young Kyle gritted his teeth, as his spirt broke the walls behind him with a mere swing of its scythe, showcasing incredible strength.


    SLAAASH!


    TRUUUM!


    The walls fell apart, opening a way for Kyle to escape.


    "Ellergest¡­ I¡­ W-Will we meet again?" Asked Kyle, trying to find thest bit of hope.


    "Y-You''re a murderer¡­" Ellergest said. "W-We are¡­ no longer friends¡­! G-Get out of here, NOW! Or else I¡­ I¡­!"


    Kyle gritted his teeth, as he gripped his fists¡­ and then, he turned his back and ran away into the forest.


    And he kept running and running.


    And running.


    And running¡­


    After a whole day of running away, the boy fell to the ground, crying desperately.


    His entire life became upside down since that moment.


    Everything changed since that day¡­


    And since then, he could no longer go back to how he was.


    He could no longer repent.


    He¡­ could no longer regret anymore.


    -----

 Chapter 429 Clash

    -----


    The empty eyes of Kyle looked into the skies, his entire body was now a skeleton, burned by holy light, he turned deep ck in color. His only clothes managed to survive, enchanted with powerful magic, and even his staff was broken apart.


    "You''re sorry?"


    Kyle heard Ellergest voice, answering him with resentment, his voice sounding guttural, and phantasmal, it wasn''t even how he sounded before¡­


    "I¡­ I shouldn''t had left you behind¡­ I¡­ I shouldn''t had told you to go away. I was scared back then but¡­!" Ellergest muttered, slowly standing up, his entire body was covered by lethal wounds, bleeding all over. His healing was barely doing much, he had sustained too much damage.


    "But what?"


    Kyle''s skeleton stood up, looking down at Ellergest with resentment, he wasn''t even recognizable anymore¡­ The old necromancer quickly realized the fear in Ellergest eyes at his own ursed appearance.


    "What''s wrong? Are you¡­ scared? This is¡­ Ngh¡­ My true appearance. I was always¡­ I was¡­ always a demon, a monster!" Kyle said, raising his skeletal hands.


    He had sustained a lot of damage, yet he was still standing¡­ Even Ellergest was surprised that he had be such a powerful Undead.


    "Kyle, please stop this¡­ You don''t'' have to fight anymore¡­" Ellergest muttered.


    "I don''t?" Kyle asked. "You old fool¡­ You''ve always been such a na?ve hypocrite¡­"


    "Life''s a battle¡­ a never-ending battle for survival. Once you stop fighting, you die and disappear." Kyle said, his jaws moved as he spoke, making rattling sounds that sent chills down everybody''s spines except ke, who was slowly walking towards the old necromancer.


    "Kyle¡­ stop this!" Ellergest cried, as he tried to run towards the old Lich. He had already stopped his fusion with his Turtle Spirt, which was now resting, but his Holy Dragon was neat him, protecting him.


    "No¡­ I will not stop!" Roared the Lich. "Look at you, all old, tattered, and so weak¡­ You look pathetic¡­"


    The old necromancer wasn''t any better, as his bones were burnt until they turned ck. His magical power was almostpletely emptied after having used it all to protect his body from fading into ashes. However, he was still a powerful Rank 3 Spirit Master, even with low magic power, he could still be a formidable and powerful being.


    "[Spirit Fusion]!"


    The old Necromancer quickly performed Spirit Fusion with his first spirit, the one he was born with, the Reaper!


    FLAAASH!


    Phantasmal essence and darkness converged into his body,bining, and enhancing his own bones, turning them white once more. Several red markings appeared over his body, as he was able to materialize an enormous scythe and a ck cloak covering his entire body.


    And even more, he gained the ability to fly as he pleased, looking around his surroundings, everyone was too tired to move at all,pletely exhausted by the fight. The only one in front of him that might be a threat was Ellergest, and he was already about to die.


    "I will give you the honor of being beheaded by me, Ellergest. As¡­ a parting gift from your old friend." Kyle seemed to distort his stuff skull, as a smile seemed to emerge as his bones curled up, showing his sharp teeth¡­


    "Nnnggh¡­ Kyle¡­ Please¡­" Ellergest supplicated for Kyle to change his ways, but his friend was already dead. Whatever was in front of him was only a personification of his friend''s hatred and resentment.<novelnext>  </novelnext>


    "Die, Ellergest!"


    The Lich swung his enormous scythe, pointing its de towards Ellergest''s neck, aiming to behead him!


    Elizabeth and the other priests woke up from their daze, slowly standing up and seeing the horrifying scene in front of their eyes.


    "Papa!!!"


    Elizabeth cried, trying to stand up. But she had grown too weakened now after using all her Mana and Ki, she could barely scream to begin with.


    The Lich''s Phantasmal Scythe quickly reached Ellergest''s neck, as the cold and sharp de of the weapon began to slice through the skin and flesh of the old man''s neck¡­


    SLAAASH!


    Blood sttered everywhere, as Ellergest''s eyes opened wide in the shock of seeing the crimson blood¡­


    And the boy standing in front of him.


    "ke?!"


    The blooding out was from de''s Demonic Arm, which he used to block the powerful attack. It had been pierced by the scythe, but it didn''t budge anymore, as the scythe got stuck into his arm''s bone.


    "Y-You?!" The Lich looked at ke with eyes glowing bright red in surprise.


    "I''ve been waiting this moment patiently now¡­ When you are at your weakest point, Kyle." Said ke, his eyes suddenly turned bright red, and so did his hair, as it began to grow longer. His body suddenly matured, resembling the body of a young and muscr adult. His clothes became ck and several red markings appeared around his body.


    "T-That form!" Ellergest''s eyes opened wide in shock, as he remembered thest time he saw ke using this specific form.


    It was the time when ke and Eleanora became one, merging together through a forced attempt at Spirit Fusion that surged when Eleanora used her Blood Threads over ke''s soul and body to force him to move. It happened almost identally back then, but now; ke hadpletely grasped how the technique could be used.


    He knew it drained his Mana like crazy, even more his Ki, and he knew he only had, at most, a minute to do the impossible and defeat a Rank 3 Spirit Master¡­ However, the explosive enhancement to all his Stats was thanks to this powerful fusion, which was further perfected as ke used the power of Blood Arts and Shadow Maniption Techniques to enhance his fusion with Eleanora.


    Their spears became one and long red spear, shining with an aura of dreadful vampiric essence¡­ ke''s eyes turned red and so did his hair, which became long. His ears became sharp like those of vampires, and his nails grew ck and long, like ferocious ws.


    A smile filled with excitement and thrill appeared over his handsome face, as the Lich suddenly felt a powerful pressure hitting his very soul.


    It felt as if there was an unfathomable being in front of him.


    -----

 Chapter 430 Final Battle! Blake VS The Necromancer

    -----


    "You''re that kid from before, aren''t you? I''ve been watching you this entire time." Said the Lich. "You were the one that infiltrated my hideout, and also the one I failed to deal with all this time. I can''t believe you''vee directly towards me at my current form fearlessly! Even more, you think that half-baked Spirit Fusion with your Spirit is going to amount to anything? Only at Rank 3 is when you can truly begin using the Spirit Fusion correctly! You-"


    "You talk too much for being a pile of bones."


    FLASH!


    ke didn''t wasted any second, his mind waspletely in synch with Eleanora, sharpening his senses and literally giving him a whole second mind to be able to process everything around him faster. For him, it felt as if time around was slowed down, making his movements incredibly fast.


    CLAAASH!


    His powerful red spear, abination of Gluttony and Envy which happened whenever ke used Spirit Fusion with Eleanora shed against the Necromancer, as the Lich stepped back due to the shock of ke''s speed, barely parrying his blow using his Phantasmal Scythe.


    "You''re faster than I expected, however-"


    ke ignored his words, as he utilized [Blood Flow eleration] [Blood Pump] and [Bloodlust]bined together, boosting his own body''s speed and other capabilities, as a powerful vampiric aura of blood emerged out of his body, enhancing all of his stats.


    FLASH! FLASH! FLASH!


    He moved incredible fast around the Lich, trying to confuse him by suddenly generating mirages around the Undead. Abusing the power of his nebined with the Tier 2 Illusion Attribute Magic Spell [Clone Mirage] he immediately reached the Lich from behind, unleashing a torrential series of piercing attacks using his Red Spear.


    CLASH! CLASH! CLAAASH!


    "Unnggh?!"


    BAAAM!


    An enormous shockwave of Vampiric Red Energy exploded out of each attack, as the Lich was caught off-guard. His senses were already atrophied after having to take upon that powerful Yggdrasil Cannon, and now ke was ying around with him by confusing him with mirages!


    And that was not all of it.


    While the Lich was thrown into midair, ke charged the power he had within his body and arge quantity of the Blood Ki he had saved up until this very moment, pointing his hand at the Lich.


    "[Blood Judgement]"


    "Wha¡­?!"


    Suddenly, above Kyle, countless des made of blood emerged, almost as if they had showed up out of thin air. And without wasting a single second, they fell over the Lich consecutively, one by one. They didn''t even fell into the floor, no, each de moved independently, reaching the Lich and piercing through his bones. His Anti-Magic Barrier was easily shattered as these attacks were not purely just magic!


    CRASH! CRASH! CRASH! CRAAAASH!


    "Nnnggh¡­! Nnggaaahhhh¡­!"


    The Lich screamed in agony as his very soul was being pierced by each of such des! Unlike Spells, Techniques that used Ki could be easily modified midway through their creation, ke added the power of Soul Magic in between, giving the Blood des the ability to also slightly damage souls, the Lich''s greatest weakness!


    And everything was happening so fast that Kyle was incapable of reacting in time¡­ And the worst of all, ke wasn''t even over.


    "[Blood Detonation]"<novelnext>  </novelnext>


    ke closed his fist, as all the des that reached Kyle suddenly glowed bright red, exploding in a consecutive, chain reaction!


    BOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOOOMMMM!!!


    The entire sky turned deep red as everybody nced at the scene with utter shock and disbelief.


    "Was ke always this powerful?" Jack asked, his lower jaws dropped.


    "Since when did he had such power?" Seth wondered.


    "Incredible¡­ He defeated the Lich?" Wondered Lucas.


    "No¡­" Joan said, his keen senses have yet to fail him. "I can sense his presence. It has weakened, but it still there, clinging to existence¡­" Joan quickly tried to move, but his entire body was too exhausted. He had already fought a High Rotten Giant and several other monsters before, he had already gone beyond his own limits. His body was simply not responding to him anymore.


    "Joan, where do you think you''re trying to go?!" Musk roared, stopping the hunter.


    "As a father I have to go help my son, it is the least I can do¡­" Joan muttered. "I cannot¡­ let my child die in front of me¡­"


    "Die?" The Guild Master asked while raising an eyebrow. "That kid won''t die any time soon, Joan. That kid¡­ He already looks like he has this entire battle within the grasp of his palms¡­"


    "But¡­ Even then¡­" Joan said.


    "Just look and see what he''s capable of." Musk said, as the entire crowd watched at ke and Eleanora fight with everything they had.


    The red smoke slowly dissipated, as the skies once more turned blue¡­ only to turn darker. The entire body of the Lich was destroyed, ke was sure of it. However, the Lich itself has yet to be defeated. He noticed the floating Spirit Orb being suddenly wrapped around Demonic Essence, as he immediately rushed forward, trying to attack it.


    TRUUUMMMM¡­!


    However, an enormous shockwave of phantasmal essence and demonic energy rushed out, impacting ke!


    CLAAASH!


    He used his spear to defend himself, rotating it constantly and generating a shield which also created a powerful gust of winds, pushing the phantasmal aura and the demonic energy away.


    "I¡­ I cannot die yet¡­! Not yet¡­! Not when I have not realized my goal¡­ To destroy that vige! To¡­ govern this world with my Undead¡­! I¡­! I CANNOT BE DEFEATED YET!"


    The enormous and grotesque soul of Kyle suddenly emerged, thousands of other souls were merged with his own, countless tentacles and eyes appeared all across his phantasmal body.


    "So you''ve been eating so many Souls as well¡­ Such a powerful Soul." ke recognized. "Nheless, your weak point is that Spirit Orb. At the end, without it, you cannot maintain this form!"


    FLAAASH!


    Without even fearing the enormous ghostly entity in front of him, ke dived into the Necromancer''s Phantasmal soul.


    -----

 Chapter 431 Ellegests Remaining Strength

    -----


    "Kyle¡­"


    Ellergest looked into what his old friend has be, a mass of thousands of wailing souls, roaring in agony, despair, and fury. His friend has fallen deep into an abyss of loneliness and suffering. For so many years, he had suffered through this all, shaping his own body, his own soul, and everything within him into what he has be.


    "Why¡­ You were such a sweet child back then¡­"


    The old man began to remember his past when he was younger. All those times he spent with Kyle, teaching him magic, how to fight with his fists, how to fish in the river, how to make a fire, how to cook, how to hunt horned rabbits¡­


    All those memories he treasured so much until now, all those memories that were¡­ the most important thing in his entire life, those memories which were the most precious thing for him.


    "Geez, you just want to bully me!"


    "I love your stew!"


    "Hey Ellergest, do you think I will ever grow as strong as you?"


    "Thanks for everything¡­ Nobody has ever showed so much kindness to me¡­"


    "You''re the only one I really care for¡­"


    "I want to explore the world with you!"


    His words echoed across Ellergest mind, as the old man, covered with wounds slowly began to stand up, slowly yet steadily. His Holy Dragon emerged around him, looking at his body.


    "Oi, old man, stand where you are! Where are you going?!"


    "I cannot¡­ let my little brother take all the burden."


    "Eh? What the hell are you talking about?"


    "Friend, let''s go for onest battle, you and me."


    Ellergest extended his hand towards his Holy Dragon, thepanion he had his entire life. Several memories of him with his spirit emerged across his mind, as the dragon sighed.


    "Fine, so be it, old man¡­ Let''s kick the bucket with everything we''ve got and let''s go save that stupid little brother you''ve got!"


    The Holy Dragonughed, quickly flying towards Ellergest body, and converging with him.


    "Oh Holy Spirits¡­ give me your strength. In exchange¡­" Ellergest looked back at his priests, and everyone else, stopping his sight at Elizabeth. He felt doubt, he even wanted to not say such words¡­ "In exchange for¡­"


    The old man began to tremble.


    Aside from Kyle, he had also made new memories.


    With his friends, with those three priests, with Erdrich, and above all, with Elizabeth, his little spoiled girl, his adoptive daughter.


    Since he found her in the orphanage that she has been his life.


    Her gentleness, her humble heart, and her kind nature always reminded him of Kyle¡­


    He wanted to see her grow up and be a beautiful woman, to see her aplish her dreams¡­


    FLAAASH!


    Golden scales began to grow across his entire body, as his old body was suddenly revitalized. His wounds stopped bleeding and the blood over his body was cleansed. A long draconic tail emerged behind his back as long golden horns appeared over his forehead, his eyes shone bright gold as his nails grew into ferocious dragon ws, his white hair grew longer, waving around by the wind.


    "Perhaps this is not yet the time, my old friend¡­" He said to his spirit.


    "Heh, I knew it! Let''s go help that reckless brat now!" The Holy Dragon said.


    FLAAASH!


    ¡­


    ke flew towards Kyle''s monstrous soul, unleashing Blood Judgement repeatedly against his soul. Thousands of Blood des emerged as he flew, piercing across Kyle''s monstrous soul countless times.


    CLASH! CLASH! CLASH! CLAAASH!


    "Blood Detonation."


    And each Blood de began to explode, opening the way for ke to reach Kyle''s Spirit Orb.<novelnext>  </novelnext>


    "You''re done for." ke said, quickly reaching Kyle''s soul, only for him to suddenly realize that there were thousands of souls trying to stop him.


    They all wrapped around his body, pulling back, trying to stop him from piercing Kyle''s Spirit Orb.


    "Stop him!"


    "You can''t! No!"


    "I won''t let you kill him!"


    "My son¡­ I cannot let him die after everything I''ve done¡­!"


    "Leave the boy!"


    "You won''t touch him!"


    "TSK!"


    ke mercilessly waved his hands, as he crushed the souls into pieces and devoured them. Ruthlessly growing his own soul in the process. However, the more he tried to get closer to the Spirit Orb, the further it moved away!


    He only had roughly fifteen more seconds before the Fusion would stop, and after that he would most likely fall unconscious, as he would had emptied all his Mana and most likely almost all of his Ki as well!


    "We won''t make it, ke!"


    "Eleanora¡­!"


    "Stop the fusion, maybe you can run away and¡­!"


    "I am not running away, not after everything!"


    "But¡­!"


    "Have I ever backed down from a challenge I''ve jumped into before, Eleanora?!"


    "Asmodeus¡­"


    Eleanora''s soul shone bright red, remembering her past with ke, or well, as he was once named, Asmodeus. Her feelings blossomed like flowers, as her connection and bond with him suddenly strengthened. Her hopes for him, and her growing emotions¡­ her love, all of it converged together into ke, granting him ast boost of power, only possible through the bond between a master and a spirit.


    "Nnnggh¡­!"


    ke continued pushing through countless souls, almost making, but not yet!


    Not yet¡­


    Until a sh of bright light suddenly emerged from below, reaching all the way into the skies and piercing through Kyle''s soul!


    FLAAAAASSSHHH!


    "GRUOOOHHHHH¡­!"


    Kyle''s soul groaned in agony as it suddenly lost arge chunk of it, mostly made by other souls altogether.


    "KYLEEEEEE!"


    The furious draconic roar of Ellergest reached the skies, as ke''s eyes opened wide.


    "He''s still willing to fight?!" ke muttered in surprise.


    "I''ll open the way, ke! Do it! Destroy Kyle''s Spirit Orb!!!" Ellergest rushed forward, piercing through the phantasmal soul of his old friend, and opening an enormous path.


    FLAAASH!


    "Got it, don''t die until then, old man!" ke smiled, flying forwards as he quickly pointed his spear towards Kyle''s Spirit Orb, which was suddenly stopped in ce due to ke''s Demonic Eyes of Gravity, having saved this trick for thest moment!


    "Farewell."


    CRAAASH!!!


    -----

 Chapter 432 Sacrifice

    -----


    "Unnggh..! No¡­! Nooooooo¡­!"


    The scream of Kyle resonated across the skies, as ke and Eleanora converged their entire power into thebined spear, piercing through the Rank 3 Spirit Orb of Kyle, and shattering it into pieces in a single hit.


    CRAAAAASSSSHH!


    TRUUUMM¡­!


    The old necromancer''s soul began to scream in agony as thest core of its power was destroyed. Losing all of its magic power and even the control it held over the souls it had devoured and merged with!


    "OOOOOHHHH!"


    The wailing scream of thousands of souls echoed across the skies, as they all flew away in fear, separating themselves from Kyle''s soul, and leaving a small and weak soul.


    Oftentimes, a soul takes the shape of the person it belongs to. However, in extreme cases where a person''s personality and mind get stuck in a certain trauma, their soul might take upon such a trauma appearance.


    Instead of the old man ke expected, what remained of Kyle''s soul was a small and defenseless child.


    "A¡­ child?"


    ke muttered those words, as his mind quickly cked out.


    Within his spirit orb, Eleanora emerged, hugging him tightly and quickly bringing him down, looking at Ellergest who flew towards the soul of Kyle.


    "Kyle¡­"


    "Sniff¡­"


    The child was crying.


    Ellergest slowly approached his friend''s soul, as he found a child at his eleven years of age curled up in fetal position and crying endlessly.


    "Don''t get closer¡­"


    Ellergest was suddenly stopped by the voice of his friend.


    "You''re scared of me, right?"


    "Ah¡­"


    "I am a monster¡­"


    "No¡­ Kyle¡­"


    "I''ve done so many horrifying things¡­ I didn''t knew where to go¡­ and who to ask for help¡­ I had nobody¡­ I did what I had to do to survive¡­ But at the end, I began to fall more and more, until I couldn''t go back¡­"


    "It''s¡­ No¡­ It is my fault."


    "No, I was always a monster¡­ the vigers were right, mom and dad¡­ Everyone was right."


    The white-haired boy with red eyes looked back at Ellergest, as his ruby eyes began to cry tears of sorrow and loneliness.


    "I don''t deserve you as my friend¡­"


    Ellergest gritted his teeth, rushing towards Kyle''s soul and hugging him, bathing his soul with his purifying holy light.


    The young Kyle''s eyes opened wide, as he felt the warmth of his old friend.


    "No¡­ I''ve always been your friend. It is not a matter if you deserve someone, it was my own choice." Ellergest sighed, his soul suddenly emerging out of his body¡­


    "You''re not a monster¡­" He hugged Kyle. "You''re the most kindhearted and adorable child I''ve ever met in my life¡­ I am sorry for leaving you, and for¡­ not understanding you."


    "No¡­ I am sorry too, for everything I did¡­" Cried Kyle. "I know¡­ I cannot do much now¡­ I was scared¡­ I¡­"


    "It''s fine, Kyle." Sighed Ellergest. "It''s fine."


    Ellergest had already understood what had happened to Kyle that day after he investigated for years. The vige wanted to capture the young child to burn him into a cross as a sacrifice to the Holy Spirits.


    The three thugs they paid to capture him were actually former bandits, and they had tortured him before they died. His parents were also insane after having be addict to alcohol and drugs, and they hadpletely lost any love they had left for their son, condemning him for their own sins and leaving him to die.


    What Kyle had done that day was his desperate struggle to keep himself alive, and perhaps, he couldn''t resist any longer, falling into his own insanity, which he tried so hard to resist.


    He was never someone right on his mind, and Ellergest knew it. He was someone that deserved special treatment, but these people broke him¡­


    He wanted to amend for having left him behind and go with him.


    "Oi¡­ old man!"


    The Holy Dragon cried, trying to stop Ellergest from what he was doing.


    "Friend, I am leaving the rest up to you. I''ll lend you to Elizabeth. Take good care of her." Ellergest smiled back at his spirit, as the figure of his twelve-year-old self emerged, a young boy filled with energy and life.<novelnext>  </novelnext>


    "No¡­ But what about Elizabeth?!" Cried the Holy Dragon.


    "She already has many with her¡­" Ellergest smiled. "I am sure she wont miss this old man as much."


    "You damn old man¡­" The Holy Dragon began to cry, covering his eyes with his arm.


    Ellergest''s younger self emerged before Kyle''s soul, holding his hand.


    "Let''s go, Kyle."


    "Ellergest¡­"


    "Let''s go on an adventure like you wanted."


    Kyle''s eyes shone brightly, as he smiled.


    "Really? Will you go with me?"


    "Of course! I''ve always dreamed about our adventure. Let''s go."


    The two boys walked across the skies, as the sun suddenly emerged across the dark clouds, shining brightly, and leaving a path of sunlight where the two younglings walked across, leading them to the afterworld, a world of souls.


    Everyone saw the scene in that moment. Two young children walking across the clouds, slowly reaching further and further above the heavens, running and yfulughing together¡­


    "Who are those two?" Wondered Jack.


    "What¡­ am I seeing? Holy Spirits?" Asked Seth.


    "Papa¡­" Elizabeth cried, as tears began to flow across her face. Through the powers of her spirit, she quickly understood what was happening. "So this is¡­ what you wanted, right?"


    She didn''t felt sad because he was leaving, as she smiled, feeling that this was¡­ what Ellergest truly desired.


    "You must have loved your friend a lot, papa¡­" Elizabeth said, as she continued crying, seeing the two children yfully walk across the stairs made of sunlight¡­ and then disappearing.


    That day, the battle against the Necromancer, Kyle, was over. Although it was a great victory for many, it was also a great lost. Ellergest''s lifeless body was brought to the vige with utmost respect and great efforts to maintain him clean.


    Many of the vigers that knew him began to cry, almost the entire vigemented his lost. He was known as a hero that sacrificed his life to defeat the evil necromancer, but only a few knew the real story behind his sacrifice¡­


    He simply didn''t wanted to leave behind his friend anymore.


    ¡­


    Across an endless horizon, there was a beautiful and colorful garden of flowers.


    Two young boys walked across the garden of flowers, holding hands.


    There was a smaller one, with white hair and shiny red eyes, and a taller boy with brown hair and golden eyes.


    "Look! This flower¡­ It is named Ellergest, like you." The white-haired boy said.


    "My name¡­ was after this flower?" Wondered the taller boy.


    "Yeah, it means friendship!"


    "I see¡­"


    Ellergest took a red flower, a rose, and put it over the white hair of Kyle.


    "And this red flower fits your beautiful eyes the most."


    "My eyes? You find them¡­ beautiful?"


    "Of course. They''re¡­ one of the most beautiful things I''ve ever seen."


    Kyle opened his eyes wide in surprise, as he sighed and smiled.


    "Geez, you really like to make me embarrassed¡­"


    "Alright, let''s go on, there''s a whole adventure awaiting for us, right?"


    "Yeah! I can''t wait!"


    "Let''s have the adventure we never had together, Kyle¡­"


    "Let''s have lots of fun, meet lots of people, and see many ces, Ellergest!"


    "Alright, alright, calm down a bit¡­ You always get so energetic when you get excited¡­ Hahah¡­"


    -----

 Chapter 433 New Powers

    -----


    When I opened my eyes, I found myself resting over my bed, inside of my room.


    In front of me there was the floating Grimoire, its pages began to wildly turn around, as they showcased what I had earned fromst fight.


    [You and Your Party defeated [Various Lesser Undead Monsters] x102]


    [You and Your Party defeated [Death Wyvern] x1]


    [You and Your Party defeated [Chimeric Rotten Giant] x12]


    [You and Your Party defeated [High Rotten Giant] x2]


    [You and Your Party defeated [High Bone Golem Chimera] x1]


    [Calcting EXP earned¡­]


    [You earned 1082000 EXP]


    [Your Level has increased from Level 23 to Level 24!]


    [Your Level has increased from Level 24 to Level 25!]


    [Your Level has increased from Level 25 to Level 26!]


    [Your Level has increased from Level 26 to Level 27!]


    [Your Level has increased from Level 27 to Level 28!]


    [All Your Stats have increased]


    [You earned Bonus Stat Points and Skill Points]


    [You earned Bonus Skill Proficiency]


    [Several Skills have Leveled Up]


    [You Learned the [Spirit Master: Lv1] Title Skill!]


    [You Learned the [Magic Fusion: Lv1] Magic Skill!]


    [Vampiric Blood Emperor Physique: Tier 2: Rank 10] has increased into Tier 3!]


    [All your stats have increased]


    [Blood and Darkness Element Magic has be stronger]


    [Your Senses have been sharpened permanently]


    [Your Physical Strength has been enhanced permanently]


    [Your Physique Abilities have evolved]


    [You gained a New Physique Ability: [Self Regeneration]!]


    -----


    Name: ke Hunter Goathorn.


    Race: Human


    Spirit Orb Realm: Rank 1 (Peak Stage)


    Physique: Vampiric Blood Emperor Physique (Tier 3: Rank 1)


    Job ss: [Invoker: ¡ï]


    Subss: [Alchemist: ¡ï]


    Level: 20/30 -> 28/30


    EXP: 22000/280000


    < Health Points: 772/772 -> 932 >


    < Mana Points: 1353/1353 -> 1593/1593 >


    < Strength: 828 -> 988 >


    < Agility: 692 -> 852 >


    < Vitality: 654 -> 814 ><novelnext>  </novelnext>


    < Intelligence: 1022 -> 1262 >


    < Dexterity: 691 -> 851 >


    Spirits (1/1): [Half-Vampire: Eleanora (Rank 1 Peak Stage)]


    Physique Abilities: [Tier 3: Superhuman Body (+Demonic Arm)] [Tier 3: Supernatural Senses] [Tier 3: Vampiric Eyes (+Demon Eyes of Paralysis +Demon Eye of Gravity)] [Tier 3: Self Regeneration]


    Link Skills:


    [Link (Eleanora): [Shadow Sneak: 4]


    Passive Skills: [Acrobatics: Lv5] [Robust Body: Lv5] [Hard Worker: Lv5] [Hawk Eye: 5] [Gifted Magic Apprentice: Lv5] [Heavy Drinker: Lv3], [Intimidation: Lv3]


    Active Skills: [Throwing Technique: Lv5] [Spearmanship: Lv4] [Butcher: Lv3] [Alchemy: Lv3] [Brewing: Lv2] [Synthetize: Lv2] [First Aid: Lv4], [Command: Lv3], [Cooking: Lv2] [Agriculture: Lv1]


    Magic Skills: [Blood Arts: Lv3] [Shadow Maniption: Lv3] [Create/Delete Familiar: Lv3] [Summon/Unsummon Familiar: Lv3 [Familiar Storage Expansion: Lv3] [Familiar Synthesis: Lv3] [Apprentice Alchemist Recipe Book: Lv2] [Spirit And Master Connection: Lv2]


    Title Skills: [Beast yer: Lv3] [Demon yer: Lv3] [Savior: Lv3] [ughter King: Lv3] [Dragon yer: Lv2] [Kin yer: Lv1] [Undead yer: Lv4]


    Avable Stat Points: 110


    Avable Skill Points: 130


    Curses:


    EXP required to level up x100


    Proficiency required to learn techniques and skills x100


    Mana/Qi/Aether Recovery speed decreased by -50%


    -----


    Bonus Skill Proficiency? And¡­ Level 28.


    "Wait, why did I got Bonus Skill Proficiency? Is this something new from Leveling Up?"


    [By undergoing intense battles using a variety of your Skills and Magic, you gain Bonus Skill Proficiency. This has been part of the natural Abilities of this world since the beginning. However, thanks to the [Hard Worker] Skill at Level 5, you gain double that amount.]


    The Grimoire answered my questions with words that emerged above the pages.


    I am still not used to talk to this book, but I suppose it is ratherpetent at times like these.


    Now that I got new Skills, I should check them¡­


    -----


    [Spirit Master: Lv1]


    Skill Proficiency: 0/10000


    A Title Skill only granted to those who have Mastered a part of their Spiritual Connection with their Spirits, growing closer to unify with them to the extent of awakening new powers. It Enhances Spirit-rted Skills and Magic, and while using Spiritual Techniques, enhances the Spirit and the User''s Stats by +15% with each Skill Level. Spiritual Techniques Damage and Effects is enhanced by +20% with each Skill Level.


    -----


    [Magic Fusion: Lv1]


    Skill Proficiency: 0/10000


    Only someone who has managed topletely merge different Elements of Magic together to createpletely different Magic Spells can learn this Skill, which is often reserved to High Star Magician-rted Talents. This Skill allows for the passive increase in Elemental Magic Fusion proficiency, increasing Damage Dealt, Control, and Effects by +30% with an additional +15% with each Skill Level. Additionally, it lowers MP Cost from Fusion Magic by -20%.


    Combined Spells can also be stored in the free slots for [Instant Cast] without the requirement for Magic Circle Creation. Once Spells are stored in the slots, they cannot be removed. However, Spells in the Slots for [Instant Cast] receive an enhancement to their damage dealt and other special effects by +10% with each Skill Level.


    Avable Spell Slots for [Instant Cast]:


    Level 1: [Empty] [Empty]


    -----


    Huh¡­ Spirit Master seems to be a Title many have; it is how people that can work with Spirits and properly fight with them receive after they mature and be strong enough to be recognized. But it seems it is an actual Title Skill that can be acquired. It is a good enhancement.


    Lastly, Magic Fusion is indeed a big surprise. It seems this incredible Skill can only be acquired by high star Magician-type Talents, yet I have acquired it because I constantly use fusion magic with ease thanks to all the umted knowledge I possess.


    Myprehension of the Elemental Laws is at 100% as well, which makes it easy for me to conjure magic and merge elements like nothing. Of course, I am still restricted by my primary magic elements, as other elements won''t be as effective. This is why this Skill is so important, it''ll allow me to merge my main elemental affinities with the abilities of other elements which affinities are lower.


    Additionally, that [Instant Cast] Ability seems incredible convenient. With that, I can store two new Spells with each Skill Level, which I can Instantly Cast without Magic Circles! I have to think carefully what I want to be stored there. Such spells will grow stronger over time too¡­


    -----

 Chapter 434 Disbelief

    -----


    I had also noticed my Summoning Skills Leveled Up. However, I didn''t really wanted to keep sitting here and looking at the Grimoire, so I decided to stand from my bed and assess the situation. Remembering everything that has happened until now, the war against the Necromancer must be over if I am alive and back to my bed. After my fusion with Eleanora, I fell unconscious due to the enormous bacsh that it gave to me. And as for what happenedter, perhaps I should ask her.


    "Eleanora, are you there?"


    I noticed Eleanora wasn''t inside of my Spirit Orb nor in here, so when I called for her, she quickly answered my call through the natural Telepathy ability that a Spirit and their Master possess.


    "Ah, you''re awake!" She said happily, suddenly emerging at my side in an instant, and hugging me.


    "I was worried¡­" She sighed. "I couldn''t be at your side all the time, I wanted to help everyone out there, there''s a lot of wounded people."


    "Oh¡­ So you were helping others?" I asked.


    "Yeah¡­" Eleanora sighed. "I shouldn''t¡­ do it?"


    "¡­No, it is fine." Eleanora seemed to smile back as I approved of it. "I would had done the same, honestly. But¡­ not really out of goodwill. Did you asked them for money?"


    "Yeah everyone was paying a bit for the healing!" She said happily, bringing out a bag with coins.


    "It seems we have earned a good profit." I said with a smile.


    "Heh, still, I am sure you''re relieved I helped them, right? Not just for money." Eleanora said while feeling smug.


    "What¡­ are you talking about? I¡­" I muttered, but I felt like I was caught in her webs.


    "I mean¡­ Maybe. They''re all people that fought to protect my home and that of my family, the least we could had done is helping them recover from their wounds." I said. "It is nothing but a fair exchange, they gave me their aid in protecting my home, and we¡­ pay them back with healing and other things. Of course, they must give some coins."


    "Heh¡­" Eleanora smiled smugly once more.


    "Take that smug out of your face already, Eleanora!" I sighed, crossing my arms. "Anyways, just what happened after the whole fight? Is everyone okay? Did the old man managed to beat the Necromancer?" I asked.


    However, as I asked that question, Eleanora suddenly looked down into the floor, lowering her head. Her face grew darker, as the light of her eyes slowly went away.


    "I know that¡­ Ellergest was someone you grew closer to as some sort of¡­ mentor, or perhaps just an ally. But I can understand you had a strongpanionship connection with him, my lord."


    "Hm? What are you talking about? I am no friend of him, our rtionship as allies is merely for convenience¡­ And what''s gotten into you out of the sudden? Eleanora, do you feel well?"


    "I am okay¡­" Eleanora smiled back at me. "It''s just that¡­ It is hard to tell you."


    "What?" I asked insisting.


    "Ellergest¡­ he died."


    Eleanora looked into my eyes directly.


    "He¡­ what? Hahah¡­ You''re joking, right?"


    "¡­"


    Eleanora waved her head, shedding a tear.


    "Eleanora, tell me you''re just joking around."


    "I am not. He¡­ he died."


    "¡­"


    For a moment I felt as if my entire body grew stiff.<novelnext>  </novelnext>


    I don''t know why I felt this way, I didn''t even cared about that old man that much.


    Yet¡­ my own body reacted to it.


    Perhaps my own emotions.


    The human body I have yet to take full control over¡­


    Swirling emotions, human emotions, began flowing across my mind.


    Somehow, and stupidly, I began to deny the truth.


    Why?


    Why was I denying it?


    This is not like me at all.


    I''ve never been like this.


    Since the beginning of my previous life that I never¡­


    It is all fault of this human body. This damned human body!


    "It''s okay¡­ You''ve changed quite a lot, but even in our previous life, you always grieved the lost of ourpanions, my lord. It is not wrong to feel bad for those that pass away, it is only natural." Eleanora told me. She hugged me as I stood still, without moving an inch.


    I didn''t shed a tear, but I felt as if I wanted to.


    "How¡­ how did he die?" I asked.


    "I saw it¡­" She sighed.


    Eleanora told me what she saw.


    Apparently, right after I fell unconscious, Ellergest confronted the soul of his friend. He tried tofort the soul of the Necromancer, who had emerged as its true self, a child.


    Some spected that the soul of the Necromancer never went away from the first trauma he experienced, remaining as a child. And indeed, that must be the truth. I''ve known and studied souls all my previous life.


    Once traumatic experiences happen, souls are shaped differently, they gain wounds, scars, or even terrible appearances depending how many traumas a soul has gone through, or how many hardships it has suffered¡­ or how aberrant it has grown.


    This is perhaps why my soul, when someone nces at it directly, emerges as something they cannot possiblyprehend. Although for me it seems normal, although it seems as if that soul doesn''t even seem abnormal, for others it always scares them, or made them go insane.


    His soul probably stayed in that shape after something terrible that happened to him. However, Ellergest seemed to feel too attached to such a friend at the end.


    He had already sacrificed a lot of his lifespan using his Secret Technique, but even then, he should had still have some years left to live. However, Eleanora told me something that happened back then..


    "His soul¡­ it simply came out of his body, it is as if he willingly decided to apany his friend, even after everything he did." Said Eleanora.


    "His¡­ soul?" I asked.


    "Yeah¡­ After that, their souls slowly reached the skies, disappearing between clouds. Everybody that was there saw what happened¡­" She sighed.


    "I¡­ see." I looked into the window of my room, seeing various people gathering around the center of the vige.


    "Let''s go outside for now¡­"


    -----

 Chapter 435 Heaven And The River Of Souls

    -----


    As I walked outside my house with Eleanora, I didn''t found anybody here either. She said that my entire family was outside at Ellergest'' funeral. Apparently it already has been over ten hours since the battle ended, the Undead attacking the city suddenly lost the strength they had once the Necromancer was defeated, and they were easily defeated by the defense force.


    However, as we walked outside, I couldn''t help but wonder what had happened. Containing the grieving feelings I had within my heart, I tried to see things pragmatically, as much as I could.


    "Just what happened there? Is there really some sort of concept of Heaven in this world?" I wondered.


    "Heaven¡­?" Eleanora wondered. "Yeah, it was¡­ it felt like both went to some sort of Heaven."


    "I''ve heard from some souls I''ve seen that there''s something called the River of Souls." I said. "A mystical ce within the ne where the Holy Spirits inhabit, where souls are washed out of their sins, memories, and personalities, brought into new bodies."


    "That''s¡­ that means this world has a Reincarnation Cycle?" Wondered Eleanora.


    "It hasn''t beenpletely confirmed yet, but that''s my hypothesis." I said.


    From what I learned from my previous life,s and worlds vary greatly in what they truly are.s are the¡­ normals. Enormous spheres of elements and materials floating in space, rotating around a star. They can harbor strange life, and even magic, and are often ruled by mortals, or sometimes by ascended ones, divined beings or beyond, who ownrge pieces of the entire Universe as a whole, entire Gxies.


    And then there are Worlds. They differentiate froms because they''re self-contained. Whiles are susceptible to the cmities of their surroundings, and may end from meteorites, a star exploding, and so on, Worlds are harder to destroy. This is because they''re self-contained, possessing their own unique Space, which isposed by the Laws that govern theses.


    Souls in the Outer Universe are controlled by a series of Gods that can manipte them. There were many factions, I remember. But I do remember a Gxy Ruler known as Samsara, one of the first beings that was born in the Universe. He controlled the Souls of every living being, using them to create an intricate Reincarnation Wheel across the Universe.


    After that, he divided his soul, creating countless children, each one was named a Reincarnation God, and were sent to a different area of the universe to control the Wheel of Reincarnation and also to assess its input and more, they fix it when it breaks, amongst other things.


    This was the first Reincarnation Wheels, but they had already existed inside of Worlds, where each world is a self-containednd or even pocket dimension, souls travel across special "Mystical Treasures of Reincarnation" often made by the same creators of these Worlds.


    If what I''ve learned is true, then this world is one of those, the River of Souls is the Mystical Treasure of Reincarnation of this immense world of Spiritias. This World is by far the biggest I''ve seen, by merely sensing the Laws that govern over it, I cannot even reallypare it to anything.


    Therefore, I can only think that the mutual existence of a Heaven at the same time might not be too crazy from the truth either¡­.


    "It felt like they were going somewhere else, yes, but I don''t really know where." Said Eleanora. "And then¡­ there''s the whole thing about their souls just wandering into the skies. Even sunshine came from within the skies as the morning came, it was a mystical and fantastical moment."


    "It is a pity I missed it." I sighed.<novelnext>  </novelnext>


    Nheless, there are more things to add into the mix¡­ First of all, why Erdrich has a strange humanoid soul that knows him, and even said he was the son of her sister? The only moment I saw her, I remember she said that before calming him down.


    And then there''s the talking Angel Spirit of Elizabeth, another mystery to add to the mix. Its presence and power is clearly that of an Angel, so why? Why is there an Angel reincarnating as a spirit of a human in this world?


    Just how are the Spirits of people in this world truly born? It is a question I''ll have to find the answer myself, one of these days.


    "Heaven, huh¡­"


    Eleanora seemed to be daydreaming.


    Heaven actually existed if there was Hell there was obviously Heaven.


    While Hell is ruled by the King of Demons, the Prince of Pride, Lucifer, Heaven is ruled by his father, the almighty one, the one and only, the very first, The One, for short.


    The One is the purest concept of "God" that was born simultaneously with the Universe. I know of his existence, but I never was able to talk with him directly, only with his servants, Angels.


    He is an extremely powerful, all-seeing entity that governs the Universe''s very concepts,ws, and reality itself. Yet he barely interferes in anything, always watching, but doing nothing else.


    It is said that he is the pir that maintains the Universe and even concepts beyond that¡­


    Hah, and I challenged his son, Lucifer from all things, and almost got him.


    Maybe if I had trained and tried to grow stronger some more, I could had not only defeated Lucifer and stop his Demon Invasion across the Universe, but I could had even found The One and fight him.


    Well¡­ who says I cannot do that anymore? This world''s very concepts andws arepletely different than the Outer Universe, which are increasingly stronger as well.


    I am perhaps already far stronger than my former self when I had this age in my previous life¡­ There''s nothing saying I cannot surpass my former self at his pinnacle when I grow up more and keep advancing.


    To resolve these wonderful mysteries that fill my heart with excitement, I have to keep working hard and keep advancing, growing stronger step by step¡­ I am sure that old man of Ellergest would had told me the same on his own way.


    -----

 Chapter 436 A Touching Speech

    -----


    "Come to think of it, we never truly visited Heaven." Eleanora said.


    "We didn''t. We never could find any portal, no matter how much I tried to interrogate or use the angels we fought and managed to capture, without the permission of their Creator, it was impossible." I sighed.


    "Unlike Hell where we were invited by Lucifer and the Archdemons themselves, it seems Heaven was a bit too tricky." Said Eleanora.


    "Yeah."  I looked into the distance, noticing my parents, even my grandma, gathering around the town square.


    When we reached the ce, we found people sobbing, some brought flowers, other brought fruits, vegetables, and food. Candles were being lit around a coffin, as people left offerings within the surroundings.


    And in the coffin¡­ there he was.


    He seemed better than I had thought, he had barely any wounds, and looked like he was just sleeping.


    It didn''t even seem as if he was dead.


    But there was no soul in that body.


    "ke!"


    I suddenly heard the voice of Erika behind me, as I found her, Chris, and Eric together walking towards Ellergest right behind me.


    "We were about to go pick you up! Are you okay buddy?" Chris ran to my side, checking me if I was alright.


    "Yeah I am fine, don''t worry." I said. "I slept enough."


    "We came to¡­ well, to leave our condolences." Said Eric. "Are you sure you''re okay?"


    "You fought the Necromancer directly after all¡­" Erika said.


    "I''m fine." I reassured them. "Though, what about you?"


    "Err, a few chips in my body but father fixed them." Said Erika with a smile.


    "Yeah, Eleanora used your magic after that to heal most of us, she was really a life saver." Eric sighed, readjusting his sses.


    "I did it because you''re my friends." Said Eleanora. "Don''t overthink it."


    "Eleanora¡­" Erika said.


    "So we are your friends, huh?" Chris said.<novelnext>  </novelnext>


    "I always thought she kind of disliked us¡­" Eric sighed.


    "Eh?! I-I don''t dislike you guys¡­" Eleanora sighed.


    "She''s just a bit¡­ awkward sometimes." I told them. "But she appreciates each one of you."


    Eleanora quickly grew redder as I talked about her true feelings.


    "Well¡­ I''m d you guys are alright. I suppose our little adventure finally ended." I said.


    "Yeah¡­ I never thought everything would¡­ evolve into all of this mess¡­" Eric sighed, feeling slightly bad. "Now sir Ellergest¡­"


    Eric, Chris, and Erika quickly looked dispirited; it seems as if she had already cried enough that they couldn''t really shed more tears for what had happened. Although we only meet him for around a year and a half, Ellergest was rather important for them I suppose. They meet him briefly, but they remember him as a good old man, a grandfather figure for many.


    "It''s starting, look." Erika pointed out, as she seemed to break the silence.


    Suddenly, Seth, Jack, and several other Priests who were all sobbing behind them walked in front of the town square, with the vige chief at their side, they used a magic device to amplify the voice of Seth as he spoke.


    His serious face looked like he had cried a river for hours, his eyes were red alongside his nose, and he seemed like he had lost everything in the world, Jack couldn''t be said to be any better, still crying at his side while covering his face with his arms.


    And Elizabeth and Erdrich were there too, right at the side of Jack. Elizabeth seemed to look at Ellergest with eyes filled with sorrow, but she wasn''t crying, Erdrich was the same, remaining mostly in silence.


    The people gathered around Seth as they heard his speech.


    "Today, after an arduous battle to save our vige, we have lost many brave heroes, amongst them, there was someone very important to all of us. For some, he was like their grandfather figure, for a few, he was someone that guided their lives out of alcoholism or even drugs. It is without a doubt that Lord Ellergest was an incredible man that led ourmunity to the point where we are standing right now. He helped many people, and always seemed ready to help another, often without thinking. Sometimes even going against Church Rules just to heal people that could not pay, and often times sneaking at night to heal more people or help them in their daily problems."


    "Not only was he known as a kindhearted healer, but he was also exceptionally good at helping others with their internal problems, problems in our heads that oftentimes, we can''t really deal with. I am fairly sure that amongst us, there are many people he helped rehabilitate as well¡­"


    "Ellergest was our protector, and¡­ in a way, our father as well. He was always here for any of us, and without him, we can''t help but feel an empty hole inside of our hearts. He gave away his life to protect all of us, with everything he had¡­ He was born in this vige, and traveled the world, only toe back here and settle down, protecting it from the evils of the world and the fearless demons¡­"


    "He will always be remembered as our father and protector, as the man that stood in front of us and took all the blows from us. A man that healed the weak and cured the sick. A man that smiled against all adversities, even as he was about to die, I saw him. We all saw him. He smiled back at the Necromancer, his old friend who had fallen from grace, forgave him, and hugged him."


    "I¡­ don''t want any of us to remember that enemy as someone deplorable. I know that what he did was terrible, and that¡­ many cannot simply forgive him despite everything. But even now, I want you all to know that in that moment, Ellergest clearly forgave his sins, and apanied him into the afterlife. Both were friends raised in this very vige after all, despite their differences, despite their past¡­ at the end, they reencountered once more, and walked the same path once more, even after death."


    "Their souls will rest in peace, and we shall pray for their wellbeing. I hope everyone here doesn''t forget about this man as the years pass, as he was someone that shaped this vige into what it is now¡­"


    Seth began to shed tears as he spoke, his voice growing weaker.


    "I hope¡­ that he can watch over us, now that he is in thepany of the Holy Spirits."


    -----

 Chapter 437 Elizabeths Heart

    -----


    "Thank you for listening¡­" Seth said, quickly giving the device back to the chief.


    And then, the chief gave a small speech, but it was just the basics. He didn''t seem as affected as some of the people Ellergest directly helped, but he still seemed saddened, although he was terrible at words unlike Seth, so he gave a very basic speech.


    At the end, Elizabeth seemed to want to be given the microphone-like magic item, as the chief decided to let her do it, as she was the adopted daughter of Ellergest and all.


    Everyone concentrated their gazes into the little and angelic girl.


    "Papa was¡­ someone very important to me." Elizabeth cried. "Since¡­ since I was in the orphanage that I always felt alone, I never melded with the other kids, and I was always crying. But papa one day came and asked me something I still remember now. I was, back then, a bit scared¡­"


    "But he gently gave me his hand and said: "Why are you crying for little things, when there''s a whole world outside you have yet to see?"¡­ Since that moment that my life changed. Papa adopted me and¡­ I''ve been so happy ever since then. I discovered my Talents, and what I was good at. He taught me that I didn''t had to use my magic to do bad things, but to help others and bring smiles to the not so fortunate people."


    "He said¡­ he said that for every smile a person gave back to me, I would feel my heart lighter and lighter, until all my insecurities would fade away¡­ I don''t know if I could everpare to what papa was, but I¡­ as his daughter, I¡­ I want to be like papa. I will continue studying and working hard, and I¡­ want to help you all and this vige¡­ Even if I am just a kid, I¡­ I hope you can ept my help in the future."


    Elizabeth was having difficulties talking, but she mustered her words, as the people heard her mind. Everyone seemed captivated by her adorable and honest nature. Her kind heart wasparable to that of Ellergest, lightening the hearts of everyone, and making them feel slightly better.


    "Thank you, Elizabeth. You''re a good girl." The chief said, head patting her.


    Elizabeth walked away, as Seth and Jack hugged her back, she began to cry again once more, and even Jack ended crying with her, while Seth kept himselfposed after cleaning his previous tears.


    "Well done, Elizabeth. That was a good speech, you told them everything you had in mind. It wasn''t so hard, was it?" Seth said.


    "Hmm¡­" Elizabeth sighed. "I wonder what¡­ papa would had said."


    "I''m sure he would had congratted you!" Jack said, giving Elizabeth a bright smile amidst his tears.


    "I didn''t know him for so long but¡­ I am sure he would had been happy." Said Erdrich. "He gave me a whole second chance at life, something nobody would had ever done, not even my own father. I am forever thankful for what he did for me, forgiving the sins of my mother and not ming me for them like many did¡­ I''ll miss him too."


    As we watched everything happen, Erika suggested we should go see Elizabeth.


    "We should go see them while they''re here, right?" Erika wondered.


    "You''re right¡­" Chris said.


    "Elizabeth and Erdrich are our friends after all." Eric said.


    "Yeah, let''s go." I quickly led our group as we made our way towards the group of Priests, reaching Elizabeth''s group. It was harder than I thought, as we had to squeeze through a lot of people.


    "Elizabeth¡­"


    I called for her as she suddenly looked back at me.


    "ke!"


    Elizabeth suddenly ran to my side without thinking it twice, jumping over me, I barely managed to catch her without falling over the ground.


    She hugged me tightly, rubbing her face over my chest.


    "You''re okay?" She asked amidst tears.


    "I am¡­" I said, calming her down as I caressed her blonde hair.<novelnext>  </novelnext>


    "Papa¡­ Papa''s¡­" She muttered, trying not to cry anymore.


    "I know¡­" I sighed. "I saw everything. You did well, Elizabeth."


    "Sniff¡­ ke! keee!" Elizabeth suddenly began to cry like a baby when she hugged me back, as if I had given her morefort than the rest for some reason.


    "Calm down¡­ everything''s alright." I hugged her tightly,forting her, but she was really making a scene. People noticed the two of us hugging, and some even began to whisper around.


    "Elizabeth, you don''t have to cry so much." I said, trying to lift her up. "Why are you crying so much when you were so brave back then?"


    "I¡­ I just¡­ feel like so when I see you, I feel¡­ like I can trust you I can do it." She muttered, her eyes shining brightly.


    I didn''t really understandpletely what she meant; she had a hard time talking right now. But I suppose she really trust me and cares for me in a more deeper way.


    I smiled back, as I gave her a small kiss in her cheek.


    "Everything''s alright. I''ll be here for you."


    "Uwaahhh¡­ B-ke¡­"


    Elizabeth suddenly grew red as a tomato.


    "Do you feel better now?" I asked her, as Elizabeth nodded.


    "Yeah¡­ a bit better with you here¡­" She said while blushing a bit.


    "That''s good." I said, as everyone else behind me quickly greeted her as well.


    "We are here too!" Chris said.


    "Hello Elizabeth¡­" Eric said.


    "I-I''m letting this one slide just because of this special asion¡­" Erika said. "But¡­ are you feeling alright?"


    "I would also like to say that I am here for you." Eleanora said.


    "Everyone¡­" Elizabeth was surrounded by her friends, as Erdrich also walked to our group apanied by Jack and Seth.


    "Hey, you guys are back¡­" Erdrich said.


    "Yeah, are you okay too, Erdrich?" Asked Erika.


    "I''m fine, I''m not as much of a crybaby as Elizabeth." Erdrich said.


    "Look! What are they doing?" Eric wondered, pointing at Ellergest coffin.


    People was making a line, and slowly touching his hand before walking away.


    -----

 Chapter 438 Ellergests Inheritance

    -----


    "That''s a special ritual we do in the church of Holy Spirits. Touching the hand of a priest that passed away is said to give you his blessings." Said Seth. "People all loved Ellergest here, so it is natural they want his blessing."


    "Let''s go get his blessing then!" Said Erika, holding Elizabeth''s hand.


    "Papa''s blessing¡­" Erika sighed.


    Like that, we joined the line, and slowly, we finally reached Ellergest.


    Everyone touched his hand lightly before walking away, you were even allowed to see his face for a few seconds.


    When Elizabeth''s turn came, she touched her father''s hand, sighing.


    "Papa¡­ It''s¡­ cold." She sighed.


    FLASH!


    However, a sudden sh of light emerged from within Ellergest chest.


    "What is that?!"


    "Light?!"


    "Did someone conjured magic?"


    "No, nobody did¡­ there''s no magic circle!"


    "It ising from his chest, where his Spirit Orb is!"


    "Is this some sort of miracle?! And it happened just when his daughter touched him!"


    The people began to quickly grow more surprised, as Elizabeth felt shocked.


    "P-Papa?!"


    FLASH!


    The light from within Ellergest was transferred to Elizabeth across his arm, reaching her body and then concentrating within her chest, merging with her Spirit Orb.


    "Take good care of my spirits, Elizabeth¡­"


    "Eh? Papa?! Papa!"


    Elizabeth began to call for Ellergest after we all heard his voice, but there was no response.


    The light faded away from her father''s chest as well, and everything went back to normal.


    "Just what¡­ was that?" Wondered Erika.


    "It felt as if Ellergest transferred his magic to her?" Wondered Chris.


    "Ah! I''ve heard about this¡­" Eric said. "Or well, I''ve read about it! This is called¡­ Spirit Orb Inheritance. It is when a person gives someone else all their power, it can only be done when they die though¡­ and through a very strong wish. Even spirits and magic power, or even skills can be transferred. I think it''s a special type of magic."


    So people can inherit one another with power through this way? However, just as Eric spectes, it is most likely a special magic, it cannot be just done with anybody so easily. Ellergest was a powerful and wise magician, he probably knew of this method and had preemptively conjured it over Elizabeth.<novelnext></novelnext>


    Maybe the way to trigger it would be if he died and she touched his body¡­ Nheless, Elizabeth has been granted an incredible power, and not only she got magic power, but her mana also started to flow across her body even stronger than before.


    It wasn''t all of Ellergest Mana though, but there was certainly a big part of it that was inherited to her in the instant she touched his hand. Due to wanting some privacy, Elizabeth quickly was brought back to her room in the church by Seth and Jack, and we all apanied them.


    Now that we were in her room, she quickly sat down, suddenly feeling her Mana beginning to flow faster and stronger, growing bigger, as if an enormous aura of golden light surged from her body, shaping itself.


    Alongside the Mana, her aura grew several times bigger, as a dragon and a turtle materialized in front of her. They were smaller than before, and seemed way weaker, but those two were very recognizable, Ellergest''s two spirits, the Holy Dragon, and the Mountain Turtle.


    "Y-You guys¡­" Elizabeth said in surprise.


    "We were waiting for you for a while now,ss." Said the dragon.


    "You took your time¡­" Sighed the turtle tiredly, looking rather sleepily.


    "W-What is happening?!" Asked Elizabeth.


    "Well, I guess we should exin to her¡­" The turtle said.


    "Right¡­" The dragon quickly decided to tell things to Elizabeth. "Ahem! Well, as you can see, the old man¡­ he¡­ well, he''s no longer here with us. However, since a while ago that he prepared us to go to your Spirit Orb. This is¡­ hisst gift to you."


    "Y-You''re¡­ bing my spirits?! But you''re two spirits, I cannot really¡­ I am not so high ranked to have three¡­" Elizabeth said.


    "Well there are roundabouts to that, your father prepared a few things. We are partially weakened, but you can summon us any time. The powerful Runes he conjured over your body slowly built and made it capable for you to use us two." Said the holy dragon.


    "T-This doesn''t make any sense though¡­ Eh?!" Suddenly, Elizabeth realized she had something else within her, a glowing golden orb, right below her first, nearing her belly. "This is¡­?! Father''s Spirit Orb?"


    "Yeah, that''s right." Said the holy dragon.


    "I don''t get it at all¡­" Elizabeth sighed.


    "It seems you got his spirit orb somehow¡­" Said Chris.


    "This is¡­! I can''t believe Lord Ellergest knew this technique as well! Spirit Orb Transfer Technique! By willing sacrificing his life, he can transfer his Spirit Orb and its powers to a sessor, their power is reduced, but the Rank it has remains! As her primary Spirit Orb develops, Elizabeth can probably awaken her father''s powers over time¡­ maybe years." Said Eric.


    "Wooah¡­" Chris said.


    "Amazing, Elizabeth!" Erika said.


    "With this you can grow even stronger!" Erdrich said.


    "But this¡­ I¡­ I didn''t earned this¡­ It feels, like I am cheating¡­" Elizabeth didn''t seemed as happy, as she began to feel guilty. "I don''t want this¡­ Why¡­ Why didn''t you two go with papa to the afterlife?!"


    Elizabeth suddenly confronted the two spirits, as they looked at one another, and then back at her. They might look like a long lizard and a turtle, but they were able to express their feelings through their face expressions really easily.


    "That''s¡­ well, we are simply obeying our master''s will, Elizabeth." The Holy Dragon said.


    "This is what he wanted. We tried to stop him many times, but he told us that this was our new duty." The Mountain Turtle added.


    "Papa¡­Why would you give me so much¡­ I feel like I don''t even deserve anything I have now¡­" She sighed.


    I had to do something to lift her up¡­


    -----

 Chapter 439 Last Notes

    -----


    I indeed felt slightly jealous of her, that inheritance she got was indeed amazing, however, I had tofort Elizabeth. This new power she has¡­ if I train her well enough, she could be incredibly strong, even surpassing Ellergest. Someone even stronger than Ellergest at our side would surely be an amazing asset.


    "Elizabeth, ept your father''s gift with gratitude. Saying all those things only make you seem like a spoiled child." I said. "ept his gift, and don''tin about not wanting it. He has given you everything he had because he loved you."


    "Yeah, that''s right." Seth said. "Elizabeth, don''t feel so frustrated about not deserving it."


    "If you think you don''t deserve Lord Ellergest''s gift, then just train hard and do tons of good things so you can one day deserve it!" Jack said, his simplemindedness was rather helpful now.


    Elizabeth looked at the three of us, as the rest of our friends agreed, nodding.


    She looked back at her own hands, as she sighed once more.


    "¡­Fine. As long as¡­ everyone can help me." She sighed.


    "Sure, we are here for you, we have be your new guardians, Ellergest even prepared such papers already." Said Seth.


    "Yeah, yeah." Jack nodded.


    "Talking about papers¡­ Did he leave any testament?" I asked.


    "Tes¡­ tament?" Asked Jack.


    "¡­Yeah, there was something like that. Wait a second, I''ll go search for it." Seth quickly set off back to Ellergest room, quickly finding the paper and bringing it back to us.


    When Seth brought the paper, he immediately decided to read it in front of Elizabeth and everyone else.


    "My dearest Elizabeth, and everyone. I leave this testament in case I die. I know I am older already, I don''t think I have many years left, but I am making sure to treasure every single year I spend with all of you. Often times, I think about my own past as I write these papers, thinking about what I could had be if¡­ I would had stayed at the side of an old friend of mine. Perhaps I would had never be a priest, perhaps I might be living apletely different life than now, or perhaps, I would have already died long ago¡­"


    "Nheless, every action and even that brought me where I am now was important to my life. And even the saddest of them I appreciate, as it brought me to the possibility¡­ to the future where I have found you all with me, and above all, my daughter, Elizabeth. I am leaving a small message for every person close to me, so please, read it carefully and if you''re not one of these people, I would appreciate if you brought them here to read this¡­"


    "Starting with Seth, you''re perhaps the most promising Priest of all my apprentices. You''re strict, you''re rather talented, and you''re also intelligent. You have the most experience of them all due to your age and time spent at my side, however, you have a w you must fix, my son. You have to be less strict with yourself. Don''t push yourself so hard, don''t overexert yourself to the point you begin to forget what you were doing. Be patient, you require patience above all, Seth. With this card, I leave a rmendation to the High Priests of the church to consider ascending you into a High Priest, but it''ll depend in your own efforts from the moment of my death to reach such a ce."


    Seth finished reading that part, as he smiled faintly, sighing a bit.


    "Thank you, Lord Ellergest¡­"


    "Wow! You can be a High Priest?!" Jack asked.<novelnext></novelnext>


    "Well, there''s nobody more fitting than Seth." Said Erdrich.


    "I think you could do it, Seth!" Elizabeth said.


    "You think so¡­?" Seth wondered, feeling slightly embarrassed. "Well, for now, we can talk about thatter. Let me continue reading¡­"


    Seth resumed reading.


    "This paragraph is for Jack¡­" Seth said, as the red haired teenager suddenly got excited.


    "Jack, honestly, you''re a rough kid. You''re rowdy to no end, youck manners, you are reckless, stupid, and also have a very hard time learning anything at all¡­" Seth muttered.


    "Eh?! Is that what he left?!" Cried Jack. "Hahh¡­ I guess I am really a failure, huh?"


    "It keeps going on, be patient." Seth said, continuing to read.


    Jack looked back at Seth after he said that with eyes filled with expectations of more insults from his mentor.


    "¡­However, despite all these ws, you''re one of the most kindhearted people I''ve ever meet in my long life. Your attitude can slowly change, but you''re so goodhearted that¡­ you simply jump into danger to help others. You overexert yourself more than anybody and force yourself to help others as if your life depended on it¡­ as if you didn''t had any other thing to do with your life. Despite your attitude, your selflessness is impressive, you embody the ideal heart of a Priest."


    "Lord Ellergest¡­"


    Jack looked into the floor, as tears once more flowed from his eyes.


    "Take care, kid. Listen to what Seth has to say, and don''t try to do anything reckless, you hear me? I know you''ve got more talent than you think you do. I am sorry if, in those times, I was unable to teach you enough. I hope you can, one day, be someone great for other people. Because to me, you''re already someone like that."


    Seth finished reading as he smiled back at Jack.


    "See? Lord Ellergest loved you like a son, Jack."


    "Ahh¡­ Damn, I didn''t wanted to cry again¡­"


    Jack began rubbing his face with his arms, trying not to cry again.


    "And this is for Elizabeth, my beloved daughter." Seth continued reading, readjusting his sses. "Since the moment I met you that I saw him within you, Elizabeth. My old friend who I left behind so many, many years ago. I couldn''t simply let you be alone in that orphanage. Without even checking if you were talented with magic, I just decided to adopt you in a glimpse. Although it felt almost idental, since I adopted you that my life has turned upside down¡­"


    -----

 Chapter 440 Ellergests Gifts

    -----


    "Having to raise such a little girl was really a challenge for this old man, changing your diapers and all, it was really a big challenge. I am grateful that I had Jack and Seth with me back then, and with their help I was able to slowly get used to this parenting business. I grew with you as well, I never thought, as an old man, that I could develop even more. You changed my life."


    "Papa¡­"


    "If one day I happen to die, you must touch my body, any part of it, as long as you touch it, you will receive my gift. Please, take care of those two. One of them is a grumpy old dragon and the other azy turtle, but they''re good pals that I''ve had my entire life. I don''t know how I would had been able to go through everything in life without them at my side. Now I want them to protect you and teach you everything I learned at their side. Please, take care of them, they need to be taken care by someone gentlehearted like you. My daughter, I love you."


    Seth finished reading as he smiled back at Elizabeth.


    "S-So that''s how it is¡­" Elizabeth sighed.


    "See? He wanted it, we fought against him over it many times you know?" Asked the Dragon.


    "But it is impossible to change the mind of that old man¡­" Sighed the Turtle. "He was always saying it would be a waste to let us die with him."


    "So for now, and until thest of your days, we''ll be here for you, Elizabeth." Said the Dragon.


    "Yeah, we''ll teach you everything we know. The knowledge of Ellergest is within our minds and souls." Said the Turtle.


    "Thank you¡­ S-Sorry for being so stupid before¡­" Elizabeth said, as the two small spirits hugged her back.


    "It''s fine,ss."


    "Yeah, you''re still a kid."


    "There''s more¡­" Seth said. "For ke, and everyone else."


    "For all of us?" Erika wondered.


    "Really?" Chris asked.


    "I can''t believe he thought about us¡­" Eric said.


    "Let me read then¡­" Seth said, cleaning his throat. "Thisst segment is for ke, Erdrich, and their friends, the little pink hairedss, the sses boy, and the fire kid."


    "Hey he doesn''t even remember our names!" Said Chris.


    "Come on Chris don''t get mad at him¡­" Sighed Eric.<novelnext></novelnext>


    "Have more manners!" Erika smacked Chris head.


    "Ahem!" Seth quickly shut down the group of kids. "Now let me continue."


    "Erdrich, you''re the new addition to our group. I have no idea what you will ever be in the future. If anything, you''re the biggest wildcard in this entire group. You possess the potential to be someone fearfully strong, enough to sh against the strongest people of this world when you finally grow big enough. However, your very origins are still shrouded in mysteries, and what you have yet to bepletely unbelieved. You''re important, and there might be bad people trying to take advantage of you, they might one daye for you. You must prepare for this, and train hard every single day. However, never forget the friends at your side either, they will be your greatest help in this world¡­ Child, I hope the best for you."


    "Lord Ellergest¡­"


    "As for the trio, you guys should get stronger." Seth said.


    "Eh? That''s it?" Asked Chris.


    "Ahaha¡­" Erika sighed whileughing to lift her mood.


    "I shouldn''t had expected much." Eric sighed.


    "Ah, now that I remember your names, I should go one by one. I remember you three very well, you were the most talented kids several years ago in that one talent awakening ceremony. Erika, the pink haired girl, I know the secret of your family, and your very spirit might also be the key to be able to reach something you never thought possible. However, for that you''ll need a special item. I happen to have one, beneath my bed, there''s a small box with a bright green jewel, use it for what you seem fit. Eventually, if you''re smart enough, you''ll find out its true purpose."


    "A¡­ jewel? Eh?!"


    Erika was left speechless, nobody here expected that Ellergest would go so far for her.


    "¡­For Chris, you''re a short-tempered kid, kind of like Jack in a way. You got an amazing talent at Fire Magic. If you happen to be interested in learning more fire magic, I''ve got some books you can pick up. Be a strong fire wizard to protect your friends. Fire is said to be one of the strongest offensive elements, awaken its true potential, and that of your spirit to see that it is true."


    "Oh! Fire Magic books?!"


    "And for Eric, you''re the most mysterious of them all, your family is shrouded with mysteries, and it is certainly possible you''re a descendant of one of the first man to step into the holy territory of the spirit tree. One day, your parents will gift you a special staff, as you''ve been born with the capabilities to wield it. Read the books of your parents and decipher the truth within them, that''ll lead you to something important, perhaps to the whole world."


    "Ah, I''ve already done all of that¡­ but I guess I have yet to do everything."


    "Andst but not least, ke." Seth said, looking back at me. "ke, to be honest with you, you''re the most insane kid I''ve ever met in my entire life. You''re powerful, confident, you have the ability to use magic of many elements, you possess familiars, a powerful spirit beyond anything else, and it feels like you''re a bottomless pit of mysteries."


    "Not for a single day have I stopped thinking what you even are. But I''ve already made up my mind, I won''t live to truly see what you could even reach. However, I am fairly sure that whatever you do, you''ll do it well. And if you everck strength, you''ll have your friends with you. This is not an exaggeration, but you might be destined for greatness¡­ However, you have one fatal w¡­"


    -----

 Chapter 441 An Important Gift

    -----


    "Whenever I see you, whenever you act, and whenever you talk¡­ You always seem to be in high alert, even with your own friends. Despite having grown used to you, it always felt to me that you were¡­ afraid of letting people know how you truly are, your emotions, and no matter how much I tried to soften you up, you always seemed unmovable, like a mountain. Although such assets make for a formidable person, it doesn''t fit right to me that you''re neglecting your own emotions and your own happiness in exchange for fearing to show who you truly are to others. ke, at least to your beloved ones, and to your friends, be more open. Learn to trust people, an learn to¡­ have hope. I am entrusting you my dear Elizabeth, I know that she likes you a lot, I hope you can take good care of her. I am trusting you, so please, trust others as well."


    Seth finished talking, as I found myself being surrounded by everybody''s else stares.


    I suppose¡­ he was right in this w I have.


    But in the perspective, such a w can also be a boon.


    Though, I can''t believe it took me Ellergest to tell me for me to notice that I was indeed being too¡­ secretive.


    I was protecting my own heart too much.


    And I''ve been holding my emotions too much as well.


    I am ming it to my human body all the time, but I guess I do have emotions, and I guess I do have¡­ things I think but I never say to anybody.


    I always try to convince myself that I am doing acts of kindness for my own gain, but at the end of the day, my drive is always¡­ to help others out of kindness.


    But this kindness¡­ I''ve always felt like it was not necessary, so I try to convince myself I do it for a good reason that''ll only benefit me more than the one I help.


    "Maybe he was right¡­" I sighed. "I''ll think about what he said."


    I really couldn''t say anything else. I was on my own with my own mind, I ended distancing myself from others once more because I am afraid of making bonds, of trusting others and then being betrayed.


    It is hard¡­ but I believe I am slowly getting better.


    I just need more time, and to live more experiences.


    "It''s fine, ke, don''t force yourself." Seth said.


    "You''re good as you are buddy." Chris said, patting my shoulder.


    "We know how you are." Eric said. "But I am d you''re as you are, ke! I always feel rted talking with you about stuff everybody else finds boring because I know you''ll be interested."


    "I think Ellergest said a few things right but there''s no way ke is all of that!" Erika said angrily, hugging me from behind. "ke is someone very nice, always there to help others, he''s just a bit shy about it, that''s all~!"


    I see, so that''s how they see me.


    I guess¡­ I am slightly happy to have them with me.


    Not just because of their utility and practicality as fighters.


    But¡­ just because I have theirpany.


    As friends.


    "I haven''t known him for too long but yeah, ke can be stiff and rough sometimes, but every time he does something, there''s a meaning behind, and it is always something good." Erdrich added.


    "Papa was a bit harsh there¡­" Elizabeth said. "And he said something very embarrassing!"


    At the end the mood was lightened a lot due to thatst paragraph. Everyone ended chuckling a bit at what Ellergest said about me, although I ended taking it overly seriously¡­ I suppose I should take it easy and be morex about these types of things.


    I tried to smile, and a smile appeared. It wasn''t a smile against a thrilling challenge, or a fight to the death, nor a smile over trampling over my foes, but it was a smile¡­ of simple and mere happiness over theirughter.<novelnext></novelnext>


    "Hahaha, I guess you''re right, I am a bit stiff."


    "Eh?"


    "Huh?!"


    "B-ke¡­ heughed."


    Eric, Chris, and Erika looked at me in shock.


    "Sigh¡­ I knew I shouldn''t had done it." I sighed.


    "Wait no! It was nice!"


    "Yeah, this is the first time I see youugh."


    "I never thought yourughter would be so goofy."


    "Uggh¡­ Anyways! Let''s just go look for that jewel." I said, quickly walking to Ellergest room without even knowing which one was.


    ¡­


    At the end, we found his room and then Seth took out a small box with a green jewel inside. It seemed to hold no power whatsoever, but a quick inspection using my Grimoire said otherwise, and as I inspected it, I realized it held some sort of special, magical, and spiritual aura within.


    -----


    [Broken Dryad''s Spirit Orb (Mythic Grade)]


    Dryads are Spirits of the Forest, special entities that inhabitrge forests, protecting nature with their magic and power. They are said to be trees themselves, who take upon Spirit Form when they grow old enough to develop a Spirit Orb. Once they fall in love with someone, they are able to forbid their Spirit Orbs to the one they love, to apany them anywhere they go.


    This Spirit Orb, however, is broken, losing its Spiritual Soul in the process. However, it still holds a remnant within, which might be used for high level alchemy, if the right materials are used, incredible things could happen.


    -----


    "This is the green jewel?" Wondered Erika.


    "I don''t really get what it is¡­" Said Chris.


    "Me neither." Seth said. "It looks, slightly valuable."


    "Yeah¡­ I feel like it is something important." Said Jack.


    "I have an Appraisal Skill." I said. "And that''s a Dryad Spirit Orb, a broken one though."


    "Dryad?!"


    Everyone reacted in surprise.


    "Did Lord Ellergest¡­ had some sort of rtionship with a Dryad in the past?" Wondered Erdrich.


    "I don''t really know but this is Erika''s gift, so she should keep it." Said Seth, giving the box to Erika.


    -----

 Chapter 442 The Conspiracy Behind Erikas Past

    -----


    After Erika received her gift, I was left thinking about many things, and slowly connected the dots together.


    Ellergest knew about Erika being a doll, and also that there was some sort of possibility of her bing something like a human.


    He also knew about Eric''s family and his treasure, the staff made from the branches of Yggdrasil, the Spirit Tree.


    And he left Erika with a Dryad Spirit Orb, an incrediblypatible material for alchemy with Erika¡­


    There must be something else I am missing though, I am sure he left something somewhere, connecting all the dots togetherpletely, and leaving the clue I need¡­


    And that clue might be in the very box of Erika.


    So, after everything was done, I decided to bring my friends to Erika''s house to discuss what I had in mind. Elizabeth and Erdrich insisted oning, although they didn''t knew of Erika''s secret.


    Ultimately, I ended epting them to join. I remembered that Ellergest asked me to trust people more, especially those closer to me. I entrusted Elizabeth and Erdrich, and we told them the truth about Erika''s past, from what I learned myself and everything else.


    "So that''s¡­ why there are so many weird rumors around?" Elizabeth asked.


    "Erika¡­ you''re like me!" Erdrich said.


    "Eh?" Erika felt slightly surprised how easy they got it. None of the two seemed bothered by Erika''s situation.


    "We were not going to get mad at you or something." Said Elizabeth. "We are friends, right?"


    "Yeah! You kind of remind me of myself, you''re also a non-human, but also human¡­" Erdrich said.


    "I mean if we epted Erdrich it wouldn''t be hard to ept you." Said Elizabeth.


    "R-Right¡­" Erika was still rather shocked. "Thank you for being soprehensive."


    "So, let me exin my conjecture." I said.


    I quickly exined to everyone present what I had in mind.


    "So it all connects together?" Asked Eric. "My family''s past with Erika?!"


    "Notpletely, but there seems to be dots that are connected together by Ellergest''s doing, it feels as if he saw these things and tried to make theme together with hisst gift." I said.


    "The Dryad''s Spirit Orb¡­" Erika said, touching the jewel.


    "But there''s a lot of info missing though¡­" Said Erdrich.


    "Yeah, that''s why¡­ Erika, can you let me handle that box?" I asked.


    "Huh? Sure." Erika gave me the small wooden box, as I looked at it around.


    "Hmm, ah, this¡­"


    I quickly used my raw natural strength to break open the box.


    CRASH!


    "Uwaaah! My box!" Erika cried.


    However, she suddenly realized something flew out of it, a paper wrapped looking like a scroll, a small bottle with red liquid inside.<novelnext></novelnext>


    I caught them both swiftly without letting them fall into the ground.


    "Here¡­" I said, putting the small bottle, not bigger than my thumb, over the table. The red liquid inside looked like blood, but it had a distinctive golden glow.


    -----


    [Dryad''s Blood (Mythic Grade)]


    A small droplet of blood from a Dryad. Spirits that are like Dryads are the border between human-like races such as elves and the embodiment of nature itself, all while being trees and spirits at the same time. Their very blood is said to be able to create incredible elixirs, and a single drop of blood might be able to create enough Elixir to heal thousands.


    However, with the right ingredients, something else can be created¡­


    -----


    And taking a look again at the jewel, both have some weird, implied message too.


    -----


    [Broken Dryad''s Spirit Orb (Mythic Grade)]


    Dryads are Spirits of the Forest, special entities that inhabitrge forests, protecting nature with their magic and power. They are said to be trees themselves, who take upon Spirit Form when they grow old enough to develop a Spirit Orb. Once they fall in love with someone, they are able to forbid their Spirit Orbs to the one they love, to apany them anywhere they go.


    This Spirit Orb, however, is broken, losing its Spiritual Soul in the process. However, it still holds a remnant within, which might be used for high level alchemy, if the right materials are used, incredible things could happen.


    -----


    These materials also had amazing quantities of spiritual energy.


    "This is Dryad''s Blood!" I said in surprise. "And this small scroll¡­!"


    I quickly opened it, reading its content as everyone looked at me with intrigue.


    "I leave this secret scroll to the one that finds it first. However, this is a gift meant for my old friend, Gustav."


    "Gustav¡­?" Asked Eric.


    "Wait, isn''t that¡­?" Chris wondered.


    "My dad?!" Erika asked in surprise.


    "I''ve wandered across the world my whole life, I''ve meet many people, and made manypanions, but Gustav, you were a good friend of mine. I am sorry for what has happened to you, and even when we have stopped talking due to being busy with our lives, or perhaps because you don''t want to bother me anymore, I''ve never stopped thinking about you and¡­ what has happened to your family." I read, as everyone seemed tense.


    "The incident that happened so many years ago involving the death of your daughter right after you were thrown out from the Kingdom''s capital with your wife, and having your Noble Status revoked¡­ I''ve researched enough to tell you the truth about this incident¡­"


    "It was all orchestrated."


    As I said such words, Erika seemed to grow more restless.


    I kept reading, too intrigued to stop.


    "This was all orchestrated to take away the possibility of your daughter to be the new Princess of the Kingdom, as the first daughter of the children of the King, she had the advantage over all future children, and could have be even the Queen, if she was taught well. To take her away from their priority, some of the corrupt members of this Kingdom decided to destroy her family andpletely shatter any hope of her growing up, at all¡­ And of course, they did it with the help of the Cultists."


    -----

 Chapter 443 Its All Coming Together

    -----


    "The Cult of the Archdemon Beelzebub has been spreading their influence across the Kingdom recently, and they were involved into this scheme. They used their Demonic Magic Tools to make it seem as if you were using your power incorrectly, and they were the ones that used brainwashing magic to convince you to use the souls of people, or even their bodies for your experiments. I''ve discovered this after relentlessly interrogating one of them. My friend, you''re not the monster you think you are!"


    "As a High Priest, I am limited in what I can do. Although our church has a strong influence over the Kingdom, we cannot do everything I would have wanted to do. I cannot bring your perpetrators to justice due to their high status, but I know that one of the major perpetrators to your tragedy is Lady Sathan, the older sister of your ex-wife. She wanted to stop her little sister from making her child the next throne candidate, as the rules of the Kingdom state that only the King''s grandchildren can have a chance at the throne, which was originally made to stop the children of the ruler from killing one another¡­ however, this stupidw only made the children of the King to simply attempt to kill each other''s children instead."


    "If your daughter ever desires to find the truth with her friend ke, she might find clues by looking for this woman, and also trying to get connections with those that might join her in her cause, such as Lord Acres, the older brother of her mother, who is at the side of Erika."


    "This is¡­" Erika muttered. "The Cultists?! They were¡­ my own family?!"


    Erika started to panic due to everything she was learning, as I quickly tried tofort her, hugging her.


    "Don''t worry, Erika, there''s more. This is¡­ rather shocking yes, but this is not what''s important right now. Listen to this carefully." I said, as Erika nodded, calming herself down as Elizabeth used healing magic to soothe her swirling emotions.


    "Although I''ve left you those clues, it really feels like nothing¡­ I''ve prepared two gifts for you. It will all depend in your daughter and his friends if this can even be a reality, but I once had an old friend, a Dryad I meet long ago, who was in herst years of life. I spent herst years at her side, as I used my magic to heal her forest and help the people living there. I remember her well, her name was Araluel, and she was an honest and beautiful woman. As herst gift before dying and bing one with the forest, she gave me her shattered Spirit Orb, and a droplet of her old blood. I''ve been saving such items all my life, thinking what I could possibly do with them. Each time I saw them, I remembered herst words: "I see that in the future, something beautiful will be born with these parts of my body, someone that might change everything¡­ Please, keep them with yourself until then." And now, I''ve realized that this might be what your daughter needs."


    "Yes, it is impossible to bring her a new human body, but what about¡­ creating her a new one as close as a human as possible? Your Alchemy is top notch, and if by casualty, you ever meet the child of the Descendants of the one that reached Yggdrasil, you might be able to acquire the highest quality wood in the world to use them for your daughter. I''ll leave the rest up to you. I am sorry I could not do more¡­ Be well, Gustav. I hope you don''t kick the bucket before I do."


    As I finished reading, Erika looked at the jewel and the small bottle with blood, as tears began flowing out of her eyes.


    "This is¡­ Papa left this for Erika!" Said Elizabeth with surprise.


    "Amazing¡­ it alles together¡­" Chris said.


    "Wait a second, then¡­ If we go back a bit, could it be that the Demon Cult of Beelzebub has been nning an attack because they might know about Erika being somewhat alive, which means their job has yet to be finished?" Wondered Eric.


    "¡­That''s a possibility, yes." I said. "I thought about that as well."


    "At the end, Ellergest''s past connects with Erika''s father and he even unveiled all of those secrets from the nobles¡­" Erdrich said.


    "And even more, now that Eric is here and we got plenty of Yggdrasil wood, can''t we¡­?" Chris wondered.<novelnext></novelnext>


    "Yes, that''s right."


    I already have the idea in my mind.


    "We can create a new body for Erika. No, it would be more than that, it would simply transform her body into something more." I said with a smile. "Perhaps it is not possible for me to create a Homunculus for you, but how about the idea that Ellergest thought about?" I asked Erika.


    "But¡­ wouldn''t it be too hard? I¡­ I don''t even have any idea how you would make such a thing!" Erika said.


    "Don''t worry, Erika, I''ve got myself everything already nned."


    With all my umted knowledge with Alchemy, it wasn''t of any effort to device a recipe to evolve Erika''s body into something more than a Magic Doll, but a living being on its totality, with flesh and a beating heart. If everything works properly, that''s it.


    "Y-You do!?" She asked.


    "We''ll need the help of your father, but yes." I said with a nod.


    "For now, what do we do?" Wondered Erdrich.


    "It is gettingte¡­ It would better to unwind ourselves with dinner. How about youe to my house? I''ll cook with my mother and grandmother." I said. "My father is good at making grilled meat as well."


    "Oooh! Sounds like a n!" Said Chris.


    "Come to think of it, we ended skipping Lunch¡­ I am starving." Eric sighed.


    "Alright!" Said Erdrich.


    Elizabeth walked at Erika''s side, patting her shoulder. Erika seemed to be rather sad about learning everything, she didn''t even know what to think anymore.


    -----

 Chapter 444 Comforting Erikas Heart

    -----


    "Are you alright?" Elizabeth wondered.


    "I¡­ No, I am not alright¡­" Erika sighed. "I don''t even know what to think anymore¡­"


    "Is it about your family?" I wondered, as she nodded.


    "I feel like¡­ it feels so sad knowing my own aunt wanted to kill me¡­" Sighed Erika. "That curse I had back then when I had yet to have this body¡­ Maybe it was also from the Cult?"


    "Quite possibly." I said. "Erika, you have to be strong now. I know it is harsh to know the truth, but you''ve always been a strong girl, since the first moment I met you."


    I looked at Erika''s eyes, as she opened them wide, raising her eyebrows.


    "Be strong, you''re not alone."


    I said such simple words, but they seemed to do the trick, as she seemed to blush a bit, smiling innocently back at me.


    "Okay, okay¡­ Y-You''re a bit closer though¡­"


    "Ah¡­"


    "M-Maybe I can get better if you give me one of those you gave to Elizabeth, so we can be even¡­!"


    "One of those?"


    "K-Kiss¡­"


    "Oh, that''s it¡­"


    Suddenly, I felt the presence of Eleanora, who has been with us since the beginning. She''s awkward at talking too much with everyone, despite having grown attached to them and considering them her friends, so she often doesn''t engage in conversations between all of us.


    In resume, she''s shy and socially awkward. I can''t me her, I was also like that, it took me a while to improve.


    But I could sense her deadly presence growing more menacing with each passing second.


    "Fine¡­"


    However, I had to ignore her jealously, as I kissed Erika''s cheek lightly, quickly making the pink-haired girl explode with steaming out of her entire body.


    "Pwaaahh!"


    She suddenly was about to pass out, as I held her just in time before she fell into the floor.


    "E-Erika?! Are you there? Erika!"


    "She''s just happy, I guess¡­"


    Elizabeth giggled a bit.


    "Yeah¡­! I am okay! I am super charged now!" Erika quickly stood up, filled with energy as her soul emerged as a powerful aura. "Let''s go eat something yummy now! I want grilled steak, and ke''s tasty stew he always makes, and skewered meat! And meatballs!"<novelnext></novelnext>


    "You really want a lot of meat¡­" I sighed. "None of the Undead were edible so we didn''t got any fresh meat, I hope we still have some saved up¡­"


    As we walked back home, I calmed down Eleanora through talking with her telepathically. And as for Erika''s father, he was currently taking a long nap. I checked him and he was fine. I threw a dozen healing spells with Elizabeth anyways to revitalize his body as much as possible though, we can''t have him dying before Erika is reborn.


    After that, we reached back home, as father greeted us. He was outside cutting firewood, as he noticed our entire group, he waved his hand at us, leaving the axe at the side.


    "Hey! ke! You''re finally back- Woah did you brought your whole army of kids?!" My father greeted me with eyes wide open. Despite the entire town grieving, he couldn''t go around with a long face when he had a whole family to take care of.


    "We came to eat!" Erika said. "I''m hungry, uncle!"


    Erika ran towards my father as he had a weakness for her cuteness.


    "Erika you''re here?! Ah¡­ well, fine..." He sighed. "I was just cutting firewood, how about we make some grilled meat? ke, your mom''s making some stew, go help her out."


    "Sure. Here, I''ll bring some meat." I said. Eleanora quickly appeared within my shadows, bringing a bag of various meats, mostly from monsters such as Gray Wolves, Giant Wild Boar, Shadow Crows, and Horned Rabbits.


    "What?! Where did you had this massive haul?!" He asked. "Alright, let''s make a feast. We have to eat a lot to get over this sadness we all got¡­ Nothing better than some grilled meat and booze."


    "Don''t drink too much though." I said, reprimanding my father. He had the tendency of drinking a bit too much sometimes.


    "O-Okay, I get it, I will be moderate!" He sighed. "Don''t stare at me like that¡­!"


    And like that, a big feast was made. Father prepared grilled meat while I helped mom and grandma cook. The rest of my friends helped my father set the fire, prepare the table in the backyard, and put the meat in the grill, adding spices and other veggies over the grill too. Erika built several skewers with meat and vegetables to grill, her favoritebination.


    "To think you''ll bring the whole gang here¡­" My mother sighed. "I suppose it must be hard for all of you, Ellergest was really something incredible¡­ I still can''t believe he passed out. I remember he helped us a lot when I was pregnant, I always had this slight pain. You had this weird tendency of kicking my stomach a lot, ke." Mother said, while An and Anna were resting over their cribs.


    "Eh? I-I had?" I asked, feeling perplexed. Now I felt slightly bad for what I did as a baby¡­


    "Yeah! You were such a rude child with your mother, geez!" My mother reprimanded me for something I didn''t even remembered.


    "Well¡­ sorry." I sighed.


    I guess when I was inside of her I was perhaps constantly dreaming about my fight against Lucifer, or something like that¡­


    "Don''t worry, I was just saying it as an anecdote¡­ to lighten up the mood a bit." She said. "Lord Ellergest was an important part of our lives in this vige. His presence will be really missed."


    "Yes, although he was often times forced to ask for money, he still did a lot of things for free." Said my grandmother.


    "I''m d papa was so loved by everyone¡­" Elizabeth smiled happily, as her two new spirits were chewing on meat at her side.


    "Cheers for Lord Ellergest!" My father said, raising his cup of wine.


    "Cheers!" We said in unison.


    "May his soul find happiness in the afterlife." My father sighed, looking at the starry sky.


    "Yeah, I hope so too." I said.


    -----

 Chapter 445 Lets Plant A Giant Tree Before Doing Anything Else

    -----


    The next morning I woke up with Eleanora cuddling with me. Since yesterday''s incidents that she got rather agitated. However, I was still able to calm her down when I allowed her to sleep in the bed. Well, she always does it even when I don''t tell her to do it. Nheless, today in the morning I woke up thinking about the many things that happened yesterday and trying to slowly reassess the information I earned.


    Apparently, Ellergest discovered the corruption behind the noble family of this country and was even able to discover several things regarding Erika''s life and family. It seems he did this for Gustav, as he was his friend. I don''t know what kind of friends they were, but we might learn more if we ask Erika''s father himself about these things.


    However, something interesting I learned aside from that was the "Demon Cult of Beelzebub", apparently, this might be the Cult behind the ones that opened the Demonic Gate outside of the vige to bring the demons, and also the Cult where the Necromancer belonged to.


    This Cult is actively working with members of the royal family if they nned the destruction of Erika''s family and her death through a deadly curse inflicted upon her, which was probably the reason behind the fever that killed her¡­ It feels as if everything is connecting now, which is slightly surprising.


    Now with these items that Ellergest left behind, I''ve begun to device a recipe to create a new body for Erika. I''ve been writing it over the Grimoire using the [Memo] Function, which allows for the creation of anything I want to write over it with just a thought. Like that, I''ve assembled an incredible recipe using everything I''ve got so far, even the materials from the Wyvern we killed long ago.


    However, I''ll require to do a few things first, and one within my ns is using the tree I''ve got here that grew out of the Lesser Yggdrasil Tree. I promised to make Eric a new staff through Alchemy as well. however, seeing its size, it''ll not be enough wood for Erika, so what I am nning to do is quite simple.


    Multiply it.


    "Eh? You''re waking up so early¡­" Eleanorained, snuggling over bed.


    "Come, Eleanora, I''ll need your help. Let''s go to Eric''s ce as well. And we should pick up Elizabeth too, we''ll need her magic as well." I said.


    "Huh? Why so early though?" She sighed again, yawning.


    "I thought spirits didn''t felt so sleepy¡­" I sighed.


    "Hey, we do!" Sheined. "But I shall get ready immediately¡­"


    She quickly changed her cocky nature, as she immediately jumped off bed and changed her night clothes into a beautiful ck dress, her small energy-saving form also reappeared, she had been using her regr form when sleeping because she said she enjoyed snuggling me with her body being bigger than mine¡­ well, in a few more years that won''t be the case anymore.


    "Alright, let''s go."


    I left some Familiars at home while I jumped off the window as usual, and ran as fast as possible towards the church, now that I have a Physique at Tier 3, all my capabilities have been greatly improved. Picking up a sleepy Elizbeth at 6 AM was faster than I imagined. Erdrich was not necessary and he was sleeping even when we spoke out loud in front of him, so he''s probably not waking up any time soon.


    "Mwuh¡­" Elizabeth yawned. "So what are we- Uwah!"


    I carried Elizabeth and sat her over Blood, Eleanora''s loyal Blood Wolf Pet, who have evolved from thest fight after earning enough EXP, and became a Horned Blood Wolf, with a big red horn in the middle of its forehead, it seemed to have allowed him to conjure Blood Magic now.


    "Let''s go Blood, bring us to Eric''s house."


    "WOOF!"<novelnext></novelnext>


    Blood barked happily, rushing through the vige as he reached Eric''s house in less than a minute, he started barking right after we reached, until Eric appeared from the window.


    "Wh-What with this out of the sudden? It''s six in the morning¡­ I am sleepy¡­" He sighed.


    "Don''t you want your staff, Eric?" I asked.


    "Staff?! Yeah!" Eric said. "Give me a minute, I''lle right away!"


    And like that, Eric took a minute and ten seconds to reach downstairs, as he quickly brought a bag of materials he wanted me to see if they could be useful.


    "You''ve got a lot of materials collected, Eric¡­" Elizabeth yawned.


    "Yeah, I''ve been collecting materials for a while now, since I heard about ke being able to create essories through alchemy from Erika that I''ve been trying to save a lot tomission him." Said Eric.


    "I see, that sounds interesting." I said with a smile. "For now, where would you like a big tree?"


    "Big¡­ tree?" He wondered.


    "I am nning to grow the Lesser Yggdrasil Tree that grew out of the staff in this vige with magic and skills, it shouldn''t be hard to boost its growth up to a certain extent, I can''t do much though." I said.


    "Hmm¡­ I wouldn''t really want to trouble the people, so how about just behind my house?" Eric wondered.


    "Are you sure Eric?" Wondered Eleanora.


    "Eh? Yeah, why not?" Asked Eric. "We live rather away from the main square so we should be alright without dragging too much attention to us."


    "Alright." I said. "I''ll need both of your help on this."


    "Both of us? Ah, so that''s why you only gathered the two of us!" Elizabeth said. "Geez, I feel like I am just a tool to you, ke¡­"


    "Come on Elizabeth, don''t say that of ke. He simply values our talents and always thinks of the best ways to use them so he can help everybody." Said Eric. "Right?"


    "Exactly." I said, suddenly conjuring the Tier 1 Earth Attribute Magic [Dirt Shaping] and taking outrge blocks of dirt from the ground one by one, and then cing the tree that grew off the staff inside, covering it with dirt all over until only a small branch was visible.


    "Let''s begin."


    -----

 Chapter 446 Creating An Yggdrasil Tree

    -----


    "Huh? Wait a second why are you covering it all except a branch?" Eric asked.


    "Those are going to be the roots, we need most of the mass to be the roots, this way the tree can have a big part to anchor itself. If you don''t do that, when it grows, it''ll lose bnce and fall over your house." I said.


    "Eh?! It will be that big?" He asked.


    "What? No, it''ll be very smallpared to what these trees can grow, in fact I doubt I''ll even be able to do much even with your help, but I hope it is sufficient wood." I sighed. "Well, we can mass produce more woodter."


    "Ah, okay." Said Eric, feeling relieved the tree won''t be any bigger than I estimated it would be.


    "Alright then! How do we help?" Wondered Elizabeth. "Ah! Can I also get staff with this wood?"


    "Sure, I think the staff Eric brought had some enchantment that didn''t allowed others without a Nature-attribute spirits to use its powers, but if we make one from scratch, it should suffice." I said. "Eric, do you mind?"


    "Not really¡­ But I would prefer if you didn''t directly sold the wood anywhere else¡­" He said.


    "Ah, well, the entire vige will notice the tree but I guess you can just say it is a normal tree." I said. "Just big."


    "How big are we talking about!?" Eric grew a bit concerned.


    "Not big at all, don''t worry."


    After that, I called the two of them to step into a magic circle I built using the Tier 2 No-Attribute Magic [Rune Inscription] which allows for the writing of runes over solid surfaces. The runes disappear after an hour, so we had to do this quickly.


    "Such a big magic circle¡­" Said Elizabeth.


    "Woah, is this how we''ll grow a tree?" Asked Eric.


    "More or less." I said. "Now infuse your Mana into the magic circle, I''ll help as well. Eleanora you do the same."


    "Very well!" Eleanora nodded, as the four of ous began to imbue our Mana into the magic circle.


    FLUOOOSH!


    The mana flowed like a stream of blue light, as I quicklymanded Eric and Elizabeth to infuse their Nature, Life, and Holy Light Element Ki into the magic circle as well, and they did so rather wonderfully.


    FLAAASH!


    The enormous sh of bright golden light covered the floor, as the runes activated, beginning to shift around and connect as if they were the pieces of a puzzle.


    TRUUMM¡­!


    A small tremor happened right after that, as the branch popping from the floor slowly started to emerge. Therge Magic Circle I created holds the Runes for several Spells that boost nt Growth, most of the being Nature Attribute and Life Attribute, I needed Mana from those with high affinity to it for this to work properly though, my Mana, although vast, wouldn''t do the trick.


    Crack¡­ CRACK!


    The sound of wood cracking resonated across the backyard of Eric''s house, although it was actually the wound of wood growing rapidly, an almost unique sound.<novelnext></novelnext>


    "It''s growing!" I said, quickly stepping back with everyone else. I continuously used my [Agriculture] Skill at Level 1, using all of my MP into repeatedly infusing this Skill''s power of enhancing nt growth into the tree.


    And if everythinges together, then¡­!


    TRUUUUUUMMMM¡­!


    Arger tremor happened, as enormous roots began to emerge from the ground, swirling around the backyard of Eric. Then, the branch spread out into the skies, growingrge and thick, and bing a beautiful tree with a long and thick trunk of almost thirteen meters tall.


    "W-WOAH!" Eric fell into the floor.


    "T-That''s HUGE!" Elizabeth said.


    "Not really, it is very small. I would say it is just a sprout. It is a pity this is all we can do for now." I sighed.


    "Howe something that''s clearly almost thirteen meters small?!" Asked Eric.


    "These trees can grow over a kilometer long, Eric." I sighed. "Nheless, this should suffice¡­"


    Right after we grew the tree, from the distance, some people looked at Eric''s house, and his uncle and aunt ran out of the house, looking at the enormous tree with beautiful green leaves behind their house.


    "W-What is this?!" They cried.


    "Err¡­"


    At the end, not only we had to exin this to Eric''s parents, but also to the chief of the vige, who was shocked by what happened. We lied, of course, saying that it was all of us testing using Eric''s magic. The tree is far away enough that the vige doesn''t mind having it, as it is too far from other houses to annoy people, but still, a thirty-meter-tall tree is nothing normal to see, so people would grow concerned naturally about what it was.


    "Please don''t do anything like this again, you''re scaring the people." The chief supplicated us; he didn''t seem as bossy as I imagined a chief would be. I guess he knew of my talents and my strength, and was being cautious of me- no, of us. Even Eric who was about to piss himself in fear was stronger than most people here already, strength in this world was very well valuated, depending how strong you are, people can even ignore rules as they please.


    The chief was not stupid and knew of our help in the necromancer war and the demon war, which meant we naturally had a high status within the vige, and our strength was no joke either, even when we were only children and nothing more to the eyes of most other people.


    "Perhaps." I said, without even telling him if it might happen again or not.


    The chief simply sighed as he waved his hand.


    "You can go now¡­"


    After that incident, I quickly took out an axe I borrowed from my father, which I reinforced using some steel alloys and alchemy to make it stronger and more durable to cut the incredibly hard wood of the Lesser Yggdrasil Tree we just grew.


    "Hold on a second, ke, did you grew this enormous tree just so you can cut it down?!" Asked Eric.


    "Just a few branches will do, don''t worry, they grow quick." I said. "Also perhaps it might begin giving apple-like fruits, whenever one drops, take it, they are amazing healing items."


    "This is nuts¡­" Eric seemed to be filled with disbelief, still without being able to process everything that was going on.


    -----

 Chapter 447 Gathering All The Necessary Materials

    -----


    Once all materials were gathered, the only thing left to do was actually working on it. For that we required Erika, Eric, and Elizabeth''s aid. And quite probably Erika''s father help too. He was quite good at Alchemy, the more alchemists are together doing this, the better. Eleanora will also help with the synthesis of a new body for Erika as she is connected to my Skills and can use them. It isn''t as if she was bad at Alchemy either, so she''ll suffice.


    "Now that we''ve got everything what do we do?" Wondered Eric.


    "Yeah I am kind of confused¡­" Elizabeth said.


    "Follow me, let''s go to Erika''s home."


    Like that, we arrived at Erika''s home, quickly finding both her and her father awake. I had already told them yesterday about this whole n, and her father ultimately agreed to it after learning of Ellergest''sst words. He also already learned the truth of everything, and how the destruction of his family and the death of his daughter were all orchestrated by the same royal family that he used to trust.


    "So you''re here¡­" Erika''s father said, he had drank a Stamina Potion I left for him yesterday and seemed filled with more energy than before. "I can assume that tree you''ve grown there¡­ It is Yggdrasil, isn''t it?"


    "A Lesser Yggdrasil, and small at that." I nced behind me at the tree once more, even from distance it looked rather big, but it didn''t block the sun or anything of the sort, so people shouldn''tin about it so much.


    "ke! You''re here¡­" Erika said, running towards me and quickly hugging me. She quickly noticed Eric and Elizabeth.


    "Oh you guys are here too¡­" She said with surprise.


    "Y-Yeah, we came to help." Eric said. "We are friends after all, the least I can do is to help out."


    "Papa wanted you to have a new body, he said it was something like your destiny, I want to fulfill such destiny for you, Erika!" Elizabeth said with a smile.


    "Yeah, I told you we wereing this morning to Synthetize your new body." I quickly opened the bag I had, bringing out all the ingredients.


    "Everyone¡­ Thank you¡­" Erika said, trying to contain her tears.


    "Incredible, freshly grown Lesser Yggdrasil''s Wood, a top-notch alchemy material! Ah! And this is the Dryad''s Core and the Blood? Amazing!" Erika''s father was happy to see all materials gathered. I had not seen such an excited face before in his face. It seemed that the Stamina Potion had brought him back to life almost miraculously.


    "Then we don''t have any time to waste, let''s begin."


    With that, we immediately started.


    Erika had cleaned the entire first floor for this since the morning, and now that most of it was empty, the cauldron was ced in the middle of the room. Mana flowed inside of this magic artifact, as Liquified Magical Essence quickly emerged from within its interior, starting to bubble rapidly.


    I quickly wrote down several magical runes around the cauldron with the help of Eleanora, as we immediately started to scribble an entire Magical Circle with manyyers. Such magic circle would invoke a powerful series ofbined spells. We''ll need Elizabeth and Eric''s help in this regard, much like how I brought to life that branch into a whole living tree.


    However, this time we are going to merge this powerful magic with the greater concepts of alchemy. And as the cauldron bubbled and boiled more and more, we finally finished the magic circle. At the same time, Erika''s father started to use his Alchemist Skills to meld the materials he poured inside.<novelnext></novelnext>


    Yggdrasil Wood, Dryad''s Spirit Core, Dryad''s Blood, a hundred Spirit Orbs of varied Ranks which we had bought from the market. Although I also donated a few of the ones I had in my stash.


    "And this¡­" Erika''s father quickly brought something.


    It was a leather bag filled with white bones; the bones were so small that they might had been those of a small animal. Except the skull was too big to be a rabbit or something, it was the skull of a baby.


    "Those are¡­" Erika said.


    "These are... Well, they are your bones." Said her father. "I had them buried, but I quickly dug them out of the grave behind the house."


    "You never told me that grave was mine¡­" Erika sighed.


    "I didn''t wanted to break your heart. Learning the truth¡­ it would had done more bad than good to you. I am sorry. I was a foolish father. I''ve always been terrible¡­" Her father sighed. "I am not asking for your forgiveness, in fact, it is fair to hate me."


    "No¡­ I don''t hate you papa¡­ I am grateful because you didn''t simply let me die of that curse. Even if many people would think what you did was awful or something, I still am grateful because you allowed me to have a new life. I was able to meet ke and everyone else thanks to this new opportunity." Erika said. "Now that I learned that I actually died because those people killed me using a Curse¡­ I am even more grateful that you did this, father."


    "Erika¡­" Her father sighed. "Then let''s do this¡­ I will give you back the body you lost, once and for all."


    Her father quickly poured every single little bone of her daughter into the Cauldron, as Erika quickly took off all her clothes.


    "Uwah! Why is she getting naked?!" Eric asked.


    "Oh, so that''s how it is¡­" Elizabeth sighed.


    "Yes, Erika is thest ingredient of this Synthesis." I said, as Erika quickly walked inside the cauldron fearlessly.


    "It is like bathing in warm andforting water¡­" She sighed, closing her eyes. "I am counting on you guys!" She quickly submergedpletely into the cauldron''s Liquified Magical Essence.


    "Then, ke, let''s begin." Her father said to me.


    "It will be an honor." I pointed my hand into the cauldron.


    This is the day Erika will finally and truly be revived.


    -----

 Chapter 448 Alchemy Spirits

    -----


    "Eric, Elizabeth, now!"


    I gave the order, as my two young friends quickly imbued their Mana into the Magic Circle surrounding the Cauldron. Magic quickly began to activate, as the runes rotated around magisterially.


    Within the cauldron, all ingredients merged together slowly. The very essence of Yggdrasil and the Dryad Spirits together with all other materials, including the scales of the wyvern we once killed, its blood and flesh, fangs, ws, and eyeballs.


    Additionally, I added Magic Ores I was able to purchase around the vige over time, including Radiant Bronze, White Silver, and small bits of Mithril, an incredible magic ore capable of conducing Mana.


    FLAAASH!


    Eric and Elizabeth activated the magic circle as several lines of energy flowed into the cauldron, imbuing it with great magic power and essence. Combining the essence of the materials, something we didn''t saw before emerged, although I could recognize it from my previous life.


    "ROOAR!"


    Suddenly, a small spiritual projection emerged from within the cauldron in the shape of a wyvern. It roared furiously, flying across the cauldron''s surface and around the cloud of smoke it was letting out.


    "What is that?!" Eric asked.


    "An illusion?" Wondered Elizabeth.


    "Alchemy Spirit." Said Erika''s father. "If the Alchemy Spirits are taking form this means the process is working as intended¡­"


    "But that''s not the only one we''ll see." I pointed at the interior of the cauldron, as branches made of green light began to grow out of it, expanding further and further upwards, generating a beautiful spiritual tree made of pure essence.


    "T-This is the Alchemy Spirit of Yggdrasil''s Essence?!" Erika''s father was left without words.


    Alchemy Spirits, something I used to call Alchemical Phantoms are special "embodiments" of high ranked materials. When they merge together to form something new, they will emerge one after the other and try to escape from the cauldron, as if the will of these materials itself was trying to fight against the Alchemist.


    This is why high-level Alchemy is very different than low level Alchemy. Many think, due to how easy low-level Alchemy is, that there''s no need for fighting skills, power, or control to do Alchemy, but that''s all a lie. A seasoned Alchemist must fight their own materials as they attempt tobine them.


    And force the Alchemy Spirits back inside the cauldron, as they will quickly increase the chances for a sessful Synthesis if they''re merged with the rest of the ingredients. And if not, the whole Synthesis might fail, ending in a failure and only giving crap instead. It wouldn''t be as bad if it happened before, but now that Erika is being used as a material, a failure is not something we can afford.


    "They''re escaping! ke, give me a hand! Puppeteer Threads!"


    Erika''s father suddenly summoned several threads from his fingertips, as he quickly directed them towards the flying Wyvern Spirit that was attempting to not be merged into the Synthesis, wrapping around the spiritual projection''s body, and then pushing it down with all his strength.


    "ROOARR!"


    "You''re not going anywhere! You shall be the strength of my daughter, Wyvern Spirit! Yggdrasil''s materials alone won''t do, she needs more, more power!" Erika''s father was obsessed with magic his daughter strong to prepare her for the dangers that awaited her in the future.


    "RAARRR!"


    The Wyvern was being pulled down centimeter by centimeter as Erika''s father gritted his teeth. Suddenly, his Ki began to flow across his entire body, merging with his Spirit, the Puppeteer Threads.


    FLASH!


    The Wyvern angrily looked back at Erika''s father, opening its jaws. Although it only a third of its original size, it was still as ferocious as when it was alive. Without hesitation, the beast unleashed a zing breath attack.<novelnext></novelnext>


    "Spiritual Shield!"


    I quickly summoned a Spiritual Shield made out of shadows and blood elements that emerged out of thin air, using the spiritual power of Eleanora, I blocked the Wyvern Spirit''s attack and then I summoned my Shadow Threads, wrapping them around the monster.


    "You''re not going anywhere, you''re a mere material!"


    SPLAASH!


    We forced the Wyvern down into the Cauldron, as the spirit roared angrily, trying to crawl back in, but Erika''s father quickly merged it with the other materials, as the wyvern spirit''s entire body slowly dissolved into pure essence.


    FLASH!


    The Cauldron''s contents suddenly glowed with bright red light; it was a sess! However, there was another, a second and even stronger Alchemy Spirit that was slowly attempting to escape and attack us, the Lesser Yggdrasil''s Spirit.


    This was one was tougher, but I had prepared a strategy against it.


    "The Yggdrasil Spirit is already trying to crawl outside!" Erika''s father panicked. He was using his threads to entangle its many branches and force it down, but the tree was unmovable. He had other magic but nothing strong enough to force such an enormous thing down.


    TRUUUMMM¡­!


    Suddenly, a tremor happened, making the entire house of Erika tremble constantly. The Lesser Yggdrasil Tree''s Spirit was emanating shockwaves of power, attempting to destroy its surroundings.


    The green light branches continued growing upwards, Erika''s father threads attempted to put it down but it was impossible. However, I used my Shadow Threads to hold its branches from growing any further, and then, Eleanora did the rest.


    "Crimson re¡­"


    Eleanora borrowed my Ki and merged it with Fire Magic,bining Blood Ki with Fire Magic creates Crimson re, a Blood Attribute Fire Magic with an incredibly explosive amount of damage.


    FLUOOOSH!


    And she set the entire tree on fire.


    "What the¡­!?" Erika''s father was surprised that was so effective.


    TRUUMM¡­!


    The tree gave out several shockwaves to demonstrate its agony and anger, but it couldn''t do anything to turn off the fire.


    "It was obvious you need to use fire against a tree." I continued pouring fire into the tree. Its branches began to fall off, its entire body turning into "ashes" which dissolved into spiritual essence.


    Alchemy Spirits all have their own weaknesses and way you could deal with them, it was all up to the umted knowledge of the Alchemist. With enough preparation, the chances for sess are always very high.


    FLAAASH!


    -----

 Chapter 449 Erikas Rebirth

    -----


    With both Alchemy Spirits being defeated, thest one quickly emerged. It wasn''t the strongest, however, and it didn''t even seemed to hold animosity. It was a beautiful woman with a body covered on leaves and roots, her eyes shone bright gold and her long hair was covered by colorful flowers.


    It was the Dryad which the Spirit Orb belonged from.


    "I remember when Ellergest told me he would use the Spirit Orb I would gift to him to give a new life to an innocent soul." She said. "So it is happening now¡­"


    "Y-You''re the Dryad?!" Asked Erika''s father.


    "You''re Ellergest''s friend?" She asked. "I suppose the beautiful soul here is your daughter''s, isn''t it?"


    "Yes¡­ Y-You''re not going to fight?" Erika''s father asked.


    "I don''t desire to fight. However, I havee to see the world onest time. I wanted to see everyone''s faces; myst fragments of consciousness are going away now." She sighed. "Is Ellergest okay? Has he found what he sought after for so long?"


    "He''s¡­ He died." I said to the Dryad, as she looked at me and nodded.


    "I see¡­" She sighed.


    "But I think¡­ he found something." Elizabeth said. "He found¡­ someone he cared for long ago, his old friend. And decided to go with him."


    The Dryad sensed within Elizabeth the energy of Ellergest, as she was surprised of the little girl''s surprisingly familiar aura.


    "I see¡­ So that''s how it was." She sighed with a smile, ncing at each one of us. "Are you the daughter he always wanted to have?"


    "Me?" Elizabeth asked. "Yeah¡­ Were you and papa good friends?"


    "Yes, he was my other half." The Dryad sighed. "It pained me to think that we meet each other when we were both already at the end of our lives¡­ I wish¡­ I could had stayed a bit longer with him."


    The Dryad shed a small tear as she smiled back at Elizabeth and slowly flew towards her, kissing her forehead.


    "You''re his precious daughter, and I can sense you''ve inherited his strength and will. Please, take care. I will now go. I shall sacrifice thest bits of my existence to let that young and innocent soul be reborn¡­" The Dryad said.


    "I am sorry for asking you something like this¡­" Erika''s father said. "I didn''t knew you were still¡­ Somewhat alive¡­"


    "No, I am long dead. What I am now is merely a remnant of a memory¡­ Myst will." The Dryad said. "And quite honestly, it couldn''t be better to give myst strength to save the life of someone that deserves a second chance."


    As she was slowly beginning to dissipate, I couldn''t contain myself and asked her something.


    "Dryad, do you know a path that could lead us to the forest where you came from?" I asked.<novelnext></novelnext>


    "The forest¡­" She said. "Follow the East Wind and cross the ck Sea. You''ll be guided by the Spirits of the world if you''re someone that deserves to meet us, if not, you will be lost. You''re an interesting soul¡­" She suddenly whispered to me. "In fact, I can even sense your true age, you''re truly an old monster, are you not?"


    "Heh, so a Dryad can see through my Soul''s Age¡­" I whispered to her.


    "We all can. To us, there are no secrets." She said. "But I can tell you''re someone that is responsible for his people. I wouldn''t call you a righteous person, but you''re good in your own ways¡­ Take care of this girl, she''s deeply in love with you and only wants to spend the rest of her life at your side."


    "Erika¡­" I sighed. "I understand."


    "Hm." The Dryad nodded, herst bits slowly dissolving into essence. "You''re an honest man, I can see you don''t lie¡­ Goodbye."


    FLAAASH!


    As herst essence dissipated, shepletely merged with the Cauldron''s contents, converging all materials within, the purest essence of spirits emerged, shaping itself and materializing. The Synthesis was done, and now, what we created was beginning to take shape.


    "T-Those are roots?!" Eric wondered.


    "A tree?" Elizabeth asked.


    "This is¡­!?" Erika''s father was also surprised.


    "Don''t worry, it is working." I reassured them, as the roots quickly grew out of the cauldron, growing into strong wood and branches spreading upwards. Leaves emerged everywhere, and countless of beautiful flowers.


    However, one of such flowers was the biggest, growing with a disproportionate size and then closing, forming into a small fruit that grew bigger and bigger, so big, and heavy that it made the nt''s entire trunk bend down.


    It was a beautiful red fruit shining brightly with spiritual essence, it had a big size, surpassing all of us. And something from within emerged, a seed, which slowly began to growrger andrger, from a fetus to a baby, a toddler, and a beautiful young girl.


    Crash!


    And then, her hands ripped out the fruit''s exterior, sweet fruit juices poured out and filled the entire room with a citric and sweet aroma. And from within the fruit, a beautiful girl emerged. It was Erika, yet she was so different and at the same time, so recognizable that it gave all of us a different feeling.


    The aura she emanated was filled with life and nature elements, but deep within, there was also a new draconic fierceness hidden. Her skin was pale white, but alive, not just wood, but flesh and skin. She had bones now, real eyes, beautiful pink hair growing out of her head, so long she really would need a haircut if she wanted to continue fighting using a sword.


    As her eyes opened, a sh of green and golden light emerged. Her two eyes turned monochromatic. One was gold and the other green, I could notice the green eye held within a jewel, it was formed from the crystallization of all essences. The other golden eye also had a jewel, gold with a deep red in its interior.


    "Wee back, Erika."


    -----

 Chapter 450 Preparing For The Future

    -----


    Erika majestically emerged from within the red fruit, as she looked utterly otherworldly in both appearance and aura. Her appearance resembled the same she had before, although perhaps one or two years older in her appearance.


    She tried to muster words to speak or something. But it was rather obvious she was having difficulties. It felt like she was feeling strange. From moving to a doll-like body to one made of flesh bones, and blood pumping through her body, it was indeed a different feeling altogether, a feeling she probably didn''t even remembered when she was a baby before dying from the curse.


    "Ahhh¡­ Hahhh¡­ This¡­ Ugh¡­ Ugehh¡­"


    And Erika ended throwing out right after being reborn. What came out was just water though. It looked like her stomach was filled with the same juice that the fruit she was being maintained in. The feeling of having a stomach must have impacted her though.


    And within the Grimoire, new messages appeared.


    [You earned 150000 EXP]


    [Alchemy Proficiency has increased greatly]


    [You acquired the [Alchemist: Lv1] Title Skill]


    ----


    [Alchemist: Lv1]


    Skill Proficiency: 0/10000


    A Title bestowed upon seasoned Alchemists that have managed to craft several items through their lives and might had also created something truly unique, a powerful new item never seen, or a legendary grade creation. Increases the Quality of all Items Created by +50% and their Effects are doubled. Additionally, with each Skill Level, the power of all Alchemy-rted Skills is enhanced by +20%.


    -----


    I even gained a new Title Skill, something I really did not expect to get now. It is rather surprising indeed, but at the end, it is a wee surprise. I suppose Erika''s creation still counted as "making something with alchemy" and due to her incredible rarity and level of quality, she must have fulfilled the conditions required.


    "Erika!"


    Erika''s father ran towards her, quickly wrapping her body with clothes.


    "Y-You''re¡­ you''re here? Now?" He asked in disbelief. "A-Are you okay?"


    "Papa¡­" Erika looked at her father while feeling dizzy. "Ugh, I am so dizzy¡­"


    "It is a sess; you''ve been really reborn¡­ But more importantly, can you guys help me bring her upstairs?" Erika''s father asked us.<novelnext></novelnext>


    Eric and Elizabeth were too shocked to even respond in time, feeling taken aback by Erika''s rebirth. It was something truly mystical. Well, the whole process was intense as well, and we even got to talk with the Dryad herself.


    "I''ll bring her upstairs."


    I quickly held Erika with my arms and rushed upstairs with ease, Erika''s father and Eric and Elizabeth followed me from behind. I quickly ced Erika over her bed, as she quickly looked back at me with her two eyes.


    "ke¡­ Thank you." She said with a sleepy smile, before falling asleep.


    The whole creation of her body must have brought her an incredible amount of exhaustion. Or perhaps she needs to sleep to let her Soul adjust properly to her body. By merely ncing at her, I can notice several new things. Her Spirit Orb seems to not have been damaged, in fact, it was enchanted with new element she didn''t had before.


    Her body was like that of a Dryad. They were made of flesh, had bones and even blood, but suchponents were also live the internal bodies of nts. In a way her blood was like sap, her flesh was like the flesh of nts, her bones were reinforced Yggdrasil Wood, and even her skin and everything else was something like that.


    However, due to having used her own bones into the process, she is not 100% a Dryad, but perhaps Half-Dryad and Half-Human, a rather goodbination. The more interesting part was her eyes, both became something simr to Spirit Orbs, but that cannot properly hold Spirits themselves, but can hold Spiritual Essence, each eye holds a different type of elemental Spiritual Essence. The golden eye has fire and draconic essence, the green one holds life and nature essence.


    "Zzzz¡­"


    As she slept soundly, we covered her in nkets and left her resting. We were done here, but we had to clean the mess downstairs. The big tree was quickly chopped down into pieces. Its wood and even the fruit where Erika came from where all high-quality materials, so I stored them all inside my shadows, which were now a better storage than the bags I had made.


    The wood of this small tree was named [Dryad''s Wood] while the fruit was named [Dryad''s Blessing]. I had made sure this wasn''t something like Erika''s tree or something, but it seems she didn''t inherited the ability of Dryads of connecting their life to a tree or something, and this tree was nowpletely separated from her. It was an annoyance so we had to cut it down to get it outside the house.


    With that done, I didn''t wanted to ck and wait for Erika to wake up without doing anything. I quickly moved to my next ns, beginning to make new weapons. I made Eric a new bow and over a hundred arrows through Alchemy and using both Dryad Wood''s and Lesser Yggdrasil''s Wood. I also made him a new staff for him, looking exactly the same as the one before, but with a few new adjustments.


    And after I was done with that, I made another for Elizabeth too, as she wanted one as well. This one was shaped differently so it could be used more efficiently for Priests. Staffs used by Priests and Mages vary greatly. Mages userger staffs with big ends which allow them to gather mana in the tip to unleash devastating offensive magic.


    Priests use long and thin staffs, often with addition to metallic materials to harbor the light which the magic metals conduct from their magic. The ends of priest staffs are usually adorned by a big magic conducting jewel, which helps spreading magic around them, which is specially useful for healing magic and support magic, their specialty.


    After two hours and a half of hard work, all theirmissions were done and both kids were as happy as they could be.


    "Thank you so much ke¡­!"


    "Yeah¡­ This staff is just amazing!"


    "I''m d you like them; you''re going to be using them very soon. For the next years we''ll be hunting monsters not only around the forest, but the londs."


    -----

 Chapter 451 Improving Alchemy

    -----


    My grimoire quickly showed me my gains after making such high-quality items. Thanks to the materials and my own knowledge from my previous life, I was able to make truly powerful equipment. The two staffs and the bow and arrows were all of amazing quality, and that also came with great amounts of bonus EXP and Skill Proficiency.


    [You earned 90000 EXP]


    [Alchemy Proficiency has increased greatly]


    [The [Alchemy], [Brewing], [Synthetize], and [Apprentice Alchemist Recipe Book] Skills have Leveled Up]


    [The [Alchemist] Title Skill has Leveled Up]


    With those Skills having earned good enough Skill Proficiency, they ended leveling up again. This is all thanks to Hard Worker being at such a high level, it helps me earn double the amount of Skill Proficiency I earned.


    The Skill Proficiency I earned making these Alchemy-made items was around half of the EXP I got from them all, so it was rather obvious they would level up again, even with the insane amounts of Skill Proficiency they ask for to level up.


    Although I haven''t managed to change the requirements for EXP and Skill Proficiency, earning it is much easier, which practically helps me ignore Lucifer''s Curse easily. His attempts at making my life difficult are probably falling apart, bit by bit.


    Once I can attain greater Alchemy Proficiency, I could replicate even more things from my previous life. It wouldn''t be hard at all to create a special item to reconstruct my shattered soul or do even more insane things. The path of alchemy is endless.


    And above all, it appears I acquired new Items to make through [Instant Creation]:


    -----


    [Apprentice Alchemist Recipe Book: Lv3]


    Skill Proficiency 5000/30000


    A Skill that only incredibly talented Alchemist can learn. It grants ess to a special Book that can materialize out of thin air, where an alchemist is capable of essing a series of recipes that are unlocked over time and the Skill Level, it also grants detailed information about Materials which are then registered in the book. Through the book and the required set of special Skills, Synthesis can be done anywhere.


    Avable Recipes for Instant Creation:


    Level 1: [Lesser Health Potion (Normal Grade)], [Lesser Mana Potion (Normal Grade)], [Lesser Antidote Potion (Normal Grade)], [Spike Bomb (Normal Grade)]


    Level 2: [Poisonous Smoke Bomb (Normal Grade)], [Combustion Bomb (Normal Grade)], [Lesser Holy Water (Normal Grade)], [Lesser Stamina Potion (Normal Grade)]


    Level 3: [ck Curse Bomb (Rare Grade)], [Freezing Bomb (Rare Grade)], [Lesser Demonic Potion (Rare Grade)], [Lesser Soul Potion (Rare Grade)]


    Level 4: ???


    -----<novelnext></novelnext>


    ck Curse Bombs are great to weaken foes by forcefully inflicting curses to weaken their bodies and magic conductivity. In this world it would be tranted to lowering their stats by a certain % temporarily. Then there are Freezing Bombs, instead of exploding and burning with fire, they explode and freeze things with ice, capturing them and paralyzing them if they don''t die from being frozen.


    Lesser Demonic Potions must be the ones I''ve been drinking to regain Demonic Energy and use my Demon Arc and Demon Eyes at full power. Andstly, Lesser Soul Potions, a wee surprise. These are potions that reinforce the soul and make it stronger. Which trantes to enhancing a Soul''s powers, such as Aura, amongst other things.


    There is only a maximum amount these potions can enhance the power of a soul, after that I would need to move to higher rarity potions. But that''ll be after drinking like a few hundred of them, so there''s no hurry. It is also better to consume Soul Potions than eat souls directly, raw souls are filled with emotions and other disgusting things which get in the way, it is way easier to consume them when refined into a potion, which enhances the effects as well.


    I''ll be making dozens of these over time to get to enhance my soul strength as much as possible, and perhaps that of mypanions, their souls being weak would be truly a problem if we encounter foes that can target it, they could die in a whim if their souls are shattered, so I need to prepare some things to prevent that. Also it is really easy to read through souls when they''re weak, which could leak important information, I wouldn''t really want that either.


    "Now that we are done with this-"


    "A-Amazing, I never took you for such a good Alchemist."


    Erika''s father was even more amazed now after he saw me making those items.


    "Well, I am actually pretty tired, I don''t think I can make these types of items every day, they drain away all my MP and even exhaust my body." I sighed.


    If I overdone it with Alchemy and make things that are too high quality for my current level, I will end up growing weaker over time, which wouldn''t be a good thing at all, as it could be detrimental to my growth.


    "But still, I never saw anybody so young making such incredible items through Alchemy¡­" He sighed. "You''ve earned my respect, ke. And of course, you can also take my daughter''s hand when both of you grow into adults. Feel free. I can entrust her to you."


    "Her hand?" I wondered.


    "H-He meant as if in marriage, my lord¡­" Eleanora whispered to me.


    "Ah¡­ Well, sure." I said without really paying much attention to that.


    "I might not be alive by then, but I hope you give me some beautiful grandchildren." Said Erika''s father.


    "Err¡­ Aren''t you getting a bit ahead of yourself?" I sighed. "Well, whatever. Is she okay?"


    "I went to check on her and she''s sleeping like a log¡­ But she''s stable. She''s¡­ incredibly healthy and will probably wake up whenever all this exhaustion she feels fades away." Said Erika''s father.


    "Great. I suppose I should go back home for now. You guys, I''ll bring you back to your homes." I said, as Eleanora summoned Blood out of her shadows, and from my Grimoire, two Fenrirs materialized.


    Like that, we all went back to our homes, and I enjoyed a rxing day with my family. After having done so much high ranked synthesis, I just wanted to rest.


    -----

 Chapter 452 Erikas Father Last Moments

    -----


    The next morning, we all gathered at Erika''s home. I had told everyone what happened yesterday by now, and they were all surprised of such events. Apparently they were rather excited to see the "new" Erika, although I kept telling them that aside from the color of her eyes there wasn''t anything really "new" about her.


    They allck the ability to see through material objects unlike my Vampiric Eyes, and alsock the ability to sense the streams of energy unless they really concentrate, something they only do in battle. So for them, Erika will look just the same.


    It only looked very different to me because I was able to see through the essence within her two eyes and her body and spirit orb, and of course, her soul. Her soul also undergone some sort of evolution. It was already incredibly strong, but now it has be even stronger.


    ? "I am excited to meet Erika!" Chris said. "I wonder if she''ll get all cocky now that she got her new body and all¡­"


    "I doubt it, Erika''s a good girl." Said Erdrich.


    "Are you implying I am not?" Asked Elizabeth.


    "Wha¡­? Of course not¡­!" Erdrich tried to calm down Elizabeth.


    "Well, here we are." I knocked the door.


    Knock, knock.


    We waited for a bit, but someone came to open the door, but not someone we expected.


    It was Erika''s dolls.


    "Huh? Erika''s dolls opened the door?" Wondered Eric.


    "Where''s Erika? Is she okay?" Wondered Erdrich.


    The dolls couldn''t talk, but they pointed at the stairs, telling us to move upstairs, and they were pushing us from behind, as if asking us to hurry.


    "Something''s going on here¡­" Chris said.


    "Yeah, this isn''t normal, Erika always opens the door¡­" Eric said.


    "Let''s go."


    I led the group as we reached the second floor.


    And then we found Erika crying in front of her father''s bed.


    Her father was still alive, but I could see he had barely any Ki within his body.


    He was dying.


    "Erika¡­ Your friends¡­ are here." He murmured with a weak voice, he looked incredibly pale.


    "Everyone¡­" Erika looked back. "Please help papa! He''s¡­ he can''t move and he''s all pale!"


    Everyone ran towards her, surrounding her father. Just as I imagined, nobody really saw many changes in her appearance aside from the color of her eyes. She was wearing a simple white dress, barefoot.


    "We could probably use healing magic, right?" Asked Eric.


    "ke?" Elizabeth asked.


    "¡­You can try all you want, but there''s a certain point where healing magic can''t do much." I told the two of them. "Even if we try¡­ We won''t really get any results anymore. Since I meet Erika''s father for the first time that I used my Ki to enhance his vitality. His actual life would had ended way earlier¡­ I''ve done everything I could, but sadly, this¡­ this is it."


    Although it sounded cold, I couldn''t really sugarcoat them the truth anymore. Erika''s father was dying and might not even be in this world in a few more hours. Healing won''t do anything anymore. The only thing that could help would be the ability to rejuvenate a body, but such power can only be truly conceived with very high tiered magic, probably Tier 6 and beyond.


    "So you''ve been helping papa all this time? Why didn''t you tell me?!" Erika asked.<novelnext></novelnext>


    "It wouldn''t had made a difference¡­" I sighed.


    "ke!" Erika angrily cried, hitting my chest.


    "Erika¡­" Her father called her, as Erika looked behind her. "Don''t fight with ke over it, it is my fault¡­ I overexerted my own limits¡­ yesterday."


    "Why?! You didn''t had to push yourself so hard¡­" Erika began sobbing. "I don''t want¡­ I don''t want to lose you¡­"


    Her old father smiled, caressing Erika''s face, the warmth of her body contrasted with his cold hands.


    "I had to do it for you¡­ I am so happy you''re alive¡­" He sighed.


    "Sniff¡­ Papa¡­ Don''t die¡­ Don''t leave me alone¡­" Erika continued sobbing.


    Her father smiled, as tears began flowing from his eyes.


    "I don''t want to die either¡­ I want to see you grow up¡­ I want¡­ to see you be a beautiful woman¡­" Her father cried. "I want to see with my eyes how far you will go¡­"


    Erika''s father continued having difficulties speaking, however, he mustered the strength to continue talking anyways.


    "I''m sorry¡­ For everything¡­ I could never have been the father you deserved, my little princess¡­" Her father cried. "I just¡­ had to do this for me¡­ I poured everything I had¡­ Everything¡­"


    "You were not a bad father¡­" Erika sobbed. "You''re my only father¡­ You did everything you could, I grew up with you, and you taught me everything, and even always repaired my body with patience¡­ You never reprimanded me either¡­"


    "A good father reprimands their children, but I simply¡­ I couldn''t do it." He sighed. "I¡­ Ungh¡­ Erika¡­ You''re¡­ you look so much like your mother when she was younger. A living image of her."


    "Like mom¡­?" Erika wondered.


    "She¡­ she''s probably still alive, right? Please, try to find her¡­" Her father said. "Tell her that I am sorry for everything¡­ T-Tell her that¡­ You''re alive."


    "I will¡­ I will find her¡­" Erika sniffed.


    "I¡­ I¡­ I love you, dear¡­" Her father sighed. "And¡­ you''re not alone without me. You''ve got everyone here¡­ These kids, they''re all your family¡­ You will never be alone¡­ never."


    Erika''s eyes opened, as she looked at her father''s eyes, the light from them was slowly fading away.


    "Papa¡­ Wait¡­"


    "Live¡­ Live a long¡­ life¡­"


    "No, no! Wait! Papa!"


    I walked at the side of Erika as I looked at her father.


    "I''ll take care of her, I promise."


    "Thank¡­ you."


    With those two words, her father stopped breathing. It felt as if his body should had long ago died, but through thest bits of Mana within his Spirit Orb, he was forcing his own body to continue living.


    His heart stopped beating, his blood suddenly stopped flowing, his essence dissipated, and his soul emerged from within his body. I was the only one able to see it.


    He hugged his daughter with everything he had, and then he nced at me before departing.


    -----

 Chapter 453 Confession Amidst Tears

    -----


    Erika cried for hours to no end and didn''t let go of me. She didn''t wanted to eat anything either or continued crying until falling asleep in my arms. I brought her to her bed and we called the vige chief and our parents to bring Erika''s father body outside.


    By the traditions of the vige, we were going to do a small ceremony and then his body would be burned by Holy mes, turned into Ashes, which would then be buried. People didn''t bury whole bodies into the ground in this world due to the chances of them bing Undead.


    Therefore if the body is in a good state, a small ceremony with the body inside of a coffin will be done, where people will ce flowers, candles, and other offerings to the deceased. Such offerings are not to the person but to the Holy Spirits, asking them to bring the soul of the deceased to a good afterlife, or even giving them a second chance at life with reincarnation.


    Therefore, today in the morning I woke Erika from her bed. I had decided to stay in her home while everyone else was preparing things, taking care of her.


    "Erika, good morning."


    "Mwuh¡­? ke? AH!"


    Erika quickly sat down in her bed, looking around.


    She ran towards her father''s room, finding nothing in it.


    "W-Where did papa go?"


    "A ceremony will begin soon. We need to prepare."


    "B-But¡­"


    "Erika, what were you nning to do, to keep him or something?"


    "N-No, that''s not it¡­"


    Erika sighed, sitting in her father''s bed.


    I perhaps went a bit harsh there.


    I sat at her side, patting her shoulders.


    "He lived a long life, Erika. If you respected and loved your father, then you should join the ceremony and leave many offerings."


    "Hmm¡­ I still can''t believe he died¡­ It was just¡­ so sudden."


    "I understand how you feel. And right after Ellergest¡­"


    "Sigh¡­"


    "Erika¡­ I want to apologize to you for this, it was all my fault."


    "Eh?"


    "I was the one with the idea of giving you a new body right away, the sooner the better¡­ But in doing so, I forced your father to help me do things right away. Maybe if we moved this forter, he would had been able to live longer¡­ Or maybe I should had continued training Alchemy and do it all alone. I am sorry, it was my own forcefulness that brought your father''s death sooner than it should had been."


    "N-No, that''s not right¡­"


    Erika suddenly held my hand.


    "You didn''t do it ke¡­ You''ve been helping papa all this time, since you were little¡­"


    Erika smiled, as she shed a small tear.


    "You''re the reason he was able to live for as long as he did, and why I was able to be with him through my childhood¡­"


    "Even then¡­ we are only nine, it was still too soon."


    "I¡­ No, I don''t want to me anybody for this. And ming you, the one that has helped me so much¡­ I would never do that."


    "Erika¡­"


    Deep down, since I saw him die that I was tormented by my own inner consciousness, telling me that if I had waited a bit longer, maybe Erika''s father could have lived longer.


    "ke¡­"


    Erika approached her face towards mine.


    "You''re¡­ the most important person in my life now¡­ I would never me you, never."


    "The most¡­ important person? Are you not exaggerating?"


    "No¡­ You were there always, why would I?"<novelnext></novelnext>


    Erika''s beautiful eyes shone brightly.


    "I love you¡­"


    I already had an idea of her feelings towards me, but I never thought she would confess them to me at such an age, even less after what happened. I suppose her mind had a swirl of emotions she could barely take.


    "There, I said it¡­ I-I didn''t want to make it a secret anymore." Erika sighed, blushing until she turned all red.


    "I kind of guessed from long ago."


    "E-Eh?! You did?!"


    "I am not clueless you know? Nor I am oblivious either. I can easily read people. It was very easy to guess."


    "N-No way¡­ Uwaahh¡­ W-Why did you never said anything?"


    "Why would I?"


    "But¡­ Isn''t it weird?"


    "Why would it be weird?"


    "It is not?"


    "No?"


    Erika''s eyebrows raised.


    "But I thought you didn''t liked me, that you liked¡­ someone else. Elizabeth or even Eleanora¡­" She said.


    "Well¡­ it isplicated." I said. "But¡­ I do love you as well, Erika."


    "Ahh¡­"


    Erika felt paralyzed.


    "However, human lives are fleeting. Well, everyone''s lives. We go through many phases, we think many things, we imagine many things, we change how we were constantly. I imagined you would eventually just find someone else along the way. I didn''t wanted to chain you into loving only me. I''ve never been into any of such things. It is your own decision if you want to stick with me or not, a grumpy kid like me¡­ I bet it would be a torture."


    "Hahaha¡­ Maybe?" Erika giggled. "But I like your grumpiness. You''re always worried, and you''re always thinking how to solve problems. You''re someone I can always trust, always. I doubt I''ll ever change my mind!"


    "Well, it is all up to you. Life has many twists." I sighed, looking into the window.


    Erika looked at me while wondering what I meant by that.


    "Sometimes¡­ it feels like you''re a bit older than you look like."


    "Hm?"


    So she can tell already.


    Is this due to the Dryad''s abilities or simply her own deduction?


    "Maybe I am the reincarnation of a very old man¡­ Who knows? I sometimes wonder the same thing."


    I''ve been wondering since I was reincarnated. Am I truly the one I was before?


    Eleanora has already realized it, and I did so as well.


    My previous life is simply another person now.


    I am¡­ apletely different one at this point.


    I''ve be ke, not Asmodeus.


    Asmodeus cannot truly be considered as the "me" of now anymore, as I''ve be someonepletely different.


    But his memories, his intellect, his knowledge, and his emotions were inherited to me.


    I will continue using these gifts from my previous self and continue my life, protecting those I love, and also¡­ trying to seek answers to the questions of my previous self.


    It is the least I could do for him.


    -----

 Chapter 454 Heartwarming Moments

    -----


    After Erika''s confession, she didn''t pursued the topic anymore. It seemed that she realized it wasn''t really fitting given the situation. And honestly a rtionship at this age wasn''t something she had in mind either. But perhaps she felt more relieved by having told me that. I reciprocated to her feelings, but she seems to have realized, simrly to how I think, that this wasn''t really the time nor the appropriate age to think of such things. I guess Erika is way smarter than I make her up to be.


    Her father''s funeral ceremony began already. Not many people attended as nobody really knew him. Only our group of friends and our parents. But we were already a sizable group of people. My mother, father, grandmother, and twin siblings, Chris''s father, mother, and little siblings, Eric''s uncle, and aunt, Erdrich and Elizabeth''s priests Jack and Seth, and¡­ I think that was all.


    Everyone left some flowers, and we even brought food, leaving it as an offering as well. Interestingly enough, the deities of this world do interact with its inhabitants. Leaving offerings does works and doesn''t leave the food rotting there for eternity or something, the food is quickly taken away, disappearing when it is offered and taken by the gods. Perhaps they enjoy food.


    Her father was put into a coffin of high quality, as his eyes were closed, as if sleeping. He looked rather peaceful, as if he had done everything he wanted to do and passed out without regrets. I suppose he really did it all.


    Hemitted many mistakes perhaps, and what he did could be questionable, but¡­ he was someone that loved his daughter, and gave thest years of life yesterday to give her the living body he always wanted to give to her.


    "Goodbye papa¡­" Erika sighed, without crying anymore, she had cried so many tears, that perhaps they couldn''t flow out of her eyes anymore.


    "I am sure he''s in a better ce now, dear." My mother said.


    "He was a good man that protected you and cared for you." My father said. "I am sure the Holy Spirits will reward him."


    "He was¡­ he was a good man, yes." My grandmother sighed.


    "We are going to miss our dollmaker. I always bought him dolls for my little girl." Said Chris'' father, he actually had an older daughter that wasn''t in the vige anymore, Chris'' big sister, a red-haired adventurer that moved to the capital a couple of years ago. We might end up finding her one day.


    "He also made very good furniture. He was such an incredibly talented carpenter¡­" Chris'' mother said. "And also affordable."


    "Yeah¡­ He was a man that did what he did for the people of the vige, despite not many knowing him well." Eric''s uncle said.


    "May his soul rest in peace." Eric''s aunt said.


    "May the Holy Spirits bless him." Jack said, praying.


    "May the Holy Spirits bless him." Seth also prayed.


    Elizabeth was at their side, doing the same.


    After they finished, they nodded to Erika.


    "That should do it." Jack said with a smile.


    "I believe the Holy Spirits have weed him into the afterlife." Said Seth. "There is no human soul without sins, but such sins are forgiven once the true intentions within the soul are seen. Your father will have a good rest. A well-deserved one."


    "Thank you¡­" Erika sighed with a smile, as she hugged Elizabeth.


    "Everything is going to be okay, alright?" Elizabeth said, kissing Erika''s forehead andforting her with a hug.


    Erika nodded weakly, as she received thefort of her friend.


    When the ceremony ended, we had a dinner at Erika''s house, we all brought food and began grilling meat, preparing stew, boiling pasta I made myself, and making all sorts of other delicious preparations.<novelnext></novelnext>


    Erika''s new body demanded a lot of food due to how much energy it required to function properly, so she had a very big appetite. That didn''t change from her previous body at all. In fact, I believe it was multiplied.


    "Hmm¡­ This pasta is so tasty, and the sauce too¡­" Erika sighed happily. "I can''t help but smile¡­"


    "I was saving this recipe for a special asion." I said with a smile. "I ended forgetting to make it for Ellergest''s dinner, but I decided to make it now that I had all the ingredients."


    "These noodles are like those from the soup, but way thicker, and the sauce is so nice with it. The parmesan cheese you put over it is amazing too!" Eric praised my cooking.


    "Man, this is killing it." Said Chris.


    "What aforting meal¡­" Erdrich smiled.


    "This is master''s Magnus Opus!" Eleanora celebrated.


    "You''re really liking it, huh?" I sighed.


    "Of course! I love your food, it is always filled with so much love and care." She sighed with a smile.


    "That''s¡­ certainly something to say to me." I said. "But perhaps I do have an innate talent for it, I just don''t really like to admit it¡­"


    "I guess that''s how you are, ke." Eleanora said with an enamored smile.


    "Well now, don''t begin saying corny things out of the blue¡­ There''s more if you guys want." I said


    "I want seconds!" Erika said, having already finished her te after just two minutes.


    "Of course, seconds it is." I said happily, quickly giving her a second serving. She happily chewed the noodles without any problems, happy to be here with us.


    I guess thisforting scene of everyone happily enjoying life must have been what those that have left us wanted to see.


    Life keeps going, even after everything we have lost.


    It is a journey filled with so many hardships, yet there are so many things in it that are worth the hardships.


    Despite the reasons that the soul of Asmodeus was reincarnated, and despite the strange intentions of the one named Lucifer, I cannot help but enjoy this life.


    Deep within my own soul, within my previous self''s emotions¡­ I can tell.


    This was one of the things he desired the most.


    I wish moments like these couldst forever.


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 Chapter 455 Erikas New Powers And A Plan To Heal The Forest

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    The next day. After Erika''s father body was cremated, we decided to bury his ashes not in the cemetery, but behind Erika''s house. Her house was also rather far away from the main vige square, and there were no houses around in a long vicinity. It was the ideal ce to put his ashes. Erika wanted something aside from that, of course.


    "Can''t I grow a tree here where papa was buried?" She wondered.


    "A tree? I guess you could, what sort of tree do you have in mind?" I wondered.


    "The big one that Eric got!" Erika said happily.


    "EEH?!"


    Eric was surprised, and so was our entire group of friends.


    "Wait a second Erika, that big tree¡­ If we make another one the chief''s going to get furious!" Said Elizabeth.


    "W-We barely got into her good side. But I don''t think he''ll allow another big tree." Said Eric. "It kind of scares people off."


    "Why would a big tree scare people?" Sighed Erika. "It is so beautiful and majestic¡­ And it is so friendly and cute too, can''t you tell?"


    "Huh? It is certainly beautiful but friendly?" Wondered Chris while raising an eyebrow.


    "Y-You can''t tell?" Asked Erika while tilting her head in confusion.


    "I can kind of "feel" that the tree is somewhat warmth, but I cannot really tell everything in detail. I need to develop my nature magic more for that¡­" Said Eric. "But you can hear the voice of the trees?"


    "Y-Yeah¡­ I think so¡­" Erika quickly realized she gained a new ability after being reborn.


    "Is it because you are now like half-dryad?!" Erdrich asked excitedly. "That''s so cool! I can also listen to thenguage of the demons- Ah I guess that''s not really¡­ as good."


    "It is good, it is!" Said Elizabeth. "Everyone''s talents are good."


    Elizabeth managed to stop Erdrich from feeling bad out of the blue, but Erika grew constantly confused.


    "I guess I can now kind of feel it¡­" She sighed.


    "So that tree is friendly?" I asked.


    "Yeah! It is very happy to be alive." She said. "It seems that it was dead long ago, but somehow it sprung back to life through magic. He''s saying he''ll grow even bigger in the future and protect everyone in this vige as thanks for bringing him back to life!"


    "He did said that?!" Eric wondered.


    "Wait, even bigger?" Elizabeth wondered.


    "If that''s true then it''s going to get cut off by the chief at some point¡­" Sighed Chris.


    "Who knows? It if grows slowly, people might get used to it." I said.


    "It would be sad if it got cut off but I guess I can tell people''s going to get scared¡­ How about a smaller one?" Wondered Erika.


    "How small would it be for stupid people to not get scared?" I wondered.


    "I don''t know¡­ Perhaps at most ten meters?" Eric wondered.


    "Alright¡­ then another tree¡­ Another¡­ Ah, like this?" She wondered, as Erika got her hands together and began to concentrate energy and mana into them, slowly yet steadily forming something¡­ and materializing it.


    FLASH!


    And when she opened the palm of her hands, she showed us a beautiful green seed emanating a strong aura of spiritual essence and mana.


    Everyone was left shocked, me included. I cannot really see her Status, so I am left hopeless as to know all the abilities she acquired.<novelnext></novelnext>


    She can talk with trees and feel their emotions and desires, she also has a greater feeling of senses, and now, she can create seeds? Just by spending Mana, apparently.


    "D-Did you just made a seed?!" Asked Elizabeth.


    "Woah¡­ that''s new, alright." Eric said.


    "Not even Eric can make one, can''t he?" Asked Chris.


    "N-No, I can''t¡­" Eric sighed.


    "Amazing¡­!" Erdrich said. "And it is no ordinary seed isn''t it?!"


    "It certainly looks to not be ordinary¡­" Chris said.


    Maybe I can Appraise the Seed at the very least?


    I took a good look at it as Erika felt just as confused.


    -----


    [Dryad''s Seed (Mythic Grade)]


    A Special Tree Seed created by a Dryad, it possess incredible Spiritual and Natural Energies within it, and can be born as a variety of different types of trees, or as a hybrid, giving out tasty and healthy fruit and infusing spiritual essence into the soil below. It can grow very quickly once nted and will remain strong with little requirements for water.


    -----


    "It is a tree seed¡­" I said, quickly giving everyone the description.


    "So she can really make trees now." Erdrich said. "That''s pretty amazing, alright."


    "Maybe you could fill the forest with trees where many were lost?" Wondered Elizabeth.


    "Yeah, that sounds like a good idea, but wouldn''t this get her tired?" Wondered Eric.


    "Amazing¡­!" Said Erika. "So I can make trees now?! Let''s try again!"


    Erika quickly tried making new seeds. Using the same method as before, she closed her eyes and began gritting her teeth while groaning.


    Slowly, she managed to make a second seed, a third, and a fourth, and when she made a fifth. She was too tired to make more, saying that this was her limit of the day.


    "I-I think this is my limit, I can make five seeds¡­" She sighed in relief.


    "Amazing, all of these are all Mythic Grade too." I said.


    "Mythic Grade Seeds?!" Asked Erdrich.


    "And they''re packed with magic power and spiritual power¡­" Eric added.


    "Perhaps we could use them to protect the vige somehow? Erika said that the Yggdrasil Tree protects the vige with some aura thing right?" Elizabeth wondered.


    "Yeah! It generates an invisible Spiritual Barrier. The more trees with spiritual energy around, the stronger the barrier can be¡­ Ah, maybe this is my destiny too!" Erika suddenly realized this was her calling. "I can do this¡­ Maybe this is what papa and the Dryad wanted me to do, right?"


    "You want to?" I asked.


    "I do, I really do!" Erika was decided.


    "Alright then, let''s go nt trees if you want. I believe they''ll be good for the entire forest. I have a few more ideas as well." I said with a smile.


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 Chapter 456 Erikas A Half-Spirit?!

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    Like that, Erika nted a seed right where we left her father''s ashes. The seed sprouted immediately, as a small little sapling emerged just minutes after the seed was left below the soil and given some water. However, it slowly grew from there, not instantly, but Erika said the "baby" was going to grow big in the next days.


    "Baby, grow big okay?"


    She talked to the little sapling as it seemed to respond to her by moving its leaves up and down.


    "Wow, it responds?!" Asked Elizabeth.


    "Erika''s powers are amazing!" Eric was surprised, quickly beginning to write everything he documented inside a small notebook.


    This was something he named "Dryad''s Abilities Journal". Because Dryads were so little known, he wanted to register everything Erika was capable of now as "Dryad''s Natural Abilities" for his own knowledge. He didn''t really nned to share this info, even less that Erika is half-dryad.


    "Now that we are done here, let''s leave your father''s gravestone here." I said.


    "Alright!"


    Everyone helped at cing the gravestone, which had her father''s full name on it.


    "I hope this is enough for now, papa. I''ll make the tree grow big so your ashes are not wasted. They will be one with the tree and you will live forever in that tree!" Erika said with a smile.


    "Alright, let''s go then."


    We didn''t had much to do, so we set off into nting the other four seeds Erika made.


    "Why are we going so deep into the forest?" Wondered Elizabeth.


    "Wait, isn''t this the path towards the Swamps?!" Asked Eric while feeling afraid of encountering monsters.


    "Yes." I said with a smile. "Erika''s seeds are not just trees, they exude powerful spiritual essence, of life and nature. That means that they can purify miasma. If we nt these trees near the swamp which is still filled with Miasma, the miasma will slowly get absorbed by the trees and then purified. Or that''s what I have nned."


    "Wow, yeah, maybe if we do that it''ll really work¡­" Erika said with a smile. "Alright!"


    And like that, we nted the four trees around the swamps, which were still bubbling with ck miasmic liquid. Ultimately we encountered packs of monsters as we did our jobs, but we were so strong now that we managed to get them done without issues. I earned 20k EXP out of it all, it wasn''t really that much but it''ll suffice.


    "And done¡­ Make sure to grow big in here!" She said to the trees, as her dolls had been assisting us around. They gained new Jobs now, such as Gardener, Farmer, and even Druid, which aid at boosting the strength of nts when growing, which was crucial to allow these seedlings to resist the miasma and grow big enough to be able to slowly cleanse it.


    The next day, we checked on Erika''s home backyard once more, finding the tree, which had grown up to a meter tall in just a single day.


    "Amazing¡­"


    "It grew so quickly!"


    "Maybe after this week it''ll be even bigger¡­"


    As the group was admiring the tree, I approached Erika who seemed rather prideful of her little creation.


    "Erika are you okay living alone?" I wondered.<novelnext></novelnext>


    "Well¡­ Yeah, I mean the dolls are there for me¡­" She said.


    "Are you sure? Well, my mother said that it was okay if I could invite you to live with us." I told her.


    Erika''s eyes opened wide.


    "Really?!"


    "Yeah, my room was too big anyways, we''ll build a wall in the middle of it and separate it into two small rooms. Do you think that''s alright for you?" I asked.


    "Yes, it is! I am d about it. I would be happier if there wasn''t any wall though¡­ but I guess it makes sense." She said happily.


    "Alright then, good." I said with a nod. "You can also juste back to your house whenever you feel like. Or move things to our own, your choice, really."


    "I might leave my house as some sort of Atelier, what do you think? So we can use it for alchemy, crafting, and everything else. Our little hideout for our group!" She said.


    "Sounds like a good n I guess." I said.


    "It sounds good." Eleanora added. "We could also bring other things here, such as materials we have collected."


    "Oh yeah, though not all of them, we don''t want to turn it into a storehouse."


    "Materials?" Asked Erika.


    "Well, we''ve got an underground base where we store a lot of things, materials, meat, food, everything¡­" I said.


    There are even the corpses of bandits frozen in there, which I use as experiments.


    I guess I am better not telling them that though.


    "Cool! Can I go to that hideout!?" She wondered.


    "¡­No, it is small cramped and not enjoyable. We only leave stuff there. Don''t worry." I said while shrugging.


    "O-Oh, okay then¡­" Erika nodded. "Well! I already made some more seeds, this time only three so I can rest a bit more¡­ I don''t think I could make five a day."


    "Hm, don''t push yourself too hard. Try making some weekly instead than daily if you''re tired tomorrow." I said. "There might be some sort of limit, or perhaps you''re exhausting something that might be too precious to use. But I believe that you''ve be something like¡­ Half Spirit."


    "Half Spirit?" Erika wondered, the rest of our friends also walked towards us, overhearing what I said.


    "Half Spirit because you''re already a Half-Dryad, and Dryads are a special type of Spirits that are also a Tribe of People." I said. "Due to that, you can do things even more incredible than humans, you''ve got spiritual abilities innate to you, not directly connected to the spirits you possess."


    "A-Amazing¡­ So that''s why I can hear and talk to trees, make seeds, and even help them grow bigger!" Erika seemed excited.


    "Yeah, I believe that''s why. You probably have your own Spiritual Essence Pool aside from Mana, which you''re spending making these seeds. Maybe wait until that pool is refilled naturally to make more." Erika''s abilities might be amazing, but everything has a limit.


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 Chapter 457 Years Later

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    Since that day that our life went back to normal, calm days after days of warm breezes, sunny days, and farming with the family. asionally hunting with friends, creating items with alchemy weekly, and practicing with my abilities while creating new spells and leveling up my skills while cultivating my body, soul, and spirit orb. Days became weeks, weeks became months, months became years¡­ And in the blink of an eye, I was now twelve years of age.


    Those days I spent with everyone as a small child were now in the past, but to me, and my perception of life due to my previous life having lived for so long, it all felt like the blink of an eye. As if it was all just yesterday. Although it was a couple of years, the things that have happened could be all be counted with the fingers of my two hands.


    Erika''s trees had spread across the vige and the forest as we had nned. She continued creating seeds weekly over the months and then years, and the trees grew incredibly quickly, reaching their adult size in only a month, and giving fruits in two months from being nted. Like that, the Miasmic Swamp waspletely gone in just a year and a half, and the forest gained several "guardians" in the trees Erika created, which eventually grew bigger than the other trees, and connected with the others through roots, sharing their spiritual energy.


    The entire forest changed over time, people started seeing sparkles of light at night, sometimes whispers and voices could be heard. Without realizing the forest transformed into a Spiritual Forest, where small spirits of nature were born, influencing the rest of their surroundings, and imbuing it all with spiritual essence.


    Monsters became tamer and less aggressive; they simply minded their own business instead of always seeking to kill humans. Demons were nowhere to be seen now. Apparently they abhorred spiritual essence of this quality and felt it was disgusting, so any wild tribes of demons kept themselves very far away from our territory.


    Especially thanks to the tree we nted behind Eric''s house. The Lesser Yggdrasil Tree grew three times its original size through these years, reaching almost 80 meters, people obviously began to notice such a behemoth, but thanks to the help of the priest''s cooperation, we convinced the vige that this was a special Spiritual Tree that protected the vige. Many people slowly began to attribute it to Ellergest''s death, thinking it was hisst gift to protect everyone, so it worked rather well.


    And indeed, it worked as intended. The Lesser Yggdrasil Tree connected to the other trees that Erika created, the Dryad Trees, and with them all having abined series of roots, they created their own "Spiritual Barrier" around the vige, which continued leveling up the more trees that Erika nted connected to the Lesser Yggdrasil.


    Our vige obviously took the attention of the people outside. The vige was ultimately renamed as Ellergest vige in honor of the High Priest, and they called this tree "Ellergest''s Gift" or something. The enormous tree became something of a worshipped figure, and even shrines were built around there. People constantly gathered to pray to the Holy Spirits with the help of the tree.<novelnext></novelnext>


    Of course, Erika''s trees were very normal looking, so in all this time nobody suspected anything aside from these being weird trees that always had fruits around the vige. Due to this, even the homeless had food avable. And even though many people constantly harvested these fruits, new ones popped all the time. Some tried to take the trees for themselves in a fit of greed, but ended being punished by the trees themselves, who can retaliate using Spiritual Auras to intimidate those that attempted to take them out or steal them.


    Some insane people tried to burn some of the trees, but because of the giant tree in the vige, trees became something like an important figure to the people, those that tried to burn the trees in retaliation of them not allowing these people to bring them away from the vige ended being punished back by the priests. Many people were thrown to jail for their stupidity, until they ultimately learned their lesson. Thankfully I didn''t had to resort to violence myself, or some heads would had ended rolling over the floor if anybody actually seeded in burning the trees, which were like Erika''s children.


    The trees and the giant one became a touristic attraction, however. More adventurers and other nobles traveled to the vige constantly, some even deciding to stay here to live. Which improved the vige''s entire appearance. In these couple of years, it had expanded to the point it resembled a small city, with paved floor and even arge area where carriages were stationed due to the sheer amount of people that came and went from the vige. Many nobles heard of this countryside vige "protected by the spirits" and moved here for a change of pace and also to feel more protected.


    Things expanded over time, there were suddenly more jobs, homeless people became rarer as the chief decided to build more and more houses with the money the vige was making, and people was thriving. I never really expected that the trees we nted would end up turning the entire vige upside down for the better¡­ And even more, several big trees popped out here and there as well, one in where the swamp was, another where the dungeon was, and several others near the outside of the forest, facing the mountains.


    Of course, we did this ourselves to protect our territory even more. These powerful trees weakened, absorbed, and cleansed miasma, which made things safer for everybody. They were incredible and I nned to make even more grow around the world, to cleanse the miasma these damned demons brought to Spiritias.


    I felt that it was my calling. I don''t exactly know how, but it felt as if the more trees I nted, the more of this strange divine spiritual essence began entering my body. And I also started to sense the eyes of divine beings above the heavens.


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 Chapter 458 Yggdrasil’s Gardener

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    There was only one Spirit Tree in the world, in a farawaynd where Elves existed. However, thanks to the small branch that became a staff that Eric''s ancestor brought, the possibility to expand the World Tree became a reality. It was rather simply to cut down arge piece of the original tree we grew up and then nt it around and use the same spells to make it grow into a big tree.


    These spells were too exhausting, so we couldn''t do this daily, and to not make it too weird, we ended only doing this once every two months. The forest wouldn''t be able to stabilize with so many of them popping out daily, so we had to do it slowly. Nheless, we did a fantastic job. The entire forest was already renamed by the King as the "Ellergest''s Spirit Forest" and was regarded as a National Treasure by itself.


    These trees are capable of fighting off the demonic energy and the miasma that true demons abhor. But interestingly enough, it doesn''t hurt me nor Erdrich despite both of us having demonic energy within our bodies. Nheless, because I nted so many trees and helped Erika grow so many, I earned a Title named [Yggdrasil''s Gardener] and my Agriculture Skill leveled up quite a lot.


    -----


    [Yggdrasil''s Gardener: Lv3]


    Skill Proficiency: 12990/30000


    A Unique Title Skill only given to those who have nted Yggdrasil Trees or Spiritual Trees over a long time, and inrge quantities. This Title grants the authority of someone that is an ally of [Yggdrasil] the Spirit World Tree, and grants favorability from all Spirits, while also granting favorability for all Holy Spirits, who regard the user as a special being.


    Increases the growth of all types of nts the user takes care of by +100%, with an additional +30% with each Skill Level. Additionally, Increases Natural Affinity to Nature And Life Element Magic, increasing damage dealt, spell effects, and magic control by +20% with each Skill Level. MP Cost for Nature and Life Element Magic is decreased by -20% with an additional -5% with each Skill Level.


    -----


    It was an incredible Skill that granted me affinity for Nature and Life Element, increased these elements damage and other things, and even decreased MP consumption. Like this, the creation of trees became even smoother as Elizabeth, Eric, and Erika also acquired this Title Skill, apparently.<novelnext></novelnext>


    Moving on, it wouldn''t be an understatement to say that everyone have grown up quite a lot. Now that we were all teenagers, we all got a stretch. Chris, Erdrich, and I became taller by a few centimeters, I almost was reaching my father''s size at only almost 13 years of age. Meanwhile, Eric only grew a little bit, staying rather small in stature. From amongst the girls, Erika became taller as well, almost my same stature, while Elizabeth only grew slightly taller than Eric.


    Today was my birthday, and most of the others were already 13 anyways, we had dyed going to the Adventurer Academy by three years after we received an information over what had happened. Due to the death of Ellergest the special rmendations were cancelled, and we had to battle for years with the priests to be allowed into the academy while not being Nobles, ultimately after Seth was finally promoted to the new High Priest, it was finally allowed. The Nobles were incredibly annoying overmoners going to the Academy, but ultimately not only thanks to Seth but thanks to the recognition of the Lord of the country, we were allowed.


    It was all a huge battle done in the sidelines. We couldn''t do much ourselves. I couldn''t do much even if I wanted, I was only a child with no political power, and Erika''s case was not something that could be talked about publicly. Her mother had responded to her call, but she said she would visit her once she went to the capital for strange reasons. We were in the blue in that regard.


    In regards of my power leveling, I had reached Rank 2 Spirit Orb several months ago, I was the first of my group to reach it. It happened right after I reached Level 30, which was a hellish road due to barely going out to hunt as I was busy doing many things and the level requirements bing absolutely ridiculous, amongst other things, such as monsters bing rare around here and not having much spare time to go to the londs, which were several days away from my home.


    Several of my Skills Leveled up through these years, although I trained diligently, I still did it rather leisurely to enjoy life and not spend most of my time simply leveling skills instead of spending time with those I cared for. Bncing both things was hard, but as someone that was reborn, neglecting these things my previous self never truly had at this age would had been foolish, so I choose to prioritize my family and friends, withoutpletely neglecting growing stronger.


    I''ve been Practicing Magic and forging my Physique, while drinking Soul Potions asionally, most of the time ten every month, which over the years became hundreds. The Grimoire gained a few neat new tricks, such as having an [Internal Storage] where I can store items more freely, although small ones that can only fit within the pages of the Grimoire, showing me my Magic Circle Tier and my Soul Psyche Tier alongside the Physique. All of such tiers were important for the growth of my strength. Being able to see them at all times for a quick reminder was truly useful.


    After reaching max level and Spirit Orb Rank 2, I quickly changed sses, changing from one star Invoker to two-star Summoner, and from one star Alchemist to two-star Synthesist, an advanced form of Alchemist that merges magic with materials to make Magic Artifacts. And of course, they came with their own Unique Skill Trees. I have been saving my Skill Points and Stat Points all this time to use them when it was finally time to move out of my vige.


    I suppose it is time to assess them all and decide which member of Asmodeus'' servants should I get for my second Vampire Summon.


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 Chapter 459 Growth

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    After a couple of years I naturally was able to Level up to Level 30, Rank Up to Rank 2 in my Spirit Orb, and then was able to reach Level 5 out of 50 after changing Talents from Invoker to Summoner and Alchemist to Synthesist. My stats not only increased based on the leveling up, but also thanks to the forging of my Physique, Psyche, and the Magic Circle. My Physique had yet to reach Tier 4, I need higher quality materials for this, and Psyche is about to reach Tier 2 after drinking who knows how many Soul Potions. Lastly, Magic Circle is at Tier 2, soon to be Tier 3.


    -----


    [Name]: [ke Hunter Goathorn]


    [Race]: [Human]


    [Spirit Orb Realm]: [Rank 2 (Initial Stage)]


    [Physique]: [Vampiric Blood Emperor Physique (Tier 3: Rank 8)]


    [Psyche]: [Forging Soul Psyche (Tier 1: Rank 10)]


    [Magic Circle]: [Shadow Blood Circle (Tier 2: Rank 9)]


    [Job ss]: [Summoner: ¡ï¡ï]


    [Subss]: [Synthesist: ¡ï¡ï]


    [Level]: [5/50]


    [EXP]: [12830/50000]


    [Health Points]: [1160/1160]


    [Mana Points]: [1848/1848]


    [Strength]: [1216]


    [Agility]: [1060]


    [Vitality]: [1022]


    [Intelligence]: [1497]


    [Dexterity]: [1079]


    [Spirits (1/2)]: [Half-Vampire: Eleanora (Rank 2 Initial Stage)] [Empty Slot]


    [Physique Abilities]: [Tier 3: Superhuman Body (+Demonic Arm)] [Tier 3: Supernatural Senses] [Tier 3: Vampiric Eyes (+Demon Eyes of Paralysis +Demon Eye of Gravity)] [Tier 3: Self Regeneration]


    [Psyche Abilities]: [Tier 1: Soul Aura] [Tier 1: Soul Materialization] [Tier 1: Soul Gaze]


    [Link Skills]:


    [Link (Eleanora): [Shadow Sneak: 5] [Charm: Lv6] [Assassination: Lv5] [Ninjutsu: Lv3]


    [Passive Skills]: [Acrobatics: Lv7] [Robust Body: Lv5] [Hard Worker: Lv6] [Hawk Eye: 6] [Gifted Magic Apprentice: Lv6] [Heavy Drinker: Lv4], [Intimidation: Lv4]<novelnext></novelnext>


    [Active Skills]: [Throwing Technique: Lv6] [Spearmanship: Lv6] [Butcher: Lv4] [Alchemy: Lv5] [Brewing: Lv4] [Synthetize: Lv4] [First Aid: Lv6], [Command: Lv5], [Cooking: Lv5] [Agriculture: Lv5]


    [Magic Skills]: [Blood Arts: Lv4] [Shadow Maniption: Lv4] [Create/Delete Familiar: Lv4] [Summon/Unsummon Familiar: Lv4] [Familiar Storage Expansion: Lv4] [Familiar Synthesis: Lv4] [Apprentice Alchemist Recipe Book: Lv4] [Spirit And Master Connection: Lv3]


    [Title Skills]: [Beast yer: Lv4] [Demon yer: Lv4] [Savior: Lv4] [ughter King: Lv3] [Dragon yer: Lv2] [Kin yer: Lv2] [Undead yer: Lv4] [Alchemist: Lv4] [Yggdrasil''s Gardener: Lv3]


    Avable Stat Points: 180


    Avable Skill Points: 200


    Can gain 10 Stat Points and Skill Points with each Level.


    Curses:


    EXP required to level up x100


    Proficiency required to learn techniques and skills x100


    Mana/Qi/Aether Recovery speed decreased by -50%


    -----


    Eleanora''s Spirit Link Skill had reached Level 4, which allowed me to Link with four of her Skills as well, I had chosen Shadow Sneak first, then Charm, Assassination, andstly Ninjutsu, all of them were useful for my preferred way of fighting nowadays. Shadow Sneak facilitated movement in battle, Charm allowed to make myself more convincing to others, Assassination boosts damage dealt on surprise attacks, and Ninjutsu grants a variety of techniques that can be useful in battle.


    After considering it for a while, I decided to spend my remaining Stat Points all into Strength. The stronger I can be, the more damage I can deal. Agility and other things can be boosted through a variety of techniques and arts at my disposal thanks to Blood Arts and Shadow Control being at Level 4.


    [You have exchanged 180 Stat Points]


    [You gained +180 Strength!]


    The moment I administrated those Stat Points, my muscles tensed up and they felt even stronger and more firm, as steel, perhaps. With thebination of my physique, I believe I receive an even greater bonus when increasing Strength using Stat Points.


    [Your Physique has reacted to the sudden increase in Strength!]


    [You gained +20 Strength and Vitality!]


    I''ve been trying to kill every single monster I find in the forest for a while now, but I''ve only barely scrapped 5 levels over thisst half a year since I got to Level 30 and changed into higher star Talents. Monsters here just don''t suffice, and I bet lond monsters won''t do much better either. If I want to continue growing stronger, it is about time to move on.


    However, there are certainly several other things I must do first. One of them is helping Eleanora evolve, something that all Spirits can do after their master reaches the next Rank. Their Rank goes with their Master, but they can receive this extra buff. Something not really many do due to the risks thate with it, but I''ve umted a good amount of a variety of materials. And Eleanora also agreed in Evolving.


    Based in the Materials Used for the Evolution Process, Spirits can gain a variety of new powers. This can only be done once every time the Spirit Orb of their master Ranks Up, so their evolution can happen several times. Usually they gain one new Skill and bonus stats. Sometimes it could even give them a new Element altogether.


    However, because I didn''t wanted to risk a failure, I simply decided to go for a ssic and normal evolution. I had already set things up back in Erika''s house, and while she was on the second floor, I promptly made Eleanora evolve. The ritual was rather simple, a Spiritual Circle has to be written over the floor and the materials must be ced inside small circr nodes imbued with runes.


    When the Spirit is standing in the middle, Mana has to be poured into the Spiritual Circle and then chant a certain spell, the spiritual evolution will begin. The same happened here, as Eleanora slowly absorbed each of the materials, which all consisted of Blood Spirit Orbs and the body parts I cut off from bandits turned Vampires I shredded into pieces. A reason why I needed to do this alone and without Erika watching.


    Nheless, the whole processsted like five minutes, and after it finished, a lot of red smoke exploded out of the magic circle, filling the entire first floor. However, from within, a "new" Eleanora emerged. Her hair was even redder, her eyes even more seducing, and her figure even more charming. Her Vampiric powers were enhanced as she evolved from Half-Vampire Spirit to a full-fledged Vampire Spirit.


    -----

 Chapter 460 Eleanoras Evolution & Erika

    -----


    Eleanora received great improvements all around, although her appearance didn''t drastically change, her presence and authority as a Vampire did increase greatly.


    -----


    [Name]: [Eleanora]


    [Spirit Race]: [Vampire]


    [Spirit Type]: [Blood/Dark/Fire]


    [Spirit Realm]: [Rank 2 (Initial Stage)]


    [Level]: [5/50]


    [Health Points]: [2073/2073]


    [Strength]: [2003]


    [Agility]: [1542]


    [Vitality]: [1061]


    [Intelligence]: [967]


    [Dexterity]: [1685]


    [Link Skills]:


    [Link (ke): [Hard Worker: Level 6] [Alchemy: Lv5] [Command: Lv5] [Shadow Maniption: Lv4]


    [Passive Skills]: [Half-Vampire: Lv4] [Charm: Lv6] [Spirit Link: Lv4]


    [Active Skills]: [Assassination: Lv5] [Illusion: Lv5] [Stealth: Lv5] [Spearmanship: Lv6] [Bloodthirsty Wrath: Lv3] [Nimble and Soundless Movements: Lv3] [Vampiric Eyes: Lv1]


    [Magic Skills]: [Blood Arts: Lv4] [Shadow Sneak: Lv5] [Blood Bat Transformation: Lv5] [Blood Threads: Lv5] [Shadow Trap Creation: Lv5] [Blood Aura: Lv4] [Blood Envement Contract: Lv3] [Ninjutsu: Lv3] [Blood re: Lv1]


    [Title Skills]: [Vampire Queen: Lv4] [Demon yer: Lv4] [Progenitor Vampire: Lv3] [Undead yer: Lv3] [Alchemist: Lv2] [Vampire Ninja: Lv2]


    [Avable Stat Points]: [0]


    [Avable Skill Points]: [250]


    -----


    Eleanora''s stats increased even more as she ascended into a Vampire, and even gained two bonus Skills, Blood re for offensive Magic Damage and Vampiric Eyes for cursing foes and momentarily paralyze them if they''re susceptible enough. Additionally, she suddenly gained the Fire Element, something I had not expected, but perhaps was rted greatly with the fact she acquired [Blood re] after all. Her eyes were ring with red fire, perhaps this is a new element she had awakened now as a spirit.


    "Fire, huh? I never expected to get this element from all the ones out there¡­" She said while beginning to summon red fire and y around it as if it were nothing.


    "Be careful where you put that fire, you might end up identally burning this house, Eleanora." I sighed, reprimanding her.


    "Awe on, let me y for a bit longer¡­ I am a bit nervous you know? We are leaving tomorrow and all. I never thought I would grow so attached to this ce to the point it makes me nervous to leave¡­" She sighed.


    "Well, yeah, I agree. It really makes me slightly concerned, this whole thing." I sighed. "We have gone beyond what I had ever thought we would reach in this tiny vige. It is more like a city at this point."


    "Well, it has been almost five years ke¡­ But yeah. Finally, we''ll go see more of this world outside." Said Eleanora.<novelnext></novelnext>


    Aside from entering he Adventurer''s Academy, there was another thing that required me to reach this age, and that was. Obviously, that at the age of 13 we are considered young adults (while we are considered adults at 15), and we won''t be apprehended if we wander around as kids. It is also the age our parents traditionally let us go more loose instead of being so controlling, although this might be different in other parts of the world for all I know.


    "ke! Are you done evolving Eleanora?"


    Erika quickly walked downstairs; her appearance had changed a lot from when she was just eight years of age. Taller than before, with a more defined body even her chest has begun to grow rmedly bigger over thest weeks.


    "Yeah, all''s done now." I said with a smile. "Oh, is this a new dress?"


    Erika was wearing a beautiful new dress, it was white and red in color, and she was even wearing shoulder pads and chest te too as her full armor set.


    "Yeah, do you like it? I choose something simple for my fighting gear¡­" She said, giving a spin. "Heheh, how do I look?"


    "Beautiful of course. You''re not one of the girls every kid has a crush on for nothing." Iughed.


    "Geez, that''s not as if I wanted it to happen that way¡­" She said while pouting. "But I am d you find me beautiful! You''re also quite handsome, never thought your baby face would finally change a bit!"


    "Hey! Who are you calling baby face?" I sighed. "Anyways, we have to go back home now. My mother''s going to yell at me if we arete to my birthday party."


    "Alright!" Erika ran after me, as the two of us walked back home.


    The beautiful big tree at the distance, the sweet aroma of its leaves, the beautiful forest and the green grass covering these ins. The houses, the farms, the animals, the smell of fresh soil¡­ I will miss it all.


    "We are finally starting our adventure, aren''t we?" Erika wondered.


    "Well¡­ I wouldn''t exactly call an adventure to sit on a desk all day. But yeah, probably." I said.


    Erika looked at me with her green and golden eyes.


    "What''s wrong? You look¡­ sad." She said.


    "Hm?"


    I was fairly sure that I wasn''t making any face at all¡­ Did she somewhat read through my heart? I think this is also part of her Dryad''s abilities. I suppose I cannot really hide my feelings from her as easy as before.


    "Well¡­ Yeah. I am quite sad to leave behind my home and everything else. I know my desire for exploring this world and growing stronger is even bigger but¡­ I can''t help but feel like this. I guess it''s going to go away once we begin our journey."


    Erika smiled back at me.


    "Honestly, I am very sad too! So sad I could cry¡­" She sighed. "But I smile anyways, because my excitement and happiness over what''s toe easily ovees this sadness¡­"


    Despite the childish nature of her words, I found some truth in them.


    "You are?" I asked.


    "Yeah¡­ I am excited to go with everyone¡­ and you." Said Erika, as she suddenly blushed a bit.


    Her hand slowly stretched towards mine, as she held my hand like the old times, when we were small children and I had to hold her hand to make her feel protected and not alone.


    I guess I am the one beingforted now.


    Unlike before, her hand was warm, and filled with vitality, she held mine tightly, as if trying to convey her feelings through this¡­


    "Thank you, Erika."


    -----

 Chapter 461 Love

    -----


    I still remember her confession that time, and how I felt unsure about actually telling her my own. Mostly because we were so young. Even after almost five years, it still feels like we are too young for these types of things. But the truth is, my feelings for her have not changed, they have only grown over time.


    "A-About the thing I once told you before¡­"


    Erika began fidgeting around as she seemed to be mustering her feelings.


    "Oh, that?" I asked.


    "Y-You remember too?" She asked. "I''m sorry¡­ I¡­"


    She quickly let go of my hand.


    "I was being childish back then, I shouldn''t had just said such a thing¡­ Haha, I was just a kid." Sheughed a bit, looking at the horizon. "I''m sorry if that made you worry unnecessarily or something. Maybe the death of my father was what put me so emotional."


    "It certainly did. I don''t me you for that." I said. "That confession was rushed, but I still remember it. I didn''t felt concerned or something, in fact, it made me happy."


    "Happy?" She asked.


    "Yeah¡­ Nobody ever told me such a thing." I said to her. "You touched my heart."


    "B-ke¡­" Erika sighed. "But it has been so long, I know you don''t¡­ feel the same, right? So I don''t really want to force you."


    "Force me? No, I just wanted to¡­ apologize a bit. I am sorry for taking so long." I said to Erika, as we stopped walking and I looked at her in the eyes, holding both of her hands again. "I feel the same, Erika. I also love you."


    "E-Eh?"


    The warm wind fluttered across the vige, the sweet aroma of the Yggdrasil tree adorned this moment, as Erika''s eyes began to shine brightly, suddenly, tears started flowing from her eyes.


    "R-Really? You''re not pranking me?"


    "I am not¡­ Back then, I wasn''t sure of who I was¡­ of what I have be¡­ But over time, I came to terms with my own identity and who I truly am."


    I was tired of chasing the figure of my previous life. I wanted to be someone different, myself. Trying to be like Asmodeus wouldn''t work anymore, I didn''t had the same background anymore, nor the strength, nor the circumstances.


    And I had been neglecting my own self all this time, thinking that it was merely a childish thought, a thing of the moment¡­ that it wasn''t the real me.


    But yes, it was always the real me.


    I will use the memories and knowledge of this previous life; the greatest gift Asmodeus could had left for me.


    ? But I am no longer Asmodeus.


    I am ke Goathorn, the prideful son of a Hunter and a Tailor.


    "I am sorry for taking so long to answer you¡­ We were young back then but now that we are 13, I guess it is fine now, right? I don''t know if you feel the same way anymore, but I had to get this out of my chest."


    Erika looked at me as if she was tearing apart.


    "I-I¡­ I never thought¡­"


    "You didn''t?"


    "You were always so secretive and sometimes emotionless¡­ I often thought you would never really love anyone."


    "I''m sorry if I made you think that way, I was merely hiding these feelings because I believed they made me someone weak. But those feelings are exactly the thing that motivates me every day to be stronger, to keep on living, and to keep fighting."


    "That means¡­?"


    "You''re my motivation, Erika. Since the moment I meet you, that you always were."


    "ke¡­!"


    Erika suddenly jumped over me, throwing me into the grass.


    She hugged me tightly, covering my chest with her tears.


    "Of course I still love you! H-How could I not love you? After everything you''ve done¡­ After always being at my side¡­ You and only you¡­ you''re the most special to me, to my entire life."<novelnext></novelnext>


    "Erika¡­"


    "Now that you''ve said this, I am not letting you go¡­ I will stay at your side, always¡­ And I''ll help you in anything you need¡­ So I can one day be a good wife."


    "You''re taking it a bit too far; you don''t need to force yourself-"


    "I am not forcing myself! It is¡­ what I want."


    I couldn''t help but smile back at her.


    "I see¡­ Then I''ll make sure I can be a fitting husband one day."


    I tried to y along with her, but I ended saying something too embarrassing.


    My previous self must be narrowing his eyes at me for saying something like this.


    I am sorry, Asmodeus.


    "ke¡­"


    Erika''s face quickly closed to me as her lips approached my own. I could had stopped her, but I let her do as she pleased.


    Her kiss was soft and warm, this was the first kiss I''ve ever had in my life. It felt reinvigorating.


    When her soft lips moved away from mine, she smiled back.


    "I-I always wanted to do that¡­"


    "It was good."


    The two of us quickly sat over the grass and then I helped Erika get up. She seemed paralyzed after giving me a kiss out of all the nervousness she felt. It was natural for her I suppose.


    "Let''s go now, we don''t want to get therete, don''t we?"


    "Yeah! I want cake!"


    "Mother made an amazing cake; I am sure you''re going to love it."


    "Will your papa make meat?"


    "Yeah he should be roasting it by now¡­ So what did you got me for my gift?"


    "Eeeh? That''s a secret! I can''t just tell you beforehand! Don''t be greedy now~!"


    "Okay, okay, I''ll wait."


    As we walked back home I heard Eleanora''s voice.


    However, to my surprise, she wasn''t angered or anything.


    Theplete opposite. She was crying out of happiness while blushing.


    "By the gods¡­ That was so beautiful¡­"


    "Y-You''re happy over it?"


    "Yeah, Erika really deserved that! You finally epted your feelings, didn''t you?"


    "I thought you would get jealous¡­"


    "At this point I can''t get jealous of her. She''s not my rival anymore but a partner¡­ However, I am not going to lose either!"


    Not going to lose¡­ I thought she said this wasn''t a rivalry anymore.


    -----

 Chapter 462 Thank You For Being My Father

    -----


    After learning and feeling relieved Eleanora had grown so attached with Erika that she didn''t felt jealous of her advances with me anymore, we reached back home. The first thing we saw was my father cookingrge steaks of Wild Giant Boar and skewers of the same meat in smaller chunks. Alongside that, there was also chicken meat and even fish, something new that has begun to be part of our daily life meals.


    Apparently upon the purification of the forest, the swamps quickly changed and ended bing a pristineke whichter connected to many new rivers that showed up. This made it so fish started popping out everywhere, and fishing now became a daily activity. There was a variety of fish in theke and rivers, all of them edible.


    Because there was such a plenty of fishes and they multiplied incredibly quickly due to the richness of mana and spiritual essence infused in the whole forest, freshwater fish suddenly became a staple food for our vige. And not only fish, but small crustaceans also started showing up, such as freshwater crabs, shrimps, and lobsters, all of them delicious.


    "Hey, look who''s back! Did Eleanora evolved?" My father asked.


    "Yeah. I am all evolved now!" Eleanora showed up before father.


    "Hm? You kind of look the same to me¡­" He said while raising an eyebrow.


    "Eh?! I-I did change!" Eleanora pouted. "Geez¡­"


    "Hahaha, rx, rx! Anyways- Oh?"


    My father suddenly was about to talk about something, but quickly stopped, looking at me and Erika¡­ we were still holding hands without noticing. We quickly let go of each other''s hands, as Erika blushed a bit.


    "Oh? What''s this? Since you were little kids that you haven''t done that anymore¡­" My father began rubbing his chin while smiling. "Something''s up here, isn''t it?"


    "W-Well¡­" Erika felt too nervous to speak.


    I hugged her shoulder as I told father to not pursue the topic.


    "Let it be dad. She doesn''t want to adress it."


    "Oh, okay, sorry. My bad."


    Thankfully father was understandable about these things.


    As we walked inside home, however, he stopped me a bit, asking Erika to go inside to talk with me. He also asked the same to Eleanora. As the two walked inside home, father and I had a small chat.


    "Alright¡­ So what I am assuming happened, isn''t it?"


    "¡­What are you assuming?"


    "That you two are in¡­ a rtionship?"


    "Not so¡­ But we both kissed."


    "That''s more or less!"


    My father suddenly got happy out of the blue, as he began rubbing my head like he was proud of me.


    "I knew my boy would get to it eventually! You''re as handsome as your father after all! Erika was always in love with you, your mother and I always knew you would end up together eventually."


    "This is¡­ rather embarrassing to talk about."


    "It''s fine, I am your old man,e on!"


    "Sigh¡­ Yeah, maybe we''ll get to a rtionship, but that''ll take its time."


    "I know you like things to go slowly. You''re overly cautious about everything. To be honest I didn''t really thought you would ever let her get to you like that, but I guess I was wrong. My son has really grown up."<novelnext></novelnext>


    "You think so?"


    "Of course¡­ You''ve grown up so much that sometimes I miss when you were smaller and grumpier."


    My father began tough merrily.


    I guess I''ll miss this old man¡­


    "Thank you dad."


    "Eh? Why?"


    "For¡­ being my father."


    "Huh?"


    "You have been a figure I''ve looked up to since I was a kid."


    Even though I once thought of him as a lowly human, I started to admire his strength, his personality, and his tenacity. Slowly, I changed my perspective and stopped looking at people in such a way, realizing everyone had their unique talents.


    I suppose I looked up to him because despite the adversities we have faced as a poor family, he always fought to protect us, to bring us food, and to always make sure we were happy. No matter what. He even went as far as battling the demons and the undead armies, despite risking his life.


    "You''re an amazing man, thank you for raising me."


    "ke¡­"


    My father smiled back at me and then hugged me tightly.


    "I am also happy my first son was you. You''re the best, kid."


    I suddenly felt as if his tears were flowing over my shoulders.


    "You''re so talented. Sometimes I felt overwhelmed by everything you did¡­ Over time, I took everything for granted, but I suppose you''re still my kid, that baby I had to change the diapers from and all¡­ Let me tell you that your father''s proud of you."


    My father quickly cleansed his tears as he smiled back at me.


    "Thank you¡­ I guess I needed to hear that."


    It made me feel happy, a happiness I never thought I would feel before. The happiness of being praised, to make the ones important to you proud¡­


    "Alright, let''s go inside now-"


    "Papa, I''m hungy!"


    "Is fish done?"


    Suddenly, two little five-year-old children came running out of the backyard. They were my two little siblings, the twins Anna and An. Thesest years I''ve dedicated myself to help my family at raising them, from changing their diapers, to washing their clothes, to make them special food babies could eat, to bring them nutritious ingredients for their baby diets, and so on.


    They have be an important part of my heart, my two little siblings. Anna was very energetic, like Erika. She took a lot from her, as she had been ying with the twins since they were one year old. Anna is very adventurous, often dragging along the calmer An with her into her shenanigans.


    Meanwhile, An is a calm boy, not as much as I was, but he was very observant of his surroundings, perhaps slightly afraid of the world, but it is understandable at his age. Nheless, Anna always dragged him along, so she was always there for him. I can trust her in protecting my little brother.


    -----

 Chapter 463 Birthday Party

    -----


    Compared to his twin sister, An is a rather calm boy, not as much as I was, but he was very observant of his surroundings, perhaps slightly afraid of the world, but it is understandable at his age. Nheless, Anna always dragged him along, so she was always there for him. I can trust her in protecting my little brother.


    "Yeah it''s almost done you two!" My father quickly hugged the two as the twins noticed me behind father.


    "Big bro!" Anna ran towards me. "Did you evolved Eleanora?! I heard that spirits evolve and get stronger!"


    FLASH!


    Suddenly, a small golden bell appeared over her head. This was Anna''s Spirit, Golden Bell. It was a mysterious spirit, but it seemed to be light, life, and metal attribute. The only skill it knew was "Healing Chime" which conjured a healing buff to anybody nearby when it made a chiming sound.


    "Eleanora''s inside the house but she didn''t change much after evolving¡­ Nheless, she still got pretty strong, yeah."


    "Oooh¡­ I wonder if my spirit can get stronger¡­" An sighed.


    FLASH!


    At his side, his spirit appeared. Unlike Anna''s Golden Bell, An''s spirit was a Silver Flute. It had a simr ability to Anna''s Spirit, but instead of healing, it conjured a buff that enhanced Strength and Vitality. He might probably develop more buffs in the future.


    "I am sure the two of you already have amazing Spirits. This is the first time in our family that spirits such as yours were born." I said. "You''re bound for greatness."


    "Once we grow up can we go with you to an adventure?" Anna wondered.


    "Pretty please¡­" An asked.


    I looked back at father, as he was clearly telling me to not give them odd ideas. Unlike me, they were not exceptionally talented as to be allowed to do as much as they pleased like me. My parents were very overprotective of the two.


    "Well, I''ll have to see how strong you grow first! I''lle visit every now and then over the year." I said. "So make sure to train your magic and everything for that day, okay?"


    I had been teaching them magic and even created Magic Circles for them. They were born with Awakened Ki as my mother had her KI already awakened too. If this continues on, our family will be born naturally stronger and stronger over time, as the Ki passes down from family member to family member, the same for Magic Circles.


    I had written many Ki Maniption and Magic Circle Books with Eric''s help over the years, which we had kept a secret for our families benefit only. Eric''s uncle and aunt had a daughter two days ago, so he wanted to leave all these things for her. The same was for Eric''s little siblings.


    "Okaay!" Anna seemed willing to show me her training in the future.


    "You''re noting soon?" An asked while feeling saddened.


    "Well, I''ll being back several times¡­" I sighed.


    "Don''t go¡­" An suddenly hugged me, without wanting to let go of me.


    "Sigh¡­ Come on An, you''re not a baby anymore, right?" My father asked.<novelnext></novelnext>


    An nodded slowly.


    "Your brother will go on an important journey. Instead of trying to stop him, you have to cheer up for him and hope he goes well. He''ll bring you stories and gifts every time hees back." My father tried to cheer up my little brother.


    "Really?" An asked.


    "Yeah, really?" Asked Anna.


    "Yeah¡­ I will bring you amazing equipment, items, and books to read. So make sure to behave well and grow stronger." I said. "Also help your parents in every chore you can if possible. Your grandmother can''t help as much as she used to, and without me to help out, you''ll have to do what you can to help the family."


    "Alright!" Anna was pumped up.


    "Sure¡­" An smiled sweetly.


    "Anna, make sure to protect An." I kissed my little sister''s forehead, and then hugged An.


    "I will!" Anna was as energetic as ever.


    "Now, let''s go eat, I am starving."


    Like that, we walked back home. An army of people greeted my sight. Elizabeth, Chris, Eric, Erdrich, Jack, Seth, mother, grandmother, Chris'' entire family, Eric''s aunt and uncle and their little daughter, and of course, Eleanora and Erika.


    They all have grown up since those years back then. Erdrich was the elephant on the room though, he had grown excessively tall as he was now almost 15 years, he was always one and a half years older than all of us. His body had grown muscr and he looked to be already on his early twenties or something, despite still being a teen. Over time his eyes had grown red colored, and his hair became slightly reddish brown too, probably his demon bloodline developing with him.


    "Hey ke! You''rete! Were you too busy kissing with Erika or something?"


    "Hey shut up dummy! How can you say that out loud?!"


    Elizabeth reprimanded Erdrich. She had grown as well, not much in stature, but in appearance. She resembled a beautiful young maiden the more she grew up, her blonde hair was now made into several braids, and her eyes only grew smarter and sharper as she grew older. Her goody-goody personality have changed as well, as she became sharper and more intuitive with various things. She was quite bossy with a most of the group except me.


    "Happy birthday ke!" She said with a smile.


    "We''ve got you a lot of presents, haha¡­" Ericughed slightly nervously as he seemed tired, as if he had ran a marathon. Did he just came back from his house in a hurry?


    Eric seemed to be the most noticeable in change of appearancepared to his younger years. His baby-like face was still there but not as much, he seemed more experienced, and he wasn''t as skinny either, having a well-developed physique thanks to the exercise regimes I''ve put him into through the years.


    "Hahaha, ke you won''t believe this. Eric forgot making you a gift and had to go back home and pull something out with Alchemy!" Chrisughed.


    -----

 Chapter 464 Gifts

    -----


    "I didn''t forget it! In fact I''ve spent the entire week thinking about the recipe, when it was finished I fell asleep and then when I woke up. My family brought me here. When I finally fully woke up I realized I had yet to even make the gift¡­ but here it is." Eric had the gift inside a small box, so it was probably an essory.


    "Oh, I guess I was wrong¡­" Chrisughed. "I''ve brought you something big too, I remember you once said you wanted armor, so I spent a lot of moneymissioning something top notch."


    Chris brought an enormous wooden box with what seemed to be metal inside. As he had spoiled, it was probably, or most likely, a full armor set. It was indeed something I had ignored until now as my body developed too quickly to reliably make armor for the long term, but now that I was very tall and at 13, armor should be a priority.


    And about Chris himself, he had grown very tall. Although not as muscr as Erdrich, the two werepeting for the muscle head of the group. His strength was probably on his biceps and his incredibly fast legs, while Erdrich had big shoulders and arms. Chris had be quite manly looking, probably his family''s bloodline shaping him to look manlier at this age already. Short ck hair and brown eyes made for quite the looker. Many young girls in the vige had fallen for him and there wasn''t a day we didn''t saw him getting a love letter from a girl that had a crush on him.


    The same could be said of Erdrich, but not of Eric, sadly. He didn''t seemed to attract the girls, not like he minded, as he was always focused on magic, alchemy, and his brand-new passion, magic agriculture, a branch of magic research that studied magic nts.


    "You''ve got yourself a pile of gifts. Damn brat, I am envious of you¡­" Sighed Jack while crossing his arms.


    As for the priests, Jack had be a full-fledged adult at the age of 20, his red hair had grown more from back then, as he had let it grow down to his shoulders. He had be a second inmand priest apprentice, right before Seth, who has be a High Priest.


    "Jack don''t be so rude, it''s his birthday."


    Seth was the new high priest and was even beginning to grow a small beard to go with this new title. He has grown like a centimeter taller and could be said to be a pir of a man. He was already Rank 2 Peak Stage on his Spirit Orb and was focusing on growing stronger and surpassing even Ellergest.


    "Yeah, yeah. Here brat." Jack said, quickly giving me a gift. It wasn''t packed or hidden, and it was arge bottle with a pristine water-like liquid.


    "This is¡­?" I asked, before inspecting it.


    "It is the Purified High Quality Holy Water you wanted so badly to make higher potions." Said Jack. "We got it for you, it was hard to get it. We had to employ every connection we had! Only very high-ranking priests, probably those around Rank 4 can make them."


    "Oh, this is a surprise to be sure, but a wee one."


    -----


    [Highly Quality Purified Holy Water (Lesser Mythic Grade)]


    A highly purified and high-quality holy water made by a powerful Rank 4 Holy Light Element Priest. A water that has been purified so much it has be a different material altogether, containing incredible quantities of holiness within. Not only can be used for medicine, but it can also be used as material to create powerful Holy Weapons, Holy Armor, or Holy essories, which are often used to fight Demons by Pdins and War Priests.


    -----<novelnext></novelnext>


    To be honest, this was just what I wanted. I''ve been trying to make Holy Weapons and other essories imbued with Holy Light to battle demons more effectively before, but Lesser Holy Water only proved to give subpar results.


    However, this bottle of at least four litters of this incredible holy water will be more than enough to create a variety of products to my liking. Although the Alchemist Recipe Book has raised to level 4, it has yet to unlock any advanced Holy Water alternative of higher quality¡­


    -----


    [Apprentice Alchemist Recipe Book: Lv4]


    Skill Proficiency 31000/40000


    A Skill that only incredibly talented Alchemist can learn. It grants ess to a special Book that can materialize out of thin air, where an alchemist is capable of essing a series of recipes that are unlocked over time and the Skill Level, it also grants detailed information about Materials which are then registered in the book. Through the book and the required set of special Skills, Synthesis can be done anywhere.


    Additionally, grants an enhancement to the effect of all [Instant Creation] made items by +50%, with an additional +5% with each Skill Level. (New Effect Unlocked at Level 4)


    Avable Recipes for Instant Creation:


    Level 1: [Lesser Health Potion (Normal Grade)], [Lesser Mana Potion (Normal Grade)], [Lesser Antidote Potion (Normal Grade)], [Spike Bomb (Normal Grade)]


    Level 2: [Poisonous Smoke Bomb (Normal Grade)], [Combustion Bomb (Normal Grade)], [Lesser Holy Water (Normal Grade)], [Lesser Stamina Potion (Normal Grade)]


    Level 3: [ck Curse Bomb (Rare Grade)], [Freezing Bomb (Rare Grade)], [Lesser Demonic Potion (Rare Grade)], [Lesser Soul Potion (Rare Grade)]


    Level 4: [Lightning Bomb (High Rare Grade)], [Wind Bomb (High Rare Grade)], [Muscle Enhancement Potion (High Rare Grade)], [Magic Enhancement Potion (High Rare Grade)]


    -----


    I had acquired Lightning Bomb and Wind Bombs, which offered new and explosive elemental damage. Meanwhile, Muscle and Magic Enhancement Potions are special potions made with certain ingredients that can enhance certain stats. The first one enhances Maximum HP, Strength, and Vitality, while the second one enhances Maximum MP, Intelligence, and Dexterity.


    Both take effect for only 10 minutes, but they''re surely useful for the future. I heard that the Adventurer Guild sends their students straight to dungeons once the first month of studying and practicing is done. I might be able to y monsters faster than I imagined.


    -----

 Chapter 465 Amazing Items

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    "Thank you for this, the holy water wille in handy. I''ll be able to make amazing things." I said with a smile, just thinking about the possibilities got my heart racing.


    "We''ve brought you a gift as well, but it was too heavy so we left it outside." Eric''s uncle said.


    "Want toe see it with us?" Asked her aunt.


    "Big!" Said their little daughter, named yne.


    "Sure?"


    Eric''s family guided me outside, as they quickly showed me something covered by arge piece of leather. When they took off the leather cloak, an enormous cauldron was revealed.


    "This is¡­?"


    The cauldron wasn''t a normal one. It was imbued with several magic crystals, spirit stones, several runes, and made up of special magic-conducting metals. It was an advanced Alchemist Cauldron, an amazing one at that.


    "We recently bought a new one, so we thought that after repairing this one, we might as well gift it to you." Eric''s uncle said.


    "Yeah, do you like it? We felt very grateful for everything you''ve done for our son all these days.. You''ve been someone very important to him." Eric''s aunt said.


    "Important!" Little yne said while raising her little arms.


    "Awe on, don''t embarrass me like this now¡­" Eric sighed, feeling embarrassed. "This is my family''s gift, but I''ve got you something else. Here."


    Eric gave me the small wooden box, as I quickly opened it.


    Within it, I found a small ring. It waspletely gold, with a red jewel on top.


    It seemed only like a luxurious ring, however, to my eyes, this was the fruit of Eric''s research for thesest five years.


    "This is¡­?!"


    -----


    [Lesser Elixir Ring (Unique-Grade): Lv1]


    [Effects]


    [Health Points]: [+250]


    [Mana Points]: [+250]


    [Strength]: [+50]


    [Agility]: [+100]


    [Vitality]: [+50]


    [Intelligence]: [+200]


    [Dexterity]: [+100]


    [Abilities]<novelnext></novelnext>


    [Secret Knowledge]: Enhances the effects of Alchemy-made items when used by the wielder by +50%. This includes both damage dealt if they''re Attack Items or Healing/Buffing Effects if they''re consumable items.


    [Sage''s Strategy]: Reduces Exhaustion when overusing Mana while doing Alchemy greatly and hasten MP Recovery by x3. Alchemy-made items tend to be of higher quality.


    [Alchemist Atelier]: Creates a Pocket Space where any Alchemy-rted items can be stored. Total size is of 50 x 50 meters.


    [Description]


    An impressive Ring made by an aspiring Alchemist''s dreams. It was made specifically for the enhancement of an alchemist''s abilities and to facilitate their lives. Nheless, it provides an incredible enhancement to stats. However, all of such effects can only be activated if the wielder has an Alchemy-rted Skill. If worn by anybody else, the ring will lose its powers.


    -----


    "An Elixir Ring?!"


    I remember having given Eric the recipe and its concept long ago, around four to five years ago, when it was his birthday. I never thought he would secretly modify the recipe with avable materials until one day being able to actually make it.


    This ring is supposed to be something only Alchemy Gods, who can even use stars as ingredients are able to make. Howe Eric used this recipe''s concepts and simply¡­ remade it and made something simr? Its effects are amazing too¡­ this only means one thing, aside from Eric''s amazing talent, this world''s materials, even the ones found in here are of incredible qualitypared to the materials of my previous life''s memories.


    "A Lesser One. The one that you gave me the recipe for was too crazy¡­ But I did what I could. I also made another one for me!" Eric said, showing me he also had this powerful item. "With this¡­ let''s be the best alchemists!"


    Eric''s dreams were rather simple, he wanted to explore the world, find all its secrets, and collect its wondrous materials, to improve his alchemy talent and be the best alchemist. It might seem as childish back then, but now that he recreated such a powerful item, I can already tell he is serious about this.


    "Very well, that''s what we''ll do."


    As I walked back home, mother and grandmother brought the birthday cake, cing it over the table. The white cake was decorated with colorful fruits, and it was perfectly made, resembling something only nobles would have for teatime.


    "T-This looks amazing!" Said Erika. "It is bigger than the one for my birthday!"


    "That''s mostly because you requested it to have bananas and chocte, those things are very expensive so we couldn''t make something bigger." I told Erika.


    "Oh¡­" Erika said, as she was drooling while seeing the cake. "It was very tasty too; I wonder how this one is¡­"


    "Erika, calm down for now. This cake will be eaten after we all enjoy the other food outside." My mother said, as she walked to my side and hugged me. "Happy birthday dear."


    "Thank you mom¡­"


    "Your journey is finally about to begin. Don''t you feel excited?" She asked. "You''ve always wanted to explore the outside world, didn''t you? Since you were a kid that you always admired the horizons¡­"


    "I did¡­" I said. "Yeah, I am happy. Thank you for raising me all this time and being so patient with someone like me."


    "Aww, it''s nothing¡­ You''ll always be my beautiful son, no matter what shenanigans you pull off here and there¡­" My mother giggled, kissing my forehead.


    Much like father, she was always there for me, since I was a baby. She helped me grow and incentivized me despite her worries and concerns about my safety and my health. I am thankful of having her as my mother.


    "Little ke, give your grandma a hug, won''t you?" Grandmother dragged my clothes down to hug her. Without realizing it, I had already grown taller than her and my own mother too, and I was only 13, the genes of my father must have given me this stretch, as mother had said he was just as tall at my age.


    Grandma had been with me since I was a child as well, she was the first one to show me the outside world, and was always there to support me, trusting on my strength and my abilities.


    "Grandma, thanks for everything too." I hugged her tightly.


    -----

 Chapter 466 New Armor And A Mysterious Ring

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    Through thesest five years I lived in fear of grandmother not waking up. However, against all odds, she has lived very long, and continued living further despite her problems with her back, and other things, which I''ve tried to relieve using Ki Massages and Potions. However, her old age is something I cannot cure, nheless, she has been more resilient than I ever expected.


    "Look at the young man you''ve be! You''re out for the world, aren''t you, ruffian? Make sure to talk me about all the ces you''ll visit in the future, alright?" Grandmother asked with a bright smile.


    "Sure thing, grandma¡­ I''ll do. I''ll bring you gifts and other things, so make sure to not kick the bucket while I''m off, okay?"


    "Heh, I am not going anywhere!"


    Grandmother gave me a karate chop in the head, though it was very soft, it felt like her way to tell me she was not willing to die yet, not until she could see where I would go from now on.


    After that moving conversation, we walked outside as Chris, Erdrich, and Elizabeth prepared their gifts while we were enjoying the meat, fish, and crabs and shrimp that father was grilling with several spices to add more delicious vor to them.


    "ke, here it is."


    Chris ced the box of items over near my seat, as I rapidly opened it to see what was inside. And indeed, it was a full set of armor tailored to my size and specifically made to be lighter. It also used materials I had given to him beforehand, such as Wyvern''s bones and scales.


    The armor was red and shaped by the scales of the wyvern and its sharp bones, ws, and fangs. I quickly tried it out, as I felt it was light and perfect. Checking the entire set made me see a single status page. Each piece of equipment seemed connected with one another and became a single piece of equipment. The stats given as bonus would lower ordingly as I took off each piece from the whole set, interesting.


    -----


    [Red Wyvern''s Armor Set (Unique-Grade): Lv1]


    [Effects]


    [Health Points]: [+1000]


    [Mana Points]: [+100]


    [Strength]: [+350]


    [Agility]: [+50]


    [Vitality]: [+1000]


    [Intelligence]: [+50]


    [Dexterity]: [+300]


    [Abilities]


    [Lesser Dragon Scale Protection]: A powerful protection made by the innate power of the scales of a Red Wyvern, a Lesser Dragon. Decreases Fire, Earth, Wind, and Water Element Damage taken by -20%, and decreases Physical and Magical Damage taken by -10%.<novelnext></novelnext>


    [Draconic Vitality]: Enhances Maximum HP and VIT while imbuing MP into the armor by up to +100%, however, MP is constantly consumed until it depletes.


    [Connected Armor Set]: Each piece of this set is only one set. Whenever a set is unequipped, the bonus stats will decrease ordingly. However, when all pieces are equipped, not only the user will receive all bonus stats, but will gain a special buff that grants automatic HP Recovery. Additionally, the armor can self-repair if broken or shattered if given proper ingots and materials.


    [Description]


    An incredible Armor Set made by the most talented cksmith in a Vige using top notch materials harvested from a Red Wyvern, a ferocious monster that inhabits the Mountains that are rumored to be Lesser Dragons. Each piece is spiritually connected together, and this armor protects against elemental damage with its powerful dragon scales.


    -----


    "This feels great. It is barely heavy at all and I even feel faster by wearing it, strangely enough." I said with a smile.


    "The cksmith said that the armor became alive or something." Said Chris. "So if you infuse mana into it, something might happen."


    "Yeah, I can tell¡­"


    It seems cksmiths of this world cannot really see the status of their items, the same for alchemists. But by merely analyzing what they make, they can easily tell what they''re capable of. The cksmith easily noticed the [Draconic Vitality] Ability, despite being unable to see the equipment''s status.


    "Thanks a lot Chris, I see you''ve got yourself a simr armor too."


    "Yeah, this is only the shoulder pads, but I''ve got the rest back at home. I might be a fire mage but I''ve already decided to get good at using maces, which are like staffs but that can deal big damage too."


    "Yeah, your physique would be wasted if you didn''t went for physical damagebined with your magic talent."


    Chris have modified his fighting style and begun using enormous maces to fight once he got a bigger body by growing up. All the techniques using staffs were simply passed over to the mace''s techniques. I have enhanced a mace he already had with alchemy, adding bombs to the enhancement, which granted his mace the ability to unleash an explosive blows by infusing mana into it, I had called that the "Bomb Hammer" and was something only those with Fire Attribute magic affinity of high level can use properly.


    And then, Elizabeth and Erdrich brought their gift. It seems the two were giving me a gift they bought together using their saved allowances and the money they had earned hunting around.


    "And this is what we''ve got for you." Said Erdrich.


    "It might be small but we took a lot of effort into finding one and buying it. If it wasn''t thanks to our connection with the church and the help of Seth, we wouldn''t had been able to find one for another person that wasn''t a high-ranking member." Said Elizabeth.


    The two presented to me a beautiful white ring, it barely had any decorations. However, the scriptures on it were incredibly small runes imbued with holy power. This ring''s material was also unique. The ring emanated a bright aura of holiness and seemed to not be something mass produced at all by apany, but made with incredible carefulness and attention to detail, despite its simplistic appearance and shape.


    This was also a ring I''ve seen every high-ranking priest use, even Ellergest and now Seth and Jack. Elizabeth got herself one as well, as she had be an official Priestess not so long ago. Erdrich was still a "War Priest in training" so they had yet to give him one.


    Most likely because of that, it was very hard to find one to gift to someone else¡­


    -----

 Chapter 467 Holy Spirit Ring

    -----


    "It is a special ring that high ranking priests like us wear." Seth said.


    "It is also part of our collective gift, make sure to appreciate it!" Jack said.


    "This item is¡­?


    -----


    [Holy Spirit Ring (Lesser Mythic-Grade): Lv1]


    [Effects]


    [Health Points]: [+50]


    [Mana Points]: [+1500]


    [Strength]: [+50]


    [Agility]: [+100]


    [Vitality]: [+50]


    [Intelligence]: [+500]


    [Dexterity]: [+100]


    [Abilities]


    [Holy Spirit''s Protection]: The Protection of the Holy Spirits is harbored within this special Holy Ring, protecting the user from Demonic and Miasmic Damage, reducing damage taken from such elements by -30% and enhancing defense against such elements by +30%.


    [Holy Spirit''s Blessing]: The Blessing of the Holy Spirits is harbored within this special Holy Ring, enhancing damage dealt against Demonic and Miasmic-type entities by +30%, grants the ability to ignore -20% of their total physical and magical defenses.


    [Description]


    An incredible Holy Magic Ring made using the incredible element of Orichalcum, blessed by the holy spirits to be one of the strongest in the world of Spiritias. Forged by the power of the Holy Spirits and a blessed cksmith, it contains the ability to protect the wielder from demons and also to enhance their power against them. A special ring designed to fight demons by the church of the Holy Spirits. It can only be worn by those that are chosen by the rings.


    -----


    "This is indeed something incredible¡­ but only those chosen can wear it?" I wondered.


    "Yeah, sadly." Said Elizabeth.


    "So if you can''t wear it¡­ well, you can always use it for something else!" Said Elizabeth.


    "It costed a fortune so I sure hope it can be worn by you." Sighed Erdrich.


    "You''ve in various demons already; I am sure the Holy Spirits think highly of you." Jack said.


    "Try it on." Seth said. "Let''s see what the Holy Spirits think of you, ke."


    So this is also a trial to see if I am worthy of using such powerful ring, which can even grow even stronger as it has a Level, meaning it can level up, increase stats, and even ability effects.


    My soul was reincarnated from another world, perhaps a whole different dimension. To the eyes of these god-like beings I might be an alien monster trying to invade their world, so I am not really trusting this at all.


    At the very least, if things fail, I can always repurpose this ring''s materials to make something of my own. If it is made of Orichalcum, one of the strongest magic metals of the world, then I can surely make something with it.


    Nheless, I quickly wore it on one of my fingers. The first thing I felt was a wave of light epassing my body, enhancing my strength.


    However, the moment I blinked, I found myself elsewhere.


    "W h a t?"


    I looked around, only finding whiteness everywhere.<novelnext></novelnext>


    With all the knowledge I had. My mind must have been sent into a mindscape, or something else, such as a separate realm that can be visited only by souls or mental projections.


    And indeed, this was because of them.


    FLASH! FLASH! FLASH! FLASH!


    Suddenly, several figures I couldn''t decipher their true shapes emerged, one after the other surrounding me from left to right. They were twelve, and they all shone with a different color. Red, blue, green, purple, ck, white, yellow, gray, brown, orange, azure, and pink.


    It was as if a council of these entities gathered to see my soul itself. They were emanating enormous quantities of power, spiritual power so high and powerful that it made my soul tremble. I had never been in front of such powerful beings before. The onlyparison being Lucifer, perhaps.


    The brightest of them all was the biggest and tallest, a golden mass of light in the slight shape of a human, wearing a long white cloak, sitting over a throne of nothingness.


    "I can assume you''re the Holy Spirits of this world, right?" I asked boldly. "I had no idea Priests had to go through a Trial with you to wear a mere ring."


    "It is no mere ring, outsider."


    "It is a special ring imbued with the holy spirit''s strength."


    "A small gift given to our believers to protect them and help them defeat the invaders of our world."


    "However, wouldn''t it be rather ironic to gift it to you, an outsider?"


    "We have been watching you ever since you were born."


    "A soul brought here by the King of all Demons, strangely enough, not a demon of your own."


    "Your past¡­ your achievements, we''ve seen it all."


    "We knew who you truly are¡­"


    So they can even read my mind somehow? This is unnerving.


    "And because of that, we have also seen your growth."


    "My growth?" I asked.


    "You''ve changed¡­"


    "You have not taken into a dark path, but you''ve, unknowingly, be our greatest hope."


    "Me?!" I asked in surprise.


    "It might be a surprise to you, but you''re someone promising."


    "You''re no longer Asmodeus, you''re ke, a child raised by Farmers in a humble vige terrorized by monsters, bandits, and cultists that adored the demons."


    "You''ve fought those that bring pain to our people¡­"


    "You are more than deserving of this ring."


    The Holy Spirits suddenly began to praise my small achievements, making me feel rather¡­ shocked, to say the least. I never expected this development from all of them to happen. I had thought they would be enraged over my existence, but I was wrong.


    "Lucifer gave me a second chance at life because he wanted to see me suffer." I spilled the beans, as they knew who I used to be and everything else. "He gave me a Grimoire with incredible powers, but it also allows him to see me. If you truly believe my actions are of help, will you help me break the curse he has put into me?"


    "A good request."


    "However, that we cannot."


    "The curse has been put deep within your soul; it is impossible for us to take it out."


    -----

 Chapter 468 Meeting With The Holy Spirits

    -----


    "If we were to try, your soul would be destroyed in the process."


    "Your soul and the curse have be onebined mass; it is part of you."


    "The Grimoire, however, has already been modified by us without you realizing."


    "What?!" I asked.


    "Just now, webined our strength and refined the Grimoire you hold, overpowering the might of Lucifer''s will over it. Now, you''re free of his watchful eyes, and the Grimoire might now develop several new functions that will help you in your adventure from now on."


    The biggest of the twelve spirits spoke with a wise old man''s voice.


    "You did¡­ such a thing? Well¡­ thanks."


    "There is no need to thank us, we''ve merely given you back some of the favors you''ve done to us."


    "Favors?"


    "nting those trees has helped greatly to our world. And now that you''ve set into a mission to nt more, you will be helping greatly."


    "We know for a fact your greatest motivation is defeating our mortal enemy, Lucifer, the King of all Demons invading our world beyond the horizons of his own."


    "You, his mortal enemy, has been foolishly reincarnated by him, as he believed he would enjoy your suffering as you grew up as a human."


    "However, you''ve gone far from his expectations, and be something that might be the greatest threat against his demonic rule and his desire to conquer everything."


    "This is his mistake, and we want to aid you as we can."


    "Seriously? I never thought the Holy Spirits would be on my side¡­" I sighed.


    "You''ve be part of our world."


    "You''ve loved the people of our world."


    "You''ve loved our world."


    "Now, you are our son as well."


    The Holy Spirits were incredibly cold while speaking, yet they seemed to be talking things that were very important and emotional.


    "So this means I can wear the ring?" I asked.


    "You can, and we shall give it a little boost for you."


    "More or less, that is not enough."


    "Take our Blessings."


    "Wait, all of them?"


    "All of them."


    FLAAASH!


    Suddenly, all twelve Holy Spirits unleashed rays of light, showering my soul with a small fragment of their powers. This is what''s called a "Blessing" and I am fairly sure several priests have them. Elizabeth has one too and Ellergest did as well.


    "Our Blessing might not be muchpared to your Curse, but we hope it can be of some aid to your perilous journey."


    "The demons will raise soon once more; the Demonic Towers cannot be contained much longer."


    "You, the inheritor of the power of An, the first Spirit Summoner, have a great responsibility."


    "However, we shall not force it upon you."


    "You are, already, motivated to go along with it, nheless."


    "I suppose our motivations simply aligned together." Iughed. "I always had the intention of ruining Lucifer''s life, destroy his towers and then go kill him for real this time¡­ It is something I have inherited from Asmodeus, this unwilling desire for revenge."


    "A powerful desire indeed."


    "A great motivation."


    "Now, we can answer one more question before we let you go."


    "Ask carefully."


    A question? Is this theirst gift?


    Perhaps I might never be able to speak with them anymore¡­


    So what should I ask them?<novelnext></novelnext>


    Well, perhaps I should simply follow my own curiosity.


    "What exactly are you?"


    My only question was that.


    What were the Holy Spirits?


    And how were they rted to Spiritias?


    I would had also liked to ask what Spiritias was, but I decided to go for that question only for now.


    "What we are?" The biggest Holy Spirit said. "In simple terms, we are the pirs."


    "The pirs of this world''s life."


    "Of this world''s death."


    "Of this world''snd."


    "Of this world''s fire."


    "Of this world''s dreams."


    "Of this world''s darkness."


    "Of this world''s light."


    "Of this world''s magic."


    "Of this world''s winds."


    "Of this world''s nature."


    "Of this world''s love."


    "Of this world''s existence."


    I see. So they''re pir deities. Beings born from within a world to maintain itself. They''re representatives of the entire world''s elements as a whole. If I were to even damage them, the world as a whole would suffer as well, just with one of them dying, the entire world might go into unbnce, and disaster would ur everywhere.


    Lucifer is most likely aiming at this power, he might not want to kill them, but he wants to take over their entire beings and be the ruler of this world, gaining their powers, which individually, seem to beparable to his.


    The way he''s dealing with them is by sending hordes of monsters and invading this world''sws and elements with his foreign Demonic Towers, forcefully trying to imbue the world with the demonic energy to corrupt the spiritual energy this world''s works with.


    "We were created by the world."


    "This world¡­"


    "It is our mother."


    "This world¡­ what is this world? No matter how much Ipare it, its entire energy source, quality, and everything else is vastly superior to my previous life''s universe."


    "An answer has been given for the only question you''ve been allowed to ask.


    "Because we desire this world''s bnce, we cannot give you more privileges than we had already given to you."


    "However, we wish you good fortune."


    FLAAASH!


    And without answering that question, perhaps the most important of them all, I was quickly brought back to where I was.


    "Oh, the ring fits well!"


    "It seems he wasn''t rejected."


    "I knew it!"


    "Hm? Ah¡­" I looked around, finding that everything was going alright.


    Even though it felt I spent minutes there, in this ce it was like just the blink of an eye, instantaneous.


    Nheless, what I have learned was worth more than I had could have ever imagined.


    This ring¡­ is indeed an amazing item, if it even allowed me to have a small chat with these Holy Spirits.


    Although I am d they''re on my side and even took away Lucifer''s eyes from me, it is not so reliving to know I have their eyes watching over me now.


    At the very least they''re not as weird as Lucifer.


    -----

 Chapter 469 The Grimoire Is No Longer Of Lucifer

    -----


    Within the depths of thest Layer of the Dimension of Hell, Lucifer sat down over his throne as usual, watching over ke''s life.


    "How cute, you''ve even made so many friends, Asmodeus! Bwahahaha! I can''t believe he would do such a thing¡­ He has be such a weak-minded pathetic roach! I can''t wait to crush him a second time¡­" Luciferughed. Although it seemed like he was justughing at ke, he was secretly frustrated his life has gone so fine until now.


    "Milord, wouldn''t it be fine to just stop watching over him?" A servant asked. "After all, despite your words, it really feels like his life is making you more angered than anything¡­"


    "But of course I am angered! Why is he not suffering!? Why is he having happiness?! Why¡­?! I thought he would suffer and I wouldugh at him but he''s¡­ this bastard''s just having a good time!" Lucifer was losing his mind right now. "You know what¡­?!"


    Lucifer smiled, as he touched the red orb in front of him.


    "I will give him a little gift in his Grimoire, maybe that will-"


    BBZZZZZ!


    However, the moment Lucifer tried to intervene and give ke another Curse through the Grimoire after patiently seeing his life for 13 years, a sudden interruption caused his magic to glitch. The power of twelve entities from the world of Spiritias suddenly took over the Grimoire''s entire power and purified any influence of Lucifer within it!


    FLAAAASSSH!


    "W-What the¡­?! What is this?!"


    Lucifer himself couldn''t believe it; he never expected the Holy Spirits to ever help ke in any way!


    Lucifer''s Red Demonic Orb which allowed him to control the Grimoire gained cracks, suddenly started gaining countless cracks all over!


    Crack¡­ crack¡­!


    "What? This can''t be¡­!"


    Crack¡­ CRACK!


    "No!"


    Lucifer attempted to use his powers to heal the artifact, however, it was futile, the strength of the Holy Spiritsbined surpassed his own, especially because the Grimoire was in THEIR world, so they held greater authority naturally.


    CRAAASH!


    The Red Orb shattered into pieces, as Lucifer''s face of pure disappointment looked as the artifact he made exploded into pieces and then dissipated into pure nothingness, disappearing on its totality.


    "Rewind!"


    FLAAASH!


    He suddenly attempted to rewind time to get the orb back from within his dimension, however, no matter how much he tried, the orb never came back. It was destroyed on all possibly timelines, an incredible power only entities as strong as the Holy Spirits could exert.<novelnext></novelnext>


    "Bastards! You dare do such a thing?! You believe I will sit here and do nothing now that you''ve dered war against me in such a bold way?!" The King of Hell was frustrated, his fury made Hell itself burn furiously!


    "My lord, haven''t we be in a war with them all this time though? You dered it to them long ago¡­" Sighed the Demon at his side.


    Lucifer''s beautiful appearance suddenly shapeshifted, turning into a monstrous demon covered on ck and red scales, countless horns growing over his head and body, muscr, and titanic in size, with six demonic wings and several tails ending on the heads of ferocious demonic beasts. Using his enormous ws, he grabbed the assistant demon, his most trusted retainer, and squeezed his body like a doll.


    "DO YOU THINK I GIVE A FUCK?!"


    "GEEEHHH! P-Please don''t kill meeee!"


    Lucifer squeezed his servant with his ws until his eyes popped out of his skull and he began bleeding everywhere, his gutsing out of his stomach.


    SPLAAT!


    His entire body''s insides exploded out of his skin like a balloon, the red-skinned imp-like demon died.


    "That damn Asmodeus¡­ Does he thinks he is free from me now? He is not¡­ Everywhere where there is a demon¡­ I am there as well. Everywhere! The world of Spiritias¡­ It will be mine!" Lucifer roared furiously. "The richest world in this entire Reality¡­ I must possess it! With it, not even The One himself will be able to stand against my might¡­"


    Lucifer dropped the little demon over the floor, as the demon''s entire body recovered in an instant, forming back to its original shape, imp-like demon with ck horns and sharp orange eyes, wearing a butler suit.


    "My lord, you must calm down! The Archdemons will know you''re angered and might attempt to abuse your fury to their own doing!"


    "Abuse it?! They''re my ves, I own them!"


    "Certainly but¡­ in Hell, there''s a bnce, you cannot own everything. The One made this Dimension this way after all! They''re traitorous bastards, but you need them, right?"


    "Sigh¡­"


    Lucifer sighed, quickly shapeshifting back to his beautiful form from his monstrous and grotesque self. He looked back at the little imp-like demon with eyes filled with exhaustion.


    His hands raised, as his Primordial Demonic Powers began to surge. His connection with all the Demonic Towers was strengthened, and all Demons on Spiritias suddenly received a greater boost to their power.


    "This is only the beginning, ke¡­" He said with a malicious smile. "You think you can defy me? Let''s see what you can do when the entire world you love so much is shrouded in darkness and ughter! Just like the things you loved so much from your previous life, filthy Vampire!"


    F L A A A A S S S H!!!


    The enormous, Primordial Demonic Forces traveled across Spiritias, the enormous Demonic Towers started to slowly glow redder and redder, as their internal seals slowly started to wither rapidly, hundreds of times faster than originally!


    The countless demon tribes spread over thend suddenly felt as if their auras grewrger and more menacing, their eyes ring with fury¡­ themand given by their lord was simple, kill them all! ughter everything! Fill the world of Spiritias with darkness!


    The Archdemons plotting to emerge in Spiritias through Cults were quickly alerted by this power up, as they noticed Lucifer had decided to finally do something. Thezy King of Hell was furious at longst.


    -----

 Chapter 470 The Holy Spirits Chosen

    -----


    After wearing the ring, I smiled faintly as I felt the power of its effects being enhanced. When I finally calmed myself from what I saw with the Holy Spirits, I looked into the ring.


    -----


    [Holy Spirit Ring (Mythic-Grade): Lv1]


    [Effects]


    [Health Points]: [+100]


    [Mana Points]: [+2000]


    [Strength]: [+100]


    [Agility]: [+150]


    [Vitality]: [+100]


    [Intelligence]: [+600]


    [Dexterity]: [+150]


    [Abilities]


    [Holy Spirit''s Protection]: The Protection of the Holy Spirits is harbored within this special Holy Ring, protecting the user from Demonic and Miasmic Damage, reducing damage taken from such elements by -40% and enhancing defense against such elements by +40%.


    [Holy Spirit''s Blessing]: The Blessing of the Holy Spirits is harbored within this special Holy Ring, enhancing damage dealt against Demonic and Miasmic-type entities by +40%, grants the ability to ignore -30% of their total physical and magical defenses.


    [Description]


    An incredible Holy Magic Ring made using the incredible element of Orichalcum, blessed by the holy spirits to be one of the strongest in the world of Spiritias. Forged by the power of the Holy Spirits and a blessed cksmith, it contains the ability to protect the wielder from demons and also to enhance their power against them. A special ring designed to fight demons by the church of the Holy Spirits. It can only be worn by those that are chosen by the rings.


    The Ring has now been enhanced by the power of the Holy Spirits, raising its Grade from Lesser Mythical to Mythical, all Bonus Stats and Ability Effects have been enhanced ordingly.


    -----


    And not only that, but the very Grimoire has changed. Its red color had not changed, but it now gained golden decorations over its entire body, and the red gem in the middle was shattered, as a new gem, glowing with yellow light emerged from within. Its pages fluttered, showing the new changes.


    [The Grimoire has beenpletely purified by the power of the Holy Spirits!]


    [You gained the [Blessing of the Twelve Holy Spirits]!]


    [Affinity to all Elements has increased]


    [The power of your Spirits and Familiars has been enhanced]


    [You can now summon +1 Spirit with each Spirit Orb Rank]


    [You can now Learn Skills faster]


    [The Level of the [Hard Worker: Lv6] Skill has been increased to Level 10!]


    -----


    [Hard Worker: Lv10]


    Skill Proficiency: --/--


    A special Skill that only those that endlessly work hard can acquire. Skill Requirements to unlock the Skill to be exchanged for Skill Points has been filled. Learnable only through Skill Points.


    Increases Skill Proficiency and Experience Points earned by +200%. The harder you work, the more payback you will receive, but the greater the challenge will be.


    -----


    Not only was I given the privilege of summoning an extra Spirit with each Spirit Rank, meaning I can not only summon one of Asmodeus ancient allies, but two now, but I was also given the Hard Worker Skill at Level 10? They really intervened more than I imagined.


    I guess that seeing how many things they had gifted to me in my birthday, I cannot really try to go against these bastards now. Allies are allies at the end. My major motivation in this world was to destroy the invading demons and the towers from the beginning anyways, our goals¡­ merely aligned.


    [You acquired the [Holy Spirit''s Chosen: Lv1] Title Skill!]


    And above all, there was this new Title Skill¡­ It made me feel slightly disgusted, as I hated the "chosen" and "hero" tropes that these kind of worlds always have. But I guess I really have no choice if I want to kill Lucifer one day.


    -----


    [Holy Spirit''s Chosen: Lv1]


    Skill Proficiency: 0/10000


    A Title only given to those who have been Blessed by all Twelve Holy Spirits. A chosen one is given the Affinity to all the elements the Holy Spirits possess, while acquiring several new enhancements. Increases Stats by +10% with each Skill Level (invisible buff), Elemental Magic Damage now gains the Spiritual Element added, HP, MP, Spiritual Essence, Soul Essence, and Ki recover naturally at thrice the speed. Skills can be learned more swiftly. Skill Proficiency and EXP earned is enhanced by +20% with each Skill Level¡­. Amongst many other boosts. To raise the level of this Title, defeat the enemies of the Holy Spirits, demons.


    -----


    This is exactly what I needed. They were right, with this boost, the curse of Lucifer is almostpletely cancelled. And the higher the level rises, the more boosts I''ll have on top of canceling Lucifer''s blessing debuff altogether¡­


    "You look kind of different¡­ ke, are you alright?" Wondered Erika behind me.


    "Yeah, it is as if there''s¡­ something. I don''t really know." Said Eric.


    "Yeah, and did his ring just glowed brightly?" Asked Chris.


    "Ah, I guess that must have meant I got the approval of the Holy Spirits." I said with a smile.


    "I-I guess¡­" Said Elizabeth, narrowing her eyes at me. "Though there''s something¡­"


    It would be better to not tell them about this, it might take too much of a fuss if I were revealed I was given their blessings.


    "Anyways, thanks a lot for your gifts guys." I said. "Let''s enjoy the food mom and dad made for everyone!"


    Acting slightly merrily, I quickly convinced everyone to forget what they saw. Although knowing them, they might end up annoying me over it eventually. Nheless, we continued celebrating not only my birthday but our departure towards a new life, filled with new opportunities. The beginning of a new journey, perhaps.


    Minutes became hours, and hours went by like the wind. These moments of warmth and happiness were treasured inside of my heart, yet still, the sense of danger that the Holy Spirits gave to me over Lucifer couldn''t be easily shaken away.


    Perhaps thanks to that interaction, now, more than ever, I felt the motivation to move forward. This adventurer''s academy is directly connected with dungeons, my primary source of EXP, and I''ve also learned that certain sses even go into expeditions to the Demon Tower, my primary target¡­


    -----

 Chapter 471 A Secret

    -----


    After the events of the Holy Spirits I felt slightly mentally exhausted. Having to think of so many possibilities put me not in such a good mood. But I tried to be rxed for the rest of my birthday and not overthink it. After all, this was myst birthday party in my house perhaps in who knows how long. I might as well appreciate it and think of everything elseter. Well, thinking about Erika''s kiss rxed me a bit, as if it was a good luck charm, seeing her eyes also calmed me, and her voice was soothing to me. I wonder if this is also part of being in love, what a mystical feeling.


    I suppose Eleanora also calmed me down too, I guess the two of them are all I need to calm my mind and my heart in such times. I will have to talk with Eleanora about this entire thing though, I don''t know if Erika would be able to process it. I am not calling her stupid or something, but she would really not know what to say, and I would rather not worry her unnecessarily.


    When the party ended, it was already night, my friends and I stayed in the backyard reviewing the things I got. Eric was examining the armor in detail, noticing a few things that could be improved with Alchemy, while Chris was angry over Eric looking down in the work of the cksmith.


    "He''s a half-dwarf you know? He''s an expert! He knew what he did!"


    "I know, you don''t have to get angry over it! I was just saying that the armor could be further improved with some Alchemy added to the equation, geez¡­"


    "Come on you two, don''t fight for everything¡­"


    Erdrich was trying to calm them down but the two were too passionate over their own things, so the discussion continued on the background, as I looked into the moon over the sky.


    "So? Are you going to tell me what happened there?"


    Suddenly, Elizabeth showed up behind me.


    "Hm? What?"


    "Don''t y dumb, I saw that aura. I saw it when I got blessed as well!"


    Elizabeth''s shiny eyes looked at me as if she was piercing my soul.


    "Aura¡­ what aura?"


    "You''re terrible at lying!"


    "Sigh¡­ It is not something I want to reveal publicly. It would cause an uproar."


    "Publicly?"


    Elizabeth suddenly got concerned.


    "Did the Holy Spirits¡­ did one of them¡­?"


    "All twelve."


    "Eh?! All twelve?!"


    Elizabeth suddenly felt so shocked she had to cover her face.


    "Come, let''s go to a more private ce."


    I brought Elizabeth behind the barn where we kept our animals, which we began raising some years ago. I suppose I cannot really keep lying to her so I decided to tell her what happened, partially.


    "So all twelve of them¡­ gave you a blessing? By the holy spirits!" Elizabeth suddenly reacted shocked. "Don''t you understand what this means? ke, you''ve be a He-"


    I quickly covered her mouth.


    "Please don''t say such a stupid title, I am no hero. Nor I want to be one¡­"


    "But you should be¡­ the holy spirits¡­ they choose you. You''re the hope of humanity against the demons!"


    "I know¡­ I am not going to back down from that, but it is more personal than a duty given to me by someone else."


    "I see¡­ Well, they ended aligning I suppose¡­ But still, as a member of the church I¡­ I feel obligated to report this to the higher ups!"<novelnext></novelnext>


    "Elizabeth, don''t."


    "But the motivation of the people¡­ their happiness, over time the demons have be more and more ferocious and all¡­ Wouldn''t knowing a hero was born lift their morality? It is what everyone needs¡­"


    "And I don''t want to be the target of all cults. You know that if my identity as a hero bes public, everyone will know, right? I will be persecuted to be manipted by nobles, we will be ckmailed, we will be used like puppets. They might kidnap you all just to ckmail me into doing as they please. You know how many things could happen, Elizabeth?!"


    "Ah¡­"


    Elizabeth sighed, as she looked down.


    "I¡­ I guess I didn''t thought it through. Sorry¡­ I¡­ I just felt like if Ellergest was alive right now, he would be so happy to know this¡­"


    "I know how you feel but¡­ be strong. And I am sorry too for forcing you to keep such a secret."


    "ke¡­ Well, it''s fine. I am d you trust me so much to tell me this."


    "More like I was forced to, you guessed it too much on the spot."


    "Heheh¡­ You''ve be more open, haven''t you?"


    Elizabeth smiled sweetly back at me.


    "I still remember that silver coin you once gave to me, in the first day we meet."


    "Silver coin¡­? Ah, that day¡­"


    "I keep it as good luck charm. To me, you were always kind of like a hero. I admired you- no, I still admire you."


    "Me?"


    "Yeah¡­ Is it wrong?"


    "Well¡­ I guess you can think however you like."


    "So knowing this¡­ Its kinds of made me happy, too excited, perhaps."


    Elizabeth seemed to think very highly of me, more than I ever guessed.


    "Papa said I might one day Awaken as a Saint¡­ they said that the Saint and the Hero are both blessed by the Holy Spirits, a pair made by our gods to protect humanity¡­" She said while fidgeting her fingers.


    "I suppose¡­" I sighed. "But I told you I won''t take over the title."


    "Geez, I just¡­ wanted to tell you I will stay at your side." Elizabeth said. "No matter what happens, you''ll have me too¡­ I-I know Erika is there, Eleanora too, and everyone else¡­"


    I couldn''t help but smile at her intentions, she just wanted to cheer me up.


    "Well, thanks¡­ I hope you can keep this a secret."


    "Yeah it will be our secret¡­ Though you already got another with Erika, don''t you?"


    "Don''t tell me she told everyone about it?" I sighed.


    "Oh no, I just saw you two!" Giggled Elizabeth.


    -----

 Chapter 472 The Holy Spirits Blessed

    -----


    "We were just walking to your home when I noticed it, nobody else did. Maybe because I can enhance my vision with Life Attribute Magic¡­" Elizabeth said.


    "Ah¡­ well yeah, that just happened I suppose." I sighed. "Don''t go around telling everyone¡­"


    "Don''t worry, but between friends it will eventually be known, you know?" She sighed.


    "Right¡­"


    Elizabeth seemed to want to say something more, but then stopped herself.


    "I''m d about it¡­ Erika is such a sweet girl, she''s¡­ like our leader after you in a way." Said Elizabeth. "I can entrust you to her."


    "Entrust?" I wondered.


    "Yeah, I hope you two can be happy. I kind of was hoping that!" She said.


    "You''re talking as if we were going to marry tomorrow or something, rx." I sighed. "I still remember what I promised to your grandfather."


    "What¡­ you promised him? Oh, ah!" Elizabeth suddenly blushed a bit. "T-That''s¡­ I thought you forgot¡­"


    "I wouldn''t forget that." I sighed, petting her head. "Hm? Why are you so red?"


    "T-That''s¡­ just¡­ Ahh¡­ B-But you¡­? I¡­ I haven''t said anything yet about it!" She said while suddenly getting embarrassed and rebellious.


    "Well, if you don''t want to that''s fine¡­ I don''t really want to force you." I said.


    "That''s¡­ no, that''s not it. I mean¡­ Ah, I can''t do this now¡­ I need to think my feelings a bit more, and yours too, right?" She asked.


    "I''ve already kind of made up my mind." I answered her with a confident smile.


    "D-Dummy¡­"


    Elizabeth blushed a bit.


    "You''ve gotten awfully open with me, now you call me dummy too?" I sighed. "I thought you treated me with special treatment, the boys are always talking about it."


    "T-That''s¡­ You''re special to me, okay?" Elizabeth sighed, getting that out of her chest. "I don''t know why but¡­ as I grew up, I kind of got so shy over these things I used to be so open when I was little."


    "Like saying that you would be my wife?" I giggled.


    "Uwaah! That was so embarrassing!" She cried.


    "What? You don''t want to?" Iughed.


    "Ugh, you''re such a tease!" Elizabeth pouted. "I''ll think about it! I-It''s not like I was waiting for you to ask me our or something¡­ Not at all!"


    "You want me to ask you out? Well, okay." I shrugged.


    "Ahhh! Wait, no¡­ Uwaahh!" Elizabeth suddenly ended running away.


    It seems puberty hit her hard, she used to be so open, I guess not everyone stays the same as Erika or Chris. Others change over time; it is part of growing up I suppose. Me included. Since I meet Elizabeth that I saw her as someone useful, but now, I don''t even think about her in such a way.


    I kind of want to protect her beautiful smile and everything thates with her. She''s¡­ a walking light that guides our party more than I could really do. Despite her seeing herself as not so much of a party leader material, she''s can indeed excel as one, especially at motivating people and raising morale.


    But I suppose I should leave her on her own devices for a bit. She has to settle down her feelings so she doesn''t talk so awkwardly like right now. I could tell she was trying to say something there¡­


    "ke! Where are you?"


    Suddenly, I heard Erika''s voice.


    "Ah, Erika?"


    "ke!"


    She suddenly caught me here, alone, and ran towards me.


    "Why are you here? I saw Elizabeth walking away¡­ What were you two doing?" She wondered, narrowing her eyes.


    "¡­We were talking about something that happened to me." I said.<novelnext></novelnext>


    "Hm¡­ You''re not lying. Ah, so what happened?" She wondered.


    "I¡­ Well, I don''t know if it would be fine to tell you this¡­" I sighed. "She was able to see through it very easily because she''s also one of them, but I don''t know if-"


    "Oh, you mean the shiny aura?" She asked. "I saw it!"


    "Eh?!"


    I guess a Dryad is really someone incredible.


    "Did you get a blessing from the Holy Spirits?" She wondered. "I have to confess you something then¡­ I did too."


    "What?!" I asked in surprise. "When¡­?"


    "When you helped me get my new body and¡­ well, be reborn for real." Erika sighed, suddenly holding my hands. "I didn''t wanted to tell you because you would get worried, I knew you were a worrywart deep down. Only my dad knew."


    "What¡­ spirit?" I wondered.


    "Nature and Life, the two¡­" She said.


    "Does that means something?" I wondered.


    "They said¡­ I was going to be the reincarnation of Yggdrasil, or something." Erika wondered, rubbing her chin. "I don''t really get it, but it''s something big, right? Like I am a hero! Are you a hero too?"


    "I¡­ guess. It is quite relieving to know there are three like us now, I suppose." I sighed.


    "So how many?! Oh! I bet you got the darkness holy spirit?" She wondered innocently.


    "Twelve¡­" I sighed.


    "Twe¡­ twelve?" Erika tilted her head in confusion.


    "Yes, all twelve Holy Spirits." I sighed.


    "EEEEH?!"


    Erika''s scream was slightly louder. Thankfully I had set up soundproof wind barrier this time.


    "That''s nuts!" She said. "You''re like¡­ the hero of heroes!"


    "Yes, and I want it to be a secret¡­" I ended exining to her everything I told to Elizabeth.


    "Oh, so that''s what you''re worried about¡­ Yeah, the same reason why I kept my blessings a secret too." She said with a smile.


    "But you revealed them to me though, they''re no longer a secret."


    "That''s because you''re the person I trust the most, and you''re always honest with me too¡­"


    Erika''s yellow and green eyes shone brightly, as they got closer to me.


    "Mooch!"


    She suddenly gave me a second kiss in my cheek this time.


    "A second kiss?"


    "What? You don''t like them?"


    "I do¡­"


    "Heheh¡­Then here''s another!"


    Erika kissed my lips this time, a short yet sweet kiss.


    "You''re such a treasure." I sighed, hugging her out of the blue.


    "Uwahh! W-Well, I guess a hug is okay too¡­" She said, petting my head.


    -----

 Chapter 473 Erikas Gift

    -----


    "So I am your treasure?" Erika asked with a teasing smile.


    "Ah¡­ I said it out loud¡­" I sighed.


    "I never imagined you would ever say such a thing to me¡­" Erika said.


    She rested her head over my chest, as I ended hugging her for a little while.


    "Erika¡­ I wanted to tell you that with Elizabeth nothing really has happened¡­"


    "I know¡­ I am not really jealous about her anymore, I was just ying around."


    "Eh?"


    "Hehe, did you got scared?"


    "Not really I just¡­ well¡­"


    "It''s fine. Elizabeth and Eleanora are like my sisters at this point¡­ They''re so precious to me as well. I think it''s alright if that''s what you want, I wouldn''t be able to bear seeing them heart broken or something. I want them to be happy as well!"


    "You''re¡­ alright?"


    "Yeah? Is it wrong?"


    Erika wondered, tilting her head.


    I guess I was worrying too much about this.


    But for now, going slowly is for the best anyways.


    "No, it''s fine. I am d you think of them like that. I bet they think the same."


    "Heheh, you think? Well, I am already happy because I got to steal your first kiss~"


    "You sure did."


    "Now let me steal the third."


    Erika ended kissing me a third time in my lips, she seemed to never get enough of it.


    "We are only thirteen Erika, calm down a bit¡­" I sighed.


    "Not like you don''t like them right? I remember that your mom said this was the time where we experiment things¡­ So I wanted to try it out!" Erika said. "I love kissing you¡­"


    I gave Erika a head pat, but then I was surprised by what she said before. "Wait, my mom?! What¡­ did she tell you?"


    "She said that to seize you I had to be bold! Because you were too shy about stuff." She said. "So she told me to give you a kiss when you least expected it, that''ll do!"


    "Sigh¡­"


    My mother has really been telling her a lot of things, hasn''t she? Now that Erika lives in my home, I suppose it is only natural my mother is going to begin telling her about me or something. It was quite obvious that Erika was in love with me, I guess.


    "She also said she approved of me being your wife¡­" Erika seemed happy to have received the approbation of her mother-inw.


    "Erika¡­ We are still too young to think about these things¡­" I sighed.


    "I know, I know¡­" She said. "So anyways¡­"


    Erika quickly opened a little purse she had, bringing out something small.


    "Here''s your gift, dear."


    "Dear? Are we roleying now?"


    "W-What''s wrong with calling you dear? You''re my dearie!"


    "Alright, let''s see what it is¡­"


    Erika suddenly put¡­ a seed in my hand.


    "Wait, a seed?"


    "It is a special seed! It took me¡­ almost a year to make it."


    "Wait, you were making a seed for almost a year? How?"


    "Inside my chest, I concentrated my love for you, and all the fuzzy feelings, when it was finally done, this red seed came out."<novelnext></novelnext>


    Erika''s seed looked more like a beautiful jewel.


    "What¡­ does it do?"


    "It is a treasure, if you nt it, something beautiful wille out."


    "Wait, don''t tell me a baby?"


    "Ahahaha! No, dummy, there''s no way!"


    "Then what?"


    "Not even I know, but it will be the materialization of my love for you."


    "Materialization¡­"


    We quickly decided to nt the seed in the backyard, using our skills to increase its growing rate, a small sapling quickly popped out of the soil.


    "Let''s wait until tomorrow then."


    "Yeah!"


    Like that, the night came. Everyone went back home, as I went to my bed to sleep. While trying to sleep, I told Eleanora everything else, and she quickly assessed what she learned.


    "I see, so that''s how it is¡­ Well, isn''t it good that the Holy Spirits are in our side? The better for you! Lucifer must be crying now as he saw his grimoire being taken away from his authority! Ahahaha!" Laughed Eleanora devilishly. That devilish smile was quite charming.


    "Yeah, I suppose you''re right¡­ Though now I wonder what''s going toe out of Erika''s seed. She gave it a lot of attention to it." I sighed.


    "Well, it is better left as a surprise, right?" She asked.


    "You''re right¡­"


    Creaak¡­


    Suddenly, the bed of my room opened, and Erika showed up, slowly walking to my side, while I pretended to be sleeping. She quickly got over my bed and covered herself in nkets while hugging me and kissing my cheek.


    "Ah, so cute! She came to sleep at your side~! Uwah¡­" Eleanora was getting all impacted by Erika''s cuteness.


    "She kind of alwayses¡­" I sighed.


    I quickly cuddled with her, as I hugged her back.


    "You''re sneaky,ing all the way here again¡­" I sighed. "My parent''s always reprimand you."


    "But it is special tonight¡­ You were pretending to be asleep too, didn''t you?" She wondered.


    "Well yes but- Wait, why is it special?" I wondered.


    "Your mom said something about¡­ When two people love each other, they sleep in the same bed and do love¡­!" She said. "Can we do that?"


    "Wait, what? My mother¡­" I muttered.


    I can''t believe how much my mother has been polluting Erika''s innocent mind! Does she really wants a grandchild so desperately? At least she should wait until I am older to give such ideas to Erika!


    "We¡­ maybe another day." I said. "It is something that older people do, don''t worry."


    "Oh¡­ But I wanted to¡­" She cried.


    "You don''t really know what it is to begin with!" I said.


    "It is¡­ kissing and stuff right?" She wondered.


    "What "Stuff"?" I wondered.


    "Dunno¡­ hugging?" She asked.


    She''s thankfully still innocent.


    "Yeah, it is hugging, so let''s hug for now."


    Like that, I prevented a disaster and slept hugging Erika.


    The next morning, as we walked outside the house, we found something growing in the backyard¡­


    It was something rather¡­ incredible.


    -----

 Chapter 474 Spirit Yggdrasil Fruit

    -----


    What emerged from Erika''s seed that we ntedst night looked like a small grass with a red fruit popping out of the tip of the grass. It didn''t even resembled an actual tree at all, and it didn''t had any leaves either. The red fruit was shaped like a gem, looked like one, and shone like one. Its glistening beauty seemed otherworldly. I was surprised this was something Erika made. But if it took her over a year to create this Seed, it might be something incredible by itself.


    "Oh, a red fruit?" She wondered while looking around. "Take it out!"


    "Should I?" I wondered. "Maybe if we leave it here, it could grow into a tree¡­"


    "No, no, it is telling me that you have to eat the fruit!" Erika said.


    She couldmunicate with all nts; this one nt was not an exception either.


    "Alright then¡­?"


    I grabbed the fruit, suddenly feeling a mystical, spiritual essence flowing from within.


    It began spreading into my hand, as if it was greeting me, strangely enough.


    I took the fruit off the nt, as the nt slowly began to darken and dry out, dying on the spot.


    It was as if the fruit was the only thing granting the nt "life" as it was, interestingly enough.


    "Now eat it!" Erika was almost forcing me to do it.


    "All of it?" I asked.


    "Yes, all!" She said while nodding excitedly.


    I decided to trust her as I looked at the red apple, and then began biting it.


    The sweet vor came apanied by refreshing sweet fruit juices. The entire fruit felt like eating a fruit-vored piece of candy rather than some fruit by how sweet it was.


    The jewel-like coverture was pure caramel, and it melted in my mouth. It felt almost addicting. Since I''ve tasted sweets that I''ve loved them in this world,pared to my previous life that only drank blood.


    In just ten seconds I had eaten the entire fruit, it had no seeds inside, and it was just pure sweetness. I felt slightly bad I didn''t shared some with Erika, she got an even stronger sweet tooth than me.


    "So? How it was?"


    "It was more delicious than any sweet I''ve ever eaten, thank you."


    At first, I had thought it was merely a sweet with some spirit essence and that was all, a little and delicious gift from Erika.


    However, things quickly went ahead of my own expectations, as I felt the spirit essence that the fruit gave me travel all the way down to my Spirit Orb, concentrating on it and orbiting the orb slowly, until it waspletely infused inside.


    "Master, something''s going on in here!"


    Eleanora suddenly called me through telepathy, as I saw within the Soul Scape inside of the Spirit Orb as the Spiritual Essence began to cover everything.


    This Soul Scape was something I was able to see and insert my consciousness since I awakened a Spirit Orb, it allowed for me and Eleanora to enter this special space where Spirits are stored.


    However, only the two of us could enter as of now, and it was merely all ethereal, like an illusion rather than a dimension of its own.


    But that changed right now, the Spiritual Essence seemed to be of Divine Levels. It merged with my Spirit Orb, enchanting the soul scape inside and also my own Spirit Orb''s strength.<novelnext></novelnext>


    The Spiritual Essence also flowed into my Magic Circle and my Physique, and even my Soul, naturally, everything within me was enchanted and enhanced¡­


    FLAAASH!


    "Uwahh!"


    Erika suddenly fell down over her butt as the aura flowing from my body generated a shockwave.


    "Erika! Are you okay?"


    I quickly went to see if she was alright, quickly helping her stand back up.


    "Ouch, I hit my butt, but I am alright¡­ Hehe, you''ve never been this considerate before." Erika smiled back. "Oh! You''re glowing with so much Spiritual Essence!"


    "I can tell¡­" I looked back into my Spirit Orb''s soul scape, and somethingpletely different had showed up in there.


    The red and aridnd from before had changed, no longer simply illusory, but it had be semi-material. Slowly turning into a small pocket dimension of its own!


    And that was not all, as everything looked way more realistic. The surroundings and everything was still pretty much looking lugubrious and the same, a red moon, arid ck and red dirt, and ck mountains in the background.


    However, new things also emerged, a small pool of blood appeared in the middle of it all, and several red, ck, and purple flowers, alongside a dozen of dry ck trees, with red leaves.


    ? They all seemed strangely mystical, overflowing with Spiritual Essence like I had never felt before. They were surely not normal nts at all, they were special Spiritual Materials.


    Eleanora was inside the soul scape when everything happened, she saw everything change, and was now wandering around the flower-covered field, reaching the small pool of fresh and shiny blood¡­ She drank it and quickly enjoyed the vor.


    "Oh, this is such a delicious blood! It is filled with Spiritual Essence¡­ I feel like it has satiated me so quickly¡­"


    "This is incredible¡­" I murmured to myself.


    And just as that happened, the Grimoire shone with bright light, showing new information, changes in my own Spirit Orb reflected into my Status.


    [You have consumed the [Spirit Yggdrasil Fruit (Legendary Grade)]!]


    [You gained an enormous quantity of Divine Spiritual Essence!]


    [The [Blessing of the Twelve Holy Spirits] has reacted! All Bonuses have been multiplied ten times!]


    [Your [Spirit Orb] Realm has increased from Rank 2 Initial Stage to Rank 2 Upper Stage!]


    [Your [Physique] Tier has increased from Tier 3 Rank 8 to Tier 4 Rank 2!]


    [Your [Psyche] Tier has increased from Tier 1 Rank 10 to Tier 2 Rank 5!]


    [Your [Magic Circle] Tier has increased from Tier 2 Rank 9 to Tier 3 Rank 4!]


    It was more than I could had imagined, this little gift from Erika ended bing an amazing power up.


    -----

 Chapter 475 Spiritual Realm

    -----


    As I ate the fruit, not only my Spirit Orb developed, but my body, soul and magic circle, the physique, psyche, and magic circle tiers respectively all increased. With that came new abilities as well.


    Every Physique and Psychee with Abilities with each Tier, while the previous Abilities are always upgraded to the new Tier, growing, and developing stronger.


    Physiques might or might not be something of this world, but they''re surely an amazing way to grow stronger through the cultivation of energies converged into the soul passively enchanting physical strength beyond just leveling up.


    [You acquired the [Physique] Tier 4 Ability: [Vampiric Bloodline]!]


    At longst, the Vampiric Blood Emperor Physique, the one I had forged using my previous life''s memories and knowledge to make it into the ultimate physique has reached Tier 4, meaning that it was finally developing this one Ability, Vampiric Bloodline!


    This was the culmination of my previous life''s thousands of years of research, with this physique, I can enjoy the powers of Vampires without their annoying weaknesses. And at longst, at Tier 4 is where it would finally begin to showcase its true powers, the true ability of Vampires of turning others into their race, the deadly power that allowed me to easily form an army.


    Vampiric Bloodline allowed me the same ability as Eleanora, by sharing a drop of my blood with someone I have made to submit to my strength or that is too weakened to resist, I can turn them into a random Vampiric being.


    If Ibine this with Eleanora''s Skill, I might be able to learn the Skill myself as well, quite possibly. But for now, there''s other things to care for.


    [Your Soul has mutated! Your [Psyche] has evolved into [Blood Soul Psyche]!]


    [You acquired the [Psyche] Tier 2 Ability: [Soul Weapon]!]


    Soul Weapon is the materialization of the Soul into the shape of a weapon, or even an attack. It simply allows for the ability to fight using the soul as well, which can deal greater damage and enchant normal Skills and Technique, or even Magic.


    The stronger the soul, the stronger the Soul Weapon''s power bes and the higher the bonuses I will get from it, quite possibly an amazing development, and only at Tier 2, I had thought I would get itter, but I managed to awaken it very soon. All thanks to Erika, in fact.


    [Your Magic Circle has gained several Elemental Runes! Your [Magic Circle] became [Abyssal Blood Circle]!]


    [You can now perform stronger Magic!]


    Lastly, Magic Circle Tiers didn''t came with new Abilities, but the Magic Circle by itself was an ability, growing stronger with Runes. The more the number of Runes of certain elements, the stronger these element''s magic spells be, the easier it is to use them and more.


    Also, as the Magic Circle develops, the ability to conjure magic be swifter and the maniption of Mana almost automatically. Conjuration and incantation are not even necessary anymore, as the Magic Circle itself reces the one that I must create for each spell, facilitating the process altogether.


    [All your stats have increased!]


    [The [Soul Scape] has evolved into [Pseudo Spirit Realm]


    [You have developed several [Spirit Treasures]!]


    [Your Pseudo Spirit Realm has developed [ck Blood Tree Forest] Lesser Spirit Treasure!]


    [Your Pseudo Spirit Realm has developed [Red Crimson Flowers] Lesser Spirit Treasure!]


    [Your Pseudo Spirit Realm has developed [Abyss ck Flowers] Lesser Spirit Treasure!]


    [Your Pseudo Spirit Realm has developed [Spiritual Blood Fountain] Lesser Spirit Treasure!]


    "Lesser Spirit Treasures¡­"


    So these things that appeared inside of my Soul Scape, or well, Pseudo Spirit Real are indeed Spirit Treasures. But what are these? In my previous life''s memories, I can''t find any information regarding this. I do remember the existence of Divine Realms, special realms that form inside a god''s soul.


    I had developed my own as well, the nts and other things that grew on them were named Divine Materials, not Spirit Treasures, so Spirit Treasures might be¡­ something even higher than Divine Materials, the power they emanate is way vaster and stronger.


    And apparently, by checking them using Analysis, I was able to see what they could do for me. Each Spiritual Treasure wasn''t merely just a material waiting to be processed through alchemy or forging, but it gave away a special passive effect.


    -----


    [ck Blood Tree Forest (Lesser Spirit Treasure)]<novelnext></novelnext>


    A Lesser Spirit Treasure that contains the Element of Death, Darkness and Blood. It resembles a withering tree with red leaves. It is dry and can survive without water or sunlight, however, it requires blood almost daily for sustenance. It might eventually evolve into something of incredible power.


    Tree Amount: 20


    Enhances Death, Darkness, and Blood Attribute Power by +50 with each Tree


    Hastens Mana and Spiritual Essence Regeneration Speed by +1% with each Tree.


    Produces +10 Death, Darkness, and Blood Attribute Ki and Spiritual Essence with each Tree every hour.


    -----


    [Red Crimson Flowers (Lesser Spirit Treasure)]


    A Lesser Spirit Treasure made of many red-colored flowers resembling red roses containing the Element of Blood. As it evolves, its quantity multiplies.


    Flowers Amount: 50


    Enhances Blood Attribute Power by +10 with each Flower.


    Blood Attribute Magic gains +1 Spirit Power with each Flower.


    Produces +1 Blood Attribute Ki and Spiritual Essence with each flower every hour.


    -----


    [Abyss ck Flowers (Lesser Spirit Treasure)]


    A Lesser Spirit Treasure made of many ck-colored flowers resembling ck roses containing the Element of Darkness. As it evolves, its quantity multiplies.


    Flowers Amount: 50


    Enhances Darkness Attribute Power by +10 with each Flower.


    Darkness Attribute Magic gains +1 Spirit Power with each Flower.


    Produces +1 Darkness Attribute Ki and Spiritual Essence with each flower every hour.


    -----


    [Spiritual Blood Fountain (Lesser Spirit Treasure)]


    A Lesser Spirit Treasure in the shape of a fountain of fresh blood. This blood is generated automatically and constantly, and it is rich for both Blood-type Spirits and Vampiric Beings. It has the potential to evolve into something even bigger.


    Produces +500 Blood Attribute Ki every hour.


    Produces +100 Blood Attribute Spiritual Essence every hour.


    Produces 25 Liters of [Rich Spiritual Blood] every 24 hours.


    -----


    It was rather amazing, to say the least.


    -----

 Chapter 476 The Spirit Stat And Spirit Treasures

    -----


    The reason why I felt like I was overflowing with Spiritual Essence, Mana, and Ki was because of these Treasures. Each one was like a small production factory, that automatically produced these energy resources automatically every hour. The more I had, the more they would produce. In specific, the Blood Fountain was the best one at producing Blood Attribute, my strongest element.


    It not only enchanted my own power, but Eleanora felt immediately stronger than normal, as if her evolution wasn''t enough, she had already received yet another boost from all of these enchantments.


    However, I was left on the blue about what exactly was this Spiritual Realm, and if this was something every person with the Spirit Orbs could develop.


    The Grimoire, however, had other ns on mind, handling me Skills from left and right¡­


    [You acquired the [Pseudo Spiritual Realm: Lv1] Skill!]


    [You acquired the [Spiritual Realm Master: Lv1] Title Skill!]


    [You unlocked the [Spirit] Stat!]


    -----


    [Stat]: [Spirit]


    A Stat hidden for mostmon folks, usually unlocked when a Spirit Master reaches Rank 5 or even 4 if very talented. This stat number determines the strength of the user''s Spirit Essence, Spirit Techniques, and also their total Spirit Essence, and regeneration speed. It also enhances all contracted Spirit''s stats by +5 with each Stat digit (invisible buff). Passively expands the Spiritual Realm and enhances the quality and richness of Spirit Treasures, while enhancing the chances for a new Spirit Treasure to be born naturally.


    -----


    Interesting! So this is the new Stat, Spirit! However, Spirits themselves don''t have this Stat, only their Spirit Masters, and it directly affects the Spirits they have contracted. I wonder if this also expands towards Familiars created through the Invoker ss Tree¡­


    [Familiars are different than Spirit Familiars, but do receive a buff of +2 to all stats with every one digit of Spirit Stat.]


    The Grimoire itself answered my question rather swiftly.


    This means that I must increase this stat at all costs!


    However, how do I even do it?


    [Leveling Up and Stat Points cannot increase the [Spirit] Stat, which only increases by enchanting the Realm of the Spirit Orb or by feeding the Spiritual Realm with high quality and high energy Materials. cing new Spirit Treasures inside the Spiritual Realm also increases the Spirit Stat.]


    It is a strange Stat. I cannot even increase it normally¡­ It requires specific actions and methods, but I''ll get to them eventually. Spirit Orbs naturally develop through leveling up as well, so it is not as if I cannot do it that way.


    I quickly decided to look at my Status:


    -----


    [Name]: [ke Hunter Goathorn]


    [Race]: [Human]


    [Spirit Orb Realm]: [Rank 2 (Upper Stage)]


    [Physique]: [Vampiric Blood Emperor Physique (Tier 4: Rank 2)]


    [Psyche]: [Blood Soul Psyche (Tier 2: Rank 5)]


    [Magic Circle]: [Abyssal Blood Circle (Tier 3: Rank 4)]


    [Job ss]: [Summoner: ¡ï¡ï]


    [Subss]: [Synthesist: ¡ï¡ï]


    [Level]: [5/50]


    [EXP]: [12830/100000]


    [Health Points]: [1160/1160] -> [1373/1373]


    [Mana Points]: [1848/1848] -> [2061/2061]


    [Strength]: [1416] -> [1631]


    [Agility]: [1060] -> [1278]


    [Vitality]: [1042] -> [1256]<novelnext></novelnext>


    [Intelligence]: [1497] -> [1702]


    [Dexterity]: [1079] -> [1284]


    [Spirit]: [50]


    [Spirits (1/3)]: [Half-Vampire: Eleanora (Rank 2 Initial Stage)] [Empty Slot] [Empty Slot]


    [Physique Abilities]: [Tier 4: Superhuman Body (+Demonic Arm)] [Tier 4: Supernatural Senses] [Tier 4: Vampiric Eyes (+Demon Eyes of Paralysis +Demon Eye of Gravity)] [Tier 4: Self Regeneration] [Tier 4: Vampiric Bloodline]


    [Psyche Abilities]: [Tier 2: Soul Aura] [Tier 2: Soul Materialization] [Tier 2: Soul Gaze] [Tier 2: Soul Weapon]


    [Link Skills]:


    [Link (Eleanora): [Shadow Sneak: 5] [Charm: Lv6] [Assassination: Lv5] [Ninjutsu: Lv3]


    [Passive Skills]: [Acrobatics: Lv7] [Robust Body: Lv5] [Hard Worker: Lv10] [Hawk Eye: 6] [Gifted Magic Apprentice: Lv6] [Heavy Drinker: Lv4] [Intimidation: Lv4]


    [Active Skills]: [Throwing Technique: Lv6] [Spearmanship: Lv6] [Butcher: Lv4] [Alchemy: Lv5] [Brewing: Lv4] [Synthetize: Lv4] [First Aid: Lv6], [Command: Lv5], [Cooking: Lv5] [Agriculture: Lv5]


    [Magic Skills]: [Blood Arts: Lv4] [Shadow Maniption: Lv4] [Create/Delete Familiar: Lv4] [Summon/Unsummon Familiar: Lv4] [Familiar Storage Expansion: Lv4] [Familiar Synthesis: Lv4] [Apprentice Alchemist Recipe Book: Lv4] [Spirit And Master Connection: Lv3] [Pseudo Spiritual Realm: Lv1]


    [Title Skills]: [Beast yer: Lv4] [Demon yer: Lv4] [Savior: Lv4] [ughter King: Lv3] [Dragon yer: Lv2] [Kin yer: Lv2] [Undead yer: Lv4] [Alchemist: Lv4] [Yggdrasil''s Gardener: Lv3] [Holy Spirit''s Chosen: Lv1] [Spiritual Realm Master: Lv1]


    [Spirit Treasures]: [ck Blood Tree Forest (Lesser Spirit Treasure)] [Red Crimson Flowers (Lesser Spirit Treasure)] [Abyss ck Flowers (Lesser Spirit Treasure)] [Spiritual Blood Fountain (Lesser Spirit Treasure)]


    [Blessings]


    [Blessing of the Twelve Holy Spirits]


    [Curses]:


    [EXP required to level up x100]


    [Proficiency required to learn techniques and skills x100]


    [Mana/Qi/Aether Recovery speed decreased by -50%]


    [Avable Stat Points]: [0]


    [Avable Skill Points]: [200]


    [Can gain 10 Stat Points and Skill Points with each Level]


    -----


    After eating this fruit Erika created with all her efforts for a whole year, my stats increased by over +200 and I gained several new powers and even Spiritual Treasures¡­ And that was only a small Yggdrasil Fruit. The other trees I''ve made never have developed fruits before, only flowers.


    To think Erika has the power to create these mystical fruits filled with enormous quantities of power¡­ She''s really someone amazing. I guess what those Holy Spirits told to her might not be so far-fetched, she''s filled with potential.


    "I never thought my fruit would make you so strong!" Said Erika surprised. "Maybe I should make more for you?"


    "No, you don''t have to feel forced, it must have taken a toll from you. The fruit itself was too strong, if you overdo it, you might even die." I said, stopping her from doing something reckless.


    "Aw¡­ Well, I am d about what came out of it!" She said.


    "Well, I even developed new powers, I feel way stronger than ever before. I couldn''t had gotten a better gift from you, Erika, thanks a lot." I hugged her back.


    "Heheh, it''s nothing!" She said happily. "It doesn''t evenpare to everything you''ve done for me, ke- Huh?! What''s that on the sky?!"


    "The sky?"


    I looked up into the sky, an enormous flying vessel was slowly approaching, descending from within the clouds.


    It was an airship.


    -----

 Chapter 477 A Warm Farewell

    -----


    "What''s that thing over the sky?! Is it some sort of carriage?" Wondered Erika in surprise.


    "That''s an airship. So they''re finallying today¡­" I sighed in relief.


    "Whose?" Asked Erika.


    "The most prestigious Academy for both Knights and Adventurers, mostly reserved for noble families. Thanks to everything we''ve done, of course, we have lucked out memberships for them. They also are the path towards several new opportunities, and also an easy way to gain ess to premium materials, items, and ways to get into Dungeons and Demon Towers." I said.


    "Eh? Ah! Wait, they''reing today?!" Erika was surprised.


    "Erika, I told you they wereing today¡­" I sighed.


    "Hahah¡­ I forgor¡­" Erika said while giggling.


    "Let''s go pack thest things before going out. We also need to gather with everyone else and say our goodbyes to our families."


    "Alright!"


    The airship that was slowly approaching seemed like an exaggeration, but I have heard it was developed using the technology of Dwarves, a race of small human-like people with innate Skills and Magic that exceed on crafting and forging, they''re master smiths that can make a lot of magic items and craft these advanced magic machinery.


    The whole airship was fueled with Mana and Spiritual Essence extracted from Spirit Orbs, most likely the ones taken from wild monsters. I have heard they''re used for a variety of things aside from alchemy, one of them is as fuel for magic technology.


    After a few minutes, we quickly gathered with everybody else. I had packed everything I needed inside of my Inventory function within the Grimoire, which now had expanded from the original small hole where I could only fit small items and seemed to open to an enormous ck hole like portal, I can store inanimate objects there of up to tens of meters now¡­ quite handy for all the grind I am nning to do.


    Now that I can summon D Rank Familiar Cards, I need Spirit Orbs of the same Rank to Summon them, meaning, I''ll have to carry dozens of them if I ever want to summon these higher ranked Summons at all. E Rank Summons also require Spirit Orbs, and if I want to make the strongest ones through Familiar Synthesis, I usually need to mix several cards together, which consume even more Spirit Orbs, meaning for a single D Rank Familiar Card, I''ll be wasting like over 20 Spirit Orbs each, all of them between E Rank and D Rank.


    I can tell why I was given an Inventory in the Grimoire; it is obviously to store this massive amount of Spirit Orbs I need to go around carrying. Though it was limited to the size of the grimoire itself, now it has expanded by a hundredfold, most likely thanks to the Holy Spirits lifting up several limitations within the Grimoire which Lucifer had ced to mock me.


    "So this is it, huh?"


    My father looked at me with a wide smile.


    "We''re going to miss you dear."


    My mother hugged me, giving me a kiss in the cheek.


    "Take care, ke. Don''t be too reckless! Ah, as if that was going to stop you¡­"


    My grandmother smiled back as I hugged her.


    "Big bro, take care!"


    "Make sure toe back soon¡­"<novelnext></novelnext>


    An and Anna, my two little twin siblings hugged me, as I held them in my arms and ced them back into the floor.


    "Sure, I''lle back soon, after this semester''s over." I said with nod. "I''ll bring souvenirs for everybody."


    "Alright champ, take care then. We already said everything we wanted to say yesterday." My father said. "I trust you can do more than any of us in our entire family has ever aplished."


    "Thanks, father. I will."


    "Buaaaah! I''m going to miss you all!"


    Erika, in the other side, was aplete contrast to me, she was crying all over as she hugged my little siblings and my mother and grandmother. Since her father died that she had been pretty much adopted by my family, so they had grown even more closer these past years.


    "You''re a strong and good girl, Erika. Make sure to have a good time and don''t go overboard." My grandmother said.


    "Take care of my son, please." My mother sighed. "Also you have my permission to marry him too."


    My mother''s really pushy over the situation¡­


    "Before that I want to grow stronger first! I want to be someone worthy of staying at ke''s side!" Erika said with a smile in between tears. "Thank you for everything you''ve done for me¡­ I''lle back with ke once the semester''s over!"


    "Alright then, let''s go, Erika." I said.


    "Yeah, let''s go!" Erika smiled back, as we made our way back to our group of friends.


    Eric, Chris, Erdrich, and Elizabeth were there. They were all wearing their fanciest clothes and carried enormous luggage''s with everything they could bring with them. I have gifted them multiple times bags enchanted with space magic, but even then, they had them all full.


    "Alright then! It''s about time we begin our journey." Chris said with a wide smile, looking into the horizon. He looked so different from back then, that stubborn little kid that picked a fight with me¡­ he has really grown up.


    "Can''t wait! I hope they teach a lot of alchemy and history at the school!" Eric seemed excited, still resembling a bit of his previous self, but definitely having maturated more.


    "Who wants that boring studying stuff?" Sighed Erika. "I want to go smack some monsters inside a dungeon! I heard that''s one of the first tests we''ll have!"


    "Yeah, the Academy is one of the most prestigious of this whole continent, which is maintained not only by our country but several countries all around the world thanks to the Continental Alliance against Demons." Said Erdrich. "Can''t wait to see it, there''s a whole city built around it! Stronghold City!"


    "I wonder what we''ll find there¡­ It feels like everything is just starting now¡­" Elizabeth sighed, as we all looked behind at our vige.


    So many memories were built here¡­ As we entered the airship and looked from inside through the windows, the vige slowly became smaller and smaller.


    My family¡­ I never thought it would hurt so much to leave them behind.


    -----

 Chapter 478 Academy Instructor

    -----


    "Wooow it is really lifting us off the ground!" Erika began freaking out. I guess she has never flew in her whole life.


    "T-This is crazy!!!" Chris was also freaking out.


    "Uwaah¡­! I am scared!" Eric began to tremble.


    "Come on, rx a bit you guys¡­ You''re embarrassing me now." Sighed Erdrich, scratching his head.


    "Hahaha, they''re really a funny trio." Elizabeth giggled, hiding she was scared too, her hands were clearly shaking.


    "You two are good at pretending but you''re just as scared." I smiled back at the two, they seemed to be hiding their embarrassment.


    "I-I am not scared!" Elizabeth said angrily.


    "Y-Yeah¡­ We are not scared at all." Erdrich said, suddenly, his stomach began to make noises. "Ugh¡­ Am I getting nausea?"


    "Seems like you''re not that good at high heights, it would be nice to rest for a bit. The whole trip takes over a day to get to Stronghold City."


    Stronghold City, an enormous city at the upper center of the Central Continent where we were born. It is not just for our country, but the countries of the entire continent rely on this city''s academy. It is supported by the Continental Alliance, which was made several years ago to deal with the Demons which has been threatening all of life in Spiritias for thousands of years now.


    We were weed inside the airship as the sole children that wereing to the Stronghold Academy by a group of servants and workers of the Academy itself. Now we were left to see the beautiful scenery through the windows for a little while. Sitting here and rxing was good enough for me, the beauty of the grasnds, the forest, and everything else beyond was quite mesmerizing.


    However, everyone else was too scared to enjoy it, perhaps sleeping through the trip would be better for them. Though I would prefer if they could get used to high heights as soon as possible. Now that I have several flyingpanions, it would be stupid to not employ them correctly and fly around in the future battlefields.


    "Youngsters."


    Suddenly, our conversation was interrupted by a tall woman with long red hair and sharp blue eyes. She was wearing a specific uniform of red and white color and seemed to hold several badges attached to her uniform as well. She only brought with herself a sheathed rapier.


    Although she looked simplistic, she was emanating a strong aura of spiritual essence and mana from within. I could notice Fire Attribute as her prevalent element, but there was also Earth and Light. She probably had more than two spirits.


    "I am instructor Evelyn Scarlet, I was designated toe pick you up from this vige. Now that you''re done saying goodbyes and we are on our way towards Stronghold City, I would like all of you to cooperate with me." She said with an expressionless face.


    "Cooperate¡­ for what?" Asked Erika.


    "Uniforms. All of youck uniforms!" Scarlet angrily roared back at Erika.


    "Eeeh?! They''re necessary?" Asked Erika in surprise.


    "They are! All of you look like kids we picked up at the other side of the streets! Our prestigious academy doesn''t tolerate other clothes than our prestigious uniforms! All of youe with me, we''ll take your body measures and then there''ll be uniforms ready for all of you once we arrive." Scarlet angrily said.<novelnext></novelnext>


    "Eeep! O-Okay, okay!" Erika felt slightly overwhelmed by the zing aura of the instructor.


    "These kids¡­ I am not allowed to do much right now, but once we get in the academy, I''ll be most likely assigned to take care of you lot, you better prepare! Our academy doesn''t tolerate ckers! We are not merely raising you to have fun, we are raising you all to be the future that might save humanity! Grind that into your little heads!" She roared.


    "We get it!"


    "Please don''t get angry!"


    "Uwaah¡­"


    Everyone quickly nodded as they lowered their heads before Scarlet, except me.


    She didn''t seemed all that intimidating.


    "Huh? You''re ke, aren''t you? You''re oddly calm for being a country pumpkin." Said the woman, her sharp eyes zing with a deadly glint.


    "There is simply nothing to be afraid of though?" I asked while raising an eyebrow. "I am entering this academy exactly because I want to kill as many demons as I can and grow stronger. What else there is to be?"


    "Y-You insolent- Ah, I guess that''s¡­ right. You''re right, that''s the right mentality!" Scarlet was going to get angry over my insolence, but quickly realized what I wanted was exactly what this academy was teaching the most, apparently.


    "Now all of youe! We''ll take your measures, don''t dare run away." Scarlet quickly led us to a room, one by one, a group of maidservants took all our body measures for the uniforms.


    It took roughly an hour and a half, but once we were freed from this task, we were allowed to explore as we wanted. Nheless, as Scarlet was assigned to us, she decided to give us a brief trip around the airship.


    "This is the corridors, and the rooms where all of you can rest. They''re individual rooms so don''t you dare sneak around or do anything romantic, kids! I''ll be watching with my eagle eyes!"


    "This is the main hall, you can rest here and chat, but don''t be too noisy."


    "The dinning room, here you cane to eat. Only three meals a day are given for free, don''t miss them!"


    "And the bathrooms¡­ Don''t here to do anything weird either!"


    She was very strict, or more like trying to look intimidating but it was clear she was rather amateurish. Perhaps she was a newbie academy teacher assigned as our instructor. ording to what Evelyn said, all students are assigned into a Party they either make themselves or are forced into if they''re loners.


    All Party members must always be eight, and she''ll be assigned to our party as our instructor, which was previously already registered as one, probably by Ellergest. However, we are missing two members ording to her.


    Whenever we get there, we''ll be forced to socialize and try to find new party members. Sadly, Spirits don''t count as Party Members, so I can''t register Eleanora.


    -----

 Chapter 479 A Quirky Woman

    -----


    Once we had lunch, we decided to go to our rooms for a while now. Everyone wanted to rest.


    "Hahh, I am tired¡­"


    "I''m going to go take a nap."


    "Ugh¡­ I feel like throwing up¡­"


    "Sigh¡­"


    "Wait, ke. Where''s your room?"


    Erika began tailing me around, as if she wanted to stay in my room.


    "Ah, it is this one-"


    As I was about to enter my room with her, two hands wearing white gloves reached both of our shoulders.


    "What did I said before¡­?"


    Evelyn''s eyes turned sharp red, zing with mes.


    Her aura became incredibly intimidating¡­


    Erika looked  back in horror at our instructor, as I sighed internally.


    "You''re not allowed to enter another''s students room! They''re the rules!" Evelyn angrily said.


    "Eeh?! But ke is my¡­!" Erika was interrupted.


    "Even if he''s your boyfriend or something!" Evelyn angrily said. "In fact, even less I will let you in if you''re in that KIND of rtionship! Now scram, youngdy. You will thank meter when you realize I''ve saved your virginity."


    "What are you even talking about?" Erika sighed, slowly walking back to her room. "See you for dinner then!"


    "Yeah, make sure to rest for now."


    As Erika went back to her room, I quickly entered mine, however, Evelyn once more stopped me.


    "Do you need something?" I sighed.


    "I''ve never meet someone immune to my Intimidation Ability before¡­" She said, raising an eyebrow. "You''re an odd kid, just how strong are you? No matter how much I try to analyze your Spiritual Aura¡­ it just keeps flowing."


    "Are you interested in young kids, Lady Evelyn?" I asked while raising an eyebrow.


    "I-I¡­! T-That''s not what I meant!" Evelyn, the lioness, as I will call her now, suddenly grew all red and frustrated. She was probably at most in her mid-twenties. She still had a long way to go to gain enough experience handling youngsters.<novelnext></novelnext>


    "Huhhh¡­ Okay, but please keep your distance from me if possible, I feel like you were trying to take advantage of me¡­ I could report you to the director." I threatened her.


    "GAH¡­!" Evelyn, as I expected, believed it all and suddenly fell to her knees. "No please forgive me! I-I only had good intentions! I just want¡­ to be a good instructor."


    "Okay then, why don''t you start by standing up?" I sighed.


    "Ah!"


    The silly woman quickly stood back up again, straightening her resolve, and going back to her strict character.


    "You will learn what I am capable of once we get to the Stronghold city. There''s an entrance exam first, right?" I asked.


    "Yeah¡­ Well, alright. I''ll trust you. I am just slightly worried. I had never felt someone with such a strange aura of spiritual essence before. I thought you had some sort of disease or something¡­" She sighed.


    "Maybe I am just too strong?" I sighed, walking inside my room, and closing the door.


    "Too strong?! There''s no way someone at your age¡­!"


    And the door closed in her face.


    "Ugh¡­ this kid really likes to mess around with me¡­" Evelyn walked away, as I heard the sound of her ck boots walking over the wooden floor.


    Eleanora quickly emerged at my side, alongside Blood on his small form, which made him look like a little red dog. And of course, a small, red-scaled wyvern, with a pointy red crystal horn a top his tiny head. The creature was no bigger than a house cat.


    This was my second Familiar Monster aside from Blood, the old Wolf Eleanora turned into a Vampire, this was the wyvern that hatched from the wyvern egg we found long ago, which I had imbued with Blood Ki and other things.


    It actually took a while and only hatched a year and a half ago and has barely grown a few centimeters. Wyvern''s growth is either slow like humans, or it must level up more to evolve and grow bigger.


    Whatever the case, making a contract with a Lesser Dragon such as Ruby will be beneficial for the future. Dragons are amongst the strongest races of beings; this is a fact even in this world. If I make a contract with one at such a young age, I might be able to share a bit of part of his power and even attain Draconic Arts and Dragon Magic, if he evolves enough.


    For that, I need higher quality materials to make him eat, and also good enough EXP for him to level up. But I haven''t had the time to level him much, aside from leveling up to level ten, his level cap is apparently 50, so there''s a long way before he can evolve.


    "That woman''s rather stupid, isn''t she?" Sighed Eleanora while crossing her arms and sitting over myp in her smaller form. In such a form she was now smaller than me as well, like a doll.


    "Yeah, she is." I said. "Nheless, she doesn''t have bad intentions, she seems to be pushy but she has a good heart, I can tell. She''s probably nervous and wants to grow closer ton us, but she''s also forcing herself to be strict for some reason, maybe to give us a good impression of herself. Maybe she''s trying to make us respect her."


    "Huh¡­" Eleanora wondered. "You''re so good at analyzing people as always! Anyways, I am a bit hungry, I wasn''t even able to eat at lunch! What with that stupid rule of not letting spirits out in meal times?!"


    "No idea, probably something made up so the academy is not filled with creatures wandering around everywhere¡­ Nheless, this is a world of spirits, I doubt many obey it or perhaps¡­ it is just something of this airship alone." I sighed. "Anyways, let''s prepare some food for you and the Familiars while we are at it. Afterwards, we''ll summon two more Spirits."


    "Ah, oldpanions at longst!" Eleanora seemed excited, as she looked at my eyes with her enchanting gaze.


    -----

 Chapter 480 Summoning New Vampire Spirits

    -----


    I quickly took out a cooking set made out of magic technology I purchased some time ago. It costed quite the little fortune in gold coins, but I managed to get it. Back then, these types of products were very rare in the vige. Nowadays there''s a lot of avability in there as more nobles have moved to live in that ce, it is expanding so fast it might be called a city soon enough.


    I could had waited back then until everything became more avable¡­ I could had bought this cooking artifact for less than half the original price nowadays. It is one of the few little things that frustrates me.


    Nheless, I quickly set everything up, took some food out of my Inventory from within the Grimoire, now without restrictions, I easily stored everything I had in my underground basement, including tons of meat and vegetables, and prepared a quick stew for the Familiars and Eleanora.


    They began digging in right away, I made it with the most easiest of ingredients. I didn''t wanted to make something overlyplicated. Thankfully there were windows so the smell doesn''t stay. I made it with just boar meat, potatoes, carrots, some onions, and tomatoes and a few spices, that''s all. Mostly everything was enchanted thanks to the Cooking Skill though.


    "Hmm! Drinking that fountain blood is surely nice for us but eating this delicious meal is all what''s life is for!" Eleanora had chanted a lot since our first meeting in this life, she hase more merry and open to talk, and less formal as a result. She has also gained an obsession with my food.


    Much like me, in our previous lives, the only thing we did was drink blood and that was it. Sometimes consuming pills or potions made through alchemy using materials and the like, but we never enjoyed the pleasures of good food like now.


    "Woof! Gwrar!"


    Blood resembled an adorable dog on his small form, and was eating the stew which he had grown fond of happily. I had made sure to give him extra bits of meat more than vegetables, but monsters are able to digest anything apparently.


    "Rooar! Grawr!"


    The little Ruby already finished his te, sighing in relief over the  bed, his small belly had grown several times his size, and the small dragon resembled a balloon covered on scales.


    "You sure are azy and glutton little lizard, aren''t you?" I petted Ruby''s snout, as he yfully bit the tip of my finger.


    Dragons, even lesser dragons such as wyverns, are innatelyzy and gluttonous, and once they develop, they''re also prideful. These are the big "ws" of the Dragon Family, which means that if you don''t raise them well, they''ll be disobedient and ask too much food.


    We are trying to raise this boy with care with Eleanora, trying not to spoil him too much and to also force him to train his skills and magic. It has been over a year and he has improved rather decently. My hopes are that he won''t be disobedient once he matures¡­ hopefully.


    "Well, while you''re snacking I''ll summon the two Spirits. Thanks to the Blessing of the Holy Spirits, I can summon an extra spirit per Spirit Realm Rank, so I can summon two right now. Pretty handy, isn''t it?" I sighed. "I''ll be able to bring Asmodeus''panions to us in no time once I start leveling up and increasing my Spirit Orb Realm faster."


    "It''ll be exciting! Although¡­" Eleanora began to remember her previous life. "I remember there were a lot of annoying ones I would rather not have back."


    "Now, now, any help will be weed, don''t be picky." I sighed.


    "Right¡­ I apologize." Eleanora sighed. "Anybody would be weed, after so many years, we can finally get more of our formerrades."


    "Yeah, anything will do good at this point¡­" I sighed.<novelnext></novelnext>


    The memories of Asmodeus inside of my mind are still there, the emotions he felt for them, the only people he ever relied on and cared for, despite his emotionlessness and everything else, it still could be said he loved them.


    FLASH!


    The Grimoire responded to my intentions, as its pages flickered rapidly, ending in two white pages with red magic circles on them.


    And then, text appeared in those pages.


    [Summon Spirit? You will randomly be given a Spirit based in the Souls of your Fallen Comrades.] [Avable Spirit Slots: 2]


    <Yes> <No>


    It is the same message from almost ten years ago, when I summoned Eleanora for the first time¡­ So many things have happened since then, it really fills me with nostalgia.


    "Yes."


    I quickly gave a wordmand, the pages quickly began to shine bright red, as I suddenly felt my own soul and mind being sucked inside of its pages.


    FLUOSH!


    For a few seconds, I saw an enormous quantity of shapeless souls across a vast, near endless ck abyss. All of them seemed to be resting. I don''t know why I was brought here, but I felt a powerful force emerging from within me, as it shoot down randomly into one direction, without me being able to control it.


    FLAAASH!


    A soul was quickly grabbed, being dragged out of this ce and then, when I opened my eyes, a red-colored magic circle of incrediblyplex inscriptions appeared in the floor before me, something emerging from within.


    It was a tall figure, taller than even Eleanora in her Full-Strength Form. It waspletely covered by darkness, shaped as a ck suit that covered every single piece of skin of the body of this tall and sleek man.


    He quickly spread his arms, wearing ck gloves as well, his face covered by a mask in the shape of a bird, but it was clear such a mask was from a gue Doctor. Glistening red eyes shone brightly from within the interior of the mask, wearing arge ck hat, the tall man lowered his head before me, making a pose of reverence to my presence¡­


    [You have summoned [gue Doctor Vampire Spirit: Hendrick]!]


    -----

 Chapter 481 Hendrick, The Plague Doctor Vampire

    -----


    His aura emanated a powerful, slightly poisonous and toxic ck darkness. The moment he appeared, the food everyone was eating started rotting away, turning ck and then purple, bubbling as if it turned into poison.


    "I can''t believe is this guy¡­" Sighed Eleanora. "From all people!"


    "Arf?" Blood seemed confused that his food suddenly turned into poison.


    "Grawr¡­?" Ruby curiously looked at the tall man wearing a gue doctor mask.


    "Greetings to all! Especially to my dearest master! The greatest, the most incredible, the one and only I will ever serve¡­! Lord Asmodeus, the Great Vampire Emperor of¡­!"


    The man''s voice, which sounded filled with pride and cockiness stopped, as he took a nce at me.


    "Hm? Is this¡­ Was I summoned by Master Asmodeus?" He wondered, looking around. "Do you happen to know where he might be, youngling?"


    "¡­Hendrick, it is me."


    "Eh?"


    "I am Asmodeus¡­ or well, I was. I am his reincarnation, call me ke from now on."


    "A-Asmodeus¡­? My lord¡­ REINCARNATED?!"


    He reacted as overly dramatical as always.


    Hendrick is an oldpanion of my previous life. He was an entric man. He used to be a ve of arge group of criminals in a faraway. Once I beat that organization and absorbed it, I freed the ves and turned most of them into Vampiric Beings.


    Hendrick was the strongest amongst them all. A young man''s whose entire body was burned as they used him for experimentation of toxins and acids they were developing. Even when he turned into a Vampire, such scars never left his body, as if he wanted them to stay.


    He often said they were his "baptism" or something, a part of his very being. However, to hide such an appearance, he began wearing lots of ck clothes over his body. Taking a special liking into wearingrge masks, his favorites were those of gue Doctors.


    After he became a Vampire, he developed abilities rted with the synthesis of toxins, chemicals, acids, and poisons. He was entric, as if his own trauma made him obsessed with these types of chemicalpounds. He was one of my most talented alchemists, and a man devoted to his passion and his master.


    He adored my previous self so much he built countless statues on my appearance and filled our spaceship with them. He was also one of my assistants in alchemy, always helping me in perfecting my creations and also making countless types of potions and poisons to fight the mightiest of foes.


    If I remember correctly, he had a special ability named [Alchemical Compound Synthesis] which allowed him to modify the chemicals of anything he touched. His way of fighting was often by turning his foe''s blood into needles and their innards into acid. He loved torturing others, as a result.


    "Hey idiot, I am also here¡­" Elenora looked at Hendrick angrily, quickly turning into her Full Power Form.


    "Hm?! Eleanora dearest?! So you''re here as well! What joy!" He said happily. "But I may require some instructions and exnations first, my lord." He quickly epted things very quickly.


    Amongst all my subordinates, Hendrick was someone capable of adapting to everything incredibly quickly, a few exnations was all he needed to learn about everything and quickly understand it as soon as possible.


    "Hendrick, you don''t remember anything after Lucifer''s fight?" I asked.<novelnext></novelnext>


    "I¡­ Remember fighting someone named Astaroth! He was a very mighty demon; he held the same powers as me! It was very tough, but I managed to kill him. After that I¡­ Milord''s fought Lucifer and¡­ A bright fire took over me." He said. "Ah, I guess I died there, huh? Hahaha! To think my life would go in such a whim! The universe is truly unfair!"


    "Yeah, I suppose you even died before I was reincarnated¡­ Well, let''s begin everything from the start." I sighed.


    Like that, I gave Hendrick a ten-minute exnation of everything. His eyes could clearly be seen opening wide beneath his mask.


    "T-This incredible! From Lucifer''s intention of a rematch which allowed all of us to have a second chance, to this Spiritias World of wondrous essence of high quality, to everything else that happened with the Holy Spirits! Well, I could have not expected less from my lord. Even as the human child you are now, you''re still my master. I will dly serve you, even after my death, my dear master. Now as a spirit rather than a full vampire." Hendrick lowered his head once more, kneeling before me.


    "You don''t need to kneel, let''s have a more casual rtionship from now on." I said while trying to calm him down.


    "That''s¡­ IMPOSSIBLE!"


    "Eh?!"


    "It is impossible for me to treat my lord casually! I would rather die!"


    "But¡­!"


    "Eleanora did it because she''s obviously in love with you! But I cannot simply do that."


    "You know what? Sure, whatever, do whatever you want."


    I ended sighing, I couldn''t fight against his annoying indomitable will.


    "Now my lord is going to an academy, huh? We shall y as many demons as we can then! Our goal should be destroying each demon tower and then, Lucifer!" Hendrick said. "I am getting pumped up! Alright my lord, tell me who should I kill first? Ah, I sense a very annoying woman some meters away! Shall I begin with her? What would you prefer? Blood converted into needles? Poisoned stomach? Or my favorite! Acid inside the brain?"


    "No, no, calm down. For now, we should keep ourselves at bay." I sighed, calming down Hendrick. "I have another subordinate I must summon first¡­ so sit down and rx. Also, bring that food back to how it was."


    "A-Ah¡­ Understood." Hendrick nodded, calming down and slowly changing the chemicalpounds of the stew, bringing it all back to how it was before. It seems he had inherited his previous life ability.


    "Don''t do that to food again, okay?" Eleanora angrily said.


    "I apologize,dy Eleanora!" Hendrick sighed. "I was just TOO excited! That''s all."


    "Yeah, yeah¡­ you''ve always like doing these kinds of pranks!" Eleanora said. Her powerful aura overpowered Hendrick, as he felt genuinely afraid of her rage.


    "Please spare my life, dearest Eleanora!" Hendrick sighed. "Master, please calm down this woman!"


    "Eleanora, leave him be." I sighed, concentrating into the new summon.


    -----

 Chapter 482 An Unexpected Summon

    -----


    "Then let''s begin thest summon of the day¡­ I''ll check both of your stats after this." I said with a smile.


    [Summon Spirit? You will randomly be given a Spirit based in the Souls of your Fallen Comrades.] [Avable Spirit Slots: 1]


    <Yes> <No>


    "Yes."


    FLAAASH!


    The same sequence happened once more.


    But something different¡­ happened in the middle of it.


    Instead of focusing into this dark realm with shapeless souls.


    The ray of red light suddenly shoot up into somewhere else, far away.


    I felt¡­ the presence of someone whispering to me.


    From far, far away.


    This voice, which my previous life still treasured, and that as a result, I also did¡­


    "Papa¡­ Don''t be sad¡­"


    I suddenly heard that voice¡­ I once recalled so many years ago.


    Am I hallucinating?


    There''s no way this is real¡­


    She was not a Vampire though, right?


    So why¡­?


    "Saphira?"


    FLAAASH!


    A bluish phantasmal light reached my soul, when I opened my eyes, not a red, but a blue-colored magic circle emerged, emanating a phantasmal presence from within.


    The presence continued growingrger andrger, my eyes fixated into what I was seeing. I couldn''t believe it myself.


    A beautiful little girl with pale white skin, silver hair, and blue eyes greeted my sight, she floated in midair, translucent as I remembered her.


    She looked to be not older than six years of age, a tiny little girl.


    [You have summoned [Half Vampire Specter Girl: Saphira]!]


    "I can''t believe this¡­"


    I dropped to my knees as I saw Saphira in front of me.


    Eleanora didn''t believed it either, as she dropped her te of food, her eyes opening wide.


    "Huh? Who''s she?"


    Hendrick never got to know her, Saphira died before we left our home, I only meet Hendrick several yearster.


    "Saphira¡­"


    I tried to quickly wash my eyes with some water I made with magic, but the adorable ghost girl remained floating in there, innocently looking around, confused.


    But then, her blue eyes shone brightly, as she recognized me, somehow. Even when I looked nothing like I used to look before¡­


    "Papa!"


    She flew to my side, her body quickly materializing at will, as she hugged me tightly with her tiny arms.


    "Papa I missed you!"


    Her beautiful blue eyes glistened like a pair of Sapphires, her name was given to her because of these two beautiful blue eyes of hers.<novelnext></novelnext>


    "Y-You recognize me?"


    "Why wouldn''t I recognize papa?"


    "But I look¡­ so different."


    "Eh? But I would never forget the shape of papa''s soul!"


    "The shape of my soul¡­ Saphira, it is really you."


    Eleanora quickly walked to her side, hugging her tightly.


    "Saphira! I never thought you would¡­ I never thought you would ever appear again!"


    "Mama!"


    Saphira hugged back Eleanora.


    "How¡­ Just how?!" I asked. "I thought that I could only summon¡­!"


    "Oohh¡­ I don''t know¡­" Saphira began thinking.


    "I remember that when I passed away, I was weed by this fuzzy light¡­ It helped me find peace. I watched over papa somewhere, I don''t know where¡­" Saphira said. "Until then, this fuzzy light greeted other colorful lights. I don''t know how many they were, but over ten! And then¡­ they brought me here, very gently! They said¡­ that papa was here, so of course I had toe!"


    "Those lights¡­" I muttered in surprise. "The Holy Spirits did it?"


    "Holy Spirits? Dunno¡­ They never said their names!" Saphira said with a smile.


    "This must be a gift from them¡­ To think they can even bring her soul here, just for you." Eleanora sighed.


    "Those bastards really want me to be indebted to them¡­" I sighed. "I guess when they saw through my memories, they learned about Saphira."


    "Q-Quite possibly¡­ But who was this light that weed her before?" Eleanora wondered.


    "Most likely The One, or God, the father of Lucifer. It is said he wees the purest and most innocent souls inside of his Realm, Heaven. The Holy Spirits most likely came to pick her up, and The One agreed because¡­ Saphira probably insisted." I sighed.


    "I did! Big light was very nice with me, I had a good time. There were winged people there, many!" Saphira said.


    "I see¡­ S-She really was in heaven if she meet angels." Eleanora was left shocked.


    "How cute, is she like your daughter?" Wondered Hendrick behind me.


    "Ooh, tall man!" Saphira flew away from our arms, she converted into her Specter form, bing ghost-like, and being able to pass through anything she wanted easily. "Hello!"


    "Well hello there, little missy." Hendrick took off his hat to greet her.


    "Bald head¡­" Saphira said while looking at Hendrick with pity.


    "Hahaha, perhaps. But it is very convenient at the time of washing myself. Having hair is very annoying." Hendrickughed.


    "Papa and mama always washed my hair, but it got all tangled!" Saphira flew back to us.


    This was really reality, Saphira¡­ she was really back.


    This wasn''t a dream, or an illusion.


    She was here with us, right here, right now.


    Saphira was a special girl. I remember meeting her in the sewers, barely hanging on by herself. She was a special girl, a half-specter. Half-specters are people whose one parent was often human and the other a specter.


    But what are specters? They were a race of people from my previous life. Non-corporeal beings that had many supernatural abilities. But the problem was¡­ half-specters were unable to live until reaching maturity, their bodies would simply stop working.


    They wouldn''t be able to maintain themselves and they would perish. Specters need to absorb energy from the environment to sustain themselves, something they do naturally. But half-specters don''t possess this ability and their physical bodies cannot consume enough food topensate for the energy they need.


    Saphira¡­


    She had the power to see through walls. Thanks to her, we were able to learn many things and even learned a lot of secret ns from enemy organizations. Like this, our small guild was able to defeat many enemies, and thanks to that little girl¡­ we also learned what love was.


    She always called Eleanora and I "mama" and "papa"¡­


    -----

 Chapter 483 Saphiras Rebirth

    -----


    Many times I wished I could turn back time and save her, many times¡­ I wanted to see her again. This feels like such a dream now. She''s here, right now¡­ After all of this time. I never expected I would ever see her again. The girl that taught us what love and caring for other truly was.


    I was unable to follow what she tried to teach me back then, her soul and her mind were too innocent. Over time, as I grew up, I became bitter and more bitter. I couldn''t find proper happiness and chased glory in the excitement and thrill of life and death battles.


    I ended forgetting about her altogether.


    "I''m sorry for everything, Saphira. I was never able to do as you taught me. I only became more bitter, I only brought not only my death, but the death of everyone I cared for."


    "Huh? No, you did well¡­"


    Saphira suddenly hugged me.


    "I saw you papa, you weren''t doing things only for selfishness, you fought the demons because they were invading the universe! You saved¡­ so many people!"


    "I¡­ did?"


    "Yeah! Despite you always saying you were evil, you always targeted evil people that abused others, you only brought more good than evil in the universe! Even that big light seemed happy."


    "What¡­ such an irony."


    I naturally targeted those that abused others because they were always the biggest fishes around. And well, deep down, I had a resentment against all these bastards, as when I was a child, I was also chased down, abused, and constantly running away from these types of people.


    "You stopped the demons from invading the universe, you saved it!"


    "I did? But I died¡­"


    "Your death was not in vain; you stopped all the demons from advancing! Once you entered hell, you cornered Lucifer!"


    Saphira knew so much, she really was seeing everything from Heaven¡­


    "I guess¡­ Maybe." I sighed, without wanting to really ept it.


    "Now I''ll help too! Saphira will be no pushover¡­ I saw this beautiful world, the fuzzy light called it a Primordial World or something¡­ He said it was very important! We have to protect it." Saphira was filled with determination.


    "Hahaha, you''re really pumped up, aren''t you?" Eleanoraughed, petting the little ghost girl.


    "Calm down now, one step at a time, alright?" I sighed, petting her as well.


    "Oway!" Saphira nodded, quickly taking a look at the stew. "I''m hungy¡­"


    "Oh right, let''s eat then." I said. "I''ll make you more. Anything you want."


    "Ooh! Really papa?!" Saphira asked.


    "Of course! For my little girl, anything." I said with a nod.


    As I cooked for her, Hendrick began giggling in the background.


    "Oh my, fufu, I have never seen my lord being such a good father before! T-This is a facet I have never seen before! I feel like I am learning so much¡­" Hendrick sighed, as Eleanora elbowed his stomach.


    "Ouch! O-Okay, okay, I''ll calm down¡­ Geez, you''ve be so strong¡­" Sighed Hendrick.


    While I saw Saphira eating happily, I checked at Hendrick''s and Saphira''s Status.


    -----


    [Name]: [Hendrick]


    [Spirit Race]: [Vampire]


    [Spirit Type]: [Blood/Poison/Shadow]


    [Spirit Realm]: [Rank 2 (Upper Stage)]


    [Level]: [5/50]


    [Health Points]: [1273/1273]


    [Strength]: [1123]


    [Agility]: [1642]


    [Vitality]: [1161]<novelnext></novelnext>


    [Intelligence]: [2067]


    [Dexterity]: [1985]


    [Passive Skills]: [Poison Vampire: Lv4] [gue Aura: Lv5] [Researcher Eyes: Lv6]


    [Active Skills]: [Stealth: Lv3] [Hallucination Fog: Lv3] [Torture: Lv5] [Dismantle: Lv5] [Poisoned Weapon Arts: Lv5] [Thread Arts: Lv3] [Alchemy: Lv6]


    [Magic Skills]: [Blood Arts: Lv2] [Shadow Sneak: Lv3] [Venomous Blood Aura: Lv4] [Blood Envement Contract: Lv1] [Alchemical Compound Synthesis: Lv6] [Poison st: Lv4] [Poison Threads: Lv4] [Poison Materialization: Lv4]


    [Title Skills]: [gue Doctor: Lv4] [Progenitor Vampire: Lv1] [Alchemist: Lv7]


    [Avable Stat Points]: [0]


    [Avable Skill Points]: [250]


    -----


    Hendrick Status was surprisingly how I expected it to be¡­ One interesting detail is that the Spirits I summon will always be strong it seems, often timesing at my level and having leveled skills as well. It seems all his Stat Points were already automatically distributed too.


    This means I won''t have to babysit him until he bes strong again and hase strong right out of the summoning circle. Still, he has his own Skill Tree and Skill Points to use, but he''s smart enough, so I''ll leave the task of assigning them to him.


    Hendrick overspecializes on poison magic and alchemy, synthetizingpounds, toxins, and potions is his specialty. He''s also good at making all kinds of bombs and intricate trap gadgets, he will be a great help from now on in both the alchemy department and everything in between.


    He''s also amazing at torture, specialize being an expert at making anybody talk, no matter how hard they struggle, he always makes them talk. Hendrick is also exceptional at assassination and mass killing using poisons and toxins, incapacitating our foes is also one of his greatest specialties.


    -----


    [Name]: [Saphira]


    [Spirit Race]: [Half Specter Vampire]


    [Spirit Type]: [Phantom/Death/Blood]


    [Spirit Realm]: [Rank 2 (Upper Stage)]


    [Level]: [5/50]


    [Health Points]: [854/854]


    [Strength]: [728]


    [Agility]: [2475]


    [Vitality]: [721]


    [Intelligence]: [2267]


    [Dexterity]: [2485]


    [Passive Skills]: [Specter Vampire: Lv4] [Phantasmal Aura: Lv5] [Specter''s Gaze: Lv4]


    [Active Skills]: [Stealth: Lv6] [Camouge: Lv5] [Invisibility: Lv3] [Odorless: Lv3] [Soundless: Lv3] [High Speed Flight: Lv5] [Spectral Body: Lv5] [Phantasmal ws: Lv4] [Intimidation: Lv2]


    [Magic Skills]: [Phantom Blood Arts: Lv1] [Phantom Sneak: Lv5] [Phantasmal Materialization: Lv4] [Death Ray: Lv3] [Haunting Scream: Lv3] [Undead Envement Contract: Lv3]


    [Title Skills]: [Specter Princess: Lv5] [Undead''s Friend: Lv4] [Little Necromancer: Lv2]


    [Avable Stat Points]: [0]


    [Avable Skill Points]: [250]


    -----


    And this was Saphira''s Status¡­ It was more than I had expected. I remember that Saphira never fought and merely helped us at scouting, and she has many skills just for that. However, she has wide arrangement of Death Magic Spells and even¡­ the ability of being a Necromancer.


    With her Undead Envement Contract, she can enve souls into dead bodies and create Undead bound to her, and her Little Necromancer Title enhances this even more, alongside Undead''s Friend, which makes any Undead she raises haveplete loyalty while enhancing their stats.


    She''s an unexpected surprise to be sure, but a wee one.


    -----

 Chapter 484 New Link Skills

    -----


    When I was made to think Hendrick was a specializer on Agility, Intelligence, and Dexterity, Saphira quickly came to tell me I was absolutely wrong. Her stat allocation waspletely out of this world in many meanings, and she was just starting now, the more she leveled up, the faster and stronger her magic would be. Despite that, her defensive stats and physical offense were lower, yeah, butpared to my previous self some years ago, she''s still way more physically stronger though.


    Hendrick and Saphira bring a lot of utility for my party, and the best thing is that, because they''re my Spirits, I can also use their Skills and Magic too through Spirit Link, which I quickly made them learn using Skill Points almost instantly. I decided to let them level up the skill up to level 4 using Skill Points, which was 60 Skill Points plus the 20 of learning the Skill, which was enough to allow them to also grab four of my own Skills for themselves.


    This way, I was also allowed to grab four of theirs¡­ And with such a wide variety at my disposal, I really had to think this carefully. I spent the next few hours thinking about it while meditating, all while I also let Hendrick do some alchemy, Saphira y with Blood and Ruby, and Eleanora explore the Spiritual Realm to see how vast it was, while she also analyzed its dimensional structure.


    Hendrick and Saphira ended just copying Eleanora''s set up of borrowed Skills at the end, as it was the most optimal, the more people we had with Command Skill, the more they would all stack together and boost stats through the roof. Apletely broken Skill.


    Aside from that, Shadow Maniption was useful for a lot of things, and Alchemy as well so they can be assistants¡­ Hendrick already had Alchemy at high level, but by having a second Alchemy, he was able to stack both Skills levels and be able to unleash even higher levels of alchemy. I left him the task of enchanting my spear with the materials I had at hand, alongside Eleanora''s spear too.


    "Hahh~ Doing Alchemy really calms me down and makes me feel right at home!" He sighed in relief.


    There were a few Skills I couldn''t grab from them, sadly. All those that were "characteristic" or unique of them couldn''t be shared through Spirit Link, neither their Title Skills.


    This meant I was unable to grab the strongest Skills they had, such as Hendrick''s [Alchemical Compound Synthesis] and Saphira''s [Undead Envement Contract] however, they had a variety of other Skills I ended taking anyways.


    When I looked into my Status once more, I found the stats had increased once more. Apparently the more Spirits I summon, the higher they raise ordingly¡­ Perhaps this is more than enough to fight even C Rank Monsters, if not even higher. I''ll have to try out myselfter.


    ----- [Name]: [ke Hunter Goathorn]


    [Race]: [Human]


    [Spirit Orb Realm]: [Rank 2 (Upper Stage)]


    [Physique]: [Vampiric Blood Emperor Physique (Tier 4: Rank 2)]


    [Psyche]: [Blood Soul Psyche (Tier 2: Rank 5)]


    [Magic Circle]: [Abyssal Blood Circle (Tier 3: Rank 4)]


    [Job ss]: [Summoner: ¡ï¡ï]


    [Subss]: [Synthesist: ¡ï¡ï]


    [Level]: [5/50]


    [EXP]: [12830/100000]


    [Health Points]: [1373/1373] -> [1481/1481]


    [Mana Points]: [2061/2061] -> [2173/2173]


    [Strength]: [1631] -> [1742]


    [Agility]: [1278] -> [1382]


    [Vitality]: [1256] -> [1363]


    [Intelligence]: [1702] -> [1815]


    [Dexterity]: [1284] -> [1393]<novelnext></novelnext>


    [Spirit]: [50] -> [70]


    [Spirits (1/3)]: [Half-Vampire: Eleanora (Rank 2 Initial Stage)] [Empty Slot] [Empty Slot]


    [Physique Abilities]: [Tier 4: Superhuman Body (+Demonic Arm)] [Tier 4: Supernatural Senses] [Tier 4: Vampiric Eyes (+Demon Eyes of Paralysis +Demon Eye of Gravity)] [Tier 4: Self Regeneration] [Tier 4: Vampiric Bloodline]


    [Psyche Abilities]: [Tier 2: Soul Aura] [Tier 2: Soul Materialization] [Tier 2: Soul Gaze] [Tier 2: Soul Weapon]


    [Link Skills]:


    [Link (Eleanora)]: [Shadow Sneak: 5] [Charm: Lv6] [Assassination: Lv5] [Ninjutsu: Lv3]


    [Link (Hendrick)]: [gue Aura: Lv5] [Researcher Eyes: Lv6] [Hallucination Fog: Lv3] [Torture: Lv5]


    [Link (Saphira)]: [Stealth: Lv6] [Camouge: Lv5] [Invisibility: Lv3] [Spectral Body: Lv5]


    [Passive Skills]: [Acrobatics: Lv7] [Robust Body: Lv5] [Hard Worker: Lv10] [Hawk Eye: 6] [Gifted Magic Apprentice: Lv6] [Heavy Drinker: Lv4], [Intimidation: Lv4]


    [Active Skills]: [Throwing Technique: Lv6] [Spearmanship: Lv6] [Butcher: Lv4] [Alchemy: Lv5] [Brewing: Lv4] [Synthetize: Lv4] [First Aid: Lv6], [Command: Lv5], [Cooking: Lv5] [Agriculture: Lv5]


    [Magic Skills]: [Blood Arts: Lv4] [Shadow Maniption: Lv4] [Create/Delete Familiar: Lv4] [Summon/Unsummon Familiar: Lv4] [Familiar Storage Expansion: Lv4] [Familiar Synthesis: Lv4] [Apprentice Alchemist Recipe Book: Lv4] [Spirit And Master Connection: Lv3] [Pseudo Spiritual Realm: Lv1]


    [Title Skills]: [Beast yer: Lv4] [Demon yer: Lv4] [Savior: Lv4] [ughter King: Lv3] [Dragon yer: Lv2] [Kin yer: Lv2] [Undead yer: Lv4] [Alchemist: Lv4] [Yggdrasil''s Gardener: Lv3] [Holy Spirit''s Chosen: Lv1] [Spiritual Realm Master: Lv1]


    [Spirit Treasures]: [ck Blood Tree Forest (Lesser Spirit Treasure)] [Red Crimson Flowers (Lesser Spirit Treasure)] [Abyss ck Flowers (Lesser Spirit Treasure)] [Spiritual Blood Fountain (Lesser Spirit Treasure)]


    [Blessings]


    [Blessing of the Twelve Holy Spirits]


    [Curses]:


    [EXP required to level up x100]


    [Proficiency required to learn techniques and skills x100]


    [Mana/Qi/Aether Recovery speed decreased by -50%]


    [Avable Stat Points]: [0]


    [Avable Skill Points]: [200]


    [Can gain 10 Stat Points and Skill Points with each Level]


    -----


    I had already designated the Skills I wanted. From Hendrick I got gue Aura to generate a powerful poisonous aura that slowly weakens foes and makes their HP go down bit by bit like a Poisoned Status Effect, Researcher Eyes to be able to inspect items with even more details and also be able to search for materials and realize with better capability what to do with them, Hallucination Fog to generate a fog that makes foes hallucinate, confusing them easily and quickly, and Torture to enhance my ability to torture others through a variety of techniques.


    And from Saphira, I took mostly all the important stealth-rted Skills, if I wasn''t able to take her Necromancer abilities, I was happy to grab these other Skills, they''ll enhance my ability to sneak whenever I wanted and however I wanted, while thest one, Spectral Body, grants the ability to temporarily turn a part of my body into a spectral form.


    -----

 Chapter 485 Upgrading Gluttony

    -----


    And above all, my Spirit Stat rose by 20. This means that with every Spirit, it might increase by +10? 10 Stats might seem little, but every 1 stat, they get +5 to all stats, so +20 already gave them +100 to all stats in return, pretty amazing. And if that wasn''t enough, the Familiars summoned from cards get +2 from every 1 Spirit Stat, which means that at 70 Spirit, they get 140 to all stats, also quite a useful little buff, which once stacked with things such as Command, might make even the low-grade Familiars quite powerful.


    My n for Ruby is also simr, I''m going to buff him through the roof and then make him kill D Rank and above Monsters, so he can level up quickly. I''ve heard that dungeons produce monsters by the hundreds, they''re perfect to grind to my heart''s content. One of my primary drives to join this academy to begin with was the easy ess to a variety of dungeons the students use to go level up.


    After all, in this world where people can grow stronger by ying monsters and learning Skills, it would be illogical to keep younglings closed in four walls learning technicality things. The academy is primarily made to help the talented younglings grow stronger so they can help humanity by fighting the monsters and demons in this world.


    Nobles seem to also have the obligation of joining the frontlines against the Demon Invasion, there was a Demon Lord that was born recently, if my memory doesn''t fail me, which is at the northern continent that waspletely taken over by demons, if that army is not stopped in time, they''ll end up overrunning everything and even our home vige won''t be able to withstand them.


    To prepare ourselves for such frontlines, we need to level up in less threatening, yet challenging grounds. Dungeons are the perfect deal for that.


    As I was already dozing off, I checked the new Skills I had gotten before, which I hadpletely ignored before, but that were quite important, as they were rted to the Spirit Realm.


    -----


    [Pseudo Spiritual Realm: Lv1]


    Skill Proficiency: 1209/10000


    The Spiritual Realms are internal pocket dimensions inside of Spirit Orbs that serve the purpose of growing Spirit Treasures and serving as a home for Spirits and Familiars. The more Spirit Treasures grow naturally, the stronger the Spirit Master bes and the higher the avability of materials for the evolution of Spirits and Familiars be.


    Only Spirit Masters with Rank above 5 can develop such a power. However, due to your privileges as a chosen one by the Twelve Holy Spirits and by eating the Legendary Fruit of Yggdrasil, you''ve unlocked this power ahead of your Rank.


    Enhances all Spirits and Familiars Stats by +10%, alongside expanding the internal space by +20% and increasing the chances for a Spirit Treasure to evolve or emerge by +5% with each Skill Level. This Skill can Level up by cultivating the Spirit Orb and developing the Spirits.


    -----


    [Spiritual Realm Master: Lv1]


    Skill Proficiency: 1209/10000


    A Special Title only given to those who have unlocked the Spiritual Realm within their Spirit Orbs. Grants them the ability to see through its interior as if they were the gods of this smallnd, alongside allowing Spirits and Familiars to enter and rest inside, recovering their energies easily. Increases Spirit Revival Speed by +50% with an additional +10% with each Skill Level. Additionally, enhances all Spirit Treasures Effects by +20% with each Skill Level.


    -----


    Both Skills were rather amazing, even more bonuses to stack on top of the ones I already had¡­ They also seem quite essential to have. The title by itself seems to allow for abilities I only thought as natural to have upon developing the Spiritual Realm, but they seem attached to it.


    I couldn''t take it anymore and ended dozing off for hours.


    When I woke up, I heard Evelyn knocking at the door.


    "ke! Dinner is being served, hurry if you don''t want to miss it!"


    "Ahh¡­ Right."


    I quickly stretched a bit and walked outside the bed; my Spirits were all inside my Spirit Realm by now. Eleanora was giving a roundabout about how it felt to be a spirit and everything else they needed to learn to Hendrick and Saphira, while Blood and Ruby were¡­ also inside.<novelnext></novelnext>


    Wait, what?


    I didn''t thought they could get inside the Spirit Realm¡­ so anything can? Even physical beings? Maybe¡­ no, wait, Familiars. These two are already "tamed" and have be my familiars. I guess that''s the limit.


    As I walked away from bed, I suddenly found a shiny spear over the table next to me. It was Gluttony, which Hendrick had upgraded while I was sleeping, a process that should had taken over ten hours took him probably an hour at most.


    -----


    [ursed Abyssal Devourer Spear: Gluttony (Mythic-Grade): Lv1]


    [Effects]


    [Health Points]: [+500]


    [Mana Points]: [+500]


    [Strength]: [+1500]


    [Agility]: [+500]


    [Vitality]: [+250]


    [Intelligence]: [+250]


    [Dexterity]: [+250]


    [Abilities]:


    [Gluttonous Demonic Predation]: Can grow stronger by predating in Blood, Spirit Orbs, Demonic Cores, and more. It can grow faster if it consumes the blood of Demons. By infusing Mana and Ki, this weapon can directly bite and devour through foe''s wounds, enhancing damage dealt by +30% and ignoring -10% of foe''s defenses.


    [Abyssal Wounds]: Inflicted wounds with this spear might not heal as fast, and rotting would begin faster. Causes the [Abyssal Wounds] Status effect where foe''s HP Regeneration speed is reduced by half and their stats are reduced by -10%.


    [The Devourer''s Domain]: Generates a Domain of ten meters around the user where there''s a 20% chance for any foe within the domain every 10 seconds to receive a powerful bite attack that deals 50% of total damage from normal attacks. Whenever this Spear Devours ten or more foes, it is possible to summon [The Devourer: Gluttony] to battle for 5 minutes. Cooldown: 5 Hours.


    [Description]:


    A Cursed Weapon that has evolved over time. It is never satiated from its hunger and has evolved into a powerful, abyssal form with even more strength and monstrosity than before. It is now even capable of summoning an abomination from another ne of existence for five minutes whenever the sacrifice of five foes has been made, which will rampage around and devour anything on its path before disappearing. A truly frightening spear that, if not feed regrly, might begin eating its own wielder.


    -----


    ¡­I never thought the bastard would make the Spear Mythic Grade.


    -----

 Chapter 486 Tasting The Food Of Other Countries & Academy Classes

    -----


    Looking at the new Spear really made me feel an ufortable aura spreading into my hand. Merely touching it made me felt like the spear was asking to be feed. It has be even more gluttonous than ever before. At the end, I had to quickly bring out several carcasses I had stored and feed them to the spear. Hendrick buffed it so much it was asking more than I could provide right now, what a pain.


    "Hendrick, you idiot, did you seriously just made the spear Mythic Grade?! I didn''t even gave you enough Materials!" I reprimanded him.


    "AHAHAHAHA! Of course Master! The best for my lord!" Laughed Hendrick, as if I was praising him.


    "I am not praising you¡­" I sighed, walking outside the room, and quickly looking at Evelyn.


    "¡­What?" I asked.


    "I¡­ wanted to apologize for the awkward moment before. You see, I have just begun working as an instructor and teacher and¡­ I was honestly very nervous." Sighed Evelyn. "I want to be a good teacher, but I overdid it."


    "See? You only had to just open up a bit more instead of acting so strict over nothing." I sighed. "Well, let''s go eat, teacher."


    Scarlet smiled as I called her "Teacher" feeling suddenly happy.


    "Sure, my dear student! You''re a pretty promising one, ke, let me tell you that. But that doesn''t mean I''ll go easy on you! I shall be strict so you grow up to be a responsible man!" She began babbling about already, going back to her previous self.


    "Yeah, yeah~" I shrugged as I heard her talk, quickly joining with everyone for some dinner.


    The dinner they were serving was sure exotic, nothing we had ever eaten before. They were serving something named "Curry" which was made from spices brought from the Elven Continent and the Dwarven Continent.


    There was the Yellow Seafood Curry of the Elves, which had small shrimp and fish meat, and then the Red Spicy Curry, which had hot spices, it wasn''t for everyone, but the spiciness made it somewhat addicting, especially whenbined with fluffy, white-colored boiled grains, named rice.


    "This Curry thing is delicious! It is so creamy and vorful! But the red one''s way too hot! Ugh, I need water!" Erika sticked her tongue out of her mouth and then drank a whole cup of cold water. "Pwaahhh¡­"


    "Hahaha, you''re not really good with spicy stuff, aren''t you? Yeah, curry''s not made for girls." Said Chris with a nod, eating the red curry and going for his third te already.


    "Hoh? Bold of you to say that, young Chris, Spicy Curry is my favorite meal." Evelyn said with zing reing out of her eyes, she had finished her te in time record.


    "Yeah, what''s with that about girls not liking spicy food?" Asked Elizabeth, she had also finished her second te.


    "Geh¡­" Chris ignored them as he drank water once his face grew red of eating so many spices.


    I personally enjoyed both of them quite well.


    "They said this was the food Hero Allen brought to this world which he made afterbining the ingredients he gathered all around Spiritias!" Eric said.<novelnext></novelnext>


    "He brought to this world?" I wondered.


    "Yeah, it is said that he had told his closest friends and family that he came from another world on hisst years of life, and that he had the memories of having lived a different life in a world named Earth¡­" Said Eric. "It was recorded in history!"


    "I see¡­" I rubbed my chin.


    So Hero Allen, the first Summoner and the one that apparently brought the "Spirit Era" to the world after sealing all Demon Towers, which made people begin to be born with Spirit Orbs was from another world, a reincarnated person like me, perhaps.


    Maybe this food is from his own world, Earth. I guess that''s why they said that "he brought this food to this world" or something. Though even as much as it is recorded about him, the true powers and logic behind his Summoning powers and also the Spirit Orbs everyone is born with still remains a mystery.


    "An interesting story." I said with a nod. "Anyways, this food''s good. I have never eaten this before, is there a variety of food in the academy?"


    Erika suddenly looked at Evelyn with shiny eyes.


    "Y-Yes, well, there is!" Evelyn said. "But food''s not really what you should be caring for¡­"


    "It is the most important thing! Without good food how do you hope to fight all day, miss Evelyn?!" Erika asked with a cheeky smile.


    "That''s¡­ well, I really do enjoy my food too, yeah." Scarlet smiled, trying to grow closer to us by not acting so strict.


    "Yeah! I hope there are sweets." Said Erika.


    "If there aren''t any I''m leaving." Said Elizabeth.


    "T-There are! Don''t worry, the cafeteria always has a wide variety of foods of the highest quality. Most of our students are all very talented nobles, so their ptes are varied as they are refined, we need to offer them good food." Said Scarlet.


    "Teacher! Is there a library? And what about an Alchemy Club or a ce to do Alchemy?" Eric wondered.


    "Oh that? Well of course! We sport a wide library with countless of history books, mathematics,nguage, arithmetic, magic theory, and even magic spell books, and skillpendiums. There are even books that teach students how to acquire certain skills by doing certain actions. They helped me learn many useful skills and spells!" Said Evelyn happily.


    "Oooh! That sounds amazing!" Eric began to fantasize about drowning in a sea of books, probably.


    "And about Alchemy? Don''t worry those adept at alchemy can join the Alchemy sses, there are also Crafting sses, Sewing sses, Smithing sses, and more, all of them done by special and amazingly talented teachers of each field. Production-sses are very important for us, as they can produce items that help us in the long run. Teaching them is part of our duty as well."


    The Academy seemed more and more interesting now.


    -----

 Chapter 487 Arriving At Stronghold City

    -----


    We talked more and more with Evelyn, spending the next hour conversing with her about everything the Academy could offer. Eventually, we reached the topic of Dungeons, which was the thing I was the most interested.


    "Yes, after the first week there''s going to be Dungeon Exploration right away. The faster the students get ustomed to dungeons the better." Evelyn said. "Stronghold City sports a variety of Dungeons, up to 20! They go all the way from F Rank to B Rank! You all will start with F Rank for now though, as you need to get ustomed to fighting monsters first."


    "Uhh¡­ we''ve already fought a ton." Said Erika.


    "Demons too, like hundreds." Said Chris.


    "We also fought hundreds of undead, and a necromancer¡­" Eric sighed, recalling Ellergest''s passing.


    "Yeah, we are more than experienced for F Rank Dungeons, can''t we enter higher ranked ones?" Elizabeth asked.


    "Y-You are?!" Evelyn suddenly rechecked a magic book she had, which held information about us. "I can''t believe I didn''t even read this about you kids¡­ By the Holy Spirits! I see whymoners like you were invited to Stronghold city now! And you are¡­ You''re an Invoker?!" Evelyn looked at me in shock.


    "Actually I already Ranked Up to Two Star Summoner." I said.


    "U-Unbelievable¡­" Evelyn muttered. "This must be wrong, Summoners are-"


    POOF!


    I quickly summoned several Familiars, Fenrirs, Orcus, Spores, and even one of my newest D Rank Familiar Summons, a Red Wyvern.


    "ROOOARRR!"


    The Wyvern roared mostly to show off. Evelyn almost jumped off her seat as she saw all the beasts, the roar almost made her scream. She was certainly strong enough to kill all of them if she wanted, but she was caught off guard.


    "There''s no way I could have so many Spirits, right? These are familiars, weaker spirits which summoners can summon atrger quantities." I said with a smile. I had no intentions of hiding my powers anyways. "They sport a variety of skills; some can even produce healing items and each one I summon also boosts my stats."


    "Incredible¡­" Evelyn muttered. "I-I''ve been assigned to such a group of prodigies?! The little ol'' me?!"


    She was freaking out over the responsibility of taking care of all of us, we really meant trouble in the long run by how talented we were, especially my own Talent as a Summoner¡­


    Well, whatever.


    At the end, she calmed down and continued answering our questions.


    "I''m sorry, even if you are as strong as you''ve shown me to be¡­ We cannot go against the rules and do as we please. But you''ll be assigned to a higher ranked test once the other teaches see you''re capable! So in those first dungeon explorations, make sure to get the best scores!" Evelyn said. "And if you are sessful students, I may get promoted and even get a raise in my pay¡­ It is a win-win!"


    She suddenly turned extremely greedy looking. This woman had so many facets that it was hard to have a proper idea of her actual nature and character as a person.


    When everything was done, we quickly decided to go back to our rooms and slept calmly, preparing our resolve for what was toe.


    ¡­


    "Mwuh¡­ Papa, good morning¡­"


    The next morning, I was woken up by Saphira who was napping over my chest.


    "You''re finally awake! We must be getting closer to Stronghold by now¡­"


    Naturally, Eleanora was sleeping at my left side as well.


    "Indeed Master!"


    And of course, Hendrick was sleeping at my right side of the bed- Wait, what?!


    "Get off here!"


    I kicked him out of the bed, Hendrick quickly began to apologize.


    "I''m sorry! I just wanted to warm up a bit-"<novelnext></novelnext>


    "Ugh, just don''t do it again, you''ve got the whole Spirit Realm to call home!"


    "Okay, I am very sorry!"


    "Sigh¡­"


    He wasn''t even sorry; it was obvious he was justughing internally. He''s known for being quite the jester within the rest of my allies. Anyways, to prevent this next time, I''ll make sure to just chain him inside my Spirit Realm.


    "Sigh¡­ If it wasn''t because you upgraded my weapon I would had gotten way angrier." I sighed.


    "Ohohoh! Talking about that, Master, I''ve improved upon this recipe." Said Hendrick, suddenly giving me a bottle of holy water.


    "Eh?"


    I looked at the bottle which was the one I crated using Instant Creation from the Alchemy Recipe Book Skill¡­ and then I looked at the Holy Potion Jack and Seth gave to me.


    The one Hendrick improved was only slightly less quality than the one Jack and Seth gifted to me¡­ Incredible.


    "Y-You''ve made this run of the mill holy water into such a high quality?!" I asked. "How?"


    "It was very easy with the materials at hand! Skill Levels are also very useful! Stacking two Alchemy Skills creates more effects than you think, my lord." Hendrick seemed to be prideful of his improvement.


    "Amazing¡­ Then improve upon the bombs too." I said with a smile.


    "With pleasure! I live to do alchemy!" Hendrick seemed motivated.


    I let him borrow the Lesser Elixir Ring that Eric gifted to me so he could use its abilities, as he began doing alchemy inside of my Spirit Realm while I packed up my things, Evelyn was calling.


    "ke! Are you awake? We are about tond! Hurry!"


    "Alright¡­"


    I quickly walked outside the room while being half-sleep, finding the rest of my party there. We quickly walked outside the airship in a hurry, as Evelyn led us outside.


    And Stronghold City was¡­ it was like nothing we had ever seen before in this world.


    An enormous city, with many airships flying everywhere, from all around the world.


    Tall buildings with over six floors, over a million inhabitants, most likely.


    And over twenty enormous buildings surrounding the city''s walls, all emanating arge quantity of Mana, Dungeons!


    This is¡­ the city of my dreams already! The variety of exported materials, shops, food, and dungeons at my disposal was phenomenal.


    "Woow, this damn city''s so big!" Chris said.


    "So many people¡­" Eric said in surprise.


    "Ugh, I am nervous¡­" Elizabeth sighed.


    "This is honestly incredible, I never thought cities could get this massive." Erdrichmented.


    "So cool! Look ke, the dungeons!" Erika pointed out.


    "Yeah, I saw them." I nodded.


    Evelyn smiled, crossing her arms as she presented the City to us.


    "Wee to Stronghold City, students. This is where you''ll all be shaped into proper Spirit Masters."


    -----

 Chapter 488 The Populated Streets Of Stronghold City

    -----


    The Enormous Stronghold City greeted our sight, as the airship quickly descended and arrived in the morning, right before breakfast time. Evelyn hurriedly told us to pack our things and quickly follow her, we didn''t had much time to do anything at all other than taking a quick shower and get dressed in the most presentable clothes we had.


    "Now, now, let''s go, there''s no time to waste. We need to go pick up the uniforms that should already be done by now and then we''ll rush straight to the Academy, the entrance exams are about to begin." Evelyn said.


    "Wait, what about breakfast?" Erikained.


    "You''ll have to skip it for now, you can have lunch in the academy." Evelyn said.


    "Eeeeh?! But I can''t function without breakfast!" Erikained.


    "Me neither¡­" Elizabeth sighed.


    "I think I am fine¡­" Erdrich shrugged.


    "I said that you can have lunch in the academy, children." Evelyn''s eyes red with mes, she wasn''t messing around, I suppose.


    "Ugh¡­" Erika rubbed her belly.


    She honestly looked gorgeous in the dress she was wearing, a pink and green dress with tree decorations made out of the yarn. It was the fanciest thing she had so far.


    "Don''t worry, here. I prepared for this." I said.


    Knowing that Erika is always hungry, I had prepared over twenty sandwiches and packed them inside the Grimoire''s Inventory, I quickly took them out and gave her two.


    Her eyes quickly shone brightly out of pure joy.


    "Uwaah, Sandwiches! Thank you so much ke!" She happily gave me a kiss in my cheek as she started snacking on the sandwiches while we walked outside the airship.


    "I made them out of your favorite ingredients. Mayonnaise, grilled wild boar cutlet, sweet tomatoes, lettuce, and garlic sauce."


    "I love it!"


    Seeing her happy made me smile a bit, as I quickly sensed the presence of my friends behind me, their res felt like daggers stabbing my back.


    "¡­I also have for everyone."


    I quickly gave them each one a sandwich so they stopped looking at me like that.


    Evelyn ignored everyone snacking on sandwiches (me included) as she led us across the city.<novelnext></novelnext>


    There was so much to see and explore, yet we were forced by the clock to not go and see everything for ourselves as much as we would had wanted.


    The entire city was bustling with people everywhere, from all sorts of appearances. We saw people with animal-like ears and tails, others had scales growing over their hands and horns atop their heads, some were small and burly, others tall, sleek, and long eared, and more.


    There were colors everywhere, and even balloons in the air, as if it was a festival going on, but this was merely the Main Street, filled to the brim with shops and market everywhere, arge area of Stronghold City that looked straight out of our dreams.


    I could see shops of everything I could have imagined everywhere, materials for alchemy of even the rarest of monsters, magic enchanted weapons of all sorts of qualities, expensive food ingredients, the most premium vegetables, and fruits, and more.


    There was even a puppet show in the middle of all of it, with bards singing and people dancing. Is a festival not really going on right now?


    "Uwaah, look at that shop! There are so many magic items!" Said Erika.


    "I-Is that an Alchemy Shop?!" Asked Eric.


    "Oh, who''s that little bearded guy over that shop with the big chimney? Is that a dwarf? First time I see one!" Said Erdrich.


    "Hey ke, where''s your shop at?" Asked Chris.


    "I have yet to setup anything but the ce the Duke bought for me should be rather far away from the main street." I said. "This ce seems very popted so sales must be great, I guess that also implies incredibly expensive rent for a shop to stay here. The Duke was only able to get me a ce farther away."


    "Oh, I have been told by my higher ups about that." Evelyn said. "The Duke of your Duchy has gifted you a ce for you to open a shop, isn''t it? You might be able to visit the ce after today sses ends. Usually students are allowed to do as they please once sses are over."


    "Well that sure makes it more convenient." I nodded with a smile. "Anyways, Erika, your mother should be waiting for you at the Academy."


    "Y-Yeah¡­" Erika seemed to be nervous.


    Erika had yet to meet her mother after all this time, but she had been in contact with her for a while now. Thanks to the Duke''s help, she was able to get a special message sending magic artifact, and with it she had been exchanging messages with her mother weekly, as the messages have a dy of a few days between receptor and sender.


    Thanks to that, through these years she had been learning more about her mother, who seemed rather nice to her. There was no hint of hostility within her, but due to her own job, she wasn''t able toe to our vige.


    And her job is¡­ well, she''s a teacher in the Stronghold''s City Academy, a graduated Illusionist and Dream Weaver that became a Magic Theory and Magic Practice Teacher, Cattalina Goldriver. Erika''s true name is Erika Goldriver as well, so she''s regarded as nobility in the Academy.


    ¡­But the ce''s filled with Nobles everywhere, so it is not really special.


    "I was honestly surprised after I learned that you were the daughter of Lady Cattalina, she''s a very experienced and well-known Magic Theory Schoolmistress. She''s known for having protected the city alongside many other teachers from the invasion of Demons and the Dungeon Breaks. Although our city is regarded as the safest in this continent, it is also because of these impressive people protecting it! As her daughter, I have high expectations of you, Erika!" Evelyn seemed happy to have her despite showing to be clearly annoyed by her some minutes ago.


    "I-I see¡­ Mother told me about it¡­" Erika sighed. She was trembling a bit due to her nervousness.


    -----

 Chapter 489 Entrance Exams

    -----


    I held Erika''s hand, as she quickly snapped out of her daze.


    "Don''t worry, everything''s going to be alright. I''ll be there for you too. And all our friends as well."


    I felt like I had to calm her down.


    "ke¡­" She smiled sweetly, as she nodded. "R-Right! Why am I even nervous? I should be excited!"


    "Yeah, you''re with us too!" Chris said.


    "Don''t you worry Erika!" Eric smiled gently.


    "Yeah, yeah~ Don''t be such a crybaby now." Laughed Elizabeth.


    "This is a new facet I have never seen Erika do. So she can get like this, huh?" Erdrich analyzed the situation.


    "I am here as well, Erika." Eleanora also reassured Erika.


    "Geez, okay, okay!" Erika sighed as she epted everyone''s emotional support.


    "W-Who is that woman?!"


    However, Evelyn was suddenly startled when she saw the gorgeous Eleanora emerge out of thin air at Erika''s side.


    "My Spirit, Vampire Queen Eleanora." I said with a smile, presenting her to Evelyn.


    "Nice to meet you Lady Evelyn." Eleanora spoke.


    "S-Spirit?! She''s¡­ a humanoid spirit that can talk¡­ Incredible." Said Evelyn in surprise. "You never stop amusing me!"


    "Well I''ve got some more of them, you''ll see themter." I said with a smile.


    "Master just show us off!" Henrick cried.


    "I wanna explore outside!" Saphira said.


    "(Please just wait a bit longer¡­)" I sighed, telling them through telepathy.


    The two of them were with Blood and Ruby, alongside many of my Summoned Familiars inside of my Spirit Realm. I had to calm them down for now. I wanted to show them offter, not now. That would spoil the fun.


    "So your mother''s an Illusionist and¡­ Dream Weaver?" Asked Chris.


    "Ah¡­ Yeah." Erika sighed. "I inherited my Illusion Magic from mama. She had the two-star Talent Illusionist when she was born, then she developed it until she became a four-star Dream Weaver!" Said Erika. "It is said she can use Dream Magic, a very rare element of magic that is an advanced form of Illusion Magic. Within the stronger monsters and demons, there are many that affect the mind and even attack people through dreams, she deals with them."


    "Woah, amazing¡­" Chris said in surprise.


    "Your mom''s sure great!" Eric said.


    "Yeah, can''t wait to meet her." Said Erdrich. "I wonder if she has your hair color¡­"


    "Hahah¡­ I am also excited to see her. Though I don''t know if she''ll be there." Sighed Erika.


    "Lady Cattalina? Yes, she will be part of the judges that will see the exams." Said Evelyn.


    "Judges?!" Erika wondered.


    "Wait, what sort of exams are we doing?" Asked Elizabeth.


    "Didn''t you know? After doing the first written exam, which is pretty short, there''s a fighting exam. Every student has to fight an instructor assigned to them." Said Evelyn.


    "Wait, we have to fight you?!" Asked Chris.<novelnext></novelnext>


    "Not me, it could be anybody." Said Evelyn. "But there''s a chance I might fight one of you kids."


    "Sounds interesting¡­ Facing someone several times stronger and more experienced, huh?" Erdrich smiled, getting pumped up.


    "Yeah, it sounds interesting." I said while nodding. "Do we have to win?"


    "No, you simply have to show off everything you''ve got. Depending in how much you surprise or amuse the instructor, your score will be calcted." Evelyn said.


    "What if I beat them?" I asked.


    "Hahaha, silly. You can''t do that. Do you really think you can beat someone two or three ranks above you?" Laughed Evelyn.


    "Hm, if anything goes¡­ And we don''t necessary have to kill them and simply throw them off the stage or something. Perhaps." I smiled.


    "T-Those are exactly the rules but¡­ you are not serious about this, right?" Sighed Evelyn.


    "That''s how ke is anyways, Lady Evelyn. You''ll get used to him." Elizabeth sighed.


    "Yep! That''s how amazing he is!" Erika smiled.


    "You two girls have really contrasting views on him¡­"


    Evelyn sighed, as we arrived at arge four floor house. The entire building was a massive clothing shop that seemed affiliated with the Academy. There were over fifty people here, all of them extensively working at making all sorts of clothes, including the Academy uniforms.


    There were many kinds of magic items made to facilitate this process,bining both technology and magic. Upon entering, we greeted ady with long blue hair and sleepy pink eyes.


    "Ah, Evelyn, are these precious little sprouts the new students you were assigned to?" Asked thedy.


    "Cecilia, yes." Evelyn nodded. "Students, this is Cecilia, a Four Star [Arcane Tailor Master], she''s amazingly talented at sewing and making clothes, she creates our student uniforms amongst her entire crew."


    She wasn''t that strong, but she was a Four-Star Talent of a production ss. Despite not being very strong, her production ss was very useful and important to the entire city. The people here simrly all had Talents like her, dedicated to the creation of clothing amongst other things.


    "Hello children, I''ve got your uniforms done. I have enchanted them with Defense Runes, Magic Enchanting Runes, Strength Runes, and Mana Regeneration Runes, the usual." Cecilia said.


    The usual?!


    These uniforms are not just fancy clothes, they were actually enchanted to be as good as armor!


    Just looking at them folded over the table made us suddenly jump in surprise, the clothes themselves were overflowing with auras filled with mana.


    What sort of materials did she even used to make them?


    Or is a four-star creation-oriented talent that powerful at making equipment?


    Incredible¡­


    "Now, now, go quickly change yourselves."


    Evelyn words quickly forced us to go into separate rooms and change our clothes.


    The uniforms of Stronghold City were of a pure white color, with golden buttons.


    The entire clothes set looked like what a would butler wear, but fancier.


    It will be hard to keep this thing clean by seeing how white it is.


    I''ll have to constantly wash it.


    Though I am not really worried about mine, but Erika in specific always nasties her clothes when she begins eating a lot, it''ll be a challenge for her to keep her clothes washed¡­


    -----

 Chapter 490 A Powerful Uniform Set

    -----


    And the uniforms weren''t without their own Equipment Status, the whole set counted as a single equipment, kind of like the Armor Set Chris gifted to me.


    -----


    [Stronghold City Noble Uniform Set (Unique-Grade)]


    [Effects]


    [Health Points]: [+250]


    [Mana Points]: [+250]


    [Strength]: [+100]


    [Agility]: [+100]


    [Vitality]: [+100]


    [Intelligence]: [+100]


    [Dexterity]: [+100]


    [Abilities]


    [Strengthening Runes]: While all the set is equipped, enhances Strength and Vitality by +10% and Physical Techniques Effects Damage by +15%


    [Magic Enchanting Runes]: While all the set is equipped, enhances Intelligence and Dexterity by +10% and Magic Spell Effects and Damage by +15%


    [Mana Regeneration Runes]: While all the set is equipped, enhances Mana Regeneration Amount by +20% and Magic Circle Creation Speed by +30%.


    [Connected Uniform Set]: Each piece of this set is only one set. Whenever a set is unequipped, the bonus stats will decrease ordingly. However, when all pieces are equipped, not only the user will receive all bonus stats, but will gain a special buff that triples Automatic MP Recovery Speed. Additionally, the entire set can be easily cleansed by imbuing mana into it.


    [Description]


    An incredible Uniform set made by an equally amazing Tailor with a Four Star Talent or higher. It was made out of the wool of Thunderous Sheep, Rank C Monsters that roam the Farther Grasnds to the East of the Stronghold City. Reinforced with Wyvern Scale Powder and Tempest Eagle Feathers, it is an incredible piece of equipment, both light, clean, and strong. Wearing the whole set together will automatically activate powerful runes, making the Students stronger.


    -----


    This whole set was utterly ridiculous¡­ And if I wear the Wyvern Armor on top of this uniform, wouldn''t I get even more bonuses? It would be an amazing bonus. And above all, these sewed clothes are all Unique Grade, which is amusing by itself.


    When we all walked outside of the rooms for changing clothes, the reactions of my friends was evident, wearing such fancy clothes and looking simr with one another was something new for us.


    "Now that''s what we are talking about!" Evelyn seemed happy. "Finally you guys look good! Ah, itpletely changes everything, isn''t it?"<novelnext></novelnext>


    "Yeah, they look so good with them. The girls are just enchanting." Said Cecilia.


    The clothes for the boys were the same as mine, meanwhile, the girls had long skirts that reached below their knees, they were white colored as well. They also had to wear long white stockings. Elizabeth wasn''t annoyed by them, but Erika was constantly trying to adjust them around, the clothes over her legs were annoying for her, most likely because she wasn''t ustomed to it. Hell, she often just wears sandals or just is barefoot all the time. She''s a rather "wild" girl now that I think about it.


    "Ugh! Aren''t these a bit too tight? My thighs are getting red!" Erika cried. The stockings were indeed tightly grasping her thighs, which had develop bigger over time.


    "They are not tight dear, just don''t stretch them." Cecilia quickly stopped her, readjusting the whole thing and then leaving it there. "Be careful with these pieces of equipment. If you break them you''ll have to buy new ones, and they cost over a thousand gold coins."


    "E-Eeeh?! That much!?" Erika asked.


    "It is premium work made by a Four-Star Tailor, people all over the worldmission her their clothes." Evelyn said. "This Academy is generous enough to pay their students uniforms and even handle them free weapons and armor if theyck them."


    "I-I see¡­ I''ll be more careful." Erika sighed.


    "Now, now, we should quickly go off for now." Evelyn quickly guided us outside.


    "Wait. Lady Cecilia do you teach at the academy?" I asked.


    "Oh yes! I do Tailoring sses. If you''re interested in them you can freely register once you''re done with your exams." Cecilia smiled. "It is rare to find people interested actually, I would dly wee you aboard."


    "I see, I''ll keep that in mind."


    If I could learn tailorship from this woman, my equipment crafting capabilities would greatly improve. I''ll definitely make sure to join her sses. It seems that aside from some necessary sses everyone takes, students might be free to pick whatever sses they''re interested into.


    "ke, hurry!" Evelyn called.


    "Sure, sure¡­"


    Once we made a few turns around the city, we finally reached the center of the city, where the Academy was located. It was so big it resembled a massive white and silver castle. The surrounding gardens were massive and it was easy to see that there were over four arenas where hundreds of people could go watch fights.


    I suppose there are tournaments in this academy, something I had expected. The entrance was¡­ convoluted. It seems we were ratherte in the line, there were over a hundred students, all wearing the same uniform in a line in front of us. The academy''s entrance was being regted by arge group of teachers, apparently.


    Amongst the things that caught my attention, each student had to touch a spherical crystal before stepping inside the academy, where they would then be guided into one of these arenas. We couldn''t see more than that normally, although I was already seeing it all using one of my flying Familiars, the Hawk.


    With his help, I was able to easily discern from the skies that the students were then told to sit down around the arena and wait for their turn whilepleting a written test right in the open. There were desks and pens there, but it looked quite rough and rushed despite how glorious this ce made itself to be.


    Nheless, right after finishing this written exam, they were told to wait their turn to fight one of the teachers. There were some fights already ongoing, students were easily being brought down one by one, but even those that lost miserably weren''t told to go away or something. It seems that students were already admitted inside, but perhaps depending in their scores in this test, they would be given special benefits.


    Interesting¡­


    -----

 Chapter 491 Appraisal Ceremony

    -----


    "Uuuggh¡­ It''s such a pain to wait in here!" Erikained.


    "Yeah, and the sun''s so hot, I am burning all my skin¡­" Elizabeth said.


    "Come on you girls, be more patient." Evelyn said. "Today''s the entrance day so there''s obviously many students. This is a nice ce to find some lonely people you could recruit into our team!"


    "Aren''t all students assigned to their own Parties?" I asked.


    "Not really, only those that came with achievements and backings are instantly added into a Party with an Instructor like me. Sometimes there are children that are not added either because they didn''t register for that or simply because they are not close to anybody here¡­" Evelyn said.


    She quickly showed us the line of students and told us that those usually gathered together with an Instructor at the side were all Parties. Most of them were full at eight, however, there were also some lonely students.


    A few dozen of them belonged nowhere. If this continues they''ll either be randomly distributed to other parties or be turned into a party by another instructor. I guess it must be hard for loners.


    We are currently a party of six, the party must always have eight students, so I need to recruit two more. I cannot simply choose people at random, if necessary, talented students or diamonds on brute would be ideal.


    After an hour, it was finally our turn to register. We first had to register in this crystal ball before being able to enter the academy''s gardens and do the exams.


    "I''ll go first then~!"


    Erika quickly stepped forward.


    "Please touch the crystal ball, dear." A gentle blue haireddy greeted Erika, as she nodded and touched the crystal ball as she was told.


    FLAAASH!


    It shone brightly, showing her whole Status. It didn''t had numbers though, showing her status through letters. I had seen this before; these letters don''t actually mean their current strength but their maximum potential in each stat.


    -----


    [Name]: [Erika Goldriver]


    [Race]: [Half Dryad (Human)]


    [Spirit Orb Realm]: [Rank 2 (Upper Stage)]


    [Talent]: [Magic de Princess: ¡ï¡ï¡ï]


    [Health Points]: [B+]


    [Mana Points]: [A]


    [Strength]: [A]


    [Agility]: [S]


    [Vitality]: [C+]


    [Intelligence]: [C+]


    [Dexterity]: [C+]


    [Spirits (2/2)]: [Doll House (Rank 2 Upper Stage)] [ck Knight Puppet (Rank 2 Upper Stage)]


    [Skills]: [Sword Mastery] [Mana Maniption] [Magic Sword Techniques] [Kicking Techniques] [Hand to Hand Combat] [Powerful Soul] [Puppeteer] [Illusion Magic] [Dryad Physique] [Draconic Eye] [Yggdrasil''s Eye] [Spirit Connection] [Throwing] [Agile Body] [Fast Movements] [Cheer] [Dance] [Charm] [¡­]


    -----


    For the first time I was finally able to see Erika''s status, and it surprised me the amount of Skills she had. The most important ones were arranged at the beginning, there was a surprising amount of the ones I had no idea that they even existed. I guess even with all I have, everyone must have their own unique set of Skills rted to their Talents and Spirits.


    Erika''s skills went from the few one she learned through my trainings to the many others she got from her Talents as she leveled up, alongside those she acquired through her new body. However, something rather problematic showed up, her Race showed as "half-dryad (human)".


    "T-This is¡­"<novelnext></novelnext>


    Thedy that attended her was surprised.


    "Ooh! Is this how my Status looks like? But shouldn''t it be with numbers?" Wondered Erika. "Ah, I''ve got a lot of Skills¡­ where are the Skill Levels? Also my level doesn''t show!"


    "T-This is¡­ the highest technology appraising item created, further information than this cannot be deciphered¡­" Thedy answered. "Your stats potential is impressive and you have a four star talent at that! And the amount of Skills I''ve never seen before¡­ Amazing. Also, you''re a half dryad? That''s¡­"


    Is she going to be discriminated or something?


    "That''s amazing! Being halfling of a spirit race is something very rare! Your potential is even greater." Thedy smiled.


    I guess not¡­


    The other students that were behind us all saw what thedy was talking about, although they couldn''t properly see the holographic window-like magic of the crystal orb, they all realized that by the amount of skills and high stats, Erika was someone incredible.


    Some other teachers and instructors approached to get a better look, quickly observing and analyzing Erika''s status.


    "Indeed, these are many skills I''ve never seen before." Said a tall blonde elf teacher.


    "Magic de Princess¡­ It has been ages since thest one with such a Talent appeared." Said a rather overweightdy with long white hair.


    "What with those eyes? Draconic Eye and Yggdrasil''s Eye!" Said another.


    "Err¡­" Erika felt slightly disgusted by everyone looking at her status like she was a product.


    "Please everyone, calm down now. I know that as teachers you''re interested in this girl''s potential but it is strictly forbidden to intrude into a student''s talent and skills aside from the superficial level!" Thedy attending Erika said, the teachers quickly nodded.


    "We apologize, we were merely excited."


    "We are looking forward to your progress, youngdy."


    "Indeed, make us proud."


    "S-Sure¡­" Erika felt slightly pressured by everyone''s expectations.


    "She''s no Hero but she probably could be something simr."


    "Someone with a Hero Talent is very rare to exist at the same time as another."


    "Well yeah¡­"


    Erika slowly walked back to us as she looked rather gloomily.


    "Are you okay?" I asked worriedly.


    "Yeah¡­" She sighed.


    "Maybe I should had told them to fuck off?" I wondered.


    "Ahahah, I was half expecting that but I guess you held off a little bit." Laughed Erika.


    "I was trying to keep myself calm." I sighed.


    "Erika your status is amazing!" Said Elizabeth.


    "Yeah, it was rather big¡­" Chris said. "I wonder if mine could evenpare¡­"


    "Um guys, thedy''s calling for the next one." Eric said.


    "Then I''ll be going." Said Elizabeth with a smile. "I''ll surprise everyone even more, fufu."


    Elizabeth was clearly wanting the same attention Erika got, as she quickly stepped forward and touched the crystal ball, her status quickly showed up.


    -----

 Chapter 492 Everybodys Status

    -----


    One of the things I have noticed was that the Status didn''t showcased any Curse or Blessing at all, so it means that such important things can be kept a secret from the public, as it would make too much of a fuss, especially me with my twelve blessings of all holy spirits...


    "Prepare yourself for something big!" Elizabeth said, touching the crystal ball.


    FLAAASH!


    -----


    [Name]: [Elizabeth]


    [Race]: [Human]


    [Spirit Orb Realm]: [Rank 2 (Middle Stage)] [+Rank 2 (Peak Stage)]


    [Talent]: [Holy Priestess: a?¡­a?¡­a?¡­]


    [Health Points]: [C]


    [Mana Points]: [S+]


    [Strength]: [C+]


    [Agility]: [B+]


    [Vitality]: [C+]


    [Intelligence]: [S]


    [Dexterity]: [A+]


    [Spirits (3/3)]: [Little Angelic Guardian (Rank 2 Middle Stage)] [Kid Holy Dragon (Rank 2 Peak Stage)] [Gold Ore Turtle (Rank 2 Peak Stage)]


    [Skills]: [Staff Mastery] [Hand to Hand Combat] [Holy Fist Technique] [Mana Maniption] [Blessing] [Enchant] [Recover] [First Aids] [Holy Light Magic] [Holy Light Domain] [Spirit Connection] [Saint''s Eyes] [Fast Movements] [Hastened Mana Recovery] [Multi Chanting] [...]


    -----


    Thedy and the teachers, which haven''t gone too far from here all gasped, students behind us as well. They were all surprised by what they were seeing. Although it has been reported that a Saint candidate wasing to the academy, ording to Evelyn, it still caused shock once she showed up.


    "T-Three Star Holy Priestess... Amazing, and all those recovery skills! You''re an incredible healer- no, also a magician and buffer! E-Everything... Wait you can even fight with your fists?" The Lady was surprised.


    "I received training from my best friend." Said Elizabeth with a prideful smile, buffing her chest.


    "Ooh, so she''s the saint candidate we heard about?!"


    "She''s stunningly beautiful as well!"


    "What a beautiful golden hair and bright eyes!"


    "All those skills are amazing, she has so many too!"


    "Man, I wish I had more than three skills..."


    Usually the majority of studentsing here were all apparently Rank 1 and with an average of three to five skills. They were still growing and were supposed to level up and grow a lot in here, not back in their houses. That''s why we were all a surprise as we came with tons of skills and stronger right off the bat.


    "Please let her join our Party!"


    "That Princess girl too!"


    "If we have both...!"


    "No, I asked her first!"


    "Shut it!"


    Students began battling one another about iming these two talented girls, sadly they were already part of our Party and cannot easily leave us either, even if the others are forcefully trying to recruit them.


    "Sorry but we already belong to a Party." Elizabeth said.


    "Yeah!" Erika happily smiled.


    Most students were quickly filled with frustration, and I felt as if almost a hundred stares reached our way, even Evelyn felt nervous as other instructors were envying her.


    "I-I actually didn''t thought you were the Saint Candidate..." Said Evelyn. "W-Well, next? You boys..."


    Evelyn and all of our group tried to y dumb, pretending we were not being stared by literally everyone here. I wanted to save myself forst, so Chris and Eric stepped forward after Erika and Elizabeth.


    -----


    [Name]: [Chris]


    [Race]: [Human]


    [Spirit Orb Realm]: [Rank 2 (Middle Stage)]


    [Talent]: [ze Wizard: a?¡­a?¡­]


    [Health Points]: [C+]


    [Mana Points]: [A]


    [Strength]: [B]


    [Agility]: [C]


    [Vitality]: [C+]


    [Intelligence]: [B+]


    [Dexterity]: [C+]


    [Spirits (2/2)]: [Nine Tailed zing Fox (Rank 2 Middle Stage)] [Volcanic Smander (Rank 2 Middle Stage)]<novelnext></novelnext>


    [Skills]: [Staff Mastery] [Hand to Hand Combat] [zing Fist Technique] [Mana Maniption] [Spirit Connection] [Fast Movements] [Hastened Mana Recovery] [Acrobatics] [Fireball] [Fire Whip] [zing Wall] [Fire Magic] [zing Spirit Burst] [Nine Tailed Fox Domain] [zing Fire Aura] [...]


    -----


    "Hey, that''s not bad." Chris smiled at his skills and status.


    Despite not being as rare as Erika and Elizabeth, he was indeed very strong right off the bat.


    -----


    [Name]: [Eric]


    [Race]: [Human]


    [Spirit Orb Realm]: [Rank 2 (Middle Stage)]


    [Talent]: [Alchemist Druid: a?¡­a?¡­]


    [Health Points]: [D]


    [Mana Points]: [B+]


    [Strength]: [C+]


    [Agility]: [B]


    [Vitality]: [D]


    [Intelligence]: [A]


    [Dexterity]: [A]


    [Spirits (2/2)]: [Crimson Blood Rose Vine (Rank 2 Middle Stage)] [Lesser Yggdrasil''s Treant (Rank 2 Middle Stage)]


    [Skills]: [Staff Mastery] [Hand to Hand Combat] [Bow Mastery] [Magic Arrow] [Spirit Arrow] [Mana Maniption] [Spirit Connection] [Fast Movements] [Hastened Mana Recovery] [Acrobatics] [Vine Whip] [Wood Spears] [Bark Shield] [Soil Maniption] [Agriculture] [Botany] [nt Maniption] [Nature Magic] [Spirit Tree Magic] [Alchemy] [Brewing] [Mixing] [Synthesis] [...]


    -----


    "Ooh, I didn''t thought I would have two stats at A!" Said Eric happily. "Seeing all my Skills is also quite refreshing... So this is all I''ve been working so hard for, amazing."


    As the two walked out with envious res behind them, Erdrich stepped forward. That he was a Half-Demon was well known by the Academy, and they had epted him thanks to Ellergest and the church backing him up.


    -----


    [Name]: [Erdrich]


    [Race]: [Half Demon (Human)]


    [Spirit Orb Realm]: [Rank 2 (Peak Stage)]


    [Talent]: [Demonic Asura: a?¡­a?¡­a?¡­]


    [Health Points]: [A+]


    [Mana Points]: [D]


    [Strength]: [S]


    [Agility]: [A]


    [Vitality]: [A]


    [Intelligence]: [D]


    [Dexterity]: [C]


    [Spirits (2/2)]: [Lady of Reminiscence (Rank 2 Peak Stage)] [zing Living Armor (Rank 2 Peak Stage)]


    [Skills]: [Fist Fighting Mastery] [Hand to Hand Combat] [Demonic Battle Arts] [Demonic Energy Maniption] [Mana Maniption] [Spirit Connection] [Energy Fusion] [Fast Movements] [Hastened Demonic Energy Recovery] [ursed Seven Layered Demon Transformation] [Demon Eyes] [Demon Magic] [Berserk] [Battle Maniac Domain] [...]


    -----


    "I see, it shows it all, huh..." Erdrich sighed as he closed his arms.


    Many had already looked at him for being so tall and muscr for being someone at his near fourteen years of age, but these stats quickly told everyone about his current condition.


    "H-Half Demon..."


    "I heard there was one, so it is him."


    "He''s... a Party Member with the Saint Candidate?!"


    "Isn''t this illegal? Why is someone with demon blood entering the academy?!"


    "Demons are the enemies of humanity!"


    "Get out!"


    "Why is he here?!"


    "Teachers, do something!"


    Some students beganining but the teachers ignored them.


    "This is an official decree of the Church of the Twelve Holy Spirits; you cannot fight against it. Erdrich will be a new student." Said one of the teachers, which was a tall and muscr man with a ck beard and arge scar over his face. "As the Director, I wee him with open hands."


    Wait, he''s actually the director?!


    -----

 Chapter 493 A Status That Shocked Everyone

    -----


    "Well I expected this reaction anyways." Erdrich walked to our side as the students began growing more and more annoyed by our party.


    And man, I was going to wreck things even more.


    I stepped forward ignoring everyone''s discontent with the rest of my party, as I looked at the crystal ball and touched it.


    F L A A A S H!


    -----


    [Name]: [ke Hunter Goathorn]


    [Race]: [Human]


    [Spirit Orb Realm]: [Rank 2 (Upper Stage)]


    [Talent]: [Summoner: ¡ï¡ï]


    [Sub Talent]: [Synthesist: ¡ï¡ï]


    [Health Points]: [B]


    [Mana Points]: [S+]


    [Strength]: [B]


    [Agility]: [A]


    [Vitality]: [B+]


    [Intelligence]: [S]


    [Dexterity]: [A]


    [Spirits (3/3)]: [Vampire Queen: Eleanora (Rank 2 Upper Stage)] [Vampire gue Doctor: Henrick (Rank 2 Upper Stage)] [Vampire Specter Princess: Saphira (Rank 2 Upper Stage)]


    [Skills]: [Acrobatics] [Robust Body] [Hard Worker] [Hawk Eye] [Gifted Magic Apprentice] [Heavy Drinker] [Intimidation] [Throwing Technique] [Spearmanship] [Butcher] [Alchemy] [Brewing] [Synthetize] [First Aid] [Command] [Cooking] [Agriculture] [Blood Arts] [Shadow Maniption] [Create/Delete Familiar] [Summon/Unsummon Familiar] [Familiar Storage Expansion] [Familiar Synthesis] [Apprentice Alchemist Recipe Book] [Spirit And Master Connection] [¡­]


    -----


    I see, so that''s my Status. It is quite simplified but I like it. It shows what''s important. Also, Title Skills seem to not show up. Why is that? Well, thedy said the appraising artifact is not that advanced, so perhaps it cannot "dig" too deep into it.


    Nheless, it shows all of my other Skills except the Spiritual Realm rted ones for some reason. Quite interesting how this is calcted, but it seems both of my Talents are shown easily and without problems.


    "H-Huh? S-Summoner? Synthesist¡­? And so many Skills¡­ T-Three Spirits?"


    The blue haireddy looked at the Talents while trying to process what she was just seeing with her eyes. She was seeing everything while trying to calcte what was happening, the rest of the people took a peek at my status.


    Back then the information about me being a Summoner was already revealed to my Duchy and then this wasmunicated here. There was no point in hiding my Talents, even less when they''re so shy and I''ll be using them all the time.


    And about the Vampire Spirits? This world has no Vampires at all, so nobody knows what they are to begin with, so they cannot really associate something evil or good with them.


    I already saw how they epted a half demon anyways, what''s the worst that could happen to me?


    Maybe in the past I thought it would be better to hide my powers, but that was only when I was younger and growing, now that I''ve attained this amount of strength, I am not afraid of showing the world what I am.


    "This is¡­?!"


    "What¡­ am I seeing?"


    "His skills¡­ why does he has so many of them?"


    "There are some I''ve never seen before!"


    "What''s¡­ Familiar Creation?"


    "No, this is¡­!"


    The elf teacher suddenly ran to my side, grabbing my hands.


    "Y-You are¡­! You are the descendant of Hero Allen, the Great Summoner!" He said in shock. "W-We heard there was an Invokering here, someone¡­ but I never thought it would be a Summoner! And you¡­ you have two Talents! Just like Hero Allen did! To boot, so many Skills! And three spirits at Rank 2! Unlike the Saint Candidate that got her other spirits through Spiritual Inheritance¡­ you have three without anything of that sort!"


    I quickly shook my hands and made him let go of them.<novelnext></novelnext>


    "Please don''t touch me without my permission."


    I was caught off guard, I often dislike being touched by those I do not know, it makes me slightly irritated.


    "A-Ah! Sorry about that!"


    He quickly apologized while bowing his head.


    The other teachers and instructors ran to my side to check as well.


    "A-Amazing¡­"


    "This boy is a Summoner!"


    "I''ve only heard of Invokers, but they''re often ranked up into other talents, he went to Summoner right away!"


    "This is unprecedented¡­"


    "He has two Talents, that''s even rarer!"


    "How many students with two talents have been there?"


    "Only two for the past fifty years¡­"


    "And his amount of Skills! You can¡­ can you create Familiars, ke?"


    The Director ran to my side, his face fascinated.


    "Naturally. Step aside please."


    I wanted to show off for once, as I let everyone walk back to open a small stage for me. Without further ado, I summoned several Familiars, from the lowest Ranks to the highest I had.


    A dual horned rabbit showed up, several ck wolves,rge crows and hawks, walking apples and mushrooms, a zing wild boar, and then an enormous wyvern.


    "ROOOAR!"


    The Wyvern naturally wanted to show off too.


    "A-Amazing, how many can you make?"


    "This is incredible!"


    "These familiars are- They''re strong?!"


    "I have heard Familiars grow stronger the higher their Rank bes but these are low ranks, right?"


    "All of these are E Rank except a few D Rank."


    "They shouldn''t be this strong then¡­"


    That''s obviously because of my Skills boosting their power. However, alongside that there was the Spirit Stat, something the Appraisal item cannot show. It boosts Spirits and Familiar stats passively with each point. That alone made the Familiars twice as strong.


    "And Synthesist, isn''t that an incredibly rare Rank Up of Alchemist?"


    "Yes, the ability to converge materials together into new items¡­"


    "This boy''s brimming with talent is incredibly promising¡­"


    "Huh, you''re for one hell of a wave of expectations now, boy." The Directorughed. "Nice to meet you, my name''s Director Hasan. You may know my Title as "ck de Hasan", a War Veteran that participated in a war against a powerful Demon Lord years ago. I belong to a party that also resealed one of the Demon Towers." The Director decided to give me the privilege of greeting me personally.


    This only made everyone even more envious.


    But I honestly didn''t care about that.


    The more attention, the better.


    This way, I can also drive to me those talented enough to join my Party.


    And if anybody attempts to mess with me.


    I''ll crush them.


    -----

 Chapter 494 Meeting The Academy Director & Boring Writing Tests

    -----


    "Hasan huh¡­" I said, rubbing my chin. "No, I have no idea who you are, old man."


    "GAH¡­?!"


    The Director suddenly fell to his knees, as if he had gotten a heart attack.


    "You''re so cold¡­ Also please don''t call me old man, I have yet to reach seventy!" Cried the Director.


    "¡­You look like an old man to me." I sighed.


    "ke, watch your tongue!" Sighed Evelyn, reprimanding me.


    "Hahaha!" The director began tough, quickly standing back up again and crossing his arms. Hisughter was so loud that it reverberated around the entire ce. "Don''t mind it, Evelyn. That''s how the kid is. I like when they''re honest."


    The director patted my head with his enormous hand.


    The moment he touched me, I suddenly felt a slight disturbance in my Mana, Ki, and Spiritual Essence.


    I nced back at him, as he suddenly showed me off a part of his Aura.


    An enormous, never-ending cloud of darkness that spread endlessly into the sky.


    Amongst the thunderous ck clouds, two enormous red eyes nced down at me, the furious roar of something within these clouds echoed.


    It was merely an illusion formed by his own spirit''s powers and his magic power, yet it made me felt like I was facing a titan amongst titans.


    This man¡­ at the very least, he''s above Rank 6.


    The strangest of things was that¡­ that spirit''s presence wasn''t alone, it felt as if it was an amalgamation of many more.


    ¡­Just how strong is the Director?!


    Amazing¡­ for a moment, it made me realize how far I can go from now on.


    No, I''ll go way past that.


    I''ll make sure to catch up with this old man and surpass him in time record.<novelnext></novelnext>


    "Anyways, how about you kids go inside the academy for now? I am honestly excited to see whates out of the exams scores now! Evelyn, I am trusting you in this one, don''t disappoint me!"


    The director''s eyes red down at Evelyn as she nodded nervously. It was clear he was pressuring her to not fuck this up and be a good instructor.


    "Y-Yes sir!"


    This was the first time I saw the fiery Evelyn act so obediently and nervously.


    While being red by all students here, we walked inside the Academy''s vast gardens, walking down a paved path and then reaching the nearest Arena.


    In there, we saw many children fighting. All instructors fighting against them were mopping the floor with the students though, not even one of them could keep up for longer than twenty seconds.


    I saw a lot of spirits and talents. Fiery Birds, Living Shadows, Wooden Guardians, Holy Rabbits, zing Bulls, and more spirits of all kinds of types showed up one after the other. I was even able to see some Material-type Spirits such as zing Sword, Shadow Whip, Terra Shield, White Armor, and so on.


    The average talent here was 1 star, with 2 star right after that. It seems that stars increase as one reaches max level and ranks up. But usually people have no control over what they rank up to unlike me¡­ aside from that, as long as it is a battle-oriented talent, even if it starts off at 1 star, it can be very strong eventually by leveling up, so anything goes.


    Nobles in specific are obligated to "do their service" so if they have a talent that can fight, they are kind of forced toe here most of the time. Perhaps this is why talentless people are not seen as too bad of a thing, there were a lot of talentless adventurers as well, from what I remember. Even if one is talentless, they always are born with one spirit anyways.


    However, usually spirits and talents are interconnected. It is rare to find someone with no talent that has an incredibly strong spirit, usually theye in pairs with amazing talent plus amazing spirit. So usually talentless people have "useless" spirits too, sadly. Because of that, they can only rely on skills they could learn and leveling up. Talents also determine how many skills a person can learn, and how fast they can learn them, so having no talent is very hard.


    I experienced that myself. After acquiring talents, learning skills, and leveling them up became naturally faster as a result. The bonuses of Talents are a world of differencepared to not having one. I can tell why only those with one that is capable of offering some boost in battle would be epted in this prestigious academy.


    Of course, most of the time they have to be nobles or very talented children chosen by nobles, such as our group.


    "Here. Alright you guys,plete this simple exam for the first score. After you''re done, just give me the paper and then walk down there, you''ll be assigned an Instructor to fight. Show them off everything you''ve got, you hear me?" Evelyn winked back at us, as she gave us the exams.


    I quickly took a look at it, reading everything. The exams were incredibly simplistic, they asked about mostlymon-sense stuff such as how skills worked and activated, how "receiving the blessing of the spirits" worked, which was leveling up, how magic could be conjured through magic circles, some simple magic rune questions, and also other questions about how to acquire certain skills. There were also ten questions of math,nguage, and history, they were allmonsense things I learned when I was a kid too.


    It was extremely easy, what is this? I thought it was going ton challenge me a bit, seeing how I was once a poor and ignorant serf, but I guess they''re going easy on the students with the writing exam in case they suck at the fighting exam.


    "I''m done." I said, giving the paper the Evelyn.


    "Huh?! ke not even five minutes have passed! Are you giving me something empty?" Sighed Evelyn, checking the paper.


    Her face quickly changed from angered to bbergasted.


    -----

 Chapter 495 Meeting The Hero

    -----


    "These are the simplest questions I''ve seen so far; did you expect me to have some sort of difficulty with them,dy Evelyn?" I sighed.


    "N-No, that''s not it but..." Evelyn muttered. "All the answers are correct! Amazing!"


    "Simple questions? I am struggling here!" Chris said.


    "Ah, even for me some of these magic theory questions are hard..." Eric sighed.


    "(Pshh, ke... Can you tell me some? Any? Pretty please?)" Erika used her newly acquired Telepathy Spell trying to sneak some questions out of me.


    "Young girl! Don''t think that I cannot detect magic waves generated through telepathy! I am well aware illusion magic users can use that trick, so if I see you sneaking on it again I will give you the lowest score in the exam!" Evelyn reprimanded Erika before I could give her any answers.


    "E-Eh?!" Erika felt shocked, as she lowered her head. "Guhh..."


    "Now, now, finish your exams quickly, we are only halfway through this." Evelyn hurried everyone else.


    It seems the exam was actually rather hard for everyone else except me, I couldn''t find it hard at all to be honest. But perhaps they have not studied as much as I told them to study, or their memory wasn''t as good.


    I sat down and waited for them to finish off, the entire party had to finish the exams to go into the fighting exam. After forty minutes, thest one, Erika, gave up and ended giving her exam to Evelyn.


    "Alright, let''s see..."


    Evelyn only took five minutes to give us all our scores.


    "ke, Perfect 100 Points. Eric, Very good 94 Points. Elizabeth, Very Good 89 Points. Erdrich, Good 78 Points. Chris, Okay 66 Points. Andstly, Erika, Barely Passable 52 Points."


    "Ooh nice! I got almost perfect!" Said Eric happily.


    "Eric you won over me?!" Elizabeth was surprised she was surpassed.


    "I am okay I guess..." Sighed Erdrich.


    "Nice! 66 Points is more than half of a hundred!" Chris was happy.


    "Geh..." Erika muttered in disappointment. "I did my best and I still got only 52?!"


    "Well you''ve always been cking on your studies Erika." I said to her, crossing my arms.


    "Ugh..." Erika sighed.


    "Erika, if you don''t study more you''re only going to get worse. Exams are even harder when you enter the academy. Written exams take half of all the scores you get. If you don''t reach a certain number once the year ends you won''t be able to pass to the next year." Said Evelyn while crossing her arms.


    "What?!" Erika was slowly falling into despair.


    Erika looked back at me with puppy eyes.


    "...Fine, we can study together." I sighed.


    "I knew I could count on you!" She said happily, hugging me and giving me a kiss in my cheek.


    "...I''ll make sure to ingrain every single thing inside your head." I said with a smile. "You better prepare yourself, I am not going to let you score lower than that ever again."


    Erika''s face quickly changed as she felt slightly intimidated by my resolve.


    "A-Ah... D-Don''t look at me with those eyes..."


    "Hey, I also need help for studying..." Chris sighed.


    "I guess I could help you out too." Said Eric to Chris.<novelnext></novelnext>


    "Really? Thanks friend!" Chris felt relieved.


    "Me too, don''t forget about me." Erdrich said.


    "Erika that''s unfair! Don''t get all of ke for yourself..." Elizabethined. She quickly began pulling my arm as well. "I also need to study! I only scored third ce after all!"


    "I think you scored pretty well already..." Erika said while narrowing her eyes.


    "I can always score better, no?" Elizabeth giggled teasingly.


    "Hm, I''ll see about thatter. For now, we should stop getting into Evelyn''s nerves." I said, pointing as Evelyn was growing more and more angered.


    "I told you to not go showing off that kind of affection in public!" She reprimanded us, quickly forcing us to separate.


    "Sheesh, I don''t know what''s so wrong about it..." Erikained.


    "Evelyn''s Party! Come down!"


    Suddenly, we were called by the instructors inside the arena. Evelyn hurriedly guided us there and then we were greeted by everyone there. Several students were being healed from the bruises and minor wounds they got from these fights. I guess the instructors were not messing around with this.


    "We are here sir..." Evelyn said while gasping for air. "Hahh..."


    "Huh, you''re thess with the party of talented ones, huh?" The instructor said, a bald man wearing leather armor. He took a quick nce at all of us before he called out someone.


    "Hey, Dn, you''re up."


    "Yes sir."


    Someone walked from the seats, having long green hair and sharp golden eyes. I thought he was an elf due to his unusual hair and eye color, but he was a human, overflowing with an overwhelming amount of Mana and Spiritual Essence.


    "Hello kids, I was told that I should be your opponent today. Usually I am called Hero, but just call me Dn." He said rxedly.


    "H-Hero?" Asked Chris.


    "Wait, you are...?" Asked Eric.


    "Indeed." Evelyn said. "This man right here is Hero Dn, the man born with the 5 Star Hero Talent. He''s part of the Academy''s former students."


    "H-Hero Dn?! Wait, I know about him..." Erdrich said. "He''s always the talk around town, specially when there are news about the demon battle in the Northern Demon Continent..."


    "He''s... the Hero chosen by the twelve Holy Spirits?" Eric wondered.


    "I think so..." Chris muttered.


    "Huh? He doesn''t look all that great..." Erika said while raising an eyebrow.


    "You seriouslyck insight Erika..." Elizabeth sighed.


    "I was called here because of you guys in specific." Dn said with a rxed smile. "It is nice to see some talented and promising ones. All of you are brimming with potential. So? Who''s first? Don''t worry, I''ll hold back."


    The Hero...


    In this world where people is born with Talents, sometimes, every hundreds of years, people with 5 Star talents are born from the start.


    These prodigies are regarded as Heroes. Sometimes they have Talents as simple as "Hero" and other times they possess other Talents such as "Sage" or "Saint".


    These are the strongest Talents out there, apparently. Each of them became famous not only due to the quantity of Stars, but because people with these Talents belonged to the original Party of Heroes that Sealed the Demon Towers in the long past...


    -----

 Chapter 496 A Fighting Test

    -----


    "So? Who wants to go first?"


    Dn, the wielder of the 5 Star Talent [Hero] showed out of nowhere as our Fighting Exam Instructor. Probably that shady Director asked him to test us with his overwhelming talent and strength.


    Maybe to see if we are all "real heroes" or something, which is rather frustrating. Nheless, it is not as if I have no intention of fighting, nor that I am afraid.


    In fact¡­ I am rather pumped up.


    "I''ll go first."


    I stepped forward fearlessly, everyone else felt slightly surprised.


    "W-Wait, ke, are you seriously going to fight this monster?!" Chris asked.


    "What if something bad happens!?" Eric wondered.


    "ke, don''t be reckless again¡­" Elizabeth sighed.


    "Hey, you''re doubting ke too much out of the blue! It has been years now and you''re still thinking he''s just doing something reckless?" Erika wondered, reprimanding everyone else. "I''ll trust him."


    "Ahahaha!" Dnughed. "You kids are giving it too much drama! I am not going to ughter anybody here. Calm down. I am not even going to use a single spirit, skill, or magic. Just this bronze sword."


    "Oh, your handicaps only make it more interesting."


    I stepped into the arena, ncing at Dn''s shiny golden eyes.


    These eyes possessed an incredible sense of insight and strength, it was rather overwhelming to be gazed by them, as if he was seeing through my soul and everything else.


    His presence exuded an air of greatness like I have not seen before in this world. Despite his rather rushed introduction out of the blue, his very presence told a lot about him.


    Dn''s strength was genuine, just how much has this man leveled up?


    If he was fighting in the frontlines of the Demon War¡­ he probably has be incredibly strong, even if as a 5 Star Talent, his growth isparably slower as the higher the stars, the more EXP is necessary per level.


    "Alright, I am ready. Whenever you are, ke! Show me how a Summoner fights! This is the first time I meet one." He said with an excited smile. That smile¡­ it was obvious he was a battle junkie.


    His stance seemed simple and rather carefree, but he was actually putting a lot of power and his own aura into his stance. Pointing the sword directly towards me, the aura he exuded concentrated into the tip of the de.


    Was he really holding back? He seemed to be excited about fighting me to the death¡­ this Hero''s not even fitting for one if that''s his idea.


    But fine, so be it.


    I came here looking for challenges anyways, this is perfect.


    "Then allow me to bring my weapon as well."


    I quickly brought Gluttony out of my Grimoire.


    To him and the other spectators, it looked as if I summoned a spear out of thin air, slowly emerging from the void.


    "Y-You possess an Item Box Skill?" Asked Dn in surprise.


    "¡­Something like that." I smiled back.


    Without further ado, I began.


    Using all my strength and by enchanting my body to my limits using Ki and Mana through my Physique, I closed the distance between me and Dn in an instant.


    "Such speed¡­!"


    Dn smiled in surprise, as my spear reached his chest.


    Abyssal Spear Arts: [Void Pierce]!


    CLAAASH!


    "Unnggh?!"


    Dn muttered in shock and pain, as my spear overflowed with enormous quantities of darkness, turning the entire surroundings into pure obscurity.


    The impact alone generated a powerful shockwave, breaking the barrier of sound. Dn himself barely managed to receive the impact using the bronze sword, which quickly broke.


    CRASH!


    TRUUUMMM¡­!


    Once the sword broke, Dn smiled, his legs suddenly moved at an incredible, lightning speed, reaching my rear before I could intercept.<novelnext></novelnext>


    BAAAM!


    I ended rolling over the ground as I fell over the floor, cracks appeared over the floor where Inded, I vomited a mouthful of blood, feeling that my ribs broke and pierced my stomach.


    "Heh, couldn''t had expected less from you!"


    Dn slowly walked towards me, without even holding a weapon.


    That kick wasn''t normal.


    He didn''t even used a skill yet¡­ I saw something activating.


    Does he has a physique or something? It felt as if his very leg became a weapon.


    He used a weapon technique with his own leg!


    "ke!" Elizabeth cried.


    "Wait, this is bad, this is really bad! ke finally overstepped his boundaries!" Eric said.


    "He''s going to get killed! Stop this!" Chris cried.


    Evelyn, however, remained in silence as she looked at the battle.


    I quickly stood up, using the power ofbined healing spells plus first aid and the ability of self-regeneration of my physique, those broken ribs disappeared in an instant.


    Dn was once more amused.


    "Oh¡­ Self-Regeneration and Magic, huh? A goodbination." He said with a smile.


    He probably had something simr. If he had fought hundreds of thousands, if not millions of demons, he definitely had regeneration abilities.


    "That kick¡­" I said, looking into his golden eyes.


    "Hahaha¡­ So you noticed!"


    Dn smiled back at my words, as he nodded.


    "It is a Skill I cannot deactivate, a "Passive Skill" as some researchers call them." Dn exined. "It is named [Ultimate Battle Body]. Any part of my body counts as a weapon, and I can innately and passively use all weapon techniques I''ve learned through my own body¡­"


    Ultimate Battle Body?!


    That Skill name is simr to a Physique that my previous life once fought.


    The wielder of such Physique named [Heavenly Ultimate Battle Physique] was nobody else than Archangel Gabriel.


    This man has such a Skill?!


    This is¡­


    I knew this world was in a "higher level" of power than the one I came from.


    But for a mere human to have been born with the power of the Physique of an Archangel, it is just ridiculous.


    But it also tells me something.


    If I survived such an attack as I am now, doesn''t that means that I''ve already grown way stronger than it seems to me?


    Compared to my previous life''s memories, how strong would I be if I went to that Universe where he came from?


    Merely thinking about that won''t bring me anywhere though.


    I have to enjoy this fight. It is already showing me so much!


    "What''s wrong? Are you scared?" Dn provoked me.


    "Heh¡­ No, I am happy to have this opportunity." I smiled back at him.


    "Hoohh¡­ Alright then, try to evade this!"


    FLAAASH!


    Dn flew towards me like a ray of light, shing against me in an instant!


    CLAAAAASSSHHH!!!


    -----

 Chapter 497 Blake VS Hero Dylan

    -----


    Dn''s bare fist felt like mountains as they hit me. I intercepted his shing blows with my spear, moving it at the limit of my speed. I utilized every boost spell I had, and every other technique I could utilize to enhance my body''s stats, such as Blood Art''s [Blood Flow eleration] [Blood Pump] [Bloodlust] and [Blood Aura] together.


    CLASH! CLASH! CLASH! CLAAASH!


    I could notice that Dn wasn''t even fighting me seriously, yet his carefree blows brought with themselves an enormous, overwhelming strength, I was forced into a defensive stance, as I was constantly pushed back and back.


    "Hahaha! What''s wrong? Where are your summons at?" Dn asked provocatively.


    Despite being a Hero, he really acted like a thug now that I think about it.


    He probably wasn''t born a noble, but a humble farm boy.


    Kind of like me¡­


    I guess it only makes it more interesting that he''s not interested in any courtesy of frivolity that nobles often care about so deeply for.


    "Heh, they''re all here already."


    FLASH!


    Suddenly, Dn''s shadows began to tremble. His golden eyes shone brightly as he smiled, ring down at his shadows as he saw three colorful walking mushrooms appear in a split of a second.


    "This is¡­?!"


    Abination of four Shadow Maniption Techniques, [Shadow Control] to control his shadow, [Shadow Steal] to steal the ownership of his shadow temporarily, [Shadow Parasite] to parasitize his shadows so I can use them as if they were mine, and then [Shadow Transportation] to teleport my Summons inside of them.


    It was a special technique I was saving for someone really strong, the ability to teleport my own Familiars right into their shadows for a surprise attack!


    Hero or not, you''ll have to swallow this attack head on!


    "Gryugyuuuu!"


    The three Spores quickly utilized their [Poisonous Spore] [Poison Fog] and [Mind-scrambling Smoke] Skills together into an [Ultimate Skill] that Spore unlocked upon reaching its max Rank, E named [Cmity Spore Smoke]!


    POOOOF!


    "Ugh¡­!"


    Dn was distracted by the smoke, as I utilized this opportunity to attack. Using Ki Techniques and Magic Spells of varied uses and methods would be simply wasting time, I had to concentrate all my power into Gluttony''s tip!


    [The Devourer''s Domain]!


    FLAAASH!


    I quickly activated Gluttony''s strongest ability, merging it with my Blood Aura and my Physique, as I attacked the Hero with everything I had. The spear suddenly shrouded into my own soul and magic power, bing a monstrous mass of darkness with a gigantic, gluttonous jaw growing several meters big!


    "GROOOARRR!"


    CRAAASSSHHH!!!


    The enormous jaw impacted the floor as well, biting through it all and shattering the arena''s floor, making the paved floor crumble apart and generate several cracks everywhere.


    TRUUUMM¡­!


    The smoke slowly dissipated, as Dn''s golden eyes glowed from across the ck fog.


    His fingers were taking a hold of gluttony''s tip as if it were nothing.


    "You''ve got an interesting spear! By merely being close to it or by touching it, I feel like it is trying to absorb all my energy. Amazing¡­ It is cursed equipment, isn''t it?"


    "¡­It is a rather tame one."


    "Hahaha! You''re amusing! ¡­However."


    CLASH!<novelnext></novelnext>


    Dn pped Gluttony''s tip as if it were mere garbage, throwing the spear away and then pushing towards me. His fist reached my chest in that instant.


    Having prepared for the worst, I had summoned several Summons that enhanced my defense and boosted my stats through the roof using them!


    CLAAAASSSHHH!!!


    "Nngghhh¡­?!"


    It felt as if an incredibly strong force hit my chest. The bones of my ribs shattered, and the impact reached my heart, for a moment, the very impact, and the shockwave my body had to absorb stopped my heart from beating, as I was fired off the stage, beginning to fall from the skies.


    "A-Ahh¡­"


    I slowly opened my eyes as I was falling from the sky. I bleed nonstop and my bones were regenerating rapidly, but the pain was incredible. If it wasn''t for my own improved Physique, I would had exploded into pieces by that punch.


    This man¡­ He''s a monster amongst monsters!


    "BLAKE!"


    Suddenly, even Erika panicked as she saw me fall from the skies.


    However, I quickly opened my eyes once more, as they shone with bright red light, the sign of my Physique activating in a state between life and death.


    Blood Ki and Mana gathered into enormous quantities around my body, like a sea of crimson blood. Dn looked at the scene in shock.


    The blood merged with my shadows, forming countless flying bats. Eleanora''s power began to activate within me as well.


    "Spirit Fusion."


    FLASH!


    My appearance changed, as I became taller. My clothes merged with my blood and my shadows, turning all ck. My spear merged with Eleanora''s spear, as my hair became red and long like hers. I gained her characteristics and felt her power within my body.


    "My lord, are you sure this is alright? This is merely an exam!" Eleanora told me.


    "Fuck it. I want to fight more against this bastard!" I said, flying down against him as I created bat-like wings made of blood.


    FLAAAASSSHH!


    "Spirit Fusion!" Dn said in surprise, as he quickly intercepted me with his bare hands.


    CLAAAASSSHHHH!!!


    The impact of my fall was tremendous, shockwaves echoed across our surroundings as my shadows and blood aura shaded into countless des. I conjured [Blood Judgement] without stopping!


    CLASH! CLASH! CLASH! CLASH! CLASH! CLASH!


    The Hero valiantly intercepted all blows with a smile on his face, as he started tough.


    "You''re incredible for someone so young!"


    However, the bastard never seemed threatened.


    "Come!"


    My shadows spread out into a domain as countless beasts appeared. Five enormous Wyverns and other Familiars boosted with Commanding conjured four times by me, Eleanora, Henrick, and Saphira appeared, furiously rushing towards Dn, and showering him with their [Fire Breath]!


    FLUOOOSSSHHH!!!


    The mes consumed his entire body, so intense that they began glowing red like the mes of hell!


    Yet¡­ this manughed.


    "Hahahaha! Amazing! You''re so strong!"


    -----

 Chapter 498 The Overwhelming Strenght Of A Hero

    -----


    "This is not everything yet!"


    I quickly summoned twenty Fenrirs at once, which quickly emerged from his shadows and began biting through all of his body at once, trying to tear apart his skin.


    However, the wolves'' fangs quickly shattered, they couldn''t even damage the man''s skin at all!


    "More!"


    I summoned Spores, five of them, even through theirbined Skills, the Hero simply shrugged it off! His ability to resist poison was immense!


    No¡­ Was he immune to it?!


    "Not yet¡­!"


    I summoned twenty Blood Zombies, merging them into Flesh Walls and then wrapping them around the Hero, quickly making the Flesh Walls detonate right after that!


    BOOOOOOMMMM!!!


    And as if that wasn''t enough, I gathered the power I had within my spear, fusing Eleanora''s intent and her Weapon with it and fell towards Dn from above!


    FLUOOOSH!


    The darkness and blood converged into the shape of a ferocious dragon as all my equipment resonated with it, boosting its power even more. Henrick and Saphira suddenly emerged as well, giving me their Spiritual Power!


    "Master, take our power!" Henrick said.


    "Beat him papa!" Saphira roared.


    "Abyssal Spear Arts: [Abyssal Dragon Meteor]!"


    "ROOOOARRR!"


    The Abyssal Dragon made of my converged power roared, engulfing the Hero into this powerful, all-consuming attack thatbined the strongest aspects of Gluttony with everything else I had at my disposal!


    TRUUUUUMMMMM¡­!


    A ck and red explosion reverberated across the entire arena, reaching the skies.


    I felt like my spear finally pierced through something.


    I opened my eyes amidst the chaos I had provoked, finding the Hero standing there, unscathed.


    His clothes were torn off, and I was piercing through the floor below.


    "Hahaha! That was amazing, boy! I didn''t thought you could fuse with your spirit! Incredible, you''re very strong! I think you could even bepared to a Rank 4 when you wentpletely all out." He said with a smile. "But I bet you can''t do that too often, right?"


    "D-Damn¡­ monster¡­"


    And then, I fell to my knees in exhaustion. Eleanora''s fusion was quickly deactivated. Over all this time I''ve trained enough to be able to not pass out after the fusion, but the exhaustion was so severe I might as well pass out at any moment.


    Just looking at his carefree face pissed me off. This bastard lived through all of that like nothing and evenughed back as if we were good friends now¡­


    "Me? A monster? Haven''t you seen yourself in a mirror buddy?" Heughed back once more. "I guess that''s it, huh? You kind of knocked yourself out though¡­"


    Hero Dn smiled back cheerfully as he saw me over the floor.


    He pissed me off so much I wanted to crush his face.


    But¡­


    I have to admit it, he''s strong.


    Very strong.


    I can tell he''s someone that could be shielding all of humanity against the Demon Invasion from the Northern Continent, which the demons took over several years ago.


    "BLAKE!"


    I quickly saw all my friends rushing to my side, Elizabeth quickly began using her healing magic over my wounds and my exhausted body.


    "Idiot! Why did you went all out like that?!" She asked angrily.


    "I''m fine¡­ you''re exaggerating- Ugh!" I quickly reacted to Elizabeth''s grip over my arm.


    "You''re just being reckless all over again!" She said angrily.<novelnext></novelnext>


    "Ah¡­ Okay, sorry." I sighed.


    "That was awesome! But yeah, you were being reckless!" Erika said. "I trusted you wouldn''t go all out and then you went and did it!"


    She also had healing powers now, supporting Elizabeth on it.


    ? Honestly speaking, the wounds Dn caused over my body were so sever even my self-regeneration and healing couldn''t keep up with it.


    "You''re insane man." Chris sighed.


    "ke, don''t pass out now!" Eric cried.


    "That was awesome, but yeah, you''re a bit too crazy¡­" Erdrich said, crossing his arms.


    I slowly felt better as I managed to sit down, looking around my surroundings and finding everyone around me. Evelyn had ran here covered in mes to hasten her speed.


    "I should had stopped this! I am sorry!" She cried. "I was just¡­ so entailed in the fight! I wanted to see Hero Dn''s strength¡­ As an instructor I should had cared more about your safety."


    "Well, don''t worry about it!" Dnughed. "There''s no way I would ever hurt him lethally. The moment I shed against him that I saw through his strength, I calcted each hit."


    To me it feels like he just got too involved in the fight and simply attacked with everything he had¡­ but sure, let''s think that way for now.


    And as I was standing up, my Grimoire began shining brightly.


    [The Level of [Shadow Maniption: Lv4] has increased to Level 5!]


    [The Level of [Blood Arts: Lv4] has increased to Level 5!]


    [The [Spearmanship: Lv6] Skill has evolved to [Spear Mastery: Lv6]!]


    [The Level of [Spear Mastery: Lv6]has increased to Level 7!]


    [You have ovee a great challenge!]


    [The Holy Spirit of Fire is pleased by your fighting spirit!]


    [The Holy Spirit of Light seems amused by your potential!]


    [The Holy Spirit of Darkness has great expectations¡­]


    [The Holy Spirit of Dreams seems to have taken a notice of you.]


    [The Holy Spirit of Fire, Light, Darkness, and Dreams have decided topensate your efforts as you''ve brought them great amusement]


    [You acquired [Hero Essence Phial (Mythic Grade)] x1!]


    [You acquired 10000 Gold Coins!]


    [You gained 200000 EXP as a reward!]


    [Level Up!]


    [Level Up!]


    [Your Level has increased from Level 5 to Level 7!]


    [All your stats have increased!]


    [You gained Stat Points and Skill Points]


    What is this?!


    Lucifer neverpensated me for anything.


    Yet the Holy Spirits seem to be having a good time watching me struggle just like him.


    Well, at least I know they''re on my side.


    So they can even gift me rewards if I do things that can "amuse" them, huh?


    Interesting¡­ I got a strange Phial filled with a golden liquid, gold coins, seem to be the currency of this world, and also bonus EXP worth two levels.


    I guess being a Holy Spirit''s chosen is not bad at all.


    -----

 Chapter 499 Challenger Of The Impossible

    -----


    Ding!


    [You acquired the [Challenger of the Impossible: Lv1] Title Skill!]


    And I even got a new Title Skill out of that fight?


    And I thought I would end up empty handed¡­


    So even in fights where I wouldn''t even get EXP, I can actually earn it?


    Deep down I was feeling slightly annoyed that all of that effort would lend no EXP at all, but I was wrong.


    I guess these twelve patrons seem to be one of the keys for my sess.


    -----


    [Challenger of the Impossible: Lv1]


    Skill Proficiency: 0/10000


    A Title Skill only given to those that dare challenge impossible odds and somehow survive. An award given by the Holy Spirits to their champions when they fight all odds. Their amusement is guaranteed.


    Enhances all stats by +20% and increases HP and MP Recovery Speed by +25% with each Level whenever the user is challenging impossible odds.


    Increases Skill Damage by +10% with each Skill Level.


    -----


    An interesting Title Skill for sure, these stat boosts are surely useful, and they might be vital as I fight stronger foes than myself, especially the archdemons, or their future vessels.


    Also, three other Skills leveled up and gained new Techniques, apparently. Even more, Spearmanship finally became its greater version, Spear Mastery. It seems I had to fight something that challenged everything I could do to evolve the Skill at longst¡­


    -----


    [Spear Mastery: Lv7]


    Skill Proficiency: 0/70000


    A Skill that only those that have fought using Spears all their lives can acquire, a true meaning of Mastery within the use of Spears. When wielding Spear-type weapons, Attack Damage, Attack Speed, and Reflexes are enhanced by +20% with each Skill level. Additionally, grants the ability to utilize special Spear Arts earned each Skill Level.


    Avable Spear Arts:


    Level 1: [Piercing Thrust] [Jabbing Stab]


    Level 2: [Bone Piercer] [Parry]


    Level 3: [Armor Crusher] [Heart Piercer]


    Level 4: [One Hundred Piercing Blows] [Spear Attack Enhancement]


    Level 5: [Weapon Destroyer] [Needle Blow]


    Level 6: [Bloody Shredder] [Exploding Spear Attacks]


    Level 7: [Lightning Spear] [Multi-Thrust Double Attack]


    -----


    Huh, amazing, this is way better than I had imagined, actually.


    All of these Techniques are things I already know, but now I can bring them out even more easily through this Skill, it is ideal!


    And then the other two Skills that leveled up¡­


    -----


    [Blood Arts: Lv5]


    Skill Proficiency: 223/50000


    Only those incredibly proficient in Blood Magic can acquire this Skill or awaken it from the Lesser Skill [Blood Edge]. It grants control over the element of blood limited by the Skill Level and mastery over the power of Blood Magic, the range of this Skill is also dependent in the Skill Level. Additionally, it grants a +20% enhancement to the power of any Blood Attribute Magic Spell, alongside special techniques unlocked with each Skill Level.<novelnext></novelnext>


    Avable Blood Techniques:


    Level 1: [Blood Flow eleration] [Blood Edge]


    Level 2: [Blood Pump] [Blood de]


    Level 3: [Bloodlust] [Crimson ws]


    Level 4: [Blood Aura] [Blood Net]


    Level 5: [Blood Beast] [Blood Judgement]


    -----


    And¡­


    -----


    [Shadow Maniption: Lv5]


    Skill Proficiency: 153/50000


    Only those incredibly proficient in Shadow Magic can acquire this Skill. It grants control over the element of shadows limited by the Skill Level and mastery over the power of Shadow Magic, the range of this Skill is also dependent in the Skill Level. Additionally, it grants a +20% enhancement to the power of any Shadow/Darkness Attribute Magic Spell, alongside special techniques unlocked with each Skill Level.


    Avable Shadow Techniques:


    Level 1: [Shadow Domination] [Dark Whip]


    Level 2: [Shadow Strings] [Dark Puppeteer]


    Level 3: [Shadow Control] [Steal Shadow]


    Level 4: [Shadow Parasite] [Shadow Transportation]


    Level 5: [Shadow Jaws] [Void Bullet]


    -----


    Huh, so Blood Arts is finally awakening the Blood Beast-series Skills. Those enhance the user''s strength and transform them into a beast-like blood monster, usually in the shape of a bat. It is not something I can use freely as it causes the Berserk State, but this is the first of the series of techniques, so it is not as insanely strong. Also, Blood Judgement is finally there for easy conjuration.


    Lastly, Shadow Maniption adds more damage using shadows with Shadow Jaws, which allows for the transformation of my shadows into deadly jaws that can ignore a certain amount of the foe''s defenses when attacking. And¡­ Void Bullet, it seems Shadow Maniption is already awakening the power of the Void Attribute.


    Void Bullet is a simple Magic Spell that generates a small bullet of pure darkness that can be fired, it has high pration power, so it can easily make several tiny holes all over a foe''s body. Of course, if they''re weak enough to take them.


    Andstly¡­


    -----


    [Hero Essence Phial (Mythic Grade)]


    A Phial filled with the golden essence extracted from a Hero''s Strength, Charisma, and Magic Power. Upon consumption, increases all stats randomly between +1 to +50, alongside enhancing the Physique and Psyche Power.


    -----


    Huh, this is rather¡­ very interesting. Did the Holy Spirits just made this out of the blue? It seems they freely extracted essence from the Hero Dn. Well, doesn''t that sound slightly unfair for him?


    Well, I don''t really care.


    He doesn''t look any weaker, so I guess they extracted the energy he lets out of his body naturally and not his true strength, I would assume.


    For now I better keep it hidden inside the Grimoire''s Inventory, if I take it out someone might notice something weird with it if they got an Appraisal Skill or something.


    "Thanks for the fight, it gave me a lot of insights¡­ I won more than I imagined as well." I said, giving Dn a handshake.


    "Likewise! I learned a lot too. I think you''re really made to be a Hero like me in the future. You''ve gotta keep growing and developing, ke! This Academy''s the best for that." Dn nodded. "Now, the rest of you, who wants to do it first?"


    It seemed Dn wasn''t satisfied with just my fight and wanted to test everyone, but everybody seemed reluctant of even joining the fight¡­ at the end, they all fought against him starting from Erdrich all the way down to Elizabeth.


    -----

 Chapter 500 Elite Students

    -----


    While I saw everyone fighting, I made sure to check my Status a little:


    -----


    [Name]: [ke Hunter Goathorn]


    [Race]: [Human]


    [Spirit Orb Realm]: [Rank 2 (Upper Stage)]


    [Physique]: [Vampiric Blood Emperor Physique (Tier 4: Rank 2)]


    [Psyche]: [Blood Soul Psyche (Tier 2: Rank 5)]


    [Magic Circle]: [Abyssal Blood Circle (Tier 3: Rank 4)]


    [Job ss]: [Summoner: ¡ï¡ï]


    [Subss]: [Synthesist: ¡ï¡ï]


    [Level]: [5/50] -> [7/50]


    [EXP]: [2830/140000]


    [Health Points]: [1481/1481] -> [1525/1525]


    [Mana Points]: [2173/2173] -> [2243/2243]


    [Strength]: [1742] -> [1786]


    [Agility]: [1382] -> [1404]


    [Vitality]: [1363] -> [1385]


    [Intelligence]: [1815] -> [1885]


    [Dexterity]: [1393] -> [1437]


    [Spirit]: [70]


    [Spirits (3/3)]: [Vampire Queen: Eleanora (Rank 2 Upper Stage)] [Vampire gue Doctor: Henrick (Rank 2 Upper Stage)] [Vampire Specter Princess: Saphira (Rank 2 Upper Stage)]


    [Physique Abilities]: [Tier 4: Superhuman Body (+Demonic Arm)] [Tier 4: Supernatural Senses] [Tier 4: Vampiric Eyes (+Demon Eyes of Paralysis +Demon Eye of Gravity)] [Tier 4: Self Regeneration] [Tier 4: Vampiric Bloodline]


    [Psyche Abilities]: [Tier 2: Soul Aura] [Tier 2: Soul Materialization] [Tier 2: Soul Gaze] [Tier 2: Soul Weapon]


    [Link Skills]:


    [Link (Eleanora)]: [Shadow Sneak: 5] [Charm: Lv6] [Assassination: Lv5] [Ninjutsu: Lv3]


    [Link (Hendrick)]: [gue Aura: Lv5] [Researcher Eyes: Lv6] [Hallucination Fog: Lv3] [Torture: Lv5]


    [Link (Saphira)]: [Stealth: Lv6] [Camouge: Lv5] [Invisibility: Lv3] [Spectral Body: Lv5]


    [Passive Skills]: [Acrobatics: Lv7] [Robust Body: Lv5] [Hard Worker: Lv10] [Hawk Eye: 6] [Gifted Magic Apprentice: Lv6] [Heavy Drinker: Lv4], [Intimidation: Lv4]


    [Active Skills]: [Throwing Technique: Lv6] [Spear Mastery: Lv7] [Butcher: Lv4] [Alchemy: Lv5] [Brewing: Lv4] [Synthetize: Lv4] [First Aid: Lv6], [Command: Lv5], [Cooking: Lv5] [Agriculture: Lv5]


    [Magic Skills]: [Blood Arts: Lv5] [Shadow Maniption: Lv5] [Create/Delete Familiar: Lv4] [Summon/Unsummon Familiar: Lv4] [Familiar Storage Expansion: Lv4] [Familiar Synthesis: Lv4] [Apprentice Alchemist Recipe Book: Lv4] [Spirit And Master Connection: Lv3] [Pseudo Spiritual Realm: Lv1]


    [Title Skills]: [Beast yer: Lv4] [Demon yer: Lv4] [Savior: Lv4] [ughter King: Lv3] [Dragon yer: Lv2] [Kin yer: Lv2] [Undead yer: Lv4] [Alchemist: Lv4] [Yggdrasil''s Gardener: Lv3] [Holy Spirit''s Chosen: Lv1] [Spiritual Realm Master: Lv1] [Challenger of the Impossible: Lv1]


    [Spirit Treasures]: [ck Blood Tree Forest (Lesser Spirit Treasure)] [Red Crimson Flowers (Lesser Spirit Treasure)] [Abyss ck Flowers (Lesser Spirit Treasure)] [Spiritual Blood Fountain (Lesser Spirit Treasure)]


    [Blessings]


    [Blessing of the Twelve Holy Spirits]<novelnext></novelnext>


    [Curses]:


    [EXP required to level up x100]


    [Proficiency required to learn techniques and skills x100]


    [Mana/Qi/Aether Recovery speed decreased by -50%]


    [Avable Stat Points]: [20]


    [Avable Skill Points]: [220]


    [Can gain 10 Stat Points and Skill Points with each Level]


    -----


    Hm, my Spirit Stat didn''t increase by leveling up. And even worse, I can''t use Stat Points to increase it. The only way it grows is by my spirits growing, or by me consuming high quality spirit materials or things like that.


    Maybe this Phial could increase the stats? It doesn''t say anything like "except Spirit Stat" so maybe it could randomly increase it? If I get the jackpot of +50 to Spirit Stat, that would be a huge help. But I guess I cannot dream too much about these types of things.


    After ten minutes, everyone was done. The fights were not as intense as the one I had. I could tell Dn wasn''t as entertained either, but he made sure my Party went all out. The one thatsted the longest was Erika followed by Erdrich. Those two have insane amounts of health and vitality, so it was obvious.


    Nheless, Dn crushed everyone so easily that it felt like there was nothing else to see but a massacre. At the end, Dn and Evelyn gave out the scores.


    "ke, 100 Points. Erika, 98 Points. Erdrich, 93 Points. Chris, 77 Points. Elizabeth, 72 Points. Eric, 65 Points."


    "Ugh¡­ I sucked at it. I got beaten too quickly." Eric sighed. He was the one knocked out the quickest after he shoot at Dn his strongest blow, most likely due to his weak physical strength.


    "Alright! All of you seem to pass with over 150, Erika barely made it!" Laughed Dn. "You gotta study some more girl."


    "I-I know¡­" Erika sighed.


    She actually fought for almost as long as I did, mostly using her amazing Dryad Abilities to regenerate very quickly and constantly conjure roots, branches, and nts to expand her body, Dn was having a hard time dealing with all of that.


    "Why''s 150 points necessary to begin with?" I asked.


    "It is because 150 Points are the amount you need to be an Elite Student." Evelyn smiled.


    "Elite Student?!" Everyone asked in surprise.


    "Indeed! While Normal Students can only pick up to two sses, Elite Students can pick up to four, so you can sharpen your skills even more than the normal ones. Aside from that, you get more breaks and a more luxurious House for your Team!" Evelyn smiled.


    Such a system exists? Wow, it feels rather unfair for the weaklings. But I guess that''s what they deserve for being weaklings to begin with.


    "However, very few actually get it because the whole team needs this score." Said Evelyn. "It''s enough with the students we have, but to keep our Elite Students Party Status, we need to recruit other Students with 150 Score Points."


    "Hmm, that''ll be hard. All of those are probably already imed, isn''t it?" I sighed.


    "Well, we can always try! Now that most students are done, there''ll be a Recess Time where we''ll have lunch in the Academy, this is the time you must find two more Party Members." Evelyn said with eyes ring with motivation. "Do your best kids!"


    "Yaaay! Finally, food!" Erika was about to cry.


    "Man I am starving¡­" Chris sighed.


    "Me too." Eric said.


    "I would eat a whole cow right now¡­" Said Erdrich, his stomach rumbling.


    "I wouldn''t mind a nice lunch." Elizabeth smiled.


    "Okay then! Let''s go!" Evelyn led us inside the enormous Academy building.


    I was right, it was just like an enormous maze-like castle. It was very easy to get lost in this hellishly gargantuan building. However, Evelyn seemed to know this building by memory, easily leading us to the Dining Rooms, a fancy-looking enormous hall with hundreds of other students having lunch.


    Just as we arrived, we were greeted by hundreds of stares.


    -----

 Chapter 501 Recruiting Members

    -----


    "It''s them..."


    "I saw that ck haired one fighting the Hero Dn! He was insanely strong..."


    "A Summoner, a real one..."


    "And all the others are just as strong..."


    "Hmph, Hero Dn still beat them all! Don''t let their status fool you, they''re still just like us."


    "I can''t really ept that thesemoners are so strong... So frustrating."


    "I was trained my whole childhood by the Knight Captain, there''s no way I cannot be as strong as them if I keep growing stronger..."


    There were so manyments all around that it was rather frustrating to walk across the entire hall. However, we did our best to simply go get some food.


    "Uwaah, so much food!"


    Erika was fascinated, the food in here was incredibly fancy-looking, and they had a variety of everything. From steaks of over seven different types of meat, to delicious freshly made stew with potatoes, to mashed potatoes, wieners, fried seafood, soups and broths, and even arger variety of desserts. Cake slices of all colors and shapes, small muffins, cheesecake, and fresh fruits of all across the continent.


    Everyone felt like they were in heaven and picked up their favorite food to eat. I was rather fond of sweet food, so I brought with me three slices of cakes. Strawberry Cheesecake, Chocte Cake, and Fruit Basket Cakes. Alongside that, I also grabbed some curry and fried tempura shrimps.


    Utilizing my powers and skills consumedrge quantities of calories in my body, if I don''t eat enough calories I''ll end up growing thinner and weaker, I need to refill my energy to not fall ill.


    "Hmm~! Everything''s so nice!" Erika began munching on everything.


    "Yeah, I can''t believe there would be so much. I was half expecting some baked potato and coffee at best." Chris said.


    "Ah, this is wild boar meat! I bet it is imported from our town..." Eric said.


    As we enjoyed our meal, the students around the hall were already beginning to call for new party members. Dozens of teams were doing this, so it wouldn''t be weird if we began trying to bring someone to our team.


    "ke." Evelyn called me.


    "Alright." I quickly left behind the cake I was eating, as I began to call for people.


    The method was very rough, we had to simply shout out and see if anybody approached. It was a rather desperate method, but this was the best time to do this anyways.


    "We are looking for two more Party Members." I said with a loud voice, mostly using Wind Magic to amplify the volume of my voice.


    Everyone suddenly froze.


    "T-The Hero Party wants members?!"


    "M-Me! ME!"


    "No, me first!"


    "Wait, don''t get in front!"


    "Please recruit me!"


    "No, me!"


    "I can''t let go of this opportunity in my life!"


    Dozens of students suddenly began to surround me and Evelyn, desperately asking to join.


    "Students! Please make a line. Also, only students with Elite Scores." She said.


    "Wait, do you mean...?"


    "No way!"


    "Yes, students. Our party have all Elite Scores, so please, let''s begin filtering." Said Evelyn rather ruthlessly, over half of the students annoying us quickly walked away with disappointed expressions and heads down.


    However, a few remained, exactly six of them. It was time to do a small interview with each one and decide to add the most fitting for our party, preferably, members that can do things weck.<novelnext></novelnext>


    The six remaining members were rather peculiar in appearance.


    A blonde girl with twin tails in the shape of drills. She was tall and had sharp blue eyes, and a smug face.


    "My name is rice! You better remember it as I will be your new member." She said with a smile.


    "I see. What''s your Talent and Spirit?" I asked.


    "Heh, my Talent is 2 Star diator and my Spirit is Lion Axe!" She said pridefully, her Element seemed to be Earth, and she was a strong, tanky heavy hitter.


    However, we already had enough of those with us.


    "Pass."


    "E-Eh?! Wait, you can''t simply...! How dare you!"


    "rice, please go back to your seat." Evelyn said, as an instructor, rice had to obey.


    She looked angered to no avail, but after she walked back, several other Parties began to swarm her asking her to join.


    The next member that walked in was a tall and muscr young man, with white hair and a stoic face. His skin was brown colored, like coffee, and he seemed very silent.


    "Name''s rk. Talent: 2 Star Heavy Knight. Spirit: Rock Wyvern."


    "A Wyvern as a Spirit, huh?"


    Having such a useful spirit that could fly was certainly something unique. He was a tank, yeah, but he could bring more than just taking damage. He also seemed stoic, my type of person. I would prefer someone silent than a talkative person.


    However, our team was too filled with heavy hitters and tanks, we really didn''t had space for another.


    "You''re promising, but pass."


    "Understood."


    He walked away without even changing his expression, I guess he didn''t cared either way.


    And then, a small sized girl with brown skin and orange eyes stepped in.


    Her hair was also neon orange, as bright as it could get. She had slightly pointy ears, but her size made her resemble a girl in her seven years of age than thirteen or above it.


    "N-Nice to meet you... N-Name''s... Name''s... A-Alberta..." She began stuttering while talking.


    "What''s your talent and spirit, Alberta? Also, are you a dwarf?"


    "A-Ah... Y-Yes... I am a Dwarf from the Dwarf Nation of... Fierysmith." She stuttered. "M-My Talent is... 3 Star Rune cksmith and my Spirit is..."


    FLASH!


    A beautiful yet small red and orange hammer emerged in her hands.


    "V-Volcanic Smith Hammer... I-I don''t specialize much in fighting but I can... support you, maybe... I... I''ll go away now. I guess I am not really someone fitting for this..."


    She quickly gave up and began walking away.


    However...


    "Wait! Don''t go." I said, grabbing her shoulder.


    "E-Eh?" Alberta looked at me with shock, blushing in surprise.


    "You''re perfect! We need you, Alberta!" I said with a fascinated smile.


    "Uwaaah?! R-Really?!"


    Indeed, she was a cksmith! It was perfect! Just what we needed!


    -----

 Chapter 502 3 Star Runic Blacksmith

    -----


    Alberta, a 3 Star Runic cksmith possessing the Volcanic Smith Hammer Spirit. She was also a dwarf from a faraway country. Despite her timid nature and her slightly irritating stuttering way of speaking, she was briming with potential, especially because she had a Talent I really wanted in the team.


    If one of the things Iprehend the least in this world are how cksmiths actually work. The creation of equipment in Spiritias is way different than the one I have memories for from my previous life''s memories.


    I quickly stopped her from going away, as she was rather shocked by my response. It seems she hasn''t experienced that well of a treatment here, maybe. Or perhaps there''s another factor that makes her have low self-esteem, making her unable to see through her potential.


    Because of this, she thought she was not good enough and walked away before even waiting for my response.


    "Eh?!" Alberta was surprised, as her eyes glowed brightly.


    "We need you." I said. "You''re a cksmith, right? I''ve heard you can process materials and make high level equipment, and even enchant weapons and armor to grant buffs."


    "Y-Yeah..." Alberta nodded. "Is that good for you? I... I am not useless?"


    "Of course you aren''t." I said with a nod. "We''ll ept you happily in our group."


    "Uwaahh... R-Really?! I am not dreaming, right? Is this real life?!" Alberta started freaking out. Her small height made her rather cute to look at as she grew more hysteric.


    "Yes, its real life, girl." Evelyn said, smiling back at her. "This team already has strong magic attackers and front liners, and even a great healer, but someone with your utility iscking, so you''llplement everyone really well."


    "Ooooh! I-I can''t believe this... T-Thanks! T-Thank y-you so much!" She began stuttering again while feeling happy.


    "Now go talk with everyone else." I said, quickly letting her sit down with the rest of my group.


    "Oh you''re so cute!" Elizabeth said, giving her a head pat.


    "So you''re a dwarf, huh? I''ve never seen one before." Chris said surprised.


    "She''s small... Is she really going toplement us?" Erdrich wondered.


    "Nice to meet you! My name''s Eric, I am rather proficient in alchemy." Eric greeted her more formally than the rest.


    "H-Hi..." Alberta said timidly. "I-I''ll do my best. Ah, hello Eric."


    Alberta sat near Eric, so she quickly greeted him back.


    "Y-You said alchemy? I''ve been trying to study t-that..." She said.


    "Oh really? Maybe we could get along nicely then! It would be great if you could teach me about Smithing alongside ke." Eric said happily.


    "S-Sure!" Alberta smiled back despite her nervousness.


    And then Erika showed up.


    "Hiiiii! Nice to meet cha!" Erika quickly grabbed Alberta''s hands and gave her a fast handshake, shaking her entire small body around..


    "Uwawawahhh! N-Nice to meet you too!" Alberta nervously said.


    "Hey, don''t be a brute now, Erika." I sighed. "Treat her well. Also you lot, at least tell them your names."


    "Right, sorry about that..." Chris sighed. "Name''s Chris, I am a hybrid magic fighter and front liner."


    "I am Elizabeth, mostly a healer but I can also use strong magic, my spirits can offer great help as well." Elizabeth said.


    "Name''s Erdrich, I am the main tank and heavy hitter." Erdrich said.


    "And well, I am Eric, I am also good at a bit of everything, though I am rather proficient with the bow." Eric said.


    "I-I am Alberta... I am a cksmith. I can enchant weapons and armor... And make stuff." Said Alberta. "N-Nice to meet you all... I-I hope you can treat me well..."<novelnext></novelnext>


    "I don''t know if I need any introduction but I am ke, the Summoner. I cover all sorts of ces in the party so I am an all-rounder." I said. "Rely on me in anything you need."


    "I-I see...! T-This is a bit sudden but I hope we can all get along..." Alberta slowly started to stutter less and less. It seems she was feeling more in the group than before.


    While leaving her with everyone else, I quickly walked back to where the other students were waiting. There were still three students I had to check to see what they could be good for.


    "Next."


    As I said that, a girl with long green hair and gloomy green eyes showed up, with freckles covering her face.


    "Hi..."


    "Name, Talent, and Spirit?"


    "My name is Eliana, Ie from the farther swampnds..." The girl spoke with a rather slow andzy manner. "Talent''s 3 Star Witch Doctor... My Spirit is this thing."


    Eliana suddenly showed an enormous mass of nts stuck together in the shape of an humanoid, with two red eyes glowing from within its dark interior.


    "A Swamp Man."


    "Ohh..."


    I felt slightly surprised, Witch Doctors were an interesting yet rare Talent. Though, it seems to be a magic user at the end, and we''ve got plenty of them. She also covers Nature Element, which Eric and Erika already do.


    "You''re rather strong, but pass."


    "Huh... Well, whatever. See ya, ke."


    She walked away leisurely without even worrying about a thing.


    "Next- Huh?"


    Suddenly, a tall girl with short white hair showed up.


    Her eyes were deep red, and her skin was as white as candle wax.


    She had several scars over her body, and was rather muscr, taller than me by a centimeter or two.


    She looked down on me silently, as if inspecting me. Her re was clearly threatening, as if she was testing my resolve.


    "Name''s Patricia, 3 Star Sword Berserk... My Spirit is inside of my body."


    "...Inside of your body?"


    Patricia extended her arm towards me and then sliced through her skin with a knife...


    SLASH!


    Blood began dripping from the wound.


    "Hey girl what are you doing?!"


    Evelyn quickly reacted to Patricia''s strange introduction.


    However, her blood quickly began to coagte, as countless tiny creatures made of iron stitched her together andpletely regenerated her...


    "They call these things Iron Slimes, I have them all over my Blood, they help me regenerate my wounds."


    -----

 Chapter 503 A Challenger

    -----


    "Iron¡­ Slimes?"


    This was the first time I saw such a Spirit.


    Incredible, I guess there''s everything out there.


    It appears her Spirit seems to live inside her body and if it''s made of Iron, it perhaps utilizes the very Iron of her blood.


    I think if she masters such power, she could manipte her blood and transform it into weapons.


    Or maybe she can already do that¡­


    "That surprised me a bit¡­" I admitted. "I can tell by your Talent and build that you''re a powerful front liner heavy hitter, and perhaps a very good tank as well. But we''ve got that already."


    "I see. The only one left after me is this one guy¡­ He''s insufferable though. Good luck." Said Patricia, walking away.


    The only one left was a slightly less taller young man, his hair was bright blue, and his eyes sharp, crystal colored. His ears were very long, an elf.


    He exuded a prideful aura and looked down on me from the very beginning. His very presence was cold, as if it was freezing his surroundings.


    "Name?" I asked.


    He remained silent until he walked in front of me.


    Then, he suddenly summoned a sharp and long needle made of a beautiful ice crystal, finely decorated with wings-like ornaments.


    "My name is Elfriedden Crystal. My Talent is¡­ 2 Star Needle Master. And my Spirit is this, the Permafrost Crystal Needle." The elf said.


    "Wait, a Needle master?" I asked in surprise. "And that Spiritplements it so well¡­"


    And his element was Ice as well, an element wecked coverage with.


    Alongside that, isn''t Needle Master an advanced Talent of 1 Star Tailor?


    If webine his Talent with Alberta, we could get an amazing synergy for the creation of equipment.


    He also seems proficient in ice magic, and his needle spirit seems like a powerful Weapon/Tool Spirit that could bring great help in battle.


    He seems sharp as well, he knows how to fight.


    "You''re¡­ Just what we were looking for." I said with a nod. "But what''s with your stare? Don''t want to join us?" I asked him, the elf smiled pridefully and arrogantly.


    "ke Hunter Goathorn, I challenge you to a duel."


    He pointed his needle towards me, as an icy aura emerged from within his entire body, his long blue hair fluttering wildly.


    "Come again¡­?" I asked in surprise.


    "I challenge you to a duel. I will join your party, but I cannot allow amoner such as you to be its leader. I will show you your ce." He said arrogantly. "You may think my Talent and Spirits are ill-suited forbat, but if I am an Elite Student, you must have already guessed why that''s the case."


    "Huh¡­" I looked back at Evelyn.


    "Duels are allowed as long as both students agree to them, I guess we can set up one right now¡­ If that''s what you two want." She sighed.


    "Fine by me, let''s do this then." I smiled with fascination. "You''re bold, I like that."


    "Heh¡­ I will shut down that arrogant mouth of yours." Elfriedden said.


    "W-Wait a second! What''s going on?!" Eric freaked out. "ke are you serious?"<novelnext></novelnext>


    "Hey this is a bit¡­" Chris said.


    "Well ke wants him in, if he has to fight him then I guess that''s fine." Erdrich seemed to have taken things rxedly.


    "This is not fine at all! How can you just ept ke fighting someone in the first day of our sses?!" Asked Elizabeth. "Stop this now!"


    Elizabeth stood up and put herself between me and the bold elf.


    "The Saintess¡­" Elfriedden muttered. "I am sorry but I''ll need to ask you to move aside, Saintess. I simply want to put that young man in his ce."


    "What are you even talking about?" Sighed Elizabeth. "ke''s our friend, we trust him enough to be our leader."


    "But maybe I can be a better one." Elfriedden said greedily.


    "Elizabeth." I touched Elizabeth''s shoulders. "Let me do this."


    "B-But!"


    Elizabeth tried to stop me, but I quickly told her it was fine.


    "Don''t worry, I want to test his strength as well. He doesn''t seem to be merely a production ss." I said with a smile. "Let''s go then, Elfriedden."


    "Hmph, I''ll destroy that confidence of yours." Elfriedden said.


    Like that, we were allowed to have a duel. All the tests were done by now and all students were in the process of getting used to the academy in the first day. There were still an hour before the first sses were to begin, so it was a perfect time to do some duel.


    When we went to the small open battle ground, most students gathered around to spectate, including teachers and even Hero Dn and the Director. I guess everybody wanted to see this "show" we were going to make.


    Elfriedden stood right in front of me, only a few meters away. He had no armor other than the uniform, so I decided to also just use my uniform and nothing else. Holding my spear, summoning Eleanora would be too much, so I kept her within my shadows, she''ll assist me with Hendrick and Saphira.


    Though that would be too overkill, I kind of want to enjoy this fight, so I won''t absolutely use all of my strength¡­ Though he seems doubtful of the power of a Summoner, so I''ll Familiars the most.


    "BEGIN!"


    Evelyn in the background roared, as the fight was finally allowed to start.


    My shadows spread further around my body, as enormous wolves coated in darkness emerged, Fenrirs, a pack of ten of them rushed forward towards Elfriedden.


    "Attack!"


    I gave them amand, as my Commanding Skill plus the Spirit Stat buffed their stats greatly.


    "WOOF!"


    "GROOAR!"


    "RAAARR!"


    The Fenrirs closed in towards Elfriedden in an instant. Ten Fenrir are able to shred into pieces most D Rank Monsters with all buffs, let''s see how strong this guy is.


    FLAAASH!


    A blur of blue color was all I saw.


    In a split of a second, Elfriedden emerged behind all the Fenrirs.


    And the wolves suddenly found themselves¡­ frozen solid.


    -----

 Chapter 504 Fighting An Elven Prince In The First Day At The Academy

    -----


    FLAAASH!


    If it wasn''t for my enhanced senses, I might had not even seen him move.


    But Elfriedden easily y all Fenrirs while moving forward.


    His Ice Magic froze them all in a split of a second. He quickly appeared right behind them.


    The wolves, frozen solid, suddenly were cut down into pieces by a slicing attack that came from within Elfriedden''s needle.


    SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLAAASH!


    CRAACK!


    All the frozen wolves shattered into pieces, disappearing on the spot, and leaving just ice cut down into pieces.


    The spectators saw the scene with eyes wide open, many gasped before the elf''s attack.


    "Incredible¡­ Can a Production Talent really do that?!"


    "His Spirit is just a needle yet it''s so strong!"


    "Amazing¡­"


    "Wait, I''ve heard about this Elf before¡­ Isn''t he¡­ the seventh prince of the Elven Continent''s Nation?"


    "It is¡­ His name''s Elfriedden Crystal!"


    It seemed we had a big shot here.


    "Hmph, impressed?" Elfriedden asked with a cocky smile. "Now surrender if you don''t want to be frozen solid¡­ This is a warning."


    He pointed the tip of his needle against me from a distance of a few meters.


    "Interesting! Now let me show you what I can do."


    I quickly utilized my Shadow Maniption Techniques, manipting my shadows through several techniques and then fusing it with Shadow Sneak, emerging right behind Elfriedden''s back.


    FLAAASH!


    "Heh, I knew you would do that! Needle Arts: [Hundred Piercing Blow]!"


    His needle reached my body, piercing through it a hundred times in a single second.


    CLASH! CLASH! CLASH! CLASH! CLAAAASSSHHH!!!


    My body began to be filed with holes, blood gushing out of all the wounds.


    But all such wounds were not that much, in fact, my body quickly dissipated into smoke right before his eyes!


    "Eh? What¡­?!"


    I had utilized the Skills I had borrowed from Spirit Link from Henrick and Saphira in tandem. [Hallucination Fog] created an invisible fog that made the target hallucinate,bining it with my Loki''s Ne Illusion Magic Enchantment, I conjured the Tier 3 Illusion Spell [Full Body Illusion] and made it as if that was my real body.


    Meanwhile, the real me never moved away from my original position, as Ibined all of Saphira''s borrowed Skills such as [Stealth], [Camouge], [Invisibility] and [Spectral Body] together to temporarily make myself invisible amidst the [Hallucination Fog]''s effects.


    The real me was charging right towards his back, which he happily gave to me the moment he in my clone made out of fog. The moment he reacted in surprise, it was already his lose!


    Abyssal Spear Arts: [Void Pierce]!


    FLAAAASHHH!!!


    Darkness erupted from my spear as it impacted Elfriedden''s back directly.


    CLAAAASHHH!!!


    "NGH?! AAAKH!"


    Elfriedden gave a cry of agony, as he was blown away from where he was standing with a very ugly wound on his back.


    "Y-You damn trickster!"


    He was furious, quickly standing back up again as his ice began freezing his surroundings. His wound was quickly frozen to stop its bleeding, as he pointed his needle at me, countless of icicle spears emerged in quick session, flying towards me directly.


    "Ice Spirit Magic: [Icicle Spears]!"<novelnext></novelnext>


    FLASH! FLASH! FLASH! FLASH! FLASH!


    All the Spears made of ice flew towards me in quick session, a smile emerged in my lips.


    "Let''s give a good show to the Holy Spirits, shall we?! [Blood Judgement]!"


    I gathered my Blood Ki and Mana together, forming an equally enormous mass of projectiles made from Blood, which shed against Elfriedden''s Icicle Spears, explosions erupted across the skies!


    BOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOM!


    Blood and Ice spread across the skies, like fireworks, red and bluebined together, giving a great spectacle to the spectators.


    "You''re wide open!"


    Elfriedden moved with his incredible speed and usage of Ice Magic, freezing the ground to easily travel over the slippery surface and reaching my back in an instant, pointing the needle into my back.


    "Needle Arts: [Critical Pierce]!"


    His needle overflowed with his Mana, shining bright blue as it reached my back, attempting to pierce through my skin and reach my spine!


    CLAAASH!


    However, Gluttony intercepted his blow.


    Abyssal Spear Arts: [Shadow Reflection]!


    FLAASH!


    Suddenly, the shadows within Gluttony absorbed the enormous impact and then let it all out into an explosion of darkness against Elfriedden!


    BOOOOOMMM!!!


    "Unngggh! I''ve never seen a technique like this!"


    He was quickly epassed on ck fog, as I used this to my advantage, and summoned my army of Familiars to deal with them and give everyone watching, including the Holy Spirits, a great show!


    "WOOF!"


    ? "ROOAR!"


    "FUMOOO!"


    "GERORORO!"


    "OOOOHHH!"


    "GROOOARRR!"


    Fenrir, Orcus, Huginn, Falco, Spore, Usagi, and even Draco, the Wyvern Familiars all showed up. And they all unleashed their attacks at the same time! Fenrir bite through his body and pierced his uniform through shadow fangs, Orcus burn through his ice with its fire-covered back and its new ability to shoot fireballs, Huginn showered the elf with piercing shadow feather projectiles, Falco summoned slicing winds, Usagi shoot magic beams from its two horns, and Draco released its fiery Wyvern Breath!


    CLAASH! CRAASH! BOOOOMM!!!


    "Uunnggh..! Y-You damn¡­! Ice Spirit Magic [Eternal Ice Fortress]!"


    FLAAAASH!


    As Elfriedden struggled, he suddenly conjured his strongest spell, summoning an enormous quantity of ice that quickly took the shape of a gigantic fortress, protecting him from my Familiars attacks and freezing them all over, only the three Dracos survived, as they were powerful D Rank Familiars.


    FLUOOOSSSSHHH!


    An icy wind spread further around, as I saw Elfriedden standing over the enormous mass of ice he summoned. He was gasping for air, bleeding all over and looking at me with resentment.


    "Y-You tricky little bastard¡­!"


    "Out of MP already?"


    "Tch¡­ This is just starting!"


    His entire body began to overflow with his Spiritual Essence and Mana, as he jumped directly towards me, shing against my spear using his Needle Spirit!


    CLASH! CLASH! CLASH! CLAAASH!


    Shadows and Ice spread everywhere. The spectators gasped over the amusement of this intense fight! I can immediately tell, this man''s probably Rank 2 Upper Stage, if not Peak Stage, he had clearly been leveling up and growing stronger before reaching the Stronghold Academy.


    -----

 Chapter 505 The Last Party Member

    -----


    "Hahhh¡­ Hahhh¡­! D-Damn it!"


    CLASH! CLASH! CLAAASH!


    Elfriedden groaned in frustration, his movements were getting slower. I was easily reflecting his hits, and although his freezing power was strong, coating my body with my Blood and Shadow Aura was more than enough to protect myself from it.


    "What are you cursing around for? Weren''t you going to show me how strong you are and how unworthy I am as a leader?"


    "T-Tch! Shut up!!!"


    Elfriedden roared frustratedly, unleashing several piercing attacks using his needle, hisst effort.


    However, I easily evaded them without even having to parry his blows with my spear.


    FLASH!


    And then, I reached his back and kicked his head.


    BAAAM!


    "AAAAGGH!"


    CLASH!


    He fell into the floor, rolling over the frozen ground, and coughing a bit of blood. His eyes were red-shot and he was gasping for air desperately.


    "Unngggh¡­ Uuggh¡­"


    He slowly tried to crawl back, trying to stand back up.


    What amendable effort, he has a strong will.


    However, I pointed my spear at his head.


    "That''s enough, I don''t want my new Party Member to kill themselves in vain."


    "Unnggh¡­"


    Elfriedden gritted his teeth, looking at me with furious resentment.


    However, he gave up, lowering his head.


    "I give up¡­"


    Evelyn smiled from the distance, nodding and announcing the winner of this "friendly" duel.


    "The winner''s ke!"


    Evelyn quickly announced the winner, as Elizabeth ran here with everyone else in my party.


    "Amazing! That was a great fight!" Chris said.


    "It was very intense." Erdrich said.


    "You guys! How can you be so rxed?!" Eric cried.


    "aake! Are you okay? That was amazing but are you really okay?!" Erika ran towards me and hugged me, quickly giving me a leaf she grew herself out of her hand. This was a Healing Leaf, a special item she could produce that healed around 600 HP, only a bit more than the Apples I could make through Apul.


    "I am okay, you don''t have to worry." I gave her a head pat.


    "By the Holy Spirits! Did you two had to go so far?!" Elizabeth quickly began healing Elfriedden.


    I had several wounds, mostly of my frozen skin being torn off, but Erika healed those with her leaves.


    "Hahhh¡­" Elfriedden sighed, looking at everyone else. "You''re strong, I have to admit it¡­"


    He looked at me while narrowing his eyes.


    "As long as you ept having a match with me again one day¡­ I''ll join your Party."


    "Alright, sure. I don''t really mind."


    Elfriedden was surprised that my response was so quickly.


    "Hmph¡­"


    Elfriedden smiled a bit, as he quickly stood up.<novelnext></novelnext>


    "I am fine, thanks for your healing, Saintess."


    "My name''s Elizabeth! I am not even a Saintess yet, I don''t even know if I will ever Rank Up to that¡­"


    "Then thanks, Elizabeth."


    Evelyn walked into the party as she quickly decided to lead us inside the academy once more.


    "Now, now, Alberta and Elfriedden, do the two of you ept joining this Party?" She asked.


    "I-I do!" Alberta said, looking slightly worried by being near the icy guy.


    "Yeah." Elfriedden said. "I am okay with it."


    "Excellent! Then sign this and this¡­" Evelyn quickly gave them some papers. I didn''t knew joining a Party included all of this hassle.


    Nheless, the two of them quickly read and signed everything. It was all done in a matter of minutes. And now we finally had our eight-man party, with our two new team members, Alberta the Dwarf and Elfriedden the Elf.


    "Alright! All''s done then!" Evelyn happily said, hugging both of them. "Wee to the party! I am so happy to have such talented people aboard! Fufufu! I am going to get a raise soon!"


    She was happy to have a party of talents, I guess they really get rewarded depending in how well their party does¡­ That can exin why she''s so happy despite usually being a grumpy woman from what I''ve seen about her so far.


    "Ah! What about your clothes?!" Asked Evelyn, looking at Elfriedden. "We''ll need to buy anew uniform for you- Huh?"


    However, Elfriedden used his needle to conjure a strange and beautiful Mana-made thread, which he used to sew and repair his uniform in a matter of seconds, leaving it almost like new.


    "Hm? What? I can repair equipment just fine." He said while raising an eyebrow. "Why would I be a Tailor if I can''t do the bare minimum?"


    "A-Amazing¡­" Erika said.


    "Wait, that''s incredible, the uniform''s all new again!" Eric said.


    "Y-Yeah! You''re very talented, E-Elfriedden!" Alberta said.


    "Yeah, that impressed me too." I said with a smile. "We''ll make sure to abuse your Talent."


    "Hmph, that''s the least of my concerns. I am a Tailor for a reason. Needle Master or not, I''ve studied my whole life how to sew with my Spirit." He said with a smile.


    "You''re very strong to go against ke andst so long, what''s your Level and Rank?" Wondered Erika.


    "Level? What''s that?" Asked the elf. "And my Rank''s 2 Peak Stage¡­ I can''t believe an Upper Stage beat me, I guess Summoners are indeed strong."


    "So you''ve got a second Spirit?!" Asked Chris.


    "Yeah, the thread you saw is the second spirit." Elfriedden said. "Though I can repair things just fine using normal threads as well, as long as they''re good quality, I won''t ept working with garbage materials."


    "And why didn''t you use the spirit in the battle?" I wondered. "So you held back?"


    "You did the same, didn''t you? I only sensed the presence of a single spirit of yours, so I also handicapped myself." He said. He really was quite the prideful character. "My second''s spirit name is Skadi''s Thread; it goes well with my needle."


    "Interesting¡­"


    "Could you stop looking at me as if I am some sort of item?"


    Elfriedden sighed a bit.


    "Don''t worry, you''ll get used to it." Elizabeth sighed, patting Elfriedden''s shoulders.


    "He''s always like this once he finds something new and interesting." Laughed Chris.


    "S-So that''s why he looks at me like that too?" Wondered Alberta.


    "Indeed! Both of you will be great additions to my collection- I mean, to my party, wee aboard." I weed the two of them.


    DING DONG!


    Suddenly, the bells began ringing.


    "sses are about to begin, everyone. Follow me."


    Evelyn quickly led us to the ssroom where we''ll spend the next two hours studying.


    And of course, as I checked the Grimoire, it seemed my show amused some Holy Spirits, there were some new rewards in there.


    -----

 Chapter 506 The Holy Spirits Rewards

    -----


    The Grimoire opened its pages, showcasing new messages.


    [You have made a great show.]


    [Some Holy Spirits have been entertained.]


    [The Holy Spirit of Fire seems pleased with your way of fighting.]


    [The Holy Spirit of Ice is frustrated by her chosen one''s personality, and apologies.]


    [The Holy Spirit of Dreams seems enchanted by your way of fighting.]


    [The Holy Spirit of Darkness is pleased by your tricks and cunning nature.]


    [The Holy Spirit of Fire, Ice, Dreams, and Darkness have decided topensate your efforts as you''ve brought them great amusement]


    [You acquired [Crescent Frozen Tear (Mythic Grade)] x1]


    [You acquired 5000 Gold Coins!]


    [You gained 100000 EXP as a reward!]


    Amazing, I really got rewarded for fighting Elfriedden. I suppose anything goes. Maybe I should seek more challenges if possible, just to bring them more amusement. Well, it isn''t as if my way of living or acting is already amusing enough for them.


    But Crescent Frozen Tear? What is this item? Just some ice attribute high quality material to make another item with it? I guess it is fine¡­ Although I should check it first.


    -----


    [Crescent Frozen Tear (Mythic Grade)]


    A beautiful tear-shaped blue jewel said to be the crystallization of the tear of the Holy Spirit of Ice. It containsrge quantities of Ice Attribute Mana and Spirit Essence. It can be directly absorbed over time to increase maximum MP and Ice Attribute Affinity. Oncepletely consumed, Ice Attribute Affinity and MP can increase greatly. New Skills might emerge once it begins to be absorbed.


    -----


    Oh, it is a consumable? Though I cannot absorb it right away, it seems I have to do this slowly before it fully is consumed. But if it can truly increase my Ice Attribute Affinity which means more damage and better control over this magic element, then that''s all fine for me. In fact, the maximum increase of MP is already a great sign. I guess I can begin absorbing itter.


    And as of the Coins and EXP, not bad at all. The EXP is nor near as enough to Level up yet though, but that amount of Gold Coins. Usually one single big Golden Coin is around 1000 Telis, so having 5000 of them means I have 5 Million.


    When I fought Dn I also received 10k Gold Coins, so that''s roughly 15 Million Telis gifted to me without any problem. I suppose the Holy Spirits have no concept of value of how much could this be. Well, I''ve seen things are quite expensive, the meals we had today in the cafeteria all costed around 25k Telis each. This ce''s very expensive, but exploring dungeons also gives a lot of profit.


    These 15 Million, alongside the other Millions I saved through all my childhood will disappear in just a couple of months at most. I have to quickly rack up more profit and money. I suppose I''ll have to thank the Holy Spirits for investing on me to this extent.


    However, there''s something interesting, it seems that ording to what the Holy Spirit said, Elfriedden is¡­ her Chosen One? So that powerful Ice Magic¡­ I guess it makes sense now, he has her divine protection.<novelnext></novelnext>


    It wouldn''t be crazy to learn that perhaps Alberta has the Fire Holy Spirit Divine Protectionter¡­ I feel like they''re purposedly putting them in front of me so I can recruit them and add them to my party. For now, however, I should get ready for sses, they''re going to begin soon.


    "Alright, I''ll be leaving you here for now, I have lots of things to do. Once all sses are done, lets meet again in the cafeteria. From then we can find a house to rent so you kids can take it easy, unless you want to sleep in the academy dorms." Said Evelyn, walking away. "Good luck!"


    Like that, we entered the vast ssroom, students were all chatting around with one another. We quickly found several empty desks and sat down there. Lines of two students stretched from the end of the ssroom to the front where the teacher''s desk was located.


    Of course, Erika wanted to sit at my side so I didn''t had much option about that. The rest sorted out however they wanted, though Elizabeth wanted to be behind me with Alberta, while Chris sat down at the side of Eric and Erdrich with Elfriedden. I have just noticed this, but I''ve got a lot of friends with names that begin with the letter E¡­ Well, that makes it easier to remember their names.


    "Why must I sit down with the half-demon?" Comined Elfriedden while crossing his arms.


    "Hey, I am not the one that asked you to sit down at my side." Erdrich said, pissed off.


    "W-Well, there wasn''t any other seat!" Said Elfriedden.


    "The one behind us has a free seat." Sighed Erdrich.


    "B-But what''s the point of being in the Party if I don''t sit with the Party members?" Sighed Elfriedden.


    "I see, so you''re just bad at making friends." Laughed Erdrich.


    "Y-You damn Hellspawn!" Elfriedden began getting more irritated at Erdrich''sx personality.


    "What? You wanted to sit down with a girl?" Laughed Chris.


    "Sorry about that, but they already decided the seats¡­ I would had sat down at your side but Chris dragged me at his side." Sighed Eric.


    "Ugh¡­ Well, whatever." Sighed Elfriedden. "I would had preferred sitting with the Saintess¡­ Why did she prefer a dwarf?"


    Meanwhile, Elizabeth and Alberta were getting along just fine.


    "Your hair is so silky! And your hands are so soft despite working with a hammer. Tell me your secrets Alberta!" Said Elizabeth.


    "W-Well¡­ I just a lotion made with ash and a certain mushroom extract from back home. I-I brought a lot, maybe I can give you some if you want¡­" Alberta said timidly.


    "Ooh! That would be wonderful! But I would feel bad if I take it away from you so I''ll pay you for itter. How about¡­ ten gold coins?" Elizabeth asked.


    "T-Ten gold coins?! T-That lotion only costs one!" Cried Alberta.


    "Well, let''s call it an investment!" Elizabeth giggled.


    -----

 Chapter 507 Spiritias History

    -----


    As everyone was getting along, Erika didn''t stop talking me about what she was reading in the books that were handled to us.


    "This is¡­ Math? Ugh, I suck at math¡­ Wait, this is an history book?" She wondered, her shiny eyes brimming with happiness.


    "Yeah, it tells the history of this world¡­ Well, the most basic things." I sighed.


    "Oh¡­ that''s boring too." Erika sighed. "Isn''t there like a book of cooking or food in here?"


    "I doubt it." I said, quickly breaking her hopes.


    "Guh¡­ So the only fun thing is being at your side." She sighed, resting her head over my shoulder. She quickly grabbed my arm with her hands. "Well it''s not so bad, I can be with you and do lovey-dovey stuff~"


    "I don''t think it is appropriate to do that¡­ Evelyn already got mad over it, imagine if we do that in the middle of the ss. Try to behave for now, okay?" I said, giving her a head pat. "I''ll reward you every day after sses if you behave and pay attention."


    "R-Reward? Like what?" She wondered.


    "Could be cooking you your favorite te of food¡­ Buying you sweets, or anything you have in mind. How about it?" I asked her with a smile.


    Her eyes quickly showed that she was willing to do it.


    "A-Alright! I''ll ask you to make me pasta and¡­ then we go buy some chocte cake!" Said Erika pumped up.


    "You''re really easy to read." I sighed.


    The door of the ssroom quickly opened, as a teacher walked inside. It was a tall and muscr man, with a blonde beard and tanned skin. He looked to be covered on scars, and even had an eyepatch in his left eye.


    "Ooh! H-He''s¡­!"


    "I can''t believe it is him!"


    "The [Sword Master], Sir Hector!"


    "He''s here¡­"


    "That man''s a legend in the battlefield¡­"


    Several students seemed to know about this guy, but I had no idea about him. There are so many teachers in this ce that I have no intention of learning all of their names. I''ll just write down their name inside my grimoire, alongside adding a portrait of them and what they do in this academy.


    "Do any of you know him?" I asked the rest of my Party.


    "E-Eh? Y-You don''t know him, B-ke?" Asked Alberta. "S-Sir Hector is a powerful Veteran of the War that happened a few years ago against the Invading Demons!"


    "He has served in the war for over thirty years now, a true veteran." Said Elfriedden. "It is a man that has been fighting the demons and monsters pouring into our world for a long time, someone to look up to."<novelnext></novelnext>


    "Huh¡­ To me he looks like an old man." I sighed.


    "Who are you calling old man?!" Elfriedden got all angered as if I had offended him instead.


    Hector quickly began speaking after that.


    "Anyways, wee to the Stronghold Academy kids¡­ Err, I am bad with this kind of stuff. Anyways, there''ll be two obligatory sses six days a week. Wake up early the morning to learn history, math, and skill and spirit theory, and so on. Err¡­ After that you can pick up to four sses for Elite Students and two for the Normal Students." Hector said. "Anyways, I want to tell you guys straight away that we don''t ept discrimination here."


    Everyone suddenly shut down a bit, even our fellow elf.


    "We''ve got frommoners to nobles here, even royalty is here. There are people from other races and continents that are exchange students. Make sure to be respectful. Also don''t abuse your titles of nobility or royalty here, they have no power in this country. Be kind with each other and¡­ drop all honorifics, just call me Hector or old man, I don''t really care. The same goes for you guys. Nothing of going around calling nobles "lords" or whatever, you hear me?" Hector said while crossing his arms. "That''s all, let''s begin history sses now. Open your books and go to page 6."


    Everyone gasped. There were several nobles that acted like they had a stick up their asses a lot. I already heard some reprimanding other students for not calling them with honorifics or acting disrespectful. I guess we are not the onlymoners here either.


    "What a pity, right, young prince?" I asked Elfriedden, he quickly got more angered. "Oh right, just Elfriedden, right? No¡­ Elfrie." Iughed.


    "Y-You bastard how dare you talk to me so leisurely!" Elfriedden got angered and made a fuss.


    BAAAM!


    Suddenly, a pen flew towards his direction, hitting his table.


    "Hey, you, don''t scream in ss." Hector looked at Elfriedden angered. "Go outside to refresh your mind ande back ten minutester."


    "E-Eh? But¡­!" Elfriedden, a prince, was reprimanded.


    "But what? Are you trying to go against a teacher now?" Hector asked.


    "N-No¡­" Elfriedden sighed, walking away.


    I hope that cools down his nature a little bit. For being someone that wields the element of ice, he really has a lot of temperament. I guess that''s just up to his upbringing and all, I don''t really care to be honest.


    Like that, history sses began. Hector taught us from the very beginning, it was a rather interesting ss and I paid attention to it due to my sheer curiosity. I caught Erika almost falling asleep more than three times though, so I had to quickly wake her up all the time.


    "Wake up¡­" I sighed, touching her little nose.


    "Ah! Y-Yes¡­" Erika was trying to muster the strength. I suppose it wasmendable.


    "Spiritias used to be a world filled with Spirits and Spirit Beasts, ancient beings and the original inhabitants of this world, direct children of the Holy Spirits. ording to fossil records, they existed millions of years ago¡­" Hector continued talking. "However, the peace this world once was quickly taken away from us when the Invasion of the Demons Began, the first Demon Towers suddenly emerged from the underground, and a new type of living being appeared, Demons. Stronger than Spirit Beasts, they conquered thend and ughtered the original Inhabitants¡­"


    -----

 Chapter 508 The Ancient Spirit Races

    -----


    "Professor!"


    Suddenly, Elizabeth raised her hand.


    "Are Spiritspletely gone? I mean, the original races of Spirits?" Asked Elizabeth.


    "No, not all of them. The original Spirit Races remain even now, there are some survivors. Some of races that came afterwards are their descendants." Said Hector.


    He knows a lot about history for being such a burly guy that just swings a sword, I guess I shouldn''t had judged him based on his appearance.


    "Which were the original tribes?" Wondered Elizabeth again. She seemed to like to interact with the ss a lot.


    "Right, I was about to say that but I got too into the whole demon invasion¡­"


    Hector quickly began drawing over the board, he was also a good artists, surprisingly.


    "At the beginning, the Holy Spirits embodied each element of the world. However, alone they couldn''t take care of it. Therefore, they decided to create the Spirit Tribes¡­ The Gnomes of Earth, the Smanders of Fire, the Undines of Water, the Sylphs of Wind, and the Dryads of Nature. These five tribes were the greatest andrgest of them all, covering thend. There were also other Tribes in between, they were more secretive, such as the Hypnos of Dreams, or the Shades of Darkness¡­ However, they were all unified to serve the Holy Spirits in their own ways, protecting the elements of the world."


    Hector drank some water before continuing.


    "So, kids, what do you Spirit Beasts were then? Someone has an idea?" He wondered, asking everyone.


    "Monsters?"


    "Protectors of nature?"


    "Maybe they ate them?"


    "A bit of everything." Laughed Hector. "But they were also protectors of nature and the elements, alongside giving the spirit tribes with food and materials. Spirit Beasts still exists in some ces of this world, they''re incredibly strongpared to monsters, and the materials you can get out of their carcasses are top tier. Imagining the prehistoric world filled with these creatures roaming around¡­ It was a truly rich era."


    Hector quickly sat down, looking at everyone with a sharp gaze.


    "However, all good things have toe to an end." He said. "As I said before, a disturbance happened, or something. Several research have their own theories, but it is hypothesized that the Demon Towers spawned around the world once a strange disturbance happened, something that not even the Holy Spirits, our gods, could stop."


    "That''s the Great Demonic Catastrophe, right?" Asked Elizabeth. "My Master once told me about it! He said that Spirits weakened, and the world began to be filled with Demonic Energy! Also Demonic Portals opened directly leading to the interior of the Demon Towers, and Demons beganing out inrge numbers¡­"


    "Indeed. You''re really impressive, young girl. You''re not a Saintess candidate for nothing, they taught you well in the church." Hector smiled. "When the Demons invaded, the Spirit Tribes tried to fight. Warssted thousands of years, they struggled until thest moment, until everything was finally taken over¡­ This Era was also the birth of Monsters. Several Spirit Beasts, which were often peaceful and only fought if provoked, mutated with the power of the Demonic Miasma brought by the Demons, turning into Monsters we see today."


    So that''s the origin of monsters, huh? I suppose that''s why they still have a Spirit Orb even when they''re just called Monsters.<novelnext></novelnext>


    "Monsters have Spirit Orbs as thest reminder that their ancestors were once Spirit Beasts." Said Hector. "Spirit Orbs are a rich resource we use for our own growth and the magic tools we use every day."


    "Y-Yeah, i-in the dwarven country where Ie, we use Spirit Orbs as fuel for our machinery and f-factories¡­" Alberta said.


    "Indeed, Dwarves are the ones that had advanced the most in magic technology, their help to fight the Demons has been great." Said Hector. "However, little girl, do you know the true origin of your tribe?"


    "O-Origin? A-Ah¡­! I-It is said that we descend from Gnomes and Smanders!" Said Alberta.


    "Indeed, most of the current races of this world descend from the Ancient Spirit Races!" Said Hector. "By tracing back bloodlines and all history from the beginning, researchers were able to investigate and find out many things, one of them is that our current tribes descend from ancient tribes that slowly lost their spirit power but retained certain characteristics and strengths."


    "Dwarves descend from Gnomes and Smanders,bining both their strength and affinity with earth and fire."


    "Elves descend from Dryad and Sylphs,bining their gracefulness with a great affinity with wind and nature, most of the time."


    "Beast-kin tribes are said to descend from abination of several spirit tribes due to their wide variety of shapes and appearances."


    "Andstly, humans, whichpose most of the people in this ssroom, we all descended from Shades and Luminarias, the Tribes of Darkness and Light. Pretty interesting, huh?"


    "Wow¡­ our ancestors are those tribes?"


    "I never knew that¡­"


    "Is this why we can wield light magic so proficiently?"


    "And dark magic too!"


    "So cool¡­"


    "Though I have fire magic¡­"


    "Anyways, it doesn''t necessarily mean we always have the affinities of our ancestors. After all, through thousands of years, tribes mixed with one another constantly and new affinities surged constantly." Laughed Hector. "However, even when the new tribes, more adapted to a world filled with demonic miasma than the original spirits, fought against the demons, they were unable to win¡­ for many years, we suffered countless defeats, there was as time the entire world was going to be swallowed by darkness¡­"


    "Because of this, the Holy Spirits put theirst effort and granted all of us with the power of Talents and the ability to draw strength from the creatures we defeat. We were able to develop Skills and Magic more easily as a result. People started being born with Talents and new strength. And the tables were finally evened¡­ only for a few eras before the demons came even stronger than ever as more demonic towers emerged. Everything was hopeless¡­"


    "But then, they appeared¡­ the heroes."


    -----

 Chapter 509 The Ancient Heroes

    -----


    "The Heroes!"


    Hector got all happy out of the blue.


    "Amongst them, there was the Sage, the Sword Saint, and the Saintess¡­ And the one with the Title of [Hero]!"


    "But of course¡­ Compared to all of them, the strongest was the [Summoner] Allen! A man born with the ability to summon Familiars,bine them, and make them stronger." Said Hector. "The Summoner used his enormous army of thousands to defeat the Demons and even the Monsters with the help of the other Heroes¡­ And with their power, they sealed every single Demon Tower."


    "After that long Era of Darkness, an Era of Peace finally came¡­" Sighed Hector, looking like he was moved by his own words. He was a weirdo. "However, that wasn''t enough, the Hero Allen, in hisst moments, made a pact with the Holy Spirits¡­ It is said that he used his Divine Spirit Orb, possessing the power of all his Familiars, the first person to have ever been born with one, and dispersed it into millions of fragments. Since the day he died, all the people of the world began to be born with Spirit Orbs inside their chests, and at the age of five, they developed their own Spirits! The Age of Spirit Awakening began upon the Summoner''s deathbed."


    "It is said that every Spirit a person is born with used to be a Familiar of the First Summoner. This is also the reason why every single person, even when they are born Talentless, have at least one spirit. It also exins why sometimes people have simr Spirits, Hero Allen was said to be able to create replicas of his Familiars." Said Hector.


    So that''s how they exin the origin of Spirits that everyone has, huh? I doubt any of my Vampires ever belonged to him, so it is probably a bit of a stretch. There might be other reason or truth behind this. Sadly, I cant ask the Holy Spirits themselves about this, they don''t let me to ask them questions.


    "Wow, history''s really interesting¡­"


    "Wait so my spirit used to belong to the hero?!"


    "Huh, that''s quite interesting."


    "They never taught me this in my house¡­"


    "First time I heard about that."


    The students were clearly shaken, some didn''t even knew about this whole thing.


    "Ahem." Hector quickly cleansed his throat. "I heard that there is a Summoner here. Summoners had been born over the eons since the death of Hero Allen, but they''re incredibly rare. I heard one has finally showed up, and everyone calls him the next hero, even the director. Who is it?" The Sword Master asked.


    Everybody suddenly looked at me.


    "Oh, so its you?" Asked Hector.


    "I wouldn''t call myself a Hero, but yes I possess the 2 Star Summoner Talent." I said while sighing.


    "Amazing, it is an honor to see someone with it!" Hector was a fan of the Hero it seems. "Can you show the ss one of your Familiars? There must be many here that have yet to see one!"


    "Yeah please!"


    "I want to see how the Summoner works!"


    "I wonder if he can summon a dragon¡­"


    "I heard he summoned a wyvern!"


    I sighed onest time.


    Fine, whatever.


    "Okay, sure, but only this one time."


    I quickly summoned Huginn and Falco, making them fly around the ssroom. And then, I kept summoning Fenrir, Orcus, Spore, and then a Draco.


    "So many Familiars¡­"


    "They''re definitely too many for someone if they''re just Spirits, those things are indeed Familiars!"


    "I can keep making more and more¡­"


    I quickly summoned more and more, flooding the entire ssroom.


    "I-Incredible, but please tone it down for now!" Hector cried, as he was being licked by several Fenrir while being munched by Draco in the head. Of course he was as hard as a mountain so even Draco''s fangs couldn''t pierce through him and it was more like ying around with him than anything.<novelnext></novelnext>


    "Very well. Unsummon."


    POOOOF!


    All Familiars disappeared, turning into Summon Cards invisible to everyone''s eyes, which flew back to my Grimoire.


    Like that, I ended gaining even more poprity in the ss, which was a pain to be honest.


    Once sses finally ended, I was swarmed by many students, even if they knew my party was filled, they still wanted to be my friends or build connections with me.


    "Can we get along?"


    "What''s your favorite meal, ke?"


    "ke! I brought you a box filled with choctes!"


    "I have a love letter, please ept my feelings!"


    "I need you!"


    There was a particrlyrge amount of girls trying to get me, rather viciously at that. I have never seen them before yet they were giving me love letters, flowers, choctes, and even other things. I epted all gifts greedily though, but Erika and the rest of my friends began to shoo everyone away.


    "He''s my boyfriend! Don''t get closer!" Erika angrily said. "He''s already taken!"


    "Eh?! The Summoner''s the boyfriend of the Magic de Princess?!"


    "I didn''t knew of this! How shocking!"


    "Eeeh? Howe you can take this littlemoner girl? I am a noble with a family that has tons of money and territory!"


    "My family owns half a country!"


    "I can give you anything you want!"


    "My family owns a dungeon, if you ept to marry me I can let you have it!"


    The girls were vicious even after hearing Erika''s threat.


    Thankfully, Evelyn showed up once sses were all done and she dragged us away.


    With her at our side, the rest of the students calmed down and we were able to enjoy lunch together.


    "Seriously what''s wrong with those girls?! That was a bit too much!" Erikained while crossing her arms.


    "Well, being a girlfriend doesn''t necessarily mean much, perhaps they thought if they offer enough, they can make you and ke break up." Said Eric.


    "¡­For once, I have not epted being her boyfriend yet." I sighed.


    "Eh?! You aren''t?" Erika asked with puppy eyes.


    "¡­We need to take some time before jumping into these types of rtionships, Erika." I sighed.


    "B-But¡­" She seemed to be about to cry.


    Everyone looked at me while narrowing their eyes, as if they were saying "how could you break her heart? You monster".


    "Fine, I was already nning to but¡­ not in this rushed way, but sure, Erika, be at ease." I said, giving her a head pat.


    She quickly switched moods from sad to happy, this girl was really easy to please.


    -----

 Chapter 510 Alberta And Elfriedden Stats

    -----


    I guess I should give her that gift I had prepared for her once I asked her to be my girlfriend tonight. It was going to be wayter, but the situation ended elerating everything.


    "I have a little gift for you forter." I whispered to her ears, giving her a kiss in her cheek.


    "Oohhh~?!" Erika got all excited, while growing redder. "G-Gift?"


    "Be patient and wait until then." I said to her, giving her a wink. "Now, let''s enjoy lunch, we need to go select our sses after this, right Evelyn?"


    "Yes- Don''t call me by my name! Call me teacher." Sighed Evelyn.


    "Didn''t Hector said we could just call anybody without honorifics?" I wondered.


    "That''s only between students!" Evelyn got angrier, zing with mes.


    "Sigh¡­" Alberta sighed. "I-I don''t know if I''ll be able to handle being in this party¡­ S-So much going on¡­"


    "Honestly, same." Sighed Elfriedden. "I am already beginning to regret my decision, but I''ve already signed that paper."


    "I-I don''t n to leave though, you''re being¡­ A-A bit too cold, Elfriedden." Sighed Alberta.


    "Prince Elfriedden for you!!!" The elf angrily said.


    "Uwaaaah!" Alberta was scared off, as she ran behind me.


    "Hey long ears, don''t scream at our cksmith." I said to the idiot in front of me.


    "Tch¡­" Elfriedden crossed his arms and looked away.


    "A-Anyways!" Evelyn tried to change the mood. "As we were talking just now, after you''ve finally finished your obligatory sses right now, you''re free to pick four other sses! Each sssts an hour and a half, and you can only do two at a day, so you''ll have to switch between days or however you want to. Normal students can only do once a day usually, so you''ll be studying more a day but it''ll be more helpful in the long run."


    "I see, sounds interesting." I nodded. "Very well, let''s go pick our sses right after we finish eating, everyone."


    "Alright!" Chris got pumped up. "I want to go to some fighting ss¡­ Is there any?"


    "Yes there''s tons!" Said Evelyn.


    "I want to go to alchemy, smithing, and tailorship, and maybe bowmanship too?" Eric wondered.


    "Huh, so you''re interested in my craft." Elfriedden said with a smile. "Maybe you''re not that badpared to the lot."


    "I am looking forward to going to those sses with you too, Eric!" Alberta said gently, sometimes her hair would cover one of her eyes.


    Eric blushed a bit as he began to giggle like an idiot.


    "Ahahaha, s-sure!"


    He was clearly getting attracted to her. Good for him, I think they would make a good couple, maybe.


    "What about you Erika?" I asked her.


    "Errr¡­" Erika began wondering. "Sword and Illusion Magic, I think! I heard mama does illusion magic sses.


    "Huh, sounds nice." Elizabeth said, as she sat at my other side, holding into my arm. "What about you?"


    "Probably all production sses, Alchemy, cksmith, Tailoring, Crafting. I heard there''s Machinery?" I wondered.


    "Y-Yeah! My uncle''s¡­ T-Teaching there." Said Alberta.


    "Your uncle''s a teacher?" I asked in surprise.


    Alberta nodded while blushing a bit.


    "That''s amazing!" Said Eric.


    "Yeah." Said Elizabeth. "Is your uncle famous?"


    "W-Well¡­ S-Something like that." Alberta said timidly.


    "Hmmm¡­ I''ve been thinking this for a while now, but you''re the Dwarf Princess of Fierysmith, right?" Asked Elfriedden. "More specific, the fourth princess."


    "A-Ah¡­"


    Alberta sighed.


    "You are?" I asked.


    "Y-Yes¡­ Sorry for keeping it a secret¡­" She sighed. "My father was against the idea of meing here, he didn''t wanted his daughter to¡­ T-To go in a war¡­ B-But my uncle agreed to the idea and¡­ H-He weed me here¡­"


    "Damn, so we''ve got two big shots here?!" Chris asked in surprise.


    "I-I am out of words¡­" Eric felt slightly intimidated now.


    "P-Please don''t¡­ be surprised, I hope you can¡­ K-Keep treating me casually." Alberta sighed.


    "Sure!" Erika said happily. "No problem. I am a princess but I don''t really care."


    "Oh, you are, Erika?!" Alberta was more shocked than Erika expected.<novelnext></novelnext>


    "E-Eh? It is so hard to believe?" Erika sighed.


    "Well your princess traits are not that obvious¡­" I said. "Yet you have the talent so you''re obviously one."


    "R-Right, Erika has that talent¡­" Alberta said.


    "Anyways, don''t worry about the details, Alberta." I reassured her. "We''ll treat you casually like we have done since we meet today. Don''t worry about a single thing."


    "Yeah!" Eric said. "Although I hope you don''t me me if I get a bit nervous¡­"


    "I-It''s fine¡­ Thanks¡­" Alberta smiled sweetly.


    Her smile quickly hit everybody''s heart. I guess she was going to be the little girl everyone will rely for her smile to cheer ourselves up. I even saw Elfriedden blushing a bit at her smile.


    "Anyways¡­ You two have Status, right? I remember the teacher told us to write them down, can I see them?" I asked the two.


    "Go ahead." Elfriedden showed me his Status.


    "S-Sure¡­" Alberta did as well.


    -----


    [Name]: [Alberta Fierysmith]


    [Race]: [Dwarf]


    [Spirit Orb Realm]: [Rank 1 (Middle Stage)]


    [Talent]: [Rune cksmith: ¡ï¡ï¡ï]


    [Health Points]: [C]


    [Mana Points]: [A+]


    [Strength]: [B]


    [Agility]: [C]


    [Vitality]: [B]


    [Intelligence]: [A]


    [Dexterity]: [S]


    [Spirits (1/1)]: [Volcanic Smith Hammer (Rank 1 Middle Stage)]


    [Skills]: [Mana Maniption] [Fiery Hammer Techniques] [Fireball] [Fire Hammer] [Fire Shield] [Fire Magic] [Rune Creation] [Quick Repair] [Reinforce] [Sharpen] [Forging] [Smithing] [Smelting] [Metallurgy] [Godsmith Eyes] [Spirit Connection] [Smith Magic] [Crafting] [Alchemy] [cksmith''s Forge] [¡­]


    -----


    .


    -----


    [Name]: [Elfriedden Crystal]


    [Race]: [Elf]


    [Spirit Orb Realm]: [Rank 2 (Peak Stage)]


    [Talent]: [Needle Master: ¡ï¡ï]


    [Health Points]: [C+]


    [Mana Points]: [A+]


    [Strength]: [A+]


    [Agility]: [A]


    [Vitality]: [C+]


    [Intelligence]: [B]


    [Dexterity]: [S]


    [Spirits (2/2)]: [Permafrost Crystal Needle (Rank 2 Peak Stage)] [Skadi''s Thread (Rank 2 Peak Stage)]


    [Skills]: [Mana Maniption] [Needle Mastery] [Icicle Spears] [Freezing Touch] [Winter''s Domain] [Ice Needle Techniques] [Ice Spirit Magic] [Sewing] [Rapid Repair] [Fabric Maniption] [Thread Mastery] [Tailor Master''s Eyes] [Fashionista] [Crafting] [Material Processing] [Sewing Magic] [Tailor''s Atelier] [¡­]


    -----


    I see, both were quite strong. Despite Alberta being the weakest of the two, she had amazing potential for her stat growth.


    -----

 Chapter 511 The Vampire Spirits

    -----


    Alberta and Elfriedden showed me their status, which they had written down in their notebooks. It was a rather impressive pair that had joined us. I am looking forward to use them- I mean, to rely on their abilities for our growth from now on.


    -----


    [Name]: [Alberta Fierysmith]


    [Race]: [Dwarf]


    [Spirit Orb Realm]: [Rank 1 (Middle Stage)]


    [Talent]: [Rune cksmith: ¡ï¡ï¡ï]


    [Health Points]: [C]


    [Mana Points]: [A+]


    [Strength]: [B]


    [Agility]: [C]


    [Vitality]: [B]


    [Intelligence]: [A]


    [Dexterity]: [S]


    [Spirits (1/1)]: [Volcanic Smith Hammer (Rank 1 Middle Stage)]


    [Skills]: [Mana Maniption] [Fiery Hammer Techniques] [Fireball] [Fire Hammer] [Fire Shield] [Fire Magic] [Rune Creation] [Quick Repair] [Reinforce] [Sharpen] [Forging] [Smithing] [Smelting] [Metallurgy] [Godsmith Eyes] [Spirit Connection] [Smith Magic] [Crafting] [Alchemy] [cksmith''s Forge] [¡­]


    -----


    .


    -----


    [Name]: [Elfriedden Crystal]


    [Race]: [Elf]


    [Spirit Orb Realm]: [Rank 2 (Peak Stage)]


    [Talent]: [Needle Master: ¡ï¡ï]


    [Health Points]: [C+]


    [Mana Points]: [A+]


    [Strength]: [A+]


    [Agility]: [A]


    [Vitality]: [C+]


    [Intelligence]: [B]


    [Dexterity]: [S]


    [Spirits (2/2)]: [Permafrost Crystal Needle (Rank 2 Peak Stage)] [Skadi''s Thread (Rank 2 Peak Stage)]


    [Skills]: [Mana Maniption] [Needle Mastery] [Icicle Spears] [Freezing Touch] [Winter''s Domain] [Ice Needle Techniques] [Ice Spirit Magic] [Sewing] [Rapid Repair] [Fabric Maniption] [Thread Mastery] [Tailor Master''s Eyes] [Fashionista] [Crafting] [Material Processing] [Sewing Magic] [Tailor''s Atelier] [¡­]


    -----


    "Impressive stats. Alberta you have a lot of Skills despite being only Rank 1 Middle Stage, well done. You''ve worked hard since you were young, haven''t you?" I asked her.


    "Y-Yes!" She said while nodding. "I-I''ve been learning Forging since I was very little¡­"


    "Hey, what about me? I''ve also studied and trained since I was very young!" Elfriedden said. "Give me some praise as well, will you? I was born as the seventh son of a family filled with talented people. It has been hard to reach where I am right now¡­ But even then I lost to you, what a disgrace."


    "That''s why I don''t praise you, you''re always having a stick up your ass." I sighed.


    "Come again?!" Elfriedden got angrier.


    "C-Come on now, let''s calm down¡­" Sighed Evelyn. "Elfriedden, be more mindful with your words, ke, be more respectful, okay?"


    "¡­Sure." I shrugged.


    "Tch¡­ Whatever." Elfriedden crossed his arms.


    "Ugh, you guys are making the food taste bad." Sighed Chris.


    "Yeah, rx for a bit okay? ke, please?" Eric asked me. "You''re not like this¡­ usually. Well, most of the time."


    "Yeah, yeah, I have it in mind. Sorry." I said. Elfriedden was simply a bit too annoying, but his strength and abilities were useful, I have to just bear with him.<novelnext></novelnext>


    "Good thingse when you ept each other mistakes." Elizabeth said with shiny eyes, looking at Elfriedden''s face. "Please be nicer, Elfriedden, we are all trying here to wee you."


    "¡­Right, so¡­ sorry." Sighed Elfriedden. "I''ve had it hard, that''s all."


    "We''ve all had it hard, we understand." Said Chris.


    "No, you''re amoner, you can''t even understand it¡­" Sighed Elfriedden.


    "Elfriedden! What did I told you just some seconds ago?" Elizabeth asked, she began tightly grabbing my arm until it began to hurt a bit. Does she wants me to say something?


    "Yeah¡­ I apologize." I sighed. "Now apologize back."


    "Ugh¡­ Okay, I apologize as well. I have to admit you''re talented and strong." Elfriedden said.


    "Likewise, your magic and abilities were top notch, also your tailor abilities as well." I said with a smile.


    "Heh, you''ve finally seen through my talents! Good! That''s right!" Elfriedden puffed his chest.


    Surprisingly, he was also very easy to please. A few flowery words and he was already taking the bait. I guess he won''t be as hard to deal with as I had originally believed.


    "Now, how about you show me your status? I am sure Alberta is curious too." He said with a smile.


    "Sure, here." I said with everyone else.


    We quickly showed them all our status. The two felt shocked. But Elfriedden''s face was the most notorious.


    "Y-You have so many skills¡­" He looked at me in shock. "I see! So your elements are indeed Blood and Darkness, interesting¡­ I''ve never seen Blood Arts nor Shadow Maniption Skills before, that''s interesting. But I remember you used other Abilities too¡­ Wait, you have three Spirits? And they have names?!"


    "Ah yeah, I guess I can summon here now. Guys, time to show up."


    POOF! POOF! POOF!


    "Ahhh! Finally, I cane out now, ke?" Sighed Eleanora in relief. "Oh, I am starving¡­ Hey guys."


    "Eleanora!" Chris said.


    "Hey,e sit down with us!" Eric said.


    "We were missing you." Erdrich said.


    "Yeah, yeah, it''s not the same without you around." Elizabeth smiled.


    "You''re finally back bestie!" Erika greeted her.


    "Ahaha, I was bored being cramped in that spirit orb¡­ ke can I buy food with your money?" She wondered.


    "Fine¡­" I gave her a Student Credit Card, which used money I charged in the bank previously.


    However, there were two new spirits everyone hadn''t seen before.


    "By everything that is malicious and evil in this world! What a peculiar mix of characters!" Hendrick said, inspecting everybody. His mask made him look strange, but his way of speaking made it even more weird. "So these are your friends, my dearest lord?"


    "Indeed, this is Hendrick. He''s my second spirit, he''s a¡­ gue Doctor, he can control toxins and fogs." I said. "And poisons, and stuff like that."


    Hendrick quickly lowered his head before everybody.


    "Hendrick at your service."


    "W-What an interesting fellow¡­" Chris said.


    "Wait, that spirit can talk too¡­?" Eric felt surprised.


    "He indeed can¡­" Elizabeth said.


    "Woow! I love your clothes!" Erika said.


    "Heh! It seems my lord''s future wife knows about fashion!" Laughed Hendrick. "Indeed! They''re the ssiest and fanciest of getups for gue Doctors!"


    "It is indeed quite an interesting getup." Said Elfriedden. "Not bad."


    He had the [Fashionista] Skill for a reason, deep down, aside from the arrogant self, he was someone passionate about designing fashionist clothes and the like.


    "And who''s the little girl behind you?" Asked Erika.


    "Yeah, is she shy?" Asked Elizabeth.


    "Come on, Saphira, be a good girl ande greet everyone." I said, holding her little hand.


    "N-Nice to meet you¡­ I am Saphira¡­" She introduced herself.


    "Oh my god she''s so cute!" Elizabeth was melting.


    "S-So cute indeed!" Alberta agreed.


    -----

 Chapter 512 Alchemy Classes

    -----


    "Saphira''s a specter, she''s like a ghost. She''s a bit timid, but she''s a nice and good girl, treat her well." I introduced Saphira to everybody.


    However, after greeting everyone, she quickly hid behind me once more.


    "Papa I don''t like being in ces with too many people¡­"


    She seemed slightly stressed. I let her sit down on myp to calm her down.


    "Oh my, she calls you papa?!" Elizabeth freaked out.


    "S-So cute!" Alberta said.


    "D-Does that means I am her mama?" Erika asked.


    However, Saphira looked at Erika slightly angrily.


    "Nuh¡­ You''re not my mama¡­"


    "Geh?!"


    Crack!


    I could even hear Erika''s heart being broken in that moment¡­


    "Mama!"


    Saphira noticed Erikaing back, bringing  a lot of food, especially sweets for Saphira.


    "Look dear, we''ve got you a lot of sweets, you love them right?"


    "I do! I do!"


    Saphira quickly calmed down as she began eating a cheesecake while sitting over myp.


    "Oh, she calls Eleanora mama¡­" Said Elizabeth.


    "Makes sense." Chris said.


    "I-I guess?" Eric wondered. "Wait, that phantasmal power I saw you use against Elfriedden¡­ Was it this spirit''s powers? I mean Saphira''s powers?"


    "Yeah, I''ve used her abilities in that  battle. She helps me be even more sneaky. One of her abilities even grants me phantasmal capabilities. It is easy to fool a temperamental person like Elfriedden with them, even when I was right in front of him." I said.


    "Hehehe, Papa beat him good!" Saphira celebrated.


    "Of course, Hallucination Fog was great as well." Laughed Hendrick.


    "So that guy also helped¡­" Said Erika in surprise.


    "You tricky bastard¡­" Elfriedden sighed.


    "T-This is certainly a surprise, to think you''ve got two new spirits¡­" Said Evelyn. "And they all talk!"


    "Yeah¡­ That''s obviously because I am¡­ a Summoner, yeah." I said while nodding. Of course, I was simply lying but at this point I really didn''t cared much. "Anyways, lets just eat for now and rx. We still got over half the day of things we have to do."


    "R-Right!" Alberta said, eating her steak.


    "Hey~ Can''t you call me mama if I give you this chocte cake?" Erika asked at Saphira.


    The little Saphira''s eyes were fixated into the cake.


    However, Eleanora offered her one as well.


    "Here dear."


    "Thank you mama!"


    Saphira endedpletely ignoring Erika once more.


    "Guh¡­ This is going to be a hard challenge, but I cannot give up now¡­"<novelnext></novelnext>


    She seems to have found a new motivation. I suppose that''s alright.


    Ah, I want to go to a dungeon already¡­


    ¡­


    Once we were all done, we quickly went to pick our next sses. I ended picking all production sses because I knew there wasn''t anything these teachers could teach me regarding fighting. And in the production sses I can spend the time creating items as well, while learning unique ways that people create items here.


    So I choose Alchemy, Sewing, Smithing, and Machinery sses. Machinery was the one where the least students choose to go. In fact the production sses were the least picked, everyone just wanted to polish their fighting and magic ability, which is honestly understandable.


    Today there was going to be Alchemy and Machinery sses, so I went with everybody that picked them. For both, Eric, and Alberta, and for only Alchemy, Elfriedden joined.


    Meanwhile, everyone else picked stuff around their specializations. Nobody else was really into crafting alchemy or anything rted to it. Erika seemed slightly sad she was leaving my side, as she had sword sses with Hector and then Nature Magic sses with someone else.


    "We can see each other after we''re done." I told her to calm her down.


    "Okay¡­! Mooch." Erika gave me a little kiss in my cheek and walked away, quickly bringing her big sword with her this time. Everyone was watching the beautiful pink haired girl holding a giant sword with surprise.


    And so, we were quickly brought to the Alchemy ssroom with Eric, Alberta, and Elfriedden, arge ssroom filled with the aroma of nts and ores, the air was brimming with the delicious smell of ingredients and materials of rare quality and beyond.


    There were also over ten cauldrons everywhere, and the teacher was waiting us inside already, concentrated into making something inside her own cauldron.


    We walked inside in silence, as we watched her.


    "One minute please~"


    Suddenly, she added arge amount of bones and then, arge, red-colored spirit orb into the mix inside the Magic Cauldron.


    POOOF!!!


    Arge amount of green smoke emerged from within the Cauldron, it seemed she was done.


    "Cough¡­ cough! Ah¡­ It is here!"


    She quickly brought out something from the cauldron.


    It resembled a potion.


    "Wachaaa!"


    She threw the potion into the ground.


    CLASH!


    "W-What is this woman doing?!" Elfriedden freaked out. "Is this what alchemy is about?!"


    FLUOOOSH!


    From the liquid of the potion, pink smoke emerged, covering the entire ssroom.


    And from within the pink smoke, several letters began to gather until it said in big, and bright letters: "WELCOME TO THE ALCHEMY CLASSES, MY NEW STUDENTS!".


    Even fireworks made of illusions began to explode around the letters, making everything look like a hallucination. I think a few students were having a headache already.


    "Wee everyone! I am SO d you''re here!"


    The professor quickly whisked her fingers, as the pink fog disappeared.


    Her appearance was finallypletely revealed, a tall and beautiful elven woman, with a green jewel in the middle of her forehead and long clear green hair.


    Her spirit was actually the cauldron she used, interestingly enough.


    "I am Lady Ataraxia, Alchemist Extraordinary! Did you like the show I had for you? It took me an hour to prepare it!"


    The students looked at one another and then simply nodded at her.


    "I am so d you liked it! Then! Let''s begin with the sses everyone! First of all, let''s go with a roundabout about what is Alchemy." Ataraxia began writing over the walls using a magic wand. "Can someone tell me what you think Alchemy is?"


    -----

 Chapter 513 Special Magic Bracelets

    -----


    Several students began answering what they thought.


    "Alchemy is fusing stuff to get new items!"


    "I think its about mixing magic with materials to extract their powers¡­"


    "Thebination of elements in nature!"


    "How to get rich quickly."


    "Good! Good! All of you have good answers." Said Ataraxia, suddenly fixing her eyes into me. "But what could our Summoner say about it? I am honestly impressed you''ve chosen my ss, dear!"


    "Well¡­ Technically, Alchemy is the convergence between the elemental properties of materials which maniptes thews of the world and creates a phenomenon in which each element converges and reconstruct themselves into something new yet of the same value as the materials used to create it. Or something like that. It''s rather simple."


    Everyone suddenly looked at me with mouths wide open as I answered the question swiftly.


    "Hm? What?" I asked while raising an eyebrow. "Am I wrong?"


    Ataraxia quickly nodded.


    "N-No! Of course you''re right¡­ That was amazing, I never thought a student would answer the question in such a way¡­" She said. "Everyone, we might have a genius with us! Oh right, they told me you had a second talent, right?"


    "Wait, you'' have a second talent?!" Elfriedden asked in shock this time.


    "Yeah, it is Synthesist." I said.


    "Synthesist?!" Ataraxia was surprised. "T-That''s an amazing talent!"


    "Perhaps." I said slightly bored.


    "Anyways, everyone here, even if you have no talent rted with Alchemy, you''re wee to try. Anybody with enough hard work can learn Alchemy." Said Ataraxia. "Alchemists are always useful in battlefields as well, we can create all sorts of consumable magic items, or even amazing magic essories, rings, bracelets, nes, and even imbue weapons with elements, create bombs, potions, everything! An Alchemy is always useful anywhere due to our great usefulness. However, a good Alchemist is someone that prepares for anything as well! So, for now, children, we''ll be learning the basics of Alchemy."


    Like that, Ataraxia began to exin how Alchemy is reproduced. She taught everyone here how to do Alchemy through the Synthesis, Brewing, and Mixing Skills. Once she was over, she began distributing a bracelet to everyone.


    "This is a special Bracelet I''ve made myself named Alchemy Bracelets! It is a special item imbued with the power of Synthesis. With this, you can use it even if you don''t possess the Skill! If you have the will to learn it and the passion, you can learn the Skill after using this bracelet a lot!" Said Ataraxia.


    "Incredible, so there''s such a way to learn Skills!" I was impressed by the bracelet. Of course, it was utterly useless for me, but others such as Alberta and Elfriedden thatcked the Synthesis Skill but had the Alchemy Skill, it was a rather useful item.


    "Can we keep these?" I wondered.


    "Yes! I am gifting them to you, make sure to keep them safe, okay? Don''t you dare sell them, I won''t give you a new one if you do that or lose it, okay?" She asked nicely. "Also, they''re wearer locked, so once you wear it, it is yours. Anybody else than me that tries to wear them will make the item explode¡­ Hehe, be careful~!"


    Ataraxia had rather evil ways of doing things, but I suppose I can respect that. Being overly cautious is never a bad thing.


    "Nice¡­" I said with a smile. "This is the first time I hear of an item that can help people learn a certain Skill. It is often an item with an ability already attached to it. How does this works?"


    "Ufufu~ You''re already interested?" Ataraxia giggled, approaching to me with a seductive smile. "Don''t be so eager little boy, I will go into details at its due time~!" She walked away after winking at me.


    Well, if she doesn''t want to teach me then I''ll figure it out anyways. But its probably something to do with imbuing Runes into items, something I had not done before. Luckily, Alberta here is perfect for that jobter.


    "Ooh, this bracelet is great¡­" Alberta was happy with it.


    "Indeed. With this learning Synthesis will be very easy." Elfriedden agreed.<novelnext></novelnext>


    "I don''t really need it but I''ll equip it anyways." Said Eric.


    I decided to save mine forter, perhaps I could gift it to Erika so she can learn Synthesis or someone else too. Perhaps even Eleanora, or Saphira¡­ I''ll see about thatter. I could even use it as a material to make a new item.


    Nheless, I already had an amazing ring that Eric gifted to me.


    -----


    [Lesser Elixir Ring (Unique-Grade): Lv1]


    [Effects]


    [Health Points]: [+250]


    [Mana Points]: [+250]


    [Strength]: [+50]


    [Agility]: [+100]


    [Vitality]: [+50]


    [Intelligence]: [+200]


    [Dexterity]: [+100]


    [Abilities]


    [Secret Knowledge]: Enhances the effects of Alchemy-made items when used by the wielder by +50%. This includes both damage dealt if they''re Attack Items or Healing/Buffing Effects if they''re consumable items.


    [Sage''s Strategy]: Reduces Exhaustion when overusing Mana while doing Alchemy greatly and hasten MP Recovery by x3. Alchemy-made items tend to be of higher quality.


    [Alchemist Atelier]: Creates a Pocket Space where any Alchemy-rted items can be stored. Total size is of 50 x 50 meters.


    [Description]


    An impressive Ring made by an aspiring Alchemist''s dreams. It was made specifically for the enhancement of an alchemist''s abilities and to facilitate their lives. Nheless, it provides an incredible enhancement to stats. However, all of such effects can only be activated if the wielder has an Alchemy-rted Skill. If worn by anybody else, the ring will lose its powers.


    -----


    The Lesser Elixir Ring!


    It is the perfect Ring to do Alchemy with.


    And our first Alchemy test already began, as Ataraxia, rather ruthlessly, told us to do something right away.


    "Alright children, you should all get together in groups of¡­ four!" She said, quickly calcting how many we were. "Use the Cauldrons and make ten Lesser Health Potions with the ingredients I''ve ced in your desks beforehand. You''ll have the rest of the hour to do so, so do your best!"


    Only an hour to make ten potions¡­ it was certainly an incredible challenge for those that had very little knowledge about Alchemy, but for me, it was a matter of seconds.


    -----

 Chapter 514 Surprise Test

    -----


    Of course, it would be boring if I made them through [Instant Creation] so I better just help Alberta and Elfriedden make them, as they''re the newbies. Eric''s also a veteran at this point, so he''ll help too.


    "S-So how do I start this¡­"


    "We add the water then the herbs? Should we crush the Medicinal Herbs first? Or separate the stems from the leaves?"


    "S-Should we add the roots?"


    ? Alberta and Elfriedden were very confused about the procedure.


    "You have the Alchemist skill yet you can''t do something so simple?" I asked.


    "I got it after learning Alchemy Theory for years¡­" Said Elfriedden.


    "Yeah, same, I never really practiced it¡­" Sighed Alberta.


    "Sigh¡­"


    "Aw,e on now ke, don''t be ruthless on them. Alberta, Elfriedden, let us help you. We''ve made potions for years now." Eric said.


    "Yeah, follow our instructions and it''lle perfect." I said with a smile.


    Alberta got happy, smiling cheerfully, and Elfriedden narrowed his eyes but then epted.


    "T-Thank you!"


    "Hmph. Well, whatever."


    Ataraxia looked at us from afar, she really had her eyes fixated on our group. She was a bit of a creep.


    "For now, cut the Medicinal Herbs. Do not waste any part of it though." I said.


    "Cut them? How?" Alberta wondered.


    "In thin pieces, make a paste out of it." Eric said.


    "A-Alright¡­" Alberta nodded.


    "Huh, this feels like cooking rather than doing alchemy." Elfriedden said.


    "Alchemy could be said to be like cooking, yeah." I sighed.


    "Eh? I was joking, really?!" Elfriedden asked.


    "More or less." Eric nodded.


    "H-Huh¡­" Elfriedden seemed to have a different idea of Alchemy.


    "What about the roots?" Alberta asked.


    "Cut them into pieces too, but we''ll add themter." I said with a nod.


    "Alright¡­" Alberta nodded.


    As they did like we told them to, I prepared the fresh water and then added it inside the Cauldron.


    The cauldron quickly began to boil as I imbued my Mana into it, shiny rainbow bubbles appeared from within it.


    "Now add the herb paste." Eric said.


    Alberta and Elfriedden added it all.


    "Now, use Synthesis together."


    The two nodded once more, conjuring Synthesis at the same time.


    "[Synthesis]!"


    FLAAASH!


    The herb and the waters mixed, creating a green colored liquid.


    "Health Potion base get." I said with a smile.


    "Eh? It already has healing properties¡­" Alberta used her Godsmith''s Eyes to inspect the items status, kind of like Appraisal but limited to items only.


    "It is not done yet." Eric said.


    "But isn''t this good enough?" Elfriedden asked.


    "Is "good enough" what you''re aiming for?" I asked him.


    Elfriedden looked into my eyes.


    "Of course not, I want excellency, I wouldn''t settle for less." He smiled back.<novelnext></novelnext>


    "Good, then continue. Now, imbue your mana into the roots and add the Spirit Orb dust into a cup of water, mix it with the roots as well." I said.


    "O-Okay!" Alberta nodded.


    She and the elf did as I told them.


    "Good, just like that. Slowly add your mana, the concentration will gain a reddish color." Eric nodded.


    FLAAASH!


    Suddenly, the liquid shone brightly.


    "W-What just happened?!" Alberta asked.


    "This is¡­? Health Potion Concentration?!" Elfriedden wondered.


    "Now, add to the base we made previously the rest of the spirit orb dust and your mana, mix it with Synthesis, andstly, add this concentration and do Synthesis again." I said.


    "Yeah, that''s all!" Eric nodded.


    Alberta swallowed saliva, nodding nervously.


    Elfriedden silently nodded.


    The two worked together as they did as we told them.


    Slowly and carefully, they mixed things twice, and then, the final product was over.


    Time of preparation? Six minutes.


    FLAAASH!


    Several bottles were filled with a red blood liquid of rich, sweet smell.


    "We''re done." I said to the teacher.


    "Ooho?! Already?" Ataraxia ran towards us using some strange boots with wings on them.


    The other students were left perplexed.


    "Wait, they finished already?!"


    "Impossible¡­"


    "They probably made some rushed stuff that tastes awful!"


    "There''s no way they can do it so quickly, we have barely just begun!"


    The teacher inspected the twenty-five potion bottles we made, more than asked, with her bright green eyes.


    "I-Impressive¡­" Ataraxia looked at the potions. "T-This is a Greater Health Potion?! A-And Unique Grade?! You made a Unique Grade item with these Normal Grade materials?!"


    "You saw the entire process, didn''t you?" I asked her with a smile.


    "Well yes but this is¡­ it''s ridiculous¡­" Ataraxia was left shocked. "Well done¡­ all of you are very talented! ss!"


    Ataraxia called the entire ss.


    "We''ve already got the first ones to have finished! And not only that but they made a Unique Grade item! A Greater Health Potion! Everyone please p!" Ataraxia began to p, the other students gave us boorish looks.


    "This must be wrong¡­"


    "There''s no way¡­"


    "This is a joke¡­"


    "There''s no way this is possible¡­"


    "And because of your greatmitment, I''ve decided to award you with 100 scores to all four of you!" Said Ataraxia. "Yep, this was actually a test, teehee~!"


    "EH?!"


    The rest of the students freaked out, as they began to work rapidly into what they were doing, trying to imitate what we did to an extent too, although only a few managed to do it right, most were failing miserably.


    "Teacher don''t you think you''re being a bit ruthless by making a test in the first day?" Asked Eric.


    "Oh dear, don''t be like this. This isn''t a prestigious academy for nothing." Ataraxia said. "Those that cannot prepare for the challenges we''ll throw at our students are free to leave~! But you four, well done! I am impressed and happy, you can go out if you want, or do some more alchemy to pass the time too."


    "I actually want to practice some more to see if I can learn the Synthesis skill." Said Elfriedden.


    "M-Me too!" Alberta added.


    "Then how about you try making an Antidote Potion now?" Wondered Ataraxia, giving us the materials. "If you do it well I''ll add extra potions to your next test!"


    -----

 Chapter 515 A Powerful Ring

    -----


    Like that, we spent the next hour working hard with Eric, Alberta, and Elfriedden¡­ Well, more like the dwarf girl and the elf man worked hard, Eric and I were just back sitting while telling them what to do.


    Of course, the time spent wasn''t in vain, I used this opportunity to summon my Alchemist Atelier and bring out my amazing looking Cauldron which amazed even the teacher and took a silver-colored ring from the Atelier, beginning to reinforce it with some materials I had.


    ? Ataraxia was looking at what I was doing with eyes wide open, never having seen someone doing Alchemy in such a swift and graceful way before.


    "I-Impressive, you''re really such a talented boy¡­" She sighed. "But what are you doing now?"


    "Teacher, you don''t mind if I use the bracelet you gifted me?" I asked with a smile.


    "My bracelet? Oh¡­ Well that''s alright- Wait, what?!"


    Iughed evilly, throwing the bracelet she gifted me inside the Cauldron, and then Ring.


    After that, I added several other materials I had acquired by buying through the market in here using my gold coins.


    [The [Bracelet of Synthesis (Unique Grade)] Item has been added to the Alchemy Cauldron!]


    [The [Ring of Silver Serenity (Rare Grade)] Item has been added to the Alchemy Cauldron!]


    [The [Fire Spirit Stones (Rare Grade)] x10 Item has been added to the Alchemy Cauldron!]


    [The [Light Spirit Stones (Rare Grade)] x10 Item has been added to the Alchemy Cauldron!]


    [The [Highly Quality Purified Holy Water (Lesser Mythic Grade)] x1 Item has been added to the Alchemy Cauldron!]


    [The [Purified Ashes of the Fallen (Rare Grade)] x10 Item has been added to the Alchemy Cauldron!]


    [The [Red Snake''s Scales (Rare Grade)] x5 Item has been added to the Alchemy Cauldron!]


    [The [Imp''s Fiery Muscles (Rare Grade)] x3 Item has been added to the Alchemy Cauldron!]


    [The [Demon Core Shattered Shards (Rare Grade)] x6 Item has been added to the Alchemy Cauldron!]


    [The [Golden Sunlight Flower (Rare Grade)] x1 Item has been added to the Alchemy Cauldron!]


    [The [Sun Ray Crystal (Rare Grade)] x1 Item has been added to the Alchemy Cauldron!]


    "And let''s add¡­ My blood as well, why not?"


    And a fragment of my soul too!


    FLAAAASH!


    As I added all materials, everything began to boil and converge.


    "[Synthesis]!"


    Using the power of the Synthesis Subss, my Synthesis Ability became more refined, so I was able to just mix all things together rapidly.


    "T-This is¡­ Uwooooh!"


    Ataraxia fell over her butt, as a beautiful ring emerged from the cauldron, overflowing with the bright light of the sun!


    "Such a glorious ring!" Ataraxia said. "What is that? I''ve never seen such an item being made like this¡­"


    "A-Amazing!" Alberta said.


    "Even I am left without words¡­" Elfriedden sighed.


    "That''s a great design!" Eric said. "And I see what you did there, I can tell it''s going to be a good gift."


    "Yeah. For a while now Erika has told me that she feels weak when she doesn''t bathe in the sun enough time per day. Now that we are going to sses, she''ll have little time to enjoy the sunlight, so I made a little solution for her predicament." I smiled back at Eric, as I checked the ring with my eyes.


    -----<novelnext></novelnext>


    [Sunlight Synthesis Ring (Unique Grade): Lv1]


    [Effects]


    [Health Points]: [+200]


    [Mana Points]: [+500]


    [Strength]: [+20]


    [Agility]: [+100]


    [Vitality]: [+40]


    [Intelligence]: [+300]


    [Dexterity]: [+40]


    [Abilities]


    [Sunlight Synthesis]: This Ring has the power to Synthetize Mana and the surrounding Sunlight Energy left behind from the wielder''s surroundings into fresh and warm Sunlight that can be directly utilized to unleash rays or even grant sunlight to nts. umted Sunlight increases periodically through natural means.


    [Sunlight''s Blessing]: Reduces damage taken from Fire and Light Attribute Attacks by -30%. User can heal HP by bathing in the Sunlight.


    [Description]


    A magical Ring created bybining several materials rted with fire and light alongside the Synthesis Bracelet. It has the power to umte Sunlight which can be used in a variety of ways, and it grants a protection against fire and light damage to the wielder.


    -----


    It is certainly pretty great, but I made it for Erika. My Rings are already pretty amazing. Although I can wear as many rings as my fingers can fit, this one was made for her.


    Since Erika became a half-dryad that she often enjoys bathing in the sunlight. At first I thought it was just a nice thing for her, but over time she got more and more reliant to it.


    It seems that part of her amazing strengthes from the Sunlight and her internal body performing some sort of Magical Photosynthesis with it.


    However, whenever she doesn''t take on as much sunlight as she should, she feels weaker and is extremely hungry, always eating tons of food topensate. This ring is made so that problem can be partially resolved.


    Hm, if I can learn the Duplication Technique, I could use materials to duplicate the ring and give her several of them, maybe that could alleviate the problem enough¡­ but that would be too hard for the moment, so this is enough.


    "I can''t believe my bracelet has been used to make such an amazing ring I have never seen before! Very well, I will allow it just this once." Said Ataraxia with a smile.


    "Thanks for not getting mad." I sighed in relief.


    After that, we were finally freed from this elf woman''s grasp, as we had a small break with everyone else. Chris, Erdrich, Erika, and Elizabeth came backpletely tired, they seemed to have been pushed to their limits in this ss.


    "ke! Phew, I am tired¡­" She sighed. "Hector forced me to swing my sword like a thousand times to get a good score in the test he made out of the blue! I haven''t taken much sunlight today either¡­ I feel slightly exhausted."


    "Hm, maybe I should give this to you right away, the sooner the better." I quickly and gently grabbed Erika''s hand, as she suddenly blushed. "Here."


    I slowly ced the ring in her middle finger, as Erika began blushing even more.


    "This ring is my gift; it''ll help you get sunlight easily without even needing to bathe on it." I said with a smile. "I hope it can help."


    "B-ke¡­ S-Such a thing¡­ just for me?" She asked. "Uwaah! Thank you!"


    Erika hugged me tightly, kissing me all over my face.


    Heh, I guess this is fine too.


    "Hey! Stop that right now! You can''t do that in the middle of the school! Hey!"


    Evelyn started annoying us, but Erika and I just ignored her.


    -----

 Chapter 516 Machinery Classes

    -----


    Seeing Erika happy made me happy as well, although Evelyn annoying us in the back was certainly something distracting, I enjoyed Erika''s show of affection. She was rather happy with her new ring. It was made exclusively to help her in her own problems.


    "With this you''ll hopefully not feel as sickly when you don''t take enough sunlight." I said with a nod. "I''ve already charged it with sunlight by using some special sunlight-imbued materials."


    "I can tell! The moment I put it on, I felt a warm energy reaching the interior of my body¡­" Erika said. "It feels so warm¡­ And nice."


    "Good for you then." I said, giving her a head pat. "Now that we''re done here, we should go take a small break with everyone before thest sses."


    "You''re right!"


    Like that, we walked back to the cafeteria, where everyone talked about the sses they had. They seemed slightly tired, but the meals we had quickly gave everyone enough energy to push through thest sses of the day.


    "See you in an hour!" Erika waved her hand as she flew towards thest sses of the day.


    Like that, I quickly walked into the Machinery sses made by Alberta''s Uncle. The group that joined me now was the same except Elfriedden, who was taking a different set of sses instead of machinery today.


    I thought Erika would had joined me this time, because I imagine her abilities could go well with machinery, as she can control dolls, which are like golems at the end. However she went into apletely different ss at the end.


    Well, she has never been that good at production-based sses, she had barely learned a few basic steps of alchemy, and never seemed totally interested in it, despite having seen many times how great it was.


    The rest of my friends were practically the same except Eric. And now Alberta joined us, she was really into production-based sses, so she took all the ones I did, the same as Eric.


    The moment we stepped into the sses, all students, me included, found ourselves¡­ inplete dark. The sses werepletely dark, there were no lights at all.


    "Huh? What''s going on?"


    "Is the teacher not here yet?"


    "Can someone turn on the lights?"


    "Huh? I heard something moving there¡­"


    FLASH!


    Suddenly, amp shed with bright light to the left of the ssroom, then, we all saw as several circuit-like cables transmitted the electricity and light towards anothermp, and another, and another¡­


    And then¡­


    FLAAAASH!


    The entire ssroom was lighted in a mere second. We were all greeted by a ssroom like no other in this facility. The walls, ceiling, and floor were all decorated with a variety of metallic tes, circuits and cables,mps everywhere, and even big, robot-like arms and tools hanging from the walls.<novelnext></novelnext>


    And as if that couldn''t get any more futuristic-like. There was a big screen in the middle of the ssroom, which lighted and showed several moving images. Many of the students were amazed, they had never seen something like a TV or a Computer before.


    "W-Woah¡­"


    "What is this?!"


    "Moving images?"


    "Is this some sort of magic?"


    "But an item is recreating them, not projection magic!"


    And from within the screen, there, it showed the face of a big and burly dwarf man, with a long fiery red beard and orange eyes, alongside a tanned skin, having simr features to Alberta. He was wearing an eyepatch in his left eye.


    "Wee to the Machinery sses, younglings. I can see that this year we''ve got a few less than the previous one. My name is Hellburn, I am the instructor that will be teaching you all about cksmith and Machinery¡­ in two separate sses, of course."


    "You may be wondering what is this, exactly? This is named a Projection Screen, a special type of magical artifact we''ve developed, which allows people to see moving images we''ve called "Records". As you can tell, I am actually not talking to you in real life right now, this was prerecorded, for your own amusement!"


    "¡­After all, I am right here."


    Suddenly, we heard the voice of the dwarfing right from behind us, as he showed up in the ssroom''s door while the prerecorded video suddenly stopped, turning the screen ck.


    He looked slightly different than in the video, as he was smaller than I imagined, he was in fact slightly smaller than Alberta herself, who was already small.


    And above all, aside from his eyepatch missing, which was now reced with some sort of bionic, red-colored eye, he also had a mechanical hand and his old legs were reinforced with mechanical support tightly wrapped around his hips and strong, muscr back.


    "Uncle!" Alberta said happily.


    While everyone else was gasping in surprise, Alberta greeted Hellburn from afar.


    "Oh, Alberta! I am d to see you here. But don''t think because you''re my family I''ll treat you any different! You''re going to go through hell as well as anybody bold enough to join these sses, gahahaha!"


    Hellburn quickly walked towards the center of the ssroom, greeting all the students by surprising them with the amazing magic technology that the dwarves had developed, which even surprised me as well.


    The spirits within my Spirit Orb were also surprised, my old friends were amazed as they never imagined they would see such advanced technology in this rustic medievalesque world. Truth be told, I had not expected this much when I heard long ago about the dwarves developing magic technology.


    But the flying airships, and the many trains and other moving carriages we saw in the big city of Stronghold, they were all seriously advanced for this world''s presumable age. I suppose Dwarves in this world are truly amazing inventors and technicians.


    "In these sses I shall try to teach you all about the machinery techniques of our country of dwarves. All of you, I assume, must have some production-rted ss, yes?"


    -----

 Chapter 517 A Great Opportunity

    -----


    Every student nodded, nobody was bold enough toe here without having either an Alchemist or cksmith Talents, or something close to it. Even I who had my Synthesist was also here due to having such a Talent. Eric had Alchemist Druid as well, which was just fitting.


    "Alchemy and Smithing is what creates Machinery and other advanced Magic Technology branches. By unifying the powers of these two wonderful types of talents, new things can be created altogether. Our first ss will also include a little test, I will now teach you the basics of how Machinery works in this world, and how we''ve spent years researching the most efficient ways of utilizing it as of now."


    Hellburn quickly began walking back to his desk as he grabbed a big metallic box filled with materials, or mostly processed parts and tools for all of us, and quickly decided to share it with everyone.


    "[Drones]"


    FLASH!


    Suddenly, his mechanical arm shapeshifted, letting out several small drones in the shape of bees, which flew around sharing the items with everyone.


    "These are Drones, specialized autonomous Golems of small size which can traverse long distances with ease by flying. As you can see, they do not p their wings but spin them rapidly." Said Hellburn. "They have the ability to carry heavy amounts of weight with ease. They were designed for carrying materials out of mines, butter evolved and gained several other usages."


    "Oooh¡­"


    "Amazing, golems that fly!"


    "And they''re so small as well!"


    "I wonder if they''re expensive¡­"


    "One of these costs around 500000 Telis! So yes, they''re expensive, you better not touch them." Laughed Hellburn. Several of the students were nobles, so such quantities of money weren''t much, but they were still cautious.


    Once we sat down in front of our desks, we were quickly give several materials. It was some simple stuff, a big shiny magic stone, some cables, arge cubic-shaped metallic piece to ce the crystal inside, some tools, and then a few other metal bits. Hellburn continued his exnation.


    "Does anybody has any idea how we create golems?" Asked Hellburn.


    All students were clueless¡­ except Alberta, who was happily raising her hand.


    "Alberta."


    "It is very easy! By using these special cables made of magic conducting metals such as mithril, and imbued with special runes, we connect them with a source of energy such as this magic crystal and then we unify the cables with correspondent materials. When activated, the magic energy will flow across the cables which then will divide this energy through electromaic pulses, forcing it to move. The more we imbue our mana, the easier it is for the golem we create to move to our will!" Alberta quickly gave a big exnation of it. All students were naturally bbergasted.


    "To be expected of her, shees from that country¡­" Eric said in surprise.


    "Interesting¡­" I nodded while rubbing my chin.


    This was certainly the most basic and simplest of mechanisms, but there could be several areas that could be improved if I use the knowledge of my previous life.<novelnext></novelnext>


    After all, in such previous life, Asmodeus traveled across the Universe and meet all sorts of people and also witnessed several times of different technology.


    "That''s right, you''ve got this." Hellburn nodded. "This is exactly that. we use this magic crystal to connect with the cables, then we connect the cables with specific set parts¡­"


    Hellburn quickly built a small little golem in the shape of a cube with four cylindric limbs.


    "And bo!"


    FLASH!


    The cube suddenly shone brightly with mana, as the small golem stood up, surprising everyone. The golem then began walking around leisurely. Several students thought it wasn''t asplex as they imagined.


    "Now as your way of learning, and the first day''s test, I want all of you to try out and make your own golems! I''ve left three other metal boxes in here; grab any parts you want and build whatever you want. The most creative ones will get bonus score!"


    Hellburn quickly made everyone smile as they realized they could get to work right away into what they truly came here for.


    "Machinery is all about imagination. As we are all here fellow creators, we need to put our imagination and ideas into a form, this is the time for all of you to show me your own ideas, what true colors your minds have. In this moment of peril where we are fighting against the forces of the demons. We need people like you, that can invent new things and aid us in these perilous times. Machinery has improved the daily lives of many, but there''s much to be discovered. An old man like me has done a lot, but I know that in new minds there can always be new, and fresh ideas."


    Hellburn said inspirational words, as the students were pumped up. Without further ado, they all started working on their own creations.


    "Teacher, can we use our skills for this?" One of the students asked.


    "Feel free! But no spirits allowed. So you''ll have to do with the tools you have and the talents you were given. I know spirits are very important, but they would be more of an outside help from what I want to see from all of you. In other sses, they will be allowed to participate." Hellburn smiled back at the student.


    "I see! Thanks!"


    "Nice! I am going to make a big¡­ weapon golem!"


    "I''ll make something good, you''ll see!"


    "I''ve always wanted something that could generate wind¡­ is it possible? Oh! There''s a wind spirit stone here!"


    "There''s plenty of materials so take whatever you need. Element-imbued spirit stones are special as they can bring elements to your golems! Envision your blueprints within your young and intrepid minds and bring forth your greatest creations! I am eager to see what you''ve got for me! Don''t disappoint me!"


    I quickly decided to go grab several materials, as I had something in mind.


    -----

 Chapter 518 Creating Golems With Ease

    -----


    Without further ado, I began. I saw that Eric and Alberta were fully concentrated into creating their own things, so I left them be. I had already grabbed several materials I wanted to use and decided to employ my Synthesis Ability in tandem with the creation of this small golem.


    The creation process was nothing hard. I merely applied the abilities I had learned from my previous life into this. The connection of cables was easy, but I refined it through Synthesis by merging certain circuits together and remaking a few of its runes.


    After that, I assembled the other metallic materials, shaping the golem''s body into a spider-like shape. And then added several internal circuits and magic stones depending on its usages. Lastly, I refined it with Synthesis by crushing a certain elemental stone and turning it into powder, enchanting the whole golem.


    The whole process took several minutes, and once I started I never stopped, putting all my focus into what I was crafting. When I finished, it had already been roughly forty minutes. I took more than I imagined.


    I sighed in relief but kept inspecting the golem as the time went by, until the time to make the golem finally came to an end, Hellburn quickly began wandering around the ssroom to see every single golem using his special bionic eye.


    "Ooh! Would you look at all this variety of amazing golems!" Hellburn was having a great trip.


    I also inspected the golems, each and every one of them was unique. These students were less than twelve but they were all brimming with imagination and talent.


    I saw a golem that could fly by creating wind currents, another that produced water guns, there was another that was able to unleash fireballs, a tiny one was capable of shooting lightsers, and another one could transform from a biped form to a ball, and roll very fast.


    Eric''s golem ended being something surprising, it was shaped as a colorful flower, and once he activated it, the golem transformed, beginning to overflow with life and nature element, it generated wood, leaves, and flowers over its body, and transformed into a golem made of both nature and technology.


    It even generated fruits all by only using materials given to him and his own skills. Many of the students were surprised by his creation abilities.


    "I am not half-dryad so I cannot make nts or fruits like a friend, but through these materials I was able to channel the power of nature. I always wondered if I could merge them with this technology¡­ I know it might look dull but-"


    "Amazing!" Hellburn interrupted him.


    "Eh?!" Eric was surprised.


    "I never saw something so great before! You''re a genius in this! There was nobody that had your elements that took interest in machinery before, but now that there''s someone like you. We can truly create technology that could not only create nt life, but even purify miasmic-imbuedndscapes!" Hellburn said.


    "Oh yeah, it has that function as well." Eric said while realizing it.


    "And it can produce food? Those leaves seem to have slight medicinal effects, and this fruit¡­ although looking like a small apple, is sweet and juicy!" Hellburn happily said. "Amazing, young man! What''s your name?"


    "E-Eric!"


    "Good to see someone like you here, Eric!" Hellburn said. "Let''s work together from now on then."


    "S-Sure!" Eric felt pressured, but also happy.


    "It looks amazing Eric!" Alberta praised him as well.


    "Yeah, I have to give it to you." I nodded.


    "Ahahaha¡­ you''re making me embarrassed now¡­" Ericughed nervously. "However, teacher please check my two friends golems next, they''re even greater!"


    "I will do that just now!" Hellburn nodded, quickly inspecting Alberta''s golem next.


    "Oh, what''s this?" Hellburn wondered, as Alberta nervously presented the golem to her uncle.


    The golem had a simple pyramid-shape, but once Alberta touched it, it began to transform as well, it was incrediblyplex, much like Eric''s golem.


    FLAAASH!


    "T-This is a golem I made because I need a portable furnace. Although it is still a prototype!"<novelnext></novelnext>


    The entire golem suddenly expanded widely, as enormous zing mes emerged from within. In mere seconds, it transformed into a moving metallic furnace, with several legs to move around easily, and it even had several arms to aid the creator with its tools.


    "A-Amazing, she made that just now?!"


    "I can''t believe it¡­"


    "It is so big! What sort of trick did she use?"


    "No, that''s a spatial stone, I saw a few of them. But I had no idea how to use them!"


    "A-Amazing!"


    As if Eric couldn''t surprise anybody anymore, Albertapletely blew off everyone''s expectations of the timid girl that always stuttered while talking.


    "An amazing creation! I''ve seen a few portable furnaces before, but nothing as portable and easy to use as this one- also, it seems to be amazingly mana efficient!" Said Hellburn. "You''ve improved upon the circuits and runes yourself, yes?"


    "I-I did!" Alberta smiled.


    "Woah, this is amazing!" Eric praised her too. "With this you can do your job anywhere."


    "Y-Yeah!" Alberta smiled cheerfully.


    I could clearly hear Eric''s heart beating faster as he saw her smile.


    "Excellently done, Alberta." Hellburn congratted her. "You and your friend got perfect scores for sure¡­ now you, the Summoner I''ve heard all teachers talk about. I heard you have a second talent, and it is a Synthesis, right? They''re incredibly rare rank up of alchemists." Said Hellburn. "Now, let me see what you''ve made."


    However, there was nothing atop the table.


    "Huh? where is it? Did you not make anything? I am fairly sure I saw you make something-"


    FLUOSH!


    "HUH?!"


    Suddenly, Hellburn jumped out of surprise, as he saw something crawling over his back, which emerged straight out of his shadows. The other students gasped.


    "A spider!"


    "Teacher you''ve got a giant spider in your back!"


    "Kill it!"


    Some students aimed at the spider on the teacher''s back, using their golems to fight it.


    However, the spider disappeared, melding with shadows one by one, and then shooting spiderwebs made of shadows as well, wrapping around the golems attacking it.


    "Calm down you lot!" The teacher quickly called the other students.


    "This spider is¡­ ke''s golem."


    -----

 Chapter 519 Perfect Score

    -----


    "EEEH?!"


    The students were in an uproar.


    What they thought was a strange and overpowered spider-type monster capable of melding with shadows was in fact a golem I made in just forty minutes.


    The spider slowly crawled towards my shadows, appearing in them, and then walking into my hand.


    "I call this Arachne Prototype. It is an assassination, and stealth based golem." I smiled back at Hellburn and the rest of the students.


    "A-Assassination¡­"


    "And stealth?"


    "I never thought¡­ golems could be used for such sneaky ways¡­"


    "When they move they usually make a lot of sounds, but this one didn''t made any at all!"


    "J-Just how did he imbue such powerful shadow magic?"


    Hellburn looked at me with a smile.


    "Fascinating! We''ve been trying to make things like that, but we''ve always failed. Golems are often very heavy and make sounds very easily, shadow and dark magic is also not our specialty¡­ and above all, such sleek design! Is this something that could only be conceived through your unique abilities as a Synthesist?" Asked the dwarf.


    "Sort of. I''ve transcribed my own runes and rearranged the circuits alongside merging several materials through Synthesis. I''ve also imbued it some shadow properties by using Shadow Spirit Stone dust and merging it over the golem''s surface. It was able to develop the Shadow Sneak Spell through the runes I imbued into its core in the form of aplex magic circle." I said proudly.


    "I-Incredible¡­!" Hellburn congratted me. "All three of you get perfect scores! I couldn''t had expected less from this talented trio! All the rest of you did well as well, you''re all with great grades too! However, in this ss I want everyone to bepetitive. If you don''t want to be beaten again, train harder and study newbinations of materials and the like!" Hellburn incentivized the rest of the students.


    "Can we keep our golems?" I asked him.


    "Yeah, yeah, you''ll need your own golems for the rest of our sses after all. I want you all to keep making new ones in each ss, alongside improving on your existing ones too. Even in your free time you cane to this ssroom to borrow materials and make golems." Said Hellburn.


    "Eh? Really?!"


    "Thanks a lot teacher!"


    "With this I can make anything I want!"


    "So cool!"


    "It is a little investment for the future of this country and the world itself, your brilliant minds might one day bring a great change upon our battle against the demons. I am counting on all of you." Hellburn seemed to always talk about how we could change the world with our imagination and talents. He was such a man.


    I was left rather happy as I gained a new Magic Tool Golem prototype, the first one I''ve ever made in this world which I''ve simply named Arachne. This little fellow is only the first of many I will continue to make.


    Not only I need weapons and powerful equipment and essories, but these types of gadgets will also alwayse in handy. Combining them with my summons will greatly improve my possibilities of growing stronger and also fight against many odds.


    While additionally, being able to find those lurking in the shadows behind us¡­


    As we walked outside the ssroom, Eric and Alberta couldn''t stop talking about the sses.


    "It was so much fun!" Alberta smiled.


    "Yeah, it was great." Eric smiled. "Come to think of it, ke, that golem you made looks amazing! Are you improving on it some moreter?"<novelnext></novelnext>


    "I have yet to fully perfect it though, I will add normal thread as well as adhesive thread, and also paralyzing venom." I smiled evilly.


    "V-Venom?" Alberta was a bit surprised.


    "Don''t worry, I am only using it on bad people or monsters and demons." I said to reassure her, although that only made her more nervous.


    "A-Ahahah, that''s how he is. Don''t worry, he''s actually a nice guy." Eric told her.


    "I-I see¡­" Alberta sighed. "Though it sometimes feels he''s a bit¡­ in another ce."


    "He''s always thinking several steps ahead so it feels like he has a cunning mind." Eric nodded.


    "Hey you two, do you think I am not hearing you?" I sighed.


    "Ahaha, sorry about that, she''s new so I gotta give her a roundabout." Laughed Eric.


    "S-Sorry for asking¡­" Alberta apologized.


    "Ah, well, don''t worry." I quickly decided to talk with Eleanora and my other spirits while we walked to the cafeteria to meet with everyone else.


    However, before that, I heard Eric and Alberta talking with one another happily.


    "Your golem was great, Alberta. You think you can bring it to dungeons?" Asked Eric.


    "I-I sure can!" Alberta said. "W-With it and my hammer spirit, I think I can improve very quickly and also enchant or repair your equipment on the spot."


    "That''s amazing useful." Eric said.


    "H-However, it doesn''t reallypare to yours, Eric. Your golem can produce food, and even purify surroundings." Said Alberta.


    "I think I can set it up to generate spiritual energy, mana, or even heal a bit." Said Eric.


    "W-Woah, like a portable automatic healing essory?" Wondered Alberta.


    "Yeah, something like that!" Eric nodded. "Though, I am still going to improve on them, I wanted to¡­ gift this one to you."


    "E-Eh?!" Alberta was surprised.


    "Yeah, as a proof of our friendship¡­ or something." Eric felt slightly shy. "So take it. It''s easy to use, you can imbue your mana and it will begin working as intended. Simply will it and its basic functions can be used."


    Eric handled the golem to Alberta, which had the shape of a flower too.


    Ah, I see what he was doing there.


    Everything makes sense.


    I can see why it had such a shape now¡­


    "F-For me?" Alberta blushed, getting all red. However, she shyly grabbed the golem. "T-This is amazing! I''ll make sure to use it well and inspect it too. T-There''s much I can learn from it."


    I guess these two are getting along pretty well.


    -----

 Chapter 520 Sources Of Income

    -----


    "I''m d you like it." Eric smiled back at her.


    "T-Thanks for being so nice with me¡­" Alberta sighed. "Even in my first day, I never thought¡­ I-I would meet such nice friends. I-I was so nervous¡­ T-There was nobody here with me when I got here¡­"


    "No problem, we''re party members now so we''ve gotta look for one another." I told her.


    "Yeah, what he said!" Eric said. "We are also production-based talents, so we can share our materials and what we research."


    "S-Sure! Sounds nice!" Alberta gotta happier by the second.


    I guess those two are getting along pretty well. Eric already made a move, he''s more shrewd than I imagined. Giving her such a gift was a good idea as well. It is obvious she''s into golems and all of that. Having such a prototype for herself must be like a dreame true.


    While those two lovebirds spoke, Eleanora, Saphira, and Hendrick analyzed their new little friends. As I''ve ced him inside my Spirit Realm. I am fairly capable of cing material items inside of there now. But they disappear as they get absorbed after a day, so I need to take it out once they''re done inspecting and analyzing the creation.


    "Impressive creation, my lord!" Hendrick said while praising me.


    "A new spider fren!" Said Saphira, petting the spider while Blood and Ruby, the Vampiric Wolf and the Blood Baby Wyvern looked at the strange new "friend" from afar.


    "Now that I think about it you never managed to get a Spider monster as a summon." Eleanora said. "And certainly, a golem has its benefitspared to the summons you can create, however, the materials required and everything else is tooplex to mass produce them like summons. They alsock Skills and require energy to function constantly, unlike summons that can use their skills constantly without exhaustion."


    "Indeed, it is quite fascinating!" Hendrick said. "In our previous lives we never truly employed much technology aside from space traveling things. Our master liked us to do all the army-rted job anyways. But these golems that fuse this world''s concepts and skills with our knowledge of the past might truly be our new strength¡­ I believe I could begin making a few myself, if my lord allows me to do so."


    "We''ll need materials for that, I cannot simply just steal everything in that ssroom. Even the other students will probably take materials moderately. So we''ll still need to get more money and buy materials ourselves¡­ however, seeing how expensive they usually are. It might not be so easy. Ultimately, I would prefer to go to a mountain and grind metals and stones myself. However, the nearest mountain is hundreds of kilometers from here. And I''ve heard most of these mountains are emptied from resources already¡­" I told the two through telepathy.


    "Then from where do they get their resources?" Wondered Eleanora.<novelnext></novelnext>


    "I''ve heard this continent mostly profits off farming and food production. Medicinal herbs, fruits, vegetables, meats, and spices are made here in enormous quantities. Most of the central continent are fertile grasnds after all, perfect for the ntation of all sorts of nts in enormous quantities." I said to the two. "I remember we saw an enormous farm stretching for dozens of kilometers when we traveled across the skies in the airship."


    "So, most of these materials¡­?" Asked Hendrick.


    "I would assume two sources, or three. With one primary source being the dungeons. They produce materials and perhaps even rewards, as I''ve heard. Monster drops sometimes are also very useful. Spirit orbs can be refined into magic stones. And spirit stones can also be found inside dungeons, dropped by monsters, or mined directly from them. But their production is still limited. I would assume the restes straight from the Dwarven Continent. An immense continent imbued with the element of earth the most. Which makes their mountains regrow materials, as I''ve heard, they mine mountains incessantly for materials." I told the two.


    "It''s not as if this continent ispletely empty, to the north there arerge mountain ranges. But still, they''re mostly normal metals. It is rare to find mountains with metals imbued with magic and spiritual essence here, as most of it was imbued into our vast grasnds through the creation of this world, I would assume." I said while analyzing everything.


    "I would assume they also make magic metals and magic stones through alchemy! By extracting the energy and elements of magic or herbs and other materials that can be easily found inside of forests, and merging them with normal metals, magic metals and crystals can be created." Hendrick said.


    This was actually an advanced form of Alchemy that emerged several different materials to create new, even moreplex materials instead of bothering to find the ones we need through natural means¡­ However, I doubt that''s the case.


    "I doubt they can do as much yet. They certainly know how to do it, but they cannot mass produce such methods yet." I said while thinking. "I guess we could try to invest into that ourselves, mass producing magic items that can''t be naturally found in this continent as easily as the dwarven country, and sell them cheaper¡­"


    "Oh, that''s certainly a nice business opportunity!" Hendrickughed evilly. "Leave that to me then, my lord! through thesest years you''ve gathered an enormous quantity of materials from only your vige. I''ll use these herbs, spirit orbs, and monster materials to make some special Magic Materials, if you so allow me."


    "Go ahead, but don''t touch the important things. I''ll give you authority to use my Inventory." I quickly willed it, as the Grimoire allowed Hendrick ess to my inventory.


    "Ooh, how convenient this is!" Hendrick seemed happy to oblige.


    "But from what we''ve got, its clearly not enough. Of course, we have plenty of special materials I''ve harvested, mostly herbs and nts, thanks to Eric and Erika''s abilities, but we''ll still need to invest and buy more things ourselves."


    But leaving that aside, we managed to get into the cafeteria with Eric and Alberta, greeting the rest of our friends.


    -----

 Chapter 521 Personal House

    -----


    Having sorted out my thoughts and ns with my vampires, I decided toter on invest some money into buying materialster, to create new ones and perhaps mass produce themter in the near future.


    However, for now, I decided to just rx. This was just the first day of sses yet there was a lot we did. It was rather surprising and exhausting all at the same time. But I can tell everyone had fun on their own, including me.


    "I can''t believe such a little thing is a golem¡­"


    Erika was surprised to see my creation, as the spider-shaped golem crawled over her head.


    "Golems can take many forms, not necessarily the shape of giants made of metal or rocks." I told her.


    "We had fun in the sses, I also made a golem myself." Eric said.


    "Y-Yeah, this one he gifted to me!" Alberta said, showing everyone Eric''s golem, which quickly generated a few tiny apples everyone enjoyed in our way out of the academy.


    "Woah, a golem that makes fruits easily?" Wondered Erdrich. "That''s¡­ new."


    "I also made a portable furnace!" Alberta said, without stuttering. "B-But I can''t bring it out, it gets a bit big."


    "I see, that''s great!" Elizabeth said. "I thought you could just use your hammer though?"


    "I-I certainly can, but having a good furnace does the job better." Sighed Alberta. "I had one back home in my continent. But I-I couldn''t bring it here for¡­ o-obvious reasons."


    "So that''s how it is." Elizabeth nodded.


    "What did you had in your sses?" I asked Elizabeth.


    "I took some Healing Magic sses and then went to the Staff Fighting sses." Elizabeth said. "Thest ones are almost obligatory for most magicians. The teacher said that being a magician doesn''t mean we just stand still, we also have to fight on our own if we are threatened from close range. Relying on spirits is normal, but trusting our own physical strength was also the key!"


    "She got a lot of praise from the teacher because of how good she was at fighting with her staff and her fists." Laughed Chris. "Well, me too."


    "Oh, that''s interesting." I nodded.


    "My teacher was a bit skeptical of me, but once I showed him I could fight with my bare fists he epted me. Several students that were making fun of me also apologized once I beat them all." Erdrich smiled.


    "Hand to handbat sses are rough for sure¡­" Chris sighed.


    "I am not joining those though but good for you¡­" Elizabethughed.


    As we all talked, Elfriedden kept himself in silence until he spoke.


    "Hmph, so the machinery sses teach such things, huh? Well, I cannot really join even if I wanted. I cannot handle such hard materials." He sighed, waving his long blue hair. "But out of the goodness of my heart I can handle all things rted to clothing. Handling metals is slightly hard, but I can process metallic materials through special means, but nothing rough."


    "I think we could make you a golem if you want." I told him. "What would you want?"<novelnext></novelnext>


    "Huh?" Elfriedden was surprised of my offer. "Y-You want to¡­ gift me a golem?"


    "Hm? Yeah, I mean, it could help you in making clothes, right?" I asked him.


    "Certainly¡­ I didn''t expect you to be this kindhearted though, are you nning something sinister beneath that goodwill?" He narrowed his eyes in suspiciousness.


    "No, but I can tell you could need something like a furnace but for tailors. A special tailor table, maybe?" I wondered.


    "Elfriedden don''t be so suspicious of ke, he''s just trying to be cooperative." Erika angrily said.


    "Yeah, can''t you rx a bit?" Elizabeth added.


    "Hmph¡­ Well, whatever¡­" Elfriedden blushed a bit as he looked at me with embarrassment, not used to this kind of interactions. "J-Just¡­ something like a table for tools and stuff, that¡­ that would be good, if you want to. Hmph."


    "Very well." I noted it in the back of my mind.


    I will probably make several golems for different uses in the future. My own furnace golem as well as a, perhaps, something like an alchemy cauldron golem would be interesting. Though I will prioritize Elfriedden''s golem just so he can get a better impression of me and not hold this pointless rivalry for too long, it would be annoying if it gets in the way of our progress and growth.


    "That''s good! I''m d you''re all getting along." Evelyn said in front of us, as she led us outside of the academy. "Now let''s go to your new houses. The day''s still bright outside, once we set up all your package in the house we''ll rent, you can take the rest of the day off."


    "Yaaaay!" Elizabeth and Erika seemed happy to be finally freed from the school.


    "S-So we''ll all be living inside the same h-house¡­" Alberta said nervously. "Uwah, t-this is a bit too much¡­"


    "Don''t worry, there''ll be a separation between boys and girls so there''s no boys¡­ or girls, sneaking around." Said Evelyn. "And I''ll make sure of it because, of course, the instructor must also live in the same house as her students too! Unless they decide to sleep in the academy dorms."


    "Wait, you''reing with us?!" Erika looked as if whatever ns she had in store were all broken apart.


    "Heh, of course I am, youngdy." Said Evelyn with a smile. "Did you think I was going to let you be all lovey-dovey with your boyfriend? That is not¡­ allowed!"


    Evelyn was very stuck to the rules¡­ Well, I didn''t really nned to do anything with Erika at night. But seeing her face quickly distorting into one of annoyance, I can tell she had some ns with me, probably.


    "Geh¡­" She sighed. "Sorry ke, we won''t be able to snuggle like we usually do."


    "It''s fine by me¡­" I said while feeling slightly sorry for her. "Don''t overthink it, it''s not the end of the world."


    "I know¡­" Erika began pouting a bit.


    "Heh!"


    Meanwhile, Evelyn seemed oddly proud of her achievement.


    -----

 Chapter 522 Residential Area

    -----


    We walked outside the academy and saw several students walking here and there. We even found those students I rejected some hours ago. They had made their own team together with a few others and were moving out as well with their own instructor, a tall man with long ck hair and elven ears. He was some sort of dark magic teacher.


    Evelyn said that the academy parties were also rivals, and thatter on there''ll be specialpetitions between parties to show off each student''s growth and also the growth we''ve had between members. Cooperation was highly valued in such tests.


    And sadly, as we were walking outside, we ended getting right at the side of one another. The two groups eyeing one another. I couldn''t believe it, but it seemed my friends quickly saw other parties as rivals right away.


    "Hey, but if it isn''t the party of perfect kids!" Said someone in the party. I could clearly recognize that blonde, drill-shaped hair, and her tone of voice.


    "rice, behave yourself!"


    SMACK!


    Suddenly, a karate chop reached the blonde girl''s head.


    "Ouch! But teacher Umbra! How dare you hit me?! You know I am of high birth?!" Cried rice, like a little girl.


    "Teachers are allowed to give corrections to their students if they misbehave." Said the teacher, the ck-haired elf named Umbra. "Sorry for the disturbance, Evelyn."


    "Oh, well, yeah, don''t worry about it." Evelyn said while smiling back at Umbra with strange¡­ eyes. "You''ve got also a full team of Elites?"


    "Yes, took me a while to gather them all. I got the four your team leader threw away. They''re certainly brimming with talent." Umbra smiled rather charmingly. "Make sure to work hard, Evelyn, this year you''ll have toughpetition."


    "Oooh! S-Sure! I won''t lose to you, Umbra!" Evelyn smiled defiantly.


    "Do your best friend." Umbra said amicably, as he walked away.


    rice looked back at us with anger, especially at me, before she turned her back to us and walked away. There were also four more students with them we have not seen before.


    From what I noticed, a young boy around the same appearance as Eric with white hair, then there was a tall and beautiful blonde knight girl who was wearing a helmet for some reason, and two other I couldn''t quite see better.


    "So those eight are also Elite Students, I suppose they''re indeed our new rivals." Elizabeth said with a smile. "I don''t know why but I am getting pumped up."


    "Rivals, huh? I''ll make sure to crush them." Elfriedden smiled evilly.


    "Heh, well, if they''re really into it then sure." Chris said.


    "I think you guys are getting the wrong idea about what a rivalry is, don''t take it so seriously¡­ We are still all fellow students, let''s behave together and have a good time as well." Elizabeth said.


    "T-That''s right!" Evelyn quicklyposed herself. "Anyways, we should be almost there."


    In this time, we had done some turns around the streets, evading the big areas where most of the people were, and then quickly reaching a station.


    "This is the Train Station. We''ll take a train to the residential area. It is one silver coin each trip, you can pay in the front the moment you enter." Said Evelyn. "Come children, it''s about to get here."<novelnext></novelnext>


    "Train?" Eric wondered.


    "What''s that?" Chris asked.


    "Is it some sort of moving golem car thing?" Asked Elizabeth.


    "J-Just wait and see!" Said Alberta, getting excited.


    TRUUUUUUUUUH!


    Suddenly, the sound of a training from afar echoed in the distance. It resembled a steam-based train, but that steam was clearly magic steam, a special steam made from small magic residues formed when magic power was burned and used as energy. The design was a beautiful ck, steam age-like train. I think it needs several upgrades on its design though, and also its engine.


    "Woah!" Elizabeth almost fell over the floor.


    "T-This is so fast!" Chris said.


    "A-Amazing, is this the invention of your family too, Alberta?" Asked Eric.


    "Y-Yeah! Though this is a very outdated model¡­ I guess this is the only one they could reconstruct here." Alberta said. "B-But yes, this is a Magic Train, it is fueled with many Spirit Orbs and it lets out this magic steam which smells sweet. It moves incredibly fast across long distances!"


    "There''s several tracks in here that also connect to many other nearby cities." Said Evelyn. "We were also nning to make a track to reach you kids duchy. As it has be very famous due to the big amount of spiritual trees that have emerged there."


    "Oooh!" Erika seemed surprised. "That would make it very easy to go back home without using an expensive airship!"


    "Indeed, trains also move faster than airships, you could get from here to another city in less than two hours." Evelyn said. "It is very convenient, but the transport is limited by one trip a day, so if you miss it, you need to wait for the next day."


    "So cool!" Chris said.


    "So these are the Trains I used to hear my father talk about when he said he traveled easily across cities¡­" Erdrich said.


    "I want to get in! Let''s go ke!" Erika grabbed my hand.


    "Yeah, let''s go!" Elizabeth grabbed my other hand, the two girls pulled me in without reservations, as we saw many people getting inside already. The big train was filling itself quickly.


    We put the silver coin inside a small metallic box and then we walked in without any issues. There were two rounds of double seats inside the train. Erika and Elizabeth seemed to be fighting only through res to who could sit at my side.


    "You two should sit together instead." I quickly left the two to sit down together and sat at the side of Elfriedden instead. The grumpy elf only red me once before ignoring me through the rest of the trip.


    In a few minutes, we arrived at the residential area, a beautiful street filled withrge houses greeted our sight.


    -----

 Chapter 523 Funds

    -----


    The residential area was very peaceful, there was still people wandering about in every street. But the sheer amount decreased greatly. The streets were more calm and there wasn''t as much noise as the other central areas of the enormous city of Stronghold. The houses here all looked very fancy as well.


    The biggest ones went as tall as having five floors, while the smallest had two floors. We took a three-floor house with a front yard and backyard for Erika who said she wanted an area to nt her herbs and other things, I couldn''t help but agree with her, nting herbs and other things is essential for our production-based sses as well.


    The yards were immensely bigger than we expected, and it felt like we were living in a fancy noble''s house all my ourselves. The front garden was even decorated with flowers already, and there was a small fountain too.


    "This is the ce I already reserved, three floor houses are usually the norm for most students, and I think it has a nice price too." Evelyn said. "We''ll split the price together. I could easily pay it for you guys, but the rules say I cannot simply maintain you with all your necessities. The rules even state that students must look for each other and their expenses. Don''t worry, there are many ways to earn money as well, primarily the dungeon, the adventurer guild''s quests, and selling products you make."


    "So how much''s the price for this big house?" Wondered Eric, half-nervously.


    "Oh, it is around three million Telis a month." Said Evelyn with a smile.


    "T-THREE MILLION?!"


    Everyone except me and Elfriedden reacted the same. I was surprised even Alberta cried a bit, seeing how she was a princess of the dwarven country. Maybe she didn''t brought as many funds.


    "The actual price is five million a month but we''ve received a great discount as a full elite party. don''t worry, if we divide it by all nine of us, then we have to pay around¡­ 333333 Telis." Said Evelyn. "¡­I think. I am not good at math."


    "Even five million would be easy to afford." Sighed Elfriedden. "I am surprised by your reaction, did you thought these fancy looking houses in the middle of one of the most prestigious cities in this continent would be any cheaper? Well, students that don''t have money to afford houses usually take the academy dormitories, although they''re not very spacious and you need to share them with usually three more people."


    "Ugh, no way¡­" Erika sighed. "Even 300k Telis is a lot for me¡­ How many gold coins is that¡­?"


    "Erika I''ve got most of your funds because you told me you couldn''t hold them. We''ve made a lot of money in thesest years by selling valuable spirit tree branches and potions, so you''ve got a few millions already." I told her.


    "Eh?! I do?!" She asked in surprise.


    "Yes¡­ In fact you have around three hundred million?" I sighed.


    Some years ago, Erika asked me to be her personal bank. Since then, I''ve been storing her money for her. I had some the idea of slowly taking some interests from her, but I never really did it.


    "EEEH?! So much?" She asked.


    "You''ve been selling incredibly valuable things." I sighed. "Of course you do!"<novelnext></novelnext>


    I also had my own capital mixed in there. But more importantly, even if I mixed everyone''s capital, we still had less than five hundred million. It wasn''t enough to buy a house, a house costs between five hundred or six hundred million Telis, up to a billion if its in this residence.


    That we only have to pay around 3 million a month is already God-given, and its obvious they''re greatly reducing the actual prices of monthly rent because we are students of the academy. Normal people would get all their money drained.


    The money we have is certainly enough to gear ourselves up with some more preparations, but it''ll go away in less than a few months if we don''t earn anything or make more money in the meantime. We won''t even be able to survive until the end of the year with it. We need to make more money, tons of it.


    The dungeon and also selling mass produced items through my Alchemy Recipe Book is the key in here. As long as we can manage to do this much, we''ll be able to survive and even more, prosper and make more and more money for the future prospects of my ns.


    "I can see you''ve got a good capital." Evelyn nodded. "I am surprised you''ve made so much foring from amoner beginnings, you must be a genius at making money."


    Well, she doesn''t know we grew all those Yggdrasil Trees and also mass produced expensive medicinal herbs and the like using Erika''s Dryad powers with Eric and Elizabeth''s magicbined into the equation alongside my own Skills and variety of Magic Spells and Rune Inscription¡­


    "Y-Yeah, we worked hard¡­" Erika said while grinning.


    "Indeed!" Eric said.


    "It was indeed hard, actually." Said Elizabeth. "I had to use so much Mana¡­"


    "Anyways, are all the papers done for?" I asked.


    "Yeah mostly everything." Evelyn nodded. "For the moment, you kids should get used to your new house. I''ll collect the rent''s payment at the end of the week so you better get your money ready."


    "We''ll do so." I said with a nod.


    We entered the house without further ado, being greeted by the smell of wood permeating the entire home. Its entire design was indeed fancy, a spiraling staircase led to the second and then the third floor. There was arge kitchen, two bathrooms in the second and third floor, and over ten medium-sized rooms.


    "You guys can have a room for yourselves in here easily." Said Evelyn. "I''ll go find my own room, so for now bring your things and pick your rooms."


    "Alright!"


    -----

 Chapter 524 Thank You For Healing My Heart

    -----


    "Alright!"


    Like that, we all went our separate ways, wandering around the immense house and looking at all of its secrets. Eventually, I settled down with a room that had arge window and plenty of space which I needed for my spirits and all the things I wanted to bring here.


    As I sat down over the bed to rx a bit, someone knocked at the door.


    Knock, knock!


    The door quickly opened after that, as Erika showed up.


    "Oh, so this is your room!"


    "Ah, you found it pretty easily."


    "I can feel your presence from afar, fufu¡­"


    Erika quickly sat down at my side, hugging me.


    "Thanks for the ring again, I really love it."


    "Oh, that. Yeah, I am d it''s useful."


    I sighed a bit, looking into the window.


    "Huh? Something''s on your mind?"


    "Hm, I am slightly worried."


    "Worried?"


    "About you."


    I looked back at Erika''s eyes.


    "E-Eh?"


    "Aren''t we going to meet your motherter today? Are you not nervous?"


    "I¡­"


    Erika quickly changed her cheerful manner, quickly nodding a bit.


    "Y-Yeah¡­ I''ve been trying to pretend I am alright."


    "It''s hard, I know."


    "Hmm¡­"


    Erika sighed.


    "Will you be there with me?"


    She held my hand looking back at my eyes.


    "Of course, I am going too. If you want, we are all going as well."


    "Yeah, I think that even if I don''t invite them, everyone''s going to stick around anyways."


    "I guess you''re right."


    Erika approached me with smiling lightly, as we kissed beneath the sunlight passing through the window. I gently held her cheeks, caressing them softly.


    She smiled beautifully after that slow kiss, she looked so beautiful, I felt like my heart was beating faster.


    My previous life never experienced such warm and beautiful feelings before.


    It made me felt so happy.


    "I''m so d you epted my feelings¡­ I always fantasized one day I would give you a kiss¡­" Erika said while fidgeting.


    "When you were little?" I wondered.


    "Y-Yeah¡­ But you were so grumpy back then, it was hard for me to imagine we would even be like this right now¡­" Erika said. "You''ve changed a lot yourself, haven''t you?


    "I guess¡­ You''ve changed me a bit, and¡­ everyone else as well." I sighed. "I am truly grateful for¡­ evyerhting you''ve done for me as well."


    "Eh? Me? I¡­ I haven''t done much myself, right?" Wondered Erika, innocently tilting her head in confusion.<novelnext></novelnext>


    "You''ve done more than you imagine, your presence, your friendship. Every day being there for me¡­ It healed my heart." I sighed.


    Recalling my previous life memories there were many things that broke my inner self, it made me someone hollow. Erika and everyone else with me, the rest of my friends and my family, all of them¡­ Ellergest and her father as well, that are no longer with us.


    They all healed my heart¡­ they made me see the more beautiful things in life. The brighter side that I always neglected. The simpler things I could never truly enjoy.


    Erika''s eyes shone brightly.


    "That¡­ has done so much for you?" She asked.


    "More than you imagine." I sighed. "Thanks for everything."


    "Aw¡­ Don''t worry." Erika smiled back at me, giving me onest kiss. "I''ll dly be as much as you want at your side, ke¡­ My gratefulness is mutual as well."


    We ended hugging each other in silence, enjoying the sunlighting from therge window.


    In peacefulness and quietness.


    It was such a simple thing, yet it filled me with bliss.


    I wanted this moment tost forever.


    ¡­


    But such moments are fleeting.


    Perhaps that''s why when we remember them, they''re such beautiful memories.


    Such moments are also precious due to how fleeting they are.


    When things don''tst long, we hold a greater value to them.


    They be more beautiful.


    "Alright! Now we should get going, we don''t want it to get any moreter, right?" Asked Erika cheerful said. Her smile has always been like a sun to me.


    "You''re right, let''s go." I said with a nod. "Ah, I have to prepare some things first, so go tell everyone. I''ll leave once I''m done."


    "Oh, alright!" Erika ran off without thinking it twice, as I was left alone.


    Solitude was often a thing I appreciated back then, but now it has be a rather painful thing. Is this how normal people feel sometimes? Well, it''s not like I am truly alone.


    Another gorgeous maiden, with a vampiric beauty of supernatural levels emerged at my side. My partner of all my life. While Erika is the sun of my day, she is the moon that guides me through the night.


    "Uwah! That was so cute!"


    And she really liked my rtionship with Erika, actually. I guess she had grown too close to Erika now, she would had felt heartbroken if I had rejected her feelings.


    "Did you had to peek so much?" I sighed.


    "Ahh¡­ W-Well, it was so cute¡­" Eleanora sighed.


    "Well, it''s fine. Although I said that to Erika, I still remember how precious you were to me in my previous life, and now as well, Eleanora." I said to her.


    "E-Eh? Y-You don''t need to be so emotional¡­" She sighed.


    "No, I know you wanted to hear that as well. I don''t want you to feel left behind." I told her, as she sat down at my side.


    I gave her a gentle head pat.


    She blushed, her pale skin growing redder.


    "Then¡­ You wouldn''t mind asking another thing?" Eleanora asked with a cute and seductive smile. Her beautiful red eyes glowing brightly.


    "Yes?" I wondered.


    "Let''s¡­ have a date too?" Eleanora asked.


    This was perhaps the first time she approached to me in such a way.


    I think she knew I liked her as well, but Eleanora was often too distant in these types of talks.


    Or often times, she didn''t knew how to sort out her feelings, so I never really pressured her.


    Unlike Erika, she''s actually a very shy maiden.


    -----

 Chapter 525 Eleanoras Advances

    -----


    I''ve had a few dates with Erika before, but they were never something truly serious. It seems Eleanora had dreamed of a romantic date, the two of us. It wasn''t a conventional one, but a "vampire date" such as flying in the night sky, drinking blood together, ughtering creatures or people... I suppose all those times we went to hunt the two of us she considered them something closer.


    "Sure thing, so when?" I wondered.


    "A-Anytime you think..." Eleanora smiled while blushing. "I think we could have a mix?"


    "Mix?"


    "Yeah, like... w-we do something normal for once."


    "Oh, I see..."


    "And then we can go at night to hunt something, and enjoy the moonlight together while we drink blood... Like we sometimes did alone, in our previous lives. Do you remember?"


    "I do..."


    We used to do this sometimes. Once I was done with a certain war or a fight, or when I took over a, Eleanora and I would go alone to explore the through the night sky. It was merely a trip with the two of us and nothing more, yet we cherished such a time alone.


    It saddens me to think my previous life never just held her and kissed her for once. His mind was often always in a dark ce. The sce he found was momentary, as he was always thinking what to do next.


    "I overheard there''s a lot of ces to eat here? We could go to something like this, the two of us... Then we could enjoy a trip around the city... Maybe I could help you out buy items and the like, the two of us." Eleanora said.


    "I like your idea. I''ll dly join you in that. I''ve also been thinking in asking you out, but... you seem often detached."


    "I... I know..."


    Eleanora sighed, lowering her head.


    "Between me having no experience with these things, to being slightly shy... And then not wanting to get in between you and Erika and Elizabeth, I''ve found little strength to muster the words." Eleanora said. "I thought I would be a bother..."


    "You would never be a bother to me, you''re... one of my most precious things." I said, caressing her hand. "You will never bother me."


    "ke..." Elenora suddenly got slightly emotional, as she hugged me.


    I received her hug happily, as I caressed her soft and long red hair. She was such a gorgeous woman. I''ll make up for all the time my previous life made her feel forgotten or left behind.


    "I''ll make up for all the things my previous life couldn''t do." I whispered to her ears. "I want to embrace you, Eleanora."


    "Fweh?!" Eleanora flinched a bit as I whispered to her slightly pointy ears.


    "Ah..." Her face was getting closer.


    "I want to make you happy." I told her, looking directly at her eyes.


    She smiled sweetly, her smile, much like Erika''s, made my heart beat rapidly.


    Such a beautiful vampiric charm, she already has me within her webs.


    "I''ve always been happy at your side, my lord... You''re my precious lord, there''s nothing that would make me happier than to be embraced..."


    Eleanora gave me a kiss in my nose.


    "But everything at its due time, okay?"


    She quickly calmed me down, even though she was currently sitting over myp. There couldn''t be anything more stimting than such a gorgeous Vampiress sitting over my legs.<novelnext></novelnext>


    "Ah... Right. I was getting a bit too pumped up."


    "Indeed, now. I remember you got some items from the Holy Spirits, no? How about using them?"


    "Right... Those items."


    As I was about to take the items out, I quickly looked back at her legs... her beautiful legs.


    They were tightly wrapped around my hips as she sat on myp.


    "I know you want everything at its due time, but Eleanora, do you have to sit over myp in such a way? Now that my body is human, I am weaker to your charms." I sighed.


    Eleanora raised her eyebrows as she blushed intensively. She had not realized how tightly she was holding me. It was a rather tough battle to resist my sexual urges, especially at such age when everything has begun to develop at a rapid pace.


    "R-Right!"


    Eleanora quickly jumped off myp, flying in the middle of the air with her vampiric wings.


    "Ahahah... S-Sorry about that..."


    "Don''t worry. If it was up to me, I would dly have you all day in myp. But you''re right, there are more pressing matters as of now."


    "Y-You would?!" Eleanora got redder. "...But you''re right! M-More pressing matters, ahem..."


    As I took off the items, I heard the voices of Saphira and Hendrick sneaking behind my shadows.


    "Fufu, that was so adorable!" Hendrick said. "My lord and mydy! Such a beautiful pair! Ahh! I want you two to be happy forever after! I will make you a beautiful gift to celebrate your love!"


    The entric Hendrick began to make something with alchemy and several items he borrowed from my inventory.


    "Mama and papa are finally getting married?" Saphira wondered innocently. "I am okay with Erika but papa must give more attention to mama!"


    "M-Married?!" Eleanora asked. "Wait, isn''t that some human ritual?"


    "It is a bond of life." I told her. "Usually a man and a woman bond together forever, to be together as family and lovers until death."


    "So romantic..." Eleanora sighed, looking into the mirror. "Ah, b-but that''s a bit advanced...! D-Don''t say such things now, dear." Saphira flew around us happily, until she was embraced by Eleanora.


    Eleanora calmed down Saphira who was talking all sorts of things, as I looked into the items.


    Currently, there were two consumables I wanted to try out.


    The [Hero Essence Phial (Mythic Grade)] and the [Crescent Frozen Tear (Mythic Grade)].


    The Phial was the easier thing to consume, so I quickly opened the beautiful bottle and drank its sweet golden sap.


    This sap was the "essence" of Hero Dn, apparently, something that the Holy Spirits somehow were able to extract.


    FLASH!


    And the moment I drank it, I felt like my power elevated!


    -----

 Chapter 526 Drinking The Hero Essence Elixir

    -----


    The delicious elixir I just drank had a very simple description:


    -----


    [Hero Essence Phial (Mythic Grade)]


    A Phial filled with the golden essence extracted from a Hero''s Strength, Charisma, and Magic Power. Upon consumption, increases all stats randomly between +1 to +50, alongside enhancing the Physique and Psyche Power.


    -----


    And just as the description said, the moment I drank such divine elixir, I felt my power rising.


    FLASH!


    My entire body started glowing with a golden aura of energy and power.


    My physique and my psyche started to be refined by this powerful light.


    My muscles became stronger, my soul grewrger and denser, and my stats were also increasing steadily!


    [You''ve drank the [Hero Essence Phial (Mythic Grade)]!]


    [Your power has risen greatly!]


    [All your stats have increased!]


    [You gained [Health Points]: [+50], [Mana Points]: [+50], [Strength]: [+45], [Agility]: [+45], [Vitality]: [+30], [Intelligence]: [+30], [Dexterity]: [+25], and [Spirit]: [+35]!]


    [Your [Physique]: [Vampiric Blood Emperor Physique (Tier 4: Rank 2)] has risen to Tier 4 Rank 3!]


    [Your [Psyche]: [Blood Soul Psyche (Tier 2: Rank 5)] has risen to Tier 2 Rank 8!]


    [Your stats have increased ordingly to the growth of both Physique and Psyche!]


    [Your [Spirit] Stat has surpassed 100, your Pseudo Spirit Realm is evolving!]


    FLAAASH!


    Within the interior of my Spirit Orb, the small Pseudo Spirit Realm was growingrger.


    I can''t believe that by merely drinking this, I could grow this strong!


    The Spirit Realm grew up to twice its original size.


    And above all, new Spirit Treasures began to emerge.


    Around a dozen more flowers emerged, and the tree in the middle of the Spiritual Realm became twice as big.


    The spring of pure spiritual blood became twice as big as well, overflowing with crimson brilliance.


    Andstly, a set of new, beautiful ck, red, and purple herbs started sprouting here and there, decorating the lugubrious yet lively paradise.


    [The [Pseudo Spiritual Realm: Lv1] Skill Level has increased to Level 3!]


    [All Spiritual Treasures have increased their Ranks!]


    [The Ranks of Spiritual Treasures can now be disyed.]


    [Depending on their Ranks, Spiritual Treasures be richer and vaster in their resources, after reaching Rank 10, they can increase their Quality Grade, undergoing Spiritual Treasure Evolution.]


    [The [ck Mirage Herb (Lesser Spirit Treasure: Rank 3)], [Blood Fruit Herb (Lesser Spirit Treasure: Rank 3)], and [Illusionist Herb (Lesser Spirit Treasure: Rank 3)] Spiritual Treasures have been formed naturally within your Pseudo Spiritual Realm.]


    I can''t believe it. I just drank this potion the Holy Spirits gave to me after battling Dn, the Hero, and I got so many gains. It seems that raising Spirit Stat is incredibly hard, so merely reaching 100 Spirit Stat already makes the Spiritual Realm undergo a powerful and incredible change.


    I even got three Spiritual Treasures out of it, and it seems it is now possible to see their Ranks disyed as numbers. Simr to things such as Physiques, Spirit Treasures can increase their Ranks. Depending in the Rank disyed, they be stronger and give more resources.<novelnext></novelnext>


    And as a result, they can reach Rank 10 and evolve into an even greater Grade, which might cause evolution¡­ interesting. Now the real question is how I can increase my Spirit Stat more¡­ I guess cultivation is the only way at the end.


    For now, I should probably check the new Spirit Treasures and what they have to offer. Aside from giving energies and making my elements stronger, they can also be extracted as they grow, and be used as materials for alchemy, as I''ve realized.


    -----


    [ck Mirage Herb (Lesser Spirit Treasure: Rank 3)]


    A Lesser Spirit Treasure resembling a beautiful ck leafed herb. Each leaf is extremely sharp, like knives. It contains the Element of Darkness. As it evolves, its quantity multiplies.


    Herbs Amount: 10


    Enhances Darkness Attribute Power by +25 with each Herb.


    Darkness Attribute Magic gains +3 Spirit Power with each Herb.


    Produces +3 Darkness Attribute Ki and Spiritual Essence with each Herb every hour.


    Leaves can be extracted for Materials. One Leaf will regrow every 7 Days within every Herb.


    -----


    [Blood Fruit Herb (Lesser Spirit Treasure: Rank 3)]


    A Lesser Spirit Treasure resembling a beautiful red leafed herb that gives a special blood-filled fruit that Vampiric beings prefer. Each fruit is juicy and sweet like blood. It contains the Element of Blood. As it evolves, its quantity multiplies.


    Herbs Amount: 10


    Enhances Blood Attribute Power by +25 with each Herb.


    Blood Attribute Magic gains +3 Spirit Power with each Herb.


    Produces +3 Blood Attribute Ki and Spiritual Essence with each Herb every hour.


    Leaves can be extracted for Materials and Fruits for consumption. One Leaf and Fruit will regrow every 7 Days within every Herb.


    -----


    [Illusionist Herb (Lesser Spirit Treasure: Rank 3)]


    A Lesser Spirit Treasure resembling a beautiful purple leafed herb. Each leaf is beautiful, resembling butterflies. It contains the Element of Illusions. As it evolves, its quantity multiplies.


    Herbs Amount: 10


    Enhances Illusion Attribute Power by +25 with each Herb.


    Illusion Attribute Magic gains +3 Spirit Power with each Herb.


    Produces +3 Illusion Attribute Ki and Spiritual Essence with each Herb every hour.


    Leaves can be extracted for Materials. One Leaf will regrow every 7 Days within every Herb.


    -----


    I see. It explicitly say I can extract them for materials and that they can regrow. This is certainly something new¡­ I don''t remember this happening before with the flowers, the tree, or anything of the sort except the Blood Fountain, which my three Vampire Spirits enjoy already.


    They''re certainly pretty good for their small quantity. Each Herb has around 5 leaves, while the blood fruit nt has 4 leaves and 3 fruits. I guess that''s the maximum amount I can harvest every week, but over time, this can pile up and be an insane amount of items.


    After all, I already have hundreds of fruits and juice I extract from my apple-shaped Familiar.


    I wonder if it''s the same for these items¡­ I might extract them and see for myself.


    -----

 Chapter 527 Cannot Resist

    -----


    I quickly harvested the leaves with the aid of my Spirits inside of my Spirit Orb Hendrick and Saphira swiftly harvested all the leaves and even the three Blood Fruits. They said the fruits looked especially appetizing and seemed different than the Blood produced by the fountain as well.


    -----


    [ck Mirage Herb Leaf (Mythic Grade)]


    ck and sharp leaves imbued with Darkness Attribute Mana, Spiritual Essence, and Ki. Can be used for a variety of Alchemy recipes to enchant their quality, or even processed to be used equipment and magic tools. It grants the Darkness Attribute to items. Poisonous if eaten raw.  However, it can give a small amount of Darkness Attribute Runes to the user''s Magic Circle.


    -----


    [Blood Leaf (Mythic Grade)]


    Red and beautiful blood drop-shaped leaves imbued with Blood Attribute Mana, Spiritual Essence, and Ki. Can be used for a variety of Alchemy recipes to enchant their quality, or even processed to be used equipment and magic tools. It grants the Blood Attribute to items. Poisonous if eaten raw. However, it can give a small amount of Blood Attribute Runes to the user''s Magic Circle.


    -----


    [Blood Fruit Leaf (Mythic Grade)]


    A beautiful heart-shaped, red-colored fruit as small as a strawberry. It oozes with rich and sweet blood which Vampiric beings delight themselves on. If consumed by Vampiric Beings, it can heal from exhaustion and restores 300 of HP and MP while temporarily increasing Blood Attribute Magic Damage by +30% for 10 Minutes. If overeaten, it can be greatly poisonous.


    -----


    [Illusionist Herb Leaf (Mythic Grade)]


    Beautiful butterfly-shaped, purple-colored leaves imbued with Illusion Attribute Mana, Spiritual Essence, and Ki. Can be used for a variety of Alchemy recipes to enchant their quality, or even processed to be used equipment and magic tools. It grants the Illusion Attribute to items. Poisonous if eaten raw. However, it can give a small amount of Illusion Attribute Runes to the user''s Magic Circle.


    -----


    Ah, interesting. So I can eat these leaves and gain runes for my magic circle. I suppose that''s a nice way to grow magically stronger passively. However, because they''re raw, they''re poisonous. I am rather resistant to poisons, but not immune to them. And seeing how these leaves are Mythic Grade, the poison must be extremely deadly.


    If possible, it would be better if I process them through Alchemy into potions that are not poisonous, and then drink them to grow stronger¡­ If I do this every week, my magic might grow constantly stronger and my Magic Circle could increase its tier on its due time.


    But leaving this, the Blood Fruit seems extremely useful as well, as it can restore HP and MP and even make someone stronger, as long as they''re Vampiric, for 10 minutes. I think it can also be used for alchemy, but the base attributes alone are godly. Although if overeaten, it can be extremely poisonous, so I suppose it can''t be used constantly.


    Aside from these Spirit Treasures, the old ones also grew stronger in their effects once they went from Rank 1 to Rank 3, interestingly enough.


    -----


    [ck Blood Tree Forest (Lesser Spirit Treasure: Rank 3)]


    A Lesser Spirit Treasure that contains the Element of Death, Darkness and Blood. It resembles a withering tree with red leaves. It is dry and can survive without water or sunlight, however, it requires blood almost daily for sustenance. It might eventually evolve into something of incredible power.


    Tree Amount: 30


    Enhances Death, Darkness, and Blood Attribute Power by +60 with each Tree


    Hastens Mana and Spiritual Essence Regeneration Speed by +3% with each Tree.


    Produces +20 Death, Darkness, and Blood Attribute Ki and Spiritual Essence with each Tree every hour.


    -----


    [Red Crimson Flowers (Lesser Spirit Treasure: Rank 3)]


    A Lesser Spirit Treasure made of many red-colored flowers resembling red roses containing the Element of Blood. As it evolves, its quantity multiplies.


    Flowers Amount: 70<novelnext></novelnext>


    Enhances Blood Attribute Power by +20 with each Flower.


    Blood Attribute Magic gains +2 Spirit Power with each Flower.


    Produces +2 Blood Attribute Ki and Spiritual Essence with each flower every hour.


    -----


    [Abyss ck Flowers (Lesser Spirit Treasure: Rank 3)]


    A Lesser Spirit Treasure made of many ck-colored flowers resembling ck roses containing the Element of Darkness. As it evolves, its quantity multiplies.


    Flowers Amount: 70


    Enhances Darkness Attribute Power by +20 with each Flower.


    Darkness Attribute Magic gains +2 Spirit Power with each Flower.


    Produces +2 Darkness Attribute Ki and Spiritual Essence with each flower every hour.


    -----


    ? [Spiritual Blood Fountain (Lesser Spirit Treasure: Rank 3)]


    A Lesser Spirit Treasure in the shape of a fountain of fresh blood. This blood is generated automatically and constantly, and it is rich for both Blood-type Spirits and Vampiric Beings. It has the potential to evolve into something even bigger.


    Produces +600 Blood Attribute Ki every hour.


    Produces +200 Blood Attribute Spiritual Essence every hour.


    Produces 35 Liters of [Rich Spiritual Blood] every 24 hours.


    -----


    This simply not only had given me new treasures, but the old ones have been upgraded. Amazing, it is as if they were Skills as well. Not only that but I also got ten new trees from within the forest and over forty more flowers. And as each flower''s ranks increased, their bonuses also did.


    I think my Darkness and Blood Magic power could have increased by approximately +50% or more¡­ The change is way too notorious, even when the process of growing stronger has ended, my body still overflows with darkness and blood attribute auras.


    "A-Amazing, simply drinking that phial has made us so strong!" Eleanora said.


    "Indeed¡­ I feel way stronger literally out of the blue! The Spirit Tree has also be bigger, and those fruits¡­ Can we eat some, master?!" Hendrick wanted to eat one.


    "No, these are special, we''ll save them for emergencies." I said while sighing.


    "I can''t have one, papa?" Saphira asked me.


    Her beautiful blue eyes hit me harder than I imagined.


    I¡­ cannot resist them.


    "Fine, only one."


    "Yaaay!"


    Saphira began devouring the fruit happily, as Hendrick looked at me while narrowing his eyes.


    -----

 Chapter 528 The Crescent Frozen Tear

    -----


    After checking the new Spiritual Treasures and all of that, I swiftly moved to more important matters, the other item within my possession, not the phial, whose bottle had suddenly disappeared, but something else.


    -----


    [Crescent Frozen Tear (Mythic Grade)]


    A beautiful tear-shaped blue jewel said to be the crystallization of the tear of the Holy Spirit of Ice. It containsrge quantities of Ice Attribute Mana and Spirit Essence. It can be directly absorbed over time to increase maximum MP and Ice Attribute Affinity. Oncepletely consumed, Ice Attribute Affinity and MP can increase greatly. New Skills might emerge once it begins to be absorbed.


    -----


    It was as beautiful tear-shaped blue crystal in m hand. The description said it was the crystallization of the actual tear of the Holy Spirit of Ice¡­ I acquired this as an "apology" for Elfriedden''s attitude against me by the Holy Spirit of Ice, which seems to have given him her Divine Protection, interestingly enough. For now, it would be good if I absorb it with the aid of Eleanora.


    As long as there are more people helping me channel Mana into this crystal, the process will be faster. I can also ask help to Saphira and Hendrick. At the end, all three of them will help, I suppose.


    "Hendrick, Saphira,e help me with this. Eleanora too. Just float around me and channel Mana into the crystal." I said, the three spirits quickly did as I told them.


    "But isn''t this your own mana at the end?" Eleanora wondered.


    "Yeah?" Saphira asked.


    "Indeed. However, as you still count as a "source", the process still bes faster, although more exhausting to me as I use more Mana. But I''ve already drank a Magic Juice produced by Apul, so my MP recovery speed has been ramped up by x3. Plus all the gear I have, which also boosts my maximum MP." I said confidently. "Don''t worry about me."


    FLAAASH!


    Like that, we spent only about five minutes doing this until I couldn''t do it anymore, as if an invisible wall was stopping me from even continuing further, I needed to rest.


    However, the amount of blue-colored icy mana energy that reached my body was quickly assimted into my physique, psyche, and magic circle. Although it mostly showed itself through bonus MP.


    [You have absorbed a part of the power of the [Crescent Frozen Tear (Mythic Grade)]


    [Your Maximum MP has increased by +55]


    [Your Ice Attribute Affinity has increased a bit.]


    [You gained Ice Attribute Runes inside your Magic Circle.]


    [You gained Skill Proficiency for certain Skills. Gain more Skill Proficiency to learn them.]


    It seems this item evenes with a learnable skill, interesting. For now, I appreciate the maximum MP, that''ll do good in the long run. Although now I feelpletely exhausted.


    "Phew, that was a bit exhausting, wasn''t it?" Eleanora asked.


    "Yeah¡­ I want to take a nappy¡­" Saphira yawned.<novelnext></novelnext>


    "Hm, I am indeed rather exhausted." Hendrick analyzed. "This item, however, is fascinating nheless! How wonderful! I have never seen such a thing before! The crystalized icy tear of a goddess of ice?!"


    "Something like that." I told him.


    "A-And these gods just handle you stuff like this? So easily?!" Hendrick asked.


    "They''re doing an investment. Let''s call it that. After all they want me to kill all demons and y Lucifer, that''s also what I wanted to do anyways, so we are cooperating. They''re investing on my growth whenever I do something amazing that reaffirms their confidence over the decision they made." I said while analyzing the situation. "More or less, we''re runningte, let''s go."


    Ate a Fruit of Life, which I had stored by the hundreds inside of my Inventory, and my HP was restored a little, even though I never lost it. But it was still fairly good to restore exhaustion in the body, even if by a small amount each time.


    When I was back at the first floor, I had already eaten a third fruit, my exhaustion being almost gone at this point. I found everyone there waiting for me, including Evelyn.


    "I am going as well to supervise you all. And also to protect you if anything happens." Evelyn said with a smile. "Also I would like to go seedy Cattalina¡­"


    "Huh, sure¡­" Erika sighed. She didn''t really like Evelyn. "Anyways, let''s get going, ke!"


    "Alright."


    We quickly decided to get going. Erika said her mother wanted to meet her in a small cafeteria and drink some coffee with her, while enjoying some sweets. The cafeteria in question was named "Brown Sugar" and was just a few blocks from our residential area.


    As we walked outside, we suddenly stumbled upon a surprise. The group of "rivals" we saw earlier was right in front of us, upying our neighboring house to the left. They were all just as surprised when they saw us.


    rice, rk, Eliana, and Patricia noticed us, alongside their four other party members and Umbra leading them inside the house.


    "Eh? D-Don''t tell me you guys are going to live right next to us?!" rice angrily said, her drill-shaped blonde hair waving around at the rhythm of her anger.


    "Hm, I hope we get along." The stoic rk said.


    "Eeehh¡­ Yeah, I guess." Eliana shrugged, the gloomy-looking girl with long, green hair resembling seaweed didn''t seem to care much.


    "Come on! How can you two be sox about it?" Asked rice angrily.


    "rice, be more mindful with your words." Patricia said. "You may be a noble, but that doesn''t give you the right to act like you own the ce. You''re really pissing me off. I am also paying for this ce." The tall and muscr Patricia seemed to dislike rice''s attitude.


    "Hmph! I am merely saying what''s on my mind. Patricia how can you not be angered against them?" rice said, crossing her arms.


    "I can tell you really wanted to be part of their Party." Sighed Patricia, walking inside the house andpletely ignoring us.


    "T-That''s not right! Hey, where are you guys going?! Are you not saying anything at all? Hey!"


    rice ended walking inside the house out of embarrassment, hurriedly closing the door.


    -----

 Chapter 529 Meeting Erikas Mother

    -----


    "It''s going to be interesting having them at the side of our house." Laughed Chris.


    "Hm¡­ I don''t know about that." Erdrich sighed. "I hope that annoying rice keeps herself away from us if possible."


    "She''s really quite the bad mouthing girl." Said Elizabeth. "Are all spoiled noble girls like this?"


    "Yeah, there''s tons of them in the academy." Laughed Evelyn. "Don''t worry, she might seem a bit¡­ like this, but she''s actually honest to heart. Maybe too honest. I can tell after seeing her fight. Do you remember that time I disappeared from your side after ke fought Dn?"


    Everyone nodded.


    "Well, I was given the task of bing her rival in her fighting test. She scored almost a perfect score because despite her low cultivation rank, she was very good at using skills, techniques, and magic together with her spirit. When I fight someone, I can immediately tell how they are deep within their hearts¡­ She''s a good girl, just a bit weird." Evelyn said.


    "That she''s strong doesn''t mean she''s not kind of an asshole." Chris said.


    "Well, I was rough with them, I suppose it is understandable. However she''ll eventually forget about it¡­" I shrugged.


    "Hmm¡­ N-Now I feel slightly bad." Sighed Alberta. "M-Maybe it could had been her and not me¡­"


    "Huh? There was no way for that, you''re ideal for our team, the same with Elfriedden. I don''t really care about your personalities or anything, as long as you''re useful and fulfill your roles." I said.


    "Are you trying to imply something to me?" Elfriedden said while narrowing his eyes, but I ignored him.


    In a few minutes, we finally arrived at the small cafeteria, it was almost full of people though.


    "Hmm¡­ Mom said she was going to wait outside¡­ I wonder who of these people is?" Erika wondered, looking into the crowd. There were seats outside and inside the cafeteria.


    There were students, teachers, and all kinds of other people mixed. There was over ten different tables, so I suppose it wasn''t going to be easy to find Erika''s mother.


    However, I quickly found her faster than her own daughter.


    She was the woman sitting at the left corner of the area. Her face was barely visible as she wore a big witch hat with a ck semi-transparent cloth covering her face.


    She wore beautiful pink and ck clothes, and her pale white skin reminded me that of Erika. The woman had long nails painted ck, and as I gazed into her face, she seemed to look gloomy.


    Her long pink hair quickly gave it away though. Her father once told me that he didn''t had pink hair because that was a trait of Erika''s mother and her family.


    She was very beautiful for her supposed age, which might be the same as her father. She seemed to be old, but not enough to look like a grandma, like Erika''s father did.


    And she had¡­ long ears? Wait, is she a  half-elf?


    Maybe that exins why she''s so young-looking despite being apparently over 70.


    "I found her,e with me, Erika. Everyone, can you guys stay behind for now? Buy anything you want." I said.


    "Sure, go ahead." Evelyn nodded. "Alright kids! Who wants some ice cream?"


    Leaving Evelyn to take care of the rest of the group, we walked across the tables and then found her.


    "Is your name Cattalina?" Asked Erika.


    It felt as if time itself stopped.


    The woman twitched the moment she heard Erika''s timid voice.


    She seemed paralyzed.


    However, she slowly decided to move, waving the ck cloths that slightly covered her face from the public.<novelnext></novelnext>


    The woman''s bright, yellow eyes looked directly at us.


    "That voice¡­" She said faintly, her voice was soft and mature at the same time. Her eyes filled with mysticism, sparkling spiritual essenceing from them. "¡­Erika?"


    "Mom?" Erika asked, suddenly, tears began flowing from her eyes.


    "I¡­ My name is Cattalina, indeed¡­ I¡­ You''re my daughter, right?" The woman asked in surprise, her eyes quickly beginning to flow with tears.


    "I¡­ I suppose I am¡­" Erika said while trying to muster her words.


    Her mother remained in silence, without knowing what to say anymore.


    She seemed very timid, and perhaps slightly socially awkward.


    Perhaps losing her family and everything has made her this way.


    Erika''s father told me many times that Erika was just like her mother.


    A cheerful girl filled with brightness and beautiful.


    Yet the woman in front of me had changed much from Erika''s father description.


    Even her eyes had ck shades, has this woman been sleeping well?


    "Can I¡­ Can I give you a hug?" Erika asked timidly.


    "I¡­" Her mother doubted for a bit. "S-Sure¡­ Yes, please¡­ Please give me a hug."


    Erika ran towards her mother, hugging her tightly, she was embraced by her arms, as she began to cry over her chest.


    "I-I¡­ I''ve always wanted¡­ I''ve always wanted to meet you¡­!" Erika continued to cry.


    "Me too¡­ I can''t believe you''re alive." Her mother sighed. "I-I saw you die that day¡­ Yet now, you''re in front of me¡­ All grown up¡­ You''re so warm, and your heart is beating. Blood flows through your body¡­ you''re alive."


    "I am¡­" Erika sighed. "Papa¡­ Papa and his friends, and ke¡­ They revived me."


    "I¡­ What a miracle¡­ This is a miracle¡­" Her mother continued crying. "I can sense my bloodline within your body, I can sense the same soul I felt when you were born, you''re¡­ my daughter without a doubt."


    Her mother seemed to have abilities that could detect her own bloodline and even her soul within those of her family, an impressive ability.


    "Yeah¡­ I am¡­!" Erika cried, rubbing her tears.


    "Let''s eat something while we talk, okay? We have¡­ so much to talk about. I also¡­ want to hear what your father went through, and hisst words. I¡­ I regret not having been there for him." Her mother sighed.


    "Sure¡­ Let''s do that." Erika said with a smile.


    "Yeah, and¡­ Huh? Who is this boy?" Her eyes quickly changed to a very serious stare.


    "He''s my boyfriend, ke!" Erika smiled back at her mother, quickly bringing me closer.


    "B-Boyfriend?!"


    Her stare was so intense it was as if she was stabbing me with her eyes.


    -----

 Chapter 530 A Regretful Mother

    -----


    "I am her childhood friend, more than anything." I said, quickly attempting to calm down the woman. My rtionship with Erika had yet to ever be approved by me. But knowing this girl, she always jumped into conclusions quite rapidly.


    "Nice to meet you, ke."


    Naturally, Erika''s mother calmed down the moment I told her I was only her childhood friend. It is better to not make any big impression on her that could hurt our future rtionships.


    "I see that you brought a lot of students as well." Cattalina said. "I suppose you''ve made yourself tons of friends back in that vige¡­"


    "Yeah, it is a long story, but they''ve been at my side for a while." Erika said. "Even when¡­ my soul was within the other body."


    "So your father truly did made you a golem body." Sighed her mother. "But, what happened to that body? How was this whole process even possible to begin with?"


    "A lot of alchemy was used. Her father did most of the hard job, I only added the materials. It resulted that one of her father''s old friends, Lord Ellergest, the High Priest held a special material within his treasures, one of them which he gifted to Erika once he¡­ passed away in the tragic incident a few years ago." I said to her.


    Remember the old man''s death really made me quiet¡­ sorrowful, even if my face truly didn''t showed it. He had done more than I could have imagined for us, even after his death, he helped Erika regain her living body as well.


    "Lord Ellergest was¡­ a nice grandpa." Sighed Erika. "Papa too¡­ They were friends. They said that my death was a conspiracy of the demon cultists, I was cursed¡­ a curse that made my body deteriorate."


    Her mother quickly was shocked by the news, her eyes looking down on her own hands.


    "I had thought about it many times. I always thought it was unnatural¡­ It wasn''t a disease we could heal either¡­ So my baby¡­ My little girl died because of such a horrendous thing¡­" Her mother, who already looked quite gloomy, started to cry once more. "I''m sorry for going away¡­ In that time, I was mortified by your father and how he took the situation. I was scared he had gone insane because instead of mourning you with me, he only continued researching¡­ I ran away from the situation myself, without seeking another way to solve the problem."


    "No, mom, it''s fine¡­" Erika sighed, holding her hand. We were already sitting around the small circr table, as she was right at the side of her mother. "It must have been hard, my father was very stubborn, but I think any normal person would had reacted like you did. Father¡­ never med you for anything, he was only regretful because he couldn''t see your face again before passing away¡­" Erika was filled with sorrow as she recalled her father, tears flowing from her eyes.


    "Oh, Gustav¡­" Cattalina started to cry even more, recalling her husband. "I am¡­ sorry, Erika. I should hade to visit him. I¡­ I am so foolish. Even now I''ve been thinking about him from time to time, he never truly left my heart¡­ He was my first love, and perhaps the only love I''ll ever have through my long life¡­"


    "Papa was¡­ a good father. He took care of all my necessities¡­" Erika said with a smile. "I know that¡­ what papa did was morally wrong, I know it was¡­ But even I¡­ I also wanted a second chance. When I died, my little consciousness felt afraid of the cold that would had embraced me. But such coldness disappeared when father rescued my soul from passing away. I know its weird, I know its¡­ bad but due to those questionable decisions, I have a new body now, I''ve been truly reborn¡­ I hope you can forgive him one day, that''s the only thing he wanted."<novelnext></novelnext>


    "¡­" Cattalina sighed, looking back at her daughter''s eyes. "Of course¡­ I''ve forgiven him long ago, in fact."


    "Papa said¡­ that he loved you even after all these years, and that¡­ he hoped you could live a happy life." Erika continued in between tears.


    "I see¡­ Gustav¡­ We were wronged." Sighed Cattalina.


    "There''s more to this story." I said, quickly interrupting the two. "Way more to it, but I don''t know if we can freely talk about this in this open ce. Especially the conspiracy revolving around Erika''s death. Lady Cattalina, would it be alright for you if we continue our conversation about this topic in the house we rented once we are done here?"


    "Oh¡­ I see¡­ I''ve also been researching myself, I''ve only found little clues, but never a culprit." Sighed Cattalina. "Very well, I shall go to that house. I also want to see the house my daughter''s living in and her conditions. Now that she''s back with me, I would even request a room there, if that''s okay for you."


    "Eh? Y-You can?" Asked Erika.


    "Of course, I am a prestigious Academy Teacher after all. I can do mostly as I please here." Said her mother with a gentle smile. "Do you want to live with mama, Erika?"


    "I do! I¡­ do¡­" Erika continued sniffling as she cried more. "Mama¡­!"


    She hugged her mother tightly, without wanting to let go of her.


    Her mother hugged her back, giving her kisses all over her face.


    "I love you so much, my little Erika¡­ I''ll make up for all I''ve wronged you, I''ll take care of you from now on. I will give you everything I should had given to you when you were younger. I have to make up for all that Gustav has sacrificed¡­" Her mother said, caressing her daughter''s long, pink hair. "Your hair is so beautiful and vibrant, just like your mama''s hair¡­ You''re my living image, I can''t believe how much you look like me."


    "Hehe, papa always said I looked as beautiful as mama." Erika smiled back.


    I couldn''t help but smile myself, I don''t think I''ve ever seen Erika so happy before.


    -----

 Chapter 531 Mysterious Stalkers

    -----


    While enjoying some tea with desserts, I was able to learn more about Erika''s mother. It seems she had participated in the wars against the Demon Armies, and had even gone into a Demon Tower herself, the nearest Demon Tower from here, the Fifth Demon Tower which is located within the Ever Lake City. Visiting Demon Towers was more dangerous than Dungeons and involved whole squadrons of people of over twenty and more.


    Demon Towers are Sealed currently, but as their Seals weaken, their floors open up, filled with demonsing straight from the Realm of Hell. Each Tower represents a certain sin, involving an Archdemon. There are Seven Towers for all seven sins. The nearest Tower is the Tower of Gluttony, whose ruler is Beelzebub.


    Obviously so, the Cult we''ve been dealing for so many years now is also the Cult of Beelzebub, which has seeped their venom within the royal families of several Kingdoms, including the Kingdom where I was born, Goldsand, one of the biggest Nations of this continent, taking over 30% of the continent''s territory with many divided duchies.


    They''re the ones behind Erika''s death, and also behind the Demon Gate we had to dealt years back, and also the same Sect Erdrich''s Mother and the Necromancer belonged to. Both of them were manipted to join them, as they had hard pasts filled with hardships and suffering.


    It seems these cults like to pick up those that had been abandoned the most, those that have been wronged, even. Using pretexts such as revenge to make them loyal to them, even when their truest of intentions is to let the demons invade the world and make humanity and all other races extinct as a result.


    I can tell they were probably given offers such as high positions within the demon army, or something like that. Beelzebub is a tricky fly. My previous life had to fight him back then, and obviously, I''vepleted his Tower of Gluttony over a dozen times now, as they had popped around the Universe and the many zones my previous life governed.


    The Tower of Gluttony always changes a bit, but most of its mechanic and floors remain the same. In some months, I''ll make sure to go explore it and, if possible, destroy it. Perhaps not even the ancient Hero Allen had discovered this but¡­ Demon Towers can be destroyed, as long as the Demonic Tower Core is found and then shattered using a specific technique.


    But for now, I''ll leave such ns forter.


    "Woow! Mama''s so awesome! You''re not only an amazing teacher respected around here, but you''ve also conquered a floors inside of that tower?!" Erika pointed at the red tower in the distance. It was incredibly far away from here, yet it was so big anybody could see it, even from back on our town.


    "Fufu, that''s right." Cattalina said pridefully, she liked to be admired by her daughter. "I am also a Duchess of a nearby duchy, it is not as big of a city as this one, but I go back there every two months to check on things. My assistants and my niece take care of the ce when I''m off, but I use artifacts to keep on contact with them all the time."


    "Woow¡­ S-So you own a little kingdom!" Said Erika.


    "Well, that''s not exactly what it is¡­" Her mother sighed. "But talking about it, if you''re here, you could be my heir right away and you could one day own that ce, making you a very prestigious noble."


    "M-Me? A noble¡­" Erika was surprised of such a thing. "Wait, there''s a niece?" Erika asked.


    "Well yes, aside from the rather¡­ aggressive royal family where I belong, there''s also your father''s family. The daughter of his big sister has been living with me for years now back in my duchy. Your aunt¡­ she passed away due to a disease that affected her home. Her daughter was studying abroad back then, so she was not affected, thankfully. She had nobody else, so I quickly decided to adopt her and make her my future heir. The girl is a very hardworking person, I know you''ll get along." Her mother smiled back.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "I-I see¡­ An Aunt I never knew¡­ I hope I can get along with her daughter. I''ll do my best!" Erika said while smiling innocently.


    Mother and daughter were talking too much and too fast, I had little time to talk about a topic myself, and I honestly didn''t want to interrupt their good time together. I felt slightly out of ce here, to be honest, maybe I shouldn''t hade. However, Erika was too nervous, so she really needed me here.


    However, now that she hadposed herself, she seemspletely rxed. I guess my presence wasn''t as necessary as she believed¡­


    ¡­Or so I thought.


    Just five minutes ago, I felt stares from afar. Thanks to my heightened senses due to abination of factors such as my Physique, Psyche, and my Mana and Spiritual Energy, I was able to easily detect presences directed towards me in a malicious or evil intent.


    And I felt several eyes, around eight of them. Probably four people, staring at us from afar. Cattalina seemedpletely clueless about them, and so was Erika. I guess I had to scratch the idea they were Cattalina''s guards or something.


    "Saphira, Hendrick, go investigate for now."


    I quickly summoned the two of them, as they emerged from within my shadows. Both utilized Stealth Abilities, especially Saphira, who enveloped Hendrick around with her soul.


    "Okay, papa! I''ll be right back!"


    "Very well, my lord. Hopefully we find some new test subjects."


    Their shadows flew away, meddling with the rest of the shadows across the city, as they flew towards the area where I detected the presences of those spying on us.


    In just a few seconds, I found them quite easily.


    It was indeed four people, wearing ck clothes magically enchanted, and red marks on their hands¡­


    -----

 Chapter 532 Attacking The Cult Members

    -----


    Their ck clothes were enchanted with the shadow element, and were also drenched in demon blood, cursed equipment. Alongside that, their equipment was enchanted with runes that enhanced their stealth and camouge, quite high-quality ones. Lastly, they held daggers coated on demon venom, and had all sorts of abilities and magic, alongside spiritual power in par with Rank 2 Spirit Masters.


    And above all, they had red marks on their hands, showing the sign of a fly made of red blood color, their hands were glowing with maliciousness. I can tell they''re hired spies and assassins by the Beelzebub''s Cult, just by seeing that fly-like mark.


    "For now, spy them and listen to whatever they''re talking about."


    I told the two to just spy them for now. The two spirits quickly melded into the shadows of the group of spies, as they heard them talking while I pretended everything was fine with Erika and her mother.


    "Cattalina''s there, she really did meet with her daughter¡­" A tall man said.


    "Wasn''t that girl dead?" Wondered a smaller woman.


    "She should had died years ago after she drank the Demon Curse Poison. Howe she''s back alive? I guess the reports we got some time ago about her suddenly reviving were not wrong¡­" Sighed a younger male.


    "Can we take her down as we were told?" Wondered the fourth, another woman, taller than the first to speak.


    "Yes, it should be possible, her power doesn''t seem so strong yet. She had yet to fully awaken her abilities. I was told she is a Half-Dryad. And from what little that priest that infiltrated the church in that vige told us, she used to be something like a golem made of wood, a living doll." The leader of the group spoke the tall and muscr man.


    "Heh, what sort of sick father would make their own daughter into a golem? Nobles are really fucked in the head." Laughed the other male.


    "He should had left her die¡­ But now, it seems he had reformed her a new living body made of Dryad materials, such an ancient Spirit Race''s materials are of indescribable value. If we can get ahold of her body, we''ll make a lot of funds¡­" Laughed the younger girl.


    "The problem is capturing her¡­ And Cattalina is with her, that woman''s illusions are powerful. And she has also conquered a few of the demon tower''s floors, her level and stats must be high. We cannot really beat her even if we fight together against her." Sighed the tallest woman.


    "It''s not like we are without tricks, if she can''t detect us from here, it means our gear works properly. We simply need to make an opportunity¡­" The leader said, suddenly grabbing a red-colored stone from his hand.


    "That''s¡­!" Hendrick was surprised. "Oh, a Demon Keystone! What a wonderful material! I want it!"


    "Hold on Hendrick, don''t do anything rash yet." I told him.


    "Y-Yes, I wasn''t going to do anything¡­ yet." He answered.


    "You two, once they depart, make a distraction by summoning the sealed demons in your Demon Summoning Stones. When things are in chaos, I''ll go with a helper, and we''ll use the Demon Keystone to summon a Demon Warp Gate. As long as we can catch in her in that, we''ll teleport her away and kill her away from her mother''s eyes." Laughed the leader.


    "If things go wrong then¡­" The woman said.


    "As long as we can kill her, we''ll aid at the cult''s future prospects. Don''t fear if you need to sacrifice your lives, the explosions our marks can provoke can easily level this entire ce, that girl would surely die if two of us explode in front of her." The leader affirmed the n.


    So these bastards not only had a rather macabre n, but they were even nning to sacrifice their lives just to kill Erika. But why do they want to kill her so badly?


    "What about the kids with her?" Asked the smaller woman.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "Those doesn''t really matter. They''re weak. The High Rank Demons we have in our Summon Stones should be able to deal with them. All our spirits are support-type, so we can''t send them to do the job for us, but they''re surely effective at hiding us. The Spirit Changing Ritual truly made our useless spirits into something useful¡­" The leader said.


    Spirit Changing Ritual¡­ so the cultist change their spirits into Demon Spirits through such a ritual, huh? Erdrich''s mother and the Necromancer had their spirits and bodies modified this way as well. I can tell they''re not only confident by their base strength, these four cultists can probably transform into Half-Demons themselves to enchant their strength.


    "Hey, can we kill the boy with her too? I want that little Summoner gone¡­" Giggled the small woman.


    "There''s no specific orders for him, but I''ve heard we can take him down once they go into a dungeon, if things go ordingly and we are still alive. If not, others will just take our ce."


    They''re pretty foolish to think they can do so much in a city filled with strong people. But certainly, this area is less popted, so they''ll take some time to get here. The hero could easily kill them all in one blow. But if their mission is a suicidal one from the beginning, it does makes sense if they think they have a chance.


    Sadly, for them, there won''t be any chances to begin with.


    "Hendrick, Saphira, catch them and kill them. Eleanora, go with them."


    "With pleasure, my lord!"


    "Alright!"


    "I will."


    I gave a telepathicmand to my two spirits, the two immediately obeyed my orders.


    FWOOOMMM¡­!


    Suddenly, the sound of shadows materializing and emerging behind the four cultists echoed. Eleanora, Hendrick, and Saphira''s presences emerged, their red eyes glowing eerily as their shadows suddenly engulfed them slowly.


    "What?!"


    "Enemy attack?!"


    "H-How?!"


    "Nnnggh..! T-This is Shadow Trap and Shadow Sneak?!"


    Hendrick''s presence emerged from within the shadows, stretching his long andrge arms, greeting them by taking off his hat like a gentleman.


    "It is a pleasure to meet you all, my dear guests. Let the show begin!"


    -----

 Chapter 533 A Secret Battle

    -----


    I sent Eleanora to make sure the situation could be taken care of properly. With all three of my spirits, boosted with the power of several Skills, I was confident I could capture them. However, not without a bit of my external help, and Hendrick had already finished the creation of these items I was about to employ against them as well.


    Naturally, the moment they felt the shadows wrapping around their legs and pulling them down into the shadows themselves, they panicked.


    "What?!"


    "Enemy attack?!"


    "H-How?!"


    "Nnnggh..! T-This is Shadow Trap and Shadow Sneak?!"


    Of course, it wasn''t merely those two Skills, Eleanora had used her Ninjutsu Skill''s Technique [Shadow Seal] which can seal an opponent''s movements with the user''s own shadows marily, allbined with my own Shadow Techniques which she acquired through our Link Skill.


    Hendrick''s presence emerged from within the shadows, stretching his long andrge arms, greeting them by taking off his hat like a gentleman.


    "It is a pleasure to meet you all, my dear guests. Let the show begin!"


    "A man?!"


    "No, that''s a spirit!"


    "A talking spirit¡­ this is bad, escape!"


    "[Smoke Bomb]!"


    The four quickly attempted to escape, as all four of them utilized Smoke Bomb Techniques using their special Spirits. Their spirits were all the same. They had a Shadow Stealth Cape, and an All-Purpose Spying Tool, they were both equipment and tool-type spirits modified through the means they had talked about earlier.


    The All-Purpose Spying Tool was a Tool-type Spirit that came with a few abilities, one of them was [Smoke Bomb].


    POOOOF!


    Suddenly, four smoke bombs exploded right in front of my three spirits, the four of them quickly attempting to cover their sight so they could make a run for it.


    "Nngh?!"


    "Ah?!"


    "This is¡­!"


    "I can''t move?!"


    However, they had already fallen into my clutches. [Shadow Maniption] once more proved to be a superior Skill. Thanks to the Spirit Link Skill that all three of my Spirits had acquired beforehand, they were capable of acquiring Link with my [Shadow Maniption] Skill.


    And like this, all three of them were able to use the Skill at its current level, and all of their techniques. Once they converged this Skill with one another, its potential skyrocketed, especially when it was now level 5!


    -----


    [Shadow Maniption: Lv5]


    Skill Proficiency: 153/50000


    Only those incredibly proficient in Shadow Magic can acquire this Skill. It grants control over the element of shadows limited by the Skill Level and mastery over the power of Shadow Magic, the range of this Skill is also dependent in the Skill Level. Additionally, it grants a +20% enhancement to the power of any Shadow/Darkness Attribute Magic Spell, alongside special techniques unlocked with each Skill Level.


    Avable Shadow Techniques:


    Level 1: [Shadow Domination] [Dark Whip]


    Level 2: [Shadow Strings] [Dark Puppeteer]


    Level 3: [Shadow Control] [Steal Shadow]


    Level 4: [Shadow Parasite] [Shadow Transportation]


    Level 5: [Shadow Jaws] [Void Bullet]


    -----


    Without wasting any second, Eleanor, Hendrick, and Saphira channeled this power within them through their Link Skill, and then conjured in session [Shadow Domination], [Dark Whip], [Shadow Strings], [Dark Puppeteer], [Shadow Control], [Steal Shadow], [Shadow Parasite], and [Shadow Transportation] at the same time.


    Shadow Domination allowed them to imbue their shadows into an object, the rooftop they were using as the ce where these four would die. Shadow Strings and Dark Whip fused into long, sneaky tentacles that wrapped around the four spies'' limbs, Dark Puppeteer made sure to capture their movements, temporarily inhibiting their ability to move their muscles properly.


    Meanwhile, Shadow Control and Steal Shadow allowed them to temporarily steal the shadows of their opponents and control them from a distance, all while Shadow Parasitepletely allowed them to manipte their shadows without much resistance, all while Shadow Transportation helped them at dragging them towards them.


    Of course, the power of such as Skill as Shadow Maniption seemed rather rare, especially due to therge quantity of techniques it brought, which were more effective than conjuring normal spells with half the MP cost. And even if they took that into consideration, they could had never guessed three spirits would own such a skill, all at the same time.


    FLUOOOSH!


    The enormous shadows suddenly shapeshifted into a gigantic jaw through the [Shadow Jaws] Skill conjured three times in a row, the four spies desperately attempted to fight back, only to be hit by transparent chains which had emerged right from the shadow tentacles wrapping around their bodies.


    "Uuuggh..! I can''t use magic properly?!"


    "Unnngggh¡­! My Tool Spirit cannot transform!"


    "T-This is¡­ someone of a very high level is targeting us¡­ But when?! And who¡­?!"


    "T-Those are two more spirits?!"


    As they depsetately began to think what to do now, Hendrick shut them down, as his poison emerged from his hands. With a carefree wave from his arms, the poison suddenly drenched over the spies'' faces, covering their eyes and mouths.


    "Sssh, why don''t you stay silent for a bit? Don''t you think you''re being rude by screaming all over the ce? My lord is having a lovely time and you were trying to ruin it?!"


    "MMmmmggggh¡­!"


    "Gggraagggh¡­!"


    "Aaaaggh!"


    "Nnngghh¡­!"


    As they screamed with their mouths filled with a sticky poisonous substance, Eleanora and Saphira extended their shadows and dragged them into the darkness,pletely making them disappear from the scene.


    Peace quickly was brought back to our surroundings, as if they were never here¡­ However, as I saw Erika happily talk with her mother, a smiled.


    Who would had thought I would get four of them in my first day?


    "My lord, we''ve got them." Hendrick said through telepathy.


    "They''re strong, the Seal Magic Chains you used on them through us are already being broken¡­." Eleanora said.


    "What do we do?" Saphira asked.


    "Kill them. Use this opportunity to train your abilities and skills. Saphira, once they''re dead, capture their souls. Also, cut down their hands so they cannot explode, now!"


    The three spirits immediately did as I told them, their weapons and attacks slicing through the four spies'' hands mercilessly. Their screams couldn''t be heard anywhere but within the shadows they found themselves trapped.


    What a good harvest.


    -----

 Chapter 534 Slaying The Cultists

    -----


    Their eyes were filled with fear and confusion, even though most of them were being blinded by the sticky toxin Hendrick threw inside their eyes. Naturally, as one person grows stronger through leveling up, resistance to poisons and curses be greater too, even the poison in their mouths and eyes wasn''t killing them, Hendrick could make deadlier poison if he wanted, but there was no poison that killed instantly avable within his arsenal right now. However, they were still taking damage over time.


    SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH!


    ¡­Crack!


    Their arms and legs were sliced for good measure, just before the item I had used was broken. Indeed, the Sealing Chains I used weren''t just the spell alone. I had created a Spell Jewel imbued the Tier 3 Seal Magic: Magic Sealing Chains and the Tier 3 Holy Light Magic: Holy Chains,bining them created the [Holy Sealing Chains Spell Jewel (Unique Grade)].


    Spell Jewels were special crystals made out of mana-rich materials refined in the Alchemy Cauldron, they had the ability to conjure a spell once at their full power, the more mana was imbued into them before their creation, the stronger the spell became.


    However, once they were used once, they shatter and stop working. Depending in how strong our opponent is, they mightst longer or not. In fact, if I had used it directly on them without properly trapping them using shadows and Hendrick''s poison, the chains would had been broken in less than ten seconds.


    But thanks to having inflicted status effects that weakened them, and also trapping them within shadows, inhibiting their movements, the chains were activated as long as twenty seconds, good enough to trap them, bring them into the shadows, and cut their limbs.


    Why were they not killed instantly instead? There are a few reasons, if we killed them instantly, the marks would had made them blow up into pieces, as they activate that way or through their incantation. This is why their mouths were covered as well.


    To not let these bastards blow up in front of my spirits, which could potentially kill them if they did, we took safety measures. Dealing with these cultists that blow themselves up is like dealing with delicate time bombs, one wrong step and they''ll explode into smithereens.


    Crack!


    As the spell jewel I had prepared shattered into pieces and lost its power within my hands, I continued watching what was happening within the shadows where the cultists were trapped inside through the eyes of my spirits.


    Their wounds were painful, but Hendrick took care of it by using his poison, now this time creating a sticky green substance he stuck into their wounds.


    "Now, now, you cannot blow yourselves up, and you cannot escape. You have two options, be my master''s underlings or¡­ die without a purpose."


    Eleanora''s eyes nced at the four spies; their bodies drenched on cold sweat. Although they could now use magic, as several magic circles emerged around them, firing fireballs, water, winds, and rock bullets at them.


    "Hmph, useless rubbish."


    Eleanora waved her hand, all the surroundings were just darkness, in mere seconds, the spells they conjured were blocked and then devoured by [Shadow Jaws], leaving no trace of them. It was as if the shadows themselves had be a living being of its own.


    "Nnngggh¡­!"


    "Guuhhh¡­!"


    "Cough¡­ cough¡­!"


    Suddenly, one of them began coughing, until the sticky poison inside their throats came out. At the same time as they were desperately firing spells useless, blood began gushing from his mouth.


    His tongue began shining with a red mark.


    So these bastards had more marks inside their tongues!


    "Saphira, drag their souls away!"


    "Okay!!"


    Saphira didn''t waste any minute, the one who had revealed its tongue suddenly began glowing with a mysterious demonic energy, her skin started turning red, and horns began growing from her forehead.


    "D-Demon Transforma- GGGAAHH¡­?!"


    However, before it couldplete her transformation, her soul was dragged out of her weakened and half-dead body by Saphira, squirming in agony.


    "AAAGGGHHH¡­!"


    The little and innocent eyes of Saphira glowed bright red, her arms extended into phantasmal ws, as she dragged out the souls of the other three spies right after that, their souls were groaning in agony.


    "STOOOP! UUUAGGH!"


    "NOOOO!"


    "LORD¡­ LORD BEELZEBUUUUB!"


    My Grimoire quickly showed me the results.


    [You''ve in [Half Demon Beelzebub Cultist] x4!]


    [EXP has been multiplied thanks to [Hard Worker]!]


    [You earned 800000 EXP!]


    [Level Up!]


    [Level Up!]


    [Level Up!]


    [Level Up!]


    [Level Up!]


    [Your Level has increased from Level 7 to Level 12!]


    [All your Stats have increased]


    [You gained Stat Points and Skill Points]


    My Level rose more than I expected from this. However, even after their deaths, I couldn''t sing victory yet. Their souls started wriggling frantically while Saphira was trying to contain them, she quickly opened her tiny jaws and attempted to tear them down.


    "Destroy the souls!" I ordered the three of them to quickly destroy the souls, they were up to something.


    "[Soul Devour]!"


    "[Abyssal Spear]!"


    "[Phantasmal Venom]!"


    CLAAAAASH!


    The three attacks reached the four wriggling souls which Saphira was having a hard time containing, but something started emerging from their souls, even when they were being slowly torn apart¡­


    FLAAAAASH!


    The four souls freed themselves from Saphira''s clutches, merging together into a phantasmal mass, a red mark emerged, the same as Beelzebub, and from within the mark, two sharp red eyes red down at my spirits while the surroundings remained ck. Those eyes¡­


    "Who¡­"


    A grotesque voice, like that of an aberrant monster echoed across the Shadow Space created through the Shadow Maniption Skill and the Shadow and Darkness Magic Spells.


    "Who is bold enough to dare devour the souls that belong to me?!"


    The red eyes opened wide, resembling those of a monstrous fly, ring down at my spirits with an overflowing demonic essence.


    "This is¡­ Beelzebub, the real deal?!" Asked Hendrick.


    "I am fairly sure we sealed him back then! Lord Asmodeus couldn''t kill him because he was a pir of Hell, he would keep reviving¡­ Unless Lucifer was killed, the Archdemons would eternally revive." Eleanora said.


    "Uwaah, it is a gross big fly!" Saphira said.


    "GGRRRRRHHHH¡­! AS¡­ MO¡­ DEUS?! DON''T YOU DARE SAY THAT NAME BEFORE ME, YOU WORMS!"


    BBBZZZZZZ!


    -----

 Chapter 535 Beelzebub Manifests

    -----


    "I am fairly sure we sealed him back then! Lord Asmodeus couldn''t kill him because he was a pir of Hell, he would keep reviving¡­ Unless Lucifer was killed, the Archdemons would eternally revive." Eleanora said.


    "Uwaah, it is a gross big fly!" Saphira said.


    "GGRRRRRHHHH¡­! AS¡­ MO¡­ DEUS?! DON''T YOU DARE SAY THAT NAME BEFORE ME, YOU WORMS!"


    BBBZZZZZZTTTT!


    An enormous mass of flies emerged, transforming the four souls of the cultists into an aberrant swarm of Demon Flies, Lesser Rank Demonic Beasts, exclusive monsters that Beelzebub can create.


    "¡­I SEE! So you''ve caught with my cultists, Asmodeus- No, ke!"


    He spoke directly to me.


    I guess there''s no point in hiding anymore.


    "Yeah, they suck at hiding. I was able to tell where they were from a mile away." I said, revealing my presence by creating a faint illusion of my body, without any face made from the spiritual power of my three spirits through the Tier 3 Soul Magic Spell [Astral Projection].


    "YOUUU¡­! I did heard that Lucifer revived you, but I can''t believe we meet so soon upon your death! Now look at you, a pathetic human worm instead of the Vampire you used to be! Gahahahaha!"


    "And you''re still a nasty and disgusting bug, just like you used to be."


    "TCH¡­! Don''t get too cocky, Asmodeus! You might had been able to kill my men, but you''ll soon see how wrong you are if you think you''ve won! For now, have it your way! I''ll make sure to see your despairing face one day!"


    BBBBZZZZZZZZZ!


    The flies continued to multiply inrge quantities.


    "¡­And I''ll see that dayes as soon as possible!"


    The Swarm of Flies suddenly started to meld together, shapeshifting into a giant, aberrant fly monster of over four meters tall. Its exoskeleton was hard and metallic in appearance, and its red eyes glowed eerily as its wings began pping rapidly.


    I remember this monster, or well, this Demon. An Aberrant Beelzefly, one of the many Demons Beelzebub can create and control. This one''s good at spreading disease and poison, specifically. I guess this was his parting gift, how childish of him to sacrifice the souls of his sect members just to summon this thing.


    "BBBBBZZZZ!"


    The monstrous creature quickly attempted to free itself from within the Shadow Zone, only to be dragged by countless tentacles down. Its power was the real deal though, overflowing with Demonic Energy, it was probably as strong as a C Rank monster, or slightly higher.


    But it was already trapped inside the Shadow Zone and three of my spirits were here. And as if they needed some more help¡­


    "Summon."


    FLASH! FLASH! FLASH! FLASH!


    I quickly summoned several Familiars, from Fenrirs to Wyverns and Boars, as I ordered them all to attack the Beelzefly to create an opportunity for the rest.


    "AWOOO!"


    "GROOARR!"


    "FUMOOO!"


    CRASH! SLASH! BOOM! CRAAASH!


    shing attacks, bites, fiery breath, all sorts of blows reached the aberrant fly. However, the monster''s exoskeleton was hard, easily helping it block all blows.


    "BBBZZZ!"


    SLAAASH!


    It quickly swung its front limbs, shing through the Familiars and slicing them apart by the dozens. I was losing my Summons rapidly, but the three Vampires quickly approached it while the Familiars bought them time.


    "[Ninjutsu]: [Shadow Clones]!"


    FLASH! FLASH! FLASH!


    Eleanora used her Ninjutsu skill, generating four more Clones of herself, which were further reinforced through her Illusion Skill. The Beelzefly quickly attempted to destroy them, opening its jaws and unleashing a breath attack of darkness and poison.


    FLUOOOSSSHH!!!


    "I''ll take care of that foul breath for you, my friend."


    Hendrick interrupted the Beelzefly''s as he manipted a wave of poisonous smog and quickly capured its foul breath attack, dragging it towards him.


    "And now¡­!"


    FLUOSH!


    The poison suddenly gathered atop his head, an enormous sphere of purple and ck color began topress itself, suddenly turning into a beautiful jewel through his Alchemy Abilities.


    "What a beautiful gift, I''ll be taking this for my next creations, dear fly!"


    "BBBZZZ?!"


    The Beelzefly was left speechless, only seconds before Eleanora''s blows reached it from behind. Her four clones and her main body all attacked together, using the evolved spear of Envy as waves of abyssal darknessing from all her surroundings shaped into jaws alongside a sea of blood, which shaped itself into endless spears apanying the rest of her attacks!


    CLASH! CLASH! CLASH! CLASH! CLASH!


    "GRYYYAAAH!"


    The Beelzefly agonizingly cried, its exoskeleton being torn apart as countless holes adorned its body. However, the monster suddenly unleashed a shockwave of demonic energy, throwing away Eleanora momentarily.


    Blue mes emerged around its surroundings, this was Demon Fire, one of the most basic demon magic spells. The mes concentrated and then erupted into the skies of this Shadow Zone, the aberrant fly attempted to destroy it with a powerful blow.


    FLUOOOSH!


    CRAAAAASSSHHH!!!


    The eruption of Demon mes reached the skies of the Shadow Zone, slowly beginning to pierce through the invisible walls of shadowsposing it. But as long as I had mana, they weren''t going to be pierced so easily.


    "[Phantom Blood Arts]: [Phantasmal Chains]!"


    FLAAASH!


    Suddenly, chains made of phantom wrapped around the Beelzefly, conjured by my little Saphira. The little Specter girl quickly shapeshifted the rest of her body as countless Phantasmal ws surged, dragging the Beelzefly into the ground as the beast was unable to resist!


    BAAAAM!!!


    "BBBZZZZ?!"


    The monster was surprised at every second, incapable ofprehend how my vampires were so strong. I guess it was summoned for naught, Beelzebub thought it would somehow bring me a difficult time, but this thing was just some walking materials and extra EXP.


    "Finish him."


    With that order, the power of [Command] activated, my spirit''s stats overflowing as the three Vampires unleashed their blows, blood, shadows, venom, and phantom pierced through the demon''s body mercilessly, this was more one-sided than I imagined. In mere seconds, the foul monster was torn to shreds.


    My Grimoire quickly showed me the results.


    [You''ve in [Aberrant Beelzefly (C+ Rank)] x1!]


    [EXP has been multiplied thanks to [Hard Worker]!]


    [You earned 550000 EXP!]


    -----

 Chapter 536 Slaying A Powerful Demon In The Shadows

    -----


    My Grimoire quickly showed me the results.


    [You''ve in [Aberrant Beelzefly (C+ Rank)] x1!]


    [EXP has been multiplied thanks to [Hard Worker]!]


    [You earned 550000 EXP!]


    [Level Up!]


    [Level Up!]


    [Your Level has increased from Level 12 to Level 14!]


    [All your Stats have increased.]


    [You gained Stat Points and Skill Points.]


    "Phew, that was some good warmup! Been a while since we crushed some bugs worth killing this badly!" Eleanora said triumphantly, stepping over the Beelzefly''s head. "Isn''t this monster a pretty good set of materials as well, master?"


    "It is, for now, let''s store it inside of my Grimoire."


    My Spirits quickly grabbed the items as my Grimoire appeared before them, thanks to the ability to be able to "lend" my Grimoire to my Spirits like I did before with Hendrick, it was easy to teleport it there.


    The Beelzefly''s corpse was brimming with essence I could useter, or that I could feed on my Demonic Arm so it can grow stronger and give me the¡­ properties of a Beelzefly, I guess. Aside from that, the cultists bodies were rich in essence as well, especially those Spirit Orbs.


    "Eleanora, Hendrick, quickly infect the Spirit Orbs of the Cultist, I''ll devour them right away. Also give me the Beelzefly''s Demon Core as well."


    "Very well~!" Eleanora happily obeyed.


    "Oh, a feast, is it?" Hendrick wondered.


    "Indeed. Do it quick." I ordered.


    Hendrick and Eleanora quickly got to work, in just five minutes that I spent nodding while seeing Erika and her mother chat about anything they got their minds into, I was quickly give the Spirit Orbs and the Demon Core of the Beelzefly, which I quickly absorbed through my Demonic Arm, right before their noses.


    They didn''t really sensed anything thanks to the concealing skills I''ve acquired from Saphira through Spirit Link, helping me conceal my growing strength which usually shows as an aura. With that said, I gained a sizable amount of power and everything grew a bit more.


    [Your [Spirit Orb Realm]: [Rank 2 (Upper Stage)] has risen to [Rank 2 (Peak Stage)]!]


    [Your [Physique]: [Vampiric Blood Emperor Physique (Tier 4: Rank 3)] has risen to Tier 4 Rank 5!]


    [Your [Psyche]: [Blood Soul Psyche (Tier 2: Rank 8)] has risen to Tier 3 Rank 1!]


    [Your [Magic Circle]: [Abyssal Blood Circle (Tier 3: Rank 4)] has risen to Tier 3 Rank 6!]


    [Your Spirits have grown stronger!]


    [Your Physique has be stronger!]


    [You Psyche is mutating! It has evolved into a [Vampiric Soul Psyche]!]


    [You''ve gained more Runes within your Magic Circle; your magic has be stronger!]


    [All your stats have increased!]


    [Some Skills have leveled up!]


    Good. Through the method of absorption, not only can I nurture my Spirit Orb, but thanks to the ability of my Demon Arm [Predation], or so I call it, I can also absorb magical and demonic power and directly imbue it into my body, soul, and magic circle thanks to my unique physique and psyche.


    However, today gains had yet to end¡­


    [The Holy Spirit of Light is pleased by your cleansing of evil.]


    [The Holy Spirit of Darkness is amused by your ruthlessness!]


    [The Holy Spirit of Fire wants to see you fight some more, but it is pleased by your spirit''s fighting potential.]


    [The Holy Spirit of Light, Holy Spirit of Darkness, and Holy Spirit of Fire have decided to give you a small reward.]


    [You acquired the [Cunning Mind: Lv1] Title Skill!]


    [You acquired the [Insect yer: Lv1] Title Skill!]


    [You acquired the [Random Skill Point Potion (Unique Grade)] x5!]


    [You acquired 250000 Gold]


    Oh, I got some small rewards, I see. The Holy Spirits seem to have been pleased by what I did. I didn''t do it waiting their rewards, but I suppose this makes up for losing the opportunity to learn anything from them.


    Their souls and memories were destroyed when they were sacrificed by Beelzebub to summon the Beelzefly, and the demon''s soul was already eaten, trapped within its Demon Core. These two new Title Skills and the new Items seem interesting, I''ll check them in the meantime before I finish this chocte cake slice.


    -----


    [Cunning Mind: Lv1]


    S k i l l P r o f i c i e n c y: 0/10000


    A Title Skill awarded only to those with an often malefic, cunning mind that think several steps before others. Sometimes, they often are ruthless as well, executing their actions swiftly and wlessly. Increases Thinking Speed by +50% with an additional +10% with each Skill Level. There''s a 25% chance to gain a special insight while nning something, or in the middle of a battle.


    -----


    [Insect yer: Lv1]


    S k i l l P r o f i c i e n c y: 0/10000


    A Title Skill awarded to those who have in arge quantity of utterly aberrant insectoid monsters¡­ or demons. Increases Damage dealt against Bug-type Monsters or Demons by +50%, with an additional 15% with each Skill Level. Additionally, Damage Taken from Bug-type Monsters or Demons is reduced by -20% with an additional -2% with each Skill Level.


    -----


    [Random Skill Point Potion (Unique Grade)] x5


    A Potion made from the extraction of Ability Essence, the power that those that develop Skill Points attain within their souls every time they Level Up. Once drank, a random amount of Skill Points between 10 to 30 will be granted to the user.


    -----


    Ah, the Skills seem very interesting, but what I am finding the most interesting of this batch is the potions! I must drink them right away! I never thought I could acquire Skill Points by drinking potions. I also have to study them and see if I could ever replicate them¡­ but I perhaps can''t unless I attain some level of divine power.


    This "Ability Essence" ispletely new to me, a concept I had not heard before¡­


    ¡­But I am in the middle of something, so I''ll have to wait.


    Patience is a virtue.


    -----

 Chapter 537 A Mother With High Standards

    -----


    I looked at my stats while patiently storing all the loot I acquired inside my Grimoire:


    -----


    [Name]: [ke Hunter Goathorn]


    [Race]: [Human]


    [Spirit Orb Realm]: [Rank 2 (Peak Stage)]


    [Physique]: [Vampiric Blood Emperor Physique (Tier 4: Rank 5)]


    [Psyche]: [Vampiric Soul Psyche (Tier 3: Rank 1)]


    [Magic Circle]: [Abyssal Blood Circle (Tier 3: Rank 6)]


    [Job ss]: [Summoner: ¡ï¡ï]


    [Subss]: [Synthesist: ¡ï¡ï]


    [Level]: [7/50] -> [14/50]


    [EXP]: [52830/280000]


    [Health Points]: [1575/1575] -> [1779/1779]


    [Mana Points]: [2348/2348] -> [2643/2643]


    [Strength]: [1831] -> [2035]


    [Agility]: [1449] -> [1653]


    [Vitality]: [1415] -> [1619]


    [Intelligence]: [1915] -> [1666]


    [Dexterity]: [1462] -> [1757]


    [Spirit]: [105] -> [125]


    [Spirits (3/3)]: [Vampire Queen: Eleanora (Rank 2 Peak Stage)] [Vampire gue Doctor: Henrick (Rank 2 Peak Stage)] [Vampire Specter Princess: Saphira (Rank 2 Peak Stage)]


    [Physique Abilities]: [Tier 4: Superhuman Body (+Demonic Arm)] [Tier 4: Supernatural Senses] [Tier 4: Vampiric Eyes (+Demon Eyes of Paralysis +Demon Eye of Gravity)] [Tier 4: Self Regeneration] [Tier 4: Vampiric Bloodline]


    [Psyche Abilities]: [Tier 3: Soul Aura] [Tier 3: Soul Materialization] [Tier 3: Soul Gaze] [Tier 3: Soul Weapon]


    [Link Skills]:


    [Link (Eleanora)]: [Shadow Sneak: 5] [Charm: Lv6] [Assassination: Lv5] [Ninjutsu: Lv3]


    [Link (Hendrick)]: [gue Aura: Lv5] [Researcher Eyes: Lv6] [Hallucination Fog: Lv3] [Torture: Lv5]


    [Link (Saphira)]: [Stealth: Lv6] [Camouge: Lv5] [Invisibility: Lv3] [Spectral Body: Lv5]


    [Passive Skills]: [Acrobatics: Lv7] [Robust Body: Lv5] [Hard Worker: Lv10] [Hawk Eye: 6] [Gifted Magic Apprentice: Lv6] [Heavy Drinker: Lv4], [Intimidation: Lv4]


    [Active Skills]: [Throwing Technique: Lv6] [Spear Mastery: Lv7] [Butcher: Lv4] [Alchemy: Lv5] [Brewing: Lv4] [Synthetize: Lv4] [First Aid: Lv6], [Command: Lv5], [Cooking: Lv5] [Agriculture: Lv5]


    [Magic Skills]: [Blood Arts: Lv5] [Shadow Maniption: Lv5] [Create/Delete Familiar: Lv4] [Summon/Unsummon Familiar: Lv4] [Familiar Storage Expansion: Lv4] [Familiar Synthesis: Lv4] [Apprentice Alchemist Recipe Book: Lv4] [Spirit And Master Connection: Lv3] [Pseudo Spiritual Realm: Lv3]


    [Title Skills]: [Beast yer: Lv4] [Demon yer: Lv4] [Savior: Lv4] [ughter King: Lv3] [Dragon yer: Lv2] [Kin yer: Lv2] [Undead yer: Lv4] [Alchemist: Lv4] [Yggdrasil''s Gardener: Lv3] [Holy Spirit''s Chosen: Lv1] [Spiritual Realm Master: Lv3] [Challenger of the Impossible: Lv1] [Cunning Mind: Lv1] [Insect yer: Lv1]


    [Spirit Treasures]: [ck Blood Tree Forest (Lesser Spirit Treasure: Rank 3)] [Red Crimson Flowers (Lesser Spirit Treasure: Rank 3)] [Abyss ck Flowers (Lesser Spirit Treasure: Rank3)] [Spiritual Blood Fountain (Lesser Spirit Treasure: Rank 3)] [ck Mirage Herb (Lesser Spirit Treasure: Rank 3)], [Blood Fruit Herb (Lesser Spirit Treasure: Rank 3)], [Illusionist Herb (Lesser Spirit Treasure: Rank 3)]


    [Blessings]


    [Blessing of the Twelve Holy Spirits]


    [Curses]:


    [EXP required to level up x100]


    [Proficiency required to learn techniques and skills x100]


    [Mana/Qi/Aether Recovery speed decreased by -50%]


    [Avable Stat Points]: [90]


    [Avable Skill Points]: [290]


    [Can gain 10 Stat Points and Skill Points with each Level]


    -----


    Naturally, all my stats increased once more. Not only from the level ups, which were seven in total, but also thanks to the increase in my Physique and the like, some stats have risen past the 2000 mark, which are good news. Whatever dungeon we''ll be assigned in a week from now, I am quite confident I could clear it alone even without the aid of my spirits or familiars.


    I''ve also got a lot of Skill Points, I can use them to buy the Summoner and Synthesis Skills from their Skill Tree, which I''ve been inspecting ever since I ranked up¡­ However, the Skills have be rather expensive. The higher the stars, the more expensive skills be, apparently.


    As the only one that can actually distribute his Stat Points and Skill Points at will, there''s no more knowledge about this anywhere, so its all up to me and my own knowledge to decipher the most efficient ways¡­ but for now, these are my two Talents Skill Trees.


    -----


    <Skill Tree: [Job ss]: [Summoner: ¡ï¡ï]>


    [Familiar Connection: Lv0] 100 SP


    [Familiar Awakening: Lv0] 150 SP


    [Advanced Familiar Fusion: Lv0] 200 SP


    -----


    <Skill Tree: [Subss]: [Synthesist: ¡ï¡ï]>


    [Metamorphosis: Lv0] 75 SP


    [Extraction: Lv0] 75 SP


    [Advanced Synthesis: Lv0] 125 SP


    [Golem Creation: Lv0] 125 SP


    -----


    Even by counting the remaining Skill Points I can acquire after reaching max Level 50, and even by drinking the bare minimum Skill Points from the potions, I''ll have 700 Skill Points left, yet the sum of all these skills necessary Skill Points is 850!


    This means I either have to abandon some once I reach my next Rank up (as the previous Skill Tree is lost forever once Ranking Up), or I find some other way to earn them, and this predicament has been finally resolved¡­ partially, and that''s through these damned potions.


    Now, I somehow have to hope the Holy Spirit give me some more, all these Skills seem useful, but I suppose I''ll have prioritize Summoner ss over Synthesist for now¡­ Also, all these Skills cannot be acquired normally through practice, so I am left without many options in this regard.


    Of course, I am not willing to hope for the goodwill of some entity up in the sky, to be honest. I''ll just pick what''s the best of them all and abandon the rest, it''s not like I cant find roundabouts to utilize some of their effects.


    The only thing I would truly be missing is how quick Skills can grow and develop certain functions to insanely high specs, but that''s not something I should be concentrating so much into, for now.


    "Phew, I guess we''ve taken a long while talking about stuff, maybe it should be time we get going, Erika, ke. Thanks for being so patient too, ke, you''ve been listening to us talk and talk for over an hour, your patience is incredible." Cattalina congratted me.


    Ah¡­ Well, I suppose she doesn''t know I just yed four dangerous spies that could had caused tremendous chaos in here just some minutes ago.


    "Yeah, ke is so patient and nice, he''s someone that always listen to what I talk." Erika praised me in front of her mother.


    "Oh my¡­ I see, he''s a good boy." Cattalina smiled. "But you''ll need to do more before I approve of you and my daughter''s rtionship, ke. Make sure to work hard. My daughter deserves only the best after all~"


    "Eh?"


    "Mom! Don''t say that. It''s rude!"


    -----

 Chapter 538 Mother-In-Law Moving In

    -----


    As Erika praised me, her mother seemed to want more from me than just being a nice and calm person.


    "Yeah, ke is so patient and nice, he''s someone that always listen to what I talk." Erika praised me in front of her mother.


    "Oh my¡­ I see, he''s a good boy." Cattalina smiled. "But you''ll need to do more before I approve of you and my daughter''s rtionship, ke. Make sure to work hard. My daughter deserves only the best after all~"


    "Eh?"


    "Mom! Don''t say that. It''s rude!"


    "B-But it''s true my baby, I want the best for you, so he better work hard, alright? It''s not like I am looking down on him or something¡­"


    Her mother tried to calm down Erika for getting slightly angry. This was the first time she got angered with her mother and it was because of me¡­ Ah, maybe I should calm them down myself.


    "Calm down, it''s fine. Don''t worry, Lady Cattalina, I will make sure to surpass your wildest of expectations." I smiled back at her confidently.


    After all, getting good grades in this academy is easier than breathing.


    "He already got perfect grades in everything today!" Erika continued to defend my honor. I guess she''s a girl worth keeping if she''s so dedicated to me.


    "Is that so? Even the instructor fight?" Wondered her mother.


    "Yeah he fought against Hero Dn and crushed him!" Erika smiled. "¡­Well, not really, but still!"


    "Huh?! S-So you fought with him from all other instructors? Geez, that young boy''s really a bully sometimes¡­ He''s a battle junkie, always fighting those he finds strong and promising to test them out. So you fought him and you ended without any bones broken?" Asked her mother in surprise.


    "Partially. Erika has developed some amazing healing magic, so she helped in that regard." I smiled back.


    "So you''re not only overflowing with magic but you''re also a healer¡­ Probably due to being a half-dryad. Oh well, let''s get going now. I bet you don''t want to stay outside when its about to get darker¡­ Alright, let''s go to your house, I''ll quickly talk things out with little Evelyn." Erika''s mother said.


    "Little Evelyn! I am going to stay at your home, is it okay? I hope you have more rooms for me." Cattalina smiled back, her gloomy appearance now filled with cheerfulness.


    "E-EEEH?! Lady Cattalina?! Y-You what?!" Evelyn freaked out.


    "Of course I will! I want to be at the side of my beloved girl at all times. I want to give her baths, to cook her meals, to kiss her beautiful face every morning, and hug her while she sleeps!" Cattalina was developing a daughterplex.


    "S-Sure¡­ I was just surprised, Lady Cattalina. I''ll arrange things right away. You also have to pay a part of the rent¡­" Evelyn said.


    "Sure thing, I will pay my part, I won''t be paying everyone though, as I want the children to earn their keep too, don''t worry. If even, I might pay mt daughter''s stuff if she asks me." Said Cattalina.


    It was clear she was a mother that loved to spoil her children more than anything. When we gathered with everyone else, we finally made our way back home. In the way, we stopped around a corner of the Eleven Street, where the rented area the duke got for me was.


    I got the key and opened it. The ce was a small area with a little storage room, mostly empty, with just a few furniture pieces, but everything necessary to start selling products. I''ll arrange this tomorrow morning though, we still have things to talk with Erika and her mother.


    "Oh my, ke will open a shop at his age? How bold¡­ Is he really confident on his alchemy?" Wondered Cattalina.


    "He''s the best! After all its thanks to him that I was reborn." Erika smiled back at her mother.


    "Yeah, I''ll just produce a few things for now¡­" I said, quickly creating potions and other items through the [Instant Creation] ability within the Alchemy Recipe Book.


    p¦Á§ád¦Á §«?¦Í¨º|,§ã¨°§® POOF! POOF! POOF! POOF!


    "W-What?!"


    Erika''s mother was naturally amazed, potions, antidotes, and bombs appeared out of thin air, taking the materials I had stored inside my Inventory to be instantly created.


    "I have the [Instant Creation] Skill. By using Mana and materials stored inside a dimensional bag, I can create specific items instantly."


    "A-Amazing¡­ I''ve seen cksmiths have something simr, but you''ve gone beyond this."


    "It''s nothing much, I cannot do this with every single item I make, the skill seems to have restrictions based on certain items."


    "E-Even then¡­ Also I heard this is your second talent? So you''re a Summoner and a Synthesist¡­ Hm, maybe you do have what it takes, but I''ll still hold on for now. I need to see more through the rest of the year."


    "Sure thing, this is but just the first day." I reassured her.


    Like that, we made our way back home and then inside the house, we finally rxed. We decided to take baths to rx at longst, and got into morefortable clothes than the uniforms, we were going to have dinner in a few hours, but we gathered with Erika''s mother back in her room, alongside my friends except Evelyn, who wasn''t allowed to enter because this was some top-secret stuff.


    Through the next thirty minutes, we exined her everything we could, from what we learned about Erika''s curse and her death, to the items we used to revive her, and more. When the conversation finally ended, Erika''s mother felt¡­ betrayed by her own family, and at the same time, afraid of the uncertain future.


    "So Sathan, my sister¡­ It''s her fault¡­ Not only she colluded with the cultists but¡­ to think she would go this far! ¡­It has been ages since I went back to the Kingdom''s pce. How much have the cultists seeped into the royal family already? The Goldriver Kingdom¡­ might be in more danger than we think." Sighed her mother. "Sathan¡­ That damn bitch! How dares she do¡­ something so horrendous! I''ll¡­ I will make sure to kill her."


    Erika''s mother seems to have gained a new resolve.


    -----

 Chapter 539 The Truth About Lady Sathan

    -----


    Erika''s mother was more devastated than we thought, but nobody could quite find the words to say to her for a while. This all became too personal for everyone else toment on without sounding disrespectful.


    However, I wasn''t afraid.


    "Sathan seems to be aiming for the throne of the Kingdom using her children, as I remember, it said that only the grandchildren of the king could participate for the throne, is it not?" I asked Erika''s mother, as she nodded.


    "Yeah, it was a rule set by father so we wouldn''t fight for the throne against one another. We thought it worked but¡­ it only lend to some of our siblings to go fall even more from grace. To think Sathan would aim for the life of mere children, and my newborn, no less." Cattalina said.


    "Was Aunt Sathan, really a bad person?" Asked Erika. "We''ve fought other cultists that weren''t actually¡­ Too bad at the beginning, but they were manipted and brainwashed by others to go further and further into a dark path they could nevere back from."


    Erika was a person that often tried to find the good in anybody. Perhaps this led her to seek my friendship, despite how grumpy I used to be when I was a child, she sought mypany and ultimately helped me open up to her and my family with her friendship.


    I suppose it was the same. I know it must be hard to believe her own aunt wanted her dead before she could even reach a year of age, it is a gruesome truth, she must had been thinking about this for years since she learned this.


    "I''ve never had a good rtionship with her but seeing her all happy with her children always made me think she had a good side to her that treated her family fairly, and that she was simply jealous of me at the end or something, but that she was actually still a good person." Her mother sighed. I guess the mother is just the same as the daughter in that regard.


    "But to think she was¡­ a rotten bitch that would kill a baby just so her children would have a higher chance to inherit the throne! I¡­" Cattalina''s eyes began glowing with purple and pink light, her powerful Spiritual Aura started to surge from within her body. "I cannot forgive her anymore, family or not, if she really was the one behind your death. I cannot rest easy while she''s alive. Perhaps how many other children she has killed with her tricks and cunningness. The cult must have helped her greatly."


    "Mom¡­ Calm down." Erika sighed, holding her mother''s hand. "You''re not like this¡­"


    "Erika¡­" Her mother sighed, hugging her daughter. "I am sorry¡­ I am sorry for being so foolish to not have seen such a thinging. I was na?ve, too na?ve."


    "That''s on the past now¡­ I am alive now and that''s what matters, right?" Her daughter said. "Thinking about the past and stuff¡­ It''s not going to help us keep moving forward."


    Her mother''s eyes opened in surprise by the surprisingly mature words of her little daughter.


    "You''re right¡­" She sighed.


    "Well, the factor about the cultists is there as well, and the cult must be the same that has been threatening this ce, the Cult of Beelzebub. Now, I''ll tell you something that happened just some hours ago as we were having a meal in that cafeteria." I said.


    I quickly exined them about the spies I killed using my spirits abilities, and I even showed them the corpses I had stored inside my Grimoire. I also showed her my three spirits and everything.


    "T-Those are cultists?!" Asked Erika''s mother, shocked to the core. "Y-You killed them¡­ s-so fearlessly? For your age¡­"


    "We''ve fought them before." Said Erika. "ke has¡­ no, we have already taken the lives of other people¡­"


    "That''s not really something that should matter, scum like this doesn''t deserve any mercy. As someone that is a victim of their schemes, you should know this very well, right? Lady Cattalina?" I asked.


    "I¡­ Yeah. I didn''t wanted to say this but alongside mypanions, we''ve killed dozens of these fiends. They''re all criminally insane people that only seek destruction, they''ve been wronged by the world and then brainwashed to desire the "demise of the gifted" or something. They adore demons as their gods." Sighed Cattalina. "To think four of them were about to do all of that¡­"


    "Indeed, we watched them from afar, mdy." Hendrick said. "These foul people were going to not only attack and attempt to assassinate the youngdy, but they were also going to free demons from these stones."


    Hendrick showed a red and purple-colored stone with red marks on them.


    "D-Demon Summoning Stones?!" Cattalina was once more surprised. "This is bad¡­ We need to quickly tell more of my colleagues. We can''t let these bastards go around the town, even less threatening the lives of all of us."


    "I''ll keep these stones sealed inside my Inventory Skill." I said, quickly storing them for future recipes. "They also nned to blow themselves up. Their special marks are able to burst into demon mes of immense power, if they failed at conventionally killing Erika, they would had blown themselves up in front of her, killing her on the spot."


    "Insane¡­ bastards. But why? Why do they want to target her so much?" Sighed Cattalina.


    "Maybe because¡­ of Aunt Sathan? Now that it is widespread that I am alive, she probably know about this and sent those people to kill me." Sighed Erika.


    p¦Á§ád¦Á-¨¾?¦Í¨º|¡¤§ã¨®§® "But did her really had such an authority over them to order them to do something like this? I thought she had merelymissioned them¡­ Unless¡­" Cattalina realized the truth at longst.


    "Yeah, I had figured it some time ago but¡­ Sathan, your sister, is probably already a member of the Cult of Beelzebub, if not a Cult Leader if she has such authority over others." I dered.


    -----

 Chapter 540 Delicious Elven Cuisine

    -----


    Lady Sathan, the big sister of Lady Cattalina and the Aunt of Erika, a woman that would do anything to acquire the throne of her Kingdom. A Kingdom as big as Goldriver that covers 30% of the whole Central Continent is incredibly valuable, making her children the supreme sovereign would give her incredible power over others. Perhaps she was merely thirst for power due to some sort of inferiorityplex at the beginning.


    But now¡­ she had truly fallen into depravity and joined the Demon Cult of Beelzebub. Not only just a mere cult member, but one with great authority, capable of ordering others to give away their lives just so they can take away the life of a girl they have nothing to do with to realize her dreams.


    "The King probably already know she''s alive." I said. "He doesn''t even know her though, so I don''t know why he would select Erika as the queen specifically. Perhaps Sathan is going for the most simplest of methods, kill every children in the family until her own are thest to stand. Without anywhere to choose from, the King will be forced to pick her child at the end."


    "Yeah¡­ I had thought about it. I never really thought about it aside from the sorrow I felt but¡­ my other siblings, over half of them had lost their children in "idents"¡­" Sighed Cattalina. "She probably went as far as trying to eliminate my husband''s family so there wouldn''t be any loose ends."


    "What¡­ can we do now?" Wondered Erika.


    "No, you don''t have to worry about these things, nor ke." Cattalina said. "I''ll deal with Sathan myself. If she''s really this important, I cannot charge at her directly. I''ll seek aid from my other siblings, and also find more clues I can use to tell father about her. Meanwhile, I''ll report the cultist issue to the teachers. Could it be possible if you let me have their corpses, ke?"


    Ah¡­ damn it. Well, I did took some blood off them and also got their spirit orbs but still¡­ I wanted their bodies for my own alchemy. What a pain¡­ But I guess she needs some proof.


    "Sure, you should also show the items they carried with themselves." I said. "Here."


    I gave her one of the Demon Summon Stones. They had ranks depending in their color. The small red one was a low rank demon summon, it could summon around a dozen Imps, the weakest of demons, so it wasn''t that threatening of an item even if they broke loose in the academy by ident.


    The purple one, however, has a dozen Blue Onis, so it is way more dangerous. If they let go of them all in the middle of the streets, they would had definitely killed some people before getting in.


    p¦Á§ád¦Á §«?¦Í¨º|,§ã¨°§® "Alright, thanks¡­ [Dream Storage]" Cattalina waved her hands, as she quickly absorbed the cultists bodies using her Magic.


    FLUOSH!


    "With this I''ll have enough proof. [Dream Storage] is a Skill that utilizes my Dream Magic proficiency to create a small Dream Realm, a pocket dimension of its own where I can store things." Said Cattalina. "It''s not as unlimited as your Inventory Skill though, ke."


    "I see, interesting." I nodded. I already knew about a simr spell, but this being a skill made it way better than the spell itself.


    Erika''s mother was incredibly proficient at illusion and dream magic, so she was certainly very good at using this element of dreams. However, she had yet to fully attain her maximum potential, one of the things people in this world hasn''t developed is a magic circle within their souls, physiques, and psyches.


    Seems like they rely on Skills to rece such things, even though these things can be learned by anybody, unlike Skills, and can make anybody grow strong enough if they start using and cultivating them from a young age. All my childhood friends have developed their own Physiques, Psyches, and Magic Circles I helped them get, even Erika.


    Maybe if Alberta and Elfriedden behave, I''ll let them have this power as well. And perhaps even Erika''s mother would do good with it, after all I also gave this power to all my family. The usage of Ki is essential to continue growing stronger past one''s limits.


    "For now, however, I believe I''ve made everyone wait too long. How about I make dinner for everyone?" Cattalina sighed, quickly trying to cheer up the gloomy faces of my friends. Alberta and Elfriedden were not here either, left outside alongside Evelyn.


    "Sounds good to me!" Erika said. "What can you do, mama?"


    "Tons of things! I have not lived my life without knowing many recipes. I will make you one of your father''s favorite tes." Erika''s mother said.


    Like that, the mood finally calmed down, as we discussed several things regarding what we talked about with my friends before going down. Mostly about their concerns, although ultimately, we all came together with the decision to help as much as we can.


    "If we ever meet those cultists again, tell me, ke. I''ll blow them away into pieces." Erdrich ruthlessly said. "I''ll make them pay for what they did to my mother¡­ I can rte a lot with Erika and her family now¡­ Perhaps my mother also belonged to the Beelzebub Cult."


    "I believe she did." I nodded. "And the Necromancer as well, it seems to be the most prevalent Cult in this area of the continent. There might be more, but I am unsure if they''re this strong and widespread. If they''re here then¡­ There might be a big battle eventually."


    "Hm, we need to work and get stronger until then." Chris said.


    "Yeah, no working around it!" Eric nodded.


    "I am with you guys, let''s do our best to grow stronger. Once we finally enter the dungeons we might have some more fun too." Elizabeth said.


    Like that, we enjoyed the rest of the day at home. Erika''s father favorite meal resulted to be stew with fried rice with mushroom bits, it was exquisite. The recipe was apparently elven cuisine.


    -----

 Chapter 541 New Test: Conquer A Dungeon!

    -----


    The rest of the week ended being quitex, we didn''t encounter any cultists at all, and Erika''s mother research had been progressing smoothly. She also reported the cultists to the academy''s teachers and director, and even Hero Dn is now making rounds around the whole city every night seeking for anything suspicious. Safety has definitely increased.


    Living with her hasn''t been anything bad, in fact, it has been a blessing. Her cooking is superb, and each day we get to eat her delicious food. She had said she had the Cooking Skill at a "high level" although she really didn''t knew how high it was, she said it was definitely over five, maybe that exined why her food always boosted our stamina so much¡­


    As the week went by, I had more sses with Alberta''s uncle in both machinery and cksmithing, and then had alchemy and sewing sses with Lady Ataraxia and Lady Cecilia. It was only a week, but it felt longer to me, almost like a month, perhaps due to how long the first day ended being¡­


    Naturally, I learned some new Skills rted to the sses I''ve been taking, while also getting to know more our new recruits, Alberta and Elfriedden. In a single week I won''t really know them as well as my childhood friends, but Alberta is opening more, and her stuttering is slowly bing less frequent, perhaps because she''s getting used to us. Meanwhile, Elfriedden is still an asshole, but has be more tolerable.


    Nheless, I''ve gotten three new Skills, all rted to the sses I''ve been taking, which means that these sses in the academy are actually worth it, and are made not just to bother students, but to help them better understand magic and learn and understand skills as well.


    The three Skills I acquired were [Forging], [Mechanics], and [Sewing]. They were all I was truly aiming for to be honest, and they havee in handy at helping meprehend the creation of items in this world. Also, thanks to my incessant usage of them since I got them, and thanks to my Hard Worker Skill, the Skills are already Level 2.


    [Forging] allows for the better processing of metals and crystals into equipment and other materials and enhance created items quality. [Mechanics] help at theprehension and conversion of said materials intoplex golems and enhance their power and quality. And then [Sewing] help processing fabrics, leather, fur, and more into equipment, and other types of fabrics, aplementary skill for the other two Skills and even Alchemy.


    It also gives some sort of "fashion sense" though I don''t feel anything different when I use it. Maybe one day I''ll be as proficient as Elfriedden, who only uses clothes he has made himself using high ranking materials. He really likes to talk about them when we are all eating, and often receivespliments from the girls due to his stylish sense of fashion.


    But more importantly, a week after we''ve arrived here, right after enjoying the free day in a small date with Erika (with her mother butting in), we''re finally given a "newbie test" for dungeon exploration!


    "As I said before, you guys are all going to the nearest Dungeon. Due to this ss reporting to have a lot of talents, you''re going to a E Rank Dungeon as the bare minimum, but you can actually go up to a E+ Rank if you''re feeling bold enough, they''re almost as strong as D Rank." Hector, the burly history teacher said. "You have the whole week toplete it, so you can do some trial entries. However, those that fail toplete the dungeon will be expulsed from the Academy."


    His eyes quickly red down at the younglings.


    "We don''t want weaklings. It still pretty early, if you think you don''t have what''s enough to eventually fight the demons, then go back to your home, I won''t me you, nobody will. You could be sleeping yourfortable bed right now instead of waking up so early. You could be given food from your servants instead of having to cook it yourself. You could be enjoying life in your frugality while others fight to the death to protect what they love. It''s up to you. There had been deaths before, be careful. Make sure to read the dungeon manual." Hector said with seriousness clear on his eyes.


    The students swallowed saliva, some others only had their resolve even more enhanced as they heard his words, and others were trembling in fear, rethinking their life decisions. I could tell a few from here might choose to go back home, entering a dungeon is something everyone fears, a nest of dangerous monsters where one could die at every corner, it is certainly not a children''s yground, even the lowest ranked dungeons are dangerous.


    "¡­You can go for now, have the rest of the day to train and think about your decisions. Once more, if you want to leave and be a coward, so be it. We won''t judge you¡­ Except me, I''ll beughing at you and telling everyone how much of a chicken you are." Hector said almost as if he was trying to intimidate everyone even more.<novelsnext>please visit </novelsnext>


    When sses finally ended, we gathered with my Party in the cafeteria, Evelyn seemed pumped up.


    "Fufu, this test is going to be a breeze for you kids! I have already made a reservation for the E+ Rank Dungeon, so all of you can get there as soon as today after we''re done." Said Evelyn happily.


    "Cool! Sounds like it''s about time, I was getting bored already." Chris said while eating a hotdog.


    "I am slightly nervous, a E+ Rank for our first dungeon is a bit too much, don''t you think?" Eric said.


    "Eric we''ve fought monsters around D Rank and above, we''ll be fine." Erika said while feeling carefree.


    "Yeah, you''re getting too nervous over the details." Erdrich nodded.


    "I-I am with Eric on this¡­ T-T-This is a bit t-too much¡­" Alberta agreed.


    "Hm, you''re still Level 1, are you not? I guess its fair you''re afraid, but Eric shouldn''t be afraid." Sighed Elfriedden.


    "Don''t worry, Alberta, we''ll help you level up." I said. "After all that''s the only way you can improve your skills long term."


    "A-Ah¡­ Ahem! Yeah¡­" Eric suddenly got braver out of the sudden. "Don''t worry Alberta, I''ll help you level up as well."


    "Eric¡­" Alberta felt slightly relieved, as she smiled sweetly back at him.


    I guess Eric has found someone he has to be brave for.


    -----

 Chapter 542 Elizabeths Concerns

    -----


    Once we were done having lunch in the cafeteria, we quickly made our way back home. Erika''s mother had sses today as well, so she couldn''t apany us back home as usual. In the way, we had our time to talk and discuss our strategies.


    Eric and Chris kept talking about the dungeon''s dangers, while Erdrich pointed out stuff he didn''t understand from the dungeon guide. Evelyn helped him while Alberta and Elfriedden joined the conversation from time to time. Erika was constantly talking about beating monsters, while Elizabeth seemed¡­ oddly silent.


    As I found her walking by my side, I gave her a nce. She quickly noticed me, ncing me back with a smile. She seemed slightly nervous, despite how willing she looked to fight inside the dungeon. I wondered if there was something troubling her. Perhaps she disliked closed spaces?


    "What''s wrong?" I asked her.


    "Ah¡­ I guess nothing can escape you." She sighed. "I''ve been thinking a lot about what happened in the first day."


    "Which of the many things?" I wondered.


    "Well, the whole fight you had against the cultists. We were all¡­ so clueless. We didn''t felt a single thing. Yet you were the only one that could sense them." She sighed. "I realized that if you didn''t, we could had all fallen into their machinations, perhaps a lot of people would had died in the middle of the panic. And Erika too¡­"


    "Hm, I guess it makes sense you would be this worried." I sighed. "Don''t worry, it has been a week from then and security has be better. And even if they show up again¡­ Well, we''ll just kill them."


    I couldn''t help it, as I smiled faintly. Elizabeth noticed the bloodlust I held within my very self, which I kept hidden from anybody. The more my physique advanced, the more these emotions were heighted as well.


    "For years I thought I already knew you, but every time you keep surprising me with a new facet of you¡­" Elizabeth sighed. "But I guess it is good, because that only makes me more interested."


    "Huh, being flirty at this time of the day, youngdy?" I asked teasingly.


    "I''m just saying~" Elizabeth said. "But¡­ the whole thing about the cult and their rtionship with Erika''s past¡­ It filled me with so much frustration. I wanted to do something about it yet¡­ I couldn''t even said a word. I felt frustrated I couldn''t help my papa back then either¡­ Always so weak and pathetic, I can''t ever get anywhere myself without having others carrying me."


    "I see, so that''s how you''ve been feelingtely." I sighed. I decided to give her a small head pat, calming her down for a bit. "You''ve got your own set of valuable talents, I didn''t originally kept you at my side because you''re weak and pathetic, I would call you strong and useful, in fact. Just because you can''t beat a group of assassins doesn''t mean you''re the worst out of the blue."


    "ke¡­"


    "If you really want to help Erika and her mother, then instead of thinking so much about the things you couldn''t do, how about you concentrate in ways you could improve yourself and grow stronger?" I asked. "I know I am being slightly rude, but we''ve been friends for a while now. I know you more than you think."


    "Heh¡­"


    Elizabeth giggled a bit, looking at me with her bright eyes.


    "You''re amazing, I guess you''re the only one that would say something like that to me¡­ Even between our friends, they''re always trying to be respectful. Maybe it is how I look or the origin of my powers¡­" She sighed. "You''re the only one I can really talk carefreely."


    Elizabeth seemed to have cheered up a bit more now.


    "I kind of like you a lot¡­"


    She blushed a bit, looking into the horizon.<novelsnext>please visit </novelsnext>


    "Well, it wasn''t hard to say it, right?"


    "Ah¡­ Geez, teasing me even now?"


    "It''s the only way I know that could cheer you up. Come on, Elizabeth, you look prettier when you smile."


    "H-Hey now, you''re flirting back? That''s new! Have some mercy with my heart please¡­"


    "You''ve gotten cheekier as we grew up, I guess you''ve grown up a lot as well. I don''t know if in the right way¡­"


    "I guess I''ve absorbed a bit of my papa''s nature. Maybe his spirit orb did it or something?"


    "Nah, it''s just you as you are. And I like it too."


    Elizabeth raised her eyebrows a bit, feeling flustered.


    "Let''s have a st in the dungeon, then I can invite you to somewhere. How about it?"


    "Oohh¡­? T-This is certainly new! Okay? Sure!"


    Elizabeth suddenly got pumped up.


    "We can keep walking straight through the path we want to go through, but it doesn''t mean we can''t stop and take a time to rx and think about things. Even I need these times. Every day when I talk with you and everyone else, I consider it my time to rx." I sighed. "If you haven''t gotten the message yet, I really need you guys at my side."


    "ke¡­ Okay, I get it. You''ve cheered me up enough, you don''t need to embarrass yourself more than that." Elizabeth giggled yfully. "Let''s have a st, like you said. Also I want pizza."


    "Okay, got it." I nodded. "You''re our most important member, a healer, you keep everyone alive. Never think of yourself as useless. Alongside Erika, you two are the stars of our Party, you cheer up everyone with your smiles. Never forget it."


    "Heh, okay~" Elizabeth smiled, suddenly giving me a kiss in my cheek. "Thank you, I guess you''re the only one that can make me smile in just a few words like that."


    "Well, at your service, Lady Saintess." Iughed.


    "By the Holy Spirits, I am so tired of everyone calling me like that at the Academy!" Comined Elizabeth.


    "And you think I like how everyone calls me the "Summoner Hero" or whatever? It''s just as cringe." Iughed with her.


    In betweenughter, we made our way back home and prepared ourselves for the dungeon.


    -----

 Chapter 543 Exploring A Dangerous Dungeon

    -----


    In front of us, the entrance to the E+ Rank Dungeon "Ogre''s Den" was open. Dungeons in the Stronghold City are maintained by the Academy itself and are used by their students and professors for both growing stronger and farming materials and even equipment that sometimes drops from the dungeon''s monsters or bosses. The low rank dungeons are simple in structure, usually being in either the shape of arge cave or abyrinth ruin.


    However, the higher ranked dungeons can take any sort of internal shape, from open fields to forests, sometimes they''repletely underwater, or right around an erupting volcano. There are many theories of Dungeon''s origins. Some say they were brought to the world by the demons. Due to their miasma, not only spirit beasts became monsters, but thend itself and its elementalponents distorted, fragments of the forgotten past, special areas of the world where many living beings perished, etcetera, suddenly emerged as pocket dimensions of their own.


    They absorb miasma from the environment like vacuums, and are both dangerous and a blessing in disguise, as they can clean areas with too much miasma, leaving the surroundings of a dungeon unusually clean from it, despite its internal structure being a nest of monsters. In the city there are over ten dungeons, and to enter we need to make reservations, they''re always being used by a party of either students, adventurers, teachers, and the like.


    Reservations are done exclusively through the Academy''s headquarters, Instructors are usually the ones that take care of doing them, and security is very tight around the dungeons, there are over a dozen guards guarding their interior, with fortresses and more, all built around them. The dungeons are obviously outside the city''s walls. The walls keeping the city interior safe from the exterior. If there was ever the case of a Dungeon Break, where too many monsters would remain inside a dungeon until they would be forced to go out of it and rampage as they desire, the walls would protect the people.


    So, to get in there, we needed to buy a reservation. Thankfully Elite Student Parties get a discount and also preference, so we got ourselves an E+ Rank Dungeon reservation for the rest of the day with ease thanks to that. The entrance slowly opened, as the guards protecting it wished us good luck.


    "Already going in? Good luck kids, if you get into too much trouble, don''t be afraid of running for your lives."


    "Yeah,e back as soon as possible if something happens to you which you cannot handle."


    The two guards seemed very worried about us getting into an E+ Rank Dungeon, which was several times harder than E Rank Dungeons, apparently.


    "Don''t worry about us, we''ll be fine." Erika smiled, walking inside and slowly going downstairs.


    "Alright, you lot, do your best! It usually takes around a few hours, probably three to four toplete the dungeon! The path is almost straight from the entrance, the monsters inside are Goblins, Hobgoblins, and-" Evelyn said, as I interrupted her.


    "We get it. Calm down, weren''t you confident?" I asked her.


    "I-I am but still!" Sighed Evelyn.


    "Heeeeey! Come on down! There''s a bunch of little green guys here!" Erika began tough, as we heard the sound of ughter from down there.


    Of course, it was the agonizing screams of goblins being sliced apart into pieces by herrge sword, which I''ve enchanted using Alchemy and Forging together.


    "Shit, we gotta go!" Chris ran down, grabbing Eric.


    "Erika don''t you dare steal all the EXP!" Chris cried.


    "Uwaaagggh! Don''t pull be down like that you big dumbass!" Ericined, his vocabry certainly showed itself when he was being harassed by the dumbass of Chris.


    "E-Eric!!" Alberta ran downstairs with everyone else as she felt worried about Eric being pulled down into the middle of a dangerous battle.


    "See ya." I said to Evelyn, as Elizabeth quickly walked down at my side. I quickly summoned all my Spirits as well so they could watch our backs. Inside dungeons anything goes, so all our spirits were out. With them included, we were easily a massive part of over twenty members.


    "Erika just got them all herself?! Geez that girl''s really greedy!" Elizabeth sighed, at the same time as we felt EXP flowing into our souls and bodies.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    Ding!


    [Your Party has in [Goblin Scout (F Rank)] x16!]


    [Your Party has in [Goblin Fighter (F+ Rank)] x11!]


    [EXP has been multiplied thanks to [Hard Worker]!]


    [You earned 235000 EXP!]


    [Level Up!]


    [Your Level has increased from Level 14 to Level 15!]


    [All your Stats have increased.]


    [You gained Stat Points and Skill Points.]


    Would you look at that, Erika already gifted me a level. However even after that, I still heard the sound of battle, when we finally arrived down at the first floor. We found ourselves surrounded by an enormous army of goblins, over thirty of them were still standing, several of them looked taller than the rest. They were Hobgoblins, E Rank Monsters.


    "Gygyyagruh!"


    One of the fell into the floor, suddenly trying to escape Erika''s vicious de.


    "Where are you going, bag of EXP? Boys, catch him!"


    She ordered arge group of Dolls to catch the Hobgoblin, Little Warriors, Pdins, Mages, and Archers attacked with their smaller blows from afar, decimating the Hobgoblin like a vicious swarm.


    "There''s tons here! Is this just the first-floor out of four?!" Chris wondered, feeling fascinated. His mes burned a small group of goblins alive the moment he arrived here. His two spirits dancing and spreading the mes with him.


    "I-I think so! There''s indeed a ton!" Eric said in amusement. His vines trapped some goblins while hisrge Treant worked as his shield while he shoot down goblins from afar using magic arrows. All while protecting Alberta so she could get some EXP.


    "Nice! Things are finally getting interesting!" Erdrich celebrated, bursting the head of a goblin with his bare hands. He continued hitting them with a barrage of punches, pieces of flesh and bones flew everywhere.


    It was finally time to have some well-deserved farming, and what''s better than with the Hard Worker Skill at Level 10 boosting my earned EXP by 200%? Not only does it makes up for my curse, but it even adds another +100% on top.


    This means I can grow stronger even faster than normal people¡­ Is this why I just leveled up from some pitiful goblins? Interesting¡­


    -----

 Chapter 544 Leveling Up

    -----


    Ding!


    [Your Party has in [Goblin Scout (F Rank)] x16!]


    [Your Party has in [Goblin Fighter (F+ Rank)] x11!]


    [EXP has been multiplied thanks to [Hard Worker]!]


    [You earned 235000 EXP!]


    [Level Up!]


    [Your Level has increased from Level 14 to Level 15!]


    [All your Stats have increased.]


    [You gained Stat Points and Skill Points.]


    After Erika gifted me a level, we quickly reached the first floor. Surrounded by Goblins from all sides, things were looking rather awry.


    ¡­Or so any normal student would think, but we''ve fought worse things through our young lives. Goblins were a new foe we have not fought before, but they were not at all something hard.


    "Come on! Why are you guys such pushovers?"


    Everyone was unleashing their Skills without even giving me some time to analyze the situation properly. Erika fought several goblins at once, using mostly her enormous de and her dolls to fight.


    CLASH! CLASH! CLAAASH!


    "Gryyaruuhh!"


    "Gryagah?!"


    "Gryyyhhhhh!"


    The Goblins began groaning in fear before her might, but she wasn''t the only one here devastating them all.


    "[Fire Whip]!"


    Chris mes shaped into whips, wrapping themselves around the goblins and burning a small group alive the moment he arrived here. His two spirits dancing and spreading the mes with him. The Fire Fox and the Fire Smander were simr spirits, wherever they walked into, mes erupted from the ground.


    FLUOOOSSH!


    "Alberta! Stay behind me, the Treant will protect you! [Wood Spears]! [Bark Shield]!"


    Eric conjured a powerful shield made of the bark of one of his spirits, as wooden spears emerged from the ground, piercing the nearby goblins while vines trapped some goblins, making them easier to shot down with his magic arrows. Meanwhile hisrge Treant worked as his shield while he shoot down goblins from afar using magic arrows. All while protecting Alberta so she could get some EXP.


    CRAAASH! CRAAASH! CRAAASH!


    "S-So much blood! Unnggh¡­ [Fireball]!"


    Alberta timidly unleashed a barrage of fireballs from her hands, hitting the Goblins trying to get to her as they noticed she was weaker and being protected. Her fireballs were not strong enough to kill them though, but they sure hurt each time they burned their skin, making them keep their distance while I sliced their heads off.


    SLASH! SLASH! SLASH!


    Gluttony was overflowing with a ck and red aura, seemingly happy there were so many souls and blood to devour and drink. The spear continued overflowing with its powers, almost guiding me to the vital points of the monsters.


    Against these weaker beings, I didn''t really need to use any techniques or skills, merely swinging this powerful spear and piercing their bodies did the job most of the time, especially when the weapon had such amazing abilities.


    -----


    [ursed Abyssal Devourer Spear: Gluttony (Mythic-Grade): Lv1]


    [Effects]<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    [Weapon Attack]: [+4500]


    [Health Points]: [+500]


    [Mana Points]: [+500]


    [Strength]: [+1500]


    [Agility]: [+500]


    [Vitality]: [+250]


    [Intelligence]: [+250]


    [Dexterity]: [+250]


    [Abilities]:


    [Gluttonous Demonic Predation]: Can grow stronger by predating in Blood, Spirit Orbs, Demonic Cores, and more. It can grow faster if it consumes the blood of Demons. By infusing Mana and Ki, this weapon can directly bite and devour through foe''s wounds, enhancing damage dealt by +30% and ignoring -10% of foe''s defenses.


    [Abyssal Wounds]: Inflicted wounds with this spear might not heal as fast, and rotting would begin faster. Causes the [Abyssal Wounds] Status effect where foe''s HP Regeneration speed is reduced by half and their stats are reduced by -10%.


    [The Devourer''s Domain]: Generates a Domain of ten meters around the user where there''s a 20% chance for any foe within the domain every 10 seconds to receive a powerful bite attack that deals 50% of total damage from normal attacks. Whenever this Spear Devours ten or more foes, it is possible to summon [The Devourer: Gluttony] to battle for 5 minutes. Cooldown: 5 Hours.


    [Description]:


    A Cursed Weapon that has evolved over time. It is never satiated from its hunger and has evolved into a powerful, abyssal form with even more strength and monstrosity than before. It is now even capable of summoning an abomination from another ne of existence for five minutes whenever the sacrifice of five foes has been made, which will rampage around and devour anything on its path before disappearing. A truly frightening spear that, if not feed regrly, might begin eating its own wielder.


    -----


    After all, the weapon had three powerful Abilities, the second one, [Abyssal Wounds] worked passively and each time it inflicted a wound against a foe''s flesh, that foe would be inflicted with a curse that would lower their HP regeneration speed and weaken their stats constantly. That coupled with the [Weapon Attack] of 4500 made for a formidable weapon. F or E Rank Monsters merely didn''t stood a chance anymore.


    Without realizing the first floor waspletely cleansed of any goblins, and even the Hobgoblins, who were supposedly stronger foes were now in the floor, cut to pieces.


    Ding!


    Each time level ups happened, the Grimoire would let out a dinging sound nobody but me could hear.


    [You And Your Party have in [Goblin Scout (F Rank)] x17!]


    [You And Your Party have in [Goblin Fighter (F+ Rank)] x15!]


    [You And Your Party have in [Hobgoblin (E- Rank)] x12!]


    [EXP has been multiplied thanks to [Hard Worker]!]


    [You earned 544000 EXP!]


    [Level Up!]


    [Your Level has increased from Level 15 to Level 16!]


    [All your Stats have increased.]


    [You gained Stat Points and Skill Points.]


    Another Level Up, good. Everyone seemed to have also gotten between one or two Levels as well, they still had an initial advantage in terms of leveling up due not being cursed.


    "Oooh! I''ve¡­ grown stronger. Is this the Blessing of the Holy Spirits? M-My magic power¡­ even my muscles feel stronger¡­" Alberta said in amusement.


    "Yeah, this is what we call leveling up." Eric said. "It is when we earn enough Experience Points by ying a monster. ke figured out how it works. Each time we defeat monsters, we get this power, after this power reaches a certain numerical requirement¡­ We Level up!"


    -----

 Chapter 545 [Dismantle] And [Store]

    -----


    "Yeah, this is what we call leveling up." Eric said. "It is when we earn enough Experience Points by ying a monster. ke figured out how it works. Each time we defeat monsters, we get this power, after this power reaches a certain numerical requirement we level up and all our stats grow by a few digits each time. There''s a level cap too, when we reach it, we can Rank Up our Talents and often Rank Up our Spirit Orbs as well!"


    "I-Is that so?! Not even the researchers in my country ever figured out such a thing!" Alberta was amazed. I mostly owed this to the Grimoire by letting me see these things quite easily.


    "Hmph, is what he''s specting really true?" Wondered Elfriedden. "How does he knows these things to begin with? How did you figured it out?"


    The elf was skeptical. It was fine, I didn''t really expected someone we''ve meet for a week to believe anything I said, Alberta seemed quite gullible though, but Elfriedden was cautious, sometimes overly so.


    "It is something I studied using a special ability I was born with. You can believe me or not, I don''t really mind. It is just a theory. It also works with Skills and Skill Acquisition, alongside Skill Leveling." I said. "After all, the reason why everyone one of us has so many powerful skills is thanks to this, I''ve taught them well."


    "Huh¡­" Elfriedden seemed skeptical still. "Well, once we''re done in this dungeon you better exin things to me properly. Once I heard your theories, I will judge them."


    I don''t know if he was trying to act friendly or was still acting like an asshole. It honestly felt like a mix of the two, as if he struggled to be a nice person, perhaps. Well, his efforts weremendable.


    "Well, we''ve finished the first floor! We should get going to the second one right away! Though, there''s a gross amount of leftover meat¡­" Sighed Erika. "Do we leave it there? I thought dungeon monsters just disappeared once dead¡­"


    "Did you even paid attention to the Dungeon Crawling sses, Erika?" I asked her while sighing. "Dungeon Monsters are as real as the outside one. Monster meat, bones, skin, and their internal organs could be used to make potions for alchemy and to consume, but goblin meat is specially bitter vored and only their hearts were worth anything, alongside the Spirit Orb inside of them."


    However, just because somebody didn''t found much use to them didn''t meant I couldn''t. I had many ideas I could use this much flesh, bones, and other things, even if it was mostly inedible.


    "Oh, so that''s it¡­" Erika nodded, although she seemed to be rather clumsy, so she perhaps barely understood the long exnation. "Anyways, then we leave it here and just harvest the hearts and the spirit orbs? That should be enough proof we in them."


    "More or less. Dungeons are like living beings, once someone dies inside of them, after a few hours the bodies will begin to dpose rapidly until nothing organic is left behind. The dungeon does this recycling process to maintain itself." I said while remembering the sses.


    "Eh? Did they really taught us so much in the Dungeon Crawling sses?!" Erika was left shocked.


    "Geez, you really only think about swinging that sword and kissing ke, don''t you?" Sighed Elizabeth.


    "Ahahah¡­ T-That''s not right!" Erika said while blushing. "I study! I pay attention to sses¡­"


    "Anyways, we shouldn''t get sidetracked so much." Erdrich said. "Is everyone feeling alright? Alberta?


    "Yeah, I am alright!" Said Alberta. "I leveled up and don''t feel tired at all when I used my MP¡­ does my MP recovers when I level up?"


    "Yeah, you recover around fifty percent of your MP with each Level Up, alongside HP. Minor wounds could heal this way." Eric said.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "There''s a strategy where we can continue traveling across the dungeon nonstop by leveling up constantly, recovering our exhaustion through this method." Chris added.


    "Ooh, I see!" Alberta was surprised.


    "Anyways¡­ I''ll store this for now. [Dismantle] [Store]"


    I quickly stored things inside of my Inventory through a new function named [Dismantle].


    FLASH! FLASH! FLASH! FLASH!


    Ding!


    [You''ve stored [Goblin''s Skin] x55, [Goblin''s Eyes] x100, [Goblin''s Meat and Bones] x120, [Goblin''s Internal Organs] x140, [Goblin''s Mana Conducting Heart] x65, [Spirit Orb (E)] x70, [Spirit Orb (F)] x20 inside of your [Inventory]!]


    It seems Hobgoblins and Goblins drop were not categorized differently, perhaps due to the simrities both share so much. So even the eyes from a hobgoblin were still treated as goblin''s eyes. Well, now that they''re all torn apart into pieces, it is probably quite hard to tell them apart. The only different was that Hobgoblins were slightly taller than normal Goblins.


    "Wow, everything disappeared?!" Alberta was bbergasted


    "What the¡­?!" Even Elfriedden was shocked. "Did you put everything inside a Dimensional Bag? But you''re not carrying any, also there''s no dimensional bags that can carry so much luggage!"


    "It is an inventory skill, it allows me not only to store thousands of items, but I can dismantle them automatically." I said pridefully.


    Although this was abination of my Butcher Skill evolving and merging its capabilities with the newly evolved Storage Ability, which awakened to its truest potential thanks to the Holy Spirits freeing the Grimoire from its restraints and any connection with Lucifer.


    "Such a Skill is even possible¡­?" Sighed Elfriedden. "Well, whatever, I won''t ask you anymore, you seem way too out ofmon sense for me to bother trying to make some logic out of your capabilities. More importantly, let''s advance, I want to finish this in less than four hours if possible."


    "Yeah, let''s got." I led the whole party, as we advanced into the second floor right away. The structure of the dungeon was of a very simple cavern system with stairs leading down.


    The moment we arrived on the second floor, we were greeted by furious goblins who probably heard the fuss that was happening all the way up on the first floor.


    "Gryyyaaarrr!


    A Hobgoblin roared angrily, leading the rest to charge against us.


    -----

 Chapter 546 Arriving At The Dungeons Second Floor

    -----


    The Hobgoblin leading the party of over thirty goblins was wearing leather armor and holding a rusty sword with his right hand. Therge warrior seemed to be a F Rank Hobgoblin Warrior and seemed to have some Skills on him than just their numbers. The Goblins charged forward as we quickly begun yet another fight.


    "Hmph, you won''t get any closer to us now, filthy beasts!"


    Elfriedden summoned both of his spirits at the same time, the Permafrost Crystal Needle and the Skadi''s Thread, andbined them together to move the threads alongside the needle perfectly.


    SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH!


    The needle pierced through the goblins flesh and slowly froze their wounds, all while the thread stuck them all together in ce, just before a wave of coldness reached the group of five attached goblins, freezing them all on the spot.


    F L A A A S H!


    "Hmph, low ranked trash has no chance against me." He smiled smugly.


    Meanwhile, Alberta was bing bolder in how she fought, quickly utilizing her hammer and magic together.


    "[zing Hammer]!"


    Her hammer suddenly grew several times its original size and was epassed on mes. This hammer was not a normal weapon but a Tool Spirit, and certainly, hammers are also a lethal weapon.


    B A A A A M!


    Her hammer hit the ground, unleashing a shockwave of mes that consumed three goblins on the spot. The rest of the mes spread further, burning and weakening the goblins behind the ones she ended ying.


    "W-Woah¡­ I killed them myself!" Alberta was left surprised. She had probably never hunted monsters before.


    The goblins, naturally stealthy and sneaky creatures were left at aplete disadvantage. Theycked muscles for enough strength to even have a fair fight against us, their speed was subparpared to our stats, and our magic was devastating them. Theycked any offensive skills, even less magic.


    Certainly, they were way easier to y than their Demon counterparts, Imps, who are almost their same size and appearance except Imps are red colored and have tails. Demons are notably more intelligent than monsters as well, and even the weakest Imps could conjure magic and utilize weapon techniques.


    However, goblins were like ants inparison. And like any human, we could easily crush ants without even thinking it or realizing it.


    "Milord this is quite boring, fighting these monsters is really nothing special¡­" Sighed Hendrick, his hands grew into long and sharp poison-coated ws, which he used to shred the goblins into pieces mercilessly.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "Indeed, this is not even a warmup!" Eleanora pointed out, her spear piercing through goblins with consecutive blows as small needles made of blood continued spreading around her, damaging more foes for the rest of the party to take down easily.


    "I am having fun¡­ This is the first time I hunt monsters before! I am leveling up as well! It is useful to learn how my abilities work as well." Saphira said, she used her phantasmal ws to grab the goblins souls and sometimes pull them outpletely, making them die instantly.


    She had yet to begin using her necromancy though, but if she did this would be even easier, so I told her to hold on for now, the same reason I haven''t summoned my Familiars, our party was already enormous, bringing even more forces would make things way too easy.


    The goal of this exploration was not only leveling up, but to teach my friends how to fight and utilize their Skills and Magic properly. We also wanted to help Alberta level up as much as possible, we need her to be stronger for higher ranked dungeons, especially if she can get her second spirit by reaching Rank 2 of her Spirit Orb Cultivation.


    As I analyzed the battlefield, the goblins kept bing less and less, and the Hobgoblins began stepping forward, armed with armor and weapons, they seemed slightly more threatening. However, Erdrich stepped forward before I could slice their heads, as he unleashed his Demon Transformation and released a barrage of consecutive zing fists covered on demon mes.


    "O O O R R R A A A A A H!!!"


    BOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOM!


    C R A A A S H!


    Two Hobgoblins were demolished into pieces before his fists, while the others were blown away in mere seconds. Two more came to sh at his back but were kicked in the head, their heads flew into the air by a mere kick of him.


    Heh, who''s the real monster here? Erdrich has grown amazingly thesest years. He had not only mastered the usage of his Demonic Energy but now he has begun to converge it with Mana and Ki, althoughpared to my ability to do it, he''s still a beginner.


    "You''re doing well."


    The soothing voice of a young girl echoed behind Erdrich, this was his first Spirit, the [Lady of Reminiscence]. Over thest years, we finally discovered her after much trial and error. She seems to be able to speak with him and has memories of Erdrich''s mother.


    Erdrich told me she had said she remembers having been her mother''s little sister, even. It felt strange at first, but this further confirmed my theory that spirits might be reincarnations of older living beings, not only my own Vampires, but this was a naturally urring process.


    She had no offensive nor defensive abilities but had the power to calm his fury and his Demonic Essence from taking over his soul and body. It was a special spirit that seemed to have been born especially to help Erdrich grow stronger without letting him fall into the temptation of his demonic half likest time when I had to stop him myself.


    "Keep going. Keep your mind calm."


    She whispered to him words that soothed Erdrich''s soul and body, helping him reach a special level of enlightenment where he was capable of controlling his powers better and without letting them overtake him.


    -----

 Chapter 547 Breezing Through The Dungeons Second Floor

    -----


    "[Holy Ray]! [Shine]!"


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!


    F L A A A A S H!


    As Erdrich devastated half of the Hobgoblin''s squadron, Elizabeth unleashed powerful rays of light from her staff and shining, blinding light to disorient the monsters and make them be easier to handle, all while her three spirits attacked the goblins with their own attacks and magic.


    "Ooh¡­ So many goblins!"


    Her Little Angelic Guardian, which resembled a cherubin, utilized enchanting magic and barrier magic to protect Elizabeth and those around from direct damage. Meanwhile, the enchanting magic made all of us stronger, boosting our stats and magic range.


    "It has been a while since I''ve fought so many monsters before! That old man spent hisst years rxing too much! I''ve missed a master''s young years of adventure and thrill!"


    At the same time, the Kid Holy Dragon, the "baby version" of Ellergest''s Holy Dragon unleashed powerful physical attacks loaded with spiritual energy and light magic. His ws, coated on light, devastated the goblins and even hobgoblins, cutting their bodies into pieces while burning them.


    "Hmmm¡­ Aren''t you two being a bit too hasty?"


    Meanwhile, the Gold Ore Turtle remained still, hitting the ground with his legs to generate small tremors followed by rock spikes growing from the ground to impale goblins. He was doing everything calmly, as if he had been reading through the goblins'' moves. Although it was mostly because it waszy and disliked moving.


    "You three are doing fantastic! Keep up like that, we are almost done!" Elizabeth cheered up her Spirits.


    At the same time, while Eleanora, Hendrick, and Saphira opened the way, I quickly made my way to the boss of the second floor, the Hobgoblin Warrior. The moment I confronted him, the muscr Hobgoblin began to exude a red-colored aura. This wasn''t a demonic aura like the Imps can unleash, but something rted to a Skill.


    Monsters, much like people, were able to develop Skills and Magic. The higher their ranks were, the stronger their Skills would be and the more likely it would be for them to also be well versed in magic. This hobgoblin warrior''s aura was from a Skill I had studied, [Berserk Aura].


    In the Academy there''s a library filled with books about skills monsters can have, and even their special, unique magic spells. Amongst them the mostmon Skill Ogre-type Monsters have is Berserk Aura, which often Bosses possess, enchanting all their stats upon activation in exchange for their sanity.


    "GROOOAAAARRGH!"


    The Hobgoblin Warrior rushed forward, attacking me with his enormous, rusted de, which it had probably stolen from fallen adventurers that havee to this dungeon long ago.


    CLAAASH!


    The force of the impact was noticeable, the Skill it unleashed was also quite strong, amendable and powerful foe, to say the least.


    However¡­


    SLASH!


    I swung my spear horizontally, slicing through the Hobgoblin Warrior''s leather armor and leaving a horrendous wound over his chest. The monster roared furiously at my provocation, as it unleashed a series of attacks with fury and no finesse or mastery at all.


    "GRAAAAH!"


    CLASH! CLASH! CLASH! CLASH! CLASH!


    Each blow became stronger than the other, but I easily parried them using Gluttony. The wound in the Hobgoblin''s chest quickly began to weaken him. I was mostly trying to analyze the duration of the skill, but it seemed tost a few seconds, a minute at most.


    "GRAAAAGGGH!"


    The Hobgoblin, however, had quite the tenacity, roaring furiously at me and then trying to kick me.


    CLAAASH!


    However, when he kicked me his leg snapped. My body was already way stronger than him, by merely channeling some Ki into my Physique, I was able to utilize the Physique Technique [Iron Body] to enchant my durability even further.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    CRACK!


    "Gryyaaaaaagh!"


    The Hobgoblin Warrior fell to the ground pathetically, as I manipted my own shadows, which opened countless red eyes and jaws, beginning to devour him whole.


    "Gryyyyyeehhh¡­!"


    CRUNCH!


    Once he waspletely consumed, his agonizing screams finally ended. I felt slightly bad I was unable to see more of his abilities, but the idiot had to snap his leg by kicking me¡­ Well, whatever.


    I spread out the rest of my shadows, as they began attacking and devouring the rest of the Goblins and Lesser Hobgoblins watching the scene, their bodies were torn apart nicely until none were left behind.


    The battle ended quicker than we expected, once I was done with that task, the entire floor was emptied of life other than ourselves. The first floor was cleared in ten minutes, the second floor at twenty. I guess the more monsters the longer it took.


    Ding!


    [You And Your Party have in [Goblin Scout (F Rank)] x34!]


    [You And Your Party have in [Goblin Fighter (F+ Rank)] x30!]


    [You And Your Party have in [Hobgoblin (E- Rank)] x22!]


    [You And Your Party have in [Hobgoblin Warrior (E+ Rank)] x1!]


    [EXP has been multiplied thanks to [Hard Worker]!]


    [You earned 1088000 EXP!]


    [Level Up!]


    [Level Up!]


    [Level Up!]


    [Your Level has increased from Level 16 to Level 19!]


    [All your Stats have increased.]


    [You gained Stat Points and Skill Points.]


    Nothing special this time either. I''ve heard Boss Monsters asionally drop Treasure Chests thate with Gold Coins, Rare Materials, and even equipment. However, Floor Bosses have a lower chance for itpared to the Dungeon Boss at thetest Floor, which has a 100% chance to drop a Treasure Chest.


    "[Dismantle], [Store]"


    FLASH! FLASH! FLASH! FLASH!


    Ding!


    [You''ve stored [Goblin''s Skin] x55, [Goblin''s Eyes] x100, [Goblin''s Meat and Bones] x120, [Goblin''s Internal Organs] x140, [Goblin''s Mana Conducting Heart] x65, [Hobgoblin Warrior''s Boiling Blood] x10, [Bloodlust Eyes] x2, [Spirit Orb (E)] x64, [Spirit Orb (F)] x23 inside of your [Inventory]!]


    Got almost the same quantity of materials this time, but the Hobgoblin Warrior dropped two special materials after dismantling his body. It seems his blood contains a lot of magic power, and the eyes as well. They shall be good materials, Hendrick seemed pleased.


    -----

 Chapter 548 A Small Break

    -----


    "Floor 2 clear!" Erika raised her hands while seemingly happy. "Let''s goplete the third one!"


    "W-Wait, wait a moment please¡­ I-I want to take a little break." Alberta sighed, sitting over her Portable Furnace Golem she brought with herself. "I-I''ve leveled up and all but I still feel tired¡­ M-My head¡­ it hurts."


    "Alberta¡­" Eric sighed.


    "Alright then, let''s take a small break." I agreed. "I also want to rx a bit and inspect a few things. For now, Eric, give Alberta some potion for her headache."


    "A-Ah! Yeah!" Eric nodded happily, being given an opportunity to earn more points with her.


    He quickly summoned his cauldron using the Elixir Ring he had made for himself and me, and quickly started putting several materials he carried around, alongside a normal potion.


    "[Brewing]! [Mixing]! [Synthesis]!"


    FLAAASH!


    "Oooh¡­!"


    Alberta was surprised by his swiftness, as Eric quickly gave her a green-colored potion.


    "Here, drink this. It is an Herbal Potion made using herbs I make using my Spirits and some other materials I had." Eric said. "What you''re experiencing is called Mana Fatigue, it happens when you overuse Mana for the first times through leveling, even if your MP is not gone yet, it happens and it''s very annoying."


    "S-So you made this potion to cure it?" Alberta was surprised.


    "Yeah, more or less! Try it out, it has a nice vor as well." Eric happily offered the potion to her.


    "T-Thank you¡­"


    Alberta slowly drank it, and after just a few seconds, she immediately bounced back to normal. Her headache was gone and her Mana conductivity was going rapid as well.


    "Ahh¡­ T-This potion¡­ I-It has made me feel so rxed and well." Alberta began overflowing with Ki as well.


    Indeed, this was a potion we designed so it could help someone open their Meridians and begin the constant fluctuation ofrge quantities of Ki. Eric knew the whole recipe. It utilized materials only I could make, such as the Apples from Apul and his Magic Juice, alongside his own Spirits materials, such as his Yggdrasil Treant''s branches, leaves, flowers, and so on. It even utilized Erika''s leaves as well as a bit of her sap.


    "Fwaahhh¡­ I feel so rxed now." Alberta sighed. Her stuttering was gone due to the pure bliss she was experiencing.


    "Good, just rest for a bit and you''ll be ready to go again. Want me to make some food?" Eric wondered.


    "Y-You can cook?" She wondered.


    "Yeah, my aunt and uncle taught me. Althoughpared to ke I am not as great." Eric said.


    "Ahhh¡­ I-I would like to taste your food, Eric¡­" Alberta said while blushing a bit.


    From here, all of us could clearly see how Eric''s heart was beating faster and faster by her words, she really got him.


    "S-Sure, what do you prefer?"<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "Hmm¡­ I-I don''t know. I''m fine with whatever you would make."


    "Ahh¡­ A-Alright then! ke, can you help me out?"


    "Sigh, you leave me no option then. Let''s make a good snack for everyone then."


    Like that, Eric and I started cooking something as I took out several items from my Inventory. Of course, goblin meat wasn''t in the menu.


    "I was about to ask you to make me a meal!" Erika seemed happy I joined into the cooking.


    "Geez, ke''s not your walking chef you know?" Sighed Elizabeth. "Also weren''t there snacks he gave to you? Where are they?"


    "Oh¡­ the sandwiches? I ate them already¡­" Erika blushed with embarrassment.


    "Seriously¡­" Elizabeth sighed again, giving her a head pat.


    As we cooked, Elfriedden was watching carefully. His eyes opening widely as I moved my hands using the Cooking Skill.


    "Your cooking ability¡­ is incredible, do you possess the Cooking Skill?"


    "Yeah, why?"


    "That''s¡­ you know how hard is to get Skills not rted to one''s Talents?! Howe you have it?"


    "Doing Alchemy and Cooking is not so different, you mix different ingredients to create something new. Eric has be the second best at cooking after me."


    "Hahaha, you''re praising me too much, I am still a long way to go¡­" Ericughed.


    "Hmph¡­" Elfriedden seemed jealous. "Then I should also be able to learn it¡­ I''ll cook something. A dish from my country."


    We brought a nice amount of ingredients through my Inventory, and in an attempt to make him get more rxed with us and get along, I let him have some ingredients he asked me to handle to him. He quickly started cooking, while saying this recipe was one his grandmother taught to him.


    Meanwhile, everyone else prepared things for our meal in the middle of a dangerous dungeon. Chris burned the blood from the ground and cleansed everything with his spirits, while Erdrich brought the table I had inside my Inventory into the middle of the boss room.


    The smell of boiling stew, rice, and spices filled the dungeon. If there was any surviving goblin right now, they would be drooling at our preparation. Once things were done, we quickly brought everything over the table.


    I had prepared some spicy stew using several spices I bought in this city, alongside some simple rice with boiled vegetables. At the side, Eric made his specialty, noodles with a green sauce made from several delicious herbs, and some parmesan cheese on top, giving it to Alberta alongside skewered wild boar meat and a big jar with fresh juice from the apple fruits his Treant Spirit produces.


    "Uwaah! I-It looks so delicious!" Alberta was literally drooling as she began eating everything slightly timidly. But once she realized the vors were outstanding, she quickly forgot about manners and started eating desperately.


    "I''m d you like it. We call this Green Herb Noodles." Eric said. "I used some medicinal herbs to add more vor, the meal can also enhance vitality and stamina."


    "I-I can tell! Each bite I make¡­ it fills me with energy¡­ A-And this meat is so juicy!" Alberta continued eating everything. Eric seemed happy she was happy, what a simple guy he is.


    -----

 Chapter 549 Delicious Stat Boosting Meals

    -----


    "You''ve given the honor of experience the cooking of my family. So make sure to eat and enjoy it¡­ Also don''t you dare eat without manners!" Elfriedden angrily said, revealing his dish.


    The dish he had made was certainly unique, it was several vegetables, such as carrots, green onion, lettuce, mushrooms, and so on fried with olive oil. He added spices here and there, alongside chunks of meat and a sauce he brought himself, called "Sweet Verde Sauce" made of fermented herbs.


    "This is¡­ hot sd?" Wondered Chris.


    "Huh, it is way less than what I expected from your grand family''s cooking." Erdrich mocked it.


    "You two are being too rude!" Elizabeth reprimanded them.


    "Come on you two, be more respectful." Eric sighed. "Thanks for the meal Elfriedden. Let''s see¡­"


    Everyone, including me, tasted his meal. The warm vegetablesbined with the juiciness of the meat chunks and the sweet, citric, and slightly spicy saucebined together into a wonderful experience. It was indeed more than I imagined.


    "It''s good¡­" I said in surprise.


    "W-Woah, I never thought sd could taste good?!" Chris was surprised.


    "Hmmm¡­ The sauce does a lot of the job but the fried vegetables on olive oil make an incrediblebination." Said Erdrich. "The meat and the green onions juices mix together¡­ hmm. I can''t stop eating!"


    "Ah! I''ve tasted this before¡­" Alberta said. "This is the Elves'' Green Garden Dishes! They love to make dishes like this, and they love sweet and citric spices as well. They''re masters of fermentation as well."


    "So that''s how it is¡­" Eric said. "It is indeed very tasty."


    "Hmmm! But nothing like my ke''s dishes!" Erika said, she already ate the whole te of Elfriedden''s dish and was eating my stew with rice. "I love the spicy stew he makes! My mouth''s on fire, heheh!"


    "I think all the dishes are tasty¡­ I cannot decide." Elizabeth said.


    "Oooh! What a tasteful meal! I am d I was given the chance to share this meal with my master''s friends! All of you are such nice and talented children!" Laughed Hendrick while enjoying the food.


    "Hendrick don''t talk so loudly." Sighed Eleanora. "My master''s dishes are obviously the best though. I cannot have enough of them; it is very noticeable he makes them with a lot of love¡­ The more I eat them, the more I feel more connected with him¡­" Eleanora said with a fascinated smile, her red eyes ncing at me with a rather lovely gaze.


    I think she''s exaggerating. I made them on the go without thinking too much¡­ Well, I''ve grown used to everyone saying these types of things.


    "Papa''s stew is the best! I want more rice, papa!" Saphira called me.


    "Alright." I quickly served my daughter some more. "An extra portion for being such a good girl."


    "Uwaaah! Thank you papa!" Saphira gave me a kiss in my cheek and flew to eat the rest.


    Obviously, two other girls seemed jealous of this.


    "Eeeh~? Haven''t I been a good girl too~?" Erika looked at me with puppy eyes. "Give me some more papa!"


    "D-Don''t call me papa now!" I sighed. "Here, just eat as much as you want."


    I gave her a big second serving, Erika was left happily stuffing herself with more food.


    "Certainly, the dishes here are all¡­ good, yeah." Sighed Elfriedden. "This stew¡­ Hahh, it is certainly quite spicy. And the noodles with this green sauce, I had never tasted something simr before. Well done."


    "Haha, it''s nothing. My dish can''tpare to the other two." Eric said with humbleness.


    "No, no, it is very good, really!" Alberta said with a radiant smile, making Eric blush even more.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "A-Ah¡­ I-I am happy that you liked it, Alberta¡­" Eric said while lowering his head in embarrassment.


    "Huh? E-Eric, you''re all red¡­ A-Are you okay?" Alberta wondered.


    "Seriously, this girl doesn''t know how lethal she is to him." Giggled Hendrick.


    "How lovely." Eleanora smiled.


    "Hey long ears! Can I have more of that sd?" Wondered Saphira.


    "You might be ke''s spirit but you are not allowed to call me long ears!" Elfriedden said angrily, though he still gave her seconds.


    Like that, as we finished eating, I quickly checked my Grimoire once more, looking at the Skills I could learn.


    -----


    <Skill Tree: [Job ss]: [Summoner: ¡ï¡ï]>


    [Familiar Connection: Lv0] 100 SP


    [Familiar Awakening: Lv0] 150 SP


    [Advanced Familiar Fusion: Lv0] 200 SP


    -----


    <Skill Tree: [Subss]: [Synthesist: ¡ï¡ï]>


    [Metamorphosis: Lv0] 75 SP


    [Extraction: Lv0] 75 SP


    [Advanced Synthesis: Lv0] 125 SP


    [Golem Creation: Lv0] 125 SP


    -----


    Hmmm¡­ What should I pick first? Well, if I level up again, I could pick Familiar Awakening and Advanced Familiar Fusion right away. They seem like the strongest. But what about this Familiar Connection one? What does it do? I assume it could allow me to connect with my Familiars in some way.


    Maybe to share my senses with them? Or perhaps gain even more strength from them¡­ Though by merely summoning them I can already get bonus stats added to my status, which help quite a lot. Well, I should have more patience for now and wait a bit longer. Thanks to Hard Worker at max level, skills can level up faster than before anyways, I don''t need to have as much urgency to get something and train it as quickly as possible.


    ¡­Though once we''re out of the dungeon, I''ll do just that.


    Once we were done eating everything, I quickly stored the dishes inside the Inventory and we were ready to depart- However, Alberta stopped us from moving on.


    "W-Wait a bit¡­ I am the cksmith here s-so I wanted to help in more ways t-than fighting." Alberta said. "E-Everyone, can you lend me your weapons?"


    Alberta seemed to have an idea to help us boost our weapon''s strength even more. Perhaps it had to do with one of her various Skills rted with cksmithing, maybe she wanted to help in more ways than shooting fireballs or using her hammer offensively. After all, she had promised she would use her unique abilities to help us.


    -----

 Chapter 550 Albertas Amazing Weapon Reinforcements

    -----


    CLANK! CLANK! CLANK!


    FLUOOOSH!


    Alberta utilized her Spirit Hammer and her mes, alongside several other skills to enchant the Gluttony Spear temporarily to a greater level of power. I was amazed by her powers, something I couldn''t imitate at all due to the uniqueness of her Skills and her Spirit.


    Recalling her Stats, I quickly checked my Grimoire where I had written them alongside the Status of everyone else. These were the simple status made by the Appraisal Crystal:


    -----


    [Name]: [Alberta Fierysmith]


    [Race]: [Dwarf]


    [Spirit Orb Realm]: [Rank 1 (Middle Stage)]


    [Talent]: [Rune cksmith: ¡ï¡ï¡ï]


    [Health Points]: [C]


    [Mana Points]: [A+]


    [Strength]: [B]


    [Agility]: [C]


    [Vitality]: [B]


    [Intelligence]: [A]


    [Dexterity]: [S]


    [Spirits (1/1)]: [Volcanic Smith Hammer (Rank 1 Middle Stage)]


    [Skills]: [Mana Maniption] [Fiery Hammer Techniques] [Fireball] [Fire Hammer] [Fire Shield] [Fire Magic] [Rune Creation] [Quick Repair] [Reinforce] [Sharpen] [Forging] [Smithing] [Smelting] [Metallurgy] [Godsmith Eyes] [Spirit Connection] [Smith Magic] [Crafting] [Alchemy] [cksmith''s Forge] [¡­]


    -----


    Seeing this, it is quite obvious she got a ton of Skills that she could be using. But it was easy to guess once she began chanting them out loud while imbuing enchantment runes through her hammer.


    "[Quick Repair]!"


    CLANK!


    "[Reinforce]!"


    CLANK!


    "[Sharpen]!"


    CLANK!


    FLUOOOSH!


    The Gluttony Spear suddenly began overflowing with a fiery aura, as she gave it thest enchantment, runes that emerged from her hammer, covering the spear''s handle and its de.


    "[Rune Creation]: [Attack Runes]!"


    FLAAASH!


    Ding!


    [The [ursed Abyssal Devourer Spear: Gluttony (Mythic-Grade)] has been temporarily enhanced!]<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    [Attack has increased by +20%!]


    [Bonus Stats have increased by +5%!]


    [Abilities Effects have been reinforced by +10%!]


    [Enchantment Duration: 2.5 Hours]


    "Here!"


    Alberta gave me back my spear, everyone''s else weapons were enchanted by her hammer, even Eric''s bow received the same powerful benefits.


    "T-This is amazing, you''ve made our weapons stronger so easily!" Chris said.


    "So this is the true power of Dwarves¡­" Elfriedden said in shock, ncing at his needle.


    Not only was she able to use this on weapon or armor¡­ Even Tool or Weapon-type Spirits received the enchantments as if they counted as real weapons. This was the true power of a Runic cksmith.


    "Phew¡­" Alberta cleansed her sweating from her forehead, her iridescent orange and red hair shining brightly below her portable furnace. "I hope this can help you guys be stronger. I''ve also used it on this."


    She showed a small, red-colored wand, it was a simple zing Wand, a beginner wand for starting magicians. She had bought it for herself, probably to be able to enchant her own weapon''s strength and therefore have stronger fire magic. Chris already covers the fire element anyways, but she might develop Earth magic in the future as well, or thebination of Fire and Earth, Volcanic Magic.


    "Amazing¡­ Even my bow!" Eric said. "Alberta you''re awesome!"


    "My sword had a few cracks for a while now but they''re all gone!" Erika was as happy.


    "My staff was getting rusty for some reason so this really helps too, it is clean, and even shiny!" Chris said.


    "Great job! I think my magic could be way stronger like this." Elizabeth said.


    Before everyone''s praises, Alberta got overly embarrassed, covering her face. Perhaps she had never received this much praise before. Her stuttering, her nervous nature, and herck of self confidence all scream to me that she was mistreated back in her family.


    Whatever she went through back in her home, it was something that didn''t allowed her to grow nor develop her mind and confidence properly. She has so many talents yet she doesn''t seem to be able to think they were useful at all¡­ In our first meeting, she wasn''t even sure we would recruit her.


    "T-Thank you¡­ N-Nobody has ever¡­ t-told me that before¡­" Alberta said, she was about to cry, even.


    "A-Alberta, are you okay?" Eric wondered.


    "Y-Yeah¡­ I just¡­ I am happy to be¡­ p-part of this party¡­" Alberta smiled sweetly.


    Everyone skipped a beat at her smile, she was perhaps the cutest member of our party. Even the obviously serous Elfriedden couldn''t resist her cuteness.


    "Ahem! W-Well, you should be more aware of your strengths. Only weaklings let others make them believe they''re useless. My whole life I was told I was a useless person, that I had no good talent, and that my spirit was incapable of anything¡­" Elfriedden smiled. "However, I showed them time and time again they were wrong. You, Alberta, must do the same. Whoever made you think you were not good enough¡­ Show them they''re wrong, with effort, and aplishments."


    "Elfriedden¡­" Alberta felt surprised the angry elf said such words.


    "Yeah, he''s right. I also went through something simr back then, I always felt useless and a weakling¡­ But over time, with effort, I was able to find out my talents. Thanks to my friends in here too." Eric said. "You don''t need to do this alone anymore."


    "Eric¡­" Alberta was being given so much advice that I felt the necessity to hurry things up, we still had two more floors toplete.


    "Everyone, we should keep going, if you want toplete things in time record, we must move forward. Alberta,pleting this dungeon will be your first great aplishment. Let''s do it together." I said, trying to both hurry them up and also inspire Alberta.


    "Y-Yeah, leader! Let''s do it!" She quickly stood up, all ready to go.


    "Then let us go."


    Like that, we swiftly made our way to the stairs leading underground. In mere seconds, we found ourselves on the third floor, the floor right before thest floor, Floor 4, where the Boss Monster would be waiting for us.


    "Oh, there''s glowing moss growing around the cave, and giant crystals! What are those?" Wondered Erika, as we wandered in the starting point of the Floor 3. Unlike 1 and 2, there were no monsters waiting for us.


    "Those are Mana Crystals; they grow as a concentration of crystalized Mana." Said Elfriedden. "Mostly unique to Dungeons and Mountains."


    -----

 Chapter 551 Entering Floor 3

    -----


    "Huh? Nobody asked you. I wanted ke to exin it to me¡­" Sighed Erika.


    "Y-You! I was just trying to be polite!" Elfriedden angrily replied.


    "Anyways, yeah, what he said. They''re quite valuable as materials, but we''ll mine them once we''re done with the Dungeon Boss." I said with a smile. "Also they do grow in other ces as well, usually in areas with tons of Mana or Miasma known as Haunts."


    "Oooh! I''ll help you mine themter then, I''ve got some Mining Dolls." Erika said.


    "More importantly, why don''t you use your second spirit?" I asked her. "You''ve not been taking it out at all."


    "Huhhh¡­ It''s a bitplicated¡­" Erika sighed. "He''s a bit¡­ a bit nuts."


    "Nuts?" I wondered. "Wasn''t he a strong spirit?"


    "Yeah but there''s something dark about this spirit, so it goes berserk and it''s a bit scary¡­" Sighed Erika.


    "Just bring him out-"


    "BLAKE! WATCH OUT!"


    FLAAASH!


    Suddenly, an arrow flew towards Erika''s face, imbued with Mana, it flew at an incredible speed.


    BAAAM!


    However, my arm blocked it, the arrow exploded once it hit my arm, leaving a small wound over the skin, but nothing too serious.


    "Huh?! Who threw that?" Erika wondered.


    "GRUOOOOHHH!"


    "GORUK! GARUK!"


    "KECHEK!"


    The roars of monstrous humanoids echoed around the entire dungeon. In mere seconds, we were surrounded not by Goblins anymore, not even by Hobgoblins, but byrger¡­ beings.


    "Those are¡­?!" Eric was surprised.


    "Wait, they appear in Floor 3?" Chris wondered.


    "This is not a goblin dungeon, it''s the Ogre''s Den, a harder dungeon than something like the Goblin''s Cave." I answered. "I''ve been waiting them for a while¡­"


    The three-meter-tall, green-skinned barbarians that greeted us were Orcs, slightly simr to goblins in appearance, but burlier, muscr, and taller. Most of them also had long, white, silver, or red hair, and glowing red eyes.


    They emanated powerful Magical Auras, if they were able to shoot that powerful arrow, they were naturally capable of conjuring Skills and Magic. That exploding arrow wasn''t a normal arrow at all after all, it as the power of a Skill.


    "KEHEHEHEH¡­ GUKAH! GORUK! KECHEK! KIHIHIHI!"


    A taller than the rest Orc greeted us. An Orc Chief, his enormous body reaching almost three meters and a half, wearing bone-made armor, and holding a gigantic Battle Axe, heughed evilly as he pointed his fingers at us, he was mocking our height. I knew Orcish Tongue as they were a widespread race in Asmodeus'' world.


    "He''s saying we are foolish little children, and that we''re going to die an agonizing death before they feast in out tender flesh." I said. "Just like they did to thest team that came here¡­"


    "Huh? But I am fairly sure they''re fine?" Wondered Chris.


    "They probably meant an older party of people that went inside of here¡­ After all, Monsters have been proven to have memories of previous lives, sometimes. This chief probably inherited the memories of his previous life. Souls inside dungeons get constantly recycled." I said to everyone.


    "S-So that''s a thing¡­" Erika said.


    "KECHEK!"


    The angered Orc Chief got pissed off we weren''t as scared as he wanted to see us, the Orcs immediately charged once he gave out the signal. Tens of Orc Archers from afar pointed arrows at us to make things worse, while burly Orc Warriors raised their powerful and giant weapons, attempting to crush us.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "GRUOOOHHHHH!"


    The battle quickly broke out, everyone unleashed their magic and techniques, this time without holding back. The dungeon was finally showing its true difficulty after reaching Floor 3. A giant Orc rushed my way as I saved Erika from getting an arrow over her face, she quickly jumped into battle, fighting another Orcing from behind.


    CLAAASH!


    The powerful Orc Warrior that confronted me boldly attempted to sh me in half by swinging his giant, rusted iron sword, which was two handed, but which he wielded with merely one hand.


    CRASH!


    However, my spear responded to that attack swiftly, parrying the blow as an enormous amount of red and ck energy surged from the parried attack''s counter blow.


    "GRAKH?!" The Orc Warrior was left speechless, he didn''t expected a child to be this strong as to parry his powerful blow.


    "Burn. [Crimson re]."


    I gathered Blood Ki and Mana together and unleashed a fireball into the Orc Warrior''s body, setting him aze. The Crimson re was a special Magicbining Ki which had both Blood and Fire Elements converged together.


    "GRAAAAAHHH!!!"


    The Orc Warrior roared in agony, but furiously continued attacking with mes covering his body. His rage activating the Berserk Aura as he unleashed consecutive blows. The monster was mighty and durable, just as the Orcs my previous life knew about.


    CRASH! CRASH! CRAAASH!


    "I''ll end you with one blow. [Spear Attack Enhancement]."


    FLAASH!


    My spear gained a momentary enhancement to attack, one of the many new Techniques I acquired through the evolved Spearmanship into Spear Mastery, and then, I jumped the moment the Orc Warrior hit the ground again, pointing the tip of my weapon against the monster''s hardy chest.


    "[Heart Piercer]!"


    CRAAAAAASH!


    The spear''s tip reached the Orc Warrior''s chest, piercing through its hard bones and skin and piercing the monster''s heart, unleashing, at the same time, a st of darkness and blood energy, filling the Orc Warrior''s interior and making its chest explode.


    BOOOOOMMM!!!


    SPLAASH!


    The entire body fell into pieces over the ground, as I found myself covered on blood. Nothing wrong with that, I''ve always loved bathing in my enemy''s blood. I already had drained the blood of the enemies we fought before, filling my body with more Blood Ki.


    "[Blood Extraction]"


    FLUOOOSH!


    The blood from the Orc Warrior was several times richer and stronger than the goblins and hobgoblins though, once refined into Blood Ki, it became a powerful and fierce energy that I once more gathered together into a powerful mass of spiraling blood.


    "GRUOOOOH!"


    "GRAAAAH!"


    "GROOOAR!"


    Three Orcs ran towards me to avenge their fallenrade.


    "You''re bold,e and die then. [Blood des]!"


    FLASH! FLASH! FLASH! FLASH!


    -----

 Chapter 552 Against An Army Of Orcs

    -----


    Blood de, a low leveled Blood Arts Technique. However, with the Skill Level increasing, all Techniques grow stronger anyways, and the richer the quality of blood and the quantity of Ki used, the better and stronger the attacks be as well. A storm of Blood des emerged from the sphere of blood in my hands, firing to all directions and piercing the bodies of the three Orc Warriors charging at me.


    FLASH! FLASH! FLASH! FLASH! FLASH!


    SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLAAASH!


    "GRYAAAAKHHH¡­!"


    "GRUKAH!"


    "GRYKEH!"


    One of the Orc Warriors got a de into his eyes, and the other des all reached his body and pierced through his flesh and bones with ease, the others were the same, but without their eyes hurt, they kept charging, ignoring the pain that would make goblins scream and try to run away. Orcs were certainly a resilient race¡­ and that''s why they''re the ideal punching bags.


    "GRUOOOHH!"


    One of the Orc Warriors gathered Mana into his fists, covered by bone gauntlets, and unleashed a barrage of fast punches, he was most likely an Orc Pugilist, and was using the [Meteor Fists] Fist Technique.


    "GRAAAAKH!"


    Meanwhile, the second Orc Warrior held arge hammer made of bones, which he charged with Mana and then pointed at me, aiming to crush me.


    BAAAAAAM!!!


    However, the moment they hit me, they felt as if they were hitting an incredibly hard piece of metal. No, even harder than that. My defensive stats were not the greatest, yeah, but once I activated my advanced Physique through the consumption of Blood or Blood Ki, and then when I imbued it with Mana and Demonic Energy¡­ then I could quite literally tank these enormous blows just with my bare skin.


    "G-GRAAH?!"


    "GRUGAH?!"


    The two were left speechless, they began sweating more and more as I nced at the two, my eyes glowing redder the more my Vampiric Physique was stimted.


    [Blood Flow eleration]! [Blood Pump]!


    Blood began flowing rapidly across my body, and my blood began pumping rapidly, warming up my body quickly. My reflexes were boosted to apletely new level, in a second, I reached the Orc at my left, appearing right at the left side of his head!


    [Blood Edge] and¡­ [Blood ws]!


    SLAAAAASH!


    My hands suddenly gatheredrge quantities of Blood Ki, materializing into terrifying and sharp as de ws made of blood, which I used to behead the Orc in front of me.


    BAAAM!


    Its enormous head fell over the ground, as the other Orc behind me furiously was about to hit me with his hammer, only to be stopped by my spear.


    [Weapon Destroyer]!


    CRAAASH!


    This was yet another Spear Mastery Technique, capable of inflicting great damage against the weapons of foes, in a single strike, the entire hammer shattered into pieces, just before I leaped over the Orc''s head and sliced it cleanly with my [Blood ws]!


    SLAAAASH!


    BAAAM!


    Another head rolled over the floor. I looked at the third Orc Warrior trying to look at me even when both of his eyes were destroyed by my previous Blood des. I quickly extracted more Blood from the Orcs and shaped it as a [Blood Spear], firing it at the Orc''s head.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    CLAAASH!


    "GRUUUAAAAHH!"


    The Orc cried in agony before falling to the ground, motionless.


    BAAAM!


    "GRKKKHHH!"


    In the distance, the Orc Chief was furious we were demolishing his forces rapidly. Everyone else was killing Orcs together, working like a team perfectly well. Eric used his vines to trap the Orc''s legs while Chris and Alberta burned that Orc with mes before Eric shot its head into pieces with a magic arrow.


    Erdrich fought one on one against Orc Warriors with his physique evolving through his battles thanks to his [ursed Seven Layered Demon Transformation], his skin had already be charcoal ck I color, as golden tattoos grew over his skin, he had reached his thirdyer, his current limit, [ck Demon]. Even when many Orcs overwhelmed him, Elizabeth and Elfriedden offered long-ranged magic support.


    I also saw Elfriedden shooting down Orcs by firing Ice Spears into their heads, or freezing their legs and then crushing them, other times, he used his needle to hit their pressure points masterfully and incapacitate them by paralyzing their muscles, just before someone else took them down, usually heavy hitters such as Erdrich or Erika.


    "GRAKUH! KECHEK!"


    The Orc Chief nced behind him, where the ten Orc Archers were pointing their arrows at us¡­ but they were in the floor, all dead.


    "GRAH!?"


    He had not noticed but I had sent my three spirits to take them down sneakily. They used Shadow Maniption Techniques to easily get behind them and eliminate them before they would be too troublesome in the battle. The Orc Chief was utterly overwhelmed from all sides, and he was left hopeless.


    "GRRRRRRHHH!"


    However, I had yet to have enough time to get to him, five more Orc Warriors surrounded me. Anybody would be terrified by such a sight which pretty much screamed Certain Death. But to me, they were merely aperitives.


    "GRAAAAAH!"


    "KECHEEEEK!"


    "GRUOOOHHH!"


    They roared in unison to bolster their morale, while they called me "Blood Bastard" or something. Their heavy blows reached me, hammers, axes, spears, swords. I used [Parry] with my Spear Mastery Skill and Gluttony, unleashing powerful sts of Darkness and Blood Essence each time an attack was parried.


    CLASH! CLASH! CLASH! CLAAASH!


    FLASH!


    By enchanting my body''s capabilities even more, I jumped high into the ceiling. Blood quickly shaped into bat-like wings behind me as I utilized [Blood Bat Wings] to give me a temporary ability to fly, and I swung my spear and my ws together, slicing heads from left and right.


    The Orcs desperate tried to destroy my smaller body into pieces with their heavy blows, but they were dealing no damage at all. I was actually more susceptible to magic damage, but the archers that could do those explosive arrows were gone,pletely out of the picture.


    "GRAAAAH!"


    Thest two orcs roared furiously as I cut down their legs and arms, and I summoned my little Wyvern, Ruby.


    "Go, Ruby, y them and level up, you''re close to evolution by now."


    "Rooaarr!"


    The little Blood Wyvern jumped into his feast.


    -----

 Chapter 553 Little Ruby Steps In!

    -----


    Ruby had been slowly growing up since he hatched around three years ago. Wyverns are dragon-type monsters, which means they grow very slow by natural means. I could had infected him with Miasma to make him mutate into a monstrous wyvern, but that would probably make him uncontroble. And for the evolution I want him to take, I don''t want to take the cheapest of roads. However, leveling is different, every living being in the world can level up, even monsters.


    When monsters level up to their level cap, instead of Ranking Up a Talent they don''t possess, they evolve into a higher Rank. Currently, Ruby''s a Rank F Baby Blood Wyvern. Monsters can naturally grow over the years and evolve through age, so he would eventually, around five years of age, reach his young adult stage and probably be E Rank, and then adult stage would be D Rank.


    But that alone would take around¡­ ten years. I don''t have the time for such a luxury, so I have already decided to bring him along through my shadows. My friends already know him a bit, but I often have him inside of my Spirit Realm so he doesn''t causes problems at the academy. Erika''s mother also dislike beasts, so I cannot bring him out too much either.


    Nheless, if he grows strong enough I can register him as a tamed monster like Blood, and he''ll have the official right to walk wherever he pleases to. Of course, the quicker way for him to reach his adulthood is not by waiting for him to grow naturally, nor by infecting and mutating him with miasma¡­ simply put, I have to feed him easy EXP from high ranked monsters.


    Orcs are pretty high rank, so they''re ideal. There''s a problem with this though, he cannot earn EXP through a "party" like I do with everyone else. Monsters doesn''t seem to be added to this Party System, even when they''re "Tamed" so I have to personally allow him to inflict some damage into a monster. But that would be too slow as the EXP he''ll get won''t even be 10% of it.


    So what''s better? To let him kill the opponent instead, of course!


    "Roooarr! Grarrrr!"


    Ruby continued attacking with his tiny ws and his fire breath against the two Orcs in the floor, the Orc had incredible defenses, so I had to cover them with various wounds using Gluttony to lower their stats enough for Ruby to hurt their high Defense Stat.


    CRASH! CRASH!


    After a lot of work, the little wyvern finally managed to y the two Orcs, it took him five minutes with each one, and I already  had him prepared another five more Orcs, with their limbs cut off and bleeding, ready for the kill.


    "Roar! Groar!"


    The adorable baby wyvern continued ughtering the weakened Orcs, as the Orcs cried in annoyance and fury for getting killed by such a small creature that they could easily crush to death if they had their limbs.


    "What? Did you thought I was going to give you a swift death?" Iughed. "Ruby, make sure they suffer! And drink their blood as well, you have to drink as much blood as you can!"


    "Roar!" Ruby responded happily, his adorable red tail waving around like a puppy. Once he was finished, her a to my side and began licking my face.


    "Grarrr!"


    "Well done, you''re a good boy."


    Through all this time, I had been utterly unable to see other''s status than my own Spirits. I cannot see the status of other people, nor I can see the status of monsters I fight, not even my tamed monsters.


    "Hey Grimoire, can''t I see the Status of my Tamed Monsters at least?"


    [Processing¡­ Such function was not initially possible within the [Grimoire]


    "Is there not an Appraisal Skill?"


    [Negative.]


    "Hmm¡­ Well, whatever. I can guess he''s getting closer to max level, it feels like he''s overflowing with more energy than before."


    Ding!


    [The Holy Spirits had answered your request.]


    [The Holy Spirit of Fire says that seeing other living beings'' status is ratherplicated.]


    [The Holy Spirit of Water says that seeing through the souls of other living beings requires divine power.]


    So that''s why I cannot see other status¡­ So the Appraisal Crystal is imbued with divine power? I suppose that''s why it is such an ancient and valuable relic.


    [However, the Holy Spirit of Light says that such a request is eptable. With the current Divine Protection of all Twelve Spirits and your developed Spirit Realm, you barely have enough Divine Power for it.]<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    Hm?!


    Ding!


    [You can now see the Status of Tamed Monsters]


    [If you develop your Divine Spirit Power enough, you might be able to see the Status of other people and monsters.]


    I see, as long as I tame the monster, I can actually see its status! How convenient. I suppose those Holy Spirits are quite dedicated to my cause. Unlike having Lucifer watching over me, I prefer these twelve instead, at least they''re rather open for conversations and discussions, and might even ept my requests as well.


    -----


    [Name]: [Ruby] [Rank]: [F]


    [Race]: [Baby Blood Wyvern: ¡ï]


    [Spirit Orb Realm]: [Rank 1 (Middle Stage)]


    [Level]: [17/25]


    [Health Points]: [370/370]


    [Mana Points]: [270/270]


    [Strength]: [285]


    [Agility]: [325]


    [Vitality]: [225]


    [Intelligence]: [180]


    [Dexterity]: [230]


    [Passive Skills]: [Wyvern Scales: Lv3] [Flight: Lv3] [Blood Monster: Lv2] [Hawk Eyes: Lv2]


    [Active Skills]: [Sharp Wyvern ws: Lv3] [Strong Bite: Lv3] [Tail Whip: Lv3] [Fiery Breath: Lv2]


    [Magic Skills]: [Fireball: Lv2] [Blood de: Lv2]


    [Title Skills]: [Vampiric Servant: Lv2] [Blood Wyvern: Lv2] [Giant Killer: Lv1]


    -----


    Oh, so these are his stats, I can finally see them. He has more Skills than I had originally expected. His status showed inside my Grimoire without anyplications as well.


    And his Level is 17 out of 25¡­ only a few more levels and you can evolve, little guy.


    "GRRRRAAAAH!"


    And the Orc Chief was right there waiting to get killed.


    -----

 Chapter 554 Floor 3 Clear

    -----


    [Name]: [Ruby] [Rank]: [F]


    [Race]: [Baby Blood Wyvern: ¡ï]


    [Spirit Orb Realm]: [Rank 1 (Middle Stage)]


    [Level]: [17/25]


    [Health Points]: [370/370]


    [Mana Points]: [270/270]


    [Strength]: [285]


    [Agility]: [325]


    [Vitality]: [225]


    [Intelligence]: [180]


    [Dexterity]: [230]


    [Passive Skills]: [Wyvern Scales: Lv3] [Flight: Lv3] [Blood Monster: Lv2] [Hawk Eyes: Lv2]


    [Active Skills]: [Sharp Wyvern ws: Lv3] [Strong Bite: Lv3] [Tail Whip: Lv3] [Fiery Breath: Lv2]


    [Magic Skills]: [Fireball: Lv2] [Blood de: Lv2]


    [Title Skills]: [Vampiric Servant: Lv2] [Blood Wyvern: Lv2] [Giant Killer: Lv1]


    -----


    After analyzing Ruby''s status, I quickly decided to get to ending this Floor and moving to the veryst one. The Orc Chief and a group of ten other Orcs protecting him remained at the end of the Floor''s corridors, while the other Orcs were all dead. The look of his face seemed clearly pained, the cockiness he held beforepletely gone.


    "Ruby, stay inside my shadows for now, if you get a hit from him you''ll probably die."


    "Roar!"


    Ruby seemed angered I was letting him out of the fun, but at the end he still entered my shadows.


    "G R A A A A A H!"


    The Orc Chief and the other ten Orcs roared. Within the Orc Chief''s body, a powerful Red and Orange Aura emerged, covering the other Orcs bodies, their skins suddenly began glowing as red runes emerged across their bodies, and so did the Orc Chief''s body.


    This is most likely another Skill I''ve read about. While Berserk Aura is an individual Skill, monsters that are categorized as Leaders or Bosses mighte with a party-boosting Skill. But if he didn''t used it before when his army was bigger, it means it has some limitations.


    It is most likely the skill [Berserk Bloodlust] which enhances and a group of allies and the conjurer himself, turning them all crazy with boosted stats. The Orc Chief didn''t used this because he didn''t wanted to charge recklessly, I see.


    "There theye!" Eric said as he pointed his arrows at the approaching Orcs, quickly firing five at the same time by enchanting them with his skills.


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOOOMMM!!!


    They reached the Orcs, but the Orc Chief blocked the arrows by swinging hisrge Battle Axe, an enormous wave of Mana emerged from each of his attacks. His blows were powerful and Mana-imbued, most likely a Battle Axe Technique.


    "G R A A A A H!"


    The other Orc Warriors reached our party, as they began fighting desperately. My three spirits and I charged straight towards the boss while I left the crazed Orcs o my friends. I brought out Ruby from my shadows and ordered him to shoot Fireballs all around the other Orcs, even if he did a small amount of damage, it was good enough for him to earn some EXP. I should had done this earlier with the weaker Goblins, but even then I was testing the waters.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "GRUKHA! GRIEHEHEHE!"


    The Orc Chief started tough, mocking my sizepared to his own, which was almost four meters of height. Well, I''ll just show him that stature doesn''t really matter¡­ by using all the blood of hisrades against him.


    "RAAAAAAHHH!!"


    He began unleashing powerful Battle Axe Techniques against me, one hit after the other reached me, sending shockwaves everywhere with each sessful blow. I mostly intercepted them with my own attacks, without using any particr technique other than [Parry].


    CLASH! CLASH! CLASH! CLAAASH!


    The pressure on his face was evident, each blow I intercepted sent more weight to his shoulders, and with consecutive blows, his muscles must be tearing apart by now. But his skill allowed him to ovee pain, attempting to overwhelm me with pure raw power.


    "GRAAAAH!"


    He continued roaring furiously. I already assumed that setting him on fire wouldn''t help, so I simply gathered more and more blood on my free hand, while infusing Darkness and Blood Elemental Ki together into it.


    FLASH!


    I flew into the ceiling using [Blood Wings] and then reached the Orc Chief''s face, pointing the mass of blood and darkness in my hands towards his body.


    "[Blood Judgement]"


    FLUOOOOOOSSSHHHH!!!


    An enormous tornado of blood and darkness erupted, consuming the Orc Chief in an instant, countless des emerged one after the other, made of blood and darkness, and started piercing through his body, his blood continued sttering everywhere, as I absorbed it and continued feeding on this barrage of consecutive blows.


    CLASH! CLASH! CLASH! CLASH! CLASH!


    "GRAAAAHHHH¡­!"


    The Orc Chief groaned in agony, but I had no mercy. I quickly aimed for his limbs, one by one, I sliced them wide open through Gluttony. The boost Alberta granted to the spear''s sharpness was sublime, it would had taken longer to slice through hard muscle and bones otherwise.


    SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH!


    BAAAAM!


    His body fell into the ground, barely gasping for air as his eyes continued glowing red in fury, his roars continued even as he was hopelessly dying. If I have to say something, his tenacity wasmendable.


    "Ruby, go for it."


    I quickly brought out Ruby, as he jumped over the Orc Chief''srge head and began burning his eyes and face while scratching him with his ws and hitting him with his tail.


    "GRAAAHHH! AGRRGGGHHHH¡­!"


    The Orc Chief was agonizing, I can tell.


    "You''re tenacious, I have to admit it¡­ However, you''re no match for me. I hope you''ll have a stronger reincarnation one day. Maybe that day we''ll have a more even fight."


    CRAAASH!


    Ruby finally managed to crush the Orc Chief''s head after a lot of effort. His stats rose up as he leveled up even more. His Level reaching 23, and that''s adding the bonus EXP from the other Orcs. I guess he won''t be able to evolve until we finish this dungeon.


    Everyone else had already finished off the furious and boosted Orcs rather easily, although it took them to gang on them together to defeat them, even Erdrich was notpletely capable of 1v1 them.


    Nheless, Floor 3 was cleared.


    -----

 Chapter 555 Moving To The Last Floor

    -----


    Ding!


    [You And Your Party have in [Orc Warrior (E++ Rank)] x48!]


    [You And Your Party have in [Orc Archer (E++ Rank)] x16!]


    [You And Your Party have in [Orc Chief (E+++ Rank)] x1!]


    [EXP has been multiplied thanks to [Hard Worker]!]


    [You earned 1138000 EXP!]


    [Level Up!]


    [Level Up!]


    [Your Level has increased from Level 19 to Level 21!]


    [All your Stats have increased.]


    [You gained Stat Points and Skill Points.]


    [Your Tamed Monster [Ruby] has reached Level 23!]


    [Your Tamed Monster [Blood] has reached Level 32!]


    Oh, it even report my tamed monsters leveling up, huh? Come to think of it, Blood also participated by fighting at the side of Eleanora. He''s been ourpanion for years now but he''s very attached to her because she was the one that transformed him and gave him a second chance (although it was by my request, she just wanted to hunt him down back then).


    -----


    [Name]: [Blood] [Rank]: [D]


    [Race]: [Crimson Blood Wolf: ¡ï¡ï]


    [Spirit Orb Realm]: [Rank 2 (Initial Stage)]


    [Level]: [32/40]


    [Health Points]: [1370/1370]


    [Mana Points]: [920/920]


    [Strength]: [1305]


    [Agility]: [1530]


    [Vitality]: [985]


    [Intelligence]: [965]


    [Dexterity]: [1670]


    [Passive Skills]: [Resistant Crimson Fur: Lv4] [Blood Monster: Lv4] [Wolf Eyes: Lv3]


    [Active Skills]: [Blood ws: Lv5] [Strong Bite: Lv5] [Tail Whip: Lv4] [Berserk Blood Aura: Lv3] [Ferocious Howl: Lv4] [Ravaging Charge: Lv3]


    [Magic Skills]: [Blood Arts: Lv4] [Blood Spears: Lv4] [Shadow Sneak: Lv4] [Blood Boost: Lv3] [Shadow Ball: Lv3] [Shadow Maniption: Lv2]


    [Title Skills]: [Vampiric Servant: Lv4] [Blood Wolf: Lv4] [Demon yer: Lv3] [Giant Killer: Lv2]


    -----


    Well there he is. He has grown stronger since that time we first meet him. He was an old wolf covered on scars, but now he had leveled up and evolved, even. He had regained most of his youth yet still held that powerful aura of a mature and wise beast. His Skills had been developing and awakening over time as well.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    Recently he got Shadow Maniption as well, so he''s getting tons of new Techniques through that one single Skill, allowing him to better manipte shadows and blood. However, his forte is not magic but physical blows and his incredible speed and dexterity. His attacks can dealrge amounts of damage and he''s a good mount for Eleanora and her pet.


    I also have a special evolution nned for him, I just need to gather more materials and hopefully hunt stronger wolf-type monsters. There''s a dungeon in this city that could give me the materials I want¡­ as for Ruby, I already have them with me.


    "Phew, we''re done!" Said Chris. "That was intense¡­ I can''t wait for Floor 4! Let''s go immediately!" Chris was pumped up, blood flowing through his veins.


    "Floor 30 took us around fifteen minutes¡­" I said. "I wonder why we took longer in the previous floor. Well, whatever. Is everyone alright? Nobody feels tired?"


    "Yeah, I''m alright! Though I need to refill my HP and MP¡­" Said Erika. "I lost a bit of HP because those sneaky orcs got a few hits on my back¡­ But I swung my vines growing from my body and got them good! I even absorbed some of their vitality! But that wasn''t enough¡­"


    "I am honestly a bit tired as well, can we take a small break?" Elizabeth asked.


    "Yeah, I want to rest for a bit, don''t be so hasty, Chris." Eric sighed.


    "Y-Yeah, let''s take it easy~" Alberta sighed, sitting on her golem. "Ah, maybe next time I should design a golem that could fight¡­ Something big and strong to help me fight bigger monsters like Orcs easier."


    "Sounds interesting, maybe I can help you with that." Eric said. "I have a few designs drawn here¡­" Eric quickly showed Alberta his notebook.


    "Oooh, so many designs!" Alberta seemed happy.


    "I am fine with continuing, but it would be nice to wait for my MP to refill, I''ve got myself some Mana Potions, do anybody want some?" Elfriedden asked.


    "Mana potions are certainly a quick way to refill Mana, but there''s a way better way in here." I quickly handled everyone with some sandwiches I had in my Inventory, and some Magic Juice as well.


    "Wait, food?!" Elfriedden asked. "This is a¡­ wild boar meat sandwich? Why is it fried?"


    "It''s named Pork Cutlet Sandwich! It is so tasty! Try it out!" Erika said, devouring her own.


    "Hmmm¡­ Ah, it is indeed good." Elfriedden said. "But this meat is too greasy¡­ I will be too fat if I keep eating so much meat."


    "Awe on, never thought you were that type of guy." Laughed Chris. "We burn calories a lot when we fight and train, don''t be a chicken now."


    "I am not a chicken! I was just saying¡­" Elfriedden said. "Also why would I be called a coward for not wanting to eat greasy meat¡­" Although his attitude was rather questionable, he was happily eating the sandwich.


    "Hahhh¡­ Nothing better than some cold tea after hunting some monsters." Sighed Erdrich, sitting over the corpse of the Orcs.


    While everyone calmed down and rxed, I quickly started storing all the corpses and dismantling them too.


    "[Dismantle] [Store]"


    FLASH! FLASH! FLASH! FLASH! FLASH!


    Ding!


    [You''ve stored [Orc''s Hard Leather Skin] x55, [Orc''s Fierce Eyes] x100, [Orc''s Hard Meat and Bones] x120, [Orc''s Internal Organs] x140, [Orc''s Powerful Muscles] x65, [Orc Chief''s Magic Brain] x1, [Axe Manic Eyes] x2, [Spirit Orb (E)] x65 inside of your [Inventory]!]


    "Uaggh!"


    Suddenly, Erdrich fell off into the floor once the Orc corpse he was sitting over disappeared.


    "Hey! Be more careful!" Heined.


    "Oops, my bad." I said, although I really didn''t cared.


    "Nobody told you to sit over a monster''s corpse to begin with." Sighed Elizabeth at the distance.


    "Eh? But isn''t that what cool warriors do in the books all the time? I just wanted to do that!" Said Erdrich. "It felt cool while itsted, though."


    "That''s the dumbest thing I''ve heard today¡­" Elfriedden sighed.


    Anyways, once everyone was done taking a break, their MP and HP were all full, or almost full, so we continued down thest stairs, onwards to Floor 4.


    -----

 Chapter 556 Reaching Floor 4

    -----


    Once we reached Floor 4, we were greeted with the smell of molten rock. The caves were now filled with small rivers ofva everywhere and the stone had be red. Crimson-colored crystals grew on top of the ceiling, and big, red mushrooms decorated the ce.


    At the distance, we heard the sound of drums, and as we walked across the caves, we saw several bones and corpses lying around, several decorations made of bones as well, and totems and masks as well as weapons being crafted from bones and other materials lying around, including those blue and red crystals growing in the ceiling.


    "This is the sound of¡­ drums?" Wondered Erika. "What the heck? Are the Orcs ying drums? And where are they?"


    "Don''t lower your guard everyone, thest time we did they almost got Erika''s face." I sighed. "Be careful too."


    "Okay¡­!" Erika nodded, her senses sharpened.


    There wasn''t any branching route, but a straight corridor into the end of the Floor, the biggest room, the Boss Room. He was there, waiting us with all the other monsters.


    The drums became louder and more terrifying the closer we got. It almost felt as if¡­ they were celebrating we were here. For some bizarre reason. The bubbling rivers ofva didn''t worked at calming down our uneasiness either.


    As we reached thest Room, we saw them. Perhaps about a hundred Orcs, their skin was not green like the others, but red. And atop arge throne made of bones, thergest Orc I''ve ever seen sat down, tusks so big they came out of his lower jaws, long ck hair, and golden eyes with white horns growing from his forehead, ck runes over his red skin. While the Red Orcs were all four meters, this guy was six meters, a giant.


    This was the infamous Boss of the Ogre''s Den Dungeon, the Red Orc Druid King, a powerful Orc not only on physical strength, but that possessed amazing magical capabilities. The Red Orcs here were no pushovers either, being as strong as the Orc Chief, at E+++ Rank.


    And the boss? It is most likely D+ Rank, in a whole other level than these other guys. His very presence exuded a strong pressure¡­ Although it didn''t really affected me nor most of my friends aside from the weaker ones.


    "Kachek grukah shakh¡­ Kehahahaha¡­" The Red Orc Druid Kingughed, his golden eyes glowing menacingly. He pointed his fingers at us, I decided to trante what he was saying.


    "You, bold enough to conquer myir, are nothing but a bunch of tiny little rats. You have entered hell itself! Do not expect mercy, even if you''re younglings! My men have yet to taste such fresh meat in a while."


    "This bastard''s saying all of that?!" Chris wondered.


    "Howe you know Orcish Tongue?" Asked Elfriedden in surprise.


    "I have a Trantion Skill." I made an excuse.


    "Trantion Skill? Such things don''t exist¡­" Sighed Elfriedden.


    "Hey long ears, we don''t got time right now, get to it!" Erdrich told Elfriedden, as we saw all the Red Orcs rushing at us together, a whole army of them.


    "K R U H A A A!"<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    The Red Orc Druid King waved his long staff, unleashing a wave of red magic that reached his subordinates, in an instant, their bodies grew even burlier than before and their magic power increased. This was a Buffing Spell for sure.


    "GRAAAAAAH!"


    "GRAAAA!"


    "RAAAHAHHA!"


    The Red Orcs charged towards us furiously.


    "I guess there''s no point in holding back any longer¡­"


    I sighed inwardly, as I summoned all the Summon Cards I had prepared for this asion. Sixty Fenrirs showed up, forty Orcus and Dracos, and tons of other lesser Summons, alongside small squadrons of Armored Skeletons and Blood Zombies.


    Fire Smander in the back and flying Huginn and Falcos in the skies. Spores for status effects to weaken our foes, and a Moby to boost our evasion. And of course, tons of Queens, the giant Bees, which I''ve been multiplying into a massive swarm of thousands of small, cat-sized bees.


    If this is not enough, Saphira is here. I already gave her themand of raising any Red Orc that was in into a "Undead Friend" of hers. She has a maximum capacity though, much like me, of around 40, but that''s more than enough.


    "You''re not the only one with an army." I smiled back at the Red Orc Druid King, his face distorting in shock and anger as both armies shed against one another.


    My friends unleashed all kinds of shy, elemental spells and skills, covering the field with mes, roots, spears made of wood, freezing ice, light, and other elements converged together, as devastating explosion was caused the moment both armies shed against one another.


    CLAAAAASH!


    I used the Commanding Skill alongside my other three Spirits to grant an insane amount of Stat Boosts to my friends and the many Familiars, so the stats could even out, as Familiars always had lower stats than their original monster they''re based off, but the more buffs to their stats I give to them, the more even this fight can be.


    Fenrirs melded into the shadows while biting through the legs of the Red Orcs, tearing them apart. Orcus charged together against them, crushing the Red Orcs. The Fire Smanders fired from afar countless fireballs, a rain of mes reached the opposite army apanied by Huginn and Falco''s Shadow Beams and Shadow Feather Projectiles and Wind Gusts and Slicing Whirlwinds.


    Spore began spreading spores to paralyze and poison the Red Orcs while being carried by the birds, bing harder to be aimed at. Meanwhile, the Dracos, the strongest of my summons, fought bravely, flying, and unleashing their fire breaths everywhere, all while shing and biting the Red Orcs.


    "Heheh, this is fun!"


    Saphira, in the other side, kept herself at my side and began raising the dead Red Orcs into undead, as they joined our ranks, overwhelming our foes.


    -----

 Chapter 557 Against The Red Orc Druid King

    -----


    I gavemands to all my Summons as I charged into battle right away, aiming at the boss immediately. If he dies, the power of the rest of the Red Orcs will decrease greatly. However the problem is getting there. The moment I flew into the ceiling, I was greeted by over a hundred arrowsing from the army of Red Orcs below, alongside several fireballs, boulders and even icicle spears.


    "[Blood Barrier]!"


    I conjured a barrier made of Blood Ki condensed together, defending myself from the long-ranged attacks as I flew past through them. I nced at the perpetrators while getting closer to the boss, there were over twenty Red Orc Shamans and Red Orc Archers in the distance.


    "Eleanora, Hendrick, go kill them! Saphira, you stay with me, possess my body to keep yourself safe from the outside attacks." I told everyone.


    "Very well!" Eleanora jumped into action, attacking the Archers.


    "I shall!" Hendrick jumped into battle right away, beginning to poison the Shamans with tons of poisonous fog.


    "Okay papa~!" Saphira melded into my body, as I felt her power flowing through me as well.


    This was part of her Spectral Body Abilities, granting her the power to possess a foe¡­ or an ally. The possessed body will receive part of her stats as a boost to their own but would lose their control and be controlled by her.


    Of course, it was also possible for her to possess me but do nothing and leave the movements to me, bing a big buff to my stats absolutely for free, while also protecting her from damage from the surroundings all while still allowing her to attack and use her spells and skills.


    As a result of her possession, my body began to overflow with a Phantasmal Aura, and my eyes glowed with blue phantasmal mes, even a part of my hair turned white like her own hair.


    "GRUKKAAH!"


    As the Red Orc Druid King saw how I ignored the long ranged attacks from his subordinates, he quickly realized I was boldly aiming at him. I loaded my Mana and the Phantasmal Essence from Saphira into Gluttony, descending from the ceiling towards him, who was happily sitting over his throne.


    "If you don''t move from there, you''ll die!" Iughed, rushing down like a falling lightning strike.


    CLAAAAAASSSSSHHHHH!!!


    The entire throne made of bones was destroyed into pieces, as I found the Red Orc Druid King barely managing to evade as he stood right behind the throne, his Magic Aura quickly emerging from his body as several magic circles were conjured rapidly. An enormous draconic head emerged from one of them, ushing a storm of mes.


    "[Dragon re]!"


    "GROOOARRR!"


    The dragon furiously unleashed its fire breath. However, I ignored it, merely rushing straight towards the mes and relying on my insane defensive boosts thanks to my Physique being enhanced through infusing Ki, Mana, and Demonic Energy into it.


    My Demon Arm reacted to this as well, as it quickly shapeshifted to my orders, bing a sharp bony w with several eyes on it, each eye conjuring its powers, as a Maic Gravity Field was conjured around the Red Orc Druid King.


    "GRRAAKKHH?!"


    Demon Eye of Paralysis and Demon Eye of Gravity made for a deadlybination, although this guy was strong enough to resist their power greatly, even while I attempted to paralyze him and stop him in the middle of space, he resisted and somehow, while gritting his teeth, he unleashed a barrage of magic attacks.


    mes, Ice, Rocks, Shadows, Winds, and Lightning were unleashed against me consecutively. I intercepted them by unleashing attacks of my own against each magic spell using Gluttony, countless explosions happened all around my body, as I reached my target rapidly, quickly piercing his chest with Gluttony!


    "[Heart Piercer]!"


    CLAAAAAAASSSSHHH!!!


    "GRAAAAAHHHH!!!"


    The Red Orc Druid King roared in agony, as he suddenly pointed his hands at me while resisting the blow into his heart. Of course, a giant can take a hit into his heart and be just fine, bastard. He quickly conjured Darkness Magic, as countless chains made of shadows wrapped themselves around my body.


    My body was momentarily restrained by his darkness, as he immediately began shooting several elemental attacks at once, my barriers broke each time due to the intensity of the fire and Sapphira was growing slightly desperate.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOOOM!


    "Papa!"


    "Don''t worry, let him do his thing, poor guy."


    "Eh?"


    "GUHHH¡­!"


    Suddenly, the Red Orc Druid King stopped midway through his insane amount of spell casting, as he vomited blood and fell to his knees, his mana began being drained from his body. The wound on his chest had yet to regenerate, and he felt a deadly curse rushing through his body.


    "What''s wrong? Feeling sickly? Need a hand?" I asked teasingly, the Red Orc Druid King looked at me in utter fury.


    I merely used Gluttony''s cursed wounds to inflict a cursed wound on his heart. He might still live after such a blow, but the curse will run faster as he uses more and more Mana, at this point he was pretty much killing himself.


    "Y-Youuu¡­! Tricky¡­ damn¡­ rat!"


    The Red Orc Druid King roared in fury and frustration, as I mercilessly unleashed several Spear Mastery Techniques at one against him, demolishing him.


    [Exploding Spear Attacks]!


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!


    A barrage of exploding spear attacks reached his body, blowing his flesh and bones into pieces bit by bit, his body was very big after all.


    [Lightning Spear]!


    CRAAAAASH!


    My spear was covered on red lightning, a single blow into his stomach sent electricity running through his gigantic five-meter-tall body, frying his insides.


    And¡­ [Multi-Thrust Double Attack]!


    CLAAASH! CLAAAAASSSHHH!!!


    And for a finishing move, a powerful, devastating double attack with multiple thrust attacks. It was only two blows, but it felt as if they were dozens with each of the two attacks. The Red Orc Druid King was devastated, over half his body shredded into pieces, he fell half-dead into the floor, sttering blood and flesh.


    BAAAM!


    But he had yet to die¡­


    "G-Guuhh¡­ F-Finish me¡­" He asked miserably.


    "What? Then how can my pet level up? Ruby, your turn." I called Ruby out, as he jumped into action, biting, and burning the Red Orc Druid King from the remaining of his HP.


    "GRAAAAHHH! CURSE YOU! HUMAN!"


    The Red Orc Druid King cried and agonized, but ultimately, he died gruesomely.


    -----

 Chapter 558 Dungeon Clear

    -----


    Once the Red Orc Druid King perished by the might of Ruby, the rest of the Red Orcs were sent into panic. Especially because the buffs that their leader had conjured over them were turned off. Their power quickly lowered and the rest of my Party, Summons, and the few of Saphira''s Undead made a quick end to their miserable lives.


    Because I jumped straight towards the boss, we ended the whole floor in less than half an hour, roughly twenty minutes. The Grimoire quickly gave a dinging sound as it showed me the overall battle results.


    Ding!


    [You and your Party have defeated [Red Orc Warrior (E+++ Rank)] x65]


    [You and your Party have defeated [Red Orc Archer (E+++ Rank)] x26]


    [You and your Party have defeated [Red Orc Shaman (E+++ Rank)] x18]


    [You defeated the [Red Orc Druid King (D Rank)] x1!]


    [EXP has been multiplied thanks to [Hard Worker]!]


    [You earned 1685000 EXP!]


    [Level Up!]


    [Level Up!]


    [Level Up!]


    [Level Up!]


    [Your Level has increased from Level 21 to Level 25!]


    [All your Stats have increased.]


    [You gained Stat Points and Skill Points.]


    [Your Tamed Monster [Ruby] has reached Level 25!]


    [Your Tamed Monster [Blood] has reached Level 37!]


    [The Tamed Monster [Ruby] can now Evolve.]


    [To Evolve a Tamed Monster, merely will it while looking at it.]


    Good. Not only I got four levels out of this floor, but Ruby even reached max level, that''s nice. With this Ruby can finally evolve. Also Blood is getting closer to Level 40, his max level too, only three levels left.


    For now, however, I should prepare Ruby''s evolution for tonight. Thest material I need should arrive soon at my shop''s doorsteps, as I''ve bought it from a special seller of this city''s underworld ck market.


    Of course, if I want the rarest materials at prices I can afford, the ck Market is the only ce I can go to. And well, if they dare scam me I''ll go kick their assester anyways, and of course, get somepensation while I am at it.


    "[Dismantle] [Store]"<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    As everyone was resting after the exhausting battle, I quickly began to dismantle everything using my Grimoire''s powers and then storing it into the Inventory. This included Saphira''s former undead friends. Her necromancy abilities didn''t allowed her to keep them forever with her, she could only raise the Undead temporarily, and they stank too, so I wasn''t going to carry moving corpses in my shadows.


    Another thing to note is that her powers are vastly different than those of the Necromancer we fought years ago, the one battle where Ellergest died. That man''s powers werepletely in another level and were mostly due to him having been born with a powerful Necromancer Talent that was Five Stars, if I am not mistaken.


    Naturally, his Skills and the Spirits he had were very powerfulpared to Saphira, who''s merely a spirit I summoned around a week and a half ago. She might one day develop such an advanced alchemy as the old Necromancer, but for now her limit was controlling 50 corpses at the same time by possessing them using her phantasmal powers. If she kept this up forever she would end up too exhausted and draining away all my MP at the same time.


    Ding!


    [You''ve stored [Red Orc''s Hard Leather Skin] x78, [Red Orc''s zing Eyes] x100, [Red Orc''s Hard Meat and Bones] x130, [Red Orc''s Internal Organs] x160, [Red Orc''s zing Muscles] x82, [Red Orc Druid King''s Magic Brain] x1, [Druid''s Crystalized Magic Heart] x1, [Mana Imbued Red Orc''s Blood] x25, [Spirit Orb (E)] x109, [Spirit Orb (D)] x1 inside your [Inventory]!]


    "Good, this is a lot of materials¡­" I smiled evilly at the potential we could get from this.


    "ke don''t forget that those materials should be ours as well, we''re dividing them, we all cooperated on this!" Erdrich said, noticing my greedy eyes.


    "Hey why do you have to say it like that? ke''s not untrustworthy." Said Chris.


    "Yeah but I can''t feel ease when he looks at the materials with those greedy eyes¡­" Erdrich sighed.


    "Hahah, don''t worry. He''s someone fair." Eric said.


    "Yeah, I know everyone''s gathering their own capital, so we''ll divide the materials, though I''ll keep the materials from the bosses I''ve fought, if that''s okay by you." I said while nodding.


    Of course, the materials I had will then be divided by 8, so what I''ll end up with will be way less. After all everyone fought and participated in the fight, there wasn''t anybody that didn''t killed a lot of monsters. Even the timid Alberta put down a lot of them as she leveled up.


    "Yeah that''s fine." Eric said. "Do you have any idea what you want to use them for?"


    "More or less, I''ll use them to make some interesting potions, and perhaps a few other pieces of equipment." I said while thinking.


    I already had in mind a lot of essories I wanted to make to improve my stats even further. I already had several pieces of equipment boosting my stats, but essories such as rings, bracelets, nes, and so on could be equipped inrge quantities and give nice stat boosts, equipping as many as I can is the way to go.


    "Come on you guys are too gloomy! Let''s cheer up and go eat something! Gaah! I am so hungry!" Erika quickly stirred things up, rushing to my side while being half-covered on orc''s blood, and she hugged me just like that.


    "Geez do you have to be so careless?" I sighed, quickly using Blood Magic to absorb the blood covering her and then using some [Clean] Spell Conjurations to clean her. "Done, all clean."


    "Phew¡­ It felt like I was going to die at any moment here, so many giant Orcs¡­ I can''t believe we made it through." Sighed Alberta. "It would had been way harder without ke''s Familiars though."


    "Yeah, I guess you''re right-" Eric said, although the sound of cracking ss suddenly interrupted his words.


    Crack¡­ crack¡­!


    CRAAASH!


    And then, space itself shattered behind us, as a portal opened, and from within, an ominous and demonic presence began to emerge.


    -----

 Chapter 559 Insectoid Demon Attack

    -----


    CRAAASH!


    Space itself shattered behind us. Arge crack in the middle of thin air emerged, revealing a twisted red and ck dimension at the other side. From within, an ominous and demonic presence began to emerge into the dungeon''sst floor.


    We were all taken aback, although I kept myself calm while looking at the scene, quickly drinking an MP Potion while I was at it. Whatever wasing from within, it was surely demons. I had heard about Demon Gates opening randomly in areas that were very close to Demon Towers.


    However¡­ wasn''t this a bit too much? I had not detected any sort of demonic artifact or demonic circle which invoked this, so this could only be exined as a "naturally urring" Demon Gate, which spawned randomly anywhere, and flooded an area with Demons until the Boss of the Gate was defeated.


    FLUOOOOSH!


    The Demonic Essence flooded the entire Dungeon Floor, as my entire Party seemed to panic at the scene. They had never seen a Demon Gate before after all, so they had no idea what it could truly be. However, many of them quickly recalled what was taught on sses, and they also recognized this red essence as the Demonic Energy the Demons emanated.


    "T-This is Demonic Energy!" Said Elizabeth. "What''s going on? Is this really a¡­?!"


    Elizabeth couldn''t really believe it.


    "Yeah, this is a Demon Gate." I said. "Everyone, prepare yourselves. Don''t charge towards the Gate, at our current level, we cannot enter them, we''ll simply get shredded into pieces if we try. Wait until the Demons emerge!"


    At mymands, everyone quickly bared their weapons and pointed their magic circles at the Demon Gate opening, the size quickly grewrger andrger, reaching up to ten meters! Whatever wasing from within was surely enormous!


    TRUUUMMM¡­!


    "S-Something''sing!" Eric said while panicking.


    "Uwaaah! W-What is that?!" Alberta panicked the same way.


    From within the Demon Gate, enormous, ck-scaled ws emerged, as if trying to tear apart the entire Demon Gate, it dragged the rest of its body out, revealing an insectoid monster resembling a mix between a beetle and a fly, with a monstrous size of over four meters and two big red eyes.


    "Gihihihii¡­!" And itughed ominously. "So this is where Master wants us toe this time?!"


    CRAAASH!


    The insectoid monster quickly dragged itself outside of the Demon Gate, letting out a foul smell as a ck and purple aura began to spread from within its body. Several other simr-looking aberrations in the shapes of various bugs emerged one after the other, making a dozen in total.


    "Gyeheheheh!"


    "Fresh meat! Fresh meat!"


    "Ohhh, they look so young and filled with dreams!"


    "The flesh of children tastes the best!"


    "Is this where Asmodeus is?! Whom of these children is he? I can''t tell! They all look equally delicious!"


    Everyone felt a dreadful feeling as they stared at the Insectoid Demons, Beelzebub''s servants, and direct ves of his "Swarm". Beelzebub dominates the Layer of Gluttony within hell, controlling all Insectoid Demons which form the "Swarm" an endless army of aberrant insectoid demons of all shapes and sizes.


    And it was quite clear that the Archdemon of Gluttony had sent them here. Somehow, Archdemons had the authority of creating Demon Gates leading to either Hell or their own Demon Towers. He probably already held a grudge against me and decided to attack me in here, where nobody cane to help us.


    "What sort of Demons are these? I had never seen something like them before¡­" Elizabeth said.


    "They''re Insectoids, a wide de of Demons in the shape of insects." I exined. "They''re vicious and gluttonous by nature."<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "Why are they here?" Erika asked while feeling threatened by their monstrous shapes.


    "Who knows¡­" I sighed. "But we have to take them down before they take us down."


    "Gyehehe, that brave one¡­ He seems unfazed by us¡­" The first Insectoid that entered, and thergest of the group spoke. It was clear he was an Aberrant Beetle Beelzefly, an evolution of the normal Beelzefly, a Demonparable to a C+ Rank Monster in strength alone, if not higher.


    "Could it be him?!"


    "Asmodeus!"


    "That bastard!"


    "Kill him now to make master pleased!"


    "We shall offer his head in a silver te to master, so he might feast!"


    "GYSHAAAA!"


    The Boss quickly ordered the rest of the bugs to attack. We didn''t had any time to prepare at all, and over half of my Familiars were already dead by the Red Orcs. My Grimoire was constantly creating new Summon Cards, but the speed rate wasn''t as fast.


    Elenora, Hendrick, and Saphira quickly rushed in front of us, unleashing magic attacks and throwing the Demons off their rails. Their hunger was clear as they were viciously trying to get to us. Erdrich jumped right after I did, unleashing a barrage of fists and punching the face of one of the Insectoids with the face of a mosquito.


    CLASH! CLASH! CLASH! CLASH!


    "GYAAAH! T-Those fists pack a punch!" Laughed the mosquito, his face distorted by Erdrich''s blows. However, he wasn''t dead yet nor seemed injured seriously. "It will be worth sucking your blood out!"


    The Insectoid''s sharp proboscis reached Erdrich, piercing through one of his arms and then viciously draining its contents. Erdrich groaned in agony as his muscr arm slowly began to get smaller and weaker.


    "AAAGGGH! Y-You damn!"


    Erdrich''s Demonic Aura converged with his Spiritual Aura, invoking his second Spirit, the Living Armor he had created some years ago, which covered his body.


    BAAM! BAAM! BAAM! BAAM!


    "UUGGH¡­!"


    The Mosquito rolled over the ground, as two of its legs were crushed by Erdrich''s blows.


    "Aggh¡­!"


    However, Erdrich fell to his knees as he felt tired, the demon had drained away arge part of his internal fluids, and above all, his strength.


    "Erdrich!" Elizabeth cried, trying to get to him.


    However, I had already arrived at his side by then, shielding him from the Mosquito''s attack.


    CLAAASH!


    -----

 Chapter 560 The Might Of The Demonic Arm

    -----


    "Nnnggh! YOU! Do not dare interrupt my meal! It is a rare asion when I get to feast on a half-demon!" Laughed the Mosquito Insectoid, his thin yet sharp, scythe-like legs began to unleash several attacks, as I intercepted them using [Parry] with my Spear.


    CLASH! CLASH! CLASH! CLAAASH!


    "Gyeheheh! You''re weak, human skin is too soft! You''re bleeding all over! And also, too slow!" However, heughed, his demonic aura surged from within his body, increasing his speed to insanely fast levels.


    CLAAAAASSSSHHH!


    Concentrating all his force into his ws, he unleashed a single blow which I barely managed to defend against, although I was thrown off the ground, mostly due to my light weighted body.


    B A A A M!


    As I fell over the ground, the Mosquitoughed, rushing towards me, and flying from above, his sharp spear-like proboscis falling over my chest, as he attempted to pierce through it and suck my blood.


    CLAAASH!!!


    "Gyehehehe! I''ve got him! He''s mine- Eh?"


    However, the Mosquito quickly realized he had not pierced through my flesh, but had pierced through my Demonic Arm, which had grown ck-colored exoskeleton, as hard as I could make it.


    "B-Beelzefly''s exoskeleton?! W-What?!"


    He was shocked, of course.


    But there was an easy exnation to this. Quite simple, in fact.


    My Demonic Arm is special, capable of not only devouring but absorbing the properties and body parts of Demons.


    Much like it absorbed the Demon Eye of Gravity and the powerful muscles of Onis, it had pretty much done the same with the Beelzefly, I had made sure to feast in such a strong Demonic Core as well.


    "Y- You! What sort of trick is this-"


    CRAAASH!


    My Demonic Arm shaped into a monstrous, bony w covered on ck exoskeleton, as I pierced through the Mosquito Insectoid''s face, breaking apart his hard as steel natural armor and destroying his annoying, big red eyes.


    "GRYEEEGH¡­!"


    The annoying insect groaned in agony, as it began to step back desperately, without being able to see anymore.


    "I am not a mere human, as you can see."


    I felt my eyes burning as they turned deep red, my hair became white temporarily, as the power of my Vampiric Physique converged with the Demonic Arm as well, boosting my stats greatly.


    "I-It can''t be¡­ You''re regaining your¡­ vampiric powers?!"


    I only could smile back at him, mocking his weakness.


    FLAAASH!


    Two wings made of blood emerged from my back, as I used them to improve my movement speed, reaching the Mosquito and piercing through its body using both my Demonic Arm''s ws and my spear.


    CLASH! CLASH! CLASH! CLAS!


    SPLAAAT!


    The entire insect was pierced several times until it exploded into pieces, filling the ground with its disgusting guts.


    The other Insectoids quickly directed their gazes at me. One was done, there were 11 left. They had already started attacking my friends though, but they were strong enough to defend against them, even as weakened as they felt after fighting a whole Red Orc Army.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "Why is he using Demon Power?!"


    "Another Half-Demon?!"


    "No¡­ His arm!"


    "KILL! KILL HIM!"


    BBBZZZZ!


    The sound of enormous insectoid wings flying directly towards me echoed around my surroundings, as I saw five of Insectoids rushing towards me at the same time. I quickly covered the rest of my arm with the Beelzefly''s Exoskeleton, readying myself for their attacks!


    CLAAAASH!


    However, Eleanora and Hendrick jumped into battle. Their attacks quickly throwing away the bugs from my sight. Eleanoraughed, mercilessly piercing the eyes and face of another mosquito insectoid using her powerful spear.


    CRASH! CRASH! CRASH! CRAAASH!


    "What''s wrong, little bug? Having a hard time~?"


    At the same time, Hendrick gatheredrge quantities of poison he had been synthetizing using the Beelzefly''s materials and imbued them into beetle-like insectoid, filling the demon''s entire body with deadly acidic poison, melting its insides.


    FFRSSSSHHHH!


    "Splendid! The Anti Insectoid Poison I have synthetized is working as intended!"


    Meanwhile, Saphira also quickly summoned several Wraiths made out of the souls of the Undead Orcs, as they charged towards the other Insectoids and exploded, covering the demons into blue phantasmal mes.


    BOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOM!


    "Papa! Are you okay?"


    "Yeah, I am fine."


    I quickly looked back at my friends; everyone was safe. Erdrich ended too weak, but even then he was conjuring Demon mes to attack the Demons, Elizabeth healed his exhaustion while Chris, Eric, and Erika protected our backs. Elfriedden and Alberta remained at the center of our formation, as they attacked from a distance, shooting fireballs and icicle spears.


    "Damned demons! To think this would be my first encounter with them!" Sighed Elfriedden. "Oi ke! Are you alright?!"


    "B-ke!" Alberta cried, looking at me concerned.


    "I am alright, stop worrying." I sighed, quickly standing up. "Erdrich, quickly drink this!"


    I gave Erdrich a Demon Potion with a high density of Demonic Energy. Normal Healing Magic cannot really help him. The Mosquito not only drained his blood, and internal fluids but his demonic energy was cut off, the more he has, the more he can naturally recover his wounds.


    "A Demon Potion¡­ Thanks!"


    Erdrich quickly drank it, as his arm suddenly inted with muscles, changingpletely from its skeletal shape in mere seconds.


    "A-Amazing, my arm''s back! Agh!"


    However, there was still a deep wound in there which made him bleed. I quickly shaped my blood into a slimy patch and wrapped it around his wound, that should stop the bleeding for now.


    "Thanks ke, but what with that arm?!" Asked Erdrich in surprise.


    "Oh, I had seen it before!" Erika said.


    "Yeah, this is Demonic Arm. A little experiment I did which transformed one of my arms into a sort of¡­ Demon. It can absorb the properties of other demons; therefore, I was able to defend myself using the Beelzefly''s exoskeleton, the one I fought a week ago." I exined quickly, readying myself for battle. "There''ll be more exnationster, for now we have to concentrate on surviving!"


    -----

 Chapter 561 Archdemon Core Shard

    -----


    "Catch her! ursed Vampire!"


    "Tear her down limb from limb!!!"


    "KILL!"


    The Insectoids began to swarm Eleanora after she killed one of them. However, Hendrick and Saphira quickly joined her, attacking all the swarm of Insectoids together. Saphira unleashed Phantasmal mes everywhere, while Hendrick began to generate his new anti-insectoid demon poison into a deadly fog, weakening and draining away the health of the demons.


    "Poisonous Fog!"


    "Phantasmal re!"


    Hendrick and Saphira''s attacks converged together through their Spiritual Connection with me, as I imbued my Mana into theirbined attack, generating a brand new Combination Spirit Technique, an unique power that Spirits belonging to the same Maser could utilize.


    "[Poisonous Phantasmal re Storm]!"


    FLUOOOOOOOSSSSH!!!


    An enormous spiraling storm of purple mes erupted from the ground, taking away the Insectoids swarming us once and for all, and blowing them off our sight. The Aberrant Beetle Beelzefly nced at the scene with utter disbelief and anger.


    "Y-Youzy bugs! Move yer abdomens!" He roared furiously, suddenly hitting the ground with a staff he was carrying, which held a purple-colored crystal on top.


    That crystal¡­ I recognized it. It is a special tool Archdemons give to their underlings to boost their power or give them ess to Unique Demon Magic, sometimes even giving them ess to the Archdemon Magic Spells they use.


    An Archdemon Core Shard!


    Archdemons are beings of immense size and power, their Cores are gigantic and they can easily extract tiny pieces of them to give them to their underlings, boosting their strength significantly.


    However, if I can get that thing for myself, I could attain a great deal of power now that I have the ability to absorb Demons powers through my Demonic Arm, something my previous self was unable to do.


    "[Abyssal Demon Boost]! [Bloodlust Enhancement]! [Demonic Mutation]!"


    The Aberrant Beetle Beelzefly utilized the shard''s powers to boost the strength of the wounded and poisoned Insectoids, quickly making them stronger. Their wounds didn''t regenerate, but their bodies grewrger and muscr, and above all, even more grotesque.


    "GRUOOOHHH!!


    "GRYEHEHE!"


    "GRAAAH!"


    And they became monstrous, goingpletely berserk. Much like that Red Orc Druid King, I''ll have to take down the Boss if I want topletely defeat the underlings. And that''s without even counting on the other insectoids getting through the gates right now, two more of them had slipped through it, joining the swarm that savagely attacked us.


    CLAAASH!


    An enormously muscr Beetle Insectoid hit the ground right in front of us, shaking the floor and shattering it, forcing us to step back and break our formation. The giant beetle roared furiously, charging towards us like a massive tank.


    "I am getting bored of you damn bugs!"


    Elfriedden stepped forward as his two spirits converged their powers together. Icy threads danced in midair, quickly wrapping around the legs of the enormous beetle while charging forward, making it trip over the floor. At the same time as its legs were frozen and shattered into pieces by Elfriedden''s needle.


    CLASH! CLASH! CLASH! CRAAASH!


    "GRUOOOH!"<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    The Beetle Insectoid roared furiously, his enormous jaws reaching up to Elfriedden, only for roots to emerge from the underground, piercing its head and killing it on the spot! Such powerful roots came from abination between Erika''s natural abilities as a Dryad and Eric''s second Spirit, the Yggdrasil Treant, a special spirit we helped him create as his second spirit, made uppletely out of Yggdrasil Tree Materials.


    CRAAASH!


    The beast fell into the floor, only for several more Insectoids to swarm over Elfriedden, unleashing countless attacks against him. The agile elf evaded their blows while unleashing gusts of icy winds, at the same time as we reached his side and defend him from his attackers.


    "HYAAAAH!"


    Erika swung her de horizontally and vertically, her two eyes glowing brightly as they converged the power of her Dryad body with the Draconic Eye she acquired, golden mes appeared over her ck sword, burning through the demons.


    SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! FLUOOSH!


    "GYYAAAH!"


    "mes of Life?! Uuggh!"


    "IT HURTS!"


    Erika had practiced her powers enough through all these years. Thanks to her uniqueposition, she had inherited both the powers of Dryads, a True Spirit Race, and the innate Draconic Might of the Wyvern''s materials I added into her new body''s creation. Converging her Life Powers with her Wyvern''s mes created a new ability mes of Life, especially effective against Demonic Beasts.


    "HYAYAYAYAYA!"


    Erika roared as she unleashed several consecutive attacks, burning through the Demons bodies with her mes of Life. At the same time as they shaped into a furious roaring wyvern, engulfing them into a loud explosion.


    BOOOOOMMM!!!


    Two Insectoids were taken down that way, her Dolls were supporting her with both long ranged attacks and healing and buffing skills. Meanwhile, Chris and Eric were unleashing attacks of their own. Chris covered the surrounding field with powerful spiritual mes, which Demons couldn''t resist very well.


    "[Infernal mes Domain]!"


    FLUOOOSH!


    The mes spread into a domain, bing a sea of fire which he controlled with the aid of his two Spirits, the Nine Tailed Fire Fox and the zing Smander.


    "[me Pirs]!"


    TRUUUM! TRUUUM! TRUUUM!


    Enormous pirs of mes erupted from within the domain of fire, attacking the Insectoid Demons that were even in the air. And burning through their thin wings, making them fall into the sea of mes one after the other.


    At the same time, Eric pointed his arrows at the Demonic Insects, firing magic arrows imbued with spiritual energy into them.


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOOM!


    They continued exploding in midair, generating countless vines as they hit their targets, wrapping the Insectoids body parts, and slowing down their movements, making it easier for Chris and everyone else to attack them.


    "You demons¡­ You''re really pissing me off now!"


    Elizabeth summoned her spirits to battle once more, as the Holy Dragon and the Mountain Turtle charged against the Insectoid Demons, throwing them into the floor as Elizabeth mercilessly showered them with beams of light!


    FLASH! FLASH! FLASH! FLASH!


    -----

 Chapter 562 The Power Of The [Command] Skill!

    -----


    We were holding off against the Demons quite great, it wasn''t just out of luck, everyone had grown stronger themselves.


    The Insectoid Demons were very strong though, but thanks to the many boosts to our stats such as our recent level ups, the equipment everyone was wearing, and the power enhancement to our weapon''s attack power and our armors defensive power due to Alberta''s Skills, we were holding on quite well¡­


    And that''s without even counting in the boost to stats that Commanding did, which stacked four times with mine, Eleanora, Hendrick, and Saphira''s Skills, which they had acquired through Skill Link.


    "Do not give up, keep fighting!" Eleanoramanded.


    "You can do it!" Saphira said.


    "Do not disappoint me, children." Hendrick giggled.


    "They''re falling back, everyone! Keep pushing!" I roared.


    FLAAASH!


    Everyone began overflowing with temporary power as their stats began to growrger andrger, easily breaking through the difference in stats we had against these powerful Insectoid Demons.


    Ding!


    [The Effect of your [Command: Lv5] Skill has been activated, all your Allies beneath yourmand receive a temporary +50% Stat Boost]


    [The Effect of Eleanora''s [Command: Lv5] Skill has been activated, all your Allies beneath yourmand receive a temporary +50% Stat Boost]


    [The Effect of Saphira''s [Command: Lv5] Skill has been activated, all your Allies beneath yourmand receive a temporary +50% Stat Boost]


    [The Effect of Hendrick''s [Command: Lv5] Skill has been activated, all your Allies beneath yourmand receive a temporary +50% Stat Boost]


    I cannot receive the buff of my own Command, but I could receive the buff from my three other spirits, as I obeyed their very simplemands of keep fighting, I rushed forward, shing away swarms of Insectoid Demons one after the other with both my Spear and my Demonic Arm.


    SLASH! SLASH! SLAAASH!


    "You damn brat! Who do you think you are?!" The Insectoids roared, rushing towards me and attacking me fiercely.


    CLASH! CLASH! CLAAASH!


    An enormous humanoid beetle Insectoid Demon attacked, his enormous ws shaped as fists unleashed a barrage of attacks that shook the ground, but I easily evaded them through Shadow Sneak and Shadow Maniptionbined together.


    And then, I utilized Shadow Threads to wrap around his smaller legs supporting his gigantic body, throwing him off bnce as I wrapped them tightly.


    BAAAM!


    "GRAAAH?!"


    I quickly jumped over his shell as I pointed Gluttony into his head, engulfing Gluttony onrge quantities of Ki and Mana, the already evolved spear became even fiercer looking, roaring like a berserker beast.


    "ROAR!"


    CRAAASH!


    The spear suddenly shapeshifted as it generated an enormous and vicious jaw, tearing apart the beetle insectoid''s head apart and munching it, gulping it at the same time as it quickly turned back to its original shape.


    I was left slightly surprised, and so did all the other Insectoids, seeing such a monstrous weapon made them step back in fear.


    "W-What sort of weapon is that? A cursed weapon of such caliber shouldn''t belong in the hands of a mere human child¡­!"


    "Only Demon Generals have those!"


    "Y-YOU¡­!"


    The swarm quickly attacked me once they regained theirposure, only to see my monstrous Demonic Arm extending like a mantle of thin flesh and engulfing the entire beetle''s body, gulping it and absorbing it.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    FLAAASH!


    And then I felt the Demonic Arm slowly improving and growing stronger, its muscles bulged and several veins spread through the rest of my chest, as the armor of the Beelzefly was improved using the hard (although not as hard as the Beelzefly''s armor) armor of the Beetle.


    CLASH! CLASH! CLASH!


    I easily blocked the Insectoids attacks using their sharp ws using my Demonic Arm, which suddenly grew severalyers of exoskeleton and insect-like legs, it was rather gross, but this was the path of power I was walking through anyways.


    And it was only growing stronger as it devoured more and stronger demons, it was a rather vicious being of its own, a living being and also part of my body. It improved upon my physique, but it also developed its own unique powers. If I had more of these, I could certainly be stronger¡­ but it would probably corrupt my body.


    One is my limit for now.


    CRAAASH! CRAAASH!


    I easily sliced and tore apart the two Lesser Beelzeflies that flew towards me while firing shadow bullets and demonic beams, with both my overpowered spear and my demonic arm.


    BAAAM! BAAAM!


    I quickly tried to absorb their corpses, but the Demonic Arm seemed to chew on them rather boringly, as if it wasn''t enough with Lesser Beelzeflies.


    However, it quickly absorbed the Shard once it saw it. It might be a small Archdemon Core Shard, but it had plentiful of leftover power.


    The arm suddenly began to glow brightly as the Grimoire showed me its changes.


    Ding!


    [Your [Demonic Arm] has developed further!]


    [Your [Demonic Arm] has gained its own Pseudo Physique, its Tier has been synchronized with your main Physique!]


    [Your [Demonic Arm] has developed a Demonic Core!]


    [All Your Stats have increased!]


    [You can now see its abilities within your Status.]


    -----


    [Demonic Arm Abilities]: [Tier 4: Demon Core] [Tier 4: Mutation] [Tier 4: Demonic Predation] [Tier 4: Strengthened Oni''s Muscles] [Tier 4: Fearsome Demonic ws] [Tier 4: Reinforced Beelzefly''s Exoskeleton]


    -----


    Oh? This is quite interesting. It seems it both gained a Physique of its own and even a Demonic Core? I can feel the demonic power crystalizing within it, and its physique merely melded with me, making mine stronger at the same time¡­ how amusing.


    "Kill him, he''ll eventually grow tired!" Roared the Insectoids, as they showered me with demonic magic.


    BOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOM!


    However, I quickly generated a Spiritual Barrierbining Eleanora and Saphira''s powers together, as the two arrived at each of my sides. At the same time, Hendrick conjured a powerful cloud of purple fog, containing the deadly poison that can easily weaken or even kill the Insectoids.


    "Master, are you okay? You seem to be spacing out a bit¡­!" Eleanora said.


    "Papa? That ugly arm''s growing bigger?" Asked Saphira.


    "Yeah, it simply has evolved¡­ And now if I absorb this as well¡­"


    FLUOOSH!


    The Arm quickly grew even stronger.


    -----

 Chapter 563 Demonic Arm Growth

    -----


    Ding!


    [You have absorbed [Demonic Beetle Insectoid] x1!]


    [You have absorbed [Demonic Beetle Lesser Beelzefly] x2!]


    [You have absorbed [Demonic Mosquito Insectoid] x1!]


    [Your Physique has grown stronger!]


    [Your [Physique]: [Vampiric Blood Emperor Physique (Tier 4: Rank 5)] has increased to Tier 4 Rank 6!]


    [Your [Demon Core]: [Demon Core (Tier 1: Rank 1)] has evolved into [Hungry Demon Core (Tier 1: Rank 3!]


    [Your Demonic Arm has developed the [Tier 4: Demonic Mosquito''s Proboscis] Ability!]


    [The Power of the Demonic Arm''s [Beelzefly Exoskeleton] Ability has improved!]


    [All your stats have increased!]


    [You learned the [Demonic Arts: Lv1] Skill!]


    [You acquired the [Hungry Demon: Lv1] Title Skill!]


    -----


    [Demonic Arts: Lv1]


    Skill Proficiency: 0/10000


    A Skill acquired only by those who have not only managed to control and produce Demonic Energy, but also shape it into different abilities that can be used in battle. Demonic Energy can now be produced and flows freely across the body, enhancing the user''s magical and physical strength in exchange for slowly draining away their wills¡­ Unless your will is indomitable.


    Enhances Demonic Energy Production Speed by +50%, with an additional +20% with each Skill Level. Additionally, increases Damage Dealt using Demonic Energy by +30% with an additional +15% with each Skill Level.


    Avable Techniques:


    Level 1: [Demonic Aura] [Demon Fists]


    Level 2: [???]


    -----


    [Hungry Demon: Lv1]


    Skill Proficiency: 0/10000


    A Title Skill only given to those who have embraced their demonic powers and gluttonously devour anything in their path, viciously absorbing their powers and growing stronger at the same time.


    This Skill improves your ability to absorb Energies and Powers from the things you devour or assimte by +100%, while increasing all your stats each time you absorb something strong. Additionally, increases the chances of sessfully absorbing dangerousponents or powers by +50%, while also increasing Damage Dealt using Demonic Energy by +30%, with an additional +15% with each Level.


    However, your mind might be consumed by your desire to devour, only an indomitable will could resist such temptations.


    -----


    "Now this is what I call a feast!" Iughed. "You stupid demons have onlye to make me stronger! Come! I''ll take you all head on!"


    I let a bit of my previous selfe out of my mouth, as Iughed rather like how Asmodeus used to do so. This only improved my intimidation, as the Insectoids felt afraid of my very presence. However, I also felt as if the Demonic Energy freely flowing across my body enhanced these feelings.


    "I thought it was only a child but I can see it clearly now¡­!"


    "T-Thatughter!"


    "The one that massacred Hell itself¡­!"


    "It is really Asmodeus¡­!"


    "You stupid bugs, don''t let his intimidation affect you!"


    The Aberrant Beetle Beelzefly roared angrily, trying to wake up his servants from their fear. This coupled with Hendrick''s poison and Eleanora''s illusions through her Mirage Skill made for an easy target for my friends, as their attacks reached them in an instant, massacring them!


    C R A A A A A S S S H!


    "Y-Youuu¡­!"


    Meanwhile, the Aberrant Beetle Beelzefly seemed to have been lost his patience. Even more now when I showed right in front of his eyes.


    [Demonic Fists]!


    CLASH! CLASH! CLASH! CLAAASH!


    "NNGAAGGH¡­!"


    The Aberrant demon fell into the ground as each of my fists pierced through his defenses, leavingrge holes over his entire head. One of his eyes was bleeding a green and oozy blood, while his jaws were trembling in agony.


    "G-GRRAAH¡­ This can''t be¡­! You were supposed to suffer! Master told us that you-"


    [Demonic Aura]


    F L A A A S H!


    I engulfed my body on Demonic Aura, enhancing my stats as I rushed towards the Beelzefly and kicked its mouth into the ceiling.


    B A A A A M!


    "GRYAAGH!"


    "I don''t have time for your nonsensical words!"


    Demonic Energy, Blood and Darkness Ki, and Mana flowed all at the same time across my entire body, as I imbued them into the tip of my Demonic Arm and my Spear, using the Mosquito''s Proboscis, my Demonic Arm became as sharp as a spear, piercing through the Beelzefly''s entire body almost at the same rapid rhythm than my spear!


    CLASH! CLASH! CLASH! CLASH! CLASH! CLAAASH!


    "NNGRAAAAGGH¡­!"


    BAAAAMMM!!!


    The Beelzefly fell into the ground once more, leaving a deep crater behind. Suddenly, several Familiars emerged all around him, which had been fighting the swarm of Demonsing from the Demonic Gate all this time as well.


    And they were¡­


    -----


    [Name]: [Gobuta]


    [Type]: [Ogre]


    [Rank]: [E]


    [Race]: [Hobgoblin]<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    [Health Points]: [500/500]


    [Strength]: [450]


    [Agility]: [700]


    [Vitality]: [400]


    [Intelligence]: [700]


    [Dexterity]: [700]


    [Buff]: [+25 Agility] [+25 Intelligence] [+25 Dexterity]


    [Skill]: [Goblin''s Cunningness] [Tricky Fighter] [Agile Runner] [Gang On It!]


    [Growth]: [0/50]


    -----


    [Name]: [Orcus]


    [Type]: [Ogre]


    [Rank]: [E++]


    [Race]: [Red Orc]


    [Health Points]: [800/800]


    [Strength]: [800]


    [Agility]: [450]


    [Vitality]: [800]


    [Intelligence]: [300]


    [Dexterity]: [450]


    [Buff]: [+30 HP] [+30 Strength] [+30 Vitality]


    [Skill]: [War Cry] [Berserk Fighter] [Club Strike] [Group Fighter]


    [Growth]: [0/50]


    -----


    [Name]: [Titan]


    [Type]: [Ogre]


    [Rank]: [D+]


    [Race]: [Red Orc Druid King]


    [Health Points]: [1700/1700]


    [Mana Points]: [2500/2500]


    [Strength]: [1200]


    [Agility]: [1300]


    [Vitality]: [1200]


    [Intelligence]: [2500]


    [Dexterity]: [1300]


    [Buff]: [+100 MP] [+50 Intelligence] [+50 Dexterity]


    [Skill]: [Dragon Spirit''s Breath] [cial Spirit''s Icicles] [Thunder Spirit''s Lightning] [Protection Spirit''s Barrier] [War Spirit''s Enhancement]


    [Growth]: [0/60]


    -----


    Within their ranks, there were now Red Orcs and Hobgoblins, led by the Red Orc Druid King, a Familiar in the same Rank as my Wyvern Familiar Spirit, Draco.


    -----


    [Name]: [Draco]


    [Type]: [Dragon], [Lizard]


    [Rank]: [D++]


    [Race]: [Red Scaled Fire Wyvern]


    [Health Points]: [2500/2500]


    [Mana Points:] [2000/2000]


    [Strength]: [2000]


    [Agility]: [1700]


    [Vitality]: [1700]


    [Intelligence]: [1200]


    [Dexterity]: [1200]


    [Buff]: [+100 HP] [+50 Strength] [+50 Agility]


    [Skill]: [zing Wyvern Breath] [Magic Resistant Wyvern Scales] [Rapid Flight] [Wyvern ws]


    [Growth]: [32/70]


    -----


    From E Rank and onwards, Familiars Stats began to grow increasingly higher, D Rank Summon Familiars already had many Stats over 1k, well, this and Draco were the only D Rank Summons I had.


    "GRAAAAH!!!"


    The Beelzefly cried in agony, as he was being attacked from all sides.


    -----

 Chapter 564 Constant Battle

    -----


    I ordered the Hobgoblins to utilize their special Skill [Gang on It!] which increased their attacking power the more of them were ganging on an opponent at the same time, all while they were holding on Axs, which had also improved to F Rank, their capped Rank. They weren''t as strong as the Hobgoblins themselves, but they had superb durability as Weapon Familiars, ideal to deal high damage.


    CLASH! CLASH! CLASH! CLASH!


    They began cutting down the giant Beelzefly''s body as their damage was boosted the more of them ganged over our opponent, I had already summoned as many as I possibly could, being over twenty.


    "Gryeheheh!"


    "Gryaha!"


    "Graah!"


    Theyughed mischievously like actual goblins/hobgoblins and acted very much like them as well. However, the Beelzefly furiously attacked them back, crushing them one by one. But that''s where the others entered. The strong Red Orcs, which were an upgrade from the Green Orc, rushed forward, swinging the clubs they were summoned with furiously.


    CLASH! CLASH! CRAAASH!


    Their bodies were glowing with bright red auras as well, this was thanks to their various other Skills buffing their stats whenever they went berserk. Unlike the weaker Hobgoblins, the Red Orcs towered over four meters tall and were immense, even the eight meters Beelzefly was being pushed into a corner, even more with all the wounds umted from my blows.


    "Nnnggh¡­! Get off me!"


    He roared furiously, swinging his ws around as the Summons attacked him viciously. Three Dracos and a Titan appeared, the Wyvern and the Red Orc Druid King. The Wyverns flew around the Beelzefly, showering it with their zing breath attacks and shing through his hard armor, while the single Red Orc Druid King conjured his variety of magic attacks, while also using Barriers and Enhancement Magic.


    They were only a few, but their stats were notoriously higher than the other Summons as they were D+ Rank Familiars and above. Their Skills were so strong that they costed them MP. Indeed, from D Rank and above, some Familiars had their own MP pools they could only use to conjure their magic or skills.


    "KESHEK!"


    BOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOM!


    The Red Orc Druid Kingughed, as icicle spears, lightning strikes, and zing me attacks reached the Beelzefly from the safety of the backlines. The Wyverns acted as shields while the Orcs and Hobgoblins pestered his legs.


    "GRAAAHHH!"


    The Beelzefly continued growing more and more furious as his staff started flowing with powerful Demonic Energy, enhancing his stats tremendously. Some of his wounds were healed, as his body grew as big as ten meters, he swung his limbs angrily, crushing the Orcs and Hobgoblins trying to stop his movements as they exploded into particles of light.


    Damn bastard, those cost me E Rank Spirit Orbs!


    I reached him in an instant, as I shed against his might with my weapon and my demonic arm. Sparks of red lightning emerged by our sh, as his roar seemed monstrous.


    "What sort of powers have you developed?! This¡­ wasn''t something you had!!!" The Angered Beelzefly continued attacking me with powerful blows of his six limbs, all while rays of darkness and demon mes started bathing my body.


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!


    I ignored his words as I continued attacking him, distracting him from Erika and Elizabeth, who emerged from behind him and activated their Skills.


    "RAAAAH!"


    Erika''s sword hit the Beelzefly''s back and sliced through his armor, leaving arge and deep wound that was quickly filled with her golden mes of life, making the demon wither in agony. At the same time, Elizabeth sted it with several beams of light.


    "ke!"<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    The two ran to my side as the Beelzefly stepped back in fury and agony, his eyes ncing at us angrily as I wasted no time, my Familiars quickly began attacking him once more.


    "I am okay, how''s everyone else handling things?" I asked.


    "They''re doing alright! Though Chris and Eric got heavily wounded, I managed to patch them up!" Sighed Elizabeth.


    "Are you okay? Your entire body''s covered on wounds!" Erika grew desperate.


    "Don''t worry about me." I said, I quickly imbuedrge quantities of Ki into my wounds, as my physique activated its self-regeneration vampiric ability, the wounds quickly closed, even the holes I had in my stomach.


    "Graaaah! You damn pests!!!"


    The Beelzefly attacked the Summons as I noticed his power growing weaker. The Archdemon''s Core Shard was still overflowing with power, but there was as much power as a Demon of low rank like him could take.


    "You two attack him from left and right, and I''ll charge up front!" Imanded the two girls, as they nodded.


    "Got it!" Said Erika.


    "Alright, be careful!" Elizabeth agreed.


    The two girls quickly rushed forward, using their spirits to help them fly. Erika simply let her Dolls lift her up from the ground, while Elizabeth mounted over her Holy Dragon, who could naturally float the same way as Erika''s doll spirits.


    "Heeeey! You big and ugly bug!" Erika called, as the Aberrant Beetle Beelzefly nced at Erika furiously.


    "You little pest! I''ll devour your young flesh!" The Beelzefly charged against her, only to be stopped by two Dracos biting his front limbs, at the same time as Erika unleashed several shing blows, ending in a devastating Dragon sh, which invoked a dragon made of golden mes!


    SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! CLAAAASSH!


    "NNNGGGH¡­!"


    The Beelzefly resisted the pain as it tried to reach Erika, only to be annoyed by several beams of light reaching his legs. Elizabeth''s Holy Dragon unleashed his Holy Dragon Breath, piercing through the demon''s body and leaving a gigantic hole in the middle of his abdomen.


    BOOOOOMMM!!!


    "GRAAAH! DIE! [Demonic Meteors]!"


    The Beelzefly desperately unleashed several crystalized masses of demonic energy, poison, and darkness, and firing them at the girls at the same time as he tried to regenerate that heavy wound.


    But that wasn''t going to happen anytime soon.


    "You''re forgetting about someone! [Lightning Spear]!"


    FLAAASH!


    My Spear unleashed arge quantity of red lightning, as I was able to rapidly pierce through the Beelzefly''s entire head, each blow was so strong it tore apart his head and continued down his body!


    CLASH! CLASH! CLASH! CLASH! CRAAASH!


    -----

 Chapter 565 Victory

    -----


    BAAAM!


    The gigantic, ten-meter big body of the Aberrant Beetle Beelzefly fell into the ground. His Demonic Soul devoured by the spear before I could even do much with it, this damn weapon does whatever it wants sometimes¡­


    Crack¡­ CRASH!


    Suddenly, the Demon Gate closed, as if it was never there. The remaining living Insectoids were thrown into panic, as they desperately tried to go back to hell, but there was no going back now.


    "T-The Boss''s dead?!"


    "B-Beelzebub! Lord Beelzebub, please help us!"


    "How can they be this powerful?!"


    The Demons struggled to believe their current situation, but it wasn''t as if we were going to let them live long enough to know what was going to happen. Although nobody else than me could understand their words, and perhaps Erdrich, as they only spoke on Demon Tongue. So for everyone else, it sounded as if they were just groaning.


    "GRYAAAAAHHH¡­!


    ¡­


    Ding!


    [You and your Party defeated [Demonic Lesser Beelzefly] x9!]


    [You and your Party defeated [Demonic Beetle Insectoid] x7!]


    [You and your Party defeated [Demonic Mosquito Insectoid] x5!]


    [You and your Party defeated [Aberrant Beetle Beelzefly] x1!]


    [EXP has been multiplied thanks to [Hard Worker]!]


    [You earned 940000 EXP!]


    [Level Up!]


    [Level Up!]


    [Your Level has increased from Level 25 to Level 27!]


    [All your Stats have increased.]


    [You gained Stat Points and Skill Points.]<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    The EXP given wasn''t as much as the one I got from the Red Orcs, but that was to be expected, they were not as many after all, even though they gave a lot more EXP than normal Red Orcs. Still, I managed to get 2 Levels out of this as well, so it wasn''t bad at all.


    "Hahh¡­ W-We''re finally done¡­" Sighed Erika.


    "This was the worst¡­ Just how unlucky are we to suddenly get a Demon Gate in our Dungeon Exploration?" Elizabeth sighed.


    "I heard it happens at random, so we can''t really help it. If it was in the surface, it would had ended in minutes with the teachers and strong adventurers, but inside of dungeons it is harder to get help." Eric said.


    "Well, it is better if we defeated them ourselves." I said. "If we had asked help to Evelyn for example, we would had automatically lost all our progress, even if it was a Demon Gate."


    "Right¡­ I bet she would had asked us to do it again anyways." Said Chris.


    "More importantly, should we get going? This ces reeks at Demon Blood and Orc Blood, I really just want to take a bath." Sighed Elfriedden. "We should still report this to Evelyn though.


    "Yeah I agree, those demons were weird too, I heard them talking sometimes. They were saying something about¡­ "Asmodeus" though I don''t even know who they were talking to?" Erdrich wondered, crossing his arms.


    "Perhaps that''s whoever they serve, or something." Erika shrugged. "Not like it matters now that it gone. I''ve heard that areas where there was a Demon Gate, there can''t be one in months, so this ce should be safe from another one at the very least¡­ Ugh, I''m so hungry¡­"


    "Very well, let''s get going for now. We can have a bath and then eat to our heart''s contents. With how we cleared everything quickly, we''ll probably get a perfect score." I assured everyone, as we slowly made our way to the entrance of the dungeon.


    Thankfully Erdrich didn''t seemed to have understood what the demons were even talking aboutpletely, so he didn''t quite get that they were referring to me. He had never been the "thinking type" either way, and he''s a very straightforward fighter, so that''s reassuring.


    For now, it would be convenient they don''t learn anything about my past, though it is annoying Beelzebub''s targeting me already and all his stupid demons call on my previous life''s name. I''ll just have to shut them down before they spill the beans anyways.


    I don''t know what exactly he is nning, but it certainly doesn''t involve me, I am someone that got in the way. Perhaps he''s nning on destroying this ce, which is like a factory that produces powerful people that stops the demon invasion from spreading.


    Nheless, it is his sect the one that''s doing stuff behind the shadows. There''s a big possibility that something like a Demon Gate Break might happen once more, but in the surface¡­ an even bigger one, and perhaps even provoked by the cultists.


    If I go by the most simplistic things they want, I would bet they''re trying to gather enough souls and materials to summon Beelzebub to this world directly, which is probably what he wants as well.


    How they''re going to do it? Well, the Demon Towers are like the anchors of the Archdemons in other worlds. It is their way to anchor their influence and power, and also, a way for them to be summoned into this world.


    If the Demon Towers gather enough power, they are not only able to summon demons endlessly, but the Archdemon that controls and created them can be summoned. Archdemons are immortal and selfish beings, they find amusement in invading other realms and adding them to their collection of conquered worlds.


    This way, not only can they find joy in their monotonous lives, but they can also continue to grow stronger. The more worlds archdemons conquer, the more power they can draw from them, and the higher they might rise in the hierarchy of the Archdemons, all seven of them constantly fight for the throne of Hell.


    Lucifer has been merely the one that has maintained the throne the most, but the others are still nning to usurp it¡­ I have to take advantage of these conflicts between Archdemons. Perhaps I could even find a way to convince one to work with me to defeat the other''s Archdemons Cultists.


    Though seeing the memories of my previous self, Asmodeus tortured them all so much they absolutely despise him¡­ it would be hard to find a way to make one my temporarily ally.


    -----

 Chapter 566 Back To The Surface

    -----


    Making an Archdemon my ally¡­ Something like that could had never crossed my mind before, I was too prideful back then to even make allies of my former enemies. But now that I think about it deeply, it would be convenient. Though in this world, all Archdemons are enemies, so if I did this publicly, wouldn''t I receive hate from the humans and all? Hm, it would be tooplicated.


    And its not like I could ever trust an Archdemon either¡­ They''re all selfish and greedy beings, they embody their own Sins very well. Ultimately, I can only trust my friends here, these people at my side which helped me defeat the demons. I have to keep training them so they grow even stronger. They have been handling it very well, but they''ll do even better in the future.


    Well, for now I should take a peek at my own Status, some Skills seem to have leveled up as well, something that didn''t used to happen asmonly before.


    -----


    [Name]: [ke Hunter Goathorn]


    [Race]: [Human]


    [Spirit Orb Realm]: [Rank 2 (Peak Stage)]


    [Physique]: [Vampiric Blood Emperor Physique (Tier 4: Rank 5)]


    [Psyche]: [Vampiric Soul Psyche (Tier 3: Rank 1)]


    [Magic Circle]: [Abyssal Blood Circle (Tier 3: Rank 6)]


    [Demon Core]: [Hungry Demon Core (Tier 1: Rank 3)]


    [Job ss]: [Summoner: ¡ï¡ï]


    [Subss]: [Synthesist: ¡ï¡ï]


    [Level]: [14/50] -> [27/50]


    [EXP]: [160000/540000]


    [Health Points]: [1779/1779] -> [2165/2165]


    [Mana Points]: [2643/2643] -> [3198/3198]


    [Strength]: [2035] -> [2421]


    [Agility]: [1653] -> [2039]


    [Vitality]: [1619] -> [2005]


    [Intelligence]: [1966] -> [2521]


    [Dexterity]: [1757] -> [2143]


    [Spirit]: [125]


    [Spirits (3/3)]: [Vampire Queen: Eleanora (Rank 2 Peak Stage)] [Vampire gue Doctor: Henrick (Rank 2 Peak Stage)] [Vampire Specter Princess: Saphira (Rank 2 Peak Stage)]


    [Physique Abilities]: [Tier 4: Superhuman Body (+Demonic Arm)] [Tier 4: Supernatural Senses] [Tier 4: Vampiric Eyes (+Demon Eyes of Paralysis +Demon Eye of Gravity)] [Tier 4: Self Regeneration] [Tier 4: Vampiric Bloodline]


    [Psyche Abilities]: [Tier 3: Soul Aura] [Tier 3: Soul Materialization] [Tier 3: Soul Gaze] [Tier 3: Soul Weapon]


    [Demonic Arm Abilities]: [Tier 4: Demon Core] [Tier 4: Mutation] [Tier 4: Demonic Predation] [Tier 4: Strengthened Oni''s Muscles] [Tier 4: Fearsome Demonic ws] [Tier 4: Reinforced Beelzefly''s Exoskeleton] [Tier 4: Demonic Mosquito''s Proboscis]


    [Link Skills]:


    [Link (Eleanora)]: [Shadow Sneak: 5] [Charm: Lv6] [Assassination: Lv5] [Ninjutsu: Lv3]<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    [Link (Hendrick)]: [gue Aura: Lv5] [Researcher Eyes: Lv6] [Hallucination Fog: Lv3] [Torture: Lv5]


    [Link (Saphira)]: [Stealth: Lv6] [Camouge: Lv5] [Invisibility: Lv3] [Spectral Body: Lv5]


    [Passive Skills]: [Acrobatics: Lv8] [Robust Body: Lv6] [Hard Worker: Lv10] [Hawk Eye: 6] [Gifted Magic Apprentice: Lv6] [Heavy Drinker: Lv4], [Intimidation: Lv5]


    [Active Skills]: [Throwing Technique: Lv7] [Spear Mastery: Lv7] [Butcher: Lv5] [Alchemy: Lv5] [Brewing: Lv4] [Synthetize: Lv4] [First Aid: Lv6], [Command: Lv5], [Cooking: Lv5] [Agriculture: Lv5], [Forging: Lv2], [Mechanics: Lv2], [Sewing: Lv2]


    [Magic Skills]: [Blood Arts: Lv5] [Shadow Maniption: Lv5] [Demonic Arts: Lv1] [Create/Delete Familiar: Lv4] [Summon/Unsummon Familiar: Lv4] [Familiar Storage Expansion: Lv4] [Familiar Synthesis: Lv4] [Apprentice Alchemist Recipe Book: Lv4] [Spirit And Master Connection: Lv3] [Pseudo Spiritual Realm: Lv3]


    [Title Skills]: [Beast yer: Lv4] [Demon yer: Lv4] [Savior: Lv4] [ughter King: Lv4] [Dragon yer: Lv2] [Kin yer: Lv3] [Undead yer: Lv5] [Alchemist: Lv4] [Yggdrasil''s Gardener: Lv3] [Holy Spirit''s Chosen: Lv2] [Spiritual Realm Master: Lv3] [Challenger of the Impossible: Lv2] [Cunning Mind: Lv2] [Insect yer: Lv2] [Ogre yer: Lv2] [Hungry Demon: Lv1]


    [Spirit Treasures]: [ck Blood Tree Forest (Lesser Spirit Treasure: Rank 3)] [Red Crimson Flowers (Lesser Spirit Treasure: Rank 3)] [Abyss ck Flowers (Lesser Spirit Treasure: Rank3)] [Spiritual Blood Fountain (Lesser Spirit Treasure: Rank 3)] [ck Mirage Herb (Lesser Spirit Treasure: Rank 3)], [Blood Fruit Herb (Lesser Spirit Treasure: Rank 3)], [Illusionist Herb (Lesser Spirit Treasure: Rank 3)]


    [Blessings]: [Blessing of the Twelve Holy Spirits]


    [Curses]: [EXP required to level up x100] [Proficiency required to learn techniques and skills x100] [Mana/Qi/Aether Recovery speed decreased by -50%]


    [Avable Stat Points]: [220]


    [Avable Skill Points]: [420]


    [Can gain 10 Stat Points and Skill Points with each Level]


    -----


    I have yet to devour more of the Demons we in, but I''ve already saved myself the Giant Beelzefly and the Beelzebub''s Archdemon Core Shard, I did eat a piece of it, but another remained.


    However, just eating thempletely would be a waste of materials, so I was nning on using them to make a new piece of equipment, perhaps an improved armor piece, boots, or something like pants? Maybe rings and bracelets, whatever can boost my stats even further would do.


    Ah, I have 220 Stat Points¡­ that''s certainly an enormous quantity. Where should I administrate them? Should I just add them to Strength? Sadly I cannot give them to the Spirit Stat¡­ Maybe more MP? Or Intelligence to enhance my magic power.


    Well, I''ll think about itter.


    "You''re back! It hasn''t even been two hours?!" Evelyn was shocked when she saw using back. At the end we took around an hour and fifty minutes to finish the dungeon, a brand-new record.


    However she grew rather worried when she saw our entire group''s gloomy faces, everyone was too exhausted, if it was just the Dungeon alone it wouldn''t had been as exhausting, but fighting tons of demons afterwards really made everyone too tired.


    "Yeah, wepleted the dungeon, I''ve stored the proof of the boss monster''s corpse inside of my inventory." I said, quickly bringing the enormous head of the Red Orc Druid King.


    "I-It is really the Druid King?!" Evelyn was shocked. "Wait, he showed up?! Usually its only a Red Orc King¡­ the Druid King is an ultra-rare Boss that only appears once every hundred times¡­"


    "That rare?!" Erika asked. "I guess we had pretty bad luck to find him."


    "Yeah¡­" Chris sighed.


    "But that wasn''t all." I said, showing her the body of several Insectoids.


    "I see, so there were insect monsters too, these are¡­ new? Huh? Eh? W-Wait a second¡­" Evelyn seemed to have finally recognized them. "T-Those are not normal insects! Those humanoid shaped bodies¡­ they''re demons?! Wait, was there a Demon Gate inside?!"


    "Yeah, we took care of it though¡­ Quite tiresomely though, but we did." Elizabeth sighed.


    "T-This is¡­! I have to quickly report this! Children, are you all okay?!" Evelyn started freaking out, but I guess it was only a normal response to such a thing.


    -----

 Chapter 567 A Talk With The Academys Director

    -----


    At the end, we quickly moved back to the academy, where we were treated by many healers. Although we were mostly fine, so their help only relieved muscle pain and exhaustion, but nothing too threatening. Once we were treated, Evelyn brought us all to the director''s office, the big, muscr, and ck bearded director of this academy, Hasan, a powerful war veteran, greeted us with a worried expression.


    I quickly gave him a brief exnation of how it happened, while skipping on the details such as knowing what they were talking about, or revealing the Archdemon Core Shard, which was going to stay with me. I am sure they''re treasures of this world as well. If I were to ever reveal it to anybody, they would had surely wanted it for themselves.


    "I see, so these demons were insect-like¡­" Sighed Hasan. "They''re really Insectoids then, Beelzebub''s minions." It seems they knew about Archdemons.


    "The nearest Demon Tower is the Demon Tower of Gluttony, governed by Beelzebub. A powerful Archdemon that originates from within the Demon''s Realm, Hell." Hasan said. "Usually, demons thate from Gates are random, buttely we''ve had reports of Insectoids the most. Even more, swarms of them had been gathering in the nearby Wild Lands outside of Stronghold city."


    "Really? So there are more of these disgusting things¡­" Said Erika while sighing. "Uegh¡­"


    "Beelzebub¡­" Elizabeth said. "I do remember them saying a word simr to this, they were probably sent by this evil archdemon!"


    "More or less." Hasan sighed. "I am impressed by how you were able to handle them all by yourself though! Even if you''re a big group of eight talented students possessing powerful spirits, it was still an incredible feat! You''ll get perfect scores in this exam for sure! Also, I''ll give you all a reward for having in demons. Students or not, you drove off a menace to this city, based in how many you in, you are rewarded in this city, so I''ll bring the sacks of gold coins right away!"


    Hasan quickly brought tons of money, distributing it to all eight of us. The gold coins had roughly a hundred gold coins, that''s several thousand Telis, which were going straight to my capital.


    "Uwaah! So much money!" Said Erika.


    "I''ll send this to my family back home!" Chris said.


    "I think I''ll invest them into materials for more advanced alchemy¡­" Eric said.


    "Ooh, my own earned money¡­" Alberta seemed happy.


    "Tch, this is just cheap chargepared to what we went through¡­" Sighed Elfriedden.


    Unlike Alberta who was humbler despite being royalty, Elfriedden was the opposite, he was too used torge quantities of money and didn''t saw the value of having earned this by himself.


    "I''ll make sure to report this to the other figures of the city. Hero Dn must also know about this. We''ve been trying to cut down the numbers of near the Wild Lands but like cockroaches, these insectoids keep appearing like swarms. The Demon Tower''s seal has been weakening thesest years as well¡­" Sighed Hasan. "Things are looking grim¡­"


    Hasan became silent for a bit, looking into the floor while feeling a slight amount of despair. Even such a strong man as him was afraid? I guess the demons had been pushing humanity to the corner for longer than I had expected¡­


    "Director Hasan¡­" Evelyn interrupted his silence.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "A-Ah, right! Forget what I said¡­ We''ll handle things, don''t worry about it, students. You must only concern yourselves with studying and growing stronger." Hasan smiled back at us. "I don''t want to pressure you¡­ But your talents might be one of he few hopes we''ll have in the near future. Evelyn, make sure they get enough rest too."


    "Yes Director Hasan." Evelyn nodded, as we quickly left the room.


    ¡­Except that I didn''t. I looked back at Hasan and asked him something.


    "Have you raided the Demon Tower before?" I asked him.


    "Eh?" Hasan looked back at me in surprise. "Well¡­ yes."


    "How is it?" I asked.


    "It''s¡­ the first thirty floors are easy, but once we reach the floor thirty-one, things be harder and harder, stronger and more cunning demons appear¡­ We''ve tried many times to reach the Demon Tower Core, but it is something we have yet topletely aplish." He said.


    "Even with your strength and Hero Dn''s power?!" I asked. Both of them were already incredibly strong, this didn''t add up.


    "No, I am quite sure that with the party I enteredst time, we would be able to reach even farther¡­ However, our greatest weakness is our own bodies. We get tired, we need to sleep and eat, the demon tower''s environment and everything else¡­ it is too tiring to walk through thosends, and the more we fight, the more energy we lose. Even with all our resources, we cannot stay inside for longer." Said Hasan. "Of course, that might change if we had more items brought from the dwarves and elves, but even them need those items, so they only sell a small quantity to our city."


    "I see¡­"


    So it is ack of restorative items and convenient magic artifacts¡­ I am fairly sure that Hero Dn and Hasan could potentially be able to reach as far as floor 100 of the Demon Tower if they had their full strength¡­ But right now, they can''t without proper preparations and materials, even less, they seem tock a better way to carry them all, their dimensional bags must be limiting what they can bring.


    And most of those problems can be resolved with my own Abilities¡­ If I keep developing them more and more, it could actually be realistic to get into the Floor 100 of the Tower, and reach the Demon Tower Core, where the seal is located.


    Their original n must be to reinforce the seal once more.


    Although I have different ns¡­ such as shattering it.


    They had never done it because its material seems indestructible to them, even the heroes of old were unable to shatter them.


    But I do have a way¡­


    -----

 Chapter 568 Unreasonable Demands... For Now

    -----


    After I asked those questions to Hasan, I asked him thest one¡­


    "No you can''t. Just because you were able to aplish such a great feat it doesn''t mean I can simply allow you to freely enter and go out of dungeons. They''re our primary source of ie for this city after all. We respect other people taking turns on them, they even pay for it." Sighed Hasan. "It is not a privilege I can give you either, these dungeons are handled by the Dungeon Association, which manages them all in this city."


    "Ah¡­ So that''s how it is¡­" I sighed.


    I had tried to ask him if I could get a special privilege to enter the dungeons whenever I wanted, but I guess even with our great feat, that wasn''t possible at all. At this rate, we could potentially go to a dungeon every two weeks seeing how busy and full they always are, and that''s counting the privilege that students gets, which is so they canplete their tasks and exams.


    "If you''re still wanting to hunt more monsters, there''s several areas in the Wild Lands where monsters roam. However, they''re usually ces filled with hunters, so to find monsters you would have to go deeper into the forest¡­ but that''s dangerous, as you could meet too many demon nests, so we are currently not allowing students to go out." Said Hasan. "Sorry but you''ll have to be patient, ke. I know you''re eager to grow stronger, but so are many other people here."


    "Hm, I understand." I nodded. "I''ll be patient and sharpen my strength in other ways than defeating monsters."


    "Good, that''s good to hear, you''re a mature and responsible student, I see a bright future, as bright as hero Dn." Hasan said, suddenly giving me a head pat. "For now, you must be tired, so go rest at your house, we''ll handle things from here."


    "Alright, thanks." I slowly walked back to the rest of my party.


    "What did you asked the director, ke?" Wondered Eric.


    "Ah, just if we could go to the dungeons anytime we wanted. Looks like we need to do many more feats to earn that benefit." I sighed.


    "I-I am fairly sure he didn''t said that¡­" Evelyn said.


    "Well, Dn can go to anywhere he wants, right?" I asked her.


    "Yes but that''s because-"


    "He has aplished many feats and his figure is widely respected, isn''t it? Once I can get to this level, or near it, we''ll be able to go to any dungeon whenever we want."


    "T-That''s a little bit of a stretch¡­"


    "It''s just better than merely thinking I''ll never be able to enter a dungeon whenever I want, right? I like to at least have something to look forward to."


    "T-That''s okay, yeah¡­"


    Evelyn seemed to find me strange, I guess. That''s to be expected, I''ve always been seen as a rather weird kid since I was born, but I can''t help it, my focus sometimes seems abnormalpared to those of my age. Perhaps when I grow up older, people will stop thinking I am strange.


    "Heheh, that''s how ke is~ Though I also feel slightly disappointed we can''t keep leveling up as we please." Sighed Erika. "Dungeons are the best ce to go level up as much as we want!"


    "Indeed, I got a lot of levels¡­" Said Chris.


    "Me too, I don''t know if I am getting closer to my level cap or something, but perhaps I might Rank Up in this year, hopefully." Eric said.


    "I also did a lot of "levels"!" Said Alberta. "Though my Talent is very high in stars, so I am nowhere near close to my level cap¡­ I think."


    "Yeah, your level cap at 3 stars is probably around Level 80, or even 100." I wondered, trying to think how this could work. "But because your stars are already a lot, you get more bonus stats each time you level up, meaning that you felt a difference in strength faster through a few levels than most of us did at the beginning with a one-star talent."<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "Y-Yeah, you''re right!" Alberta realized it. "M-My arms feel way stronger, I think I could even lift Eric!" Alberta suddenly grabbed Eric by his hips and raised him off the ground.


    "Uwaaah! A-Alberta?!" Eric suddenly blushed. At the same time, Alberta realized she was doing something embarrassing.


    "S-Sorry!" Alberta quickly let him go as she covered her face. "I-I didn''t thought about it too deeply¡­"


    "A-Ahahah¡­ D-Don''t worry about it." Eric said while feeling embarrassed as well.


    "Well, anybody here can lift Eric he''s as light as a feather." Laughed Chris.


    "If you want to grow stronger you should probably train your body more. How about you join us into doing exercises?" Asked Erdrich.


    "I heard Dwarves are very strong physically, so it might be worth giving it a shot." Said Chris.


    "Yeah, they''re right, join us in our daily routines, Alberta!" Said Eric.


    "D-Daily routines?" Asked Alberta, feeling confused about what they were talking about.


    Elizabeth quickly decided to exin to our dwarven friend.


    "These guys with ke, every morning they do like a hundred sit-ups, push-ups, and run a few kilometers¡­ They do it to build strength stats. I also do this sometimes but I cannot keep such a rigorous routine." Sighed Elizabeth.


    "O-Oh, I had never seen you guys do that¡­" Alberta was surprised.


    "That''s because you''re toozy, you only wake up whenever someonees knocking at your door." Sighed Elfriedden. "Every morning I am annoyed by this group of goris running around..."


    "Hey! You should join us too, Elfriedden!" Said Chris.


    "Yeah! About time you build up more muscle, you''re too thin!" Erdrich said.


    The two showed off their biceps, making the elf disgusted.


    "Ugh, never¡­ I prefer my graceful body instead of one bulging with disgusting muscles." He said cockily.


    He''s quite narcissistic, indeed.


    Once we were back home, I had the time to take a rxing bath and then we had dinner together.


    We were so exhausted that we didn''t really spend much time doing anything else, quickly going to sleep.


    There''s a lot to do, but for now, I should rest.


    -----

 Chapter 569 Red Dragon’s Fiery Scale

    -----


    Once we were back home, I had the time to take a rxing bath and then we had dinner together. We were so exhausted that we didn''t really spend much time doing anything else, quickly going to sleep. Even I who had a lot of things I wanted to do went to sleep at the end. This week''s sses were short to give time to the students to go to the dungeons, so now that we were done with that, we''ll have the rest of the week pretty much for free.


    When I finally woke up, I stretched my body a bit and then decided to get to the work I wanted to do. I had not forgotten my small promise with Elizabeth, as she wanted to have a date with me. We talked about it yesterday and she agreed to leave it for today, as yesterday we were too tired to enjoy anything, and it was toote as well. Now the problem would be to distract Erika¡­ it''s not as if she disapproves of me and Elizabeth at all, but she''s always sticking to me whenever we are free.


    Well, her mother will be here as well, so maybe she''ll give her mother enough attention to forget about me temporarily? I really hope so, even though it seems like it might be quite¡­ hard. Nheless, I quickly jumped off the window, rushing in the middle of the morning, which was still dark, and into the dark alleys.


    Using Shadow Sneak, I quickly reached a darker and unseen ce of this city walking downstairs into a ce within the sewers known as the "underworld" this city doesn''t have much poverty at all, but the underworld still exists, a ce where¡­ let''s say "questionable" associations gather and do trades of rare materials from dungeons and the like.


    Some which would be several times more expensive elsewhere, or that would usually be taken away by the Dungeon Association if reported to have been sold in a legal store. I walked across the sewers, giving a few twists as I ignored the people wandering around there, and the few sleeping drunkards resting over the floor.


    I quickly reached a dead end, as I walked into its dark corridors, finding someone there waiting for me. A person wearing ck robes. It was tall and had long purple hair.


    "Took you long enough." She said, it was a girl.


    Of course, she was wearing a mask, and so did I, concealing my identity was crucial.


    "Sorry about that, I was busy sleeping. I didn''t knew you woulde this early." I sighed.


    "¡­I need the money. Those bastards of the dungeon association wouldn''t pay as much with all the taxes they ask." She sighed. "Did you bring the money?"


    "Yeah." I quickly brought out a sack of gold coins.


    "Spatial magic¡­?" She wondered.


    "Nothing of your incumbency. Now show me the Scale." I said, still holding the bag of coins in my hands.


    She quickly took out arge, half a meter-sized item wrapped around ck clothes, she slowly unwrapped it, showing me only the tip of the item. It glistened with a red and fiery color and seemed to be emanating a powerful aura of strength.


    It was a single scale yet it was incredibly valuable, the dropped item from a boss monster that could only be found in the B Rank Dungeon of this city, the Red Dragon.


    -----<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    [Red Dragon''s Fiery Scale (Mythic Grade)]


    Arge, red-colored scale imbued with the element of fire and with a hint of dragon essence, extracted from the enormous body of the Red Dragon, a powerful Dragon-type Boss Monster that roams thest floor of the Dragon''s Den Dungeon. It is rich in essence and can even reflect magic attacks, armor made with these scales is infallible for high ranked adventurers.


    -----


    "This was my only share from participating in thest raid¡­ We were over thirty people, B Rank Dungeons are a pain toplete, but the loot''s always good, even when divided between so many people." She sighed.


    I didn''t knew her name exactly, but she went by the name of "Poison", she was a graduated student of this city, who probably became an adventurer that raids the dungeons here after havinge back from the war against the demons. Students that do their duty for three years cane back and work in the city afterwards. Many die in the war though, so those thate back are less than 50% of those that went into it.


    Because of the dangers of the demon army, exploring dungeons is way easier and even rxing to these people, who prefer to dedicate their lives to hunt monsters inside dungeons where their lives can be assured more than in the center of a chaotic war.


    I can quite understand how they feel, though these people often end stagnated. Like Poison here, who has been stagnating in this ce for so long she needs more money to send to her family.


    "So?" She asked. "Do you want it or not, kid?"


    "Sure thing." I quickly gave her the bag of coins at the same time as she threw me the scale into my hands.


    "Hmmm~ I can''t believe a kid like you has as much as ten million Telis saved, you''re really something." She said while giggling.


    "Well, business have been doing welltely." I smiled.


    I''ve been making a ton of cashtely in my shop, selling the mass-produced potions I make through my skills, and even bombs too, which are often bought in bulks by adventurers. This plus some investments here and there helped me make some quick cash. Well, the Holy Spirits also sent me money too, so that''s also thanks to their investment.


    "I see¡­ You''re one weird kid." She said mysteriously. "For now, this is it. See ya."


    She quickly ran away like the wind, as I stored the scale inside my Inventory.


    Thest item for Ruby''s evolution has been acquired.


    -----

 Chapter 570 Evolving Ruby

    -----


    Evolution, something that monsters, demons, spirits, and even humanoids are capable of undergoing. Usually, it is by reaching a certain point in their power in which their bodies are no longer capable of adapting to it. Therefore, the umted power erupts and mutates the body, adapting it to this amount of energy, and at the same time, transforming it so it can harbor even more power. This is the most basic concept of Evolution¡­ or well, the evolution I am trying to refer to.


    There''s also the Evolution rted to adaptability, living beings change and evolve to adapt to their environment and their circumstances, selective breeding can also cause specimens to "evolve" into something preferred by the one handling them. It could be said both concepts belong to the same word, Evolution.


    And that''s something I and many of my allies had gone through- or well, that Asmodeus has gone through. He used to have many monsters he had tamed, helping them evolve into stronger monsters was one of the things he enjoyed doing. Now that I have all his memories and wisdom, I will use them to evolve little Ruby into something stronger and better.


    The veryst item I needed is finally within my possession. I needed any material from a pure Dragon-type monster. More Wyvern Materials wouldn''t do, I needed somethinging straight out of an actual dragon.


    Even if it''s just thisrge scale, it is more than enough. I can use more Wyvern Materials as surplus, after all, I''ve hunted a few dozen Wyverns when I was back in my vige through the years. They were very rare, but sometimes they would show up, annoyed by the spiritual essence of the spirit trees, and sometimes going as far as trying to burn these trees.


    We hunted them down one by one, and with some Ice Magic and Time Magic of low tier, I was able to preserve the materials in a very good state until I finally acquired the Inventory function¡­


    "Roar!"


    Ruby was waving his tail yfully as he looked at me with his big red eyes, very expectant of what I would do right now. Naturally, Eleanora, Hendrick, and Saphira were also present here.


    "He seems very excited about his next evolution." Giggled Eleanora.


    "It seem you''re finally bing bigger¡­ Ah, well, I''ve only known you like this for a little more than a week, hahaha!" Laughed Hendrick.


    "Can''t he stay tiny a bit longer?" Saphira sighed, she liked him small.


    "Don''t worry, his next evolution won''t make him that big either¡­ I think." I said, quickly gathering all materials.


    I made a magic circle in the floor and then added all the materials necessary in each node I had created. The arranged runes were written using wyvern blood and my own blood, to add both dragon and vampire element to the entire formation.


    I put on Crystalized Vampire Blood, made with my own blood, Vampire Fangs, which were my own fangs that I can now easily regrow, Vampire ws, Wyvern ws, Wyvern Eyes, Wyvern Scales, Crystalized Wyvern Blood, and then a few other materials I bought from the market, such as zing Smander scales, Fiery Boar Tusks, and other things.


    "Roar?" Roar!"


    Ruby seemed confused about what he should do, but he quickly walked into the middle of the circle as I gave him a mentalmand. He was quite obedient. He sat there, slightly confused about what was going on.


    Evolution could be influenced in such ways, by creating special magic circles containing materials, whenever a monster underwent evolution, these circles would be activated by the conjurer, which then would meld the materials into the still-evolving body of the monster, provoking a mutation.


    "And thest material, the Red Dragon''s Scale."


    I ced the scale over the floor, in thest node.


    "All arranged¡­"


    Preparing myself to start Ruby''s evolution, I checked on his stats.


    -----


    [Name]: [Ruby] [Rank]: [F]


    [Race]: [Baby Blood Wyvern: ¡ï]


    [Spirit Orb Realm]: [Rank 1 (Middle Stage)]<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    [Level]: [17/25] -> [25/25]


    [Health Points]: [370/370] -> [450/450]


    [Mana Points]: [270/270] -> [350/350]


    [Strength]: [285] -> [365]


    [Agility]: [325] -> [405]


    [Vitality]: [225] -> [305]


    [Intelligence]: [180] -> [260]


    [Dexterity]: [230] -> [310]


    [Passive Skills]: [Wyvern Scales: Lv3] [Flight: Lv3] [Blood Monster: Lv2] [Hawk Eyes: Lv2]


    [Active Skills]: [Sharp Wyvern ws: Lv3] [Strong Bite: Lv3] [Tail Whip: Lv3] [Fiery Breath: Lv2]


    [Magic Skills]: [Fireball: Lv2] [Blood de: Lv2]


    [Title Skills]: [Vampiric Servant: Lv2] [Blood Wyvern: Lv2] [Giant Killer: Lv1]


    -----


    His stats increased by around 10 points with each level, to all. It was a very pitiful growth speed, but that''s because he was still a 1 star. Once he evolves, I hope he can get a better growth rate per level¡­


    "Now, let''s begin."


    I quickly gave a mental order to Ruby, just as the Grimoire had exined, I simply thought about giving him the permission to evolve, and without even a second of dy, Ruby started to glow bright white.


    At the same time, I activated the Magic Circle by infusing Mana into it. The Runes suddenly began moving around, as if they had beenpletely awakened.


    The materials slowly moved towards his body, melding within him, as his body slowly started growingrger andrger. His legs became bigger, and his wings wider.


    At the same time, he gained a new pair of limbs, while his former front limbs, which were his wings, moved towards his shoulders.


    Unlike wyverns who have wings in their front limbs, dragons have a second pair of limbs on top of their shoulders which is their wings. This is one of the reasons why dragons are considered superior as well, as they can fly and also sh at their foe with all four limbs.


    FLAAASH!


    The light quickly dissipated, as from within, there was a small dragon now, not a wyvern anymore. I had done something that would be consideredpletely impossible in this world, all thanks to the magic circles and knowledge I had from my previous life¡­


    Ding!


    [The Tamed Monster [Ruby] has evolved into a [Young Blood Dragon: ¡ï¡ï]!]


    -----

 Chapter 571 Young Blood Dragon & Dragon Master

    -----


    Ding!


    [The Tamed Monster [Ruby] has evolved into a [Young Blood Dragon: ¡ï¡ï]!]


    [Ruby] gained new Skills!]


    [Some of [Ruby] Skills have evolved!]


    [Ruby] Rank has increased from F to D-!]


    [All of [Ruby] Stats have increased!]


    "Wow, little Ruby''s got slightly bigger! But still cute!" Saphira said happily.


    "Amazing, it truly became a small dragon now, and with only a single scale¡­" Said Eleanora.


    "The power of Alchemy is truly wondrous, is it not? What Master used was a type of Alchemical Magic Circle that adapts and transforms the body of an evolving being through the absorption of such materials!" Hendrick was fascinated. "Despite now being within the body of a human child, master is still master!"


    -----


    [Name]: [Ruby] [Rank]: [D-]


    [Race]: [Young Blood Dragon: ¡ï¡ï]


    [Spirit Orb Realm]: [Rank 1 (Middle Stage)]


    [Level]: [0/50]


    [Health Points]: [1050/1050]


    [Mana Points]: [950/950]


    [Strength]: [950]


    [Agility]: [920]


    [Vitality]: [855]


    [Intelligence]: [860]


    [Dexterity]: [810]


    [Passive Skills]: [Dragon Scales: Lv4] [High Speed Flight: Lv4] [Dragon Bloodline: Lv3] [Dragon Eyes: Lv3]


    [Active Skills]: [Sharp Dragon ws: Lv4] [Powerful Bite: Lv4] [Fearsome Tail Whip: Lv4] [zing Breath: Lv3] [Dragon Punch: Lv1]


    [Magic Skills]: [Fireball: Lv4] [zing Shield: Lv1] [Blood de: Lv3] [Blood Explosion: Lv1]


    [Title Skills]: [Vampiric Servant: Lv4] [Blood Dragon: Lv3] [Giant Killer: Lv2]


    -----


    He had indeed grown stronger after this amazing evolution. He finally became a dragon, and even though he also increased a star, his stats increased a lot. His own Rank went from F to D-, that was skipping two ranks in a row, very surprising.


    Many of his Skills also improved, namely all those that had the "Wyvern" name on them were improved to their stronger Dragon versions. This was, without a doubt, a good investment of my ten million Telis¡­ I barely have a few million left.


    But that''s okay¡­ after all, my new goose of the golden eggs is right in front of me. A Dragon Scale from the Red Dragon was pretty expensive, how about the small scales of a Little Blood Dragon? although not as valuable, they would surely cost a good amount.


    Though, that''s not exactly my actual goal, the first goal I had to evolve Ruby into a Dragon was this one¡­


    FLAAASH!


    My connection with Ruby was strengthened. In fact, his own eyes became serious out of the blue, ncing into my own eyes. A thin thread that connected master and tamed monster was suddenly strengthened, bing hundreds of threads which wrapped around one another, turning into a thick rope connecting our souls.


    "Roarr!"


    Little Ruby roared, his roar was small yet it carried the strength of a growing dragon, such dragon essence flowed into my very being, as our master and tamed monster connection evolved¡­ I stepped towards Ruby and then kneel before him, touching his little forehead.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    FLASH!


    Ding!


    [Your Connection with your Tamed Monster: [Ruby] has evolved!]


    [You have now created a [Dragon Contract] with the Small Blood Dragon Ruby!]


    [You acquired the [Dragon Master: Lv1] Title Skill!]


    [You learned the [Dragon Connection: Lv1] Skill!]


    [All your stats have increased!]


    -----


    [Dragon Master: Lv1]


    Skill Proficiency: 0/10000


    A Special Title Skill only granted to those legendary figures who have somehow managed not only to tame a Dragon, but also to form a powerful Contract with them, something that cannot be done unless the Dragon recognizes their master.


    Dragons are so prideful that they would rather die than ept someone unworthy, therefore, it is impossible, even with the most fearsome of magics or the worst of tortures, to ever make one forcefully take a person as their True Master.


    That you possess this Title must mean a Dragon has recognized you as their True Master, and that their respect for you goes beyond merely being a tamed monster, it is to see you as theirpanion, or even as family.


    Your Dragon will grow progressively stronger as you do, and both are able to share 10% of each other''s stats, with an additional +5% with each Skill Level. The user is also able to draw Dragon Energy from the Contracted Dragon''s Heart, which allows for the conjuration of special Dragon Magic or Draconic Arts. Additionally, the Contracted Dragon can Level up both their Levels and Skills at thrice the normal speed.


    -----


    [Dragon Connection: Lv1]


    Skill Proficiency: 0/10000


    A Special Skill that only those who have formed a special Contract with a Dragon can acquire. It allows for the temporary connection of the user and their dragon, which can temporarily enhance their stats by 50% of their dragon''s total stats for 5 Minutes, with an additional 2 Minutes with each Skill Level. Repeated usage of this skill might result in bacsh, although such bacsh bes lesser by increasing the skill''s level.


    Additionally, grants the ability to utilize Dragon Energy to boost the user''s stats and enhance their Skill and Magic Damage by +30% with an additional +10% with each Skill Level. Might also grant the ability to Transform, gaining the Dragon''s Skills temporarily.


    -----


    Although I knew that a Dragon Contract pretty much allowed for this, I never expected these powers to emerge as Skills as well¡­ I''ve been earning an awful lot of Skillstely, it almost makes me feel slightly bad about it, but there''s no helping it, this is how I can grow stronger anyways, I might as well embrace these gifts.


    "Let''s try this out right away¡­ [Dragon Connection]"


    FLAAASH!


    Suddenly, I felt an enormous burst of power flowing across my body,bining into my physique and the rest of my muscles, bones, and skin. My arms suddenly began growing red scales, and even a small red horn grew on my forehead.


    By looking at myself in the mirror, my eyes had be resembling those of reptiles, I had yet to develop stronger aspects, such as ws, tail, and wings, but this was already amazing enough.


    "Excellent¡­ Now."


    I quickly took out a knife and began carving my skin, taking out the red scales growing over my arms and shoulders, bleeding myself all over.


    "Wait, master, what are you doing?!" Hendrick cried in surprise.


    "Sigh¡­ I knew he would do this." Sighed Eleanora. "He cannot bring himself to hurt little Ruby after all."


    "Eek! Papa you''re bleeding all over!" Cried Saphira.


    I was going to use these scales for future materials and also to sell them for more money, they can regrow back anyways, so there was no problem here.


    ¡­It is simply because it is convenient, there''s nothing like not wanting to hurt Ruby or something.


    Ah, who am I lying to?


    -----

 Chapter 572 New Powers

    -----


    Ding!


    [Your Connection with your Tamed Monster: [Ruby] has evolved!]


    [You have now created a [Dragon Contract] with the Small Blood Dragon Ruby!]


    [You acquired the [Dragon Master: Lv1] Title Skill!]


    [You learned the [Dragon Connection: Lv1] Skill!]


    [All your stats have increased!]


    After Ruby''s evolution, I have attained the powers of a dragon!


    ¡­Or well, partially. I still need to strengthen the connection by making Ruby grow stronger.


    Nheless, now I had three sources of powers beyond just Mana. I had my developing Vampire Physique to fuel me with Vampiric Powers, such as Blood and Darkness Ki, then there is the Demon Arm which is developing rapidly, fueling me with Demonic Energy, and then there''s the Dragon Contract, granting me Dragon Power.


    Vampires, Dragons, and Demons. They were perhaps one of the three strongest races in the entire Universe. Although my previous life was born as a street rat, there were many prestigious families of Vampires across the universe.


    They dominated entire gxies, even, and held great power and authority. However, they also held their opposing force, their opposites, who instead of ruling with intelligence and cunningness, dominated everything with brute force, Dragons.


    Much like Vampires, if not even more intimidating and powerful, Dragons dominated another part of the Universe, several gxies were their territories, powerful dragons could evolve to even be capable of leveling entires.


    And then, the Demons. These bastards mostly lived in Hell, of course. But as the years went by, Lucifer grew more and more restless, pushing his Demons to conquer the Universe. The reason why Demon Towers popped up everywhere is because they''re bridges to the Demon Realm, Hell.


    Like this, thest war my previous life ever fought was that against the Demons trying to invade the world, after Asmodeus had personally dealt with the Vampire Families trying to suppress him and the territorial Dragons trying to eat him.


    Naturally, he didn''t simply killed, he also acquired many allies¡­ or pets. Amongst the many pets he had, he once had a gigantic Red Dragon named Crimson. He was raised since he was an egg, and Asmodeus feed him his Vampiric Blood and made him evolve into a Vampire Dragon, ultimately bing the strongest Dragon.


    Perhaps Ruby reminds me of Crimson, especially when he was growing up and was still quite small and adorable. Although once he grew up more and more, he was so gigantic he could barely fit inside thergest room of Asmodeus'' spaceship.


    Nheless, now that I was able to confirm that [Dragon Connection] worked properly, I quickly gathered a good pile of around a hundred red-colored dragon scales, which I grew out of my body. I noticed that their quality was the same even if they grew over my demonic arm, so that''s good.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    Also, I drained a few bottles with my blood, which now contained dragon power enough to also be considered dragon blood. I had originally nned this entire thing just so I could profit out of it, but yeah, the power ups are good as well.


    "M-Master, just how many bottles are you going to make now? Won''t you get sick? You''re not as powerful as you used to be¡­" Hendrick began to grow worried. If he was getting worried, I guess I should stop.


    "Yeah why don''t you stop already? You''re just overexerting yourself¡­" Eleanora said. "I know you didn''t wanted to hurt Ruby but did you need this many materials?"


    "Papa doesn''t it hurt?" Saphira asked.


    "It only hurts a bit, but it doesn''t really matter, I am regenerating the wounds quite easily." I said. "Anyways, yeah, I guess this quantity is passable for now."


    "Only passable?!" My three Vampire Spirits were bbergasted by my response.


    "Well yeah, they''re not quite as high quality as the scale I gave to Ruby to be a dragon himself." I sighed. "I would say a hundred of them barely makes the amount of dragon power it held. The difference between my own dragon scales and those of a powerful monster in a B Rank Dungeon is truly frightening."


    "That''s certainly¡­ correct." Hendrick, an experienced alchemist immediately could tell as he analyzed the scales I had just pilled up.


    At the same time, I decided to rest over my bed by deactivating Dragon Connection. My entire body felt numb after having torn apart so many scales out of my body, even though they disappeared into nothing once the transformation stopped, those I extracted remained.


    "However, they contain way more power than Wyvern Scales." Eleanora said. "I am guessing you''re nning to use these to make armor and other things?"


    "Correct. I will reinforce my armor first, then probably weapons, essories¡­ And all of that. Though, it would be better if I can make as much Dragon Elixir as I can, even if its of lower quality. Hendrick, you''ll have to help me in this one." I ordered.


    "Yes sir." Hendrick quickly summoned a cauldron and began to prepare things. "Been eons since we''ve made Dragon Elixirs! Ahh, recalling the times when my lord used to hunt down those-eating dragons and we cooked up the most wonderful of potions and equipment pieces with their bodies! Although these materials do notpare to those dragons, it does hits home."


    "Heh, maybe." I said. "Here, use thest wyvern scales I have as well. Wyvern blood, eyes, and more for surplus. Also add these Restorative Herbs and the Strengthening Roses I''ve bought."


    "Weren''t you going to use these for your own potions sir? For the shop?" Sighed Hendrick.


    "Nah, I''ve got enough already. I am earning a nice sum every day selling things there, it was a nice idea to pay someone to attend the shop for me while I am busy." I sighed in relief, Hendrick was already beginning to make the potion.


    I stretched a bit before standing back up and utilizing Dragon Connection to transform once more. If I imbue Dragon Power into the potion directly, the results are bound to be of higher quality.


    -----

 Chapter 573 Lesser Dragon Blood Elixir

    -----


    "Alchemybined with the power of a Dragon, an interesting setup!" Said Hendrick. "I do not recall this happening in our previous lives. Usually the materials were so high quality it never required us to go one step further, hahaha."


    "Yeah, more or less. Ruby, stand in that small magic circle for now." I told Ruby, as he obediently sat down over a magic circle engraved in the floor, which was put surrounding the Alchemy Cauldron.


    "Raar!" Ruby waved his tail happily. He seemed content with helping.


    FLUOSH!


    His Mana and Dragon Power flowed out of his body naturally as the magic circle activated. At the same time, I imbued my own Mana and Dragon Power into the Alchemy Cauldron, all while Hendrick mixed the ingredients together.


    "A hundred Blood Dragon Scales¡­ Five Bottles of Blood Dragon Blood¡­ Wyvern Scales, Seven Wyvern Eyes¡­ Hmm! It is going well¡­! Now the herbs! Ah! Wonderful, wonderful! I will add now a bit of this and that! Ohohoho!"


    He really enjoyed doing his thing, he''s always been like this.


    "Can''t you hurry up?" I muttered, my Mana was actually soon to deplete. I''ve spent too much this day.


    "I am doing my best please be patient Master!" Hendrick said. "Eleanora quickly bring me the Wyvern''s Breath Organ! Saphira, where are the crystalized dragon blood stones? Did you made them or not?"


    "I-I am on it!" Saphira said. Hendrick knew of a method to crystalize Dragon Blood into Dragon Stones, which utilized Saphira''s Phantasmal Powers for it. She was just imbuing the blood with her powers as it slowly crystalized. It was her first time so she was obviously nervous about it.


    After roughly ten more minutes¡­


    FLAAAAAAASH!


    The Alchemy Cauldron glowed with a bright red light emerging from within the cauldron''s interior. All materials converged together as we utilized [Synthesis] together. The power of the Alchemy ring that Eric gifted to me working wonders at boosting my alchemy even further.


    Hendrick swiftly began to fill several bottles with the boiling red liquid, before Saphira covered the bottles with an icy cold phantasmal aura, this was the perfect method to increase the Dragon Elixirs to their best quality, even with shit ingredients.


    Ding!


    [You''ve made [Lesser Dragon Blood Elixir (Unique Grade)] x15!]


    [You''ve earned 300000 EXP!]


    [You''ve earned 30000 Alchemy Proficiency!]


    [The Level of [Brewing: Lv4] Skill has increased to level 5!]


    [The Level of [Synthetize: Lv4] Skill has increased to level 5!]


    -----


    [Lesser Dragon Blood Elixir (Unique Grade)] x15


    An Elixir of Lesser Quality made using materials from a True Dragon. Although the materials are not the best, the methods utilized to make this product are top-notch, and it has be of such a high quality as Unique Grade as a result.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    It contains the power of a Dragon, and once consumed, it can greatly enhance the Stats of a person, alongside granting unique Skills, or awaken hidden and innate potential. However, over consumption with a body that cannot take this power might cause harm or even death.


    -----


    Amazing! I did it- I mean, we did it. Right, without my spirit''s help, I wouldn''t had been able to make these. With these potions, I can now make my allies stronger¡­ and myself, of course.


    "This Elixir is perfect for newbies, especially people that has yet to awaken their true stats or skills. It could give them an amazing kickstart. I should probably send some of these back to my family. If my little siblings drink one of these at a young age, they''re bound to grow very strong as they develop." Imented.


    "Indeed, I was thinking the same my lord. I have yet to see your little siblings but I am sure they''re just as tyrannical and evil!" Hendrick imagined them as little Asmodeus, but they were quite angel-like to be honest.


    "The two of them are not like that at all, Hendrick." Eleanora corrected him. "They''re adorable little cinnamon rolls¡­ They''re the most precious little things. I saw them grow since they were tiny babies~!"


    "Unnggh! I never thought I would feel this much jealously!" Hendrick gritted his teeth beneath his mask.


    "Maybe I could y with them once we go back to papa''s home!" Saphira seemed excited to meet my two little siblings.


    "Yeah, they''ll surely be happy to meet you all¡­ However, not only them would enjoy the elixirs, my parents as well as my grandmother would, which might be rejuvenated by drinking this¡­ Yeah, definitely, I have to make more. This is the perfect potion I needed. And of course, it has a stronger effect on me because I am a Dragon Master! I have to make more¡­ hundreds of them!" I said, my hands moving by themselves as I was about to rip apart more scales off my body.


    "S-Stop it! Don''t do more than this for now, ke!" Eleanora grabbed my arms to stop me.


    "Master please think about your own health!" Hendrick also stopped me with his strength.


    "No more work papa, sleep!" Saphira said, her phantasmal essence covering my body.


    "Unnggh¡­ But¡­ Dragon¡­ Blood Elixirs¡­"


    Before I could realize it, I fell asleep when I noticed that Hendrick had sprayed some sort of sleeping gas on me¡­


    ¡­Damn it.


    .


    .


    .


    Within the depths of Hell, in the Layer of Gluttony, a gigantic Archdemon that sat down inside of his own Castle groaned angrily. His body was still sealed within this ce, after the intense fight he had against Asmodeus eons ago, he had yet to fully free himself from the enormously strong Seal which the Vampire Emperor had conjured over his powerful, demonic soul.


    Even now, Lucifer had showed no intentions of having any desire to unseal the Archdemons. It was quite obvious the Archdemons hated one another, but they never thought Lucifer would hate them so much as topletely weaken his forces just to keep them on check¡­


    "Nnnggh¡­ Damned Lucifer¡­ Damned Asmodeus! I will have my revenge¡­" The massive Archdemon, whose body was bigger than a mountain, groaned, his entire body resembling an aberrant fly. "I might not be able to go there personally, but I''ll make sure to destroy everything you hold dear now that I''ve finally found you, Asmodeus-No, ke!"


    -----

 Chapter 574 New And Powerful Summons

    -----


    When I woke up the next day, I found myself embraced by Eleanora''s arms. Saphira was also sleeping right at my other side, while Ruby was sleeping soundly over the floor, too big now to rest on the bed. Hendrick, meanwhile, seemed to have spent the whole night creating magic inscriptions and crafting potions. I had given him the task to produce items for the shop but he had been happily doing the same thing every night, I guess I don''t even have to worry about supplying the shop.


    "Hmmm¡­ Ah, ke, you''re awake?" Wondered Eleanora. "Are you feeling better? You overdid itst night you know?"


    "Yeah I am feeling better." I nodded, waking up right away.


    "Muh¡­ Papa don''t wake up yet¡­ Let''s cuddle more¡­ You have the week free now¡­ NO excuses!" Saphira said, grabbing me with her phantasmal arms and pushing me down into the bed.


    "Saphira, I need to give the Elixirs to my friends¡­" I said. "The sooner they drink it, the better¡­"


    "But I want to spend time with papa!" Saphirained, pouting adorably.


    "You''re acting like a spoiled child now¡­" I sighed.


    "Papa dummy!" Saphira suddenly got angered at me, burrowing her eyebrows, and flying away from the room.


    "Wait! Where are you going now?!" I asked, but she just disappeared.


    "ke¡­ She died at a young age, you know? Now that she finally got a second chance and all¡­ Don''t you think it''s a bit cruel to just say that?" Eleanora said, she was just as angry.


    "I¡­ Right." I sighed, rubbing my head. "I am¡­ still half asleep to be honest. Saphira, I am sorry, please don''t hide from me." I said.


    However, she didn''t respond.


    "I know you''re around here, I can sense you, we''re connected as spirit and master." I sighed. "Come on, let''s spend the rest of the day together¡­ like a family. I''ll buy you that strawberry cheesecake you enjoy. And also¡­ I''ll make you some seafood curry, how about it?"


    "Really?!" Saphira''s voice echoed around the room.


    "Yeah, I''ll make you anything you want." I said.


    "Ahhh! Okay! Fine, if papa is willing to change, then I can forgive him!" Saphira showed up, hugging me tightly. "I love you papa!"


    "I¡­ Well¡­ yeah." I said, caressing her head. I couldn''t bring myself to tell her I loved her too, even when I loved her like my own child. Perhaps because of my own stiff personality.


    Hendrick and Eleanora nodded while looking at the two of us.


    "Good, good! Anyways Master, I am done with the supply of Health and Mana Potions you wanted. I also made some extra Holy Water Bottles and a few Poison Antidotes and Anti Curse Potions. I know you said those were bought a ton so I put extra attention into them." Said Hendrick. "By merging your own Alchemist Recipe Book Skill with my own I''ve attained greater quality items!"


    "Well done Hendrick." I nodded. "Though I don''t get any EXP from the things you make, what a disappointment¡­"


    "Eh?! Ah¡­ I-I guess that''s true but the work is done easily, right?" He got slightly nervous.


    "Yeah, don''t worry. I am grateful. Now, let''s get going. We need to quickly give the potions to my friends, then we''ll bring the supplies to the shop, then we can¡­ take it easy I suppose. We''vepleted the dungeon well enough, and I don''t sense any demon energy nearby. I hope the authorities of this ce do something about the cultists, they seem to be doing something, but they''re quite¡­zy to say the least." I sighed.


    "Yeah, they do seem quite rxed." Eleanora pointed out.


    "Maybe they''re so strong they think even a cultist is not good enough?" Asked Saphira.


    "Nah, I believe there''s something deeper than just them being idiots." I sighed. "There might be a traitor, or multiple ones in this city. There might even be traitors in our own School, hiding between normal people. Even teachers, everyone could be a cultist. Sadly they seem to be good at hiding their demonic powers."


    "Do you have some people in mind, master?" Hendrick wondered.


    "Hmmm¡­ I wouldn''t really like to assume the worst. But¡­ perhaps¡­" I said, quickly recalling some people. "No, it is better to just not overthink it. I said we were going to take it easy for now."


    "Well, you''re right." Hendrick said.


    "It is not like you to say that though¡­" Eleanora was surprised. "I guess you''re reallymitted to it now, huh?"


    "Well, I will keep doing work in the background. I''ve been mass producing more Spider Golems using materials given to me in the school, I''ve made twelve by now, and they''re spreading around the city as my watchers. If they find anything suspicious, they''ll tell me. Also my summons, Huginn and Falco are useful at watching both at day and night as well." I added.


    "Certainly, with the Spider-Model Golems you can inspect every crevice or street, or even inside buildings more easily! Meanwhile, Falco covers the day''s skies, while Huginn the night skies." Eleanora said. "Though talking about Familiars, you got some new ones right?"


    "I did. These are the three new Summons of a brand new unlocked Summon type, Ogre-type." I summoned the three of them to see them better.


    -----


    [Name]: [Gobuta]


    [Type]: [Ogre]


    [Rank]: [E]


    [Race]: [Hobgoblin]


    [Health Points]: [500/500]


    [Strength]: [450]<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    [Agility]: [700]


    [Vitality]: [400]


    [Intelligence]: [700]


    [Dexterity]: [700]


    [Buff]: [+25 Agility] [+25 Intelligence] [+25 Dexterity]


    [Skill]: [Goblin''s Cunningness] [Tricky Fighter] [Agile Runner] [Gang On It!]


    [Growth]: [0/50]


    -----


    [Name]: [Orcus]


    [Type]: [Ogre]


    [Rank]: [E++]


    [Race]: [Red Orc]


    [Health Points]: [800/800]


    [Strength]: [800]


    [Agility]: [450]


    [Vitality]: [800]


    [Intelligence]: [300]


    [Dexterity]: [450]


    [Buff]: [+30 HP] [+30 Strength] [+30 Vitality]


    [Skill]: [War Cry] [Berserk Fighter] [Club Strike] [Group Fighter]


    [Growth]: [0/50]


    -----


    [Name]: [Titan]


    [Type]: [Ogre]


    [Rank]: [D+]


    [Race]: [Red Orc Druid King]


    [Health Points]: [1700/1700]


    [Mana Points]: [2500/2500]


    [Strength]: [1200]


    [Agility]: [1300]


    [Vitality]: [1200]


    [Intelligence]: [2500]


    [Dexterity]: [1300]


    [Buff]: [+100 MP] [+50 Intelligence] [+50 Dexterity]


    [Skill]: [Dragon Spirit''s Breath] [cial Spirit''s Icicles] [Thunder Spirit''s Lightning] [Protection Spirit''s Barrier] [War Spirit''s Enhancement]


    [Growth]: [0/60]


    -----


    They were quite the amazing Summons, stronger than any other I had except Draco.


    -----

 Chapter 575 The Strongest Summon Familiar So Far

    -----


    "They''re very strong!" Said Eleanora impressed. "Seeing their stats, they''re higher than any other summon you''ve got. I guess it is time to begin recing them, no?"


    "Indeed, their bonuses are also way more generous." I sighed. "I guess it is only natural, I''ve been only using G and F Rank Summons for a while now, E and D Summons are obviously stronger. My only strong summon before these guys was Draco¡­"


    "ROAR!"


    Draco emerged out of a Summon Card, his glorious appearance resembling a red and ck scaled wyvern.


    -----


    [Name]: [Draco]


    [Type]: [Dragon], [Lizard]


    [Rank]: [D++]


    [Race]: [Red Scaled Fire Wyvern]


    [Health Points]: [2500/2500]


    [Mana Points:] [2000/2000]


    [Strength]: [2000]


    [Agility]: [1700]


    [Vitality]: [1700]


    [Intelligence]: [1200]


    [Dexterity]: [1200]


    [Buff]: [+100 HP] [+50 Strength] [+50 Agility]


    [Skill]: [zing Wyvern Breath] [Magic Resistant Wyvern Scales] [Rapid Flight] [Wyvern ws]


    [Growth]: [32/70]


    -----


    "Aren''t those stats a bit too high?! It feels like theypete with yours¡­" Eleanoramented.


    "Yeah, he has been growing stronger the more of his own Monster kin Spirit Orbs I feed him, but since we''ve ran out of Wyvern Spirit Orbs, he had yet to evolve into a C Rank Familiar." I said. "Usually, Familiars can only evolve up to a certain Rank and then they keep like that. Some of my old summons could reach as far as F, but not farther than that."


    "It would be nice if Master could get himself with a Spirit Orb of the higher ranked monsters of the dungeons in this city! Imagine having a B Rank Red Dragon Spirit Orb!" Hendrick said.


    "I know¡­ but there are limitations, my own skills limit the Ranks of my summons, my current limit is D." I said. "Nheless, if D Rank Summons are this powerful, imagining C, B, or A Ranks¡­ They''re probably even more ridiculous. Or even the S Ranks, wouldn''t they be insanely strong? This Summoning power¡­ I am beginning to realize why was I able to develop it. I am fairly sure this power wasn''t part of Lucifer''s ns."


    "Indeed, you developed it as a subproduct of creating your weapon, Gluttony, right?" Hendrick wondered.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "More or less, thanks to Gluttony developing the ability to summon spirits of the orbs it predated on, I was able to obtain this power and master it. Then¡­ it quickly escted out of proportion once a ss rted to the summoning emerged, probably because sses that showed up for me were based in my current skills and aplishments." I analyzed. "Therefore¡­ Lucifer probably nned me to grab a "whatever" ss, not something as powerful as a Summoner, especially because he already thought I would be one, but with a much smaller army of the vampires that served my previous life self."


    "And it seems the Holy Spirits were quite happy of such a thing, weren''t they? To think these godly beings would give you their divine protections!" Hendrick said.


    "Yeah¡­ This probably means they were happy of me having this ancient power, which seems to be just made to be able to fight against the enormously vast and ridiculous armies of demons flooding this world." I said. "After all I was able to deal with all of those demons thanks to my allies and the summons, they were quite an important part of our survival, well, they''ve always had been."


    "This is certainly interesting, it makes me wonder what''sing next too." Said Eleanora. "And also it makes me wonder this world''s history, the past, and the hero they call "The First Summoner" and all¡­"


    "Also the Spirits of this world¡­ they''re more than just normal summons, much like you, I believe they might had been formerly souls, that were reincarnated as spirits." I said. "This hypothesis mostly surged after I saw Erdrich develop his first spirit¡­ Remember that elusive girl-shaped spirit that helps him control his powers? She seems to call him "my sister''s son" a lot. Perhaps she¡­ could had been Erdrich''s aunt, that died before he even meet her."


    "Interesting, very interesting!" Hendrick said. "I feel like untapping the mystery of this world is an exciting job all-together!"


    "Yeah, right?" I said with a smile. "There''s still a lot we need to learn, especially about the Dungeons themselves too."


    "Now, now, ke, don''t you think its time to have breakfast? Little Saphira has been patient but she''s growing a bit restless." Eleanora pointed out.


    "I want cheesecake!" Saphira pouted.


    "Right¡­ Right, sorry. I often get myself lost when I talk about things that make me passionate."


    Like that, I quickly took a bath and got into some clean and fancier clothes, which I hadmissioned from the Elf Prince himself, Elfriedden. His sewing abilities are amazing, especially when making clothes imbued with special effects.


    Once I walked downstairs I meet everyone else. Surprisingly this time Erika nor Elizabeth hade to greet me in my doors, mostly because they were busy with¡­ someone else.


    "What in the world is going on in here?!" I asked in shock, finding arge crater in the living room, some of the furniture was all burned, and there was several pieces of golems thrown everywhere.


    "Aheheh¡­ S-Sorry¡­" Alberta apologized, her face was all covered on dust. "I¡­ Didn''t you heard the explosion?"


    "I didn''t¡­ Maybe I was too deep on my sleep but what is this? Alberta you better exin it!" Everyone else was here as well, trying to help clean the ce.


    "She blew up a very powerful golem she was making." Erika sighed. "Ah, good morning." She gave me a kiss in my cheek.


    "She said it was going to help her fight even D Rank Monsters¡­ but well, you see what happened." Elizabeth said, using the [Clean] spell to¡­ well, clean.


    "I''m sorry¡­ I-I failed¡­" Alberta apologized, feeling very embarrassed. "I-It was supposed t-to be something b-big¡­"


    "Big? Well, yeah this disaster is big!" Evelyn reprimanded her.


    "Indeed youngdy, you''re going to pay for the repairs, this house is rented after all." Erika''s mother said.


    "Just what in the world were you trying to make?" I wondered.


    Suddenly, I saw the shattered pieces of the golem core she was making, sensing a powerful presence from within.


    Wait, this is¡­?!


    -----

 Chapter 576 Giving Dragon Elixirs To Everyone

    -----


    "This is¡­" I grabbed the fragments of the Golem Core Alberta had created. This whole mess happened because of this yet, this Golem Core was¡­


    Amazing! It not only used Spirit Orbs, but it was perfectly melded with Demon Cores! However¡­ it seems the magic inscriptions are those of an amateur, I guess the two energies, spiritual and demonic, destabilized and ended causing an explosion.


    I think it''s a miracle she''s not dead. Probably all thanks to her level ups, she got way tougher than I imagined. I guess that''s a dwarf for you.


    "Ah, ke! You''re here¡­ Well, I am partially in fault. Don''t worry, we''ll pay the damage to the rented house together." Eric said, sighing. "It was my idea originally to make this¡­"


    "E-Eric, don''t worry! I-I¡­ I have tons of money¡­ B-Because I am royalty¡­" Sighed Alberta.


    "Alberta, I won''t let you shoulder this responsibility alone." Said Eric rather bravely.


    "E-Eric¡­" Alberta blushed a bit.


    "Alright, you two lovebirds, we can leave your cute chit-chat forter, no? First of all, what caused the explosion?" Elizabeth tried to sort things out.


    "Ugh, the wretched smell of burned coal is filling the house! I am this close to just freeze everything!" Elfriedden said angrily, using his icy winds to freeze things and then carry them out of the house.


    "Well¡­" Eric and Alberta ended exining what had happened, and it was just what I had guessed myself.


    "So you were designing a brand new Golem Core?" Erika wondered. "Sounds amazing but¡­ Did you really had to? I mean can''t you just fight by yourselves?"


    "We certainly can¡­" Eric sighed. "But it would be way better and more convenient if we could get tons of highly functional and powerful golems. Also a contest ising in the future and we wanted to participate, it is a crafting contest! The ones that get the first three ces would be sponsored by the academy. Seems like they''re trying to find new weapons or equipment to deal with the ever-growing demon armies."


    "I see." I nodded. "Interesting, I guess I could also participate. Nheless, this golem core seems incredible and you two were quite smart ining with the idea. The golem core is¡­ very good, however, it has some notable ws as well, you''ve inscribed most of the magic runes inside badly, and it seems very amateurish. You''ve connected the magic circles rather poorly, and you have not imbued enough spirit energy and demonic energy while trying to bnce both elements through manual control."


    "Wait, how can you tell all of that by just looking at the shattered piece?!" Asked Chris quite shocked.


    "Well he''s ke, he''s amazing at making golems so I can believe that." Erdrich said.


    "Ahhh¡­ So that was it." Eric sighed.


    "A-Amazing, to think you can¡­ K-Know what''s wrong right away¡­!" Alberta praised me.


    "It''s nothing. I guess I can join you two to perfect the golem core¡­ In exchange I''ll grab one for myself as well." I said. "I n to specialize one of them for another purpose."


    "Sounds good to me!" Eric said.


    "Y-Yeah!" Alberta was just as happy.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "Anyway, everyone, to cheer you up, I''ve brought you a gift. Here, drink these immediately." I said, giving everyone a bottle filled with a red liquid.


    "These are¡­?" Elfriedden wondered.


    "Dragon Blood Elixirs. I made them using Ruby''s blood. He evolved into a dragon." I said with a shrug. "So drink them up, they''ll make you guys way stronger than before, and raise your stats. They can even awaken hidden skills."


    "Wait, what?! You did this overnight?!" Asked Elfriedden. "And dragon?! You mean the tiny lizard that goes around with you- Huh?!"


    However, the elf was surprised as Ruby appeared, no longer a tiny lizard.


    "Raaar!"


    He was as big as two meters now, and although he wasn''t near as big as Wyverns, he was certainly not a tiny lizard anymore. The elf was surprised, backing down a bit.


    "W-What?! It really grew up¡­" He muttered.


    "Oh my! Ruby you''ve gotten so big!" Erika said, rushing towards him and giving him head pats.


    "Raar!" Ruby happily epted Erika''s caress, he had grown ustomed to her the most.


    "Anyways, drink them now." I said, giving everyone a cold stare, and distributing the bottles with everyone. they were seven, so obviously seven were given. I was left with 8 for myself.


    "Wait a second ke, do you think this is really safe? If they''re really made with dragon materials then it could be quite dangerous¡­" Said Evelyn, our teacher was the most worrywart.


    "Hmmm¡­ No, don''t worry, this elixir is not of the perfect quality ones. It does has amazing effects though, but it is not as bad as you imagine." Erika''s mother said. I don''t know if I should feel happy over herment or not¡­ She was certainly looking down on the elixir I spent so much time making.


    "But still- Agh! You''re already drinking it?!" Evelyn panicked as she saw everyone drinking the elixir down to the veryst drop. What surprised me the most was that even Elfriedden did it without hesitating. I guess behind that angered face he has, he probably trust me already.


    FLAAAASH!


    Moments after drinking the Elixirs, colorful auras emerged from the bodies of my friends, their elemental auras exploded with power as their bodies were strengthened several times over. In mere seconds, this was happening way faster than I had originally imagined. I couldn''t see their stats, but it was quite obvious to me that they at least got a very good increase, maybe +100 to most stats? Or even +200 if they still had a lot of hidden power within them.


    "A-Amazing, I feel so strong¡­ Even my muscles are strengthened?" Asked Eric. "And the effects are instant!"


    "W-Woah! I¡­ I feel a bit dizzy¡­ S-So much Mana¡­" Alberta was dazzled by her newfound mana reserves.


    "Huh? Ouch, my eye hurts a bit¡­" Erika said, suddenly touching the Wyvern Eye she had, which began glowing with red light.


    -----

 Chapter 577 New Dragon Skills For The Team

    -----


    "Ouch¡­" Erika muttered, her Wyvern Eye, which was an extension of one of the materials used for her new body seemed to have reacted way more than I expected from the potion.


    FLASH!


    Her eye began glowing with a red light, until it transformed from a small wyvern-shaped eye into a Dragon One. Erika''s body began glowing, as scales made of wood and hard bark started to grow around her arms. Suddenly, wings made of branches, flowers, and leaves grew from her back, and even a long wooden tail, and branch-like horns simr to those of deer.


    "Uwaah! W-What the¡­?! Huh?!" She muttered in surprise. "This is¡­ weird."


    "Oh?! Did you awakened a new power Erika?!" Asked Elizabeth.


    "Amazing, maybe the dragon potion gave you dragon powers? I think I only got Dragon Skin as a Skill though¡­" Erdrich sighed.


    "I got Dragon''s mes as a new type of Fire I can wield!" Chris said.


    "I think my Holy Dragon Skills were strengthened." Said Elizabeth.


    "Oh! I am fairly sure I acquired Dragon''s Vitality." Said Eric.


    "I-I have¡­ Dragon''s Eyes? Oh, it helps me inspect materials!" Alberta seemed happy.


    "Frost Dragon''s Aura." Elfriedden said, his aura suddenly growing as the shape of arge dragon emerged from within, but quickly disappeared.


    It seemed that everyone acquired a Skill that was Dragon-themed, but that was also corrted with their own abilities and skills, or even their spirits, if they had anypatible ones.


    "I got¡­ Huh? Draconic Transformation¡­?" Erika asked in surprise.


    "Interesting¡­" I nodded with a smile.


    It seems that Erika not only ended awakening the Wyvern materials inherited powers, but they melded with her Dryad powers well enough to create a brand-new Skill, Draconic Transformation, which lets her turn half-dragon, but fusing the dragon powers with her nature abilities. Amazing. If she develops and levels up this skill enough, she might even gain the power to transform into a full Nature Dragon.


    "Incredible, I did heard you were Half-Dryad, right, Erika?" Wondered Evelyn, she didn''t knew the truth behind Erika''s resurrection, this was something between us friends and her mother. Even Elfriedden and Alberta were unaware.


    "Y-Yeah¡­" Erika said. "Maybe the dragon elixir boosted that lineage¡­" She was quite bad at lying.


    "But isn''t Lady Cattalina not half-dryad?" Evelyn tilted her head in confusion.


    "Well, yeah, I am not. It is part of her father''s family, of course. Her father¡­ died long ago sadly, but he came from a family that sometimes were born as half-dryad." Cattalina was much more convincing with her lies than her daughter. "Erika didn''t seem to show this power when she was born, but as she developed her magic and gained the Holy Spirit''s blessings by undergoing challenges (leveling up basically), she unlocked her innate abilities, it seems."


    "Amazing¡­! To be expected of Lady Cattalina''s daughter! ¡­Though I wish she could be a big brighter in terms of studies and written exams¡­" Said Evelyn.


    "Ahahaha¡­ Y-Yeah." Said Cattalina sighed, looking back at her daughter and talking with a low tone of voice. "We''ll be intensifying your studies youngdy."


    "Ugh¡­" Sighed Erika. "Anyways, ke you know this stuff, how do I turn this off?"


    She ran to my side. Somehow, she looked even more cute and radiant in her half-dragon appearance. I even wanted to steal a kiss from her. I contained my impulses, which were a lot unlike me, most likely due to my developing teenager body, as I quickly helped her.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "Don''t worry." I gave her a head pat. "Close your eyes and concentrate, calm down, and breathe slowly."


    Erika nodded, doing as I asked her.


    "Now¡­ Think on going back to normal, slowly."


    "Normal¡­ back to normal¡­"


    Erika slowly began losing her wings, tail, horns, and scales, finally turning back to her original appearance.


    "Phew! T-That scared me more than it should had¡­" She sighed, looking at me with her shiny eyes. "Heheh, why are you looking at me like that?"


    "Nothing, just¡­ having you this close, I realize how pretty you are." I whispered to her.


    "W-Wha¡­?!" Erika quickly got all flustered, growing as red as a tomato. "That was a sneakypliment! But I''ll take it, hehe." She quickly gave me a kiss in my cheek.


    "Look at them¡­" Chris said. "Making out just in front of us¡­" He seemed slightly jealous, probably because he also wanted a girlfriend.


    "Tone down the fluff for a bit." Erdrich said. Unlike Chris, he was mostly aromantic and had no interest in girls or anything that wasn''t growing stronger.


    "Uwah, so cute¡­" Elizabeth seemed to like our rtionship more than I would had expected. "Can''t wait for my turn though~" She whispered to me as she walked behind me.


    "A-Anyways!" I quickly said. "Now that everyone awakened your power, you should get used to it. How about we do some sparring after breakfast? Oh right, we should also go outside and have some fun, for a change."


    "Ohhh! Sounds good ke!" Eric said. "Alberta do you want to go out¡­ with me? I mean¡­ with everyone?"


    "S-Sure! L-Like a Date¡­" Alberta blushed. "I-I mean a date with many friends¡­!"


    "Ahahah¡­ R-Right." Eric giggled while scratching the back of his head in embarrassment.


    They were such a cute couple that they were giving me diabetes.


    "Ugh¡­ Lucky bastard¡­" Chris murmured to himself as he nced at Eric.


    Anyways, Evelyn and Cattalina seemed to be okay with taking the day off for now, we did a lot yesterday. This was the perfect time to have a nice time with all my friends and enjoy the day. Also I''ll be monitoring their development after drinking these elixirs, which also work as growth boosters.


    After having a quick breakfast where I feed Saphira with tons of sweets to make her happy, I ran back to my room and decided to drink all eight Dragon Blood Elixirs at once, unlike a normal person, I was more than prepared to take as many as I wanted.


    Once the eighth Elixir was drank, I felt an enormous quantity of Dragon Power swelling inside of my body, I sat cross-legged and then slowly began guiding this power across every inch of my physique.


    FLAAASH!


    -----

 Chapter 578 Great Growth

    -----


    Ding!


    [You''ve consumed [Lesser Dragon Blood Elixir (Unique Grade)] x8!]


    [You gained +100 to all Stats]


    [You''ve acquired arge quantity of Dragon Power!]


    [Your [Physique]: [Vampiric Blood Emperor Physique (Tier 4: Rank 5)] has increased to Tier 4: Rank 6!]


    [Your [Psyche]: [Vampiric Soul Psyche (Tier 3: Rank 1)] has increased to Tier 3: Rank 2!]


    [Your [Magic Circle]: [Abyssal Blood Circle (Tier 3: Rank 6)] has increased to Tier 3: Rank 7!]


    [Your [Demon Core]: [Hungry Demon Core (Tier 1: Rank 3)] has increased to Tier 1: Rank 5!]


    [Your Stats have increased further!]


    [Your Dragon-rted Skills have gained +20000 Proficiency!]


    [The [Dragon Connection: Lv1] Skill Level has increased to Level 2!]


    [The [Dragon Master: Lv1] Skill Level has increased to Level 2!]


    [You learned the [Dragon Scales: Lv1] Skill!]


    [You feel your Dragon Power increasing further¡­ Absorb more Dragon Power to awaken a new Physique!]


    "Oho¡­ It seems that things got very good." I smiled back at the results of my efforts. "I even got a new Skill as well!"


    -----


    [Dragon Scales: Lv1]


    Skill Proficiency: 0/10000


    A Skill that maniptes Dragon Power and imbues it into the skin of the user, helping them temporarily grow powerful and hard Dragon Scales. The higher the level of the skill, the more scales can be grown around the body and the stronger and more adaptable they can be. Scales can bounce back 10% of Magic Damage and decrease 15% of Physical Damage taken, with an additional +5% to both bonuses with each Skill Level.


    -----


    "Interesting, this Skill can make my scales stronger¡­ Which means they can be of higher quality as well! Oh, wait¡­"


    I quickly utilized both Mana and Dragon Power, which can be created using even more Mana, as I saw Dragon Scales growing out of my skin easily. This time I didn''t even had to channel all the power of Ruby into me as this was a skill directlying from my own body.


    Which means¡­ I can probably produce scales at an even faster rate. It is worth giving it a try though. I decided to concentrate and continuously grow more scales below the others, as the older scales suddenly began tearing down and falling from my skin. Blood came out too, but it wasn''t as painful as the previous method.


    "A single arm''s worth of scales is around 12¡­" I analyzed. "And that cost me around 150 MP¡­ Good, let''s keep this up, also Dragon Scales gains more proficiency the more scales are destroyed and regrown, a win-win."


    Like that, I spent thirty minutes pilling up over two hundred scales and emptying almost all my MP, which began to slowly regenerate thanks to the many bonuses I held, and also my Spiritual Realm, which had Spiritual Treasures capable of hastening Mana regeneration.


    The Grimoire gave a dinging sound once more, as a Skill had leveled up.


    Ding!


    [The [Dragon Scales: Lv1] Skill Level has increased to Level 2!]


    [Your Dragon Scales are now stronger, more resilient, and of higher quality!]


    "Impressive! You''ve produced 264 scales, master! Shall I make more potions with them?" Hendrick wondered.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "Yeah, can you make them for me now that you saw the full recipe?" I asked him.


    "Of course I can! I believe we can make more as long as you also give me more of that blood though¡­" Hendrick said. "Also our Wyvern materials are already down to half, are you sure you want to spend them all?"


    "Yeah, wyvern materials don''t matter much anymore. We''ve got a higher quality materials now." I smiled. "Also Ruby, you''re going to give us some of your materials."


    "Raar?!"


    Ruby panicked a bit, but he lowered his head and epted his fate.


    However, I simply put a bottle below his mouth.


    "Now drool, spit as much as you can inside."


    "Rah¡­?"


    "Yeah, Dragon Spit is quite a high-quality material as well!" Hendrick added.


    "GRAH?!" Ruby seemed shocked for some reason¡­


    "What? Did you thought I was going to butcher you alive or something?" I sighed. "You dumb lizard, do you think I would hurt my loyal dragon? If I hurt you your battle power will lower while you regenerate. Idiot."


    "Aww, you''re trying so hard to pretend you don''t care about him and how he feels~" Eleanora teased me.


    "Eh? I-I don''t care!" I roared back. "Anyways Ruby what are you waiting for?!"


    "Raar!" Ruby happily drooled his way into several bottles.


    "Ohhh! Although it is not as good as pure dragon blood, with the drool and your blood, master, it should be enough for now! Though, it is a pity we can''t take some of Ruby''s blood at least." Hendrick pointed out.


    "Once he grows and levels up some more he''ll be able to develop better regeneration skills and magic, when he''s very strong I think he''ll happily give out his blood and scales without hurting him." I nodded.


    "Ah, so you do care." Hendrickughed.


    "Eh? I don''t! I am merely being efficient." I sighed. "Anyway, I am leaving the job for you, Hendrick. Ruby, if you want to apany us you''ll have to wear a tamed monster cor, here, I''ve made one for your size now."


    Ruby happily got himself a ck-colored cor around his long neck, he seemed happy.


    "Raar!" He began to lick my face happily.


    "H-Hey you damn! You stink! Don''t lick me!" I tried to get him off me, but he was very insistent.


    After freeing myself from Ruby, Hendrick started making the potions.


    "I estimate we''ll be able to make around twenty or a bit more, perhaps thirty!" He said happily. "I''ll possibly have them ready once you''re back from your trip, have fun master."


    "Thank you Hendrick."


    I walked out of my room, with Eleanora and Saphira excited about a normal and rxing day atst, and I reunited with my friends after that. Elizabeth and Erika didn''t seem to have any ns on letting me go either¡­ It was going to be quite the long day, for sure.


    Ding!


    [The [Holy Spirit of Emotions] has a favorable impression of your charismatic personality, and she seems to like how you attract the love of many girls.]


    [She says that if you do your best in this date, you might be rewarded for it.]


    ¡­Eh?


    -----

 Chapter 579 Having A "Peaceful" Date

    -----


    Ding!


    [The [Holy Spirit of Emotions] has a favorable impression of your charismatic personality, and she seems to like how you attract the love of many girls.]


    [She says that if you do your best in this date, you might be rewarded for it.]


    After seeing such a bizarre message sent from one of my twelve patrons, I immediately felt disturbed. However, my mind had seen fairly more disturbing things than that, so it cooled off rather quickly.


    Nheless, as I see this shameless message, I can''t help but think¡­ What are these beings even doing with their free time? It appears that maintaining the entire world of Spiritias is certainly not enough to entertain them.


    However, I won''t let them make my life some sort of entertainment for them, so I will proceed to ignore these¡­ Urgh.


    ¡­


    The Stronghold city was very big, but surprisingly, once you visit a few important and popted ces, you realize it is quite the boring ce aside from dungeons. The areas worth taking a stroll around are just filled with the most mundane of things such as clothing store or jewelries store which barely hold any stat boosts.


    However, the girls seemed to enjoy it more than I imagined. Elizabeth, Erika, and Alberta were ncing all over the shopping ces. They began trying out all sorts of new clothes, none of them containing significant enhancements that made them better than their already existing equipment¡­ which was very boring.


    They seemed to really love the ces, especially checking on new clothes and changing into them. Erika had already been trying over twenty different dresses, constantly asking me if they looked nice on her. I felt slightly flustered at first, but I kept nodding at her while saying they were nice.


    At one point, however¡­


    "Geez ke, you only nod around! Come on, tell me which one of these two fits me better?" Asked Erika with shining eyes.


    Ding!


    [The [Holy Spirit of Emotions] is shocked by yourck of fashion sense and says you''re an insensitive man.]


    [She says that if you make Erika upset again, she''ll bestow negative stat boosts upon you.]


    Perhaps I should put more intention into this¡­


    Erika showed me a pink colored dress with golden decorations resembling rivers. The second dress was simpler, merely a clear blue with white clouds as decorations.


    Both were quite well detailed, if I ignore theirpleteck of stat boosts¡­ I suppose they''re indeed pretty.


    "The pink one seems like an obvious choice¡­" I said.


    "Yeah, right? It goes with my hair!" Erika said. Her mother nodded behind her.


    "However¡­ the clear blue dress with clouds reminds me of the many times we spent watching the skies while resting over the grassy fields back home¡­" I said with a nostalgic smile.


    Erika''s eyebrows raised a bit.


    "Right¡­ I never thought about it¡­" She said. "I guess I''ll keep this one! It will bring nice memories whenever I wear it. Thank you ke!"


    Erika quickly gave me a small kiss in my cheek.


    "I''ll buy it for you, don''t worry." I said with a nod.


    "Oooh! Really?! You''re the best!" She said while smiling happily.


    Such a soothing smile¡­


    Ding!


    [The [Holy Spirit of Emotions] is impressed by your intuition! You seem way better than she imagined.]


    [She offers you a small prize.]


    [You received: [Fairy Tears (Unique Grade)] x1!]


    -----


    [Fairy Tears (Unique Grade)] x1


    A Pink bottle containing the tears of a fairy. These tears were not shed by sadness, but by joy. Once consumed, it enhances a person''s charm and beauty and may increase Maximum MP.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    -----


    What an odd potion¡­ So if I drink this I be even more charming and beautiful? Maybe someone else would like this, but I don''t really have much of a use with this.


    I simply saved it for now, I might gift it to someone in the future. Increasing maximum MP is nice, but I doesn''t specify and it might be very little.


    "Hey ke, wat do you think of these?" Wondered Elizabeth, showing me blouses.


    They were white, ck, yellow, and blue.


    Much like Erika, she was also constantly asking me what fit her better.


    Meanwhile, the rest of my friends were wandering nearby, looking at me with pity.


    Sigh¡­ well, it is kind of my fault for having made these girls fall for me.


    "Hmm, you wan to pick one?" I wondered.


    "Yeah, if possible¡­" She sighed. "They''re rather expensive"


    "Hmm¡­ I guess ck is nice." I said.


    "ck? But wouldn''t it be too much for me? My hair''s so shiny¡­" Sighed Elizabeth.


    "ck creates a good contrast with your fair skin and your beautiful golden hair. It makes you look both mysterious and elegant." I gave a brief exnation of my decision.


    Elizabeth instantly blushed, nodding timidly.


    "I-I see¡­" She said. "I never thought you saw me that way, geez¡­ I''ll pick ck then, but you pay half of it."


    "Sure, I don''t really mind." I said with a smile.


    Ding!


    [The [Holy Spirit of Emotions] is bbergasted by your amazing usage of words to conquer a girl''s heart in an instant!]


    [She says that when you put some effort, you can really sound charming and gant.]


    [She offers you a small prize.]


    [You received: [Love Heart Crystal (Unique Grade)] x1!]


    -----


    [Love Heart Crystal (Unique Grade)] x1


    A Special Crystal shaped like a heart made of pink-colored illusion and emotion attribute spirit stones. Beautifully carved by an ancient artisan, it contains the love and emotions he has for a fair maiden he once fell in love for. Once absorbed by someone you love, their favorability for you will increase greatly, and sometimes, they might even fall in love further!


    -----


    Are you kidding me? Another corny reward¡­


    Leave me alone already, Holy Spirit of Emotions¡­


    Ding!


    [The [Holy Spirit of Light] and the [Holy Spirit of Nature] have taken a notice of this event due to the [Holy Spirit of Emotions] gossiping¡­]


    [Both of them say to keep going, you''re doing a great job.]


    [They send you their thumbs up for encouragement.]


    Go away!


    -----

 Chapter 580 Eating With Friends

    -----


    "ke! ke! What about these hats? Do you think one of them go with me?!" Asked Erika, showing me over ten hats.


    "I like these sunsses, do you think these go nice with my eyes?" Wondered Elizabeth.


    "Woah! Look at those pretty skirts! Ah, you think this one goes better with me or this other one?" Erika wondered.


    "I''ve always wanted to buy a new pair of stockings¡­ What do you think? ck or white?" Elizabeth asked.


    "ke! What about these jewelry?!" Erika wondered.


    "Gee~ I wouldn''t mind if you bought me a ring, hehe¡­" Elizabeth giggled yfully.


    "I am watching you, so you better behave¡­" Erika''s mother said from behind.


    After some excruciating two hours of going here and there, we finally ended this small "date" Erika and Elizabeth walked happily with their massive amounts of bags filled with clothes and jewelry. Of course, they quickly asked me to store it inside the grimoire''s storage, so at the end they only carried their new clothes with them.


    Quite honestly, I still mildly enjoyed it. The girls were having such a nice time that I ended having some of that joy stuck to me. They looked rather nice in their new clothes. Even though it wasn''t that sunny, both were wearing sunsses for some reason.


    "You girls really love to exhaust ke¡­" Sighed Eleanora.


    "Eh? But he was enjoying it too!" Erika said with a smile, petting my head for some reason.


    "He was happily helping us decide, it was really nice of him." Elizabeth said, smiling back at me teasingly.


    "I¡­ Well, I kind of enjoyed it a bit, perhaps." I sighed.


    "Well, why didn''t you wanted to pick up clothes with us, Eleanora?!" Wondered Elizabeth. "Haven''t you considered getting some new clothes?"


    "I am a Spirit and a Vampire older than you actually imagine, dear." Sighed Eleanora. "I have never really cared about things such as clothing or makeup¡­ I kind of like my clothes too! W-What''s so wrong with them? Aren''t these ck dresses or my ck pants amazing? They go well with my elemental attacks colors too." Eleanora seemed really confident.


    "W-Well, it is kind of¡­ How can I say this¡­" Elizabeth sighed.


    "Outdated!" Erika said, dropping the bomb mercilessly.


    "Outdated?! But¡­ Master! Do you think I look pretty in these clothes?!" Eleanora asked me almost desperately.


    "You''re really beautiful, Eleanora, and your clothes had always been charming." I agreed with her. To be honest, she was the prettiest woman I ever meet in my previous life. Even other vampire women of higher bloodlines than her were not as pretty.


    She quickly blushed a bit, not expecting such a detailed response.


    "A-Ah¡­ I-Is that so¡­?" She blushed a bit. "My, you''re so open nowadays¡­"


    "But¡­" I said. "I don''t think it would be a bad idea if you could get some new clothes, just to have some fresh new look? Don''t make your life so monotone. I would also like if you could enjoy it."


    Eleanora felt utterly shocked as I said those words, staying silent for a few seconds.


    "Master¡­ right¡­" She said, illuminated. "Maybe I could change how I wear clothes! Yes, in fact I''ve always wanted to try out something new, but I was toozy or embarrassed to ask you if its was okay¡­"<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "Eleanora you might be a spirit but you''re free to do as you please as well, much like Hendrick and Saphira." I sighed. "You''re also earning your own money through our hunts and by helping in the Item Store, no?"


    "R-Right¡­" Eleanora felt slightly surprised. "Maybe I should! Alright girls, let''s go do more cloth shopping!"


    "Yaaay!" Erika and Elizabeth were all up for it.


    And that''s when I realized I was digging my own grave.


    Half an hourter, and things were now finally ending. Saphira had been quite patient this time, and she joined Eleanora in buying some clothes for herself as well.


    Eleanora was now wearing a new white blouse with some ck jeans, alongside ck leather boots. Meanwhile, Saphira enjoyed a single piece blue dress.


    "Papa I''m hungry! Let''s go have lunch already¡­" Saphira was pouting angrily.


    "I suppose it''s about time." I nodded.


    We wandered around the busy streets of Stronghold, finally gathering back with the rest of our friends and then deciding a restaurant. After a lot of talk, we finally decided on going into arge and rather popr one for family dinners.


    In there, we were able to finally enjoy ourselves, especially myself, who found eating delicious food as a brand-new form of entertainment in this life. Having properly working tastebuds was truly a new experience by itself.


    "Let''s eat to our heart''s content today! We have to celebrate having conquered the D Rank Dungeon after all, everyone! Eat and celebrate as much as you want!" I said. "Don''t worry about the money, it''s all on me today."


    "Nice! Then I''m going to eat the whole menu!" Erika giggled evilly.


    "I am starving too, tough some sweets would be nice." Said Elizabeth.


    "I would prefer a lot of meat!" Chris said.


    "Same. I heard they''ve got monster and demon meat in the menu too." Erdrich said.


    "Sd for me, meat will only make you fatter." Sighed Elfriedden.


    "Oooh! They have some dwarven dishes in here!" Said Alberta happily. "Here Eric, you''ve gotta try out the Spicy Ham Roll!"


    "Spicy Ham Roll?" Eric seemed perplexed, he was never good with spicy foods.


    "I want apple pie! Cheesecake! Lemon pie!" Saphira began ordering all the desserts.


    Like that, whatever money I had left after spending it on the dragon scale quickly disappeared from my pockets. We bought many types of different foods, whatever they wanted, haha.


    I ended sacrificing a lot to make everyone happy¡­ but quite honestly, everyone here, and their smiles, was really worth it.


    The friends I''ve made through this life¡­ they''re one of my most precious treasures.


    ¡­And well, I''ll be earning all of that money back very soon.


    -----

 Chapter 581 The Holy Spirits Are Sure Generous!

    -----


    Ding!


    [The [Holy Spirit of Light], the [Holy Spirit of Nature], and the [Holy Spirit of Emotions] are greatly pleased with how much you''ve shown to love and appreciate your friends.]


    [They have thoroughly enjoyed this day and seem proud that they choose you as their divinely protected.]


    [After some talk, they have decided to reward you.]


    [You received: [Divine Light Sword Skill Scroll (Mythic Grade)] x1, [Heart of the Forest (Mythic Grade)] x1, and [Ring of Bonds (Mythic Grade)] x2!]


    [You received 1000000 EXP!]


    [You received 1000000 Gold!]


    [Level Up!]


    [Level Up!]


    [Your Level has increased from Level 27 to Level 29!]


    [All your stats have increased!]


    [You earned Skill Points and Stat Points!]


    After arriving back home from a long day, the Holy Spirits did not wait any longer, giving me rewards for things I never thought I would ever be rewarded for¡­ I got a million gold just like that, which I will be saving for now, and two levels to booth.


    Lastly, three new items, although one of them is divided by two¡­ I can imagine why.


    -----


    [Divine Light Sword Skill Scroll (Mythic Grade)] x1


    A Special Scroll created by a Divine being, it contains the primordial power of an ancient and overpowering Skill only those born with the [Hero] Talent could learn and use. However, anybody holding the Divine Protection of the Holy Spirit of Light can utilize this scroll to learn this mythical Skill, which can even channel the divinity of the Holy Spirit of Light temporarily to y all evil.


    -----


    [Heart of the Forest (Mythic Grade)] x1


    A beautiful green crystal containing the power of he forest itself. These green crystals only grow in the deepest andrgest of forest within the faraway continent of Alfheim, the oldest of trees crystalize their ancient mana and rich sap into these crystals after eons. Incredibly high quality and filled with the power of nature and life, if consumed, it can greatly increase one''s lifespan, heal all wounds and mana capacity, and enhance all stats, with the possibility of unlocking new skills.


    -----


    [Ring of Bonds (Mythic Grade)] x2


    Special rings bestowed by the [Holy Spirit of Emotions] upon her most fervent followers. Said to be only worn by those that follower really loves and wants to be safe. Depending in the bond of the one gifting it and the wielder, this ring will grant higher bonus stats and better effects. At high enough bond levels, even a part of the other''s powers can be shared temporarily to the wielder.


    -----


    Interesting, I half-guessed the rings would be like this¡­ This Holy Spirit really loves to gift things rted to her own element, doesn''t she? Well, all of them do. It seems they only will ever gift stuff they govern over as an element, interestingly enough.


    These items¡­ I could certainly gift them to a friend, but I would rather use them all on myself except the ring of bonds, which will simply won''t work on me as I''ve received them. They''re two, so its quite clear I should gift them to Erika and Elizabeth.


    But for now, I''ll use what I can¡­


    Touching the scroll, I quickly imbued some Mana into it. The scroll instantly began to unleash countless runes made of light, reaching my body and enlightening me, granting me a new Skill.


    Ding!<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    ¦Ñ¦Á§ád¦Á---n?¦Ía| §ãom [You have absorbed the knowledge of the Skill Scroll!]


    [You learned the [Divine Light Sword: Lv1] Skill!]


    -----


    [Divine Light Sword: Lv1]


    Skill Proficiency: 0/10000


    A Special Skill only bestowed by the Holy Spirit of Light upon their chosen ones. By activating it, it directly channels the power of the Holy Spirit into the form of a sword which can be wielded with either two hands or only one. Incredibly powerful, it can deal up to +1000% Damage and ignore foe''s defenses. This damage is doubled against Demons.


    With each Skill level, damage dealt is increased by +500%. However, alongside drainingrge quantities of Mana, it also drains the lifespan of the user, with five days with every minute of usage. The higher the skill level, the more lifespan it will drain.


    -----


    So using this skill¡­ in an hour it would drain almost a year of my lifespan. I am quite young already, so I wouldn''t mind offering some of my lifespan anyways. As I evolve more into a Vampire, my lifespan will keep growing anyways.


    It is still a rather double-edged skill, I remember that Ellergest utilized a simr power bestowed upon him by the Holy Spirits. I suppose that to channel their divine power, a sacrifice is needed. I don''t think they''re partially malicious, it is simply thew of equal exchange. If I want something so powerful, I will have to sacrifice something equally valuable, my own life.


    Well, and its not like I can easily get more lifespan by absorbing this item¡­


    FLASH!


    The green jewel in my hands slowly began to dissipate into particles of green and yellow light, which quickly rushed into my own body and heart, granting me some new powers.


    Ding!


    [You''ve absorbed [Heart of the Forest (Mythic Grade)] x1!]


    [Your Lifespan has increased by 25 Years!]


    [All your stats have increased by +100!]


    [Your Spirit Stat has increased by +20!]


    [You earned +10 Skill Points!]


    [The power of the Heart of the Forest is reacting with your own Elemental Attributes; a new Skill is being created!]


    [You learned the [Abyssal Blood-sucking Vines: Lv1] Skill!]


    -----


    [Abyssal Blood-Sucking Vines: Lv1]


    Skill Proficiency: 0/10000


    Channel your own Mana to summon an endless quantity of ck-colored vines made of darkness. You can easily and freely control these vines, as they can grow everywhere you touch and spread further as long as you give them more Mana¡­ or Blood. Extremely vicious, any living being caught within them might have all their life and blood sucked dry. Enhances their Power and Vampiric Abilities by +25% with each Skill Level, alongside the freedom in which they can be used.


    -----


    Huh, good enough for now. It merges several Shadow and Blood Arts together rather interestingly¡­


    -----

 Chapter 582 A Lurking Evil

    -----


    Once I was finished, I took a peek at therge group of Dragon Blood Elixirs that Hendrick had created. I couldn''t help but feel rather tempted to drink them all right now.


    "Master they''re all done, but remember to drink them one by one carefully! If you drink them all, you''re bound to get extreme stomachache and then indigestion!"


    "I understand." I nodded. "Using my Physique, I can easily negate most negative effects anyways, and with the Heavy Drinker Skill, potion effects are enhanced even further¡­"


    I was about to boost my stats as much as I could using these potions, and they were over twenty of them. I wanted to get as much power as I could before I were to be allowed to challenge another D Ranked Dungeon, or even explore the Wild Lands outside, filled with high ranked monsters and demons.


    Slowly, through the whole night, I meditated, making the energies around m body flow around slowly and peacefully, while drinking each Elixir. They were made with all of my share of the spirit orbs we got from the D Ranked Dungeon, so drinking them also restored my Mana and Spirit energy constantly.


    Once I restore so much, I get slightly sick, but as I bear with this sensation, the Mana and Spirit energy begin to swell and slowly increase permanently, this is a "cheat" way to slowly be stronger and increase my max stats.


    Of course, it only works the best with me because I''ve made a contract with a dragon, which grants me enough Dragon Power to resist this enormous quantity of energy I am swallowing with each bottle¡­


    Bottle after bottle, I could feel my power slowly rising¡­


    ¡­


    ¡­


    ¡­


    When I opened my eyes, the sun was already rising from the horizon. I ended spending the entire night mediating and cultivating my energies while drinking the elixirs, and finally, the results were being clearly shown.


    I grew scales over my body and they looked way stronger than before, more solid and even having a metallic luster to them. My eyes were slowly mutating and bing dragon eyes whenever I used the dragon connection skill, my ws have also be stronger and more ferocious-looking, and wings were slowly beginning to grow more, alongside a tail with a pointy end.


    However, above all, there was a brand new ability rted with dragons, which not even Ruby has yet developed, but that I was able to develop through this insane method of killing myself drinking dragon blood elixirs¡­


    "[Gather], [Shape], [Form]."


    I said a few words, as my words emerged as golden runes out of my mouth, in mere seconds, the twenty empty bottles where the elixirs were contained began to float in midair and meld together with one another, shaping and forming themselves into a gigantic ss bottle.


    "Excellent, it is working as intended, though at this level, it can''t really do much¡­"


    Indeed, this power was¡­


    Ding!


    [You''ve absorbed an incredible quantity of Dragon Power, Spirit Energy, and Mana!]


    [All your stats have increased by +100!]


    [You''ve reached the Bonus Stat cap of the [Dragon Blood Elixir]!]


    [All Dragon-rted Skills have leveled up!]


    [Due to your connection with your dragon, [Ruby] has also grown stronger!]


    [The excess Dragon Power is slowly merging together, a new Skill is being born!]


    [You learned the [Dragon Tongue: Lv1] Magic Skill!]<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    -----


    [Dragon Tongue: Lv1]


    Skill Proficiency: 42/10000


    A Special and powerful Skill that only the most Ancient of Dragons can learn and develop. Since Ancient Times that Dragons have not only held incredibly physical might, but an understanding and power over magic like no others within the Realm of Mortals.


    Merely by saying words, magic will simply materialize,pletely leaving obsolete the necessity of utilizing Magic Circles. Simply say a word and its meaning will materialize. The moreplicated the meanings, the more Mana will be required. The higher the skill level, the faster the conjuration time bes and the moreplicated the runes can be.


    -----


    Indeed, this power was Dragon Tongue!


    "Incredible! Master has attained Dragon Tongue so early!" Hendrick was left speechless.


    "Howe you learned it when Ruby hasn''t yet?!" Eleanora was speechless as well.


    "It was hard but I managed to. My n was to absorb so much Dragon Power that the excess power will be capable of materializing into a Skill of my choice, the options were many, but I choose this one for obvious reasons." I said. "It worked, although I am extremely tired now¡­"


    I fell over the bed, too tired to even talk anymore, and immediately fell asleep right after that¡­


    .


    .


    .


    Surrounding arge red crystal, several people covered on ck and red cloaks from head to toe sat down around a table. The red crystal shone brightly, floating above the table. Within its interior, something strange and aberrant could be seen slowly forming¡­ and slowly being brought to life by ancient demonic arts.


    "It seems our attempt at silencing them has gone terribly wrong."


    "Indeed, the first team was caught, and the attempted demon gate break was also suppressed somehow¡­"


    "Howe those children are so powerful? This is simply impossible!"


    "You''ve already seen their power before, these children¡­ well, no longer children, are probably divine protected by the damned holy spirits."


    "We cannot allow them to live anymore. Even less that damned ke, the one that constantly interrupts our ns!"


    "To think that an ancient rival of our master has been reincarnated into a human¡­ The reason why he is such a vicious monster might be his ancient soul that once sealed our almighty lord."


    "Certainly, he might had been a powerful being in another time, but now, he''s only as strong as a Rank 3 Spirit Master at best¡­ Even if he can summon his former allies as spirits, they are also weakened."


    "Our strongest informant says he is growing stronger with each passing day, we cannot let this continue¡­"


    "Lord Beelzebub calls for his head, bring it to him!"


    "Very well then¡­ Let us orchestrate another show, shall we? This time, we''ll make sure to take down that doll girl while we are at it. And get that half-demon."


    -----

 Chapter 583 New Summoner Skills

    -----


    After waking up from all the exhaustion, I felt renewed. Today I was going to spend my Skill Points into buying some Skills, as I''ve been umting arge amount of these points, and I really wanted to spend them now to keep growing even stronger and faster as well. A month went by flying, I am already suspecting the rest of the months until the end of the semester will go flying rapidly as well.


    They already said this was going to be the only Dungeon test of the semester, and the next semester might include missions of monster or demon extermination in open fields, preparing the students to fight in the war they''ll soon join once their academy years are over.


    For now, I''ve already decided what Skills I want, and I''ve got enough Skill Points as well, so there''s no point in wasting time.


    Ding!


    [You''ve exchanged 450 Skill Points!]


    [You Learned the [Familiar Connection: Lv1] Skill!]


    [You Learned the [Familiar Awakening: Lv1] Skill!]


    [You Learned the [Advanced Familiar Fusion: Lv1] Skill!]


    [You have learned all Skills within the [Job ss]: [Summoner: ¡ï¡ï] Skill Tree!]


    [You acquired the [Summoner: Lv1] Title Skill!]


    A Summoner Title Skill, interesting. It seems I was finally able to get something rted to Summoning into a Title¡­ Well, let''s check these Skills once and for all.


    -----


    [Familiar Connection: Lv1]


    Skill Proficiency: 0/10000


    A Special Skill that only Summoners can learn, which aids in their everyday lives and to facilitate the ability to control and utilize their amazing Summoned Familiars in many ways.


    Grants the ability to connect all five of your senses with a Summon, effectively possessing them and being able to control them as if they were an extension of your body. Summons that are connected with you enjoy a boost to all their stats of up to +50% with an additional +20% with each Skill Level.


    The Maximum Amount of Familiars you can Connect at the same time is limited by the Skill Level + your total amount of Intelligence Stat, with +1 Slot every 500 Intelligence.


    Avable Slots:


    Level 1: 5 Familiars (+5)


    Level 2: ???


    -----


    Oh, this Skill is amazing! Why didn''t I get it earlier?! Damn it, I only thought it would simply give some stat boost, but not to go as far aspletely possessing a Familiar body by all five senses?! And the amount increases also based in the Intelligence Stat! It does not only increases magic damage but it can work in such ways¡­ incredible.


    -----


    [Familiar Awakening: Lv1]


    Skill Proficiency: 0/10000


    A Special Skill that only Summoners can learn, which allows the Summoner to awaken a Summon''s innate stats to the next level.


    When you''re creating a Familiar Summon Card, you can utilize this Skill to "enchant" that Summoned Familiar total stats permanently.


    The amount of Stats increased is dependent in the type of Summon and the Skill Level.


    Mana Cost can vary depending in the Summoning Cost and Skill Level.


    At higher Levels (Level 3+), a Summon might be able to acquire brand new Skills as well.


    -----


    This is¡­ I''ve gotta try this right now.


    FLASH!


    I quickly created one of my ssic Summons, Fenrir, who had been stuck at the low rank of F because it came from Gray Wolves, a very weak monster. Familiars can only improve up to two ranks above them, and Gray Wolves are as weak as H Rank, so going to G Rank and then F Rank was much as it could do.


    Nheless, these are Fenrir''s usual stats:


    -----


    [Name]: [Fenrir]


    [Type]: [Beast]


    [Rank]: [F]


    [Race]: [Dark Shadow Horned Wolf]


    [Health Points: 135/135]


    [Strength: 110]


    [Agility: 100]


    [Vitality: 60]


    [Intelligence: 50]


    [Dexterity: 75]


    [Buff]: [+5 Agility] [+4 Dexterity]<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    [Skill]: [Furious Bite] [Dark Howl] [Shadow Step]


    [Growth]: [MAX]


    -----


    And then, this is the "awakened" form.


    -----


    [Name]: [Fenrir (Awakened)


    [Type]: [Beast], [Specter]


    [Rank]: [F]


    [Race]: [Dark Shadow Horned Wolf]


    [Health Points: 135/135] (+350)


    [Strength: 110] (+500)


    [Agility: 100] (+500)


    [Vitality: 60] (+150)


    [Intelligence: 50] (+150)


    [Dexterity: 75] (+350)


    [Buff]: [+50 Agility] [+40 Dexterity]


    [Skill]: [Furious Bite+] [Dark Howl+] [Shadow Step+]


    [Growth]: [MAX]


    -----


    For some reason it gained the Specter Type, and it has now an insane amount of Bonus Stats as well, they''re almost asparable to the E Rank Hobgoblin Summons. Sadly, those ones are still better in overall stats than him, even when the bonuses are included¡­ However, Fenrir is naturally faster and stealthier due to his special Skills such as Shadow Step, which had all received a "+", meaning the skills are stronger.


    "Let''s see¡­ Fenrir, can you show me what your new Specter type do?"


    "Woof!"


    Fenrir barked, and then, his entire body turned transparent, bing like a shadow specter itself.


    Then he began moving around, easily trespassing physical objects, much like Saphira can do.


    "Amazing! He''s like me!" Saphiramented.


    "Woof!"


    Fenrir seemed happy to have attained the spotlight once more.


    "Interesting¡­"


    I quickly tried riding him, and then I asked him to use that innate power of him again.


    FLASH!


    And then, he quickly turned into a specter and my body was covered on his spectral body, in seconds, he suddenly went trough the walls, as wended into the next room to mine, Erika''s room.


    "Amazing, it even works when we are riding you!" I eximed in amusement.


    eaglesnov?1,§ão§® However, I quickly realized Erika was half naked while changing clothes.


    "Huh? B-ke?!"


    "Ah¡­"


    Suddenly, her entire face grew redder.


    "W-Why are you getting into my room?! Pervert! Get out!"


    She began throwing clothes at me and Fenrir, as we swiftly decided to retreat.


    "Sorry!"


    FLASH!


    As Inded back on my room, I sighed.


    "We have to be careful of not sneaking into other people''s rooms, Fenrir." I said, giving him a head pat.


    "Woof!" Fenrir seemed to agree.


    Well, that was still rather embarrassing.


    Nheless, leaving that aside, this Familiar Awakening Skill is truly marvelous.


    It can certainly do a lot of interesting things. I should try to awaken every summon I have and see what they get out of this awakening power, and I''ll also end up gaining skill proficiency in the way, killing two birds with one stone.


    -----

 Chapter 584 The Amazing Power Of The [Advanced Familiar Fusion] Skill

    -----


    Before my Skill Leveling were to begin, however, I nced at the twost skills I had yet to check, one of them being the third Summoner Skill, Advanced Familiar Fusion, and the other being the new Summoner Title.


    -----


    [Advanced Familiar Fusion: Lv1]


    Skill Proficiency: 0/10000


    A Special Skill that only Summoners can learn, it grants the ability to create a brand new Advanced Familiar by merging existing Familiar Cards. This Familiar is different from those created through Familiar Synthesis and cannot be registered as a Familiar within the Grimoire.


    However, topensate for that, they''re extremely powerfulpared to other familiars, and their strengths and abilities depends in the familiar cards you sacrifice to summon them. The higher the skill level, the stronger, more advanced summons are avable.


    The summoned familiars are also influenced by your imagination and how you visualize them to be. You need a minimum amount of 3 Sacrifices to summon an Advanced Familiar.


    The sacrificed familiar cards used for their summon disappear and cannot be restored. Additionally, whenever you summon an Advanced Familiar, their stats automatically rise by +100%, with an additional +25% with each Skill Level, and their Skill Effects and Damage increase by +100% with an additional +25% with each Skill Level.


    Avability:


    Level 1: Maximum Amount: 1. Summon Time: 10 Minutes. Cooldown: 1 Hour.


    Level 2: ???


    -----


    This is really interesting. This allows for me to sacrifice existing summons to summon a stronger, and more powerful Advanced Summon! Although it doesn''t specify what sort of summon I get, it might be random. Although it does says my imagination and what I visualize them to be might influence on their form.


    However, they''re certainly expensive to summon, I would need three cards to summon one of them, and they don''t even stay as long as they don''t die, as they disappear once 20 minutes pass, with a cooldown of one hour¡­ certainly, they''re not the most convenient to have in any situation.


    But they seem to be a good trump card, and if the skill level increases, the cooldown might slowly reduce and I could summon more than one at the same time. These are still perfect to summon when we are in the middle of a fight, but not exactly to have around at all times like the others.


    And not only I need to spend the mana for the cards, but there''s also the cost of the skill itself, making one of these cost mana, the fusion itself also costs mana. Even as much as I have now, it seems I never have enough.


    I''ll try different fusions and experiments whenever I have free time to gain skill proficiency and see how this exactly works. For now, I should try it once at the very least.


    "Let''s see¡­ Let''s fuse one Fenrir, one Orcus, and an Apul together¡­ This is going to be weird."


    FLAAASH!


    All three cards flew out of my hands, converging together into a bigger, golden card floating in midair, which quickly began to disappear into light. And from within the light, arge figure slowly began to emerge, powerful and enormous. It was certainly not a familiar I had ever summoned before!


    BAAAM!


    Itsrge body hit the ground with a loud thud, as its powerful presence made itself clear. A golden aura exuded from the beast, overflowing with strength. This thing cost me a lot MP, let''s see how strong it is.


    "G R U O O O H H H!"


    Arge, tusked wild boar emerged from the golden light, its entire body was wrapped around vines and carnivorous nts with sharp jaws. It had a natural armor of wood and these deadly nts, and its tail was long and covered in entangled vines with poisonous spikes. Its tusks were enormous capable of impaling anything, and it had a third,rger golden eye on its forehead.


    -----


    [Name]: [Guardian]


    [Type]: [Beast], [nt], [Fusion]<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    [Rank]: [C+]


    [Race]: [Forest Guardian Great Wild Boar]


    [Health Points]: [5500/5500]


    [Mana Points:] [4000/4000]


    [Strength]: [4500]


    [Agility]: [3000]


    [Vitality]: [4500]


    [Intelligence]: [1500]


    [Dexterity]: [1500]


    [Buff]: [All Stats +100]


    [Skill]: [Guardian of Nature] [Great Tusked Attack] [Earthquake] [Nature''s Rage] [Berserk Charge]


    [Growth]: [MAX]


    -----


    "This is pure madness¡­ It even gives me buffs as long as it stays summoned? It''s only a ten minute buff, but still, +100 to all stats is never bad¡­" I said in huge surprise.


    "Incredible, this summon is truly frightening!" Said Hendrick. "Master you made this by fusing a wolf, a boar, and that apple?!"


    "Yeah, I can''t believe it myself either, but if we calcte everything¡­ I probably spent over 3000 MP on this thing. I only have around 3400 max MP." I sighed. "It''s definitely not something I can summon leisurely. The cooldown is also harsh at one hour, and the time it can be summoned is only ten minutes."


    "I guess there must be drawbacks for such a powerful summon, which is even beyond your own strength." Said Eleanora. "It''s stats¡­ aside from Intelligence and Dexterity, are extremely high!"


    "And all of those skills, what do they do?" Saphira wondered.


    "Hmm¡­ Guardian, why don''t you show us what you can do?" I asked with a smile, quickly bringing him to the house''s backyard.


    Some of my friends began watching from the windows as I was testing the new temporary summon. Its power was simply insane.


    "It can summon nature itself, heal, attack, defend, and even draw the enemy''s attention!" Said Eleanora in shock.


    Indeed, that was the case, [Guardian of Nature] allowed it to control nature and receive defensive buffs, [Great Tusked Attack] was a devastating critical attack with a shockwave effect, the [Earthquake] was an area-of-effect earth attribute attack, the [Nature''s Rage] was a crowd control skill that brought all enemy attention to the summon, andstly, [Berserk Charge] makes Guardian charge furiously, any damage he takes bes extra damage dealt.


    However, it came fast and went away fast too¡­


    FLASH!


    After ten short minutes, it disappeared into particles of light.


    -----

 Chapter 585 A New And Ridiculous Test!

    -----


    Ding!


    [The Grimoire has developed due to your newly acquired Abilities!]


    [A Special [Familiar Fusion Encyclopedia] Function has been created!]


    [You can now register any Advanced Familiar within this Encyclopedia to easily summon them again with the necessary ingredients.]


    "Interesting¡­"


    I looked at my grimoire which was now shining brightly, gaining a brand new ability which was reflected into one of its empty pages being filled with new information. In there, I saw the "Guardian" Summon, and even the materials used to create it.


    -----


    [Advanced Summon Fusion]


    [Name]: [Guardian]


    [Types]: [Beast] [Nature] [Fusion] [???]


    [Rank]: [C+]


    [Race]: [Forest Guardian Great Wild Boar]


    [Health Points]: [5500/5500]


    [Mana Points:] [4000/4000]


    [Strength]: [4500]


    [Agility]: [3000]


    [Vitality]: [4500]


    [Intelligence]: [1500]


    [Dexterity]: [1500]


    [Buff]: [All Stats +100]


    [Skills]: [Guardian of Nature] [Great Tusked Attack] [Earthquake] [Nature''s Rage] [Berserk Charge] [???]


    [Growth]: [MAX]


    [Description]: A powerful C Rank Summon thatbines the power of Beast type Summons with Nature type Summons. It possess incredible defenses and bulk, it can charge at amazing speeds, conjure nature itself, protect allies and itself, or go all out like a crazy berserk, bringing the attention of foes while at it.


    [Required Ingredients]: [Fenrir Summon Card (F Rank)] x1, [Orcus Summon Card (F Rank)] x1, [Apul Summon Card (F Rank)] x1, [2000 MP]


    [Notes]: New ingredients can be used to awaken hidden traits when summoning again.


    -----


    It even has hidden traits I have yet to discover? Interesting¡­ I can tell, it has another type I didn''t get before. What type could it even be? Earth maybe? Though¡­ well, I''ll eventually discover it.


    "With this, I could try out newbinationster. Familiar Synthesis can also bring new summons, but they''re weaker as they''re permanent additions I can summon at any time without cooldowns." I said while analyzing everything.


    Being a summoner was certainly moreplex than I could had imagined, or perhaps this world''s summoners were like this. Nheless, there''s this one title I had yet to check.


    -----


    [Summoner: Lv1]


    Skill Proficiency: 0/10000


    A Title only given to the legendary figures of history, capable of summoning armies of hundred if not thousands of familiars to fight and protect humanity. If you possess this Title, you can already call yourself a Summoner confidently.


    Increases the maximum amount of Familiars you can summon at the same time of each Rank by +15.


    Reduces the cost of Summoning Familiar Cards (does not include Advanced Familiars) by -20% with each Skill Level.


    Enhances all Familiars Stats and Skill Effects and Damage Dealt by +20% with each Skill Level.


    -----


    This was a nice Title as well, perhaps a bit too good to be true. But I''ll take the passive bonuses. If this keeps leveling up, the maximum amount of summons I can have could truly reach a hundred one day, or perhaps thousands in the future.


    I''ll have to be patient and wait until that moment.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    .


    .


    .


    The next week came flying by as I trained and studied the many secrets and knowledges of this world. Like any other beginning of the week, we gathered inside the ssroom. This time, however, many students seemed incredibly nervous. The first Dungeon Test was a rather merciless and harsh one.


    Notpleting the dungeon would mean being expulsed, I can tell why many were nervous, perhaps they didn''t do it quite right, or maybe they didn''t even do it and were waiting for a miracle. Whatever was the case, I had nothing to worry about, we hadpleted a E Rank Dungeon easily.


    "It has been a week since the test announcements and we''ve received all the repots now." Hector said, the burly history teacher began reading his papers, quickly checking everything on them. "I will begin calling each group by their leader''s name, and the points earned. Remember that 100 points is the perfect score, but you can pass as long as you 50 points. These points are counted by our teachers, who analyzed each dungeon exploration each party had."


    The students nodded; everyone was nervous.


    "Ahem¡­  Alicia Party! 52 Points, you pass."


    "PHEW¡­"


    Alicia, a young red-haired girl with freckles sighed. She was a proficient Alchemist, but not a good fighter. Nheless, her party managed to get 52 points at least.


    "Anne Party! 31 Points, you''re out."


    "AAAGGGH!"


    Anne was a ck-haired girl that was always cking around, her party seemed tock enthusiasm, so I was already seeing thising.


    "Rosen Party, 73 points, more than qualified¡­"


    "Heh, to be expected of the Rosen Party."


    Rosen was a young blonde maning from a faraway duchy, his powers were about controlling roses and vines. His party was made of his bootlickers, and he was incredibly selfish. Nheless, he waspetent enough.


    Like that, in between tears of both sadness and happiness, over half the ssroom was expulsed. Even our party was shocked when they saw how many couldn''t qualify, there was a seriousck of discipline in this ssroom.


    "ke''s Party¡­ Heh, I wouldn''t had expected less!" Hector said, all students suddenly nced back at me. "100 POINTS! PERFECT SCORE!"


    "WHAAAAT?!"


    Even knowing we were all talented and strong, most of the ssroom was wishing our scores wouldn''t be as good, seeing how everyone failed miserably. We were the first to reach 100 points.


    "H-How is that possible? 100 Points?! Did they destroyed the whole dungeon or what?!" Rosen asked furiously, his face filled with jealously.


    "More or less." Laughed Hector. "They eliminated every single monster in there, cleared every single floor from all traps, defeated the bosses without breaking a sweat, and they even defeated a demon gate that opened right after defeating the boss, all in less than half an hour! Gahahaha! They''re insane!"


    The whole ssroom gasped. Rose and others "self-proimed rivals" were bbergasted.


    "Yaaaay! We''re the best!" Erika celebrated.


    "I expected a good score but this is insane!" Elizabeth said.


    "Great¡­ this''ll surely improve my terrible grades at writing tests¡­ Phew." Sighed Chris.


    "Wow, 100 points¡­" Eric was shocked.


    "T-This is not what I expected¡­!" Alberta freaked out.


    "Hmph! This is the bare minimum that my glorious self can receive." Elfriedden taunted everyone else, earning our ssmates hate.


    "Oi don''t go saying that out loud¡­" Erdrich sighed.


    Like that, our very first dungeon test was a total sess.


    As we experienced many other things through the next sses. Days became weeks, and weeks became months. And in the blink of an eye, the end of the semester was upon us, and with that, yet another insane test was approaching.


    "The Semester is ending and that means an even harsher test, students." Hector said, our ssroom was now reduced to less than half, but everyone was way morepetent.


    "E-Even harsher than the dungeon test we had a while ago?" Rosen asked, his face filled with dread.


    "Yeah! This test includes a field trip to the Outer Wild Lands! All of you will work together and clean an entire Haunt from Monsters and the Demons living there! This is your test! If you don''t pass as a ss, you''re all expulsed!" Laughed Hector.


    "WHAAAAT?!"


    While the entire ss was terrified, I couldn''t help but smile. This is such a generous opportunity to gain even more EXP!


    -----

 Chapter 586 Forced To Cooperate?

    -----


    "We''ll begin next week, so until then you need to prepare. Sharpen your skills with our teachers, gather items and equipment, and remember to read all the manuals and guides avable for free in the Academy''s library." Hector said. "The sses are over now, you can leave."


    The stoic man quickly sat down once more, reading some papers, and beginning to check on several written exams. For someone so burly, he did a lot of paperwork.


    The sses quickly began to empty themselves as we decided to make our way out of the ssroom. My entire party was rather pleased with these news, much like myself.


    "Nice! It has been a month since I''ve gained a level¡­" Said Erika. She quickly held my and smiled back at me. "Aren''t you excited?"


    "Yeah, I''ve been looking forward to this for a while now. Let''s make sure to gain tons of levels." I said with a nod.


    "Yeah the low-level dungeons don''t give any EXP now." Sighed Eric.


    "I wish we were given the chance to enter the higher ranked dungeons, but apparently First Year students can only go as far as E++ Rank in Dungeons." Eric Analyzed, sighing.


    "Yeah, thest months we''ve visited the dungeons up to five times¡­" Elizabeth said. "Yet I don''t feel particrly stronger. Maybe it is because we were already very strong when we joined."


    "It is quite dreadful. We''ve barely earned any levels. With my enormous EXP requirements and weaker monsters EXP rates reducing as I level up further, I''ve only earned 5 levels." I sighed, feeling rather disheartened.


    "5 Levels is still decent to be honest¡­" Said Elfriedden. "I''ve only earned six myself¡­"


    "Well yeah, it''s not so bad, but it isn''t something good for all the times we have visited those dungeons. I am looking forward on fighting D Rank Monsters, which give even more EXP and are often stronger. Also even weak demons give wonderful amounts of EXP, but thetest months had been unusually peaceful." I said, thinking about the Cult of Beelzebub.


    "You''re talking about the Cult of Beelzebub, right?" Elizabeth asked. "Yeah, the priests in here had been investigating, but they can''t find any clues. And they had been unusually calm. Are they brewing something else?"


    "It would be na?ve to think they wouldn''t try something now that we''re going outside¡­ Yet we can''t simply cancel this whole trip." I sighed. "We have to prepare well enough, everyone. Have you drank your Dragon Elixirs?"


    Everyone nodded, although some of my friends didn''t really liked the feeling of nausea they had when they drank it. I''ve been supplying them with more, which they drink every two weeks. Drinking too many at the same time would be dangerous for their health otherwise.


    "Yeah but I am sick of them." Sighed Chris. "Can''t we stop already?"


    "No, you''re still having a bit more hidden potential, but maybe in two or three more we''ll be done." I nodded.


    "They''re gross but it''s the best to grow stronger." Erdrichughed.


    "Yucky?! They''re super tasty!" Erika seemed surprised by everyone''s disgust against the elixirs.


    Maybe because she has dragon powers she finds them tasty, I do also find them rather good. But those that don''t always end up finding them gross.


    "I-I think they''re alright¡­ I''ve never felt t-this physically stronger b-before drinking them¡­" Alberta was gaining more and more confident, and was stuttering less now, yet she still did. Our friendship with her had been growing faster than with the pesky Elfriedden.


    "It must be the elixir awakening your amazing innate potential, Alberta! I am always thankful you''re so strong, you can carry a lot of stuff I usually can''t carry well¡­" Said Eric with a cheerful smile.


    "H-Hehehe¡­ I-I am happy I can help you, my m-meat bun." Alberta gave him a kiss in his cheek.


    "D-Don''t call me like that in front of my friends¡­" Eric got all embarrassed.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    Yeah, they were boyfriends now. It happened around half a month ago. Eric asked me a lot of advice about how to talk to girls about his feelings. I just told him to be bold and have the will. Alberta already liked him, so it wasn''t hard.


    "Huh, my little meat bun?" Laughed Chris.


    "That''s quite the name they have given you." Erdrich giggled.


    I could feel Chris and Erdrich envious stares. The two had been rather unsessful on finding someone special to them. Elfriedden seemedpletely indifferent, however. He sometimes talks about a girl from his home, so he''s probably already engaged.


    Alberta hugged Eric tightly.


    "B-But you''re my little meat bun~!" She said, her strong arms almost breaking Eric''s ribs. Dwarven women were surely very strong. The Dragon Elixir only made her stronger.


    "A-Ahahah¡­ Y-You''re hugging me a bit too tightly Alberta¡­" Eric was struggling with his new rtionship, it seems.


    As we were about to walk out of the Academy, we suddenly heard a very annoying voice that as been a slight headache thesest months.


    "Hey you all, stop right there!"


    A long-haired blonde young man showed behind us. He was Rosen, of course. Who else?


    "You seem to be incredibly cheerful about this! But don''t you realize you''ll have to work with us?!" He said angrily. "I hope you actually get to cooperate more instead of being so self-centered. Now that your grades depend on helping us as well, you can''t simplyugh at our lower performance¡­!"


    He was being quite the self-centered one here.


    "You''re acting really bold right now." I said. "Want me to teach you some manners?"


    "Hyyyyeeh! G-Get away from me!" Rose quickly hid behind one of his bootlickers as I got closer while cracking my knuckles. "I am just saying! Don''t be so barbaric now, ke!"


    "Sigh¡­ I know." I said. "And don''t worry, if you want us to carry your sorry asses, don''t worry. We will."


    "T-That''s not what I MEANT!" Rosen angrily said.


    "Hey, what with all this discussion?"


    "Is Rosen provoking ke''s Party again?"


    "That guy really got a death wish¡­"


    "Look! Fight! Fight!"


    The other students suddenly started surrounding us¡­


    -----

 Chapter 587 Spoiled Noble Classmates

    -----


    "Go away you vultures, there''s no carrion here for you to eat." I quickly tried to choo away the crowd, everyone naturally looked at me with anger.


    "Who are you calling vulture?!"


    "He''s really talented but does he has to call us like that?! So mean!"


    "I wish someone could teach him a lesson¡­"


    "Damn bastard."


    Teach me a lesson? These children are really braindead. Agh, I am already losing brain cells by talking with them, I better just walk away with my friends before wasting any second here. I just want to level up.


    "Hey, wait there!"


    Suddenly, the second most annoying ssmate showed up.


    A girl of great beauty with long, blonde hair made into gigantic drills, wearing an expensive and luxurious uniform custom made for her.


    She even wore a little crown-like diadem over her head, just to add to her rather bizarre clothing style.


    "You lot are here again!" She said.


    "rice?!" Asked Rosen while being slightly angered.


    It was rice, one of the students that wanted to join our party before, but which I had simply ignored. She''s talented and strong, but she didn''t filled any role we needed so I instead recruited Alberta and Elfriedden.


    Yet somehow, due to that, she has taken a really annoying rivalry with us, and she and her party are always provoking us and trying to make a fight with us. Honestly I could  beat them all singlehandedly but due to the academy rules, I''ve contained myself so far.


    "ke stop calling everyone a Vulture! Can''t you realize you have no rights to act like this?! You were born in a little countryside vige! Most of us here are all nobles, do you realize you''re being incredibly disrespectful?! You''re nothing but a pathetic serf! Now kneel and ask for forgiveness! Ohohohoho!"


    "I''ll break her neck." I walked forward.


    "W-Wait a minute!"


    "Stop, ke!"


    "She''s annoying but don''t go overboard!"


    All my friends suddenly held my arms and began dragging me back.


    "What''s there to think? She insulted my family, I''ll kill her." I said with a low voice, I was actually being quite serious right now.


    "ke don''t do stupid stuff¡­" Sighed Erika.


    Hah, to think there would be a day she would say that to me.


    "Come on now, let''s rx." Elizabeth said.


    She was also holding me back.


    I guess I was going a bit overboard indeed.


    "Huh, so you''re running away now?" rice asked with a spiteful re.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "rice, if you want to cooperate withs you could also get a better attitude." I gave her some advice. "Until then, try to grow a bit stronger, you''re as weak as I remember you from the first day."


    "Uuggh! So rude!" rice said while hitting the floor angrily. "I-I''ll show that disrespectful serf! I will show him!" She said, her party finally arrived at her side and stopped her from running towards me with her giant axe spirit.


    As we made our way back home, Evelyn was reprimanding me.


    "ke why do you always get into fights with students?!" She angrily said.


    "I don''t, they just get closer and start barking. Is that even a fight?" I sighed.


    "It is!" Evelyn said. "Try to be friendlier¡­"


    "Why should I be friendly with a bunch of spoiled children?" I asked her.


    "Y-You talk like a really grumpy grandpa¡­" Evelyn sighed, seemingly giving up. "Then just ignore them¡­ Also the next week all of you will need to cooperate. You''re the strongest members of the ss so everyone is looking forward to cooperating with you guys, please try to be friendly with everyone else. I know the rest of the ss is made of selfish and self-centered spoiled nobles, but they''re still your ssmates¡­ And soon, yourrades in arms."


    "I get it! I''m always friendly. I''ve got a lot of other friends!" Erika said. "But kie is just very grumpy. Hehe, but he has always been like this. Deep down he''s really nice though."


    "Sadly, that''s true, it is one of his¡­ character traits." Elizabeth sighed. "But he''s actually a really nice person!"


    The two girls began to defend my honor. I felt slightly embarrassed though.


    "Papa''s super nice!" Saphira said. "Maybe a bit grumpy sometimes though¡­"


    "I don''t really know what''s wrong with his personality? He was simply doing the most obvious of things¡­" Eleanora shared my mindset so she couldn''t find any ws. As expected of her, she really gets me.


    "I get, I get it, you girls are heads over heels for him." Evelyn sighed. "But anyways, Elfriedden you''re also quite problematic so try to be friendlier."


    "M-Me!? You areparing me with this barking wolf?" Asked Elfriedden while pointing at me.


    "What did you called me?" I asked.


    "SEE?!" Evelyn asked while facepalming. "Ugh, at least the rest of you guys are all nicer. Itpensates for these two."


    "W-We''ll do our best t get along with everyone else." Eric said.


    "M-Me too¡­" Alberta was nervous.


    "This is probably the perfect opportunity to know other girls¡­" Chris began rubbing his chin.


    "I just want to hunt monsters and demons, but sure." Erdrich nodded.


    "I will also try to get along with them." I said. "I just need more patience. I''ve never had a lot of patience for children¡­"


    My friends are an exception, they learned rather quickly to be nicer and more respectful with me. And naturally, I am equally respectful to them because I recognize their efforts and strengths.


    "I-I sure hope so¡­" Evelyn sighed, looking all dispirited. "Now, let''s enjoy the rest of the day off."


    Like that, I went to take a bath and cool off. My mind was slightly stressed of this endless routine, going to the academy was fun in terms of hunting and learning skills and gaining strength, but interacting with spoiled noble children was really the worst.


    Nheless, as long as I look forward to the expedition next week, I can gain enough patience to handle them. I will lead them to victory with all my umted skills.


    -----

 Chapter 588 Merging Energies Together

    -----


    It has been three days since then, and the day of the expedition was drawing closer. Today I checked my Status after doing some exercise and constantly practicing skills to earn more Skill EXP¡­ Oh, I had also finally finished absorbing the Frozen Tear, which brought a nice total amount of +150 MP and also Ice Attribute runes into my magic circle, strengthening it.


    -----


    [Name]: [ke Hunter Goathorn]


    [Race]: [Human]


    [Spirit Orb Realm]: [Rank 2 (Peak Stage)]


    [Physique]: [Vampiric Blood Emperor Physique (Tier 4: Rank 7)]


    [Psyche]: [Vampiric Soul Psyche (Tier 3: Rank 5)]


    [Magic Circle]: [Abyssal Blood Circle (Tier 3: Rank 8)]


    [Demon Core]: [Hungry Demon Core (Tier 1: Rank 5)]


    [Job ss]: [Summoner: ¡ï¡ï]


    [Subss]: [Synthesist: ¡ï¡ï]


    [Level]: [34/50]


    [EXP]: [125000/680000]


    [Health Points]: [2619/2619]


    [Mana Points]: [3893/3893]


    [Strength]: [2875]


    [Agility]: [2493]


    [Vitality]: [2459]


    [Intelligence]: [3066]


    [Dexterity]: [2597]


    [Spirit]: [150]


    [Spirits (3/3)]: [Vampire Queen: Eleanora (Rank 2 Peak Stage)] [Vampire gue Doctor: Henrick (Rank 2 Peak Stage)] [Vampire Specter Princess: Saphira (Rank 2 Peak Stage)]


    [Physique Abilities]: [Tier 4: Superhuman Body (+Demonic Arm)] [Tier 4: Supernatural Senses] [Tier 4: Vampiric Eyes (+Demon Eyes of Paralysis +Demon Eye of Gravity)] [Tier 4: Self Regeneration] [Tier 4: Vampiric Bloodline]


    [Psyche Abilities]: [Tier 3: Soul Aura] [Tier 3: Soul Materialization] [Tier 3: Soul Gaze] [Tier 3: Soul Weapon]


    [Demonic Arm Abilities]: [Tier 4: Demon Core] [Tier 4: Mutation] [Tier 4: Demonic Predation] [Tier 4: Strengthened Oni''s Muscles] [Tier 4: Fearsome Demonic ws] [Tier 4: Reinforced Beelzefly''s Exoskeleton] [Tier 4: Demonic Mosquito''s Proboscis]


    [Link Skills]:


    [Link (Eleanora)]: [Shadow Sneak: 5] [Charm: Lv6] [Assassination: Lv5] [Ninjutsu: Lv3]


    [Link (Hendrick)]: [gue Aura: Lv5] [Researcher Eyes: Lv6] [Hallucination Fog: Lv3] [Torture: Lv5]


    [Link (Saphira)]: [Stealth: Lv6] [Camouge: Lv5] [Invisibility: Lv3] [Spectral Body: Lv5]


    [Passive Skills]: [Acrobatics: Lv9] [Robust Body: Lv7] [Hard Worker: Lv10] [Hawk Eye: 7] [Gifted Magic Apprentice: Lv7] [Heavy Drinker: Lv6], [Intimidation: Lv6] [Dragon Scales: Lv3]


    [Active Skills]: [Throwing Technique: Lv8] [Spear Mastery: Lv7] [Butcher: Lv6] [Alchemy: Lv5] [Brewing: Lv5] [Synthetize: Lv5] [First Aid: Lv7], [Command: Lv6], [Cooking: Lv6] [Agriculture: Lv6], [Forging: Lv3], [Mechanics: Lv3], [Sewing: Lv3]


    [Magic Skills]: [Blood Arts: Lv5] [Shadow Maniption: Lv5] [Demonic Arts: Lv2] [Dragon Connection: Lv2] [Create/Delete Familiar: Lv5] [Summon/Unsummon Familiar: Lv5] [Familiar Storage Expansion: Lv5] [Familiar Synthesis: Lv5] [Familiar Connection: Lv2] [Familiar Awakening: Lv2] [Advanced Familiar Fusion: Lv2] [Apprentice Alchemist Recipe Book: Lv4] [Spirit And Master Connection: Lv3] [Pseudo Spiritual Realm: Lv3] [Divine Light Sword: Lv1] [Abyssal Blood-sucking Vines: Lv3] [Dragon Tongue: Lv2]


    [Title Skills]: [Beast yer: Lv4] [Demon yer: Lv4] [Savior: Lv4] [ughter King: Lv4] [Dragon yer: Lv2] [Kin yer: Lv3] [Undead yer: Lv5] [Alchemist: Lv4] [Yggdrasil''s Gardener: Lv3] [Holy Spirit''s Chosen: Lv3] [Spiritual Realm Master: Lv3] [Challenger of the Impossible: Lv2] [Cunning Mind: Lv2] [Insect yer: Lv3] [Ogre yer: Lv3] [Hungry Demon: Lv2] [Dragon Master: Lv3] [Summoner: Lv2]


    [Spirit Treasures]: [ck Blood Tree Forest (Lesser Spirit Treasure: Rank 3)] [Red Crimson Flowers (Lesser Spirit Treasure: Rank 3)] [Abyss ck Flowers (Lesser Spirit Treasure: Rank3)] [Spiritual Blood Fountain (Lesser Spirit Treasure: Rank 3)] [ck Mirage Herb (Lesser Spirit Treasure: Rank 3)], [Blood Fruit Herb (Lesser Spirit Treasure: Rank 3)], [Illusionist Herb (Lesser Spirit Treasure: Rank 3)]<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    [Blessings]: [Blessing of the Twelve Holy Spirits]


    [Curses]: [EXP required to level up x100] [Proficiency required to learn techniques and skills x100] [Mana/Qi/Aether Recovery speed decreased by -50%]


    [Avable Stat Points]: [310]


    [Avable Skill Points]: [70]


    [Can gain 10 Stat Points and Skill Points with each Level]


    -----


    My stats have increased quite decently through the semester, although half of it was thanks to the level ups. Now I have 310 Stat Points I had yet to distribute around. I had been holding them back to have a lot once I can distribute them. I suppose I could finally  begin.


    "Seeing how higher-level familiars cost more and more Mana, getting to increase my maximum Mana would be ideal as well¡­" I thought, considering various things.


    Though now that Hendrick can mass produce Mana Potions for me with the city''s avable materials brought by merchants every day, it is not as if I haven''t umted dozens of potions just in case.


    I should probably had a portion to Intelligence, it is an essential stat to increase my magic power damage. And because I use magic for everything, it always influences a lot in the damage dealt.


    In fact, this time around, I''ll go full Intelligence.


    Ding!


    [You have exchanged 310 Stat Points!]


    [Your Intelligence has increased by +310!]


    [Intelligence]: [3376]


    "Good¡­"


    I could immediately feel the power of my magic growing greatly. My Mana Veins were opening faster now, and their power was greatly converging themselves with my Physique and Ki Veins.


    My Physique was once more developing rapidly¡­ Utilizing this boost in Magic Power, I quickly decided to use the Ki I umted into cultivating my physique, reinforcing ever cell of my body and enchanting the runes forming my physique.


    Vampiric power and Blood Ki began to be generated automatically, making me grow slightly stronger. But that wasn''t all. I had to go beyond this. I couldn''t simply feel satisfied with this.


    I added Demonic Energy, Spirit Energy, and then Dragon Power all together! These powerful energies I was never able to truly master in my previous life, I will master them and converge them together!


    FLAAASH!


    Ding!


    [Danger! You''re trying to converge too many different energies together!]


    [Your body will take bacsh due to the forces fighting one another! They are simply notpatible.]


    Crack¡­ CRACK!


    My entire body began to react, as the many forces started fighting one another. This was perhaps the most chaotic way of cultivation, forcing myself to absorb and assimte these powerful yet different energies and try to figure out a way to make them converge together into a single, powerful physique.


    Ding!


    [Your body is taking severe bacsh!]


    [The power of the [Vampiric Blood Emperor Physique (Tier 4: Rank 7)] is regenerating your internal injuries!]


    I need a Physique that could even destroy the strongest Archdemons and pulverize that damned Lucifer''s face!


    Ding!


    [Danger! You''re trying to converge too many different energies together!]


    [Your body is taking severe bacsh!]


    -----

 Chapter 589 A New Possible Physique?

    -----


    I need a Physique that could even destroy the strongest Archdemons and pulverize that damned Lucifer''s face!


    Ding!


    [Danger! You''re trying to converge too many different energies together!]


    [Your body is taking severe bacsh!]


    [The power of the [Vampiric Blood Emperor Physique (Tier 4: Rank 7)] is regenerating your internal injuries!]


    Ding!


    [Your body is taking severe bacsh!]


    [The power of the [Vampiric Blood Emperor Physique (Tier 4: Rank 7)] is regenerating your internal injuries!]


    Ding!


    [Your body is taking severe bacsh!]


    [The power of the [Vampiric Blood Emperor Physique (Tier 4: Rank 7)] is regenerating your internal injuries!]


    Ding!


    [Your body is taking severe bacsh!]


    [The power of the [Vampiric Blood Emperor Physique (Tier 4: Rank 7)] is regenerating your internal injuries!]


    ¡­


    Without wasting any time, I kept pushing my own limits, trying harder and harder to converge the energy, but I only obtained more and more destruction.


    My entire body was breaking apart internally, yet the power of the Vampiric Blood Emperor Physique regenerated the damage taken, I was chipping away my own life and recovering it constantly, one of the roughest, yet most efficient ways that Vampires can cultivate.


    Once it was finally over, I had spent almost all of my energies. However, it felt like I had a long way to go before I could reach this special Physique I wanted, yet its development had improved. I felt something once I woke up from that intense session of cultivation, I felt¡­ like I almost got it.


    "Master! Are you alright?!" Eleanora seemed worried. "You pushed yourself too hard!"


    "Master drink this Health Potion right away! Also your Mana is too low, you''re going to get Mana Fatigue! Drink this Mana Potion." Hendrick quickly handled me several potions, which I began to slowly drink.


    "Papa, you''re okay?" Saphira wondered.


    "Rar!" Even the little Ruby was concerned.


    "Woof!" And Blood¡­


    "I am okay." I sighed, drinking the potions. "But I don''t know if I have yet reached something-"


    Ding!


    [Yourprehension over the several different Energies of the Universe has increased greatly!]


    [You have managed to create a small spark, something beyond your own understanding yet.]


    [The development of a special Physique that can converge all these types of Energies has advanced!]


    [Current Development: 2%]<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    Oh?! The Grimoire showed me something utterly surprising!


    It worked!


    Yet¡­


    "All of that only for 2%..." I sighed inwardly, yet I couldn''t help but smile.


    "Only 2% of development?! Even with all your umted knowledge?" Eleanora wondered. "You''ve been trying to create a power even beyond your previous life''s self?"


    "Yeah! But it worked." I sighed with a smile. "This is perfect, even if its only 2%, it means it exists! It works!"


    "Certainly¡­ 2% is quite sad, but if it truly works, then there''s no point in being saddened about it!" Hendrick celebrated.


    "I don''t know what''s going on but¡­ yaaay!" Saphira said.


    "As long as I keep pushing myself¡­ Eventually, I will reach it." I said. "The ultimate physique."


    My Vampire subordinates nced at me with hopeful eyes, they shared my hardships but also my victories, they felt just as happy as I was.


    "Yet¡­ I still am missing something." I sighed. "I need Cosmic Essence¡­ I also need Necrotic Essence¡­ These are the two other Essenes or Energies I am missing, yet they''re the hardest to find in this world."


    "Cosmic Essence happens naturally in the outer universe, and Necrotic Energy originates from the Netherworld Realms, isn''t it?" Eleanora wondered. "Hm, certainly¡­ Wait, could Saphira help?"


    "Can I? I am a specter too, right? Maybe I can produce it eventually!" Saphira said.


    "Hmmm¡­ Saphira can only produce Phantasmal Energy, but she would need to advance and evolve it through several stages before reaching the Necrotic Essence we need." I analyzed. "But it does seems possible. If we could elerate her development though, that would be wonderful. Perhaps in our future adventures we might find something."


    "And about Cosmic Essence¡­ Why don''t we simply go to space? Constructing something that could lift us off into the orbit should do it, no?" Asked Hendrick.


    "It''s not as if I hadn''t considered it before, but its not possible." I said. "This world has a powerful boundary, and trying to go out of it would also enrage the Holy Spirits who are our new allies, we better leave it at that for now. I am sure there must be things such as Meteors, they have Cosmic Crystals most of the time, crystalized cosmic essence. I will keep researching for areas where meteors could had fallen."


    "Well, I should also help out too. I''ve been visiting the librarytely, leave it to me master." Said Hendrick, he was very reliable.


    "M-Me too! I will also research!" Eleanora said.


    "And I will eat wandering souls and ghosts to grow my phantasmal essence quality!" Saphira also wanted to help however she could.


    "Rar!" Ruby simply roared cheerfully.


    "Woof!" Blood simply wanted to add a bark.


    "Alright, I suppose you''re all up for the tasks." I sighed. "I am thankful of having such reliablerades such as all of you guys. Thanks for being with me even now¡­"


    I ended getting slightly sentimental.


    "But of course, Master. I promised you with all of my loyalty that I would stand by your side for eternity as your servant! My master is glorious and inspiring even after having reincarnated into the pesky body of a weakling human." Hendrick said.


    "Yeah Papa! You saved me from the slums and gave me food and warm hugs, and always took care of me, so I will now help as much as I can with my powers!" Saphira said with a smile.


    "And I will help you and be with you for all eternity, master." Eleanora said. "Since the moment you saved me from starvation when I was but a little child¡­ I had decided I would never go away from your side."


    "Alright, you don''t have to get so sentimental now¡­" I sighed, getting slightly embarrassed. "Anyways, let''s go help everyone else train their physiques and skills, I want them to get as strong as possible until next week."


    -----

 Chapter 590 Arriving In The Field

    -----


    I ended spending the rest of the week doing a variety of activities with my friends, helping them grow stronger, exercise, and also spending time with Erika, Elizabeth, and Eleanora separately. Eleanora in specific seems to be slowly getting closer and closer and has begun kissing my forehead in the morning. She''s quite shy still, but she''s slowly getting over that embarrassment.


    Nheless, the day had finallye. The entire process was going to be done with the students only, but each of the party''s assigned teachers, such as Evelyn and the others also joined us as protectors. There was a total of four teams left in the ss, so there were four of these instructors. Evelyn was the only one whose name I should remember anyways.


    We finally left the city of Stronghold since we entered it months ago, and we passed through the gates through arge automatic golem carriage, or car, as I would call them. Though this one had the shape of an enormous steam punk-styled truck.


    Everyone was excited and they wouldn''t stop chatting about how much they wanted to get there as soon as possible. It took like an hour until we finally arrived. This area of the surroundings had many names. From Outer Lands to Wild Lands, but it wasposed ofrge forests,kes, and cliffs leading tobyrinthian cave sections underground.


    To be honest, the surroundings of the city were all desertic and filled with inhospitable areas. It was too much to cover of course, so each region was qualified as its own "Haunt".


    But what is a Haunt? Well, the easiest way to exin them are as Regions infested with Miasma and Demonic Energy, so much that monsters and demons appear as if they were dungeons and demon gates respectively.


    They''re incredibly dangerous open areas, and they were ssified with Ranks much like Dungeons too. This Haunt was a D Rank Haunt that covered the entirety of the Eastern Wild Jungles, a ce that used to be filled with many animals and normal monsters, but which is now infested with dozens of tribes of demons and powerful monsters.


    It is even spected there could be hidden Dungeons that might have formed here, so it is totally worth the further research and exploration. Even though it''s a bit harsh for the first year, but this is something that every first year goes through, if they cannotplete something as clearing a Haunt off monsters and demons, which will be our primary job once we graduate, then what''s the point ofing to the academy?


    Like us, many other sses were having the same test, just really far away in other Haunts around the Stronghold City. To secure the lives of the students as much as possible, the teachers assigned to each party were going to be there to aid them, although not directly in battle unless things get out of control.


    After all, they want the students to grow stronger, if the powerful teachers help them even in killing monsters, then what will be the point of it? So they''re more like observers.


    Once we arrived at the field, we swiftly began building our base of operations, a camp. We had to quickly build several tents and also a surrounding defense, mostly made ofrge logs we brought with ourselves, but magic was also allowed to be used.


    "Alright, we''re on field, students! Let''s begin setting up all the tents and also the trenches and walls!" Evelynmanded alongside the other three professors with us.


    All students quickly began getting ready, we had already studied how to make tents and the like. So everything went quite smoothly, even the most spoiled of nobles was cooperating, although all of them were still expressing their discontent with this.


    "Should we build the walls?" Wondered Erika.


    "Yeah we can build them." I said.


    "Huh? You can build¡­ the whole walls?!" Asked Evelyn in surprise.


    "Leave it to us!" Erika nodded.


    "We''ll get it done in a minute." I agreed.


    The two of us walked outside the camp and then merely conjured some magic. Erika''s arms began expanding all around, her roots and branches quickly shaping themselves as an enormous wall made of hardened wood all around us, with fruits, flowers, and leaves growing around them.


    TRUUUUUMMMM¡­!


    The ground trembled a little bit, but aside from that, things were done incredibly quickly. Naturally, the four instructors were utterly bbergasted, even Evelyn.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "W-What in the world?!" Evelyn was shocked.


    "Hey Evelyn, what the heck is wrong with that girl you''ve got?" Sighed one of them.


    "T-This is unfair, why did you get all the talented ones?!" A third one said.


    "Damn, and she isn''t even breaking a sweat from doing that? I did heard Erika was a half-dryad, but this is incredible!" The fourth instructor said.


    "It''s not done yet though?" Erika tilted her head. "ke, it''s your turn!"


    "Sure."


    I touched the ground, channeling around 800 MP and conjuring Tier 3 Earth Attribute Magic.


    "[Reinforced Stone Fortress]!"


    TRUUUUUUMMMMMM¡­!


    An earthquake happened. The floor began cracking open around the wall Erika made, as stones emerged out of the bedrock and got all the way up here, fusing together and building a beautiful fortress using Erika''s wood as the pir.


    "And it''s finally done. Not so hard, isn''t it?" Erika smiled without having a clue that what we did might be quite incredible for these people.


    "Why are you taking it so easily?!"


    "Seriously¡­ Erika and ke are monsters!"


    "I can''t believe it¡­"


    "I feel like they''re going to handle everything at this point, do we even need to try?"


    "Hahh¡­ Such an enormous gap in strength."


    Many students felt more depressed than anything¡­ We did this to cheer them up, everyone was rather nervous, but it ended creating an opposite effect.


    "W-Why are you guys not happy?" Erika sighed.


    "Hah~ And you guys call me crazy, you reallyckmon sense, don''t you?" Ah, to be talented!" Sighed Rosen.


    "T-This is¡­ okay, I have to admit it''s pretty insane." rice sighed.


    -----

 Chapter 591 Planning It Out

    -----


    The fortress we made was as tall as 20 meters, and it covered the entire surroundings, protecting us from absolutely any monster that would dare get closer. However, some people quickly began wondering how we can get out.


    "Ah that''s easy, we just made an Automatic Gate! It only reacts to you guys mana wavelengths, so just imbue a tiny bit into the walls and a gate will open and then quickly close once everyone pass through." Said Erika.


    "The whole fortress is technically an Earth Golem." I said.


    "EEEHHH?!"


    The whole ss was once more shocked.


    "T-These guys really don''t know how to hold back." Rosen sighed.


    "Hey just give us a break!" rice cried.


    After exining to everyone how it worked, we quickly continued making the tents. After around an hour of doing that and finishing off, we decided to get ready to work. The instructors also worked as¡­ well, instructors, so they were going to lead us to the Haunts areas to find Monster Nests and Demon Tribes.


    But what we do with them will be left to our own devises, they want us to also develop the ability to n strategies and the like, things we''ve done always back in my vige, so we are the most experienced.


    Because I wanted to take care of this myself, I decided to make a meeting with all our ssmates. The leaders of each party will discuss with me how to handle things.


    Thankfully, we were only four, Rosen, rice, Eduard, and me. Eduard was a stoic and silent blue-haired young noble with an affinity for water magic, his spirit was a rare Ocean Whale, and it was extremely tanky and powerful. He also had a Dolphin spirit, which was fast and nimble unlike the whale. Eduard seemed the most cooperative while Rosen and rice were always doubting any of my strategies, quite annoying.


    Ultimately the instructors taught all the students about every area of the Eastern Wild Jungles, pointing the important Areas where thergest concentrations of Monsters and Demons were, the Demon Tribes and Monster Nests.


    The map showed six circles, indicating these six areas. There were two to the north from where we were, three to the east, and ast one to the southwest. Thest one was the most dangerous, as it was detected to have thergest concentration of mana, where a dungeon is spected to have emerged.


    "Essentially what we would need is to begin with the weakest ones first. Everyone, all of you, need to grow stronger. You''ve been cking a lot in terms of leveling up, you need to y more monsters and demons. If we dare go to the dungeon with your current stats you''re all going to get ughtered." I said, quickly bringing everyone down to earth.


    "What?! You''re calling us weak?! We''ve been training all this time!" rice angrily said.


    "Hmph¡­ Sigh¡­ For once, he''s right. We''ve barely managed to keep ourselves in the academy. At our current pace, we''re all going to get expelled aside from ke due to or weakness. But now, we''ll end up dragging them into our own mediocrity." Sighed Rosen, finally having some sort of realization.


    "Lord Rosen, how can you say that?!"


    "Don''t belittle yourself like that!"


    "R-Rosen¡­"


    His bootlickers seemedpletely shocked by his words. They were all manservants and maidservants from his own household, so they probably grew up with him and see him as this almighty and talented leader.


    "Everyone¡­!" Rosen said, in tears.


    Ah,e on, stop making drama now¡­<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "I know you''re saddened of my words, but it is the truth!" He cried, using a handkerchief to clean his tears.


    Even rice ended looking at the stupid scene with a dull expression, and so all other students.


    "AHEM! So anyways¡­" rice sighed. "The amount of monsters is stillrge even in the smallest of highly popted areas. However, if we go with too many students, the distribution will be thin, right?"


    "You''re finally using your brain." I said with a nod. "Correct. This is why I am going to rmend this new strategy, so we can hurry things up more and also level up faster. We''ll form groups made up of only two parties, and we will move to two different regions at the same time."


    "Wait, what?! Are you sure?! But the monsters are going to demolish us even more with two parties!" Rosen said.


    "And to make things worse, the party that goes with yours will obviously have things easier." Sighed rice. "But I like the n nheless."


    "Well, that''s why we''ll divide two parties." I said.


    "D-Divide them?!" Rosen and rice reacted.


    "Oh, interesting." Eduard final spoke, as he had been watching everything with a calm smile.


    He was the second-best scoring party, so although he was silent and had a dumb smile, he was very strong and so was his party.


    "Eduard, do you think it would be possible if you could split your party? We can merge both of our parties and distribute them to these two weaklings." I said.


    "Heh, that sounds interesting! Okay, sure!" Eduardughed cheerfully. "I guess it can''t be helped, you guys are really weak, and even within my party there are a few weaker ones, so this is convenient."


    "T-That makes sense¡­" Rosen sighed. "All of ke''s party isposed of powerhouses, not even a single one of them is weak."


    "Eeeh? Is this okay ke?" Asked Erika from the back. "I don''t want to be separated from my friends though!"


    "It''s fine, calm down, Erika." I told her, quickly ncing back at the party leaders. "I''ll go with rice''s Party and Erika will go with Rosen''s Party."


    "EEEHHHH?!"


    Erika was the only one most annoyed by it. She really wanted to stay at my side. And honestly, me too. But she was too strong to just waste her strength at my side.


    "Erika, it is better to distribute our power equally. You''re the second strongest after me, so we need you in the other side." I said. "This means I trust you."


    "You¡­ trust me?" Erika blushed a bit.


    Everyone were watching us attentively¡­


    -----

 Chapter 592 Time To Move On

    -----


    "You trust me?" Erika blushed.


    "Yeah, I do. A lot. You''re also incredibly strong, don''t you think it would be unfair if youe with me to the same party? The other party would be in a disadvantage!" I said.


    "R-Right¡­ Maybe." Erika nodded, she quickly held my hand. "Okay, I''ll agree to it if you give me a kiss!"


    "E-Eh?! In here in front of everyone?!" I asked in surprise.


    Everyone looked with eyes even more open, whispering to one another.


    "Oh my, look at them~"


    "Such lovebirds¡­"


    "A-Are they really going to kiss?!"


    "I didn''t knew they were boyfriends already¡­ And I wanted to confess to Erika¡­"


    "Man, you never stood a chance."


    The students really loved gossip.


    "Fine¡­"


    As I tried to ignore everyone, I ended agreeing, giving Erika a quick kiss in her lips.


    "Ahhh~ Fufu¡­" Erika giggled warmly. "Okay! I''ll do it for you! If my boyfriend really trust me, then I cannot disappoint him as his girlfriend!"


    "Alright, you better not disappoint me then." I said, giving her a head pat.


    "Are you done with your loveedy?" Asked Rosen with a teasing smile.


    "Shut up!" I roared back. "So anyways, it is like this¡­"


    At the end, we finally formed the two teams. They were simply named Team Erika and Team ke for convenience. Erika joined Rosen''s party with Eduard, while I took Eduard''s weakest members and rice''s party.


    "Erika''s Team will go to the Crescent Lake, where a Monster Nest of Fishmen and alsorge Poison Wyverns has been detected. Using Eduard''s special Spirits and Erika''s strength, I hope you can get this done easily." I said. "Meanwhile, I''ll bring everyone with my team to the Rocky Cliffs, where we''re going to exterminate the Insectoid and Winged Demon Tribes living there, and probably any monster we find."


    "Wait! We''re going to fight two demon tribes?!" Asked rice in shock. "A-Are we even ready?!"


    "What''s there to be ready? Just use that big axe of yours and sh them apart. They''re weak demons anyways. I''ll handle anything too strong for your sorry ass." I sighed.


    "D-Don''t call me like that! Geez¡­" rice blushed a bit, strangely enough. "S-So anyways! Let''s get going, we can''t waste any time. We''ve only got a week to get all of this done."


    "Yeah, let''s go."


    Erika took with herself Chris, Elfriedden, and Elizabeth. While I brought with me Erdrich, Alberta, and Eric. The reason behind this was important. Elizabeth and Elfriedden are perfect for these monsters. Elfriedden can easily freeze water, and Elizabeth heal any poison using her healing magic. Chris is just going to add his firepower whenever is needed.


    Erdrich is better at fighting demons so I took him with me. Alberta is good at rocky areas due to being a Dwarf and can help us find any rare ores there too, and Eric is an all-purpose apothecary, alchemist, and even a healer. Also those two didn''t wanted to get apart from one another¡­<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "Two Star Water Magician here! I-I am looking forward to working with you!" A young girl with dark blue hair and freckles, alongside emerald eyes greeted me. Her name was Mimy, part of Eduard''s party. Her Primary Spirit was a Blue Slime, and it had a lot of utilities.


    "Three Star Ocean Spear Master to your service. I hope we can get along!" A clear blue haired and tall girl with a sleek figure and a long ponytail greeted us, with sharp red eyes and slightly toasted skin, she held a blue spear in her hands and there was arge hammerhead shark behind her. She was Alianna, Eduard''s party spear-wielder.


    "A-A pleasure to make your acquaintance! I''ve been looking forward to work with you, ke!"


    "Y-Yeah! Me too! We''ve been looking forward to it for a while!"


    And the twins whose pink hair resembled the tentacles of squids were named Aquaria and Aquarius. It was a girl and a boy, but they looked so simr it was hard to tell them apart from one another even with gender differences. They were yful and childish, and both had Octopus and Squid Spirits. Aquaria was a two-star Trickster and Aquarius a two-star Bubble Mage.


    But why were they all water-themed? Well, it results they alle from the faraway Port Country of Waterfall, where Eduard is the son of the King. Yeah, he is a Prince from all things. All of these allies he has are mostly his retainers or friends he made in the noble''s school.


    "You all seem fairlypetent, but still quite weak. We''ll make sure you gain a lot of levels." I nodded, analyzing rice''s party.


    rice, rk, Eliana, Patricia, Ashen, and Arthuria. Thecked two other members, as their party ended at six. The max number was eight, but six was the minimum.


    "Well, so we''re ready or what? We must make haste!" rice said.


    [Talent: 2 Star diator, Spirit: Lion Axe, Primary Element: Earth.]


    "Lady rice please don''t be so hasty. This is an important quest." The stern rk said.


    [Talent: 2 Star Heavy Knight. Spirit: Rock Wyvern, Primary Element: Metal.]


    "Ehehehe¡­ I can''t wait to experiment with those demons'' bodies¡­ I will make sure to use these poisons I''ve crafted¡­" Elianaughed creepily.


    [Talent: 3 Star Witch Doctor. Spirit: Swamp Man. Primary Element: Nature, Water.]


    "To think we would end up working with them again¡­" Sighed Patricia with an expressionless face.


    [Talent: 3 Star Sword Berserk. Spirit: Iron Slimes (fused with her blood). Primary Element: Blood.]


    "Ehehehe, I''ll be able to finally see how ke ughters his enemies up close! So exciting!!" Ashen, the boy, childishly said.


    [Talent: 3 Star Gray Wizard. Spirit: Void Squid. Primary Element: Space.]


    "I-I am looking forward to it!" Said Arthuria, the most decent out of this entire party after rk.


    [Talent: 3 Star Holy de. Spirit: Holy Sword of Light. Element: Light.]


    I had taken notes of them previously, so my grimoire showed me their talents and everything else as they spoke, making things easier to remember for me.


    "Very well then, let''s go!"


    And like that, our first day in the Eastern Wild Jungles began.


    -----

 Chapter 593 Traveling On Top Of Giant Wolves

    -----


    To move faster, I decided to summon some power up Fenrirs I had in my Grimoire, whose cards I have prepared beforehand and saved already. Fenrir might only be F Rank but thanks to the power of Familiar Awakening, his stats increased by a lot, and he''s now the fastest summon if I include his powered-up abilities and the effects the bring. After awakening he also bes taller and bigger, so he can easily carry up to three students on his wide back.


    -----


    [Name]: [Fenrir (Awakened)


    [Type]: [Beast], [Specter]


    [Rank]: [F]


    [Race]: [Dark Shadow Horned Wolf]


    [Health Points: 135/135] (+450)


    [Strength: 110] (+600)


    [Agility: 100] (+600)


    [Vitality: 60] (+250)


    [Intelligence: 50] (+250)


    [Dexterity: 75] (+450)


    [Buff]: [+50 Agility] [+40 Dexterity]


    [Skill]: [Furious Bite++] [Dark Howl++] [Shadow Step++]


    [Growth]: [MAX]


    -----


    In fact, the bonuses became way higher now that the Familiar Awakening Skill finally reached Level 2, and even with the extra MP cost, he''s the cheapest fast mobility-type Familiar I can bring out. Naturally my entire party was surprised. Aside from my close friends, which were only Erdrich, Eric, and Alberta here, everyone else was quite surprised, if not terrified.


    "I-I never thought I would get to ride over these giant ck wolves¡­" rice was having a hard time believing reality right now.


    "Lady rice, please don''t let go of the wolf''s mane or you may fall!" rk alerted her. He wasn''t rted with her beforehand, but since he was recruited into her party he has be her bootlicker and is always acting like her personal bodyguard.


    "S-Silence rk! I am just fine- Abababababahhh¡­!" rice seemed to have some sort of horror over riding giant beasts.


    The rest of rice''s party started tough at her hijinks. It seemed that whatever thing she did was rather funny. Despite her terrible personality I can tell why others would follow her, she''s still brave and although dumb, she''s nice with those of her party¡­ well, partially.


    "Uwaah! This is the first time I travel over such a big dog!" Alberta seemed rather happy about this.


    "Really? ke always take us on these strolls, I remember back in the vige we used to travel over these all the time!" Ericughed.


    As he said that, the rest of our party looked at him with disbelief.


    "You guys are really monster kids, huh?" rice sighed.


    "I can''t help but agree¡­" rk sighed.


    "It must have been so cool to have been your friends in our childhood, ke!" Mimy said, with a bubbly smile as her slime rested over her head.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "Yeah, you guys always seem mysterious and cool, just what vige did you came from?" Wondered Alianna. "The country where we originated from was very peaceful. Lord Eduard grew with me and a few other of us protecting him at all times, and we had little trouble. I wonder if you lived in a frontier vige." The girl asked with a smile, her eyes shining brightly with interest.


    "Wee from thergest vige at the frontier of Goldriver, the one with many Spirit Trees." I said, without wanting to disclose more information than necessary.


    "W-Wait, what?! The famous Lesser Yggdrasil Spirit Forest?!" Mimy and Alianna asked at the same time.


    "I guess it has many names now, hahaha." Ericughed. "Well, yeah, from there."


    "We faced a few troubles." Erdrich said. "We stopped an army of demons controlled by cultists, then we stopped a cultist necromancer from destroying the whole vige with undead."


    "We also fought wyverns and hunted giant wild boars since we were very young!" Eric said while puffing his chest.


    "Woow, so cool!" Alberta was also surprised. "I can tell why you''re so strong now, Eric!"


    "Ie from a family of hunters." I sighed "Well, most of us do except Erdrich, so we had to learn from a younger age."


    Most of the students hearing what we were talking about started gossiping with one another. They seemed way more curious than I expected. But I let it slide for now. Nobody seemed suspicious, thankfully. They were just genuinely curious.


    "T-That''s so damn cool! I wish I could had have so much action when I was younger!"


    "We mostly spent our years learning magic at the Magician''s school due to our talents¡­"


    The twins Aquaria and Aquarius seemed quite fascinated.


    "Yeah, but as a result, our overall levels are very low because we spent the majority of our lives until now studying and not hunting like you guys." Mimy sighed. "But we''ll make sure to grow stronger now! Y-Yeah!"


    "I feel ashamed to say this, but we''ll be in your care, ke!" Alianna said with a confident grin. She was very tomboyish and rather knight-like. She was most likely very close to Eduard as well.


    "Of course, I''ll be pushing you guys to your limits and then beyond that." Iughed rather evilly. "You''ll beg me for mercy but I won''t listen to you."


    "T-That''s a bit scary!" rice cried. "Just let us finish off some monsters¡­"


    "It''ll be way more than that though." I said with a smile. "Just taking the prey of someone else won''t help you grow."


    "T-Then what''s your n, ke?" Alianna wondered while tilting her head.


    "Oh, it''s nothingplicated, don''t worry." I smiled, keeping it a secret.


    We kept riding while I and the rest of my friends were being bombarded with questions. This was the perfect opportunity for many of our ssmates to finally socialize with us. We were such a closed group of friends that everyone seemed to be dying to talk to us and know us better.


    I could even notice how Alberta was getting slightly jealous as her boyfriend was being talked by several girls at the same time. Though she did a good job at concealing that.


    "So anyways ke, what sort of-"


    "We''re here." I said, interrupting Alianna, the most talkative of them all.


    "Huh? Oh!" The blue-haired spear wielder eyes opened wide, as everyone was greeted with the Rocky Cliffs, the Danger Zone we needed topletely clean from monsters and demons today.


    And to greet us, arge swarm of monsters flew towards us from the skies already.


    "T-Those are D- Rank Giant Falcons!"


    -----

 Chapter 594 The Soul Eater!

    -----


    Giant Falcons are two-meter-tall Falcon birds with green feathers and emerald eyes. They usually are good at conjuring Wind Attribute Magic and are between F Rank all the way to D- Rank. These were the strongest variant, Windstorm Giant Falcons.


    And it was a big flock, of at least over twenty-five of them together, if not thirty? And behind them there was arger monster at that! Is that¡­?!


    "W-Wait, there''s something bigger there!" Said Eric, checking his monster encyclopedia. "That''s¡­ A D+ Rank Thunderstorm Falcon?!"


    Eric''s sses almost dropped as he was surprised to find a monster as strong as the Orc Shaman Kinging our way from the skies just as we arrived.


    But this was the fun of open-field hunting, the unpredictability!


    "CRAAAH!"


    "CRYAAAAH!"


    "CRAAAAH!"


    The Falcons quickly began attacking, magic circles appeared everywhere over the skies above us, as all my ssmates panicked. The strongest were only capable of fighting E+ Rank monsters. D- and above would be too hard, even less capable of taking their magic hits.


    In a normal situation, we would be forced to escape to preserve our lives and survive toe back with a better nter. But we honestly only had a week to do this, we couldn''t waste time.


    "Eleanora, Hendrick, Saphira, Ruby! Attack them! Weaken them and don''t kill if possible!"


    "Alright!"


    "Very well, master!"


    "Ooh, birb!"


    "Raaarrr!"


    I summoned my three spirits at once and my strong Blood Dragon Tamed Beast to fight. Wasting familiars in this battle would be unwise as I wanted to save them to fight the armies of demons hiding here.


    "Eric! Erdrich! Attack from a long distance! Alberta, do you have the Magic Guns?" I asked.


    "I do!" Said Alberta, quickly giving me one. "T-This is my best creation! I made it using the materials you gave me, ke!" She took out arge Magic Cannon from her dimensional pocket, pointing it at the birds.


    The gun Alberta made for me was amission, as I had yet to learn all the ways this world''s spirit circuits creation and the technology workedpletely, I made a gun protype and then let Alberta improve it using some materials I gave to her.


    The results were more than I expected. And using the recipes I gave to her, she also made herself her own Magic Cannon, perfect to use from long distances, and also portable within her small dimensional pocket, something impossible for the current magic cannons that only giant golems or tanks carry.


    But why a gun when I could use magic or just throw techniques against the birds? Well, a gun is way cheaper in terms of energy consumption, the bullets are auto rechargeable through small quantities of mana, much cheaper thanplicated spells. Magic Fusion is a skill that decreases the mana of my new spells when using it, but it is still very expensive.


    So I came out with a modern, long-ranged magic weapon specifically made to save on Mana, a powerful Magic Handgun, and I gave it a very good name as I enchanted it with my own Blood and poured demonic energy into it, turning it into a powerful Demonic Weapon.


    -----


    [Demonic Handgun: Soul Eater (Unique-Grade): Lv1]


    [Effects]


    [Weapon Attack]: [+2200]


    [Health Points]: [+100]


    [Mana Points]: [+700]<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    [Strength]: [+150]


    [Agility]: [+400]


    [Vitality]: [+100]


    [Intelligence]: [+700]


    [Dexterity]: [+400]


    [Abilities]:


    [Rechargeable Demonic Handgun]: By spending a small amount of Mana and Demonic Energy, it is possible to recharge this Magic Handgun with 10 Mana Bullets. The bullets themselves can be enchanted further with more Mana, Demonic Energy, or Elemental Magic.


    [Soul Eating Mana Bullets]: The Soul Eating Mana Bullets can deal damage to a target''s soul as well as physically, weakening their stats in the way. The intensity of a bullet''s power increases with more energy imbued. Bullet Power: 120% Damage, 20% Soul Piercing, 10% Defense Ignore.


    [Description]:


    A Unique Demonic Weapon created by merging several high-quality materials that originated from Spirit Treasures and Dragon Scales, Blood, and Horns. It was bathed in demon and vampire blood, and it has gained a soul of its own. Its bullets can eat away the soul of its targets, weakening them in the process while also being capable of ignoring a part of their total defenses.


    -----


    It''s amazingly good! Despite being way weaker than Gluttony, which has already reached a rather high level as a demonic weapon, this one will surely suffice for the moment.


    I pointed the handgun at the sky as I began shooting, spending only 300 MP to refill 10 bullets was amazingly cheap, and each bullet was rather strong as they were, with soul-piercing effects!


    BANG! BANG! BANG!


    "CRAAAH¡­!"


    "CRYAAAH!"


    "GRAAAH¡­!"


    Three birds fell with three bullets at once, as I shoot them in the wings. The fall didn''t killed them either, but they got weakened, beginning to crawl around furiously, rushing towards our group while conjuring Wind Magic to attack us. Now incapable of flying anymore, the only thing they could do is fight to the death!


    "Gahahah! Come on! What are you waiting for you lot?! Fight!" Iughed, as I began shooting down more birds while my spirits and Ruby caught several as well.


    "Allow me to intoxicate you guys! Only for a little bit though! Bwahahaha!" Laughed Hendrick, spreading a toxic smog that weakened all the birds, making them fall into the floor.


    "[Shadow Clone Jutsu]! [Blood Edge]!" Eleanora carefully shed the birds wings while generating clones of herself using her Ninjutsu Skill, making more birds fall from the skies.


    SLASH! SLASH! SLASH!


    "[Phantasmagoria]!" Saphira said, conjuring a powerful Phantom Magic Spell that generated a dream-like domain around her, the birds had their souls sucked away slowly, making them cry in agony and fear, flying away and then falling to the ground.


    "Come on! What are you waiting for?!" I looked back at my ssmates. "Fight!"


    "Y-Yes!"


    Everyone quickly jumped off the Fenrirs and began fighting against the weakened D- Rank Falcons, even weakened, they were very strong and vicious, it wasn''t going to be easy.


    -----

 Chapter 595 Defeating Some Wild Birds On The Way

    -----


    BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!


    I kept shooting bullets. The sensation of finally having a gun in my hands felt good. Amongst my favorite weapons, guns were at the top, I overused them a lot in my younger years in my past life. Although their power became lesser as the years went by, and it became more convenient to use stronger, legendary weapons I found along the way.


    Nheless, I always had a gun if I ever needed to shoot the head of a bastard that deserved it. Or To shoot down flying foes, which are always a pro now that I have it. I suddenly realized a second flock of Falcon Birds showed up, so I kept shooting them down. My spirits did the rest of the job and lured the two D+ Rank Bosses leading both flocks down as well.


    Meanwhile, I saw the rest of the ss fighting and ying the Falcon birds. Some were already wounded and bleeding, but nothing too serious. The benefit that they were rich is that everyone had medical kits with potions and other healing items, their cooperation was quite good, and once they figured out the weakness of the bid''s legs, they quickly began ying them all really fast.


    "CRAAAAAHHH!!!"


    "CRYAAAAAHHH!!"


    Meanwhile, as I left Eric, Erdrich, and Alberta to take care of the ss, I jumped into action while riding my Fenrir, as Inded into the area where my spirits lured the two D+ Rank Thunderstorm Falcons. Who had been already weakened, yet their auras of lightning and wind were still very strong.


    FLAAASH!


    One of them noticed me, immediately pping its atrophied wings and generating a spiraling wind attack charged with lightning.


    CLAAAAASH!


    The attack was very strong, and incredibly fast, but by rotating my spear, Gluttony, at a super-fast speed using one of my hands, I was able to easily reflect the attack. Demonic Energy was capable of negating Magic Spells partially after all.


    FLAAASH!


    "CRAAH?!"


    I leaped towards the Falcon in mere seconds. The thunderstorm species was three-meters-tall unlike the smaller ones and was quite the intimidating foe to fight even when made flightless. Nheless, it was still a stupid bid gifted with strong magic.


    Unlike an Orc Shaman King capable of summoning elemental magic of many forms, it was just an oversized chicken. Using [Abyssal Vampiric ws] I shed the bird''s talons and then when it fell into the ground, as it desperately attempted to unleash lightning and winds to throw me off, I pointed my gun into its head.


    BANG!


    Its body stopped moving the moment a bullet made a hole through its skull. Guns were surely convenient to quickly kill foes that were already subdued. I quickly recharged my gun again and began firing some bullets at the legs of the other bird, which was fighting against my spirits and Ruby together.


    BANG! BANG! BANG!


    "CRAAAAHHH¡­!"


    The gigantic bird had used most of its MP already, and because it was using so many spells was mostly the reason behind why my spirits were unable to defeat it right away. Once it fell into the ground, I caught it and quickly decided to end its misery.


    "CRYYAAAH!"


    CRAAASH!


    However, the resilient bird attempted to unleash a lightning shock against me, but I easily threw it away by swinging my hands by covering them on Dragon Scales, capable of bouncing back a certain percentage of magic damage, and then shot it in the head.


    "Stop struggling and die already, you''re merely our aperitives for today."


    BANG!


    With both of those big chickens gone, I nced back at our party. Surprisingly, they were actually all done. Eric was healing everyone that was too wounded, using his potions and magic to mend even broken bones. But they all had done it.


    "Excellent job Master!" Eleanora said.


    "It was a wonderful aperitive indeed." Hendrickughed.


    "You guys give me too much credit, you weakened them all for us. I''m grateful for that." I said with a smile.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "Papa! Can I raise em into Undead?" Asked Saphira, excited to raise some new Undead friends.


    She couldn''t turn them undead forever like the Necromancer though, and once the time ran out, they would go back to corpses. However, they were valuable meat and materials, so it was better not to.


    "Sorry Saphira, maybe next time." I said, giving her a head pat.


    "Muhhh¡­" Saphira sighed.


    "Here." I took out a chocte bar from my Inventory to reward the girl. "Good job nheless."


    "Aahh! White chocte with cookies!" Saphira''s mood immediately improved.


    "W-What about my reward master?!" Hendrick asked.


    "Yeah!" Eleanora said.


    "Eh? You two are grownups." I sighed. "I''ll give you some giftster on, when all of this is over. For now let''s concentrate on the mission."


    "Alright!" Hendrick got excited.


    "I hope its not just a weapon or a piece of armor though¡­" Eleanora sighed.


    "A-Ah¡­ Of course not!" I said.


    Well, I''ll have to find her something else then¡­


    I went back to the party as I looked at my gains.


    Ding!


    [You and your Party have defeated [Giant Thunderstorm Falcon (D+ Rank)] x2!]


    [You and your Party have defeated [Giant Windstorm Falcon (D- Rank)] x26!]


    [You earned 720000 EXP!]


    [LEVEL UP!]


    [Your Level has increased from Level 34 to Level 35!]


    [All your stats have increased!]


    [You earned bonus skill points and stat points!]


    [You earned bonus skill proficiency!]


    A single level out of all of that? Well it was quite relieving I got a level to begin with. More importantly, I decided to store the corpses of all the birds for now inside of my inventory, quickly gathering with the leaders once more.


    "It''s finally over¡­ But it was harder than we thought." rice sighed. "Can''t we take a small break?"


    "It was really hard¡­" Alianna sighed. "But I think we all leveled up plenty."


    "Hmph." I sighed, facepalming. "Are you serious? You want a break after killing some weakened chickens? Agh, fine, but only thirty minutes! No more."


    -----

 Chapter 596 Blakes Cooking Is Unparalleled!

    -----


    Ding!


    [You and your Party have defeated [Giant Thunderstorm Falcon (D+ Rank)] x2!]


    [You and your Party have defeated [Giant Windstorm Falcon (D- Rank)] x26!]


    [You earned 720000 EXP!]


    [LEVEL UP!]


    [Your Level has increased from Level 34 to Level 35!]


    [All your stats have increased!]


    [You earned bonus skill points and stat points!]


    [You earned bonus skill proficiency!]


    A single level out of this really made me felt slightly disappointed, but I didn''t really had the time for that. I quickly regrouped with everybody else and had a chat with the other party leaders, rice and Alianna.


    "It''s finally over¡­ But it was harder than we thought." rice sighed. "Can''t we take a small break?"


    "It was really hard¡­" Alianna sighed. "But I think we all leveled up plenty."


    "Hmph." I sighed, facepalming. "Are you serious? You want a break after killing some weakened chickens? Agh, fine, but only thirty minutes! No more."


    "Do you have to be so annoying!?" rice angrily said, taking out her axe and pointing it at me. Her party members stopped her by dragging her away. "S-Stop! I''m gonna teach him a lesson! Uuugh!"


    "Hahahah¡­ S-Sorry for our weakness. We promise we''ll get better." Said Alianna, trying to be nice at least.


    "I hope so. Alianna, you''re a three star talent, you should have way more potential than this." I sighed, slightly disappointed.


    If she could had been at my side instead of being raised with a noble, I could had made her into an incredible fighter. She has wasted her potential for all her childhood. Well, most of the students here had.


    "I saw you struggle fighting a single bird by yourself."


    "I¡­ you''re right¡­ I am not fit to be my lord''s guard." The blue haired girl sighed. "But I promise I will get better!"


    "Hmph, at least you don''tck the attitude. Alright, I''ll cook something for all of you to get better quickly." I sighed, taking out several ingredients and utensils to cook. A giant cauldron,rge spoons, and spices.


    "Eh? You''re going to cook for us?!" Alianna felt shocked. "I-I never thought you would do such a thing¡­"


    "Cooking? You?! Hah! I bet you barely know how to make some stew¡­" Sighed rice.


    "And does the youngdy knows how to cook anything than a fried egg?" I wondered.


    "Oof, man, you don''t have to be so harsh." Erdrichughed. "Alright, let me help too. These guys need something with tons of vitality boosting ingredients."


    "You''re right, let''s use that." I said with a smile, as I quickly took out several Stamina Boosting Potions from my inventory and began adding them into the mix of ingredients.


    "It''s ready!" Eric said, bringing a plucked and bloodied Windstorm bird.


    "I am also done!" Eleanora brought two.


    "Me too!" Saphira brought one, half-made. We decided to roast that one.


    "Ah, can we add the dwarven spice to the stew?" Alberta took out a red-colored spice.


    This spice was like chili, and it had vitality boosting effects alongside magic enhancement. So it was perfect. I added a small amount though, too much makes the food too spicy. I don''t mind it, but others would andin.


    The food was slowly getting ready. I made Windstorm Bird Stew with potatoes, onions, and carrots. I added some wild boar stock for more vor too, and some wild boar sausages as well.


    And we also roasted four more Windstorm Birds. The Thunderstorm ones were too valuable so I was going to keep them for myself, a reason why I in them personally, so nobody would ask for them.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    After ten minutes, everything was done. Thanks to the ability to change the temperature of fire and water using magic, it is possible to boil and prepare foods incredibly quickly. And using the Cooking Skill, the food ended emanating powerful and delicious auras.


    Once everyone was sitting around the table to eat, everyone aside from my close friends were left in utter disbelief as my spirits served them food.


    "H-He really made food¡­" rice muttered. "And it looks so yummy¡­"


    "A-Amazing, ke''s talents never stop¡­" Alianna sighed. "Ah, it is such a pity he already has a girlfriend~"


    "A-Alianna! I thought you liked Lord Eduard?!" Mimy asked in shock.


    "Huh?! A-Ah! D-Did I said something weird?!" Alianna suddenly blushed.


    "Very! Hehehe!"


    "Something weird slipped out of your lips, hehehe¡­"


    The twins Aquarius and Aquariaughed merrily.


    "Now eat quickly and let''s get going, we can''t waste any more time." I said, quickly forcing everyone to eat as fast as possible.


    Everyone gave their first bite, surprised by the vor of everything.


    "W-What with this vor?!"


    "S-So good!"


    "I love the stew''s spiciness! And the pork vor added to it¡­"


    "Roasted Windstorm Bird is so good!"


    "These sausages are so vorful~"


    Every single damn ssmate was making these stupid faces. I was honestly tired of it! My cooking is not that good, why is everyone always overexaggerating?


    ¡­


    After the thirty minutes passed, we were finally ready to depart. Everyone''s stamina came back right away and they seemed energetic. Even their HP and MP was restored, and while I was at it, their Ki Channels and Ki Core awakened.


    This was why I added the Stamina Potions, which have this secondary effect. Now they probably can have better stamina and vitality, Ki helps a lot at improving the body, andplements the raw stat boosts of leveling.


    "W-What with this fuzzy feeling?! What did you put into the food? An elixir?!" Asked rice while blushing in surprise.


    "T-The food was incredible! I feel so strong now!" rk eximed.


    "True, I''ve never felt this stronger. Amazingly done, ke!" Alianna said, as she suddenly hugged me. "You''re just¡­ so amazing!"


    "Get off me¡­" I gave her a deadly re.


    "GEH¡­!"


    She quickly jumped away before I were to get serious.


    "So shameless Alianna~" Mimy said.


    "Very!" Aquaria said.


    "I can''t believe what I saw¡­" Aquarius sighed.


    "P-Please don''t tell Lord Eduard!" Cried Alianna in embarrassment. "I-I just liked his cooking, that''s all!"


    -----

 Chapter 597 Teamwork

    -----


    "So anyways, are you all feeling better now? I''ve used special ingredients to awaken something inside of you named "Ki". With this, you won''t feel as tired anymore. But make sure to exercise daily to increase this "Ki" more." I said.


    "Now let''s get going, we haven''t even fully entered the Rocky Cliffs. My Familiars already spotted arge group of Cliff Rats, E+ Rank monsters, they''re lead by a D- Rank Rat King, so get ready for that. This time I won''t give you support. You''ll have to kill them with your own strength!"


    As I said that, many students were left very nervous. The nervousness of the situation quickly made them forget how they didn''t know a thing about Ki, though I am sure they''ll swarm me with questions once this is over, sadly.


    "Ugh, why are there so many monsters here? It''s just a cliff area surrounded with nothing but cactuses!" riceined.


    "Yeah its weird, right?" Mimy sighed.


    "Well there are demon tribes living here duh. It is all because of the Miasma. This area is just a small zone within the enormous Haunt we were tasked with cleaning." Erdrich said.


    The cliffs here were very simr in structure to the canyons back in my vige. This continent is said to have a lot of areas like this. Some specte they''re "wounds" left in the continent after the battles of ancient times between the high ranked spirit masters.


    Some attribute it also the ancient Demon War where the Summoner Hero led humanity to victory. There are countless theories, quite honestly. It is possible it could be all of that, or just natural formations.


    We kept moving down, our n was to reach the deeps of the cliff and into the open rocky area where the demon tribes were located. We had to walk down a very tight road spiraling down into the ground below.


    Some students were naturally afraid but if they end up falling, its because they were stupid. I also have a Fenrir for every three students, so if one even ends up slipping down, it''ll get caught by the wolf''s shadows.


    ¡­Hopefully.


    "How long till the rats?" Wondered rice while looking bored, swinging her axe around.


    "Now." I said.


    "EH?!"


    FLAAAASH!


    Suddenly, from the other side of the cliff, an enormous swarm of hundreds of ck-colored, red-eyed rats emerged, pointing their sharp teeth at us. Behind them, a big and fat rat, the Cliff Rat Kingmanded them.


    These rats have the ability to easily walk around the cliff edges without issues, so they came from below, above, and in front of us.


    "GRYYYYHH!"


    Their screeches were something else as well.


    "T-They''re here already?!" rice panicked, swinging her axe around as she shed several of them at once when they attempted to jump over her. "[Greater Lion''s Swing]!"


    "ROOOAR!"


    The phantom of a lion roaring emerged from rice''s axe, which was also her spirit, her swings easily shing several rats at once.


    SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLAASH!<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "Rock Wyvern! Protect the skies!" rk roared, summoning hisrge rock-covered wyvern which flew into the skies and began taking the attention of the rats, they tried biting it but his rocky armor of scales were very effective at destroying their teeth. "RAAAAH! [Hammer Smash]!"


    CLASH! CLASH! CLAAASH!


    Meanwhile, rk began smashing them with his hammer, sttering rat guts everywhere with his wild and savage attacks.


    "Swamp man! Trap them~ Hehehe¡­" The gloomy Elianna summoned her giant Swamp Man, a monster spirit in the shape of a humanoid made of weeds, vines, and other aquatic nts. It easily trapped many rats inside of itself while Eliana used her Witch Doctor Magic to poison them with a variety of toxins. She would get along well with Hendrick perhaps.


    "Holy Sword of Light: [SHINE]!"


    FLAAAASH!


    Meanwhile, Arthuria, the blonde swordswoman utilized her Holy Sword of Light Spirit to unleash a sh of bright light, blinding dozens of rats at once and then shing them apart with her wild swings.


    "Void Squid, let''s do this! [Spatial Trap]!"


    Meanwhile, the gray haired and childish Ashen summoned his Void Squid and conjured spatial magic, distorting an area around him and trapping over twenty rats in midair, trapped by invisible spatial walls wrapped around one another.


    "It''s ready, Patricia!" Ashen said while giggling.


    "Thank you Ashen!" Patricia said, the short-haired tomboyish muscr girl swung her gigantic axe with her muscr arms, shing the rats into countless pieces with a single swing.


    SLAAAAASH!


    And then I saw her sword shapeshifting around, showing tentacles, and eating the rats'' guts and blood. This was her Metal Slime Spirit, which seemed to be merged with her blood to make it regenerate easily, but she also seems to¡­ have made her sword out of her own blood too and ordered the slimes to take this form. She might look dull and silent, but she''s smart within her own devices.


    "Blue Slime! Eat them up!" Mimy said, as her blue slime jumped over her head and then expanded its body into a bigger form, swallowing the rats reaching her one after the other while she shoot some down using [Water Bullet], one of the few spells she knows.


    "Guuuu!" The Blue Slime was doing most of the job for the girl.


    But I guess that''s how it is in this world. Spirits are part of the summoner''s powers, even though I''ve begun seeing them more like their own separate entities.


    "Hammerhead Shark!" Alianna jumped over herrge spirit, flying around with it and using her magic water spear to sh the rats as they came after her in big swarms, her shark also started eating some of them with its massive jaws.


    "[Bubble Formation]!"


    "[Bubble Bomb]!"


    Meanwhile, the twins Aquarius and Aquaria were generating bubbles with magic and their spirit''s help, a squid, and an octopus, and then popping them up, generating small explosions and sting the rat inside and those around into pieces. I never thought Bubble Magic could do this, interesting.


    Oh, and me and my friends? We decided to quickly y the Cliff Rat King.


    -----

 Chapter 598 Slaying A Plague Of Rats!

    -----


    "GYSHAAAAAHHH!!!"


    The angered Cliff Rat King roared at us furiously, it manipted dozens of rats to do its bidding because its fat self could barely move. In fact all the rats were moving it instead.


    TRUUUUMM¡­!


    A mass of rats in the shape of a giant hand emerged before us. As Erdrich pushed forward with a smirk, his entire body beginning to growrger and more muscr, as his skin turned red and ck tattoos appeared over the red skin.


    "[Demonic Fist Technique]: [Ashura''s Tempest]!!!"


    Erdrich roared, unleashing a shockwave with his powerful Demonic Aura and his Mana, and then unleashing a barrage of fist attacks,pletely destroying the hand-shaped swarm of rats and sting them into smithereens.


    The Demonic Fist Technique was something I taught him personally, as I had learned such techniques from an Ancient world named Murim, which is probably now gone as it was invaded by the demons in the past.


    It is a millenary technique that uses Ki and Demonic Energy to unleash an incredible malicious aura and bloodlust, a power that only "Heavenly Demons", or as I would like to call them "Evil Cultivators" used to fight the Righteous factions.


    It specializes in hitting weak spots such as revealed meridians, guts, breaking ribs, and also shattering the confidence of their foes with painful attacks. I use it bybining it with my other techniques, but Erdrich could only learn much, so I made him specialize with them after gifting him several books with the techniques and positions he needed to learn.


    Naturally, over the years, he mastered them one by one with his amazing talents, and now he''s bing, perhaps, thest sessor of this millenary art.


    "[Heavenly Demon Art]: [Ruthless Ashura''s Wrath]!"


    And then, his foot hit the floor and his two fist hit forward while all of his Demonic Power and Ki was expelled into a fluctuating explosion, unleashing a st of red energy and disintegrating another dozen of rats.


    BOOOOOOMMMM!!!


    This was the one of the three Heavenly Demon Arts, the advanced form of the Demon Fist Techniques he has learned.


    Naturally, all of the other ssmates who were barely getting things done with the aid of their spirits saw Erdrich do it all by himself with mouths wide open.


    "A-Amazing! So this is the power of someone with demon blood¡­" rice felt afraid.


    "But those techniques cannot be learned just by being half demon!" Said rk.


    "Who the heck taught him those techniques?!" Alianna wondered


    "He''s incredible¡­" Patricia muttered, blushing a bit.


    "GRYYSHAAAAH!!!"


    While everyone was fighting the near endless swarm, the Cliff Rat King roared angrily, quickly bringing out even more rats and shaping them as countless hands, attempting to punch us out of the cliff!


    "Eric! Open the path! Trap that rat!" Imanded, the [Commanding] Skill working as it boosted his stats even further.


    "Leave it to me!" Eric roared, pointing his bow at the rat, and emanating arge quantity of Nature and Life Mana from within him. While his Yggdrasil Treant Spirit gave him arrows made of Yggdrasil Wood and protected him at the same time. "[Spirit Bow Arts]: [Yggdrasil''s Cannon]!"


    FLAAAASH!


    Eric fired three arrows at the same time imbued with his spiritual powers and Mana, as they flew towards the Cliff Rat King''s defenses and then exploded, disintegrating half of the ants on the spot and then generating a gigantic tree that began growing everywhere, trapping the Cliff Rat King on ce!


    BOOOOOMMM!!!


    Indeed, Eric was now capable of utilizing the Yggdrasil Cannon Technique as a normal ability, although it takes a bit of Mana to use, he has mastered it to this extent.


    "SHAAAAH!"


    Although trapped, the Rat King was still angry. It summoned itsst battalion of Giant Cliff Rats, which were E+++ Rank to fight us. Alberta stepped in, erging her forging hammer into a gigantic one and then mming them one by one like whack-a-mole. Explosive zing mes spread out everywhere, burning countless other rats.


    "[Infernal Hammer Technique]: [zing Explosion]!"


    CLAASH! CLAASH! CLAAAASH!<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    The way was finally cleared, as I jumped in with my spirits, ying any rat in the way and then, jumping straight towards the trapped Rat King. I imbued some mana into Gluttony, and thenunched the spear towards the rat.


    "Here, Gluttony, feed on it!"


    FLAAAAAASH!


    The spear shed, reaching the rat king in a second, and piercing its jugr.


    CLAAAAASSSHHHH!


    "SHAAAGGHHH¡­!"


    The Rat gave an agonizing cry before it stopped moving, dying on the spot faster than I imagined. Gluttony feed on its bloodpletely, cleaning the way.


    "Now let''s get rid of these rats!"


    I began shooting down rats with my gun, killing several with a single bullet, minutes went by, and after half an hour, we were finally done. Because we had no time to rest now, I saved all the corpses that didn''t fall down the cliff inside my inventory and we promptly continued our journey.


    Ding!


    [You and Your Party have in [Cliff Rat King (D- Rank)] x1!]


    [You and Your Party have in [Giant Cliff Rat (E+++)] x27!]


    [You and Your Party have in [Cliff Rat (E+)] x409!]


    [You gained 540000 EXP!]


    [LEVEL UP!]


    [Your Level has increased from Level 35 to Level 36!]


    [All your stats have increased!]


    [You earned bonus skill points and stat points!]


    [You earned bonus skill proficiency!]


    Another level, good. We''re making progress here.


    "Very well everyone, you did better than before, that''smendable. Use the potions you have for healing. If anybody''s poisoned, Eric can heal you. Let''s continue for now, we''re closer to the end of the cliff." I said with a nod, as we quickly kept moving forward.


    "Ahhh¡­ Hahhh¡­ W-We did it¡­" rice celebrated.


    "Just how many rats were those?" Alianna wondered.


    "Perhaps¡­ over two hundred." Said rk.


    "Indeed, they were too many, they bit me all over!" Cried Mimy. "At least Eric healed me from any potential disease or poison, but it still felt disgusting¡­"


    "Well that''s what fighting monsters is all about." Elianaughed. "It was thrilling, wasn''t it?"


    "Yeah! Had tons of fun!" Ashenughed too.


    "T-Those two are weirdos¡­" Mimy muttered.


    "Hey, lower your tone¡­" Sighed Alianna.


    Meanwhile, as we went down, I noticed Patricia ncing at Erdrich rather attentively.


    -----

 Chapter 599 Erdrichs Admirer

    -----


    "Your name is Erdrich, right?" Wondered Patricia.


    "Eh? Ah, yes." Erdrich felt surprised someone was talking to him other than us.


    He had a rather bad reputation in the ss, even though he was very nice and calm, everyone was always afraid of him due to being a half-demon. Nobody bullied him or something, they were afraid after all, but they evaded him like the gue.


    However Patricia out of the blue decided to talk with him. I am no gossiper or something, but when ites to matters between my friends, I do get¡­ slightly interested.


    "Those moves you did¡­ And that tyrannical, wrathful aura¡­ Those fists you used, and those amazing kicks¡­ And your well-toned body, filled with such beautiful muscles¡­" Patricia said, blushing with fascination. "Y-You were¡­ amazing¡­"


    "E-Eh?!" Erdrich felt shocked. The most manly ant tomboyish girl in the ss, with a harsh and silent personality and with origins as amoner simr to us suddenly showed an amazing interest on him. "I-Is that so? Well¡­ I learned it from ke, he taught me those techniques but I mastered them and changed them around, making my own battle techniques."


    "I see!" Patricia seemed surprised, giving me nces as well, but mostly being focused on Erdrich. "I know its awkwarding out of nowhere¡­ But can we be friends?"


    "Huh? Why out of the blue?" Asked Erdrich.


    "I just¡­ I¡­" Patricia showed her more feminine side, many other students were left speechless.


    "Wait a minute Patricia, we''ll give him back to you right away." I said, dragging Erdrich with me. Eric also came.


    "What the heck do you want?" Erdrich felt annoyed.


    "Hey dumbass! What are you doing?! Just say yes!" I facepalmed.


    "Huh?! Why?!" Erdrich was more oblivious than I imagined.


    "Sigh¡­ I''ve always thought you were a bit oblivious, but you''re seriously dumb." Eric sighed.


    "Eh? Why are you two bastards picking on me now?" Erdrich wondered while crossing his arms.


    "She likes you!" Eric pped Erdrich''s head.


    "Ah? She¡­ oh." Erdrich quickly realized it. "But she''s being so weird about it¡­"


    "I saw her fascinated when you fought, she really likes your muscles too. Just ept her friendship." I sighed. "You can trust her, I''ve researched the background of all the students in our ssroom, she''s affiliated with rice''s country and was a former guard and soldier."


    "Y-You''re a creepy bastard sometimes." Erdrich muttered. "Fine¡­ Ugh, not like we''ll marry or something, but fine."


    Erdrich quickly went back to his girl.


    "Sure, let''s be friends I guess¡­" Erdrich blushed a bit.


    "Ahhh! Nice!" Patricia said. "H-Here!"


    "Huh?"


    Patricia suddenly gave him something I saw her carrying around, a sandwich she made herself. Her eyes seemed filled with honesty, and I made extra sure she wasn''t some cultist spy by reading her mind a bit, she was just¡­ genuinely interested.


    She just had a big obsession with strong people, and liked Erdrich due to his manliness and incredible strength. It seemed she was the only one here that didn''t gave a damn he was half demon.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "Thank you, it''s good." Erdrich sighed, eating the sandwich.


    "R-Really? I am d¡­" Patricia said with a warm smile.


    Erdrich couldn''t help but blush a bit, these were all first experiences for him. She''s rough at socializing though, going straight to the point.


    "D-Did you see how Patricia get?" rice wondered.


    "I-I''ve never seen her talk this much." rk said.


    "She''s¡­ is she in love with the demon boy?" Wondered Alianna.


    "So cute¡­" Mimy smiled.


    "Man, I want a girl too¡­" Ashen sighed, the other girls quickly nced at him with cringe clear in their faces. "W-What?"


    Like that, as Erdrich seemed to finally begin his romantic life, we continued our journey, finally reaching the end of the cliff''s road and into the depths of the canyon.


    "We''re here." I said, as I used Familiar Connection to check the area with Falcos and Huggins, I had mostly scanned the entire ce and made a mental map which I quickly scribbled into my own grimoire. I painted red all the spots I saw with monsters and demons. There were four more.


    I showed the map I made using the familiars to everyone, showing them the amazingness of being a Summoner once more.


    "These are the four spots leftover with the highest concentrations of monsters left. We will continue straight from one to the other, taking small breaks in between because all of you are too weak." I sighed. "We''ll first go to the Rock Goblins'' nest. They''re all D- Rank with D+++ Rank Rock Goblin King, so it''s not going to be easy."


    "Rock Goblins? Never heard of them before¡­" rice said cluelessly.


    "Me neither¡­" Said Alianna.


    The rest of the students seemed clueless, but Eric quickly began reading his monster encyclopedia we bought for a very expensive price in the city.


    "Rock Goblins are powerful Earth Attribute Ogre-type monsters. Their bodies are muscr unlike normal goblins, and they are covered by natural rocky armor, so physical attacks are quite ineffective if they don''t have defense ignoring capabilities." Eric said. "It is rmended to use Water Attribute Magic to damp them and then lightning to electrify them. Though anything would do if we all gang on them. We need to be careful of their earth magic though."


    "I see¡­" rice nodded. "Wait where did you even got that book?"


    "Huh? I bought it for a 500k Gold in the market." Eric said with a carefree smile.


    "500K?!" Everyone panicked once more.


    "N-Not even I, as a noble, get that much allowance¡­" rice sighed.


    "Well, we make money working by selling products we make using alchemy¡­" Laughed Eric. "You guys should really stop relying on your families to make money, hahaha!"


    Eric roasted them harder than I imagined from his usually gentle nature¡­


    And like that, we moved forward, reaching the entrance of the Rock Goblin Nest, there were four goblins on guard outside.


    "I''ll infiltrate first using my skills and open the way for everyone to enter." I told the students. "Eleanora, Saphira, Hendrick,e with me."


    -----

 Chapter 600 Invading The Rock Goblins Nest

    -----


    By cing my Spirits inside of my own Shadows, I quickly made my way into the Rock Goblin''s Nest. We didn''t had any time to waste after all, and I would rather finish everything today as quickly as possible. Because I needed stealth to open the way and kill those around the entrance, I utilized Saphira''s special Skills, while bringing her with me.


    The Skills I utilized were pretty much every single Skill that I acquired from her through [Spirit Link], which were [Stealth: Lv6], [Camouge: Lv5], [Invisibility: Lv3], and [Spectral Body: Lv5]. With all of these effectsbined together, I becamepletely undetectable for most monsters, D Rank monsters included.


    They had to have very sharp eyes or senses of smell to find something, but because they''re dumb Rock Goblins, which seem slow and only rely on their Earth Magic and defenses to fight, they didn''t detected me at all.


    We infiltrated the entrance with ease, as I quickly used the [Abyssal Blood Sucking Vines] Skill to capture the several goblins at the entrance, and incapacitate them silencing them in the process and leaving them half-dead for everyone else to take down for easy EXP.


    As I made my way inside the cave, I looked around. There were over twelve Goblins in here, and all of them were wandering around, talking, eating, or simply staying still and doing nothing. This entire cave structure seemed quite refined though, not roughly made at all, most likely due to their Earth Magic.


    "Master should we kill them all?" Wondered Hendrick.


    "No, weaken them and incapacitate them using your Poison Skills. Saphira, you also do the same using your Phantom Magic." I told the two.


    "Very well." Said Hendrick.


    "Okay papa!" Saphira agreed quickly.


    "Well then, let''s begin!" I said with a smile.


    Hendrick and Saphirabined their skills, as they conjured abined Spirit Technique by fusing poisonous gases with phantasmal energy.


    "[Spirit Technique]: [Poisonous Hallucination Ghost Parade]!"


    FLAAAAASH!


    Purple-colored poisonous gases merged with phantasmal essence, as they created a temporary legion of ghost which quickly began wandering around. because they were semi-transparent, the Rock Goblins were unable to detect them at first hand, which allowed us to quickly infilter deeper and deeper into the cave.


    "Gryakhu¡­ Cough¡­ Agh¡­?"


    "Gakkuh! Gykyeeehh¡­!"


    "Gakkh¡­ uggh¡­!"


    Of course, relying on the two of them wasn''t going to be everything. I quickly brought out two Familiar Cards from my Grimoire and summoned two Colorful Walking Mushrooms. The poison they made is strong and all, but it will be strengthened andplemented even more with these guys.


    -----


    [Name]: [Spore (Awakened)]


    [Type]: [nt] [Illusion]


    [Rank]: [F]


    [Race]: [Dark Trickster Mushroom]


    [Health Points]: [60/60] (+450)


    [Strength]: [50] (+250)


    [Agility]: [100] (+600)


    [Vitality]: [60] (+250)


    [Intelligence]: [130] (+600)


    [Dexterity]: [80] (+450)


    [Buff]: [+40 Intelligence] [+50 Agility]


    [Skill]: [Poisonous Spore++] [Poison Fog++] [Mind-scrambling Smoke++]<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    [Growth]: [MAX]


    -----


    And of course, it was my old friend, Spore. I am sure he would had worked even without the boosts, but the boosts were there for his Skills as well, and now they''re so fast that even by not making them invisible, the slow Rock Goblins will never be able to catch them.


    "Now, use all your Skills and spread them everywhere! Make sure they don''t affect my allies." I told them.


    "Gyuuuh!"


    "Gyuuugah!"


    The two quickly began wandering everywhere. So fast and speedy the Rock Goblins were incapable of catching them, their spores quickly began making them paralyzed, poisoned, and their minds were going insane as well.


    "GRAAAAHH!"


    "GRYYYAAAH!"


    "GRUGAH! GRYKAH!"


    The Rock Goblins started groaning in agony, some started falling into the ground, others ordered a few of them to follow the mushrooms around, but everything was total chaos after a few seconds.


    "Hello your majesty."


    I arrived at the Rock Goblin King''s room in less than five minutes, with Eleanora, Hendrick, and Saphira''s assistance, any goblin that got in the way was swiftly taken down. They might have been D Rank but quite honestly, our blows were so potent that a good attack in their neck or unprotected areas was lethal to them.


    However, the King was probably stronger, right? I mean, it was a Boss-type Monster with D+++ Rank. So I hope it can bring a good challenge.


    "GRUKAH?! MAKUTAH¡­"


    The King was bigger than I imagined, and burlier as well. It resembled more like an Orc, and it had a natural armor of rocks all around his body. He immediately responded to my words furiously. His five guards panicked after seeing me, though after smelling the enormous mix of poisonous fogs spread everywhere, including poisonous fog ghosts made by Hendrick and Saphira, they quickly fell into their knees, hallucinating and poisoned at the same time.


    "GRAKKH¡­?!" The green skinned giant, of around four meters of height quickly stood up. His entire body beginning to emanate a powerful Aura of Mana.


    "Oh You think we''ll be fighting alone? Actually, I am in a hurry." I said with a smile, quickly bringing out Eleanora, Hendrick, and Saphira out of my shadow. "Let''s end this quickly."


    "Very well!"


    All three of them jumped at incredibly fast speeds. The Rock Goblin King was unable to detect their presences at all, but he reinforced his rock armor around his body, while shielding himself from their magical spells and weapon techniques.


    "[Ninjutsu]: [Shadow Clone Jutsu]!"


    FLASH! FLASH! FLASH! FLASH!


    Eleanora divided herself into several Shadow Clones and then unleashed a barrage of attacks with Shadow Shuriken and Sharp Blood Spears summoned from her hands.


    CLASH! CLASH! CLASH! CLAAASH!


    "Not enough, huh? You''re quite the resilient man."


    Eleanora smiled evilly, summoning her Spear, Envy, which had received a simr evolution and improvement than my Gluttony, as she imbued it with her Spiritual Powers, Darkness and Blood Auras overflowed from within it.


    "[Vampiric Blood Spear Arts]: [Crimson Rose Garden]!"


    FLAAASH!


    The Rock Goblin King''s surroundings changed, as everything suddenly turned into a beautiful, yet dangerous garden of red roses. Eleanora''s blows reached his back and head, unleashing a piercing barrage of attacks that unleashed rose petals everywhere.


    CLASH! CLASH! CLAAASH!


    -----

 Chapter 601 Saphiras Weapon Form & Destroying The Rock Goblin Nest

    -----


    Crack¡­ crack¡­!


    CRAAASH!


    The Rock Goblin King''s armor was slowly crumbling apart in mere seconds upon our arrival. Eleanora''sbined set of amazing Skills were easily tearing apart the boss'' defenses into smithereens.


    "I am not that good at fighting myself, but let''s spray you with something special!" Laughed Hendrick, generating a liquid poison on his hands and then shaping it as sharp crystals in the shape of spears. "Tier 4 Poison Magic: [Crystalized Paralysis Poison]!"


    FLASH! FLASH! FLASH! FLASH! FLASH!


    The rain of piercing spears made of crystalized poison rained upon the Rock Goblin King without stopping, piercing through its armor one by one and slowly beginning to decimate the monster''s defenses. The Rock Goblin King was clearly struggling to even realize what was happening before some of the spears pierced is skin and began to weaken him severely, paralyzing his muscles.


    "GRAAAAGGGH¡­! GRAAAAHHH!!!"


    The furious Rock Goblin King finally decided to act, touching the ground with his half-paralyzed hands, and then imbuing Mana into the ground. The entire ce began to shake as countless spikes started to emerge from the ground, while the floor itself started to copse!


    I see, he wasbining both [Pit Trap] and [Piercing Rock Spear] Spells to create a giant pit filled with piercing spears. I wonder how many stupid monsters have fallen for this trick already¡­


    "This would work if we wouldn''t be able to fly though." Iughed, as I simply started flying by using the [Vampiric Blood Emperor Technique]: [Crimson Vampiric Wings].


    "GRAHH?! RAAAHHH!!!"


    The angered Rock Goblin King quickly summoned more of his powerful Earth Magic, shaping the ceiling and the walls into sharp rock spears constantly, trying his best to pierce our bodies with those feeble attacks.


    "You''re all talk and nothing else. I won''t even waste bullets on you! Saphira,e here." I called Saphira, as she quickly flew into my right hand and transformed. "[Spiritual Resonance: Elemental Spirit Weapon]!"


    FLAAAASH!


    Saphira began to transform rapidly into a long and beautiful rapier, with a thin, and sharp de, and a beautiful, white-colored phantasmal handle. The entire rapier emanated a powerful, phantasmal aura.


    Ding!


    [You have undergone [Spirit Resonance] with Saphira!]


    [Saphira] has transformed into the [Spirit Weapon]: [Ghostly Soul Piercing Rapier: Phantasm]!]


    [Saphira] has be an Elemental Spirit Weapon temporarily, all of her stats have been adjusted to be the best weapon possible!]


    [Saphira] has acquired new temporary Elemental Spirit Weapon Abilities: [Soul Pierce], [Defense Break], [Shatter], [Phantasm Carnival]!]


    "Oooh, this feels a bit ticklish, papa! But I like it!" Saphira seemed surprised by her sudden transformation, but she didn''t mind it.


    "Excellent, let''s end him quickly then!" I rushed forward, jumping straight towards the Rock Goblin King and shing him with Phantasm with all my strength and speed.


    SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH!


    "GRAAAHHH¡­! Ah?"


    However, the Rock Goblin King quickly realized my attacks didn''t dealt a single point of damage. And started tough while hitting the ground.


    BAAAAMMM¡­!


    The ground quickly started to tremble, as more and more rock spears emerged everywhere. Eleanora and Hendrick had to evade and step back, however, I stood still ncing back at him.


    "GRAHAHAHA! GAKUHA!" He continued tough. "FIGESH!"


    He raised his hands, using Earth Magic to generate a gigantic hammer made of stone and then attempted to use it to crush me with it.


    CLAAAAAASSSHHHH!!!


    However, I easily caught it with Phantasm, and then I bathed the hammer with countless cuts as well.


    SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH!<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "Geh?!"


    The Rock Goblin King was naturally confused once more, but I was mostly just messing around with the new abilities, discovering their properties.


    "I see, so these powers¡­ They work like this? [Phantasm Carnival]" I sheathed Phantasm, and everything went silent.


    Crack¡­


    Crack, crack!


    "GRAH?!"


    When the Rock Goblin King finally realized that his entire armor made of rocks was shattered into countless cracks all around him, and so was his hammer, which quickly crumbled apart into dust, it was when he realized he had underestimated a small rapier.


    CRAAAAASH!


    "Nnngggh?! Graaaggh¡­! GRYYYYAAAAAEEEGGGHH¡­!"


    Not only is entire armor shattered apart into pieces, but his entire body also gained thousands of cuts all around and his skin was bleeding everywhere. To make things worse, [Phantasm Carnival] activated, as countless phantoms emerged from all the wounds I inflicted, sucking away his Life Force and weaken his soul even more.


    Because of how the Phantoms sucked the Life Force out of the Rock Goblin King''s wounds, its entire body started to dry out, and then it began falling apart as if it were a statue, leaving mostly ash and its Spirit Orb behind¡­


    BAAAAM!


    "Brutal." Eleanora said.


    "T-That''s amazing! So this is the power of Elemental Spirit Weapon! Master, please turn me into a weapon too!" Hendrick said.


    "Maybeter." I said. "Saphira you''re rather strong, maybe too strong, your attack ended¡­ destroying the whole corpse¡­"


    I sighed inwardly, a D+++  Rank monster corpse would cost a fortune, and now its just a pile of ashes. I am sure I can use them for something but¡­ yeah.


    "S-Sorry papa! I didn''t knew it would just crumble apart¡­" Saphira quickly turned back to her normal form and apologized.


    "Well it is also my fault for wanting to try out all Abilities within your Elemental Spirit Weapon form, but well, that''s for the better, now we know we shouldn''t use it unless we really need to." I nodded.


    After that, I felt the rest of the students invading the Rock Goblin''s Nest and starting to ughter the weakened and poisoned goblins I left behind. I ended using a Huginn to tell them from afar, easily making this entire n a huge sess, and no Rock Goblin ended escaping either.


    Ding!


    [You and your party have in [Rock Goblin King (D+++ Rank)] x1!]


    [You and your party have in [Rock Goblin (D- Rank)] x83!]


    [You earned 2650000 EXP!]


    [LEVEL UP!]


    [LEVEL UP!]


    [LEVEL UP!]


    [Your Level has increased from Level 36 to Level 39!]


    [All your stats have increased!]


    [You earned bonus skill points and stat points!]


    [You earned bonus skill proficiency!]


    -----

 Chapter 602 A Small Rest

    -----


    Ding!


    [You and your party have in [Rock Goblin King (D+++ Rank)] x1!]


    [You and your party have in [Rock Goblin (D- Rank)] x83!]


    [You earned 2650000 EXP!]


    [LEVEL UP!]


    [LEVEL UP!]


    [LEVEL UP!]


    [Your Level has increased from Level 36 to Level 39!]


    [All your stats have increased!]


    [You earned bonus skill points and stat points!]


    [You earned bonus skill proficiency!]


    Three levels out of the whole nest was rather good, I am only 11 levels from reaching max level and finally being able to Change my ss once more, most likely I''ll also be able to breakthrough my Spirit Orb Rank at longst and reach Rank 3, which will grant me two more Vampire Spirits as well! It will certainly be interesting what I''ll get next. Hendrick and Saphira have already been an amazing help through the journey so far, so I have quite the high expectations.


    "Well, that Rock Goblin King was a rather resilient fighter, but at the end it wasn''t anything to worry about." Laughed Hendrick.


    "It was pretty easy, yeah. A pity we weren''t able to drink its blood though. Usually high ranked monster''s blood is always sweet and vorful." Eleanora sighed.


    "Hmmm, I prefer sweets than blood, but blood''s okay too." Said Saphira.


    "Well, I can give you some of my own blood as well, if you''re thirsty." I said, offering Elenora a bottle of my blood.


    "Aaah~ This is fine as well!" Eleanora quickly began to enjoy it.


    Vampire Spirits, as they develop, gain more Vampiric Traits, this also means that once they get too exhausted, drinking blood can recover their stamina very quickly and even grant them temporary boosts to their stats, skills, or magic.


    Once we walked outside of the Rock Goblin Nest for a second time to quickly gather all the corpses inside of my Inventory, I greeted everyone else.


    "That was a bit too easy than I imagined¡­" Said rice. "Did you had to poison them so severely? It kind of took away the fun of it!"


    "Lady rice, I don''t think acting this ungrateful with ke is a good idea¡­" rk sighed, as he noticed my rather annoyed face.


    "Well if you''re feeling like having a big challenge, then I''ll let you fight our next encounters without weakening them at all." I smiled back at her.


    "Huh? I-Is this some challenge or something? I''ll easily crush them now that I''ve received the blessings of the Holy Spirits multiple times, I am feeling ten times stronger than before." She smiled while swinging her giant axe around. "But what will I get if I win the bet?"


    "Bet?" I wondered. "Well, what do you want?"


    rice looked at me while squinting her eyes, then suddenly grew redder as she started thinking about strange things.


    "T-Then I''ll force you in¡­ apanying to¡­ eat something! But you''ll eat what I tell you to eat, heh!" She smiled cockily.


    "You mean a date?" I wondered.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "I-It''s not a date you idiot!" rice said. "I-I would never want to go on a date with a disgusting idiot like you! Farm boy! N-Nobody likes you¡­"


    "I am not interested in dating anyone right now so I''ll have to decline your offer." I said.


    "E-Eh? I-It''s not a date! Uuugh!" rice started getting angrier while also, at the same time, feeling embarrassed with herself.


    "Did you had to be so harsh with her?" Eric sighed.


    "Well rice''s been a bit of an asshole this whole time." Erdrich said.


    "I-I think you might have heartbroken her¡­" Alberta sighed.


    "Eleanora, Erika, and Elizabeth are more than enough." I sighed.


    "But she just meant going to eat something¡­" Eric said.


    "Eric I am not a clueless man¡­" I sighed. "So anyways, rice. If you win I''ll train you to grow stronger, how about it? But if I win the bet and you get your ass beaten, I''ll ask for a wish myself."


    "A-A wish?!" rice got confused, wondering what I meant. The drill-haired blonde girl began trembling as she looked at me with weirded out eyes. "F-Fine¡­"


    "Lady rice for your own good I think you should stop talking so much nonsense." rk rmended. "You''ve gotten yourself in quite the problem now."


    "Shut it rk! We''ll just beat those monsters and then show him, heheh¡­" rice beganughing evilly.


    The rest of her party looked a her with rather tired expressions. Having her as their leader was a torture by itself already. Well, they sought that themselves so they''ll have to bear with it.


    "I am sorry for my party leader, she''s just like that. Perhaps living in a spoiled family of rich nobles made her overly selfish." Said Patricia, apologizing in behalf of her team leader.


    "O-Oh, you don''t have to apologize for her, Patricia, don''t worry." Erdrich said carefreely.


    "Erdrich¡­" Patricia blushed a bit. "I see. Not only you''re so strong and manly, with powerful muscles that can destroy even rocks, but you''re kindhearted¡­"


    "H-Huh? ¡­Is that so?" Erdrich felt slightly nervous as Patricia fell for him more and more with each passing second.


    "Erdrich is quite the asshole sometimes¡­" Eric said.


    "Shut it, four eyes¡­" Erdrich whispered to him.


    "See?! He called me four eyes!" Ericined, but Patricia justughed at that.


    "Haha, and such a good sense of humor as well! I was also thinking he''s an annoying four eyes, but you just said it." Patriciaughed.


    "Gehh¡­" Eric felt even more down.


    "J-Just ignore them¡­" Albertaforted him. "Y-You''re not an annoying four eyes, Eric¡­"


    Like that, we had a small break. I didn''t wanted to cook right away so I simply made some sandwiches and distributed them around. With everyone''s stamina back in full, we swiftly decided to move towards our next destination, thest monster nest in here before confronting the two Demon Tribes, the Fiery Grizzly.


    As we made our way towards the Fiery Grizzly territory, several students were curious about this monster and how strong they could be. And well, they were up for a surprise because they were very tough.


    -----

 Chapter 603 Giant Cactuses

    -----


    As we made our way towards the Fiery Grizzly territory, several students were curious about this monster and how strong they could be. And well, they were up for a surprise because they were very tough.


    "Fiery Grizzly are powerful Fire Attribute Beast-type Bear Monsters, an adult can reach a height of three meters and they have sharp ck ws which can generate mes, while their red and brown fur can resist most physical attacks, and it is naturally immune to fire as well. They don''t have nests like the goblins but gather in enormous families where they take over a territory. They''re ferocious and aggressive, attacking anything that dares to enter their territory. They''re usually all D+ Rank, but if they have a leader, it could go as high as D+++ or even¡­ C- Rank." Eric said, reading his Monster Encyclopedia.


    This was an Encyclopedia made around the monsters that live in these areas of the continent as well, so it was easy to find their information. There are many monsters in this world I had never seen in another ce before, and as they kept rising in Ranks, they continue to get stronger and more mysterious.


    "The zing Grizzly King is a beast that cannot be taken down easily at all, and its high regeneration and immense size make it a terrifying monster to fight alone, to take it down, usually teams of over twenty people are gathered. Oh right! Their materials are super useful for a variety of things, such as armor, clothes, and weapons, and they make for amazing fire-resistant equipment!" Eric said.


    "O-Oh! W-We could really use them for making equipment¡­ I-If we could find some of them first, turn them into armor and then use it against their own fire attacks, it would be quite u-useful. I think¡­" Alberta said.


    "I suppose we could hunt the first wave and manufacture some quick ponchos out of their fur." I said while nodding. "And then we use them to cover our bodies to resist their fire better, though I don''t really fear mes, the rest of you¡­ may."


    "Wait, you can just manufacture clothing quickly?!" Asked rice. "I would believe you if you were Elfriedden but¡­!"


    "Ehehehe¡­ Interesting, ke''s creation skills must be high level¡­" Eliana said with a creepy smile. Her Swamp Man was rather clingy, being behind her even when she was traveling over Fenrir.


    "Honestly I never taught you as such a type of person, ke. Seeing how little patience you have¡­" Said Arthuria, often silent, she decided to join the conversation to say something stupid.


    "Little Patience? I have plenty of patience. Would you imagine if I had little patience? You wouldn''t even be here right now." I sighed.


    "Huh? W-What did he meant by that?" Ashen wondered, finally notughing at something and feeling slightly afraid.


    "H-Huh, hehehe¡­ he''s harsh." Eliana sighed.


    "Amazing! I guess this is why you''ve grown so strong Erdrich, having someone like ke as your teacher and all¡­" Said Patricia, who was now sitting behind Erdrich hugging his very muscr stomach.


    "Well yes, he''s the real demon here¡­" Erdrich said. "Don''t mess with him."


    "Since the moment I meet his eyes I knew he was truly a demon." Nodded Patricia.


    "Would you two stop talking behind my back? I can hear everything." I sighed.


    "ke is somehow getting a bit more scary now¡­" Mimy sighed.


    "Come on, ke, cheer up!" Said Alianna cheerfully. "Also, I am a Water Attribute Magician alongside Mimy and the twins, we could charge in front and fight the Fiery Grizzlies easily too."


    "Yeah! Yeah! Leave it to us!"


    "That''s right, with our Bubble Magic it won''t be hard!"<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    Aquarius and Aquaria said at the same time, nodding rapidly.


    "Of course you''re going to work, I have already designated a perfect n to attract all the Fiery Grizzlies towards us, and you''re going to be in the frontlines, hehe¡­" Iughed as I was devising my strategize. "It is certainly good you''re so willing as well!"


    "G-Geh¡­ I don''t feel like doing it now¡­" Muttered Aquaria.


    "I-I hope the n''s nothing crazy though¡­ I hope." Aquarius sighed.


    "Come on you two! L-Let''s trust ke! He''s strong and reliable at the end, right?" Alianna said happily. "I''ll be putting my life on your hands, ke!" She said rather gantly, like a knight.


    "Sure." I smiled back.


    Like that, we arrived at arge forest of Cactuses. This was where the Fiery Grizzlies made their home. These cactuses surrounded an area named Volcanic Falls. It is arge crater naturally formed for an eruption ofva long ago.


    The volcano is now inactive though, but the hot temperatures of this ce make it the ideal zone for the Fiery Grizzlies to live. The surrounding forest of cactus was quite beautiful to say the least. Large cactus reaching as tall as trees, there were also birds and smaller creatures feeding on the cactus''s fruits.


    "Oooh! What is this ce?! You didn''t said it was going to be this pretty¡­ a giant forest made of tall cactuses¡­" Said rice, fascinated by the surroundings.


    "It is indeed a mesmerizing ce! Makes you think how many wonders are out there in our beautiful world¡­" Said Alianna while sighing happily.


    "Let''s make sure not to touch them though! T-They''re filled with spines¡­" Said Mimy.


    "These are spines? My skin doesn''t even get hurt when I touch them¡­" Erdrich felt bored in here, he touched a spine and then crushed with his index finger starting from the sharp tip, he was undamaged.


    "I-I have yet to reach your level, Erdrich¡­" Patricia showed Erdrich her hand filled with spines.


    "Did you try punching the thing?!" Erdrich panicked.


    "Be careful, aside from the Fiery Grizzlies, there are also Cacturks, they''re cactus-shaped nt monsters." I said with a stern look.


    "Huh? Well I am not dumb enough to just fall for that!" Laughed rice. "Ohohoho- Eh?"


    However, just as I thought, arge shadow slowly approached rice''s back, one of the cactus lying around inplete silent, wasn''t actually one.


    "Cactuuuuuuuuhhh¡­"


    "GYAAAAH!"


    -----

 Chapter 604 Slaying Cacturks And Meeting The Fiery Grizzlies

    -----


    "L-Lion''s Axe!!!" rice panicked, summoning her Spirit Weapon and then using it to slice the Cacturk''s entire body into pieces. "G-Get away from me, you creepy cactus thing!!"


    CRASH! CRASH! CRAAASH!


    "Hahhh¡­ Hahhh¡­"


    Once she was over, the Cacturk was so diced and crushed it waspletely unrecognizable from before. Yeah, these monsters aren''t really strong, they''re all E Rank.


    "U-Ugh, my axe''s all slimy now¡­" riceined once more.


    Ignoring her, we quickly made our way through the Cactus Forest. Every time we stopped a Cacturk, we quickly killed them, like that, we got rid of the small Cacturk poption while seeking clues for the Fiery Grizzlies.


    After checking the area some more using Huginn and Falco, the poption of Cacturks was small and they were weak. They lived very long lives and reproduced very slowly over the years, so it was easy to make them go extinct¡­ Heh.


    Ding!


    [You and your Party have in [Cacturk (E+ Rank)] x36!]


    [You earned 360000 EXP!]


    [LEVEL UP!]


    [Your Level has increased from Level 39 to Level 40!]


    [All your stats have increased!]


    [You earned bonus skill points and stat points!]


    [You earned bonus skill proficiency!]


    Interesting enough, they felt like "Bonus Monsters" that gave a rather high amount of EXP at 10k per kill, even when they were only E+ Rank. I suppose their age also counts on the amount of EXP they give, most of the ones we in were very old.


    These monsters specialize on pretending to be a cactus, letting animals get closer, and then give them a deadly bear hug, piercing them with their venomous spines and then slowly digesting them inside of their bodies. Because of this, each time someone got closer they would try to give them a deadly hug using their big nt arms.


    "Are the Cacturks all we''re fighting in here or something?" Mimy sighed.


    "Just have patience¡­ The hot temperature is not helping but¡­ we''ve gotta persevere." Alianna said.


    "Don''t rx now, we''ve reached the area where they''re gathering. I''ve detected there''s three big groups here. We''ll quickly ambush this one, and then once we''ve prepared good equipment using their pelts, we''ll fight the other two. In the third one is where the Boss is, so stay alert, they might try to get to us while we''re dealing with the first or second groups." I said. "Unlike in the goblin cave, we can''t be so stealthy in such an open field."


    Everyone nodded, even the angry rice. We kept most of the group behind us, and only my group and the water attribute magicians stepped in. Covering everyone using Illusion and Mirage Skills from Eleanora made things easier for a sessful stealth attack.


    "Now, can you conjure the spell I taught to you?" I asked.


    "Yeah, we can do it." Said Alianna while nodding. "Leave it to us!"


    "W-We''ll do it." Mimy nodded.


    "Alright, let''s get to it then." Aquarius said.


    "Yes!" Aquaria said.


    The four stepped forward and then utilized special papers I gave them, which were imbued with magic circles and then put them on the floor, standing over the in a circle pattern. Some bears already began to sniff something, slowly getting closer.


    FLAAAASH!


    The incantation began as the papers with magic circles put into a circr position began to glow bright blue, and then countless runes started emerging everywhere. This was a special spell I cannot properly conjure myself due to myck of good Water Affinity like these guys have, but I do have the 100% Water Law Understanding to build perfect Water Magic Circles with the best and most effective results.


    "Oh, water, mother of all life¡­!" Alianna said.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "Bring us your refreshing rain, so full of life and bright!" Said Mimy.


    "Turn the clear skies dark and bring the storm of dawn!" Aquarius said.


    "Water, rain, pour down and bless our daily life!" Aquaria said.


    "GRRRHHH! GRAAAH!"


    "GRUOOHHHH!"


    "GRAAAOOOOHHHH!"


    Several Fiery Grizzlies noticed their voices, and of course, the giant magic circle that was forming below them as the conjuration continued. This is where we enter, we need to hold these giants back.


    "W-Water¡­!" Mimy muttered, as a gigantic bear was about to sh her with its ws.


    BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG1 BAAANG!


    However, its head was intercepted by five consecutive bulletsing from my gun and then quickly fell into the floor. The bastards were incredibly tough and took five bullets in the damn head to die. It would probably take dozens to kill them if I shoot at them in their other body parts.


    BAAAM!


    As the beast fell into the floor, all the bears, which were over sixty of them spread all around, red at me with ferocious, fiery eyes.


    "I guess we''ve managed to get the attention all for ourselves now¡­" I smiled defiantly. "Eleanora, Hendrick, Saphira, cover our backs! Eric, Erdrich, Alberta, stay close to one another. These bastards are tougher, faster, and stronger than the Rock Goblins that only specialize in defense!"


    "Got it!" Said everyone, as we quickly began fighting the Fiery Grizzlies as a group, while trying to protect the four Water Mages from getting attacked by them at the same time.


    RUMBLE!


    The skies slowly began turning darker as clouds started appearing constantly de to the powerful spell being conjured. The water slowly started condensing in the skies.


    "GRUOOOHHHH!"


    Arge and ferocious Fiery Grizzly attacked me from behind, as I quickly jumped to evade the attack and pointed Gluttony against its head.


    "[Consecutive Shadow Strikes]!"


    FLASH! FLASH! FLASH! FLASH!


    My spear began moving incredibly fast, generating afterimages of itself which all unleashed a piercing shadow attribute attack against the bear''s head, piercing it constantly and making it fall.


    BAAAM!


    "GRUOOHHH!!!"


    However, three more Bears appeared from behind. These guys didn''t wasted time attacking physically and unleashed two enormous fireballs from their jaws, sting them at me with everything they had.


    "Sneaky bastards¡­"


    I swung Gluttony vertically and horizontally, generating two massive shes of darkness and intercepting the fireballs in midair.


    BOOOM! BOOOOOMMM!!!


    Only for three more toe from behind me, as the beasts in the back of their formation started bombarding us with fire magic.


    -----

 Chapter 605 Fighting Whole Armies Of Blazing Bears

    -----


    BOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOM!


    The fireballs continued falling one after the other. These were as strong as Tier 3 Spells and reinforced through the Fiery Grizzlies Fire-rted Skills, most likely. The bombardment of explosive mes continued consecutively.


    Perhaps if these attacks were from E Rank and below monsters, I would be able to easily tank them with my armor and basic defenses, and I could certainly take several of these head-on even now, but I would rather conserve my energies forter than burn my face.


    "[Bloodthirsty Javelin]!"


    I quickly imbued Blood Energy into Gluttony,unching it against a nearby Fiery Grizzlies and piercing its stomach with it!


    CLAAAASH!


    "G R U O O O H  H H H¡­!"


    The furious Fiery Grizzlies roared in pain, trying to get the spear out of its body, only for Gluttony to begin eating it from the inside out. No fire attacks or shing attacks using their ws worked. The Fiery Grizzlies ended falling into the floor and dying quite painfully.


    BANG! BANG! BANG!


    While that happened, I kept shooting them at the eyes to distract them and make them get lost or confused. While the rest of my friends were handling things quite well by protecting the four mages. It has barely been 50 seconds but things were only getting more intense.


    "Aahh, my attacks getpletely tanked by them! They''re very resistant to Nature and Life magic¡­. Is it because fire burns nts, right?!" Eric said while feeling slightly tired, firing arrows from a distance which exploded into branches wrapping around the Fiery Grizzlies, only for the bears to free themselves secondster by setting them aze easily.


    "S-Stay behind me, meat bun!" Alberta said valiantly, pointing her giant Cannon at the Fiery Grizzlies and sting them away with deadly explosive bullets. However, they didn''t die even when hit with these, and it only worked to throw them away. "Uuggh, my hammer would be even less effective! S-Should I bring out my golem already?"


    "[Heavenly Demon Arts]: [35 Demonic Steps to Heaven]!"


    CLASH! CLASH! CLASH! CLASH!


    Erdrich meanwhile, was kicking the heads of the bears and punching them away. Even when going almost all out, he had only killed a few so far. Their incredibly tough fur and bones made for tough foes even for someone like him.


    Unless he transformed into his next demon form and wasted a ton of demonic energy, he wouldn''t be able to ovee them so easily, even as he was very resistant to their fire.


    "Hahhh¡­ These guys are tough. I might have to begin using more Ki and Demonic Energy if things continue this way¡­" Erdrich said. "But we have yet to even fight the demon tribes, I can''t waste my energy like this!"


    "ke, are they ready?!" Eric said while panicking, as his two spirits barely stopped a giant Fiery Grizzly from shing him in two halves.


    "T-This is a bit too much even for me¡­!" Alberta cried. "I-I am a cksmith and Inventor¡­!"


    "Almost there!" I said. "Alberta, can you enchant my gun and my spear?" I asked her.


    "Eh?! In the middle of battle?!" She asked.


    "Just do it, please." I said. "My spirits are protecting our backs and the Fenrirs are doing a good job at defending as well."


    "A-Alright! Leave it to me then!" Alberta nodded, as I quickly gave her an item I had in my inventory. "Huh? What''s this?"


    I handled her over the [Crescent Frozen Tear (Mythic Grade)], which I have yet to fully consume. However, it was already getting near its end of its energy, but I didn''t wanted to waste it and make it disappear once I consumed all the Mana inside as MP, so I decided to use it.


    "It is a special Ice Crystal, can you use it?" I asked.


    "I sure can imbue it into the gun!" Alberta nodded, quickly grabbing her hammer and making it smaller, immediately beginning to use her cksmith Skills and her Rune Infusion powers tobine the materials together.


    "[Reinforce]!"


    C L A N K!


    "[Sharpen]!"


    C L A N K!


    "[Item Infusion]!"


    C L A N K!


    "[Synthesis]!"


    C L A N K!<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    FLUOOOSH!


    The Gun and then the Gluttony Spear suddenly began overflowing with a fiery auras, as she gave them thest enchantment, runes that emerged from her hammer, covering the weapon''s bodiespletely.


    "[Rune Creation]: [Attack Runes]! [Piercing Runes]!"


    F L A A A S H!


    In less than twenty seconds, Alberta was done, cleaning the sweat off her forehead.


    "And done, here!" She quickly gave me both weapons. "I''ve also enchanted the spear''s sharpness!"


    Ding!


    [The [ursed Abyssal Devourer Spear: Gluttony (Mythic-Grade)] has been temporarily enhanced!]


    [Attack has increased by +30%!]


    [Bonus Stats have increased by +12%!]


    [Abilities Effects have been reinforced by +22%!]


    [Enchantment Duration: 4 Hours]


    Ding!


    [The [Demonic Handgun: Soul Eater (Unique Grade)] has been permanently enhanced with the [Crescent Frozen Tear (Mythic Grade)]!]


    [All of the Weapon''s Stats have increased!]


    [It gained a new look!]


    [The Weapon''s Grade has increased to Unique+++!]


    [The [Demonic Handgun: Soul Eater (Unique+++ Grade)] has gained 4 extra levels!]


    [The Weapon has acquired the [Soul Freezing Bullets] Ability!]


    [Additionally, the [Demonic Handgun: Soul Eater (Unique+++ Grade)] has been temporarily enhanced!]


    [Attack has increased by +24%!]


    [Bonus Stats have increased by +8%!]


    [Abilities Effects have been reinforced by +17%!]


    [Enchantment Duration: 4 Hours]


    -----


    [Abilities]:


    [Soul Freezing Bullets]: A Unique Ability that was acquired once the Weapon was enchanted with the [Crescent Frozen Tear]. Grants the ability to create powerful and unique Soul Freezing Bullets which deal 200% Ice and Water Damage to foes and has a 20% chance to cause the [Freezing] or [Chill] Status effects on affected foes.


    -----


    "Yes, it is just as amazing as I imagined!"


    BANG! BANG! BANG!


    I quickly began sting freezing bullets at the nearby bears, freezing their bod parts and finally slowing them down one by one, giving us just enough time for the spell that the four water magicians were conjuring to finally begin!


    "[Storm Magic]: [Grand Downpour]!"


    FLAAAAASH!


    -----

 Chapter 606 Good Harvest

    -----


    The clouds werepletely dark, and the entire sky stopped bathing the Cactus forest with sun. Rain started pouring down endlessly as it started to weaken the Fiery Grizzlies almost instantly. The entire area, which hadrge and dense quantities of fire attribute mana, which strengthened the Fiery Grizzlies a lot, was quickly drown into water.


    The Fiery Grizzlies weren''t immune to water either, and they immediately sensed their bodies growing colder and colder. For fire attribute monsters, going cold might be fatal as their very bodies require these high quantities of heat to properly function!


    Of course, for such strong D+ Rank Monsters as these, it is not fatal¡­ but it will weaken them very, very severely!


    "Everyone! NOW!" I roared, as the Fiery Grizzlies felt the weakest and panicked, the rest of the students jumped into battle, led by rice.


    "They''re weakened now! While the Rainsts, crush them all!" rice jumped into battle while riding a Fenrir, swinging her axe around and attacking.


    The other students also joined and started fighting. At the end we still had to weaken the before fighting them head-on. I suppose that bet we had might end up being canceled in that case.


    "Swamp Man,e out now! It is all wet just like you love it! Proliferate and expand around!" Laughed Elianna, summoning her gigantic Swamp Man who feed on the water.


    "GRUOOOHHH!"


    The mass of seaweed and other nts in the shape of a man quickly began growingrger andrger. His endless vines trapped several Fiery Grizzlies within its own body and started crushing them and slowly draining them of their blood and life energy.


    "I don''t really like fighting while its raining, but there''s no helping it anyways!" Arthuria said, swinging her powerful holy sword and unleashing devastating shing attacks made of light aura, which easily sliced apart the arms of a Fiery Grizzlies mercilessly.


    SLASH! SLAAASH!


    Her fighting style was the most interesting. It seemed she came from a family of knights that specialize on something named "Holy Sword Arts" and utilize it to y demons and monsters. Seeing her movements and techniques helped me make my own techniques in the future, as I needed to practice more sword techniques of this caliber if I ever want to properly utilize the Holy Sword of Light Skill I have.


    "GRAAAH¡­! GRUOOHH!"


    The Fiery Grizzlies were surprisingly quite the cowards once things didn''t went their way. The monsters immediately turned their backs on us and started running four legged, trying to get as far as they could from us and the rain.


    However, we weren''t going to let this happen at all. Elianna and Eric worked together using their Spirits, asrge quantities of vines, branches, and seaweed surged from the ground, grabbing all the bears, and dragging them towards us.


    Meanwhile, I used my Abyssal Blood-sucking Vines to drag them near us, weakening them and then shooting them several times with Freezing Bullets, which left frozen spots over all their bodies, weakening them even further.


    I also noticed the giggling Ashen using his Squid''s special magical powers to manipte space and drag the bears towards us.


    "[Gravity Attraction]!"


    FLUOOOSH!


    It was the simple ability to pull things or targets towards him, but it would not always be good, even less for someone so weak as him, who specializes at magic alone. He can only properly use this once he''s surrounded by many physical fighters and tanks. It seemed interesting though, I might end up implementing this spell he uses with my own Demon Eye of Gravity, though that''s a trump card I won''t use right now.


    "Kill them! Don''t let any alive!" Imanded, as everyone continued the massacre of Fiery Grizzlies mercilessly.


    It wasn''t anything exciting anymore once there wasn''t much of a challenge at shing them away. Though most of the students were still struggling and many were being hurt even as the Fiery Grizzlies were weakened. They were just too weak, it was frustrating, but ultimately, everything ended in under half an hour.


    Ding!


    [You and your Party have [Fiery Grizzlies (D+ Rank)] x64!]


    [You earned 1600000 EXP!]<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    [LEVEL UP!]


    [Your Level has increased from Level 40 to Level 41!]


    [All your stats have increased!]


    [You earned bonus skill points and stat points!]


    [You earned bonus skill proficiency!]


    [Your Tamed Monster [Ruby] has reached Level 12!]


    [Your Tamed Monster [Blood] has reached Level 40!]


    "Raar!"


    "Woof!"


    "Ohh, Ruby you''ve finally hit level 12, leveling for you has be quite hard now that you''re a dragon, huh?" Iughed.


    "Raar¡­" Ruby sighed.


    "And Blood, you''re now max level, finally." I sighed. "Being old really made you level up super slow. But now it should be possible to evolve you soon."


    "Woof!" Blood seemed thrilled about that, wagging his red-colored tail.


    "My little Blood is finally evolving! Yaaay!" Eleanora celebrated, giving Blood head pats. "Who is a good boy? Who is a good boy?!"


    "Woof! Awoo~!" Blood was Eleanora''s beloved pet more than mine.


    Ah, and about me, I almost hit Level 42, I am only off a few thousand EXP more, what a pity. If the rest of the Grizzlies, which I''ve counted with the Huginn and Falcos I sent might be around a hundred more, and with the demons included¡­ I might actually reach max level today.


    "Phew, we''re finally done and the rain stopped too¡­" Sighed Eric. "It seems it wasn''t going tost for too long!"


    "Yeah, but it has also weakened the entire area, and it mightst for a few more hours as well. The other Fiery Grizzlies should also be very weakened by now." I said. "Now, let''s quickly make the coats using the Grizzlies fur and skin!"


    "Oh, yeah, right away!" Eric nodded.


    "B-ke, can you dismantle them like y-you did back in the dungeon?" Alberta wondered.


    "Yeah, leave it to me." I nodded, quickly storing all the bear corpses inside of my inventory and then dismantling them into several other "items".


    "Here." I quickly brought them out, over twenty enormous pieces of pelt, ready for the manufacturing of coats.


    "A-Alright! L-Let''s show everyone the power of the Sewing Club!" Alberta seemed overly excited.


    -----

 Chapter 607 Crafting Special Anti-Fire Equipment

    -----


    [You and your Party have created [Fiery Grizzly''s Anti-Fire Fur Coat (D Grade)] x20!]


    [You earned 20000 Sewing Skill Proficiency]


    [Your Sewing Skill has reached Level 4!]


    [You earned 200000 EXP!]


    [LEVEL UP!]


    [Your Level has increased from Level 41 to Level 42!]


    [All your stats have increased!]


    [You earned bonus skill points and stat points!]


    [You earned bonus skill proficiency!]


    Once we were finally done with the Coats creation, we unexpectedly earned a lot of EXP and Proficiency. Not only I ended leveling an extra level but also Eric and Alberta. Because their Talents were production-derived, they seem to also be able to earn EXP by creating items.


    Everyone immediately started wearing them to make sure we could bear with the monster''s mes much better, and without having to rely on rain magic to weaken them enough. Like this, we were all set.


    "Wow, they look stylish and all! Amazingly done, ke, Eric, Alberta!" Alianna said, she was the first one to wear the coat.


    "Well, it is certainly alright¡­ Though did you had to keep the head of the bear?!" Asked rice, feeling slightly annoyed by it, most likely.


    "I-It is stylish too!" Said Alberta.


    "I like it!" Patricia said. "Are you serious that I can have it for free? A coat of this quality would usually cost a lot of coins¡­"


    "Sure, you can have it for free." Eric said.


    "Yeah, all of you helped hunting them." I said.


    "I-I would feel ashamed if I asked you for m-money¡­" Alberta said.


    After everyone had a small break and wore the coats, we moved forward without stopping, quickly advancing across the Cactus Forest, and arriving at our destination, an enormous army of Fiery Grizzlies rushing straight towards us.


    They were most likely alerted of our presence after the battle sound and the rain that happened. They all were still wet, and slightly weakened, although the heat of the ce was probably easily helping them dry out quickly.


    I quickly summoned my Familiars for battle to weaken the bears and distract them. The Fenrirs we were all riding werepetent fighters as well and helped everyone get the higher ground and evade attacks while unleashing their blows swiftly.


    "Attack! Don''t let them escape if they panic! Surround them like we practiced countless times before!" Imanded, many Fenrirs gathered together and surrounded therge group of over fifty bears, Alianna''s team began shooting Water and Ice Attribute Spells at them while Alianna herself charged forwards.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "[Deep Water''s Thrust]!"


    Alianna had improved quite well over this small journey after leveling a lot. Her strength was better and her movements more precise and swift. She was also managing to learn how to use Ki naturally with her weapon techniques without me even teaching her about it.


    CLASH! CLASH! CLASH! CLASH!


    Her Magic Spear, which seemed rather fancy and probably forged in her Kingdom unleashed a barrage of attacks, hitting two Fiery Grizzlies at the same time and filling the two of them with holes.


    Their mes were useless as her coat kept her protected from the fire attribute really well, and her Hammerhead Shark Spirit covered her back, mming the bears with its gigantic head, tail, or biting them apart mercilessly.


    "Charge forwards, my steed!" Laughed rice, as Fenrir charged forwards against two bears at once. The Fireballsunched at her were easily intercepted and neutralized by her coat, which she pulled in front like a shield to protect Fenrir as well.


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOOOM!


    "HAAAH! [diator''s Strength]! [Skull Smasher]!"


    Her entire body unleashed a powerful red and orange colored aura, enhancing her physical strengthpletely thanks to her diator Talent''s buff, and then she used the simple Axe Technique [Skull Smasher] to smash the head of a bear with all her strength.


    CLAAAASH!


    Her Lion Axe Spirit was very convenient, easily amplifying her power even further. Weapon-type Spirits are as broken as always, but aside from hitting things with their power, they''re rather useless and can''t do things for the user either. Nheless, they''re perfect for reckless front-line fighters like her. rice has also grown quite well.


    Meanwhile, everyone else was doing their best to fight the Grizzlies. Now that we had our Coats, the field was finally evened out and we were capable of holding ourselves much better than before. Spore unleashed his Spore Skills and poisoned, paralyzed, and confused the beasts, while my Vampire Spirits and I gave them their finishing blows when they least expected it.


    BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!


    My handgun was amazing, now that it was upgraded and temporarily buffed by Alberta''s Skills, which she also used on everyone else''s weapons (it even works on Weapon-type spirits), it dealt much more damage, and the Freezing Bullets were ideal, instead of taking multiple bullets, the bears died after two bullets in the head, as their entire skull and brain would end up frozen.


    Eleanora swiftly sliced the Bears though bodies, covering them on slicing wounds and slowly draining their own Blood to feed herself and at the same time, attack thembining Blood Magic and Blood Edge with it.


    Hendrick used needles covered on poisonous and paralyzing toxins, alongside threads created out of poison and blood from the very bears, wrapping their bodies with sharp poisonous threads and overall making their struggle even more painful.


    Saphira swiftly covered the battlefield with her phantasmal powers, raising the dead bears into her temporary undead partners and making them beat their formerpanions, while she sometime possessed one of them to make them stop moving, making them much easier targets.


    Lastly, Ruby and Blood, the little Blood Dragon and the Blood Wolf continued their onught, attacking the bears inpany of the Familiars, easily eliminating anything that slipped past the attacks of everyone else.


    Ultimately, and rather swiftly, we finished all fifty of these bears with barely any exhaustion and efficiently. The power of preparation was already very clear, and the EXP of over fifty D Rank monsters was also quite delighting.


    Now, the only thing left is the Boss of this area, thest group of Fiery Grizzlies was approaching us rapidly¡­


    "GROOOOOAAAARRRR!"


    -----

 Chapter 608 Magic Handgun Techniques

    -----


    Ding!


    [You and your Party have in [Fiery Grizzlies (D+ Rank)] x53!]


    [You earned 1325000 EXP!]


    [LEVEL UP!]


    [Your Level has increased from Level 42 to Level 43!]


    [All your stats have increased!]


    [You earned bonus skill points and stat points!]


    [You earned bonus skill proficiency!]


    [Some of your Skills have leveled up!]


    [You learned the [Magic Handgun Techniques: Lv1] Skill!]


    -----


    [Magic Handgun Techniques: Lv1]


    Skill Proficiency: 0/1000


    The ability to fire bullets off a gun is not something easy, especially when they''re magic bullets imbued with the user''s power. Proper mastery, precision, uracy, and even strength is necessary to utilize a handgun to its maximum potential. Those that have managed to master this power can develop special techniques.


    While using a Magic Handgun Weapon, Damage and uracy increases by +30%, with an additional +15% with each Skill Level. Magic Bullets cost decreases by -30%. Handgun Techniques deal +25% more Damage.


    Avable Techniques:


    Level 1: [Elemental Bullet Ricochet] [Medic Bullet]


    Level 2: ???


    -----


    Oh, excellent! This is what I''ve been waiting for! While I knew all of my current abilities to use the handgun, and the mastery I had over the weapon, I was waiting for the uniqueness of this world to manifest, Skills! A Skill rted to a Magic Handgun Techniques has finally emerged, and its passive enhancements are already taking effect.


    I felt a faint, powerful Aura overflowing around my hand holding the Handgun, and even my eyes started glowing brightly, with the power of [Hawk Eyes]plementing my uracy, it is certainly a deadlybination.


    "GRUOOOOHHHHH!"


    The roar of a gigantic bear echoed around our surroundings, as we were making our way deeper into the Cactus Forest, thest Fiery Grizzlies. Its enormous figure could be seen from afar, as over a hundred other bears apanied the King of this ce, the zing Grizzly King, most likely. Though its name depends on the variant. This thing might be from D+++ Rank or even C- Rank.


    And seeing its enormous body approaching from afar, that thing is at least ten meters tall. It is very likely its already an evolved form, a C- Rank monster, probably much stronger than anything we''ve fought so far in here, and as strong as Dungeon Bosses.


    "T-There are over a hundred bears!" Panicked Elianna. "Swamp Man, can you handle them?!"


    "GRUOOHHH¡­!" Her spirit seemed willing to fight at the very least.


    "Uuwaahh¡­ So many! T-This feels ridiculous! Are we really fighting them right away after fighting fifty just now?!" Asked Ashen while panicking, his squid-like spirit floating over his head seemed just as scared.


    "You two don''t be cowards!" Patricia roared, as herrge metal slime sword began shining brightly with her Mana Aura. "We''ve already gone this far, we''ve gotta finish everything off now! ¡­Right Erdrich?!"


    "Yeah, I am ready." Erdrich jumped off the Fenrir he was riding because he preferred to move around while fighting, his Demon Aura was surging widely while fusing with his Ki Aura.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "This is it everyone, ourst fight before we end the monsters of this area!" Said Alianna. "Don''t falter and remember to drink MP Potions whenever you''re feeling out of Mana! I''ll cover the frontlines with the other fighters, support me from behind, Mimy, and you twins!"


    "Yes!" Mimy nodded, her slime seemed pumped up.


    "W-We''ll do our best!" Aquarius said.


    "Yeah, leave it to our spirits and bubble magic!" Aquaria said.


    "rk! Arthuria! You two cover my back, I''ll also charge into the frontlines. I won''t be ridiculed by that country kid any longer!" rice said with a zing conviction, her Lion Axe began roaring ferociously at her determination.


    "I shall be your shield, Lady rice." rk said, nodding while summoning his Rock Wyvern and holding his sword and shield while wearing his armor.


    "I came to this academy believing it would be an easy trip towards bing a seasoned knight, but things are bing much moreplicated! If we falter here, then I can''t imagine how we''ll handle the future tests that are toe." Arthuria said. "I shall lend you my sword, rice." Arthuria summoned her Holy Sword Spirit, as her golden and white armor shone brightly with her Mana Aura of Holy Light.


    "Seems like everyone''s ready." Eric said with a nod. "Alberta, we better not charge too much into the frontlines. Let''s assist everyone with our long-ranged attacks." Eric quickly summoned his spirits and took out his Yggdrasil Bow.


    "Y-Yeah! I-I didn''t prepared this big cannon for nothing!" Alberta nodded, taking out the giant cannon she had brought with her. "I-I''ll st them¡­!"


    "It''s good that you''re in high spirits." I said with a smile. "Eleanora, cover them for me. Hendrick and Saphira,e with me to confront the Boss. Ruby and Blood cover the other students if possible with the aid of the other Familiars."


    "E-Eh? I can''t go fight the boss?" Eleanorained.


    "We''re fighting a bit too many monsters at the same time now." I said. "I need your help keeping the kids on check."


    "Very well." Eleanora thought about it and agreed quickly. "Come on Blood, we''ll protect everyone so nobody dies."


    "WOOF!" Blood barked happily, wagging his tail around.


    "Raaarr!" Ruby began following me from behind.


    "Ruby you want to fight too? But your stats have yet to even match that monster." I sighed.


    "RAAAR!" He roared angrily, looking into my eyes.


    "Is this the Pride of a Dragon?" I wondered. "Well, stick with me and don''t die."


    "RAAAAR~!" Ruby began flying atop us, watching over the approaching army of zing bears.


    "GROOOOOAAAARRRRR¡­!"


    The Giant zing Grizzly King roared furiously, unleashing a zing aura that covered all of his allied monsters at the same time, boosting their physical strength and fire magic power.


    "GRAAAAH!"


    "GRUOOOHHH!"


    "RAAAAAARRGH!"


    "RAAAAHH!"


    The giant bears began charging at us without walking slowly anymore, the battle began in a sh. Skills and Magic were conjured everywhere, weapons shed against skin and ws against armor.


    However, my current goal was beheading the Boss, of course.


    -----

 Chapter 609 Facing A C Rank Monster Alone

    -----


    Ding!


    [The [Holy Spirit of Death] of amused by your current ughter, he asks for more souls!]


    [He has sponsored 500000 Gold Coins]


    [The [Holy Spirit of Fire] seems fired up by this development, he wonders if you truly will fight that Boss solo¡­]


    [He has gifted you [Elixir of mes (Mythic Grade)] so you can have a better chance!]


    [The [Holy Spirit of Love] is interested in your romantic development with rice and Alianna. She promises good rewards if you can conquer their hearts.]


    Suddenly, as I charged forward with everyone else in this intense battlefield, three Holy Spirits showed up. I appreciated their help and how they allowed me to free myself from Lucifer on its totality, but I still am yet to get used to them seeing my life as if it were some sort of livestream.


    Well, I appreciate the gifts, something Lucifer never bothered giving to me at all. The Holy Spirit of Love is also taking a lot of nonsense, aside from Eleanora, Erika, and Elizabeth, I am not interested in any other woman, so I will simply ignore her request.


    And this Elixir I got¡­ It might prove useful, but it seems that its effects don''tst that long, I cannot recklessly use it right now. I will leave it until the veryst moment.


    "G R A A A A A A H H H!!!"


    While I saw everyone fighting intensively against the Fiery Grizzlies, a giant zing bear rushed towards me, raising its gigantic ws. Its powerful zing aura was overflowing greatly, boosting the monster''s stats through the roof.


    However, I quickly took out Gluttony from my shadows while pointing with my handgun at the approaching bear''s head.


    BANG! BANG!


    Several ice crystals began growing over the bear''s head, but it had yet to die. I see, the stat boost probably more than doubles their stats, it means it might end up dying at more than five bullets, but well, I''ve got a swifter way of doing it.


    "[Armor Crusher]! [Bone Piercer]!"


    My spear''s entire body began to glow with a ck and red aura, as I unleashed two powerful attacks against the Fiery Grizzly''s head with it swiftly. Thanks to the Fenrir I was riding, its movements were swift and precise, easily helping mend all hits without missing.


    CRAAASH! CLAAAASH!


    "G R A A A H H H¡­!"


    The bear''s entire head gained countless cracks as if it were a coconut, and then shattered into pieces, falling into the floor with the rest of the body.


    "One down¡­ Twelve more to go." I smiled faintly, seeing as over twelve more bears came charging towards me while I was rushing towards the Boss.


    I was already going around the entire army of Fiery Grizzlies and even then, the Boss had a squadron of "guardians" that wouldn''t let me easily get closer to their King.


    "Hendrick, Saphira."


    "Yes, milord!"


    "Okay papa!"


    Hendrick and Saphira stepped forward as they quickly unleashed their Skills and Magic. Hendrick was the fastest and most efficient due to his long years of work as my servant and assistant. He immediately summoned countless threads made of paralyzing toxins, wrapping round over six bears with them, and immediately stopping their movements.


    "[Paralyzing Thread]! [Slice Frenzy]!"


    SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH!<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    The bears were too strong to be sliced apartpletely by mere threads, but the threads were sharp nheless, easily slicing apart the bear''s skin and leaving them covered on poisoned wounds.


    Meanwhile, Saphira suddenly breathed air and screamed her lungs out, conjuring her [Haunting Scream] Skill and making all the surrounding foes that heard it be confused.


    "BAD BEAR!!!"


    F L A A A A A A A S H!


    "GRAAAAH"


    "GRUOOHH¡­!"


    "GRYYEEH!"


    The bears started screaming in agony one after the other, incapable of concentrating properly. But that wasn''t all, Hendrick and Saphira continued their attacks. Hendrick materialized his poisons into gigantic and sharp des, sending a storm of them against the approaching beasts.


    "[Poisonous de Toxins]!" Roared Hendrick, as the des began piercing and poisoning the bears constantly.


    CLASH! CLASH! CLASH! CLASH! CLASH! CLAAASH!


    Meanwhile, Saphira prepared her second attack, shapeshifting her own body by using the [Spectral Body] Skill and then forming over a hundred gigantic ws made of phantom using [Phantasmal ws] which she then materialized using [Phantasmal Materialization]!


    "HYAYAYAYAYAYAYAH!!!"


    SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLAAASH


    The bears screamed in agony as they were hurt even further. Several of them quickly dropped dead on the spot, and the ones remaining alive were taken down by my handgun and my spear.


    BANG! BANG! BANG!


    SLASH! SLASH! SLASH!


    Ruby, meanwhile, as a juvenile, was struggling to be of much use in a battle where many battle experts were fighting. He was giving us support with his Blood Fire Breath Attacks, but that was it. I told him he shouldn''t get here because he wasn''t experienced enough, sigh.


    "GROOOOAAAARRRRRRRRRGH!"


    [The Ferocious C Rank Monster [Volcanic Grizzly Tyrant] greets you with a deadly [Wrathful Roar]!]


    [A powerful pressure emerges from the roar, attempting to lower your stats by -50%!]


    [However, due to the power of your unwavering heart and mind, you are not affected by intimidation effects.]


    "Well, there you are." I smiled faintly; the enormous beast greeted us.


    It wasn''t a King as I believed, it was an evolved version, the Volcanic Grizzly Tyrant. The Grimoire has be rather useful now, as it can even alert me when a powerful foe shows up, and even showcases the abilities they use when they activate them, much like "reading" a book.


    I wonder if this was the true power of the Grimoire, to let me see the entire world as a Book and grants immense benefits at that. Nheless, I suppose this is not the time for that. I think this might be the first time I fight something at C Rank in a while, ever since the Necromancer''s invasion at my vige.


    [Various Holy Spirits are watching you.]


    [They are cheering for you!]


    -----

 Chapter 610 Fighting The Volcanic Grizzly Tyrant!

    -----


    "I-It is bigger than I imagined!" Said Saphira.


    "Huh, such a gigantic beast! Well, it will supply a great amount of Experience Points, I assume." Said Hendrick.


    "GRRRHHHHH¡­! ROOOOAARR!"


    BAAAM!


    The bear furiously hit the ground with its legs, as if wary of our strength. In mere seconds, an enormous quantity of volcanic mana started to erupt from the ground below us!


    [The Ferocious C Rank Monster [Volcanic Grizzly Tyrant] has activated the [Volcanic Eruption] Skill!]


    [Everything around the Monster shall be engulfed on volcanic eruptions!]


    BOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOOOMMM!!!


    The enormous eruptions ofva continueding out rapidly one after the other. The ground shook furiously as we started to evade the enormous eruptions of hotva. As strong as I am right now, I doubt I can take this head-on without having to transform through my abilities.


    And I can''t afford to just waste so much energy transforming when I have yet to y two more Demon Tribes before ending the day. Well, it is not like I don''t have any options to deal with these types of scenarios.


    I quickly retrieved from my Inventory over then small crystal-shaped items. They resembled ice cubes but had a small white thread on top of their bodies, each one was just around ten centimeters of length, no more.


    They were of course, Freezing Bombs created previously using the Apprentice Alchemist Recipe Book!


    "How about you chill for a bit?" I smiled faintly, throwing all the bombs around the bear and then directly at it.


    BOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOM!


    The bombs exploded, unleashing a shockwave of icy winds and freezing everything around them. The ground quickly stopped erupting withva and the giant bear weakened instantly, suddenly stepping back, terrified of the cold.


    "You really dislike the cold, don''t you?" I smiled back at it, quickly grabbing a Freezing Bomb and then using [Synthesis] on my Gluttony Spear with it.


    FLAAASH!


    The spear suddenly gained a pale blue color, as its tip grew like a sharp icicle spear. It gained snowke decoration, even, and its aura fused with that of freezing ice.


    [The [ursed Abyssal Devourer Spear: Gluttony (Mythic-Grade)] has been temporarily enchanted with a [Freezing Bomb (Unique Grade)]!]


    [It has temporarily gained Ice Attribute Damage.]


    [Ice Attribute Damage has increased by +150%.]


    [It has gained the Temporarily Ability: [Freezing Aura]!]


    [[Freezing Aura]: While Active, the Spear unleashes a powerful icy aura around the wielder which quickly begins to freeze anything ites into contact with.]


    "Good¡­ Is everyone else ready?" I asked my two Spirits and Ruby, as they nodded. Hendrick and Saphira were holding Freezing Bombs with them and they were already unleashing their strongest Skills.


    "[Cryotoxin Gas]!" Hendrickughed. From a far distance, he quickly conjured a gigantic cloud of clear blue gas containing paralyzing and deadly poisons fused with the Freezing Bombs he created.


    FLUOOOOSH!


    "GRAAAAH!"


    The Volcanic Grizzly Tyrant was growing stressed. It was nice that it had a simplistic, animalistic mind and not that of a Goblin King, for example. It reacted to the ice by unleashing an Aura of me sand then charging at Hendrick.


    "ROOOAAARRR!"


    [The Ferocious C Rank Monster [Volcanic Grizzly Tyrant] has activated the [zing Charge] Skill!]


    [It''s Speed and Impact Power has temporarily increased by +100%!]


    BAAAAAMMM!!!


    The gigantic bear charged more furiously than the Wild Boars we''ve hunted back home, impacting Hendrick''s body and quickly destroying it mercilessly.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "GRAAAAH¡­! GRAAKKKHHHH¡­!"


    However, when the bear tried to bite on him, its mouth began freezing as Hendrick''s shredded body exploded into blue-colored poison, the same type of Cryotoxin it used to generate this deadly gas cloud.


    The bear''s jaws were beginning to freeze, but its anger only grew bigger as it was tricked. But before it could react in time, Saphira and I charged towards it from behind.


    I pointed at the bear with my handgun and fired as many Frozen Bullets as possible, while unleashing several attacks using my spear at the same time.


    "[Freezing Bullet Ricochet]!"


    BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BAAAAMMM!!!


    "GRAAAAHHH!"


    The bear tried to turn around its enormous body, as its back was being frozen and damaged at the same time. Only to be greeted by Saphira''s attacks, as hundreds of Phantasmal ws covered on ice through herbination of Synthesis with Freezing Bombs allowed her ws to materialize as ice, and began to easily sh and tear apart the bears flesh while freezing it!


    "Take this! And THIS!"


    CLASH! CLASH! CLASH! CLAAASH!


    "GRUOOHHH!!!"


    The bear opened its jaws furiously, charging a deadly zing breath attack as the surroundings started to shake furiously.


    [The Ferocious C Rank Monster [Volcanic Grizzly Tyrant] has activated the [Infernal Volcanic Breath] Skill!]


    [An enormous zing attack ising!]


    FLUOOOOOOOOSSSHHH!!!


    A massive inferno of mes surged from the bear''s jaws, covering the entire surroundings, only to be sliced in two halves by my spear, Gluttony.


    SLAAAASH!


    "[One Hundred Piercing Icicles]!" I modified the power of the Spear Mastery Technique, as my spear began moving at an insanely rapid speed, generating countless mirages of itself, each one hitting the bear''s head as I leaped forward.


    CLASH! CLASH! CLASH! CLASH! CLASH! CLASH! CLASH! CLAAASH!


    "GRYYYYAAAAAAARRGGGHHH¡­.!"


    The bear couldn''t take it, stepping back in agony as its entire face, including its nose and eyes werepletely frozen. It began shaking the ground and conjuring fireballs to melt the ice on its face, furiously beginning to hit the ground once more.


    [The Ferocious C Rank Monster [Volcanic Grizzly Tyrant] has activated the [Volcanic Eruption] Skill!]


    [Everything around the Monster shall be engulfed on volcanic eruptions!]


    Again with that Skill, huh?


    BOOOOM! BOOOOM! BOOOOM! BOOOOOM!


    The ground below shattered into pieces as countless eruptions of molten rock emerged one after the other,pletely covering our surroundings into a deadly heat. I was running low on Freezing Bombs, so I couldn''t clean the path as easy as before.


    "RAAAAARRRR!"


    However, out of nowhere, Ruby boldly attacked the bear, reaching the beast''s back and beginning to bite its hard and incredibly muscr neck with his jaws.


    "GRUOOOHHHH!"


    The bear started to struggle, shing, and trying to thrash away the Dragon over his back.


    But this was the perfect opportunity as well!


    "Aim at the neck! This thing''s not going to die any time soon unless we cut his head off!"


    -----

 Chapter 611 Slaying The Mighty Beast!

    -----


    Despite still being a juvenile dragon smaller than even the Wyverns we fought back in the vige, Ruby fearlessly decided to attack the Volcanic Grizzly Tyrant while it was trying to unfreeze its face from all the ice we left over it.


    Ruby was so filled with the intent to help us fight this foe that he went above and beyond with his own biting attacks, even despite having a weak jaw as a juvenile dragon, it began to slowly pierce the bear''s hard hide and muscles, making it begin to bleed intensively.


    [The Tamed D- Rank Monster [Young Blood Dragon: Ruby] has fiercely attacked the [Volcanic Grizzly Tyrant] with all his might!]


    [Due to his Draconic Powers blossoming in this life-or-death situation, the [Powerful Bite: Lv4] Skill has awakened into [Fierce Dragon Bite: Lv4]!]


    "GRRRRHHHHH¡­!"


    Ruby''s face distorted as he tried biting with as much fury and strength as he could, his jaws suddenly grew sharper, piercing more and more into the bear''s flesh and reaching its incredibly hard bone, incapable of piercing further than that.


    Ruby looked me into the eyes, filled with his zing dragon pride. Our connection between dragon and master was strong, and I could feel his intentions.


    I guess you don''t want to be a pushover no matter what, don''t you?


    Fine, let''s not waste this opportunity then.


    "Aim at the neck! This thing''s not going to die any time soon unless we cut his head off!"


    I had already figured out that it had an insane HP pool, it tanked too many powerful hits and even if we froze its entire body, it would simply free itself from the ice again. It was working, but not as fast as I would have wanted. A sure method to kill this behemoth was beheading it, and Ruby had already opened a wound for us.


    "Alright!" Saphira said with excitement. "[Spectral Body]!"


    FLUOSH!


    Her entire body suddenly took the form of a giant spear, and then she materialized it with the power of the Freezing Bombs and the Synthesis she gained thanks to inheriting the Alchemy Skill from our Spirit Link, turning into a gigantic ghostly ice spear!


    FLAAAASH!


    Saphira didn''t even waited for us to attack, as she flew towards the giant bear''s neck and pierced through its flesh and skin thanks to the wounds left by Ruby, beginning to slowly pierce through the hard neck bone, but even that wasn''t enough.


    "What an amazing form, Saphira! I suppose I cannot just stay here." Hendrickughed, as thousands of poison threads emerged one after the other,bined with the bear''s blood, they tightly wrapped around its neck where Ruby wasn''t biting (to obviously not get hurt), and wrapped as tightly and strong as possible.


    Meanwhile, I leaped forward with the aid of Fenrir, rushing over the monstrous C Rank Monster and shooting as many bullets as I could before hitting it with my spear!


    BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!


    The ice kept spreading and weakening the bear while it rampaged around, hitting the ground furiously and leaving a trail of mes everywhere.


    "[Blizzard Spear]!"


    Ibined the power of the Freezing Aura with the Lightning Spear Technique, generating an enormous impact that quickly started piercing the bear''s neck bone, shattering it apart and then finally piercing through!


    CRAAAAAASH!


    "GRAAAAAKKKHHH¡­!"


    BAAAAM!


    The beast gave ast roar of agony before dying on the spot, falling over the ground without being able to move any longer. The Grimoire immediately began glowing brightly, although I was a bit too busy to check it right away. Yeah the boss might be over, but there were still around fifty more Fiery Grizzlies we had to eliminate.


    "Well done everyone, but let''s not sit around idly yet!" Imanded everyone into joining the rest of the ss. Without stopping we kept killing bears until we lost count of how many we have in.


    Ding!


    [You and your Party have in [Volcanic Grizzly Tyrant (C Rank)] x1!]<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    [You and your Party have in [Fiery Grizzlies (D+ Rank)] x127!]


    [LEVEL UP!]


    [LEVEL UP!]


    [LEVEL UP!]


    [LEVEL UP!]


    [Your Level has increased from Level 43 to Level 47!]


    [All your stats have increased!]


    [You earned bonus skill points and stat points!]


    [You earned bonus skill proficiency!]


    [Some of your Skills have leveled up!]


    "And done¡­ three more levels and I am all set, finally." I sighed in relief. "I can finally have a three-star talent like a bunch of these kids."


    "Huh? are you about to hit max level already?!" Eric was surprised.


    We were current cooking Fiery Grizzly Stew to regain stamina, mana, energy, and Ki before departing and ying the two Demon Tribes left.


    "Yeah, only three more levels as I said. Although the EXP needed has multiplied a lot¡­ I need 1250000 EXP for Level 48, for example." I exined.


    "What¡­?!" Eric felt shocked. "That''s quite unfair¡­"


    "I am used to it at this point." I sighed.


    I nced around the camp we made in the middle of the Cactus Forest, everyone was patching themselves up. Some were resting inside their tents, a few were rxing while talking, but everyone seemed alright, aside from a few that ended a bit too hurt, which are now taking a break inside the tents.


    "S-So the only thing left is t-the demon tribes, right?" Alberta wondered. "I-I remember when we fought those d-demons in the dungeon¡­ We haven''t fought an y-yet¡­"


    "Are you nervous?" Wondered Eric.


    "A-A bit¡­" Alberta sighed.


    "Don''t worry, we are experts at Demon ying." Eric said proudly. "We''ve been ying them since I was like five! Hahah!"


    "E-Eh?! T-That young?!" Alberta was shocked.


    "It could be said our childhood was¡­ Well, rough." I shrugged. "Hmm, I think the stew is almost ready. Call everyone to bring their tes, Alberta."


    "O-Okay!" Alberta nodded, quickly doing as I asked her.


    "ke are you feeling alright? You''ve been fighting the mosttely." Eric seemed worried.


    "Don''t worry, a day in the battlefield is like any other for me." I smiled back at my friend.


    "Huh? O-Okay¡­" Eric raised an eyebrow. "You sometimes sound like an old war veteran¡­"


    "Haha, never mind that." I sighed. "Let''s eat and then let''s discuss, something important has showed up that I want to talk with everyone."


    -----

 Chapter 612 Preparations

    -----


    As we enjoyed the meal and rxed, everyone seemed to be praising each other for their efforts, but I had to sadly bring rather bad news. Well, bad for thesezy nobles, although they''re quite convenient for my party.


    "Anyways, going back to the main topic. Although I am happy we''ve managed to clean this area of monsters and congratte you as your performance has improved greatly, there are news I should tell you right away." I said with a serious tone of voice.


    Everyone''s cheerful chatting immediately went silent.


    "W-What is it now?" rice sighed, looking at me as if knowing I''ll say something bad.


    "My familiars recently scouted the Demon Tribes and found one of the farther Tribespletely empty. The reason? The demons of that tribe moved to the tribe closer to us, they''re being led by a group of mysterious ck coated people. They''re probably demon cultists." I said.


    "E H?!"


    Everyone quickly was so shocked they all screamed at the same time.


    "D-Demon Cultists?! Shouldn''t we call the teachers then?! It''s not something we should deal with!" Said rice.


    "Y-Yeah¡­" Alianna sighed. "ke, do you think we should¡­?"


    "Do you two truly believe the academy didn''t knew this would happen? This is a test, much like monsters, demon cultists are also an enemy, an enemy we''ll fight constantly through our lives if you truly want to protect your world from the dangers of the Demon Towers." I said. "Of course, they may feign ignorance, but they might also lower our score if we don''t defeat them ourselves. Between teachers, there''s a lot of secrets, most of their scores are decided in privacy, and considering traits from students you guys would never guess."


    "T-This is¡­" Mimy felt afraid. "W-We''ve never fought demon cultists before¡­"


    "Y-Yeah." Aquarius sighed.


    "Are they hard to¡­ kill?" Aquaria wondered.


    "Well, it depends if you have ever killed people before." I said while sighing.


    "G-GAH! How can you say something like that so nonchntly?!" Asked rice, hitting the table angrily. "I didn''t entered this academy to kill people, it was to kill demons and monsters so I can grow strong enough to protect my Kingdom and¡­ my family."


    "Certainly, but the Demon Cultists are the primary reason why are there so many demons and monsters everywhere." Erdrich said. "Also, if you n to continue down this path, you''ve gotta learn how to kill people as well, there''s tons of bastards out there. As long as they''re not innocent people, you shouldn''t feel remorse."


    "E-Eric, have you also¡­?" Wondered Alberta.


    "Yeah¡­" Eric sighed. "We''ve¡­ killed demon cultists before, and bandits too. It was¡­ rough at first, even knowing they weren''t good people that just wanted to hurt others, sometimes I couldn''t sleep at night. But over time you slowly grow and adapt to the situations. You have to prioritize your safety and that of those you love."<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    Eric held Alberta''s hand gently, smiling back at her.


    "E-Eric¡­" Alberta sighed, feeling slightly touched.


    "So?" I asked everyone else. "Are you willing toe with me and kill cultists? We''ll probably also learn why they''re here, and what they''re nning. If any of you don''t know, some time ago cultists were found inside of Stronghold and also demon gates have appeared inside a dungeon in stronghold too."


    "W-What?!" Asked rice. "Stronghold is the safest ce in the continent ording to my father! Howe there are cultists inside?!"


    "Who knows, but it surely smells fishy, isn''t it?" I smiled faintly. "It makes you think that¡­ The only way there could be Cultists and Demons appearing inside the safest city in the entire continent is¡­"


    "If there are traitors amongst the higher ups?" Wondered Alianna.


    "Hell, even amongst he students too." I shrugged.


    B A A M!


    "What are you trying to say?!" Arthuria angrily hit the table, the blonde girl seemed furious at me. "Are you saying there might be a traitor amongst us?!"


    "No, I am not saying anything of that. In fact, I trust all of you here. But what about the other team? Or perhaps the students in the other sses? Or maybe our teachers? Some of them, or maybe many of them could all be Demon Cultists." I sighed. "One of the Secret Missions you guys have not figured out this test has, which will influence greatly in our score and the chance of staying at the academy is¡­ finding clues about the Demon Cultist''s true whereabouts, and about the possible traitors."


    Everyone once more fell silent before my words. I wanted to say this as soon as possible so everyone can get a clue of what''s truly happening. Now that there''s no teachers to monitor our conversations and we are slowly bonding with one another, it was the perfect opportunity.


    "I understand." Alianna was the first to talk after what I said. "I''ll help you, let''s try to capture them first, if we could capture them, maybe we can interrogate them."


    "Yeah¡­ I agree, as long as we can capture and interrogate them. We don''t necessarily have to kill them." Arthuria crossed her arms, angrily ring at me.


    "You two are such softies." Patricia sighed. "I guess those that grew up as nobles were taught a bunch of useless gibberish through their childhood. However, I was raised in poverty, since I was a kid that I learned how to take the life of bastards that tried to take advantage of me, even more of those that tried to kill us. You think those cultists are good people? If they''re praising the demons they''re fucking mad. Imagine how many innocents they have killed, do you believe those bastards deserve to be spared?"


    "I simply believe that they should stay in jails! That''s why they were made." Sighed Arthuria.


    "Hmph, well¡­ this isplicated." rice sighed. "Its not like I have not taken the life of bandits before. Let''s do something then, let''s try to capture them, if everything fails¡­"


    "We''ll kill them." I said.


    -----

 Chapter 613 Its Time

    -----


    "Hey, it isn''t as if I don''t want to interrogate them, but such a thing is extremely hard to do for Cultists, which are able to transform into Demons themselves, and are bound with contracts to higher demons such as Demon Dukes and Archdemons. Once they spill the beans to a stranger, they often get killed or have their memories deleted." I said. "We''ve fought many before, so we know how it usually goes."


    "T-That''s¡­!" Arthuria muttered, trying to find some fault on me. "¡­"


    She remained silence.


    "Arthuria, calm down for a bit, it feels like you''re trying to find fault on anything he''s saying now." rk said.


    "Well I¡­ My family is that of Pdins and Knights." Sighed Arthuria. "We''ve been taught to protect people and y demons and monsters since I was young, to just be told to y a person¡­ I¡­."


    "Ah, I see." I nodded. "I was suspecting you of being a demon cultist but I guess you''re just another spoiled brat."


    "Y-You! Look I''ve been rather tolerant with that attitude of yours, ke! But you simply can''t adress a noble like me in such a tone!" Arthuria finally broke her "calm andposed character" at longst, seeing her break was quite fun to see. I wish Erika Elizabeth and Chris were here tough with us.


    "Oh my, look at her." Laughed Eleanora. "Milord, should I shut her down?"


    "Don''t do anything rash, this is just the fit of a spoiled girl at the end of the day." I shrugged. "More importantly, however, we''ll begin preparations once everyone''s done eating. I''ll be making tons of Holy Water Bottles using Alchemy, I''ll need your help for that, Arthuria, your holy magic wille in handy."


    "Hah¡­ Fine, but adress me better!" She said angrily.


    "Maybe if you be morepetent I could recognize you as apanion." I said.


    "Y-You damn¡­!" Arthuria was growing more frustrated.


    "Arthuria¡­" rice''s hand reached Arthuria''s shoulder.


    It was obvious rice was from her same Kingdom, and the Knight Family serving her family was that of Arthuria.


    "Y-Young Lady rice¡­" Arthuria muttered.


    "Behave, are you trying to embarrass me now?" rice angrily said.


    "S-Sorry! I am deeply sorry for my misconduct!" Arthuria began bowing her head.


    "Sigh, this girl¡­" rice sighed. "Anyways, help ke do the preparations!"


    "Y-Yes!" Arthuria nodded.


    Like that, we began preparations. We not only created dozens of bottles of Holy Water, but we enchanted all the Fiery Grizzly coats to make them better and more useful. Using Alchemy, Synthesis, and Eric and Alberta''s help the new coats were done in a sh.


    Ding!


    [You and your Party have enchanted and sessfully evolved the [Fiery Grizzly''s Anti-Fire Fur Coat (D Grade)] x20 into [Fiery Grizzly''s Anti-Demon Holy Fur Coats (D+++ Grade)] x20!]


    [You earned 10000 Sewing Skill Proficiency!]


    [You earned 100000 EXP!]


    Everyone quickly wore their new coats, which were now shiny, having a golden brightness to them. These coats were now enchanted with Holy Water and Holy Ashes we got from the Rock Goblin King that Saphira purified into ashes using her weapon transformation attack.


    "These coats now have a high resistance against Darkness Attribute and Demon Attribute magic. This should be a pretty good protecting against the Demon''s deadly demonic magic." I said. "Remember that if you''re not experienced fighting demons, do not confront them head-on nor in the frontlines. Due to their otherworldly powers and magic, a hit from their magic or their ws or demonic weapons will infect your wounds with demonic energy, which will be very hard to clean and heal without a proper Saintess in the team."


    Everyone nodded, understanding the immense value of their new coats. I personally had another extra protection in the ring that Elizabeth had gifted me¡­


    -----


    [Holy Spirit Ring (Mythic-Grade): Lv4]


    [Effects]<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    [Health Points]: [+400]


    [Mana Points]: [+2600]


    [Strength]: [+400]


    [Agility]: [+600]


    [Vitality]: [+400]


    [Intelligence]: [+1200]


    [Dexterity]: [+600]


    [Abilities]


    [Holy Spirit''s Protection]: The Protection of the Holy Spirits is harbored within this special Holy Ring, protecting the user from Demonic and Miasmic Damage, reducing damage taken from such elements by -55% and enhancing defense against such elements by +55%.


    [Holy Spirit''s Blessing]: The Blessing of the Holy Spirits is harbored within this special Holy Ring, enhancing damage dealt against Demonic and Miasmic-type entities by +55%, grants the ability to ignore -45% of their total physical and magical defenses.


    [Description]


    An incredible Holy Magic Ring made using the incredible element of Orichalcum, blessed by the holy spirits to be one of the strongest in the world of Spiritias. Forged by the power of the Holy Spirits and a blessed cksmith, it contains the ability to protect the wielder from demons and also to enhance their power against them. A special ring designed to fight demons by the church of the Holy Spirits. It can only be worn by those that are chosen by the rings.


    The Ring has now been enhanced by the power of the Holy Spirits, raising its Grade from Lesser Mythical to Mythical, all Bonus Stats and Ability Effects have been enhanced ordingly.


    -----


    This ring was now Level 4 after fighting and ying so many Demons since I acquired it, so its bonuses and abilities had all increased even further. It was also thanks to this ring that I was able to contact the Holy Spirits.


    Come to think of it, I didn''t drink the Fire Elixir the Holy Spirit of Fire gifted me at the end. Could he had gifted it to me for something else? Perhaps¡­ I did see some Demons that were quite adept at Summoning Magic there.


    It mighte in handy in a situation I didn''t expected, perhaps I did good in saving it forter.


    "We''re here."


    Once we arrived at the scene, we remained hiding amongst the tall bushes of the Central ins of this area, which resembled Savannas. Just a mile from where we were, there was a massive Demon Settlement with arge wooden wall, several fortresses, and a big tower made out of wood andrge monster bones, holding a red jewel on top.


    And right there, there were four cultists on ck coats conjuring something. Could they be conjuring a special spell or something to deal with us? We also saw several more cultists in the settlement, mostlymanding the demons.


    If the demons are so obedient, these cultists most likely were the ones that brought them here and told them to build settlements.


    "We''ll begin our attack in a pincer shape. Also, once we infiltrate inside, I''ll summon all of my Familiar Army to deal with the Demons. There will be chaos, and there might be those that could die in here. Be careful and protect one another. I''ll give youmands as we fight, and do as the n we discussed previously goes, understood?" I asked everyone.


    They all obediently nodded, some more obedient than others, but they all understood it.


    This is it, time to end the day with a big event.


    [The Holy Spirits are spectating the event with high hopes for your victory.]


    [The [Holy Spirit of Light] has granted you temporary power over the [Holy Light Blessing] Skill to your [Holy Spirit Ring (Mythic-Grade): Lv4]!]


    [By using the [Holy Spirit Ring (Mythic-Grade): Lv4], you can now enchant your allies with a [Holy Light Blessing], increasing their holy light damage, granting them the holy light attribute, and also decreasing damage taken from darkness and demon attributes.]


    Hoh, it seems the Holy Spirits are not messing around any longer.


    -----

 Chapter 614 Raiding The Demon Settlement!

    -----


    [The Holy Spirits are spectating the event with high hopes for your victory.]


    [The [Holy Spirit of Light] has granted you temporary power over the [Holy Light Blessing] Skill to your [Holy Spirit Ring (Mythic-Grade): Lv4]!]


    [By using the [Holy Spirit Ring (Mythic-Grade): Lv4], you can now enchant your allies with a [Holy Light Blessing], increasing their holy light damage, granting them the holy light attribute, and also decreasing damage taken from darkness and demon attributes.]


    Before striking the two allied Demon Tribes, something suddenly happened, something good. The Holy Spirit of Light hade out with a brilliant idea, and allowed my ring to share its powers with my allies. This will surely make the ordeal a bit more possible, but even then, I should be careful and try to clean the vige of the strongest ones, the cultists, before everyone else gets into their radar.


    Our n for now was still simple. We were going to charge from the sides and infiltrate by jumping over the walls, something easy to do using Fenrir''s special Abilities, such as his Phantom Type giving him the power to temporarily trespass physical objects with the rider.


    It is a broken ability, although it has a long cooldown after usage, and it onlysts for five seconds at most, but it''ll be essential to easily infiltrate the enemy territory and then strike them in the back. We''ll go first with my team, grabbing the enemy''splete attention, and then we''ll let the other groupe from behind them when they''ll least expect it, being able to do the most damage possible.


    For this, we''ll have to target the Cultists before anything else, as they''re the most dangerous. Also, the chiefs of both tribes must be very strong demons,parable to C Rank Monsters, so we''ll have to take care of them as well and leave the rest of the small fries to the rest of our ss to minimize as much as we can the chances of casualties.


    I had already exined this to my friends, and Erdrich, Eric, and Alberta were ready to go at any moment. They also had been saving their strength and had their own trump cards, so they weren''t going to go down easily at all. Even the stuttering Alberta is stronger than she makes herself to be.


    "Let''s go." I said, leading our party forwards, while making sure the rest were positioned where I had nned. I left several Falcos and Huggins around the perimeter and used Familiar Connection with them to see through their eyes and affirm that everything was going ording to n.


    To make sure I left some insurance with the other students, whose strength I had yet to fully trust. I left them with Saphira and Hendrick, and only Eleanora, Blood, and Ruby apanied me, hiding inside my shadows.


    We stealthily arrived in front of the walls, as I expanded my Senses using my abilities and quickly saw that everything was doing fine in there. They were all foolishly thinking nobody wasing any time soon for them.


    Good.


    "Now." I whispered to everyone, as the four Fenrirs we were riding suddenly turnedpletely phantasmal, and went through the Demon Vige walls with utmost ease.


    "Let''s begin."


    Imanded to the other three, while the Demons had yet to react to us appearing out of nowhere, mostly due to the Fenrirs in their Phantasmal Forms being near invisible to normal eyes, I pointed my Handgun and loaded it with Mana and Demonic Power, firing multiple bullets against the bird-like flying demons and the savage lizard-like berserk demons, as their heads began sttering into the air one after the other.


    BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!


    "GRYYYAAAAHH!"


    "I-Invaders?!"


    "A gun?! Its killing everyone!"


    "Run!"


    "NO, fight, cowards!"


    The Worker-ss demons, which were much weaker than the Warrior-ss, who were muscr and holding weapons, panicked easily, some of the Flying Worker-ss Demons tried to escape through the skies only for Eric''s arrows to catch them alongside Huginn and Falco in their powered-up forms, their enhanced stats apanied with their small andpact bodies made them for amazing fast attackers.


    "Oh no you''re not going anywhere!" Eric said, quickly firing several arrows. "[Yggdrasil Spirit Bow Arts]: [Spiritual Tree Magic Arrow Rain]!"


    His arrows pierced the escapees with ease, each arrow then exploded, spreading spiritual energy and purifying light everywhere, weakening the powers and also expanding branches of spirit trees everywhere, disrupting the scene even further.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOOOM!


    "Gruuuaaagggh! Trees are growing everywhere?!"


    "Wait, don''t escape through the skies, you''re going to get shot to death!"


    "There are giant bird monster attacking us everywhere!"


    "FUCK, ATTACK THE CULPRITS! THEY''RE RIGHT THERE!"


    The Cultists quickly panicked, ordering the other Warrior Demons to rush towards us. I had already summoned several Familiars while the panic happened, not even wasting a single second of precious time.


    [You have summoned [Red Orc: Orcus (E++ Rank) (Awakened)] x36!]


    [The Red Orcs are beginning to attack!]


    [The power of your [Command] Skill and various other Familiar-rted Skills has increased their stats exponentially!]


    "They''re alone, just kill them- SQUEAK?!"


    A muscr Flying Demon was suddenly grabbed by an enormous, red-skinned orc hand and then strangled alive. The other demonsing with him quickly realized we were not alone. In fact, we had our own army.


    Dozens of red-skinned orcs wielding all sorts of heavy weapons made of monster bones appeared out of the blue, surprising the demons. Their stats, of course, were also boosted through Familiar Awakening.


    "O-Orcs?! Where did they came from?!"


    "From all the damn monsters it had to be red orcs in specific?!"


    "T-They''re too strong! SQUAAAAK!"


    Several demons began to be demolished by my squadron of Orcs marching forward. Their demolishing blows sttered their brains into the floor and cut them all into bits as well.


    Their physical bulk was immense and with enough Bone Armor I gave them beforehand, they were able to withstand the Demon Fireballsing towards them rather easily.


    Well, it wasn''t as if they didn''t had their own leader here to support them either.


    "Go on, Titan, wreak havoc."


    [You have summoned [Red Orc Druid King: Titan (D+ Rank) (Awakened)] x4!]


    [The Four [Red Orc Druid King: Titan] have conjured [Dragon Spirit''s Breath], [cial Spirit''s Icicles], and [Thunder Spirit''s Lightning]!]


    BOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOOOM!


    -----

 Chapter 615 Massacring Demons

    -----


    To save my MP I only had four Titans prepared, but I had made sure they were all Awakened, giving them even more massive boosts to their Stats than before. With that, once summoned, they immediately conjured their magics and filled the area with mes, ice, and lightning everywhere, easily making our way towards the Cultists and the Tribe Chiefs much easier.


    There were over a thousand demons here, so it wasn''t going to be easy even with our current forces and strength, but with this, it was good enough to hold them back rather well.


    -----


    [Name]: [Titan (Awakened)]


    [Type]: [Ogre] [Magician]


    [Rank]: [D+]


    [Race]: [Red Orc Druid King]


    [Health Points]: [1700/1700] (+450)


    [Mana Points]: [2500/2500] (+600)


    [Strength]: [1200] (+250)


    [Agility]: [1300] (+250)


    [Vitality]: [1200] (+450)


    [Intelligence]: [2500] (+600)


    [Dexterity]: [1300] (+250)


    [Buff]: [+150 MP] [+100 Intelligence] [+100 Dexterity]


    [Skill]: [Dragon Spirit''s Breath++] [cial Spirit''s Icicles++] [Thunder Spirit''s Lightning++] [Protection Spirit''s Barrier++] [War Spirit''s Enhancement++]


    -----


    With this amount of buffs, they were incredibly resilient and also amazingly powerful in magic. They had enough of a MP pool to easily conjure several spells before emptying themselves out of it, and once they did they can just begin punching things with their amazing Strength stat.


    However, their new type [Magician] came with a new trait to their abilities, something that didn''t reflected as a Skill in their Status, simr to Fenrir''s new awakened power.


    F L U O O O S H!


    Suddenly, as they began losing more of their MP while sting demons back to hell, they quickly began absorbing the energies of their corpses and turning it into Mana for themselves.


    [The Four [Red Orc Druid King: Titan] have activated their special Innate Talent derived from their Type [Magician]: [Mana Absorption]!]


    [The leftover energy of enemy corpses is being transformed into usable Mana for their own magic!]


    "G R A H A H A H A H A!" One of the Titans began tough evilly, suddenly summoning several icicle spears and lightning everywhere, and killing more and more Demons. The same was for the rest of the red orc druid kings.


    The rest of the Orcs also received their aid through their amazing support Skills, which they also conjured on ourselves, of course.


    "GRUOOOH! GRUKA!"


    "KECHEK GAKUH!"


    F L U O O S H!


    [The Four [Red Orc Druid King: Titan] have conjured [Protection Spirit''s Barrier++] and [War Spirit''s Enhancement++] on all allies!]


    [All Allies STR, VIT, and Attack Power has been increased by +50%]<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    [A Defensive Barrier is now protecting all allies from harm.]


    Red auras of war began engulfing our bodies, as gray barriers protected us from most magical attacks, making our ughter easy. We were advancing rapidly across the vige while I utilized the eyes of Huginn and Falco to search for the Cultists and finally, we got to them.


    Eric and Alberta had been sting everything with their long-ranged arrow and cannon attacks, explosions were constantly happening behind our backs due to their support. Riding fast and nimble giant wolves such as Fenrirs made the job easier too.


    Erdrich, in the other case, went off alone and began fighting Demons with his bare fists as usual. I left him alone because I knew he was a monster I didn''t need to worry about at this point.


    "Yo." I said with a smirk, finding a group of three Cultists that were running away and surrounding them with Eric, Alberta, and the Orcs.


    "Y-You damn bastards! Were you the ones that¡­?!"


    "Howe mere kids are doing this much damage to our army of demons?!"


    "And he can summon monsters?! No wait, you''re-"


    "Talk''s over, die."


    Eleanora and I jumped straight into battle and started attacking them. Cultists were not weaklings, of course. The moment my spear pierced one of their chests, the bastard transformed.


    F L U O O O S H!


    "GRUAAAAH! YOU DAMN KID!"


    His entire body grew thrice as big, his skin became red and ck horns grew all over his body, his nose became sharp like those of Imps, and he gained enormously muscr arms.


    "YOU THINK YOU CAN MESS AROUND WITH DEMON CULTISTS?! DIE!"


    His enormous fist was about to reach me while I was holding into his chest using Gluttony, but I didn''t had much of a care in the world. I had summoned so many Familiars that my stats had increased a lot. And of course, we had this other trump card with us.


    F L A A A S H!


    My fist began shining brightly through the Holy Ring''s powers, as I hit the Cultist''s demonic face with it and left an ugly burn mark on his face.


    B A A A A M!


    I took off Gluttony from his chest and then jumped straight towards him while he fell into the ground, at the same time as that happened, a powerful Holy Aura epassed not only me but all my allies, even my familiars.


    [The Power of the [Holy Spirits] is resonating with the [Holy Spirit Ring (Mythic-Grade): Lv4]!]


    [You have conjured a [Holy Light Blessing] into you and all of your allies!]


    [Holy Attribute Damage has increased by +100%]


    [Demon Attribute and Dark Attribute Damage Taken has been reduced by -50%]


    [Duration: 10 Minutes.]


    "T-That''s the power of the Holy Spirit of Light?! Y-You''re¡­ no¡­ it can''t be! The Summoner already has their blessings?! That''s-" The Cultist panicked, as I sted his head with several Holy Attribute Bullets and then pierced its head with Gluttony, sting his brains out.


    C R A A A A S H!


    "Ah, I interrupted midway through your monologue, sorry about that. Well, we''re not even done here." I looked back at the other two Demon Cultists, as they began transforming right away as Eleanora, Eric, and Alberta started ganging on them.


    And at the other side of the vige, while mostly every demon put their attention on us, the rest of our ss finally showed up, attacking the demons.


    The signal was of course, the power of the ring activating.


    -----

 Chapter 616 Bloods Evolution

    -----


    "What''s wrong? Does the Blood Ki mes hurt you so much?" Eleanoraughed evilly as she started to tease the Demon Cultist she was fighting. Her movements were precise and deadly. Her spear danced as she moved and jumped around. "[Ninjutsu]: [Shadow Clones]!"


    FLASH! FLASH! FLASH! FLASH! FLASH!


    Give Shadow Clones appeared around Eleanora, as she utilized their prowess andbined them with Illusion to transform and materialize such clones, granting her even more damage dealt per second against her foe.


    CLASH! CLASH! CLASH! CLASH! CLAAASH!


    "GRAAAAH! Y-YOU DAMN WOMAN!"


    The Demon Cultist was losing his mind as he was unable to catch Eleanora, and whenever his giant, scale-covered arms grabbed her, it was a clone that exploded into mes, burning him.


    "[Blood re]!" Eleanoraughed, suddenly summoning an inferno of Blood Ki mes everywhere around her, which she shaped andbined with several other Skills and Techniques. "[Demon ying Ninjutsu Arts]: [Infernal Shuriken''s Storm]!"


    FLUOOOOOSH!


    Eleanora fused with the Blood re andbined them with her Shadow Shuriken Skill, summoning a storm of hundreds of shuriken made of shadows and blood,pletely overwhelming the raw strength and demonic magic of the Demon Cultist, and shredding him into pieces, burning him into a crisp right after.


    "GRYYAAAAAAAGGGH¡­!"


    BOOOOOOOMMM!!!


    Not only the Demon Cultist was killed, over thirty more demons that were nearby were all burned and shredded into pieces. Eleanora''s amazing techniques had evolved once more. Her title of "Vampire Ninja" something she didn''t had before was now truly shining.


    "RAAAARRGGHH! Y-You damn brats! Just how monstrously strong are you?!" Thest Demon Cultist, who had the face of a Demon Dog and was mostly covered on patches of ck fur with red skin roared, as he was being overwhelmed by Eric and Alberta at the same time.


    Eric''s arrows had pierced his body several times now, and he was now covered on poisonous vines and branches growing all over his body, which took a while to burn into ashes with his Demon Fire alone.


    "Strong enough to take down pests like you!" Alberta said with a mercilessly re, her cannon unleashed a gigantic beam of zing mes, quickly reaching the half-dog and blowing him up into pieces.


    BOOOOOOMMM!!!


    Of course, a dozen demons die don the spot as well. Her Cannon was an amazing weapon, though it was weak and needed some seconds to reloadpletely. In which case, she manipted her hammer using her free arm and smacked demons heads freely.


    BAAM! BAAM! BAAAM! BAAAAM!


    "Phew¡­ We''ve dealt with them now, Eric!" Alberta said, without stuttering at all this time.


    "Y-Yeah, amazing. You''re¡­ strong." Eric was surprised by her strength.


    "Heheh, A-Am I?" Alberta got embarrassed out of the sudden. "M-Maybe leveling up finally made my dwarven bloodline give me more muscr strength¡­ I-I often use a lot of strength to move around equipment and metals in my smithy too¡­"


    "I had heard that dwarves were monstrously strong but you''ve proven that." Iughed. "However, as good as this is going, we have yet to finish taking down our targets. I''ll have you two split with a few of my Orcs and other Familiars for support, chase down and kill the remaining Cultists, the Falcos will guide you where they are."


    "Alright!" Eric said. "Leave it to me, ke!"


    "I-I''ll do my best and prove to you I ampetent!" Alberta nodded.


    The two quickly went off their separate ways, devastating dozens of demons in their way chasing the Demon Cultists. Meanwhile, Ruby and Blood were fighting against several demons at once behind us, apanying the Fenrirs and Orcs.


    "The Demon Cultist''s over there!" Eleanora pointed out.


    "I know. Go chase him and I''ll take him down." I said, quickly extending my shadows and using them to grab the corpse of the Half-Dog Demon Cultist, throwing it to Blood as the blood wolf looked at me confused. "Blood, time to evolve."


    Using Magic and Shadow Control to take over several tools, in just ten seconds, I formed a magic circle in the middle of a bloody battlefield and threw several other materials into there, while Blood remained in the middle.


    "We have yet to find Demon Wolves but this half-demon wolf cultist will do!" I said with a smile. "Now, Evolve!"<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    FLUOOOOSH!


    "AWOOOOO!"


    Blood''s roar echoed across the entire battlefield, as I noticed the rest of our ssmates fighting desperately against hordes of demons. The howl of Blood made the entire tribe tremble and the ground rumble.


    All materials were swiftly absorbed by him as they converged into his body and fused with his very self. In just five seconds, Blood had fully evolved into his greater form.


    [The [Tamed Monster: Blood] has evolved into the [C Rank Monster] [Giant Crimson Vampiric Wolf: ¡ï¡ï¡ï]!]


    [All of [Tamed Monster: Blood] Stats have increased greatly! Their Spirit Orb Realm Rank has increased to Rank 2 Peak Stage!]


    [The [Tamed Monster: Blood] has learned brand new Skills and Magic Spells!]


    -----


    [Name]: [Blood] [Rank]: [C]


    [Race]: [Giant Crimson Vampiric Wolf: ¡ï¡ï¡ï]


    [Spirit Orb Realm]: [Rank 2 (Peak Stage)]


    [Level]: [0/70]


    [Health Points]: [3170/3170]


    [Mana Points]: [1520/1520]


    [Strength]: [3305]


    [Agility]: [2830]


    [Vitality]: [2685]


    [Intelligence]: [2465]


    [Dexterity]: [2770]


    [Passive Skills]: [Resistant Crimson Fur Armor: Lv6] [Vampiric Monster: Lv6] [Vampire Wolf Eyes: Lv6] [Demonic Vampiric Wolf Aura: Lv1]


    [Active Skills]: [Giant Blood ws: Lv7] [Deadly Vampire Wolf''s Bite: Lv7] [Blood Spear Tail: Lv6] [Berserk Blood Aura: Lv6] [Ferocious Howl: Lv6] [Ravaging Charge: Lv6]


    [Magic Skills]: [Blood Arts: Lv6] [Blood Spears: Lv6] [Shadow Sneak: Lv6] [Blood Boost: Lv5] [Shadow Ball: Lv5] [Shadow Maniption: Lv4] [Abyssal Beam: Lv1] [Blood Catastrophe: Lv1]


    [Title Skills]: [Vampiric Servant: Lv6] [Vampire Wolf: Lv6] [Demon yer: Lv5] [Giant Killer: Lv4] [Demonic Species: Lv1]


    -----


    Blood''s appearance had changed. Although he still kept that "old wolf" appearance, he was now bigger, stronger, and even more menacing than before, with his fur more redder than ever and sharp, golden eyes glowing with red vampiric energy. His tail had be long and sharp, with the end resembling a spear made of blood.


    "Good job, Blood. Now massacre them!"


    "WOOOF!"


    Blood quickly jumped into the battle and began tearing apart Demons one after the other, it was a beautiful sight.


    -----

 Chapter 617 Erdrich & Demons

    -----


    "[Demon Fist Technique]: [Infernal Fist Barrage]!"


    Erdrich unleashed hundreds of punches against a giant half-lizard-looking Demon Cultist he found on his way to therge fortress where the two Tribe Bosses were located, demolishing his entire body with his attacks and breaking every single bone on his body.


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOOM!


    CLAAASH!


    The Demon Cultist, miraculously still alive, vomited a mouthful of blood as he looked at Erdrich with utter surprise, horror, and disbelief.


    "Y-You''re¡­ It can''t be, you''re the perfect human and demon hybrid?!" The man muttered, his Demon Spirit was nothing against the power of Erdrich, and was easily destroyed by his fists. "T-The Cambion¡­!"


    "And you''re the bastards that brainwashed my mom into bing a monster like you, and to give birth to me with these powers, aren''t you?" Erdrich said. "The Cult of Beelzebub."


    "A-Ahahah¡­ Gaaagh¡­!" The Demon Cultist suddenly groaned in agony as Erdrich''s foot began pressing on his chest. "Please¡­ spare me! We don''t want to¡­ hurt you! We are your allies! Like your mother¡­ We can¡­ help you avenge her! You belong with us, Cambion!"


    "Shut the fuck up. My name is not Cambion, and the only ce where I belong is my vige." Erdrich said, his foot pressing further into the Demon Cultists'' chest.


    Crack¡­ CRACK!


    "P-Please reconsider it! You are¡­ the perfect hybrid! The prophesied leader that would lead all of the New Humans to a bright future!!!" The Demon Cultist cried, as his ribs began piercing his lungs. "You are the perfect one¡­ your powers¡­ theybine so well with the rest of your body and abilities¡­! Unlike us¡­ that were turned like this through demon magic, you were born perfect! Your fate is being a much higher being¡­ Sitting at the side of our King, Beelzebub, or even more¡­ Lucifer himself!"


    "So that was what you wanted to do with me¡­ I am a pawn that will brainwash the rest of humanity into thinking you monsters are the New Humans?" Erdrich wondered. "I guess ke will be delighted to learn this information. It seems your ns involve the entire world¡­ Do you just want the entire world to be overrun by demons and for you to control them as half-demons? You''re cowards that instead of fighting our invader, are allying with them!"


    "ke?! So you''re a loyal dog of that damn kid¡­" The Demon Cultist said. "You must know that¡­ He is not¡­ merely¡­ a child! He is the reincarnation of-"


    CRAAASH!


    Before he could hear any more of the bullshit that this insane man was talking, Erdrich crushed his chest and killed him instantly, sighing in relief.


    "Reincarnation? What the hell was he even talking about?" Sighed Erdrich. "Meh, even if ke were to be the reincarnation of a demon or whatever else, I wouldn''t care either way. He''s my friend, I owe him more than anybody else¡­ He and Elizabeth were the ones that helped me grow stronger both physically and mentally¡­ And you, my dear spectators, are next."


    Erdrich nced at dozens of Warrior-ss Demons standing right behind him,pletely afraid of his monstrous strength. Mercilessly he killed one of their masters, the demons were shocked.


    "Y-You killed our master¡­!"


    "But he said he was the Legendary Cambion!"


    "T-Then does it means he''s our new master now?!"


    "But¡­ He''s a filthy human-sided bastard, a traitor!"<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    The demons suddenly began discussing between each other. It seemed that due to Erdrich being a half-demon, some were even willing to serve him as he had in their previous master. Of course, Erdrich already could hear and understand their words, yet every time he heard them he simply couldn''t care less.


    After seeing what demons were capable of, and what they had done to so many innocents, he realized they were all just savages. Although they were gifted the power of talking andmunicating, they didn''t possess basic human emotions such as love,passion, honesty, empathy, and more. At the end of the day they were no different than goblins.


    "[Heavenly Demon Arts]: [Heaven Splitting Palm]"


    TRUUUUUMMMM¡­!


    In front of all the Demons a gigantic palm made of Demonic Power, Mana, Ki, and Spiritual Power emerged out of thin air, devastating all the demons and crushing the as if they were insects before disappearingpletely.


    BOOOOOOOMMMMM¡­!


    "Hah, I am tired of hearing them talking." Erdrich sighed.


    "Are you feeling better, little Erdrich?" Suddenly, a beautiful and adorable youngdy resembling a ghost appeared behind him, resting her arms on his shoulders.


    This was Erdrich''s Spirit named [Lady of Reminiscence], she was with him since the beginning, and she stillcks her own memories, but for some reason, really cares for him, and often says that his mother told her to take care of him.


    "Ah¡­ Yeah, I am fine." He sighed. "Aside from my friends, I know you''ll always be there with me."


    "Of course Erdrich." She nodded. "Though¡­ hasn''t your friend sent you a bit too far away? You should be fighting with everyone now¡­"


    "Y-Yeah, I walked on my own¡­" Erdrich sighed.


    "Geez¡­" The girl sighed. "Well, let''s make sure to eliminate those evil cultists. Make sure to never believe their words. They''re evil people that sacrifice hundreds of innocents. They made your mother into what she became, abusing her own fears and insecurities. They don''t deserve yourpassion¡­"


    "I know. I won''t change my resolve." Erdrich nodded. "With ke, we''ll free this world from the Demons. One step at a time. And this Demon Settlement is nothing but a steppingstone to our arduous path ahead."


    BAAAM! BAAAM! BAAAM!


    Erdrich continued massacring demons after demons, noticing the rest of the ss had arrived, and giving them his support from the side, protecting them from the stronger Demon Cultists so they wouldn''t get targeted.


    Meanwhile, in the other side of the battlefield, ke and Eleanora, alongside Ruby and the newly evolved Blood, devastated the rest of the demons with ke''s Familiars while killing thest few Demon Cultists on their path towards the Fortress where the big bosses were hiding.


    "Knock, knock~" Eleanora giggled, mming the door wide open with a single kick.


    BAAAAAM!


    -----

 Chapter 618 Eleanoras Not Holding Back Anymore

    -----


    "Knock, knock~" Eleanora giggled, mming the door wide open with a single kick.


    BAAAAAM!


    The tall wooden door reinforced with demonic magic was destroyed with a single kick from the powerful Eleanora, as ke, Eleanora, Ruby, and Blood, alongside a whole army of Familiars made their way inside the fortress the Demons had built.


    "They''re hereeeee!"


    "Shit, the door was broken so fast?!


    "Kill them! KILL!"


    "You damn demons, move your damn selves and kill those bastards already!"


    The moment they entered inside the Demon Fortress, ke andpany noticed arge group of Demon Cultists hiding inside, alongside at least fifty Warrior-ss Demons.


    "Orcs, charge forward." ke said. "Titan, freeze and electrify them."


    "GRUOOOOHHHH!"


    The army of Orcs charged forward without hesitation, immediately shing against the Demons. Their superiority was immediately clear as they had enormous stat boosts thanks to the Commanding and various other skills and buffs conjured over them.


    CLAAASH! BAAAM! CRAAASH!


    Not only that, but thanks to ke''s Holy Spirit Ring, they were all epassed by a Holy Aura and they were dealing extra damage to demons while taking less damage from them. It was an enormous, overwhelming advantage.


    The Demons had their powerful Demon Magic, greater physiques, and their special Demon Energy Techniques, Demon Armor, and Demon Weapons! ¡­However, all of that amounted to nothing against the enormous level of preparation that ke had been doing since his reincarnation in this world.


    Perhaps in the past he would had struggled some more, but now? He was merely sweeping the floor with these low ranked demons. Only bosses could even be a threat for him and his army. They massacred everything, and even those that were heavily wounded simply disappeared without even leaving a corpse behind, only to be reced by a new one afterwards.


    "That must be him, the summoner child! T-The boy from that ursed vige that''s now protected by the Spirit Trees and one of Yggdrasil''s Children¡­" Said one of the cultists.


    "He''s the child¡­ The reincarnation of the Vampire Emperor that Lord Beelzebub warned us about!" Another cultist said.


    "Seems like I am rather famous now." ke said, his merciless eyes nced at the two cultists. The two began sweating bullets as they immediately transformed, they knew they would never win against him if they didn''t went all out.


    "You may be a powerful summoner but your body is still that of a child!"


    "Yeah, FUCK HIM!"


    The two Cultists jumped to fight fearlessly. It seemed they didn''t had the option of running away when they were all surrounded by bloodthirsty, savage Orcs that obeyed ke''s every word. The two suddenly transformed. This time they were much stronger-looking than the ones outside.


    FLUOOOSH!


    "GRAHAHAHA! YOU''VE PROVOKED THIS, BRAT!"


    "WE WOULDN''T HAD KILLED YOU RIGHT NOW IF YOU DIDN''T WALKED RIGHT INTO OUR LAIR!"


    One of them turned into a half-snake monster with six arms, each one with a zing sword. The second one gained feathers and wings on his back, alongside a sharp beak and the legs and tail of a lion.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    CRAAASH! BOOOM! CLAAASH!


    They savagely tore apart four Orcs in mere seconds with their powerful attacks, and even one Titan was decimated with a few slicing blows from the snake one''s swords. They were at leastparable to C Rank monsters in strength alone.


    "Half Viper and Half Griffon, huh?" Wondered Eleanora. "Milord, let me take care of them with Blood, you must hurry to take down the cultists preparing that spell, whatever it is!"


    "Very well. Eleanora, don''t hold back." ke nodded, quickly riding Fenrir and rushing upstairs as the two Demon Cultists tried to stop him, only for Eleanora and the ferocious Blood to stop them.


    "Now that my little Blood has be all big and strong, I suppose I don''t have to watch his back as much¡­" Eleanora giggled evilly. Her eyes began glowing redder as she began overflowing with enormous quantities of Spiritual Power, Ki, and Mana. So much that the two Demon Cultists saw for a moment her aura transforming into that of a ferocious gigantic monster made of pure blood.


    "S-She must be one of those spirits he has¡­" The Snake Demon Cultist said. "Lord Beelzebub said that he was able to summon his previous life subordinates, his powerful Vampire Generals! They were so strong they once fought the Archdemons and even sealed them¡­"


    "Hmph! But that''s long in the past. Despite being their reincarnations, much like the child, they''re weak now, unable to bring back their former strength." Said the Griffon Demon Cultist. "We can crush her¡­ and then that child!"


    "Yeah, I am getting pumped up! GAHAHAHA! COME HERE BITCH!" The Snake Demon Cultist jumped towards Eleanora, as she smiled back at him and then swung her spear horizontally and vertically.


    A gigantic cross made of blood emerged out of this technique. "[Vampiric Blood Spear Arts]: [Bloody Crucifixion]"


    TRUUUUUMMMM¡­!


    CRAAAASSSHHH!!!!


    "GRYYYAAAAAHHHHHH¡­!"


    The enormous cross-shaped attack hit the snake demon cultist head-on, so fast even with his amazing speed he was unable to evade it, the attack hit his skin and flesh, burning it so strongly and powerfully that a cross-shaped scar covered his entire body, and even his soul felt like it weakened and flickered¡­


    BOOOOM!


    "UUNNNGGH¡­! W-What the heck¡­ AAGH! This is a power that targets demons in specific?!" The Snake Demon Cultist was shocked.


    "My lord said I shouldn''t hold back." Eleanora said with a merciless smile, as her spear was about to pierce the head of the Snake Demon Cultist, but right in that moment, the other kicked her in the back.


    CLAAAASH!


    Only for a barrier of blood to easily protect her from the blow and Blood, the wolf, to jump over the Griffon Demon Cultist''s back and beginning to bite his neck ferociously.


    "GRAAARRGGH!"


    "AAAAGGGH¡­! M-MY NECK! YOU DAMN DOG! [DEMON FLAMES EXPLOSION]!"


    BOOOOOMMMM!


    Blood took a Demon me Explosion head-on, only for him to remain almost unscathed, jumping away from the blow but seemingly looking fine.


    "Blood is not "just a dog"." Eleanora said with a smile, as she was suddenly floating in midair, right above the two Demon Cultists. "And I am also not the same I used to be before! [Demon ying Ninjutsu Arts]: [Infernal Shuriken''s Storm]!"


    FLUOOOSH!


    -----

 Chapter 619 The Might Of The Vampire Queen

    -----


    "And I am also not the same I used to be before! [Demon ying Ninjutsu Arts]: [Infernal Shuriken''s Storm]!"


    F L U O O O S H!


    Eleanora fused with the Blood re andbined them with her Shadow Shuriken Skill, summoning a storm of hundreds of shuriken made of shadows and blood,pletely overwhelming the raw strength and demonic magic of the Demon Cultist, and much like before with another one, it began shredding him into pieces, burning him even with his high resistance to mes!


    "GRYYAAAAAAAGGGH¡­!"


    BOOOOOOOMMM!!!


    "Unnnggh¡­! T-This is impossible¡­!" The Snake Demon Cultist barely was alive, as his wounds slowly were trying to regenerate themselves. "You''re merely a single spirit! We''ve sacrificed our own spirits to obtain this insane amount of raw power yet¡­ you a single spirit can almost kill me?!"


    The snake-faced man felt immensely frustrated with what he had been doing his entire life. He thought that this strength would be supreme, yet at the end he was just a slightly stronger small fry.


    "The only reason why we struggled fighting some stronger monsters today was because we were holding back, to save our strength and energies. Now that such a thing is not even necessary. Why should I hold back against trash that praises Archdemons?" Eleanora asked with a malicious smile, her entire aura suddenly transformed and spread around. "[Abyssal Blood World Domain]"


    TRUUUUUMMMMM¡­!


    Suddenly, Eleanora''s surroundings changed as a Domain of Blood and Abyssal Darkness spread all around her surroundings. The two Demon Cultists were shocked that Eleanora could conjure Domain Skills, which were so powerful only Spirit Masters above Rank 5 could make!


    Y et a mere spirit could do it?


    "You''re wondering how I made this? This is not even a Skill, it is a technique thatbines the principles of elementalws, which I''ve all mastered to 100%, alongside Magic of high level, Ki of high density and richness and¡­ Thousands of units of Vampire Power, something only we, Vampires, can attain by drinking enormous quantities of blood." Laughed Elenora. "The rest? Just mastery."


    "D-Don''t mess with us! This is a fucking illusion! No way you could do this!" The Snake Demon Cultist had almost recovered, jumping towards Eleanora, and shing against her.


    CLASH! CLASH! CLASH! CLASH! CLASH!


    His zing swords cut through Eleanora''s attacks quite easily, but the more their blows intercepted with one another the stronger Eleanora seemed to be growing, her spear techniques were superb, piercing through her foe''s body while she took the least amount of damage from his own attacks.


    "Unnnggh..! GRAAKKH¡­"


    The Snake Demon Cultist was shaken. In a few seconds he had once more been overpowered by Eleanora. Not only that, but the Domain was also draining his blood the more he was wounded, which then was feed to Eleanora, making her stronger.


    "GRAAAAHH!" The Snake Demon Cultist roared, leaping forward, and attacking Eleanora once more. His entire Demonic Energy erupted onest time, epassing his entire body and making it grow more and more monstrous, until he turned into a gigantic Demonic Snake with purple scales and three pairs of red sharp eyes.


    "GRAHAHHAH¡­! This is my trump card, [Demon Beast Embodiment]!" The Demon Cultistughed. "With this I''ve attained the full strength of a Demon Beast said to live in the depths of Hell itself!"


    "Oh, that''s a little Basilisk, no?" Eleanora giggled. "Let me tell you, we used to hunt those for snacks. [Abyssal Blood World Domain Maniption]: [One Thousand Fields of Agony]"


    "HUH?!"


    TRUUUUMMMM¡­!


    The entire world began to change around the gigantic snake and his dying partner, that has been mauled by Blood who tanked his hits horrendously. The world twisted and became a spiraling madness as an endless sea of blood materialized, shaped itself into countless weapons and started piercing through their bodies while they were spinning around.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "GRYYYAAAAAAAHHHH¡­!"


    "W-What the heck is this?! S-SHIT!"


    CLASH! CLASH! CLASH! CLASH! CLAAASH!


    "Ahahaha¡­ HAHAHAHA! Please, enjoy it to your heart''s content! Your blood and bodies shall be excellent materials for my master''s growth!" Eleanoraughed, drinking their blood while shredding them apart mercilessly.


    "T-This can''t be¡­ She is¡­ in another whole level¡­!"


    "Unnngghh¡­ W-We shouldn''t had underestimated her¡­!"


    BOOOOOMMM!!!


    The two could no longer hold back their pain and agony, as they were blown to pieces by Eleanora''s magic, and then stored as precious materials within her own World Domain, which retracted into her Spiritual Soul.


    FLUOSH!


    "Woof, woof!" Blood was waving his tail happily.


    "Well done Blood! You''ve taken care of one yourself? To be expected of a C Rank Vampire Wolf!" Eleanora celebrated. "Soon you''ll grow even stronger and bigger, I am sure of it. Now, let''s quickly go help our master."


    "Woof!"


    Eleanora quickly began ridding Blood as they made their way upstairs into the fortress, which was now on fire due to an intense battle that was happening on top of it.


    Meanwhile, the rest of ke''s allies and the ss were already overwhelming the demons outside. With all the Demon Cultists being taken care of, the only threatening foes were the Warrior-ss Demons which were already being taken care of by Hendrick''s weakening poisonous gases and Saphira''s army of undead demons.


    "Where is ke andpany?!" Wondered rice, looking around. "Ah! Eric! Alberta!"


    Eric and Alberta regrouped with the other students as they greeted rice and the rest, they seemed tired but hadpleted their mission of taking down the Cultists they saw.


    "ke went to the Demon Fortress all alone, and it''s on mes?! What the heck''s going on in there?!" Eric panicked. "W-We''ve gotta go help him! I trust his strength but sometimes he''s a bit reckless!"


    "I''ll go as well. I am rather resistant to mes." Alberta said. "Let''s go!"


    "W-Wait!" rice tried to stop them as she had three more demons that showed up out of nowhere to fight.


    "Stay here with everyone else, rice!" Eric said.


    "Dammit! Why do you guys always take down the bosses?!" riceined.


    -----

 Chapter 620 Archdemon Vessel

    -----


    (Some Minutes Ago¡­)


    As ke left Eleanora to take down the two High Ranking Demon Cultists that showed up in their path, he quickly reached thest floor of the Demon Fortress while taking down any Warrior-ss Demon he found.


    The tribe chiefs of both Demon Tribes unified here were nowhere to be found. They should be as strong as Demon Generals, so it was very weird he hadn''t found them anywhere. The Demon Cultists would had surely used them to fight him and stop him from advancing, yet he reached the top of the fortress without finding them¡­


    Until he did.


    The two of them were used as sacrifices, as their dead bodies, now dry as mummies were sitting over two demonic magic circles, which connected to an evenrger one and a ck sphere floating in midair.


    Three Demon Cultists were there, smiling andughing maliciously. Whatever they were conjuring, they managed to pull it out before ke could reach them.


    "Heheheh¡­ W-We did it¡­!"


    "We made it¡­ in time¡­ Ungh¡­"


    "Now fear the burning mes of our hatred¡­!"


    "We shall avenge¡­ our lord, Vampire Emperor, Asmodeus!"


    The Demonic Cultists roared as their lives slowly began to fade away. The ck sphere in the middle of the air suddenly began emanating an enormous quantity of demonic energy, as the sound of a beating heart within started expanding all around.


    BA-DUMP!


    BA-DUMP!


    BA-DUMP!


    "You bastards, what did you summon to this world?!" ke roared in fury, quickly rushing towards the sphere to stop it from hatching as he decided to create an enormous using his Blood and Shadows to restrain it!


    Crack¡­ crack!


    However, the sphere, or more like the "egg" started to crack its shell, and then, a zing insectoid w emerged out of it.


    CRAAAASH!


    "Unngh?!"


    ke quickly felt an enormous, overwhelming demonic presenceing from within the ck Egg, as he stepped back in a hurry while the he made was burned into nothing.


    FLUOOSH!


    "HEHEH¡­ HEHAHAHA¡­!"


    CRAASH!


    Another insectoid w destroyed the shell, and then another and another, until the entire floating ck egg, a Demonic Abyssal Egg, was shattered and its contents revealed.


    It was a monstrous, four-meter-tall insectoid demon, with a big, fly-like head. Its differencepared to every other Insectoid Demon ke had fought before was its red color and fire-like tattoos covering its body.


    And its enormous, overwhelming aura. This thing wasn''t even a Demon General, it was beyond that Realm¡­


    "This thing''s a Demon Lord? They spent the life of two Demon Generals plus how many sacrificed souls to summon this thing?! Why? Did they¡­ predict I wasing here?" ke wondered, looking at the monster engulf its entire body on mes.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "Heheheh¡­ It has been a long while, Asmodeus."


    However, the voice and the tone that this newborn Demon used against him was¡­ something not normal. It wasn''t a newborn demon. If it was, it would simply attack Asmodeus crazily and without restraint, yet this one was still standing there cautiously.


    He easily guessed who it was after simply thinking about who he was confronting anyways. ke wasn''t stupid enough to not realize it.


    "Beelzebub, I can''t believe you''re so desperate to get back on me that you would possess a small and pathetic vessel such as this." keughed. "Were your pathetic minions not capable of creating something better for you?"


    "Heh, as foulmouthed as ever!" Laughed Beelzebub. "Yet¡­ Now, you''re nothing but a pathetic little boy. Long is gone the tyrannical Vampire Emperor that once sealed us all before fighting Lucifer! This is my perfect opportunity to KILL you once and for all. I won''t even let you reincarnate. I will devour and consume your soul and then all of these children! Ahh, I am so hungry already I could eat them all right now!"


    ke quickly began readying his weapons and items, sweating a bit due to the immense amount of heat that Beelzebub was producing.


    "So you''ve been doing this just to get to me?!" ke asked.


    "Not really, I originally nned to monopolize this world all for myself and win the invasion race against the other Archdemons buuut, YOU just had to show up and slowly begin to ruin my ns." Beelzebubughed, suddenly conjuring a dozen fireballs around him. "You know? I am still sealed after all of this damn time, and it has been a real pain in the ass to get this all done for you to begin showing up and ruining everything¡­ How about you just disappear? [Maximus Infernos]"


    FLUOOOOSH!


    The fireballs converged into a massive spiraling infernal tornado of demon mes of incredibly high power and quality, consuming ke, and everything around him! The entire Demonic Fortress started burning right after that!


    BOOOOOOMMMMMM!!!!


    "Hoh? Did that do it? Hey, are you there?" Laughed Beelzebub. "I know that mes are usually my kin''s weakness, so I decided to specifically make a powerful Insectoid body that was immune to fire and that could wield it wonderfully. I am also aware Vampires are weak to fire."


    "Oh, yeah?"


    "Huh?!"


    Beelzebub was surprised when he heard ke''s voice, and when he saw his body was just fine, just slightly burned here and there, yet he was more than alright, he was excellent.


    "W-What¡­?! Howe you became immune to fire?!" Beelzebub panicked.


    "Just like thest time I beat you; I am simply one step ahead of you." ke dropped a bottle into the floor, as it shattered into pieces. "And I''ve got some amazing sponsors here that just happen to hate you to death."


    [You have consumed the [Elixir of mes (Mythic Grade)]!]


    [Your body is now overflowing with the power of Fire-Attribute Divine Spiritual Energy, Fire Attribute Ki, and Fire Attribute Mana!]


    [Your entire body has been strengthened; all of your stats have increased.]


    [Your Fire Attribute Runes have increased by over a thousand.]


    [Additionally, for the next 10 Minutes, you can absorb 50% of the Fire Attribute Damage you take as HP and MP and resist the damage of another 20% of it.]


    [The [Holy Spirit of Fire] praises you for your patience, as you''ve finally found the perfect timing for the item he has gifted to you!]


    "W-What?!" Beelzebub was perplexed. "Hah! No matter, I''ll have to just punch you and burn you harder! RAAAAAAHHHH!!!"


    "Come!" ke provoked the Archdemon, as both shed, generating enormous shockwaves all around the skies!


    CLAAAAAAASH!!!


    -----

 Chapter 621 Infernal Flames

    -----


    FLUOOOOOOSH!


    While the rest of the party was fighting the armies of Demons outside, within the Demon Fortress, an enormous st of mes and demonic power of apletely different level than anything everyone had ever seen before emerged!


    It was so strong it made some of the students feel slightly ill, with nauseas, or even feelingpletely paralyzed! If it wasn''t for their spirits protecting them, the demons would had taken this opportunity to kill them.


    "W-What is happening?! Nggh¡­!" rice muttered. "T-This powerful presence, where is iting from?!"


    "It''sing from the Demon Fortress, Lady rice!" rk said, battling against arge Oni and then slicing its head off with his weapon and the aid of his Rock Wyvern Spirit.


    "Isn''t that where that crazy ke went to?!" Asked Arthuria. "Hah, is he nning to die so badly today?! What sort of monster is in there for him to go so far as to confronting it?"


    "Well he has an obsession with beating high level monsters¡­" Said Ashen. "Though isn''t he getting a bit too cocky now? What if he dies or something?! We should go help him anyways, even if the guy''s a bit annoying, Arthuria!"


    "I-I know! It''s not like I am happy he''s going to kill himself or something!" Sighed Arthuria. "However, it is not as if we have any time to spare for him either! Look at all the demons we have yet to y!" Arthuria sighed while unleashing rays of light and shing Imps into pieces with her Holy Sword Spirit.


    "I already saw Eric and Alberta going to assist him." rice said, crushing the head of a Blue Oni with her Lion Axe. "Let''s hope that should be enough help! If anything, that fortress might fall apart very soon due to the mes!"


    "I did heard they were able to fly¡­" Said Patricia. "Erdrich isn''t here either! Is he going to help out his friend? Ahh~ He''s such an inspiring and strong man¡­" Patricia said, the tomboy girl seemedpletely in love with the half-demon, the more demons she in with her giant Blood Sword, the more she thought about him.


    However, the other half of the team didn''t thought the same as them. Although they were being overwhelmed by Demons, they simply couldn''t fight them and just leave ke to is demise.


    "No, we can''t just let everything to him, if even with this little, if we can help with just this much¡­" Alianna said, as she quickly ordered the other three members of her party. "Mimy, Aquarius, Aquaria! Let''s make that same spell ke told us to use against the Fiery Grizzlies!"


    "What?! But we are in the middle of a battle against demons!" Mimy panicked.


    "Are you insane Elianna?!" Aquarius panicked.


    "T-This is not the time to say ridiculous things!" Aquaria said.


    "No, ke left this with me just in case we needed to do it once more." Elianna said, showing the other three several scrolls which were imbued with magic circle inscriptions. "I just need your spiritual and mana power, once its over, the spell will slowly begin and we simply need to protect it from the demons!"


    "I-Is that even a thing?! ke''s really amazing if he can make something like that!" Mimy said while her slime spirit devoured an Imp.


    "W-Well, alright then! I''m in! If we can help ke even if a little bit, I will!" Aquarius said.


    "Okay fine, me too!" Aquaria agreed.


    As they all agreed, rice heard them and quickly ordered her own party to protect them.


    "Everyone! Circle around them and protect them!" rice said. "It is an order!"


    "So we''re really doing this!" Ashen said.


    "Wait, isn''t this a bit too reckless?!" Arthuria panicked.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "I don''t really care, I shall help." rk nodded.


    "Let''s do this!" Patricia said.


    Meanwhile, as they were preparing, at the other side of the vige, hundreds of demon corpses were resting around a gigantic crater, a single half-demon young man stood above all of them, his body was covered on ck and red armor, exuding a spiritual and demonic power.


    This was Erdrich and his second spirit he acquired after reaching Rank 2, the Demonic Living Armor, a special equipment-type spirit that enhances his demonic capabilities, strength, regeneration, and defenses when battling.


    "It''s getting boring now- Huh?"


    FLUOOOOOSH!


    Erdrich noticed the enormous eruption of demonic power shing against ke''s presence, a smile surged on his lips.


    "I see, so you''re taking the big one for yourself, ke. That''s not fair." He said. "Let your old friend give you a hand!"


    He quickly followed Eric and Alberta that were rushing inside the Demon Fortress, still engulfed on mes with all his strength.


    "Yo!"


    "Eh?! Erdrich!"


    "Y-You''re here! W-What a relief!"


    Eric and Alberta couldn''t contain their happiness after seeing their friend, after all Erdrich was one powerhouse of a man, if they had him at their side, helping ke became much more feasible.


    "I sensed something happening up there! These are also Demonic mes, they''re not budging even as I try to turn them off!" Said Erdrich. "Well, I don''t need to worry, you guys are already well trained at dealing with Demon Fire." Erdrich noticed how Eric and Alberta were using their Spiritual Auras to cover their bodies and protect themselves from the Demon mes and the dangerous Demonic Energy, something they learned already from ke.


    "Yeah but what the heck was summoned here?!" Eric panicked. "It feels¡­ even stronger than the Necromancer back then, or the Demon General too¡­"


    "M-Maybe the Cultists had some s-sort of trump card!" Alberta said while panicking like her boyfriend.


    "Whatever''s the case, these mes seem not as normal¡­" Erdrich said, swinging his arms and crushing two iing creatures. They were madepletely out of Demon mes and had the shape of lions, but his fists easily crushed their demonic cores, killing them on the spot.


    CRAAASH! CRAAASH!


    "Those are zing Demon Lions!" Eric was surprised.


    "T-There''s moreing from everywhere!" Alberta said, as she noticed dozens of other animal-shaped beasts made of Demon mes.


    "I guess that bastard up there is not letting us join ke so easily, huh?" Erdrich smiled while cracking his knuckles.


    Meanwhile, as ke shed against Beelzebub, Eleanora, Hendrick, and Saphira rushed to his aid.


    -----

 Chapter 622 An Old Grudge

    -----


    "Hendrick we should hurry and go help papa!" Saphira said. "I think they can handle by themselves by now, right?" Wondered Saphira, pointing at the other students.


    "Master gave us the task of taking care of them and to not let any of them die!" Hendrick said. "Saphira, are you willing to bear with the responsibility thates if any of these students die because we were not here?"


    "I-I¡­" Saphira felt slightly surprised. "But I can leave my Undead! Everyone, go help! You too, Orcs, Titans!"


    "Graaaaahhhh!"


    Arge army of around a hundred Undead Demons quickly joined the ranks of the students, scaring them a little bit while they were protecting the Water Magicians that were about to conjure a powerful spell.


    "T-Those are demon zombies?!" rice panicked.


    "No, wait, these were summoned by ke''s spirit, that one ghost girl!" Elianna said.


    "She can summon undead?! Why are his spirits so overpowered?!" riceined.


    "rice! I''ll leave you all of my army, and papa''s army! We''ll go help him now!" Saphira said, flying into the top of the demon fortress.


    "I shall leave you a few trinkets for your aid." Hendrick gave rice and rk a bag filled with poisonous bombs. "These are Poison Bombs, use them by imbuing some mana and throw them into your foes, it''ll numb them, paralyze them, or slowly kill them! Sorry but we have to leave now, our master''s life is much more important than yours. Have fun and try not to die!"


    Hendrick quickly turned into a cloud of poisonous gas and flew into the skies simrly to Saphira. Leaving rice and everyone else slightly shocked.


    "At least they''re honest¡­" Eliannaughed a bit.


    ¡­


    Meanwhile, within the Demon Fortress, Eleanora just finished ying the two powerful High Ranking Demonic Cultists that had turned into powerful Demon General-Rank half-demons. Only to suddenly be engulfed by Demon mesing everywhere, alongside that, she also felt ke fighting an incredibly strong foe.


    The monster''s presence that ke was fighting was also¡­ quite familiar. Eleanora wasn''t dumb, and immediately noticed this demon''s presence was the same the Insectoid Demons had, and also, the same presence Beelzebub''s soul held! Especially because she was one of the major contributors to his defeat andter sealing in the Hell Layer of Gluttony.


    "That''s Beelzebub?! Has he summoned himself to this world? No¡­ That''s simply not possible." Eleanora said. "Archdemons are all sealed even now, we already confirmed that back then with master. Then has he ced his soul into a vessel made in this world?! Dammit! I have to go aid my master!"


    Eleanora quicky began jumping over the staircase, only to be stopped by the mes themselves, which flickered and moved by themselves, suddenly generating several forms and shapes. Lions, Centipedes, Wolves, and even Crows emerged, made all of mes.


    "me Demon Beasts¡­" Eleanora said in surprise, but then smiled. "Heh, well, these things were lower than cockroaches back then, I doubt they will be much of a hard time! Move aside!" Eleanora roared, swinging her Envy Spear, and unleashing several shes made of darkness and blood against them.


    S L A A A A S H!


    S L A A A A S H!


    B O O M!


    B O O M!


    B O O O M!


    The Demon me Beasts exploded into pieces one after the other, as Eleanora''s Cursed Spear absorbed their Demonic Cores to gain more power. However, more and more beasts emerged, almost endlessly.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "Move! [Shadow Shuriken Storm]!"


    FLUOOOOSH!


    Eleanora covered her entire body with a spiraling aura of hundreds of shuriken made of shadows, as she rushed forward while shing apart any Demon me Beast that leaped over her, getting closer and closer to the top of the Demon Fortress.


    However¡­


    FLAAAAAASSSH!


    Suddenly, tworge insect-like eyes surged from within the mes themselves, ring down at Eleanora and then generating a massive w made of mes, pushing her back down once more.


    CLAAASH!


    "Unnggh! What?!" Eleanora looked at the entity that emerged, a gigantic monster made of all these mes with bug-like eyes and legs. It wasn''t Beelzebub, but it was one of his insectoid servants, born from the very mes he produced and spread everywhere.


    "Heheheh¡­ We finally meet, Vampire Queen Eleanora!" Laughed the entity, which quickly emerged with a monstrous-looking bug face, made of mes. Its appearance was that of a gigantic ant queen.


    "Who the heck are you?" Eleanora asked while pointing her spear at the entity.


    "Of course you don''t know me, but you must have known my mother, Antansia re, one of the former Demon Generals that served my Master and King, The Almighty Lord Beelzebub!" Laughed the Ant Queen.


    "Huh? Who?" Eleanora asked, still without remembering anybody like that.


    "GEH¡­! Howe you don''t remember my glorious mother?!" The insect barked angrily at Eleanora.


    "Sorry but I just can''t seem to remember people when they are insignificant. Even less demons I''ve once in before." Eleanora smiled back at the monster. "So? Are you here for revenge? I''ll dly bring you back with your mommy if that''s what you want!"


    The face of the zing Demon Ant Queen, one of Beelzebub''s newest Demon Generals distorted into utter fury as she started to control the mes everywhere, summoning her children, countless of zing Demon Ants Warriors and Soldiers.


    "YOUUU¡­! I won''t forgive you for what you''ve said now! And even less, for taking down my mother without even remembering her name!!!" Roared the Ant Queen. "I am Antansia re II! And today I shall avenge my glorious mother by taking your life, Vampire Queen Eleanora!!!"


    FLUOOOOSH!


    Several gigantic ws made of mes emerged one after the other all around Eleanora''s surroundings, attacking her constantly and with great power!


    CLAASH! CLAASH! CLAAASH! CLAAAAASH!


    "ATTACK HER, MY CHILDREN! AVENGE YOUR GRANDMOTHER!"


    The zing Demon Ant Queen roared, as her children all began attacking Eleanora,unching fireballs at her, trying to bite her limbs off, and outright jumping over her and then exploding!


    "Get¡­ off¡­ MY WAY!"


    SLAAAASH!


    -----

 Chapter 623 A New Familiar Fusion!

    -----


    CLAAASH!


    ke shed against Beelzebub with all his strength. The giant Fly-like Archdemon having taken a new form in this vessel. Despite having been sealed, he was still capable of putting a part of his very soul into a vessel to control it and make it into his new body.


    Of course, it couldn''t be as strong as his true Archdemon Body, which was now sealed, but it could still be a tremendously powerful form, and by channeling his true body''s Demonic Energy and abilities and merging them with this Vessel''s capabilities, Beelzebub was even able to generate the power of Infernal mes.


    CLASH! CLASH! CLASH! CLAAASH!


    Beelzebub''s ws shed against ke''s fists and his spear constantly. The battle was unleashing countless shockwaves of Ki, Mana, Demon Energy, and Spirit Energy everywhere, shaking the skies themselves.


    "You''re one tough bastard!" Laughed Beelzebub. "I can''t believe you''vee this far with that feeble human body, Asmodeus!"


    "I am no longer Asmodeus, I am ke, Beelzebub." Said ke. "The grudges you had with him ended once he died! But as his reincarnation, I simply can''t allow you to exist in this world, nor to terrorize its people or threaten its existence. [Blood Dragon Spear]!"


    FLUOOOOSH!


    kebined his Blood Ki with his Spiritual Energy and Mana, alongside his Spells and Spear Mastery Techniques, conjuring a gigantic dragon made of pure blood that emerged out of the trusting motion of his spear against Beelzebub!


    CLAAAAAASSSHHHH!!!!


    "NNNGH¡­! HAAAAHH!"


    However, Beelzebub easily forced his way, reflecting the enormously strong attack that was often used as a finisher with not much difficulty!


    But that was just a feint.


    FLUOSH!


    ke emerged from behind Beelzebub through his shadows, shooting at his head with his handgun and filling his brains with frozen bullets.


    BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!


    However, aside from freezing a bit and then melting, Beelzebub was unfazed, and he smiled back at him.


    "Did you think I wouldn''t expect that?"


    BAAAAAM!


    A zing fist reached ke''s stomach, blowing him away faster than he could had predicted and sending him high into the skies.


    BBBBZZZZ!


    The sound of Beelzebub''s insect wings flying reached him in an instant, while he was falling in midair, his zing ws hit ke once more, throwing him down into the floor!


    "Then have it your way, ke! Gyahahahah!"


    CRAAAAASSSSHHH!!!!


    ke vomited a mouthful of blood as he felt some of his bones barely managing not to crack. Beelzebub continuedughing, finding amusing how weak he had grown.


    "You''re so weak! I can''t believe it¡­ Maybe I can really just kill you now! [Infernal Swarm]!" Beelzebubughed, suddenly waving his insectoid arms around as he generated a gigantic me that shaped into dozens of gigantic demonic bugs. "Devour him!"


    ke sighed, quickly getting up and beginning to imbue Mana into his spear and gun. All while dozens of blue-colored magic circles appeared around him.


    "You''re underestimating me." He said. "[Blizzard]"


    ke conjured the Tier 4 Ice Attribute Spell [Blizzard] bybining all the smaller magic circles he created together, a trick to conjure higher tiered magic he had learned by himself to maximize efficiency.


    FLUOOOOOSH!<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    A gigantic wave of icy winds emerged, quickly engulfing the entire Infernal Swarm, andpletely destroying it, while also reaching Beelzebub in the skies and beginning to freeze him.


    "Ungh?! T-That magic is only Tier 4?! How is it so strong?!" Beelzebub was shocked. "This damn world¡­ Well, just-"


    "ROOOAARRR!"


    However, that wasn''t all, as three Giant Wyverns appeared behind Beelzebub and unleashed their attacks, biting him, shing him, and unleashing their breaths over him.


    CLASH! SLASH! BOOOM!


    "Agh! You pests! [Infernal Sun]!"


    FLUOSH!


    Beelzebub conjured a gigantic fireball andunched it at the three Wyverns, the Dracos ke had summoned, reaching them, and then exploding into a gigantic explosion.


    BOOOOOOMMMMM¡­!


    "Hah! For being the Legendary Familiars from the Summoner Talent, they''re pretty rubbish¡­" Beelzebub giggled, summoning hundreds of fireballs around him. "Now, where were we?"


    However, as Beelzebubunched hundreds of giant fireballs at ke, the young man smiled, his Grimoire was glowing brightly as he had retrieved the three Dracos before they were blown to bits, and quickly converged them together alongside other summons, such as Titan and¡­ a high-quality Ice Bomb for a material.


    "[Advanced Summon Fusion]!"


    FLAAAAAAASH!


    A powerfulbination suddenly began to emerge from within a gigantic, blue-colored Magic Circle beneath ke. Which unleashed a powerful Aura of freezing ice, turning the skies temporarily darker as it suddenly started to snow!


    FLUOOOOOOSSSHHHH!


    The same Blizzard ke conjured before was once more brought back, but even stronger,pletely destroying the hundreds of fireballs conjured by Beelzebub, and within the smoke generated by the explosions, tworge blue eyes emerged from within there.


    Ding!


    [You have sessfully fused [Red Scaled Fire Wyvern: Draco (D++ Rank)] x3 + [Red Orc Druid King: Titan (D+ Rank)] x3 + [High Quality Frost Bomb (B Grade)] x4 together!]


    [The power of the Holy Spirit Ring is resonating with this fusion!]


    [The [Holy Spirit of Ice] has blessed your Fusion with greater power!]


    [You have Summoned the Fusion Familiar: [Juvenile Frost Dragon (B Rank)] x1!]


    [Due to the enormous power of this summon which you cannot controlpletely, the Summoning Time has been reduced from 20 Minutes to 10 Minutes.]


    A glorious dragon emerged amidst the smoke, covered on silver and blue scales and with shining blue eyes. Sharp spikes covered the dragon''s entire body, and it had enormous wings that looked as if they were made out of transparent crystals¡­


    "ROOOOOAAAARRRRRR!"


    The Dragon, even if Juvenile, unleashed a tremendous aura of power. Thanks to the power of the Holy Spirit of Ice blessing this Summon, it was not C Rank as ke expected, and it jumped directly to B Rank! ke smiled defiantly against Beelzebub, who was shocked.


    "H-Howe you can summon dragons already? And this power¡­" Beelzebub was surprised. "The Holy Spirits of this world¡­ they''re helping you?!"


    "Let''s go, Frost." ke said.


    [You''ve named the [Juvenile Frost Dragon (B Rank)] as Frost!]


    [Frost] has been registered in the Fusion Familiar Grimoire Page.]


    -----

 Chapter 624 Juvenile Frost Dragon

    -----


    Ding!


    [You have sessfully fused [Red Scaled Fire Wyvern: Draco (D++ Rank)] x3 + [Red Orc Druid King: Titan (D+ Rank)] x3 + [High Quality Frost Bomb (B Grade)] x4 together!]


    [The power of the Holy Spirit Ring is resonating with this fusion!]


    [The [Holy Spirit of Ice] has blessed your Fusion with greater power!]


    [You have Summoned the Fusion Familiar: [Juvenile Frost Dragon (B Rank)] x1!]


    [Due to the enormous power of this summon which you cannot controlpletely, the Summoning Time has been reduced from 20 Minutes to 10 Minutes.]


    "Let''s go, Frost." ke said.


    [You''ve named the [Juvenile Frost Dragon (B Rank)] as Frost!]


    [Frost] has been registered in the Fusion Familiar Grimoire Page.]


    Not only ke was able to summon an utterly ridiculous Familiar to aid him on this battle, but he had even named him, helping him register this enormously strong B Rank Familiar on his Grimoire. As long as he has the materials, he can summon him once more after the Advanced Familiar Fusion Skill cooldown reaches zero.


    -----


    [Name]: [Frost]


    [Type]: [Lizard] [Dragon] [Ice]


    [Rank]: [B]


    [Race]: [Juvenile Frost Dragon]


    [Health Points]: [20000/20000]


    [Mana Points:] [16000/16000]


    [Strength]: [12500]


    [Agility]: [16000]


    [Vitality]: [17500]


    [Intelligence]: [8500]


    [Dexterity]: [7500]


    [Buff]: [All Stats +500]


    [Skill]: [Blizzard Aura] [Mirror Dragon Scales] [Avnche] [Frost Dragon''s Breath] [Frozen ws] [Winter''s Domain] [Holy Spirit of Ice Divine Protection]


    [Growth]: [MAX]


    -----


    Just by giving a mere nce to Frost''s Status, ke was left shocked. It had almost six times his own stats, and it possessed arge assortment of incredible Skills. One of them was even the divine protection of a Holy Spirit! He was not even sure if such a thing was possible until he saw it.


    Although it cost a lot to summon, Frost had be his strongest summon by far¡­ Nheless, it only had ten minutes to remain here. ke''s own stats and skills weren''t enough to keep it for the twenty minutes that [Advanced Summon Fusion] at level 2 allowed him to, and the time ended being halved to 10 minutes instead.


    Nheless, Frost was so strong that his very presence made the weather around them change drastically, and even the powerful Beelzebub''s vessel started to feel the chill of the dragon''s presence¡­ and that''s without even mentioning the whopping +500 to all stats the Familiar granted as a buff while being summoned.


    "Amazing¡­ Though, I cannot simply rely on you."


    Well, it wasn''t as if ke was going to only rely on Frost anyways, as he quickly decided to bring out the power of his Dragon Heart and his connection with Ruby, which had been resting inside of his Shadows this entire time.


    His body started to grow scales all over his body, as a fiery and draconic aura surged from within, fusing with his own Physique of the Vampire Blood Emperor and then his Demonic Eyes and Demonic Arm, generating an utterly bizarre, yet frightening powerup.


    "Ruby, time to fight."<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "ROAR!"


    Ruby suddenly was summoned at the side of his much bigger new sibling, Frost. But that wasn''t all, ke utilized this opportunity to create a temporary contract with Frost, and gaining his Ice Dragon powers.


    "[Draconification]..." Said ke with a smile. "[Dragon Connection]!"


    FLAAASH!


    Threads made of mana and spiritual power connected with Frost, creating a contract right away as the Familiar had no reason to reject his master and creator.


    Ding!


    [You''ve created a Dragon Contract with [Juvenile Frost Dragon: Frost (B Rank)]!]


    [All your Stats have permanently increased by +200!]


    [You can now share [Juvenile Frost Dragon: Frost (B Rank)] Skills with half of their power while using Dragon Connection with [Juvenile Frost Dragon: Frost (B Rank)]


    [Your Draconification Form can now take upon the characteristics of [Juvenile Frost Dragon: Frost (B Rank)] whenever you summon him for battle.]


    [All of your stats have temporarily skyrocketed!]


    [A powerful Divine Protection epasses your body¡­ The Holy Spirit of Ice has Blessed you with further enhancements!]


    [Ice Attribute Magic Damage has increased by +100%]


    [MP Cost for the Conjuration of Ice Attribute Magic Spells has been reduced by -50%]


    [Duration: As long as your Dragon Connection continues with [Juvenile Frost Dragon: Frost (B Rank)]


    ke''s red scales slowly began changing, now he had both red and blue scales around his body, as he gained a new pair of crystal-like horns, and his wings began growingrger and crystalline, his entire body exuded a powerful aura of Blood, Shadows, and Ice. His eyes glowed with the fierceness of dragons and the bloodthirsty mercilessness of vampires.


    And his Demonic Arm wasn''t the exception on this, as it quickly transformed, growing arge armor over it and even sharp insectoid ws to further improve ke''s fighting abilities. He had to use everything against this powerful foe, or he would eventually regret it!


    "So you''ve made a contract with two dragons now?!" Beelzebub was shocked. Everything in front of his eyes seemed ridiculous. "Heh, to think the glorious Vampire Emperor would rely on dragons to grow stronger! And is that a demonic arm you have there?! Pathetic! Hahahaha¡­! Even with this dragon, you are nothing before the Infernal mes I''ve extracted directly from Hell itself!"


    Beelzebubughed, quickly conjuring dozens of gigantic fireballs, andunching them at ke and his two dragons, the heat of these spells was so strong even the clouds atop the sky started to dissipate.


    However, ke, Frost, and Ruby unleashed their attacks, Dragon Breaths, Blizzards, Storms of Blood, Shadow Projectiles, Shockwaves of Ki, and Mana, and quickly began making all of Beelzebub''s magic tricks disappear and explode before they could reach them.


    BOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOOM!


    FLAAAASH!


    Frost reached Beelzebub in an instant, swinging his gigantic ws and utilizing his Frozen ws Skill in conjunction with Blizzard, showering Beelzebub with deadly freezing shes and a storm of icy winds!


    SLAASH! SLAAASH!


    FLUOOOSH!


    "Unnnggh¡­! YOUUU!"


    And right behind him, Ruby appeared, biting his abdomen and tearing apart a small part of his exoskeleton!


    CRAASH!


    "GRAAAAGGH! YOU DARE¡­?!"


    Beelzebub furiously started beating both dragons singlehandedly, only to give an opportunity for ke to emerge right from below, his spear dancing with his Blood, Shadows, and Ice together into a brand new technique.


    "[Ascending Crimson Frost Dragon]!"


    TRUUUUMMMMM¡­!


    -----

 Chapter 625 The Might Of An Archdemon!

    -----


    While Beelzebub''s vessel was being attacked by Ruby and Frost at the same time and he retaliated with countless explosive mes attacks and shes using his own giant ws, ke utilized this moment to attack himself! Beelzebub gave ke the opportunity to emerge right from below, his spear dancing with his Blood, Shadows, and Ice together into a brand-new technique.


    "[Ascending Crimson Frost Dragon]!"


    TRUUUUMMMMM¡­!


    A gigantic dragon made of frost, blood, and shadows emerged by his piercing spear attack, ascending and catching Beelzebub on its gigantic jaws!


    "ROOOOAAAARRR!"


    "WHAT?!"


    CRAAAASSHHH!!!


    Before Beelzebub could run away, he waspletely engulfed, as freezing ice started freezing his entire body and beginning to turn off his mes! Of course, the ferocious Ruler of Gluttony wasn''t simply going to let this easily slide!


    "RAAAAAHHH! [Devouring mes]!"


    FLUOOOOSH!


    His mes suddenly shaped as gigantic jaws and stared devouring the ice cage in the shape of a coiling dragon he found himself trapped in, but that wasn''t going to be easy either, as Frost used his magical skills tobine them with the cage and ke''s powers!


    "[Frost Dragon''s Eternal Coffin]!" ke said, conjuringbined magic without even using magic circles anymore through the power of his [Dragon Tongue] Skill!


    FLAAASH!


    The cage was only enchanted even further, while ke began charging a devastating attack by holding his Spear with both arms, and channeling the demonic powers of his Demon Arm, his Vampiric Physique, and his Draconification altogether.


    TRUUMMM¡­!


    His Aura began growingrger andrger, as Beelzebub began growing desperate, shing against his cage and slowly beginning to crack it further and further and further!


    "ASMODEUUUUUSSSSSSS!"


    Beelzebub roared with utter and vengeful fury, as he was able to finally destroy the cage, only to be attacked by the Giant Frost''s and his ws, shing against him and then conjuring blizzards, avnches, and dragon breaths over him, overwhelming him!


    "ROOOOAAARRRR!"


    "Y-You damn dragon! Get off my way!!!" Beelzebub roared with vengeful wrath, smashing the head of Frost with his gigantic ws only for Frost toe back with several shing attacks using his Frozen ws, powerful Bites, and then Whipping and Piercing Blows using his Tail!


    CLASH! CLASH! CLASH! CLASH! CLASH! CLAAASH!


    Meanwhile¡­ ke once more was ready.


    "Ruby, stay still." ke smiled, suddenly imbuing Ruby''s very powers into his attack, and suddenly turning the little dragon into pure energy which flowed into his weapon through the abilities of a Dragon Contract! "[Crimson Frost Dragon''s Cmity]!"


    TRUUUUUUUMMMMMMM¡­!


    ke mercilesslyunched his spear against Beelzebub as if it were a javelin. Frost immediately flew away not without freezing his foe''s arms and legs using his ice, temporarily restraining him on ce!


    "HUH?!"


    CLAAAAAASSSHHHHH!!!!


    The gigantic spear that was covered on red-colored ice pierced Beelzebub''s chest, cracking his Demon Core and making him vomit blood all over the ce.


    "G-GUUGHH¡­?! T-THIS IS¡­?!"


    But that wasn''t all. Within the weapon an even more overwhelming power surged as it suddenly shaped into hundreds of long dragon heads beginning to bite and tear apart Beelzebub''s entire body, and Ruby was included within this!<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "[The Devourer''s Domain]!" keughed, as he employed all his powers into activating his spear''s Domain. A shadowbined with his previous technique, making each of the dragon heads summoned within this technique devour a piece of Beelzebub!


    CRUNCH! CRUNCH! CRUNCH! CRUNCH!


    "GRUUUUAAAAAGGGH¡­! NO¡­ NOT¡­ YET! NOT YEEEEETTT!" Beelzebub began growing madder as his core started leaking his demonic powers, but his soul was still here, and using it alone, he unleashed an explosion of Infernal mes! "[Terminus Infernos]!"


    BOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMM¡­!


    A gigantic zing explosion consumed it all, as ke''s spear was sent flying away alongside Ruby, who managed to separate from the whole temporarybination in time. ke flew through the skies and caught them both before a gigantic wed zing hand reached him from above! Beelzebub was barely alive, with several areas of his vessel''s body destroyed, yet his soul was zing with endless power even after having his vessel in such a state.


    "[Infernal Soul-Tearing ws]! PERISH, ASMODEUS!"


    CLAAAAAASSSHHHH!


    However, Frost flew right before the ws could slice through Ruby and ke, as the gigantic ice dragon roared, unleashing his dragon breath and sting the giant zing w into nothing.


    BOOOOOMMM!!!


    "ROOOOAAAARRRR!" Frost roared, protecting his master.


    "Nice timing, Frost." ke smiled. "However¡­ it seems this bastard is overexerting what his vessel is capable of and just goingpletely all-out¡­"


    ke said these words as dozens of zing ws emerged one after the other, covering the skies with mes! Beelzebub''s vessel started tough.


    "So what if my vessel is destroyed if I overuse my powers?! As long as I can kill you, it doesn''t matter! [Infernal Soul-Tearing ws]! [Hellish Swarm Legion]!"


    CLASH! CLASH! CLASH! CLASH! CLAAASH!


    ke, Ruby, and Frost started to evade and parry the gigantic ws made of mesing to them from all sides, while at the same time noticing a gigantic swarm of enormous insects made of mes continued emerging from all their surroundings,pletely covering the skies!


    "SHAAAAH!"


    "KILL THE REINCARNATED VAMPIRE!"


    "ASMODEUS! DIE!"


    "KILL! KILL!!!"


    ke was surrounded from all sides, but with his two Dragons her fiercely fought, unleashing countless techniques and magic spells at the same time, and blowing into pieces hundreds of Infernal Insects, although they kepting, almost endlessly.


    "[Frost Spear''s Dual Attack]! [Lightning Spear]! [Soul Pierce]! [Blizzard]!"


    CLASH! CLASH! CLASH! CLASH! CLAAASH! BOOOOMMM!!!


    Although ke and his two dragons were formidably strong, against all of these foes and overwhelmed by Beelzebub''s constant usage of his Soul''s powers to boost his Legion''s attack, spawn rate, and his own magic power¡­ it was getting overwhelming.


    "RAAAAAHH! BEELZEBUB!" ke roared, pointing his spear at him once more as dozens of giant insects dragged him back into the infernal swarm. "[Blizzard]! [Avnche]! [Winter''s Domain]!"


    By channeling the Skills of Frost, ke was able to constantly conjure powerful ice magic around him, but even then more and more kepting, his body started to burn and his life was slowly beginning to be eaten away by the mes of Gluttony.


    "Hahahaha¡­ It is useless, useless I say, Asmodeus!" Laughed Beelzebub. "I''ve prepared an agonizing death for you, so make sure to scream to your heart''s content! Gahahaha-"


    "[Spectral Legion]!"


    FLUOOOOOOSH!


    However, before Beelzebub could finish those words, a legion of Monster and Demon Souls emerged around him!


    -----

 Chapter 626 The Vampire Spirits Step In!

    -----


    As ke was fighting with everything he had alongside Ruby and Frost, suddenly, he sensed the presence of his spirits finally returning to his side! Saphira and Hendrick had arrived first, as a powerful, spectral and phantasmal energy started to spread all around the skies, so cold that it weakened the mes of Beelzebub even more.


    "[Spectral Legion]!"


    FLUOOOOOOSH!


    Before Beelzebub could even finish his mocking words against ke''s struggle, a legion of Monster and Demon Souls emerged around him! It was as if someone had used very high-level necromancy, summoning them all to fight him.


    "What the¡­?! Who dares interrupt my moment of glory?!" Beelzebub felt immediately taken aback, looking at the direction of the one that had summoned them, a little ghost girl with shiny sapphire-like eyes and long silver hair wearing a white dress.


    "Me! [Spectral Legion]! Attack!" Saphira angrily said, as the thousands of souls quickly rushed towards Beelzebub, grasping his arms and legs and rapidly draining his demonic energy!


    "TCH! BEGONE!" Beelzebub roared, swinging his arms as an enormous spiraling tornado of mes emerged, consuming all souls into hellish ze!


    FLUOOOOSH! BOOOOOOMMM!!!!


    "RUBBISH!" Beelzebub roared, pointing his ws at Saphira. "And you''re next, Asmodeus'' underling! [Infernal- Ungh?!"


    However, before Beelzebub could conjure his spell, Saphira smiled. The souls he had "destroyed" were beginning to regenerate and merge together not only with each other, but with the very mes consuming them!


    FLUOSH FLUOSH! FLUOSH! FLUOSH!


    Suddenly, dozens of gigantic Ghost Legions made out of Infernal mes and hundreds of souls each emerged one after the other. This was another of Saphira''s powers.


    "[Spectral Synthesis]! Don''t let him move!" Saphira ordered, as the gigantic Demonic Ghost Specters flew towards Beelzebub, stopping his movements.


    "No! Move aside! I don''t care about small fry like you! Let me finish that damn Vampire already!!!" Roared Beelzebub in utter fury, unleashing fireballs, shing attacks, and explosive projectiles at the phantoms, which destroyed them, of course.


    However, there was always a few leftover pieces with wills, Saphira used them and merged them together once more, constantly creating stronger and stronger Undead.


    "GRUOOOHHHHHH¡­!"


    Until a gigantic, one-hundred-meters-tall Demonic Spectral King emerged in just a few seconds since Beelzebub started fighting them.


    "Now go! Infernal Punch!"


    "RUOOOHHHH!"


    The giant specter obeyed his little queen as his gigantic infernal phantasmal fists rained over Beelzebub, his mes were almostpletely incapable of hurting the undead any longer!


    BOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOOM!!!


    "GRUUUAAAGH¡­!"


    CLAAAASH!


    Beelzebub was finally pushed away, as he fell into the Demon Fortress, right within Hendrick''s trap range. The vampire gentleman smiled beneath his mask, as his vampiric poisonous powers activated, covering Beelzebub''s surroundings with incredibly toxic poisons that even could poison a soul and torture it tremendously.


    "[Poison of the Soul: Sinful Toxin]!" Laughed Hendrick.


    FLUOOOOSH!


    A purple-colored mist covered Beelzebub''s vessel, but the bug-faced bastardughed.


    "Hahahaha! Poisons would never affect a demon, you useless rat- Ungh?!"


    However, once more, he had underestimated his foes, Beelzebub suddenly felt incredibly sickly. This wasn''ting exactly from his body, but his soul! The poison was affecting his very soul! The output of demonic energy he could draw from it more than halved, and he was feeling slow, as if his soul was getting paralyzed.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "T-This is¡­ Such a petty trick!" Roared Beelzebub. "BEGONE! [Terminus Infernos]!"


    FLUOOOOOSH!


    Beelzebub waved his hand as he conjured a powerful high tiered Demon Magic Spell, unleashing a gigantic explosion of zing mes from hell itself, andpletely covering Hendrick with them!


    BOOOOOOOOMMMMMMM¡­!


    "Hah, he must be dead by now¡­" Beelzebubughed.


    "I am afraid that is not possible!" Laughed Hendrick, suddenly appearing on top of Beelzebubpletely unfazed.


    What Beelzebub had distorted was actually one of his tens of Poison Clones, which he had created beforehand, and further enhanced using Mirage and Illusion Magic.


    "You tricky bastard¡­!" Beelzebub was about to retaliate, jumping out of the hole he was stuck on, only to be greeted by a spear right into his left arm, which quickly pierced and sliced it off!


    SLAAAAASH!


    "NNGGHH?! AAAGGH!" Beelzebub panicked, quickly jumping away.


    If it was just a wound to his vessel he wouldn''t had reacted this way but¡­ even his soul felt that damage!


    His bug-like eyes nced with desperation at the culprit, a beautiful and gorgeous Vampiress emerged from the shadows,ing from the floor right below this one, with the head of a giant Red Ant in her hands¡­


    "Beelzebub, we meet again." Eleanora smiled back at him.


    "E-Eleanora?!" Beelzebub cried in shock. "And that''s¡­ No! You killed my Demon General?! T-This shouldn''t had been like this!"


    "Well, maybe you should had sent someone stronger." Eleanora said with a smile. "Or maybe you''re running low on proper generals that you only have trash to send at us now? Heh¡­"


    Because Eleanora''s powers dealt the final blow against Beelzebub before being sealed, he had a rather¡­ slight trauma against this woman''s smile. He still remembers how much she enjoyed crushing all his Insectoid ves, and killed most of his Demon Generals singlehandedly.


    And unlike Asmodeus, she had not ended turning into a pathetic human boy but looked almost identical than her previous self!


    "Hendrick, Saphira, Eleanora!" ke smiled, incapable of holding back his excitement of seeing them finally back.


    "We''re back, master! I apologize for taking so long!" Hendrick said, lowering his head.


    "Yeah papa! Leave it to us now!" Saphira said with a confident smile.


    "We''ll assist you!" Eleanora said.


    Eleanora quickly dropped the ant head into the floor, and then opened her shadows, as countless of other demon corpses from the demonic me beasts appeared.


    "Saphira, I''ve got you some nice materials." Alongside what she brought; Eleanora took out a giant mass of hundreds of demon souls.


    "Nice!" Saphira celebrated, in a mere second, before Beelzebub could even stop her, all corpses Eleanora killed turned into zombies and specters, and attacked Beelzebub all at once alongside her giant Demonic Spectral King!


    CLASH! CLASH! CLASH! CLAAASH!


    "GRAAAAAHHH! YOU DAMN TRASH!"


    Beelzebub was going insane in fury!


    -----

 Chapter 627 A Tenacious Bastard

    -----


    Saphira summoned a legion of Undead against Beelzebub as her gigantic specter attacked at the same time. Beelzebub was going insane as he was having to bear with multiple attacks from all three of ke''s Vampire Spirits, each one with their own special abilities!


    This immediately started to remind him of the true hardship of fighting Asmodeus, and how varied his roster of allies was! Back then, he literally had an expert for everything! Even though he only has three now, as time goes by, his Vampire Spirits will keep appearing more and more, and it''ll quickly be overwhelming.


    "[Maxima Infernos]!!!"


    T R U U U U M M M M M M M¡­!


    A gigantic x-shaped explosion of mes emerged out of thin air, as Beelzebub spent a gigantic quantity of Demonic Power to conjure it, but managed to st all the annoying small fries, including the Giant Demonic Spectral King, which was turned into nothing.


    BOOOOOOOMMMMMM¡­!


    "Hahhhh¡­ You damn bastards¡­!" Beelzebub roared. "Not yet¡­ I have yet to kill him! I HAVE YET TO CRUSH HIM!!!"


    BBBBZZZZTTT!


    Beelzebub''s bug-like wings flew past the trio of Vampires and into ke''s direction, as he greeted him with open arms, loading his gigantic Demonic Arm with a rather powerful ability.


    "[Demonic Eye of Gravity]"


    TRUUUUMM¡­!


    FLUOSH!


    Suddenly, ke manipted gravity itself as a pocket of gravity was generated around Beelzebub, trapping him within and then beginning topress him on ce!


    TRUUM¡­! TRUUUM¡­! TRUUUMMM¡­!


    "UUUAAAGGGH! W-What is this?! You have the Demonic Eye of Gravity?!" Beelzebub was speechless once more.


    "[Demonic Eye of Paralysis]"


    FLAAASH!


    SPAARK!


    Suddenly, Beelzebub felt the muscles and ligaments of his vessel beginning to fall to paralysis, yet another of ke''s trump cards. But why did it worked against such a strong opponent? Well, it was all thanks to Hendrick, Eleanora, and Saphira''s previous attacks, which weakened Beelzebub severely.


    "Now everyone!" ke said,manding his forces of allies as Eleanora, Blood, Hendrick, Saphira, Frost, and Ruby gathered their magical powers and then unleashed their strongest attacks!


    Eleanora unleashed a gigantic storm of slicing zing shuriken made of blood, mes, and shadows. Saphira generated a spiraling tornado of countless spectral souls and death energy. Hendrickbined it all with his deadly, melting, and paralyzing poisons alongside several other deadly toxins. Blood used all of his beastly blood and shadow magic. And Ruby and Frost imbued their dragon breaths.


    "It''s over for you, Beelzebub!" ke roared, as he loaded all of this power into his Gluttony Spear once more and then imbued his demonic, draconic, spiritual, and magical energies into the attack. "[Ultimate Spear Art]: [Nine-Headed Demonic Dragon Cmity]!"


    TRUUUUUUMMMMMM¡­!


    The spear, imbued with everyone''s powers, reached Beelzebub and finally pierced through his demonic core!


    CRAAASH!


    "UNNGGH?! Y-You think this is ENOUGH?! I WILL¡­!"


    "Of course it''s not enough."


    However, Beelzebub was so strong that even that wouldn''t stop him¡­ ke knew that, as the spear suddenly transformed, fusing with everyone''s powers, as a gigantic mirage resembling a ferocious nine-headed dragon emerged before Beelzebub, made up of everyone''s elemental attacks, which started to devour Beelzebub bite through bite, tearing him apart into pieces even more than before!


    CRUNCH!


    "No¡­ NOO!"<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    CRUNCH!"


    "I have yet¡­ to do a single thing!!!"


    CRUNCH!


    "YOU BASTARDS!"


    CRUNCH!


    "This is NOT over!"


    CRUNCH!


    "ASMODEEEEUUUUUUSSSSSSS¡­!"


    All nine dragon headsbined together into an enormous and chimeric one, biting through thest bits of Beelzebub''s vessel andpletely devouring him on its totality!


    CRUUUUUUNNNCCCCHHHHH¡­!


    FLASH!


    The spear immediately returned back to ke, powered up after eating an Archdemon''s Vessel. ke sighed in relief, finally having some time to rx.


    "Hahh¡­ That bastard really-"


    RUMBLE!


    However, out of the blue the entire demon fortress started to tremble- no, the entire demon vige! Eric, Alberta, and Erdrich who had just arrived on top and rejoined with ke were caught on the entire earthquake, as the students outside fighting against the very few demon remnants panicked.


    "W-What is happening now?!" rice panicked.


    "The spell is not ready! What is this?!" rk muttered.


    "L-Look! Over there!" Elianna said, pointing at a gigantic entity!


    From the very ground below, a massive phantasmal red and orange-colored demonic soul started emerging, its phantasmal powers immediately took over all the living demons, possessing them, and at the same time, all of the demonic corpses started to melt alongside the living demons, fusing with them all into a massive mass of flesh and bones¡­


    The very sight of such a disgusting thing made everyone''s hearts shake in horror. The students were simply not prepared for the eldritch entity that was awakening now before everyone''s gazes.


    And that presence¡­ it was nobody else than Beelzebub!


    "Why?! I am sure there shouldn''t be any way for him to manifest here! Howe his soul stayed in this ce?!" ke said in shock.


    "HAHAHAHA¡­ GAHAHAHAHA! YOU HAVE A LOT TO LEARN ABOUT AN ARCHDEMON''S POWERS, ASMODEUS!"


    Theughing voice of Beelzebub echoed everywhere, as the massive fleshy abomination started taking the shape of a mass of countless tentacles, bug-like arms, eyes, jaws, and wings¡­


    "Simply enough, I merely imbued my soul into every demon summoned here while we were fighting! I am always one step ahead of you!" Laughed Beelzebub.


    The amorphous chimeric mass of flesh and bones slowly began taking the form of a gigantic insectoid monster covered on infernal mes, powering him up tremendously, reaching heights of over one hundred meters, and destroying most of the demon vige on its creation¡­


    Arge chunk of flesh was left behind, which slowly transmuted into a Demon Gate, immediately opening, and leading to the Demon Tower of Gluttony, as dozens of Insectoid Demons of high rankings started surging! They were also all enchanted with the Infernal mes of Hell, making them even stronger.


    "Hahahahaha! Now this is fair, isn''t it?!" Beelzebubughed. "Face me and my army, Asmodeus!"


    "You bastard¡­" ke groaned. "Fine, if you want to die so badly, so be it. This time, I''ll make sure to crush even your soul in hell itself."


    -----

 Chapter 628 The Demon Army Grows Stronger

    -----


    Before his Vessel were to getpletely destroyed, Beelzebub barely managed to escape being forced back into Hell, as he imbued his soul into every single living and dead Demon he found around the Demon Vige, quickly gathering and imbuing his soul into them and fusing them together into a brand-new vessel.


    The amorphous chimeric mass of flesh and bones slowly began taking the form of a gigantic insectoid monster covered on infernal mes, powering him up tremendously, reaching heights of over one hundred meters, and destroying most of the demon vige on its creation¡­


    The other students had to quickly run away from the catastrophe. As the entire vige''s buildings were devastated and the wooden wallspletely destroyed. Thankfully everybody had a Fenrir to ride and escape in time.


    However, that was not everything. Not only Beelzebub stubbornly wanted to remain here and make sure to kill ke, but he was going to bring his Demons. Arge chunk of flesh was left behind, which slowly transmuted into a Demon Gate!


    The fleshy and eldritch-looking aberrant Demon Gate immediately opened, creating a crack in space, and opening a red-colored portal that led nowhere else than to the Demon Tower of Gluttony, as dozens of Insectoid Demons of high rankings started surging! They were also all enchanted with the Infernal mes of Hell, making them even stronger.


    "Hahahahaha! Now this is fair, isn''t it?!" Beelzebubughed. "Face me and my army, Asmodeus!"


    "You bastard¡­" ke groaned. "Fine, if you want to die so badly, so be it. This time, I''ll make sure to crush even your soul in hell itself."


    Beelzebub couldn''t help butugh at how bold ke was being even after such a turnaround! But it wasn''t as if ke''s confidence didn''t had any reason. He knew that Beelzebub was thrown into a corner now.


    "Your struggle is amusing, Beelzebub!" He said. "However, I am well aware that such an improvised vessel is not as strong as the one you had before! Bringing your army here is a proof that you''re desperate!"


    "Heh¡­ HAHAHAHAHAA! You bastard¡­! Do you truly believe ME, an Archdemon, would ever be desperate?! Don''t be a FOOL!!! DIE ALREADY, ASMODEUS!!!"


    Beelzebubpletely lost his temper due to ke''s provocation, as his gigantic insectoid arms rushed towards him, attempting to crush him!


    BAAAAAAMMMMM¡­!


    The enormous insectoid ws destroyed the Demon Fortress and shattered the ground below, leaving a pile of ruins and blood everywhere, as the Infernal mes started spreading everywhere further and further!


    "Heh, that must have taught you a lesson! Are you there?" Laughed Beelzebub, looking down into the ruins, only to find there was nobody buried! Even when his attack was so strong it even unleashed a zing explosion¡­ ke andpany managed to evade in time.


    "What?!" Beelzebub roared, quickly realizing ke and his allies managed to escape by flying very easily, and they were all atop the skies, right above the rest of the students that had managed to escape the burning vige and were watching the catastrophe in the distance.


    "Frost, Ruby, everyone, distract him." ke said, as his gigantic ice dragon, which had a few more minutes before it were to disappear roared, flying down towards Beelzebub like a falling star made of ice.


    CLAAAAASSSHHH!!!


    "Unnggh¡­?!"


    BAAAAM!


    Beelzebub was forced to step back. His steps made the entirend tremble as the ground shattered below him, mes spreading everywhere. Frost roared back at him as the giant bug was beginning to be slowly frozen, a powerful Blizzard was summoned!


    FLUOOOOOSH!


    "ROOOAARRR!"


    "You damn lizard!"


    Beelzebub tried to catch him in midair, but his gigantic body was sluggish, making thend tremble with each step. He had decided to take a gigantic form just to bluff, and it was very obvious on how it showed due to hisck of control over such a monstrously big body.


    Frost attacked Beelzebub using his Blizzard Aura, Frost Dragon Breath, Avnche, his Freezing ws, and his Winter''s Domain. Countless frozen attacks continued raining over Beelzebub''s new vessel, distracting him.


    BOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOM!<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "GRAAAAH! YOU DAMN SUMMON!"


    CLAASH!!!!


    Beelzebub furiously hit Frost at longst, the giant ice dragon immediately fell into the floor. His Health Points dropped by a lot, but it remained alive, as the dragon''s divine aura started surging with great power due to the protection it had from the Holy Spirit of Ice.


    "ROOOOAAAARRRR!"


    CLASH! CLASH! CLASH!


    The Ice Dragon attacked back with several shing attacks and hundreds of icicle spears summoned from his magic. It was an incredibly hardy familiar!


    Meanwhile, ke and his spirits and tamed monsters were fighting against the immediate threat, hundreds of Insectoid Demonsing from the Portal leading to the Demon Tower of Gluttony.


    "Gahahahaha! Lord Beelzebub has brought his army!"


    "Prepare to die, you pathetic humans!"


    "Who is the one that reincarnated?! I shall bring his head to my lord!"


    "KILL!"


    All the Insectoid Demons roared savagely, using their wings to fly and shing apart any attacks or magic thrown at them. The students were incapable of hurting the higher ranked ones that led the charge.


    "I can''t even hurt them! What are they even made of?!" rice was surprised when her powerful Axe was instantly blocked by a giant beetle-like Demon!


    CLAAASSSHHH!!!


    He easily intercepted the blow using his giant armored ws, smiling viciously back at the girl while cracking his sharp mandibles.


    Crack¡­ crack¡­


    CRAAASH!


    And then shattering her Axe Spirit into pieces!


    "Keheheh, you''ll have to hit me a bit harder if you want to hurt me, youngss!" Heughed, swinging his gigantic arms, and attacking her! "Because I am no normal Insectoid Demon, my name is Beetlegoon, one of Beelzebub''s Demon Generals!"


    BAAAM! BAAAM! BAAAAAM!


    "Uwaaaggh!"


    rice was thrown away by the enormous armored fistsing from the powerful Insectoid Demon, he was a high ranked Demon General and one of Beelzebub''s servants. Even in the world of Spiritias where people was born naturally stronger than any other ke had visited, these children had yet to grow strong enough to fight against these threats.


    "Now stay still, it''ll end soon!" The ck Beetle-like Insectoid Demon Generalughed, as his fists reached rice with immense speed and strength!


    "Nooooo!"


    CLAAAAASSSHH!!!


    -----

 Chapter 629 Blakes Might

    -----


    As rice screamed in fear of her prompt death, a sh of red and ck light emerged in front of her, intercepting Beetlegoon''s attack and then shooting several Holy Light Bullets at gim!


    CLAAASH!


    "HUH?! YOU!"


    BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!


    "AAAGGH¡­!"


    Beetlegoon stepped back in fear as he saw ke appear in thest moment. His Handgun being enchanted by the power of Holy Light Magic, one of the many elements he wielded naturally. His affinity with all elements had improved greatly since he acquired the Divine Protection of the Holy Spirits, wielding holy light element had be even easier than before.


    Imbuing this element into his gun''s Mana Bullet ability granted him the power to fire Holy Light Bullets, which were especially deadly against Demons.


    "Beetlegoon, huh? A forgivable name." ke said, stepping over his face.


    "IT''S YOU¡­ ASMODEUS!" Beetlegoon roared, quickly swinging his gigantic arms and trying to throw away ke with a powerful elbow hit.


    However¡­


    S L A A A A S H!


    B A A M!


    His arm was sliced apart by ke''s Gluttony spear before he could even aplish that, as green blood starteding out of his wound.


    "GRUUAAAAAAGGGH! Y-YOU¡­ T-That spear!"


    Beetlegoon''s face distorted in shock as he saw the spear ke was holding. It was no normal Cursed Weapon, but one that has been growing stronger ever since he was a child, which he had feed with the souls and blood of thousands of monsters and demons. Naturally, it was tremendously strong.


    "It is a little thing I made." ke said. "Die."


    "R A A A A A  H H H!!!"


    Beetlegoon desperate jumped away from ke''s attack,nding on the ground a few steps away, gasping for air. His face distorted in fear! It was so easy to deal with the other kids, but the one that managed to y his master''s vessel was apletely different deal altogether.


    "Everyone! He''s here! Come!"


    Beetlegoon called more and more Insectoid Demons, some of them attacking the children suddenly ignored them, gathering in front of ke¡­ Beetlegoon''s face smiled cockily.


    "M-Maybe you''re strong by yourself, but can you deal with dozens of Demon Generals at once?!" Heughed.


    "Of course." ke smiled.


    "Hah! I knew you- Eh?"


    F L A A A A S H!


    By fusing the powers of all his buffs together, ke regrew a brand new armor of Ice Dragon and Blood Dragon Scales, which were then turned ck as they merged with his Demonic Arm powers. His Demonic Arm suddenly took a grotesque shape, resembling hundreds of tentacles with sharp de-like ends. His eyes were shining brightly, in seconds, hundreds of demons were paralyzed.


    "Unnggh?!"


    "A Demonic Eye of Paralysis?!"


    "W-Wait, this is¡­?!"


    CLAAAAAASSSHHHH!!!!<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    Before they could even register what was happening, kended in the middle of all of them, swinging the hundreds of tendrilsing from his Demonic Arm and slicing them apart as if they were nothing!


    "GRUAAAAGGH!"


    "H-HE''S TOO STRONG!"


    "UAAAGGH!"


    As countless of non-Demon Generals were easily sliced apart, the Demon Generals retreated in time, watching all of the other Demons being torn apart.


    "And you¡­" ke looked at the Demon General.


    CLASH! CLASH! CLASH! CLASH! CLASH!


    His spear pierced through Beetlegoon''s body a hundred times as well, leaving him filled with so many holes he looked like a Swiss cheese.


    "Unnggh¡­ T-This is¡­ You were supposed to be¡­ weak!" Cried Beetlegoon, vomiting a mouthful of green blood.


    "Weak? Me? You waited a bit too long to fight me." ke said with a vicious, vile smile.


    His aura continued growing stronger, resembling that of a gigantic vampiric emperor made of blood and eternal, abyssal darkness. A vicious smile and two glowing red eyes emerged from within this aura, overwhelming all of the demons around him.


    "I have never been weak!"


    With a single burst of power from his Demonic Hand, a gigantic beam of pure destruction reached the demons, turning them all into pieces, including the five Demon Generals that were attempting to fight ke!


    BOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOOM! BOOOOOMMMM!!!!


    It was a total massacre!


    rice and the other students of her party looked at ke with eyes wide open. This young man''s prowess was in apletely other level¡­ but aside from that, there was a certain domineering presence, something brutal about him that made him resemble¡­ a legendary hero of ancient times.


    Not a summoner, but a man that was said to have in millions of demons all by himself. They knew him as the Doom yer, and he was one of the heroes that to this day, was still remembered as those that freed Spiritias from the menace of the Demons.


    "He''s¡­ really strong¡­" rice was shocked.


    ke quickly walked back to her, looking at his spirits fighting the hordes of demonsing from the Demon Gate as well, Hendrick, Saphira, and Eleanora were in the frontlines, pushing back any bastard trying to get closer to them.


    "rice, stand up, we''re not done here yet." He said, going back to his normal form.


    "Just how¡­ did you got so strong?" rice asked, in disbelief.


    "I simply did not rely too much on this world''s powers and grew stronger with my own methods." Said ke. "Though, this world''s powers are still certainly very useful¡­"


    FLAAAASH!


    And then, rice saw it. ke''s entire power level was rising. His Spiritual Orb was ranking up, and his level had already reached its max! His Grimoire started glowing not with the demonic power from before, btu with a holy powering from the Holy Spirits themselves.


    "Let''s Rank Up and Summons some new Spirits, shall we?" keughed, as rice dropped her jaws to the ground.


    "Y-You''re ranking up right here and now?!" She was too bbergasted.


    ke saw the many notifications within the Grimoire, and quickly decided that it was time to Rank Up and change his Talent as well! The Holy Spirits, of course, weren''t just looking, as many of them decided to reward him for his feats.


    -----

 Chapter 630 A Change In The Battlefield

    ------


    The Insectoid Demons were not just alone by themselves, as the Infernal mes of Beelzebub were shared with them and have given them an incredible power to spread these endlessly burning mes everywhere. The students were pushed back more and more, as the Fenrirs they were riding constantly tried to evade the attacksing from them.


    CLASH! CLASH! CLAAASH!


    Arger Insectoid Demon resembling a Praying Mantis stepped forward, covered on metallic red-colored exoskeleton and with zing eyes, itughed evilly, swinging his gigantic scythes and shaking the ground, making it crack apart as countless eruption of mes andva began emerging everywhere.


    "GRAHAHAHA! Burn to ashes you damn kids! We''ll feast on your souls afterwards!"


    TRUUUUUUMMMMM¡­!


    "Dammit! rice! Lady rice, where are you?!" rk cried, seeing that rice was nowhere to be found. The rest of the party was panicking and breaking their groups, spreading around everywhere while running away from the strong Demons that surrounded them everywhere.


    "Your rice is not here! Kehehehe~!" A giant zing spider with the head of a woman emerged behind rk, swinging her gigantic ws and shing apart the Fenrir with a zing attack!


    SLAAAASH!


    "Awoooo!"


    The Fenrir threw rk away and decided to fight back, only to be crushed by an enormous fireball, right afterwards.


    BOOOOOM!!!!


    "Unnggh¡­!" The stoic rk nced back at the giant Spider-like demon; his eyes filled with frustration over his own weakness. Even after having grown so strong today, against these demons it felt like all their hard work was for nothing. His Rock Wyvern was in front of him, protecting him from the menacing demoness.


    "Fufufu, so that stupid familiar was a nothing burger." Sheughed, looking at rk. "Now, are you more entertaining with your rock lizard thing~? SHAAAAH!"


    The Spider Demon leaped towards rk, as his Rock Wyvern got in between, summoning several spikes of stone emerging from the ground!


    CLASH! CLASH! CLASH!


    However, the Spider Demon easily crushed them with her raw strength and thennded right over the Rock Wyvern, crushing it until it exploded into particles of light.


    "Oh? Was that it? Oh my~" She giggled.


    rk couldn''t understand her words, but he easily guessed she was mocking him. This frustration he felt, this humiliation¡­ this anger, this fear! It was the same sensation he once felt when his vige was destroyed by demons years ago, when he lost his family to the demon''s mes¡­


    "You damn demons¡­! RAAAAAHHHH!!!" rk roared in fury and desperation, putting all his Mana into his hands and summoning countless Rock Spears one after the other!


    CRASH! CRASH! CRASH! CRAAASH!


    However, the Spider Demon crushed them all and walked closer and closer, smiling evilly as her beautiful human-like face distorted, breaking apart and revealing a monstrous demonic face, with countless sharp teeth and a long, slimy tongue.


    "I''ll enjoy you very much~ Bon Appetit~! SHAAAAAHH!!!"


    "Fuuuuck!"


    RUMBLE!


    However, something happened.


    Something that some of the students have been preparing for a few minutes ago, it was finally urring.


    "Huh?!"<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    The Spider Demon looked into the skies, as they suddenly turned dark. ck clouds started spreading everywhere across the skies, and then¡­ Rain started pouring down from the skies, an intense, and strong rain!


    FLAAAAASH!


    "R-Rain?" The Spider Demon wondered.


    In Hell, it never rained. It was and of mes, poison, and death. Things such as rain made out of water were not a thing at all, it was an aridnd.


    However, this rain contained something else, a divine power.


    "I-It''s starting!" Said Alianna at the distance, the girl and her friends finally managed to bring down a rain, even a bit toote, but it was working better than they thought!


    "It is working¡­" Said Mimy.


    "B-But why is it so strong?!" Aquarius wondered.


    "I¡­ I can feel something, a holy power¡­" Aquaria said.


    The four Water-wielding students realized their bond of Mana and Spiritual Power had brought upon a miracle. The power of the Holy Spirit of Oceans manifested itself from within their magic. The skies turned dark and many more clouds began emerging, winds, rain, and a gigantic entity made of water across the skies¡­


    "D-Did we summon that?!" Asked Alianna.


    "Amazing!" Mimy said.


    "Now crush them!" The twins asked.


    "ROOOOOAAAAAARRRRRRR!!!"


    A gigantic being made of pure water, a Manifestation brought upon by thebination of the four''s Mana and Spiritual Energy,bined with the divinity of the Holy Spirit of the Oceans that had decided to act, as Alianna held his blessings, roared furiously.


    It had the shape of a majestic sea serpent, and it flew down into the battlefield alongside its endless rain, hitting the aridnds and shaking everything with a loud ssh.


    SPLAAAAAAASSSHHH!!!


    It suddenly turned into an ocean, as it began to wash away the demonic infernal mes, hundreds of demons were covered in these waters, none died. However, the mes no longer worked. No matter how hard they tried, the mes did not respond.


    And because they were walking out of the Demon Tower without proper preparations, such as spreading Demonic Miasma in thend, the natural Spiritual Energy of the environmentbined with the one in the rain and the Manifestation quickly started to weaken them severely.


    "Unnnggh¡­! W-What is this rain?! Agh!" Cried the Spider Demon, she was almost in the level of a Demon General, and if she ate enough souls she would had soon evolved into one and been given a name. Yet now she was so weakened she felt pathetic, she couldn''t even move¡­ the water soaking her was draining away her strength.


    "T-They did it¡­" rk said, holding his hammer tightly. "RAAAAAHHH!!!"


    Without even doubting, he roared, crushing the Spider Demon''s head with several hits until she stopped moving, incapable of fighting back due to her weakened state.


    "Hahhh¡­ I-I did it¡­ EVERYONE! FIGHT! NOW! WHILE THEY''RE WEAKENED!"


    The other Students realized there was now finally a chance. Eric, Alberta, and Erdrich that were doing their best to protect everyone felt relieved for a bit, as the rest of the students started fighting back once more, crushing many demons!


    "W-What?! My army!" Beelzebub roared. He was too far away from the water to reach him.


    -----

 Chapter 631 Massacring Demons While Theyre Weak!

    -----


    "[Vampiric Spear Arts]: [Scarlet Blood Rose Garden]!"


    Eleanora unleashed one of her strongest and distinctive techniques, swinging her sharp Spear, Envy, imbued with her powerful Spiritual Energy and Vampiric Power, as countless shesbined with her mirages, creating a beautiful garden of roses around the armies of hundreds of weakened demons, only for all of them to be shed apart one after the other mercilessly!


    SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH!


    "Gryyaaaahhh¡­!"


    SLASH!


    "I-It''s the scarlet rose garden¡­! Ruuun- GUAAGH!"


    SLASH!


    "Shit, that''s Eleanora?! She hasn''t been taken down yet?! AAKH!"


    SLASH!


    Many of the Demons in these armies have heard or remembered still the times when Asmodeus invaded Hell with his enormous army of Vampires. Eleanora was still feared, and her most distinctive of techniques, the Blood Rose Garden was known by being extremely lethal.


    Anybody that was trapped in between these roses would eventually be sliced apart into countless tiny pieces, just as it was happening with all of them right now!


    "[Blood Gathering]!"


    FLUOOSH!


    Eleanora gathered the blood of all the Demon corpses, and of those that had yet to die as well, drying them all up like mummies and drinking their blood. She had already developed immunity to the infectious ability of demon blood and enjoyed the richness and the demon energy within it, as she was now more than capable of wielding it like her master could.


    "Now, learn your ce, trash!"


    Eleanora smiled evilly, as several Demon Generals rushed towards her to stop her, only to be greeted by thousands of spears made of their own blood and reinforced with Eleanora''s powers.


    "[Blood Judgement]!"


    The spears fell like an endless rain, piercing the demons bodies and then exploding, filling the entire battlefield with red everywhere. Eleanora couldn''t help butugh and go a bit insane, it has been a while since she was allowed to be herself¡­


    BOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOOM!


    "Hahahah¡­ HAHAHAHA! Yes! Die! DIE!"


    She immediately started gathering their blood once more, conjuring Blood Judgement and Scarlet Blood Rose Garden multiple times, devastating arge part of the Insectoid Demon army all by herself.


    Meanwhile, in the other side of the battlefield, Hendrick and Saphira were devastating things on their own. Saphira used her Necromancy to raise an army of Demon Undead using the various corpses, using them against the very demons.


    "Rise and shine, everyone! Fight for everyone!" She said, utilizing her authority as a "Undead Princess" to easily order all undead into her loyal servants.


    "GRAARRGH!"


    "KILL! GRAAH!"


    "GRUOOOHHH!"<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    The Undead Demons weren''t weak either. They were perhaps slightly stronger than their living, former allies due to not being weakened anymore and having their stats boosted thanks to Saphira''s special Skills that made her Undead stronger.


    CLASH! BOOOM! CRAAASH!


    Slicing attacks, explosions of phantasmal demon mes, and crushing body ms began piercing through the army of living Demons. The Demon''s morale was dropping rapidly, the Insectoids had never seen Necromancers before back in Hell, it was indeed very hard to actually do it with Demons because their Demon Souls wouldn''t easily yield to Necromancers, yet for Saphira, they were all heads over heels!


    The moment they died their souls immediately became her loyal servants, turning into temporary undead to help her out before passing away. Although she looked adorable and innocent, there was a certain developing power within her, something that could probably one day make her the strongest Necromancer.


    "You''re doing good!" Saphira celebrated innocently, looking at the students also fighting. "Let me help you! [Demon Soul Armor]!"


    She quickly conjured a special spell she created on the spot, fusing hundreds of demon souls into armors covering the students bodies, granting them enhanced resistance to demon damage and also enhanced strength and magical power.


    "T-This armor''s amazing¡­"


    "Wait, with this the demon magic is not hurting us as much¡­"


    "ke''s spirits are sure in another level¡­"


    "Let''s go!"


    Saphira smiled as she saw the students doing their best. Hendrick giggled a bit while looking, his poisons working even before the demons were weakened, weakening them and paralyzing them by the dozens. Now that the rain fell off and the waters turned off their Infernal mes Enhancement, they were even more weakened, bing even bearable for the students.


    "It does seems like we make a good team, little Saphira." Laughed Hendrick. "However, I am worried about Beelzebub, we''re already dealing with his army and he''s been fighting Frost. That dragon''s very strong, but it''ll eventually disappear¡­"


    "We should go help our master then!" Saphira said while feeling motivated.


    "ROAR!"


    "WOOF!"


    Ruby and Blood were also with them, attacking demons and snacking on them while fighting. The battle had be intense but the rain and the blessing of the Holy Spirit of the Seas suddenly turned the tables to theirplete and overwhelming victory.


    "Hm~ Can''t you feel it?" Wondered Hendrick. "Master''s growing even stronger now. Before going to aid him, I would say we should help the students regroup and¡­ destroy that Demon Gate. Oh my, Eleanora is already going there all by herself¡­"


    "Mama''s been in a rushtely! I guess she''s enjoying herself even in these moments." Saphira said, floating around.


    "Yeah, maybe we should also enjoy ourselves a bit more then, bwahahaha! [Poisonous Domain]!" Hendrickughed, spreading even more poisons and toxins, weakening the demons. Several Demon Generals were already struggling to keep fighting, only for Eleanora to take them down quickly after.


    "Much like back then, I''ll take down the Demon Gate for master, so he doesn''t have to worry about anything." Eleanora thought, rushing through the battlefield while spreading her attacks, devastating everything.


    Meanwhile, in the other side of the battlefield, Eric, Erdrich, and Alberta had sessfully managed to regroup all students¡­ except rice, whom they finally found after seeking her amidst the bloodshed, right at the side of ke!


    "ke! So she was with you!" Eric said from afar.


    "W-What is this aura¡­ this power?" Wondered Alberta.


    "Oh, so you two can feel it too?" Erdrich smiled. "ke''s already getting ahead of us¡­"


    FLUOOOOSH!


    -----

 Chapter 632 Ranking Up In The Middle Of A Battle!

    -----


    Ding!


    [You have in over a Hundred Demons!]


    [LEVEL UP!]


    [LEVEL UP!]


    [LEVEL UP!]


    [Your Level has increased from Level 47 to Level 50!]


    [All Your Stats have increased!]


    [You earned Bonus Stat Points and Skill Points.]


    [You''ve reached Max Level!]


    [The power of the absorbed Mana and Spiritual Energy of all the Spirit Orbs you''ve absorbed has enhanced your own Spirit Orb!]


    [Your Spirit Orb Rank has increased from Rank 2 Peak Stage to Rank 3 Initial Stage!]


    [All Your Stats have increased!]


    [You earned Bonus Skill Points and Stat Points due to reaching Rank 3!]


    [You can now Summon 2 More Spirits.]


    [You can now Rank Up both your Job ss and Subss.]


    [Several Skills Have Leveled Up.]


    "Good, I wouldn''t had wanted it any other way." ke smiled, quickly doing a series of things through his Grimoire.


    Ding!


    [You''ve exchanged 400 Skill Points.]


    [You learned the [Metamorphosis: Lv1] Skill!]


    [You learned the [Extraction: Lv1] Skill!]


    [You learned the [Advanced Synthesis: Lv1] Skill!]


    [You learned the [Golem Creation: Lv1] Skill!]


    [The [Synthesis: Lv6] Skill has been automatically merged with the [Advanced Synthesis: Lv1] Skill to create the [Fusion: Lv1] Skill!]


    [The [Alchemy: Lv6] Skill has been automatically merged with the [Metamorphosis: Lv1] and [Extraction: Lv1] Skills to create the [Advanced Alchemy Arts: Lv1] Skill!]


    [The [Mechanics: Lv3] Skill has been automatically merged with the [Golem Creation: Lv1] Skill to create the [Mechanical Creation: Lv1] Skill!]


    -----


    [Fusion: Lv1]


    Skill Proficiency: 0/10000


    An incredible, God-like power that, through the usage of necessary mastery, Alchemy Arts, Materials, and Tools, grants the user the ability tobine materials and even living beings together.


    Abilities and Magic materialized as Skills can also be merged with physical items, with certain restrictions depending in thebinations. As the Skill Level rises, the range ofbinations increases tremendously.


    Increases the Quality of the Resulting Fusion Item by +200%, with an additional +25% with each Skill Level. Additionally, affinity with Alchemy Arts increases by +100%. Fusion and Alchemy Arts Mana Cost decreases by -25% permanently.


    -----


    [Advanced Alchemy Arts: Lv1]


    Skill Proficiency: 0/10000


    An Advanced Skill that only truly [Master Alchemists: ¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï] can learn. It grants the ability to not only perform all sorts of Alchemical Combinations and Material Synthesis, but also the power to understand the Elemental Energies of the Materials used and create never-seen-before items.


    Enhances the Quality of Any Material the user gathers into their Inventory by +100%. Alchemy Mana Cost decreases by -25% permanently. Enhances the Quality of Created Items by +150% with an additional +25% with each Skill Level. Created Items can now develop unique traits, and it is possible to Evolve items through necessary Materials.


    -----


    [Mechanical Creation: Lv1]


    Skill Proficiency: 0/10000


    A Unique Skill that only [Mechanics: ¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï] can learn and master. Grants the ability to utilize necessary materials, knowledge, and otherplemental skills to create and generate mechanical constructions to an almost masterful level of precision and quality. The creation of golems through several materials is also possible through a variety of ways. The more Mana is used, the easier and faster the process bes.


    Enhances the Quality of a finished product by +150% with an additional +25% with each Skill Level. Created Golems receive Special Abilities based in the materials used to create them. It is also possible to mechanize equipment and weapons with necessary materials and items.


    -----


    Out of the blue, through his evolving powers, ke acquired three incredible Skills! He quickly started to recall that he had simr sounding abilities back then. It felt refreshing, as if he was finally regaining part of the power that made his past self, the one the demons hated so much, so famous and uniquely powerful.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    Even the possibility of creating spaceships had now be a reality, even though he needed an insane amount of materials and mana for that¡­ However, it wasn''t as if this was just it. There was much more.


    Ding!


    [You''ve opened the Job ss and Subss Changing Page.]


    [Avable Job sses]


    [Master Summoner: ¡ï¡ï¡ï]


    [Master Tamer: ¡ï¡ï¡ï]


    [Vampiric Spear Demon: ¡ï¡ï¡ï]


    [Elemental Sorcerer: ¡ï¡ï¡ï]


    [Dragon Tamer: ¡ï¡ï¡ï]


    [Blood Prince: ¡ï¡ï¡ï]


    [Chimera: ¡ï¡ï¡ï]


    [Avable Subsses]


    [Mechanical Engineer: ¡ï¡ï¡ï]


    [Advanced Alchemist: ¡ï¡ï¡ï]


    [Apprentice Creator: ¡ï¡ï¡ï]


    [Advanced Sewing Master: ¡ï¡ï¡ï]


    [Magical Chef: ¡ï¡ï¡ï]


    [Spirit Mediator: ¡ï¡ï¡ï]


    "So many options¡­ It is a bit annoying, but at the end, the path I''m walking is already decided." Thought ke. There were many tempting options, but he could only pick one and never go back. His summons were the source of his strength in this life, and also the ones that would bring him to victory against the demons eventually, there was no point looking at the other sses, he was already decided. "Though, for the Subsses, we might as well pick this one instead. It is the one with the most potential."


    Ding!


    [You''ve selected the [Master Summoner: ¡ï¡ï¡ï] Job ss!]


    [You''ve selected the [Apprentice Creator: ¡ï¡ï¡ï] Subss!]


    [Your Level has been reset.]


    [Your Level Cap has risen to Level 80.]


    [All your Stats have increased.]


    [You learned the [Familiar Multiplication: Lv1] Skill!]


    [You learned the [Creation: Lv1] Skill!]


    -----


    [Familiar Multiplication: Lv1]


    Skill Proficiency: 0/10000


    A Special Skill that only Summoners can learn, which allows the ability for the easy multiplication of already summoned Familiars.


    By utilizing an already summoned Familiar as the base, you can multiply it based in the Skill Level, with the MP Cost being of only 50% of the normal amount.


    Additionally, this number of multiplied summons is independent from the total limit of summoned Familiars you can have at the same time.


    Multiplied Summons Stats increase by +10%, with an additional +5% with each Skill Level. The base Summon receives double these effects, and is catalogued as the "Pack Leader" being capable of ordering any multiplied unit.


    Fusion Familiars are not included until the Skill Level reaches 5.


    Avability:


    Level 1: Maximum Amount of Multiplied Summons per Familiar Type: 100.


    -----


    "This Skill¡­"


    ke was deeply surprised about the Skill Description.


    He finally started realizing how was An, the Legendary Summoner, able to summon thousands of summons, even when he had limits.


    With this Skill, such limits were finally beginning to break apart¡­


    -----

 Chapter 633 New Skills, New Spirit Treasures, And New Vampire Spirits!

    -----


    However, aside from this insane Summoner Skill, there was something else as well! The power of Creation!


    -----


    [Creation: Lv1]


    Skill Proficiency: 0/10000


    A God-like power that grants the ability to Create things, a Special Ability that is only given to those that wield all of the Holy Spirits Blessings, made to shape the world anew. However, creation is not from nowhere. A necessary and equal amount of energy, or other resources must be offered for the creation of whatever it is within the mind of the user.


    This Skill can work inbination with many other Skills rted to the creation and manufacturing of items to generate even greater and richer results. However, due to its dangerousness, its powers have been temporarily sealed, and the range of things that can be created and shaped will be increase with each Skill Level.


    -----


    "Ah, interesting." ke smiled. "Now¡­"


    Ding!


    [You''ve administrated 360 Stat Points into Strength!]


    [Due to having reached a three-star ss, your Stat Bonuses when applying Stat Points have been doubled.]


    [You gained +720 Strength!]


    [Your Strength has surpassed 4000!]


    [The Pure Power flowing through your body has enhanced your Physique as a result!]


    [Your [Physique]: [Vampiric Blood Emperor Physique (Tier 4: Rank 7)] has increased to Tier 4: Rank 9!]


    [Your Spirit Realm has grown much stronger! Spiritual Energy flows freely everywhere.]


    [Your Spirit Stat has increased by +40]


    [Your Spirit Stat has reached 200!]


    [The Internal Space of your Spiritual Realm has increased greatly.]


    [All of your current Spiritual Treasures have improved from Lesser Spirit Treasure: Rank 3 to Lesser Spirit Treasure: Rank 8!]


    [You''ve developed new Spirit Treasures: [Young Spirit Tree (Lesser Spirit Treasure: Rank 8)] and [Dragon Fruit Tree (Lesser Spirit Treasure: Rank 8)]!]


    -----


    [Young Spirit Tree (Lesser Spirit Treasure: Rank 8)]


    A Young Sapling of a Spirit Tree that has taken root inside your Spiritual Realm. It still a Lesser Spirit Treasure, but it has the potential to be something incredible in the future.


    Each of its leaves is green and bright, and although it cannot produce fruits yet, its sweet sap can heal wounds and recover mana. There can only be a single Spirit Tree per Spirit Realm, and it can be considered to be their Core.


    Enhances Life, Nature, and Light Attribute Power by +1000.


    Hastens Health, Mana, and Spiritual Essence Regeneration Speed by +50% and Regenerated Quantity by +25%.  <novelsnext></novelsnext>


    Produces +250 Life, Nature, and Light Attribute Ki and Spiritual Essence every hour.


    Sap can be extracted to be used as a healing item or a material for healing potions. If too much sap is extracted, the tree may wither, only a single bottle every 7 days is possible for now.


    -----


    [Dragon Fruit Tree (Lesser Spirit Treasure: Rank 8)]


    A beautiful and strong tree where Dragon Energy flows naturally from. It grows where there are corpses of dragons, and produces delicious, red-colored fruits that Dragon-type Monsters love very much, which are even capable of enhancing their growth speed, earned EXP, Mana and Health Regeneration Speed, and Magic Damage. Only one tree per Spirit Realm can exist.


    Enhances a Contracted Dragon''s Main Elemental Attribute Power by +700.


    Hastens Health, Mana, and Spiritual Essence Regeneration Speed of Contracted Dragons by +50% and Regenerated Quantity by +25%.


    Hastens Dragon Energy Recovery Speed by +50%, and Regenerated Quantity by +25%.


    Produces +250 Dragon Energy and Spiritual Essence every hour.


    Their red fruits can be feed to dragons for various beneficial effects or used to make special potions. The tree can only produce a single fruit every day.


    -----


    ke sensed his Spiritual Realm growing bigger and stronger, as more and more nature started spreading through it. A beautiful young spirit tree sapling emerged at the center of all of it, while a an intimidating dragon fruit tree appeared at the left side, as a single dragon fruit popped out from its branches.


    More spiritual essence started flowing through his body as a result of these new Spiritual Treasures emerging, and he particrly felt much stronger in the Dragon Energy department, and so did his Contracted Dragons Ruby and Frost, thetter which might be disappearing very soon.


    It has been only a few seconds since ke ranked up yet rice at his side couldn''t believe the enormous power difference between him and her. It was as if the two of them were in twopletely different worlds.


    "Now¡­ Let''s summons some new allies." ke thought. "Step aside, rice. [Fenrir Multiplication]"


    ke decided to use his Familiar Multiplication Skill, as three new Fenrirs emerged without him even needing to create their Cards anymore, only using one as base, and with only half of their MP cost too.


    "Bring her to safety with the rest of the group." ke said. The three Fenrirs nodded, grabbing rice away like a little kitten.


    "Heeeey! Wait I wanted to see you grow stronger moreeeee!" riceined but was quickly greeted with the rest of her party and decided to join in the fight against the demons.


    ke, in the other case, produced such a menacing aura that demons started to evade him, aside from Beelzebub that was still fighting Frost.


    "Frost only has a few minutes left, I have to hurry." He narrowed his eyebrows and closed his eyes, submerging his mind into the depths of his Soul, the core of it all, his Origin Core, which had been slowly regenerating.


    Within the Origin Core, he saw many souls he couldn''t recognize as their appearances were very different, yet they were all his former subordinates.


    "Come, it''s time to wake up."


    The summoning was random, as he couldn''t choose them anyways, however, he was still allowed to see these souls, nheless.


    FLAAASH!


    Two souls flew out of the Origin Core and melded with the Grimoire''s powers, transforming immediately into powerful Vampire Spirits, as two giant magic circles emerged before his eyes, and two figures slowly started to materialize from within!


    When ke saw these two, he couldn''t help but open his eyes wide.


    -----

 Chapter 634 Two Familiar Faces Join The Party

    -----


    The first Vampire that was summoned¡­ wasn''t even originally a vampire. ke couldn''t believe his eyes, the same way he once saw Saphira emerge out of the magic circle. This person¡­ this small, annoying-looking old green-skinned man, with a sharp and long nose, long ears, and angered-looking yellow eyes, alongside a long, white beard, was someone that marked ke and Eleanora''s early life.


    He was someone that gave them an opportunity to grow stronger, someone that took care of them when nobody did, someone that gave them food and shelter. Despite being annoying, always screaming, angered, and overly cranky¡­ Without this old man, Asmodeus and Eleanora might have ended dying on the streets, like nothing but rats.


    This was the man that put them both into shape, taught them the principles of Ki Maniption, and also Martial Arts. In the corner of an old and abandoned street filled with dangerous thugs and thieves, there was a small and old dojo in ruins, which nobody ever visited.


    By chance, the two of them when they were very youngnded there, freezing in the night. Before the two children were to wake up the next morning, they found themselves sleeping in a warm bed, with the smell of food in the background. This was the day their lives changed.


    Even after everything he went through, even after the things he aplished, and even after his own death and then reincarnation, within the inheritor of his memories and strength, ke, he still remembered him.


    "Hmph, what the heck kind of ce is this?" The cranky old goblin said, looking around. "One second I was dying on the streets and now I am¡­ in some kind of demon-infested battlefield- Huh? And who the heck are you kid?"


    "Old man, you can''t recognize me?" Asked ke. "Even after I''ve changed a lot, even after I died, I am still me, deep down, perhaps."


    "¡­Asmodeus?" The old goblin didn''t take too long to immediately recognize his disciple.


    His aura, his personality, his mannerism, his voice¡­. It all was like him, that young vampire kid that constantly trained to almost death every day, that wanted to be strong, to change his fate and that of the people around him. The one he gave up his own life so he could continue living¡­


    "Y-You¡­" The old man groaned.


    "Old man¡­" ke smiled.


    "YOU FUCKING IDIOT! I sacrificed myself there and youe and tell me you died and reincarnated as a goddamn human now?!" Roared the cranky old man, suddenly summoning a wooden stick and beginning to beat ke with it.


    CLASH! CLASH! CLASH!


    "Hahahaha! You''re as cranky as ever! I wouldn''t had liked it any other way!" Said ke. "It is nice to meet you once more, Master Woo."


    "Tch, damn kid." Sighed Woo. "And where the heck am I right now? Give me a brief exnation at least- Ah, my back doesn''t hurt anymore! What is this new body? I still look old as hell but I feel younger!"


    "You''re a spirit now, so you don''t even have bones." Laughed ke.


    "Spirit?!" Woo reacted.


    "You should figure it out by yourself soon enough. Every spirit receives some information as they''re summoned. Also, look, there''s a subordinate there you never meet." ke said. "He''s one of the many I had."


    FLAAASH!


    The second figure that was summoned was much taller and strong-looking than the little goblin grandpa. It had gray fur all over his body, the face of an angered and rabid wolf. A single red eye and the other covered in an eyepatch, ck leather clothes, and two knives. His size was of three meters, and perhaps a bit taller.


    He was a Werewolf, one of the few that served Asmodeus back then. And nobody else than the Leader of the Werewolf n within the of Astoria, the third Asmodeus ever visited after freeing his own from its corrupt government.


    "This ce¡­ Ah¡­ Who¡­?" He felt slightly confused. He was often timesughed at for being slightly slow at catching up.


    "Wee back, Fang." Said ke with a smile. "It has been a while, my old friend."<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "Huh? You¡­ Asmodeus? What happened¡­?" Fang wondered, looking at his own clothes and then noticing an old man at his side.


    "So this is your subordinate? A freaking dog?" Asked Woo.


    "His name is Fang, the Leader of the Werewolves of the of Astoria. I led a liberation war to free his with his tribes'' help." Said ke. "We wererades in arms."


    FLASH!


    And then, the information came, flowing into their minds. It informed them of their deaths, made their memories clearer, and more importantly, it made them realize the situation at hand.


    Although the old man didn''t kneeled, Fang did so, prostrating himself before the young human kid immediately after realizing he was the reincarnation of his master.


    "Master Asmodeus, it is an honor to be able to serve you once more, even after death!" He said excitedly, wagging his tail. "T-This is a God-given opportunity! I cannot believe that stupid Lucifer did something so foolish! Hahahaha! We''ll crush him! AWOOOOOOO!"


    He was very excited.


    "Tch, so I am now your goddamn spirit and there''s this dumb dog now too. At least I am relieved Eleanora''s here safe and sound." Sighed Woo. "However, that we are fighting something like an Archdemon is no good though, and your little pet over there''s already bursting to pieces."


    CLAAAASSHHHH!!!!


    Frost fell into the floor onest time, and then finally started to dissipate into particles of light. The gigantic Beelzebub red at ke with a furious aura of wrath¡­


    "ASMODEUS¡­"


    keughed.


    "Yeah, everyone else is doing their best by fighting the demons, do you two think you can lend me a hand?" Asked ke.


    "For sure, my liege." Said Fang, nodding and immediately unleashing a powerful Beast Aura, a unique power the Werebeasts of the of Astoria possessed. "[Spirit of the Wolf King]!"


    FLAAAAASSSHHH!!!!


    A gigantic aura resembling an enormous wolf emerged behind Fang, howling loudly.


    "AWOOOOOOOOO!!!"


    "Heh, what a showy power." Sighed Woo. "Watch and learn, kid. [37 Meridians Release]!"


    CLASH! CLASH! CLASH! CLASH!


    The old man suddenly hit several areas of his body, opening Meridians that made him overflow with ridiculous quantities of Ki! So much Ki that it was overflowing, resembling an endless sea of sparkling gold!


    "Good, we''re ready then." ke nodded. "Let''s do it."


    -----

 Chapter 635 Everyone Rushing In

    -----


    Meanwhile, as ke and his allies confronted the Demons and Beelzebub''s Second Vessel, Erika''s party was moving as fast as possible towards them. After receiving an alert of an enormously overwhelming Demonic Energy sourceing from the area that ke and his party was going to explore, Erika and her party, who had finished their hunting tasks quickly decided to go offer them some help.


    But moving from the Jungle Area to the Arid Steppes was a rather hard thing to do, and even while riding the Fenrir given to them by ke, it was taking them a while. Evelyn Scarlet, Umbra Darkbound, and Sasha Henrieth, the instructors in charge of these three parties ran at the side of their students, panicking about how badly ke''s party could be right now.


    "Agh, I was too reckless! I was too confident that he could take on everything! But this amount of Demonic Power is incredibly strong! A Demon Lord is not something those children can take, not even in a million years!" Evelyn sighed, riding her giant zing Lion King, one of her strongest Spirits.


    "Honestly, I am not confident we could take a high ranked Demon Lord even if we gathered all our strength." Sighed Umbra, a handsome long-haired elf. "If we had some of the veterans with us, things would be much different, however¡­" He was riding his Abyssal Bat King, his strongest Spirit.


    "I am worried! I hope they''re okay! But knowing how ke''s personality is, ording to what I''ve heard, I am dead-worried!" Cried Sasha, a gentle-hearted blonde human with green eyes. She was riding her Greater Nature Faun Queen, her strongest Spirit.


    They were not wrong, Instructors were below teachers as they had yet to attain that level of authority in the Academy, but were working towards bing one. They not only had to gather enough merit in raising students, but also they had to constantly strive to grow stronger by visiting the high level dungeons at least three times a month.


    However, at their current level, if theybined their forces, they could probably take down a low to mid-level Demon Lord with much effort, but against a high ranked Demon Lord, who might be as strong as Demon Overlords¡­ Things became much moreplicated.


    While Demon Lords could reach almost B- Rank, Demon Overlords could go as high as A+++ to S Rank! They were so strong they could destroy entire cities. And then, the Demon Kings, with five known so far governing their own Demon Towers around the world were simply untouchable monsters and embodiments of destruction.


    Erika, Elizabeth, Chris, and Elfriedden were incredibly worried as well. They had never battled a Demon Lord before at all, and the strongest monster they had taken down so far were at most D+ Rank, something as strong as C Rank was doable, but C+, C++, or even C+++ was total insanity, with the gap in stats between each rank bing wider and wider¡­


    "ke¡­ ke! Please be safe¡­!" Erika cried, gritting her teeth. "No, I know you''ll be safe, so please hang in there!"


    "We are getting closer!" Elizabeth said in surprise, pointing at the distance.


    "W-What is that?!" Elfriedden was shocked when he saw the scene.


    "T-That''s a giant¡­ demon, alright." Chris sighed.


    The rest of the students panicked, as the three instructors opened their jaws wide open in shock¡­ The gigantic entity of over a hundred meters, resembling a monstrous chimera between many insects in a humanoid shape, and an army of hundreds of Demons led by dozens of Demon Generals, alongside a giant fleshy and monstrous Demon Gate summoning more and more¡­ It was utter chaos, and something totally not nned for the students to even face!


    "A-At most they were going to fight D Rank monsters but this is too much!!!" Evelyn cried.


    "T-That giant demon¡­ It is the vessel of an Archdemon¡­" Said Umbra. "I can feel it, the power of the Archdemon of Gluttony, Beelzebub! W-Why?! Why is this entity here?!"


    "A-And ke and everyone else are fighting it and the demon army!" Cried Sasha.


    "What are you waiting for there?! Move!" Erika angrily said, quickly jumping off Fenrir and rushing on foot, her entire body started overflowing with enormous quantities of Mana, Ki, and Spiritual Energy as she suddenly grew dragon-like wings, scales, ws, and horns made of spiritual wood. "[Draconification]!"<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    FLAAAASH!


    She flew across the skies, flying as fast as possible to reach ke and help him out.


    Meanwhile, Elizabeth, Chris, and Elfriedden didn''t mind the shock of the others, rushing to help out their friends.


    The three instructors panicked as they saw him move closer and closer to the incredibly dangerous demons!


    "W-Wait a second! You can''t simply fight them by yourselves!" Panicked Evelyn, chasing them down. "U-Umbra, take care of the kids here! Sasha,e with me!"


    "E-Eh?! Why me?!" Cried Sasha, being dragged into the deadly battlefield.


    "Because you''re a light and nature magic wielder, idiot! That''s the best match against demons!" Evelyn sighed, she had been friends with Sasha and Umbra since she was a young student.


    "Uwaaah! Umbraaaa!" Sasha cried, as she was dragged away.


    Umbra sighed.


    "I''ll protect you, students. Remain in here, you don''t need to jump into this dangerous battle, you''vepleted your task now." Said Umbra.


    "But those fighting are also our friends!" Said one of them.


    "They''re also part of our party, we cannot simply leave them there¡­"


    "Yeah!"


    Some wanted to join their party, mostly the water-wielders. However, there was the other party with them led by an Instructor that had yet toe which was led by Rosen.


    "T-That crazy idiot is fighting an Archdemon? T-There''s no way I''ll risk my life for him¡­" Rosen sighed. "Though¡­ this damages my pride as a warrior¡­ Ugh, whatever, let''s go take on the small demons at least! If those brats are doing it, then why not us?!" Rosen said, riding his White Horse Spirit as he galloped into action gantly, his party of admirers quickly came behind him, and then the rest of the students followed¡­


    "W-Wait! Ugh, dammit!" Umbra sighed, having to join the fight as well.


    -----

 Chapter 636 The Strenght Of The Academys Professors

    -----


    After the Holy Spirit Rain that weakened the Demons and turned off their Demonic Infernal mes, the students furiously started fighting back against the Demons, with their buffs received from ke''s Spirits, the battle was beginning to slowly tip to their side!


    And even more, as they saw several dozens of more students suddenly reuniting with them, led by Evelyn, Sasha, and Umbra! rice and her party were surprised and happy, although she stillined angrily at them.


    "ROOOAAARRR!"


    FLUOOOSH! BOOOM!


    Evelyn''s zing Lion King roared furiously, shing, and burning his foes ferociously, demons were shed into pieces, and even Demon Generals couldn''t resist Evelyn''s own attacks, as she used a long spear to pierce their bodies countless times simrly to Elenora''s fighting style.


    CRASH! CRASH! CRAAASH!


    "Gryyyaaggh¡­!"


    Three Demon Generals fell in the span of a second as she reached the battlefield. Sasha and Umbra behind her did not ck off.


    "[Nature''s Healing]!" Sasha said, summoning a second spirit resembling a beautiful little green rabbit that floated in midair.


    FLAAAASH!


    The healing golden and green light healed all the wounded and tired students, while also spreading a territory of nature. nts, flowers, and trees started growing everywhere, wrapping around demons, and paralyzing them so the rest could take them down more easily.


    "[Abyssal Curse of Exhaustion]!" Umbra said, channeling the powers of his curse and darkness magic as he weakened hundreds of demons at once, making them tired, and forcing them to fall to their knees one after the other, as he swiftly took them down, Demon Generals included, using the aid of his Abyssal Bat King spirit''s shadow magic.


    The students were surprised, amazed, and relieved that reinforcements finally arrived! rice and her party swiftly regrouped with the rest of the water-wielding party led by Eduard, as the charismatic young noble greeted them.


    "Everyone! I am d you''re fine!" Eduard sighed. His gigantic Ocean Whale Spirit was constantly summoning waves of ocean water and pushing demons away, while his Agile Dolphin summoned Water Bullets, piercing their bodies rapidly.


    "Lord Eduard!" Cried Mimy.


    "I am so happy you''re alright, my lord!" Sighed Alianna.


    "W-We thought you would nevere!" Aquarius cried.


    "Yeah¡­" Aquaria was shocked they actually came to help them.


    "You three are so irresponsible! Where were you at all this time?!" rice reprimanded them. "And where is the fourth instructor at?!"


    "We sent him back to Stronghold to call Hero Dn and the Veterans! T-This is a high-ranking Demon Lord we''re dealing with!" Said Evelyn.


    "We don''t know if we can really take that thing down." Said Umbra.


    "Why is ke and his spirits still fighting that then?!" Sasha panicked.


    "Ah, right¡­" Umbra sighed.


    "ROOOOOOAAAARRRR!!!"


    The furious roar of Beelzebub''s vessel echoed across the entirends, shattering the ground. His mes might have been temporarily turned off, but he quickly summoned them once more, making the ground shatter and open wide, enormous eruptions ofva and mes surging endlessly!


    TRUUUM! TRUUUM! TRUUUMMM¡­!


    "Dammit, that thing can even summon the Infernal mes?!" Umbra asked while feeling rather afraid. "W-We''ve never fought such a high level demon before! How is that youngling handling it just fine?!"


    "He''s simply insane! That''s why!" rice sighed. "And he has way more spirits than any of us, and they''re super strong! Hendrick and Saphira had been helping us a lot, without them we would be dead. Eleanora is¡­ Wait, where is she and the rest of ke''s party?!"


    Meanwhile, within the other side of the battlefield, Eleanora jumped over the heads of Demon Generals by the dozens before beheading them one by one using her spear, jumping forwards.


    "T-The Vampire Queen Eleanora is hereeee!"


    "D-Dammit! We cannot let her destroy the Demon Gate!"<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "Shit¡­ I heard she destroyed the Infernal Ant Queen?!"


    "I''ll avenge her!"


    Dozens of high ranked Infernal Ant Demons that served the Ant Queen Eleanora killed easily surged one after the other, fusing into a massive mass of mes attacking her!


    "Eleanora! We''ll avenge our mother!!! DIE!"


    The swarm of zing insects formed a gigantic insectoid w, attempting to squish Eleanora like a bug! However, Eleanora only smiled, as her aura suddenly materialized thousands of small Shuriken made of Blood and Shadows.


    "[Scarlet Shadow Shuriken Tempest]!"


    FLUOOOOOSH!


    SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH!


    A spiraling tornado of shadows and blood energy surged from the ground, shing apart countless Demons and destroying the entire zing Swarm of Infernal Ants in mere seconds, tearing them all down to shreds!


    CRAAAAASH!


    "GRYYYAAAGGGH!"


    Their screams as they werepletely ughtered echoed around the battlefield, Eleanora''s Skill Levels continued rising rapidly as well and the more demons she killed, the higher her Demon yer Title became and the more bonus damage she dealt to them, alongside inflicting passive fear damage to them.


    "I-It''s impossible¡­"


    "T-This can''t be¡­!"


    "W-Wait, who are those?"


    "Uuaagggh!


    BOOOOOMMM!!!


    A missile fired from a Magic Cannon being held by a beautiful young dwarf girl came rushing down and exploded over the demons, sting them into pieces.


    CLASH! CLASH! CLASH! CLAAASH!


    Arrowsing from a spiritual archer reached the ground and then grew into trees, wrapping around the bodies of the demons, draining their life away and then withering them like mummies one after the other.


    "RAAAAAH!"


    CLAAAAAAASSSHHH!!!


    And an enormous palm made of demonic energy and ki impacted the demon army, blowing dozens of demons into the skies while the rest were sttered into pieces over the floor.


    "Hoh, you''re here! Good timing." Eleanora said, as she saw Alberta, Eric, and Erdrich catching up with her.


    "Eleanora, tell us what we need to do!" Said Eric.


    "We''vee to help out!" Alberta said.


    "Once we get this done, there''s no way I''m not punching that giant bastard over there though, so let''s hurry!" Said Erdrich.


    "Our task is simple, maintain the demons at bay so we can destroy that Living Demon Gate!" Eleanora said, summoning thousands of shuriken and slicing apart the demons on her way with her spear.


    "I SHALL NOT FALL SO EASILY, HUMANS!" The Living Demon Gate spoke, exuding the powerful aura of a Demon Lord itself! "LORD BEELZEBUB SHALL TAKE THIS WORLD AS HIS OWN!"


    -----

 Chapter 637 Against The Living Demon Gate

    -----


    Eleanora was surprised Eric, Alberta, and Erdrich have appeared to support her. But then again, they were also her friends. She grew up with all of them through all these years, and it was quite obvious they would feel worried about whatever she was doing, even if she was a Spirit.


    "Hoh, you''re here! Good timing." She giggled.


    "Eleanora, tell us what we need to do!" Said Eric.


    "We''vee to help out!" Alberta said.


    "Once we get this done, there''s no way I''m not punching that giant bastard over there though, so let''s hurry!" Said Erdrich.


    "Our task is simple, maintain the demons at bay so we can destroy that Living Demon Gate!" Eleanora said, summoning thousands of shuriken and slicing apart the demons on her way with her spear.


    "I SHALL NOT FALL SO EASILY, HUMANS!" The Living Demon Gate spoke, exuding the powerful aura of a Demon Lord itself! "LORD BEELZEBUB SHALL TAKE THIS WORLD AS HIS OWN!"


    However, the Living Demon Gate was indeed alive. It wasn''t merely some artifact or something, but an entity Beelzebub created using his own flesh, blood, and soul, and also his Demonic Magical Powers.


    It exuded the power of a Demon Lord, and it wasn''t something that could be taken lightly. Eleanora alone was thinking about blowing herself up like before in an attempt to y it, but if she had Eric, Alberta, and Erdrich helping her out, then things seemed much more possible.


    ¡­In practice.


    "Eric, Alberta, attack from afar. Erdrich,e with me, we''re going to crush that thing head-on!" Said Eleanora.


    "Got it!" Erdrich rushed forwards, his very presence unleashing shockwaves of Ki, Mana, and Demonic Energy that spread everywhere, crushing countless demons.


    "Alright!" Eric nodded.


    "The Golems I''ve prepared should be enough defenses!" Alberta said.


    Alberta quickly opened her Dimensional Pouch capable of storing many things bigger than the pouch''s size, as she took out a dozen of metallic spheres the size of watermelons, imbuing mana into them and then throwing them into the ground.


    CLANK! CLANK! CLANK!


    FLAAAASH!


    They unleashed an aura of spiritual and mana energy,bining together and forcing a transformation, as they all suddenly started growingrger andrger, resembling giant, metallic golems with red colored stripes and a synthetized spiritual core in their chests!


    "Uoooh! Amazing, Alberta!" Eric was surprised over hertest creation.


    "E-Eheheh¡­ R-Right? I-I was going to leave them forter b-but I guess I don''t have any choice now!" She said while ordering her golems to cover their back. "Now, guard us and defend us!"


    "GRUOOHHH!" The golem roared with metallic voices, beginning to punch the demons, st them withsers, or crush them with their heavy weapons.


    Meanwhile, Eric wasn''t going to just shoot arrows either, he quickly summoned his two Spirits, the vines, and the Yggdrasil Treant, fusing their powers together and spreading a domain of nature.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "[Spirit Technique]: [Spiritual Domain of Yggdrasil]!"


    FLAAAAAASH!


    The arid ground suddenly grew grass, flowers, and dozens of gigantic spirit trees everywhere, fusing with vines and more, and then beginning to move on their own. The trees became giant fists, punching the demons, while the vines coiled around them like snakes.


    Meanwhile, the aura that the domain emanated healed minor wounds, restored stamina, and also weakened demons. It was one of Eric''s strongest Spirit Techniques, which fused both of his spirits into the ground itself to create a powerful domain that both protected, attacked, and healed.


    This coupled with Alberta''s powerful golems made for an incredible defense. The two then proceeded to st everything by shooting spiritual arrows and explosive missiles everywhere, although they made sure to clear the path for Eleanora and Erdrich, and constantly targeting any Demon that came from the Living Demon Gate''s portal leading to the Demon Tower of Gluttony.


    CLAASH! CRAAASH! SLAAAASH! BAAAAM!


    Eleanora and Erdrich rushed forward, crushing and slicing apart countless demons that tried to get in their way. They had once struggled against a Demon General, but now they were easily crushing them like bugs through their overwhelming strength.


    "Although this Gate is Alive and as strong as a Demon Lord, why are there no stronger demonsing out of it?!" Wondered Erdrich. Punching a dozen demons with enormous, overwhelming strength to the point they started exploding into pieces.


    CLASH! CLASH! CLAAASH!


    "Well, depending in the ss and rank of a Demon Gate, certain types of demons and ranks cane out. This is why not just any Gate can summon powerful Demons. This Gate was made hurriedly through the usage of Beelzebub''s second vessel''s flesh, and a bit of his soul, therefore, it is a Living Demon gate as strong as a low-rank Demon Lord, but it still incapable of summoning Demon Lord Rank Demons itself." Said Eleanora, exining things in detail while beheading three Demon generals with a swing of her spear.


    S L A A A A A S S H!


    "So for a Demon Gate that strong, necessary materials are needed." Said Erdrich, finally understanding how it worked and satiating his curiosity a bit.


    "Why? Do you want to open a Demon Gate or something?" Giggled Eleanora.


    "I was just thinking that if we could create our own, we could directly enter the Demon Towers." Said Erdrich. "But that would be too hard to do now, isn''t it?"


    "You''re smart, boy. But indeed, it would be tooplicated now!" Eleanora said. "Fear not, because my lord will begin doing such things in the near future¡­ For now, let''s get rid of this problem first."


    Leaving a trail of bloodied corpses behind, Eleanora and Erdrich reached the Living Demon Gate at longst, as its countless red eyes red at them furiously.


    "GRRRHHH! You''re ying my demons so easily! How dare you! DIE!" Roared the Living Demon Gate furiously, as dozens of giant tentacles surged from beneath the ground, unleashing countless whipping attacks!


    CL A A S H!


    C L A A A S H!


    C L A A A A A S H!


    -----

 Chapter 638 Changing The Tide Of Battle!

    -----


    Erdrich and Eleanora made their way to their target, the Living Demon Gate at longst, facing the gigantic Demonic Monster, the creature was frustrated over how easily they were ying his summons, as if they were just garbage!


    "GRRRHHH! You''re ying my demons so easily! How dare you! DIE!" Roared the Living Demon Gate furiously, as dozens of giant tentacles surged from beneath the ground, unleashing countless whipping attacks!


    CLAASH! CLAAASH! CLAAAAASH!


    "I''ll go to the right; you go to the left." Eleanora said with a smile.


    "Understood." Erdrich nodded.


    FLASH! FLASH!


    Both leaped out of the ground and gracefully evaded the gigantic tentaclesing after them. Eleanora shed them apart and burned them using her Crimson re, while Erdrich crushed them into pieces with attacks that wereposed by multiple punches at once.


    SLASH! SLASH! SLASH!


    BAAAM! BAAAM! BAAAM!


    "GRYYYAKKKHH!" The Living Demon Gate groaned.


    Despite having the Magical Power of a Demon Lord Rank Monster, because it was a newborn demon, it was very dumb, simple-minded, and due to its form, it had to concentrate most of its powers into maintaining the portal.


    As Eleanora and Erdrich drew closer, it also grew desperate. His eyes opened widely and then, he charged arge quantity of Demonic Energy inside, unleashing countless rays against the two of them.


    "DIEEEEE!!"


    FLASH! FLASH! FLASH! FLASH! FLASH!


    "Unnggh¡­!" Eleanora was caught off guard by the incredibly fast attacks, her spiritual body received several holes over her body, as her spiritual essence began flowing out of her regenerating wounds like shiny golden blood. "Tsk! Those beams are deadly, Erdrich, are you okay?!"


    Eleanora suddenly saw Erdrich''s torso, arms, and legs being covered in holes! However, seconds after, his Demonic Power enhanced his regenerating just as fast as hers, as all wounds recovered and his red skin slowly started to gain ck tattoos.


    "RAAAAAHH!!!" Erdrich became a berserk, charging in and attacking the Living Demon gate with all the fury. Using the damage he took as a booster of power for his moves! "[Demonic Sacrifice]!"


    FLUOOOSH!


    His fists were loaded with a red, demonic energy as the damage he took was transformed into extra power for his blows!


    CLAAASH! CLAAAAASH!


    Two punches reached one side of the Living Demon Gate, crushing its enormously hard flesh, and leaving two ugly holes behind, which were not regenerating as fast as the Living Demon Gate was hoping.


    "GRUUAAGGH! I-IF ONLY I COULD MOVE, UGH!" The Living Demon gate cried, summoning dozens of Demonic Magic Circles and unleashing a rain of Demonic Fireballs. "DIE ALREADYYYY¡­!"


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOOM!


    Eleanora rushed in front of Erdrich, rotating her Demonic Spear, Envy rapidly, and making it so it easily reflected all Demonic mes, while her own Crimson re started absorbing the mes themselves.


    "[Synthesis]!"


    FLUOOOSH!


    Eleanora, much like her master, was an opportunist. By gathering theserge quantities of Demonic Fire of high quality with her own Scarlet re, she fused them all together into her own Spear, forcing an evolution! Her spear was already near max level, so it was doable.


    FLAAAAASH!!!


    The spear suddenly becamepletely red in color, as it materialized a crystal on its handle concentrating Demonic and Vampiric power together. The sharp end gained several teeth-like growths, resembling the jaws of a demon.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "W-What the¡­ What did you do?!" Cried the Living Demon Gate, only to see Eleanora piercing through his fleshy body and leaving countless, horrendous wounds that began to light up on a Vampiric Demonic me!


    CLASH! CLASH! CLASH! CLAASH! CLAAAASH!


    FLUOOOOOOSH!


    The mes spread everywhere, burning the monstrous demon as it screamed horrendously with a very loud and annoying voice.


    "GRYYYYEEEEEHHHHHHH¡­! IT HURTSSSS¡­.!" Cried the Living Demon Gate, as it was about to unleash itssers, only to find Erdrich''s skin turning as ck as charcoal, gaining golden tattoos, and then being epassed by a demonic armor spirit, boosting his power even further!


    "[Heavenly Demon Arts]: [One Hundred Demonic Fists]! HAAAHHH!"


    CLAAASH! CLAAAASH! CRAAAASH! CRAAAAASH!


    His enormous fists started making the Demon Gate crumble apart,bined with Eleanora''s attacks. The two overwhelmed the Living Demon Gate while Eric and Alberta shoot arrows and missiles from afar!


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOOM! BOOOOM!!!


    "NOOOO! GRYYAAAAAGGGH! LORD BEELZEBUUUUB¡­!"


    The Living Demon Gate couldn''t take it anymore, the portal suddenly closed, cutting into halves the demons pouring out of it and then beginning to crumble and fall apart into pieces, sttering with its organs, blood, and eyes into the floor.


    BAAAAAAAMMMM¡­!


    "They did it! They destroyed the Demon Gate!" Eric celebrated.


    "A-Amazing!" Alberta said in surprise.


    The demons finally stoppeding out endlessly, and now the army of demons stopped feeling so confident as well, some even began running away, only to be greeted byrge groups of Red Orcs, Fenrirs, and Dracos that started killing them rapidly.


    ke smiled from afar, using his Familiar Multiplication Skill to quickly divide his familiars and summon them by dozens while constantly drinking Mana Potions.


    "G-Gryeeehh¡­ I need to run before- GRYEEEGH!" A small mass of flesh and tentacles with a single eye tried to crawl away from the corpse of the Living Demon Gate, only to be caught by Eleanora using a Blood Net.


    "Look what we got here¡­" She giggled. "Did that gate had a child or something? No, probably self division?"


    "L-Let me go!!!" Cried the small fleshy creature, it was a tiny Living Demon Gate.


    "Don''t worry, we are not going to kill you." Said Eleanora. "My lord is interested in what you are, and it is convenient you are tiny and defenseless now, fufuf¡­ But for now, Hendrick."


    "Sleep tight, little one~!" Hendrickughed, producing a sleeping gas even demons could be affected with, the small creature quickly fell asleep while groaning¡­


    "N-No! Wait¡­ Unnggh¡­! L-Lord Beelzebub¡­" As the Little Living Demon Gate fell asleep, Eleanora and Erdrich nced at the demons from afar.


    "Master says that we must protect the students for now, so let us do that." Hendrick said. "Eleanora, well done!"


    "I don''t need your praises, Hendrick." Eleanora sighed. "Erdrich, are you alright?"


    "Yeah, let''s do this." Erdrich said.


    "Yawn¡­ I am getting sleepy¡­ Ah! So many demons¡­ I want to hurry and get to go help papa already! The big bug doesn''t seem so easy to defeat¡­" Sighed Saphira.


    "Maybe, but he sure is having fun with our newpanions." Giggled Hendrick. "And¡­ oh! It appears some allies areing to his aid, how nice. Hopefully, things can wrap up quickly. I can''t wait to do some experiments with our new test subject!"


    -----

 Chapter 639 Acquiring Authorities!

    -----


    "ASMODEUS!!!"


    CLASH! CLASH! CLASH! CLASH! CLAAAAASSSHHH!!!


    Beelzebub roared furiously his gigantic and sluggish insectoid ws, engulfed on demonic mes, began shattering the ground apart with countless fist attacks. As the ground shattered, eruptions of magma and infernal mes emerged constantly.


    TRUUUM! TRUUUM! TRUUUUMMM¡­!


    He was attempting to kill ke by using his fists and his infernal fire magic, but things were getting rather hard. His bod was strong and durable, but incredibly slow and inurate. ke, who was so smallpared to him, easily flew away from his blows, and constantly evaded them.


    At the same time, Woo, and Fang, his two new Vampire Spirits were attacking Beelzebub from right and left, leaving little time for him to aim or predict ke''s movements.


    "Hey you damn disgusting bug! Where are you looking at, shithead?! I am right here!" Laughed Woo, leaping in midair with just the strength of his legs through a Martial Technique named [Cloud Step] while unleashing fist attacks that resembled meteors in the shape of fists made out of his Ki!


    CLASH! CLASH! CLAASH! CLAAASH! CLAAAAASH! CLAAAAASSSSHHHH!!!!


    Each Meteor Fist was incredibly powerful, leaving giant holes all over Beelzebub''s back and slowly weakening him. The worst part was that such wounds were incredibly hard to regenerate and they healed incredibly slowly, and above all¡­ they disrupted his energy flow!


    "Unnngggh¡­! YOU DAMN OLD MAN!" Roared Beelzebub in fury, suddenly unleashing an eruption of mes from his entire body, attempting to burn the small Woo into cinders. "DIEEEE!!"


    FLUOOSH!


    However, his mes didn''t worked as he intended! Beelzebub quickly realized that his flow of demonic energy and soul power from his original soul were being disrupted by Woo''s attacks. Each wound he left over his body disrupted his energy flow, even if he didn''t even had Ki to begin with.


    This was a technique Woo had practiced through his entire life, but that could never truly master¡­ until he was reborn as a Vampire Spirit, with enough power to finally master many of his techniques and evolve them intopletely new powers altogether.


    "M-My fire is not responding to my will?!" Beelzebub was shocked. "Unnggh¡­ My demonic energy is disrupted! What sort of trick is this?! AAAGH! And it hurts when I try to force it out! A pain in my very soul?!"


    "I can tell you''re an ignorant bug that hasn''t used all the billions of years that you''ve lived to learn a single thing about acupuncture, dumbass. Even an ugly monster like you has pressure points! I simply have to punch them really hard and you''re going to have a really, REALLY bad time! Kuahahahaha!" Laughed Woo, the old goblin suddenly channeled enormous, ridiculous quantities of Ki and then started stepping over the air rapidly, surrounding Beelzebub with countless Meteor Fists and crushing his pressure points more and more! "Oi dog, are you doing something or what?!"


    "For sure, partner!" Laughed Fang, descending from the skies as a gigantic wolf made of spiritual power. This was his Spirit Beast King Fusion Ability,bining himself with the Spirit Beast of the Wolf King, he gained tremendous power!


    CRAAAAAASSHHHHH!!!!


    The giant Fangnded over Beelzebub, shing, biting, and burning his entire body by conjuring blue mes of purgatory over his body!


    SLASH! SLASH! CRAAASH! FLUOOOSH!


    "GRUUUAAGGH¡­! GET OFF ME, YOU DIRTY DOG!" Beelzebub cried furiously, attempting to throw Fang into the floor only for Fang to quickly jump away from his body and then attack him several times, shing across the skies and the ground gracefully.


    CLAAASH! CLAAASH! CLAAAASH!


    CRAASH!


    "Unnggh?!" Beelzebub quickly realized he was missing his left arm as Fang had tore it out of his body before he even realized it! "Y-YOUUU¡­! Hehehe, that arm you''re holding is still part of me!!!"


    Beelzebub tried to order the arm to move on its own but¡­ It wasn''t working. Thanks to Woo, his Demonic Energy Control was all over the ce!


    "Oh? Did you said something?" Laughed ke, quickly grabbing Beelzebub''s arm. "Thank you for the gift, Beelzebub. Gluttony!"<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH!


    The arm was sliced apart into countless pieces, as ke used his monstrous Demonic Arm, devouring and absorbing Beelzebub''s arms powers with each bite-sized piece. At the same time, Gluttony took some part of it to powerup as well.


    FLUOOSH!


    ke felt an enormous quantity of fresh Demonic Energy surging across his body and the Gluttony spear, both started evolving and growing stronger. His newly generated Demonic Core, located on his Demonic Arm started ranking up as well!


    Ding!


    [You have absorbed [Giant Archdemon Beelzebub''s Vessel Arm] x1!]


    [Your Physique has grown stronger!]


    [Your Demon Core has grown stronger!]


    [Your [Demon Core]: [Hungry Demon Core (Tier 1: Rank 5)] has increased to Tier 2: Rank 2!]


    [All of your Stats have increased as a result!]


    [Your Demonic Energy Maximum Capacity is increasing greatly!]


    [All of your Demon Arm Abilities have grown stronger.]


    [Your Demonic Arm has developed the [Tier 4: Archdemons'' Vessel Authority] Ability!]


    [You can now exert a part of the Archdemon of Gluttony''s Authority.]


    [You learned the [Infernal Demonic mes Authority: Lv1] Magic Skill!]


    [The [Demonic Arts: Lv3] Skill Level has increased to Level 5!]


    -----


    [Infernal Demonic mes Authority: Lv1]


    Skill Proficiency: 0/10000


    A Unique Authority that only incredibly powerful Demon Lord-Rank Demons and above within the depths of Hell can conjure, which allows for the ability to summon the mes from hell itself. These mes are much different than normal mes, as they can burn through anything easily, cannot be turned off with normal magic, and constantly curse any living foe they touch, contaminatend, and generate miasma the more they burn things.


    While conjuring the mes, Damage Dealt increases by +110%, with an additional +20% with each Skill Level. mes ignore 25% of a target''s magic resistance. Can only be conjured utilizing Demonic Energy. The higher the Skill Level, the more the mes can be controlled and shaped.


    -----


    "Two authorities in one, interesting. Thanks a lot, Beelzebub." Laughed ke, suddenly fusing his Authority of Gluttony into his spear, alongside his new demonic mes,bining them with his holy light powers and creating a brand-new type of fire!


    FLUOOOOOSH!


    -----

 Chapter 640 Heavenly Karma Flames

    -----


    Ding!


    [You have absorbed [Giant Archdemon Beelzebub''s Vessel Arm] x1!]


    [Your Physique has grown stronger!]


    [Your Demon Core has grown stronger!]


    [Your [Demon Core]: [Hungry Demon Core (Tier 1: Rank 5)] has increased to Tier 2: Rank 2!]


    [All of your Stats have increased as a result!]


    [Your Demonic Energy Maximum Capacity is increasing greatly!]


    [All of your Demon Arm Abilities have grown stronger.]


    [Your Demonic Arm has developed the [Tier 4: Archdemons'' Vessel Authority] Ability!]


    [You can now exert a part of the Archdemon of Gluttony''s Authority.]


    [You learned the [Infernal Demonic mes Authority: Lv1] Magic Skill!]


    [The [Demonic Arts: Lv3] Skill Level has increased to Level 5!]


    After absorbing Beelzebub''s arm, ke gained brand new powers, and immediately decided to use them against the hardy and tanky beast in front of him. Fusing his Infernal Demonic mes Authority with his Holy Light Spirit Powers from his Holy Spirit''s Ring¡­ created a brand new type of me.


    Ding!


    [The Effects of the [Fusion: Lv1] Skill have been Activated.]


    [You''ve fused [Infernal Demonic mes] with [Holy Spiritual Light]!]


    [You''ve created the [Heavenly Karma mes]!]


    FLUOOOOSH!


    The me that surged from the fusion overflowed with the power of Karma itself, a powerful Attribute that ruled over the entire Universe. Although at this level, it was limited to the powers ke possessed, it was an incredibly high-level type of fire he had only refined when he was Asmodeus.


    And it was these mes that burned and melted thousands of demons'' legions with a simple wave of his hand. Karma mesbined the principles of the Heavenly Cultivation Ki technique with the all-destructive power of the Infernal mes of Demons.


    Of course, back then he had made an imperfect Karma me. But now¡­ with the power of the true infernal mes and also the holy spirit''s light, it had evolved into Heavenly Karma mes.


    "T-That fire¡­" Beelzebub reacted in shock and awe. "Howe you can bnce the power between Heavenly Powers and Demonic Powers like this?! T-This is¡­ So you''re bing a demon too?!"


    "I''ve decided to just be one so I can kill you better." ke smiled. "[Heavenly Karma''s zing Retribution]!"


    FLUOOOOOOOSH!


    The white mes of Karma waved furiously, engulfing Beelzebubpletely as he started to melt! The power of the mes continued to grow the more sins the target hadmitted, and the more his negative karma was, the more it hurt!


    "GRUUAAAGGGGGHHHH¡­! Y-YOUUUUU! ASMODEUSSSSS¡­!"


    Beelzebub, tanking the mes, began attacking Asmodeus furiously. ke quickly sensed his Soul emerging from within his Vessel, even if that meant hurting himself. His grudge against him was immense, to the point the Archdemon wanted to kill him even if he had to expose his soul to this world and receive punishment from Hell and Spiritias Laws.


    "Keep barking." Laughed ke, shooting countless fireballs against Beelzebub while flying around. His two spirits constantly attacked Beelzebub with their long-ranged attacks, slowly beginning to overwhelm him.


    BOOM! BOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOOOM!


    ke waspletely dominating him! His strengths and abilities have simply continued to evolve and would continue growing much stronger.


    Beelzebub was growing insane, inflicting himself self-harm by forcing his soul to possess the weaker vessel with more and more power, even if it meant his very soul were to start damaging itself more.


    "GRUUUAAGGH! DAMMIT¡­ DAMMIT!!!" Beelzebub roared, summoning a gigantic swarm of demonic bugs from his very soul, and swarming everything! "NOT¡­ YET!!!"


    BBBBZZZZZTTT!


    Swarms of Demonic General-Rank Insectoid Demons surged from his very soul, attacking ke and his Vampire Spirits. They were being suddenly overwhelmed¡­ but with the power of the Karma mes, even this swarm was melted alive!


    However, ke wasn''tpletely invincible. These Heavenly Karma mes required an enormous quantity of energy to be created, even all the Demonic Energy he had gained was beginning to run low, and his Holy Spirit Ring''s internal spiritual energy of the holy spirits was also running low quickly!


    "Unnnggh¡­! Just¡­ some more¡­ I have to hold it off! Everyone, give it your all¡­!" ke roared, using his Demonic Arm to transform into countless forms, shing, tearing apart, his foes. His spear danced and devoured everything, while his white mes consumed the demons.


    Woo and Fang roared, unleashing their strongest blows. The endless swarm of Beelzebub continued growing in numbers no matter how many died. Some quickly began fusing turning into pseudo demon lords, bing stronger!


    One, two, three, four Demon Lords appeared all at once, overwhelming even ke!


    CLASH! CLASH! CLASH! CLASH! CLAAASH!


    "How many do you have?! Show me all of them, Beelzebub! Show me your strength, coward!" ke provoked him more and more. He wanted him to expose his soulpletely to him!


    However, he was growing tired and weakened the more he fought. Only minutes passed but it seemed like an endless battle. Could he handle it all by himself and with only two summons?


    "RAAAAHAHAHAHA! DIE! DIE ASMODEUS!" Beelzebub suddenly seemed to have attained the upper hand as Asmodeus was being pierced constantly by the spears of many insectoid demon lords, his body zing with infernal mes while constantly regenerating.


    He unleashed all sorts of magic and spear techniques, his Draconification barely helping him survive by fusing with his demon and vampiric powers, even with all his strength being used all at once, he was barely hanging on a thin thread!


    Until¡­


    "BLAKEEEEE!"


    FLAAAAAASHHH!!!


    A gigantic sh of nature''s light emerged, filled with holy spiritual power, which instantly turned weaker insectoid demons into ashes and heavily weakened the demon lords, as ke took the opportunity to y them one by one!


    SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLAAASH!


    At the same time, he saw the person that arrived, from all those that coulde and give him a hand, he honestly didn''t expect her toe¡­ But well, she was the most reckless and bravest of all his friends, and also, his most beloved.


    "Erika!" ke said in surprise, seeing Erika transformed into her Nature Dragon form, flying with wings made of leaves, flowers, and branches.


    "I made it in time!" Erika smiled cheerfully.


    -----

 Chapter 641 Ultimate Clash! Overwhelming Beelzebub!

    -----


    Ding!


    [The [Holy Spirit of Nature] seems relieved Erika has appeared.]


    [The [Holy Spirit of Love] cheers for the power couple!]


    [Both Spirits have sponsored a [Mana Healing Package] x1 and [Spiritual Healing Package] x1]


    [All of your Mana and Spiritual Energy will bepletely healed.]


    FLAAAASH!


    With the power of the Holy Spirits, ke''s low Mana and Spiritual Energy reserves were instantly healed. It seemed that they were waiting just for the right moment.


    "You two sure love drama." He sighed internally, as he quickly flew towards Erika, the couple ying demons as they made their way together.


    "ke!" Erika hugged ke amidst an inferno of Karma mes and demons dying.


    "Erika, I''m d you''re here but¡­ That was risky!" ke immediately reprimanded her.


    "S-Sorry but I had toe! I was worried! I will fight at your side!" Erika said stubbornly.


    Well, it wasn''t as if he didn''t liked that side of hers. That bravery and recklessness meant she had a strong heart, something rare to find in this world. It was one of the things that captivated him. As someone strong, he naturally liked strong people.


    "Heh, well, this is Woo and Fang, new spirits I just summoned." Said ke.


    "Ohooo! So this is your girlfriend!" Wooughed, crushing the heads of several demons on his way.


    "It is an honor to meet my master''s future wife." Said Fang, bowing his head.


    "F-Future wife?! Oh my~" Erika suddenly got all embarrassed.


    "Now, there''s no time to talk unnecessary things¡­" ke said. "We''ve got an Archdemon to y."


    "Right! So this is Beelzebub''s vessel?!" Asked Erika.


    "Indeed." ke nodded.


    The four faced the giant insect, his entire body was transforming, bing bigger and stronger, more monstrous, aberrant, the more his soul was imbued into the vessel, the more it transformed into his true appearance¡­ However, this also made it so his soul took more and more of a burden.


    "ASMODEUSSSSS¡­! SO THE DESTESTABLE CHILD OF THIS WORLD''S HOLY SPIRITS HAS APPEARED! WELL, IT DOES NOT MATTER! YOU''RE ALL DEAD!"


    Beelzebub roared with fury, his insectoid ws piercing the skies and attacking. Each attack from these ws made the entire sky tremble and the heavens shatter. Gigantic shockwaves of enormous power constantly exuded everywhere, overwhelming the entire world.


    The very presence of an Archdemons Soul in the world of Spiritias made the entire world''sws themselves, maintained by the Holy Spirits, the Pirs of the world, distort and suffer. The space itself started distorting and shattering as ripples appeared everywhere!


    "SHUT UP!!!" Erika roared furiously, using her powers as she suddenly grew an enormous fist made of spiritual wood and imbued with the power of a dragon. ke''s Heavenly Karma mes were fused into her fist, as it fell directly towards Beelzebub!


    CLAAAAAAASSSHHHH!!!


    "UUUAAGGGH¡­!"


    The power of the Holy Spirits surging through her unique bodybined with the Heavenly Karma mes made for an incredibly deadly attack!


    BAAAAAMMM¡­!


    Beelzebub ended falling over the floor, generating a loud earthquake. His Insectoid army was in by ke and his spirits by now, and the couple immediately descended towards him with everything they had!


    "DAMMIT!"


    Beelzebub roared, intercepting their attacks with his gigantic fists and ws, countless shes in midair happened, the skies ripped apart, the earth below shattered, the world trembled!


    CRAASH! CRAASH! CRAASH! CRAAASH!


    And while this happened, two more figures emerged from the distance, joining the fight. One was overflowing with Blood and Spiritual Power, surpassing both Woo and Fang in power, while the second overflowed with the power of the Holy Spirit of Light, her three holy spirits being summoned at the same time, as they fused their strength into a single, gigantic hammer.


    "[Divine Vampiric Spear Arts]: [Endless Abyssal Sea of Blood]!"


    "[Spirit Fusion Arts]: [Heavenly Spiritual Dragon Hammer of Judgment]!"


    An endless rain of spear attacksbined with Ki, Mana, and Vampiric Energy fell over Beelzebub,pletely overwhelming him.


    ¡¤?¦Èm At the same time, a gigantic hammer almost the same size as his head reached his torso, breaking it apart and spreading holy light all over his body, burning it!<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    CRAAAAAAAASSSSHHHHH!!!


    "GRUUUAAGGGGHH¡­!"


    As Beelzebub screamed in agony, ke and Erika noticed who had arrived. It was Eleanora and Elizabeth!


    "We''ve just made it, master!" Eleanora smiled.


    "ke! You reckless dummy!" Elizabeth reprimanded him. "Why are you fighting this thing all by yourself?!" She pointed the giant hammer at him.


    "Thank you foring to help." keughed. "It seems your Weapon Spirit technique has finally developed, Elizabeth."


    "S-Stop evading the question!" Elizabeth pouted.


    "I also have mastered it some more after training thesest months!" Erika smiled, as she summoned her army of Spirit Dolls. "[Spirit Weapon Embodiment]!"


    FLASH! FLASH! FLASH! FLASH! FLASH!


    And then, all dolls transformed into gigantic weapons, depending in their ss, they became Axes for Hunters, Swords for Knights, Spears for Soldiers, Magic Staffs for Magicians, Daggers for Thieves, and Bows for Archers!


    "YOUUUUUU¡­!"


    Beelzebub wasn''t going to let them have a sweet time, as he immediately tried to fight them, distorting his body into a monstrous, crab-like abomination, and opening his gigantic pincers, attempting to crush them all with his overwhelmingly superior body size!


    CRAASH! CRAAASH!


    However, his attacks were swiftly evaded, as the three girls and ke attacked back. ke quickly transformed Woo and Fang into weapons, both turning into gauntlets, interestingly enough, giving him enough power to his fists and the ability to both summon the Spirit Wolf King''s ws and Woo''s Meteor Fist!


    A barrage of attacks from Eleanora, Elizabeth, Erika, and ke rained over the exposed Beelzebub, who stupidly exposed his soul constantly, as they started crushing and tearing apart his body into pieces constantly!


    CLASH! CLASH! CLASH! CLASH! CLASH! CLAAASH! CLAAAASH!


    "GRAAAAAGGGH¡­! ASMODEUSSS¡­! YOU DAMN¡­!"


    FLASH!


    ke flew directly towards his exposed chest, as Asmodeus saw his exposed soul at longst. A wicked smile surged on his lips.


    "Thank you for exposing yourself to me so willingly, Beelzebub!" keughed, as his hands suddenly summoned a gigantic de made entirely out of pure heavenly spiritual light! "[Divine Light Sword]! Holy Spirit of Light, now''s your turn!"


    CLAAAAAASSSHHHHH!!!


    The heavenly sword pierced through Beelzebub''s Archdemon soul, as the powers of the Holy Spirit of Light surged from within the soul, infiltrating Beelzebub''s soul and consuming it through his divine, overwhelming heavenly light!


    "W-What?! Unngh?! What did you do?! WHAT¡­ DID YOU DOOOOOO?! UUGRRYYAAAAAGGGGHHH¡­.!"


    FLAAAAAAAAASSSSHHHHHHHH¡­!


    Beelzebub screamed in agony as his entire soul was consumed by the light, forcing himself to pull back to the depths of hell where it couldn''t reach himpletely.


    Crack¡­ CRAAASH!


    However, arge chunk of his soul was shattered into pieces!


    "And don''t you dare enter my world ever again, Archdemon!" The Holy Spirit of Light roared, as his manifestation surged in the dimension between Hell and Spiritias!


    "HOW DARE YOUUU¡­!" Beelzebub screamed in frustration as he was thrown back to his dimension, while the Holy Spirit of Light used this opportunity to use the soul fragment of Beelzebub''s soul as a connection to the Demon Tower of Gluttony.


    "It was in here¡­!"


    The Holy Spirit of Light Authority surged in the Demon Tower of Gluttony''sst floor, reaching the Demon Tower''s Core and then¡­ shattering it into pieces!


    CRAAAAASH!


    The entire world started to tremble, as the Demon Tower of Gluttony began falling apart.


    RUMBLE!


    ke smiled, barely holding himself from falling unconscious.


    "In your fucking face, bastard¡­"


    -----

 Chapter 642 Declaration Of War

    -----


    "GRAAAAAAHHHHH!!!"


    The scream of Beelzebub could be heard all across the Dimension of Hell. His Soul was shattered as arge piece of it was destroyed and taken away. At the same time as his connection with the Demon Tower of Gluttony was cut and the Core of the Tower was destroyed.


    "T-This can''t be¡­ Unnggh¡­! Howe¡­ I have¡­ been fooled¡­" Beelzebubmented, as his soul went back to the statue of himself dwelling within the Castle of Gluttony, where Asmodeus and his Vampires had sealed him.


    The seal was just as strong as ever even after all this time, and Lucifer seemed to have not even been working on fixing it nor freeing them either. With Beelzebub''s only ns to gain power foiled, the other Archdemons across Hell, and even Lucifer, had mixed opinions.


    However, the reaction they al equally shared as they sensed Beelzebub''s utter defeat was¡­ shock! Utter shock! There was nothing but shock as they realized the reincarnated Asmodeus once more defeated one of them, and even managed to ally the Holy Spirits, using their divine powers to damage Beelzebub even when he had yet to attain the power to do so himself.


    But where there''s tragedy, others find new opportunities. The Archdemons were shocked, angered, and then¡­ overjoyed. With Beelzebub out of the picture, their Towers will now be able to absorb more power from Spiritias and expand their domain further.


    It was quite clear that Archdemons were enemies of one another, and they didn''t really fancy each other at all. Seeing another fall was a joyous event for them. However, as they shared amon enemy, they were still rather concerned, and alliances¡­ might surge amidst their desperate attempt at ying ke before things could get out of control.


    "Beelzebub has been defeated and even a piece of his soul was taken away?! What a loser! I guess we won''t be needing him any longer, hahaha!" Laughed Leviathan, the Archdemon of Envy.


    "It is a rather interesting asion¡­ Though, to think that Asmodeus has grown this strong already¡­" Spoke Lilith, the Archdemon of Lust. "Hmmm~ I would like to meet this young man myself¡­ And DEVOUR him."


    "Yawn¡­ What a pain, as if being sealed wasn''t enough." Sighed Belphegor, the Archdemon of Sloth. "Though that Asmodeus¡­ he''s getting too strong."


    "A surely intriguing and interesting development for sure. Beelzebub will not be missed." Said Mammon, the Archdemon of Greed. "Now, who will take over his territory though? Kehehehe¡­"


    "ASMODEUS! KILL! I WILL TAKE HIS HEAD OFF AND STICK IT TO A PIKE! I WILL TAKE OVER THAT WORLD! SPIRITAS SHALL BE MINEEEEE!!!" Satan roared; the Archdemon of Wrath was as wrathful as ever. "LUCIFER! FREE US FROM THIS SEAL AT ONCE!"


    "You''re all so loud." Lucifer sighed; he was the King of Pride himself. "I am not going to unseal you guys, you''re annoying bastards, you''re better off sealed."


    "WHAT?! UNSEAL ME COWARD!" Satan roared.


    "Honey please!" Lilith cried. "Don''t you remember the good times we had back then~?"


    Lilith used to be Lucifer''s wife, and with his seed she gave birth to the Incubus and Subus of Hell, who govern her Layer of Lust. However, Lucifer had no interest in her for thest two hundred million years.


    "You''ve gotten boring, Lilith." Sighed Lucifer. "I''ve learned that''s more fun to see someone struggle to the very end¡­ Asmodeus, you might have achieved something superb, I know you think so¡­ But let me tell you this is just the beginning."


    Lucifer was as greedy as always¡­ however, his cocky smile disappeared in a second as he sensed the presence of an alien entity infiltrating his very Dimension.


    It was nobody else than the presence of the twelve Holy Spirits!


    FLAAAASH!


    "W-What the¡­?! Impossible!"


    Their presences emerged right in front of him, ring at him with judgmental eyes. Lucifer was scared, something like this had never happened before after all.


    "You''re the King of the Demons, Lucifer?"


    "He does seems to be that."<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    "He appears to be rather disappointing on looks alone."


    "I expected something¡­ more¡­ you know, more demonic? He looks like a in human."


    "T-Tch! Did you expected THIS FORM?!"


    Lucifer suddenly transformed into a gigantic, abhorrent demonic titan with countless heads, tails, arms, and legs, it was hard to tell where his body began and where it ended!


    "Now why are you here?! How did you infiltrate my domain?! And¡­ do you truly expect me to let you go after meeting you face-to-face?!" Luciferughed, stretching his ws, and reaching a Holy Spirit, crushing it.


    CRAAAASH!


    The Holy Spirit exploded into particles of light.


    "Hahaha, so frail! You fools! Your arrival here has only made my work easier- Huh?" However, Lucifer quickly realized it wasn''t them at all, just projections made by¡­ Beelzebub.


    But how? These projections of demonic light made to look and resemble the Holy Spirits, which even connected to their thoughts were summoned by Beelzebub himself?! Why would he ever do this?


    "T-This¡­ What is going on?" Lucifer was shocked. "Beelzebub! What are you doing?"


    "Beelzebub is sleeping right now, Lucifer." Asmodeus voice spoke through the Holy Spirits projections.


    "A-Asmodeus?!" Asked Lucifer.


    "Hello there." Asmodeus appeared; his appearance was the same handsome Vampire Emperor that once governed the entire Universe.


    It was the boy ke, it was Asmodeus!


    "I''vee here to give you a brief visit, Lucifer." Said Asmodeus. "Because I am sure you¡­ and the rest of your dearest Archdemons are present here. I and all the Holy Spirits would like to dere war upon you all, this means Hell itself."


    "T-That''s¡­ Heh, hahaha¡­!" Lucifer suddenly began tough.


    "AAHAHAHHAHA! BOLD BASTARDS!" Satanughed.


    "Grahahahaha! Not bad!" Leviathan mocked them.


    "Fufufu~ What a pitiful struggle~" Lilith giggled.


    "Yawn¡­ Some." Belphegor yawned.


    "Heheh¡­ Kehehehe! Interesting! Very interesting! My profits might soon rise a lot!" Mammonughed evilly.


    As theughter of the Archdemons surrounded them all, Asmodeus continued ncing at Lucifer''s eyes with an expressionless face.


    -----

 Chapter 643 Blake Confronts Lucifer! The King Of Hell Is Mocked!

    -----


    "I am not joking, and all of you will soon see what we are capable of. One day, Hell will be our domain." Asmodeus said with a smirk.


    Lucifer gritted his sharp teeth, feeling frustrated that the enemy that almost killed him hade back due to his own stupidity. Now all these problems that were soon to fall upon him were all provoked by him.


    "As they say, Lucifer." Asmodeus said. "You reap what you sow. You gave me a second chance, and I shall not waste it! Prepare yourself for the show of your life!"


    "SHUT UP!!!" Lucifer roared, firing a giant fireball at them.


    BOOOOOOOOMMMM!!!


    As they disappeared, Asmodeus appeared right behind Lucifer once more, whispering to his ears, provoking him further.


    "I have the slight feeling that our rematch will not go the same as before, Lucifer. Look forward to your end. Heh¡­ Hahahahaha!"


    "Y-YOU¡­!"


    "Hahahahahaha!"


    Asmodeusughed as his projection disappeared, turning into an endless swarm of bats¡­ Lucifer roared in frustration, feelingpletely destroyed emotionally.


    Despite being the King of Pride, he had a terribly frail ego, mostly because of the rejection and issues he had with his own father, which he desired to kill the most, God.


    "But how¡­?" Lucifer thought. "Don''t tell me¡­!"


    He realized it a bit toote. Alongside Beelzebub''s defeat, the Holy Spirit of Light cut down his soul into almost two equal pieces. With a lot of most of a great deal of his powers, Beelzebub fell into aatose state, while the owners of his other soul''s half, the Holy Spirits were able to exert part of his Demonic Authority on hell itself.


    This was¡­ the trick behind what they did. Asmodeus was easily able to show up thanks to his connection with them through the Divine Protection he received from the Twelve Holy Spirits. They seemed to have no ns in doing anything in Hell yet, but the Layer of Gluttony was pretty much already within their own territory.


    This was what Asmodeus meant¡­ As long as he can defeat the Archdemons one by one through the unique powers of the Twelve Holy Spirits, eventually, the entirety of Hell could one day be their domain.


    It was a bit toote for him now to unseal Beelzebub, as if he did, he could simply unleash even more of their authority into his Dimension. Or he could even let go of a crazed Beelzebub who had lost almost half of his soul, losing part of his intelligence, and bing a stupid beast.


    Well, he was already kind of one, but right now, with half of his brain missing, he might be a threat to Lucifer and could even recklessly attempt to attack him. One of the things he was grateful to Asmodeus is that he sealed the Archdemons, giving him total dominance over Hell.


    But at the same time, this also gave Asmodeus an advantage above them, as they were unable to exert their truest power nor their truest Manifestations while being sealed in the statues¡­ It was a rather terrible price he had to pay, but he was still rather optimistic in that Asmodeus wouldn''t be able to get to the other Demons just as easily.


    Especially because they were much more cunning and smarter than Beelzebub, and unlike the dumb insect, they were capable of forming alliances as well to fight against amon enemy. Many of them were already considering that.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    Lucifer, however, had to stop himself from helping them too much either and decided to concentrate on moving his own forces across Spiritias. After all, the strongest Demon King that was slowly taking over the World of Spiritias and that had already conquered a whole continent was nobody else than his servant.


    "You might have won this battle, Asmodeus." He said. "But you will not win the war."


    Lucifer nced silently at the projections showing to him through his Demonic Orb, admiring the ever-growing Demonic Kingdom that was being formed in the Northern Continent, now named the Demon or Dark Continent.


    .


    .


    .


    Meanwhile, within Spiritias, even as Beelzebub was defeated, his cult remained, and still asrge as it was before. The news of the Demon Tower falling apart, and of their archdemon''s vessel being destroyed by Asmodeus reincarnation were, in fact, a shock.


    Many of the prominent leaders of this cult were left perplexed, from one day to another, their entire lives gave a sudden turn. With Beelzebub''s powers gone to aid them, and with the Tower no longer here, despair quickly took over the mind of a few members.


    However, the leaders of the cult were intelligent, and maniptive people. If Beelzebub wasn''t there for them, they will merely find another Archdemon to serve and gain powers from.


    "So it seems the tower has fallen."


    "Asmodeus'' reincarnation¡­ has allied with Spiritias Holy Spirits! What kind of joke is this?!"


    "The Holy Spirits who never did a thing against the Demons through this entire time have suddenly decided to be incredibly active?"


    "This¡­ this is hopeless¡­"


    Many despaired, but their leaders only saw this as a new opportunity. Many of them were already colluding with other Archdemon Cults anyways.


    "It is truly a tragedy, and it is frightening to even think of how strong that child has be¡­ However, our ns will continue in motion." Said one of their leaders, a beautiful youngdy with long red hair and a cocky smirk, she was Lady Sathan, a prominent noble of the Goldriver Kingdom. "This is even more of a reason to continue fighting! We must avenge our King. And we must end what we started! Is it not, young man?"


    The voice of someone rather familiar to many in Stronghold City was heard across a Demonic Orb transmitting into the Cult''s base. Another of the many humans that have betrayed humanity and sided with the Demons for devious, selfish reasons.


    "That''s right¡­ I am honestly surprised of what the little ke has done¡­" He said.


    -----

 Chapter 644 The Demonic Cults Plans

    -----


    "This is even more of a reason to continue fighting! We must avenge our King. And we must end what we started! Is it not, young man?" Sathan asked, ncing at the Demonic Orb in front of her. The other members of the cult remained in silence, as the one Sathan was talking to was a very high ranked member of their cult, and that also had many connections with other Cults as well.


    The voice of someone rather familiar to many in Stronghold City was heard across a Demonic Orb transmitting into the Cult''s base. Another of the many humans that have betrayed humanity and sided with the Demons for devious, selfish reasons.


    "That''s right¡­ I am honestly surprised of what the little ke has done¡­" He said. "Heh, but doesn''t this makes it even more fun? Sathan, you also want that girl dead, isn''t it? Erika was it?"


    "Oh yes, I suppose we might simply have to set-up our next n in motion." Said Sathan with an evil giggle. "Do not despair, my siblings. The grace of other Archdemons have blessed us already."


    Although the defeat of Beelzebub was shocking, Sathan and the rest of the higher ups were far too greedy and uninterested for them to grieve for his defeat. They simply decided to move on and continue with what they were nning.


    Sathan then showed the rest of the cult members glowing orbs of blue and purple color, overflowing with the powerful presences of two other Archdemons¡­


    However, will this all go as they nned?


    .


    .


    .


    Meanwhile, within the Realm beyond Heaven, where the Holy Spirits inhabited, the Soul Projection of ke appeared within its endless halls of brilliant white light. In front of him, the towering figures of the Holy Spirits nced at him, as arge red jewel floated in midair.


    "Thanks to your knowledge, we''ve not only managed to defeat Beelzebub, but we were able to destroy his Tower and obtain a piece of his soul, which has now been refined into this item." Said the Holy Spirit of Light. "We are grateful of your help, ke."


    "His soul fragment was unwilling, but through the methods you taught us, we were able to utilize our powers correctly, and synthetized him into this crystal, a truly outstanding technique." Said the Holy Spirit of Nature.


    "It is nothing much, it''s what I had already nned." ke said expressionless. "More importantly, were you able to learn anything from his memories?"


    "Indeed, we''ve gathered arge quantity of them." Said the Holy Spirit of Love. "Here, I''ve prepared a little present with them for you."


    FLASH!


    A bright light reached ke''s Grimoire, fusing with it.


    Ding!


    [The Special Function: [Memory Encyclopedia] has been created.]


    [You can now inspect and read in utmost detail the gathered memories of the Archdemon of Gluttony, Beelzebub.]


    "Great. With this we''ll be able to quickly learn the identities of the Cult Members and their hideouts and strike them down." Said ke with a smile. "I would like to take that jewel as well, but I cannot handle its powers yet, so keep it for yourselves for now."


    "Of course." The Holy Spirit of Light agreed. "More importantly, ke¡­ Was that a good idea?"


    "What?" ke asked.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    "To dere war against the Demons? Won''t they only get more furious?" Wondered the Holy Spirit of Water.


    "I think that was rather passionate of you." The Holy Spirit of Love giggled.


    "It is a strategy. I didn''t do it exactly with just reckless selfishness." Said ke. "We need to show off our power, if they underestimate us again, they''ll simply begin attacking more and more. They need to at least fear us to an extent, especially all of you."


    "That is¡­ certainly quite the logic." Said the Holy Spirit of Earth. "ke, did this mentality surged due to your previous life being constantly in the middle of many battles?"


    "More or less, you all are too peaceful and neutral." Sighed ke. "The very reason why your entire world is being invaded and in this state is because you don''t fight back, you don''t interact with these bastards. They see you as little and pathetic gods that can''t do a single thing. However, you''ve finally shown them you have the strength to actually stop them."


    The Holy Spirits remained in silence after hearing ke''s words. They couldn''t help but find his words to be right. Their existences had never faced this many challenges before, and they were unable to properly respond to the Archdemons invasions.


    They blessed heroes, and did what they could like this, but through ke, they''ve discovered a more aggressive, and effective approach. They sighed, praising him and his friends.


    "Perhaps you''re right, maybe we needed to change¡­ We needed to be more aggressive to protect the world we love and created." Said the Holy Spirit of Light. "Thank you, ke. You''ll have our utmost support."


    "Indeed." The Holy Spirits said, nodding.


    ke smiled back at them, for him, it felt like he was teaching some very young gods how to actually be proper gods, governors, and authorities of their domain. It was hard, but they were learning.


    "Then I''ll be on my way, I need to wake up after all, I can''t be sleeping all the time." ke said.


    "Before that, would it be possible for you to teach us some more?" Wondered one of the Holy Spirits. "Ah! Of course, we will give you proper rewards."


    "Teach you? What?" ke asked.


    The Holy Spirits nced at one another for a few seconds, until one of them spoke.


    "How to act more intimidating¡­ And sound strong."


    "W-We¡­ck such talents."


    "We were honestly surprised by how easy you were able to speak with him."


    "I spoke as much as I could but I was honestly frozen¡­"


    They were talking about when they confronted Lucifer.


    ke sighed, as long as they give him some rewards, he doesn''t mind teaching them a thing or two.


    "Fine. Well, as you saw then, you have to act confident, show them you''re not someone that can be bullied. You''re the one that bullies others."


    -----

 Chapter 645 The Aftermath

    -----


    In the middle of the wastnds where the battle happened, Hero Dn nced at the scene atop a cliff, his eyes squinting for a bit.


    "Impressive¡­ Truly impressive¡­" He murmured to himself; a slight smirk surged on his lips. "I guess this is the strength of a Summoner, huh?"


    "How are things, Dn?" A tall and muscr man appeared behind the Hero, ncing at the scene with an expressionless face.


    Around the scene, there were already many other adventurers and instructors around the ce. A special group of priests were purifying the area off Demonic Miasma, and the many Demon Corpses were being retrieved back, as they were valuable resources.


    "Oh, Director Hasan. It is surprising, it appears the Demons have beenpletely wiped out before we even arrived here! Those kids are sure strong, heh." Dn quickly smiled cheerfully, acting with his usual slightly childish demeanor. "But this is still amazing! I can''t believe ke and his friends managed to defeat a vessel of an Archdemon! And Beelzebub from all of them."


    "Yeah¡­ It is hard for me to believe that as well." Said Hasan. "I heard from an instructor that they saw him, for a moment, using the power of the Holy Spirits. I believe he must have received their help in defeating Beelzebub, makes sense to me, seeing how they want to protect our world. But this also confirms he has their blessings, most likely he''ll be Hero Allen''s Sessor."


    "Hah, so that was it." Dn said with a giggle. "That kid''s filled with potential. We''ve gotta make sure to shape him into a proper Hero, Hasan. After all, we don''t know what the future awaits¡­ I don''t even know if I might be in such a future."


    "Dn¡­" Hasan sighed.


    "Its as they say! The children are the future." Dn said. "Those kids have to keep growing stronger, for the future of our continent and the other continents- well, the entire world."


    "Hmm." Hasan nodded. "I heard the rest of the ss was also exceptional, they even defeated Demon Generals by themselves."


    "Is that so?" Dn wondered, squinting his eyes for a bit. "Well, they will also grow stronger. This ss is surely amazing, isn''t it? Oh! How is ke doing? Is he healthy and safe?"


    "Yeah, he had fallen unconscious after defeating the Vessel, but he''s now safe in Stronghold''s hospital. The one managed by the Saintess." Said Hasan.


    "I see, that''s a relief." Sighed Dn. "Now! Shall we go back ourselves? There''s nothing much to do here after all. I''ve wiped the rest of the threats so this ce should be quite safe for a long while."


    Dn said with a fox-like smile, as hundreds of giant monster corpsesid behind him. Most of them being C Rank, or even B Rank that hade here attracted by the smell of the demon corpses. By hunting them down, Dn managed to prevent the monsters to be Demonic Beasts.


    "Yeah, it does seems like you''ve cleared up the ce, well done, the drinks are on me tonight." Hasanughed.


    "Ooh! I''ll drink the whole tavern then!" Laughed Dn.


    .


    .


    .


    (ke''s POV)


    After spending the whole night teaching the Holy Spirits how to act more intimidating and show off their strength much better so the Archdemons could actually understand that they were threats, I woke up the next morning feeling rather refreshed.


    A lot happened yesterday¡­ In fact, didn''t we miss a dungeon we had to conquer there as well? Even after the incredible feat we did, we might be forced to go there quickly. Ah, honestly I would go for the EXP and possibilities to find new Familiars.


    I nced around my surroundings, finding myself resting above a white bed in what seemed to be an hospital room. Stronghold City was the first ce where I''ve heard that there were hospitals. It seems I was brought here.


    Erika was to my left sleeping over a couch, and Elizabeth was at her side resting over her shoulders. I could sense my Spirits inside of my now stronger Spirit Orb. Seems that everyone got back safely. I can guess my friends are in our rental house for now.


    The Grimoire was shining brightly, as it opened its pages and showed me the results of yesterday''s battle. Defeating so many Demons and the Vessel of Beelzebub for a second time surely brought arge quantity of Experience Points, good thing I managed to Rank Up mid-battle to reset my level and increase the Level Cap.


    Ding!<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    [You and your Party have defeated [Insectoid Demons] x634!]


    [You and your Party have defeated [Living Demon Gate] x1!]


    [You and your Party have defeated [Beelzebub''s Aberrant Vessel] x1!]


    [Calcting EXP Earned¡­]


    [You earned 167500000 EXP!]


    [LEVEL UP!]


    [LEVEL UP!]


    [LEVEL UP!]


    [LEVEL UP!]


    [LEVEL UP!]


    [Your Level has increased from Level 0 to Level 34!]


    [All your Stats have increased!]


    [You earned Stat Points and Skill Points.]


    [Due to the surplus of Spiritual Energy swelling through your chest, your Spirit Orb Rank has increased from Rank 3 Initial Stage to Rank 3 Middle Stage!]


    [Your Spirit Stat has increased; all of your stats have increased greatly. Your Spirits have be much stronger.]


    [Several Skills have Leveled Up.]


    [You acquired the [Archdemon yer: Lv1] Title Skill!]


    [You acquired the [Gluttony''s Authority: Lv1] Title Skill!]


    [You learned the [Energy Fusion: Lv1] Skill!]


    [The [Energy Fusion: Lv1] Skill has been merged with the [Fusion] Skill!]


    [The [Fusion] Skill has Leveled up!]


    It seems I''ve grown plenty strong. Level 34 is no joke, a huge jump from just Level 0. Though if it wasn''t for this damn curse that cannot be lifted, as it is merged with my very soul and Origin Core, I would had probably hit max level, what a pain.


    Oh well, there''s no point in crying over spilled milk. More importantly, I''ve acquired three new Skills, one of which has been assimted by Fusion. Since I acquired Fusion that the ability to merge different energies together became incredibly smooth, it was already shown as I had created a Mastered form of Karma mes.


    However, Archdemon yer and Gluttony''s Authority? I can understand the first one but the second¡­ It seems my body ended absorbing a piece of Beelzebub''s soul, or maybe my Demonic Arm.


    Although I probably can''t absorb the whole soul fragment the Holy Spirits acquired, as it would kill me with so much power, this is certainly a wee surprise¡­


    -----

 Chapter 646 New Strength

    -----


    [Several Skills have Leveled Up.]


    [You acquired the [Archdemon yer: Lv1] Title Skill!]


    [You acquired the [Gluttony''s Authority: Lv1] Title Skill!]


    [You learned the [Energy Fusion: Lv1] Skill!]


    [The [Energy Fusion: Lv1] Skill has been merged with the [Fusion] Skill!]


    [The [Fusion] Skill has Leveled up!]


    I decided to quickly check on my two new Title Skills. Checking on Energy Fusion would be futile as the Skill no longer exists, as it was fused with Fusion, I assume its bonus effects had also enhanced Fusion''s effects, hopefully.


    -----


    [Archdemon yer: Lv1]


    Skill Proficiency: 0/10000


    A Title only bestowed to somebody that has in an Archdemon. A showcase of one''s power that can surpass everything. Damage Dealt against all Demon-type foes increase by +200%, with an additional +25% with each Skill Level, additionally, it is possible to absorb 25% of the in demon''s Health and Demonic Energy.


    Against Archdemons or higher Demons, such as Demon Lords, Demon Overlords, and Demon Kings, Damage Dealt Increases by an additional +200%, while ignoring -25% of their total defenses.


    -----


    [Gluttony''s Authority: Lv1]


    Skill Proficiency: 0/10000


    A Title bestowed upon the one that has acquired a Fragment of the Authority of Gluttony from the Archdemon of Gluttony, Beelzebub. By spending Demonic Energy, it is possible to summon the power of the Gluttony''s Authority, which can be exerted in a variety of abilities, powers and effects, such as the ability to enhance devouring effects, the power to absorb energy from a wounded foe, or the ability to randomly absorb the abilities of devoured foes.


    The power of the Authority of Gluttony evolves and develops with the Skill Level and the user''s other abilities and can be perfectly melded into the powers they possess.


    -----


    These two Skills were certainly very interesting.


    Let''s see¡­ [Gluttony''s Authority]!


    FLUOSH!


    Suddenly, demonic energy was spent inrge quantities from my Demonic Core, as a mass of red and ck energy surged in the palm of my hands, shaping amorphously as tentacles, eyes, and aberrant jaws, it seemed as if this power was a living being by itself.


    "Hohh¡­" A smirk surged in my lips. I might have acquired yet another weapon I didn''t possess in my previous life, one that could deal some serious damage against the Archdemons which I was never able to do before either.


    Excellent¡­


    Ding!


    [Due to your umted power after Leveling Up, you''ve grown stronger.]


    [Your [Physique]: [Vampiric Blood Emperor Physique (Tier 4: Rank 9)] has increased to Tier 5: Rank 3!]<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    [Your [Psyche]: [Vampiric Soul Psyche (Tier 3: Rank 5)] has increased to Tier 4: Rank 1!]


    [Your [Magic Circle]: [Abyssal Blood Circle (Tier 3: Rank 8)] has increased to Tier 4: Rank 3!]


    [Your [Demon Core]: [Hungry Demon Core (Tier 1: Rank 5)] has increased to Tier 2: Rank 5!]


    [Your [Physique] developed the [Tier 5: Blood King] Ability!]


    [Your [Psyche] developed the [Tier 4: Soul Manifestation] Ability!]


    [The Power of your Demon Arm has developed further, by absorbing the powers of [Beelzebub]!]


    [You acquired the Demonic Arm Ability: [Tier 5: Swarming Gluttony]!]


    Good, I even acquired some passive Abilities after my growth. Blood King enhances the power of Blood Magic and allows for the easy conjuration and maniption of blood with no Mana Cost.


    Indeed, it simply costs no Mana now. However, it is limited to the simplest of maniptions of Mana through telekinesis. However, to harden it and fire it, or add explosive elements, Mana is required.


    But even then, the cost is cut down tremendously. A reason why I could constantly fight almost endlessly was because of this cut of energy requirement through developing Blood King, and its advanced forms.


    Soul Manifestation is also good, it allows for the manifestation of my soul out of my body, something much more easy to do now, if Ibine it with the previous Abilities, it is possible to enhance my strength and defenses even more through the power of my Soul.


    Andstly¡­ Swarming Gluttony? Well, this seems like something unique. I am guessing it also part of my Demonic Arm''s transformation and evolution. It has be even stronger, and I can feel its "roots" reaching the rest of my body, transforming it into a half demon more and more.


    My body has be a chimera of many energies and bloodlines, but they''re all in harmony, something I was never able to aplish as Asmodeus. Dragon, Vampire, Demon, Spirit, all into a single body.


    I guess I''m still missing Angel Bloodline. Something that I haven''t seen at all in this world. I suppose I''ll have the opportunity another time.


    Ding!


    [Your Spirit Stat is influencing your Spirit Realm!]


    [Your Spirit Realm has evolved into a Rank 3 Spirit Realm!]


    [All of your Spirit Treasures have developed by one Rank.]


    [Your Spirit Realm has developed new Spirit Treasures.]


    [Your Spirit Realm developed the [Infernal Demon Fire Volcano (Lesser Spirit Treasure: Rank 9)]!]


    [Your Spirit Realm developed the [Demonite Ore Crystal Cave (Lesser Spirit Treasure: Rank 9)]!]


    [Your Spirit Realm developed the [Abyssal Fruit Tree of Gluttony (Lesser Spirit Treasure: Rank 9)]!]


    Within my Spirit Realm, thendscape expanded greatly, and a gigantic volcano pouring down demonic mes surged. In the mountain where the volcano was located, a cave filled with red, ck, and purple jewels filled with crystalized demonic miasma surged, and atop the volcano, a strange, bizarre-looking tree made of tentacles bore a red-colored fruit, no bigger than an apple, with the appearance of a screaming face.


    It seems due to my growth in the Demon department, I have acquired a rather generous amount of new Spirit Treasures rted to Demons in specific. I think I might be the first to ever develop something of this caliber though, that fruit in specific seemed overflowing with rich Demonic Power. And the cave filled with Demonite, a very rare resource that could help me regenerate demon energy and craft new items was also very valuable¡­ the volcano in specific seemed to strengthen my Infernal Demon me Authority.


    "Oh, ke! You''re awake!" Erika, however, interrupted my analysis, as she jumped over the bed. "I was so worried!"


    -----

 Chapter 647 Two Very Worried Girlfriends

    -----


    Erika hugged me tightly. I couldn''t help but hug her back. I was happy to have her at my side, honestly. I also felt quite proud she arrived back then and helped me out. I guess I''ve helped on making her someone strong and brave, she has grown a lot from the little and crybaby girl of back then.


    "Are you alright?" I asked her.


    "Oh me? I am sure alright! You were the one that passed out in the middle of the battle! Beelzebub, that damn bug!" Erika gritted her teeth. "Well, he still died! You defeated him with the power of the Holy Spirits, right?"


    "Yeah, you guessed right." I nodded. "They arrived in that moment to bring me their strength, and thanks to that, it was also possible to destroy the Tower of Gluttony by targeting the Core through Beelzebub''s soul. The Holy Spirits did everything, but I did tell them how to do it."


    "Eeeeh?! Y-You did all of that?!" Erika was shocked. "I did heard the tower fell! T-This is amazing though! Then¡­ this means¡­ there''s really a chance? There''s hope for this world¡­ as long as we can take down the Archdemon Vessels, the towers fill fall one after the other and then¡­ we''ll be freed from their invasion!"


    "Hahaha, it won''t be that easy." Iughed a bit, giving her a head pat. "But don''t worry about these things for now. Is Elizabeth alright? She''s still sleeping."


    "O-Oh! She spent a lot of time healing people and also purifying the area where the battle happened, so she grew very exhausted¡­" Sighed Erika. "Elizabeth? Are you alright?"


    "Hmmm¡­" Elizabeth groaned while ignoring Erika''s call.


    "Well, maybe we should leave her sleeping for now." I said with a sigh.


    BAAAM!


    However, that wasn''t the case. The door was opened aggressively as Chris, Eric, Alberta, and Elfriedden entered the room without even knocking the door. Naturally, the sound woke up Elizabeth.


    "Uwaah! W-What the hell?!" She asked, groaning angrily. "Ugh, Chris, did you had to open the door- BLAKE!"


    She quickly averted her attention from Chris as she jumped towards me, hugging me tightly.


    "Y-You''re alright? Are you okay? Nothing hurting? I can heal you!" She said, checking on my entire body rather shamelessly.


    "I am alright, maybe a little tired, that''s all." Iughed.


    "Damn you''re awake already? It has been barely a night! You fought so much I thought you were going to stay sleeping for a week." Said Chris.


    "Are you disappointed about that?" I raised an eyebrow.


    "Ahahaha!" Chrisughed. "Not really, but I was hoping to get an excuse to skip sses¡­"


    "Well, vacations are already beginning next week so I think we''re good anyways, Chris." Eric said. "Also, the teachers took care of the other monster infested areas. After you fell unconscious the Hero Dn and even the Director Hasan came to the scene to clean things up. Just this morning they said we all passed with excellent grades because we survived and ended neutralizing a threat that could had even endangered Stronghold as a whole!"


    "Y-Yeah! We all passed! Now we can rx¡­" Alberta sighed in relief.


    "Hmph, I barely participated on this, I can hardly feel like I deserve this¡­" Sighed Elfriedden. "Though, truth be told, I never saw you as someone capable of your feats, you''ve surprised me, ke."


    "Oh? Are you finally beginning to see me as an equal?" I asked with a smile.


    "T-Tch! It''s not like I have an option!" He sighed, crossing his arms. "Nheless! I will merely seek my own achievements."


    "I see. Well, maybe for the break we should go back to the vige to see our family, it has been half a year since we''ve seen them all." I said with a sigh. "I honestly been missing them."<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    "Yeah, good idea!" Said Erika. "I could even bring mom too!"


    "Indeed, good idea." Elizabeth nodded. "I am wondering how the priests are hanging things there."


    "Alberta, Elfriedden, do you think you cane?" Wondered Eric.


    "Well, I''ll see if I can, but don''t get your hopes high." Elfriedden said. "Though, I am quite curious about the little town you monsters came from."


    "I-I think I can¡­" Said Alberta. "I-I would like to meet your parents, Eric."


    "Hahaha! Nice! But I thought you could have wanted to go see your own family?" Asked Eric.


    "E-Err¡­ W-Well, I¡­ I would rather just not bother them¡­" She sighed.


    "O-Oh, well, that''s fine then." Eric nodded, giving her a head pat.


    "Hey, where''s Erdrich?" I asked.


    "Erdrich? He was training all morning. He said there wasn''t any need toe check you out, as he guessed you would be fine anyways." Chris sighed. "He''s kind of a dumbass sometimes, no?"


    "Well he wasn''t wrong, and I don''t really care much about these formalities. Anyways, we should move back home for now." I said.


    I feel like Erdrich might have learned something from the demons. After all, he''s the only one that can understand theirnguage¡­ I might as well just talk to him right away about this, to not generate misunderstandings.


    Like that, I quickly took a bath in the hospital and wore my casual clothes, we walked back home in the morning. The city was as peaceful and peaceful as always. Once we arrived, we were greeted by Erika''s mother who was there cooking for us.


    "Oh my, you''re all back! Ah, ke! You''re fine, right?!" She asked, checking my entire body like Elizabeth did. Erika pouted a bit.


    "M-Mom that''s enough!" She said angrily.


    "A-Ahahha, I was just worried." She giggled. "I wouldn''t had wanted my son-inw to ever get injured severely."


    "Don''t worry, I am doing alright, Lady Cattalina." I nodded.


    Like that, everybody quickly started preparing things for lunch. I used this chance to go see Erdrich, who was inside of his room doing physical training and cultivating his demonic energy.


    "Erdrich." I entered his room.


    "So you''re alright, just as I guessed." He smiled back. "What''s up?"


    "We need to talk, about what you heard from the Demons." I said with a stern look.


    "Oh? So you''re finally addressing it." He smiled.


    -----

 Chapter 648 A Conversation

    -----


    "What exactly did you heard from them?" I asked.


    "They called you Asmodeus. They said¡­ that you were the reincarnation of someone they hated, Beelzebub''s enemy. And that¡­ they wanted you dead. Pretty much that." He said. "Is this¡­ true?"


    "¡­Yes." I didn''t had anything to hide anymore. "I started getting these memories since I was younger. Memories of experiences I didn''t experienced, memories of being someone I wasn''t¡­ As I grew up, they continued emerging, and bing clearer, until I realized it was¡­ my previous life."


    "You¡­ your previous life was an enemy of the demons?" Erdrich asked. "T-That''s honestly awesome¡­"


    I guess he was still a kid if he found that "awesome". Maybe I misjudged his reaction, he seemed to be fine by taking it all. He often acts serious but he''s not so different from Chris personality-wise.


    "It''s a lot to take in but¡­ The abilities I have and the many things I know could be partially attributed to these memories I slowly acquired." I sighed. "Perhaps in the future I''ll go into further detail about this. I hope you can understand, it is not easy to exin."


    "Ah, well, that''s enough for me. I guess this Ki power and everything¡­ So it was really from another life you had." Erdrich was amused. "Okay, fine, I''ll save your secret. As long as you can give me a favor."


    "A favor?" I wondered.


    "Y-Yeah¡­ A lot happened yesterday so¡­ Patricia is kind of into me, and I want some¡­ some tips." He blushed a bit.


    "Oh, that kind of favor." I gave him a teasing smile.


    "D-Don''t look at me like that! You''re just popr with girls so I want to learn some tips from you so I could¡­ err, well, handle her? And maybe conquer her more¡­" He said. "I-I don''t want to lose this opportunity. She''s pretty and I like her¡­"


    "Heh, I guess I didn''t had to worry, you''re just growing and bing a man." Iughed.


    "W-What are youughing about?!" Erdrich became all flustered.


    At the end, Erdrich merely wanted some help in how to attract a girl''s attention. To be honest, Patricia was an odd girl that liked muscles and strong people, so she fell for Erdrich mostly due to his physical appearance and feats.


    Taking that into consideration, he seemed to want her to notice his personality as well and how he was, so I gave him a few tips. I''ve never taken myself as someone that would attract women, but in this life I''ve made a lot of girls interested in me unwillingly, it seems they like someone decisive.


    "Confidence is a key point, you have to show yourself confident of your own strength, your own personality, and your goals. Having goals in mind is always the best way to have confidence, and a way to achieve these goals, no matter how arduous it can be." I said to Erdrich, as he began writing it down.


    "My goal¡­" He wondered. "I guess it would be to save the world and free it from the Demon Towers, maybe? I also want to avenge my mother for what the cult bastards did to her¡­ And their doing is also the primary reason why I was born as a half-demon too."


    "Well, that''s certainly a strong goal, I am sure that she''ll like it." I nodded. "I heard from her speaking that she hates demons and cultists for what happened in one of her towns."<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    "Oh right¡­ She had briefly said something about that." Erdrich said. "It seems her town was destroyed, and she wandered as an orphan through a good part of her childhood until she found somewhere to belong, and became a young mercenary that waster brought here."


    "It is interesting how despite hating demons she doesn''t mind you being a half-demon, I guess she''s at least smarter than she looks." Iughed.


    "Well, of course." Erdrich said with a smile. "Anyways, I''ll take these things into consideration¡­ She told me this morning she was free, so I invited her to our house, is it okay?"


    "It''s fine by me." I shrugged. "Good luck with your endeavors, Erdrich."


    "Thanks, ke." He said. "Though¡­ Wait a bit."


    "Hm?" I asked.


    "About what we talked before¡­ your previous life memories resurfacing¡­ When will you tell everyone about this?" Asked Erdrich.


    "Hmmm¡­" I sighed. "I''ve been thinking it for a while, but I feel like unlike you, they might not bepletely ready yet. But soon, don''t worry. I don''t n to keep this a secret from those I care about. I trust you all, I just want to make sure all of them are ready for the truth."


    "I see¡­" Erdrich nodded. "So¡­ What did you do when you were Asmodeus?"


    "I can''t say for sure, the memories are dizzy but¡­ He was someone that saved many people and hunted down the demons. He died against the King of all Demons, Lucifer." I sighed. "I guess my intent to free this world from themes from my previous life."


    "Someone so amazing he fought against Lucifer?!" Asked Erdrich in utter shock. "Damn¡­ That''s crazy."


    "It is." Iughed. "It is so far from my current strength that it feels unreachable, yet¡­ I feel like every step I make towards that same goal brings me closer to it. As long as I have you guys helping me out as well, I believe we can make it, and this time, actually kill him." I said with a confident smile.


    "Damn, so that''s the smile I need to learn." Erdrich said. "Honestly if I were a girl I would be head over heels for you too, you''ve got the charms." Heughed.


    "That sounded a bit suspicious but I''ll let it slide." I stepped out of the room.


    "Suspicious?! What are you talking about?! Oi! I''m straight, okay?!" Erdrich barked behind me.


    As I went back to my room, I decided to assess the new Summons andpanions I''ve brought to my side, Woo, and Fang. They''ve been resting inside of my Spirit Orb, but I summoned them to check on them, and well, also the rest of my friends.


    -----

 Chapter 649 A Cranky Old Man And A Werewolf

    -----


    As I went back to my room, I decided to assess the new Summons andpanions I''ve brought to my side, Woo, and Fang. They''ve been resting inside of my Spirit Orb, but I summoned them to check on them, and well, also the rest of my friends.


    "Huh? So you''re finally summoning us at longst, you damn brat? I''ve been bored in there all the time! The only damn thing in that Spirit Realm or whatever are some ugly nts and a pond of blood." Wooined, like the cranky and annoying old man he was.


    "Shut up for once, old man." I sighed.


    "Who are you calling an old man?! You''re older than me by now!" Woo angrily said. "You''re the old man, actually, Asmodeus!"


    "Hahaha, I would had liked meeting Woo in our previous lives." Laughed Fang while showing his sharp wolf teeth. "He seems like someone that would had made our spaceship very lively."


    "Woo, it is nice to see you, though I can''t believe I am seeing you like a vampire spirit, this is a bit crazy." Said Eleanora.


    "Eleanora, you''ve grown into a fine and beautiful woman." Woo said with a giggle. "Would you let this old man massage those massive- UAKH!"


    BAAM!


    Eleanora kicked his head.


    "Forget about it! I didn''t remembered you were a huge pervert back then¡­ I was a child so you never showed that facet to me but you were always chasing on women." Sighed Eleanora.


    "Y-You damn girl! Is this how you''ll treat your Master?!" Wooined, hitting the floor with his foot. "A-Anyways, who is this little girl? Did you two had a daughter or something?"


    "D-Daughter?!" Eleanora blushed a bit. "N-No, she''s our adoptive daughter though!"


    "Her name is Saphira." I said. "Saphira, greet our new friends, don''t be so shy."


    She as hiding behind me.


    "Hahaha, how adorable, it seems Saphira might be afraid of cranky and perverted old men like you, Woo." Hendrickughed.


    "Ooh, she''s a kid? I had tons of kids when in my previous life! I am good with handling them." Said Fang. "Hey, Saphira,e here, don''t be afraid!"


    Fang showed her his giant, ferocious fangs as he spoke closer to her.


    "Uwaaah!" However, Saphira only got more scared.


    "Oi you''re scaring the damn kid, dog!" Wooined.


    "E-Eh?" Fang looked heartbroken. "B-But¡­ Hey,e on, you can touch my fluffy fur if you want."


    Hisrge ws extended towards Saphira, as the little girl flew away, hiding inside a closet.


    "Big wolf scary! Angry old man scary!" She began crying.


    "I-I am not scary!" Fang seemed to be dying inside. "Or am I?"


    "Anyways, Saphira, please just be nice with them, they''re our new friends andpanions. As I grow stronger and my Spirit Orb Ranks Up, I''ll constantly bring new allies, so you can''t simply be scared of every new face we meet." I sighed.


    "Muhh¡­" Saphira was acting slightly afraid, but she emerged at my side once more and bowed her head. "N-Nice to meet you¡­"


    "You did a terrible job at raising her! Why is she so damn afraid of us- GAAKH!" Woo cried once more as Eleanora gave him another kick.


    BAAM!


    He fell into the floor head-first. In fact, Eleanora was much stronger than him right now.


    "U-Uugh¡­ You damn brat! Am I your sandbag or something?!" He cried.


    "Hahaha! I guess I wasn''t scary at the end!" Fang seemed relieved.


    "I''ve never seen goblins this strong before, capable of taking two kicks by Eleanora at once? Amazing." Said Hendrick.


    "W-We sure have a weird family, daddy¡­" Sighed Saphira at my side.


    "Well, I''ve always been a ma for strange people." I admitted.


    Anyways, I checked both Woo and Fang''s status to see how strong they were.


    -----


    [Name]: [Woo]


    [Spirit Race]: [Goblin Vampire]


    [Spirit Type]: [Blood/Lightning/Ki]<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    [Spirit Realm]: [Rank 3 (Initial Stage)]


    [Level]: [34/80]


    [Health Points]: [5600/5600]


    [Strength]: [5600]


    [Agility]: [4200]


    [Vitality]: [2200]


    [Intelligence]: [2200]


    [Dexterity]: [3200]


    [Link Skills]:


    [Link (ke)]: [Acrobatics: Lv10] [Robust Body: Lv9] [Hard Worker: Lv10] [Hawk Eye: 9] [Command: Lv8]


    [Passive Skills]: [Marial Artist Physique: Lv7] [Blood Goblin: Lv5] [Spirit Link: Lv5]


    [Active Skills]: [Meteor Fist: Lv7] [Pressure Point Liberation: Lv6] [Cloud Step: Lv6] [Lightning Blood Fist Arts: Lv5] [Awakened Strength: Lv6] [Cranky Old Man''s Teachings: Lv5]


    [Magic Skills]: [Blood Arts: Lv5] [Lightning Strike: Lv5] [Paralyzing Strike: Lv5] [Electrifying Kick: Lv5] [Blood Electrification: Lv5]


    [Title Skills]: [Old Martial Artist Master: Lv10] [Creator of the Meteor Fist: Lv7] [Furious Demon: Lv5] [Demon yer: Lv5]


    -----


    [Name]: [Fang]


    [Spirit Race]: [Werewolf Vampire]


    [Spirit Type]: [Blood/Ice/Beast]


    [Spirit Realm]: [Rank 3 (Initial Stage)]


    [Level]: [34/80]


    [Health Points]: [6800/6800]


    [Strength]: [6200]


    [Agility]: [3800]


    [Vitality]: [3800]


    [Intelligence]: [1500]


    [Dexterity]: [2500]


    [Link Skills]:


    [Link (ke)]: [Acrobatics: Lv10] [Robust Body: Lv9] [Hard Worker: Lv10] [Hawk Eye: 9] [Command: Lv8]


    [Passive Skills]: [Werewolf King Physique: Lv7] [Blood Werewolf: Lv5] [Spirit Link: Lv5]


    [Active Skills]: [Wolf Beast King Transformation: Lv7] [Wolf Beast King''s Aura: Lv6] [Magic Dampening Fur: Lv6] [Pack Leader''s Commands: Lv6] [Blood Werewolf''s Scarlet ws: Lv6] [Blood Werewolf''s Wrathful Fangs: Lv6]


    [Magic Skills]: [Blood Arts: Lv5] [Icicle Spear: Lv5] [Freezing Touch: Lv5] [Blizzard: Lv5] [Blood Frost: Lv5]


    [Title Skills]: [Leader of the White Werewolves: Lv10] [Wolf Beast King''s Sessor: Lv7] [Savage Fighter: Lv5] [Demon yer: Lv5]


    -----


    Both were slightly simr in their fighting styles, so their stats leaned towards the same. However, Woo had much better agility and dexterity, as he was a martial artist, while Fangcked those as much in exchange forrger strength and much higher bulk.


    Their Skills were really unique, and as I''ve already made them use their stat points and skill points into buying and leveling up some of the Skills they already have in the status shown, they''re at their peak strength as of now.


    Now, I should probably begin wondering what I could inherit through Spirit Link from the two of them¡­ Usually, powers that arepletely unique to them can''t be inherited, but they have a lot of interesting Skills¡­


    -----

 Chapter 650 Creating More Spirit Links

    -----


    Once the Link Skills are chosen, I cannot change them back, so I''ve gotta be a bit careful about what I choose. I already tried taking the strongest Skills they had, such as both of their Physique Skills and other unique ones, but they were impossible to Link.


    So, I went for the second bests of them, and these ones ended working, now, I had ten new Skills just like that. It sucks that I cannot level them up myself, as their levels depend in the Spirit Skill Level, but it still rather good.


    [You have created a Spirit Link with Woo]!]


    [You''ve Linked with the [Meteor Fist: Lv7] [Lightning Blood Fist Arts: Lv5] [Awakened Strength: Lv6] [Paralyzing Strike: Lv5] [Blood Electrification: Lv5] Skills!]


    [You have created a Spirit Link with Fang]!]


    [You''ve Linked with the [Wolf Beast King''s Aura: Lv6] [Pack Leader''s Commands: Lv6] [Blood Werewolf''s Scarlet ws: Lv6] [Blood Werewolf''s Wrathful Fangs: Lv6] [Blood Frost: Lv5] Skills!]


    Also, the maximum level of Spirit Link seems to have capped at 5, this is the first time this happens, but it seems that it might also be rted to my current Spirit Orb Rank. More higher levels could¡­ or not, unlock as my Spirit Orb Rank increases.


    Nheless, having ten new Skills was already amazing, and they were skills I couldn''t get on my own either.


    "Let''s see¡­ [Wolf Beast King''s Aura]"


    FLAAASH!


    A golden aura surged from my body, as the head of a giant wolf howled into the skies.


    "AWOOOO!"


    I felt a powerful, beastly energy rushing across my body, enhancing my physical strength, agility, and dexterity greatly. It seemed to be an amazing buff that drained my Ki and Mana immensely though.


    If Ibine this with the ws and Fangs Skills, it could be a lethalbination. Even more if I use Meteor Fist together with it¡­ There''s also the new Blood Electrification and Blood Frost skills, both allow my own blood or the blood that I touch transform into ice and electricity.


    A rather lethal skill, which in the right ces, could even instantly kill a person by blowing them from the inside out. However, I''ll have to practice this proficiently. And I said a "person" as someone weak, stronger beings won''t die so easily even with these lethal powers, but they''ll surely take a big hit by them.


    "I''ll take good care of your skills." Iughed. "Now, Eleanora, Saphira, Hendrick, let''s evolve all three of you so you can catch up with these two."


    "Alright!" Saphira nodded. "Evolution! Woow- Huh? How do I do that?"


    "Hahaha, it is natural that you don''t know, after all we didn''t get to see Eleanora when she evolved." Said Hendrick.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    "It wasn''t anythingplicated, we simply use materials from monsters, or other high quality magic items to enhance our own selves. Sometimes we can even attain new elements, such as my Fire Element." Eleanora exined. "ke, do you have enough materials by now?"


    "More than enough." I nodded. "We''ll be using some brand-new materials I''ve acquired in ourst fight, and many others we''ve gathered over the time we''ve been in here. Including things I''ve bought in the market as well. Yes, I''ll be using demon materials."


    "Eh? Demon materials? But that won''t turn us into demons? I don''t want to be one¡­" Saphira sighed.


    "It won''t turn you into a demon, Saphira." I sighed. "Rx. It''ll merely enhance your stats, and might or might not provide new Skills."


    "I wouldn''t mind to be a Demon myself, honestly. So I could experiment on my own powers and see how they function much better." Said Hendrick.


    "I said it wasn''t going to happen." I sighed. "Now, let''s begin."


    The special Magic Circles were already made in just half an hour, and then, in each node, I cedrge piles of materials, including Spirit Orbs from monsters.


    For Saphira, the Spirit Orb of a Phantom Wraith from a C Rank Dungeon I had yet to visit was the core, which I bought rather cheaply in the ck market, additionally, many other dark, blood, and phantom materials from a variety of weaker monsters, and also demon materials such as the crystalized soul of demons.


    For Hendrick, I decided to add the Spirit Orb of the Venomous Spider Queen, a C+ Rank Dungeon Boss, then again, I could make these my new Familiars, but I am sacrificing them for my Vampires to make them stronger. I also added a variety of poisonous critters materials, and the poisonous stingers of the insectoid demons.


    Lastly, for Eleanora, I''ve decided to add several blood dragon scales extracted from my own body, some blood dragon blood from Ruby, and the Living Fire Spirit Orb I bought in the ck market, a C++ Rank Dungeon Monster. Lastly, fire-attribute demon materials and some low-level fire attribute monster materials, such as the Fiery Hounds fangs, E Rank monsters from farawaynds.


    I decided to begin with Saphira, as she was the most nervous. The process was incredibly fast, and she was engulfed in a phantasmal power, the very spirit of the Phantom Wraith fused with her, giving her brand new power and an even stronger Phantom/Death Attribute strength.


    "Oooh? I look a bit taller! And my dress is cuter!"


    Hendrick epted the materials happily, with no problem nor panic at all unlike the little Saphira. The Spider''s Spirit Orb was surprisingly¡­ fitting for him, for some reason, and all the other insects fusing into him seemed to have made him awaken a brand new power, alongside spider giant ck spider legs on his back¡­


    "Hahaha! So many legs! This''ll make it easier for me to grab things and kill foes."


    Lastly, Eleanora underwent an even more abrupt transformation and evolution. Her fire attribute reacted tremendously well with the dragon materials, forcing her to suddenly attain draconic features and skills. Alongside that, her vampiric strength grew much higher, but above all, her Fire Attribute seemed to have be the strongest now.


    "Oh my, I can grow scales now?"


    -----

 Chapter 651 The Vampire Spirits New Evolutions

    -----


    Once all three evolutions were done, I checked their status one by one.


    -----


    [Name]: [Saphira]


    [Spirit Race]: [Phantasmal Specter Vampire]


    [Spirit Type]: [Phantom/Death/Blood/Abyss]


    [Spirit Realm]: [Rank 3 (Initial Stage)]


    [Level]: [34/80]


    [Health Points]: [1900/1900]


    [Strength]: [1700]


    [Agility]: [6000]


    [Vitality]: [1700]


    [Intelligence]: [5500]


    [Dexterity]: [6000]


    [Link (ke)]: [Hard Worker: Level 10] [Advanced Alchemy Arts: Lv2] [Command: Lv8] [Shadow Maniption: Lv7] [Magic Fusion: Lv5]


    [Passive Skills]: [Specter Vampire: Lv7] [Phantasmal Aura: Lv7] [Specter''s Gaze: Lv6] [Spirit Link: Lv5] [Phantasmal Wraith''s Frightening Aura: Lv1] [Soul Eating: Lv1]


    [Active Skills]: [Stealth: Lv8] [Camouge: Lv7] [Invisibility: Lv6] [Odorless: Lv6] [Soundless: Lv6] [High Speed Flight: Lv7] [Spectral Body: Lv7] [Phantasmal ws: Lv6] [Intimidation: Lv5] [Wraith''s Soul Tearing Scream: Lv1]


    [Magic Skills]: [Phantom Blood Arts: Lv5] [Phantom Sneak: Lv7] [Phantasmal Materialization: Lv6] [Death Ray: Lv6] [Haunting Scream: Lv6] [Undead Envement Contract: Lv6] [Abyssal Domain: Lv1]


    [Title Skills]: [Specter Princess: Lv8] [Undead''s Friend: Lv7] [Little Necromancer: Lv5] [Soul Devourer: Lv1]


    -----


    Saphira grew much stronger, though she''s a hard specialist that has very high Agility, Intelligence, and Dexterity, and lower everything else. She''s quite frail physically, but thanks to her ability to turn intangible and pass through physical objects, or living beings alike, she can easily evade mostly all physical attacks.


    She can even hide underground quite easily, bing capable of easily evading enemy''s attention while attacking them from afar. Her new skills now allow her to grow stronger by eating souls too, which is pretty strong.


    -----


    [Name]: [Hendrick]


    [Spirit Race]: [Vampire Insectoid]


    [Spirit Type]: [Blood/Poison/Shadow/Insect]


    [Spirit Realm]: [Rank 3 (Initial Stage)]


    [Level]: [34/80]


    [Health Points]: [2700/2700]


    [Strength]: [2600]


    [Agility]: [3800]


    [Vitality]: [2600]


    [Intelligence]: [5200]


    [Dexterity]: [5200]


    [Link (ke)]: [Hard Worker: Level 10] [Advanced Alchemy Arts: Lv2] [Command: Lv8] [Shadow Maniption: Lv7] [Magic Fusion: Lv5]


    [Passive Skills]: [Poison Vampire: Lv8] [gue Aura: Lv7] [Researcher Eyes: Lv8] [Spirit Link: Lv5] [Swarm Aura: Lv1] [Venomous Spider Legs: Lv1]


    [Active Skills]: [Stealth: Lv7] [Hallucination Fog: Lv7] [Torture: Lv8] [Dismantle: Lv8] [Poisoned Weapon Arts: Lv8] [Thread Arts: Lv6] [Alchemy: Lv8] [Venomous Stinger: Lv1] [Insect Maniption: Lv1]


    [Magic Skills]: [Blood Arts: Lv6] [Shadow Sneak: Lv7] [Venomous Blood Aura: Lv7] [Blood Envement Contract: Lv4] [Alchemical Compound Synthesis: Lv9] [Poison st: Lv7] [Poison Threads: Lv7] [Poison Materialization: Lv7] [Acidic Venom: Lv1] [Explosive Venom: Lv1]<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    [Title Skills]: [gue Doctor: Lv8] [Progenitor Vampire: Lv4] [Alchemist: Lv9] [Insect Master: lv1] [Poison Master: Lv1]


    -----


    Hendrick stats took a rather good rise, and he has now acquired several insect and swarm-rted Skills, it seems he''s not only capable of growing spider legs, but he can control swarms of insects to attack or carry his various venoms, which have expanded into acidic and explosive types.


    Much like Saphira''s powers, he will be really useful on stealth-type missions.


    -----


    [Name]: [Eleanora]


    [Spirit Race]: [Draconic Vampire]


    [Spirit Type]: [Blood/Dark/Fire/Dragon]


    [Spirit Realm]: [Rank 3 (Initial Stage)]


    [Level]: [34/80]


    [Health Points]: [5000/5000]


    [Strength]: [5000]


    [Agility]: [4300]


    [Vitality]: [3000]


    [Intelligence]: [3000]


    [Dexterity]: [4800]


    [Link Skills]:


    [Link (ke)]: [Hard Worker: Level 10] [Advanced Alchemy Arts: Lv2] [Command: Lv8] [Shadow Maniption: Lv7] [Magic Fusion: Lv5]


    [Passive Skills]: [Vampire: Lv8] [Charm: Lv9] [Spirit Link: Lv5] [Dragon Scales: Lv1]


    [Active Skills]: [Assassination: Lv9] [Illusion: Lv9] [Stealth: Lv9] [Spear Mastery: Lv7] [Bloodthirsty Wrath: Lv7] [Nimble and Soundless Movements: Lv7] [Vampiric Eyes: Lv6] [Katana Technique: Lv4] [Vampiric Draconification Awakening: Lv1] [Scarlet re Dragon Breath: Lv1] [Vampiric Draconic Aura: Lv1] [me Eater: Lv1]


    [Magic Skills]: [Blood Arts: Lv8] [Shadow Sneak: Lv9] [Blood Bat Transformation: Lv8] [Blood Threads: Lv8] [Shadow Trap Creation: Lv8] [Blood Aura: Lv7] [Blood Envement Contract: Lv6] [Ninjutsu: Lv7] [Blood re: Lv6] [Shadow Shuriken: Lv6] [Draconic me Authority: Lv1] [Rising Dragon Ninjutsu: Lv1]


    [Title Skills]: [Vampire Queen: Lv9] [Demon yer: Lv7] [Progenitor Vampire: Lv6] [Undead yer: Lv6] [Alchemist: Lv5] [Vampire Ninja: Lv6] [Vampiric Dragon: Lv1] [Ruler of Scarlet mes: Lv1]


    -----


    Andstly, Eleanora had improved tremendously as she was now a Draconic Vampire! Something I honestly didn''t expect to happen. At most I was hoping for her to receive a good boost, but this ispletely ridiculous.


    Her stats exceed in almost everything, and the minimum is 3k stats. She''s a powerful all-rounder that can over any type of fighting style, from stealth, explosive magic, physical attacks, and even defensive battles.


    And her many new Skillspliment her powers and new higher stats tremendously well. She has an even stronger mes, as her Scarlet fire has evolved into Draconic mes, and she even has the authority for it.


    Above all, she has a Vampiric Draconification Awakening Skill, which allows her to turn draconic temporarily, making all her stats skyrocket even further.


    Additionally, her Dragon Scales will protect her against most magic easily, making is so she can go anywhere, oh, and me Eater makes her immune to mespletely, in fact she can devour them and enhance her mes power temporarily.


    "I-I feel so strong¡­ And tis draconic power¡­ I never had such a thing in my previous life." Said Eleanora.


    "Indeed, I did not either." Said Hendrick. "It is certainly nice to have many little friends now!" His own aura suddenly shapeshifted, summoning dozens of small insects.


    "I wonder if I can be a grown-up girl when I evolve more¡­!" Saphira said.


    "Well, looks like we''ve all grown stronger now." I nodded happily. "For the moment, let''s test out each of your skills and new magic in the backyard.


    Like that, I dedicated to spending the majority of the day training our new skills and familiarizing with them much better. The newbination of skills and effects I could create had increased tremendously. For a moment, it felt as if my growth was slowly bing limitless.


    Manipting the Authority of Gluttony wasn''t easy, as it required a lot of Demonic Energy, so I had to let Hendrick make Demon Potions for me while I trained and started learning all of its intricacies. While training, I noticed Patricia entering the house and meeting up with Erdrich, I''ll be rooting for him.


    ¡­


    The next day, before the airship were to bring us back to our town for the short vacations we''ll have at the end of the semester, Director Hasan called us all to his office.


    -----

 Chapter 652 Blake Is Finally Recognized

    -----


    "Thank you foring today." Said Hasan. "I just had an interview with the rest of your ssmates. Sorry for calling you here out of the blue, everyone, but before you were to go to your small break, I wanted to have a small talk with everyone."


    "Is it regarding what happened in that ce, right?" I asked, sitting over the chair. "What do you want to know?"


    "ke! Don''t treat the director like that! Be more respectful please!" Said Evelyn.


    "Respect?" I asked. "This man hasn''t earned mine. Why would I respect someone with so much power, that lets such incidents happen right below his nose?"


    "Hah! He is quite bold." Laughed Hasan. "Don''t mind it, Evelyn. I am partially in fault for what happened¡­ Hasan sighed, his eyes seemed regretful. I wanted to apologize as well, giving you excuses might only make you angrier, but I was busy with the entire city. What happened in that ce was out of nowhere."


    "Out of nowhere you say?" I wondered. "I guess it was for us, who walked straight into danger. If it wasn''t for my summons everyone would had died."


    Hasan sighed.


    "I am well aware of your feats, ke. Thank you for having helped and saved everyone, and for having taken down the vessel of Beelzebub. What you''ve done was an incredible feat, something¡­ that only Heroes could truly do." Hasan said in surprise.


    "Praising me won''t bring you anywhere." I sighed. "If you want me to have a better opinion of you, Director, you better give us enoughpensation."


    The director nced at me with sharp eyes.


    "Such as¡­?"


    He seemed willing to negotiate.


    "You''ve seen what we are capable of, what we can do. What I can do. I want our whole ss to skip to the second year." I said. "And also, we want to freely enter as many dungeons as we want."


    "E-Eh?!" Everyone else at my side reacted in shock.


    "ke, what are you even talking about?!" Asked Eric.


    "Skip a whole year?!" Chris asked.


    "That''s nuts¡­" Said Erdrich.


    "Well, what they''re teaching us in the first year is pretty boring, and even the swordsmanship sses are boring~" Erika sighed. "I''m with him on this one!"


    "I agree¡­ The sses for first year don''t suit our strength." Elizabeth said. "Carrying the rest of the ss with us though¡­ Well, the ones that havested this long are incredibly talented, forcing them into new environments might just help them grow enough."


    "Hah¡­ You''re asking some ridiculous things, kids." Laughed Hasan.


    "I heard that in the second year, we are allowed to visit Haunts and Cities within the continent, or to even briefly visit warzones." I said. "So we can grow much stronger, I want that."


    "You''re just thirteen and you''re asking me to send you to a warzone?!" Asked Hasan.


    "I''ve killed an archdemon vessel, if I want to grow stronger, I''ll need bigger and stronger prey." I said. "Might as well grind while helping your pitiful soldiers."


    Evelyn was panicking.


    "D-Director please don''t listen to him! He is really bad! He is a bad boy that was spoiled! He''s a bit of a thug too but he has a good heart so please don''t put him into detention!" She cried.


    "Hah¡­ HAHAHAHAHA!"


    However, Hasan justughed.


    Once he finishedughing, he hit the table and his eyes glowed brightly, emanating an enormous quantity of spiritual energy.


    "I like that attitude of yours, it has been a while since we''ve had someone like Dn in here. Prepared to jump into battle at any moment, a true warrior." Said Hasan. "Some of your friends might not look like it, but they do seem prepared to apany you, even if you drag them to hell itself."<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    "We need to find clues for the cultists left behind. Lady Sathan is also part of them, but we cannot confront her without enough strength." I revealed him. "Also, I am suspecting there might be a few traitors within your own ranks, Hasan. You''re too rxed."


    "Hah¡­ So you''re trying to sell me information  now?" Asked Hasan. "I like your attitude more and more¡­ Fine."


    "Eh?!" Evelyn cried.


    "Fine! Good! Alright! I will use my power as the Director and attempt something that has never happened before." Laughed Hasan. "For your next semester, you will be joining the second semester of the second year! With your whole ss as well. The first test will includepleting a C Rank Dungeon with your whole ss, are you prepared for that?"


    "More than ready." I nodded. "In fact, I would even go for a B Rank if I could, but whatever."


    "B-ke are you hearing what you''re talking right now?! We struggled so much against D Rank Monsters and you want to go against a dungeon filled with C Ranks?!" Chris asked.


    "Don''t be cowardly, Chris, I didn''t taught you to be that way." I said, ring at him.


    "Geh¡­ Don''t call me coward¡­ It feels like I am the only one withmon sense now." He crossed his arms.


    "Without being a bit reckless, how exactly do you expect to grow strong enough to confront the demons and cultists that constantly want our lives? It might only get worse from now on." I said. "I am doing this for everyone here. I just want us to be stronger."


    Everyone fell into silent, some gritted their teeth, others clenched their fists, but nobody refuted me.


    "It seems they agree. Very well then¡­" Hasan nodded.


    "And." I said.


    "And?" Hasan wondered.


    "Of course, you''re giving us more than that. We took care of a threat that could have destroyed Stronghold City after all." I smiled.


    "Hoh¡­ I was thinking on giving you some gold, but what do you want?" Hasan asked.


    A smile surged in my lips.


    "Give me some Spirit Orbs." I asked with a smile.


    "How many?" Hasan raised an eyebrow.


    "A few hundred, C Rank for now." I said.


    "Hah¡­" Hasanughed. "Your confidence and greed knows no limits, kiddo."


    I knew I was someone important now, I possessed the strength to fight back against vessels, and more than anything, I could be Hasan''s greatest supporter if I grow strong enough.


    After all, he already knows there are traitors among his own allies within Stronghold. In the worst case that he has to fight those powerful people, he need someone equally ridiculous.


    And that''s where I enter, I am my own bargaining chip.


    If he wants me to help him, he''ll have to invest on me.


    "Very well, I will get these for you once you''re back from your break." He sighed. "And a few other things for your friends too. However, you''ve gotta promise me you won''t fail the second semester, or I''ll expel all of you."


    "That''s not even a hard promise to keep, old man." Iughed. "We''re going to destroy that second-year ss and show them who are the real prodigies here."


    "You better do, brat!" Hasanughed. "Now get out of here! I''ll be busy managing to do all the ridiculous things you want out of me."


    Like that, we left. Time to take a small break before crushing more demons, and whatever other bastards that might get in my way.


    -----

 Chapter 653 Back Home For Some Well-Deserved Vacations

    -----


    "We''re back home!" Erika and I stepped inside our house, the moment we did, two adorable little kids rushed to our side.


    "Big sis! Big brother!"


    It has been half a year since we''ve seen An and Anna, and we were really happy. The two of them jumped over us and hugged us tightly.


    "I missed you two!" Cried An.


    "You''re finally back, big bro! Look!" Anna said, summoning her spirit.


    Ding! Ding! Ding!


    Anna''s Golden Bell was summoned, as it made a loud sound. The Spirit itself seemed happy as well to see us, even though we couldn''t really tell with it not having a face at all.


    FLAAASH!


    However, that wasn''t all, the small bell conjured a special ability, as we felt suddenly stronger. Our Mana and Health suddenly enhanced their regeneration speed by several times over¡­


    The Grimoire exined to me this mysterious new spell.


    [The Golden Bell has conjured the [Revitalizing Chime] Spell!]


    [For 30 Minutes, all of your MP and HP Recovery Speed has increase by +300%, and your maximum recovery of MP and HP has increased by +100%.]


    It was an incredible buff like nothing we''ve seen before¡­ If we could had have this back then when fighting the demons, things might have been much easier.


    "Woah! This is one amazing buff!" Said Erika. "Did you develop this? Well done, Anna!" Erika gave her a head pat.


    "Hehehe, right? I''m awesome!" Anna puffed her chest.


    "It is indeed incredible." I nodded, giving my little sister a head pat as well.


    "M-Me too!" An said while pouting, summoning his Silver Flute, and singing a melody with it.


    [The Silver Flute has conjured the [Strengthening Melody] Spell!]


    [For 30 Minutes, Strength, Vitality, Agility, and Dexterity have increased by +50%.]


    "Huh?! This one just as crazy!" Erika felt stronger in a sh.


    "Amazing! Both of you, well done. It seems you''ve been practicing magic every day as I taught you?" I asked.


    I had taught my two twin siblings to level up their skills and increase their maximum amount of Mana and Ki through activating the skills and spells constantly, and then taking short breaks whenever they felt slightly tired.


    It seems they have followed such a regimepletely, as they had grown much stronger. I could sense that in just half a year, their Ki and Magic Power has increased by more than double.


    And if they learned a new Skill, it probably meant they earned tons of proficiency too, their skills must be really high level. Good, I am quite proud of their growth, if they continue training like this for a few more years, when they hit ten years of age, they will be incredibly strong.


    "Well done, you two." I said with a smile. "I''ve prepared some gifts for you two."


    I quickly took out two bags filled with goods from my Grimoire.


    "Woow! What''s this, big brother?!" Wondered Anna, feeling excited as she opened the bag.


    "Oooh! G-Gifts for us?" An said in surprise.


    The two opened their bags, finding tons of candies, choctes, fruits, and snacks I''ve bought in Stronghold that were recipes from all over the world. Thanks to the inventory, I can keep these fresh, just like the moment I bought them.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    "So many snacks!" Anna was so happy.


    "What is this brown thing? It is yummy!" An said.


    "That is chocte, a special candy elves make using the seed of cacao." I said with a smile.


    "And what this soft thingy?" Wondered Anna.


    "That is a marshmallow!" Erika said happily. "It is something the people of the north make; it is soft and fluffy and sweet!"


    "Alright, don''t eat it all now, save forter, alright?" I asked with a giggle, giving them head pats, and hugging them again.


    I love both of them so much, they''re my precious little siblings. They''re another of the things Asmodeus always wished he could have had in his life, people I must treasure and protect with my life.


    "What''s going on, An? Anna?" Wondered my mother, suddenly stepping in. "Eh?! ke! Erika! You''re back already?!"


    "Wait, what?!" The voice of my father echoed from afar.


    "The kids are back you said?!" Grandmother screamed from within the bathroom.


    "Hahah, we''re back home!" Iughed, as they all greeted us happily.


    "We''re back! I''ve missed you all!" Erika said happily.


    My parents hugged us both tightly, and my grandmother gave me several kisses over my face. She looked fine as well, hopefully she can live for many more years. She''s a strong woman, so I am sure she will.


    "How was the Academy? I did heard from the letter you sent that you went to dungeons!" My mother said. "Is it true?!"


    "Yep! We beat them all amazingly!" Erika said. "I got the best grades too! Heheh!"


    "Well not that good in math." I said.


    "Geh¡­" Erika sighed.


    "Anyways, we need to show you someone special." I said, opening the door, as a beautiful pink-haireddy entered the house slowly.


    Her clothes looked like those of a noble, her purple eyes glowing brightly, with powerful magic authority. Her slightly gothic attire and her big witch hat shocked my family.


    "This is Cattalina, a Magic Theory, Alchemy, and Monster Biology Teacher in our Academy." I said, my family feeling bbergasted I brought a strange to our house.


    "And she''s my mom too!" Erika said, hugging her.


    Cattalina was extremely nervous to meet Erika''s adoptive family, she was paralyzed.


    "I-It is nice to m-meet you all¡­" She bowed her head. "I¡­ I am really grateful you''ve taken care of my child for all these years, thank you so much."


    "Eeeh?! Erika''s mom?!" My father asked in surprise.


    "I-I knew it! Her hair is just the same color!" Said my mother.


    "Oh my, so Erika''s mom was such a beautiful youngdy! A-And those ears, is she¡­?!" Asked my grandmother.


    "Mother don''t be rude!" My mom reprimanded grandma.


    "Hahah, it is fine. Yes, I am a half-elf." Cattalina smiled, her charming smile quickly won everybody''s hearts.


    -----

 Chapter 654 Introducing Erikas Mother

    -----


    Cattalina''s introduction brought havoc in my house, but my parents quicklyposed themselves and greeted her better. However, both of them panicked slightly, rushing to their room, and getting their fanciest clothes. After all, they felt like this was the bare minimum when a noble, daughter of royalty, was stepping into our humble house.


    I couldn''t care less about manners though, but I let them be. I can understand them though, living as serfs their entire life and suddenly meeting someone of such high status must be shocking. After all, Cattalina''s status is even higher than the Duke of our duchy, she''s a princess of our Kingdom.


    We invited her to our house and quickly cleaned a free room in the second floor for her. She nned to stay through the entire break with us, she said she was going to pay the rent though and offered our family a bag with thousands of gold coins, which my parents refused constantly, but that I ended convincing them to take.


    I mean, why not? It''s free money that''ll help our family in the future.


    "Can we call you auntie?" Wondered Anna, looking at Cattalina with shiny eyes.


    "Fufu, if you want to dear, feel free." Cattalina giggled, giving my sister a head pat.


    "S-Sho pretty¡­" Said An, he seemed to have suddenly gotten charmed by Cattalina. "Have this¡­"


    And he offered her a tiny candy.


    "Thank you dear." Cattalina smiled, giving him a kiss in his cheek.


    "Uwawawahhh¡­" An got all embarrassed and covered his face, running away from the room.


    "An?! Where are you going dummy?" Anna started chasing him around.


    We had lunch with Cattalina, I decided to prepare noodles this time, with wolf meat sauce, one of our specialties. She seemed slightly confused when I told her the team was that of Wild Gray Wolves.


    "Really? But it is so soft and tastes so delicious¡­" She said in surprise.


    "It is because we first marinate it for a day, and then we grind it until it is a soft paste." I said with a smile. "Of course, the fresh tomatoes and everything else all makes the sauce as good."


    "Amazing, you''re really a good chef, to make these cheap ingredients into something that even nobles would be surprised due to their taste!" Cattalina praised me. "You''re really the only one deserving of my daughter''s hand!"


    "D-Daughter''s hand?" Asked my mother, feeling slightly excited.


    "Is it really possible?" Wondered my father.


    "Ohoo! If they get married won''t we be part of the noble family?" Grandmother was giggling greedily.


    "Y-Yes, certainly." Sighed Eleanora, who was sitting at my side in her energy saving form. "C-Can I also get ke''s hand?!"


    "Huh?" My mother looked at Eleanora. "Well, if you want to? You''re his spirit so you can do whatever you want!"


    "Eh? I thought you were already boyfriends?" Wondered my father.


    "Uwaahhh¡­" Eleanora suddenly got embarrassed. "W-We aren''t! ¡­Yet!"


    "Well, I wouldn''t mind having both of them as my wives in the future." I said. "In a future where we can live in peace¡­ A future where we can rx and not think of the danger in every corner."<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    "ke¡­" My mother sighed. "As always, you''re once more thinking big, huh?"


    "Of course." I nodded. "I guess we have yet to tell you what happened back then in the Academy."


    Like that, we spent the rest of the evening talking and updating my family about everything that happened. Theyughed, gasped, and cried in horror sometimes, but after everything ended, they felt surprised.


    "T-To think the Director would allow such a thing! ke you''re sometimes ying with fire, my son! Who taught you to be so reckless?" My mother asked. "A-Ah, your father, I bet."


    "E-Eh? I didn''t!" My father said. "Well¡­ I kind of am reckless."


    "Well, well, obviously it was me! I shaped this boy into the tyrant he is now! One day I''m sure he''ll kill all demons and save the world! Mark my words!" Said grandmother.


    "Our next goal is to grow much stronger." I said. "The Tower of Gluttony is only the beginning. We''ll go after every Tower in the continent, and then the others. Once they''re all down, the world will finally be freed from the demons. However, I''ll go a step further and travel to hell, somehow, and most likely get rid of the King of Demons Lucifer, as long as he perishes, there''ll be no more threats in the future."


    "A-Are you listening to the insanity you''re talking about, dear?" My mother sighed. "I am well aware of your strength but please don''t do anything crazy!"


    "I can''t promise you that, mother¡­ But I''ll make sure to survive." I nodded.


    "Honestly I am just as worried as your mother but¡­ I am just amazed in everything you''ve aplished. Sometimes I wonder if you''re really my son!" Laughed father. "You have my total support, ke. If anybody could do such a thing¡­ You and your friends might have the best shot at it."


    "Me too! You''ve got my total support kid!" Laughed grandma.


    "Big brother''s so cool!" Anna said, giving me kisses in my cheek while sitting on my legs. "Mooch! Mooch! You''re the hero! Mooch!"


    "B-Big brother when I grow¡­" An said. "W-When I grow up¡­ I want to join you! I want to fight and be stronger¡­ and help you free our world!"


    An seemed decided to walk the same path as me.


    "Me too!" Anna nodded.


    And Anna as well¡­


    I was worried about that I''ve influenced them like this, but at the same time, having my siblings fighting at my side filled me with much more strength.


    And their spirits and skills that have such incredible buffs, they feel as if¡­ the Holy Spirits themselves gave them these powers to help me in our journey.


    "Fine." I nodded. "But make sure to continue training as hard as I''ve taught you."


    "Yeah!" The two raised their hands filled with conviction.


    "Heheh, they kind of remind me of us when we were younger." Erika giggled.


    "Is it?" I wondered. "Yeah¡­ I guess you''re right."


    -----

 Chapter 655 A Celebration Party

    -----


    The next day we meet up with our friends. This time, we had a big meeting in my house with my friends'' parents and the chief of the vige as well. It was a small celebration of our feats in Stronghold, the chief of the town had be much wealthier over time as our town grew in size and was soon to be turned into something like a duke as our town had be asrge as a small city and might be turned into a small duchy.


    In this meeting, we took the opportunity to formally introduce our two new friends, Alberta and Elfriedden to everybody else. My family as well. Once more, they were shocked to hear they were a princess and a prince of dwarves and elves respectively.


    "Y-You recruited such people in your team?!" My mother reacted.


    "Of course, we wouldn''t had settled from anything less in our party." I nodded.


    "So this is your humble family¡­" Elfriedden said. "It is certainly humble looking."


    "What? Not too fancy for you, princey?" I asked with a giggle.


    "Certainly¡­ But I envy you, ke." He sighed, crossing his arms. "I wish I could have such a family¡­ Make sure to love them and protect them."


    "Of course." I nodded. "And if this is enough constion, you can always think as us as your family too."


    "Huh? W-What nonsense are you talking about?" Elfriedden got embarrassed. "Hmph, as if I ever wanted such a family."


    "N-Nice to meet you too¡­" Alberta said.


    "Oh, she''s the dwarven princess? So cute!" My grandmother said.


    "C-Cute?!" Alberta blushed a bit.


    "She''s certainly very cute." Eric smiled at her side.


    "E-Eric! Don''t say t-those embarrassing things¡­" Alberta got all red.


    "Haha, we meet her in the academy and since then I was in love with her¡­ We''ve been boyfriends for a while now." Eric said with a smile.


    "I can''t believe it! Little Eric got such a fancy girlfriend?!" My grandmother almost died ofughter.


    "Congrattions, Eric!" My mother said.


    "Yeah, take good care of her." My father said.


    "I will! Thank you for your congrattions." Eric said. "Alberta, let''s go meet everyone else."


    "O-Okay¡­" Alberta nodded, walking away.


    As the day continued, the smell of grilled giant boar meat filled the atmosphere. Lunch was ready, and we started serving big pieces of meat alongside mashed potatoes and lots of sd. I had also prepared some meatloaf myself, some skewered meat, and stew.


    There were many people to feed, but thanks to our preparation, we were able to deliver a delicious lunch for everyone. The chief raised a cup of wine celebrating this day.


    "A toast for these talented children, which are the pride of our city!" He said.


    "Yeaaaah!" Everyone cheered, raising their cups.


    The festivities continued for many more hours through the day. My friends enjoyed everything, happily talking, eating, dancing and even singing.


    I saw Eric and Alberta dancing to the song and music of the bards that the chief brought here, several parents quickly joined in, and I even saw Erdrich who had brought Patricia here too.


    "This is a nice ce." She sighed with a calm smile. "The nice food, the humble people. It all reminds me of my town¡­"


    "It is a ce I''ve been striving to protect all this time." Erdrich said. "My family¡­ rejected me, yet I love every single thing about this town, even after everything that happened this is my home."<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    "Erdrich¡­" Patricia sighed. "I wonder¡­ if I could ever call this my home one day."


    "Well, maybe in the future." Erdrich said. "As long as you stay by my side, I will make sure that this town feels like your home, Patricia."


    Patricia blushed a bit, raising her eyebrows.


    "T-That''s¡­ really romantic, wow." She sighed. "I-I never thought a man would ever say such a thing to an ugly girl like me."


    "Ugly?" Erdrich raised an eyebrow. "Patricia, you''re a beautiful girl."


    She grew even redder.


    "G-Geez¡­" Patricia sighed, acting more girly than her usual manly personality. "I-I''ll think about it¡­ But I think I might ept." She smiled back at him.


    "I''ll be eagerly waiting that response." Erdrich smiled. "Now, how about we dance a bit?"


    "Oh nooo! I am so stiff¡­ I can''t dance, seriously." Patriciaughed.


    "No matter, I''ll teach you! I am a noble, you know? I was taught how to dance many times." He said. "Just follow me."


    "Geez! Fine¡­!" Patricia giggled. "But be careful, okay?"


    "I''ll be careful." Erdrich nodded.


    The two started dancing around. She was very clumsy, but Erdrich had a lot of patience, slowly teaching her. Bothughed and enjoyed it. I was happy to see my friend finally finding someone to love. I guess he was doing a great job, he was winning her heart now more than ever.


    They make an adorable couple; I would kill people for them if necessary¡­


    "Hey kee on!" Said Erika.


    "Let''s go dance." Said Elizabeth.


    "ke, we should go first." Eleanora said.


    Of course, I had my own problems.


    "Fine, but let''s take turns, okay?" I asked. "Hmmm¡­ Do rock, paper, and scissor to decide."


    "Sure!" Erika smiled.


    "Okay then." Elizabeth nodded.


    "W-What was that again?" Eleanora wondered.


    At the end, Eleanora lose all of three of them, and she wentst, while Erika went first and Elizabeth second¡­ I felt slightly bad for Eleanora, but at the end, when her turn came, she smiled and was really happy to enjoy a day without concerns and worries.


    Like that, the day went by rather quickly with friends and family. Cattalina enjoyed the day as well, and she was slowly dropping the formalities and bing more ustomed.


    In the third day of the week, we decided to take it easy and take a stroll around the city''s spirit tree forest, we had to check the Lesser Yggdrasil Trees as well.


    We explored the Spirit Tree Forest, mostly to show Elfriedden and Alberta the mystical ce, which was already a ce of tourism for many nobles andmoners within the Kingdom. The two were amazed about the beautiful forest, so filled with spirit energy and mana it could even glow at night.


    -----

 Chapter 656 The Elven Continents Peril

    -----


    We explored the Spirit Tree Forest, mostly to show Elfriedden and Alberta the mystical ce, which was already a ce of tourism for many nobles andmoners within the Kingdom. The two were amazed about the beautiful forest, so filled with spirit energy and mana it could even glow at night.


    "S-So stunning... Everything is s-sparkling¡­" Alberta said, amazed, her big eyes shone brightly.


    "This forest¡­" Elfriedden said, suddenly giving a rather nostalgic look, and smiling. "It feels like home¡­ Like the forest of my country, where I used to run away from my problems. Or of people I did not want to interact with."


    "Hmm, well, the lesser spirit trees had popped up only in thest two years." I said. "Right, Erika?"


    "Yeah! I helped them grow up, they''re all like my babies." Erika smiled. "They could one day be dryads or other spirits of the forest."


    "Y-You did such a thing?" Elfriedden was surprised. "Right¡­ I often forget you are half-dryad."


    "But it''s not like this is all either." Said Erika with a giggle.


    We walked across the forest some more, as they were able to finally see the biggest of the trees. The Lesser Yggdrasil Trees I had nted with Eric and Erika''s aid.


    "T-These are¡­ Yggdrasil?! So many¡­" Elfriedden freaked out. "How is this even possible in this backwater vige?!"


    "Oi, don''t call our home like that!" Chris said angrily.


    "It was thanks to the inheritance that my father left behind." Said Eric. "It was actually from our ancestor. He showed him his staff."


    "That staff you had¡­ I thought it hade from my continent." Elfriedden nodded. "So you''re saying you nted trees with this? Is it some special staff that can do that?"


    "No but it is made out of the spirit tree''s branch." I said. "I merely cut pieces off it, imbued them with life and nature magic, and made them regrow into full-fledged trees, there was another on Eric''s house, didn''t you see it?"


    "R-Right¡­" Elfriedden said in shock. "You can do such a thing though?! Even¡­ with the magic of the elves, such a thing is nothing butpletely impossible."


    "Is that so?" I wondered. "I had aplished it even before Erika''s help¡­ I guess my magic is better than those of the elves, heh."


    "Don''t get too cocky now¡­" Elfriedden sighed.


    But it''s true though¡­ Although I cannot tell him directly, this world''s magic is far too behind the magic of the universe I once explored. They rely on their spirits to make their own magic, and it is often restrictive and basic in nature.


    Magic Circle Form Creation and other things are not as studied here, and most of the time, everyone relies on their spirits magic to conjure magic by itself, skipping magic circles which can give birth to a myriad of intricate spells never seen before in here.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    Well, if I ever want a hobby once the war against the demons is over, I could be a Magic Teacher and teach a much better magic to this world¡­ Well, maybe, just maybe.


    "Hmph, I am quite interested in this book you were talking about, Eric." Elfriedden said. "You said something about an ancestor that visited my continent long ago?"


    "Oh, yeah¡­" Eric said.


    "We wanted to ask you about that too but we couldn''t find the time for it." I admitted. "By any chance, does your people know about the Fafnir and the Spirit Queen?" I asked.


    "Fafnir?!" Asked Elfriedden. "H-How¡­ How do mere humans know about the Dragon of Cmity?"


    "It was in the journal¡­" Said Eric. "Maybe we should let him read it¡­"


    "I agree." I said. "Someone that came from that continent must be able to answer even if a few more questions."


    "Hmph¡­ To think you people know about Fafnir and the Spirit Queen too¡­" Elfriedden sighed. "I suppose my continent''s secrets are not allpletely safe¡­"


    Like that, we let him borrow the journal, Elfriedden promised not to destroy it or something, and rapidly learn through everything using his skills and high stats.


    In just half an hour, he had finished, and his face was filled with shock, he nced at Eric with surprise¡­


    "Y-You are¡­ you are rted with the Dragon of Cmity?!" He asked. "This ancestor of yours is his father! And I can''t believe that Dragon was born from a mere human and the Dragon-kin, who this ignorant calls Lizardmen!" He sighed. "These are big news¡­ or maybe bad ones? I can''t tell, honestly¡­"


    "Has something happened since then?" I asked. "The journal describes this as something predestined."


    "Indeed¡­" Elfriedden sighed. "Hundreds of years have passed since this was written. The birth of Fafnir, the descendant and inheritor of the Dragon God Fafnir was a big hit to our continent. At first he was peaceful, but in thest two hundred years, he had grown greedy and animalistic. The Dragon-kin, who once had a peaceful alliance with the elves, broke out the alliance and started a war against the elves. Weter discovered that dark forces known as the Cult of the Dark Dragon God, were behind this."


    "So there''s another dark forces there." I said while rubbing my chin. "And the Dark Dragon God Cult, huh? It smells like they''re not just for Fafnir alone¡­"


    "Your intuition is good, we have recently discovered that they had been employing the power of Demons and Demonic Energy for their own gain. Somehow, Fafnir had grown corrupted with power and decided to take over the continent. We''ve been in a battle ever since then, which hassted two hundred years." Said Elfriedden.


    "The war is constantly in our favor, but Fafnir had yet to step into the battlefield or move. Some say he is nning something, as he has taken over the Yggdrasil Tree. Those connected with the tree say the tree is screaming in pain, and that it is slowly perishing, as someone malicious is draining its energy¡­"


    It seemed like the elven continent was in more peril than we thought.


    -----

 Chapter 657 Motivated

    -----


    Once Elfriedden learned about the journal and about Eric''s Ancestor, my special magic that allowed me to grow Yggdrasil Trees, and more, he started talking much more than he had ever done before.


    "The war is constantly in our favor, but Fafnir had yet to step into the battlefield or move. Some say he is nning something, as he has taken over the Yggdrasil Tree. Those connected with the tree say the tree is screaming in pain, and that it is slowly perishing, as someone malicious is draining its energy¡­" He sighed. "I acted so nostalgic while being here because¡­ many of the forests that I used to walk through and explore in my childhood had perished due to the contamination of miasma that has spread across the continent."


    It seemed like the elven continent was in more peril than we thought. Fafnir, who we thought could be an ally, might as well be our enemy. He led some sort of revolution with his Dragon-kin, breaking their alliance with the elves and deciding to take things into their own hands.


    Not only that, but it seemed as if they were all the puppets of a powerful cult that had formed there since Fafnir''s birth, the Cult of the Dark Dragon God, which might be using this name as a mere fa?ade from their true identity, an Archdemon Cult.


    "W-What?" Eric asked in shock. "But isn''t that tree¡­ the one thing that''s keeping the demons afar from your continent? Without the tree, the purification will¡­"


    "I am afraid it might be toote." Sighed Elfriedden. "I came to this continent to study and grow stronger, as I knew the Stronghold Academy was the only ce where I could truly sharpen my power and knowledge to help my country¡­ But now, I''ve realized it was destiny."


    Elfriedden''s eyes meet my own.


    "I''ll need your help, ke, everyone." He said, his eyes filled with conviction. "You''re the ones I''ve been seeking for a while, I had my doubts before but now I am sure¡­"


    "Quite the cocky thing to ask from us out of the blue." Said Chris while crossing his arms.


    "You will be greatly rewarded, of course." He nodded.


    "Hmm¡­" I nodded. "I had been considering going there anyways. I did heard that at the end of the second year in the Stronghold Academy, we can travel to another country that has dungeons or a demon tower. If you can convince the director, we could go there through that trip¡­ And get that done."


    "Right¡­" Elfriedden said. "Though, we''ll have to have excellent grades for that as well¡­"


    "Of course, are you chickening out?" I asked with augh.


    "Huh? Of course not, hmph." Elfriedden, who had lost his cool, quickly calmed himself down. "We''ll go then, no matter what."


    "Heh, I guess you''re motivated." Iughed. "Though we''ve got some other tasks to do in this continent beforehand¡­ Mostly unmasking the traitor among the Academy, raid the other Demon Tower, conquer some dungeons, and destroy the cult of Beelzebub, which is most likely now obeying the rules of other Archdemons."


    "A-Are we really doing all of that in the next semester?" Eric asked in shock.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    "I-I am a bit afraid now¡­" Alberta muttered.


    "Heh, don''t be such cowards!" Erika said. "This is exactly what we should do. Let''s clean the mess in our continent first before going to another."


    "Well, at most that''s what I want to do, there would be many other things to do after that." I said, analyzing the situation. "Such as joining the frontlines in our continent''s north and fighting the demon armying from the north continent, quite possibly, once we''re done with the elven continent¡­ Conquering the Dark Continent where the Demon King could be a priority."


    "T-That''s a bit too far, no way we would be so strong." Said Chris.


    "You''re doubting too much our leader, Chris." Laughed Erdrich. "You already saw what he did, defeating a Vessel of Beelzebub and then making his entire tower crumble¡­"


    "Right¡­" Chris sighed. "Well, whatever. I guess we''ll have to just level up like there''s no tomorrow. I''m getting used to this."


    "You should had gotten used to it for a while now, Chris." Elizabeth reprimanded him.


    "Well, it still all just a thought, however everything happens to will be left to fate." I sighed. "For now, knowing this information is enough¡­ However, I can''t help but wonder, what Demon Towers are there in your continent, Elfriedden?"


    "There is only one." Said Elfriedden. "A Demon Tower that emerged in the south of the continent, where most people don''t live anymore. Once upon a time, that ce used to be the sanctuary of Ice Elves, whom I possess some of their bloodline. Though that tribe no longer lives in that ce, as it has be an infested den of demons and monsters."


    "I see¡­" I nodded. "If I ever go there, I''ll have to make sure to destroy that tower at all costs. However, as I can already guess, the Cult of the Dark Dragon God might be rted to this Demon Tower in specific."


    "We''ve suspected the same in the royal family." Elfriedden sighed, looking at the sky. "If the demons are truly the ones controlling the Dragon-kin, then we need to do something to make them realize they''re being fooled."


    "It won''t be easy." I assured him. "Nheless, we''ll do our best, whenever that situation finally arrives."


    For now, we decided to drop the topic, even if it was a rather urgent thing, we hade here to rx, so we continued rxing. Once we explored the forest, we picked up some fruits from the trees, and hunted some game, mostly deer, and some gray wolves, beforeing back home and butchering them for dinner.


    While having a delicious meal with my family and friends, I nced into the skies, thinking about the many things this world had to offer, and wondering more about the Journal. I do remember, within its scripts, something Elfriedden did not adress¡­ The "Creators".


    -----

 Chapter 658 The Mystery Of The Creators

    -----


    The "Creators" who made the Yggdrasil Tree and then had the tree turned against them¡­ It simply didn''t fit with what the Holy Spirits told me they were.


    Unless they were lying. Or maybe¡­ there''s another force I had yet to meet in this world. Some force, a group of beings that made this world, or designed it. But who are they? Are they truly the Holy Spirits?


    And like that, once the night came¡­ I asked them personally.


    "Who are the creators?" I asked.


    Using the power of my connection with them, I had already figured out a way to visit their Divine Spirit Realm using my consciousness.


    The Holy Spirits, resembling enormous pirs with the slight shapes of humanoids nced at one another, they seemed clueless¡­


    And I could tell they were genuinely clueless, as they were incapable of hiding their expressions or intentions from me, who was ring directly into their souls.


    "We only know very little about them, I am afraid." Said the Holy Spirit of Light.


    "So they do exist¡­" I said. "They''re not you, Holy Spirits?"


    "No, it could be said we are their children." Said the Holy Spirit of Darkness. "We are the byproduct of their masterful creation."


    "Are they malicious?" I asked.


    "No." Said the Holy Spirit of Love. "They watch, from afar, above this world''s ceiling, within their enormous, floating and cosmic-faring devices."


    "You''ve read my memory, do theye from that Universe?" I asked.


    "No, but they have visited and seen it before as well, I believe." Answered the Holy Spirit of Nature. "You were wondering this because of the Journal you read? About Yggdrasil, our sibling?"


    "So the original Yggdrasil is your sibling?!" I asked in surprise.


    "Indeed." The Holy Spirits nodded.


    FLAAASH!


    Suddenly, the Holy Spirit of Light showed me something, materializing light into a projection of the world of Spiritias.


    I was finally able to see it on its totality. I learned it was actually a gigantic, spherical world, and that aside from the four continents, there was only sea.


    Well, it was several times more vast than any I''ve ever visited before, and its quality and power was much bigger to the point of being incredibly vast andrge.


    "Within the World of Spiritias, there are us, the Holy Spirits that represent the Elements themselves, and then there are our siblings, the Spirit Treasures, as they call them. Yggdrasil is our older sister, while there are also other two Spirit Treasures in the other continents." He said. "They''re like physical forms of our powers, which are made to be a further pir to the world''s structure."


    "I see¡­" I nodded. "So the Creators made you all to create this world?"


    "We are not sure¡­ They call them the Creators, but their real intervention seems minimal." Said the Holy Spirit of Love. "I do recall though¡­ That when we were created, it was instantaneous, as if we were born from the mere concentration of all cosmic energy. The end and the beginning of it all."


    "Huh¡­" I was left bbergasted.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    If that was true, the Holy Spirits were beings equal to Lucifer and just as strong, if not stronger. They were born from the End and Beginning of everything, the deepest, core of all cosmos.


    Simrly, the one that created the Universe I once lived in, God, or The One, is a being like them too. Could they be equals? If so, then Spiritias is not a Universe, but some sort of Dimension of an incredibly high grade of quality.


    I suppose this exins why the Demons want it so badly¡­


    "Does this answers some of your doubts? We currently don''t know where are these entities we presume had something to do with the creation of our existences." Said the Holy Spirit of Light.


    "It''s fine, this was more than enough." I nodded.


    I guess I''ll have to trust them for now.


    "Can you nce in the other continents and tell me what''s happening there, by any chance?" I asked.


    "It does seems like the elves and the dragon-kin are in a stalemate, but indeed, our sibling, Yggdrasil, is slowly perishing by a dark force absorbing her powers." Said the Holy Spirit of Nature.


    "Most of your predictions were correct." Said the Holy Spirit of Light. "It is a task we were going to give youter, but the sooner it can be done, the better."


    "Of course, expect great rewards from that." The Holy Spirit of Ice said. "As long as you help my divinely protected, that is."


    "So you''ve blessed Elfriedden." Iughed. "Well, alright. I better not satiate my curiosity anymore, it does seems like you''re growing a bit frustrated of my visit here."


    "We don''t want to sound rude, but yes, it is quite disrespectful that you ask so many things, we''re supposed to be cryptic and mysterious." Sighed the Holy Spirit of Love.


    "For now, we''ve repaid you enough for your feats in answering questions alone. If you desire to have more questions answered to satiate your personal curiosity, you''ll have to aplish more feats, ke." The Holy Spirit of Light said.


    "It''s fine." I said. "Thanks for everything."


    I didn''t wanted to be rude or cocky with them, after all, they''ve helped me a lot. I appreciate their aid and the trust they put on me, but abusing this might cause our bond to be worse, so I better satiate my curiosity another day.


    ¡­


    Once I woke up the next morning, I discussed these things with my Spirits inside of my room. They agreed on that resolving the Yggdrasil issue should take a bit of priority, so whenever the chance to go there were to rise, we should get there immediately.


    "Hmm, I do wonder though, who do you think is the traitor, my lord?" Hendrick wondered.


    "You haven''t figured it out yet?" I asked with a smile.


    "Oh well, perhaps¡­  But I am never sure." Hendrick said.


    "Ah¡­ Is it the one I think it is?" Asked Eleanora. "He is indeed a rather suspicious man¡­ And the way his eyes gazed you in that first day at the academy¡­"


    "Indeed, there is a high possibility it is him." I nodded.


    -----

 Chapter 659 Departure

    -----


    "Bleh, how many of these do we need to drink, big brother?" Sighed Anna, as she was barely drinking a bottle with a red colored potion inside. "They taste awful!"


    "Ugh¡­ I want to vomit¡­" An cried.


    This morning, I had given to both of them some Dragon Blood Elixirs so they could awaken their skills further, raise their stats, and maybe unlock some dragon skills, which are always useful.


    "Drink them and I''ll give you some candies, and chocte." I said, showing them the goods. "If you drink these other ten, five each, I''ll give you even more sweets, treats, and some amazing pastries named donuts."


    "Hmmm¡­" An groaned, finishing the whole bottle. "Geh¡­ I-I''m gonna throw up¡­ G-Give me to chocte¡­"


    "Here." I gave him a small chocte, as he started nibbling on it and immediately recovered.


    "Eh? Not fair!" Anna quickly drank the whole potion, almost vomiting it midway through, and then drinking a cup of clean water afterwards. "Bleeh¡­ Gimme gummies!"


    I gave her the gummies. As the two continued eating, they furrowed their eyebrows¡­ I think they were a bit angry at me, but they knew this was for their own good.


    "I am not feeding you something gross because I enjoy it or something." I sighed. "These Elixirs are made using dragon blood and other parts¡­ Alongside many other premium materials. They''ll make you so strong nobody in this whole vige willpare to you two."


    In fact, the Dragon Elixirs I had made for them were an even more improved version, which used new and higher quality ingredients, including Lesser Yggdrasil''s roots, leaves, and fruits I picked up here alongside a Red Dragon w, which I bought in Stronghold before departing.


    "Hmm, fine~" Anna sighed, pouting a bit. "But only if you give me a kiss! Hehehe¡­"


    "Fine." I sighed, giving her a kiss in her forehead.


    "Eeeh? In the lips, like the ones you give to Erika!" Sheined.


    "Those are only exclusive to my girlfriend." Iughed.


    "Muhh¡­ Then give me a chocte!" She said.


    "Not until you drink your second elixir, youngdy." I said with a smile.


    "Bleh¡­" Anna sighed.


    "Gulp, gulp¡­" Meanwhile, An was already drinking his second.


    "See? Looks like your brother''s the morepromised to this!" I said.


    "Eeehh?! No way!" Annained, beginning to drink her second elixir.


    As they ate their candies, drank elixir, and continued, the two were slowly glowing with stronger magical auras. I had already forged their magic circles into their souls, and with their developing unique physiques, my two younger twin siblings were going to grow into absurd powerhouses.


    Once they finished, I used magic to help their small stomachs absorb the elixirs quickly, although this made them go to the bathroom right after¡­ However, once they were finally done, they feltpletely revitalized, and the effects of the Elixir had already taken ahold into their bodies.


    FLAAASH!


    Their auras transformed and changed, Anna glowed with gold, while An had a bright silver aura. Both slightly took the shape of a dragon, opening its wings majestically, only for a few seconds, but it looked amazing.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    "Woah¡­ I feel so strong now¡­" An said. "I-Is this okay?"


    "This is such a crazy boost! They tasted awful but I am so strong now!" Anna said happily.


    "Hmm." I nodded. "Alright, now prepare yourselves, for the rest of my break in here, I''ll be training you two daily. From fighting techniques to magic, to mana maniption and cultivation, to ki maniption and physique enhancement, I''ll make sure to ingrain everything into your little heads."


    "Ugh¡­" An sighed. "I-I don''t think I am ready, big brother¡­"


    "Heheh! Alright! Bring it on!" Anna said, her bright eyes shining happily. "I need to keep training so one day I can surpass Erika!"


    "Surpass her? That seems really far, you''ll have to work harder than anybody else." Iughed. "But I can assure you that you can grow very strong, at the very least."


    .


    .


    .


    Like that, in between training my siblings, hunting with my father, cooking, and sewing with my mother and my grandmother, and having a good time with my friends, the days went by flying, the two weeks I had for a break ended in a sh. It felt so fast I wanted to stay much longer with my family, but we had to depart.


    An airshiping to pick us up had already arrived in our town, and we as everyone slowly departed, we said our goodbyes. I hugged my family tightly, and left many other gifts, food, and sweets for my siblings with them.


    "I''ll see you at the end of the year." I said with a smile. "Take care."


    "Take care as well, dear." My mother said. "D-Don''t do anything too dangerous, okay?"


    "Haha! He''s going to be a hero! He''s going to do all the dangerous stuff and more, girl!" Laughed my grandmother.


    "Don''t worry mother, I''ll be careful." I nodded. I was probably not going to be too careful, but I had to say something to make her feel better.


    "Go on and do your best, as always, my champion." My father said, giving me a head pat and hugging me. "I am proud of you and everything you''ve aplished. And always keep in mind that we''ll be here waiting for you. Even if something goes wrong, and you do not want to pursue this anymore, we''ll be always here with open arms."


    "Thank you, father." I said, hugging him back. "I really appreciate it."


    "Goodbye big brother¡­" An was in tears. "Pleasee back quickly!"


    "Y-Yeah!" Anna said, containing her tears, as the two hugged me tightly. Anna filled my face with kisses and her tears in between.


    "I''ll do, and I''ll be back with even more elixirs and sweets, so look forward to it!" Iughed.


    "Blehh¡­" The two groaned.


    I stepped back into the airship with everybody else, waving my hand as we departed, back to the Academy, but in a brand-new ss now.


    -----

 Chapter 660 Jumping To Class 2

    -----


    The introductions were quickly, and in a blink of an eye, we were already sitting in the enormous ssroom of ss 2, it only had two other parties though, so there was plenty of space for us.


    The original ss 2 members, however, were ring at us with several varying expressions, from contempt to frustration, envy, anger, confusion, and indifference.


    "Ahem! And as I said, from now on¡­ Err, well, we''ve transferred ss 1 to ss 2 due to their exceptional talent and amazing grades." Hasan exined. "Anyways, have a good day, kids."


    "Eeehh?!"


    "W-What kind of bullshit is this?!"


    "Why are these kids in our damn ss?!"


    "Oi, director! Where are you going?!


    The original ss 2 cried in confusion as Hasan swiftly made his way out¡­ They were allowed toin, but Hasan wasn''t going to change his mind anyways, and if they didn''t liked it, they could always leave.


    Once the director was out of sight, their eyes quickly were directed towards our four Parties. The one I led, the other Rose led, the one rice led, and then the Party Eduard led.


    "Looks like ss 2 is smaller than I imagined." I said, looking at them with a smile. "I thought you guys were better than us, but seriously, only 2 Parties? Seems like you are terrible at cooperating with your ssmates¡­"


    They immediately took the bait, ring at me with fury. They recognized me, however. They knew who I was, and some kept their words for themselves¡­ except a few brave ones.


    "Well, we might be just two teams, but those that didn''t pass were simply too useless." Said a white-haired young man, with sharp red eyes. His nce seemed domineering and strong; he was desperately trying to intimidate me.


    His aura spread around his body, expanding across the ssroom, it took the shape of a giant griffin, roaring ferociously.


    "I used to think like you." Iughed. "You''ll regret it once there''s nobody else at your side when you most need it. There''s strength in unity, a much wider strength than you imagine. We cannot aplish things alone, fool."


    "You dare call me fool, kid?" Heughed.


    "I am merely a year younger than you, aren''t you a kid too?" Iughed, my darkness and red blood aura spread around, instantly negating his own aura. "You need to learn a lot more about life, child."


    FLAAASH!


    "Ngh?! W-What with that aura?!" He asked furiously. "I know you''re strong but this is ridiculous- Agh!"


    He began coughing the more I exposed him to my aura, his red eyes ring at me angrily. I merely used my Authority of Gluttony to devour his aura, which caused his Mana Reserves to suddenly deplete, causing some slight pain all over his body.


    Oh, and my Aura had evolved to have some sort of Curse-like effect, those I do not want to protect will instead receive a debuff to their strength and be paralyzed if they''re not strong enough to fight back.


    "See? Now you''re hopeless." Iughed. "You can''t move, you can''t cast magic, you can''t even breathe¡­ What else do you have but the aid of yourpanions, edge lord?"


    "T-Tch¡­ Aagh¡­!"


    "ASH!"


    "Please cut it out!"


    "Oi, you bastard!"


    The other students started threatening me. The were his party of bootlickers, at least they were useful for something, as they started using their magic to make my aura weakened.


    "That is enough."


    Suddenly, the gigantic aura of the teacher in the ssroom manifested itself, a gigantic, silver de pierced through my own aura,pletely negating its powers.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    SLAAAASH!


    TRUUUMMM¡­!


    Everything dissipated in an instant, as I smiled at the showcase of strength of our Swordsmanship and History teacher, Hector.


    "ke, if you dare do this in the middle of the ss I''ll report you to the director." He said.


    "I apologize." I said. "It won''t happen again, professor. I merely wanted someone to learn a small lesson. Don''t tell me you don''t agree with me, after all the feats we''ve aplished together?"


    "Hahh¡­" Hector sighed. "You kids are really hopeless¡­" He walked away, ignoring my question.


    Ash gritted his teeth, ring at me angrily.


    "ke why did you even do that?" Asked Eric. "Are you crazy?! This is the worst first impression ever!"


    "Worst? I think it was really good." I said. "It is just making sure the status quo is set. So we do not suffer any sort of bullying or abuse. Now all the hate will be targeted towards me."


    "H-How is that any good?!" Alberta cried.


    "This crazy bastard¡­" Sighed Elfriedden.


    "Don''t worry, by the end of the week, I''ll make sure to show them that they shouldn''t mess with us." I smiled.


    "I-I am a bit nervous about it, but I''ll trust you." Erika sighed. "I just want everyone to be friends, so¡­ don''t be too harsh on them, okay?"


    "I know, don''t worry." I said, giving her a head pat.


    Meanwhile, my Vampires were all celebrating.


    "That''s right! Show that damn brat what''s good! Gyehehehe!" Laughed Woo.


    "That was a splendid showcase of strength and dominance, my master." Fang said. "You are clearly an Alpha in the pack worth following!"


    "Hehehe, that looked fun!" Saphira said. "Papa''s so cool!"


    "Indeed, splendidly done as always!" Hendrick pped his hands.


    "That was great." Eleanora smiled. "For a moment you showcased that powerful dominance that I''ve always loved- Ah, I mean¡­ very well done!"


    "You guys are over exaggerating a bit¡­" I sighed, their voices ringing in my head was a bit annoying, but I had grown more or less used to it.


    It will only get worse as I grow stronger, as I''ll have even more spirits inside of my Spirit Orb¡­


    ¡­


    When the sses quickly came to an end and we went to have some lunch, naturally, Ash and his gang were following us. I quickly let my party go eat as I told them and let Ash''s entire party corner me in the backyard, which was currently unprotected.


    "We''ve finally got you." Ash said, his eyes glowing redder in anger. "I''m going to fucking kill you."


    "I think that''s my line." Iughed. "I''ll make sure to educate you into a ster student."


    "Shut your damn fucking mouth!!!" Ash rushed towards me.


    -----

 Chapter 661 Blake Humbles Some Punk Brats

    -----


    Ash came for a straight fist attack. I could tell he had some sort of experience in fighting, he imbued mana and spirit power into his fists. His Level is¡­ most likely thirty? He has a three-star Talent if I am correct. Should be easy enough.


    CLAAASH!


    I stopped his fist with my elbow, and then I grabbed his arm in a split of a second twisting it around, and pulling it behind his back.


    Crack¡­!


    It started to sound as if it was about to crack.


    "Aaagh! W-What the?!" He cried in shock.


    I moved much faster than he could discern.


    "What''s wrong? Can''t evennd a punch?" I provoked him.


    "Shut up!" He roared.


    FLAAASH!


    His aura exuded a tremendous amount of power, as his Griffin King Spirit surged, roaring furiously. Its power exuded a tremendous aura of light, as several des made of holy light were pointed at me.


    "You''re dead! [Holy de Rain]!"


    CLASH! CLASH! CLASH! CLASH! CLASH! CLASH!


    A rain of holy des fell above me, but I swung my hand as my multiple auras merged together into a thick ck and red barrier around me, which I mixed with the power of Infernal me Authority.


    "[Infernal Release]"


    "Eh?"


    FLUOOOOSSHHH!!!


    An enormous shockwave of demonic mes reached everyone around me, burning through their clothes and bodies. Three of them fell in an instant while the rest were heavily wounded, none were prepared to this.


    Ash barely managed to protect himself, but his Griffin King immediately died after being exposed to my demon mes, which had beenbined with the Gluttony Authority for an absolutely insanebo.


    "Aggh¡­ M-My spirit¡­" He cried, ncing at me with fury and shock. "Hahhh¡­"


    "A-Ash!" The other students rushed towards me, attacking me with their multitude of magic and spirits.


    "Off the way." I waved my hand again, releasing a scythe-shaped aura shockwave that blew them away from my surroundings.


    SLAAASH!


    "Aaagggh!"


    "Uugh!"


    "F-Fuck¡­!"


    They all fell like flies.


    "Well, this is getting boring." I sighed. "I was expecting more from ss 2¡­ I guess your end of the year test was easy enough?"


    "Hah¡­ You have not seen everything yet¡­" Ashughed. "They''re all just mobs, I don''t even rely on them¡­ You''ll know what''s real power."


    Suddenly, he unleashed the strength of his second spirit, yeah, he was naturally Rank 2.


    FLAAASH!


    His second spirit manifested, resembling a young female angel with long silver hair, two pairs of big, white feathered wings, and her eyes covered in ck blindfolds.


    She held a small silver shield and a thin rapier. And seemed to direct her attention to me in silence, her aura of divine holy light was genuine. Interesting, he has much more potential than I imagined.


    "This is my second spirit, [Valkyrie]!" Heughed, smiling cockily at me. "Heh, scared already?


    "Not really, but it is indeed impressive." I nodded.


    "Valkyrie, slice him up!" Laughed Ash.


    "Haaahhh!!!"


    The Valkyrie flew directly towards me, pointing her rapier at my head and then unleashing hundred of shing attacks in a mere second.


    SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH!


    "Hahahah!" Ashughed, as he saw my body being sliced into pieces, and falling into the floor. "Oops, looks like I went a bit too far¡­"


    However, my body pieces turned into blood, which then returned to my body.


    "H-Huh?!"


    When Ash realized I was actually behind him, he snaped.


    "W-What the hell?!"<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    "Huh? You''re surprised? That''s merely a Blood Puppet." I yawned. "Anyways¡­"


    "Y-You fucking bastard! Die!"


    The Valkyrie flew towards me once more, unleashing beams of light and shes using her rapier.


    "Eleanora, can you clean this mess for me?"


    "Understood."


    FLASH!


    Eleanora emerged in an instant, swinging her spear in less than a second and piercing the Valkyrie''s chest, head, arms, and legs with multiple stabbing attacks.


    CLASH! CLASH! CLASH! CLASH! CLASH!


    "A-Aaaaahhhh!"


    The Valkyrie gave a rather deafening cry as she disappeared into particles of light.


    Eleanoranded in the floor majestically, pointing her spear at Ash, who had fallen into the floor, his face filled with¡­ despair.


    I stood up, as I was actually sitting over a small chair I had taken out of my inventory while drinking some tea.


    "Anyways, are you done?" I wondered.


    "W-What? What is this? How can¡­ I-I am the strongest¡­" He cried.


    "Strongest? Far from it." I said. "I think any member of my original ss could beat you by now, they''ve grown strong enough."


    "W-What? No that''s¡­" Ash face was being filled with disbelief.


    "Maybe you need to learn a bit more about pain?" I wondered with a smile. "Here, this might refresh you."


    I fired a giant fireball made of Demonic mes over his body.


    BOOOM!!!


    "AAAAGGGHHH¡­! GYYAAAAHHH¡­!"


    As he screamed and burned alive, I sipped some more tea.


    "Should this be enough?" Eleanora wondered.


    "Hmm, wait a bit more." I said.


    Ah, and of course, nobody could hear this battle as I had already enclosed the entire area in a Blood World Bubble added with mirage, stealth, and illusion magic.


    The usual.


    After three minutes of burning, I quickly healed him back and all hispanions, who suddenly woke up in horror.


    "W-What¡­?"


    "What happened?!


    "Ah! W-Was it a dream?"


    "No¡­"


    "I-I was burning just now¡­"


    "Are you all fine now?" I asked. "How are you feeling?"


    "Uwaaagh!"


    All of them suddenly screamed, stepping back as they saw me.


    "Come on, let''s be friends." I smiled. "I will make sure to make you into strong students. Let''s cooperate, Ash?"


    Ash looked at me in disbelief, his face had changed his expressions so much he was unrecognizable.


    "U-Understood¡­" He sighed, as he gave me his hand.


    Good, at least he had nice survival instincts.


    "Let''s begin immediately then." Iughed.


    "E-Eh?! Uwaaaaggh!" Ash suddenly screamed as I imbued Ki into his body directly.


    FLAAASH!


    Opening all his Ki Cores forcefully was sure a painful experience.


    "Don''t worry, this''ll make you much stronger so you''re not as pathetic! Hahaha!" Iughed, as I did the same with everybody else in a second.


    -----

 Chapter 662 Curses Cant Affect A Vampire Lord

    -----


    As we walked back home at the end of today''s sses, several students of the academy saw Ash and his party teammates doing exercise in the academy''s backyard, sparring, and learning martial arts.


    Woo was instructing them and hitting them whenever they did something wrong. He''ll shape them into proper warriors for sure.


    "No dumbass, you have to move your body like that! Take this and this! Move correctly!"


    "AAGH! Please spare me, grandpa!"


    "I am not your damn grandpa! Now MOVE!"


    "S-Sure! Okay!"


    "Oi, don''t you dare ck on me or I''m going to break some of your ribs!"


    "I-I''m doing my best!"


    My friends and even the other parties couldn''t believe Ash''s change.


    "I-Impressive¡­" Rosen said. "I better never get in the bad side of ke ever again¡­"


    "You were lucky he didn''t do this to you." Said Elizabeth with a cocky smile.


    "I-I sure am! Now, if you excuse me, I''ll be going!" He quickly ran away from my sight.


    "Heh, I loved what you did!" rice gave me a malicious smile. "You''ve taught them a good lesson, hehe¡­"


    "Well, your party also had gone through some good training, but it could always go through some more." I said while rubbing my chin.


    All of my ss had awakened their Ki by now and had learned some basic Martial Arts to go with it, while also managing to figure out how to merge it with Mana and Magic.


    But they could always learn even more.


    "N-No thank you!" rice giggled nicely, running away.


    Actually, I might do it anyways. I''ll just force them if they don''t want to. If they don''t grow as strong as they need to, they''ll all die to the demons eventually. I won''t have uselesspanions.


    "Hahaha! That was hrious!" Eduardughed. "You''re amazing, ke! Could you one day think about working for my Kingdom?"


    "No thanks." I said. "Also, acting nice won''t help you evade your eventual training regime, Eduard. Starting tomorrow morning-"


    SPLASH!


    An illusion made of water stayed where Eduard was seconds ago. He is an elusive bastard.


    "He''s gone!" Said Erika.


    "Seems so, he can''t be gone forever though." I smiled. "Eventually, all of them must go back to sses, hehehe¡­"


    My friends looked at me from afar.


    "I-is it my idea or has ke be more unhinged?" Asked Eric.


    "I think this happens when you''re given too much power." Said Chris.


    "Our friend¡­ has be corrupted." Alberta sighed.


    "Hahaha! Corrupted? He''s doing them a favor! If he was actually evil, holy spirits forbid what he would had done to them." Erdrichughed.


    "Hmph, novices." Elfriedden sighed. He had already gone through excruciating training from my part.


    "I''ll see you tomorrow Ash, make sure that at least your Ki Maniption bes slightly better." I said. "Or there''ll be a little surprise."


    "Y-Yes¡­" Ash nodded, continuing to exercise. "Hahh¡­ W-Why have I been doing my entire life?" He sighed.


    Meanwhile, the other party that had not interacted with us was walking at the other side of the road. They were led by a ck haired, purple-eyed girl that had the appearance of a doll, she only gave me a nce and said nothing else before going away.


    They''re most likely trying to ignore me¡­ It will be harder to convince them to train harder. Sigh¡­


    .


    .


    .<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    As ke and his friends went back home, Monica, the leader of the second party of ss 2, smiled while holding in her hands her Mystical ursed Voodoo Spirit she possessed.


    Sitting in the safety of her bedroom, she looked at the doll as her eyes shone brightly. Her powers immediately being imbued into her unique Spirit.


    "[Vessel Transformation]" She said with a creepy smile.


    FLASH!


    The spirit suddenly took the slight appearance of ke. It had his slightly red eyes, his ck hair, and his stoic and expressionless face.


    "Fufufu~ You''ll pay for being a cocky bastard¡­"


    She quickly took out several needles from her pocket, an started piercing the voodoo doll with them, one by one, in several specific areas of the body.


    A dark aura urged from the doll, each needle that pierced it sent a wave of ursed energy towards its target in an instant, ke.


    "Let''s see¡­ Knee pain~ High pressure~ Headache~ Stomachache~ Back pain~ Mana disruption~!"


    The final needle hit his chest, where the spirit orb was always located most of the time.


    "Hehehe, fufufu~ You''ll pay! You''ll pay for being a cocky bastard! A-And so handsome too!" She said, gritting her teeth. "Dammit! Why do you have a girlfriend already?!"


    .


    .


    .


    As I was cultivating in my bedroom, I suddenly sensed something, a dark energy rushing towards my body and immediatelynding in certain areas.


    "Hmm?"


    FLASH! FLASH! FLASH! FLASH! FLASH!


    Each was like a powerful curse, targeting a certain area of my body. They were potent, yet automatic in their usage. It felt like that ancient voodoo doll magic I had once seen in a of sorcerers.


    I felt pain in my knee, my stomach hurt, I started having a headache, my back was hurting badly as well, and I even felt my Mana being disrupted, as it couldn''t flow properly around my body anymore, causing my body to feel sick¡­


    "Interesting, who is targeting me?" I wondered. "Well, you can have them back¡­ [Curse Absorption]"


    FLUOOSH!


    Fusing my Gluttony Authority with my Aura and my Physique all together generated a powerful effect, as all the curses suddenly concentrated into the tip of my finger, as a mass of darkness, and then, using the same pathway that brought them to me, I sent it back to its wielder.


    FLAAAASH!


    "Pff, such a childish magic, who would had fallen for that?" Iughed. "Well, I''ll see who did this tomorrow¡­"


    .


    .


    .


    "Uuuggh! Aaaagh! Ouch¡­! D-Dammit! It hurts! My tummy! I can''t stop¡­ Ugh!"


    Within the bathroom of Monica''s party house, Monica was screaming in pain as she was inflicted several cursesbined.


    "Monica? Are you okay?!"


    "Lady Monica?"


    "Is she alright?"


    "I-I don''t know, she''s been screaming in pain for an hour now!"


    "Does someone have some¡­ curse elixir?!" Monica cried. "Please! I need one! Aagh¡­!"


    "Curse Elixir?!" Her Party was shocked their Curse Sorceress needed an antidote for curses¡­


    -----

 Chapter 663 The Frustrated Curse Caster

    -----


    The next morning at the Academy, I was greeted with a rather surprising sight, to be honest. Monica was sitting right at my left side, ring at me with deadly eyes, she was emanating a rather powerful aura of darkness.


    "Did you lost something?" I asked her.


    "Grrrhh¡­ H-How did you do it?" She asked.


    "What?" I asked.


    "H-How did you reversed my curse?!" Monica angrily asked, beginning to bite her lips furiously.


    "Oh, so you sent that curse to me." Iughed. "Well, isn''t that a bit rude? I was in the middle of my meditation. So it annoyed me, and I sent it back. It is nothing really too hard to do once you get the to master Darkness Magic properly and obtain a Magic Aura too."


    "M-Master?!" Monica asked. "I-I have never heard of a magic capable of just bouncing curses back to their wielders! And my family is one of the most well-known Dark Sorcerers of the entire Continent!"


    Monica Darkbound was her name if I remember correctly¡­ Well, looks like the Darkbound Family of Dark Sorcerers aren''t that good if they don''t know how to even reverse a curse back to their wielder, among other really basic magic spells.


    "Well, if you want to know and learn, how about you join me with Gray and his party? I would dly help you learn magic much better, but you''ll also have to grow stronger physically, exercise is essential." I said with a half-bored tone of voice.


    "E-Eh?! You want to teach me after I¡­ I did that to you?!" Monica suddenly blushed, her eyes beginning to roll as if she was beginning to feel incredibly confused and embarrassed. "Y-You''re asking me out? Y-You''re really weird! Fweeh! I-I''m not going to fall for you!"


    She suddenly ran away from me.


    "Huh? She got the wrong idea¡­" I sighed, facepalming.


    I guess she might be a bit autistic, or something. I''ll have to deal with her eventually in other ways, I suppose. She''ll eventually draw herself back to me once she gets the same curse sent back at her over and over again.


    The day went by as usual, and I supervised Gray''s training, the other students were only looking, but eventually, I started to think they should be added to the training. And so I added them, I forced everyone I thought needed heavy physical exercise to join Woo''s boot camp.


    If they denied, I fought them, beat them, and forced them to train. Nobody could deny my tyranny at this point, but I was doing this for their own good. After all, if they all end up dying in the C Rank Dungeon we''ll have to explore with each Party, then everything will be for nothing.


    So, as each day went by and my friends learned more than they had ever done in ss 1, at the end of the week, Monica dragged herself back to me, just as I imagined.


    Her body looked paler than at the beginning of the week, and she seemed like she was half-dead. The sses for today had just ended, and just before we walked outside, she sent me another set of curses, which I sent back.


    I''ve had enough patience with her, but this was the limit of my patience.


    "H-How do you do it¡­" She groaned. "Ugh¡­ My body¡­"


    "How are you feeling today, Monica?" Iughed. "Is your constipation doing alright?"


    "Agh! S-Shut up!" Monica cried angrily.


    "ke aren''t you overdoing it a bit?" Eric sighed.


    "Well the little brat has been sending curses at him all this time." Erdrich said while crossing his arms. "I would be mad too if she did it to me. In fact, I''m already mad she''s been doing it repeatedly¡­"<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    "Maybe just reporting her would do more good." Chris sighed. "She doesn''t learn her lesson, and its not like ke wants to harm her either¡­"


    "Hmph, would you cut it out already?" Erika said. "ke hasn''t been telling me this but once I learned I got really angry¡­"


    "Eeep!" Monica quickly stepped back. "I-I¡­ But he started it! He''s so annoying, w-who does he thinks he is?!"


    "He''s not annoying he just worries about you all!" Erika said angrily. "You''re all a bunch of useless pricks! What''s wrong that my boyfriend wants to shape you into proper fighters?"


    "Well why does he cares so much anyways?!"


    "Can''t he leave Monica alone?"


    "Just take the curse!"


    Monica''s party members were rather bootlickers of her.


    "Take the curse?!" Elizabeth asked. "What sort of logic is that?"


    "This feels like such a useless discussion¡­" Elfriedden sighed.


    "Right¡­?" Alberta sighed.


    "You''ve been sending curses at me for a while now." I sighed. "If I report you to the professors, I doubt they''ll take it easy."


    "E-Eh? T-There''s no proof of that!" She said.


    "They''ll easily believe me rather than you, Monica." I said. "You might be a ss 2 student, but I am the only Summoner here, and someone that has defeated an Archdemon''s Vessel. I usually dislike using my achievements to gain authority, but this is my limit."


    I nced at her intimidatingly, as she started to tremble, although at the same time, she blushed. Her party was with her, constantly arguing against my friends, this conversation wouldn''t end up going anywhere.


    "Ugh¡­" Monica muttered. "F-Fine¡­ Of course¡­ I''ll do it! As long as you win against me in a battle of magic! Dark Magic only!" Sheughed evilly; a ck aura surged from within her.


    "Are you sure?" I asked with a giggle. "I will not go easy on you just because you''re a girl."


    "I-I don''t care! I''ll show you the might of the Darkbound Family!" Sheughed. She seemed desperate to gain my attention more than anything, her group of witches were cheering for her¡­


    Like that, we ended moving to the arena where students often did sparring fights, and there, we battled. The rules were simple, whoever steps out of the arena''s field loses.


    "Hahaha¡­! Prepare yourself!" Sheughed. "[Abyssal Darkness Magic]: [ck Star]!"


    FLUOOSH!


    -----

 Chapter 664 Showcasing True Magic!

    -----


    I epted the duel against Monica because it was a rather easy way to convince her to cooperate, exercise, study, and be stronger. I wouldn''t want people to die in my ss if possible. The spectators were a few students from other sses, Professor Hector that happened to be around, and both of our Parties.


    Monica was someone without any patience at all, as she immediately started the battle with her strongest spell, a rookie mistake.


    "Hahaha¡­! Prepare yourself to face the magic prowess of the Darkbound Family!" Sheughed. "[Abyssal Darkness Magic]: [ck Star]!"


    FLUUOOOSH!


    Her Darkness Magic Aura gathered into her hands and then above her head, concentrating into a gigantic sphere of pure darkness constantly growing stronger.


    "Take this!"


    TRUUUUMMM¡­!


    The enormous sphere of darkness, which she called ck Star, rather undeserving of its glorious name, descended towards me. I looked at the attack with a rather unsurprised expression.


    BOOOOOOMMM¡­!!!


    The gigantic explosion of darkness engulfed my entire body, and all of my surroundings. Everyone nced at the scene expecting me to appear in the floor, half-dead or something.


    "Hahh¡­ Hahaha¡­ Heheheh¡­" Monica started giggling creepily. "Are you still alive~?"


    She slowly approached me while the smoke slowly dissipated, however, my unharmed silhouette quickly emerged amidst the ck fog, as I slowly began cleaning my clothes from the dust that the explosion rose.


    "H-HUH?!" Monica and everyone else in the seats surrounding the arena, except my friends, reacted in shock.


    "I can''t believe you actually thought I would be defeated with such a weak attack." I sighed. "My Resistance Stat is already vastly surpassing your own Magic Stat, and because you seem to possess no skills that enhance your magic power at all¡­ Well, this is the result."


    "E-Eh?!" Asked Monica in shock.


    "In simple terms, it''s a skill issue." I said with a smile, raising my right hand''s index finger above my head. "Now, little girl, let me show you what a real ck Star looks like. [Abyssal Star]"


    FLUOOOOOOSH!


    I concentrated arge quantity of the darkness I''ve umted within my own shadows and aura, and then generated a gigantic sphere, imitating Monica''s spell. The size was, of course, vastly superior. While Monica''s ck Star was around twenty meters big, mine was about seventy meters, and I could keep expanding it, but I thought that might be enough.


    "T-This is¡­ impossible¡­"


    Monica was left bbergasted, as the gigantic sphere of darknessnded over her and everything else around us, a huge explosion of pure magical power and darkness spread everywhere.


    BOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMM!!!


    Of course, I wasn''t so merciless to endanger the spectators, so a barrier had been set around each person in the seats. When the darkness receded and the light of the day slowly started to pierce through the endless ck fog, I walked towards Monica, who was in the floor.


    Her skin was half-charred, her hair was messy, her eyes looked filled with despair, her clothes were slightly burned, and she seemed barely grasping life.


    "You know that something like that could had actually vaporized you, right?" I sighed. "If it wasn''t because I conjured some buffs over your body, you would be dead."


    "E-Eh? Guh¡­" Monica coughed.  "Y-You''re¡­ you''re¡­ a Monster¡­"<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    That was the only thing she said before falling unconscious.


    "Monicaaaa!"


    "Lady Monica!"


    "Y-You monster! Did you had to go so far?"


    "Well, she''s still outside the arena so I guess it counts as a win¡­"


    "B-But she''s almost dead!"


    Her party was worried about her more than I expected, and carried her away swiftly after, bringing her to the infirmary. There was actually no need because I healed her when she fell unconscious, she was now just sleeping.


    "ke you¡­ went a bit too far there." Hector sighed.


    "By the Holy Spirits! Why does this girl always gets herself in troubles?!" Sighed a slightly overweight woman with long blue hair that ran into the infirmary, this was Miss Aquafina, the Instructor of Monica''s party.


    It was really clear she wasn''t really responsible if she let the girls be like this¡­ Even Evelyn is half better than her now that I think about it.


    "ke did you had to go so far?! Are you freaking insane?! Ugh if the director learns about this he''ll lower my pay again!" Evelyn started screaming at me.


    Never mind what I said before, I take back my wordspletely.


    At the end, other professors and even the director learned of this anyways, but there was no punishment done.


    He said that the battle was agreed by both students, and the Academy allows for such battles between students as long as both parties and their instructors agree.


    "Aquafina you agreed to this." Sighed Hasan, as Aquafina wasining to him that he hasn''t punished me at all for harming Monica.


    "B-But that brat hurt my Monica so badly! I-I just thought he was just a pushover and that the rumors weren''t true!" Aquafina cried. "I-I mean¡­ Is it true this brat killed an Archdemons Vessel?! Who would believe such a thing?"


    "Well now that you''ve witnessed his strength I am sure you''ll start believing." Hasan said, crossing his arms. "Also Monica is safe, and nobody else was harmed."


    "I conjured enhancement and protection magic on her, and also healed her." I said. "She should be fine for now."


    "What did you said?! Your affinities have been registered as Darkness and Blood! Howe you can¡­ cast protection, enhancement, and healing magic?" Asked Aquafina. "Monica survived out of her own strength! Stop lying so much."


    "Lying?" I asked. "[Muscr Enhancement], [Stamina Enhancement], [Vitality Boost], [Mana Shield], [Shadow Shield], [Healing Light]."


    FLASH! FLASH! FLASH! FLASH! FLASH!


    I conjured several buffs and healing spells over her.


    "E-Eh?! Y-You can- Ugh!" Aquafina groaned; her body felt like it was fasting heavily because so many buffs over a weak physique were actually detrimental. "Y-You can use light magic and nature magic and¡­. L-life magic all together?!"


    "He is a prodigy in magic, we''ve not registered that yet because the year has yet to end." Laughed Hasan.


    -----

 Chapter 665 Planning Ahead

    -----


    "P-Prodigy?! A-All magic elements?" Aquafina was shocked. "T-That''s¡­ Ugh! Agh!"


    "ke has already proven he can conjure every single element of magic incredibly proficiently, Aquafina, now, would you please- Eh? Aquafina, are you alright?!"


    FRSSSSH!


    "AAAGH!!" Aquafina screamed, as her overweight body suddenly lost a lot of weight, steaming out of her entire body. "W-What''s happening to me?!"


    Well, in simple terms, I made the enhancements and buffs in her body spend her stamina and calories in her body at an incredibly fast pace, making her lose her extra weight, which was rather bad for her health, I''ve seen her overly tired for just walking around the academy.


    "Don''t worry, you will thank me about thatter. Make sure to eat more healthy from now on, Miss Aquafina." I said, walking away.


    Like that, I had no more problems with Monica, and the sses since that day went surprisingly smoothly. Monica slowly approached me, asking for forgiveness at the end.


    Of course, I am not someone that holds grudges against unexperienced young people, so I easily epted her apologies and decided to train her and her entire party in basic Magic Circle Formation Form.


    This academy teaches Magic Circle formation as well, but their forms are very restrictive and asks for too much Mana, seems like this world''s magic is a bit too behind the Universe where I came from.


    Aside from teaching those with a lot of magical power new magic they can use to make sure to use their full magical potential, I taught some spells to Monica to better utilize her curses and enhance them.


    Moving on, Ash''s party joined Rosen, Catherine, and Eduard''s parties into daily physical exercises, with Woo, w, and Emeraldine supervising their exercises and Ki Maniption and Cultivation training.


    Some Professors in the academy, and students from older sses had beenining a lot though, especially over all the noise we make in the yards and training areas, but they couldn''t stop us.


    My own party has been working hard as well, and of course, I''ve been training and strengthening my foundation as much as possible. Slowly absorbing Demon Cores for Demonic Energy, drinking Dragon Elixirs, cultivating Ki, imbuing my magic circle with Runes, and more.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    By the end of the month, and the beginning of the second, everyone had grown much stronger. The growth was much more obvious in those that were already weak. Those that didn''t had it before, now possessed a Magic Circle and awakened Ki, and had gotten used to manipte Ki and Magic through their new Magic Circles.


    The result in growth was incredibly clear, all of their Magic Power simply skyrocketed, multiplying at least four times, their physical fitness was at least twice or even thrice as strong too. They were very weak before, but I guess they were half-decent now.


    Of course, I haven''t spent all the time just training, I''ve done plenty of other things. I spent time with my friends mostly, we went shopping at the several districts several times, went to eat to fancy restaurants, and went on a date with Erika, Elizabeth, and Eleanora across the four weeks of the month.


    Erika is as lovey-dovey as always, although she has begun to seem slightly more troubled, especially about what is happening regarding her family, and how they had intended to assassinate her back then. Her mother is with us most of the time, but she has started to worry about her too.


    Elizabeth has been a clear pir to my own mental stability aside from Erika, with all the responsibilities and things I am doing at once, her soothing voice andforting personality has helped me a lot. She''s beginning to get bolder with me though, her advances on me are sometimes quite risky.


    Last but not least, Eleanora has be less shy about everything, and is beginning to slowly open up some more with me. Although most of the time I act romantically with her, she begins to stutter and blushes until she is as red as an apple, and doesn''t know how to react properly¡­ But that''s also part of the fun, I think that part of her is exceedingly adorable.


    Moving back to Erika''s topic regarding the Goldriver Kingdom''s political drama, although we know of the things Sathan has been doing and nning, without proper evidence, we cannot easily recriminate her in the Kingdom, and because she''s a rather favorite daughter of the King, he might believe her much better and protect her.


    Therefore, perhaps, the only thing we can do is wait until the Cultists strike again, catch them, and extract information from them, before it was impossible because their minds and souls were warped and twisted as they were eaten by their contracted Archdemons¡­ but that''s about to change when I use a special spell I''ve designed.


    Once we can catch them when they attempt to ambush us somehow, we''ll be able to learn much more, and eventually, possibly, find their hideout, and where might Sathan be in all of this, alongside her aplices in this entire thing.


    We''ve begun to specte with Erika''s mother, my friends, and Director Hasan, that the Cult of Beelzebub does not just worship him, but it is a wide-spread mega cult that spreads around the entire Central Continent. If their current worshipped Archdemon is gone from the map, they simply moved on to others.


    And knowing how greedy all of them are, they''ve most likely begun an unification with the former Beelzebub Cult to take over the Central Continent while they can. The two other Archdemons residing in this continent through their Demon Towers are the obvious choices of their new alliance, as I doubt they would have multi-continental alliances with other cults in different continents.


    For now, I''ve spread my mechanical spiders I''ve remade even better and stealthier across Stronghold City, while also beginning to spread my small spy golems further into new horizons, as I sent several flying ones to the capital of Goldriver, where Sathan should be, and most likely, the headquarters of the cult¡­


    -----

 Chapter 666 A New Academy Test! Time To Conquer A C Rank Ddungeon!

    -----


    Once Monday''s history sses ended, Professor Hector finally decided to talk about this month''s test. The first test of the second semester of Year 2 in the Academy was a rather rough one.


    "Anyways, as many of you already know, the next test is conquering a C Rank Dungeon, it has to at least be C- Rank." Said Hector. "It is about damn time you kids show us you''re actuallypetent, especially when D Rank and below Dungeons are cake walks even normal Adventurers canplete."


    "E-Eh? C- Rank at the very minimum?!"


    "T-That''s crazy¡­"


    "Well, we''ve not been training for nothing¡­"


    "Did ke knew about this test?"


    "If it wasn''t for his training¡­ We might have had even less chances ofpleting the test¡­"


    Several students seemed surprised, but they weren''tpletely afraid like other times. In fact, they seemed relieved they have been training this entire time, and that I''ve helped them grow so much.


    "You''ll have the rest of this month toplete a C- Rank Dungeon at the very least. You''ll be free to rent a Dungeon within this category as you''ll be given priority." Hector said. "Take it easy, you can take a whole month toplete them, so you should be capable of doing the bare minimum and advance slowly day by day. Make sure to manage your funds properly as well, that''s all. Those that cannot get at least a 60 in the test, will be expelled."


    His merciless re the moment he said "you will be expelled" quickly sent chills down the spine of mostly everybody except my own party, which had grown rather fearless. Sadly for them, this time we don''t get to merge Parties, so it''ll be all up to them.


    Like that, once the sses were over, we decided to gather as a whole ss within the cafeteria, sitting around a gigantic table, the leaders of each Party started discussing what to do, they all seemed worried.


    "B-ke, what do we do?!" Monica cried. "I-I don''t think I am ready yet! I-I''ll die in a C Rank Dungeon! T-There''s no way! Even the strongest knights that served me died once a C Rank Dungeon subjugation began in my duchy¡­"


    Monica''s family was a prestigious family of the Silvertide Kingdom, whose half of its territory has been invaded by Demons, the other half,posed of her family and others, are constantly fighting the demon invasions, dungeons have also popped everywhere due to the miasma. She probably has a few traumas of these wars and experiences.


    Probably many people close to her has died in these wars against the invading demons and the rampaging monsters emerging from the newborn dungeons in the contaminated and once fertilends.


    "Calm down, Monica. I have not trained you nor your party to heart that type of response." I sighed. "I would rmend everyone to just go to the easier, and smaller C- Rank Dungeons, as there''s 5 C Ranked Dungeons in the city''s outskirts, from C- to C++, three of them are C- Rank, so it should be doable if you take turns. Remember that once cleared, dungeons have a cooldown time of three to five days."


    Dungeons work interestingly, oncepletely cleared of monsters and the boss, they''ll go into a cooldown, where absolutely nothing will happen inside, until three to five days pass by, after this time, the dungeon will slowly regain its monsters and boss monster within 24 hours.


    Of course, there are ways to destroy dungeons by shattering their dungeon cores, but the dungeons here are kept safe by Dungeon Masters and magicians that have taken control over the dungeon''s structures to keep people safe.


    "I-If you say so¡­" Monica sighed. "I do feel much stronger than before¡­ And the equipment you made for me is really good as well¡­"<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    "Indeed." Ash nodded. "We should be more confident at the very least ofpleting C- Rank Dungeons. Also we''ve all received new gear thanks to ke!"


    I had mostly just reforged their gear using materials I had to spare in my inventory, and asked a lot of Gold Coins in return, they alle from rtively rich families, so nobody was unable to pay these prices, and my gear is also rtively better than most things they sell in the city that aren''t super high grade.


    "Hah~ Monica stop being such a wimp!" Catherine said. "C- Rank Dungeons should be the norm for us, we''vee from a year earlier than you yet you''re acting like a scaredy cat!"


    "S-Scaredy Cat?!" Monica cried. "I-I am not that! I just¡­ My older brother¡­"


    "Older brother?" Asked Erika sitting at my side.


    Monica sighed, her eyes seemed to be resisting the urge to cry as she recalled some memories she didn''t wanted to recall at all.


    "My older brother¡­ He died in a C Rank Dungeon." Sighed Monica.


    "Eh?!" Catherine and Rose reacted almost the same, gasping in surprise.


    "Oh my, that sounds rather sad¡­" Eduard said. I don''t know if he was being ironic or not.


    "O-Oh, so that''s why¡­" Elizabeth sighed. "I''m sorry for your loss, Monica."


    "I-I''m so sorry too!" Alberta tried tofort her as well.


    "D-Don''t worry, that was¡­ years back, when I had yet to enter the Academy." Monica sighed. "I¡­ I''ve always strived to be strong like big brother, and that''s one of the reasons I entered this academy, even when I had a very sheltered life¡­ If it wasn''t for my spirits and curse magic, I wouldn''t had gotten this far already, and now that we need more than just that I was¡­ nervous."


    "I see." I nodded. "Well, for your brother, you shouldplete a C Rank Dungeon as well then." I smiled.


    "Yeah¡­" Monica nodded, giving me a slight smile.


    "So, tell me a bit more about that." I said. "You live in Silvertide, right?"


    "My family lives at the corner of Silvertide." Monica nodded. "Before the Demon Invasion, it was seen as a rather undesirable zone, but once half of the kingdom was invaded by the Demons..."


    -----

 Chapter 667 Monicas Sad Past

    -----


    "So, tell me a bit more about that." I said. "You live in Silvertide, right?"


    "My family lives at the corner of Silvertide." Monica nodded. "Before the Demon Invasion, it was seen as a rather undesirable zone, but once half of the kingdom was invaded by the Demons, things became much more heated, so many people died, and thousands if not millions of refugees arrived at my territory. We''ve been struggling since then. The advancement of the Demon Armies, and the Dungeons emerging everywhere due to the Miasma Contamination¡­ It is¡­ a rather hard country to live right now."


    "Huh, maybe you should just move to my country instead." Giggled Eduard. "We''re free of demons and live near the sea, it is a nice ce to be~"


    "Hey Eduard, are you intentionally bragging about that?" I asked. "This conversation is not something to joke about."


    "A-Ah! My bad, my bad! I was just trying to lighten the mood!" Eduard felt a bit surprised when I said that.


    "Go on, Monica." I said, crossing my arms.


    "S-So¡­ Well, when that happened to my brother, I was only¡­ about ten years of age." Monica sighed. "A Dungeon had suddenly popped up inside our territory, within the walls themselves. If we didn''t do anything soon, the entire city would be overrun by monsters. So my brother and every knight avable joined a party and went inside¡­ and nobody ever returned."


    Monica started crying as she recalled that moment, Erika quickly offered her a handkerchief.


    "And¡­ Once my father was back from his trip to the border between the invaded area and our territory, he managed toplete the dungeon with several other sorcerers¡­" She cried. "When he finally managed to shatter the core ande back¡­ Big brother¡­ He brought whatever remained of him¡­"


    Suddenly, I noticed Erdrich clenching his fists, his face was filled with emotions. Perhaps he recalled his own lost of his mother, attributing it to the demon cultists behind it all, and most likely the dungeons emerging everywhere as well.


    "I still remember that day, when he went to the dungeon with the desire to save everyone¡­" Monica sighed. "He said that¡­ I should prepare his favorite blend of tea, and a piece of¡­ cheesecake." Monica gritted his teeth, as her big eyes started flowing with tears. "He was¡­ so optimistic, he never really¡­ considered what would happen to him, not for a second. It sometimes feels like he died for nothing¡­"


    "For nothing?" I asked. "Far from it."


    "Eh?" Monica looked back at me in surprise.


    "The reason the dungeon didn''t summoned monsters into the entire city until your father came back¡­" I said. "Wasn''t it because your brother and the knights held them up until the veryst moment?"


    "T-That''s right but¡­" Monica cried.


    "They sacrificed their lives to buy enough time, even knowing that they would all die." I said. "Monica, I am surprised you''ve not realized this. Why do you think people fight and die? Why do you think others sacrifice themselves for, despite fully knowing the fear of dying? Despite not wanting to die at all?"


    I looked at her eyes, as she remained in silence.


    "He did it for you." I said. "Your brother relieved you with those words, and entered, fully knowing he might never return. He did this to protect you because he loved you. He didn''t it pointlessly, nor foolishly. He did what¡­ was needed in that moment."


    Monica suddenly gasped, as more tears continued flowing through her eyes.


    "Big brother¡­" She continued crying. "I''m so sorry¡­"


    "B-ke, did you had to say that like that?" Sighed Rosen. "The poor girl''s already crying herself out!"


    "I just wanted to rify something within her mind." I said. "Sometimes, when we are young, we are rather unaware of many things, we try to seek answers, and when we can''t find them or figure them out, we assume terrible things, that are often wrong and far from the actual truth. Only by realizing and learning the truth, we can move on and grow as people."<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    Everyone nced at me with eyes wide open as I said those words.


    "Y-You''re right but you really sounded like a grandpa there." Laughed Catherine. "You''re around our same age anyways! Don''t get so cocky."


    "Hah, I guess you''re right." I sighed. "Now, Monica. Why don''t you finish what your brother was never able to finish?"


    "Ah¡­ Right¡­" Monica nodded. "Y-You''re right!"


    Suddenly, she stood up, fully motivated.


    "I-I''llplete a C Rank Dungeon, for brother! I''ll make sure to crush that boss¡­ And I''ll make sure to¡­ do what he never was able to. I''ll be someone even stronger than him, so he can be proud¡­ wherever he is." Monica sighed.


    I couldn''t help but smile.


    "Well said." I nodded, smiling. "Don''t disappoint me, Monica."


    "I won''t!" Monica said confidently.


    "Alright." I nodded. "We''ll have the entire month, but for today and tomorrow, let''s prepare. I''ll help you all prepare properly, from buying potions, more equipment, gadgets, and other useful items for the entire exploration. We''ll also buy books and information about the dungeons you''ll be visiting, so you can be fully prepared."


    "ke¡­" Rosen felt moved. "You''ve be so¡­ so nice out of the blue!"


    "What''s gotten into you?!" Catherine asked.


    "Hahaha, he is indeed quite the nice guy when he wants to." Eduard smiled.


    "ke, that would be greatly appreciated!" Gray said.


    "Will you?!" Monica asked.


    "Of course I will, and what sort of person do you think I am?" I sighed. "It''s not like I am a tyrant or something, give me a break¡­ Hmm, maybe I shouldn''t help you after all." I crossed my arms.


    "N-No please, I''m sorryyyy!" Rosen cried.


    "T-That slipped off my tongue but that''s not what I meant!" Catherine giggled.


    "Don''t be like that!" Eduardughed.


    "Okay, fine¡­ Apologies epted." I sighed. "Now, let''s start. Everyone, let''s go."


    Like that, we spent the rest of the day and tomorrow preparing not only our Party, but the Parties of the rest to assure their survival.


    -----

 Chapter 668 Entering The C++ Rank Dungeon

    -----


    "Take care! Please don''t die! PLEASE DON''T DIE!"


    "We are not going to die, Evelyn!"


    "Calm down a bit, you sound like such a paranoiac woman now¡­"


    "T-This is all your fault! You damn kids¡­ Why did you even had to choose the C++ Rank Dungeon from all of them?!"


    As Evelyn screamed at us from above the ground, we slowly descended through the stairs of the C++ Rank Dungeon we were going toplete today.


    While everyone else decided to pick the C- Rank Dungeons, we thought that would be a bit too boring for us, and because we wanted them to have them for themselves, we picked another difficulty.


    Alberta and Eric insisted on picking the C Rank, they were equally cowardly sometimes¡­ But eventually, by majority of votes, we all went to the C++ Rank. The only ones that voted against were Eric and Alberta anyways.


    "Wow, the stairs are going all the way down, we''ve walked for a while now." Erika pointed out.


    Several bright lights floated above our heads, they were Light Bulbs, conjured by Elizabeth''s light magic for convenience, they flew all the way down and illuminated the entire stairs for us.


    "So anyways, what was the dungeon name?" Chris wondered, resting his arms behind his head.


    "You didn''t study what it was?!" Elizabeth reprimanded him.


    "E-Eh? But I thought we''ll figure it out either way!" Chris sighed, trying to calm her down. "C-Come on Elizabeth don''t look at me like that¡­"


    "You''re far too carefree sometimes." Erdrich sighed. "Though¡­ I don''t remember the name either."


    "Geez! You two are so, SO irresponsible! The name of the Dungeon is obviously the¡­ The Lair¡­ Ogre Nest?" Asked Erika.


    "That was the previous dungeon we visited dummy." Eleanora giggled, resting over my shoulders in her tiny and fluffy Blood Bat form.


    "I can''t believe you would confuse this one with that one, they''repletely different!" Elfriedden said. "This Dungeon''s name is-"


    "Spider Queen''s Nest." I said with a smile. "The most Dangerous C++ Rank Dungeon, evenparable in difficulty with B- Rank Dungeons. The Boss Monster is the powerful Giant Abyssal Spider Queen, Arachneia. The Dungeon is also filled with all sorts of Spider Monsters and Bug-type Monsters of gigantic sizes, who mostly specialize on venom and darkness element, therefore, even strong parties refuse to enter because they can''t buy enough antidotes for all the venom they''ll have to swallow and inhale, hah¡­"


    "You interrupted me¡­" Elfriedden red at me furiously.


    "I was the one they asked for an answer, Elfriedden, not you." I said. "Anyways, instead of bothering over such a trivial thing, let''s focus on what we''ve got in front of ourselves."


    One wended on thest stair, we reached the first of three floors that this C++ Rank Dungeon had. Maybe three floors didn''t seem like too much, but each floor was a gigantic,byrinthian section of caves covered on sticky spiderweb and filled with Giant Bugs crawling everywhere.


    And thendscapes was pretty much the same as we arrived on the first floor. Enormous caverns leading to multiple paths, glowing crystals growing in the ceiling, and giant spiderwebs spreading everywhere, with massive insect carcasses,pletely dry, lying around.


    "T-This ce¡­ Its huge!" Erika said in shock.


    "This is muchrger than the Ogre Dungeon!" Eric said. "U-Ugh, this is going to be tough."


    "L-Let''s do our best¡­" Alberta sighed.


    "To think Dungeons can do such things, it is as if entirely different worldsy within these mysterious ces." Elizabeth said with a smile filled with wonder.


    "Isn''t it?" I smiled. "That''s why I want to visit many of them, it feels like going to another countrypletely, it is really fun."


    "F-Fun?" Eric asked, looking around at the giant carcasses of bugs, pieces of legs, and tiny bugs the size of cats, resembling pill bugs, crawling around and eating what was left from the spider''s meals, they didn''t seem to pay attention to us, and were only F Rank Monsters named "Trash Bugs" not even worth hunting.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    "Oh, those tiny bugs, can we hunt them?" However, Erika wanted to hunt them anyways.


    "Hmm¡­ Actually, let''s just do that." Iughed. "Erdrich, can you provoke them all toe at us?"


    "These small fry?" Erdrich raised an eyebrow. "Sure, I guess. [Demon''s Provocation]!"


    FLAAASH!


    His body exuded a red shockwave everywhere, and then, hundreds of small Trash Bugs started rushing towards us on enormous quantities, clicking their mandibles and groaning.


    "Alright Erika, have fun." I said with a smile.


    "Alright!" Erika was about to warm-up.


    "Hey, I''m joining too." Elfriedden said. "I''ve be a bit rusty."


    "Me too! I''ll burn it all!" Chrisughed.


    FLASH! FLASH! FLASH!


    All three of them jumped into action.


    "HYAAAA! [Spinning de]!"


    Erika swung herrge demonic sword around while leaping at an incredibly fast speed, shing apart dozens of pill bugs per swing, their guts and bodies sttering everywhere.


    SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLAAASH!


    "[Frost Domain]!"


    Meanwhile, Elfriedden conjured a small domain of frost around his body, instantly freezing anything that stepped within four meters around him, and then using his threads to shatter them into tiny pieces.


    CRASH! CRASH! CRAAASH!


    "[zing Coil]!"


    Lastly, Chris had fun conjuring a spiraling coil of mes around his surroundings, which burned the bugs into a crisp and sent their burned bodies into the air, broken into pieces.


    FLUOOOSH!


    Eventually, the noise of this small warm-up, and the smell of the freshly sliced and sttered guts of the Trash Bugs instantly brought the attention of much bigger prey, which was actually my aim from the start.


    TRUM! TRUM! TRUM!


    Their gigantic legs stepped over the walls and ceiling of the caverns, as they quickly found us, a dozen Giant Abyssal Spider Workers, C+ Rank Monsters, their sizes were about four to five meters each, intimidating wouldn''t be enough to describe their appearances and overwhelming auras.


    "SHYAAAAAA!"


    They instantly charged towards us the moment they spotted us, as I pointed my spear at the first one in the line, while over fifty summons appeared around me, one after the other, my own small army.


    "Let''s begin."


    -----

 Chapter 669 Showcasing New And Powerful Summons!

    -----


    To deal with the power C Ranked Giant Spiders, I didn''t merely rely on my own allies or the strength I had, because I knew that it wouldn''t be near as enough. So I also decided to bring out the power of my Summons, the uniqueness that makes our party stand out the most.


    Ding!


    [You have Summoned [zing Grizzly King: Kuma (Awakened) (D++ Rank)] x1!]


    [The effects of the [Familiar Multiplication: Lv2] Skill has been activated!]


    [The Familiar: [zing Grizzly King: Kuma (Awakened) (D++ Rank)] x1 has been multiplied by 30!]


    [Mana and Spirit Orbs within your Inventory have been automatically expended.]


    [Your Mana has reached rock bottom! However, it is beginning to rapidly self-regenerate.]


    "ROOOAARRRR!" Giant zing Bears emerged out of thin air, each one as tall as five meters of height, true behemoths.


    FLASH! FLASH! FLASH! FLASH! FLASH!


    Where one surged, thirty more appeared thanks to the Familiar Multiplication Skill, which also allowed me to save MP on Familiar Summoning and also the cost of Spirit Orbs was greatly reduced.


    -----


    [Name]: [Grizzly (Awakened)]


    [Type]: [Beast] [Fire]


    [Rank]: [D++]


    [Race]: [zing Grizzly King]


    [Health Points]: [3700/3700] (+550)


    [Mana Points]: [1500/1500] (+700)


    [Strength]: [3700] (+350)


    [Agility]: [1200] (+350)


    [Vitality]: [2200] (+550)


    [Intelligence]: [1500] (+700)


    [Dexterity]: [1200] (+350)


    [Buff]: [+250 HP] [+200 Strength]


    [Skill]: [zing Bear ws++] [Ferocious King of Beasts Roar++] [Devastating Infernal Rampage++] [zing Berserker++] [Indomitable Body++]


    [Growth]: [0/60]


    -----


    Although my Familiar Synthesis Skill has risen up to Level 7, which even now allows me to summon S Rank Monsters, due to theck of Spirit Orbs, aside from the temporary and short lived Fusion Summons, I cannot summon anything that is C Rank and above. Why? Well, Ick the C Rank Spirit Orbs for that, and anything above B Rank would probably cost too much Mana, I would need to first rise my stats further.


    So, at most, my limit is D++ Rank. Well, that doesn''t meant I haven''t been able to create brand new Summons through Summon Synthesis anyways, and with the sheer amount of new Summons I got from ourst adventure, that was a given.


    CLASH! CLASH! CLAAAASH!


    The Grizzlies started fighting right away, fiercely biting, and shing away at the Giant ck Spiders, whose exoskeletons were being burned through their fierce mes. However, the spiders were perhaps too massive, mes weren''t spreading as much as I wanted, and they weren''t making as much damage either.


    However, the Grizzlies were indeed very resilient, and their ws and fangs put a real dent into the exoskeletons of the spiders, which were harder than most metals.


    But I guess they do need a good boost.


    "[Summon Familiar]! [Familiar Multiplication]!"


    [You have Summoned [Living Demon ws: w (Awakened) (D++ Rank)] x1!]


    [You have Summoned [Giant Blue Scaled Tuna: Marine (Awakened) (D++ Rank)] x1!]


    [The effects of the [Familiar Multiplication: Lv2] Skill has been activated!]


    [The Familiar: [Living Demon ws: w (Awakened) (D++ Rank)] x1 has been multiplied by 30!]


    [Mana and Spirit Orbs within your Inventory have been automatically expended.]


    [Your Mana has reached rock bottom! However, it is beginning to rapidly self-regenerate.]


    [All [Living Demon ws: w (Awakened) (D++ Rank)] x31 have been equipped into the [zing Grizzly King: Kuma (Awakened) (D++ Rank)] x31!]


    FLASH! FLASH! FLASH! FLASH!


    A couple of brand-new familiars were summoned to quickly give the Grizzlies some much needed aid. Theirrge ws suddenly gained giant, ck colored metallic w weapons, and aside from that, a huge fish resembling a blue scaled tuna with a long golden horn surged behind the grizzlies, just one was enough.


    Of course, these ck ws emanating an evil aura were Familiars, a simr type of Familiar than Ax, Material-type Familiars are rather useful, either weapons or armor. w is a very special one though.


    -----


    [Name]: [w (Awakened)]


    [Type]: [Material] [Life Drain]


    [Rank]: [D++]


    [Race]: [Living Demonic ws]<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    [Health Points]: [6500/6500] (+700)


    [Mana Points]: [1500/1500] (+550)


    [Strength]: [4500] (+700)


    [Agility]: [250] (+350)


    [Vitality]: [2500] (+550)


    [Intelligence]: [250] (+350)


    [Dexterity]: [250] (+350)


    [Buff]: [+200 HP] [+250 Strength]


    [Skill]: [Demonic Living Weapon++] [Life Draining Attack++] [Rotting Wounds++] [Lethal sh++]


    [Growth]: [0/60]


    -----


    With the ability to Drain Life and give it back to the wielder, while also provoking wounds that rot away and are hard to regenerate, they''re ideal to fight powerful, bulky foes such as the C Ranked Giant ck Spiders.


    But that wasn''t all¡­


    -----


    [Name]: [Marine (Awakened)]


    [Type]: [Fish] [Enhancer]


    [Rank]: [D++]


    [Race]: [Giant Blue Scaled Tuna]


    [Health Points]: [4500/4500] (+700)


    [Mana Points]: [4500/4500] (+550)


    [Strength]: [1250] (+350)


    [Agility]: [1250] (+350)


    [Vitality]: [2500] (+550)


    [Intelligence]: [1250] (+700)


    [Dexterity]: [850] (+350)


    [Buff]: [+200 MP] [+200 HP]


    [Skill]: [Torpedo Swimming++] [Tsunami++] [Enhancing Radiance++] [mmable Oil++]


    [Growth]: [0/60]


    -----


    SPLAAASH!


    Ding!


    [The Familiar [Giant Blue Scaled Tuna: Marine (Awakened) (D++ Rank)] x1 has activated [Enhancing Radiance++]!]


    [All Familiars within the vicinity will have their Speed, Dexterity, uracy, and Evasion increased by +20%!]


    [The Familiar [Giant Blue Scaled Tuna: Marine (Awakened) (D++ Rank)] x1 has activated [mmable Oil++]!]


    [All foes that are covered on this oil will take +200% more damage from Fire Attribute Attacks, and will be vulnerable to the Element of Fire.]


    Suddenly, over half of the ck Spiders were instantly covered on gooey, mmable oil, they were slightly confused, but the grizzlies only smiled, charging forward with rampaging zing attacks, setting them aze much easily and rapidly.


    It was a total massacre!


    "Hahaha! This is the power of preparation!" Iughed.


    My friends looked at the scene with eyes wide open.


    "D-Do we just sit here and watch?" Wondered Eric.


    "I-I feel like I would only be a bother¡­" Alberta sighed.


    "A bother?!" Iughed. "Don''t be ridiculous! If you want me topare you to the Familiars, you''re like very unique, tremendously strong Familiars that are very useful, so get there and fight, or do you want my Familiars to rece you so badly?" I spoke rather boldly, but it was to incentivize them to move.


    "No way! I ain''t letting any damn Familiar take my ce!" Chris roared.


    "Don''t say ridiculous things, ke." Erdrich smiled.


    "Hehehe, this only makes it more fun anyways!" Erikaughed.


    Led by these three reckless fighters, the rest of our party swiftly moved into action, the Spiders weren''t going anywhere either, as more kepting due to themotion of battle.


    We''ll empty this entire floor off them before going to the second floor!


    -----

 Chapter 670 The Floor Boss Is Here

    -----


    SPLAAASH!


    Ding!


    [The Familiar [Giant Blue Scaled Tuna: Marine (Awakened) (D++ Rank)] x1 has activated [Enhancing Radiance++]!]


    [All Familiars within the vicinity will have their Speed, Dexterity, uracy, and Evasion increased by +20%!]


    [The Familiar [Giant Blue Scaled Tuna: Marine (Awakened) (D++ Rank)] x1 has activated [mmable Oil++]!]


    [All foes that are covered on this oil will take +200% more damage from Fire Attribute Attacks and will be vulnerable to the Element of Fire.]


    With Marine boosting my Familiars and sshing oil over the spiders, they burned exquisitely easy, making it most obvious that the Fire Attribute attacks would be the best option in this scenario.


    After Alberta boosted everybody''s weapon and armor effects using her unique cksmith Skills, everyone jumped into battle,pletely angered that the Grizzlies were stealing the spotlight. The grizzlies were strong, but they still killed spiders slowly, and sometimes they got surrounded dumbly, and would get easily killed.


    This was where the difference between them and my friends stood the most, they were able to move swiftly, adapt to any situation, and fight fiercely with both brain and brawns. They ended fighting with the grizzlies supporting them rather than the opposite, creating a wonderful cycle of killing hordes of Spiders while advancing further into the first floor of this massive C++ Rank Dungeon.


    And of course, I analyzed the situation in the back, not because I was a coward that didn''t wanted to fight, but to save my own strength and calmly recover MP, my Vampire Spirits were also resting, waiting for the opportunity to fight forter.


    Of course, I wasn''t wandering around the Dungeon with my friends without a new, powerful and adaptable steed for this type of environment¡­ I was riding a giant, five-meterrge rock-scaled lizard with big, golden eyes, and sharp rocky horns.


    -----


    [Name]: [Rock (Awakened)]


    [Type]: [Lizard] [Dragon] [Earth]


    [Rank]: [D++]


    [Race]: [Cave-Dwelling Earth Drake]


    [Health Points]: [4500/4500] (+550)


    [Mana Points]: [1500/1500] (+550)


    [Strength]: [2250] (+700)


    [Agility]: [2250] (+700)


    [Vitality]: [2250] (+350)


    [Intelligence]: [1250] (+350)


    [Dexterity]: [1250] (+350)


    [Buff]: [+200 HP] [+100 Strength] [+100 Agility]


    [Skill]: [High-Speed Underground Movement++] [Powerful Digging ws++] [Rock Bullet++] [Hardened Rock Scales++] [Tremor++]


    [Growth]: [0/60]


    -----


    This is the result of Synthetizing the Rock Goblins with the Red Wyvern Cards, creating the even stronger Cave-Dwelling Earth Drake, a lesser dragon subspecies thatcks wings and instead dwells underground, best adapted for three-dimensional movement in caves, where it can even crawl on the walls and ceiling without issues.


    "Raaaah! [Mystical zing Fox mes]!" Chris roared, stepping forward and hitting the floor with his staff, a gigantic storm of mes surged, which shaped itself into a gigantic fox, merging with his Spirit and then spreading further into the group of oil-covered insects.


    The result? Well, it is easy to predict¡­<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    BOOOOOOOMMMMM!!!!


    A loud and powerful explosions of pure mes spread everywhere, burning the giant insects in seconds. Furious Centipedes, Predator Praying Mantis, ck Abyssal Scorpions, and the Giant ck Spiders were instantly consumed by the mes.


    A few of them were still somehow alive, but they were swiftly taken down by the Grizzlies powerful attacks,bined with w''s boost in their total damage dealt, they were good for taking down whatever was strong enough to still take some powerful zing magic on the face.


    "[Heavenly Demon Arts]: [Heaven Splitting Kick]! And¡­ [Demon mes]!"


    Erdrich fell from above the ceiling, jumping down from the ceiling towards an iing group of giant Centipedes, and falling with a powerful Heaven Splitting Kick, covering his body on Demon mes at the same time as Marine sshed them with Oil from an incredibly long distance, one of the fish''s special talents.


    CLAAAAAAASSSHHH!!! FLUOOOOSH!


    The very kick cracked in half the head of one of the Giant Centipedes, while the shockwave and mes alone pulverized the ones surrounding it. The Giant Centipedes farther away were still covered on Demon mes, which still worked rather well with mmable Oil, it simply helped with any sort of fire, it was a rather special, Magical Oil.


    "Gryyeeeerrgh!"


    "Shyaaaagh!"


    "Krieeeeeehhhh¡­!"


    The screams of the gigantic insects reverberated across the Floor 1 as we advanced further into the direction where my Scouting Spider-shaped Golems have found the staircases to be. This only brought the attention of even more insects, we''ve already killed over 70% of them all, but there were still a few little ones wandering around.


    RUMBLE!


    TRUUUUMMM!!!


    The sound of their giant legs stepping into the ceiling and walls echoed across the Dungeon, as they swiftly approached us. Now, they were being led by arger than usual Giant ck Spider, with red stripes and twice their usual size, easily surpassing ten meters of height, a true behemothrger than the grizzlies or my earth drake.


    "GRYYYSHAAAAAAHHH!!!"


    Ding!


    [The [Abyssal Giant Red-Stripped Spider General (C+ Rank)] has emerged from hisir, bringing forth the rest of his forces!]


    [His very presence send shivers down you and your team''s spines, lowering all Stats by -20%!]


    [Furthermore, their very presence creates the [General''s Authority], increasing all allied bug-type monsters +30% to all stats and reduced damage taken by -15%!]


    "There it is! The Boss of this Floor is here!" Erika celebrated. "Ugh, it has one nasty aura though¡­"


    "Careful!" Elizabeth said from behind. "It has a special Aura that''s weakening us and strengthening themselves, that Boss is dangerous, don''t mess around with it!"


    "Yeah, I noticed as well¡­!" Eric said, pointing his arrows from behind.


    "Ugh, could you tone down the fire? It is getting in the way of my ice¡­" Elfriedden sighed.


    "Sorry about that, but you''ll have to adapt to the fire if you want to participate on this dungeon, Elfriedden." I smiled. "I taught you how to use basic fire spells, use them."


    "Tch¡­" Elfriedden was adamant on using only his own element.


    "B-ke, what should we do?" Alberta asked.


    "What do we do? We do the same thing we''ve done before." I smiled. "Just massacre them! Elizabeth, I''m counting on you."


    "Of course." Elizabeth smiled proudly, quickly raising her staff. "[Holy Enhancement: Attack & Defense]!"


    FLAAAASH!


    -----

 Chapter 671 Erikas Draconic Might

    -----


    Amidst an army of giant bugsposing the entirety of what was left within Floor 1, and also their general, a C+ Rank Monster with the power to debuff us and buff its own army, some of my friends seemed overly concerned.


    "B-ke, what should we do?" Alberta asked.


    What a foolish question, I suppose Alberta had yet to gain enough confidence, but it is understandable, over time, she''ll learn how we do things here.


    "What do we do? We do the same thing we''ve done before." I smiled. "Just massacre them! Crush them all. Be more confident, everyone." I smiled.


    I looked at Elizabeth, as she gave me a smile and nodded.


    "Elizabeth, I''m counting on you." I said. "Prove Alberta that after what we''ve gone through¡­ This is nothing but some diversion at most."


    "Of course." Elizabeth smiled proudly, quickly raising her staff. "[Holy Enhancement: Attack & Defense]!"


    FLAAAASH!


    A bright golden light reached our bodies, merging into our soul and physique and enhancing our strength and endurance, and even magical power.


    Ding!


    [Elizabeth] has conjured the [Holy Enhancement: Attack & Defense] Tier 4 Light Magic Spell!]


    [All of her allies have received an enhancement to Strength and Vitality of +25%, Total Damage Dealt by +15%, and Damage Taken Reduction by -15%!]


    "A-Amazing, did you had this buff before, Elizabeth?!" Asked Alberta in surprise, her entire body, which was covered on a heavy red and ck armor, began overflowing with new strength.


    "Hah, it is nothing with one of ke''s buffing Skills." Elizabeth smiled. "But it''ll be useful!"


    "Now charge! Crush these bugs!" I roared.


    Ding!


    [The Effects of the [Command: Lv8] Skill have been activated!]


    [All of those that obey your immediatemand will receive a +80% boost to All Stats as long as the battle continues.]


    "T-This power you used before¡­" Alberta was amazed, holding her hammer, which quickly started to growrger and zing with mes. "Alright! I guess I have to be more confident¡­ I need to trust everyone¡­" She gritted her teeth. "Eric, cover my back!"


    "A-Alberta?!" Eric was surprised as he saw his girlfriend rush into battle head-first with the other heavy hitters such as Erika and Erdrich.


    "RAAAAAHHH! [zing Volcanic Hammer]!!!" Alberta roared, suddenly and finally showcasing the true might of her Dwarven Bloodline.


    Her entire body began to swell with muscles beneath that heavy armor, as her hammer grew up to seven meters of height, so heavy yet she was still capable of wield it.


    C R A A A A A A S S S S H H H!!!


    The immense zing hammer hit a Giant Scorpion''s head, sting it into pieces as mes spread across the caves, magma started gushing out everywhere, melting the bugs around and even the floor! Amazing, such a destructive power!


    I never thought about it, but Alberta does indeed has an amazing potential as a front-line tank! She was always too shy to engage intobat, but it seems she has begun to finally realize her true strength.


    "Ugh¡­ Aagh! I-It stuck!" She suddenly started to panic, trying to take off the hammer from the floor, the giant insects slowly started reaching to her. "Uwawawawaaahhh!"


    ¡­Never mind, I''ll take that back. She still has a long way to go.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    "Alberta, be careful!" Eric cried, quickly firing a barrage of hundreds of Spirit Arrows enchanted with Light and Fire Element using Basic Magic Spells he learned long ago. "[Spirit Bow Arts]: [Elemental Spirit Arrow Rain]!"


    The arrows swiftly surrounded Alberta as they fell down over the gigantic bugs, consecutively exploding and causing massive damage against the massive beasts.


    BOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOM!


    "E-Eric!" Alberta was relieved as he walked to her side.


    "Remember that you can reduce the hammer''s size!" He said.


    "A-Ah! Right! I got so nervous I forgot¡­" Alberta apologized, quickly putting her hammer back to its normal, smaller size. "Ah right, I could do that though! I raise it when its smaller and then make it big, with its own weight, it''ll fall down on foes easily!"


    "Oh? Good idea!" Eric said. "Do that then, there''s a few more iing!"


    "Grizzlies, give them support." I ordered.


    "GROOOAAARRR!" Ten Grizzlies were mobilized at the side of Eric and Alberta, as they quickly tanked the multiple attacksing from the giant insects all at once, and then retaliated with w attacks, while setting aze the bugs, slowly beginning to weaken them.


    "Thanks, ke!" Eric said. "Leave this area to us, we''ll take care of it! Right, Alberta?"


    "I-I''ll do my best!" Alberta nodded nervously.


    "Don''t disappoint me!" I said with a smile, quickly running over my Earth Drake to support my other friends.


    "SHAAAAHHH!!!" An army of over a dozen Giant Scorpions with red exoskeletons were fiercely fighting Erika. They were immune to the mes no matter how many oil or mes were thrown at them, they were named Red Fiery Scorpions, and the General Spider was using them smartly to tank most of the fire attribute magic attacks for them.


    "Ugh, you damn scorpions won''t give up, huh?!" Erika roared furiously; her entire body began to shapeshift. "[Draconification]!"


    FLAAAASH!


    Her body gained several golden scales, as her wings spread out of her back, made out of wood and golden leaves. Her eyes shone brightly, as her Stats skyrocketed. She rose her Demonic Great Sword, descending from above like a falling meteor.


    "[Draconic de]!"


    CLAAASH! CLAAASH! CLAAASH! CRAAAAASSSHHH!!!


    With a series of powerful shing attacks, she administrated deadly cuts all over the Red Fiery Scorpions, many of them ended with their stingers and pincers cut off into pieces, they desperately stepped back, firing fireballs at her.


    "[Spirit Weaponization]! [Spirit Fusion]!"


    FLAAASH!


    Then, Erika fused several of her Doll Spirits together into a single mass, utilizing Spirit Weaponization to generate a gigantic shield.


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOOM!


    Using the shield, she shielded herself from attacks while charging her jaws with Mana and unleashing a deadly Dragon Breath.


    B O O O O O O M M M M M M!!!


    -----

 Chapter 672 Blakes Incredible New Powers

    ?


    -----


    While confronting the powerful Red Fiery Giant Scorpions alone, Erika was slightly overwhelmed by their Fire Attribute Magic Attacks, but it didn''t took even a second for her to figure out a countermeasure.


    "[Spirit Weaponization]! [Spirit Fusion]!"


    FLAAASH!


    Erika fused several of her Doll Spirits together into a single mass, utilizing Spirit Weaponization to generate a gigantic shield.


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOOM!


    Using the shield, she shielded herself from attacks while charging her jaws with Mana and unleashing a deadly Dragon Breath.


    BOOOOOOMMMMMM!!!


    She was incredible. With that single Dragon Breath, she swiftly vaporized five of those giant insects in just a single attack. However, the others survived, and immediately attacked her. Stingers, pincers, and fireballs continued falling towards her.


    CRASH! CRASH! CRASH! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!


    "Ugh¡­! Cough. Agh, I can''t do the Dragon Breath again¡­ My throat hurts!" Erikained, gritting her teeth.


    Despite how strong she was, she had yet to be a one-woman army, so I quickly went to support her.


    "Rock, [Tremor]! [Rock Bullet]!"


    "ROOOAARRR!"


    Rock, the Earth Drake roared, rushing forward and stepping in front of Erika, hitting the floor furiously and suddenly generating a powerful tremor, a small version of a earthquake, which quickly threw off bnce all the bugs in our vicinity, which quickly came apanied with hundreds of giant Rock Bullets piercing through theirrge bodies.


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!


    "Grizzlies, move!" I ordered, as ten other Grizzlies rushed forward, using their massive bodies to tank the hits from the scorpions, they were really resistant to fire damage, so their fire magic was mostly useless against them.


    "ke! You saved me- Cough!" Erika sighed. "Ugh, I can still fight though!"


    "Wait, drink this first." I said, giving her a Potion with Dragon Blood. "You have yet to master your Draconification, don''t overuse the Dragon Breath. It is dangerous and could hurt your throat really badly."


    "Gulp, gulp, gulp¡­ Phew! Okay, I get it!" She said, feeling anew once more, her eyes glowing with draconic light.


    Her dragon abilities originate from her body, her new body was made using the materials of the Red Wyvern we hunted back then in our vige, thanks to that, Erika developed some dragon skills, but fully started to awaken them once she began drinking my Dragon Potions and Dragon Elixirs.


    However, she needed practice and to polish such power, which she had been doing, but rather slowly. I do recall she spent a lot of her time in the vige not training, but idling andzing around¡­ I didn''t said anything back then because I thought she deserved some rest, but now I am beginning to regret it a bit.


    "And look, it''s not like I can just hit hard!" She smiled. "[Spirit Weaponization]! [Spirit Fusion]! Priests, be a Healing Staff!"


    FLAAASH!


    All the Priest Dolls unified together into a mass of light, merging and transforming into a long and golden-colored healing staff, which bathed the two of us, recovering health and stamina over time.


    The effect was much stronger than the Priest Doll even when they all gathered together. I guess this new form of magic with her spirits is Erika''s "evolved" form of fighting, the Dolls now be materials to create bigger, material-type temporary spirits, slightly simr to my own Familiars in some things, but at the same time unique on their own and also much more limited inparison.


    "See? Pretty cool right?" She asked, expecting a praise.


    "It is great." I nodded. "But concentrate on the battle, there''s moreing where those came from."


    "Right!" Erika nodded.


    And just as I said that, an horde of giant ck spiders arrived, attacking fiercely at the Grizzlies, and eliminating two of them with sheer numbers and furious blows. These guys were slightly bigger than the ones we fought previous as well, and were called "Elite", I suppose that''s why.


    "SHYAAAAAHHH!!!"


    CLASH! CLASH! CLASH! CLASH!


    One of the bolder Elite Giant ck Spiders rushed forward and started attacking the grizzlies furiously, trying to move them aside so they can get to us, the bears bravely fought, roaring back, and grabbing the spider''s legs, forcing it to stay still.


    "Good, well done!" Iughed, leaping out of Rock, and immediately flying into the skies. I guess it was finally time for me to warm-up and enter into battle. "Keep it right there. [Infernal Demonic mes Authority]! [Authority of Gluttony]!"


    FLUOOOSH!


    I imbued both powerful Authorities into my Demonic Spear, Gluttony, that was beginning to overflow with even more Demonic Power.


    [Vampiric Gluttony Spear Arts]: [Endless Blood Feast]!


    FLAAAAAASH!


    I descended towards the Elite Giant ck Spider, crushing its head with a single, piercing blow that reached its brains and then blew them up into mes, covering the rest of the body.


    CRAAAAAASSSHH!!! BOOOOOMMM!!!


    The explosion of demonic mes spread around everywhere, as a smile surged in my lips, my spear moved on its own as I merely followed it, piercing through the bodies of the other Elite Giant ck Spiders that were right to my left and right.


    CLASH! CLASH! CLASH! CLASH! CRAAASH!


    In mere seconds, all of their bodies were covered on piercing attacks, as holes spread across their exoskeletons, green blood gushing out, which I swiftly gathered, even if it was not red, and then materialized it into a powerful finishing move.


    "[Blood Judgement]"


    All of the concentrated blood became sharp, metalized spears, swords, knives, and other piercing weapons, falling down over the gigantic insects and exploding constantly, grinding them into even tinier pieces.


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!


    "Gryaaakkhhh¡­!" The other giant insects nced at me in horror, suddenly beginning to step back.


    "Heh, what''s wrong? Are you scared?" Iughed. "Did you think I was a pushover because I was just sitting down?"


    I waved my free hand, more blood shaped into thousands of deadly, metallic projectiles.


    "Then you''re sorely mistaken. I only do that because¡­ It is not fun for my friends if I massacre everything outright." I couldn''t contain my slight excitement as my eyes started glowing red. "Here, eat a second one while we are at it! [Blood Judgement]!"


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!


    All the insects were once more grinded to pieces, as I kept advancing, my spear and my magic brought utter chaos within the ranks of the insect army. Erika gave me support from behind, jumping from bug to bug, mercilessly stomping them to death.


    Eventually, we arrived in front of the General, Erdrich and Elfriedden ended joining us while Chris, Eric, Elizabeth, and Alberta were still fighting the armies behind us.


    "GRRHHHH¡­! GRYYSHAAAAAHHH!!!" The Giant General ck Spider roared, unleashing a powerful, chaotic aura that began to enhance its stats even further.


    So it had such a trick, huh? Well, it doesn''t really matter.


    "Let''s crush this thing and get to the second floor¡­" Erdrich smiled. "I am already getting bored in here just crushing the same damn bugs¡­" He cracked his knuckles with an intimidating re.


    "Hmph, for a C++ Rank Dungeon, the first floor is quite underwhelming." Elfriedden sighed, his threads were ring with zing mes, he ended adapting to the mes and tamed them rather swiftly.


    "It looks a bit scared!" Erika giggled slightly maliciously. "Don''t worry big bug, you''ll go to sleep very soon." Her Demonic Sword began shining red.


    "Let''s do this quickly." I ordered.


    -----

 Chapter 673 Overwhelming The Floor Boss!

    ?


    -----


    Ding!


    [The [Abyssal Giant Red-Stripped Spider General (C+ Rank)] is in awe as you''ve in most of his troops!]


    [His very presence weakens as his troops have been taken down, your stats are no longer lowered by his aura¡­]


    [However, a swelling, innate power is surging from within!]


    "SHAAAAAHHH!!!"


    The giant, red-stripped spider general roared in fury, its entire body surging with a red, zing aura that spread across our surroundings. The ck parts of its exoskeleton turnedpletely red, while the red stripes took the shape of ck and purple mes.


    Its body size suddenly increased by two times, and its sharp and long legs gained countless spikes, while its eyes grew muchrger¡­ I see, so this bastard had a special skill.


    [The [Abyssal Giant Red-Stripped Spider General (C+ Rank)] has activated the [zing General Transformation] Skill!]


    [All of their Stats have increased by +50%, and their Rank has risen to C++!]


    [A powerful Aura of Cursed mes spread around, if you touch them, you will be cursed and receive constant damage¡­]


    My grimoire informed me of everything happening, working as intended and very usefully, as usual. I quickly told this to my friends, as they readied for battle.


    "W-Wait, this thing can transform and increase its own Rank?!" Elfriedden reacted in shock. "Now I know why nobody below B Rank can clear even the first floor¡­"


    "Amazing, it got much stronger¡­!" Erika was bbergasted.


    "Oi, this is getting interesting now." Erdrich smiled devilishly.


    "W-Woah, it''sing!" Chris panicked.


    "SHYAAAAHH!!!"


    The General Spider rushed forwards, its gigantic body making the entire Dungeon tremble. Its gigantic legs hit the ground, making everything tremble, cracks spread everywhere, the entire Dungeon seemed to be about to fall apart.


    TRUM! TRUM! TRUM! TRUM!


    "Good! I wouldn''t had wanted it any other way!" Iughed. "The stronger, he more satisfying it is to defeat after all! Everyone, I''ll bait its attacks, attack it while it has its attacks on me!"


    "Okay!" Everyone agreed. Meanwhile, in the back, Elizabeth, Eric, and Alberta were taking care of the other monsters so they wouldn''t get in our way.


    "SHYAAAH!"


    The Giant General Spider immediately noticed I was closer, as I called for him with a loud shout. After seeing me kill so many of his kin, he must be furious.


    "Come on, I am here, you oversized bug." I smiled. "I already beat Beelzebub, you''re nothingpared to that bastard."


    "GGRAAARRGGH!"


    The Giant General roared, opening its sharp mandibles and unleashing a mass of zing cursed mes against me.


    FLUOOOOOSH!


    BOOOOOOMMMMM!!!


    However, even when they hit me and cursed my body, it wasn''t even that much. Thanks to my unique physique, I was mostly immune to most status effects, and with the authority of demonic mes and gluttony, I was able to absorb and devour the cursed mes.


    "Oi, oi, you didn''t even burned my clothes." Iughed. "This school''s uniform is truly top notch, especially when I wear this wyvern scale armor on top."


    "SHYAAAGH?!" The Spider was shocked, but it didn''t gave up, quickly charging and unleashing several fireballs, alongside deadly w attacks using its newly-grown scorpion-like pincers.


    CLAAASH! CLAAASH! CRAAAAASH!!!


    "Too slow!" Iughed, evading the blows with ease, while charging my power into my Spear.


    Meanwhile, Erika, Chris, Elfriedden, and Erdrich attacked the beast from behind. Erdrich hit it first, descending from the ceiling and pointed his fists down.


    "[Heavenly Demon Art]: [Demon Meteor]!"


    CRAAAAAAASSSSHHH!!!


    "GRYYYAAAGHH¡­!"


    BAAAAAMMM¡­!


    The spider immediately lost its bnce as Erdrichnded on its abdomen,pletely unfazed by the cursed mes, he pierced through its body and left a huge hole behind, which wasn''t regenerating thanks to the demonic energy in the wound.


    "You''ve got too many legs, how about we take some out, huh?" Elfriedden smiled, his Thread and Needle Spirit flew around the monster rapidly, wrapping around three of its gigantic legs and then, slicing them apart. "[Lethal Thread Arts]: [Slicing Threads]!"


    SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLAAASH!


    BAAAM! BAAAM! BAAAM!


    All three legs fell into the floor, green blood oozing out of them and the wounds left behind in the giant spider, the beast lose its bnce and even as it tried to crawl back, it couldn''t stand up properly.


    "SHYAAAAHHH!!!"


    The Spider furiously moved its entire body towards Elfriedden, attacking with several destructive blows that blew away the floor and the walls. However, Elfriedden swiftly evaded the sluggish attacks and used barriers made of frost threads to protect himself from the cursed mes.


    "Oi, you''re forgetting about someone!" Chris smiled. "[zing Spirit Fox Magic]: [Parade of a Hundred Fox Spirits]!"


    FLUOOOOOSH!


    Chris raised his staff as hundreds of mes in the shape of foxes emerged, his zing fox spirit fusing with his very magic to conjure such a powerful spell, the foxes flew over the spider, attacking it by shing the beast with their ws, or biting it with their zing jaws, while constantly exploding and dealing constant damage.


    BOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOM!


    "GRRRRGGGHHH¡­!" The Spider moved to Chris direction, only for Erika to appear in front of it.


    "Hello!" She giggled evilly, her eyes glowing bright gold and red with the fieriness of a growing dragoness. Her entire body gained an armor of spirit wood dragon scales, as she grew gigantic dragon ws made from her own spiritual wood, shing at the spider''s eyes.


    SLAAASH! SLAAASH! SLAAAASH!


    "GRYYEEEEHHH¡­!"


    Right after that, she jumped over the monster and unleashed a barrage of blows using her gigantic demon sword, slicing through the beast''s exoskeleton.


    While all of this happened, I readied my attack, charging demonic energy, vampiric power, ki, and mana into my spear.


    [Vampiric Gluttony Spear Arts]: [Demonic Blood Inferno]!


    FLUOOOSH!


    mes converged with all these powers and energies, and the Authority of Gluttony, generating deep dark red mes unlike any other, which shaped like countless, vicious and gluttonous jaws constantly twisting around like the mes themselves.


    Iunched the spear itself against the spider''s head, the weapon easily pierced through it, as these all-devouring mes engulfed the monster in an utter inferno.


    CLAAAAAASSSSHHH!!!


    FLUOOOOOOOOSSHHH!!!


    "GRYYYYAAAGGGGHHH¡­!"


    The giant spider groaned in agony; its entire body beingpletely roasted.


    -----

 Chapter 674 Blake Spoils His Girlfriends Too Much

    ?


    -----


    As the Boss of this floor was finally felled, my Spirits were making an uproar.


    "Master why didn''t you let us fight?!" Cried Fang. "I would had been d to fight such a powerful foe! I could had helped you with my strength¡­"


    "Your group did seem to struggle a bit! Was it fair to not let us enjoy the show a bit?" Woo sighed, crossing his arms. "Let us fight, damn brat!"


    "You two rx for a bit¡­" Hendrick sighed. "Master knows how strong we are right now, he simply wanted us not to intervene and make things more boring, right?"


    "Well, more or less." I said. "The more of you I have, the stronger our group bes, but that also creates an imbnce in our party where mypanions won''t be able to grow so much through these fights, struggling is important to grow stronger, if I add you to the mix, things might get too easy. So for now, just be patient. I''ll bring you out in the next floor because the monsters will grow in numbers. But remain mostly as supportive fighters, don''t get in the way of my friends."


    "Sigh¡­ Fine, whatever." Woo crossed his arms.


    "Alright! I''ll do my best, master!" Fang barked happily.


    "Well, I guess they''re happy." Eleanora sighed. "Though I also felt a bit¡­ excerpted of this fight. I am also your friend''s friend, right? Don''t be so unfair¡­"


    "Yeah papa! Let us st some monsties!" Saphira said.


    "Okay, fine, I''ll bring you out." I sighed, as all the Vampires were freed from their cage known as the Spirit Orb''s Realm.


    As they were all summoned, I gave them themand of gathering all the monster corpses so I can easily store everything inside of my Inventory.


    Meanwhile¡­


    "We did it, ke!" Erika said. "Oh! You summoned your spirits a bit toote¡­"


    "Yeah, I was trying to restrain them so the fight would be more challenging." I sighed. "s, it was still a bit disappointing anyways, C+ Rank monsters aren''t that much, and even C++¡­ It was quite not a big deal."


    "I don''t think you should be saying that when we are just on the first floor of the Dungeon¡­" Chris sighed. "Maybe it will get harder! Come on man, don''t be like that."


    "Hmph, well, maybe for you it wasn''t challenging because you left us all the work." Said Elfriedden.


    "Maybe. Well, my intention was to see how well you could cooperate. Did you wanted me to solo the boss, Elfriedden?" I sighed.


    "I-I didn''t said that¡­" Elfriedden muttered. "Anyways, your "pushing" certainly helped me grow stronger now¡­ I''m grateful, although it is rather hard for me to admit it, you''re a really strong andpetent leader."


    "Oh wow, where did that came from?" Laughed Erdrich. "Did you fall for him or something, long ears?"


    "D-Don''t call me long ears!" Elfriedden said furiously. "You''re literally a demon yet you dare make fun of my graceful ears? This is the proof I am a noble elf!"


    "I am not a demon; you damn blue haired princy!" Erdrich said angrily, gritting his teeth.


    "Enough, let''s take a small break for now." I sighed with a smile, having grown ustomed to my friend''s shenanigans. "Don''t fight, we''re all friends and allies in here. Erdrich, just bear with Elfriedden, he means no wrong when he says harsh things to us, or me. He just has a hard time expressing his feelings."


    "W-What?! I¡­! I don''t have any difficulties!" Elfriedden looked like he was offended greatly by my words.


    As I left them t their own devices for a bit, I checked the Grimoire, which was making a chime-like sound.


    Ding!


    [You and your Party have defeated [Giant Bug Monsters (C ~ C+ Rank)] x43, [Abyssal Giant Red-Stripped Spider General (C++ Rank)] x1!]


    [You earned 49.000.000 EXP!]


    [LEVEL UP!]


    [LEVEL UP!]


    [LEVEL UP!]


    [LEVEL UP!]


    [LEVEL UP!]


    [Your Level has increased from Level 34 to level 39!]


    [All Your Stats have increased.]


    [You earned Bonus Stat Points and Skill Points.]


    [Several [Holy Spirits] are impressed by your work.]


    [As apensation for your effort to guide your friends, and because they want to apologize for not being able to answer all your questions before, they have sponsored [EXP X2]!]


    [Your earned EXP has been multiplied!]


    [You earned an additional 49.000.000 EXP!]


    [LEVEL UP!]


    [LEVEL UP!]


    [LEVEL UP!]


    [LEVEL UP!]


    [Your Level has increased from Level 39 to level 43!]


    [All Your Stats have increased.]


    [You earned Bonus Stat Points and Skill Points.]


    Well, that''s quite generous of them. I hadn''t hold any grudge or something against them, I know they don''t know everything either, even when they''re the pirs of this world. But it seems that they thought I was imagining they were conspiring against me or something?


    Honestly,pared to all the war lords and scheming tyrants my previous life fought against, the Holy Spirits are really cute inparison, they''re very na?ve as well, so I''ve had to teach them a lot of things¡­


    "Heh, thanks for the bonus, but don''t worry, I am not really angry at you guys or something." I sighed. "Though, if that makes you give me more rewards, then let''s say I am really angry now."


    Ding!


    [The [Holy Spirit of Love] giggles at your cheeky nature.]


    [The [Holy Spirit of Darkness] likes your scheming mind.]


    [The [Holy Spirit of Light] sighs on relief, ignoring yourst words¡­]


    "ke! Everyone! Did you handled things alright?" Wondered Elizabeth, reaching us in a few seconds. "Phew¡­ The bugs were extremely stronger when you were engaging the boss¡­ Thankfully, it is done."


    "Hmm, for the next floors my spirits will be joining the battle, so we''ll be able to take care of the mobs much easier." I said with a nod. "For now, how about we have a small meal to refill energy?"


    "Pasta?" Asked Erika, appearing behind me and surprising me a bit.


    "Pasta!" Elizabeth nodded, looking at me with endearing eyes.


    "Fine¡­" I sighed. "I guess that''s you girls'' favorite meal."


    Since that day I cooked pasta for them that they had not forgotten about it¡­


    -----

 Chapter 675 Taking A Small Break

    ?


    -----


    After a rather intense first session of monster-hunting, we took a break. After cleaning the entire first floor off monsters and then making a small temporary camp, I decided to cook some pasta. Thankfully I had some stored inside my Inventory, I had kind of predicted they would ask for this eventually.


    I quickly boiled it, and made some pasta using some new meat, Wyvern Meat I got from our trip to the vige. My father and the hunters had started hunting the Wyverns of the Mountain Range from time to time, now that they were much stronger, it had be a possibility.


    Wyvern Meat is quite tough, but if I cut it into small chunks and smash them with a hammer, it''ll be soft. Boiling it with tomato sauce and then some condiments should make it even tastier.


    And then, add some parmesan cheese over it.


    "And done! Simple Pasta with Wyvern Meat Tomato Sauce, with Wild Boar Meatballs." I said, serving the tes to my friends.


    "U w a a a h! Looks so tastyyyy!" Erika smiled, beginning to drool over the food. "I love your food!"


    "Wild Boar meatballs and wyvern meat in tomato sauce, that''s new." Said Elizabeth. "Hmm, and it already smells so good! You''re so good at seasoning food, dear- I mean, ke."


    "Hmm~ Right~? He''s such a good husband- I mean Master!" Eleanora coughed a bit.


    "Well then, looks like your group of cheerleaders are just as cheerful as usual over your cooking." Elfriedden sighed, cringing a bit over their overly exaggerated enthusiasm. "But I guess¡­ I have to admit, your food is not so¡­ well, normal. It is quite¡­ vorful I suppose." He was trying to hide how much he was enjoying it.


    "Damn, these noodles never get old! They''re so soft and chewy, and the sauce just goes so well with the cheese on top!" Chris said. "Man, I wish I could cook like you, dude¡­"


    "Well you could, but you''re adamant in not learning." I sighed.


    "E-Eh?! Well, it''s a bit boring, I prefer to just roast meat." Chris shrugged. "I''ll leave the cooking to my future wife."


    "And where''s she?" Laughed Erdrich.


    "H-Hey you bastard! Don''t get cocky now just because you got a girlfriend!" Chris cried, containing his tears while gritting his teeth. "I-I''ll get one soon! I am a good damn catch! I''ve noticed some girls looking at me."


    "Hahaha, I wish the best for you then, Chris." Eric said with a gentle smile. "Here, my sweet bun, I''ve prepared you a delicious sd with yogurt sauce, enjoy it."


    "Ahh, my meat bun!" Alberta smiled, kissing Eric lovingly. "Thank you! Here, I saved this apple pie slice from breakfast, you can have it for dessert."


    "Oh no, I would never, keep it for you. I know how much you love sweets." Eric said, giving her a head pat.


    "Y-You''re too nice sometimes! You''re going to make me feel bad now, geez¡­" Alberta blushed.


    "U-Uuugghh¡­ Y-You bastard¡­ Eric! I never thought you would betray me like this¡­" Chris began murmuring to himself while eating pasta. "Why does everyone has girlfriends now¡­?"


    "Not everyone has." Said Erdrich, pointing at Elfriedden.


    "Hm? What?" Elfriedden wondered.


    "R-Right! Elfriedden! I never thought we could be kindred spirits¡­" Chris sighed in relief. "It''s nice to know there''s someone equally as miserable."


    "Hmm? Are you talking about girlfriends? I don''t understand¡­" Elfriedden seemed justpletely unaware. "Ah, but I do have a fianc¨¦e back home, she is the princess of a neighboring kingdom, a nice girl I know since we were children." He smiled faintly.


    "G-GEH¡­?!" Chris looked like he waspletely devastated. "E-Even the asshole of Elfriedden got engaged with a cute princess?!"


    "Koon~ Koon!" Suddenly, Chris zing Fox Spirit started licking his cheek as he rested his face over the wooden table, the spirit was trying to cheer him up a bit.


    "Gruooh! Gero!" And so was his zing smander doing the same thing.


    "Hahh~ You guys¡­ You''re the only ones that understand me." He sighed, caressing them.


    "ke! ke! Seconds!" Erika said, only three minutes after I served tes. "Pretty please! I''ll give you lots of kisses afterwards!"


    "Fine, you don''t really need to pay me back." I sighed, serving her a bit more. "Though, I wouldn''t mind it either way."


    "Hehehe, I know you like them!" Erika giggled, blushing happily. Her smile healed my heart and made the slight stress I felt fade away instantly.


    "Papa! More! I want more!" Saphira also started grabbing my clothes.


    "Oh right, you want more, Saphira?" I wondered. "Very well¡­ Here''s a bit more." I served my adopted daughter some more.


    "Thank you daddy!" Saphira flew to my side and gave me a kiss in my cheek as a thanks. Then, she red at Erika with a¡­ rather vicious smile. "Heh¡­"


    "Eh?!" Erika felt shocked, as if Saphira was winning over her¡­ "O-Oi not fair!"


    "Anyways¡­" Elfriedden quickly interrupted our carefree lunch. "Enough nonsense. For now, I want to talk about what''s our next move. ke, I have heard this dungeon bes even more dangerous on the second floor, and when we reach the third, it might even bepared to B- Rank Dungeons. Are you sure¡­ we''ll really be able to do this? The first floor was already hard enough."


    "Oh? Are you chickening out now, Elfriedden?" Asked Chris with a giggle. "You seem to really not trust ke yet, huh? Even after all the incredible stuff he does sometimes."


    "Well, I think it is nice to doubt him, if we always agreed to everything he says and does, I don''t know what would had happened to us¡­" Eric sighed. "But yeah, most of the time he''s quite right on his predictions and ns."


    "I asked ke, not you two bootlickers." Elfriedden sighed, crossing his arms.


    "B-Bootlicker?!" Eric was shocked. "I wouldn''t put it that way¡­"


    "Oi who the fuck do you think you are to call me that?!" Chris barked angrily.


    "Enough." I sighed. "Well, Elfriedden¡­"


    -----

 Chapter 676 Resuming The Exploration

    ?


    -----


    I could understand that Elfriedden was a bit doubtful of my judgement yet. After all he wasn''t the one I guided in the Waste Lands, and we''ve only faced challenges together slightly, mostly in the first dungeons we visited and that''s about it.


    He has yet to fully see my capabilities, but I do intend to show him everything I can do now so he stops doubting me so much. Nheless, Eric and Chrisments are a bit over exaggerated. I appreciate whenever someone is doubtful or questions me, it means I can see things through other''s perspective and further improve my ns.


    "Enough." I sighed. "Well, Elfriedden, whatever hardships you faced were mostly fabricated to an extent, I didn''t used all my power yet, nor I desire so. I also didn''t employed the help of my powerful Tamed Monsters nor my Spirits because I wanted you guys to face challenges and go through more growth."


    "I see." Elfriedden nodded. "Well, we''ll see how hard things turn around once we descend further¡­ It is not as if I don''t trust you, ke. Stop thinking that. I am just¡­ slightly worried, but I am actually¡­ looking forward to it." He said with a slight smile.


    "Oh? What is this character development?" I wondered with a giggle.


    "W-What''s wrong with it?!" Elfriedden angrily said, suddenly blushing in embarrassment. "Ugh, well, whatever, I won''t tell you anything then¡­"


    "Hahaha! No, go ahead, my friend." I smiled. "Don''t be so stuck-up for once and just speak your mind."


    "Hmph." Elfriedden opened his eyes again. "Well, I did made my own research and found out the second floor is infested with Poison-type monsters the most, and that the surroundings are also covered in poisonous mushrooms and the like. We should prepare for that."


    "Indeed." I nodded. "And that''s why I''ve brought these."


    I took out several purple-colored potions from my inventory.


    "Potions?" He wondered.


    "They''re called Poison Resistance Potions." I said. "I made them using antidote herbsbined with the several types of different poisons. For over an hour, it''ll raise your resistance to all poisons. And it can even help you develop your own, permanent resistances."


    "A-Amazing¡­" Elfriedden extended his hands towards the miraculous potions, yet, I didn''t gave them to him so easily.


    "However¡­ You''ll have to pay for them." I smiled.


    "Eh?! You¡­" Elfriedden sighed. "Fine¡­ I already know your game, ke. I''ll pay youter though."


    "Fine by me." I nodded.


    Erika and Elizabeth red at me slightly angrily.


    "Do you have to ask him for money? Geez¡­" Elizabeth sighed.


    "You''re being a bit too much¡­" Erika said.


    "Hehehe, my master is so cunning! More money!" Eleanora, instead, celebrated.


    "Sorry, I just need some more funds to buy you some presents." I said with an enchanting smile. "Will you forgive my greediness? I only want to make you happy."


    Erika and Elizabeth blushed in a second, their eyes glowing brightly.


    "T-Totally fine!" Elizabeth giggled enamored.


    "Y-Yeah!" Erika nodded.


    Honestly, I wasn''t lying. I actually been saving money for some gifts for them. I need higher quality materials for that though, but eventually, I''ll use them to make them even stronger.


    It''s the least I could for them, they''re the girls I love after all.


    "A-And what about me?" Eleanora pouted a bit.


    "Well, of course, you too." I nodded. "Though your spear has evolved with you and your strength is connected with mine so-"


    "I also want a gift!" Sheined.


    "Fine, fine, I will give you one." I sighed, giving a head pat. "You''re really cute when you get more expressive."


    "H-Huh?!" Eleanora blushed while looking away. "T-That''s¡­ Ahem! Anyways, we shouldn''t be concentrating into this."


    "Right." I nodded, quickly getting more serious. "I guess we''re almost over with our meals. Let''s get ready to depart to Floor 2."


    "Alright!" Everyone cheered, except Elfriedden, of course.


    After serving desserts to some of the sweet tooths (including myself), consisting of pudding I had made in the morning, we swiftly departed. Moving to the second floor was quick as we had already found the stairs leading down there. In the way, we decided to drink the potions, all while I summoned a special Familiar.


    "Fooo! Foooo!" It was a floating, purple-colored flower. It was constantly spinning in midair, and it wasn''t bigger than the palm of my hand, yet this was a D++ Rank Familiar.


    -----


    [Name]: [Lily (Awakened)]


    [Type]: [nt] [Healing] [Enhancement]


    [Rank]: [D++]


    [Race]: [Floating Revitalizing Lilypad]


    [Health Points]: [1200/1200] (+550)


    [Mana Points]: [4500/4500] (+550)


    [Strength]: [250] (+350)


    [Agility]: [4250] (+700)


    [Vitality]: [250] (+350)


    [Intelligence]: [3250] (+700)


    [Dexterity]: [3250] (+350)


    [Buff]: [+200 MP] [+200 Agility]


    [Skill]: [Revitalizing Pollen++] [Buff Enhancement Aroma++] [Antidote Leaf++] [High-Speed Flying++]


    -----


    This very simple nt Familiar has barely any defense or health points, but it makes up for it with its utility. With Revitalizing Pollen, it constantly exudes a special pollen that helps keep ourselves revitalized, while enhancing the regeneration speed of wounds.


    Meanwhile, the Buff Enhancement Aroma enhances the effects of buffs by 50%, while Antidote Leaf, by sacrificing itself, can create a leaf that can cure a deadly poison if eaten.


    Lastly, it can fly super-fast using High Speed Flying, being capable of evading powerful attacks and keep itself alive well enough.


    "What''s that flowery thingy?" Erika pointed at the floating Lily. "A new familiar?"


    "Yes, it will help us in here quite a lot." I said. "[Familiar Multiplication x5]"


    FLASH! FLASH! FLASH! FLASH! FLASH!


    Five more of these Lilies appeared one after the other, floating around ourrge team, including my Vampire Spirits now, which had been brought to aid us in battle even more.


    "For now, all of you simply use Buff Enhancement Aroma and Revitalizing Pollen." I ordered them.


    "Fooo! Fooo!"


    All the Lilies began spinning around in midair, and then releasing a sweet, calming aroma, contrasting of the Dungeon''s Second Floor acidic and poisonous smell. Everyone seemed rather rxed.


    "Woah, now this feels rather nice~" Sighed Elizabeth.


    "The smell is quite sweet." Said Chris. "I guess I''m fine now with this¡­"


    "Ah, look, there''s tons of mushrooms around- Ah, but I shouldn''t touch them, they''re too poisonous, right?" Eric wondered.


    "Well, there''s also more than bugs in this Dungeon." I said with a smile, as the mushroom right next to Eric began moving¡­


    "GROOOOHHHH!!!"


    -----

 Chapter 677 Exterminating Mushrooms

    ?


    -----


    POOF! POOF! POOF!


    As we walked down through the first corridor leading to the center of the Dungeon''s Second Floor, which looked pretty much the same as the first one except for the quantity of spiderwebs, which were much less now, we found ourselves surrounded by colorful mushrooms.


    What my friends didn''t expect is that they were all living monsters, not just an average normal mushroom of poisonous qualities. And what triggered them from waking up as getting closer to them, much like back in our town when we would find Walking Mushrooms or Myconid, as some call them, resting near trees, camouging as normal, big mushrooms.


    However, any unsuspecting person would get closer, only to get viciously bitten by them, and this was the very same strategy these monsters employed against us.


    "GROOOOOOHHHH!"


    An over three-meter-big purple capped mushroom gained arms and legs, and a giant, vertical mouth covered on sharp fangs.


    "Uwaaagh?!" Eric was shocked by the discovery, stepping back in horror. "These mushrooms are monsters?"


    "Yeah." Elfrieddenughed. "It was funny seeing your reaction though¡­"


    "GROOOHHH!"


    "GROOOAAGH!"


    "GRYYEEHHH!"


    "GYOGYOOHH!"


    Dozens of Giant Poisonous Mushrooms began waking up one after the other, surrounding us rather quickly. They were all C Rank at the very least, although they weren''t as huge or stronger than the Giant Bugs, they were still sizable threats.


    "Prepare for battle!" I said, taking my out magic handgun.


    BANG! BANG! BANG!


    Without hesitating, I shoot down three bullets at the Giant Walking Mushroom that tried to attack Eric, blowing its head off before it could even move.


    "They''re C Rank, but rather weak and slow, their most lethal power is their poison, but now that we''ve gained resistance, this should be a cake walk." I smiled.


    "Alright!" Erika celebrated, rushing forward and swinging her de against the Mushroom in front of her.


    "GYOGYOOHH!" The Mushroom roared, attacking back against her by trying to punch her with its enormous fists while letting out a deadly poisonous spore cloud.


    CLASH! CLASH! CLASH! CLASH! POOOF!


    However, Erika swiftly intercepted each blow with her sword and then began spinning and dancing with it, shing across the entire body of the monster, its limbs were sliced apart quite easily, and then, she swung her de and sliced its cap apart, and then, she split it into two perfect halves with a powerful vertical swing.


    SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLAAASH!


    BAAAM¡­!


    "Heheh, if they weren''t poisonous I would dly have them grilled!" She giggled.


    "Fang, Woo, Hendrick, Saphira, Eleanora, take care of our back, protect everyone from iing blows to minimize damage." I said.


    "Very well!" Fang roared, jumping into battle as he kicked one of the mushrooms rushing towards Alberta''s back.


    CLAAASH!


    "Uwaah! Thank you!" Alberta nodded, reading herself while wearing her heavy armor and summoning her Hammer Spirit. "HYAAAAH!"


    BAAAAM! BAAAAM! BAAAAM!


    She unleashed three powerful blows with her Hammer Spirit, which grew several timesrger, crushing the mushroom that Fang kicked down.


    "There''s too manying from behind!" Eric sighed, quickly summoning his two Spirits, and merging their power together with is magic. "[Yggdrasil''s Domain]!"


    FLUOOOSH!


    A domain of spirit trees emerged, surrounding us as several spears made of wood started emerging around him, piercing the bodies of the mushrooms.


    CLASH! CLASH! CLASH!


    They were big and tanky though, so these attacks only dyed them at most. But it wasn''t as if mattered, Eric imbued Spiritual Power into his arrows and fired them against the skewered mushrooms, blowing them up from the inside out as the arrows grew whole trees out of their bodies when they pierced their spongy bodies.


    BOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOM!


    Meanwhile, I saw Erdrich and Elfriedden working together for once. While Elfriedden used his Frost Threads and Needle to pierce through the bodies of the mushrooms and then freeze them on the spot, Erdrich crushed them into pieces with powerful meteoric fist attacks.


    CLASH! CLASH! CRAAASH!


    "Hey, we don''t make such a bad team!" Erdrich smiled.


    "Hmph, you''re just stealing my prey." Elfriedden sighed.


    Those guys are an oddbination for sure¡­


    "I can''t just let only ke''s spirits do all the job here!" A Holy Dragon as big as three meters said, resembling a golden serpent with small arms, and a white mane.


    "It would make us ashamed¡­ Ellergest said we must protect you at all times, little Elizabeth¡­" Yawned an enormous turtle whose shell resembled a giant, pointy rock.


    Both Spirits protected Elizabeth, the Dragon unleashed constant beams of light against the Mushrooms, blinding them and piercing their bodies, while the turtle began spinning around and crushing them into pieces once they were blinded.


    "Hahah, you guys don''t really need to go this far." Smiled Elizabeth, as her first Spirit, the Little Angelic Guardian, floated around her, offering her barrier protection while she used her fists and staff to fight against the giant mushrooms.


    Elizabeth was a special case, instead of developing a second Spirit once she hit Rank 2, the Spirits she inherited from Ellergest took that ce, so she''ll have to wait up to Rank 3 to get a new Spirit, though seeing her affinities, it might be an Angel Spirit once more.


    That small Angelic Guardian has a special transformation, and also seemed to know more than it makes itself up to be, after all, back then it saved her life and everyone else¡­ I still remember that.


    Perhaps, much like my own Spirits, some other spirits can be the reincarnation of powerful beings demons and angels included.


    "GRYOOOHHH!" Three Giant Mushrooms, all of them rather colorful, ran to my side. I pointed my gun at them and shoot one of them dead.


    BANG! BANG! BANG!


    However, the other two got too closer, so I simply imbued Mana into my Spear and sent it flying towards another''s head, making it explode into pieces in an instant.


    BOOOMMM!


    Thest one got a kick into the face, followed by Infernal Demonic mes into its open jaws, being roasted alive.


    CLASH!


    "Hmm, kinda boring." I sighed. "Huh?"


    RUMBLE!


    Suddenly, the ground before us trembled, as it cracked wide open, an enormous Titanic Walking Mushroom emerged.


    "GRUOOOHHHH¡­!"


    -----

 Chapter 678 Against Floor 2S Mid Boss

    ?


    -----


    Ding!


    [The [Poisonous Mushroom Titan King (C++ Rank)] has emerged due to the massacre of his own children!]


    [His very presence sends a powerful aura of Mana and Poison everywhere, all those that step into this domain will be instantly poisoned, losing HP each second.]


    [Additionally, all Mushroom-type monsters within the domain will have their stats boosted by +50%.]


    "GRUOOOOHHHH!"


    A walking mushroom of over 30 meters of height emerged from the floor. It was utterly enormous, perhaps it has been sleeping there for a long while, and it was also C++ Rank, so it was nothing to scoff at.


    "GRYOOH!"


    "GYOGYOH!"


    "GROOOH!"


    The dozens of other Walking Mushrooms started roaring before the presence of their King arriving at the scene. They raised their big arms and celebrated happily, while their King''s aura boosted their stats even more.


    "Amazing, looks like they''re all pretty happy!" Laughed Hendrick. "Their power has grown greatly! I see, so aside from bugs, there''s this group of mushrooms obeying a king! Fascinating! My Lord, let me extract their poison!"


    "Sure, go wild." I smiled.


    "EXCELLENT!" Hendrick stepped forwards, rushing towards the King and then shing against it all alone. He was one crazy guy sometimes.


    CLASH! CLASH! CLASH! CLAAASH!


    The King seemed rooted into the floor, incapable of moving out, but it had several arms, and all of them moved incredibly fast. It also had the ability to rotate around rapidly like a cylinder.


    He used his long, spider-like legs emerging from his back to easily intercept the attacks from the giant Mushroom, all while he conjured his unique magic and skills. Meanwhile, the rest of us were currently fighting crazed giant mushrooms.


    "Let''s see if you can resist this! [Alchemical Compound Synthesis]!" Heughed. "Let''s turn that poison of you into explosive materials! Oh, and let''sbine it with this too¡­ [Explosive Venom]!"


    BOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOM!


    "GRYOOOHHH¡­!"


    Countless explosions covered the giant mushroom titan king, its body started slowly weakening and being covered on wounds, though they instantly recovered.


    "GRUOOHHH!"


    It swung several arms at once against Hendrick, pping him down into the floor like a ragdoll.


    "GUH¡­!"


    BAAAAMMM¡­!


    "A-Ahahahah¡­ That hurt a bit." Hendrick sighed, standing back up.


    "GRUOOH!"


    The enormous hands reached up to him, as he smiled.


    "[Electrifying Kick]!"


    FLAAAASH!


    However, Woo appeared right in front of him, unleashing a powerful kick imbued with Ki and Mana, releasing a thunderous blow.


    CRAAAASSSHHH!!!


    "GRYYYAAAEEGGH¡­!"


    The Mushroom King cried in agony, several of its arms being blown up to bits wasn''t something pretty to see at all, for sure.


    "What are you doing, you absolute idiot?!" Woo reprimanded Hendrick.


    "Huh? I ampletely fine though?" Hendrick sighed. "I was about to discover the mushroom''s power even more!"


    "You''re a bit too obsessed with all poisonous things, brat¡­" Woo sighed.


    "I think I might be older than you, Woo." Laughed Hendrick.


    "GRUOOOHHH!"


    "Agh! Just shut up and concentrate into the battle!" Woo angrily said.


    "Alright!" Hendrickughed.


    BAAAM! BAAAM! BAAAM!


    The Mushroom Titan King released a series of punching blows, blowing the earth off the floor. And then, suddenly, several tentacle-like roots emerged from its foot, attacking everybody with piercing, deadly blows.


    CLASH! CLASH! CLASH! CLAAASH!


    "Ugh! This damn thing!" Woo groaned, intercepting the attacks using his kick and punches. However, finding the monster extremely tough. "This thing''s not easy to deal with! The tougher monsters before, the harder it is to break their energy fluctuations¡­ I''ve already tried to hit its Ki points several times, but this thing just keep blowing punches like nothing."


    "It must be because of its unique body and being so big and strong!" Hendrick said. "Mushrooms aren''t made of flesh andck muscles after all, they''re made of a soft, spongy body!" He said, while evading piercing root tentacle attacks and unleashing explosive venom bombs.


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOOM!


    Countless explosions spread across the air surrounding the Mushroom King, yet still nothing. The two Vampire Spirits were, however, doing very well on distracting the beast for now, as we finally managed to massacre thest groups of walking mushrooms.


    "[zing Fox me Storm]!" Chris roared, unleashing a destructive tornado made up of countless tiny foxes made of mesbined together, absolutely devastating thest Mushrooms.


    FLUOOOOOOOSSSHH!!!


    Once it was finally over, what was left were merely a few tens of corpses resting over the floor, covered on mes and charred. However, Elfriedden quickly let go of a freezing gust, freezing all corpses and stopping the mes.


    "Hey! Why did you do that?!" Chris asked.


    "The more they burn, the stronger the toxin in their poison will be." Sighed Elfriedden. "That''s something I read in the information book of this dungeon."


    "O-Oh, I had no idea¡­" Chris said in surprise.


    "Well, that''s to be expected of someone as dumb as you." Elfrieddenughed while giving Chris a teasing smile.


    "What did you said?!" Chris angrily said. "Want me to burn your damn face, princy?!"


    "Hoh? What can a third-rate magician like you even do?" Elfriedden mocked him even more. "I would sweep the floor with your face."


    "Y-You damn¡­!" Chris was about to shoot a fireball at Elfriedden when I stopped him.


    "Enough, don''t pointlessly fight for nothing." I sighed. "How about we concentrate in the real challenge here?" I smiled, pointing at the giant creature that had been constantly self-regenerating.


    Fang and Saphira had already joined Woo and Hendrick in the meantime, while Eleanora appeared behind me with a smile. Even when four spirits were against that thing, it was still rather mighty.


    "Seems like they''re not fully capable of ying it¡­" Eleanora said.


    "It''s not that, I am just simply limiting how much Mana they can use so they don''t drain me out of it all so fast." I exined. "If I let them go all-out, they would surely be able to massacre it, but inside a dungeon, we have to save our strength after all, we have yet to even reach the end of this Floor."


    "Right!" Eleanora nodded. "Then allow me to join into defeating this foe!"


    "Sure, let''s go all together." I said with a smile. "It''ll surely give a nice chunk of EXP."


    -----

 Chapter 679 Devastating The Mid Boss

    ?


    -----


    Ding!


    [The [Poisonous Mushroom Titan King (C++ Rank)] has noticed your presence! The King is furious that you''ve taken down his children!]


    [The [Poisonous Mushroom Titan King (C++ Rank)] has entered into a Berserk Status due to its [Furious Mushroom King] Skill!]


    [All of its Stats have increased by a further +100%!]


    "GRUOOOOOHHHHHH!!!"


    The gigantic mushroom roared with fury, swinging its gigantic root-like tentacles against Woo and Hendrick, who had been pestering him for a while, and throwing them away furiously.


    BAAAM! BAAAM!


    "Ugh¡­ No good¡­" Hendrick muttered, as he slowly faded away. "Master, I''ll be taking a little break for now!"


    "Dammit! Brat, make sure to beat this damn bastard!" Woo roared, as he faded away as well.


    "Well done you two, rest for a bit and I''ll call you backter." I smiled. Unlike other Spirits, my own Spirits had a much shorter cooldown before I could summon them again, usually of an hour or half an hour, depending on their resolve.


    "Grizzlies, ws, Dracos, go! Distract the beast''s tentacles and attack with all you''ve got!" I said,manding an army of giant zing bears wearing demonic ws, and wyverns unleashing zing mes.


    "Roooooaaaarrrr!!!" The Grizzlies roared, shing apart several tentacle roots with their mighty w attacks. mes spreading around the gigantic mushroom king.


    "Shaaaaahh!!!" Meanwhile, the Dracos flew around the slow monster, firing dragon breaths and fireballs at a safe distance, the mushroom king could only tank so many hits.


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOOM!


    Because it was taking so many attacks at once, its regeneration was all being focused in these mes spreading around its body. Despite having boosted its stats by 100%, it was a sitting duck.


    Woo and Hendrick weakened him quite a lot too, which made things much easier. Eleanora stepped forward too, rushing first into our enemy and using a variety ofbination attacks using her unique Skills and her spear to devastate the beast.


    "[Scarlet Blood mes Spear Explosive Strikes]!" She roared, imbuing her entire spear with Scarlet mes made up of Blood Ki and Mana, and unleashing explosions with each strike she inflicted.


    BOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOM!


    "GYOOOHHH¡­!"


    The Mushroom King began slowly weakening more and more, as it was being torn to shreds. It constantly tried to poison us through its spores, but thanks to Lily''s aid and the Antidote Potions we drank beforehand, we were really resistant to the poison.


    Ding!


    [The [Floating Revitalizing Lilypad: Lily (D++ Rank)] Familiars [Buff Enhancement Aroma++] Skill has been activated! The Buffs provided by the Antidotes have been enhanced further by +100%, and their duration has been doubled.]


    "At this point the poison isn''t even a problem!" Laughed Chris, pointing his staff at the Mushroom King. "Alright¡­ You two,e together as one!" Chris said, gathering his Mana on top of his staff and calling his two spirits, the zing Firefox and the me Smander together.


    FLUOOOOSH!


    Both Spirits merged into a gigantic sphere of mes, which flew towards the Mushroom King and fell from above, descending like a zing, furious meteorite.


    "[zing Spirit Meteor]!"


    BOOOOOOOOMMMMM!!!


    A gigantic explosion of mes engulfed the C++ Rank Monster, its high defenses and stats could simply not resist all this explosive onught of mes, and with all of our efforts in attacking with our weapons and from distance, the beast fell in an instant, although Chris managed to make things much easier, which ended faster as a result.


    "GRYYEEEEHHH¡­!


    BAAAAMMM¡­!


    The Mushroom King gave onest shriek of agony before falling into the floor,pletely immobile. Any vitality it had left faded away in an instant, it was nowpletely dead.


    "Amazing Chris! Well done!" Eric praised our friend.


    "Yeah! I didn''t knew you had such a devastating attack!" Erika said. "That puts you in the same league as some big shots at the academy already."


    "That spell was like those that first rate magicians use¡­" Erdrich was shocked. "It was evenparable to ke''s Blood Judgement on destruction alone."


    "Indeed." I nodded. "You''ve grown really strong, Chris."


    "A-Ahahah¡­ You''re praising me a bit too much but I''ll take thepliments!" Chris said with a prideful smile, and then red back at Elfriedden. "So? Am I still a third rate magician?"


    "M-Maybe¡­ I misjudged your talents." Elfriedden sighed. "You''re certainly¡­ well, you''re good enough."


    "Just admit I''m strong!" Chris said angrily.


    "Hahah, just leave him be, that''s how Elfrieddenmunicates." Alberta giggled a bit.


    "Yeah, anyways, let''s rest for the moment before advancing, we had an unexpected big battle at the beginning of the second floor." I said, quickly beginning to store things in my inventory while I looked at my Grimoire''s notifications.


    Ding!


    [You and your Party have defeated the [Poisonous Mushroom Titan King (C++ Rank)] x1 and [Big Poisonous Walking Mushroom (C Rank)] x48!]


    [You earned 54.000.000 EXP!]


    [LEVEL UP!]


    [LEVEL UP!]


    [LEVEL UP!]


    [LEVEL UP!]


    [LEVEL UP!]


    [Your Level has increased from Level 43 to level 48!]


    [All Your Stats have increased.]


    [You earned Bonus Stat Points and Skill Points.]


    Indeed, that was a lot of EXP, that big boss gave a whopping 6 million EXP. This time the Spirits weren''t nice enough to multiply my EXP, but that''s fine, I am already midway through Level 100, well, almost.


    Thanks to all the bonuses I was enjoying due to their blessings, the curses Lucifer had inflicted upon me were almostpletely cancelled. Though I can imagine I could level up even faster if I didn''t had the curse¡­ But whatever.


    This curse has just forced me to work even harder than before. And now that I am Level 48 in my third Job ss Advancement, I should probably check on my Grimoire how many Stat Points and Skill Points I have¡­


    -----


    [Avable Stat Points]: [1250]


    [Avable Skill Points]: [1250]


    [Can gain 20 Stat Points and Skill Points with each Level]


    -----


    Right¡­ Now that I hit Rank 3, I earn 20 points of both per level, it is much more than before.


    I should probably check on the new Skill Trees, and also put some of these Stat Points into my Status¡­


    -----

 Chapter 680 Learning New Summoner Skills!

    ?


    -----


    Although I can recover my Mana using Potions and Spirit Orbs, it is always exhausting to do so, and recovering too much at the same time often tires my body out. It is something that I am still dealing with. Even with equipment that enhances my Maximum Mana, and even with Summons that further increase it, I am always craving more Mana.


    However, for now, I''ll resist the temptation of increasing MP using Stat Points and increase other Stats I''ve been ignoring, specifically Vitality and Agility, both of these Stats have be much more important now. With Vitality, I grow less tired and exhausted, this includes literally any type of exhaustion, even Mana Exhaustion.


    More Vitality means I can take more damage and also be less exhausted, to the point my exhaustion could be entirely ignored to an extent, although for that, I would need like¡­ over 10k Vitality. Lastly, Agility so I can evade the deadly attacks of incredibly powerful monsters.


    The stronger they be, the less efficient is to just let them hit me, even with all my defensive boosts, it would be much better to evade them to be honest¡­ Vitality and Agility are a deadlybination, with Agility I can move faster, but I also grow more tired when running too fast, however, Vitality will make sure I won''t grow too tired either.


    This is one of the things I''mcking after a lot of examination and experimentation, so¡­


    Ding!


    [You have exchanged 625 Stat Points.]


    [Your Vitality has increased by +1250.]


    [You have exchanged 625 Stat Points.]


    [Your Agility has increased by +1250.]


    BA DUP!


    Suddenly, I felt as if my entire body was being strengthened rapidly, every time I administrated a tremendous quantity of Stat Points, it was like elerating my own Physique Cultivation by a thousand times.


    My heart started beating faster and faster, and I could see every single vein on my body popping out, flowing rapidly with red blood. My muscles became stronger, and my body, slightly taller. But at the same time, I also felt lighter.


    "Amazing... 1250 Stats at once can enhance my power so far?" I was honestly amazed.


    Ding!


    [Your [Physique]: [Vampiric Blood Emperor Physique (Tier 5: Rank 3)] has been enhanced to Tier 5: Rank 5!]


    [All of your Stats have increased as a result.]


    [Your Blood Ki is being produced inrger, more richer quantities¡­]


    "Good¡­" I smiled. "Now¡­"


    Ding!


    [Showcasing Job ss and Subss Skill Trees¡­]


    -----


    <Skill Tree: [Job ss]: [Master Summoner: ¡ï¡ï¡ï]>


    [Familiar General: Lv0] [Cost]: [215 SP]


    [Familiar Sacrifice: Lv0] [Cost]: [330 SP]


    [Familiar Evolution: Lv0] [Cost]: [600 SP]


    -----


    <Skill Tree: [Subss]: [Apprentice Creator: ¡ï¡ï¡ï] >


    [Shape Change: Lv0] [Cost]: [215 SP]


    [Enhance Form: Lv0] [Cost]: [330 SP]


    [Modify: Lv0] [Cost]: [600 SP]


    -----


    Huh? These Skills¡­ they sound amazing. The Master Summoner truly has good Skills for being a three Star Talent. Familiar General already sounds like it could probably assign a Familiar as some sort of leader, which would help me greatly on sorting out how to properly set up an army of Familiars without having to manage everything.


    Familiar Sacrifice could help me sacrifice Familiar Cards, maybe for boosts or buffs? Or some sort of other, different effect. Andstly, Familiar Evolution¡­ speaks by itself, the ability to evolve Familiars! Even the old Familiars I haven''t used in a while could now be stronger and new.


    Andstly, as my Subss, Shape Change, Enhance Form, and Modify. They sound simple, but I can tell they mean a lot. The ability to Shape Change any object, the ability to Enhance their Form and perfect it more, and then, the power topletely Modify something.


    I guess they''re those types of Skills you want all at the same time¡­ For now, I''ll get all the Master Summoner Skills, I do have enough SP after all.


    Ding!


    [You exchanged 1145 Skill Points!]


    [You learned the [Familiar General: Lv1] Skill!]


    [You learned the [Familiar Sacrifice: Lv1] Skill!]


    [You learned the [Familiar Evolution: Lv1] Skill!]


    [Due to the sheer amount of Familiar-rted Skills, the Status has been rearranged to showcase the Familiar-rted Skills under the [Summoner Skills] category.]


    -----


    [Summoner Skills]: [Create/Delete Familiar: Lv7] [Summon/Unsummon Familiar: Lv7] [Familiar Storage Expansion: Lv7] [Familiar Synthesis: Lv7] [Familiar Connection: Lv4] [Familiar Awakening: Lv4] [Advanced Familiar Fusion: Lv4] [Familiar Multiplication: Lv2] [Familiar General: Lv1] [Familiar Sacrifice: Lv1] [Familiar Evolution: Lv1]


    -----


    Oh well, that''s useful, now I can see them all together more clearlypared to when they were all lumped into the [Magic Skills] category.


    Hmm, for now I should check the Skills in order.


    -----


    [Familiar General: Lv1]


    Skill Proficiency: 0/20000


    As a Master Summoner, your Familiars abilities and capabilities have evolved alongside your own. Whenever you Summon Familiars, you have now the ability to assign certain [Battalions] made up of as many Familiars as you want, led by a [General], a certain Familiar you will assign this special role.


    When a Familiar is assigned the [General] role, their Stats increase by +200%, with an additional +25% with each Skill Level, and their Skills Damage and Effects are enhanced by +100%.


    [General] Familiars gain greater Intelligence and the ability to speak andmunity with the Master Summoner and will be able to properly listen to orders and lead their [Battalion].


    Familiars assigned into a [Battalion] under a [General] will receive a buff of +30% to all Stats, with an additional +15% with each Skill Level, and their Skills Damage and Effects are enhanced by +25%. They will always obey their [General].


    The Maximum Number of [Generals] that you can assign increase with Skill Level.


    Avability:


    Level 1: [3 Generals]


    -----


    Impressive, so it is possible to do such a thing¡­ I wasn''tpletely wrong on my first assumption of this Skill, but it still quite the amazing power to have. With this, I can freely create Battalions and assign them Generals, further enhancing my units Stats across the roof.


    Alright, let''s try it now.


    "Draco,e down." I said, calling one of the six Dracos I had summoned.


    "ROAR!" The Wyvern descended into the floor, looking at me curiously.


    "I assign you as a [General] of this [Battalion] made of all currently summoned Familiars."


    FLAAASH!


    -----

 Chapter 681 The Power Of Familiar Battalions, Generals, And Buff Cards!

    ?


    -----


    Ding!


    [You have assigned [Red Scaled Fire Wyvern: Draco (D++ Rank)] as your [Battalion]''s [General] 1/3!]


    [The Familiar has gained speech and intelligence, and all of their Stats have increased by a further +225%, and their Skills Damage and Effects are enhanced by +100%.]


    "ROOOAAAARR- A-Ah, ah! Huh? Oh¡­" Draco quickly stopped roaring, suddenly opening his eyes wide and ncing back at me. "Master, thank you for assigning me as the General."


    "No problem." I smiled. "I was thinking that one of your kin would be good because you can fly, and see the whole battle from above."


    "Oh, that is certainly smart." Nodded Draco. "Ah, it does feels weird to speak."


    "Were you self-ware before, Draco?" I wondered.


    "No more than a beast, but now, my beastly thoughts are gathered into proper ones, and I can speak. Yet¡­ I do not really fear death either." He sighed. "How interesting, is this how existence feels?"


    "More or less." I said. "Though, not fearing death must be because you''re a Familiar, even if you die and your card disappears, your consciousness will be carried over to all your other iterations, so you don''t really die."


    "Interesting, the more I learn, the more I admire Master." Draco said with a roar.


    "For now, gather the Battalion and keep them on standby if any other Monster shows up, Draco." I said.


    "Very well." Draco nodded, flying back to the rest of the monsters.


    With great surprise, I saw how they all obeyed his words andmands, as they walked behind him and gathered around our group.


    "A-Amazing, was that a new Skill?" Elizabeth wondered, walking to my side.


    "Oh yeah, I had learned some new Skills through the Skill Tree." I nodded. "It is a pity you guys can''t choose your Skills though."


    "Hey, we don''t have a crazy powerful Grimoire thing¡­" Elizabeth sighed. "Though, I wonder if you could use it to help us assign Skill Points and all?"


    "I have tried but it doesn''t seem to work, sadly. Nheless, your Stat Points and Skill Points seem to be automatically assigned as you level up and grow stronger. I think it might be based in whatever your strong points are, or what you''re trying to achieve." I said. "Anyways, are you curious about what I did?"


    "Yeah¡­ Just how did that wyvern spoke?" Elizabeth wondered.


    "It is a new Skill, I transformed him into a General. They gain sentience, can speak, and are quite smart. They can lead all other Familiars for me, freeing me the time tomand them and everything else." I sighed in relief.


    "Oooh! That''s amazing." Elizabeth said in surprise. "They''re like our normal Spirits, then?"


    "To a lesser extent, yes." I nodded. "Though our Spirits are much stronger and better still, Familiars aren''t exactly made topete with Spirits, they''re simply a different breed of beings, made to overpower our foes that already have an endless source of forces."


    "I guess this is how Hero Allen was able to save the world from the Demons back then¡­" Elizabeth sighed. "I do wonder, will you save the world too?"


    "I¡­ I wouldn''t say I can save it now." I sighed. "But I am doing my best to grow stronger, so such a possibility can be a reality. As longa as I have you, and everyone else at my side, I think I can do it." I held her hand gently, as she smiled.


    "You''re such a gant man sometimes¡­" Elizabeth giggled, approaching herself to me and caressing my face, giving me a short yet sweet kiss. "You don''t have to carry such a burden, I''ll be there for you."


    "Sigh¡­ Do you have to get so corny out of nowhere?" I felt slightly embarrassed.


    "Hehehe, I like to see you get embarrassed." Elizabeth giggled. "Anyways, everyone''s taking a little break, should we have something to eat? I can prepare something."


    "That would be nice, I love your cooking." I smiled.


    "Geez, yours is much better, but I''ll take thatpliment!" Elizabeth giggled. "I''ll set up something while you check on your new Skills~"


    "Alright, thanks." I nodded.


    -----


    [Familiar Sacrifice: Lv1]


    Skill Proficiency: 0/20000


    As a Master Summoner, your Familiars have not only be strong allies, but also resources that can be used to further enhance your own strength, that of your allies, or other Familiars.


    By choosing an unsummoned Familiar Card, you can [Sacrifice] it, and gain a [Buff Card] instead based on the Familiar you''ve sacrificed. These [Buff Cards] can be used to enhance a target, yourself, an ally, or even another Familiar.


    Based in the [Sacrifice], these [Buff Cards] will give temporary enhancements, new skills, or abilities for a short amount of time. It is also possible to [Sacrifice] Cards to regain part of the MP you spent using them, alongside a buff, and also some HP.


    These buffs durations, effects and restoration of MP and HP increase by +10% with each Skill Level. The Maximum Amount of [Buff Cards] that can be used on a single target (including yourself), increases based on Skill Level.


    Avability:


    Level 1: [Buff Card Limit: 2] [Buff Duration: +10%]


    -----


    An interesting Skill for sure, I can see myself using it when I am in a clutch and need more power. The limit being of only 2 is a bit¡­ not that good, but if the buffs are really good then I can ept that. And it doesn''t specify anything over the Fusion Familiars, so perhaps it is possible to create Buff Cards based on these even stronger Familiars that onlyst a bit.


    Well, let''s try it out anyways¡­ I quickly took out a w Card and sacrificed it.


    "[Sacrifice]"


    FLAAASH!


    The card dissipated into particles of golden light, and then transformed into a golden card. It showed the same appearance of w, but it now looked different, showing enhancements.


    -----


    [Buff Card: Living Demonic ws (D++ Rank)]


    A Special Buff Card created by sacrificing a Living Demonic ws Familiar. By activating its effects on a target, grants a specific buff based on the Familiar.


    Buff: For 10 Minutes, enhances HP and STR by +2000, and grants the [Life Draining Attack] and [Rotting Wounds] Skills.


    -----


    Oh? Not bad at all!


    -----

 Chapter 682 Evolving Familiars Even Further Beyond!

    ?


    -----


    After sacrificing a Familiar and obtaining a Buff Card, I discovered several new things. One of them is that the card doesn''t disappear until I use it, meaning that I can store them as I want forter usage. The limit, however, is that each Buff Card type can only be stored 10 times inside the Grimoire, no more than that.


    But it still an almost limitless resource the more Cards of different Familiars I have, also, this quantity increases with Skill Level as well, even when the Skill didn''t rify this. However, seeing how these familiars are so expensive to create, both in Spirit Orb cost and Mana, I won''t be abusing this power as much, I''ll probably create the Buff Cards whenever I need them for now.


    Andstly¡­


    -----


    [Familiar Evolution: Lv1]


    Skill Proficiency: 0/20000


    As a Master Summoner, your growth and evolution also has carried over to your older Familiars. Depending in the Level of this Skill and other Rted Summoner Skills, you can now Evolve weaker Familiars into stronger, renovated forms utilizing Resources such as Mana, Spirit Orbs and Monster Materials.


    Evolved forms and original forms will be keep separated, but once you create an evolved form, you can summon them normally, without needing to utilize the same resources you used to create the evolved familiar initially.


    Additionally, enhances Evolved Familiars Stats by +25%, with an additional +10% with each Skill Level. Rank Limit will be based on Skill Level as well. Only Familiars one Rank below the Rank Limits can evolve.


    Evolution Rank Limit:


    Level 1: [Up to D+++ Rank]


    -----


    Interesting, it works as I imagined.


    "Fenrir."


    FLASH!


    I summoned a Fenrir, who nced at me curiously. This was one of the Fenrirs I''ve had for a while now. They haven''t died since the battle against Beelzebub and everything.


    "Alright, time to evolve you¡­" I nodded. "Take this and evolve."


    I took out of my inventory some materials, the Blood of Gray Wolves, ck Wolves, and Demonic Wolves, alongside a bit of the fur and blood of Eleanora''s favorite pet, Blood, who was currently standing on guard some meters away from here.


    "WOOF!" Fenrir barked, suddenly, beginning to glow as I detected arge portion of my MP being absorbed into his body, all materials also converged into his own.


    FLAAAASH!


    His already ratherrge body became even bigger, instantly rising up in the Ranks and then¡­


    Ding!


    [The [Dark Shadow Horned Wolf: Fenrir (F Rank)] has evolved into the [Giant Shadow Specter Horned Wolf: Fenrir (D++ Rank)]!]


    -----


    [Name]: [Fenrir (Evolved) (Awakened)]


    [Type]: [Beast] [Specter] [Shadow]


    [Rank]: [D++]


    [Race]: [Giant Shadow Specter Horned Wolf]


    [Health Points]: [5000/5000] (+550)


    [Mana Points]: [2500/2500] (+350)


    [Strength]: [3200] (+700)


    [Agility]: [3200] (+700)


    [Vitality]: [1800] (+350)


    [Intelligence]: [1500] (+350)


    [Dexterity]: [2500] (+550)


    [Buff]: [+250 Agility] [+200 Dexterity]


    [Skill]: [Abyssal Bite++] [Dark Berserk Roar++] [Shadow Traveler++] [Spectral Form++] [Abyssal Specter Domain++]


    [Growth]: [MAX]


    -----


    "Perfect¡­" I said in surprise, as I saw Fenrir tower above me. His enormously tall body ncing down at me as if I were a mere ant.


    The beast had now be as tall as five meters of height, covered on ck fur with several silver stripes, his red eyes became sharper and stronger looking, while his smaller horn became big, like a spear emerging from his forehead.


    He was now overflowing with his own Mana, which he can spend to conjure his stronger Skills. Also, his older Skills evolved, not just gaining the "++" from Awakening, but actually evolving into brand-new and stronger forms.


    "Looks like it was a sess." I smiled. "How do you feel, Fenrir?"


    "WOOF! AWOOOOOOO!" Fenrir howled to the skies, a powerful aura of shadows and spectral energy surged from his body.


    He was no longer a pushover now, he finally caught up to everyone else! I was already thinking on finding another wolf-type monster to rece him, but now that he had be so strong, there''s no point.


    Also, was it my idea or were his stats much higher than the other D++ Rank monsters? Well, not as high as some of w''s stats, but w is a specialist so he mostly gathered all his stats into his STR. However, for Fenrir that is a more mobile and also physical fighter, his stats are quite impressive.


    Ding!


    [The [Giant Shadow Specter Horned Wolf: Fenrir (D++ Rank)] Evolved Form has been registered as a new Summonable Familiar within the [Grimoire].]


    [You can now summon more of these cards utilizing Spirit Orbs and Mana, or multiply the currently existing Fenrir utilizing half the cost of Mana and Spirit Orbs.]


    Hmm, I guess multiplying the new Fenrir would be ideal, though the smaller, weaker ones are¡­ well, smaller, and therefore stealthier, they still have their uses, so I won''t sacrifice them to regain Mana for now.


    "Woooah! Is that Fenrir?!" Asked Eleanora, rushing to my side. "Amazing! He evolved?! But how? I thought Familiars couldn''t evolve!"


    "Well, I gained a Skill that lets me just do that." I smiled. "Now Fenrir has finally caught up to everyone else."


    "So fluffyyyyy~!" Eleanora hugged Fenrir''s fluffy chest, as the wolf gently licked her face with a gigantic tongue. "Uwaaahh, you''re covering me in drool! S-Stop it! Ughh¡­"


    "Barf! Woof!" Fenrir waged his tail happily to be hugged.


    "Anyways, now that we''re done here¡­" I said.


    "keee! The meal is done!" Elizabeth called from afar, as I smelled the scent of baked pastries.


    Once we arrived there, we found her bringing out of a specialized oven-kitchen golem that Alberta carried around several meat pies she had pre-prepared beforehand.


    "Oooh, smells so nice!" Erika said. "ke,e sit here at my side!"


    "Hahah, fine, it does smells really good." I nodded.


    "Elizabeth''s meat pies are really the best." Erdrich smiled. "I remember eating them every day back when we went into training with Ellergest."


    "Hehehe, I just put a bit of effort and love into them, it''s nothing special you guys~" Elizabeth smiled, giggling.


    If we told a normal person that we were enjoying a nice meal in the middle of a poisonous insect-infested dungeon, they would never believe us.


    -----

 Chapter 683 The Power Of Familiar Buff Cards

    ?


    -----


    Eventually, as we finished our meal and decided to continue our journey, we came across arge group of giant insects midway through our journey. The smell of the meat pies that Elizabeth prepared had brought them all towards us rather efficiently.


    The map I was slowly making inside of my Grimoire''s pages using the scouting abilities of my golems and flying familiars easily told us where to go next, turns out they were just waiting for us.


    "KRIEEEEEEHH!"


    A group of giant wasp-like insect monsters, with sharp venomous stingers and the ability to fly greeted us at first. And behind them, there were a mix of spiders, scorpions, and arger, grossly big wasp-like monster with red color.


    It seems that the Boss of this Floor had finally showed themselves. Well, that''ll make things much easier to deal with. While Hendrick and Woo were still restoring their bodies before I could summon them again, I decided to bring out Saphira and Fang instead, so they could assist us alongside Eleanora.


    "SHAAAAAHHH!!!" The giant, red-colored wasp roared furiously, unleashing a magical and dark aura that epassed the other insects, which were over thirty, at the very least.


    FLUOOOOSH!


    Ding!


    [The [Ferocious Red Wasp Queen (C++ Rank)] has activated the [Berserk Pheromones] over her subjects!]


    [All of her subjects Stats have increased by +200%, however, they have entered into a maddening, berserk state!]


    "BBBZZZZTTT!"


    "KRIEEEH!"


    "SHIEEEHHH!!!"


    The Giant Wasps, Giant ck Spiders, and Giant Scorpions charged towards us like a gigantic army of beasts. However, we had our own army as well to sh against these giant beasts and not be overwhelmed.


    "Draco! Fenrir!" I ordered.


    "On it, master!" Draco roared from within the skies.


    "AWOOO! I''ve got this! Let''s go, my pack!" Fenrir barked.


    I had already given Fenrir the power to speak by assigning him as my second General and gave him the other half of my Familiars which I had yet to summon, which included Orcs, the smaller Fenrir, and the Orc Shaman Kings too.


    CLASH! CLAASH! CLAAASH!


    Draco and Fenrir led their battalions into battle. The grizzlies equipped with w were the strongest around, managing to tank the hits of the insects and stop their crazed charge in an instant.


    Bybining their power with the ws they had equipped, they were able to chip decent damage against the giant bugs, but unlike in the previous floor, none were dying yet against Familiars alone.


    Draco led a group of Wyverns to fight from above the skies as well, firing fireballs and dragon breaths, but the wasps that could fly were catching up to them and beginning to attack them.


    Fenrir stepped in front of the battlefield bravely, apanied by Blood as well, and by leading his varied army, magic attacks from the Orc Shaman Kings constantly rained over our monstrous foes.


    Meanwhile, the warrior orcs fought bravely, ganging over their foes furiously while riding the F Rank Fenrirs, which were much cheaper to summon and didn''t cost any Spirit Orbs either, so they made for good disposable mounts.


    Thanks to their ability to easily meld into physical objects due to their spectral type, even the weak Orc Warriors were able to deal decent damage and distract the giant insectoid behemoths.


    Meanwhile, the poison the monsters exuded was being greatly neutralized by the Antidotes we drank, whose buffs were boosted by the Lilies I had around us, which were able to easily evade any attacks with their amazing speed but didn''t had any offensive capability.


    And all of this happened in a matter of just twenty seconds. Once the army of insects was stopped, I led the rest of my party into battle, securing good spots to attack was ideal, fighting messily and getting cornered could prove to be fatal, so using my Familiars as meat shields is always something I''ll do.


    "Now, attack! While they are distracted by the Familiars!" I ordered, boosting the stats of my friends using a variety of Buff Cards.


    "Oh nice, I can even fly with these wings!" Said Chris in surprise, as he had gained wyvern-like wings on his back after absorbing a Buff Card made out of a Draco. His firepower was also strengthened, alongside his Intelligence and Speed. "Eat this! [Spiritual zing Spears Rain]!"


    FLASH! FLASH! FLASH! FLASH! FLASH!


    BOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOM!


    A rain of enormous spears made of mes surged from Chris wand and his spirit''s powers, burning the insects in arge scale from within the skies. I knew that he would be able to fight much better if he could see the battlefield from above, his magic was the best if he attacked from the skies.


    "Hahahaha! This is the best!" Roared Erdrich, parts of his body such as his arms, chest, and back grew ck and red fur, and his nails became gigantic bear-like ws zing with mes. His strength had also been increased by a lot.


    CLAAASH! CLAAAASH! CLAAAASH!


    His shing attacks already took down one of the giant wasps, bringing the monster down into the floor and devastating it with shing blows and explosive mes. Of course, I had given Erdrich a Buff Card using a zing Bear, giving him a lot of Strength and Vitality, alongside a bear''s ws and their explosive mes.


    "Certainly, your skills keep surprising me, ke." Elfriedden said, feeling an incredible magical power surging from within his body. I had given him the Orc Shaman King Buff Card to enhance his Intelligence and Mana the most, which resulted on him being able to unleash utterly devastating icicle spikes all across our foe''s range.


    BOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOOM!


    "Hahaha, so cool! My dragon powers are even stronger now!" Erika said, using another Draco Buff Card, she gained even stronger draconic powers, helping her fly in the skies freely while she shed into pieces giant wasps flying towards her one after the other.


    SLASH! SLASH! SLAAASH!


    Meanwhile, I quickly decided to boost myself using the w Buff Card I acquired first, just to test it out¡­


    FLASH!


    As the card dissipated into particles of light, my entire body received the "essence" of the familiar, enhancing my stats through the roof.


    Ding!


    [You have absorbed the [Buff Card: Living Demonic ws (D++ Rank)]! Your HP and STR have increased by +2000, and you can now use the [Life Draining Attack] and [Rotting Wounds] Skills for 10 minutes.]


    -----

 Chapter 684 Confronting The Floor 2 Boss!

    ?


    -----


    As I nced over the battlefield and how my friends were enjoying the new Buff Cards, I quickly decided to boost myself using the w Buff Card I acquired first, just to test it out¡­


    FLASH!


    As the card dissipated into particles of light, my entire body received the "essence" of the familiar, enhancing my stats through the roof.


    Ding!


    [You have absorbed the [Buff Card: Living Demonic ws (D++ Rank)]! Your HP and STR have increased by +2000, and you can now use the [Life Draining Attack] and [Rotting Wounds] Skills for 10 minutes.]


    With two thousand more health points and strength, the difference felt quite clear. I immediately decided to test it out as I leaped forward, apanied by Ruby flying above me and my three Vampire Spirits, Eleanora, Saphira, and Fang.


    "Eleanora, cover my back. Saphira, turn into Undead any insect that has died to aid us. Fang, make sure to protect Ruby." Imanded.


    "Very well." All three of them nodded.


    "KRIEEEEEHHH!" One of the giant Wasps ended ignoring the army of Familiars and flew straight towards us, pointing its utterly massive stinger against my body.


    FLAAASH!


    Eleanora leaped into the air andnded right over the Giant Wasp, using her powers, magic, and her demonic spear to pierce the giant monster''s head, pushing the beast down into the floor.


    BAAAAAMMM¡­!


    "KRIEEEGHH! SHIEEEH!" The Wasp furiously attacked Eleanora with its sharp mandibles, its exoskeleton having barely been pierced by the spear.


    "These bugs are quite formidable foes." I smiled. "But nothing invincible, right?"


    "Oh yes." Eleanora giggled, as the Wasp suddenly felt much weaker, its wound was beginning to rapidly rot. This was because Eleanora, much like me, had also been enhanced with a w Buff Card.


    "K-KRIEEEHHH!!!" The wasp didn''t gave up, attempting to attack me with its mandibles.


    However.


    "Begone."


    SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH!


    I swung my spear several times at once, generating hundreds of afterimages. Each afterimage pierced the wasp''s entire body several times,rge holes covering the monster, until it dropped dead.


    BAAAM¡­!


    "And done¡­"


    "ROOOAARR!"


    In the distance, I saw Ruby fiercely fighting a giant scorpion, while Fang offered him his support. Ruby had to continue growing stronger if he wanted to be a real, and powerful being in the future.


    "Even with Lily''s buff extension, we won''t have much time so, let''s quickly hurry up." I smiled, as Eleanora and I jumped into action.


    We rushed across the battlefield with the rest of our party, shing apart giant bugs while supporting my familiars. Several of them were constantly dying, but they were loses I could take. As long as the Familiars fulfilled their purpose, it was fine, I can always summon moreter anyways.


    When Eleanora and I joined hands and fought together, we be unstoppable, whenever there was a bug I couldn''t reach, she would crush it and push it down so I could finish it off.


    And whenever she was being cornered, I would weaken the bugs using my magic and help her defeat them. Ourbined, fast movements, our simr techniques, and our equal taste for bloodshed made us an extremely efficient pair.


    And once we''ve already mowed down over 80% of the bug army, the Boss stepped forward, incapable of believing her children were ughtered so easily.


    "GRYSHAAAAHHH!!!" The ferocious Wasp Queen flew towards our direction, moving her gigantic wings. Many of my Familiars attacked her, even Fenrir, but their blows didn''t even pierce through her exoskeleton.


    "SHAAAAAH!" With a swing of her gigantic ws, she hit Fenrir down and made him fall into the floor, his body barely resisting with a few health points, which were swiftly restored by Elizabeth.


    BAAAAMMM¡­!


    "Ungh¡­ That giant bug''s bad news, boss!" Fenrir barked.


    "Don''t worry about her." I smiled. "Fenrir, simply lead your army to take down the small fry. We''ll take care of this one by ourselves."


    "V-Very well!" Fenrir nodded, rushing to do his duty.


    "SHIEEEEHHH!!!" The Wasp Queen flew towards us at a tremendous speed, her gigantic red eyes ring furiously at us, as her giant stinger moved rapidly, unleashing a barrage of piercing blows as if it were a rapidly-moving spear.


    CLASH! CLASH! CLASH! CLASH! CLASH! CLAAASH!


    I intercepted the blows using my spear, while Ibined my Demonic Energy with my Vampiric Energy, Blood Ki, Demonic mes Authority, and then the power of the Gluttony Authority.


    "You''re too foolish if you think you can just fight me head-on!" Iughed, dark red mes surged all across my body, shapeshifting into ferocious jaws and eyes.


    "[Vampiric Demonic Gluttonous mes]!"


    FLUOOOOOSH!


    The mes covered the giant Wasp Queen''s entire body, burning her slowly and devouring her Vitality and Mana at the same time.


    "KRIEEEEEHHH¡­!"


    She couldn''t fly anymore as her wings burned down, and immediately fell into the floor with a loud bang.


    BAAAAAMMMM¡­!


    "GGRIEEEEGGGH¡­!"


    However, even without being able to fly, she was still brave and ferocious. Against Eleanora and I, she unleashed a barrage of w attacks and biting blows and even while burning to death, her movement speed was impressive.


    "Your fate has already been sealed." Eleanoraughed, summoning her own Blood Crimson mes, and shaping them as spinning shadow shuriken, a storm of shuriken engulfed the giant bug. "[Blood re Infernal Shuriken Storm]!"


    "GRYYYYEEEEHHHH¡­!"


    BOOOOOOMMMMM!!!


    FLUOOOOOSH!


    A loud, all-consuming explosion of blood mes covered the giant bug, weakening it even further. The spinning shuriken, made of shadows and mes, constantly pierced, and shattered the bug''s exoskeleton, opening the way for us to pierce through those wounds and rot them away even further.


    Our spears danced together as we made a perfect pair. Blood and darkness surrounding ourselves as we devastated our foolish enemy. These moments were truly delightful, as they made me remember the memories of this previous life, of the many times I enjoyed destroying my foes with Eleanora at my side, my loyal, believe Eleanora.


    My powers and hers became one, as for a split of a second, she fused with my body, our spears became one, and they unleashed an ultimate barrage of blows. Thebined auras turning into a ferocious, Blood Dragon.


    CLASH! CLASH! CLASH! CLASH! CLASH! CLAAASH!


    "ROOOOOAAARRRRR!"


    BOOOOOOOMMMMM¡­!


    As the Blood Dragon engulfed the Wasp Queen into an explosion, the gigantic bug gave itsst scream of agony beforepletely dying¡­


    -----

 Chapter 685 Growing Stronger

    ?


    -----


    "[Spirit Fusion]!"


    My powers and Eleanora''s became one, as for a split of a second, she fused with my body, our spears became one, and they unleashed an ultimate barrage of blows. Thebined auras turning into a ferocious, Blood Dragon.


    CLASH! CLASH! CLASH! CLASH! CLASH! CLAAASH!


    "[Vampiric Blood Spear Arts]: [Gluttonous Blood re Dragon]!"


    "ROOOOOAAARRRRR!"


    A gigantic dragon made of blood, darkness, and mes surged from within our blows,pletely devouring the entire Wasp Queen, and then, detonating into a devastating explosion.


    BOOOOOOOMMMMM¡­!


    "KRIIEEEEEGGGHHHHH¡­!"


    As the Blood Dragon engulfed the Wasp Queen into an explosion, the gigantic bug gave itsst scream of agony beforepletely dying. The beast''s charred body fell into the floor,pletely immobile.


    At this point, C Ranked Monsters seemed like a joke, and I had yet to even gopletely all-out since my battle against Beelzebub, the amount of power we have acquired was simply insane.


    Maybe after this, we''ll even brave a B Rank Dungeon, who knows¡­


    Ding!


    [You and your allies have defeated [Ferocious Red Wasp Queen (C++ Rank)] x1 and [Ferocious Giant Wasps (C+ Rank)] x33 [Giant ck Spiders (C Rank)] x27 [Berserk Giant Scorpions (C Rank)] x16!]


    [You earned 82.000.000 EXP!]


    [LEVEL UP!]


    [LEVEL UP!]


    [LEVEL UP!]


    [LEVEL UP!]


    [LEVEL UP!]


    [LEVEL UP!]


    [Your Level has increased from Level 48 to level 54!]


    [All Your Stats have increased.]


    [You earned Bonus Stat Points and Skill Points.]


    [Your [Spirit Orb Realm]: [Rank 3 (Middle Stage)] has increased to Rank 3: Upper Stage!]


    [All your Stats have increased; your Spirits have be much stronger.]


    [Your [Psyche]: [Vampiric Soul Psyche (Tier 4: Rank 1)] has increased to Tier 4: Rank 3!]


    [All your Stats have increased; your soul has been strengthened.]


    [Your [Magic Circle]: [Abyssal Blood Circle (Tier 4: Rank 3)] has increased to Tier 4: Rank 5!]


    [All your Stats have increased; your Magic Spells have be much stronger.]


    [Your [Demon Core]: [Hungry Demon Core (Tier 2: Rank 5)] has increased to Tier 2: Rank 7!]


    [All your Stats have increased; your Demonic Energy has be richer.]


    Good, looks like I have grown much stronger once more. Six Levels in a single row is excellent. After having struggled for so much back when I was younger to Level up, to level up so fast now¡­ It truly feels good.


    "Hahh¡­ I''m tired¡­"


    POOF!


    Eleanora quickly stopped her fusion, resting over the Wasp Queen''s head.


    "The Spirit Fusion wasn''t even that necessary¡­" I said with a giggle. "Did you felt so excited you wanted to merge with me?"


    "E-Eh?!" Eleanora suddenly blushed. "T-That''s not it¡­ Well, it does feels¡­ it feels good."


    "Sexually?" I wondered.


    "W-Wha¡­?!" Eleanora quickly changed her attitude, from the bloodthirsty vampiricdy to an innocent maiden. "N-No, that''s not it! Don''t be a pervert¡­"


    "Sorry, I just like to tease you sometimes." Iughed. "Anyways, [Store]"


    FLASH!


    The entire Wasp Queen corpse disappeared in a single second, stored inside of my Inventory. As the other bugs were all dead too, I picked them up one after another, and using the Inventory''s Dismantling ability, I separated them all into pieces and parts, separating the Spirit Orbs they held.


    As of now, we had already farmed over a hundred Spirit Orbs, they were one of the most valuable resources in this country, alongside the Monster Materials, of course. And well, there was also the Treasures within the Dungeons.


    Every time the Dungeon Boss is defeated, they''ll drop a Treasure Chest, much like the previous ones we''ve visited before, usually low ranked dungeons give some gold coins, magic gems, and sometimes, pieces of low grade equipment.


    To make our funds we''ve mostly sold everything we get, and we split our earnings regarding the monsters. But we''vee to an agreement where I''ll give away 70% of my monster materials to all my friends instead if they gave me 50% of their Spirit Orbs, which we came to an agreement.


    Some of them wanted to just give them all to me, knowing my Job ss needed them, but I didn''t wanted things to be so unfair, so I decided to pay them back too.


    "Anyways, with this, we''re almost done! Thest floor''s the next one!" Erika said with excitement, running to my side. "Oh? Was I interrupting something?" She giggled.


    "A-Ah, nothing at all¡­" Eleanora sighed while blushing a bit. "Anyways, is anybody too tired? Maybe we should move down immediately and take advantage of the buff we have."


    "I guess you might be right in that regard. With Lily, we can extend the duration of the Buff Cards to twenty minutes, we''ve taken around¡­ Nine minutes to take down everything here." I said with a smile. "Should we continue?"


    "Alright, I''m not tired either." Eric nodded. "Alberta, are you?"


    "Oh? A-Ahahah, aside from the bug guts over my armor, I-I''m fine!" Said Alberta. "The Buff Card of the zing Bear is really good at keeping me from exhausting myself!"


    Alberta had be a mixed fighter, between a frontliner tank, a long-ranged damage dealer, and also our support cksmith. She was quite crucial, so if she was tired, we would rest.


    "I''m also alright." Elfriedden nodded. "Let''s get down right away, we can''t waste this power¡­"


    "Same! Let''s do it!" Chris said with augh.


    "Okay then, let''s continue our charge!" Imanded.


    Swiftly, by riding Fenrirs and while I was riding the Cave Drake, we moved downstairs at an amazing pace, reaching thest floor so loudly that once wended on the ground, we were greeted by over a dozen Giant ck Spiders, the only rulers of thest floor.


    After all, this Dungeon was the Nest of the gigantic ck Spider Queen who rested on its depths. Her children, which could even reach as many as a hundred, happily greeted our arrival with fierce roars and sharp, red eyes.


    "SHIEEEEEHHH!"


    "KRIIEEEHH!"


    "SHAAAAH!"


    Hissing ferociously at us, the Giant ck Spiders charged towards us right away, their enormous legs making the entire dungeon tremble with each step.


    -----

 Chapter 686 Landing On The Third And Last Floor!

    ?


    -----


    Once we arrived at the third Dungeon Floor, we were greeted by arge group of Giant ck Spiders, all of them being as strong as C+ Rank. Their very presences exuded powerful, dark auras; however, they weren''t any stronger than the ones we''ve faced on the first and second floors anyways.


    "Charge! AWOOOOO!" Roared Fenrir,manding the troops of Familiars.


    "Attack from above! Don''t let them sneak out of Fenrir''s army!" Roared Draco.


    The two Familiar Generals led the two small armies of Familiars. The Grizzlies equipped with ws quickly tanked the hits of the giant spiders, while distracting them and using their sharp ws to hold them in ce.


    Meanwhile, groups of weaker Fenrirs sneaked around them while carrying Spores above their bodies, spreading poisonous spores, and paralyzing spores, weakening them.


    At the same time, a squadron of flying Familiars,posed of Dracos, Huginn, and Falcos fired long-ranged magic attacks from above, constantly doing some extra damage while not losing anything themselves.


    Lastly, a squadron of Ogre Shaman Kings gathered behind Fenrir, unleashing devastating Elemental Magic of Lightning, Ice, and Fire, constantly shaking the surroundings.


    And all of that in just half a minute. The power of my Familiars was increasing more and more, and their utility was bing clear to my friends, and also, soon to the whole country, continent, and the world.


    Much like the ancient summoner, Allen, the power to summon Familiars is designed as a way to fight against the endless armies of the demons, and their relentless desire to conquer this world.


    Those battlefields where even the Continental Alliance cannot break through will eventually need our help, so I have to train as hard as I can for that day that is soon toe.


    "Now, everyone, fight! While the monsters are distracted and being weakened!" Imanded, my Vampire Spirits and the rest of my friends charged into the fight.


    And wile multi-tasking to manage my Summons, I also stepped into the battle. Our powerful magic and skills, boosted thanks to the Buff Cards effects greatly improved our battle prowess.


    "These Buff Cards you''ve made are insane, I''ve never felt so strong before!" Laughed Erdrich.


    "Y-Yeah! Let''s continue charging in!" Alberta nodded.


    "Let''s go!" Erika roared, flying with her wings.


    The trio charged forward in the frontlines, sometimes without even waiting the Giant Grizzlies to catch up to tank the hits and beating the Giant Spiders with their mighty blows and magic spells.


    Erdrich''s physical prowess was unparalleled, as he charged forward everything was set aze with Demonic mes, his fists and kicks torn the monsters body parts to pieces, his furious charge was unstoppable, like a legendary Asura.


    Alberta was growing more ustomed to stepping into battle using her heavy, reinforced golem armor, which enhanced her physical might and could even fire out spells by itself, and her giant hammer, which could change its size at will, facilitating the process of crushing enemies.


    Erika, well¡­ She was Erika, charging recklessly in the frontlines was her specialty,bining her skills together, she bombarded the spiders with deadly dragon breath attacks, swung her giant demonic sword to cut down foes, andbined the powers of her Dolls into Spirit Weapons for long-ranged attacks.


    Meanwhile, at my side, Elizabeth, Eric, Elfriedden, and Chrisbined their magical prowess, firing devastating long-ranged magic attacks that cleansed any mess the frontliners left behind.


    Before the might of ourbined efforts, the spiders continued falling one after another, their corpses being left out in the floor and quickly disappearing as they were transported into my Inventory.


    Dozens of spiders fell, which quickly became over twenty, thirty, forty, fifty, sixty¡­ When we reached over seventy spiders dead, we decided to take a break, as the buffs of the Buff Cards had already disappeared, and with that came extreme fatigue.


    Ding!


    [You and your Allies have defeated [Giant ck Spider Warriors (C+ Rank)] x76!]


    [You earned 76.000.000 EXP!]


    [LEVEL UP!]


    [LEVEL UP!]


    [LEVEL UP!]


    [LEVEL UP!]


    [LEVEL UP!]


    [Your Level has increased from Level 54 to level 59!]


    [All Your Stats have increased.]


    [You earned Bonus Stat Points and Skill Points.]


    The amount of EXP that C+ Rank monsters gave was utterly insane, usually being 500k EXP, but thanks to my Hard Worker Skill at Max Level, that EXP doubled to 1 Million. Nheless, the requirements I need to level up are just as ridiculous, asking for millions of EXP per level, no normal person would be able to level up like this without the bonuses I''ve worked hard to obtain.


    Once we decide to take a rest, I quickly set up a barrier around us using all the grizzlies we had, with Fenrir and the Dracos watching over. We''ve cleansed mostly all the monsters within this area of the floor anyways.


    Using my scouting Familiars and the small Shadow Spider Golems, I was able to easily discern this entirebyrinthian Dungeon in mere seconds, and wrote it all down into my Grimoire. With this, I was able to discern that we''ve mostly gone through the slower, yet more rewarding route EXP-wise.


    There were a few small fries lurking far away, but most of the concentration of this colony was located on its depths, where the Queen was located. Seems like they have panicked and instantly went to protect her without confronting us anymore, but that''ll make things much easier for us, we can go to the dungeon''s depths and instantly finish this job.


    "Looks like we''re almost done anyways." I said. "Most of the monsters went to protect the final boss, so once we get down there, we''ll be able to finish this quickly."


    "That''s reassuring¡­ I''m tired." Eric sighed.


    "Y-Yeah¡­ Finally." Alberta smiled.


    "Phew, I''m exhausted¡­ We fought so much I''ve ran out of all my Stamina and Mana by now!" Erika sighed, feelingpletely exhausted. "Potions alone won''t do it¡­ I need some tasty meal from my boyfriend!" She nced at me with puppy eyes.


    "Yeah, yeah!" Elizabeth nodded.


    "I wouldn''t mind something yummy before the big boss." Eleanora smiled charmingly.


    "¡­Fine, let''s make something simple though, we don''t have all the time of the world." I sighed.


    It seems I''ve grown ustomed to spoil these girls¡­


    -----

 Chapter 687 A Meal Before The Last Battle In The Dungeon

    ?


    -----


    "And done!" I said pridefully. "Enjoy. I''ve decided to add some ingredients we''ve harvested in this Dungeon for a change. Don''t worry, they''ve been purified of poisons and toxins."


    I quickly served over the table dozens of tes filled to the brim with fried rice with a side of breaded and deep fried pork wild boar cutlet, and some ketchup on top. This fried rice was easy to make, as I had a lot of already boiled rice prepared beforehand.


    I added some vegetables such as green onions, some garlic, and small bits of carrot, alongside adding some garlic, and Walking Mushroom bits. Oh, and of course, I added the soft, white beat of the boiled ws of the Fiery Scorpions, which were delicious, much more than crab, and free of poisonous toxins.


    "W-Woah, you added mushrooms and bug meat?" Wondered Erika. "It looks yummy even if it has that! Is this really bug meat? It''s so soft and sweet, like crab or shrimp!"


    "It''s the meat of the ws of those giant scorpions, the meat was delicious, and free of poisons, so I decided to add it into small chunks." I smiled. "Usually, such high-quality monster meat would sell for a high price in the market."


    "I-I can''t believe this meat came from huge scorpions, it''s so nice!" Elizabeth was filling her cheeks with the food. "A-And the rice, I''ve never tasted something so vorful before!"


    "Right¡­ My country has many rice dishes but nothing like this!" Alberta said. "H-How did you made it?"


    "I need to know so I can cook for Alberta!" Eric implored me. "Please ke tell me the recipe!"


    "Hahah, well, it is simple, I just fried the rice that was already boiled and left behind inside my inventory. Added vegetables, soy sauce, and other sweet and tangy sauces, some vinegar too, and meat chunks." I exined. "Nothing tooplicated."


    "Fried rice¡­" Elfriedden said. "We''ve never thought about such a preparation before. Well, the rice originates from the Elven Continent, and we usually dislike eating oils and greasy foods¡­ So I guess it is easy to exin why nobody ever thought about such a preparation."


    "This deep fried and crunchy pork cutlet is so goodbined with the rice, and the "ketchup" thingy made out of tomatoes is also really good as a sauce¡­" Erdrich said. "Your cooking is amazing, ke¡­"


    "Well I mostly do this so you can regain your energy faster. Cooking while using the Cooking Skill and Mana will create dishes that can restore MP and Ki, and also grant you several buffs." I lectured them. "I''m not doing it because I enjoy cooking or something, it is merely what''s necessary."


    "Heheh, sure~" Elizabeth giggled.


    "That''s not something really believable¡­" Eleanora said with a teasing smile.


    "Well sometimes it really feels like you enjoy it." Erika smiled. "Can I get seconds?"


    "Sure." I nodded, giving her more rice and another cutlet. "Don''t eat too fast or your stomach will hurt. We need to get in top condition."


    As everyone enjoyed the meals and, quite honestly, I did too, I was also multi-tasking, creating a few more Buff Cards in the meantime. The ones that worked the best were the ones that I had given to everyone, so I decided to keep it that way.


    However, I multiplied Fenrir and created a few Buff Cards out of him too, as I wanted to see what powers I would acquire by using them. The buffs were also rather good, evolved familiars seemed slightly stronger than the normal familiars at their same Rank.


    After some setting up, we were ready to continue. With everybody''s Mana and Ki fully recovered, and with several good buffs to their stats thanks to the meals, we were ready to take down this dungeon once and for all.


    Rapidly, we rushed towards its depths, battling any rogue Giant Spider we found on the way and eliminating them mercilessly. I mostly kept the heavy grizzlies inside my Grimoire for now, as they were too slow to be able to run at our own pace.


    And one we arrived at ourst stop, we were greeted with an enormous nest covered on countlessyers of Spiderwebs, and dozens of Giant Spider Warriors waiting us there. Among them, I also noticedrger and much stronger Spiders, of around five times the size of the other giants, named Giant ck Spider Goliaths, which were C++ Rank.


    "Alright everyone, let''s get this over with!" I said with a smile. "[Buff Card]!"


    FLASH! FLASH! FLASH! FLASH! FLASH! FLASH!


    Dozens of Buff Cards floated around me, as they began flying towards all of my friends, even including my own Vampire Spirits, as the buffs could work on them as well, obviously.


    Powerful auras of each Buff Card corresponding to a Familiar began overflowing across their bodies. The limit was 2 per target, so that''s exactly what I did.


    Meanwhile, I absorbed the Buff Card of w and one of Fenrir.


    Ding!


    [You have absorbed the [Buff Card: Living Demonic ws (D++ Rank)]! Your HP and STR have increased by +2000, and you can now use the [Life Draining Attack] and [Rotting Wounds] Skills for 10 minutes.]


    [You have absorbed the [Buff Card: Giant Shadow Specter Horned Wolf (D++ Rank)]! Your AGI and DEX have increased by +2200, and you can now use the [Shadow Traveler] and [Spectral Form] Skills for 10 minutes.]


    [You have reached the Max Amount of Buff Cards per target: 2/2]


    In just mere seconds, I gained over eight thousand stat bonuses. Yeah, they onlysted 10 Minutes, and were quite expensive to make, but the results were tremendously good. Everyone else gained at most 8k Stats with two cards at a time, their power more than doubling.


    And that''s without adding up all the buffs from my other Skills and Spells, which enhanced all our Stats even further. Maybe alone and without such buffs, we wouldn''t be able to fight these fearful beasts¡­ But with them, and careful nning, we canpletely crush them.


    "It''s time." I smiled. "Mercilessly crush them all!"


    -----

 Chapter 688 Devastating Everything

    ?


    -----


    Ding!


    [You have absorbed the [Buff Card: Living Demonic ws (D++ Rank)]! Your HP and STR have increased by +2000, and you can now use the [Life Draining Attack] and [Rotting Wounds] Skills for 10 minutes.]


    [You have absorbed the [Buff Card: Giant Shadow Specter Horned Wolf (D++ Rank)]! Your AGI and DEX have increased by +2200, and you can now use the [Shadow Traveler] and [Spectral Form] Skills for 10 minutes.]


    [You have reached the Max Amount of Buff Cards per target: 2/2]


    With thebined power of these two Buff Cards, even my body went through some changes. My hands grew giant, ck metallic ws, and ck fur grew around my arms, legs, and my chest.


    I suddenly gained a wolf-like tail, ears, and sharp red eyes like those Fenrir possess. I felt my aura surging with the power of the Spectral and Phantasmal Element, and my Shadow Element was boosted even more.


    It was time to fight a bit more wildly this time, I was done withmanding from the back and craved some bloodshed for once. My Vampiric instincts are only growing stronger as my physique develops, satiating them with ughtering monsters is the best I can do.


    Later, I''ll satiate it by ughtering demons and drinking their demonic blood to strengthen my Demon Powers, but for now, it''ll have to suffice with this instead.


    "It''s time." I smiled. "Mercilessly crush them all!" Imanded, my Vampire Summons alsomanded with simr words, activating the Command Skill multiple times.


    Their effects stacking over, and giving everyone tremendous boosts to all their stats as a result of obeying suchmands. With my Familiars recently summoned, my Vampire Spirits, and my loyal allies, we charged in.


    I stepped forward before anybody else, Erika, Elizabeth, and Eleanora at my left, right, and behind me. These women were much loyal than I imagined, to dare step into the bloodshed I will create without any fear of my might. They''re truly deserving of staying at my side as my beloved ones.


    "KRIEEEEEHHH!!!" The scream of the Arachnid Queen echoed from behind, as she alsomanded her troops.


    The Spider Goliaths and the Warriors charged forward, slowly as they were too big to move quickly. The scream of the queen wasn''t just that though.


    FLUOOOOOOOSH!


    A powerful Aura of Darkness and Mana surged from within her, wherever she was hidden, boosting the Stats of her troops greatly.


    Ding!


    [The [The Giant ck Spider Queen (C+++ Rank)] hasmanded her troops to fight! Her powerful [Arachnid Queen''s Aura] has coated her servants, boosting their might!]


    [All of the Arachnid Queen''s servants Stats have increased by +100%, and their Physical and Magical Damage has increased by a further +50%, while their Damage Taken has decreased by -30%!]


    "Quite the mighty buff¡­" I smiled, leaping into action, and using both my ws and my demonic spear,bining it with my powerful auras converging together constantly. "But sadly for you, that''s not going to make this any different!"


    CLAAAAASSSHHH!!!


    My ws and my spearnded over the head of a Giant Spider Goliath, piercing through its hard exoskeleton and shattering its head apart, which quickly exploded into pieces.


    BAAAAAMM¡­!


    The huge behemoth fell into the floor, death on the spot. Its life essence rushed into my own body, fortifying my strength even further.


    The other spiders quickly stopped moving, in a mere second, one of their mightiest warriors died like nothing, crushed like the bug it was.


    "What''s wrong? Are you not going to protect the queen with your life?" I smiled, the green blood of the goliath gathering above my head, forming a sphere of green blood, and then shaping into thousands of spears, swords, and axes. "Then how about this for yourst meal? [Blood Judgement]"


    The projectiles fell and exploded on contact, covering the battlefield with huge explosions, bybining Blood Judgement with Authority of Gluttony and the Demonic mes Authority, the lethality of such attack became even higher, huge, all-consuming explosions covered our foes, burning them.


    BOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOM!!!


    Over a dozen of the Spiders that were caught in the mess died instantly, although more kepting, the majority ended heavily wounded. The mes kept spreading around, creating an inferno for the spiders.


    Their spiderwebs were easily burned into ashes, and their legs couldn''t get away from the Blood Gluttony Demonic mes, a crazybination that both held the power of draining their HP and MP through Gluttony, stay active across their bodies like a curse through the power of Demonic mes, and that lowered their stats and drained their blood through the power of the Blood Attribute.


    "Hmph, I won''t let you take all the credit." Elfriedden said.


    "Come on! You can''t just try to take them all down like that, ke! Don''t be unfair!" Laughed Chris.


    "Let us assist you, even if a bit." Eric smiled.


    The trio attacked from the skies, as they were all flying by using the powerful Buff Card of Draco, that granted them wings they could use to easily fly in midair without problems, much cheaper than using a Levitation spell that drained too much MP.


    Elfriedden''s needle and threads wrapped around dozens of spiders at once, instantly freezing their legs and shattering them apart, making most of them fall into the floor helplessly. At the same time, Chris sted them with his falling fireballs, and gigantic sun res, while Eric assisted with explosive arrows that spread roots and nts, wrapping around the monsters, and stopping their movements, inhibiting their ability to easily escape the destruction.


    "Well done, keep up the pace." I nodded, as I continued piercing through the army of Spiders with my ws and spear alone, and of course, some destructive magic in the middle.


    Elizabeth, Erika, and Eleanora stayed by my side, covering my blind spots. Their respective abilities came in handy, with Erika''s destructive reckless charge, Elizabeth''s healing, buffs, and blinding light magic, and Eleanora''s swift and precise movements coupled with her zing scarlet mes.


    As we made our way across the battlefield, we reached the depths of the Giant Spider Nest, and the cornered Queen greeted us with furious red eyes.


    "Well, hello there."


    "KRIEEEEEEHHHHH¡­!"


    -----

 Chapter 689 Clashing Against The Dungeon Boss!

    ?


    -----


    Ding!


    [You have entered the depths of the Dungeon! The [The Giant ck Spider Queen (C+++ Rank)] greets you with a furious roar.]


    [Her very furious presence awakens her hidden prowess, as an Aura of Darkness and Demonic Nature surges across her body.]


    [All of the [The Giant ck Spider Queen (C+++ Rank)]''s Stats have increased by +200%, and her Physical and Magical Damage has increased by a further +100%, while her Damage Taken has decreased by -50%!]


    [By sacrificing the Life Force of her subjects, the [The Giant ck Spider Queen (C+++ Rank)] further enhances her Stats! Each dead servant increases all her stats by an additional +10%!]


    "Hoh, so you''ve got quite the set of tricks." Eleanora smiled, sensing the spider''s presence and figuring out how the life force of all the dead spiders we''ve massacred became her strength.


    "SHAAAAAAAHHH!!!"


    TRUM! TRUM! TRUM! TRUM! TRUM!


    The Spider Queen charged towards us without hesitation, her gigantic legs made the entire cave tremble. Her mandibles opened widely, as she channeled her magical power and unleashed a devastating breath attack akin to a dragon.


    FLAAAAAASH!


    BOOOOOOOMMMM¡­!


    The enormous beam of destruction was the result of the Spider Queen''s own darkness and poison attribute magicbined together, the beamnded right in front of us, but we managed to evade just by a few seconds, an huge crater was left behind, the rock melting.


    "Seems like it can unleash a breath attack like a dragon?" Wondered Eleanora. "Now this is new¡­"


    "Well, Breath Attacks are a staple on most powerful monsters." I said. "I was expecting a Spider Queen to possess such a power."


    "We have to just hit her on the head then!" Erika said with a lot of energy. "Though with that lethal attack-"


    "Evade!" Elizabeth cried, as the Spider Queen didn''t even let us speak, just a few seconds after her first attack, several rays of darkness and poison emerged from around her, as rotating magic circles unleashed them consecutively.


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOM!


    "SHAAAAAAHHH!!!" The Spider Queen was furious.


    She instantly started chasing us down as we evaded her powerful beams and rays of darkness. Her eyes suddenly beginning to glow red.


    FLAAASH!


    Suddenly, I felt a strange power epassing my entire body, attempting to paralyze it. Oh, I see so it has some sort of Evil Eye? I guess high level spiders do have stuff like that.


    However, Curses won''t affect me anymore with my Physique and the Authority of Gluttony.


    CRAAASH!


    With my bare hands, I shattered the curses cast upon my body, the gluttony''s authority devouring them whole and making thempletely disappear.


    "KRIEEEH?!" The Spider Queen was naturally shocked that one of her trump cards had simply no effect on me at all.


    "Let''s do this quick." I said. "If we dy things for too long, she''ll simply wear us down. I''ll be the bait, you girls attack that thing from behind once she has her full attention on me."


    "Wait, you''re the bait again?!" Elizabeth cried.


    "But ke!" Erikained.


    "I don''t want to endanger you unnecessarily." I smiled. "Just do as I say. Eleanora, guide them."


    "Very well." Eleanora nodded. "Girls, trust him. He knows what he''s doing."


    FLAAASH!


    I leaped into action, jumping directly towards the Spider Queen, a smile surged in her giant mandibles, as they opened whole, charging yet again more Mana.


    "SHAAAAAAHHH!!!"


    TRUUUUUUUMMMMM¡­!


    A gigantic beam of darkness and poison emerged out of her jaws, pointing itself towards me. If I were to take this head-on, I would surely get heavily wounded¡­ Well, not like it would be so easy for her anyways.


    "[Gluttony]! [The Devourer''s Domain]!" I roared, activating my powers into Gluttony by imbuing the spear with Demonic Energy, Vampiric Ki, andrge quantities of Mana.


    FLAAAASH!


    A powerful Domain of ck and red color surged around me, as hundreds of monstrous jaws manifested themselves, surrounding my body and then devouring the entire beam as I kept rushing forwards!


    CRUNCH! CRUNCH! CRUNCH! CRUNCH!


    "K-KRIEEEH?!" The Spider Queen was bbergasted as she saw her beam beingpletely devoured in mere seconds, just before I loaded my spear with all the power I held and sent it straight into one of her eyes!


    FLAAAAAASH!


    "KRAAH!"


    CRAAAAASSSSHH!!!


    The eye naturally exploded into pieces, as the Spear of Gluttony ended getting stuck on her flesh. The Spider Queen screamed in agony, as the infectious energy of the demonic spear began slowly weakening her insides.


    "KRIEEEEEHHHH! SHYAAAHHH!"


    TRUM! TRUM! TRUM! TRUM!


    Her enormous body charged towards me with all her fury. As she started shooting beams at me while trying to crush me with her giant legs.


    BOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOM! CRAAASH! CRAAASH! CRAAASH!


    "Now!" I roared. "This is the perfect opportunity, while her attention is fully concentrated on me!" I said, as Erika, Elizabeth, and Eleanora were already above the Spider Queen.


    "[Spirit Weapon Fusion]!" Erika roared, fusing several of her Doll Spirits into her own Demonic Sword, which suddenly grew up to three times its original size, overflowing with Mana and Spiritual Energy, and glowing red and blue. "RAAAAAHH!!!"


    CRAAAAAASSSSHHH!!!


    She fell right over the Spider Queen''s "neck" or the area between her head and her torso, slicing through it but not managing topletely cut it out. The spider Queen roared in agony, blood spraying everywhere.


    "[Yggdrasil''s Life Draining Roots]!" Erika continued, spreading roots across the wound, and beginning to constantly drain the Spider Queen''s vitality before she could even do a thing.


    "SHYAAAAHH¡­!" The Spider Queen screamed in agony, beginning to shake her body trying to get Erika away from her.


    "[Spirit Fusion]!" Meanwhile, Elizabeth channeled the power of the Holy Dragon into her own body fusing with him.


    A power that Ellergest had almostpletely mastered, despite only being Rank 3, which allowed him to even fight foes several ranks above him.


    FLAAAAAASH!


    Elizabeth''s body was covered on shiny golden scales, as she gained big golden scaled wings, a long draconic tail, sharp golden horns growing from her forehead, and ferocious, draconic golden eyes, shining like stars themselves.


    "[Spirit Weapon Transformation]!" She roared, descending from above as the Mountain Turtle swiftly transformed into a huge hammer, impacting the Spider Queen''s head!


    BAAAAAAAAMMMMM¡­!


    -----

 Chapter 690 Slaying The Dungeon Boss, Dungeon Clear!

    ?


    -----


    By fusing with the Holy Dragon Spirit, and by transforming the Mountain Turtle Spirit into a huge hammer, Elizabeth switched roles from a long-ranged magician and supporter to a powerful close-range fighter.


    "[Spirit Weapon Transformation]!" She roared, descending from above as the Mountain Turtle swiftly transformed into a huge hammer, impacting the Spider Queen''s head!


    BAAAAAAAAMMMMM¡­!


    The hammer impacted the head of the Spider Queen with furious strength. The impact alone shattered the floor below and formed countless spears made of stone surge from within one after the other!


    CRAAASH! CRAAASH! CRAAASH!


    "[Holy Dragon Breath]!" Elizabeth roared, opening her jaws and unleashing a devastating beam of pure holy light.


    BOOOOOOOMMMM!!!


    "KRIEEEHHH¡­!"


    The Spider Queen screamed in agony, stepping back, covered on wounds. She created several barriers made of darkness, while shooting her own beams of darkness. I joined in the fight and supported Erika and Elizabeth in those seconds, reflecting the beams while shooting magic bullets with my handgun.


    At the same time¡­ Eleanora sneaked behind the Spider Queen, who was already cornered and weakened to her limits. A smile surged in her devilish red lips, as her Demonic Spear, Envy channeled her energies.


    "[Descending Crimson Star]!"


    FLAAAAASH!


    Like a falling star of red color, she descended from above, piercing through the Spider Queen''s torso all the way down to the ground, green blood and spider guts sttered everywhere.


    CRAAAAAAASSSSHHHH!!!


    "SHYAAAAAAEEEGGGHH¡­!"


    The Spider Queen somehow remained alive, kicking Eleanora from within midair furiously and throwing her down into the floor.


    BAAAAM¡­!


    "Ungh¡­!" Eleanora''s managed to not take too much damage by turning into a bat in thest moment before falling into the floor, however, the Spider Queen directed her furious gaze at us.


    A phantasmal aura surged from her body, a new power we didn''t expected to seeing from her¡­ This was new and wasn''t within the reports either.


    Ding!


    [The [The Giant ck Spider Queen (C+++ Rank)] HP have reached below 90%, the Hidden Skill [Phantasmal Spider Queen''s Specter] has manifested!]


    [She will not die until she takes down all her opponents!]


    FLAAAAASH!


    "KRIEEEEHH!"


    A spectral aura resembling the Spider Queen surged from her dying body. It was as if her very soul was not giving up against us.


    "How cute." I sighed, stepping towards the phantasmal aura, and swinging my hands several times. "[Soul Devour]"


    My Demonic Arm transformed into a monstrous, amorphous jaw that began to absorb the phantasmal aura, and the soul of the dying Spider Queen.


    FLUOOOOOSH!


    "GRYYAAAAAAHHHH¡­!"


    The Spider Queen screamed in agony, incapable of being able to do anything. In just a split of a second, her soul was devoured.


    "That was much easier than I imagined, you shouldn''t had exposed your soul to me like that." I sighed. "Oh well, that''s that."


    Ding!


    [You and your Allies have defeated [Giant ck Spider Warriors (C+ Rank)] x136!]


    [You and your Allies have defeated [Giant ck Spider Goliaths (C++ Rank)] x12!]


    [You and your Allies have defeated [The Giant ck Spider Queen (C+++ Rank)] x1!]


    [You earned 156.000.000 EXP!]


    [LEVEL UP!]


    [LEVEL UP!]


    [LEVEL UP!]


    [LEVEL UP!]


    [LEVEL UP!]


    [LEVEL UP!]


    [Your Level has increased from Level 59 to level 65!]


    [All Your Stats have increased.]


    [You earned Bonus Stat Points and Skill Points.]


    Erika and Elizabeth nced at the scene, incapable of believing how swift the Spider Queen perished. I guess it makes sense, they really thought it would be a tough second phase.


    "Well, it''s more than over." I said with a smile. "Thanks for your help, let''s go back to the surface and take a well-deserved break."


    "W-Woah¡­ Okay!" Erika nodded. "You''ve be so strong though! What was that move?!"


    "You used that Demonic Arm you have¡­" Elizabeth said. "And sucked a whole soul?!"


    "Yeah, more or less." I nodded. "Did it scare you?"


    "A-Ah, of course not¡­" Elizabeth blushed a bit. "I think it was pretty¡­ pretty cool too."


    "Heh, let''s go then." I said, helping the two stand up from the ground, as Eleanoranded on my head in her bat form.


    "This was like a walk on the park! The day hasn''t even ended and we''re done here, what a pity." Eleanora sighed. "Oh well, for now, let''s go rest."


    "Oh, look!" Erika pointed. "A Treasure Chest! There''s one! For real this time!"


    Suddenly, a gold-colored treasure chest appeared in the middle of the room. We cautiously walked towards it, and then opened its contents.


    Inside, there were millions of gold coins, and a single weapon. It was a huge sword made out of a purple and red metal named "Magicite Ore".


    The sword was a B- Grade Magicite Magic Sword, I''ve seen them before in the market, they sell for around fifty million gold, that''s pretty good all things considered.


    "Woah, shiny sword!" Erika grabbed the sword. "But¡­ it is kind ofmepared to my own."


    "Normal weapons are indeedmerpared to Demon Weapons." Laughed Eleanora.


    "We can sell it then, no?" Wondered Elizabeth.


    "Yeah, we''ll sell it and distribute what we earn equally between everyone. Alongside this gold too. For now I''ll keep it safe though." I quickly stored everything inside of my Inventory.


    "ke! Everyone! Are you safe- Ah¡­" Alberta and Eric came running here, only to find the hue corpse of the Spider Queen. "I-I guess you did it already! N-Nice!"


    "Yeah, I should had expected this, hahaah¡­" Eric sighed.


    "Woah, you guys already beat us to it?!" Chris asked in shock.


    "Impressive, you beat that thing faster than I thought¡­" Elfriedden sighed.


    "Why are you even feeling disappointed about it?" Erdrich wondered. "Anyways, ke, can you pick up the rest of the spiders? We''ve taken them all down by now. Let''s go back to the surface, man, I really want to take a shower. I smell like bug juice¡­ Ugh."


    "Hahaha, alright." I nodded, quickly storing everything as we made our way back to the surface.


    Once we walked out, we found Evelyn almost in the same spot she was before we left, her eyes opened wide.


    "H-Huh? Are you alright? Did you retreat?" She wondered. "Is everything okay?!"


    "Retreat?" I asked. "We''ve conquered the Dungeon already."


    "Eh?" Evelyn couldn''t believe it. "Y-You did it¡­ in less than¡­ t-three hours?! EEEEEHHHH?!"


    -----

 Chapter 691 The Dungeon Might Have Been EVEN Stronger

    ?


    -----


    It seems thatpleting the C++ Rank Dungeon in three hours was too much, it caused amotion all over the city and the academy once we arrived to say the report. As a proof we showed the corpses of the monsters, and someone went down to investigate, and confirmed that no monsters remained at all, not even the smallest of fries.


    "A-And you''re saying that the C++ Rank Dungeon is actually C+++?!" Hasan, the director of Stronghold Academy asked, in shock.


    Alongside him, there was Evelyn, Cattalina, Erika''s mother, and Magic Theory Professor, Hector, the Swordsmanship and History Professor, Lady Ataraxia, the Alchemy Professor, Sir Hellburn, the cksmithing and Machinery Professor, andstly Lady Cecilia, the Sewing and Clothing Professor.


    "Yeah, the Spider Queen was C+++ Rank, so shouldn''t the difficulty be increased to warn others?" I asked. "It also presented a new form that wasn''t reported before, when her HP dropped below 90%, she summoned her own soul as a ghost of sorts, it could had easily taken adventurers down if they didn''t knew of this¡­"


    "I see¡­" Ataraxia, who was actually also a Monster Biologist, nodded. "This is interesting, it seems that the monsters have mutated, is that dungeon bing stronger, I wonder? Oh well, we might end up with a new B Rank Dungeon in the future, maybe."


    "Hmmm¡­ But this is truly a surprise, Alberta, I am very proud of you as your uncle for what you''ve aplished!" Hellburn gave Alberta some head pats. "I will tell this to your father and siblings asap! They''ll learn how strong you are now!"


    "U-Uncle¡­" Alberta smiled a bit. "Thank you¡­ for believing in me too!"


    "Hahaha, of course, you brat!" The dwarfughed happily.


    "This is a great aplishment for our family, dear." Erika''s mother smiled. "Well done, you''ve continued surprising me since the day you arrived here¡­ I am so very proud of you."


    "Mom¡­" Erika got emotional and hugged her mother.


    "I-Is it such a big deal?" Chris wondered. "Aren''t you guys just exaggerating? The Dungeon wasn''t so hard¡­ All things considered."


    "It wasn''t?!" Hasan asked in shock. "You kids are sure monsters¡­ I just hope the other teams can aplish their test properly. Well, due to your aplishments all of you already have perfect scores anyways. So congrats." He smiled.


    "Shouldn''t Hero Dn be here to congratte us as well?" I wondered. "Where is that guy?"


    "Oh Dn?" Hector asked. "He recently mobilized out of the city with a squadron of Soldiers to y demons near one of the Demon Towers."


    "I see¡­ Well, seems like he''s quite busy." I sighed. "Anyways, can we go now?"


    "Y-Yeah, I guess you can go for now, kids." Hasan sighed. "Well done in the dungeon. At first I doubted to get you to a higher ss, but I guess I was justpletely wrong, you''re outstanding. Maybe¡­ maybe humanity does have hope."


    Hasan looked into the window, looking rather mncholic. Like that, after the arduous day, we decided to finally take a break and rest. I dedicated myself to mostly meditate and check on my new Skills in more detail.


    With my Vampire Spirit''s aid, I dedicated myself to butcher the monster corpses and cut them into pieces, deciding what to sell and what to keep. Naturally, the Spirit Orbs remained with me, and now I had over four hundred C Rank Spirit Orbs. Enough to try out summoning some new Familiarster on.


    The next morning came rather quickly, as I gathered with my friends for breakfast. Cattalina was also there, cooking breakfast for us to celebrate our sessful Dungeon Conquest.


    "Now you''ve got the whole week for free, do you n on doing something?" She wondered.


    "Hm, I haven''t thought about it." Sighed Elfriedden. "Though I might just continue perfecting my Skills for now."


    "I''m going to go eat some fancy food at some restaurants, I''ve got a lot of money now." Chris said.


    "Such a childish thing¡­" Erdrich sighed.


    "Hey I''m just 13! What else would you want me to do anyways?!" Chrisined.


    "I was thinking on continuing my research and improvement upon Machinery with Alberta." Eric said. "Though, we might go on a date or somethingter."


    "Y-Yeah¡­" Alberta blushed a bit.


    "A date¡­" Erika said, quickly ncing at me with a cat-like face.


    "Ah¡­ Fine, we can go on a dateter." I sighed.


    "Me too?" Elizabeth asked.


    "Sure." I nodded.


    "A-And me?" Eleanora asked from behind me.


    "Alright." I nodded once more.


    All three girls blushed and smiled happily, Cattalina quickly noticed this, giggling a bit.


    "You''re quite the young man to be able to handle three girls at once, ke." She smiled. "Though, you better not take any more than that, alright? I''m not going to tolerate any outsider other than my daughter''s best friends, which she even considers her sisters."


    "I am not the type of man that is constantly seeking women, Lady Cattalina." I sighed, feeling slightly offended.


    "Lady Cattalina, did you had to be so harsh?" Elizabeth sighed. "Ah, well, let''s change the topic. Has there been any news about the Demon Cultists, or Sathan''s conspiracy?"


    "Oh, I was about to talk about that¡­" Cattalina nodded. "Well, just yesterday I got some news, but I''ve been sorting them out. Some of my insiders in the Royal Capital have been spying on her and told me she suspiciously takes an underground passage into the city''s central area, where she gathers with mysterious, ck-cloaked people."


    "Anything more?" I asked. "My golems and familiars had yet to reach the capital, so I cannot spy on them yet¡­"


    "That''s all they told me, they said they were too afraid to step into wherever they were¡­" Cattalina sighed. "They told me that they felt as if¡­ a strange, demonic presence was watching over them. If they overstepped from their boundaries, they would had been attacked by something, or someone¡­"


    "Hmmm¡­" I nodded. "I guess this is enough to at least confirm that Sathan has a Demonic Cult hideout right in the middle of the Goldriver Kingdom''s Capital¡­ How bold of her." Iughed.


    -----

 Chapter 692 Taking A Bath Together...

    ?


    -----


    "So Sathan is in the royal capital, huh?" I wondered. "Is there just nobody that can stop her in there? Or is all the nobility corrupted?"


    "Most likely theter¡­" Erika''s mother sighed. "Though, no movements have happened yet. They might have now shifted their targets now that Beelzebub was suddenly taken away. They might be certainly more cautious. I think they could even be trying to target other important people that might be stopping their expansion instead."


    "Hmmm¡­ Dn just recently went out to "y some demons"¡­" I sighed. "Could he have gone somewhere else instead? I wonder¡­"


    "Hero Dn?" Asked Elfriedden. "Are you suspicious of that human?"


    "More than I could say." I sighed. "The Holy Spirits don''t like him either¡­"


    "But isn''t he someone that was blessed by the Holy Spirits?!" Erika asked.


    "Yeah, it is supposed to be that way." I nodded. "But they told me that they had never blessed him. He''s someone ridiculously powerful without any blessings and doesn''t seem to serve the Holy Spirits."


    "T-That''s¡­" Elizabeth was confused, as a member of the church herself. "I don''t really want to believe someone that has served the church for so long to be a traitor like this¡­"


    "Me neither, honestly." I spoke the truth. "That''s why I''m being cautious before I decidepletely if this is the truth or not. I want to observe him, and see where he goes, see what he does, and if he''s¡­ really an ally, or a foe we must eventually y."


    "S-y the hero?!" Chris cried. "You''re insane¡­ He''s the strongest man in the entire continent¡­"


    "He''s a protector of humanity." Eric sighed. "But I trust ke more than him."


    "What? Come on dude!" Chris felt shocked.


    "Chris, just think a bit more." Eric said. "All those things ke said¡­ Just make a lot more sense. Also Hero Dn, despite being so strong, has nevere to our rescue, nor the rescue of anybody of us when we were attacked by demons, even when he was so close. He''s also weird¡­ He gives me bad vibes. My spirits don''t like him either."


    "Hmph, the hero of humanity being a traitor that serves the Demons¡­ How ironic." Elfrieddenughed. "If such a thing ends up being the truth, humans will be mocked for the next one thousand years by us elves."


    "As if you didn''t had traitors in your own continent¡­" Erika sighed, crossing her arms.


    "W-Well¡­ Touch¨¦." Elfrieddenughed.


    "Well, all of this is just spection." Iughed. "So let''s not delve too much into it. Aside from taking a break and having fun, we should set our goals in what''sing next¡­ I remember there''s a ss where we''ll be able to travel to the continent of elves, isn''t it?"


    "Indeed, but that would be at the end of the year¡­" Cattalina sighed. "Are you actually nning on going? Wait¡­ to that battlefield?"


    "Yeah, that''s the n and the best way to grow stronger faster too. We''ll help out this idiot too, killing over ten birds with a single stone." I smiled. "Well, that''ll be forter anyways¡­ Currently, I''m more worried about Monica and the other groups, I hope they can make it. Even in the C- Rank Dungeon, they''re bound to be surprised by what might be in there."


    "Gray and Monica''s parties have been working really hard with our help though, so I think they''ll make it!" Erika nodded.


    "I''m hoping for the best." Elizabeth nodded.


    "I heard Monica''s party was going to the C- Rank Dungeon today." Said Chris. "So maybe we should go see them go down? To wish them good luck or something!"


    "I agree, I guess that''s the best we can do for them." I nodded. "Now, let''s enjoy breakfast."


    Like that, in between the lovey-dovey hugs and kisses of Erika and the pampering of Elizabeth, the morning went through rapidly. Eleanora was also feeling rather lonely, as she was constantly sticking to me more and more. I guess she was finally opening up some more.


    "Before going out we should take a bath together!" Erika said, suddenly entering my room and finding me and Eleanora cuddling in bed, due to Eleanora''s request.


    "A bath together?" I raised an eyebrow. "I prefer to just take a bath by myself¡­"


    "Come on, let''s go together. Like that we can wash each other''s backs. The bath in this house is really big." Elizabeth smiled.


    "T-That''s¡­" Eleanora blushed a bit. "I-Isn''t that too intimidate? S-Seeing each other''s naked bodies would be too much¡­"


    "But we''re all ke''s girlfriends pretty much, does it matter? Come on, getting cold feet, ke?" Elizabeth smiled teasingly.


    "¡­Fine, but let''s take a quick bath." I sighed, falling to their charms.


    Against my own will I was dragged into the bathroom,pletely naked. It was a rather nice and cute experience, actually. Nothing that Eleanora was "fearing" to happen. Elizabeth and Erika are too innocent to actually be thinking sexual things, which was a relief.


    I careful washed their long and beautiful hair with premium shampoo I created using alchemy, leaving their hair shiny and soft. Later, I washed their backs with aromatic soap, and the girls did the same for me. We mostly yfully yed spraying water at one another after a while.


    At the end, we ended taking around thirty minutes to take a bath¡­ Much more than I envisioned, but the girls seemed happy after that. It felt like a "bonding" moment between all of us, which as a result, seemed to make us grow much closer with one another.


    I will not furtherment on their bodies aside that Elizabeth has developed arger chest than Erika, which Erika seems to be slightly jealous of¡­ Iforted her telling her that she was beautiful and stunning as she was, it worked a bit, though she attacked me with a thousand kisses as a result of such flirting.


    Once we were we ready, we departed into the city and meet with Monica and her entire party right in front of the C- Rank Dungeon.


    "Hey, we''vee to see you off." I smiled.


    "ke! Everyone¡­!" Monica smiled, feeling more spirited.


    -----

 Chapter 693 A Different Dungeon Exploration

    ?


    -----


    When we arrived, I noticed that Monica looked quite gloomy. Despite all the training, she seemed to be rather worried. I couldn''t me her; this was a rather harsh test for those that have not experienced too many challenges like me and my group. Even in the lowest difficult dungeon within the C Rank Range, it will be quite the trial to aplish, even with all the training they have undergone.


    But when she saw us arrive to meet her before going into the dungeon, she instantly changed her gloomy self and became much happier. I guess her party alone can''t really cheer her up as much, which is quite pitiful to an extent¡­


    "We''vee to see you off." I said with a smile. "Are you ready?"


    "I-I¡­ well, we are ready, yeah." Monica nodded, still slightly nervously. "I have to grow stronger for my brother¡­ And my father, so we can turn around what''s happening in our territory."


    "Well said." I nodded. "We''ll be counting on you and getting this done. Here, a small souvenir."


    I gave Monica a small ck bracelet, imbued with a ck crystal. It was a special Magic essory that enhanced her Darkness and Curse Magic Power and helped her regenerate her Mana much faster too.


    "T-This¡­ for me?!" Monica blushed a bit.


    "It''s nothing romantic." I said. "It is merely an investment for my new disciple. You better beat the dungeon."


    "I-I didn''t said that it was romantic either¡­!" Monica said angrily, although she was still blushing. "A-Anyways, thanks." She smiled sincerely.


    "Eh?! You gifted her such a pretty bracelet?" Erika annoyed me from behind. "Not fair!"


    "Erika calm down, ke promised he would make us something even betterter." Elizabeth sighed. "Right ke?" Although she pretended to be calm, she gave me a rather deadly re.


    "Yeah, I promised." I said. "Anyways, good luck. You''ll need it."


    "Thank you." Monica nodded. "We''lle back in no time with the head of that boss in our hands!"


    "Lady Monica saying it like that is a bit¡­"


    "Geez, well, let''s do this then, girls!"


    "Yeah, for Lady Monica and our home!"


    "That''s right!"


    Mostly all of Monica''s Party members were part of her house back in her territory, some of them are close noble friends of lower status as well, but over half of them are her maidservants.


    They had all good aptitude at magic, and had interesting spirits and talents, so they were admitted into the academy. With their help, Monica who could only cast curses before was able to reach as far as the second year.


    But without my aid previously, I doubt she would have had any chances at beating this dungeon. But in her current state, after I taught her well, and so the rest of her party, they have grown decently strong enough that there''s a good chance things will go better.


    And well, it wasn''t as if I was going to abandon them anyways¡­ Sneakily, the bracelet I gave to them was imbued with special spells, and was made out of one of my small shadow spider golems as well, giving me the ability to scout through the bracelet when needed.


    So, as her party made their way down the dungeon, I was able to see everything happening while having a nice date with Erika, Elizabeth, and Eleanora at a local cafe.


    The C- Rank Dungeon that they had entered was named "Rat King''s Lair" it is a special Dungeon filled with different types of Rodent Monsters, mostly Giant Rats of varied appearances and colors. Depending in their color, they''re weak to a certain element of magic.


    Which makes them rather easy to take down if you have a elementally varied party to back you up. It was made up of three floors as well, the first floor, Monica and her party were greeted by arge group of Elemental Giant Rats, mostly the zing Type and the Lightning Type.


    "[Voodoo Doll]: [Paralyzing Curse]!" Monica used her special Spirit, in the shape of a voodoo doll as she used a small needle to pierce its limbs with it.


    FLAAAASH!


    The Spirit''s powers affected up to ten targets at once only, as they were instantly paralyzed, their legs couldn''t move at all. Her Curses were strong and acted immediately.


    With that, her party was able to take down the monsters that she cursed and paralyzed one after another with much more ease than I imagined.


    By the end of the first floor, the first Boss, a zing Lightning Giant Rat that could unleash both fireballs and lightning strikes was weakened thanks to Monica''s curses, and then her party attacked the beast until it fell.


    Of course, this was just her normal fighting style, I had taught her how to fight with her own hands as well as using more varied magic. To make things better, I also made her learn some new skills through intensive training.


    However, this method of fighting wasn''t so bad, as it was effective, until a certain time. Nheless, the power of the dragons would continue to grow with each floor.


    "Phew, we did it,dy Monica!"


    "It wasn''t as hard as I imagined¡­"


    "Yeah!"


    "Well, that was just the first floor, girls." Monica sighed. "Let''s take a break for now."


    The girls ended taking a long break of several hours. Unlike us, people usually take days onpleting a single dungeon. This way, as they rested and nothing dangerous happened, I simply dedicated myself to my activities.


    "I want to go to that restaurant for dinner! The one that served that super tasty beef." Said Erika.


    "Is that so?" I wondered. "Well, alright."


    "Hey Erika, you can''t just go saying where we go. We all have to agree." Elizabeth said.


    "Eeeh? So where do you want to go then?" Erika asked.


    "Well, a nice and more elegant ce than the Meat Roasting ce." Elizabeth said. "We are Elite Students after all. How about we go to that other restaurant? They have delicious seafood and white wine."


    "I wouldn''t mind either of the two." Eleanora shrugged.


    "I don''t want seafood though!" Erikained.


    Ah, this is going to take a bit before making a decision¡­


    -----

 Chapter 694 Monica Grows Stronger

    ?


    -----


    Since Monica entered the Dungeon that even as ke wasn''t there, she felt as if he was watching over them. As they went through the trials of the first floor of the dungeon, she noticed as if he was protecting them, even when he wasn''t even present.


    After their first break, she woke up a few hourster, and the girls quickly packed things up to move to Floor 2. They wanted to hasten the ce and finish things in the least amount of time possible, of course, without sacrificing breaks.


    The Second Floor looked like the same cave area as the first one. Labyrinthian in nature, but thanks to the map they had bought before, the girls were able to guide themselves across the dungeon and its many traps too.


    Fighting hordes of up to twenty Giant Rats at once, they took consecutive breaks while fighting. Monica couldn''t simply curse and stay still anymore, any sort of help aided in battle in this stage, so she showcased her ability to fight with venomous and cursed daggers that she had enchanted with her magic.


    Her swift movements and light-weighed body made her an ideal rogue-type fighter, while inflicting curses, she fought byunching daggers imbued with curses and poison. This helped her allies while keeping her still frail body away from battle. Although her physique helped her in gaining health and vitality stats, she was still not as strong enough to actively take hits in battle.


    One after another, the groups of Giant Rats kepting, Frost Rats and Ground Rats asionally appearing and firing ice and earth magic projectiles, making this expedition slightly more difficult. However, Monica''s teamwork with herpanions proved to be essential as they got through these waves of enemies with great cooperation and amazing coordination.


    Eventually, the end of the Floor 2 was being guarded by the Floor Boss, a Frost Ground Giant Rat, a dual-element foe with Frost and Earth Magic. It had the defenses of the Ground Rat, as it was covered on tes of hard stone, and the lethal ice magic of the Frost Rats, coupled with a big body with several points of HP.


    This foe was incredibly hard. Monica and her allies struggled to fight it, as it could constantly regenerate wounds and constantly fire magic, while its defenses were very high.


    However¡­


    "[Voodoo Doll Magic]: [Curse of Silence]!"


    Monica conjured a brand-new Skill, as she conjured a deadly curse that covered the mouth of her voodoo doll, as if stitching it with threads.


    "GRYYAAAH?!"


    The Rat suddenly stopped groaning, thatst scream being the veryst, as it couldn''t make a single sound. At the same time, its magic didn''t work either, it couldn''t cast any magic!


    "Amazing, it''s not using magic anymore?!"


    "This is a new skill!"


    "It has been silenced of magic, girls, take it down!" Monica led her party much better than ever before, taking ke as her role model. She fought with herpanions, firing daggers and poisoning the monster to slowly take down itsrge health bar.


    Her other friends attacked, some front liners had basic weapon-type spirits, such as Iron Spear, or a Silver Shield, another had a Iron Axe Spirit. Most of themoners of Silvertide Kingdom usually were born with "metal-themed" spirits, usually either weapon-type, armor-type, or tool-type.


    Only Monica''s noble family, who was specialized on Dark Arts Magic and Curse Magic developed more unique Spirits, such as her amazing Voodoo Doll, that transferred all of its pain into a target to inflict deadly, strong curses that couldn''t be easily gotten rid of.


    BAAAAMM¡­!


    The Boss monster gave itsst breath as it fell into the floor, without even being able to scream properly, Monica and everyone couldn''t believe they made it, but it was amazingly well done. ke would be proud.


    "W-We did it!" Monica celebrated. "This is all thanks to ke¡­ This strength, and everything I''ve learned now¡­" She smiled, feeling more fulfilled and content with herself like never before.


    She often thought of herself as ipetent, or insufficient as the heir of her family, this was the reason behind her insecurities, and how easily ke ended provoking her and making her curse him back then¡­ Which only ended on her learning a good lesson.


    At first she thought he was just a cocky bully that only wanted tough at them for being weaker than him, but after she was taught by him, and after learning of his leadership skills and more, Monica slowly realized ke was much more than that.


    "It was also thanks to you, Lady Monica!"


    "Yeah, that magic and your techniques were amazing."


    "Not only you support us with powerful curses but you can also attack from behind and weaken the foe even more."


    "Without you, we would had never been able to defeat that foe with our measly Weapon Spirits."


    "No doubt!"


    "Geez, you girls are going to make me blush now¡­" Monica sighed, smiling faintly.


    After taking down the second floor boss, Monica yet again took a break with her party of roughly five hours. Once they were done sleeping and eating, and going to the bathroom, the party continued down the thirdst floor.


    "Ugh, I want to take a bath¡­" Monica sighed. "We better get this done with quickly!"


    "Yeah! Let''s do it!"


    "Alright"


    "Uoooh!"


    With her party of cheerleaders, Monica advanced across thest Floor, where the Giant Rat King rested, a powerful C Rank Boss, while all monsters usually were only C- Rank. The path there was perilous, filled with deadly and powerful giant rats they had confronted before, even the boss monsters from before became smaller, normal mobs there.


    Because of this, they had to take constant breaks while moving through the shortest path towards the final boss. This is where Monica and her party started drinking most of their potions, and using the many other buffing items that ke had sold to them too.


    However, after over a day of traveling, they finally made it, to thest boss, the Giant Rat King, a gigantic rat of over thirty meters of height.


    But to their surprise, this Rat held¡­ something strange on its chest.


    A purple-colored crystal¡­


    -----

 Chapter 695 An Uninvited Guest!

    ?


    -----


    The Giant Rat King held a mysterious purple colored crystal on its chest. It didn''t imbue it with any sort of power, but it was indeed strange. However, Monica and her friends, although cautious, paid it no mind when they detected it didn''t make it any stronger.


    "GRYSHAAAH!"


    The battle began right away, as the Rat King roared with fury, leaping into action. Its movements were fast and powerful, holding great strength and weight in every move it unleashed. Its big and spike-covered tail was a deadly weapon it used constantly, trying to sweep the girls off their footholds with it.


    Its sharp fangs could tear through any shield or magic barrier, and the girls were constantly forced to escape and evade the Rat King''s attacks. Monica unleashed all of her curses against the ferocious beast.


    The monster''s magic was sealed, its movements constantly paralyzed, and it couldn''t fight properly, although its strength, speed, and heavy weight made it a lethal and threatening foe nheless.


    Maria had to put her all to fight this being, she quicklymanded her party members to aim at the legs, as they slowly began inhibiting the ability of the Rat King to move properly. Its legs paralyzed and hurt badly; it couldn''t even drag itself normally anymore.


    However, it could still move by simply pushing its own body, and its lethal tail couldn''t be paralyzed for some reason either. Its sharp fangs made for a deadly attack, the girls had to constantly step back and think their next move carefully. Slowly, they began weakening it by firing magic from afar.


    "[Dark Arts Magic]: [ursed ck mes]! [Abyssal Star]!"


    Without many other options, Monica decided to go all-out, unleashing mes that burned the beast and cursed it at the same time, while a gigantic sphere of darkness descended.


    This was the spell she had once used against ke on their small fight, which ended exhausting her severely. The reason why she hasn''t used it before was because he had told her it was a high-consumption spell she should only use in her most direst of moments, not right-away.


    An emergency spell, to say the least.


    BOOOOOOMMMM!!!


    The sphere of darknessnded over the Rat King,pletely consuming him, and engulfing him into a deadly explosion of pure destruction. Its flesh quickly was roasted, as it died after much struggle.


    "W-We did it¡­" Monica sighed, gasping for air, she felt her body quickly beginning to grow stronger.


    Defeating the Rat King helped her gain a few more levels, slowly recovering her MP and HP by a certain amount with each Level, although it was a small amount, and not 100%, but it helped her not fall unconscious from having used all her Mana. Nheless, she was really exhausted.


    "W-We did it!"


    "Finally¡­ Yaaay!"


    "I-I can''t believe it¡­ Lady Monica, wepleted a C- Rank Dungeon!"


    "We couldn''t had done it without your amazing magic!"


    "With such strength, your father is surely to be proud of you now!"


    "Maybe you could finally inherit your territory?"


    "Y-You all are getting a bit hasty¡­" Monica sighed, although she smiled a bit relieved it was finally over. Her weak heart now gaining even more confident. "But I guess you''re not wrong¡­ With this strength, maybe I can protect my territory much better than before¡­ I wonder if big brother would be proud¡­"


    As the girls rxed and sat down over the dungeon''s floor, they didn''t realized something important, the Dungeon Boss Treasure Chest had yet to appear.


    The Rat King''s corpse began to slowly move, twisting around, as cracks appeared over its chest, where the purple crystal was.


    And something else surged from within¡­ humanoid, yet monstrous in shape at the same time.


    "Fufufu, of course he would be proud! I do wonder, would you be happy if I brought you to him?"


    The tenebrous, demonic voice of a female entity echoed across the entire floor. An aura of darkness and demonic energy sent chills down the spines of the girls.


    "W-What? Huh?!" Monica was shocked as she saw the entity appear out of the Rat King''s corpse.


    It had a sleek, slim appearance, covered on ck exoskeleton, with long arms and sharp, creepily long ws. It had a thin, fleshy head with several eyes spread across its body, and two mouths to the left and right.


    Long purple hair waved behind her horrendous-looking head, as her slim, yet ugly appearance sent immediate horror into the hearts of Monica and her party.


    "W-What is that?"


    "A-A demon?"


    "N-No¡­"


    "Why¡­?"


    As the girls panicked, the demoness giggled.


    "Fufu, you''re all so rxed, girls." Sheughed. "How about we make things more interesting~?" She pointed her long finger at Monica. "You''re going down first, Monica Darkage. I was told by my Lady Lilith that you''re our primary target. Fear not, your death will be painless¡­ and swift! Later, I''ll y with your little friends. See? I am quite the benevolentdy!"


    FLAAAASH!


    A beam of demonic red and purple energy surged from the demon''s finger, reaching Monica in an instant! She couldn''t even react,pletely shocked of what was urring in front of her. It could even be said she was paralyzed out of horror.


    "L-Lady Monica! WATCH OUT! [Silver Shield Spirit]!!! [Maximum Defense]!"


    One of her friends, named Eliana, stepped in, protecting her with her Silver Shield Spirit, and activating the spirit''s Maximum Defense Skill, increasing its total defenses by five times for ten minutes.


    BOOOOOOOMMM!!!


    However, that wasn''t enough, the shield only resisted around ten seconds, enough for Eliana to push Monica away from her range.


    "A-Ahhh¡­ Ugh¡­!" Monica quickly came back to her senses, only to see Eliana''s body in front of her, a big hole in her stomach, bleeding out severely.


    "L-Lady Monica¡­ R-Run¡­" Eliana muttered, vomiting blood, her eyes'' light slowly fading away, as she stopped breathing.


    "E-Eliana¡­ Eliana?! N-No¡­ No! NO! ELIANA!!!" Monica screamed in horror in front of her dead friend.


    "Oh my, did I miss my target? Well, she jumped straight into my death beam! What an heroic disy of beauty." Smiled the demoness. "But I won''t be missing this time though~"


    FLASH!


    "Lady Monica!!!"


    The rest of Monica''s servants screamed, trying to help her, but they were too slow.


    The demon was already in front of Monica''s shocked body, her long ws pointing at her body.


    "Monica Darkage, this is your end!"


    CLAAAAASSSH!


    -----

 Chapter 696 The Power Of A Demon Lord

    ?


    -----


    FLASH!


    "Lady Monica!!!"


    The rest of Monica''s servants screamed, trying to help her, but they were too slow.


    The demon was already in front of Monica''s shocked body, her long ws pointing at her face.


    A creepy smile surged in the demon''s malicious and ugly, fleshy face, her bright red eyes glowing menacingly, as she exuded pure killing intent, further paralyzing her prey.


    Monica waspletely helpless¡­


    "Monica Darkage, this is your end!" The Demonughed, shing her sharp ws at Monica. "Lady Lilith will be really pleased with your torn down body!"


    CLAAAAASSSH!


    Monica closed her eyes in utter horror, fearing the worst.


    However, there was no pain once the ws hit something, generating a loud shing sound¡­


    In fact, the sound was quite¡­ metallic.


    "I had thought that it was weird you demons didn''t appear when we were exploring the Dungeon. It would had been the perfect time to ambush us once more. But then I remembered Monica''s background, and how she could be rted to the demon''s uprising in the Silvertide Kingdom. And how I am so strong you have begun to fear me now. So¡­ naturally, you would target another, weaker person, that is even more important." The voice of a young man spoke in front of Monica. Someone she knew very well. "Turns out I was right in the money."


    "B-ke?!" Monica gasped in shock.


    She noticed how his body was madepletely of shadows and was surging from the bracelet he gave to her! Turns out he had used this bracelet as a "insurance" in the worst case possible, a demon showing up.


    Through the power of the Shadow Spirit Stone imbued into the bracelet, and ke''s own Level 7 Shadow Maniption Art: [Shadow Teleportation] and [Shadow Embodiment], he was able to both teleport into this stone by turning into pure shadows and appear right now.


    "I-It''s you?! ASMODEUS!" Roared the demon in surprise, quickly stepping back in fear.


    FLAAASH!


    ke instantly surged from Monica''s bracelet, as the Shadow Spirit Stone shattered, it couldn''t be used more than once to do Shadow Teleportation.


    "B-ke, you''re here?!" Monica cried in surprise. "H-How¡­?"


    "H-He''s really here!"


    "H-Holy shit¡­"


    "I can''t believe it¡­!"


    "Wait, Eliana! Is she okay?!"


    Monica''s friends quickly gathered around their friend.


    "Don''t worry, I didn''te alone." ke said. "Hendrick, Elizabeth, patch her up."


    "Very well." Hendrick materialized out of ke''s own Spirit Orb


    "On it!" Elizabeth appeared out of his shadows, and so did Erika as well.


    And then, the rest of ke''s Vampire Spirits appeared one after another¡­


    "E-Eh? W-What is¡­ happening?" Monica was still processing everything, but it seemed that ke always predicted this would happen and prepared really well for it.


    Turned out that today he was having a second date with Erika, Elizabeth, and Eleanora, so he easily brought them with him by putting the two girls inside his shadows. Eleanora could naturally teleport anywhere he was as she was his bonded spirit.


    "Y-You..! We didn''t wanted to confront you because you''ve grown strong too fast!" The demon muttered angrily. "You''vepletely ruined mydy''s ns!"


    "Lady?" ke asked. "Oh, you serve Lilith, don''t you? You''re quite strong¡­ nheless."


    The Demon in front of them, although afraid of ke, was a Demon in the level of Demon Lord, they were as strong as B Rank monsters, and this exined why Monica and her friends couldn''t do a single thing against her.


    "Y-You won''t get away with this!" The Demoness roared, waving her hand, suddenly, a zing gate slowly opened. "I''ll take this opportunity to kill you then!" She smiled with a delusional tone of voice.


    "Kill me?" keughed. "It seems your brain is failing you."


    "Let''s see if you can keep that confidence once you and your friends are torn to shreds by an army of Demons!" Laughed the Demoness. "Come! [Demon Gate]!!!"


    Demon Lord Rank Demons and above had the power to naturally generate Demon Gates, bringing forth Demons with them. However, this was a power they couldn''t use all the time, having a long cooldown once activated.


    FLUOOOSH!


    The zing Demon Gate opened, as mes seemed to be burning the empty air, a portal leading to the depths of hell emerged, as demons quickly started crawling out of them! There were more of the same type of demon as her, sleek, slim, and resembling fleshy dolls named Beauty Dolls, but there were also ssic demons in mythology, such as Subus and Incubus, both serving Lilith, the Archdemon of Lust.


    And of course, tons of Insectoid Demons,ing to avenge their fallen leader in the best possible scenario, as ke had purposedly appeared and exposed himself to them.


    "He''s here! ASMODEUS!"


    "KILL HIM!"


    "We''ll avenge Lord Beelzebub!"


    "You bastard, you''re dead meat!"


    "KILL!!!"


    None of these demons were Demon Lord level, but most of them were Demon General Level,parable to D+ Rank Monsters or even C Rank! Most of them were just as strong as the Rat King Monica had defeated.


    "Hahaha! Now you''re cornered!" Laughed the Demoness. "You might be powerful, but you can''t possibly fight all of us, without all of your other friends!"


    "Oh? Really?" keughed. "The only reason I didn''t stopped you from summoning them is because I wanted EXP."


    "W-What? Exupe? What is that?!" The Demoness asked dumbfounded.


    "The power that''ll help me grow even stronger." keughed, expanding his Shadows across his surroundings, dozens of demons were quickly caught in them! "[Shadow Domination]! [Shadow Jaws]!" Heughed.


    "Ugh?!"


    "AGH!"


    "W-What is this?!"


    The Demons started to panic as they realized they couldn''t move away from ke''s shadows, the shadows slowly pushing them down into its quicksand-like form, as enormous jaws made of shadows started surging one after another, biting their bodies and slowly tearing them to shreds one after another.


    CRUNCH!


    "Gyyyaaaggh!"


    CRUNCH!


    "S-Stop!"


    CRUNCH!


    "Uaaaggghhhh¡­!"


    CRUNCH!


    "H-How strong is his shadow powers?!"


    CRUUUNCH!


    "M-Mere shadows are harming Demon General-Rank Demons?! Impossible¡­" The Demoness serving Lilith was left perplexed. "Stop! I''ll take you on!!!" She roared, rushing towards ke at full speed.


    "Nah, you''re fighting us!"


    "How dare you think you can fight my lord without his permission?!"


    However, Erika and Eleanora stepped forward at the same time, intercepting her attacks with their powerful Demonic Weapons!


    CLAAAASSSH!


    -----

 Chapter 697 Battle Against Invading Demons

    <h4>Chapter 697 Battle Against Invading Demons</h4>


    -----


    "Ungh¡­! You damn whores¡­!" The Demoness roared angrily, exuding a powerful Demonic Aura around her surroundings, pushing Eleanora and Erika way from her!


    TRUUUUUMMM¡­!


    Crack¡­ CRACK!


    Suddenly, her body started to shapeshift, as her thin body gained muscles and tentacles in her back, big, bat-like wings surged from behind her, and sharp demonic horns from her head.


    Her strength seemed to have finally been fully unlocked, she wasn''t going serious¡­ yet.


    "To think the cultists were able to summon such a strong demon by using that Rat as a vessel¡­ Their methods are bing more and moreplicated¡­" Eleanora sighed.


    "Well, even if she got stronger, we''ll just have to keep beating her until she dies." Erika smiled, her aura surging from within her body, shing against the demoness!


    CLAAAASH!


    Erika''s Aura of Life, Nature, Illusion, and mes shed against the darkness demonic aura of the demoness, generating several shockwaves in the air.


    "You''re strong for a mere human girl, I have to admit it." Sighed the demoness. "But you''re delusional if you think you actually stand a chance against my power! I am Berelitha, the faithful Servant of my Beautiful, Glorious Lady, Lilith!"


    "You''re sure ugly to serve the Archdemon of Lust." Eleanoraughed, shing across midair and reaching Berelitha in an instant. Her Aura converging with her Demonic Weapon''s powers, as zing scarlet blood mes surged endlessly. "[zing Vampiric Spear Arts]: [Explosive Blood Spear]!"


    CLASH! CLASH! CLASH! CLASH!


    Eleanora''s powerful spear blows attacked Berelitha mercilessly. However, all her blows impacted an invisible Demonic Barrier surrounding her body!


    "Hahahaha! You''re a fool if you think such feeble blows will hurt me! Demon Lords possess [Demonic Barriers] that no feeble blows can pierce through-"


    BOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOM!


    However, the attacks from Eleanora quickly generated huge explosions of scarlet mes, Berelitha''s barrier instantly started to gain several cracks, shattering apart!


    Crack¡­ crack¡­ CRAAASH!


    "W-What?!" Berelitha panicked, as Erika appeared amidst the smoke generated by Eleanora''s explosive strikes, surprising her even more.


    "[Nature Dragon de Arts]: [Flora''s Wrath]!"


    Erika swung her enormous sword several times, imbuing it with her auras and powers, and unleashing hertest new arts,bining her draconic energy with her nature magic and her de skills, she unleashed the wrath of all Flora as enormous spears made of divine wood appeared one after another with each strike of her sword!


    CLASH! CLASH! CLASH! CLASH! CRAAAASSSH!


    "W-What is this strange magic?! Ugh¡­ My barrier is breaking constantly?! T-This is impossible!" Berelitha panicked, gathering purple and ck mes on her hands. "[Abyssal Demonic mes]! BURN TO ASHES!"


    FLUOOOOOSSSHHH!!!


    The mes reached Erika in an instant, as Eleanora stepped forward, moving her spear and spinning it rapidly, generating a storm of ck winds, this seemed to stop the mes, but notpletely, as they kept pushing forwards.


    "Hahaha! You''ll burn! These mes cannot be easily turned off! You''ll turn to ashes! DIE!!!" Berelithaughed manically, unaware of a shadow creeping behind her.


    The shadow of an adorable, blue-eyed ghostly girl wearing a white dress and an adorable regal hat, her phantasmal powers gathering strongly, as hundreds of phantom hands reached Berelitha''s body!


    "[Spectral Hands]! [Soul Curse]!" Saphira said, surprising the demoness.


    "UNGH?! AAGH!!!" Berelitha screamed in agony, her Barrier incapable of reflecting phantasmal powers. "M-My soul¡­! UNGH! Who is this damn child?! BEGONE!"


    Berelitha changed her attacking pattern, unleashing the demonic mes towards Saphira. However, the girl quickly melded into the ground and disappeared, the mes only burning her own troops that kepting from her Demon Gate!


    FLUOOOOOSH!


    "AAGH!"


    "L-Lady Berelitha?!"


    "Why are you burning us- UAAAGGHH¡­!"


    "Ungh?! Dammit! Move aside you useless bunch!" Berelitha gritted her mandibles in frustration, barely evading attacks from Eleanora and Erika that came right behind her!


    CLAAAASH! CLAAAASH!


    "S-Shit¡­!" Berelitha muttered. "Everything is going wrong! T-This was supposed to be an easy hunt! I was supposed to just hunt that damn brat and get this over with! I was supposed to see mydy Lilith''s pleased smile!"


    "Well, looks like your ns are going terribly wrong." keughed, as he was constantly tearing to shreds any Demons in the vicinity, with the support of Fang and Woo.


    Meanwhile, Eliana slowly opened her eyes, as her big wound healed rapidly thanks to the medical help of Hendrick and the amazing healing powers of Elizabeth.


    "H-Huh? W-What¡­ happened?" Eliana slowly opened her eyes.


    "Eliana! You''re fine! Oh thank the holy spirits!" Monica hugged her friend tightly. She was one of the two members of her party that weren''t her maidservants, but childhood friends of her that belonged to a lower noble house that served the Darkage house.


    "Lady Monica¡­" Eliana said weakly. "I thought- Cough¡­ Ugh¡­"


    "For now don''t speak, dear." Hendrick said, his big mask scaring Eliana a bit. "Now that you''re patched up, you need to rest for a while, okay? No self-sacrifice for a while!"


    "O-Okay¡­ W-Who are you?" Eliana sighed.


    "He''s ke''s Spirit." Elizabeth smiled.


    "The Saintess?!" Asked Eliana in surprise.


    "They came out of¡­ the bracelet ke gave me." Said Monica. "Somehow, he made of this bracelet some sort of medium for his darkness magic to help him teleport here¡­ honestly, it is incredible, I never thought darkness magic could do things such as teleporting!"


    "It''s true! We saw that, Lady Eliana!" Said one of Monica''s maidservants.


    "Amazing¡­" Eliana sighed. "And now they''re fighting that demon head-on?! They''re really¡­ so strong."


    "Now, Hendrick, would you mind protecting the girls?" Elizabeth smiled. "I want to get into the fight as well. After all, my magic is the most effective against demon-kin."


    "Very well, Lady Elizabeth. I shall secure these girls lives." Hendrick nodded. "[Abyssal Poison Barrier]! [Swarm Minions]!"


    Hendrick quickly generated a barrier surrounding the girls, while hundreds of insects made of Hendrick''s shadows and poison emerged out of his body, surrounding the barrier fearlessly and attacking any demons that came closer.


    Meanwhile, Elizabeth stepped forwards, her body unleashing herrge quantities of Mana. Her powerful Holy Light Ki Aura surging endlessly¡­


    "Let''s do this, Holy Dragon¡­ [Spirit Fusion]!"


    "Alright! Let''s crush these bastards!"


    FLAAAASH!


    -----

 Chapter 698 Demonic Beast

    <h4>Chapter 698 Demonic Beast</h4>


    -----


    "You''re really annoying!" Berelitha cried angrily. "[Abyssal Demonic mes Magic]: [Infernal Outburst]!!!"


    The Demoness went all-out with her magic, summoning an enormous wave of abyssal ck mes against all of her foes. Erika, Eleanora, and Saphira at once!


    FLUOOOOOOSSSHHH!!!


    BOOOOOOMMMM¡­!


    The explosion of mes spread everywhere, forcing them to step back and evade the damage. Although they were strong, Berelitha''s Abyssal Demon me Magic was really strong.


    And if they were to be burn by it, there was nothing saying the could easily regenerate off the constant damage fast enough before Berelitha were to take advantage of that and attempt to kill them easily.


    "Hahahah! That''s right! Don''t get too cocky with me!" Berelitha smiled viciously.


    "[Yggdrasil Dragon Breath]!!!" Erika grew furious, quickly opening her mouth and unleashing a deadly dragon breath attack!


    TRUUUUUUMMMM¡­!


    "Huh?! UNGH¡­!"


    Berelitha quickly generated a Demonic Barrier again, and reinforced it with her Abyssal Demonic mes, generating a powerful Abyssal Demonic mes barrier and intercepting Erika''s strongest attack!


    BOOOOOOMMMM!!!


    Yet as the attack impacted her barrier, it quickly gained several cracks, until it finally exploded into pieces. The st hit Berelitha directly, pushing her away in an instant!


    CRAAASH!


    "Unnggh¡­! Y-You bastard!" Berelitha vomited a mouthful of blood, her body half-roasted. "I am not done yet¡­ NOT DONE YET!!!"


    FLUOOOSH!


    Her Aura continued growing more and more, overflowing the entire surroundings. The Demonic Gate suddenly closed as she was wasting too much energy on that, and then, the jewel in her chest, glowing bright purple in color, spread even more power into her own.


    "Lady Lilith¡­ I offer you myself as your new vessel, so you can punish¡­ these insolent¡­ and ugly beings!" Berelitha screamed, as her entire soul was beginning to be consumed!


    "W-What''s happening?!" Erika panicked.


    "She''s sacrificing her own soul to be the temporary vessel of Lilith!" Eleanora said in shock.


    FLUOOSH!


    Suddenly, a ck shadow resembling a beautiful subus emerged behind Berelitha, smiling viciously at her.


    "Berelitha, your intentions are good, but after what happened to that bug, I won''t risk it~" She giggled. "However, I''ll let you have a small piece of this power, so you can make sure to crush them, or at the very least, hurt them very badly~"


    "M-Mydy- UNGH?! AAAAGGHH¡­!" Berelitha screamed in agony, as a strange power transformed herpletely. "No¡­ Please¡­ I don''t want to be a monster¡­ UGH!"


    Her graceful and thin appearance changed as she became a gigantic, quadruped demonic beast, with ck scales growing across her body, and enormous ck horns, alongside a single red eye in the middle of her now dog-like head.


    It seemed that Lilith wasn''t as dumb as Beelzebub, and wouldn''t be easily baited into manifesting herself so ke could y her right away, something he was actually waiting for, and pushing Berelitha to that point too.


    "ROOOOAARRRR!"


    Ding!


    [The [Demon Lord: Berelitha] has transformed through the [Stigma of Lust] into the [Demonic Beast of Lust]!]


    [All of her Stats have further increased by +500%, and her Demonic Energy Regeneration Speed has increased to +1000%!]


    [Furthermore, a powerful [Beast of Lust''s Demonic Aura] weakens all her foes, lowering their stats by -30% and draining their HP and MP constantly!]


    "So she didn''t fall for that, huh. Well, it was worth giving it a shot." ke sighed, crushing the head of thest demon that Berelitha had summoned.


    Their demonic souls flying into her body toplete her transformation, as a smile surged on his lips. Things seemed to be finally getting interesting for the former Vampire Emperor.


    "GRAAAAAHHH!!!"


    Berelitha roared, opening her jaws and unleashing a dreadful breath attack resembling that of a dragon, made up of Abyssal Demonic mes!


    FLUOOOOOOSSSSHHH!!!


    "Careful!"


    However, someone quickly stepped forward, protecting Erika, Eleanora, and everyone behind them. It was Elizabeth! Her form had changed, as she had undergone Spirit Fusion with he Holy Dragon once more.


    Her body was covered on golden scales, while she possessed wide draconic wings, sharp ws, and long golden hair.


    "[Spirit Weapon]!"


    The Mountain Turtle quickly transformed into a huge shield, which she fused with her own powers and transformed into a huge, golden shield!


    CLAAAAAASSSSHHH!!!


    The zing attack from Berelitha impacted the shield, but it was quickly reflected into the ceiling, hitting the hard stone there and making several boulders crumble and fall apart.


    "Elizabeth, you''re here!" Erika said happily.


    "Yeah, sorry for the wait." Elizabeth smiled.


    "Good thing you''re here." ke appeared right at the side of the girls.


    He was going to intercept the attack, but when Elizabeth showed up, he knew he could leave the role to her. Thanks to the powerful Spirits that Ellergest inherited to her, she was more than a capable physical fighter, or even a frontline tank by channeling their overwhelming strength.


    Much like how Ellergest was a more fragile magician that used healing magic and light magic, but when he fused with his spirits, he was capable of fighting face-to-face against someone as strong as the Necromancer.


    ke could sense it, within Elizabeth, her father was there, protecting her, and imbuing his strength into her. A smile surged on his lips, for a moment, in her delicate back, he saw the shadow of that old man that was always annoying him.


    But that he grew so fond of¡­


    "I guess I can trust on you to put on the defensive measures." ke smiled, the power of two buff cards quickly activating on him, that of w and Draco, further boosting his Stats. "Let''s do this."


    "Alright!" His three maidens roared together in unison, their powerful auras surging fiercely.


    "GRAAAAHHH¡­! LADY LILITH¡­ WHY¡­!" Berelitha groaned in agony, she didn''t wanted to be a monstrous beast.


    Despite her ugly appearance for humans, she was praised as one of the beauties of the demon realm. Lilith betrayed her and turned her into a mindless beast, breaking her heart so devoted to her. Yet, even now, she was willing to give her life and her beauty for herdy.


    "KILL¡­ I''LL KILL YOU! ASMODEUS!!!" She roared furiously, charging towards the four of them at once. "DIEEEE!!!"


    CRAAAASH!


    -----

 Chapter 699 Lust Is Indeed Quite A Troublesome Sin!

    <h4>Chapter 699 Lust Is Indeed Quite A Troublesome Sin!</h4>


    -----


    Monica watched what was happening, as ke and hispanions fought the powerful Demoness, now transformed into an even more terrifying Demonic Beast. Her eyes were filled with frustration that she couldn''t do something herself.


    She felt so weak and hopeless again, after having finally believed she was at least a bit stronger, that she might truly be worthy of inheriting her family''s head position instead of her big brother, who had left so abruptly¡­


    "W-What¡­ can I even do?" She thought to herself. "Big brother¡­ Father¡­"


    Her Spirit Orb slowly began glowing more and more, with a purple light. Without realizing, she had reached max level, and Ranked Up, as a result, her Spirit Orb finally reached its next stage, Rank 3!


    And with that, the manifestation of her Third Spirit started to emerge¡­ While her first Spirit was the Voodoo Doll, her second Spirit was the Cursed Needle. Bybining these two, she was able to conjure even stronger curses than with the doll alone.


    However, her third Spirit manifested much differently than her previous two.


    FLUOOOSH!


    A shadow emerged behind her, with two glowing red eyes, embracing her body!


    ¡­


    CLAAAASSSSHH!!!


    ke rapidly intercepted the attacks of Berelitha''s wrathful Demonic Beast form with great might and precision,bining his own strength with the Demonic Spear of Gluttony.


    "You''ve gotten stronger, but you''re far from being as strong as a Demon Overlord, sadly." ke smiled.


    "RAAAAHHH!!!"


    Berelitha didn''t had the patience to listen to his snarky remarks. With great speed, she unleashed a barrage of w attacks. Each blow unleashed deadly abyssal mes that spread everywhere wildly.


    CLASH! CLASH! CLASH! CRAAASH!


    However, Elizabeth stepped forward, using her powers to defend against the hits as a powerful tank, and also help ke and the rest to not waste their time intercepting or evading her attacks.


    "GRRHHHH¡­ ANNOYING BRAT!" Berelitha roared, opening her jaws once more and unleashing yet another devastating Abyssal Demonic mes Breath!


    TRUUUUUMMMMM¡­!


    "[Holy Sanctuary]!" Elizabeth''s eyes shone brightly like stars.


    FLUOSH!


    Her Aurabined with her powers, as her shield became even stronger, resisting the explosive attack!


    BOOOOOOMMMM¡­!


    As the explosion spread out and then smoke filled the surroundings, ke, Erika, and Eleanora attacked together, while Saphira sneaked around and flew into ke''s hands.


    "Papa, let me fight too!"


    "Alright then. [Spirit Weapon]!"


    FLAAASH!


    Saphira quickly transformed into a long white rapier, emanating a ghostly and dreadful aura around her new body.


    "[Nature Dragon de Arts]: [Yggdrasil''s Judgement]!!!" Erika roared.


    She spun around midair and thenbined the power of all her other Doll Spirits together, gathering them and fusing them into her own sword, as it grew several times bigger, overflowing with tremendous power.


    The sword shone with green and golden light, and a dragon-shaped aura surging from within!


    CRAAAAASSSSH!!!


    The de pierced the Demonic Beast''s stomach, slicing across her guts and opening a deep, ugly wound that wouldn''t regenerate easily, as golden mes spread across.


    "GRYYAAAAHHH¡­! YOU!" Berelitha quickly kicked Erika way.


    CLAAASH!


    "Ungh!!!"


    "Erika!"


    "I''m fine!"


    ke made sure shended fine, as he swiftly flew towards the Demonic Beast and attacked, using both Saphira''s Weapon Form and Gluttony''s Spear to unleash a barrage of attacks.


    SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLAAASH!


    "AARGGGH¡­! UNGH!" Berelitha roared, suddenly her aura constantly began shifting, materializing into countless of phantasmal demons! "[Phantom Demon Legion]!!!"


    "OOOOHHH!"


    "GAAAHH!"


    "KILL¡­!"


    "Not bad." ke smiled. "However."


    SLAASH! SLAAASH! SLAAAASH!


    With Saphira''s power as a de, he was able to easily cut all matter of ghostly beings, and even souls into thin pieces in mere seconds!


    "[Gluttony''s Domain]!"


    FLUOOSH!


    His Aura and Vampiric Powersbined with his Authority of Gluttony, and the Authority of Demonic mes alongside the Spear Gluttony. Theirbined prowess generating a swirl of darkness, mes, and blood ki that coiled around the body of Berelitha, devouring and burning her body piece by piece.


    CRUNCH! CRUNCH! CRUNCH!


    "RAAHHHH¡­!"


    Meanwhile, Eleanora generated gigantic, spiraling shuriken made out of mes and shadows, firing them all at once, at the same time as she released a barrage of attacks using her spear, and even blood magic in the form of Blood Judgement.


    BOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOM!


    Berelitha was being constantly pushed back, her gigantic body beginning to crumble apart more and more. Elizabeth was constantly taking the blows as well!


    However, even now, the demoness had an ace below her sleeve, as her wounds quickly began to worsen, a new eye opened in her eyes.


    FLAAASH!


    The eye exuded a powerful, blinding light of purple energy and demonic power. The light spread everywhere, suddenly generating a weakening aura that pierced even through Elizabeth''s holy light.


    Ding!


    [The [Demon Lord: Berelitha] has activated her [Demonic Eye of Lust]!]


    [All those that have nced into this eye will have their minds clouded with their deepest, lustful desires, and be unable to think straight!]


    [Additionally, all Stats of the affected ones will receive a debuff of -30% to their Stats!]


    "Unnggh¡­! W-What is this?!" Erika cried, suddenly beginning to blush, as her mind started to feelpletely clouded with thoughts about ke.


    "N-No way! What is this nasty magic?! Uwaaah!" Elizabeth couldn''t help herself.


    "I-It is even affecting me- Aah~ W-What are these thoughts I am having?!" Eleanora cried.


    "Ugh¡­ It even got through my mental immunities?! I guess this is the power that Lilith lend to her¡­" ke muttered, blushing a bit, while resisting the lustful thoughts, where his three beloved girls appeared in all matter of sexual poses, naked, and doing naughty things with him.


    "Fufufuf~ Are you pleased?!" Lilith''s voice echoed from within Berelitha. "This is the might of Lust! It never worked on you before, Asmodeus¡­ But to think it now works so well! It seems these three girls are your darlings, huh~? Fuahahahaha! Now perish- ungh?!"


    "[Abyssal Curse Magic]: [Debuff Cancelling Curse]!"


    FLAAAASH!


    Darkness surged from the little hands of a girl in front of Berelitha, as the voice of Lilith from within her was shocked that her powers were failing!


    Monica stood right in there, her dress now changed to a pure ck dress, emanating spiritual energy of great power,bining itself with her Voodoo Doll and Cursed Needle Spirits.


    "M-My curse¡­ is gone?! And it was made by a curse?!" Lilith was surprised. "What is this bullshit?!"


    "Hah, as if your damn curse would had affected me further¡­ But I appreciate the help, Monica." ke smiled. Even as he was being affected, he was ready to deal the final blow.


    However, Monica''s powers helped on clearing his mind, which made it easy for him to focus on a stronger finishing move¡­


    And what better than by summoning the Divine Light Spirit Sword?!


    FLAAAAASH!


    "HUH?! W-What is that- AARRGGHH¡­!" The scream of Lilith and Berelithabined together.


    ke swiftly jumped towards the beast, descending from above and piercing her neck with it. The powerful Divine Light quickly consuming everything, as Berelitha''s body started to burn and fall apart!


    "From all the Archdemons, you''ve always been the most disgusting, Lilith!" ke roared. "And I knew you wouldn''t just leave her behind either, your fragment is still within her!"


    CLAAAAAAASSSSHHH!!!


    And as long as her fragment, which granted Berelitha her new form remained there¡­ ke could use the Sword of Light to pierce it, and directly damage Lilith in the process with the aid of the Holy Spirits!


    "N-No¡­! T-This is impossible! WAIT! AAAAGGGGHHHH¡­!"


    The scream of the Archdemon of Lust echoed from both Hell and the world of Spiritias!


    -----

 Chapter 700 Victory

    ?


    -----


    The Divine Light Sword pierced Berelitha''s soul, and then reached the Fragment of Demonic Power that was connecting a slight part of her soul with that of Lilith. Even if the connection was small, it was good enough for ke''s Divine Light Sword to deal some real damage to the Archdemon of Lust, even more when the might of the Holy Spirits overflowed from his soul, using his Divine Protection as their connection to the mortal realm, and quickly imbuing a part of their might into the sword itself.


    FLAAAAAASH!


    The Holy Spirit of Light''s presence emerged for a brief second, as his manifestation quickly emerged in the depths of the Realm of Demons, Hell! Lilith was shocked as her soul received a terrible wound, the spiritual divine light shattering a small piece of it!


    Crack¡­ crack¡­!


    CRAAASH!


    "AAAAARGGGHHH¡­! S-STOP!!!"


    Barely, and unlike Beelzebub, Lilith managed to fend off the pain before the Holy Spirit of Light were to reach deeper into Hell with his powers and attempted to fight back against him!


    "Even as I am sealed, do you truly believe you stand a chance against me?!" She roared, channeling the powers of Hell. "BEGONE FROM MY REALM! [Archdemon''s Authority]!"


    TRUUUUUUUMMMM¡­!


    A powerful, demonic pressure pushed away the Holy Spirit of Light, as he had to forcefully pull back into Spiritias. However, not before leaving her a little gift.


    "[Divine Spiritual Stake of Light]!" The Holy Spirit of Light roared, firing a gigantic stake of pure divine light, piercing the soul of Lilith!


    CLAAAAAASSSH!


    "UNNGH?! AAARRGGH¡­! Y-YOUUU!!!"


    Lilith''s enormous ws were about to reach him, but he quickly disappeared before she could even pierce through his own manifestation¡­


    FLAAASH!


    "Ungh¡­! How¡­ dare you?! Damn otherworldly gods¡­ Do they believe themselves as equal of us Archdemon?! They''re going to pay¡­ All of you are going to pay¡­" Lilith groaned, no longer looking yful, as her anger knew no bounds.


    Meanwhile, back in the Dungeon, the body of the gigantic demonic beast of Lust fell to the floor, the soul of the demon inside having beenpletely devoured by ke''s Demonic Arm.


    And while nobody was looking, he also made sure to devour that big eye, and some flesh, scales, fangs, and ws, naturally, aside from all the EXP, he gained some brand-new Demonic Abilities.


    He felt like he did not only gained the Demon Eyes of Lust, alongside the already existing Demon Eyes of Paralysis and Demon Eyes of Gravity, but his Demonic Arm''s powers spread more across the rest of his body, like roots reaching further.


    At the end of the day, it seemed that just this one arm was enough for him to gain the ability to absorb Demonic Powers, an ability he didn''t possess on his previous life. And as it grew stronger and it spread its powers further into his body, he probably wouldn''t need to rece any other of his limbs with a demonic one either, opening possibilities for further recements.


    Such as one day, perhaps, acquiring the arm of an Angel, for example¡­


    Ding!


    [You and your Allies have defeated [Various Lust and Insectoid Demons and Demon Generals] x182!]


    [You and your Allies have defeated [Demonic Beast of Lust: Berelitha] x1!]


    [You earned 128.000.000 EXP!]


    [LEVEL UP!]


    [LEVEL UP!]


    [LEVEL UP!]


    [LEVEL UP!]


    [LEVEL UP!]


    [Your Level has increased from Level 65 to Level 70!]


    [All of your Stats have increased!]


    [You earned Bonus Stat Points and Skill Points!]


    [You have absorbed several powerful Demonic Souls and absorbed high quality Demonic Flesh and Blood!]


    [Your [Physique]: [Vampiric Blood Emperor Physique (Tier 5: Rank 5)] has increased to Tier 5: Rank 6!]


    [Your [Psyche]: [Vampiric Soul Psyche (Tier 4: Rank 3)] has increased to Tier 4: Rank 5!]


    [Your [Magic Circle]: [Abyssal Blood Circle (Tier 4: Rank 5)] has increased to Tier 4: Rank 6!]


    [Your [Demon Core]: [Hungry Demon Core (Tier 2: Rank 7)] has Evolved into [Gluttonous Demon Core (Tier 3: Rank 1)!]


    [Your Vampiric Eyes has acquired the (+Demon Eyes of Lust) Ability.]


    [You learned the [Demonic Beast Transformation (Tier 5)] Demonic Arm Ability!]


    [All of your Stats have further increased as a result!]


    [The Development of your Unique Physique has increased to 20%!]


    [After reaching Level 70, your Spirit Orb Rank has increased to Rank 3: Peak Stage!]


    [All of your Magic-rted Stats have increased!]


    [All of your Summoned Spirits have be stronger.]


    [Your Spirit Stat has increased by +50!]


    As his Spirit Orb reached Rank 3 Peak Stage, ke quickly noticed a tremendous boost to his MP and Intelligence, which now gained a t bonus of +1000 to both!


    And of course, with the +50 to Spirit, he felt like power was constantly overflowing from his body¡­


    ke smiled, as he realized he had improved even further. He quickly decided trying out his new Ability, ignoring the world around him.


    "[Demonic Beast Transformation]"


    FLAAASH!


    He partially was able to transform his arm into a monstrous beast simr to what Berelitha had be, reptile-like, with sharp ck scales, enormous wolf-like jaws, and furious red eyes.


    If he wanted, he could expand the transformation to the rest of his body and transform into a beastpletely¡­ This was apletely new power.


    His Draconification only partially gave him dragon-like features, and his Vampiric Physique had yet to reach the power of a Vampire Progenitor, who can transform into Embodiments of Night, the ultimate form of Vampires.


    "Not bad."


    But this sufficed. He noticed his physical stats would ramp up through this transformation, but it was quite uncontroble in some areas, so he would need to use it carefully.


    Nheless, it was a good addition to his collection of many deadly powers and skills.


    His level had also reached 70, only 10 more levels were needed to reach max level and Rank Up once more.


    However, ke could tell it wouldn''t be as easy. The required EXP was enormous for thest ten levels. He would need to literally y entire legions of demons and monsters to aplish such amount of EXP within a minimum time frame.


    And luckily, there was such a chance right now¡­


    "Monica, we need to talk."


    -----

 Chapter 701 Let’s Free Silvertide

    <h4>Chapter 701 Let''s Free Silvertide</h4>


    -----


    (ke''s POV)


    After the events that transpired in the Dungeon with Monica''s party, we walked back to the surface after healing their wounded friend. In the way up, the professors and security finally arrived, terriblete as usual. This was obviously intentional.


    It was quite clear that there were someone, or some people mixed in between the academy''s security system, which were managing all of this and stopping security from reaching the students in time.


    And of course, whoever set up that Rat King from being able to be a vessel of a high-ranking demon that could even summon Demonic Gates was also involved with the academy if they were allowed to enter the dungeon¡­


    However, as much as we discussed this with Hasan, he said that nobody kept records of supervisors that entered the dungeon, and that it happened all the time.


    Investigating them one by one was going to be a bit of a pain, but I didn''t gave up. I quickly learned their names and sent small Spider Golems to go check on them. In a few days, I might get some results.


    Monica had helped us out after she ended bing Rank 3, thanks to her new Spirit, which was named "ursed Dress of Malice" she was able to conjure even stronger Curses, capable of even affecting high ranking demons.


    Although nobody died, she was quite devastated by what happened, and needed some time alone. I talked to her about what was happening in her territory for a bit though, and learned more about what had happened in the dungeon.


    It seems that the Demons in the Silvertide Kingdom are plotting to kill the important lords resisting the invasion, this includes Monica, her father, and a few others. Probably to weaken the morale of the humans and at the same time, to take down potential threats to their invasion.


    Once our talk with Hasan was over, he once more apologized for what happened, but I couldn''t me him for it. For now, I told him to tighten the security around dungeons, and he quickly decided to deploy more guards into them, even if it could cost more money.


    When we were back home, Monica and her party apanied us to have dinner together. The girls such as Erika, Elizabeth, and Alberta did a good job at cheering her up a bit more, and once Erika''s mother brought us delicious meals, the mood became much more rxed.


    "Thanks for everything, everyone¡­ If it wasn''t for you guys, we wouldn''t had made it¡­" Monica thanked us again.


    "Yeah, thanks a lot ke!"


    "Erika and Elizabeth too¡­"


    "And all your Spirits!"


    "Thank you!"


    All of her party was also rather thankful.


    "It''s nothing, hahaha!" Chrisughed, blushing a bit over being surrounded by so many cute girls.


    "Hey, you weren''t even there." Eric sighed.


    "I-I would had gone by ke told me!" Chris sighed. "Anyways girls, is any of you still not engaged?"


    "H-Huh? Who are you?"


    "What was his name again?"


    "He''s that guy with the fire magic."


    "T-That guy with the fire magic?!" Chris felt heartbroken. "Name''s Chris! And one day I''ll be the strongest zing Fire Magician of the entire World of Spiritias!" He started showing off his spirits.


    "Kyuh!" The Fire Fox quickly melted the heart of the girls, it was indeed an adorable creature.


    "Oooh! So cute!"


    "I didn''t knew you had such a cute spirit!"


    "Come here!"


    "T-That''s right¡­" Chris nodded. "Though I feel like you''re stealing the attention now¡­" He got angry at his own spirit.


    "Anyways, Monica, how is your territory handling things?" I asked, feeling rather worried.


    "It''s¡­ not fine." Monica sighed. "I don''t know exactly what''s going on, I''ve been in the academy through all of this year. And my father hasn''t sent me a letter in over a month¡­"


    "Hmmm¡­" I rubbed my chin. "I hate to say this, but this is dangerous. There''s a high possibility they must have targeted him already."


    "E-Eh?!" Monica felt surprised, but quickly sighed. "I-I was already imagining such a thing, but I didn''t wanted to believe it¡­"


    "Monica, that''s your territory, right? And that''s your father, isn''t it?" I asked.


    "Y-Yes¡­?" Monica felt confused.


    "Then isn''t it your duty to go to their rescue?" I asked. "You''re the future owner of thosends. Your father might be in danger, what is stopping you now that you''ve grown stronger?"


    "¡­" Monica remained in silence. "I''m¡­ I am afraid¡­"


    "ke you''re being a bit too pushy." Elizabeth sighed.


    "Hmm, but he''s right though! Monica, we have to do something! You can''t just stay there sitting all day and wait until the year ends, we need to act right now before it is toote!" Erika.


    "Indeed." I nodded.


    "B-But the odds¡­ aren''t in my favor, it would be suicide! What do you even suggest, ke?! That battle has been going on for so many years¡­ The demons keep growing stronger. The nearby countries don''t help us¡­ The only hope we had was the Stronghold Forces, but they have yet to deploy more reinforcements sincest year. Hasan told me that they don''t have enough manpower to protect this city and the nearby states, even less to help the Darkage Territory and the destroyed Silvertide Kingdom¡­" Monicamented. "Most people have already given up on us¡­"


    "Well, I won''t." I smiled. "Monica, let me apany you- no, let us apany you. Let''s free Silvertide."


    "E-Eh?! But that''s¡­ Are you crazy?!" Monica was shocked. "They said there''s the possibility of a Demon Overlord in the Demon Army! It might be as strong as an A+ Rank monster! No, even worse, because Demons have special Abilities and are smart and cunning¡­"


    "Hm? Did I stutter?" I asked with a confident smile. "He could even be a Demon King for all I care. I''m going to go there, Monica. Just say the word and we''ll get there, isn''t it?" I asked my friends.


    Mostly everyone agreed, although Eric and Alberta were a bit scared.


    "T-This is insanity¡­" Monica facepalmed. "But¡­ I somehow want to believe in you, after what you did for me¡­"


    -----

 Chapter 702 Making A Decision!

    <h4>Chapter 702 Making A Decision!</h4>


    -----


    The week ended, and the other student parties all managed to clear their dungeons. Our grades were the best there were, Monica included. Even Rosen''s party, the one that underperformed the most as they took too long inpleting a dungeon, still got a 90 in their grades.


    "I guess the entire damn ss pass! Amazingly done." Hector was shocked. "Now, Monica and ke''s party,e with me. Director Hasan has something to say to you all. This¡­ involves what happened to Monica, and also what''s going on in the Silvertide Kingdom."


    We were swiftly invited to the director''s office once more, as he sighed, looking at us with a rather exhausted expression.


    "You brats, do you really want to do this?" He asked.


    Some days ago, we discussed the possibility of sending a few parties of this ss to Silvertide, including Monica''s party, to fend off the demons, secure her territory, and more.


    Of course, because we were just second year, he thought it was a ridiculous thing. Nheless, once we gave him enough reasons, one of them ming Stronghold and the Continental Alliance for doing almost nothing to help Silvertide, it seems that guilt won over his heart.


    "If Stronghold and the Continental Alliance are going to be so useless, there''s no other way around it." I sighed. "You already know we defeated a Demon Lord just some days ago, and that we also destroyed the vessel of an archdemon. Are you still doubting what we are capable of?"


    "¡­" Hasan remained in silence, staring right into my eyes. "Your power has increased a lot since thest time I saw you¡­ Are you close to achieve Rank 4?"


    "More or less." I nodded with a smile. "If I get there and y as many demons as I can, I get to level up and you get to have a problem out of your list of endless responsibilities. You can even earn prestige out of this by getting all the praises while you did nothing, we all win."


    "Tch, brat, do you really think I''m not helping them because I don''t want to?!" Hasan hit the table, which quickly split into two. "We''re already being pressured by the Dark Continent in the north! All our troops are being constantly sent there, that''s the stronghold of humanity! If we divide our forces too thin, the demon''s will simply overtake the entire damn continent! I¡­ Ugh, I''m sorry, students. I shouldn''t had gone so far." He quickly calmed himself.


    "It''s fine¡­" Monica sighed. "I know that nobody is having it easy."


    "So? Stop being a pussy and just let us go." I said, getting tired of his melodrama.


    "Y-You''re calling an S Rank Adventurer a pussy?! You damn brat! Ugh¡­ if I wasn''t so busy I would had gone myself there! Argh! Damned demons! Fuck it! Alright, go and fucking die if you really want to! I''m tired of you!" He roared angrily. "And all of you! Are you sure you want to follow this madman to the ends of hell?!"


    Everyone nodded, Hasan suddenly felt paralyzed.


    "Of course! ke is the man I love, why wouldn''t?" Elizabeth smiled. "I''ll watch his back."


    "He''s my boyfriend! I wouldn''t be a god girlfriend if I left him behind, wouldn''t I be?" Erika giggled.


    "ke is like a big brother to me¡­" Eric smiled. "Even if I am afraid, I can''t stay behind when he''s going there. I''m going, even¡­ if I have to put my life on the line."


    "O-Of course!" Alberta nodded. "Eric is going so I''m going t-too!"


    "I don''t even need an exnation." Erdrich crossed his arms.


    "All the way!" Chris nodded. "If I can earn prestige and glory out of this, even more! ke''s my best friend. And everyone else in here is like my family. Also if I get enough recognition maybe the girls will know my name¡­"


    "Hmph, I would honestly not go, I have nothing to do there." Elfriedden crossed his arms. "However¡­ ke promised me he woulde to my kingdom''s aid in the near future. And for that, I will help."


    "E-Everyone¡­" Monica was left speechless.


    "Okay, Hasan, just make this into a¡­ trip or something. A student trip to learn more about another country, or whatever." Iughed. "So?"


    "¡­I''m already writing the documents." Hasan sighed, his huge arms writing down several papers. "I''ll get things done as fast as possible. I am well aware that Monica''s father is missing¡­ That man was one of my students. And a war veteran too, I can''t give you any manpower, but I can give you money and resources if that''s what you need. Of course, don''t abuse it."


    "Good, then, I want at least five hundred C Rank Spirit Orbs, and a thousand D Rank Spirit Orbs. Also, I need any sort of dragon-type monster materials you can find. Even the lowest grade one''s work." I smiled. "Also, some high-quality materials, weapons, armor, and potions."


    "You''re asking too much! Ugh, I''ll see what I can get¡­" Sighed Hasan. "But I ain''t giving you all for free! Okay?! Just a discount¡­"


    "90% Discount for this good student?" Iughed.


    "90%?! Only 30%!" He said.


    "80%"


    "I said 30%!"


    "I''ll settle down on 70%"


    "You brat! Okay¡­ 40%!"


    "60%, no less."


    "Tch¡­ Fine 50%! I won''t go any further! I swear on my mother''s name!"


    "¡­Alright."


    It is a good thing I''ve been saving tons of money from all the sales in my small shop, and also the high-quality materials we''ve been constantly farming out of the dungeons before exploring the C Rank dungeon.


    "Do it quickly, we''re moving as fast as possible. Silvertide is bing a nest of demons, if this continues any further, they''ll quickly expand to the nearby Kingdoms, and one of them is the Goldriver Kingdom¡­ I won''t let them get there." I swore on my name.


    "That resolve of yours feels like it shouldn''t even belong to someone your age." Hasanughed. "You''re an amusing kid, I tell you that¡­ I''ll get this done as quickly as possible. Until then, all of you should prepare."


    "Thank you Director¡­" Monica sighed, feeling slightly relieved.


    -----

 Chapter 703 Recalling Good Memories With Erika

    <h4>Chapter 703 Recalling Good Memories With Erika</h4>


    -----


    Once things were talked, we decided to prepare and rx for the next of the day. I took the time to talk with my friends about our ns, and what we would be facing there. Although most seemed nervous, they were willing to stay at my side, no matter how insane my goals were.


    For such a reason, I will do everything I can to secure their lives, and give them as much strength as I can too. Andtely, my rtionship with Erika, Elizabeth, and Eleanora had grown much deeper. Perhaps sharing so many experiences through our lives together, in life and death battles, made us grow even more attached with one another.


    As the night came, I noticed somebody was in the rooftop of our house while I had just finished creating some items I wanted to make for a while now, and quickly decided to move there, being greeted by Erika.


    She was gazing at the night sky with eyes filled with contempt. Her long pink hair waved by the wind, as she seemed to feel slightly lost in thoughts.


    "Erika? I didn''t thought you would be here all alone." I walked to her side and greeted her.


    "Oh, ke!" Erika smiled instantly upon gazing at me. "I was just¡­ thinking about everything that happened. Sometimes I need some time to process things alone¡­"


    "I see, am I bothering you? I''ll go if that''s the case." I said.


    "A-Ah, no! I didn''t meant it like that." She giggled. "You can stay with me. Come sit at my side!"


    "Fine." I sat at her side, as we both gazed the stars.


    "I was thinking about everything that has been happening so far¡­ And how our world just keeps changing around us¡­" She Sighed. "Don''t you think? I still recall those times when we were just carefreely ying ball back in the vige like it was yesterday."


    "I do recall those times as well." I nodded. "I remember how yful and cheeky you were. Well, that hasn''t changed."


    "Hey!" Erika pouted. "I''ve grown a bit more mature! Right? Mom said I am a really charming youngdy¡­"


    "Haha, she''s not wrong." I smiled, as Erika rested her head over my shoulder.


    I extended my arms around her waist and embraced her in a hug.


    "Recently, I''ve been thinking about a lot of things¡­ I''m a bit worried about the future¡­ About the demons, and about this ce¡­ And the vige." She sighed. "Without dad and Ellergest there to protect it, I always feel a bit unrest."


    "They''re fine, I''ve been watching over them using my Summons." I said. "You don''t have to worry about a single thing."


    "I know but still¡­" She sighed. "I''ve been thinking about dad a lottely¡­"


    "Is that so?" I wondered.


    "Yeah, even though it has been a few years since his passing, I always miss him sometimes¡­ I wish he could be here with us, and mom¡­ I always wished they could get back together." Erika started getting more sad.


    "I also wish that was the case." I sighed. "He was a good friend of mine. He was also a good father¡­ You have to live for him, Erika. Smile for him, and be happy for him."


    "¡­I guess you''re right¡­" Erika sighed, looking into the night sky, resting her head over my chest. "Thinking about what happened with Monica, I couldn''t help but remember my own dad¡­ She''s probably more worried than she''s showing to be."


    "Yeah, she''s unrest. Although she didn''t wanted us to go there, I know she felt relieved deep down." I smiled. "Though, I have to be honest, my priority is actually stopping those demons so they don''t end up bringing war to our home."


    "I guessed so." Erika giggled. "But it was nice of you to go to such lengths for our new friend¡­ I guess you always remind me why I love you so much, hehe."


    "Now, that''s a bit embarrassing." I sighed.


    Erika''s lips grew closer to mine, as she gave me a small and lovely kiss, and then, she rubbed her small nose with mine.


    "As long as you''re here with me¡­ I''ll always be ready for anything." She smiled sweetly.


    "Well, you''re quite the romantic girl sometimes, huh? Maybe too many romance novels?" Iughed.


    "Geez! I''m trying to be a bit lovely¡­" Erika pouted.


    "Hahah, and I love that of you." I smiled, giving her a head pat. "Thank you for being there for me as well¡­ Here."


    I quickly took out a small wooden box and gave it to her.


    "Huh? What''s this?" She wondered, opening the box. "Oooh?!"


    She quickly found inside a beautiful bracelet, finely decorated with bright jewels, and covered on pure gold, shining brightly.


    "It is the thing I''ve been working on recently, remember the gift I said I was going to give to you?" I asked her. "Well, this is it. It is¡­ simr to that ring I once gave to you, the one you''re still wearing. But even more improved, and ites with many new abilities."


    I created this item with Hendrick''s aid, it''s nothing tooplex, just a magic bracelet imbued with special magic constructions that''ll allow Erika''s magic and skills to shine the most.


    "It''s so pretty! Oh?! And I can feel my power surging a lot! My Mana is constantly being restored?! Oh wow, even my Magic got stronger!" Erika got surprised. "But above all, it is really beautiful. Did you really made it yourself?"


    "Of course. See? I made it because I love you." I said. "I made sure it was pretty too, because I know you like colorful things."


    "ke!" Erika gave me a tight hug, perhaps too tight, I felt my bones begin to slightly crack¡­ "Thank you! Mooch! Mooch! Mooch!" And she started giving me kisses all over my face.


    "Hahaha, I can tell you''re happy." Iughed, hugging her lovingly.


    "I-I talked with mom too¡­ And she said that you were qualified enough, so we can get married when we get a bit older!" Erika suddenly dropped a bomb.


    "E-Eh?"


    -----

 Chapter 704 Elizabeth’s Morning

    <h4>Chapter 704 Elizabeth''s Morning</h4>


    -----


    "Huh? That''s not the rection I expected¡­" Erika felt a bit sad.


    "Oh, I¡­ I''m d, honestly." I smiled. "But I was just a bit surprised¡­ I had never really¡­ envisioned this, but I guess it makes sense."


    "Geez, you''re still sometimes a bit dense, huh? For all the smarts you show, sometimes you just get too shocked and get all paralyzed!" Erika giggled a bit. "Well, that goofy said of you is cute too¡­"


    "Getting married is¡­ Well, in a few more years, once we''re older¡­ It does seems logical." I nodded. "It just¡­ making a family of my own with you¡­ I had not considered it for some reason. Maybe I was too focused on my other goals."


    "I guess, you always get tunnel vision when ites to your goals." Erika sighed. "But wouldn''t it be nice? To get married¡­ We can live in our own house together¡­ And have babies. And make a big family! I want a family¡­ of my own."


    "Erika¡­"


    I guess this might have been caused by her father''s lost. She had grown with such a fixation of having a family like that of my mother and father.


    "You don''t want to?" She asked, giving me puppy eyes.


    "I¡­ of course I want." I smiled. "dly¡­ I think you would be a wonderful mother. But let''s wait a few more years. Until this war is over¡­ I want to create a peaceful world for the next generations, for our children."


    "Hm!" Erika nodded, her aura exploding with decisiveness. "Let''s beat all those baddies and get a better world for everyone else¡­ I don''t want them to grow up fighting for their lives, nor any of that stuff we went through¡­ I want them to live happily and carefreely."


    "Me too." I smiled, caressing her beautiful face, and giving her another kiss. "Let''s build a world together. A world¡­ where everyone can smile."


    In that conversation, I felt like I found a goal that I had long ago lost sight of. A goal that my previous self had when he was a child, that grew up in the trash, eating rats, and without a family of his own.


    In such times, he always hoped to build a world where children like him could eat their fill, where there wouldn''t be poverty, and where¡­ families could live carefreely.


    It was a goal I lost sight long ago, and with Erika, I''ve found it again.


    The reason I fought so hard back then, and the reason I''m fighting so hard now¡­ It is all for such a noble goal.


    How corny of me¡­ A ruthless Vampire Emperor known for his cruelty and madness, to think such feeble things.


    Yet I can''t help but feel inspired the more I think about it.


    The more I see Erika''s beautiful eyes.


    She had healed my soul and my heart so much¡­


    I can''t believe how precious she is to me.


    .


    .


    .


    At the end, Erika couldn''t let me go, so I ended sleeping with her at my side, hugging me tightly. She was really warm, and I felt like I was boiling while covered on the bedsheets.


    However, once the morning I arrived, I was finally able to free myself from her strong arms, as she was sleeping soundly.


    "Borgar¡­" She drowsily said, probably dreaming of eating delicious food she liked.


    After giving her a kiss in her forehead, I went to take a bath and then, went downstairs to prepare breakfast.


    It was then that I meet Elizabeth, she was there drinking some coffee while calmly gazing at the morning sun.


    Silently and beautifully.


    The reflection of the sun over her golden hair made her resemble an angel.


    If I could make a painting of her right now, it would surely be believed to be a celestialdy that had descended from the skies.


    And I am not exaggerating.


    Elizabeth, much like Erika, was praised by her looks by literally every male student I''ve met.


    I don''t know why, but it made me slightly proud she was in love with me, while everyone else was wishing she could even give them a nce.


    Though, despite the beauty that she was, Elizabeth was an often lonely and solitary girl.


    Unlike Erika, she had a hard time telling everything she felt, when she was younger, she was much friendlier.


    But because of Ellergest''s passing, and also the many years she was taught in the church, she grew to be much different than she used to be.


    Nheless, deep down, she was still that adorable girl.


    However, she only showed that side to me now.


    "Well, I am amazed to find such a beautiful angel in here." I said, walking into the kitchen.


    "Oh, ke¡­ You woke up early as usual." She smiled. "Want some coffee?"


    "Sure." I sat down at her side.


    "There you go." She said, giving me a cup of coffee.


    I drank it a bit, the smooth bitterness of the drink woke up my entire body.


    "The morning is sure beautiful at this hour." I noticed.


    "It is¡­ It reminds me of¡­ Ah, never mind." She giggled.


    "Hm? No, tell me. What does it reminds you of?" I wondered.


    "A-Ah, well, it is a bit embarrassing¡­ I don''t like being corny." She sighed.


    "Haven''t I told you a thousand times already that you can be yourself with me?" I asked. "Or¡­ you don''t trust me anymore?"


    "I do¡­" She said, caressing my hand. "Geez, okay, fine¡­ I just¡­ this morning, I like waking up early and seeing the morning sun because it reminds me of a certain morning when we woke up together. It was some days before the whole Necromancer thing¡­ When I went to stay at your house once."


    "Oh, that day¡­" I nodded.


    "I remember waking up and not finding you at all¡­" Elizabeth giggled. "And when I went downstairs, there you were¡­ without a shirt, and sweating constantly while throwing punches and kicks in the air, gathering Aura and Ki, and constantly training, relentlessly¡­ And I learned you did that every single day, without skipping a day. I remember that the sun shone brightly beneath your body¡­ It made me feel¡­ inspired to be stronger too, to be a bit like you."


    "Oh, so is that why you suddenly changed your mind and wanted to learn how to fight?" I wondered.


    "Yep, pretty much¡­ Hahaha, I told you it was corny." She blushed a bit.


    "Maybe." Iughed. "But it makes me feel ttered, to think you saw me in such a way¡­"


    "E-Eh? A-Ahahah¡­" Elizabeth got even more embarrassed. "W-Well, you''re really handsome¡­"


    "And you''re beautiful." I added.


    "G-Geez, flirting this early in the morning¡­" She blushed. "A-Anyways! Why are you not training as usual?"


    "I was caught by Erika''s embrace and she didn''t let me go in bed." I sighed.


    "E-Eh?! Y-You two did it?! Wait, did Erika beat me to it?!" Elizabeth was shocked.


    "Hm? No, we didn''t do what you think we did¡­" I sighed. "That''ll be for muchter, Elizabeth¡­"


    "A-Ah¡­ Right." Elizabeth sighed in relief. "S-Sorry about that¡­"


    "You don''t have to feel sorry, I''m sorry if I scared you." I held her hand. "So, Erika said we could get married¡­"


    "Eh?!" She was scared again.


    -----

 Chapter 705 A Lovely Saintess

    <h4>Chapter 705 A Lovely Saintess</h4>


    -----


    "I was honestly as surprised as you." I sighed. "But¡­"


    I exined her what happened a bit.


    "I see¡­ So she really wants a family of her own¡­" Elizabeth smiled. "Erika¡­ she''s quite the handful."


    "Yeah, but I was really happy over her thoughts, making a family together is a beautiful thought¡­" I smiled sweetly.


    "Hehe." Elizabeth giggled. "I''ve never seen you smile like that! You must be really happy over the thought! Do you want babies to tell you "papa!" and all? So corny~"


    "H-Hey! I was just thinking." I sighed.


    "Well, I''m d¡­ If you two can make a family like that. I would be so happy if you can make that girl have a beautiful family of her own¡­" Elizabeth sighed. "She has suffered a lot¡­"


    "Not just with Erika." I said, holding her hand tightly. "Elizabeth, you''re included as well. I know you''re pretending to be happy; I know you very well. And I know¡­ that you feel lonely, even more since Ellergest''s passing. Once the war is over and everything else is said and done, let''s make a family together. I am not nning on leaving you behind."


    "Uwaah?!" Elizabeth suddenly blushed intensively, feelingpletely embarrassed. "I-Is that so¡­" She felt slightly happy, I could tell.


    "I-I guess, there''s no helping it¡­" She said. "Also I couldn''t leave Erika to you alone, she''s like my sister at this point! So I''ll help you take care of her too¡­"


    "Hahaha, I''m d." I giggled myself.


    She quickly started kissing me while we sat down in front of therge table.


    "Geez, always saying so many embarrassing things¡­" She said, kissing my mouth whileining.


    "I''m sorry, I can''t help it, you''re so cute when you get embarrassed." I smiled. "I remember you used to be much more open back then."


    "T-That''s¡­ I just have grown up!" She sighed. "I want to be a properdy¡­ for you."


    "There''s no need for such a thing, but I appreciate your efforts." I gave her a head pat. "How about we make breakfast for everyone else?"


    "Oh! Alright." She nodded. "Hm? What''s this?"


    Suddenly, she noticed the wooden box in the table.


    "A gift for you."


    "Oh? Ah! A-A bracelet?" She was surprised.


    It was also a gold bracelet, though the jewels were white, blue, and yellow, unlike Erika''s jewels, which were purple, pink, and green.


    "It is a bracelet I designed for you, it''ll make you much stronger." I said. "Wear it."


    "O-Okay¡­ Oh!" Elizabeth quickly realized its effects. "A-Amazing! Did my Mana almost double?! Just how much power does this bracelet has?! And it so pretty too! I feel like I should pay you for this¡­"


    "I would never ask money to my girlfriend." I sighed.


    "G-Girlfriend? I am your¡­?" She asked, feeling joyous.


    "You aren''t? I was assuming we were already into such a rtionship. Erika had said you are." I said.


    "I-I¡­ well, I¡­ I guess it is on my part for not realizing it¡­" She sighed. "After all we were kissing a lot just seconds ago¡­"


    "Don''t sweat it, anyways, let''s prepare something tasty for everyone." I smiled confidently. "I''ll also make your favorite meal, how about it, dear?"


    "D-Dear?!" Elizabeth grew redder, as I could even see steaming out of her ears, which grew redder in embarrassment. "I-If you want to¡­"


    "So cute." I smiled, quickly beginning to cook.


    I enjoyed our time together much like I did with Erikast night. Elizabeth slowly rxed and opened her heart more and more with me as we spent a time together, with nobody else in the way.


    "So I have been receiving some letters from the priests back in our vige, they''re doing fine." She said. "Seth told me that Jack has been helping the hunters catch wyverns and giant wild boarstely! His chains are really useful, so everyone loves him now. He has be really respected."


    "Oh? That brat that was always annoying us?" Iughed. "Well, he has indeed grown."


    "Yeah, he has be a more reliable person." Elizabeth smiled. "¡­"


    "Do you miss them?" I wondered. "We could go there once we''re done with Silvertide. By then, the semester would probably end."


    "We can?" She wondered. "That would be nice¡­ I also want to meet your family again¡­ Maybe we could tell them about our rtionship too?"


    "Sure, my mom and dad already supported you anyways, so you shouldn''t feel nervous." I smiled. "They understood a while ago that you''re inseparable from me and Erika."


    "Geez¡­ That''s embarrassing¡­ And I was trying to get into their good side acting politely and all¡­"


    "Hahaha, well, they do love that side of yours. My grandma said that you and Erika are like two different halves thatplement me."


    "I-I have to admit it, that is a rather cute praise¡­" She giggled. "Ah, smells nice, is that- Oh, French Toast!"


    "Indeed, your favorite breakfast. I also am making pancakes for Erika." I nodded.


    "Nice!" Elizabeth got super happy, smiling like she used to smile when she was much younger and smaller.


    It is for such a beautiful smile that I work so hard¡­


    Once breakfast came, we all feasted happily. Breakfast was the most important meal of the day, so we had to take this opportunity to eat our fill before we start our daily training routine.


    "So I discussed with Hasan what was going to happen." Erika''s mother said. "And Evelyn as well."


    "Yeah." Evelyn sighed. "I can''t believe it¡­ You''re too reckless!"


    "It couldn''t be helped." Eric sighed. "Once ke sets his goal, nobody can stop him."


    "Well, we''ve been informed of the entire contexts, and we''ve decided toe along as well, to support you in such¡­ a dangerous endeavor." Sighed Erika''s mother. "I know you''re all very strong, but we won''t be saving the entire Kingdom. Our mission will be to eliminate the demon settlement surrounding Monica''s territory, and find her father."


    "I know." I nodded. "Of course, we''re still free to do as we please once we get there¡­"


    -----

 Chapter 706 A Date With The Vampire Queen

    <h4>Chapter 706 A Date With The Vampire Queen</h4>


    -----


    What Erika''s mother talked about was mostly the basic mission. I''ll go deeper and just save the entire Kingdom while I''m at it. Of course, most of it is in ruins now. But the capital has be the demon''s nest, with the ruined castle being where the Demon Overlord is located.


    I''ll just have to flood that entire ce with my strongest summons, crush every single demon, destroy the demon gates summoning them, and then, destroy the Demon Overlord.


    It won''t be easy, but I was never expecting it to be easy anyways. It''ll be a good test for our strength, and it''ll be the ideal ce where I can earn the levels I need to Rank Up too.


    "So you''ll be joining us, mom?! Nice! That''ll make things much easier." Erika celebrated.


    "I-I''ll also make things easier!" Evelynined. "I''m strong¡­ you know." She sighed.


    "O-Of course! Miss Evelyn too!" Elizabeth celebrated.


    We spent the rest of the morning talking, eating, preparing, and training. Once the evening came,rge group of car-like golems came in front of the house and brought with them tons of the items that Hasan promised me.


    There were thousands of Spirit Orbs, enough for me to be able to summon the new powerful Familiars I will be unlocking in the future.


    "Good, with this, we''re almost set."


    The day went by, and I took the time to both train and spend time with my friends and Elizabeth, Erika, and Eleanora. It was already tomorrow morning when I was talking with Eleanora.


    "Lilith is sadly not done yet, my lord." She sighed. "We were unable topletely hurt her soul enough¡­"


    "Yeah, but we did manage to hurt it good enough for her to not bother us for a while¡­" I nodded. "I need to get there asap, so we can learn what''s going on regarding the Demonic Cult. Perhaps Lilith''s cult is involved there if they wanted to hurt Monica."


    "You''re right¡­" She nodded. "My lord, there might be an evenrger battle than what we faced when we fought Beelzebub''s forces back then¡­ Are you ready to go there?"


    "Of course." I smiled. "You shouldn''t doubt my resolve. Though, what did we talk about calling me "my lord"?"


    "A-Ah¡­ Right." Eleanora felt a bit nervous. "I just¡­ felt like calling you like that again because I respect you a lot¡­" She blushed a bit. "You''ve been growing and developing more and more; it reminds me of our previous lives. You''ve started exuding that same powerful aura."


    "Sigh¡­ I honestly have no desire to be like my previous life anymore." I admitted. "Just call me ke, Eleanora."


    "I-I know, ke." She sighed. "Anyways! You promised me that today we''re going on a date¡­ together, right?"


    "Yeah, I thought you wanted to go in the night." I said.


    "Yeah but I would like to enjoy a meal together too¡­ In those fancy restaurants we went the other day together with Erika and Elizabeth¡­" She blushed a bit.


    "Oh, ahaha, alright." I nodded. "Then let''s go. I''ve already informed those two about this, and they were happy you were getting your personal time as well."


    "I-Is that so¡­?" Eleanora blushed a bit. "Okay, I''ll go get prepared. I haven''t bought so many clothes for nothing!"


    She quickly ran to her section of the room but then nced at me while still blushing.


    "Right, I''ll go out, you can get changed." I nodded, smiling a bit.


    Once she was done, she walked out of the room. Unlike her previous dress clothes, she was wearing ck jeans, ck boots, a white blouse, and red jacket.


    "H-How do I look?" She wondered while blushing. She was in her true form, so she looked like a gorgeous woman.


    "I would say gorgeous is an understatement." I smiled. "Those clothes really suit you¡­ I never saw you in such different clothing."


    "I-Is that so?" She blushed even more. "I''m d you find them fitting¡­ L-Lets go then!"


    "Alright, where do you want to go¡­?"


    Like that, we walked across Stronghold slightly carefreely, while the sun slowly set down in the horizon. We went to eat at her favorite restaurant, named Steak House, which sold amazing steaks and meat dishes.


    I ordered as much as she wanted, and Eleanora happily filled herself up with tasty food and delicious gourmet dishes. The drinks were also rather good, although I preferred not to drink alcohol myself, she did drink a few cups of wine, finding it quite good.


    The night came, and the beautiful night sky was covered by bright stars. Eleanora and I flew across the night skies like we once used to do back in our previous lives, using our vampiric wings.


    "The moon is beautiful this night, ke." She said, her big red eyes ncing into the night sky.


    "Indeed." I nodded. "But not as beautiful as you."


    "T-That''s¡­ Thanks." Eleanora blushed, smiling.


    "You seem to be lost in thoughts, is there something troubling you before we depart?" I wondered.


    "I¡­ Nothing serious, don''t worry." She smiled.


    "Don''t be like Elizabeth, just tell me." I said, holding her hand sin midair, the moon shining brightly behind our bodies.


    "I just¡­ I was thinking on our previous lives a lot. Of the many things we did, and of the many people we helped, the many friends we made along our journey¡­" She sighed. "I''ve been wondering how everyone is doing, those that didn''t join us in the fight¡­"


    "I see¡­ If we managed to end this war, then I''ll bring you along outside. We''ll travel the outer universe for a bit, and check if everything is going alright." I smiled.


    "Really? Is it possible?" She asked.


    "Of course, I need to practice these powers I''ve gained some more, but it shouldn''t be impossible to build a spaceship eventually." I nodded, holding her hands and lifting her up a bit more. "Is that everything that''s worrying you?"


    "N-No, I¡­ well, I''ve been thinking of the many things I regretted back then¡­" She sighed. "And I am just¡­ I still can''t believe we''ve been given a second chance like this, after everything that happened."


    "It was perhaps just a coincidence, maybe¡­ just bad luck, actually. Are you not bothered by being confined at my side? By being forced to be my spirit? In the future¡­ I will try to make it so all of you can be independent again, so you can fully revive like you were before." I sighed. "I don''t want you to be chained to me¡­"


    "B-ke¡­ No! I¡­ I don''t mind it." She said. "I don''t think any actually even mind it. Everyone is¡­ so happy to be with you. Me included¡­ Please, don''t ever think that you''re a bother¡­ I¡­ I love being with you, my lord."


    "Just call me ke¡­" I sighed, caressing her chin. "My dear Eleanora¡­ You''re my preciouspanion. I just want the best for you¡­ After I wronged you so much before¡­"


    "T-There''s nothing to apologize for¡­" She said, blushing a bit. "Being with you here is¡­ enough, to make up for everything¡­" Our lips grew closer, as our eyes meet.


    "I think the same¡­ Eleanora, I''ve always loved you, you know?" I asked her.


    "I¡­ I am well aware." She blushed. "I love you too, my lord¡­ I-I mean, ke."


    We shared a kiss while flying beneath the moonlight, Eleanora was nervous, but I held her gently, as I gave her the warmth that her cold bodycked.


    This was a night I would never forget.


    -----

 Chapter 707 Moving To Silvertide

    <h4>Chapter 707 Moving To Silvertide</h4>


    -----


    Naturally, I also gifted my dear Eleanora a bracelet custom made to enhance her battle performance and that also looked quite beautiful, it wasn''t gold colored, but ck gold, with red, purple, and pink jewels. It was right in her aesthetic, and she seemed to love it.


    And once the morning came and we were enjoying breakfast, everyone noticed how all three of them were extra lovey-dovey with me, sitting around me and attending my every need¡­ I am sure they felt indebted with the gifts, but I don''t think this was necessary. Nheless, I appreciate their love.


    "Woah, those bracelets you''re wearing¡­" Chris noticed first.


    "Oh, I can tell why you three are so lovey-dovey with him now¡­" Evelyn noticed as well. "It seems the heart of a woman can always be conquered with a beautiful enough jewelry! Ah, I wish someone gifted me something too!"


    "W-We''re always like this with ke!" Erika blushed a bit.


    "Well, I have to admit that the bracelet is really beautiful." Elizabeth smiled sweetly.


    "I''ve always been my lord''s most loyal servant; I would kill anybody for him!" Eleanora seemed slightly more obsessed than often.


    "It''s fine, calm down, girls." I sighed. "Let''s just enjoy breakfast with everybody else like always."


    Knock, knock!


    Suddenly, someone knocked the door of our house, as Erdrich went to open it. What greeted him was Monica, Hasan, and a group of soldiers wearing armor we had never seen before.


    "Greetings¡­ Director, and Monica?" Erdrich said.


    "May wee in, young man?" Hasan asked politely.


    "Y-Yes, please¡­" Erdrich nodded.


    The whole group entered the house as they made a bit of a fuss while we were enjoying a calm morning breakfast. It seems that news about Silvertide have arrived.


    "Good news, ke, we''ve managed to get all paperwork done now. Also, Monica here used her authority over her own territory to create a Summon Decree, which pretty much calls for you students to join the battle." Said Hasan. "Usually, this would easily get rejected by me, but because this is exactly what you want¡­ Well, there you go."


    "And these soldiers are from your territory, Monica?" I asked.


    "Commoner! Don''t talk to Lady Monica with such rxed tone of voice!" Suddenly, one of the knights stepped forward, with a short gray beard and an old looking appearance, a big scar in the middle of his face.


    "Eustace, it is fine." Said Monica. "Didn''t I tell you that this is ke? He''s the one that rescued me from the demons and taught me how to be much stronger. Please, show him the same reverence and respect you would to nobility."


    "B-But mydy¡­" The old man, Eustace, seemed shaken, but then nodded and sighed. "Very well¡­ My apologies, sir ke."


    "Don''t worry, I am quite used to being bashed at for being amoner." Iughed. "Anyways, Monica, have youe to escort us? You seem different than before, are you in a hurry?"


    "Y-Yes¡­ I finally got news about my father¡­" Monica sighed, sitting between Eric and Alberta. "For thest month our territory has been constantly attacked by the demons, and my father was¡­ In a battle defending our territory, he¡­"


    "He died?!" Asked Erika panicking.


    "N-No! By the Holy Spirits, that''s the least I would want to¡­ But it might lead to that¡­" Monica sighed. "He was captured by the demons and is being used as a hostage. They want to use him as a bargaining chip so we give up our territory to them without fighting any longer¡­"


    "The Darkage Territory is thest stronghold of the Silvertide Kingdom, if it falls, the smaller fiefdoms all will fall in a domino effect, and the demons will finally secure the entire Kingdom¡­" Eustace sighed. "To think these treacherous monsters would go this far!"


    The old knight clenched his fists tightly while gritting his teeth, he seemed very shaken as well.


    "I see, so that''s why this is more urgent than before." I nodded. "Very well, we''ve finished preparations anyways, so let''s depart right away."


    "R-Really?!" Monica got incredibly happy. "T-Then let''s go right away! An airship is waiting for us in the airport!"


    "Alright everyone." I stood up from my seat. "It''s time to get going and earn ourselves continent-wide recognition."


    "Let''s do this!" Erika got excited.


    "I guess there''s no option." Elizabeth sighed.


    "Leave them to me." Eleanora said. "I''ll crush all those demons in your name."


    "Hahaha! That''s the spirit!" Erdrichughed. "Maybe with this¡­ with this my father will recognize my strength some more."


    "Hmph, to think I would end up helping you humans¡­" Sighed Elfriedden. "You better make sure to repay the favorter on."


    "T-This is a bit¡­ terrifying. H-How many demons are there going to be?" Alberta wondered.


    "I think it has been reported that there''s at least ten thousand demons surrounding our territory¡­" Monica sighed.


    "W-What?!" Alberta cried in shock.


    "Don''t worry, you''re not alone on this Alberta." Eric smiled bravely. In other situations, he would be panicking just like her, but he had grown to be braver due to her. "I''ll be there as well; I won''t let any harme to you."


    "E-Eric¡­" Alberta blushed a bit. "A-And I won''t let any harme to you either! Y-You''re more of a long-ranged attacker so¡­ I''ll protect you with my defenses! A-Also, my golems are finally ready."


    "Golems?" Monica wondered.


    "A small project we''ve been working on." I answered. "Using our Skills together, we''ve managed to mass produce fifty high-tech magic golems capable of fighting C+ Rank monsters by themselves."


    It was mostly an experimentation on my part, as I was trying out my new Skills such as Creation, Fusion, and Mechanical Creation. With Alberta''s Forging Skills and Eric''s advanced Alchemy, we were capable of creating amazingly high tech golems using the highest quality materials we could find.


    They''re only fifty by now, but they''ll definitely make a change once we can mass produce them. Not only I can rely on my summons, but huge armies of golems, much like how the Dwarves defend their territories by employing over a million golems themselves.


    "Amazing¡­" Monica sighed. "I feel like I don''t even deserve your help¡­"


    "Well, as long as I am paid well, you shouldn''t feel guilty about our aid." Iughed.


    "Watch your tongue!" Eustace barked.


    -----

 Chapter 708 An Endless Army Of Demons

    ?


    -----


    Once things were said and done, we moved to the airship. Our golems were easily secured inside of my Inventory, and as we traveled across the skies on the airship, we learned more about the Silvertide Kingdom.


    "The capital has already been taken down by the demons for a while now. Part of the royal family escaped to our territory, and we''ve been sheltering ever since then." Monica exined. "However, although the prince and princesses are fine, the queen and king were killed by the Demon Overlord that has now made of our capital city''s castle as their nest."


    "That''s awful¡­" Erika sighed.


    "Indeed." Monica cried. "The prince and princess are very young as well, both are twins, no older than five years by now¡­ They are not strong enough nor old enough to lead the Kingdom either."


    "Hmmm, it will be rather different once things end." I said. "Hypothetically speaking, once we defeat the demons, the entire Kingdom will be in a terrible state. I wouldn''t me some neighboring kingdom if they tried taking over the territory."


    "T-That sounds awful¡­" Monica cried again.


    "That''s why we need toe out with a n too." I said. "Until the Kingdom bes stable, someone else must be its governor. Your father¡­ or you."


    "B-But that''s¡­ is it even possible?" Monica wondered.


    "Of course it is." I smiled. "I''ll make it possible. Without the governing royalty there to stop you, you could easily im the capital as your territory¡­ And be the new royal family by force. Like a coup."


    "T-This young man talks like he''s a sixty-year-old cunning bastard!" Eustace was shocked. "Is he really just thirteen years old?!"


    "I''ll be fourteen soon." Iughed.


    Monica took my words seriously, unlike her retainers.


    "If things really end after the demons are gone then¡­ I would dly employ your help, ke." She smiled, suddenly changing her expression, as her eyes shone with a slight gleam of cunningness.


    "Good." I smiled, looking into the vast skies through the airship''s windows.


    I''ll make sure to profit much more out of this conflict than anybody thinks, of course. If things go well, I could even ask for arge part of the territory for myself. I could use it to nt and harvest vegetables, fruits, and tubers, and raise cattle.


    Like this, I could probably help the Kingdom get back to its original state before the war in a few years, while also earning arge quantity of passive profit. At the same time, I could create connections with other Kingdoms in simr situations.


    Help them get food at cheaper prices than other areas, and slowly yet surely, build a dependence. This war is terrible, and I want to end the demons, but I would be a fool if I weren''t to take these opportunities that would only appear in a war where humans are constantly fighting.


    There''s a need for food and resources everywhere. And the producers and distributors cannot help everyone either, they can''t produce enough goods for everyone, it creates a huge void in the market. And I''ll fill it all with my own products.


    Not only to help humanity and aid their battle against the demons, but also so I can secure a good future for my family, and all of its future generations. If I n to have children, at the very least, I must make them the wealthiest family in the entire world, is it not?


    It is the very least I could do. I will also use this future authority to crush the corrupted agencies and those that attempt to monopolize everything¡­ I''ll y with their same tactics and crush them one by one.


    But well, that''ll happen muchter¡­ For now, I should concentrate in the present.


    After a day of traveling across the skies, the terrific sight of the Darkage Territory came into view. The grassy ins werepletely burned into dry ground.


    Forests werepletely destroyed by the demons. And huge waves of red spread across thend, they were all demons, marching and rushing across, swarming the territory''s walls, magically enchanted with dwarven technology to create powerful magic barriers.


    "T-Those are all demons?!" Alberta cried in surprise.


    "Unbelievable¡­" Eric sighed in shock.


    "And that''s not all of them¡­" Monica sighed.


    "There''s at least¡­ over one hundred thousand more spread through the territory, the majority living within the capital." Said Eustace.


    "Eventually, we''ll fight millions of them in the future." I said. "This is nothing but a few insects. All of you need to prepare. Let''s use this as our starting point."


    "Millions in the future?!" Chris asked. "Where could there be so many?"


    "To the north of our continent, where the battle against the Demon King''s army is raging the most, there have been reported to be millions of demons." Said Evelyn.


    "Indeed." Erika''s mother nodded. "One of the primary reasons why we couldn''te to the Silvertide Kingdom''s aid was¡­ because of the sheer number of demons we had to deal with in the north. In fact, even with all three major continent''s armiesbined, it might seem not enough."


    "We are¡­ in the losing side. We are simply slowly prolonging this battle. Trying to find hope." Evelyn sighed.


    "¡­" I remained in silence while ncing at the scene down below.


    How many times have I heard these words?


    How many times have I seen the despair in the eyes of innocents?


    In my past life, I saw this all the time.


    Entire worlds consumed by the mes of the demons.


    Civilizations destroyed in just a few days.


    The despair and screams of the innocent souls consumed by their endless greed.


    After I managed to go so far as to free almost the entire universe from them, I went to the root of the problem.


    Hell itself.


    I sealed all seven Archdemons, and once I stepped into thest stage¡­ I lost everything.


    Lucifer on his foolishness gave me a second life only to torment me, but little did he knew that such a thing would be his greatest mistake.


    I''ll use this opportunity your stupidity created to crush you once and for all, Lucifer.


    And I''ll free this world from your tyranny.


    -----

 Chapter 709 Saving Darkage From Starvation

    <h4>Chapter 709 Saving Darkage From Starvation</h4>


    -----


    The airship arrived over the top of the Darkage Territory, as we were greeted by arge flock of a few hundred flying demons. There were Lesser Gargoyles, Banshees, and Bird Demons. However, as much as they attacked the airship, they couldn''t pierce through its heavily reinforced magic barrier, as it slowlynded on the airport.


    "I can''t believe there are demons even in the sky now!" Eric panicked at longst.


    "Why are you so worried? You''re our bow wielder, you''ll shoot them all down for us." I smiled.


    "E-Eh?! I-I¡­" He quickly noticed Alberta''s expectant expression. "O-Of course! I will do that!"


    "We''ve arrived¡­" Monica sighed, as the gates of the airship opened.


    As we walked into the airport, we were greeted by a rather deste ce. Aside from a few soldiers, there was barely anybody else in the scene.


    "Wee to my fiefdom¡­" Sighed Monica, as we walked across the streets while being escorted by the knights.


    The ce looked simr to the many other cities I''ve visited in this world, looking less fancier than Stronghold, and without enjoying its manymodities such as a train.


    I noticed a lot of people wandering the streets. Some seemed hungry, over the ground, starving. A few other people red at us with surprise, some with anger.


    "Is it her?"


    "Lady Monica!"


    "She''s back!"


    Suddenly, as the people noticed it was her, they swarmed us, asking for salvation and help, they screamed, cried, and even showed us their starving children in their arms.


    "Please help us!"


    "T-The demons have stolen all the crops outside!"


    "We are starving! Food has be too scarce!"


    "Lady Monica¡­!"


    "My baby is dying!"


    Monica felt taken aback, she didn''t knew what to say, or how to answer their pleas.


    "D-Don''t worry, we''vee with help! We''ll destroy the demons and¡­ help you." She sighed. "Please, have patience!"


    "Those kids are the help?!"


    "They''re just some brats!"


    "W-What is the meaning of this?!"


    "We''re starving and you''re just bringing your friends for a tea party?!"


    "Silence, you insolents!" Eustace stepped forward. "Mdy, please move without giving them a nce."


    The knights did their job, protecting Monica and us from the angered mobs. But I couldn''t me them, they were starving. The demons most likely destroyed all the farms and cattle, or ate it, so they have nothing else but some scraps.


    Once we arrived at her manor, thergest building in the entire fiefdom, we were greeted by arge group of servants, and two young children with silver colored hair and blue eyes.


    "Monica is back!"


    "Big sis Monica!"


    "Hello, you two." Monica sighed, as she hugged them both as if they were her siblings. "These two are the prince and princess of Silvertide, Nics and Belle."


    "Big sis, who are these people?" Wondered Nics, slightly afraid of us.


    "They''re my friends, and the people that might¡­ save our country." Monica sighed.


    "But they''re so few¡­ How are they even going to do that?!" Belle panicked.


    "I ask myself the same thing¡­" Eustace muttered to himself. "I know they could had helped her but¡­ Are they even enough to fight an army of ten thousand demons?!"


    "More than capable." I answered confidently. "Though, I''ll need some more help. Monica, can you bring me a map of the entire fiefdom?"


    "Y-Yes, surely." Monica nodded.


    As we walked inside her manor, we were greeted by her many maidservants and manservants, who served us delicious herbal tea, and a few rather hard cookies.


    Even nobility was eating very little, and they had no fruits or cakes to offer to us sadly. I sighed and took out some of the thousands of meals I had stored in my Inventory, inviting the servants to eat with us.


    "Come an eat, you must be starving as well." I sighed.


    "E-Eh? But this is¡­!"


    "Is this right?!"


    "Mdy Monica¡­?"


    "It''s fine, eat up." Monica smiled, walking into the room while carrying a huge map. "I found it on father''s room. This is the entire map of our fiefdom and the neighboring territories."


    The moment she let them; all of the servants started eating happily. They had been probably only eating a single small meal a day.


    As I let them eat, I considered feeding the entire poption. Although I didn''t had enough food in my inventory for that, with Erika''s magic and Eric''s support, it is possible to grow many trees that''ll bear fruit instantly.


    With that, we can feed the poption with the bare minimum¡­ However, I also have to consider the future of such trees, and how they could use them to their advantage.


    It would be better to distribute food once this is over, although¡­ my human side is just telling me to help them.


    Should I prioritize profits in the future, or simply help the innocents?


    "ke, can''t we make fruits and veggies to help the rest of the poption?" Wondered Erika.


    I guess her words were enough to convince me.


    "Sure, let''s do that."


    Although I''ll make profits in the future, helping these starving peoplees first at the end of the day¡­ If they''re the people I want to protect, part of this entire world I love.


    Then there''s no helping it.


    "I''ll take the map for now. Let''s go." I said.


    "E-Eh? Where are you going?!" Monica wondered.


    "To feed all of your citizens." I smiled. "Come, you''ll need to see this."


    We walked into thergest clearing within the city, mostly covered by dried out trees and dry grass. And with Erika, Elizabeth, and Eric''s Magic, boosted several times by my Magic power and the Mana spread in thend, which I quickly absorbed using my own Demonic Arm, a miracle happened.


    As seeds of various types were enhanced and nted one after another across the entire area, trees slowly began to sprout. They were unique trees, as they were Lesser Yggdrasil Seeds and Lesser Spirit Trees made from Erika''s own body.


    FLAAAASH!


    "W-What is this?! A miracle?!" Eustace panicked, falling to the floor.


    "T-This is¡­ Y-You could do this?!" Monica was shocked beyond belief.


    In just a couple of minutes, an entire forest grew, with hundreds of trees, each one quickly blossoming with colorful flowers, which then became beautiful, red apples.


    In a few minutes, dozens of thousands of apples were produced.


    "It just apples for now, but make sure to distribute them to everyone in the poption."


    -----

 Chapter 710 Time To Fight Thousands

    <h4>Chapter 710 Time To Fight Thousands</h4>


    -----


    The entire poption of the Darkage Fiefdom suddenly was shaken. Their gloomy expressions and faces instantly changed, as everybody were given red, shiny apples, as many as they could eat.


    Children ate the apples vigorously, adults cut them down into pieces, and even the elderly, without many teeth to chew, ate mashed apple puree. Babies also enjoyed this puree, slowly being feed by their mothers.


    Apples produced by these trees contain great amounts of nutrients. Although these were made too fast, so they contain less than usual, but it is surely more than double the nutrients of a normal apple.


    They''re called Spirit Apples and are a delicacy of our hometown produced all year round by the Spirit Trees.


    "T-These fruits are so sweet¡­ I can''t believe it¡­ I''ve eaten three already and I''m on my fourth!"


    "My stomach¡­ it feels full¡­ after so long¡­"


    "Mommy, this juice you made is so good!"


    "Here, dear father, I''ve made a puree for you."


    "Even the babies are eating the puree so easily! They love it!"


    The poption of the Darkage Fiefdom, which was roughly seven thousand people, were all feed in the span of two hours. The Spirit Trees, as long as they were supplied with Mana, constantly created more apples, which kept rolling out of their branches into the open.


    Monica''s maidservants and manservants gathered them together with the knights, distributing them to everyone. At first people tried to fight for them, but as they realized there were so many everywhere, they calmed down and started sharing.


    The entire city became warm with smiles,ughter, and people crying out of happiness¡­ Maybe this was the correct choice at the end. I let myself get blinded by a bit of greed, but just giving out apples won''t ruin my future ns anyways.


    "So you could do such a thing?! Is this what you did back home?!" Wondered Erika''s mother. "Incredible! My daughter is a true prodigy! Hohohoho!" Sheughed pridefully.


    "T-This is insane¡­" Evelyn sighed. "I-I can barely believe it¡­"


    And above all else, we earned the trust of everyone else, even the old Eustace was shaken, kneeling before us, and asking for forgiveness over his rudeness.


    "Y-You''re true heroes¡­ a miracle like this can only be done by holy spirit-blessed saints!" He started crying. "Thank you so much for everything¡­" The rest of the knights, guards, and servants all lowered their heads.


    "Ah, well, it is something simr to what we did back home!" Erikaughed while feeling embarrassed.


    "It''s nothing much, don''t you worry." Elizabeth smiled. "It is my duty as a Saint of the Holy Spirits Church to help those in need."


    "I-I barely did anything, please don''t lower your head¡­" Eric felt embarrassed.


    "It''s fine. You''ll pay back once everything is done." I smiled rather maliciously.


    "P-Pay back?" Eustace wondered.


    "Don''t worry, it''s nothing too much¡­" I smiled suspiciously. "Anyways, Monica-"


    Suddenly, Monica ran to our side and hugged us all. tightly hugging even Elizabeth and Erika alongside myself and Eric.


    "Thank you so much!" She was in tears, the rest of her party that hade with her as well were all crying in happiness. "I-I really didn''t knew what would happen, even if the demons were to be killed¡­ So many people were starving, so many have already died¡­ I-I¡­"


    "It''s fine, dear, calm down." Elizabeth giggled.


    "Yeah, rx." Erika smiled.


    "I-I think I shouldn''t be the one receiving any thanks¡­" Eric said.


    "A ruler shouldn''t be crying like this." I said sternly. "Raise your chin, clear those tears, and stop your childish weeping."


    Monica looked at me in surprise, nodding, as she used her handkerchief to clear her tears.


    "Y-You''re right¡­ This is not over yet¡­" She sighed. "I''ll cry all I want once things improve much more¡­ Once this nightmare is over. We have yet to even find dad after all!"


    "Then let''s proceed with our next n." I smiled. "Let''s get all of that EXP!"


    "E-EXP?" Monica felt taken aback by my words.


    "He means to kill all the demons, they give Experience Points which help us level up." Elizabethughed.


    "It seems my lord is focused. Now that we''ve dealt with the starving people, there''s nothing else in our path." Eleanora stepped forward, standing at my side. The rest of my Vampire Spirits were summoned, nodding in unison.


    "Is it finally time, my lord?" Wondered Hendrick whileughing evilly. "Hehehe¡­ I can''t wait! I''ll crush as many as I can! I have so many new poisons and venoms to try out on them!"


    "I''ll help as much as I can daddy!" Saphira smiled gently.


    "Is it finally time? To purge those bastards?" Woo smiled. "They shall learn to fear my fists!"


    "My lord! Let me charge first! I will rip and tear as many demons as I can, and bring you their heads!" Fang howled.


    "I know you''re all eager. Let''s begin."


    We quickly moved with our group, apanied by the knights and Eustace. Most of them were roughly Level 40, and if they work together, they can take down most C+ Rank monsters. Though, most had one-star talents.


    Eustace was a mighty one though, he had a two-star talent "Silver Knight" and was Rank 2, possessing two Spirits, the Silver Armor, and the Moonless Sword, both were tool-type Spirits he was already equipped with.


    He was a true veteran, someone that had surpassed Level 70, and could fight B+ Rank monsters in equal terms. He was the true behemoth and guardian of Darkage after Monica''s father, a powerful Dark Magician that could take down hundreds of demons with his mighty dark magic.


    The demons must have used some sort of special tactic to capture him, for sure. I fear they could had used the power of Demonic Eyes, something humans in this world aren''t prepared for.


    "We are here¡­ the Territory Walls." Eustace said, as we arrived above the walls, ncing down at the enormous swarm of demons surrounding the entire territory.


    "What a view¡­" Iughed. "Now, I''ll show you why we are so confident on fighting thousands¡­ [Familiar Multiplication]"


    FLASH! FLASH! FLASH! FLASH! FLASH!


    -----

 Chapter 711 Powerful New Familiars

    <h4>Chapter 711 Powerful New Familiars</h4>


    -----


    Ding!


    [The [Holy Spirit of Light] is pleased over your good actions.]


    [The [Holy Spirit of Love] is happy that you''ve made others happier.]


    [The [Holy Spirit of Nature] bless you because you use nature to bring smiles into the faces of the unfortunate.]


    [The [Holy Spirits] have gifted you: [Holy Light Spirit Stone (Mythic Grade)] x1, [Essence of Joy (Mythic Grade)] x1, and [Ancient Forest Spirit''s Crystal Core (Mythic Grade)] x1!]


    Looks like good actions do have some positive rewards to those that do them¡­ Three Mythic Grade items at once, and they all seem rather interesting.


    They all seemed to be consumable items, despite their names. But I decided to save them forter. After all, right now, we were finally going to begin our hunt.


    My Grimoire started flickering its pages rapidly as I summoned all the Familiar Cards I had previous summoned beforehand and prepared to this day.


    Although a lot of my summons died on our C+++ Rank Dungeon exploration, I had already summoned many more, filling up to the veryst slot in my grimoire.


    With my Mana constantly regenerating thanks to all my pieces of equipment boosting my stats and natural MP Regeneration further, alongside many other Skills, I quickly decided to bring forth the cavalry.


    Just by summoning the roughly 200+ Familiars I already had stored; everyone was shocked beyond belief. Eustace was mesmerized by the huge quantity of monsters appearing across the entire walls.


    The soldiers panicked, thinking it was a monster attack, but quickly calmed down as they learned who was the one bringing them here.


    "I-Impressive¡­ You can summon monsters like this?! I did heard you were a summoner but¡­!" Eustace was shaken.


    "S-So this is how Summoners actually work¡­"


    "So many huge monsters¡­!"


    "And they''re all so strong too!"


    Huge evolved Fenrirs towered over every soldier, ring at them as if they were just insects. Large Red Orcs and Red Orc Druid Kings formed huge groups. Wyverns started flying around everywhere. Gigantic zing grizzlies wearing ck demonic ws appeared. Alongside some Cave Drakes for defense and flying Lilies for support.


    Of course, those weren''t everything, as aside from the D++ Rank Summons, there was a brand-new group made out of dozens of gigantic bugs, the most recent addition to the army, harvested right out of the C+++ Rank Dungeon we raided andpletely conquered.


    -----


    [Name]: [Arachne (Awakened)]


    [Type]: [Arachnid] [Bug] [Dark] [Poison]


    [Rank]: [C+]


    [Race]: [Giant ck Arachneia]


    [Health Points]: [6000/6000] (+1100)


    [Mana Points]: [3500/3500] (+1100)


    [Strength]: [5500] (+1400)


    [Agility]: [3000] (+1400)


    [Vitality]: [4500] (+700)


    [Intelligence]: [1500] (+700)


    [Dexterity]: [3000] (+700)


    [Buff]: [+200 Strength] [+200 Vitality]


    [Skill]: [Deadly Venomous Jaws++] [Imprable Exoskeleton Armor++] [Masterful Silk Production++] [Piercing Spear Leg Attack++]


    [Awakening Skill]: [Spiderweb Domain++]


    -----


    .


    -----


    [Name]: [Stinger (Awakened)]


    [Type]: [Bug] [Flying] [Poison]


    [Rank]: [C+]


    [Race]: [Giant Red Wasp]


    [Health Points]: [4500/4500] (+1100)


    [Mana Points]: [3500/3500] (+1100)


    [Strength]: [6000] (+1400)


    [Agility]: [5500] (+1400)


    [Vitality]: [1500] (+700)


    [Intelligence]: [3000] (+700)


    [Dexterity]: [4500] (+700)


    [Buff]: [+200 Strength] [+200 Agility]


    [Skill]: [zing Venom Stinger++] [Super Sonic Flight++] [Steel-Shattering Mandibles++] [Slicing Wind Gusts++]


    [Awakening Skill]: [Kamikaze++]


    -----


    .


    -----


    [Name]: [ze (Awakened)]


    [Type]: [Arachnid] [Fire] [Bug] [Poison]


    [Rank]: [C+]


    [Race]: [Giant zing Scorpion]


    [Health Points]: [4500/4500] (+1100)


    [Mana Points]: [4500/4500] (+1100)


    [Strength]: [4500] (+700)


    [Agility]: [3000] (+1400)


    [Vitality]: [4500] (+700)


    [Intelligence]: [6000] (+1400)


    [Dexterity]: [1500] (+700)


    [Buff]: [+200 MP] [+200 Intelligence]


    [Skill]: [zing Meteor++] [Volcanic ws++] [Burning Jaws++] [Infernal Exoskeleton Armor++]


    [Awakening Skill]: [zing Inferno++]


    -----


    Giant Arachneia, huge Giant Wasps, andstly, the zing Scorpions, the three strongest giant bugs in that Dungeon had now be my loyal Familiars, and as C+ Rank monsters, their stats were utterly ridiculous. Even more when boosted thanks to Familiar Awakening, which even made their Skills be stronger.


    And above all, thanks to my Familiar Awakening Skill reaching Level 4, Awakened Monsters now gain even more Bonuses to their Stats, and a brand-new Awakening Skill, much stronger than their previous ones.


    But that was just the beginning, I only had roughly five of each¡­ And that was more than enough. Because the most efficient way to multiply Familiars now was with a very simple Skill.


    "[Familiar Multiplication]!"


    FLAAAAASH!


    All of the summons started glowing brightly, especially these three huge new ones. Their bodies quickly started to divide into new perfect copies of themselves.


    Ding!


    [The Summon [Giant ck Arachneia: Arachne (C+ Rank)] has been multiplied through the power of the [Familiar Multiplication] Skill!]


    [The Summon [Giant Red Wasp: Stinger (C+ Rank)] has been multiplied through the power of the [Familiar Multiplication] Skill!]


    [The Summon [Giant zing Scorpion: ze (C+ Rank)] has been multiplied through the power of the [Familiar Multiplication] Skill!]


    [Mana and C Rank Spirit Orbs are being used as materials!]


    FLASH! FLASH! FLASH! FLASH! FLASH! FLASH! FLASH! FLASH! FLASH!


    Within mere seconds, over two hundred more Familiars appeared. Around seventy of each of these three, while the others D++ Rank were also divided and added over three hundred more to our ranks. I had Spirit Orbs to spare after all my investments, and Hasan''s aid in bringing them every single D Rank and C Rank Spirit Orbs in Stronghold he could find.


    Naturally, seeing how I multiplied my troops made everybody even more shaken. A smile surged in my lips as I nced down below. The demons had already noticed something wasn''t right. Their eyes opened wide as they noticed a huge swarm of almost a hundred gigantic wasps in the sky, huge spiders, and also scorpions emanating mes all around them.


    And of course, four hundred more lower ranked monsters¡­


    "This is what I call preparation." Iughed. "Draco, Fenrir¡­ Arachne, the three of you will be assigned these groups,mand them to victory."


    "Very well, my lord!" Draco roared.


    "It will be a pleasure!" Fenrir said proudly.


    "I will serve you with my life." Arachne made her huge mandibles crackle.


    "Go." Imanded, pointing my index finger down below. "Don''t leave any of them alive!"


    TRUUUUUMMMM¡­!


    RUMBLE!


    The sound of my army of almost five hundred familiars marching made the entire walls tremble, as they merely jumped off them, some of them just crawling through them down into the floor below.


    "Let''s begin."


    -----

 Chapter 712 An Endless Army!

    <h4>Chapter 712 An Endless Army!</h4>


    -----


    My army of Familiars stepped into battle right away before anybody else. The strategy here was rather simple, we needed to clear out the way from any demons first, and then once there was enough ground for anybody to step in, we would descend ourselves.


    The Arachne struck first with their huge bodies and tremendous defenses. Each of these giant bugs was at least ten to twenty meters big. With the Arachne being the biggest at 20, the Scorpions in the middle at 16, and the Wasps being the smallest, at 14. Nheless, they were all huge critters.


    "SHAAAAAHHH!!!"


    With a furious roar, Arachne, the General, led the rest of the insects to battle. The gigantic Arachneia crushed the demons in front of them with ease.


    The army of demons we were fighting was a mixture of everything we''ve been fighting so far. With the vast majority being Imp Warriors and Imp Magicians, there were also many Red and Blue Oni, and even a varied amount of Insectoids.


    There were also at least over thirty Demon Generals mixed between the thousands of other Demons. But that didn''t really matter, Demon Generals were no longer much of a threat at this point.


    CRASH! CRASH! CRAAAASH!


    The group of Arachneia crushed demons with their sharp spear-like metallic legs, while their sharp mandibles crushed and tore down more demons into pieces.


    "GRUOOOHHHH!"


    A dozen of Giant Demons, as big as thirty to forty meters started charging in, raising huge clubs made of stone and trying to crush my bugs.


    But it wasn''t going to work to their advantage. The Arachneia quickly coordinated their attacks, utilizing their spiderweb production and spiderweb domain skills to create traps made of sticky spiderweb.


    BAAAM! BAAAM! BAAAM!


    Several Demon Giants ended falling to these simple traps, tripping over the floor, and crushing many smaller demons in the way.


    "BBBZZZZTTT!"


    The Wasps attacked right after, utilizing their sharp stingers to pierce the body of the Giant Demons, killing them one after another by swarming their whole bodies and picking them apart.


    "KRIEEEEHHH!!!"


    Meanwhile, the squadron of Giant zing Scorpions used their huge ws covered on mes to set fire through the entire battlefield, crushing demons after demons on their steep.


    Their stingers hitrge groups at once, the moment they hit a target, they would let out a huge explosion of mes, burning even more monsters constantly.


    And as if that wasn''t enough¡­


    "zing Scorpions, use [zing Inferno]¡­ Burn it all." I ordered.


    "SHAAAAAHH!!!"


    The seventy Giant zing Scorpions roared in unison, gathering their Mana together and then unleashing it all into an explosive, devastating inferno of fire everywhere.


    BOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOOM!!!!


    Demons were incinerated easily one after another. Not even the Demon Generals, which were big and bulky, could do a single thing. The Gargoyle and Banshee Generals were caught midair by the wasps andpletely annihted too.


    "I-it feels like we don''t even need to get in battle¡­"


    "This is just¡­ ridiculous¡­"


    "And all of that power on a single person?"


    The soldiers and knights nced at me in shock, some were even terrified of my strength. After all, my army was winning easily, and in just five minutes, they had taken down a third of the demon army effortlessly.


    "Don''t worry, that''s just the beginning." Iughed. "Now that we''ve opened the way, we should go. Everyone, let''s do this."


    "ke! Let us join as well!" Monica said,ing with her friends.


    "No, for now, you should stay behind." I said. "You''re the governor of this ce, are you not? Stay here and help your people for now. But¡­ Hmm, how about you use your Curses to weaken the monsters at the very least?"


    "I-I think I can do that!" Monica nodded.


    "Attack from afar for now, don''t risk your lives." I said, ordering everyone else. "Use magic, or bows, or anything else. Everyone else,e with me. Fenrirs!"


    FLASH! FLASH! FLASH! FLASH!


    Several Fenrirs emerged out of my shadows, we rode their big backs and quickly leaped into the battlefield fearlessly. We reached the battlefield in just a few seconds, as we were greeted by mountains of corpses everywhere.


    "We''re here!" I said. "Saphira, you know what to do now, right?"


    "Yes papa!" Saphira smiled happily, spreading her magical powers everywhere.


    The corpses of the Demons suddenly starteding back to life. Dozens, then over a hundred quickly joined our group, recklessly rushing into battle.


    Saphira was an unique being, it could be said she was a Necromancer Spirit that was also ghost-like. Her abilities never developed like this back in our previous lives, she was only able to go through walls, and back then, that was plenty enough.


    But bing a Spirit has somehow allowed her to awaken her true strength and powers, those rted with the Specter Alien Race.


    Ding!


    [The [Phantasmal Specter Vampire: Saphira] has activated her [Undead Envement Contract: Lv6] Skill!]


    [Over a hundred Demons have be your temporary Undead Servants!]


    [Their power has been further enhanced through Saphira''s many Title Skills!]


    "OOOOH!"


    "GRAAAH!"


    "GRUOOHH¡­!"


    Even the huge Demon Giants quickly stood back up and started marching against our foes, crushing more and more smaller demons, which swiftly joined our undead armyplementing my familiar army.


    "Let''s all get along!" Saphira smiled while constantly flying around and making more and more demons stand back up as Undead obeying her will.


    Meanwhile, the rest of our party quickly split into three small groups, the first group wasposed of Erika, Elizabeth, Eleanora, and I. The second group was Erdrich, Eric, Alberta, and Hendrick. And the third group was Fang, Woo, Chris and Elfriedden.


    "HYAAAAAH!"


    Erika leaped into action, spinning around like a ballerina while using her hue sword to cut down demons one after another mercilessly. Their bodies flying into the air torn to shreds.


    Her dolls quickly helped her out as they constantly supported her with healing, buffs, and attacks from afar. And she even summoned the huge ck knight doll she had, who silently rushed across the battlefield cutting down demons.


    Ultimately, her amazing battle performance brought the attention of the true leaders of this entire army¡­ Demon Lords.


    -----

 Chapter 713 Facing The Demon Lord!

    <h4>Chapter 713 Facing The Demon Lord!</h4>


    -----


    The moment we faced the Demon Army, I was able to instantly tell how many Demon Lords there were out there. I quickly detected three of them. Each one was standing at a cardinal direction, for some reason.


    And all three of them exuded a simr amount of Demonic Energy than the one that tried to kill Monica back then. Most likely, these bastards were directly serving another Archdemon.


    It is most likely possible that the Demon Overlord that took over Silvertide''s Capital is serving the Archdemons, and these three are his servants.


    If that''s the case, the best way to deal with them right away was to just divide and conquer. While our armies took down the sheer, ridiculous amounts of demons, we would quickly go for the behead the general tactic.


    Kill the three Demon Overlords overseeing the entire battle and then destabilize the rest of the army. Once they notice their leaders are dead, they will have a really hard time adapting to the situations as easily.


    And that''s when we''ll crush them as they run away for their lives.


    FLAAAASH!


    While we were charging to battle, arge figure descended from the skies, as if it had jumped from really far away. And naturally, as I expected, it was a Demon Lord.


    BAAAAAAMMM¡­!


    A huge hulking body made of pure muscles, covered on ck, charcoal skin and ck sharp, metallic scales. With the head of a lizard, and many golden horns.


    A hulking body of over six meters of height and zing red eyes. It exuded an aura of great zing power, and darkness.


    "You who are bold enough to dare go against our Overlord''s orders¡­ Should really learn your ce. Especially useless bastards like you humans." It spoke with a serious, and furious tone of voice, ring down at Erika who had just finished massacring a hundred demons on her own.


    "What? Huh?" Erika nced at the huge hulking figure in surprise. "Wait, you''re-"


    "DIEEEE!!!"


    His enormous arms moved down rapidly, crushing through the entire floor, and shattering his surroundings mercilessly. The blows were like meteors, one after another, they massacred even the nearby demons!


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!


    Naturally, Erika was shaken, but quickly evaded the attacks at the same time as Elizabeth and Eleanora stepped forwards.


    "[Spirit Fusion]! [Spirit Weapon]!"


    Elizabeth quickly fused with her Holy Dragon, gaining dragon-like scales, wings, and a tail, while holding on a huge shield made out of the Mountain Turtle.


    CRAAAAASSSSH!!!


    Using such a huge shield, she managed to easily intercept the huge fist attacking from the Demon Lord, at the same time as Eleanora leaped into battle.


    "[Vampiric Blood Spear Arts]: [One Million Blood Needles]!"


    Eleanora moved her spear rapidly, striking the huge demon lord a million times at once through illusions generated with her own blood and darkness mixed into the attack at once.


    CLASH! CLASH! CLASH! CLASH! CLASH! CRAAASH!


    "UNGH?! T-That attack method¡­! Those moves¡­!" The Demon Lord cried in agony, stepping back. His huge red eyes filled with horror. "Y-You''re Eleanora, the Vampire Queen?! T-Then¡­! No! Has the reincarnated Vampire Emperor finally reached here?!"


    The Demon Lord suddenly nced back at me in utter horror, as I stood back there silently, ncing at him with a smile.


    "Oh? Have you finally realized who I am, young demon?" Iughed.


    His face distorted in horror as his arm was quickly destroyed into pieces by Eleanora. He stepped back in horror.


    "Y-You¡­! Hah¡­ HAHAHAHA! This is perfect! If I kill the reincarnated Asmodeus! T-Then I might even be a Demon Overlord myself!" The idiot said.


    "It seems he''s the idiot type." Eleanora joked around.


    "What is he saying?" Elizabeth was confused.


    "Dunno." Erika shrugged, quickly beginning to shapeshift as her body grew spirit wooden scales, her eyes glowing brightly. "But we''ve gotta just beat him, right?"


    "I guess you''re not wrong." Elizabeth smiled defiantly.


    "RAAAHAHAHAHA!"


    TRUUUUMMMMM¡­!


    A tremendous shockwave of pure Demonic Energy surged from the body of the huge demon. The red and ck colored energies flowing back into his body, as his arm regrew anew, a small red colored jewel shone brightly on his chest.


    Another Archdemon Core Shard, I assume¡­


    Ding!


    [The [Demon Lord: Darkus] has activated the powers of the Lesser Archdemon Core Shard!]


    [His wounds are regenerating back, and his Demonic Energy is overflowing!]


    [A Demonic Transformation is happening!]


    FLAAAASH!


    The pressure that he generated didn''t allowed us to step further, as we nced him transform, gaining a pair of huge wings, and bing more dragon-like. He was a Lizard Demon, but I did know that some could even shapeshift into Demonic Dragons.


    However, for that they needed to be as strong as Demon Kings, this guypletely skipped that necessity by using the power of the Lesser Archdemon Core Shard.


    His body grew twice as big, and his entire body became even more muscr, covered in an armor of ck scales, and with a creepy smile, as the shard had beenpletely assimted into his body.


    "Heheh¡­ HAHAHAHA! Are you scared now?!" He looked at us with a confident smile. "I''ve be so strong not even I can believe myself!"


    However, he only was greeted with my smile.


    "No, in fact, I am rather happy. You''re such a big specimen. I will dly dissect you and use every piece of your body as my precious materials." Iughed. "I am so grateful that you transformed! I was actually running short on dragon-type materials. You''re of real help."


    "Huh?!" Darkus looked at us with a ridiculous expression on his face. "W-What sort of stupid shit are you talking about?! You''re utterly DELUSIONAL!" He opened his gigantic jaws. "DIEEEEE!!!"


    TRUUUUUUMMMM¡­.!


    A gigantic beam of ck mes emerged from his jaws, reaching us in an instant. However, I quickly leaped forward in front of my party, and pointed my Demonic Arm to it.


    "[Demonic Beast Transformation]! [Swarming Gluttony]!"


    I activated two of the strongest Demonic Arm Abilities at once, as my entire arm shapeshifted into a huge, monstrous jaw roaring with demonic fury, constantly expanding more and more, and devouring the entire beam!


    "¡­Eh?" Darkus was left speechless.


    -----

 Chapter 714 Blake’s Overwhelming Might

    <h4>Chapter 714 ke''s Overwhelming Might</h4>


    -----


    Naturally, through thebination of the Demonic Arm Abilities of [Demonic Beast Transformation] and [Swarming Gluttony], fused with the Gluttony Authority Skill created a tremendously strong weapon.


    My entire arm shapeshifted into a huge, monstrous jaw roaring with demonic fury, constantly expanding more and more, and devouring the entire beam, it was quite clear that such a powerful attack was quite mightying from a Demon Lord¡­ But I simply can''t stay as weak as I was before after stealing a part of the powers of an Archdemon.


    TRUUUUMMMM¡­!


    "¡­Eh?" Darkus was left speechless. "W-Wha¡­?! My attack was absorbed?!"


    "I don''t think you served Beelzebub before." I sighed. "But at the very least, you should be aware of the powers his authority holds, is it not? I have attained the power of Gluttony, his Deadly Sin."


    "G-Gluttony?!" The ck dragon-like demon muttered, stepping back. "N-No¡­ That''s impossible! Howe a mere human could attain such a demonic power?! This is just BULLSHIT!"


    FLAAAASH!


    The Demon Lord acted like a delusional, flying directly forwards to attack me with everything he had. His ws covered themselves on demonic mes, and his dark aura kept expanding further. The power of that small Archdemon Shard was no joke.


    "RAAAAAAAHHH!!!"


    CLASH! CLASH! CRAAASH!


    His blows hit the ground with fury, constantly chasing me down as I flew around rapidlybining my Blood Vampire Wings with my Insectoid Wings for the fastest movement.


    "You''re heavy and slow." I sighed. "How about you take a small rest, you look tired¡­"


    My Demonic Arm suddenly shapeshifted into an evenrger, muscr, and gross-looking amalgamation of countless demons screaming in agony in the shape of an arm, which quickly pummeled Darkus down into the ground with tremendous strength.


    CRAAAAAASSSSHHH!!!


    "UNNNGGHH¡­?!" Darkus groaned, vomiting blood as his huge body was pressed into the floor. "T-That ARM¡­! H-How many Demons have you eaten?!"


    "Hah, do you keep count of how many slices of bread you''ve eaten in your life?" Iughed.


    "Hah¡­ HAHAHAHAHA!" Darkus started tough, his fiery red eyes surging with demonic mes. "YOU''RE NO JOKE, ASMODEUS!!!"


    BAAAAAMMM¡­!


    He quickly freed himself from my Demonic Arm, as his ck scaled fists reached me in a split of a second, however, I merely waved my hand without putting much effort.


    "Burn."


    FLUOOOOOSH!


    "UNGH?! AAARGGHHH¡­!"


    White mes covered his entire body in a single second. Of course, these were the deadly mes of Karma, a power that even put Beelzebub in a pinch.


    Darkus felt his energy being drained constantly, as he fell to his knees once more. All the sins he hadmitted were now enhancing the mes of Karma tremendously.


    "W-What are these white mes?! AAARRGGH¡­!" Darkus groaned in agony. "J-JUST DIE ALREADY, ASMODEUS!!! STAY DEAD, YOU DAMN OLD VAMPIRE!"


    FLASH! FLASH! FLASH! FLASH!


    Suddenly, hundreds of magic circles appeared around his body, as hundreds of meteors made of ck mes started raining down on me and the rest of my army.


    "You''re forgetting he''s not alone!" Eleanora appeared from behind him, interrupting his conjuration as she kicked his head down into the ground!


    BAAAAAAMMMM¡­!


    "GRAAAHHAAA¡­?!" Darkus vomited blood again, as his conjuration was only halfway done, over fifty meteors made of ck mes started falling.


    "I won''t let them get to our army!" Erika flew through the skies using her Wyvern Wings, and with her sword and her incredible speed and magic power, she started slicing and destroying the meteors in midair before they were to reach down.


    Her Spirits, the army of dolls and the ck knight doll helped her, working really well in tandem with her, destroying the projectiles swiftly and efficiently.


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!


    "You USELESS women¡­ Don''t get in the WAY!!!" Darkus roared, standing back up while still burning, swinging his huge arms, and hitting Eleanora several times with his fists and elbows.


    CLASH! CLASH! CLASH! CRAAASH!


    However, Eleanora kept up with the mighty strength of a Demon Lord, her vampiric red eyes glowing fiercely as she smiled and startedughing.


    "Hahahaha! HAHAHAHA!" Sheughed. "Pathetic! You''re so pathetically weak!"


    She swung her spear majestically and gracefully as she unleashed thousands of piercing blows in just a few seconds, filling the Demon''s arms with holes bleeding constantly!


    CLASH! CLASH! CLASH! CLASH! CRAAASH!


    "UNGH?! ARGH¡­! Y-You''re truly the Vampire Queen¡­ The one that¡­ is said to have in over a trillion demons in the Demon War of Ancient Times?!" Darkus quickly realized Eleanora''s true identity.


    "And I''ll keep killing your damned brethren if they keeping for what we care for, Demon!" Eleanora roared, suddenly her body shapeshifted, as she gained red and ck scales across her body, a long draconic tail, and dragon wings.


    After all, Eleanora had evolved into a Draconic Vampire, and had attained tremendous new powers and abilities from that alone!


    "[Rising Dragon Ninjutsu]: [Scarlet ze Dragon Inferno]!!!"


    She raised her spear upwards as a gigantic mass of mes and scarlet blood energybined together, surging from the floor right beneath Darkus as a huge, coiling dragon made of blood mes!


    BOOOOOOOMMMM!!!


    "AAAARRGGHH¡­!"


    Darkus was engulfed on the huge explosion, taking tremendous damage. At the same time as he stepped back and quickly fired a Dragon Breath against Eleanora.


    "DIEEEE!!!"


    TRUUUUUUMMMMM¡­!


    "Mind if I join?!" Elizabeth finally jumped into action after having been fighting lesser lizard demons, wearing an armor made of her Holy Dragon Spirit while holding a huge shield made out of the Mountain Turtle Spirit.


    CLAAAAAAASSSH!!!


    Darkus'' powerful beam quickly hit the shield, and then was deflected into the skies, where a huge explosion of darkness spread across the clear skies¡­


    "[Spirit Weapon Transformation]: [Heavenly Sanctifying Spear]!"


    Elizabeth who had attained a really good level of Weapon Spirit Transformation and Spirit Fusion thanks to Ellergest'' Inheritance transformed her Little Angelic Guardian Spirit into a brilliant, golden spear, its weapon form.


    FLAAAAAAASSSH!!!


    And while flying using her Holy Dragon Wings, she reached Darkus, who desperately shielded himself with his arms, only for them to get sliced apart by Erika, who descended right from above!


    SLAAASH! SLAAASH!


    "AARRGGHH¡­!" Darkus screamed in agony. "M-MY ARMS!"


    "THIS IS IT!" Elizabeth roared, stealing the show as her spear pierced Darkus head, filling his entire body with light and burning him to death.


    FLAAAAAAAASSSSSHHH!!!


    "To be killed¡­! By mere¡­ HUMANS¡­!"


    BOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMM¡­!


    Darkus was no more.


    -----

 Chapter 715 Everyone Else Is Strong Too

    <h4>Chapter 715 Everyone Else Is Strong Too</h4>


    -----


    Meanwhile, as ke and his girls defeated Darkus, other battles were happening at the same time in the other areas of the battlefield. ke had separated his group of friends into three separate groups to deal with the powerful Demon Lords as soon as possible.


    This way, they wouldn''t be able to escape or gang on them together as a group, therefore, maximizing speed and efficiency was necessary for ke''s ns toe to fruition.


    Erdrich led his group with Eric, Alberta, and the Vampire Spirit Hendrick, as they arrived at the west side of the battlefield while opening a bloody path by crushing as many demons as possible. Eric made sure to use his Spirit Magic Arrows to kill as many airborne demons as possible in the way too.


    "How dare you humans interrupt our delightful invasion of this pitiful territory?!"


    Suddenly, the voice of an angered beast surged from the skies, as a huge gryphon-like demon appeared, with red and purple feathers, and sharp ck ws, with a hulking,rge body just as big as Darkus.


    "Is this the Demon Lord?" Eric wondered. "I can sense a lot of power from him¡­"


    "It most definitely is!" Erdrich smiled, his fists clenching hard with excitement.


    "Indeed." Hendrick nodded. "And it seems to be a rather peculiar one at that. A Gryphon Demon? That''s a rare specimen, a lot of valuable materials can be obtained from it!"


    "I-Is that all you think about when you look at that huge monster, Hendrick¡­?" Alberta was a bit disappointed.


    "Hendrick?! That name¡­ That bastardly gue Doctor that killed millions of Demons using his deadly poisons and toxins?! So you''ve been reincarnated as well!" Said the gryphon. "My name is Gryphinton, I''ll soon be a Demon Duke, and it would be a nice gift to bring your head to my father to attain even more recognition!" Laughed the demon.


    "Sorry, your name doesn''t really remind me of anything." Hendrick smiled, although such a smile couldn''t be seen below his gue doctor mask. "However¡­" He spread out his arms, as shadows began emerging, countless tiny red eyes opened within, a swarm of insects and spiders.


    "I will honor your name by killing you swiftly and making sure to keep your body in a good condition! I wouldn''t really want to waste it by tearing it to shreds, hahaha!" Hendrickughed.


    "Y-You¡­! How dare you be such a petnt bastard?! MY ARMY¡­ KILL THEM!!!" Gryphinton ordered over a hundred flying demons to descend and attack them all.


    "How pathetic, hiding behind your army?" Erdrich sighed.


    "I thought he was at least going to confront us." Eric said in disappointment.


    The two boys stepped forward, their powerful magic and spiritsbining as one, as Erdrich swung his huge fists into the air, enormous arm-shaped aura strikes hit the demons, tearing them to shreds and making their bodies explode by the impact alone!


    TRUUUUUMMM¡­! TRUUUUUMM¡­! TRUUUUUUMMM..!


    Meanwhile, Eric calmly pointed his arrow at the other part of the flying demon army, firing a single spirit arrow that ended dividing into hundreds, flying across the skies, and piercing the demons'' heads and then exploding, killing most of them with a single hit!


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!


    Although Erdrich had only been growing even stronger since the beginning, Eric had be much more calm,posed, and cooler, having already experienced so many battles, his often-timid nature barely resurfaced nowadays, as he seemed like a calctive, smart, and powerfulrade that even the tough Erdrich recognized now.


    "Uwaaah! Eric you''re so cool!" Alberta was clearly impressed.


    Eric readjusted his sses in a cool manner, remembering ke''s words to "act cool" and posed" for Alberta, that''s usually what girls liked¡­ sometimes.


    "UNGH?!" Gryphinton was left bbergasted. "T-This is¡­ How strong are you humans?! Those pathetic men over there couldn''t even fight my flying army yet you''re massacring them like flies?!"


    FLAAASH!


    However, before he could say another word, Hendrick reached his back while flying using insect-like wings he sprouted from his back! His huge shadows spread around the demon''srge body, as Gryphinton felt the agony of being bitten by hundreds of insects all at once!


    "[Abyssal Swarm]!"


    "AAARRGGHHH¡­! BEGONE!!!"


    Gryphinton roared furiously, swinging his huge wings, and unleashing several powerful slicing winds against Hendrick''s swarm, the storm of winds quickly slicing apart hundreds of bugs at once, as a kick quickly reached Hendrick''s chest, pushing him down!


    BAAAAAAMMM¡­!


    "Ouch¡­ that one hurt, haha¡­" Hendrickughed, slowly standing back up while looking covered on bruises.


    "Hmph, weak and pathetic! I guess bing a pitiful spirit has made you weak¡­" Laughed Gryphinton. "Now- huh?!"


    However, Hendrick''s attack was not for naught, as the Gryphon Demon felt that the area that Hendrick had hurt was covered on deadly wounds and poison, slowly eating away his life and energy¡­


    "T-This is¡­?! Howe a poison of this world can affect me¡­?!" He groaned, feeling his mind growing slightly foggy¡­ It was even affecting his senses!


    "I have crafted a special poison just for high-ranking demons." Laughed Hendrick. "Don''t worry, it will fade away naturally after a little while, it can''t kill someone as strong as you, but certainly, it can make your job harder¡­"


    "YOU BASTARD!!!" Gryphinton quickly gathered his Demonic Powers, as the skies around him twisted and began to transform into a tornado. "PERISH!!!"


    He flew down like a lightning strike, reaching Hendrick andpany in just a few seconds!


    "[Golem Summoning]! [Infernal Cannon]!!!"


    However, a huge cannon made of mighty mes hit Gryphinton as he descended at a fast speed, so strongly that his entire body was thrown away out of the direction he was aiming for!


    BOOOOOOOMMM!!!


    "URGH¡­! M-MY FEATHERS¡­!" He quickly realized his feathers were burning easily¡­ Angrily, he nced at the origin of the attack, finding the heavy armored Alberta who had summoned a huge cannon with her newly acquired Skills.


    Golem Summoning!


    It was a Skill that only high ranked Dwarves could attain, and it allowed them to summon the parts of a whole golem of their choice, like an extension of their bodies and magic.


    And with Eric and ke''s help, Alberta had created her strongest golem so far¡­ Its cannon capable of even hurting Demon Lords!


    -----

 Chapter 716 Eric Steps In

    ?


    -----


    "Unnnggh¡­! M-My feathers¡­!" Muttered Gryphinton, as he saw a huge wound on his stomach, the cannon had hit him and then exploded with the same might as a dragon''s mes. Howe a mere dwarf could conjure such fire so easily?


    This was because these cannonballs were made up of a new material ke had invented, using his Creation Skill and his own Infernal mes Authority, he utilized these mes and his own Mana to crystalize them into an highly explosive and deadly material.


    Infernal mes Crystals, which once detonated, would bring almost the same amount of power and damage as his skull, and if enchanted with other explosives, made these cannonballs truly another level of tool of destruction.


    "Now, gang on it!" Alberta roared, as she summoned a huge golem fist and hit Gryphinton with all her might, while firing even more cannonballs on top!


    BAAAAAAMMM!!!


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOOOMMM!


    "UUUAARGGHH¡­.!"


    The huge Gryphon demon stepped back in agony as he couldn''t even evade the hits, he was too weakened and severely debuffed thanks to Hendrick''s poison!


    "Well done, Alberta!" Eric said, gathering the power of his Spirits into his weapons, and firing a huge wooden arrow towards Gryphinton. "[Yggdrasil''s Spirit Arrow]!"


    FLAAAAASH!


    CLAAAAAAASSSH!


    The arrow pierced Gryphinton''s chest, as it spread out countless roots and branches across his body, draining away his energy and life. The Demon Lord desperately cut them down with his ws and his wind magic, but it seemed futile, as they kept expanding the more energy they drained from him.


    "You''re done for." Erdrich roared, gathering the power of his Demonic Energy, Ki, and Mana together. "[Heavenly Demon Battle Arts]: [Mountain-Crushing Demonic Fist]!!!"


    His fist suddenly grew several times bigger through the power of his Demonic and Ki Aura, falling over the Demon Lord with mighty fury!


    BAAAAAAAMMMMM¡­!


    "I-IMPOSSIBLE¡­! I CAN''T¡­ ACCEPT¡­ THIS!"


    Gryphinton was being crushed to death by humans, something he simply couldn''t ept, even when one of them was a Half-Demon. A small red jewel on his ne glowed brightly, as he quickly bite it and swallowed it seconds before being crushed to death by Erdrich''s fist!


    FLAAAASSSH!


    A bright red light surged from his body, as a powerful shockwave impacted Erdrich, Eric, and Alberta, throwing them far away with tremendous power!


    TRUUUUUUUMMM¡­!


    "W-What is it now?!" Alberta panicked.


    "T-That bastard¡­" Eric muttered. "ke told me about this¡­! He''s using an Archdemon Core Shard!"


    "So he''s getting a second wind, huh?" Erdrich smiled defiantly.


    "Hoh, so he had such a trick below his sleeve." Hendrick walked in front of the trio, protecting them from the shockwave using a powerful barrier made out of his poison, shadows, blood, and his swarm.


    "Hahahah¡­ HAHAHAHAHA!" Gryphinton''s voice echoed across the battlefield, as his new,rger figure surged from within the red light.


    Now, resembling an evenrger version of himself, much more muscr, and walking on four limbs while his wings were fully repaired, spreading around majestically and intimidatingly.


    His feathers became pure red, while his eyes glowed with purple light, and his beak becamepletely ck, now shaped like a deadly spear¡­


    "You humans need to know YOUR PLACE!" He roared with fury. "I am a Demon Nobility! A Future Demon Duke! Compared to the lowly filth you are¡­ I AM PRETTY MUCH A GOD!"


    "A Demon calling himself a God?" Laughed Hendrick. "Your madness seems to know no bounds, my dear bird friend! [Abyssal Poison Weaponization]!"


    Hendrick didn''t let him get ahead of himself, as he quickly fired hundreds of spear-shaped crystalized poison made up of the same toxin that weakened Gryphinton before!


    CLASH! CLASH! CLASH! CLASH! CLASH!


    However, Gryphinton onlyughed, using his huge pair of wings to defend himself from most damage, his feathers having grown tremendously tough like scales, and easily making Hendrick''s attacks bounce off! The fragments only ended falling over the feathers at most!


    "Hahahaha! HAHAHA! HENDRICK! Aside from your Poison, you''re a WEAKLING!" Gryphintonughed as his huge legs kicked Hendrick several times!


    CLASH! CLASH! CLASH! CLASH! CRAAASH!


    "Unnngh?! ARGH!"


    The gue Doctor was thrown away terrible,nding on the floor and leaving a huge crater behind his body, his spiritual essence leaking out of his wounds, if he took too much damage, he would disappear for a while.


    "Hendrick!" Alberta cried, running to his side.


    "Don''t worry about me, little Alberta." Hendrick smiled. "It''s all going ording to my ns. Distract him for now. Leave everything to me." The gue Doctor smiled.


    "Your ns?" Alberta was shocked. "But you got beaten down to a pulp!"


    "I am not simply a weakling, as he said." Hendrick''s eyes glowed with mighty conviction beneath his mask. "I have my own ways of fighting¡­"


    "Hendrick¡­ Okay!" Alberta was surprised, but quickly chose to believe in him. "[Golem Summon]! [zing Golem Fists]! [Volcanic cksmith Hammer]!"


    Two gigantic golem fists started tobust with deadly infernal mes, unleashing several explosive fist attacks pummeling Gryphinton as much as possible, while Alberta''s huge hammer changed into an enormous size, trying to constantly crush him!


    CRASH! CRASH! CRASH! CRAAASH!


    "Heh, pathetic dwarf¡­ You''re just the same filth as humans!"


    However, this time, although he still took a lot of damage Gryphinton wasn''t being pushed away, with a sharp smile, he quickly moved his wings and muscr arms, punching away the huge golem arms and then with a gust of winds, throwing away Alberta''s hammer spirit.


    FLAAASH!


    "DIE, WEAKLING!"


    "Uwaah?!"


    In a split of a second, he reached her, his sharp beak slowly piercing her armor and about to pierce her chest! Her armor gained countless of cracks, as his demonic winds engulfed Alberta!


    "ALBERTAAAA!!! [SPIRIT FUSION]!!!"


    The scream of Eric resonated from behind, as a huge arm made of wood hit Gryphinton, seconds before he were to kill Alberta, and pushing him away!


    TRUUUUUMMM¡­!


    "UNGH?!" Gryphinton nced with anger at the one that did it, Eric.


    However, he had suddenly changed! His entire body was covered on a beautiful Spirit Wood Armor, overflowing with spiritual energy, as his right arm had fused with his bow, while his other arm grew into an enormous size.


    A helmet with antlers made of spirit wood decorated his head, as he looked extremely dashing and powerful¡­


    "Eric!"


    -----

 Chapter 717 Yet Another Demon Lord Bites The Dust

    ?


    -----


    "Why did that hit hurt me so much?!" Gryphinton stood back up. "You wretched human¡­ That wood¡­ No, impossible! Is it Yggdrasil Wood?! Howe you''ve be Yggdrasil Wood yourself?!"


    Yggdrasil Wood was one of the strongest and toughest materials the Elven Continent produced, many Demons knew about this material because of how tough it was, and also, despite being wood, it was not mmable at all.


    However, why did a human held such a huge quantity of it?


    It was quite obvious, Eric''s family had been saving an Yggdrasil wood-made staff for generations, and with ke''s help, they were not only able to multiply it by letting several Lesser Yggdrasil grow in their hometown.


    But it also became the materials of Eric''s bow, his arrows, and also, his second Spirit, the Lesser Yggdrasil Treant, a special Spirit made up using such wood!


    ke knew that Erked strength even after training so hard, so he needed to give him a powerful second spirit that could allow him to surpass his limits.


    And after so much training, the young green-haired boy has managed to master the power of Spirit Fusion enough to do it at longst!


    "I won''t let you hurt her anymore." Eric said, his eyes glowing with golden light, his body growingrger as he was covered on a powerful armor.


    "You cocky bastard, you think that such a wood can stop ME, a future Demon Duke?!" Laughed Gryphinton, rushing towards Eric as his huge fists, wings, and magic all engulfed him on powerful attacks!


    BOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOM!


    However, Eric generated a powerful shield made out of his own spirit wood, protecting himself and Alberta, while from a small hole, his bow pointed at Gryphinton''s head.


    "[Spiritual Yggdrasil Cannon]"


    FLAAAAASSSH!!!


    A huge sh of green and golden light surged from his bow, now fused into his body temporarily through his Spirit Fusion form, the hue beam was in fact a gigantic arrow in the shape of a spear!


    "UNGH?!" Gryphinton grew fearful right away, quickly evading a fatal attack, but putting one of his wings in the way instead!


    CRAAAAAASSSSHHH!!!


    The huge arrow pierced his wing, spreading roots and branches and quickly tearing it apart off his body! The Demon screamed in agony, falling to his knees as he saw in horror as blood gushed out of the terrific wound.


    CRAAAASH!


    "AAARGGH¡­! M-MY WING¡­! UNGH¡­! BASTARD!!!" The Gryphon Demon grew insane in utter anger, quickly attacking Eric, gathering winds and demonic energy, and firing them all at once against him! "[Demonic Storm]!!!"


    FLUOOOOOOSSSSHH!!!


    The tremendous storm in the shape of a spear quickly reached Eric, his entire body shapeshifting into walls and branches growingrger, as his bow constantly fired arrows, exploding in midair and never reaching the damn bird!


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!


    "HAHAHAHA! It is useless! You surprised me there, but you won''t get the opportunity to hurt me like that again, HUMAN!!!" Gryphintonughed. "Now¡­ DOUBLE POWER!"


    FLUOOOOOOOSSSSHHHH¡­.!


    An even bigger storm merged with the first one, as Eric gritted his teeth, his entire body was being constantly destroyed and regenerated thanks to his spirits!


    "I can''t¡­ lose¡­! I need to protect Alberta¡­!" Eric groaned. "Dammit¡­! ERDRICH! WHERE ARE YOU?!"


    "Right behind him, pal. Well done hanging on there."


    "HUH?!"


    Suddenly, the voice of Erdrich emerged from behind Gryphinton, his entire body now covered on a ck demonic armor, his second spirit, as his powers constantly grewrger andrger! The reason why he wasn''t present thest few seconds was because of preparing his strongest attack.


    "[Heavenly Demon Battle Arts]: [Asura''s Wrath]"


    TRUUUMMM¡­!


    His aura suddenly transformed, resembling a demonic yet majestic multi-armed red skinned demon, covered on golden essories and bulging with enormous muscles, his furious demonic eyes red down at Gryphinton, as dozens of enormous fists pummeled down on him all at once!


    BOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOOMMM¡­!


    Each fist was like a tremendously huge explosion, slowly beginning to weaken more and more the powerful wind barrier Gryphinton created, as thest fist finally pierced through it, punching his entire body away like a ragdoll!


    BAAAAAAAMMM¡­!


    "G-GRAAAAGGHH¡­!"


    Gryphinton fell into the floor, rolling through and crushing everything on the way, vomiting blood, and finding out several of his bones were broken.


    "M-Me¡­ A Demon Lord¡­ to be pushed this far¡­" Gryphinton groaned, furious. "Y-You damn humans¡­! I WILL BECOME A DEMON DUKE!!! HOW DARE YOU!!!"


    With hisst fit of rage, Gryphinton unleashed all his demonic power, a gigantic shockwave of pure demonic winds epassed his surroundings. All the weaker demons were instantly destroyed into pieces, while the wind quickly reached Erdrich, Eric, and Alberta!


    TRUUUUUMMMMM¡­!


    "RAAAAAH!"


    "DAMMIT!"


    "ERIC!"


    Erdrich and Eric unleashed their powers, resisting the enormous shockwave of winds, but it was too powerful! It began to slowly tear apart their armor and even their spiritual powers, it would consume everything! Alberta gritted her teeth, standing back up again and using her huge hammer and her golem to support them!


    They had reached this far, yet Gryphinton still had such an ace below his sleeve. Even if it involved sacrificing almost all of his life force and power, he would take them down with himself!


    "And this is where I enter." Hendrick spoke, slowly walking in front of the trio. "Thanks for holding on so far. You''ve smothered him enough." He raised his hand. "[Poison Threads]"


    FLAAAAASH!


    Suddenly, millions of tiny purple jewels spread around Gryphinton''s feathers and body shone brightly, suddenly transforming into a liquid state, and bing threads, wrapping around the demon''s body!


    "W-WHAT?! WHAT IS THIS?!" Gryphinton screamed in shock, his powers suddenlying to a halt as he felt his energy being drained by the threads!


    "Yeah, I might be a weakling on my own, but that doesn''t matter as long as we can aplish a victory." Hendrick said with a serious tone of voice. "The moment I attacked you with those spears, did you thought that was it?"


    "T-Those spears made out of weak poison¡­?!" Gryphinton suddenly remembered the scene.


    He had paid no mind to it, but he did recall that they became countless of tiny crystals covering his body, but because they didn''t even affect him, he thought of it as¡­ nothing.


    But he was wrong! Hendrick''s n all along was for the trio to weaken him so he could unleash his powers and finish him off when nobody else could.


    By using his Poison Maniption powers, he transformed all of those crystals into threads, made of the same poison that weakened Gryphinton at the beginning, and finally managed to capture him when he was at his weakest point.


    "S-Stop¡­! HENDRICK! STOP! I-I AM¡­ A DEMON DUKE!!!"


    "No, you''re just my materials. [Abyssal Poison Detonation]"


    FLAAAAAASSSH!


    "S-STOOOOOP¡­!"


    The threads shone brightly with purple light, as the demon screamed in horror, seconds before they exploded into pieces!


    BOOOOOOOOOOMMMM!!!


    "Hahh¡­" Eric fell to his knees, undoing his transformation. "Thank you, Hendrick¡­"


    "That bastard¡­" Erdrich sighed in relief. "He was tougher than he seemed to be¡­"


    "But it was also thanks to everybody''s efforts." Alberta said. "Thank you for protecting me, Eric¡­" Alberta hugged Eric.


    "Hahaha, no problem! Anyways- Ah! Oh no!" Hendrick panicked.


    "What is it?!" All three of them panicked as well.


    "T-The materials¡­ they''re now all just a pile of mushy flesh! The horror! I can''t do much with this!" Hendrick was dying inside.


    "Exaggerated as always¡­" Eric facepalmed.


    -----

 Chapter 718 Elfriedden’s Resolve

    <h4>Chapter 718 Elfriedden''s Resolve</h4>


    -----


    "YOU DAMN PESTS!"


    CLASH! CLASH! CRAAASH!


    A huge gori-like demon, with enormous bulking arms covered on ck and red fur and crowned with several red horns rushed across the battlefield, crushing the huge insects that threatened his army.


    However, no matter how many he punched away, more and more kept crawling outside of that pitiful territory they were going to conquer today.


    "What is happening?! Where are all these weird monstersing from?" He wondered. "Lord Satan assured us that our victory would be swift! This Kingdom of humans was already falling¡­ Why, why are these beingsing and attacking us out of nowhere?!"


    "Milord!" A monkey demon rushed to the Demon Lord. "Lord Kong!"


    "What is it?!" The gori roared angrily.


    "T-The Summoner! It is the SUMMONER! He''sing with his allies to kill us and- Huh?!"


    However, before the monkey could continue speaking, frost-made threads wrapped around his body and swiftly, and tightly pressed on his entire body, freezing him.


    "G-Geeaaagghh¡­!"


    Crack¡­ crack¡­


    CRAAASH!


    "What the¡­?!"


    And then, he shattered into pieces, all in the span of just a second! Kong was left bbergasted, his eyes furious as they nced at the perpetrator of such atrocity!


    It was a young, handsome blue haired elf wearing a ck suit, with a serious, expressionless face. His eyes gleamed with bright blue light¡­


    "YOUUUU!"


    "So you''re the Demon Lord over here?" Elfrieddenughed. "Looks like I have found you first. Good, prepare yourself, demon. I won''t have any mercy."


    "What can a tiny weakling like you do against my hulking muscles anyways?!" Roared Kong with utter fury. Much like the other Demon Lords present here, they all served the Archdemon of Wrath, Satan. "RAAAAAHH!"


    His huge fists were imbued with a ck colored demonic aura, surging constantly with greater power, attempting to crush Elfriedden into pieces with such hue fists, both as big as whole carriages.


    CLASH! CLASH! CLASH! CRAAAASSSH!!!


    Three fist attacks were followed by arger, more furious hammer strike using both fists at once, but all of the ended hitting the air or the ground, as Elfriedden flew around using wyvern wings acquired from ke''s Buff Card.


    "You''re slow and strong, that''s all there is to it." Elfriedden said pridefully. "I''ll kill you and show ke and the rest that I am not a pushover! [Skadi''s Thread]! [Permafrost Crystal Needle]!"


    He summoned both of his Spirits once more, the Skadi''s Thread, which was made out of ice, and the Permafrost Crystal Needle, a needle made of hardened crystalized ice.


    Bothbined together, as they flew around Kong, piercing his hulking muscles and covering the wounded area with frost.


    "RUBBISH!"


    Kong gave a roar, his muscles quickly tightened and then released steam, the frost was quickly melted away and destroyed!


    "Hah! As if your pitiful spirit could do a single thing to me!" Kongughed. "You pathetic humans, elves, and dwarves are all the same! Weaklings that always depend on your spirits to do anything¡­ Youck strength!"


    CRAAAAASSSSHH!!!


    A huge fist reached Elfriedden, crushing him on the ground, his entire body shattering into pieces¡­ But no blood came out either, it was merely an ice statue!


    "What?!" Kong realized it a bit toote, but he was within Elfriedden''s domain!


    "Surprised?" Elfriedden appeared much farther away, several new clones made of ice emerged around him. "This is my [Winter''s Domain], a power I learned and mastered through my childhood. Within this domain, as long as it is ice, I can make anything."


    "JUST PETTY TRICKS!" Kong wasn''t someone to think too hard, his huge arms and legs punched and kicked all of Elfriedden''s attacks.


    From icicle spears, to clones that exploded into ice, to his own spirits wrapping around his body to deal damage¡­ nothing worked!


    "I can''t even damage him?!" Elfriedden felt shocked. "But I''ve tried almost anything¡­ This Demon Lord''s body is incredibly hard. If only I had some way to lower his defensive stats¡­"


    "You''re lowering your guard!!!" Kongughed, a fist quickly reached Elfriedden!


    CRAAAAASSSH!


    However, it only hit a spider-web shaped mass of icy threads, which quickly exploded into frost, covering Kong''s arm and hand, and freezing them over.


    "URGH! BASTARD¡­!" Kong roared furiously, rushing towards Elfriedden again while freeing his arm from the ice really quickly. "You can''t keep running!"


    Suddenly his Aura spread out like a huge hand, grabbing Elfriedden as he flew away, catching him, and then pushing him down into the ground!


    "UNGH?!"


    CRAAAAAASSSSH!!!


    "GAAAAGGH¡­!"


    The young elf vomited a mouthful of blood, feeling a few of his bones shattering, even with the buffs of ke''s Buff Cards!


    "T-This is¡­ Ungh¡­!" Elfriedden desperately stood up, jumping away a split of a second earlier before Kong''s enormous body were to hit the ground right where he was!


    BAAAAAAMMMM¡­!


    "RAAAAH!"


    Elfriedden used the power of his Buff Cards, as his body grew icy scales, a draconic tail, and even stronger and bigger wings, his eyes glowing with draconic power, as he opened his jaws and unleashed a dragon breath of pure ice!


    TRUUUUUUUMMMMM¡­!


    However, Kongughed, punching the beam of pure frost energy with his two fists imbued with demonic energy,pletely negating Elfriedden''s attack!


    "I-Impossible¡­!" Elfriedden felt shocked. "I am not strong enough to fight a Demon Lord yet?!"


    "HAHAHAHA! PERISH!"


    Kong used this opportunity when Elfriedden was filled with disbelief to hit him as hard as he could with his fists!


    "You''re not supposed to fight them alone, dumbass!"


    BOOOOOOOMMMM!!!


    An explosion of burning mes reached Kong''s arms, as he screamed in agony and surprise, stepping back seconds before he would had crushed Elfriedden for good.


    But that wasn''t all, two other figures quickly attacked the huge gori demon, of over twenty meters of height, with powerful shing attacks and kicks and punches into his pressure points!


    CLASH! CLASH! CLASH! CLAAASH!


    "URGH¡­! MORE PESTS¡­?!" Kong groaned, stepping back, and ring at the group that had arrived with utter frustration.


    "You? So you''ve caught up to me at the end¡­" Elfriedden sighed.


    "Of course we have!" Chris said angrily. "What the heck are you doing, fighting all alone?!"


    "If we didn''t hurry up, you might have ended dead." Sighed Fang.


    "Stupid kid!" Woo angrily said.


    -----

 Chapter 719 Reinforcements Are Here

    <h4>Chapter 719 Reinforcements Are Here</h4>


    -----


    "Hahhh¡­ Hahahah¡­" Elfriedden started tough, as a tear flew from his eyes. "After all my growth¡­ I am still such a weak, pathetic man¡­" He couldn''t help butugh at the irony of life as he nced his friend and ke''s spirits arrive to save his ass.


    He got too cocky, and almost got himself killed. Unlike ke''s friends that work together and trust one another because of their strong bonds shared for many years, Elfriedden still felt apart from their group.


    After all, he hasn''t been with the for even a year, why would he trust them and entrust everything to them like this? He only found them strong and all but¡­ he had a very strong pride.


    A baseless pride built upon his own failures, and his own pathetic performance since he was very young. Back then, in the Elven Kingdom where he came from, magic power and talents were valued even more highly than in Human society.


    "Two Star¡­ Needle Master? And¡­ a needle as your spirit?! What is this?! Pathetic!"


    The day he awakened his Talent and Spirit was the day all of Elfriedden''s dreams shattered into pieces¡­ His father, the King of Elves, reprimanded him for his weak talent and even weaker spirit.


    "E-Eh? Wait¡­ what do you mean, father?! Isn''t it¡­ good?"


    He realized he wasn''t special, he was just like his many siblings, sons of concubines his father had made so he could one day find the ideal inheritor to the throne¡­


    "Good? Hahaha!"


    "Your brother is a three-star Holy Pdin, and your big sister is a four-star Spirit Archmage. Do you truly think you''re worthy, Elfriedden?!"


    All of those people that thought that loved him changed that day, everyone made fun of him, some pitied him, his own siblings that were always at his side now didn''t wanted to even look him at his face.


    "B-But¡­ W-Why¡­ Wait¡­! Please wait!"


    His entire life gave a sudden twist¡­ and even the love of his life, the princess of the fairies, was forced to neve speak to him again.


    Since this day, Elfriedden has been desperately training and using his Skills, killing monsters from a very young age, and developing his Ice Magic, which was very weak at the beginning, but that then he managed to let it grow to such an extent.


    He even managed to reach Rank 2 at such a young age, gaining his second spirit, but only for it to be threads¡­ Nheless, he kept growing stronger, trying to prove himself to his family.


    But ultimately, as more tragedies struck the Elven Kingdom, and as the Demon Invasion continued, he was neve able to show his father he was worthy¡­


    He developed a terrible inferiorityplex and was always striving to prove himself. Secretly meeting with his loved damsel, who was now being forced to marry his brother in a few more years.


    He simply couldn''t ept it. If he allowed them to put their hands on her he would¡­


    What would he do anyways?


    Weak¡­ without any honor,cking achievements¡­


    The only thing he could now was hide in a corner and let the world around him move on¡­


    Or keep crawling for a way out of this hell.


    The reason why he decided to join the Stronghold Academy as someone as important as an Elven Prince was because of this reason, so he could be even stronger, prove his father and his siblings he was worthy.


    And to gain the hand of his beloved¡­ He was doing it all for love, more than anything else¡­


    Despite being born in such a privileged background, he had been working harder than anybody else to aplish such goals.


    His desperation made him go this far as to want to show off to ke, someone he considered his rival, someone so powerful and with such a pitiful background that it hurt his own pride to look at him in the eyes.


    He always felt inferior in front of him, and he hated that feeling more than anything else¡­ At the vey least, he wanted to show him he could take down a Demon Lord all by himself.


    But he was terribly wrong.


    "Oi, what are you spasming about?!" Chris roared, making him snap back to reality, as he threw a Healing Potion to him, made out of ke''s special ingredients. "Drink that and get up, the battle''s not over!"


    "¡­" Elfriedden nced at the potion with a face filled with frustration, all while Fang and Woo distracted the huge Kong. "It feels like nothing even matters anymore¡­"


    "Huh?! What has gotten into you?!" Chris was shocked. "Oi!"


    "Every time I keep trying, every time I think I improve¡­ I am always proven to be wrong." Elfrieddenughed, although he started crying.


    Chris, who always thought of him as a prideful jerk was taken aback.


    "Life''s so unfair¡­" Elfriedden clenched his fists.


    "Yeah, it is." Chris said, ncing at him from above, and grabbing his shoulder, and forcing Elfriedden to stand up. "It is fucking unfair! Isn''t it?!"


    "E-Eh?!" Elfriedden was a bit surprised.


    "But that doesn''t mean you''ve gotta just sit there and weep like a baby because stuff doesn''t go your way!" Chris crossed his arms, ncing at Elfriedden angrily. "ke has always told me that! Our potential is unlimited, no matter what Talent or Spirits we have! All that is matters is our hard work. Even if it doesn''t give results now, it will eventually, we can''t give up!"


    "Chris¡­" Elfriedden stepped back, surprised. "But I¡­"


    "You''re pretty strong! And kind of a freaking jerk, but I kind of admired your prideful attitude, and your strong mind!" Chris said. "Elfriedden, you''re not pathetic at all! You''re a pretty strong guy, in fact, I kind of looked up to you¡­ But if you''re going to weep now, then get out of here¡­ We''re fighting to defend a Kingdom. Isn''t this the biggest achievement we could ever aplish?"


    "You thought of me that way?!" Elfriedden opened his eyes wide open. "And achievement¡­ Right¡­ I¡­ I don''t know what has gotten into me. Hmph, whatever!" He cleared his tears. "You''re right¡­ Let''s prove them all that we aren''t pushovers. Forget what I said earlier¡­ I''m back to normal."


    "Hah, you bastard, you''ll have to pay me a good sum if you don''t want me to divulge that you were weeping like a baby!" Chrisughed.


    "Silence, you barbaric kid." Elfriedden crossed his arms. "But¡­ thanks, for cheering me up. Nobody aside from my mother has ever spoken to me like this¡­ It somehow warmed my heart." Elfriedden smiled gently.


    "Geh¡­ I don''t swing that way dude." Chris felt creeped out.


    "I didn''t meant it that way, you monkey!" Elfriedden got even more furious. "Agh! Forget it! He''sing!"


    "GRAAAAAAH! WHAT ARE YOU BABBLING ABOUT, PITIFUL ANTS?!"


    Kong''s huge arms reached Chris and Elfriedden, his fists barely missing the two of them as they hit the ground, shattering it and creating a huge catastrophe.


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOOOMMM!!!


    "He''s strong and incredibly tough, but slow." Elfriedden said. "And my ice didn''t work on him at all, at most, it slowed him down!"


    "My attacks are barely breaking through as well!" Said Fang.


    "His pressure points are hidden with those huge muscles!" Wooined. "Damn ape!"


    "Then we''ll have to torment the bastard with some magic first! Let me smoother him up for you guys!" Chris smiled. "Hey, Elfriedden, look carefully! This is the fruit of hard work!"


    FLUOOOOOOSH!


    -----

 Chapter 720 An Intense Battle

    <h4>Chapter 720 An Intense Battle</h4>


    ?


    -----


    "Hey, Elfriedden, look carefully! This is the fruit of hard work!" Chris said with a prideful smile, which Elfriedden hated the most, yet it also made him shocked for what he was doing.


    Elfriedden always had a lower expectation of him, but at the end, Chris seemed to be very strong, and not at all behind any of the ke''s other friends.


    His Fire Magic and his Fire Spirits powers had evolved to such an extent that he was able to mostly one-shot C+ Rank monsters with ease back in the Dungeon.


    But now, he was going even further beyond¡­


    "[Spirit Fusion]!"


    "Koon~!"


    FLUOOOOOOSH!


    His Nine Tailed zing Fox Spirit quickly jumped into his body, as Chris swiftly fused with her entire might. His magician clothing changed, bing an armor made of mes. He gained nine tails behind his back, and long, fox-like ears on top of his head.


    His staff also changed and transformed, absorbing the Nine Tailed Fox''s Powers, and resembling a legendary divine relic, overflowing with zing spiritual energy.


    Chris'' face gained fox whisker-like marks, and his eyes glowed with fiery golden mes. His entire self-changed, resembling someone much stronger, mature, and cooler.


    "Spirit Fusion, the Skill I have yet to attain¡­" Elfriedden said. "So he had reached this far¡­ Dammit, everybody is already so far¡­ I need to work harder, I need to at least catch up to them!"


    "Hey, monkey, I''ll be your opponent for a little while." Said Chris. "You three, support me with long-ranged attacks, please."


    "Fine¡­" Elfriedden nodded.


    "Hmph, only because that brat of ke told us to help you." Woo closed his arms pridefully.


    "Interesting! Let''s see what Chris can do!" Fang as excited, waging his tail.


    "FINE BY ME!" Kongughed, furiously charging towards Chris. "No matter what changes out of you, you''re still a PITIFUL HUMAN-"


    "[Fire Spirit Magic Arts]: [Nine Tailed Fox Spirit Mythical me Dance]"


    FLASH! FLASH! FLASH! FLASH! FLASH!


    Suddenly, dozens of small fox-shaped mes surged, surrounding Kong, and then exploding one after another around his body. However, that wasn''t all, each magical explosion pierced a small part of his magical defenses, even his tough skin and muscles were being fried!


    BOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOM!


    "UNGH?! W-What is this magic?! AARRGGHH¡­!"


    Kong continued screaming, trying to catch up to Chris, but he was constantly being overpowered by dancing foxes'' mes¡­ which were merely a set-up for something greater.


    While he unleashed those mes, Elfriedden used his thread and needle to make Kong trip into the ground constantly, all while Fang and Woo hit his weakened wounded areas.


    Eventually, after just half a minute, it was ready.


    "RAAAAAH!" Kong grew more frustrated, jumping straight to Chris. "DIEEEE!!!"


    "It''s already done." Chris nodded. "[Fire Spirit Magic Arts]: [Grand zing Fox Infernal Carnival Domain]!"


    FLAAAAAAASSSH!


    All the mes left behind in the battlefield, and the ones still covering some areas of Kong worked in tandem, connecting together into a huge magic circle. In just a split of a second, a huge domain of mes emerged, as hundreds of tiny foxes made of fire constantly emerged, almost endlessly!


    "W-WHAT?!" Kong was left speechless, as he was being attacked by endless bombardments of magic! "H-HOW DID YOU DO THIS¡­?! AAARRGGHH¡­!"


    BOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOM!


    "This is the fruit of my hard work since I was merely three years of age." Chris sighed. "The power that ke taught me, and which I''ve mastered andbined with my own talents ever since then¡­"


    The power to manipte mes and spirit mes was something Chris always knew and could do, but ke taught him the power to build magic circles, something that allowed him to createplex magic spells, and something even more advanced, Magic Formations!


    By utilizing his own mes as "Nodes" for a Magic Formation, Chris was able to not only attack his foe with everything he had constantly, butter on, surprise them with an borated Magic Formation, which he would only be able to conjure using the Magic Circle inside of his soul, a special, amazing tool that allowed him to conjure many spells, not limited by his spirit''s basic skills!


    "This is the fruit of my hard work, Elfriedden!" Chrisughed. "[Grand Fox Phantom Spirit]! Devour him!"


    "GROOOOAARRRRR!"


    All the mes suddenly mixed together into a gigantic and monstrous fox phantom spirit, engulfing Kong''s entire body, a tremendous explosion spread out mes everywhere, Elfriedden and ke''s friends were left bbergasted¡­


    BOOOOOOOOOMMMMM¡­!!!


    It was very powerful, but it took a while for him to set it up properly, and the MP Cost was gigantic as well, Chris quickly drank two MP Potions to recover faster, although he felt slightly exhausted¡­


    "D-Did he killed it?!" Elfriedden thought.


    However, as the smoke dissipated, the body of Kong was revealed¡­ He was in a terrible state, and probably near death''s door, however, the bastard was chewing on a small red crystal, which he swiftly swallowed.


    "The power of Lord Satan¡­ Will not¡­ ABANDON ME!!!"


    FLUOOOOOOSH!


    His hulking body suddenly gained a ck armor covering him from even more protection, most of his wounds regenerated instantly, a third eye surged from his forehead, and even another pair of hulking arms!


    "ROOOOAAAARRRR!"


    The enormous shockwave was so powerful that nobody was also to stop him from transforming. Once he finished, he hadpletely be something even stronger¡­


    "T-To think the bastard had a trump card¡­" Chris said.


    "ROOOAAARRR!"


    Four gigantic gori fists reached Chris at once, as he desperately generated walls of mes to defend, but all of them were blown into pieces one after another!


    BOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOM!


    "[Spirit Fox''s ws]!" Chris roared, attacking back with several ws made of mes, as Kong''s hue fists shed against them, explosions of mes spread further!


    CLASH! CLASH! CLASH! CRAAASH!


    "RAAAAH!"


    However, Kong was tougher than ever, and seemingly lost his reason even more, roaring like a wild beast. The Demon Lords that served the Archdemon of Wrath were all like this.


    "Ungh¡­! Shit, I''m running out of Mana again?!" Chris quickly realized the transformation was exhausting him even more.


    CLAAAAAASSSSH!!!


    However, greeting the Demon Lord''s four fists, was Elfriedden, who fabricated arge shield made up of frost threads, creating a bounce effect that threw the fists back!


    BAAAAAMM¡­!


    "Elfriedden!" Chris said.


    "Looks like I''ll have to step in¡­ At the very least, we''ve cornered him enough." Elfriedden sighed. "Let''s end this."


    -----

 Chapter 721 The Power Of Archdemon Core Fragments

    <h4>Chapter 721 The Power Of Archdemon Core Fragments</h4>


    -----


    After Elfriedden''s mood was finally lifted by Chris'' words, the two decided to cooperate and end the powerful Demon Lord once and for all.


    "HAHAHAHA! AS IF YOU COULD EVER COMPARE TO THE MIGHTY STRENGTH THAT MY LORD SATAN HAS GIVEN TO ME!!!" Kongughed, his power overflowing.


    "We''ll never find out until we try." Elfriedden said. "Let''s say this is my second wind¡­"


    "Hahah, that''s the Elfriedden I''m more used to!" Chrisughed, ring at the demon.


    "Have you kids finally stopped weeping around? Then it''s time to get rid of this bastard." Woo said.


    "Woo, let''s distract the Demon while the two of them bombard them with their strongest magic. It is quite clear that magic has a greater effect than physical blows." Fang suggested.


    "Tch¡­ I guess there''s no helping it!" Woo sighed, jumping into action with Fang.


    The two of them started attacking Kong with their strongest blows, aiming at his head and legs. Woo utilized his strongest skills, unleashing lightning strikes from his palms while striking at Kong''s pressure points, which slowly started to work on his hardened muscles.


    CLASH! CLASH! CLASH! CRAASH!


    "UNGHH?! ARGH! WHAT THE¡­?!"


    Kong who had been unaffected for a while, finally started to feel his muscles weakened, his body was bing incapable of properly transporting demonic energy across his body!


    "This worked on that damn Beelzebub''s Vessel, if it worked on him, it should work on you as well, you big ape!" Roared Woo, unleashing a barrage of strikes into many more pressure points!


    Each blow was like a sh of lightning, Kong''s attacks became slower and he wasn''t able to properly catch the small and nimble old goblin.


    "RAAAAH! YOU DAMN GOBLIN!"


    "I think you shouldn''t concentrate on Mister Woo alone, demon!"


    FLAAASH!


    A huge and muscr werewolf descended from the skies, striking Kong''s head and almost pushing him into the floor.


    CRAAAAAASSH!


    Fang''s entire body exuded the powerful Beast Spirit''s Energy that his tribe was so well known for back then, which had been inherited into his Vampire Spirit form.


    "RAAAAH!"


    Kong furiously swung his arms and started punching Fang and Woo with tremendous fury and strength, but both held on with everything they had, striking back with both kicks and fists!


    CLASH! CLASH! CLASH! CLASH! CLASH! CRAAASH!


    Meanwhile, Chris and Elfriedden were flying into the skies and seeking an opening to strike. Both of them knew that this couldn''t keep going for much longer.


    "I guess it''s time to use that." Chris said. "[Spirit Weapon]!" Although his Spirit Fusion with his zing Nine Tailed Fox had abruptly stopped, and the fox was now resting, Chris still had another ace, as he unleashed the might of his zing Smander Spirit, transforming it into a weapon!


    FLUOOOSH!


    Therge, scaled zing smander transformed, fusing with Chris'' staff, and bing a huge zing axe! It was his weapon of choice before he started mainly using magic, which his father, a muscr, big, and tall hunter taught him from a young age.


    "[zing Smander''s Infernal Axe]!" Chris roared. "And now¡­ [Dragon mes]!"


    FLAAAAASH!


    Draconic mes surged from his hands, one of his newest Skills which he acquired from drinking Dragon Elixirs ke gave to him some time ago.


    The Dragon mes were strong, but they consumed tons of Mana, and were not efficient for the current Chris¡­ However, just this once, he had to use them due to their explosive power.


    And also, their great affinity with his zing Smander''s Infernal Axe!


    "Elfriedden, you should also be able to do this much at least!" Chris said.


    "But I¡­!" Elfriedden had been trying to do Spirit Weaponization for long time, but he was never capable. "Perhaps Tool Spirits can''t do it¡­"


    "That''s bullshit! They can!" Chris said. "You have to believe in yourself, you damn long ears! Spirits respond to their master''s feelings, if you''re constantly doubting yourself, they are never going to do what you want!"


    "Who are you calling long ears?!" Elfriedden got angered.


    "Just shut up and do it! We don''t have much time!" Chris said. "You''re such a cocky bastard sometimes, why can''t you just believe in yourself for at least a second?!"


    "Tch¡­!" Elfriedden groaned, quickly summoning both of his Spirits into his hands.


    He nced at the two inanimate object-like spirits, who were giving a faint, blue and silver glow. Elfriedden nced at his spirits angrily.


    If it wasn''t for them, he could had been perhaps more recognized, maybe his father wouldn''t had dumped him as someone useless, maybe he would had hold the rights to marry the girl that he loved and that loved him back.


    "If only you two were more useful! If only you two could¡­ Please, just for once¡­ FOR ONCE!" Elfriedden let out a few tears, as his Mana flew into his two Spirits. "[Spirit Weapon]!!!"


    FLAAAAAASSSH!


    "E-Eh?!"


    The moment he conjured the words, both spirits began shining brightly! As if responding to the call of his very heart, the Permafrost Crystal Needle and the Skadi''s Thread shapes transformed, changing!


    The Needle''s shape didn''t change much, but it grew tens of timesrger, gaining beautiful flower-like decorations and a sharp and long de¡­ It transformed into a Permafrost Crystal Rose Spear!


    Meanwhile, the threads merged into his own clothes, suddenly growing a powerful and light armor made of ice crystal, Skadi''s Divine Armor!


    "W-What?!" Elfriedden himself was taken aback. "T-This is¡­ It worked! So much power¡­"


    A powerful spear and armor, the two things that would had surely made him stand out back then if his spirits were always in such forms. Now, responding to his heart, they finally transformed.


    "Fantastic, let''s do it!" Chris roared.


    "Alright!" Elfriedden nodded with confidence.


    "RAAAAAH! YOU USELESS RATS!" Kong roared furiously, hitting both Woo and Fang, and throwing the two Vampire Spirits away once more!


    BAAAAAAMMM¡­!


    Both of their bodies fell into the floor, shattering it and leaving huge craters¡­


    "Ungh¡­! That damn ape is too strong¡­" Woo muttered. "With the limit of Mana we''re given by that brat of ke, we can''t gopletely all-out against him!"


    "His physical strength and defenses are superb¡­" Fang groaned. "We can''t keep this much longer¡­ Ah!"


    FLAAASH! FLAAASH!


    However, the two Vampire Spirits quickly realized the cavalry was finally here, as Elfriedden and Chris descended from the skies, both wielding weapons of fire and frost!


    -----

 Chapter 722 A New Victory For Humanity Against The Demons!

    <h4>Chapter 722 A New Victory For Humanity Against The Demons!</h4>


    -----


    If it wasn''t because ke was constantly using Mana to maintain his huge Familiar Army, he would have let his Vampire Spirits gopletely all-out, making it so they could use their Powers much easily. However, at this point, Woo and Fang were at their limits.


    Any other foe wouldn''t be so hard, but this huge gori was a servant of Satan, the Archdemon of Wrath. All of his demons were known for having tremendously strong physical bodies, whilecking much in the magic department, aside from a few exceptions.


    Often times, they were either beast-like or reptile-like in appearance, and with the small shards the Archdemon gave to his strongest subjects, they could transform into second, even mightier and stronger forms.


    With such strong muscles and scale armors covering Kong''s body, his pressure points were always well protected, and his muscles, harder than most metals, could simply not be destroyed by just kicks and fists alone anymore.


    ke made the mental note of giving strong Weapons to Woo and Fang in the future, relying on their fists and kicks alone won''t do, even if the two prided themselves on that.


    "If only we could go all-out!" Woo groaned with frustration.


    "Well, even then, I don''t think we could defeat a monster like this¡­" Fang said. "At most, we could distract it a bit longer! Even when against Beelzebub''s Vessel, that''s all we could do!"


    "Tch¡­ Weck refinement and more skills; it seems I have to keep training myself." Woo muttered.


    "Likewise!" Laughed Fang.


    "What are youughing at, bastards?! ARE YOU AMUSED BY YOUR DEFEAT?!" Kongughed. "Don''t worry, I''LL END THIS NOW!" His huge fists reached Woo and Fang, gathering all the leftover Demonic Energy he had! In truth, Kong wasn''t on his top form already, even after transforming, he was at his limits due to Woo and Fang. "RAAAAAHH!!!"


    CLAAAAAAASSSSH!!!


    However, instead of reaching the two annoying Vampire Spirits that had pushed him as far as growing slightly desperate, his fists hit two powerful Spirit Weapons, a zing axe, and a sharp frost spear¡­


    "Oi, are you forgetting about someone, damn monkey?" Chris asked with a smile.


    "You have yet to see thest of our strength." Elfriedden said with a furious re.


    "Y-YOUUUU!!! DIE!"


    Kong grew desperate, his huge fists unleashing a barrage of attacks against the two of them, explosions of demonic energy and shockwaves spread across the skies!


    BAAM! BAAM! BAAM! BAAM! BAAM!


    However, both of them intercepted the blows using their mighty magic and spirit weapons, frost and mes started spreading into Kong''s body.


    His defensive scales were instantly frozen and shattered or burned and turned to ashes, as his fur and flesh started to both freeze and burn!


    "AAAARRGGHH¡­! W-WHAT IS THIS?!"


    Chris and Elfriedden did not realize that the opposite elements they wielded created a synergy effect when fighting a single foe, the frostplemented the fire, and vice versa, generating a constant change of temperature on Kong''s body, which constantly weakened him!


    "UUURGH¡­! B-BEGONE!!!"


    Kong screamed in desperate, the Demon Lord stepping back as his fists suddenly stopped moving, one of them waspletely frozen. Each of the small wounds Elfriedden did on his arm quickly spread more and more frost, not only just over his skin this time.


    But below his flesh, skin, muscles, and even reaching the bones themselves! His blood was frozen as well, everything was frozen!


    "U-URGH¡­?!"


    "I never thought my Spirits had such a powerful and amazing hidden potential." Elfrieddenughed, unleashing his Frost Dragon Aura, the power he attained by drinking Dragon Blood Elixirs, and mixing it with his Spirit Spear, making his blows and frost even stronger! "I''ll offer your heart to my beloved!"


    SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH!


    His spear unleashed countless shing and piercing attacks, as Kong''s left arm gained countless cracks and then shattered into pieces!


    Crack¡­ crack¡­!


    CRAAAASH!


    "UUUAAARRRGGHHH¡­!"


    With a loud scream, the huge Demon Lord finally knew what true fear was, as he desperately stepped back, only to find a huge zing axe cut off his other huge arm.


    "Take THIS!!!"


    CLAAAAAAASSSH!!!


    FLUOOOSH!


    "GYYAAAAARRGHH¡­!"


    His second arm was now gone, burned and destroyed, mes and frost spreading across the rest of his gigantic body, he had already been emptied of all his demonic energy fighting Woo and Fang¡­


    "W-WAIT¡­! YOU BASTARDS¡­ WAIT A SECOND-"


    However, both Chris and Elfriedden had no time for his bullshit, rushing towards the huge gori and swinging their weapons into his half-frozen and half-burned neck.


    SLAAAAAAASSSSH!!!


    With all their might, the powerful and muscr neck of Kong was sliced apart, his head rolling over the floor, as the rest of his body crumbled into pieces over the entire floor, half frozen and half turned into charcoal¡­


    The two young men stood over Kong''s frozen and burned head, sighing in relief as they nced into the horizon. The army of demons was already reduced to below half their original numbers in this small frame of time, and about half of the remaining demons started running away once they realized their Commanders, the Demon Lords, were all in!


    "T-The Demon Lords¡­!"


    "Lord Kong is dead?!"


    "And Lord Gryphinton too?!"


    "Darkus as well?!"


    "T-This is hopeless¡­ RUN!"


    "RUUUUN¡­!"


    Demons are naturally cowardly once they learn the odds are against their favor and would shamelessly run away the moment they feel like things won''t go their way.


    However, this only gave the rest of the army more opportunities to fight. The Darkage Duchy Knights and Soldiers quickly joined the fight and started hunting down as many demons as they could while they ran away, using this opportunity to gain levels.


    ke supervised what happened while sitting over the huge corpse of Darkus, Blood and Ruby, the two Tamed Monsters he had, were carefreely eating the Demon Lord''s flesh.


    "Hey, don''t eat it all." He sighed. "Ruby, you should be max level by now¡­ I guess it''s time to use these premium materials to evolve you. Wouldn''t that be a nice way to celebrate our victory?"


    "Roar!" Ruby started wagging his tail happily.


    "And once we''re done with our preparations¡­ We''ll move to the capital." ke smiled. "That Demon Overlord¡­ He''ll be my ticket to gaining much more recognition in this world."


    -----

 Chapter 723 Reaching Max Level

    <h4>Chapter 723 Reaching Max Level</h4>


    -----


    (ke''s POV)


    As the war was finally over and the night wasing, I carefreely walked back to the duchy territory with everyone else. Some looked tired, others exhausted, and a few were just excited they would get to eat a lot now after a day of hard work.


    The Grimoire shone brightly as I felt my Levels rising instantly to the max Level Cap, and the information was quickly shown on its pages.


    Ding!


    [You and your Army have in Thousands of Demons!]


    [You and your Party have in Three Powerful Demon Lords!]


    [You earned an exorbitant quantity of EXP!]


    [Your Level has increased from Level 70 to Level 80!]


    [All of your Stats have increased!]


    [You earned Bonus Stat Points and Skill Points!]


    [Several Skills have Leveled Up.]


    [You have Reached Max Level!]


    [You can now Rank Up to a stronger Talent and Sub Talent.]


    [Your Spirit Orb Realm Rank has increased to Tier 3: Peak Stage]


    [Your Mana Points and Intelligence Stats have increased by +500 each, your Spirit Stat has increased by +50.]


    [Your Physique, Magic Circle, Psyche, and Demon Core have grown stronger from both the influx of new Magic Power and also from Drinking a tremendous quantity of Demon Blood, including the Demon Blood of three Demon Lords.]


    [Your [Physique]: [Vampiric Blood Emperor Physique (Tier 5: Rank 6)] has grown to Tier 5 Rank 7.]


    [Your [Psyche]: [Vampiric Soul Psyche (Tier 4: Rank 5)] has grown to Tier 4 Rank 6.]


    [Your [Magic Circle]: [Abyssal Blood Circle (Tier 4: Rank 6)] has grown to Tier 4 Rank 7.]


    [Your [Demon Core]: [Gluttonous Demon Core (Tier 3: Rank 1)] has grown to Tier 3 Rank 5.]


    [All of your Stats have increased as a result of their growth.]


    Good, it was a nice harvest. I guess the only thing left to do is to Rank Up, get a new pair of Talents, and quite possibly get to Rank 4 through the Rank Up''s boost.


    "Well, what''s done is done!" Erika sighed. "Seems like things wrapped up faster than I imagined."


    "Yeah, and looks like some of us had a few developments in terms of friendship?" Elizabeth giggled, teasing Chris and Elfriedden.


    "Hahahaha! Maybe." Chrisughed.


    "Friends? I think that''s a bit of an exaggeration,rades maybe." Elfriedden said.


    "Eh? Bastard! After all I helped you?!" Chrisined.


    "Shut up, you only¡­ screamed like a monkey halfway through everything. I was barely able to make any coherent word out of what you said." Elfriedden sighed.


    "You damn long ears!" Chris suddenly started grabbing Elfriedden''s ears and dragging them.


    "AARGH! Let go of me you monkey!" Elfriedden and Chris started fighting.


    "Yeah I guess they''re getting along a bit better¡­" I said, although I still had my doubts. "For now, let''s leave most of my familiars surrounding the city, so they can guard for any potential demons that want to attack us while we''re resting."


    "Ah, I guess that''s smart enough." Erdrich nodded. "From what I heard about what they said, they were all scared once they realized the Lords died. Seems like theyck any pride or even fighting spirit, they just run away the moment their powerful leaders die."


    "Well, that''s usually what you should do in most wars, actually¡­" I sighed. "But well, that worked to our advantage¡­"


    Creaaaak¡­!


    The huge gates leading to the city opened, as the entire poption greeted our return with cheers, gathering around the streets as we walked slowly inside.


    "ke! I saw everything you did¡­ All of you! It was amazing¡­ Thousands of demons died¡­ And those powerful Demon Lords¡­ I can''t believe it!" Monica ran towards us. "Thank you so much for saving my home¡­!"


    "It is just the beginning, so calm down." Iughed. "Evelyn, Lady Cattalina, thanks for guarding the city in the meantime."


    "Eh? You don''t call me Lady?! I''m older than you, you know?!" Evelyn said angrily.


    "It was nothing, ke." Cattalina smiled. "A few hundred demons tried to infiltrate while you were fighting outside but I swiftly sent them to a world of nightmares, where they''ll never return from." She said menacingly.


    "Wow, I wish mom could had joined us in the frontlines! I wanted to see more of her magic powers¡­" Erika said.


    "Well, maybe on another asion, dear." Cattalina smiled, giving head pats to her adorable daughter, and then a kiss in her nose. "You did a wonderful job yourself; mom is very proud." She hugged her tightly.


    "E-Eh? Mom you''re embarrassing me in front of my friends!" Erika blushed a bit.


    "ke." The old Eustace showed up. "I wanted to¡­ once more, apologize for our rudeness and ourck of faith. If it wasn''t thanks to you and your friends, we would had been eventually engulfed by the demon army¡­ I am quite ashamed of myself forcking the strength to change this duchy''s fate as well¡­ Sorry." He bowed his head.


    "Don''t be sorry, Eustace." I sighed. "Your reactions and thoughts were to be expected of someone that hadn''t seen our abilities. If I was in your situation, I might had thought the same as well."


    "Ahh¡­ You''re such a thoughtful andpassionate man, aside from being so strong, decisive, and smart!" He started praising me. "Please, marry Lady Monica! You would be an ideal ruler!"


    "Ahem! Eustace?" Monica appeared behind her knightmander.


    "A-Ah! Lady Monica, I was just¡­!" Eustace muttered.


    "Sorry, but I can''t. I''ve already been conquered by three beautiful roses, more than that, and I wouldn''t be able to continue down the path I''ve chosen. I''m sure there might be other people for her." I said with a gentle smile.


    "D-Don''t worry about it please! He was just talking nonsense!" Monica giggled nervously. "A-Anyways! Let''s go to the castle! We''ve got a big feast to enjoy! Let''s celebrate as much as we can, please!"


    "Alright!" Erika roared. "I''m starving!"


    "When are you not starving?" Ericughed. "Since you''ve been a kid that you eat as much as ten people."


    "Hahaha, well, that''s our Erika for you." Chrisughed.


    "H-Hey! I''m not THAT gluttonous!" Erika crossed her arms while pouting.


    "You know that''s a lie." Elizabeth teased her.


    "Well, that''s something that makes you cute too." Eleanora giggled.


    "G-Geez! Just let''s go eat!" Erika blushed a bit, as she held my hand and dragged me to the castle.


    "Hahaha, alright, alright, don''t be so hasty." Iughed.


    -----

 Chapter 724 A Celebration Feast

    <h4>Chapter 724 A Celebration Feast</h4>


    -----


    The feast that was being prepared included apples the most, although we also brought some demon meat, which Elizabeth helped us purify, which tasted quite delicious. Some people were rather against eating it, especially Monica, but once I prepared some hamburgers with goat cheese from my home vige, they ended epting this cheap meat really quickly.


    "T-These are called¡­ burgers, right? They are like huge meatballs, and this fresh goat cheese is so good!" Monica was devouring her burger faster than she could talk.


    "I never thought the meat of those monstrous demons would be this tasty, it has a smoky vor that makes them rather enjoyable¡­ But who in their right mind would had thought about eating demon meat?" Eustace asked.


    "Well, it is mostly a cheap meat from our small vige, when people was desperate for food and had nothing else to eat, they butchered small demons they hunted, and by purifying their meat with light magic, it bes edible." Eric exined the history. "In our vige and most of the Kingdom wee from, eating demon meat is considered a cheap, local delicacy. Even our King enjoys high ranked demon meat."


    "Yeah, I remember sending our duke Blue Oni''s meat, and its head, hahah." Iughed a bit, recalling such a hrious past event.


    "T-To your duke?!" Monica gasped.


    "I-Is that true?" Even Cattalina was surprised.


    "Yeah! It helped him act up and help reinforce the defenses in our vige against the demon army." Erika exined. "Though it was a bit rude, it worked!"


    "Hahaha¡­" Elizabeth onlyughed a bit. "A-Anyways, I''m stuffed¡­"


    Most of our meals this night were demon meat preparations and anything they could make out of apples, there was apple juice, apple tea, and apple pies, alongside apple ice cream.


    "The food is really good! I love apples." Alberta said happily. "Nom! Nom! Nom!"


    Dwarves were well known for having great appetites, Alberta was the only one capable of going against Erika''s gluttonous might.


    "I won''t lose against a neer!" Erika said, munching on her third apple pie.


    "I guess I''m quite satiated by now." I sighed in relief, finishing my second demon dragon filet.


    And well, I''ve already eaten a lot of demon meat and drank a lot of blood using my Demonic Arm, so I''m quite literally too stuffed to eat any more. I''ll have to devour more demon parts tomorrow morning once I digest everything better.


    "I heard that Elfriedden awakened his Weapon Spirit Skill." I wondered. "Is it true?"


    "You bet it is." Elfriedden smiled, showing how his needle became a spear, and his threads fused with his clothes to form a frost-made armor.


    "Interesting, so this means that even tool-type spirits can be spirit weapons." I nodded. "But I do wonder what''s the case with spirits that alreadye in the form of weapons?"


    "The opposite can be achieved." Cattalina exined. "The Weapon Transformation Skill doesn''t work on them, but there''s another skill that can be developed, named the Spirit Beast Transformation, it transforms tool-type and weapon-type spirits into beast forms, usually what the conventional spirits are."


    "S-So my spirits can also take the form of beasts?!" Asked Elfriedden in surprise. "There''s a whole other form they can take¡­ amazing. I''ll have to keep working hard then."


    "Well said." I nodded.


    "I-I wonder if my hammer can transform too? It already counts as both tool and weapon type¡­" Alberta wondered.


    "For sure, it should at least be able to be a beast spirit eventually." Cattalina exined. "You have to keep leveling and working hard, dear Alberta."


    "I-I will, professor!" Alberta nodded obediently.


    "By now at least some of you should have hit Rank 3." I said. "How many?" I wondered.


    Suddenly, most of my friends did except Alberta, who had hit Rank 2 Middle Stage, however. Its semes that their new spirits had yet to fully manifest.


    It usually not an instant process, and this is the reason why it is possible for people to create their own spirits by using materials, or well, influence on the spirit that is already being made.


    "Well, we should dedicate the next day to let you guys get your third spirits." I nodded. "Think about it over the night before we begin. I need you all as strong as possible for what''s toe."


    "E-Eh? You''re nning on doing more than you already did?!" Evelyn asked. "Didn''t wee here just to resolve this?"


    "What? Are you insane, Evelyn?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. "There''s still a lot more of EXP waiting for us. And if we just leave, the demons will eventually amass in here again in a couple of weeks. Our efforts would be useless at the end. Our goal is to find Monica''s father and kill the Demon Overlord. Our next target is¡­ Here. These three other duchies that are in ruins, they at least harbor a few thousand demons each, with their own set of Demon Lords. We''ll take them down one after another as we make our way to the capital."


    "Y-You''re insane!" Evelyn said. "For such a monumental task we would need the aid of the Royal Knights of the Alliance! A-And they are¡­ well."


    "Busy in the frontlines?" I sighed. "Haven''t you seen enough? The familiars I summoned are our army. And we are the elite, we''ll take down their leaders and their formations will copse."


    "Young ke, you seem decided." Eustaceughed. "Very well, you''ll have the full support of the knight brigade."


    "Me too!" Monica said. "I''ve decided to trust you, ke! I wouldn''t be able to forgive myself if I didn''t!"


    "E-Eh? B-But¡­" Evelyn muttered, surprised.


    "Evelyn, what makes you doubt ke''s words so much after everything he has shown?" Asked Cattalina.


    "Nothing, really¡­ I am just worried, as their guardian, I am responsible for their safety, throwing themselves in danger all the time, even as strong as they are, sometimes, luck won''t be in their side¡­" Evelyn sighed, as if she was recalling some really bad memories. "I''m sorry, I''ll trust you as well, ke¡­ I''ll watch over your back and help however I can, as your guardian."


    "Well, you didn''t need to go so far, but thanks." I smiled.


    -----

 Chapter 725 Learning New Skills

    <h4>Chapter 725 Learning New Skills</h4>


    -----


    Once the night came I took a bath in therge bathroom of the castle, feeling quite privileged for a few seconds. It was rather huge, and I was able to rx and calm down after all the battles, while also deciding to do a few things before I Rank Up tomorrow.


    "Let''s see¡­"


    -----


    <Skill Tree: [Subss]: [Apprentice Creator: ¡ï¡ï¡ï] >


    [Shape Change: Lv0] [Cost]: [215 SP]


    [Enhance Form: Lv0] [Cost]: [330 SP]


    [Modify: Lv0] [Cost]: [600 SP]


    -----


    This is the only Skill Tree I haven''t bought, but I can''t afford it even after hitting Max Level, my current Skill Points are about 700, so I can''t get all the Skills I would want.


    Well, they don''t look as important, to be honest. Aren''t they just a bit of an enhancement to the already existing abilities that the Creation Skill possess?


    Perhaps I should save my SP for now and not buy anything¡­


    "Unless the Holy Spirits decide to reward me for my efforts." I said out loud. "Look, I''m not being cocky, but I''ve done a lot of things, is it not?"


    Ding!


    [The [Holy Spirits] are ncing at you in silence¡­]


    [They have realized that the Skills might be a bit too expensive for you.]


    "Oh, wait, did you made these Skills?"


    [The [Holy Spirit of Light] exins that since they cut ties with the Grimoire from Lucifer that they''ve been managing it for you. Your two Talents are unique and are being managed and enhanced by them.]


    "I see¡­ So it is like you''re still working on them? Then why give them a price that I can''t afford by simple leveling up?" I wondered.


    [The [Holy Spirit of Darkness] exins that Skills SP cost depends on the level of power and the ability to change their environment. The stronger they are, the higher the cost.]


    [The [Holy Spirit of Emotions] exins that Skill Points and Stat Points are a Divine Spirit Power that every being with the ability to level up attains, which is usually automatically administrated. However, because you have the Grimoire, you have the ability to administrate everything by your own.]


    "Divine Spirit Power?" I wondered. "I guess that exins a bit of these things¡­"


    [The [Holy Spirit of Nature] says that if they reduce the cost of the skills, they''ll be weaker as a result¡­]


    [However, the [Holy Spirit of Light] offers a different alternative to this predicament.]


    FLAAASH!


    Suddenly, the Grimoire started to shine brightly, as a new Grimoire Function was created.


    Ding!


    [The New Grimoire Ability [Equivalent Exchange] has been created!]


    [By cing items you want to sacrifice into the Grimoire''s pages of [Equivalent Exchange], you will earn Skill Points and Stat Points based in the quality of the items.]


    [There might be a limit of how many items can be exchanged before their value is lost, so be careful.]


    "Oh? Interesting¡­" I smiled. "Alright, how about this? And this? And that over there?"


    I quickly ced several items, from body parts of the many giant insects, all C+++ Rank, to several bones, scales, feathers, and even the beak of the Demon Lords, and some of the shards of Beelzebub''s vessel core.


    FLAAASH!


    All items were consumed into energy, which flew inside the Grimoire and then back into my body, in mere seconds, the Grimoire quickly exined what had happened¡­


    Ding!


    [You have sacrificed arge quantity of items.]


    [You earned +18 Stat Points and Skill Points.]


    [You earned +22 Stat Points and Skill Points.]


    [You earned +14 Stat Points and Skill Points.]


    [You earned +11 Stat Points and Skill Points.]


    [You earned +8 Stat Points and Skill Points.]


    [¡­]


    [You have earned a total of +150 Stat Points and +400 Skill Points!]


    [The Grimoire has used [Equivalent Exchange] too much consecutively. A Cooldown of 7 Days is needed for this Ability to be used once more.]


    "Well, that''s not bad at all¡­" I smiled. "Then let''s do this and that¡­"


    Ding!


    [You have exchanged 1145 Skill Points!]


    [You Learned the [Shape Change: Lv1] Skill!]


    [You Learned the [Enhance Form: Lv1] Skill!]


    [You Learned the [Modify: Lv1] Skill!]


    [All Skills have been fused into the [Creation: Lv2] Skill!]


    [The [Creation: Lv2] Skill has gained three bonus levels, and three new Abilities, [Shape Change], [Enhance Form], and [Modify]!]


    -----


    [Creation: Lv5]


    Skill Proficiency: 0/50000


    A God-like power that grants the ability to Create things, a Special Ability that is only given to those that wield all of the Holy Spirits Blessings, made to shape the world anew. However, creation is not from nowhere. A necessary and equal amount of energy, or other resources must be offered for the creation of whatever it is within the mind of the user.


    This Skill can work inbination with many other Skills rted to the creation and manufacturing of items to generate even greater and richer results. However, due to its dangerousness, its powers have been temporarily sealed, and the range of things that can be created and shaped will be increase with each Skill Level. Special Abilities cannot be used endlessly on items.


    Special Abilities:


    [Shape Change (5)]: Grants the ability to exert the almighty power of [Creation] into already created items, giving the user the ability to change their shape into different forms as long as Mana and other resources are used. Enhances the already existing abilities of items whose shape has been changed by +50% and has a 25% chance to make their new shapes more refined.


    [Enhance Form (5)]: Grants the ability to exert the almighty power of [Creation] into already created items, giving the user the ability to enhance the already existing forms into greater, stronger forms, as long as Mana and other resources are used. Enhances the stats and quality of items whose form has been enhanced by +50% and has a 25% chance to create new abilities.


    [Modify (5)]: Grants the ability to exert the almighty power of [Creation] into already created items, giving the user the ability to modify the very powers their possess and create new ones out of them, as long as Mana and other resources are used. Has a 25% chance for the newly created abilities to be of higher quality grade, and stronger than the base item''s abilities.


    -----


    "Well now, this isn''t bad at all¡­"


    -----

 Chapter 726 The Next Day

    <h4>Chapter 726 The Next Day</h4>


    -----


    "I apologize, Sir ke, there weren''t any more beds and this is thest room there is¡­ We assumed you wouldn''t mind because all of you are in a rtionship¡­" A maidservant bowed in front of me.


    "Well, I guess there''s no helping it." I shrugged. "I have brought some beds inside my inventory so-"


    "N-No! It''spletely alright!" Erika said, covering my mouth.


    "Yeah, it''s fine, you assumed correctly." Elizabeth smiled. "Good night!"


    BAAM!


    She closed the door.


    "Wait, why did you stopped me¡­?" I sighed.


    "Let''s just cuddle together!" Erika said.


    "Yeah, I don''t know what''s wrong with it, the bed is big. Right, Eleanora?" Elizabeth asked into my shadows.


    "E-Eh? I-I have nothing to do with this!" Eleanora appeared from behind me. "I can sleep perfectly fine in my lord''s shadows so-"


    "Nah, you''reing with us!" Erika dragged her out of my shadows.


    "Uwaaah!" Eleanora fell over the big, fluffy bed. "Hey! Why did you do that?"


    Erika and Elizabeth quickly sat down over the bed in their nightclothes, caressing the bed and calling me there.


    "Come on, let''s sleep together." Elizabeth smiled gently. "I''ve always wanted to, it''s not fair only Erika gets to do it when she wants to¡­"


    "I''m fine with it, so don''t worry." Erika giggled.


    "Hahh¡­ Fine." I sighed, as I quickly rested in the middle of therge bed, Elizabeth cuddled to my left and Erika to my right, tightly grabbing my arms and rubbing their faces on my shoulders, while their legs coiled around mine.


    Ugh¡­ it feels so stiff¡­ And they''re too warm! I''m going to suffocate like this! What in the world am I supposed to do? I can''t¡­ just tell them to go away, right?


    No, I must bear with this, I was the one that¡­ let them get this far with me. I should take responsibility and bear with whatever agony I must go through.


    "Hehehe, this is much better~" Erika said, kissing my face tenderly.


    "It is, isn''t it?" Elizabeth smiled, giving me a kiss in my neck. "I can get used to this~"


    "Well, alright¡­" I sighed. "Let''s sleep like this just this once. Eleanora, you can alsoe."


    "E-Eh? Really?" She asked.


    "It''s fine,e." I said.


    She slowly came into the bed into her energy-saving move, and rested over my belly, cuddling there. After a few minutes, all three of them fell asleep¡­


    Ugh¡­ I can''t move a single inch.


    .


    .


    .


    The next morning came, and I wasn''t able to sleep properly. My body felt stiff, and I was resisting the urge to escape the bed¡­ But I bear with it until the sleepy girls woke up.


    "Muh¡­ Ah, good morning~" Erika opened her eyes, giving me a kiss.


    "Huh? Oh, you look¡­ quite troubled, fufu." Elizabeth woke up and immediatelyughed.


    "Uwah! D-Did I really just slept over my lord''s body? It was sofy though¡­" Eleanora was surprised.


    "Can you three let me go now? I''ve fulfilled my part of the deal¡­" I said with a serious expression.


    "Part of the deal?" Elizabeth was confused.


    "I-I think ke took this a bit too seriously, hahaha." Erika giggled.


    "I-I''m sorry!" Eleanora apologized.


    Once I was freed, I quickly did some exercise to warm up and slowly make my body feel alive once more. It really hurt though, but through some healing using the First Aid Skill, things went back to normal.


    "Anyways, let''s go take a shower and then have breakfast, today we''ll be doing a lot of preparations. I would like to rest some more, but the fastest we get this done with, the better for all of us." I smiled.


    "Alright!" Erika said. "Let''s take a shower together!"


    "Yeah! The bath is really big." Elizabeth smiled. "Eleanora,e along too."


    "Saphira cane as well!" Erika said.


    "I can papa?" Saphira emerged out of my Spirit Orb.


    "Well, alright¡­" I sighed, letting them do as they pleased.


    Sometimes its better to just let me do whatever they want so they can be happy, too many restrictions will only make them feel exhausted.


    The day was rather beautiful this morning, and the people of the city seemed very happy. After taking the shower together, I decided to cook breakfast for everyone using the ingredients I brought along.


    I quickly made pancakes, wild boar bacon, scrambled eggs, and toast, apanied with the many apple pies, apple juice, and apple kuchen left from yesterday''s feast.


    When it was 9 AM, everyone was already awake and eating together on a huge table. The first I wanted to do after eating was Rank Up and probably try out my new abilities.


    "Hmmm, these pancakes¡­ they''re heavenly¡­" Monica was once more fascinated by my food. "Geez, I''m so jealous of your girlfriends¡­ They''ll get to have such a wonderful husband in the future¡­"


    "Hahaha, you''re overpraising him." Said Elizabeth. "He''s really grumpy and overly serious sometimes. He''s not all perfect!"


    "Hey, that''s harsh." I sighed.


    "Well, we''ve grown to love that of him." Erika giggled. "Hepensates it with his thoughtfulness and attention to details~!"


    "My lord is perfect in every way possible. There''s nothing for me to say against his attitude, nor his ways, or anything." Said Eleanora seriously.


    "A-All three of them are quite different, I see." Laughed Eustace.


    "It''s nice and all, but E-Eric, I don''t want you to get another g-girlfriend other than me, o-okay?" Alberta asked while blushing.


    "Huh? Of course, it is rather rare for a man to get multiple women actually." Laughed Eric. "ke''s like that but not everyone''s like him. I''ll love only you¡­ My meat bun."


    "E-Eric¡­!" Alberta blushed, as she started giving little kisses to Eric.


    "Urgh, at this point I just want anything." Sighed Chris. "Even that damn Elfriedden got himself a girlfriend, and even Erdrich with Patricia!"


    "Patricia is a rather lovely and hard-working girl; I wish we could have brought her along." Erdrich sighed.


    "My beloved Rosenheim is a dignified, pure hearted girl. I will protect her with all my might once we arrive at my Kingdomter this year, if things go well." Elfriedden sighed. "Hahh¡­ I already miss her fair and beautiful smile."


    "Urghhh¡­ Bastards¡­" Chris was biting a piece of bacon angrily.


    I feel sorry for him, honestly. If possible, I''ll try to find opportunities for him to get any girl.


    Sadly, Monica is not interested on him¡­


    -----

 Chapter 727 Changin Class And Subclass!

    <h4>Chapter 727 Changin ss And Subss!</h4>


    -----


    "We''ll only have two days at most to prepare." I said, as I found myself in front of over three hundred armored men, the entire Knight Brigade and the Soldiers of the Duchybined together.


    Some were heavily wounded before we came, but thanks to Elizabeth healing magic and Hendrick''s potions, they were all healed to top condition.


    The apples of the lesser Yggdrasil are also delicious, and heal exhaustion andck of stamina, muscle strain, and help stabilize a tired and wounded body really fast.


    Eustace was in front of his army, while Monica was at my side. Before doing anything else, I wanted to make them as strong as possible in these two days we''ll prepare.


    "How can we get so strong in just two days though?" Wondered one of the soldiers.


    "How?" I asked. "Well, through methods none of you have ever thought before. Things that you never learn anywhere, and through things only us have figured out. First of all, I''ll help you awaken your true physical strength, once this is done, you''ll find yourselves twice, thrice, or even sometimes four or five times as stronger than before. Now, make a long line, it''ll be done quickly. Woo, help me out as well."


    "Fine, theseds aren''t half bad, I''ll awaken their Ki Points in a sh! Kehehhee!" The old goblinughed.


    "Uaagh!"


    "Ouch!"


    "It hurts! My entire body hurts!"


    "Aaaaagghh!"


    "W-What the heck?!"


    The soldiers all started screaming one after another as we awakened their pressure points and their Ki Core in their chest, all of them, one after another, awakened their Ki and physiques.


    Because most soldiers were rather strong already, their Physiques weren''t half-bad, and they had plenty of Ki to go with it.


    Monica and Eustace were worried and constantly asked me what in the world was I doing, but after seeing the soldiers get up normally after a few seconds and feeling even stronger than before, things changed.


    Eventually, I awakened the Ki of everyone that wanted as well, the maidservants and manservants, the head butler and head maid, Eustace, and Monica''s entire party as well.


    FLAAAASH!


    Once everything was done, everyone was overflowing with their own Ki Auras, as I smiled rather confidently while nodding.


    "This is Ki, everyone, see? It is quite amazing, right? This is an energy different than Mana, it is part of our body. Some call this Stamina, others Vitality, I call it Ki, the energy of our bodies. Use it, spend it, exercise, fight, the more you do this, the stronger your Ki and body will be. Now! With the healers and potions we''ve prepared, all of you will constantly fight against one another, and also my Familiars." I said, as I summoned one hundred beasts.


    "This energy is amazing but¡­ isn''t this a bit too tyrannical!?"


    "Wait, there''s no way we''ll survive this¡­"


    "I-In just two days, can we be strong enough to at least kill demonsparable to D Rank monsters like this?"


    "For sure!" I roared. "Now, Eustace, Monica, make sure they don''t break their routine."


    "Very well." Eustace nodded. "I''ll make sure to train myself too!"


    "I''ll do what you taught me before when you trained me personally, ke!" Monica agreed.


    "Good, we don''t have much time, start immediately! Every second is precious! Ah right, you''re not sleeping either! Train, train, and train!" I roared tyrannically; the soldiers trembled before my voice.


    "H-He''s a monster¡­"


    "This kid''s for real¡­"


    "B-But he''s the one that helpeddy Monica be so strong."


    "Yeah, didn''t you see how she was able to win against as many of us just through her physical attacks?"


    "We can''t just let a youngdy be stronger than us¡­"


    "Also, he saved our duchy! T-The least we can do is trust him, r-right?"


    Everyone nced at me, as I didn''t realized I was smirking rather maliciously.


    "Yes, all of you¡­ Heheheh¡­ You will be so strong you won''t even recognize yourselves, you bastards." Iughed evilly, my eyes glowed bright red without my intention.


    "Just who is the real demon here? Is it him or the demons we''ve been fighting?"


    "Agh¡­ Let''s try! I don''t want to make eye contact with him!"


    "Eeep!"


    As they ran away, I quickly summoned my Grimoire and decided to Rank Up now.


    Ding!


    [You''ve opened the Job ss and Subss Changing Page.]


    -----


    [Avable Job sses]


    [Grandmaster Summoner: ¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï]


    [Magic Beast Tamer: ¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï]


    [Abyssal Vampiric Spear Demon: ¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï]


    [Elemental Warlock: ¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï]


    [Great Dragon Tamer: ¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï]


    [Blood King: ¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï]


    [Aberrant Chimera: ¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï]


    [Avable Subsses]


    [Great Mechanical Engineer: ¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï]


    [Master Alchemist: ¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï]


    [Creator: ¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï]


    [Sewing Master: ¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï]


    [Master Magical Chef: ¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï]


    [Master Spirit Mediator: ¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï]


    -----


    "This time as well, there''s a lot of new options¡­ Some of them do look enticing, especially whatever Blood King is." I wondered. "But I should walk down the path most efficient."


    Ding!


    [You''ve selected the [Grandmaster Summoner: ¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï] Job ss!]


    [You''ve selected the [Creator: ¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï] Subss!]


    [Your Level has been reset.]


    [Your Level Cap has risen to Level 100.]


    [All your Stats have increased.]


    [All Summoner-type Skills have gained a Bonus Level!]


    [All Creation-type Skills have gained a Bonus Level!]


    [You Learned the [Familiar Talent Bestowal: Lv1] Skill!]


    [You Learned the [Deconstruct: Lv1] Skill!]


    [The power of your Rank Up has allowed your Spirit Orb Realm to reach Rank 4 Initial Stage!]


    [All of your Stats have increased further as a result.]


    [You can now Summon 2 New Vampire Spirits.]


    "Excellent." I smiled. "And these new Skills¡­"


    The one that interested me the most out of the two new Talent-tied Skills was, of course, the new Familiar-rted Skill.


    -----


    [Familiar Talent Bestowal: Lv1]


    Skill Proficiency: 0/20000


    As a Grandmaster Summoner, your power over your own Familiars has grown even higher than before. Through the usage of Mana, you can "bestow" a variety of Talents into your Summoned Familiars. Each Familiar type is limited to one Talent, and different copies of the same familiar cannot get different Talents.


    Once a Talent is given, it cannot change, but it will evolve alongiside the Familiar''s Stats and Ranks as they grow stronger themselves. Talents can give a Familiar new Skills, Stat Boosts, Elements, and even new Evolutions.


    As the Skill Level Increases, the stronger the bonuses given by Talents be.


    -----


    This¡­ It pretty much means I can give sses to my Familiars.


    Amazing!


    -----

 Chapter 728 Familiar Talent Bestowal

    <h4>Chapter 728 Familiar Talent Bestowal</h4>


    -----


    The new Skill was simply phenomenal¡­


    -----


    [Familiar Talent Bestowal: Lv1]


    Skill Proficiency: 0/20000


    As a Grandmaster Summoner, your power over your own Familiars has grown even higher than before. Through the usage of Mana, you can "bestow" a variety of Talents into your Summoned Familiars. Each Familiar type is limited to one Talent, and different copies of the same familiar cannot get different Talents.


    Once a Talent is given, it cannot change, but it will evolve alongiside the Familiar''s Stats and Ranks as they grow stronger themselves. Talents can give a Familiar new Skills, Stat Boosts, Elements, and even new Evolutions.


    As the Skill Level Increases, the stronger the bonuses given by Talents be.


    -----


    As long as it works as I thought. Talents are really the defining factor of a person''s strength in this world by a lot. Although through Cultivation and other methods, such things only be an added plus, most people think of Talents as the only thing that could define who they are.


    Being given the power to give them to my Summons feels almost like cheating, isn''t this something only the Holy Spirits could do? Maybe they''re slowly shaping me to be something simr to them, perhaps.


    Nheless, it was worth giving it a try.


    "Fenrir,e here."


    FLASH!


    "Woof! Yes, master?"


    Fenrir appeared out of my own shadows, as he walked to my side, his huge body waging his tail happily after being called.


    "I''ll try out some new Skill on you, stay still." I said, as I began activating the Skill.


    "Very well, master." Fenrir nodded obediently, unlike Vampire Spirits that have personalities and can go against their master''s decisions, Familiars seempletely obedient of anything, and never doubt me at all. They''re quite mechanical, in fact.


    "[Familiar Talent Bestowal]"


    FLAAASH!


    A bright shine of light epassed Fenrir''s body, as I was suddenly given an option of what Talent could he take, which left me slightly surprised.


    Ding!


    [You have activated the [Familiar Talent Bestowal: Lv1] Skill on Familiar Fenrir.]


    [Please choose one of these Talents for Familiar Fenrir. Once you choose one, you cannot change it anymore and it will be the Familiar''s permanent Talent. However, through growth, it can develop into a stronger Talent.]


    [Talent Options]: [Beast: ¡ï] [Rogue: ¡ï] [Werewolf: ¡ï]


    Those were certainly strange Talents, just Beast? And then¡­ Werewolf? Andstly the simplest, Rogue. I can''t see their details though, but I am guessing they''ll give him some sort of power.


    Beast could simply enhance his basic physical abilities, Rogue might increase his stealth, and Werewolf could quite possibility give all Fenrir the ability to shapeshift into a humanoid, lycanthrope form.


    I already have Fang as my werewolf, but I do wonder what powers could it actually bring to the table? Maybe higher intelligence and sharper senses. The ability to wield weapons? Rogue seems good for his stealth-based abilities though, but doesn''t he has a lot already?


    Maybe going for an experimental Talent would be more fun, and it could give me more insight on what it could possibly do.


    Ding!


    [You have chosen the [Werewolf: ¡ï] Talent!]


    [Familiar: Fenrir] has acquired the [Werewolf: ¡ï] Talent!]


    [Familiar: Fenrir] Stats have increased and has gained New Skills, and a Title.]


    -----


    [Name]: [Fenrir (Evolved) (Awakened)]


    [Type]: [Beast] [Specter] [Shadow] [Lycan]


    [Rank]: [D++]


    [Race]: [Giant Shadow Specter Horned Wolf]


    [Talent]: [Werewolf: ¡ï]


    [Health Points]: [5000/5000] (+550)


    [Mana Points]: [2500/2500] (+350)


    [Strength]: [3200] (+700)


    [Agility]: [3200] (+700)


    [Vitality]: [1800] (+350)


    [Intelligence]: [1500] (+350)


    [Dexterity]: [2500] (+550)


    [Buff]: [+250 Agility] [+200 Dexterity] [+100 Strength]


    [Skill]: [Abyssal Bite++] [Dark Berserk Roar++] [Shadow Traveler++] [Spectral Form++] [Abyssal Specter Domain++] [Transformation++] [Predator++]


    [Awakening Skill]: [Beast King''s Annihtion++]


    [Title]: [Lycanthrope]


    -----


    All his Stats increased permanently, but above all, he gained +1000 Intelligence, I knew it would make him smarter! He also acquired Transformation and Predation Skills, andstly, the Lycanthrope Title.


    "How do you feel, Fenrir?"


    "Hmmm¡­ I do feel quite thoughtful, master."


    "Very well, use Transformation."


    "AWOOOO!"


    Giving a loud howl, Fenrir''s body suddenly stood in two legs and grewrge muscles on his upper half, slightly humanoid. His size increased by almost twice, towering like a huge behemoth.


    Ding!


    [Familiar: Fenrir] has undergone Transformation into his Werewolf Form!]


    [While on this form, All Stats have increased by +500.]


    [Due to the effects of the [Lycanthrope] Title, while transformed, Strength, Vitality, and Intelligence have increased by a further +300.]


    [Transformation Duration: 30 Minutes.]


    [Cooldown: 120 Minutes.]


    So he can transform every two hours for thirty minutes and gets all these fantastical bonuses! And it is only a one-star talent, it seems Werewolf was the way to go.


    "But what does Predation do?" I wondered.


    "It seems it can allow me to regenerate HP and MP by devouring monsters, master!" Said Fenrir, now much more aware of his powers than before, must be all the Intelligence Stat he gained.


    "I see, sounds like it could be very useful on big battles against many foes, so you and your kin can regenerate quickly and keep fighting, excellent." Iughed. "This was much better than I expected! How about we try giving Talents to a few more of you now?"


    I quickly called the General Draco, General Titan, and General Arachne, as I wanted to give them Talents as my Generals, their Talent would be shared by all their iterations anyways. Giving it to my strongest soldiers would give the best results. Also, giving Talents cost arge quantity of Mana, so for now, I''ll give it to these guys, andter on I''ll distribute more Talents sparingly.


    "Have you called us, master?" Draco asked with a solemn expression.


    "It seems Fenrir has¡­ changed." Titan pointed out while rubbing his bearded chin.


    "He has be like Fang!" Arachne said. "Master, what magic is this?"


    Although they were all obedient, they had slightly distinct personalities as they became Generals and gained the ability to speak. Draco was loyal and "wise", Titan was always analyzing everything, and Arachne was rather envious of others, and wanted my attention.


    Perhaps these might be lingering emotions or natures of their original monster forms, or perhaps it is something that formed on their ownpletely, I''ll never know.


    "It''s time for all of you to get some Talents, rejoice."


    -----

 Chapter 729 Talented Familiars

    <h4>Chapter 729 Talented Familiars</h4>


    -----


    In a couple of minutes, I gave Draco, Titan, and Arachne some Talents, they all had three Talent options, but this time they were much easier to choose based on their strengths, weaknesses, and what theycked.


    -----


    [Name]: [Draco]


    [Type]: [Dragon] [Lizard] [Knight]


    [Rank]: [C]


    [Race]: [Red Scaled Infernal Wyvern]


    [Talent]: [Dragon Knight: ¡ï]


    [Health Points]: [6000/6000] (+1100)


    [Mana Points:] [3500/3500] (+1100)


    [Strength]: [3700] (+1400)


    [Agility]: [2700] (+1400)


    [Vitality]: [3000] (+700)


    [Intelligence]: [3700] (+700)


    [Dexterity]: [2000] (+700)


    [Buff]: [+250 HP] [+200 Strength] [+100 Agility]


    [Skill]: [zing Wyvern Breath++] [Magic Resistant Wyvern Scales++] [Rapid Flight++] [Wyvern ws++] [Dragon Knight''s Scale Armor++] [Draconic zing Sword++]


    [Awakening Skill]: [True Fire Dragon''s Breath++]


    [Title]: [Draconian Servant]


    -----


    Draco had managed to evolve into a C Rank Familiar as he was already at his base a D++ Rank, his stats aren''t as impressive as the bugs though, but they were still pretty good once the Talent Bonuses were applied.


    He now attained the ability to take a more human-like posture, transform his scales into a knight-like red armor, and summon a sword made of draconic mes. His new Skills and Titles boost his defensive stats and offense stats the most, while not doing much for his agility, which he already had plenty for now, alongside the ability to fly.


    -----


    [Name]: [Titan (Awakened)]


    [Type]: [Ogre] [Magician] [Shaman]


    [Rank]: [C]


    [Race]: [Red Orc Druid King]


    [Talent]: [Spirit Shaman: ¡ï]


    [Health Points]: [3000/3000] (+1100)


    [Mana Points]: [6000/6000] (+1400)


    [Strength]: [2800] (+700)


    [Agility]: [2000] (+700)


    [Vitality]: [2800] (+1100)


    [Intelligence]: [3700] (+1400)


    [Dexterity]: [2000] (+700)


    [Buff]: [+250 MP] [+200 Intelligence] [+100 Dexterity]


    [Skill]: [Dragon Spirit''s Breath++] [cial Spirit''s Icicles++] [Thunder Spirit''s Lightning++] [Protection Spirit''s Barrier++] [War Spirit''s Enhancement++] [Volcanic Spirit''s Wrath++] [Light Spirit''s Healing Embrace++]


    [Awakening Skill]: [Elemental Spirit''s Resonance++]


    [Title]: [Spiritualist]


    -----


    Simrly to Draco, Titan had yet to evolve, so once I applied all the umted Spirit Orbs for Ogre-type Monsters I got from Hasan, he was evolved to a C Rank Familiar. He has be even more useful now as a Spirit Shaman.


    He gained a stronger fire attribute magic spell that brings the wrath of volcanic sprits, causing a hue area of effect attack that can damage many foes at once. Andstly, a healing light that heals many allies at once.


    His Titleplement such Skills, increasing their Effects by +100% and decreasing their Mana Cost by -50%.


    Also, thanks to my recent Awakening Skill reaching an even higher level, all Awakened Cards I created now had a unique Awakening Skill, which further expanded the Familiar''s utility.


    Andstly, for Arachne¡­


    -----


    [Name]: [Arachne (Awakened)]


    [Type]: [Arachnid] [Bug] [Dark] [Poison]


    [Rank]: [C+]


    [Race]: [Giant ck Arachneia]


    [Talent]: [Weaver: ¡ï]


    [Health Points]: [6500/6500] (+1100)


    [Mana Points]: [3500/3500] (+1100)


    [Strength]: [5700] (+1400)


    [Agility]: [3300] (+1400)


    [Vitality]: [4700] (+700)


    [Intelligence]: [2500] (+700)


    [Dexterity]: [3300] (+700)


    [Buff]: [+250 Strength] [+200 Vitality] [+100 Intelligence]


    [Skill]: [Deadly Venomous Jaws++] [Imprable Exoskeleton Armor++] [Masterful Silk Production++] [Piercing Spear Leg Attack++] [Lethal Thread Mastery++] [Weaver of Destiny++]


    [Awakening Skill]: [Spiderweb Domain++]


    [Title]: [Thread Master]


    -----


    I decided to go for the rarest of the Talents avable, "Weaver" which enhanced her ability to use the threads she can produce already. Lethal Thread Mastery makes her silk sharper and capable of even cutting through metal, while Weaver of Destiny allows her to improve the Luck of herself and allies whose her threads are connected to by +50%.


    Lastly, her Thread Master Title enhances her Stats by +300 when using lethal threads and increases the thread''s ability by giving them the power to ignore 50% of their defenses.


    Overall, all three of them became so different than before that it felt like they were Spirits rather than disposable Familiars. And because they were given the General Title, they receive arge boost to their stats, making them stronger than anybody else within their same kin.


    Quite spectacr, isn''t it?


    "This new power is sure interesting." Dracomented. "I will use it to serve you better, master."


    "Hmmm, the spirits of thend respond to my calling much easier." Titan pointed out.


    "Master, can I weave you a beautiful shirt?" Arachne asked.


    "Well, do as you want while we have free time." I shrugged. "Even though you can be resummoned any time, I have to admit your efforts are the reason we won this battle, thanks."


    "Master¡­"


    "You thanked us?"


    "Ahhh~ There''s no problem!"


    They were quite ttered, as I left them on their own devices alongside Fenrir, as I walked back to the castle''s backyard where I meet with my Spirits and Friends, little Ruby has been patiently waiting for me to arrive.


    "You''re finally back! Ruby has been expecting his evolution for a while now." Eleanora said. "Oh, you''re Rank 4 now?! This means we could also evolve¡­ Wait, what about the new Vampires?! You can summon two more!"


    "Yeah, that''ll be a bit troublesome for now so let''s leave it after Ruby''s issue is done for." I said, checking the young dragon''s status.


    He was already Level 50, his max Level, and was currently D++ Rank. His Spirit Orb Rank was now Rank 2 Initial Stage. Unlike people, monsters can''t summon spirits, but as their Spirit Orbs grow stronger, they also be much stronger, undergoing evolutions, something people can''t do.


    If his Orb Rank was 2, he was more than ready for evolution, even more at max level, but thanks to my authority over his existence, I was able to inhibit his automatic evolution so I can further improve it and make it even stronger, using materials and a specialized magic circle, of course.


    In just a couple of minutes, it was mostly done for thanks to Hendrick and Eleanora''s support, and the materials we used right now were the ones I was given for free by Darkus, the huge ck Draconic Lizard Demon that served Satan, whose body had be something very simr to a Demonic Dragon, powerful dragons that inhabit Hell.


    "Be grateful, little Ruby, yesterday we were given the most premium of materials avable! How about you be a Demonic Dragon for a change?"


    "Raaar!" Ruby wagged his tail happily and excitedly.


    "I see that you''re an eager one! Let''s begin then!" Iughed. "Monster Evolution Magic Circle, Activate."


    FLAAAASH!


    -----

 Chapter 730 Ruby’s Three Star Evolution

    <h4>Chapter 730 Ruby''s Three Star Evolution</h4>


    -----


    The ck scales, flesh, ws, fangs, eyes, wings, and some of Darkus internal organs all merged into Ruby''s body, as it started glowing brightly, with Eleanora and Hendrick''s support as they used Synthesis, Ruby absorbed all the materials and swiftly triggered his evolution by mymand.


    FLAAASH!


    A powerful shockwave of Blood Ki, Demonic Energy, and Draconic Energy surged from within his body, which now grew from the two meters big body it had to five meters, bing a huge beast.


    Ding!


    [Tamed Monster: Ruby] has evolved to a [Demonic Blood Dragon: ¡ï¡ï¡ï]!]


    [All Stats have increased! He has gained new Skills and Titles!]


    "ROOAARRR!"


    Ruby had be a true young adult dragon now, his red scales gained a few ck scales as well, his appearance became much more mature and less "baby-like", his eyes became ferocious, and he even gained an extra pair of them.


    His wings spread out, huge and magnificent, with eye-shaped patterns, by merely moving them around, powerful winds surged from within them. To make things even more intimidating, his horns grew several timesrger, forming a huge, thorny crown above his head.


    "He''s huge!" Erika who was nearby said.


    "Incredible¡­" Erdrich said. "It is even possible to make a wyvern be this powerful?!"


    "It is only thanks to my master''s amazing insight and intelligence." Hendrick said. "Utilizing materials to trigger special evolutions is, of course, something only he could think of."


    "But doesn''t¡­ Ruby feel much stronger than he should had been?" Eleanora asked.


    "Certainly¡­" I nodded, ncing at his stats.


    -----


    [Name]: [Ruby]


    [Rank]: [B]


    [Race]: [Demonic Blood Dragon: ¡ï¡ï¡ï]


    [Spirit Orb Realm]: [Rank 3 (Initial Stage)]


    [Level]: [0/100]


    [Health Points]: [7500/7500]


    [Mana Points]: [5500/5500]


    [Strength]: [6200]


    [Agility]: [4500]


    [Vitality]: [5200]


    [Intelligence]: [3500]


    [Dexterity]: [3500]


    [Passive Skills]: [Demonic Dragon Scales: Lv6] [High Speed Flight: Lv7] [Demonic Dragon Bloodline: Lv5] [Demonic Dragon Eyes: Lv5] [Draconic Demon Aura: Lv1] [Magic Damage Reflection: Lv1]


    [Active Skills]: [Sharp Dragon ws: Lv8] [Fierce Dragon Bite: Lv8] [Fearsome Tail Whip: Lv7] [Hellish zing Breath: Lv6] [Demonic Dragon Punch: Lv3]


    [Magic Skills]: [Fireball: Lv8] [zing Shield: Lv5] [Blood de: Lv6] [Blood Explosion: Lv4] [Infernal Blood Vortex: Lv1]


    [Title Skills]: [Vampiric Servant: Lv6] [Blood Dragon: Lv5] [Giant Killer: Lv4] [Demon Dragon: Lv1]


    -----


    "B Rank?!" I was shaken, stepping back. "He jumped from D++ to B Rank! Is it because of the quality of the materials?! Ruby, do you feel alright?" I had the slight fear that the power would make him go berserk, making him forget our contract and attacking us.


    "Raaar!" However, he was as gentle as ever, licking my face with his even huger tongue now. "Roar! Raar!" He seemed just fine.


    "Well, I shouldn''t had even worried about you, even as intimidating as you look, you''re still a goofy creature." Iughed.


    Most of his Skills evolved, gaining a "demonic" keyword to them. Alongside that, he acquired a few new Skills of their own, such as Infernal Blood Vortex, a destructive spell, draconic demon aura and magic damage reflection, which will boost his stats and decrease magic damage against him, andstly, Demon Dragon, his new Title.


    "I think you''ve finally be strong enough to fight in the frontlines without me being afraid of you dying, Ruby." Iughed. "I mostly let you fight behind everyone else because of your low stats, but at this point you have gathered enough skills and stats to not die against everything.


    "Grrrrrhh!" Ruby seemed to have gotten slightly irritated by my honestment.


    "Ah, sorry, did that hurt? I was only being honest." I sighed, giving him a snack, a huge piece of meat with bone on it, from Darkus himself.


    "Raaah!" Ruby started munching on it and biting it like a good dog- I mean, dragon.


    Ding!


    [Because of your Contracted Dragon growing even stronger, the power you gain from the Contract has also improved greatly!]


    [All Dragon-rted Skills have gained a Bonus Level.]


    [All of your Stats have increased by an additional +250.]


    Not bad, +250 to all stats is a huge bonus, I''ll dly take it. The only stat that didn''t increased was the Spirit Stat though, that one remains the same until I increase my Spirit Orb Rank further, currently being at 300.


    "Now, let''s create spirits for all of you." I said. "I''ll do my own thingter tonight. Erika, Elizabeth, everyone,e. Let''s make yourselves the strongest Spirits possible."


    Everyone suddenly felt excited about my words, walking to my side and then swarming me, even the prideful Elfriedden wanted a spirit first before everyone else¡­


    "Come on! In order!" I sighed. "Also, we need to prepare a separate room for this, Hendrick, Eleanora, let''s get this done with quickly."


    Like that, we spent the entire rest of the day doing this. Preparing a Spirit Summoning Magic Circle and creating Spirits for everyone that could get a new one. It was much easier to inspect their Stats through the Duchy''s Appraisal Stone than by inspecting their spirits one by one.


    Not only for the Spirits, but because mostly everyone got stronger Talents after Ranking Up, greatly improving themselves at longst. However, while inspecting the through the Appraisal Stone, something interesting happened.


    The Appraisal Stone shone brightly, and it suddenly flew into my Grimoire¡­ And merged.


    FLAAASH!


    Ding!


    [The [Grimoire] has absorbed the [Appraisal Stone] by the will of the [Holy Spirits]!]


    [The [Grimoire] can now inspect other Talent-Wielders, with much more detailed Stats.]


    [The [Holy Spirits] are giving you their thumbs ups!]


    And this happened¡­ What in the world have you done, you dumbasses?!


    "Eeeeh?! The Appraisal Stone! It is really valuable! How did it just disappear?!" Monica panicked. "What happened?!"


    "Sigh¡­ Looks like the Holy Spirits did something without my permission again, sorry." I apologized. "Err, how expensive are these?"


    "A-Around¡­ like a billion Telis?" She wondered. "They''re very rare¡­ And can only be created using special crystals mined far away, and then blessed by a Saint, they''re ancient relics¡­ I can''t believe it just disappeared!"


    "A-A billion Telis." I sighed to myself. "Fine, I''ll make the money through this war anyways, care to give me a discount for everything I''ve done?"


    "S-Sure, as long as you exin me what just happened¡­" She was surprised still.


    "Well, let''s cut the chase, I''m blessed by the Holy Spirits¡­" I said nonchntly.


    "Eh?!" She cried. "S-So you weren''t joking?"


    -----

 Chapter 731 New Appraising Abilities

    <h4>Chapter 731 New Appraising Abilities</h4>


    -----


    After a round of exnations, Monica and her knight understood the situation. If it wasn''t for all the meri we acquired, they would have most likely never believed me when I told them my powers simply absorbed the stone itself, and that it was all done by the Holy Spirit''s stupid decisions.


    Although it was quite expensive to pay, I wasn''t going to back up from this little problem, also, I was given a 50% discount, so I''ll only have to pay five hundred million Telis, still a lot, but not an impossible number now.


    I also promised them I would make some Appraising Items of even higher quality and sell these items to them first whenever they''re done. Now that my Grimoire has acquired such power, it shouldn''t be hard to extract it somehow and ce it into something else eventually.


    But for now, while everyone else was ying around with their new Spirits, this gave me the opportunity to see their Stats in more detail.


    -----


    [Name]: [Erika Goldriver]


    [Race]: [Half Dryad (Human)]


    [Spirit Orb Realm]: [Rank 3 (Middle Stage)]


    [Talent]: [Dragon de Princess: ¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï]


    [Level]: [0/100]


    [Health Points]: [6300/6300]


    [Mana Points]: [5250/5250]


    [Strength]: [5400]


    [Agility]: [5300]


    [Vitality]: [3800]


    [Intelligence]: [4800]


    [Dexterity]: [3800]


    [Spirits (3/3)]: [Magical Doll House (Rank 3 Middle Stage)] [Dark Knight Puppet (Rank 3 Middle Stage)] [Dream Dragon Puppet (Rank 3 Middle Stage)]


    [Skills]: [Dragon Sword Mastery] [Mana Maniption] [Magic Sword Techniques] [Kicking Techniques] [Hand to Hand Combat] [Powerful Soul] [Puppeteer] [Illusion Magic] [Dryad Physique] [Draconic Eye] [Yggdrasil''s Eye] [Spirit Connection] [Throwing] [Agile Body] [Fast Movements] [Cheer] [Dance] [Charm] [Draconic Transformation] [Dragon Riding] [Dragon Connection] [Dragon Taming] [Dream Magic] [¡­]


    [Titles]: [Doll Princess] [Half-Dryad] [Demon yer] [Dragon Princess] [¡­]


    -----


    Erika was first, and her Stats were mostly as I expected them to be! If it wasn''t for her Vitality and Dexterity her stats would easily surpass mine in everything else¡­ In fact, she''s a monster. I am surprised a former doll girl has be this overpowered.


    Nheless, this is very useful now, as Erika was happily looking at her own Status, she was even able to discern her own Level now, and she had ranked up from Magic de Princess to Dragon de Princess at four star, an even stronger Talent that allowed her to gain power by riding a dragon, and having dragon powers, apparently.


    I wonder if Draco counts. Maybe I''ll let her ride Ruby for now. It didn''t showed me her Skill Levels, nor all her Titles either, so this Appraisal could get some improvements, but for now, it sufficed a lot. She acquired a lot of the Skills that took me a while to acquire from Ruby so easily thanks to her new Talent.


    Thankfully, she already got herself something like a Dragon, a special Spirit we created using dragon materials from Darkus and the Wyverns, alongside rmended materials from her mother, such as Dream Grass and Illusion Flowers, she said a spirit with these elements could awaken more of hertent Illusion and Dream Attribute Affinity she inherited from her mother.


    And it did, in the form of a rather adorable little doll dragon, a new type of spirit never documented before, it was pink colored and looked made of pink and purple metal, with joins made of wood, and glowing jewelry-like eyes.


    "Raar!"


    It was named Dream Dragon Puppet and had around the same size as Ruby when he was a baby Wyvern, very small, but it was capable of growing ten times its size, though it could not fly conventionally, and floated in midair instead.


    "I guess you can also ride this guy over here." I nodded.


    "But I want to ride Ruby too! He''s so big and cool!" Erika was excited to ride Ruby instead of her own new Spirit¡­


    "Make sure to forge a stronger bond with the little one, he''ll be your new source of Illusion and Dream Magic Power, Erika." Said her mother Cattalina. "Do not neglect the child."


    "Y-Yes¡­" Erika nodded, as she was forced to give attention to her new spirit.


    "Spirits are like children, if you do not give them attention nor nurture them enough, they will not grow as you want, and might even grow to hate you, not helping you when needed." Cattalina exined.


    "Yeah! That''s right! So you better take good care of us, Elizabeth."


    "I just want to eat that grass you gave me the other day."


    "That grass?! It was Wisdom Grass! I can''t afford it for every day, turtle¡­ It was so your Magic could grow a bit higher."


    "Hmph, maybe I''ll grow to hate you then¡­"


    Meanwhile, arger Holy Dragon and Mountain Turtle talked with Elizabeth, while a slightly bigger and less baby-like cherubin flew around her. And also a creature resembling a golden eyeball covered on six angelic wings was flying around her in silence.


    -----


    [Name]: [Elizabeth]


    [Race]: [Human]


    [Spirit Orb Realm]: [Rank 3 (Middle Stage)] [+Rank 3 (Initial Stage)]


    [Talent]: [Holy Saint: ¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï]


    [Level]: [0/100]


    [Health Points]: [3200/3200]


    [Mana Points]: [10250/10250]


    [Strength]: [3200]


    [Agility]: [5300]


    [Vitality]: [3200]


    [Intelligence]: [8500]


    [Dexterity]: [4800]


    [Spirits (4/4)]: [Juvenile Angelic Guardian (Rank 3 Middle Stage)] [Young Holy Dragon (Rank 3 Middle Stage)] [Mountain Gold Ore Turtle (Rank 3 Middle Stage)] [Seraphin of Rejuvenation (Rank 3 Middle Stage)]


    [Skills]: [Staff Mastery] [Hand to Hand Combat] [Holy Fist Technique] [Mana Maniption] [Blessing] [Enchant] [Recover] [First Aids] [Holy Light Magic] [Holy Light Domain] [Spirit Connection] [Saint''s Eyes] [Fast Movements] [Hastened Mana Recovery] [Multi Chanting] [Angelic Transformation] [Summon Celestial Light] [Divine Healing Hands] [¡­]


    [Titles]: [Saintess] [Angelic Soul] [Kind Heart] [Chosen Saint] [¡­]


    -----


    Elizabeth had finally Ranked Up into an actual Saint, bing a Four-Star Holy Saint, I wonder what will be her Five Star Talent? Maybe¡­ Divine Saint? We''ll have to see.


    Her Stats were¡­ very impressive in some areas, and disappointing in others, she''s the definition of a ss cannon and potent healer and supporter, but she can fight really well in the frontlines through Spirit Fusing with her the Spirits Ellergest inherited to her.


    And thanks to holding a Second Spirit Orb inside of her body, his inheritance too, she has an abnormally high Mana and Intelligence Stat for her Level and Rank.


    I''m still researching how to have two Spirit Orbs inside my body, by the way.


    Oh, and of course, her new Spirit, the Seraphin of Rejuvenation.


    -----

 Chapter 732 Everyone’s Status 1

    <h4>Chapter 732 Everyone''s Status 1</h4>


    -----


    The new Spirit she had was the Seraphin of Rejuvenation, while the Juvenile Angelic Guardian mostly supported her with barriers of light and beams of light, this one was purely a healer. It formed naturally, we didn''t had any materials fitting for her new Spirit, so she let fate decide what it would be, we weren''t disappointed.


    "I can''t believe I have be a Holy Saint after less than a year since my first appraisal¡­" Said Elizabeth. "This little guy will be of great help as well, relieving our healing necessities while I fight more in the frontlines."


    "A saint shouldn''t be risking her life in the frontlines though, Elizabeth." I sighed. "Only if necessary, if possible, stay behind, you''re too precious to be risked."


    "T-That''s¡­ Okay, that''s a bit ttering but I won''t back down! Ellergest was always fighting with everything he had even as frail old grandpa, right?" Elizabeth sighed, blushing a bit.


    "I suppose that with the Holy Dragon and the Mountain Turtle, it could be possible, but don''t overdo it." I said. "I am not really trying to stop you."


    "Okay, I''ll take your words into consideration, dear." She smiled, giving me a wink.


    "D-Dear?!" I felt slightly shaken by that single word.


    Was this my human emotions working? It felt slightly alluring somewhat. Well, I''ll ignore it for now and move on to the next things¡­


    "Meow! Maraoo!"


    "Ouch! You stupid cat! Stop biting me!"


    "Meeeooo!"


    "Arrgh! Why couldn''t you have been a cool lion like Evelyn''s spirit?! Stop scratching my face!"


    Meanwhile, Chris was fighting against his new Spirit, a cat made out of phantasmal mes, the Will-o-Wisp Cat. He wanted a lion-like spirit, so we tried making it, what endeding out was a ghostly fire cat instead.


    And the two of them are getting along¡­ just fine, I think. His Fox became bigger and he can ride it now, the same for his Smander, which now resembles a wingless small dragon.


    -----


    [Name]: [Chris]


    [Race]: [Human]


    [Spirit Orb Realm]: [Rank 3 (Initial Stage)]


    [Talent]: [Mystic Spirit me Sorcerer: ¡ï¡ï¡ï]


    [Level]: [0/80]


    [Health Points]: [3200/3200]


    [Mana Points]: [5500/5500]


    [Strength]: [4000]


    [Agility]: [3000]


    [Vitality]: [3200]


    [Intelligence]: [4200]


    [Dexterity]: [3000]


    [Spirits (3/3)]: [Mystic Nine Tailed zing Fox (Rank 3 Initial Stage)] [Greater Volcanic Smander (Rank 3 Initial Stage)] [Will-o-Wisp Cat (Rank 3 Initial Stage)]


    [Skills]: [Staff Mastery] [Hand to Hand Combat] [zing Fist Technique] [Mana Maniption] [Spirit Connection] [Fast Movements] [Hastened Mana Recovery] [Acrobatics] [Fireball] [Fire Whip] [zing Wall] [Fire Magic] [zing Spirit Burst] [Nine Tailed Fox Domain] [zing Fire Aura] [Dragon mes] [Great Smander''s Breath] [Phantasmal Spirit mes] [zing Surge] [Fire Weapon Summon] [¡­]


    [Titles]: [Fire Mage] [Hardworking Idiot] [Nine-Tailed Fox''s Beloved] [¡­]


    -----


    Unlike Erika and Elizabeth, he had yet to reach Four Stars on his Talent, even if he reached Rank 3 with his Spirit Orb. His stats were still really good nheless, he had an amazing bnce between Strength and Magic so everything his father taught him wille in use.


    His new Title though, is quite strange¡­ [Nine Tailed Fox''s Beloved]? I am beginning to think his first ever Spirit might be more than it seems. Could it be some sort of Legendary Spirit? Only something so strong could influence the System to give its master a Title like that.


    But aside from its normal growth, it hasn''t showed any other anomaly, so I can''t say for sure¡­ Maybe the fox just loves him dearly as her master and that''s it.


    "Wow! Eric, you got a Weapon Spirit like me now!" Alberta was happy to see Eric''s new Spirit.


    "Hahaha, yeah, I didn''t expected it to turn this way, but when my bow identally fell into the magic circle, it kind of¡­ happened." Laughed Eric. "I didn''t thought I would get some Wind Magic though!"


    "Well sometimes idents bring unprecedented fortunes." Alberta giggled. "You should try it outter!"


    Eric and Alberta were talking together while ncing at Eric''s new Spirit. He had acquired a Yggdrasil Wind Bow as his new Spirit, this happened by ident when his bow fell into the magic circle that would create a new spirit.


    Why? Because he''s clumsy sometimes. The original idea was to get a staff, actually, but it ended bing his own arrow, which he didn''t really mind that much.


    Surprisingly, he awakened Wind Magic Attribute Affinity and Wind Skills with the new Bow Spirit.


    -----


    [Name]: [Eric]


    [Race]: [Human]


    [Spirit Orb Realm]: [Rank 3 (Initial Stage)]


    [Talent]: [Alchemist Spirit Druid Archer: ¡ï¡ï¡ï]


    [Level]: [0/80]


    [Health Points]: [2500/2500]


    [Mana Points]: [5000/5000]


    [Strength]: [3200]


    [Agility]: [4000]


    [Vitality]: [2500]


    [Intelligence]: [4200]


    [Dexterity]: [4200]


    [Spirits (3/3)]: [Scarlet Emerald Rose Vines (Rank 3 Initial Stage)] [Yggdrasil''s Treant (Rank 3 Initial Stage)] [Yggdrasil''s Wind Bow (Rank 3 Initial Stage)]


    [Skills]: [Staff Mastery] [Hand to Hand Combat] [Bow Mastery] [Magic Arrow] [Spirit Arrow] [Mana Maniption] [Spirit Connection] [Fast Movements] [Hastened Mana Recovery] [Acrobatics] [Vine Whip] [Wood Spears] [Bark Shield] [Soil Maniption] [Agriculture] [Botany] [nt Maniption] [Nature Magic] [Spirit Tree Magic] [Alchemy] [Brewing] [Mixing] [Synthesis] [Dragon Vitality] [Nature Fusion] [nt Assimtion] [Spirit Wind Arrows] [Tempest Arrow Cannon] [Yggdrasil''s Armor] [¡­]


    [Titles]: [Young Alchemist] [Yggdrasil''s Gardener] [Spirit Bowman] [¡­]


    -----


    His new Talent was quite strange, it mixed several things from other Talents together into one. Alchemist, Druid, and Archer together. He didn''t had the archer Talent before, so this Talent might be somethingpletely unique to him, which developed after all of the mix of many Skills he possessed.


    It came in handy because of his new Bow Spirit too, so it wasn''t bad at all. And about his Stats¡­ Well, Eric had never had a good physique, and this is the result of him training since he was a child, I can''t imagine how much frailer he would if he didn''t train like that.


    Sacrificing his health and vitality, all other stats were decent to good, some even amazing, he''s mostly a long distance back row fighter, as long as he has high Intelligence, Dexterity, and Speed, nothing else matters, really, he has his bulky dwarf girlfriend to protect him anyways.


    -----

 Chapter 733 Everyone’s Status 2

    <h4>Chapter 733 Everyone''s Status 2</h4>


    -----


    Of course, that''s not saying he can''t gain a lot of bulk from Spirit Fusion and from some of his newest Skills, such as Yggdrasil''s Armor, so if needed, he''ll jump to protect anybody that is too wounded, like he did with Alberta in the most recent battle against the Demon Lord that looked like a Gryphon thing.. All I have to say about that guy is that his meat was rather tasty.


    "Well, you''re the strongest between the two of us anyways, you''re honestly amazing! You started really low level, but you''ve grown so much through the year." Eric admired Alberta''s growth.


    "T-That''s only thanks to everybody''s help¡­ Alone, I would had never been able to reach this far¡­ I-I''ll use this strength t-to help.. and protect you, Eric." Alberta blushed a bit.


    At her side there were two new Spirits, a huge golem, the one she already had, which became her second Spirit, and a huge mass of pure red mes with the shape of an old, muscr man. This was the Giant Mithril Golem and the Hephaestus'' Forging mes, Alberta''s two new Spirits.


    She reached Rank 3 Initial Stage after leveling frantically in the C+++ Rank Dungeon and then in this war, managing to catch up with is through the year at an incredibly fast speed. Her formerly three star talent grew into a four star talent, Runic cksmith Princess.


    -----


    [Name]: [Alberta Fierysmith]


    [Race]: [Dwarf]


    [Spirit Orb Realm]: [Rank 3 (Initial Stage)]


    [Talent]: [Runic cksmith Princess: ¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï]


    [Level]: [0/100]


    [Health Points]: [4500/4500]


    [Mana Points]: [6000/6000]


    [Strength]: [4200]


    [Agility]: [3200]


    [Vitality]: [4200]


    [Intelligence]: [3800]


    [Dexterity]: [5500]


    [Spirits (3/3)]: [Volcanic Grand Smith Hammer (Rank 3 Initial Stage)] [Giant Mithril Cannoneer Golem (Rank 3 Initial Stage)] [Hephaestus'' Forging mes (Rank 3 Initial Stage)]


    [Skills]: [Mana Maniption] [Fiery Hammer Techniques] [Fireball] [Fire Hammer] [Fire Shield] [Fire Magic] [Rune Creation] [Quick Repair] [Reinforce] [Sharpen] [Forging] [Smithing] [Smelting] [Metallurgy] [Godsmith Eyes] [Spirit Connection] [Smith Magic] [Crafting] [Alchemy] [cksmith''s Forge] [Dragon Eyes] [Mechanic Creation] [Golem Creation] [Golem Summon] [Weapon Runic Enhancement] [Forging mes Maniption] [Magic Cannon Techniques] [Robust Body] [¡­]


    [Titles]: [Young cksmith] [Wielder Of the Runic Smith Hammer] [Golem Architect] [cksmith Princess] [¡­]


    -----


    Her golem even came equipped with huge cannons, and she can modify it even as it is a Spirit now, which is quite amusing. The Hephaestus'' Forging mes is a new Spirit she got by itself, without any other material, and might be rted with her Talent and legacy.


    Alberta might be the strongest and best cksmith in this world, seeing how much she''s overflowing with Talent. I can''t help finding it ridiculous how much she said her family saw her as talentless due tocking enough experience, but now that she had grown so much, she has improved tremendously.


    And her Stats¡­ well, she had be quite the monster herself, being theplete opposite of Eric, I can guess theyplement each other I suppose. Her Dexterity is the highest, most likely because that''s the Stat crafters use the most.


    "This is quite mysterious. I wonder if you can talk?" Erdrich wondered, talking to a Spirit he had summoned in the shape of a woman wrapped on ck chains, blindfolded with ck clothes, with long silvery-white hair.


    She was named "Sealed Demon Witch" and was just as mysterious as his first Spirit, the "Lady of Reminiscence". He might not remember her face though, but that third spirit he has summoned¡­ It oddly resembles his own mother. However, no matter how much we tried, she neve spoke and only obeyed basic orders.


    -----


    [Name]: [Erdrich]


    [Race]: [Half Demon (Human)]


    [Spirit Orb Realm]: [Rank 3 (Middle Stage)]


    [Talent]: [Demonic Asura Prince: ¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï]


    [Level]: [0/100]


    [Health Points]: [5500/5500]


    [Mana Points]: [3200/3200]


    [Strength]: [6500]


    [Agility]: [5000]


    [Vitality]: [5000]


    [Intelligence]: [3200]


    [Dexterity]: [3800]


    [Spirits (3/3)]: [Lady of Reminiscence and Restraint (Rank 3 Middle Stage)] [zing Demonic Living Armor (Rank 3 Middle Stage)] [Sealed Demon Witch (Rank 3 Middle Stage)]


    [Skills]: [Fist Fighting Mastery] [Hand to Hand Combat] [Demonic Battle Arts] [Demonic Energy Maniption] [Mana Maniption] [Spirit Connection] [Energy Fusion] [Fast Movements] [Hastened Demonic Energy Recovery] [ursed Seven Layered Demon Transformation] [Demon Eyes] [Demon Magic] [Berserk] [Battle Maniac Domain] [Dragon Skin] [Heavenly Demon Battle Arts] [Six-Armed Asura Transformation] [Asura''s Wrathful Aura] [Demonic Ki Maniption] [Magic-Sealing Demonic Chains] [¡­]


    [Titles]: [Half-Demon] [Demonic Ego] [Reckless Fighter] [Mother''s Beloved] [¡­]


    -----


    Erdrich''s Rank Up hade earlier than I thought, and he kept specializing into overpowered physical fighting, while his Spirits are merely support. It seems he can now summon chains that seal magic in a foe though, a really dangerous power in a world of magicians. His Strength is probably the highest among all of us.


    "Hmph, at least you got a decent Spirit that can cast powerful Demon Magic, but¡­ I got some gloves?! Again with the stupid spirits?! I wanted a frost dragon! Even a small one would had sufficed! ke you said I could get one!" Elfrieddenined.


    "I know, but it seems your own powers ended changing the shape of the spirit, it can''t be helped, your Talent seems to want another thing out of you." Iughed a bit.


    -----


    [Name]: [Elfriedden Crystal]


    [Race]: [Elf]


    [Spirit Orb Realm]: [Rank 3 (Middle Stage)]


    [Talent]: [Frost Soul Tailor Master: ¡ï¡ï¡ï]


    [Level]: [0/80]


    [Health Points]: [3200/3200]


    [Mana Points]: [5500/5500]


    [Strength]: [4000]


    [Agility]: [4200]


    [Vitality]: [3200]


    [Intelligence]: [4200]


    [Dexterity]: [6000]


    [Spirits (3/3)]: [Mystic Permafrost Crystal Needle (Rank 3 Middle Stage)] [Skadi''s Divine Thread (Rank 3 Middle Stage)] [Frost Dragon''s Gloves (Rank 3 Middle Stage)]


    [Skills]: [Mana Maniption] [Needle Mastery] [Icicle Spears] [Freezing Touch] [Winter''s Domain] [Ice Needle Techniques] [Ice Spirit Magic] [Sewing] [Rapid Repair] [Fabric Maniption] [Thread Mastery] [Tailor Master Eyes] [Fashionista] [Crafting] [Material Processing] [Sewing Magic] [Tailor''s Atelier] [Frost Dragon Aura] [Masterful Tailor Work] [Magic Fabric Creation] [Spiritual Frost Soul] [Frost Dragon Scale Protection] [Ice Tools Creation] [¡­]


    [Titles]: [Tailor] [Elven Prince] [Skadi''s Inheritor]


    -----


    What should had been a Frost Dragon Spirit ended bing a pair of gloves made out of Frost Dragon Scales¡­ Making Elfriedden incredibly angered and frustrated. It seems his Tailor Talent won''t let him easily get overpowered Spirits.


    -----

 Chapter 734 A Spar

    <h4>Chapter 734 A Spar</h4>


    -----


    To be honest, Elfriedden had really good stats, reminding me of Eric but slightly better, maybe because of his noble birth giving him bonus stats, or whatever else could it be. He was frustrated his n couldn''te to fruition, as he was unable to create a Frost Dragon Spirit using dragon materials he purchased off me.


    Instead, as the dragon spirit was forming, it suddenly turned into a pair of lustrous gloves made out of Frost Dragon Scales, which enhanced his dexterity and allowed him to summon frost magic even better when equipped¡­ However, it wasn''t what the sorry elven prince desired, sadly.


    And he made sure to show his frustration.


    "Give me my money back! I paid millions for a failure!" Heined.


    "No refunds, you already paid and used the materials for your new spirit, just embrace it and use it properly." I sighed. "Maybe it can be something interesting if you use Spirit Weaponization on it?"


    "Tch, as if a stupid pair of gloves would ever turn into something powerful¡­" He sighed. "[Spirit Weapon]!"


    FLAAASH!


    Both gloves shone brightly, suddenly transforming their shape and form, growing longer and beautiful. One pair became a medium-sized shield made of pure frost, the other, a frost dagger.


    "E-Eh? Oh¡­ Not bad I guess?" He wondered.


    "A Frost Dragon Shield and a Frost Dragon Dagger, they seem powerful in that state." I analyzed. "See? It wasn''t for nothing. If we ever learn Spirit Beast Transformation, it might turn into two small frost dragons or something, hahaha."


    "Are you joking around with me now?!" Elfriedden cried in frustration, although he actually seemed calmer. "Well¡­ I guess there''s no other option than to ept this and move on. It still made me stronger. Perhaps I should learn weapon techniques to use my spirit weapons better¡­"


    "Oh? In that case I''ll ingrain into you how to use a spear." Iughed. "Come, I''ll beat you down."


    "You''re really cocky for someone with lower stats than me!" Elfrieddenughed.


    "Lower stats? You''re talking about Dexterity? Well, that''s your only strong point above me¡­ Not like I don''t have buffs. Don''t simply be tricked by the surface shown to you, there''s always a greater force beneath."


    I activated several Skills at once, such as Dragon Connection, Gluttony''s Authority, and the rest of my Titles, alongside spells. My stats skyrocketed to the point they were mostly 9k+.


    And that was without counting all the Bonus Statas I get on top with all my Existing Familiars, that would bring most of my stats to 15k or more.


    "Nowe, Elfriedden, don''t you dare die on me." Iughed. "Today you''ll learn Spear Techniques, you want it or not!"


    "D-Dammit!" Elfriedden desperately transformed his needle into a Frost Spear as our weapons shed, releasing shockwaves in the middle of the castle''s backyard.


    CLAAAASH!


    .


    .


    .


    "I-I learned¡­ Spear Techniques¡­ Urgh¡­" Elfriedden was still groaning in pain while being covered in patches made with my First Aid Skill, as we enjoyed dinner. "It actually worked¡­"


    "Of course it did! Hahaha! Though you got quite the beating." Erikaughed. "ke''s too strong for you to just take head-on, Elfriedden! Are you stupid?"


    "S-Shut up¡­" Elfriedden seemed embarrassed on his own shorings. "One day¡­ At the very least, I''ll¡­ maybe¡­ ugh¡­"


    "Imend your spirit and efforts." I smiled. "Well, the Summoner ss is quite unfair anyways. Gaining Bonus Stats out of the hundreds of Spirits I''ve summoned¡­ Before many of the Familiars died in the war against the demons, I had over 25k HP¡­" I said nonchntly.


    "S-So that''s why you could take punches from that Darkus guy head-on¡­" Said Elizabeth.


    "Well, Demon Lords areparable to peak B Rank Monsters most of the time, their Stats would be around the same as mine. So we were quite even, until he transformed, by then, I would say his stats exceeded 25k." I said.


    "W-What a monster! And we killed three of those guys? Not even I can believe myself¡­" Eric said, ncing at his own hands.


    "Don''t simply see your base stats though, thanks to buff cards, titles, skills, and other things, you guys stats usually range from 9k to 12k." I exined. "It just they''re invisible buffs you cannot easily see within Appraisal or my Grimoire, but you can perceive them within your own body. Spirit Fusion brings your stats even further, but it onlysts for a short time." I gave them a lesson about how these things worked.


    "Great, so we''re even more amazing than I thought." Erdrichughed.


    "Don''t get too cocky though." I said. "I am merely saying this to rify things, it doesn''t mean you should get spoiled by your own strength, after all, Demon Lords will still have much higher stats than us individually. This is why we must gang on them between many to defeat them. Elfriedden, don''t ever try fighting one by yourself again."


    "I understand¡­" Elfriedden sighed. "I have to admit that¡­ I was foolish and reckless for doing that. It is annoying to say, but I owe Chris and your Vampire Spirits my life. I won''t do this again, I will¡­ trust you as myrades."


    "Oooh? You''ve gotten less stupid!" Erdrich celebrated.


    "No longer as stuck up as before?" Chrisughed. "Maybe that stick up your ass is finally gone."


    "Y-You damn barbarians! Would you stop saying such vulgar words?!" Elfriedden cried in anger, getting embarrassed.


    "Calm down, it is their way to show their affection to you." Eric sighed. "They''re just like that¡­"


    "Tch¡­" Elfriedden sighed. "Well, whatever! Elizabeth, can''t you heal me?"


    "ke said that the wounds you got will heal on their own, also if I heal you constantly, you won''t gain Vitality Stat Points, you need to let your body do the regeneration, you''ll gain HP too." Elizabeth lectured him.


    "Y-You''re all freaks, never mind what I said before!" Elfriedden cried, as everyone elseughed.


    That night, I moved to the rooftop of the castle with Eleanora and the rest of my Spirits, as I summoned two red-colored magic circles, and two powerful figures emerged from within.


    They were the two new Vampire Spirits.


    FLAAASH!


    -----

 Chapter 735 Summoning Two More Vampire Spirits

    <h4>Chapter 735 Summoning Two More Vampire Spirits</h4>


    -----


    The first figure that appeared from within the red colored magic circle was a tall female. Perhaps slightly taller than Eleanora herself. She had long arms, and even longer legs, many of them, in the shape of tentacles. Indeed, she had a smiling face, pale purple skin, and a red and golden eye.


    Her long purple hair reached her hips, and it seemed slightly slimy below the moonlight. She was wearing maidservant clothes, her favorites, and the moment she noticed where she was, and who was in front of her, her ck and slimy tentacles instantly embraced¡­ not me, but Eleanora.


    "Oh my! Eleanora-samaaaaa!"


    Her huge body instantly fell over Eleanora, embracing her with her eight slimy tentacles at once. Eleanora panicked, screaming in frustration. She was perhaps secretly hoping that it wasn''t HER who was summoned.


    "Uwaaagh! Nooo! Get away from me you disgusting thing! Master please help me!" Eleanora screamed. "Anybody!"


    However, all of us stepped back, letting her have HER all she wanted.


    "Nah, I''m good." Said Woo.


    "I-It is nice to meet you once more, Lady Celestina." Fang giggled nervously.


    "Hahaha! She''s as friendly as ever with Eleanora!" Laughed Hendrick.


    "Who is she?" Saphira asked me.


    "She''s¡­ As Fang said, Celestina. She is a Scy, a race of tentacled people from a known as Gariald. She''s one of the''s kingdom''s formers princesses, who joined us after we freed them from a space pirate invasion." I exined. "She became a vampire soon after that and apanied us through our journey. She has¡­ a strong fixation not only with Eleanora but with all sorts of cute girls and beautiful women."


    "Huh?" Saphira suddenly felt a bit of fear as she felt Celestina''s eyes ncing at her.


    "S-So cute¡­ Who is this treasure?!" Celestina cried, rushing towards her to give Saphira a hug. "Come to mommyyyyy~!"


    "That''s enough, Celestina." I sighed, stopping her by grabbing one of her tentacles.


    "Geh¡­! M-Master! It is nice to see you again!" Celestina giggled nervously. "I was¡­ rather confused but I couldn''t help myself! Ah, what just happened? Thest thing I remember was¡­ Dying against demon mes? Or something. I didn''t die?"


    "You did, well¡­ It will be a long exnation, so let''s wait until the next summon appears as well¡­" We nced into the second magic circle, as a much smaller figure emerged from within.


    It was a young boy, with brown skin and short ck hair, and red eyes. He was wearing ck robes and seemed inconspicuous. He didn''t look older than Saphira, they seemed to be around the same age right now.


    "Wee back, Eriant." I said with a smile. "I didn''t expect you here."


    "Huh? M-Master¡­?" The boy felt surprised once he opened his eyes. "What¡­ Huh? Wasn''t I¡­?"


    "A boy my age! Nice! Hello!" Saphira floated around him.


    "A-Ah, hi¡­" Eriant said nervously. "Who is she?"


    "It''s a long story. I''m d you were also within the candidates, boy." I sighed, giving him a head pat.


    "Who is this kid? I don''t remember him at all." Fang crossed his arms.


    "You joined muchter when Eriant¡­ Well, he passed away." Sighed Hendrick. "We meet him in one of our journeys into a known as Sannd. It was a desert-coveredndscape where the original inhabitants were enved by corrupt World Conquerors. Eriant was one of the kids that we helped, his knowledge and insight helped us known our foes better, and ultimately led to their freedom."


    "Sadly¡­" I sighed. "Well, he¡­ in thest moment, the leader of the organization enve his kin, killed him in front of my face. It was that time when¡­ I gained the resolve to never falter nor doubt myself. I ended letting that happen out of my own foolishness, because I thought there was a chance to resolve things differently."


    "You don''t need to me yourself for that, master." Eriant said. "If my death meant that my people would had been freed, there''s no problem! I died happily, knowing that you would protect my family¡­ But what''s going on? You look much different and younger now."


    "It''s a long story, let''s exin slowly. Eriant, Celestina, wee to the team. This is the World if Spiritias, and¡­"


    Like that, through the next few hours, I exined to them everything that has been happening in more detail. They somehow already knew some inherent knowledge of what was happening here, but learning more about the details made them understand the situation much better.


    "So Lucifer¡­ That bastard, you couldn''t kill him even after you ascended to a Universal Primordial?!" Celestina groaned in frustration. "He''s definitely a monster¡­ Urgh! But he''s stupid enough to reincarnate you, hahaha!"


    "Well, I wasn''t there when all of that happened¡­ But even then, I''ll do my best to help. I remember I could control the sands a bit. Have my powers been enhanced?" Eriant wondered, looking at his little hands as sands began to gather, spiraling around.


    "Seems like it." I nodded. "Anyways, right now, we''re working towards destroying the demons of this territory, this''ll free most of this area of the continent from their ws, and also from the cultists too. It will be a good opportunity to level up as well and gain more recognition among the people of this world."


    "Just like before, I shall serve you until my death, mdy." Said Celestina, bowing before Eleanora.


    "Celestina you have to bow to ke, not me!" Eleanora hit her head angrily.


    "Ouch! You''re so rough with me~!" Celestina seemed to like that somehow, making Eleanora even more disturbed, as she flew behind me.


    "Calm down, she''s just ying around." I sighed. "Celestina, I hope you can be a bit more serious. You''re strong, but yourck of conviction in battles was the defining factor of your defeat back then. Let''s work into that."


    "Sigh¡­ Fine." Celestina nodded, bowing her head. "I shall look into it, Master. I might as well train my new abilities while I am on it!"


    Like that, two new Vampire Spirits were summoned to this world, that makes it 7. I can already tell that their abilities will be quite useful in the battles toe.


    -----

 Chapter 736 Celestina And Eriant

    <h4>Chapter 736 Celestina And Eriant</h4>


    -----


    Celestina and Eriant''s status windows were just as I was expecting them to be. Both possessed their own strengths and weaknesses, but for Rank 4 Vampire Spirits that came right out of the oven, they do seem rather amazing.


    Theyck a wide variety of Skills, but that to be expected, as Spirits specialize, and it is much better if they do that than trying to fill all niches and roles, there''s many of them anyways.


    -----


    [Name]: [Celestina]


    [Spirit Race]: [Scy Vampire Princess]


    [Spirit Type]: [Blood/Slime/Water]


    [Spirit Realm]: [Rank 4 (Initial Stage)]


    [Level]: [0/100]


    [Health Points]: [7000/7000]


    [Strength]: [4200]


    [Agility]: [5500]


    [Vitality]: [4200]


    [Intelligence]: [5500]


    [Dexterity]: [4800]


    [Link Skills]:


    [Link (ke)]: [Acrobatics: Lv10] [Robust Body: Lv10] [Hard Worker: Lv10] [Magic Fusion: 5] [Command: Lv8]


    [Passive Skills]: [Scy Princess Physique: Lv7] [Blood Scy: Lv6] [Spirit Link: Lv5]


    [Active Skills]: [Blood Ocean Kraken Queen Transformation: Lv7] [Blood Sea Princess Aura: Lv6] [Abyssal Tentacles: Lv6] [Damage Reflecting Slime: Lv6]


    [Magic Skills]: [Blood Arts: Lv6] [Dark Blood Sea Domain: Lv6] [Kraken''s Abyssal Tentacle: Lv6] [Dark Blood Trident: Lv6] [Blood Tsunami: Lv6]


    [Title Skills]: [Scy Princess: Lv10] [Descendant of the Kraken: Lv7] [Maiden Lover: Lv5] [Demon yer: Lv5]


    -----


    Celestina is a rather tanky magician, with a really decent health, she can probably tank as much as Fang in terms of physical and magical attacks. Her Damage Reflecting Slime is also really strong, helping her reduce 30% of all damage taken, 5% with every skill level. She also has brought with herself her ultimate skills such as the ability to turn into a giant kraken.


    She can only do that after summoning her sea domain, but it is a powerful transformation that took down thousands of foes in the past in mere seconds. She specializes on water magic the most, she''ll be of great use.


    And yeah, it looks like her love for women is so strong she gained the Maiden Lover Title, it increases her stats by +10% with each skill level whenever she''s close to a girl¡­ An interesting Skill, to say the least.


    -----


    [Name]: [Eriant]


    [Spirit Race]: [Sandman Vampire]


    [Spirit Type]: [Blood/Sand/Earth]


    [Spirit Realm]: [Rank 4 (Initial Stage)]


    [Level]: [0/100]


    [Health Points]: [5000/5000]


    [Strength]: [4200]


    [Agility]: [4800]


    [Vitality]: [4200]


    [Intelligence]: [7500]


    [Dexterity]: [5500]


    [Link Skills]:


    [Link (ke)]: [Acrobatics: Lv10] [Robust Body: Lv10] [Hard Worker: Lv10] [Magic Fusion: 5] [Command: Lv8]


    [Passive Skills]: [Sandman Physique: Lv7] [Vampire Boy: Lv6] [Spirit Link: Lv5]


    [Active Skills]: [True Blood Sandman King''s Transformation: Lv7] [Blood Sand King''s Aura: Lv6] [Dune Assimtion: Lv6] [Sand Spirit''s Protection: Lv6]


    [Magic Skills]: [Blood Arts: Lv6] [Dark Blood Desert Domain: Lv6] [Anubis'' Hands: Lv6] [Ra''s Wrath: Lv6] [Osiris'' Embrace: Lv6]


    [Title Skills]: [King of the Desert: Lv10] [Descendant of the Sandmen: Lv7] [Faithful Loyalty: Lv5] [Demon yer: Lv5]


    -----


    Eriant in the other ce is less bulky and more specialized on high dexterity and magic, necessary to control the enormous quantities of Sand he can now summon. Most of the Skills he has, much like Saphira, are brand-new to him, which developed based on histent talents.


    It is a miracle he''s back with us, I will make sure to protect this boy, and give him a better life now¡­ Much like Saphira, I held many regrets after his death. This time, I''ll make things right.


    Talking more about his abilities¡­ They''re incredible. His race wasn''t human, but the people of Sannd were called "Sandmen" and although they resembled brown-skinned humans, they were able to turn into sand, partially.


    They feed on rocks and ores, and the reason they were starving was because the world conquerors forced them to mine their food and give it to them instead, they barely ate low nutrition stones and rocks.


    I remember hearing that the more ores and metals the Sandmen ate, the strongest they would grow. Among their people, there was the legend of the Sand King, the strongest Sandman that had freed them from very long ago.


    Seems like Eriant has now be the embodiment of such tales and has gained such power himself. His skills not only include the summoning of sands and to shape them for defense and offense, but he also has specialized Spells that seem to be rted to the Sandmen''s Gods, who were conceived by their Egyptian Religion long ago.


    Anubis'' Hands summon the hands of their God of Death, huge hands made of ck sand that deal great damage and can also inflict weakening curses on foes, or even provoke instant death on foes weaker than the caster.


    Rat''s Wrath brings forth the might of their God of the Sun, unleashing rays of light conjured by bright golden sands, dealing great magical damage through a wide area, with a huge explosion.


    Andstly, Osiris'' Embrace conjures the power of their God of Reincarnation, summoning sands that can heal wounds and increase self-recovery speed, alongside curing poisons, and other status effects.


    However, most of these are Mana heavy in terms of consumption, and because they all need to drain my own Mana to use their Skills, it''s not easy to just constantly activate these Skills as much as they want.


    Thankfully, with buffs and familiars, I can increase my MP by a lot, sometimes it goes as high as 40k, that should be more than enough. Though, I''ll make sure to teach Celestina and Eriant how to use Ki so they don''t waste as much Mana.


    "I never thought I could ever wield so much power¡­" Eriant said in surprise, still not believing himself. "I''ll make proud my kin by being of use against the evil demons, Lord ke!"


    "Hahaha, I''ll be having high expectations on you, little Eriant." I smiled, giving him a head pat. "Now, with Celestina, you''ll learn Ki Maniption from Woo.? Woo, do your thing."


    "Tch, alright kiddos, you''re learning how to fight without wasting this bastard''s Mana like crazy. We Spirits can both use Spirit Energy and Mana, but there''s also Ki! Yeah, we can use Ki! Crazy right?! Now, time to train your asses! You''re not stopping until you manage to channel Ki across your translucent spiritual bodies, and I ain''t epting a "no" for answer!"


    "Ugh, I would rather have Eleanora teach me!" Celestina crossed her arms.


    "I''ll do my best!" Eriant nodded, filled with conviction.


    -----

 Chapter 737 Vampire Spirit Evolution 1

    <h4>Chapter 737 Vampire Spirit Evolution 1</h4>


    -----


    Using the materials avable, I quickly decided to help everybody evolve into their Rank 4 forms. I didn''t have the fanciest of materials for everyone, but it was better than leaving the locked from leveling up. After all, without a proper Rank Up to the next Rank, they cannot continue Leveling.


    I had a lot of materials saved inside my Inventory though, so that opened for a few little new possibilities. Eleanora''s evolution came out as the strongest, thanks to Darkus leftover materials as well, which were demon and dragon-type¡­


    -----


    [Name]: [Eleanora]


    [Spirit Race]: [Infernal Draconic Vampire Queen]


    [Spirit Type]: [Blood/Dark/Fire/Dragon/Demon]


    [Spirit Realm]: [Rank 4 (Initial Stage)]


    [Level]: [0/100]


    [Health Points]: [7500/7500]


    [Strength]: [7000]


    [Agility]: [7000]


    [Vitality]: [5000]


    [Intelligence]: [4800]


    [Dexterity]: [6000]


    [Link Skills]:


    [Link (ke)]: [Hard Worker: Level 10] [Advanced Alchemy Arts: Lv2] [Command: Lv8] [Shadow Maniption: Lv7] [Magic Fusion: Lv5]


    [Passive Skills]: [Vampire: Lv9] [Vampiric Charm: Lv2] [Spirit Link: Lv5] [Dragon Scales: Lv5] [Demonic Dragon Vampire Physique: Lv1]


    [Active Skills]: [Masterful Assassination Arts: Lv2] [Illusionist Arts: Lv2] [Advanced Stealth: Lv2] [Spear Mastery: Lv8] [Bloodthirsty Wrath: Lv8] [Nimble and Soundless Movements: Lv8] [Vampiric Eyes: Lv7] [Katana Technique: Lv5] [Vampiric Draconification Awakening: Lv5] [Scarlet re Dragon Breath: Lv5] [Vampiric Draconic Aura: Lv5] [me Eater: Lv5] [Demonic Dragon Aura: Lv1]


    [Magic Skills]: [Blood Arts: Lv9] [Shadow Teleportation: Lv2] [Blood Bat Transformation: Lv9] [Blood Threads: Lv9] [Shadow Trap Creation: Lv9] [Blood Aura: Lv8] [Blood Envement Contract: Lv7] [Ninjutsu: Lv8] [Blood re: Lv7] [Shadow Shuriken: Lv7] [Draconic me Authority: Lv5] [Rising Dragon Ninjutsu: Lv5] [Blood Demon Chains of Magic Sealing: Lv1]


    [Title Skills]: [Vampire Queen: Lv10] [Demon yer: Lv8] [Progenitor Vampire: Lv7] [Undead yer: Lv6] [Alchemist: Lv6] [Vampire Ninja: Lv7] [Vampiric Dragon: Lv5] [Ruler of Scarlet mes: Lv5] [Vampire Dragon Demon Spirit: Lv1]


    -----


    Not only her Stats had be amazingly high now, but she had also gained even more amazing Skills after the evolution and the usage of her Skill Points. She acquired a Physique Skill, something she was actually missing, mixing vampire, dragon, demon, and spirits powers together, reinforcing her power even more.


    A Demonic Dragon Aura to further improve her many Aurasbinations and powers, and special Chains made out of Blood Ki and Demonic Energy capable of sealing both Magic and Demonic Energy from a foe temporarily, an amazing new spell.


    Also, all her Skill which were already Level 10 before her evolution evolved into higher tiered Skills, probably the first among all my other Spirits to do this, mostly because she had the advantage of being with me training and growing stronger for many years.


    Hendrick, Saphira, and everyone else were summoned this year after all, so they cannot easily catch up with her. Her stats are even higher than those of Ruby, a true demonic blood dragon!


    She acquired Masterful Assassination Arts, Illusionist Arts, Advanced Stealth, and Shadow Teleportation, all advanced forms of her Assassination, Illusion, Stealth, and Shadow Sneak Skills, the first skills she had when I summoned her years ago.


    Her appearance became a bit "demonic" something she didn''t liked a bit, but she epted it because it was the key for a greater power we had neglected before. Her fair white skin, sharp red eyes, and long red hair remained, but now she had demonic dragon horns, a longer, ck, and red scaled tail, and ck and red dragon demon wings.


    She had multiple red and ck runic tattoos across her body, part of her new physique, which allowed her to conjure demonic energy, dragon energy, vampire energy, and more all at once.


    "Yet another strange look¡­" She sighed. "Ugh, now I can even conjure demonic energy. Well, it is useful, but it''s also the energy the beings I despise the most use¡­"


    "It is a power we''ll need to use to grow stronger." I exined her. "It is the power we neglected for being too prideful with ourselves, and it might be one of the ingredients that will form the key to y Lucifer."


    "I understand¡­" Eleanora nodded, her draconic and demonic appearance quickly changed as she looked "normal", the ability to shapeshift was innate on her. "Phew! Much better."


    -----


    [Name]: [Hendrick]


    [Spirit Race]: [Vampire Insectoid Arachnid]


    [Spirit Type]: [Blood/Poison/Shadow/Insect/Spider]


    [Spirit Realm]: [Rank 4 (Initial Stage)]


    [Level]: [0/100]


    [Health Points]: [4000/4000]


    [Strength]: [3200]


    [Agility]: [5000]


    [Vitality]: [3200]


    [Intelligence]: [7000]


    [Dexterity]: [8000]


    [Link (ke)]: [Hard Worker: Level 10] [Advanced Alchemy Arts: Lv2] [Command: Lv8] [Shadow Maniption: Lv7] [Magic Fusion: Lv5]


    [Passive Skills]: [Poison Vampire: Lv9] [gue Aura: Lv8] [Researcher Eyes: Lv9] [Spirit Link: Lv5] [Swarm Aura: Lv5] [Venomous Spider Legs: Lv5] [Arachnid Senses: Lv1] [Vampiric Swarm Ruler Physique: Lv1]


    [Active Skills]: [Stealth: Lv8] [Hallucination Fog: Lv8] [Torture: Lv9] [Dismantle: Lv9] [Poisoned Weapon Arts: Lv9] [Thread Arts: Lv7] [Alchemy: Lv9] [Venomous Stinger: Lv5] [Insect Maniption: Lv5] [Insect Fusion: Lv1] [Abyssal Spiderweb Creation: Lv1]


    [Magic Skills]: [Blood Arts: Lv7] [Shadow Sneak: Lv8] [Venomous Blood Aura: Lv8] [Blood Envement Contract: Lv5] [Alchemical Compound Synthesis: Lv10] [Poison st: Lv8] [Poison Threads: Lv8] [Poison Materialization: Lv8] [Acidic Venom: Lv5] [Explosive Venom: Lv5] [Swarm Magic: Lv1]


    [Title Skills]: [gue Doctor: Lv10] [Progenitor Vampire: Lv5] [Alchemist: Lv10] [Insect Master: lv5] [Poison Master: Lv5]


    -----


    Moving on there was Hendrick, who had attained the "Arachnid" word within his Spirit Race after I used the Giant ck Spiders materials into his evolution, which were the mostpatible. Much like Eleanora, he gained a lot of new and fantastic Skills.


    From a new physique to give him a boost to all stats, to the power to fuse with insects, to Swarm Magic, and even the ability to create magical abyssal spiderweb, which mighte in handy to restrain enemies very well.


    No new Titles, but he acquired the Swarm Magic Skill, which gave him a huge new repertoire of magic spells that control insects and most likely spiders.


    His Swarm Aura pretty much allows him to assimte them inside and summon them at any time. My familiars can''t be assimted, but by just absorbing corpses from the giant insects in the C+++ Rank Dungeon, he had expanded his Swarm Aura''s reserves greatly.


    "What joy, I''ve got a new pair of bigger eyes! With this I can more easily do my experiments." Hendrick was really happy with the new pair of red eyes on top of his forehead.


    -----

 Chapter 738 Vampire Spirit Evolution 2

    <h4>Chapter 738 Vampire Spirit Evolution 2</h4>


    -----


    Hendrick Stats specialized more on Dexterity, with Intelligence right below it, some good agility, and the rest was ratherckluster, he''s the second most frailest of my Vampire Spirits, but it can''t be helped, he has never been a big guy that fights in the frontlines, that''s more of a Fang thing.


    In fact,pared to his previous self, he''s expanding his powers really well by gaining the whole Swarm Abilities, something he didn''t possess at all on his previous life. Still, he has 8k Dexterity and 7k Intelligence, that''s much higher than my own base stats.


    The higher the Dexterity Stat, the better he''ll be at doing all sorts of delicate jobs, such as assassination, torture, experimentation, crafting and alchemy. I can confidently say I''ll leave all the Alchemy to him unless it is something I must create myself first.


    "Your Dexterity is being wasted on just Alchemy, Hendrick. You should dedicate yourself to learn Crafting." I said right away.


    "Understood. I was already thinking about it, I''ll learn Crafting, Sewing, and perhaps even Smithing. If possible, even Mechanical Construction." Hendrick had already considered it.


    "It''s a pity Spirit Link is locked at Level 5, you''ll have to learn the Skills on your own, think you can do it?" I asked.


    "Of course, leave it to me." Hendrick smiled.


    "Well, with that eight thousand dexterity, I doubt you''ll have any problems." Iughed.


    "Indeed! Hahaha!" Hendrickughed as he started using his many hands to sew a scarf, craft a small knife, and construct a little golem.


    Ding!


    [Spirit: Hendrick] has learned [Crafting: Lv1]!]


    [Spirit: Hendrick] has learned [Sewing: Lv1]!]


    [Spirit: Hendrick] has learned [Smithing: Lv1]!]


    [Spirit: Hendrick] has learned [Mechanical Construction: Lv1]!]


    "Eh?!"


    That was fast¡­


    "Papa! I got a cute dress!" Saphira flew to my side, showing off her physical changes.


    After her evolution, she became a Phantasmal Specter Vampire Princess, gaining the "Princess"bel gave her appearance a cute blue and white dress. Aside from that, she looked almost exactly the same.


    I couldn''t find anything useful for her evolution, so I only feed her a lot of Ghost Spirit Stones and let her evolve however it woulde out as. I had considered giving her dragon materials to perhaps turn her into some sort of dragon ghost girl, but the probabilities of sess were very low.


    -----


    [Name]: [Saphira]


    [Spirit Race]: [Phantasmal Specter Vampire Princess]


    [Spirit Type]: [Phantom/Death/Blood/Abyss]


    [Spirit Realm]: [Rank 4 (Initial Stage)]


    [Level]: [0/100]


    [Health Points]: [2500/2500]


    [Strength]: [2500]


    [Agility]: [8000]


    [Vitality]: [2500]


    [Intelligence]: [8000]


    [Dexterity]: [7500]


    [Link (ke)]: [Hard Worker: Level 10] [Advanced Alchemy Arts: Lv2] [Command: Lv8] [Shadow Maniption: Lv7] [Magic Fusion: Lv5]


    [Passive Skills]: [Specter Vampire: Lv8] [Phantasmal Aura: Lv8] [Specter''s Gaze: Lv7] [Spirit Link: Lv5] [Phantasmal Wraith''s Frightening Aura: Lv5] [Soul Eating: Lv5] [Phantasmal Specter Princess Physique: Lv1]


    [Active Skills]: [Stealth: Lv9] [Camouge: Lv8] [Invisibility: Lv7] [Odorless: Lv7] [Soundless: Lv7] [High Speed Flight: Lv8] [Spectral Body: Lv8] [Phantasmal ws: Lv7] [Intimidation: Lv6] [Wraith''s Soul Tearing Scream: Lv5] [Spectral Possession: Lv1]


    [Magic Skills]: [Phantom Blood Arts: Lv6] [Phantom Sneak: Lv8] [Phantasmal Materialization: Lv7] [Death Ray: Lv7] [Haunting Scream: Lv7] [Undead Envement Contract: Lv7] [Abyssal Domain: Lv5] [Underworld''s Gates: Lv1] [Undead Explosion: Lv1]


    [Title Skills]: [Specter Princess: Lv10] [Undead''s Friend: Lv8] [Little Necromancer: Lv6] [Soul Devourer: Lv5]


    -----


    At the end, a simple evolution was all she needed anyways, her strengths were further improved and she acquired some new and interesting Skills, a Physique for enhancement, Spectral Possession to take over a host and be able to control them easily.


    And then there''s Underworld''s Gates which is a summoning and attack spell at once, it summons fifty random undead as strong as C Rank monsters that stay around for an hour before disappearing, which increases by 50 more with each skill level and the ranks also increase. And of course, Undead Explosion, whiches greatly in tandem with the random undead summoning.


    Her stats are the same as before because she''s a Specter, her physical strength is veryckluster, her HP, Strength, and Vitality are very low, but Agility, Intelligence, and Dexterity are incredibly high topensate, a true ss cannon.


    She doesn''t really need to jump into the frontlines anyways, she uses a simr role than mine, a summoner that attacks from a distance using magic. There''s no need to risk her own life if she has an army of Undead with her.


    -----


    [Name]: [Fang]


    [Spirit Race]: [Tundra Werewolf Vampire King]


    [Spirit Type]: [Blood/Ice/Beast]


    [Spirit Realm]: [Rank 4 (Initial Stage)]


    [Level]: [0/100]


    [Health Points]: [8000/8000]


    [Strength]: [8000]


    [Agility]: [4800]


    [Vitality]: [4800]


    [Intelligence]: [2200]


    [Dexterity]: [3200]


    [Link Skills]:


    [Link (ke)]: [Acrobatics: Lv10] [Robust Body: Lv10] [Hard Worker: Lv10] [Hawk Eye: 10] [Command: Lv8]


    [Passive Skills]: [Werewolf King Physique: Lv8] [Blood Werewolf: Lv6] [Spirit Link: Lv5] [Super Enhanced Self-Regeneration: Lv1]


    [Active Skills]: [Wolf Beast King Transformation: Lv8] [Wolf Beast King''s Aura: Lv7] [Magic Dampening Fur: Lv7] [Pack Leader''s Commands: Lv7] [Blood Werewolf''s Scarlet ws: Lv7] [Blood Werewolf''s Wrathful Fangs: Lv7] [cial ws: Lv1] [cial Jaws: Lv1]


    [Magic Skills]: [Blood Arts: Lv6] [Icicle Spear: Lv6] [Freezing Touch: Lv6] [Blizzard: Lv6] [Blood Frost: Lv6] [Blood Tundra Wolf Pack Summon: Lv1] [Frost Meteor: Lv1]


    [Title Skills]: [Leader of the White Werewolves: Lv10] [Wolf Beast King''s Sessor: Lv8] [Savage Fighter: Lv6] [Demon yer: Lv6]


    -----


    And then there''s Fang, the most bulky of the entire Vampire Spirits group. Packing the highest Health and Strength, he possess straightforward Skills and low Intelligence stat, meaning weaker magic. Though, his magic is still useful to spread his cold aura which enhances his power even more.


    He recently acquired a super regeneration skill, so he can take his all day while constantly regenerating back, with no cost at all whatsoever! Alongside that, there''s the cial ws and cial Fangs Skill, giving him ice elemental physical attacks.


    Frost Meteor is straightforward, summoning a gigantic meteor of frost to freeze enemies. Lastly, there''s the ability to summon blood tundra wolves, powerful C Rank monsters that''ll assist him on his hunts. He can only summon a small pack of ten, if one of them dies, they can be summoned again. As the skill rises, the wolves be stronger and gain more unique abilities.


    -----

 Chapter 739 Growing Much Stronger

    <h4>Chapter 739 Growing Much Stronger</h4>


    -----


    Andstly, the old and cranky Woo¡­


    -----


    [Name]: [Woo]


    [Spirit Race]: [Hobgoblin Vampire]


    [Spirit Type]: [Blood/Lightning/Ki]


    [Spirit Realm]: [Rank 4 (Initial Stage)]


    [Level]: [0/100]


    [Health Points]: [6500/6500]


    [Strength]: [6500]


    [Agility]: [6500]


    [Vitality]: [3200]


    [Intelligence]: [3200]


    [Dexterity]: [4500]


    [Link Skills]:


    [Link (ke)]: [Acrobatics: Lv10] [Robust Body: Lv10] [Hard Worker: Lv10] [Hawk Eye: 10] [Command: Lv8]


    [Passive Skills]: [Marial Artist Physique: Lv8] [Blood Hobgoblin: Lv6] [Spirit Link: Lv5] [Martial Artist''s Battle Aura: Lv1]


    [Active Skills]: [Meteor Fist: Lv8] [Pressure Point Liberation: Lv7] [Cloud Step: Lv7] [Lightning Blood Fist Arts: Lv6] [Awakened Strength: Lv7] [Cranky Old Man''s Teachings: Lv6] [Body Reinforcement Ki: Lv1]


    [Magic Skills]: [Blood Arts: Lv6] [Lightning Strike: Lv6] [Paralyzing Strike: Lv6] [Electrifying Kick: Lv6] [Blood Electrification: Lv6] [Ki st: Lv1] [Lightning Ki Sword: Lv1]


    [Title Skills]: [Old Martial Artist Master: Lv10] [Creator of the Meteor Fist: Lv8] [Furious Demon: Lv6] [Demon yer: Lv6] [Ki Master: Lv1]


    -----


    His stats are what you would expect from a martial artist, and he evolved into a Hobgoblin Vampire. He barely gained like three centimeters of height and looks almost the same, except he now has two small green horns above his forehead.


    The old man gained a lot of new Skills, and even the Title of "Ki Master". He acquired Martial Artist''s Battle Aura to enhance his Strength Stat passively, Body Reinforcement to enhance his physical defense temporarily, and Ki st and Lightning Ki de as two powerful physical-magical techniques that deal a lot of explosive damage and ignore enemy''s defenses to a certain extent.


    The old man''s gotten deadlier than ever, achieving new powers he never had before in his new spirit form. He''s too busy teaching Celestina and Eriant how to use Ki though, somenting on his Skills will have to wait forter.


    Also, I decided to select my new Link Skills, I''ve been saving one slot from Eleanora, Hendrick, and Saphira to see what new Skills they could get in the future, but I''ve made up my mind to select them. Alongside that, five Skills from Celestina and five from Eriant were linked to me, so I can use them too.


    [Link Skills]:


    [Link (Eleanora)]: [Shadow Teleportation: 2] [Masterful Assassination Arts: Lv2] [Illusionist Arts: Lv2] [Ninjutsu: Lv8] [Blood Demon Chains of Magic Sealing: Lv1]


    [Link (Hendrick)]: [gue Aura: Lv8] [Researcher Eyes: Lv9] [Hallucination Fog: Lv8] [Torture: Lv9] [Abyssal Spiderweb Creation: Lv1]


    [Link (Saphira)]: [Stealth: Lv9] [Camouge: Lv8] [Invisibility: Lv7] [Spectral Body: Lv8] [Underworld''s Gates: Lv1]


    [Link (Woo)]: [Meteor Fist: Lv8] [Lightning Blood Fist Arts: Lv6] [Awakened Strength: Lv7] [Paralyzing Strike: Lv6] [Blood Electrification: Lv6]


    [Link (Fang)]: [Wolf Beast King''s Aura: Lv7] [Pack Leader''s Commands: Lv7] [Blood Werewolf''s Scarlet ws: Lv7] [Blood Werewolf''s Wrathful Fangs: Lv7] [Blood Frost: Lv6]


    [Link (Celestina)]: [Damage Reflecting Slime: Lv6] [Dark Blood Sea Domain: Lv6] [Kraken''s Abyssal Tentacle: Lv6] [Dark Blood Trident: Lv6] [Blood Tsunami: Lv6]


    [Link (Eriant)]: [Sand Spirit''s Protection: Lv6] [Dark Blood Desert Domain: Lv6] [Anubis'' Hands: Lv6] [Ra''s Wrath: Lv6] [Osiris'' Embrace: Lv6]


    I choose the chains from Eleanora because they were too good to miss, Hendrick''s spiderwebs because they looked very useful, as they cannot be destroyed easily with magic, and Saphira''s Underworld Gates to increase her max amount of Undead summoned from 50 to 100, which means 100 C Rank monsters summoned for an hour, and 100 potential explosions with the power of C Rank monsters, fantastic.


    As for Celestina and Eriant''s Skills, I choose the things that were the most easy and avable, their Transformation and Physique Skills cannot be inherited, sadly, but everything else aside from Titles seemed like fair game. I grabbed their strongest spells.


    I''ll have fun trying them outter, or I could evenbine their effects, Fusion or Magic Fusion might help me do that, if it works as I think.


    Though, there are so many Skills and Spells now, that it feels quite overwhelming¡­ Well, I''ll use what''ll be more useful for every situation. Forcefully trying to use everything just because doesn''t feel practical.


    Also, due to feeling slightly weakerpared to my Spirits on our base stats, I decided to finally apply all the Stat Points I''ve saved. I have decided to distribute them into my damage-increasing stats first, as I need as much power as possible.


    Thanks to having reached Rank 4, now the stat bonuses have increased even more. I gain +10 to HP and MP with every 1 Stat Point, while +5 to any other stat with every 1 Stat Point. This is the first time this change ever urs, so I have to take advantage of it.


    Ding!


    [You have exchanged 790 Stat Points!]


    [Your Strength has increased by +1975!]


    [Your Intelligence has increased by +1975!]


    FLAAASH!


    A powerful aura of strength and magical energy started surging from my body the moment I applied the stats, making me feel slightly dizzy.


    "So much power¡­"


    However, my Physique, Psyche, and even my Magic Circle and Demonic Core started reacting to this power, further increasing the power I attained.


    Ding!


    [Your [Physique]: [Vampiric Blood Emperor Physique (Tier 5: Rank 7)] has been enhanced to Tier 5 Rank 8!]


    [Your [Psyche]: [Vampiric Soul Psyche (Tier 4: Rank 6)] has been enhanced to Tier 4 Rank 7!]


    [Your [Magic Circle]: [Abyssal Blood Circle (Tier 4: Rank 7)] has been enhanced to Tier 4 Rank 8!]


    [Your [Demon Core]: [Gluttonous Demon Core (Tier 3: Rank 5)] has been enhanced to Tier 3 Rank 6!]


    [All of your Stats have increased by a further +250.]


    -----


    [Name]: [ke Hunter Goathorn]


    [Race]: [Human]


    [Spirit Orb Realm]: [Rank 4 (Initial Stage)]


    [Physique]: [Vampiric Blood Emperor Physique (Tier 5: Rank 8)]


    [Psyche]: [Vampiric Soul Psyche (Tier 4: Rank 7)]


    [Magic Circle]: [Abyssal Blood Circle (Tier 4: Rank 8)]


    [Demon Core]: [Gluttonous Demon Core (Tier 3: Rank 6)]


    [Job ss]: [Grandmaster Summoner: ¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï]


    [Subss]: [Creator: ¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï]


    [Level]: [0/100]


    [EXP]: [0/1.000.000]


    [Health Points]: [4300/4300]


    [Mana Points]: [7300/7300]


    [Strength]: [7095]


    [Agility]: [5050]


    [Vitality]: [5050]


    [Intelligence]: [8075]


    [Dexterity]: [4100]


    [Spirit]: [300]


    -----


    My Stats increased even further beyond! Over 7k Strength and 8k Intelligence, I guess I don''t have to hold any more envy on my Vampire''s Stats, these numbers are worth being prideful over.


    I''ll remain training through the night, and until tomorrow as well, past tomorrow will be day we''ll continue our advance against the Demonic Forces.


    -----

 Chapter 740 What To Do Next

    <h4>Chapter 740 What To Do Next</h4>


    -----


    The next morning all of my Vampire Spirits were spread around the castle doing their own things. Woo and Fang were training the knights as much as they could, Eleanora was helping Hendrick mass produce healing potions and mana potions, alongside more demon blood potions to regenerate demonic energy, and Saphira was "ying" with Eriant. Well, they were mostly trying out their new Skills.


    Some of the knights and guards were scared when they saw gates to the underworld open and bring forth over fifty undead, and when a huge desert appeared in our backyard and giant ck sand hands started pummeling the undead, but well, we exined they were just ying around, kids will be kids.


    Oh, and about Celestina, I gave her the task of filling the almost dried out water reserves of the city with her magic. She can conjurepletely clean water as well, so she started doing that while watching thedies in the city.


    Certainly, a tentacled woman and a small child that appeared out of nowhere caused somemotion, I heard a knight said I kidnaped a kid or something¡­ Well, they were swiftly punished by Monica''s curses.


    But anyways, after exining them that they were just my new Vampire Spirits, things calmed down and we gathered in the castle''s strategy room after lunch with my entire team.


    There was a map over the table showing the entire mapped Kingdom of Silvertide. There was the Darkage Duchy where we were at the far northeast, almost at the very border, the reason it was the veryst to be attacked.


    Lastly, there was the Silvershield Duchy to the opposite end right in front of the Capital of Silvertide, the Silverbow Duchy to the east, and then the Silverlight Duchy right beneath it.


    "If we take a route through the Greenbow Duchy, Silverlight Duchy, and then the Silvershield Duchy, we''ll be taking an arc-shaped path towards the Kingdom''s Capital." I exined.


    "Do you n to take care of all three duchies before going to the capital?" Asked Monica. "That''s¡­ too taxing, I don''t doubt you can take care of one, but three one after another?"


    "We''ll take a day between each one, should be enough rest." I nodded. "Right?"


    "Yeah, if its just the same amount of demons as right now, no problem." Erika nodded.


    "As long as we stock on a lot of food and potions, it should be doable." Even Elizabeth agreed. "I heard those three duchies have less demons too, right? Because they''re mostly ruined by now¡­"


    "Yeah, survivors is not what we''re looking for at this point, everything is on ruins, but recovering those pieces ofnd would be very good, more farming areas, I heard there are Mithril Mines in some of them." I said. "Of course, we''ll try to find survivors, but what I''m saying that it is not the priority, mostly because it is unrealistic to think there''s any people left after months since those duchies were taken over."


    "I guess¡­ You''re right." Monica sighed. "After what you''ve done for my duchy, I only can hope for the best! I''lle along as well, and you can''t say no to that."


    "Of course, the duchy will be left protected by my Familiars and some of my Familiar Generals." I said. "Maybe I should leave some Vampire Spirits too? Your Curse Magic will be really useful against the Demon Lords, so you''re part of the strategy."


    "Hmm, then we''re going for the Silverlight Duchy first?" Asked Elfriedden. "Then Silverbow, and Silvershield?"


    "Indeed." I nodded. "I had thought of taking a much slower path because I still had some heavy loses on my Familiars, I lost over a hundred. But now that Saphira and I acquired Underworld''s Gates, and Fang can summon his wolves, it should add enough mass to our army."


    "To think your summons can summon even more summons¡­ That''s crazy." Said Erdrichughed. "You''re really in another whole dimension than us, huh? Haha."


    "Don''t give me too much credit, all of you are my strongest forces, of course." I smiled. "Your strengths, your spirits, skills, magic, everything, you''re my strongest force and the ones that push forward and make this entire operation possible. Don''t think I can do everything by myself, at most, I could get so far before the Demon Lords crush the rest of my army."


    "Now you''re the one giving us too much credit¡­" Erika blushed a bit.


    "Hahaha, I''m d to be appreciated, but even I can understand that you''re exaggerating a bit¡­" Eric giggled.


    "I don''t lie about such things." I said with a serious tone of voice. "You''re the pirs of my army, and my strength, but above all, you''re also my family. Without you, I cannot keep moving forward. Never forget that." I smiled.


    "ke¡­" Chris felt embarrassed. "Geez, do you have to get so corny out of nowhere?! Is having three girls with you turning you into a softie?"


    "Hmph, you''re really good with your words, swindler." Sighed Elfriedden. "But these damn gloves¡­"


    "Raaar!" Ruby roared to lighten the mood.


    "Hahaha, I guess we''ve got this!" Erika giggled. "Let''s do this, team!"


    "Alright!" Everyone roared in unison.


    "You''re all so cheerful for something that sounds suicidal¡­" Evelyn sighed. "But? if this is truly possible, if we can truly¡­ change the tide of war like this, then there might be¡­ some hope."


    "Evelyn, you should believe and trust your students a bit more." Cattalina said at her side. "I believe on my daughter and ke, and of course, on all their friends¡­ After having left her alone for so long, I only feel guilt. I''ll amend for this by apanying them and using all of my strength as much as I can. With my help, things should surely be a bit more possible, isn''t it?"


    "Lady Cattalina¡­" Evelyn gasped. "Y-Yes, of course¡­ I didn''t count you in, but I suppose¡­ You''re not one of the ten strongest humans in the continent for nothing."


    "Well, I''m only half-human¡­" Cattalina sighed.


    -----

 Chapter 741 The High-Ranking Demon Cultists

    ?


    -----


    "Eustace, I''ll be leaving Darkage Duchy to you until our return. Please take good care of Nics and Belle!" Monica said, as Eustace nodded.


    "Very well, is it really fine for our troops to not go?" Asked Eustace. "I thought all of that training would be¡­"


    "We changed the strategy on thest moment, use that strength to protect your home." I said. "We''ve got ourselves a good enough army."


    Thanks to the Underworld Gates, which we can summon twice, I''ve decided to not risk the lives of these knights and simply use the summonable and disposable Undead as the rest of our army, they''ll take their ce anyways.


    "Use the Ki and Skills my Spirits taught to you to your advantage. If another demon armyes, we won''t be able to help you like before. I''m already leaving a third of my army here to protect the ce, alongside a General on Arachne, with the buffs, she''s as strong as a Vampire Spirit." I exined. "We''ll be done within a week."


    "You''re really going to go to all three duchies¡­" Eustace sighed. "I don''t know how we''ll ever be able to pay for such a debt. Our entire Kingdom might be saved by just a group of students¡­"


    "Well, the Appraisal Stone is a way of payment too." Iughed. "Monica, let''s go."


    "Alright." Monica jumped over Ruby alongside the rest of us.


    The dragon''s back was so huge everybody could sit over itfortably. I retrieved the rest of the army inside of my Grimoire, and Cattalina covered the dragon with a Veil of Camouge, so the demons won''t using.


    "See ya." I waved my hand, as Ruby roared, flying across the skies.


    As I saw Eustace ncing at us while we flew higher and higher into the skies, I quickly set my sight into the farthernds, using the Hawk Eyes Skill.


    "Silverlight¡­ Oh? I can already see it." I smiled. "At our current speed, we''ll get there in just an hour, be prepared. We''ll immediately begin the battle once we arrive!"


    It is time to continue our advance, we won''t let any of the demons escape. For having taken away the hope of these people, I''ll make them pay with their lives and souls.


    .


    .


    .


    Within the depths of an underground hideout in the middle of Silvertide''s Capital, arge group of cultists gathered, surrounding a huge ck desk.


    "It seems that they have arrived here¡­ The army of over ten thousand Demons¡­ It was all destroyed."


    "What?! Ten thousand demons¡­?! Howe they were able to eliminate that?!"


    "That Summoner kid again, was it?"


    "ording to what our reporters said, he had acquired some sort of bizarre, impossible power¡­ He was able to multiply his summons."


    "Multiply them?!"


    "Indeed, they saw him bring a single summon and instantly multiply it by¡­ a hundred."


    "¡­"


    "¡­"


    "¡­"


    The entire hall filled with cultists from low-rank to mid-rank, who were given the task of overseeing the Demon Expansion on this area of the Human Continent were leftpletely speechless.


    "B-By a hundred you say?"


    "Yes¡­"


    "That''s¡­ preposterous."


    "Just how much Mana does he possess to be able to summon so many beings?!"


    "As he already achieved the level of power that Hero Allen, the first Summoner, possessed?"


    "No, that''s impossible, a year ago he wasn''t this powerful!"


    "He''s growing incredibly fast despite having been cursed by Lord Lucifer, who gave him a curse that made him grow a hundred times slower¡­"


    "T-This¡­ What can we do?!"


    As the cultists panicked, three figures hiding behind them, sitting in a separate table, and eating a luxurious-looking meal spoke, their red eyes glowing brightly.


    "Silence, you''re ruining my meal."


    "Seriously, you guys are so pathetic."


    "Are you really worrying about that wannabe summoner?"


    Suddenly, three different voices echoed behind them, the cultists directed their eyes to these three mysterious people, high-ranking cultists who were in apletely different level than them.


    "L-Lady Christine, Lord Sarauviel, and Lord Enmity¡­" One of the cultists that had brought the news spoke their names, their eyes glowed even brighter.


    "Why are you so scared?" Sighed Christine. "There''s a Demon Overlord here, and you got us too." The blonde woman smiled, her sharp fangs tearing apart arge piece of unknown meat.


    "Hahaha! I guess we can''t expect any other reaction from these guys. They''re our weakest men that were so weak they wouldn''t hadsted a day in the frontlines." Giggled Sarauviel. "Come on, cheer up a bit. We''ve been sent here in case something like that were to happen."


    "We''ll divide our numbers and go to the surrounding duchies, I bet they will try to regain those territories first." Said Enmity with a serious tone of voice. "Each one of us for each duchy should be fair. The Demon Overlord in here shouldn''t be protected, he''s a monster nobody can win against, and also a Vessel of an Archdemon, rx."


    "Ahhh¡­ If the High Rankers say so¡­"


    "Yeah, there''s nothing to worry about! Hahaha!"


    "We were foolish, please forgive us¡­"


    The cultists bowed their heads, as Christine smiled, her aura suddenly shapeshifting into countless of monstrous demonic jaws.


    "Don''t worry~ You''re still tasty even if you''re stupid." She smiled radiantly.


    CRAAASH!


    Her aura devoured the head of one of the cultists in a single second.


    "E-Eh?"


    The others panicked, confused about what was happening.


    "L-Lady Christine?! Why are you¡­?! Why?!"


    "Aren''t we in the same side?!"


    "W-Why?!"


    "The Higher Ups told us to eliminate the weaklings that haven''t brought results. Your troops lost against the kids, you''re out." Said Sarauviel. "Christine, make it swift, and make sure to not ssh blood everywhere!"


    "Okay~" The blonde girl jumped out of her chair like a wild beast, her aura beginning to devour all the cultists gathered in the hall one after another. "Hmmm! So tasty! Humans corrupted by Demonic Energy are so goooood~!"


    "N-No¡­! Please spare me¡­! I just joined because I resented society¡­! But why are you killing us?! I-I thought we were a team!" Cried thest cultist, running away from Christine.


    "A team?" Christineughed. "Nah, this is a hierarchy. We''ll be taking over your demon army now, thank you and goodbye~"


    An enormous demonic jaw emerged above the cultist¡­


    "Gryyaaaaagghh¡­!"


    CRUUUNCH!


    -----

 Chapter 742 Arrival 1

    ?


    -----


    As everyone flew across the skies tond on their destination, the Silverlight Duchy, ke decided to utilize all the items the Holy Spirits had gifted him. First of all, a potion with a pink liquid that the Holy Spirit of Love gifted to him.


    [You have consumed [Essence of Joy (Mythic Grade)] x1!]


    [All Stats have increased by +150!]


    [The [Command] Skill has evolved into the [Emotional Commanding Rally: Lv1] Skill!]


    [Your ability to discern emotions and show your own emotions has increased greatly.]


    -----


    [Emotional Commanding Rally: Lv1]


    Skill Proficiency: 0/25000


    The ability to inspire people with your words has been enhanced even further, as yourmands are also emotional rallies that stir the hearts of your followers, allies, and friends, to fight even harder towards amon goal.


    When allies obey your Commands, all of their Stats increase by +100% for as long as thatmandsts. Whenever you give a better speech, filled with emotions, different buff effects can be given, from mere stat boosts to specialized buffs that increase damage against certain types of foes, or even grant health and mana recovery, among other effects.


    Increase the Rally Buffs Effects by +25% with each Skill Level. Rally Buffs Duration increases by +5 Minutes with each Skill Level. All other Buff from Spells and Skills have their Effects increased by +10% with each Skill Level.


    -----


    It had a rather sweet vor, with a smell simr to women''s lipstick, ke had hesitated to drink it, thinking it was yet another useless love potion or whatever, but this one actually enhanced his stats and made one of his skills evolve.


    Aside from that, he gained¡­ the ability to discern emotions and show his own more clearer. ke felt slightly angered, this was clearly some sort of trolling from the Holy Spirit of Love¡­


    Nheless, the new Command Skill Evolution looked very strong and could be very useful, on top of the +100% stat buff that was already insane, so ke felt satisfied.


    [You have started to absorb [Holy Light Spirit Stone (Mythic Grade)] x1!]


    [You have started to absorb [Ancient Forest Spirit''s Crystal Core (Mythic Grade)] x1!]


    [Your Holy Light Attribute Magic Power has increased by +100.]


    [Your Nature Attribute Magic Power has increased by +100.]


    [You gained +10 Spirit Stat.]


    [You gained +10 Spirit Stat.]


    [You gained +100 Mana Stat.]


    [You gained +100 Mana Stat.]


    Andstly, the Holy Light Spirit Stone and the Ancient Forest''s Spirit Crystal Core were consumable items that could only be absorbed over time. However, they were a mine for stat boosts.


    He had considered gifting them to Erika and Elizabeth first because the elements fit the girls better, but considering they were already very powerful, he decided to first boost his own Holy Light and Nature Element further.


    Not only that but after a few minutes of absorbing the spirit cores energies, he gained a lot of Spirit Stat and Mana Stat, over the days it might take to fully absorb, he might constantly gain more bonuses.


    And once they were soon to run out of stats to give, he''ll probably use the cores as a material into some sort of essory or weapon, like he did with the [Crescent Frozen Tear (Mythic Grade)].


    "We''re getting closer." His eyes changed color, turning bright red as he nced into the distance, utilizing the Vampiric Eyes from his Physique''s many abilitiesbined with the Hawk Eyes Skill to see from a very long distance with great detail. "Time to deploy our army¡­ Saphira, get ready."


    "Okay papa!" Saphira nodded in excitement.


    Not only ke had his Familiar Summon Cards lined up over his grimoire and ready to use, but he was also preparing Saphira''s special Skill, which would bring a nice chunk of soldiers to his already big army.


    .


    .


    .


    The Silverlight Duchy used to be a famous city for tourism, as it hosted a beautiful series of forests made by its citizens, the forests were tailor made by nature attribute magicians, and most trees were fruit-bearing trees that gave colorful and delicious fruits, boosting the economy of the duchy as one that produced all kinds of fruits for the rest of the Kingdom.


    It was known as a ce of great beauty and elegance, and the nobles living in here were known for being quite regalpared to other gloomier families, such as the Darkage Family. However, such things didn''tst long. As the Demons slowly creeped into the Kingdom''s territory, they swiftly started taking down vige after vige.


    The stupidly slow response against the demons threat made it so they advanced quickly, and the problem of "mere viges nobody cares about getting destroyed" quickly evolved into "a whole city getting burned to the ground"¡­ The irresponsibility of the King''s family knew no bounds, bringing forth the beginning of the end of their Kingdom.


    Now, the once regal city had been turned into burned down ruins, whererge camps made by demons were ced, thousands of demons lived here now, making use of the city''s resources for their own food, and hastening their ability to reproduce even more as a result.


    And above all, the fruits weren''t the only "valuable resource" of this city, as the demons have always fancied the tender meat of humans, filled with the delicious Mana they cannot create by themselves, as they only naturally generate demonic energy.


    "As you can see, I''ve got a big selection of delicious human meat, still fresh and alive! Demon Lord! Please, choose the most tasty looking." A Red Imp smiled, showing a tall demonic figure several people wearing tatters, closed inside a cell.


    "Hmmm¡­" The Demon Lord smiled, pointing at a small little girl at the end of the room, with short silver hair. "That little one over there, she looks small and tender, little meat, but I bet her bones will be soft as well. She has a lot of Mana too¡­ I want her for today''s lunch."


    "Very well, milord." The Imp bowed his head, opening the door of the jail and forcefully dragging the little girl outside. "Come! Don''t you dare fight back!"


    "No, please! Don''t take my daughter!" A woman grabbed the little girl, screaming. "Anything but her! Please kill me instead! Eat me instead!!!"


    "Mommyyyyy¡­!" The little girl continued crying.


    "Get off, you whore!" The Imp kicked the mother in the face, throwing her away.


    "Urgh¡­! N-No¡­! Henrietta¡­!" The woman tried to move, but her hands could not reach her daughter, as she cried and screamed in fear, being taken away from her hands, to be devoured by monsters more horrendous than anything.


    "Mamaaaa¡­! Buaaahhh!" The girl started crying while being dragged away by the red imp.


    "Why¡­ Why is this happening to us¡­" The mother continued crying. "If only¡­ if only we were more cautious¡­ If only¡­ we had¡­ responded to this sooner, and faster¡­ If only we weren''t so stupid! If only¡­ Why?! Just why we were so foolish as to not care aboutmoners lives in those viges?!"


    The woman started crying in frustration, her body no longer responding to her anymore.


    "If we could had cared¡­ My daughter¡­ wouldn''t have been taken away from me¡­ If we had¡­ uphold our duty as nobles¡­" Her consciousness slowly started to fade away.


    RUMBLE!


    However, the entire city suddenly started to tremble.


    "Hm?" The Demon Lord looked into the ceiling, sensing the presences of¡­ hundreds of beings! "W-What?! Who dares invade my territory?!"


    "Have the Holy Spirits heard¡­ my prayers?" The mother wondered.


    -----

 Chapter 743 Arrival 2

    <h4>Chapter 743 Arrival 2</h4>


    -----


    The "peaceful" life of the sinful invaders was interrupted the second a huge ck and red scaled demonic dragon emerged on the skies, Ruby, who roared furiously. The secondter, two huge gates materialized themselves on the floor, right in front of the stupefied Demons.


    [Saphira] has activated the [Underworld''s Gates: Lv1] Skill, 50 Undead of C+ Rank and above have been randomly summoned!]


    [You have activated the [Underworld''s Gates: Lv1] Skill, 50 Undead of C+ Rank and above have been randomly summoned!]


    [All Summoned Undead have been boosted by Saphira''s several titles and buffing skills, further increasing their stats!]


    "Groaaarrgh!"


    "Shaaaah!"


    "Ooooohhh¡­!"


    "Gryargh!"


    And the second after that, a hundred C+ Rank Undead, some even stronger, emerged from within those two gates, Skeleton Knights, Lesser Liches, Mutated Zombies, Undead Giants, Skeleton Golems, and even Death Wyverns! Even if they could only be summoned for a single hour before they dissipate, it was more than enough to bringplete havoc!


    "W-What is this?!"


    "Undead?! We''re getting attacked?!"


    "Impossible, we''ve already neutralized all threats!"


    "N-No, the Darkage Territory has yet to fall though!"


    "Are you telling me that those weaklings have the strength to simply summon all these Undead?!"


    All Demons started to panic, some tried out their strength against the Undead, thinking they wouldn''t be as strong as they looked like because they appeared in such a huge quantity out of nowhere.


    Well, they were wrong. The Skeleton Knights swung their giant bone weapons and sliced their heads, the Lesser Liches burned them with phantasmal mes, the Mutated Zombies melted their bodies with corrosive acid spits, the Skeleton Golems crushed them into smithereens, and the Death Wyverns unleashed their ck me breath, setting aze everything else.


    "W-What is the meaning of THIS?!" A red-scaled humanoid-looking Demon Lord rushed into the surface from the underground where they kept the Human captives for food preservation, his bird-like face was filled with disbelief. "T-The barrier! Why isn''t it working?!"


    With a muscr humanoid body, covered on red scales, and possessing ck feathers with the head of a crow, the Demon Lord Aranthas was shaken! Desperately, he started fighting the Undead, easily overpowering the C+ Rank Undead, while being slightly overwhelmed by the B Rank ones.


    "Oh, you mean that barrier we just shattered?" A voice echoed from above, the gigantic dragon looking at everything unfold from above descended from the skies, above his back, several young humans appeared. "Too bad for you, that''s of no concern anymore."


    A half-elf woman with pink hair was floating near the city''s walls, Aranthas nced at the one person destabilizing his barrier with ease! It was nobody else than Cattalina, one of the top ten strongest humans in the continent.


    Her powerful Illusion and Dream Magic infiltrated the demonic circuits of the Barrier and easily destabilized, destroying it before the massacred had begun.


    "Well, this was much easier than I imagined¡­" She giggled with a malicious smile.


    "T-That''s¡­ that Barrier was being powered up by an Archdemon Core Fragment! Are you telling me you humans can somehow destroy it?!" Aranthas grew restless. "PREPOSTEROUS!"


    "And we have yet to even begin." ke smiled. "I can sense at least two more Demon Lords around the city, somewhere. There''s also another presence¡­ Something stronger, be careful. Let''s divide as before. One party should look for survivors. The rest, let''s wreak havoc! Let''s show these bastard demons that this world is not theirs to make a second hell out of it!"


    ke''s words reached the hearts of his friends and even his summons and undead, their power quickly started rising considerably!


    [The power of the [Emotional Commanding Rally: Lv1] Skill has activated!]


    [As long as your allies obey yourmands, All their Stats increase by +100%!]


    [Additionally, your words filled with bravery, resentment against demons, and the desire to save humanity have increased their Strength and Vitality by an additional +25%, while increasing their HP and MP Regeneration Speed by a further +100%.]


    [A [Demon Killing Aura] epasses your allies, increasing Damage against Demon-type foes by +50%!]


    "Go!" ke roared.


    "RAAAAAH!"


    Everyone roared, filled with anger and frustration over the injustices the people of this city had suffered, after seeing the beautiful city in ruins, after smelling the scent of human blood sttered everywhere, and after noticing how some of those demon bastards were just roasting human bodies on the open.


    They could no longer contain their rage. Three huge groups descended into the ground, ke apanied by Ruby, Erika, Elizabeth, and Eleanora, while his friends divided into three other powerful groups, swiftly descending, and beginning to massacre the malicious demons.


    There was no point in trying to talk with them, there was no meaning on trying to find if they had "emotions", and certainly, there was little point in trying to humanize such monsters, that openly massacred innocent humans and devoured their flesh¡­ It could be said that humans eating demon meat was like a way to fight back against their monstrous ways as well.


    A way to show them that they will be the preys here!


    "[Summon Familiar]!" keughed while descending from the skies, his entire aura exuding a tremendous aura of demonic, vampiric, and spiritual energybined altogether!


    FLASH! FLASH! FLASH! FLASH! FLASH!


    Like lightning strikes descending from the heavens, over two hundred beasts emerged out of thin air! The Demons were already having troubles fighting almost a hundred C+ Rank and above Undead, and now, there were two hundred C++ Rank beasts right in front of them!


    "I''ll show you, Lucifer!" ke roared, his powerful presencebined many of his skills at once, the Demon Lord Aranthas felt paralyzed before his presence. "That giving me a second chance will be your worst fucking mistake!" His gun pointed at the Demon Lord, as dozens of Mana and Spiritual Energy-powered bullets rained upon his body!


    BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BAAANG!


    "AAARRGHHHH¡­!"


    The Demon Lord could not even fight back as his entire body was covered on terrible, bleeding holes! His entire body fell into the floor, vomiting blood.


    "T-This is impossible¡­! A mere human¡­! ARGH¡­! L-Lord¡­ SATAN!"


    FLAAASH!


    And a red crystal he held on to his hands quickly activated, transforming his almost dead body into something greater and stronger.


    "Good! Transform if you may! The quality of your materials will rise greatly!"


    ke onlyughed before adversity.


    -----

 Chapter 744 Blake Against Demon Lord Aranthas

    <h4>Chapter 744 ke Against Demon Lord Aranthas</h4>


    -----


    Giant Arachneia, Giant Wasps, and zing Scorpions appeared across the battlefield, alongside a few dozen Fenrir and some aerial support on Dracos, all led by their respective Commanders, whose stats were much higher than the other lesser Familiars.


    Their huge bodies could not be stopped by the vast majority of the demons, whose power was onlyparable at most to D Rank Demons. The stronger ones around C Rank, such as the Demon Generals, were already being massacred by the Undead beforehand, and had all their hands full against them.


    On top of that, these Familiars dropped from the sky, shaking the entire Demon Citadel, and worsening everything even more for the "poor" demons. Three groupsposed of ke''s friends and Spirits immediately set into three different directions, seeking the Demon Lord auras they felt, and that even stronger presence, while also looking for survivors.


    "You damn HUMANS!!!"


    Aranthas roared, his smaller body suddenly growing up to ten times his normal size, resembling a mix between a demonic dragon and a demonic bird, with the head of a ferocious crow and the red scales of a red Oni, with big and sharp ck horns on top of his head.


    His height now reaching over thirty meters of height, with enormous, muscr arms, huge ck feathered wings, and sharp golden ws¡­ He exuded a fraction of the might of his Lord Satan, the Archdemon of Wrath.


    "Hahahah¡­ HAHAHAHA! Do you feel it now?! The difference between you and me?!" Laughed Aranthas, looking down on ke, who was right in front of him.


    On his eyes, there was not even a hint of fear, whatsoever¡­ This deeply made Aranthas angered, that a pathetic human didn''t knew their ce in the food chain!


    "Difference? Ah, yes, I can tell just by looking." ke smiled. "There''s indeed a huge difference between you and me¡­ Aranthas, was it?"


    "E-Eh?! How do you know my name?!" Aranthas asked, instinctively stepping back.


    "I can see it." ke smiled, his eyes being capable of "Appraising" even living beings now to an extent thanks to the Appraisal Stone being absorbed by his Grimoire. "One of the many Demon Lords serving Satan, the Archdemon of Wrath, was it? He''s a sucker for beast-looking bastards like you. Too bad, I''ll have to ruin his fun once more."


    "Y-You''re too cocky¡­ Human!" Roared Aranthas, still unaware of the true identity of ke unlike the other Demon Lords. "I''ll show you the might of a Demon Lord!!!"


    His huge ws overflowed with Demonic mes, as he instantly unleashed a barrage of powerful shing attacks against ke''s small body. Each w pierced through the sound barrier itself, generating tremendous shockwaves with every sessful strike.


    CRASH! CRASH! CRASH! CRAAASH!


    "ke!" Erika panicked while she was fighting a dozen Demon Generals at once.


    "Don''t worry about him." Eleanora smiled, impaling the heart of a Demon General leisurely with her spear.


    "He said he had a lot of pent-up stress after knowing how much the demons ruined this ce¡­ So he wants to deal with him alone, we better not get in the way when he goes all-out." Elizabeth sighed, her light burning an army of demons surrounding her, while her sprits protected her.


    Before arriving here, ke had said that he would take down a Demon Lord all by himself, to test his strength¡­ And well, to release a lot of pent-up stress he had umted.


    "Hahahaha! PERISH, lowly HUMAN!"


    Aranthas couldn''t help butugh as he crushed ke with his tremendously strong attacks,parable to B++ Rank Monster''s strength!


    However, as the smoke dissipated from his explosive blows, ke remained¡­ there, standing still. Several messages continuously emerged within his Grimoire.


    [You have undergone a partial [Draconification]! All of your Stats have increased greatly. You can now wield Dragon Energy much more proficiently.]


    [You have activated the [Fusion] Skill. Temporarily, your own body''s Dragon Scales have merged with the equipped [Red Wyvern''s Armor Set (Unique Grade)] to create the [Vampiric Dragon Armor Set (Mythic Grade)]!]


    [The power Dragon Armor epasses your entire body with a mighty aura of Dragon Energy, enhancing your Physical and Magical Defenses by a further +200%.]


    [Duration: 30 Minutes.]


    He was wearing a full red and ck colored scaled armor, made out of his Wyvern Scale Armor that Chris gifted to him, alongside his own Dragon Scales from his Draconification Transformation, which temporarily fused with them through his Fusion Skill.


    The Fusion Skill, as a matter of fact, didn''t simply work with items to synthetize together. It could interact with Skills, Magic, equipment, and even his own body.


    "Hm? Was that it?" ke wondered, looking at Aranthas. "That didn''t even break my scales¡­"


    "W-What¡­?!" Aranthas stepped back in shock. "T-That armor you''re wearing¡­ Did you made that out of Demonic Dragon''s Scales?!"


    "Oh? Well, my little boy over there is indeed a Demonic Dragon, I guess I simply got them upgraded." ke smiled.


    The reason why he hadn''t absorbed nor done anything else with the Demonic Dragon Scales he got was because he could get them anyways through his Draconification.


    "Are you done with your pitiful disy of strength, Aranthas?" ke asked with an angered expression on his face. "I thought you said you were¡­ Oh so powerful, weren''t you? What''s wrong, can''t defeat a kid now?"


    "Y-YOUUUU!!!" Aranthas lost hisposure, what ke was aiming for this entire time through such words, the furious Demon quickly pped his wings, lifting into the skies as he opened his gigantic beak and unleashed a powerful breath attack. "[Infernal Demon Breath]!!!"


    TRUUUUUMMM¡­!


    The breath attack gathered into a powerful, concentrated spiraling beam of destructive Demon mes as strong as the Magic that B++ Rank monsters could conjure, if not even stronger as it was further boosted through the Archdemon Core Fragment he had absorbed!


    BOOOOOOOMMMM¡­!


    A huge zing explosion consumed ke, Aranthas was now sure that the young man must have been turned into ashes!


    "HAH! That''s what you get for disrespecting a being as powerful as me! Know your ce, Huma- Ahhh?!"


    FLUOOOSH!


    However, all the mes within the explosion started to distort, spiraling around ke''s hand and generating a huge sphere of red, crimson mes.


    "And you call those mes?" ke asked. "Let me show you what true mes are, Aranthas. [Infernal Demonic mes Authority]!"


    -----

 Chapter 745 Youll Serve Me Well

    -----


    [You have activated the [Infernal Demonic mes Authority] Skill!]


    [All mes within your surroundings must obey your [Authority]!]


    [All Fire Magic Damage has been increased by +170%.]


    ke seamlessly controlled the Demon mes and then absorbed them with his stronger, much higher authority of Infernal Demonic mes, a little gift that his nice pal Beelzebub had left for him when he absorbed a piece of his me-wielding Vessel.


    "My mes were consumed?!" Aranthas stepped back. "T-That powerful energy, that incredible usage of the element of demonic mes. You''re¡­ that''s an Authority!"


    "[Ra''s Wrath]"


    ke didn''t even let him finish his words as hebined the power of his Infernal Demonic mes Authority with the newest Skill inherited from Eriant, Ra''s Wrath.


    ck and red sands gathered around him in a split of a second, fusing with his mes as the shape of a gigantic bird made of mes emerged, reflecting the brightness of the sun.


    "CRAAAAH!"


    The gigantic bird descended towards Aranthas, who was too bbergasted to move in time! When he realized that an iing blow wasing, he desperately tried to evade, only for the gigantic bird to chase him.


    "There''s no running away, Aranthas. I''ll cut your wings first." ke said with a serious expression on his face.


    "T-This can''t be¡­! That mere fire bird is faster than me¡­?! Arrgh! UUUARRGGHH¡­!"


    The giant Draconic Bird Demon screamed in agony, as the Infernal Demonic Ra reached his back and embraced him on an explosion of mes, burning his wings into ashes!


    BOOOOOOMMMM¡­!


    His body instantly fell into the ground below, shattering the paved floor of the ruined city, ke moved towards him as swift as possible, gathering his Mana tobine his skills once more through not only Fusion, but also Magic Fusion, a skill that allowed him tobine spells and skills!


    "M-MY WINGS!" Aranthas cried in agony, standing up desperately as he saw his wings could not even regenerate back, the mes that ke had conjured cursed his flesh, inhibiting regeneration.


    "If you don''t pay enough attention, you''ll die much faster, Aranthas." ke said, looming over the giant thirty-meter-tall Demon Lord as his fists were covered on his metallic dragon scales, from his own armor, and a barrage of zing fists descended over his foe!


    "[Meteor Fist]"


    Using Woo''s inherited Skill, ke''s fists descended like shing meteors, covered in both infernal demonic mes and lightning! Aranthas desperately attempted to intercept the powerful iing blows with his huge ws, swinging them upwards!


    CLASH! CLASH! CLASH! CLASH! CRAAASH!


    However, ke''s powerful Vampiric, Demonic, and Draconic Aura converged together, fusing into enormous red colored, phantasmal fists that aided him on overwhelming his foe!


    "[Vampiric Demonic Dragon''s Aura]!"


    BAAAAAMMM¡­!


    A gigantic red fist hit Aranthas face, ttening him into the ground with a huge shockwave! The Demon Lord who held so much pride and authority above all other Demons was being humiliated.


    "Gryyyarrrggh¡­! W-What sort of MONSTER are you?! Demonic¡­ Draconic¡­ Vampiric Powers?! All of them?!" Aranthas vomited blood, as hundreds of ck magic circles emerged around him, summoning ck meteors made of miasma. "[Demonic Chaos Meteors]!!!"


    "Yeah, all of them." ke said, expressionlessly, his eyes emanating a cold bloodlust. "I have been growing stronger all this time just so I can once more wipe the floor with all of you. [Ninjutsu]: [River Frog King''s Fury]"<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    Utilizing the hidden arts of Ninjutsu which he had inherited from Eleanora, who had be a Vampire Ninja, ke summoned a gigantic phantasmal, blue-colored river frog, who opened its mouth and unleashed a gigantic torrential attack, impacting Aranthas'' meteors!


    SPLAAAAAASSSH!


    "Uuuarrgghhh¡­!" Aranthas was pushed away, his meteors disintegrated before they could even reach ke as he swiftly moved across the skies and crushed them with both Meteor Fists and zing Kicks.


    "I sure hope you can take a few more hits, I''m still trying to figure out all the powers I possess." ke smiled at longst, as he couldn''t mask how much he was enjoying beating down this bastard to the ground. "[Lightning Blood Fist Arts]: [Thunderous Asura''s Six Palms]"


    ke''sbined Auras gained the element of lightning as he channeled the inherited Skill of Woo, the Lightning Blood Fist Arts! His Aura suddenly shaping into a muscr titan with six huge arms, and the head of a ferocious vampire dragon.


    All six hands overflowed with red lightning, as they unleashed six powerful palm attacks that hit Aranthas at the same time!


    BAAM! BAAM! BAAM! BAAM! BAAM! BAAAAM!


    "Aaaarrggh¡­! T-This is impossible!!!"


    Aranthas received a deadly beating, as his bones were constantly breaking apart inside of his own body, piercing his own internal organs. It felt as if his transformation was of no use at all.


    CLAAAASSSH¡­!


    His gigantic body fell into the floor, generating a huge crater that made the entire city tremble. At the same time as this happened, the tremor that every demon felt, was also heard by the humans below.


    The hope they had once lost was regained once more, as their eyes shone brightly in excitement. They could not see what was happening, but they all recognized the voice of Aranthas, the bastard that has been eating them one by one¡­


    His screams of agony were like music to their ears!


    "W-Wait¡­! Urgh¡­! Please don''t kill me!" Aranthas groaned, he could barely move his legs as he tried to drag himself away from ke. "P-Please! I''ll serve you! I''ll be your ve if necessary! I-I don''t want to die!"


    "How many times, Aranthas?" ke asked.


    "W-Wha¡­?"


    "How many times did the people of this city said the same things to you?" Asked ke. "Did you listen to their pleas? Did you had mercy with them?"


    "T-That''s¡­ Completely different! They''re humans, merely¡­ trash¡­! You''re an absolute being!" Cried Aranthas, vomiting blood. "Cough¡­ Arkh¡­ S-So please let me serve you¡­!"


    "Sure, you can serve me." ke smiled gently, raising his hand as a huge trident made of ck miasma and blood materialized. "[Dark Blood Trident]"


    "E-Eh?" Aranthas looked at the huge trident looming over his head.


    "You can serve me with your flesh, your bones, your internal organs, your scales, your feathers¡­ You''ll serve me really well, Aranthas. As materials, of course."


    "WAAAIT!"


    CRAAAAASSSH!!!


    The trident pierced Aranthas head all the way down to his chest, impaling him ungraciously and horrendously. His soul was instantly eaten as well, ke didn''t even allowed him the privilege of the afterlife.


    -----

 Chapter 746 Rescuing The Survivors

    <h4>Chapter 746 Rescuing The Survivors</h4>


    -----


    "GRYYYAAAAARRGGHHH¡­!"


    The scream of Aranthas resonated into the underground depths. The humans held captive there trembled in excitement¡­ The death of the most bastard of all the Demon Lords that invaded their city hase!


    The demons guarding the humans panicked, thinking that without their Demon Lords, they were as good as dead already, they quickly decided to ruin the humans ns of saving their kin.


    "If we''re going to die now, you all wille with us!!!" The Demons screamed, as the many Onis and Imps grabbed spears and pointed them at the captive humans.


    They couldn''t understand their demonnguage, for sure, but the people knew that they were afraid, and desperate. And would rather kill them now than let the humans that killed their Demon Lord rescue them.


    "This is what human trash like you deserves!" Laughed an Imp holding a spear. "You''re nothing but food to serve our powerful Archdemon Lords! Your souls shall feed their insatiable appetites! Gryahahahah!"


    The spears descended, about to pierce the people''s bodies, incapable of even fighting back as they were stuck to the walls with chains, they could only see in horror as the spears were about to pierce through their flesh and kill them agonizingly.


    "I''m afraid I cannot let you do that, dears."


    SPLAAASH!


    Suddenly, arge quantity of ck water filled the underground, leaving the humanspletely intact while wrapping around the demons in the shape of countless tentacles.


    "Gryarkh! W-What the fuck?!" The Imp screamed in shock, as his entire body was squished until his guts exploded out of his mouth. "Gryyyaaarrggh!"


    SPLAAAT!


    SPLAT! SPLAT! SPLAT! SPLAT!


    And that wasn''t the first one, all the demons in there died in the same, agonizing, and ruthless method. Amidst the dark waters, which quickly went back to her, ady with pale purple colored skin and red eyes emerged out of nowhere, emanating spiritual energy.


    "W-What is that?!"


    "A-Another demon?"


    "No! I can sense it¡­ Spirit energy¡­"


    "A-A spirit?!"


    Celestina giggled, waving her ws as she cut down all the doors of the jails, and the chains as well. At her side appeared the young Monica, running towards the people.


    "P-Please don''t be intimidated by her, she''s Celestina, a spirit of a friend." Sighed Monica. "Anyways, are you alright?! My name is Monica Darkage, I am the heir to the Darkage Duchy!"


    "T-The Darkage Duchy is still hanging on?!"


    "W-We''re really saved?!"


    "After so long¡­!"


    "F-Finally¡­"


    The people quickly started having a mental breakdown, crying desperately as they realized they were finally being rescued, after seeing their own loved ones being killed in front of them, after seeing the massacres and everything else, when they had already lost all hope.


    "Monica~ There''s a few more people over there. I''ve killed the annoying demons as well." Hendrick appeared behind her, bringing forth all the people in the deeper areas overrge insects he had summoned.


    Most of them had fainted out of horror though¡­


    "T-Thank you, Hendrick!" Monica forced a smile. "(His methods are a bit extreme but he''s a good man anyways¡­)"


    Suddenly, a few more figures walked downstairs, it was Erika and Elizabeth who had decided to help evacuate the people while ke and Eleanora started taking down the demons.


    "Phew! Eh?! Are we a bit toote?" Erikaughed a bit.


    "Never toote. The people might seem alive but many are already wounded. Some have necrosis that has advanced a lot. How much have the demons tortured you?" Elizabeth sighed.


    The presence of these two angelic girls made the people somehow feel at ease. Their very presences exuded a divine aura around them, Elizabeth in specific, everyone could swear they could see an angelic halo behind her head.


    "Please everyone, stand still." Elizabeth said, counting the people in the underground as more and more insects brought them. "There''s at least over four hundred people¡­ This Duchy was said to have over a thousand poption, how much have they killed?! By the Holy Spirits¡­ Please, have mercy on these souls."


    Elizabeth finally got into her Saintess act for once, as she started to pray to the Holy Spirits, divine light emerged from her body, which quickly covered everyone, even the people that were at the verge of death due to infected wounds instantly woke up before her divine healing light!


    FLAAAAASH!


    The light entered their bodies, healing their terrible wounds one after another. Their senses came back to them, their fatigue was healed, and even their exhaustion. Some of the people that had be almost skeletal in appearance grew some fat and muscle.


    This wasn''t just normal healing magic, as it even healed their exhaustion and tiredness, and could even fill them with nutrients. This was the power of a Saintess, to go beyond simply healing, but also nourishing, and bringing life to a body in the most literal sense.


    "Can you stand up now?" Elizabeth asked. "Erika?"


    "Alright¡­ Here." Erika hit the floor with her hand, as several small trees started emerging one after another, which created small red apples. "Eat before leaving, you''ll need a full stomach to walk all of that!"


    "F-Food¡­ They created food?!"


    "Fruits!"


    "Ahh, I haven''t eaten normal food in so long!"


    "Thank you! Thank you so much!"


    The people desperately started eating the sweet fruits, feeling in heaven even if for a few seconds. A little silver-haired girl brought a small fruit to her mother that slowly started walking outside the cell.


    Her appearance was in tatters, but her dignified eyes and her beautiful hair, the same color as her daughter, quickly made her stand out before everyone else.


    "You''re¡­ Monica¡­ Darkage, did I hear that right?" She asked with an exhausted voice.


    "Y-Yes!" Monica nodded. "Are you¡­? Ah! You''re¡­?! A member of Silverlight''s Noble Family?"


    "I-I''m surprised you could tell with my current appearance¡­" The woman sighed with a cynical smile. "I can''t believe the duchy that we antagonized so much in the past would be our salvation now¡­ We owe you more than you imagine. It is thanks to you all that¡­ My daughter was not taken away from me." The woman started crying. "Thank you¡­ thank you so much!"


    -----

 Chapter 747 The Demons’ Counterattack

    <h4>Chapter 747 The Demons'' Counterattack</h4>


    -----


    The battlefield gave a sudden change in mere seconds. After ke summoned his powerful Familiars when the disposable one-hour Undead weakened and scared the demons enough, the powerful Familiars, led by their respective Generals, Fenrir, Draco, Arachne, and Titan, quickly started to clean things with their overwhelming superiority in both strength and speed.


    "Yes, that''s right, my children! Keep weaving!" Laughed Arachne, the General of most of the Bug-type Familiars.


    After their resent Talent Bestowal, they had acquired the Weaver One Star Talent and two new Skills, alongside a Title. Among their new Skills was the [Lethal Thread Mastery++]. By using this powerful Skill, they employed their own threads and created deadly traps with them.


    Around the city, it could be easily seen as almost half of its territory had been covered by spiderwebs, countless of demons were being trapped within them, being slowly cut down to pieces as the threads moved on their own, wrapping around their bodies.


    Some of the strongest Demons who were near Demon General rank were taken care by multiple Giant Wasps, who ganged on them, piercing their bodies with their powerful zing Venom Stinger, and sometimes using their Steel-Shattering Mandibles or Slicing Wind Gusts to finish them off if they resisted too much.


    Naturally, the strongest ones in terms of explosive damage were still the zing Scorpions, who were only a few dozen due to their huge sizes and destructive magic powers. Hundreds of Demons sumbed against their zing Meteors and Volcanic ws the most, which set aze everything they touched.


    Of course, these Demons were much less battle-ready as the ones invading the Duchy of Darkage, and the surprise factor also yed a great role on their demise, as the enemy army literally fell from the skies above them, without them having any time to prepare.


    Perhaps in other circumstances, they could had been able to eliminate more of their threats¡­ but aside from the initial wave of Undead, who had been reduced to less than twenty by now, the other Familiars were swiftly killing them.


    "With the blessing of the Spirit of War! Fight, my brave warriors!" Titan roared; the Red Orc Druid King summoned the might of his Spirit Magic, as the smaller and much cheaper Red Orc Warriors and zing Grizzlies were boosted by his buffs alongside a few of his clones.


    FLAAAASH! FLAAAASH! FLAAAASH!


    The Protection Spirits Barriers protected them from powerful demonic magic damage from groups of Demon Magicians, while the War Spirit''s Enhancement increased their attack power even more. Volcanic Spirit''s Wrath brought forth the raging burst of the spirits of volcanoes, spreading explosions of volcanic debris everywhere. And whenever the Familiars were wounded, Light Spirit''s Healing Embrace recovered their Health Points before they were to turn into particles of light.


    Even a squadron of over three hundred Red Onis wearing Demonic Armor and holding Cursed Weapons were being overwhelmed by the much taller and muscr Red Orc Warriors, being crushed into smithereens one after another mercilessly.


    Their numbers dwindled in seconds, the Familiars were restless, they could not even grow tired even if their MP was exhausted, and they would simply continue fighting endlessly as long as they had HP¡­ In a way, they were perhaps even worse than Undead themselves.


    "Bring them out!" Cried a Blue Oni, as a huge tremor emerged from the city.


    TRUUUMM¡­! RUMBLE!


    A gigantic red gate opened from underground, as several Giant Demon Warriors, Demons as huge as forty meters emerged one after another, being saved for war, the Demons were desperate to gain some terrain in battle, bringing their strongest fighters, most of them almostparable to Demon Lords, if it wasn''t because they were extremely dumb andcked magic talent.


    "GRAAAAH!"


    "GROOOAR!"


    "GROOOOH!"


    Over twenty Giant Demon Warriors started marching, crushing the Red Orc Warriors, Goblins, and zing Grizzlies below their foot. The tide of battle seemed to be slowly changing to the Demons favor once more.


    "The Mutated Beasts! They''re here! Make way!" An Imp screamed, running across the other side of the battlefield as the Familiar Generals set their eyes to that area.


    Another red gate opened from underground, as a huge army of over two hundred Mutated Demonic Beasts emerged from within! They were Monsters from a nearby Dungeon that had been mutated with Demonic Energy and Miasma, growing aggressive, berserk, and gaining demonic traits.


    They were very simr to the creatures ke and his friends had fought back in their vige when they explored the Miasmic Swamps created as a result from all the Demon Blood spilled after the Demon War.


    Mutated ck Wolves and Dire wolves, evolved and stronger versions of Gray Wolves appeared, with extra limbs, eyes, and heads due to their mutations. There were also Giant Triple-Horned Rabbits, Aberrant Cobras, and also over fifty Giant Crows, all of them mutated and made stronger, controlled by arge group of Demon Druids in the background, who employed red colored demonic orbs to control the berserk beasts.


    Suddenly, the Arachneia were cornered at the same time as the Orcs, from both the skies, west and east! Giant Demon Warriors and powerful Mutated Demonic Beasts! Could things get even worse?


    "Looks like these bastards had a lot of troops saved underground!" Said Titan, looking around while holding a Mana-imbued Orb that ke had made for all his Familiar Magicians. They helped them naturally replenish Mana, something Familiars could not do naturally.


    "It seems the fun has yet to end." Arachne giggled, her red eyes ncing across the battlefield. Her hundred of "children" as she called the other bug-type familiars quickly obeyed her mentalmands, as they started to regroup around her.


    "Huh?!" Fenrir, who was massacring Demons with his pack of wolves of the same type as him suddenly felt the powerful presences ke had talked about before. "The presences master felt before! They''re arriving!" He nced into the distance, at the shoulder of one of the Giant Demons, and another sitting above a giant, mammoth-like mutated demonic beast.


    "What''s all this ruckus? I was taking such a good nap¡­"


    "Oho?! It seems that there were still some humans with the will to fight back! How amusing!"


    Two more Demon Lords appeared¡­ and also, a third, stronger being, standing above the city''s castle.


    "The Summoner''s already here? That was much faster than we expected¡­"


    -----

 Chapter 748 A Powerful Demon Lord

    Chapter 748 A Powerful Demon Lord


    -----


    A tall Red Oni-like Demon sat over the shoulders of a Giant Demon Warrior. He had six bright red eyes, and long, silvery-white hair. Instead of just two arms, as usual, he had six of them, overflowing with strong, tough-looking muscles. His red skin was decorated by me-shaped ck tattoos. And he had two sharp ck horns growing from his forehead.


    Only wearing some white pants to cover himself and nothing else, he smiled, showing his sharp fangs. His presence exuded the might of a Demon Lord at almost their pinnacle of strength, perhaps right before reaching their limit. His Demonic Core might be already preparing itself to ascend into a Demon Overlord.


    "Hah¡­" He yawned, ncing into the distance. "So annoying, from where did these bastards came from?! I''m getting really pissed right now¡­ And I just wanted to nap after this city was taken care of¡­ Can''t even have that right now- Oh?"


    Before he could even finish his words, he saw a blue-haired elf fly above the skies, with wyvern-like wings made of ice, his face seemed stern and expressionless, as he raised his hands, which were wearing blue gloves made of frost dragon scales.


    "[Ice Tools Creation]" Elfriedden activated one of his newest Skills, which sounded rather normal, but it actually held a tremendous power¡­


    FLASH! FLASH! FLASH! FLASH! FLASH!


    His Mana kept being used as hundreds of Ice Needles the size of over ten meters each materialized one after another, alongside that, there were huge knives, giant pickaxes, andrge hammers.


    The power of Ice Tools Creation wasn''t just to sew and create fabrics, it could be anything Elfriedden considered a "tool" greatly enhancing his offensive magic abilities.


    With a Mana cost that was much cheaper than most Frost Magic, with "tools" that were much tougher and stronger than mere icicle spears, and with the ability to instantly conjure them without needing magic circles.


    It was without a doubt an overpowered skill!


    "GRAAH?!"


    The Giant Demon Warriors couldn''t even avoid such rain of ice projectiles. Half their numbers had their huge bodies pierced by these weapons made of ice, beginning to quickly freeze. And that wasn''t all. Elfriedden flew down in a split of a second, swinging his needle alongside his thread, and piercing the half-frozen demons before shattering them apart.


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! CRAAASH!


    Countless of frozen chunks of flesh started falling into the ruined city below, creating a truly impressive sight¡­ Elfriedden himself could not believe how strong he had grown in so little time either.


    "Bravo! That was amazing, little elf!" The Demon Lord Elfriedden had already noticed started pping, his zing aura protecting the huge brute carrying him. "You''re quite shy, I do wonder if you can take a punch though? HAH!"


    Swinging a single fist towards Elfriedden, his Demonic Aura surged, evenrger than the Demon Giant Warrior carrying him on his shoulder, the Demon Lord exuded a power even simr to Erdrich''s Asura Aura!


    The giant, zing fist made of Demonic Aura reached Elfriedden on a single second, striking him down as if he were a mere fly.


    BAAAAMMM¡­!


    His body descended at a rapid speed,nding on the floor below, Elfriedden was covered on demonic mes, as the Demon Lord looked down whileughing.


    "Hahahaha! What the hell was that? You are way too weak!" The Demon Lord started tough. "Oh?! Wait a second, you''re alive! No way!"


    It felt as if he was ying around, as he found out Elfriedden stood back up, his body now covered by a frost armor, while he was holding a spear. His needle and his thread had be weapons.


    The Needle''s shape didn''t change much, but it grew tens of timesrger, gaining beautiful flower-like decorations and a sharp and long de¡­ It transformed into the Permafrost Crystal Rose Spear.


    Meanwhile, the threads merged into his own clothes, suddenly growing a powerful and light armor made of ice crystal, turning into Skadi''s Divine Armor. Andstly, one of his gloves transformed into a huge shield made of frost dragon scales, Frost Dragon King''s Shield.


    Despite looking like mere tools, their potential through Spirit Weaponization were amazing. With that shield and his armor, he was able to resist the tremendous damage of that Demon Lord''s attack.


    "I''m sorry to inform you, but I am not a weakling¡­" Elfrieddenughed. "Nor¡­ I''ll be fighting alone either."


    "Oh? You''re not fighting alone? Where are the others then? I only see Familiars getting crushed by my demon-"


    His six eyes quickly redirected themselves above the skies, as the cloudspletely cleared and a huge, muscr young man descended, half demon and half human, zing with a demonic Asura aura simr to him.


    "[Heavenly Demon Battle Arts]: [Asura''s Wrath]!!!"


    It was nobody else than Erdrich, whose aura transformed behind him, showing a giant red skinned demon with four muscr arms, swinging his fists like zing meteors down against their target!


    BAAAM! BAAAM! BAAAM! BAAAM!


    "Urgh?!"


    The Demon Lord couldn''t even dodge, his Giant Demon Warrior was torn to shreds as the fists reached him first, and thest three fist attacks hit the Demon Lord, pushing his body into the ground, as he hit the debris below!


    CRAAAASH!


    "Hahah¡­ Hahahaha! Woow! What was that?!"


    However, the Demon Lord instantly stood back up, barely covered on bruises. His six red eyes nced at Erdrich descending towards him like a demon god.


    "You''re the Cambion! I can''t believe you made my nose bleed." Laughed the Demon Lord. "Alright¡­ I''m going to get serious now! Hahahaha!"


    The Demon Lord moved all six of his arms, pushing them behind his body as his Demonic Energy transformed into a powerful, permeable aura, and then, he punched the empty air above with all his six fists at once!


    "[Six Demonic Stars]!"


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!


    "Argh!"


    Erdrich was incapable of evading the blows, and as he tried to intercept them and block them with his own attacks, they were already hitting his entire body, explosive shockwaves crushed his bones in mere instants!


    -----

 Chapter 749 A Giant Threat

    Chapter 749 A Giant Threat


    -----


    "What with all this ruckus now? Can''t a man have some rest for once in their lives? Conquering this pitiful human Kingdom was already a pain in the ass!"


    A fat, and huge elephant-like humanoid demon sighed, resting over a throne made of human bones while riding above a giant mammoth-like Demonic Beast.


    His huge body was perhaps over four meters tall without even transforming yet, with a long elephant trunk decorated with golden essories. He wore a crown made of gold and bones, and his sharp blue eyes nced into the distance.


    The Mutated Demonic Beast army advanced by hismand, as the Demon Lordughed, while exuding a powerful Demonic Aura, just as powerful as Aranthas.


    "Oho¡­ I see what''s going on in here¡­" The elephant-like beast demonughed. "So the Summoner has arrived and he has already killed most of our demons, well, luckily, my army of beasts will wipe the floor with whatever you can pitifully summon, child."


    The Demon Lord quickly sipped some wine whileughing, suddenly sensing the presence of someone appearing right behind him.


    "Hm?"


    "[Great Smander''s zing Breath]"


    Before the Demon Lord could even understand what was happening, a gigantic Smander emerged above the body of Chris himself, opening its zing jaws and unleashing a catastrophic inferno of fire!


    BOOOOOOOMMMMM!!!


    The Mammoth-like demonic beast died on the spot, burned to a crisp and falling into the ruins below, crumbling apart as if it were charcoal.


    "W-What was that?! Who dares¡­?!"


    The Elephant-like Demon Lord roared, his body only slightly ckened by the mes as he nced into the skies, standing over the corpse of his mount.


    "Oh wow, you can take that head-on, huh? I guess you''re really a Demon Lord." A smile surged on the brave young man, Chris and his three Spirits floated in midair, mes propelling him off the ground easily.


    "A single human dares fight a being as glorious and powerful as myself?! Do you know that I am a feared Demon Lord, don''t you, child?! I am the Lord of Demons! My Master Satan has blessed me with his almighty power!" The elephant roared. "My name is Ganesh, the King of Demonic Beasts!" The Demon Lord was speaking with human tongue.


    "King?" Chrisughed, his mes slowly beginning to spread across the battlefield. "You look like an ugly elephant walking on two legs, dude."


    "Y-You dare insult my greatness?!" Ganesh had little patience. "You''ll see¡­ My true might!"


    FLAAASH!


    Ganesh rushed towards Chris in an instant, summoning two huge Golden Axes and swinging them against Chris with tremendous speed and force! The young man did not expect the Demon Lord to be so fast despite his huge and heavy looking body.


    Then again, Kong was also incredibly fast even after transforming and bing evenrger¡­ Chris decided to stop foolishly underestimating his foes. It was something that ke had taught him long ago, but that he had barely put into motion.


    "You''re fast, but my magic''s faster!" Chris smiled, his magical aura spreading everywhere. "[Fire Spirit Magic Arts]: [Grand zing Fox Infernal Carnival Domain]!"


    FLAAAAAAASSSH!


    All the mes left behind in the ruined city, and the ones still covering some areas of the burned mammoth''s corpse worked in tandem, connecting together into a huge magic circle. In just a split of a second, a huge domain of mes emerged, as hundreds of tiny foxes made of fire constantly emerged, almost endlessly!


    "HUH?!" Ganesh was about to cleave Chris into perfect halves before the small fire foxes flew towards him and started exploded over his gigantic body.


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOOM!


    "Uuuuaaaargh!"


    Ganesh roared furiously, his flesh and skin burning as he swung his two giant axes against the foxes, whenever he managed to cleave them apart, they would explode, still dealingrge quantities of damage.


    "And that''s not all, you long-trunked bastard!" Chris roared. "[Grand Fox Phantom Spirit]! Devour him!"


    The power of his Fox Spirit erupted out of his body, which he had already fused with, as it merged with the surrounding mes he kept spreading as his "materials", creating a gigantic Fox Spirit''s jaws, biting through Ganesh and pushing him down!


    CRAAAAAAASSSH! BOOOOOOMMM!!!


    "GRUUUUAAARGH¡­!"


    With an agonizing scream, the elephant demon screamed in agony, his flesh constantly burning, his skin resembling charcoal, even his trunk was not safe from the ferocious mes.


    However¡­


    "That''s enough with you!"


    Ganesh swung his two axes once more, this time, much more serious, his Demonic Energy unleashed tremendous shockwaves around him, as the mes Chris summoned dissipated one after another, as if they were nothing!


    "You have yet to attain the strength to defeat a being as glorious as me, you petnt child!"


    Ganesh jumped off the ground, leaving a huge crater behind as he appeared right in front of Chris, his two Golden Battel Axes overflowed with Demonic Energy, turning crimson red.


    "[Spinning Elephant Axes]!"


    SLAAASH! SLAAASH! SLAAASH!


    "Urgh?!"


    Chris was caught off-guard, incapable of moving as fast as the Demon Lord, his zing Spirit Armor had to take most of the damage, but he was still pushed to his limits, being thrown into the floor!


    BAAAAAAMM!


    "ARGH¡­!"


    Chris vomited a mouthful of blood, gasping for air as he saw Ganesh appear from above, descending with his two Blood Red Battle Axes, ready to y him for good.


    "[zing Suge]!"


    The young fire wizard roared to the skies, his entire body erupting with countless mes, as Ganesh was slightly overwhelmed, only for the elephant demon to dissipate the mes a few secondster with his axes, hitting the ground below!


    SLAAAASH! SLAAAASH!


    CRAAAASH!


    However, Chris wasn''t there anymore, using that time his mes brought, he had escaped to a safer area, gasping for air, his Smander and Cat spirit were ready to unleash their strengths as well.


    "What''s wrong? Are you getting tired already?" Laughed Ganesh. "I''ll end this quickly, pitiful child. And then I will feast in your flesh and bones, I promise you that I will not waste a single piece of your delicious body! I''ll devour it all! Bwahahaha!"


    Ganesh rushed towards Chris, the young man gritting his teeth. He had grown strong, but he knew that he couldn''t take a Demon Lord alone.


    So he only had to buy time until reinforcements arrived.


    "[Yggdrasil''s Spirit Arrow]!"


    A rain of spiritual arrows descended from above Ganesh, bombarding him with countless explosions of light!


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOOM!


    "Eric!"


    -----

 Chapter 750 You’re The Arrogant One Here

    <h4>Chapter 750 You''re The Arrogant One Here</h4>


    -----


    ke nced into the distance while the corpse of Aranthas dissipated into particles of light, turning into items within his inventory as he dismantled him in a mere second. His red eyes noticing the presences of two new armies emerging, two Demon Lords, and a different being altogether.


    It was human yet also a demon, but both principles weren''t so masterfully fused like with Erdrich, it was a Cultist most likely, who had absorbed the powers of many demons. An "artificial half-demon" unlike Erdrich, who was born like that.


    And it was certainly a very powerful one. ke didn''t said a word before this, fully knowing his friends and army could take down the two other Demon Lords and their armies, quickly setting his gaze into this iing threat.


    "Can you sense it as well?" Eleanora asked ke, appearing at his side.


    "Of course, there''s a strong bastard here. Things might not be as dull as I imagined." ke smiled.


    "The girls are still busy dealing with the survivors, shall we wait for them?" Eleanora wondered.


    "No, they''ll join once they''re done." ke said. "This guy¡­ We need to take care of him."


    "Understood." Eleanora smiled.


    Erika and Elizabeth were helping the survivors, and the rest of his Vampire Spirts were busy giving their support to the Familiar Armies on defeating the two new armies of demons that had appeared, alongside helping ke''s friends on defeating the two new Demon Lords.


    Without wanting to waste much more time, ke and Eleanora instantly left the scene, leaping over the buildings of the city until they meet face to face with the man in question.


    His long, silvery-white hair, sharp red eyes, and a tall, slender figure, wearing a refined ck suit, with a red gem on his chest, and long ears. If it wasn''t for the two ck horns growing from his forehead and his third, ck eye between both horns, he would look like a Vampire.


    "Ahh, so it was really you." He smiled. "Wee to my humble temporary home. I''ve been assigned to protect this pitiful city. But to think you woulde here so fast¡­ Asmodeus."


    "You dare say his name¡­" Eleanora said furiously, her powers erupting from her body. "Who are you?! Are you a Cultist too?"


    "Yes, I guess you could say that." The man smiled. "My name is Sarauviel, and I am a High-Ranking Member in the Archdemon Church, we are not a "cult" we are a professional organization that cooperates with Archdemons to take over this pitiful, pathetic world."


    "So you''re just slightly bigger trash." ke nodded. "I see. Did you learned my previous name from your Archdemon pals, by any chance?"


    "Indeed, they said you were their greatest enemy! Honestly, that''s hard to believe, you''re such a pitiful young man! I can''t even believe you''re what they say. But looking around, I guess they weren''t half wrong." The manughed. "They said you''re the one that sealed them in the past, and you''re the one that almost killed Lord Lucifer, and above all, you were the one that defeated Beelzebub!"


    "Yeah, so?" ke asked.


    "Hah¡­ I think there''s a misunderstanding here." The man started getting slightly pissed off. "Do you think of me as a weakling, another trash to sweep the floor with? Unlike all the pathetic cultists you''ve fought before, and unlike the Demon Lords, we, high ranking members of the church, are much different, much, much different."


    "Is that so?" ke raised an eyebrow. "Considering I''ve fought Archdemons, do you truly believe that something like that will make me feel afraid? Instead of using words, why don''t you show me what you''re capable of with your fists?"


    "Fufu¡­ Indeed, you''re so arrogant! I can tell you''re the reincarnation of a monster, no child your age would ever act this way in front of a being like me¡­" Sarauvielughed, his Demonic Aura and his Spiritual Energy converged together, as a single, powerful Demonic Spirit appeared.


    Demonic Cultists didn''t had multiple Spirits like normal Spirit Masters, sacrificing all future Spirits to get a single, incredibly strong one that held Demonic Powers.


    ke had already seen this on Erdrich''s mother, and also on the Necromancer, who only had a single powerful Demonic Spirit whose strength had been amplified several times once infected with demon energy.


    The same was for the man in front of him, Sarauviel, whose Spirit emerged, resembling an endless mass of darkness, with countless demon-like heads, limbs, and eyes.


    He yfully patted the heads of his monstrous Demonic Spirit, as the spirit''s tentacles caressed his fair face.


    "Fufu, isn''t he a cutie~?" Heughed. "His strength has been increasing a lot since I''ve sacrificed many human souls to him! He''s such a hungry little rascal!"


    "Disgusting, you''ve turned your own spirit into a demon creature?!" Eleanora asked.


    "Well, who are you to talk, spirit? You exude the power of demons and dragons!" Sarauviel said angrily.


    "O-Oh¡­" Eleanora quickly was reminded of her own recent evolutions.


    "You know, sometimes the heads of the people he eats pop up above his body, it is very cute." Laughed Sarauviel. "I wonder how your head will look over my precious Demonic Spirit, Asmodeus."


    "You''re the one filled with confidence; I see." keughed. "You''re very arrogant for someone so ignorant about everything."


    "Ignorant?" Sarauviel asked ke. "A child is calling me ignorant¡­"


    "Only a foolish ignorant would make pacts with Archdemons and believe they''re chosen ones by them. You''re all just disposable peons, and I''ll show you that as I behead you."


    The young man summoned his Demonic Spear, Gluttony, while holding his Soul Eating Handgun on his other hand, his body once more covering itself on an armor of Draconic Scales and his own armor fused together.


    "Hahahah¡­ You''re really funny." Sarauvielughed.


    FLAAASH!


    In a mere second, he appeared right at ke''s left side, his Demonic Spirit fusing with his body in an instant, as he was covered by a veil of tentacles, heads, and eyes, his arms growing muscr in a split of a second, overflowing with strength.


    CRAAAAAASSSH!


    However, ke was not crushed by such pitiful attack, as his Spear intercepted the blow, blocking it from hitting him in the face.


    "What¡­?!"


    "I told you that you''re the arrogant one here."


    -----

 Chapter 751 A Clash Between Demons

    Chapter 751 A sh Between Demons


    -----


    Elfriedden and Erdrich confronted the Six-Armed Oni Demon Lord with all their might, however, the Asura-like demon was onlyughing through the battle, amused by their magic and attacks. Although he shouldn''t be much stronger than Aranthas, he held a much greater technique and mastery of his abilities.


    "I''ll get a bit serious now, just for you guys!"


    The Demon Lord moved all six of his arms, pushing them behind his body as his Demonic Energy transformed into a powerful, permeable aura, and then, he punched the empty air above with all his six fists at once!


    "[Six Demonic Stars]!"


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!


    "Ungh?!"


    Erdrich was incapable of evading the blows, and as he tried to intercept them and block them with his own attacks, they were already hitting his entire body, explosive shockwaves crushed his bones in mere instants!


    "[Frost Dragon''s Scale Shield]!"


    CRAAAASH!


    A huge barrier made out of frost dragon scales appeared around Erdrich, as Elfriedden stepped in front of him. The Demon Lord''s blows were able to break through the barrier, only for them to get trapped in a frost aura, freezing over.


    "My hands froze?!"


    The Demon quickly stepped back, ncing at Elfriedden with slightly serious eyes, but then smiling again, as his demonic mes melted the ice on his hands.


    "Well, I guess I am indeed fighting against two guys! Can''t do all things rxed, can''t I?" Heughed.


    "Erdrich, are you alright?" Elfriedden asked.


    "I''ll be fine." Erdrich groaned, as he quickly stood up, his Demonic Energy fluctuated around his body and allowed him to quickly recover things such as broken bones with ease. "More importantly, your ice¡­"


    "After hitting Rank 3 it was bound to get stronger." Elfriedden smiled. "Though, that''s clearly not enough¡­"


    "You guys, what are you chatting about- Ah, my bad. I should had introduced myself first, right?" The Demon Lord smiled. "My name is Ashura. A disciple of the Demonic Fist Sect within Hell. I came here by the orders of my Lord, the Archdemon Satan, nice to meet you."


    "Heh, a demon like you is trying to talk like a civilized person, even using our ownnguage. What a joke." Laughed Elfriedden, mocking Ashura, his spear glowed bright blue as his armor and shield emanatedrge quantities of spiritual energy.


    "Well, unlike the small fry I am quite smart. Learning your stupidnguage is of no problem to us." Laughed Ashura. "Especially when we eat a few of your people''s brains, the information just rushes into your minds so easily!"


    "What?" Erdrich and Elfriedden quickly grew pissed off the moment the Demon Lord said that.


    "Oh? Are you finally a bit more pissed off?" Ashuraughed. "Come on, bring it on! The only way for me to advance my technique further and develop new abilities is by fighting powerful foes. Attack me with everything you''ve got!"


    Ashura''s Demonic Energy permeated his bodypletely, dancing like rivers of red crimson ethereal light. His fists were reinforced with such energy, as his veins could be seen below his muscr arms.


    "Come!" Heughed.


    FLASH! FLASH!


    Both Elfriedden and Erdrich were easy to provoke and piss off, after hearing that monster ate the brains of innocents, they couldn''t let him get away with it!


    "[Frost Blizzard Spear]! [Frost Dragon''s Wrath]!"


    Elfriedden unleashed a barrage of powerful spear attacks bybining them with his Frost Dragon Aura and Spiritual Frost Soul Skills, further enhancing his stats and offense.


    The shape of a ferocious Frost Dragon surged from thebined Auras of his Weaponized Spirits fusing with his own Auras, each strike left Ashura''s body half frozen!


    CRASH! CRASH! CRASH! CRAAASH!


    "Hahahah! It really stings!" Laughed Ashura. "Not bad! However¡­ [Demonic Eruption]!"


    TRUUUUUUMMMM¡­!


    Ashura''s entire body erupted with an explosion of Demonic mes and his own Demonic Aura. Elfriedden quickly noticed this demon didn''t only wield Demonic Energy, however! There were immense amounts of Ki mixed in!


    "Urgh! This immense heat¡­!" Elfriedden felt his ice melting instantly as he resisted the mighty eruption of demonic power with his shield. "To think Demons can also wield Ki!"


    Although they could not produce things like Mana naturally, Demons did had Ki, any living being had it, in fact. And the Demonic Fist Sect where Ashura came from was one of the most infamous within the Layer of Wrath, where Satan governed.


    Among all the Layers of Hell, thisnd was the most chaotic, where battles and bloodshed were even moremon than in the otheryers! There were also many sects that had strong enmities against one another.


    In such sects, teaching Ki Maniption was a normative, talented demons with powerful lineages would be recruited and taught these abilities,bining both Ki and Demonic Energy to attain tremendous power.


    And Ashura was one of their geniuses, sent here by Satan to keep his territory safe from being overrun by humans if things were to change.


    "Hahahaha! What''s wrong?! Are you getting tired now?! I haven''t even punched you yet!" Ashuraughed, enjoying the exhration of battle.


    However, Erdrich jumped towards Ashura from behind, as Elfriedden distracted him, just as they nned!


    "[Heavenly Demon Battle Arts]: [Mountain-Crushing Demonic Fist]!!!"


    Erdrich''s fist suddenly grew several times bigger through the power of his Demonic Energy, Mana, Spiritual Energy, and Ki Aura, falling over the Demon Lord with mighty fury! All these energies that should be ipatible usually, were powered-up through his unique skill [Energy Fusion]!


    BAAAAAAAMMMMM¡­!


    "UGH?! GRUAAAH!"


    Ashura could simply not believe it! The gigantic fist summoned by Erdrich crushed him into the ground, pushing him to his limits as his entire body trembled, the mighty of Erdrich plus Elfriedden''s frost weakening him¡­ It all came together!


    CRAAAAAASSSH!


    "Ugh¡­!"


    Ashura vomited a mouthful of blood, smiling as his six eyes glowed bright red! Quickly standing back up, his Aura exploding with excitement.


    "Not bad! NOT BAD AT ALL! HAHAHAHA!"


    FLAAASH!


    Without even groaning in agony, he rushed back towards Erdrich, both fighters shed against one another, their enormous, muscr arms generating huge shockwaves through their powerful blows!


    BOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOM!


    -----

 Chapter 752 Asuras Wrath

    Chapter 752 Asura''s Wrath


    -----


    Elfriedden nced at the fight while holding his own breath, having a hard time fathoming the true might of Erdrich to go toe-to-toe against a Demon Lord! Certainly, that Rank Up he had recently had a lot to do with that, as he had reached Rank 3 and held a Four-Star Talent.


    "[Heavenly Demon Battle Arts]: [Asura''s Wrath]"


    TRUUUMMM¡­!


    His aura suddenly transformed, resembling a demonic yet majestic multi-armed red skinned demon, covered on golden essories and bulging with enormous muscles, his furious demonic eyes red down at Ashura, as dozens of enormous fists pummeled down on him all at once!


    CRAASH! CRAASH! CRAAASH! BOOOOMMM!!!


    Each fist generated a huge explosion of demonic mes, as Ashura was being taken aback by the might that the Cambion had achieved in these few years since his birth.


    "The Cambion¡­ You sure are something unique!" Ashuraughed, tanking the hits that had Gryphinton screaming in agony back then. "And we have simr abilities too! Is this fate?! Let''s see if you can do something like this though! [Six Infernal Stars]!"


    His six arms shone with demonic light, as he intercepted Erdrich''s Asura''s Wrath Rampage on his own, their fists shing against one another as ground below kept shattering and opening before the enormous quantities of energy exploding everywhere.


    "HAH! [Benevolent Demon''s Stance]!"


    Ashura hit the floor with his foot, suddenly changing the stance he was holding, his movements became precise and at the same time, refined and fast! His fists red with mes.


    "Huh?!"


    Erdrich suddenly felt taken aback, his perception was somehow being yed with, as he could not follow what Ashura was doing anymore.


    "[Demonic Fist of Judgement]!"


    All six of his fists moved at the same time, generating a gigantic fist made out of Ashura''s aura, hitting Erdrich before he could even respond to this massive attack!


    BOOOOOOMMMM!!!


    "A-ARRGH¡­!"


    Erdrich was thrown away like a ragdoll, his bones once more breaking easily before the might of Ashura''s martial arts, which seemed to easily overpower his!


    However, in this very moment when the Demon Lord set all his attention to attack Erdrich, Elfriedden sneaked behind him, his frost spear overflowing with Mana and Spiritual Energy.


    "[Frost Dragon''s Ascent]!"


    CRAAAAAASSSSH!!!


    "W-What?!"


    Ashura waspletely concentrated on fighting Erdrich, lowering his guard enough for Elfriedden to piece his back and freeze arge area of his insides, making sure to deal as much damage as possible!


    "ROOOAARRR!"


    The illusion of a roaring frost dragon made out of Elfriedden''s Spiritual Energy erupted, engulfing Ashura''s entire body and lifting him off the ground.


    BOOOOOOMMMM!!!


    "ARRGGHHH¡­!"


    The Frost Explosion ended freezing most of the Demon''s entire body, as he quickly fell into the ground, his ice shattered into pieces, revealing his heavily wounded body.


    "Oi, you''re getting in the way, bastard¡­" Ashura seemed pissed off that he was interrupted in such a moment.


    "I''m sorry, but this is not just a fight between friends, I would like to remind you that we are trying to kill you, Ashura." Elfriedden smiled.


    "Hah¡­!" Ashura slowly stood up, regenerating most of his wounds, except the area where Elfriedden''s spear had pierced, that ce still kept itself frozen, and slowly consuming Ashura''s vitality.


    He couldn''t regenerate it no matter how hard he tried! The Spiritual Elemental Particles left behind were inhibiting the flow of Demonic Energy, just in the same way that Demonic Energy could do stop the regeneration of a human''s body, or even rot their wounds easily.


    "You''re one handful, eh? But fine, you''re right! [Demonic Rampage]!"


    FLAAASH!


    Ashura reached Elfriedden in a split of a second, his fists hitting his body countless times!


    CRASH! CRASH! CRAAASH!


    However, Elfriedden swiftly defended by generating countlessyers of frost dragon scale barriers using his Spirit Shield, while spiritual frozen threads emerged out of his hands, attempting to wrap them around one of his arms and stopping that arm from hitting!


    "You think mere threads can cut my skin?!" Laughed Ashura, his muscles and skin easily defending against the threads that Elfriedden could wield, which were not rted to his spirit threads.


    "No, but they can do this." Elfriedden''s eyes shone bright blue, as the many threadsing out of his own armor, which were actually part of his spirit wrapped around more of Ashura''s arms, stopping his movements.


    "Wha¡­?! You can use both forms of your spirit at once?!" Ashura knew a bit about this world''s human spirits, but he had never seen one do this!


    "Talentless people like me make do with what we can." Elfriedden said. "Once I got the grasp of Weaponization, Partial Weaponization wasn''t so hard."


    Partial Weaponization! The ability to transform a spirit into their Weapon/Armor form only partially, holding half of both forms abilities together! It wasn''t as strong, but it surely had some utility if they could be used by someone smart enough.


    FLAAASH!


    The threads quickly started seeping more and more frost energy into Ashura''s three arms, while the other three kept pummeling Elfriedden''s shield, which were his gloves into their Weaponized form, cracks were already beginning to spread across its surface.


    "Hah, you''re trying to freeze my arms, you foolish rascal!" Laughed Ashura. "That will not work a second time! [Infernal Demon Eruption]!"


    TRUUUUUUMMM¡­!


    Ashura furiously unleashed the heat of his entire body out, a shockwave of pure demonic mes hit Elfriedden, throwing him away. His threads melted instantly and so was the ice covering Ashura''s arms!


    "Urgh¡­!" Elfriedden hit the floor, his armor partially softening the damage, but he still ended vomiting a mouthful of blood.


    "Hahaha, you''re too weak. Were you just buying time, kid?" Laughed Ashura. "Now- Huh?"


    Suddenly, he felt a slight freezing sensation on his stomach, ncing there to find an Ice Knife made through the Ice Tools Creation Skill, piercing his stomach, and reaching deep into his internal organs, freezing them slowly!


    "Tch!"


    Ashura furiously took it off, but no matter how hard he tried, the frost wasn''t going anywhere, his mes could not easily burn it when it was inside of his own body, lingering like a curse.


    "That''s two now¡­" Elfriedden smiled defiantly back at the Demon Lord, resting over the floor with one of his arms broken. "Hah¡­"


    "YOU BASTARD!"


    Ashura lost hisposure, rushing towards Elfriedden to smash his head into smithereens!


    CRAAAAASSSH!


    However, Erdrich was back up once more, stopping him!


    "You?!"


    "Thanks for buying me time, Elfriedden."


    -----

 Chapter 753 Ashuras Defeat

    Chapter 753 Ashura''s Defeat


    -----


    "Hah?! You''re back?! Well, why should that even matter?!" Laughed Ashura, his powers beginning to rise constantly as he started biting on a red jewel. "I''m tired of ying around with KIDS!"


    His entire body erupted with Demonic mes, as his size started increasing, from the normal human-sized body he held, slowly, it started to grow alongside his muscles!


    Ashura''s fists became like zing meteors, constantly hitting Erdrich with even more strength, breaking his arm bones constantly as he forcefully regenerated them.


    BOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOM!


    "You''re a weakling after all!" Laughed Ashura. "I''m done with ying around! I''ll use the might of my lord to CRUSH you two! And after that, I''ll attain a greater enlightenment in Martial Arts!"


    He had indeed used an Archdemon Core Fragment Shard, which was what was transforming his body into a half Giant Demon, while retaining all of his speed and strength!


    "You''re not the only one with transformations."


    Erdrich''s eyes red! This entire time, he had not even once used his [ursed Seven Layered Demon Transformation] Skill, wanting to see what the limits of his Human body were, and they were quite amazing at this stage.


    But his true power would only emerge once his white skin slowly started to be covered by tattoos resembling red mes. As horns grew on his forehead and as his hair became white, growing longer beneath his back, while his body size grew several times over, his enormous arms resembling huge logs.


    "[ursed Seven Layered Demon Transformation: First Layer of Envy]"


    "You can transform?! So this is the power of a Cambion!"


    Ashura felt somehow fascinated, a smile surged on his gigantic head, as his enormous fists pummeled down towards Erdrich all at once! However, Erdrich, despite being much smaller at only three meters tall while Ashura was over ten now, did not falter.


    "[Demonic Infernal Fists]! [Six Infernal Stars]!"


    All six of the Demon Lord''s fists red with demonic mes, resembling falling meteors, stars themselves, shing over Erdrich all at once!


    "[Heavenly Demon Battle Arts]: [One Step From Heaven]!"


    However, Erdrich retaliated with a technique Ashura had never seen before, with a single, powerful kick, the six arms about to crush him were crushed instead by an invisible, heavenly demonic energy!


    BAAAAAAAMMM!!!


    "W-What?! Invisible energy?!"


    Ashura''s eyes opened wide as he felt all six of his arms breaking! He couldn''t believe it; he couldn''t understand it! He couldn''t fathom it!


    "This is the teachings ke has taught me, the philosophy of demons even more frightening than you guys, from a world where might makes right, a world once named Murim." Erdrich smiled. "Compared to theirs¡­ Your Martial Arts feel like feeble little games! [Heavenly Demon Battle Arts]: [Demonic Dragon''s Descent]!"


    His two fistsbined together into a single, ethereal fist, punching Ashura''s head, the dragon''s attack then exploded, as a demonic dragon made of energy engulfed Ashura''s body, pushing him down!


    BOOOOOOMMMM!!!


    "T-This power¡­! I''ve never seen such¡­ evolved martial arts before!" Ashura screamed, hitting the floor. "(B-But what''s with his strength?! He transformed and now he''s my equal?! That''s bullshit! That''s- Ah!)"


    However, when he realized, it was a bit toote¡­ Elfriedden''s wounds were still there, slowly freezing his insides, even after transforming, they persisted!


    "Y-Your attacks¡­!" The Demon Lord nced at Elfriedden, which was flying in the skies with dragon wings acquired from Draco''s Buff Card. "Howe this is possible?! To harm me to this level¡­"


    "Why should I tell you?" Elfrieddenughed. "[Frost Tools Creation: Skadi''s Armory]!"


    FLASH! FLASH! FLASH! FLASH! FLASH!


    Suddenly, hundreds of weapons made of ice emerged around Elfriedden, falling over Ashura at the same time! His six eyes growing desperate, as he feared that each weapon could leave such a wound on his body again!


    Naturally, this wasn''t the truth, the attacks Elfriedden had done were special, utilizing the power of the [Spiritual Frost Soul] Skill which left a lingering, temporary Frost Soul Spirit that could infect wounds. This was not without sacrifices, as Elfriedden had to use small pieces of his own soul to deal this much damage.


    However, thanks to ke teaching him Soul Cultivation, which had now made his soul veryrge and strong, this wasn''t a problem, as long as he was careful.


    "RAAAAAH!"


    Ashura grew desperate, unleashing a barrage of attacks and fireballs against the rain of ice weapons, which exploded in midair before his might.


    However, this desperation made him lower his guard! When he realized he had been tricked to be afraid of ice to this extent, it was toote!


    Erdrich appeared behind him, his body covered on ck, zing demonic armor, his second Spirit! And not only that, but his third and newest Spirit appeared as well, the Sealed Demon Witch, who resembled his own mother, wrapped on ck and red chains while having her eyes covered by a ck bandage.


    Erdrich didn''t knew if it was really her, but he could feel her strength with him¡­ He could feel her might within his own body, her magical powers!


    "[Magic-Sealing Demonic Chains]!"


    Instead of punching Ashura, he unleashed dozens of chains out of thin air, wrapping his many arms and stopping his movements!


    "Chains?!"


    Ashura started destroying them one after another, only to realize they kepting from the Spirit behind Erdrich, sealing part of his demonic energy circuits and weakening him severely!


    "You can do it, my child."


    The voice of Erdrich''s mother echoed within his heart, as the half-demon roared, rushing towards Ashura, and pummeling him with countless meteor strikes!


    "[Asura''s Wrathful Aura]! [Heavenly Demon Battle Arts]: [Heaven-Splitting Fists]!"


    BOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOM!


    "UUUUAAAARRGHH!"


    Ashura couldn''t defend against him anymore, his entire body being distorted and deformed with each of Erdrich''s ferocious strikes, as his red skin quickly turned deep ck, like charcoal, his secondyer strengthening his powers even further!


    "T-This can''t be¡­! I CANNOT ACCEPT THISSSS!"


    Ashura screamed, freeing himself from all the chains with an eruption of demonic mes. His fists hit Erdrich back, only for them to be covered on his own blood, as his zing demonic armor was¡­ too hard!


    "W-Wha¡­?!"


    And not only that, even as the chains were broken, several ice knives and spears were incrusted on his shoulders, weakening him even further!


    "T-This¡­!"


    Ashura tried to fight back, but Erdrich was already above him, descending and crushing him.


    "[Heavenly Demon Battle Arts]: [Heavenly Step]!"


    CRAAAAAAASSSSSSHHH!!!


    Erdrich''s Heavenly Step was his strongest technique so far, concentrating all the concepts of Martial Arts he had learned, andbining them together with the many energies he could manipte andbine!


    It felt strange, but it was as if a demon had acquired the might of heaven itself, making its wrath descend from above, crushing his foe mercilessly.


    Already having been weakened so much by the chains and Elfriedden''s powerful ice magic, Ashura could simply do nothing! His magic and his techniques were allpletely overpowered by these two younglings.


    "T-This¡­ hah¡­ hahah¡­! It was fun¡­!"


    However, instead of going off with bitterness, he smiled even on hisst moments, amazed by the power of humans, as his soul was vaporized and his body left into pieces.


    "Hahh¡­ I''m exhausted¡­"


    Elfriedden dropped over the ground exhausted, while Erdrich slowly went back to his human form, ncing at his third spirit silently.


    "I wonder¡­ if it was really you, or just my own mind ying tricks on me¡­" He looked into the skies; his fists covered on blood. "I miss you, mom¡­"


    -----

 Chapter 754 Chris And Erics Teamwork

    Chapter 754 Chris And Eric''s Teamwork


    -----


    Meanwhile, in another side of the battlefield, a huge elephant-like Demon serving Satan as well fought against Chris.


    The young me wizard seemed to hold the advantage at first, but the overwhelming physique, regeneration, strength, and speed of Ganesh were quickly catching up to him.


    Until the point Chris could not take care of him anymore, his magic was strong, but Ganesh'' magic resistance ended being quite high himself.


    "What''s wrong? Are you getting tired already?" Laughed Ganesh. "I''ll end this quickly, pitiful child. And then I will feast in your flesh and bones, I promise you that I will not waste a single piece of your delicious body! I''ll devour it all! Bwahahaha!"


    Ganesh rushed towards Chris, the young man gritting his teeth. He had grown strong, but he knew that he couldn''t take a Demon Lord alone.


    So he only had to buy time until reinforcements arrived.


    And they did.


    "[Yggdrasil''s Spirit Arrow]!"


    The voice of an old childhood friend echoed behind Chris, apanied by a rain of spiritual arrows descending from the skies, bombarding Ganesh with countless explosions of Spiritual Light!


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOOM!


    Each explosion generated a Spirit Tree and many vines to grow as well, entangling Ganesh''s enormous body. His Scarlet Gold Axes cleaved the wood and vines, but they kept growing, draining his Ki and Demonic Energy slowly!


    "GRAAAH! What sort of trickery is this?!" Ganesh screamed, ncing at the figure that had appeared behind Chris.


    It was a young man with short blonde hair and sharp, emerald eyes, wearing sses, and covered on an armor made of spirit wood, his blonde hair slowly turned green, as he grew two antlers made of wood and leaves.


    On his hand, he wielded a huge Weapon Spirit, his newest addition to his team, a powerful Bow that had apanied him for a while, which identally became his third spirit, and ended bing one of his greatest assets now, the Yggdrasil''s Wind Bow!


    "Eric!" Chris couldn''t help but smile as he saw his old friend appear.


    Both were friends even before ke or Erika appeared in their lives, and had been inseparable ever since¡­ Eric had been called to go aid Chris, and he didn''t even doubting for his friend''s help.


    Alberta decided to support the Familiars with her small Golem Army and her buff skills as a cksmith, reforging the weapons the Orcs and Grizzlies were wielding, of course, not without enchanting her boyfriend''s bow, giving even the magic arrows it fired an even stronger effect and power.


    This was perhaps the reason why Ganesh was so overwhelmed by its spontaneous growth, the elephant-like demon having already retreated a few steps to nce at the new guest that had arrived.


    "Chris, looks like I made it in time." Eric smiled, quickly materializing ten more Spiritual Arrows around his Magic Spirit Bow.


    "Yeah, you almost were a bit toote, bro!" Chrisughed, patting his friend''s back. "Where''s Alberta though?!"


    "She decided to stay behind, helping our army deal with the new threats." Said Eric. "Alberta told me that¡­ She trusted my strength, and that with me, it was more than enough."


    "Hah¡­ HAHAHAHA!" Ganesh started tough. "How amusing! Are you two good friends?! This will only make things more interesting as I cleave you two into pieces and eat you alive! Ahhh, but what a disappointment, at the very least I expected an adult, but it''s just another child again¡­ Well, you''ll be a good sd."


    FLAAASH!


    The elephant instantly rushed towards Eric with his swift speed and incredible strength, only for Eric to quickly leap into the skies, flying with dragon-like wings he created through Draco''s Buff Card, and firing ten arrows at once to the Demon Lord.


    "[Spirit Wind Arrows]!"


    His arrows suddenly became pure spiraling spiritual winds, rushing towards Ganesh all at once. The elephant started spinning his body around, trying to destroy the arrows by slicing them.


    However, that didn''t worked. The arrows swiftly evaded his attacks, moving on their own, until they hit the areas of his body which he couldn''t protect. His eyes were pierced, his trunk, shoulders, and between his two legs!


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOOM!


    "GRUUUAAARGH¡­!"


    Ganesh couldn''t predict such unpredictable attacks, and already being half-charred by Chris didn''t worked either! Despite not realizing it, Chris mes had weakened his body strength and demonic energy conductivity, mostly thanks to his newest Spirit, the Will-o-Wisp Cat.


    BAAAAAAMMM!!!


    "Urgh¡­!" Ganesh groaned. "Hahhh¡­ W-What was that?! Howe¡­ ARGH! My wounds had yet to regenerate?!"


    His elephant-faced head suddenly started to panic, he finally realized that the mes Chris burned him with held a slight amount of¡­ Phantasmal mes!


    Such mes not only burned flesh, but also his soul, as his soul burned and was wounded, his total power as a Demon would also decrease, after all, their major method of cultivation and growth was by devouring Souls of Demons and other living beings.


    "Looks like you''re getting tired!" Chrisughed.


    "Let''s finish him off quickly!" Eric roared.


    The two were different from before, when they fought Gryphinton and Kong. After having gained so much EXP, they reached their max level, their stats skyrocketed, and they even Ranked Up to Three-Star Talents and Rank 3 Spirit Orbs.


    Perhaps alone they wouldn''t be able to defeat a Demon Lord, but if theybined their strength, the two of them¡­ Could!


    "[Spirit Weaponization: Greater Volcanic Smander]!"


    Chris quickly transformed his evolved Smander into a huge zing volcanic axe, unleashing a mighty aura of fire and heat, and quickly swinging it against Ganesh!


    "You''re not the only one with an Axe! [Fire Weapon Creation]!"


    Not only that, but Chris used his newest Skill, Fire Weapon Creation, to summon a huge zing Shield, which he used to intercept Ganesh''s desperate attacks!


    CLASH! CLASH! CLASH! CRAAASH!


    Ganesh still held the advantage with his two powerful battle axes and his strength as a demon lord, but Chris constantly made his third spirit, the Will-o-Wisp Cat, to spread Phantasmal Spirit mes using his Skill of the same name over the demon and his axe!


    Each strike of his Volcanic Smander''s zing Axe spread out both Dragon mes, Spirit mes, and Phantasmal mes, theirbined burning power weakening the Demon Lordpletely.


    And that''s without even considering Eric, who sneaked behind!


    "[Spirit Wind Arrows]! [Windswept des]!"


    -----

 Chapter 755 Another Demon Lord Bites The Dust

    Chapter 755 Another Demon Lord Bites The Dust


    -----


    "[Spirit Wind Arrows]! [Windswept des]!"


    Eric charged his Spirit Bow with the power of his Spiritual Energy, Ki, and Mana at the same time, firing over a dozen Spirit Wind Arrows and then three huge des made of wind, the new element he unlocked through his new spirit.


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOOM!


    The arrows bombarded Ganesh with countless explosions, while the three wind des sliced through his body, leaving evenrger wounds! And all that while Chris unleashed his mes and powerful axe strikes.


    "AAAARRGGHHH¡­! Y-YOU PETULANT KIDS!"


    In a fit of utter rage and madness, Ganesh bit through a small red jewel, an Archdemon Core Fragment Shard, devouring it and absorbing its powers.


    "Lord Satan¡­! Give me strength!"


    FLAAAAASH!


    A huge shockwave of Demonic Energy erupted from his huge body, pushing both Chris and Eric away, their Spiritual Barriers barely protected them from the enormous power surging from him.


    "This bastard''s eating another of those damn jewels!" Chris roared.


    "It looks like every single Demon Lord is in the possession of one." Eric analyzed.


    "Hahaha¡­. HAHAHAHA! Admire my new form, pitiful mortals!"


    Ganeshughed, now having grown asrge as ten meters, with a second pair of muscr arms, and apanied by two more Battle Axes, his body was covered on a golden armor, and his appearance had changed from an elephant-like beast demon to more like a huge mammoth.


    FLAAASH!


    With even wasting a second, the giant mammoth-like demon overlord leaped into battle, swinging his four gigantic battle axes against his opponents!


    CRAASH! CRAASH! CRAASH! CRAASH!


    The blows were mighty and fast, Chris and Eric were pushed to their limits, having to use most of their energies into evading and escaping from the lethal attacks!


    "Chris! I''ll create an opportunity!" Eric said, suddenly stepping forwards!


    "W-What?! Oi, Eric!" Chris cried, trying to stop his friend. "(What is he talking about?! He''s never been this bold before! Is having a girlfriend making him too arrogant?!)"


    "Trust me!" Eric smiled back at his friend.


    "F-Fine!" Chris sighed, as he started spreading his mes everywhere, setting up the "materials" for much stronger spells.


    "You dare face me head-on, pathetic ss-wearing kid?!" Ganeshughed. "PITIFUL!"


    His four axes reached Eric, as his barriers shattered and his entire body was¡­ cleaved into pieces! His body parts flew into the air horrendously, Chris eyes opened wide in shock!


    CLASH! CLASH! CLASH! CLAAASH!


    "ERIC!!!"


    "Pppfff¡­! HAAHAHAA! That was IT?! How pathetic! Humans are so frail, I swear." Ganeshughed, ring at Chris. "Whatever ns you have, they''re no longer possible! Give it up and fight me! I''ll go easy on you!"


    Ganesh was about to crush Chris with his four gigantic axes, only to feel his legs being wrapped by countless roots and vines, red colored vines with sharp spines piercing his flesh, and draining his blood!


    "W-What¡­?!"


    Ganesh ended tripping over the floor, his huge body making it even worse as he felt his bones shacking in pain.


    "ARGH!"


    In just a few seconds, he found out the origin of all the nts wrapping around his legs! It was Eric! He had not died; Ganesh couldn''t believe he had not realized this fact.


    After all, the body he cut down to pieces was nothing but an empty husk of wood. Eric true body had moved underground by fusing with his two nt Spirits, the [Scarlet Emerald Rose Vines] and the [Yggdrasil''s Treant] andbining this with his [Spirit Tree Magic] and the [Nature Fusion] [nt Assimtion] Skills!


    He had used his Spirit Tree Magic to summon Spirit Tree roots underground, fuse with them and be even more of a nt-like being, leaving behind a bait for Ganesh, only for him to strike back through underground.


    "At first I was wondering how I could use my Skills and Abilities to their fullest potential¡­" Eric said, appearing through the wood and branches anew. "Until ke told me that I was not even using my strengthpletely. The Unique Power of Druids to turn into nts¡­ I''ll show you what we can do. And why we are known as Immortals in some areas of the world."


    "Y-YOUUU¡­!" Ganesh screamed. "LET GO OF ME!"


    As long as Eric had Mana and Spiritual Energy, he could virtually keep regrowing himself and detaching parts of his own body, bing a half-spirit and half-nt being through fusing with his nt-type spirits.


    Ganesh panicked, feeling his energies and blood being drained by Eric''s body, as he swung his axe and cut them down one after another, only for a gigantic wooden fist to emerge from the underground, and then a second, a third, and a fourth!


    "[Yggdrasil''s Golem Fists]!"


    BOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOM!


    "UUUAARGH!"


    Ganesh barely held on using is four Axes at the same time, cleaving the fists made of wood as they came, but they were incessant, and to top it all, he had to also watch out for the vines draining his blood that would emerge from underground now and then.


    "[Spirit Wood Spears]!"


    CLASH! CLASH! CLASH! CLAAASH!


    Dozens of spears made of wood emerged from underground, piercing Ganesh''s body and pushing him to his limits¡­ However, Eric''s MP pool was already on its limits as well.


    "Y-YOU DAMN CHILD!"


    Ganesh roared, imbuing all his Demonic Energy into his four Battle Axes, and then cleaving apart everything in front of him with a furious berserk charge!


    CRAAAAASSSH!


    "Dammit!"


    Eric quickly emerged out of the underground, covered on an armor of Yggdrasil as he pointed his bow at the furious mammoth-like demon, firing countless Spirit and Wind Arrows at him, hisst resort!


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!


    "HAH! That''s not going to cut it anymore¡­!" Ganeshughed. "Hahhhh¡­ I''LL KILL YOUUU!"


    Still tired, but driven to fight with sheer madness, Ganesh rushed towards Chris¡­ However, in that very moment, an intense heat emerged from the skies.


    All the mes Chris had spread and created gathered together into a single sphere of pure mes.


    "Eric, get out of there! This is my ultimate!" Chris roared.


    "Chris, you did it!" Eric smiled, quickly rushing underground.


    Ganesh failed to grab him, seconds before a gigantic sphere of Dragon, Spiritual, and Phantasmal mes engulfed him into a huge explosion.


    "T-This can''t be¡­!" Ganesh couldn''t believe it.


    "[Nine-Tailed Fox Spirit Magic: Descending Spiritual Sun]!


    BOOOOOOMMMMMM¡­!


    The zing explosion divided the mes into thousands of fox spirits, devouring Ganesh''s body, and soul!


    -----

 Chapter 756 One-Sided Beat Down

    Chapter 756 One-Sided Beat Down


    -----


    Sarauviel''s eyes opened wide as he saw ke block his powerful physical blow with ease, using only his Spear. After fusing with his Demonic Spirit, he could be as strong as Rank 6 Spirit Masters, yet he had his attack blocked so easily?!


    "Y-You¡­!" Sarauviel gritted his teeth, his entire body began to distort and transform, as a second pair of arms emerged above his shoulders, pummeling ke with several meteoric punches.


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!


    "Hmph."


    ke easily blocked the fist attacks with his spear as he made it spin, forming some sort of barrier with it alone. The Demonic Human, however, smiled, his shadows suddenly spreading below him, as countless red eyes opened amidst the shadows.


    "[Demonic Shadows]!"


    FLUOOOSH!


    The shadows flickered, in an instant, countless heads, eyes, and jaws emerged below ke, his sharp red eyes not feeling surprised at all, as he smiled back at the confident Sarauviel.


    "What a cheap copy."


    SLAAASH!


    With a single swing of his spear, the Demonic Shadows were instantly devoured by Gluttony! The entire demonic energy was also swallowed, the spear emanated a beastly aura, something that Sarauviel had not expected!


    "Your spear can do that?!"


    As the Demonic Human wondered that, for a split of a second, his guard was lowered, giving Eleanora the perfect time to strike, appearing right behind Sarauviel and pointing her own spear at him.


    "HAH! As if I would fall for that!"


    Sarauviel smiled, swinging all of his tentacle-like arms at Eleanora by twisting his entire body towards her an unnatural way, smashing her body into smithereens!


    CRASH! CRASH! CRAAASH!


    POOF!


    However, Eleanora simply disappeared into smoke, she was an Illusion all along!


    "What?!"


    It was toote for him to notice that Eleanora was right below his shadows, emerging from within them and grabbing his legs, two sharp Katanas made out of her own hardened blood and covered on demonic dragon mes sliced through them!


    "[Katana Technique]: [Sun-Splitting Sword]!"


    SLAAAAAAASSSSSH!!!


    "Ugh?! W-Wha¡­?! ARGH!"


    Sarauviel had his two legs sliced off and burned into ashes in a mere instant, the desperate Demonic Human stepped back, his entire body sweating coldly as he gritted his teeth in surprise and horror!


    However, a wicked smile surged on his lips, as he suddenly regrew his two legs in a split of a second, his new legs made out of Miasmic Demonic Energy that materialized into flesh!


    "Hahaha! Do you truly think you can defeat me like that?! With my Spirit Fusion, I am not short from being an immortal myself." Sarauvielughed. "Do you understand it now?! The power of Demons is beyond your imagination! They will be our new rulers, and no matter how hard you try to fight against them, you simply can''t-"


    "Shut the fuck up."


    FLAAASH!


    ke reached Sarauviel at a super sonic speed, expanding his Demonic Arm into a gigantic, monstrous fleshy armposed of countless tendrils stitched together, covered on a ck armor-like insect exoskeleton, and then crushing his face into the ground.


    "(H-He has a Demonic Arm?! What?! But he''s no cultist!)"


    CRAAAAAASSSSH!


    Sarauviel felt his very soul gaining several cracks in that very moment, as most of his bones shattered, and he felt his internal organs bursting from the inside.


    "U-Urgh¡­! Y-YOU BASTARD!"


    With a furious roar, the Demonic Human channeled the powers of his single Demonic Spirit into his body even more than before, his wounds were instantly healed, as his body grew several tentacles with sharp jaws on them, trying to trap ke with them, entangling his Demonic Arm!


    "Hoh?"


    ke seemed surprised, as Sarauviel smiled wickedly, thinking he finally got him! His tentacles were not just for show, they had the power to drain energy of whatever they touched.


    "My energy is being drained? Interesting Ability." ke smiled. "It will make a nice addition to my collection."


    "Collection¡­?!"


    "[Swarming Gluttony]"


    FLUOOOSH!


    And right in front of the stupefied eyes of Sarauviel, ke''s Demonic Arm suddenly transformed into a mass of countless jaws and tentacles, devouring his own tendrils with ease, and tearing apart his flesh!


    "GRYYYAAAAH!"


    With a scream of agony, the Demonic Human pulled back his half-eaten arm, only for ke''s handgun to shoot at his face several times in that frame of time!


    BANG! BANG! BANG!


    "URGH¡­! AAGH¡­!"


    His skull was pierced a couple of times, his brain bleeding out and sttering into pieces, yet countless eyes and miasma surged from his wounds, regenerating them back!


    FLASH! FLASH! FLASH! FLASH!


    And as Sarauviel was trying to assess what was happening and respond ordingly, Eleanora appeared around him, divided into dozens of Illusion Clones, and attacking with both Shuriken made of Draconic Scarlet mes, Katana zing shes, and Piercing Spear Strikes!


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!


    All the attacks that fell over his body at once felt like countless explosions bombarding his whole body. The Demonic Human''s flesh and bones burned and turned into ashes, yet he kept regenerating. The more he was torn to shreds and regenerated, the more monstrous his appearance grew!


    "GRAAAAAH!"


    With a furious roar, a monstrous mass of pulsating flesh and tendrils of miasma, covered by eyes and tentacle emerged, thrashing his surroundings furiously with his giant legs and arms.


    CRASH! CRASH! CRASH! CRAAASH!


    ke and Eleanora stepped back to see the beast reveal his true form, their eyes glowing with red light with even more excitement to see how far this monster could go.


    "It has been a while since I''ve fought a monster like you¡­ I might as well show you the true difference between the two of us, you damn brat!"


    Sarauviel screamed to the heavens as his enormous arms, made out of countless interconnected fleshy tendrils, eyes, and tentacles, materialized a huge ck sword made of demonic mes.


    "Not bad. You''re not using an Archdemon Core Shard, that''s interesting." ke pointed out, his Demonic Arm suddenly beginning to shapeshift as he did.


    "Archdemon Core Shard?! Why would I need that petty thing?! I am strong as I am! I''ve already not only devoured hundreds of human souls, but countless of demons! If you think you could ever defeat someone as powerful as me, you''re sorely mistaken-"


    "Your pride will be your demise. [Infernal Demonic mes Authority]! [Gluttony Authority]!" ke interrupted his words as he called forth both of his Authorities, merging them together.


    "H-Huh?!"


    "[Infernal Demonic mes of Gluttony]"


    FLUOOOOSH!


    -----

 Chapter 757 [Pseudo Archdemon Beast Armor Set]

    Chapter 757 [Pseudo Archdemon Beast Armor Set]


    -----


    "Dark red mes¡­?! And this pressure¡­!" Sarauviel muttered. "No! It shouldn''t matter whatever mes he uses! I am clearly much stronger! I''ve absorbed all these souls, all these demons¡­!"


    The Demonic Human immersed himself on his own thoughts, praising himself and thinking of this mere child who the demons called a "reincarnation of a terrible enemy" as nothing but a pitiful, slightly stronger human.


    "Your mere mes have no power against my [Abyssal Fire Sword], a Soul Weapon gifted to me by Lord Satan himself!"


    With a furious and monstrous swing, Sarauviel shed through the mes ke had conjured with ease! The dark red fire instantly dissipated as if it was nothing.


    He was right! They were nothing at all!


    CRAAAAASSSSH!!!


    The impact of his sword reached ke, blowing him into the floor with a tremendous explosive strike, the ground below shattered into pieces, the earth shook with rampaging fury!


    "Hahaha¡­! PATHETIC! TRULY PITIFUL!"


    As the Demonic Humanughed, Eleanora''s presence emerged behind him, her powers amassing together as once within her entire body, as she erupted with severalbined Auras.


    "You''re the pathetic and pitiful one, fool."


    Eleanora flew towards the Sarauviel, her entire body exuding the power of herbined attributes as dozens of red chains wrapped around his arms and body!


    "Chains?! Hah, as if- Ungh?!"


    However, the Demonic Human quickly realized they weren''t simple chains, they were her newest Skill, [Blood Demon Chains of Magic Sealing]! Sarauviel instantly felt his magic and demonic power being sealed to an extent.


    "This power is simr to mine?!" He thought. "No, it is much weaker! It is barely holding back my power! DIE, you pitiful Spirit!"


    SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH!


    The crazed Demonic Human swung his sword several times against Eleanora, as the draconic vampire intercepted his deadly blows with her spear alone, while countless explosive shuriken made of her Crimson re and Demonic Dragon mes constantly bombarded his entire body.


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!


    "Tch! That''s not going to work at all, you absolute fool!" Sarauvielughed, his wounds quickly regenerating with ease. "[Abyssal Sword Descent]!"


    While gathering all his power into his zing sword, a gigantic downward swing was unleashed, shing against Eleanora''s spear, and sending a few cracks through her weapon.


    CRAAAAASSSSH!!!


    "You''re pissing me off now."


    Eleanora''s eyes glowed bright red, as her entire body was beginning to be covered by ck and red scales. She activated her [Vampiric Draconification Awakening], gaining a tail,rge dragon wings, ws,rger horns, and fierce dragoness eyes!


    She opened her beautiful jaws, revealing several sharp teeth within, and unleashing a devastating st of mes through her [Scarlet re Dragon Breath] Skill!


    BOOOOOMMMM¡­!


    "URGH¡­!"


    Sarauviel resisted the burning mes, though his body was constantly burning and tearing itself apart only to regenerate back...


    "Now¡­ [Rising Dragon Ninjutsu]! [Draconic me Authority]!"


    Eleanora conjured the power of her two Skills at once,bining them into a gigantic rising dragon that surged right below Sarauviel, engulfing him into an explosion of dragon mes and pushing him into the skies!


    At the same time as this happened, Sarauviel quickly realized something was wrong¡­ Why was Eleanora, as spirit, still alive? He thought ke was dead! Wouldn''t she be dead if he was?


    And then, amidst the smoke, ke appeared, his Demonic Arm having suddenly fused with the rest of his body and armor, covering him on a fleshy ck armor of tendrils, eyes, horns, and wings.


    "What''s wrong? Feeling tired? I wanted Eleanora to have some fun as well. Sorry if that made you upset."


    "Y-YOU...! UNGH?! M-My powers¡­!"


    The mes ke had conjured were not gone either, he took a while to realize, but Sarauviel''s powers were not working as he intended either! His regeneration was much slower at his current form, and his powerful attacks weren''t as powerful either.


    And when he took a look at his own body as the mes from Eleanora''s attack dissipated, he finally realized it! He had been dancing in the palm of ke this entire time!


    "F-mes¡­! I am covered in mes?!"


    And these weren''t normal mes at all, they were deep dark red in color, and consumed his soul and energy constantly! However, the worst part was that they werepletely painless.


    The moment ke decided to conjure them and cover his body with them, he had pretty much sealed his fate, cursing him with something Sarauviel could not easily get rid of.


    "RAAAAH!"


    While screaming in panic and maddening rage, the Demonic Human fell into the ground, quickly spreading his entire fleshy body and cutting away all the parts that were zing with mes of Gluttony,pletely ignoring the two threats behind him.


    "You''re getting a bit too distracted now, for a big pile of flesh." ke smiled, reaching his back, and kicking him with all his strength, the power of his Demonic Arm having fused with his armor further brought him an incredible boost to his stats!


    CRAAAAAASSSH! RUMBLE!


    The entire body of the Demonic Human was flung into the skies, quickly falling down once more. The earth shook, as ke smiled, his Grimoire notifying of the incredible supernatural powers he had acquired.


    [You have activated the [Fusion] Skill. Temporarily, your [Vampiric Dragon Armor Set (Mythic-Grade)] has fused with your [Demonic Arm]!]


    [The power of your Dragon Armor has been further increased with the flesh of countless demons and demonic energy coursing through it, creating the [Pseudo Archdemon Beast Armor Set (Mythic+++ Grade)]!]


    [The power of the Pseudo Archdemon Beast Armor epasses your entire body with a mighty aura of Dragon Energy and Demonic Energy, enhancing your Physical Strength, Movement Speed, and Magical Power by +300%!]


    [The Bonuses will continue growing the more Demonic Energy is spent into this Armor''s temporary existence.]


    [Duration: 10 Minutes.]


    The [Fusion] Skill was a truly incredible power. And the armor now epassing ke''s body, making him resemble an Archdemon that had ascended from Hell itself, was the fruit of his hard work since he began his new life in Spiritias! The power to break through all boundaries and defeat the mightiest of foes.


    "Do you see where your arrogance has led you to, Sarauviel?"


    ke''s red eyes nced at the Demonic Human, as Sarauviel felt like his life was passing through his eyes¡­


    -----

 Chapter 758 All Bark And No Bite

    Chapter 758 All Bark And No Bite


    -----


    "S-So many Powers fused together¡­ Dragons, Demons, Spirits¡­ V-Vampires?! The entities that the Demons feared so much which they said had gone extinct¡­ They still exist within him! But how did he turned himself into one from a mere human?!"


    Sarauviel thought that as his entire body twisted as it attempted to regenerate, but even without the mes of Gluttony covering him, the chains Eleanora had ced had yet to go away!


    "These damn chains¡­!" Sarauviel screamed, his tentacles emerged like sharp metallic spikes from his body, trying to crush the chains and defend from ke and Eleanora, who fell like two crimson meteors from the sky.


    CLASH! CLASH! CLASH! CRAAASH!


    Their spears glowed with bright, vampiric, demonic, and draconic energies converging together, huge explosions of mes constantly overwhelmed the Demonic Human.


    "GRAAAAH! G-Get away from MEEE!"


    SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLAAASH!


    Sarauviel screamed in agony, desperately trying to regenerate as he swung his Abyssal me Sword with as much energy as he could, blocking some blows as explosions of dark mes emerged.


    Only for ke to easily absorb these mes, while Eleanora simply devoured them as if they were little snacks¡­ mes simply did not work on them anymore!


    Which was hrious, thinking that Fire was one of the Vampires greatest weaknesses, yet ke and Eleanora had already cultivated their bodies to the point they could devour and absorb them with ease!


    "He''s getting much slower and stupid." Eleanoraughed. "Looks like he wasn''t that big of a deal?"


    "It looks like he wasn''t that much of a prodigy, he really hyped me up for nothing." ke seemed slightly frustrated. "What a disappointment."


    "W-Who are you calling a disappointment?! YOU''RE JUST MONSTERS!"


    Sarauviel screamed his lungs out, his entire fleshy body erupted into countless shadows and demonic tendrils, attacking ke and Eleanora at the same time!


    "GRUOOHHH!"


    With a furious and monstrous, otherworldly roar, his entire body twisted and distortedpletely, not even leaving behind his normal voice anymore, as it felt like his human soul was consumed by his own demonic spirit. One of the many bacshes that overusing demonic spirits brought to demonic cultists.


    "[Shape Change], [Enhance Form], [Modify], [Fusion]!"


    FLAAAAASH!


    ke''s handgun and his own spear suddenly merged together, alongside his fleshy, demonic armor, draconic scales, and his spiritual energy. The Spear suddenly gaining a gigantic cannon on its body, while its sharp de grew longer and stronger.


    The entire new weapon overflowing with Demonic, Draconic, Vampiric, and Spiritual Energy, swirling together into an utterly chaotic aura of pure annihtion¡­


    [You have activated the [Fusion] Skill. Temporarily, your own Armor and Weapons have converged together with Blood Ki, Draconic Energy, and Demonic Energy.]


    [Thebined power of the materials have temporarily created the [Chaotic Void Spear Gun of The End: Soul Eating Gluttony (Mythic+++ Grade)]!]


    [The power of multiple energiespressed together has temporarily generated the [Chaotic Energy], increasing the Weapon''s Abilities Power and the Weapon''s Attack Power by +300%!]


    [Duration: 5 Minutes.]


    It was such an overwhelmingly strong creation that ke couldn''t even keep it stable for more than five minutes¡­ But it was more than enough!


    "Let''s try this."


    With tremendous strength granted to him through his new armor, ke imbued more and more energy into his Spear Gun, unleashing destructive piercing strikes and sts of ck and purple-colored chaos energy.


    Countless explosions filled the Demonic Human''s aberrant form, his entire body beginning to resemble Swiss cheese as it was covered by hundreds of holes!


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!


    "GRYYYAAAAHHH¡­!"


    With a scream of agony, Sarauviel attempted to gather all his strength, shaping it into a monstrous, open jaw and gathering the energy inside, unleashing a tremendous beam that could wipe out this entire city!


    TRUUUUUUMMMM¡­!


    However, Eleanora flew forwards, opening her jaws and unleashing her own Draconic Breath, shing against Sarauviel''s destructive attack, and generating an evenrger explosion across the skies!


    ck, red, purple, and blue colors spread across the skies, as the shockwave generated by the explosion made several buildings below copse into pieces.


    "Go for it, my lord!"


    "I shall!"


    ke smiled, rushing across the smoke and the countless, red-colored eye beams shing from Sarauviel''s eye-covered body as he sliced the ethereal attacks with ease, pointing his weapon into the gigantic hole epassing most of his body.


    "GRUOOOHHHH!"


    With an otherworldly roar that made the former human resemble some sort of eldritch abomination, Sarauviel attempted to attack ke as he drew closer, his tentacles constantly being sliced apart by his slicing strikes!


    SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH!


    Each of his weapon''s shes unleashed a wave of ck and purple colored chaotic energy, a destructive energy that could destroy and distort all other types of elements!


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOOM!


    As the explosions continued to spread across the aberrant Sarauviel''s body, ke pierced through his near-endless fleshy body, reaching the depths of his core, and finding his Demonic Spirit Core there.


    "Found you."


    While ignoring the constant psychic waves that tried to attack ke''s minding from all of Sarauviel''s body as hisst resort, ke smiled, striking his Demonic Spirit Core!


    CRAAAAAASSSSH!!!


    Through each crack, an eruption of ck light emerged, continuously shattering the sphere until itpletely broke into countless pieces.


    "GRUUUAAAAAAHHHHHH¡­!"


    With an even more agonizing scream than Aranthas'', Sarauviel''s very source of power was destroyed, and so was his soul, as Gluttony''s tremendous hunger could not be easily contained, ending up eating himpletely.


    BOOOOOOMMMM!!!


    The rest of his body exploded into pieces, falling like pieces of flesh and blood over the entire city. ke found this a bit troublesome, so he expanded his Aura into a giant barrier, protecting the city from the dangerous miasmic blood and demon flesh, and devouring it with his Demonic Arm before they were to infect anybody.


    "Well, that was that. For someone that called himself a "High Ranked Member", he was all bark and no bite¡­" ke sighed, his fused armor and weapon quickly going back to their normal forms.


    His Demonic Arm started pulsating uncontrobly as it absorbed Sarauviel''s powers, emanating an even more menacing Demonic Aura¡­


    "Thanks for the meal."


    -----

 Chapter 759 The First Victory Of The War

    Chapter 759 The First Victory Of The War


    -----


    (ke''s POV)


    After the defeat of all the other Demon Lords and Sarauviel, the armies of Demonic Beasts and Demon Giants lost their morale greatly, giving my army the opportunity to take them down by overwhelming them with sheer numbers and absolute skill spamming.


    Although the city ended in even more ruins than before, the demons were in thoroughly, the survivors were rescued, and a lot of EXP was given out¡­ Okay, maybe thatst part shouldn''t be as important as the survivors being fine, but well.


    Ding!


    [You and your allies have in [Low-Ranking Demons] x437, [Demonic Beasts] x112, [Demon Giant Warriors] x53, [Demon Lords: Aranthas, Ashura, Ganesh] x3, and [High Ranking Demonic Cultist: Sarauviel] x1!]


    [You earned 23.150.000 EXP!]


    [Level up!]


    [Level up!]


    [Level up!]


    [Level up!]


    [Level up!]


    [Level up!]


    [Level up!]


    [Your Level has increased from Level 0 to Level 10/100!]


    [All your Stats have increased. You gained Stat Points and Skill Points.]


    [Some of your Skills have Leveled Up.]


    [Your [Demonic Arm] has feasted on the Souls and Flesh of many strong Demons!]


    [Your [Demonic Arm] acquired the [Energy Draining Tentacles] Ability!]


    [The Large Surplus of Demonic Energy absorbed has enchanted your Body and Demonic Core.]


    [Your [Demon Core]: [Gluttonous Demon Core (Tier 3: Rank 6)] has developed to Tier 3: Rank 9!]


    [Your [Physique]: [Vampiric Blood Emperor Physique (Tier 5: Rank 8)] has developed to Tier 5: Rank 9!]


    [Your [Psyche]: [Vampiric Soul Psyche (Tier 4: Rank 7)] has developed to Tier 4: Rank 8!]


    [Your [Magic Circle]: [Abyssal Blood Circle (Tier 4: Rank 8)] has developed to Tier 4: Rank 9!]


    [All your Stats have increased even further.]


    [The [Gifted Magic Apprentice: Lv10] Skill has evolved into [Magic Genius: Lv1]!]


    -----


    [Magic Genius: Lv1]


    [Skill Proficiency: 0/10000]


    A Skill that only true Magic Geniuses can develop, and an upgraded version of Gifted Magic Apprentice. This Skill not only increases the user''s Magic Talent, but also their ability to manipte Mana and create Spells of their own. Usually a Skill that Magician Talent wielders possess.


    Increases Magic Talent, Mana Regeneration Speed, Magic Maniption, and Spell Power and Conjuration Speed by +100%, an additional +25% with each Skill Level.


    Additionally, increases Mana Points by +2000 and Intelligence by +1000 with each Skill Level.


    Current Bonus: [MP +2000] [Intelligence +1000] ACTIVE


    -----


    And right as I gained several levels and one of my Skills evolved, I felt a surge of Mana and Magic Power rushing across my entire body. It felt amazingly refreshing! I didn''t expect a Skill to suddenly Evolve out of nowhere, but they were already at Level 10, so I should had guessed it would had happened any time.


    The Bonuses are really good, +2000 MP and +1000 Intelligence permanently is huge, especially because they can be further boosted through other buffs to give me even more. t Stat Boosts are sometimes much more valuable than percentage-based ones.


    With that said and done¡­


    "ke why did you had to take down the big boss alone?! And twice!" Erika wasining at my side. "I wanted to battle it too! Not fair!"


    "I''ll have to agree with Erika this time, I also wanted to join the fight, but you two just defeated them way too quickly!" Elizabeth crossed her arms.


    I never expected these two beautiful and delicate-looking girls to be such potent battle junkies, they have developed a rather unhealthy obsession with gauging their strength with a powerful opponent, and I think I might have some fault in that.


    After all, I was the one that raised them to be brave and strong, so¡­ Perhaps this is what they had developed as a result. It''s not that it is bad or something, but it is quite overwhelming sometimes.


    "Ah, sorry about that." I sighed. "Well, clean things up quicker if you want to join next time."


    "Eh? Meanie!" Erika pouted. "You should say that you''ll leave us beat the next big boss."


    "We are rather strong ourselves now¡­" Elizabeth squinted her eyes. "Didn''t you helped us grow our strength to this point to help you?"


    "Indeed¡­ Okay, next time you''ll get to beat the boss." I ended agreeing with them. "But if it''s too strong, I''ll join anyways. Don''tin."


    "Okay, deal!" Erika nodded. "Now give me a kiss! You look all serious."


    "M-Me too. I deserve that at the very least, right?" Elizabeth blushed.


    "Right¡­" I sighed, as I ended giving them what they wanted, two kisses, they calmed down after that.


    It''s impressive what sort of power giving a kiss has on the people of this world. Eric became incredibly brave and heroic after Alberta gave him a kiss too, and Erika and Elizabeth always change their mood almost instantly after one too.


    "Looks like my lord is being overwhelmed as usual." Eleanora giggled, pretending to not want a kiss either.


    "Eleanora wants one too, don''t pretend." Erika smiled teasingly.


    "She always says she almost pass out with your kisses, ke. She''s really in love." Elizabeth teased her even more.


    "Is that so?" I wondered with a serious expression, rubbing my chin to consider this new information.


    "E-Eeeh?! T-That''s not right at all! T-They''re just lying, ke!" Eleanora''s pale skinned face grew incredibly red.


    "Hm, alright,e." I smiled, holding her hand.


    "Uwawaaahh! Muh- Ahh~!" Eleanora almost had an orgasm as I kissed her lips for just a second.


    "That''s new." I nodded, making a mental note. "How cute."


    Although I was giving a rather expressionless face, I was rather overjoyed by her cuteness. An unexpected, new, and adorable trait for a woman who was already perfect.


    "She''s so cute, isn''t she~?" Erika giggled, giving Eleanora a head pat while she was in her energy-saving mode, looking to be around their same age.


    "Indeed, that was adorable. Eleanora, you''re really cute¡­" Elizabeth nodded, analyzing the situation almost as pragmatically as I was.


    "Right? Let''s tease her more." I agreed.


    "I agree!" She nodded.


    "W-What are you two even talking about?!" Eleanora protested. "Anyways! Let''s go regroup with everyone else, the survivors need some attention too."


    -----

 Chapter 760 Little Time To Rest

    Chapter 760 Little Time To Rest


    ?


    -----


    Erika''s mother showed up not long after Sarauviel''s defeat, she wasining she would had wanted to join the battle, but because we were controlling the flow so well, she felt like she would had only bothered us, she wasn''t wrong.


    "Honestly, those High-Ranking Demon Cultists appear rarely, this probably means that the invasion wasn''t just a coincidence caused by wild demons, it was something nned. And they''re nning to keep fighting so we don''t triumph." Cattalina analyzed. "The other duchies might be in a simr situation and could harbor one or more of these Cultists with them."


    "Their power might had beenparable to a B+++ Rank Monster." I said. "Maybe A Rank, what a pity that even then, it wasn''t much. Maybe because we made sure to weaken him severely before defeating him. Though, it felt like hecked mastery over his arts, he was brute forcing things and relying on his demonic spirit for everything."


    "Yeah, that''s how Demonic Cultists usually are. They are people that lost hope in their own powers and decided to betray their own spirits and twist them into aberrant demonic creatures." Said Cattalina. "It''s nothing like your own Spirits, though, as you''ve made them evolve gradually with demon materials. What they do is force their spirits to mutate and be aberrant creatures of great power, but that are hard to control."


    "To think that Spirits can be twisted in such a way¡­" Erika seemed a bit sad. "Aren''t they a gift from the Hero Allen, the Ancient Summoner? It was a gift to all of us so we could grow stronger and always have a partner! Or so says the church¡­ To betray them is like betraying the ancient hero, whose ke is his sessor¡­!"


    "It is wicked indeed, my daughter." Cattalina sighed, gently giving her daughter a head pat. "But that problem is already dealt with. For now, let''s concentrate on the present."


    We all gathered inside one of thest intact buildings, the duchy''s castle, there were over four hundred survivors, it was a tremendously high amount of people.


    However, as the duchy was right now, left in ruins and without any food for them, it felt that leaving them here would only hurt them.


    So, Monica was now negotiating with their Duchess, a woman named Anastasia that had managed to luckily survive alongside her daughter, Henrietta.


    "So, I was nning that we should ept you as refugees in my duchy, it is arge space and there''s a lot of vacant houses too, which ke and his friends made before leaving." Said Monica. "We had already nned this, we''ve got enough space for over three thousand more people, so you''re invited to stay there until things go back to normal."


    "L-Lady Monica¡­ To go to such an extent for us." The silver-haired woman sighed, having already been cleaned and wearing somemoner clothes for now, much better than her tattered luxurious dress. "Thank you so much¡­ I don''t know how to repay you for such kindness, I-"


    "You have to simply remember our kindness in the future." I stepped in. "Remember who was your benefactor, Monica, and all of us. One day we mighte back, so you can pay us back once you rebuild your city and capital."


    "Y-You''re¡­! You''re ke, isn''t it? The Summoner that saved our city! And you also defeated that wicked Aranthas!" The woman ran to my side, falling to her knees. "Thank you so much! I will make sure to remember you well, young man! Ah, perhaps to start with, how about I give you my daughter''s hand?! She might be a bit young but in a few years, I am sure she could be a wonderful wife¡­!" Her daughter was nodding at her side in silence, until she spoke.


    "I don''t mind, mama! He''s very handsome!" She said with shining eyes.


    "Ugh¡­" I facepalmed.


    "Sorry, dear, but he''s already engaged to my daughter." Cattalina stepped in with Erika. "I cannot let you steal my son-inw from my daughter."


    "L-Lady Cattalina¡­! The Witch of Dreams is here too?! T-To think you were here- A-Ah! Of course, I apologize for my rudeness!" The nobledy was panicking.


    "Aww¡­" Her daughter sighed in disappointment.


    "Well now, Anastasia, I''ve heard from my father that you were quite a cunning woman sometimes, to think you would had tried to get some political power by making your daughter marry the Summoner¡­" Monica red at her from behind. "Perhaps I should reconsider things?"


    "W-Wait! I was just saying! I-I didn''t had any underhanded motives¡­!" Anastasia giggled a bit nervously, even themoners that served her red at her with rather angered expressions. "I-I apologize¡­ for my rudeness¡­ again."


    "Don''t worry about it." I smiled. "How about you marry your daughter to this handsome young man over here? His name is Chris, he defeated a Demon Lord and he''s a strong fire magician." I presented the nobledy to my friend.


    "E-Eh?" Chris was shocked to have been brought to a conversation he never thought would take part of. "What are you even talking about, ke?! She''s too young anyways!"


    "I don''t wanna, he''s ugly." The little Henrietta pouted.


    "Sorry, we are no longer interested." Anastasia smiled.


    "Eh?! I got rejected without even asking for it!" Chris cried.


    "Hmm, I guess it failed, I was sure that this time you would get a girlfriend." I sighed. "Sorry, friend, maybe next time."


    "Since when did I asked you to look for a girlfriend for me?!" Chris blushed in embarrassment. "Ugh, whatever! Let''s go eat something already, I''m starving."


    "Okay, we can''t waste much time, our next stop is Greenbow. We''ll be moving the people to the Darkage Duchy through my Familiars, a hundred Dracos carrying four people each should be enough." I nodded.


    "E-Eh? We''re going alreadyyyy? Uwaaah!" Anastasia and Henrietta screamed as they were grabbed by a gigantic Wyvern and flew into the skies.


    "We''ll make sure they get to safety within a few hours, my lord!" Draco, the Familiar General, said with a prideful tone of voice.


    "Alright, thanks for your help."


    With that done, we went to eat whatever we could before continuing our journey. There was still a lot of demons we had to y.


    -----

 Chapter 761 A Small Rest

    ?


    -----


    We had a celebration feast for our small victory, the people of the duchy were feed, cleaned, and given new clothes, and promptly sent to Darkage as soon as possible, we didn''t wanted to take care of deadweight, as harsh as that sounds.


    As for food, we had what we could hunt around here. There was a small D Rank Dungeon filled with Direwolves, Smanders, and other critters, which my Vampire Spirits hunted and brought. We promptly butchered them and roasted them.


    I prepared a few fancier meals, such as meatloaf, some burgers, and of course, everyone''s favorite, noodles with meatballs and tomato sauce, with parmesan cheese on top. That even made the grumpy Chris smile happily.


    I honestly felt a bit bad I made him upset, so I put some extra effort into making sure he smiled after eating something tasty, he''s my precious friend andrade after all.


    "Hahhh¡­ That Ganesh guy was really quite the handful! But I never thought I could defeat him all by myself, that was awesome, honestly." Chris smiled while rubbing his chin.


    "All by yourself?! Hey, I helped a lot too!" Ericined.


    "I-It''s not good to take all the credit, C-Chris¡­" Alberta said.


    "W-Well, yeah! I couldn''t had done it without my sidekick''s assistance." Chris smiled pridefully anyways.


    "This guy¡­" Eric sighed. "Well, whatever, let''s let him have it."


    "Well, I am actually quite surprised how much you guys have grown." I nodded, drinking some tea afterwards. "Especially you two, Chris and Eric, you guys are really amazing. To defeat a Demon Lord. Some teachers can''t do that by themselves, right, Evelyn?"


    "T-That''s¡­ Well, if I go all-out, it shouldn''t bepletely impossible!" Evelyn said, snacking on a sandwich. "But I was busy helping your summons kill the demons as you told me to do, I was just doing what I was told- Ugh, even if I have to obey a student for that¡­ Well, it was the director''s orders to follow yourmands. But why is he thinking that? That damn old man and¡­"


    She started muttering to herself about a hundred things, she was really quite frustrated about having been delegated to be something simr to myckey¡­


    "Anyways, Erdrich and Elfriedden also showed their growth, I am quite proud." Iughed. "Your new spirits seem to havee in handy as well, the same for Eric and Chris."


    "Well, yeah, I guess." Erdrich crossed his arms, he seemed to be rather thoughtful for a while after killing that Demon Lord.


    "Those damn gloves¡­ Well, they''re alright! But that Demon Lord¡­ It feels like it was much stronger than whatever you guys faced, it took us a while to defeat him! He was incredibly strong and good at fighting, I''ve never seen a demon capable of using martial arts like those!" Elfriedden said, much more energetic than our Cambion friend.


    "Well, yeah, he knew how to use Ki, and had a few techniques simr to mine." Erdrich decided to talk. "He was a mighty opponent, I wish we wouldn''t had been in opposite sides, he could had been an incredible ally¡­ But he was still quite a wicked bastard, he got what he deserved."


    "Demons can use Ki?! I didn''t know!" Erika said, while munching on a huge double patty burger. "How''s that possible? I thought they can only use Demonic Energy."


    "Well, yeah, but Ki is an energy of the body, any living being produces it. That its usage is not widespread in this world is quite a bad thing by itself. Ahem, of course, I discovered it on my own, and I''ll begin spreading it around." I said, remembering that there were people here that I couldn''t talk so openly. "Anyways, from the memories I''ve read from the demons we''ve defeated, they did seem to have a lot of organizations over their own world. Although very different, the realm of Hell at the end of the day is also a world by itself. In there, there are also factions of demons that do not want to fight, most likely, the ones we fight and invade our world are most likely barbarian ns that obey the Archdemons, dictators of their world. The Holy Spirits have told me such things."


    I kept hiding my previous life identity, and used the Holy Spirits as a good excuse as to why I knew all these things so well. After all, even Cattalina and Evelyn knew that the Holy Spirits had given me their blessings, it wasn''t a secretive thing anymore, the church had spread it around too, even against my own will.


    "I see, so this means that we''ll get to face even stronger Demons in the future?" Cattalina wondered. "Well, I''ve heard rumors from the frontlines, about Demons that can speak ournguage as well, usually they''re the Demon Lords, but even among them there are ssifications, some are much stronger than others. What differentiate them is their intelligence and mastery over several techniques. That they had the power to wield Ki to the extent of almost overwhelming both Erdrich and Elfriedden speaks a lot about their strength."


    "Yeah, I guess." Evelyn sighed. "And you guys are nning on killing a Demon Overlordter¡­ For that, you''ll have to gang on him all together! And even then¡­ Is it even possible? Those things are in just a whole another level, only the Director, Hero Dn, and a few others are confident that they can defeat one."


    "I am notpletely confident to the point I''ll be reckless." I smiled. "I do have some ns, and those ns also include growing as strong as possible by beating all the small fries first. The more Levels we can umte, the stronger we will be. And then, I''ll simply form a¡­ simple strategy, nothing too crazy. I''ll simply put to good use the strengths I have, and of course, those of my friends."


    Sometimes, the simplest of strategies are the best ones. And if I employ the strengths of my friends and Familiars together correctly¡­


    I can see a chance, and a good one at that.


    -----

 Chapter 762 Ambush

    -----


    Within the Greenbow Duchy castle, a young man with dark blue hair and bright red eyes suddenly stepped out of the throne he was sitting on seconds ago.


    Just a few hours ago, he had sensed the presence of Sarauviel, one of hisrades,pletely disappear. He could not even sense the energy left behind by a corpse or something.


    He had simply disappearedpletely!


    "What is the meaning of this?"


    He felt shaken, afraid, even. Sarauviel and Christine were the strongest High-Ranking Cultists in this entire territory alongside him, and they had mistakenly believed that the invaders, led by the young new Summoner, were no threat against them.


    Well, they was terribly mistaken. Having believed Sarauviel would sweep the floor with them once they arrived at Silverlight, they truly thought things would end as easy as that, without any other fight whatsoever.


    Yet¡­ yet!


    "Sarauviel''s death?! So soon too?! He¡­ How¡­?!"


    The blue haired young man started running across the empty castle, in front of him there were many demons making a huge settlement, while much like in Silverlight, the surviving humans were stored underground, used as cattle to feed the demons'' ever-growing hunger.


    While panicking, his demonckeys did so as well, asking him what was happening, Onis and Imps were taking care of most of the castle to keep it clean, unlike Sarauviel that slept on a small house unbothered, this man liked luxury and cleanliness.


    "Lord Enmity, what''s happening?!"


    "Why are you panicking?!"


    "Is there something wrong?"


    Demon Cultists could, naturally, understand demonnguage just as well as the human tongue. Enmity nced at the demons, gritting his teeth, and kicking them away as if they were ants.


    "Shut up, shut up, shut up! I need to find it, where''s the crystal?! I need to contact headquarters and tell them that the Summoner is not as weak as we believed! We have to prepare better¡­ The Demon Overlord himself might¡­ No, but that''s impossible! ¡­Or is it?!"


    The man looked for a crystal, a special device to call others from long distances, he wanted to call the headquarters of the cult in the continent and also Christine, notifying them that Sarauviel, someone they believed to be as strong as a Low-Rank Demon Overlord, to have been in!


    However, although his panic won over his thoughts, he still couldn''t help himself to believe what had happened. Did Sarauviel really died against a child that wasn''t older than 14 years of age?! How could this even be possible to begin with!


    And as he thought about it, the possibility that even their Demon Overlord over here, which took them so long to create as a side project to please the Higher Ups, could be in right in front of their noses!


    "No, this can''t be happening¡­! Lord Sarauviel was stronger than me after all! How could he have been defeated?!"


    Enmity continued looking for the crystal as he suddenly stumbled upon a strange sight. The floor of the castle was¡­ covered on wooden roots, emanating slightly bright Spiritual Energy of Life and Nature attribute.


    "What¡­?"


    At first he didn''t understand why such a thing was here. He imagined the castle was really old, so some trees might had expanded their roots all the way here. Though, he didn''t remember seeing these yesterday.


    "Hey! You stupid animals! Why don''t you clean this? There''s a whole tree growing down here! You imbeciles! Clean this! You know how I dislike unclean things!"


    He kicked Imps and Onis, ordering them to get to work. They nodded obediently, rushing towards the tree roots, and using a small hatchet to cut it into pieces.


    "Sigh¡­ Anyways, the crystal, I think I left it in this room, no?"


    Enmity stepped into the next room in front of him, at the same time as the roots the demons were cutting suddenly grew sharp, spear-like branches that impaled the demons'' heads, killing them silently. Their bodies were suddenly drained out of their energy and liquids, resembling dried out mummies.


    However, Enmity didn''t even noticed that, stepping inside the room with a tired expression on his face, suddenly running into arge piece of furniture, where one would usually store books, but that was covered on strange-looking artifacts.


    "We can''t let our years of efforts go to the waste like this! While everyone''s in the frontlines, our mission to devour the Human Continent from the inside out must continue¡­" Enmity said. "Even if I have to bring some Elites here, I have to- Ugh?!"


    However, before he were to grab the crystal ball centimeters from his grasp, he stumbled over more roots all over the floor, falling head-first into the ground.


    BAAAM!


    "Urgh! What the hell?! More of these things?! You useless demons! Why can''t you juste here and clean for once!"


    Enmity quickly stood up, but as he did, he realized the rest of the room was covered on roots and branches, slowly growing, and spreading everywhere¡­


    His heart started beating faster as he realized this wasn''t merely just some random tree that got inside over many years in a mildly abandoned castle.


    No, this was¡­ the act of an enemy Spirit Master!


    "T-This is¡­ Magic Spirit Wood¡­ A Druid?! No¡­!" Enmity muttered, desperately standing back up as he recalled some of the information they had received. "The girl¡­ That damn girl that shouldn''t be alive! The one that we tried to kill so badly, so Lady Sathan''s child could inherit the throne of that pitiful Kingdom. It''s her?! The one blessed by the Holy Spirit of Nature, and whose body was remade using something that some identified as a Dryad''s Heart and Yggdrasil''s Wood!"


    The young man slowly walked outside the room, his face filled with disbelief and fear as he started to consider that all the children he had thought were weaklings pretending to be strong were, in fact, strong.


    And that included that little girl everyone in their organization wanted dead, someone they had cursed to die, the one that would had eventually be the Goldriver Kingdom''s Queen, and therefore, the leader of the Kingdom Alliance.


    The one they called¡­ the Reincarnation of Yggdrasil!


    BOOOOOMMM!!!


    "H-Huh?!"


    Suddenly, the ceiling above Enmity shattered open, as a girl with long pink hair, elf-like ears, and heterochromatic eyes appeared, one eye was glowing bright green, while the other bright gold, with a draconic, reptilian appearance.


    "Finally, I found ya!" She smiled. "I heard from mom that there was a guy named Enmity¡­ She discovered he used to be part of the group of cultists that cursed me when I was born."


    The girl slowly flew with enormous dragon-like wings made of root and branches, Enmity began slowly stepping back, his entire body covered on cold sweat!


    "And my boyfriend told me that he learned from the memories of that guy named Sarauviel that there was someone here¡­ named just like him!" The girl roared, her Spiritual Aura exploding with enormous strength!


    Around her, over fifty dolls wearing armor and holding magical weapons materialized, alongside a huge ck knight puppet, and a gigantic, pink-colored dragon puppet.


    Much like her boyfriend, it could be said she had an army of her own!


    "Y-You?! Why are YOU here?!" Enmity cried. "T-This is¡­! D-Don''t think I am afraid of you! Y-You damned child! You should had died when-"


    "Shut up."


    Before Enmity could finish his pitiful words, Erika swung her gigantic sword towards him.


    CRAAAASSH!!!


    -----

 Chapter 763 Erikas Revenge

    -----


    CRAAASSH!!!


    A powerful wave of spiritual energy and mana impacted the Demonic Human before he could finish his words, incapable of escaping in time thanks to the many roots wrapping around his body, and sapping his energies, he ended taking the whole hit.


    BOOOOMMM¡­!


    The single impact of Erika''s over-charged sword sh made half the castle explode into pieces, blowing away the ceiling and every other demon that was in the vicinity, the magnitude of her attack wasn''t what she had expected, Erika was finally beginning to realize just how strong she has be.


    "Unngh¡­! W-What¡­?! This¡­! This is impossible¡­! Urgh¡­!"


    And amidst the rubble and the cloud of ashes, the shredded body of Enmityid, half his torso was sliced apart, his two arms were vaporized, half his head was destroyed, and his gusts were sttered over the floor.


    Despite holding the endurance equal to B Rank Monsters, he was pushed this far¡­ Well, he wasn''t the weakest of the three for nothing, his endurance was the lowest.


    "You''re still alive even when your brain was blown off?" Erika was surprised. "I have to finish him off right away!"


    "You''re a real monster¡­ Brat¡­" Enmity muttered, what was left of his body started letting out a ck miasmic liquid, and red blood, mixing and entwining together.


    Erika gritted her teeth, utilizing Spirit Weaponization in most of her Doll Spirits, transforming them into huge weapons and firing them at Enmity, while her giant sword channeled her Draconic Energy to finish him off!


    "But I won''t go down so easily!!!"


    With a scream of both desperation and madness, Enmity''s Demonic Spirit manifested itself, resembling a giant, aberrant worm with hundreds of human-like and demon-like arms and legs stitched to it, instead of having a worm-like mouth, it had the mouth of a human, with sharp teeth and mandibles, and a long tongue, with an eyeless face. Inside of its enormous mouth, Erika noticed hundreds of eyes of all colors ncing at her very soul.


    The very horror of such a creature made her slightly shiver. Just how many demons and humans has he consumed to create such a terrifying monster? Sarauviel''s Demonic Spirit was no different. It was as if Demonic Humans enjoyed making the most horrendous-looking things imaginable.


    "GRUOOHHH!"


    The worm devoured Enmity''s entire body before it dug into the rubble, evading the explosive attacks from Erika''s flying Weaponized Doll Spirits!


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!


    "He''s escaping?" Erika thought. "Seriously?!"


    Indeed, Enmity had little drive to fight against impossible odds, especially knowing that there might be more of these monstersing for him, he let his Demonic Spirit devour him, as his body fused with his worm and regenerated quickly.


    Utilizing its special ability to dig and devour anything, the worm quickly set off into the city''s underground, with hopes to escape this and then move to headquarters to tell the rest of the Cult of how truly dangerous the Summoner and his friends have be.


    "I cannot stay here anymore! I could win if I go all-out, but I would rather not risk my life if necessary. I didn''t be this strong to risk it all the time either!"


    Unlike the reckless Sarauviel, Enmity was an innate coward, his tendencies to run away and leave everyone else behind while prioritizing his survival above everything else was what made him join the Demon Cultists.


    After all, he never cared about anybody else than himself, so taking lives just so his demonic spirit could be stronger and therefore help him survive longer wasn''t out of the question.


    "And once we get enough high-ranking cultists gathered¡­ We''ll crush them all before they can even reach the Demon Overlord''s Castle!" Heughed internally. "Just you wait, we''ll eventually crush all of you like the insects you are!"


    "No, I don''t think you will."


    Suddenly, the voice of a young boy resonated across the underground, as the earth around Enmity began to shake, lifting him all the way to the surface and throwing him down like a piece of trash.


    BAAAAMMM!!!


    "W-What?!"


    Enmity nced across the countless eyes of his demonic spirit, noticing a little, brown-skinned boy who conjured a giant sand-made hand, and utilized it to turn everything else below into ck sands, lifting him out of the ground with ease.


    "As long as I am here, you won''t escape underground."


    "Thank you Eriant. Sorry about that, but you can''t go for now¡­ You''re my girlfriend''s sandbag after all."


    At the side of the young vampire boy, a young man with a malicious and devious smile could be seen, both seamlessly floating in midair above the skies.


    Enmity immediately realized who was the one controlling the boy-like spirit, nobody else than him, the sted Summoner that has been growing at an insane speed!


    "Y-You?! You''re here?! All of you are here already?!"


    The Demonic Human only panicked more as he saw almost the entirety of the Greenbow Capital being overrun by branches and trees. At the distance, Eric could be seen, fused with his spirits, while also channeling the powers of Erika who had created several spirit trees with her Half-Dryad abilities.


    A dome of spirit wood was quickly made around the entire city, the trees began impaling all the weakest demons, killing them by the hundreds. The trees shapeshifted, as huge Treant-like monsters emerged out of them, massacring even more demons.


    Huge golems, led by an evenrger one that was being controlled by Alberta sitting inside stared fighting the armies of Demonic Beasts, joined by hundreds of Familiars ke had just summoned.


    The two Demon Lords that were in the city were already almost dead, the trees draining their energy and leaving them virtually powerless. It didn''t help that both werezily sleeping while everything happened.


    Erdrich, Chris, Elfriedden, Evelyn, and Cattalina were mercilessly tearing them apart, the two beast-like Demon Lords that served Satan were on theirst seconds already!


    They were all caught off-guard! They never saw it evening!


    "T-This can''t be¡­ The whole city! How didn''t I even sensed this happening?! H-How strong¡­ How strong are you all?!" Enmity cried. "To grow so powerful so fast¡­ T-This is unprecedented! Impossible! I cannot believe this!!!"


    "You better do!"


    Erika appeared from below Enmity, as a rain of flying spirit weapons pierced his entire body, generating dozens of explosions.


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!


    -----

 Chapter 764 Overwhelmed!

    Author''s Note: My new novel is out, check "The Protagnist''s Sister Is Actually the Strongest" by clicking on my profile!


    -----


    "UUURRGGHH¡­! Y-YOU!"


    Without anywhere to run away to, Enmity quickly started to rapidly evade the projectilesing down for him, while blocking some of them with his own monstrous body. Having already undergone Demonic Spirit Fusion, he had be one with his aberrant spirit.


    "Not so fast!"


    Erika roared, as she sent down two of her strongest Spirits, a huge pink and purple-colored dragon made of metal, overflowing with a dream-like aura reached Enmity, crashing against his huge body with its sharp metallic ws.


    CLASH! CLASH! CRAAASH!


    "ROOOARR!"


    The dragon started biting through his spiritual flesh, tearing apart many of his arms and legs, while lifting him off the ground and then throwing him down.


    FLAAASH!


    Only for a huge ck knight, resembling a living armor, to emerge right at his side while he fell, jumping to midair and swinging its long, katana-like ck sword countless times, and with incredible precision.


    SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH!


    "URGH¡­! AAAGH¡­!"


    Enmity''s body was then sliced into over a dozen pieces, falling from the skies and hitting the ground below!


    BAAAAMMM¡­!


    The power of Erika''s Dark Knight Puppet and Dream Dragon Puppet were nothing to scoff at! Both having their stats greatly boosted thanks to her many buffing spells and skills, they were almost as strong as Rank 4 Spirits, despite only being Rank 3.


    "Y-You bastards¡­! How dare you think¡­ I can be beaten by a feeble little brat?!"


    Enmity roared with utter madness, all of his pieces suddenly started to growrger, shapeshifting and turning into over a dozen thirty-meter-long worms!


    "He multiplied?!"


    Erika was taken aback by this process, but it wasn''t as if he had cloned himself, it was only his Demonic Spirit. Enmity''s true soul and body remained within one of them, the thing is, which one?


    "GRUOOOHH!"


    All the worms started fighting against Erika''s Spirits, the Dream Dragon valiantly shed one into pieces with its ws and vaporized it with a zing Dream me Breath, without letting them multiply again.


    Her Dark Knight Puppet decided to take a more destructive approach, instead of slicing them into pieces like it did before, he pierced their bodies several times with sharp and strong strikes, before filling their bodies with darkness and making them explode.


    And Erika''s Dolls moved around like an army of their own, with the ability to float in midair, and now that she could summon one hundred of them at once, their varied job sses and specialties made it possible for them to take down the worms with great sess.


    "Where did he go?!" Erika wondered, looking around. "[Draconic Eye]! [Yggdrasil Eye]!"


    Activating her two special Eye Skills at once, Erika''s vision changed as she noticed a much smaller worm trying to escape from her, using the swarm of dozens of worms to hide itself¡­ It was the one that held the most energy of them all, and had a strong, dense soul.


    "Gotcha!"


    FLAAASH!


    pping her wings rapidly, Erika descended at rampaging speed, her shiny dragon armor charging her body with its Draconic Energy, a special armor ke made for her simr to his own, especially designed to boost her Dragon Power.


    Such draconic abilities were born from within her new body as ke and her father had used the materials of a powerful Wyvern that had once attacked their vige, hoping to give her as much power as possible to face the dangers of this world.


    And now, after years since then, such small powers had developed tremendously.


    "[Draconification]!"


    FLUOSH!


    Erika''s entire body changed once more, not only with her dragon-like wings made of spirit wood, but the rest of her body gained many draconic scales of gold and wooden color, her hair shone brightly, turning deep green, her hands grew sharp ws, she gained a long tail, and her senses heightened greatly.


    "RAAAAAH!"


    With a furious roar, aiming at the life of one of the bastards that plotted her death when she was but a little baby, her sword was overcharged with her mighty energies!


    "[Draconic de]!"


    SLAAASSH!!!


    A huge wave of spiritual and draconic energy impacted Enmity''s small worm form, blowing him away with a huge explosion!


    "Y-You found me so fast?!"


    BOOOOMMM!!!


    The Light, Nature, and Fire Attribute Spiritual Energy burned through his flesh and spiritual essence, the demonic energy he was so proud of serving no purpose other than making him weaker.


    His entire body struggled to move, as he quickly decided to fight back, without anything else he could do, his worm-like body started to expand his size, tens of timesrger!


    "Fine, FINE! If you want to die so badly, I''ll FIGHT! I''ll tear you to fucking shreds!"


    Enmity was desperate, panicking even as he roared, letting the Demonic Spirit fused into his body take over his mind as he grew berserk and mad.


    "GRUUAAAAH!"


    His entire body mutated, as dozens of worm-like heads emerged, his human and demon-like arms and legs grewrger and monstrous, attacking Erika with countless of gigantic blows. His size now nearing almost fifty meters of height!


    CLASH! CLASH! CLASH!


    However, Erika, fusing her energies together, imbued her body with Ki, further increasing her strength. She channeled her many Skills, dancing in midair while spinning across the skies, her sword unleashing slicing attacks!


    SLASH! SLASH! SLASH!


    Her Spirits appeared around her, attacking the gigantic worm with their own mighty blows. The Dark Knight Puppet slicing through its heads, while her Dream Dragon unleashed its Dream mes, further decreasing her foe''s strength and soul strength.


    "How is it possible?! How are you this powerful?! You pitiful, ursed abomination!"


    Enmity cried in fury, his gigantic worm-like head opening wide and channeling arge quantity of demonic energy, firing it as a tremendous dark red beam shed against Erika''s sword!


    CRAAAASSH!!!


    "You''re the only abomination here, and I''vee to take you down! [Divine Yggdragon''s Ascent]!"


    "ROOOOAARRR!"


    However, Erika swung her de, as a draconic roar emerged from within her sword, her channeled de Ki erupted, a furious gold and green dragon coiled around the beam and devoured it, engulfing Enmity''s entire worm-like head!


    "T-This¡­ can''t be¡­!"


    Crack, crack¡­!


    Not only was Enmity''s spiritual body disintegrating, but his soul was shattering apart into countless of pieces!


    "Stop¡­ I don''t want to die!"


    Crack, CRACK!


    Until he could no longer resist Erika''s might!


    "Urgh¡­ Stop¡­!"


    Crack, crack¡­! CRAAASH!


    "STOOP!!!"


    With an agonizing scream, he waspletely consumed by the light.


    BOOOOMMM¡­!


    -----

 Chapter 765 Overwhelming The Demons

    -----


    At the same time as Erika took revenge against one of the perpetrators of her assassination, in the other side of the Greenbow City, two other Demon Lords were being absolutely massacred, ganged against by several powerful Spirit Masters at once.


    A giant bear-like demon, covered on several ck horn was gasping for air, hisrge body of over three meters of height covered in countless wounds, his demonic energy was almostpletely drained.


    And surrounding him there were countless of demon corpses, while a hundred more live demons continued running towards him. Their eyes were closed as if they were sleeping, and there was a strange purple colored aura surrounding their bodies.


    "RAAAH! DAMMIT!"


    He had been freeing himself from the incessant roots trying to wrap themselves around his body for more than a dozen times by now, all while battling his own kin, forced to ughter them.


    "YOU DAMN WITCH!"


    With a furious bear-like roar, the giant demon nced at a beautifuldy at the distance, sitting above a huge, muscr Gray Oni, while crossing her legs seductively.


    Her beauty tricked many to think she was a very young woman, only for the truth to be the opposite, a gorgeous half-elfdy with a rather long lifespan, with long, fluffy pink hair, and glowing purple eyes.


    Her equipment glowed brightly, as arge dreamcatcher floated above her witch-like hat, emanating an ominous aura of dreams and nightmares¡­ It forced all those weaker than her to fall asleep.


    Their souls now trapped within her World of Dreams, she controlled them like puppets, forcing them to fight one another.


    She was nobody else than the powerful Rank 8 Spirit Grandmaster, the Witch of Dreams and Nightmares, Cattalina. One of the ten strongest of the Human Continent, and mother of Erika.


    "Haven''t you struggled enough? Haven''t you ughtered enough? Are you doing to continue, little bear?" She giggled maliciously. "I wonder how much you are going to struggle."


    "Y-You''re a monster¡­" The Bear tried to take out hisst resort, an Archdemon Shard, only for it to disappear from his hands in a split of a second, an almost invisible Dream Hand robbed it off his hands.


    "N-No¡­! WAIT!" The bear cried, rushing to catch the jewel only for hundreds of demons to leap over his body, dragging him down into the floor.


    "Oh, were you going to use this? We can''t have that, you know?" Cattalina smiled, holding the jewel in her hands. "Don''t worry, we''ll keep it safe. It is time now, just go to sleep¡­ Good night."


    "N-No¡­! Urgh¡­!" The Demon Lord has resisted her Dream Magic too hard, and ended falling asleep, his soul devoured by her Nightmare Hound, wandering her Dream Realm, alongside all the other Demon Souls as well.


    The Demons fell into the ground, like puppets whose strings were abruptly cut down. Without even suffering, they were now dead.


    "It seems my daughter has finished off that bastard¡­ I would had helped her, but she insisted on doing it herself." She sighed. "You''ve grown so strong, Erika¡­ Mom is very proud of you."


    At the same time, in another side of the city, a huge bird and lion-like Demon Lordid above the floor, his wings torn apart, his arms torn to shreds, his head sttered over the floor, his brains destroyed, and his soul consumed.


    Remains of frost and burned wounds covered him, despite being as huge as ten meters, he ended beingpletely overwhelmed by thebined effort of ke''s strongest friends.


    "Well, if we all ganged on it, it was bound to die easily. What a pity." Erdrichughed, sitting above the giant demon''s corpse.


    "It did transform at the end, huh? Well, we even had Lady Evelyn''s help, her spirits are really something!" Chris said.


    "I barely did anything, you kids are just way too strong." Evelyn sighed, crossing her arms while sitting over her zing Lion.


    "I digress, your help was essential." Elfriedden smiled. "Nheless, a victory is a victory¡­ It seems that Alberta, Eric, and ke''s armies are wrapping things up as well."


    Treant-like monsters, Undead, Golems, and Familiars had already massacred any Demons that opposed them, chasing those that had tried to escape now.


    However, the ones that fought the most and got the highest kill counts were ke''s mighty Vampire Spirits and his Familiars.


    Ruby and Blood, he Dragon and the Wolf, had killed over a hundred foes themselves, with their beastly strength, things were done before they even realized.


    The mighty Blood Demon Dragon yawned, sitting above a huge pile of corpses, munching on them to regain some of the stamina he lost in this battle.


    "Good job, Ruby." ke descended, caressing his dragon''s head. "You can have as many of these for lunch, go ahead. Now that you''re a Demonic Dragon, they shouldn''t be toxic even if I don''t purify them."


    "Groar!" Ruby wagged his tail excitedly, devouring the demon corpses with crunching noises, blood sttering everywhere gorily.


    "Who is a good boy? You''re a good boy!"


    Meanwhile, Eleanora was -as always- spoiling her tamed beast, Blood, an old Gray Wolf they had found and tamed as an experiment, turning him into Eleanora''s first ever Vampire Servant through her Skills, and now her most loyal!


    "Woof! Woof! Awoo!"


    Blood was already an enormous beast, as tall as five meters, whenever he licked Eleanora, his huge tongue would cover her entire face, yet, because she had a weakness to cute dogs, she didn''t mind it.


    "Erika has killed the Demonic Human. Her mother in one Demon Lord, and the boys killed the other one. Good, things progressed surprisingly smooth." ke smiled. "Our strength has more than doubled since we arrived here¡­ Now, ourst stop is getting closer. It was definitely a good idea toe here and solve this entire war. The amount of EXP we''ve gained out of it is gratifying, to say the least."


    ke nced at his floating Grimoire, as it disyed to him all the kills and EXP earned by him, as hemanded his troops and friends to battle. He had not killed a single demon himself, yet ended earning a terrific amount of Experience Points¡­


    -----

 Chapter 766 Many More Level Ups

    -----


    (ke''s POV)


    Ding!


    [Your Allies have in [Low Ranking Demon] x823, [Mid Ranking Demon] x234, [Demon Lord] x2, [High Ranking Demonic Human: Enmity] x1!]


    [You earned 45.160.000 EXP!]


    [Level up!]


    [Level up!]


    [Level up!]


    [Level up!]


    [Level up!]


    [Level up!]


    [Level up!]


    [Your Level has increased from Level 10 to Level 20!]


    [All of your Stats have increased. You earned Bonus Stat Points and Skill Points.]


    Ten Levels in a row were exquisite, the amount of power I attained from that was enough to make my physique grow slightly stronger, and the additional Mana made my internal magic circle rejoice.


    "This was a good harvest."


    After that, with Eleanora, we flew where Erika was, to find her resting over a huge piece of wall that had fallen off the castle her attack ended destroying.


    "Phew¡­ Hahh¡­ I overdid it¡­ But I did it!"


    She was gasping for air, exhausted. She had gone all-out against Enmity at the end, to the point she exhausted all her energies, leaving her without the strength to even lift her own body anymore.


    "Are you alright? You did a good job." I smiled, walking to her side, and offering her my hand. "Come on, you can''t just rest over the rubble like that."


    "ke¡­" Erika smiled sweetly, she seemed very relieved, as if she had gotten rid of an annoying weight on her shoulders. "Yeah, thanks."


    She slowly stood back up and stretched her hands, as I gave her a small potion, which she drank calmly, sighing in relief.


    "Phew, that hits the spot! Now that I got rid of that idiot, how many others are left?" She wondered.


    "A lot, this is not going to be a quick revenge." Iughed. "But I am happy that you''re so eager to take revenge, I wonder what the Erika of the past would say about you now."


    "I doubt she would ever think it''s bad! I haven''t changed THAT much." She crossed her arms while pouting. "But see? I''m pretty strong! Hehehe, I gained like twenty levels."


    "Amazing, you''re growing at an incredible pace." I smiled, giving her a head pat. "Well done, you make me proud."


    "E-Eh? Is that so¡­ Hehehe." Erika giggled while blushing a bit. "If it wasn''t thanks to you, I wouldn''t even as strong as I am now. I owe you much more, ke! Now let me repay you with a few kisses~! Mooch!"


    And then, Erika attacked me with her kisses, kissing my entire face while saying how lucky she was to have such a handsome boyfriend, it made me slightly embarrassed, but I let her do as she pleased.


    At the end of the day, it seems I''ve grown much weaker than in my previous life, isn''t it, Asmodeus?


    Yet this weakness¡­ it makes me feel so full now.


    Is this what Asmodeus missed, what he could not experience nor find by himself?


    Such aforting warmth, this girl is¡­


    "Now, now, enough with the kisses!" Eleanora interrupted Erika''s attacks.


    "Huh? You want some too?" Erika teased her.


    "T-That''s not what I mean! We have to regroup now. Not only we still need to store all the demon corpses, but also go check the survivors that Elizabeth found and has been healing." Said Eleanora. "Ahem¡­ Of course, I wouldn''t mind¡­ a few from my lord."


    "Hmm, so you''ve be just as weak as I am." Iughed.


    "W-Weak?" Eleanora didn''t understood what I was meaning to say.


    "Anyways, let''s go. I will reward youter, don''t worry, my fair night maiden." I smiled at her, giving her a head pat.


    "O-Okay¡­" Eleanora blushed, looking more beautiful than ever.


    "She''s so cute when she blushes!" Erika giggled, pulling Eleanora''s cheeks as if she were a baby.


    "Uwaah! C-Cut it out, Erika!" Eleanorained, although she didn''t really stopped her.


    Like that, I swept through the battlefield, storing all the demons and cleansing the demon blood from festering and turning into miasma with Elizabeth and Eric''s magic help.


    And then, once things were done, we regrouped with all the survivors in the nearby church, one of the few buildings that didn''t ended being destroyed.


    This time, there were onlymoners, all the royal family was ughtered by the demons, ording to some witnesses.


    "That demon human¡­ Enmity! He killed all the royal family¡­ Just so he could upy the castle and use it as his new home¡­"


    "That monster¡­ You killed him, right, youngdy?!"


    "Thank you¡­ for avenging our lords¡­"


    "A-Ahahah, well, I had a grudge against him too¡­ I''m d that his death brought you all a bit more of relief." Erika sighed. "I''ve learned through my life that there''s some trash that is not even worth the mercy¡­"


    I never imagined words like those woulde from the formerlypassionate and delicate girl that Erika used to be. It is quite obvious I''ve be a strong influence on her mental maturity¡­ I don''t know if I should feel guilty or happy about it.


    The survivors, which were around three hundred, praised Erika as their heroine, and even lifted her off the ground and everything, they were more lively than I imagined, thanks to Elizabeth''s healing magic.


    However, concern quickly came back to them as they enjoyed therge meals we prepared to fill their bellies.


    "B-But what will we do now?"


    "Our city is in ruins¡­ We don''t have anything else¡­"


    "At the very least, we should begin building a few houses, and slowly cleaning all the rubble, right?"


    "With our numbers, it''s going to be a monumental task¡­"


    "Don''t worry about that." Monica stepped in. "The Darkage Duchy is still safe, much like the previous duchy survivors, everyone''s going to be moved there after you finish your meals. You will be temporary citizens, and be given shelter, food, and a ce to work for that shelter and food until things stabilize."


    "L-Lady Monica!"


    "Thank you so much¡­"


    "We will be forever grateful¡­!"


    She''s really good with her words, she went directly to the point and exined everything that would happen to them. Having lost everything, they had no reason to reject her offer.


    With Greenbow cleared, our next stop will be ourst, Silvershield Duchy, the small "shield" city that protects therge capital of Silvertide.


    We''ll not only raid that area, but we''ll follow directly to the capital once we break through the gates.


    -----

 Chapter 767 Invasion

    -----


    A blonde woman stood still above arge, red-roofed castle. Her sharp red eyes ncing at the distance in silent contempt. Her demons have already obeyed her orders, gathering in huge armies across the entire city they had taken over.


    Powerful magicians were strategically ced around the walls, ready with their spells to st anything that showed up, likewise, ballista, archers, and stone throwers were also awaiting her orders. Huge Giant Demon Warriors were holding enormous boulders that could easily crush anything once they fell.


    At the center of the city, three Demon Lords stood still, tightly grasping their red jewels, Archdemon Core Shards, surrounded by fifty Mid Ranking Demons, tightly armored with armor and weapons.


    And she stood alone above her castle, confident and proud. Only a few High-Ranking Demons wandered around her castle, and there were a few Cultists she had decided not to eat standing near her.


    She had not called anybody for help either, her pride wouldn''t let her. However, her entire army was more than ready to fight just anything that could ever show up. Flying demons were constantly patrolling the skies, and her watchful red eyes silently kept a watch of everything.


    In less than two days, Sarauviel and Enmity''s presencespletely disappeared, against her expectations, both were ughtered by the group of students sent here by Monica.


    However, Christineforted her own doubts by thinking that they were simply¡­ too weak. She was the strongest of the three, and her Demonic Spirit was also the mightiest as well. There was also the Demon Lord and his army a few hundreds of kilometers away, but she did not rely on them either.


    As a prideful hound, she wanted to test them. To test how truly strong they were. She believed they won because those two were toox, they were caught off-guard, but she prepared, more than anybody.


    Be it from the skies, the ground, the walls, or underground, wherever they were toe from, she would intercept them all and massacre them. She even had prepared a powerful spell beforehand, ready to unleash it whenever ke were to summon his Familiars from just any position, even the skies!


    "They must be here in just any moment now¡­" She smiled. "Come, I''ll st you into smithereens before you can even realize what''s happening. And then I''ll happily devour your remains."


    "L-Look, over there!"


    "Lady Christine!"


    The twockeys she had around pointed into the skies, as Christine''s red eyes noticed arge quantity of darkness and blood energy gathering.


    The clouds turnedpletely ck, as red lightning began to gather from within. Christine quickly noticed over a hundred flying beasts, Wyverns covered on armor and even holding swords.


    "They''re here!" She smiled maniacally, pointing her hands into the skies. "All mages, into position! st them before they can even descend!"


    At the same time as she said those words, dozens of magic circles activated at once, conjuring a mighty Demon Magic Spell she had prepared beforehand!


    "You''re not even getting down, you bastards!" Sheughed. "Learn your damn ce, you insolent brats! [Infernal Demon Magic: Apocalypse]!"


    The magic circles kept multiplying more and more, as an enormous quantity of ck and dark red mes were conjured, being fired as a titanic beam of all-powerful mes, capable of even disintegrating an entire small mountain all on their own!


    TRUUUUUMMMM¡­!


    The beam absorbed all other magic spells sent into the skies, increasing its power even further as they reached the dark skies where Christine sensed ke and his friends and familiars!


    "DIE!!!"


    FLUOSH!


    While putting all her attention into destroying her foe, Christine never realized that space itself opened right behind her, revealing a pink and ck-colored portal made of dream-like clouds.


    And from within, a girl covered on golden scales, with golden dragon wings, tail, and pointy golden horns emerged, swinging a gigantic hammer in the shape of a stone-made turtle shell, imbued withrge quantities of Holy Magic, and smiting her into the ground!


    "Huh?"


    When she finally saw her, it was toote.


    BAAAAAMMMM¡­!


    Christine felt her barriers shattering, her demonic armor broke down to pieces, and her bones pierced her own flesh. The sheer weight of the hammer wasn''t a problem for her, but that sheer weight, fused with a tremendous, explosive quantity of Holy Light and Ki, made it formidable.


    To the point that when she got hit by it, she was incapable of retaliate in time, and had half her body triturated like meat pulp.


    "AAAARGGHH¡­!"


    With an agonizing scream, the entire city shook, the Demons panicked, and the nearby Demon Cultists screamed in horror as they saw Christine being triturated by a mysterious half-light dragon blonde girl, with an aura emanating the almighty saintly power of a Holy Spirit blessed!


    "T-The young Saintess?!"


    "Lady Christine!!!"


    It felt as if everything was going in slow motion. The moment Elizabeth moved out of the Dream Realm Pocket Dimension that Cattalina had created, she caught Christine off-guard and pulverized her!


    But that wasn''t all, as more mighty Spirit Masters kept pouring out of the Dream Portal, alongside a gigantic Nightmare Hound and a Dream Devourer, two of Cattalina''s Rank 8 Spirits!


    Elfriedden, Erdrich, Eric, Alberta, Chris, Erika, and Elizabeth came out, alongside all of ke''s Vampire Spirits! Eleanora didn''t waste a single second, summoning a Katana made of mes and cutting down the two cultists into pieces, setting them aze.


    "Begone, trash!"


    SLAAASH! SLAAASH!


    "Gryyyaaaaggh!"


    "Uuuaaaggh¡­!"


    Before they could even transform into their half-demon appearances, they were reduced to ashes! All in just less than five seconds! At the same time, as Christie screamed in agony, her flesh quickly started to move, resembling a slime made of meat, countless tendrils emerged out of her flesh, shapeshifting her appearance.


    "GRAAAAHHH! YOU BASTARDS!"


    Countless tentacles that ended on enormous human-like jaws popped out of her fleshy self, as her entire self-shapeshifted, having already fused with her Demonic Spirit.


    At the same time as that happened, a part of her consciousness nced into the skies, hoping that she would had at least sted ke and his stupid army of Familiars!


    Only to see a sight even more ridiculous.


    The young man extended his Demonic Arm, which resembled a gigantic, huge Demonic Beast made of flesh and covered in countless tendrils, tentacles, and insectoid wings, opening a huge spiraling jaw, and devouring all the mes that made up her strongest spell, Apocalypse.


    "[Infernal mes Authority]! [Gluttony Authority]!" Heughed. "Foolish Christine, did you truly believed demonic mes would ever harm my body?! Hahahaha!"


    With a malicious, evilughter, ke mocked Christine''s efforts! It felt as if the roles had been switched, and he and his group were the true viins, with their devious and malicious ns, and their utter mockery of their foes efforts!


    "You''re truly pathetic."


    As ke said those words, it was revealed he was sitting above a gigantic Demonic Blood Dragon, Ruby, while hemanded his army of Dracos to descend, massacring the panicked demons that lost theirposure the moment they heard her scream of agony!


    "Rejoice!" ke spoke to her through telepathy. "You will now learn why your Archdemon Lords fear me so much! Agonize and scream as much as you want! Your death shall not be swift! AHAHAHAHAHA!"


    For the first time in her entire life¡­ Christine feared a human.


    -----

 Chapter 772 Preparing For The Last Battle 1

    ?


    -----


    "Two hundred survivors, it is much less than I imagined." Elizabeth sighed. "The amount of corpses and things we''ve found underground¡­ Was this city being used as some sort of ce where they butchered people for food? Ugh, my stomach¡­"


    "This is just¡­ so horrible." Monica sighed, looking into the distance as the night was already ending, the sun rising from above the horizon.


    "Do the soldiers and knights that go to war¡­ See this every day, for years?" Asked Chris, sighing. "I-I think I would go insane¡­"


    "Hahh¡­ I don''t think I can eat anything for a while." Eric sighed.


    "A-Are you alright, Eric?" Alberta sighed, caressing her boyfriend''s head. "I do remember seeing this a lot back home¡­"


    "You do?!" Asked Chris.


    "I-I thought the Dwarven Continent was at a much better state than ours?" Wondered Eric.


    "P-Partially. But there''s still internal conflicts, armies led by Demon Overlords here and there¡­ I remember that the vige I used to live in was massacred by a Demon Army that emerged out of nowhere." Alberta sighed. "When I went back with my uncle, and the demons were dealt with¡­ we only found butchered corpses, pieces of bones¡­ b-burned people¡­ even the children¡­ n-nobody was spared."


    "¡­" Erdrich remained in silence as he watched the horizon. "This is just how it is. This is war, this is bloodshed. We kill one another, and it isn''t as if we don''t eat demons either. It is painful, yes¡­ But that''s what we should expect. ke always told us that it wasn''t going to be pretty, that we were going to see horrors we neve imagined. All of you epted this, and here we are. Don''t get cold feet now, you guys. It''s only going to get worse."


    "Geez, mister pessimistic and his takes." Elizabeth crossed her arms. "It''s just normal! We have to just find a way to cope with this, talking with one another and trying tofort each other is what all people do¡­ I bet you''re just like us, don''t act tough and open up a bit more."


    "I''m fine." Erdrich shrugged. "I just know what it takes to save our kin and even our world, I''ll kill as many demons as I can. They cursed my mother and created me, thinking I would be their new tool, their new weapon¡­ But I''ll use this power they foolishly gifted to me to crush them all. I''ll regain father''s trust¡­"


    "Well, just leave him be." I stepped in. "He''s just like that. But¡­ I fear that he''s right. Things will only get worse from now on. The more battlefields we visit, the more you''ll see the horrors of war. This by itself is a test, a test to our mental endurance and strength."


    "I-It''s not like it''s all bad." Alberta smiled. "We''re advancing further and further, one step at a time, right? S-So¡­ cheer up, we''re doing this for everyone!"


    "We''re almost there." I said. "Let''s have a meal together first, to rest before we can finish this off once and for all. I promise you that once it''s done, we''ll go back to our vige and take a good break."


    "We better do! I''m missing my family, honestly." Chris sighed. "Alright, let''s go eat somewhere else though, this ce''s still reeks at blood."


    "And that''s when I did my best to purify it all!" Elizabeth sighed. "Oh well¡­"


    "Come on Erdrich, let''s go!" Erika said, shaking Erdrich''s shoulders.


    "Yeah, yeah¡­" Erdrich sighed. "Anyways, that Demon Overlord will be pretty strong, do you have any strategies? And how big is his army?"


    "His army is around fifty thousand." I said nonchntly.


    "F-Fifty thousand?!" Everyone reacted almost in the same way.


    "What?" I asked while raising an eyebrow. "Maybe a dozen Demon Lords, and mostly just small fries. We can st them with wide-range magic. I killed like¡­ six thousand now. Of course, I''m not getting overly confident, there''s strategies I''ve been thinking about which we can use."


    "B-But fifty thousand¡­ and they''re all concentrated in the capital?" Asked Evelyn. "This is¡­ even with your powers, ke. Aren''t you being a bit too optimistic?"


    "From the very beginning thating here was a big bet, now we can''t pull back. We either do it or die trying. But don''t worry, I am not nning on letting anybody die." I smiled. "My Familiars are the ones here that''ll take the hits for us. I''ve already sent several ones over there too. I''ll have to use every single resource I''ve stocked for this moment¡­"


    "Looks like this''ll be a big thing¡­" Chris was nervous. "I wonder if we''ll be able to pull it out even with all of that¡­ Ahh, are my spirits even enough?"


    "They''re more than enough." Iughed. "Be more confident, like you usually are. Your magic has the most destructive power out of all of us! In fact, you''re an important part of my strategy."


    "M-Me?!" Chris was genuinely surprised.


    "Yeah, your part in the whole n will be to blow everything up with your fire magic." I nodded.


    "T-That doesn''t sound like much of a n¡­" Chris sighed. "But I get where you''reing from."


    "And well, everyone should be pretty strong by now, how high are your levels?" I wondered, checking them through the Grimoire, but still asking them.


    "Hmm, I''m midway through." Erdrich said.


    "Me too!" Erika said. "I feel like¡­ several times stronger than when we just arrived here."


    "Certainly, the EXP we''ve earned ourselves is incredible." Elizabeth said. "We would had never had such a good opportunity than now to grow stronger. This growth, even if we explored dungeons every day, would had taken months, if not over a year or more¡­"


    "I''m nning that by the end of this, everyone here should hit Rank 4¡­ or close to it." I said. "If you get a fourth spirit, your strength will increase dramatically as well." I nodded as I analyzed their status.


    "ke, I need to have a small conversation with you, alone." Suddenly, Cattalina walked to my side. "Can you?"


    "Hm? Sure." I agreed.


    -----

 Chapter 773 Preparing For The Last Battle 2

    ?


    -----


    "I know I should talk about this with everyone else, but I wanted to tell you first, because you''re their leader, and the one they really follow and admire." Cattalina exined. "My daughter in specific, finds much morefort on you than she could ever do so with me¡­ Well, it makes sense, as we''ve only meet each other this year but¡­"


    "I understand." I interrupted her. "It''s natural, yes, but she still loves you a lot, you''re her mother after all¡­ But anyways, what did you needed to tell me so secretly?"


    "One of the advantages of my Dream Magic is that it is unpredictable andes with many spells and abilities nobody could see or predict." Cattalina answered. "One of such abilities, which nobody of you knew about, is called irvoyance Dream Eye. It allows me to watch through the dream realms that appear in other areas. By extending my Mana like tendrils and connecting with those Dream Realms, I can see through them, and therefore, spy on several different areas."


    "T-That''s a thing, huh?" I wondered.


    Not even in the Dream Magic I knew about back in my previous life there was such a Spell. Cattalina is a true genius of this element, that''s for sure¡­


    "I know that you''ve sent some surveince familiars but they haven''t gotten past the huge barrier above, but I did. And what I saw was¡­" Cattalina''s eyebrows furrowed. "The Demon Overlord is much, much stronger than just an evolved Demon Lord¡­ The presence I felt from within that castle, the demonic aura that instantly detected my eyes and destroyed them with his mere bloodlust¡­"


    "Wait, don''t tell me¡­" I wondered.


    "Indeed. I know you''ve fought one of them before but this¡­ I am sure of it, that Demon Overlord is an Archdemon Vessel, most likely of the Archdemon that has been behind this the most, Satan, the Archdemon of Wrath!" Cattalina revealed the big thing.


    Yet¡­


    "Oh, I was already half-guessing it, but looks like I was right." I smiled.


    "E-Eh? You''re not¡­ surprised? The one you fought might had been a very weakened version, but this is a Demon Overlord Vessel, it ispletely different! I was thinking that¡­ perhaps we should retreat. Not even with my full power could I take on a Demon Overlord. Maybe a fighter-type, or a strong tank and magic knight, but sadly my magic doesn''t specialize much on dealing damage, and it is mostly of utility and support." She sighed. "We''ve donemore than enough, ke. I told you this secretly because I wanted you to take this decision, so your friends don''t feel disappointed or¡­ grow to hate me because I ordered them to retreat."


    "Sorry, but even knowing that, we cannot go back." I said. "I''ve promised Monica, and I won''t go back on my promises."


    "W-What? But ke! It is not something none of us can truly take on!" Said Cattalina. "And that coupled with fifty thousand demons¡­ As long as we go back and tell Hasan, he could probably assemble an army with more Elite Spirit master''s and Church High Priests so we can realistically have a chance to win!"


    "We have one right now." I answered. "Haven''t you seen what we''ve been able to do? Those foes that would had taken years to defeat and track down, gone in two days. Three cities saved in three days, Cattalina, not even you could had done this, right? Are you still doubting what we''re capable of? What your daughter is capable of?"


    "But¡­" Cattalina sighed, still with doubts. "I just don''t want all of you, with such bright futures, to die a meaningless death¡­"


    "If things be so worse as if death is certain, I''ll be the first one to tell everyone to retreat, and I''ll use everything I can so everyone survives, even if I have to sacrifice my own life." I said, my eyes glowing brightly, staring right at her own. "I will never abandon my preciousrades, nor I will let them die as long as I am alive¡­ I won''tmit the same mistake I once did¡­"


    "The same¡­ mistake?" She wondered.


    "No, never mind that." Iughed. "Cattalina, you''re free to try to convince everyone else, but they have already resolved on fighting to the end. With your magic, their survivability will be most likely assured, and your spells are the pirs of my strategies. I''ll need your strength; we need you with us."


    "¡­" Cattalina sighed, blushing a bit as I asked for her help. "Boy, you''re too good with words. I can tell why my daughter is head over heels for you. Maybe if we would had meet when I was much younger, I wouldn''t had been so different from how Erika feels about you¡­"


    "So?" I asked her again. "Let''s defeat the Archdemon''s Vessel together, mother-inw."


    "M-Mother-inw?!" Cattalina suddenly blushed,ughing. "Hahaha! Oh my, saying something so bold¡­ Honestly speaking, I was ready to force all of you to sleep and escape the moment you tried to argue against me but¡­ I was somehow convinced, you''ve got something, a spark that makes you very simr to someone like Hero Dn. Your words, although simple, can move people''s hearts. Alright, fine! I feel like I simply can''t change your mind. I''ll help. But¡­"


    "But?" I asked.


    "If thingsbe too dangerous, I won''t hesitate to escape with all of you alive." She said with a rather threatening aura. "And then, you''ll take responsibility for the failure of this mission, got it?"


    "¡­Yes." I nodded. "I understand, that''s a perfectly fine response if pushes to shove, mother-inw. Now, let''s go, we''ve got a whole strategy to n. Let''s tell everyone about what I have nned. We''ll be using a lot of items I''ve prepared, and everyone''s magic will take an important role. Especially tour magic."


    "Your powers are rather unique, and are¡­ much more than just summoning, you''re filled with powers and surprises." She sighed. "I do wonder, does that power you have to "Fuse" and "Create" things has something to do with this strategy?"


    "Indeed." I smiled. "Now, let''s go¡­"


    While having a feast to fill everyone''s stomachs and give them all the energy they needed, I shared my strategy, and slowly modified it thanks to everyone''s advice.


    -----

 Chapter 791 Satan Knows No Defeat

    Chapter 791 Satan Knows No Defeat


    -----


    FLAAASH!


    A bright holy light covered ke''s tattered body, even his armor and equipment was torn to pieces, he had little to defend himself, and was left on a terrible state.


    "Huh? This warmth¡­" ke slowly opened his swollen eyes, as their shape slowly went back to normal as his weakened state recovered.


    "Are you alright?" Elizabeth''s voice echoed to his side.


    "Elizabeth?" ke stood back up instantly. "What¡­?! Did I fell unconscious?!"


    "For a bit, you sure did!" Erika suddenly appeared at his side. "Did you really had to fight him all on your own?!"


    "But I almost¡­ I almost won¡­" ke sighed, gripping his fists. "That bastard¡­ I never thought he would begin to burn his own soul to gain more power. No other Archdemon would do something so stupid because he''s weakening himself! But he¡­ did it anyways."


    "Is that why he became a giant made of fire?" Erdrich showed upbehind him. "Hmm, he''s going to destroy the whole capital if this continues¡­"


    "But you''ve driven him into a corner all on your own, and that by itself is incredible¡­" Eric appeared besides Erdrich. "But how about we do things as we''ve always done them?"


    "Together." Chris said, stepping in. "Come on now, you''ve never been alone, haven''t you?"


    "Ah¡­" ke suddenly felt taken aback by the words of his friends.


    He had it wrong from the beginning¡­ All those things he said about struggling alone and endlessly to achieve his goals. If he only truly relied onrades, maybe he wouldn''t need to crawl like an insect all the time.


    After all, a single ant is not much, but a huge colony bes a force that can shape nature on their own, and survive against floods, predators, and many threats.


    "You''re right¡­" ke sighed, feeling stupid about himself, and his own shorings. "Sorry about worrying you, everyone¡­ I''m fine."


    "Eleanora and your other spirits seem to be distracting him, but it''s not going tost for longer." Elfriedden noticed. "What''s the n?"


    "We''ll do what we need to do, together!" Alberta nodded, pumped up.


    "Evelyn and Mom and your Familiars are taking care of the Demons outside." Erika said. "Let''s do this while they''re doing their best to protect this ce!"


    "Alright¡­" ke nodded. "Let''s give it another shot."


    ¡­


    "I AM¡­ THE STRONGEST!"


    Satan''s new form terrorized the entire city, and threanted the foundations of the Silvertide Kingdom''s capital frompletely copsing, the more his monstrous volcanic form expanded, the more threatened was everything.


    And to make things worse, his mind hadpletely deteriorated after ke''s fight, having let his own primordial sin consume arge part of his intelligence, as he consumed his very soul, burning it to gain this strength despite his energy reserves having almostpletely depleted.


    "I AM¡­ THE MIGHTIEST!"


    His gigantic, over fifty-meter big arms constantly melting shed against the city, flooding it with burning magma, constantly absorbing more buildings, and any other corpse within the vicinity!


    BOOOOMMM!!!


    "I WON¡­ IT IS¡­ MY VICTORY!"


    His other arm shed into the capital''s za, burning whatever left of the beautiful greenery that was once grown in there¡­


    CLAAASSSHH!!


    "Hahaha¡­ HAHAHAHA!"


    His monstrous jaws opened, vomiting burning blood and magma everywhere, devastating whatever that was left of a once beautiful capital.


    The area where so many people made their memories, where children onceughed and yed around, and where people worked hard every day,pletely unaware of the terrifying future that would one day befall upon them.


    The ce were thousands of lives were taken in the first invasion, and where thousands of more lives were taken in the next months and years after that¡­


    "I WILL BURN IT ALL¡­" Satan continuedughing. "You pathetic humans¡­ YOU''RE NOTHING BUT MERE INSECTS!"


    As Satanughed, the Vampire Spirits continued attacking him, their explosive attacks did little damage as he kept expanding and absorbing everything!


    Eleanora''s shuriken and spear attacks, her chains, and powerful draconic attacks seemed to do little to nothing, even less Hendrick''s poisons and toxins, or Saphira''s ghosts, and even Cecilia''s water magic was barely doing much. Eriant was the only one with leftover Spirit energy to keep fighting, everyone else seemed exhausted.


    Although Spirits could not get physically tired, they could exhaust their Spiritual Energy reserves, situated within their very bodies. If they overused such energies, they would even dissipate and instantly go back to their master''s Spirit Orb.


    They could absorb ke''s Mana to replenish their Spirit Energy, but that took much energy, and it would exhaust ke from thest digits of Mana he had left, and that was not something they wanted.


    The Familiars that ke had summoned quickly moved, a squadron led by Draco reached Satan, shing against him, but their strikes and attacks were futile as well, and they were beginning to be easily trampled on.


    "INSECTS¡­ YOU''RE ALL INSECTS BEFORE THE STRONGEST ARCHDEMON OF THEM ALL!"


    Satan was too self-absorbed, an Archdemon that was born from his own Wrath, which let his emotions get the better of him. He was manipted by ke to gopletely berserk, but at the same time, it was something that forced him to begin sacrificing a part of his very soul to obtain enough power to destroy it all.


    His Wrathful Energies manifested themselves into his burning desire to destroy everything and be the strongest. To him all other living beings were ants, insects to trample on. Humans in specific, were the most amusing of insects, which he could not see as anything other than food or trash.


    "HAHAHAHA! YOU WEAKLINGS!"


    Satan kept expanding his body, growing new arms, and pummeling at his foes. The four Frost Dragons were still alive,pletely weakened though, and covered in many wounds, they still had a few minutes of life, and they were using their frost magic to stop a part of Satan''s body, barely doing much on their own.


    "YOU''RE NEXT, VAMPIRE QUEEN ELEANORA!"


    Satanughed, roaring as his body shapeshifted, growing a gigantic Cerberus-like head, opening its jaws, and catching the tired Eleanora off-guard, attempting to devour her!


    "Ah¡­!"


    FLAAAASSSH!!!


    However, before his jaws would reach her, the heavens above opened up, revealing a shining, brilliant ray of light, shaped into a divine stake, and piercing Satan''s head!


    BOOOOOMMMM!!!


    "UUURRGGHHH¡­!"


    As Satan''s head crumbled apart, Elenora quickly recognized that light¡­


    "Elizabeth! Everyone¡­!" A smile surged in the Vampire Queen''s wless face.


    "Sorry for beingte¡­" The Saintess said, her holy powers manifesting themselves to its limits! "[Heavenly Brilliance]!"


    TRUUUUMMM¡­!


    The skies once more started to shake, as the young Saintess manifested her powers once more, pushing her magic to her very limits, as a gigantic ray of brilliant holy spiritual light emerged!


    "Through a connection with the Holy Spirit of Light, I can manifest a fragment of his Divinity!" Elizabeth thought. "This is¡­ the true power of a Saintess! Now have a taste of Divine Punishment! [Divine Spirit Smite]!"


    The light descending like a ray of brilliance shape itself into a gigantic hammer of pure radiance, shing against Satan, who was trying to quickly crush Elizabeth with his gigantic volcanic ws!


    BAAAAAAMMMM!!!


    "UUURRGGHHHH¡­?! AAAAGGGHHH¡­!"


    Satan not only felt his entire body crumbling apart constantly, but his very soul was hit directly, countless of small cracks appearing all across it!


    Crack, crack¡­!


    "Y-YOUUU¡­!"


    -----

 Chapter 800 Negotiations With A Fallen Kingdom’s Desperate Nobles

    <h4>Chapter 800 Negotiations With A Fallen Kingdom''s Desperate Nobles</h4>


    -----


    My Grimoire started shining brightly as it showcased me the results of all the battles we had¡­


    Ding!


    [You and your Party have defeated [Demon Overlord Vessel: Satan] x1 [Demon Lords] x26 [Hundreds of Thousands of Low to High-Ranking Demons]!]


    [You earned 452.000.000 EXP!]


    [Level Up!]


    [Level Up!]


    [Level Up!]


    [Level Up!]


    [Level Up!]


    [Level Up!]


    [Level Up!]


    [Level Up!]


    [Level Up!]


    [¡­]


    [Your Level has increased from Level 31 to Level 72/100!]


    [All your Stats have greatly increased! You gained Bonus Stat Points and Skill Points.]


    [Several Skills have Leveled Up.]


    [Due to the umted Skill Proficiency on Skills already at Max Level, several Skills have triggered Skill Evolution.]


    [The Power of the [Holy Spirits] has been imbued into each Evolved Skill, further increasing their powers.]


    [The [Hawk Eye: 10] Skill has Evolved into [Paragon''s Eyes: Lv1]!]


    [The [Acrobatics: Lv10] Skill has Evolved into [Lightning Speed Movements: Lv1]!]


    [The [Robust Body: Lv10] Skill has Evolved into [Undying Body: Lv1]!]


    [The [Heavy Drinker: Lv10] Skill has Evolved into [Master Of Elixirs: Lv1]!]


    [The [Intimidation: Lv10] Skill has Evolved into [Emperor''s Presence: Lv1]!]


    [The [Hard Worker: Lv10] Skill has Evolved into [Unparalleled Tenacity: Lv1]!]


    [Due to having absorbed the Demonic Powers of Satan, you acquired the [Wrath''s Authority: Lv1] Title Skill!]


    [By holding the might of Wrathful Demonic Energies within your body, and the Fragments of the First Tiered Crown of Wrath, you acquired the [Wrathful Energy Maniption: Lv1] Skill!]


    So many skills evolved! Even the Hard Worker Skill?! And their evolved forms are sure amazing, just like Magic Genius is. Is this part of the Holy Spirits rewards as well?


    I also got two new Skills as well, both rted with Satan¡­ The more I fight and absorb these Archdemons, the more I''ll be able to steal their powers.


    Well, I''ll have to see them into more detailter though.


    Through the help of my flying familiars, we moved back to Monica''s Territory, there was a hugemotion once we finally arrived, almost four days after we departed.


    Erika''s mother, Cattalina, and Evelyn had taken care of most of the demons outside the walls on the capital and were as tired as us once they joined us. But had enough energy to talk a lot with Monica''s father.


    For once, Evelyn had to ept that we were not normal, and that if we really meant it, we could aplish things nobody could ever believe. Cattalina¡­ simply strengthened her trust over me even more, openly saying I could take the hand of her daughter at any moment if I wanted.


    I was slightly surprised by her remark at first, I thought that there was no point in taking away Erika''s hand, that was strange. It was until she exined to me it meant taking her hand in marriage¡­ And I felt slightly embarrassed I didn''t knew of such a saying.


    The arrival of their Lord made the entire poption indescribably happy and joyful, and the surviving nobles we rescued before were also very happy, gathering in the castle with the rest of us.


    Despite how ruined the country was right now, Darkbound Family Territory was fine and flourishing, and as long as we could use it as the pir, the rest of the country could, over time, grow back to its former glory.


    And about money, which is needed for everything, well, they had lost most of their riches, and most nobles here only held their titles and nothing else, having lost everything to the demons.


    The only nobles with riches and authority here right now was Monica and her father, so they had the amazing opportunity to rebuild Silvertide to be their own country now.


    Of course, with the capital they had, it wasn''t enough at all¡­ They needed much more, and right now, there were little things that could give them money, sellingnd was one of such things, but because it had been ravaged by demons, no neighboring country would want it for a high price, and most likely would offer pitiful amounts of money.


    Therefore I had a n, considering the geography of Silvertide and its natural resources. Something I had thought about on the way here that I now exined to the nobles as we had a bountiful feast.


    "I''ve researched and this territory has arge quantity of Dungeons, alongside mountains rich on ores, but you''ve not been able to exploit them because ofck of willing adventurers to explore Dungeons and ofck of personnel to dig your mountains." I said. "Though, I think we can get that solved¡­"


    "Y-You mean you''re going to call people from your vige?" Wondered one noble.


    "Or perhaps ask the Goldriver Kingdom for help?" Another nobledy asked.


    "No¡­" I said, smiling. "I''ll do it all myself."


    "W-Wha¡­?"


    Everyone reacted in surprise, incapable of understanding what I truly meant. This was my golden opportunity, and I couldn''t miss on it.


    "You¡­ You don''t mean¡­?" Monica''s father caught up to what I meant. "Can they do it? But they are just¡­?"


    "What? What do you mean?" Monica asked. "Ah¡­ Eh?!"


    "Yeah." I nodded. "I can tell that you two have finally realized what I meant. I''m going to use my Familiars, there are some dexterous ones such as the Orcs capable of mining just fine, especially with their incredible strength. Small goblins can also enter any small area, and they are much better at climbing and carrying things than most people. Of course, their quantity is limited, but they will do a good job as long as I spread them around well enough."


    "You''re using the familiars to mine and clear dungeons?!"


    "Is that possible? Can you control them from afar?"


    "T-This is ridiculous¡­"


    The nobles were surprised beyond belief, they knew Familiars were strong fighters, but nobody ever thought about other things they could do aside from fighting.


    "I can." I nodded. "They''re tireless, don''t need to eat or sleep either, and can work endlessly until I tell them to stop, or until they die. I can even assign Generals to guide them, which can even talk and are much more intelligent."


    The nobles all fell into silence, and quickly nced at one another¡­


    "If you don''t mind making a contract with me¡­"


    "My territory has several dungeons!"


    "Mine has arge mountain with Mana Crystals inside!"


    Jackpot.


    -----

 Chapter 801 A Summoner Can Do It All!

    <h4>Chapter 801 A Summoner Can Do It All!</h4>


    -----


    After discussing things with the nobles, several papers were made. They still ha authority over their territories, so they could, with the help of Monica''s father office, make all sorts of contracts and decide things on the spot.


    Once a lot of negotiations and talks were made over several hours, I came to pretty good business opportunities with all of them. Some of them seemed slightly frustrated because most of the contracts I asked for 80% of everything we earned.


    They wanted a 50/50, but if I do all the job, they weren''t going to get half of it. They thought they were the generous ones with a 50/50, until they realized I could had simply asked for a 99 and they would had ended agreeing anyways because of how desperate they were to earn any profit.


    A 20% of all earnings,ing from them not moving a single finger while seeing their cities restore slowly seemed like a pretty good deal to me, I think I was the generous one in here, quite definitely.


    Like that, I secured five Dungeons and three mines, including the dungeon in this territory. Most of the Dungeons were either D Rank or C Rank, and there wasn''t any B Rank Dungeon, sadly.


    But even then, it was still ideal, B Rank and above would still be quite hard for my Familiars to clear on their own, but anything at C Rank or below seems to be incredibly easy.


    Monsters usually spawn again at intervals of three days, or a maximum of five days when they''re veryrge dungeons, so once a dungeon is cleared I''ll simply repurpose the already existing Familiars to move to a different location and continue working.


    For that purpose, I created five teams, each team will initially go explore a dungeon, one they''re done, they will move to a mine nearby, and once the dungeon''s back with monsters, which a Crow I''ll leave there watching will alert me, they will go back there and do this cycle.


    Eventually every dungeon will constantly be farmed out of their resources while the mines will be on constant work, I''ll be gentle and not mine everything right away, setting out small daily quotas to my tireless Orcs and Goblin Teams, which are the ideal miners with their strong physiques, agility, climbing ability, and carrying potential.


    I will also set up several flying familiars to carry ores from long distances, mostly Dracos as they''re the strongest ones, easily being able to carry a few tons with each trip to the city, back-to-back tirelessly.


    As for the Dungeon Explorers, aside from Orcs and Goblins, there will go all my strongest members as well, Arachne, the Scorpions, the Wasps, some Cave Drakes, and so on. Of course, Fenrirs too, and a few Spores too, so we can both weaken foes and then destroy them with shy attacks.


    About that, Spore and Lily will be pivotal on Dungeon Exploration, one being capable of weakening foes with debuffs and inflicting status ailments and the other being able to extend buffs, heal, and maintain my Summons healthy being able to heal them from Paralysis, Poison, and even Curses, especially after I fully awakened them and gave them Talents.


    -----


    [Name]: [Spore (Evolved) (Awakened)]


    [Type]: [nt] [Illusion] [Curse Caster] [Debuffer]


    [Rank]: [D++]


    [Race]: [Sinister Jester Myconid]


    [Talent]: [Toxin Sorcerer: ¡ï]


    [Health Points]: [2000/2000] (+700)


    [Mana Points]: [4500/4500] (+1100)


    [Strength]: [1500] (+700)


    [Agility]: [4000] (+1400)


    [Vitality]: [2000] (+700)


    [Intelligence]: [4500] (+1400)


    [Dexterity]: [3500] (+1100)


    [Buff]: [+250 Intelligence] [+200 Agility] [+100 Intelligence]


    [Skill]: [Poisonous Spore++] [Poison Fog++] [Mind-scrambling Smoke++] [ursed Toxins++] [Weakening ck Spores++] [Paralyzing Poisonous Spit++]


    [Awakening Skill]: [Lethal Poison++]


    [Growth]: [MAX]


    -----


    Spore''s new evolution seemed incredible, with much higher stats and the appearance of a more human-like Myconid, with a face resembling a mask, he had truly be a yful Jester now. And his Skills were wonderful! With him along, all foes will fall to their knees before they can even take a hit.


    His Awakening Skill is especially amazing, poisoning any foe within a 250-meter radius around him with a poison that causes Paralysis, Bleeding, Poisoning, Intoxication, Confusion, Madness, Mana Drain, Health Drain, and even debuff all their stats by -50% for a minute.


    It''s only a minute, but it is indeed amazing!


    Of course, it costs almost all his Mana to conjure, and he can only use it once a day, like all Awakening Skills, which have this cooldown per individual summon.


    Good thing there can be multiple of him, so many can conjure it every time a boss shows up to deal with it quickly.


    -----


    [Name]: [Lily (Awakened)]


    [Type]: [nt] [Healing] [Enhancement]


    [Rank]: [D++]


    [Race]: [Floating Revitalizing Lilypad]


    [Talent]: [Priest: ¡ï]


    [Health Points]: [1700/1700] (+1100)


    [Mana Points]: [5500/5500] (+1100)


    [Strength]: [750] (+700)


    [Agility]: [5250] (+1400)


    [Vitality]: [750] (+700)


    [Intelligence]: [3750] (+1400)


    [Dexterity]: [3750] (+700)


    [Buff]: [+250 MP] [+200 Agility] [+100 Intelligence]


    [Skill]: [Revitalizing Pollen++] [Buff Enhancement Aroma++] [Antidote Leaf++] [High-Speed Flying++] [Healing Aroma++] [Recovery Roots++]


    [Awakening Skill]: [Flower Petal Elixir++]


    [Growth]: [13/60]


    -----


    Meanwhile, Lily has be an even better healer, Healing Aroma and Recovery Roots give her the necessary pure healing she needed, constantly conjuring a sweet aroma that increases natural health recovery speed by ten times to any ally within a 100-meter radius of her, and Recovery Roots are edible roots she creates, which once eaten can restore 5000 HP.


    And if that isn''t good enough though, there''s Flower Petal Elixir, which not only does it restores 10000 HP and MP to anybody that drinks it, but it also increases All Stats by +25% for 1 Hour. She can only create three drops of this Elixir every 24 hours though, but I am beginning to slowly save these to use on myself or my friends.


    With everything all set and done, the Familiars immediately started working the very next morning, Draco being very efficient at bringing them to their respective areas of work.


    Thanks to Summon Expansion and Multiplication, I can have hundreds of summons as long as there''s Spirit Orbs I can absorb, and I was supplied with many by Monica''s Father, in fact, he gave me all he had, risking his family business.


    I will make sure to not disappoint my dear clients!


    -----

 Chapter 802 An Endless Mining Company

    Chapter 802 An Endless Mining Company


    -----


    After sending my troops to various areas, I decided to invite my friends and Monica and her father to a trip, to show them how things work. The nobles that survived also decided to join, desiring to see them working too.


    Flying over the giant Ruby, which was muchrger than my Wyvern Familiars, he carried us all the way to the nearest mountain in the neighboring Silver Shield Territory, arge mountain with a snowy cap named "Snowfield Mountain" whose depths harbored rich mines filled with high quality Mana Crystals and other Magical Ores.


    The temperatures here were too low and the entrance to the mine leading to the ores was also too high, so it was virtually impossible for normal peasants toe here and do their job properly, and the Lord of this territory, even before the invasion, had not enough funds to pay stronger people with high levels to mine, who were usually prestigious Adventurers.


    However, right now, the sight was phenomenal, all the mines were filled with huge orcs carrying metallic boxes filled with crystals and magic ores, Goblins mining the entrance carefully while otherrger Orcs were smashing therger crystals and ores into smaller bits.


    All led by the General Titan, who smartly managed the entire operation. There were also Cave Drakes wandering around, carrying metallic boxes filled with riches, and also helping the others dig tunnels safely, to expand the mine without making anything copse.


    "Incredible¡­" Monica''s father muttered, hearing the endless sounds of pickaxes hitting crystals and ores and unearthing them. "T-This is¡­ In just a couple of hours?!"


    "I can''t believe it¡­ With this, I can finally begin gathering enough resources to rebuild my city¡­ There''s still a few hundred citizens alive, with the money we make with this¡­ It is possible!" The Lord in charge of this territory was extremely happy.


    "Amazing, they''re all working so organized!" Monica said.


    "It really is incredible, I never thought of such a use for Familiars." Elizabeth nodded.


    "But doesn''t this count as forcedbor?" Erika wondered.


    "They''re Familiars, made out of cards, they''re manifestations of Mana, and are tireless. They seem entertained with something else to do than to wait for the next battle anyways." I smiled. "Don''t worry about their feelings."


    "O-Okay¡­" Erika was a bit worried but quickly epted my words.


    Familiars were beings made of condensed mana, they were incredible, yeah, but they were not the same as other living beings, or even Spirits. They never get tired, nor never truly die, their minds are connected based on their type, so every clone gathers experience from each iteration, making them better at what they do.


    They don''t really have anyplex feelings, though they can feel some joy or being bored, as I''ve noticed sometimes. The ones that can talk would seem to be the mostplex, but they also seem very loyal to me, and do anything without even questioning.


    Eleanora had a theory that they were extensions of my soul, or something. And that because of such a thing, they belonged to me and were part of me in a more ethereal level than one would imagine at first.


    Nheless, there was on problem in asking them to do jobs, I wasn''t going to humanize them when they were even more different than animals.


    "It sure feels like a massive cheat!" Chrisined a little. "How is this even fair¡­?"


    "It''s incredible, but ke took a while to get to this point, and he''s the one that works the hardest among all of us. I think it''s justified¡­ to an extent." Eric said.


    "I wonder how my family would react to orcs and goblins mining¡­" Alberta giggled, she was a dwarf after all.


    "I think this is utterly ridiculous¡­" Elfriedden facepalmed. "Is he going to be the king of the world eventually?! With this much potential¡­"


    "I have no such ns if anything¡­ I would like to kick back and rx once everything is done." I smiled.


    I had been thinking about that for a while now, but the position my previous life had¡­ and all its responsibilities, I have no such desires to have them.


    If anything, once I''m done with dealing with the demons, I would like to settle down back in my vige, or perhaps somewhere else nearby, with Erika, Elizabeth, and Eleanora.


    And enjoy a simple yet calm life with them¡­ the life Asmodeus could never have.


    However, overthinking about such a future is useless if I end up dying tomorrow, so I better only concentrate in what''s in front of me rather than on hypothetical futures.


    "This is incredible, how much profit are you making out of this?" Erdrich wondered.


    "I''ll probably make a few hundreds of millions a month with ores alone, if we take into consideration the dungeon diving materials, it could go to half a billion." I wondered.


    "EH?!" Everyone cried in shock.


    "Hahaha, well, I am simply going to put that money into growing even stronger, Spirit Orbs are quite expensive after all, the higher their Ranks are¡­" I smiled. "That money will disappear quickly once I spend it buying rare materials too."


    "S-Save some for our future too!" Erika asked.


    "Of course. I have that in mind, don''t worry." I caressed her pink hair.


    "But what are your ns next with all this profit?" Wondered Elizabeth. "I see! You want to donate to the church, right? Good choice!"


    "I am not going to give them a single penny." I sighed.


    "Hahah¡­ I was just joking!" Elizabeth caught me off guard.


    "Well, anyways, I will simply spend it on all the costs required for my growth. The more summons I make, the more Spirit Orbs I''ll need. Stronger evolutions need rarer materials too. And for what''sing next, we''ll need as many familiars as possible." I said.


    "You mean¡­ you''re really going to the war at my continent?" Elfriedden asked.


    "As long as I finish preparations quickly¡­ Perhaps by next year. Though I''ll need your help in creating a summon decree so I can get there easily." I exined.


    "ke¡­" Elfriedden was surprised on how seriously I took his proposal some time ago. "Alright¡­ I trust you, my friend."


    "Friend, huh? You''ve surely gotten softer." Iughed.


    "S-Shut up!"


    -----

 Chapter 803 Ranking Up, Combining Talents!

    <h4>Chapter 803 Ranking Up, Combining Talents!</h4>


    -----


    Once we were back to Monica''s castle, I nced from the windows as my troops of monsters walked into the Dungeon near the city. It was seen as a rather dangerous C Rank Dungeon, but it was not going to be easily cleared once to twice a week by my Familiars.


    I heard from Monica that it mostly has Dark-type and Poison-type Monsters, such as Poisonous Bats, Dark Wolves, and even Venom Drakes and Venom Wyverns, in the deepest floor which is Floor 5.


    The Dungeon Boss ording to her father is the "Venomous Viper Drake King" a mighty C+++ Rank Monster bordering as strong as a B- Rank monster, with potent poison and hard scales¡­ We''ll see how mighty it is once my Familiars find him.


    The night was already falling, and tomorrow, we were finally moving back to Stronghold Academy for thest three months before the year''s end. I assume we''ll need to either conquer another dungeon or just do some written test, vored with somebat here and there.


    But for now, as I rested over my bed, I decided to check all my gains, especially something I''ve been wanting to do for a while, which I already had a conversation with my friends and Monica''s family about, while hiding it from the other nobles.


    And that was the [Talent Bestowal Divine Monolith] and all it involved. We agreed on letting the knowledge about this precious Monolith a secret for now, as it might stir an uproar amongst many countries desiring the power it can grant to people tobine their Talents and gain even more power.


    It wasn''t exaggerated to say that neighboring kingdoms might try to capitalize on this or even outright invade Silvertide while it is as its weakest.


    The only reason they haven''t done anything is because of the demons, and now that news about the demons being defeated spread around, they''re still uninterested because everything is just ruined.


    But Monica''s father was sure that they would immediately try to get this precious Monolith and monopolize it to themselves¡­ even if they had to just destroy an already ruined country.


    My friends will go there tomorrow morning to get this power unlocked as well. And well, without further ado, let''s see how this works.


    "Grimoire, ess the Talent Combination Ability."


    The Grimoire opened its pages, which quickly started fluttering by the wind, immediately glowing brightly as they showed me what I wanted to see.


    Ding!


    [essing the [Talent Combination] Interface¡­]


    [essed.]


    The pages suddenly glowed with a blue light, generating several texts across, showcasing the Talents I could had taken instead of my current ones¡­ This seems to only include ss. Subsses were excluded, perhaps they were not something that existed in the past.


    Ding!


    [Please select a Talent tobine with your existing [Grandmaster Summoner: ¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï] Talent!]


    [Avable Talents]


    [Magic Beast Tamer: ¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï]


    [Abyssal Vampiric Spear Demon: ¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï]


    [Elemental Warlock: ¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï]


    [Great Dragon Tamer: ¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï]


    [Blood King: ¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï]


    [Aberrant Chimera: ¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï]


    There were several Talents, all the ones I hadn''t taken before, actually¡­ And they were all honestly tempting! I had only been taking the Summoner Talent because of how obvious of a choice it was.


    But the other Talents were just as incredible sounding, although I still couldn''t see their details, I could "grab" them, and drag them into the empty space next to my Talent, which had a + beforehand, and see the name of the resulting Talent.


    And these were the results¡­


    -----


    [Grandmaster Summoner: ¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï] + [Abyssal Vampiric Spear Demon: ¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï] = [Grandmaster Abyssal Crimson Spear Summoner Demon: ¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï]


    [Grandmaster Summoner: ¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï] + [Elemental Warlock: ¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï] = [Elemental Grandmaster Warlock Summoner: ¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï]


    [Grandmaster Summoner: ¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï] + [Great Dragon Tamer: ¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï] = [Grandmaster Great Dragon Summoner Tamer: ¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï]


    [Grandmaster Summoner: ¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï] + [Blood King: ¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï] = [Blood King Grandmaster Summoner: ¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï]


    [Grandmaster Summoner: ¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï] + [Aberrant Chimera: ¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï] = [Aberrant Chimera Grandmaster Summoner: ¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï]


    Interesting, from what I can notice, it seems that it always keeps the Grandmaster Summoner no matter what, and the fusions seem very simple, without creating something that isn''t just a mashup of both Talents.


    However, I think that''s the intended purpose, it is to have two Talents at once before there was even the existence of something like Subsses at all¡­ So with this, not only will I continue being a Grandmaster Summoner, but I will gain the prowess and Skills of another Talent.


    Among all the ones that bring my attention, the Blood King and the Great Dragon Tamer seem like the ones that would fit me well, the Spear Demon one seems too convoluted, and if it specializes only on enhancing my spear-wielding abilities, it won''t grow as much as I want it to grow.


    Therefore, the dilemma now is either to choose between enhancing my Vampiric Powers to finally make a breakthrough, or further enhance my Dragon Taming Powers, which might also make Ruby stronger and my Dragon Skills evolve further, perhaps.


    Both are tempting, buttely, my Vampiric Powers have been rather stale, although more or less I''ve awakened to a full-fledged vampire through my Physique and without their weaknesses, it still feels like itcks something.


    A powerful Skill aside from just Blood Arts¡­ Cold Blood King give me what I desire?


    Well, only one way to find out.


    Ding!


    [You''ve chosen the [Blood King: ¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï] Talent tobine with the [Grandmaster Summoner: ¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï] Talent!]


    [Both Talents have merged together, creating the [Blood King Grandmaster Summoner: ¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï] Talent!]


    [The power of the [Blood King] talent is being ingrained into your very [Origin Core]!]


    [Both Talents have fully merged, you now possess two Talents into one!]


    [As a result of possessing a Double Talent, you''ve been granted additional Skill Points and Stat Points.]


    [From now on, each Level will supply 40 Stat Points and Skill Points instead.]


    [Avable Stat Points]: [2.260]


    [Avable Skill Points]: [2.860]


    What?! This is insane! I get double Stat Points and Skill Points?!


    I see! So this is why it is so powerful, it''s not just Skills¡­ It''s just double the normal growth as well!


    As I saw my avable points, it became incredibly clear what this meant. Combining Talents meant gaining double the points, perhaps not only as apensation because I''ll have to buy more Skills from the Skill Tree¡­ but also because that was most likely the intention.


    -----

 Chapter 804 Divine Vampire Emperor Physique

    <h4>Chapter 804 Divine Vampire Emperor Physique</h4>


    -----


    [Avable Stat Points]: [2.260]


    [Avable Skill Points]: [2.860]


    As I saw my avable points, it became incredibly clear what this meant. Combining Talents meant gaining double the points, perhaps not only as apensation because I''ll have to buy more Skills from the Skill Tree¡­ but also because that was most likely the intention.


    Whoever these Ancient "Gods" were, they had somehow created this power to fight something greater, a foe they had inmon. But did Demons even existed in those ancient times, even before the first Demon War when they just arrived, where the Summoner Hero Allen was born?


    What other enemy could the Ancients have fought to protect Spiritias from, even before contemporary Races such as Humans, Elves, Dwarves, and Beastmen even existed?


    Well, whatever it was, it doesn''t seem to be around anymore.. Though, their graves did gave me an unsettling feeling, as if at the end, they still lost.


    Nheless, overthinking about that won''t help me, it is better to see what else I''ve awakened.


    [Due to your change in Talents, your Stats have increased as a result.]


    [You gained the Bonus Stats of the [Blood King] Talent!]


    [You gained +2500 HP]


    [You gained +1000 MP]


    [You gained +2500 Strength]


    [You gained +2000 Agility]


    [You gained +2000 Vitality]


    [You gained +1000 Intelligence]


    [You gained +1000 Dexterity]


    [You gained +50 Spirit]


    "Huh?!"


    FLAAASH!


    My entire body started overflowing with new power, I saw my veins glowing bright red, my eyes becamepletely crimson red, my hair temporarily turned silvery-white, my nails became ck and long like ws.


    My entire body grew in size as well, as if I had aged to my mid-twenties, and even my ears grew sharper, not as long as elves, but still different than humans! Two huge bat-like wings popped out of my shoulders, and my fangs became sharper and more vampiric than ever. My hair kept growing until reaching below my armpits, and I felt an indescribable thirst for blood!


    I saw countless of Vampiric Runes growing over my entire body as well!


    Compared to the summoning ss, the Blood King was abat-type ss¡­ It made sense it had much better bonus stats, because it wasn''t relying on the overwhelming power of summons, it had to boost its wielder enough, and it was a four-star talent too!


    "Hahhh¡­ Hahhh¡­"


    I felt like my entire body was burning, but the pain receded as quickly as it came, and my appearance seemed to suddenly go back to normal.


    "Was that appearance¡­?!"


    [The power of the [Blood King] has fully awakened within you!]


    [You acquired the Talent Skill: [Blood King Transformation: Lv1]!]


    [Your [Race] has changed! From [Human] to [Human (Vampire King)]!]


    Blood King Transformation! Was that why my appearance changed slightly? I acquired an ability to fully transform into a Vampire King now, with a full transformation in appearance, something that my Physique cannot do, as it can only shapeshift parts of my body to look vampire-like, but never fully transform me.


    "Hahaha¡­" Iughed. "So that''s how it was¡­ Blood King, despite its simple name, is much more than it seemed."


    At my base appearance, I keep being a human still, but once I transform, my second hidden race activates, [Vampire King], changing my appearance tremendously.


    Well, might as well check what the Skill can do¡­


    -----


    [Blood King Transformation: Lv1]


    A Unique Skill given by the [Blood King: ¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï] Talent.


    Awaken your innate Race [Vampire King] to unleash all your Vampiric Powers, drastically changing your appearance into your [True Vampire King Form] for a set amount of time.


    By transforming into your [True Vampire King Form], you acquire the following Unique Abilities:?[Vampire King''s Crimson ws], [Vampire King''s Sharp Demon Fangs], [Vampire King''s Sky-Soaring Wings], [Vampire King''s Eyes of Seduction and Insanity], [Vampire King''s Reinforced Physique], [Vampire King''s Primordial Blood Magic], [Vampire King''s Crimson Blood Legion]. More Abilities are unlocked with each Skill Level.


    Once transformed, All Stats increase by +300%, Blood, Darkness, and Vampire Skills, Magic, and Abilities increase in Power by an additional +500%, while decreasing their Energy Costs by -50%. Bonus Stats and Buffs increase by +25% with each Skill Level.


    However, once transformed, Mana, Ki, and Blood Energy are continuously drained.


    -----


    "I see¡­ So this is how it is-"


    [The Power of the [Blood King] has been fully absorbed into your Body.]


    [The [Physique]: [Vampiric Blood Emperor Physique (Tier 5: Rank 10)] has undergone an Evolution!]


    "Already at Tier 6!" I said in surprise.


    FLAAASH!


    My body once more glowed, as if it was reinforcing itself even further, in mere seconds, my muscles and body became even mightier, while I felt the power of the Blood King synergizing amazingly well with my Physique!


    [Your [Physique] has Evolved into the [Divine Vampire Emperor Physique (Tier 6: Rank 1)]!]


    [All your Stats have further increased by +2000!]


    [You acquired a new Physique Ability: [Divine Blood Body]!]


    "Divine?!"


    I never thought I could get a Divine Physique this soon!


    This means my body has been tampered enough to be incredibly tough¡­ If I had this power when I fought that damn Satan, the fight might have gonepletely different.


    FLUOOOSH!


    My entire body was overflowing with endless rivers of Blood Energy, a highly refined form of Blood, Darkness, and Death Elemental Kibined together.


    This was the almighty Blood Energy- no, Divine Blood Energy! With this, I can unleash even stronger spells and techniques¡­


    Perhaps killing yet another Archdemon Vessel is not so far from my grasp.


    [Due to yourbination of Levels and other changes, your Spirit Orb has increased its Rank from Rank 4 Initial Stage to Rank 4 Upper Stage!]


    [Your Spiritual Energy and Mana are overflowing from your Spirit Orb, further increasing your Mana Points and Spirit Stats!]


    [You gained +5000 Mana.]


    [You gained +100 Spirit.]


    [The increased Spirit Stat is expanding your Pseudo Spiritual Realm!]


    [Your Spirit Treasures have grown stronger andrger!]


    [New Spirit Treasures might soon be born¡­]


    [You acquired the [Vampire King: Lv1] Title Skill!]


    And yet another Skill¡­


    -----

 Chapter 805 Powerful New Skills

    <h4>Chapter 805 Powerful New Skills</h4>


    -----


    After a rain of many notifications, the silence was finally broken by something else¡­


    Ding!


    [You acquired the [Vampire King: Lv1] Title Skill!]


    -----


    [Vampire King: Lv1]


    A Unique Title Skill only given to the holder of the [Blood King: ¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï]?Talent.


    By awakening fully your Vampiric Powers, you''ve grown into an incredibly strong Vampire King! Vampire Kings can naturally control all other Vampires below their power as long as they make them submit with their sheer power.


    It is also possible for Vampire Kings to not only be near-immortal, with their incredible regeneration abilities, but they can also utilize their very blood to regrow any part of their body.


    Vampire Kings can multiply their kin, through different methods, such as biting a target or sharing their blood, it is possible to convert a target into a Vampire Variant or a Vampiric Creature based on their talents and potential.


    Enhances HP, Strength, and Vitality by +50% with an additional +25% with each Skill Level passively (invisible buff).


    Increases the Power of Blood, Darkness, and Vampire Magic, Skills, and Abilities by +200% passively, while decreasing their Energy Costs by -25%.


    Boosts the Regeneration Speed of the entire body by +1000%.


    -----


    An incredible Title Skill¡­ With this, I gain even more strength and regeneration speed¡­ It is the cherry on top after all the growth in power I''ve just received.


    With this alone, I feel quite aplished¡­ But well, I had also evolved several Skills, which I had no time to check, I might as well see what they can do now, although some of them have already activated within me, so I can kind of feel their effects.


    -----


    [Unparalleled Tenacity: Lv1]


    A Special Skill that has evolved from the [Hard Worker] Skill, a feat that only those with Unparalleled Tenacity can do.


    Increases Skill Proficiency and Experience Points earned by +220%. Doubles Stat Gains per Level. The harder you work, the more payback you will receive, but the greater the challenge will be.


    -----


    Simple and to the point¡­ With this, I can level up my skills and my level even faster with more EXP and Proficiency bonuses, all while¡­ my stat gains per level double?! It seems to be a static buff, so it won''t increase as the Skill Level does.


    Still, this means that from now on, instead of gaining +50 HP per Level, I gain +100, and so on¡­


    -----


    [Lightning Speed Movements: Lv1]


    A Special Skill that has evolved from the [Acrobatics] Skill, granting the user an even better ability over lightning-speed movements.


    Enhances your movement speed to near lightning-fast speeds, facilitating all types of nimble movements and increasing your reaction to anything within your surroundings, sharpening your senses by +200%, with an additional +25% with each Skill Level.


    Additionally, your body can naturally generate Lightning Energy when moving, further boosting your movement speed and reflexes.


    -----


    [Undying Body: Lv1]


    A Special Skill that has evolved from the [Robust Body] Skill, granting the user an even mightier and stronger body, a near-undying body.


    Boost the physical strength and toughness of your body to almost undying levels, while increasing your natural regeneration of any wounds, your resistance against most elements, diseases, status ailments, and curses by +200%, with an additional +25% with each Skill Level.


    Additionally, your body can grow stronger the more damage you take from fighting strong enemies.


    -----


    [Paragon Eyes: 1]


    A Special Skill that has evolved from the [Hawk Eyes] Skill, granting the user an even better vision, allowing them to see from incredibly far away, and to better analyze things within their surroundings as well.


    Improves your vision abilities topletely supernatural levels, increasing how far you can see, how better you can analyze any detail, and how you can appraise anything in front of you by +200%, with an additional +25% with each Skill Level.


    Additionally, your eyes can intimidate foes with a mere nce, decreasing their stats at random.


    -----


    [Master of Elixirs: Lv1]


    A Special Skill that has evolved from the [Heavy Drinker] Skill, giving the user the ability to gain even more benefits and boosts from all sorts of consumables, no longer being limited to drinks or potions, but also including food and even other materials that can be absorbed.


    Improves your ability to absorb energy, nutrients, power, and healing effects from any consumable item, even those that aren''t specifically food, drinks, potions, or elixirs, such as items that can be absorbed, will also have their enhancements boosted by +500%, with an additional 25% with each Skill Level.


    Additionally, the user can recreate anything they drink or eat easily through Creation and avable ingredients.


    -----


    [Emperor''s Presence: Lv1]


    A Special Skill that has evolved from the [Intimidation] Skill, giving the user an even greater ability to intimidate foes, to the point their very presence is like that of an almighty Emperor''s Presence.


    Whenever you fight a foe slightly weaker than you, or equally as strong, you can unleash an almighty [Emperor''s Presence] from your very Will, intimidating their souls and making them recoil in fear, decreasing all their Stats by -60%, with an additional +3% with each Skill Level, and inflict a random status from [Fear], [Paralysis], or [Confusion] as long as you''re ncing at them.


    While fighting foes that are stronger than you, this effect is halved.


    Additionally, you can epass your body with the [Emperor''s Presence], enhancing all your Physical Abilities based on how many foes you Intimidate.


    -----


    All these Evolved Skills seemed simply incredible, further enhancement to movement speed, a greater and tougher body, even more amazing eyes, the ability to gain several times the effects of consumables, and an upgraded Intimidation that can even boost my Physical Abilities based on how many I intimidate.


    I doubt their effects would have been so good if they hadn''t gotten the boosts from the Holy Spirits, which seemed to havee out of nowhere back then¡­ But I can tell they did it as apensation.


    To think these used to be the very first Skills I learned at the beginning of this life¡­ now it has been fifteen years since then.


    Well, I suppose I''m still very young, but I do feel slightly nostalgic when I recall those years¡­


    -----

 Chapter 806 Visiting The Holy Spirits Divine Realm

    <h4>Chapter 806 Visiting The Holy Spirits Divine Realm</h4>


    -----


    After all the Skills and Abilities I got, I felt slightly tired and exhausted, resting over my bed while deciding to take a nap. That transformation had made me slightly thirsty for blood, something I had not experienced ever since my reincarnation.


    This probably means that this new form also gives me the thirst of a vampire, it fully transforms me into one, while as I am right now, I am only a partially a Vampire, only through a modified physique that has the benefits without the weakness.


    But to fully obtain the full power of a Vampire, embracing its weaknesses through that transformation might end up being ideal.


    It is a very strong transformation; my whole appearance changes and it resembles how I looked back in my previous life.


    Perhaps the Blood King Talent was specifically designed to hold such power, and it was born from my own developed abilities, instead of being something that anybody with blood magic affinity could get.


    Nheless, I''m very tired, so I''ll simply sleep and rest for the time being¡­


    ¡­


    As I slept, within my Spirit Realm inside of my Spirit Orb, the Spirits that had died were slowly regenerating. It was a rather interesting sight; their bodies were slowly reforming from the spiritual energy flowing endlessly across thisndscape.


    Woo, Fang, and Hendrick were the ones that ended sacrificing themselves for our victory to be possible, so I felt indebted to their aid, even if it didn''t meant they died for real, it might take them a couple of days before they fully regenerate.


    "Thank you for your help, you guys¡­ Well, everyone." I said, as I was surrounded by my Vampires.


    "Why are you even thanking us about something like this, my lord? It was natural for us to give our lives to damage that foe!" Fang said. "I''m sure that Satan got a good beating!"


    "He sure did." Iughed. "He was beaten very badly."


    "I heard you absorbed a part of his Authority?" Woo asked. "So you''ve got the Gluttony and now the Wrath Authority¡­ What are you nning on doing with those dangerous powers?"


    "What else? I''ll simply use them against the Demons." I said. "I have yet to fully grasp theirplete power though, but I''ll have to simply train a lot¡­ Especially this Wrath Authority, it holds an explosive power that can''t be easily controlled. I am quite good at controlling my emotions, but being able to control wrath seems quite hard."


    "Hmmm, I do remember that you used to be quite an angry kid, but your anger has always been silent, like you don''t show it and it only emerges on your actions." Woo analyzed my psychology.


    "That is certainly true, my lord always kept his cool in all moments." Hendrick nodded.


    "Indeed!" Celestina smiled. "He might not be a cute girl, but he is a very cool young man!"


    "Seriously, do you only think about cute girls?" Asked Eriant. "Anyways, master, maybe you can train such Skills in here, you''ve got us to help."


    "Thank you Eriant, for now I simply want to rest. I will begin training in the next couple of days." I sighed, still feeling exhausted about everything.


    I sat down over the crimson grass of my Spirit Realm and closed my eyes, simply trying to rx and meditate. My soul had taken some wounds against Satan, so that needed to be restoredpletely too.


    "Thanks for everything, nheless. I will help you grow even stronger in the near future, whenever I can hit Rank 5." I said, looking into the crimson skies.


    "It''s not like we desire that to begin with, calm down." Celestina giggled. "If rxing is what you want, you should stop overthinking things sometimes, master."


    "It will be made for your pressure." Eleanoramented.


    "Eleanora¡­" I said, ncing at her beautiful red eyes. "I''ve been thinking about the Ancient Gods for a while. Before rxing, I need to go consult something with the Holy Spirits. Would you apany me? It should be short."


    "Oh? Very well." Eleanora nodded.


    "Can''t we go too?" Saphira entered my Spirit Realm quitete. "I want to meet the big Holy Spirits!"


    "Hmmm¡­" I was considering it. "Well, you''re all my Spirits, and they consider all Spirits as their children, so sure,e along."


    Like that, using my connection with the Holy Spirits through their Divine Protection, I quickly appeared within their Divine Realm, and of countless and colorful lights where they resided.


    Well, it was only a part of my soul that appeared there, but still, it felt as if I went personally to check on them.


    Aside from the lustrous light everywhere, there were also two gigantic red crystals. One was dark red and the other of a brighter red color, both emanating tremendous Demonic Energies.


    "We''re here." I said, looking at the crystals.


    "Wow, this ce''s so colorful!" Saphira was amazed.


    "It really is, so much energy." Said Eriant.


    "Impressive¡­" Celestinamented. "I do wonder if among the Holy Spirits there some cute girls¡­ Or domineeringdies. Even a mommy would do good too~"


    "Could you shut up for once?" Fang facepalmed. "You''re really a pervert thinking about such things! We''re spirits, yet you still hold some sort of libido?"


    "You don''t, little dog?" Celestinaughed out loud. "I thought yours would be a pretty big one if you are a dog and all!"


    "I''m not a dog!" Fang cried, feeling embarrassed.


    "Ugh, young''uns these days." Said Wood, crossing his arms and looking around. "This ce feels like a clown vomited all over, so colorful¡­"


    "It is quite interesting, if I dare say!" Hendrick looked around with big eyes filled with interest. "What is this world''sposition, is there any rare material too?"


    "Those crystals¡­" Eleanora was the only one that focused on what I did, everyone else was too lost on the spectacle of the Holy Spirits Divine Realm to pay attention to what was important.


    "Yeah, they''re the Soul Fragments of Beelzebub and Satan we stole with the help of the Holy Spirits." I exined to her. "I can''t absorb them yet, or my soul and body would be destroyed instantly, but eventually¡­ I n to use them. They''re almost exactly a half of their souls."


    "With two halvesbined¡­" Eleanora said in surprise.


    "Yeah, I could be as strong as an Archdemon." I smiled.


    -----

 Chapter 807 A Forgotten Ancient Era

    <h4>Chapter 807 A Forgotten Ancient Era</h4>


    -----


    "So you''vee to visit us once more, it seems."


    "But what is this? Your Spirits havee as well?"


    "Interesting, you weren''t able to do this before, has your growth in power allowed you to bring them too?"


    "Amusing, they are the Spirits born from the Souls of your previous life''spanions?"


    "They''re the most unique Spirits in the entire world¡­"


    Suddenly, several presences emerged one after another. The Holy Spirits manifested themselves around us, resembling giant pirs of different colored lights.


    Their appearances were almost the same with one another, but I have been noticing some differences over time, it felt as if the more they developed their individualities thanks to me, the more their appearances changed.


    They are certainly very young Gods, to think they had yet to even decide what they are or what they want to be¡­ I better guide them to a good path, before any of them grows corrupt and turns into an Evil God.


    "These must be the Holy Spirits¡­" Hendrick said. "Fascinating, their power is equal to Archdemons?!"


    "Perhaps, they''re technically Gods of Spiritias." I exined. "Hello everyone, I brought some of my Spirits so we could talk with each other. Just me alone is a bit boring, right? If you have manypanions to talk to, things can get more interesting."


    "Certainly, but it is not as if we asked you to do this either. We do enjoy our peace and tranquility." The Holy Spirit of Light spoke, he was the oldest of all of them, and perhaps the wisest and strongest. "Nheless, we''ve seen what you experienced outside, congrattions on defeating Satan and¡­ on finding something not even us were aware of."


    "So you didn''t knew about the existence of that Monolith?" I asked. "I guess I should had figured it out¡­"


    "Although we''ve been there since creation, our memories are faint and our personalities and minds were born only a couple of thousands of years ago." The Holy Spirit of Emotions exined. "So, even when we are the pirs of the World of Spiritias, we don''t really know everything about it. Oh my, you brought your girlfriend here as well? So cute¡­ I wonder if a Spirit and a Human could have a child now¡­ That might create apletely new Race."


    "G-Girlfriend?!" Eleanora blushed at the Holy Spirit''s remarks. "But me and ke¡­ W-We have yet to step further¡­ I-I mean, I wouldn''t mind bing his girlfriend, even his wife, and bearing his children would make me so happy but I- uwawawahh¡­!"


    Eleanora was having a panic attack after suddenly getting too embarrassed to make proper thoughts¡­ This was her greatest weakness; she had a very difficult time dealing with these topics.


    Though, that made her cuter.


    "Enough¡­" The Holy Spirit of Darkness spoke, his lugubrious shadows spreading around. "Did you had to really just say that out loud? Don''t make our guests ufortable, Emotions."


    "Look who''s saying such a thing, when you''re spreading your shadows everywhere¡­" Giggled the Holy Spirits of Emotions.


    "Sorry, I can''t control them well¡­" The Holy Spirit of Darkness apologized.


    "It''s fine." I sighed. "Nheless¡­ I would like to go on topic for now. Do you know what these Old Gods were?"


    "Hmm¡­"


    The Holy Spirits started thinking, as if they wereputers, they began to analyze their internal information and anything they could had seen or heard, even in their "sleeping" state before their personalities and minds emerged.


    "There are some clues, but weck proper information." Said the Holy Spirit of Light. "We do know that there was an Era, the Ancient Era, the firs Era of our world, when the world had just formed. This Era was most likely dominated by stronger beings, who had been born directly from the Spiritual Energies of Spiritias birth. These giants whom you''ve fount their graves, could most likely be the Ancient Gods. And maybe also the creators of "Talents"¡­"


    "So you didn''t created them?" Asked Eleanora.


    "Of course we didn''t, they already existed hundreds of thousands of years ago." Exined the Holy Spirit of Nature. "Of course, we can help people modify them and gain power from them, and also create new Talents fitting of people through the Holy Talent Awakening Crystals, of our own creation."


    "However, we presume that in the Ancient Era, because our help wasn''t avable to improve and enhance Talents, these Ancient Gods create the Ancient Monoliths, incredibly powerful Divine Treasures capable of improving and enhancing Talents that might even hold secrets and powers we can''t give to Talents." The Holy Spirit of Time said, with a soothing voice.


    "One of such Monoliths you''ve found might only be a small part of their true inheritance, left behind for future generations." Said the Holy Spirit of Light. "The power tobine Talents wasn''t something we ever were capable of doing, we can only enhance and modify them from a superficial level."


    "It is quite clear that these Ancient Gods were much more resourceful about the power of Talents, how to create them, modify them, enhance them, and evenbine them." Exined the Holy Spirit of Winds.


    "I see¡­ Though, the graveyard left behind seems rather lugubrious, as if they didn''t died peacefully, fighting while protecting their treasures from something else. But from what I know, Demons had yet to invade Spiritias in those times, right?" I asked them. "In fact, they''re quite recent inparison."


    "Indeed¡­" The Holy Spirit of Light agreed. "We think that, in the Ancient Era, there was some enemy, a powerful force which needed these ancient races to unify their strength to fight against. The Spirit Races and most likely these Giants¡­ They needed more power to fight off these enemies. But we don''t know who they were or what they even wanted."


    "Hmmm¡­" I nodded as I heard everything. "I see, I guess this is all you can say for now."


    "More or less." The Holy Spirit of Emotions, or the Holy Spirit of Love, crossed her arms made of pink light. "Now that we''re done talking about those things, how we talk about embarrassing thing you humans go through, they''re always delightful to hear about!"


    Ugh, she never changes¡­


    -----

 Chapter 808 Love Between Vampires

    Chapter 808 Love Between Vampires


    -----


    Whatever these Ancient Enemies were, they were perhaps just as dangerous as demons. However, that there are little clues about what they were is the truly unnerving thing.


    Perhaps the Ancient Gods and the Spirit Races managed to fend them off, but at the greater cost of their own tribes perishing one after another.


    This world¡­ although it seemed so simple at the beginning of my second life, has been slowly shaping into something much moreplex.


    However, if I ever want to find out about its secrets, I''ll have to personally look for the clues myself, not even the Holy Spirits know as much as I would have hoped for them to know.


    Well, there will be time for me to worry about those thingster, right now, there were some more pressing issues at hand¡­


    "Eleanora, I feel like you''re trying to tell me something with your bodynguage right now¡­"


    "Hmph¡­"


    Eleanora was currently cuddling with me on bed, sitting over my body, and tightly pressing her big thighs on my legs, her beautiful body literally stuck to mine, herrge breasts pressing on my chest.


    She was blushing and pouting¡­ Something I''ve never seen her do before. Was she mad at me for something?


    "Are you mad at me?" I asked her.


    "M-Maybe¡­" She said, looking elsewhere, without desiring to look back into my eyes.


    "What''s wrong?" I asked. "And if you''re so mad, why would you be over my whole body? I can''t even move¡­"


    "T-That''s because¡­ well¡­" She didn''t really knew what to say.


    "Hmm¡­"


    I slowly put my hands over herrge butt, slightly squeezing her cheeks for a change.


    "Uwaah~!"


    She was quickly surprised, giving a little and adorable cry, her entire body felt like it had electricity running through it.


    "D-Did you had to do that?!"


    "If you''re just going to stay like this, I might as well enjoy it."


    "T-That''s¡­ Well, I don''t mind you being like this either¡­"


    "Hm, are you being this weird because of what that Holy Spirit spoke?" I wondered. "It''s that, isn''t it?"


    "M-Maybe¡­" She didn''t wanted to borate, wanting me to guess everything.


    Good thing I knew her very well, so I can more or guess what''s going through her mind.


    "Is it because you are not my girlfriend like Erika and Elizabeth?" I asked her, caressing her beautiful red hair.


    "T-That''s¡­" She fell silent, suddenly resting her head on my chest. "Maybe¡­"


    "Sorry if that hurt you somehow, I have been mostly just trying to be considerate. Forcing things on you wouldn''t feel fine with me." I said. "Unlike those energetic girls that want everything right away, you''re much older, smarter, and experienced. I thought that, as a dignifieddy, you wanted some time to take things slowly."


    "T-That''s not it¡­" She blushed. "I might be quite dignified but when ites to you¡­ I just want¡­ t-to¡­ to be loved too¡­ More¡­"


    She was having a hard time mustering her words, which only made her more adorable¡­


    "Well, it is also part of the guilt I felt¡­ Because on our previous life, I never truly understood feelings and love until I reincarnated and started to realize everything over time." I said. "I knew that you loved me but¡­ I felt so much guilt never epting your feelings."


    "Asmodeus¡­ I mean, ke¡­" She sighed. "You shouldn''t feel guilty about that! It was also my fault, I did very little to try to conquer your heart, I could had been gentler, maybe I could had tried to cheer your life a bit more, but I simply stayed at your side without saying much¡­"


    "I appreciate that even if you think it wasn''t enough." I caressed her wless face; her beautiful red eyes were looking at mine. "Is it fine for you even in this form of mine? This body of mine?"


    "I-I don''t really mind; I know that the true Asmodeus is there¡­" She smiled. "A-And I still¡­ love you, I''ve always loved you, my lord¡­"


    "I also love you, Eleanora. You''re my first love. A love of thousands of years. You''re mydy, my beautiful mistress." I smiled, caressing her hair.


    "My lord¡­" She blushed, feeling more passionate, breathing heavily as her lips grew closer to mine. "I-Is that true?"


    "Yes, and I''m very sorry for never realizing how perfect of a woman you were¡­ You''re everything I could ever ask out of one." I said. "So don''t feel bad if our rtionship has gone slowly, I''ve only done so because I love you so much I thought you needed more time and respect. I did not wish to upset your feelings."


    "I-It''s fine¡­" She smiled gently, her enamored eyes glistening like crimson stars among a night sky. "Now that I know your true feelings, I don''t mind hastening things¡­ I love you so much, my lord¡­"


    She hugged me tightly, rubbing her nose on my neck adorably, I hugged her tightly too, giving her the warmth of my body to her slightly colder vampire body.


    I caressed her back and her delicate shoulders, her long, silky hair, and loved her just like that¡­


    Our lips grew closer as we fell silent, and we kissed for a couple of minutes. These weren''t quick and embarrassed kisses thatsted only a second, they were long, passionate, and filled with love.


    Her lips were so soft, her tongue so warm, her gaze so captivating. I couldn''t help it, I embraced her with all the love she deserved, my most beautiful treasure was right in front of me.


    I didn''t wanted to lose her ever again¡­ My dear, beloved Eleanora.


    "I will love you and treasure for all those years I ignored you." I said, kissing her once more. "You''re my most precious treasure, my dear Eleanora."


    "You too, are my¡­ most precious treasure." She smiled. "My lord¡­"


    And then, I had an interesting idea.


    I gently slipped off her vampiric grasp, standing in the floor, right behind me there was the moonlighting from the night sky.


    My body slowly changed appearance into my previous life self.


    "How about this form, to relive old times?" I smiled gantly.


    "M-My Lord Asmodeus¡­?!" She cried in surprise, blushing. "Ahhh¡­ Your appearance¡­ How?!"


    "It''s a long story." Iughed. "This is a temporary form, so let us enjoy it."


    -----

 Chapter 809 Chris Problems...

    Chapter 809 Chris'' Problems...


    -----


    In that night, I ended taking some time alone with Eleanora. We explored the night skies and flew off into the farther mountains as we pleased, ying around, dancing below the moonlight, feasting on blood, and kissing.


    It was a "vampire date" if there wasn''t any other term for what we did. After many hours, we moved back home, where we slept together in the same bed. She snuggled with me happily, still kissing me a couple of times before falling asleep.


    If it wasn''t obvious enough, our rtionship had strengthened much more, and I could consider her my girlfriend, if not my mistress.


    The next morning, she woke up embarrassed of what had happened, and apologized for having lost herposure, or something.


    "There''s no problem with that, it was adorable." Iughed. "I suppose you''re fine with being called my girlfriend now, or¡­?"


    "I-If you''re alright with that¡­" She nodded, blushing a bit. "Maybe in the future¡­ W-We can get married too? It has always been one of my dreams¡­"


    "Hahaha, you''re more innocent than I thought." I smiled. "Of course, anything for you."


    "Hahh¡­" Eleanora sighed in relief. "You seem to take this easy but¡­ You don''t know how hard it was for me to take these decisions¡­"


    "I suppose you''re right¡­ Sorry." I sighed. "And well, I apologize as well, for having fallen in love with those two others, I simply¡­ I couldn''t leave them behind."


    "That''s fine by me, I love those two as well." Eleanora smiled. "They''re my best friends, to be honest¡­ I would be upset too if you left them behind. Erika and Elizabeth are such sweet, pure hearted girls. You''re lucky, my lord."


    "Haha, maybe." Iughed. "Eventually, I want us four to live together back in my vige, maybe. Get our own home, our own farm¡­ And live as a big family together. Would it be alright with you?"


    "Oooh¡­" Eleanora blushed as she imagined that. "I would love to¡­ once everything is done, a peaceful life like that seems so charming and romantic¡­ A-And then we can have children too¡­ T-The Holy Spirit of Emotions told me she could make it possible for me to bear your children! S-So there''s no way we won''t, right?"


    "If you wish so, I would happily make you bear my kids." I smiled, caressing her face. "I think you would make an excellent mother."


    "Eheheh¡­" Eleanora wasughing nervously and with embarrassment as she imagined that possible future. "J-Just thinking about¡­ being pregnant, and then giving birth, and having a beautiful child, a fruit of our love¡­ A tiny little baby we will raise together and help them grow up¡­ Ahhh, it fills me with so much bliss! I can hardly wait!"


    "Y-You sure got excited about that¡­" I noticed.


    For such a beautiful day toe eventually, I need to keep fighting and doing my best. The previous fight against Satan was incredibly close even after I grew so strong.


    I need to keep getting even stronger, if I ever want to get this world rid of Demons, and ultimately end this once and for all by traveling to Hell.


    For my friends, my family, and my three beloved maidens, I must.


    I need to create a safe world for my children.


    "Alright, time to get moving." I quickly stood back up, the morning sun feelingfortable over my skin. "Let''s go meet everyone else for breakfast, today we''ll be moving back to the Academy. We can keep studying and growing stronger there until the end of the year, where we can go back home for the summer vacations before the next semester begins."


    "I''m ready!" Eleanora nodded. "We can do anything!"


    She had changed a bit, feelingpletely anew and happy. It seems that all that love I gave her has made her feel much better with herself, I''m d for her.


    We moved downstairs, greeting the rest of my friends. The Airship that would bring us back to Stronghold was already outside too.


    "ke! Good morning!" Erika ran towards me, hugging me and giving me a kiss. "Mooch!"


    "Good morning." I smiled, caressing her pink hair.


    "You took some time to wake up." Elizabethmented while drinking tea. "Did something happened?"


    "Oh, nothing much." I said. "Maybe I was just too tired. How is everyone doing?"


    "Fine I guess." Chris said. "Though I kind of don''t want to go back to school, so boring¡­"


    "Come on there''s like three months left, it isn''t that much, Chris." Eric tried to cheer him up.


    "It is a lot for me you know!?" Chris cried. "Especially because¡­ No matter how hard I try to flirt with girls, nobody pays attention to me and¡­ Ugh. Maybe I should try a different approach?"


    "What''s even your approach?" Erdrich sighed.


    "I just try to be friendly and stuff, but I get nothing." Chris said. "They always look at me with creeped out eyes and call me a "filthymoner"!"


    "Hahh¡­ Well, it can''t be helped." I said. "Just keep trying. And don''t make this your entire personality either, you''ve got many other goals to achieve, finding a woman shouldn''t be your priority."


    "You say that because you have three!" Chris cried.


    "I mean, yeah, but he''s right." Eric nodded.


    "You also a girlfriend, shut up¡­" Chris took a bite on an apple pie.


    "You''re such a crybaby, I only care about growing stronger and killing demons. As long as I keep working hard¡­ my father might recognize me as his son one day." Erdrich added.


    "You also got a girlfriend¡­" Chris said.


    "Well those girls are not wrong, you''re a filthymoner." Laughed Elfriedden. "But why don''t you better study, your written exam grades are quite bad."


    "Don''t you have a girlfriend too?!" Chrismented. "Even this asshole has one¡­"


    I was getting a bit tired of Chris and hisments, but I could also understand his sadness¡­ Though, after this entire event is shared worldwide, I''m sure he''ll gain enough fame too.


    He simply has to wait for it patiently¡­


    I hope.


    -----

 Chapter 810 Moving Back To The Abyss

    Chapter 810 Moving Back To The Abyss


    -----


    Once we had breakfast, and with Monica''s father, Cattalina, and Evelyn, we moved across the skies through Draco, reaching therge hole left behind in the city''s capital.


    The capital''s only lords left behind were the children of the King and the Queen, who were very young and na?ve, not enough to be able to control a country. So Monica''s family was nning on taking over the country by adopting the two of them.


    It might sound harsh or perhaps wrong to some, but it was the ideal and perfect time to do so, the children can''t take care of a country until they be responsible adults after all, and giving the country to other greedy nobles wouldn''t be a good idea, especially because every other surviving noble was a coward that ran away or survived by luck.


    And well, even if they grow up, Monica might end up inheriting the throne whenever her father passes away of old age, in many years from now on.


    Nheless, the point of what I was getting at was that by securing the country, they can secure the capital and therefore, keep this area for themselves- and well, ourselves too.


    It''ll be kept as a secret, eventually we have ns on covering it up and only leaving a secret staircase once the castle is reconstructed above.


    If we leave it just open, it might eventually attract adventurers trying to explore its depths, and the secrets down there will be revealed to everyone, which might awaken the greed of many.


    And because Silvertide is in such a weakened state, thest thing we want is for greedy nobles of neighboring countries to attempt an invasion just to get their hands into this power.


    So, with Evelyn and Cattalina, and well, everyone, we made a Magic Oath using Spirit Magic Contracts to keep this a secret from everyone else, unless we all agree on revealing the truth to someone.


    The dark and lugubrious depths of the Abyss gave the chills to most of my friends, only Monica''s father and Cattalina remained calm as they walked across the unknown darkness of these depths.


    "Ugh, it''s so chilly in here, and the darkness gives me some really bad vibes¡­" Eric seemed to have reverted to his cowardly past self quite quickly. "C-Calm down a bit, Eric." Alberta calmed him down. "It''s alright¡­ I''m quite used to dark caves, as I was raised in many of them as a Dwarf. Since I was a baby that I''ve traveled and mined in many!"


    "Huh¡­ Well, this ces does have some sort of weird phantasmal energy everywhere¡­" Erdrich analyzed.


    "It is quite ufortable¡­" Elfriedden muttered.


    "Not as much as being with you! And why are you sticking so close to me?!" Chris angrily said.


    "It''s because you''re controlling those mes that bring light!" Elfriedden angrily barked back. "Stop being a greedy brat!"


    "Who are you calling a brat,st time I checked we had the same age!" Chris roared angrily.


    "I-I guess these two make it more lively." Monicaughed a bit.


    "Certainly¡­" Elizabeth said, illuminating our surroundings with a bright sphere of light above our heads. "I have never heard or read about this ce before in any book from the Holy Spirit church though¡­ However, I have read in one book about a ce known as "Abyss" where all the forgotten knowledge and relics of the past remain, buried below the ground for nobody to ever find."


    "I-It must be this ce then, right?" Erika asked curiously. "Uwah¡­ It''s a big scary and spooky here though!" She was tightly holding my arm. "Calm down, there''s nothing dangerous here, Erika." I sighed. "Also we''ve fought armies of Undead before when you were much younger as well! Why are you getting scared now?" "Hehehe¡­ So I can get protected by you." She smiled teasingly.


    Ah, I should had guessed she just wanted attention.


    "So this expansive Abyssal Area, is this the Abyss?" Asked Cattalina. "So such an underworld realm exists right beneath ours¡­ An eternal world of caves and darkness. There are many ores and crystals I''ve never seen before in here as well as mushrooms¡­ Amusing."


    "Indeed, this darkness is quitefortable." Said Monica''s father, a well-known Dark Sorcerer. "Veryfortable, actually¡­ Hm, oh?"


    "This is¡­" Cattalina muttered. "Bones? Gigantic bones!"


    "Yeah, this is the graveyard of the Ancient Gods, right, Saphira?" I asked Saphira.


    FLASH!


    "Yeah, something like that!" Saphira appeared out of thin air, scaring a few of my friends as she was quite literally a ghost. "They''re sleeping now but I remember that they spoke to me, the souls of these Ancient Gods that died long ago¡­ They said they wanted their legacy to be inherited, so the people of the future could prepare themselves for the threat that mighte back once more¡­"


    "Threat?" Cattalina asked. "Did they refer to the demons?"


    "Hmm¡­" Monica''s father kept analyzing the ce as we walked.


    "I don''t know myself, I spoke with the Holy Spiritsst night, they said there was another threat. ording to them, Demons are quite recent, only having appeared in thest fifty thousand years."


    "So there was an even more dangerous ancient threat?" Cattalina wondered. "Fascinating and yet¡­ intriguing. I need to investigate this into more detail¡­ Ugh, but we must return to the academy soon! What a waste¡­"


    "You''re invited toe here at any time you wish for, Lady Cattalina." Monica''s father smiled cordially. "You can investigate all you want as well, you''re one of our heroes."


    "Oh? Well, if you insist." The half-elf pink-haireddy giggled mischievously. "I will dly take the opportunity if you''re giving it to me!"


    "Mom, don''t go overboard, okay?" Erika asked. "I don''t want you to go away for years again!"


    "A-Ah, yes¡­" Cattalina nodded. "I promised you I would stay at your side.. But I''ll juste sometimes, and it will be a couple of days, I promise!"


    "Hmmm¡­" Erika was slightly skeptical but agreed at the end. "Nheless, you must touch this thing over here." I said. "Come."


    I led everyone to the giant monolith I had touched, which gave me the amazing power of fusing Talents, that ended giving me so much strength, from new Skills to bonus Stat and Skill Points, and more.


    The [Talent Bestowal Divine Monolith].


    -----

 Chapter 811 Everyone Upgrades Their Talents!

    Chapter 811 Everyone Upgrades Their Talents!


    -----


    The mysterious monolith stood still, silently. It emanated a mysterious aura, everyone in here was amazed by its very existence¡­ I quickly told them to simply touch it.


    "Touch it, one at a time. You will be given the information you need to grow stronger once you do." I said. "A-Alright¡­" Erika nodded. "I''ll go first then!"


    "Hey! Not fair!" Chris said.


    "Bleh, I already touched it!" Erika giggled as she put her hand on it.


    All the fear she was pretending to have was of course gone¡­


    FLAAASH!


    "Uwaahh?!"


    Erika gasped in surprise as she felt the monolith''s powers entering her soul and fusing with her. Her eyes glowed with bright green light, as she gained tremendous new power.


    "T-The ability¡­ I see! So if I do this¡­ and that!"


    She was doing it mentally unlike me who had a Grimoire, I guess it is possible to do it like that, but perhaps only when touching the Monolith.


    I was able to wait and think about it as much as I wanted, and even see the fusion results, but in this case, without a Grimoire, they need to make the choice right away, and there''s probably no way to look at possible fusion results.


    They only have one shot¡­


    "I''m done." Erika''s powers suddenly started overflowing from her body, green, pink, and golden energies intertwining together, her eyes glowing with draconic and nature''s powers.


    "This is amazing¡­ I really was able to merge another possible Talent with my already existing one¡­" Erika said. "There were so many options¡­ But I choose the one most fitting for my Skills and Magic! All of you should try doing the same, don''t choose a weird Talent!"


    "O-Okay, me next!" Chris ran into the monolith right away.


    Like that, one after another, everyone in here awakened to their new, fused Talents. Not only they gained new Skills but also Bonus Stats and stronger magic.


    I also tried doing this with my Familiar that already possessed Talents, but it was impossible for them to fuse Talents, it seemed that they worked differently. This is how everyone''s Talents and Skills and Titles looked like after:


    -----


    [Name]: [Erika Goldriver]


    [Race]: [Half Dryad (Human)]


    [Spirit Orb Realm]: [Rank 3 (Peak Stage)]


    [Talent]: [Yggdrasil Dragon de Princess: ¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï]


    [Skills]: [Dragon Sword Mastery] [Mana Maniption] [Magic Sword Techniques] [Kicking Techniques] [Hand to Hand Combat] [Powerful Soul] [Puppeteer] [Illusion Magic] [Dryad Physique] [Draconic Eye] [Yggdrasil''s Eye] [Spirit Connection] [Throwing] [Agile Body] [Fast Movements] [Cheer] [Dance] [Charm] [Draconic Transformation] [Dragon Riding] [Dragon Connection] [Dragon Taming] [Dream Magic] [Yggdragon''s Aura] [Yggdrasil Dragon Swordsmanship Arts] [¡­]


    [Titles]: [Doll Princess] [Half-Dryad] [Demon yer] [Dragon Princess] [Yggdrasil Sessor] [¡­]


    -----


    Erika has further evolved, now acquiring the power of¡­ an "Yggdragon" and gaining the Yggdrasil''s sessor title, interesting¡­ She is as promising as ever. -----


    [Name]: [Elizabeth]


    [Race]: [Human]


    [Spirit Orb Realm]: [Rank 3 (Peak Stage)] {+Rank 3 (Middle Stage)}


    [Talent]: [Holy Angelic Spirit Saint: ¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï]


    [Skills]: [Staff Mastery] [Hand to Hand Combat] [Holy Fist Technique] [Mana Maniption] [Blessing] [Enchant] [Recover] [First Aids] [Holy Light Magic] [Holy Light Domain] [Spirit Connection] [Saint''s Eyes] [Fast Movements] [Hastened Mana Recovery] [Multi Chanting] [Angelic Transformation] [Summon Celestial Light] [Divine Healing Hands] [Angelic Spirit''s Blessing Magic] [Angelic Spirit Transformation] [¡­]


    [Titles]: [Saintess] [Angelic Soul] [Kind Heart] [Chosen Saint] [Angelic Spirit Child] [¡­]


    -----


    Still not too sure about what could this "Angelic Spirit" power mean, but it might be an even better powerup for our favorite Saintess. She''s already our pir for healing, support, and light magic, and she''ll now be even better. -----


    [Name]: [Chris]


    [Race]: [Human]


    [Spirit Orb Realm]: [Rank 3 (Peak Stage)]


    [Talent]: [Mystic Spirit me Magic Weapon Sorcerer: ¡ï¡ï¡ï]


    [Skills]: [Staff Mastery] [Hand to Hand Combat] [zing Fist Technique] [Mana Maniption] [Spirit Connection] [Fast Movements] [Hastened Mana Recovery] [Acrobatics] [Fireball] [Fire Whip] [zing Wall] [Fire Magic] [zing Spirit Burst] [Nine Tailed Fox Domain] [zing Fire Aura] [Dragon mes] [Great Smander''s Breath] [Phantasmal Spirit mes] [zing Surge] [Fire Weapon Summon] [zing Spirit Weapon Creation] [Spirit Weapon Mastery] [¡­]


    [Titles]: [Fire Mage] [Hardworking Idiot] [Nine-Tailed Fox''s Beloved] [me Weapon King] [¡­]


    -----


    Chris decided to go for a Magic Weapon Creation sort of build, he''s aiming to be more unique than just shooting fireballs and bigger fireballs, and I like that. -----


    [Name]: [Eric]


    [Race]: [Human]


    [Spirit Orb Realm]: [Rank 3 (Peak Stage)]


    [Talent]: [Nature Alchemy Spirit Druid Marksman: ¡ï¡ï¡ï]


    [Skills]: [Staff Mastery] [Hand to Hand Combat] [Bow Mastery] [Magic Arrow] [Spirit Arrow] [Mana Maniption] [Spirit Connection] [Fast Movements] [Hastened Mana Recovery] [Acrobatics] [Vine Whip] [Wood Spears] [Bark Shield] [Soil Maniption] [Agriculture] [Botany] [nt Maniption] [Nature Magic] [Spirit Tree Magic] [Alchemy] [Brewing] [Mixing] [Synthesis] [Dragon Vitality] [Nature Fusion] [nt Assimtion] [Spirit Wind Arrows] [Tempest Arrow Cannon] [Yggdrasil''s Armor] [Precise Markman] [Nature''s Assimtion] [¡­]


    [Titles]: [Young Alchemist] [Yggdrasil''s Gardener] [Spirit Bowman] [Nature''s Alchemist] [¡­]


    -----


    Eric has decided to probably merge with a Nature''s Marksman Talent, which will increase his ability to further conjure nature magic and his uracy when shooting arrows made of magic, and more. -----


    [Name]: [Erdrich]


    [Race]: [Half Demon (Human)]


    [Spirit Orb Realm]: [Rank 3 (Peak Stage)]


    [Talent]: [Demonic Asura Fist Master Prince: ¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï]


    [Skills]: [Fist Fighting Mastery] [Hand to Hand Combat] [Demonic Battle Arts] [Demonic Energy Maniption] [Mana Maniption] [Spirit Connection] [Energy Fusion] [Fast Movements] [Hastened Demonic Energy Recovery] [ursed Seven Layered Demon Transformation] [Demon Eyes] [Demon Magic] [Berserk] [Battle Maniac Domain] [Dragon Skin] [Heavenly Demon Battle Arts] [Six-Armed Asura Transformation] [Asura''s Wrathful Aura] [Demonic Ki Maniption] [Magic-Sealing Demonic Chains] [Demonic Fist Mastery] [Limit-Breaking Asura''s Aura] [¡­]


    [Titles]: [Half-Demon] [Demonic Ego] [Reckless Fighter] [Mother''s Beloved] [Fist Prince] [¡­]


    -----


    Erdrich continues to specialize on his fist techniques, and he even acquired some new and interesting skills, and even a Limit-Breaking one, amazing. -----


    [Name]: [Alberta Fierysmith]


    [Race]: [Dwarf]


    [Spirit Orb Realm]: [Rank 3 (Peak Stage)]


    [Talent]: [Runic cksmith Spirit Hammer Princess: ¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï]


    [Skills]: [Mana Maniption] [Fiery Hammer Techniques] [Fireball] [Fire Hammer] [Fire Shield] [Fire Magic] [Rune Creation] [Quick Repair] [Reinforce] [Sharpen] [Forging] [Smithing] [Smelting] [Metallurgy] [Godsmith Eyes] [Spirit Connection] [Smith Magic] [Crafting] [Alchemy] [cksmith''s Forge] [Dragon Eyes] [Mechanic Creation] [Golem Creation] [Golem Summon] [Weapon Runic Enhancement] [Forging mes Maniption] [Magic Cannon Techniques] [Robust Body] [Hammer Spirit Arts] [Almighty zing Hammer Summon] [¡­]


    [Titles]: [Young cksmith] [Wielder Of the Runic Smith Hammer] [Golem Architect] [cksmith Princess] [Hephaestus'' Sessor] [¡­]


    -----


    Alberta has decided to further specialize on the control of her Hammer''s powers with her new fused Talent. -----


    [Name]: [Elfriedden Crystal]


    [Race]: [Elf]


    [Spirit Orb Realm]: [Rank 3 (Peak Stage)]


    [Talent]: [Frost Dragon Soul Tailor Master: ¡ï¡ï¡ï]


    [Skills]: [Mana Maniption] [Needle Mastery] [Icicle Spears] [Freezing Touch] [Winter''s Domain] [Ice Needle Techniques] [Ice Spirit Magic] [Sewing] [Rapid Repair] [Fabric Maniption] [Thread Mastery] [Tailor Master Eyes] [Fashionista] [Crafting] [Material Processing] [Sewing Magic] [Tailor''s Atelier] [Frost Dragon Aura] [Masterful Tailor Work] [Magic Fabric Creation] [Spiritual Frost Soul] [Frost Dragon Scale Protection] [Ice Tools Creation] [Frost Dragon Soul Manifestation] [Spiritual Frost Dragon''s Breath] [¡­]


    [Titles]: [Tailor] [Elven Prince] [Skadi''s Sessor] [Frost Dragon] [¡­]


    -----


    Elfriedden finally acquired Frost Dragon Powers, good for him. He might even more arrogant from now on¡­


    -----


    [Name]: [Monica Darkage]


    [Race]: [Human]


    [Spirit Orb Realm]: [Rank 3 (Upper Stage)]


    [Talent]: [Dark Curse Casting Sorceress Princess: ¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï]


    [Spirits (3/3)]: [ursed Voodoo Doll (Rank 3 Middle Stage)] [Curse Weaving Needle (Rank 3 Middle Stage)] [Ereshkigal''s Abyssal Dress Of Curse Creation (Rank 3 Middle Stage)] [Skills]: [Mana Maniption] [Needle Mastery] [Darkness Spears] [Cursed Touch] [Darkness Curse Domain] [ursed Needle Techniques] [Darkness Maniption Magic] [Curse-Casting Voice] [ursed Eyes] [Sorcerer of Curses] [Curse Creation] [Curse Modification] [Curse Nullification] [Abyssal Star] [ursed Abyssal Needles] [Curse Manifestation Summon] [Absolute Curse] [Shadow Maniption] [¡­]


    [Titles]: [Dark Magician] [Noble Lady] [Mischievous Curse-Caster] [Dark Sorceress Princess] [¡­]


    -----


    These were Monica''s Skills and Titles, and her Spirits, they were all quite interesting. She was a pure Curse Casting Sorcerer, and also a good darkness magician. She was a bit behind everyone else though, but still she''s probably our strongest ssmate that doesn''t belong to our party. -----


    [Name]: [Cattalina]


    [Race]: [Half-Elf (Human)]


    [Spirit Orb Realm]: [Rank 8 (Middle Stage)]


    [Talent]: [Dream Weaving Nightmare Eating Witch Queen: ¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï]


    -----


    Ding!


    [Due to the strength of the target, it is impossible to see further information regarding Stats, Skills, and Titles.]


    It seemed that the Grimoire was unable to see Cattalina''s Stats, they were that high.


    I can tell, she''s Rank 8 in her Spirit Orb Cultivation, an incredibly high Rank, and above all¡­ She had a seven-star Talent!


    And now that it was fused with another, she became even stronger than she already was¡­


    But a seven-star Talent¡­ does this means she had gone through two Trials to raise to six and then seven?


    She must know something about the Trials then¡­


    And as for Evelyn and Monica''s father, well, here they are, just for the sake of it.


    -----


    [Name]: [Gustaf Darkage]


    [Race]: [Human]


    [Spirit Orb Realm]: [Rank 3 (Initial Stage)]


    [Talent]: [Dark Nightmare Sorcerer: ¡ï¡ï¡ï]


    -----


    And¡­


    -----


    [Name]: [Evelyn]


    [Race]: [Human]


    [Spirit Orb Realm]: [Rank 5 (Middle Stage)]


    [Talent]: [zing Soul Spirit Beast Tamer: ¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï]


    -----


    Gustaf was a surprising Nightmare Sorcerer, and Evelyn a tamer of beasts made of zing souls. Evelyn''s power surprised me more than I imagined, while Gustaf seemed quite underwhelmingpared to his daughter.


    He had certainly grow weaker over time, and perhaps his daughter had already surpassed him, but he does possess the average strength of a Lord that doesn''t participate in wars. Though, Evelyn was surprising, she was Rank 5! I guess she wasn''t that weak, and she can survive even in the middle of terrible wars.


    She and Cattalina alone held back thousands of Demons in ourtest battle, so I guess I shouldn''t had looked down on her as much as I did? I''m guessing Rank 5 is the average necessary Rank for an instructor at the academy. Though, she''s certainly cowardly for her Rank¡­


    -----

 Chapter 812 Back To Stronghold

    Chapter 812 Back To Stronghold


    -----


    It was already the morning of the next day, where we had finally arrived from Silvertide all the way to the other side of the continent, arriving in Stronghold City once more.


    My friends had all celebrated their recent powerup, feeling rather special about it. With this, they''ll get an even greater advantage above others, even if some have lower-star Talents.


    Since then, everyone had been in their rooms inside the airship trying out their new Skills and Magic and practicing more than anything.


    Everyone was already at Rank 3 Peak Stage mostly, so they were very close to reach Rank 4, which means a new Spirit for them.


    My n is to reach Rank 5 before the year ends, while everyone should get to at least Rank 4 Middle Stage, and for that, we''ll need to dive in as many dungeons as possible.


    Sadly, I cannot get EXP from my familiars hunting in the dungeons faraway, the farther away I am from them, the less EXP I get until once I arrived at Stronghold, the gain was zero.


    It is a pity, but the constant gain of materials and Spirit Orbs is still there, so I''ll be getting everything I need anyways, I can gain EXP on my own.


    "We''re getting closer, stand where you are, kids." Evelyn said. "Don''t move too far!"


    The airship was slowly descending into the airport, until the gates opened and were allowed to step down. Erika was jumping around happily over her new powers, and everyone else was constantly discussing about what had happened, and their many new Skills.


    "So, I was nning on practicing my new Swordsmanship Skillter, can you spar with me, ke?" Erika asked me with her lovely eyes.


    "Sure, I don''t mind. Like old times." I smiled.


    "Eh? I also wanted to practice with ke a bit¡­" Elizabethmented. "My new transformation Skill is a bit weird so I need your help¡­"


    "Okay, I can make some time too." I nodded. "Don''t worry, and-"


    "There you are¡­"


    Suddenly, I felt a gigantic presence emerge right in front of me¡­ It was Hasan, the Academy''s director, exuding an almighty aura of pure power.


    "ke¡­ you damn brat¡­"


    "Director, it is nice to see you again¡­"


    "Hoh, acting like nothing happened?"


    "What do you mean?"


    "You damn brat¡­" He started cracking his knuckles. "I told you that you only had to go there to defend Monica''s territory, you promised me it would only be that! Yet you go there and simply get rid of ALL DEMONS?! And even¡­ the Demon Overlord, who was in actuality a vessel of an Archdemon?! F-For a second time?!"


    "Shouldn''t you be happy I did the job that you could had done easily yet choose not to?" I asked with a confident smile.


    "It''s not about that! Don''t you think this will shake the entire continent now?! Demons are endless threats yet you''re taking them down so easily! People''s going to begin thinking that we are justzy bastards now." Hasan sighed. "And also, I need to do a lot of paperwork!"


    "So it was that." I nodded. "I did a lot, so let''s talk about this in your office. I''m expecting a lot of rewards this time around too. I didn''t do this alone though, all my friends were there, I am hoping their strength is recognized too."


    "Y-You''re one cocky kid¡­" He sighed. "But I can''t¡­ really get mad at you, you''re right. That was incredible¡­ All of us, the entire association and all the professors are amazed at what you guys have done." Hasan smiled back at all of us once he calmed down, saving his paperworkments forter. "You''re the pride of Stronghold Academy! And of course, the new heroes we''ve been looking for!"


    "Thank you for your help!"


    "Congrats kids, you did it!"


    "When I heard the news, I couldn''t believe it but it was all true¡­"


    "Yeah, incredible¡­"


    "Congrats, kids! Yaaaay!"


    "Well done."


    There were literally almost every professor from the academy here with Hasan, greeting us and happily pping at our amazing feats.


    I guess this was the least they could had done, huh? This praise and all¡­ It doesn''t feel so bad if I say so myself.


    "Monica! And her friends! I couldn''t had expected anything less from you!" Aquafina ran towards Monica and her party; she was their instructor. "I''m so proud of you girls! You''ve liberated Monica''s home from the demons! Hohohoho! Please, make sure to name me whenever you get interviews!"


    She only wanted the fame out of it though¡­ I remember not having a good time with this annoyingdy when Monica had challenged me to a fight in the academy''s coliseum. "Lady Aquafina, it wasn''t thanks to us alone, in fact, we did very littlepared to what ke and his party did, especially ke! Oh, and also Elizabeth, and Erika¡­ And Eric and Chris, and Erdrich, Elfriedden, Alberta, and everyone else! Lady Cattalina too, and Evelyn!" She was praising everyone.


    "A-Ahem, right¡­" Aquafina nodded nervously, as she noticed Cattalina, someone of a much higher position than her in both the academy and strength was right next to her. "T-Thank you for taking care of my kids¡­ L-Lady Cattalina."


    "Aquafina." My mother-inw said in a cold tone of voice. "I heard that you rejected the invitation Monica gave you toe alongside them. As an instructor, you should had apanied them no matter what, yet you delegated from your work and have been cking here ever since then¡­ Hasan, I hope that she doesn''t get away with this."


    "I know." Hasan nodded. "Aquafina, you should had just stayed hiding instead of jumping trying to get some of the credit of something you didn''t even do¡­ I will not go easy on you."


    "E-Ehhh?!" The overweight instructor panicked. "W-Wait! I-I couldn''t go because I was sick¡­ Yeah! I was sick in the tummy, it really hurt and¡­!"


    "I''ll see youter in my office, Aquafina." Hasan said, walking away with us.


    Monica didn''t even gave her a second nce as she was left behind defeated¡­


    Well, that''s what useless cowards get.


    -----

 Chapter 813 An Incredible Gift!

    Chapter 813 An Incredible Gift!


    -----


    We moved to Hasan''s office after that, where he greeted us with a big sigh before sitting over his chair. He then red back at us, showing me arge paper¡­


    "What''s this?" I asked, looking at the huge thing.


    "That''s your payment. It would make the entire academy look terrible if we didn''t paid you for the incredible job all of you have done. That''s roughly ten billion Telis, arge chunk of our entire budget right now. You can divide it between all your party members ordingly. Cattalina and Evelyn will be paid separately." He sighed.


    "T-TEN BILLION Telis?!" Everyone reacted in utter disbelief¡­ I guess this was roughly the price for saving a country, defeating thousands of demons, three powerful cultists, and getting rid of an Archdemon Vessel at the level of a Demon Overlord, or slightly beyond that.


    "T-That much money?! E-Even if you divide that¡­ We''ll be rich for life!" Chris was amazed. "Maybe I can get a girlfriend after I someone I''m rich¡­"


    "With this money we could open our own workshop, Alberta!" Eric said, it seemed that was one of his dreams.


    "Y-Yeah, our own workshop- no, maybe even our ownpany!" Alberta was just as amazed. "Maybe after this big achievement¡­ My father will be able to recognize my efforts a bit more too!"


    "I hope so!" Eric nodded.


    "Hmm¡­" Elfriedden remained in silence. "This is just pocket change¡­"


    "Well not everyone is a rich prince like you." Erdrich sighed. "Even when I was a noble, I doubt my family ever had this sum¡­"


    "S-So much money! How many cakes would that afford? Wait, forget about cakes. We could buy all sorts of delicious ingredients for ke to cook new tes!" Erika was really hungry, so everything turned into food talk for her.


    "Erika! Is that all you''re thinking about?" Sighed Elizabeth. "Well, I might save half of my part, and then donate the other half to the church back home. Last time I saw them, they were really short on funds. They spend a lot of money feeding homeless people, giving them jobs, and distributing clothes too¡­ I know it would make a tiny difference, but I want to help."


    "Without a doubt those are the words of a Saintess." Iughed a bit. "Monica, what will you do with your part?"


    "I-I might give it to my father so he can use it as a capital¡­ I-I guess." She said. "It would be a nice starting point for the reconstruction of our Kingdom¡­"


    "Come on, I know the rest of the Kingdom is in a dire situation and all, but save a part so you can do whatever you want with it, Monica!" Said Erika.


    "Yeah! Even I was going to save half of it for myself." Elizabeth nodded.


    "W-Well¡­ I guess I could!" Monica agreed quite quickly.


    "Now, I''m expecting that wasn''t all." I said. "How about giving us unrestricted entrance to any dungeon in Stronghold?"


    "T-That''s insane! I can''t do that; it would copse the entire system! The Dungeons are constantly used by everyone here!" Hasan facepalmed. "I guess I could give you some benefits so you can enter to them faster or first, but I can''t give you full unrestricted exploration¡­ But yeah, I''ve got something for you. After discussing it with the other teachers, we decided to give you a National Treasure-Level essory that has been saved in Stronghold for a long time."


    "What? That easy?" I wondered with augh. "It wasn''t easy! But we knew that the money wouldn''t be enough¡­ We need to make this announcement big without making us look like ungratefulzy bastards, so we have to tell them we rewarded you greatly." Hasan exined. "Now take it already."


    He threw a small wooden box to me, which I caught swiftly, slowly opening it.


    Inside of it, there was a small, silver-colored ring beautifully decorated with several colorful jewels, red, blue, green, yellow, purple, and orange.


    It seemed small and luxurious, but also quite inconspicuous. However, the moment I set my eyes into it, I noticed a powerful Aura of Pure Mana and Spiritual Essence overflowing from it.


    "T-This is¡­?!" I muttered, everyone else was shaken.


    "That ring¡­" Cattalina was amazed. "I see why you gave it to him, it will definitely help him, seeing how much Mana he needs to create his Familiars."


    "It''s called the Spirit Prince''s Ring." Hasan exined to the rest of us. "It was made using exquisite Spirit Mithril Ingots and decorated with small fragments of the Hearts of Ancient Spirits, such as Dryad, Smanders, Undine, and more. Or so I''ve heard."


    -----


    [Spirit Prince Ring: Lv10]


    {Item Type}: [essory] [Magic Ring] [Spirit Treasure] [Ancient Treasure]


    {Item Quality}: [Spiritual Grade]


    {Item Requirement}: [Permission By The Previous Owner]


    {Item Durability}: [10.000/10.000]


    {Item Effects}: [Health Points]: [+5.000] [Mana Points]: [+250.000] [Strength]: [+3.000] [Agility]: [+7.000] [Vitality]: [+5.000] [Intelligence]: [+15.000] [Dexterity]: [+5.000]


    {Item Abilities}


    [Ancient Spirits Protection]: You have the protection of the Ancient Spirits, imbued into the Ring through the fragments of their crystalized hearts. By spending Mana and imbuing it into the Ring, it is possible to temporarily generate a Multi-Elemental Barrier that will protect you from most damage, with a Durability of ten times the item''s Durability Stat. This Barrier can also inflict elemental damage to any foe that attacks it, while absorbing a part of their HP and MP. Barrier Duration: 1 Hour. Cooldown: 4 Hours. [Ancient Spirits Manifestation]: Manifest the Souls within the Crystal Heart Fragments of the Ring, summoning temporary spirits to battle and protect you. By spending Mana and Spiritual Energy, these Manifestations will remain at your side for 1 Hour each, with a cooldown of 12 Hours. While summoned, they can attack independently and protect you and your allies, while also being able to heal, enhance, and even speak and share their limited and fragmented knowledge with you.


    {Description}


    An incredible ancient ring said to have been forged by the Prince of the Ancient High Elves, in a country that no longer exists. It was made out of Spirit Mithril, and ancient and now extinct metal that possess the durability of mithril and the power of spiritual energy, said to grow within the caves below the roots of Yggdrasil.


    It has been imbued with five Ancient Spirit Heart Fragments, of Smander, the Spirit of Fire, Dryad, the Spirit of Nature, Undine, the Spirit of Water, Gnome, the Spirit of Earth, and Sylphid the Spirit of Wind. And they can freely be manifested to protect you and fight for you, only if you''re chosen by the ring''s previous owner. -----


    "This ring is utterly insane¡­" I was shaken aback by its description alone. "Not only it enhances my Mana by so much¡­ I can even summon Ancient Spirits Manifestations?!"


    "Indeed, this Ring has been passed down from my family for generations, but it was said that it was once worn by the Hero Allen, which allowed him to summon his familiars much more easily with all the Mana it provided." Hasan exined. "It was also said he was always protected by five elemental spirits, probably originating from that ring. However, you need a lot of aptitude and talent to use its powers, so I''ve never been able to summon them. I wonder if it could be different for you?"


    "Old man¡­" I guess this was the true prize for having freed Silvertide.


    -----

 Chapter 814 Spirit Prince Ring

    Chapter 814 Spirit Prince Ring


    -----


    "So what are you waiting for? Put that thing on and let me see if you''re worthy of it." Hasan crossed his arms, looking at me.


    "Alright¡­" I smiled, quickly equipping the ring.


    The effect was almost immediate, my Mana Aura erupted as I suddenly gained two hundred thousand more units in a split of a second.


    FLUOSH!


    "Oooh?!"


    I felt the energy overflowing through my entire body, and that wasn''t all, my Magic Power also took a great boost, and so did most of my other stats as well!


    This ring''s effects werepletely out of this world, just on their bonus stats alone, it was enough for me to be happy!


    With over two hundred thousand more Mana, what can''t I summon now? I''ll still need the Spirit Orbs, yeah, but the Mana required to create the Familiar Cards is no longer a problem.


    At least for now¡­


    Ding!


    [You have equipped the [Spirit Prince Ring (Spiritual Grade): Lv10]!]


    [The Ring''s Five Spiritual Souls have epted you as a worthy wielder of their power.]


    [The [Ancient Spirit of Fire: Smander] approves of your courage.]


    [The [Ancient Spirit of Water: Undine] approves of your gentleness.]


    [The [Ancient Spirit of Wind: Sylphid] approves of your freedom.]


    [The [Ancient Spirit of Earth: Gnome] approves of your perseverance.]


    [The [Ancient Spirit of Nature: Dryad] approves of your bonds.]


    So those were the requirements to be approved by the ring?


    Courage, Gentleness, Freedom, Perseverance, and Bonds¡­ Indeed, it is quite hard to achieve everythingpletely.


    Hasan might have approved over half of them, but he certainly seems always lonely, his Bonds are not strong enough.


    He also restricts himself too much, heck Freedom.


    He possess great Courage, and he does have a Gentle side as well as being someone that Perseveres very well.


    But the other two things¡­ he''s failing at them.


    Sylphid as the Ancient Spirit of Winds desires freedom like the wind.


    And Dryad, the Spirit of Nature, desires bonds, much like nature creates bonds with one another to live and prosper.


    However, these names are merely of their race, perhaps these ancient spirits, the people that these fragments belonged to, might have had other names.


    Nheless, because these fragments are only that, pieces of them, their memories might be also mostly lost, and so their true identities have slowly simply taken their simplest of names.


    "T-The ring epted you right away!" Hasan said in surprise. "When I tried to use it, I could only draw a part of its stats, and I couldn''t even summon a barrier nor the manifestations like my ancestors¡­ Yet you got all the stats right away?!"


    "Kind of." I nodded. "Also¡­ Let''s try it. [Ancient Spirit Manifestation: Smander]"


    FLUUOSH!


    Before all of us, a sphere of spiritual mes materialized in a split of a second, slowly taking the form of a humanoid-like reptilian being, made of pure crimson mes, his eyes glowing like red jewels, with muscr arms and big scales.


    Hecked legs though, simply resembling a genie, with only its torso exposed, the other half resembling a long snake-like tail.


    Ding!


    [You have temporarily summoned the [Ancient Spirit of Fire: Smander]!]


    [For 1 hour, Smander will help you and protect you with his almighty Spiritual mes.]


    [Additionally, while being within his presence, all of your and your allies'' Fire Attribute Magic Power increases by +500%, while their MP Cost decreased by -50%.]


    [It is also possible to imbue [Ancient Spirit me Essence] into your Fire Magic, Weapons, Armor, and other things you might enchant or craft, giving various effects.]


    Amazing! Not only his presence was incredibly imposing, but the effects also he granted were incredible. Is this the same for all the Spirits?! I''ve gotten the best equipment piece I could have ever imagined right now!


    "It appears that after hundreds of years, a worthy wearer of our ring has appeared." It spoke with a mighty and ferocious voice. "Young man, what is your name?"


    "ke." I smiled. "It is nice to meet you, Smander."


    "You seem like my type of guy." Laughed Smander. "Let''s work together from now on!"


    "I-Incredible, an Ancient Spirit!" Hasan said in shock.


    "Amusing¡­" Cattalina smiled in shock.


    "W-What?!" Evelyn couldn''t believe it.


    "You did it ke! I knew you could!" Erika said, cheering for me.


    "T-That''s amazing¡­ He looks much cooler than my own Smander!" Chris said.


    "Amazing." Eric nodded. "Such an ancient treasure¡­ Ooh, I got so much to ask the Ancient Spirits too! How was your magic in the past? Do you have any knowledge on alchemy?"


    "Hmmm, so annoying." Smander yawned. "I''m not here to talk little things like those, brat! I''ve made a pact with that Prince to protect his descendants, but I didn''t seen anywhere in that contract something saying I should just tell you all I know!"


    Smander was pissed off, his mes flowing towards Eric.


    "Eep!" Eric quickly stepped back in horror.


    "Now, knock it off. Be nice with my friends." I grabbed his tail and pulled it.


    "AAGH! Don''t pull my tail!" Heined.


    "Anyways, is there anything else?" I asked Hasan.


    "You want more?!" Hasan sighed, as he slowly took something from his pocket and threw it at me half-heartedly. "Take this¡­"


    "A Silver Card? Wait¡­ is this?!"


    "Yeah, that''s a tinum Student VIP Card. Usually only given to excellent graduates of our Academy. With this, you can get great discounts in any shop, and your ess to most dungeons will also be prioritized." He sighed. "After discussing this I was only able to get one for ke, so sorry for everyone else."


    "It''s fine, as long as we hang around with him we should be able to enjoy the benefits!" Erika smiled.


    "Now, now, isn''t that an interesting thing?" Elizabeth wondered, looking at the silver card with greedy eyes.


    "That card can also be used to utilize the credit deposited inside of banks." Exined Erika''s mother. "Once you graduate you can get one yourselves, although I can''t guarantee it being tinum, but with ke possessing one, all of you could let him save your savings."


    "Ain''t no way I''m letting you have my money!" Chris was very defensive about it.


    "I''m no thief¡­" I facepalmed. "But so be it, you''re free to decide. Anyways, I feel satisfied with this I suppose. Let''s go back to our house, it has been a long week, that''s for sure."


    "Yeah, I''m beat¡­" Erdrich yawned, walking away.


    "Me too, I just want to sleep for the rest of the day." Elfriedden admitted.


    "Then we''ll get going! See ya old man!" Erika said, waving her hand.


    "E-Erika! Don''t call me like that!" Hasanined. "You damn brat, this is all your fault, now all the students won''t treat me with respect!"


    "Hahaha, just let her be, she''s the daughter of one of your strongest professors." Cattalina giggled mischievously. "Anyways, Erika, do you want mommy to prepare you some sweets? How about some pastries?"


    "Yaaay! Mama''s pastries are the best!" Erika nodded.


    "Heh, looks like things are getting more lively than before¡­" Iughed a bit, ncing at Hasan onest time. "Don''t push yourself too hard, old man. Be safe." I left over his desk an Elixir. "Drink this, you''ll feel better."


    "What''s this thing- Huh?! Mythic Grade Elixir?!" He muttered. "Where did you¡­? Ah¡­"


    Before he could even ask me, I wasn''t there anymore, however, I could hear him drinking that Elixir I had prepared, and sighing in relief, feeling much better.


    -----

 Chapter 815 End Of The Year Test

    Chapter 815 End Of The Year Test


    -----


    Since our arrival that every day has be rather active. The students, who used to ignore us for the most part, were constantly flocking around us. The entire Stronghold City now knew us as National-level Heroes for some reason, it seemed they couldn''t hide this event like it happened with the test involving Beelzebub''s Vessel.


    This made it so we became extremely popr, which became as I could guess from a mile away, extremely annoying¡­ There was always a new pretty girl around me trying to seduce me, noble girls flocked around me asking where I lived and if I had a fianc¨¦e yet.


    Some even went as far as ask me out, another simply walked towards me and said that I will be her husband without even borating¡­ Noble girls are really too spoiled to state such things out of nowhere.


    Naturally, I rejected all of their advances, although I didn''t need to do much, Erika, Elizabeth, and Eleanora were always there so they easily spooked out most girls. The braver ones regretted itter once they were beaten by an angry Erika.


    Yeah, despite how sweet and gentle she was, Erika went as far as punching in the face the girls that got too cocky¡­ Honestly, I liked that a lot from her.


    Aside from these annoying things, other students approached us with different motives. Some wanted us to rece already existing members with them, iming to be clearly stronger and superior, but they were all rejected.


    Through thesest weeks, they constantly challenged my party members, seeking to rece them by defeating them on a fight in the arena.


    Naturally, they were ridiculed every time, Eric was a big target because he looked weak and shy, but he always beat the shit out of them and humbled them every time.


    Quite honestly, I''m rather proud of how strong he had grown¡­ He was the shiest and weakest of our group, but now he''s a powerhouse of his own, especially with his Spirit Fusion.


    Like this, amidst a rather rxing school life, without taking into consideration these little things that happened, two months went by flying. Naturally, I didn''t just ck off. I was constantly assessing my money, my spirit orbs gains, and the ores I was mining back in Silvertide.


    I helped Monica set up the new rules for her Kingdom, and after the two surviving princes stupidly signed the contracts that gave up their ownership of the nation to Monica''s father, its reconstruction elerated very quickly.


    Maybe someone else would had felt bad about deceiving these two children, but they were too young to ever take care of the ruined ce, their riches were null, and they were too na?ve. It was better to give the ownership to someone that knew what they were doing.


    Monica''s father had considered marrying either of the two to her so they could still inherit a part of the Kingdom once she bes the next Queen, though Monica was greatly against it, so that has been on halt since then.


    Anyways, I also divided the money Hasan paid us among all my friends, and everyone had now a big capital. I invested arge part of it buying products, materials, and all kinds of things to mass produce potions, elixirs, cures, bombs, and even small armor pieces and weapons using my Creation Skill and my Apprentice Alchemist Recipe Book Skill, which Iter sold not only in myrge shop in Stronghold, which I''ve been expanding with several new areas, but also to the army fighting the demon king.


    The bombs were a huge sess too, their might was proven in the frontlines as Hasan said they were highly effective, especially the ones imbued with Holy Water, so I''ve been mass producing thousands every month to help the brave soldiers. This has naturally gave me a lot of money, millions, and that''s considering I''ve been selling it quite cheap, especially with big discounts if a thousand are bought at once.


    Moving to other topics, my growth? I''ve been practicing my skills and getting used to my new abilities slowly. I have explored dungeons almost weekly to gather materials and spirit orbs, and the umted EXP has given me six levels so far. I have been considering learning some new Skills from my Skill Tree now that I''ve gotten enough Skill Points.


    Also, my fifteen birthday was getting closer as well, which would be at the beginning of the next year, so I''ll be able to celebrate it with my family on my summer vacations.


    And, as thest month of the year finally arrived, Professor Hector, as usual, was giving us the veryst test of the year. We had jumped to Year 2 midway through due to our amazing performances, so we were doing the test of Year 2 instead of Year 1!


    And that test was¡­


    "Complete a B- Rank Dungeon or above to pass the test." Hector said nonchntly once more. "As usual, you''ll have the whole month to do so and showcase us how much you''ve grown. Every professor here has been teaching you not only knowledge, but also magic conjuration, skill usage, weapon and protection techniques, and all kinds of other things. And you''ve been actively visiting dungeons as well, so¡­ To pass the Year 2 test, you need toplete a B- Rank Dungeon or above, as I just said."


    "EH?! B Rank already?! Isn''t this a bit too fast?!" Rosen panicked. "W-What do I do?! I''m not even THAT strong yet!"


    "This is ridiculous! We''ve been here only for a year and you''re telling us to kill ourselves in that dungeon?!" rice protested angrily.


    "Well, it''s your fault because you were the ones that jumped years!" Hector said. "You''re supposed to grow stronger in two whole years before ever going to a B Rank Dungeon! me yourselves for getting cocky, not us. These are the rules." Hector shut them down rather quickly.


    "H-Honestly, not even I am that confident about it¡­" Monica, who was a Year 2 original student was nervous.


    "M-Me neither¡­" Ash sighed; he was the same as her.


    "Looks simple enough." I nodded. "Alright, should we do it today?"


    Meanwhile, to me, it just felt like a walk in the park.


    -----

 Chapter 816 Rising Popularity In The Academy

    Chapter 816 Rising Poprity In The Academy


    -----


    Once the sses Dungeon Analysis sses were over, where Hector exined the structure of B Rank Dungeons, which were even moreplex than C Rank Dungeons to help us understand its dangers and everything, we moved to our break lunch at therge cafeteria.


    Merely walking around this area filled with students made us the spotlight of the ce, hundreds of students ncing at us, pointing at us, and calling our names¡­ It was really annoying.


    "By the holy spirits, its ke!"


    "Ahhh~ He''s so handsome, isn''t he?"


    "I can''t believe I couldn''t see it just because I thought he was just amoner, but he''s a hero¡­"


    "He does hold the mature beauty and charming eyes of one, for sure!"


    "ke, please wait a bit!"


    "ke! ke!"


    "Ugh, here theye again¡­" I sighed.


    Over five girls arrived right in front of me, asking me to sit at my side and enjoy a meal with me¡­ As usual.


    "Please can we sit with you?"


    "It is just a meal, nothing else!"


    "We would love to hear any stories you have to tell about your heroic deeds!"


    "I heard you fought a Demon Overlord and won! How strong was he?!"


    "I''m single by the way!"


    "Listen girls, I-" As I was about to reject their offers, suddenly, Erika jumped over me andnded right in front of me.


    "Get away! ke''s mine!" She said angrily. "I''ve told you all this time he has no interest in any other girls!"


    "That''s right, stop it, it is getting disgusting." Elizabeth agreed, walking to her side. "If you don''t have any genuine intention to be his friend or ourrade, please go away."


    "Ugh, you act like you own him!"


    "If he has two girlfriends can''t he have a third at least?"


    "Someone as strong as him can have multiple fianc¨¦es! Don''t be so greedy!"


    "Especially you, Elizabeth, unlike Erika you''re not even a noble!" Said another girl with white hair and red, blue eyes, she exuded a cold and chilly aura. She was Serpentina Icestone from ss 3. "Why is a meremoner like youing to tell us what to do? You might have a Saint Talent, but so what? Saints are still below Nobles!"


    "Ugh, shut up!" Erika said angrily, punching the beautiful girl several meters away.


    "Eeek!"


    BAAM!!


    She ended rolling over the cafeteria, as usual.


    "Anyone else want to offend my friends?!" Erika said angrily, her eyes glowing with draconic light.


    "Uwah!"


    "She''s a savage!"


    "Ugh, why does she always gets physical?!"


    The girls quickly ran away, scattering like cockroaches.


    "That was unnecessary, Erika¡­" Elizabeth sighed.


    "Well, not like it matters, Hasan never does anything about it." Erika giggled. "I felt like giving them a lesson!"


    "Well done, but don''t abuse your power against weaklings if possible, Erika." I smiled. "Next time this happens, I''ll resolve it myself. I don''t need protection, okay?"


    "Fine¡­" Erika nodded, giving me a kiss. "I just get really angry! They don''t even know you, and I remember they always badmouthed you before because you were amoner, but now just because you did something, they all act as if they always liked you!"


    "I know, they''re called two-faced people, you meet them a lot between noble families and meetings." Elfriedden sighed. "I''ve also had my fair share of leeches like those."


    "It''s getting really obnoxious, but yeah." Erdrich sighed.


    "At least they had stopped challenging me to fight for my ce in the party¡­ It felt so stupid." Eric sighed in relief.


    "Right? Well, you always beat the crap out of them anyways Eric!" Alberta giggled.


    "Yeah you''re pretty strong, they''re dumb to think they had a chance." Erikaughed as well. "Eric might have been a bit shy and cowardly back then but you''re just as strong as us!"


    "I-I wouldn''t call myself just as strong as you, Erika¡­" Ericughed a bit. "Also, did you said cowardly and shy¡­? Did you had to be so rough around the edges?"


    "Hahaha, sorry, sorry¡­" Erikaughed carefreely.


    As we sat down to enjoy a meal, Rosen and rice appeared, quickly sitting nearby us.


    "You seem so calm andposed after hearing what the next test is about! Is this going to be the same thing that happened with the C Rank Dungeon?!" Rosen cried. "ke, please help!"


    "This is for sure something impossible, we barely cleared the C Rank Dungeon!" rice said.


    "It''s not like I can do much for you." I shrugged. "You arepetent and strong enough, you have to keep training your skills and Ki Maniption¡­ Maybe buy from me some elixirs, potions, bombs, and equipment too. I''ll give you a discount. If you don''t have enough power yourself, you can always make up for it with money. And you two are nobles, right? I doubt youck money."


    The two looked at one another, sighing.


    "I-I guess we''ll be buying a few bombs and equipment, yeah¡­" Rosen sighed. "A-Anything that could help us advance that hellishbyrinth even a single step further."


    "Likewise¡­ But can''t we train again like we once did?" rice asked.


    "You''ve already reached the limit of what I can squeeze out of you with intense training, the rest is all up to your skills, your wits, and how many levels you get or how much you can cultivate your spiritual energy and ki." I exined. "I''ve helped you be proper warriors after you were pathetic newbies. But I can''t just carry you all the way to the top. That''s up to you."


    "W-What¡­ but what about your friends?" Rosen asked.


    "You''re implying they''re weak and I''m carrying them?" Iughed. "Don''t be a fool, they''re all strong on their own, weplement each other, we also have some weaknesses, but that''s where we all are for one another. Youck team synergy with the rest of your teams, train that in the meantime. I never carried my friends to the top; we all walked and helped one another reach where we are. Keep that in mind, the strength of a party is made by thebination of each individual''s strength."


    "W-We understand¡­" rice sighed, still looking hopeless. "Anyway¡­ sell me a hundred bombs, please."


    "Are you just going to blow up the dungeon with bombs?!" Rosen asked.


    "What else should I do?!" rice cried.


    -----

 Chapter 817 Choosing A Dungeon

    Chapter 817 Choosing A Dungeon


    -----


    Once today''s alchemy sses ended rather early because the academy wanted to leave us the month to rest and prepare for the dungeon, we arrived back home as usual. Erika''s mom, who had also finished her sses early, joined us, alongside Evelyn.


    "So what Dungeon will you choose?" She wondered, the moment we arrived back home we sat down around the table to rest and have some snacks we bought along the way.


    There were several coffee shops and bakeries nearby, so for dinner we bought a lot of cake slices, pies, cupcakes, and vored bread, alongside cappinos, vored milk, and teas.


    We didn''t felt like cooking, so we simply bought a lot of pre-made stuff and had a feast before going to the dungeon tomorrow.


    Naturally, Erika''s mom was interested in what we would be exploring. After all this is an important test for the Year 2 Students.


    "We''re still looking for a good one." Erika said, eating a bit piece of apple pie while sipping on her cookies and cream Frappino. "But I was thinking that something big and strong, right? The highest ranked B Rank Dungeon would be fine!"


    "Is it really okay to get so cocky about it?" Wondered Evelyn. "You might have defeated a lot of demons now and all but¡­ Still, shouldn''t you take it easy? Go for the easiest one, please¡­ I just don''t want to worry anymore¡­ Eugh."


    "Hahaha, I don''t think that''s possible." Elizabethughed. "Knowing ke¡­" She sighed, quickly giving it a bite to her strawberry cheesecake, and then drinking some of her favorite blend of ck tea.


    "He probably wants the hardest one." Eleanora nodded with Elizabeth, as she was drinking a cup with fresh demon wine I had endless storages of inside my Inventory. She was also snacking on some onion bread with ham and cheese. "And I wouldn''t have expected anything less from my beloved master."


    "The hardest?" Wondered Cattalina. "Is it true, ke? You''re going for the B+++ Rank Dungeon?"


    "Yeah¡­" I nodded. "I had already considered it. Though, this is the first time I''m admitting it. I hope you guys don''t chicken out." I smiled.


    "We''re not! I''ll dly walk into the depths of hell!" Chris said. "After all I''m a master of fire and all¡­" He smiled confidently.


    Recently, he has gotten some attention from girls as well. However, aside from a few dates, he hasn''t been able to find someone that was genuinely interested in him and not just on his fame. Though, he had be more confident and has stopped whining.


    "I guess there''s no point in me whining about it either¡­" Eric sighed. "Though, I''m quite nervous, but¡­ It''s fine, as long as we all go together."


    "Don''t be nervous, it''s going to be alright. We''ve grown plenty strong ourselves!" Alberta said. "Last time ke checked our Status, we were soon to reach max level, so we could try getting to that point while we are at it!"


    "I agree¡­" Elfriedden nodded. "Let''s do this¡­ B+++ Rank or whatever, what''s happening on my kingdom''s way worse anyways. So, what Dungeon is it though?"


    "Yeah, which Dungeon is the B+++ Rank Dungeon?" Wondered Erdrich. "I''m quite curious¡­"


    "The only Dungeon that''s B+++ Rank in the whole city." I smiled. "It''s a Dungeon I''ve been looking forward to exploring for a while, now that we''re finally strong enough, it''s time to get there and plunder its riches¡­ The Red Dragon''s Volcanic Labyrinth."


    "Red Dragon?!" Asked Chris in surprise. "W-Wait a second! You mean an actual real dragon? Like the White Dragon living in the mountains near our town that didn''t allowed people to mine there for the mithril?"


    "Yeah, though this is a Dragon that lives inside a Dungeon, therefore, it is much more restrained in powerpared to the Wild Dragons out there." I exined.


    "Indeed, it is as my son-inw said." Cattalina nodded. "The Red Dragon, still, is a very formidable foe. He is as strong as an A+ Rank Monster, actually. Because of this, the B+++ Rank Dungeon is usually treated as an A Rank Dungeon at the very least¡­ Though, certainly, it is possible to clear it toplete the test¡­"


    "We''ll fight a real dragon?" Wondered Erika. "That''s¡­ amazing. Maybe I could be stronger if I drink its blood or eat the meat and heart? After all, I am part dragon¡­"


    "It could work, I had thought about it." I nodded. "I''ve reserved the Dungeon for the rest of the month. With the tinum card it was easy to do so much, and not many people enter it to begin with¡­"


    "T-Then it sounds like a n!" Eric said nervously. "Woah, I was so confident but hearing we''ll fight an actual dragon¡­ it fills me with a lot of thrill."


    "I''ve seen Dragons before, back in my continent¡­" Said Alberta. "They roam the Mountains we inhabit. And are a constant problem to us. Though, some are wild, there are other smart dragons, which have their own culture and formrge families. We have some that were our allies¡­"


    "Interesting, so not all dragons are dumb winged lizards?" Asked Erika with a giggle.


    "Of course they aren''t!" Elfriedden sighed. "In fact, Fafnir, that damned Dragon King is making a real mess of the continent where I came from! I''ve heard he''s a corrupted and cunning being, smarter and more merciless than us elves."


    "I have heard about him a lot already, Elfriedden¡­" I sighed. "Anyways, let''s eat to our heart''s contents before we start getting ready for tomorrow''s expedition. I n toplete the dungeon that very day, so we can visit it multiple times through the month! I don''t think we''ll be able to hit max level with a single visit, so make sure to get prepared, we''ll be working harder than ever before."


    "Alright, bring it in!" Erika was pumped up. "I''m going to get to Rank 4 and get a new Spirit!"


    "Me too!" Elizabeth was also excited. "And¡­ then we can go enjoy our long summer vacations back home, it will be nice~"


    "I can''t wait for that too!" Erika agreed. "Right, Eleanora? We''ll have ke all for ourselves by then!"


    "Indeed." Eleanora giggled joyously.


    -----

 Chapter 818 Time To Conquer The Dangerous B+++ Rank Dungeon!

    Chapter 818 Time To Conquer The Dangerous B+++ Rank Dungeon!


    -----


    The entrance to the B+++ Rank Dungeon appeared in front of our sight as we moved forwards. It was quite early in the morning; the sun was slowly rising from the horizon. Although even at these hours, there was already a lot of people walking around the busy streets of Stronghold City.


    This dungeon was one of thergest in the entire city, and the reason it was called a Labyrinth was because of that. It held ten floors, unlike the other Dungeons, each floor being a yer" of the volcandscape we''ll be facing.


    Until we finally reach the "zing Depths" the tenth floor, where the almighty Red Dragon is awaiting us, a monster in a B+++ Rank Dungeon as strong as an A+ Rank Monster.


    It will surely be a very nice and pleasing fight! After all, A Rank Monsters should be kind ofpared to Demon Overlords, overwhelmingly strong powerhouses of their own.


    It is just surprising how there are so many strong adventurers and warriors in this city that they can keep this dangerous dungeon at bay.


    I suppose it might have to do with there being around six people as strong as Cattalina here¡­ However, it is also not THAT umon for the Red Dragon to be in, usually once a month or every two months, giant parties of over thirty adventures go down this dungeon and get it done.


    It is usually a big event too, after all this dungeon and a couple of A Rank Dungeons are the hardest ones there are, sopleting them by itself is a gigantic feat. There are no S Rank Dungeons in Stronghold, they''re the rarest Dungeons out there.


    From what I learned after asking Cattalina, Hector, Hasan, and other professors that had gone through their Trials, S Rank Dungeons is where the Trials to advance a Talent above 5 Star are located.


    Hasan who had gone through three Trials himself, and Hero Dn who has done it twice and failed his third time, told me that there are many S Rank Dungeons spread around the world.


    Each one is harder than the previous one, and they signify the barrier between a mortal and the divine¡­ toplete them is like stepping upstairs through a staircase that leads someone to Ascension.


    I''ve never seen Hasan in action, but I''m well aware he''s incredibly powerful, I''ve heard he has whipped out thousands of demons in seconds, and wherever they call him into the frontlines, the human army can get out of any dire situation and pull through.


    However, because he''s so busy dealing with so many things and he''s still a single man, he can''t stay there permanently. So at the end, it''s a constant struggle¡­ But even Hasan has said that there are Demons out there he hasn''t been able to defeat, incredibly powerful ones dwelling within the Demon Continent, the first continent they eve conquered.


    So to be able to visit these S Rank Dungeons eventually, we all need to get our Talents to 5 Stars, and also get a certificate after havingpleted every A Rank Dungeon in Stronghold¡­


    The Red Dragon''s Volcanic Labyrinth is our first step towards this goal¡­ Because I''ll need to be as strong as possible if I want to defeat the Demons once and for all and y that damned Lucifer.


    FLUOOSH!


    The heating from the dungeon''s depth was strong, just merely standing in front of it felt like we were inside a room with several furnaces working together at the same time.


    "Here we are." I said with a smile. "Are you all ready?"


    My entire party was with me, my friends that have apanied me through all these challenges, together. Cattalina and Evelyn were right behind us, hoping the best for us.


    "I''m ready bro." Chris nodded, looking like a fierce young lion. "Let''s do this." ck and red robes adorned his body, fire magician clothes that enhanced his magic element.


    "I bet you''re so confident because you''re a fire wielder." Sighed Eric. "I just hope my nts don''t just burnpletely¡­" He was wearing light-weighted magician and archer clothes, with some light armor here and there.


    "Don''t worry, I can also protect you from the mes, Eric!" Alberta smiled, winking at him. She was wearing a heavy armor and holding her big hammer as usual.


    "Hmph, this ce is certainly not quite fitted to my magic¡­" Sighed Elfriedden. "But we''ll have to persevere. Especially because I''ve been wanting a nice challenge to try out my new Skills¡­" He was wearing a regal noble man''s suit he had made himself, reinforced with spiritual threads and metallic threads made out of wyvern scales and demonic dragon scales.


    "Yeah! Let''s do this ke!" Erika agreed, she was wearing a beautifulbination of a princess-like dress with heavy golden armor on top, enchanted with spirit magic, making it glow with rainbow light.


    "As long as I''m around, I''ll make sure to keep everyone alive." Elizabeth smiled back at me, looking into my eyes dearly. She looked as gorgeous as Erika, wearing a beautiful white and golden Saintess robe, with silver armor with golden and white decorations resembling stars and angelic wings. "And I have a Skill I want to try out too¡­"


    "Ready for anything." Erdrich smiled calmly and confidently, wearing his usual light-weighted robes and clothes, with no armor whatsoever, revealing his muscr torso, his bare skin was a tougher armor than we could make, honestly. "I''m good against fire, so let me stay in the frontlines, ke."


    "Sure." I nodded. "Alright, looks like everyone''s wearing their upgraded equipment too, good. We worked hard to get it done, right?"


    "Yeah, it was so tiring¡­ We worked for thest two weeks on it! Now I finally know why you wanted to enchant it with anti-fire effects." Elfriedden sighed. "Also, I didn''t knew you could enchant it with the Ancient Spirits to give them even more durability, stats, and resistance to all elements!"


    "Yeah, it is part of their strength." I said. "The [Ancient Spirit''s Elemental Protection] on everyone''s equipment will guard us against the mes down below¡­ There''s nothing to be afraid of. Let''s speedrun this dungeon and get our well-deserved EXP and Loot!"


    "OOOOHHH!"


    Everyone roared at my words, as we rushed downstairs without further ado.


    -----


    Author''s Note: I justmissioned an original cover featuring ke, Erika, Eleanora, and Elizabeth! It will get done in a couple of weeks, so look forward to that!

 Chapter 819 Fighting Against Countless Dragons

    <h4>Chapter 819 Fighting Against Countless Dragons</h4>


    -----


    The huge footsteps of something gigantic approaching could be heard, making the surroundings tremble constantly.


    TRUUM! TRUUM! TRUUM!


    The moment we walked downstairs andnded on the first floor, we were greeted by not only a wondrous, gigantic underground volcandscape filled with rives of molten stone and a giantke of magma, but gigantic draconic monsters rushing towards us the second wended here!


    "ROOOAAARRRR!"


    "W-What is that thing?!" Eric cried in shock. "I''ve never seen a monster like that before!"


    It was a gigantic tyrannosaurus rex-like Dragon-type Monster called zing Volcanic Rex. They were B+ Rank Monsters of incredible strength, each one could grow as tall as thirty meters, this one was around twenty, a young and reckless one.


    "A B+ Rank zing Volcanic Rex!" I smiled. "I''m surprised the guy with a monster encyclopedia doesn''t recognize this big guy! He''s the mostmon and weakest of monsters in this dungeon!"


    "Wait, this huge thing is the weakest?!" Elfriedden was left speechless.


    "Yeah, now get moving if you don''t want me to just get the first kill!" Iughed, quickly leaping out from the ground.


    My armor looked much different now, although it was the same wyvern scale armor that Chris and his family had gifted to me, it had undergone several improvements.


    Its color has now changed from red to dark gold, and there was a rainbow-colored auraing from it. Above all, it was much less heavier now, perhaps as light as a feather.


    I had upgraded it with the scales of that golden demonic dragon Demon Lord we fought back then and used a few of their Demonic Core Fragments as the armor''s core to enhance it with Demonic Energy.


    Lastly, I drenched it on my own blood and then, enchanted it even further using the Blessing of the Five Ancient Spirits¡­ And this is the armor that resulted from all of that:


    -----


    [Demonic Dragon''s Golden Scales Spiritual Armor: Lv10]


    [Item Type]: [Full Body Armor] [Dragon Armor] [Magic Armor]


    [Item Quality]: [Mythic Grade]


    [Item Requirement]: [5.000 Strength] [10.000 Health Points]


    [Item Durability]: [85.000/85.000]


    [Item Effects]: [Defense]: [+20.000] [Health Points]: [+8.000] [Mana Points]: [+3.000] [Strength]: [+5.000] [Agility]: [+5.000] [Vitality]: [+8.000] [Intelligence]: [+2.500] [Dexterity]: [+2.500]


    [Abilities]


    [Demonic Dragon Scale Protection]: A powerful protection made by the innate power of the scales of a Demonic Dragon. Decreases Fire, Earth, Wind, and Water Element Damage taken by 40%, and decreases Physical and Magical Damage taken by -30%.


    [Draconic Demonic Heart Core]: Enhances Maximum HP and VIT while imbuing MP into the armor by up to +150%, however, MP is constantly consumed until it depletes. Additionally, increases Demonic Energy self-regeneration speed by +300% and Demon-type Skills and Magic Power by +50%.


    [Ancient Spirit''s Elemental Protection]: The Enhancement by the Ancient Spirits has been imbued into the Armor. Decreases Fire, Wind, Nature, Water, and Earth Elemental Damage take by -25%, and Enhances these Elements Attack Power when conjured by the user by +50%.


    [Connected Armor Set]: Each piece of this set is only one set. Whenever a set is unequipped, the bonus stats will decrease ordingly. However, when all pieces are equipped, not only the user will receive all bonus stats, but will gain a special buff that grants automatic HP Recovery. Additionally, the armor can self-repair if broken or shattered if given proper ingots and materials.


    [Description]


    Formerly the Red Wyvern''s Armor Set, that has been further upgraded and enhanced with the golden scales of a Demonic Dragon Demon Lord, their blood, and small Demonic Core Fragments for its powerful core. It haspletely changed into a new armor at this point, further improved after being enhanced by the Ancient Spirits Protection.


    An "ultimate" piece of armor that provides protection to the mostmon elements out there, while enhancing the user''s fighting power, and further increasing their Demonic Energy regeneration.


    -----


    It was an incredible full armor set I had enhanced so much it seemed like somethingpletely different. The [Creation] Skill was excellent at enhancing items and imbuing them with new powers and materials seamlessly, with this alone I could negate 65% of Elemental Damage Taken from those verymon elements.


    CLAAASH!


    And as the giant jaws of the zing Volcanic Rex attempted to destroy me with a single bite, it showed how resilient it had grown too, with a whopping 85k Durability, and an immense bonus to Vitality, its defensive prowess waspletely out of this world, especially its Defense Stat, which was the total defense an armor provided to the user.


    It was pretty much a numerical shield, based on its number, that was how much damage was negated from a foe''s attack, while Durability was like the items'' Health Points, it means that the lower it went, the weaker the item would grow until shattering into pieces and "dying" or being destroyed.


    Yet¡­ Well, this armor now had 20k Defense.


    "GRAAAGGH?!"


    The zing Volcanic Rex was shocked to find my body waspletely fine even after it was trying to bite me with its gigantic jaws, capable of exerting several tons of force.


    Of course, there was also the natural Vitality and Strength of my body. By exerting it out with my arms, I was able to easily resist the dragon''s mightiest bite.


    "You''re nothing much, huh? Aside from being an oversized wingless dragon." Iughed.


    "ROOOOAARRRGH!"


    With a ferocious roar, an explosion of mes emerged from the pissed off zing Volcanic Rex¡­


    BOOOM!


    "ke!" Erika panicked a bit, even she thought I was being a bit ridiculous.


    Yet¡­ well, I was unscathed.


    "I told you guys we would be alright." I said nonchntly. "My creations are wless."


    I took out my handgun from my Inventory and imbued it with Mana and Spiritual Energy, unleashing a devastating st of pure frost and demonic energy.


    "[Demonic Frost Cannon]"


    BOOOM!


    The cannon froze the entire B+ Rank Monster from the inside out, as I quickly leaped out of it, slicing the beast into pieces with Gluttony.


    SLASH! SLASH! SLASH!


    RUMBLE!


    Its entire body crumbled into pieces over the ground, the beast wasn''t even able to deal a single point of damage¡­


    "Well, that was quite underwhelming¡­" I said. "Oh?"


    However, there were a dozen more of these guysing right towards us, and theke of magma right besides us was shaking and bubbling, something wasing from there.


    Looks like the floor boss was arriving quite earlier this time.


    -----

 Chapter 820 The Adaptability Of Familiar Summons

    <h4>Chapter 820 The Adaptability Of Familiar Summons</h4>


    -----


    I calcted around sixty zing Volcanic Rexesing our way. These were mighty B+ Rank Monsters, although I was able to defeat one on my own quite easily, I cannot underestimate arge army of them.


    Especially when theke of magma nearby was bubbling rapidly, something huge wasing from there, the Boss, most likely. In fact, it wasn''t even going to wait for us to defeat the small fry, emerging right this instant.


    SPLAAASH!


    "GRUOOOHHHHH!"


    An enormous, scaled creature surged, with the shape of a huge and bloated fish, covered on dark red and ck scales, with long whiskers, several eyes, and a wide, big mouth serrated with many sharp fangs.


    The beast was over fifty meters tall and was one of the three possible Floor Boss that can spawn within the nine floors of the Dungeon before the tenth floor, where the Red Dragon is.


    Ding!


    [The Floor Boss: [Magma Smander Drake King (B++ Rank)] has Appeared!]


    [The mighty Boss of the First Floor of the Dungeon begins to exude a powerful aura of heat¡­ Those that cannot resist the mes will slowly be set aze, taking constant damage.]


    [Additionally, all Fire-type Allied Monsters will receive a boost to All Stats of +100%!]


    "W-What is that thing?!" Eric cried. "S-Such a strong pressure¡­ Ugh, if it wasn''t for the equipment you prepared, we would be burning alive right now!"


    "It looks like a huge, scaled?catfish, no?" Erika wondered. "Hmm, I wonder if it''s tasty~?" She licked her lips.


    "It''s the Floor Boss, one of the three possible bosses that can spawn in each Floor, the Magma Smander Drake King. A species of Magma Smander that has gained draconic bloodline and became the King of its kin." I exined. "It''s a slow-moving B++ Rank Monster that simply sits around and deals damage over time to foes, while strengthening allies. It''s the easiest out of the three Floor Bosses, actually."


    "The easiest you say?" Wondered Elfriedden, he was sweating all over. "Urgh, this is sure annoying, my body''s sweating all over, this ce is definitely not made for me! But that''s good actually, without a challenge, I will never be able to progress further after all."


    "Anyways, let''s get ready to move! There''s less than a hundred other mobs out there, so the first floor is not that hard." Chris said, he was the least affected by the temperatures, his firepower was actually growing stronger, his entire body overflowing with a zing aura. "I like this ce''s atmosphere! The temperature''s only going to make me stronger!"


    "Well said." I nodded. "The Boss is slow, so it wouldn''t be a problem if we take down the mobs first. I''ll bring some cavalry to make things swiftly, we don''t want to waste too much energy with the First Floor after all. [Summon Familiar]"


    My Grimoire shone brightly as a dozen Familiar Cards emerged from them, a bunch of giant Familiars emerged.?I brought twenty Dracos, twenty Fenrirs, twenty Grizzlies, ten zes (Giant zing Scorpions), and ten Stingers (Giant Wasps).


    And of course, I brought thirty Marines, the Blue Scaled Tunas that usually buff us all with their [Enhancing Radiance] Skill, this time, they''ll be fighting with their special water-rted Skills, which are lethal against fire-type monsters.


    FLASH! FLASH! FLASH!


    They all appeared one after another. The Dracos and the Stingers making a formation in the skies led by the General, while the Fenrirs led the Grizzlies and zes. Meanwhile, as for Marine, I had assigned one as a General, leading the other thirty.


    That should do for now, I''ll keep the rest safe and sound inside my Grimoire until we get deeper into the Dungeon. Although I might have hundreds of Summons, over half of them are busy faraway in the mines, I have roughly around a hundred more avable to summon right now, putting aside Familiar Multiplication.


    If I took that into consideration based in the D to C Rank Spirit Orbs I have saved, I can bring another hundred more¡­ But for now, I don''t want to relypletely on the Familiars because they''re better at fighting giant armies. Bringing a few is enough, we also need to train and practice our new skills ourselves!


    But their support, nheless, is very appreciated, and also the reason why I''m so confident aboutpleting this Dungeon, they''re essential, without a doubt.


    "Draco, Fenrir, Marine! Do I was told you before. Protect us from surprise attacks and give us support whenever you can. Make sure to weaken foes but also prioritize your safety, don''t go sacrificing yourselves." I ordered.


    "Very well, my lord!" Fenrir roared, standing up after he had be a giant Werewolf thanks to the Talent he acquired. "We shall not falter! We will bring you victory!"


    "Alright, my sword shall lead our flying squadron then!" Draco roared, he and his kin were now Dragon Knights, wearing armor on top of their bodies, and even having dark red swords imbued with magic power. "Weaken foes and make sure they don''t hurt those that fight at long range!"


    "We shall serve you well, Master!" A huge Blue Scaled Tuna spoke. Familiars that were assigned as Generals becamerger than the rest to differentiate them and had several times the original''s stats. They were behemoths of their own. The usually small Blue Scaled Tunas that didn''t surpass three meters of length became as huge as ten meters. "Bring forth a Tsunami to our foes! Weaken them!"


    -----


    [Name]: [Marine (Awakened)]


    [Type]: [Fish] [Enhancer] [Water] [Magician]


    [Rank]: [C]


    [Race]: [Giant Blue Scaled Tuna]


    [Talent]: [Sea Sorcerer: ¡ï]


    [Health Points]: [5500/5500] (+1400)


    [Mana Points]: [5500/5500] (+1100)


    [Strength]: [1750] (+700)


    [Agility]: [1750] (+700)


    [Vitality]: [4500] (+1100)


    [Intelligence]: [4250] (+1400)


    [Dexterity]: [1750] (+700)


    [Buff]: [+250 MP] [+200 HP] [+100 Intelligence]


    [Skill]: [Torpedo Swimming++] [Tsunami++] [Enhancing Radiance++] [mmable Oil++] [Healing Spring Water++] [Ocean''s Trident++] [Sea Spirit''s Protection++]


    [Awakening Skill]: [Great Flood++]


    [Title]: [Ocean''s Summoner]


    [Growth]: [MAX]


    -----


    After having been upgraded to C Rank, this was how strong the Marines have be. Now they weren''t just support but had be proper magicians that wielded the power of Ocean Magic with them.


    Their MP wasn''t that much though, so they were limited to how much they could attack¡­ But that didn''t matter much right now.


    "Now, [Great Flood]!"


    All the Marines quickly assembled together, greeting the Rexes with a huge flood of oceanic water, taking over everything!


    SPLAAASH!


    -----

 Chapter 821 Advancing Rapidly

    <h4>Chapter 821 Advancing Rapidly</h4>


    -----


    Ding!


    [Five [Marines] have conjured [Great Flood++] towards the enemy targets!]


    [The cold water of the sea floods the Dungeon''s first floor! The Monsters are extremely affected by these waters!]


    SPLAAASH!


    The enormous flood of oceanic water was conjured not once, but five times by ten different Marines. It was so much water that it flooded the ample caves and quickly drowned every single Rex within its waters.


    They didn''t die right away though, in fact all of them survived except like three that died due to the shock, but the water quickly spilled into the magmake nearby, hitting the boss as well and turning off its zing mantle while drying the magma into hard stone, trapping it in there.


    FRSSSSHHH!!!


    "SHAAAAAHHH¡­!"


    The giant catfish-like dragon screamed in agony, as it opened its massive jaws and started firing countless meteors of mes into the skies, hoping that they could reach us.


    Elizabeth, however, responded to this quickly, rising her staff into the skies and conjuring several barriers of light with ease.


    "I''m here for this! [Holy Light Mirror]!"


    The giant meteors ended being blocked by her barriers, while their me power was sent back to the boss, bombarding it with explosions of me and light.


    BOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOM!


    "GRAAARGGHH¡­!"


    The Boss was growing angrier, but he felt too weakened to even move too much. Its entire pool had been hardened to stone once the magma cooled down, inhibiting its movements.


    Meanwhile, the zing Volcanic Rexes were all damp, their mes turning off and their bodies cooling down to dangerous levels.


    Fire Attribute Monsters like these ones rely extremely on fire and high temperatures to keep their body functions going.


    Meaning that when you cool them down to this extent, they be paralyzed, weakened, and extremely sick.


    Ding!


    [The cool temperatures of the oceanic water have weakened your foes. All foes affected have temporarily be [Partially Paralyzed], [Weakened], and [Sickly]!]


    [Their Fire Attribute Magic Power has been reduced by -50%, and All Stats have decreased by -30%!]


    "W-Wait, what?! Is this a thing?! They all dropped on the floor!" Said Chris.


    "So this is how you nned to deal with this¡­" Eric smiled. "I see, ke would never not have a n I suppose."


    "Well, isn''t this nice? All this water¡­" Elfriedden felt right at home, his ice quickly beginning to overflow around his surroundings. "Let''s end these small fries then!"


    "Go!" Imanded, as my friends and my Familiars moved in unison.


    The majority of my group, followed by my familiars, rushed to kill the Rexes before they could stand back up. Their cooperation and speed was superb, Eric quickly fired his arrows, which multiplied into dozens of deadly projectiles descending from the sky.


    "[Spirit Arrow Rain]!"


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!


    His attack range had be tremendously big by now, and he could cover arge distance with his amazing amount of projectiles. Theirbined explosive attacks quickly took down several of the B+ Rank mobs.


    "Well done Eric!"


    As Eric weakened and killed a few, Alberta stepped in, his girlfriend might be small, but she was mightier. Carrying a huge full-body armor, and holding a gigantic zing hammer, she smashed the heads of the dinosaur-like dragon monsters one after another.


    "[Volcanic ze Hammer]!"


    CLASH! CLASH! CLASH!


    And as if that couldn''t be enough, her giant golem used its enormous cannons to fire beams of pure energy against them whenever they attempted to catch her, sting their heads into pieces.


    BOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOM!


    "Alright, my turn now!" Chrisughed, leaping into the skies to quickly descend, his hands zing with blue mes. "[Phantom Dragon me Storm]!"


    FLUOSH!


    His hands pped as the mes started swirling around each other, generating a gigantic spiraling storm of blue mes shaped into a huge coiling dragon. I had previously informed him that normal fire wouldn''t be very effective, but he had other types of mes, such as spirit and phantom mes.


    And he took that greatly into consideration,bining them with his dragon mes and the power of his spirits fusing with it, the spiraling storm of phantom dragon mes reaching the weakened beasts, burning their souls away.


    BOOOMMM!


    "You''re making too much of a fuss!" Elfriedden said angrily, flying in the skies with his Frost Dragon Wings, a new Spell he could conjure thanks to his new [Frost Dragon Soul Manifestation] Skill. "Well, I''m more than just a needle and some threads now too! [Frost Dragon''s Spiritual Weapons]!"


    Bybining his [Ice Tool Creation] with [Frost Dragon Soul Manifestation] Skills, he created hundreds of frost dragon-themed weapons, such as giant spears with coiling dragons on them, or huge swords with dragon wings, and even hammers with dragon heads.


    All of them descended like a rain of endless frost, piercing, crushing, and slicing through the monsters below, freezing their bodies and killing them agonizingly due to their lethal weakness to cold temperatures.


    CRASH! CRASH! CRASH!


    BOOOMMM!


    At the same time, my Familiars moved swiftly. Marine and the other Blue Scaled Tunas unleashed tridents of spiraling water against the monsters that kept emerging, cooling them down and weakening them while dealing explosive damage.


    Meanwhile, Fenrir led all the physical fighters, acting as huge tanks against the fire magic the Rexes unleashed. Combined with the flying attackersing down from the air over and over again, chipping away at the monster''s health points.


    With this support, Eric, Alberta, Chris, and Elfriedden were handling things well, even as more and more of the zing Volcanic Rexes kept emerging from other areas, looks like the entire poption of Floor 1 was over a hundred of them! Good, that''s a lot of EXP.


    "Well done everyone, you''re doing great!" Iughed, as leaped into the Boss''s open maws, with Erika and Erdrich by my side. "Let''s kill this guy quickly! No time to waste! We got nine more Floors to do after this one!"


    "Alright, no problem!" Erika smiled, her huge ck sword gaining golden and red mes, her eyes glowing brightly with red and yellow light. "Let''s see if you can take this one, big guy! [Yggdrasil Dragon Swordsmanship Arts]: [zing Yggdragon''s Divine w]!"


    SLAAASH!


    -----

 Chapter 822 Floor 1 Completed

    Chapter 822 Floor 1 Completed


    -----


    Erika unleashed her newest Skill''s ability, the [Yggdrasil Dragon''s Swordsmanship Arts], as she conjured a gigantic w made of golden and red mes imbued with both her draconic powers and her Yggdrasil''s might.


    After all, Erika''s new body was crafted using the Heart of a Dryad and also many of the branches from the Yggdrasil Staff Eric had saved on his family''s attic, an inheritance from his ancestor that once visited the Continent of Elves.


    Many of the materials from the Wyvern we defeated were added as well, which she had developed into draconic powers after I''ve given her a lot of Dragon Blood Potions, and of course, her own training.


    Even the Wyverns, the weakest dragon-type monsters had enough draconic energy for her to slowly evolve it into something truly unique, the power of an Yggdragon!


    "Let''s see if you can take this one, big guy! [Yggdrasil Dragon Swordsmanship Arts]: [zing Yggdragon''s Divine w]!"


    SLAAASH!


    A gigantic w shed against the catfish-like smander dragon, one of its eyes was instantly destroyed by the impact alone, the sh was so deep it pierced through its thick skull, leaving a terrifying wound behind.


    "Well done, Erika!" I roared. "Erdrich, it''s yours!"


    "OOOHHH!"


    Erdrich roared, descending as his fists zed with Demonic mes, his eyes glowing bright red, as his muscles temporarily grew evenrger.


    "[Demonic Fist Mastery]!"


    His Aura erupted, resembling dozes of fists that then merged together into a single, gigantic zing red demon fist, shing against the giant dragon!


    BAAAMMM¡­!


    The impact alone sent ripples into the dragon''s entire body, countless cracks spreading over its body! It quickly fell into the hardened pool of magma, shattering it into countless of stone pieces.


    "GRUOOHHHH!"


    The Dragon furiously opened its giant maws, unleashing a devastating zing breath, which could easily devastate a quarter of the entirety of Stronghold City!


    TRUUUMMM¡­!


    "Not on my watch." Elizabeth said, swinging her staff. "[Holy Light Mirror]!"


    Shebined several mirrors into a gigantic one, taking the storm of mes and then firing it back towards the dragon, only for another mirror to appear right in front of it, the mes were being constantly bounced back and forth, mixing with the holy light of her magic.


    "Is this enough?" Elizabeth asked.


    "More than enough." I smiled, waving my hand. "[Infernal mes Authority]!"


    FLUOSH!


    The mes bouncing back and forth all flew into the palms of my hands, as I imbued them into my spear, a smile surging in my lips, the holy mes that Elizabeth summoned now merged with my own demonic mes, Karmic mes were born.


    "[zing Karmic Demonic Spear]!"


    I fired Gluttony like a javelin down into the dragon''s open maws, piercing its throat before an explosion of blue and white mes blew its innards into smithereens.


    "GRYYYAAAGGHH!"


    BOOOMMM!!!


    The Dungeon Boss, which usually took a band of over thirty Adventurers a whole day to defeat, died in less than thirty minutes.


    BAAAMMM!!!


    RUMBLE!


    Its gigantic and fat body copsed on the cooled pool, creating arge fissure into the ground, shaking the whole Dungeon¡­


    We ended falling right next to it, as its gigantic corpse exuded a powerful hot aura even as it died. I nced into the distance, the rest of my friends and my familiars had already finished off the rest of the monsters.


    "Floor 1 Clear." I nodded. "Now, look at this¡­ Such a huge prey, I guess it''s going to be a lot of loot. [Store], [Dismantle]"


    I quickly stored and dismantled the entire Boss inside my Inventory, its piecesing apart perfectly, especially its huge Spirit Orb of Rank B++!


    We quickly did the same as we meet with the rest of our party, everyone seemed quite fine and not tired after this little warmup.


    Meanwhile, my Grimoire showcased me the EXP we earned.


    Ding!


    [You and your party have defeated [zing Volcanic Rex (B+ Rank)] x106 and [Magma Smander Drake King (B++ Rank)] x1!]


    [You earned 137.200.000 EXP!]


    [Level Up!]


    [Level Up!]


    [Level Up!]


    [Level Up!]


    [Level Up!]


    [Level Up!]


    [Your Level has increased from Level 78 to Level 84!]


    [All your Stats have increased. You earned Bonus Skill Points and Stat Points.]


    [You have umted arge quantity of Mana and Spiritual Energy; your Spirit Orb has increased in Power.]


    [Your [Spirit Orb Realm]: [Rank 4 (Middle Stage)] has risen to Upper Stage!]


    [Your Mana has increased by +2500]


    [Your Intelligence has increased by +1500]


    [Your Spirit has increased by +50]


    Six levels in a row, that''s ridiculous just for Floor 1! I guess it might also be thanks to my Hard Worker Skill having evolved to give even more EXP, but even then¡­ Insane.


    However, thest fifteen levels are always the hardest to get, and now that I''m almost at that mark, I doubt I''ll get to max level right away.


    Also increasing to Middle Stage gave me a few nice bonuses to Stats, not bad I suppose, but I still have yet to reach Peak Stage before finally reaching Rank 5.


    Hopefully it can be achieved by hitting max level, though sometimes that''s not enough either¡­


    "Alright, shall we keep moving?" I asked. "I doubt any of you want to take a break so soon."


    "I want to try out their meat¡­" Erika was drooling. "B-But I guess I can wait until weplete at least Floor 3! How about it?"


    "Fine, let''s take a break once Floor 3 ispleted." I nodded. "Any objections?"


    Nobody said a word, everyone simply nodded, they were all pumped up to move forwards.


    "Alright, let''s do this."


    We jumped over Dracos and flew into the air, reaching Floor 2 by descending through a huge staircase leading deeper into this Labyrinth.


    Within my Spirit Orb Realm, my Vampire Spirits were resting, gathering their strength for the time I''ll call them to battle.


    "I want to go fight too!" Eleanora wasining. "Why must we rest and do nothing?"


    "Because it''s better to preserve Mana and Spirit Energy, which you guys consume when fighting." I exined. "Don''t worry, once we get far enough, I''ll call you. Be patient."


    Floor 2 appeared within our sight, the volcanic caves stretching into manyrge corridors, the corridor in font of us leading to a huge crater filled with magma.


    "Looks like every floor has a simr appearance." Elizabeth analyzed.


    -----

 Chapter 823 Entering Floor 2

    <h4>Chapter 823 Entering Floor 2</h4>


    -----


    Floor 2 hadrger volcanic cave corridors that stretched to three directions, the other two were dead ends that led to nests of Monsters. This time, aside from the zing Volcanic Rexes, we foundrge nests of Magma Smanders, who fancied swimming and living on small pools of magma they built themselves.


    From what I had learned about this Labyrinth Dungeon, each Floor changed itsyout a bit, but were almost the same form. And that was that there were always a corridor leading directly to the end of the Floor, which always ended on a gigantic pool of magma with the boss resting in there.


    Of course, to maximize gains, parties would usually split into the two first corridors, hunt monsters there, and then go for the Boss once they rest enough, but for us, that was inefficient.


    We discovered a perfect method to call all the monsters towards us, and that is fighting the Floor Boss right away. They respond and obey the Boss and wille running the moment they hear its screams.


    "So, we just fight the Boss and the monsters wille towards us?" Chris wondered. "Hmm, that seems oddly efficient and convenient. Is this Labyrinth really that simple?"


    "Yeah, well, most Dungeons are. They''re just monster breeding grounds, they don''t need to really be thatplex, the danger is already there." I exined. "The challenge by itself is surviving. You find it easy because we are strong enough to abuse something nobody really does."


    "So we just call the Boss!" Said Erika with a smile. "And here we are."


    She looked into the pool of magma, which was already beginning to bubble. I had set all my Familiars into the center between the three corridors, waiting the mobs to show up so they could y them right away.


    "We''ll take down the monster flood as ites." Said Elizabeth. "I can divide their numbers through my Light Barriers. I could also pulverize them with magic but you said I should save Mana."


    "Yeah, just do that." I said. "We''ve just begun after all. Erdrich, don''t strain your body too much either, use your base form if possible."


    "Alright, I''ll try. This will be a good way to train my base form, I rely too much on my transformation." Erdrich had been considering that for a while. "Nothing better than huge bags of Health Points to practice with my fists! These monsters are good because they''re all gigantic."


    "Yeah, it''s usually the norm in these dungeons, the higher the rank, the stronger the monsters be and the bigger they are." Alberta said. "However, if you ever find a small monster, don''t underestimate them either! I''ve heard rumors from my uncle about S Rank Monster Dungeons¡­ They say these Monsters are as big as the bosses we''re fighting."


    "And they''re themon monsters?!" Asked Eric. "W-What the hell¡­ Why does everything has to be so huge?" He sighed.


    "Gigantification due to excess Mana, therger the Mana they possess, the bigger the creatures evolve." Elfriedden exined. "Nheless, what should I do?"


    "You''lle with me and Chris, both of you are shy fighters that can fight both close range and long range, you''re good at adapting to battle faster without having to sacrifice your health like Erdrich, who is constantly fighting close ranged." I exined.


    "Oh, so that''s why you want me to fight mobs for now." Erdrichughed. "Yeah I need to get some more long-range attacks, Ick a lot on that¡­"


    "Anyways¡­" I said. "Let''s beign."


    This time Elizabeth and Erdrich were going to stay in the ground, while Erika would apany me to y the monster alongside Chris and Elfriedden. Eric and Alberta preferred to assist the familiars and Elizabeth and Erdrich.


    With my three friends by my side and the rest in the passageway between the corridors, apanied by my almost one hundred Familiars, we quickly decided to act. There were three Marines with me.


    "Marine, the same as before!"


    The Blue Scaled Tunas nodded, floating in midair as they could fly by epassing themselves on water, their eyes shone brightly, as they activated their Awakening Skill.


    These Skills were strong, but consumed a lot of Mana and had a cooldown of 24 Hours¡­ for each Summon, meaning that I have to use new ones if I want to conjure it again.


    Good thing I summoned like thirty!


    SPLAAASH!


    An enormous quantity of water emerged out of thin air, sshing the entire magmake in front of us, the cold water quickly cooling down the molten stone and hardening it, making whatever was sleeping down there furious!


    RUMBLE!


    Crack, crack¡­ CRACK!


    CRAAASH!


    "ROOOOAAARRRR!"


    A gigantic draconic beast emerged from the hardenedke, its four deep crimson eyes furiously ring at us! It stretched its two huge wings, with long arms and sharp ws, and a draconic, long face.


    "Looks like we got the hardest of the three bosses as our Floor 2 Boss! Certainly quite lucky, or maybe not?" Iughed.


    Ding!


    [The Floor 2 Boss: [Volcanic Lava Wyvern King (B++ Rank)] has Appeared!]


    [The mighty Boss of the First Floor of the Dungeon begins to exude a powerful aura of heat¡­ Those that cannot resist the mes will slowly be set aze, taking constant damage.]


    [Additionally, all Fire-type Allied Monsters will receive a boost to All Stats of +100%!]


    "GGRRRHHHH¡­!"


    It was a gigantic wyvern of over fifty meters of height, its legs were long and had sharp ws, and those wings were also packed with big ws of their own.


    Its long tail had several sharp horns, resembling a deadly trident. And its head was adorned with all matter of ck horns, the rest of its body epassed on a natural armor of crimson scales.


    It exuded an almighty aura, and its chest was overflowing with draconic and zing power, I could see its Core glowing beneath its skin and bones.


    "The strongest of the three, you said?!" Chris asked in surprise.


    "It certainly seems much more intimidating than the catfish¡­" Elfriedden smiled.


    "I''m getting pumped up!" Erika was ready.


    "Let''s do this once more then!"


    -----

 Chapter 824 Clash!

    Chapter 824 sh!


    -----


    "Target its chest! It is where its bones and scales are its weakest!" I said. "It''s agility and movement speed are quite good, so don''t get caught on its attacks, or ten more willnd on you before you can even realize! We can do this!"


    "OOOHHH!"


    My friends roared as they nodded at mymands, the power of my [Emotional Commanding Rally] Skill activating, boosting their Stats.


    Ding!


    [The [Emotional Commanding Rally] Skill has been activated! All your Allies and Familiars have heard your speech, boosting their strength!]


    [All their Stats have increased by +125%, while Damage against Fire-type and Dragon-type foes have increased by +30% for as long as their missionsts.]


    It was really an amazing skill, not only able to give stats now, but also specialized and custom buffs based in our situation and based in the speech too.


    Auras of red color were imbued not only on Erika, Chris, and Elfriedden at my side, but also my friends down there, and my Familiars too.


    RUMBLE!


    I could already hear the monsters from the two other Corridors rushing to greet them. Elizabeth setting up the barriers and separating their numbers, while my familiars were swiftly massacring them, EXP was already beginning to rush seconds after we confronted the Boss.


    "ROOOAAARRR!"


    FLAAASH!


    The Wyvern King instantly greeted us with a mighty roar, shing through the skies and reaching us in a mere second, swinging its giant ws towards us from both its wings and its legs.


    SLAASH! SLAASH! SLAASH!


    Waves of shing mes emerged from its attacks, it didn''t just have the power of physical blows, but every blow it unleashed held magical power, making it quite troublesome when its speed was considered.


    "Evade! You can''t take these attacks head-on!" I roared, as I quickly took Gluttony and started spinning it around, imbuing it with my mes. "[Infernal me Authority]! [Fire-Absorbing Shield]!"


    FLUOSH!


    The attacks were absorbed towards me, as I took them on as my firepower, Erika, Chris, and Elfriedden evaded the devastating attacks as they circled the wyvern.


    However, it suddenly stopped looking at me, ignoring my presence as it nced towards them! It suddenly roared, its long tail swinging towards Chris!


    FLAAASH!


    "Chris!"


    I called for him so he could realize in time. He did, gritting his teeth as he gathered his Spiritual Energy, summoning his Spirits to battle. His Smander quickly turning into a giant axe.


    "[zing Phantasmal Axe Strike]!"


    His giant axe gained phantom blue mes, erupting with tremendous strength and shing against the titanic tail of the Wyvern King.


    BAAAMMM!


    The wyvern spun its body, attempting to kick him away as strong as it could, a single swipe of that could tear apart a person to shreds with those gigantic ws!


    But that wasn''t going to happen.


    "Are you going to forget who you''re fighting against?!" I roared, reaching the Wyvern''s back as I conjured a gigantic trident made of blood, darkness, and water magic, courtesy of Celestina''s Linked Skills. "[Abyssal Blood Sea Trident]!"


    CRAAASSSHHH!!!


    "GRYYYAARGH¡­!"


    The Wyvern gave an agonizing scream as the trident pierced its back, blood sshing everywhere as it furiously red back at me, several magic circles were conjured and surrounded me, hundreds of fireballs rained down on my entire body.


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!


    "BLAKE!"


    Erika panicked slightly, furiously attacking the Wyvern with Elfriedden, her giant sword shone with her divine aura of nature and mes.


    "[Yggdrasil Dragon Swordsmanship Arts]: [Dragon Princess'' Sword Dance]!"


    She spun and danced around the air, shing against the Wyvern King, her giant sword piercing its body several times as she spun rapidly over its body, leaving countless wounds!


    SLASH! SLASH! SLASH!


    "[Spirit Weaponization]!" Elfriedden roared, his needle quickly bing a long spear. "[Skadi''s Frost Dragon Soul Spear]!"


    Hended on the Wyvern''s back, piercing its shoulder and shing through it with his spear, filling it with frost and slowing down its movements.


    CLAAASH!


    Meanwhile, my figure appeared amidst the mes, unscathed.


    "Don''t worry about me, I''m not going to fall against such feeble little mes. We''re not even in the Floor 5!" Iughed, the Wyvern King opening its eyes wide to find I waspletely unscathed. "[Abyssal Vampiric Spear Mastery Arts]: [Bloody Shredder]! [Exploding Spear Attacks]!"


    I attacked the Wyvern when it least expected it, as it was already giving attention to Erika, Elfriedden, and Chris, several strikesnded on its neck, the bastard protecting its chest rather well!


    CLAAASH! CLAAASH! CLAAASH!


    Each attack released a huge explosion, while shredding its flesh as if it were a chainsaw. However, that wouldn''t be enough!


    "More¡­ More Power!" I roared. "[Lightning Spear]! [Multi-Thrust Double Attack]!"


    My spear suddenly generated illusions of crimson lightning, Blood, and Darkness Ki flooding into it as my strikes became incredibly fast, resembling lightning itself!


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!


    "RAAAARRGGH!"


    The Wyvern King could no longer just resist the blows and wait for a moment to strike, opening its jaws and releasing a deadly dragon breath towards Erika and Elfriedden, fending them off!


    BOOOMMM!!!


    "Urggh¡­!" Erika protected herself with her huge sword and severalyers of Elfriedden''s ice, who was right next to her.


    "I HOPE you''re not forgetting about the main character of this battle!" Chris appeared in the skies with a smile, his axe ring with phantasmal mes as he conjured several foxes made of phantom fire as well. "[Spiritual Festival of One Hundred Phantom Foxes]!"


    All the little phantom foxes flew down into the Wyvern, biting its scales and covering it on phantasmal and spiritual mes, annoying it and weakening it in the process!


    "RAAARRR! ROAARR!"


    The Wyvern King constantly kept tearing them apart and annoyingly trying to get them off its body, giving us the perfect time to attack.


    "The chest''s exposed!" I roared. "Attack it! NOW! [Celestial Piercing Strike]! [One Thousand Battalion''s Spears]!"


    I activated mytest techniques learned from the Spear Mastery Skill at Level 8, unleashing a strike imbued with celestial light,bining it with the illusion of a thousand spear-wielding soldiers appearing within my endless aura of blood and darkness!


    CLAASH! CLAASH! CLAASH!


    Thisbined with Erika''s sword attack, Elfriedden''s frost spear and Chris'' zing smander axe attacks made it possible for the Wyvern King''s chest to explode into pieces, its heart being destroyed, and dying on the spot!


    "ROOOAARRRGHHH¡­!"


    CRAAASH!


    -----

 Chapter 825 Boss Slain, Time To Mine Some Ores

    Chapter 825 Boss in, Time To Mine Some Ores


    -----


    Erika''s mighty swordsmanship covered the Wyvern''s chest with deep shing cuts, while spreading explosions of nature and dragon energy, to further worsen the wounds.


    Elfriedden''s frost magic was crucial, freezing the flesh and bones, making them easier for us to smash them into pieces.


    And Chris'' explosive strike, imbued with phantom mes capable of burning a target''s spirit and lower their stats, was also perfect!


    Meanwhile, mybination of techniques created the illusion of a battalion fighting behind me, each of my strikes felt like it was multiplied hundreds of times.


    The titanic guardian of Floor 2 was incapable of handling all our blows, losing bnce on its flight, its ws almost got us, but didn''t, its chest blew up before it could attack back.


    "ROOOAARRRGHHH¡­!"


    BAAAMMM!


    It''s gigantic body copsed on the ground, with us still standing over its corpse. Everyone was left slightly tired even though it didn''t took too long to defeat it.


    "Phew, that thing was really fast!" Said Erika. "Well, it is still gone but¡­ It took us off guard a few times."


    "Yeah, that was surprising." Chris nodded. "I never thought a monster this big could also be so fast¡­"


    "Satan was on another levelpared to this Boss, but even then¡­ It was challenging. The chest being its weak point ended being quite useful." Elfriedden cleansed the sweat from his forehead.


    "Well done." I said, patting Erika''s head. "Don''t be too worried, we might not find another Boss in the next floor anyways. We''ll have to simply deal with more mobs."


    "No Boss?" Wondered Elfriedden.


    "Yeah, I''ve investigated that this Labyrinth doesn''t always spawn a Boss with each Floor. It might be due to itsrge magnitude or something, usually there''s at least two to three floors without any bosses, sometimes four." I exined. "It''s all on our Luck if we find more or not, Boss-less Floors should be a breeze as long as the Monsters don''t get stronger out of nowhere."


    "I see¡­" Chris nodded. "Still, there''s a lot of floors left; we can''t lower our guard."


    "Yeah." Erika nodded. "We can take a break once Floor 3''s done, right? We can then taste the meat of these monsters! I-I don''t know why but I really want to try it!"


    It must be due to her Dragon Powers. After all, another reason why I decided toe here is to feed Erika Dragon Monster meat, which is usually very rare already. Even the weakest creatures here sell for exorbitant amounts that usually only nobles buy, making it very rare to find their meat in the market at Stronghold.


    Erika is capable of evolving and improving her Draconic Powers by absorbing and consuming Dragon Materials, the easiest way is by drinking Dragon Blood Elixirs, but they had stopped working on her now, so we''ll move to all these kinds of monster meats, from the bosses to the smallest of mobs, every creature here possess a small amount of Dragon Bloodline.


    "You only think about eating, Erika." Chris crossed his arms. "Though I have to admit I am thinking the same thing¡­"


    "You two are really like puppies sometimes¡­" Elfriedden sighed, his stomach rumbling. "Huh?!"


    "Heeh? You''re not quite the one to say that when your stomach is all rumbly rumbly!" Erika giggled. "I bet you''re just as hungry anyways!"


    "T-That''s not¡­!" Elfriedden got embarrassed out of the sudden. "A-Anyways! What about everyone else? Are they handling the monsters alright?"


    "Yeah, they''ve been neutralized already." I nodded. "[Store], [Dismantle]"


    FLAAASH!


    After storing and dismantling the Wyvern King''s corpse, we moved upwards and found the rest of our party already done. They cleared the over a hundred monsters in just a couple of minutes.


    It might have taken them much longer without my Familiar''s help, I left a few Marines there, so they helped with their potent Water Magic as well.


    "Hey, you''re finally back! Y-You defeated that thing super-fast!" Said Alberta. "I-I guess I should had expected that out of you guys¡­"


    "Hehehe!" Erika giggled while pridefully puffing her chest. "That''s right! We''re super strong! Especially my cute boyfriend and me! We are the strongest power couple!"


    "Cute?" I sighed, feeling embarrassed. "Well, for being strong you sure lower your guard a lot, take your opponent more seriously, even the weakest of foes can deal a lethal strike if you underestimate them."


    "E-Eh?! Why are you reprimanding me?" Erika felt all down now. "I-I just thought that the dungeon exploration was so we could rx! That war we had before was so tiring¡­ And seeing so many people dead¡­"


    "I understand how you feel, but still, this is a test, Erika. Keep that in mind." I said, giving her a small kiss in her forehead.


    "Okay¡­" Erika pouted a bit. "Elizabeth! We''ll be eating a feast next floor!"


    "Oh, is it?" Elizabeth walked in. "Are you nning on eating some of the monster meat, ke?"


    "I''ll cook a lot of things, so get ready. For now do your best in what''s next." I quickly stored and dismantled the rest of the monster corpses. "Are you all ready? Let''s move on, quickly. We canplete three floors in less than an hour if we keep this pace."


    "Alright." Erdrich nodded. "Those Smanders were huge, and spitting magma was quite something¡­ My skin can''t deal with that yet, but if I keep trying, I might develop some skill to resist it better."


    "That''s the spirit, but don''t overdo it though." Iughed.


    We moved downstairs into Floor 3, this ce unlike Floor 3, was muchrger, with several more volcanic cave corridors and walls and ceilings growing with red crystals.


    "Wow, so many crystals! What are these?" Wondered Erika wondered. "I can feel something from them¡­ Something strong."


    "I guess we hit a jackpot." I smiled. "Last time this was reported, the Floors with it were all mined down to nothing. Looks like in that time, they have regrown!"


    "What are they?" Chris tilted his head.


    "Perhaps Fire Spirit Crystals?" Wondered Eric.


    "No, these are much rarer materials, a unique material that only grows in areas filled with dragons¡­" I smiled. "Red Dragon Stones. And looks like there''s no Boss in this Floor. Perfect, let''s mine them all while we are at it!"


    "A-Are we seriously going to mine now?!" Elfrieddenined. "I refuse!"


    -----

 Chapter 826 A Small Break

    Chapter 826 A Small Break


    -----


    Ding!


    [You and your Party have defeated [zing Volcanic Rex (B+ Rank)] x74, [Giant Magma Smander (B+ Rank)] x108, and [Volcanic Lava Wyvern King (B++ Rank)] x1!]


    [You earned 156.400.000 EXP!]


    [Level Up!]


    [Level Up!]


    [Level Up!]


    [Level Up!]


    [Your Level has increased from Level 84 to Level 88/100!]


    [All your Stats have increased. You Earned Bonus Stat Points and Skill Points.]


    [Some of your Skills have Leveled Up.]


    Once we cleared Floor 3 of the small groups of monsters scattered around, which were no more than fifty, we decided to mine what was left. I noticed in my Grimoire I had gained four levels from the monsters from Floor 2 to Floor 3, a rather nice growth.


    It might really be possible to reach max level once the Dungeon is over¡­ Which will help me reach Rank 5 in my Spirit Orb and gain the ability to summon two more of my Vampires.


    I decided to summon some more Familiars, summoning thirty Red Orcs, and asking them to mine all the Red Dragon Crystal they could find. It was a valuable Unique Grade Material that would allow me to craft some better equipment or enhance other equipment too.


    And above all, it could help me further evolve Eleanora, Ruby, and help Erika grow her dragon powers even further. It will be essential, especially for Spirit Evolutions and Tamed Monster Evolutions.


    Nheless, because I had promised a break, we found a nice spot in Floor 3 to rest. I took out several things from my inventory, including the meat of the monsters we''ve fought, this also included the bosses meat.


    The meat was already dismantled by the Grimoire''s ability, so it seemed tender and ready to cut and cook into anything¡­ My Cooking Skill has risen to level 9 since I acquired it, and it was getting closer to Level 10 as well.


    The higher the level, the more bonuses my food will have to our stats, and also to our recovery of HP, MP, and even Spiritual Energy, so it was an essential skill for long raids inside of very big dungeons.


    "Hmm, smells so good¡­" Erika was already lurking behind me.


    "Erika this is still raw¡­" I sighed. "Are you sure you want to try eating raw meat? Well, I doubt it''ll upset your stomach."


    "Hmmm, let me take a few bites!" Erika quickly ate the meat chunks I threw at her, catching them in midair¡­ She was really acting like a puppy now. "Nom! Nom! Hmmm~ So tender and juicy! And it has a really smoky vor! Is this how fire attribute monsters taste like? I don''t remember the grizzlies being this tasty though!"


    "S-She''s really eating raw meat now." Elfriedden sighed. "Hey ke, where in the world did you find such a wild girl from?"


    "She''s been in our vige since the beginning, don''t be like that." Ericughed a bit. "She''s has always been quite wild though. I have to admit it."


    "Hey, can I taste the meat raw too? I don''t know why but she''s convincing me now¡­" Chris asked.


    Everyone was sitting around arge fire I had made; we didn''t need the fire to warm up though, but I''ll need it to cook. I put some stones over them, and then a pan and a big pot.


    "Sure, have your way." I shrugged, as I threw some meat at Chris.


    "Hey! Don''t throw it to me like I''m a dog!" Chrisined, although he caught them all. "Wow! T-This is good?! It tastes like smoked meat, but it has that freshness of raw meat, and that juiciness too¡­ Everyone, you must try this!"


    "Fine, fine¡­" I sighed, quickly cutting down several pieces and lining them up on a big te. I also added some sweet and spicy sauces I had bought from the city. "Have a taste." I also had some myself.


    I took a bite raw just to try it for now¡­ And they were not wrong.


    "T-This is surprisingly good." I was shaken.


    As Chris said, thebination between a smoked meat vor with the texture of fresh raw meat was surprisingly addictive, but still, I think it would be better if cooked.


    I poured it some sauce too, and it became even tastier. Though I don''t know how well it will fare in normal people''s stomachs.


    "Hmm, this is good!" Eric was surprised.


    "Not bad¡­" Alberta was eating a third piece already. "Hmm, I like it with the sweet sauce the most!"


    "The spicy sauce for me¡­" Erdrich added.


    "I wonder how tasty this meat can be once cooked." Elizabeth smiled. "Let me help make something too, ke." She walked to my side.


    "Haha, very well, if you want to." I smiled.


    "Hey! Me too!" Eleanora emerged from my Spirit Orb. "I want to join the feast as well!"


    "Me too!" Celestina appeared at her side.


    "And me!" Saphira emerged.


    "Can I?" Wondered Eriant.


    "T-That meat looks wonderful, my lord. May I have a taste?" Fang asked politely.


    "I''ve never been a foodie myself so I don''t really care, but I might as welle here." Hendrickughed.


    "Give me a piece of that." Woo said angrily.


    At the end, all our Spirits came to join the feast, while I cooked a few meals with Elizabeth. I decided to make some simple meals, such as fried steaks, some meatballs, grilled skewers, and stew.


    The vor of the meat was intensified, and it became even tastier as youbined it with different ways of cooking and ingredients. The steaks were especially vorful with garlic and olive oil, and the stew was incredibly good and filling.


    Above all, Elizabeth prepared some delicious dishes made of dough, which she filled with minced meat and some vegetables, and baked for a couple of minutes.


    "These are dishes my father used to make, he simply called them meat pockets." Giggled Elizabeth, everyone ended loving the texture.


    "Oh my, these are so good!" Erika was incredibly happy.


    And as we were finishing our massive feast, I noticed her aura growing stronger, her draconic powers developing rapidly from all the lesser dragon meat she consumed.


    -----

 Chapter 827 A Draconic Meal

    Chapter 827 A Draconic Meal


    -----


    Erika''s body erupted with draconic power. Not only did I feed her a lot of dragon meat from all these monsters, including the bosses, but I also gave her a drink made with the dust created from the bosses Spirit Orbs, mixed with the dragon''s blood.


    She chugged it in a single drink after I told her it would make her stronger, and once she ate more meat, the effects finally triggered.


    A crystal within her chest was formed when her new body was created, this crystal is simr to my own Dragon Heart, but it also possesses the power of a Dryad Heart.


    It is something I simply call Yggdragon''s Heart, and it''s a unique crystal that reces her actual one.


    Ding!


    [Erika] has absorbed arge quantity of Draconic Energy from Dragon-type Materials.]


    [Her [Yggdragon''s Heart] has been strengthened. Her Draconic Energy output has been increased by +50%!]


    [All her Stats have increased. Several Dragon-rted Skills have Leveled Up.]


    The Grimoire told me what changes she undergone, interestingly enough. Perhaps now because I had registered her in my grimoire and could see her Status and that of my friends.


    "W-What? My power¡­ It''s growing so much?" She wondered, looking at her own hands. "I feel so strong now!"


    "I guess it''s working." I nodded. "Your Dragon-rted Abilities will continue to evolve and improve as you consume these monsters, as I guessed. It is a nice and easy way for you to grow stronger."


    "Amazing! I didn''t know I had this power myself!" Erika said in wonder. "ke, did you figure it out yourself?"


    "Yeah, the Dragon Elixirs always had a greater effect on you, it awakened new abilities on you too, and it even leveled some of your skills. Now that you fused two Talents and gained several dragon-rted Skills, it''s going to make things even swifter. As long as your stats can grow high enough, you will be able to even defeat Archdemon Vessels on your own." I smiled. "And we''ll need that, eventually¡­ We''ll have to fight armies of Demon Lords and Overlords in the future."


    "Right¡­!" Erika nodded. "I''ll be at your side and help however I can! So I''ll keep eating all the tasty food to get stronger!"


    "Well said." I nodded.


    My friends were looking at the scene with mixed reactions.


    "ke I think she''s just happy she gets to eat a lot of meat." Chris sighed.


    "Hahaha, well, it benefits her." Ericughed.


    "Isn''t it a bit unfair that she can grow stronger so easily like that?!" Elfrieddenined.


    "Well, she had to go through a lot to get that power¡­ And I mean a lot." Elizabeth said. "I think it''s alright¡­ Erika is bing our second powerhouse after Erdrich!"


    "I don''t know if I should feel ttered or not¡­" Erdrich was eating his tenth skewer already. "Hm, ke, bring me more of these."


    "Serve it yourself." I raised an eyebrow.


    "Me too! Me too!" Erika said happily.


    "Alright, everything for you." I nodded happily.


    "Such a huge contrast¡­" Alberta giggled.


    After our meal came to an end, including Erika eating so much she had to rest for a couple of minutes because her belly was too big, we continued our journey.


    Although it was a huge dungeon, its lineal progression and simr-looking floors made it a rather straightforward journey.


    Floor 4 wasn''t empty of a boss this time, as we were greeted by the giant catfish again. An easy win. With the help of Elfriedden''s Ice Magic and the Marine''s Tsunami Skill, he was easily paralyzed, Erika and Erdrich finishing it off with ease.


    The monsters were the same as Floor 3, but there were around fifty more, so it was just even more Experience Points for all of us. We didn''t feel tired, so we continued moving.


    Floor 5 was empty of a boss this time, but it had double the amount of monsters as Floor 4, so over two hundred. I had to employ more Familiars to make things even without slowing down our pace.


    This time, I also employed Saphira''s help, and allowed her to bring forth Undead Dragon Monsters, which can temporary be raised and be her minions. A hundred was her current limit, good enough for us to easily clear Floor 5.


    And once we arrived at Floor 6, we were greeted with a second Wyvern King. This time, the ones that didn''t fought it before did, as we decided to clear the mobs. Alberta, Eric, Elizabeth, and Erdrich crushed it with ease.


    Their fast movements and powerful magic, especially Eric''s amazing arrow rain captured the wyvern king''s wings and destroyed them before it could continue flying. Erdrich and Alberta crushed its chest with their strongest physical blows.


    And Elizabeth provided support and defense with her amazing and useful Saintly Magic¡­


    "GRUOOHHHH¡­!"


    BAAAMMM!!!


    Yet another boss was defeated, EXP rushing in as my Grimoire showcased our progress as my spear pierced the head of thest Giant Smander left in Floor 6.


    Ding!


    [You and your Party have defeated [zing Volcanic Rex (B+ Rank)] x174, [Giant Magma Smander (B+ Rank)] x202, [zing Magma Turtle (B+ Rank)] x79 [Magma Smander Drake King (B++ Rank)] x1 and [Volcanic Lava Wyvern King (B++ Rank)] x1!]


    [You earned 315.700.000 EXP!]


    [Level Up!]


    [Level Up!]


    [Level Up!]


    [Level Up!]


    [Your Level has increased from Level 88 to Level 92/100!]


    [All your Stats have increased. You Earned Bonus Stat Points and Skill Points.]


    [Some of your Skills have Leveled Up.]


    Four levels out of three floors worth of EXP, I guess its not bad, it has seriously slowed down now. The EXP requirements are increased tremendously with each level now that I''m in the veryst 10 levels.


    It must be because it bes harder to breakthrough the "wall" that is progress the closer you are to it. While simply moving towards it is easy. That''s something that the professors at the academy exined.


    It is a phenomenon that diverges from people to people, but the higher your level is, therger the EXP needed bes. Now its increase by 25 million with each level, and it might increase even more once I hit the 95 Level mark¡­


    And after taking a short break at Floor 6, we moved towards Floor 7.


    Thendscape suddenly took a drastic change.


    "Are those¡­ ck mes?!" Eric asked in shock.


    "Hoh, we''re lucky." I smiled.


    -----

 Chapter 828 Dungeon Mutation

    <h4>Chapter 828 Dungeon Mutation</h4>


    -----


    Dungeon Mutation, a phenomenon where Dungeons would change their effects, main elements, or even monsters in a whim, happening randomly between fluctuations of Mana and Miasma in their interior.


    Usually, there are two types of Dungeons out there. Wild Dungeons, created from Miasma in an area, which are usually dangerous but don''t spawn monsters constantly, and can bepleted by cleansed of the Miasma. They often appear when a lot of Demons die and leave their blood rotting into miasma.


    And then there were Artificial Dungeons, created ording to Alberta and Hellburn, by the Divine Spirit of Dungeons, a lesser being to a Holy Spirit that is attempting to ascend into a God.


    It is said that his existence is simr to Yggdrasil too, beings that are like Holy Spirits, but not quite yet, Demigods. This Spirit of Dungeons is said to have been the Ancestor of all Dwarves, the Architect King.


    Just like it is said that Yggdrasil birthed the elves and other races that live in the Elven Continent, it is a simr myth with the Architect King, a special Divine Spirit that ascended to this form after eons of gathering power.


    It is a good spirit and has helped the dwarves prosper for eons. In the recent alliance created between continents, he has helped in the creation of the Stronghold City by creating many dungeons in a small area, all dedicated and made exclusively for people to train, level up, and fight the invading Demons.


    However, even if created by the Divine Spirt of Dungeons, the Architect King, they''re not perfect. Mana Fluctuations are created each time the dungeons "reset" and reform their life and resources every time they''re all emptied.


    And a Dungeon Mutation might ur, although its chance is very low, it might increase the difficulty of a Dungeon to even greater ranks!


    And this is what was happening right now in front of us.


    I had read about this, one of the possible mutations of this dungeon, and the hardest of them is the "ck me Mutation" where all fire bes ck mes, the magma bes Miasmic Magma, and all monsters mutate into ck me variants.


    Meaning that they increase their Ranks by one, going from B+ to B++, bosses might get as strong as B+++ now, and thest boss¡­ might even be A Rank now.


    "These ck mes¡­ Dungeon mutation?" Elizabeth asked.


    "Yeah, it''s that!" Eric nodded. "I read about it on the dungeon book too¡­ This is the ck me mutation, the hardest of all!"


    "Things are finally getting a bit more exciting." Erdrich smiled.


    "Yeah, let''s wreck this ce." Erika was exuding confidence.


    "ck mes, huh? Wouldn''t that make them weaker to my light?" Elizabeth seemed excited too. "More EXP, and they''re weaker to my magic now¡­ Isn''t that a win-win for us?"


    "Indeed, that''s what I''ve been thinking about so far." I nodded. "And with your abilities, as long as you can enchant our weapons or armor with Holy Light, it should also protect us from the usually deadly ck mes. A strategy that can only be done because we''ve got the Saintess at our side."


    "Leave it to me then!" She nodded, as we heard the rumbling sound of hundreds of gigantic creatures drawing closer.


    Unlike the usual mobs, which remain in their nests, ck me-enhanced monsters are aggressive and will immediatelye to attack us by merely sensing our presences, unlike others that would only do so to protect their territory, or if they were attacked first.


    "ROOOAARR!"


    "GROOHHH¡­!"


    "SHAAAAH!"


    Ding!


    [The [zing Volcanic Rex (B+ Rank)], [Giant Magma Smander (B+ Rank)], and [zing Magma Turtle (B+ Rank)] Monsters have appeared!]


    [The ck mes covering their bodies have made them all go berserk! Their Ranks have increased to B++ Rank, and all their Stats have further increased by +100%!]


    [The ck mes corrupt their bodies and minds, imbuing them with the Darkness Element.]


    Unlike their previous iterations, they looked around twice asrge, their red scales were now ck, and if they had mes covering their bodies, such mes now became pitch ck, with purple glows to them.


    And their eyes were glowing bright red, as they emanated a powerful and frightening aura that made the atmosphere very thick when they all rushed at the same time towards us.


    "[Holy Light Element Enhancement]!" Elizabeth finished her conjuration, a huge magic circle emerged above us. "[Heavenly Light''s Domain]!"


    And at the same time, another magic circle appeared right below us. The one above enhanced our bodies with armors of light, while the ground below constantly emanated particles of holy light!


    Ding!


    [Elizabeth] has conjured [Holy Light Element Enhancement], giving all her allies the Holy Light Element to their Armor and Weapons for the next 30 Minutes.]


    [Elizabeth] has conjured [Heavenly Light''s Domain], within the Domain''s area, all foes weak to light will take constant damage based on 50% of the conjurer''s Intelligence Stat every second and Allies will restore 5% of their maximum HP every second for the next 30 Minutes.]


    Excellent!


    But I wasn''t done yet¡­ There was one amazing Skill that would make my army of Familiars, which were too many for Elizabeth to buff conveniently, to grow even stronger in this situation.


    Ding!


    [You''ve exchanged 1000 Skill Points.]


    [You''ve learned the [Familiar Element Bestowal: Lv1] Skill!]


    -----


    [Familiar Element Bestowal: Lv1]


    Skill Proficiency: 0/10000


    A Unique Skill that only Grandmaster Summoners can learn, it grants them the ability to enchant their Familiars with one or multiple Elements of their choosing, giving their Skills and Defenses the Elements Powers, Resistances, and also Weaknesses.


    A Familiar can only be bestowed with a maximum amount of 3 Elements, a second Element Slot will be unlocked at Skill Level 5, and the third at Skill Level 8.


    Once enchanted with that Element, the Elemental Power and Elemental Defense based in such Elements will be further boosted by +100%, with an additional +25% with each Skill Level.


    Based on the bestowed Element, Familiars will undergo unique transformations and might gain new temporary skills and stat bonuses.


    New Elements will be unlocked as the Skill Levels Up.


    Avable Elements: [Fire] [Water] [Wind] [Light] [???]


    -----


    "[Familiar Element Bestowal: Light]"


    FLAAASH!


    My hands overflowed with blinding golden light; all the 250 Familiars summoned were quickly imbued with Auras of Light.


    Ding!


    [You have enchanted all Familiars with the [Aura of Light]!]


    [As long as you wish for, all Familiars now possess this Element Strength!]


    "Massacre everything."


    -----

 Chapter 829 Fighting Two Bosses At Once

    <h4>Chapter 829 Fighting Two Bosses At Once </h4>


    ?-----


    Not only they gained Auras of light, but the Familiars appearances also changed. The Dracos, my Wyverns, gained golden and white scales, with angelic, feathered wings and regal appearances.


    Fenrir became tall white furred werewolves, with golden ornaments over their bodies, and sharp golden eyes.


    Arachne and the other bugs becamepletely gold, decorated with bright jewels over their bodies.


    And the Marines, turned twice asrge and now resembled small white whales, with golden tattoos over their bodies¡­


    Ding!


    [You have enchanted all Familiars with the [Aura of Light]!]


    [As long as you wish for, all Familiars now possess this Element Strength!]


    [The Element of Light has been fully absorbed into their bodies, your Familiars have undergone unique transformations!]


    [The Element of Light enhances their MP, Agility, and Intelligence by +2000!]


    [They have gained new Skills such as [Light de++], [Light Arrow++] and [Light Shield++]!]


    Well, color me surprised, it was even better than I imagined!


    However, there was more¡­


    Ding!


    [The [Job ss]: [Blood King Grandmaster Summoner: ¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï] Effects have been activated! Your Vampire Spirits can now also be enchanted with the effects of this Skill, although temporary.]


    [The [Aura of Light] and all their buffs have been applied to them for the next 30 Minutes!]


    "W-What is going on?!" Saphira was surprised when her hair suddenly turned blonde, her phantasmal aura now resembling a sea of golden light. "It doesn''t hurt either? So much light!"


    "This light¡­ it is warm!" Hendrick celebrated. "With this we can surely defeat these evolved creatures."


    "Incredible¡­" Eleanora herself had also changed, her dragon scales turning white and golden, her dragon wings bing angelic and white feathered, her hair turningpletely white, and her eyes gold. "Even my appearance changed?!"


    "It seems that my new Talent not only allows me to use my Familiar Skills on Familiars anymore¡­ Because it is the Blood King, it also allows for the enhancement of my Vampire Spirits!" I exined to them. "This is perfect! Now, everyone, massacre everything!"


    "OOOHHH!" Both my Spirits, my friends, and my Familiars all roared in unison, my Emotional Commanding Rally enhancing their stats as well as my Emperor''s Presence intimidating our foes to an extent, paralyzing a few and reducing their stats.


    I jumped into battle without hesitation either, with the power of Holy Light enhancing my attacks and defenses, the ck mes falling over my body constantly werepletely nullified, even more when I added the Demonic me Authority Skill into the equation.


    My friends charged in the frontlines, their attacks exploding with abination of their elements with the holy light. Chris'' mes became Holy mes, Eric''s Arrows became Holy Wood Arrows, Alberta''s hammer became a Holy Volcanic Hammer, and Erika''s attacks were all now enchanted with glistening, blinding light.


    Her sword attacks resembled enormous waves of pure light, cutting down through our foes one after another. Even Erdrich was capable of harnessing this power, his punches unleashing explosions of light.


    The monster''s ck mes were strong, but they meet their worst enemy yet. I had said this was lucky not because of the EXP, but because by abusing elemental weaknesses, this would only be easier for us.


    Eleanora led the Vampire Spirits, with her spear, enormous needles of light pierced her foes, blood and lightbining together in her magic, as beams of red light pierced the creatures'' bodies, eviscerating them one after another.


    My Familiars covered all other aspects, overwhelming the enormous and sheer number of foes, which kept increasing up to four hundred, emerging from all corridors at once.


    Dracos and Fenrir worked together,bining their fast movements with their new element and skills, ws of light and swords of light destroyed our foes, all while the bugs mercilessly crushed everything else.


    The Marines, in their new and divine forms, swam across the empty air, their Tsunami Skill now boosted with light, unleashing storms of Holy Water, weakening our foes.


    I kept advancing forwards, channeling my powers and swinging my spear around, bybining my Magic Fusion and Dragon Tongue Skills together, I brought forth magic without even needing to create magic circles.


    Of course, the magic circle inside of my chest reced most of the necessity for that already, but these skills made that process even more swift.


    "[Stand Where You Are]" I said with the power of Dragon''s Tongue, turning my words into reality through Magic, a hundred monsters suddenly felt instantly paralyzed on the spot, golden threads wrapping around their bodies. "[Golden Threads: Explode]"


    BOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOM!


    The golden threads I conjured, which were abination of Shadow Threads, Blood Threads, and Holy Light, exploded, weakening most of the monsters and killing a few dozen.


    Being B++ Rank still made them tough enough to take a few hits, but they were dying like flies.


    Eventually, we allnded on the end of Floor 7, a gigantic pool of boiling Miasmic Magma greeted us, and not one, but two gigantic figures emerged from within.


    "W-What?!" Chris was shocked.


    "T-Two bosses at once?!" Eric was taken aback.


    "It looks to be the case!" Iughed.


    Not only the Catfish Boss appeared, but also the Wyvern King, both mutated by the ck mes, covered on ck and purple scales, and looking twice as deadly.


    "GROOOOAARRR!"


    "ROOAAAARRGH!"


    The two attacked the moment they set their eyes on us. The catfish fired hundreds of ck fireballs; the wyvern moved directly towards us with its gigantic body.


    "Familiars! [Shields of Light]!"


    I called my Familiars, a hundred of them responded as they conjuredrge shields of light, forming a huge,bined shield that protected us from the fireballs.


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!


    Like this, Elizabeth didn''t have to waste her Mana in protecting us. So she could fully concentrate on her new and deadly Skills and Magic!


    "Alright, these are good enough targets." She smiled. "Everyone, stand back. I''m using that!"


    Her entire body overflowed with spiritual and holy light energies, her dress and everything else was epassed on hundreds of threads of gold, remodeled and reshaped.


    And her entire body was covered on a cocoon of golden light, which quickly broke apart and revealed her new form.


    This was the power of her new Skill¡­


    [Angelic Spirit Transformation]


    FLAAASH!


    -----

 Chapter 830 Elizabeth’s Angelic Spirit Transformation

    <h4>Chapter 830 Elizabeth''s Angelic Spirit Transformation </h4>


    ?-----


    Elizabeth acquired a new Skill when she evolved her Talent by fusing it with another, this new Skill was mysterious at first, but once we tried it out back home, it was incredible.


    It pretty much gave her a temporary transformation, and one of incredible power. By merging all her Angelic Spirits into her own body and then activating this Skill, her "true form" would emerge.


    The true form that a Saintess could achieve!


    Ding!


    [Elizabeth] has activated the [Angelic Spirit Transformation] Skill, her body has undergone a temporary transformation into her [Ultimate Form]!]


    [Her Angelic Spirits have merged into her body, giving her new strength.]


    [All Stats have increased by +300%, Holy Power has been enhanced by +500%, Maximum Mana has increased by +1000%!]


    [User can now wield Celestial Energy.]


    [Transformation Duration: 5 Minutes.]


    Elizabeth''s appearance changed drastically, making her look like she was in her twenties. She two pairs of enormous white feathered wings, a golden halo above her head, and a dress made of white light, with an armor of gold.


    She summoned a huge golden mace, and a shield as her weapons¡­ And she was overflowing not only with Spirit Energy, but also Holy Light Energy, and when both fused together, they became Celestial Energy!


    Just as I had expected, her powers are very simr to that of Archangels I''ve fought and confronted in my previous life! Does this mean that Elizabeth has some sort of connection to them?


    But how? She was born a human and her spirits are the angelic-like beings. Maybe her whole transformation and form is also because of them.


    Whatever happened to her spirits, they seem to have been Angels at some point, but died and reincarnated as her Spirits.


    Much like the theory I have about other beings reincarnating as Spirits too, such as Chris Nine Tailed Fox, or Erika''s Dream Dragon, her ck Knight Puppet or her Puppets.


    But that is all a hypothesis, and I have yet to ask the Holy Spirits about such a thing¡­


    Nheless, with this new transformation, Elizabeth was unstoppable, especially against Demons and Darkness Attribute foes.


    And these two bosses were one of them!


    "Cover my back! I''ll take both of them down." She said confidently, stepping forwards and leaping into the skies, her four wings pping rapidly. "[Angelic Spirit Weapon Manifestation]!"


    Her golden sword grewrger and much stronger, overflowing with celestial energy, as she shed against the ck mes Wyvern King rushing down, with a size of over one hundred meters of height.


    "ROOOAAARR!"


    The Wyvern King didn''t y fairly, of course. It quickly summoned ten magic circles, all of them bringing forth giant wyverns, each one of twenty meters, made entirely out of ck mes.


    "HYAAAH!"


    Elizabeth swung her golden de against them as she made her way towards the boss, each attack conjuring an enormous cross of holy light that generated huge explosions.


    SLAASH! SLAASH! SLAASH!


    The summons were annihted one after another, and the ones that were left behind quickly tried to aim for her back, but we stopped them together.


    I shoot them down with my handgun, enchanted with my Gluttony and Holy Light energy to create Gluttony Holy Bullets, which devoured the summons with just a few shoots.


    Everyone else attacked with their variety of magics, zing demonic fists, shing swords, frozen spears, arrows of wind and light, and more bombarde the air.


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!


    At the same time, Elizabeth finally shed against the Wyvern King, the gigantic dragon attacked her with its giant ws, but she held the whole attack with her golden shield.


    CLAAASH!


    "You''re strong, but not enough to be a threat to me." She smiled, disappearing in a sh of light as her body divided into dozens of clones made of light. "[Angelic Spirit''s Replica]"


    "GRAAH?!"


    FLASH! FLASH! FLASH!


    The Wyvern King was unable to react in time at all, even as its ck mes were constantly exuded from its body, it dealt absolutely no damage to Elizabeth. Her replicas and herself shed through the air, quickly covering the entire Boss monster with countless of cuts and deadly wounds, explosions of light overwhelming it.


    "GRYYYAARRGHH¡­!"


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!


    "[Heaven''s Hammer]!"


    FLAAASH!


    She condensed her Celestial Energy and fused it with her sword and shield. Apparently in this form, she can transform and mold this energy however she pleases, giving her an incredible array of flexibility inbat.


    TRUUUMMM¡­!


    The hammer hit the weakened Wyvern King in the head, pushing it down into the Miasma Pool below, where it hit the head of the catfish-like Drake.


    "I''m not done with you." She said, her two hands overflowing with energies. "I''ll take both of you in one go! [Heaven''s Spear of Celestial Light: Oblivion]!"


    Shebined all her Celestial Energy, Spiritual Energy, and Holy light into a titanic spear of over a hundred meters of height. We all watched in surprise as we in the hundreds of mobs, the spear pierced both bosses at the same time, skewering both of them as a brilliant explosion of light consumed them and everything else¡­


    BOOOOOOOMMMMM!!!


    The two bosses died on the spot, and Elizabeth didn''t stop there, she flew towards us and then unleashed thousands of spears of light towards the rest of the monsters, helping us defeat them in a couple of seconds¡­


    "W-Well, that was¡­ That was amazing." I said in surprise. "I do remember seeing the form but¡­"


    "Fufu, was I?" Elizabeth got a bit cocky. "Feel free to praise me more. I deserve that from time to time too!"


    "Wait, were you a bit jealous of Erika?" I wondered.


    "N-No? T-That''s not what I meant!" She said, crossing her arms while blushing, still in her Angelic Spirit form. "I just like to show off I guess!"


    "Heh, then let''s not put to waste that transformation." I quickly stored the monsters in my inventory as we rushed downstairs as fast as we could, Elizabeth helped us clear Floor 8 with ease before her transformation finally ceased.


    It had a short cooldown of 30 minutes, but it had an immense cost of Mana and Spirit Energy, so she could at most use it again another time beforepletely exhausting herself of energies.


    Therefore, we decided to clear Floor 9 without its help, and let her transform again for Floor 10.


    -----

 Chapter 831 Stepping Into Floor 9

    <h4>Chapter 831 Stepping Into Floor 9 </h4>


    ?-----


    Floor 8 had the two same bosses again too, which was an oddity among harder mutation difficulties within this Dungeon, but it ended being a nice reward in terms of EXP.


    We didn''t waste any time, thanks to Elizabeth''s transformation, we were able to save a lot of energy and time, we moved to Floor 9 right away, finding a new type of enemy on its entrance, hundreds of giant ck and red scaled snakes.


    Each one being at least fifty meters each, and there were hundreds of them! They greeted us with their giant fangs, their sharp-tipped tails, and zing venom bullets spit from their jaws the moment we stepped on Floor 9.


    "Careful!"


    We evaded their barrage of attacks as Imanded my Familiars, summoning them all at once, and making most of them conjure Shields of Light in unison.


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!


    The zing venom bullets hit the shields of light, and easily shattered them one after another. Several of my Familiars put into defense meeting a quick end as they were melted and burned whenever the venom hit them.


    "What the heck are these guys?! I don''t remember you talking about them!" Said Chris.


    "Well that''s because they are not even documented in the books." I said. "Eric, did you read anything about these?"


    "N-No, nothing! We might have just discovered new Monsters¡­!" Eric muttered, evading the attacks as he pointed his arrows against them. "[Tempest Arrows]!"


    FLAASH! FLAASH! FLAASH!


    The arrows swiftly reached them, descending like an endless rain of sharp spiraling emerald winds and piercing their bodies rapidly, a dozen of them were weakened and a handful died on the spot.


    "SHYAAGGH!"


    The hundreds of snakes stepped back once wounded, the onesing from behind started pushing the weakened ones, causing a tremendous chaos amidst their army.


    "March!"


    I roared, my Familiars kept advancing relentlessly, Fenrirs tore apart the weakened snakes with their giant ws, Dracos sliced their heads with their swords, and the rest kept attacking with light spells inherited from the Element Bestowal Skill.


    At the same time, I steppe forwards, shooting cannons of light and frost from my handgun, freezing and severely damaging the monsters while slowing them down.


    BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!


    And that wasn''t all¡­


    "[Holy Soul-Sealing Vines]!"


    I conjured a near endless quantity of golden vines that emerged from my hands, bybining the [Abyssal Blood-sucking Vines] Skill with Elizabeth''s Holy Light enhancement, this powerful Spell quickly started to wrap the bodies of over fifty snakes at once.


    "SHYAAAAGH!"


    They screamed in agony as not only their bodies were being bound, but their souls started growing weaker. This was the wonderful effect of Holy Lightbined with a Skill that drains blood from foes and weakens them through curses!


    Ding!


    [You''ve spread through the enemy the [Holy Soul-Sealing Vines]!]


    [All Trapped Foes will receive a temporary debuff to their Movement Speed of -50%]


    [Their souls have been bound by the vines of heaven! Mana and Magic Power have further decreased by -70%!]


    [The [Emperor''s Presence] further makes your foes afraid of your tyrannical nature! All their Stats have decreased by -66% as long as they''re afraid of you.]


    "We can do this, keep going!"


    As I roared, my friends rushed forwards. My vines slowed down all foes, helping my familiars and friends kill the monsters quickly.


    "Thank you bro!"


    Chris flew across the air with his mes, summoning hundreds of fox-shaped holy mes, which continuously bombarded the monsters, exploding in contact.


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!


    "I''ll clear the way!" Erika roared, her sword overflowing with her energies and Elizabeth''s Holy Light. "[Yggdrasil Dragon Swordsmanship Arts]: [Yggdragon''s Holy ws]!"


    A gigantic draconic w surged from Erika''s very aura as it merged with her sword sh, shing through the foes one after another, and swiftly eliminating dozens at once.


    SLAAASH!


    "[Asura''s Wrathful Fists]!"


    Erdrich in the other case, leaped into midair and descended towards them with his bare fists, unleashing countless blows that resembled falling meteors due to their intensity.


    CLAAASH! CLAAASH! CLAAASH! CLAAASH!!


    "SHAAAAH!"


    Another group of a hundred of these giant Snakes appeared from a left corridor, quickly firing their destructive venom against us!


    "Not so fast, you little worms."


    Hendrick appeared in front of us, however, waving his hands as the venom began to move below his authority.


    "[Venom Maniption]!"


    Hebined all the venom together into a giant sphere of zing poison, and then fired it back at the snakes!


    BOOOMMM!!!


    "GRYYAARGH¡­!"


    They were quickly confused and broke their formation, some of them even dying by the impact alone! So they weren''t that resistant to their own element, huh?


    "Titans! Fire your magic, don''t let them give another step!"


    Imanded the Red Orc Druids who nodded in unison, there were around fifty of them, and they were my strongest magicians within the Familiar repertoire.


    They conjured Spiritual Magic and unleashed lightning, icicles, dragon mes, and also buffed us and healed us, they were all-


    rounder magicians for all sorts of asions!


    BOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOM!


    Their attacks swiftly destroyed the snakes one after another, as we I advanced forwards, finding Eleanora at my side, she nodded at me without saying a word, leaping into midair and swinging her giant spear, now glowing with golden light upon her temporary transformation.


    "[Celestial Blood Spear Arts]: [Valkyrie''s Meteor]!"


    FLASH!


    She descended with tremendous power towards the snakes, the impact of her glowing spear alone generating a huge explosion that released golden lightning and explosive blood energy everywhere.


    CRAAASH!


    The impact alone created a huge fissure in the caves, spreading countless cracks as debris fell over the snakesing from behind the ones she eliminated, crushing them to almost death, leaving them in the perfect state for me.


    "[Blood Drain]!"


    With a wave of my hand, I channeled my boosted Vampiric Powers after fusing my Talents, the wounded Snakes lost all their blood, drying into mummies as I drank their delicious blood, regenerating my energy quickly.


    Without realizing it, we already reached the end of the Floor, a huge boiling pool made of Miasmic Magma greeted us, and the leader of these damned overpowered snakes was finally before us.


    "GRYSSHAAAAA!"


    "SHAAAAAHH!"


    "GRUOOORRR!"


    It was a gigantic creature of over two hundred meters of height, covered from head to tail with ck and purple scales. And possessing five gigantic and long snake-like heads, and a long body without limbs.


    It was covered by several halos of ck, red, and purple mes, and each of its heads exuded an almighty aura of superiority equal to a Demon Overlord, to a small extent¡­


    "T-This is¡­ the Boss of Floor 9?!" Elfriedden muttered, stepping back by the sheer pressure the creature exuded.


    "I see, so this is the third possible Boss Monster, we finally meet it." Iughed. "I only heard it was a huge snake, but it looks like its mutated form means much more business."


    "Somehow, I''m getting the feeling this is not a B Rank Monster anymore¡­" Eric muttered.


    Ding!


    [You''ve encountered the Floor 9 Boss [Abyssal Five-Headed Venomous mes Hydra Queen (A- Rank)]!]


    [Its very presence is enhancing all monsters below itsmand Stats by +250%!]


    And he wasn''t wrong, it was A- Rank! And that buff¡­ now it makes sense why those snakes were so tough!


    "Alright, time for thest bag of EXP before fighting the final boss, everyone!"


    -----

 Chapter 832 Confronting The Boss!

    <h4>Chapter 832 Confronting The Boss! </h4>


    ?-----


    It seemed that before we could even move towards thest floor, there was a ridiculous boss in front of us. The creature on its own was A- Rank, despite the Dungeon only being B+++ Rank at most. I suppose the Dungeon Mutation caused this to happen.


    But could this be the first time a Dungeon Mutation of this caliber ever happens? That those snakes weren''t registered anywhere most likely means this is the first time it''s happening in this way.


    Oh well, that''ll certainly fascinate Ataraxia and the other Monster and Dungeon Researchers, we can squeeze some money or items out of them if we sell this information to them, and also the monster carcasses¡­


    But that''s forter, more importantly, we need to defeat this thing, which is happily sitting down on its pool of Miasmic Magma, doing absolutely nothing else than staring at us¡­


    Until now.


    "SHAAAAGGGHH!"


    All five of its gigantic jaws opened wide, perhaps because we were so small, it thought we were mere ants, but it now prepared to attack.


    ck and purple mes erupted from its maws, unleashing five enormous beams of venomous ze that started melting anything it touched.


    RUMBLE!


    "Evade!" I roared. "Don''t get hit by that attack at all costs!"


    BOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOM!


    The beams kept destroying our surroundings, leaving little space to walk through. Thankfully everyone had absorbed Draco Buff Cards, giving the wyvern wings to fly and escape the explosions.


    And once the [Familiar Sacrifice] Skill reached Level 3, the limit of Buff Cards that could be activated increased by 3, meaning I could now absorb three at a time.


    And I didn''t waste any time in doing that.


    Ding!


    [You have absorbed a [Draco] Buff Card! Your Strength and Agility have increased by +2300, and you have chosen the [Rapid Flight++] and [Awakening Skill: True Fire Dragon Breath++] Skills to use for the next 13 Minutes.]


    [You have absorbed a [Spore] Buff Card! Your Intelligence and Agility have increased by +2300, and you have chosen the [Paralyzing Poisonous Spit++] and [Awakening Skill: Lethal Poison++] Skills to use for the next 13 Minutes.]


    [You have absorbed a [Titan] Buff Card! Your MP and Intelligence have increased by +2300, and you have chosen the [cial Spirit''s Icicles++] [Awakening Skill: Elemental Spirit''s Resonance++] Skills to use for the next 13 Minutes.]


    With these three buffs, my entire body started overflowing with tremendous power. And as the Summoner, I had the benefit of choosing which Skill I wanted from my own Summons, while everyone else get a predetermined Skills.


    Meaning I can even choose their Awakening Skills, and unleash their power with reduced MP Cost, although the cooldown remains.


    But that''s alright anyways¡­


    "GROOOOAAARRR!"


    The Hydra nced at me with furious eyes, as I slowly started freefalling over it, the ck aura of the Miasma below and the heat greeting me, as I faced the terrifying challenge unmoved.


    "Elfriedden, Elizabeth, Eleanora, restrain and weaken him!" I roared. "Leave this guy to me!"


    "Okay!" Everyone nodded without doubting my words. After seeing how I defeated Satan back then, there was little room for them to doubt my confidence.


    As I gave them thatmand, they got to work right away.


    "[Yggdrasil Arrow Rain]!"


    Arrows befell the entire beast, bombarding its body and barely scratching its giant scales, but spreading roots of Spirit Wood over its body.


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!


    Ding!


    [Eric] has activated [Yggdrasil Arrow Rain], although weak, the arrows expand rapidly the Spirit Wood Roots, draining a target off their Mana and Life Force over time!]


    "Take this, you ugly abomination! [Frost Dragon''s Blizzard Breath]!"


    Elfrieddenbined the effects of his skill, summoning a gigantic dragon head that unleashed a devastating blizzard, covering half of the Hydra''s body with ice temporary, and freezing the magma below, inhibiting its movements.


    FLUOOOSH!


    "I''ll drag its attention." Eleanora smiled, her eyes shining with golden light as she pped her angelic wings. "Oi, you''re looking at the wrong target! [Holy Blood Shuriken Storm]!"


    BOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOM!


    Combining her Crimson re Shuriken Storm with her Holy Light Powers allowed her to unleash a devastating storm of shuriken made of holy light and holy blood, constantly overwhelming three heads at once, while Eric and Elfriedden distracted the other two.


    "Excellent¡­" I smiled, my body overflowing with Blood Energy. "[Blood King Transformation]!"


    I activated the single Skill I wanted to try the most against a powerful Boss, my body swiftly transforming into a tall and mighty Vampire, with a very simr appearance to my previous life.


    Ding!


    [You have activated the [Blood King Transformation] Skill, you''ve undergone a special transformation, bing the [True Vampire King]!]


    [Once transformed, All Stats increase by +325%, Blood, Darkness, and Vampire Skills, Magic, and Abilities increase in Power by an additional +525%, while decreasing their Energy Costs by -75%.]


    [You can now use a variety of Primordial Blood Techniques.]


    [However, once transformed, Mana, Ki, and Blood Energy are continuously drained.]


    The moment I transformed, an indescribable power took over my entire body, on top of my already boosted stats from the Familiars and the Familiar Buff Cards made of this transformationpletely broken.


    "[Vampire King''s Primordial Blood Magic]: [Blood Sun]"


    Without hesitating, I harnessed all the blood I had drained from the monsters beforehand, while the Hydra was being distracted, and thenbined it with the other Skills from the Buff Cards.


    Blood Ragnar?k manifested as a gigantic sphere of blood, which I kept on my hands and fused with the other Skills!


    "[Fusion]!"


    Ding!


    [You''vebined the powers of [Blood Sun] with [Awakening Skill: True Fire Dragon Breath++] [Paralyzing Poisonous Spit++] and [Awakening Skill: Lethal Poison++] [cial Spirit''s Icicles+


    +] and [Awakening Skill: Elemental Spirit''s Resonance++]!]


    TRUUUMMM¡­!


    The entire world around me transformed, as my Spell ended summoning a gigantic crimson storm. It slowly took the shape of countless demonic blood snake dragons, opening their massive maws.


    "[Blood Snake Demon God: Jormungandr]"


    "SHAAAAAAHHHH!!!"


    The countless of gigantic snakes coiled around the Hydra, stopping it from attacking or moving any further, its maws opened, bombarding me with beams, only to be stopped by my spell.


    "ROOOAARR!"


    Their massive jaws pierced through its tough scales, draining the beast of its soul and life force in an instant.


    "GRYYEEEHHHH¡­!"


    It screamed in agony, struggling pathetically until the snakes killed it.


    -----

 Chapter 833 Dragon Heart

    <h4>Chapter 833 Dragon Heart </h4>


    ?-----


    The Power of Fusion was incredible, it didn''t only allow me tobine items, but also skill effects, and even spells and skills together into evenrger and devastating powers.


    With that, I was able to conjure one of my most famous spells of my previous life, the [Blood Snake Demon God: Jormungandr]! I had only used it a couple of times against true behemoths.


    Its effects were truly devastating and huge, summoning an enormous storm of crimson clouds and then bringing forth four of these gigantic snakes that can block most magic attacks, while draining away all the blood and energy of a target¡­


    "Perhaps it was a bit of an overkill¡­" I sighed, sitting over the giant Hydra''s corpse as I checked my Grimoire.


    Ding!


    [You and your Party have defeated [zing Volcanic Rex: ck me Mutation (B++ Rank)] x321, [Giant Magma Smander: ck me Mutation (B++ Rank)] x308, [zing Magma Turtle: ck me Mutation (B++ Rank)] x227 [ck me One-Headed Hydra (B+++ Rank)] x307 [Magma Smander Drake King: ck me Mutation (B+++ Rank)] x2 [Volcanic Lava Wyvern King: ck me Mutation (B+++ Rank)] x2, and [Abyssal Five-Headed Venomous mes Hydra Queen (A- Rank)]!]


    [You earned 623.800.000 EXP!]


    [Level Up!]


    [Level Up!]


    [Level Up!]


    [Level Up!]


    [Your Level has increased from Level 92 to Level 96/100!]


    [All your Stats have increased. You Earned Bonus Stat Points and Skill Points.]


    [Some of your Skills have Leveled Up.]


    [Your [Spirit Orb Realm]: [Rank 4 (Upper Stage)] has risen to Peak Stage!]


    [New Spiritual Energy and Mana is flowing across your body!]


    [Your Mana has increased by +3000]


    [Your Intelligence has increased by +2000]


    [Your Spirit has increased by +80]


    Not only I was four levels from reaching Max Level, but my Spirit Orb had finally reached Peak Stage, giving me yet another bonus to Mana, Intelligence, and Spirit Stats.


    "The higher my Spirit Stat bes, the stronger my Spirits grow too." I said to myself, checking my Spiritual Mana Aura emerging from my body. "All my Stats had grown a lot¡­ How is everyone else?"


    "Fine¡­" Elfriedden sighed. "Ugh, can''t we take a break already? We are almost at the end!"


    "I-I''m exhausted¡­" Eric was resting over the floor.


    "I am not that tired, but I suppose we should rest for now before confronting the final boss, master." Eleanora had already gone back to her normal form.


    "I suppose you''re not wrong." I nodded, my form having already returned to normal several minutes ago. "So? How was that spell? Did that bring you back some memories?"


    "Fufu, it was fantastic." She whispered to my ears. "It made me remember that time you destroyed the Cmity of Zerzerian and were praised as a God by the inhabitants, hehe."


    "Oh¡­ I do recall a bit of that¡­" I felt a bit embarrassed. "It makes me wonder how these people are doing¡­"


    "Well, I''m sure that not that bad? You freed the entire Universe from the Demons, even if you were defeated, they were all Sealed except Lucifer, if they ever began a new invasion, it would take them a long while to fight back, especially if we take into consideration all the allies you left behind and strengthened before that final battle." Eleanora spoke to me through telepathy.


    "Right¡­" I nodded. "Let''s hope for the best for them. Eventually, if I ever get the ability to do so, I might go to the stars, and see how the Universe out there is going¡­ Though, to be honest, I already want to retire and just stay in Spiritias and form a family with my beautiful mistresses."


    "Fufu, you''ve surely changed from back then¡­ You would have never said something like that before, master¡­" Eleanora giggled a bit, blushing as I grabbed her hips and carried her to my side.


    "I guess I''ve finally stopped being a fool." I gently caressed her beautiful face, looking directly into her crimson eyes, and giving her a small kiss in her lips. "Simply giving you a nce fills me with motivation to do anything. What a wondrous feeling this is¡­"


    "M-Master¡­" Eleanora smiled, as she hugged me tightly and then started giving me many more kisses. "I love you! Mooch, mooch, mooch!"


    "Wait, Elenora- Ahh!"


    I guess I was the one that walked directly into that¡­


    ¡­


    After that embarrassing moment, I stored the boss corpse and the rest of the monster carcasses inside my Grimoire and walked to the surface once more, gathering with my friends and the rest of my Vampires.


    We decided to set up a camp and cook something to eat before moving on. There was a lot of new meats, and even the ck me-enhanced meat was delicious and not poisonous. Despite looking rather suspicious, it didn''t had Miasma inside or anything after Hendrick checked it and purified it with his poison manipting abilities.


    Because of that, we decided to cook a big feast before the big battle against thest boss, which is said to be the hardest bosses in the entire city¡­ Not only because of how strong the Red Dragon can be, but because he''s surrounded by an army of around four hundred monsters too.


    He doesn''t fight alone at all, that''s for sure¡­ And if we add the ck me mutation into the equation, he''ll be even deadlier. We can''t take it easy and just walk downstairs while being so exhausted.


    Luckily, Eleanora, Erika, and Elizabeth decided to cook this time, leaving me to rest as a "reward" for defeating the boss like I did¡­ It was really quite the overkill.


    The three of them were quite good at cooking already, although Elizabeth was the best because she learned many skills in the church, Eleanora was good, and Erika¡­ was quite clumsy, but she was getting there.


    I decided to still cook with them because I couldn''t just see them do all the work, and I taught them a few of my recipes, although it was quite hard to cook when all three of them were constantly asking for my attention, and sneaking kisses on me.


    And as the food was being prepared, I escaped them for a few minutes to assess something that Hendrick had prepared for me.


    "It''s done, master, I''ve prepared you all the biggest and juiciest Dragon Hearts, feast to your heart''s content!" Heughed.


    In front of me, there was a small table with several Dragon Hearts, extracted from all the Bosses we fought and defeated.


    One of the requirements to enhance my Dragon Connection''s power was to devour Dragon Hearts. But eating the mobs'' hearts didn''t work at all for me, neither eating their meat nor drinking their blood like with Erika.


    My way of growing my Dragon Powers was different, and these hearts were the only way I could grow it at a quick pace, because despite how powerful I might seem, I need all the strength possible to confront the chaos going on in Elfriedden''s continent.


    After all, I might have to fight Fafnir, someone that is said to be an Evil Dragon God equal or stronger than S Rank Monsters¡­ I cannot falter. This dungeon is just a small warmup for the real challenge that ising in the future.


    And that''s without even including the possibility of another Archdemon Vessel being involved in the entire chaos happening there¡­


    "Then, I''ll begin."


    Without hesitating, I started eating the giant raw hearts one after another.


    THUMP! THUMP!


    My heart already started beating faster, draconic power surging from it! It was beginning to absorb the energies and transform.


    Finally¡­ it''s here!


    Ding!


    [You''ve learned the [Dragon Heart: Lv1] Skill!]


    FLAAASH!


    -----

 Chapter 834 Ever-Growing Draconic Powers

    <h4>Chapter 834 Ever-Growing Draconic Powers </h4>


    ?-----


    There are two methods I could had approached this process. The first one would have been to transnt the Heart of a very strong Dragon inside of my body, recing my existing one.


    That would have been quite dangerous though, and if it failed, I could had died. Also, weck the proper heart for that, so it was impossible anyways¡­ I would at least need the Heart of a Dragon at S Rank for the process to be worth it.


    And the second process was the one I choose, by consuming multiple Dragon Hearts from other lesser beings and absorbing their power into my own through the Dragon Energy Fluctuation Technique, I forcefully made my Heart mutate into a Dragon Heart.


    The process was swift because I''ve been preparing my body for this moment, constantly cultivating draconic energy thanks to my contract with Ruby, whom I evolved into a True Dragon. Also the other Dragon-rted Skills Leveled Up quite a lottely, enhancing my affinity.


    FLAAASH!


    The power of the Bosses Hearts flowed into my own Heart, their power fusing with it and making my heart evolve. It felt as if became three times asrge, much mightier, beating rapidly, and pumping dragon blood across my body.


    The Dragon Blood shed against the Vampire and Demon Blood though, but I made sure to merge them and properly fuse them together beforehand, so their sh was only temporary, and they melded together swiftly.


    THUMP! THUMP!


    As my heart started beating faster and faster, I closed my eyes and let it flow Draconic Energy into my bodypletely¡­ Until finally, the evolution of my heart wasplete.


    And the Grimoire quickly rewarded me for my efforts!


    Ding!


    [You''ve learned the [Dragon Heart: Lv1] Skill!]


    -----


    [Dragon Heart: Lv1]


    Skill Proficiency: 0/10000


    A Unique Skill developed only by the strongest Dragon Master''s who have created a powerful contract with a Dragon and also absorbed the power of Dragon Hearts to create their own.


    A Dragon Heart is a special organ that constantly pumps Dragon Blood and Draconic Energy into the body, constantly enhancing their physique and magical prowess exponentially.


    The higher the Assimtion Rate of the Dragon Heart bes, the higher the Bonus Stats be, and the more special Dragon Abilities are unlocked.


    To increase the Assimtion Rate, cultivate Draconic Energy and absorb the Blood and Hearts of other Dragons.


    Dragon Heart Assimtion Rate: 25%


    Avable Abilities:


    [Draconic Bloodline (1)]: Your Bloodline has been fused with that of the Dragons. Draconic Blood pumps through your entire body endlessly, increasing your Physique Development Growth by +100%, All Stats by +25%, Dragon-type Skills Power and Effects by +50%, Maximum Draconic Energy by +100%, and Draconic Energy Restoration Speed by +300%.


    [Draconification (1)]: Harness your Draconic Energy and transform your body, gaining the Draconic Powers of your Contracted Dragons and the Dragon Bloodlines and Hearts you''ve consumed to be a mighty Half-Dragon Warrior. Once transformed, increases All Stats by +300%, Dragon Tongue Effect and Power by +200% and Reduces Mana and Draconic Energy Cost by -70%, Enhances Dragon Scales Durability and Defenses by +300%, and all other Dragon-type Skill Powers and Effects by +150%. Duration: 30 Minutes. Cooldown: 24 Hours.


    More Abilities can be unlocked as the Assimtion Rate increases.


    -----


    It is excellent, much better than I imagined! Draconic Bloodline gives me a passive effect, my stats already all rose by +25% without anything else! Although it is an invisible effect, so I cannot directly see it, I can feel it through my entire body.


    And Draconification is a much better and higher quality version of Dragon Connection, it is a true transformation, with a long duration of half an hour and a cooldown of a whole day, not bad.


    As the Skill Levels Up when I cultivate the Dragon Blood and Draconic Energy, these Abilities should improve exponentially.


    My body exuded a powerful pressure, I noticed how several of my friends quickly directed their eyes towards me even when I was so far away.


    "What happened to ke? It feels like he has be someone else entirely¡­" Said Eric.


    "That Aura he''s exuding, such a strong pressure!" Chris noticed.


    "He has Draconic Energy like me¡­" Erika said.


    "ke! Food''s almost ready! Come to eat with us." Said Elizabeth.


    "Okay, I''ming."


    I quickly stood back up, feeling refreshed. My entire body had advanced yet another step towards my goal. With this strength¡­ I could even!


    ¡­No, I don''t need to too confident yet. I need more power before that, enough so I can defeat all those Vessels of the Archdemons and finally end Lucifer once and for all.


    Until then, I cannot feel confident or rest, I must keep striving forwards, I will be the strongest in this entire world, if necessary.


    "Just what happened there?" Wondered Elfriedden as I sat down to eat with everyone.


    "I was able to finally grow a bit stronger, I refined a Dragon Heart, what I''ve been working fortely." I exined. "I ate the hearts of those Dragon Bosses."


    "So that''s what you were doing!" Elizabeth nodded, finally understanding. "Is this why you had so much Draconic Energy flowing from you now?"


    "Indeed, something like that." I nodded. "I can do some interesting things now, and I gained some good passive effects as well, but this is not near as enough. The Assimtion Rate is only around 25%, I need to eat more Dragon Hearts to increase it."


    "I see¡­" Erika said. "So you''re like me now?! Wow!"


    "Kind of, but you''re even better than me, you developed a Crystal-like Dragon Heart with an already maxed assimtion rate, it is also merged with your unique body''s powers, so you can grow stronger much more easily." I smiled, patting Erika''s pink haired head.


    "R-Really?" Erika was wondering. "Am I that amazing? But you''re cool too!"


    "Haha, I don''t think that being cool or not truly matters." I smiled gently, as I took a bite of the delicious burger Erika prepared. "Hm?! Oh, this is good. You made this right?"


    "Yep! You like it? I''m d!" Erika giggled, blushing and feeling ttered.


    She has really be better at cooking¡­

 Chapter 835 Confronting The Dungeon’s Final Boss

    <h4>Chapter 835 Confronting The Dungeon''s Final Boss </h4>


    ?-----


    After having a delicious meal with everyone, we all felt ready. We packed things and immediately decided to move downstairs to confront the dungeon''s final boss. The strategy I gave was quite simple.


    I would go directly to fight the boss, with Erika, Eleanora, Erdrich and Elfriedden by my side, and I''ll employ all my Familiars to overwhelm it all around its gigantic body with their Light-element Skills.


    Meanwhile, the rest of our friends will both deal with the iing mobs and also weaken the boss with attacks from a long distance. It was a rather simplistic n, and we were mostly relying on our already very strong skills, spirits, and transformations.


    It might have been moreplicated if I came alone with my Familiars, but we were a veryrge group of strong people, so the difficulty was bound to be lower.


    However, I won''t be too confident, and we''ll act cautiously, so we can adapt to unseen situations, the Boss might after all be an A+ Rank monster due to the Dungeon Mutation, we can''t lower our guards.


    "We''re here."


    Wended on thest floor, Floor 10. Itsyout was around ten times bigger than any of the previous Floors, its entire structure could be said to be a dungeon of its own.


    There were corrupted ck colored dragon crystals too, which we mined on the way with my Orc Familiars, while exploring the caves carefully.


    "I can sense a lot of Monster Nests nearby, but they had yet to notice us unlike the others¡­" Eric said, his senses had grown much better after all his Talent Rank Ups as a Hunter. "Is it because of this?"


    Erika was conjuring an invisible veil of Illusions over our bodies, channeling the powers of her Dream Dragon Puppet Spirit.


    "Yeah, looks like it works properly!" Erika nodded happily. "With this we can infiltrate to the Boss Room and attack it with a surprise blow!"


    "You''ve gotten really good at controlling Illusion Magic as ofte." Elizabethmented. "Has your mom been teaching you better?"


    "Of course, I always go to her sses of Magic, and she does some private tutoring to me too." Erika smiled, feeling very proud, puffing her chest.


    "Enough chit-chat, we should focus." Said Elfriedden. "ke, are your Familiars ready?"


    "Yes, I''ve already brought back the Orcs, the rest are awaiting within my Grimoire." I answered. "I''ll summon them in an instant and attempt to overwhelm the Boss with them first. I''ll leave the other half of them for the monsters that''lle rushing."


    "I see. Sounds like an alright n, but we''ve yet to even see that Boss." Erdrichmented. "I''m a bit nervous but at the same time, looking forward to it!"


    "Okay, okay, calm down." I sighed. "We''re here¡­"


    We reached thest area of Floor 10, as we were greeted with a gigantic ck pit. It was much deeper than the ones before, and as we nced below, we saw a gigantic ck stone, covered on abyssal mes.


    The stone, seemed more like some sort of statue, had the shape of a huge dragon, this was most likely the Red Dragon that has been mutated by the ck mes. Could it be that the Dragon was on some sort of resting mode? Perhaps it can save energy by sealing itself into the form of a statue.


    However, even as it slept, the amount of power it exuded waspletely on another level. It was indeed a being that was of A+ Rank in levels of power alone! Insane that this mutation brought upon us such a strong foe.


    This Dungeon has kept on giving, and I can''t help but feel all the more grateful about that, to be honest. This guy right here will give us even more EXP than I imagined¡­


    However, to begin our attack, we must first prepare. After everyone got into their positions, I summoned my Grimoire, hundreds of Familiar Cards flew out of it and materialized into Familiars in mere seconds.


    "Marine! Awakening Skill: Great Flood!"


    All the Marines I summoned, which still looked like majestic white and golden whales after being imbued with the Element of Light, quickly obeyed my orders, opening their jaws and unleashing an enormous Tsunami of Holy Water.


    SPLAAASH!!


    The n was quite simply, we were going to drown the bastard until he was forced to step out of his damn hole, and as he struggled to survive, we''ll kill him!


    "GROOOOAAARRRR!"


    His roar echoed across the entire Dungeon, the entire statue broke apart to reveal a gigantic traditional-looking dragon covered on ck and dark red scales, several horns over its head and sharp crimson draconic eyes.


    FLAAASH!


    It swiftly swam out of the holy water that was constantly dealing damage to it, reaching the surface of its drowned pit and screaming in fury!


    "SHAAAAAHHHH!!!"


    Its roar alone sent shivers down our spines, but that only made things the more exciting!


    RUMBLE!


    At the same time, that roar awakened the rest of the monsters living in Floor 10, dozens of creatures quickly started running towards us, making the entire dungeon tremble constantly.


    The footsteps of hundreds of monsters drew closer, as I noticed their swarms drawing closer, they were all the monster types we''ve fought so far, there were no new additions, thankfully.


    "You know what to do! Take care of the mobs with half of my army!" I roared. "Hendrick, Saphira, Woo, Fang! Go help them too. Eleanora, Celestina, Eriant, you stay by my side. Hendrick! Make sure to take care of the snake''s poison too."


    "I shall, don''t worry, my lord! Let''s go, you all!" Hendrick led the other half of our party, as they quickly shed against hundreds of monstersing from the single corridor that led to the Boss'' Room.


    At the same time, the rest of us, nced at the terrifying beast that had emerged, its entire body was dampened, so it was terrible weakened, and it couldn''t properly channel its ck mes because the Holy Water was covering its scales.


    We had a few minutes before it would get drier, so it was now or never¡­!


    "ROOOOAAARRR!"


    Ding!


    [The [Abyssal ck me Dragon (A+ Rank)] has furiously emerged from hisir!]


    [After having been abruptly woken up, it is furious!]


    "Let''s do this!"


    -----

 Chapter 836 An Intense Battle!

    <h4>Chapter 836 An Intense Battle! </h4>


    ?-----


    Ding!


    [The [Abyssal ck me Dragon (A+ Rank)] has furiously emerged from hisir!]


    [After having been abruptly woken up, it is furious!]


    [Because it has been dampened by Holy Water conjured by your Familiars, All its Stats have decreased by -30%!]


    [Weakness Against Ice, Light, and Electricity have increased by +100%!]


    [Fire Attribute Magic Damage has been decreased by -50%!]


    [Approximate Debuff Duration: 7 Minutes.]


    "ROOOOAAARRR!"


    The Abyssal ck me Dragon, despite having been weakened severely by our surprise attack, was still furious and angered, it quickly swung its enormous ws against the nearby Marines, tearing them apart one after another with ease.


    CLAASH! CLAASH! CLAASH! BOOOM!


    Its aura kept growingrger, making the other monsters grow berserk at the same time. Much like the other bosses, even as weakened as it was, its mere presence enhanced their Stats!


    Ding!


    [The [Abyssal ck me Dragon (A+ Rank)] mere presence draws all other monsters into berserk madness!]


    [All their Stats have increased by +250%!]


    "Urgh..! This bastard''s making the monsters stronger by just existing¡­" Wooined in the back, punching to death a giant snake.


    "Don''t mind that! They''re still mere beastspared to the Demons we''ll have to fight in the future!" Fang roared, shing through his foes relentlessly.


    "Aren''t youining a bit too much, old man?" Hendrick mocked Woo, as he waved his hands, absorbing the poison of the snakes and then firing it back at the other monsters, killing many on the spot.


    "I suppose we can leave it to them, they''re quite energetic as usual!" Eleanora smiled at my side, her appearance quickly changing as she unleashed her Draconic Powers.


    I enchanted her with the Element of Light again, just like all the rest of my Vampire Familiars, her appearance gaining an unexpected angelic twist, making her look rather blindingly bright.


    "Yeah, Elizabeth is behind them, making sure they''re all healthy and safe with her magic." I said. "The reason why I left her there is because I need her to support us before she goes out and transform¡­"


    "She has done enough already, let''s beat this guy without her help!" Erika said, her body quickly overflowing with a mighty, rainbow-colored aura as her eyes shone with draconic and spiritual light.


    "Then I''ll begin!" Elfriedden nodded.


    "Familiars, [Light Shield]! [Light Beam]! Annoy that thing as much as you need!"


    I ordered all the Familiars I had summoned to do a simple thing, acting as bait for that monster to attack, they quickly began to annoy it!


    Beams of light started reaching it from all points, barriers of light stopped its attacks temporarily, while their unique skills or awakening skills also activated one after another, causing even more umted damage.


    "For our Lord!"


    The Draco General led the rest of the wyverns and Ruby to battle, as they unleashed countless breath attacks over the head of the giant dragon below them.


    Most of these attacks were their Awakening Skills, [True Fire Dragon''s Breath], which, once enhanced with the Element of Light, became [True Light Dragon''s Breath]!


    BOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOM!


    The Light-enhancing power also extended to Ruby and Blood, my dragon monster and Eleanora''s blood wolf. The two of them changed their appearance slightly, gaining golden armor over their bodies and clearer colors, looking quite majestic.


    "ROOOAAAR!"


    Ruby, who was much smaller than the gigantic Abyssal ck mes Dragon, constantly attacked it with abination of light beams and blood magic.


    TRUUUM! TRUUUM! TRUUUM!


    "GRUOOHH!"


    The Boss was growing more pissed off, each attack, even as small as it was, quickly began to lower its HP when they umted by the hundreds! And not even a minute has passed since it woke up.


    "[Frost Dragon''s Prison]!"


    Elfriedden touched the holy water right in front of us with his hands, as he was wearing his Spirits as Armor and as a Rapier.


    His Magic activated on that moment, as his Aura of Frost Soul became stronger, expanding into the water andbining itself with his other Skills, all at once!


    FLUOSH!


    "GRRRHHH?!"


    The Dragon quickly realized this was all a distraction, as we were trying to freeze it so it couldn''t move as much anymore. The ice quickly froze the rest of the water and then started slowly covering its titanic body.


    "SHAAAAH!"


    With a furious hiss, it opened its jaws and unleashed dozens of fireballs made of ck mes towards us, resembling giant meteors.


    "Evade them!"


    I flew into the skies with my team, who all had wings thanks to my Buff Cards. We swiftly evaded some of the attacks, while others had to be cut down in midair with our weapons.


    "RAAAH!"


    I swung my spear mightily whenever a projectile drew closer, cutting it down into two halves and making the mes dissipate in the spot.


    "ROOOAAARRR!"


    The Abyssal ck mes Dragon keptining and screaming in agony as the frost of Elfriedden worsened, beginning to spread across the rest of its legs and rising into its torso.


    And because it was still dampened by the holy water, it had be incredibly weak against the element of Frost! One of the reasons why I asked Elfriedden, who isn''t that good at closebat, toe help us defeat the Boss.


    "Now! [Spirit Weaponization]!" Erikamanded, as her Doll Spirits all turned into dozens of giant weapons. "[Yggdragon''s Aura]!"


    FLUOSH!


    And she covered them on her Yggdragon''s Aura, further giving them a boost in power. Her eyes glowed brightly as shemanded her Spirit Weapons to attack.


    CLAASH! CLAASH! SLAASH! SLAASH! BOOM! BOOM!


    All sorts of attacks befell the Dragon Boss, its entire body beginning to grow weaker as the scales it possessed started shattering and falling apart.


    "ROOAARRR!"


    The Boss was furious, quickly swinging its giant ws against Erika''s Spirit Weapons, destroying several of them at the same time.


    CRAASH! CRAASH! CRAASH!


    "HYAAAH!" However, Erika waited for this moment as the dragon lowered its guard, she quickly rushed down towards it and swung her gigantic sword, which she fused with herbined Auras. "[Yggdrasil Dragon Swordsmanship Arts]: [Yggdragon''s shing Fangs]!" She roared, swinging her sword against the dragon''s enormous wings, which were folded and had not been used yet!


    SLAAASH!


    The illusion of a gigantic dragon made of wood emerged with her attack, intimidating even the Boss as it felt temporarily paralyzed, Erika''s attack quickly cut down one of its huge wings, making it fall down and create a huge tremor.


    RUMBLE!


    "GRYAAAARRGGHH!"


    The Boss screamed in agony; its entire body was rising in temperature rapidly as it fought against the cold! Elfriedden was constantly putting all his energy into keeping it half frozen for us.


    The Boss desperately opened its jaws and pointed them at Erika, releasing a massive breath attack made out of ck mes before she could even evade.


    TRUUUMMM!!!


    "Ah¡­!"


    Erika panicked as she tried to pull back or fly downwards, but the beam ended catching up to her, a huge explosion of ck mes engulfed her.


    "[Dragon Tongue]: [Move Aside]"


    BOOOMMM!!!


    However, by my words, the beam was forcefully moved to the side, hitting the ceiling above and making the crumbling stones hit the dragon''s head for extra damage.


    CRAAASH!!


    "GRYYAAARRGH¡­! SHAAAH!"


    "ke!" Erika was excited to see me.


    "Don''t be so reckless." I told her, my body had suddenly changed its appearance.


    Yeah, I had activated [Draconification] already.


    -----

 Chapter 837 The Might Of The Blood King

    <h4>Chapter 837 The Might Of The Blood King </h4>


    ?-----


    Ding!


    [You have activated [Draconification]! Bybining the Draconic Powers of your Contracted Dragons and your own Draconic Energy, you''ve be a half-dragon!]


    [All Stats have increased by +300%!]


    [Dragon Tongue Effect Power has increased by +200%!]


    [Mana and Draconic Energy Cost of Dragon Tongue has been reduced by -70%!]


    [The Durability and Defenses of your Dragon Scales have increased by +300%!]


    [All other Dragon-type Skill Powers and Effects have increased by +150%.]


    [Duration: 30 Minutes.]


    My body appearance had changed, as I was now covered by an armor made of ck and dark red scales, draconic horns grew over my forehead, I gained two dragon wings, a long dragon tail, and even sharp ws.


    Not only that, but my height had increased by a whole meter, and my appearance had be much fiercer. I noticed this as Erika was staring at me quite intensively, while blushing.


    "S-So cool¡­" She swallowed saliva after admiring my body, and then bit her lips.


    "Are you alright?" I asked her.


    "I''m fine! Let''s kill this thing already!" Erika was pumped up. "After that, you promised me you would do anything I asked you in our summer vacations, right?"


    "I did¡­ But don''t get too carried away. Let''s take this seriously!" I said.


    "Alright!" Erika nodded, furrowing her eyebrows.


    "GRRRHHH!"


    The Abyssal ck mes Dragon saw what I did, and also noticed the Aura I possessed. Its crimson eyes squinted angrily, as it suddenly started whispering with different words¡­


    "Gugrah, garuh, shakah, sarr¡­"


    "He''s¡­ What is he doing?!" Asked Eleanora.


    "He''s using Dragon Tongue too?!" I was surprised to see what he did!


    FLUOOOSH!


    Suddenly, mes emerged out of nowhere, beginning to quickly burn the frost that Elfriedden had conjured. So this mutation had Dragon Tongue too? The normal Red Dragon doesn''t have it!


    "Urgh! What with these mes?! Even as I put all my energy into my Frost, they keep melting it!" Elfrieddenined.


    The mes kept expanding around the entire ice, beginning to rapidly melt it while increasing the body temperature of the monster.


    "Not in my watch!" I said. "[Infernal mes Authority]!"


    FLUOOOSH!


    I quickly descended towards the Sea of mes and absorbed them into my hands, the mes moved on their own, spiraling upwards and quickly transforming into a gigantic spear.


    "GRRHHH?!"


    The Dragon was quickly taken aback as I took away all his mes and then imbued them with Light, changing theirposition and turning them into white and bluish Karma mes.


    And if I add yet another little trick to it¡­


    "[Karmic mes of Gluttony]!"


    FLAAASH!


    I fired the mes in the form of a spear, hitting the dragon''s arms as it tried to defend itself from the blow.


    BOOOMMM!!!


    The Karmic mes engulfed the beast, burning it and even hurting its very soul. The creature quickly started screaming in anger and fury, conjuring more Dragon Tongue Magic.


    "GRUHA! GARUH! SHAAJAT!"


    TRUUUMMM¡­!


    The ground below us trembled with tremendous force, gigantic eruptions of miasmic magma exploded below us one after another, we quickly had to escape and evade while I channeled the power of my abilities and attacked his damn face.


    "[Draconic Arts]: [Demonic Dragon''s Spear Tail]!"


    My tail absorbed my Aura and even the power of Gluttony and a bit of Wrath, shing against the dragon and piercing one of its eyes, making it blow up into pieces.


    "[Gluttony''s Domain]!"


    At the same time, I pierced its other eye as brutally as I could using my Spear while activating the weapon''s effect, a Domain of Gluttony was summoned around its entire head.


    FLUOOSH!


    "SHYAAGH!"


    Countless of monstrous jaws and eyes emerged in a domain of pure darkness and crimson demonic energies, beginning to bite and tear apart the dragon''s gigantic face, and neck.


    It had strong scales, so they were only able to damage those, but it was enough to leave several openings for the rest of my friends.


    "ROOOAARR!"


    "NOW!"


    While the Dragon distracted itself attacking me by summoning dozens of enormous fists made of magma and ck mes, everyone else quickly acted.


    "[Limit Breaking Asura''s Aura]! [Heavenly Demon Battle Arts]: [Landscape Shattering Palm]!"


    Erdrich empowered his entire body with the power of his newest Skill, Limit Breaking Asura''s Aura, giving himself a boost to all his stats and allowing himself to break his limits!


    BAAAMMM!!!


    His palm hit the Dragon''s stomach, the impact alone breaking several of the monster''s ribs, the Dragon vomited a mouthful of blood as it constantly attempted to crush me.


    "[Spirit Weaponization]! [Spirit Armor]!" Erika roared, transforming her Dark Knight Puppet Spirit into a second giant ck sword, while her Dream Dragon Puppet turned into a beautiful draconic purple and pink-colored armor covering her entire body. "[Yggdrasil Dragon Swordsmanship Arts]: [Yggdragon''s Wrathful Breath]!"


    She swung her two swords at the same time, the twin shes alone unleashing a gigantic attack that resembled the deadly breath of a titanic dragon made of wood, hitting the Dragon''s back and leaving a horrendous wound behind!


    SLAAASH! SLAAASH!


    BOOOMMM!!!


    The Boss was barely able to take that head-on, its entire body was soon about to copse as it kept vomiting blood¡­ Yet its will was incredible, on its fury, dozens of enormous meteors emerged out of thin air, flying towards all of us.


    "I won''t let these even hit them! Familiars! [Light Shield]!"


    All my Familiars obeyed mymands, as they leaped in midair and conjured their Light Shields, protecting my friends and myself, some died, but they were made to be sacrificed anyways.


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!


    "ROOOAAARRR!"


    With utter frustration, the damned dragon started breaking free from the frost at longst, only to be greeted by a descending attack from Eleanora.


    "[Magic Fusion]! [Rising Dragon Ninjutsu]! [Holy Vampire Queen''s Dragon Spear Arts]: [Height Headed Devourer: Holy Orochi]!"


    Bybining several techniques and skills together, Eleanora summoned a gigantic technique, her Aura fusing with her attacks as she hit the dragon''s head several times, each hit devastating enough to blow up a piece of its skull.


    The blows alone resembled an eight-headed snake made of holy light, blood, and draconic mes, constantly biting and burning the bosspletely!


    CLAAASH! CLAAASH! CLAAASH! CLAAASH! CLAAASH!


    "GRYYYAAAAEEGGHH¡­!"


    The Dragon couldn''t take it anymore, its jaws opening wide and deciding to unleash a breath attack to kill everything and everyone, putting thest bits of Mana it had!


    TRUUUMMM¡­!


    It attempted to spin its whole body around so the beam would reach everyone and devastate everything, but that wasn''t going to happen in my watch!


    Ding!


    [You have exchanged 1000 Skill Points! You learned the [Blood King''s Throne: Lv1] Skill!]


    "[Blood King''s Throne]!"


    I stacked my transformation as I fused both Draconification and Blood King Transformation all while activating my new acquired Skill!


    FLUOSH!


    The entire world around me turned deep crimson, as an endless ocean of blood materialized by my verymand! It felt as if I could manipte space itself within this area, as a throne of crimson blood surged behind me, exuding an almighty authority.


    Ding!


    [You have activated the [Blood King''s Throne] Skill!]


    [The almighty throne of the King of Blood has been summoned! Within a 100-meter radius surrounding the throne, an endless supply of Vampiric Blood can be manipted and used however the user pleases.]


    [Space itself will bend to your Blood, and you can manipte not only the endless supply of blood, but any blood from any living being.]


    "[Blood Apocalypse]!"


    I pointed my hands at the dragon as I closed my fists.


    And then, everything was covered by blood.


    -----

 Chapter 838 Just Die Already!

    <h4>Chapter 838 Just Die Already! </h4>


    ?-----


    Ding!


    [You have activated the [Blood King''s Throne] Skill!]


    [The almighty throne of the King of Blood has been summoned! Within a 100-meter radius surrounding the throne, an endless supply of Vampiric Blood can be manipted and used however the user pleases.]


    [Space itself will bend to your Blood, and you can manipte not only the endless supply of blood, but any blood from any living being.]


    "[Blood Apocalypse]"


    All the endless blood around me converged with my Gluttony, Wrath, and Infernal mes Authority, mutating into a new form of Blood.


    It retained its crimson color, yet it gained a purple and golden luster at the same time, with sparkles that resembled stars themselves.


    TRUUUMMM¡­!


    The enormous force didn''t resemble anything else than an endless wave of crimson; it quickly deleted the Dragon''s breath from even reaching us, and then it the creature head-on.


    BOOOMMM!


    The explosion engulfed itpletely, as the creature''s silhouette emerged amidst the smoke, barely still alive. Its entire body was falling apart, most of its body was already skinned alive, missing most of the scales.


    "GRRRHHH¡­"


    Yet it was still alive.


    "Not for too long though."


    I opened my hands and then closed them.


    "GRUH?!"


    The Dragon suddenly felt its entire body beginning to twist, the blood inside of it was not obeying it anymore. It moved to my own orders. And it startedbining into giant tentacles, wrapping around its bones and¡­


    Crack, crack¡­!


    CRAASH!


    "RUUAAAARRGGHHH¡­!"


    The Dragon quickly dropped in the ground as several of its bones started breaking one after another, its organs started to explode, and blood kepting from its eyes, ears, and mouth.


    "A+ Rank Monsters are sure tough; I have to make sure you die for real."


    "ROOOAAAARRR!"


    The dragon kept bleeding constantly as it screamed in agony and continued trying to fight me, ck mes endlessly emerged from its body, trying to st it all.


    Without even having to tell them, Erika, Eleanora, Erdrich, and Elfriedden all attacked it while it was on its weakest point, my familiars blocked the mes with their shields, sacrificing themselves.


    "[Heavenly Demon Battle Arts]: [Mountain Splitting Kicks!]!"


    Erdrich kicked its back several times, breaking apart its body and tearing its flesh off.


    CRAASH! CRAASH! CRAASH!


    "[Yggdrasil Dragon Swordsmanship Arts]: [Yggdragon''s zing ws]!"


    Erika summoned several gigantic Yggdragon ws, dual wielding her two swords for devastating damage, slicing through the dragon''s arms.


    SLAASH! SLAASH! SLAASH!


    "[Magic Fusion]! [Rising Dragon Ninjutsu]! [Holy Vampire Queen''s Dragon Spear Arts]: [Height Headed Devourer: Holy Orochi]!"


    Eleanora conjured the same attack as before, it was already her limit though, the eight-headed abomination quickly unleashed countless beams of light, leaving the dragon''s body covered on holes.


    BOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOM!


    "[Frost Dragon Soul Manifestation]! [Spiritual Frost Dragon''s Breath]!"


    And Elfriedden joined the fight after his frost stopped working properly on the monster''s endless struggles,bining his Skills and his Spirit''s Auras together, his Spirit Aura manifested itself in the form of a gigantic Frost Dragon, unleashing a devastating breath attack that began freezing the monster''s body from the legs down to the tail.


    FLUOSH!


    All while I kept crushing its insides with the absolute power of Blood King''s Throne¡­! However, something seemed off. That bastard wasn''t dying no matter what.


    Crack, crack¡­ CRACK!


    Its entire body suddenly started to shatter apart as if it were made of stones, something within it was beginning to emerge, albeit prematurely!


    TRUUMMM..!


    Its aura alone sent shivers down our spines, everyone suddenly felt slightly paralyzed, the eyes of the aberration within the dragon''s body red to us through its cracks!


    "SHAAAAH!"


    Ding!


    [The [Abyssal ck me Dragon (A+ Rank)] is undergoing a forceful Evolution by absorbing the Miasma within the Dungeon!]


    [It has begun to evolve into a [Abyssal Death mes Dragonoid (S- Rank)]! However, the evolution process is being interrupted!]


    "This bastard''s trying to evolve?!" I asked in shock. "Fucker! Do you think you can just do that in front of my damn face?! HAH! AS IF!"


    I grew pissed off a mere dungeon boss was trying so hard to live. It had to learn its ce as mere food and materials for us! This was unprecedented, however. It seemed that because it was already a strong dragon, the mutation helped it reach even higher levels of strength.


    But because we were constantly crushing its insides, it was prematurely trying to evolve and that caused the reduction in size, and perhaps the reason it was now trying to be a Dragonoid.


    "He''s trying to evolve?!" Erika was shocked.


    "So that Aura is him?!" Erdrich muttered.


    "Keep attacking it!" Eleanora said.


    "Don''t give up!" Elfriedden added.


    "Indeed! Keep at it!" I roared.


    Everyone give it their all, the dragon''s previous body had be the evolution''s "pupa", but now that we were prematurely destroying it, the soft creature inside, still forming, was vulnerable.


    "SHAAAH!"


    However, it wasn''t going to die even after all of this, its skeletal-


    like ws, still missing scales and only covered on red muscles, screamed in fury at me.


    "DIE, HUMAN!"


    Suddenly, a storm of ck and purple mes emerged out of thin air, trying to engulf mepletely.


    This was most likely its new power, Death mes!


    "Rubbish! [Blood King''s Crimson w]!"


    However, I waved my hand, a titanic w made of blood crushed the storm of Death mes and made it disappear. The still developing eyes of the evolved form opened wide in surprise.


    "And you''re going down soon too!"


    I leaped towards the cracks and quickly rushed down into the dragon''s interior, reaching its depths as I found the entity wrapped around countless veins.


    "SHAAAH!"


    FLAASH!


    It rushed towards me at lightning speed, death mes surging from its body, attempting to kill me with them by draining away all my life force and burning my soul.


    "This is your end."


    However, that wasn''t going to happen.


    The blood I held condensedpletely into my hands, as I distorted space itself until the point that the blood generated a pocket ck hole.


    This was the amazing technique I created in my previous life, which I was now able to channel within the Blood Throne Authority even without Cosmic Energy.


    This was the culmination of thousands of years of mastering the Element of Blood, the power to distort the pirs of reality themselves!


    To gather all blood within a singr point, stacking it on itself, and making the sole pressure of it distort space.


    "[Blood Nova]!"


    FLAAASH!


    An endless crimson light consumed the dragon''s entire body, burning it and draining all of its life force in a single second.


    A wave of cosmic light burned its entire body to a crisp, yet it was tough enough to not turn into ashes¡­


    The only thing it could do before dying prematurely was scream.


    "GRYYYAAEERGGHHH¡­!"


    A scream that was filled with frustration, the frustration of not having been able toplete its ultimate form.


    BAAAMM!


    Its fried body fell into the ground, incapable of havingpleted its evolution, it died before reaching S- Rank¡­


    "Hah¡­ You son of a bitch."


    I was quite exhausted, my transformation quickly stopped, as I dropped on the wet, fleshy floor of the dragon''s internal body.


    Without realizing, the bacsh of using Blood Nova ended making me fall unconscious right there¡­


    -----

 Chapter 839 The Next Day

    <h4>Chapter 839 The Next Day </h4>


    ?-----


    The warmth of the sunlighting from the window slowly woke me up, as I opened my eyes, I quickly realized I was resting above my bed, back in my bedroom.


    Looks like my friends ended carrying me all the way back, this is a bit embarrassing¡­ I shouldn''t have overused my abilities. Though, I might have gotten carried away because I acquired that Skill.


    It was much stronger than I imagined, and I abused its powers to win¡­ However, it had a fatal w I didn''t realized, it constantly drained both Mana, Ki, and Spirit Energy.


    Meaning that by the time I conjured Blood Nova and defeated the monster, I emptied my reserves faster than I could recover them and passed out on the spot.


    If I add all the bonuses I had right there, I might''ve had over 600k MP, and even then, it was all emptied when I conjured Blood Nova, and it wasn''t even its strongest form, itcked Cosmic Energy after all.


    Hmm, well, it was my first time fighting something at the Level of an S Rank and wanted it dead before it could be a threat, so I did the right thing.


    But even then, I need to keep training and stacking on more Mana, especially Mana, it is the source of all my powers, and even the powers of my Vampire Spirits.


    Sadly, although the Internal Magic Circle creation increases Elemental Runes, which allows for the creation of stronger Spells and also for lower MP Cost, it doesn''t increase maximum Mana by too much.


    I was thinking of waiting until I reached Rank 6 at least, but I guess I''ll have to do it now while I can¡­ I''ll have to create a Mana Core.


    Mana Core, these are the creation of the Ancient Order of Magus, that governed arge part of the Universe, they came from worlds governed by Magic, and were the strongest magicians in the world.


    After I defeated them and drank their blood when I stopped them from terrorizing smallers with their greed, I learned their secret techniques, including the Magic Circle Creation.


    It could be said a Mana Core is simr to a Spirit Orb, but the Spirit Orb seems moreplex, and innate to our biology, meanwhile, Mana Cores have to be created from the total crystallization of all our Mana, and it needs a lot of it to be created properly.


    Why was I dying this so much? Well, because to create a Mana Core and cultivate my Mana to increase its maximum quantity to exponential levels, I need a minimum of, ording to my calctions, 2 million Mana.


    And even at my strongest form with all the buffs, I have at most, 700k¡­ It''s not near as enough. But now that I''m getting a constant supply of Spirit Orbs, it might be possible to create Familiars that give me the most Mana in mass, maybe two or three thousand could give me the necessary Mana based on their Stat Buffs.


    Hahh¡­ But I''ll leave those ns forter.


    "Hm?"


    Suddenly, as I tried to stand up to start the day anew, I realized I was being embraced by Eleanora''s arms, my face has been resting over her breasts this entire time.


    Ahh, they were quite fluffy andfortable though¡­


    "Oh?"


    And right behind me, there was a little girl hugging me very tightly, the pink hair messily spread over my face already gave it away that it was Erika, she was hugging my back.


    Were they so worried that they ended hugging me as I slept?


    Well, isn''t that cute?


    I could probably just sleep some more now that we were like this, there''s no real hurry¡­


    I slowly moved around the bed and hugged Erika, who was fast asleep.


    She was really warm, something that she didn''t use to be back then.


    When she had a doll body, she was usually quite cold, but I still embraced her and hugged her, and gave her my own warmth to her.


    And now she was so warm, she was the one that ended warming up my cold body after I passed out¡­ I guess she gave me back that favor.


    "Hmm¡­ Huh?"


    As she cuddled with me, she slowly opened her eyes.


    "ke¡­? Ah¡­ You''re awake!"


    "Shh, you''re going to wake up Eleanora. She has a surprisingly heavy sleep if you leave her be."


    "O-Oh¡­ I was so worried, you passed out in there, and we all thought the worst happened¡­"


    "Sorry, I overdid it a bit, but I''m fine."


    "Really?" She asked me with her adorable eyes.


    "Really." I nodded, giving her a kiss in her little nose.


    "Heheh¡­ Mooch." She quickly gave me a kiss in my nose too, and then rubbed her own over mine. "You''re a bit lovely this morning. You aren''t usually this close."


    "Am I?" I wondered. "Maybe you''ve softened me a lot¡­"


    "I like when you''re lovely and nice¡­" Erika rested her head in my chest. "I love you¡­"


    "¡­" I felt in silence as she said those words.


    Sometimes I felt like I didn''t deserve the love of such a sweet girl.


    "Don''t you love me?" She wondered.


    "I do." I smiled, caressing her head. "I do¡­"


    "Really?" She asked.


    "Yes, really." I nodded.


    "How much?" She kept asking.


    "Hmmm¡­ How much do you want it to be?" I asked.


    "T-To the sky!" She said. "No, even more¡­ If I just say the sky, it''s a bit of a limiter, no?"


    "Hahah, you''re so goofy sometimes." I giggled. "I love you and that''s enough, how much doesn''t matter, because I''ll always love you more than you can imagine."


    "B-ke¡­"


    She ended blushing at my simple words. Were they that profound? I just said them out of the blue¡­


    "I-I also love you more than you imagine¡­" She held my hand. "I''m happy you''re okay¡­ Don''t be reckless, okay?"


    "Okay, sorry." I nodded. "I''ll try to be more careful; I didn''t want to make you worry."


    I loved how considerate she had always been.


    -----

 Chapter 840 A Relaxing Morning

    <h4>Chapter 840 A Rxing Morning </h4>


    ?-----


    "Dummy¡­" Erika pouted a bit, but then approached her little lips towards mine, and gave me a kiss. "Mooch¡­ Now you owe me a few kissies!"


    "Haha, well, I wouldn''t mind repaying my debt." I smiled, as I started to yfully tickle her belly, while kissing her neck.


    "Hehehe! That tickles!"


    She was so adorable¡­


    "Hm? What''s going on in here?"


    However, Eleanora ended waking up due to Erika''s yful giggles.


    "A-Ah¡­"


    "We''ve been found out¡­"


    "Huh?! Hey, not fair! Were you ying without me?! I-I also can giggle if you tickle me, master!"


    Eleanora was really beingpetitive over being tickled¡­ This was new.


    "Do you seriously want to be tickled?" I asked her directly into the eyes.


    "Y-Yes¡­" She swallowed saliva.


    "Then prepare yourself¡­" I quickly started tickling her belly, and then her armpits.


    "W-Wha- Ahahaha! W-Wait! T-This is- Ahhh~"


    She was moaning a bit in between the tickles; she was indeed quite the lewd woman¡­


    "Eleanora, youugh a bit weird¡­" Erika was blushing a bit. "You''re quite a lewd woman¡­"


    She thought the same thing I did.


    "L-Lewd?! Erika, how could you say that when you''re always courting my lord with your kisses? It is very obvious you want him to do other things too¡­" Eleanora confronted her.


    "E-Eh? I-I¡­ W-Well, I wouldn''t mind if he wanted to¡­ but that''s not it!" Erika cried, feeling embarrassed.


    "Now, now, let''s just go have breakfast, there''s little point in discussing about these things." I smiled, patting their heads. "I''ll cook you something tasty, both of you."


    Their faces quickly lightened after hearing those words.


    "I-I want pancakes with strawberry and that whipped cream you make then!" Eleanora asked.


    "I want cheeseburger with fries!" Erika demanded.


    "Burgers for breakfast¡­ Okay, fine." I thought about it for a bit but gave up.


    As the two of us got up from bed to go prepare breakfast, I started thinking about what the two were even talking about¡­


    Did Erika just said she wouldn''t mind me doing other things with her rather than kissing?


    I thought she was more innocent but¡­ it seems I was quite wrong.


    "What''s wrong? Weren''t you going to make us breakfast?" Erika asked with a smirk.


    "Maybe after I grab these." I said, walking behind her and grasping her butt, her two cheeks were quite big.


    "W-Wha¡­? Hey!" She pouted a bit.


    "Sorry, was that too much?" I asked.


    "A-Ah, no¡­ I guess that''s what¡­ boyfriends do to their girlfriends, right?" She wondered. "I-I guess it''s fine¡­ Do you like my butt?" She wondered while blushing like a tomato.


    She was trying her best to y it cool, but her innocence and her embarrassment were surfacing rapidly.


    "I usually don''t pay attention to these things, but now that I notice, it has grown a lot bigger thesest years." I said while admiring her figure. "You''re beautiful."


    "B-Beautiful¡­" Erika only continued blushing until steam starteding out of her ears. "Uwawawahh¡­"


    "E-Erika?!" She almost passed out in front of me¡­


    "Master, I never thought you would have this lewd side! You almost knocked her out with those words¡­" Eleanora smiled teasingly. "Fufu, but I know you prefer these, right? That date we had back then¡­ You loved when I rubbed them over your face." She began grasping her breasts.


    "T-That''s¡­ You said it would be a secret what we did¡­!" I protested.


    We didn''t really do anything much, we just hugged and kissed, and she lewdly started rubbing her breasts on my face when she hugged me, noticing I liked them.


    "Heheh~ I was joking, jokin~" Eleanora teased me even more, walking away. She was intentionally moving her hips from left to right sexily just to provoke me more¡­


    "Ahhh¡­ What happened?" Erika regained herposure while I was holding her. "ke?"


    "N-Nothing, don''t worry about it." I smiled gently at her. "I guess you simply can''t handle these types ofpliments yet¡­"


    "T-That''s¡­! N-Not true!" Erika said. "I still liked it¡­ S-Sorry for getting embarrassed, I don''t have much experience in this and¡­"


    "It''s fine, really." I smiled, giving her another kiss in her lips. "I also like that adorable part of you."


    "Y-You''re so unfair¡­ Saying all those things to my face like that¡­" She blushed even more. "Y-You even touched my butt! I-


    I''ll get you back for thatter¡­ I''ll make you pay, hehe¡­ Yes."


    "Huh?" I wondered what she was even talking about, as we walked downstairs to eat breakfast.


    Whatever evil plot she was scheming, it might be something much more innocent than I am thinking about¡­


    Anyways, once I moved to the kitchen to cook something, Elizabeth showed up, entering the kitchen and noticing I was awake and cooking.


    "I heard somemotion in your room, and I thought it was those two just discussing, but looks like you''re awake too." She smiled. "Good morning dear."


    She got on her toes to lift herself high enough to match my height, and gave me a kiss in my lips, her eyes looked as bright as ever.


    "Are you feeling better now? I wish I could had slept at your side too, but those two took all the space¡­" Elizabeth said.


    "I''m fine." I caressed her beautiful blonde hair. "What happened yesterday?"


    "Well! After you passed out, our Grimoire started working on some sort of Auto Mode, and it helped us with the Familiars and collected the loot for us." She said. "After that, we moved you to your bedroom and¡­ here you are. Nothing much happened other than Evelyn panicking a lot. We passed the test with the max score too!"


    "Oh nice, I guess we''re done with that chore." I smiled. "I suppose we can visit it again in a couple of days so all of you can level up some more¡­"


    "What about you? Are you max level yet?" She wondered.


    "Hmmm¡­ Not yet, I''m missing two more levels." I sighed. "I''ll get them through the next weeks, so don''t worry. Want something for breakfast?"


    "Hmmm~ Maybe I want you." She said, biting my neck yfully. "Nom¡­"


    "Hahah, since when have you been this yful?" I raised an eyebrow, teasing her a bit.


    "S-Since now¡­" She blushed a bit. "Don''t you think I haven''t noticed Erika and Eleanora''s advances¡­ I am your girlfriend too, so I deserve some of this!" She caressed my abs.


    "Well, you can serve yourself as much as you want." I joked around.


    "Hehehe~ Don''t you dare regret saying those words¡­" She yfully continued kissing my neck and asionally touching my abs and shoulders. "Gosh, your physique has gotten so strong¡­"


    "You sure love muscles¡­" I said.


    "They are the prettiest part of a man¡­" She smiled. "Yours are the most beautiful ones¡­ So strong, yet not exaggerated like Erdrich''s."


    "Don''t ever say that on his face, the man is proud of them." Iughed a bit.


    "Heheh, I''m just joking around." She smiled. "I want some pancakes like Erika¡­ Oh, I''ll make the tea for now then."


    "Thanks." The pancakes were piling up as I made them one after another.


    This morning was sure calm, it made me feel at ease after yesterday''s intense dungeon raid¡­ I suppose a break now and then is never a bad thing.


    -----

 Chapter 841 Almost Max Level & Dungeon Treasure Chest

    <h4>Chapter 841 Almost Max Level & Dungeon Treasure Chest </h4>


    ?-----


    As breakfast was almost ready, I looked at my grimoire to see my current progress in detail. I did feel like I leveled up twice though, but I wanted to see more of it.


    Ding!


    [You and your Party have defeated hundreds of ck me-mutated Dragon-type Monsters and the Dungeon''s Final Boss, the [Abyssal ck me Dragon (A+ Rank)]!]


    [You earned 850.000.000 EXP!]


    [Level Up!]


    [Level Up!]


    [Your Level has increased from Level 96 to Level 98/100!]


    [All your Stats have increased. You Earned Bonus Stat Points and Skill Points.]


    [Some of your Skills have Leveled Up.]


    [The Monsters Corpses have been automatically stored inside of your Inventory, you may retrieve them or dismantle them at any time.]


    [The Dungeon''s Treasure Chest has been stored inside the Inventory.]


    "Dungeon Treasure Chest?" I wondered. "Ah, right¡­"


    Sometimes, Dungeons will generate Treasure Chests oncepleted. I barely remember this because we often never got them, or if we did, they would just have some Gold Coins, a few Magic Gems, and some subpar equipment I wouldn''t care about.


    However, this one Treasure Chest was muchrger, and was decorated with dragon-like decorations, it even had a huge dragon head on top of it¡­


    So, certainly, it wasn''t just a normal treasure chest.


    "Did you guys get this treasure chest?" I asked them, dropping the chest in the middle of the living room.


    "Huh? This!" Said Elizabeth. "No? I don''t really remember such a thing from before! Where did this came from?"


    "I think my Grimoire might have eaten it by ident, my bad." Iughed it off. "How about we open it?"


    "Ohh, sure!" Erika seemed excited. "It looks big! I wonder if we''ll get more things than just the usualme stuff¡­"


    "Anything would help anyways! Open it!" Chris said.


    "Yeah!" Even Eric seemed to be looking forward to it.


    "Alright¡­" I shrugged, opening the treasure chest, a bright glowing light emerged from within it.


    FLAAASH!


    Once the light receded, the treasure chest contents were revealed to us. Aside from hundreds of gold ingots that are worth a lot of money, there were also a pile of bright and colorful elemental jewels.


    These jewels weren''t normal Elemental Ores, they were Spirit Stones of incredibly high quality, ready to be used for the evolution of Spirits whenever we hit max level¡­


    There were almost a hundred of different elements, so there was enough for everyone''s spirits.


    But that wasn''t all, there were also Health and Mana Elixirs of high quality, that could restore almost all HP or MP once consumed.


    And also, some simple-looking weapons, a crimson-colored longsword with dragon motif, an axe with sharp edges and red and ck color, andstly a staff with red and orange jewels imbued into it, covered by a metal piece in the shape of a dragon skull.


    "Oh wow, there are three weapons in there now!" Erika said. "What are they for?"


    "Looks like a longsword, an axe and a staff¡­" I said, analyzing their quality. "They''re pretty high quality too, I''ve heard that there''s a rare chance the treasure chest will drop a specific set of weapons. These must be the Fire Dragon Weapon Set! We got lucky."


    The Fire Dragon Set were Mythic-Grade equipment that the Dungeon dropped asionally within their treasure chests. Usually you would only get one of them, but this time we got three!


    Must have been thanks to the dungeon mutation increasing its difficulty, but even then, it was quite ridiculous¡­ Also, they didn''t look like they usually do.


    They had ck colors and more sinister vibes, they were most likely the ck mes version of such equipment, probably as strong as Spiritual-Grade equipment!


    "But there are only three, how do we even divide them?!" Erika was panicking.


    "We''ll have to fight for them¡­" Chris said, his eyes shining.


    "No fighting here." I said. "I will distribute them to those that are good at using these weapons¡­ Erika will get the sword, here."


    "Eh?! Me?!" She was shocked.


    "You''re really good at using swords, I''ve trained you well. Also, you contributed a lot in the fight." I nodded. "Now, for the staff, it will go to Chris, it ispatible with your element, and you are good at using them."


    "M-ME?! Thanks a lot!" Chris was shocked I choose him; he grabbed the staff quickly.


    "And this Axe¡­ I''m not sure, nobody here wields them." I said. "Erdrich is better off using his fists, right?"


    "Yeah, I don''t mind." He said.


    "I can''t wield such a huge and hot weapon; it would burn my hands." Elfrieddenined.


    "I don''t think it''s for me either." Eric said.


    "Maybe I could try it, but I usually like using hammers or my staff¡­" Elizabeth said.


    "I-I think¡­ Maybe it can fit me¡­" Alberta muttered.


    "Hmm¡­" I looked at the two of them. "For Alberta it is."


    "T-Thanks!" Alberta grabbed the axe, she could wield it with one hand with ease, she was really strong.


    "¡­" Elizabeth gave me a rather angry stare.


    "Sorry, but I choose efficiency¡­" I exined "Alberta''s element is fire, so this axe of ck mes is better off with her than with you, it wouldn''t had been aspatible. I will make you an amazing hammer using the monster materials, don''t sweat it."


    "I wasn''t angry or anything!" Elizabeth said. "But I ept the offer¡­ Have you made other weapons aside from Erika''s sword and your spear though?"


    "Of course I have. I have made weapons for everyone here¡­" I sighed. "Before we moved to the academy, they were all armed with my skills. You''re the only one that already had fancy equipment beforehand, haha."


    "I-It is not fancy, it''s just what the church gave to me¡­" Elizabeth felt embarrassed, thinking we saw her as a rich youngdy.


    "Heheh, don''t sweat the details, Elizabeth!" Said Erika. "Let''s eat already, I''m starving!"


    "Alright then!" I nodded. "Let''s eat. Is your mom not here?" I asked Erika.


    "She should being back right now. She went with Evelyn to report our dungeon raid sess to Director Hasan!" Erika notified me.


    "I see, I hope that old man doesn''t drop off his chair this time." I smirked.


    -----

 Chapter 842 Many Rewards

    <h4>Chapter 842 Many Rewards </h4>


    ?-----


    As we were having breakfast, the Grimoire notified me of the annoying Holy Spirits, which have been spectating things in silence.


    Ding!


    [The [Holy Spirit of Emotions] is disappointed you didn''t reward your other girlfriend! She tells you that you better craft her the best hammer ever!]


    "Maybe you could help me in that, no? Instead of just asking things¡­" I spoke through my mind; they could read my thoughts as long as I allowed them to do so. "Now that I think about it, you have not rewarded me at all for defeating Satan, no? The Talent Fusion wasn''t your doing, that was just coincidence. We''re in a special sort of rtionship here, I work for you, and you pay me¡­"


    [The [Holy Spirits] are shocked by your harsh words!]


    [It''s not like they can just create all things and give them to you! Everything needs some time and¡­]


    [They have no excuses other than being busy, they apologize.]


    [The [Holy Spirit of Emotions] is shocked by your clever tongue¡­ She has quickly begun to rummage among her pile of things¡­]


    [She has sponsored you with [Lesser Orichalcum Ingot (Spiritual Grade)] x3!]


    [She says that you better make a good hammer with that! You can also keep the spare ingots for yourself.]


    Orichalcum? That''s not bad at all! Isn''t that a powerful Divine Metal? Even if its Lesser and is only Spiritual Grade, that''s already above Mythic Grade.


    I''ll be using one of those ingots for my own spear too, I believe.


    [The [Holy Spirit of Light] congrattes you forpleting a hard Dungeon. He says it might have been a bit too close how you managed to kill the Boss before it evolved into an S- Rank monster.]


    [And of course, he says that your efforts cannot go unrewarded, you defeated a Vessel of the Archdemon of Wrath and cut half his soul too, that is a feat beyond measure.]


    [The [Holy Spirit of Darkness] agrees to an extent¡­]


    [He has sponsored [Shadow Umbra Stone (Mythic Grade)] x5 and [Crimson Blood Stone (Mythic Grade)] x5!]


    [The [Holy Spirit of Fire] nods while crossing his muscr arms¡­]


    [He has sponsored [True Fire Dragon Heart (Spiritual Grade)] x1 and [True Fire Dragon Blood Bottle (Spiritual Grade)] x1]


    [The [Holy Spirit of Ice] smiles, giving you a little reward.]


    [She has sponsored [Frost Fairy Castle (Spirit Treasure: Rank 10)]!]


    [The Spirit Treasure has been automatically ced inside your Spirit Realm.]


    [Due to the powerful Spirit Treasure inside your Spirit Realm, you gained +500 Spirit.]


    [All your Spirits have be even stronger.]


    [The [Holy Spirit of Seas] smiles, saying they have the perfect reward to upgrade your Spear!]


    [They have sponsored [Divine Spirit Trident''s Fragment (Spiritual Grade)] x1]


    [The other Holy Spirits have sponsored you [500.000.000 Beris], [Spirit Gachapon Ticket: Weapons (Mythic Grade)] x3, [Spirit Gachapon Ticket: essories (Mythic Grade)] x3, [Magic Circle Strengthening Elixir (Mythic Grade)] x3, [Physique Enhancing Elixir (Mythic Grade)] x3, [Spirit Orb Enhancement Elixir (Mythic Grade)] x3, and [Skill Proficiency Elixir (Spiritual Grade)] x3!]


    So many rewards?!


    I almost ended spitting my own tea after seeing all the things I got.


    Not only there was the orichalcum ingots, I got darkness and blood spirit materials for crafting, a true fire dragon heart and blood, a new spirit treasure out of nowhere, a trident fragment for my spear''s evolution, and a bunch of other smaller things.


    Just what the hell is a Gachapon Ticket though? And I even got Elixirs to boost my Magic Circle, Physique, and Skill Proficiency?! This is a bit too much, but I''ll dly take anything I can.


    The stronger I be, the closer I get to my revenge¡­


    Oh, there''s also a few other materials they gifted me, consumable items. I do remember drinking the Essence of Joy and getting the Emotional Commanding Rally skill out of it.


    And there''s also the other two items I got, which I''ve been slowly absorbing every day since I got them, the Holy Light Spirit Stone and the Ancient Forest Spirit''s Crystal Core.


    And just now, they were already being almost fully absorbed¡­


    Ding!


    [You have started to absorb [Holy Light Spirit Stone (Mythic Grade)] x1!]


    [You have started to absorb [Ancient Forest Spirit''s Crystal Core (Mythic Grade)] x1!]


    [Your Holy Light Attribute Magic Power has increased by +100.]


    [Your Nature Attribute Magic Power has increased by +100.]


    [Your Holy Light Attribute Magic Power has increased by +100.]


    [Your Nature Attribute Magic Power has increased by +100.]


    [You gained +10 Spirit Stat.]


    [You gained +10 Spirit Stat.]


    [You gained +10 Spirit Stat.]


    [You gained +10 Spirit Stat.]


    [You gained +100 Mana Stat.]


    [You gained +100 Mana Stat.]


    [You gained +100 Mana Stat.]


    [You gained +100 Mana Stat.]


    [You have fully absorbed all of the Energy from both Consumable Items!]


    [Total Bonus Stats]: [Holy Light Attribute Magic Power: +5000] [Nature Attribute Magic Power: +5000] [Spirit: +500] [Mana: +5000]


    [Both Items have be almost hollowed out of Spiritual Essence, however, they can still be used as powerful Materials for crafting.]


    Excellent! With this, I can use the Holy Stone to make Elizabeth''s hammer. Yes, I''ll make her the strongest hammer a priest could ever wield.


    She better prepare herself; she''ll need to start lifting a bit if she''ll want to wield this hammer properly, I''m going to make it as strong and heavy as possible.


    But these other items¡­ I want to use them right away. And there''s also the heart of the Dungeon''s Boss I had yet to consume, with that alone, my Dragon Heart should be able to develop a lot.


    And then there''s also the subject of having to make my own Mana Core, but I''ll leave that for a bitter, I want to see how much more Mana I can stack before that.


    Suddenly, as I was considering this while eating, the door of our house opened, and Erika''s mother and Evelyn walked inside.


    "Good news, my students, it appears Hasan has already approved your test, you''ve all gotten perfect score, as usual! This is a rather interesting moment too due to the dungeon mutation, so Ataraxia and other professors were interested in having an interview with you all." Erika''s mother spoke.


    "Well, as long as they give us something in return¡­" I said.


    -----

 Chapter 843 A Unique Bracelet

    <h4>Chapter 843 A Unique Bracelet </h4>


    ?-----


    At the end, I was reprimanded for trying to ask for rewards in this stance, when the people that wanted to know were all my professors.


    And after breakfast, we moved back to the academy, I had little time to assess my gains, so I had to left that forter.


    "Well done, you surprise me yet again, ke andpany." Hasan greeted us with a smirk. "You''ve done something that nobody could have ever thought possible for kids at your age and in the grade you are¡­ And to think that Dungeon ended mutating into a ck me Mutation, the strongest of them all¡­ You sure are something."


    "It wasn''t that much." I shrugged. "Well, aside from the Boss trying to mutate into an S- Rank Monster¡­" I pointed that out.


    "T-That''s¡­ Boss Mutation?!" Ataraxia asked in shock, Hasan squinted his eyes. "T-That''s incredible! B-But also dangerous! When Boss Monsters mutate, they gain intelligence and more autonomy, there have been cases where they step out of the Dungeon and unleash a Dungeon Break, bringing forth the Monsters of the Dungeon with themselves."


    "If an S- Rank Monster would have escaped the Dungeon, it would had been a disaster." Erika''s mother said. "Even though we would had disposed of it as soon as we could, which might have taken some minutes, in those minutes, it could had easily taken down several civilians and destroyed half the city. Their feat is nothing to scoff at, Hasan."


    "I know." The director said with a slight annoyance. "It''s not like I''m trying to downy their efforts! I already rewarded that brat plentifully with the ring, but I suppose¡­ I should give them all some nice incentive. Ataraxia, did you brought the things Imissioned you?"


    "Y-Yes! Here they are, director Hasan." The elven alchemist professor quickly brought a huge wooden box from her Inventory Bag, and opened it, revealing several beautiful silver-colored bracelets. "I''ve made them as youmissioned them, and I used the material you brought to me¡­ The Holy Spirit Blessing Fragments."


    "Excellent." Hasan said. "Now, all of you take one of these, this is your reward for being excellent students, among all our students so far, you''ve been the most hardworking, talented, and amazing of them. Even Hero Dn is beginning to feel not so special anymore with monsters like you here."


    "This bracelet is?" I took one, and read its description, quickly realizing how incredibly valuable it was.


    ------


    [Experience Enhancement Bracelet]


    [Item Type]: [essory] [Bracelet] [Holy Spirit Blessed Artifact]


    [Item Quality]: [Spiritual Grade]


    [Item Requirement]: [None]


    [Item Durability]: [10.000/10.000]


    [Item Effects]: [Health Points]: [+1.000] [Mana Points]: [+1.000] [Strength]: [+1.000] [Agility]: [+1.000] [Vitality]: [+1.000] [Intelligence]: [+1.000] [Dexterity]: [+1.000]


    [Item Abilities]


    [Holy Spirit Blessing: Experience Enhancement]: This Bracelet possess the crystallization of the Holy Spirits Blessing of "Experience". Wherever it is worn by someone that can Level Up, increases EXP Earned by +200%.


    [Description]


    This Bracelet has been created using the fragments of the Holy Spirit''s crystalized blessings, born from the Ancient Saintess of the Holy Spirits, whose tomb turned into a mine filled with this precious material after her body exuded her Divine Holy Spirit Energy into the world, crystalizing in the underground by ident.


    Imbued with the Blessing of "Experience", this Bracelet can help someone that wears it to be stronger faster by Leveling Up, or, as most folks call this, to receive more Blessings of the Holy Spirits, growing stronger much faster.


    An incredibly valuable artifact only given to Heroes or Saints, this is a replica made by the Genius Alchemist Elf, Professor Ataraxia.


    -----


    One thousand to all Stats is not bad at all, but the biggest bonus is the +200% EXP buff! With this we can all grow even faster than before.


    I can tell why some of these powerful beings such as Dn grew so strong even when they are so young, were they feed all kinds of artifacts and items like these to hasten their growth?


    If Ibine this with the other Bonus to EXP I have, it means I can get over +400% bonus to EXP?! If I count the base EXP itself, then that''s five times more EXP.


    I quickly equipped it without even thinking about it twice, the moment I did, the silver bracelet''s small, green colored jewel gave a faint glow.


    FLAASH!


    Some Aura of Divinity epassed us all, giving us a "Blessing of Experience". I never knew it was possible to craft items that could give Blessings.


    And that tomb of the Ancient Saintess of Holy Spirits¡­ I had no idea there was such a thing in this world! They must have been keeping it a secret.


    It is probably where the church gets their money too, seeing how valuable this small fragment is¡­ And most likely, there could be other Blessings as well other than Experience.


    "Amazing, with this we can gain Blessings of the Holy Spirits much faster." I said with a smile. "Hasan, where the hell did you get the materials for this?"


    "I have my connections, I was nning on giving these to other students eventually, they are like honor badges for you, so wear them pridefully. You''ve already shaped yourselves to be one of our hopes¡­ So we need to invest into all of you to grow as strong as possible, the frontlines desperately need warriors like you there." Hasan sighed. "But not yet, I assume you''re going to the Elven Continent after the year ends, right?"


    "Yes, that''s our goal." I nodded. "Elfriedden has already issued a Summoning Decree from his Family using his authority, but we still need your authorization, director Hasan."


    "Hmph. Do you really know what you''re getting into? It might not be as chaotic and intense as the frontlines of the Central Continent, but the Elven Continent is still in great peril, it might be the third biggest warzone after the one in our continent¡­ Elfriedden, would you really bring your friends there to die?" Asked Hasan.


    "T-That''s not¡­!" Elfriedden seemed frustrated and surprised by his words. "I¡­ never intended for them to die, I trust their strength, they are¡­ after all, my friends."


    "It is also our decision to go there." I said. "He hasn''t extorted us, not even offered us a reward, he''s goddamned stingy bastard."


    "What?! I will reward you once I can get back home!" Elfrieddenined.

 Chapter 844 Ataraxia Greenwood

    <h4>Chapter 844 Ataraxia Greenwood </h4>


    ?-----


    "Alright, I''ll get that done, you seem to be decided to get there, and Cattalina will be apanying you anyways." Sighed Hasan. "She''s one of our strongest professors¡­ And I am sure that you were able to defeat Satan''s Vessel thanks to her. However, there will be a condition."


    "Condition?" Asked Elfriedden. "What condition you want? I simply need their help to take down the demons invading my Kingdom''s territory, I''m not asking them to free the whole continent of any threat."


    "Ugh, you damn brats are so annoying, never let me finish¡­" Hasan sighed. "The condition I''m talking about is that you need to promise me something. Do not die!"


    "Oh, that''s it?" I asked. "You''re sure corny¡­"


    "I-I''m trying to be serious here, ke!" Hasan said. "You better not die there; we''ve invested a lot on all of you already. Your Familiars are an incredible asset we cannot miss. So you better win!"


    "I will, don''t worry about that." I smiled. "Anyways, we should get going. I assume we''re free from the academy now, right?"


    "I suppose, but you will note for the end of the year banquet at least?!" Hasan asked as we walked away.


    "Meh, we''ll rather be in the dungeon once it regenerates monsters." Erika shrugged.


    "I''ve never been good in these sorts of festivities." Elizabeth said.


    "What''s a banquet anyways?" Chris wondered.


    "It''s a ce where rich people eat together I think¡­ Seeing how most students are nobles, they must be used to these sorts of things." Eric said. "It is a fancy party, they sometimes dance¡­"


    "Y-Yeah, my Kingdom didn''t have those." Alberta said.


    "I always skipped the dance and went to hang out with Rosen." Said Elfriedden. "She was an introverted girl, usually moving to the rooftop to watch the stars and the moon¡­ Away from everyone else. She only epted me at her side."


    "I see¡­" Iughed, as we walked away, I heard Hasan''s angry noises and Ataraxia running behind us.


    "W-Wait, my dear students! Please give me a bit more details! I really want to learn what happened in the dungeon; it is all for the sake of research!" Ataraxia said.


    "You cane to our house then, Ataraxia. Let''s have a tea while we discuss what happened." Cattalina invited her.


    "Really? Thank you so much, Cattalina! You''re such a nice girl as always~" Ataraxia was much older than Erika''s mother, despite acting like a less mature person.


    She was a passionate Alchemist Professor that loved to create things and do research of all kinds. Apparently she taught most of the human teachers here at some point. There are a couple elves too though, but Evelyn and the rest are all humans.


    Even Cattalina was her student, maybe a couple hundred years ago. This Academy is much older than some might think, it has been the true stronghold of humanity to fight against the Demons, specifically made to help strong people be even stronger to fight the demons and defend our world.


    I checked her Status to see if I could see anything, I haven''t noticed a strong Aura from her, and I''ve only seen she has a couple of Spirits that resemble Alchemy Tools, so I have no idea what her strength is¡­


    -----


    [Name]: [Ataraxia Greenwood Flowerbed]


    [Race]: [High Elf]


    [Spirit Orb Realm]: [Rank 7 (Middle Stage)]


    [Talent]: [Divine Spirit Alchemist Great Grandmaster: ¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï]


    -----


    Even if she was born with a Five Star Talent, she already went through an Ascension Trial and her Rank 7, nheless!


    She''s strong, despite her appearance and her job that doesn''t involve fighting. I suppose she needs to be strong anyways, if Alchemy Spirits manifest when she makes powerful items, she has to be strong enough to defeat them.


    We walked back home, where I had to exin to her what happened. We also let her buy some of the monster corpses we had. I allowed her to take some scales and flesh from the boss, for a price too.


    We ended making a nice profit of at least a few dozen million, she said this was a great discovery, and that if things went well, we would receive another payment for this, which would then be registered in a Dungeon Book, and probably in a bestiary.


    "Take you so much for everything! I don''t want to bother you anymore, so I''ll get going!" Ataraxia flew away as fast as she got here.


    "Take care, Ataraxia." Cattalina waved her hand.


    After that, we were finally allowed to chill¡­ And the first thing I did was rush back to my room and close the door, I needed some time alone to assess all the things I acquired.


    First of all, I decided to get to the important point, and took out the True Fire Dragon Heart, the Blood Bottle, and then the Boss'' Heart too.


    "Are you sure you want to use all these for yourself, Master? Maybe we could use them to help little Ruby grow stronger too." Eleanora rmended me.


    "It is certainly possible, but it would be better if master grew stronger first! Also, Ruby has a slow growth, he hasn''t reached the required level to evolve yet." Hendrick said.


    "Yeah, I would have given him a part if that were the case, but I''ll simply use other materials for his evolution. He has already reached an incredible evolution and stage; a Demonic Vampire Dragon is not something you''ll ever see anywhere else. His evolution is pretty much almostplete, I''ll simply add more materials for the next one once he''s ready." I exined. "Now, I''ll quickly get this done¡­"


    Without holding back, I devoured both Dragon Hearts through a quick method, by simply opening my mouth and letting out the power of Gluttony that connects to my stomach consume the two at the same time.


    Andstly, I drank the Blood Bottle of the True Fire Dragon''s Blood, alongside blood from the Boss, and I even ate arge portion of their meat, bones, scales, a wing, and also ws, fangs, and brain.


    Because this one mutated Red Dragon was of such high quality, I could eat a lot out of it! Not just the heart.


    FLAAASH!


    And its power was almost instant¡­


    -----

 Chapter 845 Upgraded Dragon Heart

    <h4>Chapter 845 Upgraded Dragon Heart </h4>


    ?-----


    Ding!


    [Your [Dragon Heart] has absorbed the power of two mighty Dragon Hearts!]


    [The [Dragon Heart] Skill has gained two Levels!]


    [Assimtion Rate has increased from 25% to 35%!]


    [All your Stats have increased by +1000]


    [The [Dragon Heart] Skill has acquired a new Ability.]


    -----


    [Dragon Wings (3)]: Channel the power of your Draconic Energy and temporarily grow Dragon Wings from above your shoulders, helping you fly through the skies at rapid speeds. Whenever your Dragon Wings are activated, increases Agility, Dexterity, and Movement Speed by +550%. Your Dragon Wings are not just for flight, they posses'' sharp ws and hard scales, which can be used to attack foes, dealing up to 250% Damage or block attacks, decreasing -30% of Damage Taken.


    -----


    FLAAASH!


    A pair of mighty, red and ck-scaled dragon wings surged from my back. These wings were much stronger and incredible than the others I could grow, which were only temporary and weak.


    These could be stronger as the Skill Level increased, and were incredibly tough,rge, and mighty. They had five enormous ws each, capable of dealing a lot of damage and act as a second pair of arms, while also being able to protect me, negating 30% of damage taken.


    It consumes Draconic Energy once activated, but only in that time. After that, it begins to slowly consume Ki and some Mana, but I have plenty of that, so I could potentially keep them indefinitely if I wanted.


    However, they''re quite annoying to have around, each one is around twice the size of my body after all, so they''re not reallyfortable to use while walking inside buildings¡­


    But that wasn''t all!


    Ding!


    [All other Dragon Skills have gained a Bonus Level.]


    [You learned the [ck Dragon mes Maniption: Lv1] Skill!]


    [The [ck Dragon mes Maniption: Lv1] Skill has been assimted by the [Infernal mes Authority: Lv4] Skill!]


    [The [Infernal mes Authority: Lv4] Skill can now conjure ck Dragon mes, which can cause Curses that decrease a target''s Stats and may cause Paralysis, Soul Pain, and Fear. Additionally, their MP Cost is decreased by -30%.]


    [The [Infernal mes Authority: Lv4] Skill has Leveled Up.]


    [You learned the [ck mes Dragon Scale Armor: Lv1] Skill!]


    [The [ck mes Dragon Scale Armor: Lv1] Skill has been assimted by the [Dragon Scales: Lv6] Skill!]


    [The [Dragon Scales: Lv6] Skill can now create a ck mes Dragon Scale Armor over the user''s body, further decreasing Physical Damage taken by -30% and bouncing back an additional 20% of Magic damage taken. Additionally, whenever this scale armor is touched by a foe or receives their physical attacks their HP and MP will be instantly drained by 0.1% per second.]


    [The [Dragon Scales: Lv6] Skill has Leveled Up.]


    [Your Draconic Energy Reserves have increased quite a lot.]


    FLUOSH!


    My body was naturally covered by an armor of ck scales, which was a cheaper dragon scale armorpared to the full Draconification, simr to the wings, it cost an initial amount of Draconic Energy, but to maintain, it only costs Mana and some Ki.


    This armor of ck scales looked rather amazing as well, and I could freely cover my entire body with these ck Dragon mes¡­ Any foe that touches me will now have their energy even further drained away, and they''ll receive a rain of curses!


    "Hahaha! This is perfect!"


    ck mes naturally surged from my hands, shaping into the form of small dragons flying around me. Dragon mes were truly quite amazing.


    "I ended getting a lot of gains out of this!" I smiled. "However, I am not sure it is as much power as I would gain if I had absorbed a True Dragon''s Heart that wasn''t given to me by the Holy Spirits."


    "I assume they''re much stronger." Said Eleanora. "The one you consumed and ate did gave you an amazing boost, but not as much as I imagined either."


    "Oh well, this is more than enough for now." I said, quickly turning off my Scales and my Wings. "Now that I''ve consumed that¡­ Hm?"


    Ding!


    [The [Holy Spirit of Fire] apologizes that their reward wasn''t satisfactory.]


    [This Dragon Heart and Blood were very ancient offerings given to him tens of thousands of years ago. Their power had slowly receded and ended lowering their Grade of Quality.]


    [However, he''s willing to make up for it with another gift.]


    [He has given you a fragment of his Authority!]


    FLAAASH!


    "W-What?!"


    I felt taken aback by the Holy Spirit of Fire''s goodwill. I didn''t want to ask for more though, but he went ahead and gifted me a small fragment of his authority¡­


    The red jewel appeared in front of me, fusing into my chest¡­ For a moment, it felt as if I had be mes themselves.


    It felt as if my entire body was refined by such mes, giving me an incredible boost to my firepower!


    My eyes, everything zed with endless mes¡­ Yet it all quickly receded as my body absorbed it.


    Fire, one of the greatest weaknesses of vampires, was easily conquered by me.


    Ding!


    [You have fully assimted the [Small Fragment of the Holy Spirit of Fire'' Authority]!]


    [The Small Fragment has merged within your Dragon Heart and Soul, giving you an unprecedented amount of new power.]


    [Your Fire Magic Power has increased by +100.000]


    [You gained +1000 Spirit]


    [The Development of your Unique Physique has increased to 30%!]


    From the measly 2% at the beginning, to the previous number of 12%, it increased by almost twenty percent in just a second.


    Even the Physique I''ve been trying to forge for a while now has increased in development a lot. This means that these Authority Fragments are equal in power to things such as Divinities, if not more.


    Just how strong are these Holy Spirits without even realizing? I feel a bit bad he just recklessly gave me a piece, but it seemed he could afford to lose a small fragment.


    I better not abuse their kindness, they''re not stupid either.


    "Thanks for the help, it wasn''t really necessary, but I appreciate it." I smiled.


    -----

 Chapter 846 Holy Spirit of Flames Authority Fragment

    <h4>Chapter 846 Holy Spirit of mes Authority Fragment </h4>


    ?-----


    Ding!


    [The [Infernal Demonic mes Authority] Skill has evolved to [Spiritual Infernal Holy Demonic mes Authority] Skill!]


    [The [Spiritual Infernal Holy Demonic mes Authority] Skill can now conjure both Demonic and Spiritual mes with ease, and enhance their power by spending both Spirit Energy, Mana, and Fire Attribute Ki to shape and transform them into all sorts of forms. Additionally, enhances Manipted mes'' Power by +500% and Defense Pration by +30%.]


    [You acquired the [Holy Spirit of mes Authority Fragment: Lv1] Title Skill!]


    -----


    [Holy Spirit of mes Authority Fragment: Lv1]


    Skill Proficiency: 0/25000


    A Special Title Skill unique to the one that has consumed a fragment of the Holy Spirit of mes Authority.


    You have been chosen by the [Holy Spirit of mes] to be the carrier of his legacy and strength, it wouldn''t be an exaggeration to say you''ve be their Avatar in the Mortal World, someone that carries a part of them within you.


    That by itself, even if a small fragment, makes you someone unique and powerful beyond measure. Your Growth Speed has been hastened greatly on all things, from Physique, Skills, Magic Circle, Levels, and Stats. Additionally, based in all the powers you''ve umted so far, its powers have been modified greatly.


    Through the power of [All Consuming mes], your Fire Magic will increase its Power by +2.5% with each foe you burn, this buff remains for as long as 24 Hours before disappearing.


    These mes you wield possess Divine Spiritual Effects and can both transfer your Lifeblood and Mana to others to heal them quickly through [Divine Spirit mes of Life] or extract it from weakened foes to strengthen yourself through [Soul me Devouring].


    Lastly, it is also possible to "Bless" those that have a strongputability with the Fire Element through the [Divine Spiritual Holy me Halo], which grants them the effects of [All Consuming mes], [Divine Spirit mes of Life] and [Soul me Devouring] at half their original power.


    The morepatible allies you Bless with this power, the stronger your Spirit Stat will rise, by +10% with eachpatible ally you bless. These blessings are permanent once applied and can only be given to those you''re very close to.


    Current Bonus: 0% (0 Blessed)


    -----


    As if things couldn''t get any more ridiculous, this Title appeared¡­ With this I can even strengthen allies! And its powers are more ridiculous than I imagined, strengthening, healing, and even absorption powers.


    This is much more than what I imagined the power of the Holy Spirit Of Fire could achieve¡­ Compared to all the Monsters I''ll have to fight, this power is much more justified, especially because I''ll be jumping into one of the most dangerous ces in the world right now.


    Not only to stop an endless wave of Demonsing from a Demon Tower, but also a crazed Evil Dragon God, stop the infection of the Yggdrasil Tree, and defeat the corrupted Draconian that serve this Evil Dragon God, Fafnir¡­


    And that''s without even considering if there will be another Archdemon, which will be most likely the case, all things considered.


    "Hahh¡­ I''m tired now, all this power inside of my body is making me exhausted." I sighed, sitting over my bed.


    "It seems the Holy Spirits are very generous with you, my lord." Eleanora giggled.


    "It does seem to be the case! You''ve truly be their champion. I wonder what they think of Hero Dn then¡­ I suppose you''re morepetent and boundless than him, heh." Hendrick seemed proud of me.


    "I have no idea what they think of him¡­ And I don''t care either way. I''ll get stronger than him soon enough, and then¡­" I smiled, before I continued browsing my inventory. "Hm, these Gachapon Tickets are weird¡­ I also want to drink the Elixirs right away, but I feel like I should wait until I reach max level and rank Up first."


    "It would be for the best, I think." Eleanora said. "That way, you can go beyond the Level Cap." She pointed out.


    "Gachapon Ticket?" Saphira wondered, appearing above my head.


    "Oh, Saphira¡­ Nothing much." I said. "I''ll simply open thoseter, they''re novelties at most¡­"


    "What about the crafting you were going to do?" Wondered Saphira. "Papa, can you make me a weapon too?"


    "Hmm, very well, you''ve been a hardworking girl." I nodded, patting her head. "I will begin working on the things once we''re back home though. For now, I will rest and then continue cultivating and training until the end of the month. We''ll visit the dungeons whenever they regenerate too."


    "Very well!" Eleanora nodded, looking rather filled with motivation.


    Like that, the days went by flying, as I spent them training, cultivating, and rxing, while analyzing my abilities and new powers, and learning how to use them andbine their effects in the best possible methods.


    We visited the Dungeon three more times in the rest of the month, which barely gave me enough Experience to reach Level 100 at the end of our fourth visit to this dungeon.


    Thest three visits offered no mutations, but thisst one has the "Golden mes" mutation, a less rare and less threatening one as the ck mes mutation, which granted light attribute affinity to monsters and the boss.


    This made them sturdier and capable of healing one another too, but they were weak to Demonic Energies, which we used against them to easily sweep through every floor and the different Floor Boss Variants.


    The Red Dragon was a majestic Golden mes Dragon, and was A- Rank, it wasn''t a challenge at all against my army, my new powers, and my friends.


    Especially when I granted the [Divine Spiritual Holy me Halo] to four of my friends, Chris, Alberta, Erika, and Erdrich, who all had strong affinities with Fire. Erika acquired one after evolving her draconic powers by devouring many dragon monsters here, while Erdrich always had it.


    Since they were blessed that they became even stronger, helping them catch up with the monster I''ve be myself even if a little bit, the ones that enjoyed it the most were Alberta and Chris, who just right now, pummeled the pristine golden dragon to the depths of the dungeon.


    "GROOAARRGGH¡­!"


    CRAAASH!


    A gigantic zing hammer and a titanic storm of mes in the shape of a fox overwhelmed the dragon, killing it once and for all¡­ its entire body went limp as its many golden scales slowly shattered into pieces.


    It ended being much sturdier than the ck mes Variant, although itcked offense, it was an annoying foe to deal with due to its incredible durability.


    However, we came victorious at the end.


    "Phew! This wasn''t so bad, I suppose~" Chris smiled proudly, a huge red halo shone above his head, his mes had grown tremendously strong since he acquired it. "Hehe, I call dibs for the Soul me!"


    "H-Hey, Chris! Not fair!" Alberta pouted a bit, following him with Eric by her side.


    "Come on Chris, sharing is caring, okay? Give her a bit of that too!" Ericined.


    "Heh, it''s mine!" Erika who was already down there, touched the dragon''s body.


    FLUOSH!


    Arge golden me overflowing with soul energy surged from within the dragon''s corpse.


    This was the Dragon''s "Soul me"!


    -----

 Chapter 847 Absorbing Soul Flames

    <h4>Chapter 847 Absorbing Soul mes </h4>


    ?-----


    "No, you have to share, Erika."


    I stopped her as I took control over the enormous Soul me. Soul mes were different than a soul itself, they were an expression of the Soul''s strength.


    By absorbing them, it is possible to gain some bonus stats, and strengthen our own soul, elemental power, and restore both Mana, Ki, and Spiritual Energy.


    Because I am not as merciless as I might seem, I usually don''t devour the soul of literally everything I defeat, even the souls of demons are usually spared, unless I need to strengthen my soul.


    I am quite merciful in that regard, only usually taking half of my victims'' souls, while letting the rest go¡­ I could be even more merciless and eat them all.


    However, as someone that has died and know what reincarnation is, I dislike negating this privilege to other souls, because I wouldn''t had liked if the same happened to me.


    So usually, even if I devour a soul, it is only half of it.


    "Eeeh? B-But I was about to get even stronger!"


    Erika protested while pouting adorably. I had to resist her this time. She was getting too spoiled and, because there were three other friends that shared this power, it was better to share.


    "Don''t be greedy, you''ve eaten a lot of Soul mes already, your stats have grown almost twice as much¡­ Now, let''s divide it equally."


    I manipted the Soul me, which was now an even safer method to extract the power of a soul while leaving the soul intact and divided it into five pieces.


    I shared the five pieces equally to all of us, Chris, Alberta, Erdrich, and Erika. And of course, me. I took therge piece, which was already immense from an A- Rank Mutated Red Dragon and swallowed it.


    It tasted rather sweet, but also smoky. It was much tastier than eating souls directly, especially because it didn''t include all the annoying memories you had to digest and destroy.


    If it were the soul of a bastard, I wouldn''t hesitate to destroy it, but when ites to innocent beings such as monsters, which are no different than animals, it didn''t feel right to me.


    Taking their lives to grow stronger was enough, but negating them the chance of rebirth?


    ¡­


    Perhaps I''ve grown soft, indeed.


    "Ahh, I never get enough of this! Your Blessing is amazing, bro!" Chris was really happy. "Thanks for lending me this power, I won''t waste it!"


    "Me neither, thank you so much, ke." Alberta smiled gently. "It has been hard for me to catch up with everyone because I only started leveling this year, but this might be able to help me make up for it."


    "Yeah, thanks a lot for lending her such a power, friend." Eric smiled gently, patting Alberta''s shoulders.


    "Thanks to these Soul mes, this hunger that my demon side sometimes felt has disappearedpletely¡­" Erdrich seemed much brighter than before. He never told us he had this "hunger" for souls, but I was d this resolved such a problem.


    "No worries, I acquired this power in a whim as a reward from the Holy Spirits, I just did what I had to do. It was clear their intention wasn''t only for me to be stronger. Although it is only limited to those with Fire Element Affinity." I smiled. "Now, let''s get going."


    "Well, all''s good then, friends!" Erika smiled, pretending to not have tried to get the whole Soul me for herself¡­


    They stared her with rather serious expressions¡­


    "Erika, apologize." I said.


    "Ugh, I''m sowy¡­" She cried. "You''re all my besties, I just got a bit greedy, the feeling of eating Soul mes is really addicting¡­"


    "It is addicting but it has no real side effects, it mostly the feeling of gaining power that is a bit addicting." I said. "It also makes you feel satiated in the spiritual sense¡­ Nheless, let''s have a feast, we''ve got tons of dragon meat this time around."


    "It''s fine, you''ve always been a bit crazy sometimes." Laughed Chris. "Just don''t get greedy again!"


    "I''m sowy Chris." Erika apologized again. "We''re besties, right?"


    "S-Sure, yeah¡­" Chris felt a bit embarrassed.


    "Apologies epted, now let''s go eat." Said Erdrich nonchntly, moving where everyone else was right now.


    "Heheh, it''s fine, Erika. Just don''t be so greedy again." Alberta giggled innocently. "How about we make something yummy?"


    "Sure!" Erika got excited, quickly grabbing my hand and dragging me along.


    Like that, we gathered with everyone once more, as I saw my Level finally reached 100, I was finally Max Level!


    Ding!


    [You and your party have in hundreds of Dragon-type Monsters and the Dungeon Boss, the [Golden mes Dragon (A- Rank)] x1!]


    [You earned 875.000.000 EXP!]


    [Level Up!]


    [Your Level has increased from Level 99 to Level 100/100!]


    [All your Stats have increased. You Earned Bonus Stat Points and Skill Points.]


    [Some of your Skills have Leveled Up.]


    [You have reached Max Level; it is now possible to Rank Up.]


    [To Rank Up, you must first choose which Talents you want tobine.]


    [Once you Rank Up, your Level Cap will increase, and your Spirit Orb will breakthrough into the next stage.]


    Looks like I canbine two Talents again, every time I Rank Up, actually!


    Isn''t that an amazing thing? Though, it might take me a little while to think over itpletely.


    I won''t Rank Up right away, I''ll enjoy thest day in the dungeon with my friends.


    [The [Holy Spirits] are excited that you''ve reached the Max Level once more.]


    [They praise your hard work this entire year, you''ve grown strong at an incredibly fast pace.]


    [The [Equivalent Exchange] Grimoire Ability cooldown has ended some time ago; they rmend you use some rare materials as sacrifice to gain Bonus Stat Points and Skill Points and be able to learn all the Skill Tree Skills before you Rank Up.]


    Oh right, [Equivalent Exchange], I had forgotten about that function, but now that they reminded me, it is really quite useful¡­


    It was a way for them to give me the ability to unlock all Skills even when the Skill Points I gained per Level weren''t enough.


    Hm, I wonder what materials should I sacrifice?


    -----

 Chapter 848 Absorbing Several Dragon Hearts

    <h4>Chapter 848 Absorbing Several Dragon Hearts</h4>


    ?-----


    After having packed all the monster corpses and mined as much as we could the entire dungeon out of the Dragon Stones and other ores, we moved back home.


    This was going to be ourst day here before our month-long vacation back in our vige. I felt rather exhausted myself, and just wanted to lie down.


    But there was something I needed to do, such as consume the Dragon Hearts we''ve gathered so far¡­


    I forced myself to munch and gulp them until thest one, while absorbing their draconic energy. It was a slow and rather annoying process, but it had to be done.


    FLAAASH!


    Ding!


    [You have absorbed Several Dragon Hearts!]


    [Your [Dragon Heart] has assimted their energy.]


    [The [Dragon Heart: Lv3] Skill has Leveled Up!]


    [The Dragon Heart Assimtion Rate: has increased from 35% to 40%]


    [All Dragon-rted Skills have Leveled Up.]


    [Draconic Energy is coursing through your body even more than before.]


    [Your Unique Physique Development has increased slightly.]


    "Perfect."


    As I sighed in relief while sitting cross-legged over the floor, I quickly decided to take a look at the bonuses granted to me by devouring the Soul mes.


    Since I acquired the Blessing of the Holy Spirit of mes, or well, a fragment of their authority, that I''ve been meticulously devouring these Soul mes.


    They don''t pop out of any monster though, only strong ones give me some, anything weakpared to my stats will give me no Soul mes.


    However, all of the monsters in that dungeon always dropped, at least in a rate of seven out of ten. Therefore, I''ve been umting a nice amount of Soul mes.


    Indeed, they are "stored" inside of my own Soul, and I can seem to stack an endless amount of them thanks to this powerful Authority Fragment.


    Right now I haven''t consumed them all, but I had several thousands of them, the weakest ones would usually give between 1 to 100 Stats at random, while the very strong ones,ing from bosses, could give between 50 to 300.


    Even though it might seem very little, once you stack thousands, it bes quite ridiculous and overpowered. To bnce that, the more souls of the same type you consume, the less likely they are to appear and also their bonus stats decrease until you only receive 1.


    So if we want to gain more stats through this method, we''ll need to find new and stronger foes¡­ I suppose that is what the Holy Spirit of Fire intended to begin with anyways.


    Nheless, now that I''m finally max level, I''ll just absorb them all right away.


    "Absorb All Soul mes"


    As I gave themand, a seal within my soul was opened, and an endless sea of golden mes surged from within, quickly being absorbed by my soul and my body together.


    FLUOOOSH!


    For a moment, it felt as if my entire body was zing and burning with endless, divine mes¡­ It didn''t feel painful, however, but really rxing.


    Not only my Physique Improved, but also my Demonic Core, my Spirit Orb, and even my Magic Circle!


    However, the thing that improved the most was my own soul, my Psyche!


    TRUUUMM¡­!


    My soul felt stronger, zing with mes as if it had be a sea of golden fire itself¡­ It felt all-epassing, any exhaustion or tiredness it once felt was gone.


    Ding!


    [You have absorbed [Lesser Soul mes] x4237, [Mid Soul mes] x1220, and [Greater Soul mes] x26!]


    [You gained]: [Health Points]: [+2364] [Mana Points]: [+3643] [Strength]: [+1552] [Agility]: [+1190] [Vitality]: [+2060] [Intelligence]: [+1820] [Dexterity]: [+975] [Spirit]: [+330]!]


    [The Soul mes have been absorbedpletely, your Physique has been strengthened and refined by the mes.]


    [Your [Physique]: [Divine Vampire Emperor Physique (Tier 6: Rank 1)] has improved to Tier 6: Rank 3!]


    [Your Physical Strength, Physical Fitness, Stamina, Movement Speed, Agility, Dexterity, and more have increased massively.]


    [You gained]: [Health Points: +1000] [Strength: +500] [Agility]: [+500] [Vitality]: [+1000] [Dexterity]: [+500]!]


    [Your Magic Circle has absorbed the mes, gaining thousands of Fire Attribute Runes.]


    [Your [Magic Circle]: [Abyssal Blood Circle (Tier 4: Rank 10)] has evolved into [Infernal Blood Warlock''s Pentagram Circle (Tier 5: Rank 3)]!]


    [You can now conjure Tier 5 Magic Spells with ease.]


    [You have unlocked the [Infernal Pentagram] Magic Circle Ability.]


    [You can now conjure Forbidden Demonic Magic without penalties and create Demonic Runes inside of your Magic Circle.]


    [You have unlocked the [Warlock Path] Magic Circle Ability]


    [You can now create contracts with otherworldly and powerful beings to channel their magical powers.]


    [Eldritch Magic, abination of Blood, Darkness, Death, and Poison Magic can now be conjured without penalties.]


    [You gained]: [Mana Points]: [+2000] [Intelligence]: [+1000] [Spirit]: [+250]!]


    [Your Demonic Core has absorbed the mes, gaining more Demonic Energy and Infernal Power.]


    [Your [Demon Core]: [Gluttonous Demon Core (Tier 3: Rank 10)] has evolved into [Wrathful King of Gluttony Demon Core (Tier 4: Rank 4)]!]


    [Your Demonic Energy has been refined through the power of the Souls you''ve devoured; it has be more sinister and all-


    consuming.]


    [All of your Demon-rted Abilities, including Skills, Demon Magic, and your Demonic Arm Abilities, have been strengthened.]


    [You gained]: [Health Points]: [+500] [Strength]: [+800] [Agility]: [+500] [Vitality]: [+800] [Intelligence]: [+300] [Dexterity]: [+300]!]


    [Your Soul has absorbed the majority of the Soul mes, it has grown several times as big, and its Psyche Rank has increased.]


    [Your [Psyche]: [Vampiric Soul Psyche (Tier 4: Rank 9)] has evolved into [Infernal Blood Emperor Soul Psyche (Tier 5: Rank 5)]!]


    [You have unlocked the [Soul Domain] Psyche Ability.]


    [It is now possible to expand your Soul beyond your body even further, creating a Domain made out of your own Mind, Soul, and Magical Powers.]


    [You gained]: [Mana Points]: [+2000] [Spirit]: [+200]!]


    So many bonus stats!


    This is utterly ridiculous¡­


    With these bonus Stats, I might already beparable to a peak Rank 5- no, maybe even higher than that?


    Peak Rank 4 with a four-star talent or higher have, usually, 15k Stats at most in their strongest stat. It is very rare to see people with more than one stat they specialize.


    But I wonder if all of this is still enough to y that Divine Dragon, Fafnir¡­


    And whoever is the Archdemon controlling him.


    -----

 Chapter 849 Great Growth

    <h4>Chapter 849 Great Growth</h4>


    ?-----


    After all the bonuses I''ve stacked, plus the leveling stat boosts, I looked at my Status after a while since thest time I did.


    -----


    [Name]: [ke Hunter Goathorn]


    [Race]: [Human (Vampire King)]


    [Spirit Orb Realm]: [Rank 4 (Peak Stage)]


    [Physique]: [Divine Vampire Emperor Physique (Tier 6: Rank 3)]


    [Psyche]: [Infernal Blood Emperor Soul Psyche (Tier 5: Rank 5)]


    [Magic Circle]: [Infernal Blood Warlock''s Pentagram Circle (Tier 5: Rank 3)]


    [Demon Core]: [Wrathful King of Gluttony Demon Core (Tier 4: Rank 4)]


    [Job ss]: [Blood King Grandmaster Summoner: ¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï]


    [Subss]: [Creator: ¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï]


    [Level]: [100/100]


    [EXP]: [--/--]


    [Health Points]: [31.114/31.114]


    [Mana Points]: [58.833/58.833]


    [Strength]: [34.987]


    [Agility]: [29.190]


    [Vitality]: [30.360]


    [Intelligence]: [44.885]


    [Dexterity]: [26.425]


    [Spirit]: [3.410]


    -----


    The numbers had risen tremendouslytely. I do remember that I started with Stats around the 5000 to 8000, but then they gave a huge leap once I awakened several abilities, physiques, psyches, the bonuses from my Spirit Orb Rank Up, and the Stat Boosting Items I''ve consumed.


    Everything I started doing to improve my foundation have finally given their fruits, these stats had increased tremendously, and werepletely not fitting of someone only at Rank 4 in their Spirit Orbs!


    In fact, the usual Stats people at Rank 4 had been, at most 15k, but even my lowest stat is at 26k in Dexterity. With these stats alone, I must be as strong as someone within the Peak of Rank 5, or maybe a bit below, I can''t tellpletely.


    This only makes me wonder how high the stats of Dn, Hasan, Cattalina, or even Ataraxia could be¡­ maybe they''re already in the hundreds of thousands, maybe the millions.


    I owe a lot of my bonus stats to all these Physiques I possess, and of the many things I''ve done to improve them greatly too. The Soul mes are also a huge help, giving me an insane boost to my stats like nothing ever before.


    Permanent stats, no less, not just bonuses added through the Familiars Buff Effect. Because if I add those, I''m already way over 100k in most stats!


    That would mean I would beparable to a Rank 6 when I fight, maybe¡­ Perhaps the reason I could go toe-to-toe against monsters such as Beelzebub and Satan''s vessels,parable to A+ Rank and S Rank threats respectively.


    However, although this growth is gratification and it makes me feel good, like all my efforts are finally giving me the fruits of mybor, it doesn''t mean I will get conceited.


    I still won''t look down on my foes, and I will always go all-out on killing them. That is something I learned in my past life, and something I will not change now.


    You never know what your foe can have below their sleeves, this is why going all-out and not holding back is the key to finish things before they even more dangerous.


    Beelzebub and Satan had several transformations, but if I hadn''t gone all-out from the start, I would have ended being killed by their surprise attacks.


    And I don''t doubt the next foes we''ll encounter will be any easier, in fact, Beelzebub and Satan are the dumbest of the seven Archdemons.


    The others are much more cunning and devilish, even Lilith is smarter than the twobined. To defeat those, it''ll take me more than just brawns, I''ll need strategies and ways to deal with them and catch them off-guard.


    Well, if there is anybody out there that knows them so well, it is me¡­


    "It seems you''ve grown once more. Those Soul mes¡­ It is a pity we can''t eat them ourselves!" Eleanora sighed.


    "Yeah, I had tried blessing you, but it seems it doesn''t work on familiars nor spirits." I shrugged. "But you can still get stronger through the development of my own level and also my Spirit Stat. Each point in my Spirit stat gives you several points for all your stats at once, meaning that you probably have an invisible buff of over ten thousand stats for all stats altogether."


    "T-That''s a lot, are we that strong?" Hendrick wondered. "Well, we all hit Level 100 with you. Our Levels are tied."


    "Indeed, also our growths seem to differ, but we can increase our stats independently from levels as well, by absorbing materials, devouring souls or drinking blood." Said Eleanora. "Although that''s also quite limited."


    "We are already the strongest spirits that anybody could ever have anyways! Heheh!" Saphira was really proud of herself, sitting on myp and then hugging my chest. "Daddy, let''s cuddle!"


    "Fine, I''ll allow you some cuddles, because you''re a good girl." I caressed her long silver-white hair.


    "S-Saphira! You don''t want to cuddle with me though?" Asked Celestina behind Eleanora. "I am all cuddles!"


    "Auntie Celestina smells like fish¡­ I don''t wanna." Saphira pouted and didn''t gave her another look.


    "E-EH?!" Celestina, who wanted some of Saphira''s adorable cuddles, was left stunned by her harsh response. "S-So mean¡­"


    "Well maybe she wouldn''t be so mean if you weren''t a creep sometimes¡­" Eriant sighed.


    "Hey! I''m not a creep!" Celestina started talking.


    As she said that, everyone red at her while raising their eyebrows¡­


    "Anyways, my lord, will you Rank Up now?" Wondered Hendrick.


    "If you do, we''ll get two more friends, right?" Saphira asked.


    "Indeed, but I won''t do it now. I want to Rank Up in the peace of my hometown." I said. "I also still need to think things through regarding what Talents I''llbine¡­"


    "Oh, is that so?" Eleanora wondered. "Well, I''m sure our allies are willing to wait until you decide to Rank Up."


    "They have waited an eternity; I am sure they can wait a bit more¡­" I said. "Now, regarding my current growth. I acquired some new abilities. My soul can now unleash its Soul Domain."


    "Oooh?! Really? This is great news!" Eleanora said. "This means you''ll be able to suppress most foes easily!"


    "Yeah, though I need practice first." I said. "Meditating and trying to find a way to control this new soul I had mutated¡­ And also to see how I canbine my other abilities into it. And the other¡­ Looks like my Magic Circle has mutated into a Warlock one, this never happened before."


    "A Warlock Magic Circle?!" Asked Hendrick, excited.


    -----

 Chapter 850 Warlock Path

    <h4>Chapter 850 Warlock Path</h4>


    ?-----


    "It unlocked the Warlock Path, and it became a Pentagram. I think my Demonic Powers have something to do with its current mutation." I exined.


    "Amusing¡­" Said Hendrick. "Does this mean you can make a pact with the Outer Ones?"


    "The Outer Ones¡­" I sighed. "I guess so, but I don''t want to talk with those creeps. Last time I tried to make a pact with one of them, they asked me to sacrifice ten innocent children not older than one year of age. Sometimes they''re worse than demons."


    "What are Outer Ones?" Asked Saphira innocently.


    "I have never heard of such titles before¡­" Eriant said.


    "Oh, well, to sum it up. Outer Ones are powerful entities that live outside the Universe, in an area that I only known as "The Endless Void", they''re entities that were born out of primary concepts and primordial chaos." I answered.


    "Some call them "Shadows of God" as they were born almost at the same time as this Primordial Creator, unlike Lucifer who isn''t the God''s shadow, but his son that betrayed him and created the Demons, the Outer Gods could be said to be the true opposites of [God]." Hendrick exined. "They''re very interesting beings! I used to be a warlock and made a pact with some of them! But I destroyed the pacts once I became my lord''s servant."


    "However, they usually don''t intervene, and if they act, they''re cryptic and mysterious, seeking bloodshed, chaos, and destruction¡­" I exined. "They''re unfathomable entities, probably stronger than Lucifer and all the archdemons at their peakbined. Beings you don''t mess around with."


    "T-That strong?!" Eriant asked. "I''m guessing they''re limited in what they can do?"


    "Yeah, unlike Demons that can conquer any they want as long as they summon their forces, Outer Ones are banned from entering the Universe. Their existence could easily destroy the pirs of our Universe and make it copse. [God] wouldn''t allow such a thing to happen to his precious creation." Iughed. "They can only influence this Universe through Warlocks."


    "Warlocks¡­?" Wondered Woo. "Who are those guys anyways?"


    "Warlocks draw power from creating contracts with such entities, bing their ves and vessels, pretty much." I answered. "They''re a special branch of magicians that serve them. Very dangerous. They spread their insanity and doctrines and create dangerous Cults around the Universe. I have destroyed many of such cults."


    "How ironic that your magic circle mutated into a Warlock one, my lord. Hohoho!" Celestinaughed slightly teasingly.


    "Yeah, I suppose I could change it or modify it to turn it into another Path¡­" I said.


    Paths are special Abilities that Magic Circles manifest within their inner circles. It is a special talent or power bestowed to magicians that have attained Tier 5 and above.


    A Path is given every 5 Tiers¡­ But it was also possible to steal Paths from other magicians to enhance your own Magic Circle.


    However, in this world where people don''t seem to develop them, it is hard to find them, so I''ve had to strengthen my Magic Circle in the old fashioned way.


    "Though, it wouldn''t hurt to give it a try?" Hendrick wondered.


    "Hendrick¡­" I sighed. "Are you telling me that you still have some connections with them?"


    "Huh? Of course not, master." Hendrick felt offended by my words. "You can see my entire soul wherever you want to! I would never dare continue following them after I''ve dered you''re my eternal master."


    "Hmph, fine¡­" I had already checked his soul several times, he was clean. "I suppose I owe you an apology, I don''t really like them. Relying on their power would be the worst thing I could do. So I''ll leave it be for now¡­ But maybe I could channel the power of the Holy Spirits, they''re technically divine beings simr to Outer Ones or [God]¡­"


    "Oh, that also could work!" Said Hendrick. "Well, maybe¡­"


    "For now, however, I''m done. I''ll rest and meditate. I need to get my Soul Domain ready." I yawned. "Even when we''ll move back to my hometown, there''s a threat I want to get rid of."


    "A threat?" Eleanora wondered. "What could it be?"


    "Don''t you remember? The one thing that is stopping our Duchy from regaining their former glory, and one of the reasons why the Cultists were trying to destroy our hometown so badly¡­" I said. "It wasn''t just because of me, they were obviously cooperating with the other nobles, aiming for the Mithril Mines."


    "The Mithril Mines¡­ Oh right! The ones with the White Dragon right in the mountains behind your vige! How could I forget that?" Eleanora realized. "You mean¡­ You want to y that dragon?"


    "Wasn''t that dragon S Rank?" Hendrick asked.


    "Yeah, it would be my perfect measure gauge to see if I can reach the power of an S Rank Monster¡­" I said while ncing at my hands. "Of course, I''ll do it muchter, maybe one or two weekster, I won''t do it right away. But that''s a little task that I want to do right away, so the duchy can get to the Mithril Mines and improve their economy. We can''t let that damned woman of Sathan to slowly ruin our hometown."


    Defeating the White Dragon was a must. It wasn''t an intelligent dragon, but a powerful mutated dragon monster that had once escaped a dungeon, ording to what I''ve heard.


    It is mostly peaceful on its own, but it won''t let humans close to the mines, as it would incinerate them and eat them before they could even step into the Mithril Mines.


    I have an idea that such a creature was lured there by the cultists themselves, so the Duchy was forced to stop mining and since then, their economy has declined.


    Because of this, they have been relying heavily on agriculture, the reason why my vige was so exploited until all those incidents, which changed my vige happened.


    Now my vige is recognized widely as a sanctuary of spirit trees, and it is a safe area where demons can''t step into due to the natural Spiritual Domain the Trees created with Erika''s assistance.


    And it is finally time to reim our Mithril Mines too.


    -----

 Chapter 851 End Of The Year

    Chapter 851 End Of The Year


    ??-----


    "Take care~!" Evelyn cried as she saw us leave.


    "Are you sure you don''t want to participate in the graduation banquet?!" Hasan cried. "You are our best student this year! Please stay!"


    "Sorry, we''re leaving now. We''re sick of this ce." I said, walking away, holding my second-year graduation diploma. "See ya next year, old man. Take care."


    "Urgh¡­! You damn punk brat!" Cried Hasan. "Always doing whatever you please!"


    "Hahah, leave them be." Laughed Hero Dn at his side. "They have certainly been exceptionalds this year¡­ I''m sure they might be the hope we needed to win against the demons."


    "Hahh¡­" Hasan sighed. "I sure hope so, Dn¡­ Well, if the Hero himself says so."


    "Take care, students! I love you all! Please make sure to rest well, okay? Next year will be even more intense!" Ataraxia waved her hand at us.


    "Alberta, you''re going with them?" Wondered Professor Hellburn.


    "Yeah uncle¡­" Alberta sighed. "Quite honestly, I feel more weed at Eric''s house than on my own. His uncle and aunt are so nice! They''re so warm and gentle, and always cheerful. His aunt even taught me some herbology and alchemy, and his uncle gifted me a bunch of potions when we came back from our midyear vacations¡­"


    "I see¡­" Hellburn sighed, he seemed to be the only of the dwarven family that loved Alberta. "Well then, I''m d you''ve found yourself a family, dear!" He hugged her.


    "I-I don''t mean it like that! My family will always be my family¡­" Alberta sighed. "But I¡­ well, I like Eric''s more."


    "It''s fine. You''re free to do as you please, Alberta. Make sure to take care of that rtionship with that human boy. He''s a goodd, a rare thing nowadays. Don''t lose him." Hellburn said.


    "I-I won''t! I love Eric more than anything¡­ He''s my everything! I will never lose him¡­" Said Alberta, dering her mad love for Eric.


    He was right behind her so this became very embarrassing for him, who ended covering his face with his hands.


    "Hahaha! You got him all embarrassed!" Hellburnughed. "Alright, go now! One day I hope we can move back to our continent, with your friends!"


    "Sure, ke did say he was interested in going there eventually!" Alberta nodded. "I''m sure they would be d to meet the Great Architect."


    "You talk about him as if he were someone so easily to have a meeting with¡­" Laughed Hellburn. "Alright, Eric, take care of my little niece!"


    "I will, sir!" Eric nodded, as he held Alberta''s hand.


    The two walked inside the airship right behind us, as Elfriedden didn''t had anybody to have a warm goodbye. Ataraxia wasn''t acquainted with him, and she hasn''t lived in the elven continent for years now.


    "Come on, what are you staring at the academy so much?" I asked him. "Let''s go back home."


    "Back home?" Elfriedden muttered. "I should just go back to my continent, shouldn''t I?"


    "You want to go there and just get humiliated by your siblings?" Iughed.


    "EH?!" He got angrier.


    "We already talked about this, didn''t we? You''ll grow a bit stronger before getting there. That includes bringing us all along. We''re going to clean that ce of demons." I smiled, patting his shoulders. "Now get in, stop sobbing."


    "I''m not sobbing! You¡­!"


    As Elfrieddenined behind me, the airship gates slowly closed. We slowly got farther and farther from Stronghold once more.


    A whole year in there, huh? It really felt much longer than that. I never thought I would get to battle two Archdemon Vessels at once.


    And make so many good friends too¡­


    "Are you feeling sad we''re leaving the academy?" Erika walked by my side, noticing I was ncing at the academy as we moved farther into the skies.


    "Nothing like that, I have been merely checking things." I said. "I''m fine, really. How about you?"


    "I''m fine~ I''m d we''re bringing our friends and mom with us." Erika said. "I can''t wait to just rx back home. You said we were going to go on several dates, right?"


    "Ah, yeah, I suppose I did say that." I sighed. "We''ll think about it once we''re there, rx."


    "I know, I''m just excited!" Erika seemed really pumped up. "I wonder how big your siblings have gotten by now!"


    "Well it has only been a year, but I can guess they''re much taller." I wondered. "I have a lot more of goodies for them. I''ll make them some nice potions, I''ll give them some gear too, and I think it''s about time I help them level up too."


    "Ooh! I look forward to that!" Erika was excited as well.


    "What about you? Did you manage to Rank Up?" I asked her.


    "Yep, I alsobined Talents and got myself a new Spirit. Did you see it yet?" She asked.


    "I haven''t, I napped most of the day yesterday." I said. "Let me see it."


    "Heheh, you''re going to get surprised! Come out, puppeteer!"


    Suddenly, Erika raised her hands as her newest Spirit emerged, the one she acquired after reaching Rank 4.


    A tall being materialized out of her pink-colored spiritual energy. It had a humanoid shape, resembling a mannequin made out of pale white wood.


    It wore a mask resembling a smiling gentleman, with a green jewel stuck on its forehead, it had six wooden arms, and its clothes were only a long ck cave and a ck fedora.


    There were tiny branches, leaves, and flowers growing over its wooden body. So it probably mutated based on Erika''s affinity with Yggdrasil.


    The same way she got a dragon puppet based in her affinity with Dragons¡­


    "It is quite an amusing design¡­" I was surprised. "So what can it do?"


    "Alright puppeteer, start the show!" Erika called him.


    "Crackle!" The puppeteer made a sound of cracking wood, as it moved its multiple arms.


    This puppeteer had a special ability, as it extended several threads of mana out of its six hands and connected them to the Princess Doll House Spirit Erika had.


    FLAAASH!


    -----

 Chapter 852 Back Home For Summer Vacations

    Chapter 852 Back Home For Summer Vacations


    ??-----


    He was able to perfectly control them from a distance, while enhancing all their stats and sharing its skills with them¡­


    But there was something else.


    "[Grand Show]!" Erika said.


    "Crackle¡­!"


    The puppeteer then revealed its true worth, as the various dolls connected to his threads suddenly started overflowing with spiritual energy, and grewrger, no longer the size of little dolls.


    But they became as tall as adult humans!


    They gained stronger equipment depending on their ss, a more "alive" appearance, and seemingly, even personalities.


    The grimoire showcased me what had just happened¡­


    Ding!


    [The [Caretaking Puppeteer (Rank 4)] has conjured [Grand Show] on all connected Puppet-type Spirits!]


    [The Dolls from the [Magical Doll House (Rank 4)] Spirit have undergone temporary [Evolution]! They have evolved from [Magical Dolls (Rank 4)] into [Magical Mannequins (Rank 5)]!]


    [All their Stats have been increased based on their Rank Up, they have gained new ss-rted Skills depending on their appearance.]


    [Their High Intelligence now allows them for advanced conversations. A maximum of Ten Dolls can be keep evolved at the same time.]


    [The evolved Mannequins will have special Commanding Skills over the other Dolls, increasing their stats and the ability to easily control them from afar.]


    [Duration: As long as the Puppeteer has Mana reserves.]


    "Amazing, right?" Erika asked with a giggle.


    "This is insane¡­" I was left speechless. "It has a very simr ability to my own Commanding Skill! But it has its own uniqueness to it as well¡­ Can you guys really talk?"


    "We can, sir." An Archer Mannequin answered.


    "We''ve been here since the beginning, taking care of our dear Master." A Witch Mannequin said, caressing Erika''s head.


    "We''re happy to be able to speak now and protect her even more." Smiled a Priest Mannequin.


    "Hehehe, really? You guys are so nice!" Erika giggled innocently.


    Though, that Puppeteer¡­ His abilities, and that thread he uses.


    It kind of reminds me of Erika''s father.


    I don''t know if its truly him, we have yet to confirm this theory of mine¡­ But I would like to think that he decided to be her Spirits and always protect her.


    As Erika yed with her new Mannequins through the trip, I was visited by Elizabethter, which also showed me her new Spirits with excitement.


    Her Spirits wasn''t an old man as I imagined, for a moment I really thought Ellergest was going to be her new Spirit.


    In fact, it was a beautiful white dove, notrger than the size of our heads. It had golden eyes and golden feathers decoration some areas of its body, making it look quite regal.


    "It''s called "Heavenly Messenger Dove"!" Said Elizabeth. "Isn''t it cute? It seems to have the ability to send messages to people, as long as it has seen them."


    "So like telepathy?" I wondered.


    "Somehow, in a way, I think¡­" Elizabeth said. "Of course, it also has healing and buffing skills. And also it has a Revive Skill."


    "Revive?!" I asked.


    "Yeah¡­" Elizabeth was surprised. "It can revive anybody that has died, but only within a small frame of ten minutes¡­ It can only work on a single target though, and it has a cooldown of 24 hours, so I can''t use it repeatedly either."


    "But I guess it is a nice safeguard¡­ In case of the worst." I sighed. "Well, let''s hope we never get to use such a Skill on any of us."


    "I really hope so." Elizabeth nodded. "This Spirit¡­ I think it might have been born of my desire to have saved Ellergest¡­"


    "Hmm, sometimes Spirits are born based in our greatest wishes or desires, that''s right." I analyzed the situation. "But you shouldn''t feel guilty for Ellergest'' passing. That was his decision."


    "Right¡­" Elizabeth smiled bitterly. "I suppose even with this spirit back then, I doubt I would have been able to help him¡­"


    I patter her shoulders as I let her head rest in my own, she was a bit thoughtful today, but after talking things out, with Erika''s cheerfulness interrupting us here and there, she calmed down.


    The vige was already in the horizon, and once we finallynded at the airport, we quickly ran outside, being greeted by the beautiful forests and grassy ins surrounding our vige.


    "We''re finally back home!" Erika celebrated.


    "Yeah! Been a while! I want to go see how my siblings are!" Chris was really excited.


    "I wonder how my family''s going too¡­" Eric was rather happy to be back and got all emotional. "Ah, I missed the nice smell of our vige¡­ So much nature and such a refreshing, clean wind."


    "We went through a lot, definitely¡­" Erdrich said. "I also want to meet my father and my siblings again¡­ I''ll try to approach them this month, if possible. I hope father can recognize my strength."


    "We''ve all gained Titles of Honor thanks to our work, so he''ll have to." Elizabeth said. "We''ll apany you so you can muster the courage, how about it?"


    "Why does he needpany? He''s always acting all tough and coldhearted, is Erdrich actually weak against his father?" Elfriedden asked with a teasing smile.


    "You damn long eared bastard¡­" Erdrich started getting angrier really quickly.


    "Enough, don''t fight. We''re here to rx." I said. "Elfriedden, don''t be toxic or we won''t let you stay at home."


    "Ugh¡­" Elfriedden sighed. "I''m not being toxic! I was merely pointing things out¡­ Okay, I apologize. I just am surprised, I don''t remember seeing that facet out of you, Erdrich."


    "I guess I owe you an apology, I am indeed quite coldhearted and silent sometimes. I don''t like talking about my feelings, or letting others learn about them¡­" Erdrich sighed. "But you''re my friend now, right? So I guess we should get along, I am sure you''ve got just as many issues as me, hahah."


    "Hah¡­ R-Right¡­" Elfriedden recalled he didn''t have a good rtionship with his family either. "I guess¡­ you''re not wrong."


    "Now, let''s go. Enough is enough." I led my friends, as we walked back home.


    Erika''s mother was with us, silently admiring the beautiful view, the mountains, the ins, the forest, all made for a rxing and soothing atmosphere.


    "I''m back home, dear¡­" She said in a very low tone of voice. "I''m sorry for noting back before¡­"


    She seemed slightly sorrowful.


    I guess despite how fine she pretends to be, she must feel really bad for having left Gustav.


    -----

 Chapter 853 Back Home, Meeting The Family

    Chapter 853 Back Home, Meeting The Family


    ??-----


    The bright sun atop the blue skies, the beautiful green ins, the big forests, and the vige we knew and loved, although a bitrger than before, as more buildings kept being built around this once small ce.


    It was still the same in my heart, the old houses had not been taken down, and the feeling ofing back home, like nothing else I''ve ever felt took over my entire body and soul.


    I felt so at ease here, for some reason¡­


    "I''m back!"


    I opened my house''s door using the key my parents gave me, as I heard my entire family scream inmotion once they heard me.


    "We''re back!"


    Erika also called them, everyone quickly rushed towards us, storming in. The rest of my friends had gone back to their houses, and Elizabeth decided to visit the church with Erdrich.


    Elfriedden apanied Chris to his family''s house, as Chris had promised him a meal with his family. At first Elfriedden didn''t wanted to but ended going anyways.


    "Is it ke?! He''s back! ke is back! And Erika too!"


    Grandma was the first one toe running, she happily hugged me while riding her big goat spirit that carried her everywhere.


    "Hello grandma, nice to meet you again."


    "Grandma!"


    We hugged her tightly, as she kissed us and hugged us back.


    "I''m so happy to see you again! You didn''t even notify us you wereing, you little rascals! Did you wanted it to be a surprise?" Laughed my grandmother.


    "Yeah! So we could surprise you!" Erika giggled.


    "We brought a lot of souvenirs." I smiled. "How have you been, grandma?"


    "I''m fine, don''t worry about me!" She smiled gently. "Though, my legs hurt a lot when I try to walk¡­ But I guess it is part of getting old, hohoh! Thisdy''s body is not what it used to be¡­"


    "I-I see¡­" I sighed a bit.


    Maybe I could help her with that by healing her legs and restoring a bit more of her youth, whatever I can muster with my current abilities.


    "ke! My dear son! Oh, Erika, dear!"


    "You''re here, champ! Erika too!"


    My mother and my father quickly came running, greeting us two. Erika was already like another daughter to them; we had pretty much adopted her after her father passed away.


    "Hello, mom, dad."


    "Hi! Mother-inw, father-inw! I missed you two so much!"


    Erika hugged both of them happily while they hugged me¡­ She loved them as much as her own father.


    "Hahaha, already calling us like that, huh?" My mother giggled teasingly.


    "It seems a lot of things happened, both of you feel way stronger than thest time you came¡­" My father gasped as he sensed our Auras. "How strong did you get already?!"


    "Well, we recentlypleted an A+ Rank Dungeon." I smiled. "Right, Erika?"


    "Yeah! We also saved the Silvertide Kingdom! There are no more demons there thanks to us!" Erika said proudly.


    "EH?!"


    My mother, father, and grandma werepletely shocked as they heard those news¡­


    "S-So the news we got some time ago about the Silvertide Kingdom being saved by a band of heroes¡­ So it was you guys?!" My father said. "T-That''s¡­ no way! Did you get THAT strong?! My son¡­!"


    Suddenly he hugged me tightly and then lifted me off the ground¡­


    "You''re my son, that''s right! Hahahaha! I''ll have so much to brag about now with the boys! Kuahahaha!" My father startedughing his lungs out cheerfully.


    "R-Really?" My mother wondered. "Well, you have a lot to exin! Let''s talk while having some tea and snacks, then? I just happened to buy some nice tea and cookies at the local bakery."


    "Looks like you''re using your new money well enough." Iughed.


    "H-Hey, you said we could spend into whatever we wanted, right?" My mother felt slightly embarrassed.


    "Hahaha, I''m not saying it''s bad, I''m just happy." I smiled. "We used to be dirt poor back then, I''m sure it''s not just the money I send back home, you two have been earning much better, right? Also you''re excerpt of taxes, so it is easier to save money."


    "Yeah, life has been quite good. We''ve been thinking about building another house around." My father said. "There''s a constant amount of new peopleing in and out. Opening some inns or renting houses to new noble families wouldn''t be a bad business."


    "Actually, that''s an excellent idea, father." I nodded. "To be expected of my father! You''ve got a good eye for business."


    "Hahaha! I''ve learned a few tricks from my crafty son." Laughed my father. "Nowe on, let''s go! You too Erika!"


    "Y-Yes!" Erika nodded cheerfully. "Come on mom, get in already! Why are you outside?"


    "A-Ah, right¡­"


    Cattalina walked inside the house while looking embarrassed. She felt so much gratitude for my humble family raising his daughter that she always felt overwhelmed when she came here.


    "Oh, Cattalina! Wee back!" My mother greeted her without any formalities. "Come in! We''ve got some fancy tea! I''m sure ady like you will like it!"


    "Yeah! Don''t be shy!" My father invited her.


    "T-Thank you so much." Cattalina smiled gently. "I am still very grateful to you all for helping my daughter when there was nobody for her¡­ Seeing her feel so at home in here makes me feel rather joyous and¡­ slightly sorrowful at the same time. Because I¡­ I couldn''t be there for her."


    Everyone remained in silence after she said those words. But my grandmother gently patted her arms with a smile.


    "Don''t sweat the details, girl. Erika is a part of our family, that''s about it!" She said.


    "Y-Yeah! As mom said." My mother nodded. "We did what we just had to do! Don''t feel indebted."


    "Just rx. This is your house too from now on!" My father smiled. "You cane visit us at any time. We''ve got a bunch of extra rooms after the recent renovations."


    "Thank you¡­ Thank you so much." However, Cattalina kept thanking us, as she started crying.


    "Aw, mom, it''s fine." Erika hugged her back.


    Perhaps I was slightly wrong about her. To feel so overwhelmed over such simple hospitality and kindness.


    She must have gone through a lot of terrible things through her life¡­


    -----

 Chapter 854 Creating Familiar Eggs

    Chapter 854 Creating Familiar Eggs


    ??-----


    As we had a calm conversation with my parents and grandmother about what had happened, we exined them how things happened. Cattalina was there to confirm all our ims.


    As ridiculous as they sounded to some farmers, they were all the truth. Theyughed, cried, and even cheered for us as they heard our tales while we sipped tea and ate the cookies, which were really good.


    "So that''s what happened¡­" My grandmother giggled a bit. "Hohoho, all of you sure have an amazing life, don''t you? Filled with so much adventure and battle¡­ I am a bit worried, but you''re not fighting alone either."


    "I don''t think we would have been able to get that far without all the rest of our friends. And even Monica too." I said with a nod. "The entire Kingdom of Silvertide is in shambles now, but we''re working with them to slowly get things better. The survivors have been moved to Darkage, and Monica''s father might be the new King now."


    "I see, so much political intrigue¡­ I''m not good with this type of stuff, dearie." My mother sighed. "But I''m happy you''re helping your friend!"


    "To think your summons can mine and move products like that, from such a long distance to where you are!" Said my father. "How can you manage that?"


    "Well, they have grown intelligent enough to obey simplemands, and as my skills developed, things like these became quite simple to execute." I said. "I''ve left a few Special Familiars with them, which canmunicate my words to them from afar."


    "So that''s how you do it¡­" My grandma said. "I almost forget you are a Summoner! Such a legendary ss! I am sure you''ve already be as incredible as Hero Allen!"


    "Haha, yeah, every time I Rank Up, I can get new Skills." I simplified things in my exnation. "Come to think of it, where''s Anna and An?"


    "Oh, those two yed the entire morning." My mother giggled.


    "They were eager to be like you, so they asked me to bring them to the forest and help them hunt down some rabbits." My father said. "They ended finally hunting one after trying to catch the horned rabbit for a while¡­ Ultimately, they seemed to have gained a Blessing of the Holy Spirits, but were so exhausted we had to bring them back home while they were sleeping, right pal?"


    "Chuu!" My father''s Earth Mice nodded; it had grownrger than before.


    "I see, so they want to train, huh?" I wondered. "Well, might as well help them. I was already nning on helping them grow stronger. We recently received some bracelets that increase EXP earned. You wouldn''t mind sharing yours with Anna, right Erika?" I asked her.


    "Oh? Of course not! That would help them level up very quickly!" Said Erika. "They already awakened their Talent and Spirit so it shouldn''t be so hard!"


    "Yes, well said." I nodded. "Also, I have a new Skill I want to learn¡­"


    It was one I had seen in my Skill Tree, one with a very particr name, thest of the two Skills I could learn from the Summoner Branch.


    Ding!


    [You exchanged 1000 Skill Points.]


    [You learned the [Familiar Egg: Lv1] Skill!]


    -----


    [Familiar Egg: Lv1]


    Skill Proficiency: 0/10000


    A Unique Skill that only Grandmaster Summoners can learn, by choosing a specific Familiar they can summon, it is possible to transform this Familiar into a Familiar Egg.


    Once a Familiar is turned into a Familiar Egg, it cannot be summoned again in their original form, and it will be reborn as a [Unique Familiar].


    [Unique Familiars] are born even weaker than their original forms, and in a baby-like form, but can grow stronger by absorbing Spirit Orbs, Materials, and defeating Monsters.


    After undergoing several stages, they will eventually surpass their original stats, skills, and abilities, and be much stronger than their original forms.


    However, intensive care is needed, and [Unique Familiars] require the connection with someone''s Soul to be [Bonded] for life.


    It is possible to assign the [Unique Familiars] to the Grandmaster Summoner, or anybody they have a strong emotional connection with.


    [Unique Familiars] cannot be summoned or multiplied like normal Familiars but will eventually grow tens or hundreds of times stronger than those that can be multiplied.


    It is a preferred skill for Summoners that want quality over quantity.


    [Unique Familiars] will also gain thrice as many stats per Rank Up, their Skills can evolve once they reach the max Stat of "+++", and they can also develop greater intelligence and a [Spirit Soul] of their own.


    These Familiars can be revived if they die, by sacrificing a sufficient amount of Spirit Orbs, the stronger they are, the more are needed for their resurrection.


    With each Skill Level, the maximum amount of Familiar Eggs you can create increases.


    All Stats and their Skill Powers and Effects increase by +30% with each Skill Level.


    Avable Familiar Egg Slots:


    Level 1: [Slots: 5]


    Level 2: [???]


    -----


    This is an incredible Skill, that could give me Familiars almost as strong as my Vampire Spirits!


    However, the best part is the actual ability to Bond with other people''s Souls.


    This means I can give an overpowered Familiar to my family members or friends.


    But for now, I was thinking on giving two to my siblings.


    I have many Familiars, and I can create many more through Synthesis, so I don''t really mind giving up some to them.


    I need strong Familiars with a strong sense of loyalty, that have good defenses and attack, as my siblings are better at buffing than fighting themselves yet.


    So, I think I know which Familiars I can choose¡­


    Ding!


    [You have chosen [Fire Smander, re] and [Rock Turtle, Shell] as the Familiars to convert into [Familiar Eggs]!]


    [Once they be [Familiar Eggs], both Familiars will be unavable for summoning, and you won''t be able to create Cards for them either.]


    [Are you sure?]


    <Yes> <No>


    "Yes."


    FLAASH! FLAASH!


    Both of these Familiar Cards flew out of my Grimoire, absorbing my Mana and Spiritual Energy and then turning into egg-


    shaped masses of bright light.


    And then, two huge eggs emerged, which I caught in my arms. One was white, with red and orange me spots, and the second was covered on hard stone and turtle shell-like tes.


    Ding!


    [Congrattions! [re] and [Shell] have be [Familiar Eggs]!]


    [They are awaiting a Soul to Bond with, until then, they won''t be able to hatch.]


    Excellent!


    "T-Those are eggs?!" My mother asked.


    "Did the cards just be two eggs?!" My father was shocked.


    "Ohohoho, I see what you''re doing." My grandma giggled. "Are these for little Anna and An? Their own little guardians! You are sure such a worrywart brother¡­"


    "I just can''t rest at ease with them not having strong spirits to protect them. I''m not saying theirs are bad, but they''re more focused on support. I need two guardians that''ll be always at their side when we can''t." I said, smiling at the two eggs. "Erika, want toe with me to wake them up?"


    "Huh? S-Sure!" Erika was slightly dumbfounded with what she saw, but quickly nodded.


    Once we arrived inside of their room, we saw both of my twin siblings sleeping cozily over their little bed, they were hugging one another.


    -----

 Chapter 855 Giving The Little Siblings Some New Familiars

    Chapter 855 Giving The Little Siblings Some New Familiars


    ??-----


    And as they woke up from our presences in the room, both of their eyes lighted up, like little birds, they flew towards me and hugged me.


    "Big bro!"


    "Big brother!"


    "Hey, you''ve been sleeping for a while, huh?"


    As I giggled, the two didn''t let go of me, they seemed to have missed me a lot. It made me feel slightly bad I had to leave home for so long.


    "You''re finally back?" Asked little Anna. "It took you ages!"


    "Buaaah!" Little An was already crying as he hugged me. "Don''t go again!"


    "Hahah, sorry." I sighed. "I''m back home, yes. For my summer break. I''ll be staying here for a long while now. So, don''t cry anymore¡­"


    "Your big brother has brought you a present to cheer you up too!" Erika said happily.


    "Big sis Erika!"


    "Big sis!"


    The two quickly hugged her as well, Erika happily embraced them in a tight hug. She was literally their big sister, as she had been adopted by our family all this time and saw them grow up since they were tiny little newborns.


    "Present?!" Asked Anna and An almost at the same time, realizing what she meant.


    "Heheh! Yep, wanna see them?" Erika giggled. "ke, show it to them!"


    "Here." I was hiding both eggs with an Illusion Veil using Magic, but I quickly took it off, revealing the two very big and round eggs. "These eggs!"


    "Eggs?!" An asked.


    "Are we eating some fancy omelet?" Anna wondered, drooling a bit.


    "Hahaha, no, no." Erikaughed a bit. "They''re your new¡­ Familiars?"


    "I suppose we could call them that." I nodded. "These are two eggs containing powerful familiars. These are yourte birthday gifts from me. One you touch them and imbue them with your Mana, they will be bonded with you."


    "Oooh, Familiars like big brother''s big monsters?" An asked.


    "Yeah! Like that!" Anna nodded. "Okay! I want the red one!"


    "T-Then I''ll pick the other¡­" An didn''t really mind.


    I gave the eggs to each one of them, as they gently touched them with their small hands.


    "Now, gently, imbue some of your Mana into them." I exined.


    "Gently¡­" An said.


    "Okay!" Anna nodded.


    FLAASH! FLAASH!


    Anna ended adding a bit too much, but it worked. An was very careful and added just the right amount. This little girl takes a lot from Erika on her recklessness sometimes.


    Ding!


    [Both Eggs from [re] and [Shell] have been bonded to their respective new Masters.]


    [This bond cannot be broken, no matter what.]


    [The Bonded Masters can now help their Familiars evolve and grow through their connection.]


    [The Eggs are beginning to crack!]


    [Once the creatures hatch, the masters will be able to rename them as they please.]


    [When the Familiars are Named, their stats and skills will be greatly enhanced as they will be [Named Familiars]


    It seems they''re beginning to hatch right now.


    Crack, crack¡­!


    "Ooh, they''re hatching already?!" An asked.


    "They are!" Anna nodded.


    Both eggs cracked in that moment, as two tiny heads popped up from their interior. The one from An''s egg resembled a tiny, adorable green turtle baby, with a shiny, jewel-like shell.


    And the one that Anna held had emerged as well, revealing a small and beautiful-looking gecko-like head, with red scales and bright golden eyes. Decorating its forehead were two, incredibly tiny golden horns.


    Their appearances, even as baby familiars, were already much different than their original forms, and exuded an air of strength and magic like no other familiar, despite being much weaker than my strongest ones yet.


    So these are Unique Familiars!


    "Kyuh!" The smander suddenly burped, letting out a tiny me.


    "Buh¡­" The turtle, in the other case, seemed slightly confused and afraid, swiftly hiding back into the egg.


    "You''re so cute!" Anna giggled, petting the little smander.


    "Hey, why are you hiding? Hello?" An seemed confused.


    "It seems they might take into the personalities of their masters to an extent." I said. "Hmm, for now, try to name them. What name will you give to them?"


    "Hmm¡­" Anna was thinking about a name. "Oh I know! Paprika!"


    "P-Paprika?" I asked, feeling a bit surprised. "W-Well, it is your choice¡­"


    "I dunno what name to give him¡­" An asked. "Big bro, what name should I give him?"


    "Hmm, I can''t say, it is up to you to choose." I said.


    I named it Shell, but that might have been quite theme name by itself as well.


    "Come on, call it broli or something!" Said Anna.


    "No way! He has to have a more meaningful name- Ah, I know!" An suddenly had an idea. "I''ll name you Emerald, your shell is as bright and pretty as those jewels."


    "Buhh¡­"


    The little turtle slowly emerged out of the eggshell after being named.


    Ding!


    [Anna] has called their [Unique Familiar] as [Paprika]!]


    [An] has called their [Unique Familiar] as [Emerald]!]


    [The Named Familiars have gained Bonus Stats, Stronger Skills, and new Skills!]


    -----


    [Name]: [Emerald]


    [Type]: [Lizard] [Earth] [Unique Familiar]


    [Rank]: [F]


    [Race]: [Crystal Turtle Baby]


    [Talent]: [None]


    [Health Points]: [150/150]


    [Mana Points:] [60/60]


    [Strength]: [80]


    [Agility]: [40]


    [Vitality]: [100]


    [Intelligence]: [80]


    [Dexterity]: [40]


    [Skill]: [Harden+] [Seismic Wave+] [Spinning Shell+]


    [Title]: [Named Familiar]


    [Bond]: [An]


    [Growth]: [0/10]


    -----


    ¡­


    -----


    [Name]: [Patrika]


    [Type]: [Lizard] [Fire] [Unique Familiar]


    [Rank]: [F]


    [Race]: [Fire Smander Baby]


    [Talent]: [None]


    [Health Points]: [60/60]


    [Mana Points:] [150/150]


    [Strength]: [30]


    [Agility]: [100]


    [Vitality]: [30]


    [Intelligence]: [100]


    [Dexterity]: [60]


    [Skill]: [Fire Tongue+] [Fire Breath+] [Fast Movements+]


    [Title]: [Named Familiar]


    [Bond]: [Anna]


    [Growth]: [0/10]


    -----


    Their Stats were almost the same as their original ones, I believe. It seemed that because these Familiars were already quite weak, their baby forms couldn''t be weaker than that.


    They gained a "+" on all their Skills though, which means progress. I think that once they reach three "+" they can evolve that Skill, a special ability for Unique Familiars.


    I showed the stats to my siblings, but they barely understood much of that themselves.


    "Now that you''ve got your new familiars, I think it is time to strengthen them and feed them, how about it? I''ve got a lot of rare materials they can eat to grow stronger."


    -----

 Chapter 856 Emerald And Paprika

    <h4>Chapter 856 Emerald And Paprika</h4>


    ?-----


    I gathered the special materials I wanted to feed them. ording to the Skill description and what the Grimoire specified; they can only absorb materials one with each Rank.


    Feeding them too many materials will make them be unable to absorb them and they might grow sick¡­ They have grown rather frailer,pared to normal Familiars.


    Nheless, the Materials I could feed them had no limits, so I took my highest quality materials from the Dragon Monsters we''ve been hunting so far.


    This included the ck mes mutated Bosses and also the Holy mes mutated Bosses. Of course, there was also a quantity limit.


    So I only took a few scales, meat and bones for the two. These were their first ever meals since their rebirth as unique familiar. It was a relief they came with sharp tooth already.


    "Nom, nom¡­ Graar!" Paprika was licking her face as she feasted on the meat.


    "Buguh¡­ Nom¡­!" Emerald was not any different.


    I also gave them some things that went better with their affinities, such as Spirit Stones of their respective elements, and some more meat of monsters of their element as well.


    Paprika ate a lot of zing monster meat, mostly from our most recent dungeon. Meanwhile, Emerald ate a lot of rocks, stones, crystals, and ores.


    "They''re eating so voraciously, those two." Giggled my mother.


    "Indeed, looks like they were quite hungry." My fatherughed.


    The twins decided to bring the two baby familiars to the living room, so everyone could see them. Now they were feasting at our side while we were having dinner.


    In all the things that happened, it had already gotten quitete, so we decided to eat dinner right away for the moment.


    "To think you could create these types of creatures now¡­" Said my grandmother. "I never heard of the Summoner being able to create eggs!"


    "Well, what we know about the Summoner is limited¡­" Said Erika''s mother. "History wasn''t written in much detail as it is now. Wecked most of the current day technology and magical advancements as well."


    "Oh well¡­" My grandmother giggled. "I wonder if ke will surpass the ancient hero eventually¡­"


    "I think he will definitely do that." My father said. "I mean, hasn''t he defeated two archdemons already? He''s on a roll!"


    "Well, wasn''t there a Hero already too?" Wondered my mother. "Dear, didn''t you meet him?"


    "Oh, Dn you mean?" I asked. "Yes, we''ve meet him a couple of times¡­ I don''t have much to say about him."


    "But isn''t he the Hero?" My mother seemed confused.


    "He possesses the Hero Talent." I nodded. "But that he''s really considered one¡­ I am not sure."


    "Well, he has done a lot for the continental alliance." Cattalina said. "But even as strong as he is, he isn''t enough to deal with all the threats."


    "Hmm, ke talked like he doesn''t like him, and I know my son." My father suddenly said. "Did this guy do something to you?" He raised an eyebrow.


    "We had a fight at the beginning of the academy, just to test my strength¡­ I was easily obliterated but did my best. I got a good qualification with that." I said. "It''s nothing, really. I just don''t get along with people like him."


    "Huh¡­ Wait you fought with the hero?!" My mother was shaken. "A-And you survived that too¡­"


    "Naturally, he''s not invincible, and he was holding back a lot too." Iughed. "Though, on more important matters¡­ Looks like these two are done with their meal."


    I saw both Paprika and Emerald beginning to glow brightly, their appearances changing slightly, and even their stats increased too.


    Ding!


    [The [Unique Familiars] [Paprika] and [Emerald] have absorbed and eaten thepatible Materials.]


    [All their Stats have greatly increased.]


    [They have gained some new Skills!]


    [Their current Skills have be slightly stronger.]


    [To continue their growth, they require to absorb Spirit Orbs and defeat monsters at a rate of 1:1]


    [Current Growth: 0/10]


    "I see, so they need to both hunt a monster and eat their spirit orb, huh? I can''t just handfeed them everything to get them stronger. They require experience in the field." I nodded. "That''s actually quite excellent, tomorrow we''ll be going to the forest to have a hunting trip. How about it?"


    "Ooh, sure!" An said happily.


    "I wanna hunt too!" Anna said.


    "Can wee along?" My mother asked. "We could camp outside and have some barbeque! Like old times."


    "Yeah, sounds like a good idea." My father nodded. "How about it, champ? Don''t mind your old parents sticking with you?"


    "Of course not. Grandma cane along too. And mother-in-


    w as well." I nodded.


    "Thank you dear, I can move just fine over this fine goat, so I can go anywhere you want me to! Ohohoh!" Giggled grandmother.


    "A-A camping trip? I''ve never had one of those! W-What are you supposed to do in these?" Mother-inw wondered.


    "Mom! How don''t you know? We bring tents and live outside! Sleep in the tents and make food and barbeque. And explore." Said Erika. "We also wash ourselves in the river! It''s so much fun! We could go further away near the mountains now that I think about it! We''ve not explored that area before."


    "Yeah, I was thinking the same. Would be a nice way to scout the surroundings so I can see where the Dragon could be." I agreed.


    "The Dragon?" My father asked. "What are you talking about?"


    "Y-You mean the White Dragon of the Mithril Mountain, dear?!" My mother asked. "Wait¡­"


    "Don''t tell me you''re nning on hunting it¡­" My father said, crossing his arms.


    "Erm¡­ Well, yes." I nodded.


    "EH?!"


    My parents were shocked by this idea, while grandmother onlyughed.


    "Well, what''s wrong with that? If I can hunt it down, well be freed from it and we will be able to mine Mithril like in the past." I exined. "This way, the whole dukedom could improve its economy."


    Also I''ll get a lot of Mithril for myself too¡­


    "T-That''s¡­ Can you do it?" My father asked.


    "I believe so, as long as I receive the help of all my friends." I nodded confidently. "But that''ll be forter. For now, let''s rx and rest."

 Chapter 857 No Space To Breathe...

    Chapter 857 No Space To Breathe...


    ??-----


    I checked the Stats of the two Familiars once they finished their meals, as they were resting over a nearby cough while cozily being caressed by their new masters.


    -----


    [Name]: [Emerald]


    [Type]: [Lizard] [Earth] [Unique Familiar]


    [Rank]: [F]


    [Race]: [Crystal Turtle Baby]


    [Talent]: [None]


    [Health Points]: [350/350]


    [Mana Points:] [260/260]


    [Strength]: [280]


    [Agility]: [240]


    [Vitality]: [300]


    [Intelligence]: [280]


    [Dexterity]: [240]


    [Skill]: [Harden++] [Seismic Wave++] [Spinning Shell++] [Multi Crystal Armored Shell+]


    [Title]: [Named Familiar]


    [Bond]: [An]


    [Growth]: [0/10]


    -----


    ¡­


    -----


    [Name]: [Patrika]


    [Type]: [Lizard] [Fire] [Unique Familiar]


    [Rank]: [F]


    [Race]: [Fire Smander Baby]


    [Talent]: [None]


    [Health Points]: [260/260]


    [Mana Points:] [350/350]


    [Strength]: [230]


    [Agility]: [300]


    [Vitality]: [230]


    [Intelligence]: [300]


    [Dexterity]: [260]


    [Skill]: [Fire Tongue++] [Fire Breath++] [Fast Movements++] [Holy re+]


    [Title]: [Named Familiar]


    [Bond]: [Anna]


    [Growth]: [0/10]


    -----


    Looks like both got 200 to all stats, which is not bad at all for their current Ranks. Above all, they also acquired a new Skill.


    The one Emerald acquired can make him transform his shell into one filled with sharp spikes of ores and crystals and can fire them like projectiles.


    The skill Paprika acquired allows her to conjure holy mes through her Fire Tongue and Fire Breath Skills.


    Holy mes can deal extra damage against most demons, miasmic creatures, undead, and other critters, so it isn''t bad at all.


    Though I was expecting her to get ck mes instead, looks like Paprika will have a greater affinity with the light and fire elements.


    Even though she has yet to develop the light element, she is showing a bit of promise¡­


    Especially with the Aura she produces, she has inherited my little sister''s brightness and energetic nature.


    "Oh my, these two already fell asleep, fufu." Giggled my mother, carrying the twins.


    The night had already arrived, and my mother quickly decided to bring An and Anna back to their room.


    Paprika and Emerald apanied them, sleeping close to them. The bond between master and unique familiar was quite strong¡­


    "And that''s that¡­" My mother said. "I should go to sleep too. Mom''s already back at her room. Dear, are you going to stay awake a bit longer?"


    "Yeah, I''ll be in my room anyways." I said. "Erika went to take a bath, so I''ve got some time for myself."


    "Where''s Cattalina?" Wondered my father.


    "She went to Erika''s house, saying she couldn''t stay here¡­" I sighed. "Well, she''s a bit too shy, so let''s leave her be."


    "Is Erika alright with her mother being away from her?" Wondered my mom.


    "I don''t think she minds." I admitted. "Just let it be."


    "Okay then¡­" My mother sighed. "I was looking forwards for her to join our family¡­ She has such a cool and mysterious aura to her!"


    "Hahah,e on, let''s go to bed." My father gently patted her shoulders and walked with her to their room.


    Once they were gone, I walked back to my bedroom, where I decided to address a few things now that I had the time.


    I had several consumable items I wanted to get rid of because they were just there waiting for me to drink them¡­


    They were the ones I got from the Holy Spirits, so I got to it while Eleanora was walking back to my bedroom after she made herself a sandwich with Saphira and Eriant.


    Oh right, I had to present to my family all the new members of my Spirit Family. It wasn''t thatplicated, but they were still surprised it was yet again a bunch of talking ones with clear personalities.


    "Oh, papa, what''s this? You''ve got a lot of potions and elixirs here¡­" Said Saphira, flying around me.


    "Is it some consumable item, master?" Asked Eriant politely.


    "You don''t have to call me master, Eriant." I sighed. "And yeah, they''re things the Holy Spirits gifted to me. Special potions that''ll make me stronger. I might as well drink them all."


    "It is amazing how they can create these amazing things and powers¡­" Eleanora said. "I suppose they''re not the literal Gods of this world for nothing."


    "Though, they''re usually quite shameless, so I had to act slightly annoyingly for them to give me somepensation for everything I''ve dely." Iughed slightly. "Now¡­"


    I grabbed the elixir bottles and drank them one after another. I had a strong enough stomach to easily digest most things thanks to my Physique, so I easily got everything down quite quickly.


    Ding!


    [You''ve consumed [Magic Circle Strengthening Elixir (Mythic Grade)] x3, [Physique Enhancing Elixir (Mythic Grade)] x3, [Spirit Orb Enhancement Elixir (Mythic Grade)] x3, [Skill Proficiency Elixir (Spiritual Grade)] x3!]


    [Lage Quantities of Magical Essence have been absorbed by your Magic Circle, making itrger and moreplex, with many more Runes.]


    [Your [Magic Circle]: [Infernal Blood Warlock''s Pentagram Circle (Tier 5: Rank 3)] has Ranked Up to Tier 5: Rank 5!]


    [You gained]: [Mana Points]: [+1320] [Intelligence]: [+660] [Spirit]: [+160]!]


    [Immense Quantities of Ki have been absorbed by your Physique, straightening it. Your Physical Abilities have been greatly improved.]


    [Your [Physique]: [Divine Vampire Emperor Physique (Tier 6: Rank 3)] has Ranked Up to Tier 6: Rank 4!]


    [Your Physical Strength, Physical Fitness, Stamina, Movement Speed, Agility, Dexterity, and more have increased massively.]


    [You gained]: [Health Points: +500] [Strength: +250] [Agility]: [+250] [Vitality]: [+500] [Dexterity]: [+250]!]


    [Your Spirit Orb has absorbed all the Spiritual Essence, once you Rank Up, you will receive greater bonuses.]


    [You have absorbed arge quantity of Skill Essence; 300.000 Skill Proficiency have been randomly distributed across all your Skills.]


    [Several Skills have Leveled Up!]


    A few Skills ended gaining a level randomly. Some were Title Skills, other were Magic or Physical Skills. Some were even Familiar Skills too, so it was a decent bonus.


    "Well, that does hit the spot." I smiled, gauging the strength I gained. "Every little bonus matter for the monster we''ll be fighting soon enough¡­"


    "The White Dragon?" Eleanora wondered. "How''s the scouting mission going?"


    "I sent Hendrick and Fang to do the scouting for now. I know you would be better at it, but you''re more attached to my family, so I wouldn''t tell you to go away when you want to spend time with them." I said. "They''ll contact me once they''ve seen enough."


    "ke~ Let''s cuddle together!"


    And then, an adorable Erika walked in, wearing her pink pajamas that had rabbit ears.


    "Can I cuddle too?"


    Eleanora suddenly changed her attire to an adorable, red-


    colored pajamas, with big bat-like ears and tiny bat-like wings behind her.


    "Me too! Me too, papa!"


    And Saphira changed her usual white dress into a white pajama with cat-like ears and a tail.


    Perhaps in the past I would have cringed at the sight, but I''ve changed to the point I could only find them adorable.


    "Fine, let''s rest."


    I ended sleeping with Eleanora and Erika at both sides, while Saphira slept over my belly¡­ Eriant also snaked in, turning into a golden cat resembling a sphynx made of sand, and sleeping over my feet.


    There was no space for me to even breathe¡­


    Is this the price I must pay for having a family? It is quite a price.


    Well, it is not that bad¡­


    -----

 Chapter 858 Combining Talents

    Chapter 858 Combining Talents


    ??-----


    The next morning arrived, and I was still being trapped on bed. I decided to sneak out by melding with my shadows, barely managing to.


    Everyone was still fast asleep. I don''t remember ever seeing my Vampires sleep this much, they had sure grown ratherx with their lives.


    Well, that''s for the better


    "Now¡­"


    I wanted to Rank Up and get a new Talent, so I decided to not make a fuss inside the house, walking to the backyard where there was arge garden my mother and grandma kept up.


    The beautiful sun atop the skies, the bountiful garden filled with fruit trees and flowers, and also the vige at the distance, with the mountains in the background made for a beautiful and scenic view.


    "Well, let''s get started."


    I looked into my Grimoire to select the Talents I wanted tobine.


    Ding!


    [essing the [Talent Combination] Interface¡­]


    [essed.]


    The pages suddenly glowed with a blue light, generating several texts across, showcasing the Talents I could take¡­ This seems to only include ss. Subsses were excluded, just like before.


    Ding!


    [Please select two Talents you want tobine.]


    [Avable Talents]


    [Divine Summoner: ¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï]


    [Divine Beast Tamer: ¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï]


    [Abyssal Spear Demon Lord: ¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï]


    [Eldritch Warlock: ¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï]


    [Divine Dragon Tamer: ¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï]


    [Blood Emperor: ¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï]


    [Chimera King: ¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï]


    [Spirit Necromancer: ¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï]


    "Huh, there''s more Talents than before¡­ Grimoire, I''ve been thinking about this for a while, can the existing Talent bebined with the two new ones?" I asked the Grimoire.


    "¡­"


    The Grimoire suddenly fell silent, as it started to analyze and think¡­ It took a few seconds, but it eventually brought a conclusive answer.


    [It has been analyzed that it is possible tobine the existing Talent with two new Talents to create an even stronger Talent.]


    [However, due to this requiring extra energy, Skill Points and Stat Points must be sacrificed.]


    [It is rmended for you to acquire Skill Points and Stat Points through the [Equivalent Exchange] Grimoire Ability.]


    "Right, I hadn''t done that yet¡­ How much is needed?"


    [2000 Skill Points and Stat Points should be enough.]


    "You''re asking for arge sum¡­ However, the power it would give me is really tempting."


    2000 Stat Points is the biggest lose here, it could give me more than just 2k stats¡­


    By giving it away, I might be losing over 6k Stats.


    But even then, I believe it is worth it!


    I wouldn''t be fusing just two Talents, but four together, the benefits are bound to be immense.


    I quickly opened my inventory and took out all the things I wanted to sacrifice, putting them on the other page of the Grimoire.


    The materials slowly started to turn into particles of energy, being absorbed by the Grimoire inrge quantities.


    Until it reached its limit of the month.


    Ding!


    [You have sacrificed arge quantity of high-quality materials for the [Equivalent Exchange] ritual.]


    [You gained 4500 Skill Points and 3500 Stat Points.]


    [You cannot activate the [Equivalent Exchange] function until the cooldown is over.]


    [Cooldown: 90 Days.]


    "The cooldown tripled¡­" I said in surprise. "I suppose the more points I get, the more it will have as a cooldown. I guess that''s a way to bnce it?"


    Anyways¡­


    Ding!


    [You''ve exchanged 3000 Skill Points.]


    [You learned the [Call of the Night: Lv1] Skill!]


    [You can now Call the Night itself to your surroundings, further enhancing your Vampiric Prowess and Shadow Magic.]


    [You learned the [Power Bestowal: Lv1] Skill!]


    [You can now use your powers of Creation to bestow powers and abilities into Items and People, limited to one per target.]


    [You learned the [Power Withhold: Lv1] Skill!]


    [You can now use your powers of Creation to withhold powers and abilities from Items and People, limited to one per target.]


    "Oh, I''ve slept on these Skills! But the ability to withhold abilities from foes? Even if only one, it is a huge power!" I smiled. "So this is the power of Creation that the Holy Spirits granted me¡­ Amusing."


    "It truly feels like an amazing ability, indeed!"


    Suddenly, a little red bat spoke while sitting on my shoulder¡­


    "Eleanora?! I thought you were sleeping¡­"


    "I was! Just a moment ago. I came rushing down once I saw you outside."


    "Ah¡­ Well, good morning to you then."


    I gently patted her head.


    "Good morning to you too!"


    She gently kissed my cheek¡­ with her tiny and adorable bat mouth.


    Well, she mostly licked it.


    "Can''t you turn back to normal?"


    "This IS my normal!"


    Eleanora started flying around in her bat form¡­


    Oh well, she likes it and its easy to use anyways.


    Moving on.


    "Now, Grimoire, I''ve got the points, show me the options again¡­ And show me the results of each one. I need to test this carefully¡­"


    [Very well¡­]


    The Grimoire quickly showed me the Talent List once more. Now that I was fusing three talents, one of them being my current one which was a merge of two, the results would be evenrger.


    I carefully considered my gains and loses with each choice and each Talent. I had to make sure to pick what I needed for my growth.


    I do have a lot of abilities, but getting a way to enhance them further wouldn''t be so bad¡­ However, over specializing is also not good.


    Recently, it has felt like my Familiars are stagnating a bit¡­ Perhaps something that could give them even more flexibility would be good.


    The elemental bestowal is good, but it doesn''t feel like it is enough to go against all these Demons we''ll be fighting.


    The Familiar Egg has potential but requires time and effort.


    So, I suppose I''ll choose these options.


    Ding!


    [You''ve chosen the [Divine Summoner: ¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï] and [Spirit Necromancer: ¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï] Talents tobine with the [Blood King Grandmaster Summoner: ¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï] Talent!]


    [To Compensate for the requirements of Energy and Resources, you''ve paid 2000 Stat Points and 2000 Skill Points.]


    [All three Talents have merged together, creating the [Divine Spirit Blood King''s Necromancer Summoner: ¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï] Talent!]


    [The power of the [Spirit Necromancer] Talent is being ingrained into your very [Origin Core]!]


    [The power of the [Blood King] Talent has begun to evolve within your [Origin Core]!]


    [Both the power of the [Divine Summoner] and the [Grandmaster Summoner] have the same wavelengths, their powers have merged perfectly within your [Origin Core]!]


    [All Talents have fully merged; you now possess four Talents into one!]


    TRUUUMMM¡­!


    My Aura suddenly erupted with power.

 Chapter 859 The Blessing Of Death

    Chapter 859 The Blessing Of Death


    ??-----


    FLUOOOSH!


    As I changed my main Talent, I felt a surge of new power. Four Talents unified as one was a big thing, even if two of them were four stars initially, their power was elevated thanks the other two.


    Ding!


    [You''ve chosen the [Divine Summoner: ¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï] and [Spirit Necromancer: ¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï] Talents tobine with the [Blood King Grandmaster Summoner: ¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï] Talent!]


    [To Compensate for the requirements of Energy and Resources, you''ve paid 2000 Stat Points and 2000 Skill Points.]


    [All three Talents have merged together, creating the [Divine Spirit Blood King Necromancer Summoner: ¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï] Talent!]


    [The power of the [Spirit Necromancer] Talent is being ingrained into your very [Origin Core]!]


    [The power of the [Blood King] Talent has begun to evolve within your [Origin Core]!]


    [Both the power of the [Divine Summoner] and the [Grandmaster Summoner] have the same wavelengths, their powers have merged perfectly within your [Origin Core]!]


    [All Talents have fully merged; you now possess four Talents into one!]


    [As a result of possessing a Quadruple Talent, from now on, each Level will supply 80 Stat Points and Skill Points instead.]


    "Wait, what? 80?!"


    I felt shocked as I stepped back, still trying to process what I just saw¡­


    But that wasn''t the end of it!


    TRUUMMM¡­!


    The more I tried to gauge my new power, the more it felt like it was engulfing my entire body and soul¡­


    Having Four Talents into one was something that might have never happened before.


    The sheer pressure of them weighting into my [Origin Core], which is the Core of a Soul, was immense!


    I did know that this could be a thing, but to think it would be this overwhelming!


    "Ugh¡­!"


    "Master! What''s wrong?"


    Eleanora panicked, but I calmed her down by waving my hand.


    "This isn''t something I cannot bear."


    Suddenly, new essences surged from my body. A bright, white light surged from my human arm, while a ck, abyssal and phantasmal force surged from my demonic arm.


    Both reached my chest, fusing into my Spirit Orb!


    BA TUMP!


    My heart was beating faster and faster, it felt as if the coldness of death was beginning to embrace me¡­


    Is this what it feels to change ss into a Necromancer?!


    "UGH¡­! Ahh¡­!"


    Before I could even calm myself down, I fell unconscious.


    ¡­


    When I opened my eyes, I found myself within a strange and mysteriousndscape, there was darkness everywhere, and the caves were filled with many ruins.


    It resembled the caves below the capital of Silvertide, for some reason¡­ Lugubrious, filled with a phantasmal and otherworldly atmosphere¡­


    "This ce¡­"


    I continued walking forwards, sensing the presence of someone¡­ Or something.


    And I saw it.


    A mass of darkness and phantasmal essence, gathering within an endless, abyssal pit.


    There were several ck chains wrapped around its body, but I couldn''t quite tell what it was.


    It had some sort of face, a huge, demonic skull¡­


    And its eyes shone with bright, crimson mes.


    "I never thought you would choose this path, from all my siblings¡­"


    "Your siblings?"


    I looked at the entity, its presence was incredibly powerful, but it seemed oddly familiar.


    "Can''t you tell who I am? I was once there, greeting you. But I never spoke to you again."


    "You''re¡­ a Holy Spirit?"


    "Indeed, the Holy Spirit of Death¡­"


    It spoke with a lugubrious voice.


    "Why are you chained?"


    "I am not chained against my will. These chains represent the mortal world restraining me from bringing it all to the cold embrace of death. They''re a limited, set by my siblings after I asked them."


    "You''re strong enough to bring death to all things without realizing?"


    "I am¡­ I represent death on its purest form. If I were to ever let free of all my powers, all life would be gone, and they woulde to me¡­ It is not something I would like to happen¡­ yet."


    To think I would learn such a valuable piece of information.


    I suppose the Holy Spirits are not as simple as they made themselves up to be.


    "But then¡­?"


    "I can manifest a part of myself within their Holy Spirit Realm, though I rarely do so. I findfort in staying here and sleeping."


    "So that''s why¡­ But why am I here?"


    "Well¡­"


    The gigantic skull slowly approached me, ring into my very soul.


    "Because you died."


    "What?!"


    I took a step back, touching my own body¡­ It felt cold as ice, and it wasn''t my body. It was my bare soul that had been dragged here.


    I didn''t even realize¡­ The power of the Holy Spirit of Death is incredible.


    However, even in this situation, I kept my focus.


    "So this was the aftereffect of embracing the Necromancer Talent?" I asked him.


    "Indeed. A reason why those that carry my power grow insane is because they must first meet me in person, for me to bestow upon them this power¡­ It cannot be handled by any of my siblings except me." He spoke. "They usually experience it as a bad nightmare, but they do temporarily die."


    "It is part of walking into this path then¡­" I said.


    I had never walked into the path of a Necromancer before, but thanks to Saphira, I had acquired enough knowledge about its arts.


    She is a special case, born with a strong connection to Death since birth, but I am different, I had to take it and embrace it.


    Why I choose Spirit Necromancer as a Talent? Well, it was mostly on a whim, but I wanted to see what it could do with my other abilities.


    "Your Soul has be the recipient for five Talents now, it is not something that must have been originally intended¡­" Sighed the Holy Spirit of Death. "However, your Soul by itself is very strong, stronger than any other mortal in Spiritias. Perhaps because of that, it can hold so many Talents at once¡­ Amusing. You''re truly our champion. I bless you with the Stigma of Death. Now go back to your body, before it loses all its warmth."


    FLAAASH!


    His bone-like finger touched my chest, imbuing upon it a "stigma", in the form of a skull, some candles, and a scythe.


    The Stigma of Death¡­


    "Thank you, I''ll use this power well."


    "I hope so¡­"


    Before I could speak any more, I woke up.


    -----

 Chapter 860 Choosing A Subclass

    Chapter 860 Choosing A Subss


    ??-----


    Ding!


    [You have been embraced by the coldness of Death.]


    [The [Holy Spirit of Death] has blessed you with a [Death Stigma]!]


    [You can now wield the power of Necromancy.]


    [The Path of the [Blood King] has been improved further, bing equal or stronger than its upgrade [Blood Emperor].]


    [You have advanced further through the Path of the Summoner.]


    [The Path of [Spirit Necromancer] [Blood King] and [Divine Summoner] have converged to create Unique Skills.]


    [You received the Talent Skill: [Familiar Necromancy: Lv1]!]


    [With the power of Necromancy, it is now possible to bring dead Familiars back, on a brand-new Undead form.]


    [You received the Talent Skill: [Vampiric Familiar: Lv1]!]


    [By wielding your Authority as a Blood King, you can turn your Familiars into Vampires, giving them both the powers of Vampires, and their weaknesses.]


    [All your Stats have greatly increased!]


    [Several Skills have Leveled Up.]


    [New Skills have be avable through the Skill Tree.]


    [To breakthrough your Level Cap, please select a Subss.]


    "Two new Skills, and these do sound quite amazing¡­" I smiled, standing back up.


    "You just fainted!"


    Eleanora appeared in her normal form, hugging me tightly.


    "I was so worried, it felt like you died, you weren''t breathing, your heart wasn''t even beating!"


    "Calm down, I had a small talk with the Holy Spirit of Death. Apparently, in this world, he oversees all Necromancers. Or well, those that got that power through Talents."


    "I-I see¡­ But it was quite shocking, nheless."


    "I know how you feel, don''t worry about me."


    I patted her head as I sat down on a small wooden chair near the flowers, bathing on the refreshing warmth of the morning sun.


    "Now, I should pick a Subss and be done with it¡­" I said. "It is a pity I can''tbine Subsses though, only Main sses."


    "I wonder why that is the case¡­" Eleanora wondered. "What will you pick now?"


    "Hmmm. Grimoire, show me the options."


    The Grimoire flickered its pages rapidly¡­


    Ding!


    [Please select the Subss you desire.]


    [Avable Talents]


    [Grand Creator: ¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï]


    [Divine Alchemist: ¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï]


    [Divine cksmith: ¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï]


    [Divine Tailor: ¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï]


    [Divine Mechanic: ¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï]


    "I suppose there aren''t as many options on this one as the others¡­" I sighed. "Well, I''ll pick the one that was made for me by the Holy Spirits anyways."


    Ding!


    [You''ve chosen the [Grand Creator: ¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï] Talent!]


    [The Path of the [Grand Creator] has been imbued into your [Origin Core]!]


    [Your power over Creation has been strengthened.]


    [You acquired the Talent Skill: [Chains of Creation: Lv1]!]


    [Create transparent chains imbued with the power of creation, capable of chaining down foes to seal and weaken their abilities and stats but deals no damage.]


    ["There''s no need to be stronger than your foes! Just make them weaker than yourself! Ohohoho!" -Holy Spirit of Light]


    [Some of your Skills have Leveled Up.]


    [All your Stats have increased.]


    [You have broken through Level Cap!]


    [Your Maximum Level has increased to Level 200!]


    [Your Spirit Orb has Ranked Up to Rank 5: Initial Stage!]


    [Your gained +50.000 Mana, +10.000 Intelligence, and +1.000 Spirit!]


    [Your Spiritual Realm within your Spirit Orb has further expanded in size!]


    [It has now developed Complex Biomes.]


    [Several Lesser Spirit Treasures have begun growing all across your Spiritual Realm.]


    [Your Spiritual Realm has developed the [Divine Summoner''s Hall (Spirit Treasure: Rank 10)]!]


    [Your Spiritual Realm has developed the [Necrotic Death Pit Of Nether (Spirit Treasure: Rank 10)]!]


    [Your Spiritual Realm has developed the [Vampire King''s Castle (Spirit Treasure: Rank 10)]!]


    [The rest of your Spiritual Treasures have undergone Rank Up!]


    [Lesser Spirit Treasures that are too weak will not be counted in the Status.]


    [However, special Spirit Treasures that are vital to your Spiritual Realm will have detailed information.]


    [Your Spiritual Realm has evolved into a Physical State. You can now allow people and other beings to enter it aside from your own Spirits.]


    [However, it has also be more vulnerable to external attacks, be careful and make sure to protect your Spiritual Realm from outsiders!]


    [Simrly, you can also opt to invade other Spirit Masters'' Spiritual Realms to steal their Spiritual Treasures.]


    [The more Spiritual Treasures you add to your Spiritual Realm, the stronger it will grow, which will hasten your own Spirit Orb Cultivation, and the growth of all your magical and spiritual capabilities.]


    [Spirit Beasts and other lifeforms might begin to be born within your Spiritual Realm now that it has be both Ethereal and Physical.]


    [The living beings that live inside of your Spiritual Realm cannot be controlled, and are free to obey you or not, or even attack you.]


    [However, you can suppress or destroy them with your Spirit Master''s Will.]


    [Spirit Beasts can give valuable materials once hunted, but don''t have Spirit Orbs inside, instead, they possess Spirit Hearts, organs that can be absorbed to gain Spiritual Energy and Mana.]


    [You cannot earn Experience Points when hunting living beings born inside of your Spiritual Realm.]


    [Other lifeforms might appear that are not Spirit Beast, for further information, please ask the Grimoire.]


    [You can now summon two more Spirits.]


    As I read those notifications, I felt my whole Spiritual Realm go through a fundamental change on its totality. It became no longer just ethereal, but it turned physical.


    It was an ethereal and physical world inside of my Spirit Orb, and itsndscape changed greatly too. There were three enormous areas that appeared.


    A gigantic white temple with a vast hall, filled with statues of many beasts sitting atop a mountain, illuminated perpetually by the brightness of the sun, right in front of the Spirit Tree, which had grown several timesrger.


    A huge ck and red castle, covered by a cloud of bat-like creatures flying everywhere around it. This was the first time I was seeing living beings inside of my Spiritual Realm¡­ These were the Spirit Beasts!


    I gave them a small nce, and they were named "Vampiric Devil Bats", they were as strong as B Rank Monsters apparently, quite deadly.


    Andstly, there was a gigantic pit at the end of the ind that was my Spiritual Realm, which led to an endless undergroundke of Nether, a special substance that can be used to strengthen or birth Undead Monsters.


    And naturally, there were a few Undead-type Spirit Beasts already flocking around it¡­


    -----

 Chapter 861 Exploring My Spiritual Realm

    <h4>Chapter 861 Exploring My Spiritual Realm</h4>


    ?-----


    As I checked my Spiritual Realm through using my own vision like a pair of divine eyes ncing from the heavens, I noticed there was another ce, a huge pce made of ice.


    Inside, I could sense several beings flocking about, and in the hall, there was a very strong being, I don''t know if it was a Spirit Beast or something else.


    This was the reward of the Holy Spirit Of Ice, the Frost Fairy Castle, so I assume it has Frost Fairies inside¡­


    That they''ll be willing to help me or cooperate with me is another issue entirely though. Although it seems I can suppress to an extent the living beings living inside of my Spiritual Realm, I can''t control them nor order them around.


    And honestly, they seem too precious of a resource for me to waste on using them as members of my army. My familiars are more than enough for that¡­


    "Eleanora,e inside my Spiritual Realm, it has changed quite a bit." I asked her.


    "Oh?" She seemed interested, quickly flocking inside.


    She entered inside the Spiritual Realm, as I manipted my Spiritual Energy inside and created a Spiritual Avatar of myself.


    Yeah, I could not enter with my own body because it was inside of my body to begin with. But by creating a Spiritual Avatar, I was able to easily experience the interior with all my senses.


    And well, thendscape became so different it truly felt like another entirely¡­


    Not even back then in my previous life, did I ever manage to create such a thing as a world inside of my body.


    It was one of the goals of the Murim World Confederation, to attain "True Immortality" and replicate the "Miracle of Heaven and Earth" by creating pocket worlds inside of their Souls.


    However, nobody had ever aplished such feat before in my previous life, and I explored the Universe on its endless vastness for thousands of years.


    But this world, is clearly stronger, much stronger than any other world I ever visited before¡­


    And most likely I am not the only one with this Spiritual Realm. Cattalina, Hasan, Hero Dn, and mostly everyone that has reached Rank 5 must have one.


    I''ve had it since I was much weaker though, perhaps since I was Rank 1 that I''ve had ess to my Spiritual Realm, but it didn''t have any treasures or something, it was small and ethereal.


    It wasn''t until I ate that fruit Erika created for me that I opened its powers and developed Spiritual Treasures inside.


    This has given me a great advantage above others that didn''t, so, my Spiritual Treasures and my Spiritual Realm have be much stronger than a Rank 5 newbie.


    Hah, to think the old man of Ellergest, who I always thought was so strong, never reached Rank 5 himself¡­ It is a rather arduous road for most people.


    Most settle down at Rank 3, I can''t me them, you also need good aptitude and talents¡­


    "This ce, it has truly be incredible!" Eleanora said.


    "Master! You''re here! How?!"


    Suddenly, Celestina and Woo, who were resting inside of my Spiritual Realm, ran to our side.


    "Hey brat, what''s going on in here?! Everything suddenly became¡­ much more real!"


    Woo was the most confused, the cranky old goblin had no idea what had happened.


    "The Spiritual Realm underwent a change once I hit Rank 5." I exined. "Hmm, well, it sure has changed¡­"


    I noticed the entire "ind" was divided into several parts, were these the "Biomes" or something?


    The center had several mountains and a huge tree, the Spirit Tree which had grown tremendouslyrge, and filled the surroundings with life and green vegetation.


    Behind those mountains there was the Pit of Nether, and then farther to the east of it, the Frost Fairy Castle sitting down on a frozen mountain.


    Then to the west, the ck mountains with the vampire castle, the summoner hall in front of the spirit tree, and two other terrifying-looking trees to each of the ind''s corners.


    There were now many biomesbined into a single gigantdscape, a truly fantastic sight to behold¡­ I might bring along my friends so they could explore the ce, maybe.


    I can''t earn EXP by ying these Spirit Beasts, but perhaps they could¡­


    "First of all, I want to go see that frost castle¡­" I said. "It was a gift from a Holy Spirit after all, it must be tied to something special."


    "Then let us go."


    Eleanora, Celestina and Woo followed me as I teleported in front of the Frost Castle, one of my many abilities. I could bring them along too.


    "We''re here¡­"


    I opened the huge gates, as I was greeted by a cold yet beautiful hall of frost and ice. There were many statues made of crystal ice, and also, Fairies.


    They were as big as one meter at most, wearing frost armor and wielding rapiers and spears made of frost too.


    "Intruders?!"


    "Who are you!"


    "What do you want in our castle?!"


    They quickly flew towards us rmed, pointing their weapons and magic at us¡­ There were over a dozen of these, and more kepting.


    "I am the owner of this Spiritual Realm. It is good that you can talk so we can hold a better conversation." I said. "I received this castle from the Holy Spirit of Ice, is your leader around? I would like to talk to her."


    "You¡­ You''re the owner of our Realm?"


    "Then prove it!"


    Suddenly, several of the fairies tried to attack me with their spears or rapiers. Eleanora tried to defend me, but I stopped her with my hand.


    "I''ll prove it."


    I waved my hand, as an invisible force surged from my fingertips, Chains of Creation surged out and wrapped around all the attackers at once.


    FLAAASH!


    [You''ve unleashed your [Chains of Creation]!]


    [Chained foes will have their Stats dropped by -30%. All their Abilities and Skills Effects and Powers have decreased by -20%!]


    [Due to using the Chains of Creation over beings that exist within your Spiritual Realm, the effects have been boosted greatly!]


    "Ugh¡­!"


    "Argh!"


    "What the¡­?!"


    The fairies quickly dropped on the ground, helpless and feeling all of their strength being sealed.


    "Your lives are in my hands. Now, show me where your leader is."


    "There is no need for that. I am here."


    Suddenly, a powerful presence manifested itself.


    -----

 Chapter 862 The Queen Of The Frost Fairies

    <h4>Chapter 862 The Queen Of The Frost Fairies</h4>


    ?-----


    A powerful presence emerged within the interior of the Frost Fairy Castle within my Spiritual Realm. As I restrained the aggressive Fairies, their Queen seemed to step out immediately.


    "You¡­"


    Her appearance emerged in a sh, she looked rather simr to the other Frost Fairies, but much taller, withrger wings, and long, silvery-white hair.


    Her sharp blue eyes shone with a menacing glint, she had long elf-like ears, and her clothes were a beautiful dress made of blue colored crystals.


    She wore a pair of crystal-made heels, making her look even taller as she stood above the icy floor without flying.


    She stood in front of us, ring us down as if we were lesser than her¡­


    "Our Queen, why are you here?!"


    "You''re going to fight him head-on?"


    "Then, you''re done for, invader!"


    The other Frost Fairies giggled maliciously as they imagined me getting beaten by their queen. But that was far from the truth.


    "I greet you, my new master."


    She kneeled in front of me and lowered her head, leaving the rest of the fairiespletely perplexed by her actions.


    "Eh?!"


    "She''s prostrating?!"


    "My queen! Why?!"


    "You fool! Why are you acting against him?! He is your new Master! The Holy Spirit of Ice has decided we would serve him, and we shall do as they said! Now, kneel!"


    The dozens of fairies were left speechless, as they all gathered in front of me and kneeled just like their queen, right behind her.


    "We apologize for our rude remarks before." She said. "They are young and foolish, master."


    The Frost Queen was apologizing again¡­ I did feel a bit surprised they were being aggressive, especially when the Holy Spirit of Ice gifted their castle to me.


    "What exactly are you?" I wondered. "You can''t possibly be just normal fairies living somewhere that got abducted here, right?"


    "Hah, indeed. We once were alive, yes. Long, long ago. Such memories are rather fuzzy now." The Queen sighed. "We were part of arge family of Fairies, born from the Yggdrasil Tree. My name is Skadi, the Queen of the Frost Fairies, we once governed Niflheim, the cold southern areas of what you now know as the "Elven Continent". We governed these coldnds in peace and harmony with nature and the Frost Dragons and Frost Giants¡­ However, I can only remember our end once a golden, bright light absorbed us all."


    "You died against a bright light?" Asked Eleanora. "Was that it?"


    "Yes¡­ I can''t remember more than that, I apologize." Sighed Skadi. "Once we died, the Holy Spirit of Ice, who had yet to fully develop a consciousness, allowed our souls to reside within their Divine Spiritual Realm, where we were reborn as guardians."


    "I see¡­" I nodded. "And then he gave you away?"


    "T-That''s right, we did talk about it." Skadi nodded. "I epted their terms, and we ended here. I once desired to help another Summoner, Hero Allen¡­ However, human lives are very fleeting, when I was finally going to his aid, he had already died of old age."


    "O-Oh¡­" Saphira muttered. "That''s a pity¡­"


    "You sure were slow!" Woo angrily said. "So how are you supposed to help us?"


    "Woo, don''t talk on my stead." I told the angry goblin old man. "I do know that your very presence within my Spiritual Realm enhances my abilities to an extent, but what else could you do?"


    "Well, my fairies and I can be your new Summons." Skadi smiled. "It is part of the "gift" my Master has offered to you."


    "So new Summons can be acquired like this?" I wondered. "I was not aware."


    "Indeed, now that you''ve grown into a Divine Summoner, it should be possible for you to make contracts with Mythical Beasts, Divine Spirits, and other entities for them to be your Summons. Once we create a pact, we''ll function simrly to your other Summons, except me, you can''t summon me more than once."


    "I see¡­ Very interesting, even by synthetizing my cards, the results are often underwhelming creatures or that are still within existing types." I nodded. "You''re saying your fairies and you could be new summons? Very well, I ept your help¡­ How do we perform this contract?"


    "You must give me your hand, Master." Skadi asked politely.


    Eleanora behind us was slowly releasing a stronger pressure with her Aura¡­


    "Like this?"


    I offered her my hand. Skadi nodded and then seductively caressed it with her silky hands, before kissing them with her cold yet sexy lips.


    "As the Queen of the Frost Fairies, we swear royalty to the Divine Summoner, ke."


    FLAAASH!


    The contract was formed in that moment, as threads of divine spiritual energy connected my Spirit Orb with her own soul and that of all her fairies.


    Ding!


    [You''ve created a [Summon Contract] with [Divine Ice Fairy Queen, Skadi] and [Spiritual Ice Fairy Soldier]!]


    [You can now summon Familiar Cards of them to bring them to battle.]


    [However, the [Divine Ice Fairy Queen, Skadi] is too powerful, and can only be summoned once per battle.]


    "I see¡­" The Grimoire emerged in front of me, opening its pages and revealing to me both of the new units I could summon.


    And they were already very strong, from the get-go¡­


    -----


    [Name]: [Skadi]


    [Type]: [Fae] [Divine Spirit] [Queen] [Ice]


    [Rank]: [A+]


    [Race]: [Divine Ice Fairy Queen]


    [Health Points]: [50.000/50.000]


    [Mana Points:] [250.000/250.000]


    [Strength]: [25.000]


    [Agility]: [70.000]


    [Vitality]: [25.000]


    [Intelligence]: [70.000]


    [Dexterity]: [50.000]


    [Buff]: [Mana +10.000] [Agility +10.000] [Intelligence +10.000] [Ice Attribute Magic Power +50%] [Ice Attribute Damage Taken -50%]


    [Skill]: [Divine Ice Magic] [Spiritual Blizzard: Fimbulwinter] [Frost Giant Golem Summon] [Divine Ice Armor] [Divine Ice Swords] [Overwhelming Icicle Rain] [Eternal Winter Domain] [Holy Spirit of Ice Divine Protection]


    [Awakening Skill]: [Primordial Ice Embodiment: Skadi]


    -----


    .


    -----


    [Name]: [Frosties]


    [Type]: [Fae] [Magic Knight] [Ice]


    [Rank]: [B+]


    [Race]: [Spiritual Ice Fairy Soldier]


    [Health Points]: [5.000/5.000]


    [Mana Points:] [10.000/10.000]


    [Strength]: [5.000]


    [Agility]: [7.000]


    [Vitality]: [5.000]


    [Intelligence]: [7.000]


    [Dexterity]: [7.000]


    [Buff]: [Mana +500] [Agility +500] [Intelligence +500] [Ice Attribute Magic Power +1%] [Ice Attribute Damage Taken -1%]


    [Skill]: [Spiritual Ice Magic] [Mighty Blizzard] [Spiritual Ice Rapier Techniques] [Spiritual Ice Armor] [Spiritual Ice Spears] [Frost Fairy Squadron Attack] [Holy Spirit of Ice Divine Protection]


    [Awakening Skill]: [Raging Frost Wolf King''s Jaws]


    -----


    Skadi was so strong I couldn''t even summon her yet¡­

 Chapter 863 The Summoners Hall

    Chapter 863 The Summoner''s Hall


    ??-----


    The Ice Fairies alone were already stronger than any of my Summons, mostly because I had yet to evolve them into B Rank or above with the materials I have now.


    But even considering that, they were quite amazing and covered an element I had little coverage for aside from my own Fusion Familiar, the Frost Dragon I''ve used against the Archdemon Vessels.


    Skadi possessed impressive stats, and she was only A+ Rank¡­ I couldn''t barely imagine how something like an S Rank Summon would look like.


    "So these are my status, huh?" Skadi was checking the book. "It seems that they have been reduced quite a lot. How can I show off more of my power?"


    "I believe I''ll need to evolve your current form, but that''ll be for muchter. Ick the resources yet to even summon you. I do have a few A Rank Spirit Orbs from the Bosses of the Dungeon we visitedst time, but they aren''t near as enough to summon you." I sighed. "The grimoire is asking for a hundred A Rank Spirit Orbs¡­ You''re a really expensive woman, huh?"


    "Fufu, of course! If you desire my strength, you better offer a good amount of spirit orbs, master~" Skadi giggled with a teasing tone of voice.


    "Grr¡­" Eleanora was already showing her fangs. "Hey, stop flirting already¡­ I am Master''s only summon that will be his wife, get it?"


    "H-Huh?" Skadi was weirded out a bit, stepping back. "O-Ok¡­"


    "Eleanora, don''t be so jealous." I facepalmed. "She was just trying to be friendly. Nheless, I can summon your little servants."


    I smiled back at the cocky fairies that had treated us rather badly, they were trembling and feeling rather regretful for their previous actions already.


    "I''m looking forward to working with you." I smiled gently at them.


    "Y-Yes¡­"


    "Likewise, master¡­"


    "Ugh¡­"


    With that done, I decided to do a few experiments first. Apparently Skadi can''t step out of my Spiritual Realm unless I summon her card, the fairies can''t either.


    It seems they''re still technically dead, but through my Familiar Cards, they can "temporarily" revive. I say temporarily until the summoned card perishes.


    But yeah, if it doesn''t, they can just stick around indefinitely¡­ The price for Skadi is big though, a hundred A Rank Spirit Orbs.


    I might be able to gather that if I go to the A Rank Dungeons back in Stronghold City, but, right now, that''s not a possibility.


    I had also thought about turning her into an egg but, I first need to summon her, and it would be stupid to sacrifice an already very strong summon like this.


    For that reason, I suppose it is better to leave it be¡­ More importantly, we moved to another facility within the Spiritual Realm.


    Skadi and her fairies apanied us, as I wanted them to get used to this Spiritual Realm because I would be asking them for some favorster.


    We entered a huge, white-colored temple, whose gates opened once I appeared.


    The moment I stepped forwards, an Aura of Spirit Energy surged from my own Spirit Orb, slowly shining brightly with what seemed to be a hint of Divinity.


    I see, so bing a Divine Summoner doesn''t simply mean it''s a fancy name, I do appear to have gained some sort of Divine Power, although it is well hidden within me.


    "Wee to the Summoner''s Hall, Divine Summoner."


    A voice echoed amidst the hall, as I noticed I stood alone inside the hall, an invisible barrier didn''t allow anybody else to enter, as I noticed they were outside trying to call for me.


    I waved my hand and told them to just wait for me, while addressing this new mysterious voice that spoke to me.


    It had a slightly female voice and seemed almost divine in both gracefulness and tone.


    "I am indeed the Divine Summoner." I said. "And who might you be, mysterious voice?"


    FLAAASH!


    My Divine Aura suddenly emerged out of my body and then merged with the Hall''s own Essence, forming into the shape of a woman made of bright, white light.


    She had no face, a being made entirely out of ethereal divinity¡­


    "I am the Manifestation of your Divinity, once you stepped into this Ancient Hall, I''ve been given the opportunity to manifest myself."


    "A Divinity¡­ can manifest itself in such a way?"


    "Well, of course, other Spirit Masters have different manifestations." She giggled. "But because you are a Summoner, the Divinity of Summoning is much more different than theirs. I can manifest myself a living being, a part of your new, divine powers."


    "I see¡­" I nodded. "I think I get it now. While those with a Divinity of Fire unleash mes when they invoke it, when I invoke mine, it transforms into a summon of its own, right?"


    "Indeed. I have no stats or abilities though, because it all depends in your foundation and growth." She seemed rather joyous.


    "Despite being my Divinity, you don''t sound like a newborn child." I said. "Were you alive before?"


    "Fufu, quite clever, are you not, my new master?" She giggled. "Indeed, I used to be the same Divinity once carried by The Summoner of Beginnings, Hero Allen."


    "Allen¡­" Hearing that name again made me wonder something. "So I have inherited his powers, huh?"


    "In a way, yes." My Divinity nodded. "The Summoner Talent is a very special one. A Unique Talent that cannot be held by more than one people. All those that might have been called Summoners while you were alive might have had simr-


    sounding talents, but not the same as yours. Because of this, the Summoner Talent has be a legacy. When the previous Summoner died, this Legacy was transported back to the Holy Spirits Divine Spiritual Realm, and once they choose a new Summoner, it was transferred to you."


    "So that''s how it works¡­ This means I am literally carrying Hero Allen''s Inheritance¡­" I was shocked I''ve been developing his powers this entire time.


    "More or less¡­" My divinity nodded. "But you''ve already diverged from his original powers and skills, and you''re beginning to add your own abilities, powers, and wisdom to the Summoner Legacy. This Hall has been made to help you inherit more of Summoner Allen''s Legacy too and strengthen your Spiritual Divinity Foundation."


    -----

 Chapter 864 The Legacy Of The Summoners

    Chapter 864 The Legacy Of The Summoners


    ??-----


    "So the only Summoner before me was Allen?" I asked.


    "Well¡­"


    The Divinity Manifestation suddenly nced behind her.


    "How about you apany me? I will show you the truth as we move through this Ancient Spiritual Treasure, which has manifested here as part of their Legacy."


    "¡­Very well."


    I followed her as she flew forwards, the white halls were finely decorated with many statues, they resembled all the Summons I possessed.


    Aside from that, at the end of the hall, there was a golden throne, and surrounding it there were three other statues.


    Thergest was of a young-looking man with eyes filled with conviction, standing proudly behind the throne while holding a huge staff.


    However, there were two other statues¡­


    The one at the left showed a cheerful-looking young woman, with short, bobby-styled hair, a witch hat, a dress, and holding a scepter.


    And to the right, a gloomy-looking man seemed fixated on the ground, holding with his hands a pair of knives, shadows surging from within his surroundings.


    All three statues looked very different, but they irradiated a powerful Aura.


    "Just as I imagined." I said. "Allen wasn''t the only Summoner in history, wasn''t he?"


    "Indeed." The Spiritual Divinity of Summoning nodded. "He was the second, in fact¡­ Yet he was the one that has shone the brightest among all three of them. And the only one that was widely known."


    "Who are the other two?" I asked her.


    She moved towards the gloomy-looking man, pointing at him. He was slender and quite tall, wearing blue jeans and a white shirt, with a ck hoodie.


    Those clothes didn''t look like the ones from this world at all¡­


    "This is the first True Summoner, a man that came from another world." She said. "His name is Hyung Sang Woo, said to havee from a world named "Earth". He was transmigrated to our world only one thousand years ago before Hero Allen was born."


    "Hmmm¡­ I have heard rumors in my past life about a known as "Earth" that was destroyed long ago, the surviving humans escaped into the farther ces of the universe, spreading into colonies. This is why you always find humans everywhere." I said. "I suppose his home world no longer exists."


    "Perhaps, it was a long time ago." Nodded the Divinity. "He was a very lonely man. He created his own path, the path of the Shadow Summons. The Summoning Talent was granted to him by the Holy Spirits because, when they created the Talent, it was so powerful its abilities manifested, summoning someone from a faraway worldpatible with it."


    "I can already tell he wasn''t happy about that." Iughed.


    "Although he seemed angered, heter on learned to enjoy his life in this world, despite the constant wars against the demons." She said. "I believe he found peace in this world, because he always told me how miserable his life was back on Earth. Although he didn''t be as famous as Allen because he disliked to stand out, he was the reason why the humans were able to hold on against the demons since their invasion."


    "What were his abilities?" I wondered.


    "He might have simr powers to you." She giggled. "As the first "beta tester" of the Summoning Legacy, he was given a lot of freedom, and manifested his Summoning powers through his affinity with Shadows and Darkness. He was able to rise new Familiars with the foes he defeated by extracting their Shadows. He was known as the mysterious Shadow Hunter, a feared being of that time, that sadly didn''t pass on history."


    "Did he have a peaceful life?" I wondered, feeling slightly worried of those times, which were worse than the ones from now on.


    "He had a wife and a son but died on thest decisive battle against the demon invasion. His sacrifice became the pir for humanity''s survival, as he managed to destroy the Hell Gate, where the Demons wereing from." Said the Divinity. "However, because he disliked standing out and always hid himself, he was never remembered. A forgotten hero that saved humanity before even Hero Allen appeared. Only a few close friends and his family knew of his great sacrifice and amazing strength."


    "That''s rather sad¡­ So Allen just got all the attention, huh?" I sighed.


    "Fufu, well, he was never into it either, it just happened." Laughed the Divinity. "Your powers are simr to the ones Allen manifested. He said he was a reincarnated man from Earth too, unlike Hyung, he was reincarnated into this world, not summoned."


    "Another man from Earth?" I was shocked. "Huh, that''s really a source of summoned souls."


    "It just happened by ident, but it is thought that souls from other worlds have a greater affinity with the Legacy of the Summoner than those that were born in this world." Said the Divinity. "Now, the third Summoner, who was born three thousand years after Allen''s passing, Henrietta."


    "This girl?" I pointed.


    "Yes! She was a half-elf." Said the Divinity. "A very lovely girl that lived a long life. Her Summons were also special, manifesting in the form of spiritual creatures of the forest. She named the Harvest Summons. She was a genius Alchemist, Crafter, and loved research above all things. She used her Summoning powers to help her little town flourish and discovered the way to imbue Elemental Power into her Familiars, and also how tobine them."


    "It feels like she had a rather rxing life¡­" I wondered.


    "Kind of, however, back then there were still many problems. She was one of the few pivotal heroes that helped humanity get back on track after the Demons were sealed back to the towers." Said the Divinity. "Many of the abilities you have, including the Familiar Egg, are all her creations."


    "So I''ve already inherited part of her legacy too, huh?" I wondered. "Amazing, despite not standing out as much as Hyung and Allen, she did help the Summoners Legacy advance a lot."


    "That''s right." The Divinity nodded. "And you too, are slowly contributing to this Legacy as well, these new Skills you acquired have never appeared before. The legacy grows stronger with each advancement, and now, it is time for you to get more of their power."


    -----

 Chapter 865 Summoner Statues

    Chapter 865 Summoner Statues


    -----


    "There Will be new features unlocked within these hall as you grow stronger." She said. "But for now, these three statues are the first thing you can draw power from."


    "How so?" I analyzed the statues in detail.


    "Each Summoner here embodies a part of your Divinity and also of your Abilities." She exined. "Offering them Spirit Orbs and Spirit Treasures will help them release more of their power, further boosting your Divinity. Your Divinity right now, is embodied by me. Right now, my body is of a clear white color, the more power I gain, the more colorful and defined I will be."


    "I see. I assume my Divinity has some sort of effect, right?" I asked her.


    "Of course." She nodded. "Usually, Spirit Masters would develop a Divinity when they hit Rank 7, and fully develop one at Rank 8! In that moment, their Spirit Orbs undergoes and evolution and bes a Divine Spirit Marble instead."


    "This world''s cultivation is truly unique¡­" I wondered. "But why did I get a Divinity so early?"


    "It is because of the same reason you could enter a Spiritual Realm sooner than any others." She exined. "It is thanks to the umted power of the Legacy of the Summoner. It grants further strength and power ahead of others. Of course, your own talent, and unique cultivation abilities helped this power grow faster too."


    "So that''s the reason why I had a Spiritual Realm and even Spiritual Treasures so earlypared to others¡­" I nodded. "Amusing. Very well, let''s see¡­ I do have several hundreds of Spirit Orbs to offer, but they''re also a resource for summoning, so I''ll give you a few hundred Spirit Orbs ranging from F Rank up to B Rank."


    "Thank you very much!" The Divinity Manifestation seemed rather happy, as she absorbed all the Spirit Orbs and then imbued their power into the statues.


    FLAASH! FLAASH! FLAASH! N?v(el)B\\jnn


    "Just for you to know, each Spirit Orb will give a certain little boost to the statues, depending in their Rank! Higher Rank ones give more, of course." She said.


    "I get it." I nodded. "Distribute them equally to see what happens."


    "Very well."


    The statues continued glowing until they absorbed all the power. Which then was transformed back to her, and to me.


    FLUOSH!


    Suddenly, I felt my connection with my Familiars be much stronger. Not only that, but the Skills themselves felt like they had been powered up.


    Ding!


    [You have offered several hundreds of Spirit Orbs to the three Summoner Statues!]


    [The [Summoner Statue of Might (Tier 1: Rank 1)] has gained +300 Spirit Power.]


    [Its Rank has increased to Tier 1: Rank 2! Its Abilities have been improved.]


    [The [Summoner Statue of Wisdom (Tier 1: Rank 1)] has gained +300 Spirit Power.]


    [Its Rank has increased to Tier 1: Rank 2! Its Abilities have been improved.]


    [The [Summoner Statue of Protection (Tier 1: Rank 1)] has gained +300 Spirit Power.]


    [Its Rank has increased to Tier 1: Rank 2! Its Abilities have been improved.]


    [All Three Status have been enhanced at the same time; your Divinity has grown slightly stronger.]


    [The {Ember of Divinity} has begun to form within your Soul, once it has been feed enough Power, it might be a fully-fledged Pseudo Divinity.]


    "Not so many details¡­ Let''s see this then."


    -----


    [Summoner Statue of Might (Tier 1: Rank 2)] A Statue created in honor of the first and forgotten Summoner, Hyung San Woo. The Shadow Summoner''s relentless might and endless will remains within this statue.


    By granting the statue Spirit Power, its abilities will grow and so its blessings, which are directly rted with your developing Summoner Divinity. Current Blessings: {Summoned Familiar Health and Vitality Blessing}: {+120%}


    {Summoned Familiar Strength Blessing}: {+120%}


    {Summoned Familiar Awakening Skill Usages}: {+2}


    -----


    [Summoner Statue of Wisdom (Tier 1: Rank 2)] A Statue created in honor of the second and most famous Summoner, Hero Allen, the Summoner of Beginnings.


    The Summoner of Beginnings might have been the second summoner ever, but his hard work and immense strength was what brought peace to the world of Spiritias. By granting the statue Spirit Power, its abilities will grow and so its blessings, which are directly rted with your developing Summoner Divinity. Current Blessings: {Summoned Familiar Mana Blessing}: {+120%}


    {Summoned Familiar Intelligence Blessing}: {+120%}


    {Summoned Familiar Skill Power}: {+120%}


    -----


    [Summoner Statue of Protection (Tier 1: Rank 2)]


    A Statue created in honor of the third Summoner, Henrietta. The Unseen Summoner. The Unseen Summoner''s bright mind and cheerful personality radiates into your Familiars, your special abilities bing stronger. By granting the statue Spirit Power, its abilities will grow and so its blessings, which are directly rted with your developing Summoner Divinity. Current Blessings: {Summoned Familiar Dexterity Blessing}: {+120%}


    {Summoned Familiar Agility Blessing}: {+120%}


    {Summoner''s Special Summoning Skills Powers and Effects}: {+120%}


    -----


    "As you can see, each statue will grant you several blessings at once. At the beginning it was only a small amount, but thanks to the Spirit Power you donated, the buffs have grownrger now." The Divinity of Summoning exined. "I assume you already felt it, right? When you and your Familiars became stronger."


    "I did¡­" I nodded. "These passive effects are certainly going to be useful, especially that ability to be able to unleash an Awakening Skill two more times before the 24-hour cooldown. Couldn''t have expected anything less from the statue of the first Summoner."


    "It is indeed a very powerful blessing." She nodded. "However, you have yet to fully get all the benefits, you must first sit on the throne of the summoner."


    "Why?" I wondered.


    "This throne signifies your new position as the carrier of the Summoner''s Legacy." She exined. "It will aid you on transferring the Divinity Essence across your body with the help of the three statues."


    "I see, so sitting on the throne will hasten my Divinity''s Cultivation." I nodded. "Very well, let''s give it a shot."


    I sat on the throne, immediately feeling the power of my Divinity rise and grow stronger, its essence moving like endless waves across my body.


    FLAAASH!


    -----

 Chapter 866 The Altar Of Sangre

    Chapter 866 The Altar Of Sangre


    -----


    The Divinity turned into pure essence at the same time as I sat down, her powers coursing through my body.


    My Ki Cores and Meridians, located across my body, which constantly let my Ki flow around and allowed me to grow stronger at a much faster pace than others, started to be refined by this Aura.


    Until recently, the power of the Summoning Legacy was only a part of a Talent, but now, it was being absorbed into my very body, and also bing part of my Physique.


    And even my Magic Circle and Soul!


    The Ki Cores located on my stomach, shoulders, chest, head, and legs glowed and absorbed this energy, swiftly transforming and bing golden spheres.


    The meridians, which were only three at the head, chest, and stomach, also absorbed this power, the head meridian transformed, bing red, the chest meridian transformed and became golden, and the stomach one turned white.


    Ding!


    [Your Ki Cores and Meridians have undergone a special refinement by the Divinity Essence of the Summoner''s Legacy!]


    [The Summoner''s Legacy is bing part of your foundation. The power of Summoning has been imprinted within your body and soul.]


    [Your Magic Circle has absorbed the Summoner''s Legacy; Summoning Runes can now be inscribed within.]


    [You can now wield the power of the Summoner''s Legacy much freer as your Ki Cores and Meridian have absorbed it.] n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    [It is now possible to wield a small part of your Developing Divinity through Martial Arts and Magic. It is now up to you how you create and wield these powers with endless possibilities.]


    "So this is how those three were able to modify the powers?" I wondered. "Because currently, I don''t think I canpletely modify skills as they are¡­ However, by wielding the very Essence of the Summoner''s Legacy, with enough research, time, and power, creating new andpletely unique powers is not impossible."


    "Indeed, the sky is the limit, my new master." The Divinity nodded. "You could even¡­ Ah, well, why should I give you ideas? It is up to you how you can wield this power and transform it!"


    "That''s right¡­" I smiled. "I''ve had many ideas I couldn''t perform before, but now? Things have changed¡­"


    Once I was done with the ritual, I stepped out of the throne. I''lle backter here to cultivate more of this rich essence when I have the time.


    It was rather exhausting to transform the meridians and ki cores, it is not something I want to do again though¡­ Even though this is an Avatar, it directly connects to my body.


    "Haahh, I''m done."


    I stepped out of the Summoner''s Hall, as I was greeted by my Vampire Family.


    "How was it?" Wondered Eleanora.


    "A lot happened; I''ll exin you as we go." I said.


    I exined to them what happened inside, regarding the Summoner''s Legacy, and whatnot, as we made our way to our next touristic destination.


    The Spiritual Realm had surely berger now. Sorge it felt like we were exploring a brand-new world of its own.


    This feeling of excitement and adventure I experienced in my previous life as I explored news, I was finally experiencing it again, to a smaller extent.


    An enormous crimson and ck castle greeted us, sitting on top of a mountain filled with a swarm of gigantic bats, deadly spirit beasts that didn''t doubted to attack us once they saw us.


    My Spirits quickly took care of them, and their corpses were swiftly saved in the Inventory forter. These were precious materials that could be used to either enhance the Statues or create new items.


    They also had Spirit Hearts, which I can use to restore Mana and Spiritual Energy, I might turn them into some Elixirster, that I''ll need if I want to continue cultivating this essence.


    I think I could get my Unique and still-developing Physique to gain more progress if I add this Divinity''s Essence into the mix.


    "We''re here, this is our third stop for today, the {Vampire King''s Castle}" I said, opening the gates.


    Creaaak¡­!


    This time, they allowed us all to enter without any issue. The interior reminded me a bit of how my castle looked like, one of the few ones I had left in somes.


    "The atmosphere here.. It surely resonates with us the most." Eleanora said.


    "I feel so much at ease in here!" Saphira said happily. "Oh! What''s that?!"


    She flew all the way to the hall at the center of the castle, where there was yet another, crimson and ck throne awaiting me.


    This time there were nobody waiting for us in here, but there was some sort of sacred yet demonic altar behind the throne.


    It resembled the shape of many vampiric creatures melded together into a vampiric being. We didn''t knew if it was either a woman or a man, but it had both men and women features.


    It also had enormous bat-like wings and ears, and very sharp fangs¡­


    "This Altar¡­ I feel like I have seen it before." Eleanora said, mysterious admiring it.


    "Yes, we had." I nodded. "This is the Altar of Sangre, the Primordial God of Blood, Father¡­ or Mother of all Vampires in the Universe."


    "Oh, is that so? I''ve never seen it before myself!" Saphira said, looking at the altar with surprise.


    "It seems it is a special sort of structure, perhaps simr to the statues you spoke about, master." Eriant analyzed it with his eyes. "I can sense some weing aura from it, as if it desires for us to touch it to grant us something¡­"


    "A Blessing from Sangre? But why?" I wondered. "Sangre is a Chaotic Outer One that was long ago exiled from the Universe after having grown to be a lethal cmity. Most Conservative Vampire Families still believe in this God, hold sacrificial rituals and more but¡­ I never thought they would ever give me any attention. Has this castle manifested because of its intentions and also¡­ maybe my Warlock Path?"


    "Although Sangre is the origin of us Vampires, we''ve never meet them¡­" Said Eleanora. "But I''m curious about them myself¡­"


    "My children¡­"


    However, as if noticing our skepticism, a voice echoed from the altar¡­


    "Let me give you my Blessings, my children of blood¡­"


    -----

 Chapter 867: A Conversation With An Outer God

    -----


    Alongside that strange voice, which we couldn''t discern if it were feminine or masculine, a powerful dark red aura surged from the altar, slowly taking the shape of a gigantic being.


    It seemed as if it were made entirely out of blood, with countless eyes spreading across its existence, the blood turned into tentacles, moving around us, as if trying to wrap themselves to not let us escape.


    A silhouette of some sort surged from the Aura of Blood, which seemed to distort space itself, my Spiritual Realm hurt the more this entity tried to manifest a miniscule part of its existence.


    The appearance of the silhouette resembled a woman with long hair, but then it shifted to a tall and domineering man, endlessly changing forms.


    Outer Ones had not a true defined shape and took the form of whatever the person looking at their existence could think.


    Of course, that only included a mere manifestation¡­ Their true bodies are said to be iprehensible.


    "This is really Sangre?!" Eleanora stepped back, only to be slightly touched by the tentacles of Blood Aura.


    "Don''t be afraid of your mother, my children¡­ I have been called here. This beautiful, beautiful world filled with so much¡­ richness. I desire a piece of it, my children, will you take it for me?"


    "Never."


    I confronted Sangre without fear, quickly pointing my spear at it.


    "Ah¡­ The soul of my strongest child! You were so close¡­ to destroy Lucifer¡­ Why, have you changed so much already, my dear Asmodeus?"


    I have never spoken to them before, yet they seemed to know me so well.


    It was already frightening they were able to manifest a part of themselves inside of my own Spiritual Realm¡­


    "You want a piece of Spiritias, what difference would it be from the Demons themselves anyways?" I asked. "You''re an Outer One, I cannot trust you."


    "So cruel~"


    Sangre slowly changed their shape into that of a tall Vampiress,pletely made out of blood, slowly walking towards me.


    She lifted up my chin, looking into my eyes.


    Her eyes resembled a pair of endlessly spiraling chaotic swirls, I couldn''t discern what was within her mind at all¡­


    "Would you work with me? I want to do something special."


    "What do you mean?"


    I stepped back, without letting her powers work on me.


    "Since my exile from the Universe that I''ve felt rather lonely, andtely, my power is growing weaker. I need essence, I need life¡­ I need blood. Let''s do a small little pact. One where we both will win, no tricks."


    "I see what you want¡­"


    Entities like her are to a certain extent, conceptual. That means that the less of a certain thing that builds up her conceptual existence happens, the weaker she grows.


    This concept is part of her Domain, and that''s Bloodshed and Destruction.


    "Wait, so you mean the Universe had have less bloodshed and destruction since my death?"


    "Sadly, yes¡­ It has be a rather boringly peaceful ce now. Large alliances betweens have been formed. There''s little war to feed my growth, it has be so boring¡­ But in this world, it''s different."


    She suddenly smiled maliciously, showing an endlessly spiraling jaw that extended across her whole face, all the way to the rest of her manifestation.


    "There''s blood! The demons and the humans never stop fighting! And it has so much rich essence! I am not asking you for anything too much, my dear, dear Asmodeus! I just want to feed on what you''ll simply leave behind! Nothing else, nothing more."


    "When you smile like that, it''s hard for me to trust you."


    "Oh? Is my smile not pretty enough for a charming man like you? What do you want from me in exchange? I will give you anything, even my body¡­ I could be your wife; I would give birth to your powerful children."


    "I wouldn''t really desire to have you as my wife, I would rather die than have an abomination like you at my side every morning."


    "So cruel! I''m going to cry now!"


    She was a really terrible actor, moving around and crying tears made of blood, yet she was just smiling deep down.


    "So? I have felt you have chosen the Warlock Path again! In this little world, it could mean big things! No other Outer Ones have managed to get here yet¡­" She smiled. "I want to be the first one and monopolize all the Essence!"


    "She''s terrible at convincing¡­" Eleanora was barely resisting the enormous pressure Sangre exuded as she spoke.


    "Sangre¡­ Your origins are unclear, and its not like I asked to be born a Vampire in my previous life. I have no obligation to help you nor be your cultist." I sighed. "However, I cannot deny that you annoy me every day in here would be certainly a terrible future. Let''s make a deal, one where you''ll benefit the least though. Would you be willing?"


    "Hmph¡­" She quickly shapeshifted into a different form.


    FLUOOSH!


    The form of a horrendous bat-like chimeric beast, with countless heads, jaws, eyes, wings, limbs, ws, and tentacles.


    "WHERE IS THIS BRAVERY COMING FROM, YOU LITTLE, PITIFUL ANT?!" She roared. "IT WAS THANKS TO ME THAT YOU WERE ABLE TO REACH SO FAR BACK THEN! WITHOUT MY POWERS, WITHOUT MY BLOODLINE, YOU WOULD HAD NEVER, NEVER HAVE REACHED THE PINNACLE OF THE UNIVERSE!"


    "So what?" I asked. "I have no gratitude to you, Sangre. So you either ept my terms or get out."


    "You¡­"


    She squinted her countless eyes, but then slowly went back to a smaller and smaller form, resembling a cat-sized red bat.


    "Okay! Sure. Let''s do it." She giggled. "Let''s get along, Asmodeus- Ah, I mean, ke!"


    Then, she turned back into a beautiful and tall Vampiress, extending her hand towards me for a handshake.


    I humored her, but she quickly extended my body towards her, looking into my eyes¡­


    "If you ever dare break this pact, I will not stop at simply devouring your soul, I will take away everything you love, Asmodeus. Everything."


    "You don''t intimidate me."


    FLAAASH!


    -----

 Chapter 868: Making A Deal With An Outer God

    -----


    FLAAASH!


    As I decided to make a pact with her and take advantage of how desperate this Outer One seemed to be about earning some Essence, Sangre''s powers flowed into my magic circle.


    The Magic Circle absorbed them and quickly began spinning, the Warlock Path activated, as many Eldritch Runes were generated.


    An indestructible connection between the two of us was made in that moment, at the same time, Blood and Darkness enshrouded the two of us.


    For a moment, I found myself floating within an endless sea of stars, Sangre slowly shapeshifted her humanoid form, her monstrous and near endless shape emerging before me.


    "State your conditions, Asmodeus."


    With a soul-tearing voice that reverberated across my entire being, she spoke with a rather pissed off voice.


    "Your true form is truly indecipherable."


    She got slightly angrier.


    "Why should I care what you think about how I look? I used to be as beautiful as I showed you before. I am the mother of all of you little blood children, have some respect."


    "I have no respect, and you''re not my mother."


    "Tch¡­ Such a bold and reckless personality! But¡­ that''s pretty hot, honestly~!"


    Her monstrous form seemed to be drooling as she looked at me with her endless amount of eyes¡­


    "I can tell why women fall for you so much! You''re such a courageous and rebellious man! Who wouldn''t fall for you? Hm? So how about we have some children together?"


    "Enough with your jokes¡­"


    "They''re not jokes! I can take any shape you want! Please, bless me with your delicious seed!"


    "You Outer Ones are truly insane."


    As I said that, I was writing some details in a paper that manifested in front of me.


    "Hmmm~ Don''t you know that I am notpletely alone? There are other children here, small little Outer Ones I''ve birthed." She giggled. "Sometimes, Vampires across the Universe offer themselves to me, and they bless me with their incestuous seed. It is the source of these little children."


    "Disgusting." I sighed. "Are you nning on building some sort of n within the Outer Verse?"


    "Well, something like that¡­ The other Outer Ones here already had enormous ones, so I felt a bit bad being the only one left behind!" Sheughed. "Oh? Are you done?"


    "I''m done." I gave her the paper with the terms.


    "Hm?! Isn''t this way too greedy?! You little ant! Whoa are you trying to scam?!" She angrily said.


    "¡­Fine, I''ll increase your bonus by a ten percent if you behave and don''t betray me. I''ll write it down in the pact." I smiled.


    "N-No betrayals?!" She was shocked. "Aw,e on!"


    "Then I guess you don''t want the bonus¡­" I nodded.


    "Uugghh¡­! You''ll pay for this! FINE! However, I''ll add another condition, heheh!"


    For an Outer One, she seemed very gullible. Perhaps because she was the youngest of them all, and an entity with little brains that only feed on destruction and bloodshed.


    "What is it?" I asked.


    "You will offer me the blood of your firstborn!" She smiled.


    "Enough, what is the condition?" I asked her.


    "SIGH¡­ Can''t take a single joke, huh?" The entity sighed, swirling her body around as if moving across the stars. "I want a cup filled with your blood every month. If you ever miss the day, the pact will be broken."


    "Hoh¡­" Iughed a bit. "So that''s it? I see¡­"


    It seemed simple enough, but if I ever missed it by one day, it would all break apart and she would eat my soul¡­


    It was smart on her side, but I had more authority over this anyways.


    "No, I will offer you blood once a month¡­ or wherever I remember, with no penalties."


    "WHAT?!"


    "ept it or fuck off."


    "F-Fine! Okay! URRRGGHHH!"


    Her rage shook the stars as she seemed to be really getting angrier. I better not anger her anymore.


    "Just for you, I''ll increase it by fifteen instead of ten."


    "Oh~? Ahhh~ I knew you were charmed by my beauty! You have such a soft spot for your primordial mother, my dear Asmodeus! Nowe and give me a big kiss!"


    "No thanks."


    "It is the only way to get the contract done anyways, fufu~"


    Her appearance quickly changed into the form of the beautiful and tall Vampiress, as she grabbed me against my will and kissed my lips.


    "Come here~"


    "Ugh¡­!"


    The kiss was deep and incredibly cold. But each second made the pact grow stronger, until it finally waspleted.


    "Hmm~ Ahh, such a delicacy! Please, consider bing my little love ve!"


    "Shut up."


    "Come on~ We could do so much together, you and me!"


    "I know your tricks, enough is enough."


    "TCH!"


    Her form quickly changed once more into a titanic aberration, as the vision slowly dissipated, and I opened my eyes in front of the altar.


    That kiss was between souls and not physical, therefore any disgusting feeling faded away, thankfully.


    And well, the grimoire showed me the rest of the changes.


    Ding!


    [You havepleted your Pact with the {Primordial Vampire Outer God of Bloodshed and Destruction, Sangre}!]


    [Your {Warlock Path} has resonated with the pact andpleted itself, you are now locked with this only Outer One as your sole contractor.]


    [The Terms of the Pact have been confirmed, both parties benefiting from it.]


    [The {Primordial Vampire Outer God of Bloodshed and Destruction, Sangre} receives 25% of the Essence of any foe you and your summons defeat, extracted directly from their Souls and Blood.]


    [In exchange, you receive]:


    [Blessing of the Primordial Vampire Outer God of Bloodshed and Destruction, Sangre]


    [Divinity Fragment of Bloodshed and Destruction (Evolvable)] x1


    [Divine Treasure of Sangre (??? Grade)] x1


    [Random Divine Skill Scroll (??? Grade)] x1


    [You can now Summon Sangre''s Power for your Eldritch Magic and Rituals.]


    [The possibility of gaining more Items, Skills, and Perks through bargaining and from rewards from Sangre.]


    In exchange for getting 25% of the EXP I earn, I got all these goodies. It might seem minimal inparison to the loss of EXP, but thest requirement is the best one so far.


    I can pretty much bargain and bet with her to gain even more benefits, an Outer One is full of all sorts of treasures, I cannot miss this opportunity.


    Ding!


    [The Blessing of Sangre] has also been shared to all your Vampire Spirits.]


    -----

 Chapter 869: Blessing Of Sangre

    -----


    Ding!


    [You havepleted your Pact with the {Primordial Vampire Outer God of Bloodshed and Destruction, Sangre}!]


    [Your {Warlock Path} has resonated with the pact andpleted itself, you are now locked with this only Outer One as your sole contractor.]


    [The Terms of the Pact have been confirmed, both parties benefiting from it.]


    [The {Primordial Vampire Outer God of Bloodshed and Destruction, Sangre} receives 25% of the Essence of any foe you and your allies or summons defeat, extracted directly from their Souls and Blood.]


    [In exchange, you receive]:


    [Blessing of the Primordial Vampire Outer God of Bloodshed and Destruction, Sangre]


    [Divinity Fragment of Bloodshed and Destruction (Evolvable)] x1


    [Divine Treasure of Sangre (??? Grade)] x1


    [Random Divine Skill Scroll (??? Grade)] x1


    [You can now Summon Sangre''s Power for your Eldritch Magic and Rituals.]


    [The possibility of gaining more Items, Skills, and Perks through bargaining and from rewards from Sangre.]


    [The Blessing of Sangre] has also been shared to all your Vampire Spirits.]


    The three items I got upfront where a fragment for a divinity, which I can now cultivate and develop after reaching Rank 5, a Scroll to acquire a Divine Skill rted to Sangre''s Divinity, and a Treasure Chest containing something of her creation.


    And well, her Blessing was also shared with all of my Vampire Spirits, giving them an amazing boost to their Vampiric Abilities.


    -----


    [Blessing of the Primordial Vampire Outer God of Bloodshed and Destruction, Sangre]


    The Blessing of an Outer One that ascended from the Universe into the Outer Void after having brought bloodshed and destruction for eons.


    The Primordial Mother and Father of all Vampires and most blood-sucking aberrations across the Universe, its power is simply iprehensible to the point it has be conceptual.


    To maintain its existence strong, the Outer God requires Bloodshed and Destruction.


    Although this is a Blessing, it has been shaped into a special contract.


    In exchange for giving her blessed one their powers, Sangre receives 25% of the EXP and Energy gained by the wielder of the Blessing and its Summons.


    The more power you sacrifice to them, the stronger the Blessing Effects will grow! Make sure to keep your beloved Eldritch God well fed to get goodies.


    This Blessing can be granted to any Vampire you create from now on, within your own discrepancy. However, they will also need to pay 25% of their EXP and Energy earned to Sangre.


    Blessing Effects:


    Enhances Blood, Darkness, Shadow, Void, and Chaos Attribute Power and Affinity by +1000%


    Strengthens any Vampire-type Skill, Technique, Ability, and Physique-rted Powers by +1500%


    Increases the amount of Blood Energy and Blood Ki that can be refined and the Speed of its creation by +500%


    Decreases the cost of Blood Energy from all techniques or spells that require it by -50%


    Enhances the Regeneration Speed of Body Parts by +500%


    The wielder of the Blessing is now capable of creating Pure-Blooded Vampire-type beings by sharing their Blood with another living being and creating a Contract.


    Based in how many Vampires the user has created, All Stats, Blood Power, and Blood Energy Reserves increases, the stronger the Vampire created, the higher the bonuses.


    High Quality Blood can now be consumed to further increase All Stats permanently.


    Negates any Vampire Weakness as long as they consume a good intake of Blood.


    Can now create Vampiric Familiars with ease and connect them to your Vampiric Bloodline.


    More Abilities yet to unlock.


    -----


    It was an insane Blessing with many bonuses, by just holding it within all of our Souls, we felt several times stronger!


    And now that I can create Pure Blooded Vampires, maybe I should consider asking my friends if they want to gain this power and be part of my Vampire Family.


    Although it might have seemed hical before because they had the chance to turn into ghouls or uncontroble monsters, Pure Blooded Vampires are another thing entirely.


    They can develop immunity to most of their weakness, and that is guaranteed with this Blessing. Alongside that, they can develop their magic and physical prowess much faster, gain new skills, and overall grow stronger by consuming blood.


    Things such as being born with low star talents won''t matter anymore! Even my parents or my grandmother could gain youthful bodies that won''t age and great strength.


    However, now that I''ve developed a slight sense of morality, I feel like forcing them to get this is wrong. So I will simply ask them andy out all the pros and cons before they make the decision.


    Of course, foes I end up capturing might have a different treatment¡­ I wonder if I could enve Demons if I turn them into Vampires.


    Above all, I made sure Sangre has no authority over our souls.


    So even if we don''t feed her anymore, she won''t be able to retaliate, or she would be risking getting a bacsh due to the blessings.


    She might have acted malicious and cunning, but she was clearly desperate if she decided to bet her strength by giving us such simple blessings.


    And they can keep growing stronger the more we feed her, so I guess she added this so we were more motivated.


    With the Demons endless waves, I can already tell she''ll be enjoying a lot of bloodshed.


    "Alright, now make sure to get me a lot of bloodshed and destruction. I want death and suffering! I don''t care who ends up dying or something, just do it!" She angrily said, manifesting within the altar.


    "Yeah, don''t worry about it. We''ll be going to a demon-infested continent soon, you''ll get all the tasty blood you want from them." I smiled.


    "Fufufu, who would have thought my strongest and most evil child would be reborn by his very enemy!" Sheughed. "Lucifer is sure a mindless idiot! How could he do this?! Was he so selfish to think he could beat you a second time by reincarnating you?"


    "He was trying to humiliate me by giving me a new life as a human¡­ But he gave me an opportunity to finally end things." I smiled. "And I won''t fail this second time."


    ------

 Chapter 870: New Divine Skill

    -----


    After talking with Sangre, we left the Vampiric Castle, which was where her Will could manifest, and the only ce where she had any reach.


    The Castle by itself granted several additional buffs to my Vampiric Abilities, especially my Vampire Spirits, enhancing their strength even further.


    It was simr to the Frost Fairy Castle, which enhanced their magic power more than anything too.


    As we moved out, I checked the goods I acquired.


    A red and ck colored fragment of her divinity, small and insignificant to her, but to me, it was the pir of my growth in the future.


    It has been floating within my Spirit Orb''s interior since I acquired it. It seems that the Spirit Orb can hold the Divine Power.


    It is an extremely important organ, if it gets hurt or shattered, I might get crippled. I have to make sure to protect it with all my life.


    It has been floating aimlessly since I acquired it, but I''ve begun imbuing it with my Divine Summoning Legacy Essence, and slowly created roots.


    These roots will continue to expand across my entire Soul, slowly evolving the Divinity Fragment alongside the Divinity of Summoning, which is still developing by itself.


    I''ll eventually mix it with the Authority Fragment of the Holy Spirit of Fire, to create somethingpletely unique.


    But until then, I need patience. Moving on, the material rewards. There is the scroll and the treasure chest.


    There''s no point in waiting to open them forter, so I decided to absorb the scroll right away.


    The scroll turned into particles of light and was absorbed into my body the moment I opened.


    From what I recall seeing on it, there were inscriptions written on the outer godsnguage, made of blood.


    FLAAASH!


    Its power coursing through my body, as a new ability materialized, showcasing itself within the Grimoire floating in front of me.


    Ding!


    [You have absorbed the [Random Divine Skill Scroll (??? Grade)] x1!]


    [You learned the [Embodiment of the Night: Camazotz: Lv1] Divine Skill!]


    -----


    [Embodiment of the Night: Camazotz: Lv1]


    Skill Proficiency: 0/25000


    A Divine Skill that only the strongest Vampires who have created a pact with their All-Mother, Sangre, can acquire.


    By channeling the powers of your Vampiric Ancestry and the Bloodlines you possess, absorb all of your Aura and Domains into your body, and transform into the first child of Sangre, known as the Embodiment of the Night, Camazotz.


    The Embodiment of the Night is a Primordial Vampiric Monster that takes many forms but is usually depicted within Vampiric Cults as a gigantic bat with many arms, ws, tails, and a deadly jaw full of a set of sharp fangs ready to suck any blood.


    This monstrosity possessesw-defying powers, as a direct child of an Eldritch God, it can defy the Laws of Creation and gain unprecedented power. The very reason why it was ultimately hunted and in by all the traitorous Vampires that descended from it.


    By merely existing, the skies immediately darken, and a day might turn into night, and a night into an even darker night. The moon will shine brightly on top of the skies, further enhancing the power of the Embodiment of the Night.


    While transformed in this appearance, All Stats will increase by +1500%, however, the user''s mind will be in an endless berserk state, unable to keep their cool!


    Their very presence will exude an {Primordial Bloodsucking Aura} which will drain the Blood or Life Force of any foe within a 30 meter range from them, further decreasing their Stats by -50%.


    Their deadly Fangs, ws, Tails, Wings, and ursed Eyes and incredibly urate Ears can overwhelm most foes, their Physical Abilities all enhanced by a further +1000%.


    Transformation Duration: 1 Hour. Cooldown: 24 Hours.


    A new set of Abilities can be activated whenever the user undergoes this transformation, depending in each of their monstrous body parts.


    Avable Abilities: [Blood-Sucking Jaws of Gluttony] [Venomous Tongue of Pestilence] [Punishing Tails of Agony] [Flesh-Tearing ws of Despair] [Star-Soaring Wings Of Death] [ck Breath Of Decay] [¡­]


    -----


    Yet another insane Skill, this one was something I never possessed on my previous life. Was Sangre able to grant such overwhelming powers?


    I only remember hearing very little about The Embodiment of the Night, but it is considered a secondary God after Sangre, as it was her first child after she was exiled from the Universe and became an Outer One.


    It held both the power of an Outer One and the Strongest Vampire, the father of all of them, our true ancestor. And it didn''t even have a human-like form.


    It was a bloodthirsty aberration that only sought destruction, chaos, and blood to feed his mother, specifically designed to destroy everything.


    However, those that it devoured and regurgitated, would be reborn as the First-Born Vampires, the Ancestors of every Vampire Family throughout the Universe.


    Even after my Dominion over the Universe, I was unable to defeat all these Families due to the vastness of the Universe.


    And due to my absence, I suppose they must be slowly recovering their former glory.


    However, among all of them, nobody ever possessed an Ability like this, I must be the first one to receive it¡­


    "Hahaha, I got a ridiculous Ability again." I sighed whileughing a bit.


    Eleanora and my Vampires noticed myughter, wondering what had urred. Once I told them that I became capable of transforming into the Embodiment of the Night, they lost their marbles.


    "Wait, the ancestor of all Vampires? The Primordial Beast of Bloodshed and Destruction?!" Eleanora was shaken by this revtion. "Impressive! I suppose it was worth to get that blessing then."


    "Wow, so you can turn into a big bat now, papa?!" Saphira was excited about the idea of fluffing my bat version.


    "I don''t think it will be possible to get too close to me in such a form." I sighed. "I''m afraid I might lose my mind, so I will only use it when I''m fighting a powerful foe by myself."


    "Ooww¡­" Saphira was slightly disappointed.


    As they bickered among themselves, I decided to check the other reward I received.


    The Divine Treasure of Sangre!


    The chest swiftly opened as I summoned it from my inventory, releasing crimson light from within.


    FLAAASH!


    -----

 Chapter 871: Obtaining A Celestial Grade Treasure!

    -----


    Ding!


    [You''ve opened the [Divine Treasure of Sangre (??? Grade)] x1!]


    [A Random Equipment Item will be given from within Sangre''s Treasury.]


    The treasure chest opened, revealing from within the crimson light a pair of red, crimson-colored armored gloves.


    They had sharp w-like ends for each finger, and ruby-like jewels incrusted on their palms. Above all, I could notice Divine Circuits imbued into these two.


    [You have received the [Divine Vampire King''s Armored Gloves Of Avarice (Celestial Grade)] x1!]


    They were not Mythical nor Spiritual, but Celestial Grade!


    The Rarities of all Items were like this:


    [Normal]


    [Rare]


    [Unique]


    [Mythic]


    [Spiritual]


    [Legendary]


    [Celestial]


    [Divine]


    Meaning that this pair of gloves were already at almost the maximum conceived Grade of Rarity possible¡­ Just right below the pinnacle, Divine!


    However, the moment I grabbed them and resisted the enormous Auras they exuded, equipping them, I felt something off¡­


    Ding!


    [The Celestial-Grade equipment has found you unbefitting of wielding its true powers!]


    [Its abilities have be weakened, and most of them have been temporarily sealed as a result of not fulfilling all the requirements in power.]


    [Once you grow strong enough, new Abilities will be unlocked, and the item stats will also increase ordingly.]


    "I expected as much." I nodded. "There was no way I could wear Celestial Grade equipment without penalties on its powers. Nheless¡­"


    Nheless, its Stats and Abilities were still incredible, even after being sealed!


    -----


    [Divine Vampire King''s Armored Gloves Of Avarice (Power Sealed)]


    {Item Type}: [Celestial Armor] [Armored Gloves] [Magic Gloves]


    {Item Quality}: [Celestial Grade]


    {Item Requirement}: [Blessing of Sangre]


    {Item Durability}: [300.000/300.000]


    {Item Effects}: [Defense]: [+60.000] [Health Points]: [+20.000] [Mana Points]: [+40.000] [Strength]: [+15.000] [Agility]: [+15.000] [Vitality]: [+30.000] [Intelligence]: [+15.000] [Dexterity]: [+15.000]


    {Abilities}


    [Vampiric Touch of Avarice]: These Ancient Gloves possess the power of Avarice, a former Vampire King that was once Sangre''s favorite. As long as the wearer as the Blessing of Sangre, increases Weapon Attack Power, Attack Speed, and Weapon Proficiency by +300%, increases Damage from Weapon Techniques by +150%, and decreases Damage Taken from Weapon Techniques by -30%.


    Additionally, by feeding Blood Energy into the Gloves, it is possible to unleash the power of {Avarice''s Touch} to any foe you touch with your gloves or with a weapon imbued with this power, which drains 5% of their Stats to the wearer as a temporary buff, while draining their Blood and Life Force constantly when touched. Debuff/Buff Duration: 5 Minutes. Can stack up to 10 Times.


    [Crimson Eyes of Sangre]: The ruby-like jewels on the gloves are in fact, eyes extracted from Sangre herself, whom she gifted to her beloved child and past husband.


    As long as the wearer as the Blessing of Sangre, increases the Effects and Power of all Eye-rted Abilities by +300%, while increasing Blood and Darkness Magic Power and Conjuration Speed by an additional +150%, and decreases Damage Taken from Magic by -30%.


    Additionally, by feeding Blood Energy into the Gloves, it is possible to unleash the power of {Sangre''s Vampiric Eyes} to any foe you point the gloves towards.


    Once a foe is seen by these eyes, they will receive three random status ailments such as Paralysis, Fear, Burn, Poison, Bleeding, Insanity, Confusion, Madness, Berserk, and so on, alongside having their Soul Power, Willpower, Mental Fortitude, and Magical Power decreased by -50%. Duration: 5 Minutes per foe. Cannot stack.


    [Sealed Celestial Relic]: This Relic has detected the wielder does not possess enough power to hold all its strength, and therefore, part of its abilities has been temporarily sealed until the wielder can be stronger.


    {Description}


    A Celestial Relic once wielded by a powerful Vampire King, Avarice, who became one of Sangre''s many husbands. Due to his unwavering love, she rewarded him with her own eyes, which the Vampire King used to craft these malicious gloves, made to torture any foe that dared to stand on his path to domination.


    Sadly, Avarice perished on his conquest for the Universe, after being ambushed by theary Alliance and the Angels from Heaven, but his soul has been saved by Sangre and now rests within these gloves.


    Although he cannot speak, he is watching over you and is looking forward to what you''ll aplish in the future!


    -----


    "Truly an incredible piece of equipment¡­" I smiled. "Thank you for your help, Avarice. I''ll make sure to serve Sangre well."


    The gloves gave a faint crimson glow, before resting and staying in silence.


    I needed some gloves for a while now, so these will do just well, their abilities are incredible as well, so I''ll make sure to abuse them as much as possible.


    For now, I''ve assessed everything I needed, ourst stop is the Necrotic Death Pit Of Nether within my Spiritual Realm.


    On the way, we were ambushed by a few Spiritual beasts, these resembled giant skeletons and zombies, probably as strong as B+ Rank Monstes.


    My Vampire Spirits swiftly took care of them, I didn''t need to do anything in particr¡­ However, I tried out using the gloves, and was able to paralyze many of them, some went insane, others started inexplicably bleeding, and others were poisoned despite being undead.


    It was fun, but the Blood Energy cost was ridiculous¡­ Let''s say I have for example, a million Blood Energy in my reserves right now.


    Well, each usage of this gloves abilities costs roughly 50k, so if I use a couple more of times, my energy will run out very quickly¡­


    I need to gather and harness more Blood Energy before I start abusing this glove to its full potential. For that¡­


    FLUOSH!


    Blood and Life Essence flowed out of the corpses of the Spiritual Beasts, small Soul mes also surged from within them.


    I absorbed them all and decided to repurpose their energy into Blood Energy.


    Ding!


    [You''ve recovered +10.000 Blood Energy.]


    [You''ve recovered +7.000 Blood Energy.]


    [You''ve recovered +5.000 Blood Energy.]


    [You''ve recovered +4.000 Blood Energy.]


    [¡­]


    Thanks to Sangre''s Blessing, I can easily transform Life Force and Soul mes into Blood Energy too, if I ever need some more.


    "Here we are¡­"


    A gigantic pit with zing blue and green-colored liquid boiling on its depths greeted our sight.


    This was thest Spiritual Treasure I wanted to check; one I acquired by taking a Necromancer Talent.


    -----

 Chapter 872: Necrotic Energy

    -----


    The pits greeted us with their lugubrious dark mists, there were many Undead congregated surrounding it, ncing down below at the Nether boiling within the depths.


    This was the Nether that would grant me the power of conjuring Necromancy, by extracting it, it transforms into Necrotic Energy, there was nothing much to see here, but I needed to extract as much as possible to begin saving my reserves of this energy.


    After being allowed by the Holy Spirit of Death, it shouldn''t be too hard to wield this energy and create a reserve of it within my body, or well, it would be better within my soul.


    This Necrotic Energy is the pure essence of Decay, Phantoms, and Death, a very rich energy source for any Warlock or Necromancer, which grants them unprecedented power.


    However, usually, Necromancers cannot produce this energy themselves, and need to slowly refine it out of their own Souls through a special meditation ritual on top of a necrotic pir to some sort of Death God of their choosing.


    Or so I believed Necromancers usually worked back in the Universe out there, however, in Spiritias, things are much easier.


    The Necromancer we fought back then, the old man Dn, was gifted with a Necromancer Talent and Spirits capable of helping him on his resurrection of the dead.


    He had Skills and even stronger magic, and the power of Spiritual Energy further boosting him. By merely using Skills, he created endless Undead as his army.


    However, he was the most direct Necromancer, my Necromancy has developed differently, relying not on corpses or summons from the Underworld, but on my own Familiars¡­


    Nheless, I still require Necrotic Energy to it to work properly. I bet the Necromancers of the Universe out there would be dying of envy if they saw I had this entire pit for myself.


    "Now, let''s try something¡­" I pointed my hand into the pit below. "{Necrotic Extraction}"


    FLUOSH!


    The boiling Nether started rapidly turning into a ck and blue colored energy, flying into my hands and swirling around.


    I slowly let it enter my body, feeling like it was quickly turning colder, exposing a life body to Necrotic Energy could eventually kill them.


    It was a deadly energy, and also the reason Necromancers'' offensive magic wasn''t nothing to scoff at either, they didn''t only rely on Undead.


    Some of them were so powerful they only relied on a few handfuls of strong Undead as their backup, without going around walking with armies of them.


    Naturally, Necromancers also had their own unique method of cultivation, which was by refining Necrotic Heart within their Souls, which would turn that part of the soul pitch-ck.


    However, I had no intentions of doing that for now, because it was eventually detrimental to their souls. And it is a hassle to make one.


    So I''ll simply move my vast soul and save a spot for it.


    FLAAASH!


    Ding!


    [You have gained +6.000 Necrotic Energy.]


    [You have gained +3.000 Necrotic Energy.]


    [You have gained +1.000 Necrotic Energy.]


    [You have gained +5.000 Necrotic Energy.]


    [You have gained +13.000 Necrotic Energy.]


    [¡­]


    I kept gaining more and more, until I felt like I hit the limits of my reserves, ending at roughly a million units of Necrotic Energy.


    Ding!


    [You have reached the maximum amount of Necrotic Energy your soul can store.]


    [Further storage without proper Soul Refining might cause permanent damage in the Soul.]


    [Necrotic Energy Reserves: 1.017.348]


    Not bad! It sadly didn''t disy in my Status, mostly because it wasn''t something like an innate stat, but a resource stored inside of me.


    The same could be said of Blood Energy, Shadow Energy, and so on, to an extent¡­


    "Good¡­" I smiled. "Alright, we''re good to go."


    "Hmm¡­" Saphira wondered. "I wonder if I can eat some of it too?"


    However, Saphira was ncing down at the pit of Nether, expanding her hands over there and then beginning to absorb the Necrotic Energy.


    The Pit could only generate an amount of Nether per day, so it was about to run on empty, the Undead Spirit Beasts looked quite pissed off¡­


    "Saphira, wait. What are you- Oh?"


    FLUOSH!


    Saphira suddenly saved arge quantity of Necrotic Energy within her, without being negatively affected by it¡­


    Right, Saphira is also a Necromancer-type Spirit, her Vampiric Powers mostly awakening her abilities as a Half-Specter.


    However, she can only summon a certain amount of Undead with her skills or raise them for a limited amount of time.


    She has a lot of flexibility with how she can make them, but they''re time-limited, not permanent, sadly.


    Nheless¡­


    Ding!


    [Saphira] has stored arge quantity of Necrotic Energy!]


    [Her reserves seem to be a several timesrger than yours. And she doesn''t present any issues with saving this energy and use it to further enhance her own magic and skills.]


    [Do you wish to transfer the Necrotic Energy into her body instead?]


    Suddenly, the Grimoire gave me an unexpected option.


    "Papa! I think I can take care of it, you looked a bit on pain! So let me carry the tasty energy for you!" Saphira said. "I feel so strong when it is within my soul!"


    "Hmmm, I can''t believe how foolish I''ve been for not thinking about you." Iughed. "Very well, thank you so much, Saphira."


    I transferred all the Necrotic Energy to her, and she ended with almost two million, without presenting any problems.


    In fact¡­


    Ding!


    [Saphira] has umted almost two million units of Necrotic Energy within her Spiritual Soul.]


    [Due to her greatpatibility with it, while carrying this amount, All her Stats have increased by +20% and her Necromancy-rted Skills Power and Effects by another +40% every 500k of Necrotic Energy.]


    [Current Bonus: +60%/+120%]


    "Phew! Burp¡­" Saphira rubbed her little belly feeling really full after that meal.


    "Well, I''ll be counting on you to conjure my Necromancy then, Saphira." I smiled, patting her head.


    "Sure, papa! Leave it to me!" She nodded, full of confidence. "You don''t need to carry all the burdens!"


    Right, I was wrong, the Spirits are an extension of a Spirit Master abilities. Relying on her as my bank of Necrotic Energy is not bad nor wrong.


    "Thank you." I smiled. "Very well, now that we''re done here, shall we go back outside? Let''s have breakfast."


    -----

 Chapter 873: The Next Morning

    -----


    After what seemed to have been a full-fledged journey across the enormous Spiritual Realm I had, we finally walked out of it, my Spirits flew out of my Realm, and I opened my eyes.


    I was sitting right in front of the garden, but we were not alone anymore, there was Erika just sitting right next to me, ying with her Doll Spirits.


    "Oh! ke you''re awake!"


    She hugged me tightly and kissed my cheeks adorably.


    "Were you meditating? No matter how hard I talked to you, you never responded!" She was a bit upset.


    "Ah, well, I was inside of my Spiritual Realm." I said. "Sorry, I was too busy to pay attention outside. I''ll invite you inside with everyone elseter so you can see it."


    "Eh?! I thought only Spirits could enter it?" She asked.


    "Once you grow strong enough, it bes a physical realm, so anybody can enter¡­ But that is also a bit dangerous by itself." I sighed. "Nheless, it is a rather wondrous ce. I''m sure you''ll like it."


    "Woow! I wish I could get my own Realm eventually¡­" She sighed. "At what Rank do I get one?"


    "Rank 5." I said.


    "Ugh¡­ So 100 more levels to go! What a pain¡­" Erika had already hit Rank 4 and her level was reset to zero, and now she had another one hundred levels to go before being able to breakthrough Rank 5.


    "Don''t worry, if we raid the White Dragon''s Mountain, all of you should be able to at least gain a few dozen of levels." I said with a nod. "Though, we''ll be leveling the most once we reach the Elven Continent and sh against the invading Demon Army and Fafnir''s Army, which seem to be cooperating together."


    "I see¡­" Erika sighed with a rather tired expression. "Honestly I don''t want to be reminded of work, we''re on a vacation so let''s just rx~ Oh, Eleanora! Were you exploring the spirit realm too?"


    "Yeah, it is a wonderful ce! We had quite a few adventures there." She giggled. "I''m sure you''ll like it, Erika. Especially the big Yggdrasil Tree that has grown there."


    "Eh?! You''ve got one there?" Erika was bbergasted.


    "I wouldn''t call it an Yggdrasil Tree; it is a Spirit Tree." I said. "It doesn''t possess the Yggdrasil Name."


    "And so are the guys around here! But they''re all still descendants of Yggdrasil." Erika pointed at the giant trees adorning the vige''s surrounding forest.


    "Well yeah¡­ I guess." I shrugged.


    "Let me see it! I am a sister with all of them now! Remember that you made this new body using Yggdrasil Wood and a magic crystal from a Dryad after all!" She pouted.


    "I know, I know." I nodded. "We''ll do itter though, don''t be so impatient."


    I kissed her little and cute nose, as she stopped pouting and then kissed my lips back.


    "Okay~ But let''s make out for a bit¡­ We couldn''t really get going with all your family there." She looked into my eyes with a slightly teasing smile.


    "Do we really need to¡­" I sighed.


    "For a bit!" She quickly started kissing me again. "Come on¡­ Let me suck on your tongue a bit¡­"


    "You''ve gotten lewder for no reason¡­" I was trying to mask it, but she was making me really embarrassed.


    However, I quickly noticed my Spirits were still here, so I better cut it out for now.


    I gave her a single kiss in her lips and then stood up.


    "Let''s go eat breakfast, we''ll have some time aler." I smiled.


    "Fine~ But make me some pancakes!" Erika asked, following me from behind as I walked back inside the house.


    "Alright, anything for you." I said.


    "Aww~! Do you love me that much?" She asked with puppy eyes, holding my arm.


    "Yeah, but I worry I might spoil you too much now¡­" I wondered.


    "Heheh! I love it when you spoil me." She giggled innocently.


    She was really and truly a sunshine, this girl¡­


    Always making me smile no matter what, her giggle often lifting my spirits every time I heard it.


    It is hard not to spoil her when she''s a source of endless bliss for me.


    "Fufu, it is so adorable to see the two interact like this¡­" Eleanora giggled in the back.


    "Erika is such a cute girl¡­" Celestina was making a weird face.


    "Why is auntie Celestina making that face?" Saphira wondered.


    "Don''t pay attention to her face, girl." Woo sighed.


    "Yeah¡­" Eriant agreed.


    The Vampire Spirits had turned near invisible through their translucent forms, made to save on spirit energy and mana.


    It allowed them to apany us around and interact with the world without bringing too much attention to themselves.


    As we went back home, I heard mom and grandma were already awake, cooking breakfast together.


    My father was still asleep because it was the weekend and he usually slept untilte, tending the crops is important but his Mouse Spirit dedicated himself to help, and moved independently even when he slept.


    In fact, as we moved back home, we noticed the little mouse working on the fields as usual. It ate any bug, bad herb, or even other mice it could find as its "payment".


    It had been growing quite fattely, it is sure a glutton¡­


    "Oh dear, you''re back." My mother said. "Were you tending the crops with Erika?"


    "Ah, no, I was meditating and doing other things." I said with a slight embarrassment.


    "Heheh, yeah." Erika giggled teasingly.


    My mother and my grandmother looked at one another, smiling¡­


    "I see~ Well, you''re free to do as you please, but make sure to be careful, alright?" My mother said.


    "Hohoho, I always knew little ke would be a very active youngd." My grandmotherughed.


    "W-What? No, it is not what you''re imagining!" I facepalmed.


    "Yeah it was that!" Erika nodded, thinking they meant just kissing.


    But these twodies meant somethingpletely different!


    Knock, knock!


    However, interrupting theirughter, someone knocked at the door.


    "ke? Erika? I''m here for breakfast! I brought cream puffs and coffee!"


    It was Elizabeth.


    -----

 Chapter 874: Elizabeths Charm

    -----


    Elizabeth joined us for breakfast, as we all gathered around the table to eat. My father ended waking up after around twenty minutes, and with him came my two siblings, who were carried on his arms.


    They both looked sleepy but were filled with energy once they saw me. Their Familiars followed them anywhere they went.


    "So you''re Rank 5 already, I see." Elizabeth nodded while drinking some coffee. "That''s nice then! I think most of us already guessed you would be Rank 5 by now. Are you going to summon more Spirits?"


    "I haven''t yet, but I should do it soon enough." I said. "I''m still nning on evolving my Spirits first before I summon new ones¡­ It''s starting to get crowded because I get two instead of one¡­"


    "Well, I am quite surprised that they''re always smart enough to talk too!" Erika said. "Will you ever get a Summon that won''t be super smart from the get-go?"


    "Maybe." I said. "It all depends on luck at the end¡­" I shrugged it off.


    I didn''t want to go into details about why they were intelligent to begin with. Trying to exin them everything would be too much of a hassle.


    "Hmm! These cream puffs are so good!" An was happily munching on the treat.


    "Can I have another one, Elizabeth?" Anna had already finished her own and asked for more.


    "Hehe, sorry but only one per person, I only bought about ten after all." Elizabeth apologized.


    "You can have pancakes if you want." I offered them some, which I had already served for some.


    "Pancakes! Pancakes! Pancakes!"


    The two quickly started cheering for more delicious breakfast sweets, as Eleanora nodded and swiftly brought them a te with pancakes, some fruits on top, and syrup.


    "Thank you Eleanora!"


    Anna quickly began eating it without stopping, my father had to stop her now and then so she wouldn''t eating too much.


    Knock, knock!


    And as we enjoyed breakfast together, another person quickly came to visit us, Erika''s mother, who had arrived slightlyter for breakfast.


    "Sorry for being sote. I usually wake up very early in the morning but¡­ I somehow overslept." She apologized, sitting between Erika and my mother.


    "Oh it''s fine, Cattalina, we don''t mind." My mother giggled, patting her shoulders. "Maybe you needed a proper rest."


    "Perhaps¡­ This vige is very rxing. Being away from the big and bustling city of Stronghold has calmed me down more than I imagined." Cattalina sighed in relief.


    "I''m happy you managed to rest more peacefully, mom." Erika said. "Do you want some pancakes? ke made them!"


    "Oh? Well, sure thing dear." Her mother smiled and received the food right away.


    "Let me get you a coffee- or a tea, what do you want?" My mother asked.


    "A tea is fine, thank you so much." Cattalina smiled.


    The fist time I meet her, I remember how tense and serious she always was. It felt as if she was never being her true self.


    But wherever she got into this vige and has a vacation with everyone else, it feels like she can finally be herself.


    She''s overly grateful with everyone for their hospitality though, it might be due to the manners she was taught in the royal family.


    But even then, she has slightly changed¡­ I believe.


    "How''s Erdrich going?" I asked Elizabeth.


    "Oh, he''s fine! He managed to get back to his house, and he told me that things went really well." Elizabeth smiled. "He was really happy. His father seemed really impressed by what he had aplished, something he learned beforehand. And because his siblings still love him and they had grown up a lot, they forced his father to reconcile with him¡­ I think things might improve.


    He has shown that he is someone incredible. I''m sure his father is beginning to regret how he treated his son."


    "That''s¡­ unexpectedly good." I was impressed. "Maybe Erdrich''s dad wasn''t as stupid as I imagined¡­"


    "A father is a father, my son." Dad said. "We sometimes can''t be the best parent out there. We have many ws ourselves but¡­ If he truly loved his kid, I know he''ll surely get past his beliefs and other things, and ept his son no matter what."


    "Yeah, that''s right." Nodded my mother. "Perhaps we could meet up with him someday? I''m sure his view of his son would improve further if he could meet all the friends he has made."


    "I''ve been thinking about that too! ke, would you be willing to help me out setting up some sort of meeting with his family?" Asked Elizabeth.


    "Well, they''re a noble family, it depends on their decision if they want a meeting or not- Ah." I quickly realized she meant other thing. "So you want me to somehow force the situation?" I facepalmed.


    "Heheh, I know you can do it." She smiled.


    "I''ll see what I can do but I won''t promise anything." I said. "If he''s busy with his family, I suppose we can meet with him sometimeter. We don''t really have to always stick together every day."


    "ke, dear, don''t be like that." My mother said. "You''ve gotta love all your friends and always sitck with them every day!"


    "That''s way too much though¡­" I sighed. "I sometimes just want some time alone with my family- Of course, that includes Erika''s mother and Elizabeth too."


    "I-It makes me happy you consider me a member of your family¡­" Elizabeth blushed a bit, her saintly beauty quickly startling my parents.


    The sunlight shone through the window, making her wless face look even more endearing and her long, blonde hair shine with sparkles of light.


    Her beautiful golden eyes were also quite startling, and she emanated a natural aura of holiness around her to boot.


    "O-Of course! Not only ke, but we also all wee you here, dear." My mother giggled. "You''re a lovely girl, I''m sure my son has taken good care of you, right?"


    "He''s quite ambitious, going for three girls at the same time, but I got nothing to say, I know he takes good care of you." My dad nodded.


    "You''re such an angel! You can stay here as much as you want." My grandmother giggled.


    "Hahah¡­ Thank you! I will try to stay as much as I can!" Elizabeth quickly got a bit¡­ ahead of herself.


    -----

 Chapter 875: Moving Out

    -----


    Breakfast ended and everyone scattered away. My parents decided to go tend on the crops for the moment, while my siblings yed on the backyard with their Familiars and the Spirits.


    Meanwhile, I was left to think about a few things as I admired the beautiful visage of the vige and the surrounding forest.


    Seeing everyone so happy, I don''t know if I should even offer them the possibility of bing Vampires.


    Even if it could bring a lot of strength, it might also change things, they would stop aging, and maybe that''s not what they truly wanted.


    I''ve seen many people in this world already that have lived their lives fulfilled, and just wanted to pass away peacefully.


    Bing ageless might not be the true aim of most people in this world, I suppose I''ve been slightly wrong about a few things myself.


    And seeing how charismatic and prideful my friends are, I doubt they would want to rely on even more of my power and help either.


    And the "bing ageless" thing might be considered more of a curse than a pro to most people, including Erika and Elizabeth, whom I discussed this.


    "So you''ve awakened such a power¡­" Elizabeth sighed. "It does feels like it is very strong but¡­ bing ageless, and also risking the possibility of dulling their emotions and gaining a body that might not be able to generate warmth by itself? It seems quite like a cursed existence, don''t you think?"


    "Cursed?" I wondered.


    I never knew any better about my previous life, I was born a Vampire, so I was never given the option to live a fulfilling life like I was doing now.


    "Yeah, don''t you see? To be negated of the core things that make us who we are, mortals, humans." Elizabeth said. "To age, to feel the passage of time, to feel and experience all kinds of emotions, and to feel the warmth of our bodies, our energy, our love¡­ It might seem like nothing to some people that are only focused on gaining strength but¡­ To me, it feels like a cursed existence."


    "Is¡­ that so¡­" I remained in silence after hearing those words.


    I don''t know why they hit so hard, so deep down in my heart.


    Was my previous life a cursed existence?


    Now that I think about it, that I was never able to reciprocate Eleanora''s love, and that everything always felt dull aside from the thrill of battle and survival.


    That it always felt like I was moving a puppet instead of my own body, with only strings attached between the body and my soul¡­


    Although we possess many powers and incredible abilities, we are still the children of an ursed Eldritch Being. We are negated the joy of life; ites as a fair exchange for our powers.


    That I and my spirits can enjoy these abilities without the cons anymore is miraculous by itself¡­


    It makes me realize how lonely was Asmodeus life, despite always being surrounded by allies everywhere, and despite always moving from one ce to another.


    A life of solitude, even when surrounded by friends¡­


    "Elizabeth! That was a bit harsh, don''t you think?!" Erika got slightly angry at her. "B-ke, are you okay?" She approached me as she noticed I felt slightly disheartened.


    "I''m fine, don''t worry." I smiled faintly. "I was just thinking¡­"


    "I-I''m sorry, I didn''t mean to say it as an offensive thing. I know your Spirits are Vampires, and even your own abilities are also rted to this Vampirism Power." Elizabeth apologized. "Technically, you''re a Vampire too, isn''t it?"


    "In a way, but not really." I said. "I developed this power through a Physique, and it has been refined to posses none of such weaknesses."


    "I see¡­" Elizabeth said. "Still, I''m sorry¡­" She held my hand tenderly as she looked into my eyes.


    "I''ve investigated a lot before, but I''ve never found records about "Vampires" before, but I''ve found out that powers, abilities, and new schools of magic are born whenever new Talents and Spirits are born possessing them." She said. "The power of Vampires must have been born with you and your Spirits. I think that despite the cons, there might be people willing to take on that power to do good."


    "Elizabeth¡­" I sighed. "Yes, I suppose you''re not wrong. It could be a good punishment¡­ for bastards that would be better leaving alive than dead."


    "T-That''s a bit too much but I guess I can''t judge you." She giggled a bit. "I always knew you''re quite a merciless person when ites to evil people and demons."


    "Hmm, I don''t know much myself about this stuff, but I think we''re good! I doubt any of our friends would ever want that power though." Said Erika. "But as you said, you can use it on others!"


    "Maybe we could use it on those Demon Lords, they''re pretty strong, right?" Elizabeth asked. "We could ensure their loyalty with that power and recruit them to our side, so they tell us all the intel."


    "Not a bad idea at all." I smiled. "You''re more scheming than I originally thought, dear Elizabeth."


    "Hehe, of course." She smiled. "My father taught me that a foolish Saintess will only get herself killed¡­ I have to be as scheming as those that would try to take advantage of me."


    I do know she''s quite cunning sometimes, and very smart, but she surprised me yet again with those words.


    "This conversation is bing slightly wicked now." Eleanora giggled a bit. "But weren''t we going to hunt some monsters in the grasnds to help your siblings level up?"


    "And their familiars." I nodded. "Yes, I suppose we should get going."


    We moved out of the house as I quickly called the two rascals, telling my mother we were going for a short monster hunting session.


    "Oh, you''re going already? Make sure toe back in time for lunch, okay?" My mother said.


    "I''ll apany you guys another day!" My dad waved his hand.


    "Sure, don''t worry about it."


    We said our goodbyes as we moved to the grasnds with my two, overly excited siblings.


    -----

 Chapter 876: Hunting Monsters As A Family

    -----


    These Grasnds had many names, people often called them the "Green Sea" others the "Great Grasnds" and a few only "Green ins". It was an extensive, almost desertic ce where only grass grew on.


    There was nothing else in here than grass for hundreds of kilometers, of course, that is in terms of nts. In thest years, as the monsters were driven away from the forest, they had moved to the grasnds.


    And because the ce was full of easy prey such as Horned Rabbits and the Grasnds Horses, the monsters that were forced to move out due to the Spiritual Barriers from Erika''s trees have prospered in here and multiplied.


    Eventually, when monsters prosper and multiply, mutations ur and they can begin growing stronger over time, evolving into stronger forms with each passing year.


    And because of a certain nt-type monster that multiplied and prospered the most here, the grasnds have given a drastic change, there were now many gardens of enormous, oversized flowers and grass nts, which made the usual peaceful grasnds look much more menacing and mysterious.


    Because of these changes, the Adventurer Guild had topletely analyze the difficulty of this area and catalogued it as a Rank D to Rank C Haunt.


    Haunts are open areas filled with monsters simr to dungeons, not all of them form through Miasma, this area formed through the growth of many monsters interfering with the ecology and terraforming this ce into somethingpletely new.


    I haven''t visited this ce myself at all though, so all of this would be some new adventures for me. The entire area is now named "Elios Garden" and due to the oversized flowers and nts, each one the size of over thirty meters tall, this isn''t a ce any newbie adventurerse to visit.


    "Wow, the flowers and the grass are so big!" An said.


    "Big brother, what''s this ce?!" Anna asked adorably.


    "This is Elios'' Garden. It used to be a peaceful grasnd but due to nt-type monsters changing thendscape a lot, it has be a D to C Rank Haunt." I exined. "A perfect ce for us to grind Experience Points for all of you."


    "B-But we''re like onlyparable to F Rank or something!" An cried. "C-Can we do anything?!"


    "Come on An don''t be so cowardly! Big brother has faith in us!" Anna said.


    Although they seemed cute thinking I would make them fight, they were far from the truth. Although I faced many challenges at their age, I didn''t want them to suffer too much.


    So I''ll simply carry them in my "bus" until they get strong enough. Quite literally, we''ll just kill monsters for them until they level up enough to fight themselves.


    "Nah~ Your big brother and your sisters-inw are going to carry you!" Erika giggled.


    "Carry us? Like in your arms?" An asked innocently.


    "That''s not it, dear." Elizabeth smiled, patting An''s head. "We''ll carry you in terms of leveling. We''ll weaken monsters and you''ll only need to strike the final blow with your pets."


    "Leave it to your big sisters-inw!" Eleanora said proudly.


    The twins were naturally excited to be given such an opportunity, and all three of them were already calling themselves their sisters-inw¡­


    Well, I suppose they weren''t wrong in that.


    "Uwaaah! Really?!" An asked.


    "We''re so lucky to have such cool big sisters!" Anna said happily. "Did you hear, Paprika?! You''re leveling in a sh!"


    "Grooar!" The little me smander roared.


    "But our pets can''t level up though, right?" An wondered.


    "They can absorb the Spirit Orbs of foes they can defeat." I exined. "There are many F Rank Monsters in here too. So we''ll get them easily- Oh, talking about that."


    As we made our way into the first "forest" of giant flowers and grass, we were quickly greeted by a dozen of creatures charging at us, which had detected us from afar.


    They were Gray-colored rats the size of cats, with big colorful flowers popping out of their heads. These wee Gardener Rats, protectors of the Elios Gardens.


    "Gardener Rats, F+ Rank, easy enough." I nodded, waving my hand. "{Shadow Blood Threads}"


    FLAAASH!


    Threads of shadows and blood surged from my hands, quickly catching the dozens of rats in a split of a second from even moving.


    At this point, when I''ve been able to y a S- Rank Monster, F+ Rank Monsters are absolutely nothing to worry about.


    I still remember when I struggled fighting monsters of this Level when I was younger¡­


    "Crieek! Keekk!"


    The ratsined angrily but couldn''t move an inch. If I pressed the threads only slightly, they would immediately be sliced into pieces.


    "W-Woah, that was quick¡­" Said An.


    "Big brother is awesome!" Anna said, cheering for me like a little cheerleader.


    "Alright, here." I said, giving the two the custom knives I''ve crafted.


    They were made using the bones of strong monsters, draconic crystals, mithril, and spirit orb dust, they were amazingly strong and easy to wield, without any restrictions.


    "Wow, weapons?" Anna asked.


    "What are these, big bro?" An asked.


    "You''ve hunted with dad before, right?" I asked. "These are special Butcher Knives, I called them Draconic Spirit Knives, they''re easy to wield and strong, and have defense piercing capabilities. They''re B Rank too, not bad at all for something I had made hastily."


    "Oh¡­ S-So we have to stab them?" Asked little An.


    "An, don''t be a coward!" Said Anna. "Let''s do this!"


    As they were about to, Eleanora stopped me.


    "Wait a bit¡­ I know we want to carry them, but this seems quite easy even for them. How about we free one rat at a time and make them fight it?" Eleanora asked. "We can heal them from any damage they taketer, and like this, they can polish their fighting skills."


    "Right¡­" I nodded. "Are you fine with that?"


    The twins looked at one another, An was slightly afraid, but his turtle would protect him.


    The two nodded after thinking a bit.


    "Alright then¡­"


    "Krieek!"


    I freed a rat, which quickly came rushing towards us¡­


    -----

 Chapter 877: A New Chance

    -----


    "Krieek! Keeek!"


    The fat Gardener Rat rushed towards my siblings, opening its jaws and pointing the sharp teeth it had against them. Because of its speed, An panicked slightly, stepping back.


    However, his turtle, Emerald, spun into action, striking the rat in the head!


    BAAAMM!!


    "Gryyeekh!"


    The rat rolled over the ground, its head bleeding¡­ Emerald stood in front of An bravely, despite being a rather shy-looking Familiar.


    "E-Emerald! You protected me?"


    "Guuh!"


    The turtle nodded, as little An suddenly felt like he could do anything as long as his pet was there to protect him.


    "T-Then!"


    An summoned the Silver Flute Spirit he had, his only Spirit so far, and quickly used it to sing a beautiful rhythm with it.


    FLAASH!


    A powerful buff to Attack and Defense blessed him and his sister and the familiars all at once, this was the power of their spirits.


    They couldn''t fight with them, but the spirits had the amazing abilities of supporting their allies with both healing and buffing.


    "Krieeek!"


    The Gardener Rat swiftly stood back up, gathering Mana into its jaws and sprinting back to attack, its teeth now capable of piercing more strongly.


    "Paprika!"


    Little Annamanded her familiar, the me Smander leaped into the air and absorbed air, firing several fireballs from its mouth.


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!


    The Gardener Rat was swiftly burned alive, falling on the ground and dying rather quickly¡­


    BAAM!


    "Wow, we did it!" Anna said happily.


    "I-I barely did anything though." An sighed. "Hm? I feel a bit stronger¡­"


    "Me too!" Anna said.


    They had been hunting Horned Rabbits before, although with my father''s supervision, so their levels should be slightly higher than just level zero.


    And a quick inspection on their little Statuses quickly revealed to me they were Level 3, after leveling up just now.


    Their Level Cap was at Level 10, and they were born without Talent, like me. It is a bit troublesome they have no Talents, but I believe they could probably develop one through some method.


    Perhaps my Creation Skills could do something about that. My Familiar Skills can only bestow Talents to Familiars, I can''t use them on my siblings.


    But the Power Bestowal Skill I possess might just do the trick¡­ Though, perhaps asking the Holy Spirits for that might be quicker.


    As I freed more Rats for them to hunt, Eleanora, Elizabeth, and Erika made sure to heal them and buff them as they fought.


    In the meantime, I decided to have a chat with the Holy Spirits regarding people born without a Talent, and the reason behind why Spirits are always guaranteed but a Talent isn''t.


    The Grimoire swiftly showcased me their messages.


    [The {Holy Spirit of Light} says that the reason why some people is born without Talents has to do with Bloodlines and Affinities within them.]


    [Meanwhile, the origin of Spirits is something that has been gifted to every single person, it is a vital organ they develop when growing up, a Spirit will always develop one way or another.]


    [However, Bloodlines also have to do with it. The Ancient People, especially those that directly descend from Heroes or Spirit Races themselves, naturally have higher affinity and might be born with much stronger Spirits.]


    [Simrly, people can be born with Spirits slightly simr to their parents, usually sharing one or two traits, and some element inmon. Which also corrtes with Magic Element Affinity.]


    [You descend from a family of serfs that was unremarkable, it was a miracle your father had a Talent as a Farmer, which appeared randomly within the bloodline.]


    [However, because he had children with someone of another family who have been born without Talents, the chances for his children to have one also decreased.]


    [Thanks to the Grimoire, you were able to develop a Talent anyways, and evolve it as you Ranked Up. The Grimoire has helped you ovee the weakness of your Bloodline.]


    [Additionally, based on Divine Blessings, new Talents can emerge as well.]


    "I see how it is¡­ Quite an unfair thing, huh? Good thing Hero Allen made sure everyone was born with a Spirit, so everyone had equal chances now." I sighed. "However, to think Talents are affected by such trifling matters as Bloodlines¡­ So they''re not a thing of the soul then?"


    [The {Holy Spirit of Love} exins that they are a part of a Soul, but this part can only develop through a specific affinity contained within Bloodlines.]


    [They don''t know too much, but the Holy Spirits think that whoever created the power of Talents, had acquired it through transforming their own bodies and bloodlines first, hence, it could only be inherited to their offspring.]


    [The Bloodlines eventually divided and became more diverse with new forms appearing every time, infinite variations depending on elemental affinities appeared.]


    [However, because there were also untalented people, several bloodlines weakened until they lost almost all their affinities, while those that kept having children between Talented almost always had offspring with Talents.]


    "Such a shitty system, whoever made this is fucked." I sighed. "Nheless, can I give a Talent to someone? I can do it to Familiars already, no? And I feel like I''ve grasped a bit of the power of Divinity too."


    [The {Holy Spirits} have been considering that¡­]


    [And as a result, through the power of your {Grand Creator} Subss, it shouldn''t be impossible.]


    [The very reason they made this Special Subss was for you to change how the world worked¡­ For you to Create new Paths.]


    "I guess you''re also against this weird bloodline inheritance system." I nodded. "Very well, how do we do this?"


    [The {Holy Spirit of Light} says they have already decided to do something. The Skill [Power Bestowal] has been modified.]


    [As long as you pay the price in Spirit Orbs, you can bestow Talents to people that do not possess them, by making them touch your Grimoire''s pages.]


    [They will be able to choose the avable Talent, but it will always start at 1 Star, and can only pick one once they reach Level 10.]


    [Once the Talent Path is chosen, it cannot be changed anymore.]


    "Spirit Orb as the only price?" I smiled. "Perfect then¡­"


    And my siblings have just in all the Gardener Rats, their level very close to Level 10 by now.


    -----

 Chapter 878: Determined Little Siblings

    -----


    "Big brother! Big brother! What''s my level now?" Anna asked excited.


    "What''s mine?" An wondered.


    "You''re both Level 7 now, well done. Your knife skills are not bad either! Father has been teaching you well." I nodded. "Looks like you learned the Knife Strike Skill, interesting¡­"


    "Wow, really?!" Anna asked. "Amazing! I''m so cool! Paprika, you''re cool too!"


    "I wonder what happens if we reach Level 10?" An wondered.


    "We''ll see~" Iughed.


    We kept moving across the Garden, as we encountered more monsters on the way. Gardener Rats and Gardener Rabbits were the mostmon.


    They looked like the normal Gray Rat and Horned Rabbits but had flowers on their heads. It was slightly unsettling.


    They were also working together, as if they were some sort of team despite being different species. The flowers on their heads might be manipting them to cooperate and protect the Elios Garden from outsiders.


    Whichever power settled down in the grasnds and created these flowers, it is not just a normal one. Not even the Adventurer Guild has meet it yet.


    They attacked us on small packs, so they were easy to dispose of with some minimal effort, no more than F+ Rank and E- Rank Monsters appeared.


    The strongest of them, once we reached the end of this patch of flowers, was a pack of Gardener Wolves, who also held flowers on their heads, and were simr to Gray Wolves, butrger and more muscr, with crazed eyes.


    It was a pack of around ten, with this the twins should be able to hit Level 10 easily¡­ But they were also E+++ Rank, almost nearing D- Rank!


    They wouldn''t be easy for them to take down even with the assistance of their little familiars.


    "GROOAAR!"


    The Gardener Pack Leader roared, boosting the stats of its pack, the dozens of wolves crazily rushed forwards, leaping to attack us.


    It would end with a wave of my hand if I wanted to, but we decided to y different now.


    "Elizabeth."


    "Okay! {Fortress of Light}!"


    FLAAASH!


    Elizabeth quickly conjured her magic, as a fortress of light materialized surrounding us. The wolves tried piercing through it furiously but were unable to.


    "Good. Now, are you two ready? These things are equal to D Rank monsters." I said to my siblings. "Can you do it?"


    "We''ll do it!" Anna said.


    "I-I''ll try¡­!" An nodded.


    "Okay then."


    Elizabeth heard my words, as she let a wolf enter, the beast rabidly rushed towards my siblings, at lightning speed. They could barely see its movements.


    The two were sweating rapidly, nervous about the beast drawing closer.


    "E-Emerald!"


    An called his pet, Emerald spun in midair and then hit the wolf''s legs, pushing it back.


    "GUUBO!"


    And after that, its shell grew metallic and crystal spikes, firing them at the wolf and piercing its body.


    The beast survived that, furiously kicking the turtle away as it started bleeding. It seemed to not even react to pain, just like the other monsters.


    "Paprika!"


    Anna called her familiar pet, Paprika opened her tiny mouth and fired holy mes, fireballs quickly hitting the wolf constantly, weakening it even more.


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!


    However, the beast continued its charge, even as it was burning alive, and caught up to them, a strong bite almost bit through An''s head, if he didn''t evade in thest second by crouching fearfully.


    "Uwaah! {Knife Strike}!!!"


    His Mana loaded the knife I gifted him, a powerful draconic aura erupted from the weapon''s special {Dragon Aura} Ability, as the power of the Knife Strike Skill was enhanced several times over!


    CRASH!


    "Gryyaaerrgh!"


    The Wolf gave ast scream of anger rather than pain, its neck was pierced and sliced open by An desperately¡­


    BAAM!


    The corpse quickly fell on the ground, the warm blood still on my brother''s hands and face.


    "Hahhh¡­ Hahhh¡­ I-I did it?!" An had a hard time believing he actually did it.


    "Well done!" Anna congratted her brother. "Me next! I''ll kill one myself, big brother!"


    "Okay, are you two ready for the next?" I asked with a smile. "The only way for you to grow stronger and gain skills is to push yourselves to your limits. You already possess Ki and have cultivated it alongside your Mana as I''ve told you, right? Your stats have also increased with the Dragon Blood Elixirs. Your foundation is good enough. Elizabeth!"


    "Okay then!"


    Elizabeth this time freed two wolves, the two beasts swiftly rushed towards my siblings, who bravely greeted them by healing and buffing each other with their Spirits and using the Familiar Pets to defend and attack from a long distance.


    Whenever the wolves became dizzier and could not attack properly, they would aim at the legs, as I''ve told them, immobilizing them and stabbing their throats.


    They sustained some damage, as Anna, on her reckless, was bitten on her arm and it almost broke. She cried a lot, but Elizabeth healed it in a second until it was as good as new.


    "Sniff¡­" She cried a bit more before feeling better. "It hurt a lot, big bro¡­"


    "It''s okay, if you don''t want to continue with this training, we can leave it for another day." I smiled. "Sorry for pushing you so hard¡­"


    "N-No! It''s fine!" She suddenly gave me an answer I didn''t expect. "Big brother and his friends¡­ Have been fighting even more terrible monsters! Even dad has fought demons! I-I can''t be a weakling!"


    "You''re only almost five years old though¡­" Erika said. "Don''t be reckless we can train doing easier things!"


    "No! I wanna fight!" Anna said angrily. "I''m going to beat all the angry wolves!"


    "Hahaha, alright." I smiled. "I won''t reject my sister''s resolve. An, make sure to tell Emerald to protect you two, that turtle is tough, use him as your shield without shame."


    "Gubo!" Emerald agreed.


    "O-Okay!" An nodded quickly.


    Like that, the wolves were freed in pairs, giving them more experience and also more challenges. They still sustained some wounds which were healed almost instantly, and slowly, these children became much tougher than I could have ever predicted.


    When the Pack Leader stepped in as the "final boss", their eyes had somewhat changed, glowing with fearless determination.


    -----

 Chapter 879: Granting Talents To Siblings

    -----


    Emerald blocked attacks, spinning rapidly around the battlefield.


    Paprika constantly fired as many projectiles as it could, burning the pack leader''s entire body.


    Meanwhile, An and Anna worked together, their Golden and Silver Ki Auras surging from their bodies, enhancing their physical prowess.


    They barely evaded or blocked attacks, while aiming at the legs, until they finally pierced through the two back legs, making the wolf copse.


    Thanks to my amazing knife, they were able to release a Dragon Aura whenever they activated a knife skill, piercing through the monster''s defenses.


    Once in the floor, they kept their distance and attacked it with long ranged spells they had learned.


    "{Silver Arrows}!"


    "{Golden de}!"


    Their elements were quite unique, both were abination of Light, Life, and Metal. I simply called them "Silver" and "Gold" elements.


    An conjured small arrows made of silver-colored light, while Anna conjured a big de of golden-colored light.


    The projectiles overwhelmed the wolf pack leader, who ultimately perished, while my siblings took minimal damage¡­


    "AWROOO¡­!"


    The mighty beast died, it was actually D Rank, so it was an amazing feat to defeat it!


    Above all, both reached Level 10.


    "W-We did it! Phew¡­" An sighed in relief.


    "That was tougher¡­ than the others." Anna sighed; she was exhausted.


    The two Familiars with them seemed tired too. Unique Familiars, unlike the others, can grow exhausted and need to eat and sleep as well.


    We made sure to heal them all before everything else, the two were rather hungry now, so I gave them some sandwiches for the meantime.


    It was already about to be 4 PM, so we better head back.


    Not before they Rank Up though.


    "Alright, you hit Level 10, looks like you haven''t Ranked Up yet, good." I smiled. "The way to not Rank up automatically is by holding back the growth of a Spirit Orb, you''ve held it back, right?"


    "Yeah!"


    "Yes¡­"


    The twins nodded, excited about what was going to happen now.


    "Good." I quickly summoned my grimoire and made it visible. "Now touch these pages in my grimoire and pick a Talent."


    "We can?!" Anna asked.


    "But we don''t have Talents¡­" An said.


    "Yes, that''s why I''m saying this. With this power, you can actually get Talents." I nodded. "This will be a big decision for your growth in the future, so make sure to pick something good. Anna is first because she''s too eager."


    "Okay!" Anna touched the grimoire.


    Information flowed in through the page, as the Grimoire gave a dinging sound.


    Ding!


    [Anna] has been detected as someone capable of receiving a Talent]


    [Please, choose one of thepatible Talents.]


    [Farmer: ¡ï]


    [Musician Of the Golden Bell: ¡ï]


    [Golden Squire: ¡ï]


    [Gold Magician: ¡ï]


    There were four options for Anna, the first one was perhaps from our father, and thest three were very unique.


    They offered three distinct paths for her now.


    "The first one is for specializing on your spirit''s support abilities." I exined to her. "The second is to specialize on physical and close-quarter fighting styles using your Gold Attribute, thest one is to specialize on using Gold Magic as a long-ranged attacker."


    "Oooh¡­" Anna was excited to pick one, but she knew she had to be careful.


    This would define the Path she would move through in her life, so it was a very important choice. She had to take into consideration her strengths and weaknesses first.


    "I like to fight in the front to protect An¡­" She said. "And I life using my knife! But I also like using Golden Magic¡­ The Golden Squire implies it has Gold Magic, right?"


    "In a way, yes." I nodded. "If you let me be honest, you have the potential to be a speedy magic knight. Using both magic and sword or dagger techniques."


    "T-Then!" Anna had already taken her choice.


    Ding!


    [Anna] has chosen the [Golden Squire: ¡ï] Talent!]


    [Her Level has been reset to Level 0!]


    [Her Level Cap has opened to Level 30!]


    [All her Stats have increased.]


    [She gained the [Golden Swordsmanship: Lv1] Physical Skill and the [Golden de: Lv1] Magical Skill!]


    [She acquired the [Little Golden Squire: Lv1] Title Skill!]


    [Her [Spirit Orb Rank 1 (Middle Stage)] has Ranked up to Rank 1 Upper Stage!]


    [She has gained more Mana, and her Spirit has be slightly stronger.]


    She already at Upper Stage, huh? Only Peak Stage left before she can Rank to Rank 2!


    Insane¡­ If we can keep hastening her growth, she could grow at almost a simr pace than I did.


    Sadly, I can''t be here supervising their constant growth all the time, so it is bound to slow down once the vacations end.


    "Woow!"


    Anna was engulfed in a powerful golden aura, covering her entire little body. Her eyes shone with golden light.


    She chosen an amazing Talent, even if it was only one star, it has incredible potential based in all the Skills she got from the get-go!


    "I feel so strong now, big bro!" She was spinning around and then used her Mana to summon a Golden de with ease. "So cool! I can conjure the spell with ease now! It became a Skill!"


    "Congrattions." Iughed. "You''re going to be amazing in the future¡­ As long you keep working hard."


    "I will! I will!" She happily nodded.


    An was looking at me with puppy-like eyes.


    "Big bro¡­ My turn?"


    "Of course. Touch the grimoire."


    "Oway¡­"


    He timidly touched the pages, as they showed new information¡­


    Ding!


    [An] has been detected as someone capable of receiving a Talent]


    [Please, choose one of thepatible Talents.]


    [Farmer: ¡ï]


    [Bard Of the Silver Flute: ¡ï]


    [Silver Archer: ¡ï]


    [Silver Magician: ¡ï]


    The options he could take were rather simr, but at the same time different! Is this because he does have that much talent to fight in the fronts due to his timid nature?


    It is amazing how personality traits can also influence what Talents are generated, this is not something that urs naturally because Talents are decided through Bloodlines and Chance.


    "So, An? What will you pick?"


    "Uuuhh¡­"


    He was very indecisive too¡­


    -----

 Chapter 880: Stronger Siblings

    -----


    Ding!


    [An] has been detected as someone capable of receiving a Talent]


    [Please, choose one of thepatible Talents.]


    [Farmer: ¡ï]


    [Bard Of the Silver Flute: ¡ï]


    [Silver Archer: ¡ï]


    [Silver Magician: ¡ï]


    "Umm¡­"


    Before the options, little An was very confused and indecisive¡­ He really didn''t know what to pick. It was within his nature to overly think things.


    "Simrly to Anna''s Talents, you''ve got something pretty equal." I exined. "The Bard is for support, the Silver Archer is to use archery at long range, has father taught you some?"


    "Y-Yes¡­ But my Aim is not that good yet¡­" An sighed.


    "I suppose father knows you don''t like running into danger, so he taught you archery because of your nature." I nodded. "Dad''s really knowledgeable about these things."


    "Um, can I use my Silver Magic with Archery?" He asked.


    "Most likely." I nodded. "The arrows of silver magic you created had good aim, but your arrows don''t, why?"


    "I-It''s because its easier to aim with my mind than with my fingers¡­" An sighed.


    "I see how it is¡­ Silver Magician would be good then, but you''ll have to watch out for your Mana Consumption a lot, and that''s a big con. Going full on a magician ss is not rmendable, even less because you would be wasting the Ki you''ve been training. With dad we''ll teach you to gain more confidence using archery."


    "S-Should I be an Archer then?" An wondered. "Sis¡­"


    "Sure! That fits you well! You can stay behind me and Emerald while we tank and lure the foe, and you and Paprika st them from behind!" Anna was into the idea.


    "Oooh!" An suddenly found some confidence once his beloved sister agreed to it. "O-Okay! I''ll protect sis from the back then!"


    Ding!


    [An] has chosen the [Silver Archer: ¡ï] Talent!]


    [His Level has been reset to Level 0!]


    [His Level Cap has opened to Level 30!]


    [All his Stats have increased.]


    [He gained the [Silver Archery: Lv1] Physical Skill and the [Silver Arrows: Lv1] Magical Skill!]


    [He acquired the [Little Silver Archer: Lv1] Title Skill!]


    [His [Spirit Orb Rank 1 (Middle Stage)] has Ranked up to Rank 1 Upper Stage!]


    [He has gained more Mana, and his Spirit has be slightly stronger.]


    FLUOSH!


    Just like Anna, An''s body overflowed with a silver-colored aura, boosting his stats and granting him new skills and powers.


    "A-Amazing, I''m strong now!" He said slightly confidently. "I gained an Archery Skill, even when I couldn''t before¡­! Talents are the best!"


    As he celebrated, the Grimoire absorbed a hundred B Rank Spirit Orbs I had collected as payment for each Talent Awakening.


    Meaning, I had to give up on two hundred!


    ¡­Oh well, it was a little price for their growth.


    These were their status right now.


    -----


    [Name]: [Anna Hunter Goathorn]


    [Race]: [Human]


    [Spirit Orb Realm]: [Rank 1 (Upper Stage)]


    [Talent]: [Golden Squire: ¡ï]


    [Level]: [0/30]


    [Health Points]: [700/700]


    [Mana Points]: [1200/1200]


    [Strength]: [650]


    [Agility]: [550]


    [Vitality]: [600]


    [Intelligence]: [400]


    [Dexterity]: [400]


    [Spirits (1/1)]: [Golden Bell (Rank 1)]


    [Skills]: [Sturdy Body: Lv3] [Dragon Skin: Lv2] [Knife Strike: Lv2] [Golden Chime: Lv2] [Golden Swordsmanship: Lv1] [Golden de: Lv1]


    [Titles]: [Little Golden Squire: Lv1]


    -----


    ¡­


    -----


    [Name]: [An Hunter Goathorn]


    [Race]: [Human]


    [Spirit Orb Realm]: [Rank 1 (Upper Stage)]


    [Talent]: [Silver Archer: ¡ï]


    [Level]: [0/30]


    [Health Points]: [400/400]


    [Mana Points]: [1500/1500]


    [Strength]: [500]


    [Agility]: [600]


    [Vitality]: [400]


    [Intelligence]: [650]


    [Dexterity]: [500]


    [Spirits (1/1)]: [Silver Flute (Rank 1)]


    [Skills]: [Fast Reflexes: Lv3] [Dragon Eyes: Lv2] [Knife Strike: Lv2] [Silver Melody: Lv2] [Siler Archery: Lv1] [Silver Arrows: Lv1]


    [Titles]: [Little Silver Archer: Lv1]


    -----


    I was honestly bbergasted by their high stats¡­ I am pretty sure nobody had such high stats except me at their age.


    This means that both all the dragon elixirs and the ki training has truly paid off! Their base stats should already belong to someone at the initial stage of Rank 2!


    And above all, their Mana!


    Both have above one thousand Mana, this was insane¡­ It means they can activate skills and spells much more easily.


    The Dragon Skill they got from all those Elixirs waspatible too¡­ An got a dragon eye, increasing his uracy, while Anna got a Dragon Skin, increasing her toughness.


    The more they grow, the stronger these two skills will be, until they might even evolve into Unique Skills.


    "Well now, how about we evolve the little guys now?" I looked at Paprika and Emerald.


    "Guboo!"


    "Graooh!"


    They were excited, An and Anna swiftly brought them piles of F Rank Spirit Orbs, ten for each, which they devoured as if they were food instead of how Summons naturally absorbed them.


    The sound of their sharp teeth biting through the hard crystals of the Spirit Orbs resonated loudly, until they finally managed to chew and swallow all of them.


    Evolution quickly urred, their Auras exploded with power as their silhouettes within the auras of light transformed, growing bigger and meaner looking.


    "They''re really evolving! Wowowowow!" Anna was going crazy.


    "So cool!" An said.


    FLAAASH!


    The light faded away, revealing the two new Emerald and Paprika¡­ The turtle had berger than An now, as tall as a meter and a half, with a strong shell, bigger legs, tougher scales, and a meaner look on his eyes.


    Meanwhile, the me smander grown up to the size of a cat, with more beautiful golden and red scales, her horns of gold had be better-looking, resembling a crown of some sort.


    Ding!


    [The Unique Familiars [Paprika] and [Emerald] have sessfully Ranked Up to E+ Rank Familiars!]


    [All their Stats have increased.]


    [They acquired a new Skill!]


    [They have gained Unique Talents of their own.]


    [They have gained new Titles.]


    [Their Growth has been increased to 0/30!]


    At the end they''re quite simr to Leveling, their Growth needs thirty E Rank Spirit Orbs they have acquired by ying or helping on ying these monsters.


    Apparently, other Spirit Orbs obtained through different methods won''t help them grow, which makes me consider how annoying is to rise Unique Familiars.


    You''re literally forced to move around looking for weak monsters¡­ I guess I''m thankful we got this ce to grind for them easily.


    -----

 Chapter 881: The Fast Growth Of Unique Familiars

    -----


    Ding!


    [The Unique Familiars [Paprika] and [Emerald] have sessfully Ranked Up to E+ Rank Familiars!]


    [All their Stats have increased.]


    [They acquired a new Skill!]


    [They have gained Unique Talents of their own.]


    [They have gained new Titles.]


    [Their Growth has been increased to 0/30!]


    [The Bond between the Familiars and their Masters have be stronger. Masters that reach Rank 2 on the Spirit Orb Realm will be able to share one of their Skills.]


    Oh, there''s even the ability to share one of their Skills for themselves?! Amazing! Unique Familiars are truly full of interesting abilities.


    I really want some myself, I do have three more slots, so I should already begin thinking about what I should pick.


    Though, I also need to evolve my already existing Vampire Spirits and summon new Vampire Spirits as well.


    Probably also Evolve Ruby and Blood, those two are already close to max level. They''ve been apanying us as we moved around.


    Ruby mostly flew in the skies and hunted anything it wanted to eat, and Blood was keeping a close look behind us, he was Eleanora''s pet after all.


    Their growth has been rather good:


    -----


    [Name]: [Emerald]


    [Type]: [Lizard] [Earth] [Unique Familiar]


    [Rank]: [E+]


    [Race]: [Big Earth Crystal Tortoise]


    [Talent]: [Geomancer: ¡ï]


    [Health Points]: [1300/1300]


    [Mana Points:] [600/600]


    [Strength]: [700]


    [Agility]: [350]


    [Vitality]: [1000]


    [Intelligence]: [500]


    [Dexterity]: [400]


    [Skill]: [Harden++] [Seismic Wave++] [Spinning Shell++] [Multi Crystal Armored Shell+] [Geomancy+]


    [Title]: [Named Familiar] [Earth Tortoise]


    [Bond]: [An]


    [Growth]: [0/30]


    -----


    ¡­


    -----


    [Name]: [Patrika]


    [Type]: [Lizard] [Fire] [Holy] [Unique Familiar]


    [Rank]: [E+]


    [Race]: [Holy me Smander]


    [Talent]: [Holy Fire Magician: ¡ï]


    [Health Points]: [500/500]


    [Mana Points:] [1300/1300]


    [Strength]: [350]


    [Agility]: [700]


    [Vitality]: [400]


    [Intelligence]: [800]


    [Dexterity]: [500]


    [Skill]: [Fire Tongue++] [Fire Breath++] [Fast Movements++] [Holy re+] [Healing mes+]


    [Title]: [Named Familiar] [Holy Smander]


    [Bond]: [Anna]


    [Growth]: [0/30]


    -----


    Emerald acquired Geomancy, helping it manipte the surrounding ground, while Paprika can now conjure healing mes that purify miasmic, demonic, or dark foes.


    Now that we were done with this training for the day, I decided to move back home, these two are still very young and need to eat and take their naps.


    "Alright, we''re going back home. Mom should be already serving lunch." I said.


    "Eeh? So soon?!" Anna cried. "I want to hunt more monsters first, big bro!"


    "Me too¡­" An sighed. "Can''t we stay a bit longer?"


    "Looks like you''ve gotten slightly addicted to the feeling of gaining experience points." I sighed. "It has happened to Erika and Elizabeth too."


    "T-That''s¡­ I got over it a while ago!" Erika sighed. "Though the Soul me thingy is also addicting¡­"


    "Come on children, we''ve got a whole month. Let''s go back home. I''ll bake you some delicious cupcakes." Elizabeth was very motherly, gently smiling back at the two.


    The cupcake part immediately sold them over, as they "reluctantly" walked back home with us.


    I also wanted to explore more, but I had originallye back to my vige to rx, and I can''t push my siblings more than I already had.


    They weren''t exactly like my friends and needed to rest and prepare. We''ll make sure to explore the Elios Garden through the week.


    I think that by the end of the week, we might reach whatever is hiding at the end of it all¡­


    As we moved back home, I was checking on all the materials I had and considering the evolutions for my Spirits.


    Eleanora''s evolution has been the greatest so far, she has assimted dragon and demon materials to be a Draconic Demon Vampire Queen, and she''s really powerfulpared to everyone else.


    I don''t know if the others arepatible to these materials as Eleanora is, apparently. I need to find specific materials for them.


    I can still use the same I''ve collected from previous Dungeons at the end, but the evolution might not be the strongest.


    Though, I also have to consider the realistic approach of things. I''ve bought a lot of materials for their evolutions from Stronghold City already, I should simply evolve them already.


    Yeah, I suppose this night they''re all going to evolve, once Hendrick and Fange back from their scouting in the Mithril Dungeon where the White Dragon is located at.


    And then, I will summon the two other Vampire Spirits, which I''ll be able to inherit some skills from and gain an evenrger repertoire of them.


    If I include all the Linked Skills, I truly have a gigantic amount of them¡­ I wish I couldbine Skills, but it seems that''s not a function I have unlocked yet.


    "Oh, you''re finally back! Did you really just go to the grasnds?! You took so long!" My mother was waiting for us outside the house, grumpily reprimanding us for taking so long.


    "Sorry, we hunted a lot." Iughed a bit. "These two little goblins have be much stronger."


    "I-I can see it." My mother muttered. "Their Auras¡­ They have be so powerful! Did you do something to them?" She raised an eyebrow.


    "Let''s say the Holy Spirits have blessed them with Talents." Elizabeth smiled, raising her hands as if it were a miracle.


    "T-Talent?!" My mother muttered. "W-Wait a second, you gave them Talents?! Is that a thing?"


    "It is now." I said. "Let''s go in, we can talk more about this inside."


    "Y-Yeah¡­" My mother sighed.


    "Mama I am a Golden Squire now!" Anna said happily.


    "I-I''m an archer I guess." An said.


    "Three children with Talents¡­ This family has truly be blessed." My mother giggled gingerly.


    Once we got inside, Cattalina greeted us, as she has been with my family since the morning, mostly chatting and drinking tea while rxing.


    I''ve never seen her sox before, actually, so it was nice to know Erika''s mother can also smile and genuinely feelfortable.


    We exined the whole family what we did as we enjoyed a delicious lunch made by my mother and my grandma, including noodles with bologna sauce and big meatballs made of dragon meat I gifted to her, and also pizza.


    "Y-You can grant Talents¡­?!" Cattalina was shocked even despite all her strength and experience in her long life.


    -----

 Chapter 882: Distributing Elixirs

    -----


    After the initial shock, the news about this new ability to grant Talents to non-talent-wielders was taken surprisingly easy. I suppose my family was already used to these sorts of surprising things¡­


    "So I was thinking on granting Talents to mom and grandma." I said. "You don''t mind, right?"


    "M-Me?!" My mother asked. "But what good would that even do? It''s not like I even fight myself, it would be a waste of Spirit Orbs, dear."


    "I''m so old I might croak at any moment, save those resources, my grandson. I appreciate the kindness though." My grandmother giggled.


    It seemed the two were adamant against it. I''ve gathered several thousands of B Rank Spirit Orbs, so I was still in a good amount for my next Summons.


    But I suppose I cannot really fight against their will¡­ My mother is younger than my grandmother though, and although she says she doesn''t fight, it would be better she did than not.


    "You can''t just say that! He''s offering you a great opportunity, you two should definitely get a Talent!" Sighed my father. "If I could change myme Farmer Talent I would dly do so, but I am stuck with it."


    "Well, it has progressed quite a lot since you were a one-star farmer, haven''t you noticed?" I asked him. "It''s already three-star, Grandmaster Farmer."


    "EH?! Wait, really?!" My father looked at the status I appraised out of him through my Grimoire. "Wow, so this is my entire Status?! It even has numbers and Skills I didn''t even know I had! What the hell¡­ Can''t I keep this page, ke?"


    "Sure." I nodded. "The grimoire can grow an infinite amount of pages and it regenerates torn ones easily, so take it with you. I usually give a page with their status to all my friends."


    "Thank you my son!" My father happily ripped apart the page, looking at his status in detail.


    It even held some magical abilities, as whenever you pressed a skill or something else, information about them would appear.


    This effect would remain in the page forever, the page would also not dry out, it would not be wet even when thrown into water, and it would always remain pristine and with its original abilities.


    The best part, whenever someone''s status upgraded, it would show how much they have progressed¡­ However, right now I can only appraise people with Status below five-star, the rest only shows very little information.


    "So? Come on, I know you want a Talent, mom." I smiled. "It doesn''t exactly have to be for fighting either. A Talent for cooking, or sewing, even magic! How about conjuring all sorts of spells out of nowhere? Life would be so much easier." I tried to tempt her.


    "I-I have already received enough from you, my son. Enough is enough, alright?" She sighed, crossing her arms.


    "Aw Mary,e on¡­" Sighed my father.


    "Joan, we''ve received so much from our precious son, I don''t want to ask him anything anymore! I am fine as I am!" My mother remained adamant, crossing her arms.


    I guess it cannot be helped, she was adamant on the decision. My grandmother wasn''t any different. Maybe being stubbornes in the family.


    "Well, at least my siblings got amazing talents and some new familiars that will protect them and grow quickly unlike spirits, which grow based in our cultivation." I sighed in relief. "Mom, dad, are you sure you don''t want one of these too? I could train them for you guys and-"


    "Nah, we''re good, son." My dad said. "You''ve already showed me I''ve grown stronger on my own ways. Despite being still stuck at Rank 1 of my Spirit Orb because I have not much affinity with Cultivation, I''ve "leveled up" a lot, and my stats are looking higher than I thought!"


    "You''re perhaps a very rare case, someone at Rank 1 that is probably as strong as Rank 3 Spirit Masters." I nodded.


    Aside from people being born without Talents, sometimes the opposite happens, mostly within serf families, they are born with the inability to cultivate spiritual energy.


    This means they''re usually stuck with a single spirit and can''t go past Rank 1. This is something I''ve been trying to fix for a while now, but because my parents and grandma have been stuck at Rank 1 for so long, their Spirit Orbs have "deteriorated" and can no longer advance.


    This process has to begin at a young age, the reason why my friends were able to get so far even when belonging to simr families.


    It is something I am still trying to figure out, forcefully letting spirit energy flow into their spirit orb might break it, which could kill them.


    It is more delicate than simply giving a Talent, it would need aplete reconstruction of the Spirit Orb, a process and technique I have to find out myself.


    Maybe through some sort of miraculous elixir, but none of the materials avable I possess will help in the making of this miraculous "Spirit Orb Rejuvenation" Elixir, so it is on hold for now.


    Though, my father and my mother have been leveling up on their own anyways. My mother seems to be able to passively gain EXP through cooking, sewing, and attending the crops.


    Despite having no Talent, she can still Rank Up, even though she won''t get a new Talent, she has Ranked Up once, and is now Level 26, she still thinks she''s weak, but her stats are high enough she can do a lot of things without feeling so tired.


    Probably the reason why she''s so durable in all matter of home duties, she''s really a super mom, especially after I awakened her Ki.


    And my father¡­ Well, I brought him these.


    "Here dad, I know you''re a hunter, so at least you need to keep growing stronger." I said, giving him five bottles of Dragon Blood Elixir. "Last time I prioritized Allen and Anna, but now''s your turn. I can''t do anything about your Spirit Orb yet, but I''ll look what I can do in the future. These elixirs will help you get stronger and gain dragon skills."


    "T-These Elixirs¡­ Dragon Elixirs?!" My dad was shaken. "A-Are you sure?!"


    "Of course, don''t hesitate." Iughed. "It is just me repaying you for always protecting me when I was younger, and also for being the vige''s strongest hunter."


    "My son¡­" He cried. "Very well, I''ll take them!"


    -----

 Chapter 883: Summoning New Vampires

    -----


    After he took the Dragon Elixirs, he said he would drink them over time. I was fine with that, after all these Elixirs are rather strong, younger people can digest them quickly, but older people need to take some time in between each bottle.


    With the quantity of bottles I gave to him, he should at least raise his Durability and Strength by a lot, and gain at the very least a dragon skill, and if we''re lucky, he''ll get two.


    These Dragon Elixirs capable of increasing stats and grant Skills are very unique, not something I''ve seen being sold anywhere either, so I might be the only one with such recipe.


    This recipe¡­ Well, I acquired it as part of the rewards from an Ancient Dragon Race in the Outside Universe, after I saved the Ancient Volcanic Dragon''s World from being destroyed due to its copsing core, which was mined by invaders belonging to a Warlock Cult.


    I was able to restore the core from being destroyed entirely by using countless ores extracted from many allieds and fusing them over the dying core with my Alchemy.


    In that point, my Alchemy had finally evolved to a nearary Level, so fusing things into aary core was not as hard, and it helped me develop such abilities even further.


    I don''t know if I can reach the same level now, perhaps with some more practice, but there''s little point to that, and it would take a while.


    And there''s the possibility that the density of matter and essence in this world is so highpared to the Outside Universe that it might not work properly until I ascend further.


    Though, with the power of the Grand Creator Subss, that shouldn''t be too hard of a reality.


    Anyways, the recipe was one of the Elixir Recipes these Dragons bestowed to me, which they created to grant to their servants or allies that weren''t dragons.


    Using the recipe and improving upon it to an extent, I was able to make these Dragon Elixirs now, even though in my previous life, it seems that Asmodeus had ignored most of these recipes, too prideful on being a vampire to even try utilizing the power of other beings.


    At that time, Asmodeus really thought he could aplish anything as he grew as pure-blooded Vampire¡­ How wrong I was, even with the help of the Outer Goddess of Bloodshed and Vampires, I doubt it will ever be possible to win against Lucifer with Vampire power alone.


    I need to harness as much power as possible, indiscriminately, even from the Demons themselves. Only that way will I be able to aplish my ultimate goal¡­ I must never forget that.


    After lunch, I decided to prepare for the evolution of my Vampire Spirits, while my siblings spent time with Erika and Elizabeth in the backyard''s garden.


    As things were getting ready, I decided to just summon the two new Vampire Spirits in my room, while I was finally alone and had the time to do so.


    "Alright, let''s not dy this anymore." I nodded. "{Summon Spirit}"


    FLUOSH!


    My consciousness was once more dragged to the depths of my Soul''s Origin, which had changed since thest time I saw it. It was no longerpletely ck, and it now resembled an ancient white temple.


    The souls of my Vampires could be seen slightly more clearly, they were still near indiscernible silhouettes, but I could tell their Auras were different from one another.


    I wished I could pick them as I pleased, but this process was ultimately a random one. I could only see a giant crimson w, most likely the manifestation of the Grimoire itself, grab two random souls and pull them out.


    FLAAASH! FLAAASH!


    Two crimson colored magic circles surged in front of me, as tworge figures emerged from within, with very distinct shapes than any of the Vampires I''ve summoned before.


    And without a doubt, these two were Elites that went beyond the power of most of my previous summons back when I was Asmodeus, two merciless warriors.


    "It seems¡­ We''ve been revived?"


    "What a wondrous sight, is this truly our Master?"


    Two voices echoed; the entire surroundings turnedpletely ck as I heard their voices. Their appearances were both shrouded on their powerful Auras.


    One waspletely shrouded on an Aura of Darkness and Dark Red Essence, while the other was shrouded on clouds of purple and pink energy, psionic in nature.


    They used their powers to entrap me in their domain, which alerted my Vampire Spirits waiting around me.


    "ke!"


    Eleanora''s voice echoed from behind before I waspletely shrouded in their domain. My mind was swiftly attacked by psychic powers, trying to search through my very mind.


    "Who is this child?! Is he truly him?"


    "I cannot believe it¡­ Where are we?"


    They had been loaded with the information already, but it seemed their powerful minds would simply not believe everything as easily as the rest.


    "SPEAK!"


    A pair of crimson eyes, and another four blue eyes shone amidst the endless clouds of darkness, trying to intimidate me.


    "You dare go against your Master?"


    With a single phrase, I quickly released the power of my own Mind, the Psionic and Shadow Forces trying to infiltrate the insides of my head were quickly repelled.


    TRUUUMM¡­!


    "GUH?!"


    "UGH¡­!"


    The two voices roared in pain as their Domain was beginning to be infected by my Power and Authority, countless crimson veins spreading across it.


    Scarlet-colored eyes appeared, ring into their very souls, these two insolent servants needed to be quickly put on their ce.


    "I might have changed my appearance because I reincarnated, but don''t ever forget that your Master, Asmodeus, is still before you, insolent fools!"


    My body transformed into my Vampire King form, looking almostpletely identical to how I did before.


    "H-How is this possible, it is truly you, oh my great lord?!"


    "It is¡­ This soul, this will! I simply can''t corrupt it with my Psionic Powers, no matter how hard I try!"


    The Domain quickly dissipated as their two figures were revealed, kneeling before me.


    "W-We apologize!"


    "Please, execute us for such insolence!"


    -----

 Chapter 884: Arkaxks And Azahuk

    -----


    Their appearances were revealed, they looked nothing like my previous soldiers. This was because they were alien races never seen before in this world.


    The first one of the rows was Arkaxks, a tall, thin alien, with ck exoskeleton covering his body, no visible eyes, sharp fangs and jaws, a long tongue with a small jaw on it, four long and skinny arms, reinforced with chitinous ck armor, spikes growing across his body, and a long, sharp tail, ending on a stinger with venom.


    Despite his appearance, he was more versed at utilizing the power of Psionics, especially of the Umbrakinesis power he was born with. His race, before being turned into a Vampire, belonged to the Metamorphs, a race of ferocious warrior-aliens that devoured any foe in their path and absorbed their powers.


    Arkaxkscked their original power and was exiled and almost killed by his kin because of his weakness, butter on awakened Umbrakinesis when he became a Vampire, growing tobine his ability to manipte shadows to deal sneak, surprise attacks with his sharp jaws and powerful and strong body, bing a potent and effective assassin.


    And the second of the two, with seemingly no gender due to how their kin reproduced, a tall andnky figure, with purplish and pink colored skin, no visible hair, and the head of an octopus, with many long tentacles surrounding a hidden beak, and two pairs of sharp azure-colored eyes.


    Unlike the friend at their side, they wore purple clothing simr to those of warlocks, while holding arge purple crystal ball on their hand.


    This was Azahuk, a Mind yer, a race of parasitic psychic aliens that have the tendency of conquering worlds and turning thepatible humanoids into more of themselves by infecting them with brain-eating parasites.


    He was one of the most ferocious and vile foes I''ve fought, he once led an entire army of Mind yers that were being below the orders of an Elder Brain, considered their Eldest of Mind yers, who ascended into gigantic floating brains, after having fused their brains together into many.


    Naturally, with my Vampires and our natural ability to resist psychic attacks, we held our own ground, and after months of gruesome battles in the middle of space and surrounding asteroids andoids, we triumphed.


    The Elder Brain was torn to shreds by me and Eleanora, and most of the other Mind yers were forced to be Vampires or die, they only had two options.


    Azahuk here recognized my tenacity and power, and decided to serve me immediately, having no qualms about his loyalty to the Elder Brain before, who was already dead.


    I had my doubts at first back then, but he eventually became one of my most loyal and strongest servants, effectively using his powers with his squadron of Vampire Mind yers to alter the memories of people, foes, or even friends to benefit us.


    He could also break target''s minds, control monsters with weaker minds, and brainwash people. However, what he loved the most was sucking the blood out of brains until they werepletely dry, unlike the usual, where Mind yers would simply devour a brain entirely, when they turn into Vampires they prefer to suck the blood out of them¡­


    The more they eat, the stronger their mind and psychic powers be, but they were never able to surpass my Defenses, only making his devotion for me stronger as he thought I was a "supreme being".


    Seeing their backgrounds, they were both races of aliens with very aggressive mindsets, it made sense they would not easily believe the information imnted into their minds and would doubt everything.


    "W-We apologize!"


    "Please, execute us for such insolence!"


    And these two were now kneeling before me after Ipletely foiled their n of attacking me, believing I was a fake Asmodeus or something.


    "You were quite insolent, but the circumstances were indeed very strange, so I will forgive this insolence only this time." I said to the two, their eyes shining brightly.


    "M-Master, always so benevolent¡­" Arkaxks sighed. "Even back then when I was much weaker than any of my kin, you took me in and allowed me to fight back against those that exiled me! I will forever be at your service. Even if we''ve changed, even if I have be something strange¡­ I will remain by your side and kill anybody you want me to!"


    "I suppose he said most of what I would have wanted to say, my great supreme lord." Sighed Azahuk. "Since our deaths back then that my soul has felt strange, guarded by someone else. I could have never thought it was your own soul that was protecting mine. You have such care for your servants. Unlike any Elder Brain, you are someone worthy of bing the King of all!


    Please, just say the world, and I will break the minds of all these punny ants in this household and offer their blood to you in a silver tter! They will happily open their wrists for you to drink!"


    "Enough." I sighed.


    Both of these alien races are bloodthirsty ones, their minds work by "evil logic" as I call it. For them it is normal to kill any being they deem lowly and offer it to me.


    "The people in this household are as precious to me as you are." I exined. "If not several hundreds of times more, actually. They''re the family I was born with in this world. You will NOT touch them, got it? Instead, aim for their protection and wellbeing. The same is for the people of this entire vige.


    Do not attack nor try anything without asking me beforehand, understand?"


    "Understood." Both nodded immediately, without even doubting my words.


    They weren''t hard to deal, their loyalty was endless, I simply had to tell them enough information so they wouldn''t assume things on their own.


    "I can''t believe these creeps were summoned now!" Laughed Celestina. "Poor Master, you''re up for a handful with these psychos, hohohoho!"


    "You''re one to talk¡­" Eriant gave her a side eye.


    "Wee back to the Vampire Family, Arkaxks, Azahuk." Eleanora smiled, holding their hands and helping them stand up again.


    "Ohh, mistress Eleanora!"


    "It is a pleasure to see you once more, Vampire Queen."


    -----

 Chapter 885: Alien And Psychic Types

    -----


    After they were exined the many things they needed to learn at all costs, such as this world''s existence, the poption in there, the power system, how things worked, and more, I checked their Status, showing me how high the stats for Rank 5 Spirits could be.


    -----


    [Name]: [Arkaxks]


    [Spirit Race]: [Umbral Metamorph Vampire]


    [Spirit Type]: [Alien] [Blood] [Darkness] [Psychic]


    [Spirit Realm]: [Rank 5 (Initial Stage)]


    [Level]: [0/200]


    [Health Points]: [15.000/15.000]


    [Strength]: [25.000]


    [Agility]: [25.000]


    [Vitality]: [15.000]


    [Intelligence]: [30.000]


    [Dexterity]: [25.000]


    {Link Skills}:


    [Link (ke)]: [Unparalleled Tenacity: Lv2] [Lightning Speed Movements: Lv2] [Undying Body: Lv2] [Paragon Eyes: 2] [Magic Genius: Lv2]


    {Passive Skills}: [Umbral Metamorph Physique: Lv8] [Vampiric Alien: Lv8] [Vacuum-Proof Exoskeleton Armor: Lv8] [Potent Acidic Blood: Lv7] [Born To Kill: Lv6] [Spirit Link: Lv5]


    {Active Skills}:


    {Physical Skills}: [Hunter In The Shadows: Lv8] [Vicious Predator: Lv8] [Metal-Piercing Paralyzing Venom Tail Spear: Lv8] [Flesh Tearing Double Jawed Maw: Lv7]


    {Magic Skills}: [Psychic Wave: Lv8] [Umbrakinesis: Lv8] [Abyssal Enshrouding Darkness: Lv8] [Umbral Metamorph''s Shadow Jaws: Lv7]


    {Title Skills}: [Exiled Alien Revenger: Lv10] [Awakened Psychic: Lv8] [Shadow Assassin: Lv7] [Demon Eater: Lv6]


    -----


    ¡­


    -----


    [Name]: [Azahuk]


    [Spirit Race]: [Elder Mind yer Vampire]


    [Spirit Type]: [Alien] [Blood] [Psychic] [Illusion] [Mind]


    [Spirit Realm]: [Rank 5 (Initial Stage)]


    [Level]: [0/200]


    [Health Points]: [10.000/10.000]


    [Strength]: [10.000]


    [Agility]: [30.000]


    [Vitality]: [10.000]


    [Intelligence]: [50.000]


    [Dexterity]: [20.000]


    {Link Skills}:


    [Link (ke)]: [Unparalleled Tenacity: Lv2] [Lightning Speed Movements: Lv2] [Undying Body: Lv2] [Paragon Eyes: 2] [Magic Genius: Lv2]


    {Passive Skills}: [Elder Mind yer Physique: Lv8] [Vampiric Alien: Lv8] [Elder Psionic Authority: Lv8] [Unparalleled Genius Intellect: Lv8] [Brain Eating Addiction: Lv7] [Spirit Link: Lv5]


    {Active Skills}:


    {Physical Skills}: [Psionic Body Enhancement: Lv8] [Physical Psychic Armor: Lv8] [Mind-Sucking Tentacles: Lv7] [Mind yer Parasite Larvae Creation: Lv7]


    {Magic Skills}: [Telepathy: Lv8] [Psychokinesis: Lv8] [Mind Destruction, Envement, and Brainwashing: Lv8] [Mind Scape''s Corruption: Lv7] [Illusory Psionic Domain: Lv6]


    {Title Skills}: [Elder Mind yer: Lv10] [Psychic Genius: Lv8] [Vile and Calcting Mind: Lv8] [Fanatic: Lv7] [Demon Eater: Lv7]


    -----


    Arka had that speedy build that made him an amazing assassin, especially whenbined with his Umbrakinesis, the power to move and meld shadows without using actual magic, but psychic powers thate from special waves produced by brains or special organs in aliens'' bodies.


    I don''t know how it works now that he''s a Spirit, it was tranted as magic, even though it is very much not magic though. It also looks he doesn''t need Mana to conjure this power either, but his own Mind''s Stamina.


    Meanwhile, Aza is a brutal Mind yer with many Psionic Spells at his disposal, most of them dealing with Telekinesis, Telepathy, and Destroying, Altering, or Enving Minds. The reason why Mind yers were so dangerous was this.


    Compared to the other, he has a frail body and is not good at all in physical fighting, but he''s naturally taller than any human at three and a half meters, with sharp ws and long tentacles, so normal humans or any demon or monster below a certain rank could easily get bested by his 10k Strength anyways.


    He possesses near endless Mind Stamina unlike Arka, mostly because he has devoured thousands of brains and such stamina passed on even after bing a spirit.


    These two are rare "Alien" and "Psychic" Type Spirits, which I have never heard about before. The Mind and Illusion type from Aza is not as rare though, Erika''s spirits and also her mother''s spirits have these elements.


    I am beginning to think the System of this world simply created these two new types just now, because there was no other way around exining what they were, or what this Psionic Energy they manipted was.


    "So we''ve be so called spirits, huh?" Wondered Azahuk. "Amusing¡­ We''re no longer physical yet we can materialize. And even more, it seems my powers remain slightly the same- Perhaps a bit weaker, I believe. Though, did you said I can level up or whatnot?"


    "Yeah, our levels are usually synchronized with Master." Eleanora nodded. "As he levels up, so we will¡­"


    "Hmm, this ce, it seems slightly unnerving, too colorful. And the light- Ugh, so many colors¡­" Arkaxks groaned. "My home was full of darkness, and even in space, it was usually not this bright¡­"


    "I do feel slightly dizzy myself." The Mind yer agreed. "Nheless, we''re here to serve master."


    "For now, if you dislike the brightness, you can remain within my shadows, or enter the Spirit Realm." I said, offering them two options.


    "Spirit Realm, you say?!" Wondered the Mind yer. "I prefer theter! I would love to explore this new and intriguing ce. Perhaps I can find myself some brains to devour, I am feeling quite hungry."


    "Alright, go in. Hunt down Spirit Beasts if you want, but don''t touch the fairies or the temples." I told them, both Aliens stepping inside of my Spiritual Realm.


    "Papa, they looked scary!" Saphira cried, she had never met these two before. "And they were really evil¡­"


    "Hahaha, it is within their nature to be vile and ruthless." I exined her. "But they''re not¡­ Evil. Maybe evil to their foes, but you should think of them as your uncles. I patted her head. "In the Universe, there are countless forms and beings out there. You shouldn''t discriminate them because the look different.


    They all offer a valuable set of powers and abilities to help us aplish our goals. My Vampire Family was full of all sorts of Alien Races, these two are only two of many others."


    "Okay¡­" Saphira nodded. "But does the tentacle man really eats brains?"


    "Certainly, it is his favorite meal." Iughed. "Mind yers can only eat brains."


    "Uegh! That''s disgusting!" Saphira sighed.


    "Well, that''s how it is." I shrugged. "Don''t worry about anything, Saphira. For now, it should be about time for your Evolution as well as everyone else here- Oh, Hendrick and Fang are already here."


    FLAASH! FLAASH!


    Both appeared behind me, emerging as if teleporting, even though they moved through shadows, both kneeled and reported what they found in the White Dragon''s Mithril Mountain.


    "My lord it seems the White Dragon is slightly active within the Mountain''s Interior, constantly eating the Mithril, which makes the metallic scales it possesses stronger." Said Hendrick.


    "Unfortunately, the entire Mountain has be his Domain now, growing into a Dungeon¡­" Fang sighed. "Not now, but perhaps in a couple of years, a flood of monsters could attack the vige eventually."


    "I see, thanks for your efforts." I smiled. "This''ll give us even more of a justification to kill that bastard and get that mountain of riches for ourselves. By the end of this month, that Dragon will no longer breathe."


    "I see, so we''re going in a week or two then?" Eleanora asked. "How big was the ce?"


    "Around as big as you can imagine the interior of a huge mountain, it had many cave sections, and it was trimming with all sorts of monsters." Said Fang. "They all served and respected the White Dragon. Metal Ants, White Drakes, Silver Smanders, and more¡­"


    "We also spotted Metal Slimes, an incredibly rare type of Slime Monster." Said Hendrick. "Master, wouldn''t that Slime make for an interesting source of materials and also a powerful Familiar?"


    "Brilliant minds think alike, Hendrick, that was right within my ns. Well done. Now, let me evolve you two as a reward." I smiled. "Let''s begin."


    -----

 Chapter 886: Vampire Spirits Evolutions 1

    -----


    After having summoned two new Vampire Spirits and once Hendrick and Fang were finally back, I decided to start the evolution processes.


    Each one required their own specific materials, many of them which I had either gathered back in the dungeons of Stronghold or bought in theirrge markets.


    It was a meticulous process that needed my full attention, so I spent hours after hours working on this. I had already previously told my family that I would be busy evolving my spirits, and that I needed my full attention for this.


    It''s not that it was hard, per say, but it was something slightly stressful, mostly due to requiring a specific magic circle for each spirit, and also specific materials I had tobine together to fit in all the nodes.


    Eventually, after approximately six hours and forty minutes of constant work, I was done, and it was already close to midnight. I think that by now my family had already eaten dinner and were sleeping¡­


    "Hahhh¡­ It''s done. Will it get even harder with each Rank? What a pain¡­"


    As I rested above my bed, I checked each one of my Vampire Spirits'' new evolutions, their appearances had changed a lot.


    Well, some remained mostly the same, while others went through some more drastic changes, especially the two youngest.


    -----


    [Name]: [Eleanora]


    [Spirit Race]: [Wrathful Infernal Draconic Vampire Empress]


    [Spirit Type]: [Blood] [Dark] [Fire] [Dragon] [Demon] [Sin: Wrath]


    [Spirit Realm]: [Rank 5 (Initial Stage)]


    [Level]: [0/200]


    [Health Points]: [45.000/45.000]


    [Strength]: [45.000]


    [Agility]: [30.000]


    [Vitality]: [20.000]


    [Intelligence]: [30.000]


    [Dexterity]: [20.000]


    {Link Skills}:


    [Link (ke)]: [Unparalleled Tenacity: Level 2] [Advanced Alchemy Arts: Lv3] [Emotional Commanding Rally: Lv4] [Shadow Maniption: Lv9] [Magic Fusion: Lv5]


    {Passive Skills}: [Vampire Empress: Lv2] [Vampiric Charm: Lv4] [Spirit Link: Lv5] [Dragon Scales: Lv7] [Demonic Dragon Vampire Physique: Lv3] [Wrathful Draconic Heart: Lv1]


    {Active Skills}: [Masterful Assassination Arts: Lv4] [Illusionist Arts: Lv4] [Advanced Stealth: Lv4] [Spear Mastery: Lv9] [Bloodthirsty Wrath: Lv9] [Nimble and Soundless Movements: Lv9] [Vampiric Eyes: Lv8] [Katana Technique: Lv6] [Vampiric Draconification Awakening: Lv6] [Scarlet re Dragon Breath: Lv6] [Vampiric Draconic Aura: Lv6] [me Eater: Lv6] [Demonic Dragon Aura: Lv3] [Wrathful Dragon''s Demonic Arts: Lv1]


    {Magic Skills}: [Blood Queen''s Arts: Lv2] [Shadow Teleportation: Lv4] [Divine Blood Beast Transformation: Lv2] [Divine Crimson Threads: Lv2] [Abyssal Shadow Trap Creation: Lv2] [Blood Aura: Lv9] [Blood Envement Contract: Lv8] [Ninjutsu: Lv9] [Blood re: Lv8] [Shadow Shuriken: Lv8] [Draconic me Authority: Lv6] [Rising Dragon Ninjutsu: Lv6] [Blood Demon Chains of Magic Sealing: Lv3] [Wrathful Infernal Hell: Lv1] [Magic Enhancing Strength: Lv1]


    {Title Skills}: [Vampire Queen: Lv10] [Demon yer: Lv9] [Progenitor Vampire: Lv8] [Undead yer: Lv7] [Alchemist: Lv7] [Vampire Ninja: Lv8] [Vampiric Dragon: Lv6] [Ruler of Scarlet mes: Lv6] [Vampire Dragon Demon Spirit: Lv4] [Wrath Dragoness: Lv1]


    -----


    Starting with Eleanora¡­ She remained slightly the same, though her muscles gained an enormous buff, and her scales, and draconic appearance became even more fierce looking.


    "I gained the power of Wrath?" She was bbergasted.


    "I did use some of Satan''s Vessel Materials on you because you were verypatible with him." I nodded. "The Sin of Wrath goes well with Dragons, make sure to practice this power to be stronger with it."


    "Got it." She nodded, slightly excited about her new power.


    -----


    [Name]: [Hendrick]


    [Spirit Race]: [Vampiric Insectoid Arachnoid Abyssal Dweller]


    [Spirit Type]: [Blood] [Poison] [Shadow] [Insect] [Spider] [Swarm]


    [Spirit Realm]: [Rank 5 (Initial Stage)]


    [Level]: [0/200]


    [Health Points]: [20.000/20.000]


    [Strength]: [20.000]


    [Agility]: [30.000]


    [Vitality]: [15.000]


    [Intelligence]: [40.000]


    [Dexterity]: [45.000]


    [Link (ke)]: [Unparalleled Tenacity: Level 2] [Advanced Alchemy Arts: Lv4] [Emotional Commanding Rally: Lv3] [Shadow Maniption: Lv9] [Magic Fusion: Lv5]


    {Passive Skills}: [Abyssal Venomous Vampire: Lv3] [Dark gue Aura: Lv3] [Researcher Eyes: Lv2] [Spirit Link: Lv5] [Swarm Aura: Lv7] [Venomous Spider Legs: Lv7] [Arachnid Senses: Lv4] [Vampiric Swarm Ruler Physique: Lv4] [Abyssal Dweller''s Body: Lv1]


    {Active Skills}: [Stealth: Lv10] [Deadly Hallucination Fog: Lv2] [Refined Torture Arts: Lv2] [Advanced Dismantling: Lv2] [Abyssal Poisoned Weapon Arts: Lv2] [Thread Arts: Lv9] [Advanced Dark Alchemy Arts: Lv2] [Venomous Stinger: Lv7] [Insect Maniption: Lv7] [Insect Fusion: Lv4] [Abyssal Spiderweb Creation: Lv4] [Crafting: Lv5] [Sewing: Lv5] [Smithing: Lv4] [Mechanical Construction: Lv3] [Swarm Body Shapeshifting: Lv1]


    {Magic Skills}: [Blood Arts: Lv9] [Shadow Sneak: Lv10] [Venomous Blood Aura: Lv10] [Blood Envement Contract: Lv7] [Divine Alchemical Compound Synthesis: Lv3] [Poison st: Lv10] [Poison Threads: Lv10] [Poison Materialization: Lv10] [Acidic Venom: Lv7] [Explosive Venom: Lv7] [Swarm Magic: Lv4] [Abyssal Dweller''s Domain Summon: Lv1]


    {Title Skills}: [gue Doctor: Lv10] [Progenitor Vampire: Lv7] [Alchemist: Lv10] [Insect Master: lv7] [Poison Master: Lv7] [Dweller of the Abyss: Lv1]


    -----


    Hendrick remained mostly the same, I used a lot of insect and spider materials to evolve his form. One new ability he gained was the power of dividing his own body, yes, not an aura anymore, to divide his own body into countless insect and spider-like monsters.


    "Hahaha! Truly an amazing form this is! I can now be countless beings?! Now my research will be even more faster and efficient than ever before!"


    -----


    [Name]: [Saphira]


    [Spirit Race]: [Spectral Vampiric Phantom Frost Princess]


    [Spirit Type]: [Phantom] [Death] [Blood] [Abyss] [Ice]


    [Spirit Realm]: [Rank 5 (Initial Stage)]


    [Level]: [0/200]


    [Health Points]: [8.000/8.000]


    [Strength]: [8.000]


    [Agility]: [45.000]


    [Vitality]: [8.000]


    [Intelligence]: [45.000]


    [Dexterity]: [40.000]


    [Link (ke)]: [Unparalleled Tenacity: Lv2] [Advanced Alchemy Arts: Lv4] [Emotional Commanding Rally: Lv3] [Shadow Maniption: Lv9] [Magic Fusion: Lv5]


    {Passive Skills}: [Specter Vampire: Lv10] [Phantasmal Aura: Lv10] [Specter''s Gaze: Lv9] [Spirit Link: Lv5] [Phantasmal Wraith''s Frightening Aura: Lv7] [Soul Eating: Lv7] [Phantasmal Specter Princess Physique: Lv4] [Phantasmal Frost Aura: Lv1]


    {Active Skills}: [Phantom Stealth: Lv3] [Spectral Camouge: Lv2] [Invisibility: Lv9] [Odorless: Lv9] [Soundless: Lv9] [High Speed Flight: Lv10] [Spectral Body: Lv10] [Phantasmal ws: Lv8] [Intimidation: Lv7] [Wraith''s Soul Tearing Scream: Lv6] [Spectral Possession: Lv3] [Spectral Freezing Touch: Lv1]


    {Magic Skills}: [Phantom Blood Arts: Lv8] [Phantom Sneak: Lv10] [Phantasmal Materialization: Lv9] [Death Ray: Lv9] [Haunting Scream: Lv9] [Undead Envement Contract: Lv8] [Abyssal Domain: Lv7] [Underworld''s Gates: Lv3] [Undead Explosion: Lv3] [Spectral Frost Magic: Lv1]


    {Title Skills}: [Specter Princess: Lv10] [Undead''s Friend: Lv9] [Little Necromancer: Lv7] [Soul Devourer: Lv6] [Ice Princess: Lv1]


    -----


    Meanwhile, Saphira was the one that changed the most between these three, she gained a crown made of ice, a clear blue dress, and blue jewels all around her body.


    Her blue eyes had never shone this brightly before, and she was surprised.


    "W-What is this?"


    -----

 Chapter 887: Vampire Spirits Evolutions 2

    -----


    "Papa, I gained a crown!" Saphira said happily. "I got ice powers too! What''s this?!"


    "Oh, I used Frost Wraiths Materials on you¡­" I said. "I guess you absorbed the element quite well! Ice Magic Powers wille in handy for you, especially due to being a long-ranged attacker, it would be better to hide from in sight and freeze foes, right?"


    "I remember you said something simr when I ranked up to Rank 4¡­" She squinted her eyes. "But yeah! My body''s still fragile¡­ I gotta be careful!"


    "Always remain hiding if necessary, bring your undead to fight and never confront foes directly, your stats won''t easily allow you to fight things head-on." I exined to her.


    "Okay!" She nodded very obediently.


    "ke, what''s this Skill I got?" Wondered Eleanora. "The [Magic Enhancing Strength: Lv1]?"


    "Oh, that one¡­" I nodded. "It seems to have appeared in most of you. It is a special Skill that''ll allow your Strength Stat to increase your Intelligence Stat. By activating it and consuming Mana constantly, it seems that you can imbue 20% of your Strength into your Intelligence. So even the guys with the least Intelligence can use their magic better. It seems this % increases with each Level.


    Probably to a max of 50%"


    "Oooh? I do have high on both stats, so I benefit even more with this!" Eleanora seemed rather pleased with this.


    "Well, your stats are naturally higher than everyone else because you''re my first Spirit and you''ve evolved more times than them, having some stat advantage¡­" I nodded. "I believe, or maybe its also due to the Dragon Materials. Well, whatever''s the case, it''s a useful Skill, especially for you two."


    I nced at Woo and Fang, these two had gone through some interesting evolutions, more than even Saphira¡­


    First of all Woo, his body hadpletely changed, bing much taller,rger, and muscr, although he remained looking like a cranky old man with a long nose, he looked fiercer.


    -----


    [Name]: [Woo]


    [Spirit Race]: [Gray Ogre Vampire]


    [Spirit Type]: [Blood] [Lightning] [Ki] [Ogre]


    [Spirit Realm]: [Rank 5 (Initial Stage)]


    [Level]: [0/200]


    [Health Points]: [30.000/30.000]


    [Strength]: [40.000]


    [Agility]: [25.000]


    [Vitality]: [25.000]


    [Intelligence]: [15.000]


    [Dexterity]: [25.000]


    {Link Skills}:


    [Link (ke)]: [Lightning Speed Movements: Lv2] [Undying Body: Lv2] [Unparalleled Tenacity: Lv2] [Paragon Eyes: 2] [Emotional Commanding Rally: Lv3]


    {Passive Skills}: [Marial Artist Physique: Lv10] [Blood Ogre: Lv7] [Spirit Link: Lv5] [Martial Artist''s Battle Aura: Lv4] [Ogre''s Muscr Body: Lv1]


    {Active Skills}: [Meteor Fist: Lv10] [Pressure Point Liberation: Lv9] [Cloud Step: Lv9] [Lightning Blood Fist Arts: Lv8] [Awakened Strength: Lv8] [Cranky Old Man''s Teachings: Lv7] [Body Reinforcement Ki: Lv4] [Ogre''s Palm: Lv1]


    {Magic Skills}: [Blood Arts: Lv8] [Lightning Strike: Lv8] [Paralyzing Strike: Lv8] [Electrifying Kick: Lv7] [Blood Electrification: Lv7] [Ki st: Lv4] [Lightning Ki Sword: Lv4] [Ki Reinforcement Aura: Lv1] [Magic Enhancing Strength: Lv1]


    {Title Skills}: [Old Martial Artist Master: Lv10] [Creator of the Meteor Fist: Lv9] [Furious Demon: Lv7] [Demon yer: Lv7] [Ki Master: Lv4] [Ogre: Lv1]


    -----


    Indeed, he was no longer a damn goblin, this old man transformed into a Gray colored Ogre, the strongest color any Ogre can have.


    And that''s not all, he went from his meter and half of height to a whopping three meters and a half, still smallpared to actual Ogres, but bigger than humans now.


    His green skin was now reced with a gray-colored skin, and he had two golden horns growing from his forehead, with long gray colored hair.


    His new Skills includedrger muscr mass, more physical prowess, and the ability to reinforce his body using Ki and the same Magic Enhancing Strength Skill so his magic can do more damage now.


    "I always thought I would be locked on this goblin body of mine, who would have imagined I could evolve into somethingrger?" Heughed. "I feel full of vitality! Gyaahahahah! Now I''m going to beat you down, my foolish disciple! You''ve been too cocky thinking you''re a big shot for being taller than me, now prepare yourself!"


    His gigantic palm reached towards me, as he activated the simple-sounding Ogre''s Palm Skill, harnessing his body reinforcement Ki to boot.


    BAAAMM!!


    However, I responded with my bare hand without even looking at him, my hand slowly transforming into a gigantic mass of dozens of limbs stuck together, covered on eyes and dragon scales.


    "Hm? Did you say something, old man?"


    "R-Right, you got that damn demon arm¡­"


    He silently stepped back before I was to smack his head really good.


    Moving on, Fang¡­ He has definitely be much taller now, at four meters tall. He barely fit inside my room. His fur had be azure colored with white stripes, and his eyes were now pure silver.


    He had silver and blue colored horns across his body, and gigantic ws on his foot and hands, his head ended on ck fur up to the snout, and he exuded an air of both strength and wisdom.


    There was a blue colored jewel glowing on his forehead, and his entire Aura exuded the might and ruthlessness of Winter.


    He had evolved into a Winter Werewolf Vampire King, much stronger than before, and capable of unleashing the wrath of Winter towards our foes.


    -----


    [Name]: [Fang]


    [Spirit Race]: [Winter Werewolf Vampire King]


    [Spirit Type]: [Blood] [Ice] [Beast] [Werewolf]


    [Spirit Realm]: [Rank 5 (Initial Stage)]


    [Level]: [0/200]


    [Health Points]: [40.000/40.000]


    [Strength]: [40.000]


    [Agility]: [30.000]


    [Vitality]: [30.000]


    [Intelligence]: [10.000]


    [Dexterity]: [20.000]


    {Link Skills}:


    [Link (ke)]: [Lightning Speed Movements: Lv2] [Undying Body: Lv2] [Unparalleled Tenacity: Lv2] [Paragon Eyes: 2] [Emotional Commanding Rally: Lv3]


    {Passive Skills}: [Werewolf King Physique: Lv10] [Blood Werewolf: Lv8] [Spirit Link: Lv5] [Super Enhanced Self-Regeneration: Lv5] [Winter Werewolf King''s Body: Lv1]


    {Active Skills}: [Wolf Beast King Transformation: Lv10] [Wolf Beast King''s Aura: Lv9] [Magic Dampening Fur: Lv9] [Pack Leader''s Commands: Lv8] [Blood Werewolf''s Scarlet ws: Lv8] [Blood Werewolf''s Wrathful Fangs: Lv8] [cial ws: Lv4] [cial Jaws: Lv4] [Winter Werewolf King''s Soul Freezing Howl: Lv1]


    {Magic Skills}: [Blood Arts: Lv8] [Icicle Spear: Lv8] [Freezing Touch: Lv8] [Blizzard: Lv8] [Blood Frost: Lv8] [Blood Tundra Wolf Pack Summon: Lv4] [Frost Meteor: Lv4] [Winter Werewolf Titan Transformation: Lv1] [Magic Enhancing Strength: Lv1]


    {Title Skills}: [Leader of the White Werewolves: Lv10] [Wolf Beast King''s Sessor: Lv9] [Savage Fighter: Lv8] [Demon yer: Lv8] [Winter Werewolf King: Lv1]


    -----


    "I-I have sure berger! Incredible, this whole being a spirit thing has allowed me to reach such incredible heights!"


    -----

 Chapter 888: Vampire Spirits Evolutions 3

    -----


    "Nobody in my tribe ever went this far¡­" Fang said. "This is incredible, bing a Spirit has allowed me to surpass my own limits and reach even further heights!"


    "It certainly has, it seems." I nodded. "Your abilities have improved more than I thought too- And is that Skill at the end of your Magic Skills something to do with bing a frost giant?"


    "I-I think so, maybe. But I am afraid of using it here, master." Fang sighed. "Perhaps I could show it to you in the Spirit Realm?"


    "Maybe I''ll see itter then." I nodded. "For now, Celestine, can you stop summoning a bunch of fishes in the room? You''re making it all stink!"


    "Ohohoho! But I cannot stop! Look how much these precious little things love me!" Celestinaughed, ck portals of spiraling abyssal sea water surged behind her, bringing forth giant floating fishes with all sorts of scary appearances.


    Her appearance had changed very lightly, only turning her appearance slightly "darker" and maybe even "gothic" as she had now be an Abyssal Scy, the subspecies that dwells in the Abyss Depths of their World.


    -----


    [Name]: [Celestina]


    [Spirit Race]: [Abyssal Scy Vampire Princess]


    [Spirit Type]: [Blood] [Slime] [Water] [Abyss]


    [Spirit Realm]: [Rank 5 (Initial Stage)]


    [Level]: [0/200]


    [Health Points]: [35.000/35.000]


    [Strength]: [25.000]


    [Agility]: [30.000]


    [Vitality]: [25.000]


    [Intelligence]: [30.000]


    [Dexterity]: [25.000]


    {Link Skills}:


    [Link (ke)]: [Lightning Speed Movements: Lv2] [Undying Body: Lv2] [Unparalleled Tenacity: Lv2] [Magic Fusion: 5] [Emotional Commanding Rally: Lv3]


    {Passive Skills}: [Scy Princess Physique: Lv9] [Blood Scy: Lv8] [Spirit Link: Lv5] [Abyssal Scy Body: Lv1]


    {Active Skills}: [Blood Ocean Kraken Queen Transformation: Lv9] [Blood Sea Princess Aura: Lv8] [Abyssal Tentacles: Lv8] [Damage Reflecting Slime: Lv8] [Abyssal Scy Princess'' Perverse Eyes: Lv1]


    {Magic Skills}: [Blood Arts: Lv8] [Dark Blood Sea Domain: Lv8] [Kraken''s Abyssal Tentacle: Lv8] [Dark Blood Trident: Lv8] [Blood Tsunami: Lv8] [Abyssal Depths Aberrations Summon: Lv1] [Magic Enhancing Strength: Lv1]


    {Title Skills}: [Scy Princess: Lv10] [Descendant of the Kraken: Lv9] [Maiden Lover: Lv7] [Demon yer: Lv7] [Abyssal Scy Princess: Lv1]


    -----


    While mostly everyone else exceeded at something, Celestina was more like someone that could fill any weakness in a team with her wide variety of techniques and magic, her personality is not really good though, but at least she''spetent.


    I quickly closed the portals she was opening using the Chains of Creation and then killed her summons because they were really annoying, they turned into particles of light after dying.


    "Master! How could you kill them!" She cried, pretending to be sad.


    "Enough, you can summon as many as you want once we fight a strong foe." I sighed. "For the moment, behave. Your abilities have improved greatly, but your attitude is just the same¡­"


    "H-Hey! I am doing my best in this new world, master!" Celestina crossed her arms and pouted, trying to act cute. "Right, my queen Eleanora~?"


    "Shut up for once, Celestina!" Eleanora reprimanded her.


    "Aahh~ Yes! Please treat me badly! I''m garbage!" Celestina started kneeling before Eleanora asking for Eleanora to step on her¡­ "Please step on me! I am below garbage!" She was drooling a lot.


    I am beginning to believe each evolution is making her even more unhinged¡­


    "I can''t believe I was summoned at the same time as that woman¡­" Eriant sighed, trying to look somewhere else.


    -----


    [Name]: [Eriant]


    [Spirit Race]: [Golden Sandman Vampire Prince]


    [Spirit Type]: [Blood] [Sand] [Earth] [Light]


    [Spirit Realm]: [Rank 5 (Initial Stage)]


    [Level]: [0/200]


    [Health Points]: [20.000/20.000]


    [Strength]: [20.000]


    [Agility]: [35.000]


    [Vitality]: [20.000]


    [Intelligence]: [45.000]


    [Dexterity]: [30.000]


    {Link Skills}:


    [Link (ke)]: [Lightning Speed Movements: Lv2] [Undying Body: Lv2] [Unparalleled Tenacity: Lv2] [Magic Fusion: 5] [Emotional Commanding Rally: Lv3]


    {Passive Skills}: [Sandman Physique: Lv9] [Vampire Boy: Lv8] [Spirit Link: Lv5] [Golden Sands Body: Lv1]


    {Active Skills}: [True Blood Sandman King''s Transformation: Lv9] [Blood Sand King''s Aura: Lv8] [Dune Assimtion: Lv8] [Sand Spirit''s Protection: Lv8] [Divine Golden Pyramid Transformation: Lv1]


    {Magic Skills}: [Blood Arts: Lv8] [Dark Blood Desert Domain: Lv7] [Anubis'' Hands: Lv7] [Ra''s Wrath: Lv7] [Osiris'' Embrace: Lv7] [Apophis'' Annihtion: Lv1] [Magic Enhancing Strength: Lv1]


    {Title Skills}: [King of the Desert: Lv10] [Descendant of the Sandmen: Lv8] [Faithful Loyalty: Lv6] [Demon yer: Lv6] [Golden Sandman Prince: Lv1]


    -----


    He was the most peculiar of the evolutions, having be a Golden Sandman Prince, he gained golden tattoos over his brown skin, and even a tiny golden crown atop his head.


    However, once he became sand itself through his true form, he would be pure golden sand, much denser and stronger than normal.


    "There used to be some tales in my tribe about a Golden Sandman, someone that would lead our tribe to prosperity¡­" He sighed. "I suppose anything can happen in this fantastic world¡­ My magic has developed even more. And I am still wondering why they all have names on them. The spells, I mean."


    Although he had be very strong and all, he wasn''t wrong in that regard, these names were from Gods I recognized.


    "Your ne used to worship these names." I said." And several others across the Outside Universe. They are known as the Egyptian Pantheon Gods, mysterious Gods who govern desert worlds the most. They have power over Death, Life, Sands, and Light the most.


    I don''t know why or how, but perhaps they had somehow found your presence amidst the endless cosmos, and given you some sort of divine blessing, maybe."


    "Is that so¡­?" Eriant was still rather confused about the whole ordeal. "I wonder if that''s true¡­ You''ve already met an Outer God, so I suppose this shouldn''t surprise me. Can those gods ess this world?"


    "Maybe they want to use you as their Avatar to ess this world somehow. But because you''re below my control as my spirit, they have no power over you. I think they have simply decided to gift your blessings in hopes that you will approach them and ask them what they want, out of just gratitude¡­" I wondered. "For now, let''s leave them be.


    They are cunning Gods, and this world of Spiritias seems like a treasure trove of resources and essence, which is what everyone in the Outer Universe constantly seeks."


    "Understood, I''ll ignore them for now." Eriant nodded obediently.


    "Well said." I smiled. "Now¡­ Ugh, I need to sleep."


    -----

 Chapter 889: Creating A Mana Core

    -----


    After having dinner, I went to sleep right away, too exhausted to do anything else. The next morning came rathe quickly, the sunlighting from the window.


    It was rxing, and my body didn''t feel tired anymore, so I simply tried to wake up and walk out of the bed to take a warm bath and start a new day.


    Even after what I did yesterday, there was a lot to do left. Training my siblings and their familiars as much as possible was one of them.


    And also evolve Ruby and Blood, the two Familiars we''ve raised with Eleanora. If Ruby evolves, I can harness more Draconic Power out of our connection, and if Blood evolves, Eleanora gets a stronger ride.


    Though, now that I have Ranked Up enough, perhaps finally crystalizing a Mana Core should be the way to go! I need as much Mana as possible; the bonus Mana Familiars give to me is not endless either, or it always depends on the Spirit Orbs at hand.


    I do have Mana Potions and the like to restore more Mana, but the more I consume over a short amount of time, the sicker I get.


    Therefore, making my foundation of Mana evenrger is a must, and using the knowledge of the Ancient Arch Wizards of the Outside Universe, this shouldn''t be too hard now that my total Mana has reached a high enough amount.


    If I take into consideration all bonuses, from equipment, skills, and familiar bonus stats, I should have over a million Mana or so, and even then, it feels like not enough!


    "Alright, time to grow even stronger- Huh?"


    However, before I could even stand out of my bed, I quickly realized the perilous situation I was on right now. Erika had sneaked into the bed and so did Elizabeth, both girls were tightly grabbing my arms while sleeping leisurely.


    Lastly, Eleanora was sleeping over my entire body, pressing down with her even higher muscles and weight after her recent evolution¡­ And that''s without considering Saphira that was between me and Elizabeth.


    I understand they care about me and appreciate me, but this is a bit too much now. Will I have to suffer this destiny every morning I wake up?


    "It seems Master is going through some strange problems." The voice of an alienpanion echoed, as the shadows in front of the bed changed shape, revealing the figure of Arka, clicking his mandibles. "Should I use Umbrakinesis to free you from your maiden''s love? I have studied enough about these emotions you undergo¡­"


    He has definitely be more understandable than before, that was surprising¡­


    "I can¡­ Free myself, thank you though, Arka." I sighed. "Where is Azahuk?"


    "He''s still inside the Spiritual Realm." Said Arka. "He said something about wanting his ownir where he could conduct experiments on live caught spirit beasts¡­ He ns to increase the size of your army, it seems."


    "Huh¡­" I wondered, thinking about it slightly deeply. "Well, as long as he''s not harming anybody, I don''t mind him¡­ Did Hendrick join him?"


    "Naturally, both clicked right away." Arka said with a methodical voice, as if he didn''t had emotions but was trying his best to act as if he understood them. "Master, it seems you cannot free yourself no matter how hard you try."


    "I can see that, Arka¡­" I sighed in frustration, trying to free myself from these girl''s embrace was harder than I imagined. "Ugh, okay, help me out."


    "Very well." He said, clicking his mandibles again as he shrouded my body in shadows and then teleported me to his side through Shadow Shifting, one of his Umbrakinesis Techniques.


    FLAAASH!


    "There you go, master." He said, looking at me rather intensively, his giant jaws were constantly drooling, a natural part of his body which was sadly copied into his spirit form.


    "Thank you, Arka." I sighed in relief, stretching my arms and legs. "A human body is sure frail. I remember when it was even frailer. I''ve been working constantly to be stronger since then. It is good to have you at my side, Arka. I do have a small job for you now."


    "Oh? What is it? I will do it with the best of my capabilities." He said with an emotionless voice, yet his tail was waging with excitement.


    "Nothing regarding killing though." I said, as I dropped those words, his tail fell. "Meld in the shadows and watch over the vige for the next hour. I want you to familiarize with the people, make sure to watch the nobles closely."


    "I understand. May I ask why?" He asked.


    "I want you to familiarize with this world and get used to the light." I said. "Also, the nobles are suspicious, if not slightly so. I need to know what they might be up to. You''re a spirit, no longer a true Metamorph, it means you shouldn''t be weak to the light as much as youined about."


    "I see." He nodded. "Understood."


    FLUOSH!


    He disappeared amidst the enshrouding darkness, finally leaving me to my own devices. I mostly made him do this so he would leave and have something to do for the next hour or so.


    I need these ruthless and evil aliens to calm down and let their minds develop more, they are too fixated to destruction and killing, I know that it was within their nature, but now that they have be Spirits, they should be able to learn new things without being stopped by their own bodies'' instincts and genes.


    In resume, they''re now capable of bing more than what they used to be. It is not just because I have "grown soft" but it is also because the key to be stronger is to open your mind and understand the world around you much better.


    Now, onto the important matters, time to create a Mana Core. The process shouldn''t be too painful, but it is rather stressful.


    I walked to the backyard to do this in silence and peace, channeling my Mana within my body and slowly beginning to harness it within my chest.


    And slowly crystalize it!


    FLAAASH!


    -----

 Chapter 890: Rubys Evolution

    -----


    All the Mana I could muster was concentrated and then crystalized inside of my chest, right next to my heart. And when I meant all, I mean it, all of it, 100% of my total Mana. Doing something so risky would usually make a person pass out instantly, and I felt it the moment my Mana hit absolute zero, my body felt slightly lethargic and exhausted, but I was overall fine.


    My powerful Physique, my many Passive Skills, and several other factors allowed me to easily brush out what would make others pass out, even people at higher ranks too. But not me, I was just fine with it, with all of it!


    FLASH!


    A blue colored crystal materialized in my chest; it was done. Although I could easily enchant it now with other elements to make it, so the mana is always of a chosen element, that wasn''t really good for me. I needed the attribute-less mana so I can conjure skills, elemental mana doesn''t work with Skills, for some reason.


    The small crystal released waves of Mana into the rest of my body, suddenly, it felt like all the mana I lost was regained, and now I even had a whole new reserve to fill, doubling my total Mana Reserves.


    Ding!


    [You have created a [Mana Core]: [Rank 1 (Initial Stage)]!]


    [The Bonus Mana you''ve umted within the Mana Core is 1.800.000!]


    [The Mana has been supplied back to your body, refilling your total Mana reserves back to full.]


    "Hahaha¡­ Yes, this is it."


    Iughed rather viciously, the feeling of even more overwhelming power coursing through my veins made me feel excited and utterly joyous. With this amount of Mana, I could do much, much more than ever before.


    Hell, I could perhaps even conjure more of my ancient techniques or spells, even more, perhaps I could even use it through Creation to craft all sorts of advanced magical technology, spaceships, magic guns, cannons, mechanical armors, and more.


    Back then I had so little Mana I could only dream of these things, but now, with this and the power of the Grand Creator Subss, all of these Dreams are finally within my grasp. To develop the Mana Core, I need to supply it with as much new Mana as it can store, doubling it over each Rank. The process will naturally increase the Stages. I''ll do this when I sleep.


    The only thing left to do now is to evolve these two.


    "Ruby, Blood."


    Both of my Familiars appeared before me, overflowing with strong auras, and their big tails wagging with excitement. They were hiding inside my shadows, their giant figures looming out of it, anybody that would had seen them appear would have been scared out of their lives.


    Ruby was an already roughly fifty meters tall, so big people could see him from several kilometers away. Histest evolution granted him demonic abilities, bing a vampiric demonic dragon, but there was still a lot of room for him to grow.


    Meanwhile, Blood was just arger wolf, standing at almost ten meters of height, he also had quite a lot of room for growth. He was weaker than Ruby because he was just an old wolf we picked up, there was nothing special about him unlike the Wyvern Egg I transformed into a Vampire before it hatched.


    However, that''s where evolution is important, with enough materials, even ame wolf can be a powerful three-headed monstrosity, or more. There is no necessity for special bloodlines or talents, we''ll simply inject them into his body using materials.


    And I had quite the perfect ones for the two of them, starting with Ruby, I offered him almost every material type from the dragons we fought in that dungeon, including the three versions of the boss, the holy light, ck mes, and normal mutations.


    I wish I could offer him materials from a true dragon like the White Dragon at the Mithril Mountains, but that will have to wait for his next evolution to five stars, sadly.


    And as for Blood, I had several wolf-type materials, including the pelt, flesh, bones, blood, canines,, and eyes of a powerful A Rank Boss in the Stronghold Ruins, a creature from a Dungeon called "Beastly Dark Woods", which is called "Fenrir''s Descendant" and is a giant fifty-meter big wolf covered on chains, ck fur, and crimson eyes.


    Lastly, I also added Infernal Hounds into his evolution materials.


    "Alright, you two better be something strong."


    The Magic Circles activated, and while my mother and grandma walked out into the graveyard to put some washed clothes to dry by the sun and were startled to see two giant monsters shing brightly in front of them, they began evolving.


    FLAAASH! FLAAASH!


    "W-What''s happening? ke, what are you doing with those guys?" My mother asked me from afar.


    "I''m evolving them. Tamed Monsters can also evolve on their own, did you know, mom?" I asked her with a smile. She waspletely clueless about that because it wasn''t even well known in this world.


    Because everyone relied mostly on spirits, tamed monsters were rare, the art of taming had only gone so far, and even the summoners didn''t really tamed monsters other than that one girl that had been mostly forgotten by now.


    "W-What?!"


    "ROOOOAARR!"


    The roar of Ruby interrumpted my mother''s words as his gigantic body was now evenrger, almost reaching a hundred meters. The nearest neightbors who were several hundreds of meters away from our house walked out in a hurry to see a big crimson and ck dragon, with golden scales decorating a few of its body parts roaring ferociously.


    Any hint of youthfulness was no longer on his face, as Rubypletely looked like a mighty adult dragon, with a rough-looking face with a sharp chin, golden horns decorated his head, three pairs of them spiraling upwards and to the sides. He now had four golden eyes and a fifth crimson one in the middle of his forehead, and his tail turned into two long and sharp-ended ones.


    His wings spread, revealing sharp golden ws, while crimson and ck scales decorated the rest of his body, he released a mighty aura of authority and pride, like nothing this little former wyvern ever exuded.


    "Congrats, Ruby, you''ve finally be an Actual Dragon."


    -----

 Chapter 891: Ruby And Blood New Forms

    -----


    Both of these bastards have changed more than I imagined, not only was Ruby looking incredible with his new appearance and Aura full of authority and power, but Blood himself had also changed in appearance, now reaching near twenty meters of height alone. His entire fur had turned into a deep ck color, with crimson strikes across it.


    He had a third golden eye on his forehead, and a pair of demonic crimson horns growing from his head.


    Above all, he now had gigantic and sharper ws than ever before, a long and strong tail capable of dealing actual damage now instead of just serving for him to wag it around. His jaws looked fierce, and there were now several ck chains adorning his body, surging from ck metal bracelets stuck to his arms and legs, which seemed to be part of his body, somehow.


    And these were their Stats:


    -----


    [Name]: [Ruby]


    [Rank]: [A+]


    [Race]: [Imperial Demonic Holy Blood Dragon: ¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï]


    [Spirit Orb Realm]: [Rank 4 (Initial Stage)]


    [Level]: [0/150]


    [Health Points]: [50.000/50.000]


    [Mana Points]: [30.000/30.000]


    [Strength]: [45.000]


    [Agility]: [30.000]


    [Vitality]: [40.000]


    [Intelligence]: [25.000]


    [Dexterity]: [25.000]


    {Passive Skills}: [Demonic Holy Dragon Scales: Lv8] [High Speed Flight: Lv8] [Demonic Holy Dragon Bloodline: Lv7] [Demonic Holy Dragon Eyes: Lv7] [Draconic Demon Holy Aura: Lv4] [Magic Damage Reflection: Lv4] [Holy Scale Ward: Lv1]


    {Active Skills}: [Divine Demonic Dragon ws: Lv3] [Soul-Tearing Dragon Bite: Lv3] [Fearsome Tail Whip: Lv9] [Hellish zing Holy Breath: Lv8] [Demonic Holy Dragon Punch: Lv5] [Sanctified Holy Draconic Weapon: Lv1]


    {Magic Skills}: [Holy Inferno: Lv3] [Holy zing Shield: Lv8] [Demonic Holy Blood de: Lv8] [Holy Blood Explosion: Lv6] [Infernal Holy Blood Vortex: Lv4] [Dragon Tongue: Lv1] [Purifying Domain Of Holy mes: Lv1]


    {Title Skills}: [Vampiric Servant: Lv8] [Blood Dragon: Lv7] [Giant Killer: Lv6] [Demon Dragon: Lv4] [Holy Dragon: Lv1]


    -----


    First of all, Ruby was rather magnificent, the strongest of the two by far. In fact, he surpassed Eleanora herself in a couple of stats. To think that just a year ago he was a newborn Blood Wyvern, but due to all the training, he was now soaring at the level of an A Rank! It was incredible by itself, an amazing feat only those that knew how to train their dragons could ever aplish.


    Above all, he had evolved and became an Imperial Demonic Holy Blood Dragon, something so utterly ridiculous I never thought or considered at all as a possibility. Ruby had be a Blood Dragon, then a Demonic Dragon, and now he absorbed the Holy Elements and became also a Holy Dragon!


    I never thought it was possible for something to be both Demonic and Holy at the same time, they were ipatible elements, but Ruby proved me wrong. Maybe something about how I raised him made himpatible with both at the same time. Perhaps because his original recipient was such a weak Wyvern, he had too much room to grow, generating this impossible mutation.


    Nheless, Ruby had now be the first of his kind across the entire Universe, Spiritias, Heaven, and Hell. His new Skills included things such as Holy Scale Ward, which shielded him from half of all Elemental Damage. Sanctified Holy Dragon Weapon that allowed him to materialize weapons out of draconic energy and light.


    A domain of purifying mes to burn foes and heal allies, and the Holy Dragon Title, to boost his stats and affinity even further.


    -----


    [Name]: [Blood]


    [Rank]: [A]


    [Race]: [Chained Abyssal Blood Wolf King: ¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï]


    [Spirit Orb Realm]: [Rank 4 (Initial Stage)]


    [Level]: [0/150]


    [Health Points]: [30.000/30.000]


    [Mana Points]: [25.000/25.000]


    [Strength]: [35.000]


    [Agility]: [40.000]


    [Vitality]: [25.000]


    [Intelligence]: [25.000]


    [Dexterity]: [40.000]


    {Passive Skills}: [Abyssal ck Fur Armor: Lv8] [Vampiric Monster: Lv8] [Vampire Abyssal Wolf Eyes: Lv8] [Demonic Abyssal Vampiric Wolf Aura: Lv4] [Abyssal Release: Lv1]


    {Active Skills}: [Giant Blood ws: Lv9] [Deadly Vampire Wolf''s Bite: Lv9] [Blood Spear Tail: Lv8] [Berserk Blood Aura: Lv8] [Ferocious Howl: Lv8] [Ravaging Charge: Lv8] [Unchained: Lv1]


    {Magic Skills}: [Blood Arts: Lv8] [Abyssal Blood Spears: Lv8] [Shadow Sneak: Lv8] [Blood Boost: Lv7] [Abyssal Shadow Ball: Lv7] [Shadow Maniption: Lv6] [Abyssal Beam: Lv4] [Blood Catastrophe: Lv4] [Umbral st: Lv1]


    {Title Skills}: [Vampiric Servant: Lv8] [Vampire Wolf: Lv8] [Demon yer: Lv7] [Giant Killer: Lv5] [Demonic Species: Lv4] [Abyssal Chained Wolf: Lv1]


    -----


    Although Ruby was the best of the two, I couldn''t really say Blood was worse either, his stats had given a tremendous jump, from an old, non-special gray wolf alpha into a monstrous ck wolf, overflowing with power, with ck chains and new skills never seen before.


    He was definitely superior to Ruby on Speed and Dexterity though, which was fair, considering Ruby had be too heavy, big, and tanky to move as quickly as a wolf.


    His new Skills included Abyssal Release, which allowed him to release umted Abyssal Power to go berserk for a couple of minutes, enhancing attack power and movement speed.


    Unchained which unchained him from his chains, enhancing speed and also allowing him to be immune to status effects of all kinds, curses, and also to reflect some magic damage for a few seconds, Umbral st, self-exnatory, andstly a title.


    "Well done, you two have be very formidable." I patted their snouts, both happily beginning to lick me with their gigantic tongues, while my mother and grandma were terrified.


    I hadn''t really shown them my giant summons, so it was normal they were not used to giant monsters roaming around leisurely yet sadly. These two guys were very friendly though, so there was nothing they had to fear against.


    "Don''t worry,e here and pet them, they''re friendly to anyone with my scent." I called them, both my mom and grandma timidly approached the two.


    They looked at them while squinting their eyes, Ruby and Blood were being wary of my family, but then after seeing me nod, they let my mom and grandma pet their snouts.


    "I-Is this an everyday thing for you, my son?" My mother asked with a worried expression.


    "Yeah, some of my summoned familiars are asrge as them, and I summon them by the hundreds." I tried to scare her a bit.


    "By the holy spirits¡­"


    -----

 Chapter 892: Making More Familiar Eggs

    -----


    Once their evolution was done, the two were raring to go on a hunting spree, so I allowed them to go loose near the mithril mountain, where there was a forest full of dangerous monsters between D Rank to B Rank simply named "Mithril Mountain''s Forest", which had been growing more dangerous due to being unsupervised for so many decades.


    "Go wild, return in a couple of hours." I ordered them. "Don''t kill all monsters though, and bring me anything you hunt back, the materials and spirit orbs will be useful."


    "ROAR!"


    "WOOF!"


    Ruby roared and Blood barked like a dog, something I thought wolves couldn''t do, both of them then rushed away from the vige, leaping into the nearby forest, crossing the Giant Elios Garden and thennding on the forest very far away from here in just a couple of seconds.


    "D-Do you think this is safe for them? That forest is so dangerous¡­" My mother was worried about such things.


    "I appreciate you worrying, mom, but don''t worry about those two, they really need to stretch their bodies and try out all the power they have." Iughed. "If they ever go into a pinch, I''ll know and I''ll bring them back."


    "O-Okay, alright." My mother nodded.


    "Hohoho! I was a bit afraid, but these monsters are sure cute! Well done taming those things, they could eventually be this town''s greatest guardians." My grandmother said.


    "Yeah, once I finish all the things I must do, and settle down here, they will be just that." I nodded. "Now, next on the list of things I have to do¡­ Time to make some eggs."


    "Eh? You''re making eggs?" My mother felt weirded out. "My son, what do you mean by that?"


    "Are you imagining me as some sort of chickenying eggs, mother?" I sighed, facepalming. "I mean what I did back then, when I gifted my siblings those eggs."


    "Oh, that!" My mother instantly realized it. "You can make more of those eggs, isn''t it? But aren''t they expensive? Would it be worth to make more of those little pets when you already have so many powerful familiars?"


    "I''ve learned something when fighting their armies, mother." I said. "When fighting demons, it is never too much. Their armies will always be hundreds of timesrger than yours, their fighters even stronger, their magic much more powerful, and their leaders even more cunning than you.


    You may think another strong familiar won''t make much of a difference now, but you''re mistaken, every single elite fighter I can get will make a difference, even more once I enter the true battlefield, where it is said that there are millions of demons, to the north of our continent¡­ It is a war we''re losing, but I''ll turn the scales."


    "My son¡­" My mother was surprised over my long speech, she never thought I would ever say such things, but I felt slightly inspired right now.


    "Hahah, well, don''t sweat the details. And what costs me spirit orbs is giving Talents, not making those eggs, mother. Don''t worry." Iughed. "Shall we go eat breakfast then?"


    "O-Oh, sure!" She smiled gently. "I have to make sure to appreciate you while you''re around then, my son. If you''re truly going to that war, then¡­ I have to make sure I spoil you as much as I can while you''re here." She hugged me and kissed my forehead.


    "A-Ah, yes¡­" I felt embarrassed, but my mother has always been like this.


    "Hohoh, I told you so, back then! That this child would one day be a hero, now look at him." My grandmotherughed cheerfully. "He''ll keep reaching higher heights¡­ I just know it."


    Once we went back home after I helped them both on putting the clothes to dry by the sunlight, I sat down on the couch, my mother said she would make me breakfast and rejected my help, so I simply decided to move on my next thing I had to do.


    I checked once more the Familiar Egg Skill description, making sure I had everything on mind.


    -----


    [Familiar Egg: Lv3]


    Skill Proficiency: 3.220/60.000


    A Unique Skill that only Grandmaster Summoners can learn, by choosing a specific Familiar they can summon, it is possible to transform this Familiar into a Familiar Egg.


    Once a Familiar is turned into a Familiar Egg, it cannot be summoned again in their original form, and it will be reborn as a {Unique Familiar}.


    {Unique Familiars} are born even weaker than their original forms, and in a baby-like form, but can grow stronger by absorbing Spirit Orbs, Materials, and defeating Monsters.


    After undergoing several stages, they will eventually surpass their original stats, skills, and abilities, and be much stronger than their original forms.


    However, intensive care is needed, and {Unique Familiars} require the connection with someone''s Soul to be {Bonded} for life.


    It is possible to assign the {Unique Familiars} to the Grandmaster Summoner, or anybody they have a strong emotional connection with.


    {Unique Familiars} cannot be summoned or multiplied like normal Familiars but will eventually grow tens or hundreds of times stronger than those that can be multiplied.


    It is a preferred skill for Summoners that want quality over quantity.


    {Unique Familiars} will also gain thrice as many stats per Rank Up, their Skills can evolve once they reach the max Stat of "+++", and they can also develop greater intelligence and a {Spirit Soul} of their own.


    These Familiars can be revived if they die, by sacrificing a sufficient amount of Spirit Orbs, the stronger they are, the more are needed for their resurrection.


    With each Skill Level, the maximum amount of Familiar Eggs you can create increases.


    All Stats and their Skill Powers and Effects increase by +30% with each Skill Level. Current Bonus: +90%.


    Avable Familiar Egg Slots:


    Level 3: [In Use: 2] [Avable: 5]


    -----


    "Level 3 already¡­"


    It had leveled up faster than I imagined. I believe it was thanks to my recent Rank Up, coupled with the growth of the familiars themselves. It seems that all Unique Familiars made with this Skill, as they grow, add Skill Proficiency to it.


    "Alright now, what should I pick?"


    I started analyzing arge list of forgotten low rank Familiars. nts, Ogres, Bugs, and even Undead, which I''ve neglected since I got them for the first time. They''re all good on their own, but I also want something versatile and powerful.


    Once they be a living being, they will also gain weaknesses, one of them is needing to eat and sleep because they get tired, like normal living beings¡­ But there''s one type of monster that doesn''t go through such difficulties.


    Three cards floated in front of me. Yeah I was going to make three right away. The more the merrier as they say. One showcased a simple-looking skeleton soldier holding a bone weapon, a second a rotting zombie with an angered expression and bloody veins covering its body, andstly, arge axe with a pair of crimson eyes on top of it.


    While I picked cute monsters that would form a strong emotional bond with my siblings, for me, I wanted to pick creatures that would be dreadful beings, incapable of needing to eat, sleep, or rest.


    Undead and living weapons are the way.


    -----

 Chapter 893: New Unique Familiars

    -----


    All three cards quickly transformed into differently shaped eggs, the skeleton egg was pure white, the zombie egg was green with red patches, and the axe egg was the weirdest, fully made of metal and with two spikes on top. I had to give them new names now, so I quickly thought about something for the trio.


    "The Skeleton will be named Fausto, the Zombie Ezekiel, the Axe Dominus. You will be my bodyguards."


    FLASH! FLASH! FLASH!


    All three eggs overflowed with light and then connected to my soul, a powerful bond was made as I let them feed on as much blood as they wanted out of a small wound I self-inflicted on my index finger. The entire process was finally done.


    "Very well, now hatch."


    All three eggs began to slowly hatch, opening their eggshells to reveal strange creaturesing from it. I never thought I would see a "baby skeleton" or even less a "baby zombie" before. They didn''t look like actual human babies.


    They resembled small, but still normal looking skeletons and zombies, although their appearances were slightly different, especially for the Zombie, Ezekiel. Instead of a walking rotting corpse, it now simply had slightly pale red skin, long ck hair, and was wearing ck robes and a ck hood. Meanwhile, Fausto was just a naked skeleton the size of a three-year-old child.


    Lastly, the weirdest of the three, the Axe Dominus, it became a tiny axe with¡­ legs?! It had four legs! Now this was bizarre, I love it. The four-legged axe also had the same crimson eyes, but now it also sported arge mouth. How bizarre, this is fascinating.


    -----


    [Name]: [Fausto]


    [Type]: [Undead] [Skeleton] [Unique Familiar]


    [Rank]: [F]


    [Race]: [Skeleton Baby]


    [Talent]: [None]


    [Health Points]: [150/150]


    [Mana Points:] [40/40]


    [Strength]: [120]


    [Agility]: [40]


    [Vitality]: [120]


    [Intelligence]: [40]


    [Dexterity]: [40]


    [Skill]: [Steel Bones+] [Aura of Intimidation+] [Bone Projectile+]


    [Title]: [Named Familiar]


    [Bond]: [ke]


    [Growth]: [0/10]


    -----


    ¡­


    -----


    [Name]: [Ezekiel]


    [Type]: [Undead] [Zombie] [Unique Familiar]


    [Rank]: [F]


    [Race]: [Blood Zombie Baby]


    [Talent]: [None]


    [Health Points]: [100/100]


    [Mana Points:] [80/80]


    [Strength]: [80]


    [Agility]: [120]


    [Vitality]: [80]


    [Intelligence]: [40]


    [Dexterity]: [40]


    [Skill]: [Self Regeneration+] [Aura of Famine+] [Undead Wall+]


    [Title]: [Named Familiar]


    [Bond]: [ke]


    [Growth]: [0/10]


    -----


    ¡­


    -----


    [Name]: [Dominus]


    [Type]: [Material] [Weapon] [Unique Familiar]


    [Rank]: [F]


    [Race]: [Living Axe Baby]


    [Talent]: [None]


    [Health Points]: [150/150]


    [Mana Points:] [40/40]


    [Strength]: [160]


    [Agility]: [120]


    [Vitality]: [40]


    [Intelligence]: [40]


    [Dexterity]: [70]


    [Skill]: [Strong Strike+] [Vertical sh+] [Crush+]


    [Title]: [Named Familiar]


    [Bond]: [ke]


    [Growth]: [0/10]


    -----


    "You three look hrious." I continuedughing. "I can''t believe this stupid skill would make these guys look like this¡­ Hahaha!"


    I couldn''t help butugh, this was out of my own imagination. Once I stoppedughing, they felt slightly sad. They were very smart for newborns, realizing the ridiculousness of their own existences. Well, don''t worry.


    "Are you sad? My bad, you will be strong Familiars, I am sure of it." I smiled. "Here, you can eat these materials I especially prepared for you."


    I feed them materials I had prepared for them previously. For Fausto, all kind of bones, which it absorbed into its own body, and began to growrger¡­ Ultimately, it became a one meter and a half bone chimera fusing monkey, goblin, dragon, and wolf bones together.


    Ezekiel devoured a lot of meat, bingrger too, although it retained a humanoid form, it looked not disgusting at all, slightly smaller than Fausto. Lastly, Dominus devoured all kinds of metal ores, Mithril and even Draconic Crystals, which made it gain a red hue to its de, arger form, and it could now spit mes.


    I checked their Status again:


    -----


    [Name]: [Fausto]


    [Type]: [Undead] [Skeleton] [Unique Familiar]


    [Rank]: [F]


    [Race]: [Skeleton Baby]


    [Talent]: [None]


    [Health Points]: [200/200]


    [Mana Points:] [60/60]


    [Strength]: [200]


    [Agility]: [60]


    [Vitality]: [180]


    [Intelligence]: [60]


    [Dexterity]: [60]


    [Skill]: [Steel Bones+] [Aura of Intimidation+] [Bone Projectile+] [Bone Absorption+]


    [Title]: [Named Familiar]


    [Bond]: [ke]


    [Growth]: [0/10]


    -----


    Fausto gained the Bone Absorption Skill, very useful! With this he could be an evenrger bone monster, rather good for a Unique Summon that can grow infinitely and evolve into many other shapes.


    -----


    [Name]: [Ezekiel]


    [Type]: [Undead] [Zombie] [Unique Familiar]


    [Rank]: [F]


    [Race]: [Blood Zombie Baby]


    [Talent]: [None]


    [Health Points]: [150/150]


    [Mana Points:] [120/120]


    [Strength]: [120]


    [Agility]: [160]


    [Vitality]: [120]


    [Intelligence]: [60]


    [Dexterity]: [60]


    [Skill]: [Self Regeneration+] [Aura of Famine+] [Undead Wall+] [Biomancy+]


    [Title]: [Named Familiar]


    [Bond]: [ke]


    [Growth]: [0/10]


    -----


    Biomancy, the ability to wield flesh to their will, most likely their own flesh for now. Is this how it grew taller andnkier now? It doesn''t look like a midget anymore, thankfully. The hood and ck robes it have makes the zombie look rather mysterious, like some sort of assassin.


    -----


    [Name]: [Dominus]


    [Type]: [Material] [Weapon] [Unique Familiar]


    [Rank]: [F]


    [Race]: [Living Axe Baby]


    [Talent]: [None]


    [Health Points]: [200/200]


    [Mana Points:] [60/60]


    [Strength]: [200]


    [Agility]: [180]


    [Vitality]: [60]


    [Intelligence]: [60]


    [Dexterity]: [90]


    [Skill]: [Strong Strike+] [Vertical sh+] [Crush+] [zing Steel+]


    [Title]: [Named Familiar]


    [Bond]: [ke]


    [Growth]: [0/10]


    -----


    And then for Dominus, zing Steel, enhances durability and allows the steel to generate mes by using Mana from its own source or the master. Amusing. This will be a good living weapon for my arsenal of many. I will be using it the most.


    "Well done you three." I smiled, patting their heads.


    "Crackle¡­!" Fausto made a happy sound cracking its bones.


    "Graaah¡­" Ezekiel seemed happy, groaning.


    "Raarr! Rararrrr!" Meanwhile, Dominus had the personality of a rabid dog, roaring happily.


    They were indeed quite the peculiar little silly guys. I''ll have to make them grow strong quickly. Today we''ll have another grinding session inside of the Elios Gardens. I hope we can find stronger foes so they can give more EXP to my siblings in specific.


    "Everyone! Breakfast is ready!" My mother called for everyone, suddenly growing spooked the moment she saw me with three giant monsters inside the house. "Uwaah! ke, what are those things?!"


    "Things? They''re my Familiars, mother." I sighed. "Like those that An and Anna have."


    "B-But those are cute¡­" She facepalmed. "My son, why can''t you like cute animals instead of creepy crawlers?"


    "Come on, that''s how your son is, let him be." Laughed my grandmother.


    "Sorry about that, enter my shadows." I ordered the trio, as they went in.


    -----

 Chapter 894: The Plans Ahead

    -----


    I think I''ve done most of the things I needed to do the most. I Ranked Up, did all the Spirit Realm chores, made a Mana Core, evolved the familiars, summoned the vampires and evolved the previous ones. Now, what''s next?


    Thinking about it while eating pancakes with syrup and sipping on a coffee, while having the beautiful scenery of grasnds and a calm and peaceful vige in the window really made me feel at ease.


    Right, I need to strengthen my equipment. I already made a very strong armor, but my spear is still awaiting further enhancements. Aside from that, my gun too, and also I promised Elizabeth a weapon, didn''t I? A holy hammer of some sort, I believe that''s what she asked me, she does deserve a gift from me after all.


    Should I get to that today orter this month? I think prioritizing leveling is better, but it''s a gift for Elizabeth too¡­ So I don''t want to dy it anymore. Well, I guess I''ll do it tomorrow morning. I was already quite busy this morning.


    "Hey ke, did you had to just walk away while we were sleeping? You could have woken us up with you¡­!" Erika was pouting at me, angry I left them sleeping.


    "Your sleep is so heavy I don''t think that would have been a wise idea, you would have groaned a lot before even waking up, Erika." I said, petting her head.


    "T-That''s not right!" She said, crossing her arms and feeling flustered. "¡­Or is it?"


    Elizabeth and Eleanora both nodded at her, Erika felt devastated.


    "Well, it doesn''t really matter. I heard you were busy this morning, what happened?" Elizabeth asked.


    "Oh, I just evolved Ruby and Blood, remember them?" I asked her. "They''re now both A Rank and four-star monsters."


    "A-A Rank?!" My father asked. "Aren''t monsters of that level cmities?! They could easily destroy our whole town if they wanted¡­"


    "They''re very loyal pets, sir, so don''t worry about that." Eleanora reassured my father. "Especially Blood, he is such a fluffy little guy. He would never harm any innocent person ever! He loves belly rubs and I always give him little treats."


    "I-I see, well, I''m d they''re trustworthy then." My father nodded. "But this is like the first time I ever heard about someone taming A Rank Monsters, this is insane¡­ Usually only there are spirit summoners, but tamers? They''re incredibly rare!"


    "Hmm, I''ve heard that in the Beast Continent, beast-kin people have affinities with taming monsters." Said Cattalina, sipping tea afterwards. "That Continent is very far away from here, but it is where they had developed taming arts the most. I''ve heard most of their Spirits are also made exclusively to help them tame such creatures. Amusing, isn''t it?"


    "So there is some taming knowledge¡­ but in another whole continent¡­" I sighed. "I haven''t seen any beast-kin people in the academy though, are they not in the alliance?"


    "The are, sort of, but their society systems are different than ours." Said Cattalina. "Their children are taught there and level up in their own dungeons. They have special trials, sses, training, and more depending in which tribe they belong to. They formrge alliances between tribes that then build giant cities to live.


    But often times, alliances are constantly battling with one another for territory. It doesn''t help their continent is the farthest from the demon''s invasion, so they''re not as concerned as everyone else, and usually waste time in these trivial things, without preparing or helping as much as we would want.


    They do send powerful warriors, but even then¡­ whenpared to the Dwarven and Elven Continents, it is stillckluster."


    "I see how it is." I nodded while imagining things much more. "Do they have some sort of Deity they worship aside from the holy spirits? I heard from Alberta that the Dwarves have their Divine Architect who creates dungeons."


    "Yes, yes, they do have many divine spirits that are close to holy spirits." Nodded Cattalina. "Mostly in the form of special Mythical Beasts that protect each tribe or tribe alliances. Sadly some of them have rather¡­ savage tendencies, affecting the tribes they protect to be too bloodthirsty and battle hungry."


    "That''s a pity¡­" My father sighed. "Wait! There are more deities than the holy spirits?!"


    "Yeah." Elizabeth, a representant of the holy spirit church giggled. "They''re often times people or Ancient Spirits that managed to Rank Up enough to qualify, they''re most of the time very ancient and don''t like to talk too much. They''re all aiming to be Holy Spirits themselves and join the rest, some already have a spot with them, others are working alone."


    "D-Do Dwarves only have one?" Asked my mother. "T-That''s a bit too less, no?"


    "There should be one of Forging, they call it the Godsmith Hephaestus, and also the Earthly Mother Gaia." Said Cattalina. "All three of them are their major deities in a way, although they all still worship the holy spirits anyways.


    The elves are the same¡­ From what I''ve learned, there''s the Divine Spirit of Yggdrasil, the Divine Dragon Fafnir, who''s the youngest, andstly, the Fairy Queen Titania."


    "Fafnir, huh?" I rubbed my chin. "So he''s already seen as a deity. This is going to be fun."


    Everyone red at me in surprise¡­ I guess I better not say another word before my parents begin to worry again about what I might do in the future. But there''s no way I''m not fighting that monster, I''ve grown this strong just for that.


    After a lot of talking and eating, we prepared to depart with my siblings once more, who were mostly ying with their familiars all this time without paying attention to the grown up talk they couldn''t really understand well.


    "Alright, let''s go then." I said, stepping out of the house with everyone.


    "Big brother! Are we grinding more levels?" Asked Anna.


    "Yes, I want you to grow as strong as possible." I nodded. "I won''t stop until you two are at least¡­ Hmm, Rank 4?"


    "Rank 4?! Is there enough EXP in this entire ce for them to get this far, ke?!" Elizabeth asked me.


    "We''ll have to see first." I smiled. "We can always keep trying."


    -----

 Chapter 895: Hunting Strange Creatures In The Elios Garden

    -----


    After presenting them my three new Unique Familiars, which they found rather bizarre, as I thought, we moved to Elios Garden again. We passed through the first two gardens with ease. The monsters there appeared once more almost as if spawning out of nowhere. We battled Giant Ladybugs, Gardener Wolves, and Gardener Ants, most of them between F Rank to E+ Rank.


    The Gardener Wolf Pack Leader appeared on a new mutated state we didn''t see before, the flower on its head had grown roots and more flowers over its body, strengthening its movement speed and attack power and making it into D+ Rank Monster.


    It was a tough foe, my little Unique Familiars were pushed around like they were nothing, Anna and An had to confront it with Paprika and Emerald. They decided to go all out this time, showcasing their abilities and what they could do now after gaining a Talent and Ranking Up.


    "ROAR!"


    The mutated Gardener Wolf Pack Leader charged at them; Emerald was the first to stand on its path. The turtle spun rapidly and blocked all blows with its powerful shell, and then fired crystal spikes at it.


    When the wolf attempted to evade the annoying tortoise and move on to attack someone else, Anna appeared right below him, moving at a speed faster than we thought she could achieve. This time she was only relying on bonus stats from her knife, simple armor, and also the EXP Bracelets we let them have to make their leveling faster.


    "HYA!"


    She used her Golden Swordsmanship to unleash a powerful piercing attack using the knife she held, she still had yet to have enough mastery to use a real sword, but it was all the same.


    The knife glowed with a golden aura, her special element, which exploded into light as it pierced the wolf''s neck, making it recoil as blood sttered.


    SLAAASH!


    The wolf swiftly retreated only to roar back at Anna and leap towards her to surprise her while she was still in her previous stance, she desperately called for Paprika to cover her back, the smander leaping down and opening her tiny jaws, releasing several fireballs.


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!


    The fireballs sted the wolf''s face, burning its body. But the creature kept charging as it burned, shing the smander with his sharp ws and then attempting to hit Anna, only to be stopped by a silver arrow piercing his head.


    CLAAASH!


    "Gryaargh!"


    The wolf groaned in pain, its entire senses disturbed as it had a silver-colored arrow pierce its brain, yet it didn''t die yet. This thing was beyond normal. Was this parasitic nt making it some sort of living zombie? No matter, little An got his sister''s back covered.


    "An, well done!"


    As Anna praised her brother, she lost her focus and the wolf attacked her back, Emerald came spinning and mmed the wolf''s head with all his weight, pushing it away.


    BAAAM!


    Paprika then came secondster, holy mes burning the entire wolf''s body, followed by another two silver arrows into its head, and Anna''s Golden de magic spell piercing the chest.


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!


    Enough explosions of silver and golden light consume the wolf, who unable to fight back anymore, died while burning, half its body falling apart already¡­


    "We did it!" Both siblings celebrated, their little summons were also joyous.


    "Well done you two! You''re so awesome!" Erika was getting excited and wanted to fight too. "Geez! Now I wanna fight! I hope there''s a big monster somewhere!"


    "Hahaha, calm down, we''re on a vacation after all." Elizabeth said. "Right Eleanora?"


    "I want to fight too¡­" Eleanora was the same as Erika.


    "Well, what are your current levels?" I wondered, both of my siblings came running to my side, as I checked their status with my grimoire.


    Both were already Level 21! It was incredible how fast they leveled up, all thanks to the bracelets we let them have temporarily, which had no restrictions of usage.


    ------


    [Experience Enhancement Bracelet]


    {Item Type}: [essory] [Bracelet] [Holy Spirit Blessed Artifact]


    {Item Quality}: [Spiritual Grade]


    {Item Requirement}: [None]


    {Item Durability}: [10.000/10.000]


    {Item Effects}: [Health Points]: [+1.000] [Mana Points]: [+1.000] [Strength]: [+1.000] [Agility]: [+1.000] [Vitality]: [+1.000] [Intelligence]: [+1.000] [Dexterity]: [+1.000]


    {Item Abilities}


    [Holy Spirit Blessing: Experience Enhancement]: This Bracelet possess the crystallization of the Holy Spirits Blessing of "Experience". Wherever it is worn by someone that can Level Up, increases EXP Earned by +200%.


    -----


    They were really good, and even granted +1k to all stats, so my siblings were able to even out the ground with a powerful D+ Rank Monster even with their much lower stats.


    "Nine more levels to go¡­" I nodded. "Alright today we''re getting you two to Level 30." I nodded. "Meanwhile, you three,e here."


    I called my Familiars, who had worked hard to defeat F Rank or even E Rank Monsters however they could, their stats were very low right now, but thanks to my siblings and their familiars help, they were doing things just fine.


    I feed them ten F Rank Spirit Orbs each, which I acquired from their own kills or from kills they helped at, which seemed to be enough to qualify as usable for them.


    FLAASH! FLAASH! FLAASH!


    All three of them, from Fausto, to Ezekial, and Dominus, further evolved intorger and stronger looking forms. Fausto turned into arger bone monster, resembling a wolf-like skeleton but with a dragon head, and bony horns growing all over its body, four pairs of big skeleton arms, and even skeleton wings that couldn''t fly yet.


    Ezekial became much slender and taller, reaching my size, he seemed covered on even more ck robes and a hood, and now could materialize a ck shadow in the shape of a sharp object. Lastly, Dominus became an evenrger axe-like creature, now gaining a long metallic tail and its four tiny legs becamerger and robust. It gained a zing mane around its sharp de.


    Honestly, their evolutions were entertaining to see, I wonder how strong they''ll grow¡­


    -----

 Chapter 896: Unique Familiars Evolutions

    -----


    Once Fausto, Ezekiel, and Dominus evolved and the trio started celebrating by jumping around me, I checked their status.


    -----


    [Name]: [Fausto]


    [Type]: [Undead] [Skeleton] [Chimera] [Unique Familiar]


    [Rank]: [E+]


    [Race]: [Bone Chimera]


    [Talent]: [Bone Eater: ¡ï]


    [Health Points]: [1.000/1.000]


    [Mana Points:] [500/500]


    [Strength]: [1.000]


    [Agility]: [400]


    [Vitality]: [800]


    [Intelligence]: [500]


    [Dexterity]: [400]


    [Skill]: [Steel Bones++] [Aura of Intimidation++] [Bone Projectile++] [Bone Absorption+] [Bone Weapon+]


    [Title]: [Named Familiar] [Bone Eating Skeleton]


    [Bond]: [ke]


    [Growth]: [0/30]


    -----


    Bone Weapon as a Skill seems interesting, it allows Fausto to shape any bone from its body into a sharp and deadly weapon, not bad at all! Also his stats are surprisingly good and bnced.


    -----


    [Name]: [Ezekiel]


    [Type]: [Undead] [Zombie] [Shadow] [Unique Familiar]


    [Rank]: [E+]


    [Race]: [Blood Shadow Zombie]


    [Talent]: [Assassin: ¡ï]


    [Health Points]: [1.000/1.000]


    [Mana Points:] [800/800]


    [Strength]: [700]


    [Agility]: [1.000]


    [Vitality]: [500]


    [Intelligence]: [400]


    [Dexterity]: [400]


    [Skill]: [Self Regeneration++] [Aura of Famine++] [Undead Wall++] [Biomancy+] [Shadow Attack+]


    [Title]: [Named Familiar] [Undead Ambusher]


    [Bond]: [ke]


    [Growth]: [0/30]


    -----


    Despite the initial Skills, Ezekiel is very into growing into some sort of assassin, Shadow Attack not only allows it to shape his own shadow into a small sharp weapon, but it can also sneak through a foe''s shadows for a powerful surprise blow all into one. A rather powerful skill when considering the stats and how they''re ced.


    -----


    [Name]: [Dominus]


    [Type]: [Material] [Weapon] [Fire] [Unique Familiar]


    [Rank]: [E+]


    [Race]: [Living zing Axe]


    [Talent]: [Butcherer: ¡ï]


    [Health Points]: [1.200/1.200]


    [Mana Points:] [500/500]


    [Strength]: [1.200]


    [Agility]: [900]


    [Vitality]: [400]


    [Intelligence]: [400]


    [Dexterity]: [500]


    [Skill]: [Strong Strike++] [Vertical sh++] [Crush++] [zing Steel+] [Burning Wounds+]


    [Title]: [Named Familiar] [Burner Of Flesh]


    [Bond]: [ke]


    [Growth]: [0/30]


    -----


    By far the strongest of the trio in terms of raw power alone, if nothing else. Dominus hits the hardest, and with the Burning Wounds new skill, burning foes to deal even more extra damage has be a viable strategy for them.


    "Excellent, you''ve grown well." I nodded. "Here, take these as treats." I opened my Inventory and feed them bones, meat, and ores. Once they were satisfied, we continued.


    With the newly evolved trio of Familiars, we had an even easier time at the third Garden section. This time we fought against countless Gardener Ants ranging from F Rank to E+ Rank, perfect to grind their spirit orbs for our little familiars.


    "I wanna go down there, brother!"


    "W-We have to explore it, of course!"


    Once we''ve in close to a hundred, we moved forwards until the end of the garden, which had an anthill leading underground. My siblings were really into getting down there, so, although reluctantly, we moved down there.


    "Fine, let''s go then." I shrugged. "What''s the worst that could happen?"


    We were greeted with an ant ambush, as I thought, fifty more ants attacked us all at once. I ended restraining them all using my Vampiric Vines before they were to get any closer, and my siblings and familiars had an easy time killing them. The twins were already around Level 28, a bit more and they would hit max level.


    "Is this alright? I thought you wanted them to earn battle experience?" Elizabeth asked me worriedly. "If we level them up too easily, they won''t grow well."


    "I know, but I panicked a bit. If too many swarmed on them they could have been seriously injured more than I would have wanted to see, the giant ants are vicious with those jaws." I sighed. "Now, let''s proceed. I''ll use my senses to tell you whenever an ant ising."


    "Alright!" Both Anna and An were pumped up.


    We moved from cave to cave, finding more packs of Gardener Ants, which they in on their own with the Familiars as aid. Until we finally reached the very end, being greeted by a Giant Gardener Ant Queen, three times as big as the soldiers.


    It was good at using magic and was D+ Rank too, firing beams of darkness against us. Emerald defended, Paprika unleashed mes, the siblings attacked with both magic and techniques. And in between my own familiars'' powerful blows and Dominus very lethal blows, the queen fell quicker than we thought.


    "Gryyeeerrgh¡­"


    The giant bug fell down to her demise, as the twins gained arge quantity of EXP, and about us? Not even enough for a level yet¡­ Well, I do have patience. The Mithril Mountain Dungeon will give us all the EXP we crave.


    "We hit max level!" Anna and An said almost at the same time.


    "You did it guys, yaaay!" Erika celebrated with them, lifting them both.


    "They do have quite a lot of talent; I have to admit." Eleanora nodded. "To be expected of your siblings, my lord- I mean, ke."


    "Their new Talents are really good, yeah! Silver and Gold Magic¡­ I have never seen such elements in person before like this." Elizabeth said while analyzing them.


    "Well done!" I nodded, congratting them. "You''ve done enough, right? It''ste already, so let''s go back for now."


    "What? But we need to level more!" Anna said.


    "Yeah¡­" An nodded.


    "No more than that." I stopped them. "Let''s go back home. Mom is waiting for you."


    After convincing them, we moved back home, while I felt a strangely eerie feeling as I gave my back to the Garden. It felt as if something or someone was watching me. Not a human or even a cultist or a demon, but something that was everywhere, as if nature itself.


    This Garden, whatever it is, must be controlled by a pretty strong monster if its daring to look at me with such anger. Is it frustrated its attempts at stopping us failed again? It might bring even stronger monsters next time, for all I know.


    Nheless, after reaching back home, we had a hearty lunch with the entire family before taking a trip around town to rx and enjoy the ce. We meet up with our friends after a couple of days of just being with our families, and enjoyed a nice evening together, eating out, talking,ughing, and just overall enjoying the day.


    Once the next morning came, I was ready to forge Elizabeth''s new weapon, and also upgrade my old spear, which I''ve had with me for many years now¡­


    -----

 Chapter 897: Stronger Siblings

    -----


    After finishing breakfast, which included a conversation between my parents and Erika''s mother about nning a future wedding, which I didn''t really liked that much. I was getting ready to go to Erika''s house to start the crafting. I already had all the materials I needed, and Erika''s house already has a forge of its own, so it shouldn''t be too hard to get things done over there.


    However, before I could step out, my siblings called out for me. I had told them that today there wouldn''t be any hunting because I would be busy crafting, but they had a very urgent issue I had forgotten myself. Perhaps because I had assumed they would be able to get over it as easy as I or my friends did.


    "Big brother, we need help¡­"


    "We can''t Rank Up!"


    Anna and An called me with a rather sad expression on their faces. They looked normal while we had breakfast, but it seems they''ve been struggling with something quite important.


    "What''s wrong? How so?" I wondered, as the two showed me their Auras. They had a lot of Mana, but the Spirit Energy surrounding their Spirit Orbs was clogged and not flowing correctly.


    "We can''t cultivate spirit energy¡­" Anna sighed.


    "How do we use it?" An asked. "Big bro never taught us that¡­"


    "Oh right¡­ I''m really sorry." I apologized. "I shouldn''t have assumed you would have known right away. Mom, do they not teach them how to use spirit energy in school?"


    "Well, that''s usually knowledge that you can only learn from Magic Academies." My mother sighed. "So no. I am really amazed you were able to figure out how to use that energy on your own, dear. It is not normal, so it clears you''re a genius. You taught the same to your friends, right?"


    "Erika already knew how to use it too¡­ Elizabeth as well, but yeah, some of my friends did learn from me." I nodded. "Wait, is thisck of knowledge what stopped you two from growing stronger when you were younger? The reason why you can level up, but our Rank hasn''t increased¡­"


    "Yeah, I guess so. I never learned about that myself, sadly." My father shrugged. "Back then this vige was even smaller than before. Not many knew aside from the few noble houses. And there''s no way they would bother teaching us anything."


    "This is unprecedented¡­ I thought the church of the holy spirits taught the children a few things at least." Cattalina sighed. "Elizabeth, do they?"


    "They provide with food and other things to the poor, but we are not told to teach them these things, only religion." Elizabeth said. "I''m sorry¡­"


    "It''s fine, nobody is ming you." I said. "It should be something that must be corrected. The reason why people end up with their Spirit Orbs weakened to the point they cannot cultivate anymore is because they don''t begin manipting spirit energy since an early age. Alright, let me teach you how to do this."


    I patted my sibling''s heads, as I brought them to the backyard with me. I made them sit down over the grass, as I sat down right behind them, cing my hands into their backs. And then told them to close their eyes.


    "This is a bitplicated, but I will guide you the first time so you can do it on your ownter. Alright? Make sure to remember this feeling."


    "Okay¡­"


    "S-Sure!"


    They were nervous. I had to do this quickly. I imbued my senses into my aura and ced it into my hands. With it, I gathered threads of spirit energy out of their Spirit Orbs. And while doing so, I exined them something important.


    "While we are all born with the ability to manipte Mana due to its simplicity, Spirit Energy is much different." I exined. "While Mana often obeys you when you call for it, Spirit Energy is rebellious. Once you think you''ve grasped it, it will quickly escape your fingers and dissipate. It is a strong essence, but it is alsoplicated to keep amassed.


    The existence of Spirit Orbs as a whole is an incredible miracle. You must use this organ to control this powerful energy."


    I showed them how to slowly turn the spirit energy into threads,bine the threads, and grasp the energy tightly. After that, it was just a matter of letting it all out of their clogged spirit orbs and then back inside again. But this time slowly, while letting it rotate. By imagining it like threads, it made it easy for them to understand.


    FLAAASH!


    I was surprised that it happened so quickly, but both of my siblings Spirit Orbs fully Ranked Up after that. I did help them a lot, but thest step was done all by themselves. They did have a great deal of talent at the end.


    Their Mana and Spirit Energy erupted in great quantities, growing much stronger than before. They gained small Spirit Auras, their Ranks increased to Rank 2 right away, an incredible feat for people this young. They were following on my footsteps quite well.


    "Woah, I feel so much stronger now, big brother!" Anna said. "What happened?!"


    "My chest hurt a bit, but now I feel anew." An said. "Oooh, so much Mana¡­"


    "Congrattions, you''re now Rank 2!" I smiled. "Onwards to Rank 3 now, hah."


    I couldn''t help butugh over how ridiculously fast they were growing. Thanks to the EXP bracelets, their growth was even faster than normal. And as long as I help them with these things, they will surely get strong enough to protect mom and dad on their own.


    I know father is strong enough to protect the whole family, but, even then, it would always be better if there were more capable fighters. My goal is just Rank 3, but if by some sort of miracle it could be possible for them to get to Rank 4, then that would be even better.


    Nheless, it took my friends several visits on the hardest dungeon to get there, so I doubt they will be able to advance so quickly. The Elios Garden is still full of strange monsters. I am sure there are some strong enough ones yet to be discovered.


    -----

 Chapter 898: Everyone Rank Up

    -----


    After their Rank Up, both of my siblings Status Updated, their new sses have changed as well as their abilities. They acquired new Skills too, but the biggest thing was the new Spirit. Spirit Masters can get one new Spirit every Rank, although for me that''s two. This means a whole newpanion with special abilities that could help them progress.


    And the new Spirits of my sibling were within my expectations. Spirits usually follow a pattern. The first Spirit they awaken sets a pattern that every other spirit born after follows. For example, if someone gets a tea bag spirit at the beginning, then the next spirit could be a tea nt monster, a teacup, or a sentient slime made of liquid tea. It has to go around the first spirit''s "gimmick".


    While analyzing their Status with my Grimoire, I clearly saw their new Spirits appear, even though both of them had no idea it was inside their Spirit Orbs.


    -----


    [Name]: [Anna Hunter Goathorn]


    [Race]: [Human]


    [Spirit Orb Realm]: [Rank 2 (Initial Stage)]


    [Talent]: [Golden Knight: ¡ï¡ï]


    [Level]: [0/50]


    [Health Points]: [2.700/2.700]


    [Mana Points]: [4.300/4.300]


    [Strength]: [2.650]


    [Agility]: [2.300]


    [Vitality]: [2.600]


    [Intelligence]: [1.850]


    [Dexterity]: [1.850]


    [Spirits (2/2)]: [Angelic Golden Bell (Rank 2)] [Bright Golden Knife (Rank 2)]


    [Skills]: [Sturdy Body: Lv4] [Dragon Skin: Lv3] [Knife Strike: Lv3] [Golden Chime: Lv3] [Golden Swordsmanship: Lv2] [Golden de: Lv2] [Golden Spirit Aura: Lv1] [Enhanced Battle Senses: Lv1]


    [Titles]: [Little Golden Squire: Lv3] [Apprentice Golden Knight: Lv1]


    -----


    Anna''s new Spirit was a bright golden knife, which I told her to summon. She was amazed by its detailed appearance and the magical glow it possessed. Looks like her "gimmick" will be all sorts of Golden Tools, instead of just musical tools. I''m thankful its Gold Themed and not Musical. This girl is not a musician to be honest. She''s a hardcore hunter and frontline fighter after all.


    "Wow, a magic knife spirit!" Anna was surprised. "I love it! I can use Knife Strike with it!"


    "Yeah, it should have its own abilities as well, you''ll have to discover them as we fight and train." I exined to her.


    -----


    [Name]: [An Hunter Goathorn]


    [Race]: [Human]


    [Spirit Orb Realm]: [Rank 2 (Initial Stage)]


    [Talent]: [Silver Sniper: ¡ï¡ï]


    [Level]: [0/50]


    [Health Points]: [1.850/1.850]


    [Mana Points]: [4.300/4.300]


    [Strength]: [2.000]


    [Agility]: [2.600]


    [Vitality]: [1.850]


    [Intelligence]: [2.650]


    [Dexterity]: [2.300]


    [Spirits (1/1)]: [Enchanting Silver Flute (Rank 2)] [Sharp Silver Arrow (Rank 2)]


    [Skills]: [Fast Reflexes: Lv4] [Dragon Eyes: Lv3] [Knife Strike: Lv3] [Silver Melody: Lv3] [Siler Archery: Lv2] [Silver Arrows: Lv2] [Silver Spirit Aura: Lv1] [Focused Aim: Lv1]


    [Titles]: [Little Silver Archer: Lv2] [Apprentice Silver Sniper: Lv1]


    -----


    An in the other case, had a single silver-colored arrow. As if it werepletely made out of silver metal. It floated in midair by hismand with ease. And he could use Mana and Spirit Energy to control its trajectory.


    "Woah, it''s useful!" Said An. "M-Maybe I can use it with my bow to trick foes into thinking it''s a normal arrow, but then it zaps right into the back of their head when they evade it!"


    "Good idea." I nodded. "You''ve got good battle instincts to think about that right away!"


    "It''s a bit too much, hahaha." Annaughed a bit. "An, I didn''t thought you would think such things!"


    "E-Eh? Was it creepy? I was just thinking on being a better hunter¡­ I want to make dad proud too¡­" An said, fidgeting with his fingers.


    "Sure! We have to go hunt now, right brother?" Anna asked me with her adorable smile.


    "No, today I''ll be busy crafting. For now, you two should practice your abilities in the backyard. I''ve left several dummies for you to practice fighting." I said. "You can also request Eleanora or my other Spirits to help you spar and learn techniques. Your first task today is to discover what other skills your new Spirits possess.


    Also, practice your Aura Skills, those are very important for your growth. Spirit Auras is what helps you reinforce your bodies and make your magic much stronger. You have to master it before all other skills."


    "A¡­ Well, I guess¡­"


    "I will train my aim!"


    They seemed slightly disappointed at the beginning, but epted everything surprisingly fast and started practicing against some dummies I left behind. I told Fang, old man Woo, and Eleanora to be their sparring partners and teach them a few things. Their stats were high enough that they should be more than capable of learning and fighting a bit better now.


    Leaving them on their own devises while being supervised by their Familiars, I took a look at them after they recently Ranked Up again. The two of them had finally hit D Rank and were looking much stronger.


    -----


    [Name]: [Emerald]


    [Type]: [Lizard] [Earth] [Nature] [Unique Familiar]


    [Rank]: [D+]


    [Race]: [Giant Turquoise Earth Tortoise]


    [Talent]: [Druid: ¡ï¡ï]


    [Health Points]: [4.500/4.500]


    [Mana Points:] [3.000/3.000]


    [Strength]: [2.500]


    [Agility]: [1.800]


    [Vitality]: [4.500]


    [Intelligence]: [2.500]


    [Dexterity]: [1.800]


    [Skill]: [Harden+++] [Seismic Wave+++] [Spinning Shell+++] [Multi Crystal Armored Shell++] [Geomancy++] [Green Domain+] [Turquoise Spirit Barrier+]


    [Title]: [Named Familiar] [Earth Tortoise] [Turquoise Druid]


    [Bond]: [An]


    [Growth]: [0/50]


    -----


    ¡­


    -----


    [Name]: [Paprika]


    [Type]: [Lizard] [Fire] [Holy] [Unique Familiar]


    [Rank]: [D+]


    [Race]: [Holy me Smander]


    [Talent]: [Holy mes Sorceress: ¡ï¡ï]


    [Health Points]: [2.000/2.000]


    [Mana Points:] [5.000/5.000]


    [Strength]: [1.800]


    [Agility]: [3.000]


    [Vitality]: [1.800]


    [Intelligence]: [4.500]


    [Dexterity]: [2.500]


    [Skill]: [Fire Tongue+++] [Fire Breath+++] [Fast Movements+++] [Holy re++] [Healing mes++] [Mana Maniption+] [Fire Domain+]


    [Title]: [Named Familiar] [Holy Smander] [Holy Sorceress]


    [Bond]: [Anna]


    [Growth]: [0/50]


    -----


    Without a doubt, their Stats had increased a lot. They were now almostparable to my C Rank Familiars, and that''s saying a lot. Unique Familiars have incredible potential. And after hitting D Rank, you can finally begin to understand why they''re so strong. Their stats might get even higher by C Rank,parable to my B Rank Familiars, although I have yet to create those.


    Emerald apparently became a Druid, with a strong barrier and domain skills, while Paprika continues on her offensive specialization, now with the ability to seamlessly manipte mana to reduce MP cost of skills and make skills themselves much stronger. Fire Domain is to trap foes on a circle of fire, very useful.


    Both are shaping to be powerful guardians of the vige¡­


    And now, without further ado, time to craft.


    -----

 Chapter 899: More Evolutions

    -----


    "Then I''m leaving them on your care." I said. Woo, Fang, and Eleanora swiftly nodded.


    "Leave it to us, we''ll take good care of them." Eleanora smiled. "They''re already used to me at least."


    "Big sis Eleanora, can you carry me piggyback?" Anna asked.


    "Sure thing dear! Come in~" Eleanora easily allowed her to be carried on her back. It was incredible. She had a soft spot for my siblings.


    "I-I am not that good at dealing with kids, master. Is this alright?" Fang was a bit confused about my choices.


    "Yeah, just follow Eleanora''s instructions." I told him. "Your Wolf Summons are especially useful for helping them get real battle experience. So don''t hesitate to summon a few so they can use them as opponents."


    "Oooh! I see!" Fang nodded. "Then leave it to me!"


    "Hmph, well, I can''t say the same as this mutt. I do have some experience with annoying brats¡­" Woo sighed, now muchrger than before, although he still had the same face as before, and a grumpy personality. "Just so you know, I am not a nice teacher, I am quite a rough old man. That''s how I taught you and Eleanora how to survive."


    "I know, Woo. I''ll leave them to you." I was confident on my former master. "I''ll be back on a couple of hours then."


    After leaving my siblings to some of my Vampire Spirits, I made my way back home, where Erika and Elizabeth were waiting for me to get ready. They were conversing with my mother and Cattalina. I saw my grandmother reading a book about beasts and monsters in her couch, and father was tending the crops with his spirit''s help.


    "Oh, you''re finally back. Did things go well with your siblings?" My mother asked, slightly worried.


    "Yeah, don''t worry about them. They''re Rank 2 now." I smiled. "They should be rtively as strong as D Rank Monsters in terms of raw power, perhaps. As long as they train their abilities."


    "A-Amazing, to think you would train them so much!" My mother gasped. "And all of that in just a couple of days?!"


    "Well, that Elios Garden nobody has checked is brimming with monsters, almost like a dungeon." I exined. "And with the Experience Points multiplying bracelets, it was a breeze to help them level up."


    "Yeah!" Erika said. "Honestly, I wish we had them back then, would have made the progress much faster¡­"


    "Well, I guess you''re not wrong¡­" Elizabeth sighed. "Though, it still makes me ufortable that those bracelets were made using a byproduct from a Saintess that died long ago."


    "Oh yeah, that¡­" I said. "It seems the tomb of a Saintess exudes a certain aura. The blessings she possessed crystalize into a material. Through that crystalized blessing, it was possible to make bracelets that increase earned EXP. A veryplicated process."


    "I-I never thought I would earn that today, it is certainly something¡­" My mother gasped. "W-Well, weren''t you three going somewhere?"


    "Right, to crafting. Let''s go. I''ll be making a few things for you two." I smiled, as Erika and Elizabeth swiftly followed me outside back to Erika''s house, which had be something of a workshop for the two of us.


    On the way, I decided to feed the E Rank Spirit Orbs to my three Unique Familiars, after seeing how strong Paprika and Emerald have be, I also wanted to see mine grow just as strong. And they were quite unique on their own too.


    They happily ate the Spirit Orbs we had hunted. I had barely enough of the ones gotten from kills they helped at. The moment they ate thirty each, they evolved once more. Their entire bodies glowing and transforming.


    -----


    [Name]: [Fausto]


    [Type]: [Undead] [Skeleton] [Chimera] [Unique Familiar]


    [Rank]: [D+]


    [Race]: [Bone Chimera Giant]


    [Talent]: [Bone Devourer: ¡ï¡ï]


    [Health Points]: [4.500/4.500]


    [Mana Points:] [2.500/2.500]


    [Strength]: [4.500]


    [Agility]: [1.800]


    [Vitality]: [3.500]


    [Intelligence]: [2.500]


    [Dexterity]: [1.800]


    [Skill]: [Steel Bones+++] [Aura of Intimidation+++] [Bone Projectile+++] [Bone Absorption++] [Bone Weapon++] [Armor of Bones+] [Bone Wings+]


    [Title]: [Named Familiar] [Bone Eating Skeleton] [Devourer of Bones]


    [Bond]: [ke]


    [Growth]: [0/50]


    -----


    Fausto was the one that surprised me the most, growing up to almost four meters, resembling a giant, hulking mass of bones. It was like a humanoid giant with many different bones added into his body. The more bones I feed him, the stronger he became.


    Armor of Bones allowed him to gain a powerful reinforced armor using his own bones or additional ones, and Bone Wings allowed him to fly with wings made of many smaller bones, something he wasn''t able to do before.


    -----


    [Name]: [Ezekiel]


    [Type]: [Undead] [Zombie] [Shadow] [Unique Familiar]


    [Rank]: [D+]


    [Race]: [Blood Abyss Ghoul]


    [Talent]: [Shadow Assassin: ¡ï¡ï]


    [Health Points]: [3.000/3.000]


    [Mana Points:] [3.000/3.000]


    [Strength]: [3.000]


    [Agility]: [4.500]


    [Vitality]: [1.800]


    [Intelligence]: [1.800]


    [Dexterity]: [3.500]


    [Skill]: [Self Regeneration+++] [Aura of Famine+++] [Undead Wall+++] [Biomancy++] [Shadow Attack++] [Ghoulish Cry+] [Bloody Assassination+]


    [Title]: [Named Familiar] [Undead Ambusher] [Ghoul Assassin]


    [Bond]: [ke]


    [Growth]: [0/50]


    -----


    Ezekiel''s shape changed, now resembling a less zombie-like zombie, with pale flesh and crimson eyes, long silvery-white hair, and wearing ck robes all around the rest of his body. Covering his face and head with a mask and a hoodie. He had be a Ghoul, a stronger, evolved Zombie.


    The Ghoulish Cry skill could startle foes and paralyze them for a couple of seconds, enough for his Bloody Assassination to deal critical damage against startled or paralyzed foes.


    -----


    [Name]: [Dominus]


    [Type]: [Material] [Weapon] [Fire] [Unique Familiar]


    [Rank]: [D+]


    [Race]: [Living zing Demon Axe]


    [Talent]: [Searing Butcherer: ¡ï¡ï]


    [Health Points]: [5.000/5.000]


    [Mana Points:] [2.500/2.500]


    [Strength]: [5.000]


    [Agility]: [4.000]


    [Vitality]: [1.500]


    [Intelligence]: [1.500]


    [Dexterity]: [1.500]


    [Skill]: [Strong Strike+++] [Vertical sh+++] [Crush+++] [zing Steel++] [Burning Wounds++] [Searing Inferno+] [Armor Breaker+]


    [Title]: [Named Familiar] [Burner Of Flesh] [Burning Tormentor]


    [Bond]: [ke]


    [Growth]: [0/50]


    -----


    Lastly, Dominus became an evenrger axe, now sporting a ck and red metal, and demonic inscriptions, as I had feed him with demon weapons. He can conjure demonic mes. He''ll be good to utilize my demonic abilities because he can channel them really well. Searing Inferno is an explosive shing strike, and Armor Breaker can help pierce through tough armor and defenses.


    With all three evolved, I let them rest inside of my shadows, as we entered the workshop and started working on it. The first thing I decided to make was Elizabeth''s hammer, to improve her fighting capabilities.


    -----

 Chapter 900: Time To Make New Equipment

    -----


    Erika and Elizabeth weren''t here just to look. Both had learned the Alchemy Skill and some Synthetizing Abilities back in the Academy. After all there was an Alchemy, Crafting, and cksmithing sses, and they attended all of them. After seeing the things I could make, it was made clear to them the importance of crafting and creation focused skills.


    And with their help, making these items would only be easier.


    I could use my Creation Skill to make something like a hammer, and by spending hundreds of thousands of mana and sticking everything together. The result would be fairly decent. But the Creation Ability is better used in other things such as battle and when I need to make gigantic objects, which might be a necessity in the near future.


    But if Ibine the elementalbination effects of Creation into the art of cksmithing, Synthesis, and Alchemy, then thebined effects will create an incredibly high-quality item. Especially with all the materials I possess.


    "Alright, we''ll go through both alchemy and smithing processes. Erika, can you start by synthetizing these metals? Elizabeth, help her on synthetizing them together into an ingot and imbue them with the purest Holy Spirit Energy you have."


    "Sure, I can do that!" Erika agreed immediately. "Elizabeth, help me out then."


    "Okay. I get what you''re trying to make. You want to make a holy metal ingot, right?" Wondered Elizabeth curiously.


    "Yeah, nothing too much other than that." I nodded. "It will be a mixture of Dragon Metal grown in the Dungeon we visited, Holy Dragon Scales, Fire Dragon Scales, Normal Mithril, Pure Mithril which is white and has a higher concentration of Mana, and then¡­ This, half of this."


    I showed the girls a golden ingot, and using my Creation Ability, I manipted its shape and divided it into two exact pieces. At first nce, they thought it was just gold.


    "Gold?" Erika asked. "Isn''t it better for coating to prevent rusting and the like?"


    "No, wait, Erika. This isn''t gold¡­" Elizabeth muttered. "It exudes such a divine light¡­ This is Orichalcum! W-Where did you get your hands into such a divine metal?!"


    "The Holy Spirits gifted me three ingots as a reward for defeating two Archdemon Vessels." I exined them. "I don''t n to hoard them all for myself. We''ll use this one as an ingredient too, to make our new ingot tough and powerful."


    This was only the "Lesser Orichalcum" though, there was a "Normal" one and then the "Perfect" and "Divine" qualities. Each one having a higher grade of quality and a much stronger and higher concentration of Mana and Divine Spirit Energy. Naturally this one was the one that had the least, but it was still an incredible material.


    "A-Are you sure we can do a better work than you?" Erika was worried.


    "You two can, you possess magical powers and spiritual abilities I don''t. I want you to use all of your uniqueness to make the ingots. Add your auras into the materials as youbine them. Your Mana, and perhaps the feathers of your wings, Elizabeth. Erika could add her wood and leaves, and maybe some sap too." I added. "Make sure to channel your Spirit''s powers too.


    The Alchemy Spirit that''ll surge out of thisbination will be a strong one."


    "A-Alright! I''ll do my best and not disappoint you, ke!" Erika was ready.


    "Me too, leave it to us." Elizabeth nodded.


    Like that, both began their job. All while I dedicated myself to start the furnace with my strongest mes, Demonic Karma mes, abination of Holy Spirit Energy, Demonic mes, and Blood mes. It could smelt even the strongest of metals with enough dedication and time. As I feed the furnace with this fire, I made sure the mes wouldn''t consume it all.


    As that happened, I utilized the rest of the Orichalcum to create a mold of the hammer shape, and took out several other materials, which I imbued with enchantment runes, mana, and spiritual energy. This included the half empty [Holy Light Spirit Stone (Mythic Grade)], which I filled back with spirit energy and the soul energy of the Holy Dragon we hunted.


    Bybining it all, a new item named [Holy Dragon Soul of Light] was created, which was Mythic+++ Grade, high enough for the Spirit Grade weapon I was nning on making.


    "We''re done!"


    After one hour and a half of hearing the girls working, while I did my things. They were done. They had fought a strong holy dragon-like alchemy spirit, but it was beaten easily and then added to the mixture, making the ingot stronger.


    "It is much better than I imagined it would turn out to be..." Elizabeth said.


    "Yeah, look at this!" Erika nodded, showing me the ingot.


    It was called [Heavenly Draconian Mithril Orichalcum Ingot] and was of the Spirit+++ Grade, perfect enough for what I was nning to create.


    "Excellent. Let''s begin then."


    With their aid, I smelted the ingots they made into a golden and bubbling liquid using the karmic mes. I ced them on the mold and then cooled it down using ice magic. Afterwards, using their magic to enchant it as much as possible, I used various skills inbination with Creation to shape the item properly.


    Arge golden hammer was created, which waster decorated, enchanted even further, and then imbued with the crystal I created. The materials used were simple and the process even more. You don''t even need to sharpen a hammer, the heavier andrger it is, the better to smash your foes'' skull into smithereens.


    FLAAASH!


    Once it all came together, the hammer went through ast bath in the cauldron, and emerged out of it, floating in midair while releasing an aura of angelic light.


    Ding!


    [You''ve created the [Heavenly Draconic Angelic Hammer of Judgement: Aurora (Spirit+++ Grade)] x1!]


    [You earned +400.000 Skill Proficiency!]


    [Several Crafting Skills have leveled up.]


    "Amazing¡­ It''s done?!" Elizabeth gasped, looking at the hammer.


    "Yeah, just grab it, it''s all yours." I nodded.


    "Uwaah! Thank you so much, ke!" Elizabeth said happily, grabbing the hammer.


    It quickly exuded a powerful holy aura, fusing with her soul. It was a soul-bound item.


    -----

 Chapter 901: Elizabeths New Weapon

    -----


    Ding!


    [You''ve created the [Heavenly Draconic Angelic Hammer of Judgement: Aurora (Spirit+++ Grade)] x1!]


    [You earned +400.000 Skill Proficiency!]


    [Several Crafting Skills have leveled up.]


    A beautiful golden hammer was held by Elizabeth''s delicate, yet strong hands. Her arms were strong enough to hold into the heavy piece of metal with ease. She was much stronger than any person would ever think at first sight. And I am beginning to think that people usually don''t think that Saintess can be physical fighters either, so it adds to the surprise factor even more.


    The golden hammer was of a beautiful design, finely decorated with angelic wings, golden dragon scales, and sharp dragon jawsing from its front, it had the shape of a ferocious golden holy dragon, with a yellow jewel in the middle of its forehead. The entire artifact exuded a power I never thought I could make.


    This was all mostly thanks to the abilities of Orichalcum than anything else¡­ Well, maybe also all three of our abilitiesbined together. But even then, Orichalcum was the material that carried the creation of such a strong relic.


    Now I am beginning to feel like I need much more Orichalcum so I can reinforce all my equipment with it. Three lesser Orichalcum ingots are certainly nowhere as enough! But I''ll have to work with that. I am sure if I ask too much out of the Holy Spirits, they might change their view on me.


    Back then it was justified due to the things I did, but if I abuse their goodwill, they will begin to think I am not someone that genuinely cares about this world or its people and is only interested in growing stronger and obtaining treasures.


    "It instantly connected to my soul¡­" Elizabeth said. "So it is a soul-bound item? Amazing that you can make these so seamlessly, ke."


    "It shouldn''t be so hard by now." I nodded. "Well, it''s all yours. Take good care of it- Though I doubt it''ll ever break."


    "Thank you so much!" Elizabeth was really happy, she left the hammer aside and hugged me tightly, resting her face on my shoulders. Then, she approached her face to mine, and our lips kissed. Her kisses were gentle and slightly shypared to Erika''s. "I love you."


    I felt slightly embarrassed for some reason. Something to do with a Saintess having such an overwhelming Aura of Holiness around her. Hearing those words from someone that is supposed to be holy is quite embarrassing. Or maybe it''s just me.


    "What? You got all embarrassed now?" She giggled, teasing me.


    "That''s not it¡­ I¡­ Well, I should quickly get to work on the next items." I nodded. "What else was I going to make? Hmmm¡­"


    "Looks like Elizabeth''s kiss really left you a bit dizzy, eh?" Erika giggled. "I remember you wanted to reinforce your spear or something, right?"


    "Oh, that''s right." I nodded, pretending I hadn''t forgotten about it. "This should be something I do on my own, so you girls can stay at the side if want to."


    "Nah, let me help in anything I can!" Erika said. "Maybe synthesis?"


    "I can help too, just ask away." Elizabeth said. "I can''t just let you do everything, can''t I?"


    "Well, if you really want to, sure." Iughed, checking her hammer onest time.


    -----


    [Heavenly Draconic Angelic Hammer of Judgement: Aurora]


    {Item Type}: [Two-Handed Hammer] [Divine Holy Weapon] [Dragon Weapon]


    {Item Quality}: [Spirit+++ Grade]


    {Item Requirement}: [10.000 Strength] [Blessing of the Holy Spirits (Any)]


    {Item Durability}: [125.000/125.000]


    {Item Effects}: [Weapon Attack]: [+100.000] [Health Points]: [+10.000] [Mana Points]: [+20.000] [Strength]: [+30.000] [Vitality]: [+20.000] [Intelligence]: [+5.000]


    {Abilities}


    [Angelic Hammer of Judgement: Aurora]: This hammer has received the Blessing of the Holy Spirit of Light, obtaining a True Name: Aurora, and bing a powerful Living Spirit Weapon. When equipped by a Saintess or Hero with a Blessing of a Holy Spirit, increases HP and MP Regeneration Speed by +200%, and increases Strength, Vitality, and Intelligence by a further +50%.


    When Fighting, Evil, Demons, Dark, and Undead-type foes, increases Damage Dealt by +200% and ignores -50% of their Defenses.


    Additionally, this hammer can absorb Light Essence whenever the wielder utilizes Light Attribute Magic up to a maximum amount of 10.000 Light Essence. This energy can then be used to conjure the following Abilities:


    [Sanctified Grounds]: Once conjured, enhances all allies Stats by -30% and increase their HP and MP Regeneration Speed by +100% for 10 Minutes, cannot stack. Cost: 3.000 Light Essence.


    [Four Sealing Chains of Light]: Conjures four powerful chains of light that can restraint a foe, paralyze them, and decrease their stats by -30% while dealing constant damage if they''re Evil, Demon, Dark, or Undead type for 5 Minutes, cannot stack. Cost: 6.000 Light Essence.


    [Smite of Holy Judgement]: Unleashes all of the Hammer''s Physical Might, Weight, and Holy Power all at once towards a foe or a group of foes, dealing up to +1.000% Damage and ignoring -30% of their Total Defenses, generates a huge explosion of light that further destroys its surroundings, effects double against Evil, Demon, Dark, and Undead-type foes. Costs: 10.000 Light Essence.


    Can only be used once a day.


    [Holy Dragon Scales Protection]: A powerful protection made by the innate power of the scales of a Holy Dragon imbued into the hammer. Generates an armor of golden scales made of light around the wielder, which Decreases Magic Damage taken by 30%, and Physical Damage taken by -20%, while increasing Resistance against All Dark Spectrum Elements by +100%.


    Additionally, by spending arge quantity of Mana and Spirit Energy, the {Holy Dragon Scale Armor} can take into the shape of {Floating Holy Scale Shields} that can block magic and physical attacks one time before breaking, circling the user like protective mirrors of light.


    [Angelic Heavenly Spirit''s Blessing]: This hammer has received the blessing of the Angelic Heavenly Spirits, by merely wielding it, it increases Holy Light, Light, Healing, Blessing, Buffing, and Divine Spells Magic Power and Effects by +300%, while decreasing their MP Cost by -50%.


    {Description}


    A Divine Hammer forged using powerful Divine Materials and then further blessed by the Holy Spirit of Light for his Saintess to wield. Carries tremendous power, specifically made to punish and smite Evil from thend.


    -----


    It was sure incredible. The amount of Abilities it possessed was utterly ridiculous. All of the weapon''s abilities were made to kill Demons specifically. But they''re also very useful, to be honest. The protection is ideal to keep Elizabeth safe, and the blessing is a nice little bonus to make all her magic much easier to conjure.


    I hope it can extend to her Skills too, so her Angelic Spirit Transformation can be used more easily.


    And it was also a weapon I could wield, if the asion ever were to arise. I would dly use it to smite foes. But for now, this hammer belongs to Elizabeth only. After all, I do have my own amazing spear which will only be even stronger once I finally upgrade it with all these materials I''ve been saving for so long.


    "Alright, are you finally ready to evolve, my dear Gluttony?"


    The spear generated a powerful aura of darkness, pulsating constantly as I spoke. This demonic weapon had been waiting for this moment for way too long. It was finally time to unlock its full potential.


    -----

 Chapter 902: Upgrading The Spear

    -----


    This spear, Gluttony, was originally the spear my father used to wield. I ended taking it and transforming it with both my abilities and by drenching it on the blood of so many demons. It ended bing cursed and evolving, bing a Demonic Spear. As it absorbed the blood and souls of many foes, it continued evolving.


    I did upgrade it a couple of times through the years, giving it new materials and making it much stronger. So it was already in the Mythical Grade right now. Pretty strong, if I say so myself. This is also the spear that helped me gain my Summoning Powers.


    How? Well, recalling back then, when I made it absorb Spirit Orbs themselves, the powers and essence of the monsters was absorbed, and then the Spear was able to summon them back out, as strange, weak Familiars, copies of the former monsters it absorbed.


    It was initially an incredible thing, something that was born between the interaction of the spear''s abilities, the Grimoire, and the Spirit Orbs of this world. But eventually, it became my Talent once the Invoker Talent appeared, which I took immediately.


    Since then, I''ve been learning all kinds of Summoning Skills, bing stronger and stronger as a summoner, all thanks to this powerful spear. Well, from what I learned, this spear gave me ess to this power, but the Talent itself was given to me by the Legacy of the Summoner.


    I might have been perhaps the first Summoner to not have been born with such a power, but that developed it through abilities and tools before embracing it until it became part of myself. Nheless, we worked hard. With the help of Erika and Elizabeth, the work I wanted to do was eased much more.


    I could have called Hendrick too, but he was buys inside my Spirit Realm, brewing potions and elixirs Imissioned him.


    I ended using many of the materials the Holy Spirits gifted to me, such as the [Shadow Umbra Stone (Mythic Grade)] and the [Crimson Blood Stone (Mythic Grade)], a ck and red crystals imbued with the attribute of darkness and blood, highlypatible with the spear.


    Alongside that, I feed it my blood inrge quantities, alongside the blood of countless other creatures we''ve hunted. Lastly, I used Orichalcum to remake it and fused it alongside the [Divine Spirit Trident''s Fragment (Spiritual Grade)], which was also resonating with the spear, it was apatible item.


    It took us another hour and a half to finish it because I couldn''t be satisfied until it was perfected to the best of my abilities.


    FLAAASH!


    Ding!


    [You''ve upgraded the [ursed Abyssal Devourer Spear: Gluttony (Mythic-Grade)] Weapon into the [Abyssal Chaos Eater Spear: Gluttony (Spiritual+++ Grade)]!]


    [You gained +200.000 Skill Proficiency.]


    And it was finally done, in all of its glory!


    -----


    [Abyssal Chaos Eater Spear: Gluttony]


    {Item Type}: [Two-Handed Spear] [Demonic Weapon] [Unique Weapon]


    {Item Quality}: [Spiritual+++ Grade]


    {Item Requirement}: [ke (Soul-Bound)]


    {Item Durability}: [100.000/100.000]


    {Item Effects}: [Weapon Attack]: [+130.000] [Health Points]: [+10.000] [Mana Points]: [+10.000] [Strength]: [+40.000] [Agility]: [+20.000] [Vitality]: [+10.000] [Intelligence]: [+10.000] [Dexterity]: [+20.000]


    {Abilities}:


    [Abyssal Chaos Eater Spear: Gluttony]: This Demonic Spear can infinitely grow stronger by predating in Blood, Spirit Orbs, Demonic Cores, Souls and more. It can grow faster if it consumes the blood of Demons.


    By infusing Mana and Ki, this weapon can directly bite and devour through foe''s wounds, enhancing damage dealt by +500% ignoring -30% of foe''s defenses and dealing direct Chaos Attribute Damage, which negates 50% of a foe''s Elemental Magic Power on contact.


    [Miasmic Necrotic Wounds]: Inflicted wounds with this spear will be immediately infected with a Miasmic Necrotic Substance that will hasten the dposition of flesh by absorbing Mana on contact. Causes the [Miasmic Necrotic Wounds] Status Effect, reducing an affected foe''s Health Regeneration Speed by -70% and decreasing all Stats by -30% for 1 Hour, cannot stack.


    The Miasmic Necrotic Substance can also be used to consume all Mana that it touches, consuming the surroundings and transferring 10% of the Mana back into the wielder.


    [Infernal Archdemon''s Devourer Domain]: Creates a Domain of thirty meters around the user that can consume all things. Within the domain, there''s a 90% chance for any foe inside of the domain to receive 300% Chaos and Inferno Attribute Damage every 2 Seconds, which can instantly delete a piece devourer from the foe and further nourish the spear''s powers.


    Additionally, whenever this Spear Devours five or more foes, it is possible to summon [Eternal Devourer Gluttony] to battle for the next 10 Minutes. Can only be used twice a day.


    {Description}:


    A Cursed Weapon that has evolved over time. It is never satiated from its hunger and has evolved into a powerful, abyssal form with even more strength and monstrosity than before.


    It is now even capable of summoning an abomination from another ne of existence for ten minutes whenever the sacrifice of five foes has been made, which will rampage around and devour anything on its path before disappearing. A truly frightening spear that, after years of being with its master, will never ept a new owner.


    -----


    It didn''t gain any new ability, but the three ones it possessed further evolved into even stronger and more wicked powers. Which changed so much they feel likepletely new abilities altogether! It was amazing, and I couldn''t have asked for anything else, honestly.


    I grabbed the ck, red, and golden spear, exuding a powerful aura as its pointy end, now in the shape of a trident, exuded a powerful aura of chaos, resembling a sea of pure darkness epassing me. It was as if the spear itself embraced me with its powers.


    "A-Amazing, and so frightening!" Erika cried. "I-It is honestly scary to look at!"


    "It has such an ominous aura¡­" Elizabeth swallowed saliva. "A-Are you sure that thing is alright?"


    "Yeah, don''t worry about it." I smiled, tightly holding into the spear. "It''s alright. We''re old friends after all. I''ve feed this spear with millions of souls, and it hungers for more. Don''t worry, soon enough you will feast in the blood of a True Dragon."


    -----

 Chapter 903: Rapid Leveling

    -----


    After the creation of the hammer and the upgrade of my spear, the following days continued smoothly. We kept our training and exploration of the Elios Garden. Exploring every nook and cranny of it to maximize EXP earned and the corpses of monsters weter sold to the Adventurer''s Guild. After hitting Rank 2, as I suspected, the growth speed of my siblings became much slower, even with the bracelets.


    Nheless, they kept earning levels steadily, and we were gathering enough D Rank Spirit Orbs to evolve most of our Unique Familiars, which constantly hunger for more and more of these with each Rank. As of now, we''ve already explored almost all of the Elios Garden, it only took us a week and two days to get where we were.


    The beginning was full of F and E Rank Monsters, but as we advanced, we confronted D and C Rank Monsters that kepting together on groups of twelve at a time. The gardens becamerger too, making it easier for monsters to hide and ambush us, although we didn''t really break a sweat even then.


    At the third day of the second week, my siblings had already hit Level 40, only ten levels left before hitting Level 50. Everyone, including my whole family, were amazed they had advanced this fast. The Elios Garden was sure sent by the heavens.


    Even though it was rapidly expanding, and it seemed to be controlled by a dangerous monster, because ewe was clearing it so fast, it ended bing our personal grinding ground.


    After killing hundreds of C Rank Monsters, I ended gaining a single level. It was a bit discoursing I needed one million EXP to even level up my first level, going from zero to one, but well, it was something. My siblings had also already gotten used to their new skill and spirits, and had be amazing fighters, working together with their Familiars and my own to dominate our foes.


    As the days passed and we sold the monster corpses inside the Adventurer Guild, we managed to speak with the receptionist and learn many new things. One of them was that they have been keeping a close eye on this mysterious garden, and based on explorations, there were threeyers to it.


    The first Layer was where the F and E Rank Monsters were located, the middleyer was where the D to C Rank monsters were, and there was the centeryer, thest of them and the most dangerous. The Guild Master told us he had briefly visited it but had to escape after he was almost killed by B Rank Monsters swarming from everywhere.


    He said they were nt monsters simr to cannibal flowers, walking rafflesia, Treants, and the like. No longer the generic monsters we usually see all the time just being infected by flowers, but actual nt monsters. Which were most likely the culprits behind this.


    I didn''t want to risk it, so as wended in the middleyer at the third day of the second week, I decided to engage on a single battle before going back home, to not risk my sibling''s life.


    "Alright, we''ll be hunting only a small group of monsters to test the waters. It still too dangerous for you to fight B Rank Monsters. Without our help you still struggle against C Rank Monsters after all." I told the twins.


    "Fine! But we''ll show you!" Anna was getting slightly cocky.


    "I''ll shoot from afar. Arrow can help too." An said. "Sis, don''t be too reckless, okay?"


    "Heheh, don''t worry about your big sister, An. I will protect you." Anna smiled smugly.


    "But we have the same age¡­" An was a bit confused she called herself his big sister.


    Erika, Eleanora, and Elizabeth apanied us as well, covering the rear and around us, we quite literally formed a circle around the children. The Familiars also helping. I was also ready to summon more if needed.


    "Over there!"


    As if they were waiting for us, over thirty nt-type monsters appeared the moment we stepped into the Middle Layer. Cannibal Flowers, Walking Rafflesia, Evil Treants, and even Poisonous Ivy Beasts appeared. They were between C+++ Rank and B Rank. And over thirty of them, half were C+++ Rank, the rest between B- and B Rank.


    "Careful!"


    The monsters charged towards us without any ns or strategy. The Cannibal Flowers that tried to chomp us down swiftly met their end as Eleanora covered them on draconic me shuriken and burned them to ashes.


    Elizabeth swung her giant hammer, smashing to death the Treants nearby, reducing them to nothing but bits of wood and shattered spirit orb fragments. And Erika used her fast movements and sword to cut through the rafflesia and vines.


    Whatever else tried to sneak inside was greeted by my spear, as I weakened them by inflicting several Miasmic Necrotic Wounds over their bodies, draining their life and weakening their stats.


    "Now!"


    My siblings and their familiars attacked the weakened C+++ Rank and B- Rank Monsters, ganging on them with all their techniques and skills, and beginning to kill a few handfuls. However, as we kept fighting, it felt like their numbers were endless.


    Ten, twenty, thirty, forty more appeared, in batches, surging from the ground. It was a nice amount of EXP, I was beginning to gain a few more levels. It might be too dangerous, but by protecting my siblings with barriers of light and my other vampire spirits, we handled the army.


    Once we defeated over a hundred and fifty of them, the nt monsters finally stoppeding, their numbers exhausting and leaving the Elios Gardenpletely empty. There was only anotherst garden after this one, where I could sense a powerful presence.


    "That was definitely targeted." I sighed. "Is everyone alright?"


    Everyone nodded, some more tired than others. Well, mostly my siblings, who lookedpletely and utterly exhausted. Although they were so tired, they were very happy, celebrating.


    "We hit Level 50!" Both celebrated at the same time.


    "So soon already?" I felt shocked. "Those Bracelets are really amazing¡­"


    Although I wanted to go see who the true boss of this garden was, that''ll have to wait for tomorrow. After giving ast nce at thest garden, I moved back home with everyone else.


    Don''t worry, I won''t leave for too long.


    -----

 Chapter 904: The Dream Of Spreading Knowledge

    -----


    "They what?!"


    "By the Holy Spirits! ke, you''re a monster!"


    It was the morning of the next day when my parents gasped, almost choking on their morning coffee when we told them the news. Both Anna and An had reached Level 50, something that was probably an historical event. I did reach Level 50, but I am fairly sure it wasn''t when I was six years of age. Probably around eight or nine.


    "I''m sorry¡­ Maybe I shouldn''t have forced them to grow so strong so quickly." I apologized. "But am I really a monster?"


    "I-I mean, I meant it in an exaggerated and good way, dear." My motherughed with me. "You''ve done something incredible, and you two! You''re now as strong as your dad, I think?"


    "I don''t know, we might have to spar some more then." My father smiled. "I want to see how strong they''ve grown."


    "Well, Stats alone aren''t everything." I answered. "Although we grow stronger as we level up, that doesn''t mean we know how to properly use those stats or the skills. So although they might be able to reach Rank 3 by now, due to theirck of enough experience, knowledge, and more, they cannot draw their full potential."


    "I see¡­" My mother nodded. "I-I guess it is not so bad then. I just hope they don''t break my arm or something because they can''t control their strength, these little goblins."


    "Mom, we would never do that!" Anna pouted. "Big bro taught us how to control our Strength first before anything!"


    "Y-Yeah¡­ Don''t be afraid of us¡­ we grew stronger so mama can be safer." An said. He was truly a mama''s boy.


    "Aww, my little treasures. Is that so? You wanted to protect mama so much?" She giggled happily, as both of them climbed to her legs and sat with her.


    "Yeah! I will protect mama, I''m a strong knight!" Anna nodded happily.


    "M-Me too!" An agreed.


    "Ohohoho, looks like you''ve raised some fine kids, Mary." Grandmother congratted her daughter. "To think my grandsons all would be born so talented. I can die happy now, knowing my descendants will prosper for future generations. Especially my dear ke, with those beautiful girls. Ahh¡­ I wish I could live just a few more years to see my grand grandchildren!"


    "E-Eh?!" Elizabeth almost choked on her coffee. "T-That''s a bit¡­ T-Too much, grandmother-inw¡­"


    "H-Hahahah¡­ I-I had considered kids but that''s forter." Erika giggled innocently.


    "C-Can I even have children?" Eleanora wondered to herself. "Wait, the Holy Spirits did mention something about that¡­ Ah, the Spirit of Love, right! He did say something like that, right ke? You told me."


    "A-Ah¡­ Well, let''s keep this to ourselves." I sighed. "Anyways, before any sparring sessions, it would be better to awaken you two to Rank 3. Do you think you can do it by yourselves? I''ll oversee your process and see that nothing goes wrong."


    "Okay!" Anna nodded. "Leave it to me, bro!"


    "I am not so sure¡­ But I''ll do my best." An nodded.


    "Good." I nodded back. "Now¡­ Hm, Elizabeth. I have something to talk with youter. Can we meet in my room?"


    "Eh? Alone?" She wondered.


    "Yes, if possible." I noticed everyone''s faces looking confused.


    After breakfast, Elizabeth entered my room, where I was waiting, looking at the window with a rxed expression. The cold wind was quite soothing, and the view of the grasnds, the farm, the spirit forest, and the nearby vigebined together to create a beautiful scenery.


    "ke, I''m here¡­" She stepped in. "I-I wonder what you wanted to talk alone¡­" She sat down over the bed, blushing. "D-Do you want to cuddle and kiss by any chance? I didn''t think you would be so eager¡­ B-But if you want to, I don''t mind doing some stuff couples do alone¡­ I-If you really want to I can even¡­ I am even willing to give you my first-"


    "It''s not that." I said. "I wanted to talk to you regarding the knowledge spread in the vige and the church." As I nced back at Elizabeth, she waspletely red, like a tomato.


    "E-Eh? Ah! Ahahah! T-That! Right, yeah!" She nodded, feeling very embarrassed. "I''m sorry for thinking you wanted other things¡­"


    "Elizabeth I respect you a lot, and I would never just ask you toe to my room for such things out loud, in front of everyone." I facepalmed. "And regarding that, I am grateful, and I appreciate your feelings. I love you too. But this is not the time for that. I hope you can understand." I tried to be as gentle as possible.


    A girl''s feelings were a delicate thing, and I didn''t want to break the heart of my Elizabeth.


    "O-Of course¡­" She smiled a bit. "Hehe, I guess I got carried away. We are still too young and all. And yes! I''ve heard you and I was thinking about that myself. You mean the methods of Spiritual Energy Cultivation and such?


    And also the knowledge of how to properly cultivate the Spirit Orb."


    "Yes," I nodded. "So you knew."


    "I did some research myself. Asked around as much as I could, and even had a scheduled a private meeting with the cardinal, who will being today from the capital." She said. "As the Saintess, I have a lot of authority despite my age."


    "The cardinal¡­ Is that a great figure in the church?" I wondered.


    "He is very important. He handles almost all things." She said. "I asked around some people of authority before. They told me that such things were not taught because wecked professors. Priests could teach some things, but we required people specialized for that. The church mostly invests on charity than teaching.


    And knowledge is often reserved to people with money in schools or academies."


    "That''s a pity¡­" I sighed. "And we require professors, huh? How can we fix this¡­"


    "Well, that''s why the cardinal ising!" She smiled. "We''ll convince him together to invest into teachingmoners and even serf how to utilize their Spirit Orbs. Basic knowledge such as this, mathematics,nguage, and magic forme should be widespread, it is a right for all people!"


    "I agree with that statement. And if words alone won''t work, I can always use the power of money." I smiled. "Reputation, and strength too, perhaps."


    -----

 Chapter 905: Powerful Twins

    -----


    The Rank Up for my siblings went better than I imagined. They had truly imprinted into themselves the ability to manipte Spiritual Energy, which I taught them rather harshly, forcing them to use Spirit Energy alone through their training by sealing their Mana using my [Chains of Creation], capable of sealing Mana to weaker targets than myself.


    Because of this intensive training while hunting monsters, things went off much better than I thought. An''s insecurity had scared me, making me think he would end up failing his Rank Up and getting hurt in the process, but everything went smoothly.


    FLAAASH!


    Their Auras glowed with Silver and Golden colors; their bodies seemed to also grow stronger. It was as if the power they had forced some sort of aging into their bodies. They grew slightly taller, maybe the height they would have if they were seven years of age now. Which was rather noticeable, but they were still rather small anyways.


    "Woooah! My magic power skyrocketed, big bro!" An said excitedly.


    "Mine too!" Anna smiled. "Amazing! And we are taller too?!"


    "Must be an aftereffect of your growth of stats. They had to amodate within your body. I am shocked a Rank 3 can still have such small bodies." Iughed. "But I guess the minimum must be the body of a dwarf? I guess it makes sense to an extent now. You might have developed physiques too, congrats."


    "Yaaay!" Both celebrated together, and then I showed them their stats. They had truly grown stronger. It shocked me how fast I could help people grow with just enough monsters, some days, and those bracelets.


    -----


    [Name]: [Anna Hunter Goathorn]


    [Race]: [Human]


    [Spirit Orb Realm]: [Rank 3 (Initial Stage)]


    [Talent]: [Golden Pdin: ¡ï¡ï¡ï]


    [Level]: [0/80]


    [Health Points]: [4.500/4.500]


    [Mana Points]: [5.500/5.500]


    [Strength]: [4.200]


    [Agility]: [3.800]


    [Vitality]: [3.800]


    [Intelligence]: [2.850]


    [Dexterity]: [2.850]


    [Spirits (3/3)]: [Angelic Golden Bell Trio (Rank 3)] [Bright Golden Short Sword (Rank 3)] [Golden Shield of Light (Rank 3)]


    [Skills]: [Sturdy Body: Lv6] [Dragon Skin: Lv5] [Knife Strike: Lv5] [Golden Chime: Lv5] [Golden Swordsmanship: Lv5] [Golden de: Lv4] [Golden Spirit Aura: Lv3] [Enhanced Battle Senses: Lv3] [Golden Shieldmanship: Lv1] [Barrier Of Golden Light: Lv1]


    [Titles]: [Little Golden Squire: Lv5] [Apprentice Golden Knight: Lv3] [Gold Pdin: Lv1]


    -----


    Anna continued down the path of an all-round frontliner. She Ranked Up to a three-star Golden Pdin. And her stats rose quite decently. Around the same stat distribution some of my friends had at her level.


    An and Anna had gone through training of their own, so their stats might be slightly higher than normal too. She got two new Skills, to use special techniques with her new Shield Spirit, and also a protection spell that can be conjured with that very spirit too.


    The spirit in question was capable of adjusting its size, and it could get asrge as three meters or small enough for her to easily carry it around. It was very resilient, as much as a top-notch shield of its same category.


    Her other spirits evolved too; she was so naturally talented there wasn''t any need to add materials. They evolved easily. The Angelic Golden Bell suddenly multiplied into a trio, capable of activating three consecutive buffs at once, and creating abined melody for a greater buff together.


    Meanwhile the knife evolved into a short sword, much more flexible and powerful on its strikes, and it can still use both knife strike and golden swordsmanship to benefit from both damage modifiers.


    "Woah, I got so many Spirits now! The bells are three? Woaah! Now I got the sword and the shield! I don''t need weapons anymore, big bro!" Anna said happily.


    "You still need them. Your spirits don''t have as much durability as your actual equipment." I answered. "You can use them to further enhance the actual equipment as well. But on long and prolonged battles or hunts, it is better to use your normal equipment. Make sure to get that ingrained in your head, little Anna."


    "Ugh¡­ Fine, I''ll keep using the sword you made me!" She smiled. "It is pretty cool, I have to admit it!"


    -----


    [Name]: [An Hunter Goathorn]


    [Race]: [Human]


    [Spirit Orb Realm]: [Rank 3 (Initial Stage)]


    [Talent]: [Silver Sharpshooter: ¡ï¡ï¡ï]


    [Level]: [0/80]


    [Health Points]: [2.850/2.850]


    [Mana Points]: [5.800/5.800]


    [Strength]: [3.800]


    [Agility]: [3.800]


    [Vitality]: [2.850]


    [Intelligence]: [3.250]


    [Dexterity]: [3.300]


    [Spirits (3/3)]: [Enchanting Silver Flute Trio (Rank 3)] [Silvery Mercury Arrow (Rank 3)] [Silver Light Bow (Rank 3)]


    [Skills]: [Fast Reflexes: Lv6] [Dragon Eyes: Lv5] [Knife Strike: Lv5] [Silver Melody: Lv5] [Silver Archery: Lv4] [Silver Arrows: Lv4] [Silver Spirit Aura: Lv3] [Focused Aim: Lv3] [Mercury Blossom: Lv1] [Silver Light Arrow Rain: Lv1]


    [Titles]: [Little Silver Archer: Lv5] [Apprentice Silver Sniper: Lv3]


    -----


    Meanwhile, An Ranked Up to a three-start Silver Sharpshooter. His precision, focus, and uracy had be even sharper and much better than before. The same thing happened with his flute, bing a trio.


    His single arrow spirit became twice as long and big, and it was now named "Silvery Mercury Arrow", which had the properties to turn into liquid metal to crate an attack or have multiple forms, to adapt to any situation.


    Lastly, he acquired a bow spirit, surprisingly enough. It seems my two siblings were getting things based in their talents. Or were their talents based in their destined spirits? I can''t truly tell, but the Silver and Golden Elements were already rare enough, but weapon spirits too¡­ I guess they truly were blessed by the Holy Spirits in secret or something.


    Anyways, his two new Skills are simple. The first one, Mercury Blossom, allows him to unleash a single arrow attack with enormous power. It explodes into a blossom made of liquid metal with countless sharp spear ends to destroy a foe once it pierces them. The other, a rain attack, multiplies a single arrow into ten arrows made of silver light, attacking arge group of foes at once.


    "I-I can''t believe I would get a bow too¡­" An was shocked. "This is a bit too convenient. There must be a catch t-to this, big bro!"


    "Hahah, there isn''t. Maybe you were just destined to the bow and arrow, An." I patted his head.


    Now that I was done with this, Elizabeth was waiting for me in the church, the Cardinal had already arrived. I had to make my way there quickly.


    -----

 Chapter 906: Speaking With The Cardinal

    -----


    "I see how it is¡­" The cardinal, an old man around the same age as Ellergest when he passed away, nodded while stroking his long white beard. He had a rather calm and serene expression, wearing simple white and yellow clothes. I thought he would wear extravagant golden essories or something, but he was surprisingly humble. "I have to admit it, ke, Elizabeth.


    I had contemted this many times myself. I remember working hard when I was younger for something like this to be done, but I always failed. You see, our church depends in the funds of the government to maintain itself. And of course, of the nobles that donate to us. However, that is never nowhere near as enough.


    And we must always prioritize the money into food and other things, so we can keep the children of our orphanages safe and sound¡­ sacrificing the ability to teach them essential things as a result."


    "Hm, I guess it is understandable." I nodded. "Money is always a problem with these things. And changing everything worldwide wasn''t my idea either. At least not for now.


    If, hypothetically, I could provide you with the budget to open a small school in this vige formoners and serfs to attend for free, could you help me find some avable teachers of Spirit Energy cultivation or magic form creation that would be willing toe all the way here?"


    The cardinal nced at me in surprise with his sharp blue eyes and smiled gently. "Hoho, to think you would go to such lengths for the younglings of this vige, ke¡­ I''ve heard many things about your feats. In this year you''ve aplished more than any soldier, hero, or priest has ever done in the past hundred years. And I''ve also heard you''ve won the heart of dear Elizabeth here¡­"


    "I''ve done what I could. I''ve worked hard, and I haven''t done it all alone. My friends here, helped me aplish all these goals." I smiled. "And we''ll continue down this path, until we can free this world from the Demons."


    "Such a brave and youthful attitude, you''re a true hero." He smiled, pleased. "It seems you do not intend to retire at all despite the things you did. Anybody would at this point, yet you are relentless. Always striving forwards, what an incredible person. For someone so young¡­ Were your parents quite militaristic in your growth?"


    "Oh, no, it surprises me that they''re so nice and rxed." Laughed Elizabeth. "He was just born like that, pretty much! A talent, I would say."


    "He has to know of what he has be, even though he seems unaware." The Cardinal spoke. "You''ve be more than just a hero, but a figure of hope, ke. And also, someone that many nobles have be wary of. Your strength growth is off-limits.


    People often takes decades to reach your height, yet you''ve done so in just a couple of years, or a year if we take only in ount your time in the Academy. Many people, especially around the world, desire you and want to recruit you. If you cooperate directly with our church, that might send a message to the rest."


    "I don''t care." I shrugged. "Why should I? They can think whatever they want."


    "So blunt¡­ Hohoh, but a fitting response, yes." The cardinal stroke his beard as he slowly drank tea.


    "Anyways, I don''t really like talking about myself." I interrumpted their words. "Cardinal, now that I have the money and reputation, I won''t stand seeing the children of my vige grow to be ignorant. Or even worse, to cripple their spirit orbs and never see their full potential. Can you work with me on helping them, or not? That''s all I''m asking."


    "B-ke! Be more respectful, please¡­ He''s like an uncle to me!" Elizabethined.


    "No, no, it''s fine." The Cardinal nodded. "Very well, if you insist. I don''t have any other option. I have my savings. I can help you with this-"


    "Keep your savings, cardinal. I have enough. And soon, we''ll have even more once that white dragon is out of the map." I smiled. "For now, please dedicate yourself to find trustworthy teachers. That is all I''m asking out of your kindness."


    "Y-You n to y the White Dragon of the Mithril Mountains?" The Cardinal gasped. "Did I heard that right?"


    "Yeah, we''ve been preparing for that moment." I nodded. "Right?"


    "Yes, we were a bit reluctant at first, but we are here for that too." Elizabeth said. "Once we can y that dragon and clear the dungeon where it resides, the mountains will be freed for us to mine and make an immense profit off it. Mithril is one of the precious metals capable of resisting the magic and powerful strikes of demons after all.


    It is a necessary metal to arm our troops in the north''s frontlines."


    "And the money we''ll make will surely be enough to fund some basic education, perhaps some barracks¡­ Maybe arger wall, or perhaps even our own knights." I smiled. "I wouldn''t mind ascending my entire family into nobles with cheer money alone. Anything to protect them more."


    "Y-You''re so ambitious." The Cardinal muttered. "Yet somehow, you''re not just bluffing or talking delusions. Based in what you''ve done. I genuinely think there is a big chance¡­ a chance that monster that has cursed the growth of this Duchy for so long to be finally in¡­"


    "So, Cardinal." I extended my hand towards him. "Do I have your word?"


    He looked into my hands, sensing powering from them. But then he nodded, a Golden Aura simr to the element Anna had surged, as we both shook hands in agreement.


    "You have my word, ke." He nodded. "I think I can find the professors you need between three to seven days. Is that alright with you?"


    "More than enough." I nodded, smiling.


    Once we walked outside of the church, Elizabeth seemed slightly exasperated about the whole situation. I could understand why, but deep down, I could tell there was light in her eyes. She was very happy.


    -----

 Chapter 907: Walking Back Home

    -----


    As we made our way back home, Elizabeth couldn''t stop talking about what happened. She seemed quite proud of me for some reason, even though there was nothing to be proud of. Maybe she didn''t think I was that thoughtful?


    "I am honestly impressed you went to such lengths for the children of the vige." She said. "I guess although you have a cold and hard shell, you''re a very good person deep down, ke."


    "Huh?" I felt a bit confused. "Elizabeth, I feel slightly offended with those words¡­ I have a hard time expressing my feelings, but it''s not like I want it to be that way."


    "A-Ah, I''m sorry! I-I didn''t mean to say it like that¡­" Elizabeth quickly apologized. "I-I didn''t think you would mind it¡­ I''m sorry." She hugged my arm and looked at me with her beautiful eyes, looking like an adorable puppy.


    "It''s fine, I am not really angry either." I smiled faintly. "I understand more than anybody that I give off that vibe. It has been like this since I was born. But¡­ With you and everyone else, I feel like I am slowly beginning to understand how to express these emotions better. I owe you a lot, Elizabeth. Thank you for your care, and for your love, and for your friendship too."


    "ke¡­" Elizabeth smiled, looking into my eyes. "Of course! Since that day we first met, that I always thought you were a bit cold, but I knew that deep down you were a good man. I''m also d I meet you back then. That my father introduced me to you, and that I am now with you. It all led to this."


    She approached her face towards mine and stole me a small and soft kiss.


    "Elizabeth, did you had to kiss me in the middle of the town?" I felt embarrassed, now everyone was watching us.


    "Is that the Saintess?"


    "It is, Saintess Elizabeth!"


    "She''s with her fianc¨¦e, the son of the Goathorn family."


    "Oh, the hero!"


    "The Summoner that yed two Archdemons?!"


    "A fitting husband for her!"


    "Heh, I knew that kid when he just started growing up. He used to be a pesky little brat!"


    "I remember my grandma was healed many times by him."


    Their words were mostly filled with kindness, but even then, it was still embarrassing. Elizabeth only giggled, she enjoyed her poprity and authority quite a lot. Always using it to get what she wanted. This poprity was also part of how she convinced the cardinal ofing here.


    "Fufu, they know you a lot." Elizabeth giggled.


    "I used to do a lot of chores for the people here. Mostly to train my abilities and earn a few pennies." I said. "Those times¡­ Were quite harsh, but I can''t say I don''t miss them."


    "Well! We''re back to this vige already. It''s full of people now, thriving, and it looks more like a small city at this point." Elizabeth looked at the paved streets and therge houses everywhere. It didn''t used to be like this before. "Since many nobles started settling down here, the quality of life has improved a lot."


    "I think that School will improve our quality of life even more." I added. "It will be essential for the children to learn how to cultivate their Spirit Orbs, so they can further learn how to face the monsters and demons."


    "Right, it is a pity so many people live without knowing how to cultivate and end up wasting their talents like this." Sighed Elizabeth. "Anyways, what should we do now?"


    "I''m going back home. I need to evolve the Familiars onest time. We just got enough D Rank Orbs right now." I said. "After that, should we explore Elios Garden again? I want toplete it this time."


    "Same! I don''t really like the vibes of that garden. It is a pretty ce, yeah, but it also feels dangerous." Said Elizabeth. "Let''s quicklyplete that so we can rx some more before the white dragon raid."


    "Yeah, how many levels do you have?" I asked her.


    "Hmm, I think I''ve leveled up at least fifteen times?" She wondered. "What about you?"


    "¡­Only four." I sighed.


    "Eh?! You really need a lot of EXP¡­" She sighed, petting my head, trying tofort me. "There, there, you work really hard already. Don''t worry. Level 200 should be around the corner once we get to Elfriedden''s continent."


    "Yeah, we need to prepare for that as well. Anyways, let''s go." I nodded.


    Once we were back home, we found my siblings sparring with my father. Both were holding their ground together, but my father was still overwhelming them quite a lot. His abilities had evolved more than I imagined while I was out.


    And while his Spirit was still Rank 1, because Spirits share our levels, it has still grown stronger. It hasn''t received the bonuses or new skills they usually get through Rank Up, but it has amassed enough power.


    My father''s weapon of choice was a shovel and a scythe, and he dual wielded them both. Boosted with the power of his Farmer Talent, he swiftly shed against his children. Anna swiftly moved, using her sword spirit and her sword to dual wield them, unleashing devastating shing attacks.


    Meanwhile, An kept his distance, firing arrows made of silver magic against father. shes and explosions of light and silver color constantly reverberated across the empty grasnds. However, my father held his ground surprisingly well, even against freshly awakened Rank 3 Spirit Mages.


    He kicked the ground as a giant wall of dirt surged, blocking the arrows. Then, he spun in midair and unleashed a spinning attack using both of his weapons. Thend surrounding him suddenly imbuing its life force and mana into his weapons.


    His Mana, Ki, and some hints of Spiritual Energy surged from his body, suddenly shaping into the form of a giant shovel made of green essence, overwhelming Anna and throwing her away with a loud bang.


    CRAAASH!


    "Ouch, ouch¡­ Daddy this is not fair, you''re too strong!" Annained, pouting. She was a sore loser.


    "He constantly blocked my arrows!" An sighed.


    "Hahaha! Not fair? I am just a Rank 1 Farmer, you''re the talented kids here!" Laughed my father. "Come on! Let''s go for round two."


    -----

 Chapter 908: A Strong Father

    -----


    "Your father''s amazing." Elizabeth said. "Despite having his Spirit Orb atrophied, he can still fight so well using his Talent Abilities."


    "A Spirit Orb is essential for our growth, but it is not necessary." I said. "My father and many other hunters have grown stronger even without cultivating it. In a way, even Ellergest too. He was a Rank 3 yet he held much more power than that. The Rank of a Spirit Orb doesn''t mean everything."


    "You''re not wrong, but even then¡­" Elizabeth wondered. "I wonder if your father''s strength is just from his Farmer Talent?"


    "Most likely not just that¡­" I said, thinking about it more deeply. "He has most likely continued cultivating his Ki and Mana together. He has developed a Physique, and with the Dragon Potions I gave to him, which he has drank over time, he most likely developed it even more. There are many ways to grow stronger after all."


    "A Physique, like us!" Said Elizabeth. "I see¡­ But your father''s Physique must be a very strong one then."


    "I can''t really see it with the Grimoire, sadly. But yes, it must be at least as powerful as mine." I nodded. "He has an incredible amount of Ki surging from his body. And whenbined with his Farming Skills, he sorts of creates his own Cultivation Technique. I would call it¡­ Nature Breathing Cultivation Technique."


    "N-Nature Breathing?" Elizabeth tilted her head.


    "It means he can absorb the life force and mana of the environmental nature to grow stronger. He did that just now against Anna." I said. "That giant shovel made of his Aura. That was abination of Ki, Mana, a bit of his leftover spirit energy, and a lot of the environment''s powers."


    "Wow¡­ I thought it was just a skill or magic." Elizabeth said. "Wait, so that''s a technique outside of the skills and spells?"


    "Yes, there''s no such skill or spell that would allow him to do that." I said. "What my father did was a {Manifestation}, a special technique those with powerful Physiques and Auras can unleash. And I never taught him that, he learned it all by himself. His willingness to grow stronger is much higher than I ever thought."


    "I guess he''s just as amazing as his son then~" Elizabeth winked at me, and then gave me another kiss, this time on my nose. "Mooch!"


    "You''re really lovey-dovey today. Is it really nice to kiss someone like me?" I wondered.


    "Hahaha! Despite your grumpy words, you are quite handsome, and also have beautiful eyes. It''s hard to resist, especially when your skin is so smooth." She giggled. "You''re someone very beautiful, ke! Don''t be insecure!"


    "I''m not insecure, I was just asking¡­" I sighed. "My appearance is just that, I never considered any aspect regarding it."


    "You reallyck vanity, huh?" She sighed. "Come on, a bit of loving yourself wouldn''t be so bad, right? You got a lot of style and are handsome, yet you''re so aloof about it! ¡­Well, that''s kind of part of your charm too."


    "You''re a beautiful and charming girl too, Elizabeth." I admitted. "You''re almost angelic in appearance, and when we are together, I feel like I don''t even deserve your love. But that''s-"


    "Aww! Really? You''ve never said something like that to me!" Elizabeth quickly hugged me tightly and started kissing my cheeks. "You''re so cute when you get all embarrassed! I''m lucky to have you as my boyfriend~!"


    "E-Enough, Elizabeth! They''re looking!" I tried to gently move her away, but she had grown exceptionally strongtely. That became a hard thing to do without using my true strength, because I didn''t want to identally harm her.


    "Well, look who''s back." My father greeted me, noticing we were there. "You''re on a lucky strike, your brother just came to rescue you."


    "Big bro!" Anna ran to my side.


    "Brother, are we hunting today too?" An asked.


    Both were looking forward to hunting again. It seems I might have made them a bit addicted to the feeling of growing stronger. However, as they reached me, they stopped walking. Anna looked at me with a teasing smile I don''t know where she even learned, and An blushed a bit.


    "Big bro, were you doing lovey-dovey stuff with Elizabeth?" Asked An.


    "Eh?!"


    "Fufu, you can''t hide it from us. I bet you are going to have a baby now!" Anna spoke as if she knew how that even worked. "I can raise the baby for you!"


    "Stop speaking nonsense, you two." I almost screamed. "Ahem, anyways. Well done, I''ve seen you''ve grown a lottely. But you have yet to release all the power you have¡­ Hm, how about you train today as well? We should go hunt tomorrow then."


    "Aren''t you taking it too lightly, bro?" Asked An. "We want to grow stronger and level up!" An became surprisingly talky.


    "Yeah!" Anna nodded. "Come on bro, let''s go!"


    "I can see you just want to run away from daddy." My father sighed. "Ahhh¡­ This is so sad, why do you want to abandon your father like this? And I even took the time to move my schedule to be with my children!"


    "You heard the old man." I said. "We''re staying for now."


    "Old man?!" My father cried. "A-Am I that old, Elizabeth?!"


    "Hahah, of course not. ke is just a bit grumpy." Elizabeth giggled along.


    "Anyways, before you continue sparring, I need to do a few things. Your Familiars, where are they?" I asked the two.


    "Over there!" Anna pointed.


    "Eating grass." An said.


    I looked to the direction Anna pointed, finding a huge tortoise eating a lot of grass. Paprika was absorbing sunlight on top of its shell. I guess the two of them got along pretty well¡­ My own Familiars are just inside my shadows. Maybe I should let them walk outside? No, better not, they''re too big and scary looking inparison. And quite destructive too.


    "Alright, let''s quickly evolve them with the D Rank Spirit Orbs we''ve collected so far. All of them are from kills they did or helped at taking down, so it should work¡­" I nodded. "And I guess you three are evolving too,e out." I called my trio of Familiars as well.


    ------

 Chapter 909: More Familiar Evolutions

    -----


    The evolution process was as quick as always. However, this time I also decided to feed the familiars with higher quality materials for stronger evolutions. My siblings were fascinated after the two evolved into C Rank Familiars. The changespared to the normal Familiars were finally showing at full sight, and it was¡­ almost baffling.


    "GRUOOOHH!"


    "ROOOOAR!"


    Both Emerald and Paprika had be enormous. The tortoise was now ten meters tall, the smander, which was as big as a cat, was now four meters big. And it had grown wings on top of its long body. Her head also resembling that of a snake instead of the cute smander-like head, giving her a more refined appearance.


    Emerald''s scales became as tough as ore, his giant shell was now covered on countless of colorful jewels, shining brightly and releasing an aura of elemental and spiritual power. Its head was adorned with a rainbow jewel too, and its entire presence seemed to embody the element of earth itself.


    Meanwhile, Paprika seemed to awaken some draconic bloodline, thanks to all the dragons we feed her. This even included the viper dragons we fought, which were very venomous and dangerous, probably the reason why she got a snake-like head now, looking like the head of a cobra.


    Her scales were crimson red, with a mix of gold as well. Surrounding her neck there were many golden scales and red jewels, making her look rather dazzling to look at. Lastly, her wings were very big, enough to easily lift her off the ground and fly.


    "Wooow!" An gasped.


    "This is¡­ AMAZING!" Anna said in excitement.


    "You like your Familiars?" Iughed a bit. "Well, I''m d."


    "Like hell we love them, we are fascinated by them!" Anna started climbing Paprika, the smander flew off into the sky right away. "I''m flying, big bro! Hahaha!"


    "Amazing, they''re so cool!" An nodded, climbing Emerald''s back, the giant tortoise carried him along.


    "Wow, kids! Wait a second, don''t be so reckless!" My father was getting a bit scared.


    As he did, I looked at the monster''s status to see what they ended bing.


    -----


    [Name]: [Emerald]


    [Type]: [Lizard] [Earth] [Nature] [Unique Familiar]


    [Rank]: [C+]


    [Race]: [Giant Spirit Crystal Tortoise]


    [Talent]: [Nature Spirit Guardian: ¡ï¡ï¡ï]


    [Health Points]: [15.000/15.000]


    [Mana Points:] [9.500/9.500]


    [Strength]: [9.500]


    [Agility]: [5.800]


    [Vitality]: [15.000]


    [Intelligence]: [9.500]


    [Dexterity]: [5.800]


    [Skill]: [Harden+++] [Seismic Wave+++] [Spinning Shell+++] [Multi Crystal Armored Shell+++] [Geomancy+++] [Green Domain++] [Turquoise Spirit Barrier++] [Fortress Of Nature+] [Spirit Laser+]


    [Title]: [Named Familiar] [Earth Tortoise] [Turquoise Druid] [Guardian of Nature Spirits]


    [Bond]: [An]


    [Growth]: [0/100]


    -----


    ¡­


    -----


    [Name]: [Paprika]


    [Type]: [Lizard] [Fire] [Holy] [Unique Familiar]


    [Rank]: [C+]


    [Race]: [Heavenly Fire Smander Drake]


    [Talent]: [Heavenly mes Sorceress: ¡ï¡ï¡ï]


    [Health Points]: [9.500/9.500]


    [Mana Points:] [15.000/15.000]


    [Strength]: [5.800]


    [Agility]: [9.500]


    [Vitality]: [5.800]


    [Intelligence]: [15.000]


    [Dexterity]: [9.500]


    [Skill]: [Fire Tongue+++] [Fire Breath+++] [Fast Movements+++] [Holy re+++] [Healing mes+++] [Mana Maniption++] [Fire Domain++] [zing Dragon Blood+] [Heavenly Inferno+]


    [Title]: [Named Familiar] [Holy Smander] [Holy Sorceress] [Heaven''s mes]


    [Bond]: [Anna]


    [Growth]: [0/100]


    -----


    Their stats¡­ Is it my idea or they increased way too much? So this is the power of Unique Familiars, huh? They have at least double as many stats as the normal C Rank Familiars I guess, if not even more. They are amazing to say the least. The new skills wille in handy for both defense and offense.


    Emerald Fortress of Nature offers a giant defensive area, which can be summoned at any time. Meanwhile, thesers are a really good offense skill, so Emerald is not just a sitting duck all the time.


    As for Paprika, zing Dragon Blood might help her own bloodbust or something, I am not sure. As for Heavenly Inferno, a wide area attack. Because she can fly now, it is even easier to unleash devastating attacks from afar.


    "And now, it''s up to you guys¡­" My three familiars were already evolving. Each one bingrger and stronger in appearance. Just as I had predicted, unlike Emerald and Paprika, they had no need for sleeping or eating due to their Undead and Material elements.


    -----


    [Name]: [Fausto]


    [Type]: [Undead] [Skeleton] [Chimera] [Unique Familiar]


    [Rank]: [C+]


    [Race]: [Bone Chimera Titan]


    [Talent]: [Bone Demon: ¡ï¡ï¡ï]


    [Health Points]: [15.000/15.000]


    [Mana Points:] [9.500/9.500]


    [Strength]: [12.000]


    [Agility]: [8.800]


    [Vitality]: [9.500]


    [Intelligence]: [5.800]


    [Dexterity]: [9.500]


    [Skill]: [Steel Bones+++] [Aura of Intimidation+++] [Bone Projectile+++] [Bone Absorption+++] [Bone Weapon+++] [Armor of Bones++] [Bone Wings++] [Bone Spawn Summon+] [Bone Fortress+]


    [Title]: [Named Familiar] [Bone Eating Skeleton] [Devourer of Bones] [Bone Demon]


    [Bond]: [ke]


    [Growth]: [0/100]


    -----


    Fausto became¡­ evenrger. Now towering twenty meters of height at full power. His stats were more than I expected for a pile of bones. Above all, it now has the power to summon bone spawns out of its own body! And even more, transform itself into a fortress for extra defense.


    -----


    [Name]: [Ezekiel]


    [Type]: [Undead] [Zombie] [Shadow] [Unique Familiar]


    [Rank]: [C+]


    [Race]: [Crimson Shadow Abyss Ghoul]


    [Talent]: [Abyssal Assassin: ¡ï¡ï¡ï]


    [Health Points]: [9.000/9.000]


    [Mana Points:] [9.500/9.500]


    [Strength]: [10.000]


    [Agility]: [15.000]


    [Vitality]: [5.800]


    [Intelligence]: [5.800]


    [Dexterity]: [15.000]


    [Skill]: [Self Regeneration+++] [Aura of Famine+++] [Undead Wall+++] [Biomancy+++] [Shadow Attack+++] [Ghoulish Cry++] [Bloody Assassination++] [One With The Shadows+] [Soul Pierce+]


    [Title]: [Named Familiar] [Undead Ambusher] [Ghoul Assassin] [Abyss Killer]


    [Bond]: [ke]


    [Growth]: [0/100]


    -----


    Ezekiel changed, now almost lookingpletely human. One thing I noticed is¡­ It had arge chest, and a big pair of them. It had wider hips too, and long crimson hair. This zombie was always a female?! I was shocked, but I decided to not bother thinking about that. Her face was still covered with some sort of mask made of darkness anyways.


    The new Skills allow her tobine with shadow and be shadows themselves, and a powerful strike that can hurt the soul directly, very useful.


    -----


    [Name]: [Dominus]


    [Type]: [Material] [Weapon] [Fire] [Unique Familiar]


    [Rank]: [C+]


    [Race]: [Living Infernal Demon Axe]


    [Talent]: [Infernal zing Butcherer: ¡ï¡ï¡ï]


    [Health Points]: [20.000/20.000]


    [Mana Points:] [5.800/5.800]


    [Strength]: [20.000]


    [Agility]: [9.500]


    [Vitality]: [4.500]


    [Intelligence]: [4.500]


    [Dexterity]: [4.500]


    [Skill]: [Strong Strike+++] [Vertical sh+++] [Crush+++] [zing Steel+++] [Burning Wounds+++] [Searing Inferno++] [Armor Breaker++] [Infernal Strikes+] [Domain of shing mes+]


    [Title]: [Named Familiar] [Burner Of Flesh] [Burning Tormentor] [Infernal sher]


    [Bond]: [ke]


    [Growth]: [0/100]


    -----


    Andstly, Dominus, this axe became evenrger, zing with infernal and demonic mes. The skills included a barrage of powerful blows and then a domain to temporarily trap a foe on an inferno of attacksing from everywhere.


    These three are truly shaping to be my strongest Familiars already. Good, the haven''t even reached their full potential yet! If possible, I want them all to at least reach Rank A, but that might be asking for too much right now.


    With that out of the way, I dedicated myself to cultivate my Mana Core and the rest of my physique, magic circle, and even my soul. All while having a rxing pic with Erika, Elizabeth, and Eleanora. And well, some of my other Vampire Spirits too.


    I watched my siblings spar with my father, as I gained a greater insight about their abilities. And once dinner time came, I decided to help them get stronger more easily.


    "Alright, it should be about time. You two are getting a physique. Your Ki density is just enough."


    "Physiques?"


    "What''s that?"


    -----

 Chapter 910: The Siblings Get Physiques

    -----


    As it was gettingte, and I saw how my father managed to help them release all their Ki, I thought it was about time for my siblings to develop proper Physiques. For that, I required a couple of materialspatible with them, which I already had. And alongside that, their time and patience.


    "A Physique? What''s that, big bro?" Asked Anna.


    "Yeah?" An wondered.


    "It is the power to develop an innate ability inside of your own physical body." I exined in the simplest of terms. "It will help you be much stronger physical, much more agile, much tougher, and above all, help you have arger stamina and vitality reserves."


    "So the reason why dad is so strong is because of the Physique?" Anna asked.


    "Is it?" An tilted his head.


    "Yes, partially. Though father has also reached even higher Realms since thest time I taught him how to use his Ki." Iughed. "Despite howx he acts; he has been diligently cultivating his energies as I once taught him. His desire to grow stronger is still there, and he''s most likely training every day too."


    "Okay, we want one of those physique things then!" Anna nodded.


    "Me too! Me too!" An said.


    "Alright, let''s go then. I do have most things prepared. We should finish this by dinner." I nodded. As I walked with my siblings outside, I saw Erika, Elizabeth, and Eleanora tailing from behind.


    The trio watched from the sidelines, I also noticed little Saphira appearing above them, sneaking into the whole ritual. My siblings sat inside tworge magic circles I had inscribed on the floor of my underground hideout. There were mostly dragon-type materials in them. Yeah, I was going to give them Dragon Physiques. I wasn''t nning any time on making them vampires.


    That would only lock them in a very small appearance, and I would rather not.


    A Dragon Physique is the best to start with. It will give them immense physical strength growth, great defensive abilities with scales, powerful magical abilities, good vision, everything they need without any particr drawbacks. And if we start with dragon physiques at a young age, as they grow older and stronger, this will only continue developing more.


    "So we sit here and wait?" Asked Anna.


    "Yes, just sit there." I nodded. "It might itch your entire body a bit, but bear with it. You''re used to pain so it shouldn''t be hard to bear with itching."


    "O-Okay¡­" An nodded.


    I began the ritual right away. The magic circle''s runes activating, glowing, and spiraling around. The materials turned into particles of light and fused into their bodies. One after another, the materials were absorbed into their bodies. Anna and An overflowing with a golden and a silver aura respective, slowly gaining more and more draconic aspects.


    FLASH!


    Before the itch could get any worse, the whole process was over. Their Auras changed. I noticed Anna''s arms suddenly grow golden scales, only for them to disappear a secondter. As for An, his eyes became like those of a dragon, shining with silver light, only for them to quickly return to normal.


    "Ugh¡­ I feel a bit dizzy." Anna sighed.


    "My eyes hurt for some reason?" An asked.


    "Those are the effects of your new Physiques." I nodded. "No notifications, but I can only guess they are a fusion of your developing affinities with the dragon''s powers. I would call Anna''s Physique as Golden Dragon Princess Physique, and as for An Silver Dragon Prince Physique. Yeah, I like that fancy name."


    "Woah, amazing! I am a princess now?" Anna asked.


    "Technically, no." I said. "But that''s usually the fancy names that Physiques possess. Oh, your stats increased."


    I gave their Status a quick look again and noticed a few changes. Especially that their physical stats took arge increase. They had no new skills whatsoever, but I believed they had a good chance to learn one eventually.


    "And we''re done, shall we go eat dinner now?" As the twins nodded and ran to the house, the trio bickering behind us was really excited.


    "So the twins gained a physique, isn''t that amazing?" Erika asked. "They''ll be like us now!"


    "So young and already getting one¡­ Wait, weren''t we the same?" Elizabethughed.


    "I can''t develop one as a spirit though." Eleanora sighed. "Well, evolution is not half bad either."


    "You three, let''s go eat dinner¡­ Saphira, you too. I noticed you were there." I said.


    "Aww.. You caught me so easily, papa!" Saphira phased through the walls made of stone.


    "But of course, nothing can escape these eyes."


    Once back home, we had a lively dinner with my family, talking about the many things that have happened thesest days, and that especially happened today. Cattalina was growing more interested on these Physiques and Ki, and I could tell she wanted to get that too but was too prideful to just ask me to help her acquire such power.


    When we were done dining, I went to take a bathroom alone. Finally having some time for myself, I decided to look at my new ss and Subss Skill Trees. There were some new Skills I could learn, but that I hadn''t had the time to see in greater detail.


    [Showcasing Skill Trees for ss and Subss¡­]


    [Please, wait a moment. Due to the restriction of Skills that can be learned from a Five Star Talent, the avable Skills cannot be shownpletely.]


    [Recalibrating¡­ Resetting¡­ Restructuring¡­ Combining Skills.]


    As I opened the grimoire, however, I saw several messages before the skill trees were shown. Apparently the grimoire had to process thebined sses skills and create new ones bybing them. Unlike before, they couldn''t just give me all the sses offered due to the restrictions.


    [Sess, the avable Skills have been merged to adjust to the skill quantity restrictions.]


    [As a result, the cost of SP per Skill has increased greatly.]


    [Showcasing Skill Trees¡­]


    Well, that took longer than I imagined, almost ten minutes.


    "Are you alright, Grimoire?"


    -----

 Chapter 911: Learning New Skills

    -----


    [The Grimoire AI answers: "I am alright, Master. I was simply processing information and getting the permission of the Holy Spirits, who manage the System of Talents, Skills, Levels, and Stats to create these new Skills. After a few of their suggestions, the new Skills have been fully made."]


    "Oh? Very well, show them to me."


    [Showcasing Skill Trees¡­]


    -----


    <Skill Tree: [Job ss]: [Divine Spirit Blood King Necromancer Summoner: ¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï]>


    [Summon Holy Spirit Of Blood: Lv0] [Cost]: [5.000 SP]


    [Blood King''s Divine Graveyard: Lv0] [Cost]: [5.000 SP]


    [Familiar Soul Feasting: Lv0] [Cost]: [5.000 SP]


    -----


    <Skill Tree: [Subss]: [Grand Creator: ¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï] >


    [Domain Of Creation: Lv0] [Cost]: [10.000 SP]


    -----


    The new Skills finally appeared. Grand Creator was not affected, I believe. However, it had a single skill, Domain of Creation, and it cost a whopping ten thousand SP. I don''t think I can even get that much at all. Thebination of all Skills cost once more surpasses what I can earn normally. I''ll need 25.000 SP, but based in my levels, I can only earn 16.000 SP after hitting Level 200.


    "Oh? You didn''t lie when you said it would cost a lot of SP¡­ I doubt I can even get as much SP until I reach over level fifty." I sighed. "But the Skills themselves look incredibly interesting."


    I can guess they''re all fusions of skills that would have been for these three sses respectively. Summon Holy Spirit of Blood is the most interesting, just what is this? Can I truly summon such a divine being? I don''t remember there was ever such a Holy Spirit, so it must be new. Did the Holy Spirits approve of this skill''s creation?


    And then there''s Blood King''s Divine Graveyard. I can''t even guess what this would do, other than¡­ Summon some sort of graveyard of the Blood King? And it is Divine, so it might be a Domain that brings out Vampire Undead? Perhaps. I can''t check the skills descriptions, sadly.


    Andstly, there''s Familiar Soul Feasting. This feels like abination of three keywords from three different skills. I would guess the Familiar word is the only one that was inherited from a forgotten Summoner Skill. Then Soul from the Necromancer, maybe from a Soul Infusion Skill, and then Feasting is obviously Blood Feasting, a special ability most vampires have.


    So it ended bing Familiar Soul Feasting¡­ Does it mean I can feast on the souls of my own Familiars? Do they even have souls to begin with? And how could it even benefit me to eat their souls? It sounds rather wicked, but I am intrigued.


    "It''s frustrating I can''t get any for now." I sighed. "Well, I do have these other Skills I have yet topletely check. Let''s see them. They''re the new Skills I got after my ss Rank Up. Very interesting ones."


    -----


    [Familiar Necromancy: Lv1]


    Skill Proficiency: 0/15000


    A Skill that only belongs to Summoners that have begun to walk through the path of a Necromancer.


    By controlling the forces of Death and controlling the Souls of your Familiars, it is possible to revive them after their death. Any Familiar that dies will now leave an ethereal corpse. This corpse cannot rot and will fade away after a few minutes. However, if this skill is activated, any corpse within the vicinity of 50 meters around the user will rise, bing [Undead Familiars].


    These Familiars will undergo a transformation and evolve into Malefic, Undead versions of themselves. Their skills, stats, and abilities and elements might change drastically after being risen back as Undead. However, they will remain as Undead, and can even be retrieved back as Cards to storeter.


    When transformed into Undead after Death, Familiars will lose 30% of their Stats, and once they die as Undead, they cannot be revived again. With each Skill Level, this Stat penalty decreases by -5%, until it bes a positive buff.


    Additionally, when you''re surrounded by more than one hundred Undead Familiars within the vicinity of 200 meters around you, the effects of the {Horde of the Dead} automatically activates, boosting all their Stats by +100%, with an additional +10% with each Skill Level, and their Death, Phantom, and Darkness Attribute Skill and Magic Power by +200%, with an additional +20% with each Skill Level.


    You receive half of these bonuses.


    As the Skills Level Up, Undead Familiars can unlock new and unique abilities.


    -----


    This ability was more amazing than I imagined, although it still costs Mana to raise them, this effectively gives two lives to all my Familiars, making them even tougher and stronger than before! To make things better, the debuff is not that bad, and it can be alleviated as long as the Skill levels up some more.


    So this is the power of Necromancy that the Holy Spirit of Death granted to me, it is truly wonderful.


    -----


    [Vampiric Familiar: Lv1]


    Skill Proficiency: 0/15000


    A Skill that only belongs to a powerful Summoner that is also a mighty Vampire, capable of imbuing their powerful curse into their own Familiars.


    By channeling both Mana and Blood Energy, it is possible to conjure a {Vampiric Curse} on any Summoned Familiar. Once the {Vampiric Curse} is in effect, your Familiars will undergo a transformation, permanently evolving into Vampiric Familiars.


    Vampiric Familiars will drastically change their appearance to fit a Vampiric form, they will gain sharp fangs, crimson red eyes, and pale skin. Their bodies and shapes and undergorger transformations depending in the familiar.


    Once transformed, Vampiric Familiars receive a boost of +100% to all stats, with an additional +10% with each Skill Level, and all their Skills gain the secondary Blood and Darkness Elements, while they gain the Vampire Type. Additionally, their Blood and Darkness Elemental Magic or Skills receive a boost to their power of +200%, with an additional +20% with each Skill Level.


    However, as Vampiric Familiars, they are also affected by their weaknesses. Vampiric Familiars be weak to the Holy Light, Fire, and Sunlight Elements, and when they are below the Sunlight, their Stats decrease by -50% and lose 0.1% of their HP per second. However, when bathing below the Moonlight, their stats increase by a further +50%, and their HP recovers by 0.1% per second.


    Additionally, it is possible to unleash the power of the {Vampire''s Demonic Army}, granting the ability to merge with these Familiars, as they turn into pure Blood Aura Beasts, that further boost the wielder''s powers based on their stats for up to 10 minutes each. Absorbed Familiars disappear after the ten minutes but leave behind 50% of their MP and Blood Energy for nourishment.


    As the Skills Level Up, Vampiric Familiars can unlock new and unique abilities.


    -----


    Both are slightly simr, but they are still very different at the end. Undead Familiars will give them a second life, and Vampiric Familiars can give them a tremendous boost in exchange for some weaknesses. But if I time out my attacks well, such as in night or below shadows. Then it is totally possible for me tobine both effects for the best results!


    The boss monster of the Elios Garden will prove to be a good training dummy for my new abilities. I can''t wait for tomorrow. I''ll allow myself to go all-out for once. And see how much can that creaturest. I know it might be strange, but I am praying it is at least S Rank, or it won''t be fun at all.


    -----

 Chapter 912: The Next Morning

    -----


    The next morning came in a sh, as I woke up rather refreshed. This time the trio wasn''t wrapping themselves around me and I had some free space to slid away from their grasp. The first thing that greeted my sight as I opened the windows for the cold and refreshing wind toe from the outside was a cloud of darkness, materializing right above me, sitting above the rooftop.


    "Master." The entity spoke.


    "So you''re returned, Arka." I said. "Tell me, how was the days you spent spying these people?"


    "Strange, if I have to say. I''ve noticed a few suspicious things. But nothing too outside of the norm¡­" He said. "I feel strange myself too. My body¡­ Does not feel right, is this because I am a Spirit?"


    "Most likely. Most of what defined your personality were your very strong instincts, which emerged from your physical body." I exined. "Now that you''ve lost that and became a spiritual being, you have to reform who you are, and find yourself."


    "¡­I see." The alien seemed slightly enlightened. "Thank you for your words of wisdom. Is there some assassination I should do?"


    "No assassinations for now, Arka." I chuckled. "I want you to admire the sunlight, it doesn''t hurt you anymore, does it?"


    "It¡­ does not, master." He nced into the skies.


    "What do you think of the sun as it slowly arrives from the horizon? The clouds? The blue sky? The greenery surrounding us? The life?" I asked him.


    "I feel ufortable." He admitted. "But¡­ at the same time, it doesn''t feel bad. And the sky¡­ It is beautiful, I would say."


    "You''re changing, even without you realizing it." Imented. "For now, however, it is time to hunt. We''ll be going to a dangerous area in a couple of hours. I''ll need your assistance there."


    "Very well." He nodded; I could notice his tail moving around with excitement. "I shall conceal myself in the shadows until you require my help then. I feel like I require some sleep."


    "Rest well." I said, as he disappeared.


    Well, slowly, he''s changing. That''s already a plus. I can''t help but empathize with him a bit. I did feel rather simrly back then. Over time, as I was surrounded by this family, I slowly felt better with myself, and with everything. He''ll get there eventually.


    "Now¡­"


    I closed my eyes and focused inside of my Spiritual Realm, I wanted to see what was happening inside for the moment. Everything looked slightly the same, except for one thing. The vampire castle interior had a giantboratory now, and there was a Mindyer constantly creating horrors beyondprehension.


    I materialized a spirit avatar there and greeted the man in question. He immediately panicked as he felt my presence loom behind him. His eyes directed towards me instantly. He sighed in relief, I think he thought I was some sort of phantasmal entity.


    "Oh, my master! You''re finally here." Heughed evilly. "Look! I''ve been creating all matter of aberrations for your service! You said I could take as many of the beasts living here, and I did! I''ve imnted my parasites into their bodies.


    The metamorphosis has modified them. They''re now obedient creatures! And above all, they possess potent psionic abilities." Azahuk spoke with a clearly excited voice.


    "I''ve noticed, yes." I sighed. "However, Azahuk, your parasites are still an extension of your spiritual body, so you''ve simply parasitized them with a Soul Parasite Spirit, technically¡­ However, the changes are indeed surprising. And quite amusing."


    I watched in front of me. There were a dozen beasts calmly standing there. A giant bat with purple skin and ck scales, its face reced with tentacles and eyes, grotesque. An Undead wolf had the same fate, now possessing tentacles on its face, and a long tail with a head resembling a worm.


    There were also strange, mutated ck trees with tentacles on their entire bodies, and I also noticed a several other Undead that were also infected.


    These were Spiritual Beasts that inhabit the Spiritual Realm. Their existences are caused by the Realm itself, and they also nourish it. Hunting them for materials was something I''ve been doing already, but if I overhunt them, no more will appear in a while, so we need to be careful.


    Azahuk most likely utilized his [Mind yer Parasite Larvae Creation] Skill to infect them with tadpole-likervae that the Mind yer use to reproduce. Usually they infect intelligent beings such as humans, which therva slowly eats their brain until they mutate into a new tentacled monster.


    "Interesting specimens¡­" I analyzed the monsters'' power, and it was increased at least twice. They were at the very leastparable to C Rank Monsters. "However, this experiment is rather futile. It is nice that you''re having fun, but my Familiars can already fulfill their roles. And even if not, I can construct golems as well."


    "That''s¡­ I guess you''re not wrong, master." He sighed, feeling slight dispirited. I looked at him and sighed internally. For being a ruthless brain-eating monster, he sure has soft feelings about these things.


    "However, against the demons, nothing is set in stone. They have endless armies of billions." I said. "These monsters wille in useful without a doubt. Keep making some more, but don''t let the monsters go extinct if possible."


    "Oooh! Very well!" He said. "Then, when are we conquering a, master?"


    "No conquering for now." I said. "But we will be raiding a mountain, and we''ll kill a dragon in a couple of days. You and your beasts will join me. That dragon''s prowess is more than you imagine."


    "So we will y a Divine Dragon?! Very well! Now this has my blood pumping! Kuahahaha!" Laughed the evil Mind yer.


    "However, I do have a few tasks for you right now, Azahuk." I said with a smile, taking out of my grimoire a pile of materials and items. Mostly special ores, and also rings, bracelets, nes and earrings with minor enchantments and with a lot of room to be enchanted. "I want you to make me a dozen Psionic Items with varying effects and Psionic Spells."


    "Psionic Powers must be very non-existent in this world¡­" He smiled. "Yes, I shall make the best psionic items for you, master!"


    I n to use them not only against the white dragon, but the future foes I''ll have to fight, including humans themselves.


    -----

 Chapter 913: Engraving The Spear With A Deadly Vampiric Stigma

    -----


    Azahuk immediately started working on the essories, imbuing his powerful psionic skills inside of the metallic essories and constantly imbuing this energy as engravings. It was a slightly simr workpared to runic engravement. But it also had its unique parts that only this man knew how to make.


    As I watched him work, I decided to move to the deepest area of the Vampire Castle, the altar of Sangre was there.


    "Sangre, are you there?"


    I asked without receiving an answer, but I quickly left behind several bottles with monster blood I''ve extracted from all the creatures we''ve hunted. In a sh, I heard a voice. A presence surged from within.


    "Oh? It is unusual for you to visit me, Asmodeus. Is there something you need from this humble Goddess?"


    "¡­Can you bless this weapon?"


    I showed her my spear. Her shadow form''s crimson eyes opened widely in surprise. She was amazed by the weapons'' tremendous power, despite its formerly humble origins. She giggled maliciously.


    "Yes, I can! It is verypatible with my powers¡­ Such a wonderful item, did you make this in your second life?"


    "Yeah, can I decide the blessing?"


    "Hmmm, well? This offering of blood is fine, I suppose¡­ But I''ll need some more if you want something strong."


    "Nothing too much, I just need the Blessing of Sanguine Fury."


    "That Blessing from all of them? Why? Wouldn''t it be better for a Blessing such as Blood Berserk or Crimson Bat?"


    "Nah, Sanguine Fury is good enough. Don''t worry."


    "Fufu, as you wish."


    Her shadow and dark red ws grasped the spear. Gluttony tried to fight back as it was furious someone else was holding her, but Sangre''s powers swiftly were imbued into her, blessing her.


    FLAAASH!


    [Your Goddess has blessed your weapon with the {Vampiric Stigma: Sanguine Fury}!]


    [Only one Vampiric Stigma can be imbued into a piece of equipment.]


    [You have paid the blessing on blood.]


    The blood instantly disappeared in front of me, as Sangre quickly gave me back the weapon before the spear were to try to attack her any further.


    "There you go. Quite the pesky little weapon! It seems only obsessed with you! What a weird item." Sheughed. "Now, I am quite bored. Tell me, my son.


    What are you nning to do with that power?"


    "Destroy an entire garden and kill a dragon." I smiled.


    "Ohhh? I am looking forward to that delicious dragon blood you will be offering me then!" She giggled maliciously, before disappearing.


    "I''m done here." I gave ast nce to Gluttony.


    The spear gained a crimson red mark on its de, resembling a bat surrounded by tentacles and eyes. The bat had its jaws open, revealing the sharp fangs. Inside of the mouth there was also another crimson eye. This was a Vampiric Stigma, a powerful engraving that Sangre can imbue into her blessed items. The gauntlets I got from her possess such power, and now Gluttony too.


    -----


    {Engravings}:


    {Vampiric Stigma: Sanguine Fury}: For every 1000 Health Points lost from the wielder or any ally within a 50-meter vicinity, increases Damage Dealt by +1% (Max: +5.000%) for 10 Minutes. However, after the timing is off, you take 50% of the damage you dealt, your HP cannot go below 1.


    -----


    Although it wouldn''t kill me as it can only lower my HP to 1, it still a very dangerous ability. But it is ideal for what I can do now with my new Summoner Skills. Especially with my Familiars. This used to be a sadistic ability that only evil Vampires would use by sacrificing their allies to gain power. But it can now be realistically used using my familiars.


    "Wee back, ke. I see you''ve strengthened your abilities once more¡­ Your Summoning Skills are developing a lot too."


    Myst stop was in the Summoner Pce, where the Divinity Of Summoning greeted me once more. I sat on the throne and cultivated some of its divine essence around my Spirit Orb. The white essence coursed through my entire body, as I constantly consumed Spirit Orbs I had at hand to rapidly refill my energies.


    After three hours of cultivating inside while moving with my real body, I finally stepped out of the throne. Slightly exhausted. The power of this Divinity Fragment was very strong, but it would take me a while to transform it into a true Divinity, something that could perhaps even go against the might of the Archdemons in their full power.


    "Are you done already? You hardly did enough." The Divinityined.


    "Sorry, but I am quite busy right now. I''ll make sure to returnter." I said.


    After having had breakfast, I was already finding myself moving inside of the Elios Garden''s firstyers. Erika, Elizabeth, Eleanora, my vampire spirits, and my siblings apanying me. They couldn''t stop bickering and chatting about whatever, just to keep themselves busy while we hunted low rank monsters.


    My siblings showcased their wonderful abilities, showing how strong they have grown. Their auras of draconic power further reinforcing their skills. Slowly, they might finally learn a technique outside of skills or spells, just like father has done.


    As we finallynded on thestyer, I noticed I gained one more level out of all the hundred or so monsters we hunted on our way here. I swiftly prepared for thestyer, summoning at least a hundred Familiars of all shapes and sizes for this fight.


    My grimoire overflowed with crimson blood and phantasmal energy, as I got ready my new Summoner Skills for this invasion. I quickly sensed the presence of hundreds of C Rank and B Rank Monsters approaching. Giant nt monsters.


    "They''reing." I said, as we stepped inside of thestyer. The presence of the boss of the Elios Garden growingrger. Over three hundred nt monsters surged from all around us, appearing endlessly from the forest. And with my eyes, I noticed it.


    Far away, in the deepest part of this forest of giant flowers, a gigantic female figure surged, blooming from a giant flower. She nced at me with sharp, vicious eyes. Her entire body overflowing with not only Mana.


    But Demonic Energy too, one I could feel was quite familiar.


    I knew there was something odd about this garden.


    It was all just a n of her, isn''t it?


    "Lilith."


    -----

 Chapter 914: Elios Garden Raid

    -----


    Lilith, the Archdemon of Lust. Despite the poprity of this sin, she''s not just a sexy woman looking for sex, or something. The power of Lust is a very dangerous one, it is one of maniption, control, and mind bending. The reason why I immediately thought of her when I felt this demonic presence was because it felt just like Lilith''s demonic energy.


    It has a sweet, entailing aroma, it merges perfectly well with the aroma of the flowers, making it hard to easily detect. We are naturally immune to this by now thanks to all our levels, equipment, and blessings. However, not everyone else here. The rest of the non-nt monsters we''ve been fighting were all controlled and parasitized by special nts.


    And these nts, which usually die right away after the host dies, had small hints of demonic energy too. I can guess a few guesses on why Lilith has decided to slowly creep into my vige through this method. But one is quite simple, she''s cooperating with Lady Sathan and the fools of the Demonic Cult of Beelzebub, which now have moved to Lilith most likely, are still aiming for our lives.


    If it wasn''t because they have the backing of someone I cannot defeat yet, I would have already crushed them. But I better y my cards safely. Though, mowing thewn here and getting rid of this garden pest shouldn''t be that much of an issue.


    "Gryyyaaaggh!"


    "Shaaaahhh!"


    "Ooooohhh!"


    The roars and echoes of hundreds of nt monsters rushing towards us reverberated across therge garden of giant flowers. It didn''t take a minute for what I detected to be over three hundred of these monsters swarming us. They were all between C+ Rank to A Rank!


    "Just how many nt monsters came to greet us today?!" Elizabeth looked around in disbelief. "Maybe we should have invited the rest of our friends now that I think about it."


    "They were too busy, and I didn''t want to bother them." I said. "Anyways, there''s roughly three hundred right now, but I can sense up to over a thousand swarming through the rest of the garden. Mostly Giant Cannibal Flowers, Poisonous Snake Vines, Abyssal Treants, and Walking Mushroom Varieties. The strongest are the Giant Abyssal Treants at A Rank. Be careful with those."


    "Gotcha!" Erika nodded, already wielding her giant sword, her Aura quickly surging from her body and fusing with her sword, her eyes seemed overflowing with focus.


    "Let''s do this then, everyone." Eleanora cheered for the rest of the Vampire Spirits. I had brought almost everyone except Hendrick and Fang, whom I left back home protecting my family in case I can''t be there in time for an emergency.


    "Big brother, what do we do?!" Asked Anna. "Should we fight or watch?"


    "I can shoot my arrows even if I stay behind." Said An. "Can we help?"


    "Yes, stay within the barrier that Elizabeth will create." I said. "Fire projectiles and magic from afar and don''t step out of the barrier for now. These monsters are way beyond your league. But if you help a bit with damage, you can earn a lot of experience points. Emerald, Paprika, make sure to protect them and also fight the monsters."


    The two Familiars nodded to my simplemand, they recognized me as the figure of authority of my siblings, and because they obeyed me naturally, they did so too. Very simple-minded creatures at the end of the day.


    "Now, Fausto, Ezekiel, Dominus, watch my back." Imanded, my three unique familiars surged from my shadows and got themselves into fighting positions. "The rest of the Vampire Spirits, go wild. Simply protect the encirclement perimeter and don''t go too far away. Saphira, make sure to not get hit if possible. Stay close to us."


    "Okay papa! {Underworld''s Gates}!" Saphira nodded, conjuring a huge gate and summoning a bunch of Undead right away. The zombies and skeletons were the first ones that greeted the army of three hundred nt monsters, constantly appearing amongst the bushes andrge flowers.


    "As for me¡­"


    My grimoire flipped its pages rapidly, as hundreds of cards were activated immediately. We were suddenly surrounded by two hundred Summons. No new ones yet, they were still the C Rank Summons I have used before.


    I needed to umte more B Rank Spirit Orbs if I ever wished to get an army of B Rank Summons. For that I''ll need at least a few hundred more. Good thing this ce is going to feed me with as many as I need.


    Fenrirs, Arachnes, Dracos, zes, Stingers, Rocks (earth drakes), Lilies (flying healing flowers), and Spores (trickster mushrooms) surrounded us, as Imanded them to attack. The walking mushrooms weakened foes with their toxins, the nts were quite immune to most of them, but were still affected by confusion due to their high intelligence, and the stat decreasing effects still worked too.


    Meanwhile, the Generalsmanded their respective squadrons, further stacking on their stats. This coupled with my rallying and other buffing spells and skills, multiplied the base stats of my summons at least four times, making them as strong as B Rank monsters even if they were C Rank.


    The result? An utter massacre. The giant insects tore apart anything in their path, the Dracos burned their path from the safety of the skies, further spreading mes, deadly for nts.


    The Fenrirs were fast and swift, cutting down our foes with ease, zes did a simr job to the Dracos with their explosive fire attacks, Stingers pierced the heads of the A Rank Monsters with their deadly venom, the Treantsbusted as this venom was explosive, and the Lilies healed us whenever we felt exhausted.


    I mostly observed the battle as this happened. My Vampire Spirits spread out, taking down monsters after monsters with ease while showcasing all of their new abilities. Naturally, those that wielded ice and fire had an easier time killing the more resilient nts due to their elemental weaknesses.


    And as of Erika and Elizabeth¡­ Well, they were having fun too.


    "Wooohoo!"


    SLASH! SLASH! SLASH!


    Erika mowed down dozens of nts with her giant sword, dancing in the battlefield gracefully.


    "I love this hammer!"


    BAAM! BAAM! BAAM!


    Meanwhile, Elizabeth crushed everything with her hammer.


    -----

 Chapter 915: Burning Everything

    -----


    After only twenty-five minutes of advancing, three hundred nt monsters were already taken care of. But not without casualties, many of my Familiars ended dying though. Even as high as their stats were, they still could risk getting overwhelmed and ganged by many monsters, ultimately dying.


    I could tell that the one controlling the nts was slowly trying to pick my summons away and umte kills like this.


    But that wasn''t going to work, not at all! I still had a few aces below my sleeve, but for the sake of the element of surprise, I''ll save it forter. I want to surprise Lilith when she sees that.


    "I feel so strong! Did I level up a lot? I just attacked monsters with my golden de spell!" Anna said in surprise.


    "I shoot arrows but only the c rank died when I shoot them a lot." An analyzed.


    "Well done, you''re steadily leveling." I nodded. "And what about me¡­? Oh, I gained six levels out of this? Not bad."


    This carried me to Level 10 now. 190 more levels to go for max level¡­ Quite the long grind, but it could be worse. And it will get worse as I keep Ranking Up, can''t be helped.


    "Anyways, let''s hasten the process¡­" I noticed almost a hundred Giant Treants approaching, which were leading armies of smaller nts, at least two or three hundred more. Looks like the leader was now trying to put the heavy hitters as tanks, not a bad strategy. "You have a lot of units yourself; I admit it¡­ But can you do this? {Familiar Element Bestowal: Fire}"


    FLAAASH!


    A wave of fiery mes covered all my familiars. In a mere second, they gained an additional fire element to their elemental status. And those that were already fire element received a boost to their own, making it double as effective.


    [You have enchanted all Familiars with the {Aura of Fire}!]


    [As long as you wish for, all Familiars now possess this Element Strength!]


    [The Element of Fire has been fully absorbed into their bodies, your Familiars have undergone unique transformations!]


    [The Element of Fire enhances their HP, Strength, Agility and Vitality by +3000!]


    [They have gained new Skills such as [Giant Fireball++], [zing Arrow++] and [Wall of mes++]!]


    The Fenris turned crimson red, the Arachnes resembled spiders made of red jewels, and even the mushrooms and lilies became fiery red or orange colored, constantly releasing mes. The best part of these bestowals is that even support-type familiars can be offensive with the additional skills!


    "Burn everything."


    Without even hesitating and without a care about the environment, I ordered my familiars, which I kept summoning from my grimoire, to burn everything on their path. mes spread long and wide. The Giant Abyssal Treants, A Rank Monsters of great power, were greeted with hundreds of zing projectiles at once.


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!


    Like giant wooden skyscrapers, each one over fifty to seventy meters, they started falling, spreading the mes as their ckened and charred bodies were left lifeless. The other nts were quickly surrounded by my fire breathing army, and in the back where my familiars were only spread thinly, Eleanora, Ruby, and Blood were spreading mes themselves.


    "Hahaha! Burn! Burn and give me your experience points!" Eleanora was obsessed with leveling at this point, unleashing her draconic breathe everywhere and burning as much as she could. The element of wrath certainly made her slightly madder in battle, more warmongering, perhaps. Blood carried her around with great loyalty, while unleashing devastation himself.


    "ROOOAR!" Ruby flew over the battlefield, being an unstopable force of nature, the Treants tried to entrap him with chains of darkness and curses, but he freed himself from those with ease and then crushed the walking trees with his bare ws and legs, and then finished them off by burning them to a crisp. It is hard to believe this giant dragon was once a tiny wyvern, not even born a true dragon.


    "You guys don''t seem to give up at all, huh?" Erika giggled, surrounded by a swarm of floating weapons, her dolls have transformed into their weaponization forms. Which were now evenrger and more intimidating than before.


    "{Spirit Weapon Rain}!"


    CRASH! CRASH! CRASH! CRASH!


    Her swarm of sharp weaponized spirits shed and shredded dozens of nt monsters at once. They were unable to get closer to her before her Dream Dragon Puppet unleashed its Dream mes Breath, not only spreading fire, but fire that consumes the soul by entrapping them into painful glimpses of dreams.


    She also had her ck knight puppet cutting anything remotely closer with his ck de, and the puppet caretaker repairing the broken doll spirits andmanding them.


    "Forget about inviting our friends, this ce was made for us!" Elizabeth was also letting herself be consumed by the thrill of leveling, crushing anything at across her path with her giant hammer.


    Her other spirits also were around, mostly the ones Ellergest inherited to her, as her own spirits are more supportive than anything. The Holy Dragon had be much bigger and mightier, fierily burning his path through, while the rock mountain turtle was now a walking behemoth, spinning and crushing his foes.


    Meanwhile, I finally decided to step into battle myself aftermanding everything, greeting four Giant Abyssal Treants myself to test my power against A Rank Monsters. I had Gluttony in one hand and in the other, Dominus, zing with demonic mes.


    "OOOHH!"


    The Treants quickly directed their eyes at me, as they unleashed many darkness attribute spells to stop me. Shadow bullets, dark tentacles, curse chains, I broke through them with ease, swinging both of my weapons together as I quicklynded on the forehead of one of the Treants.


    "{Spear Mastery}: {Exploding Spear Attacks}!"


    Using my spear mastery techniques, I unleashed a barrage of explosive strikes, my Ki flowing into each attack, making thembust into explosions inside the Treant''s face. It didn''t took even three seconds before the A Rank Monster exploded into countless pieces of wood, leaving behind a huge spirit orb.


    A-Rank Spirit Orbs!


    "I''ll be taking this, thank you every much." I grabbed it, as the other Treants and nts surrounded me. "Alright, no need to be so desperate, you''re all getting your turn of dying by my hands."


    -----

 Chapter 916: A Mysterious Barrier

    -----


    Fausto''s zing cleaving attacks resulted to be much deadlier than I had originally imagined, with just a few explosive strikes, the ntsbusted and exploded. And not even the A Rank Treants could resist too many blows before dying. Perhaps another dungeon would have been much harder, but when we can abuse elemental weaknesses as basic as fire over nts, things get exceedingly easier.


    Four hundred more monsters went down just as they showed up, my Level now rising by seven, making me level 17 by now. Killing monsters myself gave me much more experience, as I imagined.


    It didn''t take long before we reached the outeryer of the center of thest garden. The path behind us was left burned. I had stored as many monster corpses as I could, but even then there were still many left behind, although I made sure to at least store the spirit orbs without missing one.


    "OOOOH" Fausto, the Bone Giant groaned, as I was sitting over his shoulders, he pointed at the distance, there were now trees covering this area, and they were not only big but strong, connected like a powerful, protective wall.


    "A wall, huh?" I wondered.


    "Yep, I can see a wall over there too." Erika nodded. "Hmmm¡­ Using my nt senses, I think I can see that they''re interconnected with their roots. Those giant trees are also monsters."


    "What are they?" I asked. "The grimoire is not giving me any results¡­"


    "They''re called¡­ Ancient Treants." Said Erika, somehow capable of learning, analyzing, and sensing both nts and nt monsters. Perhaps because she was a nature spirit herself. "Probably between A+ to A++ Rank! But still not as strong as the Dragon Dungeon Boss."


    "Got it." I nodded. "There''s also about a thousand more nt monsters surrounding the walls¡­" I said. "Elizabeth, I''ll need your help with this. Can you bring their attention towards several directions at once?"


    "You got an idea for that?" She asked.


    "Yes, cerge spheres of light in these directions." I showed her. "look, I mapped the surroundings in the grimoire."


    "I see! The north, south, west and east¡­ So they don''t swarm uspletely, huh?" She asked.


    "I n to lure them to these four spots where I''ll leave the generals and their familiar squadrons, and some vampire spirits too. We''ll lure all the small fry and kill them quickly. A thousand or not, they''re still just small fry. Once we know thins are cleared, we''ll go kill all those giant tree monsters. We can''t miss any, the A-Rank Spirit Orbs are very precious."


    "Got it! Yeah, I can do it." Elizabeth nodded, growing a pair of angelic wings over her shoulders. "Wait here for me!"


    FLAAASH!


    Elizabeth went flying right after that, leaving behind spheres of light in all the areas I indicated her to leave. She came flying back a few minutester, the job all done. She smiled, as if asking for a reward or something¡­ I patted her head, but that was surprisingly not enough. She stretched her lips towards me and then I knew what she wanted.


    I gave her a small kiss and then decided to proceed with our ns. Imanded the generals and told them to move to the designated areas. Apanied by their army of familiars, they swiftly lured all the nts towards the bright spheres of light. The vampire spirits apanied them as well.


    To facilitate and hasten the process, we decided to also join the hunt, I leaped from area to area, massacring as many nt monsters as I possibly could. Anna and An were also steadily leveling, and our Unique Familiars killed many C Ranked Monsters too. Soon we should have enough spirit orbs for them to Rank Up to B Rank before my other Familiars do.


    Ultimately, wended at the end of the road, they were all dead within half an hour. The power of the fire element is truly magnificent in this garden. And because nobody cares about a monster nest, I guess nobody will everin if I set aze this whole ce a bit more.


    With the experience points umted so far, I managed to get to level 30, not bad at all considering it was a thousand monsters between the lowest C Ranks to the A Ranks. With this little sidenote all said and done, the only thing next was to take care of the giant wall of Ancient Treants.


    I quickly directed Gluttony towards the wall to give it a test, and imbued the spear with as much Ki and Demonic Energy as I could. Mana and Spirit Energy too, just to give it a sufficient oomph to all the power I could muster for the weapon.


    "{Javelin Throw}"


    FLAAASH!


    The spear flew across the skies, quickly reaching the Ancient Treant, but before it could hit the old bark, it impacted a shiny barrier of light, which released sparks of azure color before gaining more and more cracks. Gluttony kept trying to breakthrough, enough to weaken the barrier and shatter it.


    CRAAASH!


    The barrier shattered and Gluttony pierced right through one of the Ancient Treants, the giant tree''s body quickly copsed into pieces as it was burned with demonic gluttony mes. Leaving behind a big A Rank Spirit Orb.


    The other Ancient Treants opened their eyeszily, quickly unifying their roots and closing the wall immediately afterwards. Gluttony quickly returned by mymand as I felt the barrier was trying to suppress my power over my weapon and leave it trapped inside.


    "Was that a barrier?!" Elizabeth asked. "Did that boss monster set that up?"


    "Most likely, I would assume they were waiting for us, and won''t let us enter their territory as easily." I nodded. "Gluttony was able to breakthrough but¡­ With the fast rate in which the reconnect roots, it''ll take forever to deal with this."


    "There''s very little we can do other than simply overpower the barrier and then burn the damn trees down." Elizabethmanded. "Erika, got any rmendations?"


    "Hmmm¡­" Erika was thinking about it, I noticed her eyes were glowing with a bright green light. "I think I could deal with the barrier, actually¡­"


    -----

 Chapter 917: Crush Them All!

    -----


    Erika seemed to have a n, and I wanted to believe in her. As I assembled my Familiar troops around the vicinity, well, the surviving Familiars, ready to attack, she prepared while exining to me. Her body began to change, spreading her roots and branches everywhere across thend, piercing the floor.


    "Remember when I overran that abandoned city with the guy that had plotted my death? I don''t remember his name but that time I expanded my body all over the ce and caught him!" She said. "Since then, I''ve been practicing my Nature Spirit Abilities more and using them along magic and skills! I think I can expand myself all the way to their roots and attack them."


    "I see, so you intend to attack their roots so they can''t easily regenerate back. But what about the barrier?" I asked.


    "The barrier is part of them, actually!" Erika said. "Heheh, I am surprised you haven''t noticed. But my Spirit Eyes easily saw through their hidden area. Those tree''s roots are spread around a special circr formation. There are gigantic masses of Spirit Crystals being used as advanced runes for the creation of such barrier. Although it seemed of Spiritual Nature, it was fueled with Demonic Energy."


    "Such a thing¡­?" I asked in surprise. "I guess I can''t really see absolutely everything. There are certain things that other, different eyes can detect better. Very well, let''s go with that then. Elizabeth, can you imbue into Erika your Holy Light powers?"


    "Of course! Stand still Eri~!" Elizabeth nodded, enchanting Erika with a sh of holy light. "{Angelic Spirit''s Blessing Magic}: {Holy Light Spirit''s Veil}!"


    FLAAASH!


    A veil of light epassed and then fused into Erika''s body, making her glow brightly, her long pink hair had gained a golden hue, and her eyes were also unleashing bright, golden light.


    "Ooh, this is ideal! Nice!" She smiled confidently. "Alright, I''m going! Wish me luck!" She gave me a kiss and hugged Elizabeth before disappearing, digging the ground below.


    "Once we get Erika''s signal, we will attack from all sides to overwhelm the Ancient Treants!" Imanded my Vampire Spirits and the Familiar Generals, who all nodded. "Anna, An, remember to not step out of the safe barrier. My Spirits and Familiars will take care of you, just shoot things from afar. This is not a battle you''re ready for yet."


    "W-We understand, big brother!" An nodded.


    "Just watching is a lot of fun!" Anna said. "I knew big bro was strong, but you''re amazing! Such a huge army!"


    "Yeah, isn''t he cool?" An nodded. "Big brother is the strongest hero of the world!"


    "I will surpass him though! I will be the strongest pdin of gold!" Anna fantasized.


    I chuckled a bit over theirments, while I focused more on the iing battle. I expanded my Vampiric Senses below and sensed Erika''s life signals moving rapidly. She struck something, and then spread around even further, a chain reaction happened, as I sensed her energies shing against several sources of demonic energy.


    RUMBLE!


    It didn''t even take a minute before the Ancient Treant''s closed and old looking eyes opened widely, raging with crimson red demonic mes. Their faces distorted in pain as holy light, nature spirit energy, and draconic essence all started overflowing inside of them.


    The circuits making the barrier instantly copsed before the constant infusion of energies, gained countless cracks, and then broke into pieces, shattering and disappearing!


    "Now, crush them!"


    As I ordered, my army of two hundred Familiars marched forward. I chose this time to enchant half of them with the light element, mostly those that were already fire wielders. I also did the same with all the Vampire Spirits here, their appearances changing drastically as they absorbed the elemental bestowal ability.


    The armies charged, shing against the panicking and pained Elder Treants. But the gigantic trees didn''t stay passive anymore. While being attacked from their roots and with the barrier destroyed, they swiftly turned murderous. Their entire normal-looking tree bodies changed.


    With furious demonic roars, their bark turned deep ck, their green leaves crimson red, and they gained countless jaws with many sharp teeth, and crimson eyes spread across their bodies. Their branches now resembled tentacles.


    So they were deceptively making themselves look like just giant trees, but they were Demonic Trees this whole time! Powerful high-ranking demons,parable to Demon Lords in power, although without their intelligence.


    They shook the whole garden, their gigantic tentacles piercing through my Familiars from left and right. However, the Generals held off on their own with their augmented stats,manding the other Familiars to evade the iing blows.


    The Vampiric Spirits, led by Eleanora, unleashed a flurry of elemental attacks of all kinds. Explosions of light and draconic mes from Eleanora, Psionic Waves from Azahuk disrupted the Demonic Trees minds and made them even dumber, while he absorbed their mental energy, making them slower. Everyone else used this opportunity to quickly decimate several of them on the spot.


    Elizabeth flew down from the skies, having undergone Spirit Fusion with her Holy Dragon Spirit, and transforming into a half-holy dragon maiden, her hammer shining with the brightest brilliance of her powers.


    "RAAAH!"


    BAAAMMM!!!


    An explosion of light engulfed two Demonic Trees at once, their entire bodies incapable of taking all the holy light, exploding into pieces on the spot. She was attacked by a swarm of tentacles, which she fended off with a barrage of swords of light.


    At the same time, the Demonic Trees were panicking more and more, their bodies swarmed by all my familiars, several of them burning away through holy light, as I swiftly switched the elements of their bestowal to light once I realized they were Demonic Trees, mostly immune to most fire attribute magic.


    As this happened, I swiftly stepped into battle, three of these titanic behemoths greeted me, firingser beams from their countless eyes. I evaded their blows swiftly, transforming into my Vampire King form and changing my appearance drastically.


    Wielding Gluttony, I impaled their bodies a thousand times each in mere seconds, moving at such speeds not even I could believe thanks to the transformation''s effects.


    CLASH! CLASH! CLASH!


    "Who''s next?! Come at me!"


    I wasn''t going to let Erika''s efforts go in vain.


    -----

 Chapter 918: Finding The Culprit

    -----


    After half an hour of an intense battle, thest Demonic Tree sumbed to Erika''s sword and her Spirit''s powers. She had alreadye out from the underground after disrupting everything enough and started helping us y these gigantic monsters. Ultimately, there were a hundred of these monsters.


    Because of their Spirit Orbs, we realized they were indeed Elder Treants, but that were contaminated by Demonic Energy to mutate into Demonic Trees as well.


    Therefore, even though they might have been simr to Demons, they were more like Demonic Beasts. Well, nheless, it was a hundred of them down, that gave us a tremendous surplus of experience points, coupled with the five hundred more nt-type monsters between C Rank to A- Rank, that helped us grow at an exponential pace.


    [You and your Party have in [Elder Treant Demonic Tree (A+ Rank)] x100 and [Vicious Demonic nt Monsters (C Rank ~ A- Rank)] x500!]


    [You earned 236.000.000 EXP!]


    [Level Up!]


    [Level Up!]


    [Level Up!]


    [Level Up!]


    [Level Up!]


    [Level Up!]


    [Level Up!]


    [Your Level has increased from Level 30 to Level 37!]


    [All your Stats have increased. You earned Bonus Stat Points and Skill Points.]


    [Some of your Skills have Leveled Up.]


    The grimoire''s pages flickered as I noticed to be growing rather strong. Seven levels in a row were indeed a really good result for now. Though, I have no idea if that''s still enough for any new Skill yet, I still need to Level Up a bit more to gain anything.


    "Is everyone alright?" I asked my group. My vampire familiars were all mostly in top condition, but another half of my Familiars perished. Well, not like that mattered in the long run.


    "I''m doing alright, yeah! I think we can continue right away!" Erika said, she seemed eager to fight some more.


    "I am actually a bit exhausted¡­ I''ve had to conjure a lot of magic." Elizabeth sighed, sitting down over arge Fenrir that wasing along with us.


    "I''m a bit hungry, big bro!" Anna said.


    "Me too." An nodded.


    "Alright, I suppose it can''t be helped. Let''s take a break." I looked into the distance as I said that. The hundred elder treant that we in opened the way to the deepest area of the gardens.


    A gigantic, densely packed forest made of oversized flowers and grasses, it was not bigger than the vige itself, and its entire surrounding area was now burned to the ground. I could still sense it, the presence of the monster that wasing everything in the shadows, imbued with demonic energies. It was waiting for us. But we can''t fight it without being at one hundred percent our strength.


    "Then let''s eat and take a rest. The next fight should be ourst in here." I smiled.


    I unpacked a lot of things from my Inventory, and started cooking a huge feast for everyone, me included. I could go on for days, but I had to admit that I was getting hungry. I decided to cook a barbeque using the famous Giant Wild Boar meat of the vige.


    I also added dragon meat, which there were enough for a year or more from all the dragons we hunted in the Dungeon back inside of Stronghold City. Andstly, I prepared some sd to maintain a bnce, too much meat can make your stomach feel too heavy after all.


    "Ahh, nothing like eating barbecue in the middle of battle!" Erika was really happy. "Wild Boar meat will always be the very best~ So tashtyyy~~! Nom, nom!"


    "Yes, it''s delicious." Elizabeth nodded. "You''ve added a lot of new spices into this, huh? I can feel a hint of both sweetness and spiciness in this meat."


    "I''ve been mixing different spices around to give meat more vors. I suppose that''s a small hobby." I shrugged. "An, Anna, make sure to eat all of your vegetables too. Don''t you dare skip them."


    "Okay big bro!" An nodded. My brother was obediently eating the vegetables even when he looked like he wasn''t enjoying them.


    "Geehh¡­" Anna wasn''t eating them. However, once I gave her a stare, she forced herself to gulp down the carrots.


    "Blood is always better, but this dragon meat¡­ I can''t get enough of this." Eleanora licked her red lips as she enjoyed her third dragon steak already. "Hmm, this wine is good too. A good feast before thest battle." She looked into the distance.


    "I am beginning to think it could quite possibly be some sort of Archdemon now." I told my party.


    "Wait, an Archdemon?! Here?" Erika gasped, almost choking on her own meal.


    "You did say there was the influence of demons but¡­ Not a cult?" Elizabeth asked.


    "Maybe that too. It is confusing. It feels like if it was a cult, they would have already showed up. But this entire thing is a bit odd, as if only an archdemon has been moving the strings, influencing the monsters and controlling them. I suspect the monster controlling this entire area is some sort of Archdemon Vessel in the making.


    This particr Archdemon has been rising this army in secret, right below our noses. They want topletely destroy the vige with it." I said. "Well, it''s not happening anymore."


    "It''s truly a relief we managed to get in here before that ever happened¡­" Elizabeth sighed in relief. "Though, to just imagine the amount of destruction all these monsters we''ve hunted could have brought to the vige¡­ It fills me with dread."


    "Those Elder Treants alone could have trampled through everything without any problem!" Erika said. "It''s nice to have such an insightful person as ke with us, we wouldn''t have been able to realize such a threat was growing so close to home¡­"


    "Don''t give me too much credit, you''ve helped more than you imagine." I smiled. "Well now, we''re done eating, right? Let''s depart. I won''t be able to shake off this feeling of uneasiness if we don''t get rid of that thing."


    After packing things back inside my inventory, we set off into the skies through Ruby''s back, flying above the burned Elder Treants and arriving inside the Heart of the Elios Garden.


    And right there, we saw her.


    "How¡­ How did you even find out I was here?!"


    -----

 Chapter 919: The Archdemon Of Lust, Lilith

    -----


    The entity that was lurking within the depths of the Elios Garden was nobody else than Lilith herself. Or well, one of her Incarnations, a Vessel of the Archdemon of Lust. Something she had been creating for thest five years in hopes ofpletely destroying everything ke loved, and also to gain arge area to dominate.


    She had learned that the best suitable vessels for her were not just another demon, but the monster nts of this world.


    Using her powers and influence, she forcefully possessed a young nt monster named Hamadryad, Dryad-like nt creatures that held humanoid forms and some sort of intelligence, although they were still very aggressive. Why? Because it had the most affinity with her. Hamadryads utilize the power of pheromones they produce to control other nt monsters.


    They''re known as the Evil Queens of the Forest for assembling gigantic nt monster armies and then conquering countless miles ofnd with their armies, covering everything with nts and expanding their forest endlessly. However, due to the danger of their existences, most of them have been taken down, and they only remained as a myth.


    Until Lilith found her, perhaps thest Hamadryad in the entire continent. Using her demonic powers, she mutated her and evolved her over many years, stealthily expanding the domain she created, while taking over thousands of nt monsters'' wills, possessing them.


    Unlike the other Archdemons, Lilith decided to not waste her resources pointlessly, and instead use what the world of Spiritias offered to her to begin with. And she was doing it so well she genuinely thought things would go her way, and one day, ke would discover his entire vige having been destroyed, and his family killed.


    Yet, Lilith underestimated ke''s insightfulness way too much. Even after everything he had aplished, she thought that he wouldn''t be able to look at every nook and cranny to such detail! The Elios Garden was her domain, her queendom! And soon she would use the power of nature and her risen army to destroy it all.


    But now¡­


    "How¡­ Just how were you able to know it was me?! How did you¡­?! I made sure to hide my presence. I made sure to never show any demonic energy¡­! Yet you somehow, you¡­ YOOOUUU! ASMODEUS!" Lilith screamed, giving out a guttural roar.


    Her gigantic nt-like form surged from underground, revealing her true appearance for everyone to see. She resembled a gorgeous woman made of green nts, leaves making her long hair, covered by countless carnivorous flowers of all colors. Her sharp crimson demonic eyes opened wide, showing fury.


    Her forehead held arger, vertical eye, of purple and ck color, emanating a bright crimson light. From her hips to below, she was an amalgamation of thousands of nt monsters fused together, making up for twelve titanic tentacles made of wood and nts intertwined together.


    Decorating her chest, there was arge growth of demonic crystals, fueling the rest of her body. It was most likely her Core!


    "I honestly can''t believe you ever thought this would work, Lilith." ke told her. "We''ve in Beelzebub and Satan''s Vessels already¡­ Did you ever thought we would miss one right below our noses? It might have been truly impressive if it actually worked, but it didn''t. It would have never worked, Lilith!"


    "GGRRRHHH¡­" Lilith gnashed her sharp teeth in frustration. "Shut up, there''s still time! I''ll make sure to destroy that vige you love so much! Don''t you ever think I don''t have a few more trump cards left, Asmodeus!"


    With a furious roar, Lilith raised her hands and channeled her demonic powers. Her roots warped around into gates, red lightning surging from within. Ripples in space started to slowly open. Erika, Elizabeth, and Eleanora gasped as they realized what was happening.


    "ke! She''s trying to open a Demon Gate!" Eleanora cried.


    "Not one, but many!" Elizabeth said.


    "No way! So it was really an Archdemon Vessel?! Right below our damn noses this entire time?!" Erika cried.


    "Calm down." ke said.


    The portals opened. Lilith''s limit was ten portals. The demons poured out almost instantly. There were thousands of Lesser Demons, hundreds of Mid Rank Demons, and even almost fifty Demon Lords mixed in between them!


    Among the Demons, there were Giant Demons, Demonic Beasts, Gargoyles, Giant Beast Demons, and more. All of them overflowing with power, as Lilith''s Aura bathed over them, boosting their power.


    An army of almost ten thousand demons was summoned in a mere second, all marching towards the vige across the already burned and cleared path that ke had made with his party.


    "Now, I wonder if you can deal with ten thousand of my troops with mostly all of your Familiars gone?!" Laughed Lilith. "I''ve been calcting how many you''ve lost. You''ve lost almost a thousand! I doubt you can make any more, because you are always making a few each time. Even with your Vampires and those little girls at your side, you won''t make it in time! Hahahaha!


    I was going to win from the very start! Now what will you do? Will you try to y me, or will you try to protect your vige, Asmodeus?!"


    As Lilithughed triumphantly, Asmodeus kept calm, his grimoire flickering its pages. A powerful Death Attribute Aura surged from his entire body, the corpses of his Familiars spread everywhere across the burned Elios Garden began to absorb this Phantasmal Energy, his Mana was being constantly spent.


    He thanked himself for having created a Mana Core beforeing here, all of that extra mana wasing in handy.


    "Lilith, sadly, I chose neither. I will stop your army and kill you now." ke said with a face full of determination.


    "{Familiar Necromancy: Rise}"


    A wave of death and phantasmal essence washed over all Familiars. Over one thousand and five hundred Familiars that have already died, but whose corpses had yet to dissipate, quickly started to wake up again.


    Their bodies transformed, resembling powerful Undead of all shapes and sizes, ke''s army of Familiars was back to action, shocking Lilith.


    "Now, charge!"


    With a mighty order, his entire army shed against Lilith''s demons.


    "T-This is impossible¡­ Necromancy?! As a Summoner?!"


    Lilith couldn''t believe what her eyes were seeing.


    -----

 Chapter 920: Against Liliths Vessel!

    -----


    The demons instantly struggled. The Army of Undead Familiars were much stronger than ke imagined. Despite the skill saying their stats would decrease based in their original stats.


    Because of all the buffs he already could apply to them, based on things such as his Emotional Commanding Rally Skill, repeatedly used and stacked with the rest of his Vampire Spirits, his Spirit Stat increasing their stats based in each point that the Stat had, and several other passive abilities, it made the "weakened" Undead Familiars just as strong as before anyways.


    If not even stronger, because of the new abilities they possessed. The Undead Fenrir were now able to create mirages of their own, phantasmal shadows and pass through anything while attacking the demon''s souls directly with their bites. The Undead Dracos could spread Phantasmal mes with their breath attacks, burning the Demons particrly better than conventional mes.


    The Undead Arachne spread corrosive, venomous acid from their jaws as projectiles, bombarding the demons and melting their bodies, while spreading a deadly rot everywhere else. The Stingers had be twice asrge, and their stingers could now impale several foes at once.


    And that was just the beginning! The Vampire Spirits also advanced forwards, utilizing their fantastical and overwhelming abilities to unleash mighty area-of-effect attacks, dealing with many demons at once. ke had no time to waste, as hemanded Erika, Eleanora, and Elizabeth to surround Lilith''s army, without letting a single demon walk outside.


    His Undead Familiars became even more relentless and aggressive than before, instantly attacking foes when they saw them instead of requiring moremands to do so. They spread out intorge groups and surrounded the demons, the Demon Lords, who were very strong, were still killed when fighting a hundred undead familiars anyways.


    And if one happened to be too tough, a Vampire Spirit would show up and quickly take care of them.


    "T-This is¡­!" It has only been five minutes, but Lilith was already seeing her demon army being massacred. Half of it was already gone! "No, this can''t¡­ NOOO! My ns, my everything¡­! JUST DIE!"


    She quickly started attacking after having been on high alert and with her Aura outside. ke had been farming EXP while observing Lilith for now. Knowing how her vessel was stationary in a single ce, he knew she wouldn''t run away or suddenly leap into the air andnd in the middle of the vige either.


    He waited for the perfect moment when she was to start moving and attacking, when she were to lose her patience! Her gigantic roots moved, each one fifty meters long and incredibly thick and powerful, drilling across the dirt and piercing the Undead Familiars, surging from below them.


    TRUUM! TRUUM! TRUUM!


    The Undead Familiars were sent flying one after another, several of them dying after their health points reached zero. Familiars could only be risen once! Once they were in as Undead, they would be unable to revive again and ke would simply need to summon new, living Familiars.


    "Your damned familiars are nothing but ants to me, Asmodeus! I''ll CRUSH them all and then feast on your family''s blood!" Lilithughed, despite being the Archdemon of Lust, she was still a warmongering demon that governed a wholeyer of Hell. She was merciless, without a doubt.


    As she kept attacking Asmodeus Army, the Demons were also caught in the entiremotion, they weren''t immune to the ground below them to suddenly split open, so there were many casualties on the demon side too.


    "Is she even thinking what she''s doing?! She''s killing her own troops, that woman!" Woo said, while smashing the skull of a Demon Lord with his powerful Lightning Fist Techniques. He rampaged the battlefield, moving at lightning speed with his muchrger and stronger body after evolving into an Ogre.


    "This might benefit us even as our troops are going down¡­" Eriant said, a sea of golden sands were summoned by his very thoughts. His entire body fusing with the sands and bing a Sand Giant. Using this gigantic temporary body, he smashed the battlefield with the might of a titan.


    "She has gone insane, kehahahaha!" Laughed the Mind yer. "Now, my parasitized army, it is your time to shine! Attack her with Psionic Waves!" Azahukmanded a hundred and fifty Parasitized Spirit Beasts, which all have mutated into Mind yer variant monsters with Psionic Abilities.


    The Psionic Waves started hitting not only Lilith but the Demons, who had never been attacked to this extent before. Their minds felt like they were being slowly attacked, infiltrated. Many of the demons lost their minds and simply started to scream. Which made it easier for the Undead Familiars,pletely immune to the psionic attacks, to y them quickly.


    And as for Lilith, these attacks that tried to contaminate her mind were very weak. She wasn''t even fazed, even when Azahuk himself attacked her with his strongest Psionic Waves. However, the overumtion of stress into her mind, which was already at her limits because she had to control a vessel, were reaching critical levels.


    "Uuuggh¡­! Stop trying to attack my mind, you useless garbage!" She roared with the fury of an Archdemon. "{Demonic Spirit Wood Spears}!"


    Hundreds of spears imbued with demonic spirit energy she had created by fusing nature attribute mana and spirit energy with her own demonic powers surged from the ground, impaling dozens after dozens of Undead Familiars many times, killing them one after another.


    At the same time, some of the Psionic Monsters were also targeted, and died pitifully, making Azahuk shocked and frustrated.


    "How dare you hurt my beloved children!" He roared angrily. "DIE YOU WITCH!"


    The Mindyer floated in midair and gathered all his psionic powers into his big head, unleashing a powerful wave of pure psychic power, hitting Lilith directly, as it ignored her Demonic Nature Spirit Barrier Aura!


    BOOOMMM!!


    "AARRGGHH¡­!" Lilith screamed in agony, feeling the most painful migraine she could have ever felt. Psionic energy so strong it even hurt her very soul!


    As she was distracted screaming in pain thanks to the opportunity Azahuk opened, ke, Erika, Eliazbeth, and Eleanora stepped forwards.


    "Now or never! y her!" He roared.


    -----

 Chapter 921: A Battle To Protect The Village

    -----


    As Lilith was being greatly affected by Azahuk''s all-out psionic attack, ke, Eleanora, Erika, and Elizabeth went for the kill. Instantly piercing through her barrier with their strongest blows, they immediately moved to attack her directly. Aiming at the core in her chest. Lilith''s vessel eyes opened wide as she saw ke''s spear about to slice through her throat!


    "NOOO!"


    She screamed in frustration, anger, and fear, quickly swinging her titanic arms, bigger than even Satan''s vessel, each one was at least forty meters big. A single swipe from her arms quickly pushed ke down into the floor with a loud explosive crash.


    CLAAASH!


    "I won''t let you touch me!"


    Lilith was going mad, moving her tentacle-roots around and shing against Erika''s sword techniques. The girl''s sword easily sliced through most tentacle-roots, but eventually she was overwhelmed as well, constantly pummeled down.


    Elizabeth and Eleanora moved rapidly around her, firing beams of holy light and draconic mes, burning through her body as much as they could. This worked to an extent, but as Lilith had no targets to hit anymore, her focus was put into the duo once more.


    "She''s tough!" Erika stood back up again. "ke, are you alright?"


    "I''m fine." ke said, he was constantly harnessing his Ki, Mana, Spirit Energy, Draconic Energy, and Demonic Energy across his entire body, to boost his strength even further. "I won''t let her smack me like a fly again."


    Both lovers rushed into the skies, descending towards Lilith at the same time. ke''s body quickly underwent a transformation, as he became a tall and handsome vampire. Almost the same appearance as he had originally before his death. Lilith''s eyes widened as she was shocked he was back to his former handsome appearance.


    "You can turn back to your previous form?! H-How?!"


    As she asked that question, she regrew another pair of arms, as her previous ones were burned and cut down by Eleanora and Elizabeth, quickly unleashing a barrage of gigantic punches against ke. However, ke utilized his incredible physical strength and the Aura of his energiesbined together to intercept and block the attacks head-on, without evading them.


    His spear glowed with demonic energy, as he unleashed a series of Spear Mastery Techniques against Lilith''s arms and fists, which quickly torn them into shreds. As she groaned in pain, several Pentagrams appeared around her, conjuring Demonic Magic.


    "BEGONE! {Infernos Maximus}!"


    A powerful explosion of demonic mes was unleashed all around Lilith, forcing everyone to step back¡­ Except ke, his demonic arm twisting into a gigantic and aberrant jaw, absorbing the mes easily.


    "What¡­?!"


    "Thank you for the mes, Lilith."


    Repurposing the mes given to him, ke overloaded Gluttony with them and then unleashed a devastating attack towards Lilith''s chest. He aimed to destroy her core and shatter it, finishing her off once and for all by channeling the power of the Spear Mastery Arts of Level 8.


    "{Celestial Piercing Strike} + {One Thousand Battalion''s Spears} = {One Thousand Heaven Piercing Blood Dragons}!"


    Bybining the techniques with his powerful Aura and Elements, ke''s spear pierced Lilith''s body a dozen times, leaving behind gigantic holes. The vessel continuously fired beams of demonic darkness against his attacks, resisting the deadly blows as she kept regenerating more and more. ke was sure he had destroyed her core by now, but she wasn''t dying!


    CRASH! CRASH! CRASH! CRASH!


    "You''re incredibly strong, Asmodeus!" Roared Lilith. "But this body of mine is much tougher andrger than you can even imagine! There is a reason why I am so confident about my victory!"


    With a loudughter, Lilith''s entire body continued regenerating, more and more tentacle-roots surging from below ke, attacking him from all sides like deadly and piercing spears. Elizabeth and Erika already underwent Spirit Fusion, in their half-dragon spirit forms, they were constantly shing against Lilith from left and right.


    "You''re such a tough nut to crack!"


    Elizabeth''s gigantic hammer constantly sent shockwaves across Lilith''s body, turning the parts affected into ashes as they were purified. Her swords of light also pierced her body, cutting through the endless mass of vegetation.


    BAAAM! BAAAM! BAAAM!


    "We won''t let you destroy our home! WE WON''T!"


    Erika''s swordsmanship arts became more intense, her dream dragon puppet fused into her, generating purple colored dream mes that attacked Lilith''s mind, weakening her soul and therefore her connection to her vessel weakened, making it possible for her regeneration to be slowed down.


    SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH!


    "Just how strong did you make your damned vessel, Lilith?! I''ll make sure to burn every inch of it!"


    Eleanora in the other case activated her variety of new Skills she acquired from hertest evolution. Explosions of draconic me shuriken constantly engulfing Lilith''s tentacle-spears and arms echoed. Her spear, Envy, moved gracefully, piercing Lilith''s vessel and stealing away parts of her power, one strike at a time.


    CLASH! CLASH! CLASH! CLASH!


    However, as intense as the battle was bing, Lilith seemed to show no signs of growing tired or near death. They were all in a stalemate! A stalemate that was slowly leaning towards¡­ Lilith''s favor.


    "I simply have to keep buying time!" Sheughed. "I''ve already done it, while you and your stupid army have been busy fighting me!"


    "What?! What do you mean?" Asked Elizabeth.


    "Foolish brat! Did you really thought the army of demons you''ve been fighting was all I got?!" Laughed Lilith. "It was a fluke, of course! It was only HALF of it! The other half, over ten thousand demons, are raiding your vige as we speak!"


    "No, that''s impossible! We''ve been keeping you in check this entire time!" Erika said.


    "You haven''t checked underground though." Lilithughed out loud. "Now, will you keep struggling to defeat me, or will you go save your damned vige?! Choose wisely!"


    As Lilith spoke, her gigantic roots sprouted in the Spirit Forest surrounding the Vige. Gigantic portals made of her demonic wood opened, distorting space and creating crimson-colored demon gates.


    And thousands of demons started pouring out, roaring and rising their weapons, rushing towards the vige only a few dozen kilometers from them.


    However, to their surprise, they didn''t find the vige''s walls unguarded.


    An army of soldiers, familiars, and ke''s friends with his father and the popes were all waiting outside!


    "Is that so, Lilith?" Laughed ke, his spear zing with demonic mes. "Well, it is good thing I always think of every possibility when making ns."


    "Huh?!"


    -----

 Chapter 922: A Well Defended Village

    -----


    ke had prepared just in case Lilith pulled something like this. Mostly out of experience and a slight sense of paranoia. He had battled these Archdemons for hundreds of years in the past. He knew their tactics, he knew how director indirect they were, and he knew how they worked.


    While Beelzebub and Satan were more direct fighters that would just go all-out right away and think about everything elseter, Lilith was different.


    She was the Archdemon of Lust, someone that was good at nning, strategizing, and controlling others. She had probably manipted the other Archdemons to give her some of their troops, slowly preparing all for this moment. The very reason why her vessel was so muchrger and tougher than the others was because unlike them, she had been creating this vessel for over five years.


    She was someone extremely cautious, and ke knew there was no way she would simply attack him directly with ten thousand demons and be done with it¡­ She was someone that would always have several trump cards below her sleeve. And to properly defeat her, he learned to have twice as many as hers.


    Therefore, just in case, he prepared half of his troops, leaving them behind as Familiar Corpses, rose them as Undead, and ced them around the walls of the vige. At the same time, and much previously, he had already made other ns.


    Fully knowing Lilith was the one in the Elios Garden already, he secretly mobilized his troops. Two hundred Adventurers and Mercenaries were contracted by the Adventurer Guild, a hundred bishops had just arrived in the vige this morning, and all the Hunters, led by his father, were present there as well as all his friends.


    Erika and Elizabeth, alongside his siblings, were actually the only ones kept in the dark. Even Eleanora and the other Vampire Spirits knew what ke was doing! Another reason why only half his Vampire Spirits were in this battle too, was because the others were defending the vige.


    "They''reing!"


    "So he wasn''t wrong!"


    "Guild Master, there''s at least ten thousand demonsing our way!"


    The Adventurers gathered around the Adventurer Guild Master, the bald man had been in countless battlefields before, and knew of many tactics.


    "I see, very well. Let''s greet them with ke''s troops in the front. Everyone else, prioritize your lives and safety, fight from afar! Use the magic bows ke rented to us!" The Guild Mastermanded. "Theye with fixed abilities for uracy, so anybody can wear them slightly urately!"


    "Oohh!"


    "Amazing, that''s a thing?!"


    "These bows¡­ And the magic arrows!"


    "FIRE!"


    As the Demons approached, a rain of magic arrows descended from the skies, greeting them with a bombardment of holy light explosions. Indeed, every arrow was being blessed by the bishops the cardinal had brought along, all from ke''s own requests.


    "I can''t believe that boy predicted demons toe to the vige! He''s truly something else." The Cardinalughed, his holy spiritual magic activated, as he wielded a giant golden staff spirit as his main spirit summon. "{Holy Cathedral Domain}!"


    FLAAASH!


    A Domain of pure light epassed the whole vige, over fifty kilometers were instantly covered. The hundreds of bishops spread over the walls,bing their magic into an incredibly intricate magic ritual. Something that ke''s golems have set up beforehand. Yes, those little spider golems he had spread everywhere.


    The holy light deterred the demons from stepping forwards, burning their entire bodies once they were only twenty meters from touching the holy walls. In that time, ke''s friends and his father and the hunters attacked, abusing the domain''s weakening effect.


    "That damn ke always doing what he pleases and not inviting us along!" Said Chris, slightly annoyed as he cut through countless demons with his gigantic spirit axe.


    "Hahah, well, I am sure he didn''t bring us along for this very reason! He wanted us to help protect the vige just in case things became worse." Eric seemed optimistic, half his arm transformed into a gigantic wooden bow, firing beams of spiraling winds.


    "We can finally make use of all the strength we''ve grown until now! Protect the vige!" Alberta roared bravely, riding her giant golem spirit and firing countless cannons everywhere. Her hammer was smashing her foes to smithereens too.


    "He''s seriously a handful! And he brought his little siblings along?! He''s insane!" Laughed Erdrich, his half-demonic body moved like a rampaging catastrophe across the battlefield. He ignored the words of the demons trying to deceive him, mercilessly crushing them with his sheer physical strength.


    "Tch! Making me work in the middle of my damn vacations!" Elfrieddenined, his ice magic and powerful frost tool spirits spreading ice and destruction.


    As ke friends did their best with the variety of powers and abilities they possessed, bing the NovelFirePs of the entire battlefield, the demon numbers continued to go down as ke''s Vampire Spirits yed them alongside his Undead Familiars.


    The hunters, led by Joan, ke''s father, were also doing their best. Even though they had many shorings, Joan had shared his way of growing stronger. Through the method of leveling, coupled with cultivating Ki, and then learning mana control and even use their skills in different ways, or evenbine their effects into Techniques.


    Naturally, these Hunters were no longer just someme people, they had be an Elite force of their own! Joan led his group of a hundred Hunters, wielding his farming tools, made by his son using dragon bones and reinforced with high quality materials and mithril.


    "{Farming Arts}: {Plow The Land}!"


    With a mighty roar, Joan used his farming tools to lift the ground off, five hundred meters were lifted in a single second, and then fell over the demons right away, creating a gigantic earthquake.


    TRUUUUMMM¡­!!!


    The demons were crushed, and at least a few hundred died instantly after that. ke''s friends and even the Guild Master were left speechless as they saw the young man''s father abilities. Those were definitely not the moves of a One-Star Farmer Talent!


    "Just like his son, huh?" Elfrieddenmented.


    -----

 Chapter 923: Going All Out!

    -----


    "W-What''s happening?! Why?!" Lilith noticed slightly toote that her second attempt at crushing ke''s vige waspletely stopped. "You bastard! You had this nned the whole time?!"


    "What can I say?" ke smiled, his hands suddenly conjuring ss-colored chains, which pierced through Lilith''s body and weakened her severely, her stats pummeling down more than ever before. "When fighting against you demons, I always need to think like you. There was no way a cunning woman like you would just attack us head-on and wait for us to get closer to you, right?


    You wanted to distract us so you could ultimately still destroy the vige."


    "AAAGGHH!" Lilith screamed in agony as the chains that ke conjured started temporarily sealing her powers. "W-What are these chains?! Ugh¡­! My connection to the vessel is¡­ fading away?!"


    "{Chains of Creation}" ke spoke, his Divinity Aura erupting from his body and transferring itself across his chains. His Divinity of Summoning was already active, boosting the power of all his Summons even further. However, there was also another Divinity developing, the Divinity of Creation.


    [You have enveloped your target on the [Chains of Creation]!]


    [The power of Creation is restraining her powers and stats! All Abilities and Skill Power has decreased by -50%, and all the target''s stats have decreased by -60%!]


    [Duration: 5 Minutes.]


    "She''s growing weaker!" Erika said. "Now''s our chance, Eli!"


    "Yeah!" Elizabeth nodded.


    Both of ke''s girlfriends rushed down towards Lilith, weapons on hand and while unleashing the full power of their fused Spirits. Elizabeth''s hammer transformed, bing evenrger than before as her Mountain Turtle spirit fused with it.


    "{Heavenly Spirit''s Exorcizing Smite}!"


    BAAAAMMM!!!


    The impact alone sent shivers down Lilith''s very soul. It was as if a whole meteor was shing down on her. The explosion of purifying light burned through most of her demonic energy aura, temporarily weakening her even more.


    "{Yggdragon''s Swordsmanship}: {Golden Dragon Jaws}!"


    SLAAAASSHH!!!


    At the same time, Erika''s swordsmanship reached her limits, as a giant sh of pure golden mes cut through all of Lilith''s entire body, slicing her into two halves, opening the way for countless of tentacle-roots and eyes to appear from underground!


    "You feeble little attacks¡­ ARE NOTHING!"


    Lilith continued expanding her body across what was left of the forest, doing her best to regenerate back all the damage dealt, while attacking back with a variety of spells and powerful physical blows.


    However, Elizabeth and Erika created an opening, and ke wasn''t going to waste it!


    "Eleanora! {Spirit Fusion}!"


    "Very well!"


    FLAAASH!


    ke and Eleanora became one, fusing through the powerful advanced spirit technique {Spirit Fusion}! Just like the first time when they became one, ke felt Eleanora''s entire being meld into his own, every fiber of her own body, her blood, her heart, her eyes, hair, everything fused into his own body.


    While already taking the form of his Vampire King Skill, this fusion further boosted his abilities and changed his appearance. His long white hair turned of a silky bright crimson color, flowing down all the way to his legs.


    His sharp crimson eyes becamerger, with longer eyshes. His body gained even more muscle, growing twice as tall. Yet he looked slender and incredibly fast!


    Their clothes became one as well, ke gaining a beautiful and refined ck and red suit, and Eleanora''s powers didn''t end there.


    Dragon horns grew over his forehead, a long draconic tail like she had, and even dragon wings! And all of that without him even undergoing Draconification yet.


    Eleanora''s spearbined with his own, forming an evenrger weapon.


    "GET OFF!"


    Lilith roared, her monstrous humanoid body now bing a mass of countless carnivorous nts, opening their maws and attempting to bite through ke''s entire body.


    "{Power Withold}"


    However, ke greeted her with a new ability he had acquired, Power Withhold, a Skill from his Creation Subss which he had not used that much due to its tremendous Mana consumption. But what it could do was already impressive!


    FLASH!


    "URGH?!"


    Suddenly, Lilith felt two of her primary abilities being sealed at random! Her nt body suddenly felt much less tough than before. And above all, her connection with the demons of her army waspletely lost.


    [You have activated [Power Withold] on target {Lilith}!]


    [You have temporarily sealed the [Tough Demonic Bark] and [Archdemon Control] Abilities!]


    [Duration: 5 Minutes.]


    "Looks like I was able to seal two of your Abilities!" keughed, his personality bing much more expressive because it merged with Eleanora. "Now, Lilith, let''s end this!"


    "GET AWAY!"


    Lilith panicked, quickly unleashing a barrage of hundreds of gigantic wooden fists against ke and Eleanora, which were only cut into pieces by their gigantic demonic spear. Explosions of burnt wood spreading everywhere, as they kept drilling through her entire body, going deeper and deeper underground.


    "{Vampiric Stigma: Sanguine Fury}!"


    ke activated the special Stigma imbued into Gluttony, now fused with Envy to create a temporary and even stronger power. The effects of the Stigma quickly activated, as every 1000 HP lost from any ally around ke was instantly transferred as an increment of his attack power.


    [You have activated the {Vampiric Stigma: Sanguine Fury} from your Weapon''s Stigma!]


    [For every 1000 Health Points lost from the wielder or any ally within a 50-meter vicinity, increases Damage Dealt by +1% (Max: +5.000%). However, after the timing is off, you take 50% of the damage you dealt, your HP cannot go below 1.]


    [Duration: 10 Minutes.]


    While ignoring the notifications of his Grimoire, ke swiftly activated the Stigma''s powers, as a surge of endless blood energy erupted from the tip of his Demonic Spear. With a single, trusting swing of his weapon, a gigantic hole appeared underground.


    CRAAASSHH!!!


    The enormous explosion of pure, raw power reached Lilith''s true core, a gigantic green and red jewel epassed on countless fleshy roots.


    Crack, crack¡­!


    CRACK!


    "UUUAARRGGH¡­!"


    As cracks spread across her true core, ke rushed down towards her, suddenly summoning a giant sword of light.


    "Your time hase, Lilith."


    "S-Stop¡­! STOOOP!"


    As Lilith struggled, the sword pierced through her Core, and then the Soul connected to it.


    "{Divine Light Sword}!"


    SLAAASH!


    -----

 Chapter 924: The Archdemon Of Lusts Defeat

    -----


    SLAAASH!


    ke''s Divine Sword of Light, a special Skill given to him by the Holy Spirits to y the Archdemons, pierced through Lilith''s core, and even her soul. Lilith was reluctant to receive the blow, trying to immediately pull back her soul to Hell and leave her vessel behind.


    However, she ended being too slow, and was caught barely, the sword pierced her soul deeper and deeper, ke made sure to cut arge piece of it, almost half of her soul at that! He had sealed them before because he did not have the power to destroy their souls.


    But with the help of Divine Beings of such caliber as the Holy Spirits, it waspletely possible to not only cut through the Archdemons Immortal Souls, but even destroy them further!


    "GRYYYAAAAGGGH!"


    With a guttural scream of utter agony and pain, Lilith''s soul fell back into Hell, immediately falling into a dizzy state. She tried to fight back, but ultimately flew back into her Sealed Body, resembling a giant statue of a beautiful, multi-armed demon woman, and falling unconscious.


    "D-Damn¡­ you¡­ Asmodeussss¡­!"


    As she failed miserably, the Holy Spirits didn''t stop there, utilizing Lilith''s connection with her Demonic Tower, and swiftly reaching the Core of the Tower, shattering it into pieces, and making the entire Demonic Tower of Lust copse on itself!


    RUMBLE!


    The entire world trembled as the third Demonic Tower copsed. The influence of Hell across Spiritias was now growing much weaker. In fact, it has never be this weaker before!


    "Hahhh¡­" ke gasped for air, his fusion quickly deactivating, as he found himself resting over Lilith''s vessel charred corpse. "W-We did it¡­ Phew."


    "ke!" Erika flew towards him, feeding him her blood sap. "Drink my blood, it''ll heal you!"


    "Let me heal you with my magic too!" Elizabeth also conjured her healing light.


    ke slowly recovered; Eleanora wasn''t present because she was so exhausted after the Fusion that she was forced inside the Spirit Orb''s Spiritual Realm for the time being. However, she was also really happy.


    "Well done, we did it¡­!" She said, looking sleepy. She cuddled in the bed ke had left inside the Vampire Castle, which was a rather luxurious ce, and then fell asleep.


    "We all worked hard¡­" ke sighed. "With this, humanity has won once more against another Archdemon. Beelzebub, Satan, and now Lilith. We''ve in three out of seven. Three demonic towers down, four more to go."


    "Yaaaay!" Erika celebrated, hugging ke and kissing his lips. "Mooch!"


    "I still can''t believe our trip to this garden ended evolving into this¡­" Elizabeth hugged ke from behind. "Did you had to keep everything a secret from us?"


    "It wasn''t a secret, more like¡­ I thought it was unnecessary to go on details." ke smiled slightly. It was Elizabeth''s turn, and she happily gave him a big kiss as well.


    "Mooch! Then let''s go back home now. I think we''ve dealt with all demons here, right?" She wondered, looking around.


    "Yeah!" Erika said. "I''m worried, there must still be some demons left attacking our vige! Let''s hurry to take care of them!"


    "Don''t worry, they''re already taken care of. Only a few dozen are left, and those are already caught by my Familiars." ke smiled confidently.


    "Eh? So soon?!" Asked Erika.


    "There was a whole army waiting for anything after all." keughed. "Once we get back home, you''ll see¡­ Though, the whole cleaning process so the forest doesn''t grow contaminated with demonic energy is something else entirely¡­ Elizabeth?"


    "Am I your cleaning tool or something?" She crossed her arms. "But fine, I''ll get it done. Here too, let me purify this whole area."


    Elizabeth purified the surroundings as the whole army made their way back home. ke made sure to loot everything he could possibly loot before moving. This included Lilith''s entire charred corpse and also the broken core left behind.


    Unlike the other vessels that werepletely destroyed into ashes, this one vessel remained somehow still existing, although terribly damaged, ke could see many uses for it, so he kept it for possible future and valuable materials.


    "Brother, that was so, so, soooo amazing and incredible! I think I''ll be having dreams about this entire day for the rest of my life!" Anna was going crazy after having spectated everything that happened.


    "Y-Yeah¡­ So much happened today! We saw big brother defend and protect the vige firsthand!" An nodded.


    "And we got so high level now!" Anna celebrated.


    "So high!" An agreed.


    Both had yet to reach max level. It might sound harsh, but they helped very little in the whole ordeal. Nheless, the amount of EXP they were able to gain passively was still immense, enough to help the pair get to Level 60 out of 80! A bit more and the pair would be already at the big leagues.


    "Well done you two, you survived and watched all of that. It will be valuable life lessons for you two. All of that war, all of that battle, this is what soldiers live daily in the North of the Continent¡­" ke sighed. "And we''ll make a change. We''ll free this world from the Demons and give it back to its inhabitants."


    "W-We also want to join the frontlines!" Anna said.


    "Yeah!" An nodded.


    "Hahaha, you''re too young for that." Elizabeth giggled.


    "We''ll work hard so once you grow up enough, you won''t need to do that anymore!" Erika winked at them.


    "What? What do you mean?" Anna pouted. "Don''t kill all the demons yet!"


    "I-I guess that would be for the best, yes¡­" An nodded timidly.


    "Ten years from now, we''re uncertain what''ll be of our lives¡­" ke said, looking into the horizon as the sun slowly descended, the day wasing to an end. "But I really hope that by then, this whole war would be part of history. I will build a peaceful world for you two to roam and explore."


    ke''s sincere words moved his little siblings'' hearts, making them almost cry.


    "Big bro is the best, sniff¡­"


    "Y-Yeah, sniff¡­"


    "You don''t need to cry over that¡­"


    -----

 Chapter 925: Celebrations Back Home

    -----


    Once we returned back home, there was a huge celebration over the victory of the vige over the demons. And it was justifiable so, it was an incredible feat how we were able to prevent a terrible disaster. They treated us like Heroes as we returned back to the vige, even the Duke of the territory came personally to greet us and congratte us for all our feats and efforts.


    I felt slightly overwhelmed, I was quite tired after ying Lilith and everything, and I just wanted to sleep for the rest of the night. But there was little point in even fighting back, everyone was gathered just for this. Acting all grumpily would have onlye out terrible in the context.


    So, with the help of Stamina boosting potions and my own relentless physique, I''ve been able to endure this night of food, talk, and cheerful atmospheres. I can''t say I dislike it either, I love it, but I really wish they could let me go¡­


    Ah, at the very least I can see my growth.


    [You and your party have in tens of thousands of Demons!]


    [You and your party have in [Lilith''s Archdemon Vessel]!]


    [Level Up!]


    [Level Up!]


    [Level Up!]


    [Level Up!]


    [Level Up!]


    [Level Up!]


    [Level Up!]


    [¡­]


    [Your Level has increased from Level 37 to Level 78!]


    [All your Stats have increased. You earned Bonus Stat Points and Skill Points.]


    [Several Skills have Leveled Up.]


    Today''s growth was phenomenal, 78 levels out of 200 is already an incredible feat! However, I''m worrying a bit how little EXP did a vessel gave to me. It should have helped me reach max level if it was such a dangerous entity.


    But I guess I don''t make the rules regarding experience points and how they''re even earned to begin with. Nheless, aside from levels, I also gained other powers after I used my Demonic Arm to devour arge part of Lilith''s soul fragments left behind, her core shards, and her burned wooden body.


    [You have devoured the flesh and soul of an Archdemon and their Vessel.]


    [You learned the [Lust''s Authority: Lv1] Title Skill!]


    [You acquired the Demonic Arm Abilities [Archdemon Vessel Demonic Wood] and [Lust''s Mind-Bending Pheromones]!]


    Yes, this is¡­ What I was fearing to get. A Lust Authority sounds powerful, but at the same time, quite weird. And then there''s the Demonic Arm Abilities themselves. The demonic wood seems strong, and if that can turn me into an actual demonic tree, I could even y around with such powers, create roots, branches, leaves, sap, and even fruits.


    Oh, and then there''s the¡­ The weird pheromones. I have little to say about this one. But I believe it is really strange. Is it even an ability a male should have? It makes me question what the power of Lust is even capable of, but I''ll just ignore I have this ability for the time being.


    Aside from that, after absorbing so much demonic energy from so many demons, alongside drinking their blood without holding back, I felt much stronger.


    [You have umted arge quantity of Demonic Energy, Ki and Mana across your Physique, Magic Circle, Soul, and Demon Core.]


    [Your [Physique]: [Divine Vampire Emperor Physique (Tier 6: Rank 4)] has increased to Tier 6: Rank 6!]


    [Your [Psyche]: [Infernal Blood Emperor Soul Psyche (Tier 5: Rank 5)] has increased to Tier 5: Rank 6!]


    [Your [Magic Circle]: [Infernal Blood Warlock''s Pentagram Circle (Tier 5: Rank 5)] has increased to Tier 5: Rank 6!]


    [Your [Demon Core]: [Wrathful King of Gluttony Demon Core (Tier 4: Rank 4)] has increased to Tier 4: Rank 8!]


    [All your Stats have increased greatly.]


    Excellent! With this alone, it feels like it was all worth it. My Demonic Core is growing even stronger than before now. And I can feel it, my Demonic Arm is more closely connected to my Physique, but the Demonic Arm itself is what allowed me to create a Demonic Core to begin with.


    With this, my source of Demonic Energy will increase even further, it is all thanks to the many energies I''ve cultivated that I can do these insane feats¡­ Perhaps if I can consume the rest of Lilith''s body vessel, I would be able to reach the next Tier of the Demon Core cultivation.


    But for now, this is more than enough¡­


    [You have gathered arge quantity of Soul mes; do you wish to absorb them?] [Soul mes: 14.532]


    [Yes] [No]


    Oh, right, this is a thing. Fourteen thousand soul mes sound pretty appetizing. But the amount of stats I could get out of it would be slightly too overwhelming for everyone around, so I would rather dedicate myself to do thister, once I''m alone and well rested.


    "You''re one insane bastard, you know?! You had it all damn nned from the very beginning!" Laughed Chris, patting my back as he ate a huge meat skewer. "Did you had to keep this a secret from us until thest moment?! I wanted to y that Lilith bitch too!"


    "Of course I had to leave you behind, Chris. You''re my trump card, haha." Iughed, only making him slightly pissed instead.


    "Trump card?! You just wanted to go on a hunting date with your girlfriends! Not fair! I also want a girlfriend¡­ dammit." Chris was slowly regressing to his desperate for a girlfriend mindset again. Even though we thought he had ovee that already.


    "Fufu, it was pretty amazing how you predicted everything, ke!" Alberta said with a cheerful voice.


    "Yeah! We couldn''t believe when ten thousand demons, just as you said, appeared out of nowhere¡­ If we weren''t there with that giant army we assembled, this entire vige¡­" Eric got slightly scared.


    "Well, it didn''t happen at the end, so it''s all good, right?" Erdrich smiled, drinking some low-alcohol ale for young adults. "Now that Lilith''s gone, we got four more towers to go! Wow, we''re really doing this at time record!"


    "Hahahah! I guess!" Laughed Chris, merrily drinking with Erdrich.


    "There''s still a lot of corruption left in the world though¡­" Elfriedden seemed to recall his home. "We''re not done yet¡­"


    "I know." I nodded. "Don''t worry, we''ll get there soon enough, Elfriedden."


    "Huh? I wasn''t implying anything!" He got embarrassed out of nowhere.


    -----

 Chapter 926: The Truth About The Demonic Towers

    -----


    Not long after celebrations, I quickly went to sleep, I was too tired to do anything else. In my bed, my girlfriends greeted me with adorable expressions in their faces. They were just as tired as me, so they cuddled with me, and we slept together ratherfortably. Of course, by my girlfriends, I also include my beloved Eleanora. Although she often acts embarrassed when I call her like that.


    Naturally, as I slept, I found myself once more within the Divine Realm of the Holy Spirits. It hasn''t been too long since myst visit here. Every time I in an Archdemon Vessel, I visited them to check on how they felt and to see the sealed Archdemon Soul Fragment.


    This time, there were now threerge crystals floating in the middle of it all, chained with many rainbow-colored chains made of divine spiritual light. A dark red one belonged to Beelzebub, the bright red was of Satan, and the dark purple belonged to Lilith, the newest addition to our little collection.


    These weren''t just trophies, of course. These Archdemon Soul Fragments were a precious resource, they were going to be our trump card to end this war. But we needed to collect more, we needed to kill all the vessels, and let the demonic towers copse. Once that''s finally over, we''ll be able to use these soul fragments for our next goal.


    With three Demonic Towers gone, there''s four left to go¡­


    "Wee back, ke. We''ve been waiting for your return." The Holy Spirit of Light sighed in relief. "As you can see, we''ve got three pieces now. I''ve made the seals stronger this time, because despite being only their soul fragments, we can''t rule out them escaping or something."


    "Well thought." I nodded. "It seems you all have grown stronger as well, or is that my idea?" I wondered.


    I looked around the Divine Holy Spirit Realm, and it seemed to have changed even more than before. The first time I visited it, there was nothing but a white light everywhere. But now, there was grass, there was sky. There were floating inds. Gigantic volcanoes and oceans. Inds across the sea.


    Giant continents, and even all sorts of life forms. They were mostly Divine Spirit Beasts.


    "Yes, as you can see. We''ve been growing and developing the Divine Holy Spirit Realm a bit more." Nodded the Holy Spirit of Love, now having the shape of a beautiful and sexy woman made of pink holy spiritual light. "Do you like my appearance? I think it nicely embodies my being."


    "Well, you certainly look beautiful, I have to admit." I nodded. "Was that the intention of your appearance?"


    "A-Ahahah, it tters me you find me beautiful¡­ Yes, that''s right." She nodded. "W-What more do you find attractive about me? Can you tell me, my little ke?"


    "Perhaps another time¡­ I didn''te for that." I sighed. I began to regret having given her a small praise. Her eyes seemed strangely fixated on me after that. "Anyways, this entire ce changed."


    "We decided to shape the power we had here¡­" The Holy Spirit of Nature nodded it simply resembled a gigantic mass of countless nts. "By merely touching it with our hands, all kinds of beautifulndscapes blossomed."


    "I touched it, and mes came out everywhere." Said the Holy Spirit of Fire, looking like a titan of mes, with strong muscles and a long beard. "All those volcanoes were my doing. It was strange how just things popped into existence."


    "Maybe you would have a simr effect over on Spiritias too. You possess the Power of Creation within you after all. It still baffling you''re only discovering these powers." Iughed a bit. "I suppose you were initially without a consciousness, but now that you''re finally developing one, you''re bound tomit mistakes as you attempt to create things.


    It is better if you practice here than outside, I suppose."


    "Yes, we''ve been practicing for a long while now." The Holy Spirit of Light nodded, he still looked the same as always, just a gigantic, pseudo humanoid figure made of light, resembling a titanic pir of gold. "We''ve noticed that, as the Demonic Towers disappear, our powers continue to grow stronger. It seems they were holding some sort of Sealing Power on what we could do."


    "A Sealing Power¡­" I wondered. "No, it''s not that¡­ Well, maybe, but not exactly."


    "What do you mean?" The Holy Spirit of Darkness, resembling an endless cloud of pure shadows, asked curiously.


    "It was not Sealing our Power, then what was it doing, love?" Wondered the Holy Spirit of Love, with a curious expression.


    "From what I can recall of my previous life¡­ Demonic Towers are special tools, not only they create a connection to Hell, but they be their Pirs for Hell to expand its Domain in other words. Meaning that it spreads an invisible veil of Demonic Energy everywhere, slowly terraforming thes it invaded." I exined.


    "Not only that, to fuel itself, it naturally drained energy from those worlds. Usually their cores. Thest time I checked, Spiritias was a spherical world, isn''t it? Even though it might be several hundreds of times vaster than any I''ve visited."


    "Indeed, it is spherical." Nodded the Holy Spirit of Winds, they resembled a half woman and half bird of great beauty, with long, green feathered hair and sharp golden eyes. "It also rotates around our Great Star, born from the Initial Spark, which was what created Spiritias long ago, I believe. There''s also our Silver Moon made through that, which rotates around this."


    "The Silver Moon controls the oceans¡­" The Holy Spirit of Water said, she resembled a beautiful maiden made of water, kind of like a mermaid. With long azure hair resembling waves of water, and gentle sapphire eyes. "It is so the sea waves can be controlled better, and they don''t drown the continents."


    "I see, interesting¡­" I nodded. "Then yes, the Demonic Towers were both weakening you by spreading a Demonic Domain to summon more of Hell''s Authority, and also by constantly draining your world''s energy¡­ Perhaps for hundreds of thousands, if not millions of years."


    This revtion wasn''t well received by the Holy Spirits, who were shocked to learn such a thing.


    -----

 Chapter 927: The Remaining Towers

    -----


    "So this whole time¡­ For millions of years, our world''s power¡­ It has been drained¡­" The Holy Spirit of Nature seemed very shaken. "I suppose it was like having our power sealed. So the reason we couldn''t intervene as much as we would have wanted, it wasn''t because we were weak."


    "They were weakening you." I nodded. "Maybe¡­ Perhaps even the reason you were unable to develop consciousness sooner was because of the Demonic Towers, because the power was being drained so much, your development as Gods of this world was dyed a long time."


    "Those damned invaders¡­" The Holy Spirit of Darkness was furious, his ck clouds thundering with rage. "They were not even letting us fully develop, all so they could swallow our world before we could even do anything to defend it!"


    "T-This is heartbreaking¡­" The Holy Spirit of Love sighed. "Does that mean that if it wasn''t for them, I could have developed my consciousness much sooner and perhaps have had a boyfriend or something?"


    "No I think that''s a bit of a stretch, you''re really bing quite¡­ strange. Just limit yourself to romancing others instead of seeking romance yourself, please." I sighed.


    "Hahaha! My bad, I was trying to cheer everyone a bit." The Holy Spirit of Loveughed a bit. "Come on, I know it is really bad¡­ But those things are in the past, we were unable to do anything about it, but it''s not like we can go back, right?"


    "That''s¡­ I suppose you''re not wrong, sister." The Holy Spirit of Light nodded. "Thanks to ke, his friends, and everything we''ve built until this point, we''ve finally gotten rid of three Demonic Towers. And our power is finallying back to us."


    "Come to think about it, there aren''t any Holy Spirits of Space or Time within your siblings?" I wondered, looking at the whole group.


    "No, there is no such sibling." Said the Holy Spirit of the Land, a giantess made of stone, dirt, crystals, and ores. "But perhaps such elements belong within our oldest sibling, the one that is still slumbering."


    "There''s one that''s still slumbering? I thought the Holy Spirit of Death was¡­!" I wondered.


    "Our brother of Death is not slumbering, but due to the intensity of his powers, he decided to create his own domain below our own¡­" Sighed the Holy Spirit of Nature. "But we do keep contact from time to time. He likes silence and stillness. We''ve noticed you received his Blessings, well done. He''s very strong."


    "Ah¡­ Well, yes." I nodded. "So¡­ Who is this slumbering sibling you''ve never told me about? Was it someone you introduced to me the first time we meet? I remember the Holy Spirit of Death was there in that time, perhaps just an Avatar, but he hade."


    "Yes he asionally visits as an Avatar." The Holy Spirit of Light nodded. "But this other sibling¡­ He''s our oldest, the first of all of us. He or she was the one born from the brightest Radiance of the Initial Spark. The rest of us came from the colors that came afterwards, like a rainbow."


    "Then¡­ He must be the strongest God of this world, no?" I wondered, feeling excited to meet such a being. Perhaps with a monster like them, it could be possible to defeat Lucifer.


    "Yes, we call him the Holy Spirit of Existence." Nodded the Holy Spirit of Light. "Our oldest sibling, the pir of all Elements, even the pir of our own powers. He slumbers, perhaps weakened by the same reason you told us about."


    "Holy Spirit of Existence¡­" I felt shaken by such a powerful title. "So they embody everything within Spiritias, huh? Makes sense he''s slumbering then. Maybe he will only wake up when all the Demonic Towers are taken down. We have four more to go now."


    "If our oldest sibling can truly wake up, then ultimately defeating Lucifer wouldn''t be a dream!" The Holy Spirit of Dreams said, he resembled an abstractbination of mosaic artworks, colors, and shapes.


    "Indeed¡­" The Holy Spirit of Nightmares, twin sibling of the Holy Spirit of Dreams, which was attached to the former, but held a darker color, spoke for the first time. "We could even¡­ bring nightmares to all of them, to hell itself."


    "Invading Hell¡­ Yeah, that''s my n." I nodded. "But we shouldn''t get our hopes too high for now. Let''s remain grounded on what we can do right now. So, how many Demonic Towers are left in this continent?"


    "None¡­ No more." Said the Holy Spirit of Light.


    "Wait, what? I thought there was at least another one?" I asked.


    "No, you''ve destroyed all three of them within the Human Continent, ke! It is an incredible feat." Said the Holy Spirit of Water. "Thank you so much for helping us get this far, you don''t know how grateful we are!"


    "A Continent finally freed from the Demons¡­ We never thought this day woulde, haha." Laughed the Holy Spirit of the Land. "You have our greatest thanks, dear ke."


    "Indeed! I am so happy too! Thank you so much." The Holy Spirit of Love nodded. "I can even give you a little kiss or two as a reward, what do you say? Maybe eventer we could try something in bed!"


    "You''re starting to creep me out a bit¡­" I sighed. "Anyways, that''s fine¡­ I am quite shocked myself, but it''s good. Now, where are the other Demonic Towers?" I directed my gaze to the Holy Spirit of Light.


    "The rest¡­ Are spread." He spoke. "One is within the Elven Continent, another within the Dwarf Continent, a third within the Beast Continent, and a fourth within the Northern Continent, where thergest invasiones from.


    We pressure the Northern Continent''s Demonic Tower is the one belonging to Lucifer, the tallest, strongest, and biggest of all seven towers, where demons are poured endlessly into our world."


    "So that''s how it is¡­" I nodded. "Well, we''re going to speed things up. In a month from now, we''ll make sure to destroy the one in the Elven Continent first. And because of what I''ve aplished now¡­ I am expecting some great rewards as usual, right? I don''t work for free."


    "A-Ah, yes. Of course." The Holy Spirits felt slightly pressured by my request, but nodded, nheless.


    I wasn''t working for free after all.


    -----

 Chapter 928: The Next Morning

    -----


    "After reaching the threshold of three Demonic Towers destroyed, we''ve decided to add a new upgrade to the Grimoire you possess." The Holy Spirit of Light said.


    "I''m sure you''ll love it~" The Holy Spirit of Love said.


    "More rewards will also be given when you wake up tomorrow." The Holy Spirit of Darknessmented.


    "Make sure to not keep them all for yourself we will also gift you some that are for your friends too." The Holy Spirit of Ice, resembling a tall and slenderdy made of frost spoke. She hadn''t spoken this entire time. "Elfriedden¡­ Please take care of him. Tell him that I am always watching over him, okay?"


    "Alright." I nodded. "He might feel shocked to learn he''s being watched by the Holy Spirit of Ice when he''s often thinking he''s so talentless. He might even feel embarrassed to learn you''re a beauty."


    "Oh my¡­ Such ttering words, dear." The Holy Spirit of Ice giggled. "You''ll get a good reward for that."


    "Hey! No ttering words for me?" Cried the Holy Spirit of Love. Her voice and snarky personality slightly reminded me of my Erika, although she had none of her cuteness. "Give me a kiss at least?"


    "Enough¡­" I sighed, as I quickly decided to leave. "I''ll be leaving now. I will be rather busy. After this, we''ll y an annoying Dragon. I hope there''s no connection between you and this being."


    "No, there is none. That is a rogue dragon that has been eating mithril for eons. Perhaps from eras before our awakening." The Holy Spirit of Light said. "Be careful, although weakened after not fighting for many years, it still a mighty monster. Defeating him with your current abilities shouldn''t be¡­ too hard, I suppose. But even then, remain cautious."


    "I will, thanks for the information. Bye for now."


    FLASH!


    After leaving, I decided to just sleep for the rest of the night. Eleanora, Elizabeth, and Erika were not letting me move at all. Their arms and legs wrapped around my body as if I were their body pillow. This is but one of the many challenges thate with epting the hearts, feelings, and love of three beautiful maidens. I must endure¡­ I must.


    .


    .


    .


    (Erika''s POV)


    It has been so long since we''ve been able to rx this much before! Although yesterday''s battle was¡­ nothing but hard, it was still fun, and we won! And we destroyed that annoying Archdemon too, so it''s all nice and good.


    And I believe this is probably¡­ the first time I wake up before ke! He must be really tired. Look at him, all adorably sleeping. My cute boyfriend really needs to catch a break! Even when we''re in vacations, he''s always working so hard.


    "Mooch, mooch, mooch!"


    I gave him three little kisses on his face and then decided to wake up early. I sneakily walked out of the bed and moved to the kitchen downstairs, while stretching my arms.


    "Phew¡­ Ah, good morning mom!"


    I saw mom, she was sitting in the couch of the living room while reading a book and enjoying a nice-looking elven tea. She also had a pile of good-looking cookies! I want some! Mommy''s cookies are always so tasty.


    "Good morning dear, how are you doing this morning?" She asked with a gentle smile.


    I ran to her side and hugged her. She hugged me back, kissing my forehead, nose, and cheeks like a dozen times. Mom really loved kissing me all over my face!


    "Hehehe, I''m fine mom, stop kissing me so much! I''m not a baby anymore, you know?" I giggled, sneakily taking a cookie covered with chocte. It was so sweety and crunchy! I even drank some of her tea, she didn''t mind.


    "It just that looking at my baby''s face in front of me, I can''t resist¡­ You know how many years I cried every night, thinking you were gone?" She sighed, caressing my face. "Every day I see you alive, smiling, and giggling¡­ My heart can''t help but want to embrace you and give you all the love I couldn''t give to you¡­"


    "M-Mom¡­" I felt slightly touched by her words. "Don''t worry, I am not going anywhere now! I won''t be dying or anything like that. I''m strong! And I got my besties with me, and ke! He''s super-duper strong, you know?"


    "I know." She nodded, smiling. "Even then, let mommy give you some more love alright? Come here, you owe me a hundred hugs!" She grabbed me and hugged me as if I was her little doll.


    "Geez mom! You''re the baby here sometimes!" I sighed.


    "Boohoo¡­ I''m a baby, let baby mommy love her little baby daughter, alright?" She rubbed her face on mine.


    "Fine, but I''m taking your cookies!" I giggled mischievously.


    "Of course dear, they were mostly for you. Eat as many as you want. Mommy will bring you more if you want." She nodded.


    I allowed her to let me sit on herp for now because nobody else was around, this would kill me of embarrassment if ke saw it! Or any of my friends, actually! Well, the cookies and the tea were really nice, so I stuffed myself with that while mom spoiled me.


    "Hmm, your hair is so silky and smells like roses. Is this because of the shampoo or your current form?" She wondered, as she was grooming my hair and making me some cute pigtails. I think ke liked that style more.


    "I dunno! I do use aromatic shampoo ke bought for me! It''s really nice!" I said. "A-Ah, right! Ipletely forgot! I was going to make him a breakfast!


    H-How long have we spent chatting and eating?! Eep!"


    "E-Erika?!" My mother cried as she saw me escape her embrace. I quickly got into the kitchen, started taking out ingredients and cooking. My Doll Spirits helped me move stuff around. "Come on, please don''t wake up ke!"


    I cooked up a pile of tasty pancakes, some eggs with bacon, freshly baked bread, hot cocoa, andstly, mom brought more cookies to share with everyone!


    And of course, my boyfriend''s favorite breakfast meal, cream puffs! He''s so shy about it, but I notice how much he loves to eat these, hehe!


    "Hm? Oh, Erika, you woke up early today." His tender voice echoed behind me.


    "A-Ah, good morning!" I smiled at him. "I made you breakfast!"


    -----

 Chapter 929: Morning Breakfast

    -----


    It was a surprise to find Erika awake this early in the morning. And that I ended falling sleeping much longer. When I woke up only Elizabeth was cuddling with me, Eleanora was taking a warm bath before moving downstairs. It seemed that yesterday''s battles¡­ Were indeed quite draining for my body and mind. Though after this good sleep, I do feel much more refreshed.


    "Muhh¡­ A bit more¡­" Elizabeth cuddled with me in bed, her golden hair covering my face. The smell of flowers and aromatic herbs from her shampoo was almost intoxicating. I wanted to hug and embrace her more, but it was time to wake up.


    "Come on now, Elizabeth. It is morning already, let''s get up." I said. "I think Erika is preparing us some breakfast already." I stealthily moved my hands towards her belly, it was slightly puffy today. She was gaining a bit of weight, but I didn''t mind at all. I grasped that little belly, and she slowly woke up.


    "H-Hey, don''t touch my belly¡­ I''m a bit fat, huh?" She groaned. "Ah! B-ke, what hour is it?!" She sat down immediately, noticing the sun was already high in the skies.


    "Probably past ten." I yawned. "Good morning."


    "G-Good morning." She smiled cutely. "Hahh¡­ I can''t believe we overslept! I think we are synched in this, huh?" Sheined as she gave me a few kisses in my lips.


    "I suppose so, but it''s worth it if I get those kisses every morning." I caressed her head, giving her a slightly deeper kiss for a change.


    "Hmm~ Ahh¡­ B-ke¡­" She blushed a bit. "That was really nice, actually¡­ But why the sudden lovely kiss?"


    "That was a small reward for having helped me so much yesterday." I thanked her. "Aside from the hammer, you canmission me anything you wantter too. I''ll make it for you."


    "Ooh, r-really?! You''re the best!" She got really happy. "I wonder what I shouldmission then, hehe¡­" She got really cocky quite quickly.


    "Perhaps a dress or a crown?" I wondered. "A crown would suit you, you do look like a princess or a queen."


    "Hey, you''re only going to make me fall for you if you call me princess and queen all the time!" She pouted a bit, kissing my neck as I stood up from the bed.


    In between kisses, we washed our faces and greeted Eleanora that walked out of the shower looking rather rxed.


    "Good morning~ Hahh, I needed that calm and tranquil shower." She yawned, as she approached her beautiful lips towards mine for a morning kiss. "Mooch!"


    "You could have waited so we could take a bath together, Eleanora!" Elizabethined.


    "Nah, I prefer to take my baths alone¡­ Or maybe only with ke." She smiled, winking at me, and giving me another kiss. It was hard to resist her tender red lips. "How are you feeling dear?"


    "I''m alright, refreshed. How about you?" I asked her as I caressed her red hair. "You slept a lot after our Spirit Fusion, I was worried."


    "I''m fine, don''t worry about me. I just needed to rest, that battle was¡­ very, very intense." She said. "But I''m fine. You can check me, I''m your Spirit after all."


    "Yeah, you''re fine, alright. Don''t overexert yourself for now. We''ll take a few days to rest before the Dragon Raid." I decided.


    "Alright, thank you for being so considerate." She hugged me tightly. "I''m hungry though¡­"


    "Want some blood?" I asked her.


    "Ahhh~ Can I drink it from the source for once?" She wondered, licking my neck.


    "Perhaps, I wouldn''t mind it if its you." I smiled, caressing her face.


    "Ahem!" Elizabeth was staring at us. "No blood sucking in the mornings!"


    "A-Ah, right. Well, now, let''s go eat breakfast. I am fairly sure Erika is preparing something really tasty, I can smell it."


    Although I haven''t admitted it, so nobody knows, I love crema puffs. Especially the ones Erika made. The smell of those fried pastries awakened something within me. Perhaps another of the many joys of being a human is enjoying all matter of delicious food.


    We moved downstairs, greeting Erika''s mother, Cattalina, who was reading a book and enjoying tea. She had a te full of cookie crumbs, but she had brought more and ced them over the main table.


    "Good morning you three! My daughter is preparing a lot of stuff for everyone."


    "Good morning¡­ And that seems to be the case."


    My siblings and my parents were still asleep, apparently. They all slept veryte. My parents drank a lot of alcohol and then I heard the two having a lot of fun in bed, I suppose they still got vigor for a few more children along the way. And my siblings ate too much and slept toote as well.


    Well, there was a huge feast right in front of us though, Erika had cooked a lot of stuff for our breakfast, cing it over the table while moving around rapidly.


    And there were cream puffs, freshly made, and still warm¡­


    "Hm? Oh, Erika, you woke up early today." I spoke to her as she was bringing forth scrambled eggs with fried wild boar bacon.


    "A-Ah, good morning!" She smiled adorably, quickly running towards me with the sizzling food. "I made you breakfast!"


    "Erika, watch out!" I ended having to catch her, as she tripped down and sent the eggs flying.


    "Uwaah!" She cried, quicklynding on my arms. The eggs were captured by an invisible field of gravity I conjured with my Demonic Eye of Gravity. "S-Sorry¡­ I was too distracted."


    "You truly were!" Elizabeth sighed. "What demon possessed you to want to make so much food, Eri?"


    "Hahaha, well, it does looks really tasty. You''re such a good cook, Erika~!" Eleanora seemed to be eyeing the food.


    "There, be more careful now." I kissed her cute cheeks and then ced the eggs and bacon over the table. "Thank you for making breakfast, it looks really tasty."


    "Hehehe, I made it especially for you¡­ And well, everyone." She smiled. "I wanted to spoil you a bit, you work too hard sometimes, ke! Now gimme my morning kissies! Mooch, mooch, mooch!" She attacked me with a hundred kisses.


    At the end, I called my parents and my siblings, and with Erika''s mom, we all joined on a big breakfast. Little Saphira woke upte but joined us too. And as we chatted and devoured this amazing feast, I noticed my Grimoire shining brightly with a rainbow aura.


    Ding!


    [A New {Trait} has been imbued into the {Grimoire}!]


    -----

 Chapter 930: New Grimoire Ability: Quest Board

    -----


    I felt the power of the Holy Spirits upgrading and evolving the Grimoire itself. Its appearance now looking different, as the ck and red colors of its outside linings changed to be of a clearer red with white and gold decorations.


    There were three colorful jewels imbued on its front cover, shining like the rainbow. Now this was a great transformation! With this new appearance, I won''t be reminded of the one Lucifer gifted me anymore.


    And above all, its pages opened, revealing new and interesting text as rainbow spiritual divine essence flowed through it all. A dinging sound only I could hear came from the Grimoire, as if trying to notify me of the changes because I was too distracted with everything else.


    Ding!


    [The {Holy Spirits} have further modified and transformed the {Grimoire}!]


    [A New {Trait} has been imbued into the {Grimoire}: [Quest Board]!]


    [With the [Quest Board], you will now be able to generate and trigger Quests in various situations, which oncepleted, will reward you with a variety of Items, Consumables, Materials, Equipment, and even Experience Points, Skill Points, Stat Points, and Skills.]


    [Quests will be triggered and generated depending in the situation and the time. Situations and events that change something greatly within their surroundings and can affect many people are more likely to trigger the creation of better Quests.]


    [Most of the time the Quests will be automatically generated by the Grimoire''s Artificial Magical Intelligence, or Ami, for short. However, sometimes, the Holy Spirits or Divine Beings of simr status can ensue Quests upon you.]


    [I am looking forward to work more with you, Master ke.]


    Oh, now this is interesting! I can get Quests for rewards. I suppose this''ll make it easier for the Holy Spirits, so they don''t have to handle things to me personally all the time. Though I''ll still ask for my rewards, this is not near as enough.


    Also, it seems that Ami has be more expressive, she was quite robotic before, but after this Grimoire Evolution, she even said she''s looking forward to work more with me. Well, I suppose she''s the one making the quests after all.


    [The {Holy Spirit of Light} smiles, he''s pleased you''ve found the new Trait useful.]


    [He and the other {Holy Spirits} has decided to give you the rewards for defeating Lilith and freeing the Continent from the three Demonic Tower through the Quests.]


    [A New {Holy Spirit Quest} has been generated: {Make a Little Something for your Beloved Girlfriends}!]


    [This Quest has been rmended by yours truly, {Holy Spirit of Love}!]


    [Isn''t it nice to have some time to rx? And you got such cute and adorable girlfriends with you! Elizabeth, Erika, and Eleanora are always working hard at your side. Why not gift them a little something?]


    [Use the materials you''ve collected so far to create equipment pieces for them of minimum Rank of A! Upgrading their already existing equipment also counts, but you better do an excellent job in that regard.]


    [Don''t worry, the rewards will be definitely worth the hassle, and even more their kisses and hugs.]


    [Completion Rewards]: [EXP] [Skill Points] [Stat Points] [???]


    Interesting, I got a new Quest right away. It is quite corny; I should have expected thating from this Holy Spirit from all people¡­ Why is there a Holy Spirit of Love but not one of Time or Space? It makes no sense. Is Love that strong of an Emotion and Power?


    Well, whatever''s the case, it seems like an interesting Quest, without time limit either. I was already nning to make them something beautiful. I''ll upgrade Erika and Eleanora''s weapons to S Rank at minimum using what I have, and also forge them some unique essories.


    If they''re my girlfriends and future wives, I must make sure to show that off. They will wear ultimate equipment and luxurious clothes and essories. And well, the stronger they are, the better we can handle all matter of challenges.


    While I''m at it, I might also create myself some extra equipment too, just to boost my stats even further when fighting that damned dragon. I''m never too prepared.


    Anyways, solely based in the corpses gathered yesterday, I have roughly¡­ At the very least one thousand A Rank Spirit Orbs, and also over three thousand B Rank Spirit Orbs. The nt monster corpses that survived are also premium materials for all matter of potions and elixirs, and the demons are also godly materials. Their scales, skin, horns, fangs, bones, and more can make powerful equipment.


    Especially Lilith''s body, that''s a good source of Demonic Elixirs. I might cook her entire body into something to grow stronger. Perhaps a Demonic Core boosting Elixir could work. Yeah, she does have enough power. Also her crystalized, shattered core would do wonders. I still have some of the leftover crystalized broken cores of Beelzebub and Satan.


    Perhaps I could create something bybining all three of them? Like an incredibly powerful Demonic Ring, that could give me more Demonic Energy and even some sort of Demonic Transformation. It is worth giving it a try too.


    "Do you like the cream puffs, ke?" Erika wondered, looking at me with puppy eyes.


    "Hm? Ah, yes, they''re delicious." I nodded. "Huh? Wait, they''re gone? I had four here¡­"


    "Hehehe, you ate them all big bro!" Annaughed heartily.


    "You really love them¡­ I''m not giving you mine!" An said pouting, he was slowly munching his own.


    "Ah¡­" I guess while I was reading all the prompts, I just ate them all in a sh. This is slightly embarrassing. "I guess I really like them." I smiled, patting Erika''s head. "Thanks for making them, Erika."


    "I got you some more so don''t make that gloomy face." She winked at me, bringing a te with four more. "Tadaa!"


    "Oooh?!" I quickly grabbed one. They were covered in chocte, and had a sweet, white cream inside, milky and just soft enough, not too sweet, just enough. "Erika, you''re the best."


    "Fufufu, I am, aren''t I?" She puffed her chest proudly. My parents couldn''t help butment.


    "Hohoho, this girl already is spoiling our ke, I bet she will be a very good wife." My grandmother giggled.


    "Hehehe! Really? I''ll do my best to be the best wife!" Erika smiled happily.


    -----

 Chapter 931: Evolving Familiars

    -----


    "Indeed! Erika will be a wonderful mother as well, I am sure." My mom said.


    "Hey ke, make sure to get a lot of kids! I want to be surrounded by an army of grandkids." My fathermented.


    "Why are you talking about that now¡­?" I facepalmed, munching on the cream puff. "Anyways, once we''re done having breakfast. Let''s evolve the Unique Familiars. Also I think some of our friends reached Rank 4 finally after that battle. Let''s go greet themter."


    "Sounds like a n!" Erika nodded. "I also want to meet up with everyone and have a nice chat! Last night wasn''t enough."


    "They all fought well." Elizabeth nodded. "I''m wondering how Erdrich is going."


    "What about you girls?" I wondered. "Your Levels?"


    "I think we both reached Rank 4 Middle Stage from all the EXP." Said Erika. "Maybe with the Dragon we can hit Rank 5!"


    "Yeah, hopefully." Elizabeth said. "Our friends should be getting pretty close to that too."


    Because Elizabeth and Erika had naturally high star talents, their growth is much faster than the rest, and they''re catching up with me very quickly. But the rest of our friends are just close enough too.


    "What about us!" Anna asked, running to my side and sitting on myp. "Big bro, are we ready to Rank Up yet?!"


    "Yeah?" An asked while sitting on mom''sp, he was being spoiled by her daily.


    "Not yet, you gained a lot of Levels despite doing very little." I noted. "But you''re missing at least twenty to thirty more levels, that''s a lot. Maybe you''ll need to slowly gain EXP once I''m gone. I won''t bring you to the Dragon Raid, sadly."


    "A¡­" Anna sighed.


    "W-Well, it makes sense I guess¡­" An said.


    "Well! Aren''t you relying on your big brother way too much you two rascals? Your father over here got a lot of free time now!" My dad said. "If you want Levels I''ll give them to you. We can go to the Wastnds to the West and just hunt anything that moves over there. Your dad''s strong enough that nothing should harm you."


    "Joan! Aren''t you getting a bit too overconfident?" My mother reprimanded father. "ke is one thing, but you''re still a Farmer."


    "Come on dear, I''m strong. You''ve seen what I can do already! They''ll be fine."


    "I''ll let them borrow some of my Familiars and Vampire Spirits if that gives you some better peace of mind, mother." I smiled at her.


    "Hahhh¡­ I do admit you''re very strong honey." She said to my father. "You''re my stud after all, I wouldn''t have chosen you if you weren''t a strong man! But fine, as long as ke let you borrow some of his familiars¡­ Alright."


    "Yaaaay! We''re hunting with daddy!" Anna celebrated.


    "Dad, I''ve never visited that ce before!" An said.


    "Hahaha, you''ll have fun, I''m sure!" Dad was excited to bring the two into a little adventure. That''ll also help them strengthen their bonds with one another. I wish mother could also join, but she''s reluctant that she doesn''t need to grow stronger, and I don''t want to force her.


    "Papa, can I have another?" Saphira flew to my side, asking me for thest cream puff.


    "Ah, you didn''t eat one?" I asked her.


    "I ate two but¡­ Can I have thest?" She asked me again, her big, blue eyes, were begging for it.


    "¡­Fine." I sighed, giving her the pastry. "Enjoy it, Saphira." I smiled, patting her head.


    "Thank you papa! Mooch!" She gave me a big kiss in my cheek and then wolfed down the sweet. "Nom, nom, nom! Hmm!"


    "I guess your daughter has a simr taste to you, huh?" Eleanora teased me.


    "Hah¡­ Well, maybe." Iughed slightly.


    After a hearty breakfast where we ate all kinds of things, I decided to go take a quick warm shower, where Erika and Elizabeth sneaked in. They allowed me to wash their beautiful long hair with the shampoo I''ve made using Alchemy, and they washed my back and hair as well. It is always nice and rxing to wash one another.


    They recently started liking to touch my body a lot, especially my muscles, praising myrge physique, which had been progressively developing as I grow stronger. They also continuously ask me whose bigger or who has better¡­ Well, backside. It is hard to answer such strange questions.


    But to be honest, Erika does have a more beautiful and well-rounded backside, while Elizabeth is the more gifted with her chest''s size and bounciness. Nheless, I can''t tell them that directly, so I simply say they''re both beautiful, and well, they are.


    "There''s no need for suchpetition, I love you both equally." I sighed. "Come on, we''re finished here, let''s get going."


    "Aww! Come on! Don''t I have a bigger butt?" Erika asked.


    "I-I think I do haverger breasts than you, right, Eri?" Elizabeth asked.


    "Yeah yours are so big!" Erika grabbed hers. "Look at these huge cream puffs!"


    "A-Ah, w-wait a bit! Don''t do that, you!" Elizabeth giggled a bit as the two yed around.


    These girls are really making me reach the limits of my patience¡­


    When we were at the backyard, my siblings and their familiars were waiting for me. I summoned mine as well and took the Spirit Orbs we''ve gained from their kills. It was just enough for every Unique Familiar to evolve once more.


    Their stats at Rank C were already amazing, I can''t even imagine how strong they will be at Rank B! So I better simply evolve them and see for myself.


    "Now you guys, its time to further evolve. Eat these, don''t be too eager though." I said, as my three Familiars quickly started devouring the Spirit Orbs and a pile ofpatible materials for them.


    Anna and An''s Familiars, Paprika and Emerald, also quickly devoured their materials. They were an amazing asset and guardian for those two, the stronger they got, the more secured their safety would be.


    FLASH!


    The Familiars quickly started to evolve once they ate all their Spirit Orbs and Materials.


    -----

 Chapter 932: Newly Evolved Familiars

    -----


    Emerald and Paprika were the first to evolve, naturally. Their sizes barely got bigger, remaining almost the same. But their appearances gained a more lustrous and majestic sheen to them. Especially and quite literally with Emerald, whose shell was now made of rainbow mithril metal, giving him immense defensive prowess and the lightweight of this amazing metal.


    -----


    [Name]: [Emerald]


    [Type]: [Lizard] [Earth] [Metal] [Nature] [Unique Familiar]


    [Rank]: [B+]


    [Race]: [Giant Rainbow Spirit Mithril Tortoise]


    [Talent]: [Holy Nature Spirit Sentinel: ¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï]


    [Health Points]: [35.000/35.000]


    [Mana Points:] [15.000/15.000]


    [Strength]: [18.500]


    [Agility]: [8.800]


    [Vitality]: [30.000]


    [Intelligence]: [18.500]


    [Dexterity]: [8.800]


    [Skill]: [Harden+++] [Seismic Wave+++] [Spinning Shell+++] [Multi Crystal Armored Shell+++] [Geomancy+++] [Green Domain+++] [Turquoise Spirit Barrier+++] [Fortress Of Nature++] [Spirit Laser++] [Rainbow Mithril Shield+]


    [Awakening Skill]: [Divine Nature''s Tortoise Protection+]


    [Title]: [Named Familiar] [Earth Tortoise] [Turquoise Druid] [Guardian of Nature Spirits] [Holy Spirit Sentinel]


    [Bond]: [An]


    [Growth]: [0/150]


    -----


    A full armor of this metal''s scales protected the rest of his body, as his jewel-like eyes shone brightly with great authority. His entire Aura exuded a slight amount of¡­ Divinity?! It was shocking. They even gained an Awakening Skill! It seems they are unlocked at Rank B!


    His stats had grown to a ridiculous number already too. With those defenses, he can easily tank mostly anything that they''ll ever face in the Arid Wastnds¡­ That Awakening Skill seems to be connected with An too, interesting.


    As for Paprika, she remained around the size of a dog, but she changed. Her appearance and aura gained a draconic aura to it. And indeed, it wasn''t without a reason. She became a Dragon, finally inheriting the dragon bloodline after eating all that dragon meat.


    -----


    [Name]: [Paprika]


    [Type]: [Lizard] [Fire] [Holy] [Dragon] [Unique Familiar]


    [Rank]: [B+]


    [Race]: [Heavenly Spiritual Fire Smander Dragon]


    [Talent]: [Heavenly Spirit mes Sorceress: ¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï]


    [Health Points]: [18.500/18.500]


    [Mana Points:] [30.000/30.000]


    [Strength]: [8.800]


    [Agility]: [18.500]


    [Vitality]: [8.800]


    [Intelligence]: [30.000]


    [Dexterity]: [18.500]


    [Skill]: [Fire Tongue+++] [Fire Breath+++] [Fast Movements+++] [Holy re+++] [Healing mes+++] [Mana Maniption+++] [Fire Domain+++] [zing Dragon Blood++] [Heavenly Inferno++] [Holy Draconic Bloodline Transformation+]


    [Awakening Skill]: [Divine Heavenly Spirit me Dragon Protection+]


    [Title]: [Named Familiar] [Holy Smander] [Holy Sorceress] [Heaven''s mes] [Heavenly Spirit Fire Sorceress]


    [Bond]: [Anna]


    [Growth]: [0/150]


    -----


    Her new Skill seemed to allow her to fully transform into her draconic appearance, which I assume could be gigantic and with wings, but it''s a skill, so it most likely temporary, and requires Mana to activate for a long period of time.


    About the Awakening Skill, it was a simr Divine Protection-type Skill.


    Her stats had also grown incredibly high as expected, specializing mostly on speed, mana, and magic attacks. Paprika will now bring mes to anything she set her gaze upon.


    But that wasn''t everything, my Grimoire notified me of something new, through the connection my siblings had with the familiars I had summoned.


    FLAAASH!


    "Woah, what''s going on?!" Anna cried.


    "Emerald?" An wondered.


    Both Unique Familiars released their Divine Spiritual Auras, fusing them with their respective masters. Suddenly, a special sort of magic tattoo appeared over their bodies. Anna gained a zing tattoo resembling a smander in the palm of her left hand. Meanwhile, An gained a green tattoo resembling a tortoise shell on the palm of his right hand.


    Ding!


    [Congrattions, due to the ever-growing Bond of Anna and An with Paprika and Emerald respectively, the Divine Protection of each Unique Familiar has been activated.]


    [Both Anna and An have gained Divine Protections from their Unique Familiars, allowing them to share 25% of their Familiar Stats and a few of their Skills as long as they imbue Mana into the Divine Protection tattoos.]


    [Additionally, they have gained some permanent Bonus Stats based in the strengths of their Familiars and a random Skill inherited into their own Status, now capable of Leveling Up.]


    [An has inherited +2000 Vitality and the Skill [Turquoise Spirit Barrier: Lv1]!]


    [Anna has inherited +2000 Intelligence and the Skill [Heavenly Inferno: Lv1]!]


    "I feel stronger¡­?" Anna wondered. "Woah! What''s this?! Holy Fire!" She conjured holy fire from her hands.


    "Ugh¡­ I think I have some nausea- Uwaah!" An panicked as he found himself trapped inside a blue and green colored spiritual bubble barrier. "What''s this? I made a barrier?!"


    Anna and An panicked first, but after I guided them with their abilities and exined them what happened, they calmed down.


    "This is amazing, brother!" Anna said. "I never thought I could conjure this magic so easily!"


    "Yeah, this is great!" An said. "With this barrier I can protect myself better¡­ And maybe protect sis too!"


    "Hah, well, I''m d¡­" I nodded.


    "ke, is this¡­?!" Eleanora gasped as she looked at me.


    "Yeah, without a doubt. It seems this was¡­ one of the intended purposes of Unique Familiars." I nodded. "To permanently share some of their Stats and Skills at random¡­ It''s already incredible by itself! But they can even temporarily gain the ability to channel 25% of their stats and use some of their Skills? It suddenly became ridiculous."


    "Don''t you have three of them?" Erika asked me as she looked at the evolving Unique Familiars I had raised. They all changed into amazing new, and powerful forms.


    "Yeah¡­" I nodded. "And I can already feel it, my connection with them¡­ It is strengthening to an insane level."


    I felt my Divinity of Summoning the one that was doing most of the work in this exchange of powers. And my stats¡­ they increased, and I even gained three new Skills out of nowhere too!


    "Master, I hope my Skill can be of some use¡­" Ezekiel spoke with a seductive female voice, looking at me with a loving gaze. "I will serve you forever and ever."


    "We live to serve the master." Even Fausto spoke, with a rough and slightly monstrous voice.


    "RAAARR!" The only one that couldn''t talk yet was Dominus, most likely it had something to do with their Intelligence Stat.


    "They can talk!" Eleanora panicked. "Wait, who is that ghoul woman? Wasn''t she a zombie before?"


    "She¡­ well, she became that for some reason." I sighed.


    "Isn''t she way too sexy and showing way too much skin though?! Hmm¡­" Eleanora''s deadly gaze quickly made Ezekiel lower her head.


    -----

 Chapter 933: Inherited Skills

    -----


    Using the Grimoire''s Appraisal, I carefully looked at my own Unique Familiars Status while processing the bonuses each one gave to me. Not only did they be overwhelmingly strong after hitting Rank B+, with very high stats all across the board, but they even granted me permanent stat bonuses and a skill they "inherited" to me!


    Unlike my siblings I didn''t get a Divine Protection though, and it''s not like I need it, but that might be because of how I raised them differently. Apparently Unique Familiars grow and shape different ording to the initial desire of the former owner and the new desire of their masters.


    Because I wanted them to protect my siblings, they developed something as powerful as the Divine Protections, but because I wanted mine to just be strong and useful, they gave me the most basic rewards, while prioritizing their own growth instead.


    Ding!


    [Congrattions, due to the ever-growing Bond between you and your Familiars, the Power Inheritance has been activated.]


    [You have received the Divine Power Inheritance from your Unique Familiars, allowing you to gain some permanent bonus stats from them, alongside one random Skill from within their Skill List.]


    [You have inherited +2000 Strength and the Skill [Bone Absorption: Lv1] from your Unique Familiar: [Fausto]!]


    -----


    [Name]: [Fausto]


    [Type]: [Undead] [Skeleton] [Chimera] [Beast] [Unique Familiar]


    [Rank]: [B+]


    [Race]: [Bone Chimera Beast Titan]


    [Talent]: [Bone Pandemonium: ¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï]


    [Health Points]: [30.000/30.000]


    [Mana Points:] [18.500/18.500]


    [Strength]: [28.000]


    [Agility]: [10.800]


    [Vitality]: [18.500]


    [Intelligence]: [8.800]


    [Dexterity]: [18.500]


    [Skill]: [Steel Bones+++] [Aura of Intimidation+++] [Bone Projectile+++] [Bone Absorption+++] [Bone Weapon+++] [Armor of Bones+++] [Bone Wings+++] [Bone Spawn Summon++] [Bone Fortress++] [Bone Titan Beast Transformation+]


    [Awakening Skill]: [Divine Bone Beast Domain+]


    [Title]: [Named Familiar] [Bone Eating Skeleton] [Devourer of Bones] [Bone Demon] [Bone Titan Beast]


    [Bond]: [ke]


    [Growth]: [0/150]


    -----


    Fausto became much more gigantic and monstrous, a true Titan Beast of Bones. His new Skills allowed him to take into a morepact and "perfected" form than his more chimeric one, giving him even more extra stat bonuses while transformed, though it drains his Mana constantly.


    The Awakening Skill creates a Domain that summons Bone Beasts to fight for him, up to 30, they''reparable to B Rank Familiars in Stats. Overall, a really good upgrade.


    [You have inherited +2000 Agility and the Skill [Undead Wall: Lv1] from your Unique Familiar: [Ezekiel]!]


    -----


    [Name]: [Ezekiel]


    [Type]: [Undead] [Zombie] [Shadow] [Banshee] [Unique Familiar]


    [Rank]: [B+]


    [Race]: [Scarlet Umbral Ghoul Banshee]


    [Talent]: [Umbral Assassin Maiden: ¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï]


    [Health Points]: [17.000/17.000]


    [Mana Points:] [17.500/17.500]


    [Strength]: [20.000]


    [Agility]: [30.000]


    [Vitality]: [8.800]


    [Intelligence]: [8.800]


    [Dexterity]: [30.000]


    [Skill]: [Self Regeneration+++] [Aura of Famine+++] [Undead Wall+++] [Biomancy+++] [Shadow Attack+++] [Ghoulish Cry+++] [Bloody Assassination+++] [One With The Shadows++] [Soul Pierce++] [Umbral Domain+]


    [Awakening Skill]: [Scarlet Umbral Shadow Attack+]


    [Title]: [Named Familiar] [Undead Ambusher] [Ghoul Assassin] [Abyss Killer] [Banshee]


    [Bond]: [ke]


    [Growth]: [0/150]


    -----


    Ezekiel evolving into a Banshee is somehow fitting after her previous evolution I suppose. Her new Skill is a Domain of Shadows where she can trap foes and swiftly kill them inside. Andstly, the Awakening Skill seems like a single attack that is actuallyposed of a flurry of hundreds of smaller attacks, quite deadly.


    [You have inherited +2000 Strength and the Skill [Armor Breaker: Lv1] from your Unique Familiar: [Dominus]!]


    -----


    [Name]: [Dominus]


    [Type]: [Material] [Weapon] [Fire] [Demon] [Unique Familiar]


    [Rank]: [B+]


    [Race]: [Living Infernal Demonic Spirit Axe]


    [Talent]: [Infernal zing Butcherer Of Hell: ¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï]


    [Health Points]: [40.000/20.000]


    [Mana Points:] [8.800/8.800]


    [Strength]: [40.000]


    [Agility]: [18.500]


    [Vitality]: [7.500]


    [Intelligence]: [7.500]


    [Dexterity]: [7.500]


    [Skill]: [Strong Strike+++] [Vertical sh+++] [Crush+++] [zing Steel+++] [Burning Wounds+++] [Searing Inferno+++] [Armor Breaker+++] [Infernal Strikes++] [Domain of shing mes++] [Absolute Cut+]


    [Awakening Skill]: [Thousand des+]


    [Title]: [Named Familiar] [Burner Of Flesh] [Burning Tormentor] [Infernal sher] [The Butcherer]


    [Bond]: [ke]


    [Growth]: [0/150]


    -----


    Andstly, Dominus became even more gigantic of an Axe. Perhaps now he''s decent enough for me to wield more confidently. The new Skill Absolute Cut seems to be able to ignore all Defenses and Armor of a foe when activated, it requires Dominus'' Mana to activate though.


    And the Awakening Skill apparently multiples any shing skill activated with it by ten times for 10 seconds. It seems deadly in the right hands, and if I can move fast enough, it could easily finish any fight. I might try this once we fight that White Dragon.


    And about the inherited Skills, there''s [Bone Absorption: Lv1], [Undead Wall: Lv1], and [Armor Breaker: Lv1], they all sound rather¡­ Interesting I suppose. I would have rather gotten their Awakening Skills instead, but I couldn''t decide that myself, unfortunately. Bone Absorption and Armor Breaker are passive Skills, actually, while Undead Wall became an Active Skill.


    -----


    [Bone Absorption: Lv1]


    A Unique Familiar Skill inherited from your Unique Familiar: [Fausto].


    Grants the ability to absorb all types of bones and assimte them into your own bones, fusing them and strengthening your own bones. The more bones you absorb, the higher the Skill Level will increase. Ultimately, it is possible to manipte your own bones with much more dexterity, and even use your surplus bone amount to attack, armor yourself, and more.


    Increases Bone Toughness, Bone Weight, Bone Resistance, Bone Strength, and Bone Mana and Spirit Energy umtion Capacity by +25% with each Skill Level.


    -----


    [Armor Breaker: Lv1]


    A Unique Familiar Skill inherited from your Unique Familiar: [Dominus].


    Any physical attack that either uses your body or a weapon will now ignore 20% of a foe''s Physical Defenses, and also deal an additional 200% Damage against any Armor they''re wearing or that belongs to their own bodies, this might include scales, exoskeleton, tough skin, and anything that can be qualified as "Armor".


    Ignores -5% of a foe''s Physical Defense when using your body or a weapon and dealing Physical Damage with each Level. Grants a +5% chance to instantly break the area of the armor you strike with each Skill Level.


    -----


    Both of these Skills are rather good, actually. I suppose I''ll keep leveling them passively. Now, for Undead Wall, it is a bit moreplicated.


    Or well, different.


    -----

 Chapter 934: New Function?

    -----


    Undead Wall was originally a Skill zombies had that allow them to fuse with other zombies and transform into a giant undead called Undead Walls, which are aberrant masses of rotten flesh with many tentacles. It has high attack power and stats, which are made up of thebined stats of the zombies.


    Once its time is over, it explodes dealing much more damage. Now, how can that be tranted to Ezekiel? And then to me? I haven''t seen Ezekiel ever using that Skill, but I believe what I got should be simr to what she has.


    -----


    [Undead Wall: Lv1]


    A Unique Familiar Skill inherited from your Unique Familiar: [Ezekiel].


    Grants the ability to manipte andbine any nearby allied or non-allied Undead that is weaker than you and transform thebination into an {Aberrant Undead Wall}, a powerful Undead Monster whose Rank and stats is the umtion of thebined Undead.


    Once summoned, these Undead Walls will attack anything nearby with their powerful tentacles, sharp jaws, and red eye beams, which can deal sizable damage. Their damage deal and defensive power increases by +30% with each Skill Level.


    After 1 Hour, with an additional 10 Minutes with each Skill Level, the Undead Walls will die, detonating into huge Explosions that can deal up to 500% Damage in a wide area of 100 Meters. Damage increases by 25% and Range by 25 Meters with each Skill Level.


    You can order the Undead Wall to detonate at any time and not necessarily only when it runs out of lifespan.


    -----


    Not bad at all, actually! It is like a stronger upgraded version of that old original skill the weak zombie familiars once possessed. Very interesting. I suppose Ezekiel can do something simr, but her Mana is too low, and she''s more of a stealthy fighter, so I won''t ask her for this.


    This Skill could actually go amazingly well together with my Undead Familiars, but the thing is, I would be sacrificing them, so it is notpletely too good. There''s another fuel for this Skill than the Undead Familiars though, and that''s Saphira''s Undead Summons.


    Using those Summons, which grow stronger as she grows stronger, I could easily abuse this Skill and devastate the battlefield more easily now. Anyways, I wee the new Skills, they''re all useful, although slightly dull. It''ll do.


    I wonder though, now that I acquired a Quest Trait, can I get something simr to Skill Synthesis? I have perhaps too many Skills,bining them together would sure be useful to strengthen myself and lessen the overwhelming number of them.


    "Grimoire, is it possible to synthetize Skills? Or is that function not yet unlocked?" I asked the Grimoire. "I''ve noticed at times that Skillsbine automatically when they''re too simr."


    [That process urs automatically, but yes. It could be possible if I can somehow extract that function and transform it into its ownmand or Trait.]


    [However, for that I require the authorization of the {Holy Spirits}!]


    "Can you do it?" I asked the Holy Spirits directly.


    [The {Holy Spirit of Light} nods, saying that it''s a reward you could getter in a new Grimoire Upgrade if you work hard from now on-]


    "Enough with that bullshit, I''ve done a lot for you. If you want me to continue helping you, give me what I want. I am not asking you for an eye or something." I sighed. "You''ve grown stronger now too, so stop with acting like I need to earn the things, I''ve earned most of them."


    [The {Holy Spirits} feel overwhelmed and a bit terrified of your domineering nature!]


    [They nod obediently¡­]


    [The {Holy Spirit of Light} sighs, nodding as well.]


    [He has imbued some Divine Spiritual Essence into the Grimoire, this new function should be possible to create by the Artificial Magical Intelligence, or Ami for short.]


    "Ami, get to it."


    [Y-Yes, right to it! But it might take some time, master. Can you wait?]


    "How long?"


    [Like a few days¡­ I will need to first extract the functions, rearrange them,bine them¡­ And all of that. The Holy Spirits gave me permission and "fuel", but they didn''t want to do it themselves.]


    "I guess that''s fair, I did force them to give you authorization. Fine, but don''t take longer than a week."


    [Don''t worry, it shouldn''t be that long, master. Thank you for your patience.]


    "Well, we are mostly done here." I nodded. "You two, make sure to practice your new Skills." I told my siblings.


    "Sure! They''re really cool and useful!" Anna said.


    "Yeah!" An nodded. "We''ll get them to max level!"


    "That''s the spirit, if you ever get your mana exhausted, make sure to drink the Mana Potions I left behind." I told them. "Dad, are you going out right now?"


    "Yeah, I''ll show them the ce, we won''t go deep into the aridnds, just to show them. We might hunt whatever we find and bring it for dinner lunch." My father said, holding his farming tools, they were his powerful weapons.


    His Physique was very unique and special, developing rapidly the more Farming he did, this included using his Farming Skills to fight and y monsters too. He was constantly increasing his stats with the Physique as it Ranked Up, so he was bing increasingly overpowered.


    His Mana Pool had also increased a lot of thanks to the Mana Breathing and Exercise Technique I taught him, which he has been doing for years now.


    He''s the strongest man in this vige by now, he already surpasses the Adventurer Guild Master in raw prowess and Mana quantity, despite being stuck at Rank 1 of his Spirit Orb. My father is the definition of hard work, I suppose.


    "Then have fun." I said. "We''ll be going to the workshop with Erika and Elizabeth. I want to craft a few things."


    "We''lle back for lunch, mom!" Erika said.


    "Yeah!" Elizabeth agreed.


    "I''ming too, right?" Eleanora asked with puppy eyes.


    "Of course you''reing." Iughed. "Let''s go."


    -----

 Chapter 935: New Quest

    -----


    As we made our way inside the workshop, I took a nce at the Quest that I had gotten again, the requirements were very loose. I guess I could even make them anything and I might get the rewards. But perhaps that wasn''t the intention here. And if the Holy Spirits are the judges, then they''ll definitely know if I am trying to trick them.


    [A New {Holy Spirit Quest} has been generated: {Make a Little Something for your Beloved Girlfriends}!]


    [This Quest has been rmended by yours truly, {Holy Spirit of Love}!]


    [Isn''t it nice to have some time to rx? And you got such cute and adorable girlfriends with you! Elizabeth, Erika, and Eleanora are always working hard at your side. Why not gift them a little something?]


    [Use the materials you''ve collected so far to create equipment pieces for them of minimum Rank of A! Upgrading their already existing equipment also counts, but you better do an excellent job in that regard.]


    [Don''t worry, the rewards will be definitely worth the hassle, and even more their kisses and hugs.]


    [Completion Rewards]: [EXP] [Skill Points] [Stat Points] [???]


    I guess I could even make them anything and I might get the rewards. But perhaps that wasn''t the intention here. And if the Holy Spirits are the judges, then they''ll definitely know if I am trying to trick them. Though, I can''t help but find it slightly unnecessary, those bastards should simply handle the rewards instead of asking me to do something before that.


    Though, I suppose I am notpletely annoyed by it because I was already nning on reinforcing Erika and Eleanora''s weapons, and also making the girls some rings to signify our bonds. They''re my future wives after all, I have to give them their rings ofpromise to show them my sincerity.


    "And we''re here." I sighed in relief. "The materials are here stocked, good. We''ll use some of what we got in that battle against the demons too." I said, beginning to prepare the forge and the alchemy cauldron.


    "ke what are we making today?" Wondered Erika curiously.


    "Yeah I''m wondering the same. Don''t you have a lot of great stuff already?" Elizabeth asked. "Also those gauntlets you got¡­ Where did you get them?"


    "Ah, these? They were gifted to me by some sort of deity-like being." I said. "It was part of a contract with her. Don''t worry, nothing too serious."


    "A-Ah¡­ Deity-like being?" Elizabeth''s curiosity got the better of her. "Like the Holy Spirits?"


    "No, differently." I said. "Maybe you haven''t realized yet. But this world is not eveyrthign that there is. There''s something else outside, many other worlds. Sometimes, deities from other worlds watch over this one, coveting things. The Archdemons could be said to be deities of their own world, hell."


    "I see¡­" Elizabeth nodded. "And this deity, what is it?"


    "A Vampire Goddess with a rather¡­ strong thirst for battle and blood. I give her a part of my experience earned and blood from my foes, and I gain even more power from her in return." I said. "I made sure the contract wouldn''t be bad."


    "Wow, so that''s a thing!" Erika gasped. "Amazing! Can I make a contract with another deity like that?!"


    "Well, you''re already blessed by the Holy Spirit of Nature, Erika. I don''t think you need more than that for now." I smiled at her. "Anyways, let''s go to the main topic for now. I brought you here because I was going to forge and reinforce the rest of your weapons. Erika''s sword and Eleanora''s spear will receive a whole new upgrade using all these materials I got."


    "Oooh! Really?!" Erika waved her dragon tail made of wood. "You''re the best, ke! Make sure to make it super duper strong then!" She handled me her huge ck great sword right away.


    "It is covered in the blood of many demons I see, has a strong curse." I smiled. "It willin a bit because I''m holding it."


    "So that''s what you were nning, I see." Eleanora handled me her spear. "Envy is a rather shy girl, so please take good care of her."


    "Alright, leave them to me." I nodded.


    I noticed both weapons protesting as I held them with my hands. They disliked being held or touched by anybody than their masters, as Cursed Weapons. However, because their masters were agreeing to this, and they knew they were getting an upgrade, they weren''t making too much of a fuss, thankfully.


    I quickly took out every material I needed and started with Eleanora''s weapon first. It was the easiest to upgrade because spears don''t possess as much surface as huge great swords after all.


    I decided to use the most premium materials I had, including fragments of Beelzebub, Lilith, and Satan''s Demon Core Fragments from their Vessels, the cores themselves were enormous, so I had plenty to extract from.


    Aside from that, the bones of powerful dragon-type monsters, their blood, hearts, fangs, ws, and horns. Some of their eyes, and also other materials extracted from my Spiritual Realm, such as the materials from the Vampiric Bats and other Vampiric Monsters, for example.


    And of course, lots of Mithril and some fragments of Orichalcum, for added power, durability, and strength. The process of enchanting was slow and slightly tedious, as I had to quickly smelt the materials and thembine them in their most primary forms into the spear through alchemic synthesis.


    Once that was done, I had to once more forge them and smelt them, and then refine the materials and fullybine them with the "recipient" through cksmithing and Creation Skills. The Creation Skill would create something subpar if I used it alone to make the spear better.


    However, if I use it toplement the usual reinforcing process and make it much smoother, its effects were truly shown. Although tedious, the spear was fully upgraded after only half an hour, a new record even for me.


    FLASH!


    It emanated a powerful Demonic, Draconic, and Vampiric Aura, all of such elements being greatlypatible with my Eleanora. It was an ideal weapon for her, which she got since I first summoned her years ago.


    "It''s finally done¡­"


    -----

 Chapter 936: Eleanora Spear Gets An Upgrade

    -----


    Ding!


    [You have sessfully upgraded Eleanora''s weapon into the [Demonic Abyssal Spear Of Draconic Thirst: Envy (Spiritual+++ Grade)]!]


    [You earned +100.000 Skill Proficiency for all crafting-rted Skills.]


    [Several Crafting-rted Skills have Leveled Up!]


    [You earned an additional 10.000.000 EXP.]


    Eleanora''s Envy was a beautiful spear of pitch-ck metallic color, like onyx. It had a sharp triangr ck de at its tip, and nothing else than that. But now, it enjoyed a muchrger and stronger de, many decorations of gold and red, and even dragon heads at the end and the tip.


    Additionally, several ck and red jewels were imbued into it, giving it greater demonic power. As such jewels were the fragments of the cores of the vessels of the three Archdemons I''ve defeated so far.


    "It is amazing!" Elenora held the spear again, their Aurasbining together, as she was overflowing with a new, overwhelmingly strong Aura of Demon, Dragon, and Vampiric power. "It goes so well with my abilities too! And it has reached such a high-Quality Grade! I feel like I need to repay you right away. Come here!"


    Eleanora dragged me towards her and started kissing me rather passionately. She was no longer shy after feeling so happy with her new and improved weapon. Her soft and warm tongue explored my mouth as our lips were locked.


    "Hmm~ Ahh, that was too good." She smiled, licking her lips.


    "You''ve gotten much more assertive¡­" I smiled, caressing her face. "Now, let me analyze that spear more in detail. There are a few things I want to see."


    I looked into the spear''s status while Eleanora hugged me from behind and kissed my neck. Indeed, women really increase their love for you the more luxurious things you gift to them.


    -----


    [Demonic Abyssal Spear Of Draconic Thirst: Envy]


    {Item Type}: [Two-Handed Spear] [Demonic Weapon] [Draconic Weapon] [Unique Weapon]


    {Item Quality}: [Spiritual+++ Grade]


    {Item Requirement}: [Vampire Spirit Eleanora (Soul-Bound)]


    {Item Durability}: [100.000/100.000]


    {Item Effects}: [Weapon Attack]: [+120.000] [Health Points]: [+10.000] [Strength]: [+30.000] [Agility]: [+30.000] [Vitality]: [+20.000] [Intelligence]: [+20.000] [Dexterity]: [+20.000]


    {Abilities}:


    [Jealous Draconic Demon Spear: Envy]: This Draconic Demon Spear can temporarily steal the Stats, Skills, and Abilities of foes by piercing their bodies and dealing strong damage on them.


    By infusing Spirit Energy, Ki, and Mana into the weapon, this weapon can enhance its damage dealt by +400%, ignoring -20% of foe''s defenses and dealing Fire and Blood Attribute Damage, which also has a 20% chance to temporarily steal a Skill, Stat Amount, Buff, Blessing, or Ability from a foe for 5 Minutes. Can only steal up to 3 of such things per foe.


    [Infernal Demonic Dragon Burning Curse]: Inflicted wounds with this zing spear will be immediately bur a target''s body no matter what they are or their elemental immunities or resistance with the Infernal Demonic Dragon mes.


    Once burned, causes the [Infernal Demonic Dragon Burning Curse] that deals constant Fire and Blood Damage to a foe, reducing the affected foe''s Health and Mana Regeneration Speed by -50% and decreasing all their Stats by -20% for 1 Hour, debuff cannot stack, but fire damage over time can stack up to five times.


    10% of the life that the curse burns from a target can then be transferred back to the wielder to restore their Health and Ki.


    [Infernal Demonic Dragon''s Domain Of Wrathful Envy]: Creates a Domain of fifty meters around the user that can burn through Envious and Wrathful mes any foe that steps in.


    Aside from receiving constant burning damage, those affected by these mes takes +500% more Damage from the wielder''s spear attacks, which can also ignore -50% of their Total Defenses, the user can also steal 10% of the Stats of someone inside their domain who is burning by the mes for the duration of the Domain''s effects. Duration: 30 Minutes. Cooldown: 5 Hours.


    {Description}:


    A Cursed Weapon made by ke and gifted to his beloved Vampire Spirit and lover, Eleanora. This Spear has grown stronger over time, but after this upgrade, it has finally tapped into its unseen potential, gaining new and incredibly strong abilities thatplement their wielder''s abilities the most.


    -----


    "These Abilities it has now are truly wonderful!" Eleanora looked at them through the Grimoire''s information. "With this I can torture our foes even better now¡­ I can''t wait to use this against that White Dragon. Can''t we go give him a visit at least?"


    "Not yet, Eleanora." I smiled at her. "You can go test it outter though. I am sure there are still many monsters roaming in the outskirts¡­ Now, to Erika''s weapon upgrade. For you, I''ll be using some more fitting materials, Erika. I''ll also use Lilith''s body materials, as their nature and nt affinity should help your own as well."


    "Ooh well thought! Let me help you with my Alchemy as well. Oh, and here. I''ll give you some materials I''ve extracted from myself. They should be useful."


    Erika handled me her hair, which was actually as hard as mithril. Her golden colored dragon scales, her hard as steel wooden branches, her spirit energy-imbued leaves, and even some dragon ws that she drops once her Draconification form goes back to normal, the same thing with dragon horns.


    "It is quite concerning that you''ve been taking out pieces of yourself¡­" I sighed.


    "I haven''t, they just drop off me, I swear!" She said. "After I got this body I simply drop stuff sometimes. Especially when I do Draconification and then go back to normal. But dropping scales, horns, and ws is normal for lizards, ording to mom."


    "Lizards¡­" I wondered. "Fine, I''ll use them. These materials will only enhance the affinity with you even better¡­ Now, I''ll also add some more nt monster spirit orbs, their materials and¡­ This and that."


    Once I waspletely done choosing all the materials, I started the same smelting, synthesis, and rinse and repeat process. It was only after the near end that things get more interesting, as I need to fight the Alchemy Spirit that surges and force it into the weapon, just like I did with Eleanora''s weapon as well.


    FLASH!


    And once the deed was done after another half an hour, Erika''s weapon lookedpletely different.


    -----

 Chapter 937: Erika New Mighty Sword

    -----


    After a bit over half an hour, I finally finished Erika''s great sword.


    Ding!


    [You have sessfully upgraded Erika''s weapon into the [Demonic Yggdragon Spirit Tree Great Sword: Terra (Spiritual+++ Grade)]!]


    [You earned +100.000 Skill Proficiency for all crafting-rted Skills.]


    [Several Crafting-rted Skills have Leveled Up!]


    [You earned an additional 10.000.000 EXP.]


    The sword, which looked like a in ck colored great sword before, also changed a lot. It now gained a dark gold and pristine color, with many beautiful decorations resembling forests and a huge tree, with a dragon behind. Because its de was so wide, it allowed for a lot of decorations, where I usually put some more effort. Every crafter is an Artist after all, and I am quite proud of my art.


    "Wooow! It feels so nice to swing around! It became heavier yet somehow lighter?" Wondered Erika. "And it has a much stronger and refreshing Aura to it! It is verypatible now! Thank you ke!" Erika kissed my cheek as a reward.


    "It''s nothing, really." I gave her a head pat. "Let''s look at the weapon''s details. I am sure it got some nice abilities too."


    "Ooh, right!" She nodded. "Huh?"


    FLASH!


    However, things didn''t end there, a divine light surged from the sword, something imbued it with a blessing?!


    Ding!


    [The {Holy Spirit of Nature} has blessed Erika''s new and reinforced weapon!]


    [As a result, the weapon has be stronger, and has be a Unique Spiritual, Holy, and Demonic Weapon, which somehow maintains harmony.]


    -----


    [Demonic Yggdragon Spirit Tree Great Sword: Terra]


    {Item Type}: [Two-Handed Spear] [Demonic Weapon] [Draconic Weapon] [Holy Weapon] [Unique Weapon]


    {Item Quality}: [Spiritual+++ Grade]


    {Item Requirement}: [Erika (Soul-Bound)]


    {Item Durability}: [140.000/140.000]


    {Item Effects}: [Weapon Attack]: [+150.000] [Health Points]: [+20.000] [Mana Points]: [+10.000] [Strength]: [+30.000] [Agility]: [+30.000] [Vitality]: [+10.000] [Intelligence]: [+10.000] [Dexterity]: [+10.000]


    {Abilities}:


    [Sword Of Yggdragon''s Demonic and Holy Nature: Terra]: This formerly nameless Demonic Great Sword has received the Blessing of the Holy Spirit of Nature, obtaining the True Name: Terra, and bing an extremely unique Holy and Demonic Spiritual Weapon imbued with the Element of Nature, the first in the entire world.


    When equipped by the Demonic Holy weapon''s rightful owner, increases HP, MP, and Spiritual Energy Regeneration Speed by +200%, and increases Strength and Vitality by a further +60%.


    [Angelic And Demonic yer]: This powerful weapon is a bane against both the Demonic and the Angelic. When Fighting, Evil, Demons, Dark, and Undead-type foes, increases Damage Dealt by +200% and ignores -30% of their Defenses, while draining 10% of the damage dealt as HP.


    When fighting Holy, Spiritual, Heroic, Saintly, and Angelic-type foes, increases Damage dealt by +200% and ignores -30% of their Defenses, while draining 10% of the damage dealt as MP.


    [Yggdragon''s Spiritual Dual Holy and Demonic Aura]: When activating this Ability by imbuing Mana, Ki, and Spiritual Energy into the weapon, a powerful {Yggdragon''s Dual Aura} will emerge, epassing both the Wrathful and Demonic side of the Yggdragon, and also the Holy and Protective side of the Yggdragon.


    This Aura can be shaped and used in many ways, transforming into dragon heads, sharp ws, piercing tails, wings, and more. By usingrger quantities of Mana and Spiritual Energy, the Aura can be extended and shared with allies. Both Auras possess their own special effects and abilities.


    {Yggdragon''s Wrathful Demonic Aura}: Increases All Damage by +300% and ignores All Foes Defenses by -30% when activated. This Aura burns with Demonic Fiery Spiritual Dragon mes, which can give each attack an additional +25% Attack power, the more a foe burns, the higher the damage will stack, up to a maximum of +500%.


    {Wrathful Dragon Spirits} will be automatically summoned out of this Aura, possessing 20% of the wielder''s stats, who will attack anything on sight.


    {Yggdragon''s Holy Protective Aura}: Decreases All Damage taken by -40%, increases Health and Mana Regeneation Speed by +300%. This Aura heals and protects with Holy Spiritual Nature Scale Shields, which can absorb up to 80% of the damage of an attack before breaking.


    {Holy Dragon Spirits} will be automatically summoned out of this Aura, possessing 20% of the wielder''s stats, who will protect and heal the user and any ally nearby.


    {Yggdragon''s Wrathful Holy Harmonious Aura}: Bybining both Auras, receive theirbined effects at the same time. It is possible to absorb andbine with every Dragon Spirit summoned by the Auras and increase the user''s Stats ordingly to them.


    Using this power, the user can unleash {Destructive Yggdragon''s Cataclysm} that can deal up to 1500% Nature, Fire, Dragon, Holy, and Demon Attribute Damage to a foe, ignoring 90% of their total defenses. Can only be used once a day.


    [Spiritias'' Nature Spirits Blessing]: This great sword has received the blessing of the Holy Spirit of Nature and the many other Nature Spirits residing in the world of Spiritias. By merely wielding it, it increases Nature, Life, Healing, Buffing, Spiritual, and Divine Spells Magic Power and Effects by +300%, while decreasing their MP Cost by -50%.


    Additionally increases Swordsmanship Arts Power by +200%.


    {Description}:


    A Cursed Weapon made by ke and gifted to his beloved girlfriend Erika, which has now been blessed by the Holy Spirit of Nature. This great sword now possesses both Demonic and Holy Powers, and even Spiritual powers, all living in harmony with one another thanks to their amazing wielder. This weapon was made to change the world''s order.


    -----


    "So much text, my head hurts a bit¡­" Erikained. "But I kind of get it! Aside from the passive effects, there''s this new Yggdragon Dual Aura thingy, right?! Let me try it!"


    FLUOSH!


    Erika immediately tried that ability, as an Aura of the Yggdragon appeared. She could switch between the fiery demonic red aura and the gentle golden and green aura with ease, but never use both at the same time. However, the summoned dragon spirits stayed despite her changing the aura around. We calcted they can stay summoned for 10 minutes before disappearing. But they were still quite useful!


    "Damn, this would have been sooo useful against Lilith back then!" Erika sighed. "Well, that White Dragon better be able to take on a lot of hits! I''m getting pumped up!"


    She was truly quite the battle junkie¡­


    -----

 Chapter 938: Wedding Rings

    -----


    Erika''s upgraded new weapon brought a lot of support to our party, its abilities were also fairly unique, and she could now more easily fit any sort of role within ourrge party, even better than before. Above all though, I felt slightly intrigued on the sword''s ability to deal bonus damage against angelic beings, that was very new.


    We have yet to fight any foe that was of angelic type though, so it felt quite redundant. However, I am sure we''ll probably do so eventually. If there are Demons out there, you''re bound to find Angels as well. I don''t know what they might be plotting either. That they have been so silent about this whole demon invasion that hassted so long is worrying.


    And {The Absolute One}, a figure that seems to always be sleeping and doing nothing else. What could it be up to? I always wondered that, even in my previous life.


    nk! nk!


    As I thought about many things and my girlfriends chatted about the new weapons, I was working hard to make their beautiful rings. I was using simr materials than before for each one of them, specifically and tailor made for them. After roughly an hour and a half, I was almost done. Thest touch was passing them through the Alchemy Cauldron again and giving them ast glistening appearance.


    FLASH!


    "And done."


    Ding!


    [You have created the [Vampire Queen''s Wedding Ring (Spiritual+++ Grade)] x1!]


    [You have created the [Holy Saintess Wedding Ring (Spiritual+++ Grade)] x1!]


    [You have created the [Nature Spirit Princess Wedding Ring (Spiritual+++ Grade)] x1!]


    [You earned +300.000 Skill Proficiency for all crafting-rted Skills.]


    [Several Crafting-rted Skills have Leveled Up!]


    [You earned an additional 30.000.000 EXP.]


    Ahh, these are good! And above all, my Fusion Skill is already Level 6 and my Creation Skill Level 8! This has sure paid off. Even Chains of Creation gained a Level, even though I haven''t used them at all! Do they share Skill Proficiency with the Creation Skill somehow?


    "Girls,e here." I called them with a gentle voice. They quickly ran to my side, they knew I was making something for them, but wanted to keep themselves upied so it would be a surprise.


    "Did you finish what you were making?" Elizabeth asked.


    "What did you make, ke?" Erika was as curious as ever.


    "I''m very curious as well~" Eleanora smiled.


    "Please, the three of you, show me your beautiful hands." I said.


    The girls nodded, although confusedly. They spread their hands to show them to me. Such silky white skin, beautiful, clean and white nails, except for Eleanora whose nails were red and long, her fingers were also longer. Erika''s hands were slightly chubby, quite cute. Meanwhile, Elizabeth''s hands were a middle ground between the two, with a slightly pink hue to them.


    "There." I gently put the rings in each of their hands. As I did, they gasped, their eyes widening. "I know it might be too early, but I''ve already heard many times you wanted to be my wives in the future. So I decided to make these in advance, more so you can get bonus stats and more abilities to power you up. But well, I suppose that''s just an excuse.


    I just love you three, and wanted to spoil you with something I know you would like a lot."


    "B-ke¡­" Elizabeth looked at her golden ring, with a beautiful white jewel on top. "This is beautiful¡­ A-A wedding ring, for me?! B-By the Holy Spirits!"


    "T-This is¡­ T-That¡­ A-Ahhh¡­" Erika was having a hard time processing it. "I-It''s really pretty and green and cute! ke I love you! I-I''m so happy right now I can''t really process it well¡­"


    "Fufu, it is of the perfect red and ck color I love. The red jewel really does it for me." Eleanora smiled with a much more mature, and charming response. Yet all three were as charming in their own ways. "Does it look good in my hands?"


    "Your hands are only more beautiful now, mydy." I touched her hand and kissed it, her eyes widening.


    "Oh my, you''re only going to make me fall even more for you, my lord." Eleanora caressed my face. "I love you so much¡­ I''ve always loved you, since the very beginning, and I will always do, for eternity."


    "Eleanora¡­" I ended kissing her first because the two girls were slightly too distracted with processing everything.


    "W-Wait a second, me too!" Elizabeth cried. "Sorry for getting startled! I''m so happy ke,e here!"


    "No, me first!" Erikained. "Come here, my cute husband!"


    I ended being hugged by both and kissed continuously at the same time.


    "I can''t wait until we grow up more and we can live happily ever after!" Erika said.


    "Don''t be so hasty Erika. There''s much to do left." I smiled, kissing her forehead.


    "I am sure you will make an ideal husband. You cook and care for us already way too much, I''ll be spoiled all my life with you around." Elizabeth giggled.


    "Ah, well, I just do what I find natural to do." I shrugged. "Should husbands bezier then? I am not too familiar with the concept."


    "N-No, you''re perfect as you are, dear." Eleanora said, caressing my face.


    "Y-Yeah, I mean, yes!" Elizabeth nodded. "Sorry for confusing you."


    "You''re already ideal." Erika nodded.


    All three of them hugged me tightly, kissing me all over my face. Having three girlfriends was very tiring, but at the same time, very gratifying. Feeling their warmth and love made me feel like I never felt before. So fulfilled and at the same time, overflowing with more strength and conviction to protect them, and to survive so we can have that "happily ever after" that Erika innocently dreams of.


    "Let''s make sure to at least have twins, okay?" Asked Erika.


    "I would also like at least two children too, yes." Elizabeth nodded.


    "I want a huge vampire family, so a minimum of four for starting." Eleanora added.


    "Ah¡­" I felt more overwhelmed than ever now. "Okay, let''s think thatter¡­ Muchter."


    Ding!


    [Congrattions, you havepleted the {Holy Spirit Quest}: {Make a Little Something for your Beloved Girlfriends}!]


    Oh right, this.


    -----

 Chapter 939: Great Rewards

    -----


    The Quest was finallyplete. I hadn''t noticed the Grimoire''s notifications because I was too overwhelmed by the trio of girls over here.


    Ding!


    [Congrattions, you havepleted the {Holy Spirit Quest}: {Make a Little Something for your Beloved Girlfriends}!]


    [Amazingly done! The Holy Spirit of Love is greatly pleased after seeing you take care of your beloved ones to such a big extent!]


    [Not only have you upgraded their weapons topletely insane levels, but you''ve even given them amazing and wonderful rings, which will only make them stronger as their love for you grows and vice versa.]


    [For such wonderful efforts, you deserve a big kiss and also some amazing rewards.]


    [Completion Rewards]: [+500.000.000 EXP] [+2.000 Skill Points] [+2.000 Stat Points] [Magic Circle Strengthening Elixir (Mythic Grade)] x10 [Physique Enhancing Elixir (Mythic Grade)] x10 [Spirit Orb Enhancement Elixir (Mythic Grade)] x10 [Skill Proficiency Elixir (Spiritual Grade)] x10 {Small Fragment of the Holy Spirit of Love Authority} x1]


    [Level Up!]


    [Level Up!]


    [Level Up!]


    [Level Up!]


    [Level Up!]


    [Level Up!]


    [Your Level has increased from Level 78 to Level 84!]


    [All your Stats have increased, you gained bonus stat points and skill points.]


    That EXP and Stat and Skill Points reward was amazing, I got six levels out of the EXP alone! Not only that, but I also got a lot of those very useful Elixirs. I have thirteen of each with these now, so I should drink them allter to get a bit stronger.


    Lastly, this woman¡­ She gave me a small piece of her authority, kind of like the Holy Spirit of Fire did as well. I don''t know if I shouldugh or cry though. Her powers are not really befitting of me, so I am slightly afraid of even assimting this power.


    But well, beggars can''t be choosers, as they say.


    "Anyways, should we return home by now?" I asked. "We''ll bete for lunch."


    "Right, right! I''m starving!" Said Erika.


    "A bitter and we would be forced to just have lunch here." Elizabeth nodded. "Let''s go."


    "I''m also feeling quite thirsty of blood to be honest¡­" Eleanora smelled my neck, rubbing her cute nose over my skin. "May I take a bite?"


    "Maybeter, Eleanora. But sure." I smiled.


    "Alright~ I''ll be a patient girl." She nodded, her eyes were full of love and a slight thirst. I suppose this is the state that vampires go through once they fall in love.


    "Good girl." I gave her a head pat to make her happier, she smiled, blushing a bit. She even bit her lips.


    "I don''t know why I feel so hot out of nowhere¡­" She sighed. "A mere head pat of my master makes me feel all¡­ Ahh~"


    "Eleanora''s horny, huh?" Erika wondered.


    "She''s the big horny, don''t touch ke yet though!" Elizabeth said.


    "I-I am well aware of that! I was just saying¡­" Eleanora sighed, crossing her arms.


    "Patience is a virtue, Eleanora." I patted her shoulders. "Let''s enjoy some food with my family."


    Once we meet back with my family, I saw my father and my siblings return as well. They looked a bit stronger. Looks like they hunted more monsters than I thought they would. As we ate lunch nicely prepared by my mother, grandma, and Erika''s mom, we talked about what we did.


    "So we hunted like a hundred monsters, hahaha!" My fatherughed out loud.


    "Wait, what?!" My mom panicked. "Joan! What did I tell you about not going to hunt so much with the children before?! You said it was going to be just a normal trip!"


    "C-Calm down honey, don''t get angry now¡­" My father sighed. "You see¡­ Well! The kids can exin, right you two?"


    "Yeah!" Anna nodded while stuffing herself with noodles with bologna sauce. "We¡­ Nom, we went inside a cave. And it was filled with big rats and moles. And we were swarmed and surrounded¡­" As she spoke, mother''s face continuously grew more angered at my father.


    "And then we hunted them all, my barrier worked a lot at protecting ourselves." An said. "I shoot arrows and Emerald was very big and protected us even more."


    "I was able to fire a lot of fire and burn the monsters easily. My swordsmanship got better, I can stab and sh more!" Anna said cutely. "Paprika was too OP, she just sted everything and almost made the entire cave system copse on us! Hahaha!"


    "W-What? Joan you were way too irresponsible!" My mother cried. "ke would never do any of these risky things! You sure are careless!"


    "But at the end it was all good! ke already raised them to be little monsters. There''s no way they would get hurt like that anymore. They''re Rank 3, honey!" My father insisted.


    "Yeah but they''re only almost six years old!" My mother roared. "Be careful even then!"


    "Hahh¡­ Yes, I will, I''m sorry." My father bowed his head to mother.


    "It''s fine, mom, don''t be like this." I tried to calm her down. "Father is not wrong; they are little monsters at this point. And with the Familiars I gave to them, there was no way they would get hurt. They also brought some other familiars, so they always had their backs protected."


    "Hmmm¡­ I-I suppose." My mother nodded, quickly lowering her guard with my words.


    "Hey, with ke you just believe him right away but with me you get all angry, huh?" My fatherined.


    "Well who''s the hero that has in millions of demons and three archdemons here?" My motherined, my father quickly went silent after that.


    "Mother you''re a bit too harsh on my father, he''s the strongest of the entire vige. He''s developing a strong Physique already." Iughed. "It''s fine, it''s fine¡­" I gave her a shoulder massage and thedy calmed down.


    "W-Well, if my ke says so." She sighed, smiling calmly. My father only stared in disbelief.


    "Hohoho, well, she does ys favorites I suppose!" Grandmaughed.


    "Mommy really likes big bro''s massages!" Said Anna.


    "Hey ke, can you teach me how to do thoseter?" My father whispered to me.


    "Sure." I nodded.


    And another peaceful and "uneventful" day came to an end.


    The White Dragon Dungeon Raid was slowly approaching¡­


    -----

 Chapter 940: Moving To The Mithril Mountains

    -----


    "And here we are¡­ A bit too early, maybe. But I really couldn''t wait any longer to do this honestly."


    "Me neither!"


    In front of my party of friends and familiars, a huge cave section stretched endlessly across the interior of the Mithril Mountains. We had justnded in the very entrance of the White Dragon Dungeon. By merely stepping in here, we could feel the Dragon''s powerful presence.


    Erika and I were the first ones to step inside the Dungeon. This ce, despite looking rather normal for a section of caves, and with an entrance that didn''t even have a gate, was indeed a Naturel Dungeon. Not the same as the Artificial Dungeons that were located over at Stronghold.


    Those Dungeons were apparently made by the Architect, a "Deity" that is the guardian of the Dwarves. It seems that the alliance between Continents didn''t just include the mortals, but even the Divine beings that watch over each continent created an alliance.


    Nheless, although we''ve grown used to those Dungeons with systematic floors and rewards, Natural Dungeons are the more "normal" way a Dungeon works. They''re born from corrupted Mana, Miasma, which spreads naturally through thend.


    The Miasma not only distorts thend but also space itself, create a strange internal dimension where the dungeon bes located. Monsters naturally spawn here, and even a boss is decided. Sometimes, a Dungeon Core can be formed if a Dungeon is old enough, which helps them grow evenrger and produce even more monsters when they feed on the souls and mana of whatever their monsters kill.


    This Dungeon was immenselyrge and epassed the entire interior of the Mithril Mountains caves that were once dug by people. However, it has no real "floors" you either go to the left, right, up and down depending in the paths of the caves that were previously dug down.


    However, I can sense it, the White Dragon''s presence is below us, hiding within the core of the Mountain, either sleeping or snacking on the precious Mithril, which our armies need to forge strong enough weapons that can damage the demons without melting against their demonic energy-imbued blood.


    "So this is the White Dragon''s Dungeon, it doesn''t even have a name, but it does feels like a Dungeon. The whole atmosphere changed the moment we stepped here." Erdrich analyzed his surroundings. "And the White Dragon''s presence¡­ I can''t feel it at all, is he hiding from us?"


    "No, it has simply not even noticed us." Iughed. "He is looking down on us, believing we are just insects that don''t even deserve his attention. We are going to prove him wrong though."


    "Insects?!" Chris groaned. "We''ve been growing stronger all this time and this bastard is looking down on us¡­ I just reached Rank 4 too!"


    "I suppose, as ke said, we just need to prove him wrong, Chris." Eric smiled, readjusting his sses.


    "I never thought I would reach Rank 4 so quickly¡­ it was all thanks to the EXP we earned from the Demon invasion that happened out of nowhere!" Said Alberta, moving around with her extremely heavy-looking full body armor.


    "Yeah! I''m d you guys got to Rank 4 already." Said Erika. "We are just a bit from reaching max level ourselves, right Eli?"


    "Yep, Rank 5 is right around the corner, you guys better catch up quickly." Elizabeth teased them.


    "Well it''s easy to say that when you girls got five-star talents from the get-go, we had to grow from much lower stars!" Chrisined.


    "Didn''t ke have like no stars at all?" Asked Eric. "He had no talent, now that I remember."


    "Yeah, I acquired one after reaching level 10 without one, thanks to the Grimoire." I exined to them. "Elfriedden, what''s wrong?" I noticed he was slightly nervous.


    "N-Nothing is wrong!" He was startled due to my question. "I also am Rank 4¡­ I am totally alright. With my new Spirit and the Skills I''ve forged and leveled up, I am invincible¡­ Yet."


    "Yet?" I wondered.


    "A-Are you sure we can do this now? Can''t wee backter? Like, in another time, once we get a bit stronger? I mean¡­ Isn''t that White Dragon a Divine Being too? I know it can''t be stronger than Fafnir but¡­" Elfriedden muttered. "All Dragons are Divine Beings of S Rank at the very minimum.


    But I fear this being could even surpass S Rank¡­"


    "I know it might feel like I am being overly confident for no reason, but trust me, I''ve calcted this for a while. And using my summons, I''ve also analyzed the level of the monsters here, and the power the White Dragon holds." I revealed.


    "Wait, you have?!" Erdrich asked. "H-How so?"


    "I sent an army of fifty Familiars here some time ago, made them battle the White Dragon. I was able to see some of his abilities and gauge a part of his power." I exined. "And it''s not like I have gone all out, even against Lilith, I didn''t unleash all my power. I''ve grown considerably. I will take on the White Dragon on my own if necessary.


    You will have to simply attack it while I take all its attacks. And if things go to the worst possible scenario, I can easily get all of us out using my Shadows. We can try until it works. As long as you guys are willing toe alongside me."


    I looked at my friends, and they all nodded. Elfriedden sighed.


    "Fine, I guess¡­" The elf crossed his arms. "I did ask you to help me free my continent from the demons as well, a monumental task by itself. The bare minimum I can do is return the favor with your hometown."


    "Hah, you think too highly of you, long ears." Laughed Erdrich.


    "Shut up!" Elfriedden groaned.


    "Enough, I''ve heard your words, Elfriedden. Let''s go. There''s a huge group of monsters about to greet us." I smiled.


    "Monsters? How many?" Erika wondered.


    "At least a thousand." Iughed. "Prepare yourselves, this is going to take a bit of time. {Summon Familiar}"


    Hundreds of cards appeared in my hands as they materialized intorge battalions of all kinds of Familiars. One thousand Dragon-type Monsters, all of them A Rank at minimum, arrived.


    "ROOAAR!"


    -----

 Chapter 941: Raiding The White Dragon Dungeon

    -----


    [Your presence has made the monsters inhabiting this Dungeon wary of you! Most of them are territorial beasts, quickly beginning to grow restless once they''ve detected your arrival!]


    [A swarm of [White Mithril Drake (A Rank)] x1006 havee to greet you! The gigantic group of dragon-type monsters are being led by a mighty [White Mithril Drake Queen (A+++ Rank)] ready to feast on your Mana-rich corpses.]


    "White Mithril Drakes, huh? And a strong A Rank Monster, just what I needed." I smiled. "Now, let''s give it a stronger push, shall we? Dragons like these only have very few weaknesses, if none. Metal dragons in specific are incredibly tough and have no elemental weaknesses.


    However¡­ like any metal, if you heat them a lot and then freeze them again, they''re bound to break due to the collision of temperatures weakening down the material."


    I quickly activated several Summoner Skills, my army of varied Familiars, led by their respective and powerful Generals and also Blood and Ruby, quickly started to change their appearances. mes and Ice covering their bodies.


    [You have enchanted half of your Familiars with the {Aura of Fire}!]


    [As long as you wish for, these Familiars now possess this Element Strength!]


    [The Element of Fire has been fully absorbed into their bodies, your Familiars have undergone unique transformations!]


    [The Element of Fire enhances their HP, Strength, Agility and Vitality by +4000!]


    [They have gained new Skills such as [Giant Fireball++], [zing Arrow++] and [Wall of mes++]!]


    Half of my Familiars gained the Element of mes, bing fiery and infernal versions of themselves.


    Meanwhile.


    [You have enchanted half of your Familiars with the {Aura of Frost}!]


    [As long as you wish for, these Familiars now possess this Element Strength!]


    [The Element of Frost has been fully absorbed into their bodies, your Familiars have undergone unique transformations!]


    [The Element of Frost enhances their MP, Intelligence, and Vitality by +4000!]


    [They have gained new Skills such as [Freezing Icicle Rain++], [Spirit Frost Arrow++] and [Wall of Frost++]!]


    And the other were overflowing with a cold aura, their bodies quickly being epassed on armors made of ice, while their fur either changed to white or blue color.


    "Go! Burn their metallic scales, and then freeze them! They''ll be much frailer after that!" I roared.


    My army of four hundred Familiars, led by their Generals and the Tamed Monsters quickly shed against them. Naturally, the Unique Familiars I have been raising also joined the fray, using their new and exceptional abilities to push the monsters back.


    My Familiars, however, could only hold a part of the enemy army, as the Drakes swiftly started pushing through the unguarded areas, a hundred of them already rushing in front of us.


    "Let''s go, my Familiars can''t easily hold them all back!" I ordered, my party quickly leaping into action. "I''ll need everyone''s help now."


    At mymand, everyone''s stats skyrocketed thanks to my buffing Skills, everyone immediately sprinted into battle, shing against the armies of monstersing our way. Mighty dragon-type A Rank Monsters were no joke either. Even the Dragon Dungeon we visited didn''t had A Rank monster from the get-go.


    A bombardment of zing explosions was the first thing that greeted the Drakes, as I saw Chris immediately flying through the skies with a pair of draconic wyvern mes acquired from my Buff Cards. His Aura of power rising rapidly as he pointed his hands towards his foes. All four of his me Spirits floating around him, granting him more of their zing power.


    "{Spirit Dragon mes Weapon Arts}: {Roaring Red Dragon''s Jaws}!"


    His Smander transformed into a giant zing axe, as he unleashed one of his newer Skills abilities whilebining with his new Spirit''s Aura. A gigantic mass of dragon mes descended upon the Drakes, in the shape of a gigantic, open jaw, crushing them and boiling their scales until they started to melt.


    CRAAASH!


    -----


    [Name]: [Chris]


    [Race]: [Human]


    [Spirit Orb Realm]: [Rank 4 (Initial Stage)]


    [Talent]: [Mystic Dragon Spirit me Warrior Sorcerer: ¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï]


    [Level]: [13/150]


    [Health Points]: [13.200/13.200]


    [Mana Points]: [15.500/15.500]


    [Strength]: [14.000]


    [Agility]: [13.000]


    [Vitality]: [13.200]


    [Intelligence]: [14.200]


    [Dexterity]: [13.000]


    [Spirits (4/4)]: [Mystic Ten Tailed zing Fox (Rank 4 Initial Stage)] [Draconic Volcanic Smander (Rank 4 Initial Stage)] [Phantasmal Nether mes Tiger Cub (Rank 4 Initial Stage)] [Young Divine Fire Dragon (Rank 4 Initial Stage)]


    [Skills]: [Staff Mastery] [Hand to Hand Combat] [zing Fist Technique] [Mana Maniption] [Spirit Connection] [Fast Movements] [Hastened Mana Recovery] [Acrobatics] [Fireball] [Fire Whip] [zing Wall] [Fire Magic] [zing Spirit Burst] [Nine Tailed Fox Domain] [zing Fire Aura] [Dragon mes] [Great Smander''s Breath] [Phantasmal Spirit mes] [zing Surge] [Fire Weapon Summon] [zing Spirit Weapon Creation] [Spirit Weapon Mastery] [Spirit Dragon mes Weapon Arts] [Warrior Sorcerer''s Physique] [zing Dragon Berserk] [¡­]


    [Titles]: [Fire Mage] [Hardworking Idiot] [Nine-Tailed Fox''s Beloved] [me Weapon King] [Dragon Spirit Of mes'' Guardian] [¡­]


    -----


    Chris had grown quite a lot, now finally reaching Rank 4 and Ranking Up to a four-star Talent, which possessed incredible abilities as well, working perfectly in tandem with his Young Divine Dragon Spirit! His stats naturally seemed lowpared to mine, perhaps. But by these numbers weren''t including all the buffs of his equipment, spirits, and skills. He probably had three times that right now.


    "Come at me, as many as you want!"


    And the very exnation on why my statement was right was because he waspletely devastating A Rank Monsters, supposedly resistant to mes, like nothing. His mes were so intense, and his spirits worked so well together with his skills that he melted everything across his path.


    My friend Chris has truly be a monster on his own! I can''t just let him grab all the spotlight.


    "Hey, you''re a bit too slow, Chris."


    I shed through him, leaping into the air and then descending towards a group of twelve Drakes, who as they surrounded me, were swiftly cut into pieces by the fast and precise movements of my Spear. An aura of all-devouring demonic energy consuming their flesh and weakening them as I cut through them, until they were reduced to shreds.


    "ke! You bastard! I ain''t losing anymore!"


    Chris caught up to me, as the two of us shed against the monsters, constantly fighting to see who could kill more.


    -----

 Chapter 942: Clash Against Powerful Dragon-Type Monsters

    -----


    As we pushed through the hundreds of Drakesing our way, a gust of emerald winds appeared above us, quickly passing us easily with incredible speed. It was nobody else than Eric, who, above the air, pointed a huge bow made of spiritual wood and strings made of emerald winds, pointing at the monsters and firing giant arrows of emerald colored spiritual wind energy.


    Countless explosions followed, bombarding and blowing away our foes, weakening them in the process.


    "That bastard of Eric is trying to take all the damn monsters for himself, I am not letting him!" Chris roared, leaping forward and swinging his zing spirit axe, an eruption of volcanic mes emerged as he hit the nearest Drake, whose scales melted instantly, while the rest of the monster was quickly roasted alive.


    The shockwave of the explosion quickly killed the rest of the monsters Eric weakened.


    BOOOM!


    "Chris, Eric is not trying to steal our kills." I appeared behind Chris, piercing the head of a Drake that was about to bite his head off. Blood sttering everywhere, which I quickly utilized with my Blood Arts to conjure a hundred smaller Blood Swords, firing them against the nearby Drakes eyes and distracting them.


    "He''s weakening them so we can more easily kill them. His winds will never be able to easily pierce through their tough armor, but he can still blow them away and make them take damage by their own weight as they fall, the confusion enough for us to finish them off."


    As I exined this to Chris, Eric kept firing his wind arrows, explosions of winds blowing away the Drakes and stopping them from gathering too much in a singr spot!


    "Is that so?! I didn''t realize!" Chris said, killing another Drake.


    "But it''s not like he''s not going to kill a few soon either." I smiled. "Look."


    Eric''s body started to change, as he took off his sses and then fused with one of his Spirits, transforming his body into a much taller, bulkier being made of wood, epassed by an armor of emerald winds.


    -----


    [Name]: [Eric]


    [Race]: [Human]


    [Spirit Orb Realm]: [Rank 4 (Initial Stage)]


    [Talent]: [Yggdrasil''s Spiritual Tempest Druid Sniper: ¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï]


    [Level]: [9/150]


    [Health Points]: [10.500/10.500]


    [Mana Points]: [15.000/15.000]


    [Strength]: [11.200]


    [Agility]: [15.000]


    [Vitality]: [10.500]


    [Intelligence]: [13.200]


    [Dexterity]: [15.200]


    [Spirits (4/4)]: [Blood-Thirsty Scarlet Rose Vines (Rank 4 Initial Stage)] [Yggdrasil''s Giant Treant (Rank 4 Initial Stage)] [Yggdrasil''s Tempest Bow (Rank 4 Initial Stage)] [Emerald Wind Sylphid (Rank 4 Initial Stage)]


    [Skills]: [Staff Mastery] [Hand to Hand Combat] [Bow Mastery] [Magic Arrow] [Spirit Arrow] [Mana Maniption] [Spirit Connection] [Fast Movements] [Hastened Mana Recovery] [Acrobatics] [Vine Whip] [Wood Spears] [Bark Shield] [Soil Maniption] [Agriculture] [Botany] [nt Maniption] [Nature Magic] [Spirit Tree Magic] [Alchemy] [Brewing] [Mixing] [Synthesis] [Dragon Vitality] [Nature Fusion] [nt Assimtion] [Spirit Wind Arrows] [Tempest Arrow Cannon] [Yggdrasil''s Armor] [Precise Markman] [Nature''s Assimtion] [Emerald Wind Spirit Magic] [Tempest Spirit Bow Arts] [Yggdrasil And Wind Spiritual Physique] [¡­]


    [Titles]: [Young Alchemist] [Yggdrasil''s Gardener] [Spirit Bowman] [Nature''s Alchemist] [Wind''s Chosen] [¡­]


    -----


    This was, without a doubt, Eric''s new Skills! He was fusing with his Yggdrasil''s Giant Treat to gain tremendous physical power and then using his newest Spirit''s abilities, the Emerald Wind Sylphid, to epass himself into a powerful armor of winds by using Spirit Armor Embodiment on her.


    "I will get a bit serious now."


    His two hands turned into giant bow-cannons, as he flew through the ceiling right above us, bombarding the Drakes with huge explosions of all-consuming winds and sharp, wooden spikes surging from the ground after each explosion, which grew into deadly traps the Drakes were unable to break free easily from.


    His arrows became sharper each time, piercing through their armor and flesh and eventually managing to kill a few dozen right away. Not only that, but Eric was also varying with his techniques, no longer having to limit himself to arrows now that he had Sylphid with him.


    "How about this?!"


    A hundred spears and swords made of hardened Emerald Spirit Winds appeared at the same time, falling over many more foes, killing them on the spot, or leaving them barely alive.


    "Well done Eric!" Alberta cheered for him from behind, as she ran into the battlefield behind him. "You''re so awesome!"


    "I''ll watch the skies, Alberta! I''ve weakened and paralyzed a bunch, st them!" Eric said.


    "Gotcha!" Alberta nodded.


    -----


    [Name]: [Alberta Fierysmith]


    [Race]: [Dwarf]


    [Spirit Orb Realm]: [Rank 4 (Middle Stage)]


    [Talent]: [Runic cksmith Spirit Hammer Princess: ¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï]


    [Level]: [17/150]


    [Health Points]: [14.500/14.500]


    [Mana Points]: [16.000/16.000]


    [Strength]: [14.200]


    [Agility]: [10.200]


    [Vitality]: [14.200]


    [Intelligence]: [13.800]


    [Dexterity]: [13.500]


    [Spirits (4/4)]: [Divine Volcanic cksmith Hammer (Rank 4 Initial Stage)] [Giant Mithril Cannoneer Warrior Golem (Rank 4 Initial Stage)] [Hephaestus'' Divine Spirit Forging mes (Rank 4 Initial Stage)] [Giant Mithril Flying Golem (Rank 4 Initial Stage)]


    [Skills]: [Mana Maniption] [Fiery Hammer Techniques] [Fireball] [Fire Hammer] [Fire Shield] [Fire Magic] [Rune Creation] [Quick Repair] [Reinforce] [Sharpen] [Forging] [Smithing] [Smelting] [Metallurgy] [Godsmith Eyes] [Spirit Connection] [Smith Magic] [Crafting] [Alchemy] [cksmith''s Forge] [Dragon Eyes] [Mechanic Creation] [Golem Creation] [Golem Summon] [Weapon Runic Enhancement] [Forging mes Maniption] [Magic Cannon Techniques] [Robust Body] [Hammer Spirit Arts] [Almighty zing Hammer Summon] [Golem Spirit Maniption And Transformation] [Mechanical Spirit Combination] [zing Mechanical Spirit Armor] [¡­]


    [Titles]: [Young cksmith] [Wielder Of the Runic Smith Hammer] [Golem Architect] [cksmith Princess] [Hephaestus'' Sessor] [Golem Master] [¡­]


    -----


    Her Talent had not increased, but after she Ranked Up her Spirit Orb, her Level did reset to Level 150, an interesting urrence I had not seen before in other people. I suppose the system readjust itself and works around such things. Not always will the Spirit Orb Ran be synchronized with the number of stars in a Talent. But now that it synchronized itself, it should advance as she grows.


    Alberta''s stats and new skills were immediately put to use, as she summoned her two Golem Spirits andbined them together into an evenrger and mightier Golem Spirit, who could also fly and had four gigantic cannon arms. She rode it like a vehicle, firing explosions of zing mes, while wielding her hammer with a fifth arm. Her divine spirit forging mes crushing anything in her path.


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!


    Eric and Alberta were a deadly couple, quickly taking over a part of the battlefield on their own.


    -----

 Chapter 943: Slaying Dragons From Left And Right!

    -----


    Eric and Alberta started singlehandedly defeating dozens of Mithril Drakes on their own. My Familiar Army was rapidly taking them down as well, with thebination of fire and ice to break through their defenses, and with the Vampire Spirits, the Unique Familiars and the Tamed Monsters led by Eleanora''s might, they were taking care of at least 60% of all of the iing foes.


    However, more kept sneaking out of their ranks, rushing to attack us. Each Drake was roughly five meters tall, rather gigantic and monstrous beasts, making them formidable resilient to damage. Eric distracted them with wind sts and weakened them severely, while Alberta swiftly crushed them with her giant, flying golem and their cannon attacks and zing hammer, which can freely grow in size.


    At the same time, Chris was rushing forward alone, handling dozens of Drakesing his way with his Spirits assistance. Erika and Elizabeth were close by, utilizing their powerful reinforced weapons to smash and crush through the Drakes. Their numbers were quickly going down.


    And I noticed Erdrich and Elfriedden rapidly advancing. Their Stats had increased a lot as well after their recent Rank Up. And both of them now had a new, fourth Spirit. Which they were immediately employing against these high ranked monsters.


    -----


    [Name]: [Erdrich]


    [Race]: [Half Demon (Human)]


    [Spirit Orb Realm]: [Rank 4 (Middle Stage)]


    [Talent]: [Demonic Asura Fist Master Prince: ¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï]


    [Level]: [20/150]


    [Health Points]: [15.500/15.500]


    [Mana Points]: [11.200/11.200]


    [Strength]: [17.500]


    [Agility]: [15.000]


    [Vitality]: [15.000]


    [Intelligence]: [11.200]


    [Dexterity]: [12.800]


    [Spirits (4/4)]: [Holy Lady of Reminiscence and Restraint (Rank 4 Middle Stage)] [Giant zing Demonic Living Armor (Rank 4 Middle Stage)] [Sealed Demonic Witch (Rank 4 Middle Stage)] [Twin Demonic Shadow Gauntlets (Rank 4 Middle Stage)]


    [Skills]: [Fist Fighting Mastery] [Hand to Hand Combat] [Demonic Battle Arts] [Demonic Energy Maniption] [Mana Maniption] [Spirit Connection] [Energy Fusion] [Fast Movements] [Hastened Demonic Energy Recovery] [ursed Seven Layered Demon Transformation] [Demon Eyes] [Demon Magic] [Berserk] [Battle Maniac Domain] [Dragon Skin] [Heavenly Demon Battle Arts] [Six-Armed Asura Transformation] [Asura''s Wrathful Aura] [Demonic Ki Maniption] [Magic-Sealing Demonic Chains] [Demonic Fist Mastery] [Limit-Breaking Asura''s Aura] [Demonic Shadow Gauntlet Techniques] [Demonic Ki Nova] [Demonic Lightning Dragon Fist] [¡­]


    [Titles]: [Half-Demon] [Demonic Ego] [Reckless Fighter] [Mother''s Beloved] [Fist Prince] [Demonic Ki Master] [¡­]


    -----


    His fists and rapid movements made of the Drakes mere sandbags, Erdrich Skillsbined with his Auras, Ki, Mana, and Demonic Energy made him apletely formidable fighter. And these were just the base stats. Once boosted with his [ursed Seven Layered Demon Transformation] Skill, he constantly gained higher and higher Stats as he underwent his Half-Demon Transformation.


    The tone of his skin constantly changed, as he quickly achieved the Third Layer of this Skill''s boundless potential of Seven total Layers, his skin bing gold with silver-colored tattoos spreading through his body.


    His fists once hitting a foe with his new pair of gauntlet spirits, would release explosions of golden demonic mes, burning and sapping his foes of their life, ki, and mana.


    But that wasn''t all¡­


    "ROOARR!"


    "Good,e as many as you can! {Demonic Ki Nova}!"


    Erdrich released arge umtion of Demonic Energy and Ki from the palm of his hands, unleashing an explosive st of pure red energy, consuming a dozen Drakes into a huge, area-of-effect attack that left a huge crater in the cave''s floor.


    BOOOM!


    Erdrich finally acquired a ridiculous, wide range Skill, and he was using it all the time. His reserves of Ki and Demonic Energy never emptying after he unlocked his gauntlet spirit, capable of draining Ki and Life from foes he hurts with them.


    "Hahaha! Elfriedden, you better not stay behind! You''regging a bit too much, aren''t you?"


    "Shut up!"


    And Elfriedden was right behind him.


    -----


    [Name]: [Elfriedden Crystal]


    [Race]: [Elf]


    [Spirit Orb Realm]: [Rank 4 (Initial Stage)]


    [Talent]: [Ice Dragon Soul Needle Master: ¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï]


    [Level]: [15/150]


    [Health Points]: [12.200/12.200]


    [Mana Points]: [16.500/16.500]


    [Strength]: [12.000]


    [Agility]: [16.200]


    [Vitality]: [11.200]


    [Intelligence]: [14.200]


    [Dexterity]: [17.000]


    [Spirits (4/4)]: [Mystic Frost Dragon Crystal Needle (Rank 4 Initial Stage)] [Skadi''s Divine Ice Thread (Rank 4 Initial Stage)] [Divine Ice Dragon''s Gloves (Rank 4 Initial Stage)] [Ice Titan''s Boots (Rank 4: Initial Stage)]


    [Skills]: [Mana Maniption] [Needle Mastery] [Icicle Spears] [Freezing Touch] [Winter''s Domain] [Ice Needle Techniques] [Ice Spirit Magic] [Sewing] [Rapid Repair] [Fabric Maniption] [Thread Mastery] [Tailor Master Eyes] [Fashionista] [Crafting] [Material Processing] [Sewing Magic] [Tailor''s Atelier] [Frost Dragon Aura] [Masterful Tailor Work] [Magic Fabric Creation] [Spiritual Frost Soul] [Frost Dragon Scale Protection] [Ice Tools Creation] [Frost Dragon Soul Manifestation] [Spiritual Frost Dragon''s Breath] [Ice Spirit Combination] [Divine Ice Dragon Needle] [Ice Titan''s Steps] [¡­]


    [Titles]: [Tailor] [Elven Prince] [Skadi''s Sessor] [Frost Dragon] [¡­]


    -----


    Elfriedden didn''t had the best physical power, but his Agility and Dexterity were the highest amongst our group, if I don''t count myself in the equation because I am naturally a Rank above them. After his Rank Up, he once more acquired a peculiar Spirit that at first sight seemed rather useless to him.


    It was a pair of beautiful blue leather boots, not oversized but just the right size for Elfriedden. At first he found them the most ridiculous spirit ever, but after unlocking a skill that worked in tandem with it, his opinion changedpletely.


    "I will not yield against such insolence, you demon bastard!" Elfriedden roared, having enough of Erdrich teasing.


    As he rushed across the Drakes'' numbers, he flew using his wyvern wings from my Buff Card, which had beenbined with his ice dragon skills to resemble a huge pair of frost dragon wings. He conjured a hundred projectiles made of "Dragon Frost", a much stronger and as tough as mithril ice, and impaled the monsters through their entire bodies, giving them agonizing deaths.


    And while doing so, he stomped on them, quite literally. Using his Ice Titan''s Boots Spirit and the Ice Titan''s Steps Skill, he was able to delicate step over foes and then crush them with an immense weight, while freezing them at the same time.


    In mere seconds, he caught up to Erdrich, while quickly transforming his Needle Spirit into a mighty Spear and his thread into a mighty ice dragon armor over his body.


    "GRAAARRRGH!"


    However, the "peaceful" hunting wasing to an end, as the boss of all the Mithril Drakes, the Mithril Drake Queen, stepped forwards, crushing any familiar on her way and killing them on the spot.


    "I suppose it''s finally time to deal with you."


    -----

 Chapter 944: Against The White Mithril Drake Queen

    -----


    The Queen was at least ten times bigger than the rest of the Drakes. It immediately crushed my B Ranked Familiars without any difficulty and pushed away even Ruby, immediately leaping towards me the moment she set her gaze on my appearance.


    Something within me was bringing all her attention, and it might be either my immense quantities of Mana thanks to my Mana Core, my power, or perhaps my developing Dragon Heart.


    Or maybe all of them at once.


    "ROOOAAARR!"


    The gigantic A+++ Rank monster of over twenty meters tall,nded right in front of me after giving a surprisingly high and long leap. The creature made the entire floor tremble, cracks spreading everywhere. Without waiting for me to even react, it quickly swung its gigantic and thick tail against me.


    Armored tightly with hardened mithril scales and a sharp spear-like end, the tail of this monster was a deadly weapon by itself.


    CLASH!


    I quickly blocked the strike using my bare hands, or well, not bare, as I used my hand wearing Sangre''s gift, the mighty Gauntlet that was imbued with enormous Vampiric Powers and granted me even higher bonus stats.


    The Drake Queen gave another roar, quickly unleashing a rapid barrage of metallic w attacks. Each one enough to carve through a mountain with ease. However, I easily evaded or blocked the strikes with my hands, as I aimed my spear towards the monster''s chest.


    "Take it."


    CRASH!


    "SHAAAAH!"


    The spear pierced her chest, getting stuck between the muscles and her own heart, or one of the three Drakes possess. The monster groaned in pain, vomiting blood and noticing its essence and blood being quickly drained. Gluttony was a voracious spear, just by being stuck into the monster, its life force was beginning to rapidly decrease.


    But that wasn''t all.


    "GRAAAH!"


    As I evaded an iing st of blue mesing from the Drake Queen''s jaws, I absorbed the blood in my surroundings. Hundreds of big, A Rank Monster carcass were bound to be full of delicious Blood, which I quickly refined into Blood Ki, or as some others call it, Blood Energy!


    "Let''s test this toy Sangre gave to me. Lilith died so quickly I was unable to use it properly." I smiled. "[Crimson Eyes of Sangre]"


    The red and ck colored metallic gauntlet absorbed almost half of the Blood Energy I just refined, activating its special, and deadly power. The red eye on the palm of the hand released a shockwave, an invisible red energy epassing the Drake Queen entirely.


    And her body was quickly paralyzed!


    But that wasn''t all, as it tried to move, it began bleeding from every orifice it had. And also, it started to cough ck and purple blood, it was poisoned.


    [You have activated the [Crimson Eyes of Sangre] Ability within your [Divine Vampire King''s Armored Gloves Of Avarice (Power Sealed)]!]


    [Your foe has been inflicted with three Random Status Ailments: [Paralysis] [Bleeding] [Poisoned]!]


    [Additionally, their Soul Power, Willpower, Mental Fortitude, and Magical Power have decreased by -50%!]


    [Duration: 5 Minutes.]


    "GRYYAARGH!"


    The monster could still move, paralysis only slowed down such powerful beings. But all three of these status ailments stacked on top of Gluttony''s effects made for an incredibly deadlybination.


    The almost S Rank Monster wasn''t going down easily even now though. As it constantly fired breath attacks, huge metallic spikes started surging from the ground, trying to constantly impale my body.


    "You seem eager to die."


    I quickly kicked the ground, arriving above the Drake''s jaws, which swiftly opened to greet me with a st of blue mes. However, this time I didn''t avoided them like I''ve been "pretending" to be afraid of, my entire body engulfed the endless quantities of mes and quickly gathered them in my hands, amassing them into a sphere of ck and blue fire.


    "{Karmic Gluttony mes}! {zing White Nova}!"


    Ibined the mes with my Karma Fire, abination of Holy Light and Demonic mes, and further boosted with my Gluttony Authority, forming a sphere of pure white mes. The attackpletely engulfed the monster, the mes burning through its entire being while roasting it alive.


    "GRYYAARRGH!"


    BOOOMMM!!


    After an agonizing and loud scream, the beast''s corpse fell over the ground, roasted and releasing smoke. I had to admit it though, the monster had a delicious smell once roasted.


    "Hm¡­ I guess that''s about it, huh? I expected too much of you."


    I sighed slightly disappointed the monster died so quickly. I wanted to try more of my abilities, but it seems everything is way too weak nowadays. Even an A+++ Rank Monster died so easily. Maybe if I am surrounded by a hundred of them I''ll get to use more Skills and try their effects andbinations in much more detail.


    The White Dragon seems formidable though, and if it is acting so cocky as to not even recognize us, I have high hopes he''s a monster I''ll have to finally go all-out. Lilith was also not easy either, I did have to go slightly all-out against her, but notpletely. I still yearn for a fight like the one I had against Satan.


    That bastard''s fight is still the best I''ve ever had so far.


    "White Dragon, you better not disappoint me¡­"


    As I sighed to myself, I joined back with my friends. The excitement of earning EXP was still there anyways. With my Blood Arts and Shadow Arts, I spread out explosions of blood mes and countless tentacles of shadows and spears of both darkness and blood.


    At the same time, my Demonic Arm kept changing form, bing gigantic and monstrous. I used it to quickly rip apart the heads of the Drakes that attempted to bite my limbs off. While cutting their limbs with Gluttony and crushing their entire bodies with abination of my Intents, Auras, and my Demonic Eyes of Paralysis and Gravity, pressuring them until their bones started cracking.


    Eventually, the one thousand Drakes and their leader were in, in roughly thirty minutes since we arrived. The EXP was plentiful as well, everyone leveled up a lot, and above all, I had a new Familiar!


    "{Summon Familiar}!"


    Their Spirit Orbs were absorbed and then quickly transformed into two new Familiars, the normal Drakes and their Queen.


    -----

 Chapter 945: New And Powerful Familiars

    -----


    My Grimoire greedily absorbed all of the A Rank Spirit Orbs and then assimted them into new Familiars, which I summoned right away, sacrificing Spirit Orbs and Mana, which I had plenty of after preparing for so long for this. Finally, A Rank Familiars.


    I had already upgraded some of my older summons to B Rank beforehand, so their stats were no longer C Rank. However, upgrading them to A Rank was going to take much longer than simply absorbing already powerful A Rank Dragon-type Monsters and making them into new Familiars!


    Ding!


    [The Grimoire has sessfully assimted the Spirit Orbs; your Summoning Skills have managed to replicate the beast into new Familiars!]


    [The [White Mithril Drake (A Rank)] and [White Mithril Drake Queen (A+++ Rank)] have been sessfully assimted into the Grimoire''s Familiar Summon Cards!]


    [You can now summon the Familiars by spending Spirit Orbs and Mana!]


    [You have Summoned [White Mithril Drake (A Rank)] x100 and [White Mithril Drake Queen (A+++ Rank)] x50!]


    A hundred White Mithril Drakes materialized in front of me, and fifty of their Queens as well. Their bodies being twice asrge as their normal counterparts, and their scales looking tougher, while their Auras overflowed with mighty amounts of Mana of their own. Yes, they had their own Mana.


    Advanced Familiars had their own Mana and powerful new Skills as well. Their giant figures looked down on everyone, but I quickly smiled as I made them lower their heads with a mere thought, I patted their scaled heads with ease. I quickly enchanted them with Awakening and Talent Bestowal, to give them a further boost.


    "Good."


    I looked at their stats.


    -----


    [Name]: [Steel]


    [Type]: [Dragon] [Metal] [Earth] [Knight]


    [Rank]: [A]


    [Race]: [White Mithril Drake]


    [Talent]: [Heavy Draconian Knight: ¡ï¡ï¡ï]


    [Health Points]: [18.000/18.000] (+2.800)


    [Mana Points:] [12.000/12.000] (+2.200)


    [Strength]: [18.000] (+2.800)


    [Agility]: [12.000] (+2.200)


    [Vitality]: [18.000] (+2.200)


    [Intelligence]: [12.000] (+1.400)


    [Dexterity]: [12.000] (+1.400)


    [Buff]: [Health +1.000] [Strength +1.000] [Vitality +1.000] [Metal & Earth Attribute Magic Power +1% (Max: +300%)] [Metal & Earth Attribute Damage Taken -1% (Max: -70%)]


    [Skill]: [Magic Reflecting Mithril Scales+++] [Metal Dragon Breath+++] [Damage Reduction+++] [Metal Wall+++] [Metal Spear+++] [Draconic Armored Charge+++] [Enraging Roar+++]


    [Awakening Skill]: [Metallic Fist+++]


    [Title]: [Heavy Draconian Knight]


    [Growth]: [MAX]


    -----


    As my first A Rank Familiars ever, Steel seemed surprisingly amazing. The Skills were simple and to the point, and the bonus stats were the best, one thousand to health, strength, and vitality! And above all, also a boost to the power of the elements of the familiar, and even damage reduction for it.


    There was max number disyed, and I had already reached the damage reduction number, as there were a hundred of them here.


    Their Talent became a three-star heavy draconian knight, simr to Draco but that specializes on defense and drawing the attention of the enemy. The charge skill deals additional damage based on their Vitality and Health, and the Enraging Roar calls the attention of foes, directing their anger at the familiar.


    Now¡­


    -----


    [Name]: [Silver]


    [Type]: [Dragon] [Metal] [Earth] [Queen]


    [Rank]: [A+++]


    [Race]: [White Mithril Drake Queen]


    [Talent]: [Metal Spirit Queen: ¡ï¡ï¡ï]


    [Health Points]: [22.000/22.000] (+2.800)


    [Mana Points:] [25.000/25.000] (+2.200)


    [Strength]: [22.000] (+2.800)


    [Agility]: [17.000] (+2.200)


    [Vitality]: [20.000] (+2.200)


    [Intelligence]: [25.000] (+1.400)


    [Dexterity]: [17.000] (+1.400)


    [Buff]: [Health +1.500] [Strength +1.500] [Vitality +1.500] [Metal & Earth Attribute Magic Power +3% (Max: +300%)] [Metal & Earth Attribute Damage Taken -2% (Max: -70%)]


    [Skill]: [Mighty Magic Reflecting Mithril Scale Armor+++] [Metal Dragon Queen Breath+++] [Greater Damage Reduction+++] [Spiritual Metal Wall+++] [Spiritual Metal Spear+++] [Mithril Queen''s Authority+++] [High Metal Spirit Summon+++] [Metal Spirit Queen+++]


    [Awakening Skill]: [Divine Metal Dragon''s Breath+++]


    [Title]: [Queen Of Metal Spirits]


    [Growth]: [MAX]


    -----


    Andstly, the Queen, which I named Silver. Her stats were much higher than the lesser ones, but they took twice as many A Rank Spirit Orbs to summon too, but it seemed to be a worthy expenditure to summon such strong familiars. She had specialization with spirit magic the most.


    Especially metal spirit magic, and with her special three-star ss, she can unleash their power to the maximum extent on a wide range.


    "Amazing, you summoned so many, ke! Even after all this time, I can''t get enough of how you do it." Erika said, smiling in amusement.


    "Yeah! I think the same, it''s always fantastic." Elizabeth smiled. "With these A Rank Familiars, our advance should be even swifter."


    "Indeed, there''s little time to waste now. The faster we get this done, the faster we can go back home and rx for the rest of our vacations." I smiled. "Let''s go."


    With this army, there was nothing to fear. Once we destroyed the first swarm of monsters that greeted us, there was nothing else left to do than to continue. I swiftly stored all monster corpses with my Grimoire, and we pushed forwards, without any time to rest, nobody was tired anyways.


    The new addition to my army worked as perfectly intended as I thought, by bestowing ice and fire elements to half and half of them, I was able to easily make them into powerful killing machines. Their stats were way higher than their counterparts.


    We encountered a thousand more of these Mithril Drakes, and they died as quickly as they came. The new army of even more superior Mithril Drakes devastated through their ranks, using theirrger sizes, deadlier breath attacks, more powerful ws and bites, and above all, the queens.


    The queens conjured deadly spirit magic, summoning giants made of steel, the Metal Spirits, which allowed them to destroy most things in front of them that weren''t at least A+++ Rank. All of these new Familiars were slow though, so it was easy to get surrounded by faster foes, or for the faster foes to evade.


    Therefore, that''s where my other Familiars, the Unique Familiars, my Tamed Monsters, my Vampire Spirits, and my friends entered. With their much faster movements, more lethal skills, and more explosive magic, we easily synergized a perfect army.


    Indestructible, and which advanced relentlessly!


    -----

 Chapter 946: Leveling And Growing Stronger

    -----


    I had already mapped the entire dungeon before even getting here when I sent my familiars to explore and scout it, every cavern section, everything was now written on my Grimoire. With it open, I easily guided my entire team through it all, making sure to stop at every ce with arge concentration of these Mithril Drakes and hunting everyst one of them.


    Due to the size of the mountain, it still took us roughly an hour and a half to finally get to the Lower Section of the Mountain''s caves, where on itsst depths was the White Dragon.


    We encountered no other new monster, but variants of the same Mithril Drakes, there were smaller,rger, quicker, and bulkier variants, but none were really qualified to be absorbed as different monsters, sadly.


    Nheless, our entire group easily dealt with them. Now that my Familiars weren''t dying so easily anymore due to their poor vitality and health but were instead working as active tankers that drove the mob''s attention to them, we were able to easily sweep through the mountain.


    After roughly three thousand Mithril Drakes in, the EXP we earned was incredible.


    Ding!


    [You have defeated over three thousand powerful monsters.]


    [Level Up!]


    [Level Up!]


    [Level Up!]


    [Level Up!]


    [Level Up!]


    [Level Up!]


    [¡­]


    [Your Level has increased from Level 84 to Level 97/200!]


    [All your Stats have increased. You earned Bonus Stat Points and Skill Points.]


    [Several Skills have Leveled Up! Some of your Skills have reached Max Level.]


    [You have absorbed arge quantity of {Soul mes}!]


    [The Title Skill: [Dragon yer: Lv10] has evolved into [Divine Dragon Hunter: Lv1] Title Skill!]


    -----


    [Divine Dragon Hunter: Lv1]


    Skill Proficiency: 0/30.000


    You have hunted thousands of dragons, and you''ve even challenged the divine dragons themselves. Your ying history has now made you the enemy of the Dragons that are said to be Gods themselves.


    Your very being is made to kill and y them, and even if they''re Gods or not, you''ll make sure that they''ll pay for the evil deeds they havemitted. You can easily track any Dragon-type foe and know where they are, even Divine Dragons. Additionally, you can even analyze their basic strengths and abilities once you set eyes on them.


    When fighting any Dragon-type foe, your Stats increase by +100%, with an additional +25% with each Skill Level.


    Increases Damage Dealt against all Dragon-type Foes by +350%, with an additional +25% with each Skill Level.


    When fighting Divine Dragons, these effects double.


    -----


    It felt as if the Holy Spirits themselves made this Title Skill just for me. I suppose this is their way to help, huh? It can''t be a coincidence I acquired this Skill right before going to fight that White Dragon. Well, the Skill was already max level, and this is the first time a Title Skill actually evolves too, so who knows.


    "Alright, break time for now." I said, quickly stopping the advance. My friends looked slightly tired now, too much battle without breaks could end up breaking their spirits as well. A good meal and some rest always get them up to fight even more than before. "We''ll rest for forty minutes and eat something good, and then we can continue. Who wants some dragon meat?" I smiled.


    Everyone immediately jumped, asking me to cook it. Thest time we ate Dragon Meat, mostly everyone gained extra stats due to how rich and magic-filled it was.


    "Dragon meat! Dragon meat!" Erika was jumping like a little rabbit. "I''ve been wondering all this time how these Drakes taste like!"


    "Me too, honestly, though I didn''t want to say it out loud¡­" Elizabeth nodded. I could hear her tummy rumbling. "Shall we set up a small camp for now?"


    "Sure, that would be of great help." I nodded.


    "Gotcha." Elizabeth quickly gathered with everyone else, as they set up tables, chairs, and everything else, while I set up arge me and started dismantling and quickly cutting the monster carcasses into piles after piles of steaks of meat.


    As I prepared something to eat, I noticed more messages appearing over the Grimoire. I was multi-tasking right now, extending my demon hand into countless long tendrils and absorbing piles of the bones of the drakes from their carcasses I had justpletely dismantled.


    Through the new power of Bone Absorption, my bones were constantly reinforced by these dragon bones, until I reached the limit of how much power I could draw from them and even the queens'' bones.


    Ding!


    [You have absorbed a tremendous quantity of incredibly tough dragon bones! All of your Bones have been reinforced tremendously.]


    [The [Bone Absorption: Lv1] has gained arge quantity of skill proficiency!]


    [The [Bone Absorption: Lv1] Skill has Leveled Up to Level 4!]


    "Hahaha, it is getting easier and easier to Level Up my Skills nowadays." I smiled, recalling when it was so annoyingly difficult to level up skills. I had to spend weeks to gain enough skill proficiency.


    However, that wasn''t the end of it all¡­


    Ding!


    [Congrattions, you havepleted the {Monster Hunting Quest}: {Defeat 3000 Mithril Drakes from the Mithril Mines!}


    [You''ve a hero of great effort and power! You''ve managed to sessfully defeat over three thousand mighty dragon type monsters with your friends!]


    [Because of such hard-working efforts, you''ve earned your rewards rightfully so.]


    [Completion Rewards]: [+2.000 Skill Points] [Magic Circle Strengthening Elixir (Mythic Grade)] x5 [Physique Enhancing Elixir (Mythic Grade)] x5 [Spirit Orb Enhancement Elixir (Mythic Grade)] x5 [Skill Proficiency Elixir (Spiritual Grade)] x5 [Skill Evolution] x2]


    No EXP this time, but I did get more Skill Points. Also more of those Elixirs I have yet to drink, and then there''s¡­ Skill Evolution? When I tried to "grab" that item, I got another message.


    [You have gained [Skill Evolution] Privilege x2! Two Skills will Evolve at random within your Skill List, as long as they''re max level.]


    [The two Skills have already been randomly chosen.]


    [The Title Skill: [Challenger of the Impossible: Lv10] has Evolved into the [Paragon Of Indestructible Conviction: Lv1] Title Skill!]


    [The Title Skill: [Cunning Mind: Lv10] has Evolved into the [Unparalleled Viinous Mind: Lv1] Title Skill!]


    Oh, so that''s what it did.


    -----

 Chapter 947: Powerful Skills

    -----


    [You have gained [Skill Evolution] Privilege x2! Two Skills will Evolve at random within your Skill List, as long as they''re max level.]


    [The two Skills have already been randomly chosen.]


    [The Title Skill: [Challenger of the Impossible: Lv10] has Evolved into the [Paragon Of Indestructible Conviction: Lv1] Title Skill!]


    [The Title Skill: [Cunning Mind: Lv10] has Evolved into the [Unparalleled Viinous Mind: Lv1] Title Skill!]


    I had the slight suspicion that this would be the case, but I suppose it did happen as I thought! These "rewards" are the mere ability for the grimoire to evolve a skill that can do so, although the choosing itself is automatically done, apparently. Nheless, it is great news by itself. I''ve had these two Title Skills for a while with me, and it appears they have evolved into even stronger forms.


    -----


    [Paragon Of Indestructible Conviction: Lv1]


    Skill Proficiency: 0/30.000


    A Title Skill only given to those that dare challenge impossible odds and somehow survive and have gone even further beyond by surviving countless dangerous situations, constantly forging a path as an indestructible paragon. This is no longer just an award of the Holy Spirits, but a medal to you, for being someone so indestructible!


    Enhances all stats by +250% and increases HP and MP Recovery Speed by +300% with an additional +30% to both buffs with each Level whenever the user is challenging foes stronger than them.


    Whenever you''re fighting someone equally strong, these effects are reduced by -50%, and when you''re fighting someone weaker, they''re further reduced by -90%.


    Additionally, Increases Skill Damage by +150%, with an additional +15% with each Skill Level.


    Any Skill you use while being below the effects of this Title Skill will gain {Paragon''s Indestructible Aura}, which will further enhance their Attack Power and Effects by +100%.


    -----


    [Unparalleled Viinous Mind: Lv1]


    Skill Proficiency: 0/30.000


    A Title Skill awarded only to those with an often malefic, cunning mind that think several steps before others. Sometimes, they often are ruthless as well, executing their actions swiftly and wlessly.


    Not only that, but their minds have further evolved, bing unparalleled viinous minds, capable of plotting a thousand tricks and being several steps ahead to their foes. How many tricks can you have below your sleeve? Well, you never have enough.


    Increases Thinking Speed by +300% with an additional +30% with each Skill Level.


    There''s a 50% chance to gain a special insight while nning something, or in the middle of a battle.


    Your Memory ability to store information increases by +100%, with an additional +10% with each Skill Level.


    You can now more easily sort the information you have, focus into something, n things, and store such ns within your memory without forgetting them.


    Additionally, whenever youmit a "viinous" act, you gain the {Viinous Aura} for 30 seconds, which allows you to ignore any foe''s Defensespletely when attacking them.


    -----


    Huh, these two Skills went from fairly tame Skills topletely insane effects. And the additional abilities and powers they gained were also overwhelmingly strong. Above all, the Challenger of the Impossible can give me buffs even when I fight weaker foes now?! It is reduced by 90%, but even then, it still a fairlyrge buff.


    Above all, because the buff will always be active like this, I also gain a permanent boost to my skills attack power and effects of 100%... Just like that? Wow, this truly feels like I''m cheating now.


    And as if that wasn''t enough, the Cunning Mind Skill became something even better, with a special ability that, if it works properly, can let mepletely ignore a foe''s defenses and directly pierce their health points.


    Completely broken, I like them.


    The White Dragon is ridiculously strong though, even with this, I feel like it will be a great challenge. One I''ve craved for a while now.


    But even then, Fafnir would be even stronger than the White Dragon¡­ I have to defeat this monster so I canter confront the true beast that ispletelyying waste over the Elven Continent.


    Anyways, for now, I should just enjoy the meal with everyone else.


    "Come eat. There''s spaghetti, meatloaf, burgers, and of course, roasted steak. Let''s eat as much as possible before going down. The monsters are only going to get stronger from there." I said, inviting everyone to eat. We gathered around the table and enjoyed the meal together like a big family.


    "Oh man, these noodle things are always so damn good! I was starving, seriously. Burning through all those mobs wasn''t easy~" Chris said with a confident smile as he finished his te and then his fox spirit brought him some roasted steaks. They were surprisingly serviceable with him.


    "Burning through all? You barely did anything, youzymoner." Elfriedden crossed his arms. "Naturally, ke and his familiars did a lot of the work, but don''t you remember? My ice froze hundreds! Your fire can''t possibly paralyze foes and instantly kill them like mine did, isn''t it?"


    "WHAT?! I did burn more than that, loser! Also your ice isn''t even that strong as to kill them instantly. Without everyone''s help those drakes would have freed themselves eventually!" Chrisined.


    "What did you say? Ice is the superior element! It can freeze, paralyze, destroy, shatter, pierce, sh! It can do anything!" Elfrieddenined.


    "Bastard! Wanna go?!" Chris groaned.


    "I wouldn''t mind cleaning the floor with your face." Elfriedden smiled confidently.


    "Shut the hell up already!" Edrichined. "Stop fighting, you dumb kids, just eat up! You can fight all you want once we''re done here."


    "Yeah, what he said!" Alberta nodded. "Please, just behave and be friends!"


    "Hahaha, don''t worry about it, you two. These two goof balls are always like this." Eric giggled merrily.


    "Who are you calling a goof ball?!" Elfriedden felt offended once more.


    "Oi Eric, don''t look down on me!" Chris said.


    "Hahaha, these two never change, huh?" I justughed. "Just eat and rx, friends. We have a mighty dragon to yter. You''ll be able to see who is truly the strongest by then."


    "Huh, alright then¡­" Chris sighed, shrugging.


    "Well, I suppose¡­" Elfriedden sat down as well.


    "At this point they''re like your puppies, huh?" Elizabeth joked at my side.


    "I heard that, Elizabeth!" Chris barked.


    -----

 Chapter 948: Advancing Through The Dungeon

    -----


    Once we were done eating our meals and fully recovered our stamina, we moved onwards. The second section of these caves were quite wide, full of even stronger monsters, but nothing that surpassed A+++ Rank. Although even between A+++ Rank monsters, their stats varied greatly based on what type of monster they were.


    The environment, however, slowly started to change, bing a rather beautiful scenery.


    "Ooh, this is so pretty!" Erika looked into the ceiling and the walls. "So many shiny crystals, ke!"


    "This must be a road full of Mana Crystals and Spirit Crystals." I said, looking around. "It is very rich in elemental energy. Perhaps a side effect of the White Dragon setting down here."


    "Wait, what do you mean because of the White Dragon?" Asked Chris.


    "It is because the White Dragon exudes a powerful magical essence, right ke?" Eric asked.


    "That''s right. Pretty much that and well, its ridiculously high quantities of Mana and Divine Energy it exudes, that attracts the attention of Spirits. The Spirits gather around it and then, over the years, crystalize into spirit crystals, and also change the environment." I said. "Just like this."


    We stepped out of the tunnel tond on a muchrger cave. However, what made it so different than the rest is that for hundreds of meters, it waspletely covered by an undergroundke. Large blue and silver colored spirit crystals growing out of theke. It was perhaps a few dozen meters deep too, and the only way forward was to either fly over it, or swim.


    "W-What the¡­?! How do we even get through this!" Chrisined. "Can your familiars swim, ke?"


    "They should be able to swim well if I imbue them with the water element, yeah." I nodded. "The rest of us will fly using the Wyvern Buff Card wings, I hope Chris can also keep everyone afloat if something happens. We''re counting on your wind magic."


    "A-Ah, yes! Of course!" He nodded. "Wind''s an element I only got recently but leave it to me ke!"


    "Good, a reliable friend is worth more than a thousand unreliable soldiers." I smiled. "I''ll be leaving that job to you then. And as of theke. I am sure we''ll face aquatic monsters now."


    "For sure, that''s without doubt¡­" Sighed Elizabeth. "Hey, Elfriedden, do you think you can freeze the wholeke?"


    "Huh?! Do you think I have infinite mana, Elizabeth? I might be strong, yes, but to spend all my mana doing something so wasteful, and it''ll probably only cover but a minuscule amount as well. It is not realistic." He sighed.


    "I suppose he''s right." I said. "We''ll have to just do this the hard way. Celestine, I am counting on you as well, you''re good in water areas."


    "Oooh! But of course, my dear lord! I shall be of great use!" She nodded, quickly transforming into a gigantic and monstrous alien-like kraken, and immediately reaching the cold undergroundke.


    "Good then¡­ {Familiar Elemental Bestowal: Water}"


    FLASH! FLASH! FLASH!


    I imbued the element of water to all my non-flying Familiars, giving them the power to swim rapidly, hold their breath easily, and also manipte the water around them. The bulkier Drakes gained long, finned tails and more streamlined bodies to swim better, quite amusing to see them morph.


    As for the rest of my Vampire Spirits, half of them were on reserve inside of my Spirit Realm, the other half were all capable of flying anyways, so they came through the air with us.


    "The only thing left are you girls,e!" I quickly spent more of my Spirit Orbs, I had a huge treasure of thousands of B and A Rank Spirit Orbs now anyways. "{Spiritual Ice Fairy Soldier}!"


    shes of blue light materialized around me, as the grimoire invoked a special card that it had acquired when I explored my Spirit Realm for the first time, within the Frost Fairy Castle. This was a Spiritual Treasure gifted to me by the Holy Spirit of Ice, containing the remains of an Ancient Era, the Frost Fairy Queen and her fairy soldiers.


    They appeared rapidly around us, resembling small, dwarf-sized flying fairy warriors wearing ice armor. Their stats were further boosted with my Familiar Awakening and Talent Bestowal Skills, and they mostly wielded long icy rapiers or icy spears. They were ice attribute familiars with great power and ice magic, ideal for an aquatic environment.


    -----


    [Name]: [Frosties]


    [Type]: [Fae] [Magic Knight] [Ice]


    [Rank]: [B+]


    [Race]: [Spiritual Ice Fairy Soldier]


    [Talent]: [Divine Ice Spirit Knights: ¡ï¡ï¡ï]


    [Health Points]: [8.000/8.000] (+1.400)


    [Mana Points:] [12.000/12.000] (+2.200)


    [Strength]: [8.000] (+1.400)


    [Agility]: [8.000] (+2.800)


    [Vitality]: [8.000] (+1.400)


    [Intelligence]: [8.000] (+2.800)


    [Dexterity]: [8.000] (+2.200)


    [Buff]: [Mana +500] [Agility +500] [Intelligence +500] [Ice Attribute Magic Power +1%] [Ice Attribute Damage Taken -1%]


    [Skill]: [Spiritual Ice Magic+++] [Mighty Blizzard+++] [Spiritual Ice Rapier Techniques+++] [Spiritual Ice Armor+++] [Spiritual Ice Spears+++] [Frost Fairy Squadron Attack+++] [Holy Spirit of Ice Divine Protection+++] [Divine Ice Spirit Domain+++] [Divine Frost Spirit Spear Summon+++]


    [Awakening Skill]: [Raging Frost Wolf King''s Jaws+++]


    [Title]: [Frost Spirit Knights]


    [Growth]: [MAX]


    -----


    "We are at your service, master. By the decree of our queen, we shall serve you even after death." Said the Frost Fairies at the same time.


    "Good, let''s move. Circle our group and make sure that no monster sneaks into our ranks." I told them.


    "Very well." They nodded in unison.


    "W-Wait a second!" Elfriedden protested. "Since when can you summon such beautiful ice fairies?! Did you absorb some of those people with your wicked grimoire?"


    "Calm down, friend. That is not the case. It is a long story. Let me exin it to you as we move forwards." I smiled. "I assure you; this was actually a gift from your benefactor and protector."


    "What?" Elfriedden only felt more confused as I talked.


    Without any more time to waste, we moved onwards. Through both the water and the sky. It didn''t even take ten minutes for us to be ambushed by almost a hundred aquatic monsters. All of them ranging from A to A++ Rank, they were the same species, but had different shapes based on their life stages.


    "ROOAARR!"


    Water Serpents!


    -----

 Chapter 949: Fighting Aquatic Dragon Monsters

    -----


    Ding!


    [A group of hundreds of [Spirit Lake Draconian Serpents (A ~ A++ Rank)] has ambushed your party! Be careful, these ferocious dragon-type monsters feelpletely at home in the water and are bold enough to even ambush flying prey!]


    [Their environment, full of water attribute spiritual essence further enhances their Stats, increasing them by +100% and enhancing their swimming speed and water attribute magic power by +200%!]


    "SHAAAAH!"


    Almost a hundred blue-scaled snake-like giant dragons appeared. Each one at least as big as ten meters. They varied in appearances though, the oldest of them were the biggest, with sharper scales and long horns. However the youngest were smaller and softer, resembling smanders or even axolotls. Hence the different shapes and Ranks despite belonging to the same group of monsters.


    "Attack! Fairies, use your ice! Swimming Familiars, ambush them from below! Tear them to shreds!"


    The fairies immediately got into action, conjuring giant spears of spiritual ice magic or unleashing powerful rapier attacks that froze and cut through our foes. At the same time, the swimming familiars quickly attacked the sea snakes. In fact, they were already fighting with another group of roughly fifty more. Unfortunately for them, my swimming familiars were over three hundred now.


    SPLASH! SPLASH! SPLASH!


    Theke below us shook, blood sttering everywhere. At the same time as the broken and frozen corpses of the monsters exploded one after another. We had no time to stop here though, we kept advancing as we fought whatever attacked us. Hundreds after hundreds of water serpents constantly trying to ambush us.


    Eventually, our whole party found themselves busy ying and cutting through these gigantic aquatic dragons. I myself was right now piercing through their bodies with Gluttony, or blowing their heads off with my demonic gun, which I had yet to upgrade.


    My friends kept fighting bravely, most of them in perfect condition even after a lot of battle. Their skills, spirits, and abilities had grown to the point that I didn''t really need to worry about them at all. I knew they were going to be fine.


    Eric covered a wide range with his wind magic and his arrow attacks, which had evolved into a myriad of spectacr skills and effects. Chris zed through everything, continuously bing more of a reckless berserk warrior despite being a magician.


    Alberta apanied Eric and covered his back, her flying golem spirit, havingbined with her other golem spirit, was a true behemoth afraid of nothing.


    Erdrich crushed through it all with his fists and legs, his entire body was his greatest weapon. Erika sliced the water serpents and turned them into sashimi with her giant sword, all while practicing her dual draconic aura.


    Elizabeth''s light magic endlessly tormented her foes with explosions of blinding light, blinding the water serpents and making them act extremely dumb, making them easier preys for my familiars.


    And Elfriedden,stly, was on a field day, freezing and crushing anything. He had plenty of materials around him, the water simply bing an extension of himself as he froze it and manipted it into countless of deadly weapon projectiles.


    As we kept advancing, hundreds more water serpents appeared. So many in a single ce that I simply had to try something stronger, and much more explosive. I quickly decided to use all the gathered Blood Attribute Ki and my Mana together.


    "{Blood King''s Throne}!"


    Ding!


    [You have activated the [Blood King''s Throne] Skill!]


    [The almighty throne of the King of Blood has been summoned! Within a 100-meter radius surrounding the throne, an endless supply of Vampiric Blood can be manipted and used however the user pleases.]


    [Space itself will bend to your Blood, and you can manipte not only the endless supply of blood, but any blood from any living being.]


    A floating throne of pure blood was formed from all the Blood Ki I sacrificed; I sat there as I floated through a myriad of hundred of water serpents. A smile surging in my lips as I simply converged and manipted all the blood possible, without restraints, just like in my previous life.


    The blood then danced around me, resembling an endless sea of crimson red, waving around and swirling beautifully! Was there anything more wonderful than this?


    "All of you, I''ve had enough. {Blood Apocalypse}"


    All the endless blood around me converged with my Gluttony, Wrath, and Infernal mes Authority, mutating once more into the new form of Blood I had discovered before. It retained its crimson color, yet it gained a purple and golden luster at the same time, with sparkles that resembled stars themselves.


    The enormous force didn''t resemble anything else than an endless wave of crimson color that divided itself into thousand of projectiles falling like rain. Countless explosions engulfed the water serpents, blowing them up into bloody messes.


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!


    Their screams of agony were loud and rather sharp, reverberating across the entire area, they sshed the water, trying to escape the agonizing deaths, only for more blood to find them, and consume them.


    Their blood quickly became more fuel for the throne, as it continuously fired more and more projectiles, eliminating hundreds of monsters at the same time. This continued for several minutes, as the rest of my party and my army took care of the area behind me.


    With this, once we reached the shore of the other side, we had made sure no Water Serpent remained alive. They were all properly taken care of.


    "We''re done with this area." I smiled, the blood throne slowly disappearing by mymand, it consumed too much Mana per second to keep up forever. "How''s everyone handling things?"


    "Fine, fine, a bit tired, but alright." Chris said.


    "That was more intense than all the drakes we hunted before¡­" Eric sighed in relief. "We finally made it to the other side¡­"


    "Phew, what a relief¡­ This Dungeon is truly treacherous!" Albertained.


    "Hahah, it''s okay. We can take a break. We did level up a lot with this. The White Dragon is only a few hundred meters from here. I can sense some more mobs though, at least two thousand more roaming around." I said.


    "Then let''s get rid of those first!" Erika said. "Then we rest, and we go hunt the dragon!"


    "Well, aren''t you eager." Eleanora giggled. "If that''s what you want~"


    "Alright then. I''ll lure them all here, prepare yourself." I smiled. "Thest Exp bags are on their way."


    -----

 Chapter 950: Taking A Short Rest

    -----


    And they came, using the special ability of the Mithril Drakes, we lured thest two thousand or so monsters here, they came through a very narrow passage, making it easy for us to kill them as they came constantly.


    I ended activating not only Blood King''s Throne again, but also Call of the Night, which worked essentially very simr, requiring a sacrifice of arge quantity of Dark attribute Ki and Mana to conjure an endless domain of darkness and shadows, which I could manipte without limits.


    With both of these activated, I blocked the path for the Mithril Dragonoids, humanoid-like dragons of over seven to twelve meters of height that wielded metallic weapons and armor, and the Three-Headed Venomous Viper Drakes, deadly A+++ Rank Dragons the Mithril Dragonoids tamed and used as powerful mounts.


    There was a whole tribe of these much more intelligent dragon monsters, but it was all the same for us. There was no need for further strategies, our strength was enough to overwhelm them even with their gigantic numbers.


    My army of Mithril Drakes, Fairies, and other Familiars together amassed for thousands even as less than three hundred, and with my Vampire Spirits, Unique Familiars, Tamed Monsters, and my friends, this became as easy as it can get.


    It was just an EXP feast!


    "{Eternal Night}!"


    Darkness epassed everything, thousands of tentacles tore apart the monsters, their screams echoed everywhere, their blood sttered, their entrails fell into the floor. Their magic was useless, the only thing they saw was darkness.


    After roughly half an hour, we hadpletely cleared the mountain of all monsters.


    "Gryyyaggh!"


    CRASH!


    Thest Dragonoid gave a loud groan of agony, before Erika finished it off with her sword, slicing its head off mercilessly. Blood was painting everything red, but we were all alive, and only a few dozen of my familiars ended dying. We hunted two thousand monsters with extreme efficiency.


    "Phew! We''re done, ugh¡­" Erika groaned. "Another break, please¡­"


    "Yeah, this is a bit too much¡­ I don''t think we ever hunted this many monsters, even in the dungeon of stronghold¡­" Sighed Elizabeth.


    "Still, back then¡­ Didn''t we almost fight an S- Rank monster?" Eric asked.


    "I killed it before it could do much anyways." I said. "But yeah, it got slightly dangerous. That boss was weirdly trying to evolve even further, and I remember it even spoke to me. That was unnerving."


    "Dungeon Mutations are still a mystery¡­" Elizabeth said. "Well, I suppose that shouldn''t be our topic of conversation though! We are about to face something even more terrifying."


    "The White Dragon, huh?" Chris sighed. "That monster that has been watching over our vige since we were kids, there are literal legends of it, you know? It has never left the Mithril Mountain for hundreds of years since itnded here, constantly shifting from mountains, but never leaving the range¡­"


    "Based in how much it has been eating, and that it created minions to protect itsir, I would say the Dragon is not at their full power." I exined. "And based in what I saw from fighting him with my familiars¡­ He''s an old dragon, old and worn down. His body is covered on wounds that had yet to heal."


    "Really?!" Asked Eric. "So that''s why you''re so confident!"


    "Not really." I interrumpted my friend. "Wounds or not, that dragon''s still a Divine Dragon. A being that is often considered a god that walks amongst mortals. We cannot underestimate. I do have a strategy for this. I''ll be prioritizing everyone''s safety and using your strengths the most.


    We''ll be fighting a monster on the level of Satan now, if not slightly stronger than him. So be prepared for absolutely anything."


    "Okay, oaky, but let''s rest first!" Erika said.


    "¡­Yes, I was about to say that let''s rest for forty more minutes, or maybe an hour. We need topletely prepare. That dragon is not even bothering toe here. He''s either waiting for us, or simply sleeping." I sighed. "Whatever it is, it is looking down on us."


    "We''ll need to prepare well, tell us the strategy as we rest and eat something, ke." Eric said.


    "Sure, let''s gather up and set some things. There''s still a lot of leftovers from lunch, so let''s eat that to recover stamina." I smiled.


    We quickly gathered together to eat and talk about the strategy I had. While doing so, I looked at the Grimoire once more, noticing my levels having raised as I felt beforehand.


    Ding!


    [You and your party have in over three thousand A to A+++ Rank Monsters!]


    [Level Up!]


    [Level Up!]


    [Level Up!]


    [Level Up!]


    [Level Up!]


    [Level Up!]


    [¡­]


    [Your Level has increased from Level 97 to Level 112/200!]


    [All your Stats have increased. You earned Bonus Stat Points and Skill Points.]


    [Several Skills have Leveled Up! Some of your Skills have reached Max Level.]


    [You have absorbed arge quantity of {Soul mes}!]


    My Level rose 15 times, more than enough to get a few more bonus stats and more Skill Points. And above all, another Quest had popped up before, which was now alsopleted!


    Ding!


    [Congrattions, you havepleted the {Monster Hunting Quest}: {Hunt Down The Rest Of The Monsters Of The Mithril Mines!}


    [Congrattions! You and your party have cleared the Dungeon almostpletely, with the exception of the very reason you came here for.]


    [That''ll be a whole other challengepletely. Make sure to use these rewards to be even a bit stronger, everything will help!]


    [Completion Rewards]: [+2.000 Skill Points] [Magic Circle Strengthening Elixir (Mythic Grade)] x5 [Physique Enhancing Elixir (Mythic Grade)] x5 [Spirit Orb Enhancement Elixir (Mythic Grade)] x5 [Skill Proficiency Elixir (Spiritual Grade)] x5 [Skill Evolution] x2]


    Good, this is good enough, let''s drink those Elixirs first. I quickly popped out the Elixirs I had received and drank them one after another as I enjoyed the sandwiches Elizabeth made with the leftover roasted meat. It was almost a hundred bottles, but I drank them all one after another without hesitating.


    Ding!


    [You have consumed the [Magic Circle Strengthening Elixir (Mythic Grade)] x23, [Physique Enhancing Elixir (Mythic Grade)] x23, [Spirit Orb Enhancement Elixir (Mythic Grade)] x23, [Skill Proficiency Elixir (Spiritual Grade)] x23!]


    FLASH!


    -----

 Chapter 951: Consuming The Elixirs, Growing Even Stronger

    -----


    Ding!


    [You have consumed the [Magic Circle Strengthening Elixir (Mythic Grade)] x23, [Physique Enhancing Elixir (Mythic Grade)] x23, [Spirit Orb Enhancement Elixir (Mythic Grade)] x23, [Skill Proficiency Elixir (Spiritual Grade)] x23!]


    FLASH!


    The energies of all the elixirs converged into my body, as I felt my Magic Circle, Physique, Spirit Orb, and the Skill Proficiency of many Skills rise dramatically. My body was fully strengthened and reinforced.


    My magic circle spun rapidly, generating many runes. And my Spirit Orb absorbed the essence, generating even more rich spirit energy. And of course, many Skills Leveled Up. Even more, my Mana Core glowed brightly, its internal mana rising!


    Ding!


    [Your [Mana Core]: [Rank 1 (Initial Stage)] has Ranked Up to Rank 2 Initial Stage!]


    [Your Mana Core has now increased its Mana Storage by +400.000!]


    [Your [Physique]: [Divine Vampire Emperor Physique (Tier 6: Rank 6)] has Ranked Up to Tier 6: Rank 8!]


    [Your Physical Strength, Physical Fitness, Stamina, Movement Speed, Agility, Dexterity, and more have increased massively.]


    [You gained]: [Health Points]: [+2.000] [Strength]: [+1.000] [Agility]: [+1.000] [Vitality]: [+2.000] [Dexterity]: [+1.000]!]


    [Your [Magic Circle]: [Infernal Blood Warlock''s Pentagram Circle (Tier 5: Rank 6)] has Ranked Up to Tier 5: Rank 8!]


    [You gained]: [Mana Points]: [+4.000] [Intelligence]: [+2.000] [Spirit]: [+500]!]


    [Your [Spirit Orb Realm]: [Rank 5 (Initial Stage)] has Ranked Up to Rank 5: Upper Stage!]


    [Your Spirit Orb is now overflowing with rich Spiritual Essence, imbued with a hint of Divinity!]


    [You gained]: [Mana Points]: [+20.000] [Intelligence]: [+4.000] [Spirit]: [+1.000]!]


    [You gained 23.000.000 Skill Proficiency! The Skill Proficiency has been randomly distributed across all of your Skills.]


    [The Active Skills: [Blood King Transformation: Lv3] [Creation: Lv8] [Deconstruct: Lv5] [Power Bestowal: Lv3] [Power Withhold: Lv3] [Chains of Creation: Lv3] [Embodiment of the Night: Camazotz: Lv2] [Undead Wall: Lv2] have Leveled Up!]


    [The Magic Skills: [Divine Light Sword: Lv4] [Abyssal Blood-sucking Vines: Lv9] [Dragon Tongue: Lv8] [Spiritual Infernal Holy Demonic mes Authority: Lv5] [Wrathful Energy Maniption: Lv3] [Blood King''s Throne: Lv3] [Call of the Night: Lv2] have Leveled Up!]


    [The Summoner Skills: [Create/Delete Familiar: Lv8] [Summon/Unsummon Familiar: Lv8] [Familiar Storage Expansion: Lv8] [Familiar Synthesis: Lv8] [Familiar Connection: Lv6] [Familiar Awakening: Lv6] [Advanced Familiar Fusion: Lv6] [Familiar Multiplication: Lv6] [Familiar General: Lv5] [Familiar Sacrifice: Lv5] [Familiar Evolution: Lv6] [Familiar Talent Bestowal: Lv4] [Familiar Element Bestowal: Lv4] [Familiar Egg: Lv3] [Familiar Necromancy: Lv2] [Vampiric Familiar: Lv2] have Leveled Up!]


    [The Title Skills: [Savior: Lv8] [Divine Dragon Hunter: Lv1] [Kin yer: Lv8] [Undead yer: L8] [Alchemist: Lv9] [Yggdrasil''s Gardener: Lv7] [Holy Spirit''s Chosen: Lv6] [Spiritual Realm Master: Lv7] [Paragon Of Indestructible Conviction: Lv1] [Unparalleled Viinous Mind: Lv1] [Insect yer: Lv8] [Ogre yer: Lv8] [Dragon Master: Lv8] [Summoner: Lv8] [Archdemon yer: Lv4] [Gluttony''s Authority: Lv4] [Wrath''s Authority: Lv3] [Lust''s Authority: Lv2] [Vampire King: Lv3] [Holy Spirit of mes Authority Fragment: Lv3] have Leveled Up!]


    Almost all of my Skills ended gaining at least one level, not bad!


    "Grimoire, use the Skill Evolution Authorities to evolve two more Skills." I ordered.


    [You have used the [Skill Evolution] Privilege x2! Two Skills will Evolve at random within your Skill List, as long as they''re max level.]


    [The two Skills have already been randomly chosen.]


    [The Title Skill: [Spirit Master: Lv10] has Evolved into the [Divine Spirit Grandmaster: Lv1] Title Skill!]


    [The Title Skill: [ughter King: Lv10] has Evolved into the [Bloodthirsty Cmity Of The Battlefield: Lv1] Title Skill!]


    -----


    [Divine Spirit Grandmaster: Lv1]


    Skill Proficiency: 0/30.000


    A Title Skill only granted to those who have Mastered a part of their Spiritual Connection with their Spirits, growing closer to unify with them to the extent of awakening new powers. And then to go a step further beyond, fusing their ever-developing Spiritual Divinity with their Spirits, bing the Master of Divine Spirits themselves.


    Enhances Spirit-rted Skills and Magic Power by +400%, and while using Spiritual Techniques, enhances the Spirit and the User''s Stats by +200%, with an additional +30% with each Skill Level for both effects. Spiritual Techniques Damage and Effects is enhanced by +250%, with an additional +25% with each Skill Level.


    You can now further cultivate and grow your Spiritual Divinities stored within your Spirit Orb and freely imbue them into your Summoned Spirits, enchanting their powers and abilities. You can choose to permanently imbue a single Spirit you''ve summoned with a Divinity each. Every Spirit will then cultivate that Divinity on their own, further speeding the growth of the Divinity you possess.


    When granted Divinities, Summoned Spirits might undergo special permanent evolutions. Once a Skill is bestowed into a Spirit, this choice cannot be reverted.


    -----


    Oh, isn''t this interesting? It went from apletely simple Skill that granted basic boosts to opening a new possibility entirely! I can give my Vampire Spirits my developing Divinities or Divinity Fragments, so as they grow, the Divinity also develops rapidly.


    This, in exchange, also boosts their power, gives them the Divinity-rted abilities, and evolve them into what I would assume are Divine Spirits! Interesting, and rather amusing.


    -----


    [Bloodthirsty Cmity Of The Battlefield: Lv1]


    A Title Skill only given to the true monsters of the battlefield, living cmities that have ughtered thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, and they''re on their way to kill millions. You are an unparalleled Bloodthirsty Cmity of the Battlefield!


    Increases Damage Dealt against foes whenever you fight over 10 Foes by +100%, when over 100, damage increases by +200%, when fighting over 1000, damage increases by +400%, and when fighting over 10.000, damage increases by +1000%.


    Additionally, increases All Stats when fighting more than 10 foes at the same time by +100%, with an additional +50% with each Skill Level.


    -----


    Not bad, it could havee more useful when we were cleansing all the mobs I suppose, but right now there''s little use to it once we fight a single foe, the White Dragon. Unless¡­ I could somehow increase the amount of enemies.


    Maybe if I summon thousands of the cheapest familiars I can bring and make them pretend they''re my enemies? Their attacks would deal no damage and I would gain all the stat boosts. But that''s only if it works. And I don''t know if I''m willing to try that right now.


    Well, anyways, thest thing I must do is quickly absorb the new A Rank Monster Spirit Orbs, and then eat all those Dragon Hearts.


    -----

 Chapter 952: New Draconic Familiars

    -----


    After moving on from the rewards of the quests, I decided to quickly start absorbing the new Spirit Orbs from the A Rank Monsters we''ve faced so far. There were three new monsters waiting for me, aside from the Mithril Drake and the Mithril Drake Queen, which I thought might be essential for us to win against the White Dragon. After all, if I am a Summoner, why not abuse that fact?


    Even when facing something as strong as the White Dragon, I might as well bring my entire army with myself.


    FLASH! FLASH! FLASH!


    Anyways, all of the orbs were absorbed one after another by my Grimoire, as three new and powerful Familiars, all Dragon-type, were unlocked. Their cards shining with a pristine gold color. The color every A Rank Familiar possessed.


    "Come out."


    I summoned the three new cards, as they quickly transformed into new Dragon-type Monsters. A giant, blue-scaled draconic snake. A lizardman-like Mithril Drake. Andstly, a rather monstrous three-headed poisonous snake-like dragon.


    The Spirit Lake Draconian Serpents, the Mithril Dragonoids, and the Three-Headed Venomous Viper Drakes. All of them being between A++ Rank to A+++ Rank!


    -----


    [Name]: [Azure]


    [Type]: [Dragon] [Water] [Ice]


    [Rank]: [A++]


    [Race]: [Draconian Sea Serpent]


    [Talent]: [Ocean Spirit Knight: ¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï]


    [Health Points]: [18.000/18.000] (+4.400)


    [Mana Points:] [18.000/18.000] (+4.400)


    [Strength]: [15.000] (+2.800)


    [Agility]: [20.000] (+5.600)


    [Vitality]: [17.000] (+4.400)


    [Intelligence]: [20.000] (+5.600)


    [Dexterity]: [15.000] (+2.800)


    [Buff]: [Mana +1.200] [Agility +1.200] [Intelligence +1.200] [Water & Ice Attribute Magic Power +1% (Max: +300%)] [Water & Ice Attribute Damage Taken -1% (Max: -70%)]


    [Skill]: [Rapid Air Swimming+++] [Sea Serpent Torrential Breath+++] [Magic Damage Reduction+++] [Sea Wall+++] [Sharp Ice Spear+++] [Heavy Ice Shields+++] [Ocean Spirit Armor+++] [Ocean Spirit Spear Tail Techniques+++] [Relentless Spirit Knight Vigor+++]


    [Awakening Skill]: [Draconian Tsunami+++]


    [Title]: [Knight of Sea Spirits]


    [Growth]: [MAX]


    -----


    Azure was the first of my creations, from a Lake Serpent it evolved into an Ocean Draconian Serpent! I was now able to instantly evolve absorbed Familiars using the Familiar Evolution Skill if I used more of their Spirit Orbs when absorbing them and turning them into a new Familiar.


    This way, not only do I get the best evolved form at Max Growth, but ites with even higher stats, more bonus stats, and amazing new Skills! And this one came with everything that could have made that fire dragon dungeon aplete walk in the park.


    The Serpent Dragon seems to specialize in the ability to control the surroundings with endless amounts of water magic spreading everywhere. Also the Talent Skills allows it to unleash an armor to enhance defenses, spear attacks using the tail, and even an enhancement to all physical stats.


    One might not even be a threat to the White Dragon, but what if I bring a hundred of them? Together, they''ll surely be an annoyance at the very least. And if I can coordinate them enough and make a good strategy, they could be more than an annoyance, but a threat. Of at least the minor category, but a threat, nheless.


    And its not like the serpent is all I have anyways.


    -----


    [Name]: [Saurus]


    [Type]: [Dragon] [Metal] [Earth] [Humanoid]


    [Rank]: [A++]


    [Race]: [Giant Mithril Dragonoid Warrior]


    [Talent]: [Full-Metal Berserk: ¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï]


    [Health Points]: [20.000/20.000] (+4.400)


    [Mana Points:] [17.000/17.000] (+4.400)


    [Strength]: [20.000] (+5.600)


    [Agility]: [15.000] (+4.400)


    [Vitality]: [18.000] (+5.600)


    [Intelligence]: [15.000] (+2.800)


    [Dexterity]: [18.000] (+2.800)


    [Buff]: [Health +1.200] [Strength +1.200] [Vitality +1.200] [Metal & Earth Attribute Magic Power +1% (Max: +300%)] [Metal & Earth Attribute Damage Taken -1% (Max: -70%)]


    [Skill]: [Mithril Scale Armor+++] [Mithril ws+++] [Intimidating Draconic Roar+++] [Mithril Shield Technique+++] [Mithril Spear Technique+++] [Enhanced Metallic Dragon Physique+++] [Full Metal Body Transformation+++] [Draconic Berserk Boost+++] [Maddening Draconic Rampage+++]


    [Awakening Skill]: [Dragonoid Army Coordination+++]


    [Title]: [Berserk of Full Metal]


    [Growth]: [MAX]


    -----


    The Dragonoid were much more different, they had higher cooperation abilities, so they worked better and became stronger when together as a big team. Their abilities all relied on closebat and the usage of weapons they summon out of their metallic scales. They can be of great use to distract the dragon; their abilities are built to make them very tough as well.


    -----


    [Name]: [Violet]


    [Type]: [Dragon] [Poison] [Darkness]


    [Rank]: [A+++]


    [Race]: [Venomous Viper Drake Hydra]


    [Talent]: [Abyssal Venom Demonic Sorceress: ¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï]


    [Health Points]: [24.000/24.000] (+5.600)


    [Mana Points:] [27.000/27.000] (+4.400)


    [Strength]: [19.000] (+5.600)


    [Agility]: [24.000] (+4.400)


    [Vitality]: [24.000] (+4.400)


    [Intelligence]: [27.000] (+2.800)


    [Dexterity]: [19.000] (+2.800)


    [Buff]: [Mana +1.500] [Intelligence +1.500] [Mana +1.500] [Poison & Darkness Attribute Magic Power +3% (Max: +300%)] [Poison & Darkness Attribute Damage Taken -2% (Max: -70%)]


    [Skill]: [Magic-Reflecting Venomous Scale Armor+++] [Abyssal Demonic Venom Dragon Breath+++] [Greater Damage Reduction+++] [Abyssal Venom Sea+++] [Demonic Venom mes+++] [Hydra''s Nine Heads+++] [Venomous Serpent Demonic Dragon Summon+++] [Abyssal Venomous Darkness Explosion+++] [Crystalized Demonic Abyssal Venom Spears+++]


    [Awakening Skill]: [Divine Hydra''s Nine Abyssal Venoms Breath+++]


    [Title]: [Sorceress of Abyssal Demonic Venom]


    [Growth]: [MAX]


    -----


    This was, without a doubt, probably my strongest normal Familiar so far! Violet had just everything, power, defense, and terrifying attack abilities and venom, venom above all else. I am fairly sure the White Dragon is immune to most venoms, poisons, and so on.


    But how much can such an immunityst though? I''ll simply abuse all of these amazing Abilities and Spells to theirplete limit and drown the White Dragon with as much destruction as I can.


    Eventually, something should begin doing some damage to him, no matter how tough he is. If he were a truly powerful Divine Dragon, he wouldn''t be here eating Mithril anyways.


    He would have already destroyed the vige and then made his nest in the Kingdom''s capital. Yet he decided to stay here eating, hiding from the outside world, it even summoned dragon monsters with its powers, just to keep itsir safe.


    The very reason it needed so many minions already say a lot, this Dragon is old and tired, or perhaps even wounded.


    However, even now, I cannot underestimate him.


    "{Summon Familiar}, {Familiar Multiplication}, {Familiar Element Bestowal}, {Vampiric Familiar}"


    I activated four Skills at once, as I multiplied every summon by two hundred, spending almost half of all my A Rank Spirit Orbs savings in one sitting. Then, I assembled all the cards inside of my Grimoire and summoned a hundred of each Dragon-type Familiar for now.


    Enhancing them with the Element of Ice and Fire, half and half. And also, turning them all into Vampiric Familiars, further rising their stats through the roof.


    This is it.


    -----

 Chapter 953: The Divine White Dragon

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    Once I confirmed everything on my side was prepared, I looked back at my friends. Most were ready, but there was something they were missing, something very important that would keep them all alive. Something they didn''t wanted to do right away because it had a short duration and drained them out of most of their Mana and Spirit Energy, but that waspletely essential.


    "What are you guys doing? You say you''re ready, yet you have yet to fuse with any of your familiars?" I asked. "Do that immediately."


    "What? But shouldn''t be leave that for thetter half of the fight?" Chris asked. "If we do that right now¡­!"


    "If you don''t do it, you''ll die." I told Chris and everyone else, with a cold voice, just to make them understand what they were getting themselves into. "Do it now, quickly. If you don''t, I won''t let you fight."


    "Eh?!" Eric felt shocked. "Do we really need to?"


    "You''re looking down on the dragon just because you''ve grown strong and are together as a big party? You''ve never been so clueless as right now, my friend." I sighed. "Quickly, fuse with your strongest Spirit. Keep the others on standby, turn at least one into a shield or armor form too."


    Everyone looked at one another in a bit of shock, but quickly nodded, fusing with their spirits one after another. Their appearances greatly changing, frommon humans, they temporarily transcended into spiritual beings, overflowing with their respective elemental abilities.


    "Good, Erika, Elizabeth, by my side. Eleanora, let''s fuse too." I said. "After all the training, it should at leastst ten minutes."


    "Very well." Eleanora quickly merged with me, our clothes merged together alongside our weapons and our appearances. I had grown used to this much taller form, with long red hair. "Ready? Don''t forget the formation. Everyone except Erdrich, Eleanora, and Elizabeth, get behind my Familiars.


    Once we get inside, the chambers will close, and we won''t be able to get out until we kill the dragon¡­ or we st the mountain apart to open a hole."


    "Gulp¡­" Eric gulped saliva, nodding.


    "Good, let''s do this." I kicked the door stone doors open; the enormous sound made a tremor across the entire mountain.


    We walked inside, as I brought all my familiars with me on a tight formation of five hundred units. The entirety of this cavern section was enormously big, so big all such units fit perfectly well inside. The army wasposed mostly of my new units, while the Generals of the other types of Familiars were also present as the strongest.


    My Unique Familiars were also present, hidden within my shadows for an ambush attack when I can get it.


    The Mithril Drakes led the army, then behind them were the Queens, tougher, but more focused on magic than physical tanking like the soldiers. Behind them were the Dragonoids, riding the Queens. And then the Hydras, and then the Sea Serpents. The magician-focused units stayed at the back to bombard our foe with as much magic as possible.


    Meanwhile, my friends were all behind. I stayed in the middle of the army with Erika and Elizabeth to my right and left, and Erdrich right behind me. My Vampire Familiars? All hidden in my shadows. They were all trump cards I would free as we fought, I can''t reveal the dragon all my tricks yet after all.


    The darkness of the room slowly lighted up, as thest member of our party entered, the gates behind closed shut. The dragon''s eyes opened, his gigantic form moving within the shadows. His scales suddenly began shining with bright, white light.


    As his eyes opened, we could only see two silver-colored stars, ring down at us, shining with divinity beyond our own power.


    "I''ve been watching you, children of men." He spoke with a rough, old voice. "I never expected that you foolish kind would ever dare enter my domain, yet here you are. Not older than seventeen years old,ing to die. Such a pitiful sight."


    "We can solve this without fighting, actually." I spoke from afar. "Leave the mountain and never return, and nobody is fighting here."


    "¡­" The Dragon''s silver eyes shone brightly. "Insolent ant. You dare speak back to me? Amusing, it seems you mortals have grown bold. It has been eons since the Age of Old, now that mankind has inherited the world, you have grown foolish and conceited!"


    "And what about you? while the Demons invade our world, you''rezing about here, while you could be fighting them to protect the world you live in? Who is the foolish one here? You''re nothing but a coward, you speak with so much strength, yet you''re nothing but a beast hiding from the outside world." I spoke back to him.


    "¡­" His eyes continued shining brightly. "I will not entertain you anymore."


    He didn''t speak anything anymore; he didn''t respond either. I knew it, deep down, this bastard knew he was a pathetic coward. A monster so strong, hiding from the world, instead of protecting it? He deserves what ising for him.


    In a split second after he spoke, his eyes released beams of silver mes, pulverizing the first line of Familiars in a split second. The Mithril Drakes died without even being able to move or defend, their health points dropping to zero the moment they were touched by those beams. Thirty units lost in a split second.


    BOOOM!


    "Your familiars, can''t even take a single hit!" He roared, standing up as the entire caverns were illuminated by the radiance of his scales. His enormous draconic figure revealed. A beautiful dragon of silvery-white scales, yet there were countless scars covering him. His wings were also worn down and looked unable to fly. "You call yourself a Summoner?! HAH!


    PATHETIC!"


    He quickly kicked the ground, rushing towards us at a moderate speed. Yet because his over a hundred-meter-tall body was so immense, a single step was like moving dozens of meters at once. In just a few seconds, he was already above us!


    "Do you think I''ll have mercy after the words you''ve spat, human?! DIE AGONIZINGLY!"


    His jaws opened, as he went all-out from the start, a sea of silver mes engulfed us all.


    BOOOMMM!!!


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 Chapter 954: The Power To Slay A Divine Dragon

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    BOOOMMM!!!


    A zing explosion of divine silver dragon mes engulfed us all, only for the mes to quickly swirl around, and then take the shape of a giant silver spear. As I both devoured and controlled these divine mes, I felt my soul and body burning terribly. Yet I kept healing it with my abilities and skills, constantly resisting the agony.


    Although I could easily manipte every me thanks to the powers I''ve received, it didn''t mean that the strongest of them would be easy to control or absorb, even less the ones that came from such powerful beings as a Divine Dragon.


    "What?!" The White Dragon muttered in utter disbelief as I held his mes from vaporizing us all. "How can you¡­?! A blessed from a god?! Which god?! Don''t tell me, those dormant Holy Spiritual Pirs?! You were blessed by such ancestral beings that had no minds at all?!"


    "Not anymore, they do have minds, and thanks to me, they''re developing quickly." I said. "I am shaping them into bing the new Gods of this world, and this, is but a little gift one of them gave to me, as a show of gratitude for everything I''ve done for them, all while you''ve been sitting over here like a miserable bastard. Now, take it back!"


    I sent the spear flying back to the White Dragon, as it struck him with an explosion of silver mes. His entire body was lunged away, as he used his powerful and giant arms to resist the explosive strike, gritting his teeth.


    BAAAM!


    His bodynded on the floor, leaving behind a huge crater. His eyes shone brightly as he quickly fired two beams from them again, this time without saying another word other than a furious roar.


    "RAAAH!"


    I ordered my Familiars to advance, surrounding him as they died one after another after merely being touched. The Mithril Drakes were nothing but bait at the end of the day, distracting him and helping us get a few seconds of time.


    The Serpents and the Hydras coordinated their moves. Gigantic spears of spiraling oceanic water and ice-cold frost surged, a hundred of them descending over the dragon, not even managing to pierce his scales as they all bounced off them. Right after that, a deadly mist of poison and venom spread out, continued by countless spears made out of such crystalized poison.


    Once more, they all bounced off his scales with ease.


    "Haha¡­ HAHAHA! Pathetic! Utterly pathetic." He only mocked me. His jaws opening again. "Now take a taste of what a true divine being''s power is, again!"


    TRUUUMMM!!


    He fired another dragon breath, this time, I caught it using my demonic arm, which vaporized in an instant. I felt my blood burning and turning into ashes as I tried to control the mes. And then as I regenerated my arm, I shaped the mes into a hundred silver-me spears.


    "Take it back¡­"


    The spears flew towards him, the impacts being much stronger. The water, the poison, and the metallic spears that constantly bounced off his scales, they didn''t cause no damage at all, over time, some sort of damage was umted. The metallicponents of the scales weakening.


    It helped that each of their attacks was imbued with either me or ice, creating a constant change of temperature within the metallic scales.


    And when I fired back his strongest attack, the silver-me spears managed to do something he conceived impossible, tiny cracks,pletely small and almost impossible to discern, began spreading through his incredibly tough scale armor.


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!


    "Cracks¡­?!"


    The White Dragon''s silver eyes opened wide, as I keptmanding my forces to attack him. His eyes grew furious as a hundred silver-colored magic circles were conjured in a single second.


    "He''s conjuring magic now?!" Erika panicked.


    "ke!" Elizabeth said.


    "Okay, you may do it now." I nodded.


    "Alright!" Elizabeth smashed the floor with her giant, golden hammer. While resembling a holy draconian after fusing with her Holy Dragon Spirit, Elizabeth activated her abilities. Shebined several Skills effects together with Spells, as a Domain of Pure Light spread out everywhere. "Bybining my Skills, Spells, and the hammer''s abilities¡­! {Heavenly Sanctified Grounds}!"


    FLAAASH!


    A bright sh of light engulfed the surroundings. The White Dragon''s magic was suddenly interrumpted by a wave of spiritual energy. At least sixty percent of his magic circles broke in an instant due to their runic arrangements being overflowed with holy light, disrupting theirposition.


    Crack, crack¡­! CRASH!


    Alongside that, Elizabeth''s powerful new Domain activated. Something we had created together after practicing for many days. A special ability that not only allowed her to disrupt the flow of Mana, but also temporarily seal parts of a foe''s powers from afar.


    Ding!


    [Elizabeth] has activated the {Combined Holy Formation}: {Heavenly Sanctified Grounds}! By using three Holy Light Elemental Spirits as the pirs and the connection to the Holy Spirit of Light, a powerful domain has been erected!]


    [All foes'' Stats are forcefully decreased by -30%, and any of their Magic Circuits and Mana Flow is greatly disrupted! Movement Speed decreases by -50%, and their Attack Power weakens every second.]


    [Because of the Divinity of your foe, only half of these effects will affect him!]


    "My power is decreasing, this damned domain! You''re using the power of a Holy Spiritual Pir?! A mere human! Impossible!" The White Dragon roared. "I reject this insanity!"


    With a furious roar, the fifty magic circles left fired a barrage of Divine Magic. Spears made of Silver Magic like the one my brother wielded, imbued with Divinity fell towards us in quick session. Generating explosions each time they hit something solid.


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!


    I pushed my Familiars in front, as they kept dying, while taking most of the hits for me. Giant walls of mithril and my holy divine demonic mes erected, but proved to be utterly useless as they were destroyed within a second.


    "This isn''t going anywhere, ke! Even with all, he''s too strong!" Erdrich seemed to be losing faith on me.


    "No, things are going better than I imagined, actually¡­" I spoke with a smile on my face, feeling the exhration of an almost impossible battle to win. "This is just beginning after all!"


    FLASH!


    My body quickly erupted with Blood and Darkness Energy, my appearance changing drastically, at the same time as I wielded thebined Gluttony and Envy, I also summoned a giant, holy sword made of pure golden light.


    CRAAASH!


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 Chapter 955: Intense Bloody Battle

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    "{Blood King Transformation}"


    [You have activated the [Blood King Transformation: Lv4] Skill!]


    [You have transformed into your {True Vampire King Form}, you acquired the following Unique Abilities: {Vampire King''s Crimson ws}, {Vampire King''s Sharp Demon Fangs}, {Vampire King''s Sky-Soaring Wings}, {Vampire King''s Eyes of Seduction and Insanity}, {Vampire King''s Reinforced Physique}, {Vampire King''s Primordial Blood Magic}, {Vampire King''s Crimson Blood Legion}, {¡­}]


    [All Stats have increases by +400%, Blood, Darkness, and Vampire Skills, Magic, and Abilities have increases in Power by an additional +600%, while decreasing their Energy Costs by -50%.]


    [Your Mana, Ki, and Blood Energy are being continuously drained.]


    My entire body underwent a drastic transformation. I was already fused with Eleanora, which gave me all her powers and stats, and now, in addition, I transformed even further beyond that. My appearance melding with the Ture vampire King Form, as I became a four-meter-tall giant, with incredibly pale skin, long red and white hair, two crimson eyes with double irises, and an even bulkier physique.


    My clothes barely managed to adjust to my entire physique, my newly reinforced armor swiftly fusing with my body, as I also activated Draconification together with it, bing a half-dragon vampire king. Which in addition with Eleanora''s already demonic vampire dragon powers, created an incredible synergy.


    Our spear, thebination of Gluttony and Envy, red with three mes of different colors. Wrath, Greed, and Gluttony, swirling together and then fusing with a holy light sword I summoned.


    "{Fusion}"


    FLUOSH!


    Both weapons merged together into a never seen before weapon. A gigantic gold, ck, and red colored spear, with bright golden and red jewels spread through its handle, showing both angelic and demonic decorations. One end had a giant de made of demonic darkness; the other end had a bright de of holy light.


    [You have temporarilybined the Demonic Weapons [Envy] and [Gluttony] together with the [Divine Light Sword: Lv5] Skill''s effects, temporarily creating the {Holy Demonic Divine Weapon}: [Heavenly Demonic Holy Abyssal Eclipsing Spear Of the End: Ragnar?k]!]


    [The {Holy Demonic Divine Weapon}: [Heavenly Demonic Holy Abyssal Eclipsing Spear Of the End: Ragnar?k] power is unstable due to its used materials! Usage time has been reduced to 10 Minutes.]


    [The power of the Fusion Weapon overflows through your body and your surroundings, a {Demonic Holy Storm Of Destruction} epasses everything within a fifty-meter vicinity of you!]


    "What is that weapon¡­?"


    The White Dragon was once more bbergasted, as he saw my giant spear block all of his Divine Spells at once. A storm of demonic and holy energies shing against one another overwhelming it all, as I pushed it forwards, shaping the storm into a giant fist and punching him as hard as I could.


    BAAAM!


    "Tobine demonic and holy powers¡­ You''re not an ordinary human at all! In fact, you''re bizarre, more bizarre than any non-human I''ve ever seen through my long life! Just who are you, human?!"


    The White Dragon gave another step, his Divinity Aura finally emerging out of his body, erupting as a shockwave of pure Silver and White light, instantly destroying the storm generated by my weapon and pushing me back as hard as he could.


    My stats, all my power amassed together, even with all of that, I was barely capable of resisting his Divine Aura! It was on apletely different level than anything I''ve fought!


    Why is such a powerful beingzing around here, when there have been incredibly strong Archdemon Vessels roaming freely?!


    By merely thinking about it, I feltpletely and utterly frustrated!


    "RAAAH!"


    Activating my Spear techniques, I unleashed a storm of countless attacks, shing against his invisible pressuring aura, each strike sent bolts of holy and demonic energy against the dragon. The more I fought, the more damage he received.


    "What drives you to such madness, human?! Even at your peak now, you can''t evenpare to my strength!" The White Dragon roared. "Why do you face a god such as me?! What do you seek out of this?!"


    "What do I seek?!" Iughed, showing him my sharp vampire fangs. "I seek to eat you up, and not leave even a bone behind! HAHAHAHA!"


    I showed my true face, my true self, resurfacing from the depths of my soul and my heart. The endless greed, the endless hunger, the endless wrath. These sins resonated, as the true Asmodeus, someone that hasn''t appeared in years, surfaced.


    "And I won''t stop until you''re dead, White Dragon!"


    "You''re insane!"


    His giant ws received me, an immense sh that made my entire body tremble. I blocked the fairly slow attack with my spear, even while being below the dragon''s immense pressure! I fought back, kicking his ws and then piercing them as fast as I could.


    CRAAASH!


    "UGH?!"


    Blood sttered everywhere; his eyes widened as my attack finally managed to pierce the smaller scales of his ws! It might have seemed like apletely insignificant wound to him, but it meant much more than he imagined¡­


    Especially with my ability to control wound.


    An open wound meant much more to a Vampire than a Dragon could ever imagine.


    "A mere wound such as this¡­! I recognize your power, but this is the only damage you''ll ever achieve against me- UGH?!"


    "And that''s where you''re wrong, fool." I responded, stretching my hands towards his wounds, opening my fingers wide, and feeling the extremely heavy, divine blood of a dragon flowing within his veins. I could feel it, and I could now grasp it, with all my might, and with the developing divinities within my Spirit Orb. "{Vampire King''s Primordial Blood Magic}: {Blood Origin}!"


    "WHAT?!" The White Dragon screamed in utter shock, as the blooding from his wound never stopped, endlesslying out, like a river of crimson liquid, it spiraled upwards above my head, as I opened my mouth and drank it. I drank it all!


    "Gulp, gulp, gulp¡­ Hahah¡­!"


    "YOU DARE DRINK MY BLOOD?!"


    His giant ws descended towards me, breaking my armor, shattering it into pieces, and then piercing my chest, tearing down my torso into two halves.


    CRAAASH!


    "BLAKEEEE!"


    "NOOO!"


    Erika and Elizabeth''s screams resonated behind me.


    It''s not time for you to fight yet, just wait a bit longer.


    A bit longer¡­


    Until!


    [Your {Dragon Heart} has reacted to the Divine Dragon Blood you''ve drank!]


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 Chapter 956: Drinking Divine Dragon Blood Straight From The Source!

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    My body was torn apart by his divine ws, yet I felt no pain.


    I only felt an endless surge of¡­ power.


    Ah, this feeling.


    So sweet, so powerful, so fiery!


    This blood of such high, delicious quality.


    I had never tasted something like this before.


    So this is¡­


    The Blood of a God.


    Delicious.


    I want more!


    "MORE!"


    With a furious, draconic roar, my dragon heart regenerated back together with the power I felt surging endlessly from my own body.


    My grimoire showcasing the changes on its texts, directly transmitted into my head at the same time as my entire body regenerated back together through the powers of my Physique and my Skills, and of course, of the endless power that a few droplets of this dragon''s blood gave to me.


    [Your {Dragon Heart} has reacted to the Divine Dragon Blood you''ve drank! The Divine Dragon Blood has been fully assimted into your body through both the powers of your Dragon Heart and your Vampiric Abilities.]


    [You feel an endless surge of Divine Power coursing through every inch of your body! The Divine Power feeds youpletely. Your Mana and Ki are beingpletely restored every second for the next 5 Minutes.]


    [The power of your {Dragon Heart} and your {Vampiric Powers} are converging together, slowly unveiling their powers and growing progressively stronger.]


    [All your Stats have further increased by +500% as a {Divinity Imitation Aura} surges from your very pumping blood!]


    "ROOOAARR!"


    A mighty draconic roar emerged from my own Blood Aura, the White Dragon opened his eyes wide, as he suddenly stepped back due to the enormous pressureing from my entire body. With all my power, my Demonic Arm transformed into a titanic hand, pushing him down with all the strength I had!


    BAAAMMM!!


    "UUGH?! AARGH!"


    The White Dragon''s Divinity shed against my won imitation of his own, slightly canceling one another, and giving me this opportunity! All of the bonus stats further improved my chances, even against a damned old god.


    "Y-YOU DAMNED HUMAN! YOU''RE¡­ YOU''RE NOT HUMAN! YOU''RE A PREDATORY BEAST, A MONSTER! I MUST ELIMINATE YOU!"


    The Dragon roared, opening his jaws and releasing a deadly dragon breath into my face, my entire head was almost vaporized, if I didn''t open my mouth, swallowing most of the mes and then spitting them back into the shape of countless spears.


    "AGAIN WITH THAT?!"


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!


    I once more fired back all of his silver mes, spreading them through his entire body with a bombardment of over ten thousand smaller projectiles. This coupled with the ice and fire magic conjured from my troops, finally made a breakthrough.


    The cracks that appeared on his scales, finally opened, cracks becamerger, as over ten of his scales suddenly shattered, leaving behind the exposed old skin beneath!


    "W-What?! MY SCALES BROKE?!"


    The White Dragon couldn''t believe it, his own face filled with utter disbelief, as I smiled, activating my spear''s powers at the same time as my gauntlet. The White Dragon quickly started to step back now that ten of his scales shattered.


    "I am not done with you, bastard. Where do you think you''re going?"


    "BEGONE!"


    The White Dragon gave a mighty roar, the pressure sent me flying before I could hit him, but I quickly kicked the empty air, my legs bursting into pieces due to the force I used, but quickly regrew anew anyways.


    "I said I am NOT done with you!"


    "You keep going back, you''re such an annoying cockroach!"


    "That''s what I''ve always have been, we''re all cockroaches here, always trying to survive against old monsters like you. And there''s no shame in epting that fact, because at the end, the ones that''ll prevail will be the most fitting to survive!" I smiled.


    "WHAT?!" His eyes widened as my monstrous spear suddenly overflowed with a sanguine power.


    "An old andzy bastard like you should have died long ago, you pathetic excuse of a god!" I roared. "{Vampiric Stigma: Sanguine Fury}!"


    [The effects of the {Vampiric Stigma: Sanguine Fury} have been activated. For every 1000 Health Points lost from the wielder or any ally within a 50-meter vicinity, increases Damage Dealt by +1% (Max: +5.000%) for 10 Minutes. However, after the timing is off, you take 50% of the damage you dealt, your HP cannot go below 1.]


    [Current Bonus: +5.000%]


    [Duration: 10 Minutes.]


    My spear suddenly turnedpletely deep red, resembling a huge spiracle of pure blood. Using its newfound power, I shed against his divine ws, which I could only barely scratch before.


    And this time, however.


    CRAAASH!


    An explosion of pure blood energy erupted, so strong it pierced through his Divinity even more, two of his ws suddenly shattered into pieces, as they left two huge wounds, constantly bleeding.


    "RAAARGGH!" He screamed. "What is that power?! I can feel something sinister from it! It damaged me?! I was damaged¡­ by a mere MORTAL?!"


    "You''re not invincible." I said. "And I am about to prove it to you. Everyone, it''s finally time! ATTACK!"


    As I gave mymand, all my friends leaped into battle. I also summoned the rest of my Familiars inside of my Grimoire, and even all of my Vampire Familiars.


    "I''ve been waiting for this moment already!" Chris roared.


    "ke, don''t fight it alone!" Eric said.


    "You bastard lizard,e here!" Erdrich roared.


    The trio attacked the White Dragon first,bining their skills, spells, and spirits powers together to form a single and almighty "Combination Art", something I had also taught them in our long break thesest weeks.


    A giant fist made of Spirit Wood, Emerald Winds, Demonic mes, Spiritual mes, and Phantasmal mes descended towards the White Dragon, hitting the areas where his scales were broken. One punch, two punches, three punches, four punches. More and more kept appearing and then being destroyed.


    "UUGH¡­?!"


    The White Dragon suddenly felt more pain within those areas, as the skin beneath the scales finally started to be damaged, more and more blooding out, as a huge wound was made. And using his stupefied state, I pierced it even further with my spear.


    CRAAASH!


    As the blood sttered everywhere, I drank it all.


    Finally, we were making progress!


    -----

 Chapter 957: The White Dragon Bestellen

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    "ke¡­ ke destroyed his ws and damaged him!" Erika screamed euphorically. "Alright! This means he''s not invincible!"


    Her entire body overflowed with almighty strength, her Dual Aura surging from her sword descended towards the dragon, pointing it at the dragon''s opened skin tissue. Her sword shed; her Aurabined with it. The figure of a gigantic dragon roared behind the White Dragon.


    His eyes opened in utter shock, unable to react to all the pain he was suffering, the White Dragon looked behind towards Erika, realizing her Aura resembled one of his kin! And above all, Erika emanated a powerful aura of Spiritual Divinity from Yggdrasil itself.


    "Wha¡­?! Who is she?!"


    CRAAASH!


    Before he could say another word, the sword pierced his skin, reaching deep into his flesh. Blood sttered everywhere, as he swiftly panicked, feeling a sharp pain through his arms. It was as if some terrific venom was being injected inside of his blood. Yet his divinity quickly canceled it.


    "FOOL!"


    He swiped his spear tail, smashing Erika with all his strength and sending her flying away with a loud thud. Her body copsed on the rocky floor, leaving behind a devastating crater.


    Yet¡­


    YET!


    My Erika wasn''t giving up.


    "Hahaha¡­ It''s true, ke said that among all of us, only him¡­ and me can take the dragon hits head-on!" Erika roared, her body having fused not with one, but all her spirits at once. A ck armor covered her body as dream dragon scales further protected her.


    Unlike everyone else here, Erika was a unique case. She was technically a Spirit! This made her incrediblypatible with other Spirits at the same time. While most humans could have a single spirit inside of them through Spirit Fusion, as more than one would cause severe damage into their bodies and souls, like it happened to Ellergest back then, Erika was different.


    Her body was made of Spiritual Power and Yggdrasil''s wood itself. Therefore, as someone that was both a Spirit, and also made of the wood of the mother of all Spirits in the world, she could contain as many as she wanted!


    It took time and practice, and effort. But she had finally managed to reach this point. And her stats, were perhaps almost as ridiculous as mine now.


    And that''s without even considering her body regeneration. The enormous wound she took quickly regenerate, as new wood and roots grew where the wound was.


    Her wood could also freely change between flesh-like and bark-like at will, giving her the power of having strong, flexible muscles, while possessing the toughness and weight of wood and bark.


    FLASH!


    In a split second, she returned to the battle, appearing above the White Dragon, as I shed against him from the left, she shed against him from the right. Our weapons, which were both Demonic and Holy, were the perfect matcha against him.


    Demonic and Holy Energies naturally disrupted and shed against one another, creating a chaotic destructive essence born from it. This essence was known as Chaos, a power that was incredibly hard to extract from anything.


    Yet bybining Holiness and Demonic Power, small particles of Chaos are born. Therefore, the best weapon that can pierce through the flesh of a God, is one with both properties, capable of producing chaos, which can consume everything.


    "RAAAH!"


    CRAAASH!


    Our attacks hit the White Dragon''s wounds once more, his temper already reaching his limits. As I keep draining his blood and drinking it within these seconds of shock he was experiencing. Such an ancient being had never experienced this much pain shock.


    "ENOUGH!"


    His spear pierced my chest and tore apart my torso off my legs, while his ws swung down against Erika, splitting her into two halves. Both of our bodies were sent flying, as he greeted Chris, Eric, and Erdrich with his eye beams, while he released a barrage of silver spears using his Divine Magic against the approaching Arafunn, Alberta, and Elizabeth.


    Explosions of silver mes engulfing everyone.


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!


    "I am the White Dragon, Bestellen!" He roared, finally giving us his name. "I have lived for what some might consider an eternity! I might be old, and I might be worn down after thest battle against THEM¡­ But it doesn''t mean I will let you, pathetic children of men, to trample over me, and my LEGACY!"


    As he roared, his Divinity kept expanding, so powerful it forced everyone to kneel down before his presence. His magic circles kept appearing without him even having to arrange them personally, his Dragon Tongue allowing him to conjure magic almost instantaneously.


    "It ismendable that you''ve wounded, but even then, your power, your strength¡­ It simply can''tpare, no matter how hard you try, and no matter how many tries you give!" His ws red with silver mes, as he started to cauterize his wounds.


    "No, he''s trying to close the wounds!" Cried Erika, quickly regenerating back to normal. "DAMMIT!"


    "Keep attacking!" My body quickly came back to normal. "We''re not done yet! Don''t let him recover!" I expanded my Vampiric Blood Aura everywhere, imitating the Divinity powers I absorbed from his Divine Blood and shing against his invisible pressure again.


    "YOU AGAIN?! How many times will you stand back up after I tear to shreds?!"


    Bestellen grew mad in anger and frustration, stepping forwards and kicking me away with all his force, my body once more being torn apart, only to quickly grow tentacle-like tendrils and reassemble itself, sticking back together in a second.


    "As many times as it takes! I will free this Kingdom from you, and I will give these people¡­ my family, the sense of relief they deserve! I won''t let you continue monopolizing the riches of this mountain, which we humans need to survive in this damned world!" I roared, my demonic arm growing to a monstrous size and shing against his own ws.


    CLAAASH!


    My demonic arm was quickly set aze by his silver mes, but I quickly stole them again, gathering them into a giant sword, which I swung towards his cauterized wounds, quickly opening them again.


    BOOOM!


    "NGH¡­! BASTARD!" The White Dragon simply couldn''t take a break.


    And that was the intention!


    We were going to continue attacking endlessly and relentlessly.


    Until he eventually falls!


    -----

 Chapter 958: One of Blakes Many Trump Cards

    -----


    The Domain of Elizabeth suddenly started growing stronger as I shed against Bestellen. At the same time, healing waves constantly washed over everyone. Their burnt wounds quickly healing back and getting everyone back into the game. My Vampire Spirits appeared and disappeared above the dragon, distracting him and bombarding him with their strongest techniques.


    Explosions of sands and light, abyssal miasmic seas, frost, lightning, ki, everything they could muster shed over him. His scales bounced it all back, but those smart enough managed to pierce his open wounds and make them worse, all while opening new ones within the exposed skin areas.


    "ANTS, BEGONE FROM MY SIGHT!"


    With a ferocious roar, he swung his ws, Eriant couldn''t escape in time, his entire body exploding into golden sand in thest minute before he was about to die, and then rearranging himself back into a giant of golden sands.


    "You''re perhaps the toughest enemy we''ve ever fought before! I can''t afford to go easy on you!"


    His entire body became a tornado of sand, epassing Bestellenpletely. The White Dragon only felt annoyed, as his silver mes covered the sand and then crystalized it into ss.


    "Pathetic."


    CRAAASH!


    Eriant was shattered into pieces, as his entire body slowly dissipated into particles of light, reappearing inside of my Spirit Orb and slowly healing.


    "You fought well!" I said, appearing above Bestellen when he least expected it. "Thank you for buying me time, Eriant!"


    As I said that, I gathered the Divine Blood Power I had absorbed so far into my hands and imbued it into my spear again. Coupled with the Vampiric Stigma, I activated the power of Envy and Gluttony together, summoning an all-epassing domain of all-devouring demonic energy.


    I activated the [Infernal Demonic Dragon''s Domain Of Wrathful Envy] and the [Infernal Archdemon''s Devourer Domain] as two domains made of pure Blood, Demonic Energy, mes, and Chaos surged at the same time.


    Yes, Chaos!


    "This is my trump card!"


    "WHAT?!"


    The White Dragon could only gasp in surprise as half his body was swallowed by a Domain of pure Demonic Power. Envy and Gluttony activating their power together to form a pocket world trapping the White Dragon''s upper half.


    "What trick is this now?! My Divinity as the only White Dragon is absolute! I am the master of the Divine Silver Element! Light answers my call!" Bestellen roared, silver light materialized on his ws in a split second, as he started tearing through the domain.


    However, the Domain wasn''t just a Domain, it fought back, and it tried to bite him back too. Thousands of jaws emerged out of the domain, trying to grind and bite through his sharp silvery white scales, only for their teeth to break instantly, the embodiment of Gluttony didn''t work.


    At the same time, deadly shadow hands touched his body, attempting to steal his stats for themselves through the power of Envy, but the hands were vaporized, incapable of copying his powers or stealing them.


    "Pathetic attacks such as those will only buy you a few more seconds of despair." Bestellen spoke with an almighty voice, tearing through the domain, only to find his legs bleeding rapidly. "UGH?!"


    The scars within his legs, we abused them. while we trapped his upper half inside of the weapon''s domain. Everyone else ganged on the old scars, slowly breaking them open again, blood and fleshing out of them.


    "YOU BEASTS!" The White Dragon screamed, looking at us as if we were nothing but parasites trying to devour his flesh and blood. "DIE! DIE ALL OF YOU!"


    He opened his mouth once more, a deadly me breath destroyed all our defenses, as I used my shadow magic to desperately drag my friends with me. A few more of my Vampire Spirits didn''t make it, as they died instantly, exploding into particles of light and then reappearing inside my Spirit Orb Realm.


    "HAAAHH¡­ HAAAHHH¡­" The White Dragon was gasping, groaning as he looked¡­ tired. "Y-YOU MONSTERS¡­ YOU DARE GRIND MY FLESH; YOU DARE DRINK MY BLOOD! DO YOU HAVE NO RESPECT AT ALL AGAINST A GOD?!"


    "You''re not our God!" Elizabeth said. "You''re nothing but an old relic, a monster that only steals away our resources and does nothing to help anybody! Do you simply believe that because you''re an old monster, we should praise you as a god?!"


    "INSOLENT CHILDREN OF MEN!" Elizabeth''s words hit extra hard on the old dragon, as he swiped his ws against her. "I''LL ENJOY TEARING YOU TO SHREDS!"


    "I don''t think you will do that, no." However, another voice echoed. A voice that came from a beautiful, refined woman of ancient times. Her very existence slightly emanating the divinity that she once possessed.


    An aura of frost epassed the entire surroundings, making everything cold. Arafunn''s eyes opened wide, apanied by a hundred frost fairies, the Frost Queen, Skadi, appeared.


    "Y-YOU?!"


    Bestellen recognized her somehow.


    I managed to easily gather over two hundred A Rank Spirit Orbs, allowing me to summon Skadi, the A+++ Rank Summon that the Holy Spirit of Ice gifted to me. A woman that once lived millions of years ago in the Continent of the Elves. Her very presence seemed almost divine.


    "It has been eons, Bestellen. What has happened to the former Ruler of the Snow Peaks of the East? You''ve be but an old, decrepit and insane man now." Said Skadi. "You''ve strived away from everything you''ve sworn to protect!"


    "A woman that was supposed to have died so long ago has no right to tell me what to do, or what I am supposed to do!" Bestellen screamed, madness flowing through his head. "I AM BESTELLEN, THE WHITE DRAGON! RULER OF SILVER! KING OF THE SNOW PEAKS!"


    As he screamed in utter madness, the surroundings began to shake. His magic and his divinity started going in disarray, spreading into huge pirs of silver mes erupting from the floor, shaking the entire mountain!


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!


    RUMBLE!


    "You think you can do that in front of me?!" Skadi roared, as all her fairies fused together into her body, boosting her stats temporarily and her frost powers even more. Something I had no idea she could do. "It seems that for old times sake, I''ll have to help them stop your madness, old friend! {Divine Spiritual Blizzard: Fimbulwinter}!"


    FLUOOOSH!


    A blizzard of tremendous power suddenly epassed the entire caves, turning off the silver me pirs.


    "SKAAADI!" Bestellen screamed. "YOU!"


    His ws reached her.


    CLAAASH!


    -----

 Chapter 959: The Clash Between Two Ancient God-like Beings!

    -----


    Right in front of all of us, a sh between Ancient God-like beings was unfolded. Skadi, a supposedly ancient Frost Fairy Queen of the Continent of Elves, and Bestellen, the White Dragon. It seemed that both knew one another from the past, old rivals, or perhaps old friends. It didn''t matter much now.


    Skadi had died long ago, but her Spirit and Souls were saved within the Divine Realm of the Holy Spirit of Ice, bing the Spirit''s servant, until her Holy Spirit decided to give her to me, bing my new familiar.


    Meanwhile, Bestellen seemed to have weakened tremendously after a war of ancient times, his wings were torn down, his scales weakened, his body was covered with scars, and he had grown old and mad.


    Whatever they used to be now didn''t matter.


    They were now foes.


    CLAAASH!


    Bestellen''s gigantic divine dragon ws reached Skadi, only to break a giant wall of ice she conjured a split second before his ws were to hit her. The White Dragon gritted his teeth as he inhaled air.


    "He''s preparing a breath attack!" Skadi told us. "Hide behind these!" She conjured her magic again, giant pirs of ice surged behind her, as we all ran behind them a split second before a massive dragon breath was unleashed.


    BOOOMMM!!!


    The breath impacted the walls, as Skadi kept conjuring more and moreyers, endlessly! Ultimately, the breath stopped, although the surroundings were now coveredpletely on silver mes. An attack that could have easily destroyed a whole country, we managed to survive Bestellen''s deadly breath again.


    "Cough, cough¡­! AKHH¡­ My throat''s all sore, dammit!" Bestellen''s voice became dried as he coughed blood in pain.


    He seemed to have overexerted himself with that deadly dragon breath. However, Skadi was forced to pay the price, her body was half destroyed, slowly melting into the floor as if she were simply just made of frost.


    "Skadi! You''re already dying?!" I asked.


    "Hahah, you should be grateful I saved your life, master." Skadiughed. "I am not dead yet, no¡­!"


    However, she quickly flew up once more, regenerating back as I allowed her to absorb my Mana, her legs reformed anew, and all her wounds disappeared. She couldn''t die so easily, not after all the Spirit Orbs I spent to summon her! This was the true power of an A+++ Rank Familiar, something almost at the same level as an S Rank Summon.


    "Cough¡­ Dammit!" Bestellen kept coughing after just a couple of seconds since his breath attack finished.


    There was a window of time, while he was weakened, while he was distracted!


    We couldn''t waste it.


    It was now or never!


    "ATTACK! NOW!"


    I roared, leading my entire party towards battle once more. Waves of healing light being constantly conjured by Elizabeth as she kept everyone barely alive, even after all the immense damage we''ve been constantly taking.


    A rain of attacks from my surviving Vampire Spirits and all my friends and Familiars fell over Bestellen at once, as Skadi conjured dozens of enormous floating Ice Mirrors, nning something. I conjured my strongest Darkness and Blood Magic Spells using the benefits of having undergone my Blood King Transformation.


    I even activated Blood King''s Throne and Call of the Night all for this moment!


    "You think I''ll let you get close, you pathetic worms?!"


    "Yes, I believe we can! I''ll open the way for all of us!"


    Bestellen roared in utter fury, magic circles appearing all around him as countless pirs of silver mes reached us, shing against all our projectiles and magic and nullifying most of them on the spot. My entire body was sted by three pirs at once, as I felt my entire body burning to cinders only to regenerate right beforepletely disappearing.


    Over and over and over again!


    "WHY WON''T YOU DIE ALREADY, YOU UNDYING COCKROACH?!"


    "RAAAAH!"


    I kept charging and charging more, absorbing all the Silver mes I could at the same time. And then releasing it all on a single spell, everything.


    Blood, Darkness, and the Divine Silver mes.


    It all became a single attack, which I imbued into my dual spear of light and darkness.


    "{Oblivion Bolt}"


    FLAAASH!


    The bolt of pure white, red, and ck mes shed through the empty air. The White Dragon swiftly opening his eyes wide as the projectile came rushing towards him at lightning speed. He pointed his hands towards the projectile, as a giant barrier of silver mes surged from around him, while his own Divinity constantly kept generating a deadly, invisible shockwave.


    Yet¡­


    YET!


    "What¡­?!"


    The spear pierced through his mes, absorbing them and bing evenrger, the invisible pressure of his Divinity slowed down its trajectory, yeah.


    But it didn''t stop it.


    "Ah!"


    It was already toote when he realized the projectile was touching the skin of his left shoulder.


    BOOOMMM!!!


    A huge explosion of silver mes, darkness, and blood reverberated everywhere, the entire mountain trembled once more, making everything seem like the mountain was about to fall down into pieces.


    "Aaarrgh! W-What is this?! Ugh..! DAMMIT!"


    However, as the smoke dissipated and everyone stood back up, we saw it. Amidst the smoke, the White Dragon Bestellen, had a gigantic hole on his left shoulder, so big it pierced his bones and constantly poured blood down, his arm was left dangling, all the nerves and bones cut off from his main body.


    "M-My arm¡­! Argh¡­! No¡­! I have to heal this- YOU DAMNED BASTARDS!"


    Silver-colored healing light appeared within his other hand, as he attempted to connect his tendrils and regenerate his bones with a quick healing spell. Small tendrils surged, but they were having a progressively hard time healing him back together.


    "Why is it not working?!" He muttered. "There''s something there, blocking my healing!"


    He didn''t realize at first, but the wound was already beginning to slowly rot, and this was because of the powers of Gluttony''s [Miasmic Necrotic Wounds]! Not only did they stop regeneration, but they lowered stats and could even cause muscr paralysis.


    "You won''t be able to get that arm back any time soon!"


    I rushed towards him with all my strength, resembling a blur of crimson and ck light.


    He greeted me with a wicked smile, the pressure of his Divinity pushing me down like an ant.


    Yet, I refused to be ant in front of him.


    It was finally time to use it.


    "{Embodiment of the Night: Camazotz}"


    FLAAASH!


    And my body became that of a giant.


    -----

 Chapter 960: Embodiment of the Night: Camazotz

    -----


    "W-What?!"


    Bestellen was utterly bbergasted with the scene in front of him. Seconds ago, he had believed he could easily crush ke as long as he got close enough. His Divinity was absolute, and with that, he could ovee any foe. As long as they got in range, that''s it.


    The very reason why everyone else had survived so far was because ke was being incredibly cautious with handling him. Only him and Erika, the only two members of the party capable of withstanding lethal damage and regenerating fully within seconds, were confronting him head-on.


    Everybody else, even the heavy hitters, kept their distance,bining their Ki techniques with their magic to unleash devastatingbined techniques and abilities. And even without engaging with Bestellen, they felt his overwhelming pressure from afar, making their entire bodies tremble.


    The very act of resisting his powerful Divine Presence was already a tremendous effort, even when everyone had undergone Spirit Fusion!


    Yet, right now, ke had once more changed things. Using all his power and all of Bestellen''s silver mes at once, he created an opening.


    An evenrger opportunity than before, incapacitating one of his arms, and weakening the White Dragon severely!


    And now, it was time for him to get more active in the battlefield.


    It was time to use his trump card, a gift from Sangre herself.


    "SHAAAAHHH!!!"


    A monstrous beastly roar reverberated across the entire mountain; ke''s entire body had changed shape. Rather tremendously so. While still being fused with Eleanora, having undergone his Blood King Transformation, and also his Draconification by channeling both his Dragon Heart''s powers and Ruby''s dragon abilities at once, he had transformed on top of that.


    And the shape he took was utterly monstrous and gigantic, an aberrant monster that would only appear on people''s worst nightmares. And something that deeply shocked ke and his friends severely.


    His new form was the effect of his strongest Skill, tied with the Outer Goddess Sangre, the [Embodiment of the Night: Camazotz] Skill!


    "What is that wicked shape?!" The White Dragon himself had his eyes widened in utter shock at what he was seeing with his silver eyes.


    ke''s entire body had expanded with a single explosion of crimson lightning and shadows. Matching the White Dragon''s size of over a hundred meters but resembling an aberrant vampire bat instead of a majestic dragon.


    Indeed, a bat!


    Camazotz true appearance was that of a gigantic bat monstrosity, a Primordial Vampiric Monster born as the first child of Sangre, a divine being that once wreaked havoc across the cosmos before Asmodeus was even born.


    His long arms were covered on ck and red fur, his wings spreading out like gigantic curtains of darkness, each finger was longer than the previous one, with sharp, deadly ws at each end. His tail was made of twenty different tentacle-like tails of red and ck color, constantly hitting everything like deadly whips.


    Its face was utterly hideous, the ugliest bat monster you could even imagine, with long, big ears, a spread-out nose, big, crimson eyes, three pairs of them, four spiraling ck horns growing from its forehead, and an incredibly long, purple tongue which ended on a bright green tone of color, constantly producing an acidic venomous substance.


    But above all, the mark that all Vampires that descended from Camazotz possess, his giant, sharp fangs. As sharp as the mightiest divine spears, they were immensely long, protruding outside of Camazotz''s own jaws.


    The moment ke transformed, he felt his very being unifying with an ancient entity, its Soul fusing with him momentarily. This was the silent, calm, and sleeping presence of Camazotz''s Eternal Primordial Soul, which resided somewhere, and which could only be essed through this Skill!


    Ding!


    [You have activated the [Embodiment of the Night: Camazotz: Lv1] Skill¡­]


    [Darkness shrouds your surroundings, blood beckons your arrival, the night calls for your name, fear fills the minds of your foes. You''ve be the embodiment of everyone''s fears.]


    [You have temporarily transformed into the Primordial Vampiric Beast, Camazotz!]


    [Your surroundings darken, an Aura of shadows constantly epass your body.]


    [While transformed in this appearance, All Stats will increase by +1500%, however, the user''s mind will be in an endless berserk state, unable to keep their cool!]


    [Their very presence will exude an {Primordial Bloodsucking Aura} which will drain the Blood or Life Force of any foe within a 30 meter range from them, further decreasing their Stats by -50%.]


    [Their deadly Fangs, ws, Tails, Wings, and ursed Eyes and incredibly urate Ears can overwhelm most foes, their Physical Abilities all enhanced by a further +1000%.]


    [Transformation Duration: 1 Hour. Cooldown: 24 Hours.]


    A berserk-like state which came with an endless sense of euphoria and power, ke could barely resist it, but why did he have to anyways?


    To kill the mad White Dragon, he had to go all-out!


    "RAAAAH!"


    Within a second of having transformed, ke leaped towards Bestellen. His invisible domain of Divinity shed against him, only for something to surge from within ke as well.


    All the blood he had drank from the dragon was now activating its power to their very limits, his Aura of Blood Sucking activatingpletely, as a swirling tornado of blood clouds and ck shadows appeared surrounding his gigantic body.


    CLAAASH!


    Their Auras shed against one another with a loud explosion of invisible divine essence. Bestellen gritted his teeth as he used his entire gigantic body to attack ke, he only had a single arm, but it moved incredibly quickly, each blow felt like it was going to break all of ke''s bones, his kicks were deadly as well as his tail spear strikes!


    CLASH! CLASH! CLASH!


    "Hahahah! You''re nothing! You''re still the same pathetic punching bag as before!" Bestellen grew cockier.


    However, ke kept regenerating endlessly no matter the damage, his ws seeping into the dragon''s already created wounds, opening them further and further while biting and tearing his scales apart.


    Although Bestellen thought he was winning, things were much different!


    As big and terrifying as he was, Camazotz was still, at its very core, a bloodsucking beast.


    "SHAAAAH!"


    With a furious roar, ke opened his jaws, siphoning an enormous quantity of divine blood from all of Bestellen''s wounds.


    "AARRGGHH!"


    The dragon immediately felt utter agony, as he started losing all his blood at an increasingly terrifying pace!


    -----

 Chapter 961: The Final Showdown

    -----


    The effects of Camazotz''s Bloodsucking Aura activated at full effect. All the wounds ke opened from Bestellen were quickly drained out of their blood. God or not, he was still a living being that had blood inside of him, and as long as he had blood inside, he was something that could be killed by taking it all away. Just like Asmodeus had done many times, against many foes!


    Bestellen saw in utter horror as all his blood was being drained out of his body, drankpletely by the monstrous bat creature. He swiftly pushed his entire body towards ke and smashed his skull into the ground with hisst arm, a huge crack on his head was formed!


    CRAAASH!


    "DIEEE!"


    The Dragon didn''t stop there, his magic activating as over a dozen pirs of silver mes were about to impact ke''s body at once! However, to the White Dragon''s surprise, that didn''t happen.


    A cloud of shadows enshrouded kepletely, his body disappearing before the pirs of silver mes could even hit him. A secondter, the titanic body of ke appeared above Bestellen through the moving cloud of shadows.


    This was another of Camazotz''s Abilities, the Endless Enshrouding Darkness that apanies him, giving the monstrosity the ability to easily move through space by traveling through the void formed by his endless darkness instead.


    "YOU¡­!"


    The White Dragon harnessed his Divinity into his body, making his domain morepact and using it as both a weapon and armor, blocking the iing blows from Camazotz with his only surviving arm, generating an invisible shield of Divinity.


    [Flesh-Tearing ws of Despair]!


    CLASH! CLASH! CLASH!


    ke activated one of the many Abilities of Camazotz, his gigantic ws shed through the Divinity Shield of Bestellen at a rapid pace. In just two seconds, the shield immediately bended over, the White Dragon attacked back with a series of pirs of silver mes, which ke instantly avoided by running inside the Endless Enshrouding Darkness.


    "He was able almost destroy my Divinity Shield with his mere ws?!" Thought the White Dragon, looking around as he predicted ke appearing from behind. "You''re not that hard to predict, you foolish beast!"


    His ws descended towards the ck clouds behind him, only for his ws to pierce the ground below, ke was not appearing there.


    "A feint?!"


    Bestellen''s draconic eyes widened as he noticed ke appearing above him! His magic responded way toote, as Camazotz opened their aberrant, gigantic jaws, letting out a foul green and ck colored breath!


    [ck Breath Of Decay]!


    A deadly beam charged with darkness and poisonous blood essence shed over Bestellen, the White Dragon''s defenses werepletely ignored as his scales and wounds worsened! His scales started melting, his wounds bleeding and growing infected.


    BOOOMMM!!


    "GUUAAGH!"


    And his entire body was set aze by ck and green mes, which burned and melted him as if he were made of butter. Amidst his screams, everyone else attacked. ke wasn''t alone, and even in this form, he didn''t intend to fight alone either.


    "HYAAAH!"


    Erika appeared behind Bestellen as a blur of green and purple light, her hands channeling all her powers into her giant, ck great sword, as she swung it horizontally and vertically consecutively!


    SLASH! SLASH! SLASH!


    Bestellen red at Erika furiously as he noticed her attacks umting over his already damaged shoulder, only for his wound to be greeted by Erika''s ultimate attack, swinging her sword onest time, as her Aura erupted into a dual form of fiery mes and green nature, fusing together.


    "{Yggdragon''s Wrathful Holy Harmonious Aura}: {Destructive Yggdragon''s Cataclysm}!"


    Both of the Auras converged together through her amazing sword''s abilities, a roaring dragon shed against Bestellen, as he was incapable of believing that this little girl possessed such amount of draconic strength!


    "ROOOAARR!"


    SLAAASH!


    With fear constantly growing inside of his heart, the old, prideful, and mad White Dragon nced in utter horror as his arm was cut off, falling over the floor at longst, more and more blood pouring out of his wound.


    "GRAAAAHHH! DAMMIT!"


    With a ferocious scream of utter agony, horror, and fury mixed together, the White Dragon''s fists reached Erika, epassed on Divinity and Silver mes! Erika reacted in time, covering herself with a hundredyers of divine wood and scales, alongside cing her sword in front.


    BAAAMMM!!!


    Erika''s body was thrown away, her defenses burning to ashes immediately alongside most of her body, which quickly regenerated back to normal secondster. She stood back up, rushing towards him again!


    "This damned- UGH!"


    However, as he tried to close his wounds with hi silver mes, and barely managing to do so, he felt giant sharp fangs pierce the wound left behind where his arm was! It was ke! He had sneaked right when he was distracted, gigantic as he was, he was a stealthy aberration designed to drink blood and poison his foes.


    [Blood-Sucking Jaws of Gluttony]!


    Demonic, Blood, and Dark energies flowed through his fangs, which reached deep into the flesh and bone marrow of Bestellen in that split second he was able to bite him, draining as much as possible before a barrage of silver mes exploded over his entire body.


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!


    "DISGUSTING PARASITE!"


    The White Dragon felt utterly furious and shocked by what ke had done, screaming his lungs out, as all his Divinity, Silver mes, and Dragon Powers erupted at once. The constant ice projectiles, the elemental attacks from everyone, and even the protection barriers from Elizabeth were all thrown away once more, as Bestellen finally decided to put his life on the line, and everything else.


    RUMBLE!


    The shockwave sent even ke''s gigantic body away a couple of meters, before he quickly ced his giant ws and tails into the floor, slowly crawling towards Bestellen as the white dragon transformed into something else, a much more divine form than before!


    "Stay¡­ behind me¡­!" ke spoke with his monstrous voice, as all his friends stayed behind his shadows, protected by his titanic body. At this point, all the Familiars he had summoned were now dead, only leaving burned corpses behind.


    FLUOSH!


    Bestellen waspletely covered on silver mes, which slowly receded, revealing his body behind. The scars, the wounds, everything remained the same, but his scales had grown anew, gaining a metallic silver color.


    And his wings¡­


    Were also back, alongside his missing arm.


    Madepletely of his Divine Silver mes.


    His eyes zed with golden light, as a halo appeared above his head.


    One with many cracks, but it was one, nheless.


    "I''ll show you the difference between a mortal¡­ and a god."


    Bestellen, an old and weary Divine Dragon that had fought through many wars and had bepletely mad after years of living in seclusion, had finally decided to put his life on the line.


    Activating his Divine Spirit Power at full, his Divinity fused with the rest of his body, giving him an unique appearance, and even temporarily helping him regrow his lost or broken limbs, albeitpletely made out of his Divine Silver Dragon mes.


    Everyone elsepletely froze after seeing his new form. Yet ke smiled, with his monstrous face, he smiled!


    "We''ve cornered him¡­ He''s desperate! Haha¡­ HAHAHAH!"


    The final showdown was here.


    -----

 Chapter 962: The Three Cataclysms

    -----


    Although everyone froze in horror, with their hope fading away, ke celebrated. He knew that this was it. This was the battle that was going to decide everything. They were not only able to break through Bestellen''s powerful defenses at longst, but they were able to damage him to this extent.


    With over half his blood missing, a whole arm gone, his stamina reaching critical levels, his health dropping dramatically, and his Divinity having grown weaker after ke kept attacking it and destroying it¡­


    Bestellen had now decided to spend his own Life Force, the endless Lifespan of a Deity, to gain tremendous power and transform into the appearance he once had at his peak.


    Of course, he cannot heal his wounds, nor his age, but the power that he had once at his peak was there, and his Divine Halo, the representation that he was a Deity, appeared above his head.


    "He even has a halo?!" Asked Elizabeth. "S-So this dragon is truly a deity?! But how is this possible? Where did this deitye from? Have we been living in a lie this entire time? Are the Holy Spirits, not the only true Gods?"


    "It was always like this¡­" Erdrich said. "Right, Alberta? Your continent, you also have gods there."


    "Y-Yes¡­" Alberta nodded, swallowing saliva in nervousness. "I don''t know how it is for Divine Dragons, but for the Gods I know, they''re very ancient beings from the Mythical Era, before the Holy Spirits even gained consciousness of their own. The Architect, was said to once have been an Ancient Dwarf, a mortal, that after countless hardships, ascended into a God."


    "Your friend is right." Bestellen spoke, his body slowly floating towards the entire group, his wings endlessly zing with silver and golden mes. "We deitiese from the Mythical Era, an Era where your bunch was nothing but ants hiding beneath the ground. It was apletely and totally different world than what it is now!


    A world where Titans and Dragons dominated thends, and where the rest of the Ancient Spirit Tribes conquered the Elements, the Frost Fairies were one of them, belonging to the Ancient Ice Spirit Tribe."


    "¡­" Skadi remained in silence, her magic generating barriers and shields to protect everyone.


    "But then¡­ Everything came to an end in thest three wars. The Three Cataclysms." He spoke. "The first one was the War between Titans and Dragons, the giants and strongest tribes born with divinity, it was a war where I saw many of myrades die.


    Those wicked Titans¡­ The second Cataclysm was the War of Spirits, where all Spirits battled for territory and resources in an ultimate battle between Ancient Factions. Surviving Dragons and Titans that allied different factions participated."


    Bestellen''s zing arm started generating a sphere of silver and golden mes, which kept growingrger andrger andrger.


    "And then, the Third Cataclysm, which closed the curtains of our Era, and opened the one of weaklings that hid beneath the ground like you and your ilk." He spoke. "The War Against Heaven."


    "Heaven¡­?" Elizabeth muttered, without understanding what he was talking about.


    The sphere Bestellen was creating kept growingrger, his pressure was so powerful ke couldn''t get closer as hard as he tried! It felt like everything was bing utterly futile againstplete and absolute dominance and power.


    "Your Demons are not the first Invaders of another World." Said Bestellen. "The very powers you possess, girl, once belonged to the wicked Celestials that invaded our."


    "Why are you telling them all of this?" Skadi asked.


    "Why shouldn''t I? I recognize their strength and bravery, and I''ve decided to reveal to them a part of the truth, as my farewell gift, before they die by my hands." The sphere he created slowly descended towards everyone. "Can you block this? With this, I killed hundreds of Titans! My strongest Divine Dragon Spell, {Silver Quasar}!"


    Silver Quasar, a spell Bestellen used to y hundreds of Titans. The sphere of hyper condensed Divinity, Divine Silver mes, and his Life Force represented as Golden mes, floated above everyone''s heads, their bodies paralyzed.


    "You surprised me more than I ever thought, you took away one of my arms, even¡­ But this is it, humans. You''ve truly grown stronger, I recognize that your ancient race, once weak and pathetic, has finally gotten somewhere." He spoke. "But it is a pity that such powerful warriors, will die prematurely¡­ Because they dared to challenge a god like me."


    "You speak with such confidence and pride." keughed, his monstrous form beginning to charge all of his Energies, Mana, Ki, Spirit Essence, Blood and Shadow Energy, and more. "But it''s not like you''re the only one with trump cards left. {Rise}"


    "Huh?"


    In a split second, Bestellen was surrounded by over five hundred Familiars, the same ones that had died by the hundreds before, were back, now as Undead Familiars, right in front of his nose! And to make things worse, they were overflowing with dark, demonic energies, their projectiles hitting him constantly!


    "What''s this?! Yourst futile struggle to¡­?!"


    "{Undead Wall}!"


    However, ke was not done yet, the Undead Familiars merged together one after another, forming giant walls of rotten flesh,rger than even the White Dragon! Their unified stats bing so high that even Bestellen''s mes were not burning thempletely!


    "SHYAAAGH!"


    "GROOOHH!"


    "GRAARRRGH!"


    The aberrations roared, attacking with him their endless assortment of tentacles, jaws, and eye beams! The Divine Dragon waspletely surrounded and unable to move, his legs, arms, and wings, all of them were trapped within an endless sea of rotten flesh!


    "GRYYYAAGH! YOU WICKED HUMAN! DIEEEE!"


    With a furious roar, the Silver Quasar descended as fast as Bestellen could muster, Skadi flying towards the sphere and unleashing her Divine Skill in that moment.


    "I''ll leave the rest to you then." She smiled back at ke. "{Primordial Ice Embodiment: Skadi}"


    FLUOOOSH!


    The moment Skadi was about to be engulfed by the sphere of mes and be reduced to cinders, her primordial, ancient divine powers activated, only for once, as her body exploded into endless oceans of frost at the same time as the sphere consumed her.


    And the world froze against her eternal, primordial ice.


    The sphere of mes, against all logic¡­


    Froze, bing a giant sphere of ice instead!


    ------

 Chapter 963: Dont Waste The Opportunity!

    -----


    Skadi appeared once more within her castle interior, inside of ke''s Spirit Realm. Her new body ended dying, but she let a big gift for ke, which should be enough to at least help him buy some more time and damage the monster that Bestellen was.


    "It''s all up to you now, master."


    Her sharp eyes gazed into the skies, her hopes for the future rested within the shoulders of ke now. For mortals to daree y Gods was but utter madness. Yet ke easily showed her that he was not a normal mortal himself.


    In fact, he had done amazing things one after another, and it felt like despite all the trump cards he had shown, she doubted she had seen even half of them.


    Someone so incredibly cautious like him, wouldn''t easily lose.


    Not until the veryst moment!


    FLUOOOSH!


    Skadi''s frostpletely froze the sphere of silver and golden mes, the Silver Quasar, a powerful and immensely destructive Divine Dragon Spell capable of wiping out entire armies in the past, which made of Bestellen such a feared figure, even for other deities.


    But it didn''t simply stop the sphere, as it spread through the cave''s floor and ceiling, reaching Bestellen wrestling five gigantic Flesh Walls that wereposed of hundreds of monsters each worth of stats.


    "Burn, BURN!"


    He kept roaring and burning them, but the Flesh Walls, despite having their tentacles burned into cinders, kept regenerating from the other wounds over their gigantic bodies, having immense resilience and health points.


    The frost rapidly creeped towards him, ignoring the Flesh Walls and freezing his legs, Bestellen quickly realized it, as he smashed the ice below him with his ws and his zing arm.


    "SKAAADI!"


    CRASH! CRASH! CRASH!


    His ws and his zing arm kept spreading small cracks through the ice, but he quickly realized that it wasn''t going to break easily! He gritted his teeth, as he felt he skipped a beat. Skadi had used her strongest technique, one of equal if not higher power than his Silver Quasar!


    "She used her Divinity too?! But she died!" He thought. "Howe she could unleash it in the form of a Familiar?! T-This makes no sense at all- AGH!"


    However, he could simply not think clearly when there was now a fifth Flesh Wall attacking him. Although they were all on fire, they were not dying. Their burning bodies constantly mming him with all their weight and strength.


    They were dealing almost no damage at all though, but they were restraining him, keeping him on ce. Just where ke wanted him to be.


    The gigantic and hulking bat monstrosity rushed towards Bestellen, apanied with all his friends and allies, who were charging their strongest techniques.


    "As if I''ll let you even get close to me, you damned ants! DIE!"


    Bestellen roared, showing them his sharp fangs, as he quickly opened his jaws to greet them with a dragon breath!


    "GUGH?!"


    However, his jaws were quickly forcefully closed before he could release anything, dozens of tentacles made of rotten flesh forcing his jaws closed! The Flesh Walls then pushed him down, the mes umted on his throat ultimately exploding, burning his own insides.


    BOOOM!


    "Uuaarrgh! Y-You damned aberrations! Burn! Burn already!"


    Bestellen was losing all his grace as he saw his ns crumble down. Even at his "pinnacle form" he was being yed by ke''s ns and was unable to showcase his true power at all!


    However, as a God, he was still not going to be easily overpowered. As ke and his friends drew closer with their strongest techniques, some of them even undergoing drastic transformations, he roared back.


    "I won''t let you give a single step!"


    He opened his jaws, tearing open one Flesh Wall and then burning its two halves, crawling away from their grasp at longst, yet still unable to walk, he flew using his zing wings and then shaped his Divinity.


    "RAAAAH!"


    His Divinity surged from his body as an endlessly glowing and flowing Silver Aura, which quickly took the shape of a gigantic sword, covered by golden mes that represented his own Life Force being burned away!


    "{Divine Silver Sword}: {Silverite}!!!"


    With a rampant fury, Bestellen greeted everyone with a titanic de which he swung masterfully, a gigantic wave of cutting Silver Divinity and Golden Life Force mes reaching them! Everyone skipped a beat as they felt this was it!


    "It''sing!" Alberta screamed.


    "Shit, shit!" Eric cried.


    "RUN!" Chris panicked.


    "Stay there!" ke roared. "Elizabeth! Erika! Do it, NOW!"


    "Alright!" The two roared at the same time.


    "{Angelic Spirit Transformation}!"


    Elizabeth transformed her body, as she fused with all her Angelic Spirits at once through a Special Skill, her Angelic Spirit Transformation ability, drastically changing her form and giving her the appearance of beautiful six-winged angel.


    "{Draconification}!"


    Meanwhile, Erika absorbed the powers of her Spirits, fusing with all of them at once as well thanks to her ownpatible body, and growing. Branches and roots emerging out of her body, her entire form changing from her former girl-like appearance. Bing a titanic dragon made of wood and covered on golden scales.


    Both girls shed against the wave of Silver and Gold, an explosion of several elements erupted, shockwaves shook the entire mountain. Bestellen opened his eyes wide as he saw the two shing against his attacks and then block them sessfully with their weapons, which ke had forged for them.


    BOOOM!


    An explosion of silver and golden mes engulfed everyone afterwards though, but ke swiftly absorbed it all with his jaws, using his innate ability to absorb and control all mes, and by spendingrge quantities of Mana, even divine fire could be controlled!


    "You might have blocked that, but can you block all of this?!" Bestellen roared, his giant sword made out of his own Divinity and Life Force shed against the two girls once more, ke stepping in and using his own spear and gigantic ws to receive the blunt force almostpletely.


    CLAAASH!


    All three of them pushed forwards, Eleanora, within ke, was also unleashing all her strength, Wrathful Demonic and Draconic mes surging from ke''s entire body, which hebined with his unique breath attack.


    "RAAAAH!"


    After opening his jaws, ke greeted Bestellen with a breath of pure green and red mes, engulfing the divine dragon on a loud explosion with the horrendous smell of sulfur.


    BOOOMMM!!!


    -----

 Chapter 964: The Last Push

    -----


    kebined [ck Breath Of Decay] with Eleanora''s own [Scarlet re Dragon Breath] and Bestellen''s own Silver and Golden mes which he absorbed constantly. The monstrous concoction of mes, demonic energy and venomous substances sted Bestellen away the moment it hit his face, his gigantic body smashing over the walls behind them.


    BAAAM!


    "T-This is unconceivable¡­"


    The White Dragon had never been this humiliated before, his face felt like it was melting, one of his eyes was now gone too. And most of the scales of his face were also melting away. He quickly tried to heal it, but it came out rather sloppily, the poison within Camazotz''s breath was incredibly intense.


    However, he had little time to heal himself or think, ke, Erika, and Elizabeth rushed towards him. With his Divinity and mes epassing his body, he swiftly kicked the air and rushed towards them, this time, swinging his sword vertically and horizontally at the same time, waves of silver and gold shed against their bodies.


    SLASH! SLASH! SLASH!


    ke, Elizabeth, and Erika used their own weapons to intercept each attack. Constant explosions of their spiritual auras and the dragon''s divinity echoed and reverberated. ke''s aura kept fluctuating as hebined every ability and technique he could, his spear beginning to gain more and more cracks, Bestellen''s tremendous strength was overwhelming even with everything he had.


    Or was this everything though?


    "You''re being pushed back, your friends, everything, I will burn it! I won''t forgive all of this insolence, you pathetic humans!" Roared Bestellen. "Once I am done killing all of you, I will personally go down that vige, and destroy it! I will burn it to cinders! So you and all your damned humans can finally remember who the true rulers of this world are!"


    "Hoh, is that so?!" Roared ke. "I wouldn''t be so confident if I were you, Bestellen!"


    His ws shed against the dragon consecutively, but Bestellen intercepted each attack with his massive sword made of Divinity. Explosions of gold and silver reverberated constantly, ke conjured his Blood and Darkness Magic, as the Blood King''s Throne and the Call of the Night Skills fused.


    "{Blood Nova}!"


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!


    Not one, but dozens of Blood Novas constantly impacted Bestellen''s divinity sword, which kept itself strong as the dragon had folded severalyers of the divinity together, without having even a single crack yet!


    "{Abyssal Stars}!"


    Spheres of pure shadow and void exploded over his sword again, floating around Bestellen and constantly aiming at his weaker spots, only for the dragon to swiftly block the attacks with his sword yet again.


    "{Holy Heavenly Cross}! {Judgement of Light}!"


    Elizabeth conjured gigantic crosses of pure heavenly light, shing against the White Dragon constantly, but dealing little to not damage, only distracting him or pushing him back a few meters. Even her hammer attacks were doing no damage, even as she channeled their powers. The only thing she could do was slow him down and weaken him slightly with her Domain and her Chains.


    "You''re so damn stubborn!"


    Meanwhile, Erika kept practicing all her abilities and unleashing them at once. Explosions of dream magic from her Dream Puppet Dragon fused into her tried to confuse the white dragon, only for him to just sh away the dreams mes anyways. Her golden mes impacted his own, for a moment making it seem like they were equals, only for Bestellen to kick her away, tearing her wooden body to shreds.


    Yet much like ke, Erika kept regenerating anding back.


    "Stubborn cockroaches should know their ce already!" The dragon screamed, his eyes shing with bright golden light. "RAAAH!"


    RUMBLE!


    A sh of golden and silver mes erupted from his Divine Aura, as he sent all three attackers flying away once more. Their bodies hitting the ground with loud thuds, making the world around them tremble.


    "See? It is futile, you simply can''t match my power, you can''t!" Bestellen roared. "Keep regenerating, let''s see how much you can go before-"


    The White Dragon was bing too cocky.


    Before he even realized what was happening, six gigantic fists loaded with demonic energy smashed his skull down with so much power he was unable toprehend what was happening.


    BAAM! BAAM! BAAM! BAAM!


    His gaze set upwards, as his bright eyes widened, seeing a giant, hulking demon wearing ck armor and using his fists to smash his head into the floor. His Demonic Aura mixing Spirit Energy, Demonic Energy, Mana, and Ki together more masterfully than even ke himself.


    "W-Who?!"


    Bestellen had paid little attention to everyone but ke, Erika, and Elizabeth through the entire fight, but now that his Divinity waspletely concentrated within that sword he had made, and his body had plenty of wounds for them to target¡­


    It was apletely different deal altogether for all his friends! And the first one to step in and stop him from giving another step was the team''s strongest physical fighter.


    Erdrich!


    "I hope this beating I''m giving to you will finally show you how much of a threat demon truly are!" Erdrich gave a loud, furious roar, as an explosion of mes covered he entire body of Bestellen!


    "GRAAAGGH!" The White Dragon screamed in agony; he was being punched like a damned sandbag by a mortal! He couldn''t believe what he was experiencing. "You dare punch me as if I were a mere sandbag?!"


    Bestellen greeted Erdrich with a punch of his own, the much smaller half-demon was smashed into the floor with a single strike, vomiting blood and feeling half his bones shattering.


    BAAAM!


    "Gragh¡­!"


    "DIE!"


    As the White Dragon was about to smash him into smithereens with his giant foot, however, a wave of frost hit him from behind, freezing his legs and his tail. He looked behind to find a single blue-haired elf man, who promptly conjured a giant dragon made of ice with his magic!


    "How about you fight someone your size, you oversized lizard?! {Giant Frost Dragon Spirit Manifestation}!"


    Elfrieddenbined his Domain with his Spirit''s powers and all his magic, forming a gigantic dragon made of pure ice.


    "ROOOAARR!"


    The giant dragon made of ice swiftly body mmed Bestellen into the floor, freezing him constantly with each attack.


    Yet even now, the Divine Dragon remained unchanged.


    "Begone!"


    CLAAASH!


    With a single swipe of his w, the entire frost dragon copsed into pieces.


    -----

 Chapter 965: Slaying A Divine Dragon!

    -----


    "You annoying ants truly believe you can damage me now, even after I''ve been hurt by your leaders?! Don''t be pathetic!" Laughed Bestellen. "You''re all dying now!"


    The White Dragon conjured two magic circles pointing at Edrich and Elfriedden, two pirs of Silver mes were fired directly towards them, capable of easily turning them into cinders. The impact was almost instantaneous, two consecutive explosions filled the caverns with more silver-colored fire.


    However.


    "What, again?!"


    Barriers of Holy Spiritual Light blocked the beams, although they shattered right after. Elizabeth was still there, in the background, holding her hammer and using her magic to protect everyone.


    "As long as I am alive, nobody is going to die today!" She roared; her eyes glowing bright golden.


    "Then I''ll have to kill you first!" Bestellen charged towards her, flying with his zing wings and appearing in front of her in a split second.


    Yet!


    FLUOOOSH!


    A storm of emerald winds impacted his body. His mes suddenly began to dissipate against the endless winds, as he suddenly looked into the skies. Eric was pointing a giant arrow made of pure winds against him.


    "Winds?! Winds capable of turning off my fire?! Impossible!"


    Bestellen gave a roar of frustration, the giant arrow rushed down and struck him down, an explosion of swirling, spiraling emerald winds engulfed himpletely. It started tearing down his scales off, spreading small cutting wounds everywhere.


    However, the worst part was that it waspletely negating his mes! Bestellen quickly gathered his Mana and Silver Divinity, firing two beams of pure energy against Eric!


    "Begone, fly!"


    BOOOM!


    The beam shed against Eric, only to hit a holy barrier instead. Eric quickly retreated after the barrier shattered, the winds slowly began to recede and Bestellen thought he was going to be able to regain his footing.


    That until a titanic zing hammer descended over his head. Alberta and Chrisbining their spirits powers and magic into a single, massive weapon.


    "Take this!" They roared together, the White Dragon could only watch, as his face was burned and smashed into the floor.


    Once more.


    BAAAM!


    "Gryyyaaggh! Enough!!!"


    Bestellen was growing insane, his chest was bing golden colored as his Life Force kept burning, with a furious roar of anger, his eyes and his mouth erupted with endless golden mes, destroying the entire hammer and sting a hole through the ceiling!


    BOOOMMM!!!


    "I''ve had enough¡­ ENOUGH!"


    Bestellen crawled out of the hole he was in, his mes burning everything and everyone, his almighty divine power seemed unbeatable, invincible.


    Yet there was someone right in front of him.


    ke.


    "Had enough of a rest?" ke spoke with his monstrous voice, his ws shing through Bestellen''s face and body as he attacked him, mming him back down!


    CLAAASH!


    "You aberrant monstrosity! I''ll y you for good!"


    The White Dragon shed back against ke. His legs tore apart ke''s arms and his bite destroyed his stomach, opening it to reveal his innards sttering out.


    Yet ke kept fighting and regenerating, his Aura constantly growing stronger and stronger, as countless Soul mes started burning through his soul and body.


    Yes, Soul mes!


    His Grimoire''s voice echoed within his mind, as he could see the messages appear, every Soul me he had been umting so far.


    He spent them all!


    Ding!


    [You have consumed 27.340 Soul mes!]


    [All Soul mes have been absorbed and converted into additional Stats!]


    [You gained +11.000 Strength!]


    BAAAM!


    ke''s w attacks and kicks became more intense out of nowhere, as if he had be twice as strong. Bestellen immediately felt it, as his bones started to shatter with each blow he tried to block with his legs or tail.


    [You gained +6.000 Agility!]


    "Come here!"


    Bestellen attempted to grab ke''s neck, but the giant bat moved at lightning speed, without even using his Shrouding Darkness to escape, appearing by his left side and avoiding his ws, kicking him in the face.


    CLASH!


    [You gained +4.000 Intelligence!]


    A rain of Blood Novas and Abyssal Stars kept being bombarded over Bestellen, spells which he thought as nothing started to sting more and more, until he started bleeding from each blow.


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!


    [You gained +6.340 Vitality!]


    "DIE!"


    CRASH!


    And when he punched ke''s chest and expected to pierce it easily, his eyes widened¡­ Although there was a wound left, his strength was unable to pierce through the vampire''s vitality.


    "You''ve grown weaker, Bestellen." ke spoke with a stern, cold tone of voice.


    The White Dragon gave a step back.


    Fear started clouding his mind.


    Yes, fear!


    "W-what''s happening?! It is as if¡­! He became much stronger out of nowhere?!"


    Although these stats might seem as little, thanks to all the bonuses that increased all his stats, even these small stats became tens of times higher once added.


    And ke wasn''t done yet either.


    Not at all!


    "I am not done yet."


    [You exchanged 5.000 Stat Points!]


    [You gained +25.000 Strength.]


    ke''s giant ws reached Bestellen in a sh. The dragon quickly using his Divinity in the shape of a sword to defend and ck the hits.


    Yet!


    CRAASH! CRAASH! CRAASH!


    His sword shattered into pieces, exploding into a show of fireworks. The dragon eyes widened in utter disbelief. Yet he gritted his teeth, mes ring from in between them.


    "RAAAH!"


    A dragon breath at point nk was fired directly towards ke''s face!


    And¡­


    [You have exchanged 5.000 Stat Points.]


    [You gained +25.000 Vitality.]


    BOOOMMM!!!


    The mes engulfed kepletely, yet¡­ YET!


    It was barely doing any damage?!


    "WHAT?!"


    Bestellen coughed blood as his throat weakened severely.


    CLASH!


    He fell to his knees, a powerful kick hitting his head down.


    The ground below shattered. His eyes bloodshot.


    "YOU BASTARD!"


    With all the leftover energy he had, he created a spear of golden mes.


    "DIE!"


    As it reached ke, the giant bat monstrosity remained unshaken.


    [You have exchanged 5.740 Stat Points.]


    [You gained +28.700 Intelligence.]


    "{Dark Blood Quasar}"


    A sphere of chaos was formed from ke''s ws, fusing Blood, Darkness, Demonic Power, Holy Power, Silver mes, Gluttony mes, everything.


    "This is the strength of humanity, Bestellen."


    The White Dragon''s spear waspletely disintegrated, as ke''s Ultimate Spell engulfed the dragon on his entirely.


    The only thing Bestellen could see was the bright color of crimson.


    "I¡­ lost?"


    Everything became red.


    "This¡­ no¡­ it''s impossible¡­"


    His body exploded.


    "I¡­ am the White Dragon¡­"


    And his life¡­


    "Bestellen¡­!"


    Came to an end.


    BOOOMMM!!!


    On this day, Humanity triumphed against an Ancient God!


    -----

 Chapter 966: Visions

    -----


    With Bestellen defeated, the world of Spiritias changed slightly. The Ancient Gods that remained alive, all of them carried a Divinity, a powerful pir of the entire world that had yet to go back to its origins, the Holy Spirits.


    In the past, many things happened, wars between power beings, and even the birth of many Gods, the Holy Spirits were only able to awaken their consciousness in thest thousands of years only, there were whole eras led by different beings, the Holy Spirits only being mindless pirs of existence.


    However, after the war that Bestellen had described, the ancient races numbers quickly dropped, and most of the Ancient Gods died. Perhaps because of this, their lingering Divinities, which they had cultivated through eons, flew back where they originally came from, the Holy Spirits.


    This, as a result, slowly gave them their power, personalities, charismas, and parts of their intelligence. Over time, because of the death of these Ancient Gods and Divine Spirits, the Holy Spirits were able to develop intelligence and personalities.


    However, there were some Ancient Gods that remained, Bestellen, bitter and mad, was one of them. Once known as the White Dragon, his powers brought destruction to the battlefield, as he was known as a ruthless fighter that took over any territory he wanted where there were resources for him to devour.


    However, after thest war, although he survived thanks to his immense strength, he had been greatly wounded, scars covered his body and his wings had been broken, making him unable to fly again.


    He decided to recover for the next thousands of years while eating at the mountain''s resources for hundreds of thousands of years, as the world around him moved forwards, and the Era of Humans, Dwarves, Elves, and Beast-kin started, now led by the Holy Spirits that "awakened" from their slumber.


    With his death, that powerful Divinity he lost, a "Small Fragment of Heaven" as some of the Ancient Gods called it, slowly flew towards the one that had in him, ke. His gigantic, vampiric bat figure slowly transformed back to his youthful appearance.


    He looked in awe at what surged out of Bestellen''s body, not only was his Soul me utterly gigantic, but therge ss-like piece overflowing with silver and white colored divinity was something out of this world.


    A key for him to grow even stronger, the power of an Ancient God that could give him the chance to actually win against someone like Fafnir, a "young" Divine Dragon, that unlike Bestellen, was still at his peak, and which ke spected might have be one of the Archdemon''s vessel.


    "This power¡­" He smiled, quickly grabbing it. "With this, perhaps fighting Fafnir won''t be considered an unrealistic dream anymore."


    His hand touched the ss-like fragment, as its divine powers covered his entire body, the fragment flew into his body, instead of bing one back with the world, it simply found a new owner.


    FLAAASH!


    The light consumed ke entirely, as he immediately dropped over the floor, without moving, and without saying another word.


    He had fallen unconscious right away!


    "ke! We did it!" Erika ran towards ke, suddenly finding him on the floor, unconscious. "Eh?! ke? BLAKE!"


    Erika quickly grabbed her boyfriend, carrying him on her strong arms, as she ran back with her friends. At the end, the celebrations were cut short, as everyone had to hurry back home.


    However, without a doubt, although ke had fallen unconscious, everyone couldn''t hide their happiness.


    They won!


    .


    .


    .


    Now that I think about it, I might have been slightly too greedy there. Trying to grab a powerful item I had no idea what it was wasn''t well thought on my part.


    Perhaps the adrenaline of the fight affected me somehow, or maybe it was the endless desire for power I''ve always had.


    Nheless, I ended touching that thing, which quickly sucked itself into my body, giving me a shock of divine essence that I simply couldn''t handle properly.


    Which ended making me fall unconscious faster than I could have ever imagined. I felt utterly powerless.


    However, if it wasn''t for my friends, I might have been left to die there, I felt thankful there were many people with me that I could trust.


    My consciousness, however, did not drift to mere dreams. I saw visions. As the powers of this mysterious fragment became one with me, I saw images.


    FLASH!


    shing lights. Golden skies. Floating inds. Warriors with feathered wings, wearing golden armor and holding mighty divine weapons. Arge portal above the skies, a gate, a fracture in reality, leading to a world of eternal brightness.


    They descended, pointing their weapons at the inhabitants of our world, Spiritias. The Ancient Gods and the Ancient Spirits, all of them banded together, enemies became allies, everyone fought to protect their world.


    Now I understand why Bestellen said the Demons were nothingpared to them. These beings that came by the millions were nothing but Angels, powerful and mighty, they in hundreds of people in mere seconds.


    Only the strongest of the Ancient Gods of Spiritias were able to face them, many died against the Archangels, however, in by their overwhelmingly powerful divine weapons. Compared to the angels, demons were nothing but wild beasts.


    Led by their supreme father, God, they kept attempting to steal this world from its inhabitants, something I never thought Angels would do, as they often preached to be pacifists that only fought when their lives were in danger.


    However, the images kept moving on, showing the angels finally retreating after almost defeating their foes. Their loses were also considerable, and unlike demons, they couldn''t keep endlessly producing allies and armies, they were very strong, but had a limited amount.


    They retreated, and the portal closed.


    It was incredible, for such brave ancient gods and warriors to battle off a threat that could have easily wiped out an entire gxy ofs and civilizations with ease.


    This world was strong, without a doubt!


    "E-Everyone¡­ Hahh¡­ Am I¡­ Am I the only one left?"


    And amidst the battlefield covered with blood and corpses, there was a single white dragon standing, his wings destroyed, one of his arms broken, his face scarred.


    Yet he survived it all.


    "Everyone¡­ died¡­"


    It was Bestellen.


    -----

 Chapter 967: Visitor

    -----


    A world that was once full of Ancient Gods, Ancient Spirit Tribes, and Divine Spirits of all kinds, a world of colors and battles, of endless activity, ofughter, blood, andpanionship. Despite being such a powerful and arrogant being, Bestellen still had those he considered his rivals and friends.


    But most of them, if not all, were gone. They were all dead, around him, their bodies burned by the divine light of the angels. A barrenndscape full of corpses, for miles and miles. He loved battling and challenges, but this¡­


    This was too much.


    "W-We won, right? We¡­ we did it¡­ we protected our world¡­"


    He kneeled over the floor, as tears started flowing from his golden eyes.


    "W-We won, everyone¡­ we did it¡­! We protected¡­"


    He grabbed the burnt soil beneath his feet, his tears falling over, full of divinity, enough to make nts grow almost instantly.


    "We protected this damned world you loved so much¡­"


    The scene was devastating. Even I felt bad seeing this. This was most likely Bestellen''s breaking point. He stopped being who he truly was. Slowly falling into loneliness and then, growing mad the older he became.


    There were others like him, two more Divine Dragons of ancient origins that also embodied colors, he met them only once before he departed towards our continent, to never see them again.


    In there, he constantly dug through mountains, eating any metals or resources, filling his own hollowness with food, an endless gluttony that consumed him and slowly transformed him into more of a wild monster than the man he once was.


    He burned viges of ancient humans, fought many heroes that tried to stop him, and constantly grew bored after killing everything, moving on from ce to ce, until he grew so tired, he simply slept.


    For thousands of years, he slept, and whenever he woke up, he would move out of a mountain and go to another, emptying the precious resources of many people. While mercilessly ughtering them, of course.


    His descent towards madness was already at full swing. In the past he had apparently never overdone it, mostly disliking hunting weak little mortals, and simply fighting giant beasts or other gods like him instead.


    But now all that pride was gone, her mercilessly killed and even ate humans without any remorse, all that power he bragged about, now being utilized to terrorize people millions of times weaker than him.


    What a pathetic man he became¡­ Yet at the same time, I couldn''t help but pity him.


    "You¡­ Perhaps you might be the ones that''ll bring my end, at longst?"


    His thoughts passed through my mind, as the visions of his battle against us were also shown. The intense battle we had, where we had to go all-out and use every single damned trick we had to win.


    At the end, he lost, and died. If we hadn''t weakened his defenses and his divinity to this point, even with all the stats I increased, we wouldn''t have been able to stop him.


    This is why I saved all those stats forter, because if we had gone all-out from the beginning without waiting to weaken him first, he might have panicked and gone all-out himself.


    It was essential that he looked down on us through most of the battle, so we were able to inflict arge quantity of damage before he could have wiped us out quickly.


    It was not just a fight of strength, it was also a battle of minds, and I took advantage of his remaining pride and his madness to defeat him.


    I don''t feel any shame in doing so, it was either him or us.


    We needed the resources, and our country couldn''t afford to have a mad god sleeping right next to us. Based in his memories, it was quite obvious he would burn everything eventually when the mountain''s resources finally ran out.


    There was no talking out of this, he had to be in.


    "I suppose that''s that, huh?"


    As the visions disappeared, I found myself within my own Spiritual Avatar inside my Spirit Realm, sitting over the Summoner Throne of the Divine Summoner''s Hall. Surrounding the throne were the statues of the three previous Summoners, the carriers of this Legendary ss made by the Holy Spirits themselves.


    "I''m back¡­ it seems I am still sleeping on my body." I sighed, looking at my slightly ethereal form. "Oh, Divinity, you are there, right?"


    "Yes, I am here." The manifestation of the Summoner Divinity, the ss itself, appeared before me. A woman made entirely out of bright white light. "It has been a short while since yourst visit, Fourth Summoner, ke."


    "You can be more casual with me, just call me ke." I said, looking around. "My Divinity has grown¡­ It seems that I''ve gained a considerable amount of power. Nothing like ever before."


    "Indeed." She nodded. "You have absorbed the Divinity of an Ancient God, said to have been refined from extracting the world''s Heavenly Essence and refining it into a Small Fragment of Heaven! Well done! It could be considered that you are stronger than the god you in."


    "I wonder if that''s even enough though." I sighed, feeling the Essence of the Divinity of Bestellen within me.


    Unlike my Developing Divinity, this was a full-fledged one, the power he held was now mine. Silver Essence slowly shaped into silver mes of the highest quality on my hands.


    "This is, still an incredible power." I smiled. "His Aura and Pressure, the ability to shape his invisible Divinity too, everything, I''ll make sure to use it well."


    "Actually, there''s a visitor that just appeared here. He''s been looking for you."


    "What are you talking about?


    "A visitor! I don''t lie, fourth wielder. Come with me."


    She led me through the white corridors of the Divine Summoner Hall, until we finally met the "guest".


    It was someone I had not expect to see again, even less so soon.


    His silver scales, his sharp golden eyes, his big wings and ws, and his imposing presence.


    It was without a doubt him.


    "The one that in me. We meet again."


    "Bestellen?!"


    -----

 Chapter 968: Meeting Bestellens Soul

    -----


    It was the White Dragon himself! Why is he here?! Didn''t he died? Was his soul absorbed by my Spirit Realm? I am fairly sure I fell unconscious before I could do much.


    "You''re probably wondering how I got here. I am also wondering the same thing." Bestellen sighed. "However, I think I figured out. When you defeated me, your weapon ate most of my soul away. It seems to be separate from the Soul me though. Your weapon, however, was unable to absorb the soul itself, and it ended sending it back to you.


    And¡­ here I am."


    "You want to take revenge on me?" I asked, readying myself to fight. "I think I can summon most of my Vampire Spirits here too¡­ Do you want to go?"


    "Hmph, I have no intention on fighting you, so spare me your tasteless threats." He prideful crossed his arms. "My soul is strong even after my death, I possess a Divine Soul after all, even though my Divine Body died, with my soul, it could even be possible for me to eventually revive with a new body¡­ Something the others were, unfortunately unable to do."


    "What? The others?" I asked.


    "You saw them, didn''t you? When you absorb a Divinity, you can see the memories of the previous owner." He already knew that too. "The people that died in the war, everything¡­ Their souls, even if Divine, were shattered by their powerful weapons, and absorbed as resources.


    They called us "parasites of heaven" and called us all as "resources that should go back to where they belong"¡­ Even now, it fills me with hatred when I remember them¡­"


    To think I would be having a conversation with someone I killed right away. It felt slightly wrong, but at the same time, it also made sense. His soul was truly powerful, but I feel there was something else aside from that.


    And about what he said¡­ I suppose that aligns with my theory.


    "I suppose you don''t know everything else¡­" I sighed. "Those angels most likely want the entirety of Spiritias, including all living forms born from it. For a rather simple reason. Spiritias¡­ Is most likely a lost Fragment of Heaven, perhaps the biggest one that Heaven has ever lost."


    "F-Fragment of Heaven? You mean the realm those winged insects came from?!" Bestellen gasped.


    "Yeah¡­" I sighed. "You see, I am not a normal human, my soul was from someone outside this world, I used to be known as Asmodeus, a Vampire Emperor that warred a war against the demons and was killed when I fought Lucifer, I reincarnated here by his own whim, and since then, I''ve been surviving and growing stronger to defeat him.


    I know about angels and their realms; I''ve fought them a few times in my previous life."


    "S-Such a thing¡­ I knew you were not a normal human at all! Hahah¡­ Now it makes sense! Those powers you showed that blood energy and that transformation!" He said. "You rely on powers not from this world, don''t you?"


    "It is a mix, I regain my former strength, but I am also adapting and growing with the ones of this world." I exined. "Nheless, that is not important right now. You know that there was a war between the Demons and the Angels in the past?


    The very reason why hell was created was because God wanted to punish the traitorous fallen angels, whichter became the Archdemons and their leader, Lucifer."


    "W-What¡­?! Such a thing¡­ So the demons of now and the angels of the past have been interconnected this entire time?!" He asked.


    "More than you imagine. That war left behind Fragments of Heaven as the traitorous Angels managed to create great destruction before being stopped." I exined. "Every angel I met has been searching for such fragments scattered through the universe. I thought they had already secured them all. But thergest of them was still not in their hands yet.


    One so big it has be its own, incredibly powerful world, Spiritias."


    This would also exin the difference between levels of powers of this world and the outside universe, and how it is so easy to grow so powerful through this world''s growth and abilities. It is because we are literally living in a piece of heaven, the strongest, richest, highest, and mightiest realm ever created.


    The purity of the essence of creation is of the highest quality, which then became this world''s "Spiritual Energy"!


    Compared to the outside universe, at the level I am, I''ve already surpassed the strength of my past self, at least in terms of raw power, although in abilities, I am stillcking.


    "So those are the origins¡­" Bestellen muttered. "You¡­ You are truly a wise man, how old¡­ How old were you?"


    "I can''tpletely recall the exact age, but at least a couple ten thousand years old." I answered. "I spent the majority of theter years cultivating and meditating to prepare for thest battle though."


    "You are old, not as old as I am, but indeed, old enough to receive my respect." He smiled. "You also defeated me, a feat nobody had achieved before, not even the other Ancient Gods could bring me to the amount of pain and suffering I went through against you. You are as strong as you''re cunning. But I respect that too, that strength, it is different, yes, but it is strength nheless."


    "I suppose I should thank you for that." Iughed. "Thank you¡­ Now, what do you think about getting a second chance? Your madness seems to have been cleansed once you died, how about you fight for the world you wanted to protect once more?"


    "What¡­ do you mean?" Bestellen wondered.


    "I mean what I said." I spoke. "You know very well I am a Summoner. You saw what I could do with Skadi, and you are no exception. Divinity, is it possible to bind Bestellen''s Divine Soul into the Grimoire to turn him into a Familiar?"


    "It¡­ might be possible, yes." Nodded Divinity. "But we might first need his cooperation for the binding process! It can''t be forced upon him."


    "So, what do you say?" I asked him. "Make up for your sins and save the world with me."


    "You¡­"


    -----

 Chapter 969: Divine Spirit Familiar Link

    -----


    "Pff¡­ Hah¡­ HAHAHAHA!"


    Bestellen, however,ughed at my face after I extended my hand towards him. Hisughter reverberated across the entire Spirit Realm. My Vampire Spirits quickly gathered around me once they heard himughing.


    "Oh, master! You''re fine!"


    "I am so happy to see you alright."


    "We got a bit worried, but it is good you are fine."


    "Papa! You''re fine! Yaaay!"


    "Damn brat getting everyone worried."


    "My love, I was so worried." Eleanora caressed my face, kissing me.


    "Yeah, yeah, I am fine." I sighed. "Why were you so worried? I wasn''t going to die from just absorbing some Divinity anyways."


    Although I was happy for their greeting, I couldn''t help but feel frustrated at Bestellen. My vampires quickly realized he was there, and as they asked me questions and I answered them, I looked at the dragon again.


    "So you don''t want to, huh?" I sighed. "I guess you''re still prideful, make sense."


    "No, I didn''t mean tough at your own question." He spoke with bright golden eyes shining brightly. "I was simplyughing over the amusement you''ve brought to me¡­ In all my years, I never thought that me, the strongest divine dragon of my times, would ever be told to be the subordinate of a mere human, beings we often saw as mere flies back then, when you were even more primitive than now."


    "¡­"


    "You must be furious I spoke that way, but this is the truth. Humans, elves, and the dwarves and beast-kin, all of you were nothing but flies before our almighty presences¡­" Heughed. "But I suppose such era is now gone, you''ve inherited thend after our kin was in, and it makes sense you''ve grown to such lengths.


    You defeated me, no matter if you used help or if I was weakened, a defeat is a defeat, no matter how it''s done."


    "I lost, and so, I am now dead. My life should have ended there, but I was now presented with the unique opportunity to follow the admirable man that in me. The only one that has made me be interested in you small mortals¡­ I want to see how far you''ll go; I want to see if you will truly protect and save this world!


    Somehow, within those eyes full of determination, I can see a spark, a possibility, an actual chance."


    "So? Just say if you want or not, I don''t have all the time of the world for you." I said.


    "Hah! So harsh with this old dragon! To be expected. My new master must not bend the knee against anybody, not even an almighty being such as myself. Good! I like that arrogant attitude, befitting of a being that has surpassed me!" Heughed.


    "If you acted humbly, I would have even dared to attack you, there was no way I would submit to a meek and humble insect. But that pride and arrogance, I like it! It carries a little being such as you to heights I never could have imagined! Hahaha! Very well! Have it your way!


    I shall be your damned Summon, your Familiar!"


    "Good, you chose well, Bestellen." Iughed. "If you hadn''t chosen that, I would have been forced to destroy your soul and devour it, well done. At least you''re not as stupid as I imagined.


    "Hah, you damned¡­!" He smiled, showing me his fangs. "Heh, that''s the attitude I like anyways¡­ Now how do we do this damned thing? Hey, you, exin."


    "A-Ah, yes." Divinity nodded. "Let''s first call the Grimoire here. Bring it please, master."


    "Sure." I thought about it and the Grimoire immediately appeared in front of me. "This is the grimoire I use to summon and create my Familiars, gifted to me by the stupid Lucifer because he wanted a rematch against me really badly. Now that I''ve ended growing so strong, I believe he has begun regretting his foolish decision, which he mostly did out of spite and in a rush of adrenaline."


    "You better show him whose boss eventually. Make sure to kill him." Bestellen smiled. "I bet that''s what the fool wanted anyways. Now, what?"


    "Wait and see." The grimoire pages opened and flickered, as new messages appeared.


    [The {Holy Spirits} have approved of your intentions.]


    [The special function {Divine Spirit Familiar Link} has been created.]


    [You can now link with Divine Souls and create powerful Familiars out of Ancient Divine Beings.]


    [The {Divine Soul: Bestellen, the White Dragon Of Silver Scales} has been detected as apatible and willing candidate.]


    [Do you wish to link their soul to the Grimoire? A new Summoning Card unique to them will be created, but you can only summon him once per card, and can''t be cloned like other familiars.]


    [Yes] [No]


    [Cost: 2.000.000 Mana.]


    "It only costs a lot of Mana, so sure."


    I pressed the yes button; the process began instantly. The grimoire created threads of light which pierced Bestellen''s entire soul, slowly absorbing him as if he were liquid.


    "Uuuggh¡­! T-This is a bit- Argh!"


    "Don''t resist, it will end soon."


    FLASH!


    Once the process was done, Bestellen waspletely swallowed by the Grimoire, within the pages, a new imprint appeared, a bright tinum-colored card, not gold like the A Rank, it was tinum colored!


    [The new Divine Familiar Summon: {Bestellen, the White Dragon of Silver Scales} has been registered sessfully!]


    [You can now summon his S Rank Familiar Card by spending 1 S Rank Spirit Orbs or 1000 A Rank Spirit Orbs.]


    "We have yet to fight S Rank Monsters inrge quantities, so I don''t have any of their spirit orbs." Iughed. "But I do have plenty of A-Rank ones. You''re definitely very expensive, you bastard. But fine, have it your way. I was going to spend these spirit orbs on upgrading the Summoner Statues, but that can wait."


    I quickly summoned a thousand A Rank Spirit Orbs out of my grimoire, the pile was enormous, but it quickly was reduced to sparkles of spirit light as the grimoire absorbed it all.


    And then it produced that single tinum card in return.


    "Bestellen, I summon you! Answer your new master''s call!"


    FLASH!


    The card quickly erupted into tinum and silver light, as a gigantic figure emerged while the card disappeared.


    -----

 Chapter 970: Summoning Bestellen As A Familiar!

    -----


    Bestellen appeared in front of us, his appearance lookingpletely anewpared to before, he had his wings, no scars, an even stronger looking figure. Although not as tall to fit this ce, it was clear he could grow or reduce his size at will.


    "This feels good! I never thought having a new body like this would be so incredible! And you say this is just a spirit body? Amazing." Bestellen looked at himself and touched every inch of his scaled body. "It feels so real, it is as if I truly have flesh and organs inside once more!"


    "Hah, calm down before you tear yourself apart, if your health points go to zero you''ll dissipate and I''ll need to spend even more spirit orbs to make a new card, so be careful." I exined him.


    "Hmph, aren''t you being way too concerned about a being as almighty as myself? I will be fine, foolish master." Bestellen was already getting a bit toofortable while talking with me. "You don''t need to worry about anything, Hahahah! Now bring me your foes, I shall personally tear them to shreds!"


    [You have summoned [Bestellen, the White Dragon of Silver Scales (S+++ Rank)]!]


    [Bestellen''s immense power is not yetplete. To further unlock his powers, you must let his card absorb a hundred S Rank Spirit Orbs.]


    [A New Talent has been automatically assigned to him, alongside increased Awakened Stats and a new Awakening Skill.]


    -----


    [Name]: [Bestellen]


    [Type]: [Divine Dragon] [Metal] [Earth] [Light] [Silver] [Fire]


    [Rank]: [S+++]


    [Race]: [Divine White Dragon of Silver Scales]


    [Talent]: [Master of the Divine Silver mes: ¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï]


    [Health Points]: [500.000/500.000] (+5.600)


    [Mana Points:] [220.000/220.000] (+4.400)


    [Strength]: [400.000] (+5.600)


    [Agility]: [220.000] (+2.800)


    [Vitality]: [500.000] (+4.400)


    [Intelligence]: [400.000] (+4.400)


    [Dexterity]: [220.000] (+2.800)


    [Buff]: [Health +30.000] [Strength +30.000] [Vitality +30.000] [Intelligence +30.000] [Metal & Light Attribute Magic Power +400%] [Metal & Light Attribute Damage Taken -90%] [Divine Silver mes Conjuration Ability]


    [Skill]: [Divine White Scale Armor+++] [Divine White Dragon Silver Breath+++] [Divine White Dragon''s Silver ws+++] [Divine White Dragon''s Silver Spear Tail+++] [Divine White Dragon''s All-Devouring Jaws+++] [Divine White Dragon''s Eyes Of Silver+++] [Dragon Tongue+++] [Damage Absorption+++] [Silver mes Divine Magic+++] [Divine White Dragon''s Authority+++] [Metal Dragon Monster Summon+++] [Divinity: Ruler Of White & Silver+++]


    [Awakening Skill]: [Divinity Sword Of Silver mes+++] [Divine Golden mes Of Life+++]


    [Title]: [Ruler of the Silver mes] [Ancient Divine Dragon] [Bestellen]


    [Growth]: [0/100]


    -----


    This was truly a God made into a card. And he had barely even unlocked his true powers through it. His stats were utterly ridiculously high, and he had many Skills that were also just as incredible. With this status, I could pretty much see everything about him. And it made me wonder, what if I made him a Unique Familiar and turned him into an Egg?


    It would certainly be annoying to rise him at first, but he could develop even higher stats¡­ Unless I can''t turn him into an egg. Well, the power he has right away is better for now anyways, yeah, let''s leave it at that.


    The buffs he gives by merely existing are already superb. And what he can do seems near endless. If anything, I wish he had more Mana, because that amount is definitely not enough for all the amazing skills he has.


    He alsoes with two Awakening Skills; both were his strongest abilities when we fought him. He''ll certainly be very useful now, an amazing new trump card.


    "As you can see, this is your status." I showed it to him. "Pretty strong. I don''t know if you could see it before dying though."


    "I certainly couldn''t." He spoke. "There was the existence of things such as Talents and more, I remember the Titans in coboration with the Spirits made those pirs, that awakened inner Talents inside of your Soul, and allowed you to further evolve them. It was a way for the weaker races to be a bit stronger. We Dragons never required such tricks, however. We are born almighty."


    "So Talents were made by the Titans and the Ancient Spirits, I see¡­" I nodded. "Then probably the ability to level up was made afterwards, once the Holy Spirits woke up and further refined the system the Titans and Ancient Spirits left behind."


    "Maybe, I haven''t taken a look at that at all." Bestellen shrugged. "But it appears the weakling races left behind have taken good advantage of that. Is this how you beat me?"


    "Don''t get so cocky now, giant lizard." I sighed. "I already exined to you how you were beaten. And it should be pretty clear how you got beaten anyways, old fool. You were mad after all, and it seems you''ve remained mad after all of that too."


    "Tch, silence!" He roared back. "I am not mad! If anything, I am quite sane myself." He said proudly. "¡­Well, maybe only after I died though. Nheless, what now?"


    "For now, you stay here. I don''t want everyone to panic seeing you around." I sighed. "Givepany to the Divinity Personification here. I am sure you two can be good friends. Oh right, there''s Skadi over the other ce, you can go visit her too."


    "E-Eh? You''re leaving already?" Divinity asked. "But what about cultivating your¡­?"


    "I have already assimted everything. I can figure the rest while being awake. I would prefer to be awake more than anything right now. I dislike when I fall unconscious." I said. "Bestellen, you better behave if you don''t want me to seal you inside the grimoire forever, got it?"


    "Are you treating me like a child now? You''re the only child here!" The White Dragon roared angrily. "Now just go away! Once there''s time for battle, call me and I shall bring you victory."


    "Alright, take care then." I smiled.


    And like that, I woke up. Finding myself back to my physical body. I had been sleeping over my bed. This time there wasn''t anybody cuddling around me, which was more a relief than a disappointment.


    "Hahh¡­ Well, it must be the morning of the next day already, huh?" I looked through the window, the sun had already risen, it was past the morning already. "Hm? Oh¡­"


    My body''s Aura felt different, however.


    White and silver light mixed together, flowing through it all, and reaching the palms of my hands.


    And Divine Silver mes were created with ease.


    "Incredible¡­"


    -----

 Chapter 971: Divinities

    -----


    The first thing that happened when I woke up was the Divinity Aura manifesting itself around my body. It seemed really, really happy to "see" me. And this Divinity wasn''t just the Summoner Divinity, no, it was the one I stole from Bestellen. The power that made me pass out momentarily.


    Well, "momentarily", I am not really sure how much I ended falling unconscious. It is certainly a big problem that this happens more often than it should. If it wasn''t for my friends or familiars, I would have died long ago from all these times I pass out, very annoying.


    The pages flickered, showing me the changes. I had gained so much EXP my level went up by a lot.


    [Congrattions! You and your party have felled an Ancient God!]


    [You have defeated the [Divine White Dragon Of Silver mes: Bestellen (SSS- Rank)]!]


    [Level Up!]


    [Level Up!]


    [Level Up!]


    [Level Up!]


    [Level Up!]


    [Level Up!]


    [Level Up!]


    [Level Up!]


    [Level Up!]


    [Level Up!]


    [Your Level has increased from 112 to Level 200/200!]


    [All your Stats have increased. You gained Stat Points and Skill Points.]


    This is¡­


    I reached Max Level already!


    So quickly, and I thought it would take me longer even after ying Bestellen.


    Perhaps I shouldn''t have underestimated the amount of EXP a Divine Dragon of his age would give.


    Now I hit max level before even going back to the academy, huh.


    Oh well, that''s for the better.


    [You have reached Max Level! Please ess the Dungeon Trial within these coordinates to advance further through your Talent''s Stars.]


    [Coordinates: Center of the Elven Continent, Tower Of Challengers.]


    Coordinates, so that''s where I must go.


    I suppose that''ll be easy, I''m going to stop that war anyways.


    [Several Skills have Leveled Up!]


    [You have absorbed Bestellen''s Divinity!]


    [The Divinity Tab has been added to the Status.]


    [The have unlocked the Divinity Stat!]


    [You have obtained the [Great Divinity: Ruler of White & Silver]!]


    [You gained +10.000 Spirit.]


    [You gained +5.000 Divinity.]


    And there it is. It seems there''s also a new Divinity Stat, interestingly enough.


    [Your Developing Divinities have been boosted by the new Divinity you acquired.]


    [The [Developing Divinity: Summoning] and the [Developing Divinity: Bloodshed] have been created!]


    [You gained +6.000 Spirit.]


    [You gained +3.000 Divinity.]


    [Divinity]: [A Stat that represents your Divinity''s Power, Effects, Expansion Ability, Shapeshifting Ability, and Combination Ability. The higher it is, the Stronger and more Potent your Divinity and all things rted to it, such as Divine Skills, Divine Techniques, and Divine Auras and Authorities will be.]


    So that''s what it does, huh.


    Meanwhile, the Spirit Stat mostly empowers summoned and bonded spirits, Divinity directly enhances the power of the Spirit Master''s developing Divinity.


    [There are several Ranks that a Divinity can achieve. Depending in their Rank, they are much stronger and develop many more Concepts and Powers within themselves.]


    [Current Divinity Ranks from Weakest to Strongest]:


    [Lesser Divinity]


    [Developing Divinity]


    [Established Divinity]


    [Great Divinity]


    [Greater Divinity]


    [Supreme Divinity]


    [Heavenly Divinity]


    So that''s how it is. There''s several Divinity Ranks. It is rather baffling that Bestellen was only at the Great Divinity Rank though! There are even higher Divinities. Greater, Supreme, and Heavenly.


    Back then, I never forged any of such things. Divinities weren''t a thing in the Outside Universe. I was able to, however, forge Divine Bloodline Authorities, which gave me, perhaps something simr to Divinities.


    But Divinities aren''t easy to obtain at all either way, this world probably has so many because it is the Greatest Fragment of Heaven, that''s the origin of Spiritias.


    So naturally, there''s Divine Power of the highest quality everywhere. The strongest beings forged mighty Divinities. And even Spirit Masters can begin creating one within their Spirit Orbs, just like I am doing right now.


    [You learned the [Divine Aura Authority: Lv1] Divine Skill!]


    [You can now create a powerful Divine Aura Authority surrounding your body. The higher your Divinity Stat, the farther it can expand and the stronger its effects and power will be.]


    [You acquired the [Dragon God yer: Lv1] Title Skill!]


    [You have in a Dragon God, you can now channel their in soul''s powers into your attacks and abilities, exuding an almighty dragon god yer aura. You deal extra damage against all dragons, including their gods now.]


    Not bad, not bad.


    Both Skills will be really useful, I have to admit it.


    [Your [Spirit Orb Realm]: [Rank 5 (Upper Stage)] has reached Peak Stage!]


    [You gained +25.000 Mana and +2.500 Spirit.]


    [Your Spirit Orb and your Talent are synchronized. To advance further in your Spirit Orb Rank, visit andplete the required Trial.]


    FLASH!


    Not only Divinity, but I felt my Mana and Spiritual Energy overflowing with even more power than before. Although my Physique and the other things didn''t develop yet, that didn''t really matter that much.


    After all, I haven''t done anything to develop them yet. Once I sit down and absorb Bestellen''s gigantic body parts into my physique and dragon heart, then I might develop a lot more than before.


    [You have umted the Soul me of Bestellen.]


    [Do you wish to absorb it?]


    [Yes] [No]


    "I haven''t absorbed that, huh? Fine."


    With a nod, the Soul me surged from its "storage" and embraced me on its fiery embrace. Silver and white mes engulfed mepletely, as it felt like I was burning away¡­


    Yet I felt no pain at all.


    The mes bathed my body, and it felt rather rxing, even. I slowly calmed myself down and enjoyed the moment, meditating until the mes were fully absorbed.


    [You have sessfully absorbed the Soul me!]


    [You gained +20.000 To All Stats!]


    [You gained +10.000 Spirit.]


    [You gained +5.000 Divinity.]


    [All Dragon-rted Skills have gained 3 Bonus Levels.]


    The bonuses were incredible, and I could feel them through my body. The boost in stats made my body instantly get even harder and tougher, and slightly heavier than before, yet fast. It was a weird feeling.


    However, what was the most important was the Spirit and Divinity Stats.


    With both of them having increased a lot, my Spirits became stronger and my Divinity as well.


    "Phew. I feel refreshed." I sighed in relief. "I should go have breakfast for now."


    I walked outside my room, as I was greeted by Erika''s big, widened eyes.


    "ke?! ke! You''re awake!"


    -----

 Chapter 972: Erika Gets Ahead Of Herself

    -----


    "ke! ke! You''re awake!"


    Erika ran towards me, giving me her strongest hug.


    "Yes, I''m awake and fine. Don''t worry."


    "I was worried! Are you really fine? We yed that dragon but everyone has been worried, so we''ve not been able to celebrate yet¡­"


    "I said I''m fine."


    I patted her head gently.


    "Don''t you see? My body has fully healed after everything, and I feel even stronger than ever before." I showed her. "Don''t worry, that was a battle that I wasn''t nning to die on."


    "O-Okay¡­ I''m just happy you''re okay. You''re always passing out when you overexert yourself! Dummy!" She reprimanded me. "Take this!"


    She hit my head with her dragon tail, made of wood. It didn''t even hurt though, and she knew it. She was just a bit angry I was so reckless I suppose.


    "Sorry about worrying you. I''ll try to not let this happen again." I said, apologizing.


    "Hmph, you better do!" She said, as her bright green eyes looked into mine. "You promise?"


    "I promise." I nodded. "I''ve also grown tired of passing out so stupidly all the time¡­"


    "Hahah, I guess." Sheughed. "So¡­"


    She walked towards me, closer and closer until she pushed her big chest into my own, rubbing her¡­ Well, her chest a lot.


    "So?" I asked.


    "Are you going to pay back or not? For helping you and being worried? Hm?" She smiled teasingly.


    "How so?" I wondered.


    "Heheh¡­" She slowly moved closer to my face. "Give me a few kissies at least!"


    "Ah, well, if you want to¡­ But can''t we do itter? Maybe everyone else is worried so¡­" I muttered.


    "Nuh-huh,e, let''s make out this very instant! I want some kissies!" She ordered me, grabbing my hand and dragging me inside my room.


    I ended being thrown over the bed as Erika quickly jumped over, cing herself over my body as her face grew closer to me.


    "Erika¡­"


    "Just kiss me already~!"


    Her soft lips quickly reached mine, as she started kissing me rather passionately and aggressively. I don''t remember ever being kissed this way by her.


    Not only that, but she ced her entire body over my body, moving her legs around, and rubbing her crotch over mine.


    Perhaps for the first time since I got this body, I started feeling something down there, it was a strangely warm feeling that started to give me a sense of slight euphoria.


    "Ahh! W-Wait, Erika you''re rubbing my¡­!"


    "Oh, sorry¡­ Hehe, so what? We can''t do adult stuff but I can do this for my revenge at least!"


    She kept kissing my passionately, her slimy and warm tongue entering my mouth and sucking my lips and tongue. She was constantly opening her mouth and letting my lips enter it so she could suck them and then my tongue.


    "Hmm~ My boyfriend''s the cutest~ Mooch, mooch!"


    She was inplete heat! She was constantly rubbing her butt on my crotch and kissing me like her life depended on it.


    At some point she started licking my mouth and my tongue and became even more domineering. Despite being a powerful being myself, I couldn''t help but let her take over me.


    "Show me your tongue~"


    "Like this?"


    "Hmm~"


    She started sucking my tongue as I put it out, tasting every inch of it.


    She was incredibly kinky¡­


    "Hahh¡­ Hmm¡­ E-Erika, I think this is enough¡­" I felt like my breath was being taken away with each of her kisses.


    "Come on, let me taste you a bit more~" She started kissing my chest and licking it. "Hmm, your sweat''s so tasty~"


    She was really kinky!


    "Is that so?" I wondered, feeling embarrassed.


    "Yes, everything of my cute ke is delicious." She smiled, her eyes glowing with a slight draconic gleam.


    I see, so this wasn''t just her desires.


    Was her draconic half taking over?


    It was probably making her instincts stronger, and letting her desires control her more than usual.


    This might get dangerous¡­


    "Let me see your chest a bit, please~?" She asked me, wagging her big tail around, she was gasping heavily, releasing steam with her body in heat.


    "Wait¡­!" I tried to stop her, but she tore open my shirt and then started licking my chest.


    As her tongue was about to approach my nipples, I quickly imbued some cold ice mana into her body.


    FLASH!


    "Uwaah!"


    She suddenly was startled, jumping off the bed.


    "W-Why did you do that, meanie?" Sheined, pouting adorably.


    "That is enough for now." I sighed, quickly putting my shirt back. "Erika, you got a bit too riled up. Be¡­ more mindful, okay?"


    "E-Eh? Riled up? How so- Oh¡­" She suddenly grew redder. "Aaah! S-Sorry, sorry ke! I just got a bit too¡­ By the holy spirits what was I doing!" She felt so embarrassed after realizing what she was doing.


    "I-It''s fine." I sighed, patting her head. "I suppose we are getting into that age¡­"


    I was trying my best to hide something behind my pants rising very strongly because of her teasing.


    "I think it might have been your dragon instincts. As you develop those powers more, they also be more of what you are." I said.


    "Oh no¡­ C-Can''t we do something about it? I did want to kiss you and love you but not THAT much¡­" She said. "Or maybe I did but I would have been too embarrassed to do that¡­ I-It was like my shame waspletely gone!"


    "I can tell." I said. "I don''t think there''s exactly a way to take that away, it has be an aspect of your own nature now. The thing you could do, and which I''ll teach youter, is to meditate and control those dragon instincts."


    "O-Okay, sorry¡­ I didn''t wanted to scare you." She sighed. "I did weird things¡­"


    "No, it''s fine. I honestly liked it a bit." I smiled, giving her a gentle kiss on her lips again. "Forget about it and let''s go eat something, shall we? How''s everyone else?"


    "Fine! Everyone went back home yesterday, but Elizabeth''s downstairs, and your family too." She said.


    "Good, let''s go greet them." I patted her head.


    "Okay!" She nodded.


    -----

 Chapter 973: The Next Day

    -----


    I greeted my family for lunch, as it was already quitete. And after a few exnations of how I went, things calmed down and we enjoyed the meals together. My family was still very happy and shocked that we won''t against such a strong being. But I think they had already gotten rather used to the level of aplishments we were doing.


    "S-So, now that the mountains are freed from the dragon, it seems we''ll be able to finally benefit from the mithril there." My father said. "I heard the chief was going to make a huge celebration over your victory. Maybe even the Duke was going toe with his family too."


    "That would be interesting, though I don''t particrly care about being celebrated or something¡­ If possible I would just skip all of that." I said, drinking some tea after lunch.


    "You can''t just say that though, big bro!" Annained.


    "Y-Yeah! It''s super cool what you did, be proud!" Said An.


    "I guess¡­" I shrugged. "I just feel it is unnecessary to celebrate when the world is still in chaos out there. But fine, it''s not like I was going to run away or something."


    "I hope so." Elizabeth said. "I want you to be well presentable for that day. I think it''ll be tomorrow. It will be a big meeting and a big celebration. Bestellen was a ridiculously strong being, a fallen god it could be said. What we did is a feat at the level of Hero Dn¡­ If not even higher?"


    "What are the feats of that guy?" I asked.


    "From what I''ve heard, he had in a few Demon Overlords in the frontline." Said Elizabeth. "But they couldn''t be as strong as Bestellen, right?"


    "Definitely not, but if he in them by himself, then he''s indeed very strong." I nodded. "Well, I don''t care if we arepared or not."


    "You sure don''t care about many things, grandson, but you need to understand that they are very impactful and amazing for the people around you." My grandmother stated. "For the sake of these people, please ept their celebrations and congrattions."


    "¡­I will, and I understand what you''re saying, grandma." I nodded. "Don''t worry." She nodded grumpily after my words.


    "A-Anyways! I was thinking on just rxing and chilling for today, ke." Erika said. "So don''t worry about doing much. You''ve done a lot already- we''ve done a lot actually."


    "Yeah, I can''t believe you''re going away in a week from now." My mother sighed. "Are you sure you''re delving into the elven continent so soon?"


    "It''s fine. Once we get that done, we''ll have a long vacation and take the rest of the year." I smiled. "Now that I''ve acquired a lot of power from ying Bestellen, the next step is to help my friend Elfriedden and liberate his home country- no, continent. Fafnir is a simr dragon to Bestellen, if not stronger because he''s younger. But we''ll defeat him, I promise you."


    "Hahh¡­ It was up to me; I would just tell you to just do normal school activities. But it''s obvious you don''t want to, dear." My mother sighed inwardly. "You''re amazing and strong, and I''m so proud of being your mother¡­ But I sometimes worry, I know you''re strong, but I still worry.


    I think it is something, a feeling, that a mother can never take away, no matter how amazing and strong their children might be."


    "I''m sorry for worrying you so much¡­" I sighed. "I''m doing this for everyone, for this world I love so much, for you and the rest of the family¡­ I want my children to live in a world of peace and tranquility. I''ll achieve that with the powers I''ve been born and developed, these gifts must not be wasted sitting idly."


    "The true words from a hero." Laughed grandmother. "Let the boy be, it''s not like we can ever stop him. We''ll worry, and we might even cry, but he''ll do as he said. He in Bestellen, what other fantastical feat we could ever ask him to do now? He has done them all!"


    "Hahaha! It wouldn''t be an understatement to say I am already the father of a Legend!" My fatherughed. "You make your dad proud too, son!"


    "Thank you father." I nodded. "Without your guidance at the beginning of my life, I might have never been able to walk through the proper path, I''m really grateful for your teachings."


    "Ah, don''t say stuff like that!" Heughed, growing redder in embarrassment. "You''re making your old man all embarrassed, haha!"


    "Be proud, haha. Anyways, do we have dessert? I''m still a bit hungry." I said.


    "Sure! We got some fruit. Erika, Elizabeth, want to help me make some fruit sd?" Asked my mother.


    "Sure mother-inw!" Erika said.


    "Of course." Elizabet smiled.


    "I got some ice cream here too, let''s share it." I said, opening my inventory.


    "Oooh, is that the cold cream thingy? I want some of that too!" My grandma asked.


    "Granny, don''t you think you''re eating too many sweets nowadays?" My father sighed.


    "Shut it you! I am old and I don''t really have much time left, so let me enjoy the little time I got left! I''ll eat all I want, heh!" My grandmother smiled proudly and cockily.


    "You heard her." I shrugged.


    "Ice cream! Ice cream!" Anna and An were almost singing in unison.


    Everyone liked this ice cream I started making recently. I suppose using the recipe to mass produce it wouldn''t be so bad in the future.


    As the day went by, we enjoyed a nice dessert of ice cream and delicious, fresh fruit sd, with whipped cream on top.


    It was a rather big dessert, but we were all hungry anyways, and with family,ughter, and good food, the sun went down from the horizon faster than I thought.


    When the night was slowly arriving, I was resting over the grass field right in front of my house, looking at my grimoire.


    "Hmm, so there was a quest to defeat Bestellen, huh?" I was surprised. "The rewards better be generous¡­"


    -----

 Chapter 974: Great Rewards And New Skills

    -----


    As I read the grimoire while rxing, a questplete icon appeared.


    Ding!


    [Congrattions! You''vepleted the {Challenge Quest}: [Defeat the Divine White Dragon of Silver mes, Bestellen]


    [An incredible feat that the Holy Spirits celebrate within their Divine Realm! Not only did you defeat this almighty foe, but you''ve even recruited his soul as a part of your Familiars!]


    [For such a tenacious and amazing feat that you and your allies aplished, you''ve received plenty of amazing rewards.]


    [The Holy Spirits are pleased! They''re very happy you defeated such a powerful being that had grown into a mad ancient god they would have never been able to take care of themselves.]


    [You have their eternal gratitude¡­ Once more. For like the fourth time already.]


    [Completion Rewards]: [5.000 Skill Points] [5.000 Stat Points] [Divine White Dragon-Themed Treasure Chest (Celestial Grade)] x1 [Divine Skill Scroll: White Dragon Bestellen (Celestial Grade)] x1 [Divine Skill Fusion Ticket (Legendary Grade)] x2 [Divine Skill Evolution Ticket (Legendary Grade)] x2 [Magic Circle Strengthening Elixir (Legendary Grade)] x10 [Physique Enhancing Elixir (Legendary Grade)] x10 [Spirit Orb Enhancement Elixir (Legendary Grade)] x10 [Skill Proficiency Elixir (Legendary Grade)] x10 [Small Fragment of the Holy Spirit of Seas Authority] x1]


    Not only did I get a gross amount of items but even a fragment of another authority, this time of the Holy Spirit of the Sea, an unexpected gifting from her, but a weed one.


    [The {Holy Spirit of the Seas} is happy you seem to have found her reward eptable.]


    [She had thought about it for a while, but decided to give you a small fragment, small enough to not weaken her for your great efforts.]


    [The Holy Spirit affirms that this might be a very useful Authority Fragment to have when you reach the Elven Continent.]


    "So the problem there is rted with fire or something?" I wondered.


    [The {Holy Spirit of the Seas} says that you will have to find on your own.]


    "Fine¡­"


    I sat down, looking at the rewards with a nk stare to process everything I got. I even got some Skill Fusion Tickets, that''s new.


    "Grimoire, is the Skill Fusion function done yet?" I asked.


    [Yes, it is done now, master.]


    [You canbine up to¡­ Five Skills together by spending Mana.]


    "Mana? Not Skill Points?" I was a bit surprised.


    [You can use Mana for the basic results, but if you want. Using Skill points will not only give the created Skill bonus levels, but also might make it even stronger.]


    [Also, additional changes to the Spirit Link System within the Grimoire have been made. Before, although you could Link with the Skills of your Vampire Spirits to use them yourself, they weren''t yours at the end.]


    [However, it is now possible to permanently inherit one of the Skills amidst the list you''ve already chosen from each one of your Vampire Spirits.]


    "Oh? Really? That''s good. And I can choose any?" I wondered. "Or is it like the Special Familiar Skill inheritance?"


    [I''m afraid it is like theirs, yes. You get one randomly.]


    "Why can''t I choose?"


    [Apparently it is part of the causalityws that bind this grimoire to be to some extent "fair", randomness is a good way to cool down unfairness within the synapsis.]


    "Oh, so you''ve been unfair with all the rewards I get all the time?" Iughed. "Fine, whatever. That will give me more Skills tobine anyways. Oh, what''s the difference between the Skill Fusion Ticket and normal Skill Fusion?"


    [The Ticket gives you the best possible Skill from the fusion, without any Skill Point cost.]


    "Interesting, not so bad then. Alright, let''s quickly get all those inheritance Skills from my Vampire Spirits while we are at it then."


    Ding!


    [The Grimoire Ability: {Divine Spirit Link Skill Inheritance} has been activated!]


    [You have inherited one random Skill from the list of chosen Skills from every Spirit you''ve summoned and connected to your Spirit Orb.]


    [Your Divine Spirit Link with [Eleanora] has inherited you her [Ninjutsu: Lv1] Skill!]


    [Your Divine Spirit Link with [Hendrick] has inherited you his [Abyssal Spiderweb Creation: Lv1] Skill!]


    [Your Divine Spirit Link with [Saphira] has inherited you her [Underworld''s Gates: Lv1] Skill!]


    [Your Divine Spirit Link with [Woo] has inherited you his [Blood Electrification: Lv1] Skill!]


    [Your Divine Spirit Link with [Fang] has inherited you his [Wolf Beast King''s Aura: Lv1] Skill!]


    [Your Divine Spirit Link with [Celestina] has inherited you her [Kraken''s Abyssal Tentacle: Lv1] Skill!]


    [Your Divine Spirit Link with [Eriant] has inherited you his [Anubis'' Hand: Lv1] Skill!]


    [Your Divine Spirit Link with [Arkaxks] has inherited you his [Potent Acidic Blood: Lv1] Skill!]


    [Your Divine Spirit Link with [Azahuk] has inherited you his [Mind Scape''s Corruption: Lv1] Skill!]


    The Skills I ended inheriting randomly were much better than I originally imagined! And they were all ready to be used too. Although at Level 1, I could clearly feel they belonged to me now. But the feeling was there, something I had almost forgotten.


    I''m nning to mostlybine these Skills together through Skill Fusion, but it was alreadyte, and I was getting progressively more tired and sleepier, perhaps because my body was constantly absorbing the power I had acquired from Bestellen, exhausting it faster.


    Once I made my way back home, we had a delicious dinner together. Abination of several dishes, both favorites and not so much. Erika''s mom had appeared after having had a meeting with the chief.


    As I thought, she congratted us for our victory and especially to me, saying that she couldn''t believe Erika deserved such a "legendary hero" as she said.


    "Well done, ke, Erika, Elizabeth¡­" She spoke. "I never thought it would ever be possible to y such a beast. Yet you went and did it. I was unfortunately unable to go, as you told me to guard the city from outside if the worst were to happen¡­ I felt relieved when that didn''t happen, and you came back alive."


    "Thank you for your cooperation, mother-inw." I thanked her deeply.


    Once we ate dinner, I quickly went to sleep with Erika and Elizabeth cuddling with me, and then Eleanora, who had finally fully recovered, appearing out of thin air and resting over my body.


    Once more, I was captured in between all three of them¡­


    -----

 Chapter 975: Chris And The Noble Lady

    -----


    The next day came, and the celebrations came at full swing. We gathered with all my friends and their families together to greet the Duke of the territory, who had arrived on an airship with his family.


    The celebrations went as anticipated, my friends and family were very happy, we were praised as heroes, there was a huge feast. Many nobles gathered here. They flocked around us very annoyingly, so I had to bear with everything for a while.


    Until I got tired of it and just walked away.


    The chief''s house had been remade into a very big manor, with arge flower garden surrounding it, so there was plenty of space for me to rest here.


    "Hahh¡­" I sighed in relief, breathing the fresh air for once.


    Being called a "legend" and a "hero" truly doesn''t suit me. I don''t have the knack for this at all. I mean, I can happily pretend to be their leading figure or something, but it still not something sincere.


    "Wel, well, isn''t it nice to meet you again, young man? You''ve grown a lot since thest time I got the moment to see you."


    Suddenly, the voice of an old man echoed behind me. I looked, and there was a slightly fat old man, with short gray beard and fancy noble clothes. Apanying him was a blonde girl with drill-shaped twin tails, wearing a red dress.


    "Ahh, it''s really you, ke! Do you remember me?!"


    Both ran towards me happy to see me, yet I could not¡­ remember them? Wait, I do. Oh.


    "You must be¡­ Sir Eustace and Lady Frederica!" I nodded. "Yes, now I remember. Ahh, it has sure been a long time, you two. Especially Sir Eustace."


    Eustace was the merchant at the beginning of my journey that helped me make the first Mana Potions of my second life, which allowed me to create my starting foundation by increasing my Mana quantity by arge amount, somethingpletely vital at that point when I was very weak.


    I had helped him make top-notch Mana Potions that sold incredibly well, and that was our whole deal. Since then I''ve received some letters from him, we''ve traded through long distance and created a pretty alright rtionship between merchants.


    But it was my first time meeting him in person again since I was like 4 years of age.


    "Hahaha, you''ve sure grown up! I still remember you when you were a little damn brat though." Heughed. "You''re so tall now, taller than me! How old are you now, ke?"


    "Fifteen." I said.


    "You''re so tall and big for someone at their fifteen years though!" Frederica said. "I remember meeting you when you were like eight?"


    "Yeah, I also remember saving you, Lady Frederica. How has life been treating you?" I wondered. "And also, is Lord Eustace your family member or something?"


    Frederica was a young noble girl I rescued from the bandits that lived in the far away canyonnds. Where I mostly went to hunt down bandits to gain renown and their treasures at my younger age with the help of Eleanora, where she pretended to be the adventurer and I was just her "little brother". Those were fun times, for sure.


    "Ah, yeah, he''s my uncle!" She said. "He''s the little brother of my father, the head of this country''s merchant guild!" Frederica smiled with a nice tone of voice. "After hearing the tremendous feat you did and how you freed our country''s Mithril Mines, we had to leave everything behind ande greet you formally!"


    "That''s right! This is quite a nostalgic encounter, haha." Eustaceughed merrily.


    "Oh, and about my life, fine, fine!" Fredericaughed. "I am already at my seventeen years of age, so I am at the age where my father is constantly bugging me about getting married! ¡­It is so annoying; I just want to marry someone different than just a greedy snotty noble¡­ A warrior like you would be ideal, I dare say!"


    "Lady Frederica, I am very ttered, but I am afraid to say I already have some engagements." I apologized.


    "Oh, with whom?" Frederica asked.


    "Erika and Elizabeth, I will be marrying them both in a few more years." I said. "And I think two wives will be more than enough for me¡­"


    "E-Eh?! Both of them! Wow¡­ O-Okay then." Frederica felt slightly heartbroken. "D-Do you have a reliable friend to rmend me though?"


    "You sound quite desperate, Frederica¡­" I sighed.


    "Hey, you can''t just act like that in front of him!" Eustace reprimanded her.


    "But uncleee! I really wanted to marry him!" Frederica cried.


    "Hah¡­ Hahah¡­" I pretended tough, but I wasn''t really enjoying this interaction. "Anyways¡­"


    I quickly noticed Chris going around, so I dragged him here.


    "This is Chris, my good friend. He''s an amazing warrior and fire magician, I would dare say he''s my right hand!" I presented him to Frederica. "He''s single and has a bright future ahead. He helped me behead the White Dragon and took down arge part of his vitality, right?"


    "Eh?! Huh? A-Ah, yeah! Yeah!" Chris just went with the flow as he locked eyes with the beautiful blonde noble girl in front of him. I could hear his heart beating rapidly, he liked her right away. Frederica was indeed quite a beautiful girl.


    "Nice to meet you, Lady Frederica! I am Chris, mighty Fire Wizard and Warrior."


    "O-Oh, nice to meet you, yeah." Frederica nodded, as she felt the strong yet gentle hand of Chris waving her own. "Wait, you insolent man! Why are you handshaking my hand?! That is not how you greet ady!"


    "Eek! I-I didn''t know! I''m so sorry!" Chris apologized. "Can I do something to make up for this insolence? I''ll do anything."


    "Anything you say?" Frederica smiled teasingly. "Okay then¡­ Let''s go dance."


    "Huh?!" Chris was shocked.


    "I want to see if you''re even good at that¡­" Frederica looked at him with an air of superiority.


    "I-I''ll do my best¡­" Chris nodded.


    Chris would have a tough time courting such a refineddy, but she was desperate and rather entric in her own ways too.


    Maybe, just maybe it could work?


    Let''s pray¡­


    -----

 Chapter 976: Chris Might Be Scoring Big Time

    -----


    ke didn''t want to ruin this for his friend, so he let Saphira possess Chris'' body, guiding him with his mental inputs on how to dance properly. Although he almost made a mistake, he was able to dance wlessly, surprising Frederica.


    "Impressive! Not bad, you danced well, you''repetent. Though your manners need great readjustments. And I am not in the mood of just teaching some country bumpkin." She sighed. "Unlike you, ke is so well mannered¡­"


    "Hahh¡­" Chris sighed. "I suppose so, he''s amazing, isn''t it? Even my other friends, they''re all great people, talented and geniuses. I am like¡­ the only guy that is always out of ce within them, I think. Well, it feels a bit like that. I suppose you would agree to that, Lady Frederica."


    "Hmm¡­"


    Frederica, however, was making a different expression. It was a bit of empathy? Chris couldn''t believe it.


    "It is not like I don''t understand how you feel in that regard." She sighed. "I have two other sisters, and they''ve always been better than me in almost everything. Although they''re one and two years older, they''ve aplished so much. Starting their ownpanies and such, meanwhile I can''t figure out everything myself.


    I''m bing just a worthless baggage for my father, that''s why he just wants to marry me off someone."


    "It''s frustrating¡­ Isn''t it?" Chris sighed. "But well,pared to the country bumpkin I am, you are someone great, Lady Frederica. I think you''re very smart, and have good manners, a strong personality as well. You just need some opportunity, something to kickstart whatever business you have an idea of."


    "Hmm¡­" Frederica looked back at Chris only for a bit, as she blushed lightly. "Well, thanks. You''re¡­ Well, I went a bit overboard there. You''re not so bad, if you''re so strong, I guess that makes up for yourck of manners. I also like your red hair, that''s rare."


    "A-Ahhh¡­" Chris was having a hard time processing what just happened.


    A girl praised him?!


    And even more, she blushed at him!


    "T-The hair color, it changed after I Ranked Up¡­" Sighed Chris.


    "What''s your Rank by the way?" Frederica wondered. "I''m Rank 2 Initial Stage." She smiled cockily.


    "Rank 4 Middle Stage!" Chris said proudly.


    "Huh?!" Frederica knew he was strong, but not this powerful! "Y-You''re strong¡­ Very strong, I think you''re stronger than the strongest knight in the entire country?"


    "Really? I thought they were stronger?" Chris wondered, tilting his head.


    "Not at all¡­" Fredericaughed. "Hmmm~ Maybe you''re a fine enough asset. If I couldn''t get ke, getting the second best thing is not so bad, yes."


    "E-Eh?" Chris didn''t mind being called like that. In fact he was somehow developing a liking for this domineering youngdy to treat him like an item. It was making him¡­ slightly infatuated. "Well, if you say so¡­ I don''t mind being used."


    "Such words¡­" Frederica squinted her eyes. "I guess you are really like me, desperate¡­"


    "I''m sorry if I sounded weird¡­" He apologized again.


    "No need to apologize for everything, I get it." Frederica sighed. "Anyways, my dream is pretty simple. I don''t just want to sell basic products of beauty or hygiene like my sisters¡­ They make a good cash out of that, but that''s boring!"


    "Then what do you want to sell? Weapons? Armor? Potions?" Wondered Chris.


    "No, no, no!" Frederica said with a loud voice. "Chris! I am a woman of culture, since I''ve been a little baby girl that I''ve loved art, performance, action, lights, passion, emotions! I want to make some business rted with performance, with songs, with emotions, with the human nature made into art. Theatre and music, all of that and more! Yet¡­ I''ve discovered it is very hard to even try."


    "O-Oh." Chris looked at her nkly. "That''s¡­"


    "I know, dumb, right? You as a man must find it quite boring and tasteless I suppose." Frederica shrugged.


    "No, I think it''s pretty amazing. And cool." Chris smiled. "I like theater too, and music. I think art and performance are part of what makes humanity so rich, the culture that we make, it bes an expression of our souls and such."


    And this, wasn''t something ke made him said.


    Frederica looked at his eyes in surprise.


    "T-That''s exactly it, isn''t it?! An expression of the soul! Oh, by the holy spirits, Chris, you''re a genius! I get it now; I finally get it! Theater, performance, music. Usually it never involves spirits!


    But what if we involve them? what if we find people that could control them well, make them dance, sing, perform with their masters? Wouldn''t that revolutionize how we see art itself? Imagine the possibilities if we added magic, colorful one at that! illusions, light!" Frederica was a young woman full of dreams, and Chris couldn''t help but fall for her even more.


    "Yeah¡­ I agree! I think I could help you. I am not that good at it and quite rough, but I wouldn''t mind bing your first employee." Said Chris. "I got four spirits with me, they''re overall obedient and got shy abilities and colors."


    "Really Chris?! Would you go to such lengths for me? You just met me!" Frederica gasped.


    "I don''t mind!" Chris smiled. "We share a liking inmon with all of those arts, and I am d to help."


    "You''re¡­ really good at courting me I suppose. Not many snotty nobles would ever get me this riled up!" Frederica smiled. "Ohohohoho!" And sheughed like a typical young nobledy.


    Herughter reminded Chris of rice, one of his schoolmates, another noble girl but that had taken a much different path.


    "Well, in a week we''re moving back to the academy unfortunately¡­" Said Chris.


    "No worries! I''ll be staying for the week, so let''s get some performance ready." Said Frederica. "As long as we can gather some decent amount of money from it, I am sure father will approve of it!"


    "S-Sure!" Chris got himself involved into something insane.


    Just for a girl that might be made just for him.


    ke smiled in the distance, feeling relieved.


    "I have to do everything I can, so this goes well, I want this bastard to stop crying because he has no girlfriend¡­" He thought with a calm smile.


    It could be said he was a good friend.


    But wasn''t he being a bit too mean?


    -----

 Chapter 977: A Reckless Prince Journey

    -----


    I was surprised, Chris put much more time and effort into this than in training, he was really in love with the rich girl. Although he now had umted enough money to be considered a very wealthy noble, he was still a country bumpkin as she said, andcked many manners and so on.


    Nheless, with my help and the rest of our friends counseling, we were able to help him learn many things, from manners to even how to dance and act, because he had obviously half-lied to Frederica about being good at it.


    Though he had the intention to help, and so he did. As the days passed by and we helped him, the time came and at the end of the week, a great theater function was scheduled. Chris was nervous, but his performance was rather alright, there was some nervousness in his face, but he acted well.


    The entire y was named "A Reckless'' Prince Journey" and showed the journey filled of misfortunes of a prince trying to save his country from being destroyed. A rather basic and ssic storyline, but that in this world, so devoid of such things, was seen as quite the masterpiece.


    Frederica also acted, and so did the most of us, me included. I didn''t want at first but I epted at the end, acting as the main viin, a terrible evil warlock that tormented their kingdom or something.


    After I was defeated by Chris through his sheer effort and the cute performance of his spirits, the y ends with Chris and Frederica getting married, I mean in the paly not real life. Frederica yed as the princess.


    Just as I said, pretty typical story.


    Once the function ended, there was a huge party with many nobles inside of the chief''s residence, where we met Frederica''s father, the guild master of the merchant''s guild of this country. The duke and his daughters and wife were also present.


    I was watching them all interact as I drank some fruit punch without alcohol, it seemed Frederica waspletely happy with Chris, and both had be very good friends. Although I don''t know if she would choose him as her future husband or something. Well, I really hope so, this way Chris can stop annoying us about not having a girlfriend.


    "Chris, we''ve earned so much out of this y! I think father will be pleased! We need to go and immediately tell him!" Frederica was pumped up.


    "Wait, what?! Are you sure? I mean, I don''t think it''s right to just show him how much money you earned yet¡­" Chris said. "Do it in a meeting or something?"


    "No, dummy! We must do this immediately! This is how merchants work, alright?" Fredericaughed. "Now,e on, follow me!" She grabbed his hand, dragging him with her.


    I noticed Chris blushing quite a bit.


    He was indeed in love with this annoying girl.


    My friend does have peculiar tastes, though I prefer women like Eleanora, Erika, or Elizabeth instead.


    Frederica is simply not my type, I suppose.


    "Father, oh dear father!"


    Frederica greeted her father, a tall and rather muscr man for a merchant. He had a short gray beard and ck hair, with sharp emerald eyes.


    "Frederica, that was a lovely y. I did enjoy my time here¡­" He said, taking a look at Chris. "Is he your friend? I had no idea you were friends with the man that yed as the prince."


    "Y-Yes, nice to meet you sir." Chris said, bowing his head.


    "Hmm, you''ve got some talent boy." Frederica''s father patted Chris shoulders. "Now, what is it, my daughter? You were so eager to tell me something, it seems."


    "Look." Frederica showed him her notes that included the earnings of today.


    "Hm?!" He gasped. "You made this much?!"


    "Yes! And I think I could make even more. Although normal ys have be rather boring and old fashioned, using tamed spirits to add music, light, colors, and illusions seems to create a much more realistic and deep experience!" Frederica said.


    "Incredible, you might be into something, my daughter¡­" Her father seemed to have gotten rather surprised. Frederica might have earned his approval. "We''ll have to see how you do this in the capital though."


    "Y-Yes, I know father." Frederica sighed. "Unfortunately Chris and his friends are going back to the academy soon, so I guess this''ll be my goodbye with them."


    "You can''t rely on their help for everything after all, better find talented spirit masters that could help you in your little startup." Her father said. "Seeing how well you earned, I might invest some in this little business you''ve started."


    "Ahh! Really daddy?! Thank you so much!" Frederica got excited and hugged her tall and burly father out of nowhere.


    "A-Ah, ahaha¡­" Her father got a bit embarrassed but epted the hug of his beloved daughter.


    As this happened, Chris smiled in the background, feeling rather happy things went well.


    Once the banquet was mostly over, where I found myself being constantly fed all sorts of little snacks from Eleanora, Erika, and Elizabeth who were wearing some gorgeous dresses, I noticed Chris and Frederica talking outside.


    Using an arachnid golem, I spied at their conversation, just to confirm if my assumptions were true or not.


    "Sorry, Frederica¡­" Sighed Chris. "I''ll have to get going now, I wish I could stay and help you in this business, I really want to¡­ But this is a duty I gotta do and stuff."


    "I know, I know." Frederica smiled. "You said you were going to liberate the elven continent now?"


    "Kind of, yes. I''ll do my best to help the people in need." Chris smiled with great honesty.


    "I suppose that''s why you fit the role of the reckless and struggling prince so well, you''re a man like that, Chris." She giggled.


    "Aw,e on¡­" Chris felt embarrassed. "Anyways, I guess¡­ Yeah, see ya on another time then."


    As Chris was going to awkwardly walk away, just happy to have made a friend, Frederica stopped him.


    "Wait, Chris!"


    Suddenly, her gently hand grabbed his own, stopping him from moving away.


    "Y-Yes?"


    "I¡­"


    Frederica looked a bit embarrassed, but she mustered the strength to say these words.


    "D-Do you really just want to go away without anything else? Don''t you think something is missing, m-maybe?" She pouted a bit.


    "Something missing?" Chris didn''t know what she meant.


    Seriously, I can''t believe him¡­


    "By the Holy Spirits, you''re such a clueless man!"


    Frederica suddenly grabbed his tie and dragged his face closer to hers, he was a few centimeters taller than her after all.


    Their faces met very close to one another, as Chris was almostpletely paralyzed.


    "L-Like this! See, dummy?!"


    "E-Eh?! B-But I¡­!"


    "Just kiss me already! You like me, right? I like you too! You''re so bad at reading the mood!"


    "Yes!"


    Chris harnessed his strength and kissed her lips.


    It was a bit awkward of a kiss, but at the same time cute, andsted longer than I thought.


    Frederica ended giving her a kiss with her tongue, no less¡­


    I didn''t expect her of the fancy youngdy, but she really liked him then.


    "Ahhh, F-Frederica¡­ I¡­" Chris was as red as tomato.


    Frederica licked her lips, licking the saliva left behind from Chris. "Okay, it''s done! You better return alive, okay?! O-Or else I''ll kill you!"


    "A-Ah¡­ Hahaha, okay! I won''t die, I promise you." Chris nodded. "And once I return, I¡­!"


    "Yeah, yeah, we can get engaged, maybe!" Frederica smiled back at him. "Now give me a few more kisses, I need more of that. It was pretty alright actually."


    "E-Eh?!"


    Chris finally got himself a girlfriend.


    Though, he was surprisingly shy and less assertive than I imagined¡­


    -----

 Chapter 978: Moving To The Elven Continent

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    The next week had finallye, and it was time to say goodbye for the time being and return to the academy for a brief week before moving to the elven continent. Things were all prepared and ready, the airship was opening its gates behind us, and our families giving us their goodbyes.


    I saw my friends cry and hug their parents and siblings, as my own siblings hugged me tightly, and my parents did so as well. They were all still worried about everything, even when I was recognized as a Legendary Hero by the Duke and even given noble titles out of nowhere, which I didn''t really care about anyways.


    The thing I truly cared for was here, my family. And I did this for them more than any title or fame, just to secure their safety and happiness.


    "Big bro, make sure toe back!" Anna cried. "Sniff, beat all the baddies!" She was all snotty.


    "Y-Yeah!" An nodded adorably. "Beat Fafnir and the demons¡­!"


    "Okay, I will." I nodded, smiling and kissing their foreheads. "Your Levels are still¡­ 50, right? Well, father will help you gain levels slowly over time, make sure to practice your skills every day and cultivate."


    "Y-Yes!" They said in unison.


    "My son, my reckless and heroic son." My mother sighed. "What I''m going to do with you, from one problem to another. Will you ever take a break?"


    "Once we''re done, I''ll take the rest of the year, so yes." Iughed, hugging my mother and epting her kisses all over my face.


    "Take care, okay? Be strong, don''t forget your friends, and make sure to treat your girlfriends well, alright?" She told me, tidying my messy hair.


    "Yes, I will mother." I nodded obediently. "Take care yourself and don''t overdo it, okay? I think you''re pregnant again."


    "E-Eh?!" My mother gasped. "I am?! How did you¡­?"


    "I can sense within you; another life has been formed." I whispered to her. "Take your time and rest if possible."


    "O-Okay¡­" My mother gulped saliva. "I will, son."


    It seems my father has been relentless with my mother. Despite their age they do it frequently, that means they have a good rtionship and also good health, I suppose.


    I might end up having a new sibling once I return back home.


    "My champ, do I even need to tell you to take care?" My fatherughed. "You killed a dragon, what''s even going to stop my son now?"


    "Hahaha, thank you father. I will return, once Ie back, let''s have a feast with dragon meat." I said, epting his strong hug.


    "Sure!" He nodded. "Teach those bastards ruining the elven continent a damn lesson!"


    "I shall!" I nodded.


    "I''ll take care of things here and protect everyone. Thanks to your help, I''ve been able to be stronger despite my limitations." He said. "I might be as strong as an A Rank Adventurer now, I think."


    A Rank? He''s already S Rank I would say¡­


    "I am confident in your strength, father. Take care." I smiled. "Grandma."


    "Come here." She hugged me and kissed my cheek. "Do your best my little hero! Your granny will be cheering for ya here! Once you return, I''ll get you your favorite food!"


    "Okay grandma, take care. Please, don''t overdo it¡­ Drink the potions I gave you wherever you feel tired, okay?" I asked her.


    "Sure, sure, don''t worry, this old granny got strength for a few more years!" She said confidently, winking at me.


    "Hah¡­ I hope so." I sighed.


    If I hadn''t awakened within her the Ki Meridians and everything, she would have probably died a few years ago already. Though, over time, her debilitating body had slowly returned, and despite her act, she''s very weak now.


    I fear the worst now, but it''s not like I can do anything about it, and it''s not like she wants me to either way.


    This is just how people''s lives go, they are born, they grow, they be energetic, reckless, live, fight, eat, and slowly wither away.


    When I was a vampire I suppose I never experienced that at close range, everyone surrounding me was simr to me too.


    But now, I can see how quick human lives go, even in this powerful world made from a fragment of heaven.


    Yet, that is what makes human lives so precious, I suppose.


    As I walked away, I saw my friends return with me, Erika''s mother apanied us as well, so she wasn''t saying any goodbyes to her daughter.


    However, I had noticed Elizabeth saying her goodbyes to Seth and Jack, both members of the church of this vige.


    I hadn''t interacted much with them thesest years, but I do remember Elizabeth always tells me about them.


    They''re in good shape and bing better protectors of the people, I hope.


    "Everyone''s ready?" I asked my friends. "Then let''s go."


    We walked inside the airship, slowly getting farther and farther away from home.


    Despite the memories of having such a long life where I traveled and explored the confines of the universe, I always feel this feeling.


    This feeling of missing something out when I go away from home, this feeling of perhaps a slight amount of fear? Of exploring the unknown.


    Although it is very small, it lingers within me, and only makes me appreciate my home even more.


    Well, that''s that.


    And this is this.


    Time to finally go to the elven continent and clean things up for good.


    I spent my time cultivating my divinities through the trip back to the academy.


    And the next morning, we arrived, greeted by the professors, the hero and everything.


    There was a big event where the director showed us off to the rest of the students as "model students", but I didn''t pay much attention to it either.


    It all felt dull to me, I just wanted to get to the meat and potatoes of things.


    Although my friends did enjoy their fame a lot though, even Erika, so I can''t me them for that.


    A week went by flying after that, practicing skills, training summons and spirits, and also cultivating my abilities.


    Eventually, we took another airship.


    "This is it¡­" Elfriedden tightly gripped his fists, as we flew right above the elven continent. "I''m back home¡­"


    His face showed the same feeling I had when I returned home.


    And in the distance, I could see it.


    The Great Spirit Tree, Yggdrasil.


    Withered, and burning.


    We have to hurry.


    -----

 Chapter 979: Arriving

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    The whole process of getting to the Elven Continent was swift. We spent the first week at the academy, mostly attending sses, meeting old friends and making sure their training was doing fine. None of them wasing with us though, this was an exclusive mission for people like us.


    Naturally our poprity skyrocketed once they learned we yed the White Dragon, we became living legends, though I barely cared about any of that myself. We spent the week leisurely, visiting dungeons every day to help my friends level up some more, preparing ourselves toe here.


    And once the week was finally over, we took the airship without further dy, after a day of traveling through the skies, we arrived in the Elven Continent. From the distance, the Spirit World Tree, Yggdrasil, could be seen, withered, and slowly burning.


    Half of its body was withered and burning, while the other half remained alive, it was fighting, trying to survive. Although we were thousands of kilometers away from it, the tree was so big we could see it all the way here.


    And with my eyes, I also noticed something more. Giant flocks of flying Demons. Or well, demonic dragon monsters. There were millions of them spread across the skies, ring everywhere. I noticed a barrier set in the city the airship was beginning to descend. The barrier connected to another two smaller cities to the west, and everything else was unprotected, already taken over.


    Roughly 60% of the Elven Continent has already fallen, the capital where the tree was located was overtaken some time ago, and all the royalty had run away. They were in a terrible situation, and they were not recovering from it yet. I noticed Erika''s mother looking at the scene with a slight amount of guilt.


    She wasn''t someone that lived in the continent here, after all, she was only half-elf, born in our continent instead, yet she felt guilty nheless, as if her own elven lineage was telling her she hadn''t done what was possible, despite her amazing strength and magic power.


    "J-Just how much has the demon army overtaken this continent?" I wondered. "And why has nobody in the alliance done a single thing to help? I believe there are enough experts out there, right? It can''t be possible that all the Eight Stars and above users are all the people we''ve already met, right?"


    "That''s¡­ Well, I am not sure myself." Cattalinamented. "I''m sorry. Despite my strength, I''ve been prioritizing the safety of our continent instead. And I think it is the same thing for the rest of the continents. The elves, however, are very strong, and they had many Eight Star and above Experts themselves, those that had already gone through several Trials and Awakened further."


    "But why haven''t they helped?" I asked.


    "Well, they have." Elfriedden spoke. "My father, my mother, one of my uncles, a cousin, and a few other distant rtives. They are all constantly fighting. But it seems that their magic powers, spirits, and abilities are simply not enough. The sheer speed in which new monsters are created is ridiculous.


    Probably no other continent would hold back as good as ours with their amount of fighters and experts. I believe the reason why the army is so relentless here is because of that¡­ And well, because they''re led by that being, the young Divine Dragon, Fafnir."


    "I''ve heard some have died already," Cattalina sighed. "Three out of the eight experts¡­"


    "Yeah." Elfriedden tightly gripped his fists. "One of them was my cousin. The other two were admirable wizards. They perished when they attempted to fight Fafnir, he took them all down."


    "¡­" I remained in silence as I looked at the distance through the window.


    The airship swiftly and safelynded on the airport.


    "It''s always a thing of numbers, huh?" I sighed. "Despite the power Spirit Masters possess, and our ability to summon spirits, there''s always argeck of numbers. The Archdemons can summon a near endless supply of demons and demonic beasts from Hell too. Indeed, this feels like a losing battle."


    "And this is why the ss of "Summoner" is so important to the world. It has been a savior that has defied whole armies of millions, if not billions of monstrous demons and beasts." Elfriedden said. "You''re probably a much bigger deal than that useless Hero, ke."


    "Hmph. Well, aren''t you happy you managed to bring the legendary summoner to your continent?" I smiled. "Now, let''s go. I want to assess my surroundings, see the city, and learn what''s happening right now before making a move."


    "I agree, let''s go." Cattalina nodded, she was the "responsible adult" leading our party, which Stronghold had designated to our Party.


    We were all fifteen years old already, Elfriedden was sixteen, but even then they still decided to assign her. I think it''s mostly because she''s Erika Mother and woulde no matter what anyways. Yeah, I can tell Hasan would simply be unable to convince her to stay on Stronghold.


    We descended the stairs of the airship as my friends were left shocked by the beautiful view of the city, white stone houses nicely blending with the giant trees growing everywhere, a rather peculiar and unique sight.


    Elves, which were very rare, were amon sight at every corner of the surrounding airport. They had much more colorful eyes and hair colors than humans and were often much taller as well.


    "Wow, so many elves!" Erika looked everywhere. "Are they our family, mommy?"


    "I-I wouldn''t say so, Erika." Laughed Cattalina. "But technically you might be like a quarter elf."


    "Despite the war happening outside, the city looks pristine and beautiful, and the people seem calm?" Wondered Elizabeth. "Elves are very good at enduring."


    "Yes, we live long lives, so we are naturally capable of enduring much better through tougher times than humans are." Elfriedden was proud of his race. "Unlike humans, we don''t fall into despair even as our tree is burning, we trust our leaders and we pray every day to Yggdrasil to recover, while fighting every other day to protect our homnd."


    "Huh, that''s pretty cool and all, but I''m starving man, can''t we go eat something?" Chris asked, looking all tired.


    "You inept little¡­!" Elfriedden groaned. "I was talking something very serious, and you speak your stupid mind! Can''t you read the mood?!"


    "But I''m hungry!" Chris groaned.


    These two never change.


    -----

 Chapter 980: Visiting Elfrieddens House & Meeting His Family

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    Right in front of the airship that carried us here, there was a group of elves waiting for us. Around twelve Spirit Knights were standing behind two Royal Elves. Each Knight exuded the Aura of a Rank 3 Spirit Orb Master. Not bad at all for their army minimum strength to be Rank 3 at the very least.


    Elfriedden stopped arguing with Chris as he noticed their presences, quickly running to meet them. They were his family, it seems. One of the two was a tall, beautiful elven woman with long blue hair, the same color as Elfriedden, wearing a small crown of blue crystal, and wearing a beautiful blue and clear blue colored dress.


    The second elf was much smaller, probably looking in appearance around the same age as my siblings, it was a young boy with short blue hair, with a few red strands, and a blue and red eye, the boy was nervous.


    "Elfriedden, dear!"


    "Mother!"


    "Wee back home, brother!"


    Elfriedden ran to greet his family, hugging his mother as she hugged him back and kissed his forehead, while his little brother climbed over his body and hugged him too.


    "Hoh, so he got a mom and little brother here?" Chris said. "Didn''t he say his family was rough and all? I guess he still got some people he cares about~"


    "I do remember he said something about his mother being the only one he loved¡­" Eric said.


    "He also said it was his father and other siblings the problem, mostly." Erdrich said. "Pay attention when a friend talks, Chris. You got it all backwards."


    "A-Ah, okay, okay, my bad¡­" Chris apologized.


    "Those must be his mom and his little brother then." Erika smiled. "Elfriedden''s mom is so pretty! And his little brother is also really cute! He got red and blue hair, so unique!"


    "They''re members of the royal family of the continent, so please behave while speaking with them. Elfriedden might allow you to speak to him casually, but it might be a grave crime if the knights see you talking casually to royalty." Cattalina warned us.


    "Very well." I nodded, stepping forwards first.


    "So that''s what happened, huh? I did hear the news. You''ve brought the Summoner''s Party! I heard they defeated the White Dragon, and you participate din that?! Are you okay, my son?!" Elfriedden''s mother was constantly checking his face for any wounds.


    "I''m fine, mother¡­! S-Stop, please, you''re embarrassing me!" Elfriedden screamed, he was all red.


    "Oh, is he your friend, big bro?" His little brother pointed at me.


    "Greetings, it is an honor to meet a member of the royalty." I bowed my head in slight respect. "I assume you must be her majesty''s Elfriedden''s dear mother?"


    "Oh my, such good manners for amoner! Yes, yes, I am indeed my son''s mother." The woman said. "Who might you be? Are you part of his team?"


    "Yes, your majesty. I am ke Hunter Goathorn, the Summoner." I said.


    "T-The Summoner is this young man?!" Elfriedden gasped. "I thought it was already a grown up person? E-Elfriedden! What kind of joke is this?!"


    "M-Mother, wait, don''t panic, I can exin! He is indeed the Summoner!" Elfriedden was trying his best to convince his mother.


    "I suppose this could make things easier to understand?" I summoned my grimoire and pulled one hard. "Bestellen,e."


    FLASH!


    The tinum colored card glowed brightly, exploding into particles of white light, and quickly summoning a gigantic thirty-meter-tall, white-scaled dragon.


    "W-What?!" Elfriedden''s mother mouth widened in utter horror.


    "Eeek! A-A Dragon?!" Even his little brother was shocked.


    "Y-Your majesty, watch out!" The knights quickly put themselves surrounding the royalty members, pointing their swords at me as they charged them with spirit and magic energy. "You bastard! Are you with Fafnir?! How dare you summon one of his spawns here?!"


    "Spawn? Hah! As if I could ever be the spawn of that little child! Gahahah! You elves make meugh!" The White Dragonughed. "I am Bestellen, the one and only White Dragon!


    Upon my defeat by the hands of ke, I have decided to apany him through my divine soul, I am now part of his many summons. And I can confirm that he is indeed the Summoner! What more proof do you want, you lowly mortals?"


    "¡­"


    "¡­"


    "¡­"


    Everyone remained in silence as Bestellen spoke his way as he desired.


    "O-Okay¡­" Elfriedden''s mother sighed. "S-So, okay, I get it¡­ Ugh, this is a bit too much to process."


    "Can''t you unsummon that thing, ke?!" Elfriedden barked angrily.


    "Hmm. Bestellen,e back." I said.


    "Wait, already? At least let me torment some mortals before-"


    POOF!


    He became a card and was stored inside my grimoire.


    "ke, did you had to make such a scene?" Cattalina facepalmed. "Please calm down, it''s alright now."


    "I-It''s the Dream Witch, Cattalina!"


    "She came as well?!"


    "A-Amazing¡­"


    The knights slowly lowered their weapons.


    "It is fine, everyone, no need to panic." Elfriedden''s mother said. "I recognize your talents as a Summoner, ke. And also, nice to meet you, Cattalina."


    "Ah, Lady Everfrost, yes, nice to met you too!" Cattalina smiled. "It has been many moons since ourst meeting."


    "It sure has been. It seems you''ve brought with yourself the party that will "save our continent" as my son has been saying constantly¡­" The womanughed. "Well, I can tell that boy is strong, and you are too. But what about the rest? It results me hard to believe, even after what I saw, that you defeated the White Dragon¡­"


    "We can exin more, if you want." I said. "But how about we sit down somewhere first?"


    "Oh my, what are my manners? But of course. Follow me. The King and most of the royal family''s not living in Emerald Fountain right now but are located in the Rosenheim Dukedom to the west." Said the woman. "There''s a meeting with them scheduled for tomorrow, let me guide you to my manor, please,e with me. There''s a big enough carriage for everyone there."


    Carriage was a weird way to call a magic car, because that was exactly what it was.


    -----

 Chapter 981: Dinning With An Elven Noble Family

    -----


    "What is this? Is this really a carriage? It''s like¡­ made of metal, and it moves on its own! It''s more like a golem!" Said Erika.


    As we moved across the streets of Emerald Fountain, thergest port city in the continent, everyone was amazed by Everfrost''s "carriage". I remember seeing a car like this before, in my previous life.


    It was made of metal as they said, and it worked using a magic engine. This was pretty much what dwarven technology was in this world.


    "Yep, this is like a golem, we call these Horseless Carriages!" Said Alberta.


    That is by no means a better name than just calling it Carriage though.


    "They originate from my homnd!" Alberta added. "Looks like the elven kingdom has been equipped with my homnds technology, it is such a joy to see."


    Dwarven technology was very advancedpared to the rest. They pretty much invented cars, airships, trains, robots, and many other technologies, and even screens that project images. Although it is not widespread enough to create TV, yet.


    "That''s so interesting, I guess we could try importing them to our homnd too, eventually. Imagine our city with these, it would be so easy to move around, now that it has gotten sorge." Eric said.


    "I suppose so." I nodded. "Once we visit Alberta''s homnd, we could negotiate something. We don''tck funds now that the mithril mines are finally freed from a certain glutton."


    As I said those words, I felt a card shaking angrily inside my grimoire. It seems Bestellen is so strong he can even slightly control his card form, amazingly enough.


    "Here we are, everyone."


    Everfrost led us inside the enormous and beautiful manor, which resembled more like a pce than a manor. Why did she even call it a manor? Trying to be humble, I presume?


    "Wow, so big and spacious!" Erika looked around the interior.


    "It is so well decorated." Elizabeth smiled.


    "Yeah, it is a really nice ce!" Alberta agreed.


    "True! True!" Saphira floated around in her ghostly form, scaring some of the servants that greeted us. "Heheh, opsie! Sorry!"


    "I can see that you girls got some good sense of fashion." Smiled Everfrost. "And you all, don''t worry. That girl is one of the Summoner''s Spirits, treat her well."


    "V-Very well¡­" The servants nodded obediently.


    Elfriedden''s mother then gave us a short tour across her enormous house, she showed us many empty rooms we could take for the moment, and then led us to arge terrace, where tea, cake, and sandwiches were already served by the servants, all of them were elves or half-elves.


    And the Spirit Knights were also walking around us all the time, despite Elfriedden trusting us, it wasn''t the same for the rest of the people here. I guess we''ll have to show them what we can do before gaining any respect here.


    "Oooh, so many different types of cakes!" Erika said, sitting down and happily beginning to eat while drinking tea. "Hmm, so sweet! ke,e sit down and let''s eat together!"


    "ke, here." Elizabeth called me as well, as she pointed at a sea between Erika and her. "Come."


    "Okay¡­" I didn''t have much of a choice here.


    I tried the herbal tea with strawberries, and it was rather delicious and aromatic, it quickly calmed me down, making me feel at home.


    Erika and Elizabeth didn''t stop pampering me though, offering me slices of cake and sandwiches every moment they could.


    "Honey, try this cheesecake I ate, it''s really good." Erika offered me an already bitten piece of cheesecake, I epted it anyways. Not like the piece having her saliva meant anything.


    "It''s good." I smiled, giving her a kiss. "Thank you for being so attentive."


    "Heheh~ It''s nothing, really!" Erika giggled, she was truly in the clouds with a little kiss.


    "I got this for you." Elizabeth smiled gently, giving me a small sandwich with melted cheese and thin slices of roasted wyvern meat.


    "It''s delicious." I took a bite and then ate the entire thing. "Thank you for making it for me." I also kissed her.


    "O-Oh, I did it because I just could, no need to thank me." Elizabeth smiled. Although she was much calmer than Erika, she clearly looked very happy.


    As this happened, Elfriedden and his family were looking at me with¡­ Slightly tired expressions.


    "My son, does this happens all the time?" Everfrost asked.


    "I am afraid so, mother. Commoners are unable to control themselves." Sighed Elfriedden. "Kissing and doing all these things in a table, what ack of manners¡­"


    "Mooch, mooch!" Sapphirus, Elfriedden''s little sibling, was making weird noises. "Elfriedden! Are you going to mooch like that with your girlfriend too?"


    "S-Sapphirus! Don''t say such things¡­" Elfriedden sighed, covering his face in embarrassment.


    It seemed the culture was indeed less free here; Elves were much more stuck-up and also had a lot of pride on being stoicism. They disliked showing emotions if possible. Acting like I did with Erika and Elizabeth was not seen in good light.


    But I didn''t really care either way.


    "So, let''s begin exnations, because it seems her majesty is incapable of fully believing everything we say even though there is clear proof of it even from the information and documents sent by Stronghold City''s Academy." I said.


    I began exnations after the family of stuck-up nobles talked shit about me, and quickly shut them all down for at least two hours.


    One all exnations were finished, and I showed her all the documents and everything officially stating our actions, and the proof of our actions as well, through videos created using my golems with dwarven magic technology, Everfrost''s face immediately changed.


    Her slightly doubtful face became incredibly bright and happy, although a bit nervous after having offended us so much.


    "S-So nice! I am so happy to have you all here, you are all truly living legends, hahah¡­ ahahah." Sheughed nervously. "I-I apologize for¡­ doubting your words."


    "It''s fine, it''s not like I actually care about your opinion, Lady Everfrost. I just came here to do my job, nothing else." I smiled gently.


    "I-Is that¡­ so?" Her eyebrows were twitching, growing rather angry.


    "ke¡­!" Elfriedden tried to reprimand me, but he quickly fell silent like his mother.


    "Anyways, I will be excusing myself for now. I need to prepare for war after all." I walked away.


    "W-Wait, please wait!" Elfriedden''s mother asked.


    -----

 Chapter 982: Lady Everfrosts Scheme

    -----


    "There is something else we need to discuss, please don''t leave. I know I made you upset over my rude remarks¡­" Everfrost apologized. "But if you and your friends truly carry such tremendous power, not only could you help us, but you could help us improve this continent after its recovery¡­"


    "¡­" I looked back. "And what do I gain from this?"


    "Ah¡­" Everfrost was left speechless after my remark.


    "Oi, ke!" Elfriedden roared, running towards me and grabbing my shoulder. "We''re friends, right? You can''t just walk away from my mom! I''ve respected your mom all this time too!"


    "¡­Fine." I sighed. "Because you''re my good friend, I shall listen to your mother''s whims. But let me tell you something, Elfriedden. Don''t betray our friendship thinking you can use me for your political games."


    "T-That''s¡­ not what we want¡­" Elfriedden muttered, feeling frustrated. He was clearly doubting his own statement.


    I sat down again, looking back at his mother.


    "Tell me what''s happening in this country already." I sighed. "Elfriedden said his father discriminated him for having been born with his spirit and a one-star talent, is that true?"


    "Yes, the King¡­ I am only his third concubine. I am not even seen as his wife. This is because his wife rotates around who gives the best child." Sighed Everfrost. "I used to be the Princess of a smaller country of the continent, you see, the Elven Kingdom of Alfheim epasses mostly everything in the continent. Smaller countries are only left to exist because of the King''s whims."


    "And?" I asked.


    "And well¡­ Don''t you think this is wrong?" She sighed. "This system, it''s wicked, and strange. It doesn''t make sense. People shouldn''t be discriminated for such things."


    "Are you saying that only because your son was discriminated like this?" I asked. "Or do you truly believe it for all people? As a noble, I''ve noticed you''re quite arrogant. You talk about discrimination is¡­ Don''t you think quite ironic?"


    "T-That''s¡­" Everfrost was shocked to notice how easily I read through her intentions. "But I am being genuine now, I swear to the Yggdrasil Tree!"


    "ke, this is not really about that to be honest. My girlfriend, Rosenheim has an arranged marriage with one of my elder brothers." Elfriedden said. "I swore I would be strong enough to gain enough prestige and honor so I could climb the ranks and be a crown prince, to marry my beloved. My mother also ns on working around this, but also, we want to further improve the future.


    By taking advantage of the turmoil the entire continent is on, if we could somehow shift the power¡­"


    "I see how it is, but will such an opportunity ever present? Or do you want to hold a coup? After all, the royal family is safe right now, right?" I asked.


    "Even as half the continent is in mes, they are still there, governing it, nothing can be changed unless you step forward and just fight everyone until you decide that they should do what you say, and doing that feels unrealistic¡­ Yet oddly cathartic."


    "Half of the royal family has gone missing; two concubines have died already." Said Everfrost. "In fact, the royal family is in disarray beyond recovery. I am not saying we should go against the King, but if we gain enough Honor amongst our people and the agreement of the poption, changes could be made to society through political negotiations with the King."


    "Oh, so that''s how it is¡­" I nodded. "So what should I do then?"


    "Nothing, exactly¡­ Just do what you came here to do." Everfrost shrugged. "Leave everything else to me. Elfriedden too, you''vee to help, so help if you want."


    "Hah¡­" I smiled. "This has be a bit more interesting. Elfriedden, you''ve got a very cunning mother, I have to admit it."


    "I-Is that so?" Elfriedden wondered, although he then nodded. "No, yeah, you''re not wrong there, she''s quite¡­ Well, yeah."


    "But what do I win if I ally my faction with your political faction?" I asked the "future queen", smiling. "I assume something very good, right? The power I hold could change the entire tide of battle as a whole. All the territory that has been lost; I could reim it for myself if I want to."


    "Just as you said, if you ever truly manage to defeat Fafnir and free the continent from their invasion¡­" Everfrost said. "And you can help us aplish our goals, then I can¡­ I could give you half of it."


    "Half?!" Elfriedden gasped.


    "D-Does she mean¡­ Half of this city?" Elizabeth wondered.


    "No, I don''t think so¡­" Erika said.


    "Everfrost, have you gone out of your mind?!" Cattalina asked. "Do you truly intend on dethroning the King?!"


    "Not really, but I want changes." Everfrost said. "I''ve been growing my political faction in the shadows. Waiting for this opportunity. This is truly for the best of everyone. The King and his close family have grown too corrupted with their own ideals of what power is, and discriminate those born with "bad" talents, or evenmoners too. Despite there being the ability for growth."


    "When exactly did this started?" I wondered, as I suddenly thought of a possibility.


    "For at least thest thirty years that my former husband has been like this." Sighed Everfrost. "I can''t say he was suddenly possessed or something, it was a gradual change. Perhaps the desperation of the iing war has made him be very stressed, or something else¡­"


    I do have many theories of what could be happening to him, some including old enemies. But until I see him, I can''t confirm anything.


    "Anyways, you''re offering me half the country?" Iughed. "You''re very greedy, Everfrost! But somehow, that''s exactly what I expected the mother of my arrogant friend would be like. You fit my image of you almost perfectly."


    "D-Do you ept my terms?" She asked. "I can give you more, anything¡­ Even myself."


    "Mother?!" Elfriedden blushed. "What are you talking now?!"


    "Well, I am single now so¡­" The Queen Everfrost blushed. "I see he has many girlfriends, once he grows up¡­"


    "Enough, I don''t have any intentions like that." I sighed. "And I won''t take half the country either."


    "Then¡­ what do you want?" Everfrost looked into my eyes.


    Of course, what I want is¡­


    -----

 Chapter 983: What Blake Wants

    -----


    "There''s a list of things I''ll want. But first of all, I don''t want any territory. I doubt I''ll have time to manage anything." I sighed. "However, I''d like the mining rights of several resource-filled mountains. Alongside all the possible Spirit Orbs you can secure from the entire continent."


    "T-The Spirit orbs from the entire continent?!" Everfrost screamed. "That is such a strange¡­ Request. It is very hard as well! I don''t think I can-"


    "Then I won''t help you in your little political game." I said. "I require Spirit Orbs to grow stronger and also to summon more of my familiars. Without them, this world will be destroyed eventually. I hate to admit it, but I am the only hope your entire world has, and well, my friends too."


    "¡­" Everfrost remained in silence.


    Nobody argued about it either.


    "Your King would never agree to this, but I hope you would." I smiled. "As long as you agree¡­ I can give you this damned country if you want."


    "¡­" Everfrost closed her eyes and nodded. "Okay, but I can''t ensure you 100% of all Spirit Orbs, they''re also an important fuel for all our technology and-"


    "Okay, 80% is enough." I smiled.


    "T-That''s still so much but¡­ Okay." Sighed Everfrost.


    "I won''t need the low rank ones anyways. Only from B Rank and above would be good." I smiled. "If you were worried about that."


    "O-Oh!" Everfrost face changed instantly. "Is that so? Then maybe it won''t be as hard, we can always use the ones from C Rank and below, which are many more and much moremon for our technology."


    "This agreement also includes every dungeon where such Spirit Orbs of B Rank and above can be obtained. They''re all going to be mine." I said.


    "T-There''s currently eleven dungeons of B Rank and above spread across the continent¡­ I suppose I can arrange that." She sighed. "Something¡­ else?"


    "Not for now." I felt good. "That''s all for now. Tomorrow is the meeting with the King, right? For now, simply forget what we talked about. We will move on our own and save your continent. These political games are not really of my liking anyways.


    We came here to save your country, your people, and the Yggdrasil Tree."


    "I-I know, and I am sorry for taking so much of your time while talking about such things." Elfriedden''s mother apologized. "And thank you foring here. I am truly,pletely thankful. Is there anything we can help you with while you prepare?"


    "I would like a map of the entire continent, its areas, and every ce you''ve seen the Hell Gates, and of course, the overtaken territories." I said. "Also, do you have Spirit Orbs? B Rank and above."


    "W-We can give you what I have in the city''s treasury." Sighed Everfrost. "Something else?"


    "Potions, Mana Potions mostly. Spirit potions, I heard you Elves make them." I said. "Is it true? Can they restore Spiritual Energy?"


    "Yes, we do have them!" She nodded. "Very well, I shall deliver everything by tomorrow in the morning."


    "Excellent." I nodded. "Everyone, I''ll spend the rest of the day exploring the city. Want toe?"


    "Sure? Okay!" Eric nodded. "Alberta, let''s go sightseeing!"


    "Oh, that sounds nice." Alberta smiled. "Alright~!"


    "I guess we don''t have much else to do for now." Erdrich nodded. "Let''s rx onest time before the battle finally begins. I can feel them, so many of them, everywhere¡­ We''ll be busy the moment we begin."


    "Demons, you mean?" Asked Eric.


    "Yep." Erdrich sighed. "I have no idea what they''re up to, but probably something really bad."


    "I wonder if that Fafnir Dragon is cooperating with the demons¡­" Said Elizabeth.


    "Most likely, it is the very reason things have escted to this point." I said, as we walked out of the manor to explore the city. "Elfriedden, do you know any info regarding this?"


    "Ah? Oh, yeah¡­" He seemed to be rather tired and had his mind elsewhere. "It has been seen many times that Fafnir actively protects therger demon settlements surrounding Yggdrasil. To destroy the demon threat, it is necessary to y that divine dragon, a feat nobody has aplished until now, when you¡­ well, all of us, yed that white dragon."


    "So not even Rank 8 Spirit Masters can y a divine dragon, but WE could?" Chris asked. "It makes no sense, why is everyone so weak?"


    "It is not just that, there could be other external factors that weaken them, such as having to fight hundreds of millions of demons to get to Fafnir." I said. "That would exhaust even a Rank 8 Expert. Also, it could be said we are much different than other people. We''ve been developing both Physiques, Magic Circles, and our Spirit Orbs together.


    All these thingsplemented together have given us a lot more stats, and that''s without considering all the buffs we can conjure, or that my spirits, familiars, and so on can use."


    "Right¡­" Chris nodded. "Especially you, ke! Don''t you get like a bunch of stats with your Familiars around?"


    "I do¡­" I nodded. "It is abination of many unique factors we''ve developed, that''s why we are so uniquepared to other people. Though, it is only when we cooperate that we can get the best of one another''s strengths."


    As I talked about it, we explored the city, sightseeing the many wonders. Elfriedden slowly calmed down and went back to his usual self. It seems that talking about all of these politics had left him rather affected.


    After much exploration and enjoying the rest of the day, we returned back to his house, where we rested, preparing for the next day. Tomorrow we were meeting the King and also finally seeing what was happening behind the border created by the Barrier.


    Well, I would love to just sleep, but there were a few things I needed to do right now. I looked at my own Status once more, and then at the avable Skill Trees:


    -----


    <Skill Tree: [Job ss]: [Divine Spirit Blood King Necromancer Summoner: ¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï]>


    [Summon Holy Spirit Of Blood: Lv0] [Cost]: [5.000 SP]


    [Blood King''s Divine Graveyard: Lv0] [Cost]: [5.000 SP]


    [Familiar Soul Feasting: Lv0] [Cost]: [5.000 SP]


    -----


    <Skill Tree: [Subss]: [Grand Creator: ¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï] >


    [Domain Of Creation: Lv0] [Cost]: [10.000 SP]


    -----


    I haven''t learned any Skill from my Talents yet, might as well get them now that I have hit max level.


    -----

 Chapter 984: Learning New Job Class And Subclass Skills

    -----


    Although I had reached max level, I had yet to learn the Skills from my Talents, aside from the ones I got at the very beginning. More Skills means more Power, most of the time. So I decided to finally check the Skill Trees, thanks to the generous Quests of the Holy Spirits, I had enough Skill Points to buy everything after hitting max level now.


    -----


    <Skill Tree: [Job ss]: [Divine Spirit Blood King Necromancer Summoner: ¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï]>


    [Summon Holy Spirit Of Blood: Lv0] [Cost]: [5.000 SP]


    [Blood King''s Divine Graveyard: Lv0] [Cost]: [5.000 SP]


    [Familiar Soul Feasting: Lv0] [Cost]: [5.000 SP]


    -----


    <Skill Tree: [Subss]: [Grand Creator: ¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï] >


    [Domain Of Creation: Lv0] [Cost]: [10.000 SP]


    -----


    They all sound tremendously strong. I think I had Skill Points to buy one or two before fighting Bestellen, yet I chose to not buy any yet. I suppose it was for the best anyways, but it was another trump card I could have used if the one I used at the end didn''t work.


    Nheless, let''s learn the Job ss Skills first, their names are all interesting, abination between Summoner, Blood King, and Necromancer Talents. The Skills are bound to be both strange and powerful.


    Ding!


    [You have exchanged 5.000 Skill Points. You learned the [Summon Holy Spirit Of Blood: Lv1] Skill!]


    [You have exchanged 5.000 Skill Points. You learned the [Blood King''s Divine Graveyard: Lv1] Skill!]


    [You have exchanged 5.000 Skill Points. You learned the [Familiar Soul Feasting: Lv1] Skill!]


    Three Skills were learned immediately after, 15.000 Skill Points gone. That is indeed quite a lot. These Skills were very costly, and I imagine the next Rank Up Skills will be even more costly.


    But that''s fine anyways, I don''t really care. I''ll gather the points either way. There are many ways to do that now. From Quests to Equivalent Exchange, and well, Leveling too.


    Now¡­ I might as well try these Skills first before checking what they do in the Skill description, that is much more fun at the end!


    I quickly appeared inside of my Spiritual Realm, walking towards a rather empty area near the Nether Pits.


    "{Summon Holy Spirit of Blood}"


    I pointed my hands in front of me, as I activated the Skill. I felt arge quantity of my Mana and Spiritual Energy get sucked immediately, and also tremendous quantities of Blood Energy,posed of Blood Ki and Darkness Ki.


    It felt as if this Skill was very intensive to use, it squeezed every single drop of my energy out to activate it! It was as if I was being squeezed like some fruit, and the juice produced became the Summon.


    FLUOSH!


    Crimson fog gathered together, rapidly forming into a gigantic, tenebrous figure. It resembled a tall, yet muscr and strong looking man, with pale white skin, sharp,pletely red eyes, pointy ears like those of vampires, not elves, long silvery-white hair, and ck clothes.


    He was as tall as thirty meters, a true giant. But I felt it could be even bigger. However, what made me surprised was his enormous and intimidating presence, madepletely out of materialized Blood Energy, Mana, Spirit Energy, and even my Divinity.


    "¡­"


    It stared at me in silence, as it emanated a powerful Aura of Blood and Spiritual Energy at an incredible level of divinity and prowess.


    "You look like my previous life''s appearance¡­"


    I could hardly believe it, but he was almost identical to Asmodeus, barring the being madepletely out of Blood Spirit Energy out of the question, though.


    "Can you speak?" I asked him.


    "Yes, my lord." He said, bowing his head lightly. "I am¡­ I have no name. However, I somehow know what I am and who you are. I seem to have been born out of your new Skill, right? My existence¡­ Might be a lesser version of the Holy Spirits you''ve seen before."


    "Is that how it is? So it was the most literal sense of the world when I read that Skill''s Title, hrious." Iughed. "There was indeed no Blood Holy Spirit after all¡­ So my Skill just created the first one, huh?"


    I analyzed his structure, it looked very strong, but was a bit faint. Nheless, it was still simr to my own Vampire Spirits in terms of solidification. It wasn''t going to disappear any time soon.


    "I can assume you''re not a temporary summon¡­"


    "I am not, once you spend energies, I can stay forever. I can draw energy from the blood I absorb¡­ Like this."


    He quickly noticed a giant Demonic Wolf approaching, a Spirit Beastparable to an A Rank Monster, it was twenty meters big, ck fur, red horns, sharp fangs. Could destroy a vige on its own with ease.


    He swiftly moved, disappearing from where he was and appearing above the wolf within a second, his arms changed shape, transforming into long des made of Blood Spirit Energy.


    SLAASH! SLAASH!


    Two shes, and the wolf was immediately sliced into pieces. Then, the Holy Spirit of Blood stood next to it, extending his hand to it. The corpse was dried out of all its blood until it became a mummy, and he used this blood to replenish his own energy.


    A self-sufficient Summon that can do everything on its own, even replenish its own energies! Not even my Vampire Spirits can get so far, because they still are connected to my Mana reserves.


    And above all, his power and level¡­ It wasn''tparable to Bestellen''s summon form.


    Yet.


    But as a Skill with a Level, he could continue leveling up like I do, bing stronger and stronger, until eventually, he could even be like a true Holy Spirit, and take a seat in the pantheon.


    "Not bad, stay by my side. We have to inspect the other two Skills now. Next is {Blood King''s Divine Graveyard}!"


    I activated the Skill, as I felt that my Aura became a Domain, more Mana was used, this time without any other additional cost. Giant crimson red graves surged one after another around me, at least a hundred appeared within a second.


    They were all overflowing with Auras of Blood and Death Energies. And within seconds, the ground right in front of the graves started shaking,rge ws tearing the ground below and digging up.


    And then, they appeared from the underground.


    Undead Vampires¡­


    -----

 Chapter 985: Testing The New Skills

    -----


    The red colored graveyard surged with Blood Energy, Mana, and Death Energy, all these essencesbined, materializing out of thin air a hundred undead. They varied from skeletons to zombies to ghosts. Their appearances were very clear, they looked like Vampires. From the sharp red eyes and even paler skin than other undead to their clothes, long ears, everything.


    "Grahhh¡­"


    "Mas¡­ ter¡­"


    "King¡­"


    "Ooogh¡­"


    They groaned and whispered words but seemed unable to fully speak. I decided to quickly analyze theirposition with my eyes, detecting they were fully physical and made of flesh and bones. And very tough ones.


    Each undead had their own status window I could easily ess to check. And their strength was equivalent to my strongest B Rank Familiars so far. They also weren''t disappearing or something and could stay summoned indefinitely.


    "Holy Blood Spirit, kill one."


    "Very well."


    The giant made of blood energy swung his ws, tearing down into pieces one of the zombie vampires. The rest didn''t have any reaction. The moment it "died" it immediately exploded into particles of red light. So they''re simr to my Familiars in that regard, leaving no physical body.


    However, that didn''t end at that. Once the Vampire Undead died, it left behind a small soul me with the red color. It wasn''t one I could absorb to gain stats or something, but it became some sort of resource, which was absorbed back to me.


    "How interesting¡­" I said, trying to use the soul me instinctively. "Oh, I see."


    I discovered a few things as I yed around with it. These Vampire Blood Souls could be used in a few ways. I could use them to enchant my body''s stats, gaining crimson red runic tattoos over my body, transform them into Blood Soul Weapons or various forms, and even transform them into powerful spells.


    Above all, they seemed to feed on my Blood Energy and Mana to regenerate theirposition, but it was also totally possible to dispel them, in which case, I would feel as if they entered my soul and deposited themselves there.


    And then¡­


    "Graahh¡­ My King¡­"


    A Vampire Zombie popped out of the graveyard after I activate the Skill again, the same soul I had stored inside my soul was used on it.


    "So that''s how it works. Every Undead Vampire has a singr soul that can be repurposed in various ways¡­" I nodded. "One of them is making them a summon, but there are other ways, enhancement, weapon, and spell creation are possible too."


    "That is indeed quite interesting." The Holy Blood Spirit was learning quickly, bing rather talkative. "Master, may I attempt to absorb one?"


    "Hm? Sure." I nodded, quickly unsummoning the same Vampire Zombie and giving the Vampire Blood Soul to the Holy Blood Spirit.


    The giant Vampire-like Holy Spirit grabbed the soul, opened his jaws, and swallowed the soul, munching on it and swallowing it. The soul quickly disappeared as it was absorbed, the power of the Holy Blood Spirit increasing a bit.


    "Itpletely disappeared; it seems¡­ However."


    POOF!


    By spending more Mana, I was able to summon another Vampire Blood Soul again.


    "Looks like they can work as nourishment, and it might be possible for you to also lend them to others, if they''repatible like myself, they could even benefit by absorbing them." Said the Holy Blood Spirit.


    "So I can produce these¡­ With a maximum of a hundred though, not too little, but not too much either." I nodded. "Nheless, they seem to be able to grow stronger, their levels are tied to the skill level, and I think I can use more Souls together to summon even stronger Vampire Undead as well. Like this."


    Imanded all the Vampire Undead to disappear, leaving nothing behind but red smoke. Then, I gathered their Vampire Blood Souls and attempted to summon stronger versions of themselves.


    At first, I attempted tobine them all together, but that failed. Then, I tried fifty, failed too. After I finally tried fusing only ten, it worked. And what appeared was a Vampire Blood Specter, a Ranked-Up form of the Ghost.


    The same happened with the Zombie and the Skeleton, a Vampire Blood Ghoul appeared, and then a Vampire Blood Skeleton Knight. Each one of them had their own strengths. But it seemed I was limited to ten souls per summon at the Skill Level of 1.


    In this state, they''re as strong as my A Rank Summons, such as the Dragon Monsters I acquired over Bestellen''s Dungeon, which are already ridiculously strong by themselves.


    "So I can go for either one hundred B Rank Summons, or ten A Rank Summons." I nodded. "Interesting, I suppose the quantity I can summon increases as the skill level does¡­ Alright, I think I am satisfied. Let''s check thest Skill."


    After leaving just ten A Rank Summons, who I realized were about 20% stronger than the Dragon Summons of A Rank in terms of stats and skill power, I decided to activate the third Skill to check what it could do.


    "{Familiar Soul Feasting}"


    Nothing happened.


    I suppose I do need a Familiar¡­ to die?


    I summoned a Familiar, it was a Hawk Summon, and then promptly made the Holy Blood Spirit to kill it, not retrieving it, there was no card left, as it disappeared.


    However, there was the corpse left due to the effects of my Familiar Necromancy Skill, now I had the chance to rise it as an Undead Familiar.


    But¡­


    "{Familiar Soul Feasting}"


    Something different happened once I activated the third Skill.


    The corpse of the Familiar quickly turned into arge soul form of the same appearance as the familiar, which floated towards my¡­ mouth.


    "Hm? So I have to eat it?"


    I devoured the soul and swallowed it.


    "Gulp.."


    FLASH!


    Oh?!


    I felt a sudden surge of power through my body. I didn''t gain any permanent power though, but it was a temporary boost to my stats based on the Familiar''s specialization.


    "Wings?"


    I looked like wings popped out of my back.


    "Interesting, very interesting. Simr to the Card Buff Skill, but not? Let''s test its limits."


    -----

 Chapter 986: Time For The Last Skill In The List

    -----


    The Familiar Soul Feasting Skill was quite interesting, it seemed to be simr to the Familiar Buff Card Skill at surface value but seemed moreplicated and a bit different as well. First of all, when I eat a Familiar Soul, I restore Mana, almost 50% of the Mana used to create the Familiar Summon.


    Second, when I eat the Familiar Soul, I temporarily gain their traits, but in a phantasmal appearance and form, I gained the wings of this bird familiar, which popped as ghostly wings. It seemed I could unleash the feather projectiles with them, but they were now different, transformed into phantasmal feathers instead.


    It seems to be limited to one ability, but as I tried with more Familiars, I discovered I could stack the souls up to ten times. Much more than the Familiar Buff Card.


    And about Stats? I gained a percentage of the Familiar Stats instead of a t buff, pretty interesting.


    Andst but not least, when eating their Familiar Souls, my Soul itself gains Soul Energy, meaning it is a method that could help me rapidly strengthen my soul, as long as I got Mana to produce more and more Familiars.


    And even more, after feeding it to a random spirit beast, I discovered that once I grab the soul, I can share it to anybody!


    "If we stack this with the Buff Cards, the amount of power we cand raw increases drastically, not bad¡­" I nodded. "However, aside from the eating aspect, is there something else?"


    I tried grabbing many Familiar Souls at once andbining them together or wield them as spells or something like I could do with the Vampire Blood Souls.


    Although I seemed unable to create a new Summon out of fusing them, when Ipressed them hard enough, they materialized, crystalizing into a blue-colored, phantasmal orb.


    "This is¡­?"


    The orb was fist-sized after fusing ten souls together, it seemed to be the requirement of Familiar Souls needed to create it, and also its limit for the moment, probably based on Skill Level.


    The crystalized orb was called Familiar Soul Pearl, and it could be either consumed like the Souls, used as Materials, and probably as some ritual item to create something or summon something else.


    I had to experiment more with it, but for now, I just decided to check the Skills descriptions one after another after I discovered most of their effects.


    -----


    [Summon Holy Spirit Of Blood: Lv1]


    Skill Proficiency: 0/25.000


    A Powerful Divine Skill that only belongs to the Divine Summoner that has merged the powers of the Blood King and the Necromancer Talents together and has been blessed by the Holy Spirits.


    Channelrge quantities of Mana, Blood Ki, and Divine Spirit Energy to summon the {Holy Spirit of Blood}, a powerful Divine Spirit of the Element of Blood that has the potential to one day be a Holy Spirit, a God of the World of Spiritias.


    The {Holy Spirit of Blood} is a self-sustainable, intelligent, and useful Summon that doesn''t require further energy once summoned, it can restore its own internal energies and injuries by absorbing Blood from enemies, and it can conjure any of their master''s Blood Spells, Blood Abilities, Blood Techniques, and Blood Skills.


    The more it hunts, drinks blood, and grows, the stronger it will be, as the Skill Level rises, its Stats will increase by +200% and its Blood Power, Blood Energy Regeneration, and Blood Skill/Ability/Technique/Spell Power will increase by +100% with each Level of the Skill.


    The {Holy Spirit of Blood} will also unlock Special Traits with each Skill Level:


    Level 1 Trait: [Blood Hunter]: Can detect Blood within a 10-kilometer radius around it. When hunting, increases Blood Power by +50%. Restores +30% more Energy when consuming Blood.


    Level 2 Trait: [???]: Yet to be unlocked.


    -----


    It seems to work just as I discovered! Except there''s something new, it seems to gain a new Trait every Level! Interesting, hopefully they be stronger than the Level 1 Trait over time.


    -----


    [Blood King''s Divine Graveyard: Lv1]


    Skill Proficiency: 0/25.000


    A Powerful Divine Skill that only belongs to the Divine Summoner that has merged the powers of the Blood King and the Necromancer Talents together.


    Summon a Crimson Graveyard that raises up to a 100 Undead Vampires into battle, the former servants of the almighty Blood King. These Summons Stats increase by +50% with each Skill Level, and they share the abilities with the wielder in terms of weapon techniques, blood and darkness spells, and some passive skills.


    Each Summoned Undead Vampire possess a Vampire Blood Soul, which you can summon up to a 100 (+10 with each Level starting from Skill Level 2), which you can Digest to recover Blood Ki and Soul Energy, use to fuel powerful Divine Blood Spells, orbine together to form even stronger Undead Vampires.


    The Rank and Stats of each Undead Vampire depends on how many Vampire blood Souls are used to Summon them. Avable Summons will grow with each Skill Level.


    Level 1: [Crimson Vampire Skeleton (B ~ A Rank)] [Vampire Zombie Knight (B ~ A Rank)] [Vampire Blood Specter (B ~ A Rank)]


    Level 2: ???


    -----


    It is also as I had tested, not bad. Also new Summons with each Level, pretty good.


    -----


    [Familiar Soul Feasting: Lv1]


    Skill Proficiency: 0/25.000


    A Powerful Divine Skill that only belongs to the Divine Summoner that has merged the powers of the Necromancer Talent together.


    Whenever a Familiar Dies, you can freely choose between use Necromancy and raise them as Undead Familiars or take their Familiar Souls to Extract their Souls.


    When the Familiar Soul is consumed, you will gain 10% (+5% with each Level) of that Familiar''s Total Stats and one Phantasmal Trait, alongside one of their Skills of your choice, alongside restoring 50% of the MP spent summoning the Familiar and also some Soul Energy, enhancing your own Soul. The effect can be stacked for up to 10 Times.


    Additionally, by condensing 10 Familiar Souls together, you can crystalize them into a {Familiar Soul Pearl}, which can be consumedter for simr effects, or used as a material.


    -----


    As expected, everything is as I investigated, good, very good!


    "Now, let''s move to thest Skill¡­"


    Ding!


    [You exchanged 10.000 Skill Points.]


    [You learned the [Domain Of Creation: Lv1] Skill!]


    -----

 Chapter 987: The Power Of The [Domain of Creation] Skill!

    -----


    Ding!


    [You exchanged 10.000 Skill Points.]


    [You learned the [Domain Of Creation: Lv1] Skill!]


    "Such a grand name¡­ And the Skill Point cost is no joke either." I said. "I feel like the Holy Spirits are giving me too strong of a Skill with this, do they want me to be a new God so badly?"


    As I wondered how stupidly oveplicated this skill might be, I activated its effects.


    FLASH!


    A bright white light surged from my body, creating a domain around my surroundings. Everything turnedpletely white, there was nothing else than me within this endless sea of white light.


    "What¡­?"


    I looked around, finding nothing at all.


    So how do I even get this started, what do I do?


    "It says it is the Domain of Creation, so I can create things? Anything? Do I need materials like the other Skill?" I wondered.


    I already had a Level 9 Creation Skill, and it pretty much could create things using materials and avable Mana, it was the key behind my ability to easily mass produce all kinds of things.


    "If this is a Domain to do that, it probably means to automatize it, somehow¡­ Or perhaps to further expand its capabilities beyond its original purpose."


    As I thought about it, I looked at my hand.


    "Let''s test if its god-like or not¡­"


    Then let''s create something, out of pure, raw Mana.


    FLASH!


    Within my hands, it manifested, materializing, Mana and the power of Creationbining, I felt my Divine Power being drained rapidly.


    I felt tired, but something was created.


    "Hahh¡­ Hahah, unbelievable."


    It was a Spirit Orb.


    A Rank Spirit Orb!


    "I-I made this?! It worked¡­ Actual, pure Creation! It took almost 500k Mana though, but I can create things?!" Iughed. "Not even materials were needed! Wait, if I supply it with lesser Spirit Orbs, maybe I can save Mana and produce more higher ranked ones too?"


    A myriad of ideas came to my mind. At the end, I could create things, I was no longer restricted to forms and shapes, or constructions. This was pure andplete creation!


    However, I still had restrictions, it cost a lot of Mana, if I use pure Mana topletely materialize something, it costs a tremendous quantity.


    So I''ll have tobine the creation withpatible materials, to cut short on the Mana requirements.


    I need A Rank Spirit Orbs not only to Summon more Familiars for this iing war, but also to boost the power of my Summoner''s Hall Statues, which I''ve been ignoring for a bit.


    "How about we try something?"


    I took out of my inventory half of my Spirit Orbs reserves, all of the ones below C Rank, I had a couple thousands. I ced them over the Domain, which they floated around on.


    With a mere thought from my mind, the Spirit Orbs all came together and shed, my Mana was drained, and then the three thousand Spirit Orbs turned into roughly 60 A Rank Spirit Orbs.


    "Hahah¡­ Ugh¡­"


    However, my Mana had been drained almostpletely. The Domain was deactivated, as I rested over the floor, looking at my reward.


    "Looks like this works better than I imagined. I better not waste my opportunity¡­" I drank some Mana Potions and set my goal into that.


    I started transforming and creating more and more Spirit Orbs, ultimately ending with a pile of two hundred A Rank Spirit Orbs! Good, this should be enough to strengthen my Familiar Army for the next days.


    "Now, let''s make more."


    I started emptying my Mana Potions while Meditating, letting my Mana Flow through my body rapidly, so I could restore it faster. Over time, thanks to my Mana Core that had over two million Mana as reserves, I regained all the Mana back and produced more Spirit Orbs, the greatest resource I could get now.


    When I was finally done, I had created roughly two hundred more A Rank Spirit Orbs, I emptied all my lower rank Spirit Orbs and I started making these out of raw Mana and Spirit Energy, by bncing both, I could make them with a bit cheaper price.


    "Let''s see¡­"


    I walked towards the Summoner''s Hall, looking at the statues in front of me.


    Each Summoner Statue had their own effects.


    -----


    [Summoner Statue of Might (Tier 1: Rank 2)]


    A Statue created in honor of the first and forgotten Summoner, Hyung San Woo.


    The Shadow Summoner''s relentless might and endless will remains within this statue.


    By granting the statue Spirit Power, its abilities will grow and so its blessings, which are directly rted with your developing Summoner Divinity.


    Current Blessings:


    {Summoned Familiar Health and Vitality Blessing}: {+120%}


    {Summoned Familiar Strength Blessing}: {+120%}


    {Summoned Familiar Awakening Skill Usages}: {+2}


    -----


    [Summoner Statue of Wisdom (Tier 1: Rank 2)]


    A Statue created in honor of the second and most famous Summoner, Hero Allen, the Summoner of Beginnings.


    The Summoner of Beginnings might have been the second summoner ever, but his hard work and immense strength was what brought peace to the world of Spiritias.


    By granting the statue Spirit Power, its abilities will grow and so its blessings, which are directly rted with your developing Summoner Divinity.


    Current Blessings:


    {Summoned Familiar Mana Blessing}: {+120%}


    {Summoned Familiar Intelligence Blessing}: {+120%}


    {Summoned Familiar Skill Power}: {+120%}


    -----


    [Summoner Statue of Protection (Tier 1: Rank 2)]


    A Statue created in honor of the third Summoner, Henrietta. The Unseen Summoner.


    The Unseen Summoner''s bright mind and cheerful personality radiates into your Familiars, your special abilities bing stronger.


    By granting the statue Spirit Power, its abilities will grow and so its blessings, which are directly rted with your developing Summoner Divinity.


    Current Blessings:


    {Summoned Familiar Dexterity Blessing}: {+120%}


    {Summoned Familiar Agility Blessing}: {+120%}


    {Summoner''s Special Summoning Skills Powers and Effects}: {+120%}


    -----


    "The second two are good, but the first one is the one I must prioritize. Health and Attack is never a bad choice!"


    I offered two hundred A Rank Spirit Orbs to the Statue of my predecessor, which glowed with an eerie, shadowy aura.


    FLAAASH!


    The statue''s eyes suddenly lit up, bingpletely ck.


    "You¡­"


    And I heard a voice speaking into my mind.


    -----

 Chapter 988: The Summoner Legacy

    -----


    The voice of a young man reverberated inside of my head as the statue lit up with an Aura of Shadows. It was perhaps the voice of this very Summoner, Hyung San Woo!


    "You¡­ You must be my sessor, the one that now carries the Power of the Summoner."


    "You''re¡­?!"


    "This statue merely contains a fragmented Will of my original form, I left it behind for future generations, to guide them."


    "I didn''t know¡­"


    "Well, it''s not like I can talk for much longer. You''ve feed the statue arge quantity of Spirit Orbs, you''re quite rich, aren''t you?"


    "I never took you for someone to do small talk, heh."


    "I suppose I do not give that vibe myself, huh? Take this then, it''s not like¡­ I can talk much longer¡­"


    FLASH!


    The shadows of the statue gathered into a ck me, that flew inside of my chest, fusing with my Divinity of Summoning and strengthening it further.


    "This is¡­ my gift to the sessor¡­ Use it well¡­ It is the power that¡­ allowed me to get so far¡­"


    Hyung San Woo''s voice faded away after that, as the statue stopped speaking.


    Ding!


    [You have offered 300 A Rank Spirit Orbs to the [Summoner Statue of Might (Tier 1: Rank 2)]!]


    [Congrattions! The [Summoner Statue of Might (Tier 1: Rank 2)] has Ranked Up to Tier 3: Rank 1!]


    -----


    [Summoner Statue of Might (Tier 3: Rank 1)]


    A Statue created in honor of the first and forgotten Summoner, Hyung San Woo.


    The Shadow Summoner''s relentless might and endless will remains within this statue.


    By granting the statue Spirit Power, its abilities will grow and so its blessings, which are directly rted with your developing Summoner Divinity.


    Current Blessings:


    {Summoned Familiar Health and Vitality Blessing}: {+310%}


    {Summoned Familiar Strength Blessing}: {+310%}


    {Summoned Familiar Awakening Skill Usages}: {+4}


    -----


    [Hyung San Woo''s Will resting inside the Statue has gifted the [Shadow Heart Fragment (??? Grade)] x1!]


    [Your Divinity of Summoning has reacted to the fragment, absorbing it.]


    [You learned the Summoning Skill: [Shadow Familiar Creation: Lv1]!]


    "A new Skill?! And it''s¡­ Shadow Familiar Creation! It is probably the Skill he had from the beginning, amazing!" I smiled. "Divinity, wasn''t Hyung San Woo known for his Shadow Familiars?"


    "That''s right!" The bright figure of Divinity appeared, she was the physical manifestation of the Summoning Divinity, which has been cultivated by my processors for years, and the guardian of the Summoner''s Hall. "This is not something that ever happened before though, you''re the first one to ever bepatible with Hyung San Woo''s Shadow Heart Fragment!"


    "The others weren''t?" I wondered.


    "They were unable to fully absorb the power, so they never got any ability out of it." She said. "The Fragment has been saved for eons, until it finally found its new master! You see, Hyung San Woo''s powers originally came from someone known as Everdark, the Shadow Monarch, a powerful Ancient God of Spiritias, a Titan that had mastered the Element of Darkness and Shadows.


    Hyung San Woo''s essed his Inheritance, inheriting his Shadow Heart and awakening his powers as the first Summoner!"


    "So I''ve inherited a part of the heart of an Ancient Titan, Everdark¡­" I muttered.


    "Yes, although it has grown smaller and influenced by Hyung San Woo now, so it is a fragment of both Hyung San Woo and Everdark." Divinity nodded. "Amazing, right? I think you might be able to get more Skills as you grow stronger!"


    "Not bad¡­" I nodded. "And with the Statue at Tier 3, my summons has three times their Vitality, Health, and Strength! And can even use their powerful Awakening Skills four more times before the 24-Hour Cooldown. With this they should be bulky enough to take on the army of Demonic Dragons that Fafnir is leading¡­"


    "If you happen to have more spare Spirit Orbs, don''t hesitate to spend them in the statues! Each one has a total of 10 Tiers; their boost is important to make your Familiars as strong as possible for the iing challenges." Divinity said. "I''ll be rooting for you, ke!"


    "Thank you." I smiled. "Then, I shall return."


    I quickly opened my eyes, finding myself resting over the bed given to me inside of Elfriedden''s residence. The night was rather beautiful, as I admired the moon in silence.


    I need to make more Mana Potions, also, I got some items I want to see, and perhaps ultimately use my Skill Fusion.


    Also, I can''t forget toter test Hyung San Woo''s Shadow Familiar Creation Skill.


    "Hendrick, mass produce as many Mana Potions as possible."


    "Very well."


    He appeared and disappeared, grabbing all the materials I had avable inside my Inventory.


    It was nice to have loyal subjects willing to work for me at any time, at any point.


    But for now, let''s see my current items while I left Hendrick mass-producing Mana Potions.


    [Spirit Gachapon Ticket: Weapons (Mythic Grade)] x3


    [Spirit Gachapon Ticket: essories (Mythic Grade)] x3


    [Divine White Dragon-Themed Treasure Chest (Celestial Grade)] x1


    [Divine Skill Scroll: White Dragon Bestellen (Celestial Grade)] x1


    [Divine Skill Fusion Ticket (Legendary Grade)] x2


    [Divine Skill Evolution Ticket (Legendary Grade)] x2


    [Magic Circle Strengthening Elixir (Legendary Grade)] x10


    [Physique Enhancing Elixir (Legendary Grade)] x10


    [Spirit Orb Enhancement Elixir (Legendary Grade)] x10


    [Skill Proficiency Elixir (Legendary Grade)] x10


    Hmmm, a lot of items. I should probably drink all the consumable Elixirs first. There''s also those weird Gachapon Tickets from earlier, might as well use them and see what I get. If it''s not good for me, I can always gift them to my friends or Vampire Spirits.


    Lastly, Bestellen''s "loot" I got from the Quest rted to him. The Treasure Chest and his Divine Skill Scroll, I''m definitely using them this night too, I can''t miss the possibility of their power.


    "You''ve been rather silent¡­"


    Eleanora''s voice reverberated behind me as I looked at the items.


    "Look who''s talking, you''vepletely absented this entire time, since we went off until we reached the elven continent." I smiled.


    "Sorry for being away, I was concentrated trying to Assimte the Divinity Fragment you lend to me."


    Right, the {Divinity Fragment of Bloodshed and Destruction}!


    -----

 Chapter 989: Using All The Items

    -----


    I had given Eleanora the task of assimting and cultivating a Divinity Fragment I had obtained from Sangre, my Patron Outer Goddess as a Warlock.


    This was a Divinity Fragment that I''ve been ignoring for a while, and because I''ve been too busy, I wasn''t really able to cultivate it myself.


    But thanks to Eleanora''s greatpatibility, I decided to use the Divine Spirit Grandmaster Title Effect. This new Title evolved from the Spirit Master Title.


    And the new Effect was as follows:


    -----


    You can now further cultivate and grow your Spiritual Divinities stored within your Spirit Orb and freely imbue them into your Summoned Spirits, enchanting their powers and abilities. You can choose to permanently imbue a single Spirit you''ve summoned with a Divinity each. Every Spirit will then cultivate that Divinity on their own, further speeding the growth of the Divinity you possess.


    When granted Divinities, Summoned Spirits might undergo special permanent evolutions. Once a Skill is bestowed into a Spirit, this choice cannot be reverted.


    -----


    I don''t lose the Divinity Fragment or something, it remains mine. But I can lend it to my Vampire Spirits permanently, so they carry it, cultivate it, and strengthen it for me. And in exchange, they also grow much stronger and can even evolve into newer, mightier forms.


    "I thought you would evolve, but I guess it''s not the time yet?" I asked.


    "Indeed, it seems I must first evolve normally to receive the Divinity Effects. Also, it still a Fragment, not a full Divinity¡­ I have to further cultivate it by absorbing Blood and Killing. Doesn''t seem too hard, seeing where we are right now." She smiled.


    "Yeah, tomorrow, hopefully, we''ll begin." I sighed. "I believe I went slightly too far with Elfriedden and his mother. I might''ve been too serious."


    "I heard what happened, I believe it was necessary. You can''t let them think they can manipte you." Eleanora said, caressing my shoulders. "You''re my master, the Emperor of Vampires and in this world, the Summoner. Making yourself respected is a must, even if she was Elfriedden''s mother. He''lle to understand your position cannot be looked down upon."


    "You''re good with words, my dear." Iughed, caressing her beautiful face.


    Our lips came together before we could say another word, we kissed passionately, her soft lips and her tongue were enthralling. I couldn''t get enough of her charming vampiric beauty.


    "I was missing these lips thest two days¡­" I said.


    "Fufu, you''ve be so bold now¡­" She bit her lips. "So? What are those items for?"


    "A bunch of rewards I received from the Grimoire''s new Function; it gives me rewards based on quests Iplete." I exined. "A new way for the Holy Spirits to distributepensation for my efforts, I believe."


    "Ooh~? Interesting." She said. "So what are we using?"


    "I''ll drink the Elixirs first, then¡­ Actually, why don''t you open them yourself? Here, use these tickets, let''s see what you get." I shrugged, giving the Gacha Tickets to Eleanora.


    "Sure!" She quickly started using them, the golden tickets exploding into light and bing a new item as I drank the Elixirs.


    Ding!


    [You have drunk the [Magic Circle Strengthening Elixir (Legendary Grade)] x10!]


    [You have gained arge quantity of Runes! Your [Magic Circle]: [Infernal Blood Warlock''s Pentagram Circle (Tier 5: Rank 8)] has Ranked up to Tier 5: Rank 9!]


    [You have drunk the [Physique Enhancing Elixir (Legendary Grade)] x10!]


    [Your body has been strengthened greatly! Your [Physique]: [Divine Vampire Emperor Physique (Tier 6: Rank 8)] has Ranked Up to Tier 6: Rank 9!]


    [You have drunk the [Spirit Orb Enhancement Elixir (Legendary Grade)] x10!]


    [You have gained arge quantity of Spirit Energy and Mana! Your [Mana Core]: [Rank 2 (Initial Stage)] has Ranked Up to Middle Stage!]


    [You gained +200.000 Mana.]


    [You have drunk the [Skill Proficiency Elixir (Legendary Grade)] x10!]


    [You gained +1.000.000 Random Skill Proficiency.]


    [Several Skills have Leveled Up!]


    Not bad, I do feel stronger.


    "Ooh, look, ke! I got a bunch of stuff!"


    Eleanora showed me what she got, as I saw the notifications pop up as well.


    [Your Familiar has used the [Spirit Gachapon Ticket: Weapons (Mythic Grade)] x3!]


    [She has obtained the [Demonic me Axe (Mythic Grade)] x1!]


    [She has obtained the [zing Spirit Spear (Mythic Grade)] x1!]


    [She has obtained the [Ice Wyvern''s Fortress Shield (Mythic Grade)] x1!]


    [Your Familiar has used the [Spirit Gachapon Ticket: essories (Mythic Grade)] x3!]


    [She has obtained the [Holy Sunlight Ring (Mythic Grade)] x1!]


    [She has obtained the [Vampire Countess Blood Tear Ne (Mythic Grade)] x1!]


    [She has obtained the [Seven Colored Bracelet of Fortune (Mythic Grade)] x1!]


    "Interesting items¡­" I nodded. "Though, I doubt the weapons are good for any of us, right?"


    "Yeah~" She shrugged. "But they could work for your friends. The Axe would be good for Chris. The spear too, maybe. That shield for Elfriedden, he always needs more protection because he''s so frail."


    "True." I nodded. "I n to give the spear to you, actually, it might be weak, but dual wielding spears should be good enough for you, you must maximize damage, you''re often times wielding your spear one-handedly anyways."


    "R-Right¡­ I suppose I can give it a try." She nodded. "Dual wielding spears is not something I thought possible. But it does have a strong affinity with me¡­ Fine, I''ll do my best. Thank you."


    "No problems." I smiled. "Now, the essories do look more interesting. A ring imbued with the Blessing of Sunlight, a Ne that can both store blood, and release it as projectiles or curses, and a bracelet that increases luck¡­ I''ll keep the bracelet."


    "The ring might be good for Eric, perhaps. With it he could shot down demons from afar with holy sunlight-enchanted arrows." Eleanoramented. "The ne seems like a good way to protect oneself when surrounded, perhaps someone not so good at close range would use it¡­ Eric again, I guess?"


    "True, he''s getting two items I suppose, he''s a hard worker friend, so he deserves some reward." I smiled. "Now, to the meat and potatoes of tonight."


    I looked at the big Treasure Chest themed after Bestellen, and his Divine Skill Scroll.


    -----

 Chapter 990: Powerful New Skill

    -----


    The remaining items left to check were:


    [Divine White Dragon-Themed Treasure Chest (Celestial Grade)] x1


    [Divine Skill Scroll: White Dragon Bestellen (Celestial Grade)] x1


    [Divine Skill Fusion Ticket (Legendary Grade)] x2


    [Divine Skill Evolution Ticket (Legendary Grade)] x2


    Thest two tickets were interesting, I was going to use themter, first, the Bestellen items.


    I decided to go for the Scroll first, rapidly "using it", by simply thinking about it.


    The scroll in my hands glowed with bright silver light, opening up.


    Runes glowed brightly from within, flying into my body, at the same time, the scroll began to be particles of light.


    The runes and the particles of light were absorbed into my body, I felt a surge of new power, arge quantity of Divine Power surged from within.


    "Ooh, this is good¡­"


    Ding!


    [You have used the [Divine Skill Scroll: White Dragon Bestellen (Celestial Grade)] x1!]


    [One random Divine Skill from Bestellen''s arsenal has been granted to you.]


    [You learned the Divine Skill: [Divine White Dragon''s Wrath: Lv1]!]


    -----


    [Divine White Dragon''s Wrath: Lv1]


    Skill Proficiency: 0/50.000


    A Divine Skill learned from a Divine Skill Scroll, which once belonged to Bestellen, the White Dragon.


    Bestellen''s furious and prideful draconic spirit now lives within your heart and body. Whenever your health points go below 90%, you can unleash your {Divine White Dragon''s Wrath}, increasing All Stats based on lost Health and Mana, with a 1% = 10% conversion. Additionally, the Lower your Health and Mana bes, the faster your Health and Mana Regeneration Speed bes.


    In this state, you gain ess to the following Divine Abilities: {Divine White Dragon''s Silver Breath}, {Divine White Dragon''s Silver Scale Armor}, {Divine White Dragon''s Soul-Tearing ws} and {Divine White Dragon''s Silver Spear Tail}, which receive a boost to their Power, Effects, and Defensive Power based on lost Health and Mana with a 1% = 20% conversion.


    While in this state, any Attack using any of the Divine Abilities granted by this Skill will deal an +500% damage, with an additional 50% with each Skill Level, and ignore 50% of the foe''s Defenses. Meanwhile, there will also be a 10% chance to unleash {Silver Nova Explosion} with each Attack, that will deal Divine Magic Damage directly to the foe''s Soul based on 300% of the Spirit Stat.


    Lastly, by utilizing both Mana and Spirit Energy, it is possible to Summon {Silver Draconic Servants} of up to 100, who will be random B to S Rank Dragon-type Spirit Dragons, whose Stats will be based on 15% of all your Total Stats. While your {Silver Draconic Servants} remain within a 300-meter radius of you, their Attack Power, Agility, and Defense increases by +100%.


    Summoned Creatures remain for 1 Hour, with an additional +1 Hour with each Skill Level.


    -----


    Well, well, well, isn''t this a pretty good Skill? It goes perfectly with a few of my other abilities or skills that depend on my stats to be lowered, such as Health. But this also includes Mana!


    So the lower my Mana goes, the stronger I can be through this transformation, which seems to drain no energy at all, in fact! However, the Summoning ability it carries do require some Mana and Spirit Energy, but it''s not bad at all either.


    "Amazing¡­ I just have to spend some Mana and I can use this Skill without any cost, this is pretty much a permanent buff at this point." I smiled. "Look."


    FLASH!


    My body quickly changed appearance, as I became twice as tall, my muscles became incrediblyrge, half my body was now covered on glistening white and silver scales, my eyes became silver, and I grew a pair of spiraling silver dragon horns, ws appeared on my hands and foot, and I even grew a long tail.


    "This feels like an upgrade to my usual Draconification, but if Ibine both at the same time¡­"


    FLUOSH!


    I activated Draconification right afterwards, using my connection with Ruby and quickly changing my appearance, crimson scales mixed with the others, creating majestic-looking patterns across my body.


    A zing red and holy silver colored aura mixed together, as I felt even stronger than ever. A pity the Draconification drained away my energy constantly, but perhaps that might be a blessing in disguise, the more it drains, the more I grow stronger.


    "That was probably the ability Bestellen used to be stronger the more his health decreased!" Said Eleanora. "Now I understand why he only became tougher, that bastard¡­"


    "Aside from that, he also had a technique that allowed him to spend his own Lifeforce to generate incredibly powerful Divine Golden mes." I exined. "Which synergized with this Skill, the more Lifeforce he used, the stronger he became¡­"


    "I wonder if you could conjure such mes?" She wondered.


    "I did absorb his Divinity, so that''s a fair possibility." I nodded. "Let''s not get too distracted though." I quickly deactivated both Skills. "Now, the treasure chest."


    I opened the chest, which had an intricate decorative appearance, white silver color with golden marks, and the big head of a roaring dragon on top. Once opened, the treasure chest released a bright light, revealing its contents, it was more than I imagined.


    [You have opened the [Divine White Dragon-Themed Treasure Chest (Celestial Grade)]!]


    [You received the following Items: [100.000.000 Gold] [Spirit Orb (A Rank)] x500 [Spirit Orb (S Rank)] x100 [White Dragon Bestellen''s Divine Silver Scale Shield (Celestial Grade)] x1 [Divine White Dragon''s Blood Elixir (Celestial Grade)] x10 [Divine Skill Evolution Scroll: Bestellen''s Soul Fragment (Celestial Grade)] x1]


    There was a pile of gold where countless of glowing orbs, gold-colored and silver-colored ones rested, aside from that, there was a huge white and silver shield in the shape of a giant shield, ten bottles full of a red liquid, and another scroll, a gold-colored one.


    "Oooh? It''s full of gold! And there''s Spirit Orbs in there too? Hundreds!" Eleanora gasped.


    "Looks like we hit the jackpot yet again." I nodded. "So many Spirit Orbs, I had no idea they could be rewarded from Treasure Chests gained through the Quest System. I guess I can only be grateful to the Holy Spirits."


    They sure thought about this reward.


    -----

 Chapter 991: Powerful Equipment And Growth

    -----


    [You have opened the [Divine White Dragon-Themed Treasure Chest (Celestial Grade)]!]


    [You received the following Items: [100.000.000 Gold] [Spirit Orb (A Rank)] x500 [Spirit Orb (S Rank)] x100 [White Dragon Bestellen''s Divine Silver Scale Shield (Celestial Grade)] x1 [Divine White Dragon''s Blood Elixir (Celestial Grade)] x10 [Divine Skill Evolution Scroll: Bestellen''s Soul Fragment (Celestial Grade)] x1]


    The rewards of the treasure chest were plenty and generous. I quickly stored the gold and the spirit orbs. I could use the orbs to enchant the statues, but I decided to keep it as emergency resources for summoning.


    As for the Scale Shield, it was really good. I could probably have crafted one myself using Bestellen''s own body, after all there was a lot of it left, and his entire body is more priceless than anything, but I''ve kept myself from using it or showing it to other people.


    A few scales from a divine dragon could make anybody with an armor made out of them almost invincible to most damage below A Rank, it could easily arm an entire nation with the scales and any other nation would quickly perish against such overwhelming equipment.


    And that''s why I never mentioned its existence to the nobles I met, it was probably one of their intentions on meeting me, to negotiate the damned corpse. But I have kept it with myself all this time, stored inside the Grimoire.


    Nheless, making a Celestial-grade shield on my own seems extremely hard and time consuming, and this one was probably personally made by the Holy Spirits from the leftover divine power the Grimoire absorbed and turned into rewards through the Quest System.


    Anyways, this was the status of the shield:


    -----


    [White Dragon Bestellen''s Divine Silver Scale Shield: Lv10]


    {Item Type}: [Magic Shield] [Dragon Shield]


    {Item Quality}: [Celestial Grade]


    {Item Requirement}: [500.000+ Stat Total] [Dragon Bloodline] [5+ Star Talent]


    {Item Durability}: [500.000/500.000]


    {Item Effects}: [Spirit]: [+10.000] [Divinity]: [+5.000] [Defense]: [+250.000] [Health Points]: [+100.000] [Mana Points]: [+30.000] [Strength]: [+30.000] [Vitality]: [+50.000] [Intelligence]: [+10.000] [Dexterity]: [+10.000]


    {Abilities}


    [Divine White Dragon''s Celestial Scale Protection]: A Shield made through the refinement of Bestellen''s Essence and Scales, by merely wielding it, the user is protected from all harm. When using the shield, an {Aura of Silver Divinity} protects the user and any ally within a 100-meter radius of the wielder.


    This Aura increases All Defenses by +500%, Regeneration Speed of Health and Stamina by +500%, and Decreases All Damage Taken by -30%. By spending Mana, those Blessed by this Protection can create Barriers with it, whose Durability is based on 30% of the shield''s own Durability.


    When a foe hits these barriers, they receive a {Silver Thunder Shock} that inflicts back 20% of the damage they inflicted to the shield, ignoring all defenses.


    [Bestellen''s Divinity Reflection]: After the Shield takes enough Damage, it is possible to unleash it all back against your foes, dealing 500% Damage based on all umted Damage on the shield against any foe, which unleashed an explosive Beam of Silver Divine mes, capable of ignoring 90% of the foe''s defenses upon impact.


    Once the foe or foes have been affected, they are instantly bound by the {Silver Divine Chains of Bestellen} which Paralyses them and Decreases All Stats by -30% for 5 Minutes.


    [???]: More Abilities can be unlocked as the Shield grows ustomed to its wielder.


    {Description}


    A Celestial Grade Shield crafted by the Holy Spirits themselves for their Summoner to wield against all adversaries. Crafted using Bestellen''s Divine Essence and his Scales, it possesses unparalleled toughness and the ability to boost even Spirit and Divinity by merely using it. Not only this shield protects its wielder but all of its allies. A Shield made to ovee all challenges.


    -----


    "It''s really good¡­" Eleanora read the Grimoire page showing the shield''s stats. "With this, everyone within 100 meter can get so much defense! And that reflection ability is also very strong! If you know when to trigger it¡­ It could be a deadly trump card."


    "I agree." I nodded. "It''s going to be really useful. And I seem to be barely able to wield it, the requirements are not easy to meet¡­ I think Erika would be the only one that could wield it aside from me."


    "I can''t because Ick a Talent¡­" Eleanora sighed, feeling slightly defeated.


    "Don''t worry, I bet I''ll get some upgrade eventually to grant Vampire Spirits a Talent." I smiled. "For now, let''s concentrate in the other items, there''s more. The Blood Elixir¡­ Hmm, I could make some more using the blood of his corpse anyways, so I''ll drink them all. I''ll give Erika and everyone else divine blood elixirs tomorrow. Hey, Hendrick, make some of that using Bestellen''s blood too."


    "Of course, leave it to me, master." Hendrick was as obedient and well mannered as ever. Someone fascinated with alchemy, he happily received the blood I teleported to him inside of my Spiritual Realm. "Now¡­ Gulp, gulp¡­ Hm, tastes like Blood I guess."


    [You have consumed [Divine White Dragon''s Blood Elixir (Celestial Grade)] x10!]


    [You have umted arge quantity of Divine Dragon Blood within your body!]


    [A tremendous quantity of Draconic Energy continues to surge through your body.]


    [Your Dragon Heart has undergone Evolution!]


    "Oh?!"


    FLUOSH!


    I felt my heart pumping faster and faster, as I felt my draconic powers grow stronger with each passing second. The powers of Vampires, Dragons, and Demons flowed through my body and continued tobine together, once chaotic, but now bing one.


    [You have fully transformed your Dragon Bloodline into {Divine Dragon Bloodline: White Dragon of Silver Scales Bestellen}!]


    [All your Mortal-Grade Dragon Abilities have been instantly evolved into Divine-Grade Dragon Abilities.]


    [Your Dragon Heart has evolved into a Divine Dragon Heart!]


    [The [Dragon Heart: Lv7] Skill has Leveled up to Level 10 and evolved into [Divine Dragon Heart: Lv1]!]


    [The [Dragon Scales: Lv10] Skill has Evolved into [Divine Dragon Scales: Lv1]!]


    [The [Dragon Connection: Lv10] Skill has Evolved into [Divine Dragon King''s Bond: Lv1]!]


    [The [Dragon Tongue: Lv10] Skill has Evolved into [Divine Dragon Tongue: Lv1]!]


    [The [Dragon Master: Lv10] Skill has Evolved into [Divine Dragon Master: Lv1]!]


    [You gained +30.000 to All Stats except Spirit and Divinity.]


    [You gained +10.000 Spirit.]


    [You gained +15.000 Divinity.]


    [All your Dragon-rted Skills have gained 3 Bonus Levels.]


    "Excellent!"


    -----

 Chapter 992: Ancient Dragon Library

    -----


    Not only did all my Stats increased exponentially, as 30k to all stats was by no means aughable matter, but all my Dragon-rted Skills ended evolving as well into Divine Dragon Skills. I guess if I eat Bestellen''s Heart I might get another boost, but it won''t be as good. These elixirs were especially crafted by the Holy Spirits after all.


    No, I actually n to either give the Heart to Erika to make her into a Half-Divine Dragon or to Ruby to turn him into a Young Divine Dragon¡­ Both options seem really tempting, but I only have a single Divine Dragon Heart.


    Mine already evolved into one, so I don''t need to worry about eating it myself¡­ Eleanora cannot get it, her Spiritposition wouldn''t let her absorb it unless I use it as an Evolution Material, in that case I''ll simply use Bestellen''s flesh, bones, and scales for her next evolution.


    "Hmm¡­"


    "Master? You sure look thoughtful now¡­"


    "Ah, sorry, I''ve been thinking about a few things." I said. "Mostly that the Divine Heart of Bestellen, who should I feed it to? Erika or Ruby?"


    "Well, obviously Erika, why even consider it? Ruby is always a fighter in every fight, but even against Bestellen he got easily folded! Erika is your future second wife, so its an obvious priority. I am sure Ruby will further evolve on his own." Eleanora immediately made the decision.


    "I guess you''re not wrong." I nodded. "Alright. I''ll feed it to her tomorrow. I need her as strong as possible for what''s toe¡­ Anyways, this thing, another damned scroll, huh?"


    I looked at the scroll in my hands.


    -----


    [Divine Skill Evolution Scroll: Bestellen''s Soul Fragment (Celestial Grade)]


    A Special Celestial-Grade Scroll.


    When used, it grants the ability to choose a Level 10 Skill and evolve it into a Divine Skill imbued with a fragment of the Divine White Dragon''s Soul.


    Once the Skill evolves, it cannot be reverted back, the new evolved version will take upon the original skill''s abilities and transform them by fusing them with the aspects and powers of Bestellen.


    -----


    "Only Level 10 Skills?! I barely have a few at that level right now because they keep evolving after reaching Max Level¡­"


    "Well, let''s see what you can use then!"


    "Hm, well, the ones that are Level 10 are these, I''ll just not take into consideration Title Skills for now."


    The Skills were:


    [Throwing Technique: Lv10]


    [First Aid: Lv10]


    [Apprentice Alchemist Recipe Book: Lv10]


    [Abyssal Blood-sucking Vines: Lv10]


    "Yeah those Skills do look a bit¡­ shitty." Eleanora said. "But well, cheer up, it''s going to be a Divine Skill after that. So pick whatever? I''m sure it''s going to be awesome anyways."


    "Hmm, I suppose so." I looked at the four Skills. "What do I need the most now? I would guess Throwing Technique could be a strong long-ranged skill somehow. First Aid, definitely healing. Apprentice Alchemist Recipe Book¡­ I don''t really know. And Abyssal Blood-sucking Vines, wide-spread attack and draining."


    "Hmm, now that I think about it, you''re quiteckluster in healing, right?" She wondered. "It''s always Elizabeth who is worried about everyone''s health, sometimes she looks very stressed."


    "Yeah, the burden of healing is always on her. Her healing abilities are superb and unparalleled as a Saint." I nodded. "Helping her with that burden wouldn''t be so bad. She''s my girlfriend after all, supporting her shoulde out naturally from me."


    "That''s right! You''ve grown so much from your previous life emotionless and apathetic personality~" Eleanora caressed my head as if I were her child.


    "Stop treating me like a child¡­" I sighed. "Anyways, I guess First Aid it is? Though, I can''t help but think what in the world could Apprentice Alchemist Recipe Book be?"


    "Hmm, maybe you''ll be able to enchant every creation with dragon blood? Or dragon divinity¡­?" She asked.


    "That sounds really strong¡­" I said. "And the Vines, I feel like they might be something weird but strong too. But considering all my attack options, it''s the least of my worries. Alright, the book it is."


    "The book?!" Eleanora cried. "Wait, weren''t you going to help Elizabeth?"


    "The Alchemy Book helps me mass produce all kinds of items once registered." I exined. "That also means that I will be able to mass produce even more Mana and Health Potions, or Elixirs, which are ultimately more important. Mana is always a problem, especially when even I that have so much Mana, often struggles with managing it.


    If I can upgrade our ability to obtain Elixirs and restorative items, Elizabeth''s burden will be easily remedied."


    "Not wrong¡­ Okay, let''s see what you get then." She nodded, without questioning my decision anymore.


    FLASH!


    The Scroll became light and runes, fusing into my body. I mentally selected the Skill, and the Evolution quickly began. I could feel it, a piece of Bestellen''s soul, his fury, strength, charisma, magic power, everything merged with this Skill.


    Ding!


    [You have used the [Divine Skill Evolution Scroll: Bestellen''s Soul Fragment (Celestial Grade)]!]


    [You have chosen the Level 10 Skill: [Apprentice Alchemist Recipe Book] to undergo Divine Skill Evolution!]


    [The Skill has begun absorbing the Scroll''s powers! It has begun to Evolve!]


    FLASH!


    I felt something surge within me, information.


    New recipes surged, blossoming within my mind as the Skill continued evolving.


    Because it was connected to my Grimoire, the Grimoire itself opened its pages, flickering as it changed color.


    Usually, when I used the [Apprentice Alchemist Recipe Book] Skill, the Grimoire would take the form of the Book itself, showing me its pages.


    Now, the same was happening, bing a beautiful white, silver, and gold colored book overflowing with divinity, and with each page being silver, with a metallic glow.


    "It''s done¡­"


    The pages showed the information, showcasing what happened to the Skill.


    [The [Apprentice Alchemist Recipe Book: Lv10] Skill has sessfully absorbed the Scroll''s Powers and Evolved into the Divine Skill: [Divine Silver Dragon Alchemist Grimoire: Lv1]!]


    [The New Evolved Skill has been given new Recipes!]


    [The New Evolved Skill has obtained new Abilities!]


    [The Memories and Knowledge of the {Ancient Dragon Library} has been imbued into the Grimoire!]


    "Ancient Dragon Library?!"


    -----

 Chapter 993: Evolved Alchemy

    -----


    The Grimoire opened, as a sh of bright white light rushed into my head. For a moment, I found myself within a different ce altogether. I don''t know if it was only my consciousness that was dragged inside, my soul, or perhaps this was an illusion, but it was definitely not teleportation.


    My surroundings became those of an incredibly ancient library, mostly all made of stone. The books themselves were enormous, their pages made of rough and hard tree bark, inscribed into them using ck ink, there were countless runes.


    "What is this ce? Such an archaic Library existed?" I wondered, looking around.


    I noticed Eleanora wasn''t here, only I was invited to this strange illusion, realm, or something else entirely. I stopped looking at the book I was grabbing, which was at least twenty meters big, gigantic.


    And then I looked at the distance and my surroundings yet again. The ceiling resembled that of a cave, but it was opened up. Perhaps some sort of valley inside a mountain, or something.


    But that wasn''t the surprising part, as giant shadows loomed above me.


    I looked up again, noticing gigantic, scaled figures descending.


    They were all dragons!


    BAAAM!


    Their enormous bodies made the ground tremble as theynded on the floor. There were around five of them, each one roughly fifty meters of height. They had all different scale colors.


    I honestly couldn''t recognize any of them, except one, a dragon with golden horns, yellow eyes, and silvery-white scales. He looked much younger than how I remember him, but it was definitely him.


    Bestellen.


    He seemed younger and more hopeful as well, with a certain curiosity and innocence inside of his eyes.


    "So this is the Legendary Library! I can''t believe I am seeing it with my very two eyes!" He said happily. "Thank you so much for inviting me here, elders!"


    "Well, you passed the test, Bestellen, so you''re worthy of visiting the Library." A red scaled dragon spoke. "This is a ce where we store all our knowledge. This world is young, you see. Younger than you imagine. Since its birth that there have been countless powers and magics yet to be discovered.


    In here not only we store information through ourrge books, but we also discover new magic and improve the general knowledge of what magic truly is!"


    "I see, I see!" Bestellen nodded very energetically. He was indeed very young here.


    "As you already know, we dragons are blessed with Dragon Tongue, an Innate Ability to conjure magic without the requirement for Runic Arrangements, giving us the ability to freely manipte the elements and discover their properties." A blue scaled dragoness said.


    "Unlike the Titans blessed with Weapon Mastery, or the Spirits blessed with Spirit Magic, we Dragons were destined to learn, master, and discover all the magic in the world."


    "Come and join as we explore magic, young Bestellen. How about you start with general knowledge first? There''s also the new subject, Alchemy and Forging Magic. And also one we have yet to fully master and it is within a conceptual stage, Creation Magic."


    "T-Thank you! I will learn and then help you discover more, elders!" Bestellen was full of hope and innocence.


    I wonder what happened to him for him to be such a ruthless fighterter on¡­


    The vision continued showing Bestellen reading every book, the knowledge he acquired flowed inside the grimoire, constantly filling its pages.


    The vision ended abruptly as Bestellen nced at the night sky''s moon.


    "Lifeforce Magic¡­ The power to use one''s Lifeforce to grow even stronger." He wondered. "Who would ever use such a dangerous power?"


    Hah, how ironic.


    FLASH!


    When the illusion was over, the Grimoire stayed at my side, floating, its appearance mimicking the new Divine Skill that had just evolved.


    Formerly the Apprentice Alchemist Recipe Book, it now had changedpletely.


    Its pages themselves showed me the information of the changes.


    [The [Apprentice Alchemist Recipe Book: Lv10] Skill has sessfully absorbed the Scroll''s Powers and Evolved into the Divine Skill: [Divine Silver Dragon Alchemist Grimoire: Lv1]!]


    [The New Evolved Skill has been given new Recipes!]


    [The New Evolved Skill has obtained new Abilities!]


    [The Memories and Knowledge of the {Ancient Dragon Library} has been imbued into the Grimoire!]


    -----


    [Divine Silver Dragon Alchemist Grimoire: Lv1]


    Skill Proficiency 0/100.000


    A Skill born from the evolution of the [Apprentice Alchemist Recipe Book: Lv10] after absorbing the powers of a Divine Skill Scroll.


    A Skill that materializes into a Divine Grimoire of Ancient Times, containing the knowledge and recipes of the Ancient Dragon Library, Ancient Magic, Alchemy, and Forgingbine together in this Grimoire, bing one.


    Using this Grimoire not only can you create items based off the recipes, but through Instant Creation, you don''t even need to prepare them, the Grimoire creating everything as long as you supply the materials and Mana required.


    All previous Recipes that the Apprentice Alchemist Recipe Book Skill possessed are retained within this Skill and be further evolved and enhanced topletely never seen levels.


    The powers of this Grimoire automatically grant an enhancement to the Quality and Effects of all [Instant Creation] made items by +200%, with an additional +20% with each Skill Level.


    You can now [Instant Create] many items at the same time, and by expanding your {Divine Silver Dragon Alchemist Domain}, you can teleport created items anywhere within that vicinity, easily giving them to any allies that require them.


    When the {Divine Silver Dragon Alchemist Domain} is active by spending constant quantities of Mana and Spirit Energy, the Quality and Effects of Created Items increases by +300%, your Creation Speed increases by +500%, and the Healing Power of all Potions increase by +200%.


    While the Domain is active, {Divine Silver Dragon Alchemist Spirits} will be freely summoned automatically, their stats based on 15% of your own Stats, plus 100% of your Spirit Stat. These powerful Spirits will Attack any nearby foes, heal allies, debuff foes, or buff allies using anypatible item you''ve previously created and allowed them to use.


    Lastly, you can enter on {Divine Creator''s Mode} for 60 Seconds, where you can freely create any item within the avable recipes with no Material Cost whatsoever. Once the 60 seconds pass, all created items disappear. Cooldown: 24 Hours.


    Avable Recipes for Instant Creation:


    Level 1: [Divine Triple-Elemental Dragon Bomb (Spiritual Grade)] [Divine Storm Dragon''s Magic Arrows (Spiritual Grade)] [Ares'' Divine Elixir of Stamina and Strength (Spiritual Grade)] [Hecate''s Divine Elixir of Mana and Magic (Spiritual Grade)]


    Level 2: ???


    -----


    "T-This is much more amazing than I imagined¡­"


    -----

 Chapter 994: Divine Silver Dragon Alchemist Grimoire

    -----


    The new Divine Skill was utterly fantastic, it only had four new recipes avable, aside from all the previous ones which I can now enchant to even higher new forms, but they were all amazing items, and the multiple Abilities it possessed were very useful.


    It seemed that the original Skill''s ability of "Instant Creation" became the core of this Skill''s Abilities, bing a pr of how they work and interact with everything else!


    And there are also many new additional effects that are just amazing, the first one is this:


    -----


    You can now [Instant Create] many items at the same time, and by expanding your {Divine Silver Dragon Alchemist Domain}, you can teleport created items anywhere within that vicinity, easily giving them to any allies that require them.


    -----


    This is great news and exactly what I wanted. I can create as many items as I want at the same time, as long as they''re registered in the grimoire as recipes, and teleport them to my allies with ease! However, the mental exhaustion that such a multitask would cause is no joke either.


    But that''splemented with this:


    -----


    When the {Divine Silver Dragon Alchemist Domain} is active by spending constant quantities of Mana and Spirit Energy, the Quality and Effects of Created Items increases by +300%, your Creation Speed increases by +500%, and the Healing Power of all Potions increase by +200%.


    While the Domain is active, {Divine Silver Dragon Alchemist Spirits} will be freely summoned automatically, their stats based on 15% of your own Stats, plus 100% of your Spirit Stat. These powerful Spirits will Attack any nearby foes, heal allies, debuff foes, or buff allies using anypatible item you''ve previously created and allowed them to use.


    -----


    The Domain boosts everything even further and makes Creation Speed much faster, and then the Summoned Spirits can help me distribute and use the items as much as I want. They can give it to allies to heal them and buff them or throw them at foes to damage them or debuff them.


    With this, I can more easily keep everyone healthy in battle! However, it doesn''t specify the size of the domain, perhaps its indefinite as long as I imbue more Mana and Spirit Energy?


    But that''s not even everything, the craziest ability is this:


    -----


    Lastly, you can enter on {Divine Creator''s Mode} for 60 Seconds, where you can freely create any item within the avable recipes with no Material Cost whatsoever. Once the 60 seconds pass, all created items disappear. Cooldown: 24 Hours.


    -----


    "Creator''s Mode", it quite literally allows me to be a creator for 60 seconds, with no cost of energy or materials when making any item within the registered recipes. As much as I want, with the spirits, freely distributing and using them should also be swift, its perfect.


    The items disappear after the 60 seconds though, which means I can''t just create things as much as I want every day, but even then, as long as I use them within the 1-minute frame, then it works well.


    And the new recipes¡­


    -----


    Avable Recipes for Instant Creation:


    Level 1: [Divine Triple-Elemental Dragon Bomb (Spiritual Grade)] [Divine Storm Dragon''s Magic Arrows (Spiritual Grade)] [Ares'' Divine Elixir of Stamina and Strength (Spiritual Grade)] [Hecate''s Divine Elixir of Mana and Magic (Spiritual Grade)]


    -----


    One Bomb of three elements with draconic properties, it seems to have a very wide range, then there''s this arrow¡­ It''s not a bomb? Just an arrow I create and fire, and it will always follow the target and explode into a storm of draconic winds.


    Then the two Elixirs, Ares Elixir restores Stamina and Health, and increases Vitality and Strength by a certain percentage for a small amount of time, the same for Hecate''s Elixir, but for Magic and Mana.


    "Not bad, in fact, really good¡­" I smiled. "The materials required to make them are not thatmon though¡­ All of them need dragon blood and scales, but I can get that off all the dragon monsters I''ve hunted. The other rare materials are Spirit Stones, but I''ve secured many already¡­ I can begin production right away."


    I sat down over the bed as the items started being created within seconds, and then stored inside my Inventory. I tried out its abilities as I rested, expanding the Domain. I felt my Mana and Spirit Energy being drained on tiny quantities each second.


    "It seems to work well!" Eleanora was sitting by my side. "Is this Domain rted with the Skill too?"


    "Yes, look." I ced an Elixir in my hands and then teleported it in front of her.


    "Oh?" She grabbed it gently, the items within the domain also float, so they never fall anyways. "Amazing, you can teleport anything made out of the skill within the domain?!"


    "Indeed¡­ An incredibly powerful ability if used correctly." I nodded. "And these guys¡­"


    Several spiritual beings appeared, each one varying in size from one meter to four meters, phantasmal and glowing with silver light, they resembled small copies of Bestellen, but had no legs, with their lower halves resembling long snakes. They also hadically small wings.


    "They can grab items and instantly use them for me, also being able to teleport around the domain, it seems¡­" I watched them do just that.


    "Incredible, maybe it was truly worth choosing this skill instead than just First Aid¡­" Eleanora nodded. "I guess I was in the wrong there, you were being much more thoughtful than I was, as always."


    "Of course, we are a good pair because of that, I am thoughtful, and you just act." I smiled. "Both are traits that are often needed, weplement each other with that."


    "Oh? Is that so?" She smiled, as Eleanora gently sat over the bed with me, cing her legs around mine, and looking down at me. "Yeah, I am quite rash at times¡­ I like acting and not thinking much~ And I am beginning to get really addicted to you, master¡­ Now that you let me be more open¡­ It feels like we''re finally beginning a true rtionship, fufu."


    "Wait, Eleanora¡­"


    Before I could escape, she grasped my arms very tightly.


    "You''re not going anywhere~"


    I suppose I must sumb to my fate.


    -----


    Author''s Note: 6 Days chapters for 1000 chapters!!! Wooo!!!

 Chapter 995: Divinities

    -----


    The next morning arrived in a sh after I had some fun with Eleanora, mostly her kisses and snuggles though, she surprisingly never tries something else, I suppose she still respects boundaries. She doesn''t have to worry much though, once this body of mine ages enough, I will make sure to give her what she really wants.


    But for now, I have to move to more important matters. The morning has arrived and today we depart to meet the Elven Kingdom''s King and the royal family as a formal greeting, after all it was thanks to his Summoning Call that I was able toe here and skip sses back in Stronghold.


    First of all though, I need to strengthen my allies.


    "Hendrick, is it done?"


    "Yes, master, here¡­" Hendrick appeared out of my Spiritual Realm. "I''ve prepared a batch of five hundred Mana Elixirs using special materials, these are much higher quality than the ones you can Instantly Create, for sure. Also, a hundred Dragon Blood Elixirs using Bestellen''s blood, there''s still plenty left, but I found it was an enough quantity for your friends."


    "Yes," I nodded. "It is more than enough, well done, thank you."


    "It is an honor to help my master, no need to thank me! I was rather amused as I experimented and used Bestellen''s premium corpse materials! He is sure an incredible product to work with!" Hendrick seemed as fascinated with such things as ever.


    "Hah, perhaps you''ll get to do the same with Fafnir''s corpse next." I smiled. "Look forward to that."


    "I shall!" He smiled almost wickedly. "For now, master, is there something else I could help with?"


    "Hmmm¡­ I suppose you''re hard working, diligent, and loyal." I nodded. "You''re ideal. Take this."


    I granted Hendrick a white thread, connecting it into his Spiritual Core, the very core of a Spirit Soul, it quickly ced something inside, a piece of my primary powers.


    My Divinity of Summoning.


    "T-This power¡­?!" He gasped as he saw the aura of white color surge form within. "Are you sure about this, master? Me from all your servants? But why?"


    "Because I appreciate your efforts, after Eleanora, you''re my second most loyal Vampire." I smiled. "Take the power of the Divinity of Summoning and Cultivate it for me, you will unlock and obtain powers rted with it as you do."


    "T-Thank you so much for such an honor!" Hendrick bowed and kneeled before me. "I will make sure to not disappoint you!"


    "Good, work hard, that is a quality I appreciate the most," I smiled, nodding.


    I looked at the disyed Divinities I had.


    -----


    {Divinities}: [Great Divinity: Ruler of White & Silver] [Developing Divinity: Summoning (Linked to Hendrick)] [Developing Divinity: Bloodshed & Destruction (Linked to Eleanora)]


    -----


    I had Authority Fragments too, which I believe I can turn into Divinities with enough time. Right now, Eleanora is taking care of the Divinity that Sangre gifted to me, while Hendrick will now take care of the Summoning Divinity.


    Thest one is the Great Divinity I obtained from Bestellen, Ruler of White and Silver¡­ I don''t think it fits any of my current summons.


    But there was a Vampire that once served, someone incredible.


    Perhaps that person could put it to good use¡­ but seeing how it''s always random, I am not sure if I''ll see that old friend again even in my next Rank Up.


    For now, I''ll keep it.


    I was certain with Eleanora and Hendrick, but not with the rest. It''s not that I am discriminating them or something, they are simply notpatible with the remaining Divinity.


    "Eleanora, wake up¡­" I said, noticing Eleanora snuggling with me on bed.


    "Hmm? Ah¡­! D-Did I fell asleep like this?!" Eleanora blushed.


    "You seemed rather tired afterst night¡­ You were quite passionate." I caressed her long, red hair. "Let''s go meet everyone and have some breakfast." I gently lifted her chin, kissing her beautiful red lips.


    "Okay then¡­ Good morning, master." She kissed me back.


    "Good morning my love." I kissed her back.


    "Mooch."


    She kissed me again¡­


    And then we ended kissing for ten long minutes.


    After I was finally freed from her passion, I took a quick bath and moved downstairs, now carrying the elixirs I wanted to share.


    My friends were all there, eating breakfast already. I was quite surprised Erika and Elizabeth didn''te to my bed, but perhaps being in another house kind of made them embarrassed to try doing that.


    I also noticed Elfriedden, his mother, Everfrost, and his little brother Sapphirus. They were eating with everyone else as well.


    "Good morning everyone." I walked towards the table.


    "ke! Good morning!" Erika said. "Come sit by my side!"


    "Good morning." Elizabeth smiled.


    "Hey." Chris said while drinking tea.


    "Oh? ke, your Aura¡­" Eric muttered.


    "What with my Aura?" I wondered.


    "It feels much stronger than before, how strong did you growst night?" Erdrich smiled with a rather amused smile. "You bastard, you keep getting stronger, will I ever catch up to you?"


    "Your abilities are already incredible; I am sure you''ll do." I said.


    "Hah, at this point you''re just mocking me¡­" Erdrich sighed.


    "You have a bit too little self-esteem sometimes, don''t you?" Sighed Elfriedden. "He''s clearly praising you! Take the praise."


    "Hmph, not like you got that much of a right to say that don''t you?" Erdrich asked. "You still angry with ke?"


    "I¡­ I was never angry¡­" Elfriedden looked elsewhere.


    I suppose that means he''s fine now, he was indeed rather pissed off because of the way I talked to his mother. I guess that couldn''t be helped, in his position, I would have been also angry.


    "Anyways, before we depart, I want everyone to drink these." I ced the Elixirs over the table. "Divine Dragon Elixirs made using Bestellen''s Divine Dragon Blood. Also, Erika, eat this I prepared for you."


    "Huh?" I ced into the table a huge te with a giant, sizzling hot steak covered on a spicy and sweet sauce. It was actually Bestellen''s whole heart, which I cut intorge chunks and cooked in a sh using my mes.


    -----

 Chapter 996: Moving To The Rosenheim Dukedom

    -----


    "Anyways, before we depart, I want everyone to drink these." I ced the Elixirs over the table. "Divine Dragon Elixirs made using Bestellen''s Divine Dragon Blood. Also, Erika, eat this I prepared for you."


    "Huh?" I ced into the table a huge te with a giant, sizzling hot steak covered on a spicy and sweet sauce. It was actually Bestellen''s whole heart, which I cut intorge chunks and cooked in a sh using my mes. "Sniff, ooh! Smells so good!"


    "What''s that?! Can''t we have some?" Chris asked.


    "I am drooling¡­" Alberta muttered.


    "No, you guys only drink the elixirs. This is Bestellen''s whole heart. It was incredibly hard to roast, I had to use my strongest mes for that. Erika is the only onepatible with this and she will eat it." I said.


    "Only Erika¡­ I can guess why, she''s part dragon after all." Nodded Erdrich. "It''s fair, if she doesn''t eat the whole thing she won''t get theplete upgrade after all. Though, I thought she had to eat it whole and raw?"


    "Not necessarily, that''s a bit. As long as she ingests all of itsponents, no matter how they''ve been processed, her heart will evolve." I said. "Actually, cooking it like this might have improved its absorption capabilities."


    "Hehehe! All for me? Oh my gosh!" Erika gasped. "Thank you so much, ke! I love you more than anything, mooch!" Erika gave me a big kiss on my cheek before she started eating happily. "Hmm!


    So good!"


    As Erika enjoyed her meal everyone else was only drinking the Elixirs while looking at her eat. They weren''t even paying attention to their own breakfasts anymore.


    "Come on man¡­" Chris muttered.


    "T-This is indeed a bit unfair¡­" Alberta cried.


    "I have to admit that it smells really amazing¡­" Eric sighed.


    "Hah, this is a torture¡­" Erdrichughed.


    I even noticed Elfriedden, his mother and his brother acting the same.


    "S-Such delicious and enticing smell, the heart of a divine dragon¡­ Such a delicacy, and it will all be eaten by a single girl¡­? T-This is uneptable¡­" Everfrost was whispering to herself, making sure I wouldn''t listen to her, but I could.


    "I''m not even into eating meat but this is¡­ Completely different." Elfriedden said.


    "Ooh, smells so nice! Can''t I have some? Pleaseeee?" Sapphirus asked.


    "Nuh-huh~ It''s all mine, hehehe!" Erika kept munching on the meat, she was already halfway through.


    As Erika teased them, everyone started losing their minds.


    "Hah, you guys are so hopeless¡­ I was nning on using this meat for a special asion but, I suppose it mightplement well the Elixirs." I sighed.


    I took out of my inventory a handful of huge chunks of meat and started cutting it into steaks and walked to the kitchen, the smell of grilled meat covered the entire manor, as I brought back several tes of Bestellen''s steak.


    "There, now eat and stopining." I sighed.


    "OOOOHHH!"


    Everyone roared in unison and excitement, takingrge bites off the divine dragon steak while relishing every single second. They seemed very happy for some reason.


    "Thank you ke, you''re the best!" Alberta said.


    "T-This is so good!" Eric cried.


    "Amazing, I can''t stop eating, the vors are so intense!" Chris said.


    "I don''t think normal meat will ever taste good after this¡­" Erdrich muttered. "Incredible¡­"


    "I-I am speechless¡­" Elizabeth muttered.


    "Hm?! T-This is so delightful!" Elfriedden cried.


    "Aaahh~ I am in heaven with each bite!" Lady Everfrost was moaning, and loudly.


    "Nom, nom, sho good!" Sapphirus enjoyed it.


    I sat down to eat some myself; the meat was indeed incredibly vorful, juicy, and even a bit sweet, it was an incrediblebination of vors I had never tried before.


    "It¡­ It truly is good¡­" I nodded, smiling.


    After we had our breakfast of divine dragon steak, and Erika finished her meal, she patted her belly after burping a bit.


    "Phew, that was good~" She sighed in relief.


    The effects were immediate after that, she was startled as her aura suddenly gained a divine light.


    FLASH!


    "Woah¡­!"


    I sensed it, rushing through her chest all the way to her heart, everything was powered up and strengthened. She gained a new power, a new divine dragon heart!


    "Oooh¡­"


    The Aura slowly became thinner until it disappeared, but Erika was still left startled, looking at her own hands.


    "I feel so strong now¡­ Like, I could do anything." Her eyes glowed with divine golden light. "What happened to me?"


    "Seems to have worked properly." I nodded. "Your Dragon Heart was refined into a Divine Dragon Heart, congrats. You''re now a Divine Dragon¡­ of sorts."


    "Eh?! That easy?" Erika asked. "No way¡­"


    "Haha, you think it''s easy what we did? Defeating a Divine Dragon is no easy feat at all¡­" I smiled.


    I also noticed that everyone that drank the dragon elixir powered up, so they were all looking stronger than before.


    Their Auras weren''t as amazingly strong as Erika in terms of Divinity, but there were now small hints of it rushing through their bodies.


    "Looks like we''re done here," I nodded. "Lady Everfrost, can you bring us to his majesty''s castle?"


    "A-Ah, yes! But of course! Pleasee with me." She nodded happily. "It''s finally time for the formal greetings."


    "Indeed¡­" I nodded.


    We''ll see what the King is up to, and if he''s truly just a King, or something else entirely.


    I can''t sense any Demonic Energy within the city though, if there are any cultists, they''re definitely hiding really well.


    But for now, it seems everything is rtively safe, a good morning for the iing days, which will all be full of bloodshed as we shred our path through the continent to free it from the endless armies of demons and monsters.


    We took on the car-like carriages after breakfast and swiftly moved through the city of Emerald Fountain, taking on an underground road towards the nearby Rosenheim Dukedom, where the King and the royal family were living right now after they were forced to move away from the capital upon Fafnir''s arrival.


    The underground road was supposedly well guarded with a barrier and everything. It should have been a safe and short travel to the Rosenheim Dukedom.


    Crack, crack¡­!


    CRASH!


    "ROOOAARR!"


    But of course it wasn''t.


    The ceiling broke open, the magic barrier shattered easily, and hundreds of draconic monsters and demons entered the tunnel.


    "Hah, they didn''t even let me get to the King, they''re sure impatient."


    -----

 Chapter 997: A Surprise Attack!

    -----


    An enormous fissure had opened in the surface, right outside of the Emerald Fontain Port City. Arge group of people wearing ck hoods and emanating powerful Demonic Auras gathered around it.


    The powerful Spiritual Barrier that surrounded the entire tunnel had beenpletely shattered, now falling into tiny ss-like pieces. The fissure they opened using the strength of a gigantic Draconic Beast behind them allowed for the entrance of hundreds of monsters and demons that were right beside them.


    "Looks like the barrier shattered as easily as they told us it would¡­"


    "Indeed, we are lucky to have such a strong backer, don''t we?"


    "Hurry!" Commanded one of them, bringing the monsters and demons into the tunnel''s interior. "Kill the Summoner at all costs, and all his damned group if possible! Nobles,moners, it doesn''t matter. Kill them all and enter the port city! Today, we shall take yet another of the elves'' safe havens."


    "In such a narrow space down there, the Summoner will be unable to summon all of his powerful Familiars anyways, making it very easy to get surrounded¡­"


    "And if that doesn''t work, we can always make the entire tunnel copse over his head."


    "There''s absolutely zero chances for his survival either way, this is an amazing opportunity we could have never wasted away!"


    The Cultists celebrated, thousands of Draconic Monsters and Demons kept rushing towards the gigantic fissure, which only kept growingrger andrger.


    On top of thergest Draconic Beast that led the entire horde of monsters and demons, there was an enormous, humanoid, muscr, and scaled figure.


    "The Port City of Emerald Fountain shall fall today¡­"


    His draconic eyes glowed bright red.


    "As Lord Fafnir demands."


    .


    .


    .


    RUMBLE!


    The fissures of the tunnel''s ceiling kept spreading, the spiritual and magical presence of the barrier dissipatedpletely, within seconds, ke and his friends found themselves threatened by endlessly falling rubble and both draconic monsters and demons!


    "W-What''s happening?!" Lady Everfrost panicked, never imagining that something like this would ever happen. "T-The tunnel was broken?! T-The barrier?! W-What?! They said this barrier was powered by the Royal Family mightiest wizards! Howe it was destroyed?!"


    "Buaaaahhh!" Sapphirus, Elfriedden''s little brother, broke out into tears over his mother''s hysterical screams and the whole chaos happening in the scene.


    "Mother, calm down!" Elfriedden cried. "You must- Ah!"


    Before, Elfriedden could say another thing, a giant draconic w mmed the car''s front, shattering it open, the entire vehicle was lifted off the floor, spinning in midair and about to fall down.


    "Uaaagghh!"


    "Buaaah!"


    Elfriedden''s mother and his little brother screamed in horror, as they saw their deaths approaching.


    Yet¡­


    "Dammit, I can''t even speak for a few seconds?!"


    Elfriedden roared, his Aura of Spiritual Frost covering everything, the entire car was covered on ice and a pir of frost connected to the ground, stopping the car from falling in midair within seconds.


    "E-Eh?"


    His mother''s eyes widened as she looked in front of her, the car, everything had frozen. She nced back at her own son; she didn''t remember him having such superb control over ice magic like this before.


    "W-Woah¡­"


    Sapphirus watched his brother save their lives, he naturally felt amazed, stopping his crying.


    "It''s alright now¡­ We''re not weak, right, ke?"


    BAAAM!


    The car''s doors opened as ke kicked them open. Elfriedden''s friends moved out like blurs of many colors. ke in specific flew into the skies, with his spear at hand.


    "Yeah, we''re not."


    "ROOOAAR!"


    The Draconic Beast that had flipped the car over roared in front of ke, exuding the Aura of a Powerful A+ Rank Monster, it was as strong as the Dungeon Boss of the Dragon Dungeon from Stronghold!


    The bast resembled a giant lizardman more than a dragon, withrge wings on his back, and a muscr frame covered with ck and red scales.


    Its draconic and demonic abilities were apparent.


    "So these are the things the Cultists have been creating in this continent¡­" ke sighed, the gigantic jaws of the draconic beast reaching further.


    His body shed with bright white and silver light, suddenly undergoing Draconification. He gained silvery-white scales all over his body, protecting him like an armor. Dragon wings, ws, horns, and a long, spear-like tail.


    ke''s Divinity Aura overflowing like an endless sea of liquid silver.


    "You''re only further cementing that you''re indeed working with the Demons, you fool."


    ke looked into the distance, without even paying attention to the dragon''s open jaws, with a single swipe of his hand, his Spear, Gluttony, pierced the dragon''s throat and easily reached the other end.


    "G-GRAGH?!"


    The Draconic Beast was unable to evenprehend what happened, before it already had a hole on its head, and then, it exploded into silver mes.


    BOOOM!


    Lady Everfrost nced in disbelief at ke''s impressive showcase of strength. Rumors were going around that the Summoner wasn''t as strong without his Summons themselves.


    It was¡­ Well, a natural rumor, who would believe a Summoner would be so powerful alone, when their entire ss goes around summoning beasts to help them?


    The thing is, ke cultivated his body to be as incredibly strong as he was right now through sheer effort, and the immense knowledge of his previous life.


    The Summoner Talent?


    It was more of a nice bonus than anything else!


    "The Summoner! He''s here!"


    The Demons that hade with the Draconic Beasts roared in unison. ke scanned them with his sharp, silver-colored draconic eyes.


    They were all at the level of Demon Generals, and there were at least ny of them mixed between the hundreds of Draconic Beasts.


    "KILL HIM!"


    A dozen Demon Generals roared at the same time, riding giant, flying Draconic Beasts.


    Yet ke was unimpressed.


    "You must really be tired of living¡­" He sighed.


    His draconic ws moved at lightning speed.


    shes of silvery-white divine light surged with each sh of his sharp ws.


    His long, spear-like tail moved just as quickly, piercing through everything.


    And his mighty spear flew around, as he controlled it with his Shadow Control.


    Within a split second¡­


    BOOOM!


    Every bastard that dared get closer to him was instantly blown into pieces, silver mes consuming everything as their bodies were shredded, falling over the floor like piles after piles of minced meat.


    "Is this everything the famed Fafnir has to offer?"


    -----

 Chapter 998: Demon Raid

    -----


    "Uaaaggh!"


    The scream of a family of elves traveling through their car echoed, as the fissures above the tunnel spread out. Demons and Draconic Beast that had been slowly destroying their cities arrived once more, awakening an innate fear, a trauma most elves had already developed after having mostly their entire continent ravaged by these monsters.


    "ROOAAR!"


    "Hahaha! Yes, cry some more, you pathetic elves!"


    Three General-Rank Demonsughed, riding a gigantic, red-scaled Draconic Beast, the monster''s ws red with demonic mes, swiftly swinging them against the car to tear it apart into piece and burn everything inside.


    "Your souls shall be a good offering for Lord Fafnir, kehehehe!"


    "No! Please, wait, WAIT!"


    As the elven father screamed while hugging his son and his wife, the w went down, an explosion of mes engulfing everything.


    CRAAASH!


    Yet the sound of the car exploding into pieces wasn''t there, but the sound of the ws of the Draconic Beast being shattered into pieces as it hit an incredibly hard, tough, and heavy great sword.


    "Why don''t you mess with someone YOUR size, you big bully?!"


    A beautiful pink-haired girl appeared in front of the elven family, flying in midair with enormous wings made of wood and leaves, her golden armor glowing brightly as her Aura emanated the power of Divinity within.


    "What? Who is she?!"


    "She broke the Draconic Beast''s ws?!"


    "K-Kill her, quickly! Dragon Breath, NOW!"


    "ROOOAAR!"


    The Draconic Beast answered their master''s orders, opening their jaws and unleashing a devastating dragon breath against the girl, Erika!


    BOOOM!


    Yet¡­


    "{Yggdrasil Dragon Swordsmanship Arts}: {Yggdragon''s Fangs}"


    SLAAASH!


    A single sh of her massive sword quickly summoned her Aura, resembling a gigantic dragon opening and closing its deadly fangs.


    CRASH!


    That was all it took for her to easily split into two halves the entire breath attack, before the crimson and ck mes were to bepletely consumed by a blinding, green light.


    And a secondter, the Draconic Beast''s entire body was split into two halves, innards beginning to slowly fall from the ground as the beast quickly crashed into the floor.


    "I-Impossible¡­"


    And the Demon Generals riding it also found their bodies split, quickly dying before they could even make sense of what had happened.


    "S-She''s amazing¡­"


    "W-Who is she?"


    "She possesses the power of Yggdrasil within her?!"


    The Elven family gasped in disbelief as they saw their little hero slowly descend from the skies.


    "Please, you mustn''t stay out here! It''s very dangerous! Here, enter my shadows. They''re being controlled by ke, so he''ll protect you!"


    Erika''s shadow flickered, forming a door that slowly opened.


    "ke, you mean the Summoner?!"


    "She must be¡­ right, Erika! She is one of the Summoner''spanions!"


    "So that''s why she has pink hair! T-Thank you so much!"


    The elves trusted the girl that saved their lives, quickly jumping into the shadows, finding themselves inside a safe, yet rather creepy pocket dimension within the dark shadows ke controlled.


    Well, at least staying here for a couple minutes was better than dying, certainly.


    "Uuuaaggh! Help!"


    "N-No, get away from me!"


    "Please, someone!"


    Erika didn''t have any time to rest, quickly rushing into action as she summoned her Spirits, which quickly shed against the invading draconic beast and demons one after another, while she rescued the civilians that were traveling through the tunnel.


    Her Spirits weren''t as strong as her, although they received buffs from both her, ke, and Elizabeth, they were barely buying time for her. The Demon Generals,bined with the powerful A+ Rank Draconic Beasts were a deadlybination.


    "I-I think I''m done¡­!"


    After she saved over thirty people, Erika''s senses could no longer sense anybody screaming for help, she red into the distance, the rest of the tunnel had been sealed shut.


    Whoever nned this had the authority to control the underground tunnel!


    "This is like a grave, were they nning to seal us inside of here to die?" Erika wondered. "Well, killing us won''t be so easy anymore, we''re all super strong now!"


    FLASH!


    With a single step, Erika moved across the skies at lightning speed, her Aura of gold, green, and red color red, as golden mes covered her sword.


    "Hyaaa!" she roared, her sword moving rapidly and consecutively, activating several techniques at once. "{Yggdrasil Dragon Swordsmanship Arts}: {Yggdragon''s ws}! {Yggdragon''s Fangs}!"


    CLASH! CLASH! CLASH!


    "S-She''s too strong¡­"


    "What sort of bullshit is this?!"


    "They said they couldn''t be strong enough to handle all of us!"


    Each of her sword attacks came apanied with her Yggdragon Aura flickering constantly, changing its shape from deadly draconic bites to enormous draconic ws, and then, a deadly breath attack that blew everything with Divine Golden mes of Life.


    "{Yggdragon''s Breath}!"


    BOOOM!


    "Gryyaarrghh!"


    The screams of agony of the Demons were like music to Erika''s ears, she utterly hated the evil demons for all the destruction they have brought not only to her country but the rest of the world.


    After she learned that the continent where her mother family originated from had been massacred to such an extent, she couldn''t help but develop a tremendous hatred against those responsible for it!


    "I''m going to kill all of you, you monsters!" She roared, opening her little jaws and showing her sharp dragon fangs. "RAAAH!"


    She unleashed her own dragon breath, sting everything around her and burning, vaporizing any demon and draconic beast within her vicinity!


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!


    Her Draconic Powers had been leveled up all the way to the level of Divine Dragons after she ate Bestellen''s heart, and it showed now!


    ke smiled as he took a small nce at her.


    "Her growth is even higher than I imagined¡­" He thought. "I suppose I can rx and leave that area for her; she''ll take care of it."


    His eyes analyzed his surroundings after that, all of his friends had scattered around, summoning their Spirits and rapidly fusing with a selected one, gaining tremendous new power.


    After that fight against Bestellen, everyone had learned to fuse with their spirits for prolonged periods of time and were doing so to easily overwhelm all the invaders.


    "You must be the bastardmanding this band of weaklings, are you?"


    ke directed his gaze towards a muscr draconic man, after having finished tearing to pieces over a hundred draconic beasts and demons¡­


    "And you must be the Summoner," the man said. "Or as they like to call you¡­ Asmodeus."


    -----

 Chapter 999: Youre Not Even A Good Warmup

    -----


    After his mother and little brother were sent to the safety of ke''s shadows, Elfriedden spread his frost everywhere. His body slightly transforming and taking into a draconic shape, as he used the Buff Cards from ke, this time being those of the Mithril Drakes and Wyverns, giving him both powerful scaled defensive armor and wings to fly.


    Activating the rest of his powerful Skills, he resembled a knight d on a draconic armor made of frost crystals, his crystalline, icy wings shining brightly as they reflected the light of the sun,ing from the fissure above the ceiling.


    His Spirits had already been summoned, all of them undergoing changes as he fused with none of them preferring to transform them all into equipment through Spirit Weaponization. Stronger armor made out of his threads, a powerful sharp rapier made out of his needle, two heavy shields made out of his gloves, and even more armor made out of his boots.


    Yes, Elfriedden still considered himself unlucky that no matter how hard he tried, he always only got Tool or Equipment-type Spirits instead of proper, beast-like forms like he desired so badly. However, he could clearly see the advantages in this moment.


    FLASH!


    Like a blur of azure color, Elfriedden moved at lightning speed, leaving behind small ice crystals that glistened with blue color.


    "Isn''t that the weakest prince we''ve heard about?"


    "Yes, he''s that bastard, Elfriedden!"


    "Kill him!"


    "He''s fast, but he''ll die after we surround him!"


    Elfriedden was baffled the Demons knew about him so well now! It almost felt like there was someone within his family telling them all this information. It only made his suspicions growrger as he found himself surrounded by over twenty giant Draconic Beasts and their Demon General riders.


    "Now, melt his ice with Cursed mes!"


    The Demon Generalsmanded, twelve Draconic Beasts opened their eyes, bombarding Elfriedden with countless explosions created from their deadly zing breaths!


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!


    "Keep firing, don''t let him even catch a break, hahaha!"ughed one of the Demon Generals, resembling a muscr, blue-skinned Oni with many arms and sharp golden horns.


    "Amazing, it''s working really well," a voice spoke behind him.


    "That''s right, we definitely caught that fucker off-guard, he''s definitely dead now- Huh?"


    CLASH!


    Before the Blue Oni could even react, a sharp frost rapier pierced his chest, from the wound, ice quickly spread through his body, freezing him into an ice statue before he could even make sense of what was happening.


    "W-What¡­?"


    Crack, crack¡­


    CRASH!


    Elfriedden swung his rapier, cutting the frozen Demon General into countless pieces.


    "I struggled against you bastards before, and it made me so frustrated¡­" he sighed. "But, although I hate to admit it, thanks to the help of all the people I met, I''ve be stronger, much stronger than I could have ever hoped for! And I''ll use this power to finally liberate my country of you pests!"


    "H-He''s alive?!"


    "When did he escape the bombardment?!"


    "He''s fast, watch out!"


    FLASH!


    Elfriedden moved incredibly fast, only leaving behind a trail of frost as he reached the head of another Demon General. The gryphon-like demon attempted to intercept his attack with a storm of demonic winds, only for Elfriedden''s rapier to easily pierce through his attack anyways.


    "{Divine Ice Dragon Needle Arts}: {Freezing Fang}!"


    CLAAASH!


    The rapier pierced through the winds, which quickly exploded and dissipated. The Aura of Elfriedden rushed like a giant draconic fang made of ice, piercing the Demon General''s body and freezing it before shattering it and his ride into pieces.


    BOOOM!


    "Come, who''s next?!"


    Elfriedden shed against all the demons and draconic beasts alone. His deadly techniques, strong shields, and incredible speed overwhelming them all! His attacks pierced their bodies, froze them, and then shattered them into pieces over and over again.


    It was a total one-sided massacre!


    "I am no longer fighting for myself because I felt inferior¡­" Elfriedden roared. "I am now fighting for my country, for my people¡­ For mother and for my brother! I will shape a new future for them, one where you bastards no longer exist!"


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!


    Countless explosions of ice spread across the tunnel, freezing all the surroundingspletely. Elfriedden was utterly massacring everything!


    At the same time, Eric, Chris, and Alberta, who were all confronting therger flock of Draconic Beasts near the fissure, unleashing deadly zing attacks, windstorm arrows, and magical explosion, noticed Elfriedden''s rampage.


    "He''s furious!" Chris gasped, swinging his weaponized Smander in the shape of a giant axe, hacking through the thick scaled neck of a Draconic Beast and beheading it on the spot.


    CLAAASH!


    "It''s easy to tell why!" Eric said, firing a dozen windstorm arrows that exploded, creating vacuums that consumed his foes and torn them to shreds. "He had to escape after his country was being destroyed, and once he finally returned, everything was even worse! He must be incredibly furious and resentful¡­"


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!


    "I can''t me him; I would feel the exact same if I came back to my country to find everything in ruins like this¡­ I am thankful the Dwarven Continent hasn''t gone through such a thing yet! We have to work hard to help Elfriedden!" Alberta roared.


    The dwarf girl was fused with her Golem Spirit, which now resembled a powerful mechanical armor wrapped around her small yet muscr body, her zing red eyes shone as her aurasbined together, her huge metallic fists crushed skulls, her cannons blew things up, and her hammer crushed even more skulls.


    BAAM! BAAM! BAAM!


    "You''re not wrong, Alberta¡­!" Chris nodded.


    "Now that we''re here, we''ll help as much as we can!" Eric agreed.


    The trio rampaged through dozens of Draconic Beasts at a time, their bodies constantly falling, torn to pieces, beheaded, or burning to a crisp.


    The leader of this entire operation certainly did not expect things to go this awry though.


    He had been specifically told that the Summoner and his friends weren''t as strong, and that they relied solely on his overpowered summons to win!


    Yet¡­


    Reality was much different than rumors.


    CLASH! CLASH! CLASH!


    ke exchanged blows with the leader of this horde, his spear rapidly stabbing through his defenses, his armor shattering into pieces.


    "Y-You! How strong are you for a mere fifteen-year-old?!" The draconic man roared furiously.


    "Stronger than you, it seems," ke had no time to waste, his spear charged with Blood and Darkness energy pierced through the draconic man''s barrier and then, his heart!


    CLAAASH!


    "GUH?!"


    The ck-scaled Draconic man screamed groaned in agony, feeling his Dragon Heart being destroyed as ke''s spear absorbed his blood and energy.


    "I-Impossible¡­! I am supposed to be¡­ ARGH! As strong as an S Rank Monster!"


    The Draconic man''s body started to swell up, as ke noticed he began munching on a red crystal.


    "Archdemon Fragment again? That trick is no longer effective."


    "SHUT UP, YOU FILTHY HUMAN!!!"


    The draconic man screamed furiously, his body growing ten times over, with big muscles and enormous wings, he flew towards ke after taking away the spear from his chest.


    His enormous ws, now zing with demonic abyssal mes, rushed down, aiming to sh ke into pieces!


    CLAAASH!


    Yet an invisible force stopped his attack entirely.


    "W-What?! I can''t move any further?!"


    "It seems you''ve never fought against someone with Divinity yet¡­"


    ke waved his hand, as an invisible Dragon w made of divine power crushed the draconic man''s head t, his brains sttering out of his crushed skull.


    BOOOM!


    "Not even worth a warmup¡­"


    He had no time to waste against weaklings!


    -----

 Chapter 1000: Good Night

    -----


    Within the forests above the underground tunnel, a group of four cultists that had set up arge Demonic Formation to break open the barrier easily and bring all the monsters and demons here continued running away.


    After they saw ke and hispanions easily taking care of everything without problems, they immediately panicked! They were never told that those damned teens would be so strong. They were only at their fifteen years of age, yet their strength was so high they could easily fight against hundreds of Draconic Beasts and Demon Generals?


    It was utterly unbelievable!


    Yet reality wouldn''t simply twist around based on a person''s belief or disbelief, reality existed, and facts were facts. Fully realizing the true extent of ke and hispanions'' true strength, the cultists immediately retreated while leaving the Dragon Born behind to distract ke.


    "Dammit, they''re too strong!"


    "Wait, that bastard¡­! His presence''s already gone!"


    "Wait, what?! He killed a Dragon Born so easily?!"


    "Dragon Borns are members of the cult that had grown strong enough and gained enough achievements in battle that they are given the privilege of drinking and eating the hearts of draconic beasts through a ritual, transforming them into half-dragon and half-demon beings," said another cultist. "That alone should''ve made him at the level of an S- Rank monster! Howe he easily defeated that?!


    Are you telling me he''s at the Level of a Spirit Ancestor already?!"


    Spirit Ancestor, the Title that Spirit Masters whose Spirit Orb reached the Rank of 6, they were already known as incredibly powerful beings amongst the entire world of Spiritias, their numbers below a hundred.


    In Order, Rank 1 would be called Spirit Schrs, Rank 2 Spirit Masters, Rank 3 Spirit Grandmasters, Rank 4 Spirit Elders, Rank 5 Spirit Great Elder, Rank 6 Spirit Ancestor, Rank 7 would be Spirit Kings, Rank 8 would be known as Spirit Saints, Rank 9 are already at the level of Gods, Spirit Demigods, andstly, at Rank 10, only rumored by legends, Spirit Gods!


    However, most folks had no idea of such Titles, and people simply called each other either Spirit Schr, Master, or Grandmaster. However, those well informed would know the true threat of someone that had surpassed Rank 5, as it meant they went through a Trial Awakening.


    They had no idea that ke was only Rank, but thanks to all his Skills, Abilities, Divinities, equipment, and Spirits, his power level could evenpare with Spirit Ancestors, if not even Spirit Kings. Usually only Rank 9 would obtain a true Divinity, but because of his circumstances and privileges, he had already obtained several ones he was developing!


    "This is pointless, a fight like this simply cannot be won, we must escape and make another n!"


    "I agree, there''s no point in wasting time."


    "Simply redirect all the monsters and demons to fight them, their sacrifice will not be in vain."


    "We''lle with a better n next time¡­ It is a pity we ended wasting the opportunity that he gave us¡­"


    As the cultists kept jumping from tree to tree as they talked, they were unable to detect something. Pink mist began epassing their surroundings slowly, as a portal of pink and dark purple color opened, splitting space open as a beautiful half-elf woman with long pink hair, wearing regal witch clothes, stepped in right in front of them.


    "W-Wha¡­?!"


    "Huh?!"


    "Where did she¡­?!"


    "Dammit, it''s HER!"


    They were left almost speechless as they saw her appear out of nowhere. Her powers already reaching the level of divine without even having obtained any outside divinity to absorb like ke had done.


    She was someone that, through her long life, worked hard to reach the Rank she had reached, undergoing three Awakening Trials to further break her own limits.


    "T-That''s¡­ the Nightmare Witch?!"


    "What is she doing here?!"


    "We didn''t get any reports about hering with them!"


    "No way!"


    "Hello, you''ve been quite the naughty children, haven''t you?" Cattalina smiled with a rather sadistic smile. "{Divine Dream Domain Expansion}"


    FLUOSH!


    The pink mist further expanded! The Cultists knew her a bit, she was a fearsome "Elite" a powerful witch nearing the level of a Spirit Demigod, an Eight-Star Talent, the sole precursor of the Nightmare and Dream Element of Magic.


    "R-Run away! Don''t let her dream fog touch you or you''ll immediately fall asleep!"


    The cultist that knew the best about her alerted the rest, as they all quickly ran away, splitting into different directions, giving them a higher chance of survival, thinking Cattalina could only target a few.


    "You can''t escape from me, little roaches~"


    Cattalina, however, didn''t let them escape.


    As her Domain expanded, it abruptly hastened its creation, within an instant, all four cultists found themselves trapped within her Divine Dream Domain, powered by her Developing Divinity of Dreams and Nightmares.


    "N-No¡­!"


    "Wait, wait!"


    "Shit, dammit! Fight!"


    "Fight or we''ll die instantly! Kill her, she''s frailpared to her powerful magic!"


    As the cultists found themselves surrounded by the dream fog, they all transformed,bining with their only Demonic Spirit through Spirit Fusion.


    Every developed cultist usually had one Demonic Spirit, it was the source of their power, and it would usually grant them tremendous power.


    Because modifying their Spirit Orb and turn it into a Demonic Spirit Orb caused a tremendous internal damage, the Spirit Orb was left crippled, only capable of creating a single Demonic Spirit, usually.


    However, it was much stronger than any Spirit these people could have ever summoned anyways! Find your next read at m v lemp-yr


    Much like those three incredibly strong Elite Cultists that ke and his friends fought in the Silvertide Kingdom, these four were almost as strong as them too!


    Their bodies changed, transforming into amorphous demonic beings, some resembled blue-skinned, multi-armed Onis with many horns, others took the appearance of giant half-demonic beast creatures, and the rest resembled an amalgamation of heads and appendages.


    "RAAAH!"


    They all rushed towards Cattalina, who was only watching them with a gentle smile.


    "You''re already asleep."


    POOF!


    All four cultists suddenly exploded into pink smoke, being reduced to small wooden toys¡­


    In reality, all four of them were in front of her, sleeping soundly.


    "Good night¡­"


    Her Nightmare Magic materialized into one of her spirits, taking the shape of apletely ck scythe, with a huge white skull on top.


    "{Scythe of Nightmares and Fear: Epiales}"


    And with a single swing, she cut apart their souls.


    SLAAASH!


    -----


    Author''s Note: Decided to upload two chapters today to get to 1000 chapters already! Thanks for sticking around so far. Also thanks to the few Privilege Readers as well.

 Chapter 1001: Moving Forward

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    After Cattalina took care of the runaway Cultists and ke killed the Dragon Born leading the army, the rest of the party made sure to clean the tunnel off any monster, while ke''s army of Familiars swiftly took care of any other Draconic Beast or Demon within the surface above, which ended being roughly a thousand more to defeat.


    Hemented slightly that he couldn''t level up anymore though, but at the very least the EXP he learned was being umted.


    Once he was done, ke left those familiars outside so they would continue protecting the barrier. And quickly walked back inside the tunnel with Cattalina. With the power of his Domain of Creation and his other rted Skills, he fully repaired the barrier and the tunnel, but he still left those Familiars just in case.


    "T-This was¡­ I never thought such a thing would happen out of nowhere¡­" Lady Everfrost was still afraid of what she had seen just now.


    ke couldn''t me her, it was indeed quite a lot, but even now, it was something he had been expecting for a while now, it was clear they wanted to make it feel like an ident, even though they were directly aiming for her life in specific.


    "Mother, calm down¡­ I''ve grown stronger, I will protect you and Sapphirus no matter what," Elfriedden hugged his mother,forting her while Sapphirus had already fallen asleep after crying so much.


    "Elfriedden, my son¡­" Lady Everfrost felt her son''sfort. "I''m d you''re here¡­"


    "It''s okay¡­ I won''t go anywhere¡­" Elfriedden sighed. "Dammit¡­ Was this truly an ident?"


    "It obviously wasn''t," ke said.


    "Yeah, it definitely feels like it was staged," nodded Erdrich. "There were cultists outside, the barrier was also apparently purposely weakened too, right?" Keep exploring on m-vl-em-pyr


    "That''s right," ke nodded. "Mother-inw and Elizabeth just checked it before I repaired the tunnel. The barrier was much stronger, but it was purposely weakened so the cultists could break it easily and enter."


    "W-What? But who would do such a thing, and why?" Everfrost asked.


    "It''s quite obvious why, right, Elfriedden?" ke looked into his friend''s eyes.


    "Dammit¡­" Elfriedden gritted his teeth. "Mother, father¡­ he might have plotted our deaths."


    "What?!" Everfrost couldn''t believe it. "H-He did such a thing? But why? I am fairly sure I had never revealed my intentions and-"


    "I don''t think it matters if you did or not, Everfrost," Cattalina stepped in. "Your husband seems to no longer be himself for years, right? You can begin to guess why that might be¡­ Even more if he as purposely weakened the barrier just when all of us were moving underground."


    Lady Everfrost''s eyes widened.


    "S-So he''s¡­ not just a corrupt man? He¡­" she muttered.


    "We still have no confirmation about that though," ke said. "We''ll have to find that out ourselves. In the meeting¡­ Now that things have gone back to normal rather forcefully so, and perhaps anticlimactically for them, we''ll go to the city as we nned."


    "Wait, are you serious? Shouldn''t we return to rest and n something out?" Elfriedden asked.


    "Doing so would only raise more suspiciousness, we need to show that we are still clueless that''s them, to walk directly into a tiger''s den," ke exined. "And then, when the tiger believes we are just helpless fawns¡­ We reveal we are a rabid pack of wolves and attack it together."


    "Sounds a bit extreme¡­" Erika said. "I really hope there''s nothing wrong with them. If so, it would be even more insane if we learned that¡­ Well, the whole royal family might be involved in this entire conspiracy."


    "But why would they want to destroy their own country? It just doesn''t make any sense!" Elizabeth said.


    "Maybe it would made sense in the mind of a lunatic," ke exined. "We''ll find out once we see it, as I said. Lady Everfrost, if you want, you could return with your child. Mother-inw can create an illusion of you and your son. There''s no need to risk your life."


    "T-That''s right mother, you don''t need to go, just go back to the port city for now¡­" said Elfriedden.


    "No, I''m going¡­" Everfrost sighed. "I need to confront him, if he''s truly¡­ if he has truly done this, then he''s long gone. I need to learn who did this!"


    "But mother!" Elfriedden tried to argue against her.


    "No buts, Elfriedden," his mother said. "I won''t change my mind¡­ I trust in everyone here that you can protect us."


    "Of course," Cattalina nodded. "Leave that to me. I appreciate your courage, Everfrost. It''s rare for you to show such a facet."


    "D-Do you have to rub it on my face, Cattalina?" sighed Everfrost.


    "Heh, well, let''s find out what''s happening here," Cattalina nodded.


    ke quickly noticed that these two talked in a certain way, perhaps friendly in some matter. He assumed they might have shared schools at some point, or might have gone to the same academy, after all both were long-lived, so it wasn''t an impossible estimation.


    "We''ve already helped the people evacuate back to the port city!"


    Eric, Chris, and Alberta came running from the opposite direction, bringing the good news.


    "Good, if everything is done, then let''s proceed- Ah, let me fix this," ke casually waved his hand, his Mana flowed like countless streams of azure color.


    Everfrost and the rest of his friends were still speechless each time he used his Creation Skills, which defied allmon sense.


    FLASH!


    The entire car was reconstructedpletely within seconds, as good as new.


    "This is the power I obtained after evolving Alchemy to its limits, and then surpass it even further," ke exined. "Although I also consider it a gift of the Holy Spirits¡­"


    The truth was that, although such Skills were "gifts" through the Creator Talent he had unlocked, they would bepletely useless with most people.


    Only ke, as Asmodeus, had experienced what True Creation Magic was, as he had reached such an advanced stage back on his previous life, when he used his Cosmic-level Alchemy to bend the rules of physics and reality to a small extent.


    The principles of these Creation Skills were the exact same, if not slightly stronger, so it felt natural to ke to use them, and certainly, it was like just getting that power back than being gifted one out of nowhere.


    "What are you looking at? Let''s move," ke had no time for exnations about his abilities.


    -----

 Chapter 1002: Meeting The King Of Elves

    -----


    Once everyone reached the end of the tunnel, the gates were still sealed shut. It made them quickly realize that they had imagined they would die there, and whoever took care of that, was already told to close them.


    "Looks like we''ll have to make our way through¡­" ke squinted his eyes.


    He slowly stood up and pointed his hand at the closed gates through the car''s window. Everyone in the party panicked.


    "W-Wait, ke, don''t break the gates, you might alert them of us!" Elfriedden said.


    "Destroy? What type of person do you think I am?" ke sighed. "{Deconstruct}"


    FLASH!


    A bright gray light surged from his hands, the power of Alchemy and Creation Elements converged together, affecting the very materials the entire wall was made of.


    Within seconds, a neatly made opening was made, the car passed through it and then ke simply closed the opening again.


    There were no guards around, the entire area waspletely sealed shut and there wasn''t a single person waiting in the other side.


    Using ke''s Deconstruct, they went through four more sealed gates until they arrived at the Rosenheim Dukedom, to further infiltrate, they used Cattalina''s illusions to move across a group of guards outside, and then moved to the road, pretending to be just another car.


    "The ce looks¡­ normal?" Erika wondered, looking through the window. "I can''t really see anything bad here¡­ Everyone''s having a normal day."


    Indeed, everyone was having a normal day, Erika and ke noticed at first how awkward it felt. The people seemedpletely unaware of what had happened just now. perhaps not even the guards were aware that their order of closing the gates had this meaning.


    "It''s weirdly bizarre how they pretend everything is okay¡­" Erdrich sighed, looking around. "Or I guess they don''t know¡­"


    "Let''s go to the root of the entire situation, no need to engage with the people here anyways," Chris said, crossing his arms. "ke, if it truly is what you might think it is, what do we do?"


    "Just follow my lead and mymands as things happen," ke was confident. "For now, let''s go."


    The car quickly moved towards the noble district, Everfrost used her authority as a powerful noble to be allowed inside with ease, until they arrived at the Castle''s surrounding vi.


    There were roughly more than ten other houses surrounding this huge castle, which wasn''t even the true main capital of the country, but the Rosenheim Dukedom.


    "We''re almost there. From here, we should go on foot," Everfrost said. "Let''s go."


    They were able to easily move across the castle as everyone knew Lady Everfrost. There were no panicking faces of seeing her being alive, so ke started to assume that the guards were also unaware that someone in the royal family had be a traitor.


    "Maybe it''s not the King but someone else? Someone secretively doing this?" Erika wondered. "It feels like nobody really knows what happened at all, nobody has bad auras either."


    "Bad Auras?" Everfrost asked.


    "I can detect when people have bad intentions¡­ Well, sometimes, it still a power I am developing!" Erika smiled. "But these people are fairly weak so I can detect it quickly, they''re all just doing their job, nothing suspicious."


    "Hmm, I see¡­" Everfrost nodded. "I am worried, perhaps it might truly be someone hidden and not who we think it might be¡­" Stay in the adventure with m-vl-em,py-r


    "We''ll only find out once we greet them," ke insisted. "Please, don''t feed yourself false hope, it is always better to always prepare for everything, even the worst possible scenario."


    With ke''s words in their hearts, everyone made their way through the castle, greeting guards after guards, as a butler finally recognized them, with sharp eyes, he analyzed everyone and nodded.


    "Ah, the Summoner! Yes, his majesty has been eagerly waiting for you toe here. Was there something dying the arrival? You''re quitete by a few minutes," the butler spoke with a calm smile.


    "Yes, quite a lot of things happened, actually," ke nodded. "I would like to discuss them with the King, if possible."


    "Very well¡­" the butler nodded. "Follow me."


    Once finally inside the castle, ke stealthily spread out several small shadows around, which nobody except Cattalina noticed. She simply smiled at that and said nothing.


    The silence of the castle was rather unsettling. There were maidservants and butlers, and guards everywhere, but they always kept themselves very silent.


    They had yet to meet any noble though, most assumed they were simply not here gathered, and probably in their respective homes.


    However, ke had another idea about where they might be.


    "His majesty is awaiting for you across this door, please make sure to be polite when greeting him. He has been on a rather¡­ bad moodtely," sighed the butler. "The endless advance of the demons and Fafnir''s army is worrying, our country is in chaos¡­ I know this mighte out of nowhere, but you and your group might be the veryst hope we have."


    "I understand, I shall do what I can to save your country," ke nodded, simply going with the flow.


    With a gentle push, he opened the door, Everfrost walking right by his side with Elfriedden and little Sapphirus who had just woken up.


    The King sat down over his golden throne, therge throne room beautifully decorated with red and gold tapestry,rge statues of knights and kings adorned the entrance, several guards lining up at left and right.


    There was no mistress or any children this time, it was just the King alone, a tall, muscr elf man, with a long blonde beard and curly blonde hair, a gold and silver crown adorned his head.


    His facial expression was sharp and masculine, his face looked strong and manly, a rather unusual sight as most elves, be it females or males, looked very delicate.


    It was clear the King was much older than the majority of the poption.


    He wore silver armor over his body, a golden cape, and golden linings decorated his armor.


    There was a long, silver and gold spear embedded with five colorful jewels, red, green, blue, orange, and yellow colored, imbuing the spear with high spiritual power.


    "¡­Wee, Summoner," the King spoke with an expressionless face, devoid of panic or anything that someone who was seeing the person they intended to kill alive would make. "I''ve been waiting for you."


    "Your majesty¡­" ke bowed, alongside the rest of his friends.


    Despite the formalities, ke''s sharp red eyes red directly into the King''s golden eyes.


    And both eyes met.


    -----

 Chapter 1003: Murdered At Cold Blood

    -----


    "Your name was¡­ ke the Summoner, right?" the King of the Elves asked with a rather uninterested and bored expression.


    "Despite seeing his entire country burn, is that the expression of a desperate King?" ke thought, his red eyes growing sharper. "Your majesty, I can''t help but notice your face full of indifference, is this a trait of yours?"


    "¡­What?" the King asked, his eyes slightly widening.


    Finally, there was some emotions on his eyes.


    "Your country is burning, and I''vee to help you, is this the tone you should use with your future savior?" ke asked again.


    "You dare¡­!"


    "Oi, who do you think you are?!"


    "Go back on your words right now!"


    "Restrain him!"


    The guards surrounding the throne room rushed towards ke.


    A mere nce from ke and an invisible force suddenly stopped their movements.


    Elfriedden, his mother, and his little brother were all watching the scene in disbelief.


    Cattalina giggled, she had to admit her son-inw always made things interesting.


    Erika and Elizabeth sighed; they knew something like this would happen.


    The rest of the group were silently spectating things as if watching a movie.


    "Stop," the King gave the order. "No need to get so angry with him, he''s not wrong¡­"


    The King smiled slightly, his Aura slowly surging from his body.


    "I have been restraining my own emotions for five thousand years, young Summoner," he said. "If I ever show an expression of despair, of suffering, or of concern to my subjects, what do you think they''ll ever think about their entire country? I am well aware of how everything is dying and being destroyed¡­ And it frustrates me, saddens, and me makes me mad beyond belief.


    But¡­ I have people I must take care of; do you understand?"


    "I do," ke nodded. "Thank you for rifying that, your majesty. I am greatly honored for your calling here. You see, just recently, while were in the tunnel¡­ we were attacked."


    "Attacked?" the King seemed concerned. "What¡­ do you mean by that? Who attacked you?!"


    "It happened just recently, your majesty," Everfrost said. "The barrier broke, the tunnel broke, draconic beasts and demons came out, cultists attacked and even a Dragon Born appeared."


    "What? We''ve not received any reports about that, your majesty!" one of the knight generals that had gotten angry at ke talked.


    "Yes, that''s right, it''s because we resolved everything within eight minutes," ke nodded. "Here, as you can see, we''ve saved their corpses."


    ke''s grimoire opened its inventory, a pile of cultist corpses, dragonborn, demons and draconic beasts dropped over the throne room.


    The scent of blood was sickening, making most of the knights and guards there recoil in panic, disgust, and anger!


    "You bastard! You dare throw corpses in front of his majesty?!"


    "You must be tired of living, you filthy human!"


    "Summoner or not, this is too much! Restrain him now!"


    The guards once more insisted on attacking ke.


    He was having a hard time resisting the urge to kill them with a single thought.


    "You cockroaches should stop bothering me if you don''t want to be crushed by my foot," ke spoke with a solemn tone of voice, his red eyes shining brightly as his invisible divinity shook.


    RUMBLE!


    The guards and knights were quickly forced to kneel before him.


    "W-What is this?!"


    "I-I can''t¡­ move!"


    "Ugh¡­ Agh¡­"


    The level of enormous pressure was something almost impossible to detect, but it was all real, it was as if gravity itself went against them.


    This was the invisible wall between mortals and divine beings, something these guards, even as high as Rank 3 or 4, could simply notpare to.


    Even amongst ke''s friends, who were Rank 4, their power level was simply way too highpared to the average Rank 4 Elven Knight.


    It wasn''t just ke¡­ he had raised a group of monsters, and he was not afraid of showing off his strength.


    The King remained in silence as he watched the scene, unmoved by everything.


    "Interesting," he said. "So it seems you were not wrong¡­ You seem to be very strong, cultists trying to assassinate you seemed rather foolish, were they not aware of your strength, ke?"


    "It appears they weren''t, your majesty," ke said.


    "I see how it is," the King nodded. "Very well, this has already been reported to the knight and guard forces through my Telepathy Skill, we shall make sure to strengthen the defenses, so this doesn''t ur anymore.


    "T-Thank you for your generosity and understanding, your majesty," Everfrost said. "Now, if possible, I would like to discuss something¡­"


    "Who told you speak, Everfrost?" asked the King. "Remain in silence."


    "E-Eh?" Everfrost stepped back, as the King''s pressure mmed down into her, trying to send her flying like a fly.


    However, ke''s Divine Aura and Elfriedden''s spirit aura protected her.


    "Father! That''s enough!" Elfriedden cried.


    "Don''t you think that is not a good way to treat the woman that gave birth to two of your children, your majesty?" ke asked. "Are you truly a king, or perhaps a savage?"


    "Hah," the King smiled. "Apologies, I just am not in a good mood¡­ And you, Elfriedden, what exactly are you doing here? You''re not allowed in this castle as I''ve told you before. You are a failure, and if you daree again, I might as well strip you out of your title of nobility."


    "W-What¡­?!" Elfriedden muttered. "I''vee back after you challenged me to get stronger, and I''ve be stronger, father! Don''t you see? This is my power! I''ve Ranked Up, I am now Four Stars!"


    "Four Stars at birth is much different than through Rank Up, Imend your hard work whatsoever, but you''re still weak and pitiful, my son," the King said. "This world is not made for the weak, leave."


    It seemed the King didn''t want any interaction with his family at all!


    He was an incredibly cold and emotionless man, someone that had forbidden all emotions and familiar bonds.


    A sentinel that only cared about his country''s safety.


    "¡­" ke remained in silence as he looked at Elfriedden lose all his resolve with just a few words. "The trauma must run deep within those two, after talking about a revolution, they sure feel overwhelmed by facing him, hah¡­" he thought.


    He quickly faced the King again.


    "Your majesty, I''ve learned everything I needed to know."


    "Hm? Then you are going to the battlefield? Very well."


    "Indeed. I shall proceed to eliminate you first, however."


    "Of course- Hm?!"


    SLASH!


    ke appeared behind the King within a split second, only leaving trails of shadows and crimson blood energy behind.


    It was incredibly fast, and everyone in the entire throne room waspletely unable to do a signle thing.


    With his spear in hand, ke used his spear''s de to slice the King''s neck like a warm knife going through butter.


    Even his friends were shocked, their eyes widening in utter disbelief.


    The King''s head flew into the skies, his face filled with shock and pain, blooding out of his cut off head, hitting the ground and rolling slowly.


    Read first on m|v|l|e|mpyr


    The knights, the guards, Elfriedden, his mother, and even Sapphirus.


    Everyone!


    They were left¡­


    Speechless!


    "B-ke¡­"


    Elfriedden muttered, his mouth wide open.


    He nced at ke''s cold red eyes, his aura of darkness and blood exuding endlessly from his body.


    In that moment, as he was covered with the blood of the king of elves.


    He looked like an actual demon.


    "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!"


    -----

 Chapter 1004: The True Identity Of The Elf King

    -----


    "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!"


    Elfriedden screamed in utter horror as the head of his father rolled over the floor.


    He had thought with his mother about restraining him somehow, to cripple his powers to an extent and dethrone him.


    But not to kill him!


    Nobody here had imagined that ke would just jump into that conclusion and do it so easily!


    "What have I done, Elfriedden? Are you asking me a question right now?" ke asked with a rather calm expression, there was no smile or an angered face, just his calm,posed expression, the sharpness of his crimson eyes carrying the wisdom of a man that has lived for thousands of years, not so different from the King himself.


    "The answer should be right in front of you, I''ve beheaded your father, the King of Elves, with my spear."


    "YOU BASTARD!"


    Elfriedden lost hisposurepletely, gritting his teeth as he rushed towards ke, he summoned his weapons, as he rushed to fight him, he swung his frost spear against him, as ke easily parried it without effort.


    CLASH!


    "Elfriedden¡­"


    "Y-You killed my father! He wasn''t a good man, but he was still my father!"


    Elfriedden went mad, his Spiritual Frozen Aura continued expanding, until his entire body was covered on an ice dragon armor.


    "RAAAH!"


    A barrage of countless blows descended upon ke apanied with several ice spells, ke naturally parried them all with ease, the spells doing absolutely no damage against his Aura of Silver mes.


    CLASH! CLASH! CLASH!


    Yet Elfriedden had to try, he had to honor his own family, he had to avenge his father!


    Even¡­


    Even if he had to fight his own friend!


    "Calm down and listen to me."


    However, Elfriedden was even more shocked how calm ke was!


    "Y-You''re a fucking lunatic! How can you stay so calm even now?!"


    BAAAM!


    He kicked ke, pushing him a few meters away.


    "Even if I die now, I''ll try to slow you down so everyone escapes from you! Y-You''re too strong, you''re a menace to the world, are these your true colors, my friend?!" Elfriedden screamed, tears streaming from his eyes.


    "True colors you ask?" ke sighed, looking back at the beheaded Elf King. "Are you sure you should be asking that to me and not to your own father?"


    "What?"


    Elfriedden noticed that after the shock of ke killing the King, their eyes were set into the head rolling over the floor. Elfriedden also red at it.


    His eyes widened.


    "Huh?"


    The guards, the knights, and everyone present were looking at the beheaded King with strange, horrified eyes. As if it wasn''t terrifying enough that he was killed at cold blood by someone everyone thought was an ally.


    Small appendages slowly starteding out of the head''s neck, wiggling around, then there were crimson eyes opening from within, the pale, dead face of the King remained like that, yet from within his neck, a jaw appeared, with sharp teeth.


    "That hurt, you know?"


    The voice of a monstrous, demonic beinging from the Elf King''s neck reverberated across the entire castle. It wasn''t the voice of their king, but of something else entirely.


    Experience stories on m_vl_em_p_yr


    "It really hurt¡­"


    And then the King''s body stood back up, opening its stomach to reveal yet another amorphous, aberrant face with countless eyes and tentacles.


    "You really got me there¡­"


    The head kept talking, its tentacles quickly started moving across the floor.


    "W-Wha¡­?!"


    "What''s happening right now?!"


    "The King¡­ is not dead?!"


    "No, that''s not his voice!"


    The knights and the guards all panicked even more, the series of shocking events and revtions were simply not ending at all yet!


    "T-That''s¡­!" Erika muttered. "A Demon?! So ke killed the King because¡­"


    "I couldn''t feel it at all, just how did he figure it out?!" Erdrich muttered.


    "He''s not wrong, there wasn''t even a hint of demonic energy within him¡­" Eric said.


    "Yes, I wonder the same thing!"


    The head talked, as everyone froze, his presence alone forced all the guards and knights in the surroundings to fall into the floor, a fiery red aura of pure, highly refined demonic energy.


    This wasn''t a mere demon, or a demon general, not even a demon overlord!


    "This presence¡­!" Everfrost muttered, feeling like vomiting. "W-What have you done to my husband?! Who are you?!"


    "Heh¡­ Hahaha!"


    The head keptughing as it wielded the head of the dead Elven King as a shell, slowly crawling back towards his body.


    "W-What''s happening, ke?!" Elfriedden cried. "I-I can''t¡­ Was this why you¡­?! Who is this?! What''s happening?!"


    "Calm down," ke said, his Divinity slowly beginning to expand. "Elfriedden, your father has been dead for years now."


    "WHAT?!"


    Everyone''s eyes widened after this revtion.


    The King, dead?


    That was utterly impossible!


    Who had been talking to them,manding them, and further reinforcing the barrier?


    Even more, he had even fathered Sapphirus recently, so it couldn''t be possible that he was dead...


    "What do you mean he''s been dead for years?!" Everfrost muttered. "W-What''s happening?!"


    "I roughly estimate that, you killed him around¡­ seven, eight years ago?" asked ke. "It''s part of your abilities to slowly parasitize someone and eat them from the inside, isn''t it, Mammon?"


    "You¡­ So you even realized who I am, how clever of you, Asmodeus!"


    Mammon, the Archdemon of Greed, one of the seven Archdemons that represented a Sin.


    ke had fought the Avatars of Beelzebub of Gluttony, Satan of Wrath, and Lilith of Lust.


    However, Mammon, a secretive and cunning archdemon often never showed his face towards his enemies.


    And it was all thanks to his incredible, maniptive abilities.


    One of them was¡­


    "Demonic Soul Parasite," ke exined. "A power Mammon uses to parasitize foes. He uses a small piece of his soul and through a ritual, imnts it inside the soul of another living being.


    Slowly, he gives them power and makes them feel better, but at the same time, over time, he eats away their minds, emotions, and souls, until their soul ispletely reced with his, the rest of their body is then turned into a puppet he also modifies as he desires."


    "W-Wha¡­?!" Everfrost muttered in disbelief, suddenly feeling utter disgust, as only six years ago, she had had intercourse with her husband, which was what gave birth to little Mammon.


    If that was true, then she had had sex not with her husband, but with a monster that had overtaken his body!


    "Uuaaghh¡­!"


    Elfriedden''s mother vomited in utter disbelief and disgust.


    "Haahh¡­ You sure are a handful, Asmodeus," Mammon sighed, his tentacles quickly reattaching back to his cut off neck, as he suddenly regained the control over the king''s face, his voice going back to normal. "Couldn''t you simply let me alone? I was trying really hard to manage these people, you see¡­ They make for perfect vessels.


    But I want to ask you something before I kill you, how did you know it was me? I made sure to hide every trace of demonic energy!"


    "Didn''t I exin that already?" ke surprised everyone. "My Eyes can see through souls. I immediately noticed your soul was not human, you had the soul of a demon. By then, I quickly realized the King was dead if his soul was no longer there. You ate himpletely, didn''t you? You piece of shit."


    The Elven King that carried such calm and solemn expression suddenly shifted his face, smiling wickedly, sticking his tongue out.


    "Yes! And it was a delectable meal!"


    "A-Ahhh¡­"


    Elfriedden fell to his knees, in utter disbelief.


    The elves had been nothing but Mammon''s ythings this entire time.


    -----

 Chapter 1005: The Cunning Archdemon

    -----


    ke was right all along with his assumptions.


    The King of the Elves had died roughly seven or six years ago, when Mammon parasitized his soul and slowly ate it.


    The question, however, remained.


    How did he do this? How could he get to the King so easily?


    The King of Elves, from what ke had learned, was someone that had reached the Level of a Spirit Saint.


    He was a Master of his Divine Spirit Swordsmanship Arts and could control all five basic magic elements with extreme mastery.


    Above all, his eight Spirits were all incredibly powerful beings, which cemented him as the Elven Continent''s strongest man.


    To allow Mammon to parasitize his soul and then eat it¡­ It didn''t made sense!


    Unless he was betrayed, and someone close to him, from his own family, approached him enough to give him the parasite.


    But even then, how couldn''t he tell it was inside his soul?


    "There''s no point in questioning this now¡­" ke thought. "I have to kill him quickly before things get even more uncontroble."


    He analyzed his surroundings with a calm expression, which only seemed to piss out Mammon, who had always hated Asmodeus for being someone incapable of showing his emotions.


    That was the same damned face he had when he sealed him away several years ago, and it only made him more infuriated.


    "Asmodeus, you bastard¡­ You''ve never changed even after your reincarnation," Mammon smiled,ughing. "Have you told your friends and family who you truly are? have they never questioned why you''re so strong? Why you''re so different?"


    Suddenly, Mammon turned against ke''s friends.


    "Have you never asked him who he truly is?!" Mammonughed.


    ke''s friends were all confused, Mammon was talking anguage they could understand this time, mostly thanks to having assimted the Elven King.


    So he was talking about all these things with them being able to understand them! He was calling ke "Asmodeus", and he was treating him more like an old acquittance!


    "ke? What''s going on? What is he talking about?" Elizabeth wondered.


    "Asmodeus? Who is that?" Erika wondered. "Is that your name? But you''re ke, right?"


    "That Demon''s just talking nonsense, don''t listen to him!" Chris said. "ke is ke!"


    "¡­" Erdrich, who kind of already knew most of this, remained in silence as he was wary of the demon, preparing his Demonic Aura.


    "B-ke?" Eric asked, confused.


    "I wish I could just tell you he''s talking bullshit to buy himself time, but he''s not wrong," ke said with an expressionless face. "I''ve slowly been gaining the memories of a past life, where I relentless fought these bastards, the demons, for thousands of years. They''re blurry, but they reveal to me that my soul once belonged to someone named Asmodeus.


    However, there''s little time to exin things right now, would you fight at my side and trust me? I promise I will exin things to youter, once we''re done."


    His sharp red eyes nced back at his friends, as everyone remained in silence, but then nodded, smiling.


    Enjoy stories on m_v lem|p-yr


    "Of course, why wouldn''t we trust you anyways?!" Chrisughed. "Let''s kill that bastard!"


    "Memories of a past life¡­" Elizabeth muttered. "If that''s true, then that would exin many things¡­ But indeed, there''s no time to think about that now."


    "We''ll always trust you, whatever your past life was, it doesn''t really matter anyways, friend!" Eric smiled, readjusting his sses.


    "Y-Yeah!" Alberta was a bit confused, but she had the spirit.


    "Always!" Erika smiled back at him. "Now I''m super curious though! But let''s leave that forter, yeah!"


    At the cheer and trust of his friends, ke felt¡­ rather fulfilled, he had never felt this way. He had been slightly afraid deep down that they would find him strange or reject him for confessing the truth right away.


    He did it quickly because he wanted to get that out of his chest and not make unnecessary drama with it. However, he was fully expecting their rejection and disgust after hearing that he remembers that he was once a monster that lived for thousands of years.


    Yet there was none of that!


    They trusted him, as their friend, as their family, and as the one they loved too, in the case of Erika and Elizabeth.


    Whatever he was in his past life, it didn''t matter to them.


    They were true friends.


    ke remained in silence, but he smiled, a different expression Mammon had never seen.


    It made the Archdemon recoil with disgust!


    "Hah, how disgusting¡­ So you''ve indeed grown weaker, and more pathetic," Mammon sighed. "I used to admire your cold-headed mind and your ruthlessness, but it seems Lucifer''s n worked, you''ve grown softer, weaker, and emotional¡­ Hah, but that''s good too! I''ll enjoy shredding those you love to pieces. You finally gave yourself a good weakness, ASMODEUS!"


    FLASH!


    Mammon finished talking, rushing towards Asmodeus'' friends. Using the Elf King''s body, he quickly conjured his powers, as an Aura of Rainbow Spiritual Energy surged from his body.


    At the same time, he summoned one of the Elf King''s Spirits, a blinding fairy made of pure light, which quickly transformed into a huge great sword of pure gold.


    Mammonughed internally, knowing that Asmodeus wasn''t fast enough to intercept him this time now that he was using the Elf King''s powers fully!


    "I''ll cut their heads off for you, Asmodeus!" heughed. "{Divine Spirit Swordsmanship Arts}: {Arc of Light}!"


    SLAAASH!


    Mammon swung his de; a horizontal sh became a wave of holy light rushing towards Asmodeus'' friends. Its power enough to shake space itself lightly and create a shockwave that made the entire castle tremble.


    The attack was almost instantaneous, reaching them within an instant as an explosion of holy light impacted the wall behind them, the castle''s foundations broke down, part of the ceiling copsed into the gardens below.


    BOOOM!


    "Hahah¡­ Hahaha!" Mammonughed as he saw blood below the rubble, ring back at ke. "So? Now that I''ve freed you from your burden, can you fight like you used to do before, Asmodeus- huh?"


    Mammon''s eyes widened.


    ke had appeared right behind him, and only when he twisted his head towards his back was when he finally noticed him!


    "When did he get there¡­?!"


    That was the only thought he could conceive as ke''s Aura erupted, an overwhelming pressure pushed him down, before his spear impaled Mammon''s body a hundred times.


    -----

 Chapter 1006: Against A Mighty Foe

    -----


    Level 7 Spear Mastery Techniques: [Lightning Spear] and [Multi-Thrust Double Attack]!


    ke''s attacks rushed down like lightning, as hebined the power of four Spear Mastery Techniques at once, further boosted by his Summoner''s Aura generated by the bonuses of all his Familiar Cards, plus his Divine Dragon Aura, and even further, his Divinity itself.


    CLASH! CLASH! CLASH! CLASH!


    Each blow came packed full of immense power, Mammon''s armor, which was the Elven King''s most precious treasure, a Celestial Grade Spirit Armor forged thousands of years ago¡­


    Was gaining cracks!


    "T-This is¡­! RAAAH!"


    Mammon somehow panicked, despite being in a clear advantage, he panicked! He quickly swung his Spirit Sword against ke, and then summoned a second Spirit, something resembling a giant smander made of fire, which turned into a second, zing sword.


    "{Divine Spirit Swordsmanship Arts}: {Arc of Light}! {zing Cross}!"


    SLAASH! SLAASH!


    ke was quickly hit with two tremendously powerful attacks, capable of easily slicing through a whole mountain. The potency of the Elven King''s power was immense!


    Yet¡­


    Level 8 Spear Mastery Techniques: [Celestial Piercing Strike] and [One Thousand Battalion''s Spears]!


    ke''s Aurasbined as one, as the illusion of a thousand soldiers resembling himself appeared behind him, their spear attacks rushing down against him, each one enchanted with a near-Celestial power capable of piercing everything.


    CLASH! CLASH! CLASH!


    ke parried and blocked the immense techniques from Mammon, and then quickly attacked him again, aiming not at his head, but his chest.


    "As long as I can shatter his Spirit Orb, he won''t be able to summon the King''s Spirits nor his Spiritual Power anymore." ke thought.


    Crack, crack¡­!


    "Dammit!"


    Mammon quickly stepped back, fully aware of the weakness ke was trying to exploit.


    "Fucking dumbass."


    "Huh?"


    The Archdemon of Greed was too concentrated in the fight, and already thinking the "extras" were dead.


    Because of this, he had not noticed there was arge shadow right behind him, which he was sinking into.


    "T-This is¡­?!"


    The shadows extended around his entire body, the King''s Spiritual Aura erupted, rainbow spiritual mes burning through the shadows with ease.


    But this entire thing gave them a lot of time to act.


    Yeah, them!


    FLASH!


    More shadows appeared out of nowhere, as Mammon''s eyes opened wide, Chris, Erika, and Erdrich rushed down towards Mammon with all their strength.


    "Weren''t you dead?!"


    "As if we would die against a parasite like you!"


    Erika roared angrily, swinging her giant de down with all her force, all her Draconic Power, her Mana, her Spiritual Power, convergingpletely into a single, spinning and shing attack.


    "{Yggdrasil Dragon Swordsmanship Arts}: {Yggdragon Meteor}!"


    CRAAASH!


    The impact was enough to spread hundreds of cracks across the armor again! Mammon couldn''t believe it, as he felt his vessel''s bones gain a few cracks as well as his muscles were torn apart. Find more adventures on m|vl-em,pyr


    "Uuaagh!"


    He fell into the floor as both of his spirit weapons trembled, barely resisting beingpletely destroyed.


    The demon attempted to stand up, only for Erdrich''s zing fists to rush down like meteors.


    "The Cambion¡­!"


    Mammon''s eyes would have been full of greed before if this wasn''t a terrible situation to be in.


    "{Heavenly Demon Battle Arts}: {Demonic Lightning Dragon Fist}"


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!


    Erdrich''s fists, once impacting Mammon, felt like explosions, and they were.


    The potency behind them was utterly ridiculous, and it surpassed allmon sense.


    The Celestial-Grade armor, which was already old and worn down, finally shattered into countless pieces, as Mammon was engulfed on an explosion of crimson lightning as Erdrich''s Aura transformed into a dragon.


    BOOOM!


    "F-Fuck! What''s going on?!"


    Mammon couldn''t believe what was happening.


    He was being overwhelmed!


    Even while holding the body of the King of Elves, no less!


    "How strong¡­ How strong are they?! T-This is utterly ridiculous!"


    But the beating wasn''t over yet, as Mammon maneuvered the King''s body while in midair, and attempted to retaliate with another powerful swordsmanship art, Chris surged from above.


    Having already fused with his Fox Spirit, his stats and powers skyrocketed, and with his [Demonic me Axe] gifted to him by ke, and his other Axe, formed from his Smander Spirit, he hacked through the King''s des, his own spirits.


    "{Spirit Dragon mes Weapon Arts}: {zing Dragon''s Fangs}!"


    CRAAASH! CRAAASH!


    Two devastating blows hacked through the Elven King''s armorpletely, engulfing him on an explosion of mes, his body was sent flying away, mming the wall of the castle and making even bigger of a mess.


    "Ugh¡­! Y-You monsters! When! How?! How did you raise them to be this powerful?!" ke roared in utter frustration and fury.


    "It could be said the Holy Spirits are by our side," ke smiled.


    And that wasn''t far from the truth, it was thanks to the Fire Holy Spirit Divine Authority that ke could give his fire attribute wielding friends the ability to absorb Soul mes.


    By absorbing them, their stats skyrocketed even higher, it made Erika and Erdrich even stronger, and helped Chris and Alberta quickly catch up with everyone, and even surpass that.


    "But how are they still alive? I am sure they were all cut to shreds!"


    "The blood was from an unfortunate guard that didn''t make it," ke smiled. "Do you think I would ever be unprepared against surprise attacks? Think again, Mammon. I was the one that sealed you after all!"


    ke attacked Mammon again as he mocked him, the elven king stepping back as he blocked the iing blows. Mammon was constantly regting his energies, mana and spiritual energy, and letting it all out.


    Eventually, he quickly got the gist of it, managing to reinforce the King''s body through his powerful physique. His muscles grewrger out of nowhere, and his aura became more oppressive.


    "You can underestimate me all you want, Asmodeus¡­" Mammon smiled through his vessel''s face. "But don''t underestimate this old monster I''ve possessed, hahaha!"


    As they shed des, Erika, Chris, and Erdrich rushed to attack Mammon again from behind, only for the archdemon to release all his power at once.


    His Rainbow Spiritual Aura, a convergence of all the elements the King possessed imbued with his Developing Divinity, quickly transformed into four more muscr arms.


    The King''s spirits were summoned and turned into more des.


    And on a showcase of ridiculous power, a storm of cutting winds of all colors and elements were unleashed.


    "{Divine Spirit Swordsmanship Arts}: {Elemental Storm}!"


    BOOOM!


    -----


    The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and


    continue reading tomorrow, everyone!

 Chapter 1007: Catastrophe

    -----


    BOOOM!


    Half of the entire Rosenheim Dukedom castle trembled, breaking down and shattering into pieces. The elemental storm covered the skies with mes, winds, ice, stone, light, and even darkness all swirling together.


    Utter and pure chaos unfolded, the people around the city watched in panic as the terrible event happened. The people living inside the castle panicked, dozens of servants were crushed by the rubble, unable to be rescued in time.


    The royal family members, living inside of manors surrounding the castle sensed themotion and the sudden tremor, a storm of spiritual energies surging into the skies, piercing in half the cloud-covered heaven above.


    "What''s happening?!"


    "Father? Is he in danger?!"


    "Is there some sort of attack from the demons?"


    "Hurry!"n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Several royal family members confident in their strength quickly went to the King''s aid, while those that were too weak to go decided to stay behind, being escorted by the servants to the passage leading to an underground shelter.


    "Lady Rosenheim, we must hurry!" a half-elf maidservant called her young master.


    A beautiful young woman, no older than eighteen, with long red hair and big, sad-looking blue eyes looked through the window of her room, which led right where the chaos was unfolding.


    The entire castle had broken down, the ceiling was destroyed, and it was all where the throne room of the King was located.


    Wearing a beautiful blue and white dress, and having her hair made into a long ponytail, she looked both regal, beautiful, and sharp.


    Yet her innocent eyes couldn''t deceive anybody, she was very scared right now.


    "What''s happening? Father-inw is¡­!" she muttered, before feeling her servant''s hand grab her arm.


    "Please youngdy, we must go! It could be an attack from the demons!" the half-elf cried.


    "B-But¡­! I heard that Elfriedden wasing back today! I-I''ve been waiting for him this entire time¡­!" Rosenheim cried. "W-what if something happens to him?! ELFRIEDDEN!"


    She suddenly jumped off the window, pushing the maidservant away.


    "YOUNG LADY?! Wait!"


    Rosenheim fell from the fourth floor of her house, the maidservant panicking, only to see the girl suddenly fly into the skies, her Spirit carrying her.


    It was a beautiful gold and white-colored winged horse, a Pegasus.


    "You mustn''t go! Please don''t risk your life! WAIT!"


    The maidservant ran to tell the rest of the servants, as they quickly started chasing her through the vi with a bunch of panicked soldiers and guards.


    "Elfriedden, please wait for me!"


    ¡­


    RUMBLE!


    The desperate attack from Mammon ended sending everyone flying away, the castle crumbled apart as giant boulders started crashing down.


    ke found himself falling, noticing that Erika, Erdrich, Chris, and Elfriedden were fine, he quickly spun in midair, growing a pair of Blood Wings and rushing up.


    His shadows spread into a giant wave of darkness, rushing down, grabbing everyone and putting them into the floor for safely, while also taking all the boulders.


    At the same time, his Spirits were quickly summoned one after another, ready to protect them and the surrounding citizens that were passing by.


    The shadows reached the floor below flickering and opening, as Lady Everfrost, her son Sapphirus, and everyone else came out rapidly.


    Before the King''s attack that aimed at their lives, ke had quickly ced them inside of his shadows, saving their lives.


    "T-The castle!" Lady Everfrost panicked. "What is happening now?! Why¡­ Why is all of this happening?! This wasn''t supposed to- Ahh¡­!"


    "Mother!" Elfriedden ran towards his mother, who quickly fell to the ground, unconscious. "She fainted¡­"


    "Mama! Buaaah!" Sapphirus was just as confused, beginning to cry at her side, unable to understand what was happening. "Big bro, mama is in the floor! Mamaaa¡­!"


    "C-Calm down, she''s okay, she''s fine," Elizabeth analyzed Everfrost. "We should quickly bring her to safety though, this entire area will only be an even bigger battlefield- Ah! Is ke going to fight the King on his own?!"


    "He is!" Erika gasped.


    CLASH!


    ke was already shing against Mammon again, he had left everyone behind, hurrying as quickly as he could to defeat him!


    Although everyone thought they could take their time on fighting him together, ke thought otherwise.


    It wasn''t that he saw them as weak, in fact they were very strong.


    However, ke couldn''t afford the time of bringing them back here at all!


    Why?


    Why was the reason?


    "ASMODEUS!" roared Mammon, the King''s body kept overflowing with the power of all his powerful Spirits, a rainbow sea of spiritual energy rushed out, resembling a pseudo divinity of its own. "Admire the power I''ve obtained now! Can you truly go against the power of the King of all Elves?! Hahahaha!"


    With a ferociousughter, the Archdemon of Greed rushed down, his Rainbow Spiritual Aura shaping into four more arms, each one wielding a different weaponized spirit of the King, six different, colorful des.


    "I have to kill him quickly before it''s toote! Eleanora, Spirit Fusion, now!" ke said.


    "Very well!" Eleanora surged from his shadows,bining with ke as she became a cloak of demonic, draconic, and blood mes.


    His appearance quickly changed as he underwent this fusion, his stats skyrocketed even higher, his hair turned long and red, his eyes sharper and even redder than before, resembling a blood moon.


    ke''s body became slender and much taller, his Aura formed an endless stream of crimson energies, thebination of several powers unified as one.


    Their spears became one, overflowing with vampiric, demonic, spiritual, and draconic powers.


    "Try as much as you want, Asmodeus, the end is nigh!"


    CLASH! CLASH! CLASH!


    Both titans shed across the skies, the heavens splitting as countless explosions of elements erupted over and over again.


    ke gritted his teeth, having already used his Blood King Transformation Skill to gain even more extra stats and an even stronger form imitating his previous life''s appearance, he was barely a matcha against the Elf King''s unleashed power.


    "BASTARD!"


    With a furious roar, ke rushed with his spear in front, resembling a spinning drill, his Aura quickly transforming into a ferocious blood dragon.


    CLASH!


    He shed against all six swords at once, another Elemental Storm engulfed himpletely, yet using his Divinities, he pushed forward, breaking through.


    "Aim at the core, quickly!" he thought, his spear rushing forwards, as heunched it!


    FLASH!


    Yet¡­


    A wicked smile surged on the Elf King''s face.


    "It''s toote."


    ke''s eyes widened.


    The entire city below erupted with the screams of their citizens.


    "STOP!"


    -----

 Chapter 1008: Despair

    -----


    "Elfriedden!"


    Rosenheim appeared above the skies, as everyone was fixated on ke''s fight against the Elf King to think about anything else.


    Barely twenty seconds have passed since they went down.


    "R-Rosenheim?!"


    Elfriedden''s eyes widened as he saw his beloved, the love of his live appear before his eyes!


    He had imagined she was somewhere else, but he was grateful she was not caught in the rubble and was alive and safe.


    "My love!"


    "Dear!"


    She quickly jumped off her Pegasus, running towards Elfriedden.


    The young elf quickly caught her with his arms, embracing her in a tight hug as he slowly descended.


    The entire world around him slowed down.


    For how long as he been waiting to finally meet her?


    The two met each other since they were children at the tender age of 6.


    Since then, they''ve been inseparable.


    Elfriedden lived a childhood full of discrimination and bullying from his many siblings due to his "bad" talent and his spirit.


    Rosenheim, a young girl from a nearby Dukedom was everything for him.


    Her snarky yet cheerful personality helped him slowly improve and regain his own footing in the world.


    She was more than just someone he found beautiful or liked at a surface level.


    Rosenheim was Elfriedden''s true pir, the only girl he had ever loved, and the only one he will ever love.


    "I''vee back, Rosenheim! As I promised you, I came back¡­" he kept hugging her. "I missed you so much, my love¡­"


    "I did too!" Rosenheim started crying over his shoulders, tearsing from her eyes.


    The two lovers face grew closer, as they kissed without a care of the world around them.


    Nothing mattered anymore for these two.


    Love was such a thing, it made people blind of their surroundings, of the cruel world.


    It made them believe the world outside was beautiful, it made them think there was nothing else other than themselves.


    This is why ke feared this feeling so much, even as he had developed it for a long while now¡­ |em|p,yr


    "So many things have happened in these minutes, but you¡­ Seeing you puts my heart at ease," Elfriedden smiled, caressing her beautiful face.


    "What''s happening? Is this a demon invasion? Who is the king fighting against?" Rosenheim asked. "Who are those people?" she pointed at those behind Elfriedden.


    "I can exin, an Archdemon has hijacked father''s body and ke is fighting him to-"


    "HAHAHA!"


    Before Elfriedden could continue his talk, theughter of Mammon echoed across the entire skies.


    Suddenly, something came.


    A bright, crimson light shone within Rosenheim''s forehead; it had the shape of a wicked pentagram.


    "W-What? Rosenheim, what''s that?"


    Elfriedden approached her, as Rosenheim was just as confused, touching her own forehead.


    "I-I don''t know? Is it something bad?"


    "I¡­ I have no idea, let me check-"


    FLASH! FLASH! FLASH!


    However, before he could check, the same bright crimson light surged from all across the city. His eyes noticed that almost every single citizen had the same crimson lighting from their forehead.


    "W-What''s happening¡­?"


    "STOP!"


    The scream of ke echoed from the skies, as Elfriedden suddenly woke up from his daze.


    Something wrong was happening.


    It was something even beyond ke''s scope?


    "Gryyaaaggh!"


    "Uuaaaghh!"


    "I-It burns! IT BURNNSSSS!"


    The screams of the citizens kept echoing across the city, their agonizing screams making them fall to their knees.


    The same thing was happening to Elfriedden''s brother, who started crying in pain over the forehead light.


    At the same time, the unconscious body of his mother was convulsing, the same crimson lighting from her forehead too.


    "Huh?"


    Elfriedden felt like the world was freezing in that very moment.


    He slowly looked back at Rosenheim.


    She was on her knees, asking for help as she started crying blood, and vomiting blood.


    In fact, blood wasing from her ears and nose too.


    "R-Rosenheim? ROSENHEIM!"


    "It hurts¡­! Elfriedden! H-HELP ME¡­! HELP MEEEE!"


    Elizabeth quickly tried to go help her and heal her, but a sudden explosion behind them quickly startled her.


    In fact, several explosions started happening everywhere, zing mes beginning to burn the buildings around the streets.


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!


    "W-What''s happening- Ah?!" Elfriedden''s eyes widened.


    Rosenheim''s face was different.


    Red skin was spreading through her fair, white colored skin.


    Her body suddenly started ring with heat, burning.


    A strange, intoxicating aura with the smell of sulfur started surging from her body.


    And she wouldn''t stop screaming in agony.


    "HELP MEEE! IT HURTS, IT HURTS, IT HURTSSSSS!"


    "ROSENHEIM!!!"


    Elfriedden quickly tried to pull out an Elixir to help her.


    Yet!


    BAAM!


    "Ugh?!"n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    A giant red fist punched him away, as he fell into the floor several meters away.


    "A-Ah¡­?!"


    His eyes widened again; tears starteding out of them.


    Rosenheim''s left arm had suddenly transformed.


    It resembled the giant, aberrant arm of a demon.


    "Help¡­ me¡­"


    "ROSENHEIM!"


    Elfriedden stood up as he ran to help her.


    Yet it was toote.


    Her entire body started to mutate monstrously.


    Her face was somehow thest, her entire body evolved, mutated, and transformed.


    Red skin red her entire body, burning her.


    Her muscles and bones grew, expanding.


    Her legs became giant, and sod id her arms, her clothes were torn apart as her aberrant body was uncovered, and her cute face, sitting over the horrible demonic body.


    "A-Ahhh¡­"


    She kept crying, confused, in agony and pain.


    "Elfri¡­ edden¡­"


    "NOOO!"


    With a horrible scream of agony and pain, Elfriedden was thrown away as he saw his beloved''s face transform into an ugly demonic face, with a long nose, bald head, and crimson eyes covering her entire body, and no mouth.


    A shockwave of burning demonic mes sent him flying, as he fell into the floor, hitting his head. The world around him began to spin, everything was chaos, horror, terror.


    "Uuuaaaggh! Big brotherrrr!"


    "Sapphirus?! NO¡­!"


    He tried to extend his hand towards Sapphirus, yet he was unable to reach him.


    His little brother also mutated into a horrible demon, suddenly punching him away.


    CLASH!


    "Uaagh¡­!"


    His entire body was set aze, demonic mes slowly consuming his mana and burning his skin!


    Agony, pain, suffering, terror, horror¡­


    These were the only emotions within Elfriedden''s mind right now.


    The worst possible oue had urred.


    The agonizing screams of thousands of elves resonated across the city.


    Their bodies quickly mutating into gigantic demonic aberrations.


    And Mamonughed.


    -----

 Chapter 1009: Mammons Diabolic Plan!

    -----


    The worst possible oue happened, Mammon activated his special ability, the very power that ke didn''t want him to activate.


    The reason why Mammon was so terrifying to even Asmodeus was because of his Soul Parasites, they were a unique power the Archdemon of Greed possessed.


    It allowed him to parasitize the souls of others and slowly devour them, parasitizing them and turning the subject into a demonic aberration.


    Sometimes, when he would choose a suitable vessel, he would go out of his way to devour their soulspletely and turn them into his second bodies, gaining tremendous power out of them.


    But sometimes, he would prematurely trigger the Demonic Power dwelling inside the target''s souls, making the Demonic Soul Parasitespletely transform the bodies of those parasitized.


    They would turn into Demonic Aberrations, Mammon''s own creations, his own army.


    And right now, ke had realized this toote.


    Why? It was because Mammon made sure to keep thempletely asleep since he imnted them into the souls of these people.


    Slowly, as their King, he spread them like seeds.


    And now, for this very moment, he finally decided to awaken them all.


    "You pushed me this far, Asmodeus," smiled Mammon. "I was nning on enjoying the moment and slowly consume everybody''s souls! However, you''ve forced my hand, we could have had a good time, pretending to be the King, while you were my dog that killed those stupid monsters outside! I would have loved if you yed along for longer, maybe all those people down there would have had normal lives.


    It''s your fault, you''ve ruined their lives! They''re nothing but horrible monsters now, ahaha¡­ HAHAHAHA!"


    "You¡­"


    ke remained in silence, his body floating in midair.


    His patience was nowhere to be seen.


    His emotions gathered into a single one.


    Hatred.


    His eyes shone bright red; his crimson hair waved by the wind.


    His Divinity converged with all his Authorities and Skills, resembling an endless¡­


    Darkness.


    There was not a speck of color anymore.


    "What? Don''t tell me you actually care about all of these people?"ughed Mammon. "You seem to have grown soft indeed-"


    CRAAASH!


    Before Mammon could say another word, a sharp pain surged from his back, ke''s spear, thebination of Gluttony and Envy, which Mammon had managed to dodge in the veryst moment, quickly moved across the skies and returned back to his target.


    "Ugh?!"


    Blood sttered out of the Elf King''s torso as the spear barely missed the Spirit Orb by half a centimeter, and it wasn''t the spear''s fault.


    In the veryst second, Mammon shifted the spirit orb down, barely managing to evade it being destroyed.


    "Ah!"n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    His eyes widened as he saw ke rush towards him.


    Or pretty much teleport.


    Within less than a split second, he already appeared in front of him, an endless wave of darkness surged, engulfing himpletely.


    [Call of the Night]!


    The darkness shrouded the entire world around Mammon, quickly transforming into countless draconic jaws, trying to bite and tear apart the vessel of Mamon, the Elf King.


    "This damn bastard, he truly snapped!"ughed Mammon. "I made Asmodeus snap, hahah! HAHAHA!"


    He shed against all of Asmodeus attacks, swinging all six of his elemental swords at once, storms of elements constantly shed against Asmodeus endless darkness.


    The darkness was quickly destroyed over and over again, yet it kept regenerating anding back, from above, below, the left, right, everywhere!


    But that wasn''t all, Asmodeus was right above.


    In just 1 second, one hundred spheres of concentrated Divine Silver mes were awaiting Mammon above.


    "What?!"


    {Silver Starfall}!


    The spheres of Divine Silver mes dropped down at lightning speed, Mammon was engulfed with countless explosions capable of burning through both body and soul.


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!


    Swinging his six swords, he shed against each fireball individually, shing them apart one after another like hot knives going through butter. However, each time he sliced them, they exploded right in front of his face anyways, burning him constantly.


    "T-These are the mes of a Divine Dragon!" he muttered. "Howe he obtained such a power?!" Mammon thought.


    FLASH!


    Amidst the smoke of countless explosions, ke appeared in front of him, his hands extending towards Mammon and grasping his face, pushing him down into the floor.


    "YOU BASTARD! STOP THIS INSTANT!"


    Mammon quickly swung all his des at once, spinning and unleashing another Elemental Storm, trying to push ke away.


    Yet ke wasn''t having any of his bullshit.


    "STAY QUIET, YOU TRASH!"


    He swung his leg down, kicking his head and almost shattering his skull as he pushed him down into the ground.


    A loud explosion reverberated across the chaotic city.


    BAAAMMM!!!


    "You call me trash when you''re the only piece of shit here, ASMODEUS!"


    Mammonughed as he swung all six of his des, Asmodeus quickly defended with his Divinity epassing his body, yet his Divinity was disrupted by the overwhelming powers of the Elven King, which whenbined together, could unleash a simr power to a Divinity.


    SLASH! SLASH! SLASH!


    "Shit!"


    His defenses resisted, but Mammon was still able to breakthrough, ke''s legs were cut off and so one of his arms, blood sttered everywhere. Mammon quickly rushed forward, his six des pointing towards ke''s chest.


    "DIE, ASMODEUS!"ughed Mammon. "MY REVENGE IS FINALLY HERE!"


    With a wicked and demonicughter, his Rainbow Spiritual Aura spun around the Elven King''s Weaponized Spirits, quickly forming a gigantic rainbow spear.


    CLAAASH!


    ke''s chest was pierced, and his entire body exploded into countless¡­


    No, wait!


    "Huh?!"


    Mammon suddenly realized he ended hitting nothing but a mass of shadows and blood instead.


    Where was the real Asmodeus?


    Where did he go?


    When did he disappeared?


    "Die? Me?"


    Right behind Mammon, emerging out of his own shadows.


    "You''re being utterly delusional."


    With spear in hand, ke pierced Mammon''s back not once, but over a hundred times within a split second, moving at such a high speed that he only left afterimages.


    This was the culmination of his Spearmanship Masterybined with his Divinity.


    Level 10 Spear Mastery Techniques: [God-Killing Spear] and [One Hundred Spearmen Spirit]!


    CLASH! CLASH! CLASH! CLASH! CLASH!


    "Uuaaaarrgh!"


    Mammon did his best to move his Spirit Orb away from the attacks.


    But it was too hard!


    Crack, crack¡­!


    Cracks began to spread through it.


    -----

 Chapter 1010: An Demonic Army Made Of Innocents

    -----


    ke''s party found themselves surrounded by utter horror and nightmares beyond their wildest dreams.


    Before their very eyes, the citizens of the Rosenheim dukedom hadpletely changed their form and shape, bing Demonic Aberrations.


    They weren''t small demons or weak either, the smallest of them was over five meters tall, and thergest, above twenty meters.


    They were all titans, walking across the streets, dumbly smashing, burning, and destroying anything in their path.


    The people that didn''t transform were being ughtered, burned alive, crying, and running. Some were even being eaten.


    They had gone through many things, and the entire crew thought that they were prepared to see the worst the demons could offer.


    Yet time and time again, they were being constantly surprised, they were all terrified, to the point absolutely nobody of them could move.


    Paralyzed.


    They couldn''t believe their eyes.


    Their faces distorted in utter horror and fear, in confusion, madness!


    "Why¡­" Chris muttered. "W-Why is this happening¡­?"n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    "E-Everyone¡­" Elizabeth muttered. "T-They turned into¡­ demons?"


    "No¡­ Why?!" Even Erdrich couldn''t believe this.


    "Aahh¡­" Erika gave a step back, noticing Elfriedden''s situation. "E-Elfriedden!"


    He was surrounded by three Demonic Aberrations, that were constantly attacking him, punching him, kicking him, and burning him.


    "Mom¡­ Sapphirus¡­" he muttered; half his face burned. "R-Rosen¡­ heim¡­"


    "GRUOOHHH!"


    However, those that were his family were no longer themselves anymore.


    They had be monsters.


    Memories of the past, or anything they ever shared was gone from their minds.


    Completely consumed by the primal instinct to burn, destroy, and devour.


    "Grahhh¡­ GRAAAAHHH!"


    The Demonic Aberration that used to be Sapphirus rushed towards Elfriedden, opening its aberrant jaws to reveal countless sharp fangs and several tongues.


    "S-Stop¡­! STOOOP!"


    Elfriedden couldn''t fight back, he was in aplete state of shock and trauma.


    As Sapphirus aberrant, demonic tongues drew closer, he felt their spit fall on his face, burning him.


    They were all acid¡­


    Digestive acid.


    "NOOO!"


    As he screamed in horror, unable to hurt his little brother even after he turned into a monster, the tongues quickly moved to wrap him around, and eat him.


    "ELFRIEDDEN!"


    SLAAASH!


    Yet a sharp golden and green aura surged out of nowhere, shing through Sapphirus'' tongues, as the demon''s acidic blood sttered everywhere.


    A barrier around Erika protected her from the acidic blood, as she quickly grabbed Elfriedden and ran away from the Demonic Aberrations, that quickly started chasing them.


    "E-Erika?! ERIKAAA¡­!" Elfriedden started crying. "Mom, Rosenheim, my brother! What''s happening?! Why¡­ JUST WHY?!"


    "I don''t know!" Erika kept crying too, gritting her teeth, she was the first one to snap back to normal, perhaps because of her nature as a former doll, she could adapt quickly to emotional and traumatic turmoil. "But you have to endure it, we will find a way to return them to normal! ENDURE IT!"


    "D-DAMMIT!" Elfriedden kept crying, covering his face with his hand and trying to clean his tears. "Let me go, I can move on my own!"


    He quickly jumped away from Erika''s arms, rushing to regroup with everyone else.


    And they weren''t having a good time themselves either.


    "Why is everyone a giant demon now?!" Chris kept asking as he was panicking. "Fuck, fuck, fuck! Do we kill the or not?!"


    Chris panicked as he fought four Demonic Aberrations at once, their giant arms and legs constantly trying to crush him, he evaded or parried their attacks as he could, firing fire magic to slow them down, knowing it couldn''t hurt them that much as demons.


    "DON''T!" Elizabeth cried.


    As Elizabeth spoke, she conjured her Holy Light, unleashing countless spheres of pure light, which exploded right in front of the army of hundreds of Aberrations that came rushing towards them.


    FLASH! FLASH! FLASH!


    They weren''t hurtpletely, only burning their skin as they stepped back in pain, the creatures seemed very weak against light.


    "Then how do we even do?!" Chris screamed.


    BAAAM!


    He barely managed to evade another stomping attack.


    "Fuck it, I''m going to at least slice their legs, you''ll heal themter, right?!"


    "W-Wait, Chris!"


    Elizabeth didn''t want to see the innocent people suffering, but Chris, someone much rasher and more reckless, couldn''t keep fighting like this!


    "RAAAH!"


    CLASH! CLASH! CLASH!


    Using his two axes, one given to him by ke and the other being his spirit, he cut through the limbs of several Demonic Aberrations at once.


    BAAM!


    Their giant bodies started dropping one after another into the floor, dumbly looking around, without even feeling much pain after their limbs were cut off.


    "Ooogghh¡­!"


    "Grroogghhh!"


    "Aaarggh¡­! Graaaggh!"


    As their limbs were cut and their bodies plummeted into the floor, the monstrous aberrations constantly attempted to move, but to no avail.


    However¡­


    "What?"


    Chris noticed that the areas he had cut off were already beginning to regenerate!


    Small tentacles and tendrils slowly started to grow, fusing together into new legs and arms, even stronger and more monstrous than before.


    "Chris, watch out!"


    Erdrich appeared behind Chris in thest second before a thirty-meter-tall Demonic Aberration appeared from behind, smashing down with both of its giant fists.


    CLAAASH!


    Erdrich intercepted it with his own fists, quickly beginning his half-demon transformation and turning immediately into his charcoal ck-skinned demon with golden horns and tattoos across his body.


    BOOOM!


    An explosion of crimson thunder and infernal mes erupted, the aberration''s arms quickly exploded into countless pieces against Erdrich''s powers, as he grabbed Chris and leaped away before a rain of infernal mes were to fall above them.


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!


    "Fuck, they''re everywhere!" Chris quickly moved away, using his Spirit Fusion ability to fly in the air. "


    "What do we even do? How do we handle this?!" Eric was also panicking, firing countless arrows of winds and creating walls of wood which were burned away.


    His arrows pierced the aberrant demons and temporarily incapacitated them, this onlysting for less than thirty seconds before they were fully healed again.


    "Lady Cattalina said she had something prepared!" said Elizabeth.


    "Right! Mom! Where is she?!" Erika said.


    "There!" Alberta pointed in the skies.


    As the entire party battled and tried not to kill the hundreds of foes surrounding them, they noticed Cattalina in the skies.


    "{Divine Dream Domain Expansion}"


    FLUOSH!


    -----

 Chapter 1011: A City-Wide Spell

    -----


    "GROOAARR!"


    "SHAAAAH!"


    "GRUOOHH!"


    Aberrant Demons of all shapes and sizes continued battling ke''s party. Their horrendous screams echoing across the entire city, making their hearts tremble in doubt, frustration, horror, and anger!


    This entire situation, it was just hell on earth! All these demons which they wouldn''t even hesitate to kill before, they were now people they had seen ying around.


    Children, elderly, women and men, mothers and fathers, they weren''t just insane barbaric creatures, they were normal citizens.


    And even worse, some of them were even the family of their friend¡­


    "Make it stop¡­! Please make it stop!"


    Elfriedden kept shing against his own people, the people he had sworn to protect, the people he had been thinking about this whole time as he grew stronger.


    He continued conjuring walls after walls of ice everywhere, he froze their bodies temporarily, only for them to break out, melting through it all with their demonic mes.


    "Please, Rosenheim, mother¡­! Sapphirus! This is enough!"


    He kept struggling to form barriers, the faces of his family constantly pushing through the ice. Their aberrant faces, which slightly resembled how they looked before, twisted, horrifying.


    "Please¡­! I don''t want to see this anymore!"


    He closed his eyes, releasing all his frost at once as his tears froze into ice.


    FLUOOOSH!


    A storm of snow washed away all the Demonic Aberrations at once, their frozen bodies falling over the floor, shattering into pieces.


    Elfriedden''s eyes opened wide as he realized he ended killing some of his people.


    Their bodies wouldn''t recover.


    They stayed broken down and dead.


    "A-Ah¡­! N-No! I didn''t mean to! I''m sorry! I''m sorryyyy!"


    He kept screaming, tormented by what he was forced to do.


    What could these people have been?


    An old elf selling fruit in the market.


    Or a little girl ying in the za?


    Maybe, even a friend of his brother?


    Or perhaps one of the gossipdies that his mother liked to talk with¡­


    "I''m sorry¡­! Please forgive me¡­!"


    "BRO¡­ THEERRRR¡­"


    "Ah! S-Sapphirus?!"


    Elfriedden ended looking towards Sapphirus aberrant form.


    Its countless tongues reaching forwards again.


    He fell for the trick.


    The monster smiled wickedly, as Elfriedden was caught!


    "Aaargh! No, stop it¡­! STOP IT, SAPPHIRUS! DON''T YOU REMEMBER YOUR BROTHER?!"


    "GRAAARRGHH!"


    There was no coherent response, Sapphirus, in his monstrous form, had only used that voice to lure him into his jaws. Countless sharp fangs started tearing through Elfriedden''s armor, slowly shattering it!


    "Stop¡­! Sapphirus! STOP!"


    Yet his torture didn''t end here, his mother and Rosenheim walked towards him again.


    Since they transformed that they were obsessed with him, ignoring everyone else but him.


    Perhaps the bonds they had before ended bing ast emotion, a wicked obsession to eat him.


    Their arms rushed towards him, grabbing his limbs and beginning to pull.


    "S-Stop¡­! STOP THIS¡­! Please¡­!"


    Elfriedden couldn''t fight back anymore, as he was about to be torn to shreds.


    "Rosen¡­ heim¡­"


    He saw the monster that his girlfriend had be.


    Her eyes were crying.


    "Are you there¡­?"


    Everyone else was so busy fighting and keeping the hundreds of monsters they absolutely couldn''t kill from getting closer that they caught up to what was happening to Elfriedden toote.


    "Elfriedden, don''t let them kill you! Fight back!!!" Elizabeth screamed, firing beams of light and stopping the demons rushing towards her.


    Dozens of giant hands ended hitting her powerful barriers as she continued erecting them one after another, undergoing her transformation, she grew two pairs of angelic wings and rushed to his aid.


    "Why are you like this?!" she was about to grab him.


    However.


    BAAAM!


    A giant foot loomed from above, crushing her down into the floor.


    "Argh!"


    Elizabeth desperately conjured several barriers to defend, and then rapidly flew away from being fully crushed, rushing high in the skies, she noticed a gigantic aberration.


    It was over forty meters tall, and it possessed multiple heads and arms!


    "Is this made of multiple people?! WAIT¡­!"


    Her eyes widened as she saw the aberrations, in their failure to defeat their opponents, beginning to slowly melt into masses of flesh.


    And merge.


    "Why¡­?! Isn''t this enough?!" she screamed, as she saw four giant fists rushing towards her. "Please, stop it¡­! Holy Spirits, please help us! ke¡­! Cattalina!"


    She hesitated; she could easily kill all these opponents.


    But she hesitated!


    Amongst everyone here, Elizabeth had the kindest heart!


    To kill innocent people¡­


    She would rather die.


    BAAM! BAAM! BAAM!


    Her barriers shattered one after another as the gigantic, zing fists pummeled her down, she started rapidly moving towards Elfriedden.


    At the same time, everyone else was fighting with their life on the line, while trying to not kill these people.


    Erika continued shing limbs with Chris, tears flowing from their eyes as they kept resisting, as they kept struggling together.


    Eric fired his arrows and erected barriers that burned almost instantly, Alberta kept herself by his side, bing his shield.


    Erdrich fought alone, incapacitating as many foes as he could!


    Everyone was crying, everyone was struggling, everyone was panicking, everyone was suffering.


    They didn''t know what to do!


    "Do we kill them?!" Erdrich thought.


    "What can we do other than to kill them?! If this keeps up, we''ll all die!" thought Eric. "B-But would I be able to live knowing I killed so many innocent people?!"


    "What would my father say in this moment?!" Alberta panicked. "What should I do?!"


    "This can''t keep going forever¡­!" Chris thought. "I''ll have to¡­ I''ll have to start killing them or my friends are going to die! They''re all too soft-hearted!"


    "Mom¡­ ke!" Erika kept crying.


    What they were unaware of was that all of ke''s Vampire Spirits were also fighting, they were actually only fighting a tenth of the actual army, which the Vampires were all keeping at bay, without killing any, or well, trying.


    "This can''t keep up forever¡­" Eriant said as his walls of sand kept being destroyed.


    "Just keep them at bay, will you?!" Celestina cried, using her miasmic waters to stop the iing foes.


    "This would be much easier if we could just kill them¡­" Hendrick started considering it. "But master would hate us if we did¡­ He had changed after all."


    "Mama¡­ papa¡­" Saphira looked in the distance, over a kilometer from there.


    ke and Mammon were still shing fiercely.


    CLASH! CLASH! CLASH!


    BOOOM!


    And the skies were turning pink and dark purple.


    "Good night."


    Cattalina''s Spell was finally conjured.


    It was a city-wide Spell!N?v(el)B\\jnn


    FLAAASH!


    -----

 Chapter 1012: Shatter The Spirit Orb

    -----


    Crack, crack¡­!


    CRACK!


    The Spirit Orb of the Elf King gained several cracks, and even a tiny piece of its rainbow-colored crystal fell as ke managed to finally damage it, even if slightly.


    "Y-YOU BASTARD!"


    Mammon had done his best to evade the attacks while regenerating from the wounds rapidly, moving the Spirit Orb around to protect it from damage.


    However, ke''s attacks were relentless,bining the two powerful Spear Mastery Techniques of Level 10, [God-Killing Spear] and [One Hundred Spearmen Spirit]!


    The God-Killing Spear could only be activated when imbuing his Spear with Divinity, and the One Hundred Spearmen Spirits temporarily reinforced ke with the power of a hundred spearmen, multiplying all his attack power and attack speed by x100.


    Whenbining both of these techniques together, ke was able to break through the Elf King''s overwhelming Rainbow Spiritual Aura, slightly shattering his Spirit Orb!


    "RAAAH!"


    With a furious roar, the King quickly spun, all six of his Spiritual Swords unleashing yet another Elemental Storm, yet ke managed to catch the small fragment of his Spirit Orb and absorb it.


    "Your attacks are getting slower, Mammon."


    FLASH!


    ke absorbed the small fragment of a Rank 8 Spirit Orb all on his own, rainbow-colored spiritual energies flowing into his body at once. Only on m v|le|mp|yr


    [You have absorbed the Fragment of a Rank 8 Spirit Orb!]


    [Your Mana and Spiritual Energy have been fully restored.]


    [You gained +5.000 Spirit!]


    [You gained +20.000 Mana!]


    [Due to the surplus and rich essence of a Rank 8 Spirit Orb flowing through your body, your Spiritual Magic Power, Spiritual Energy Restoration Speed, and Magic Power have temporarily increased by +300%!]


    [Duration: 10 Minutes.]


    ke faced the Elemental Storm as it shed against him with full force. Mammon didn''t stop there, quickly unleashing a myriad of other overwhelmingly powerful techniques. Magic spells of Rank 8 were also thrown down, and the skills and abilities of the Elf King''s Spirits unleashed together.


    mes, Ice, Stone, Metal, Darkness, Light, Water, Winds, and all sorts of other Spiritual Elemental Attacks rushed down, strong enough to easily slice through mountains and blow-up entire cities.


    "Die, Asmodeus! DIEEE!"


    Mammon wasn''t going to give up until he saw Asmodeus reduced to nothing but ashes!


    Yet¡­n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    "{Blood King''s Throne}"


    RUMBLE!


    Suddenly, ke''s Domain expanded, the Divinity of Blood and Destruction that Sangre had gifted to him shining the brightest, his powers overflowing through his surroundings. Everything turnedpletely crimson red, as a sea of crimson blood rushed down, swirling around ke endlessly.


    It shed against the dozens of Elemental Storms, Spells, and Techniques that Mammon unleashed against ke, as explosions of crimson blood energy erupted one after another.


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!


    "He''s withstanding my attacks?! I am a Rank 8 Spirit Master though?!" Mammon muttered in utter disbelief. "This can''t be possible! Is this bastard¡­?!"


    FLASH!


    However, before Mammon could think of anything else, ke appeared in front of him, amidst the smoke caused by all the explosions.


    His Blood King''s Throne apanied by, wrapped around his body like a crimson draconic and vampiric armor.


    ke''s silver, ck, and red draconic scales fused with the Throne''s powers, giving him a brand-new form.


    And with his sharp ws, he pointed a potent Spell at Mammon.


    One he used to blow up entire fleets of thousands of spaceships in the past.


    "{Blood Nova}"


    "Wha¡­?!"


    The sphere of crimson blood rushed towards Mammon, the Archdemon of Wrath desperately tried to destroy it, swinging all six des against it, six different waves of pseudo divine spiritual elemental energies shing against it.


    SLAAASH!


    Yet even as the Blood Nova was cut down, it kept moving.


    "What is this?!"


    Mammon quickly tried to escape the Blood Nova, only for a giant, silver-scaled dragon to suddenly appear out of an explosion of golden mes.


    "Huh?!"


    "You''re finally letting me join, you little bastard!"


    Bestellen roared, swinging all of his ws against Mammon and throwing him directly towards the Blood Nova- no, the dozens of Blood Novas that ke had conjured at once.


    "Bestellen, Ruby, now!"


    "Ooh!"


    "ROAR!"


    Bestellen charged Mana as he opened his jaws, unleashing a deadly breath attack capable of disintegrating anything. Ruby appeared above the skies as well, his pristine form, abination of crimson and golden scales as he had evolved into a mighty [Imperial Demonic Holy Blood Dragon] released his mighty pseudo divine aura, developed after drinking Bestellen''s blood.


    ke''s tamed beast opened his gigantic jaws, unleashing a golden breath attack of holy blood mes. And ke did the same, opening his jaws and unleashing his own dragon breath.


    Dozens of Blood Novasing from every single ce, three dragon breathsing from above, behind, and the front. Mammon waspletely and utterly outmatched, as he quickly harnessed all his powers into his body, creating a mighty Spiritual Barrier bybining the power of the Elf King''s spirits.


    Yet could that even be enough?!


    BOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOM!


    The Blood Novas hit first, erupting into thunderous and deadly explosions of condensed Divine Blood Essence that distorted space itself, the barrier Mammon conjured was quickly worn down, beginning to rapidly shatter.


    Crack, crack¡­!


    "FUCK!"


    As Mammon gritted his teeth and kept trying to resist or block the iing blows, the three dragon breaths hit at the same time, golden, silver, and crimson mes consuming him, engulfing his entire bodypletely into a divine, holy inferno!


    BOOOMMM!!!


    The explosion reached the skies, making the entire Rosenheim Dukedom trembled. Mammon tried to resist the destructive force, but his barrier had already shattered.


    "T-This can''t be¡­! How strong is he?! Who are those¡­? Damned dragons?!"


    The mes kept burning him, consuming his entire vessel. His armor started breaking and melting apart, his clothes burned, and his skin started to quickly be charred.


    Even with all the physical stats the King had umted and all the other skills he possessed, his physical body had yet to be an actual equal match to his own spiritual powers.


    This was a weakness that ke had noticed most Spirit Masters had!


    -----

 Chapter 1013: Mammons Frustration

    -----


    Even with all the physical stats the King had umted and all the other skills he possessed, his physical body had yet to be an actual equal match to his own spiritual powers.


    This was a weakness that ke had noticed most Spirit Masters had!


    Because theyck the knowledge to forge physiques, it would be very rare for them to even form one naturally, and although their stats would increase based on their Talents, the Spirit Orb only boosted Mana and Spirit energy.


    Meaning that even if they are tremendously strong magicians and spiritualists at Rank 8, their bodies are often falling behind in terms of power and vitality, even with all their stats after leveling so much.


    They had to rely on their Spiritual Powers to further reinforce their physical strength, and as he had investigated before, Spirit Masters battles were often wars of attrition of both magic, skills, and their summoned spirits.


    Even the King of all Elves fell into this weakness, his body quickly beginning to burn and disintegrating, as more and more Blood Novas started tearing through his body, leaving behind giant bloody holes.N?v(el)B\\jnn


    "AAARRGHH!"


    His arms were torn to shreds and the rest of his body kept being burned. Mammon continued trying to resist the endless barrage of attacks, but he was slowly wearing down.


    As ke kept attacking him, everyone else below the skies was fighting the endless army of aberrations, some of them already beginning to doubt their own resolve and question their decisions.


    The relentless attack of the aberrations, former citizens of the Rosenheim Dukedom continued endlessly, their bodies only growingrger and more monstrous.


    Yet, at the same time, the skies above turned purple and pink colored.


    Cattalina conjured her spell in that very moment, as pink petals started to fall from the skies.


    "Good night."


    Her eyes shone with bright pink light, as her Divine Dream Domain expanded across the entire city, resembling an endless wave of fluffy pink clouds and dark purple shadows.


    FLUOSH!


    The petals washed down over everything, as the entire battle suddenly came to a halt. Chris, Erika, Eric, Erdrich, Elizabeth, Alberta, and Elfriedden all nced in disbelief.


    "H-huh?"


    Chris was confronting a giant Demonic Aberration with multiple arms and head, yet the moment the pink petals touched it, it suddenly fell asleep, copsing on the floor.


    "What?"


    Eric also noticed the same thing, all the flying aberrations fell asleep, which he was constantly targeting with his wind arrows to put down. They simply fell from the skies and didn''t wake up nor regenerate.


    "This is mom''s doing!"


    Erika smiled, finally finding some hope as she saw her mother above the skies, her eyes glowing bright pink, fully concentrated into the endeavor of putting them all to sleep.


    "R-Rosenheim? Mother?" Elfriedden muttered, as the tongues of his brother Sapphirus stopped wrapping around him. "Sapphirus? What?"


    He saw them fall, not dead, but asleep. He gasped for air, falling to his knees and sighing in some sort of relief. The nightmare had been stopped, even if for a few minutes.


    "Hahh¡­ Hahh¡­"


    The young elf prince sighed in relief, as he noticed Cattalina above the skies, this spell wasn''t one of one-time use and be done with it. She had to continuously concentrate on suppressing the minds of all the demonic aberrations.


    And that was over twenty thousand people, the total poption of survivors of Rosenheim Dukedom. Twenty thousand minds she had to suppress, constantly concentrating into making them sleep.


    "T-This is harder than I imagined¡­" she muttered. "Their minds are too corrupted by the demonic soul parasite¡­ Ah, I can''t keep this up for too long."


    Even at Rank 8, Cattalina had her own limits as well, the power to easily control twenty thousand minds was already incredible, but she couldn''t keep up forever!


    "Lady Cattalina!"


    Elizabeth flew towards her, conjuring her magic to keep her healthy and also refresh her stressed mind. A veil of holy light covering the half-elf''s body.


    "Thank you, Elizabeth. But don''t waste your time with me, I am fine," Cattalina said, looking into the distance. "Hurry! You have to go help ke! That wicked Archdemon is still not dead! ke alone might not be able to handle what''sing next¡­!"


    "What''sing next?!" Elizabeth asked.


    "By suppressing their minds, I''ve seen things¡­!" Cattalina gritted her teeth. "That monster¡­ He is about to draw their power, if he draws the power of twenty thousand people, can you imagine how strong it could be?!"


    "It can do that?!" Elizabeth panicked.


    "HURRY! BEFORE IT''S TOO LATE!"


    "Y-Yes!"


    As Mammon burned constantly, his Demonic Soul, having already devoured the soul of the Elf King, started twisting, constantly trying to keep his vessel from being destroyed.


    "ASMODEUSSS¡­! Y-YOUUUU¡­! I WILL SHOW YOU¡­! I WILL SHOW YOU THAT I AM MUCH STRONGER THAN BEFOREEEE!"


    With a furious, resentful scream, Mammon''s Demonic Powers finally emerged, merging with the Elf King''s Spiritual Powers, the original Spirits of the Elf King, who had been tricked into thinking it was him, panicked as they realized something else entirely was trying to control them.


    "M-Master?!"


    "Where is master?"


    "S-Stop this! It hurts¡­!"


    "No¡­! Master¡­!"


    "SHUT UP! YOU''RE NOTHING BUT MY POWER!"


    Mammon roared, his demonic soul devoured all the spirits and then shattered the Elf King''s Spirit Orb, which was already being destroyed anyways. He devoured everything and mixed it together into a single new body.


    "{Spirit Fusion}!"


    FLAAASH!


    All the Spirits merged together into the Elf King''s body, alongside Mammon''s own powers. Thousands of rivers of Spiritual and Demonic Energy started connecting with his body.


    ke didn''t stop attacking him, Blood Novas, Blood Apocalypses, Abyss Stars, and Silver Novas constantly bombarding over his body, as he began to prepare a powerful spear attack to finish everything off!


    "Do you think I''ll let you transform in front of my face?! Ruby, Bestellen, keep him busy!"


    ke quickly summoned two hundred flying dragon familiars, which also started firing their attacks at Mammon.


    At the same time, he rushed down, with his spear at hand, his multitude of energies and powers converging together into a single one.


    Mammon attempted to stop him with shockwaves of converged spiritual and demonic powers.


    Yet¡­


    ke pierced through it all, his spear piercing Mammon''s chest as both his spear and body passed through it!


    CLAAASH!


    -----

 Chapter 1014: Unleashing Everything!

    -----


    As Mammon was forcefully devouring and fusing with the spirit orb of the elf king and his eight different spirits, all while unleashing his demonic soul''s powers, he felt a tremendously sharp pain pierce his reforming body and his demonic soul.


    It was ke''s spear, which against all odds, had managed to reach him in time! A spear that was not only thebination of Gluttony and Envy, but also of ke''s [Divine Light Sword] through the power of [Fusion].


    [You have temporarilybined the Demonic Weapons [Envy] and [Gluttony] together with the [Divine Light Sword: Lv5] Skill''s effects, temporarily creating the {Holy Demonic Divine Weapon}: [Heavenly Demonic Holy Abyssal Eclipsing Spear Of the End: Ragnar?k]!]


    [The {Holy Demonic Divine Weapon}: [Heavenly Demonic Holy Abyssal Eclipsing Spear Of the End: Ragnar?k] power is unstable due to its used materials! Usage time has been reduced to 15 Minutes.]


    [The power of the Fusion Weapon overflows through your body and your surroundings, a {Demonic Holy Storm Of Destruction} epasses everything within a fifty-meter vicinity of you!]


    Holy Power and Demoni Power fused together, both powers canceled each other instantly, creating an enormous storm of deadly ck and white explosions.


    "Asmodeus¡­ You bastard!"


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!


    Before Mammon could do anything else, an endless storm of explosions engulfed him, and not only around his surroundings, no.


    The deadly Demonic Holy Storm of Destruction was conjured inside of Mammon''s very soul and body, his entire body beginning to swell and explode,rge chunks of his body and soul being torn apart piece by piece.


    "GRYYYAAAGGH!"


    Mammon resisted the agony as he kept absorbing the power of the people he had infected, their Spiritual Powers and Mana surging into his body which was being constantly torn to pieces.


    "YOU WON''T DEFEAT ME SO EASILY!"


    With a ferocious roar, his entire body shapeshifted into countless of ferocious dragon-looking heads, opening their jaws to bite through ke''s entire body.


    His hard scalesbined with his armor and his extra stats were simply not enough to resist the damage of Mammon''s endless jaws, as ke was quickly forced to employ his Divinity.


    CRASH! CRASH! CRASH!


    "UUGGH?! What is that?! A divinity?!"


    Mammon screamed in utter disbelief as he finally realized what ke possessed, a Divinity from a God of this world, from a Divine Dragon of ancient times, Bestellen.


    "Took you pretty long to realize what it was, bastard?!"N?v(el)B\\jnn


    ke was furious, quickly unleashing a barrage of piercing blows with his spear, explosions of light and darkness erupting across the skies, making everything tremble!


    However, despite how powerful ke was and how much damage he was doing to Mammon, the bastard Archdemon of Greed was not going down.


    He kept regenerating and absorbing more and more spirit and mana energy, his body regenerating faster than the internal storm inside of him could destroy him.


    "You''ve grown tremendously strong, I would say even stronger than before, you fucking monster!"


    Mammon roared, his countless jaws constantly biting through ke''s Divinity as ke''s spear pierced through the heads, making them blow up into pieces. Mammon kept charging against him, as several beams of demonic crimson energies were fired, charged with the elf king''s rainbow spiritual aura.


    BOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOM!


    ke''s Divinity protection slowly started to gain more and more cracks, he was honestly surprised, Mammon was tremendously powerful! He couldn''t believe that he had let this monster grow so strong this entire time, below everyone''s noses.


    He had pretty much turned the entire elven continent into his yground, a perfect ce for him to be the strongest, and he even was able to parasitize and absorb the entire powers of the strongest man of the continent, the Elf King himself.


    "Too bad I''ve also be plenty strong myself, ASMODEUS!"


    With a furious roar, no longerughing, Mammon''s shapeshifting and regenerating body quickly grew a dozen giant, muscr arms, punching ke''s entire body and pushing him down into the ground.


    "DIE!"


    BAAM! BAAM! BAAM! BAAM!


    Each blow was like a huge explosion capable of splitting a mountain, ke resisted it using hisbined Divinity Protections and his Auras and Domains condensed into a powerful invisible-looking armor wrapped around his body, however, thebined power of the Elf King and Mammon was too much.


    Crack, crack¡­!


    "Fuck! Is he really breaking my Divinity?!" ke thought. "How strong is he?! I''ll have to-"


    "DIEEEE!"


    Mammon acted quicker than ke could think, his entire body quickly fused and shapeshifted together into a massive fleshy and bony spear, rushing towards ke and piercing his divinity.


    CLAAASH!


    "NGH?!"


    ke gritted his teeth as the spear started piercing deeper and deeper, he wanted to counterattack, but if he pulled out the spear from Mammon, he would lose the only way that was stopping him from bing even stronger.


    "BESTELLEN! RUBY!"


    As he roared while conjuring Blood King''s Throne and Call of the Night, Bestellen and Ruby rushed down, attacking Mammon with their magic and draconic breaths, explosions of golden and silver mes bombarded the aberrant demon, his body being torn to pieces constantly only to regenerate more.


    "GRAAAH! YOU DAMN FUCKERS!"


    Mammon had no more politeness within him, quickly shapeshifting his back to reveal a pair of enormous, glowing arms made of pure spiritual energy and then summoning two rainbow des from them.


    "{Elemental Storm}!"


    ke saw as Mammon spun his entire body with both gigantic des, unleashing a drastically more powerful Elemental Storm than the one from before, the heavens above split as wind, lightning, fire, ice, water, stone, darkness, and light were unleashed everywhere.


    BOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOM!


    As ke resisted the explosions by condensing his strongest magic barriers with his divinity together, Mammon noticed over two hundred Familiars appearing around him, which were quickly torn to shreds by his attacks.


    "Hahaha! Is this what you had in mind, Asmodeus?! It wasn''t even enough, you weak fucking piece of shit!" Mammonughed, insulting ke to no end. "Now fucking DIE already!"


    As a giant spear of bone and flesh rushed towards ke, the young man smiled.


    "Go fuck yourself, Mammon!"


    And a crimson rune activated within the spear incrusted on mammon''s chest.


    [The effects of the {Vampiric Stigma: Sanguine Fury} have been activated.]


    -----

 Chapter 1015: The Archdemons Resilience

    -----


    ke smiled.


    Mammon''s demonic yes widened all across his body.


    And a crimson rune glowed within the spear incrusted into his chest.


    A power that fueled itself by the damage all surrounding allies took within a certain vicinity.


    Yes¡­


    Ding!


    [The effects of the {Vampiric Stigma: Sanguine Fury} have been activated. For every 1000 Health Points lost from the wielder or any ally within a 50-meter vicinity, increases Damage Dealt by +1% (Max: +5.000%) for 10 Minutes. However, after the timing is off, you take 50% of the damage you dealt, your HP cannot go below 1.]


    [Current Bonus: +5.000%]


    [Duration: 10 Minutes.]


    Suddenly, the power of the {Demonic Holy Storm Of Destruction} constantly exploding inside of Mammon''s soul and body was enhanced by five thousand percent.


    The result?N?v(el)B\\jnn


    Absurd!


    BOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOM!


    The explosions blew up huge chunks out of Mammon''s soul and body, so many that he had to keep expanding himself to not take even more damage, the only thing this caused is for his own energies to exhaust even faster.


    Countless holes were being constantly drilled through his body and soul, as Mammon constantly attempted to tear apart the flesh attached to the spear, but the spear would move on its own, piercing him constantly over and over again!


    "If I only didn''t have this damn spear¡­! FUCK! AAAAGGGHH!"


    With a scream of utter agony, Mammon quickly started to do the impossible, invoking a huge demon gate inside of his own soul, to draw power from.


    "My pathetic demons, be useful to me, YOU FUCKERS!"


    "What is this bastard doing now?! Stop him!"


    ke, Bestellen, and Ruby rushed to stop Mammon, as the giant demon gate opening within his souls tarted to suddenly tremble, and hundreds of demons surged out from it!


    However, Mammon knew they were just going to be pathetic fodder against ke, he summoned them for another reason entirely.


    To be his fuel and flesh!


    "Gyyyaaagh!"


    "Master Mammon?!"


    "W-What are you- UGH¡­!"


    "Stop!"


    Even the Demons themselves didn''t agree to this, as they saw in horror as Mammon''s constantly destroying and regenerating body opened countless maws and started devouring and assimting hundreds of lesser demons, absorbing their blood and flesh as his own to keep up with the fervent damage that the spear was causing to him.


    "GRAAAAAHHH!"


    Mammon was slowly losing his mind as the damage and regeneration he had to go through constantly started to exhaust his mind and soul, countless eyes appeared around his form as he became an aberrant humanoid-shaped entity made of pure red flesh, crimson and rainbow eyes, and dozens of arms, legs, heads, and tails.


    And a pair of rainbow-colored wings surging from his back, which quickly spread out the Divine Rainbow Spirit Aura of the Elf King, now powered up by the thousands of people he had parasitized, epassing him as a rainbow armor of light!


    Even as he was taking constant damage due to the spear, Mammon was going this far!


    Now being over two hundred meters of height, his crazed and titanic body quickly targeted anything around him, losing his mindpletely.


    Dozens of enormous arms aimed down, summoning spears, swords, axes, and other weapons made out of spiritual energies beingbined with demonic energy.


    "Die! All of you die and be my flesh and blood! My power¡­! I will own it all, this¡­ everything is mine! MINE! MINE!


    MINEEEE!"


    As the Archdemon of Greed, Mammon only knew one thing, to grab it all, to obtain everything, to steal it, to pige it, and if he can''t have it¡­


    Then he''ll destroy it! He can''t let anybody else have it than him!


    Content source m-vl|em|p,yr


    "RAAAAHHH!"


    With a furious roar, all the eyes of his body opened, firing countless of rainbow-coloredsers towards the city below, piercing through the buildings and making them copse one after another.


    BOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOM!


    At the same time, he pointed his massive weapons towards the ground, where the sleeping demonic aberrations, formerly all the elves of the city, were resting!


    "YOU''RE MINEEEE¡­! I''LL EAT YOU ALL! MINE!"


    With a furious and maniacughter, Mammon''s weapons rushed down, about to cut and sh everyone into countless pieces. ke was unable to get in time, Mammon''s energies were constantly releasing a powerful pressure that at his full power, he could barely get through, severely slowing him down!


    "STOP!"


    And in that moment, something happened, several shes of bright golden and white light surged from the skies. The heavens above cleansedpletely to reveal the bright night and the moonlight.


    But it was so bright, that it seemed like the day!


    Holy light rushed down, all-powerful beams piercing Mammon''s entire body, as giant chains of light wrapped around his many arms, lifting them up and stopping him from killing everyone.


    "Elizabeth!"


    ke''s eyes widened as he saw Elizabeth in her Angelic Spirit form, having fused with all her Angelic Spirits at once, the [Juvenile Angelic Guardian], [Seraphin of Rejuvenation], and the [Heavenly Messenger Dove]!


    She lookedpletely different, her blonde hair having turnedpletely bright, made of white light, her eyes shining with silver light, as golden crosses glowed in them instead of pupils, and with three pairs of giant, white colored and feathered wings.


    And of course, a beautiful golden halo floating above her head, she looked like a true Archangel!


    "{Heaven''s Domain}!"


    Using her exclusive Domain belonging to this powerful transformation, Elizabeth reimed a part of heaven itself as her domain, using its endless powers to conjure giant Holy Chains, temporarily restraining Mammon, while enormous eyes of golden light opened in the skies, firing sunlight beams that pierced his body to weaken him.


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!


    "UUUAAARRGH! LET ME GO!"


    With a ferocious and annoyed scream, Mammon started breaking out of the chains, the explosions inside of his body continued through ke''s spear, so he was constantly taking damage, the pain making him go insane.


    Crack, crack¡­!


    As the chains were about to break already, however, another figure appeared, a small figure, a girl with long pink hair, wielding an enormous ck and gold sword.


    "ke!"


    "Erika!"


    The two didn''t even need tomunicate any n, rushing towards Mammon at once. ke quickly summoned his Unique Familiars, while Erika summoned her Spirit Familiars.


    Like two falling stars, they shed against Mammon''s gigantic body from left and right.


    CLAAASH!


    -----

 Chapter 1016: Going All Out!

    -----


    ke remembered he was not truly alone!


    Elizabeth, and now Erika!


    Right, he had friends, he had people he could rely.


    He wasn''t on this alone.


    He would never be alone, in fact.


    "Fausto, Ezekiel, Dominus!"


    His shadows flickered, as his Domain of Shadows and Blood, thebination of the effects of the Blood King''s Throne and the Call of the Night Skills opened, three powerful Summons surged.


    These were ke''s Unique Familiars, raised from eggs all the way to these powerful forms. Dominus, the [Living Infernal Demonic Spirit Axe] quickly moved towards ke''s hands, zing with demonic and spiritual mes.


    Fausto, the [Bone Chimera Beast Titan] used its enormous size to throw Mammon off-bnce, tearing through his flesh and armor with thousands of sharp as mithril bones.


    BAAAM!


    And Ezekiel, the [Scarlet Umbral Ghoul Banshee] divided herself into a hundred clones of herself made out of blood energy and phantasmal essence, attacking all of Mammon''s eyes and piercing them with her sharp daggers made of materialized shadows.


    SLASH! SLASH! SLASH!


    At the same time, Erika''s aura erupted, her entire body started to growrger andrger, until from within her back, a gigantic draconic w surged, made of wood and golden scales, shing against Mammon and tearing through several arms at once!


    CLAAASH!


    "GRRAAAGGH!"


    Mammon had no time to break out the chains, as he was being attacked continuously by ke and Erika, tearing through his armor and flesh with ease.


    "Fater, Erika! Don''t let the bastard even think!"


    "YEAH!"


    Erika kept unleashing her true powers, her sword ring with golden and green mes, as she gritted her teeth, her two eyes glowed with zing draconic mes.


    "{Yggdrasil Dragon Swordsmanship Arts}: {Yggdragon''s Jaws}!"


    She swung her sword horizontally and vertically at the same time, as an enormous shing wave surged from her sword, shaped into the form of a massive draconic jaw biting through Mammon''s entire body at the same time as her sword started slicing through his flesh and armor!


    SLAAASH!


    "NOW!"


    As she did that, while already having fused with her Dream Dragon to undergo Spirit Draconification and wielding a secondary Cursed de from her Knight Summon, she ordered her first ever summon, the Doll House, to unleash their power at full.


    Back then, she could only summon at most a few dozen, a handful¡­ but right now, it waspletely different! Hundreds of enormous dolls materialized one after another.


    And these dolls then transformed into giant weapons through Erika''s {Spirit Weaponization}, representing each of the doll''s "professions", zing swords, icy axes, thunderous staffs, storming spears, and move all rushed towards Mamon.


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!


    And then started impaling, shing, hacking, and bombarding his wounds, the very wounds Erika was constantly inflicting upon his body.


    At the same time, she wielded both of her swords as much as she could, shes constantly cutting through Mammon without end, making it very difficult for him to regenerate easily, as each of her shes left the wounds burning with Yggdragon mes, her own unique dragon fire!


    SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLAAASH!


    At the same time, ke used Dominus enormous firepower, weight, and strength to cut through Mammon''s entire torso, swinging his giant axe as fast and as powerfully as possible, constantly activating all of Dominus Abilities whilebining them with his own.


    Strong Strike, Vertical sh, Crush, Burning Wounds, Searing Inferno, Armor Breaker, Infernal Strikes, Domain of shing mes, Absolute Cut¡­!


    And¡­


    [Awakening Skill]: [Thousand des+]!


    FLUOSH!


    Dominus suddenly spread out its infernal, shing domain as suddenly, thousands of copies of itself appeared! ke roared furiously, rushing down as he fused the mes with his Divinity and his draconic and demonic powers at once.


    At the same time, Dominus became asrge as fifty meters, ultimately slicing through Mammon''s half of his body entirely, flesh, everything was cut off clean!


    SLAAASH!


    And then, the "copies" of Dominus activated, as a thousand simr attacks struck Mammon, the other half ke shed didn''t regenerated or reattached itself, was it was cut a thousand times, being reduced to burning shreds, and ashes!


    SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH!


    BOOOM!


    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    ke rushed through the smoke caused by the explosions, noticing the interior of Mammon, there was the giant demonic gate there, constantly pouring demons which were then instantly assimted into his body.


    At the same time, his spear was still incrusted into his "core", arge sphere of demonic flesh and spiritual soul, constantly trembling and exploding, and endlessly regenerating back.


    "This bastard¡­ Give me back my spear!"


    "NOOO!"


    Mammon roared, without wanting ke to get to him, he quickly twisted his gigantic body, countless tendrils wrapped around the enormous wound, as he tried to quickly patch the hole inside of him that led to his weaker interior.


    "ASMODEUSSSS!"


    With a ferocious roar, he rushed towards ke, giant draconic jaws surrounding himpletely. ke swung Dominus around, spinning in midair and unleashing severalbined techniques from both his own knowledge and also Eleanora, who he had been fused with all this time!


    "Get off my way, bastard!"


    SLASH! SLASH! SLASH!


    ke kept cutting and burning, as hard as he could, as fast as he could!


    However, the bastard of Mammon continued regenerating and regrowing new tendrils, and the path to his internal body was rapidly being closed.


    At the same time, and to make things even more annoying, hundreds of spirits started pouring out of his flesh, they had countless different appearances, but were corrupted with demonic energy into demonic spirits.


    "What? Those spirits¡­!" ke muttered. "They aren''t from the Elf King!"


    No, he was not wrong, those were indeed not from the Elf King.


    All these hundreds of spiritsing to defend Mammon weren''t his either!


    They were "borrowed" and corrupted with his demonic powers, and indeed.


    They were from all the elves he had parasitized!


    "The Spirits of the elves! Why?!" Erika cried. "You monster! STOP TORTURING THESE PEOPLE!!!"


    Erika desperately screamed as she shed against a hundred demonic spirits at once, shing and sting everything with her sword and magic.


    ke was in a simr situation, once more unable to advance further!


    "Dammit! This won''t be enough; we won''t make it in time!"


    Elizabeth was busy keeping Mammon in ce, she couldn''t help beyond this!


    What now?


    FLUOSH!


    A wave of frost surged from Mammon''s foot, quickly rising all the way into his wound, stopping the regeneration.


    "Don''t think you''re doing this alone, ke."


    Reinforcements arrived.


    -----

 Chapter 1017: Everyone Attacks

    -----


    A wave of frost rapidly froze most of Mammon''s legs and then spread into his wound, stopping the regeneration of it entirely! This was the frost nobody else than Elfriedden could conjure, back then it wasn''t this powerful to begin with, but after training, leveling, and cultivating all this time, the blue haired elf prince hadpletely changed.


    His ice was nearing the level of pseudo divinity, and after he was able to equip all his Spirits into his body and then conjure Spirit Weaponization inbination with the Frost Buff Cards granted by ke, he had even found a brand-new transformation, a form of his own that surpassed all his limits by fusing all his spirits powers together with the power of the draconic skills he had learned.


    "{Spirit Weaponization}: {Divine Frost Dragon Armor}!"


    With the power of Frost''s Buff Cards fused into his body, the Fusion Familiar Ice Dragon, created by ke after merging countless Ice Bombs and his Draco Familiar Spirits, Elfriedden''s power reached apletely new height.


    It was as if all necessary things miraculously aligned together, creating a power that rivaled pseudo divinity. The power of two Frost Buff Cards, Elfriedden''s dragon skills, his developing ice dragon physique, and all his spirits, including the dragon-themed equipment spirits.


    It all came together into a single, almighty form!


    FLAAASH!


    His body instantly grew asrge five meters, or well, his armor did. Flesh and ice merged together as one, as Elfriedden felt he became ice, and ice became him. Draconic power surged through his body, until his new form emerged.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    A giant made of frost, wearing an almighty draconic armor glistening with azure and white light, with fourrge, frozen draconic wings, and four enormous frost-made arms.


    His helmet resembled a ferocious dragon.


    At longst, the bastard''s dream finally became true!


    "Did you think I would let you do this alone, ke?!"


    With a ferocious and prideful roar, the elven prince stepped into the battlefield, his gigantic new form rushing across the skies. His four enormous arms summoning giant spears and des, freezing and cutting through hordes of demonic spirits at once.


    SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH!


    CRAAASH!


    "Don''t hesitate to destroy them! Spirits don''t matter, the only thing that matters is the life of the citizens!" Elfriedden roared. "Erika, don''t hesitate!"


    "Elfriedden?!" Erika gasped as she saw his new form. "Roger that!"


    Erika didn''t hesitate anymore, her giant des cutting through all the spirits at once, as she controlled an iing wave of hundreds of weapons, her weaponized spirit dolls, and cut through more and more of the spirits, which exploded into countless pieces one after another.


    Stay with m_vl_em_p_yr


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!


    "Well said, Elfriedden! d to see you here!"


    ke also rushed forward, noticing how Elfriedden''s frost had evolved to the point it could achieve a temporary divine form, the regeneration of Mammon was finally halted!


    "Shut up, you bastard! There''s no time to even speak!" Elfriedden roared, shing against more and more demonic spirits. "We have to kill that thing before it destroys whatever is left of my country!"


    Elfriedden had gone through countless emotions today, from hatred towards his friend after he thought he betrayed him, to sorrow after seeing his family bing monsters that tried to kill and eat him.


    At one point, he had given uppletely to despair, and had even almost allowed his family to eat him alive, as long as he could end his suffering.


    But in that moment he was saved and saw them falling asleep.


    And then he saw ke fighting, always there, fighting for everyone!


    It made him both furious and frustrated that he had given up on life, while that bastard was still fighting, even after all the horrendous things that had happened.


    His pride as the prince simply couldn''t ept that!


    "You owe me a lot of exnations, ke!" he roared, his Aura of Frost endlessly surging like a powerful snowstorm, impacting Mammon''s body and quickly freezing more and more of his body.


    "GRUUUAAAGGH!"


    Mammon roared in agony and pain, swinging his countless arms and tendrils, and firing beams of rainbow light against him. Yet Elfriedden quickly blocked all attacks with his weapons, freezing the iing limbs and then shattering them into pieces, while reflecting the beams of light with his mirror-like armor.


    SLASH! SLASH! SLASH!


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!


    "You monster! You will pay for everything you''ve done to my beautiful country!" roared Elfriedden. "You''ll pay for killing and manipting father, and for even daring to turn my beloved family and my Rosenheim into monsters! I WON''T STOP UNTIL I FREEZE YOU AND TEAR YOU TO COUNTLESS PIECES!"


    Elfriedden''s rage knew absolutely no bounds, his powers kept rising and rising, surprising Erika, Elizabeth, and ke even more. His soul itself red out of his body, resembling a ferocious ice dragon, roaring and opening its jaws.


    "RAAAAH!"


    With a mighty and prideful roar, thest elven prince unleashed a devastating ice dragon breath, shing against Mammon''s entire body and constantly freezing his chest!


    BOOOM!


    Mammon was unable topletely melt the ice, his demonic mes and even his rainbow spirit mes could only slow it down barely! He gritted his countless jaws, quickly and desperately conjuring long-distance demon magic.


    "DIEEE!"


    Suddenly, as Elfriedden let his rage take over his own judgement, dozens of golden magic circles appeared around him, and giant hands of gold surged from within.


    They connected directly to Mammons'' demonic treasury, madepletely out of all sorts of valuable materials, but mostly gold!


    "{Greed King''s Hand of Gold}!"


    BAAAM! BAAAM! BAAAM! BAAAM!


    Elfriedden was assaulted by countless blows striking him from above, below, from the left and right, behind and in the front!


    Yet he resisted, as hard as he could! His grit his teeth tightly as his blue eyes shone brightly, freezing waves constantly tried to freeze the gold, but it was not working.


    "DAMMIT!"


    As Elfriedden kept battling Mammon''s Hands of Gold, more reinforcements arrived. Not only was it Bestellen and Ruby fighting against them with their enormous bodies and powerful breath attacks, but the rest of the party finally made it here.


    And amidst them, a giant made of wood and metal appeared.


    And fired from enormous zing cannons!


    BOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOM!


    -----

 Chapter 1018: Elfriedden Surpasses His Limits

    -----


    Yes, it was not an illusion! What emerged amidst the background was a giant, a titan of over a hundred meters of height,posed entirely out of wood¡­ and metal!


    ke, Erika, Elizabeth, and Elfriedden noticed the iing entity, giant metallic and wooden cannons opened on itsrge shoulders, six in a row, in both of them, firing twelve cannons at once.


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!


    The bombardment of explosions was surreal, the enormous firepower they carried was enough to blow up the Hands of Gold into pieces, sttering liquid gold into the ground below constantly.


    ke quickly sensed two powerful presences within the wooden and metallic titan, this entire titan was nothing but the result of Eric and Alberta''sbined power!


    "It''s really them¡­!" he gasped. "Just how do they keeping out with these abilities?! My friends¡­ They''re surpassing their own limits and going even further! Did I ever teach them any of this?!"


    ke never did, all these incredible powers and techniques were their own unique inventions, after cultivating their physiques and magic circles, after learning and mastering skills, after learning how to transform, summon, andbine the power of spirits¡­


    This was the result of all of that, and more!


    "Yeah, it is us, ke, everyone!"


    Eric''s voice reverberated from the giant made of wood and zing metal, its giant arms quickly moving towards Mammon, opening to reveal two enormous cannons, ring with powerful mes.


    "We''ve found out that we weren''t strong enough alone¡­ So we decided to merge our strength!"


    Alberta''s voice echoed from inside the metallic and wooden titan, the cannons quickly started to gather energy. Their spiritual powers were incredibly attuned together, the bond between Eric and Alberta had advanced to the point they created a technique to temporarilybine their Spiritual Souls and Auras together.


    And not only that, but also their Spirits! This Titan was not justposed of one, but of all of their spirits into one, with both of them in the core, metal, wood, and firebined together, ring with tremendous power.


    "Fire cannons!" Eric roared.


    "FIRE!" Alberta said.


    The cannons were fired, two enormous projectiles quickly reached Mammon, the huge explosions blowing a quarter of his body into ashes, as he quickly fell into the city below!


    BOOOM! BOOOM!


    Mammon''s entire body was being attacked from all sides, it was as clear as water that the amount of damage he was umting was slowing down even the amount of power he could draw from the spiritual energy of the infected people, and even from the demons he was eating.


    "Y-YOU BASTARDS¡­!"


    RUMBLE!


    With a furious and crazed roar, Mammon''s ws pierced the ground of the city, the ground below trembled wildly, as demonic mes and rainbow spiritual energies converged into corrupted, multi-colored demonic spirit fire, erupting as infernal volcanoes appeared across the entire city one after another!


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!


    The attacks aimed wildly at just anything, but they helped Mammon gain some stability as he attempted to regain his footing, the mes hitting his back easily allowed him to stand back up!


    And of course, the mes also started to draw closer to the sleeping demonic aberrations, Elfriedden panicked, after only being rescued a second earlier, he rushed down, using his new powers at his fullest.


    "I won''t let you! {Divine Ice Dragon''s Breath}!"


    His Aura transformed into over five gigantic draconic heads, unleashing breath attacks at once, the rays of frost quickly turned off the mes and formedrge walls defending the sleeping and unconscious people.


    However, the mes were never-endingly expanding, Elfriedden had to spend most of his time trying to protect the people at the end!


    "Dammit, where are those two fire wielders when you need them the most?!" Elfrieddenined. "I''ll have to create an ice dome at this point!"


    He started to rapidly erect a huge barrier of ice, no, several of them at the same time, and quickly interconnected them into an enormous dome of ice that epassed the people that had been turned into demonic aberrations, protecting them with a diamond-like divine ice.


    "Rosenheim, mother, Sapphirus, just wait for me!"


    Elfriedden then jumped forward, charging against the endless me waves with his bare body, his Spiritual Powers erupting and unleashing their power to their maximum power, as his very presence unleashed a deadly snowstorm.


    "{Divine Ice Magic}: {Fimbulwinter}!"


    FLUOOOSH!


    A powerful wave of freezing divine winds shed against the endless sea of Demonic Rainbow Spirit mes, both powerful forces quickly seemed to be on a stalemate, but Elfriedden was slowly being pushed back!


    "Dammit! No, I can''t give up now¡­! I''ve obtained this new form, this new transformation¡­ I can''t give up, not yet¡­ For my family, for father¡­! I need to avenge them!"


    Elfriedden''s powerful and unique soul surged from his body once more, an azure-colored aura rapidly empowered his very existence, as his four weapons grew thrice asrge, and then¡­!


    Crack, crack¡­!


    "No! They''re breaking?!"


    His weapons were beginning to shatter, and his spirits, epassing his entire body, were also trembling, they were in pain!


    "What is it?! Why can''t we continue!" heined. "Please, don''t¡­ don''t give up yet¡­!"


    And then, something came to his mind.


    The reason why his weapons weren''t working properly.


    And the reason why he had no weapon techniques at all.


    Needles.


    "I am a Tailor at the end of the day¡­ Right!"n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    As he resisted the mes trying to burn and melt his body, his four ws quickly materialized yet another new ice weapon.


    This time, it wasn''t even a weapon at all, but four giant needles, as sharp and thin as he could make them, they weren''t even spear-like anymore.


    "How could I ever forget the origin of my powers? The Talent I''ve hated this entire time; it is the one I must use now!" his azure draconic eyes lit up with inspiration. "I''ll sew these mes together and make them disappear! {Divine Ice Dragon Needle Arts}: {me Sewing}!"


    FLAASH! FLAASH! FLAASH! FLAASH!


    With four swings of his four needles, Elfriedden rushed forwards, sewing through the mes themselves and distorting them as if he were manipting space itself.


    FLUOSH!


    The mes started gathering together as ice threads wrapped around thempletely.


    And with a single spell, Elfriedden quickly finished all the mes, which seemed alive, with a st of pure ice!


    BOOOM!


    -----

 Chapter 1019 : Friends Together

    -----


    "SO DAMN COLD¡­! YOU BASTARDS!"


    Mammon roared with demonic fury, his demonic mes rapidly mixing with his spiritual powers once more, as he unleashed three more eruptions of mes from the ground.


    This time, aside from trying to cover his own body with them to melt Elfriedden''s Divine Draconic Ice, he fired some at him directly, from the left and right, all while he was already taking down a huge mass of living demonic spiritual mes.


    Because indeed, these mes were somewhat alive, they moved on their own, roared, and were pretty much chasing after targets. This was the reason they were so hard to kill! Mammon was figuring out a way to grant "life" to pretty much anything by fusing them with spiritual energy.


    "Dammit!"


    Elfriedden saw the two seas of rainbow and demonic mes approaching, quickly gripping his fists and attempting to escape, only for the mes he thought he had turned off to suddenly regain some of their power, forming giant chains wrapped around his legs!


    "SHAAAH!"


    The mes roared and hissed at him, showing hundreds of different, demonic headsing out from them, these mes were not just alive, they were synthetized out of the souls of the demons Mammon was constantly devouring!


    "What?! Ugh¡­! NO!"


    Elfriedden was about to encase himself on a dome of ice to resist the iing mes, while he used his sharp needles to destroy the mes beneath. However, that tactic alone was already too dangerous!


    BOOOM! BOOOM!


    Both Living Demonic Spirit mes shed against Elfriedden in thest moment, his dome of ice, a barrier of divine draconic frost he created around his body rapidly began to shatter and melt!


    Crack, crack¡­!


    "You have to be kidding me! I can''t handle this on my own?!"


    As he felt frustrated once more that Mammon was targeting him to this extent, Elfriedden tried to harness more and more of his icy powers, but the frost, although powerful, could not handle so many living mes at once.


    It was only natural, he was very strong, but there were limits even to the strong.


    "Where could those idiots have gone to now from- Ah!"


    As Elfriedden saw his barrier about to shatter, two figures rushed from the skies. Both were bratty teenager boys with overly muscr bodies, young warriors whose powerful bodies were epassed on mes of their own.


    "Missed us, knife ears?!"


    "You''re always getting yourself into trouble, don''t fight alone!"


    Chris swung his giant Spiritual Axe as his Spirits fused together around his body. While he was fused with his fox, the rest of his spirits converged together into a powerful crimson armor around his body.


    CLAAASH!


    The enormous impact that his attack unleashed into the mes pushed them back as the countless demonic souls thatposed them screamed in agony.


    At the same time, Erdrich, on his ck Demon form, shed against the mes, the golden tattoos spread across his body spread further and further, resembling zing golden mes.


    His bare fists stopped the mes and then, with a myriad of blows, the mes started to dissipate as his punches pierced through them, makingrge pieces of the living fire simply disappear!


    BAAM! BAAM! BAAM!


    Feeling happy that they finally managed to catch up, Elfriedden wasted no time, quickly finishing off the relentless living me below him with his needles, sewing through its entire body and then shing and piercing through it.


    SLASH! SLASH!


    CRASH!


    "Gryyeeeggh!"


    The living mes exploded into pieces and dissipated into pure smoke, as Elfriedden finally learned the thing truly died this time. He learned that to truly eliminate them, these living mes had to explode into smoke.


    "Keep hitting them, until they explode into smoke, they won''t'' die, don''t fall for their tricks!"


    Elfriedden assisted both Chris and Erdrich, theirbined efforts allowed them to quickly ovee this challenge, both living mes were overwhelmed, until they exploded.


    BOOM! BOOM!


    Their bodies explodedpletely into pure ck smoke, with no more mes left behind. It actually worked, just as Elfriedden had stated!


    "So that''s how it works, alright!" Chris nodded. "Though, you look a bit different, or is that my idea? Elfriedden¡­"


    "This is a new form I''ve taken, a new power I had no idea I possessed," Elfriedden answered. "But right now, there''s no time to talk about my incredible talent and powers, we have to quickly go assist everyone else, let''s go!"


    "Yeah, I was going to do it even if you didn''t tell us!" Erdrich charged first.


    Mammon noticed the three powerful young men approaching, his entire body continued birthing demonic spirits, as an army of three hundred demonic spirits of all shapes and sizes greeted them!


    "Demonic Spirits?!" Chris asked, shocked to see them here.


    "How can it create them so easily?!" Erdrich had bad memories about them.


    "Don''t mind their existence, just kill them!" Elfriedden said. "We must procure the safety of the citizens, their spirits¡­ are not important! Their lives are, destroy the spirits if they get in front of our path, don''t hesitate. As thest remaining member of the royal family, I give you permission!"


    As Elfriedden roared, Chris and Erdrich nodded, smiling, their bodies red with spiritual and demonic mes respectively. Their bodies bulged with stronger muscles as they quickly enhanced their physical prowess.


    "If you insist¡­!"


    "No mercy then!"n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Both zing giants rushed forward, Chris Axes and Erdrich Fists shed and tore through the Demonic Spirits with tremendous firepower. Within seconds, they had already gone through half of the army. These Spirits were strong, their power even beingparable to A+ Rank monsters.


    However, before this trio, they were nothing but fodder. Elfriedden stayed behind them, covering their backs from iing blows and summoning as many needles as he could, firing them as deadly projectiles.


    Due to his Talent and Skills, Elfriedden''s needles could deal bonus damage against anybody, and ended being much more lethal than any of his other projectile shapes.


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!


    As ke watched his friends cover that area, he and Erika decided to go all out, Mammon was already beginning to stand back up, his wings spread further, bingrger and more menacing.


    Despite all the damage he had taken, the Archdemon was nning something again!


    "Erika, release all your draconic power now, you have my permission!"


    "I''ll do!"


    Both of them transformed their bodies bing hundreds of meters tall!


    RUMBLE!


    A battle of titans was about to begin.


    -----

 Chapter 1020 : Everyone Goes All-Out

    -----


    "GRAAAHHH!"


    Mammon kept screaming, in both of the pain ke''s spear inflicted on him, and also on the pain of his overloaded power, which was already making the mad demon grow even madder.


    Yet his powers only continued growing and blossoming in strange ways, although his aberrant physical body was bleeding and dying, his wings, of rainbow color and made entirely out of spiritual energy, continued growing.


    To the point they started growingrge rainbow-colored eyes, looking at the entire world around him, and beginning to quickly charge energies.


    "Is he going to destroy the entire city?!"


    Elizabeth panicked, noticing that the wings and the eyes attached to them were sorge they could easily destroy the entire city with just two beams.


    It was indeed as Mammon said, if he can''t have it, then nobody else can.


    He''ll destroy anything that he can''t have, that was how the Archdemon of Greed worked.


    "I''LL DESTROY IT ALL! IF I CAN''T HAVE IT, THEN NOBODY WILL!"


    With a furious scream, his gigantic wings opened not just a pair, of several dozens of eyes, charging their tremendous power. He wasn''t just aiming at the city, no! He was also aiming at the distance, the city in the port, perhaps the veryst elven city that hadn''t been destroyed yet.


    "And you think I''ll let you?!"


    Elizabeth roared with fury, her two other Spirits quickly transforming, the Holy Dragon Spirit and the Mountain Turtle Spirits, which were now as high as Rank 5 after Elizabeth just recently Ranked up, fused together into apletely new weapon.


    "Use our power,ss!" the Holy Dragon Spirit said. "Thanks to you, we''ve be even stronger than the old man could have ever achieved!"


    "But thanks to his teachings and guidance, our power has been able to surpass even that," the Mountain Turtle said with an old, wise voice. "Elizabeth, let''s stop it together!"


    Elizabeth suddenly grabbed her weapons, a giant golden sword, the Holy Dragon Sword of Light, and a huge, stone-like shield, the Mountain Turtle''s Shield of Earth.


    Both of these weapons exuded not only spiritual, but divine power.


    It was as if the Spirit Orb that Ellergest had inherited into Elizabeth was further boosting their power, even though it was stuck at Rank 3 forever.


    Whenbined with her Spirit Orb at Rank 5, it could even reach a power simr to Rank 6!


    And it was in Rank 6 where Spirit Masters would begin to tap into Divine Powers.


    FLASH!


    Like golden lightning bolt, Elizabeth left the skies, her Heaven''s Domain still active even if she moved anywhere, as long as she were below it, it would always obey hermands.


    "{Heaven''s Chains: Strengthen}!"n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    With a singlemand, herrge quantities of Mana and Spiritual Energy, which she could temporarily draw from the sky itself, merged with the chains, strengthening them.


    The golden chains wrapped around Mammon''s body suddenly became heavier and stronger, and his powers were being also sapped away, bing more Mana for Elizabeth.


    Yeah, she wasn''t just going to watch in the sidelines anymore.


    "{Heaven''s Smite}!"


    Her giant sword moved downwards, growing several meters from its original size and swinging down, an enormous wave powered by the heavens themselves came down, shing through Mammon''s left wing and hurting several of his eyes before they could shoot any beam!


    BOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOM!


    Countless explosions of blinding golden light covered the archdemon''s spiritual wings, as they started bleeding and trembling in pain. Mammon noticed this immediately, as he sent a swarm of Demonic Spirits towards Elizabeth.


    Not only that, but the Demonic Spirits quickly merged together, forming a gigantic zing demonic fist, shing against her at full power!


    BAAAMMM!!!


    The impact alone would havepletely squashed her due to her low defensive and physical stats, but Elizabeth not only survived, but defended against it with an extremely heavy shield, the Mountain Turtle Shield, of course.


    "I won''t let a demon like you destroy any more lives, you monster!"


    With a furious roar, the Saintess expanded her Domain of Heaven, as the Heaven responded, golden eyes opened across the skies, firing beams of pure holy light, piercing through the wings and limbs of Mammon, and destroying the fusion between many Demonic Spirits with ease.


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!


    Countless explosions covered the titanic Archdemon, yet his powerful wings rapidly started regenerating again, and the other one which Elizabeth had yet to deal with was already about to fire its attack.


    "Ah, I won''t make it in time!"


    As she tried to stop it, she heard two huge explosions, shockwaves of tremendous powering from right behind her. One from Mammon''s left, and the other from his right.


    Where Erika and ke were just seconds ago!


    "What happened- Ah!"


    Elizabeth''s eyes widened as she saw two new titans enter the battlefield.


    One was a titanic monstrous and draconic bat, with arge jaw with giant, sharp fangs, giant crimson eyes and long,rge bat-like ears, it had multiple tails, each one resembling tentacles with sharp spear-like ends.


    His upper arms were gigantic, with long enough ws that could tear through anything, each finger interconnected with a big membrane, they were without a doubt the wings of a bat!


    Moving his giant, muscr hindlegs, the two-hundred-meter-tall titan jumped towards Mammon while opening its jaws, biting through the wing that was about to fire its beams, and tearing it to shreds!


    CRAAASH!


    "ke!"


    Elizabeth knew that the hideous titan that seemed to havee from the depths of hell itself was ke in his special transformation, [Embodiment of the Night], which allowed him to take upon the form of the Ancestor of all Vampires, the Primordial Beast of Bloodshed and Destruction, Camazotz.


    However, the other titan that had entered the battle was a surprise to her!


    "ROOOAARR!"


    A gigantic dragonposed entirely out of wood and golden scales appeared out of nowhere, with long, golden horns spreading upwards like a big crown. It had enormous wings, arms, and a long, thick tail.


    All made of wood and glittering gold!


    "Is that¡­ Erika?!"


    After Erika had eaten and absorbed the Divine Dragon Heart of Bestellen, she gained a new Skill, a new Power.


    Something that awakened her developing draconic powers to apletely new level.


    [Yggdrasil Guardian Embodiment: Yggdragon]!


    With her giant ws and her massive draconic jaws, Erika tore through the second wing of Mammon.


    CRAAASH!


    -----

 Chapter 1021: The Witch Of Dreams Resolve

    -----


    As a battle between titans underwent below, the Dream Domain of the Witch of Dreams, Cattalina, was growing constantly weaker, the power of the Demonic Aberrations which the people of the city had turned into was too much.


    Their corrupted minds and souls could not be easily contained within the Domain, and some of them suddenly started moving. Not fully awake, but they started roaming, walking, and acting while being asleep!


    "Dammit! Is this the extent of my abilities?"


    Erika''s mother gritted her teeth, her entire life she had specialized on the Elements of Dreams and Nightmares, the powers she was born with.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Always overwhelming and incredible, she often overpowered most foes, instantly making them fall asleep, she lived her life as a gifted witch with tremendous magical power and potential.


    However, as oftely, she had been constantly pushing herself to her limits to protect and help her dear daughter, whom she had given for dead long ago.


    Her husband not only aplished the impossible by reviving their daughter, but died before she could even thank him, or apologize to him for having left him after what happened to them.


    She med it all to him, incapable of seeing that she was also at fault for their breakup, and even more, incapable of seeing that the problem was right below her noses.


    It was one of her sisters that ended cursing her daughter, causing an early death to Erika¡­ She had given up on her, grieving her death, there was no way to revive the dead.


    However, her husband was different, what she had thought was wicked back then, ended bing the beacon for Erika topletely revive as a living being again.


    She wasn''t a monster or corrupted either, her mind, her soul, and her emotions, all remained pure, she grew up with her father only, barely having memories before her death, where she could barely talk.


    Though, she still remembered her mother''s face, and having heard her voice sometimes, it was because of this that little Erika wanted to meet her mother after so long.


    Her father died of old age, doing his best to revive her, not as a puppet, not as a human, but as someone strong enough that no damned curse could ever harm her again.


    A Spirit of Nature, and also a Dragon¡­


    A match made in heaven only possible through the Alchemy he researched heavily, and the materials he sought after for years.


    However, the deciding factor of Erika''splete revival was ke, the boy she fell in love, and her boyfriend.


    "ke¡­"


    She looked at ke''s form, a gigantic bat titan creature, and her daughter, a majestic dragon made of wood. Such sights were something that even in the fantastical world of Spiritias were ridiculous.


    Yet was there any point in questioning them? their transformations were born from their Skills, Magic, and Spirits, and they have already done plenty of ridiculous things themselves.


    Her daughter ate the Divine Heart of a Divine Dragon, an Ancient God. She already had talent draconic powers from having had her body remade using wyvern materials, which evolved as ke feed her Dragon Blood Elixirs.


    To obtain such a transformation, it seemed like the only natural result, as fantastical and ridiculous as it sounded.


    And as for ke, he possessed an endless arsenal of Familiars and the power of a "Vampire", part of his ss and "Physique", several concepts foreign to her that the boy had discovered.


    He was quite literally a genius after all, obtaining these powers, they perhaps aligned with his Skills.


    There were all kinds of crazy Skills in the world, Cattalina''s own skills were also ridiculous and were once seen and somethingpletely out of the world.


    With Elizabeth, the powerful Saintess help, ke and Erika had managed to corner the malevolent Archdemon to this extent.


    However, would they be able to defat him before Cattalina''s Dream Domain came undone?


    "Ungh¡­ For them, I have to do this for them¡­!" she gritted her teeth. "All of you¡­ {Spirit Fusion}!"


    She summoned her Dream Spirits, of all shapes and sizes, who quickly merged into her body, a sh of bright pink and dark purple light surged from her body.


    FLAAASH!


    Arge pair of fairy-like purple and pink colored butterfly-like wings appeared behind her back, pink antennas on top of her forehead, and dark purple exoskeleton growing in her arms and legs, with sharp insectoid ws.


    Most of her Spirits had the shape of either tools or insects that dwelled within dreams and nightmares, hence, whenever Cattalina unleashed her Spirit Fusion, she would merge with them and obtain a semi-insectoid appearance.


    Some thought of her as hideous, others thought her appearance was like that of the Ancient Fairies that once lived in this continent.


    Whatever was the case, after sharing the strength of all her Familiars at once, she gained enough power for her Dream Domain to expand rapidly around everywhere.


    FLUOSH!


    And with that, the power of her Dreams strengthened, the Demonic Aberrations trying to stand up and destroy their surroundings were less, but the pressure only increased more.


    "Even with this, to keep down hundreds of thousands of souls¡­!" Cattalina muttered. "I need help! Can someone- Ah!"


    Although all of ke''s party was fighting Mammon, not everyone was there. A group of powerful Spirits which ke had left patrolling the area and taking care of the Demonic Aberrations quickly appeared amidst the building''s rooftops.


    Armies of Undead walled the advance of the insomniac Demonic Aberrations, shing against them and pushing them back, cutting their limbs to temporarily keep them down. A little ghost girlmanding them.


    "Don''t let them get closer to where Mammon is!" she said.


    At the same time, a giant mass of golden sands created a powerful sandstorm, pushing away the aberrations. Sometimes even taking the shape of several hands, grabbing them, and putting them down, all conjured by a young, brown-skinned boy.


    "I won''t let you pass."


    The horrid creatures were also being stopped by swarms of insects emerging from the Domain of a half-insectnky and tall man, wearing a gue doctor mask, the poison he spread through sks and magic paralyzed and restrained the creatures too, dying their advance.


    "Don''t worry, Lady Cattalina, my lord is quite considerate."


    Cattalina felt relieved as she saw this scene.


    "Right, ke''s Vampire Spirits!" she smiled. "There''s hope¡­ We just have to hold on some more, just some more¡­!" she looked at the distance, as Mammon continued fighting the titans, the entire ground of the city trembled.


    -----

 Chapter 1022: Do Everything You Can!

    -----


    The Vampire Spirits all assembled together into arge squadron patrolling the city. Once they noticed the demonic aberrations started walking again even while being asleep, they quickly decided to stop them.


    Armies of Undead walled the advance of the insomniac Demonic Aberrations, shing against them and pushing them back, cutting their limbs to temporarily keep them down. A little ghost girlmanding them.


    "Don''t let them get closer to where Mammon is!" said little Saphira, her bright blue eyes shining as she felt rather proud of her army of Undead.


    She died prematurely in her previous life, and never had a real chance to fully explore her powers and abilities like right now or grow them to this extent.


    Aside from using her Undead, she conjured her various spells, waves of freezing phantasmal mes slowed them down, chains of soul sealing weakened their souls and made some of them go back to sleep, and more.


    At the same time, a giant mass of golden sands created a powerful sandstorm, pushing away the aberrations. Sometimes even taking the shape of several hands, grabbing them, and putting them down, all conjured by a young, brown-skinned boy.


    "I won''t let you pass."


    Eriant, the sandman boy that had a simr origin to Saphira, had died from a disease at a young age, even when ke, in that time named Asmodeus, had managed to save his from the oppressive invaders.


    But now, he was given a second chance by the side of ke, and as Vampire Spirit, no less. Just like Saphira, he was now given a new opportunity to grow his abilities and finally repay ke for everything he did for him on his previous life.


    The horrid creatures were also being stopped by swarms of insects emerging from the Domain of a half-insectnky and tall man, wearing a gue doctor mask, the poison he spread through sks and magic paralyzed and restrained the creatures too, dying their advance.


    "Don''t worry, Lady Cattalina, my lord is quite considerate."


    Hendrick knew the witch of dreams was doing her best, and quickly told her a few reassuring words, calming her down.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Cattalina felt relieved as she saw this scene.


    "Right, ke''s Vampire Spirits!" she smiled. "There''s hope¡­ We just have to hold on some more, just some more¡­!" she looked at the distance, as Mammon continued fighting the titans, the entire ground of the city trembled.


    RUMBLE!


    The two wings he was going to use to destroy everything were quickly destroyed, both ke and Erikapletely tore them apart from his body, explosions of rainbow-colored spiritual energy erupting one after another.


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!


    Mammon screamed in agony; his entire body was copsing. The amount of energy he was absorbing was not enough, and ke''s spear inside of his soul was going crazier with each passing second!


    However, the Demon kept resisting, endlessly. His demonic energy continued surging, mixing with spirit energy, his wings¡­ they were beginning to regrow anew, again!


    "Bastard, stop this!"


    "This damn fucker!"


    Chris and Erdrich immediately stepped into the battlefield, their zing axes and fists unleashing a myriad of explosive, zing attacks against Mammon. His massive wings started to copse yet again, only for his entire body to produce hundreds of demonic spirits to take care of them.


    "Agh, dammit, more of these?!"


    Chris swung his two axes against the iing Demonic Spirits. Thanks to the Blessing of the Holy Spirit of Fire Authority that ke obtained, he was now able to absorb Soul mes from foes he defeated, giving him an incredible boost to his stats like never before.


    Thanks to this, Chris went from being only second to the strongest fighters, to standing almost in the same level in terms of physical power.


    "{zing Spirit Axe Storm}!"


    He spun in midair, shing through all the demonic spirits within seconds, as a storm of zing spiritual mes erupted, consuming half of his foes within seconds, his attack was so strong it quickly impacted Mammon''s body, making arge part of him copse.


    CLAAASH!


    Tendrils and blood started pouring from the torn apart pieces of Mammon''s aberrant body, trying to regenerate yet again. As Chris drew closer, the flesh also changed, bing thousands of giant arms trying to catch him.


    "Fuck, are you kidding me?!"


    Chris desperately unleashed a storm of Spirit zing Meteors, one of his strongest spells against the iing hands, only for them to draw closer and begin hitting his zing spirit barriers, slowly beginning to shatter through them.


    CLASH! CLASH! CLASH!


    "Shit, this thing''s too big and it regenerates too quickly!"


    As Chrisined, he saw ke, Erika, and Elizabeths till fighting against Mammon, trying their best to wear it down. Elfriedden in the other case, kept its lower body frozen, inhibiting the titan''s ability to move. Thank to the elf prince, Mammon was only a sitting duck, waiting to get attacked.


    SLAAASH!


    Chris swung both of his axes again, a wave of mes shed through dozens of giant hands at once, only for the rest to reach him! He tried to escape, but they barely managed to grab his leg, dragging him towards his death.


    "No way!"


    BAAAM!


    But before that could ur, a half-demo descended from the skies, and with a single, mighty step, crushed all the hands into smithereens, making blood, flesh, and bones stter everywhere.


    "Hey, don''t get yourself killed now, Chris!"


    Erdrich reprimanded Chris, only making the reckless boy more frustrated than anything.


    "Shut up! I was hanging out just fine, but thanks anyways!"


    "You need to be more honest buddy, you''re happy I saved your life, right?"


    "I don''t think there''s anytime to argue right now, Erdrich, focus!"


    Chris and Erdrich jumped from limb to limb, burning, crushing, and shredding through them, constantly keeping Mammon distracted, as the Archdemon kept spending his energy and resources into recovering his lost limbs.


    RUMBLE!


    At the same time, the third titan arrived in the scene, its giant wooden and metallic arms shing against Mammon, whose arms were getting ready to unleash a barrage of meteor fist strikes.


    "Fire Cannons!"


    The titan of wood and metal, however, loaded its cannons and fired.


    BOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOM!


    All the giant, muscr arms were once more exploded into shreds.


    -----

 Chapter 1023: Go All-Out!

    -----


    "GRRRHHH¡­! SO ANNOYING!"


    Mammon waspletely frustrated, even as he had gonepletely mad, there was still some moments of lucidity within him, and they were only to get angrier over what was happening to him right now.


    The explosions fired by Eric and Alberta''sbined titan were stronger than the entire party had expected. Thebined power of their spirits and their golems created an incredibly strong entity!


    BOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOM!


    The explosions kepting, cannonballs the size of whole buildings started bombarding the titanic archdemon with no end. His flesh and blood burning into ashes constantly, keeping him busy.


    With Chris and Erdrich hitting its entire body constantly, and Eric and Alberta shooting as many cannonballs as they could at the aberration, all while Elfriedden kept it frozen from below¡­


    It was quite obvious that the rest depended on those three.


    ke (and Eleanora), Elizabeth, and Erika quickly started attacking Mammon after noticing how everyone was helping them relieve all the pressure.


    Elizabeth''s kept reflecting attacks using her shield while conjuring her potent magic. The Heaven''s Domain she conjured constantly unleashing chains of golden light, restraining Mammon from going even more overboard.


    At the same time, her weapon, made out of the Holy Dragon Spirit from Ellergest, transformed once more, taking the shape of a huge golden spear.


    "ke! We need to find an opening to his soul or core, or whatever he has!" she said.


    "I can see it from here! Elfriedden froze this area, and it hasn''t regenerated yet," ke said, resisting the blows from the archdemon, which came with infernal magic spells he was able to resist and weaken using his authority. "Erika, I''ll need you to distract him from the other side! Try to dig as much out of him as possible!"


    "Okay!" Erika roared, her wings spreading out as she generated gusts of winds that enhanced her movement speed, her Golden, Green, and Fiery Aura surged from her body, as her ws became even sharper.


    Her sword was now fused into her ws, bing part of the alloy itself, this was nothing but part of her Ability itself, the Sword had be connected to her soul, changing appearance and form through her skill''s transformation abilities.


    "RAAAAHHH!"


    With a ferocious roar, Erika began, her giant ws started digging through Mammon, his countless eyes directed at her as hundreds of crimson beams of demonic energy started bombarding her.


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!


    However, Erika easily tanked all hits, rapidly regenerating her wooden body without issues. Despite being made of wood, she was a dragon immune to most of wood''s weaknesses in this state, making her deceptively strong!


    "I know ke said I had to just be a distraction, but I''ll try doing something else too!"


    Erika''s ws kept digging, tearing through the flesh, and burning through it. The entire body of Mammon didn''t stay there, as he fired beams, his countless tendrils grew anew, constantly and aberrantly attempting to stop her, the tentacles attempting to wrap around her body.


    However!


    "Not going to work! {Yggdragon''s Golden mes}!"


    FLUOSH!


    Erika activated the same ability that Bestellen had used in their battle, sacrificing her own Lifeforce to conjure powerful Golden mes that used the very power of her Soul and Lifeforcebined.


    She used these mes to easily burn through anything disgusting that tried to touch her!


    And unlike Bestellen, Erika possessed arge quantity of Lifeforce because of being part Yggdrasil and part Nature Spirit! If there was someone with the highest vitality amongst everyone, it was her for sure.


    CLASH! CLASH! CLASH!


    CRAAASH!


    As she kept digging through and tanking all kinds of attacks while burning with golden mes the tendrils of her foe, the wound grew deeper¡­


    At the same time, ke''s giant Axe Familiar, Dominus, grewrger than before, zing with mes, and bybining Dominus zing might with his own transformation''s power, he also started attacking Mammon from the side.


    "STOP THIS AT ONCE!"


    Mammon demanded furiously, his flesh taking the shape of countless fists, ws, and bony spears, rushing down towards ke, and hitting his entire body with these powerful attacks, capable of splitting entire mountains. Enjoy new adventures from m-v l''e-NovelBin


    CRASH! CRASH! CRASH!


    However, he was unfazed as he tanked all hits, quickly opening his jaws to release a deadly poisonous and acidic breath, which melted the flesh instantly, while his silver divine mes burned anything left behind.


    "Enough of your struggles, Mammon! I''ll make you pay for everything you''ve done to this city, to this people! You''ll die by my hands once more!"


    With a ferocious roar of authority and dominion, ke swung Dominus with all his zing might, his ever-growing Divine Aura continued erupting with tremendous force. Ruby, Blood, and Bestellen were right by his side, unleashing their attacks to break through Mammon''s endless regeneration and defenses.


    "NOW!"


    He coordinated their attacks at the same time, as Bestellen unleashed his strongest Divine Breath in his current Familiar form, while Ruby and Blood, the two tamed monsters of ke,bined their powers into a single st of golden mes and crimson fire.


    BOOOM! BOOOM!


    "Dominus! Again! [Awakening Skill]: [Thousand des+]!"


    CRAAASH!


    A single swing from the zing axe erupted as a tremendous explosion of mes andva emerged, quickly dividing itself by a thousand more attacks, thatbined with everyone''s attacks broke through Mammon once and for all, his entire body beginning to tremble and copse even more as the interior was revealed.


    The Demon Gate still pouring demons gained cracks, as ke noticed Erika appearing right from the other side, she had managed to dig through the bastard''s endless mass of flesh!


    "Erika! Attack the gate!"


    ke called desperately, as Erika rapidly harnessed her powers and unleashed a dragon breath from her jaws, sting the Demon Gate into oblivion with a single, zing explosion.N?v(el)B\\jnn


    BOOOM!


    The explosion not only consumed the interior of Mammon, but ke''s attack continued being unleashed at the same time, his mes and Bestellen, Ruby, and Blood''s powers allbined together, making Mammon''s entire bodypletely explode!


    "T-This can''t be¡­ happening¡­! No¡­! I-I was supposed to- UGH!"


    Mammon continued whining, as his entire body inted like a balloon¡­


    Until it finally popped.


    BOOOMMM!!!


    -----

 Chapter 1024: Dont Let Him Move!

    -----


    Everyone watched as Mammon''s body exploded by thebination of countless attacks and mes, the divinity of ke pushed itself to their very limits as they transformed into a sharp, invisible de amidst the explosion, cutting through Mammon''s Soul!


    SLAAASH!


    As the soul was opened and shed, ke retrieved his spear and quickly employed it again, the power of the Vampiric Stigma still having a couple seconds left of usability, at the same time as itbined with its Holy, Demonic, Draconic, and Vampiric powers together.


    "NOOO! I SHALL DISCARD MY PHYSICAL VESSEL, AS LONG AS I CAN DESTROY YOU!"


    However, amidst the explosion of mes, the soul of Mammon kept resisting! Quickly emerging from the explosion asrge mass of rainbow and crimson red mes, taking the shape of a giant humanoid demon.


    "DIE, ASMODEUS!"


    With a furious roar, his giant ws shed against ke''s Divinity de, attempting to dy him from cutting through him as he started to transform.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    To be stronger, anew, different!


    "What is this power?!" ke thought, panicking. "Is he achieving a new level of power?! Was this his n all along?!"


    ke quickly noticed that the weakened, sealed soul of Mamon hade almostpletely here by now, leaving behind his sealed body back in Hell.


    Mammon was betting everything on this moment, a moment where his soul could regain the power it lost when he battled Asmodeus in the past!


    "THIS IS MY MOMENT OF ASCENSION, DON''T YOU UNDERSTAND?! IT IS WHERE I SHALL RISE AS THE GLORIOUS BEING I AM!"


    Mammon kept talking nonsense, countless hands kept appearing from his body, endlessly, trying to stop ke, his de unable to cut through him yet!


    The evolution of Mammon''s soul continued, his brilliance bing brighter, his existence constantly evolving further!


    Divinity.


    FLASH!


    A Divinity was forming.


    Inside a Demon, no les!


    And the worst part was that Mammon was constantly getting this power from all the people, still alive in the city.


    It was as if he was trying to be¡­


    A Holy Spirit!


    "It can''t be! He''s really nning such nonsense?!" ke thought. "I can''t let him do this¡­ No, not now, NEVER!"


    ke employed all his powers and skills at once, demonic abilities surged from his body, his Authorities activated one after another as well, Gluttony, Wrath, Lust, all of them, anything.


    Yet the power seemed not enough, his Divinities had grown exhausted after he had used them so much, even the Summoning Divinity couldn''t bear anymore of this for much longer!


    "Anything at this point! {Familiar Summon}! {Familiar Fusion}! {Summon Holy Spirit Of Blood}! {Blood King''s Divine Graveyard}!"


    ke activated several Skills constantly, armies after armies of Familiars surged, his strongest Dragons swarmed the soul of Mammon, doing little to no damage to his ascending existence, but buying time.


    With his very light, Mammon destroyed them instantly, but ke simply rose them back through Familiar Necromancy, making them real pains in the ass anyways!


    At the same time, one hundred crimson graves appeared in the ground, and from them, one hundred Vampire Undead started climbing the body of Mammon''s soul.


    They were gnawing at his soul, draining his life force, and attacking him with Blood Spells of all kinds.


    Enjoy exclusive chapters from m-v l''e-NovelBin


    Yet Mammon burned them with his divine and demonic mes, leaving nothing behind but ashes.


    However, their Vampiric Souls prevailed, as he summoned them all yet again!


    He was a Summoner after all, he had to rely on his Summons, no matter what.


    And one particr one was tremendously strong, the Holy Spirit of Blood was summoned, appearing as a giant made of blood energy, which then fused into his body, reinforcing his divine aura!


    "RAAAAHHH!"


    With a ferocious and monstrous roar on his current form, ke roared with fury, unleashing all of his natural body attacks at once, yet barely managing to push through a few centimeters.


    The Divinity de continued growing weaker and weaker¡­!


    "ke!"


    "Hold on!"


    However, he was not alone, amidst the explosion of mes, they appeared. Erika burned constantly, her wooden body rapidly regenerating, her giant ws moved down, attacking Mammon''s soul, and tearing through his very existence, interrupting his evolution.


    CRAAASH!


    Mammon felt a sharp pain in his back, a piece of his very soul was torn apart, as he screamed as if he had died out of nowhere.


    "Uuuaaagghh!"


    As the Archdemon suffered, a gigantic golden eye appeared above his head, with six giant feathered wings attached to it.


    Commanded by Elizabeth, this entity was the {Manifestation of Heaven}!


    "FIRE!"


    The eye charged energy and then fired, a tremendous beam of pure radiance, piercing through Mammon''s soulpletely, his evolution then finally came to a halt, as he lost over twenty percent of his soul.


    BOOOM!


    "UUGH¡­?! N-NO¡­!"


    Mammon looked utterly pathetic, the mes dissipated as his giant soul fell, the blood his soul leaked were his soul''s primordial energies, liquified.


    As they leaked, he lost more and more of his powers.


    "T-This can''t be happening to me¡­ after everything¡­ AFTER EVERYTHING I''VE BUILT!"


    As he raged, a powerful shockwave of pseudo demonic divinity surged from his dying soul, only for ke to pierce through it, reaching him!


    "I won''t let you breathe a single second more, MAMMON!"


    His Divine de swung down,bining the power of all his skills, abilities, and even the attacks of his familiars and tamed monsters in that very moment.


    He didn''t swing one or two times, not even three.


    ke swung his de as many times as necessary, cutting Mammon hundreds, thousands, hundreds of thousands, and then millions of times over.


    SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH!


    The archdemon tasted all the pain he had caused to all these people he brought their demise, their agony, their suffering, it was all transmitted to him with each of ke''s attacks.


    "Die in agony!"


    The Divinity de then transformed, bing a mass of pure energy which ke fired at Mammon to finish him once and for all.


    "NOOOOOOO!"


    Mammon screamed pathetically, but he could only me himself for the things hemitted, this was nothing but divine justice.


    BOOOMMM!!!


    -----

 Chapter 1025: Despair

    -----


    Everyone watched in awe as Mammon''s pseudo¨CDivine Soul was shattered into countless pieces by thebined powers of ke and everyone else. ke''s Divine de, abination of his Spear, his Holy Light Sword, and all his Divinities to their very limits, finished off Mammonpletely.


    BOOOMMM!!!


    The mes of silver, red, and golden color that engulfed his countless soul fragments devoured himpletely, his very essence being absorbed by ke''s Divine de. And this was not just a piece of Mammon, the Archdemon of Greed had bet his entire soul into this moment.


    This meant that back in Hell, his sealed body had bepletely soulless, and the Ruler of the Layer of Greed had beenpletely eliminated!


    Mammon''s consciousness remained though, in thest few seconds of life he had as he was being devoured, he started to wonder where things went wrong¡­


    "I''m really¡­ dying?"


    Crack¡­!


    "But I¡­ I am Mammon, the King of Greed¡­"


    Crack, crack¡­!


    "To think I would¡­ I would die like this¡­"


    CRACK!


    "I was able to obtain such a powerful vessel¡­ I overtook the entire continent¡­"


    Crack¡­


    "This world, the fragment of heaven¡­ it was going to be mine¡­"


    "Why¡­?"


    Crack, CRACK!


    "If it weren''t for him¡­"


    "Asmodeus¡­!"


    Crack, crack¡­!


    "ALWAYS HIM!"


    CRACK!


    "ASMODEUSSSSS¡­!"


    CRAAASH!


    As Mammon died with frustration until the very end, his very soul seemed to stop existing, ke ended devouring most of what wasn''t destroyed on all the attacks, the Authority of Gluttony he had taken from Beelzebub''s vessel giving him the power to absorb this even more easily.


    "Ugh, this is too much though¡­!"


    ke quickly felt an annoying pain all over his soul, the amount of power Mammon''s soul possessed was too much even for him right now. If he absorbed it all on his own, he would end up exploding into pieces.


    However, it wasn''t as if he had the right to give up on such power, he needed it, as much strength as possible to defeat Lucifer and every other threat that will get on his way! He gritted his teeth, as his body turned back to normal, falling from the skies.


    FLUOSH!


    The power of mammon was too much, even if he was dead, his powers possessed some of his personality, treacherous and parasitic! If ke didn''t ovee this power and absorbed it fully, his soul would end up being devoured instead.


    "D-Dammit, arrgh!"


    "ke!"


    However, in that moment, he heard Eleanora''s voice, her presence surged from his body, both were fused already, their minds and souls aligned as one.


    "I am here with you, our Souls are one!"


    "Eleanora¡­!"


    "I''ll take upon the burden too!"


    Her Aura surged, resembling two hands that constantly pushed and tried topact Mammon''s powerful soul essence.


    RUMBLE!


    However, it was not enough, as several sparks of demonic and divine spiritual energy erupted with each second.


    Their efforts together weremendable, the power of Mammon started to be slightly weaker, being pushed back more and more.


    "It''s not enough?! Ugh¡­! This must be because of all the spirit power he stole from those people¡­!" ke gritted his teeth, realizing he was already getting closer to the floor. "Vampire Spirits,e!"


    With hisst breath, he summoned all the Vampire Spirits using his powers, as they all appeared by his side and quickly jumped towards him.


    "Lend me your strength¡­! {Spirit Fusion}!"


    "All of us?!" Saphira cried.


    "Won''t it be dangerous?! Can you take all our power, master?!" Hendrick said.


    "Are you insane?!" Woo screamed.


    "I have enough power here to withstand all of you now, soe. QUICKLY!"


    ke and Eleanora could already feel theirbined souls gaining cracks.


    It was now or never, a fusionbining all their power together as one single being.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Something ke had never tried before because of how it would just blow up his soul.


    Hecked the energy and power to withstand their pressure.


    But now, with Mamon''s powers, he was confident he could take it!


    "I trust master''s resolve! Let''s do it!" Fang roared.


    "When he''s as confident as now, it''s obvious it will work!" Celestine said.


    "Master, I will support you with my soul if needed!" Eriant said.


    "Then let''s do this." The cold Arkaxks nodded.


    "Hahaha! Marvelous! I have never done such a thing before!"ughed Azahuk. "Master truly never disappoints me!"


    All the Vampires became Spiritual Souls, fusing into ke''s body, an enormous sh of bright rainbow and crimson light erupted from his body, illuminating both the skies and the ground below.


    FLAAASH!


    ¡­


    Despite Mammon being defeated, the aberrations were still transformed, and his parasites were still inside their souls, Cattalina felt relieved Mammon died, but panicked the moment she saw the demonic aberrations waking up, ready to destroy everything again.


    "No! It didn''t work?!" she screamed. "Then how¡­ How do we even save them?! Is there a way? Can we heal them with light magic? Wait, no, it hurts them, they would only die¡­"


    As Cattalina was already on her limits, the Demonic Aberrations started standing up, ke''s Vampire Spirits had suddenly disappeared, and the swarms of monstrous demons started overrunning the entire city.


    All of ke''s Familiars were already destroyed in the explosion, Bestellen was also unsummoned due to losing all his health, and Ruby and Blood had fallen unconscious.


    RUMBLE!


    Their footstepsbined made the entire city tremble, the building started falling apart one after another, like mindless and aberrant creatures, they started running towards the survivors, all of ke''s friends.


    "W-What is that?!"


    Eric panicked as he stepped out of the decaying titan of wood and metal, the entire being could only be summoned for at most half an hour.


    "T-The Demons¡­ the citizens aren''t back to normal yet?!"


    Alberta looked at the distance, stepping back in horror.


    "But Mammon¡­ he was defeated, wasn''t he?!"


    "N-No¡­"


    Eric quickly dragged Alberta with him, both weakened and exhausted, they could only escape as they started running away from the iing wave of gigantic monsters.


    The citizens they met, the people that lived peacefully here, the children, the elderly, the men, and women, all of these people that were living their lives.


    They were now horrid monsters, against their will, they would now feast and devour anything, even their own kind.


    "RUN, ALBERTA!"


    Eric carried Alberta, who was on a panic attack as the entities drew closer.


    "But we worked so hard¡­ Was it all for nothing?"


    -----

 Chapter 1026: Hopeless

    -----


    Erika and Elizabeth slowly opened their eyes, finding themselves resting over the rubble where the castle was once located. As they drowsily opened their eyes, they remembered hearing of Mammon''sst scream, his death!


    ke managed to defeat him, and with the Archdemon behind everything finally gone, the citizens should have returned to normal. The girls, so exhausted after spending their entire energy resources, slowly stood up, sighing in relief.


    "Is it finally over, this nightmare?" wondered Elizabeth.


    "I-it should!" Erika nodded. "Where''s ke though?"


    As the girls looked around, suddenly¡­


    RUMBLE!


    The sound of countless gigantic footsteps approaching reverberated, making the ground tremble rapidly. They quickly felt that something was wrong and looked at the distance.


    "E-Eh?"


    "Huh?"


    Their eyes widened,pletely filled with disbelief as over half of the Demonic Aberrations, formerly all the citizens of this city, came running towards them. Their jaws opening and closing, drooling as their demonic eyes looked at them like mere food.


    "N-No, why?" Erika muttered. "T-This isn''t supposed to happen, weren''t they cursed by Mammon?! If he dies then¡­ T-Then¡­!"


    "This can''t be¡­" Elizabeth lost all the strength of her body, falling to her knees. "W-We can''t turn them back¡­ T-This is¡­"


    "W-what do you mean you can''t turn them back?!" Erika cried, grabbing Elizabeth''s shoulders, and screaming at her. "Y-You''re the Saintess! Elizabeth! DO SOMETHING!"


    "I-I can''t Erika¡­" Elizabeth looked at Erika, her eyes beginning to cry tears of horror and sorrow. "It won''t work¡­ My magic will only¡­ kill them¡­ I''m sorry¡­"


    "N-No¡­" Erika muttered. "You''re lying¡­ NO!"


    "I can''t do anything¡­" Elizabeth looked at the monsters approaching.


    "B-But maybe ke could, he¡­ Where is he?" Erika wondered.


    Suddenly, both girls a sudden coldness in their entire bodies.


    What if ke died?


    He wasn''t anywhere, nowhere at all.


    As if he had disappeared.


    The power of Mammon, he tried to take it, but it was too strong.


    Thest thing they saw was him struggling, his soul about to break.


    "T-This¡­ No, he can''t be dead¡­! ke¡­! BLAKEEE!"


    Erika started screaming for ke''s aid, but there was no response.


    "This is¡­ is this the end?"


    Elizabeth looked at the distance.


    Any minute now, they would reach them.


    "Maybe this is the death I deserve¡­ for having failed these people," Elizabeth muttered. "Perhaps this is¡­"


    "Stop it! Don''t say such things!" Erika cried, suddenly grabbing Elizabeth. "W-We''re running away, we can''t die yet! NOT YET!"


    "Erika?! Stop it¡­! Let me die here, this is my atonement, I failed as a Saintess!" Elizabeth cried as Erika grabbed her and started running.


    "Shut up, Elizabeth! We can''t just die here and then leave these people like this¡­"


    Erika started crying as she saw her mother struggling, vomiting blood as the pressure of her magic couldn''t be held anymore.


    "We have to run¡­ and live another day¡­ T-This is what ke always said!"


    Tears fell from her eyes as the girl continued running.


    At the same time, Chris, Erdrich, and Elfriedden were in the same situation.


    But perhaps even worse.


    All three of them were tired after the battle, havingnded on the ground.


    Only to see this, only to see the same horror as before¡­


    "Is this it, guys?" Chris sighed, standing up.


    His Mana was empty, and his Spirits all entered a slumber inside his Spiritual Orb.


    The only thing he had was his equipment and his axe, and whatever stamina he had left.


    "I¡­ I think so¡­" Erdrich''s eyes looked at the distance, looking sorrowful.


    His demonic transformation was at his weakest, with only red tattoos over his white, human skin.


    All of his energies had also almostpletely depleted as well.


    "Fucking hell¡­ And we just defeated Mammon," Chris sighed.


    "It seemed that¡­ their transformation didn''t depend on him¡­" Erdrich sighed.


    As they talked, Elfriedden was right in front of them.


    His body on the floor, crying.


    "Mother¡­ Rosen¡­ Sapphirus¡­"


    His tears kept falling into the floor and freezing into tiny ice crystals, shattering into countless pieces.


    He was making his resolve to die or kill them.


    Elfriedden was strong enough to know what was next.


    If they couldn''t turn back, there was no other option than to die or fight.


    Chris and Erdrich looked at one another, and then walked towards Elfriedden, patting his shoulders.


    "Elfriedden¡­"


    "Stand up."


    "Hah¡­ R-Right¡­"


    Elfriedden opened his eyes, slowly standing up, holding with him a long spear-like needle.


    "Don''t worry buddy," said Chris.


    "We''re going with you," Erdrich said.


    "You two¡­" Elfriedden sighed, as a small smile surged on his lips, amidst the despair. "You bastards¡­"


    Despite the despair he felt, he also felt a certain warmth.


    The warmth of knowing that there were friends willing to go to hell with him¡­


    "Let''s do this¡­" Chris said.


    "Yeah¡­" Erdrich nodded.


    "Onest battle then¡­" Elfriedden muttered. "In this shithole of a world¡­"


    The three friends faced the army of Demonic Aberrations without escaping. The giants'' arms loomed over them; their weapons red with thest vestiges of energy they had.


    Eric carried Alberta as he ran away, seeing them only fifty meters away from them.


    "W-What? No¡­ guys¡­ WAIT! Don''t¡­ DON''T DO THIS!"


    Eric continued crying as he noticed Alberta having already passed out on his arms.


    Chris, Erdrich, and Elfriedden looked back at Eric.


    "You''ve got someone precious to protect, Eric!"N?v(el)B\\jnn


    "Run away! We''ll buy you time!"


    "Just go¡­"


    Eric looked at Alberta on his arms, and then his friends right behind him.


    A decision he had to take to either stand and fight with them and end up risking Alberta''s death.


    Or escape and survive with her, leaving behind his friends to die.


    "N-No¡­ dammit¡­ No¡­!" he continued crying, his sses shattering. "DAMMIT! UAAAAGGH!"


    Feeling horrified of his own decision, Eric started moving, he started running away from his friends, constantly apologizing, suffering.


    "I''m sorry, I''m sorry, I''m sorry, I''m sorry¡­! Please forgive me¡­! PLEASE¡­!"


    He looked at Alberta on his arms, hugging her tightly as he continued moving, even as the soles of his foot started bleeding.


    "Good choice," Chris smiled.


    "He''s gone? Good¡­" Erdrich nodded.


    "Mother, Rosenheim, Sapphirus, they''re there¡­ They came for me," Elfriedden noticed them.


    The three Demonic Aberrations leading the army were those three.


    -----


    Author''s Note: Next Chapter is the end of this arc.

 Chapter 1027: A God Walks Among Mortals, Bringing Hope Amidst Despair

    -----


    Chris, Erdrich, and Elfriedden shed against the iing army of monsters. Their gigantic arms descended, making the ground tremble as they tried to crush them into minced flesh. The boys barely evaded, using the strength of their bodies and the basic stats that granted them superhuman reflexes.


    BAAM! BAAM! BAAM!


    The zing arms of Elfriedden''s mother rushed down, as the young man leaped into his mother''s arms and then swung his long, spear-like needle against her. A barrage of powerful piercing blows pierced through it all, detaching the entire arm within seconds.


    CRASH!


    "GRUOOHH!"


    The monstrous mother screamed in agony, blooding out of her wound as she fell to her knees, only to open her jaws and release a st of infernal mes into Elfriedden''s body.


    The elf''s eyes widened, preparing himself for his death, only for Erdrich to appear in front of him and punch the mes away.


    BAAAM!


    He didn''t say a word, Elfriedden either, but they looked at each other''s eyes, and knew they could rely on their friends.


    Chris was the same, his axe cutting through the limbs of the aberrations, evading hitting their necks and heads.


    Even now, all three of them couldn''t bring themselves to kill these people.


    At the end, they were going to die, but would slow them down, as much as possible.


    They kept shing, being pushed back more and more.


    Their bones started cracking due to the enormous blows they had to block, their foot started burning and bleeding due to the sheer amount of pressure they put them.


    Their muscles started being torn apart, their entire bodies were riddled with wounds infected with demonic energy.


    They were dying.


    "We can''t let them get closer to Eric and the rest¡­!" Chris thought. "I have to keep fighting¡­ I''ve been always a useless piece of shit my entire life! I can''t¡­"


    Suddenly, the image of Frederica appeared inside of his mind.


    Perhaps the only girl that seemed to genuinely like him¡­ Discover hidden content at m,v l''e-NovelBin


    He had nned to marry her even.


    But he was going to die now.


    "I''m sorry, Frederica¡­"


    His body didn''t respond to him anymore, as he fell from the ground, a giant fist crushing him into the floor.N?v(el)B\\jnn


    BAAAM!


    "Uuaagh¡­!"


    Chris felt his internal organs twisting and exploding, as he vomited blood, his two arms were broken, his legs torn apart.


    "CHRIS!"


    Erdrich and Elfriedden were too far away.


    They ran to his help, to at least die with him, but the aberrations got in the way.


    Cattalina tried to reach them from the skies, but several flying aberrations targeted her, constantly stopping her.


    Chris faced death as a dozen aberrations hands rushed towards him.


    "ke¡­" he muttered. "I wonder¡­ where are you¡­ buddy¡­"


    CRAAASH!


    Chris entire body was torn apart, his head was caved in, his brains exploding out of his skull, the beasts voraciously grabbed his corpse and started eating it.


    "AAAHHHH!!!"


    Elfriedden screamed in utter horror at the scene, tearing through everything on his path.


    "NOOOO!!"


    Erdrich felt like his soul left his body, to see a friend die so horrendously.


    Someone that grew up with him.


    Someone that he cared so much about¡­


    A brother.


    They thought they were prepared for this despair, but they were never ready for it.


    They too sumbed, the beasts surrounded them.


    The end was near¡­


    "Where the fuck are you, ke¡­?!"


    Elfriedden looked at the distance.


    Only to be almost blinded.


    FLAAASH!


    A rainbow light that epassed everything surged, illuminating the entire city.


    Everything became rainbow light, a domain thatbined draconic, divine, spiritual, and demonic power surged endlessly.


    "W-What is this?!"


    Elfriedden, who was about to die, couldn''t help but gasp in disbelief.


    "T-That''s¡­!"


    Erdrich''s eyes widened.


    A figure appeared above the skies, as the light that surged from him paralyzed all the demonic aberrations from even moving.


    They all fell to the ground immediately,pletely immobilized.


    His radiance continued to expand everywhere.


    Eric stopped running, as he felt a refreshing light heal his injuries.


    He looked at the figure in awe, in disbelief.


    Erika looked back as she carried an unconscious Elizabeth.


    Her eyes started watering; a smile surged in her lips.


    Elfriedden and Erdrich then noticed the figure''s appearance amidst the eternal, divine holy spiritual light.


    A tall man of over four meters of height, muscr yet lean.


    Long, silky hair, reaching his legs, each strand of hair was either green, blue, red, or gold.


    His eyes constantly shifted colors, shining with rainbow light.


    His white skin was covered on red, blue, green, and golden tattoos resembling mes.


    Six wings behind him looking like the wings of dragons with different scale colors.


    Scales of gold and silver grew over his arms and legs.


    His handsome and divine face looked down at everyone.


    It was as if a true deity had descended from the skies!


    "Is that¡­?" Elfriedden muttered.


    "B-ke?" Erdrich asked.


    "This curse, I will undo it."


    With a single word, ke''smand willed itself into existence. His Creation powers, through his transformation, temporarily achieved their peak.


    FLASH!


    His divine rainbow light cleansed all the aberrations, their bodies having fallen into the ground and healed, quickly returned to their original forms.


    Hundreds of thousands of innocent elves appeared, covering the streets.


    "H-He did it¡­" Erika smiled.


    "ke¡­" Eric muttered.


    "ke¡­ please!" Elfriedden called. "Chris¡­ He¡­!"


    ke suddenly appeared above them within a split second, teleporting through space.


    He looked down at the remains of his friends.


    His face full of indifference twisted in one of sorrow.


    "My friend¡­"


    He descended and put his hands above, divine rainbow essence surged.


    The body of Chris, his remains, all gathered together, his body being remadepletely.


    His soul was then ced back into his body, as ke carried Chris on his arms.


    It was a miracle that only the very gods could ever aplish.


    Something so utterly impossible and incredible.


    And something that ke, in his current form, could actually do.


    However, he had to sacrifice arge part of his own powers to do it.


    But he didn''t care.


    It was his friend after all.


    "W-What did I just see¡­?" Erdrich muttered.


    "H-He¡­ he revived him?" Elfriedden started crying.


    The God slowly walked towards them.


    "I''m sorry for taking so long¡­" ke apologized, gently cing Chris over the floor. "He''s¡­ fine now¡­ I¡­ Ugh¡­"


    ke felt a sudden sense of drowsiness.


    And then his transformation was undone, as he fell into the floor, unconscious.


    "ke!"


    -----

 Chapter 1028: The Battle Is Finally Over

    -----


    Everyone had seen ke in that form, it onlysted for less than a minute, but that supremely divine form, he did the impossible, twisting the veryws of reality as a true god.


    All of that was achieved because ke absorbed and used all the power that Mammon had achieved by stealing the spiritual power of the entire poption of the Rosenheim Dukedom, and then fused with all his Vampire Spirits to contain it.


    That divine form, his powerful appearance, his divine authority¡­ With just mere words, the people that had been cursed, whose souls had been permanently parasitized with the demonic soul parasites of mammon¡­


    All returned back to normal.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    Their bodies quickly twisted around, the sound of flesh and bones being torn apart reverberated, it was a horrendous sound, but the people were safe. ke did this by willing that all the parasites disappeared and left no wounds behind in the souls.


    This, in exchange, turned all the elves finally back to normal, although naked and unconscious, and very weakened and even sickly, they were alive¡­


    And then the second thing he did¡­ was something thought to be absolutely impossible.


    He revived a person from death.


    Chris, who had been brutally murdered, his entire body and soul, they became one, as he used all the leftover power he had to twist thews of the world.


    And revive his dear friend.


    A tear fell from ke in that moment, those that saw such a miraculous event could all remember it.


    ke hugged his friend after reviving him, crying on his shoulders.


    "I''m sorry for not having been there for you, my friend¡­" he sighed. "This is all I can do¡­ Please¡­ forgive me."


    After he gently carried Chris in front of Elfriedden and Erdrich, who werepletely speechless.


    His transformation was undone, all his vampire spirits went back to his spirit orb, too weakened to even materialize, and he fell unconscious.


    "W-What did I just see¡­?" Erdrich muttered.


    "H-He¡­ he revived him?" Elfriedden started crying.


    The God slowly walked towards them.


    "I''m sorry for taking so long¡­" ke apologized, gently cing Chris over the floor. "He''s¡­ fine now¡­ I¡­ Ugh¡­"


    ke felt a sudden sense of drowsiness.


    And then his transformation was undone, as he fell into the floor, unconscious.


    "ke!"


    To revive someone, ke had to do the impossible and twist thews of the world, and as a result, he had to use arge part of the divine powers he stole from Mammon.


    This, as a result, forced his transformation to be undone, and his prompt unconsciousness.


    Erdrich was the first one to rush towards him, analyzing his health, he was fine.


    "He''s¡­ fine, he just¡­ Just what did he do? What happened¡­" Erdrich muttered, full of disbelief.


    "I-I think he did something that is prohibited by the world itself, something that defied thews," muttered Elfriedden. "To save everyone, he had to go to such lengths¡­ Chris¡­ he''s breathing, he''s alive. Even though his entire body- Ugh, Chris!"


    Elfriedden hugged his friend as he continued crying, it was a very emotional moment.


    Just minutes ago they had seen him being brutally massacred, a friend so dear to them.


    To be killed so horrendously, it was something beyond their wildest imagination.


    Yet this was what they were doing, risking their lives in vain, fully knowing there was no longer any hope.


    And ke changed that in the veryst second.


    "You fucking idiot, why did you had to go there and die so horribly?! Why didn''t we¡­ why didn''t we just escaped at the end¡­" sighed Elfriedden.


    "Hahh¡­ Chris¡­ He''s really alive, ke revived him¡­ I-I can''t believe it¡­" Erdrich sat down. "I-I could swear I was so exhausted before; I couldn''t even move. But now, I feel all healed, was this ke''s doing too?"


    "Most¡­ likely- Ah!" Elfriedden''s eyes widened as he saw the people around them, they were all mostly naked, although alive, they could worsen and even die at this stage. "W-We have to¡­ We have to bring the people to a safe ce. Also mother, my brother, and Rosenheim must be amongst them!"


    "Yeah, you''re right, we can''t ck off here¡­" Erdrich nodded. "Where are the others at?"


    "Over there!" Elfriedden said.


    They saw a group of several people rushing in, Erika, Elizabeth, Eric, Alberta, and Erika''s mother, Cattalina. Alongside them there was also the Frost Fairy Queen, Skadi, and her fairies, which ke had summoned ahead of time before falling unconscious, so they could help everyone.


    "Everyoneeee!" Erika rushed towards them, leaping to hug Erdrich, Elfriedden, and then Chris andstly ke. "I''m so happy you''re all alive¡­! We managed to¡­ We managed to survive¡­!"


    "Erika¡­" Elfriedden sighed. "Yeah¡­ I¡­ thank you for helping¡­"


    "You must be really mentally tired¡­" Erika said, patting Elfriedden''s shoulders. "A-A lot happened, your family¡­ your girlfriend¡­ but now they''re fine, right? Thanks to ke! So we have to just find them, don''t worry¡­"


    Erika was also very traumatized after everything, but was doing her best to act cheerful, she knew she was the only one that could lift the spirits of her friends at this moment.


    "R-Right¡­ That''s right!" Eric nodded, trying to hold his tears. "Chris¡­ Did he¡­ he died, didn''t he?"


    "I-I can''t¡­ he died? But he''s alive¡­" Alberta muttered. "I''m sorry for falling unconscious, if I didn''t, everyone could have-"


    "It''s not your fault¡­" Erdrich sighed. "This, everything¡­ it happened so suddenly, not even ke was ready for absolutely every single thing."


    "You did well, children¡­" Erika''s mother stepped in. "I''m sorry for not being able to help as much as I wanted¡­"


    "You did the most here, aside from ke, mom!" Erika said. "W-Without your help¡­ everyone here would have rampaged wildly, and we wouldn''t have had enough time to defeat Mammon, thank you¡­ don''t me yourself for this."


    Her daughter hugged Cattalina, as the half-elf witch of dreams smiled faintly at her daughter''s love, hugging her back, and holding back her tears, but ultimately crying a single one.


    "Thank you Erika¡­ For being here for me¡­"


    It was a slightly bittersweet ending, the amount of things they went through would ultimately shape their lives forever.


    But they knew that, at the very least, they had one another.


    -----

 Chapter 1029: The Aftermath

    -----


    "Master is unconscious right now, so I''ll take over themand of the summons by his request," Skadi said as the summons left behind, both her fairies and other beasts and dragons, nodded.


    The Familiar Generals were also all alive, barely, some had been wounded but Elizabeth healed them back to full health, she did the same with all the survivors, making sure they stayed healthy.


    As Skadimanded the summons, they quickly started clearing all the rubble blocking the streets, while a specialized group gently carried every survivor on beds to the cathedral, one of the few buildings that didn''t copse.


    However, the cheer amount of people would require more than just the cathedral, so they upied every single other building surrounding it, cing the people there while resting. The man fairies attended to their needs, some quickly beginning to administrate elixirs left behind by ke too.


    At the same time, Elfriedden helped the groups carry the people to safety, looking for his mother, brother, and his girlfriend amongst the many people. He couldn''t move them away like rubble though, helping the fairies gently bring all survivors to safety.


    "Mother¡­ brother¡­!" he muttered. "Where are you? I remember that you were quite close by¡­"


    He kept looking desperately, until finally, he found them, his eyes widening as he ran towards them, all three of them were together, little Sapphirus was being hugged by his mother, while Rosenheim was close to the two.


    "T-There you are¡­" Elfriedden gasped for air, looking at them in disbelief. "Hahh¡­ Hahah¡­ Aahhh¡­"


    He started weeping again, crying tears of both happiness and relief, as he fell to his knees and started hugging them.


    "I''m so relieved you''re okay¡­ Ngh¡­ I couldn''t¡­ I just couldn''t keep with this anymore¡­" he kept crying. "If you have really died, I wouldn''t¡­ I couldn''t have¡­ really been able to move on¡­"


    He hugged his brother, his mother, and his girlfriend tightly, trying to give them his warmth.


    "I''m so sorry for not being able to protect you¡­ This was all my fault¡­"


    As he continued weeping, his friends quickly found him.


    "Elfriedden¡­ I am also happy they''re fine, but I believe we should quickly give them clothes and also bring them to safety," Elizabeth stepped in, touching his shoulders.


    "Y-Yeah, you''re right¡­ Sorry, I just¡­ I lost myself a bit," Elfriedden sighed. "Thank you Elizabeth."


    "No problem let''s do this then," she nodded with a gentle smile. "Erika, mind helping?"


    "Ah! Elfriedden''s family?! Yes, of course!" Erika quickly extended several gigantic branches of wood, epassing Elfriedden''s family on afortable bed of flowers and leaves, and then gently moving them to the nearest building.


    Inside the building, there were several floating tforms made of materialized light which Elizabeth had conjured, they emanated a gentle amount of warmth, which heated the buildings and created afortable environment for all the survivors.


    "Phew, so many people left¡­ We''ll be working for a while," Erika sighed. "I think it has already been like three hours since then¡­"


    She nced at ke and Chris, who were sleeping in different beds of flowers and leaves next to each other, smiling gently.


    "Don''t worry, we got this¡­ You guys just sleep for now, and don''t worry about anything¡­" she sighed, quickly kissing ke''s cheek. "Sleep well and make sure to rest¡­"


    She walked away after that, joining everyone else in their endeavors, their work didn''t end any time soon, as they worked for another four and a half hours without stopping, asionally eating fruits or sandwiches while drinking elixirs to keep up their stamina and energy maximized.


    At the same time, the tunnel leading to the port city had been opened, and the nobles living there swiftly sent as many soldiers as possible and guards, healers, and priests to help them out, so they didn''t do everything on their own.


    The news about the disaster of the Rosenheim Dukedom had already reached the Port City, now the veryst city where people was living in the entire Continent of Alfheim¡­n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    It wasn''t until the morning of the next day that everyone finally finished their entire work, and the only thing left was to help the people recover, rebuild the houses, and set order back to the city.


    But how long would that take, after every single citizen, children, elderly, and adults have gone through such a traumatic experience?


    It all depended on if they remembered what happened or not¡­


    "Hah¡­ We can finally rest, I''m so exhausted¡­" Erika yawned.


    "Yeah¡­ ke hasn''t woken up yet¡­" Elizabeth sighed.


    "I''m sure he''s fine, you''ve been keeping a close eye on him, right?" Eric tried being optimistic.


    The group of friends, led by Cattalina, made their way back to the port city, where most of the people ended being transported for temporary amodation, including many of the nobles of Rosenheim.


    The news about the King being secretly an Archdemon that had parasitized his soul reached the surviving elves ratherte, but this news had to be stated openly so the people could know what had truly happened.


    Naturally, the elves were devastated, and the morality of their kind had gone down to the dumpster. The people had lost all hope, and many of them had already begun nning to leave the continent entirely and migrate to the nearby continents, either the Dwarven Continent or the Human Continent, which were the closest.


    "The army of monsters and demons outside hasn''t gone anywhere¡­" said Erdrich. "Mammon most likely controlled them too, but I guess there''s still Fafnir."


    "Yeah, technically, we have not even started our job here yet¡­ the whole thing with the King was so sudden¡­" sighed Eric.


    "Yet, if ke hadn''t done a single thing, everything could have been even worse¡­" said Elfriedden. "I regret having gotten furious at him and even fighting him¡­ I was so reckless and driven by emotions, I couldn''t even sit down and think what he was truly doing."


    "It''s fine¡­ he sometimes does things like these anyways," sighed Erika. "Let''s just go rest for now. ke and Chris deserve to rest onfier beds."


    Like that, the second day after the entire incident ended.


    -----

 Chapter 1030: Chris Life

    -----


    Chris could still clearly remember his death, as his memories rearranged themselves once his brin was fully healed, how everything happened, and how much he had despaired, and given up entirely.


    "Frederica¡­ I''m sorry¡­"


    When he died, an endless darkness had greeted him, his consciousness, his memories, and his whole sense of self slowly started to be absorbed by this darkness.


    The darkness of death, a coldness that not many could even ovee but the oldest of souls, who could remain conscious even as they passed away.


    But eventually, within a few seconds after death, Chris would have lost everything that made him who he was, bing a clean te, a pure soul.


    The soul was already on its way to the afterlife, a ce that not even the inhabitants of Spiritias, nor even their Holy Spirits, fully understood, but that existed within the world, somewhere.


    "It''s so dark¡­ everything¡­ I¡­ don''t want¡­ to forget¡­"


    FLASH!


    Yet in that veryst moment, where his consciousness would have been almostpletely wiped out, a bright light engulfed his soulpletely.


    "L-Light? Is that¡­?!"


    His destroyed body was healed and rearranged together back toplete health, and his soul ced inside.


    As the light engulfed him and the rainbow rivers of essence washed his soul and healed it, restoring his sense of self and his memories slowly.


    Something else happened, his soul and his body was rejecting each other.


    "Ugh¡­! W-What''s going on?!"


    He felt a slight amount of pain, thews of the world themselves seemed to not want to permit it, they didn''t want Chris to revive.


    It was against the veryws of creation, to revive beings through such a method, it was inconceivable.


    Undead existed, and even spirits, but they were nothing like actual revival, something beyond thews of nature.


    Yet the rainbow light epassing Chris did not give up, feeding his soul with enough power to forcefully keep itself attached to his body.


    In this moment, the one that was reviving him had to take a decision, if he wanted to revive his friend, he would have to do something he never thought possible.


    A connection was formed, Chris'' Spirit Orb, and the Spirits dwelling inside, all connected together with his Soul and Body as one, and then, with the one healing and reviving him.


    His Spirits Auras emerged, wrapping around his cold soul, and giving him the warmth of their presences, helping him fully revive.


    FLAAASH!


    The process seemed to onlyst for less than five seconds outside, but it seemed much longer for Chris and the one reviving him, ke.


    "Is that¡­ ke?"


    Chris eyes opened lightly for a split second as he saw the person that had revived him, hugging him. Before he could muster another word, he fell unconscious, unable to say anything.


    And then Chris fell asleep, for many hours, for over two days, sleeping without end. His Soul, Body, and Spirit Orb had to slowly get used to their revival, and over time,bine their power without forcing it.


    This was one of the reasons why revival wasn''t permitted even by thews of the world, as it could greatly damage the system of souls and the afterlife and create imperfect vessels of souls.


    When a soul and a vessel were unable to attune with one anotherpletely together, it could cause someone with great sickness and crippled, even feeling a certain g" between their own mentalmands and their body''s response.


    Thankfully, ke made sure that wouldn''t be a problem, while also making sure Chris wouldn''t suddenly turn into an Undead, his body was very much alive, all thanks to ke''s divine powers.


    "ke¡­"


    Chris sighed, a small tear falling from his eyes as he looked at the morning suning from the window, he felt moved after everything that had urred.


    He owed more than he could have ever wanted to ke now, a friend so special that he would have gone out of his way to do the impossible and revive him¡­


    Even if he had to sacrifice arge fragment of the powerful divinity he had just obtained, without minding at all.


    "Thank you¡­"


    Chris sighed as he smiled faintly, looking at his own hands, and opening and closing them, he seemed to be fine, he felt good, healthy, alive.


    It was as if he had never died, actually¡­ Yet those memories remained, the horror, the fear, the despair of darkness.


    An experience that would mark him for the rest of his life¡­


    "Hahhh¡­ I need to catch a break."


    As Chris sighed with a smile, his Spirits emerged from his Spirit Orb, they seemed fine, thankfully, spirits can often end uppletely healthypared to their masters, as long as the spirit orb is intact and sealed before the spirits lifeforce is attuned to the death of their master, which would kill them instantly as a result too.


    "I''m so happy you''re all fine¡­" he hugged them all, his fox, the smander, the little dragon, everyone. Their warmth broughtfort to his weary heart.


    Yet, deep down, Chris felt something wrong with him.


    Something strange¡­


    He wasn''t a human anymore.


    He knew it, there was something¡­ wrong with him.


    "W-What is this?"


    And he realized it the moment he concentrated to meditate a bit, his senses imbuing themselves into his body, soul, and spirit orb.


    And feeling a connection between all three, not just of energy, but physical.


    It was as if all three of them were stuck together as one, almost as if someone used glue to do it, and this "glue" was a powerful divine power, which he now possessed.


    And there was something else too.


    Deep inside of his soul.


    "T-This is¡­?!"


    Chris eyes widened, the familiar appearance of something that ke often used all the time, every time, and which he could also create almost indefinitely¡­


    "A-A card¡­?"


    There was a tinum-colored card floating inside of his Spirit Orb, connected to his existence, origin, and life.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    "I-I see¡­" Chris continued crying. "To think you would do such a thing to bring me back, ke¡­"


    -----

 Chapter 1031: A New Power 1

    -----


    (ke''s POV)


    Before I could do anything else, I ended falling unconscious, the darkness swallowed me, and the sense of exhaustion was the only thing that my body and soul knew. The union between body and soul that I had with my spirits and the powers of Mammon''s entire soul all faded away, as I fell into a deep slumber.


    But it wasn''t as if I wasn''t conscious, no, as I found myself within this darkness, the sparkling rainbow-colored light illuminated my path. The memories and life of Mammon showed itself as bubbles, scenes of his long life.


    His origins as an Archangel, son of God, and his fall from grace as he was defeated alongside his brothers led by Lucifer, how he was confined in Hell, and slowly transformed, mutating into the archdemon we now know.


    Mammon had his own story, certainly, there was a lot of terrible things through his life, despite having been born as a near perfect being, created directly by this being known as God by many, he was still wed.


    An unhealthy obsession towards the material world made him susceptible to Lucifer''s convincing speech, as he rallied the angels together to fight against God''s army and reim their freedom from the chains of the demiurge.


    Despite all the things he suffered due to his own creation, I couldn''t find any speck of pity for his story within me, and I was still d I killed him.


    However, what intrigued me more was this rainbow light, the power he had achieved.N?v(el)B\\jnn


    By fusing and refining the spiritual power of hundreds of thousands of elves, together with the soul of their King, and his own,plete demon soul together.


    He was incredibly close to be a divine being of his own, something embodying divine, demonic, and spiritual altogether.


    If I had allowed him to reach that stage, I don''t know if I would have ever been able to defeat him. It was something that could even surpass all my strength, and everyone else.


    We defeated him before that ever happened, but he was so close that the remaining power behind, which I absorbed through the Authority of Gluttony was too powerful.


    I require the assistance of all my Vampire Spirits and tobine with them to resist that power frompletely consuming and destroying my soul.


    It was harsh¡­ but I managed to absorb the power and temporarily transform into something I never thought possible.


    It was a both a Divine and Demonic form, that amplified my powers of Creation to apletely divine level, or perhaps even beyond that¡­


    In that moment, I had also learned of Chris'' death.


    Without hesitation, I immediately healed every single citizen from their curse, using most of the power I took from Mammon.


    And then, using whatever was left, I revived my friend.


    And I would have done it again without hesitation.


    It was a tremendous amount of power, but what''s the point of power without people to protect with it?


    Sacrificing almost all of it to save these citizens, and my dear friend, it was simply not even a question.


    Yet¡­ I was unable to revive Chris as I had envisioned.


    He was indeed revived, he''s alive once more.


    However, thews of the world of Spiritias, were much stronger than I had ever imagined.


    I often thought of them as quite loose, but I quickly realized that this world was indeed a Fragment of Heaven, and besides the Holy Spirits, which could be called the "Gods", there was something greater.


    I would call it¡­ The Will of Spiritias, a will of the entire world itself, a mind that epassed the entirety of this Fragment of Heaven, and it hadws,ws everyone had to obey.


    Why? Mostly because if not, these actions could disrupt the flow of reality and elements within the world itself.


    And what I did could be considered a taboo amongst taboos to the world, even if the Holy Spirits might or might not realize it.


    And because of this problem that rose, where Chris soul could simply not stick to his body¡­


    Discover more stories at m,v l''e-NovelBin


    I had to do something I would have preferred to never do to a friend, and something that¡­ I don''t know if Chris would ever forgive me for.


    ¡­


    FLASH!


    The rainbow light once more shone brightly, I could swear I had used most of that power to save everyone, but some of it remained, aside from Mammon''s memories.


    I followed the light, resembling a rainbow-colored star, until I found myself in another ce within my Soul Scape, perhaps.


    "This is¡­"


    It resembled an endless cosmos, stars shining brightly within a dark blue and ck background, colorful nebs spread around, and I could even see smalls.


    Is this some sort of representation of my soul? Perhaps of my memories, or even my powers¡­


    And that rainbow light, it shone the brightest in that moment, floating in the middle of all, resembling a six-pointed star.


    "You¡­ Just what are you? You''re not just a power, and you''re not Mammon either¡­"


    I was sure, Mammon''s mind waspletely destroyed, he was dead.


    But this power had a personality of its own and moved on its own too.


    I walked towards the spiritual rainbow star, which as I drew closer, made its aura growrger, epassing me.


    Demonic, divine, spiritual powers, all converging together seamlessly.


    I touched the star with my fingers, the fingers of my astral body projection.


    FLAAASH!


    And then the rainbow light epassed mepletely, fusing with my very self. The cosmic scenery around me also changed, beginning to spin rapidly around me.


    And then everything converged back to me, as I felt both my Soul and Physique grow by leaps and bounds, and my Spirit Orb¡­ to evolve, absorbing this power.


    I had hit Level Cap and I thought I needed to do the trial everyone does.


    But this¡­ it felt like it was even allowing me to cheat the system andpletely ignore that, my Spirit Orb was evolving.


    And the Divinities, Spirits, Realm, and the Spirit Treasures contained within it all were also evolving!


    "T-This is¡­?!"


    FLUOSH!


    -----

 Chapter 1032: A New Power 2

    -----


    Inside of ke''s Spiritual Realm, the entire world within it shook. The Vampire Spirits that were resting inside of the Vampire Castle looked into the skies, shocked about what was happening now.


    "Master¡­"


    Eleanora looked into the skies, as they split up out of nowhere, and a beam of pure rainbow spiritual essence shoot down, striking the center of the entire Spiritual Realm with a single, explosive beam.


    BOOOM! Discover more content at m,v l''e-NovelBin


    The beam shook the entire Spiritual Realm, the rest of the Vampire Spirits quickly panicked, running outside the castle, and gathering in the rooftop.


    "W-What was that thing?!" wondered Fang, looking in surprise. "The skies of the Spiritual Realm have split open?! Are we under attack?"


    "That can''t be, this ce can''t be attacked¡­" said Woo. "Well, I think so¡­"


    "It could, perhaps, if ke were to confront another powerful Spirit Master with a Spiritual Realm of his own that wanted to absorb his own, but that''s highly unlikely, the people of Spiritias have little time to attack and kill each other with the threat of the demons, they are mostly all united, except the traitorous cultists," said Hendrick.


    "But what''s that then?!" asked Saphira.


    "We might as well go check ourselves!" Celestina said. "My dear Eleanora-sama, pleasee with me!" she grabbed Eleanora using her tentacles, grabbing her along.


    "Ugh! Celestina, don''t drag me around like this!" Eleanorained. "But¡­ Just what is that?"


    The beam of light had already dissipated, and the skies, which had been split open, rapidly healed, and went back to normal, but whatever hade out from the Spiritual Realm, once itnded on it, began to grow immediately.


    The closer they got to that thing, the lighter it spread. The smoke dissipated, finally revealing what it was, their eyes widened as they saw something surprising, beyond their imagination.


    It resembled a six-pointed star made of rainbow crystals, and from within it, branches started to grow, yet another tree.


    "A crystal tree¡­?" wondered Celestina.


    "No, it descended as a star, a star made of this rainbow crystal," Eleanora analyzed it. "It emanates the same power we all had when we temporarily fused with Master, using the divine and demonic powers that Mammon possessed."n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    "Right, I can feel the same energy too!" Saphira nodded.


    "This might be dangerous for us, don''t touch it for now¡­" Hendrick said.


    "Hm, but why is it here, and growing into a tree too?" Eriant wondered.


    "No idea, I am fairly sure we spent most of that power, right?" wondered Woo.


    "Unless there was something left¡­ a crystalized remnant of that supreme power!" Azahuk said, his face tentacles moving around in excitement. "Perhaps experimenting what it can do would be a good thing too! We could then report this to master."


    "I don''t know, I am not fond of it, I wouldn''t touch it for now¡­" said Arkaxks, his long ck tail waving around nervously. "I don''t like bright things¡­"


    "Well of course you don''t, youe from a world of pure darkness,"ughed Celestina. "But I quite adore the lustrous jewels!"


    "Don''t get close to it¡­" Fang stopped Celestina from giving another step. "Let us wait until Masteres and assess the situation. This powerful divine energy it emanates¡­ I believe it could be something simr to the other Spiritual Treasures. But even stronger. It''s like a resource-producing crystal, something he might use to grow even more powerful."


    "I agree, if this fell into the Spiritual Realm, it means it fused with his Spirit Orb too!" said Eleanora with a nod. "Perhaps he finally managed to assimte this power without having his soul destroyed, thankfully¡­"


    "It is a relief if that''s the case," Hendrick nodded. "Hm? Wait, that''s¡­!"


    Suddenly, from inside the crystal, everyone noticed a silhouette, there was someone inside of it, the naked figure of a man.


    They walked closer, but quickly realized it wasn''t exactly the ke they knew, at least not in appearance¡­ No, this was a different appearance altogether.


    It resembled Asmodeus.


    "Asmodeus, my lord?!" wondered Azahuk. "Is this some sort of clone of him?"


    "I-I don''t know¡­" Eleanora muttered. "This is confusing¡­"


    "Papa! Is that you?"


    However, Saphira ignored everyone''s cautiousness as she flew towards the crystal and gently knocked at it!


    Knock, knock!


    "Papa! Papa! Why do you look like that? Papa?"


    KNOCK, KNOCK!


    "W-Wait, Saphira, don''t do that!"


    Eleanora flew towards Saphira, seconds before cracks spread through the crystal, unleashing bright rainbow light from within.


    Crack, crack¡­!


    "Uwaah!"


    Saphira panicked a bit as the light epassed her, Eleanora managed to drag her away before it was to consume her entire bodypletely.


    CRASH!


    The crystalized star shattered and broke down to pieces, and the man inside slowly stood up, walking out of it, looking around in disbelief, his long silvery-white hair, and his crimson eyes, which turned rainbow the moment he gave his first breath.


    "W-What is this? I was¡­ just some time ago- Huh?" he muttered. "My body¡­ Is like Asmodeus? But why am I inside my Spiritual Realm?"


    "Master? Is it you?" Eleanora wondered.


    "Yes, it''s me¡­ But this is¡­" he looked behind, the rainbow crystals were still shining, growing more and more into a beautiful crystalline tree, spreading their roots around. "Usually I can appear inside my Spiritual Realm as a projection of myself, but this is different. It feels solid yet at the same time different."


    "So is it you or not?" Celestina wondered, raising an eyebrow.


    "Of course it''s papa, auntie Celestina!" said Saphira, hugging him. "Papa, are you okay? A lot happened¡­"


    "I am fine, just¡­ This is odd, I had imagined the divine demonic spiritual powers that I took from Mammon would give me a new divinity or a skill, but this is much more than that!" ke muttered. "It''s like a second body altogether, a spiritual one? It''s as if¡­ My soul now shares two bodies, and one of them is a Spirit?"


    "What?!"


    His Vampire Spirits reacted in shock.


    "Yes¡­ I think this is it," ke nodded. "I became my own Spirit."


    A revtion that would shake the entire world if known.


    A man that created a spirit that was also himself, a second body, an embodiment of their soul and mind.


    -----

 Chapter 1033: Rainbow Star

    -----


    It wasn''t what I had expected at all¡­ When I touched the Rainbow Star, I ended falling back to my Spiritual Realm, meaning that the power of the Star was fused into my Spirit Orb.


    But it didn''t end in just that, as my Astral Projection Body ended merging with the star when I touched it, crystalizing itself while my mind was still inside.


    I believe the Rainbow Star, the remnants of this power, intended to create a new and unique Spirit, perhaps the Star itself was the infant stage of the new Spirit itself.


    However, when I touched it, the Spirit immediately assimted my Astral Projection, crystalizing it and turning that into my new Spirit.


    My Astral Projection merged with the Rainbow Star, as I''ll call this crystal-like and star-shaped Spirit born from the leftover power of Mammon''s soul and became a Spirit of its own.


    And now my mind is somewhat trapped in it¡­ Or not? I am sleeping right now, so I''ll try waking up and find out how this works.


    I really hope I am not actually just a copy of my mind and that the real me is still there, it would be¡­ strange.


    "Hm?"


    I woke up, my mind inside of my head, as intended, it was all normal.


    I was resting over afortable bed, the sunlighting from the windows, I felt really hungry, I don''t know how much I''ve been sleeping.


    Yet at the same time, by concentrating slightly, my mind seemed to divide¡­ or not? It was as if my mind was now using two bodies at once.


    I could easily expand my mind into both the Rainbow Star and my own body!


    "Summon."


    I couldn''t summon my Vampire Spirits yet, as they were quite tired, but the Rainbow Star was a new Spirit I had acquired, and not actually a Familiar, but one tied to my own Spirit Orb.


    FLASH!


    The Rainbow Star appeared, imitating my appearance as Asmodeus, though he was naked¡­ I could control it at the same time as my main body.


    "This is very interesting; I had never experienced what having two bodies actually felt like¡­" I wondered with a smile. "Rainbow Star, are you there though?"


    I tried calling the original form of my new Spirit, but after some brief minutes, there was no response at all. It seems it had fully be a vessel for my own mind and soul.


    "How odd, but if its truly like a second body¡­" I said. "Then perhaps¡­"


    "Perhaps we could be in two ces at the same time, spreading our army much more efficiently than before," I said using my secondary body.


    "Indeed¡­" we said at the same time.


    The grimoire appeared by my side after that, opening its pages and revealing to me the changes I have undergone, because I definitely felt much stronger than before, even when I already hit max level.


    Ding!


    [You and your party have defeated the [Vessel Of Mammon (Elven King)] and [Mammon''s True Demonic Soul (Divine Spiritual Awakening)]!]


    [The earned EXP has been saved until you Rank Up.]


    [To Rank Up, please visit the Tower of Trials.]


    [You have assimted the power of [Mammon''s True Demonic Soul (Divine Spiritual Awakening)]!]


    [You have used most of its powers to heal those affected by Mammon''s Soul Parasite.]


    [You have used most of its powers to revive your friend, Chris.]n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    [¡­]


    [The leftover essence from [Mammon''s True Demonic Soul (Divine Spiritual Awakening)] has been crystalized and fully assimted by your Spirit Orb!]


    [The Essence has be alive, transforming, and mutating into a Spirit, which has been immediately linked to your Spirt Orb.]


    [You have created a contract with the [Divine Demonic Spirit: Rainbow Star]!]


    [The [Divine Demonic Spirit: Rainbow Star] has merged with your Astral Projection, fusing with the astral form of your own consciousness, and bing a secondary vessel of your soul and mind.]


    [The [Divine Demonic Spirit: Rainbow Star] has evolved into the [Divine Demonic Spirit Vessel: Rainbow Star (Form: Asmodeus)]!]


    [Your mind can now freely possess and control this new Spirit, and while doing so, you can use any Skill or Spell you possess through this Vessel.]


    [All Stats have increased by +20.000 (Except Spirit and Divinity)]!]


    [Spirit has increased by +15.000!]


    [Divinity has increased by +10.000!]


    [You learned the Skill: [Divine Demonic Spiritual Soul Authority: Lv1]!]


    [You acquired the Title Skill: [Master of the Rainbow Star: Lv1]!]


    [You acquired the Title Skill: [Greed''s Authority: Lv1]!]


    I gained three new Skills, and a lot of Stats.


    But that wasn''t really all of it, not at all, everything else had Ranked Up too.


    My Physique, Magic Circle, Psyche, Demon Core, even my Mana Core itself.


    [Your [Mana Core]: [Rank 2 (Middle Stage)] has been forcefully refined thanks to absorbing arge quantity of Mana! It has Ranked up from Middle Stage to Peak Stage!]


    [Your Mana Core has gained +400.000 Additional Mana.]


    [Your [Physique]: [Divine Vampire Emperor Physique (Tier 6: Rank 9)] has forcefully Ranked Up after absorbing arge quantity ofpatible energies!]


    [Your Physique has evolved into [Divine Demonic Vampire Overlord Physique (Tier 7: Rank 5)]!]


    [Your Physical Strength, Physical Fitness, Stamina, Movement Speed, Agility, Dexterity, and more have increased massively.]


    [You gained +6.000 to all Physical Stats.]


    [You unlocked the Tier 7 Physique Ability: [Blood Spirit Manifestation]!]


    [You can manifest Blood Spirits from all the Beasts whose Blood you''ve drank, which will merge with your own Blood and emerge at yourmand.]


    [Your [Psyche]: [Infernal Blood Emperor Soul Psyche (Tier 5: Rank 6)] has forcefully Ranked Up after absorbing a powerful Demonic, Divine, and Spiritual Soul!]


    [Your Psyche has evolved into [Divine Demonic Blood Overlord Spiritual Soul Psyche (Tier 6: Rank 5)]!]


    [You gained +6.000 MP and +3.000 Spirit.]


    [You unlocked the Tier 6 Psyche Ability: [Soul Guardian]!]


    [Manifest a Guardian of your Soul, a materialization and embodiment of your inner desires and the strength of your soul itself, which will furtherplement and enhance your abilities.]


    [Your [Magic Circle]: [Infernal Blood Warlock''s Pentagram Circle (Tier 5: Rank 9)] has forcefully Ranked Up after absorbing arge quantity ofpatible Magical Energies and Runes!]


    [Your Magic Circle has evolved into [Demonic Infernal Warlock''s Spiritual Pentagram Circle (Tier 6: Rank 5)]!]


    [You gained +6.000 MP, +3.000 INT, and +1.500 Spirit.]


    [You unlocked the Tier 6 Magic Circle Ability: [Mana Drain]!]


    [Drain the Mana of foes within 20 meters of your Mana Aura, weakening them severely and empowering yourself.]


    [Your [Demon Core]: [Wrathful King of Gluttony Demon Core (Tier 4: Rank 8)] has forcefully Ranked Up after absorbing arge quantity ofpatible Demonic Energies!]


    [Your Demon Core has evolved into [Gluttonous King of Wrathful Greed Demon Core (Tier 5: Rank 5)]!]


    [You gained +5.000 to All Stats except Mana.]


    [You unlocked the Tier 7 Demonic Ability: [All-Absorbing Greed Aura]!]


    So many stats, so many new Abilities¡­ Despite everything that has happened, I still felt slightly satisfied whenever I became so strong.


    Because I knew that every little strength I gained would be worth it and used while battling these monsters I''ve been fighting my entire second life already.


    Beelzebub, Satan, Lilith, and Mammon have been defeated, but there are three more left, including Lucifer.


    It feels like I''ve already gone past the halfway point, and I am slowly approaching the end, but at the same time, it also feels like this crusade has just begun.


    And there''s Fafnir too, which we have to take care of¡­


    If he''s still alive now without problems, even after Mammon''s soul was destroyed.


    Then it is confirmed that he''s not his vessel, but just an evil dragon.


    -----

 Chapter 1034: The Next Morning

    -----


    I looked at my stats after all of that, the gains I had obtained were substantial, even without being able to level up anymore, my power had increased vastly thanks to having absorbed Mammon''s Soul, even though I had to sacrifice most of that power away.


    Now that I''m done with this, I should probably stand up and see how everything is going on. But judging by how I woke up inside of Elfriedden''s residence, I was most likely moved here again.


    Hah, it is a bit humiliating that I always have to rely on others when I fall unconscious, it happens too much. I would have never allowed myself to do this in my previous life.


    -----


    [Name]: [ke Hunter Goathorn]


    [Race]: [Human (Vampire King)]


    [Spirit Orb Realm]: [Rank 5 (Peak Stage)]


    [Mana Core]: [Rank 2 (Peak Stage)]


    [Physique]: [Divine Demonic Vampire Overlord Physique (Tier 7: Rank 5)]


    [Psyche]: [Divine Demonic Blood Overlord Spiritual Soul Psyche (Tier 6: Rank 5)]


    [Magic Circle]: [Demonic Infernal Warlock''s Spiritual Pentagram Circle (Tier 6: Rank 5)]


    [Demon Core]: [Gluttonous King of Wrathful Greed Demon Core (Tier 5: Rank 5)]


    [Job ss]: [Divine Spirit Blood King Necromancer Summoner: ¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï]


    [Subss]: [Grand Creator: ¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï]


    [Level]: [200/200]


    [EXP]: [--/--]


    [Health Points]: [157.614/157.614]


    [Mana Points]: [357.153/357.153] {+2.800.000}


    [Strength]: [199.237]


    [Agility]: [161.440]


    [Vitality]: [187.200]


    [Intelligence]: [236.245]


    [Dexterity]: [150.675]


    [Spirit]: [71.560]


    [Divinity]: [43.000]


    -----


    Without a doubt, my Stats have increased to incredible levels. However, Bestellen''s own stats still look much higher than mine, that''s it, if I don''t add the bonus stats I obtain from all my Familiar Summons summoned at the same time, if so, then they surpass him.


    But even then, the base stats themselves are notughable matter either, I have suree a long way since my starting days, where barely gaining a few dozen stats or a hundred stats was already shocking and game changing.


    Also there are three new Skills, but I''ll check themter, there are too many things I need to do right now. I want to check how everyone is doing, the health of the citizens that have been saved Elfriedden''s family, and also Chris.


    Chris above all else, worries me slightly¡­


    I''ll give a look at Rainbow Star''s Statuster too.


    "Now¡­"


    I slowly stretched my body first, it had grown much stronger, so I needed to get warmed up a bit if I didn''t want to develop potent cramps on my fortified muscles, which is something that could happen when cultivating a physique.


    As I was about to open the door, Erika was right in front of me, her eyes widening as she smiled.


    "BLAKEEE!"


    And she jumped right towards me, just as I expected.


    This girl really can''t calm down¡­


    "Ugh¡­!"


    I ended falling to the ground as Erika hugged me tightly with her arms, rubbing her face on me.


    "I''m so happy you''re awake! How are you feeling? Mooch! I was so worried! Mooch, mooch!"


    She wouldn''t stop kissing my entire face while asking me questions.


    "I''m fine, Erika¡­ Calm down a bit. How are you instead?" I wondered.


    "I-I''m fine, don''t worry! I think I am the one that sustained the less injuries, if any at all!" Erika smiled. "Do you truly feel alright? A lot happened two days ago¡­"


    "So I''ve been sleeping for that long¡­" I sighed. "Yeah, I''m fine. I feel even stronger than before if anything.


    "I''m so happy, I love you so much!" she hugged me tightly again, her lips growing closer to mine. "Please give me a lot of kisses¡­ I need them!"


    "Okay, calm down," I sighed, as I epted her love.


    We kissed for more than I would have thought, Erika wouldn''t let go of my lips, sharing her saliva with mine, her warm tongue was honestly delicious, and I myself, could hardly resist her charms after all.


    "Hmm~ Ahh~ I love you¡­ I love you¡­" she kept saying, kissing my neck after pulling out her tongue from my mouth.


    "I love you too¡­" I hugged her and gave her my warmth.


    She was probably still rather traumatized after the events that urred two days ago, everything that happened might have been very strong for her and my friends.


    I had tofort her and give her all the love she needed, my poor little Erika. I''ve dragged her into this myself, it is my fault she''s going through these things.


    At the very least, I have to take responsibility and give her the warmth and love she needs.


    "Do you feel better?" I wondered, caressing her long, pink colored hair.


    "Hmm¡­" she nodded a bit.


    "Erika, about what happened before¡­" I muttered. "About what Mammon said regarding my previous life, I¡­"


    "It''s fine¡­" she said, looking into my eyes. "I don''t really mind whatever previous life you had¡­ It''s not like I am a young girl either. I am much older than what other think, and it could be said I was also reincarnated, after all, I died years ago¡­"


    "Erika, well¡­" I muttered. "It''s not exactly the same, there''s-"


    "It''s fine¡­ Don''t feel forced to talk about it if you don''t want to," she smiled. "Erdrich told us what you told him back then and we understood. Don''t worry, nobody hates you because of that¡­ Your past life is the past, we all agreed on that."


    "Erika¡­" I felt moved by her words. "T-Thank you¡­ Truly."


    "It''s fine dear¡­ I love you the most, and I will always love you no matter what~ Okay?" she smiled adorably.


    "Yeah¡­ I understand, thank you for loving me so much, I will also love you ten times more in return, my beautiful Erika," I said, caressing her beautiful face.


    The method in which Erika was "revived", I suppose it could be considered much different than with Chris, so they cannot really bepared.


    And indeed, now that I think about it, her revival was more akin to reincarnation than reviving, she was given a new body altogether after all.


    "Am I your princess?" Erika asked, wanting to be spoiled, her feet rubbing against mine, as she gave me the prettiest, cockiest smile she could muster.


    "Of course you are," I caressed her face. "You''re my beautiful princess, always."


    "Heheh!" she giggled. "T-Then are we getting married soon, right? I want¡­ I want babies¡­"


    "Eh?!"


    I was caught off-guard by such a proposal.


    "C-Come on! How much longer are we dying it? We face so many dangerous situations¡­ I think it''s fair we marry right away! Like, right now!" she nodded.


    "Erika¡­ Don''t get too ahead of yourself now," I sighed.


    "B-But we are already about to be sixteen, right? When you''re sixteen you''re considered an adult in most countries of Spiritias, and you can even do arranged marriages as early as 14!" she said, pouting.


    Hah, I am not used to this world''s customs.


    "Let''s wait a bit longer, until we are at least eighteen," I caressed her hair. "Bear with it, I promise you that I will give you as many children as you want."


    "Ooh! O-Okay¡­ I could wait, I mean¡­ Heh, that sounded a bit kinky¡­" she giggled. "Do you want to do it with me that badly~?"


    "Eh?" I asked.


    "Sex¡­ I mean, you want to have sex with me that badly?" she smiled cockily.


    "W-Wait Erika, I didn''t mean it like that¡­!" I felt embarrassed.


    "Then what else did that mean? Hm? Heheh¡­ I know you like my butt~ You think ady doesn''t see those things?" she giggled. "Do you find me hot?"


    I guess she wanted somepliments from me.


    "Y-Yeah, you''re very hot, Erika¡­ Is that what you wanted to hear?" I sighed.


    "Heheh! Yep!" she smiled. "Then let''s wait¡­ I''ll be patient! But once that timeses¡­ I am not letting you go from bed for several nights, got it?"


    "Got it¡­"


    What did I get myself into this time?


    "Well, we can''t do anything naughty for now, but we can kiss, right? It''s okay for you?" Erika smiled.


    "Yeah, it''s fine- Ah!" I suddenly felt Erika''s hand grab mine and then ce my hands over her butt.


    "You can grab it if you want too¡­ I-I know you''re shy for a boy, usually boys your age are very eager to do all these things, but you''re very nice and respectful, so I have to take the initiative¡­ mom said that," Erika said. Stay connected via m-v l|e''-NovelBin


    "Your mom¡­?! Erika, have you been talking about our rtionship with your mother?" I sighed.


    "W-What''s wrong with it? My mommy knows this stuff! She said that boys love grabbing butts, and kissing with the tongue¡­" Erika said. "Now let''s do more of that!"


    "Wait, Erika, I think we shouldn''t spend too much time here what about everyone- Hm?!"


    However, Erika didn''t ept a "no" for an answer, kissing me passionately.


    I ended falling to her free-spirited beauty and charm, as my hands grasped her butt tightly, it was so soft and big¡­


    "Hmm~ Yeah, like that~ Do you like it?" she smiled.


    "I-I love it¡­" I gasped for air; she wasn''t even letting me breathe well with her kisses.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    "Okay~ Let''s keep going, you''re mine for the rest of the morning!" she licked my lips. "I''m going to eat you whole~"


    "Erika¡­"


    Creaak¡­


    However, the door opened right in that moment, revealing Elizabeth in the other side, looking all angered, crossing her arms.


    "Erika!"


    "Eh?! E-Eli!"


    "Elizabeth?"


    She quickly walked towards us, as Erika quickly moved away from me.


    "ke has been resting for two days, all exhausted, and the first thing you do is drag him back to bed to kiss him like a little¡­ horny beast? Calm yourself down!"


    "I-I''m sorry¡­"


    "Also, I want some of that too!" she blushed, looking at me.


    No! Has Elizabeth also been infected with the horniness of Erika?!


    It''s over for me¡­


    -----

 Chapter 1035: Was That The Right Decision?

    -----


    Elfriedden looked at his girlfriend, Rosenheim, gently and calmly sleeping over his bed. He had barely been able to sleep at all, too worried about the health and safety of his family, who had recently metamorphosed into demonic monstrosities, to even care about his own health or to rest.


    "Rosenheim¡­"


    He had been watching over her, his brother Sapphirus, and his mother since they arrived here, constantly changing between rooms, although always staying much longer with Rosenheim, who he was the most worried about.


    Even as he tried to keep calm, memories of what had happened would constantly torment his mind, thinking about the horrible thing they went through, bing mindless monsters that tried to eat him¡­ he couldn''t help but feel a slight sense of despair, even as everything had finally ended.


    Indeed, everything that happened was greatly impactful for Elfriedden, perhaps giving him yet another new trauma for the rest of his life.


    "Father is now dead, the nobles, all my siblings and family members are still resting¡­" he sighed. "Everything is even worse than it was before. And it might be even worse in the future¡­"


    However, Elfriedden still smiled, holding her hand gently.


    "Yet it doesn''t matter, as long as you, mother, and my brother are alive¡­" he sighed. "I don''t care, as long as you''re with me. I can bear with anything¡­ Rosenheim¡­"


    "Hm¡­"


    "Eh?"


    Suddenly, his eyes widened as he saw the elven girl slowly begin to move, her cute face started making annoyed expressions, and her eyes slowly opened, looking around herself.


    "Hmm? Wha¡­ where am I?" she muttered, yawning. "E-Elfriedden?"


    "Rosenheim!"


    Elfriedden almost jumped over the poor girl, hugging her tightly and kissing her cheek.


    "I was so worried! Are you okay? Nothing wrong with your body, right? What about your head?"


    He was a very worried boyfriend.


    "Hm? I''m¡­ fine I think. Ah, though I feel a strong headache out of nowhere¡­ I am thirsty too. Just what happened? I remember a bright red light, and then¡­ I think I fell unconscious. I thought I would have died.


    I had such a weird dream where I was some kind of monsters¡­ And you were there, and I was chasing you, it was so horrible¡­ I didn''t want to do that, but my body would move on its own¡­ I¡­ I''m d it was just a dream though."


    "¡­"


    Elfriedden remained in silence, he didn''t know what to tell her.


    If he just nodded at that and allowed her to move on, it would be fine.


    But it would be a lie, a lie that one day might be revealed.


    And if he said it was the truth, he didn''t know how Rosenheim would even react, and he didn''t want to upset her anymore.


    Yet¡­ hisck of response was clearer than water for the girl, she was smart.


    Tears started falling from her eyes.


    "My Spirit¡­ I can''t feel them¡­" she started crying. "My Spirit Orb feels¡­ strangely hollow, there''s something else there now- Elfriedden, was¡­ was this nightmare¡­ not truly a dream?"


    "I¡­" Elfriedden muttered. "I''m sorry for not being strong enough to help you, Rosenheim¡­ I was unable to- I was unable to do a single thing at the end! It''s all my fault, you don''t have to me yourself for this¡­"


    "W-What are you talking about?" Rosenheim wondered. "Did I really turn into- Ahh! N-No¡­ It can''t be! T-This is¡­!"N?v(el)B\\jnn


    Rosenheim''s face quickly twisted in horror, disgust of her own self, looking at her own hands, she despaired, her eyes widening as her tears would never stoping from her eyes.


    "C-Calm down!"


    Elfriedden quickly went to hug her, holding her back from growing even more neurotic.


    "It''s fine, don''t worry¡­ N-Nobody died, everyone is okay¡­ We were able to turn them all back," sighed Elfriedden. "I know it was traumatic but¡­ You didn''t kill a single person, don''t worry."


    "I didn''t? Really?" wondered Rosenheim, crying on her boyfriend''s shoulders. "Elfriedden¡­ I feel like I hurt you, are you sure that-"


    "It''s fine¡­ You never hurt me, it''s alright¡­ As long as you''re okay, it''s fine¡­" Elfriedden didn''t let her fall into despair, making sure to make her feel loved.


    Slowly, Rosenheim calmed down and sighed.


    Despite everyone being healthy, the memories of being monsters remained, even as if they thought of them as nightmares or dreams.


    But above all, it seemed another side effect, one much worse happened.


    "Are you feeling okay?" he wondered. "Are you hungry? I''ll prepare you something to eat. For now you need to keep resting, Rosenheim."


    "Um¡­ I would love to be the one making you something¡­ Is this okay?" she wondered.


    "It''s fine¡­ really, just rest there, I''ll be right back," he smiled, walking away.


    The young Elven Duchess sighed, sitting the bed, and covering herself with the nkets, especially her face.


    For a moment, even if brief, she just wanted to forget about everything and rx¡­


    But even with Elfriedden''s efforts, those traumatic memories would linger inside of her head for much longer.


    At the same time, ke walked out of his room with Erika and Elizabeth, after he managed to calm down Erika with Elizabeth''s help.


    "Hah¡­ Oh."


    He entered the living room, where a big table where his friends were eating breakfast was located.


    In there, Elfriedden, Chris, and the rest were there.


    Chris in specific, made ke flinch a bit.


    "Chris¡­"


    "ke! Good morning, did ya sleep for a while?"


    "Ah, yes¡­"


    ke smiled lightly at his friend''s cheerfulness.


    But a message from the grimoire only made him feel even more guilty.


    [You have assimted the power of [Mammon''s True Demonic Soul (Divine Spiritual Awakening)]!]


    [You have used most of its powers to heal those affected by Mammon''s Soul Parasite.]


    [You have used most of its powers to revive your friend, Chris.]


    [Due to the errors that urred while trying to revive Chris, the power of the Grimoire and its Authority has been used to fully revive him instead.]


    [To Fully revive Chris, you have used the powers of the Divine and Demonic Soul of Mammon inbination with the Grimoire''s Authority to forcefully evolve him into a [Spirit Familiar (Human)]


    "Was this¡­ the right thing to do?" he wondered.


    -----

 Chapter 1036: Good Friends

    -----


    [You have assimted the power of [Mammon''s True Demonic Soul (Divine Spiritual Awakening)]!]


    [You have used most of its powers to heal those affected by Mammon''s Soul Parasite.]


    [You have used most of its powers to revive your friend, Chris.]


    [Due to the errors that urred while trying to revive Chris, the power of the Grimoire and its Authority has been used to fully revive him instead.]


    [To Fully revive Chris, you have used the powers of the Divine and Demonic Soul of Mammon inbination with the Grimoire''s Authority to forcefully evolve him into a [Spirit Familiar (Human)]


    No matter how much ke wanted to run away from this truth, he couldn''t, he had to face it head-on.


    What he had done to revive Chris, it was now as clear as water once these notifications appeared.


    Chris could not be sustained within the world after having such a gruesome death.


    Your next journey awaits at m v|l-e''-NovelBin


    His soul could have been reincarnated, but by then, he would havepletely lost everything that made him himself.


    ke was desperate, he didn''t want his dear friend to die, someone that had been with him for so long¡­


    Using those godly powers back then, he did the only thing he thought was reasonable.


    He transformed him into a Familiar.


    However, he was a special kind of Familiar, something not bound by his Grimoire, but that worked with simr principles to a Unique Familiar.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    The card that belonged to him, however, was ced inside of his Spirit Orb, bing the new core of his life.


    He would continue growing up, developing his abilities and everything like before, but the card would remain there, as it was his new core, his new heart.


    Some might think nothing of that, if it didn''t especially affect Chris.


    But it did, there were different sensations now, Spirit Familiars experienced the world differently than living beings.


    He could sense energies around him everywhere, so much it felt confusing.


    Yet Chris wanted to keep calm, using his own spiritual energy, he tried to null most of his sharper senses.


    Yet the powers within him, his spiritual body, which was now connected even more with his own spirits and the elements of the world, was very hard to get used to.


    Yet the most dreadful thing was obvious.


    The fact that he could be considered nothing but a card now, and not a living person, a human¡­


    What was he now? Should he have died back then? Is life in this new form even better than before? Or is it all an illusion, and he should have instead epted his death?


    There were too many questions in both Chris and ke''s minds, but none wanted to talk about it. This was a secret nobody else knew than the two.


    ke felt guilty he had turned his friend into a monster in order to save him, that he had stripped his humanity, or that Chris would think he turned him into a ve of sorts¡­


    Yet Chris only greeted him with a gentle smile when he first saw him.


    "What''s wrong buddy? Come on, sit down! Let''s eat! Erika''s mom made a huge feast!" he said. "We gotta recover our energies after all¡­ And, well, thanks a lot for what you did for me. Man!


    I really thought I was a goner there, hahaha!"


    He was trying to lift everyone''s spirits, but although they were trying to go along, and even if they didn''t know the true nature of his revival, everyone felt bad he died right there, and that they were unable to prevent his gruesome, horrible death.


    They had thought Chris would be traumatized after dying so horribly, yet he was already cheerful and ready for another day¡­


    In their minds, there were just two options.


    He was either trying to not worry them and was still hiding his pain.


    Or he was just an idiot that didn''t really care.


    "Hah, you died and you''re talking like it was nothing, Chris!" Elfriedden snaped. "Stop treating this like¡­ Like it was not even a hardship to you¡­ Ugh, you died in front of me¡­ Chris¡­" suddenly, the elf started crying.


    "E-Elfriedden¡­ C-Calm down, I''m alive, dude. It''s¡­ it''s fine¡­" Chris smiled, trying to keep himself cheerful. "It''s okay."


    "No, it''s not okay!" Eric cried, hugging Chris. "Stop pretending you''re okay! D-Don''t you feel anything?!"


    "I¡­ N-No? Of course¡­ not, dude, I don''t care, you know¡­ I¡­" Chris gritted his teeth. "I just don''t want to worry all of you, fucking idiots¡­"


    Chris couldn''t stay like this any longer either, as tears quickly started pouring from his eyes.


    "It''s okay to sometimes cry, Chris¡­" Erdrich sighed. "We all love you as our best friend, as family¡­ You can trust us, you¡­ you can rely on us, friend."


    "Dammit, I didn''t want to cry again¡­" Chris groaned. "I¡­ Hahh¡­ dammit¡­"


    He ended epting the hug from Eric and Elfriedden, his two friendsforting him as he kept crying.


    ke remained in silence, feeling even guiltier as he saw the scene.


    "I''m sorry Chris, for not being there before everything happened¡­" said ke. "This is all my fault, I should have nned it better, maybe if I didn''t try to attack the King right away, nobody would have died, nobody would have suffered. I was reckless, and I''ll take responsibility for this."


    "You''re putting too many burdens on you, ke," Cattalina walked into the dining table. "Sit down and eat with us, everyone went through a lot. And our wounds will not heal so quickly no matter what anybody could say about it. It''ll take time¡­ It always does. You have to stay strong, together. To face the horrors of the world as a group, as a family."


    "Mom¡­" Erika sighed. "You''re not wrong¡­"


    "Chris!"


    ke ended running towards his friend and hugging him too.


    In fact, everyone went to hug him at the end, Alberta, Erika, Elizabeth, everyone¡­


    Familiar or not, Spirit or not, whatever he had be, Chris was still Chris.


    And it was already a miracle that he was still alive with them, even after dying so horribly.


    The very thought of having lost him permanently, it broke everyone''s hearts.


    Before this, they never thought how close they were with one another, and how strong their bonds truly were.


    "I love all of you guys¡­" Chris kept crying. "Thank you for being there for me¡­"


    -----

 Chapter 1037: Revealing The Truth

    -----


    After that touching moment, everything went back to normal, Chris came into terms with what he had be, and we finished breakfast in harmony. Everyone was healthy and safe, and that was enough for me to be happy.


    My Vampire Spirits had recovered very quickly thanks to the powers of the crystal tree that was formed inside my Spiritual Realm, I¡¯ll ask them to help on rebuilding the city that was destroyed, the Rosenheim Dukedom, but that¡¯s forter.


    There were important matters we needed discuss, perhaps too many. First of all was about me, and my previous life. Erika and Elizabeth told me it wasn¡¯t necessary to address it anymore. They had talked with everyone and seemed to simply not care about what past I had, they would still be my friends no matter what.


    Although I appreciate their loyalty, I also must tell them what I know and the truthpletely, so there are no more doubts in their hearts about me. After all, being acquittanced with Archdemons was not something that they would take easily, no matter how much they try to convince me otherwise.


    I summoned all my Vampire Spirits as they would be needed to exin things further, they were friends of my past life after all.


    Slowly, I told them the truth, of what I could recall my first life was, about the origin of my powers, the things we did, the battles we had, the enemies we made, and finally, thest battle against Lucifer, where Asmodeus died.


    The truth that Lucifer had revived me to mock me and have a rematch was something they never expected, even less that the Grimoire I had, which everyone assumed was my Spirit, was also his gift, one I¡¯ve made my own after the Holy Spirits modified it and turned it into their own Divine Artifact, away from Lucifer¡¯s control.


    "And that¡¯s pretty much everything¡­" I said.


    "Well, that answers a lot of things¡­" Chris said. "From how you knew so many techniques, to the Vampire powers you have, your cultivation, your magic circle, martial arts¡­ Everything. They weren¡¯t special techniques or powers you figured out but something from your previous life knowledge!"


    "Yeah, it¡¯s amazing¡­" Eric nodded. "And to think there¡¯s a huge Universe out there, it makes me really curious about visiting that world, and everything out there that awaits us¡­"


    "I wouldn¡¯t really get excited about that, as he said, the Universe outside is dangerous. If Spiritias is really like a dimension of its own, its better to stay here than to go outside¡­" Erdrich sighed.


    "Seeing how my continent has been ravaged, I wouldn¡¯t say it is so different from the Universe outside¡­" Elfriedden sighed, crossing his arms.


    "Wait a second¡­" Alberta muttered. "But then¡­ D-Doesn¡¯t this means you¡¯re very old, ke? Like, aren¡¯t you like a grandpa then?"


    "He would be older than me by far¡­" muttered Cattalina. "I am a bit surprised¡­ Is it okay for Erika and Elizabeth to be with him now? I-I don¡¯t really know¡­"


    "Hmm, I don¡¯t identify as Asmodeus anymore, I do remember many of his memories, but it is something like¡­ Reading a book of a different character. The book tells me I was this person, I know the contents of the book are my memories too, but it simply doesn¡¯t feel like me anyways," I answered.


    "Asmodeus¡¯ knowledge has made me wise, but I still feel like who I am, and what you¡¯re looking at, I am ke, not Asmodeus¡­"


    "I see¡­" Cattalina nodded. "It still a bit surprising, but the way you put it is a bit more relieving. I¡¯m sorry if I sounded rude¡­"


    "No, Ipletely understand why you would think that way," I nodded, sighing. "If Erika and Elizabeth find that my answer is not enough¡­ I would understand if you were to leave me, it¡¯s fine. I¡­ I don¡¯t want to creep you out or something, and I¡¯m sorry if I already did¡­"


    "N-No, ke, don¡¯t say that!" Erika pouted. "I-It is as you said, you¡¯re ke, Asmodeus is Asmodeus! You¡¯re two separate entities, you¡¯re my sweet boyfriend, not some old vampire or whatever. You got his knowledge but you¡¯re you!"


    "I agree," Elizabeth smiled sweetly. "And even then, I wouldn¡¯t even care either way, I¡¯m already in love with you¡­ I said that I wouldn¡¯t change how I felt no matter what, right?"


    "Is this¡­ really okay?" I sighed. "I don¡¯t want you to regret thister¡­ Or feel disgusted."


    "We won¡¯t!"


    Continue your saga on m|v-l¡¯e m,p| y- r


    "Stop it!"


    Erika and Elizabeth quickly stopped me from talking about these things anymore.


    They hugged me, and kissed my cheek at the same time, then, they took turns to kiss my lips.


    "We love you!" Erika smiled. "It doesn¡¯t matter what your past life was¡­ After all, didn¡¯t all our souls reincarnate too, ording to what you discovered about the Cycle of Souls? Technically, all our souls perhaps lived countless other lives. We don¡¯t remember them though, but still, we aren¡¯t different."


    "Yeah," Elizabeth nodded. "You simply remember that past life really well, like you read it as a book, as you said."


    "I¡­ I guess you beat me," I nodded. "Fine¡­ And thank you, for being there for me and saying all these things. It is corny, yes, but it has made me feel better. At the beginning of my life, I struggled with my identity. These memories of Asmodeus told me I should be like him, but I was ultimately still developing as someone else.


    The demons call me by that name, and I¡¯ll take it as a second name to honor my previous life¡­ But I am ke."


    "Well said!" Chris nodded.


    "Sorry for asking that," Alberta said. "I know you¡¯re a very good person, ke! Don¡¯t worry!"


    "Yeah, that¡¯s right¡­" Eric nodded. "And, err, well, your Vampires are a bit different, they¡¯re truly the same as before, right?"


    "Yeah, more or less," nodded Eleanora. "Some of us didn¡¯t get to live long, and weren¡¯t even vampires before like Saphira and Eriant, so they have a second opportunity to live the life they couldn¡¯t before."


    "That¡¯s fantastic¡­" Cattalina nodded. "I would love to talk with all of you about so many things!"


    At the end, everyone got even more along with my Vampire Spirits than I imagined.


    "I know everyone wants to rest¡­ But there¡¯s something we need to talk about first."


    However, Elfriedden brought a new issue we had to solve.


    N?v(el)B\\jnn


    -----

 Chapter 1038: New Issues

    -----


    And the issue was rather serious, apparently Rosenheim had woken up and Elfriedden had recently brought her breakfast, but after trying for a while, she was unable to channel her spiritual energy and her spirit orb seemed¡­ "empty" for some reason.


    It was something I had expected to happen, after all Mammon drained the spiritual powers of all the citizens that were infected by his demonic soul parasites and used it to ascend into the near god-level being he had almost be.


    However, I still held the slight hope these people would recover their spiritual energy over time¡­


    "H-Her Spirit Orb is empty? How is that possible?" wondered Erika. "W-What about her Spirits?"


    "She says there are none, they werepletely¡­ destroyed, or taken away, I can¡¯t tell," Elfriedden sighed.


    "It must have happened because of Mammon, right?" Chris wondered. "That dude used thousands of spirits against us, he had transformed them into demonic things¡­"


    "Right! I remember that too!" Erika nodded. "Then that means, he drained all the elves from their spiritual energy?"


    "But can they recover it? If they have their Spirit Orb, then surely¡­" Elizabeth muttered. "It might take some time but-"


    N?v(el)B\\jnn


    "No, she can¡¯t¡­" Elfriedden sighed. "She said the Spirit Orb was emptypletely, and dried¡­ It had turned red; she could feel its strange color. It could no longer harbor spirit energy, or perhaps, not something simr to it." Then, he looked at Erdrich.


    "Hm, so you¡¯re suggesting¡­ That they went through something simr to the Demon Cultists? Their Spirit Orbs were mutated due to the demonic energy, their spirits were taken away¡­" said Erdrich. "If that is true then¡­ Yeah, there¡¯s no chance for them to recover what they lost¡­"


    "T-This can¡¯t be! Is there no solution at all?!" Alberta wondered.


    "There must be! R-Right? ke?" wondered Eric, looking at me.


    "I could try something¡­ I recently obtained a Spirit, a weird one," I said. "The power that Mammon stole from the people is what helped him reach this level of divinity. I spent most of it turning everyone back from monsters, and also by reviving Chris. But there was a part of it that was left."


    "It became a new Spirit? like, connected to your Spirit Orb and all?" wondered Elfriedden.


    "Yes, it was very strange. At first it resembled a star made of rainbow crystals, but it quickly took upon my appearance, it imitates mepletely, and I seem to be able to inhabit it with my soul, essentially having two bodies, it can also use all my abilities when I am possessing it as a vessel," I exined. "Yet at the same time, it was originally part of Mammon¡¯s Demonic Spiritual Divinity.


    That power I used to transform temporarily, to save everyone¡­ The leftover of everything, it crystalized into that, which I absorbed, turned into a spirit, and well¡­ here we are."


    "Uh-huh¡­ I think I got lost where you said it was a rainbow crystal¡­" Erika said. "But you have some new spirit, so that¡¯s cool!"


    "Wait, does this means you can wield those powers again?!" Elfriedden wondered. "Maybe you could¡­?!"


    "I¡¯ll have to try first, and I am not even aware of that spirit¡¯s true powers yet either," I answered inly. "Don¡¯t raise your expectations, Elfriedden, it might not be what you expect."


    "Hm¡­ I understand, but if there¡¯s even a little hope¡­" he sighed.


    "I know, I¡¯ll try," I nodded. "But I¡¯ll need time, perhaps a couple of days, to assess all of the spirit¡¯s true powers and see what it can do. Also, the rest of the victims have yet to wake up, right? We must first confirm if everyone has been affected in the same way and see their development in the iing days."


    "Not wrong," Cattalina nodded. "You¡¯re as insightful and thoughtful as ever, ke."


    "Perhaps I owe this trait of mine to the knowledge Asmodeus passed to me," I nodded. "There¡¯s also something else I gained, a power connected to this star, I have yet to fully utilize it as well as test it either. So I¡¯ll need some time, I hope everyone can understand."


    Also, I think I could make something to repair their Spirit Orbs, my Alchemy, my Creation Abilities, and the materials I could harvest, especially from that rainbow tree.


    Perhaps there¡¯s a chance to do something there¡­ Yet ultimately, it might all depend on luck as well. After all, as much as I¡¯ve studied, I have yet to fullyprehend and understand how Spirit Orbs truly work. Your next journey awaits at m v|l-e¡¯m,p| y- r


    I might only have a week at most for now, after all, the monsters outside are there, waiting. And Fafnir might probably not like how Mammon got defeated out of nowhere.


    I am fairly sure that both were allies, or something close to that, they weren¡¯t attacking each other after all and were even cooperating with one another to an extent.


    But for now, to concentrate on other things first¡­


    "We get it, don¡¯t worry," nodded Cattalina. "I can help in anything you feel like. I¡¯ve been sorting out the minds of the people and healing them. I think that taking away the traumatic memories of what they experienced could be good¡­ to an extent."


    "I don¡¯t know if that would be too good though, they wouldn¡¯t be able to rationalize the reason they lost their power," I answered. "And that could result on an uproar of the elves who don¡¯t know what happened to them."


    "S-So you¡¯re suggesting we should leave their traumatic experience as monsters?!" Chris wondered. "But that¡¯s too much dude¡­"


    "I know, but it¡¯s necessary¡­ Right, Elfriedden?" I asked.


    "¡­Yeah," Elfriedden, one of the people whose family had suffered the transformation, agreed with me. "It¡¯s not good to take away memories like this, even more when there was a huge loss because of this. People might feel bad, they might even feel sick with themselves¡­ But elves are wise and long-lived, they will slowly improve and learn to do better, to forgive each other and themselves."


    "Well said, my friend," I nodded. "For now, let¡¯s go check Rosenheim, I need to first analyze her Spirit Orbpletely, if that doesn¡¯t bother you."


    "Not at all, anything to help my beloved, let¡¯s go, ke," Elfriedden nodded, leading the way.


    It was going to be a long day¡­


    Ding!


    [Congrattions! You havepleted the {Main Quest}: [Defeat the Archdemon Mammon and Save the Elves]!]


    Oh?


    -----

 Chapter 1039: Quest Rewards

    -----


    Just when I thought I would have to do this on my own, I saw that message prompted by the Grimoire. I suppose I can always trust on these friends at the very least, the Holy Spirits.


    This time I didn''t visit their Divine Spiritual Realm while I slept, but I think this is because they''re not holding any Archdemon Soul Fragment, Mammon''s soul waspletely absorbed and then used to save everyone. Stay connected through m-v l|e''-NovelBin


    So there was nothing they had to seal for me, and with Mammon''s soul dead entirely, his physical body, sealed within Hell, should have now be a dried corpse, his Demonic Tower naturally crumbled, wherever it is.


    But there was a Quest at the end, one I had not noticed in the heat of the moment.


    Ding!


    [Congrattions! You havepleted the {Main Quest}: [Defeat the Archdemon Mammon and Save the Elves]!]


    [Not only were you able to unmask the Elf King as the true vessel of Mammon, but you were able to defeat him despite all odds, even as he turned everyone into demons, you found a way to save them all! Congrattions!]


    [However, now lies the responsibility of their future. Mammon absorbed their spiritual powers and even stole their spirits, which he turned into demonic spirit you had to fight and destroy to survive. What will be of the future of the elves of the Rosenheim Dukedom?]


    [Could there be any hope for them? Or are they doomed to never wield Spiritual Arts or summon a Spirit ever again?]


    [Completion Rewards]: [Magic Circle Strengthening Elixir (Legendary Grade)] x30 [Physique Enhancing Elixir (Legendary Grade)] x30 [Spirit Orb Enhancement Elixir (Legendary Grade)] x30 [Skill Proficiency Elixir (Legendary Grade)] x30 [Spirit Gachapon Ticket: Materials (Legendary Grade)] x10 [Mammon Archdemon of Greed Themed Treasure Chest (Celestial Grade)] x1 [Demonic Skill Scroll: Mammon Archdemon of Greed (Celestial Grade)] x1 [Spirit Orbs (S Rank)] x100 [Divine Fruit of the Spirit Tree (Celestial Grade)] x1 [Divine Roots of the Spirit Tree (Celestial Grade)] x1 [Celestial Angel Halo Fragments (Celestial Grade)] x1]


    [The {Holy Spirit of Light} is looking forward to what you can do to help these people.]


    [The {Holy Spirit of Fire} congrattes you for your efforts, saying they aren''t as serious as the Holy Spirit of Light!]


    Well, thanks.


    [The {Holy Spirit of Water} smiles, saying that they took a while to decide the rewards well, but they were all fairly materialized and based on all your efforts.]


    I appreciate that, I feel very rewarded right now, although the numbers feel excessive, after going through all that hell, it is well deserved.


    [The {Holy Spirit of Love} says that thest materials are all important ingredients! However, the way you find out how to use thempletely depends on your own.]


    [The {Holy Spirit of Earth} nods, saying that you have a greater responsibility on your shoulders.]


    Noted.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    [The {Holy Spirit of Wind} says that if Hero Allen was able to grant the entire world with Spirit Orbs, then as the one that possess his Legacy, it might be possible to at least fix them, or something.]


    You''re not wrong there, if Hero Allen was really the origin of Spirit orbs in the world, then yeah, maybe. I could probably do something, right? Perhaps¡­


    For now, I''ll assess the rewardster, if they''re truly the key to help the elves, then I must make sure to use them.


    "We''re here."


    Elfriedden opened the door, as I entered with him, Erika and Elizabeth stayed behind the door, while the rest of my friends decided to rx for the rest of the day.


    "Oh? Elfriedden¡­ Hm?"


    Rosenheim looked at me with a sleepy expression, she had finished her breakfast. At the very least, she looked healthier, if she ate her food it means she has appetite and also, the will to live.


    "Hi."


    "This is ke, I guess I wasn''t able to ever introduce him to you properly¡­ He''s the friend I made in the Stronghold Academy, and also the Divine Summoner."


    "That''s me," I nodded. "Nice to meet you,dy Rosenheim. Elfriedden has talked me a lot about you, he is indeed very madly in love with you. He does everything for you, always."


    "N-Nice to meet you too- Eh? Eeeh?! Elfriedden!" cried Rosenheim, covering her face in embarrassment. "Do you need to talk so much about me to others?"


    "H-He''s lying! I barely ever mention you, Rosenheim," he said, trying to make her happy.


    This had the opposite effect though.


    "What?! So you don''t even talk about me? Do you never think about me? You''re so cold!" she keptining.


    "I-I didn''t mean it like that! I always think about you!" he said.


    It was funny seeing him trying to hard to please thisdy, it is indeed something he had never done before, and felt way out of character.


    But I guess like any other person, Elfriedden has also many facets to himself, every person does. Nobody stays the same forever, they ma pretend, however.


    "Anyways, Elfriedden called me here to analyze your Spirit Orb, may I?" I asked.


    "Oh, right¡­ W-What do you n to do though? I don''t want you to touch my chest or something!" Rosenheimined.


    "None of such things, I will imbue a part of my Aura, in the form of a thread, into your own body, and see how everything is going. Is that okay with you?" I asked.


    "F-Fine, that''s fine I suppose," she nodded.


    "Alright."


    I did just that, imbuing a of Aura into her chest, very gently.


    FLASH!


    Until I expanded my senses through the Aura, seeing my surroundings, and I was able to detect her Spirit Orb.


    It was indeedpletely empty, resembling a red-colored ss ball more than her Spirit Orb, not even a hint of spiritual energy, but something strange is festering inside.


    Demonic energy!


    And she has quite a sizable amount, do all the elves have this?


    It must be an aftereffect of their previous transformations; I was unable to detect such a thing at the end...


    Slowly, I pulled back my Aura.


    "So?" wondered Elfriedden.


    "Empty¡­ Completely empty¡­" I sighed.


    -----

 Chapter 1040: A New Plan

    -----


    By analyzing Elfriedden''s fianc¨¦e, I found out a few things.


    First, it was empty, no Spirit Orbs.


    Second, there was some sort of energy, it was like a very corrupted spirit energy, which was in small quantities.


    The rest¡­ Well, it was rather dry and empty, yes, but there was demonic energy slowly festering inside.


    It was indeed like the Demonic Spirit Orbs that cultists develop on their own, but without any actual Demonic Spirit there.


    From what I''ve seen and heard, Demonic Cultists, when they go through this change, can only keep a single demonic spirit.


    Their old, useless spirit to them, is corrupted and mutates into a new, aberrant form that can grow very quickly by devouring souls and flesh, like demons do.


    But she didn''t even have that, only a Demonic Spirit Orb that could over time harbor a lot of demonic energy.


    Elves that wield Demonic Energy, it is as bizarre as it sounds.


    Can I fix or repair their Spirit Orb?


    I will have to investigate how to do that first, and then move to do that.


    For now, however¡­


    "It is empty?" wondered Elfriedden.


    "I-Is it?" wondered Rosenheim.


    "Yeah, as dry as a desert," I nodded. "I''m sorry Rosenheim, your spirits are no longer there¡­"


    "Hah¡­" she sighed, looking depressed, but perhaps too tired to cry anymore. "I shared so many memories with them, with my little Pegasus. I saw him grow from a little baby to the big flying horse he became. My loyal steed¡­ I''ll miss him."


    It usually varies from person to person, some might feel attached to their Spirits, and others only see them as an expression of their power, and therefore form no bonds with them.


    But Elves seem different, they make strong bonds with their Spirits, since birth that they embrace them and love them, making the spirits develop very strongly emotionally, and overprotective of their masters.


    In result, this also make elves really good at wielding Spiritual Magic and Spirit Arts using their Spirits powers and assistance, as they will always be taking care of their backs and can channel more spiritual power through their deeper bond. Your adventure continues at m v|l-e''-NovelBin


    "I know that elves share an even deeper bond with their Spirits most of the time," I said. "I''m sorry for your loss."


    "T-Thank you for your consideration, ke¡­" Rosenheim sighed. "I-I need time to mourn him¡­ My little Pegasus¡­"


    At the very least, their Level and Skills seem to remain, so in the worst-case scenario, they could still be like my father, growing beyond Spirit Orb Cultivation. The creation of physiques and magic circles could remediate that loss.


    But there''s also a part of me that''s saying that their new Spirit Orbs¡­ might bring apletely new n of elves, Demonic Elves, or Dark Elves, as I would call them. And it could help them cultivate andprehend this dangerous, yet powerful energy to use it against their foes.


    After all, even if it is associated with our foes, Demonic Energy is powerful, I wield it myself, and it boosts my strength and explosive power topletely insane levels after all.


    But the elves would probably never ept that¡­


    Maybe.


    "Yes, take as much time as you can," I nodded. "I am sure my friend here will take care of you. Elfriedden, I''ll get going now."


    "Eh? Is that all?" wondered my friend.


    "Yes, I''ve analyzed her Spirit Orbpletely and created a scan inside of my head with a hundred percent uracy, I will analyze it in more detail in my room," I said. "Expect some results in a couple of days. And¡­"


    I quickly talked to him through telepathy.


    "The potential of Demonic Energy shouldn''t be ignored. There is a chance I might not be able to help them at all. If such a thing happens, they''ll have to eventuallye to terms with their new Spirit Orbs. Try to mellow down your girlfriend about the idea. She''s a noble after all, so she could convince others."n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    "W-What?"


    "I know its crazy, but although they have lost a lot, they have also gained something new and unprecedented, an opportunity within a crisis¡­ Elves would never ept it after all, this is why they need to think outside the box. And you''re perhaps the one that has thought outside the box the most. I''m counting on your judgement, Elfriedden."


    "¡­Okay."


    Elfriedden didn''tin or anything, although his face seemed slightly conflicted, he didn''t said anything back, he seemed to understand where I wasing from.


    I knew, he''s smart after all.


    Nheless, I will do everything I can to recover their Spirit Orbs as much as possible.


    If I could ever return their Spirits or not, we''ll have to see.


    This dependspletely on theposition of Spirits, and if they are truly connected to someone''s soul and are part of it or not.


    If they are, even if "dead", there might be a way to make them be "reborn" in their initial stages.


    If not, then there could be the opportunity to give the victims new Spirits.


    Although they might not like them, as these would be simr to Demonic Spirits¡­


    All of it depends on them though.


    As I walked outside the room, Erika and Elizabeth tagged along with me.


    "So what are we doing now?" wondered Elizabeth.


    "You want to help too?" I wondered.


    "O-Of course I want to help! Why wouldn''t I? I need to learn what''s going on with the victims, and if my healing magic could heal their demonic powers or something," Elizabeth said.


    "Hmm, good point," I nodded. "Demonic power is very powerful, it tends to corrupt weak minds and make them eviler¡­ cleaning that would be wiser than keeping it, unless a bnce could be found. Strangely enough, the demonic energy inside their spirit orbs seems¡­ very harmonious with the person, and not aggressively trying to overtake their bodies."


    "W-Wait! ke, are you suggesting¡­?!" Erika muttered, shocked of my ideas.


    "Sometimes a crisis can be an opportunity, Erika," I said. "So yes, perhaps I would want the victims to embrace their new power and surpass the limits of their kind¡­ But that''ll be forter. If you want to help, then I''ll dly ept your assistance."


    "Um, alright then¡­" she sighed.


    "That is so very like him, fufu," giggled Eleanora. "Don''t worry Erika, master will do his best to heal these people anyways."


    -----

 Chapter 1041: A New Spirit

    -----


    "So what''s the n?" wondered Elizabeth.


    "I want to analyze the Spirit Orb in more detail, and also see what Rainbow Star can do," I said. "Meanwhile I might start preparing something with Alchemy, Eleanora, can you help me prepping things up?"


    "Of course!" she nodded, quickly taking out my Cauldron, and also bringing from my Spiritual Realm some Spirit Treasures, or well, their byproducts.


    This included the rainbow crystal shards from the tree that Rainbow Star created inside my Spiritual Realm, which made me feel it could truly be one of the keys to this predicament.


    As she did that I took out several papers and started scribbling on them with a pen, while little spider-shaped golems assisted me.


    There, I drew the entire Spirit Orb in good detail, and this paper wasn''t a normal one, but a 3D projection paper made using special materials, such as Light ss, Light Spirit Stones, and a lot of Mana.


    FLUOSH!


    "Woah, what''s that?!" Erika wondered.


    "It''s like¡­ something made of light? Is that a Spirit Orb?" Elizabeth asked.


    "Yeah, this is the 3D paper, by imbuing it with Mana, anything you draw on it can be quickly shown as a 3D model made of holographic light," I exined. "Now, onto other matters, Rainbow Star,e out."


    FLASH!


    The Spirit materialized by my side, resembling a regal vampire, looking a lot like how Asmodeus looked like, with long silvery-white hair, pale skin like candlewax, and even wearing a ck and red suit.


    I finally decided to take a look at their stats and see what they were made of.


    -----


    [Name]: [Rainbow Star]


    [Spirit Race]: [Divine Demonic Spirit Vessel: Rainbow Star (Form: Asmodeus)]


    [Spirit Type]: [Spirit] [Demon] [Divine] [Crystal] [Multi-Elemental]


    [Spirit Realm]: [Rank 5 (Peak Stage)]


    [Level]: [200/200]


    [Health Points]: [125.000/125.000]


    [Mana Points]: [200.000/200.000]


    [Strength]: [135.000]


    [Agility]: [115.000]


    [Vitality]: [135.000]


    [Intelligence]: [135.000]


    [Dexterity]: [105.000]


    [Spirit]: [50.000]


    [Divinity]: [25.000]


    {Passive Skills}: [Divine Demonic Soul Vessel (Master): Lv10] [Rainbow Spirit Crystal Body: Lv10] [Demonic Divinity Spirit: Lv10] [Spirit Soul Link (Master): Lv10] [All Element Resistance: Lv6] [Physical Damage Reduction: Lv5]


    {Active Skills}: [Demonic Divine Rainbow Spirit Crystal Armor: Lv7] [Divine Spiritual Essence Maniption: Lv6] [Spirit Restoration: Lv5] [Mimicry: Lv4]


    {Magic Skills}: [Demonic Divine Rainbow Crystal Magic: Lv8] [Mana Absorption: Lv6] [Demon Magic: Lv5] [Divine Magic: Lv4] [Spirit Magic: Lv3]


    {Title Skills}: [The Star Of Many Colors: Lv10] [Divine Spirit: Lv10] [Doppelganger: lv7] [Secondary Body: Lv6]


    -----


    And well, this was certainly interesting, very little Skills for its Tier, which aligns with mine perfectly.


    From the little Skills it has, they''re still pretty interesting, without a doubt.


    All the Passive Skills are mostly Level 10, most of them are regarding our connection, and the Rainbow Star''s ability to be a vessel of my soul, a secondary body.


    They also seem capable of all kinds of Magic; they have the Skills for that!


    But above all, the [Spirit Soul Link (Master): Lv10] Skill it possesses gives it the ability to easily link with my powers and summon all my skills and abilities with ease.


    And its Stats¡­ they were very high; I have to admit this was an amazing new Spirit for me. Unlike the other Spirits, Rainbow Star had a Spirit Stat, a Divinity Star, and even their own internal Mana reserves.


    Because I control it myself as if it were my body, I quickly started trying out its abilities, spells, and even its own body.


    Slowly, I was figuring out many things while I made the 3D model of the Spirit Orb rotate around.


    And I also did some experiments, using Rainbow Star and the crystals from the tree, I took out a Spirit Orb of my stash, infected it with demonic energy, and left it in a simr state as the elves.


    Then, I ced it inside the alchemy cauldron my Eleanora prepared, alongside the spirit crystals from the tree.


    Andstly, I synthetized everything, using Rainbow Star''s own Spiritual Energies as my second body, and also my primary body too, I created a special Alchemy Spell with my Magic Fusion Skill.


    "{Divine Spiritual Purification Synthesis}"


    FLAAASH!


    A sh of bright rainbow light washed over the boiling cauldron, the infected Spirit Orb was washed overpletely, the darkness it possessed seemed to slowly dissipate by the brilliance of the spiritual essence.


    When I was done, the Spirit Orb had not gone back to its former self, it seemed impossible, once things are fully infected by demonic energy, they will remain cursed.


    However, with this, the Spirit Orb regained a much more colorful appearance, bing slightly dark purple instead of ck with dark red spots.


    "Was it purified?" wondered Erika.


    "Notpletely, but all the negative things were taken away, there''s no longer a curse," I exined. "It''s color, however, changed quite a lot¡­"


    "So is it impossible to restore it to its former appearance?" Elizabeth wondered. "Can we try with my magic next?"


    "Alright," I nodded.


    With her help, we did another round of purification with alchemy.


    The results were different.


    I tried using another newly corrupted spirit orb for this, to see how it would change.


    And also used the already purified one to see if it would undergo other changes.


    "{Heavenly Light Purification}!"


    FLASH!


    Elizabeth''s light powers are unparalleled as the Saintess, and with her Angelic Spirits help, they be even more amazing.


    It didn''t take long for the two orbs to be purified.


    Slowly, they were taken out of the cauldron again.


    The results were now different too!


    The original spirit orb that already went through a round of purification changed color again.


    It became dark pink in color, the negative energies inside dissipatedpletely, but it had already been "marked" by demonic energy, and nothing would change it.N?v(el)B\\jnn


    Nheless, something new was forming inside¡­ Spiritual Energy and apletely purified Demonic Energy were merging together, creating something¡­


    It possessed some of the magical and powerful abilities of spirit energy and also the potency and world-destroying might of demonic energy.


    It shone with purple and pink color¡­


    I''ll call this Majin Energy!


    And the other orb became pure white, it didn''t have Majin Energy, but it had a white essence inside.


    Light Energy?


    Interesting!


    I had no idea so many different results could be obtained like this.


    If we work harder, the elves could truly be healed¡­ well, mostly.


    And even more, gain a power they never imagined they could wield.


    -----

 Chapter 1042: Rosenheim And Elfriedden

    -----


    After a seemingly calm and silent day, the next day arrived quite quickly, the morning sun rose above the skies like always, the people of the Port City seemed more depressed than ever before, knowing that their nation had fallen so much, and even more, as the news about the victims of the Rosenheim Dukedom spread, despair was perhaps the only thing in their hearts now.


    The King was dead, the Queen, his concubines, and his children were all in aa, and there were hundreds of thousands of other people in a simr situation right now. An Archdemon had been posing as their King perhaps for several years, and the people hadpletely lost their trust with the royal family now.


    The prideful elves that had never considered abandoning their continent had now begun to consider escaping this falling continent, now riddled with beasts and demons, and go to the human continent or perhaps the other two continents, which seemed to be in a much better state.


    It was saddening, that the elven kind had became a dying race after they used to be a great and powerful nation, in only ten years, their entire continent fell¡­


    Although the Summoner was here, nobody knew if they could ever and truly free a whole continent, it was something that nobody could ever do.


    The Archdemon possessing the King was defeated, but so what? To the people, who had not seen any of such things, it didn''t feel like such a huge feat.N?v(el)B\\jnn


    Perhaps they were being hypocrite, but after facing the slow extinction of their kind and the destruction of their beloved continent, what else could the elves ever think now?


    They were full of despair, sorrow, and bitterness¡­


    Yet there was someone that was trying to look up to the future, Elfriedden, who had just woken up, opening his eyes to find Rosenheim sleeping at his side, cuddling with him.


    He smiled gently, she was still a bit sick and weak, but had recovered her appetite and was able to walk around, mostly to go to the bathroom. He had helped her take a bath too, so she seemed much more recovered.


    "Rosenheim¡­"


    He sighed, hugging her tightly from behind, feeling her warmth.


    Just two days ago he had thought everything was over, yet she was here now, recovering.


    He tried to resist crying again, as he looked into the sky of the window.


    "The people must be restless right now¡­ I wouldn''t me them if they wanted to leave the continent¡­"


    "Do you think so?"


    Suddenly, Rosenheim answered.


    "Eh? You were awake?"


    "Yeah, I woke up a bit ago, but I was pretending to sleep so you could cuddle with me~"


    She quickly moved towards him, smiling, she still had a sleepy face, and her hair was a mess, but to Elfriedden she was the most beautiful girl in the world.


    "I see, how do you feel? Anything that hurts or something?"


    "Hm, not really? I feel okay for now¡­ But there''s this feeling of emptiness inside of my Spirit Orb, it is a bit¡­ A bit sad, I guess."


    "I wish we could change the past, if only all of this would have been prevented¡­"


    "But how do you think it could have been prevented anyways? Mammon was very powerful, something like this, in any situation, would have eventually happened anyways¡­"


    "Yes, but perhaps¡­"


    "Perhaps what? Don''t tell me you''re ming your friend now for starting the whole fight? Just because he wanted to get rid of Mammon?"


    "That''s¡­ Well, if ke hadn''t begun attacking right away, we could have had time to n, right? He was reckless¡­"


    "Yes, maybe he was reckless, but I had no idea you were a coward, Elfriedden¡­ I think ke did the right thing; you should have supported him instead of whining about what he did!"


    Rosenheim gently hit Elfriedden''s forehead, reprimanding her boyfriend and future husband.


    "B-But¡­!"


    "No buts! ke was brave and did what had to be done. He tried to finish off Mammon right away, but the demon ended being just stronger, that''s all¡­"


    "Hah¡­ I suppose¡­ maybe you''re not wrong."


    "Of course I am not wrong, Elfriedden! Maybe you need a scolding from your mom now. Is she doing alright?"


    Elfriedden smiled a bit, he was used to Rosenheim''s attitude, this was the attitude that made him change from his former self, a pitiful, timid child that was bullied by everyone and that always cried in a corner of the castle, into the prideful and strong prince he had be.


    "Yes, mother is still sleeping I believe, but let''s hope she wakes up soon enough," he sighed. "Do you want breakfast?"


    "Hmm, I would rather sleep another hour¡­" Rosenheim yawned.


    "You can, I''ll bring breakfast and wake you up by then," the elf prince stood up.


    "But I would rather also sleep with you at my side!" sheined, dragging him back to the bed, and hugging him, without letting him go.


    "Hahah, well, if you insist¡­" Elfrieddenughed, kissing her. "Let''sze around another hour¡­"


    "Hmm¡­"


    Rosenheim cuddled over Elfriedden''s chest, groaning a bit.


    "I miss my spirits¡­"


    "¡­"


    Elfriedden didn''t knew exactly what to say here, elves saw spirits as their family, to suddenly lose them was like losing a precious sibling, sometimes even like losing a child.


    To Rosenheim it was thetter, her spirits were raised by her tenderly and with much love and attention, to lose them suddenly, it was very painful.


    To think she would never caress her adorable Pegasus soft feathers, to pat his head and feel the warmth of his body as she rode over his wide back. Find exclusive stories on m_v l|e-NovelBin


    That she would never get to interact with him again, her friend, her guardian, her child¡­


    "I know you do," he sighed. "I know it''s painful¡­ I''m sorry."


    "Hmm¡­" Rosenheim only tightened her hug, as she resisted the impulse to cry, closing her eyes, and just wanting to sleep more.


    Sometimes people slept to forget things, to rx, to no longer have their finds troubled by many terrible things.


    Knock, knock.


    Yet the door knocked, and Elfriedden opened his eyes again, right before he almost fell asleep.


    "Y-Yes?"


    "Elfriedden, are you awake? Your mother¡­ She woke up just now!"


    It was Cattalina''s voice.


    -----

 Chapter 1043: Elfrieddens Family Wakes Up

    -----


    Cattalina, Erika''s mother, had only rested for a night before beginning to monitor every person that had fallen unconscious. She used her powerful magic to check their souls and their mental states and clean any negative energy that might have stored inside of their souls, alongside any demonic energy.


    She also made sure people had relieving dreams, and not nightmares reminding them of what happened.


    She nned to "rehabilitate" everyone through good dreams, showing them that the world still had a beautiful side to it, and that only them could build the future. This was one of the amazing powers of Cattalina, to change the dreams people had as they slept, which would greatly affect how these people also started their days, and even their whole lives.


    People that have more nightmares will naturally be more bitter, even if they sometimes don''t remember them, while people that have pleasurable or peaceful dreams, or good and fun dreams, might experience better days overall.


    Using her powers, she was rehabilitating almost everyone, well, except Rosenheim who had already woken up, but she was still influencing her dreamsst night too, even if she had already woken up from hera.


    Since then, she had also been eyeing Lady Everfrost, Elfriedden''s mother, and little Sapphirus, Elfriedden''s little brother, both of them were very important to the elven boy, a friend of her daughter, so she wanted to make sure they would feel better as they rested.


    Eventually, they woke up, surprising her, she didn''t interrupt them nor went to talk to them, immediately going to call for Elfriedden''s assistance. Despite her charming appearance and her type of "mature beauty" personality, she was actually not that good at talking with people, and deep down, Erika''s mother was rather socially awkward. She felt very proud her daughter was the total opposite.


    "My mother¡­ She''s awake?! Really?" Elfriedden immediately walked out of the bed.


    "Yes, also with your brother, both are awake¡­ I would rmend you go meet them immediately," said Elfriedden. "Perhaps bringing Rosenheim too."


    "A-Ah, yes! But, she''s still-"


    "I can go! Let''s go, quickly!"


    Rosenheim instantly stood up, and both ran towards the room with Cattalina''s guidance, opening the door and finding Everfrost and Sapphirus hugging each other, crying.


    "It''s okay¡­" the mother cried, trying tofort her son despite feeling terrible herself.


    "Mommyyy¡­" little Sapphirus was no older than six, and still a big mama''s boy, naturally, he would cry a lot and need his mother.


    Even children became monsters, and some of such memories remained within them, scaring them. Elfriedden felt even more terrible to know his brother had gone through such a thing.


    At least if it were all adults, it wouldn''t be as horrendous and traumatic, adult elves are old, usually over a hundred years, their mature minds can adapt quickly and are rather resistant.


    Yet children still developing were apletely different thing altogether¡­


    "Mother, brother!"


    "E-Elfriedden?! You''re okay! My son!"n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Everfrost cried, calling her son.


    Elfriedden ran towards his mother and his brother, hugging them both while in tears.


    "Brotherrr!"


    "Sapphirus!"


    He even hugged his little bratty brother, whom despite not liking how pampered he often was, he still loved dearly.


    Rosenheim and Cattalina watched the scene in silence, nodding a bit as they saw the family reunited at longst.


    "Thank you for taking care of them¡­ Lady Cattalina, was it?"


    "Yes, that is my name. And don''t worry, it is the least I could do to help my kind¡­"


    "You''re a half-elf, right? It is quite rare to see around here¡­"


    "Yes, my mother moved to the Human Continent many years ago, she married the ruler of a mid-sized nation due to her enchanting beauty, wealth, and great magic skills¡­ Hence, I became some sort of princess."


    "Oh, so you were indeed royalty, does that means that your daughter, Erika, right? Elfriedden''s friend¡­"


    "Yes, she is also royalty of that country," nodded Cattalina. "But I do not wish to enforce such title on my daughter. I want her to be free of such responsibilities. But even in our kingdom, there''s many plots brewing, and some terrible people, including my stepsister, nned her demise long ago¡­ our demise. Experience tales at m v|l e''-NovelBin


    We''ve mostly not dealt with them ever since, but¡­ eventually, I ought to return with Erika, and clean things up once and for all."


    "I suppose even humans are going through a lot, huh?" Rosenheim wondered. "Thank you for trusting me and telling me these things."


    "Yes, it''s fine, I trust you, naturally, Lady Rosenheim," Cattalina smiled. "Although I was not born here, my mother was. And from what I remember of her, she would always talk about how she missed the beautiful Yggdrasil tree, the Spirit Forest, and the Great Grasnds of her continent¡­"


    "Your mother¡­?" muttered Rosenheim.


    "She passed away¡­" said Cattalina. "I know elves are very long lived, I always expected mother to stick around for hundreds of years¡­ But a disease caught her, and she¡­ well, perhaps it wasn''t even a true disease, but a curse. Those cultists¡­ they''ve been hiding in that Kingdom for too long."


    "I''m so sorry¡­" Rosenheim sighed. "I shouldn''t have asked¡­"


    "No, it''s fine¡­ It has been over twenty years since then, I''ve grown past that," Cattalina smiled faintly. "I live to remember my mother for all the good things she said and taught me. And I am happy I am finally back in her continent¡­ But I wonder, what she would say if she saw her home in such a state? I feel like it is my duty now, to clean it and protect it.


    To save it from the demons and the evil dragon. It''s¡­ the very least I could do to honor my mother''sst wishes."


    "Last wishes?" Rosenheim asked.


    "Yes, she told me to return to her homnd, and bury her coffin there," she sighed. "It was very specific wish¡­ But I suppose she wished to rest eternally beneath the soil of her homnd, which she felt guilty for abandoning."


    "It is a noble wish," smiled Rosenheim. "Once all of this is over¡­ I would dly help you, I can give you a spot in our cemetery, which is in the middle of a spiritual forest. Your mother will rest in peace and with the spirits."


    "Truly? Thank you so much¡­" Cattalina smiled with a slight mncholy in her eyes.


    Rosenheim could tell, that despite how gentle this woman was, and how much she smiled, deep down, she was greatly hurt, and perhaps the only thing keeping her up was her daughter alone.


    She admired her a bit, Cattalina¡­


    "You have probably gone through so many things, worse than us even¡­" Rosenheim said. "You''re a very strong person, Cattalina. And I don''t mean in the term of levels or magic. I mean it in the terms of the heart."


    "Lady Rosenheim¡­" Cattalina felt moved by the young girl''s words.


    "I am sure Elfriedden will be King now, I will make him the new King if I must, and I shall be the Queen too," Rosenheim was ambitious. "Once that happens, I will give you a piece ofnd to honor your help, and also your mother''sst wishes."


    "Hahah, you''re quite ambitious, youngdy," Cattalina giggled.


    "A-Ambitious? I am only stating facts!" Rosenheim smiled. "I will bring back the Elven Continent back on its feet."


    -----

 Chapter 1044: The Next Morning, The Results Of Research

    -----


    (ke''s POV)


    Once the next morning arrived, the news about Elfriedden''s family and several other elves waking up arrived at my doorstep. By then I was still sleeping, trapped in between Erika, Elizabeth, Eleanora, and Saphira. But the news quickly made us all spring into action.


    Yesterday we had investigated a lot and discovered many things, and today it wasn''t going to be any different. From the discovery of the Majin Energy and the Nephalem Essence, as I called these new types of purified demonic energies, we also discovered that the Spirit Orbs properties changed, gaining new elemental affinities.


    So far, the Majin Core and the Nephalem Core seem like the only two ways the Spirit Orbs will end up, true purification is impossible due to the properties of the spirit orb being permanently changed due to the demonic energy infestation.


    There was a lot more to investigate, I needed to test the transformations several times, look for variables and dangerous things, and more. It will truly take a week no matter what, I believe.


    However, that''ll be forter, I stepped out of the room with the girls, and went to have breakfast, greeting Elfriedden and his family. They were indeed there, healthier than I imagined and looking alive and well.


    "Good morning, it looks like your family is awake, Elfriedden," I said with a smile. "Lady Everfrost, young lord Sapphirus, I am d you''re feeling better now."


    "Oh, the Summoner! I''ve heard from my son everything you''ve done, thank you, we owe you more than you imagine¡­" Elfriedden''s mother sighed. "I am still¡­ processing everything, but so far, I am okay¡­"


    "I''m d," I nodded, sitting down. "Elfriedden, how is Rosenheim?"


    "She''s fine, but still a bit tired, went to take a nap after I brought her breakfast," Elfriedden said. "Have you found anything on your research?"


    "Yes, a lot," I nodded, taking a sip of the tea served by Cattalina. "Thank you, mother-inw."


    "No problems dear, I''ll bring you something to eat too. Erika, Elizabeth, sit down as well," Cattalina said.


    "Eh? Really mommy?" Erika wondered, sitting by my left side. "Well okay then~" she took out a piece of bread, covered it on butter and jam, and took a big bite off it. "Cronch! Hmm! I was hungry!"


    "I will wait for the pancakes," Elizabeth said with much more patience, Erika''s mother was preparing just that.


    "I was rather thirsty for some of blood today, so excuse me," Eleanora gently drank from a cup of red and fresh blood.


    It was the blood of Bestellen, which was very delicious, I can attest for that, and we had so much left, it couldst for years.


    "Wait, you said you advanced in your research?!" Elfriedden asked.


    "Really?" wondered Chris. "What did you found out dude?" he wondered, while taking a bite of a huge sandwich with a lot of cheese, ham, and tomatoes with some lettuce.


    "In just a day you already found something? You''re so fast, ke!" said Eric. "Actually, I wanted to ask you if you could let me join the investigation? I am an Alchemist after all, and I''ve been delving into Spirit Orb investigation since a young age with you."


    "Oh, Eric¡­ Sure, I hadn''t considered you, sorry about that," I nodded. "Your help would be appreciated."


    "R-Really? Haha, well, I''ll help then!" Eric felt slightly embarrassed, happily epting.


    "I don''t know if I could join¡­ I am not too good with Alchemy myself," said Alberta.


    "But your mechanic abilities are really good!" said Eric. "Can she join?"


    "Sure," I nodded.


    As I nodded, Cattalina brought pancakes for everyone that didn''t get them. Erika quickly finished her meal and started eating. Elizabeth also began eating frically, they were both really hungry.


    "Anyways, enough babbling, can we get to the point?" wondered Erdrich. "What did you find?"


    "Ah, right, well¡­"


    I exined to them about the two discoveries and their unique energies. They were surprised, especially the victims present. Well, mostly Elfriedden''s mother Sapphirus¡­ He didn''t understood half of what we talked about.


    "So that''s possible, to obtain a power nobody has?!" wondered Everfrost. "But that''s¡­ it still somewhat scary, right? It''s not something everyone could ept¡­ Is there no way to fully return the spirit orbs to normal?"


    "I''ll do my best through the week to find out¡­ Or not," I said. "But I cannot guarantee anything, I''m sorry."


    "Hah, no, it is fine, I understand," Lady Everfrost smiled. "You''ve done so much already, ke. I apologize for being slightly harsh with you before. Our whole scheme¡­ Well, it just came crashing down so easily. Everything I believed just copsed in front of me. The King was a demon this entire time¡­ I don''t even know if Sapphirus is truly the son of the King, or of that demon¡­"


    "I-I am dad''s son! The demon was bad and he''s not my dad!" Sapphirus said angrily, with a few tearsing from his eyes. "I-I''m not a demon!"


    "Hey, easy there, buddy, I''m a half-demon, I''m called a Cambion, and it''s not bad," smiled Erdrich.


    "I-I don''t care! I am not a demon! Buaaah!" Sapphirus suddenly started crying, running towards his room.


    "S-Sapphirus?!" his mother ran to go look for him.


    Silence then took over the breakfast again.


    "It seems that it''ll take time for everyone to process what happened, even poor little Sapphirus is going through a lot," sighed Elizabeth. "Let''s make sure to help everyone and support them, guys."


    "Yeah, I know¡­" Chris nodded. "I think I''ll go help in the reconstruction of Rosenheim; I can''t just sit around doing nothing here."


    "But you should rest!" Erika said.


    "I know, but I feel totally fine, I swear," Chris said. "Erdrich, do you want toe?"


    "Hmm, sure, could do well to keep well exercised," Erdrich nodded. "Anybody else want toe?"


    "I can send my golems!" said Alberta. "I would love to join but I was already invited to help ke."


    "Sure thing then," Erdrich nodded.N?v(el)B\\jnn


    "Any help is appreciated, thanks¡­" Elfriedden smiled faintly. "You guys¡­ You''re really good friends, you''re perhaps the best thing that ever happened to me, well, after Rosenheim¡­"


    "Aww, aren''t you all baby and tender with us today?" Erika teased him a bit.


    Experience tales at m v|l e''-NovelBin


    "Such a good friend, yes, now bettere with us and reconstruct your girlfriend''s home too!" Erdrichughed, patting his shoulders.


    "Why would a prince like me do such type ofbor formoners?!"


    -----

 Chapter 1045: New And Powerful Skills

    -----


    The whole issue with Sapphirus true origins was a mystery, one I would like to investigate, but that I knew was a bit too serious as well. If the child didn''t want to cooperate, it would be very difficult to tell if he was truly a Cambion or something else.


    However, if he had grown up just normally like any elf, and even having a normal spirit orb and everything, it could be said he was indeed the son of the king, Mammon devoured his soul, but left his body mostly untouched for the first years.


    So perhaps his body was still normal even as his soul was eaten, the mutations happened muchter¡­ I won''t address this anymore though, there are more important things to do.


    "Then we''re off! We''lle back for lunch!" Chris said, carrying two huge shovels with him.


    "Yeah, see youter, guys! Take care, and work hard," Erdrich said, carrying a huge shovel twice asrge as Chris'' ones.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    "Ugh, why must I go too? This is not fair! I wanted to rest!" Elfrieddenined.


    "Come on princey, you look like you''re made of sticks, you need to do some exercise and get actual muscles!" Erdrich flexed his muscr arms.


    "Yeah dude, you gotta get shredded!" said Chris, also doing the same.


    "You muscleheads will never understand elven masculine beauty!" Elfrieddenined as the trio walked away.


    His mother and brother calmed down and then went to sleep, Cattalina was supervising them and Rosenheim, so we didn''t have much to worry about.


    After a quick and warm bath, I immediately resumed my investigation, although I also checked my newest Skills, powers I had obtained from Rainbow Star in specific.


    Greed''s Authority was already more or less figured out, was kind of the same thing as Gluttony Authority, Wrath Authority, and Lust''s Authority.


    Once I obtain all Seven Sins Authority Skills, I could probablybine them together too, and make something powerful enough that even Lucifer could fear.


    But that too, is for another day, to the Skills:


    -----


    [Master of the Rainbow Star: Lv1]


    Skill Proficiency: 0/50.000


    A Title of almost Divine Grade bestowed to the Master of the Rainbow Star, a powerful, unique, and never-seen-before Spirit of Demonic and Divine nature, forged from the dying soul of an Archdemon that attempted to be a Divine Spirit themselves. Continue reading at m|v-l''e -NovelBin


    As the sole owner and master of the Rainbow Star your path and your future have not been altered by their presence, their power also brings great responsibility, as they carry the hopes and dreams of those that gave birth to them, the hundreds of thousands of spirits sacrificed.


    To be a master of the Rainbow Star is to be a master of the world, you''re the beacon of hope, the veryst standing before the world falls intoplete ruin. While the world and everything falls into despair, will you be there to stop it?


    Can you do it?


    The Rainbow Star only shines to the brightest of minds and the strongest of souls, and it has chosen you, therefore, you must carry on with that responsibility.


    The Rainbow Star''s very presence makes you stronger, whenever the Rainbow Star is summoned, All Stats increase by 100%, with an additional 10% with each Skill Level.


    Your Spirit Stat increases by an additional 20% with each Skill Level when the Rainbow Star is summoned, and your Spirit Energy Regeneration Speed and Quantity also increase by a 30% per Skill Level.


    Lastly, over time, you will gain enlightenment, and awaken more of the powers of the Rainbow Star, make sure to keep leveling and make it as strong as possible, to save this world.


    -----


    Well, isn''t that Title description rather ambitious and long? I can tell there''s some message there. The Rainbow Star seems to be something much more important than I imagined, so important it bes a responsibility? Are these the words of the Holy Spirits, perhaps?


    Andstly, the other Skill is¡­


    -----


    [Divine Demonic Spiritual Soul Authority: Lv1]


    Skill Proficiency: 0/50.000


    Due to your Spiritual and Soul connection with the Rainbow Star, the Divine Demonic Spirit, you have obtained a powerful new Authority as a result.


    Channel the powers of your connection with the Rainbow Star andbine it with your very Soul, creating a perfect fusion and harmony between Demonic, Divine, and Spiritual Essences.


    Once activated, your Spiritual, Demonic, and Divine Essences merge together perfectly, enhancing all your Stats and any Spiritual, Demonic, and Divine-type Skill or Spell by 50% of Rainbow Star''s total Stats, with an additional 5% with each Skill Level.


    Expand your Authority within your surroundings, weakening foes, draining their spiritual, demonic, or divine powers, and strengthening your own or those of your allies.


    Once activated, an {Aura of Divine Demonic Spiritual Authority} will spread, lowering the stats of foes by 40%, increasing the stats of allies by 50% of Rainbow Star''s Stats, and draining foes Divine, Demonic, or Spiritual Essences and then distributing them between you and your allies. Effects increase by 5% with each Skill Level.


    Or unleash it altogether, creating a devastating Divine Demonic Spiritual Power that can pierce through foes defenses and generate huge explosions.


    Once activated, any spell, skill, or ability of Demonic, Divine, or Spiritual Type gains {Demonic Divine Spiritual Bomb} which adds additional Damage based on 300% of Rainbow Star''s total stats, piercing 50% of their defenses and creating smaller explosions within 100-meter radius around them.


    This Authority will only grow stronger and obtain new powers as it develops and can evenbine itself with Divinities or Demonic Sins to gain even more power and transform in a myriad of ways. Naturally, materializing, shapeshifting, and enchanting using it is also possible, as it possesses life-like spiritual properties.


    -----


    An incredible Skill, Rainbow Star seems to possess tremendous potential, and these skills rted to him already show it with clear detail.


    But it doesn''t show the way to return to that godly form I had attained before¡­ Is it nowpletely impossible to go back to that form?


    Or perhaps¡­ I could?


    I will only be able to tell once Rainbow Star grows and bes stronger.


    For now, let''s resume our research.


    -----

 Chapter 1046: A Risky Solution

    -----


    We continued working in the research of how to reverse the Spirit Orbs, and although I was sure it was impossible, to better improve the results given yesterday was a priority. With the help of Eric and Alberta into the mix, things became surprisingly quicker.


    Although Erika was good at Alchemy, she was not quite good at investigating and researching materials and how they worked. Elizabeth was also okay at Alchemy but suffered a simr problem to Erika. Nheless, their help was still crucial due to their innate abilities to purify demonic energy.


    I showed them the two types of Spirit Orbs obtained, and Eric and Alberta analyzed them quite thoroughly.


    "I see, so these are the orbs you talked about¡­ Majin and Nephalem energies, they just feel like a new type of synthetized Spirit energy, but also it has demonic energy? But purified? How odd¡­" Eric smiled.


    "It is really amazing, outside of this research, I wonder if we could try doing this with other spirit orbs too," said Alberta.


    "Perhaps forter," I nodded. "But for now, we must try newbinations and to further purify these orbs. Elizabeth, Erika, I''ll be hoping for your help again."


    "Of course, you don''t even need to mention it," said Erika, nodding. "Even if it takes a whole damn week, let''s do it!"


    "I agree with Erika''s words, let''s get this done with," Elizabeth nodded, her hands overflowing with light. "If you need my help, just ask."


    "Thank you," I said. "Rainbow Star"


    I summoned Rainbow Star, my secondary, spiritual body, as we started our research.


    We tried many types ofbinations, purification methods, materials, and spiritual abilities.


    Without realizing it, days after days passed, one after another, it ended bing more extensive of research than we ever imagined.


    Across the many days, we found quite a few new discoveries.


    The first one was that these two types of orbs were a "final result" and no matter what we did, they couldn''t be further purified or changed besides their original appearance.


    The second thing we discovered was that if too much purification is done, the spirit orbs shatter, so we needed to be careful.


    The third thing we discovered in the fourth day was that with a big enough and set up Spiritual Formation, it was possible to do the same with living beings without hurting them.


    We used several test subjects, mostly monsters caught outside, who had their spirit orbs contaminated and infested with demonic energy.


    After a couple of failures¡­ some survived, and we perfected the formation until it always resulted on perfect sess.


    Then, we moved to improving the method of purification of these two spirit orb types, the Majin-type, and the Nephalem-type.


    Over the week, we constantly attempted to make it so the spirit orbs could produce spirit energy in enough quantities to give it a possibility to the elves to revive their spirits.


    However, because we only had test subjects as monster spirit orbs, we couldn''tpletely confirm what could happen.


    Nheless, we managed to perfect the purification method with the same Spiritual Formation, which I personally engraved into arge stone tablet.


    Once the week came to an end, our hard work had paid good results, but I wish I could have had more time.


    Unfortunately, we didn''t have more time, we had to begin our liberation of the continent tomorrow, and to possibly y the evil dragon Fafnir within a week.


    If not, the continent would bepletely covered on Miasma and his mes, and the Yggdrasil Tree, which had be his burning nest, would die.


    Its divine soul was powerful, and its core and roots were very resilient, but it was on itsst straws.


    A week and a half at most, before the Deity of the Elves, the Divine Spirit Tree Yggdrasil¡­ dies.


    If Yggdrasil dies, this continent''s spiritual forests and flora and fauna will never fully recover, and it will be a burning, volcanic wastnd.


    We can''t waste more time.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    "Are you sure that this is enough?" Eric wondered. "We could still improve it a bit more!"


    "This is more than enough, Eric, we''re in a hurry," I said. "The people need to be given hope, this will give them hope. And once they regain their hope, they''ll stay."


    "But why can''t we just dy it and let them go to the human continent for refuge?" wondered Alberta.


    "Well¡­" I sighed. "The Holy Spirits had spoken to me three days ago through a dream, they told me that Yggdrasil required the presence of elves in the continent to keep its vitality. Many elves had died, weakening the tree, but even then, there were still many. As long as these people remain here¡­ Yggdrasil won''t day too soon.


    If we can manage to let people regain hope and faith, and to stay, then we can dy their death until we y Fafnir and we stop his army."


    "T-That''s¡­ I didn''t know Yggdrasil worked like that," Eric said.


    "Me neither! But I guess that''s how Deities work?" Erika wondered.


    "Yes, only the Holy Spirits can exist without needing Faith and Hope from their believers, although they can still grow stronger from it," I exined. "Other Deities, which I call "Naturally Born Deities", require the Faith, Hope, and Love of their believers to continue their existences.


    Yggdrasil is immensely ancient, it has lived with the elves since ancient times, once protected by the Divine Dragons of Nature, the Spirit Tribes of the Dryad, and the Fairies¡­ Yet now only the Elves remain. It was once much more powerful than now because of that."


    "I see¡­" Erika nodded, sighing.


    "Then let''s not waste more time," Elizabeth nodded. "Let''s do this, shall we try the Formation with someone here first?"


    "Yeah, in fact, we already have a volunteer," I smiled.


    "Who?" wondered Alberta.


    "Who else? Elfriedden''s beloved came to me yesterday," Iughed, as we stepped inside of their room.


    There, Rosenheim smiled, greeting me.


    "ke? Why have you entered out of the sudden?!" wondered Elfriedden, who was tending her needs by peeling apples for her.


    "Rosenheim, it''s done," I said. "It''s as perfected as we could make it within the given time¡­ Your promise, will you keep it?"


    "Yes," she nodded. "Please use me as your first test subject."


    Discover hidden stories at m,v l''e-NovelBin


    "WHAT?!"


    Elfriedden was losing his mind.


    -----

 Chapter 1047: Helping Rosenheim Regain Her Power

    -----


    Elfriedden didn''t take it nicely that Rosenheim had offered herself for this, he panicked and almost pointed his weapon at me again, he''s so melodramatic.


    "ke! How dare you try to use her as your test subject?! Just who do you think you are to-"


    "HEY!"


    Rosenheim, however, stood up and quickly dragged him back to her.


    "Elfriedden, I am the one that told him to do this, andst time I checked, I was free to do whatever I wanted," she said. "Since when did you became my dad?"n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    "T-That''s¡­ But Rosenheim¡­" Elfriedden muttered. "Do you really want this?! What if it goes wrong? What if you¡­ die?"


    "She won''t die¡­" I facepalmed. "We''ve perfected the purification method, Elfriedden."


    "You say that but¡­ You''ve only tested it on monsters, right?" he wondered. "So you can''t possibly know if it will truly work on people!"


    "Then do you expect this to get nowhere then? Someone has to step in and offer themselves," said Rosenheim.


    "But at least let somemoner nobody cares about do it, not you! You''re nobility, royalty!" Elfriedden panicked.


    "Elfriedden¡­ That you''re willing to sacrifice an innocent person for my life is not right," she said. "For the very reason that I am a noble and royalty, is that I must take upon my responsibility as their leader and guardian and do this instead of themoners. Our titles don''t mean we get to be rich and order people around, it means we have a responsibility to protect them.


    Elfriedden, remember, without the people, we are nothing."


    "¡­" Elfriedden remained in silence as he gritted his teeth, looking at me slightly angered.


    "You should try to work on your temperament Elfriedden," Eric said. "We are your friends; you shouldn''t try to attack us for this¡­ ke has been working hard for a whole week for this¡­ It''s unfair to treat him like this."


    "¡­I know," Elfriedden sighed. "Sorry."


    "Apologies epted," I smiled. "Now, let''s go. We can''t waste time."


    "Yes, I suppose we can''t," Rosenheim smiled.


    She stepped into an empty room inside of the castle, one we had cleaned beforehand and ced everything necessary, using my Alchemy, I had recreated the same tablet several times through Instant Creation using both Mana and other materials.


    Using my second body as Rainbow Star, I was also standing in front of an evenrger formation made in the floor, where all the tablets were connected, with this body, I will imbue the entire Divine Spiritual Formation with even more power.


    Lastly, Elizabeth and Erika also must give some of their power, standing in special nodes with tablets there too.


    "So I just stand here?" Rosenheim asked, standing in the middle.


    "I would rmend to rest over the floor, it''s cold, so I''m sorry about that," I said.


    "It''s fine."


    She rested over the floor head up, spreading out her body as I told her.


    Everything was right in ce.


    "Now, what Spirit Orb type do you want? I think I exined to you what each of the two did," I said. "But let me give you a small summary. Based in what we''ve researched. Majin Spirit Orbs have the possibility of developing powerful magic that could possibly lean towards attack and illusions. Nephalem Spirit Orbs seem to be about healing and protection."


    "Majin, naturally," said Rosenheim. "I''ve never been really a good girl myself. My family, this entire time, always looking down on me. I had to fight with tooth and nail to make a living in a family full of stuck-up assholes¡­"


    Well, wasn''t she being quite honest right now?


    "Is that so?"


    "Yeah, my family¡­ they cannot rule anything. The King became a demon, the fool couldn''t even tell! Can you see how much has the elves degraded over time? The royal family has grown too conceited, they gave everything for granted. So when this crisis happened, nobody was ever able to do a single thing to stop it¡­ not even the King, because the bastard ended bing a demon''s vessel, go figure¡­"


    "T-That''s quite harsh¡­" Ericmented in the sides.


    "I-I never thought an elf princess would speak in such a way¡­" said Alberta.


    "Well, Elfriedden isn''t here so I can talk however I want," said Rosenheim. "I love him, he''s¡­ my other half. But even then, sometimes, he''s a bit¡­ Err, clingy."


    "Hahah, I can tell," Erika giggled.


    "He loves you dearly, Rosenheim, please don''t hurt his heart¡­" Elizabeth seemed worried.


    "Hurt him? I would never do that¡­ I will shape him into an even better man, since I found him back then, crying on the corner of the garden, with bruises because his older brothers kept beating him¡­ I''ve been taking care of him," she smiled.


    "He''s very arrogant and reckless now, but he used to be so timid, always afraid of everything, he looked down on himself, and thought that he was trash that belonged in the trash¡­ But I made him see his true potential."


    "How interesting, but let''s begin," I smiled. "We can talk about thister, Rosenheim."


    "Hah, I get it," she nodded. "Just start."


    She closed her eyes; she wasn''t even afraid.


    She was indeed someone that could be an incredible queen.


    And because of the agreement we made yesterday, it seems that will be what she will be.


    I''ll guarantee it.


    "Let''s begin."


    FLAAASH!


    The process was swift, onlysting ten seconds, spiritual energy and purifying light surged into her spirit orb. Rosenheim groaned, not in pain, but surprise.


    "W-What is this feeling- AAAHH!"


    She seemed to be having¡­ a rather hard time exining the sensations inside of her.


    But leaving that aside, the formation did its thing.


    Her Spirit Orb was purified, the demonic energy festering inside quickly became something else, changing.


    Its evil and cursed powers disappeared for good, but its potency remained, and even some of the demon''s trickery.


    This was the definition of a Majin Spirit Orb.


    A pink and dark purple aura surged from her Spirit Orb as its color changed.


    Her entire Aura then epassed her body, as Rosenheim gasped, this power was immense, more than she imagined.


    More than we imagined.


    "T-This is¡­? Wait, is it over?"


    "Yeah, it''s over," I nodded. "What do you think? Does it hurt? Is your spirit orb about to break by any chance?"


    "No, there''s nothing wrong with anything!"


    Looks like it was a sess.


    Now, let''s do the same to hundreds of thousands of people¡­


    It will be a long day.


    -----

 Chapter 1048: A New Type Of Spirit

    -----


    Rosenheim slowly stood up from the floor, looking at her new Aura of power. She seemed stronger, I couldn''t see her stats, but they probably increased. She also had a lot of Spiritual Power; she might have unlocked the Spirit Stat too. Though, without Spirits, it is not of much help.


    "What was your element before?" I asked her.


    "W-Wind¡­" Rosenheim said. "I used Wind most of the time, yeah¡­ But this, it''s different yet not?"


    FLUOSH!


    Her Aura changed into a spiraling gust of dark pink and purple winds, spiraling around her, then, from within it, a pair of crimson eyes could be seen from time to time.


    "It is like a beast is now living within me, a beast that I can control, my power¡­" Rosenheim sighed. "I was never this powerful before¡­ It feels weird."


    "You''re not as powerful as us anyways, but yes, it is quite the upgrade," I nodded.


    "How strong were you before?" Erika wondered.


    "Only Rank 3¡­" Rosenheim said. "Yet now? I feel like I''ve gone a whole Rank- Wait, a whole Rank?"


    When your Spirit Orb Ranks Up, you can Summon a new Spirit, sometimes they appear on their own, other times, you must create them using materials and a ritual.


    "Wait, doesn''t that mean you could summon a new spirit?" Alberta wondered. "Right?"


    "Yeah, it should!" Eric nodded. "But that depends on¡­ if the Spirit Orb she has still possess the same properties as the original ones."


    "Then there''s time to try new things, right? Rosenheim, try to do the things you used to do before," I said. "Try magic, then skills, then¡­ summoning something."


    "Gulp, y-yeah¡­"


    She nodded; she was nervous.


    But I could tell that within her there was an unseen,tent potential.


    A tremendous power that could in the future, create an incredibly strong lineage of elves.


    Much stronger than they were ever before, actually.


    After all, I have not been doing this just because I''m "a nice guy".


    I have ns of my own.


    To strengthen this world so they are not so pathetic against the demons anymore.


    These elves, these victims, they have be the perfect test subjects for me to create an ultimate form of their kind.


    One that can wield the mighty power of Demons yet not be corrupted by it.


    Like a Cambion such as Erdrich, but not as impossible to achieve.


    After all, Erdrich''s own existence could be said to be a miracle of its own.


    But this, yes, it is much easier to make.


    "It''s working?!"


    Rosenheim first conjured magic, she used her basic wind spells, they came out, although strangely colored, the winds held a new power within them, they could create shapes and imitate forms and colors, illusions.


    "My winds¡­ I can use illusions now?!" she gasped. "This is amazing! Wait, but won''t every other elf that gets this be able to do it?"


    "It also highly depends on talent," I said. "You just had the talent for it. Every Spirit Orb will manifest differently."


    Though, I was slightly lying there, I had imbued into her even more power than the rest, Rosenheim wanted to be powerful, so I gave her more power.


    As she said, she was going to overthrow the family and be Queen, so I shall assist her as well. I also dislike the current family anyways.


    If it wasn''t for their ignorance and conceited demeanor, the King wouldn''t have been possessed so easily, they were too carefree.


    And their entire continent ended paying the price¡­


    Things need to change.N?v(el)B\\jnn


    "Her winds are really unique!" said Eric. "I believe they could be an element of their own, right?"


    "Yes, is there an Illusion Element out there?" Alberta wondered.


    "Of course! I have the Illusion Element myself!" Erika said. "It is also part of my Spirits, it is a derivation Element of Dream, I think¡­ much weaker, but strong on its own ords."


    "Erika''s Illusion Magic is very evolved," I exined. "She can create clones of herself, expand a domain to fool and trap foes, and even materialize illusions of weapons."


    "Yeah, that''s amazing already, but I can do even more than that, hehe," Erika disappeared from where she was, and then.


    "Like this~?"


    I felt her gentle hand caressing my chin.


    "Indeed, you''ve be really good at it," I nodded.


    "Yeah, but I am also really good at brute force and my new dragon and nt powers are very good too, so it''s hard to ever use these tricky powers sometimes," said Erika. "Can''t really find the time always¡­"


    "Make sense," I nodded. "Hm?"


    As we watched Rosenheim continue her training and test, she went directly to summon a new Spirit.


    And it worked!


    FLAAASH!


    "Wooaaah?! W-Wait a second, it''s working?!"


    Her powers gathered and materialized into something, a single presence emerging before her.


    It wasn''t a Pegasus though, her past spirit, that one Pegasus and the other two she loved.


    They were gone forever¡­


    Something else was born from within her, a Spirit of her new Spirit Orb.


    One containing the power of Majin Energy, a being made of dark purple clouds and pink colored essence.


    It quickly took a form in front of her.


    A pink and purple colored jester-like mask.


    How interesting.


    "A-A mask?! What is this? I thought it would be strong?" Rosenheim wondered.


    She grabbed the mask, but then the mask flew away from her hands, floating around her.


    "It is strong, that''s a Rank 4 Spirit, Rosenheim," Elizabeth said, squinting her eyes. "Don''t underestimate it."


    "This is¡­?!"


    FLUOSH!


    The mask quickly created a body of its own, made of light, and then, with pink colored skin, two bat-like wings, a pointy tail, and horns on top of her head, alongside long, red hair.


    She was naked, but that was a woman, a woman had upied her mask, or did the mask created this woman''s body for itself?


    "It is an honor to meet my master," the woman spoke. "I am the Majin Mask of Deceiving Delusions, I can take upon any forms, and I can give you that ability too."


    It could even speak¡­


    "Eeeh?!"


    Rosenheim was the one losing her mind now.


    -----

 Chapter 1049: Majin Mask of Deceiving Delusions

    -----


    Rosenheim had obtained a Majin Spirit Orb, and one as high as Rank 4 because of the boost of power she gained thanks to my adjustments, which all proved to be a sessful way to artificially enhance the cultivation of someone''s Spirit Orb too.


    The Spirit that surged from that new Majin Spirit Orb was unlike her other ones, which were long gone and dead, it was much different,posed of the Elements of Demon, Illusion, and perhaps even Dreams, to an extent.


    "This is¡­?!"


    FLUOSH!


    The mask quickly created a body of its own, made of light, and then, with pink colored skin, two bat-like wings, a pointy tail, and horns on top of her head, alongside long, red hair.


    Honestly, she looked like some sort of demon, an incubus, perhaps?


    She was naked, but that was a woman, a woman had upied her mask, or did the mask created this woman''s body for itself?


    No, I think the mask was the only thing that was a real spirit, this form was merely an illusion too, one to perhaps facilitate things such asmunication.


    Why?


    Because it could talk just as fine as my own Vampire Spirits or very old spirits that learn how to talk after dozens of years, such as Ellergest Holy Dragon and Mountain Turtle.


    "It is an honor to meet my master," the woman spoke. "I am the Majin Mask of Deceiving Delusions, I can take upon any forms, and I can give you that ability too."


    It could even speak¡­


    Wait, did it said take upon any form and let Rosenheim take them too?


    That could be an incredible Ability!


    It would certainlypensate for her weakened state after losing her spirits.N?v(el)B\\jnn


    "Eeeh?!"


    However, Rosenheim didn''t take it too nicely that a subus was now standing naked in front of her, she panicked, stepping back in horror.


    "S-She''s talking! I mean, the thing! The mask!" she cried, looking at me. "Why is she talking?! Is she like your vampire spirits, ke?!"


    "Perhaps," I said. "Mask, can I call you like that? What do you think you are? do you have memories?"


    "Memories?" the mask wondered. "No such thing¡­ But there is information, knowledge of what I am, and who is my master. That is all¡­ But I wish to make new memories with her. I want to help her. I can feel her emotions, she has great dreams, butcks strength to achieve them. I want to be her strength, or perhaps a bit?"


    "She''s nice," Erika smiled, nodding.


    "Surprisingly cute," Elizabethmented.


    "Hey, don''t go praising my weird Spirit out of nowhere!" Rosenheim cried. "Um, erm, so you''re Mask? I guess I''ll call you like that then! Let''s work together."


    "Of course! I am eager to learn about master or anything¡­ this world is already quite beautiful, was I just born now? oh yes, it must have been the case," said the Mask.


    It was very self-aware and intelligent, figuring things out quickly despite having no memories before. It could be said that these new Spirits are all much different than the rest.


    Evolutions, perhaps improvements upon the original "form" that the Summoner An created, or well, whatever the case, it was a sess.


    "I think we''re done here, Rosenheim. Now it''s up to you if you want to learn anything from them," I said. "Next we should work on Elfriedden''s mother and brother."


    "That''s right¡­" nodded Rosenheim. "Thank you ke, I feel stronger now, the only thing left is just getting used to this I guess! I''ll show you off to Elfriedden,e Mask!"


    "Yes master," Mask flew by her side.


    I didn''t know what change this could cause to the future of this country, but Rosenheim seems like an ideal ruler to me, and someone I''ll help achieve her dreams, mostly because she also agreed on letting me use her as my guinea pig for the first test on a living elf.


    And it all resulted well, so there''s nothing sad toment¡­ Though it would have been quite the pity if she died or something.


    "All well ends well, as they say!" Erika said. "Now what do we do? Elfriedden''s mom and his brother? Then after that?"


    "We should prepare to quickly turn every person that has survived into either of the two spirit orb types," I said. "Like that, their power wille back, and the elves won''t lose faith and try to abandon their continent. We need to give them hope again, hope that things can get better even after everything has also gonepletely to the gutter already¡­" Discover more content at m,v l''e-NovelBin


    "The total recovery of all survivors¡­ I suppose that could work perfectly well in that case," said Elizabeth with a slight nod. "Seeing all these people that had lost everything, suddenly recover and gain new, incredible powers¡­ Bing even stronger than before, without a doubt, that would arise great amounts of hope. I can also give speeches and bring forth the church of the holy spirits here.


    Although the church of Yggdrasil is much more prevalent¡­ I just hope they don''t kick us out."


    "I think as long as the nobles approve of it, it should be possible to set a church of the Holy Spiritster," I said. "You could make it double, right? A section for the tree and another for the holy spirits, or even implement the tree into your sermons."


    "That sounds¡­ Quite interesting, I had not thought about it," said Elizabeth. "Our church is quite new,pared to the rest of the other religions. The elf''s religion is all around Yggdrasil, their spirit tree, their mother tree, as they call her¡­ or him.


    Then there''s also the dwarves with their mother of the earth and the father architect,stly, the beast people with their divine beast spirit pantheon. All of them are gods of their own ord, gods of the people."


    "Meanwhile, the Holy Spirits only recently showed sentience and their existence to the world," I said. "Isn''t it? Humans usually shared religions with the other tribes, but suddenly shifted heavily towards the Holy Spirits."


    "Yes, this was because of the Saintess that was by Hero An''s side, who enlightened the human race into the existence and protection of the Holy Spirits thousands of years ago," Elizabeth said.


    -----

 Chapter 1050: Incoming Changes

    -----


    The world of Spiritias had gone through many religions as far as I know, and there might have been even more in prehistory, back when the Living Gods such as the Divine Dragons, Titans, and the Elemental Spirit Races lived around the entire before the war that killed most of them and left the mortals to inherit the world.


    In these ancient times not only did they create the power of Talents, Levels, and Skills themselves, somehow finding the ability to use specific giant devices to imbue a soul with these powers, which I would simply call "Soul Book" that allows every person in the world to be able to Level Up, learn Skills, and such.


    It has been mostly a "hidden power" where people could only estimate what they had and how it worked approximately, without many ways of being able to see it as clearly as my Grimoire¡­


    Nheless, wondering what religions or cultures these people had fills me with wonder, especially when I remember seeing some of those memories, from Bestellen.


    I should probably ask that dragon more about the past, if he''s willing to talk about it.


    In the present, there''s several religions, although the Holy Spirit Religion has be thergest and is rapidly expanding, it didn''t exist a few thousand years ago, and it is much youngerpared to the Yggdrasil Religion, or the other religions.


    I believe that there is no "Supreme God above all else" in this world, and that all gods should try to live together. Thankfully, the Holy Spirits are very open minded, and easily allow for such things without problems.


    They ept all other religions and even have be allies of the existing gods, although they have grown rather weaker over time due to the demon invasion.


    They seemed very worried about Yggdrasil when they talked me about the tree in that dream I had, so they surely care, more than other people may think.


    After all, the elves, or the vast majority, dislike the Holy Spirit Church and won''t let them enter their continent and settle down.


    This causes problems, as the Church is one of the biggest organizations of the world right now, one that brings resources, food, workforce, and more to areas that had been ravaged by the demons.


    If the elves had dropped their stupid pride and let the church of Holy Spirits settle down, they could have received help with Pdins and Soldiers, alongside Priests and Healers, and also food and more.


    They could have been able to hold back against the demons much more easily, yet they decided to reject their help and didn''t even let them settle down.


    "This just shows how prideful the elves are, I apologize for that¡­" sighed Rosenheim.


    We were just having this conversation while having lunch. Elfriedden''s mother and his brother were going to get their spirit orb fix after this, and were looking forward to it.


    "I remember being part of the mob that didn''t want the church to join and ended voting amongst the nobles to not let them inside our continent¡­" sighed Everfrost, Elfriedden''s mother. "Now I realize how stupid of a decision that was! Elizabeth here has never tried to enforce her religion on anybody¡­ She''s simply here to help."


    "Although there are some priests that like to do that, I belong to the faction of our religion that advocates for charity and to help everyone in need," said Elizabeth. "I follow the footsteps of my master and adoptive father, High Priest Ellergest.


    He always said that every person, no matter their race, no matter their skin color, and no matter their religion or culture, deserves a helping hand when they most need it. He often said that we are nobody to deny the help to someone in need when we have so much of everything, and that is always important to share and help one another, because we mortals can only move forward together, not alone."


    "Wise words," nodded Everfrost. "Your father would be proud of the girl he raised, Elizabeth. Thank you for helping my people recover with your magic, you''re a miracle by your own. Without you¡­ even after recovering from the transformations, most people would have died. Perhaps even including me and my son¡­"


    "Thank you big sis!" said Sapphirus. "Are you going to marry big brother too?"


    "E-Eh? Goodness, no! I am engaged with ke, little Sapphirus!"ughed Elizabeth.


    "Sapphirus! Don''t say such things, ke is right here," sighed Everfrost.


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    "But papa had many mistresses, so why brother can''t?" wondered little Sapphirus again.


    "Because there''s no way I would let him have anybody else than myself! That''s why, little brother-inw," Rosenheim gave Sapphirus a rather¡­ threatening smile.


    "I-I see¡­" Sapphirus felt her pressure and quickly ended shutting up.


    "Anyways," Elfriedden said. "I am d it was a sess; I was so worried¡­ Rosenheim, are you sure there are no side effects? I think we should wait another week and-"


    "There''s no time for that, I told you already!" Rosenheim was about to smack his head. "If there are drawbacks or not, if there''s pain or not, none of those matters! Yggdrasil needs our help, people need their hope, and in a week Yggdrasil is going to die!"


    "O-Okay, I get it!" Elfriedden cried. "I''m sorry, sorry!"


    He was acting very unlike himself, getting yelled at by his girlfriend and all, and him just epting all of it instead of rebelliously fighting back as usual.


    It was quite an entertaining sight to see by everyone in here, we enjoyed it.


    "Ahahah! Seeing this dude being yelled at is pretty nice,"ughed Chris.


    "He''s sure different with her¡­" Eric nodded.


    "It''s hrious," Erdrich smiled smugly.


    "You guys should stop mocking Elfriedden¡­ He just loves his girlfriend¡­" sighed Alberta.


    "Well, we know, we know, we''re just saying~"ughed Chris. "Hahahah! Look at him!"


    "Tch¡­" Elfriedden only clicked his tongue as he heard their words.


    He was sure going to get back at Christer¡­N?v(el)B\\jnn


    Once lunch was over, we moved to the area where Rosenheim was fixed, and this time, we did the same for Elfriedden''s mother and brother.


    Unlike Rosenheim¡­ both chose the Nephalem Spirit Orb instead.


    -----

 Chapter 1051: Healing Elfrieddens Family

    -----


    The process was quick, even more simplified than before, there was no pain either, or both awakened fully new powers. As we suspected, Purified Holy Light Spirit Energy was the primary power, unlike Majin power that still had some slight demonic power into it, Nephalem Spirit Orbs were purifiedpletely.


    This gave the users affinity with healing and barrier magics, I believe, and also light element too, a rare element, actually, even amongst the elves. Oh, and about their spirits? Well, they both got a new spirit, their previous ones gone forever, unfortunately.


    "W-What is this thing? Am I stuck with it? What about my¡­ My little Frost Songbird?" sighed Everfrost.


    "It''s unfortunately gone forever," I said. "I am being blunt, so you ept it quickly¡­ However, this new Spirit will be your guardian. Hm, unlike Rosenheim''s these don''t speak."


    "Aaaah~ Ooohhh~!"


    However, it was letting out some weird, chorus-like sounds resembling a song, as if it were singing something, I don''t know what, but it looked like that to me.


    The thing in question, or well, Everfrost new Spirit was a type of angelic ice spirit, it had theposition of several icicles, pure white I color, unified together into the shape of a small angel.


    It had a single red jewel on its head, which was like the eye of the spirit.


    Her ice element remained, now fused with the holy light element, interesting.


    "Hehehe, I like it! I don''t remember awakening my spirit orb yet, so this is cool!"


    Thankfully Sapphirus was too young to have awakened yet, so he received his incredible new Spirit without problems of attachment with a previous one.


    "Kyuuuh~!"


    It was an adorable blue and white colored dove, of roughly a meter of height, very big and puffy chested, with fluffy white and blue feathers, and a sharp, golden beak.


    Everfrost''s Spirit was called "Frozen Angelic Spirit" and Sapphirus'' was called "Winter''s Holy Dove", both had healing, buffing, and protection spells, and also some offensive skills.


    They were rather well-rounded and strong too, so they had fully recovered their power and defensive abilities.


    "Well, at least I''m d my son is happy," sighed Everfrost. "What are we doing now, ke?"


    "We''ll be healing everyone. We''ll take another two more days counting this one topletely fix everyone, I also need that time to prepare my troops, use some items I have and get a bit stronger," I exined. "Right girls?"


    "Yep! We have a lot to do too!" said Erika. "But we can''t take longer than that, can you convince the people toe here so we can heal them quickly, auntie?"


    "I can try, yes," said Everfrost. "But you have to know, there''s hundreds of thousands of people¡­"


    "It shouldn''t be a problem, my vampire spirits have already set up a wide scale formation around the entire za square, we''ve set things mostly, so we just need the approval of the people," I said. "Once it done, I can assure you we can get them all healed within these days. It should actually take even less."


    "You''re just so incredible¡­" said Everfrost, blushing a bit. "A pity I am so old now, maybe if I had met you when I was younger, I would have probably had a better husband than the King."


    "What are you even talking about?" I sighed.


    "Ahaha, just my daydreaming, the daydreaming of a heartbroken, lonely woman¡­" Everfrost sighed. "Now, leave this to me! I''ll gather the people for you."


    "Thank you," I nodded.


    As she left, Erika and Elizabeth were staring at me.


    "What?"


    "You''re really quite oblivious sometimes, that olddy has the hotties for you, ke," said Erika.


    "It''s really obvious, does she likes younger boys?" wondered Elizabeth.


    "It''s not that I don''t know what she meant, but I have no interest," I said. "What''s exactly the point of entertaining her romantic desires? I have none to reciprocate. I just meet that woman. The only girls I love are you two and Eleanora, because I know you for years."N?v(el)B\\jnn


    The girls widened their eyes over my rather dull and cold answer, which also carried my sincere feelings.


    "ke¡­" Erika blushed.


    "Hahah, well¡­ if you say so," Elizabeth was also blushing.


    "keeee!"


    However, unlike Elizabeth, Erika didn''t contain herself and jumped on me, kissing my face constantly.


    "I love you too baby! Let''s get married already! Mooch, mooch, mooch!"


    "E-Erika! Not here, we need to go heal the people first- Augh¡­"


    I ended being dominated by her superior physical prowess, and her unending love, which seemed to give her a supernatural boost to her physical power.


    In resume she kissed and hugged me a lot.


    I kind of miss when she was much weaker and more delicate, a cute doll girl that wouldn''t just jump over me- No wait, she did that before too.


    Elizabeth got angry though.


    "Erika! Stop it! Don''t embarrass ke! Be more mindful," said Elizabeth. "Now, now, let''s get moving, okay? You also should share ke and not have it all for yourself from time to time¡­"


    "Eli! I didn''t know you felt that way¡­ You''re often distant," said Erika.


    "I-I am not distant; I just have some¡­ dignity as a woman. Women shouldn''t just throw themselves on a man, Eri. You have to learn some etiquette," said Elizabeth.


    "But ke is my boyfriend, why can''t I jump on him?" Erika sighed.


    "You see, there''s something called basic etiquette and the dignity of a woman¡­" Elizabeth started teaching her some manners.


    Erika seemed to understand to an extent, but I have no idea how long that willst, truly.


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    After everything, however, we moved on to the za, where the people that had healed and were willing toe were already here.


    They were still incredulous if it would even work, but they trusted their nobles a lot.


    We separated the groups avable between those that wanted Majin and Nephalem Spirit Orbs.


    There were more that wanted the Nephalem ones, but some also wanted the Majin ones.


    They were a bit afraid, but after seeing Everfrost, Sapphirus, and Rosenheim, they were confident it could work.


    And it did, it worked perfectly, we spent the rest of the day healing these people.


    In just a couple of hours, 160.000 people were "fixed".


    It was so fast the rest of the people were still speechless.


    I was sure that this would bring some hope into their gullible hearts.


    -----

 Chapter 1052: Celebrations

    -----


    FLAAASH!


    A bright rainbow light epassed everyone standing in the za, their bodies overflowing with purifying and spiritual energies.


    Erika, Elizabeth, Rainbow Star, and me imbued our powers into the giant formation, constantly drinking Dragon Blood Elixirs to recover Mana and Spirit Energy every time we finished a batch.


    Thankfully, this was thest one.


    FLUOSH!


    The energies blossomed within every elf''s spirit orb, bing a beautiful pink flower than then scattered its petals into the wind, their bodies were now overflowing with a pink colored power, I called it Majin Energy.N?v(el)B\\jnn


    Although it had such a name, it wasn''t an entirely separate power, it was just Spiritual Energy that had been corrupted with Demonic Energy and then purified to be Majin Energy.


    It maintains some of the tricky and deadly nature of demonic energy without its curses and drawbacks, creating a truly unique essence.


    Once the entire ritual finished, several people''s spirit orbs ranked up, although most of them were already Rank 1 or 2, so it wasn''t that big of a boost.


    Hope was back into people''s hearts, as they looked at their spiritual auras, and many began summoning all kinds of strange, yet whimsical and friendly spirits.


    None of them could talk either, Rosenheim was an exception it seemed, one I made possibly by specifically boosting her growthpared to the rest.


    "I have a spirit?!"


    "My Spirit power is back!"


    "My Mana¡­ it feels so refreshed, no longer stale¡­"


    "That demonic energy is finally gone!"


    "My life¡­ it has been restored¡­"


    Many of the elves started crying, some hugged each other in happiness and in between tears, the rest of the people watching the scene around, had their hopes for the future restored this day.


    Why? Because these weren''t all the people we healed, out of a bit over four hundred thousand, we already healed one hundred and sixty people, a tremendous leap forward.


    The night was arriving, the moon was shining brightly in the skies, and the people couldn''t help but start celebrations, food and drinks was being given to everyone.


    Mostly something we set up ourselves though, but it was working well.


    "Everything really worked! The Summoner and the Saintess did it!"


    "Lady Rosenheim, and Lady Everfrost, they truly healed¡­"


    "They''re really our heroes¡­"


    "I can''t believe I thought about leaving, I''m definitely staying now, with them, perhaps its truly possible to save this continent."


    "But we have to work hard ourselves, right? We should join the reconstruction of the Rosenheim Dukedom! I saw they were asking for workers; the pay was good."


    "If it''s for Lady Rosenheim''s sake, I''ll surely join then!"


    "Yeah!"


    The elves constantly chatted, talking about the future ahead and what they could do, celebrations began, and the atmosphere became bright and colorful.


    Bards sang their music, drinks and food were distributed, and my friends joined the fray alongside the nobles, taking a big wooden table and sitting around it with everyone else.


    "Mama! I want more skewered meat!" Sapphirus asked as he was very hungry.


    "Sapphirus! Since when have you liked eating so much meat? You used to dislike it¡­" Everfrost sighed.


    "Haha, perhaps he got the fang for it after his awakening, using mana does gives you a lot of hunger," said Chris. "Meat restores mana quicklypared to some sd!"


    "I-I hope it''s just that, hahah¡­" Everfrost looked slightly worried.


    It was still a mystery if Sapphirus was a true Cambion or nothing at all, but this sudden appetite over meat seemed unusual and out of ce, although Chirs argument was good, it wasn''t enough to convince me.


    However, the boy was stable, so there wasn''t much to worry about now, the Spirit Orb he chose seemed to have calmed him down, and his new spirit brought him thepany he needed at times.


    "There you go, master, more wine and food for you," said an elven maid with pink colored skin and pointy horns, and a long demon-like tail, alongside tiny bat-like wings by Rosenheim''s side.


    It was her Summon Spirit, the Mask, which had taken into a maid-like form for her, although she was often looked at and pointed as a demon, Rosenheim made her turn into spirit a mask to show people she was a spirit.


    "Err, thank you, Mask. But do you have to serve me? I am fine as I am!" Rosenheim said.


    "I insist, mydy needs the utmost attention," said Mask. "I live and exist to serve you and protect you after all, and make your dreamse true."


    "Hahhh¡­ you''re very entric, aren''t you?" the young noble girl sighed.


    "Well, I don''t really like that mask so much, but I guess I''ll have to get used to it, huh?" Elfrieddenined.


    "Hah, I guess so," Rosenheim shrugged. "Come on, she''s not that bad either."


    "Hmm¡­" Elfriedden red at the demon-like spirit.


    "Well, I will try to serve mydy''s husband as well," said Mask. "Should you want something else than just good, please visit me at night and I shall embrace you and prepare you for pleasuring mydy. A man must know these things after all." she suddenly moved her dress to reveal her bare breast to Elfriedden.


    "E-Eh?! Are you¡­! How vulgar!" Elfriedden cried, yet he was blushing quite a lot.


    "Okay that''s enough, did you had to tease him like that?!" sighed Rosenheim, facepalming. "You''re just like a subus, aren''t you?! return to a mask and go to my spirit orb!"


    "I-I''m sorry master, I won''t do it again! It was just a tiny little prank!" Mask cried, quickly turning into a mask, and disappearing.


    "That mask is surprisingly quite the jester," Cattalinaughed. "I had not expected it to behave in such a way, how unusual of spirits¡­ The Majin Spirit Orb and the Nephalem Spirit Orbs are surely amazing new things. Perhaps evolutions upon previous Spirit Orb studies."


    "Yes, we''ve done a lot of progress in that regard!" Eric nodded. "I think we could even publish some sort of papers to the academy of spiritual investigation. It could bring upon the world a revolution about how we treat Spirit Orbs."


    "That''ll be for muchter though, Eric," I said. "Don''t go revealing our secrets to the world."


    "A-Ah, of course not! I''m sorry¡­" Eric nodded, apologizing.


    His heart was in the right ce, but he was too eager¡­


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    Anyways, once I''m done with this, time to use all these items I have umted.


    -----

 Chapter 1053: A Stream Of Thoughts

    -----


    "Sorry about that, ke, I didn''t mean it like that!" Eric apologized, panicking a bit over my harsh words.


    "Yeah, of course we''ll do it muchter," Alberta nodded. "And once you agree with it¡­ After all, we only helped, it was all your ideas!"


    "Yes!" Eric nodded.


    "It''s okay, I am not mad," I smiled faintly. "I am grateful you''re so eager. And I do intend to one day bring a revolution to this world. We need to be stronger; everyone needs to get stronger. For the future that''s toe. Even if we''ll do our best to create one without demons, the future is still uncertain."


    "Of course! Compared to all the things you helped us gain, the rest of the spirit masters are much weaker," said Eric. "I had nned that in the future we could share at world-wide level the ability to create a magic circle and a physique, but the transformation and cultivation of spirit orbs had still been quite the mystery."


    "Although people know of techniques to evolve and create spirits when they rank up, that''s about everything they truly know, we mostly rely on Skills and our Talents," said Alberta.


    "But what you''ve discovered is world-changing, to be able to modify, evolve, and transform the spirit orb¡­ It could even give people more freedom about the spirits they can obtain, even from the very beginning!" said Eric.


    "Imagine for example if we could give someone with water affinity the power to transform their spirit orb into one of fire and metal, and their spirit bes a giant zing metal slime, for example!" Alberta said.


    "Oh yeah, that would be incredible!" Eric nodded. "We certainly have to do that now, so much left to discover! There are endless iterations and forms to twist this new technique. Don''t you think, ke?"N?v(el)B\\jnn


    "Yeah, you two are quite amazing ating out with ideas," I nodded. "If we can tweak the entire formation a bit and add other materials and energies, it is possible to do what you said with every element in the world. And not just elements either, but types and aspects, dragons, lizards, fairies, beasts, all kinds of things could be modified.


    People''s very spiritual energy and their initial, new spirits could change topletely new, revolutionary powers."


    "An academy not to prepare children to war, but one that explores the ability to cultivate spirit orbs and how to discover their properties and the mysteries of spirit energy, it would be amazing," said Erika,menting out of nowhere.


    "Oh, so you were listening, indeed," I nodded with a smile. "I want a future like that for our kids. One where there aren''t demons trying to kill everyone, a future where they can do as they please."


    "For our kids¡­?" Erika blushed. "S-So you really are thinking about having a family!"


    "Of course, why wouldn''t I?" I wondered. "I am fighting for that purpose too¡­ Well, also my siblings and my family."


    "You sure have changed, bing someone entirely different than the previous life you once had~" Eleanora giggled, sitting by left side and kissing my cheek. "I wonder if what the Holy Spirit of Love said about me being able to conceive was true? We should try it in the near future."


    "A-Ah, well¡­" I felt slightly pressured. "Of course¡­"


    "But he''s doing it with me first though, okay?" Erika pouted. "I was his first girlfriend."


    "Erika, don''t be so impatient, I came from her previous life so I naturally have the right to take his first time," said Eleanora.


    "T-That''s¡­ true, but still! That''s cheating!" Erikained.


    Were they seriously fighting over who has sex with me first?


    This isn''t happening any time soon, yet they''re already thinking about it¡­


    I only talked about children, only that¡­


    Hah, well, I do wonder, how would our kids look like though?


    Eleanora, Erika, and Elizabeth, all three of them are exceptionally beautiful and strong.


    Our kids would certainly inherit their powers and abilities,bined with mine.


    They could be the strongest beings in the entire¡­


    Usually, children won''t just inherit a parent''s powers, stats, or so.


    For the most time, its either their elemental affinity or the type of starting spirit, only sometimes.


    But thanks to the power of my Vampire Physique and Bloodline, it is possible, through it, to pass on my talents and abilities.


    The bloodline will also absorb the talents of the mothers, giving birth to stronger children. Experience more on m-v|l e''-NovelBin


    This is how Vampires reproduced in the past in the Outer Universe and managed to create such a strong caste of beings, constantlybining bloodlines and unique talents and powers.


    Of course, the ability to just turn someone into a Vampire also exists, but Eleanora and I were born as Vampire children, so Vampires can naturally also reproduce, but much more rarely.


    For once, their sexual drive is much lesser, and they cannot easily reproduce either, it takes them thousands of years to give birth to a child.


    They have no lifespan, so of course they won''t mind waiting so long.


    However, it''s different for me now, this is certainly still a human body at the base, I''ve imbued into it all of the vampires'' abilities that benefit me and took away everything that didn''t.


    If I put my mind into it, getting my wives pregnant in the future won''t be a problem.


    And¡­


    Ah, I shouldn''t be really thinking about such things, shouldn''t I?


    I guess this body of mine is really changing me as Eleanora said, could be hormones or something.


    But whenever I get closer to the girls, their sweet scent, it just res within me something.


    Its hard to maintain self-restraint, but I know there are more important matters for the moment.


    "Geez, you two can''t leave ke alone for some time, can''t you? Stop discussing about who does it first or something!" Elizabeth reprimanded them. "Let''s just enjoy the festivities!"


    Like that, with my trio of lovers, we enjoyed the festivity with friends and family.


    And once we went to sleep, exhausted, and the morning arrived, I decided to take a quick shower and move to the garden to finally use all these rewards given to me.


    -----


    Author''s Note: In this chapter ke begins having lewd thoughts for once. I promise you that once they''re of proper age, there will be smut scenes. But for now, let''s have patience.

 Chapter 1054: Using Various Items, Growing Stronger

    -----


    While feeling the wind of the morning, I checked all the items I could use right now. I needed to be as strong as possible, my fight against that bastard of Mammon was closer than I imagined, and Fafnir is supposed to be even stronger than Bestellen as he''s a rather young divine dragon. I am afraid he could have possibly gained demonic powers from Mammon, so he is a wild card I must prepare for.


    Now, let''s see¡­


    [Divine Skill Fusion Ticket (Legendary Grade)] x2


    [Divine Skill Evolution Ticket (Legendary Grade)] x2


    [Magic Circle Strengthening Elixir (Legendary Grade)] x30


    [Physique Enhancing Elixir (Legendary Grade)] x30


    [Spirit Orb Enhancement Elixir (Legendary Grade)] x30


    [Skill Proficiency Elixir (Legendary Grade)] x30


    [Spirit Gachapon Ticket: Materials (Legendary Grade)] x10


    [Mammon Archdemon of Greed Themed Treasure Chest (Celestial Grade)] x1


    [Demonic Skill Scroll: Mammon Archdemon of Greed (Celestial Grade)] x1


    [Divine Fruit of the Spirit Tree (Celestial Grade)] x1


    [Divine Roots of the Spirit Tree (Celestial Grade)] x1


    [Celestial Angel Halo Fragments (Celestial Grade)] x1


    Hmm, the tickets, I should use them now to get even stronger Skills, fusing my strongest Skills to get some ridiculous ability would be good, if not necessary right now, and evolving already powerful Skills could also give me a new edge over Fafnir.


    The Gachapon this time¡­ It gives Materials? They will be at least Legendary Grade, so it won''t anything bad, I believe. The question is what materials I will get, and for what purpose will they be.


    My spear was heavily damaged in Mammon''s battle, and it still has many cracks, about to break. It needs a huge upgrade, so I''ll probably use anything good I get from them.


    Then the themed treasure chest, I shall open it and see what''s inside, hopefully a good new piece of equipment, or perhaps a skill grimoire? Anything would do.


    Then the skill scrolls of Mammon, it is random so it could be anything, but hopefully something good, perhaps one of his strongest abilities such as his Demonic Soul Parasite¡­


    And then thest three materials, the Spirit Tree Fruit, and Roots, these seem like something sent to me for a different reason.


    The Halo as well, they could all have a bigger purpose than using them on me. I think they were gifts from the Holy Spirits to fix and repair Yggdrasil with.


    As long as we can get to Yggdrasil, kill Fafnir, and finally stop its constant damage, if we use these materials¡­ Maybe it could recover better.


    As for the Elixirs, I shall drink them right away to get the most out of them.


    They had varied vors, but mostly tasted like fine wine.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    After drinking them all and absorbing their powers through my amazing physique, I felt a sudden surge of new power.


    Ding!


    [You have consumed [Magic Circle Strengthening Elixir (Legendary Grade)] x30, [Physique Enhancing Elixir (Legendary Grade)] x30, [Spirit Orb Enhancement Elixir (Legendary Grade)] x30, [Skill Proficiency Elixir (Legendary Grade)] x30!]


    [You have gained +300.000 Magic Runes into your Magic Circle!]


    [You have gained +300.000 Ki Essence into your Physique!]


    [You have gained +300.000 Spiritual Energy into your Spirit Orb!]


    [You have gained +3.000.000 Skill Proficiency distributed on random Skills!]


    [Due to therge quantity of surplus Spiritual Energy that cannot be absorbed because your Spirit Orb cannot increase its Rank, the energies have been distributed into your Soul and Mana Core instead.]


    [Some of the power imbued into your Physique has also been transferred to your Demon Core, strengthening its foundations and growth.]


    FLUOSH!


    I felt my magic circle spin around, bing tremendously strong within seconds, my body was reinforced and strengthened, the Ki within me overflowing. And my Spiritual Energy became vast and great. Lastly, several Skills Leveled Up.


    It didn''t matter if my Spirit Orb couldn''t get any power, my Soul and my Mana Core were strengthened greatly, and that was more than enough for me!


    Ding!


    [Your [Mana Core]: [Rank 2 (Peak Stage)] has Ranked Up to Rank 3 Initial Stage!]


    [Your Mana Core has gained +1.000.000 Additional Mana.]


    [Your [Magic Circle]: [Demonic Infernal Warlock''s Spiritual Pentagram Circle (Tier 6: Rank 5)] has Ranked Up to Tier 6: Rank 9!]


    [You gained +4.000 MP, +2.000 INT, and +1.000 Spirit.]


    [Your [Physique]: [Divine Demonic Vampire Overlord Physique (Tier 7: Rank 5)] has Ranked Up to Tier 7: Rank 9!]


    You gained +4.000 to all Physical Stats.]


    [Your [Psyche]: [Divine Demonic Blood Overlord Spiritual Soul Psyche (Tier 6: Rank 5)] has Ranked Up to Tier 6: Rank 9!]


    [You gained +4.000 MP and +2.000 Spirit.]


    [Your [Demon Core]: [Gluttonous King of Wrathful Greed Demon Core (Tier 5: Rank 5)] has Ranked Up to Tier 5: Rank 9!]


    [You gained +4.000 to All Stats except Mana.]


    Good, and now, thest touch.


    FLUOSH!


    I invoked the power of the Domain of Creation and used the Skill Proficiency essence as if they were an element, transferring it elsewhere instead.


    Yeah, it was something the power of Creation could easily do, in fact!


    [Through the power of {Domain of Creation}, you have directed all your earned Skill Points towards a specific category of Skills, although you cannot choose what will level up.]


    [The Skills: [Create/Delete Familiar: Lv9] [Summon/Unsummon Familiar: Lv9] [Familiar Storage Expansion: Lv9] [Familiar Synthesis: Lv9] [Familiar Connection: Lv7] [Familiar Awakening: Lv7] [Advanced Familiar Fusion: Lv7] [Familiar Multiplication: Lv7] [Familiar General: Lv6] [Familiar Sacrifice: Lv6] [Familiar Evolution: Lv7] [Familiar Talent Bestowal: Lv5] [Familiar Element Bestowal: Lv5] [Familiar Egg: Lv4] [Familiar Necromancy: Lv3] [Vampiric Familiar: Lv3] [Summon Holy Spirit Of Blood: Lv2] [Blood King''s Divine Graveyard: Lv2] [Familiar Soul Feasting: Lv2] [Shadow Familiar Creation: Lv2] have Leveled Up!]


    All Summoner Skills Leveled Up!


    Some Skills hit max level, but didn''t evolve either, I suppose they need Evolution Materials or Items, such as the tickets I have.


    "Oh my, you''re using the materials, master?"


    A sleepy Eleanora greeted me, appearing out of my shadows.


    "Ah, yes, good morning." I greeted her, as she happily kissed my lips and hugged me.


    "Good morning my love~" she caressed my neck, biting it afterwards. "Hmm~ nothing like this delicious meal every morning."


    "Immediately for the neck¡­" I sighed. "I suppose you''re quite hungry."


    As I feed Eleanora my blood, I quickly moved to the tickets.


    -----

 Chapter 1055: Divine Skills

    -----


    The tickets in question were four¡­ well, five if we counted the Skill Scroll of Mammon, but I was going to use that one after the tickets.


    [Divine Skill Fusion Ticket (Legendary Grade)] x2


    [Divine Skill Evolution Ticket (Legendary Grade)] x2


    I think I''ll go for Skill Evolution first, evolving my most prized Skills first, then move on to fuse a few others that aren''t as prized by themselves.


    "Now¡­"


    I checked my Skills and looked what I wanted to be even better, honestly, I use so many skills through a battle that the true answer would be like over twelve of them.


    However, if I am talking about the most basic of basics, then¡­ Spear.


    Ding!


    [You have used the [Divine Skill Evolution Ticket (Legendary Grade)] x1 into the [Spear Mastery: Lv10] Skill!]


    FLUOSH!


    A powerful aura of gold surged from the ticket, which then turned into gold particles and fused into my chest, reaching my soul where the Skills were located.


    And then fusing itself with the Skill of Spear Mastery, the transformation was almost instantaneous, and incredible at that!


    FLAAASH!


    I felt a sudden surge of new power, apanied by a slight¡­ enlightenment, a few visions, only a handful, I could barely grasp at anything other than strands.


    But in these visions I saw myself holding a spear made out of the heavens themselves, piercing the demonic realm, hell, and blowing everything up.


    Lucifer was there, facing me in disbelief as the power of my spear pieced through it all, the heavens and the hells all fell, and then the cosmos was victim of my spear.


    When I opened my eyes, barely a couple of seconds had passed, it wasn''t a vision of the future, but a way for the Law of Spears to show me the way.


    Just like there''s a Law of the Sword, there is one of the Spear, the Axe, or even the Hammer, or every weapon that mankind has wielded through the cosmos and all of creation.


    The true way of the spears, the Path of the Spears, the Divinity of Spears.


    Yes, this Skill¡­ it became Divine.


    Ding!


    [The [Spear Mastery: Lv10] Skill has absorbed the Divine Power and has evolved into the [Divine Spear God Arts: Lv1]!]


    [You have gained the [Developing Divinity: God Spear]! To develop this Divinity, master the power of the [Divine Spear God Arts] Skill.]


    [You gained +5.000 Divinity Stat.]


    Hah, I even gained a Developing Divinity?!


    I can''t believe it!


    So this power I felt, this gold and silver essence, it was the Divinity of the God Spear, incredible.


    It felt like¡­ as long as I keep growing it, I could even turn my very soul, my aura, my very being into a spear itself.


    And then my surroundings, just like in that vision, that hypothetical future.


    To turn the heavens into a spear! Explore stories at m,v l''e-NovelBin


    Amazing, I want to learn more about this immediately.


    -----


    [Divine Spear God Arts: Lv1]


    Skill Proficiency: 0/100.000


    The Divine Evolution of the [Spear Mastery] Skill, only those who have dedicated their whole lives to master the Law of the Spear, its piercing might, and its rapid movements can even fathom to obtain this Skill at all, a Divine Skill linked to an equally powerful Divinity.


    A Skill that only those that have fought using Spears all their lives can acquire, a true meaning of Mastery within the use of Spears, mastering the Divinity of the God Spear and the Law of the Spear with every Level.


    When wielding Spear-type weapons, Attack Damage, Attack Speed, and Reflexes are enhanced by +500% (+50% x Skill Level) and grants the ability to ignore All Defenses and Immunities by 50% (+2.5% x Skill Level).


    When using the Divinity of the God Spear together with this Skill''s Techniques, you can temporarily unleash the {Divine God Spear Aura} into your body and your surroundings, making any essence or power you wield into a deadly Spear to attack foes, dealing 50% (+5% x Skill Level) of your normal damage, increases All Stats by 300% (+50% x Skill Level), and increases the power of all Divine Spear God Arts by +400% (+30% x Skill Level) for 30 Minutes.


    Cooldown: 6 Hours.


    Additionally, grants the ability to utilize the powerful and Millenary Divine Spear God Arts earned each Skill Level.


    Avable Divine Spear God Arts:


    Level 1: [One Hundred Lightning Blows] [God-Killing Celestial Piercing Strike] [One Hundred Spearmen Spirit Exploding Spear Attacks] [One Thousand Battalion''s Spears Multi-Thrust Double Attacks] [Weapon Destroying Bloody Shredder] [Armor Crushing Spear Attack Enhancement Aura]


    Level 2: ???


    -----


    Oh, what an incredible Skill, it is everything I wanted and more. The previous Techniques have been merged into Divine Techniques, each one bing much stronger than before.


    I could hardly wait to use themter¡­


    But now, let''s move to the next Skill I wanted to evolve into a Divine Skill.


    Ding!


    [You have used the [Divine Skill Evolution Ticket (Legendary Grade)] x1 into the [Create/Delete Familiar: Lv10] Skill!]


    FLUOSH!


    The same scene happened again, the power of the Ticket fused into my chest, reaching upon the one Skill I had been using almost since the beginning of my journey, and the one I relied on the most to defeat the endless armies of demons.


    Naturally, it was the power of the Summoner, Create/Delete Familiar!


    This time, there was another enlightenment, another vision.


    I could see it slightly more clearly now, a handful of images, as if I had lived them myself, but I had yet to actually live them.


    Something else, something powerful, something incredible¡­


    An army of endless Gods right before my authority, exuding Divinity within them, despite being Familiars.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Leading them were the Generals, having evolved into Holy Gods themselves, confronting endless armies of demons, and even, something else.


    What is that?


    Winged beings, with halos and white feathers.


    Hah, I see it now.


    An exquisite new vision, and one that reveals something that I had suspected for a while myself, how intriguing.


    Ding!


    [The [Create/Delete Familiar: Lv10] Skill has absorbed the Divine Power and has evolved into the [Create/Delete Divine Familiar: Lv1]!]


    [You have gained the [Developing Divinity: Divine Familiars]! To develop this Divinity, master the power of the [Create/Delete Divine Familiar] Skill.]


    [You gained +5.000 Divinity Stat.]


    It was done.


    -----

 Chapter 1056: Fusing Skills

    -----


    I decided to use thest Divine Skill Evolution Ticket on the Skill that was used the most by me, and also the pir of my whole army.


    Ding!


    [You have used the [Divine Skill Evolution Ticket (Legendary Grade)] x1 into the [Create/Delete Familiar: Lv10] Skill!]


    FLUOSH!


    Through it, I saw a vision revealing to me several divine beings, entities I could control and use to defeat anything, even oveing the armies of hell.


    Yes, this was the power of this new Divine Skill.


    Ding!


    [The [Create/Delete Familiar: Lv10] Skill has absorbed the Divine Power and has evolved into the [Create/Delete Divine Familiar: Lv1]!]


    [You have gained the [Developing Divinity: Divine Familiars]! To develop this Divinity, master the power of the [Create/Delete Divine Familiar] Skill.] Find adventures at m_v l|e-NovelBin


    [You gained +5.000 Divinity Stat.]


    It was done.


    Not only did I gain even more Divinity, but the Divine Skill also came with yet another Developing Divinity! It was really good; I could definitely give this Developing Divinity to yet another of my many Vampire Familiars.


    Now let''s see what this is all about¡­


    -----


    [Create/Delete Divine Familiar: Lv1]


    Skill Proficiency: 0/400.000


    The Evolved form of the [Create/Delete Familiar] Skill, aside from previous effects, it allows for the creation of Divine Summons through the Evolution of S Ranked Familiars or the absorption of Divine Beast'' Divine Spirit Orbs or Divine Beings'' Divine Souls.


    Created Divine Familiars can be assigned names and remain in the form of Divine Summon Cards stored inside the Grimoire until Summoned. This Skill allows for the strengthening of Divine Familiars to higher Ranks through Divine Evolution, and for the creation of higher Ranked Divine Familiars. You can only summon one Divine Familiar of a kind.


    When a Divine Familiar is summoned, all the stats of other Familiars of their Same Types increase by 200% (+30% x Skill Level) and they receive a Pseudo Divinity rted with the Divine Familiar, gaining some Divine Power.


    Additionally, Divine Familiars receive a buff of 10% (+5% x Skill Level) of all their Stats, alongside further boosting their Divinities and Skill Power by 200% (+30% x Skill Level) as long as they''re within range of Familiars of their same Rank of 300 meters or less (+100 x Skill Level).


    Divine Familiars possess their own Ranks starting from Unique, Epic, Legendary, Mythical, Demigod, and God Ranks. Any Familiar that has reached S Rank has the possibility of undergoing Divine Evolution, as long as necessary Materials are provided.


    Current Divine Familiar Rank Creation Ability:


    Level 1: [Unique Rank]


    Level 3: [Epic Rank]


    Level 5: [Legendary Rank]


    Level 7: [Mythical Rank]


    Level 9: [Demigod Rank]


    Level 10: [God Rank]


    -----


    I see, very interesting, I suppose the higher the level the stronger the Divine Familiars can be, until Level 10, where they reach God Rank.


    If anything, their major weakness is that they cannot be summoned more than once, so its always one per Divine Summon.


    But the good part is that they''re natural army buffers and can even share their divinity with lesser familiars at S Rank, I assume.


    This means that if I can stack a lot of simr-type Divine Familiars withrge armies of S Ranks or below, I could stack multiple shared divinity powers and stats into them.


    Incredible, isn''t it? It does have some amazing potential.


    Is there even any Familiar I can use this on? The only one thates to mind is Bestellen or the Fairy Queen.


    The other would be an S Rank monster, but I have none, only A Rank for now. I''ll need to evolve my current A Rank Familiars to S Rank before they can be Divine Familiars.


    I''ll try using itter though, but this could give a seriously powerful boost to that old white dragon, and perhaps even the Fairy Queen too.


    Now, onto the Skill Fusion Tickets.


    Which Skills do Ibine? There are so many.


    First of all, how many Skills can Ibine using this ticket?


    -----


    [Divine Skill Fusion Ticket (Legendary Grade)]


    A Divine Item in the form of a golden ticket, created by the Grimoire and the Holy Spirits.


    Once activated through imbuing it with Mana, it is possible to use it tobine Several Skills together into a Divine Fusion Skill.


    The amount of Skills that can bebined at maximum is 3.


    Once the Skill Fusion starts, it cannot be undone, so choose carefully.


    -----


    Interesting and straightforward, then let''s move on.


    I can fuse three skills right away, which ones do I choose, there''s so many its rather hard.


    But I think I want to fuse those that are quite redundant separated, but together could be something really good.


    Ding!n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    [You have selected the [Divine Skill Fusion Ticket (Legendary Grade)]!]


    [The powers of the [Divine Skill Fusion Ticket (Legendary Grade)] have been activated, please choose three Skills tobine into a Divine Skill.]


    [You have chosen the following Skills: [Familiar Necromancy: Lv4] [Vampiric Familiar: Lv4] [Shadow Familiar Creation: Lv3]!]


    [Skill Fusion has begun!]


    FLASH!


    These three powerful Familiar Summoning Skills, I wanted them into a single one, a powerful Skill Fusion of my own choosing,bining Necromancy''s Undead Familiars, the bloodthirsty yet underused Vampiric Familiars, andstly the newest one inherited from an old Summoner, the Shadow Familiar Creation.


    The power of Undead, the power of Vampires, and the power of Shadows, allbined together, I felt within me, something new surge, something new being born.


    It was there, it was emerging, shaping itself!


    And with it came a Developing Divinity too, a vision shed through my mind.


    Shadows, Death, Blood, allbined together, to extract everything from a Familiar or a dead foe, to turn them into an incredible new Familiar.


    An undying army, and the possibility to turn anything into a Familiar, even more than before, with so much more freedom too!


    Ding!


    [You have sessfully fused the Skills: [Familiar Necromancy: Lv4] [Vampiric Familiar: Lv4] [Shadow Familiar Creation: Lv3]!]


    [You have created the Fusion Skill: [Abyssal Vampiric Undead Familiar Creation: Lv1]!]


    [You have gained the [Developing Divinity: Abyssal Vampiric Undead Familiars]! To develop this Divinity, master the power of the [Abyssal Vampiric Undead Familiar Creation] Skill.]


    [You gained +5.000 Divinity Stat.]


    There it is!


    -----

 Chapter 1057: Abyssal Vampiric Undead Familiar Creation

    -----


    The choices were obvious, and this choice also gave birth to somethingpletely new, something that could utterly revolutionize my entire arsenal of summons forever.


    Ding!


    [You have selected the [Divine Skill Fusion Ticket (Legendary Grade)]!]


    [The powers of the [Divine Skill Fusion Ticket (Legendary Grade)] have been activated, please choose three Skills tobine into a Divine Skill.]


    [You have chosen the following Skills: [Familiar Necromancy: Lv4] [Vampiric Familiar: Lv4] [Shadow Familiar Creation: Lv3]!]


    [Skill Fusion has begun!]


    All three Skills fused together, I had yet to even get them to Level ten, but it did not matter with tickets, I was allowed. The skill created was strong, I could feel it, and with it came a Developing Divinity too, a vision shed through my mind.


    Shadows, Death, Blood, allbined together, to extract everything from a Familiar or a dead foe, to turn them into an incredible new Familiar. An undying army, and the possibility to turn anything into a Familiar, even more than before, with so much more freedom too.


    Yes, absolutely anything! This was it! The changing point within my Familiar Army. This, coupled with Divine Familiar Creation could truly change the entire tide of war.


    Ding!


    [You have sessfully fused the Skills: [Familiar Necromancy: Lv4] [Vampiric Familiar: Lv4] [Shadow Familiar Creation: Lv3]!]


    [You have created the Fusion Skill: [Abyssal Vampiric Undead Familiar Creation: Lv1]!]


    [You have gained the [Developing Divinity: Abyssal Vampiric Undead Familiars]! To develop this Divinity, master the power of the [Abyssal Vampiric Undead Familiar Creation] Skill.]


    [You gained +5.000 Divinity Stat.]


    There it is! Not only there was a new Skill but even a Divinity to go with it, these tickets are utterly ridiculous, gifting me Divinities from left and right, haha!


    "Excellent, magnificent!"


    I felt a rush of adrenaline as I felt the powers of this new Skill and Developing Divinity course through my body, this was no ordinary power, but something that could change everything forever.


    I''ll use it right away to try, first, a fresh corpse.


    "Here¡­ this bastard only died yesterday, brought to me by my Familiars as they went to hunt outside and clean the outskirts."


    I summoned the corpse of a ck-scaled Dragon Born, lizardmen that had drunk Fafnir''s blood and mutated into draconic humanoid beings, they kept their intelligence but became much more malicious and temperamental, gaining draconic abilities too.


    They were the primary force of Fafnir''s army, and they were actively working with the Demon Cultists, some of these Cultists also became Dragon Born themselves, looking indistinguishable from the others.


    "I see, are you going to use that?" Eleanora wondered, she was looking with intensity at the corpse, feeling a bit hungry.N?v(el)B\\jnn


    "Now¡­ {Abyssal Vampiric Undead Familiar Creation}!"


    FLUOSH!


    I unleashed an aura of ck and crimson color out of my hands, covering the corpse of the monsterpletely, and then shaking it to its core. Its entire body started twisting in pain and agony. There was still a soul fragment inside, apparently, it was perfect.


    FLASH!


    Suddenly, all the blood of the corpse waspletely emptied, leaving the corpse dried, then, its shadows emerged, a mass of pure darkness, fusing with its blood, now having be a crimson energy.


    Andstly, the remaining soul within the body, fusing together with it into a sphere of ck and red, which floated towards my hand, and then was absorbed.


    Ding!


    [You have sessfully absorbed the {Abyssal Blood Soul Core} of a foe! You acquired a new Abyssal Vampiric Undead Familiar Card: [ck-Scaled Dragon Born Warrior (A+ Rank)] x1!]


    [You can summon this Card at any moment.]


    A crimson-colored card materialized, appearing above my hands, it had the form of the Dragon Born in it, even holding a weapon and all.


    "Amazing, it works just like that?!" Eleanora asked.


    "Yes, but it doesn''t exactly register them, I only get an individual card," I said. "So it''s not like I can create infinite amounts of them, only one per corpse absorbed. Still amazing anyways! This includes monsters and beings I couldn''t turn into Familiars normally, such as these things. It might even work with Demons and even the other races of people."


    "That sounds amazing!" Eleanora was fascinated. "We must use it in other things immediately!"


    "Except it needs a certain level of freshness and their soul nearby," I said. "So I can''t easily use it one everything I want, unfortunately."


    "Oh¡­" Eleanora sighed.


    "Don''t worry, there must be more effects to it, this is also only the bonus, new effect after all," I exined. "It most likely still possesses other abilities¡­ Let''s see."


    ------


    [Abyssal Vampiric Undead Familiar Creation: Lv1]


    Skill Proficiency: 0/500.000


    A Divine Skill Fusion of the [Familiar Necromancy], [Vampiric Familiar], and [Shadow Familiar Creation] Summoner Skills.


    Bybining the forces of Death, Souls, Shadows, and Blood of your Familiars or any avable corpse that is fresh enough, and with their original soul nearby, it is possible to revive them into Abyssal Vampiric Undead Familiars after their death. Familiars that die will leave Ethereal Corpses to revive, while others non-Familiars will require their physical corpses and remaining souls to revive.


    These Familiars will undergo a transformation and evolve into Malefic, Abyssal, and Vampiric Undead versions of themselves. Their skills, stats, and abilities and elements might change drastically after being risen back as Undead. However, they will remain as Undead, and can even be retrieved back as Cards to storeter, and once they die, they cannot be brought back.


    When transformed into Abyssal Vampiric Undead after death, Familiars or former corpses will receive a buff to their Stats of 300% (+20% x Skill Level), and all their Skills gain the secondary Blood, Shadow, and Death Elements, while they gain the Vampire, Undead, and Abyss Type. Find more to read at mvl


    Additionally, their Blood, Shadow, and Death Elemental Magic or Skills receive a boost to their power of 400% (+30% x Skill Level).


    Abyssal Vampiric Undead Familiars will additionally gain the ability to drain Blood and Life Force from foes they fight and attack, draining 10% of the damage dealt to a foe as Lifeblood to heal back their Health and Mana, and they can also assimte Shadows to expand their bodies or regeneraterge chunks of their bodies.


    When doing this to fresh corpses, you will first generate a {Abyssal Blood Soul Core} you can absorb to obtain a Familiar Card or use it as a material and consumable.


    Additionally, when you''re surrounded by more than one hundred Abyssal Vampiric Undead Familiars within the vicinity of 500 meters around you, the effects of the {Abyssal Vampiric Undead Demonic Army} automatically activates, boosting all their Stats by 300% (+30% x Skill Level), their Death, Phantom, Blood, Shadow, and Darkness Attribute Skill and Magic Power by 350% (+35% x Skill Level), and granting the ability to merge with these Familiars, as they turn into pure {Abyssal Death Blood Aura Spirits}, that further boost the wielder''s powers based on their stats for up to 10 minutes each.


    Absorbed Familiars disappear after the ten minutes but leave behind 50% of their MP and Blood, Shadow, and Death Energy for nourishment.


    As the Skills Level Up, Abyssal Vampiric Undead Familiars can unlock new and unique abilities.


    -----


    Yes, this was definitely, and without a doubt, an amazing, godly Skill.


    -----

 Chapter 1058: Something To Surpass It All

    -----


    After giving a nce to my new Skill, I was left rather satisfied. Not only it could turn already existing, dead Familiars into even more upgraded Undead Familiars, but the Vampire Familiar weaknesses disappeared for some reason.


    It does still keep several of the previous Skill effects, as stated here.


    ------


    Bybining the forces of Death, Souls, Shadows, and Blood of your Familiars or any avable corpse that is fresh enough, and with their original soul nearby, it is possible to revive them into Abyssal Vampiric Undead Familiars after their death. Familiars that die will leave Ethereal Corpses to revive, while others non-Familiars will require their physical corpses and remaining souls to revive.


    These Familiars will undergo a transformation and evolve into Malefic, Abyssal, and Vampiric Undead versions of themselves. Their skills, stats, and abilities and elements might change drastically after being risen back as Undead. However, they will remain as Undead, and can even be retrieved back as Cards to storeter, and once they die, they cannot be brought back.


    -----


    The Familiars will leave an Ethereal Corpse and all of that, so that''s easy to do, but the corpse requirement is much more¡­ well, bigger and detailed, needing a fresh corpse with a soul still close by is a must. Also, the buff has be much more ridiculous than before.


    -----


    When transformed into Abyssal Vampiric Undead after death, Familiars or former corpses will receive a buff to their Stats of 300% (+20% x Skill Level), and all their Skills gain the secondary Blood, Shadow, and Death Elements, while they gain the Vampire, Undead, and Abyss Type.


    Additionally, their Blood, Shadow, and Death Elemental Magic or Skills receive a boost to their power of 400% (+30% x Skill Level).


    Abyssal Vampiric Undead Familiars will additionally gain the ability to drain Blood and Life Force from foes they fight and attack, draining 10% of the damage dealt to a foe as Lifeblood to heal back their Health and Mana, and they can also assimte Shadows to expand their bodies or regeneraterge chunks of their bodies.


    When doing this to fresh corpses, you will first generate a {Abyssal Blood Soul Core} you can absorb to obtain a Familiar Card or use it as a material and consumable.


    -----


    Before, Undead Familiars would awaken with less stats than before, a penalty for being able to revive from the dead, but this waspletely overwritten, giving the mechanic apletely broken performance, its technically telling my Familiars to just go die.


    Find exclusive stories on mvl


    And the new Ability, it seems that these powerful new Familiars can easily drain "Lifeblood" from foes to restore their health and mana, and what''s better, they can even absorb shadows to regenerate and be stronger.


    It also states the Core Creation ability, very interesting.


    Andstly, the biggest effect of the Skill.


    -----


    Additionally, when you''re surrounded by more than one hundred Abyssal Vampiric Undead Familiars within the vicinity of 500 meters around you, the effects of the {Abyssal Vampiric Undead Demonic Army} automatically activates, boosting all their Stats by 300% (+30% x Skill Level), their Death, Phantom, Blood, Shadow, and Darkness Attribute Skill and Magic Power by 350% (+35% x Skill Level), and granting the ability to merge with these Familiars, as they turn into pure {Abyssal Death Blood Aura Spirits}, that further boost the wielder''s powers based on their stats for up to 10 minutes each.


    Absorbed Familiars disappear after the ten minutes but leave behind 50% of their MP and Blood, Shadow, and Death Energy for nourishment.


    -----


    This is abination of both Skills buff-type effects, and it does a good job at fusing their performance and power and give them a new twist too. Not only this effect activates by just having these familiars around, but there''s also the possibility of turning them into Aura Spirits that can be absorbed to gain new power based in their already boosted stats!


    It onlysts ten minutes but still, that''s ridiculous.


    "Oh my, isn''t that Skill quite ridiculous?"ughed Eleanora. "You could do anything you want with it now! Build an army out of your foe''s corpses, not just your own Familiars¡­ I wonder if they could also be affected by a Divine Familiar buff!"


    "I think they could¡­ If I could manage to get a Divine Spirit with Vampire or Death types," I said. "Which seems not too hard? I wonder¡­ Oh well, for now, there''s only the second Fusion Ticket left, what Skills should I fuse? Do you have a good idea, Eleanora? I am slightly struggling to find something good tobine."


    "Only three Skills right, dear?" wondered Eleanora, sitting over my legs, and reading the grimoire I allowed her to be able to see, checking my Skill list. "Hmm~ This is a gigantic list of Skills¡­ You''re quite Skill-Rich, aren''t you?"


    "I guess I am guilty of that, yeah, there''s an overabundance of Skills, yet I can barely think of any I would like to just fuse over," I exined. "I need something strong though. Fafnir and his army won''t be something easy to ovee."


    "Hmm, more personal power or to boost your familiar''s power?" she wondered.


    "Personal power this time, I''ve given enough to the familiars," I exined.N?v(el)B\\jnn


    "Good, alright¡­" she nodded. "Then how about these three Skills?"


    Eleanora then pointed at the Skills.


    They were Skills I use constantly, for literally every sort of movement or fighting techniques.


    Since I was young that I''ve been using them without end, and they are the pirs of my fighting style.


    [Blood Arts] and [Shadow Maniption]!


    And she also chose [Demonic Arts] as the third Skill tobine them over with.


    And I couldn''t agree more with her, it was a good choice.


    "I know you don''t want to take too many risks with this Skill Fusion business, but I think it wouldn''t be bad if youbined these three Skills together! You could most likely obtain a ridiculous power as well. So why not?" she asked with a smile.


    "You''re not wrong¡­ I am quite inclined to it now," I smiled. "Fine, let''s do it."


    Time tobine the foundation of my strength and create something to surpass it all.


    ------

 Chapter 1059: Umbral Crimson Arts

    -----


    Since I was young that I''ve been using them without end, and they are the pirs of my fighting style. These two Skills that Eleanora suggested, yeah, I couldbine them.


    [Blood Arts] and [Shadow Maniption]!


    And she also chose [Demonic Arts] as the third Skill tobine them over with, and I couldn''t agree more with her, it was a good choice, theybined well together.


    Something amazing could be created, I believe.


    "I know you don''t want to take too many risks with this Skill Fusion business, but I think it wouldn''t be bad if youbined these three Skills together! You could most likely obtain a ridiculous power as well. So why not?" she asked with a smile.


    She wasn''t wrong, there''s no benefits without risking things sometimes.


    The previous fusion Skill was already pretty good, and I ended risking several Skills for it.


    So we can do the same again, sure.


    "Fine, let''s do it."


    Time tobine the foundation of my strength and create something to surpass it all, Blood, Shadows, and Demonic Arts.


    I have something in mind that coulde out, but at the end, it could be somethingpletely different altogether.


    So let''s just do it and see the result already.


    Ding!


    [You have selected the [Divine Skill Fusion Ticket (Legendary Grade)]!]


    [The powers of the [Divine Skill Fusion Ticket (Legendary Grade)] have been activated, please choose three Skills tobine into a Divine Skill.]


    [You have chosen the following Skills: [Blood Arts: Lv9], [Shadow Maniption: lv9], and [Demonic Arts: Lv6]!]


    [Skill Fusion has begun!]


    FLASH! FLASH! FLASH!


    All three Skills fused together, I had yet to even get them to Level ten, but it did not matter with tickets, I was allowed, just like before, it did not matter. The skill created was strong, I could feel it, and with it came a Developing Divinity too, a vision shed through my mind once more, rivers of blood, clouds of darkness, and a demonic force that swallowed it all.


    FLUOSH!


    Shadows, Blood, Demonic Energy, allbined together, forming an endless cloud of shadows and darkness, rivers of blood that became oceans, and a demonic force resembling infernal fire.


    They shed against each other,bining, melding, being reborn into something new¡­ Something simr to what my previous life had attained.


    Yet at the same time, perhaps stronger.


    RUMBLE!


    From my very Aura, a mighty divinity surged, so strong it made me tremble with excitement. This was it! Without a doubt, the pirs of my fighting techniques were finally evolving into something anew.


    The three Skills, resembling spheres of darkness, blood, and demonic mes converged, and then fused back into my Soul and my Body, all at once.


    My grimoire shone brightly, disying me the details of this new power I felt coursing through every part of my own self.


    Ding!


    [You have sessfully fused the Skills: [Blood Arts: Lv9], [Shadow Maniption: lv9], and [Demonic Arts: Lv4]!]


    [You have created the Fusion Skill: [Umbral Crimson Arts: Lv1]!]


    [You have gained the [Developing Divinity: Umbral Crimson]! To develop this Divinity, master the power of the [Umbral Crimson Arts] Skill.]


    [You gained +5.000 Divinity Stat.]


    There it is!


    Umbral Crimson Arts.


    I didn''t even check the Skill itself; I immediately activated it.


    And then.


    FLUOSH!


    I felt a surge of energies, of elements converged as one.


    Shadows, Blood, Demonic Power.


    They converged into a dark red mass of slime-like substance.


    As I wished it, it took the form of clouds, or as liquid, or even solid like metal and crystals.


    It could also turn into deadly mes at mymand, or even freeze things like ice.


    "This is insane, just what is this?"


    But that wasn''t even half of its powers, I tried it against living Spirit Beasts from my Spiritual Realm, I was able to use this energy much like Shadow and Blood before.


    Andbine their effects to create truly ridiculous abilities.


    For example, as the monster pounced against me, I swung my hand, releasing a shockwave of dark red shadows, which engulfed the monster, trapping it within a cloud of shadows that constantly twisted and shifted.


    The monster couldn''t escape, as if trapped within a dimension of its own!


    Also, I could activate it directly inside a shadow within range, creating giant metallic spikes of dark red and ck colors, piercing the bodies of beasts before they even got close to me.


    Also most attacks would drain health and even soul energy from foes, weakening them over time the more damage they took from my attacks.


    There were many more things I could do with it, but that''s as much as I discovered in thesest thirty minutes.


    -----


    [Umbral Crimson Arts: Lv1]


    Skill Proficiency: 5.311/500.000


    A Divine Skill Fusion of the [Blood Arts], [Shadow Maniption], and [Demonic Arts] Skills.


    Combine and harness the power of Blood Arts, Shadow Maniption, and Demonic Arts together into a brand-new power, invoking into your world a new element, Umbral Crimson, abination between Demonic Power, Shadows, and Blood.


    An ever-shifting Composite Element that can unleash the mighty and ravaging power of blood, the stealth and utility of shadows, and the destructive might of demonic arts together as one.


    Umbral Crimson is an Element that can absorb the elements within its surroundings and even bebined with other elements to shift its powers endlessly. From frozen state, to metallic, crystalline, liquid, zing, and smoke-like. It can shift rapidly and even be several of these states at the same time, bing an utterly deadly power that only you can wield.


    By channeling Umbral Crimson into your body, you receive the {Umbral Crimson Vessel} buff, which enhances the power of all Umbral Crimson, Blood, Shadow, and Demonic Element Spells, Skills, and Abilities Power by 400% (+20% x Skill Level) but increases their Mana cost by 50% (-3% x Skill Level).


    This buff can be further expanded into {Umbral Crimson Aura} to boost All Stats by 250% (+25% x Skill Level) whenever you''re using Umbral Crimson, Blood, Shadow, or Demonic Element Spell, Skills, and Abilities and grant them the ability to ignore 30% of a foe''s Defenses and to ignore 50% of their Elemental Resistances.


    When touched by Umbral Crimson, foes will receive several status effects at random, including [Paralysis] [Madness] [Weakness] [Curse] [Poison] [Vampiric Drain] and more, and if enough damage is dealt to them using Umbral Crimson, their stats begin to rapidly decrease by up to -30%.


    Damage dealt against Umbral, Crimson-infected foes while using Umbral Crimson Arts increases by 200% (+20% x Skill Level). New Arts are unlocked with each Skill Level. All previous Blood Arts, Shadow Maniption, and Demonic Art abilities can be also used andbined at any time.


    Avable Umbral Crimson Arts:


    Level 1: [Crimson Shadow Weapons] [Umbral Crimson Elemental Shifting] [Space-Shifting Shadow Blood Cloud] [Umbral Crimson Demonic Aura Embodiment]


    Level 2: ???N?v(el)B\\jnn


    -----


    It was a slightly long Skill, but the description was definitely worth reading, Umbral Crimson was an amazing element, and it contained so many powers it was hard to believe it even existed.


    Could I use it in more things than fighting? Perhaps to refine equipment and upgrade it, or to transform it into materials too?


    Or even more, to form a Domain with it? Or maybe use it as an Element to evolve my own Physique even further!


    There are perhaps too many possibilities¡­


    -----

 Chapter 1060: New Deadly Skill

    -----


    After looking at the incredible Skill I just created, I moved to thest items I had to assess:


    [Spirit Gachapon Ticket: Materials (Legendary Grade)] x10


    [Mammon Archdemon of Greed Themed Treasure Chest (Celestial Grade)] x1


    [Demonic Skill Scroll: Mammon Archdemon of Greed (Celestial Grade)] x1


    I wanted to open everything, so I went in order from the Gachapon to the demonic skill scroll.


    The Gachapon tickets themselves had a golden color to them, and much like previous ticket items, by merely thinking about it, the ticket activates.


    Like that, I used all ten at the same time, materializing ten different materials which were all Legendary Grade.


    Ding!


    [You have used the [Spirit Gachapon Ticket: Materials (Legendary Grade)] x10!]


    [You received the following Materials]:


    [Divine Windstorm Phoenix Feathers (Legendary Grade)] x1


    [Divine Giant Mountain Turtle Dragon Shell (Legendary Grade)] x1


    [Divine Fire Spirit Demonic Beast Ashes (Legendary Grade)] x1


    [Divine ck Shadow Imp Spirit Eyes (Legendary Grade)] x1


    [Divine Heavenly Whale Spirit Fin Wing (Legendary Grade)] x1


    [Divine Thunderstorm Phoenix Feathers (Legendary Grade)] x1


    [Divine Giant Frozen Mountain Turtle Dragon Shell (Legendary Grade)] x1


    [Divine Water Spirit Draconic Serpent Scales (Legendary Grade)] x1


    [Divine Illusionist Spirit Jellyfish of Mirages Tentacles (Legendary Grade)] x1


    [Divine Spirit Wooden Chimera King Bark and Sap (Legendary Grade)] x1


    "Interesting¡­"


    All these materials weren''t normal at all, they emanated divine spiritual energy from within. Were they even from Spiritias itself? To me, it feels more like they originated from the Holy Spirits Divine Realm, or something simr to that.


    They''re all very useful, from being used as equipment materials, spirit evolutions, and more. I''ll save them for now and use them when I need to, which might be pretty soon, actually.


    Now, let''s open this gigantic treasure chest I had not checked before. It was huge, with ck and red colors, and a huge bat-like demon in front of it, imprinted out of the metal that made the treasure chest itself.


    I quickly opened it, looking forward for what might be inside. Eleanora was by my side, looking with interest after she had helped me try out the Umbral Crimson Arts.


    Ding!


    [You have opened the [Mammon Archdemon of Greed Themed Treasure Chest (Celestial Grade)] x1!]


    Creaaak!N?v(el)B\\jnn


    The treasure chest opened, revealing its shiny interiors, several items.


    [You have received the Items: [Archdemon of Greed Mamon''s Ring of Eternal Avarice (Celestial Grade)] x1 [Cursed Archdemon of Greed Blood Elixir (Celestial Grade)] x10 [Demonic Skill Evolution Scroll: Mammon''s Soul Fragment (Celestial Grade)] x1 [Demonic Skill Fusion Ticket (Legendary Grade)] x2 [Demonic Skill Evolution Ticket (Legendary Grade)] x2!]


    I got even more items, although the amount was simr to the treasure chest from Bestellen, isn''t it? Though this time instead of being "Divine" they have the "Demonic" word instead, how strange.


    Nheless, although I want to test them right away, I want to move on to the next item, the scroll!


    This!


    -----


    [Demonic Skill Scroll: Mammon Archdemon of Greed (Celestial Grade)]


    A Demonic Scroll containing the Essence and Soul Fragment of Mammon, the Archdemon of Greed.


    Once used, you will obtain a random Demonic Skill based on the Archdemon''s original abilities.


    When the scroll is used, it will disappear, and this action cannot be undone.


    Any person can learn the Skill within the scroll, but only those proficient on controlling demonic energy and resist it can utilize the Skill well.


    Those that don''t, might go mad using the Skill and turn into Demons themselves.


    -----


    An interesting vor text, now let''s use it.


    FLUOSH!


    The scroll shone brightly with demonic ck and red colors, opening as its letters were imprinted into my very body and soul.


    Within seconds, the scroll turned into pure red and ck particles of energy, fusing themselves into me and giving me a new power.


    I felt something within me being born, a zing, demonic power, a new ability that connected directly to my Demon Core, making it stronger too.


    Ding!


    [You have used the [Demonic Skill Scroll: Mammon Archdemon of Greed (Celestial Grade)] x1!]


    [The Scroll has been opened and revealed to you its Demonic Secrets, you have fully absorbed the Scroll, learning a brand-new Demonic Skill!]


    [You learned the Demonic Skill: [Demonic Soul Parasite of Greed: Lv1]!]


    Yes!


    I obtained the Skill I wanted.


    The power that made Mammon so terrifying, a power that he nted slowly on all the elves of the Rosenheim Dukedom.


    All to aplish his goal to steal their powers and turn them into demonic aberrations.


    Now I have it too, but I won''t use it for such things though.


    I have different nts with all of that, also, it''s not an immediate power, it takes time to use properly.


    So it''s not as if I''ll easily control a foe''s army.


    But still, it is indeed useful.


    -----


    [Demonic Soul Parasite of Greed: Lv1]


    Skill Proficiency: 0/400.000


    Channel the demonic powers of Mammon and transform a fragment of your Soul,bined with Mana and Demonic Energy into a deadly {Demonic Soul Parasite of Greed}.


    Since the moment of their creation that you can control these Parasites, give them orders, and even connect to them to drain their power, or the power they have drained from their hosts.


    Parasites by themselves are fragile, requiring to be ced inside a soul. Based on your own Divinity and Spirit Stat, the Parasite''s Durability and Intelligence will raise.


    These Soul monsters can only be ced stealthily inside of Souls, as they could incur the wrath of the vessel if they are revealed openly.


    The amount of Parasites you can create depends on your Soul size and mass, and on the amount of energies you can spend to create them.


    The Soul Parasite, through a long period of time, unless stated, will devour a target''s Soul and all their powers, even to the point of being able to take over bodies.


    Through the excessive usage of Demonic and Mana Energies, this process could also be hastened as well.


    Additionally, when channeling Demonic Energy into the parasites, you can increase all their stats up to 300% (+30% x Skill Level), and their performance, speed, ability to steal power, and more depends on the Skill Level as well.


    -----


    Now, let''s see how I can use this properly¡­


    -----

 Chapter 1061: Planning The Future Of The Continent

    -----


    After obtaining a myriad of new Divine Abilities and powers, the day continued as usual. We went to have breakfast with my friends, and then after that, our work healing the elves continued. We healed their Spirit Orbs using the methods we did before. Slowly, their Spirit Orbs regained their Spiritual Energies, either bing Majin-type or Nephalem-type.


    This created a huge surge of new types of spirts, and several schrs started studying them, many elven schrs came rushing to the manor, asking us questions about them that we might have known. We spent a nice evening talking with these smart elves, old magicians that ced their very lives into research.


    They were often ignored in this society as ofte, mostly because the King stopped investing into research of magic, magic artifacts, monster, and spiritual biology, and so on. We couldn''t reveal everything right now though, but we did help them in anything else.


    With my friends and Rosenheim,ter, we had a conversation about the future of the Elven Continent and its unified nation.


    Apparently, in the past, the elves were separated into different nations, but after a unification crusade thousands of years ago, the entire continent was unified below the power of the old Elven King, known as the Hero King of Spirits, Elvenisious VI, who was the King of the Alfheim Kingdom, the name that this continent takes as well as the entire kingdom that epasses it.


    However, this conquest and unification was done poorly and rushed, also with brutish violence, making the rtionships between all the assimted nobles very bad even when they were forced below a single ceiling. The King distributed territories mostly to his children, marrying the other nobles to his own kids, creating an evenrger difference that hassted upon this day.


    "Every noble family has some level of rivalry between each other, as they all descend from different Kingdoms of the past and their hatred remains even now," said Rosenheim, drinking tea as she exined us a bit about this continent''splicated political situation.


    "My family, the Rosenheim family which my name is based on, once heralded from the Rose Garden Trade Union, mostly made of merchants that held a peaceful rtionship with most kingdoms and nations."


    "Meanwhile, my family descends from the Ice Fairy Queen''s Nation, the Queendom of Niflheim," said Elfriedden. "In our family, the bloodline of the ancient, now extinct Ice Fairies rushed, albeit thinly. This has given us the ability to mostly develop the rare Ice Element amongst elves, and also to mostly have ice-attribute spirits."


    "Our Niflheim family has been renamed many times," sighed Everfrost. "It has taken the "Crystal" name nowadays, mostly done by the old king as a mockery of the ice elves, who he called frail little beings made of crystal¡­"


    "Yikes, you elves sure don''t get along as I imagined¡­" Erdrich said. "At least humans are¡­ Well, a bit more unified? You show to be unified, but the truth¡­ Is much more different."


    "Yes, however, after the entire cataclysm that hit this continent, most nobles died," said Rosenheim. "The King had gone mad and did stupid things, which we ended finding out recently was because of being possessed. Now, aside from us, another ten nobles remain from different families, thest survivors.


    And it is quite obvious they want a piece of the cake now that there''s hope for the continent''s salvation with you around."


    "And that''s why you want us to help your faction, yeah?" I asked with a smile. "After careful consideration I''ve decided to take a decision regarding that."


    "So?" Rosenheim wondered.


    "I''ll help," I nodded. "With one condition."


    "What¡­ condition?" Elfriedden asked, nervous.


    "I would like to get a piece of this continent''snd for myself, which I''ll control remotely using my familiars," I exined. "Also I would like to receive a noble title of the highest grade for me and all my friends. Lastly, I want to take part of the country''s decisions too, in the future."


    "Wait, what!? You aren''t even an elf!" said Elfriedden. "Also don''t you think you''re asking too much? Maybe we can do this without his help, Rosenheim."


    "You''re so stingy, my son," Everfrost sighed. "Receiving the support of the Summoner is already enough of a blessing, even if we forfeit ny-nine percent of our territory we would agree."


    "Yeah, sounds reasonable to me," Rosenheim nodded. "How much territory you want?"


    "Thirty percent of the most fertilends, half of them must be thends surrounding Yggdrasil," I said.


    "Very well," Rosenheim didn''t even hesitate. "If we do this, we will receive your utmost and most loyal aid, yes? To the very end you will aid us."


    "Of course, let''s make the Soul Oath right now," I nodded.


    "W-Wait a second Rosenheim, are you truly going to forfeit the sacrednds to a human?! ke is my friend and I love him as a family, but this is too much!" Elfriedden''s elven pride was taking over his judgement again.


    "Elfriedden, you dare interrupt my conversation?!" Rosenheim roared, with a domineering aura. "If you have no idea about politics, sit down and behave, stay in silence! I know much better than you about this, and even your mother agrees! Elven Pride has no ce in the future. If we want to survive and regain the prosperity we once had, we need to make sacrifices! Look at what our continent has be!


    I am offering kends that had already be barren and contaminated with miasma! Do you think they even have any value anymore?!"


    "T-That''s¡­" muttered Elfriedden. "But if¡­!"


    "But if they win and heal Yggdrasil, thends regain their luster and health, right?" asked Rosenheim. "But who do you think would do that? It''s them! It''s ke! If they don''t receive a part, they are not going to help us. As simple as that, we have to do an equivalent exchange.


    We sell themnd and they give us the power to heal all of it¡­ Can''t you understand?"


    "I-I do¡­" Elfriedden sighed, sitting down, and remaining in silence.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    "Then remain in silence if you don''t have anything else to say," Rosenheim said. "Anyways, ke, very well, let''s do it."


    Rosenheim¡­ She was sure a different type of woman.


    Perhaps the only person that could tame the unruly Elfriedden at that.


    -----

 Chapter 1062: Taking Care Of The Future Of Elves

    -----


    After the conversation was over and the Soul Oath, using a special Spirit Artifact was done, I went to talk with Elfriedden and Rosenheim in private. When I entered their room, I saw the two of them smooching.


    "Do you forgive me honeybun? I''m sorry if I was a bit rough, you know I love you, right?" Rosenheim caressed Elfriedden''s face. "You''re my beautiful icy cold prince~"


    "Hmph, well, if you apologize that much, it can''t be helped!" Elfriedden blushed as he was being happily pampered by Rosenheim.


    Perhaps I should remain in silence while they are doing their things, it would be rude to interrupt now that they''re apologizing to one another.


    "¡­"


    When they noticed me looking at them with a dead serious face, the two froze.


    "Why didn''t you knock?!" they screamed at the same time.


    Rosenheim started throwing at me chairs while Elfriedden fired a few icicle spears.


    I barrier of Umbral Crimson swallowed all attacks with ease, teleporting them inside of my Crimson Shadows.


    "Come on now, don''t get angry, I just needed to talk about things in private¡­"


    Your next chapter is on mvl


    They red at me and kept throwing everything in the room, I suppose they were quite flustered and embarrassed about that.


    "I also do talks like these with my girlfriends, so I understand that sometimes alone time is needed, don''t feel embarrassed."


    I tried to be empathetic with their situation.


    "W-Why are you talking about that?!" Elfriedden became even angrier.


    "That only makes it worse!" Rosenheim said.


    "Hah¡­"


    After half an hour, we were able to resume civil conversations, these two have some things they''re very simr on, such as temperament.


    Both are very quick-tempered, I would say.


    "So you wanted to speak about how we''re doing this?" wondered Rosenheim. "Yeah, I wanted to talk about you about this too. I suppose we can''t talk about it with everyone else¡­"


    "Yeah," I nodded. "I have a few ns, but what do you have in mind?"


    "I was thinking on crippling them when you tried to help them awaken their Spirit Orbs, so they are left powerless and I can beat them in a duel," said Rosenheim with a smirk.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    "Well, they still have their basic stats, levels, and skills, so I wouldn''t say they''repletely powerless¡­" Imented.


    "ke''s father Spirit Orb is stuck at Rank 1, but he was able to grow stronger in a different way, bing incredibly powerful," said Elfriedden. "So there''s nothing saying they can''t do the same thing."


    "Ugh, really?" wondered Rosenheim.


    "It would be too obvious too," I said. "The only way is¡­ to either kill them or control them. I can brainwash them for you."


    "W-Wait, you can?" Rosenheim wondered.


    "Isn''t this going too far?" Elfriedden said. "Can''t we beat them normally through a political dispute? We can take over lost territory and they will only be able to do so much!"


    "Yeah but they will ultimately take away what belonged to them, amass troops, and wage war again right afterwards," Rosenheim said. "We have to trike while the iron is hot. Brainwashing them¡­ Well, I don''t really care about any of them, they are all assholes from other families. Despite their families being dead, even now they were only caring about all the money andnd they lost."


    "Then I have your permission?" I asked with a smile, my Umbral Crimson Aura surging from my body, as my eyes started to shine bright red. "No take backs."


    "You can do that, just don''t kill them¡­ Nor make the brainwashing apparent," said Rosenheim, her face looking serious and rather sharp. "If we want to rebuild this ce, scum like those that only slow things down are not needed. I want them all below my control."


    "Leave it to me then," I nodded. "And don''t worry, Elfriedden, it is not exactly true brainwashing. More like¡­ convincing."


    "C-Convincing?" wondered Elfriedden. "Don''t torture them! They''re still noble elves! You must treat them with respect and honor!"


    "Elfriedden¡­" Rosenheim red at him. "What did I said about not getting involved in my conversations?"


    "I-I know what you meant but even then¡­" he looked worried.


    "Don''t worry," I said. "I can guarantee you that they will be treated fairly and not suffer or go through pain¡­ Then, I will be on my way."


    I disappeared from there, using Shadow Teleportation to rapidly move through different buildings, arriving within the area where the nobles were hospitalized. Some of them had yet to wake up, so I went towards them.


    "Hmm, look at your little face."


    I know this might be a bit ironic or of bad taste, but I suppose there''s nothing else I can do in this situation.


    They are not needed for the future of the elves, so just be puppets for me, will you?


    My soul waved, emerging out of my body, I quickly cut a piece of it, as an ethereal, disgusting-looking worm emerged, with sharp fangs and crimson eyes.


    This was, obviously, the {Demonic Soul Parasite of Greed}.


    Yes, they just had this inside of them a few days ago, and they''re getting a new one inside.


    "Gyeeh! Gyeeeh!"


    The creature was giving a monstrous little groan, quite amusing to see in action.


    "Don''t worry, mine won''t turn you into monstrosities."


    I dropped the worm into the fat, arrogant-looking elf man''s face, as it quickly passed through its flesh and physical body, entering the soul, and digging deep through it.


    I did the same thing with all political adversaries, taking them out of the picture even before they woke up, those that woke up were quickly forced to sleep using my magic, then feed the parasite.


    "Good, that should be enough."


    I stepped out of the building after that, it was already night, so after reporting what I did to Rosenheim, we moved to have dinner.


    She had reacted surprisingly calm after hearing that, and she even smiled rather maliciously.


    This woman was quite something, but she had her heart in the right ce.


    She was just¡­ a bit extreme at times.


    Once the next day arrived, the nobles had woken up and were healed.


    Their response to Rosenheim and Elfriedden''s proposal was¡­ surprisingly nice.


    It was as if their personality had shifted from one day to another.


    How funny.


    -----

 Chapter 1063: Time To Reconquer The Elven Continent

    -----


    From one day to the other, Rosenheim and Elfriedden''s political party obtained several allies, in fact, all surviving nobles became their allies. With every other noble dead, the entirety of the noble''s future was within their hands, and as they all agreed to these two young new rulers to be their future, they were already pretty much King and Queen.


    However, they also required the approval and recognition of the people. And as of now, although they had regained their hope, the people had yet to fully regain their trust of the nobles, even less when knowing even the King might have been a demon.N?v(el)B\\jnn


    So the n was quite simple, we clean the entire continent first and once that is done, we move to giving them the crowns. This way the people will be very happy they helped saving the entire continent, and therefore, would think its only natural for them to be given the crowns.


    They must "earn" the crown first, before the elves do any riots or get angry at them for choosing themselves as such before the country by itself ever recovered. It would be hypocritical, and it would only show the elves that the nobles only care about themselves.


    Which is not what they''re trying to portray, at the end of the day.


    "It seems everything went well, all the people are finally healed, and we''re finally getting out of here! I was getting bored of just hanging around doing nothing but training and eating, man¡­" Chris yawned, as he looked into the distance, the magical barrier that protected the Dukedom of Rosenheim was being ravaged by thousands of reptilian and draconian demonic monsters.


    "Yeah, I suppose its finally time to say goodbye to our vacation life¡­" Ericughed a bit. "Nah, I''m kidding. We''re ready, ke!"


    My friends tried to lighten the mood of the atmosphere around us, our entire party had fully assembled in front of the barriers. Toda was the day, after yesterday''sst session of healing, all elves were fine, and we had little else to do here.


    We had no time to waste, Yggdrasil was dying and at some point, there would be no point of return. Thanks to having returned the Faith and Hope to the people, she can barely hang out for a couple more days.


    And we must not waste this time¡­ If Yggdrasil truly ends up dyingpletely, it could bring tremendously catastrophic consequences to the entire world.


    It is not just for this continent alone, but Yggdrasil seems to be intrinsically connected to the entire world''s nature and life, especially the spirits.


    If it dies, spirits will grow weaker over generations, life and nature will grow dim and weaker, and the demons will only be stronger, abusing this new environment to their advantage to ravage, burn, and destroy as they see fit.


    In the past, Yggdrasil was always protected by Titans and Dragon, and also the Spirit Tribes, but now that they were all mostly gone, it was defenseless. The Elves were strong and would also protect the tree with their lives.


    Butpared to a giant divine dragon, what else can they do but to die? Mammon perhaps knew their King was the only one capable of stopping Fafnir, and this is the reason why he parasitized him and turned him into his new body.


    "It has been a long two weeks, but it''s finally over~" Erika said, holding her giant sword. "I am pumped up; can we go already?"


    "Not yet," I said.


    My Grimoire was flickering its pages, as colorful cards surged from them, quickly beginning to summon more and more creatures by our side, I was rapidly assembling an army of a thousand strong.


    Bestellen, the Ice Fairy Queen and her little Ice Fairies, and the many Dragon-type Familiars I obtained, powerful and incredible, assembled together.


    "He sure is building a huge army this time around!" Erdrichughed. "He must think it''s going to get dangerous. Don''t underestimate ke''s ability to discern the difficulty of something."


    "Well said, he is preparing a good army," Elizabeth nodded. "ke, are you going to buff them too? May I?"


    "No, save your buff spells forter," I said. "I can buff them myself just fine. I''ll imbue them with the Elements of Holy Light, Fire, and Ice together. That''ll give them the ability to break through the draconian defenses. And also their demonic energy miasma-powered bodies."


    "Then what else are we waiting for, are you ready yet?" wondered Elenaora. "I am looking forward to the ughter fest myself!"


    "Eager, aren''t you?" Iughed. "I think this should be it¡­ My Familiars, make sure to not tear to shreds your foes. They shall soon join you in battle too, give them strong, decisive blows. Once dead, they will be your allies."


    The familiars nodded, led by the Generals I had summoned too, which looked mighty strong after evolving into A Rank Familiars. Even my old Fenrir had be a gigantic, majestic wolf.


    Aside from them, the other Tamed Monsters, Ruby, and Blood, were always present, ready to battle. The two of them were near max level, so at any moment they would gain the ability to ascend and evolve into a higher form.


    "Alright, everyone else is ready?"


    I looked at my friends onest time before facing the gigantic army of monsters.


    "More than ready buddy!" Eric said, Alberta by his side.


    "Yeah, leave it to us please!" said Alberta, riding her giant zing mech spirit.


    "Always," Chris nodded. "I am not wasting this second life you gave me bro; I''ll make up for it and defeat these monstrosities. This continent¡­ we''ll free it!"


    "I will miss my Rosenheim¡­" Elfriedden sighed. "But duty calls! As the future King of this country, it would be of no unimportance for me to attend to your battles. I shall give you a good show as gratefulness for what you''ve done."


    "Talking all fancy again, aren''t you?" Eldrichughed. "Anyways, ke. What are you waiting for? Let''s do it!"


    Erdrich cracked his giant knuckles, his demonic spiritual aura surging from his body¡­


    "Yeah, let''s begin," I nodded. "CHARGE!"


    My Army of one thousand Familiars charged forward.


    ----- Find more to read at mvl

 Chapter 1064: Clash Of Monstrous Armies

    -----


    Since the defeat of Mammon that the army of Draconic Aberrations, Dragon Born Lizardmen, and the Demons that were given to Fafnir''s army from Mammon, had intensified their attack against the barriers surrounding the port city and the Rosenheim dukedom.


    It was as if the death of Mammon had triggered something on them. Maybe because they no longer needed to do things slowly as Mammon wanted, they became insistent in destroying thest bits of life left in the continent and im everything as Fafnir''s domain.


    Rosenheim, Everfrost, and Sapphirus watched the army of ke''s one thousand dragon familiars charge against the monstrous army outside. Their eyes seemed clearly concerned about what awaited these younglings in the future, but they had seen the extent of their amazing abilities and trusted them more than ever before now.N?v(el)B\\jnn


    "They defeated Mammon and even healed almost all the people he cursed and turned into monsters¡­ Us included," Everfrost sighed. "If there is anybody in this continent that can finally fight back, it''s surely them. My son has truly done as he promised and brought with him someone that could really¡­ save us."


    "No doubt about that, mother-inw," Rosenheim nodded. "Elfriedden has grown so much stronger now too, both in strength and also mentally. It might be all thanks to ke and his new friends. The boy that was once bullied and ignored by his family, that was rejected by his father as a "failure" has nowe back and be perhaps our only hope, aside from his friends."


    "Since I knew my boy that I knew he was destined for great things," Everfrost smiled. "I never ever doubted him."


    "Big bro will save the continent!" Sapphirus said happily.


    "Well¡­ Although Elfriedden is very strong, he''s not near enough to save it."


    Someone quickly came with a blunt, yet true set of words.


    A beautiful half-elf woman with long pink hair appeared, Cattalina, Erika''s mother.


    She came walking from behind the trio, her magic aura surging from her body.


    "Lady Catalina! So you stayed¡­" said Everfrost. "And¡­ Well yes, my son would never be enough. We''ve reached a point where we are fighting against forces way beyond our control. Only a Summoner who can summon entire armies, could ever stand a chance at the end. But he''s helping, and that is good enough for us."


    "Yeah, we know that without the summoner, none of these ns could ever be set in motion," said Rosenheim. "After all, they''re going against millions of foes now. Not even thousand or tens, nor even hundreds of thousands¡­ But it has been reported that there''s roughly ten million monstrosities roaming the entire continent.


    To think of them as being wiped out in a couple of days¡­ It sounds utterly delusional and insane."


    "But with someone as incredible as ke, and his miraculous powers¡­ Somehow, it might work. It creates the illusion in your head that maybe it is not impossible, that even in this ridiculous situation, we can still have hope," Everfrost sighed with a smile.


    "That''s right¡­ Though my daughter and Elizabeth too, will be very necessary for what''s toe," said Cattalina. "Especially my daughter¡­ What she has be is something I never thought possible. The only way for her to truly revive, also put upon her shoulders an immense responsibility. I wonder if ke has ever told my daughter, what she must do¡­"


    "Erika?" wondered Everfrost. "What¡­ do you mean?"


    Cattalina sighed, with a smile still in her face.


    "Aside from ke, my daughter¡­ might be the only person that could ever save your entire continent, and Yggdrasil," Cattalina said. "You will see what she will have to do¡­ And the sacrifice she might have to take."


    Find your next read at mvl


    Silence took over, as Cattalina looked ke''s army initiate their battle against the Draconic Aberrations and the Dragon Born Lizardmen Armies.


    "Goodspeed my daughter, I know you can do it¡­" she smiled. "I will protect this ce as you asked me, even with my life on the line."


    CLAAASH!


    The sound of the Draconic Monstrosities and the armies of armed and armored Dragon Born Lizardmen reverberated across the burned forest wastnd, which stretched through the majority of the continent.


    Because all the verdant and lush forests had been burned and destroyed, what remained were dead trees and stumps of old, gigantic trees that once lived for thousands of years. At least 98% of the continent was ravaged, bing a wastnd of fire and ash.


    ke''s army wasposed of his most recent additions to his Familiars, which he had obtained from Bestellen''s dungeon. The White Mithril Drakes and their Queens, with their tremendous defenses acting as tanks, rushing in the frontlines, the Draconian Sea Serpents acting as buffers and long-ranged attackers that used their powerful water spells to unleash devastating area-of-effect destruction.


    The Giant Mithril Dragonoids, humanoid and smart, capable of riding the other dragons and using armors, magic tools, and weapons that ke provided them, andstly, the strongest of them all, the Venomous Viper Drake Hydra, deadly, gigantic draconic familiars with nine heads and enormous sizes surpassing thirty meters. Their venom was so deadly it could easily melt most things.


    Their draconic appearance was sure rming to their foes, the Draconic Lizardmen, with cks cales and strong, muscr bodies, werepletely dwarfed before the Mithril Dragonoids in both size, strength, and might, perhaps only winning in intelligence.


    Meanwhile, the Mithril Drakes were able to easily tank the iing bombardment of thousands of dragon breaths from the Amorphous, Draconic Monstrosities of all shapes and sizes, all blessed with the elements of holy, fire, and ice, they were even able to withstand the power of demonic energy within these aberrations made by Fafnir!


    The Draconic Sea Serpents unleashed waves after waves of oceanic water, washing away their foes and confusing them, at the same time as freezing the water and trapping dozens or hundreds of foes within enormous ice monuments, which were quickly shattered into pieces by the other familiars, ke, and his friends.


    The almighty Hydras remained right behind the Mithril Drakes, unleashing their explosive breaths of acidic, all-consuming venom, melting alive the enemy troops by the dozens, and then hundreds!


    What the Generals of the Draconic Lizardmen thought as a pitiful attempt at oveing their army of thousands with only one thousand¡­ quickly became a serious threat.


    Until the point it was toote to reconsider, and their heads were already rolling over the floor.


    -----

 Chapter 1065: Dragon Borns

    -----


    "SHAAAAHH!"


    The gigantic nine-headed Hydras hissed ferociously, their powerful Draconic and Magical Auras shaking their surroundings, their foes, which were supposed to be mighty foes that not even the elves could fight against, were screaming in horror and agony as they tried to escape them.


    Their giant snake-like jaws opened, as they fired massive balls of acidic venom and poison into their foes, filling their surroundings with that, sometimes it even fell over their entire heads or bodies.


    SPLASH! SPLASH! SPLASH!


    "Uaagghh!"


    "G-Get away from that thing! Run!"


    "T-This is ridiculous! How are we supposed to fight that thing?!"


    "My scales are melting¡­! MY BODY IS MELTINGGGGGGG!"


    Amidst the agonizing screams of both monsters and the lizardmen, the army of ke advanced relentlessly. The White Mithril Drakes were in the frontlines, directly taking both magical and physical damage without issues.


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!


    CRASH! CRASH! CRASH!


    Magician lizardmen that amounted over two hundred strong still couldn''t kill more than a couple dozen out of hundreds, and their numbers kept decreasing as the gigantic dragons massacred their own Draconic Aberrations with ease.


    "GROOAAR!"


    The White Mithril Drake Queens led their armies of soldiers, opening their jaws and unleashing devastating breath attacks charged with spiritual energy of the element of earth and steel, sting everything, and leaving behind silver-colored ores growing over their corpses.


    Meanwhile, the Mithril Dragonoids, resembling Mithril Drakes that stood upright and were slightly smaller, stomped over their foes, impaled them with giant mithril spears, or crushed them with their advanced Metal Magic.


    "Don''t give up!"


    The lizardmen led their armies to sh against ke''s familiars, what they thought would be a one-sided beatdown on their side, ended bing theplete opposite!


    They were the ones struggling, they were the ones despairing, and they were the ones losing!


    "Bastards! What are you doing, you useless mongrels! Can''t you y those things properly?!"


    Arger Dragon Born Lizardmenined, over ten meters tall, muscr yet also with a huge fat belly, showing he had been eating good for years now.


    His thick ck scales covered his entire body as a crown of golden horns covered his reptilian face, his furious expression unbefitting of his appearance that showed he lived quite the frugal life beneath Fafnir''s protection.


    "B-But General Erdremath, we can''t win! Monsters too strong! Summoner¡­ unexpectedly powerful! Summoner killed Mammon, summoner might kill Dragon King Fafnir next!"


    "SILENCE!"


    The furious General roared, swinging his enormous ws and shredding to pieces the soldier at his side. Someone strong enough to be considered B Rank was easily torn to shreds.


    CRASH!


    The General''s power was the real deal, as someone that had drank more of Fafnir''s blood than the rest due to his achievements, and was able to create a Dragon Heart, he was given the title of Draconic General of Fafnir''s army.


    "Useless¡­! All of you are useless!"


    Growing furious after seeing how his army of twenty-thousand-strong was beingpletely and one-sidedly massacred by only one thousand, he couldn''t look at this humiliation anymore.


    He had to enter the battle himself!


    After only two hours since the battle began, seven thousand of his troops have died. And ke''s army seemed relentless. Constantly ughtering everything in their path.


    Erdremath was tasked with the mission to attack thest two strongholds of the elves and dispatch them from the continent for good. He had brought his personal army of sixteen thousand Draconic Aberration and four thousand Lizardmen, thinking it would be ultimately easy.


    After all, in war, what always mattered is who had arger army! Even for the primitive tribes of barbarians that were the lizardmen, such a thing was well known.


    In the past they waged wars against the elves and other races many times, always being pushed away, always being humiliated.


    But now, with the awakening of Fafnir, things changed, thesest years their poption boomed in numbers, reaching millions thanks to Fafnir''s blessings helping them reproduce and grow quickly.


    It was finally their time for revenge, to take over the continent that always should have belonged to the lizardmen, to crush the arrogant elves, and to burn the Yggdrasil tree!


    The draconic pride that the lizardmen possessed, creations of ancient Divine Dragons that were once a tribe made to serve their necessities, was enormous, carrying with them the legacy of their creators.


    Once their God Fafnir awakened, they knew that it was the time of reckoning. They ughtered, invaded, burned, and never stopped.


    The elves fought back, with magic, armies, powerful fighters, spiritual masters, and more¡­ Yet at the end, they were never able to ovee the lizardman''s sheer numbers.


    Even more when Fafnir kept creating his Draconic Aberrations from the Demonic Miasmic Pools formed surrounding Yggdrasil, feeding off the tree''s life force to birth monstrosities that obeyed anybody with dragon blood inside of them¡­


    "I''ll show those bastards¡­" groaned Erdremath. "I am not going to go easy on you, mere prey! They might have defeated Mammon, but so what? With my Draconic Army here, and my Dragon Heart, I am invincible!"


    The gigantic Dragon Born Lizardman rushed into battle, jumping from his gigantic Draconic Aberration in the shape of a multi-headed brachiosaurus, and hitting the floor beneath with a loud thud, reverberating across the floor.


    "Come, my army! Dragon Born Elite Warriors!"


    With a ferocious draconic roar, dozens of elite warriors rushed towards the General, overflowing with draconic auras. They had yet to get their Dragon Hearts, but their hearts were already undergoing such an evolution, making them "elites" within their society.


    "You shall be stronger than anything! You will be impervious to all damage! And you shall run as fast as the wind!"


    Using Dragon Tongue, the General unleashed a series of powerful buffing spells, enhancing the strength and defenses of his men and army.


    "CHARGE!"


    He pointed his giant ck sword into the distance, as their army charged once more, attempting to ovee ke''s overwhelming army of Familiars.


    Meanwhile, the General and his Elites charged forward, quickly infiltrating through ke''s army, ying the Familiars from left and right, seeking the origin of it all.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Until they found him.


    Standing above a pile of monsters and lizardmen, he was there.


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    "How bold of you toe after me," ke smiled. "You must be very confident in your strength."


    "The summoner!" the general roared. "KILL HIM!"


    -----

 Chapter 1066: A Battle Of Words

    -----


    "Hmm, they got stronger?" ke''s eyes squinted as he sensed the army of monsters and lizardmen suddenly growing stronger.


    Their attack power was enhanced, their defenses strengthened, and their speed boosted. And it all came from a single man, a giant lizardman of almost ten meters of height, carrying a giant ck sword and leading an army of "elites".


    They were running towards him, ying his Familiars from left and right. He smirked as he saw them radiating with draconic power. It seemed that Fafnir had done quite a lot of interesting things with his soldiers.


    After all, the one leading them even had a fully formed Dragon Heart, a General unlike any other lizardman ke had ever fought before.


    "So this must be the Draconic General you told me about," he said, as he saw a Dragon Born Abyssal Vampiric Undead Familiar slowly hide within his Crimson Shadows.


    He had been interrogating the first Abyssal Vampiric Undead he had risen, which allowed him to learn many things about Fafnir''s army.


    One of them was that they actually had generals of their own separate from the demons, powerful lizardmen that had taken into the blood of Fafnir inrge quantities without dying, and that even ate the flesh of his tail his scales.


    With that, they were able to apparently awaken Dragon Hearts, if they didn''t die in the process, being given the title of Draconic Generals.


    The General that had showed right in front of him was one of such Draconic Generals he had heard about, aside from enormous size and many dragon powers, they also gained the ability of Dragon Tongue, making them incredibly hard to deal with.


    "I can tell already why the rest of the elves were never able to defeat any of your kind, your ability over Dragon Tongue is not bad, you''repetent and strong¡­" ke said, ignoring the general''s screams. "You''ll make a perfect new addition to my army¡­"


    "Keep talking bluffing, you human weakling!" General Erdremath rushed towards ke without hesitation, seeing how small and "frail" he looked, he wanted to crush him like an ant before he was to be more of a problem.


    ke summoned his Spear out of his Umbral Crimson shadow, intercepting the iing sword attack, charged full of draconic power.


    CRAAASH!


    The enormous sh reverberated across the battlefield, the aura of the general and ke shed against one another. It seemed that ke''s aura was much smaller and weaker.


    Although lizardmen were not blessed with the power of being able to summon spirits, they still were born with mighty bodies, when they grow a Dragon Heart, they can be as strong as¡­


    S Rank threats!


    CLASH! CLASH! CLASH!


    The General kept attacking ke, downward swings and then upward blows, horizontal shes generating deadly waves of draconic power and crimson mes, and even fire breath beamsing from the general''s own jaws.


    "Heheh¡­ You''re too weak! Is trying to dodge the only thing you can do?!"


    With a crazedughter, the giant lizardman kicked ke and threw him away several meters, before running towards him and conjuring Dragon Tongue again.


    "Make him restrained, earth!"


    RUMBLE!


    The ground beneath ke shook as it generated a giant fist, tightly gripping on his body, he groaned in pain as he vomited blood.


    "Uuuggh¡­!"


    "Hahaha! I got you now, summoner! I knew it! Without your summons, you''re nothing!"


    The lizardmanughed, swinging his de down onest time, cutting ke into two halves, and sttering his guts over the floor.


    SLASH!


    Suddenly, his soldiers looked in disbelief, their general had done it! The tide of battle was now going to change. They were winning once more!


    "General¡­ did it!


    "General Erdremath, make lizardmen proud!"


    "Amazing! We are surprised!"


    "Nothing less to expect from general!"


    As the Generalughed while mocking ke''s corpse, he put his foot over it and crushed it.


    SPLASH!


    "Huh?"


    Yet the moment he realized that his corpse turned into a pool of blood and shadows, the lizardman''s eyes widened, and all his smugness disappeared, alongside his rxed state.


    "Did you have fun?"


    ke''s voice echoed from the pool of blood and shadows, his true body emerging from within, the shadows and the blood constantly merged, suddenly turning into crimson and ck ice, freezing the lizardman''s leg.


    "W-Wha¡­?! WHAT IS THIS! How¡­! How are you still ALIVE?!"


    Erdremath never realized that ke hadn''t evene out himself, but was using a weak clone to fight him and test his strength, mostly because¡­


    Well, because he wanted to mock him and break his pride.


    "Well, how do you think I''m still alive?" ke sighed. "Now, can your Dragon Tongue stop this?"n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    "UGH?!"


    The General had ignored the frost, thinking he could withstand it with his draconic, fiery blessing. Yet he was wrong, the ice became so cold, and it felt like it was constantly draining his life force too! He quickly attacked ke with magic and sword techniques.


    "Get this shit off me, you bastard!" Enjoy new stories from mvl


    With a ferocious roar, he attacked, yet ke easily evaded the iing sword blows,ing so fast it seemed like he disappeared from the general''s vision and reappeared somewhere else.


    CLASH! CLASH! CLASH!


    "S-Stop dodging me, you coward! Wind, trap him! Earth, restrain him! Fire, burn him!"


    "Oh?"


    ke then felt the winds around him spinning around his body and stopping him from moving, the ground beneath grew into countless snakes coiling around his legs and arms, and then hundreds of fireballs materialized, bombarding his body.


    "Hahaha¡­"


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!


    "Hahh¡­ Hahhh¡­ That should have done it now, right?!"


    The general waved his hands, dissipating the smoke only to see ke¡­


    Completely unscathed, not even his clothes were torn.


    "For having the Dragon Tongue ability, you''re very terrible at using its true potential," ke said.


    "Y-You''re¡­?!"


    The general''s face widened the moment he noticed ke transform, silver scales growing over his entire body, alongside silver draconic wings, eyes, horns, and long silvery-white hair.


    kebined his Divine Draconification with the [Divine White Dragon''s Wrath] and [Blood King Transformation] Skills, gaining a majestic appearance.


    But above all, aside from his vampiric powers¡­ his draconic heart was beating fast, emanating an almighty draconic aura of power!


    "You¡­ a mere human¡­ has a dragon heart too?!"


    "As long as you''re in front of my presence, you will not dare speak a word."


    "Nggh?!"


    And then, Erdremath realized his mouth was sealed shut!


    -----

 Chapter 1067: The Might Of Divine Dragon Tongue

    -----


    The Draconic General''s mouth was sealed shut, he was unable to speak, and he was unable to use his Dragon Tongue! When ke told him that he wasn''t using his powers correctly, this is what he meant.


    "You use the elements for your advantage, but how does that differentiate you from the rest of the magicians then?" ke wondered.


    As he spoke, the ck and crimson frost continued growing across the body of the Draconic General, even without being able to speak, he could still destroy the ice.


    Or he tried, even as he imbued his Mana and Draconic Energy into his ws, making them ze with dragon mes, he could still not break the ck and red ice.


    And it kept sapping away at his lifeforce to a speed he could barely handle!


    "GRRHHH!"


    With a ferocious and decisive scream, he swung his sword and cut through his leg, freeing himself from the ice and then using his powers to materialize a new leg out of fire, running towards ke!


    "GRRRHHHH!"


    With an even more angered groan, but without opening his mouth, Erdremath approached Noah at lightning speed, his giant de swinging down over and over again, trying topletely sh him into pieces with utter wrath!


    "Your attacks will never reach me."


    CLASH! CLASH! CLASH! CLASH!


    And as he said, a supernatural force wrapped around the body of the general, and his blows could not touch him anymore.


    "GUH?!"


    He kept trying and trying, yet nothing.


    "Okay, you can hit me all you want now."


    "GRHH?!"


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    Even more furious, the general attacked ke again, each blow did¡­ absolutely no damage. It was as if he was hitting a giant pole made of solid steel of the highest durability and strength.


    In fact, the only one getting hurt was him, his hands were bleeding, as he couldn''t stop attacking ke even when he already wanted to run away.


    Although ke''s words seemed like he was freeing him from his Dragon Tongue Magic, it was the opposite, he had been found to hit him constantly, for as long as he wanted.


    Of course, ke''s Mana was being spent every second¡­ But he had so much, he could even do this freely now.


    Before, Dragon Tongue required too much Mana for him to use it as much as he wanted realistically¡­ But not anymore.


    "Give me all your Mana."


    ke pointed his hand at the general, as his entire mana pool was emptied and absorbed by him, then, ke allowed him to speak again.


    "YOU BASTARD! YOU''RE A MONSTER! HOW ARE YOU EVEN HUMAN?! L-LET ME GO! LORD FAFNIR WILL COME AND-"


    "So Fafnir wille for a mere general he threw away like you? It seems you havepletely misunderstood how his lizard brain works¡­ Well, it cannot be expected from another lizard, hm¡­" ke rubbed his chin. "You''re not even worth it anymore¡­ Just kill yourself."


    "Eh?!" Erdremath muttered in disbelief. "K-Kill myself?! What are you- Ack! N-No¡­! WAIT A SECOND!"


    He saw in horror as his hands grabbed his sword again and then pointed it at his neck, slowly beginning to stab his neck constantly, piercing through his scales and then reaching his flesh and bones, blood sttering from his wound and his jaws, as he groaned in utter agony.


    "Uuggh¡­! Aaaggh! G-Graaggh¡­! W-Wait, this is- UUGGH¡­! SO HUMILIATING!"


    "Is that so?" ke smiled, enjoying the show. "Do it slowly, make sure to not die too fast."


    "Y-YOU¡­ You''re a monster¡­ Agh¡­! Ugh¡­!"


    Slowly, he began cutting through his flesh as if he were cutting a piece of a steak to eat while sitting in a noble''s house.


    "Much better¡­" ke nodded. "Do you all see it now? Your general is killing himself here! What''s wrong with him?"N?v(el)B\\jnn


    The other lizardmen watched in disbelief.


    "D-Don''t listen to him- UGH¡­! AAAGH!"


    The lizardmen, who had tormented and killed so many elves right now, who had massacred them, burned their cities, and devoured their flesh, watched in silence.


    And in utter horror.


    "This is time for retribution," ke said. "And this is only the beginning. We will find your generals, and we shall give them humiliating deaths. We will find you, every single one of you, and we will kill you, we will tear you to shreds, we will burn you, and we will eat your flesh and drink your blood. This is the only way that what you''ve done to the elves can be paid. Lizardmen!


    Are you ready to meet the consequences of your actions? To reap what you sowed?"


    Then ke nced back at the general.


    "Fafnir, you''re next."


    "Uuaaaggh!"


    The general screamed in agony as he suddenly cut himself quicker, so quickly his entire head was sent flying, rolling over the ground, his enormous body quickly fell to the floor, blood sttering everywhere.


    "General¡­ death?!"


    "No¡­ This can''t happen!"


    "Bastard human!"


    "Kill human! KILL!"


    As stupid as ke thought they were, the lizardmen and their dragon born variants, charged against ke all at once, but ke smiled, pointing his spear at them.


    "I will give you swift deaths at the very least, your general has been given enough humiliation."


    {Divine Spear God Arts} [One Hundred Lightning Blows]!


    ke''s entire body turned into crimson lightning for a second, moving his spear at a speed the lizardmen and the monstrosities could simply not discern.


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!


    A hundred blows, all of themnded on their targets, the spears pierced their bodies, a single stab imbued with so much force and speed that their bodies immediately exploded into countless pieces of flesh and guts.


    His movements were precise and overwhelming, overbearing, and almighty. It was as if his hands and his weapon had be thunder itself¡­


    The surviving elites that had yet to be in by ke''s friends, only could watch in utter disbelief.


    They always thought they would win no matter what, that their conquest had given them the justification to take things easy.


    But an absolute monster had suddenly stepped into their battlefield.


    And he would turn their entire war upside down, with a strength that could onlypare to their God, and an army that can even surpass theirs.


    "Don''t worry¡­ Death is not the end for you," ke said. "You will also pay for your sins after death. Rise."


    And then all those he killed began to rise once more, even their general¡­


    -----

 Chapter 1068: The Bored Dragon

    -----


    The scream of the draconic general as he beheaded himself reverberated on top of a gigantic, decaying and burning tree. Despite burning for so long, its vitality barely remained, standing strong despite its life already running low. In a matter of days, it would eventually die, and be nothing but a tower made of burnt wood.


    And a being was sitting on top of it, something enormous, gigantic, overwhelming, overbearing, all-epassing, with an aura of divinity that made anybody that red tremble in utter horror and prostrate in reverence.


    His giant, reptilian eyes of crimson color saw what the wielder of his blood also saw, his eyes squinting for a moment, as his ck aura slowly dissipated.


    "So you''re saying you''ll kill me too, Summoner?"


    With a smile through his reptilian face, the behemoth stood up, ncing at the distance, mesing out of his jaws.


    "Hah¡­ Haha¡­ HAHAHAHAH!" Read new adventures at §Þ??


    And the monsterughed.


    "Good¡­ That''s a good spirit! I sure hope you can kill me¡­"


    Once he stoppedughing, he nced somewhere else, across the seas.


    "Because if you don''t¡­ I will soon be changing my nest to a morefortable and livelier ce¡­"


    Then, he nced around his surroundings, the wastnds his breath created alone.


    Trees burning, ck floor covered by ashes, and millions of bones everywhere.


    The bones of his millions of victims, which he used to decorate his territory.


    "This ce, after all¡­ I have burned mostly all of it already, right?"


    His memories then changed, as he remembered the screams of the elves and their despair.


    Burning their cities, oveing their attacks, and then ultimately reaching the gigantic tree, and burning it to his heart''s content.


    "Hah¡­ If only I could relive that moment again, I want it again¡­" he smiled wickedly. "I want to see them scream; I want to see them cry¡­ Aahh! You don''t know how much it tortures me that I have not seen despair for so long¡­ I must seek it."


    He nced past the seas once more.


    "This ce has be too boring now¡­!"


    .


    .


    .


    ke''s army continued their charge relentlessly after he yed the General, using his Abyssal Vampiric Undead Skill, he raised every foe he had in into a new Familiar of his creation, including Familiars that also died beforehand.


    Like this, his army of one thousand rapidly increased to two thousand, three thousand, four thousand, five thousand, six thousand, seven thousand, eight thousand, and so on¡­


    At the end of the first day, they had advanced several thousands of kilometers, soon to arrive at their first destination across their path of ughter.


    The blood and souls of their enemies only bing food for the Summoner,rger armies following him. All the Draconic Aberrations and Dragon Born Lizardmen serving him faithfully.


    Erdremath''s army of over twenty thousand strong was ughtered already, bing the experience points and new soldiers for ke and his friends.


    Yet no matter how far they advanced, they would never stop meeting new foes to fight, hordes after hordes of Draconic Aberrations would appear in their path without end.


    "SHAAAH!"


    Arge flock of a couple hundred flying Draconic Aberrations appeared from above.


    "GRUOOH!"


    The ground rumbled, arge group of a few hundred underground-digging Draconic Aberrations surged from below.


    "ROOAAR!"


    And then another army from the front, perhaps two hundred Draconic Aberrations and their dragon born lizardmen masters.


    "These guys never learn¡­" ke yawned. "Eric, Alberta, take care of the ones in the sky."


    "Got it, ke!" Eric said.


    "Leave it to us!" Alberta said.


    The couple quickly jumped off the Hydra they were riding and summoned their spirits, fusing with them almost as if natural.


    "Chris, Erika, to the ones underground." kemanded once more.


    "Easy peasy!" Chris nodded, jumping down and epassing himself on a veil of mes, his body undergoing spirit fusion.


    "Alrighto!" Erika did the same, her body covered with pink scales as she fused with her Dream Dragon Puppet Spirit.


    "Erdrich and Elfriedden, go take care of the ones at the front." ke said a third time.


    "Fine," Erdrich changed forms, covered on his demonic armor spirit and with his demonic appearance, he jumped into action.


    "It can''t be helped at the end¡­" Elfriedden''s form changed once more, bing a giant humanoid dragon made of pure frost.


    As all three teams jumped off the Hydra''s giant head where they were resting on, ke nced at Elizabeth, by his right side, and then Eleanora by his left side. The rest of his Vampires were all nearby, either fighting the monsters or standing over the hydra''s many heads.


    "Yes?" Elizabeth wondered.


    "Something for us?" Eleanora was eager for some orders.


    "We''re getting closer to the small city of ria¡­" ke said. "Or well, its ruins. I can sense at least several thousand more monsters inside, and also another general. There are no survivors though. Prepare to engage in battle, we''re getting there within the next three minutes. Hurry up, Violet."


    "SHAAAH~!"


    The gigantic hydra suddenly began moving much faster, the entire army of Familiars and Abyssal Vampiric Undead Familiars apanied them, making the entire battlefield tremble and rumble.


    At the same time, Eric and Alberta fired their projectiles. Spiraling arrows of emerald winds flew across the skies, creating sharp sounds as they pierced the sound barrier. And giant missiles were fired with explosive shots, flying into the skies as they zed with spirit power.


    BOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOM!


    The monsters exploded into shreds, falling as rains of blood and flesh from the sky. A simr view could be seen from below, where Erika and Chris were unleashing devastating spirit and weapon techniques.


    "{Yggdragon''s Fangs}!"


    "{zing Rampage}!"


    CLAASH! CLAASH! CLAASH!


    Their attacks continued to devastate their foes, as the mole-like Draconic Monstrosities started dying one after another, their bodies durability, supposed to be so strong topare to A Rank monster, could not even resist a single attack from their weapons.


    "Don''t slow me down, knife ears!"


    "Still with that joke, you bastard?!"


    And right in front too, Elfriedden and Erdrich were doing their part, the two rivals, now unleashing their full potential to the point they lookedpletely different than before, froze, burned, and crushed their way through mercilessly.


    CRAASH! BOOOM! CLAASH!


    Meanwhile, ke, Elizabeth, and Eleanora prepared a surprise attack on the City of ria¡­


    -----n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

 Chapter 1069: Eleanora Sweeps Through

    -----


    A tall Dragon Born Lizardman groaned in pure frustration, still incapable of believing that the useless of Erdremath ended getting in so easily by the Summoner.


    "That damn useless fatass! Howe he died so easily?! What''s going on?! Aren''t the troops enough? We have thousands! How is it possible for the Summoner to be able to ovee us.


    It''s impossible that he has infinite Mana or something, and I''ve heard his Summons even have limits too. But¡­ he just keeps advancing relentlessly!"


    Unlike Erdremath, he was slightly taller at thirteen meters, with a much longer and skinnier body, sharp ws, and scales of gray color, with both of his eyes of crimson red color, and two ring-shaped horns at each side of his head.


    Wielding a giant ck and gold colored spear, the Draconic General sat over a throne made out of thebined bones of thousands of Elves which he personally fused together using his Dragon Tongue magic.


    "Lord Eshenth, it''s not that he was wea¡­ or that troops were weakened! Summoner himself seems to be much stronger than anybody could have¡­ ever predicted!"


    One of his soldiers by his side warned him, yet the prideful Draconic General groaned in dissatisfaction, yet unlike Erdremath, he didn''t kill his subordinate.


    "Hmph! And so what?!" Eshenth said. "Just keep bombarding him with attacks! From the skies, the underground, the front, and the back. Eventually he''ll have to die and perish, right?!"


    "Y-Yes, but sir, the thing is, our troops are running low already!"


    "What?! Already!"


    "You see, Lord Erdremath was the one that asked for our troops, so he ended taking around seventy percent of them¡­"


    "You approved of that and said that it was fine, as¡­ General, understand you must¡­ Don''t get furious, we¡­ only obey orders!"


    "TCH, CAN''T YOU TALK BETTER?!"


    The lizardmen often had difficulties talking, as theymunicated with other sounds such as roars and the clicks of their tongues.


    However, talking human or elven dialect became the norm because that''s thenguage Fafnir talked, so everyone had to talk it too, Fafnir did not tolerate stupid servants, and would kill any lizardman that talked in their weird, former ways.


    The exception was the Draconic Generals, who possessed superior intellect and strength thanks to their Dragon Hearts, and were Fafnir''s favorite servants, being given high positions within his army.


    "We apologize¡­ still learning¡­ how to talk¡­ properly!"


    "We doing our best¡­ Grack¡­!"


    "TCH!"


    The General stood up and grabbed his divine dragon spear, walking towards the castle''s windows.


    This entire residence once belonged to an elven noble family, which the lizardmen, a couple years ago, massacred and ate.


    Only a single survivor managed to escape and was now taking refuge in the port city.


    Stay connected through §Þ??


    Naturally, the ce was already falling apart, covered on dust, and looking like it was in ruins, mostly because the lizardmen were unable to understand what hygiene was.


    This deeply irritated the draconic general, who wanted his lustrous pce back, but had no idea he had to clean the damn ce first.


    "This damned ce, falling apart into pieces already¡­" he groaned. "Fine! I''ll take care of this problem myself, all of you go and fight by my side, you useless soldiers! Where''s all the courage you had when you killed those damned long-eared rats? Have you grown conceited after stuffing yourselves fat with food?"


    "We fight¡­! Naturally!"


    "We will enlist all troops!"


    The two soldiers rushed outside as they called thest army of Draconic Aberrations and Lizardmen troops to battle.


    Crack, crack¡­!


    "Now, where is that Summoner at?"


    His eyes grew sharper as he tried to look into the distance.


    He was sure that the Summoner was somewhere in the east, riding a gigantic multi-headed snake monster, most likely a summon.


    Crack, crack¡­


    "Hm? Where is he?! He''s not¡­"


    CRASH!


    The ceiling above suddenly copsed over the draconic general, his eyes widening as he waved his hands and arms to push the giant rubble away, only to see a crimson and ck figure descend towards him, pointing a deadly spear into his heart.


    "Wha¡­?!"


    CLASH!


    Eshenth narrowly evaded the spear, using his own to deflect the attack, as the figure of a beautiful draconic vampire with long red hair appeared by his left side.


    "Oh, so you evaded that, interesting," she smiled. "Let''s see if you can evade this."


    Eleanora opened her mouth, mesing out of it as she unleashed a draconic breath out of nowhere, the Draconic General''s eyes widened in shock.


    "Castle! Protect me! Winds! Protect me!"


    FLUOSH!


    The very castle''s structure shook as it began creating giant walls to block Eleanora''s attack, which were being constantly destroyed. However, a powerful wind pressure also appeared, finally stopping her breath attack!


    "Hahhh¡­ Hahaha! You almost got me, you wretched elf!"


    "Elf? I guess the pointy ears make you think I''m an elf¡­now that''s rich."


    Eleanora suddenly disappeared into a mass of darkness, appearing behind the lizardman who quickly countered with his spear techniques, shing against Eleanora''s own.


    CLASH! CLASH! CLASH! CLASH!


    Eleanora''s techniques were much more refined after thousands of years of using them in her previous life, and above all, she was much faster and precise at the end.


    "Ugh¡­! How is this possible?! Am I truly struggling right now?!" Eshenth thought in frustration. "Ice, consume her and leave nothing behind! Wind, let me fly!"


    FLUOSH!


    Suddenly, a tundra engulfed Eleanorapletely, as ice started growing all over her body constantly trying to put down her zing powers.


    At the same time, spiraling winds wrapped around the general, as he attempted to escape!


    However, a ray of light from above suddenly appeared, hitting him with tremendous strength.


    BOOOM!


    "W-What¡­?! What is that attack!"


    He looked into the skies again, noticing a feathered human Saintess conjuring gigantic eyes in the clouds above the heaven.


    "As you can see, you cannot escape."n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Eleanora broke through the frost within seconds, her spear charging her powers as a barrage of piercing blows hit his entire body constantly.


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!


    Each blow was like an explosion, piercing through the lizardman''s flesh and heart before he could even bring more of his Dragon Tongue''s powers.


    "I-Impo¡­ ssible¡­!"


    Hisst words came apanied with his utter defeat, as his mangled corpse fell over the floor, covered by countless holes.


    "All done here¡­" Eleanora smiled.


    -----

 Chapter 1070: Cleaning The City Ruins

    -----


    The city of ria was once one of the biggest cities of the continent, overflowing with life, it was a city of artists, musicians, crafters, cksmiths, and alchemists, where the most genius minds of the continent gathered to attend their many academies of arts.


    Yet one day, it faced its imminent destruction, as endless waves of Draconic Beasts and empowered Lizard Men massacred everything, killing, and eating their inhabitants.


    The forces of Fafnir took over this beautiful city and destroyed its art, burning most of its academies, and then building enormous nests where theyid their countless eggs, which kept hatching both lizard men and sometimes Draconic Aberrations, creating an area where armies would be created constantly, giving them an edge against the remaining cities, especially the three port cities, two of them had already fallen, only with one remaining, the Port of Everfrost.


    Yet the scene was much more different now, the monsters inside were all being massacred mercilessly by an endless army of beingsposed of corrupted souls, blood, flesh, and shadowsbined together into one crimson and ck creature, Abyssal Vampiric Undead Familiars.


    And to make it more terrifying, they were very simr to them, most of them led by the exact general that had died before, Erdremath, brought back to an undeath form of terrifying power.


    With his giant sword, he cut through his former allies like a beast, their sliced bodies sttering over the floor, the beasts that came towards him were bombarded with elemental magic as he even used Dragon Tongue perfectly, if not even better than before.


    The castle of ria, once governed by nobles that loved arts, was now full of nests with giant, slimy eggsid by the mutated lizard men, ke could be seen walking inside of it, after he heard the voice of the agonizing general Eleanora killed, he smiled.


    "Looks like we''ve killed the queen bee, the rest of the hive should go down easily."


    He swung his spear, crushing the eggs as he moved, setting them aze as he heard the aberrant screams of the mutated monstrosities growing inside, he gave them a swift death, as they turned into ashes within seconds.


    He controlled his mes with ease,bining Holy mes, Spiritual mes, Demonic mes, and Dragon mes, creating pale silver, white-, and gold-colored mes, further boosted by the powers he inherited by eating Bestellen''s heart.


    "Stop him!"


    "Shyeeeh!"


    "Dieee!"


    Suddenly he found himself surrounded by a hundred powerful lizardmen, covered with heavy draconic, magically enchanted armor, they were as strong as A+++ Rank monsters.


    "{All-Consuming Divine mes of the End}"


    FLUOOOSH!


    A storm of his unique mes consumed everything, the lizardmen threatening him, which were seconds from reaching him, exploded into ashes instantly, leaving nothing behind other than their souls.


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!


    "Ah, my bad, I should have left some blood and your shadows¡­ Right."


    ke felt like it was slightly a waste he had not turned them into Abyssal Vampiric Undead Familiars, as he quickly decided to kill the second half of the armying towards him differently.


    "{Umbral Crimson Arts}: {Vampire Colossus Fist}"


    Suddenly, shadows, demonic power, and blood energybined together into two gigantic, muscr arms, which ke used to pulverize his foes with ease.


    The gigantic fists crushed their bodies, sttering them into the ground, they didn''t lost their mass though, even though they had sttered quite a lot.


    BAAAM! BAAAM! BAAAM! BAAAM!


    "F-Fire Dragon Magic!"


    "Bring the beast!"


    "Use the Dragon Breath Cannons!"


    More and more foes kepting for him, the lizardmen trying to organize as best as he could, after eating so many elves, they grew smarter. ke knew it because he had asked the ones he killed.


    Lizard men were primitive, pseudo sapient beings created in the past by the Divine Dragons, this was a revtion Bestellen told him rather casually, as the Dragon crushed hundreds of foes at once.


    They weren''t meant to be people, but they were given enough intelligence to develop a strong ego, making them fearful and barbaric beasts who thought the world belonged to them.


    They harbored a great hatred against the elves, who took over the continent and decided to protect the Yggdrasil Tree themselves.


    For years they lived in a deste area, hunting down elves as they could while trying to escape their dominion.


    Until this moment happened, Fafnir Awakened, and he led them towards victory, towards total elf destruction.


    They not only massacred them, but they also ate their flesh and brains, gaining their magical powers and at the same time, inheriting their intelligence.


    The more elves they ate, especially their brains and hearts, the stronger they grew and the smarter each generation was born, which was born every one or two months.


    Now, they were even capable of war tactics, the ability to use magic seamlessly, and even using artifacts crafted by their master, Fafnir himself.


    "¡­" Stay updated through §Þ??


    ke confronted the lizardmen, as they brought giant cannons shaped as dragons, which they loaded with dragon blood crystals, created by Fafnir in tremendous quantities as he feed upon Yggdrasil''s spiritual divine energy.


    Loading the cannons, they fired gigantic dragon breaths, hitting him one after another, huge explosions that shook the entire castle erupted endlessly, shaking everything everywhere.


    BOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOM!


    They kept shooting relentlessly, without end! Ultimately, they ended, the cannons entered into a cooldown as smoke was released from their dragon-shaped heads.


    The smoke dissipated, as the lizardmen watched.


    "D-Did that do it?"


    "Those were¡­ cannons strong enough to kill strongest elves!"


    "Dragon crystals powerful, possess Fafnir''s strength!"


    They watched expecting ke''s death, but quite obviously, he was just as fine as before, unscathed, his body covered by his armor of silver, ck, and red dragon scales.


    And by his side, there was a huge dragon he summoned out of nowhere, Ruby.


    "GRRHHHH¡­"


    Ruby red at the lizardmen with fury and anger.


    "A-A dragon?!"


    "There''s another scaled god?!"


    "H-How!"


    ke ignored them, ncing at Ruby.


    "Do you see what they have to do to imitate a speck of our strength?" he asked. "Let me show you how a real dragon breath looks like."


    ke opened his jaws.


    "Get off my sight."


    And then, a blinding silver and crimson light surged from within.


    The lizardmen and whatever aberrations apanied them were engulfed on an endless beam of pure destruction.


    And everything disappeared within seconds.


    BOOOMMM!!!n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    -----

 Chapter 1071: Letting The Souls Rest

    -----


    BOOOMMM!!!


    ke''s Dragon Breath broke through all things, destroying several buildings as it devastated over half of the soldiers and monsters inside of the city, leaving behind a giant crater whose stone was melting due to the immense heat.


    "Grrrhh!" Ruby seemed overjoyed, yet it noticed his master was rather sorrowful, his expressionless face remained the same, but he could tell there was sorrow within his soul. "Graah?"


    The dragon gently rubbed his nose over his master''s face, and then licked him.


    "I''m sad?" ke wondered. "Yeah, maybe I am slightly irritated¡­ Frustrated. Because we were toote. The damage is already done, and all¡­ everyone is dead already. We''re fighting against foes that already won a war."


    He had entered the city hoping for survivor hidden somewhere, but there were absolutely none, he expanded his senses even into the sewers, with a slight hope.


    Yet nothing¡­


    Everyone was truly dead.


    However.


    "But at the very least, we can give respite to their souls, right?"


    He smiled faintly, patting the dragon''s head, as Ruby watched into the skies.


    Elizabeth was floating above, her sanctifying light disintegrating the rest of the monsters and lizardmen within her vicinity. And then, suddenly, as she opened the dark, clouded skies with her light, a fantastical scene could be seen.


    His friends, Eric, Chris, Albera, Erdrich, and Elfriedden arrived just in time, watching the scene while flying or standing over the city walls. A scene so mesmerizing that no matter how many times they saw it, they would always gasp in awe.


    They could see thousands of people floating in the sky, elves. Of all shapes and sizes, most of them wearing artisan clothes, artist clothes, cksmith clothes, alchemist clothes¡­


    They looked tired, too exhausted.


    Despite having all died here, their souls remained, filled with sorrow as they saw their city being destroyed and their people massacred.


    "I''m sorry for beingte¡­"


    Elizabeth shed a tear, as she saw tens of thousands of souls flying into the skies.N?v(el)B\\jnn


    "This is¡­ the first time I see so many souls like these¡­"


    As she shed a tear, Erika appeared by her side, hugging her tofort her.


    "I''m sure they''ll rest in peace, where dad and Ellergest went to too!"


    "Eri¡­ Y-Yeah¡­"


    Elizabeth tried to remain strong, as she used her light to guide the souls towards the Afterlife.


    She didn''t know what this Afterlife was, or where it was, but she knew it remained somewhere within the world of Spiritias.


    Perhaps a realm beyond everything, which only the Holy Spirits could oversee.


    She could see a glimpse of it, a beautiful, endless garden of colorful flowers, glistening by the bright sunlight, above the clouds.


    The many children within the souls ran happily towards the garden, holding the hands of their parents.


    "Papa! Mama! A garden!"


    "Yeah¡­ Let''s go."


    "Hey, calm down a bit¡­!"


    They had stayed here for so long that some were even able to speak a few words. ke and Ruby remained in silence as they watched.


    He tried to remain strong, to let this rage and frustration he felt fuel his powers, yet at the end, he couldn''t help it.


    "I''m sorry¡­ for noting earlier."


    As he saw the souls slowly disappear one after another, a few of them remained behind, slowly moving towards them, perhaps at first attracted by Saphira, who, with the rest of the Vampires, began gathering around ria after they cleared every area they could within the vicinity of ten thousand kilometers.


    "So many souls¡­" Saphira said. "Papa! We''re back, everything went well, we took care of everything."


    "Well done," ke patted her head.


    "Are these souls¡­ do you want me to make them stay?" Saphira wondered. "I can¡­ if you wanted."


    "Most of them want to pass away¡­" said ke, as he realized a few dozen, and then almost a hundred remained around him.


    They looked different than the rest of the citizens or artists and craftsmen. They were wearing armor made out of their own souls, holding magic swords, and surrounded by faint spiritual auras, perhaps of the leftover souls of their Spirits.


    "These people¡­ They want to stay and fight, papa," Saphira watched at the mighty Spirit Knights. "They say¡­ that they want to help you avenge the elves!"


    "¡­Are you sure?" ke asked them. "What you will see will only be ruins and the destroyed continent you once loved¡­ I am quite sure, that there are no more survivors. We''re walking through a wastnd, freeing an already destroyednd from its tyrants that reaped away everything from it. Are you sure you want to stay by my side?"


    He tried to intimidate them, to tell them to just pass away, that it wasn''t necessary for them to fight. Yet none of them moved away, standing still and tall, with mighty auras.


    They were all warriors that died fighting, and would rather continue fighting, for the honor of their fallen homnd.


    "They say that they know you''re protecting thest elves¡­" Saphira smiled. "They want to help you as thanks. And also¡­ because their grudge is too strong to allow them to pass away."


    ke''s eyes widened for a second, and then he smiled,ughing a bit.


    "Hah¡­ I suppose in that, we are quite simr," he said. "Very well then. You will join me as new warriors. But you will not be given the form of Undead. No! I will give you the power to be eternal knights, to serve me, die, and keep reviving!


    Are you sure you want this?!"


    They didn''t move either.


    "They said they''re willing to go through hell a thousand times for you!" Saphira said excitedly.


    "Hahahah¡­ HAHAHAAH!"


    ke could onlyugh; it was all so ridiculous.


    "Truly, the pride of you elves has no end, even after death¡­" he sighed, feeling sorrowful right afterwards. "Very well¡­"


    He took out ten S Rank Spirit Orbs, fusing them together with his Creation and Alchemy Domains, and then, infused the almost hundred souls of the Elven Spirit Knights inside.


    FLUOSH!


    To create something anew, a rainbow-colored Spirit Orb, overflowing with spiritual power, which he then let his Grimoire absorb.


    FLAAASH!


    The grimoire''s pages flickered; it was a sess.


    Ding!


    [You have sessfully registered the New Familiar Summon: [Elven Spirit Knight of Yggdrasil (A+++ Rank)]!]


    [You can now create Cards of these Familiars, each one will possess the soul of a different knight, with great intelligence and their unique abilities additionally from their generic skills.]


    "Wee to our army, brave elven knights."


    -----

 Chapter 1072: Elven Knight Spirits

    -----


    What ke did now might have been somethingpletely impossible before. He created an artificialpatible Spirit Orb for his Grimoire to absorb and turn into a new Familiar.


    Using the power of ten S Rank Spirit Orbs fused together into a single and big one, he ced all the souls of these brave knights inside, synthetizing them into the item. And then once the grimoire swallowed it all, their power dissolved and then was remade as new Familiars.


    Without his current powers and his investigation on the modification and creation of Spirit Orbs he did with the elves affected by the demonic parasite of Mammon, he would have never reached this far.


    He had done this on a whim, without fully knowing if it would work as perfectly as it actually did, he was slightly shocked it worked so well, and in the first try too.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Ding!


    [You have sessfully registered the New Familiar Summon: [Elven Spirit Knight of Yggdrasil (A+++ Rank)]!]


    [You can now create Cards of these Familiars, each one will possess the soul of a different knight, with great intelligence and their unique abilities additionally from their generic skills.]


    They were, however, not S Rank, unfortunately, limited to the highest Grade of A Rank, which was already incredibly decent and fine for now.


    ke quickly summoned a single card, which then he duplicated with his Familiar Multiplication Skill, at half the Spirit Orb and Mana price.


    FLASH! FLASH! FLASH! FLASH!


    Of course, for this to be done, the first Knight had to be summoned, and he appeared, a radiant, tall knight, two meters tall, wearing shiny gold and green colored armor.


    They had long blonde hair, pointy ears which their helmet had taken into consideration, shaping an area for them to be positioned, finely decorated, and also carrying a huge golden and green colored de.


    Their emerald eyes shone brightly beneath the helmet, as the brave knight took off their helmet, to reveal a beautiful and handsome elven man.


    "I thank you, my liege, for giving me a second chance," and he bowed before ke.


    First of all, he was like Bestellen, Skadi, and the Generals and Fairies, capable of speech with ease!


    "So he can talk!" Saphira said.


    "Amazing~" Eleanora appeared behind ke, bringing with her the corpses of several lizardmen and monsters, alongside the draconic general she yed. "I brought you more soldiers."


    "Thank you," said ke, waving his hand. The elf watched as his new liege used ursed dark powers simr to the demons themselves, rising the scaled monsters into new soldiers.


    "S-So this is your power, my liege? You''re truly a summoner of many elements¡­" the elf said.


    "I could have risen you like this, but I knew it would be unfair and you wouldn''t like it," said ke. "So I choose another way. What''s your name, brave knight?"


    "My name is Lifang Elfjenson II, I was once the heir of my small noble family," he sighed. "I became a Spirit Knight of the Order of Yggdrasil to protect my country¡­ But I faced my end bitterly, as I was unable to protect it. I saw my family die, my people die, and my country fall. Those monsters killed us and ate us, unforgivable."


    "I see," ke nodded. "So that''s why you cannot let go and pass away, hm? Very well, Lifang. I will give you what you seek, we will massacre everyst one of them, and then, we will y a divine dragon."


    "So you truly intend to y the Divine Dragon, Fafnir!" he said. "He''s the Evil Dragon King, a monster born from hatred and darkness¡­ an ally of the demons, a traitor of all divine dragons!"


    "You know more of him?" ke asked, as he checked Lifang''s status.


    -----


    [Name]: [Lifang Elfjenson]


    [Type]: [Fae] [Magic Knight] [Nature] [Light]


    [Rank]: [A+++]


    [Race]: [Elven Spirit Knight of Yggdrasil]


    [Talent]: [Divine Yggdrasil Spirit Knight: ¡ï¡ï¡ï]


    [Health Points]: [28.000/28.000] (+4.400)


    [Mana Points:] [28.000/28.000] (+4.400)


    [Strength]: [27.000] (+5.600)


    [Agility]: [30.000] (+5.600)


    [Vitality]: [27.000] (+2.800)


    [Intelligence]: [27.000] (+2.800)


    [Dexterity]: [30.000] (+2.800)


    [Spirit]: [28.000] (+4.400)


    [Buff]: [Strength +2.500] [Intelligence +2.500] [Spirit +1.500] [Spirit Attribute Magic Power +10% (Max: +300%)] [Spirit Attribute Damage Taken -5% (Max: -70%)]


    [Skill]: [Yggdrasil Magic Knight Spiritual Swordsmanship Arts+++] [Elemental Spirit Summon+++] [Nature Spirit Magic+++] [Light Spirit Magic+++] [Yggdrasil Knight''s Spiritual Magic Physique+++] [Relentless Mind and Body+++] [Elven Pride+++] [House Elfjenson''s Druid Magic+++] [House Elfjenson''s Druidic Magic Swordsmanship Arts+++]


    [Awakening Skill]: [Divine Elemental Spirit Summon+++] [Yggdrasil Knight''s Domain+++]


    [Title]: [General Of the Yggdrasil Knights of ria City]


    [Growth]: [MAX]


    -----


    His Status was surprising, and as more of the Knights appeared, ke discovered every single one had a different name and upation within the army. Some came without swords but spears, others carrying huge shields, some withrge longbows or ballista, and so on.


    Lifang''s Status, however, was the most surprising, his stats were very highpared to other of ke''s Familiars, and once he received all his buffs, Lifeng would be truly unparalleled!


    But above all, he was very unique, as he was capable of summoning Elemental Spirits that once belonged to him somehow, making him much stronger as a result too.


    "Why yes, we know quite a bit about that despicable monster," Lifang answered ke''s question about Fafnir. "For once, we know that he wasn''t exactly born as a Divine Dragon originally. And that he''s also¡­ Half human."


    "Half¡­ human?!" ke asked in surprise. "I could swear that¡­ Bestellen,e."


    He summoned Bestellen by his side, the silver and white colored divine dragon''s presence made Lifang gasp in awe and amusement.


    "I-Increidble, is this another divine dragon below your jurisdiction, my liege?!" he asked. "Did you see this, my friends?! We made the right choice!"


    The other elven knights roared in unison, rising their weapons.


    As that happened, ke asked Bestellen more about Fafnir.


    "I honestly have no idea what he is," Bestellen said. "There was no dragon named Fafnir when I was alive for all that time. And his presence, albeit divine in nature¡­ it feels twisted and strange."


    "Huh¡­" ke rubbed his chin. "Well, let''s clean this city and then we continue, the day has yet to end after all. We''ll rest until we reach Fort Greenleaf closer to the Evergrace City."


    -----

 Chapter 1073: The Elven Cities

    -----


    Across the entire continent, ke was going to target and reconquer five important cities. ria, the closest to the port cities, was already taken care of, he left behind ten thousand units to protect it, and also an Umbral Crimson Portal to easily teleport there if necessary.


    Then there was Evergrace, much more to the center of the continent, which was once surrounded by beautiful spiritual forests and protected by Ancient Treants and Lesser Dryads, thest surviving descendants of Nature Spirits of old, who had grown "lesser" in which they couldn''t speak anymore.


    Because he knew everyone needed to rest, he decided to reach Fortress Evergreen, which protected the beautiful city of Evergrace, and destroy the generals there and camp for the rest of the night.


    Then, after Evergrace, there would be three more cities to go, Emeraldinite, the City of Jewels to the northeast, Azurite Grove, the City of Poetry to the southwest, andstly, Alfheim, the Capital city, right next to the Yggdrasil tree, all the way to the south.


    Behind that city, there were also a few others, mostly where it snowed all the time and where the legacies of the frost fairies were left behind, it was rumored that ice elves lived there, nomadic in nature, nobody had any idea what might have happened to them, as they weren''t as civilized as the other elves.


    Although they descended from the Ice Fairies, Elfriedden''s family weren''t ice elves, as ice elves did not descend from ice fairies, but were elves that underwent a mutation thanks to their spiritual powers long ago, living alongside the fairies themselves.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    From what little he learned about them from the elven knights, ice elves were much stronger physically than the normal elves, tall and muscr, warriors and hunters that lived in below zero tundra''s, which the lizardmen had a very hard time living in due to their cold blood.


    "I am not too fond of those nomads, they never had good rtionships with our kind," sighed Elfang. "However, they are still brothers, and if they managed to survive due to the unique condition of their Tundra''s¡­ then they could be valuable allies.


    I would suggest going around the tree and reach the Tundra, to rally for their help and bring them to confront thest army of Fafnir, which might be easily over a million. Their frost powers will be of great help against those cold-blooded monsters."


    "Hmmm¡­" Although ke had his Ice Fairies, Skadi, and Elfriedden, there was a limit of their power. However, from what he had heard, there might be hundreds of thousands of Ice Elves, as there were over ten different tribes living in the vast Tundra. "It would be an insanely difficult thing to pull out, especially if they''re so dispersed¡­ But I believe it could be worth the try.


    Mostly because¡­ I want to help them, more than anything."


    "Heh, I knew you would agree, my liege," Elfang smiled confidently. "Indeed, most of our kind could have died, but the Ice Elves¡­ if we can at least save them, it would be all worth it."


    "For now, let us concentrate on what''s in front of us¡­" said ke. "And even then, we don''t necessarily need to go there first, we could always divide our forces. After all, Elfriedden might be able to convince them."


    "Eh? Me?!" Elfriedden muttered. "T-That''s¡­ you must be crazy to think that¡­ I have not ever spoken with those nomads before! Why would I ever be able to convince them?!"


    "You do carry the bloodline of ice fairies¡­" ke said. "Oh right, also Skadi can talk¡­ She could convince them more easily as well."


    "Wait, I could do it, why not?!" Elfriedden suddenly becamepetitive. "Why do you have to ask a familiar for it?"


    "He''s way too easy to manipte¡­" ke thought, sighing. "Hm? Looks like we''re here."


    .


    .


    .


    (ke''s POV)


    After leaving behind ria well protected and secured, with no more monsters crawling around, nor even around their surroundings, we moved forwards.


    After traveling for thousands of kilometers within a few minutes, we reached the Evergreen Fortress, an enormous fortress made up of emerald-colored bricks assembled together.


    And greeting us was an army of at least a hundred thousand strong, led by several Draconic Generals.


    A nice aperitive for what wasing in the future.


    Luckily for them, my army has grown by the thousands as well, although I had to leave ten thousand behind, I have not only created more Abyssal Vampiric Undead, but I''ve also created more of the normal Familiars.


    Which, to be honest, are worth several dozens of their own units, sometimes hundreds, depending in their strength. And these Elven Knights, were about to showcase their true power to me, as I activated several buffs to make them much stronger.


    My Spirit Stat increased with each one of them, which as a result also made them stronger again, the same happened with my Vampire Spirits, which I quickly told to disperse, divide, and conquer.


    "Move, attack as many foes as you can, divide and conquer. Use your powers to your limits, manipte the surroundings if necessary!"


    After enchanting them with the element of ice, they rushed towards the armies of Draconic Monstrosities and Lizardmen, shing against them alone.


    Eleanora rushed towards my left, her spear piercing the bodies of countless creatures at once, as she sent them flying and then froze them with her draconic freezing mes, proceeding to shatter them into pieces.


    Saphira was also helping making the armyrge, her Undead Summon abilities had been improving greatly so far, her Underworld Gates Skill and simr ones, proved to be very useful as they leveled up.


    The amount of Undead she could summon rapidly increased from only a couple hundred to thousands, and because I had copied that Skill too, I was able to divide her Undead Army to three thousand strong, allparable to A+++ Rank Familiars due to the buffs, umted with both mine and the ones Saphira gave to them.


    Which even worked on my own Abyssal Vampiric Undead, yes, Saphira ended bing an amazing ally right now, her ability to strengthen Undead was out of this world.


    CRAAASH!


    Both armies shed against one another, creating a thunderous sound.


    -----

 Chapter 1074: The Elven Knight Spirits Charge

    -----


    "Charge!" Roared the Draconic Generals. "Don''t let those bastards enter into our territory! Two of us have already died, we can''t let them take over another city!"


    "Fight with everything you have and win! May the power of the War Spirits and the zing Spirits reinforce your strength!" Said a second Draconic General.


    "Unleash wrath upon your foes, do not let them touch you without taking away a piece of them apart! May the winds enchant your speed!" Said thest of the three Draconic Generals.N?v(el)B\\jnn


    Their powerful Dragon Tongue Magic activated, wrapping around the bodies of their thousands of followers and servants, strengthening them with powerful auras that made them stronger and faster, but made thempletely berserk.


    "ROOOOOHHHH!"


    With a ferocious, unified roar, the lizardmen and the draconic aberrationsbined their power, attacking ke''s armypletely, a thunderous sound echoed as beasts shed with their bodies.


    ke''s Abyssal Vampiric Undead Familiars were the most numerous, most of them being the very army they defeated just recently. His Draconic Aberrations were faster and deadlier, and wilder too, while the Lizardmen were good at working together, all while their Draconic Generals were powerhouses of their own.


    "W-Why is this happening?! Why are we fighting our own kind?!" one of the Draconic Generals panicked. "T-This is ludicrous! Be burned by the holy sanctifying light!"


    FLASH! FLASH! FLASH! FLASH!


    Suddenly several beams of light impacted the many Undead, turning them into ashes as they exploded after receiving the beam attacks. The other two Generals quickly started doing the same, a ratherzy approach, but one that seemed to work.


    But then again, to ke, they weren''t being imaginative, if anything, they were wasting the true potential of Dragon''s Tongue, as he was going to show them now.


    "Learn what true Dragon Tongue is," he spoke. "The Draconic Generals shall honorably fight my elven knights!"


    RUMBLE!


    With a single set of words, ke conjured a powerful Dragon Tongue Spell, shaking the ground entirely and making it difficult for the generals to remain where they were. Enormous walls emerged everywhere around them, trapping them and several of their soldiers and beasts with the elven knights alone.


    "W-What is this?! He changed thendscape around us?!"


    "This is ridiculous! Can Dragon Tongue even do this?!"


    "Not.. normally, unless you have millions of units of Mana! It should be impossible for anybody other than¡­ a God¡­"


    The three Draconic Generals, in their tall and draconic appearances, were now beginning to cower in fear, their spines feeling a chill as their tails hit the floor in nervousness.


    And right in front of them, and what seemed to be around a hundred of their soldiers and draconic monsters, there were roughly ny elven knights, overflowing with spiritual light.


    "I''ve created your graves, now make sure to die by the hands of those you massacred."


    ke spoke, not using any Dragon Tongue now, these were merely his words, the Draconic Generals roared back at him, who watched them while flying above the sky.


    "You cowardly bastard! You think these walls of stone will stop us?!"


    "We''ll tear right through them!"


    "You, the soldiers and beasts! Stop those knights!"


    The Draconic Generals ran away instantly, their soldiers and draconic beasts confronting the elven knights instead. They tried to quickly use magic to climb the walls.


    "You dare call our liege coward, when you''re doing nothing but running away?!"


    Elfang didn''t had any patience, rushing towards the Draconic Generals, as he swung his spiritual de, spinning across the battlefield. Countless elemental shes were unleashed from his attacks, burning, slicing, and freezing his foes with the elements of Fire, Wind, and Icebined together.


    Surrounding him there could be seen three tiny Spirits, his Elemental Spirits, or well, fragments of the Elemental Spirits he once had, now mostly resembling spheres of red, green, and blue color, surrounded with their respective elements.


    "{House Elfjenson''s Druidic Magic Swordsmanship Arts}: {Elemental Harmony}!"


    The elf general roared, swinging his de upwards and attacking the ruffians trying to escape, all three of his elements merged with his aura, resembling a gigantic tree that grew into the skies as his de shed through the empty air upwards.


    "Stone and earth, guard our bodies!"


    The draconic generals all synched together to conjure defensive magic, the ground in the walls rapidly shaped into a powerful dome surrounding them.


    CRAAASH!


    However, it shattered instantly, as a wave of fire, ice, and winds engulfed thempletely, rapidly cutting through their mighty draconic scales.


    "Uuuaaggh!"


    As they screamed in agony, they were forced to fight and descend, rushing down with everything they had. Swinging their weapons and attacking the elf general together.


    "You damn elf! How dare you!"


    "I am sure the house Elfjenson was destroyed, just who are you?!"


    "It doesn''t matter who he is, kill him!"


    Lifang expertly intercepted several iing blows with his de and blocked a few with his shining shield, explosions of ck draconic mes engulfing his body, cursing him and weakening his stats.


    CLASH! CLASH! CLASH! CLASH!


    "Ugh!"


    He felt like his body was slowly growing weaker, the power of these Draconic Generals was better than he imagined. He was sure he could fight and defeat them in an 1v1 fight, but three against one was overkill.


    "Hahaha! Where''s your damn pride at now, elf?!"


    "We''ll tear you to shreds!"


    "Surrender and we''ll give you a swift and painless death!"


    BAAAM!


    Spears, swords, and halberds reached Lifang''s body, his armor shattering as he was thrown away, rolling over the floor and vomiting blood. Although Familiars would turn into light once they die, they could still experience pain and wounds, and also lose blood.


    "You damn barbarians¡­!"


    Lifang was trying to get up, only to see several lizardmen and draconic beasts approaching him.


    "Yeah, kill him now- Eh?!"


    However, the Draconic Generals, who thought their soldiers had triumphed, noticed that they were in fact, running away for their lives!


    Chasing them were the rest of the elven knights, unleashing their powerful spirit weapon arts, and massacring them one after another.


    "General Lifang! You mustn''t have charged on your own!"


    "Let us assist you! We can fight together, as we''ve always done!"


    "Yeah, united we are strong!"


    Lifang''s eyes widened as he saw all the soldiers he lost surround him, once more to protect him and give him their strength.


    "Everyone¡­ You''re right," he stood back up. "Charge!"


    -----

 Chapter 1075: Avenging The Fallen

    -----


    Lifang could still remember when everything went down, very clearly so. It was one of the reasons why his soul refused to pass away into the afterlife. He still could remember the screams, he could still remember the houses burning, and he could still remember the children crying.


    The screams of people as they were massacred, of the disembodied bodies sttered over the beautiful streets of ria, of their guts, their brains¡­ the children''s bodies destroyed into countless pieces.


    The hatred, wrath, sorrow, and horror he felt in that time, as those monsters invaded their home and ate them alive¡­


    And so did his knights, who could not protect their people. They were too few, and perhaps too weak, having grown in an Era of rtive peace, the elven continent was one of the least threatened by the demons back then.


    "We thought of ourselves as lucky and gifted, we were arrogant¡­" he sighed. "It was because of our stupid pride and arrogancy as elves that we ended where we are now."


    But it was also their fault too, he couldn''t just me it all on himself. These monsters, these damned monsters!


    And their wicked, false dragon god¡­


    Because of this hatred, he lost his mind and tried to finish them off on his own instantly.


    But they were easily overwhelming him and would have killed him again.


    He could have revivedter as a new Familiar Card, but his soul, because it was soplex, would be on a long cooldown, as ke had told him.


    "I can revive you eventually, but if you die, I can''t create a card of you until a long rest," he said. "It''s because your souls are veryplex, it is simr to the spirits inside a spirit orb. It might take days for you to be able to be revived¡­ So don''t charge recklessly, or you might miss the chance to avenge your kind if you die."


    It was a chance he almost lost!


    Yet now, he understood that his strength did noty on just himself.


    Ity within all his friends, his soldiers, his knights.


    He was a general, not just a solo warrior.


    And he mustmand his troops as one!


    "I apologize for being reckless, my soldiers¡­" he said, standing up, his spiritual power surging as an aura, and then releasing into the bodies of his knights. "Charge!"


    With a mighty shout, a rallying cry, the stats of his knights increased out of nowhere. The cursed ck dragon mes the Draconic Generals were firing constantly were not strong enough to ovee his temporary enhancement.


    CLASH! CLASH! CLASH! CLASH!


    Their weapons shed against thest soldiers and monsters left behind, massacring them. The lizardmen were strong with their equipment and magic, but the elves were simply on another level after bing ke''s Familiars.


    The difference in power was so ridiculous that it mirrored back then when they invaded the elves instead, it was aplete tip of the scales!


    "Dammit, you useless lizards, why can''t you fight properly?!"


    "Let me show you what true warriors do!"


    "Hahahaha!"


    The three draconic generals didn''t lose their faith in their strength, working together and fighting against all the elven knights at once. Their powerful attacks pierced through their defensive stances and shields, broke through their formations, and began sending them flying one after another.


    They were strong!


    Elfang was the strongest of the elven knights, and perhaps that''s why hested so long against them alone, but his soldiers were not as strong as he was. Although all of them shared basic stats distributions as the same time of familiar, because of their unique souls, each one received different stat boosts.


    Lifang''s stats were almost doublepared to his kind; therefore, he was just that strong on his own,pared to the rest!


    Yet, he knew that without their help, it would still be impossible to win.


    He charged forwards, using his druid magic, an inheritance from his now dead family, and unleashing his powerful magic as he touched the ground with his bare hands.


    "Do not falter, my soldiers!" he roared. "As your general, I shall open the way for you! {House Elfjenson''s Druid Magic}: {Elemental Spiritual Forest}!"


    FLUOSH!


    A wave of golden and green colored light surged, epassing the entire army''s ground, and then,rge roots began emerging.


    RUMBLE!n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    They weren''t made of wood, but of fire, ice, and wind elements mixed together with mana and spirit energy, piercing through thest lizardmen and draconic monsters, and then attacking the draconic generals.


    CLASH! CLASH! CLASH! CLASH!


    "Shit! What is this tricky magic?!"


    "They got a druid!"


    "Howe a knight is a damn druid?!"


    They couldn''t believe it, but the house Elfjenson was quite a formidable druid family in the past! Elfang was thest elf to inherit his family''s druid magic, the ability tobine the elements with nature and expand domains within the soil.


    With wooden spears of fire, ice, and winds constantly attacking the and piercing through their defenses, the draconic generals were rapidly overwhelmed, unable to counter attack properly against the knights.


    "mes, burn these damned elves!"


    "Ice, freeze these sons of bitches!"


    "Wind, slice these bastards!"


    The three Draconic Generals unleashed their strongest Dragon Tongue magic at once, as a giant wave of enormous fireballs, icicle spears, and wind arrows rained down upon the knights.


    Yet Elfang was here!


    "Not on my watch, you monsters!" he roared. "[Awakening Skill]: {Yggdrasil Knight''s Domain}!"


    He unleashed his strongest ability, the Awakening Skill that every Familiar had!


    FLUOOOSH!


    His Awakening Skill was much more different than his knights too, while theirs was focused on dealing explosive damage once, his was about spreading an almighty domain.


    The roots he conjured merged together into a giant dome, protecting the knights from damage that would have easily killed them.


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!


    "T-That bastard again!"


    "He''s saving their asses again, fuck!"


    "We have to kill him, while we still can- ACK!"


    As they were about to go kill Elfang while he concentrated on his skill, a giant root of fire, ice, and winds surged from the ground, piercing the chest of a weakened general.


    "I-Impo¡­ ssible¡­"


    The root exploded into fire, ice, and winds, right next to the other generals, sending them flying into the air.


    BOOOM!


    "Now!"


    Elfangmanded, and the knights leaped into action, attacking the two draconic generals with everything they had.


    "This is for the families you killed!"


    "This is for the elves you massacred!"


    "And this is for the poor children you ate!"


    SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH!


    A storm of elemental and spiritual shes engulfed the two draconic generals, resembling a storm of beautiful colors, all the knights attacked at once.


    "T-This can''t be¡­! Mercy! We give up- Uuaagggh!"


    "M-Mercy! You elves have good heartssss¡­! Please have mercyyyy! Gryyaaagh!"


    The Draconic generals could no longer defend or fight back, their bodies were all sliced and dismembered apart into countless pieces, dying agonizingly as they screamed for mercy.


    SPLAAAT!


    Their bodies sttered over the floor, painting it red, Lifang looked at his knights covered in the blood of their enemies.


    Revenge was something that corrupted the heart, yet for some reason¡­ It felt so good.


    "Finally¡­ we managed to kill these bastards!"


    "W-We did it¡­!"


    "Mother¡­ father!"


    "At longst¡­!"


    The knights celebrated happily as Lifang stood up and walked to their side.


    "Well done, everyone! The battle might be over, but not the war, we must still help our liege, let''s go!"


    RUMBLE!


    An opening emerged in the stone walls, as the knights charged through it, joining the battlefield once more.


    -----

 Chapter 1076: Freeing The Abandoned City Of Pests

    -----


    (ke''s POV)


    The elven knights took care of the draconic generals better than I expected, Lifang managed to get more used to his abilities and skills, and the rest did too. Only a couple ended perishing, but the majority remain strong and together.


    The only w of the Familiars is that they''re stuck in the same level of power, well, for now¡­ Until I can figure out a way to evolve them into S Rank and then into Divine Familiars. I have yet to evolve any into a Divine Familiar because I require the Familiar to be S Rank first.


    And so far, the only S Rank Familiar I possess is Bestellen, to evolve the other A Ranks into S Ranks, I must first securepatible materials¡­ And that is not going to be easy.


    Well, perhaps not too hard either.


    "ROOOAAARR!"


    Erika roared mightily as she took upon her Yggdragon form, massacring hundreds of lizardmen and draconic monsters at once with her powerful dragon breath, which she fired sparingly one after another.


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!


    The army of one hundred thousand soldiers and monsters that the draconic generals had has been reduced to ten thousand within the first two hours of battle. My army of Familiars massacred them rapidly, and then swiftly adding anypatible corpse to the horde.


    Thanks to my Skill leveling up, I unlocked the ability to let other Abyssal Vampiric Undead Familiars turn anypatible corpse into a new Abyssal Vampiric Undead Familiar by merely touching them. Of course, the Mana cost goes to me anyways, but it works really well and makes things efficient.


    Each Abyssal Vampiric Undead roughly costs 10.000 Mana to create, sometimes if they''re generals, they can go as high as 30.000 Mana, but never go higher than that, usually.


    And I have over four million mana now, so problems with mana are no longer a thing for me. Even when I run out, I just drink several mana elixirs I can create instantly with my skills, saving me time.


    "It should be about time we wrap things up¡­"


    I leaped off the head of Bestellen, as I underwent Draconification and also used my Blood King Transformation Skill at once. With the Blood King Divine Graveyard Domain and the Holy Blood Spirit Summon by my side, I charged forward, using their power and them using mine.


    In front of me there were at least eight thousand foes, from what I remember of my previous life, Asmodeus used to fight millions on his own, especially in the battle of Hell, where demons came by the tens of millions¡­


    I have to get used to eliminate countless foes on my own, although letting my army do it is fine, I can finish them off quicker and end the day already.


    "T-There he is!"


    "The Summoner!"


    "He''s charging¡­ kill! Kill him!"


    The lizardman roared furiously, firing dragon magic at me, using giant dragon cannons, and unleashing attacks with their powerful magical weapons.


    CLASH! BOOM! CRASH! RUMBLE!


    However, no matter how hard they tried, they couldn''t even deal a single point of damage to my armor fused with my scales. Unless its something of S Rank or higher, there''s no chance they can hurt me.


    "I''ll end this."


    I didn''t need to engage in any conversation with my foes, with a single swing of my spear, I unleashed a powerful wave of Umbral Crimson, Silver and Golden Dragon mes of the End, and Rainbow Spiritual Energy,bining together into two powerful techniques.


    My Divinities surged from my body, enhancing the power and range of my attacks. Yes, I had divinities now, I wasn''t even a mortal anymore, I had already ascended into a divine being of sorts¡­


    "[One Hundred Spearmen Spirit Exploding Spear Attacks]! [One Thousand Battalion''s Spears Multi-Thrust Double Attacks]!"


    My Divine Spear God Divinity Aura surged, changing, and transforming into a battalion of one thousand soldiers simr to me, each one with their own spear.


    And then, our foes were faced with their end.


    CRASH! CRASH! CRASH! CRASH! CRASH! CRASH!


    I kept moving, advancing as I pierced their bodies a hundred times each, making their bodies sttering into the floor, bing nothing but materials for new Abyssal Vampiric Undead Familiars.


    The Divine Graveyard Domain and the Holy Blood Spiritbined their powers with my attacks as well, making everything resemble an endless army of vampires swinging their spears and piercing everything.


    Eventually¡­


    "Hm? Oh, it''s over already?"


    Within a minute, almost ten thousand foes died.


    "It took less than a minute¡­ Well, that''s not as good as I imagined," I sighed. "Don''t you think?"


    "I believe it is a rather good mark for now, master," the Holy Blood Spirit, a giant vampire-like divine spirit that might eventually join the holy spirit pantheon, seemed ratherposed, as always. "May I drink their blood and souls, master? I require more power too."


    "Of course," I nodded. "You may have what''s left¡­ I''ve got enough new soldiers anyways."


    "I thank you deeply, master," he bowed to me and then spread out his hands, blood and souls endlessly flowed towards him, as he ate them all within mere seconds.


    FLUOSH!


    His Divine Spiritual powers began increasing even more, the Law of Blood was slowly bing more and more prominent in the world, an element that had not been introduced until now.


    "You''re getting stronger, how long until you finally evolve?" I wondered.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    "Perhaps a few hundred thousand more¡­" he said. "I believe."


    "Noted," I nodded. "What will happen once you evolve though?"


    "Not even I am aware of what could happen, master¡­" he said. "But I believe my existence might be higher¡­ I could be the guardian of this world too."


    "Hmm, interesting," I smiled. "Well done, you can go back now."


    "Understood, then, I shall be on my way."


    FLASH!


    He quickly disappeared as I "unsummoned" him, which sent him inside my Spiritual Realm, where he would usually meditate and cultivate his energies.


    "keee! It''s finally over for now, right? I''m so tired¡­ Can we have something to eat?" Erika wondered.


    "I''m exhausted as well, let''s go make a camp," said Elizabeth.


    "Can I have some blood too?" Eleanora asked.


    "Of course, let''s rest for now," I nodded.


    Tomorrow, I''ll finally go to the Tower of Trials, located right behind this city.


    And I''ll Rank Up.


    -----

 Chapter 1077: Taking A Small Break

    -----


    Once we took over the fortress of Evergreen, Elizabeth conjured a strong holy barrier around it, and we were able to finally rx. The fortress was rather big, and after my Familiars cleansed it off the corpses and blood, we were able to clean it a bit using some Cleaning Magic and Wind Magic, courtesy of Elizabeth, Erika, and Eric''s help.


    After that we moved to the fortress kitchen, mostly filled with a lot of fruit and monster meat the lizardmen hunted. Most of it was rotten though, they had no methods to preserve food, and it wasn''t as if they cared if it was a bit rotten anyways.


    At the end, I feed all the food to Ruby and Blood, who happily devoured everything within minutes, and then we cleansed and started cooking something for ourselves, using ingredients we brought along.


    Everyone at this point had a storage essory of some sort, they were quite expensive, but were being sold in the elven cities we had visited before, and they gave us good discounts for them after everything we did to help them.


    We brought a lot of food, fish, fruits, meat, eggs, noodles, rice, and more. I was pretty much forced to cook for everyone because they seriously loved my cooking. I had to oblige, and it wasn''t as if I was tired. If anything, I was left slightly bored, I would have wished there was a more challenging foe, but I can''t ask for miracles.


    It would be better if just Fafnir was my challenge and nothing else, to be honest.


    "Fried Rice with shrimp and fried fish ready!"


    I quickly told my Vampire Spirits to bring the food I tes to the table, my friends gasping in disbelief as they saw the enormous quantity of food arrive.


    I kept cooking, making roasted wyvern and sea snake meat, also hamburgers, Bolognese noodles,sagna, and so on. It was easy to make because I created clones of myself using Umbral Crimson.N?v(el)B\\jnn


    Well, they didn''t look anything like me though, made of ck and crimson energies, but they could easily imitate my movements at 100% uracy, and use some of mt skills too.


    They were quite frail though, a mere punch and they were gone, but they could be used as good distraction, or to attack at the same time many times.


    "Woah, so much delicious food!" Erika said happily, beginning to feast on the fried rice. "Hmm, I love the shrimp in the rice! So fresh and tastyyy! Nom, nom, crunch! The fried fish is so crunchy! And this white colored sauce is really nice, it tastes kind of like yogurt, and is so creamy, it goes well with the seafood~!"


    "We get it, Erika, you like it¡­" sighed Chris. "Calm down, no need to just narrate all you eat!"


    "Shut up Chris, you always start saying stuff like that when yoursagna is ready!" Erikaughed.


    "W-What?!" Chris roared. "I don''t do that- Aah, you madesagna?! No way, it''s the one with white and red sauce too! Ahh, it''s good! Nom, nom, nom! So cheesy, holy shit man!"


    He kept eating without stop, his revival had given him a couple of new abilities he had been using, although one of the most notorious things was his great stamina and vitality now.


    Much like familiars, Chris would usually not get tired at all now, although he would grow exhausted once his Mana reserves emptied, he would remain almost at full energy at all times.


    Though, topensate for this and his unique physiology as half human and half familiar, he had to eat even more food than before.


    "d you like it, Chris," I smiled. "Have you been feeling better now?"


    "Huh? Why are you asking that? I''m fine dude!" Chris said with a smile, drinking some fruit punch. "You should eat too, dude, you make all of this and barely eat?"


    "I''ll eat, I''ll eat," Iughed. "I just don''t feel as hungry anymore. Maybe because I''ve been absorbing a lot of blood and souls¡­ Hmm."


    "E-Eh? Blood and souls?" Alberta felt slightly shocked when I said that. "L-Like¡­ really?"


    "Yeah, I can sustain myself with that nowadays, but I also eat a lot of food anyways," I nodded. "What? Am I scary?"


    "N-No, not at all, ke! I was just a bit curious, that''s all," Alberta was as considerate as ever. "I just find it very interesting, the whole vampire race, and how they work¡­"


    "Well fi you''re interested, you got some people here you can ask firsthand about it," I said, patting Eleanora''s shoulders by my left side, she was drinking a cup of dragon blood.


    "Hmm? Ah, yeah? yes?" she wondered, usually when drinking blood she would be in a slight ecstasy. "What happened Alberta?"


    "Can I ask you a few questionster, Eleanora?" wondered Alberta. "We''ve been rather interested in how vampires work, how they think, and also their culture!"


    "Eh? Are you serious? Our culture is a bit weird¡­" said Eleanora.


    "Still! It''s really interesting you''ve stayed mostly intact from your previous life, Eleanora!" said Eric. "We would like to learn more about your race thates from beyond our world. Also we wouldn''t mind if you also talked about that universe out there, thes and so on!"


    "Hahh¡­ you sure love asking a lot of things," Eleanora sighed. "Fine¡­ only because I like you guys! But don''t think I''ll just do anything you ask me, alright?"


    "Thank you Eleanora!" Alberta giggled happily, taking several bites off her wyvern hamburger.


    "Yeah, a hundred thanks," Eric nodded, readjusting his sses as he slurped his noodles.


    As everyone ate, I noticed Elizabeth barely eating anything.


    "Are you alright?" I asked her. "You seem to not have touched your meals yet¡­ Can I make you something you prefer?"


    "Ah¡­" she muttered, looking rather absent-minded. "N-No, I''m fine. I just¡­ after seeing everything, I really don''t have much appetite."


    "Hmm, understandable, but still, you should try to eat least drink the chicken soup I made, potatoes and carrots with some chicken meat, it shouldn''t be that bad for the stomach," I said. "You should fill yourself a bit with food to restore energies, Elizabeth."


    "I know¡­ sorry for worrying you," she smiled faintly, trying to eat some more. "Ugh¡­ Guhh¡­!" she covered her mouth, feeling nauseas again, and running away to the bathroom.


    "Elizabeth!"


    I ran right behind her.


    -----

 Chapter 1078: A Talk With The Saintess

    -----


    I followed Elizabeth, as I saw her vomiting on the bathroom''s toilet. I let her do so, not like I could or should stop her, while gently patting her back.


    "Hahh¡­ Hahh¡­ I-I''m sorry¡­ I¡­ I just can''t¡­ This is harder than I imagined."


    "It''s fine, I understand how you might have felt. Was it the blood or¡­?"


    I hugged her, cleaning her with a simple Clean spell, and let her rest her head on my shoulders. I didn''t really care if she had just vomited recently. She was someone I loved, and I wouldn''t mind such things. I believe it is important to be there for them when they most need you.


    "No¡­ it was¡­ I just¡­ It''s so sad¡­" Elizabeth kept weeping on my shoulders. "The cruelty these people went through¡­ the souls¡­ The blood and all the bones we found of them, clean off their meat like¡­ they were treated as mere supplies. It wasn''t just soldiers, or adults¡­ but the elderly, children, even¡­ even babies¡­ It so awful¡­ so horrible¡­"


    I can understand why she felt that way. Honestly, I also felt like it was terrible, but through the memories of Asmodeus, I had already lived simr events, perhaps dozens of times.


    His mind was different though, born as vampires, with high mental strength and cold emotions, these things did not affect him as much.


    But as I am a human now, I can understand better, the visceral, disgusting feeling that surges from your stomach.


    The feeling that makes you want to throw up in disgust, and the horrendous dread you feel,bined with the sorrow of everything.


    It is truly a despairing feeling.


    My friends who were all eating, probably are very strong in their minds and hearts, Elizabeth is too. But she''s also much morepassionate than everybody else.


    She''s someone with an incredible amount of empathy, to the point she perhaps even felt the agony these people might have gone through.


    "I understand how much it hurts you, and I know it is horrible¡­" I said. "Honestly, I have little to say about all of this¡­ How you feel right now is totally justified¡­ I can''t me you."


    "ke¡­" Elizabeht kept crying, I just couldn''t see her in such a way.


    "But please, be strong," I said, looking at her in her eyes. "Be strong, Elizabeth. Like you''ve always have been. I know you''re strong, you''re one of the strongest people I''ve ever met, in the heart, where it truly matters."


    She nodded as she wept.


    I took out a handkerchief from my pocket, gently cleansing her tears, and then gently pulling her long, blonde hair behind her shoulders, revealing her cute face.


    Her face was slightly red, her eyes a bit swollen from crying so much, but she was still my beautiful Elizabeth.


    "Calm down¡­ I''m here with you, you''re not alone, and I''ll always remain here, by your side." I said. "You''re not facing this alone, Elizabeth. You''re facing it with everyone else, together¡­ With me." I held her hand.


    "ke¡­!" she hugged me again. "Never leave me¡­" her hands tightly hugged my back. "I love you¡­"


    "I love you too," I smiled gently, kissing her cheeks, and then her lips. "I love you too, my dear. My strong Saintess. Let''s get through this together, alright? I will not let go of your hand until you feel better."


    "Thank you¡­" she smiled gently. "I''ll be strong¡­ for you. And for Erika, and¡­ Chris, Eric, Alberta¡­ Erdrich, and Elfriedden too¡­ for Eleanora and everyone else as well. For dad¡­ I don''t want to disappoint him now."


    "I''m sure he would never be disappointed for you, even if you were to quit everything now, I and him would understand well, and we would still love you all the same," I said.


    "No¡­ I won''t quit this¡­" she said. "I''ll stay with you, with everyone¡­ You need me, right? My powers¡­ and their souls need me too. They will never find peace if I don''t purify or exorcize them¡­ I have a duty as the Saintess of the Holy Spirit of Light."


    "Yeah, we really need you," I sighed. "I''m sorry."


    "It''s fine!" she smiled more. "I''m happy to have you here, ke¡­ Since I met you that¡­ That my life has changed, for the better¡­ I still have it, the coin you gave me."


    "Eh?"


    She suddenly showed me a silver coin, now with a hole, wrapped around silver chains, she wore it as a charm around her neck, hidden behind her dress.


    "Elizabeth¡­ Hahah¡­" I couldn''t help but giggle a bit.


    "See?" she smiled a bit more now. "It is my good luck charm! As long as I have it¡­ I-I¡­ I know I will¡­ be safe¡­ Agh, it''s embarrassing, haha.. I was so dumb back then, so little."


    "It''s cute," I said, kissing her cheek. "It''s part of how you are, and I love it. Thank you for keeping it as a memento of our friendship, Elizabeth. I gave you that coin mostly because I wanted to¡­ well, back then, I coldly considered it an "investment" on you, as a future ally. But¡­ Over time, I realized how much it changed my life too. I''m truly grateful I gave you that coin."N?v(el)B\\jnn


    "Haha, of course you would consider it that back then¡­" she giggled. "Nheless, I''ll still keep it!" she hugged me again, as I quickly stood up and lifted her like my princess.


    "Feeling better now?" I asked her, kissing her in the lips again.


    "Y-Yeah¡­ A bit hungry now, out of nowhere¡­" she said, looking into my eyes with her golden irises. "Thank you for taking care of me¡­ I''m a bit better."


    "That''s good," I nodded, as I let her stand up.


    "Um, you weren''t disgusted?" she wondered, nervously. "I just threw up, y-you even kissed me in the lips and all¡­ I''m sorry¡­"


    "Oh? Ah¡­ well, I used a Cleaning spell, so don''t worry," I said. "And now, I was not disgusted. Don''t worry. Let''s go."


    I still held her hand as we walked back to eat, Erika was right outside the bathroom with everyone else though.


    "Some privacy would have been a bit better¡­" I sighed.


    -----

 Chapter 1079: A Relaxing Day

    -----


    Elizabeth rejoined our dinner; this time she was able to eat. That talk might have helped her more than I thought. She ate a lot too, two whole tes of fried rice with and fish, and the she ate a cheesecake slice for dessert with some tea. I couldn''t believe just how happy I was to just see her eat.


    "Phew, thanks for the meal~" Erika yawned. "I think I''ll go take a bath¡­ Eli! Wanna join? Alberta too if she wants!"


    "M-Me too?!" Alberta panicked. "N-No thanks¡­ I''ll take a bath on my own, Hahahah¡­ O-Or maybe with Eric?"


    "With me?!" muttered Eric. "I-I mean¡­ I-I wouldn''t mind, yeah¡­ Do you want to?"


    "Let''s¡­ help wash each other then?" she cutely smiled back at him. Chapter Stay:


    "S-Sure!" Eric was nervous, but rather happy to do just that.


    Hmm, I see that they''re growing progressively closer too¡­


    "Then! Let''s go take a bath, ke~" Erika dragged me away.


    "Hm?! Wait¡­!"


    "No wait here, you''reing with us," said Elizabeth, also helping her.


    "Hahh¡­ Well, fine," I shrugged. "Eleanora, join us as well."


    "Okay~" she was still a bit drunk after drinking so much blood, but happily joined us anyways.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Like that, I had to take a bath together with them, the baths were already cleansed thanks to the golems I had left behind to clean. Specifically designed for cleaning duties, these special, small golems can get things done as long as a lot of them are spread everywhere.


    There were a lot of baths in the fortress, four of them, so we took one for ourselves and took a nice bath. The area was huge, with a huge pool in the middle constantly releasing warm water once fully activated.


    We dipped inside once undressed and we washed ourselves with a lot of soap. Some bruises left behind were quickly healed by Elizabeth''s magic, and I Erika¡­ well, Erika was swimming around and jumping in and out of the pool all the time.


    "Here I go again!"


    SPLASH!


    This was already the tenth time she jumped into the bath, making the warm water jump everywhere, Eleanora was having a hard time washing her long hair with Erika doing this all the time¡­


    "Erika, that''s enough for now," I said. "A bath is supposed to be peaceful, please don''t jump anymore¡­"


    "Eeh? But it doesn''t hurt anybody!" she said, insisting on it.


    "Please just let me wash my hair in peace¡­" Eleanora groaned.


    "A-Ah! Right, sorry, sorry!" Erika giggled nervously.


    After that, I helped her and Elizabeth wash their hair and used special shampoo to keep their hair beautiful, silky, and shiny.


    Erika''s beautiful natural, pink-colored hair had be slightly clearer as she grew older, I remember when she was young, it was very bright, but it had be of a clearer pink.


    Still, it was silky, smooth, and long.


    And Elizabeth''s glistening golden blonde hair was as beautiful as ever, of a pure blonde color, usually most blondes'' hair would still look brownish.


    However, Elizabeth was different, of a clearer gold color, it was very beautiful, especially when it shone beneath the sunlight.


    "And done, sorry if it was rough, I am not used to this," I said. "Did I do a good job?"


    I ended by drying their hair by gently letting out some windy gusts by conjuring the Gust Spell, it worked well.


    "Yes! It was left so silky and smooth! ke, thank you so much!" Elizabeth was fascinated. "Smells so nice, what was that shampoo you used?"


    "A special blend of floral scents and herbal oils," I said. "It is a shampoo I created through Alchemy; I mostly sell it to high nobility for high prices. But I always have a lot for myself and to share."


    "Thanks ke, you''re the only one that can help me wash my wild hair!" giggled Erika. "Have you noticed the pink color bing clearer though?"


    "Yeah, your mother has a very clear pink color of hair, so it''ll probably be like that," I said.


    "Aren''t you quite the attentive boyfriend?" giggled Eleanora behind me. "A man washing the hair of a female, now that''s cute~ I bet other guys wouldugh if they knew you do that with so much attention too!"


    "Quite funny today, aren''t you?" I sighed. "Jealous of them?" I smirked.


    She blushed a bit.


    "T-That''s not it!" she was definitely a bit jealous.


    "Don''t worry, I''ll wash your hair tomorrow if you want," I said. "Let''s go to bed now."


    After taking a bath and dressing up again, we moved to arge room with a big bed. Probably once belonging to a noble that lived here as some knight or general, which the golems had already leftpletely clean, bed included.


    While I cuddled in the bed, all three of them quickly wrapped themselves around me tightly¡­ Without letting go of me at all.


    "ke?" Erika wondered.


    "Yes?" I asked.


    "Tomorrow¡­ you''re going to that trial, right? What is it about?" she asked.


    "It is a Trial Tower designed by ancient gods," I exined. "I don''t know the specifics, but doing the trials there helps you break through a level cap and Rank Up. Your mother had done quite a few of them."


    "Oh right, she has!" Erika nodded. "Dammit, I should have asked her about it!"


    "We might have already reached five stars, but our levels are still quite low," said Elizabeth. "We need exorbitant amounts of EXP to progress, the foes we''ve fought have given a fine amount, although little on their own¡­ therge armies give more."


    "Yeah, once you can get to max level, we''ll return and help you Rank Up too," I nodded. "Don''t feel rushed though, everything takes its time¡­"


    "Hmm, right¡­" Elizabeth cuddled with me, rubbing her face on my shoulder, and then falling asleep.


    "I want¡­ to Rank up too¡­" Erika yawned. "Let''s save the elves¡­"


    And as the two fell asleep, and I noticed Eleanora already sleeping too, I quickly decided to rx myself, even for a few hours, closing my eyes.


    -----

 Chapter 1080: Fusing Skills

    -----


    The next morning arrived uneventfully. The barrier was strong and so were my familiars, any attempt at attacking us at night was immediately dwarfed and stopped, even when two Draconic Generals had showed up, they were killed by Bestellen, Ruby, Blood, and the Elven Knights quite quickly, only adding more units to my Abyssal Vampiric Undead Familiar army.


    "Everyone! Come eat breakfast already, it''s ready!" Erika and Elizabeth called for everyone else to walk downstairs to the dining room, the two of them decided to cook breakfast for a change.


    A lot of scrambled eggs, fried bacon, freshly baked bread, pancakes, waffles, fruit and cakes were ced over the table, there were even cookies from their secret stash of snacks, they were quite generous today.


    "Eat up everyone, today we gotta continue after all!" Erika said.


    "A good day can only start with a full stomach," Elizabeth agreed.


    "Woah, thank you girls!" Alberta said, eating the cookies and then other things. "Everything''s tasty!"N?v(el)B\\jnn


    "Been a while since I ate scrambled eggs with bacon, good stuff," Erdrich said, happily devouring his te with some toasts covered on butter. "Aren''t you eating anything, buddy?"


    "I don''t¡­ particrly enjoy eating meat," Elfriedden sighed. "Neither eggs¡­"


    "Oh right, we got a lot of fruit here, and cakes, you can eat those right?" Erika wondered.


    "I suppose I''ll have to eat a few sugary meals this time around," Elfriedden said. "Let us hope I don''t gain any weight¡­"


    "Weight? I doubt so, you got the physique of a walking scarecrow dude, hahaha!"ughed Chris.


    "What?! How dare you! It has taken be a while to sculpt my physique in what it is now!" Elfrieddenined, feelingpletely attacked with those words.


    "Now, now, there''s no need to stay the day like this, guys¡­" Eric sighed. "Let''s enjoy our meals! We are not even halfway through our journey. So hurry and eat!"


    He was quite bossy today.


    As everyone enjoyed their meals, I looked at the Soul mes I had umted so far. We''ve been killing thousands after thousands of foes, so naturally the amount of Soul mes umted was huge.


    Although I let those that could absorb them also take their share, which were Erika, Chris, Alberta, and Erdrich as they had thepatibility with the Fire Holy Spirit Authority Blessing, I still had a huge amount of these mes.


    Soul mes were separate from the Soul itself, an extension of it formed through my authority, the leftover power, stats, or even skills from foes remain in these Soul mes. I harvest them before turning something into an Abyssal Vampiric Undead, maximum efficiency.


    Although so far I''ve only used it to permanently gain stats, recently the Authority Title reached a high enough level to unlock the ability of a random chance to obtain a skill that belonged to the wielder of the Soul me absorbed.


    [Avable Soul mes: 36.839]


    Chapter Stay:


    [Do you wish to absorb the Soul mes?]


    [Yes] [No]


    I pressed [Yes] without hesitating, I wanted to get stronger for the Trial after all, I knew there would be some devious things waiting for me. It can''t be too easy after all, right? Or it wouldn''t be called a "filter" if that wasn''t the case.


    FLUOSH!


    Thousands after thousands of Soul mes were absorbed all at once, originating mostly from either the lizardmen or the draconic beasts, some of them came from the draconic generals as well.


    My soul grew stronger, my magic circle spun rapidly, enhancing my magic power, and my physique was further reinforced, bing tougher.


    Ding!


    [You have absorbed 36.839 Soul mes!]


    [You gained +40.000 HP.]


    [You gained +50.000 MP.]


    [You gained +30.000 Strength, Agility, and Vitality.]


    [You gained +35.000 Intelligence and Dexterity.]


    [You gained +15.000 Spirit.]


    [You gained +10.000 Divinity.]


    [You have sessfully absorbed the Soul mes, absorbing some of the Skills that once belonged to the original owners of these Soul mes.]


    [You learned the Skills: [Draconic Lizardman Weapon Arts: Lv1] [Draconic General''s Commanding Roar: Lv1] [Lesser Dragon Tongue Magic: Lv1]


    Well, these are definitely just fodder to be fused into better Skills, without a doubt.


    Though¡­


    Ding!


    [A Skill has been detected to be very simr to another you already possess!]


    [Do you wish to fuse [Lesser Dragon Tongue Magic: Lv1] into your [Divine Dragon Tongue: Lv4] Skill?]


    [Yes] [No]


    "Huh¡­ Fine."


    FLASH!


    Both Skillsbined together within the very core of my existence, they were indeed very simr, and when theybined together¡­


    Ding!


    [Congrattions! You havebined the [Lesser Dragon Tongue Magic: Lv1] and [Divine Dragon Tongue: Lv4] Skills into the [Divine Dragon Tongue Magic Authority: Lv1]!]


    [You have manifested the [Developing Divinity: Dragon Tongue]!]


    [You gained +5.000 Divinity Stat.]


    My Dragon Tongue was already very powerful, but now it became Magic and Authority, and even a Divinity? Looks like whatever power Fafnir lend to these generals is now mine, and it further improved my already very strong Dragon Tongue, hrious.


    So it might work as both a stronger manifestation of Magic, and also an Authority by itself¡­ Perhaps with this I couldpare to Fafnir''s own Dragon Tongue, right?


    Because if his own is as strong as mine, with his tremendous power and mana, it won''t be an easy fight.


    -----


    [Divine Dragon Tongue Magic Authority: Lv1]


    Skill Proficiency: 0/100.000


    A Special and powerful Divine Skill that only the most Ancient of Dragons can learn and develop. Since Ancient Times that Dragons have not only held incredibly physical might, but an understanding and power over magic like no others within the Realm of Mortals.


    Merely by saying words, magic will simply materialize,pletely leaving obsolete the necessity of utilizing Magic Circles. Simply say a word and its meaning will materialize. The moreplicated the meanings, the more Mana will be required. The higher the skill level, the faster the conjuration time bes and the moreplicated the runes can be.


    Enhances Conjuration Speed by 1000% (+50% x Skill Level), Reduces Mana Cost by 50% (-3% x Skill Level), Enhances Spell Power by 600% (+30% x Skill Level). All Effects double when in Draconification Form and by Using Dragon Connection with your Divine Dragon Familiar.


    Additionally, grants the ability to conjure Fusion Magic with mere wordmands that could be much moreplicated otherwise, and facilitates the usage of Divinity Abilities inbination with Dragon Tongue''s instant conjuration by creating an {Dragon Tongue Authority Domain} which spreads a Domain where your Magic Power is absolute within 100 meters around you, enhancing the Power and Effects of all Magic by 1000%.


    you can conjure several spells at the same time by talking with many Voices, which increase based on Skill Level. Number of Voices: 2. Mana cost increases proportionally to the scale of the spells.


    -----


    A pretty good update, I would say. Now that I am done with this, I should use those other items I had obtained from Mammon''s Treasure Chest, yes, all those demonic items. They looked rather interesting.


    Yeah, there.


    [Cursed Archdemon of Greed Blood Elixir (Celestial Grade)] x10


    [Demonic Skill Evolution Scroll: Mammon''s Soul Fragment (Celestial Grade)] x1


    [Demonic Skill Fusion Ticket (Legendary Grade)] x2


    [Demonic Skill Evolution Ticket (Legendary Grade)] x2


    "Hmm¡­"


    I grabbed the Elixirs, looking at their contents.


    Was it truly Mammon''s Blood?


    Well, let''s drink it anyways.


    -----

 Chapter 1081: Archdemon Crown

    -----


    The impure blood of an Archdemon, a poison for most beings in the entire universe, even vampires themselves would never be able to drink such blood without melting and falling apart into pieces.


    However, it is extremely hard to get, in my previous life I did drink it from the original source, but right now, they are noting her personally, after all they''re all sealed inside of hell. Even if their avatars or vessels are very simr to them, they''re not really the archdemons themselves anyways.


    They only harbor their souls, and might mutate and be simr to them, but it''s not them, their true biological bodies are on another whole levelpletely¡­


    But this bottle of blood, it says it is actually just Mammon''s blood. How was the Grimoire even capable of creating this?


    Did it use Mammon''s soul to refine and synthetize it into his blood instead? Is that even possible to begin with?


    Well, if this is authentic or not, I can find out very easily, just by drinking it.


    After breakfast, I moved to my room for some privacy, and I drank all ten bottles one after another, Eleanora, who had apanied me, was looking at me while drooling.


    "T-That blood smells so good! C-Can I have some?"


    "Already done, sorry."


    Before she asked, I finished drinking thest bottle.


    "Don''t worry, my soul should be much tastier- Ugh?!"


    BA DUM!n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    BA DUM!


    BA DUM!


    The moment I consumed all the blood, and my body finally began to assimte itsponents, I felt like I was going to have a heart attack, my heart began beating incredibly fast, making my senses sharpen out of nowhere and making me feel slightly dizzier.


    I resisted the sensations as I felt powerful Archdemonic energies rush across my veins and entire body, my Aura surged endlessly as it grew like demonic mes.


    My Demon Core and my Demon Arm developed rapidly, but strangely enough, my Physique and my Magic Circle, not even my Soul, gained any power.


    It was as if everything was directed only to my demonic body parts.


    "Hah¡­ Not bad for my first taste in this life."


    Ding!


    [You have absorbed arge quantity of high quality Archdemon Blood!]


    [Your Demonic Body Parts have absorbed it all to grow stronger!]


    [Your Demonic Arm has absorbed all of the energies and the Demon Core inside of it as well!]


    [Your [Demon Core]: [Gluttonous King of Wrathful Greed Demon Core (Tier 5: Rank 9)] has Ranked Up and evolved into [Vampire Demon King of Wrathful and Greedy Gluttony Demon Core Tier 7: Rank 1!]


    [You gained +24.000 to All Stats except Mana, Divinity, and Spirit.]


    [Your Demon Core has evolved into a Developing Archdemon Core! You can now harness the Sin Fragments you''ve gathered andbine them to create an Archdemon Crown!]


    [You unlocked the [Demonic Arm Ability]: [Archdemon Crown]!]


    "An Archdemon Crown¡­?"


    I felt surprised, nothing like that had ever happened in my previous life despite having drank Demon Blood, and even Archdemon Blood before.


    What made it change now? Is it the Demon Core? Perhaps the Demonic Arm too, this thing has developed into its own Demon by itself, one attached and fused to my body.


    It has its own separate soul, a soul I constantly use to unleash devastating demonic power, which has been tamed by me and that is already fused into my own soul anyways.


    Any Will it could have developed was suppressed and destroyed, leaving it both "intelligent" and at the same time,cking an actual Ego.


    And it is for the best to keep it like that, I wouldn''t want my demonic arm to suddenly attempt to possess me.


    "You obtained an Archdemon Crown?" Eleanora wondered, looking above my head. "Well¡­ this is just¡­ shocking, to say the least."


    "Hm?" Confused of what she said, I looked up.


    And there it was, a crown made of red light, floating above my head.


    Right now it had no horns, it resembled a ring made of red and white colored light.


    However, it had small areas inside of it, where I could "attach" demonic sins inside, and their Sin Jewels, crystallization of Sin Power that the Archdemons use to gain powerful Abilities or Authorities.


    The Crown seems tied to my Demon Core growth, and right now it only has two areas where I can attach Sin Jewels¡­


    The stronger my sins be, the stronger the crown will grow, gaining more circles, even.


    "Hmm, this is unexpected," I said. "But a wee surprise anyways¡­ As for crystalizing a Sin Jewel, my Sins by themselves are only fragments I ate out of the Demons, the only genuine and semiplete one is Greed, from Mammon. The other Fragments of Gluttony, Lust, and Wrath are iplete¡­ Can I still use them to crystalize Sin Jewels?"


    "Wouldn''t it be worth a try?" Eleanora wondered. "Also, perhaps you could try breaking the mold somewhat! Perhaps using Divinities could also work? Why not try something outside the box?"


    "I always do that, particrly¡­ but you''re not wrong about that, Eleanora," I nodded. "I have an awful lot of Developing Divinities now. And I might get moreter.


    Sin Jewels are "Cores" to the Archdemonic Crown, once connected to it, they''ll develop a Demonic Authority or a Demonic Ability, or sometimes both¡­ They can''t be switched out once ced, so I''ll be locked to them forever but¡­ Let''s try."


    Chapter Find:


    I sat cross-legged, gathering the essence of the Sins inside of my Soul. The Partially Complete Greed was the strongest, overflowing with demonic energy and power. Then there were the other small guys, thergest was Gluttony, still fragmented and small and weak anyways. Then there was Wrath and Lust, both were too small too.


    Although one of them alone wouldn''t even let me make a single Sin Jewel without waiting for months of meditation, bybining their essence together, things be different.


    FLAAASH!


    By merely thinking about it and imagining it, the thing began to already happen, the essence of the sins started to materialize in my hands!


    SPARK! CRACKLE!


    However, it was unstable, not enough power¡­


    I guess this is where experimentations begin.


    "Hendrick, Eleanora, imbue the Divine Power of the Divinities you carry into the Sin Jewel, now!"


    Hendrick was summoned by my side, rapidly obeying me with Eleanora.


    "Yes sir!"


    "Very well!"


    FLUOSH!


    -----

 Chapter 1082: Creating Sin Jewels

    -----


    Eleanora''s idea sparked curiosity in me, and I decided to do the impossible¡­ or well, what I had once thought impossible.


    FLAAASH!


    By merely thinking about it and imagining it, the thing began to already happen, the essence of the sins started to materialize in my hands!


    A Sin Jewel was a precious item that only Archdemons used and controlled, that I was into the path of one already allowed me to make one myself, even if weakerpared to theirs.


    My Sins were smaller and weaker too, even if I had the whole Greed Sin, it was weakened because it was originally destroyed, and a part of its powers remain within Mammon''s corpse too, back in hell, where I cannot go right now.


    Meanwhile, although Gluttony''s fragment is big, it''s not enough to be a whole sin, even less Lust and Wrath¡­ I''ve battled and defeated four Archdemons so far in this world, Beelzebub, Satan, Lilith, and Mammon.


    With theirbined power, can I make apletely unique Sin Jewel?


    SPARK! CRACKLE!


    However, it was unstable, not enough power¡­ I guess this is where experimentations truly begin. I needed to imbue them with more power, something moreplete.


    Something that truly belonged to me, Divinities.


    "Hendrick, Eleanora, imbue the Divine Power of the Divinities you carry into the Sin Jewel, now!"n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    Hendrick was summoned by my side, rapidly obeying me with Eleanora.


    "Yes sir!"


    "Very well!"


    The two of them were assigned with the Divinity of Summoning and the Divinity of Destruction and Bloodshed, both were Developing Divinities too.


    FLUOSH!


    Their Divine Power pressed into the crystallization, making it even more unstable. But then I called a third helper, a copy of my previous life, someone resembling Asmodeus almostpletely, except they had rainbow, jewel-like eyes.


    "Rainbow Star, imbue it with your powers, keep the demonic energy and the divine energy stable!"


    "¡­!"


    Rainbow Star obeyed me, I could control it, but there was a developing will within it too, one that knew my resolve and recognized it.


    FLAAASH!


    With Rainbow Star''s help, the Sin Jewel crystallization stabilized, but even then, it needed ast touch. I had thought about adding spiritual energy too, but that would not create what I wanted.


    "Let''s add another Divinity then, the strongest I have, from Bestellen himself!"


    FLUOSH!


    Silver and white mes surged from my hands, the representation of the Divinity I stole from that old Divine Dragon, fusing them into the crystallization.


    Until finally¡­


    FLAAASH!


    A bright white light surged from within, as I heard the crystallizationing to an end.


    Once the light fully dissipated, what remained in my hands was apletely white-colored jewel.


    It seemed empty¡­


    "Did we fail?" I wondered.


    "It seems very transparent¡­" Hendrick analyzed.


    "Well, we can tryter anyways- Ahhh?!" Eleanora gasped.


    FLASH!


    The jewel gave a mighty white shine of light, a light that was corrupted, leaving behind dark shades of darkness that twisted around, and then suddenly went back to the jewel.


    "W-What was that?!" Hendrick said. "D-Did you see that, master? The jewel had a different form, like a secondary power of some sort?"


    "I did see it, yes," I nodded. "It seems we''re lucky, it was a sess, actually."


    Ding!


    [Congrattions! You have sessfully synthetized your first {Sin Jewel}: [Demonic Silver Serpent of Greedy Bloodshed (Tier 1)]!]


    [You can now equip the {Sin Jewel} inside of your Archdemon Crown to gain its benefits!]


    [By feeding off Sins, Negative Energy, Demonic Energy, Souls, Blood, Divine Power, and Dragons, this {Sin Jewel} can continue growing.]


    "So it ended being predominantly about Greed, I see¡­" I nodded.


    It''s not that there''s a monster inside or something, the jewel is merely called a Demonic Silver Serpent, interestingly enough. It seemed to havebined well the divinities with the sins, although it seems the Summoning aspect is not present, at least not name-wise.


    "Let''s equip it then," I said, cing the jewel near the crown. Chapter Enjoy:


    Ding!


    [Do you wish to equip the {Sin Jewel}: [Demonic Silver Serpent Greedy Bloodshed (Tier 1)] in your first Slot of the Archdemon Crown? Your Archdemon Crown will only develop up to 7 Slots, so be careful what Sin Jewels you choose! Sometimes being patient pays well.]


    [Yes] [No]


    [Current Number of Avable Archdemon Crown {Sin Jewel Slots}: [2]


    "Two slots left, alright¡­ Let''s equip my first magnus opus."


    The jewel emanated silver and white lightning as it rushed towards the crown, rapidly being attached to itpletely.


    FLASH!


    And then, a bright sh of white light surged, shaking my surroundings as the crown absorbed the white Sin Jewel''s powers.


    For a moment, I could swear I saw silver and white veins growing and spreading across the crown, making it stronger and imbuing it with the Sin Jewel''s abilities.


    Until it was finally done¡­


    Ding!


    [You have sessfully equipped the {Sin Jewel}: [Demonic Silver Serpent of Greedy Bloodshed (Tier 1)] into the first slot of your Archdemon Crown!]


    [The {Sin Jewel} cannot be taken away once imbued into the crown itself, but it can grow as the crown does to an extent, developing new powers and upgrading old ones.]


    "Looks like it''s done," I nodded. "Hmm, a silver jewel, now that''s quite rare to see, huh? A strange color of a jewel. It does carry a lot of power as well¡­ Thank you for helping me."


    "It''s fine, my lord, I live to serve you," Hendrick bowed.


    "It was a bit moreplicated than I thought¡­" Eleanora said. "I wonder though, what are the Sin Jewel abilities?"


    "Hmm! From all the intel I gathered from our visit to hell in our first lives, I do recall that Sin Jewels empowered Archdemons with Demonic Authorities and Demonic Abilities, right? They are like the Skills from this world, yet they were also much stronger," said Hendrick.


    "Indeed," I nodded. "Based in the type of Sin Jewel, each one would develop their own unique "Demonic Authority & Ability Tree" of sorts, by feeding them with energies and empowering the crown, they would further develop, obtaining new abilities and evolving the old ones. As of now, this jewel should at least have one Authority and one Ability¡­ Let''s see."


    -----

 Chapter 1083: New Demonic Skill

    -----


    The grimoire quickly showed me the Sin Jewel''s "Status" and its Information through its pages, including a description of what it was, the powers it had, and the Authority and Ability it possessed.


    -----


    [Slot 1]: [Sin Jewel: Demonic Silver Serpent of Greedy Bloodshed (Tier 1)]


    A powerful and rare Sin Jewel, crystalized from the power of the Fragments of the Sins of Gluttony, Wrath, Lust, and the Weakened Sin of Greed, further merged with the Developing Divinities of Summoning and Bloodshed & Destruction, and the Great Divinity Ruler of White & Silver.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Thebination of all these ingredients have created apletely different and peculiar Sin Jewel, now permanently attached to your Archdemonic Crown, his Sin Jewel will continue to grow and develop as your Demon Core cultivates.


    {Demonic Authorities}


    [Demonic Devourer of Divinity (Tier 1)]: When a Demonic Aura is activated, the Sin Jewel automatically activates this ability, summoning silver-colored serpents that can directly harm beings that possess or are developing Divinities and slowly chew at their Divinities, weakening them and taking pieces from it, which are then added to existing Divinities to develop them faster.


    Deals 400% Damage based on Strength and Magic Stats, and can ignore 30% of foe''s Defenses, with a 10% chance with each blow to target their Divinity instead of their bodies.


    [Locked]


    [¡­]


    {Demonic Abilities}


    [Silver Serpent''s Rampage (Tier 1)]: By directly channeling Demonic Energy into the Sin Jewel, it is possible to temporarily summon 3 {Demonic Silver Serpents of Greedy Bloodshed} to battle, whose power will be based on 50% of the Summoner''s Stats, and which will deal 600% damage to any foe based on Strength, Magic, and Spirit Stats, each bite against a foe will have a 5% chance to temporarily seal one of their abilities for 10 seconds, for a max of 2 abilities per foe.


    When they die, they will explode dealing 500% damage based on all their stats.


    [Locked]


    [¡­]


    -----


    "Oh, these aren''t bad at all, pretty interesting I would say," I looked at the description. "The Authority works automatically once a Demonic Aura is summoned, and also there''s this attack ability, it seems that''s where the Summoning Divinity went to, pretty interesting."


    "Will you make the second one right now, master?" wondered Hendrick.


    "I don''t have the time for that, and it was pretty exhausting, so I''ll do itter," I said. "For now, let''s use this one ticket¡­"


    -----


    [Demonic Skill Evolution Scroll: Mammon''s Soul Fragment (Celestial Grade)]


    Use this Demonic Skill Scroll to forcefully evolve a Skill.


    The Evolved Skill will be fused with a small fragment of Mamon''s Soul within the scroll.


    The Soul fragment does not have Mammon''s memories or will, but it carries part of his powers.


    Whatever the evolved Skill bes, it will be imbued with Mammon''s demonic powers, especially with the theme of the "Demonic Sin of Greed".


    Once the scroll is used to evolve a Skill, this action cannot be undone, please choose a Skill carefully, sometimes the resulting Skill won''t be the same as the base Skill.


    -----


    "Huh, so that''s what it does¡­" I nodded. "It works simr to that other item that allowed me to evolve my Alchemy Skill. However, this scroll doesn''t require a Level 10 Skill, so its more versatile."


    "Interesting, I suppose you wouldn''t want it to ruin a useful Skill, right? So might as well choose something you don''t use too much?" asked Eleanora.


    "That''s a good idea, yes," I nodded. "However¡­ I think I''ll be using it on a Level 10 Skill I already had anyways. Although the others could offer interesting ideas, I want to get some offensive options when I fight."


    So at the end, I choose this Skill.


    Ding!


    [You have selected the Skill: [Abyssal Blood-sucking Vines: Lv10] to evolve using the [Demonic Skill Evolution Scroll: Mammon''s Soul Fragment (Celestial Grade)]!]


    [Initializing Skill Evolution¡­]


    [Imbuing the Soul of Mamon into the Skill!]


    [Demonic Skill Evolution in progress¡­]


    FLAAASH!


    The scroll opened, fusing into my body, and influencing the existing Skill within me, making it evolve, berger and stronger, imbued with vicious demonic powers.


    I saw my hands trembling as ck and red colored vines grew out of them, as if my flesh and bones became the vines themselves.


    These vines were nothing like nts though, made more of red flesh and bones rather than nt matter, yet moving like nts, and being thousands of times more durable as well!


    "This is¡­ very, very interesting!"


    I saw my hand dissolve into countless of these vines, then fuse back to normal¡­ It was something I had never expected a Skill that simply summoned evil dark nts had now be part of my body.


    Ding!


    [The Skill: [Abyssal Blood-sucking Vines: Lv10] has sessfully evolved into the Demonic Skill: [Demonic Abyssal Energy-sucking Greed Vines: Lv1]!]


    [The Demonic Skill has been sessfully equipped in the Status Screen.]


    "It''s done¡­ Hah, this is interesting!"


    -----


    [Demonic Abyssal Energy-sucking Greed Vines: Lv1]


    Skill Proficiency: 0/50.000


    Channel Mana and Demonic Energy to transform parts of your body into Abyssal Energy-sucking Demonic Vines of Greed, capable of absorbing any energy, blood, flesh, soul, of any living or undead being they touch that is your foe, these vines can be part of your body or be summoned outside of it, and based in the amount of Mana and Demonic Energy used they can be longer, tougher, and also drain these energies much faster and more viciously.


    You can easily and freely control these vines, as they will continue to grow across your body to protect you and even wherever you touch as long as there''s Blood and Corpses to feast on. These Vines can even fuse together when enough of them are divided from your body to create {Vicious Abyssal Vine Demonic Monstrosities} to devour foes and drain them out of all their energies, blood, and life.


    These Vines Power is based on 500% (+30% x Skill Level) of your Strength and Vitality Stats, and their Durability is based on 300% (+20% x Skill Level) of your Spirit Stat. Whenever they drain energies or blood, half of it is redirected to you and the other half serves for their growth.


    More abilities can be unlocked as the Skill Level increases.


    -----


    "Not bad¡­"


    In fact, it''s actually really good.


    -----

 Chapter 1084: Ridiculous

    -----


    The new Skill offered pretty good effects, in fact, and might give me an even more versatile way of fighting evading attacks, and also surrounding and cornering foes with my own body.


    And it''s especially good because of this effect.


    -----


    Channel Mana and Demonic Energy to transform parts of your body into Abyssal Energy-sucking Demonic Vines of Greed, capable of absorbing any energy, blood, flesh, soul, of any living or undead being they touch that is your foe, these vines can be part of your body or be summoned outside of it, and based in the amount of Mana and Demonic Energy used they can be longer, tougher, and also drain these energies much faster and more viciously.


    -----


    This means that anything it touches that''s alive, it''ll not only try to drain blood this time, but flesh, their very soul, and other energies they can, even just pure life essence, so it can even target things without flesh or blood but that are considered alive, such as spirits!


    Also¡­


    -----


    You can easily and freely control these vines, as they will continue to grow across your body to protect you and even wherever you touch as long as there''s Blood and Corpses to feast on. These Vines can even fuse together when enough of them are divided from your body to create {Vicious Abyssal Vine Demonic Monstrosities} to devour foes and drain them out of all their energies, blood, and life.


    These Vines Power is based on 500% (+30% x Skill Level) of your Strength and Vitality Stats, and their Durability is based on 300% (+20% x Skill Level) of your Spirit Stat. Whenever they drain energies or blood, half of it is redirected to you and the other half serves for their growth.


    -----


    By letting them "grow" over certain areas such asrge pools of blood or corpses, they''ll quickly turn into monsters of their own, eating and devouring anything they find in their path and could potentially be a new deadly member of my army.


    The {Vicious Abyssal Vine Demonic Monstrosities} sound pretty strong, and if their Power and other Stats are based on my own stats, then they''re bound to be very powerful!


    Even more when half of what they drain goes to me, making my ability to sustain myself in the middle of a battlefield even better and easier.


    I''ll definitely use this in the uing battle to free the next city.


    But I''m not done yet, there''s four other items I actually want to use right away, honestly:


    [Demonic Skill Fusion Ticket (Legendary Grade)] x2


    [Demonic Skill Evolution Ticket (Legendary Grade)] x2


    Unlike the other tickets that are just called "Divine Skill Evolution Ticket/Divine Skill Fusion Ticket", these are "Demonic" for some reason, well, maybe because they came from a treasure chest created out of Mammon''s own energies and soul, materialized by the Grimoire''s Extraction Powers.


    "Hmm¡­"


    -----


    [Demonic Skill Fusion Ticket (Legendary Grade)] x2


    Use this Ticket to forcefullybine up to 4 Skills together.


    The fused Skills will be imbued withrge quantities of Demonic Energy, making the resulting Skill a Demonic-type Skill with demonic abilities included into their options.


    It is also possible to use two Tickets at the same time and fuse eight Skills together at the same time, but the resulting Demonic Skill might be unstable for usage, so it is notpletely rmended.


    Once the Ticket is used, the action cannot be undone, and the four Skills used for fusion will be permanently lost and reced by the new resulting Skill.


    -----


    [Demonic Skill Evolution Ticket (Legendary Grade)] x2


    Use this Ticket to forcefully evolve a Skill into a powerful Demonic Skill.


    The evolved Skill will be imbued withrge quantities of Demonic Energy, making the resulting Skill a Demonic-type Skill with demonic abilities included into their options.


    Once the Ticket is used, the action cannot be undone, and the older Skill will be permanently reced by the new Demonic Skill that was created from the evolution.


    -----


    Okay that''s makes it clearer and more interesting¡­


    Fine. Let''s try the fusion tickets then. I''ll throw in the useless Skills I got, or that I don''t use that much and see what ends up popping out.


    Ding!


    [You have selected the chosen the following Skills to fuse using the [Demonic Skill Fusion Ticket (Legendary Grade)] Item: [Armor Breaker: Lv3] [Draconic Lizardman Weapon Arts: Lv1] [Draconic General''s Commanding Roar: Lv1] [Throwing Technique: Lv10]!]


    [Initializing Skill Fusion!]


    FLUOSH!


    All four Skillsbined together as the ticket exploded into crimson particles of light, fusing into my very soul, and mixing all four skills into a single power, which continued growing, and growing.


    And growing.


    BA DUM!


    I immediately felt my veins boiling and my heart beating faster, that''s definitely going to be a powerful Skill!


    BA DUM!


    Almost there¡­


    BA DUM!


    There!


    Ding!


    [Congrattions! You have sessfully fused the Skills: [Armor Breaker: Lv3] [Draconic Lizardman Weapon Arts: Lv1] [Draconic General''s Commanding Roar: Lv1] [Throwing Technique: Lv10] into the Demonic Fusion Skill: [Weapon & Soul-Breaking Demon King Roar: Lv1]!]


    "Hoh?"


    From what I can discern in the name alone, it sounds good.


    However, I''ll continue and fuse the next four Skills I have in mind.


    This time, I''ll be fusing these four¡­


    Ding!


    [You have selected the chosen the following Skills to fuse using the [Demonic Skill Fusion Ticket (Legendary Grade)] Item: [Magic Fusion: Lv7] [Magic Handgun Techniques: Lv5] [Blood King''s Throne: Lv5] [Call of the Night: Lv4]!]


    [Initializing Skill Fusion!]


    Yeah, this is the type of fusions I like to see.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    FLUOSH!


    The same process was before, the ticket turned into crimson particles, merging into my soul.


    Then, it sought after the four selected skills, and forcefully dragged them together.


    The result was instantaneous, and although it didn''t feel like it made my body react like before, I could sense something powerful being born.


    A tremendous new and powerful Skill!


    "Hah, would you look at this¡­"


    FLASH!


    In my hands, a huge crimson rifle finely decorated with magical jewels and overflowing with crimson and dark elemental auras materialized.


    And then another in my other hand.


    And then two more on my shoulders, floating, connected to my Umbral Crimson Aura.


    And if I wanted, even more above my head, a giant cannon this time.


    This is ridiculous¡­


    -----

 Chapter 1085: More Skill Fusions

    -----


    Ding!


    [You have selected the chosen the following Skills to fuse using the [Demonic Skill Fusion Ticket (Legendary Grade)] Item: [Magic Fusion: Lv7] [Magic Handgun Techniques: Lv5] [Blood King''s Throne: Lv5] [Call of the Night: Lv4]!]


    [Initializing Skill Fusion!]


    While the first Skill I created was much stronger than I anticipated, so strong it made my entire body boil with new demonic power, the new Skill, although it created no different in my body, might be even stronger, or perhaps on par with the previous one.


    Nah, it''s definitely stronger!


    Ding!


    [Congrattions! You have sessfully fused the Skills: [Magic Fusion: Lv7] [Magic Handgun Techniques: Lv5] [Blood King''s Throne: Lv5] [Call of the Night: Lv4]!] into the Demonic Fusion Skill: [Demonic Umbral Blood King''s Crimson Artillery Armament Summon: Lv1]!]


    [The new Skill has been equipped in the [Magic Skills] section.]


    "Hah, would you look at this¡­"


    FLASH!


    In my hands, a huge crimson rifle finely decorated with magical jewels and overflowing with crimson and dark elemental auras materialized.


    And then another in my other hand.


    And then two more on my shoulders, floating, connected to my Umbral Crimson Aura.


    And if I wanted, even more above my head, a giant cannon this time.


    This is ridiculous¡­


    Yeah, this is a pretty broken Skill, it allows for the instant creation of incredibly powerful Magic Artillery which I can freely manipte, create, and make float as I please.


    "This new Skill is pretty damn good¡­ Worth the sacrifices of Call of the Night and Blood King''s Throne," I smiled. "I can conjure most of their powers with my Umbral Crimson Skill anyways, and with my Domain I can do the rest much better more or less."


    "T-This is¡­?!"


    Hendrick nced at me as I was constantly making new guns of all shapes, some were rifles, other smaller guns, even machine guns could be made. However, no "modern guns" could be created, those that the people of the outer universe could wield which wereser guns and so on, were impossible to make. The skill was limited to ssic gun designs.


    However, their power alone was certainly higher than these modern space era guns anyways!


    "It seems I can create as many of these as I want," I said. "Each one has a specific mana cost, and to fire them there''s more mana required but¡­ That doesn''t bother me much when I have so much Mana anyways," I shrugged.


    "And can you lend them to others?" wondered Eleanora.


    "Let''s try doing that," I said, giving her a rifle. "Can you use it?"


    Eleanora held the gun with her hands and then pulled the trigger after aiming at the window into the skies.


    A giant ray of blood and darkness elemental demonic energies was fired, reaching the skies and exploding so strongly it painted the whole skies red.


    BOOOM!


    "Roughly, that cost me like 5000 Mana, I believe," I nodded. "This is not bad at all, if anything, it''s aplete jackpot. If I could use this Skill to give my soldiers even stronger weapons, or even the soldiers of other nations, even living elven soldiers¡­ We couldpletely change the tides of battle even more!"


    "Yes, I quite agree!" Hendrick was fascinated. "But wouldn''t the Mana cost be quite annoying to sustain, master?"


    "I''ll figure out a way for thatter," I said. "For now¡­"


    I decided to check both new Fusion Skills and then move on to evolve two more using the other tickets and be done with this.


    -----


    [Weapon & Soul-Breaking Demon King Roar: Lv1]


    A Demonic Fusion Skill created from thebination of the Skills: [Armor Breaker], [Draconic Lizardman Weapon Arts], [Draconic General''s Commanding Roar], and [Throwing Technique].


    Unleash the mighty fury of a Demon King and gather Demonic Energy and Mana into your entire body, unleashing a mighty {Demon King Aura} that intimidates foes that get closer, lowering their Stats by 30% (-5% x Skill Level) and increases your Physical Power based on how many [Intimidated] foes around you are for a maximum amount of 500%.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Once you unleash your {Demon King Aura}, gather your harnessed energies, and unleash a mighty, maddening roar against all your foes at once, releasing tremendously strong shockwaves of pure demonic and magical energies that impact foes with the might of a mountain.


    The pressure alone disables all their active Skills, Techniques, Spells, or Abilities and deals 500% (+50% x Skill Level) Damage based on Demonic Energy, Demon Core Rank, Archdemonic Crown Power, and Mana Stats and has a 50% chance to break their Weapons, Armor, or directly damage their Souls instead.


    Additionally, there''s another 20% chance for all affected foes to be inflicted with the Effects of [Paralysis], [Stun], [Shock], [Fear], or [Despair] for up to 10 Seconds. With each foe inflicted by a Status Effect within 100 meters of you, your Stats and Physical Damage will further increase by 10% for the duration of their debuff.


    -----


    "Interesting."


    I don''t know where the Throwing Technique Skill effects even went to in this, but it was a fine sacrifice, as I wasn''t even using that Skill anymore, other than for throwing bombs, and I can do it just fine without it anyways.


    -----


    [Demonic Umbral Blood King''s Crimson Artillery Armament Summon: Lv1]


    A Demonic Fusion Skill created from thebination of the Skills: [Magic Fusion], [Magic Handgun Techniques], [Blood King''s Throne], and [Call of the Night].


    Channel Demonic Energy, Mana, and Spirit Energy to Summon the pieces of the Demonic Umbral Blood King''s Crimson Artillery Armament at will. Each piece of artillery will cost a certain amount of energies and will also cost once used to attack a foe with each shot but can be created without limits and also granted to allies.


    The Damage, Range, Explosive Effects, Defense Piercing, Elemental Power, and Soul Breaking Damage of these guns is based on 500% (+50% x Skill Level) of the summoner''s Strength, Intelligence, and Demonic Energy. These guns can be created and controlled without issues by the maker and can be fired all at once as much as they desire.


    The range of gun telekinesis is of 100 meters around the summoner, past that, the guns cannot be controlled by the summoner anymore, and must be manually triggered by someone else. However even if triggered by someone else, every shot of the gun will reduce Mana from the summoner instead.


    Each shot of these guns and their damage will vary depending in their type, however, the overall damage will remain as stated before, but can increase with each consecutive shot of each gun against one foe or multiple foes at the same time without missing, increasing by 1% and with the capability of increasing up to 700% (+50% x Skill Level) extra damage, which will onlyst until a shot is missed or until 20 seconds passes, but this timer can be reset by shooting more foes.


    Devastating {Demonic Umbral Blood King''s Crimson Artillery Arts} can be conjured by wielding these guns, both in conjunction or on their own, unlocked with each Skill Level, their power increases by 500% (+50% x Skill Level) and they''re capable of ignoring 50% of the foe''s Defenses when hitting.


    Avable {Demonic Umbral Blood King''s Crimson Artillery Arts}:


    Level 1: [Single Shot: Umbral Blood Nova Cannon] [Demonic Quickdraw: Infernal Barrage]


    Level 2: ???


    -----


    "Pretty good¡­"


    -----

 Chapter 1086: Evolving Skills!

    -----


    With the Roar Skill I had the new power to easily disablerge groups of foes and even have a chance to break their weapons or even damage their souls with just a shout. It had no cooldown either, so I could constantly use it, as long as my throat remains healthy, but it''s not as if damage caused to it can''t be regenerated instantly with my Vampiric Physique anyways.


    And with the Artillery Armament Summon Skill, I have both new attacking methods, "magic spells", and even more, the potential to be able to arm entire armies with powerful weapons to easily wipe out demons, even from afar.


    As long as I can sustain all the Mana Cost¡­ or find a way to make the weapons self-sustainable, but that''ll be forter.


    Now, the only thing left is to use these:


    -----


    [Demonic Skill Evolution Ticket (Legendary Grade)] x2


    Use this Ticket to forcefully evolve a Skill into a powerful Demonic Skill.


    The evolved Skill will be imbued withrge quantities of Demonic Energy, making the resulting Skill a Demonic-type Skill with demonic abilities included into their options.


    Once the Ticket is used, the action cannot be undone, and the older Skill will be permanently reced by the new Demonic Skill that was created from the evolution.


    -----


    I just have to be careful and not use them on very special skills that I can''t afford to change drastically, so basically, any throwaway Skill is free to transform into any abomination these tickets could turn them into.


    And I had already figured out which Skills were going to be used, two Skills which, although are useful, aren''t necessary to be honest, and that would be rather interesting if imbued with demonic powers.


    Why? Because I simply can''t guess what they would even be¡­


    So it bes rather exciting and interesting to see what I get.


    "Let''s begin and get over with this¡­ Let''s evolve both at the same time."


    Ding!


    [You have activated the [Demonic Skill Evolution Ticket (Legendary Grade)], please choose a Skill to Evolve.]


    [You have selected the [Bone Absorption: Lv4] Skill for Evolution!]


    [You have activated the [Demonic Skill Evolution Ticket (Legendary Grade)], please choose a Skill to Evolve.]


    [You have selected the [Mechanical Creation: Lv5] Skill for Evolution!]


    FLUOSH!


    Both tickets disappeared, their hundreds of crimson particles mixing with my soul and targeting the two Skills, fusing with them, and transforming them.


    I felt my Demonic Energy rise as my Aura surged powerfully, the energies generated as two new Demonic Skills were made and imprinted into my soul were more than I imagined.


    And yes, I chose these two Skills because I found they were the most "suitable", useful but not necessary, if anything, I wanted to see what thing they could be.


    Perhaps something more powerful and also, useful, and even¡­ necessary.


    "It''s done¡­"


    FLASH!


    I felt my demonic energy tremble as the two powerful new demonic skills stopped evolving, setting down within my soul and origin core and finally allowing me some respite.


    "Let''s see, what is it this time?"


    Ding!


    [The [Bone Absorption: Lv4] Skill has evolved into the Demonic Skill: [Demonic Bone Beast King Transformation: Lv1]!]


    [The new Skill has been equipped in the Active Skills section.]


    [The [Mechanical Creation: Lv5] Skill has evolved into the Demonic Skill: [Abyssal Demonic Machine Sentinel Summon: Lv1]!]


    [The new Skill has been equipped in the Magic Skills section.]


    "Hoh¡­ Now they''re finally looking pretty interesting!"


    -----


    [Demonic Bone Beast King Transformation: Lv1]


    The Demonic Skill Evolution form of the [Bone Absorption] Skill.


    Devour the bones of any beast, living being, and demons to strengthen your Skeleton and Bones, slowly cultivating within you a Demonic Bone Beast King that grows stronger the more bones you consume and the more Demonic Energy you cultivate into your very skeleton.


    The processing of devouring bones is simple, simply open your hands and activate the skill for the {Demonic Bone Beast King''s Jaws} to consume any bones that can be devoured immediately. The tougher your skeleton and the more demonic power it harbors, the higher the level of this skill will be.


    Increases Bone Toughness, Bone Weight, Bone Resistance, Bone Regeneration Speed, Bone Maniption Ability, Bone Strength, and Mana, Spirit Energy, and Demonic Energy umtion Capacity inside the Bones by 500% (+50% x Skill Level).


    Once enough Demonic Energy and Mana have been umted or saved inside of your skeleton, you can unleash the {Demonic Bone Beast King''s Transformation}, unleashing the hidden talent of your very skeleton, transforming it into that of a monstrous demonic bone beast, greatly changing your appearance and covering your body with a mighty bone armor and demonic energy.


    In this form, All Bone Stats increase by an additional 500% (+25% x Skill Level) and all other Stats by 300% (+30% x Skill Level) and you can unleash special {Demonic Bone Beast King Arts} by wielding your powerful bones as incredible weapons of destruction, as long as you unleash a Demonic Aura beforehand, these Arts will receive a boost to their Attack Power of 500% (+50% x Skill Level) and will be able to ignore 50% of a foe''s Defenses.N?v(el)B\\jnn


    This transformation can onlyst until your demonic energy inside your bones is emptied.


    Each attack using your bones will have a 20% chance to leave behind Bone Fragments which will grow into {Demonic Bone Parasites} on the bodies and wounds of your victims, parasitizing their very bones and transforming them into {Demonic Bone Beasts} upon their deaths, or after a certain amount of time passes.


    -----


    This is excessive for something that was just [Bone Absorption]. My bones do feel much stronger than before with the basic effects of Bone Absorption already, and the rest of the effects and their powers seem rather¡­ ridiculous, for ack of a better word.


    My very bones could be strengthened through my physique, yeah, and can heal rtively fast, most of the time, but this brings the power of Bone Reinforcing Techniques to apletely different level altogether.


    And the fact that my own Bone Fragments can spread like a parasite to turn victims into more demonic bone monsters is both incredible and also¡­ perhaps quite disturbing for some.


    Nheless, I was definitely using this Skill now.


    And there''s another one I had yet to check too, perhaps the one that interests me the most.


    -----

 Chapter 1087: Moving Forward

    -----


    After reading the insanity that the new Bone Skill had be, I quickly took a look at thest Skill of today, I had gotten quite a deadly arsenal in my hands already, more and I would feel even more overwhelmed, I would have to admit.


    -----


    [Abyssal Demonic Machine Sentinel Summon: Lv1]


    The Demonic Skill Evolution form of the [Mechanical Creation] Skill.


    Combine your mechanical engineering skills and techniques with demonic conjuration and summoning magic to bring forth mechanical abominations hyper charged with demonic energy batteries that overflow with abyssal auras.


    By using avable materials such as metal and other simr items, you can summon mighty Abyssal Demonic Machine Sentinels, whose shapes and forms varies based in the type of Sentinels they are, their sses, Abilities, and Powers.


    These summoned Abyssal Demonic Machines Physical and Magical Power, Durability, and Movement Speed will be based both on the Materials used for their creation and also on 300% (+30% x Skill Level) of the Spirit, Intelligence, and Dexterity Stats of the Summoner, plus the Demonic Energy stored within their Demonic Energy Batteries, created alongside them.


    The Created Machines will be assigned with sses based on the Summoner''s input, if no input is given their sses will be chosen randomly based on the avable pool of shapes and forms, which increases with the Skill Level.


    Each Machine will be able to move on their own, analyze the terrain, detect foes, fight, work together, and more with extreme intelligence, always following the orders of the summoner.


    They can fuse together tobine their stats and power, alongside unleashing all matter of powerful attacks, from physical Demonic Skills to Demonic Magic and Abyssal Darkness Magic, they can also feed on the blood and souls of defeated foes, strengthening themselves and being able to self-repair based on that.


    Each ss Special Skills, Abilities, and Magic Spells is further boosted by the Summoner as long as they''re within a 300-meter vicinity of the machines and while they have activated a {Demon Aura}, further increasing their Power and Effects by 400% (+40% x Skill Level) and granting any of the machine''s attacks a 20% chance to cast [Paralysis] or [Terrible Bleeding] on foes per physical attack.


    Avable Machine sses:


    Level 1: [Machine Sentinel: Heavy Tank ss] [Machine Sentinel: Long Distance ss]


    Level 2: ???


    -----


    "Amazing!"


    I felt rather shocked with this one, it pretty much allowed me to summon even stronger, already made mechanical golems, fusing my vampiric and demonic powers into their abilities to a level I wouldn''t have been able to do before too, which is honestly one of the most impressive things as well.


    The special effects they carry, their tremendous power, and even their own personal sses made of these beings a rather impressive group of machine entities, although they also require specific metallic materials to function, feeding them that shouldn''t even be a problem.


    After all, we''re in the middle of a war-thorn area of the continent, we''re killing armed foes by the thousands, and their armor and weapons are an immense amount of materials I could use to create my machines!


    However, their toughness or power is debatable¡­ But at the very least there''s materials to begin with. Anyways, now that I''m done with all the things I wanted to use, I finally felt free.


    "Alright, we''re finally done, let''s go."n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    I quickly walked downstairs, meeting all my friends, Erika and Elizabeth were there, running to greet me and hug me for some reason.


    "You''re back!" Erika said. "Ready to go? Huggies!"


    "Yeah, yeah, I''m ready now," I smiled with a nod. "I got everything ready. Elizabeth, what about you?"


    "I''m ready as well, mooch," she kissed my lips. "But I needed my good luck kiss¡­"


    "Heh, well, if that''s what you wanted, I''m d I could be of help," I caressed her cute face. "Now, let''s go, I assume the rest are outside?"


    "Yeah, they already started fighting with the monsters that gathered outside to warm up," said Elizabeth. "Erika''s spirits were sent as surveince and only one came back."


    "Is that so?" I wondered, as we walked outside the fortress. "What did you find?"


    "They were very strong, so my little stealth dolls were defeated, only one made it back¡­" Erika sighed. "There''s roughly¡­ Hmm, I dunno, maybe thirty¡­ thousand? Monsters, and also lizardmen."


    "I see¡­ but your dolls aren''t really weak anymore," I said. "Who killed them?"


    "It was a group of Draconic Generals!" she said. "There were three of them- no, four, threeckeys and a really big, strong one leading them."


    "Huh, so there are ranks even between the draconic generals," I nodded. "Just how many of these lizards are there? Fafnir must have at least made over fifty if there are so many everywhere."


    "Yes, definitely," nodded Elizabeth. "Butpared to the perhaps millions of foes everywhere else, it is certainly not as much. A hundred elite among a million pawns, its certainly quite a few."


    "Well, they''re dying all the same," I sighed, shrugging. "Unless someone as strong as Fafnir himself shows up, I don''t think we''ll have difficulties. Let''s move on."


    "H-Hey, don''t jynx it now!" said Erika as I walked towards the outskirts of the fortress area.


    "Hahah, I think he did it intentionally, he''s eager to fight something as strong as Fafnir right now¡­" Elizabeth giggled. "But I believe Fafnir is sure biding his time doing something else¡­ At this point I am sure he has sensed us."


    "I''ve been provoking him toe attack me all this time," I said. "Yet nothing, he''s either afraid of me or has other ns, and he sees our entire struggle as insignificant to him."


    "Is he that strong to look down on us¡­ on you this much?" Erika muttered, feeling slightly nervous.


    "Yes, maybe," I nodded. "Bestellen was the hardest foe we''ve ever fought, someone that, if we didn''t have prepared tens of trump cards, we would have all died¡­ Imagine that without any of his weaknesses, such as old age, all his wounds, and weakened divinity¡­ That''s Fafnir, perhaps twice as strong too."


    "H-Howe¡­ such a monster was even allowed to be born here?" muttered Elizabeth. "Had he been hiding here this entire time?"


    "That is one mystery we''ll have to solve¡­" I said, summoning dozens of giant guns out of my Umbral Crimson Aura and facing thousands of foes. "Let''s go."


    -----

 Chapter 1088: Blasting My Way Through

    -----


    The distance between the fortress of Evergreen and the city of Evergrace were merely a few kilometers, we advanced relentlessly and without stopping as I ordered my army of thousands of Familiars and Abyssal Vampiric Undead to charge.


    The monsters that came to stop us were amounted in the tens of thousands, they came from the west and east, attempting to do a pincer attack and surround us, trying to corner our army in between their spears.


    However, it wasn''t going to work as they wanted. As I constantly created more Abyssal Vampiric Undead out of the corpses in front of me, I quickly saw the armies arriving.


    "Erika, Elizabeth, lead the rest of our friends to take on the left side," I said.


    "What about you?" Erika asked.


    "I''ll take the right side on my own," I said. "Vampires, to the front and behind, watch the skies as well."


    "Very well!" Eleanora said,manding the rest of the vampire spirits.


    I quickly jumped across the wilderness, surrounded by many Familiars that ran at my side, my Umbral Crimson Aura rapidly growingrger andrger, as I saw them.


    There were roughly ten thousand units strong of foesing straight towards me, a tremendouslyrge and sizable amount of foes, so many their numbers easily covered half andscape.


    For hundreds of meters I could only see the big bodies of the Draconic Beasts and the Lizardmen, they were being led by a group of roughly a hundred Chimeric Dragons, a new type of foe that appeared this time.


    These creatures wereparable to S- Rank monsters and were made out of stitched parts of Draconic Beasts and other monsters, clearly looking Undead to me.


    However, despite looking rather patchy in appearance, their stats were high and so was their magical powers, capable of unleashing several spells at once, they were a devastating bunch.


    But nothing really hard, truth be told.


    With me, there were around five hundred Familiars, maybe when I was a kid this would have been a gigantic sized army, but right now, based on the scale of how things have be, it seems very small, isn''t it?


    These were all Dragon-type Familiars, led by Ruby and some of the other Familiar Generals, and empowered with mighty Elemental Transformation of Frost, Fire, and now Light, capable of dealing extra damage to dragon-type, reptile-type, and also undead-type foes.


    "There it is!"


    "It''s only an army of a few hundred?!"


    "Hahaha! Fools! Crush them!"


    The lizardmen of high ranks that were sitting over the giant thirty-meter-big Chimera Dragonsughed, rushing towards me, in mere seconds, there were over a thousand foes wielding magical imbued weapons and armor using Fafnir''s divine dragon scales, ws, fangs, and horns.


    "Come! I''ll have you all on my own! I want to test my new Skills after all."


    Myment somehow made the lizardmen even more enraged than before, hundreds of them jumped towards me from every angle, most of them apanied by beasts too.


    "Die you arrogant piece of shit!"


    "Overwhelm himpletely! Don''t let him breathe!"


    "Kill him even if you have to die in the process!"


    Seconds before they touched my, my Umbral Crimson Aura trembled, revealing dozens of huge, crimson, and ck colored magic guns, rifles, machine guns, missileunchers, and cannons.


    "{Demonic Quickdraw: Infernal Barrage}!"


    And then an explosion of bullets was fired at point-nk, an explosive, infernal barrage of attacks that set everything on mes erupted, as the lizardmen in front of me, and their beasts, exploded into countless pieces.


    BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!


    BANG!


    "Hmm, not bad."


    In fact, it was really good, that single barrage took down roughly fifty foes in mere seconds. The rest of them didn''t hesitate to charge against me anyways, trying to find a blind spot to pierce through.


    "DIE, BASTARD!"


    One of the lizardmen rushed towards me, pointing their spear against my back and trying to pierce it with tremendous force, imbuing all their mana and activating the spear''s draconic powers.


    CRASH!


    "I did it! I got him- Eh?!"


    However, instead of having pierced me, they pierced a fellow ally, sttering their head into pieces. Their face full of disbelief was worth using my Umbral Crimson shadows to move away.


    "It''s not going to work."


    I patted the lizardman''s back, as his face, filled with horror, slowly moved towards me to face me. However, the only thing they saw as nothing but a huge mass of ck and red vines, wrapping around their body and then, tearing it to shreds.


    "Gryyaaagggh!"


    CRAAASH!


    The vines then continued feeding on the corpse, absorbing everything and propagating, quickly forming one of the many {Vicious Abyssal Vine Demonic Monstrosities} I had in store.


    "SHIT! GET HIM!"


    The rest of the lizardmen charged against me, attacking me with their dozens of spears, swords, axes, and hammers, yet my body continued blurring, leaving behind shadows or red smoke as I moved at a speed they couldn''tprehend.


    "How is he so damn fast?!"


    "Come here you coward!"


    "Are you afraid of confronting us?!"


    "Afraid?" I smiled. "Of course not! Come at me."


    And other times, I let them attack me.


    "He fell for it! DIE!"


    Dozens of deadly weapons hit my body at the same time, generating explosions of ck, cursed draconic mes that did not a single point of damage to me, not even to my clothes.


    CRASH! CRASH! CRASH! CRASH!


    "E-Eh?!"


    "I-Impossible¡­"


    "He''s¡­ unscathed?!"


    "What a disappointment," I sighed, waving my hands as two giant whips made of Abyssal Vines passed through their bodies.


    CLAAASH!


    And they were all sliced apart into dozens of pieces, exploding, and falling apart, their pieces quickly harboring even more of my vines, growing into giant masses of crimson and ck colored vines with eyes, monsters I could control.


    However, they kepting, this time over five hundred of them at once, all firing arrows, javelins, and spears against me, while the other half attempted to destroy me with countless blows.


    I suppose this is the perfect spot for that.


    I inhaled air and then, let out a mighty roar.


    "RAAAAAHHHH!!!"


    TRUUUMMM!!!


    A gigantic crimson shockwave was released, shaking my surroundings andpletely tearing to shreds half of the lizardmen and monsters, while the other half hit the floor and broke their necks, or exploded their skulls.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    RUMBLE!


    The few that survived suddenly noticed their souls were in tremendous pain, and their weapons and armor hadpletely shattered.


    The [Weapon & Soul-Breaking Demon King Roar] Skill has proved to be quite good.


    -----

 Chapter 1089: Almighty Power

    -----


    With a single roar, all five hundred foes were reduced to either dead corpses or crippled, dying foes. My body overflowed with a crimson, fiery and demonic aura, the power of the {Demon King Aura} had to be activated before using the roar, and it worked wonders in enhancing the power of the attack and my own stats too.


    That wasn''t all, the range of the roar''s shockwave was so big that several hundred more foes, including even the Chimera Dragons themselves, were slightly hurt and paralyzed, some were in fear, others shocked, there were many status effects they would enjoy once they were in range of the skill.


    "I better not waste my time."


    Based on the amount of foes inflicted with status Effects, my stats increase for the duration of their status effects, which are usually a few seconds at most. However, because there were so many of them that ended with these status effects, my stats temporarily skyrocketed.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    I couldn''t waste this opportunity to quickly eliminate a thousand or two thousand, and I did by unleashing all my Mana and summoning over a hundred crimson and ck colored cannons from my Umbral Crimson Aura, which divided into small crimson and ck-colored portals surrounding me.


    "W-Wait¡­!"


    "That''s¡­!"


    "This is ridiculous! How can we even win?!"


    "Have mercy! We didn''t know what we were doing!"


    The lizardman saw the iing attacks, despairing as they pleaded for mercy.


    "Bullshit," I answered. "Own your sins and die the miserable death you deserve, scum."


    "{Single Shot: Umbral Blood Nova Cannon} x100"


    I felt my Mana rapidly emptying as I fired a hundred cannons of crimson and ck energies spinning together, so powerful it made space itself tremble for a split second, while the ground below shattered and opened, leaving burning craters behind.


    BOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOM!


    BOOOM!


    The damage was substantially more powerful than I imagined, as each beam pulverized hundreds of foes at once, leaving not even ashes behind. And this, multiplied by a hundred, wiped out roughly six thousand foes.


    I only stood there, slightly shaken by the level of power this Skill has given me. Well, it was the only thing I could expect from a skill created by fusing my strongest magic offensive skills together.


    But even then¡­


    "Hahhh¡­ I''mpletely out of Mana now, hah."


    I waspletely out of Mana; a hundred cannons emptied all four million Mana I had.


    The regeneration was fairly quickly, but it wasn''t going to be enough.


    Well, not like it was that big of a problem.


    "{Divine Silver Dragon Alchemist Domain}"


    FLUOSH!


    A silver-colored domain of light epassed my entire surroundings, rapidly expanding, the power of alchemy had evolved beforehand, bing somethingpletely different than before.


    And much better.


    Ding!


    [You have activated the [Divine Silver Dragon Alchemist Grimoire] Skill Ability: {Divine Silver Dragon Alchemist Domain}!]


    [A powerful domain of silver colored draconic and alchemical light will surround youpletely! While active, the Quality and Effects of Created Items increases by +300%, your Creation Speed increases by +500%, and the Healing Power of all Potions increase by +200%.]


    [While the Domain is active, {Divine Silver Dragon Alchemist Spirits} will be freely summoned automatically, their stats based on 15% of your own Stats, plus 100% of your Spirit Stat. These powerful Spirits will Attack any nearby foes, heal allies, debuff foes, or buff allies using anypatible item you''ve previously created and allowed them to use.]


    FLASH! FLASH! FLASH!


    In that very moment, three Silver colored spiritual dragons materialized, immediately healing my Mana to full by feeding me over twenty Mana Elixirs in mere seconds.


    "Thank you." I smiled. "Now¡­"


    I put my hands together as my grimoire shone brightly, transforming into the Divine Silver Dragon Alchemist Grimoire and rapidly materializing items I selected with my mind.


    In a split of a second, tworge potions were created, one blue and another red, overflowing with arge quantity of magical power.


    Ding!


    [You have instantly created the [Ares'' Divine Elixir of Stamina and Strength (Spiritual Grade)] and the [Hecate''s Divine Elixir of Mana and Magic (Spiritual Grade)]!]


    The Dragons immediately used the elixirs, transforming them into a wave of crimson and azure light. Instead of having to annoying drink the potions, with these dragon spirits, I can simply use their effects directly without physical consumption.


    FLAAASH!


    [You have consumed the [Ares'' Divine Elixir of Stamina and Strength (Spiritual Grade)]!]


    [All your Physical Stats have increased by 200% and your Physical Damage from Skills, Techniques, and Abilities has increased by a further 250% for 10 Minutes.]


    [You have consumed the [Hecate''s Divine Elixir of Mana and Magic (Spiritual Grade)]!]


    [All your Magical Stats have increased by 200% and your Magical Damage from Skills, Spells, and Abilities has increased by a further 250% for 10 Minutes.]


    More buffs, and so easy to make! The materials themselves only being around thirty types of healing herbs and materials, which I had stashed by the thousands in my inventory from all the connections I''ve formed over these years.


    Buying these materials, growing them inside of my Spirit Realm, and more are all but things I can do with ease, and these Elixirs are very strong too, I should share.


    "Bring more of them to my allies," I expanded my domain even more as the Dragon Spirits nodded, their silver ghostly forms rapidly creating the elixirs for me and using them on my allies faraway, giving them a great boost to their power. "Now¡­ where were we?"


    I looked around, there were roughly 2500 more foes to defeat, the rest had been massacred by my Familiars in these couple of minutes, they were only facing me from afar, furiously firing countless spells at me.


    Unfortunately for them, mybined aura of Demon King Aura, Umbral Crimson Aura, and many others werepletely negating their feeble attempt at hurting me.


    "You''re too far away, COME CLOSER."


    RUMBLE!


    I conjured Divine Dragon Tongue, as all the foes around me trying to fight me from afar were immediately dragged to my side by powerful gravitational forces. Mana was spent, but I didn''t care, I had plenty of resources anyways.


    "Gryyaaggh!"


    "Noo! Stop!"


    "What''s happening?!"


    "Uuuaaaggh!"


    "Thank you foring closer as I requested," I smiled, as I saw over two thousand foes approach at lightning speed, I wielded my spear. "Let''s wrap this up, shall we?"


    "{Divine Spear God Arts}: {One Thousand Battalion''s Spears Multi-Thrust Double Attacks}"


    CRASH! CRASH! CRASH! CRASH! CRASH! CRASH!


    -----

 Chapter 1090: The Saintess Wrath

    -----


    My Aura divided into a thousand phantoms of myself, as I unleashed a thousand attacks, double attacks that released two blows at once, meaning, two thousand blows at once.


    There was a reason why this Skill was now named "Divine Spear God Arts", it had truly evolved into something that only the gods themselves would wield.


    Before I knew it, there was nothing but shredded corpses in front of me, not a single opposing living being remained.


    "Done¡­" I said. "How much did I take? Hmm¡­ Ah, around three minutes?"


    I looked at the timer I had left in the grimoire, and indeed, a bit over three minutes were spent killing ten thousand foes by myself¡­ Well, the familiars helped here and there, but I did most of it.


    "Let''s go, we have yet to even raid that city."


    I quickly regrouped back with my friends and the rest of my army, finding that they had sessfully destroyed the other ten thousand foes, most of them had grown strong, gaining many levels.


    "ke! You''re back!" said Erika. "It took us a little while; how did you do?"


    "I was done a while ago," I said. "I was scanning the surroundings for more foes, and also sent more surveince towards the city. Looks like there''s at least another fifteen thousand inside the city, and the draconic generals are waiting for us there."


    "Sweet, let''s go and get this over with then!" Erika said.N?v(el)B\\jnn


    "I agree, let''s end this, let''s take over the first of the many cities," said Elizabeth. "This is only the beginning of our counterattack after all."


    "Well said," Elfrieddenmented. "I thank everyone for how much you''ve helped me so far, I know there''s a lot of work left to be done¡­ But I am truly grateful."


    "Okay, stop with the cornyments and let''s go already," Chrisughed, patting his head. "Hey Eric, you ready?"


    "I am!" Eric said. "We''re not even tired with Alberta, right?"


    "Yeah, I''m quite fine," Alberta nodded, opening the head of her golem spirit to reveal her upper torso. "Anytime ke!"


    "Hmm, let''s do this," Erdrich crossed his arms and nodded. "If you can, let me take down some of those Generals myself."


    "Well, if you so desire, sure," I nodded. "Though Lifang will probably want to take some down himself as well, I believe."


    I nced at the general of the elven knights, Lifang, who was cleaning his sword from the blood with a handkerchief.


    "Oh please, don''t mind us! Our revenge ising along nicely. We don''t necessarily desire the generals, if you want to challenge them yourselves, you''re free to do so," he said. "We do not ask for anything else, master ke. We are already grateful we''ve been brought back to life to avenge our people."


    He originated from ria, the elven city we took over beforehand, where we had to purify thousands of elven souls that had been trapped there due to their wrath and rage.


    "Then let''s go!" I nodded. "All members of the army, charge!"


    We rode over the huge back of Ruby as we moved across the skies, looking across thendscape. Bestellen led most of the dragon familiars while Blood carried some of the vampires too, and well, the rest moved on their own.


    "It''s there!" Erika pointed at the distance, as the city of Evergrace made revealed itself to us. "Looks like they got no soldiers outside, and¡­ is that a barrier?!"


    FLUOSH!


    The moment we set our sight into the city, a huge ck, red, and green colored barrier materialized surrounding the entire citying from the castle itself.


    And then theughter of someone reverberated.


    "Crahahahaha! I am d you''re here, SUMMONER! Prepare yourself for what I''ve made for you, BASTARD! You think you''re the only one that can make his own army?! You''re WRONG!"


    FLUOOOSH!


    Suddenly, phantasmal fog covered the entire city of Evergrace, and to the disbelief and surprise of many, thousands of creatures started crawling out of them.


    They weren''t alive, made of rotten flesh or bones, stitched together, some weren''t even physical, spectral in form and appearance, wailing and screaming in pain and suffering.


    "Wait, aren''t those¡­?!" muttered Erika.


    "I remember fighting many of these creatures before, back in the vige¡­!" said Chris.


    "When that man appeared, right?" Eric sighed.


    "Yeah, those are Undead," Erdrich nodded.


    "So one of the Draconic Generals is a Necromancer, huh?" I said, rubbing my chin as I nced at the Undead shing against our army. "There''s¡­ already over twenty thousand Undead, and they keep increasing too."


    It was a massive army that he had hidden within that fog, perhaps a special storage-rted skill or spell that allowed him to store as many undead as he wanted.


    Compared to the Necromancer we once fought back then, he was clearly a more superior form of this ss¡­


    But this shouldn''t be possible, right? Howe a lizardman is a necromancer? They can''t have sses¡­


    But perhaps through other means, such as Magic Circles¡­ or Magic Spell Inscription, equipment, or something simr.


    Maybe even Skill Inheritance in some way, shape, or form¡­


    This only means one thing, Fafnir is either capable of granting his generals sses, or even magic circles, or perhaps both.


    Or at the very least, Skills.


    He can gift Skills.


    Hah¡­


    "T-This is¡­ How could he do this?!"


    Lifang suddenly grew furious, and so did the rest of the elven knights.


    "How dare that monster mock us like that?!"


    "T-Those are¡­!"


    "Our people?!"


    "No¡­! How dare he!"


    They were furious, and with a good reason. Most of the Undeading our way, aside from being other lizardmen or their draconic monsters, were made from the thousands of elves the lizardmen had killed.


    "GRAAAHHH¡­!"


    "K-Kill¡­ Kill¡­ meeeee¡­!"


    "Death¡­ DEATH!"


    Their bones formed giant skeletons, their souls were forcefully fused into agonizing, wailing specters of enormous size, and their rotten bodies were stitched together into zombie golems.


    And I noticed how Elizabeth had been silent this entire time.


    "How¡­ dare he¡­!"


    "Elizabeth, calm down¡­"


    RUMBLE!


    Her Aura of Holy Light surged, as her eyes seemed to glow empty with pure and utter wrath.


    "I''m sorry¡­ but I can''t."


    The skies trembled, as dozens of beams of light fell over the undead.


    BOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOM!


    -----

 Chapter 1091: Against A Necromancer

    -----


    The surprise of today wasn''t just discovering that our major foe was a Necromancer, a Draconic general Necromancer, which opened the chance that Fafnir had some sort of divine power capable of either bestowing Talents, Skills, or something simr to them, but that most of the Undead were all made from the remains and souls of the elves they had mercilessly hunted and killed.


    It made me mad, but it didn''t shake me as much as other people, the elven knights were furious,pletely shocked by what they were seeing, and how far these lizardmen were willing to go to break their minds.


    "GRAAAHHH¡­!"


    "K-Kill¡­ Kill¡­ meeeee¡­!"


    "Death¡­ DEATH!"


    The undead came in many forms, their bones formed giant skeletons, their souls were forcefully fused into agonizing, wailing specters of enormous size, and their rotten bodies were stitched together into zombie golems.


    Most of them weren''t weak either, the weakest was B+ Rank, while the strongest Undead, the giant Bone Titans or Zombie Chimera Giants, were S- Rank. Aside from their rotten bodies, they were reinforced with powerful Demonic Curses and also their very souls imbued with a lot of mana and spirit energy.


    So they weren''t exactly weak either¡­


    However, the most surprising part wasn''t all of that, but what was happening to someone, I knew she would react in a bad manner, and I tried to calm her down¡­


    "How¡­ dare he¡­!"


    "Elizabeth, calm down¡­"


    Elizabeth''s Aura of Holiness overflowed, growingrger and stronger, she couldn''t contain her powers anymore, her righteous wrath knew no bounds.N?v(el)B\\jnn


    RUMBLE!


    Her Aura of Holy Light surged, as her eyes seemed to glow filled with pure and utter wrath. The skies trembled, fusing with her powerful Holy Domain, and transforming, bing gigantic holy eyes ncing the world from above, dozens of beams of light fell over the undead.


    I suppose it cannot be helped, this is the true power of a Saintess¡­ and also her wrath.


    "I''m sorry¡­ but I can''t."


    Elizabeth muttered as her attacks reached the Undead, the gigantic beams of lightpletely pulverized every undead within range, disintegrating them all into ashes.


    BOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOM!


    Quickly after, the voice of someone in utter disbelief came.


    "W-What?! How did you¡­! How is that possible?! Such magic¡­! That''s somethingparable to Lord Fafnir in both range and power¡­! No, what is this?!"


    The voice of the lizard necromancer echoed across the entire city he had taken over, the rest of my party, and my gigantic army, were ready to attack once Elizabeth cleaned all the undead. Their souls, thanks to her holy light, were immediately purified and sent to the afterlife.


    Although it was rough, it was much better than keeping these people suffering any second longer. Though something tells me these weren''t all the Undead they had stashed.


    Especially because that fog remains there.


    "This is the power that the Holy Spirits have bestowed upon me!" roared Elizabeth. "This is the might of a Saintess! I am the one that represents righteousness and hope! And I shall no rest until you disgusting beasts pay for what you''ve done to the honorable elves!"


    "A Saintess! So what''s what you are?!" the necromancer screamed. "Hah¡­ HAHAHAHA! It doesn''t matter! As long as my Netherworld''s Fog is active, Undead will keeping endlessly! We got millions were those came from, fools!"


    RUMBLE!


    Suddenly, the phantasmal fog surrounding Evergrace shook, as more and more Undead started pouring out of them, almost the same types as before.


    Seeing howrge the poption of elves were, especially being hundreds of thousands, or even above a million per city, it wouldn''t be hard to believe he still had much more where that came from¡­


    "M-More undead?!" Erika asked. "And it seems to be doubled the quantity!"


    "Ugh, I''ll have to do it then!" Elizabethined. "I got Mana Elixirs from ke so I can handle as many as he throws at us!"


    "Wait! Elizabeth, remember what happened when you abused your powers back then?!" Erdrich stopped her. "You might have mana potions, so mana is not a problem, but so what? Overusing your divine powers will only make you grow weaker! Isn''t the reason why Saints have premature or early deaths in their lives because their divine powers drain their life?!"


    "It''s something I must do!" Elizabeth screamed. "If not, who will do so?! That phantom cloud, it will constantly release these poor, pitiful people¡­ I must, I have to!"


    "But¡­ we don''t even know how that cloud even works!" said Chris. "Just how does it keep spitting undead out of nowhere? The necromancer back then had no such power!"


    "This is a more advanced magic¡­" Elfriedden said. "We shouldn''t abuse or overuse your strongest techniques, Elizabeth, let''s fight together. ke''s army with us."


    "But if we fight the Undead directly, they''re only going to suffer more¡­" sighed Elizabeth. "Ending their lives painlessly and quickly¡­ I want to do that at the very least, to apologize to them¡­ for being unable toe for them earlier."


    "But Elizabeth, calm down!" Eric said. "We can find a way together and-"


    "I see, I understand how this works," I nodded as I nced in silence.


    Everyone suddenly looked at me in surprise.


    "You¡­ understand how that cloud works?" Alberta wondered.


    "Yeah, it is a dimensional storage of Undead," I exined. "It keeps them stored within a pocket realm ofher and phantasmal energy. If we destroy it using Elizabeth''s powers, all million of undead wille rushing out, and even our army might be instantly overwhelmed by the sheer numbers."


    "What?!"


    Everyone was shocked, it was certainly a good way to surprise us.


    "I''m sure that the Necromancer want us to destroy that cloud, it is like a tickling time bomb, or and mine" Iughed.


    "T-Then what do we do?!" asked Erika.


    "Eat it," I smiled back at my friends. "Cover for me, my army will also help. I''ll enter that phantasmal cloud and devour itpletely. Once it bes mine, we can easily cleanse all undead in one fell swoop."


    "But that''s¡­ too risky! You don''t know the variables, ke!" Eric said.


    "I''ve killed Archdemons, Eric, do you think that matters anymore?" I asked. "When we faced Bestellen together¡­ What did you feel about me?"


    "¡­" he remained in silence. "That you could always find a way¡­ I trusted you, and we won at the end."


    "So? Will you trust me again, everyone?" I looked at my friends.


    It didn''t take them too long to nod.


    "Then let''s do it."


    -----

 Chapter 1092: Being Reckless

    -----


    I just needed them to trust me, we''ve done crazier things before. They simply didn''t need to worry about my safety, and just concentrate in what they can do.


    "Then at the very least let use with you!" Elfriedden said. "I''ve be stronger, ke! And you know it, let me aid you!"


    "Me too, I''ming," said Erdrich. "Ain''t nobody stronger than me."


    "And me!" Erika said. "My powers will surely help against-"


    "No," I said, looking at them with a serious expression. "I don''t need anybody''s help once I''m inside. I can handle it all on my own."


    I might have sounded cold, but I had to be blunt with them.


    I''ve be so strong that simply trying to act weak so they can have the spotlight won''t work.


    If we want to do thing efficiently, they have to let me carry as much of the weight as I can.


    If they keep pushing themselves trying to catch up with me, they''ll never truly find their own strengths and abilities.


    Their own talents¡­


    "B-But¡­!" Erika cried.


    "Erika, everyone has their own talent and their own strengths," I said. "I am not calling you weak. You''re all very strong¡­ too strong, I would say¡­ However, if we want to do things quickly and efficiently, leave it to me."


    "What?! You bastard, just let me help and make up for everything I''ve done to you, I need to help you somehow!" Elfrieddenined. "Or¡­ I won''t be able to go on with my conscience."


    "It''s fine, Elfriedden," I smiled back at my friend. "You''ve done more than enough already helping me, and it''s not like you are not going to fight hundreds of foes right now, right?"


    "Then¡­" Erdrich muttered.


    "I just have one thing to say to everyone, so please listen well, and engrave these words inside of your head," I said, pointing at the sky. "Everyone has their own roles. Instead of trying to do what I can do, instead of trying to force yourselves to be like me¡­ Prioritize what YOU can do right now, not what you SHOULD."


    "¡­"


    "¡­"


    "¡­"


    Everyone remained in silence, but it seemed they understood.


    "I care about all of you, and I am proud of how strong you''ve grown¡­ This is why I am entrusting you with these fifty thousand undead outside, while I take down whatever''s inside," Iughed. "Isn''t fifty thousand enough for you? Don''t be greed, you guys. Concentrate in what''s within your reach, not what''s too far away.N?v(el)B\\jnn


    Or you''ll end up losing your way, or even worse, be unable to see what''s in front of you."


    The Undead kept marching towards us, growing ever so closer. The atmosphere grew stronger, everyone''s Auras were unleashed, as they tightly held their weapons.


    They get it.


    "Okay¡­ If that''s what you want, then sure!" Erika nodded. "I trust you, ke! Let''s do it!"


    "Alright then, hah!" Erdrich smiled. "But don''t think it''ll be that way for too long¡­ I''ll catch up to you no matter what!"


    "Likewise, you bastard," Chrisughed. "Don''t go looking down on us!"


    "Hahh¡­ I suppose that''s what you would say, huh?" Eric smiled gently. "Very well, ke. We''ll help!"


    "Alright!" Alberta nodded. "We''ll open the way for you, ke!"


    "Tch¡­ You''ll see! One day, you''ll beg me to help you!"ughed Elfriedden. "Until then¡­ go on, lone wolf, do your thing! I''ll do mine, just as you said."


    "Lone wolf? Seriously?" I facepalmed. "Well, whatever¡­ Thank you, everyone. For trusting me! Vampires! Eleanora, Saphira, and Eriant with me!


    Everyone else, disperse and assist my friends."


    "Very well!" they roared.


    The Undead reached us within a couple of seconds, roaring back at us. A bombardment of dark and death magicsers and other curses rushed down like missiles.


    "Go."


    And everyone charged forward in that moment, my entire army included. Draconic Familiars, Abyssal Vampiric Undead, my Vampire Spirits, my Unique Familiars, my giant Mechanized beasts, the Abyssal Blood Vine Monsters, and the Undead summoned by me and Saphira by sharing her powerful undead-summoning skill.


    And of course, my friends, the warriors Erdrich, Erika, Chris, and Alberta charged forward, shing against the Undead and pulverizing their bodies with countless of blows, most of them imbued with deadly mes that burned them to ashes as quickly as possible.


    Meanwhile, right behind them, Elfriedden, Eric, and Elizabeth unleashed their powerful magic, freezing with powerful frost, slicing with winds and sharp bark spears, and then purifying and burning to ashes with bright holy light.


    In mere seconds, they opened a path forward, and even as the monsters came from the skies, Ruby and Bestellen roared, unifying their strength by working together, their holy me breaths destroyed any flying undeading from above.


    Colorful explosions covered the sky and the ground, and with Eleanora and Saphira by my side, I nodded, riding Blood.


    "Go!"


    "AWOOOO!"


    The huge wolf howled, charging its powers and then.


    RUMBLE!


    He stepped forward, moving so fast he released a giant shockwave that destroyed the ground where we were just seconds ago.


    His legs moved at a speed that not many could even discern, carrying us across a battlefield full of undead and bloodshed.


    "Don''t let them touch him!" Erika roared.


    "Open the way, open the damn WAY!" Chris roared.


    "That is enough, all of you, time to rest!" Erdrich told to the Undead.


    "Freeze, now!" Elfriedden conjured ice everywhere.


    As everyone opened the way, we drew closer and closer to the fog, only for the ground below to rumble, and for many Skeleton Titans and Zombie Golem Giants to emerge, blocking our path by the dozens.


    "GRUOOOHHH!"


    "Hah, so I guess I''ll have to-"


    As I was about to act, suddenly, a whole squadron of elven knights leaped into action, their bodies overflowing with rainbow spiritual light, unsheathing their des and other weapons.


    "My liege! We shall open the way for you! Charge, my knights!"


    "OOOOHHH!"


    The elves that decided to remain among the living even after death, stepped forward, showing our foes that the will and pride of the elves wouldn''t be tampered so easily.


    Even if they were all ughtered, even if they were all trampled¡­


    Their pride and strength remain, even after death.


    SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH!


    BOOOM!


    Countless shes of spiritual light engulfed the giant undead, slicing them apart and then making them explode into ashes.


    The path forward was right there.


    "Blood! Jump!"


    "AWOOOO!"


    Blood leaped into the skies, as I quickly jumped towards the Netherworld''s Fog.


    FLASH!


    -----

 Chapter 1093: Entering The Enemys Territory

    -----


    "You''re such a fool, an imbecile even, hahaha¡­ HAHAHAHA!"


    My eyes saw endless darkness as I entered the Netherworld Fog, yet my vampiric eyes quickly activated, allowing me to see within this endless darkness.


    What I saw resembled a huge, open area below underground, some sort of gigantic open space inside of a cavern section.


    There wererge quantities ofher and phantasmal energies everywhere, any normal human would immediately die and turn into an undead here.


    Above all, countless rivers andkes made of liquid miasmicher filled the entirendscape, a rather peculiar ce.


    "I can''t believe you''ve happily entered my Domain! Are you out of your mind?! Hahaha! HAHAHAHAHA!"


    And of course, that voice, the necromancer was mocking.


    He keptughing, yet I couldn''t see anything yet, he was hidden somewhere.


    What I could see clearly were hundreds of thousands of Undead, the same that came outside, all in front of me, groaning, moving, looking at me with their crimson eyes.


    "So this is the Netherworld Fog''s interior, a Domain, as you said?"


    I admired the space; it was quite vast and very useful looking. It was certainly several times muchrger than my own Umbral Crimson Shadow.


    A perfect ce to store Undead, just what I needed now that I have my Abyssal Vampiric Undead that cannot be turned into cards and easily be stored in the grimoire.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    "Yes, this is my domain, you utter fool! You look confident for some reason! Do you understand how fucked up you are right now?! In no time, you will be my loyal Undead! This is a ce where no living being can remain!"


    "Is that so?"


    I walked around, looking at the Undead in front of me and confronting them.


    "You''ve all been trapped by this bastard, right? You must be going through a lot¡­ Not only were you abused, killed, and eaten, but you''re now forced to be eternal ves¡­ Just how deep is the hatred of you barbarians against the noble elves?"


    "W-What are you talking about?!" screamed the necromancer''s voice. "Hatred?! Noble elves?! Hah! Hahahaha! Did you really believe that?!


    There is no such thing as hatred, if anything, we''re eternally grateful to them, for giving us all of this power, for giving us all thesends, and for being our guinea pigs! I love elves! They make excellent undead! Their souls are strong, overflowing with magic and spirit power!"


    "¡­I see."


    I remained in silence as I nced at the undead in front of me, an abhorrent zombie golem giant, groaning in pain and agony, I touched his rotten flesh.


    "Don''t worry, it will end now."


    "What are you¡­?! Tch! Taking a while, huh?! JUST KILL HIM THEN! ATTACK!"


    As he gave his orders, all Undead who remained still immediately rushed towards me, their giant ws and jaws moving down towards me body, including their magic spells and more.


    "Stop."


    RUMBLE!


    A huge shockwave of Mana was unleashed, half of my Mana was used in that moment, as all Undead came to a halt.


    "W-Wha¡­?!"


    The necromancer couldn''t believe it, with a single word, his entire army was stopped.


    This was the new power of [Divine Dragon Tongue Magic Authority], and the Developing Divinity of Dragon Tongue merged with its powers.


    With the two of these effects together, the massive Mana cost is reduced tremendously.


    Even if for a couple of seconds, I can now stop entire armies.


    "T-That''s¡­! Was that Dragon Tongue?! You?! You have such power?! Impossible! This is something only dragons can have!"


    "Am I not a dragon then?"


    My entire body was covered with silver, ck, and red scales, draconic wings, tail, ws, horns, and eyes quickly emerged from my body, my Draconic Aura being unleashed at full power, as my Divine Dragon Heart was beating faster and faster.


    "Impossible! A human¡­ with a DIVINE DRAGON HEART?!"


    "It takes a while, but it''s not like it''s impossible to get one¡­ Bestellen was his name, a fine warrior. He now joins my barracks as a mighty familiar."


    "T-This is bullshit¡­! KILL HIM! MOVE!"


    The Necromancer used Dragon Tongue was well, wasting away his Mana to overwrite my own Dragon Tongue spell, all Undead reached me again.


    Eleanora and Saphira quickly appeared by my side, and then¡­


    Fused with me.


    "{Spirit Fusion}"


    FLAAASH!


    My body grew taller as my hair turned red and silvery-white, growing longer, I now had four eyes, and my draconic powers were further boosted as I activated Blood King Transformation.


    "{Divine Silver Blood mes of Sanctification}! Purify it all!"


    My Blood mixed with my draconic powers and the silver mes, materializing holy mes that immediately surrounded all the Undead around me, and then¡­


    BOOOMMM!!!


    A wave of endless silver mes rushed against all of them at once, burning their bodies and everything left behind into ashes as quickly and painlessly as possible.


    "Hm, not bad."


    Within that second, a hundred thousand Undead perished.


    "T-This is¡­! No¡­! H-How¡­?!" muttered the necromancer. "And the Domain''s effects¡­ Why¡­ Why are you not dying yet?! Just what the fuck are you?!"


    "Are you seriously asking that?" I asked. "After I killed Mammon, do you truly believe a third-rate necromancer like you stands a chance? Keep dreaming."


    Again.


    "{Divine Silver Blood mes of Sanctification}"


    "W-WAIT, STOP¡­! STOOOP!"


    As he screamed in frustration and horror, the necromancer saw as I continued using that technique over and over again, burning through hundreds of thousands of undead within seconds.


    BOOOM!


    "{Divine Silver Blood mes of Sanctification}"


    BOOOM!


    "{Divine Silver Blood mes of Sanctification}"


    BOOOM!


    "{Divine Silver Blood mes of Sanctification}"


    BOOOM!


    "{Divine Silver Blood mes of Sanctification}"


    BOOOM!


    "That should do it¡­ All done. But the souls¡­ they still are here, that''s troublesome," I sighed.


    "Y-You¡­! How could you¡­ my undead¡­ my army of precious undead! YOU¡­ YOU BASTARD! YOU FUCKING MONSTER!"


    The necromancer started crying in frustration, space itself started to distort in front of me, as he finally showed up.


    And surprisingly, he was much bigger than I imagined, yes, tremendously huge, in fact.


    He looked like a perfect bnce between a lizardman and a small dragon, around forty meters of height, overflowing with an aura of tremendous necromantic power.


    He had a long white beard, and looked old and wise, yet furious and frustrated.


    "YOU''LL PAY FOR THIS, YOU FILTHY HUMAN!"


    His jaws opened, as Phantasmal mes surged.


    "DIE!"


    BOOOM!


    -----

 Chapter 1094: Necromancer Against Summoner

    -----


    The Necromancer stepped in, and surprisingly, he was much bigger than I imagined, yes, tremendously huge, in fact. He looked like a perfect bncedbination between a lizardman and a small dragon, around forty meters of height, overflowing with an aura of tremendous necromantic power.


    His scales were ck and silver, he had a pair of huge wings that looked slightly torn, old enough to tell me he was much older than any other lizardman I''ve battled before. He had a long white beard, and looked old and wise, yet furious and frustrated.


    His horns were gold colored, sprouting upwards, he was perhaps the results of further Draconification of a lizardman, he looked like he would be a true dragon in a few years if he continued cultivating his dragon heart.


    Interesting, this only gives me more insight about the biology and growth of lizardmen, while also giving me insights about Fafnir''s own powers, and how they can influence someone he had given his blood and scales.


    "YOU''LL PAY FOR THIS, YOU FILTHY HUMAN!"


    His jaws opened, as Phantasmal mes surged, they weren''t blue, but ck, overflowing with an Abyssal Power. Judging by his presence alone, he was definitely a monster within the realm of S Ranks.


    "DIE!"


    His dragon breath reached me within an instant, exploding on my face. I did no effort on parrying, blocking, or running away, there was no point in doing that.


    BOOOM!


    "Heh! You didn''t even evade that?! You seem much slower than- Ah! WHAT?!"


    His old face distorted in disbelief as he saw my perfectly unscathed body standing there, his attack did not damage me at all, I didn''t even have to conjure any defensive ability.


    "That was weak¡­" I sighed. "I expected more from you, necromancer. Your appearance is quite peculiar, you look old, and more draconic than your fellow generals¡­ You''re very interesting."


    "Y-You¡­!" the necromancer muttered. "Of course I am different than those young generals! I am several hundreds of years old, you impertinent brat! I''ve lived much longer than you could ever hope! And I''ve served lord Fafnir all that time!"


    He ended revealing everything I wanted to learn so easily, he truly loves to brag about himself, huh?


    "And that power you used¡­ where did ite from?" I asked him. "I thought Lizardmen couldn''t use Talents? Yet you''re clearly a Necromancer."


    "Hahahaha! Yes, I am! Who said we couldn''t have talents?!"ughed the old dragon lizard man. "Those like me that have reached Level 3 of my Dragon Heart awaken a Special Draconic Talent! Mine was Necromancy, and I''ve used it since then to develop my powers secretly, waiting until Lord Fafnir was finally ready to conquer! And we conquered everything as he promised!


    Thend of elves is no more, most of them are dead! You''re fighting a lost cause, child! Why¡­ why don''t you join me? Within you I can feel malice, darkness! And you''re also a fellow dragon! Stop fighting for the losing side and join the winning side!


    I am sure Lord Fafnir would be pleased to have you!"


    "Hah¡­ Hahahaha!"


    I couldn''t help butugh at thatment.


    It was simply too hrious.


    Haah, since when have Iughed so heartily before?


    This was ridiculous!


    "Y-You dare¡­ YOU DARE LAUGH AT MY GENEROSITY?!"


    "Laugh? Hardly," I smiled. "I am simply finding this amusing. Are you that scared of me that you''re now trying to recruit me to your side? After seeing the horrors you and your kind havemitted, do you truly expect me to join you? I''ve lived longer than you can imagine, yet this might be the first time I met someone so delusional!"


    "YOU DAREEEE¡­?! ENOUGH WITH THIS!"


    He quickly leaped into the skies with his wings, overflowing with dark and necromantic powers. He might no longer have undead, but he had powerful Death and Phantom Magic, apparently.


    "I might no longer have my undead, but my magic is ranked tenth within all the draconic generals!" roared the dragon. "As Garnef, the Necromancer Dragon, I sentence your soul to be eternally burned! {Advanced Necromantic Dragon Magic}: {Soul-Consuming Abyssal Dragon mes of Death}!"


    Things seemed to be finally getting a bit more interesting, as he conjured hundreds of fireballs made of ck and cursed fire, firing them all at me.


    "Hah,e at me!"


    I received the attacks head-on, jumping towards him as I kicked the empty air, flying using my dragon wings right after that.


    The hundreds of spheres worked like homing missiles, chasing me around the skies. I swung my spear, abination of Gluttony and Eleanora''s Envy.


    This much¡­


    It''s nothing!


    "{Divine Spear God Arts}: {One Hundred Lightning Blows}"


    ck and crimson lightning surged from my attacks, as I swung my spear against the spheres of mes capable of consuming souls.


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!


    In mere seconds, all attacks exploded and disappeared, lightning surging through my spear and spreading across my body, as I kicked the air and then, reached Garnef in a second.


    "AH?!"


    He gasped, surprised over my movement speed.


    "I would like to talk more with you, but we can do that once you''re dead."


    "What?! YOU THINK I''LL DIE SO EASILY, YOU BASTARD?!"


    He opened his jaws, unleashing a devastating dragon breath against.


    BOOOMMM!!!


    "{Divine Spear God Arts}: {God-Killing Celestial Piercing Strike}"


    SLASH!


    Yet I sliced it with my spear, as a huge wave of divine power struck his head, all the way across his skull, blowing his brains at the same time.


    "G-Gaaggh¡­! Impo¡­ ssible¡­"


    His body fell from the skies as he muttered hisst words, surprising when he had his brains almostpletely blown away. That''s the vitality and stamina of a dragon for you.


    BAAAM!


    He fell into the floor beneath, leaving a huge crater behind, his head slowly started bleeding out, leaving behind a pool of ck blood.


    "{Rise}"


    I pointed my hand at him, rising him as an Abyssal Vampiric Undead.


    FLUOSH!


    His body immediately stood back up, changing his appearance as he gained crimson scales, red eyes, and arger, more monstrous look.


    "Ooh¡­ Ooohhhh?! W-What¡­ what''s this?!"


    He could even talk really well, that means he has a very powerful soul capable of keeping his personality and memories.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    "Wee back¡­ Now, how about you start by lending me your little Netherworld Fog Domain? I want it."


    "T-This is¡­! I''ve¡­ be an Undead?!"


    He couldn''t believe it.


    "Give it to me."


    "Y-Yes, right away boss!"


    At least he wasn''t bitching.


    -----

 Chapter 1095: A New Familiar

    -----


    After rising Garnef as an Abyssal Vampiric Undead, I quickly expanded my Umbral Crimson Shadow and through his help, absorbed the entire Netherworld Fog. It wasn''t an easy process, and I don''t think I would have been able to do it on my own without breaking it or destroying it, so it was smart to turn him into an undead and tell him to assist me.


    The process was swift with his help as he manipted the entire Netherworld Fog Domain''s space andpressed it, moving it towards I indicated. After that, I divided by Umbral Crimson Shadow into several threads and needles, quite literally stitching both of their spaces together.


    Garnef had to assist me doing that too, but once it was done, the two spaces slowly melded together, until they fused, and the Umbral Crimson Shadowpletely devoured it, absorbing and assimting its internal space and abilities, such as producing Miasmic Nether, a precious resource to keep Undead stable and strong, and also Mana of the Elements of Death and Phantoms.


    "I-I can''t believe this is happening¡­ I lived for¡­ three hundred years and now¡­ And now I got killed and turned into an undead! And I have just given you my most precious creation and power!" he keptining, although he always did anything I asked him to do anyways.


    "Yes, happens, right?" I smiled back at him. "Now you better cooperate if you don''t want me to destroy what little remains of your personality and memories, and turn you into a mindless zombie, got it? You''ll tell me everything you know."


    "I-I¡­ yes!" he nodded; he simply couldn''t refute my words anyways as he had be my undead. "Dammit, why did I say yes?! What''s wrong with me!?"


    "As a Necromancer I thought you would have already guessed," I said. "Undead remain under the control of their creators,plete control. If I tell you to sit, you sit, if I tell you to jump, you jump¡­ Like that, yes."


    He sat down and jumped as I said.


    It was a bit hrious.


    "A-Ahh¡­ this can''t¡­ be happening to meeee! I am an old and honored draconic lizardman! Three hundred years of life¡­ It all feels worthless now!"


    "See? This is the despair your undead went through, to do whatever some bastard tell you to do even when you don''t want to. All while you''re suffering in agony and horror¡­ You don''t like it? Well, too bad. This is your reality now, Garnef."


    "DAMMIT!"


    As he keptining, Eleanora and Saphira''s fusion came undone. I needed their strength to both gain more fire power and enhance my magical powers from Eleanora''s fusion, and I also needed to gain immunity against the entire domain with Saphira.


    "That was amazing, papa! You beat thousands of undead so easily!" said Saphira.


    "Yeah, it was incredible," nodded Eleanora. "I never thought one million undead could be wiped out so quickly¡­"


    "You''re praising me too much, thanks to you two and your powers, once I merged with you, I gained enough power to withstand the domain''s negative effects and also gained enough fire power to defeat the undead." I said.


    "What?! So my Domain DID affect you?!" cried Garnef. "Dammit, it wasn''t a bluff?! You damn- Ugh, agh¡­!" as he was about to insult me, an invisible force shut his mouth down.


    Although I was very resistant, his domain would have slowly worn me down, but thanks to Saphira''s powers fusing with mine, there was no such problem, and his Domain waspletely invalidated.


    Now that it has be part of my own Umbral Crimson Shadow Realm, its negative effects don''t affect me, and I can also choose who it affects and who doesn''t, interestingly enough. The only thing left to do is step outside and reim Evergrace.


    There were other Draconic Generals that I heard about though, so I better ask him while we step out.


    "Garnef, what were the other draconic generals like? Were they strong?" I asked.


    "They''re all young ones, not as strong as me, but stronger than anybody you''ve fought before¡­! They''re siblings born from the same egg; they have a special power capable of fusing together! And each one is proficient in an element, Fire, Thunder, and Ice! They''re my apprentices and their weaknesses are- ACK! Dammit, why am I saying all of this?!"


    "I see, so they can fuse, that sounds a bit dangerous, let''s go out quickly¡­"


    Though, I do have faith in the strength of my troops.


    And above all, on my friends too.


    They''re strong.


    .


    .


    .


    RUMBLE!


    Countless Undead were being vaporized by Elizabeth''s Holy Light Beams. They cost a moderately low quantity of Mana, and with her Spirits assisting her, she could expand their range greatly while shooting down many foes at once.


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!


    Hundreds of Undead were being turned into ashes as their souls flew somewhere else, finally reaching the afterlife after living as undead for many years.


    "GRUOOOHHHH!"


    "Ah!"


    However, as she flew around, she was suddenly caught off guard when three Titan Skeletons emerged from the ground, S- Ranked foes, extending their huge hands towards her and hitting her multiple times at once.


    CRASH! CRASH! CRASH!


    Her barriers began to tremble and shatter one after another, as Elizabeth''s body was pummeled into the ground, hitting the floor with a huge explosion.


    BAAAM!


    "GRAAAHHH!"


    Elizabeth''s eyes saw the screaming, agonizing souls of hundreds of elves within the Titan Skeletons, their huge foot rushing down towards her. Perhaps the impact of the situation, or something else made her feel despair, paralyzing her for a moment.


    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    "ELIZABETH!"


    However, the scream of two of her friends snapped her back to reality, but toote for that, the Titan Skeletons foot would have crushed her!


    If it wasn''t for those two friends, that''s it!


    "{Yggdrasil Dragon Swordsmanship Arts}: {zing ws of Burning Wood}!!!"


    "{Heavenly Demon Battle Arts}: {Demonic Ki Nova}!!!"


    Erika swung her de upwards, as a gigantic zing w made of burning wood shed against the skeleton''s foot, at the same time as Erdrich gathered his Demonic Ki and unleashed a mighty beam, piercing through the many skeletons'' legs and making them copse on the ground!


    BOOOM!


    -----

 Chapter 1096: Bestellen Steps In

    -----


    "Be more careful, Elizabeth!" said Erika.


    "I know that its hard to deal with them, but you gotta be strong!" said Erdrich.


    "Okay, okay, I get it! I''m sorry!" Elizabeth cried. "At least, let''s break into the city, maybe I can deal with those lizardmen and their draconic monsters just fine!"


    "I was about to do that anyways, the undead are already less than ten thousand, ke''s army can deal with them!" Erdrich said.


    As they ran across the battlefield and destroyed anything in their path, they nced to the sides, where thousands of Abyssal Vampiric Undead shed against the Necromancer''s undead.


    The Abyssal Vampiric Undead had powers of their own, aside from whatever they inherited from their original wielders, they unleashed Blood, Shadows, and Curse magic.


    They conjured thousands of Cursed Shadow Chains to slow down foes and lower their stats a little amount while bombarding them with Blood Spears, impaling them thousands of times.


    At the same time, even as the Necromancer''s Undead survived, they kept pushing themselves to their limits, until their very health reached zero, in which stage they would explode, dealing even more damage.


    Like right now.


    BOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOM!


    "Incredible¡­"


    Elizabeth nced the scene with disbelief in her eyes, she knew that ke''s summons was powerful, but the Abyssal Vampiric Undead brought everything to apletely new level of ridiculousness. Not only they could explode upon dying, but they could conjure all sorts of useful spells to weaken foes and even drain their blood with every wound, weakening them over time.


    Over a hundred of the Necromancer''s Undead already died within that time frame where she started running, and a hundred more were dying right away, as ke''s Draconic Familiars, all of them originating from the mountain of the White Dragon, unleashed magic, and breath attacks, bombarding the undead even more.N?v(el)B\\jnn


    BOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOM!


    "Hahaha! That''s right, burn it all you bastards!"


    Bestellenughed amidst the bloodshed, his gigantic body moving forward and making the entire world rumble and shatter apart, his divinity erupted, unleashing an endless sea of silver mes that consumed everything.


    FLUOOOSH!


    "What a pathetic excuse for an army! Do you truly expect to stop a divine dragon such as myself with such trifling forces?! Nothing but trash in front of the great me! Bring me a challenge, or I shall destroy your entire city this very moment!"


    Bestellen was making a huge ruckus, making the trio slightly worried about what the crazy dragon might do now that ke wasn''t around to watch over him.


    "I SAID BRING ME A CHALLENGE!"


    Before they could even tell him anything, Bestellen opened his jaws and gathered Mana from the environment, a unique power Divine Dragons, Titans, and Ancient Elemental Spirits possessed, forming a giant sphere of silver divinity within his jaws and then¡­


    "RAAAAHHHH!!!"


    TRUUUMMM!!!


    The titanic draconic breath that always threatened everyone''s lives when they fought against him back in the mithril mountain was unleashed, disintegrating over a thousand Undead within mere seconds, even some of ke''s familiars took the attack and disappeared.


    The beam hit the hundredyered barrier surrounding Evergrace, rapidly beginning to grind through its manyyers and durability, shattering one after another.


    Crack, crack¡­!


    CRASH!


    CRASH!


    CRASH!


    CRASH!


    ¡­


    Until it reached the city''s walls, and destroyed them with no problems.


    BOOOMMM!!!


    "W-What is that guy doing?!" Erika cried.


    "It doesn''t matter! He opened a way for us, let''s go!" Erdrich led the girls. "And you? Get off the way!"


    His body quickly transformed as he suddenly grew two new pair of arms, unleashing his [Six-Armed Asura Transformation] Skill and gaining four more fists to punch even harder.


    "{Heavenly Demon Battle Arts}: {Demonic Lightning Dragon Fist}"


    The gigantic Zombie Golems and Skeleton Titans standing in his way, further strengthened by dozens of Specters fusing into their bodies, were quickly pulverized into pieces as six fists imbued with demonic lightning erupted at once.


    BAAAM! BAAAM! BAAAM! BAAAM! BAAAM! BAAAM!


    RUMBLE!


    The undead exploded into pieces and burned into ashes within that very moment, opening the way for Erdrich, Erika, and Elizabeth to enter the kingdom through therge hole that Bestellen left behind.


    "Thank you for opening the way, Bestellen!" said Erika, entering inside the city.


    "W-What?! Oi, you damn brats! You dare go inside on your own?!" Bestellen grew furious. "Agh! You stop annoying me!"


    As he found himself surrounded by over three thousand Undead, Bestellen snapped again. In fact, he snapped many times a day, he had a terrible temper as a very old and cranky dragon.


    "FUCK OUTTA HEREEE!"


    His entire body released an explosive shockwave of divine silver mes, the Undead came undone immediately, turning into ashes, and disappearing!


    BOOOMMM!!!


    "GRAAAR!"


    Suddenly, Ruby roared gratefully at Bestellen, flying inside of the city through the huge hole the divine dragon opened for them.


    This only made Bestellen more pissed off!


    "Oi, wait a minute! Why is everyone entering before me?!" he started kicking the ground angrily. "Tch, damn young''uns, getting in the way of adults!"


    He quickly spread out his wings and rushed inside of the city, he wanted some action too, and watching from afar wasn''t even going to cut it for him anymore.


    At the same time, Elfriedden, Chris, Eric, and Alberta continued killing the Undead that were left behind, assisting ke''s army, and making sure to grind as much EXP as possible.


    "Erika, Elizabeth, and Erdrich went inside the city!" said Alberta through a special device everyone had tomunicate from long distances in the shape of earrings. "What do we do? Do we follow them?"


    As Alberta asked, she constantly bombarded Undead and other monsters that came towards her with giant missiles using her golem spirit, and by swinging her massive hammer, she crushed dozens more.


    "We should!" said Chris. "But first, let''s clean up the trash they left behind!"


    Chris zed like a meteor, charging against hundreds of Undead and setting them all aze, while cleaving them with his giant axe until nothing was left behind but their ashes.


    "I suppose so, but let''s get moving, we can clean them as we bait them."


    Elfriedden froze any foe in front of him, using his Frost Dragon King form to gain great movement, attack power, speed, flight ability, and defenses, freezing everything and shattering it into pieces.


    "Then let''s do it!"


    Eric at the same time nodded, shooting hundreds of wind arrows across his path.


    -----

 Chapter 1097: Battle Between Dragons

    -----


    "Stop them! Don''t let them give a single step forward!"


    "Dammit, how did they get here?!"


    "The three generals unleashed a hundredyered barrier and even then it broke?!"


    "GRAAACK! Enemy is here!"


    "Go defend¡­!"


    The lizardmen screamed in anger and frustration, the more eloquent of the bunch which could talk much better mostly because they ate the most elves, were the ones that liked speaking the most. The others, which couldn''t properly speak that well, were only screaming and roaring in panic.


    Yet, before they could reach their attackers, three shes of green, red, and gold light reached them within mere seconds, the only thing they could do was watch as their weapons and techniques sttered their bodies into pieces.


    Erika''s swordsmanship attacks summoned giant draconic parts with each swing of her de,bining the sword''s cursed and holy powers together to release the most devastating attacks. Erdrich used his sheer physical strength to pulverize his foes with punches, kicks, and beams of pure concentrated Demonic Ki, and he wasn''t even using his Spirits yet.


    Elizabeth broke loose,pletely obliterating everything as she fused with the Holy Dragon Spirit and the Mountain Turtle Spirit transformed into a huge holy hammer by fusing with her staff. Using her enhanced physical strength, she devastated all foes by crushing them to smithereens with a mighty holy hammer.


    BAAAM! BAAAM! BAAAM! BAAAM!


    The destruction covered the entire city as they devastated any foe that got closer, moving around like shes of light, mere blurs the lizardmen and the draconic beasts could simply not even discern!


    Their levels had already reached a new height, reached max level, and then broke through long ago, they were all now exuding auras of¡­


    Rank 5 Spirit Orbs!


    Aside from the bonus stats of Ranking Up, they gained new Skills, and also new Spirits, which emerged from their Spirit Orbs, summoning their incredible power.


    And this time, these Spirits were much stronger than any previous ones!


    "Come out, Yggdragon Treant Spirit!"


    Erika summoned her Rank 5 Spirit, emerging from within her powerful Aura and surging like a titanic dragon made of wood and mes, it was also a treant, a type of wooden monster, butpletely covered by fire!


    While her previous spirits were all puppet-themed, this new spirit waspletely different, Erika used her own powers and body as materials to give birth to this new spirit, one capable of unleashing draconic mes.


    And¡­


    "{Spirit Fusion}!"


    RUMBLE!


    The giant dragon fused with her body, giving her a powerful draconic appearance, much more advanced than her own Draconification skill! Golden and wooden scales covered her body, alongside golden and green mes. Her draconic eyes shone with beautiful golden luster, and her big dragon wings spread out majestically.


    And within her Spirit Orb, something surged, as she continued leveling up, a spark of glowing light, epassing, and encapsting all her strengths, memories, emotions, and her heart.


    "I think I am getting it¡­"


    Her eyes glowed brightly, as this me within her continued growingrger, andrger, andrger.


    Elizabeth and Erdrich noticed it, Erika was already developing something that they had been taking a while to even begin to grasp.


    "Wait what, already?!"


    "She''s¡­ really catching up with ke!"


    Yes, what was within her was¡­


    "{Divine Spirit Aura}!"


    FLUOSH!


    A Divinity!


    Erika disappeared from where she was as thousands of lizardmen and draconic beasts were about to attack her, and within that second of a time frame, she rushed across their bodies, shing them all apart.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    SLAAASH!


    And then, once that second passed, their bodies exploded and fell apart, sliced into several pieces, sttering the floor with blood!


    FLASH!


    Erika continued moving, running around every street she could, every foe she saw was eliminated instantly, there was no mercy, only cleanup.


    SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH!


    As the number of foes within the city, which numbered over thirty thousand were being rapidly reduced by the second, as Erika killed hundreds as she moved everywhere, the three generals watching from within the castle felt utterly frustrated.


    "She''s too strong, bros!"


    "What does she have?!"


    "That''s¡­ a Divinity?!"


    The three brothers, looking almost exactly the same but with different eye colors, seemed to have found out that the only way they were even having a chance was by attacking right now.


    And unleashing all their power at once.


    "And so what?! We canbine and achieve something simr, if not stronger!"


    "T-That''s right!"


    "Gramps Garnef got our backs anyways, let''s do it!"


    The trio didn''t even think through things at all,pletely filled with fear of dying, all three of them, quickly unleashed their Magical and Spiritual Auras, their Souls themselves connecting as one.


    "{Unique Dragon Magic}: {Draconic Soul Fusion}!"


    TRUUUM!


    The entire castle trembled in that moment, as everyone nced upwards at the copsing castle''s ceiling, and of something enormous emerging from within it!


    RUMBLE!


    Something gigantic emerged from within, easily surpassing two hundred meters of height, tearing through the castle walls with its bare ws.


    A gigantic, three-headed dragon spread out its six wings, three tails, and eight legs! Its nine eyes overflowed with Mana and Draconic Power, looking down on Erika in front of him.


    "GROOAAARRR!"


    With a ferocious triple roar, the three-headed dragon rushed down, leaping towards Erika with tremendous momentum, all three of its heads charged elemental powers. One zed with crimson mes, another generated azure frost, and the third golden lightning.


    "A dragon?!"


    Erika quickly put pointing her de as the iing elemental attacks reached her, resembling a storm of powerful elemental attacks! She swung her giant de with all her strength, further equipping the rest of her spirits as armor and even creating a new sword out of one.


    SLAAASH!


    Yet, her attack was not doing it! Her eyes widened as she quickly bombarded the dragon with magic, but its triple breath attack¡­


    Broke through her shing blow!


    BOOOMMM!!!


    Erika was sent flying, her armor breaking apart, having barely helped her survive as she fell and then rolled over the pavement of the city.


    "Ugh¡­!" she groaned, slowly standing up again. "T-That thing''s strong!"


    "Erika!"


    "Wait right there!"


    Elizabeth and Erdrich quickly reached Erika, as the trio faced against the monstrosity in front of them.


    "Foolish humans¡­"


    "Did you think that we were all just fodder for you?!


    "TURNS OUT WE''RE STRONG, HAHAHAHAH!"


    As the trio stepped back, preparing for a life and death battle¡­


    RUMBLE!


    A gigantic silver dragon descended from the skies.


    The kids immediately noticed who he was.


    "Bestellen?!"


    The gigantic divine dragon smiled, his glowing golden eyes ring at the three-headed dragon in front of him, his divinity rising rapidly.


    "Good! This is more like it! You''re almost as strong as a divine dragon! How is this possible?! Hahaha! That bastard of Fafnir might be stronger than me if he can create things like you!"


    "W-WHO ARE YOU?!"


    The three-headed dragon screamed in horror and surprise, as they quickly unleashed a triple-elemental storm attack against Bestellen.


    "That won''t do, fools!"


    He quickly materialized a giant de made of Golden mes using his very lifeforce (HP) and swung it horizontally, shing apart the elemental attack Erika had such a hard time resisting!


    SLAAASH!


    BOOOM!


    "Eh?! No damage?!"


    "That''s impossible!"


    "How strong is he?!"


    The three-headed dragon was left bbergasted!


    "If you want to evenst longer than one minute, you better show me something stronger than that, you brats!" Bestellenughed. "Because I am not holding back now!"


    The Divine Dragon showed the young''uns what a true dragon was all about.


    -----

 Chapter 1098: Divine Dragon Versus False Dragon 1

    -----


    Without waiting another second, Bestellen charged forward, using his enormous body and smashing the three-headed dragon with the tremendous power of his weight, the gigantic three-headed beast was sent flying, rolling over the entire city of Evergrace and destroying dozens of buildings.


    CRAAASH!


    "Uuuggh¡­!"


    "H-He sent us flying?!"


    "That''s¡­ a real divine dragon?!"N?v(el)B\\jnn


    The three-headed dragon quickly stood up, charging their magical powers as abined storm of frost, thunder, and fire was summoned and then quickly redirected towards Bestellen.


    "We won''t die so easily though!"


    "We are invincible as long as we are one!"


    "Die!"


    Their voices unified into a single and powerful technique, abination of their mighty elemental magic through Dragon Tongue Spell Creation.


    "{Divine Fusion Magic}: {Apocalyptic Storm of Fire, Frost, and Thunder}!"


    The gigantic spiraling elemental storm reached Bestellen immediately, erupting and covering his entire body. Ice started spreading through his body, thunder tried to fry him alive, and fire to burn him to a crisp.


    BOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOM!


    Erika, Erdrich, and Elizabeth nced at the scene in shock as they continued fighting the armies of thousands of lizardmen and draconic beastsing towards them from every angle.


    "That damn dragon is too reckless!" said Erdrich angrily, punching the head off a lizardmen and then grabbing the tail of a draconic beast and throwing it into a crowd of foes. "He''s not as strong as when he was alive!"


    BAAAM!


    "Will he be fine?!" Erika wondered. "Elizabeth, please heal him!" she said, as she swung her two swords and cut through countless foes at once, releasing immense, cleaving shing waves that cut through entire buildings and even the walls of the kingdom.


    SLAAASH! SLAAASH!


    "I''ll try!" Elizabeth nodded, smashing several foes with her giant holy hammer, and unleashing a devastating tremor that shook the ground around her.


    BAAAMMM!!!


    RUMBLE!


    As over a hundred foes died in that very moment, Elizabeth pointed her hammer, which was her staff, at Bestellen who was being bathed in mes, frost, and thunder.


    FLASH!


    And a healing light reached him at the same time as the furious white dragon swung his ws, destroying the beam of elements with a single attack of his sword.


    SLAAASH!


    "Ugh?!"


    The three-headed dragon reacted barely in time, flying into the skies before the giant shing wave hit the buildings behind him and made them all copse.


    BOOOM!


    And then his body was revealed, Elizabeth''s healing magic quickly closed the few wounds over his body, he was indeed not as tough as he used to be when alive, his stats were now lower.


    He still could recall them when he saw them through ke''s grimoire, those sted numbers.


    -----


    [Name]: [Bestellen]


    [Type]: [Divine Dragon] [Metal] [Earth] [Light] [Silver] [Fire]


    [Rank]: [S+++]


    [Race]: [Divine White Dragon of Silver Scales]


    [Talent]: [Master of the Divine Silver mes: ¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï]


    [Health Points]: [500.000/500.000] (+5.600)


    [Mana Points:] [220.000/220.000] (+4.400)


    [Strength]: [400.000] (+5.600)


    [Agility]: [220.000] (+2.800)


    [Vitality]: [500.000] (+4.400)


    [Intelligence]: [400.000] (+4.400)


    [Dexterity]: [220.000] (+2.800)


    [Buff]: [Health +30.000] [Strength +30.000] [Vitality +30.000] [Intelligence +30.000] [Metal & Light Attribute Magic Power +400%] [Metal & Light Attribute Damage Taken -90%] [Divine Silver mes Conjuration Ability]


    [Skill]: [Divine White Scale Armor+++] [Divine White Dragon Silver Breath+++] [Divine White Dragon''s Silver ws+++] [Divine White Dragon''s Silver Spear Tail+++] [Divine White Dragon''s All-Devouring Jaws+++] [Divine White Dragon''s Eyes Of Silver+++] [Dragon Tongue+++] [Damage Absorption+++] [Silver mes Divine Magic+++] [Divine White Dragon''s Authority+++] [Metal Dragon Monster Summon+++] [Divinity: Ruler Of White & Silver+++]


    [Awakening Skill]: [Divinity Sword Of Silver mes+++] [Divine Golden mes Of Life+++]


    [Title]: [Ruler of the Silver mes] [Ancient Divine Dragon] [Bestellen]


    [Growth]: [0/100]


    -----


    He felt weaker and humiliated, yet there were also new strengths within him.


    However, he had not died, nor he needed healing yet, it made him slightly angered.


    "Why are you healing me?! Who do you think I am, brat?!" he roared angrily. "I am the Great White Dragon, Bestellen! I require no assistance to defeat a false dragon! Don''t you dare heal me again!"


    With a mighty roar, his Divinity Aura surged from his body, as Bestellen rushed into the skies, quickly reaching the three-headed dragon.


    "He''s fast!"


    The three-headed dragon quickly unleashed his Magical Dragon Aura, as his Dragon Heart, which had be enormous and strong after three of them fused together into one, pumped him all the dragon power he wanted.


    FLUOSH!


    "{Divine Fusion Magic}: {Frost Fire Thunderstorm Hydra Draconic Aura}!"


    His Elemental Aura surged, fire, frost, and thunder emerging as dozens of gigantic hydra-like heads made of such elemental aura materialized, attacking Bestellen at the same time as the three-headed dragon rapidly retreated.


    "SHAAAHH!"


    The hydras roared back at Bestellen, biting through his arms and body, and firing dozens of breath attacks loaded with elemental power, explosions engulfing himpletely.


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!


    "Why is that idiot not evading those attacks?!" asked Erdrich.


    "He''s insane¡­!" Erikaughed.


    "He''s¡­ I guess we can''t really talk it out with him, he''s too damn stubborn!" Elizabethined.


    "HAHAH¡­ HAHAHAHAHA!"


    Bestellen''sughter echoed as he received countless magical attacks, his ws, legs, tail, and sword shed and tore apart everything that attacked him, at the same time as he reached his foe once more.


    "How utterly pathetic! That barely scratched me!"


    His body was unscathed, as there were many small wounds spread across him, yet his body was enormous and mighty, and his scales plentifully covering his body.


    He was fine, despite the wounds!


    "T-This monster¡­!"


    "Just die!"


    "Die! Die! DIE!"


    The three heads panicked as the lizardman dragon screamed, its aura erupting into more and more elemental hydra heads, attacking Bestellen all at once.


    Yet Bestellen smiled defiantly! He shed them apart with his mighty golden sword, which actually grew stronger the less his health points became.


    "Hah¡­! You''re not half bad! However¡­!"


    SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH!


    He moved surprisingly fast and mightily, his muscr draconic body easily shing apart all the hydra heads that tried to get to him, their elemental powers erupting and exploding, being destroyed instantly.


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!


    "I GOT YOU!"


    With a wicked, warmongering smile, the White Dragon, unleashed his Awakening Skill.


    -----

 Chapter 1099: Divine Dragon Versus False Dragon 2

    -----


    Bestellen moved surprisingly fast and mightily across the skies, moving his wings with great dexterity and amazing ability.


    Although he had grown weaker after dying and being reborn as Familiar, he was happy his old, wounded wings were back to full power giving him once more the ability he had missed so much, to fly!


    SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH!


    His muscr draconic body easily shing apart all the hydra heads that tried to get to him, their elemental powers erupting and exploding, being destroyed instantly.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!


    "He''s getting closer! He''s getting way too closer now!"


    "Shit, shit! Keep firing magic!"


    "What''s going on?! How can he tank that head-on?!"


    The three-headed dragon grew more and more panicked, their magic alone could devastate entire countries within minutes, and they were clearly a threat of at least S Rank just like Garnef!


    Despite that, Bestellen, who should supposedly be weaker, was facing them head-on, with a damn smile on his face!


    "I GOT YOU!"


    With a wicked, warmongering smile, the White Dragon, unleashed his Awakening Skill. Channeling within him all the lost Life he had, he quickly activated it, the golden me within his very soul and body.


    "{Divine Golden mes Of Life+++}"


    FLUOOOSH!


    Golden mes surged from within him, epassing himpletely, like an armor of mes. This was his strongest technique, to sacrifice his own life to summon the evolution of his Silver mes.


    The Divine Golden mes of Life!


    "Burn one''s life to bring upon this world the strongest me!" he roared mightily. "Now face it, fake dragon! This is how far you''ve made me go! Rejoice! You will die with honor before my divine strength! And do not worry, you are no exception!


    As I''ve felled many mighty foes with these very mes!"


    Bestellen''s sword, which had already channeled a small amount of such golden mes, mostly merged with his silver mes, grew to a ridiculous size of over thirty meters of length.


    FLAAASH!


    The titanic zing sword shone brightly, illuminating the dark skies above, the three-headed dragon gasped, quickly harnessing all their power into severalyered barriers of their elemental magic.


    "You will not pierce through our mighty barrier!"


    They used all their Mana to reinforce the barriers using Dragon Tongue, making it several times as tough and defensive as originally!


    Yet Bestellen simply smiled, the divine dragon happily embracing the challenge.


    "Good, it wouldn''t be fun if it wasn''t like that! HAHAHAHA! Maybe the dragons of this era aren''t so bad, even if they''re fake!"


    He swung his titanic sword towards the three-headed dragon incapable of escaping because Erika, Elizabeth, and Erdrich were right below him and unleashing their attacks.


    If he dared to escape, he would be caught in the chaos and easily be targeted by them, ending in the same situation anyways!


    "Once he hits the barrier we''ll move to the left and evade the rest of the attacks!"


    "Yes! Good idea, brother!"


    "Let''s do that- AAAAAAGGGHH!"


    As the three-headed dragon prepared to evade and then target Bestellen as he was busy swinging his de, suddenly, the sword already through the three-headed dragon''s barriers, rapidly shing everyyer and piercing through them.


    SLAAASH!


    "W-Wait¡­! WAIT A SECOND!"


    "This can''t be, he''s doing it?!"


    "It''s too powerful, the pressure alone is pushing us down!"


    The titanic three-headed dragon couldn''t believe it. Bestellen''s powers were truly terrifying, easily, and quickly shing through all theyered barrier and then, to their very body.


    Pain!


    Agonizing pain epassed their entire beings, as the mes of Bestellen burned through their bodies, rapidly calcinating them with ease.


    "UUUAAAAGGGHH!"


    They couldn''t help but scream in pain and agony, their body were being shed apart, and their fusion couldn''t be undone in time, killing all three lizardmen siblings at once as an explosion of golden mes engulfed thempletely!


    BOOOMMM!!!


    Their souls weren''t even spared, as Bestellen''s mes burned through them, making them explode until nothing remained.


    Only ashes fell from their titanic body, making Erika, Elizabeth, and Erdrich¡­


    Find it such a waste!


    "His body was top notch materials and you burned it all to ashes! What the hell is wrong with you dude?!" Erdrichined.


    "You''re so strong, Bestellen! But yeah, that was a bit too much¡­" said Erika. "We did eat your meat and heart though, so maybe it''s fair?"


    "Erika! Don''t say that out loud!" Elizabeth facepalmed. "It''s awkward to talk with someone we killed and ate like this¡­"


    "Hmph," Bestellen red at them. "You did well if you ate my flesh and drank my blood. It would have gone to waste otherwise. My existence now¡­ is mostly ethereal, mana and spiritual based. I''ve be a being not made of flesh but of energy. I suppose thates with its ups and downs."


    The White Dragon red at the trio as they continued fighting the lizardmen and the draconic beasts, smiling.


    "H-He''s fine with it?!" Erika felt even more weirded out.


    "Hah, just forget about that and help us out then, we have to finish this off quickly!" said Erdrich.


    "Let''s hurry so when ke returns, he can find everything ready and clean!" said Elizabeth.


    The trio kept attacking their helpless foes. Even as the lizardmen unified with powerful magic rains, weapon techniques, and more, they couldn''t hurt them at all, and even when the draconic beasts reached titanic sizes and powerful breath attacks, they still couldn''t do anything.


    "Help you? Hah!"ughed Bestellen, suddenly sitting down over the floor. "I will not help you! This is all part of your own challenges, brats! And you bastard, go help them!"


    He pointed at Ruby who was only watching the scene, Ruby seemed to be slowly growing to admire Bestellen as if he were his uncle.


    "GRAAARRR!"


    Ruby roared mighty, descending from the skies and unleashing his powerful Holy Breath, golden mes engulfing, burning, and turning into ashes his foes one after another!


    BOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOM!


    At the same time, the fog around the entire area quickly disappeared entirely, and ke finally stepped out of it.


    "I''m back- Hm?!"


    His eyes widened as he saw Bestellen sitting down,zing around, while his friends were doing their best to fight, exhausted!


    "Bestellen¡­ You useless,zy piece of¡­!"


    "Eh?! W-Wait a second! I just fought and defeated a big guy! Heeey!"


    The White Dragon could not free himself from ke''s wrath.


    -----

 Chapter 1100: Blakes Short Temper

    -----


    (ke''s POV)


    Once I finally absorbed the Netherworld Fog into my Umbral Crimson Shadows and created a new dimension within it to store my Abyssal Vampiric Undead Familiars, I moved out, appearing within the battlefield.


    I was fully prepared to finish off whatever was ready, only to find out that mostly everything was finally defeated, aside from the few thousands of foes inside of Evergrace, which Erika, Erdrich, and Elizabeth were taking care of.


    And¡­ well, there was Bestellen there. The bastard was happily sitting over his own ass,zily yawning as hemanded Ruby to fight while he did absolutely nothing!


    So this is how he behaves when I''m not around?! Who does he think he is? Back in the battle against Mammon, he barely did enough despite his strength!


    And now he''szing around¡­ Maybe I should have just eaten his soul instead? Completely! Or perhaps I could eat his ego and personality and leave him as a mindless beast that will finally obey mymands.


    "That lizard sure thinks he''s great,zing around there like nothing!" Eleanora was furious. "Master, will you punish thatzy beast?"


    "I should, right?" I nodded, rubbing my chin.


    "P-Papa, don''t be mean! Remember that Bestellen is very old so he''s like a grandpa¡­" said Saphira.


    She was a very nice girl, havingpassion for a scumbag like Bestellen.


    He quickly noticed my furious aura as I was right in front of him.


    Eleanora and Saphira were by my left and right.


    Eleanora wanted me to kill him, Saphira wanted him to forgive him.


    Yet¡­ well, I inclined more towards Eleanora for the time being.


    "Bestellen¡­ You useless,zy piece of¡­!"


    I started berating him, preparing myself to beat him to death.


    "Eh?! W-Wait a second! I just fought and defeated a big guy! Heeey!"


    The White Dragon could not free himself from my wrath, as I quickly grabbed his tail and started hitting him over the ground over and over again until he understood he didn''t had toze around.


    BAAM! BAAM! BAAM! BAAM! BAAM!


    RUMBLE!


    "Uuuaaagggh! Stop dammit! Hey you bast- UUAAGGH!"


    CRAAASH!


    I started rolling his entire body over the floor and hitting him until he started vomiting blood.


    "I-I actually fought the three-headed dragon! I defeated that super strong foe, and this is how you repay me?!" he startedining. "You fucking bastard, I''m going to-"


    "I know you defeated that three-headed dragon, so what?!" I asked.


    I could connect with my familiars'' visions and senses any time anyways.


    "You stillzed around, reprimanded my future wife, Elizabeth, for thepassion of healing you, and then you dared to berate them and treat them like shit?!" I roared. "Give me a reason why I shouldn''t destroy your mind and leave you as a lifeless husk."n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    "W-Wait! Oi you¡­! Let''s¡­ get along?" he smiled pathetically, forcing himself to smile. "Please? I''ll¡­ be better. I''ll try!


    Okay?!"


    "Hmph¡­ If it wasn''t because you''re actually indeed a great warrior¡­ I would have been more merciless," I sighed.


    I let him go, as he fell from the sky, a few kilometers from above the ground level.


    BAAAMMM!!!


    As his body dropped over the floor, I told my friends to stop fighting.


    "Bestellen said he would clean the floor for us," I smiled. "So leave him be¡­ He''ll happily do it."


    "Wait, what?! When did I say that?!" he protested.


    "Protesting even after everything? You''re really shameless, aren''t you?!" I roared back.


    "Okay, I''ll do it! Tch!" heined. "Not like I have any other option, dammit! Did I really lose about that brat?! How could this be possible! Me the great Bestellen, cleaning bugs now?!"


    He called the "bugs" but they were all lizardmen and draconic beasts capable of destroying whole cities with their numbers.


    Yet his ws, stomps, and fire burned and crushed them like bugs, indeed.


    Those that tried to escape at longst met a swift end, as Garnef and the rest of the undead and my familiars ughtered them for us.


    "Well, anyways¡­"


    I sighed in relief, as I saw thest few hundred foes die, and then everything finally went calm.


    "Wit this, Evergrace is conquered," I sighed in relief. "There are three more cities to go. But before that, we''ll stop here and rest until tomorrow. I need to go to the Tower over there myself, so you can stay here in the meantime."


    "The Tower¡­?" wondered Erika, looking into the distance. "Right! The Trial Tower! You''ve been max level for a while, right?"


    "Yeah," I nodded. "The coordinates told me that that''s the Tower I must go into. It''s a single trial per Level Cap, but still, I don''t know what truly awaits me beyond that tower''s gates."


    "At the very least you can eat a bit and rest? It''s very early," said Elizabeth. "We finished this quite quickly¡­ Ah, let me quickly cleanse all the souls, so we can truly say we''re done."


    "Yeah, can you purify these too?" I asked Elizabeth, letting go of thousands of souls from my shadows. "They''re from all the undead that bastard had saved."


    I pointed at Garnef Abyssal Vampiric Undead form, as he began sweating by the intense re of Elizabeth.


    "I guess he already died¡­ He''ll be a good asset for you, so I''ll let him be," she sighed. "For now¡­ Let''s purify these souls and let them go to the afterlife in peace."


    Elizabeth smiled, waving her hands as her holy powers were unleashed, seas of blinding, holy spiritual light epassed the entire city.


    The cluster of souls I had released quickly began separating into thousands of tiny souls, taking the shape of people, they looked relieved, finally happy.


    "You went through a lot¡­ I''m sorry I couldn''te to help you when you were alive," I sighed. "But please, rest assured, what remains of your kind is well protected, and we will free your country, rest in peace."


    My speech made many of the souls'' nod with tranquility, disappearing amidst the clouds above the sky, this afterlife, whatever it is, must be a really nice ce.


    I hope they can finally rest.


    -----

 Chapter 1101: Taking A Small Break

    -----


    I had heard that the forests surrounding Evergrace had Lesser Dryads, descendants of the Ancient Spirits of Nature, but it seems that we were toote. Most of the forests were burned, leaving behind nothing but ugly desertedndscapes. There were pools of miasma everywhere as well.


    Well, that was going to change right now anyways. With the help of Erika, Eric, and their Spirits, plus my Divinity, the surroundings began to rapidly fill with nature and life. Elizabeth used her Purifying Light Waves to quickly purify the area from miasma too.


    Slowly, as we rested from the battle, the surroundings were filled with beautiful greenery. The forest that they made reached all the way to the mysterious Tower of Trials, which seemed to be eagerly waiting for my arrival.


    "And done¡­ Phew! That was more exhausting than I thought!" Erika said. "But at least the surroundings look a bit prettier, right?"


    "Indeed they do," I nodded with a smile. "Now, we should try to reconstruct some of these areas if possible¡­"


    Using my Domain of Creation, I quickly reconstructed most of the houses we ended wrecking, alongside the castle. I also used Dragon Tongue to experiment such things, and it worked, but it drained Mana very fast.


    By simply saying "Rebuild back to normal", the entire castle, brick by brick, returned to its original form, and even more strengthened and tougher than before, though that took almost 600.000 Mana out of me.


    "Hmm, as long as I have a lot of Mana Elixirs stocked, that''s not a problem anyways."


    With the Alchemy Dragon Spirits feeding me Mana Elixirs by converting them into shockwaves of azure light and without the need to drink the potions even directly, my Mana rapidly regenerate back.


    We decided to quickly take residence in the Evergrace castle for the moment, cleaning it from everything that was inside and leaving the cepletely clean and pristine.


    "It''s ready! This ce is finally something we can call a residence!" said Elizabeth, nodding. "Ugh, I''m so hungry though¡­ Too tired to cook."


    "Yeeaaahh¡­ Ugeeehh¡­" Erika groaned, sitting over a sofa with Elizabeth.


    "Same, I''m exhausted," Erdrich rested over the floor. "What a tiresome day¡­"


    "It sure was¡­" Eric sighed. "And I''m always just fighting in the backlines, yet I get this tired¡­ Alberta, how are you feeling?"


    "Me? I''m fine, don''t worry!" said Alberta with a gentle smile. "Though piloting the golem spirit is pretty tiring too, it''s not too bad! You always worry about me, Eric, aren''t you a nice boyfriend?"


    She sat by his side and started kissing him, Eric began blushing until he became as red as a tomato.


    "W-Wait, Alberta, you''re kissing me too much¡­" he said nervously.


    "Heheh~ You''re so cute when embarrassed! Come here!" Alberta became more assertive, as she started snuggling with him on the other sofa of the resting room within the castle, close to the kitchen.


    "Is that even necessary?" Chris red at the scene and then elsewhere. "Well, Frederica is waiting for me back home so I gotta work hard¡­ Man, and there''s three more cities to go?!"


    He suddenly recalled what I said, groaning as he usually does.


    "We might finish those quickly," I said. "I''ve amassed enough units so I believe we can start splitting my forces to conquer many cities at the same time."


    "Oooh? Really?!" Elfriedden wondered. "That would be really convenient¡­ The capital is where Fafnir''s nest is, right?"


    "Yeah, it would be ourst stop," I nodded. "Though I was also nning to send you and bring to me some of the Ice Elves. I would dly have their help. Seeing how potentially powerful they could be."


    "Right, you did have such a n¡­ If they''re truly alive, because of how low the poption is right now, adding them to the main poption would be a must," Elfriedden nodded. "¡­Fine, if the opportunityes, I''ll try to help."


    "Thanks, Elfriedden," I said. "Anyways, I''ll cook something for everyone, so just sit down and rx."


    "Really? You''re too nice¡­" Erika yawned. "Ugh, I feel sleepy even."


    "Perhaps using too much mana does that to you," said Elizabeth. "Let me help you, ke. I don''t want you to do everything right before going to that Trial, if possible."


    "Thank you," I nodded.


    We cooked together, also with the help of several of my Vampire Spirits who joined us today. Eleanora, Saphira, Hendrick, and Eriant loved cooking, so they happily helped.


    The rest not so much, they were rather clumsy at best, or terrible at worst¡­ But they did bring proper ingredients when asked, and also could wash the dishes.


    "Hah! I can''t believe my master would put me in such a simple task as washing dishes! What is this? Should an Elder Mindyer be doing such a thing?" Azahuk wondered, as he washed the dishes anyways.


    He did look rather creepy to the rest of my friends, but his tentacles were very useful and grabbing many things at once.


    "Azahuk, you are quite dexterous with your hands, so I required your handwork," I said. "After all, you''re a true master of the craft."


    "Oooho! Of course master! I totally understand now!" he nodded. "This does indeed put my hands to work, and my various tentacles! Now, now, what is this cooking you''re doing? Isn''t it like Alchemy?


    The art of mixing things together¡­ But to eat instead? How odd! My kind usually just eats brains and nothing else! Though now that I am a Spirit, I require no such substances. Albeit I do enjoy the lizardmen brains you feed me, master. They''re smarter than usual, quite the exotic delicacy!"


    "W-What is that octopus even talking about?" Elizabeth wondered, looking at Azahuk with disgust.


    "He likes to talk a lot, just bear with him," I shrugged. "Azahuk, want me to teach you how to cook? Perhaps your brains will taste better cooked."n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    "Hm?! I had never considered that before! However, fresher brains do give the best amount of neurons and brain cells. We usually require them alive after all, cooking would kill them instead¡­" he said.


    "I see¡­" I nodded.


    "You''re enjoying this conversation!" Elizabeth reprimanded me.


    "Hahaha! Sorry, I used to talk like this with him before," Iughed. "Anyways, it should be mostly ready¡­ Let''s eat."


    -----

 Chapter 1102: Having A Good Meal

    -----


    I had cooked the usual dishes that were quick to make and delicious, such as fried rice, spaghetti and Napolitan sauce, pork soup with noodles, meat buns, lots of sd, and also many types of stew, using some of the meat we got recently from the draconic beasts, which once purified, tasted rather good.


    "Hmm, I love eating like this once we finish a hard day of work!" Erika said, finishing her second te of fried rice with grilled salted fish. "Now I''ll eat some of those noodles! Hmm~!"


    "You always are so noisy when eating, Erika¡­" Elfriedden sighed, as he enjoyed his sds and his rice. "Please mind your manners for once!"


    "Bleh!" Erika didn''t care about his words and just made an annoyed sound. "I say whatever I want and eat whatever I want! Don''t be so stuck-up Elfriedden!"


    "S-Stuck up?!" Elfriedden felt shaken. "I-I thought you needed to be reminded of manners, as the child of a noble¡­"


    "I don''t care about manners nor being a noble!" Erika said. "I''m happy with how I am now, right?" she looked at me. "Also ke doesn''t mind me talking, he likes me like that!"


    She hugged me and kissed my cheek.


    "Hm¡­" Elfriedden sighed, eating his sd. "Whatever."


    At least he''s learning to not bark so loudly, though his pride as a noble and his quick temper still resurface, it is not as extreme as before.


    Before, he would have berated Erika, but now he just kept it to himself now.


    Or maybe that''s because Erika is my girlfriend and therefore, fears my retaliation?


    I wouldn''t really hurt him for that, but I would indeed tell him to shut up if he continued with it.


    Anyways, that doesn''t matter now, we''re friends after all.


    "Elfriedden, my friend, you should try to rx," I said. "I know you''re perhaps the person that''s most nervous about this entire ordeal. But don''t channel that anger to someonepletely unrted. Meditation could help you keep a cooler head."


    "Hahh¡­ Maybe you''re not wrong," he groaned. "I do feel mentally exhausted as well. I think I''ll go to sleep once I''m done eating. I need several hours of rest."


    "It''s fine," I nodded. "Rest is important."


    "Maybe your head hurts because you barely eat your proteins dude!" Chris said. "Here!"


    Suddenly, he dropped a huge piece of roasted draconic beast steak over his te full of vegetables.


    The delicious smell of roasted meat and the many spices added on top filled Elfriedden''s nostrils, although he made a disgusted expression.


    "Chris! What do you think you''re doing, you damn brat?! My perfectly fine sd ruined with your disgusting meat!" heined.


    "Elves mostly eat vegetables and grains, sometimes fish, so meat is not in their menu, huh?" wondered Alberta. "Well, didn''t he eat Bestellen''s meat though?"N?v(el)B\\jnn


    "T-That was an exception because I had to so I could grow stronger!" Elfriedden cried. "I don''t need meat! Our kind sustain ourselves with the bounties of nature. Killing animals to eat them is something only beasts do¡­"


    "Well, we''ve killed plenty, right?" Chrisughed. "Might as well eat their meat so it doesn''t go to waste dude! Do you prefer the meat of a monster to rot away or to go to the belly of a starving person?"


    "That''s¡­" Elfriedden gulped saliva as he saw the huge steak. "Well¡­"


    "Hahaha! He''s falling for it!"ughed Erdrich. "Come on dude, just eat the damn steak already. Is your religion about not eating meat?"


    "Well¡­ not exactly, but¡­ Um, it''s not about not eating but not eating the meat we hunt, innocent animals that don''t hurt anybody¡­ eating them is wrong," he sighed. "However¡­ Fine, dammit!"


    He dug the fork and the knife into the huge, sizzling steal and cut a tender piece of it, taking a bite.


    His eyes widened.


    "S-So¡­ So¡­"


    "So?" Chris asked.


    "So delicious, dammit! Screw you Chris!" Elfriedden cried, yet he kept eating. "And its damn tender too! Those monsters looked so huge and tough, why is the meat so tender?!"


    "I prepared it thoroughly," I exined. "Any tough meat can be tender when prepared correctly. Try some of the fried rice, it has meat and chicken too. Also eat the noodles and the sauce, they also have cow meat. All of these are good for you, Elfriedden. You spend a lot of energy, eating only sd will not help you regain your energiespletely."


    "Hah¡­ Dammit¡­" he sighed. "Whatever!"


    I finally understood why he wasining to Erika, he was actually jealous of what she was eating. Of how everyone enjoyed such a huge feast, while he limited his eating habits to the little his culture demanded. He hated how Erika enjoyed it because he also wanted to enjoy it, hah.


    "Heheheh¡­" Erika smiled smugly at him, making Elfriedden almost spit his food. "Sooo? Who''s the one speaking out loud about the food now, eh? Huuuh?"


    "S-Shut up¡­" he muttered while embarrassed. "It''s good, okay? I admit it! N-Now leave me be!"


    "Hahaha! Okay, calm down Elfriedden! We''re all friends here!" Erika was a friendly and good person, so she forgave him quickly. "Here, I''ll give you this dessert, it''s really good! It''s called pudding and it''s made of cream and eggs and milk! Try it!"


    "Pudding¡­?" he wondered, tasting it. "Hm?! S-So creamy and¡­ soft¡­ Milk and eggs can create such a sweet delicacy?!"


    "Yeah, there are myriads of ways in which you can turn ingredients into delicious meals, Elfriedden," I smiled. "Anyways, let''s enjoy the food. We deserve it."


    As we ate, I noticed a new message in my grimoire.


    Ding!


    [The {Holy Spirit of Light} is happy of your progress so far.]


    [The {Holy Spirit of Nature} is grateful for what you''ve done for the elven continent. They fervently ask you to save their sibling, Yggdrasil, before a week ends.]


    [The {Holy Spirit of Ice} seems pleased her blessed child has begun to open up and enjoy more meals, which are healthier for him.]


    Well, would you look at that, they''ve been watching.


    [Congrattions! You havepleted the {Liberation Quest}: {Defeat all the Lizardmen in your path and Free the Fallen City of ria and Evergrace}!]


    There was such a quest?


    -----

 Chapter 1103: Quest Complete?

    -----


    Ding!


    [The {Holy Spirit of Light} is happy of your progress so far.]


    [The {Holy Spirit of Nature} is grateful for what you''ve done for the elven continent. They fervently ask you to save their sibling, Yggdrasil, before a week ends.]


    [The {Holy Spirit of Ice} seems pleased her blessed child has begun to open up and enjoy more meals, which are healthier for him.]


    Well, would you look at that, they''ve been watching.


    [The {Holy Spirit of Fire} seems satisfied with those that share his blessing authority.]


    Hm, well, his Authority Fragment was indeed incredible, the ability to absorb Soul mes and gain Stats is really good. Everyone that got to get it, which already had fire attribute affinity, are really enjoying it.


    [The {Holy Spirit of Darkness} watches silently.]


    Hm?


    [The {Holy Spirit of Love} is eager for you to quickly jump to the next stage of your rtionship with your girlfriends!]


    I''ll ignore this pervert.


    [Congrattions! You havepleted the {Liberation Quest}: {Defeat all the Lizardmen in your path and Free the Fallen City of ria and Evergrace}!]


    [The Holy Spirits are pleased you''ve managed to reim two cities within such a small-time frame! Not only that, but you''ve also defeated several fearsome foes, including many of the Draconic Generals, lizardmen gifted with the power of a Dragon Heart and Dragon Tongue Magic.]


    [With three more Cities to go and then the capital, you must prepare well for what''sing. Go to the Tower of Trials and ascend into the next Rank to grow exponentially stronger! Fafnir is a foe where you''ll need to use everything you have, and more, to defeat him.]


    [Completion Rewards]: [Magic Circle Strengthening Elixir (Legendary Grade)] x50 [Physique Enhancing Elixir (Legendary Grade)] x50 [Spirit Orb Enhancement Elixir (Legendary Grade)] x50 [Skill Proficiency Elixir (Legendary Grade)] x50 [Skill Evolution] x2 [Divine Elven Spirit Stone (Legendary Grade)] x1 [Divine Elven Soul Essence Phial (Legendary Gade)] x1 [Divine Evil Dragon''s Crystalized Cursed Essence (Legendary Grade)] x1 [Shattered Divine Frost Crown Fragment (Legendary Grade)] x1 [Random Skill Inheritance Scroll: Lover (Legendary Grade)] x2]


    These rewards are certainly something, aside from the usual stuff, there''s definitely something the spirits themselves put in there as their personal rewards.


    I got Elven¡­ Spirit Stone? Then there''s the Soul Essence Phial, I don''t know how to feel about drinking the essence of the souls of these victims though.


    Followed by the crystalized cursed essence of the evil dragon, that''s interesting. Then there''s thest reward, definitely from the Holy Spirit of Love.


    [Random Skill Inheritance Scroll: Lover]?


    And it''s two, I guess for Erika and Elizabeth.


    Wait, not one for Eleanora at least?


    Well, I did inherit one of her skills permanently before but still¡­


    From what I was able to tell, all these items can either be used as materials for Spirit Evolution/Creation or to make equipment.


    Or I can absorb them and gain power from them, like some other items I was gifted a while ago.


    I''ll save them for now and see what they can do once I''m done with the Trial.


    The Elixirs and the Phial are the things I could consume right now, but the other seems more like materials.


    Although absorbing their essence seems tempting, I could use those materials, perhaps, to finally evolve some Familiars into Divine Familiars.


    Bestellen, Skadi, and Lifang could probably evolve with what I''ve been given, plus some more materials, and perhaps a Rank Up from my side.


    Anyways, I should consume the Elixirs and the Phial once I''m done eating with everyone.


    ¡­


    "Phew! That was delicious¡­ I''m a bit sleepy now¡­" Erika yawned. "I think I''ll go take a nap."


    "It''s still quite early in the day though, isn''t it like just recently 2 Pm?" wondered Eric. "A nap at that hour¡­"


    "Hey! I did a lot of work today Eric!" Erikained. "You''re not tired?"


    "I mean, I am but if I sleep right now I won''t be able to sleep well at night because I won''t be as tired," exined Eric.


    "T-That''s¡­ Completely valid! I had not thought about that," wondered Erika as she yawned again. "But I''m seriously sleepy though¡­"


    "You can go to take a nap if you really want to, Erika," I told her. "No need to wait. Elfriedden also went to sleep after we ate. He was exhausted. My army is protecting the city and there''s also a barrier created by Bestellen. There are also no foes at all around here, so rx and rest all you need.


    I''ll be on my way to the trial tower now."N?v(el)B\\jnn


    "Shall we go then?" Eleanora asked.


    "Yay, let''s go!" Saphira said.


    "You''re going already? Well, take care," Elizabeth said. "I don''t know what it''ll be but¡­ I hope you can do it."


    "I''ll do well, don''t worry," I kissed her lips. "Can you cook for dinner if I take too long?"


    "Yes, of course, don''t worry about it," she nodded with a gentle smile.


    "Mooch, mooch!" Erika lips were right next to me, as she asked for a kiss. I happily gave her one.


    "Go take a nap," I patted her head.


    "Okaaay~ Come back early!" Erika wasn''t even worried about me.


    "I will," I nodded. "Alright, everyone, I''ll be back."


    I walked outside the castle, then the city, then into the outskirts, admiring the skies, the greenery around me, and slowly walking the road to the tower.


    After a couple of minutes, I was standing right in front of it.


    The Tower of Trials of the Elven Continent.


    Apparently, there are only one in each continent, and despite all wars, they have never been destroyed.


    They''re made of an incredibly durable material that simply won''t bend, even against the fury of Fafnir or the Demons.


    They remain, immovable, as if they were a part of the world as a whole, like a mountain.


    "So this is the Tower of Trials, master?" Hendrick wondered, analyzing it. "Indeed, by just giving it a mere nce, I can immediately tell this tower is both ancient and incredibly durable, if not¡­ indestructible! It is as if space and thews of the world converge and meld with it, and amazing construction."


    "It is most likely from the Age of the Gods," I nodded. "The Age of Dragons, Titans, and Ancient Spirits."


    And then, I heard the soothing voice of a woman.


    "Wee to the Tower of Trials, Summoner. I''ve been waiting for you."


    -----

 Chapter 1104: The First Rank Up Trial

    -----


    "Wee to the Tower of Trials, Summoner. I''ve been waiting for you."


    Saying that I was startled after hearing that voice would be an understatement, I was shocked. Yet I kept my calm and remained almost unflinching. I had imagined the tower had its inner workings and mechanism, but a voice from within it was different.


    It was as if the Tower was¡­ somewhat alive? I just couldn''tprehend it well, for the first time, I couldn''t really imagine how this was even made. Did the Ancient Gods even had the power to make this? I don''t think so, right?N?v(el)B\\jnn


    "You probably have many questions right now, isn''t it? Why don''t you step inside? The Trial won''t begin until you agree to its terms after all. So let''s talk, Summoner."


    The gate in front of me slowly opened, the interior couldn''t be seen, there was just white light at the other side. It was indeed strange.


    "The door opened! What happened?" wondered Saphira. "Papa?"


    "You didn''t hear the voice?" I asked them.


    "What voice?" Eleanora wondered.


    "I see¡­" I nodded. "The Tower just talked to me and invited me to get inside. I suppose they just want to¡­ Talk some more? It''s confusing but might as well go and see what this is all about."


    Without further ado, I stepped inside the tower.


    FLASH!


    The white light engulfed me, as I found myself within a vast white and gray colored hall, with many windows that led to white light.


    "Hm? This ce¡­"


    There was no ceiling, only leading to more white light, and aside from the beautiful ceramic, there was a single door at the end of the circr room.


    "Is this indie the Tower of Trials?"


    "Precisely."


    The voice reverberated again,ing from above.


    Amidst the white light, something descended, or someone.


    It resembled a person; they had the same female voice as before.


    Once they reached the floor, their body could be seenpletely.


    They were made of gray and white light, both colors constantly mixing. They had a single red eye in their head, and their "hair" were a series of long, thick tentacles made of their light bodies.


    "Wee, Summoner. You''re one of the few in the World of Spiritias that has reached the necessary threshold to step into this tower and do its trials," she said. "You might be surprised over my appearance. As you can see, despite my voice, I am not human. And also I am not speaking physically, but into your very mind."


    "So that''s why my spirits can''t hear you," I nodded.


    "So it''s talking again?" Eleanora wondered.


    "Oooh, she''s bright!" said Saphira.


    "Indeed. I am this Tower''s Spirit," she exined. "I go by many names. My original given name was 0-10. But you can call me Oten."


    "Oten¡­ Such a strange name, why 0-10?" I wondered.


    "Fufu, I can see you don''t hold back with that sharp tongue of yours," sheughed. "It is a name designated to me by my creators."


    "Who made you?" I wondered. "Who made this tower?"


    "That is an answer that you may find at another time," she said. "Today you will do this Tower''s Trial. And I must first inform you that what it can be."


    "Is that so?" I wondered, sighing. "Is it hunting? Finding treasures? A written exam, perhaps? Fighting against someone else?"


    "Hahah, I suppose that''s the best you could imagine a Trial being," she said. "That''s not the case, you will go through a special Scenario, a Fragment of the Past or a Glimpse of the Future of different worlds connected to Spiritias, or of Spiritias itself."


    "Worlds connected to Spiritias?" I asked. "You mean the Outer Universe?"


    "Yes, the Towers of Trial are connected to the root of Spiritias, which is further connected to something even deeper¡­" Oten said. "Now, the Trial will have its own small requirements, and also a time limit. If you die within the trial, you will also die in real life, so please be mindful.


    If the time limit ends, and you have not aplished all the requirements to pass, you will be sent back and you may be able to try again after 24 Hours."


    "Who ispiling these Scenarios?" I asked.


    "I cannot answer that."


    "Hm¡­"


    She sure is secretive; can I trust this?


    "You are probably overthinking it. People have done my trials before, I bet you know a few people, right? They have all gone through their own personal trials, some more times than others," Oten exined. "You don''t need to fear, within the stated rules, the trials are fair, and you will not be taken advantage of."


    "But why does this whole system even exist?" I wondered.


    "To filter," she said. "The world cannot allow those that are too strong to roam freely and continue growing, it could mean the end of the world. Therefore, Trials are done to filter others. If you can''t pass the trial, then you''re simply not deserving of continuing to grow stronger. And you will be unable to break your Level Cap or further cultivate your Spirit Orb."


    I can still grow stronger on my own through Cultivation and raising my Stats, but indeed, it would be annoying for anybody that wasn''t me.


    "Fine¡­" I sighed. "Let''s get this started with, if you are not answering any of my questions, I will not waste any more of my time."


    "Very well," Oten nodded. "Step into this portal for the Trial to begin. Remember, the Scenarios are Fragments of the Past or Future of Worlds Long Forgotten. Reanimated through the Heavenly Records of the World of Spiritias. Did that answer that question about the Scenarios?"


    "Kind of, but I am sure there''s a person behind it, who is it? A God? A Demon?" I wondered.


    "I cannot answer that~" she giggled. "Now, please step inside the portal."


    "Fine."


    I stepped inside, as the white light engulfed me once more.


    FLASH!


    And then I heard a voice once more, this one was much more mechanical and monotone.


    [You have entered your {First Rank Up Trial}, in here, you will face a challenge and an event within a Scenario.]


    [By fulfilling all conditions, you will be able toplete the Scenario and so the Rank Up Trial.]


    And when I finally opened my eyes, I found myself standing in the middle of¡­


    Some sort of spaceship.


    "What?"


    I looked around, there were many other humans like me, wearing space suits and carryingser guns and other high-tech weapons I''ve sometimes seen before.


    Aside from that, smaller flying machines were moving everywhere. Some small, made to carry things, and others big, carrying giant weapons and holding humanoid shapes, made forbat.


    I noticed my clothes had changed, as I was wearing the same skin-tight space suit as the rest of the humans here, it was of blue and white color, showing golden stars and saying [Star Union of Gctica] with big letters.


    When I took out my ID, attached to my suit, it said [Machine Warrior Pilot: ke Goathorn (Rank F Pilot)].


    "Hm¡­"


    And then I noticed something, right behind me, one of such gigantic machines was waiting for me.


    It looked older and more worn down than the rest, I was certainly of a lower ss than the other pilots.


    Then, someone bumped with me and almost made me fall.


    I red at them; it was a blonde man with a cocky smile.


    "Watch where your steps, country bumpkin."


    "What?"


    Before I was to retaliate and cut this man in half, suddenly¡­


    [WARNING! WARNING! WARNING! WARNING!]


    [Sudden Xenoid Raid in Progress! Sudden Xenoid Raid in Progress!]


    [All Pilots please ride your Machine Warriors and prepare for battle.]


    [Estimated Time Until Imminent Battle: 73 Seconds]


    "This is¡­?!"


    I looked into outer space through the huge spaceship.


    There was something approaching, a huge cluster of¡­


    Red flesh and tentacles.


    So this is how this Trial is going to be, huh?


    Interesting.


    ------


    Author''s Note: And now it begins! This''ll be an amazing new arc full of new things for this novel, so be prepared!

 Chapter 1105: Star Union of Galactica Saga

    -----


    An rm voice, the voice of a woman, echoed across the entire interior of this high technology spaceship.


    [WARNING! WARNING! WARNING! WARNING!]


    [Sudden Xenoid Raid in Progress! Sudden Xenoid Raid in Progress!]


    [All Pilots please ride your Machine Warriors and prepare for battle.]


    [Estimated Time Until Imminent Battle: 73 Seconds]


    "This is¡­?!"


    I looked into outer space through the huge spaceship.


    There was something approaching, a huge cluster of¡­


    Red flesh and tentacles.


    So this is how this Trial is going to be, huh?


    Interesting.


    Xenoids, these beings must be some sort of alien species that has adapted to live in outer space.


    Hence, they''re incredibly tough and powerful, and seeing how there are hundreds of them approaching, they''re aiming for the lifeforms of this spaceship.


    They are most likely some of the usual type, parasitic flesh-like beings that absorb and assimte any lifeform they met.


    They''re known as World Enders and Swarms across the universe, and I had faced many of them across my previous life.


    Their strength varies but, usually, they can be killed with powerful enough magic. However, certain races can be stronger as they assimte lifeforms, stacking abilities and magic powers.


    Those are the ones that be the deadliest, I have yet to confirm this with these Xenoids though.


    and right now, everyone was running around, quickly climbing over small spaceships that seemed equipped withser beams for rapid fire, or in the humanoid machines.


    There was one of such machines right behind me as well. The machine had the shape of a human, slightly, although covered on heavy mechanized armor.


    It had severalyers of silver metal, painted blue here and there, yet it seemed slightly roughed up, there were several wounds on the metal.


    Aside from that, the entire machine warrior was roughly ten meters tall, rather big for a mecha that this advanced civilization of¡­ just humans, apparently, wield.


    Humans aremon all across the universe, I have yet to find out why is that even the case, but they''re an adaptive race of proliferating beings.


    Maybe that''s why I wasn''t surprised when I saw them in Spiritias too, and when I turned into one myself as well.


    Anyways, that''s not important.


    I noticed that therge machine warrior, as they call them, had a head, it resembled the head of a human, but made of metal, with two neon blue eyes, and a serious expression.


    This race, this tribe of people must worship the human physique, that is the only way they would have made such an inefficient model.


    Like, why legs and arms like these? The human body is rather inefficient in zero gravity spaces, something resembling an octopus would be better.


    Though, well, it does have its charm, it looks like the younglings would say¡­ cool.


    "No introduction?" I wondered, looking around.


    And as I asked and there were less than thirty seconds until the aliens arrived, a voice echoed, apanied by an holographic message, most likely crafted by the Tower itself.


    [The {First Rank Up Trial: Star Union of Gctica Saga} has begun!]


    [You have found yourself immersed in the body of a young and bullied F Ranked Machine Warrior Pilot in the middle of a transportation mission that spans an entire gxy.]


    [Your mission is simple, make sure the entire Seed Ship carrying over a billion humans in cryogenic state doesn''t end up being destroyed or invaded by the deadly Xenoids, a race that has invaded Earth, your original, andid waste upon it.]


    [With thest remaining humans in your ship, you must do everything you can to ensue their safety, as the gically engineered pilot of the Machine Warriors part of the Star Union Gctica Team, your mission is to destroy as many Xenoids, protect the ship, and lead others into working together.]


    [The Fate of Humanity is within your hands. Failure is simply not an option.]


    [The more Xenoids you y, and the more Pilots survive at the end of the Trial when you finally and safelynd on the Terraformed that is your destination, the stronger your Rank Up will be.]


    [Time Limit: 7 Days until arriving in the designed Terraformed.]


    "Hah, this is more like it."


    I was already climbing the Machine Warrior, my body moved on its own, as if it had already memorized this entire routine from the beginning.


    So that''s what it means to be gically engineered to pilot these things, huh?


    One thing that I''ve noticed though is¡­


    "Grimoire! Spirits!"


    I tried calling my Grimoire, or my Spirits, but there was no response.


    They just wouldn''t answer at all.


    I also tried using Spells but nothing, my internal energies were there, but I couldn''t use them, it was as if this body was somehow not used to it.


    I was still physically strong though, but there was this strange "lock" that required a certain something to be opened.


    Skills couldn''t be used either, but I could feel like they were there as well¡­


    "Hmm, perhaps the key to all things is you, my friend."


    I patted the huge robot''s head with my hand, before its chest opened, revealing afortable seat surrounded by several mechanical and technological gadgets, cables, screens, and buttons everywhere.


    With less than twenty seconds left, I jumped inside, closed it, and then sealed it. My spacesuit quickly adapted to the conditions as I grabbed the hoodie-like part and equipped it,pletely sealing my body.


    If the robot were to be destroyed, without a spacesuit I would die instantly after all. Oxygen was there in arge tank behind my back, and the suit was also equipped with several things, even prepared for waste excretion and filtering into nutrients for the body, disgusting yet fascinating.


    "So I click this, that, and this¡­"


    I moved automatically, clicking every button in front of me, the screens lit up one after another, scanning mepletely as I quickly grabbed tworge controls clicked them, and the entire thing began moving.


    [Initializing Full Assimtion¡­]


    Something, a long, ck colored cable, pierced my neck in that moment, connecting to my very spine, and my senses and brain.


    My eyes lit up, it felt as if my very mind had been transferred into the Machine Warrior''s body, its head, eyes, mouth, I could finally understand why it had all of that.


    And why it had a human form too.


    [Full Assimtion Complete. Sense Sharing has been started.]


    [Wee aboard, Pilot ke.]n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    "Hah, this is fascinating!"


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!


    And as I was about to fly off, explosions reverberated, several pilots were already dying.


    "Looks like there''s no other option than helping these pitiful people¡­ Let''s go."


    FLASH!


    With a mere thought, propulsors activated behind my back, bringing me into the endless expanse of outer space, darkness and the faint lights of stars far away being the only thing everywhere.


    Aside from the thousands of pilots fighting and dying against near a hundred clouds of red flesh covered on countless eyes, shells, and tentacles.


    "Aaaaggh! Heeelp!"


    I heard the scream of someone close to me, the robot''s head tilted towards the direction, quickly helping me analyze a person screaming, their robot was being pulverized by giant tentacles and the alien was seeking the person''s body, probably to eat it and absorb it.


    "Let''s see what this old machine can do."


    FLASH!


    By using a quick propulsion, I reached the alien within a second, I grabbed the robot''s left leg armor, which quickly transformed atmand into a huge and long electrified spear.


    Yeah, a spear is enough.


    My techniques aren''t spells or skills, they''re part of my fighting arts.


    "Die."


    {Divine Spear God Arts}: [One Hundred Lightning Blows]!


    CLASH! CLASH! CLASH! CLASH!


    BOOOM!


    -----

 Chapter 1106: Neutonium Core Ability

    -----


    "Let''s see what this old machine can do."


    FLASH!


    By using a quick propulsion, I reached the alien about to eat a fellow Pilo within a second, I grabbed the robot''s left leg armor, which quickly transformed atmand into a huge and long electrified spear.


    Yeah, a spear is enough. My techniques aren''t spells or skills, they''re part of my fighting arts. And within the internal energies of the robot itself,rge quantities of electricity generated through a miniature nuclear power reactor¡­


    It''s more than enough.


    "Die."


    {Divine Spear God Arts}: [One Hundred Lightning Blows]!


    My spear moved, answering to the reflexes and movements I''ve polished through my entire two lives, the electrified spear rapidly pierced the monstrous alien''s body, explosions of electricity echoing.


    CLASH! CLASH! CLASH! CLASH!


    The technique''s name is not an exaggeration to sound grandiose, exactly a hundred blows were unleashed, constantly disintegrating the flesh of the alien due to the fast movements, piercing attacks, and electricity burning through its body.


    "Shyeeeeggghhh!"


    The creature bellowed, releasing an ultrasonic scream that could even be heard in space itself thanks to my heightened senses in the machine.


    It tried fighting back, but it was toote anyways.


    As I pierced its body, I noticed there was a core within its body, protected by arge quantity of slime-like flesh.


    Yes, knowledge flowed into my head, the knowledge of this pilot, ingrained into their very genes.


    Xenoids protect their true bodies using centoid, a special type of matter they generate and excrete endlessly.


    Their true bodies are rather simple,rge worms, or perhaps, giant meatballs.


    "I found you!"


    CRASH!


    With a smile in my face, I swung the spear onest time, umting all the momentum, once the nucleus, the true body was pierced.


    Electricity flowed inside the alien''s body, its entire body burning from the inside out and exploding!


    BOOOM!


    "Hmph¡­ Not bad, this machine is fine."


    I smiled inwardly, I was rather pleased of what the Machine Warrior could do, I had been surprised a bit, yet this alone wasn''t enough though.


    Even less when there were near a hundred of these monsters nearby.


    Its energy reserves were good enough, but with that alone it won''t be possible to kill them all. I''ll have to rally the pilots together into formations.


    Despite this being Rank Up trial for a summoner like me, it appears I can''t even use my Summoning Abilities, hah.


    "T-That mech! A-Are you ke?!" the man muttered, talking to me through a specialwork. "I can''t believe it! Since when you move so well?! That was a technique, right?!"


    "Yeah," I nodded, and so did my robot. "What''s your name, young cadet?"


    "N-Name''s Francisco," he muttered. "My mech is in shambles, I can''t fight anymore¡­ I''ll return to the mothership for the time being, thank you!"


    "Hm," I nodded. "Francisco, may I use your machine?"


    "What? Use it?" he asked. "But¡­ isn''t it broken?"


    "It would be a waste to leave it here," I said.


    "Well¡­ go ahead, do whatever you want, it''s irreparable at that point anyways¡­" Francisco flew away safely, as I saw him quickly enter the mothership.


    "Good."


    One thing I''ve noticed this robot possessed was a core, a powerful crystal imbued with an alien energy simr to nuclear power and electricity, yet that carried a strong connection to my body.


    Through the Full Connection mode into the robot, I felt such a core growing stronger, much closer with me, and as information flowed into my mind, I learned what it was.


    "A Neutonium Core¡­"


    Neutonium, a precious mineral that was discovered in thest century of humanity, fabricated bybining the greatest minerals in history, capable of harboring energy to ridiculous quantities and grow, adapt, and transform to harbor even more.


    It was a "living mineral" that can constantly grow, develop, and enhance whatever it powers up over time, as long as it is feed with energy, and it is the main core of these machines that work so efficiently.


    Even the cable connected to my brain right now, is partially made of this mineral, it interconnects my neurons with the machine''s core, creating aplete connection with everything.


    And also, as I realized this connection and tapped into it, the "seal" within me slowly began to weaken, the more I fought and manipted the energies in the core, the more the seal was lifted.


    I had yet to try this, but it could be possible to somehow transfer skills, magic, or other abilities into the machine itself and use it as a tool.


    However, for that, I require to umte and transform energy, therefore¡­


    CRASH!


    I grabbed the core of the machine that was left behind, and quickly ced it close to my machine''s core.


    FLUOSH!


    I manipted the core using my internal forces, quickly creating tendrils out of it that connected to the other Neutonium core.


    FLAAASH!


    Both crystals assimted one another, the core quickly adapted, yet its size barely increased, rapidlypacting all the absorbed matter and energy.


    And then, a wave of azure electricity washed over my machine, rapidly enchanting it, nanomachines were born out of my own machine''s metal, quickly activating, and repairing the damage.


    "It can even create nanomachines? How fascinating¡­" I said with a smile. "Then if that''s possible¡­"


    The seal within me weakened enough for me to use a single Skill now, I could feel it.


    I could probably choose the Spear God Arts and enhance my attack¡­


    But I can already use the techniques separately, there''s no need.


    "There''s a single Skill that will do wonders here," I nodded. "And it''s you."


    [Abyssal Demonic Machine Sentinel Summon]: [Machine Sentinel: Heavy Tank ss]!


    I touched the remaining of the machine in front of me, as it began to twist around and transform, fusing back together, turning ck and red in color.


    "Rise!"


    The machine was reconstructed anew, taking upon arge, heavy-looking, and armored form, holding a giant axe covered with neon redsers.


    I felt some of my internal energies finally being used, as the new demonic machine was born.


    And then a holographic message appeared, from the machine itself.


    [Congrattions, you have managed to awaken a Neutonium Core Ability: [Abyssal Demonic Machine Sentinel Summon]!]


    [Keep feeding your Neutonium Core with energy andpatible materials and lifeforce from Xenoids to keep it growing and awaken more innate Neutonium Core Abilities!]


    Perfect.N?v(el)B\\jnn


    -----

 Chapter 1107: Ill Bring Victory To Humanity

    -----


    [Congrattions, you have managed to awaken a Neutonium Core Ability: [Abyssal Demonic Machine Sentinel Summon]!]n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    [Keep feeding your Neutonium Core with energy andpatible materials and lifeforce from Xenoids to keep it growing and awaken more innate Neutonium Core Abilities!]


    Right now, I could only wield this single Skill, which had been transferred into the core as an innate ability, something that apparently happens here, which helps pilots be unique fighters.


    Neutonium Cores are incredible materials, and what they can develop seems endless, connected to the very mind and body of the pilot, it develops based on their emotions and dreams.


    Therefore, once the conditions are met, Neutonium Core Abilities are created!


    Usually, it happens very rarely with exceptionally talented pilots, but with me, I can do it as I grow, awakening my already existing skills.


    This Skill saw little action in the previous battle we had, mostly because of theck of proper, metallic materials.


    However, in this space? Its literally made for it, especially with all this debris floating everywhere.


    Yet.


    "Shyeeegghh!"


    My enhanced senses as part of the machine quickly report to me the scream of an angered alien, Xenoids appear from above, below, from the left and right, and also from the front and behind.


    They immediately attacked me the moment they saw one of their kind being killed, naturally, it was only normal to do that.


    After all, I am a genuine threat to them, aren''t I? Its better get rid of me before I be too big of a problem!


    "You cover my back, guard me for iing blows," Imanded the machine, which quickly and automatically moved behind me, unleashing its powerful Demonic Aura.


    "Now¡­"


    I quickly wielded my spear as the iing attacks reached me, giant tentacles covered with ck colored metallic shells, enough to easily tear through the metal of this machine.


    The correct way to counter them is topletely evade and hit the soft parts, the shell is incapable of conducting energy, so this is how they shield themselves from the electrified blows.


    From this angle¡­


    The same technique as before should do.


    {Divine Spear God Arts}: [One Hundred Lightning Blows]!


    My mechanical arms moved at lightning speed, my senses with the machine synchronized at 100%.


    The electrified spear evaded the sharp, armored, and ded tentacles, as it reached the soft centoid covering the creatures.


    CLASH! CLASH! CLASH! CLASH! CLASH!


    As the electrified attacks reached my foes one after another, explosions of thunder echoed, quickly spreading across the rest of the aliens as they were very close to one another.


    Yes, this is a new technique I''ve just made, an Echo of an already existing one.


    My powers are mostly sealed, what I can do is limited.


    Therefore, I must work with what I have.


    And surpass my limits!


    "{One Hundred Lightning Blows Echo}: [Chain-Lightning Serpentine Spear]"


    The thunder turned into serpent-like beings, rapidly coiling around the aliens as they struggled to even move, their protectiveyers of fleshy centoid quickly began to roast from the inside out, their shells fell off, exploding into pieces.


    And then, using my spear, I quickly aimed at the openings they gave me, while the machine I summoned rapidly took any hit I would have received for me with its enormous defenses and bulky body.


    "Perish."


    BOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOM!


    Three Xenoids died instantly, as I pierced their true bodies deeply and conducted the Chain-Lightning inside of them, making them blow up and burn.


    The four other Xenoids panicked, quickly attempting to retreat to assess the current situation, this gave me a nice amount of time to prepare another technique.


    "I''ve gathered a lot of energy after I absorbed that second core, so I''ll happily use it on you, my friends." I said, my spear''s lightning turned green colored, a higher level of intensity and power.


    [The Machine Warrior''s Ability [Electrification] has reached its Second Stage, [Green Lightning]!]


    [Although the intensity and range of the attacks will increase, please be aware of the energy consumption. This Second Stage must only be used when in dire danger.]


    The mainputer of the machine alerted me of this ability, but I just took it as a weed surprise.


    "Don''t worry,puter, I have plenty of that."


    The Xenoids escaped from me, yet they could not escape my spear.


    Hunting humanity? Don''t make meugh.


    You''re my prey.


    Let me show you what humans can do!


    "{Chain-Lightning Serpentine Spear Echo}: [Roaring Emerald Lightning Dragon]"


    FLUOSH!


    A third stage of the same technique,bining the green lightning with the serpentine spear echo created something even stronger.


    "ROOOAARR!"


    The sound of the lightning breaking through everything echoed even in the depths of space as four emerald dragon-shaped thunderbolts reached the four Xenoids escaping from me.


    I swung my spear at the same time as the attacks were released, it was truly a long-ranged technique out of my own spear.


    Like magic, but that wasn''t truly magic.


    "Shyyaagh!"


    BOOOM!


    "Gruoohh!"


    BOOOM!


    "Gryyeegghh!"


    BOOOM!


    "Shyeeeeeggh!"


    BOOOM!


    The screams of these monsters, which reached my mind as annoying buzz, were of no concern to me, if anything, I smiled as they died.


    These were most likely a psychic message sent to their colony, therefore, as they died, more of them approached, watching me from afar and then pouncing.


    "Hah, not even a second to rest, huh?"


    Well, it''s not like I ampletely alone either.


    I moved using the propulsors and green lightning epassing the machine''s body, quickly reachingrge clusters of destroyed machines, small spaceships, and more.


    The first machine I summoned had been fighting fiercely, killing two Xenoids, but it was already being destroyed, six of them ganged on it and rapidly tore it apart.


    "I order you, Self-Destruct!"


    BOOOM!


    The machine glowed bright red, quickly exploding and heavily damaging the Xenoids attacking it, another of them died as their centoid was rather weakened already.


    But seriously, only one of them died? They''re very tough.


    These spears, they''ve been most likely specifically designed to pierce through their main bodies, out of the most advanced,test technology.


    "Well, thank you for your patience!"


    As dozens of Xenoids were about to attack me, suddenly.


    [Abyssal Demonic Machine Sentinel Summon]!


    FLUOSH!


    Dozens of machines were born, glowing bright red and ck, surrounding me.


    "Advance!"


    The giant machines charged forward, shing against the fierce Xenoids.


    I''ll bring victory to Humanity.


    -----

 Chapter 1108 Kill All Xenoids

    -----


    The Ability finally activated again, I had plenty of materials this time, so many that over thirty of these powerful machines were created instantly.


    And despite my restriction over all my skills and energies, once a skill is fully integrated into the Neutonium''s Core, all of its effects are activated regardless of if I can use them properly or not based in the "seal".


    This means that this Skill¡­


    -----


    [Abyssal Demonic Machine Sentinel Summon: Lv1]


    The Demonic Skill Evolution form of the [Mechanical Creation] Skill.


    Combine your mechanical engineering skills and techniques with demonic conjuration and summoning magic to bring forth mechanical abominations hyper charged with demonic energy batteries that overflow with abyssal auras.


    By using avable materials such as metal and other simr items, you can summon mighty Abyssal Demonic Machine Sentinels, whose shapes and forms varies based in the type of Sentinels they are, their sses, Abilities, and Powers.


    These summoned Abyssal Demonic Machines Physical and Magical Power, Durability, and Movement Speed will be based both on the Materials used for their creation and also on 300% (+30% x Skill Level) of the Spirit, Intelligence, and Dexterity Stats of the Summoner, plus the Demonic Energy stored within their Demonic Energy Batteries, created alongside them.


    The Created Machines will be assigned with sses based on the Summoner''s input, if no input is given their sses will be chosen randomly based on the avable pool of shapes and forms, which increases with the Skill Level.


    Each Machine will be able to move on their own, analyze the terrain, detect foes, fight, work together, and more with extreme intelligence, always following the orders of the summoner.


    They can fuse together tobine their stats and power, alongside unleashing all matter of powerful attacks, from physical Demonic Skills to Demonic Magic and Abyssal Darkness Magic, they can also feed on the blood and souls of defeated foes, strengthening themselves and being able to self-repair based on that.


    Each ss Special Skills, Abilities, and Magic Spells is further boosted by the Summoner as long as they''re within a 300-meter vicinity of the machines and while they have activated a {Demon Aura}, further increasing their Power and Effects by 400% (+40% x Skill Level) and granting any of the machine''s attacks a 20% chance to cast [Paralysis] or [Terrible Bleeding] on foes per physical attack.


    Avable Machine sses:


    Level 1: [Machine Sentinel: Heavy Tank ss] [Machine Sentinel: Long Distance ss]


    Level 2: ???


    -----


    All of its ridiculous powers which don''t fit at all this setting and challenge, activated. Demonic Energies, Blood and Darkness quickly wrapped around the machines, giving them supernatural, magical abilities the people of this giant colony seemed to not possess at all, not even the giant Machine Warriors!


    Of course, at my current state, I can''t normally conjure the Demonic Aura to enhance them and make them even stronger. That''s it, not "normally"!


    "SHYAAAGH!"


    The Xenoids attacked but were instantly stopped as a dozen of the machines fired from their massive cannons and rifles, giant beams pierced through their centoid, although they were tanked by their shells, the shells rapidly began to wear down.


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!


    As the explosions echoed across space, I moved at lightning speed, enhancing my machine''s speed and abilities through my enhanced senses and the Green Lightning.


    The Xenoids began to push forward, using their shells to defend while the strongest of them extended their tentacles and opened their eyes, suddenly gathering sr energies they harvest from nearby stars and firing beams of sunlight.


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!


    Yet, they were unable to reach the long-distance attackers, as the tanks stepped in, giant and heavily armored, they used their enormous shields to defend while the long-ranged attackers kept firingser beams.


    Eventually, the first row of Xenoids waspletely devasted, with their shells finally broken and their centoid weakened and still regenerating, I moved at lightning speed, apanied by a couple of my machines.


    "What''s wrong?! You''re wide open!"n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    {Divine Spear God Arts}: [One Hundred Spearmen''s Spirit Exploding Spear Attacks]!


    I activated a technique that was already made out of several weaker techniquesbined together, the emerald lightning surged from my spear, as I moved at lightning speed.


    The aura of electricity from within my Machine Warrior changed form, suddenly resembling the faint figures of several other machines, wielding spears of their own.


    CLASH! CLASH! CLASH! CLASH! CLASH!


    A barrage of one hundred attacks reached all the Xenoids around me, already weakened, their true bodies were exposed, and they were shredded into pieces, immediately exploding from the injection of deadly atomic energy-powered electricity.


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!


    "SHYAAAGH!"


    The Xenoids gathered around me, but my machines pushed them back, the tanks rushed and tackled them away, ignoring their tentacle altogether, they were much tougher than the other machine warriors they were made of.


    Meanwhile, the long-ranged attackers continued reducing their bodies and shattering their shells through umted damage.


    Using this momentum, I decided to unleash my Demonic Aura.


    And how?


    Well.


    Explore more at empire


    Like this!


    CLASH!


    I touched one of the machines, quickly using the electric energies produced by the Neutonium Core and then absorbing their internal demonic energy within their Demonic Energy Batteries.


    It was too unstable though!


    "As I thought, this won''t do!"


    I quickly pierced the machine''s chest and then tore apart its entire Demonic Energy Battery, resembling a huge heart-shaped red crystal.


    Once I had itpletely in my hands, it finally worked as I wanted.


    Demonic Energy, Blood Energy, and Darkness flowed into my machine, imbuing the Neutonium Core withpletely alien energies.


    "{Demonic Aura}!"


    RUMBLE!


    A powerful shockwave of energy shook the space battlefield, the Xenoids were sent back even as they relentlessly began to slowly tear through my army''s defenses.


    Suddenly, they felt weaker, while I felt filled with vitality, my Demonic Aura was sessfully decreasing their stats and stealing their lifeforce bit by bit!


    "So it seems you aliens have yet to fight Demons, huh? What a pity you haven''t assimted any yet! This''ll be easier than I imagined!"


    As my Demonic Aura expanded, the machines started growing stronger, just as their Skill description said.


    Overflowing with powerful crimson auras, they charged, tearing apart the Xenoids and killing several on their own.


    I noticed that several fellow pilots were only ncing in disbelief at the scene.


    I only had one thing to say to my fellow pilots.


    "Glory to Humanity!"


    -----

 Chapter 1109 First Battle End

    -----


    Once I was able to activate my own {Demon Aura} by using one of the Demonic Energy Batteries these machines materialize upon their creation, the Skill''s special effect was activated, making them much stronger.


    -----


    Each ss Special Skills, Abilities, and Magic Spells is further boosted by the Summoner as long as they''re within a 300-meter vicinity of the machines and while they have activated a {Demon Aura}, further increasing their Power and Effects by 400% (+40% x Skill Level) and granting any of the machine''s attacks a 20% chance to cast [Paralysis] or [Terrible Bleeding] on foes per physical attack.


    -----


    With this, not only they had increased power in terms of Skills, Abilities, and their Magic, but they even gained the ability to inflict status effects on our foes.


    The tank-type mechs swung their huge axes, shing through the Xenoids, some of the aliens groaned, suddenly their wounds became unable to regenerate, constantly bleeding their fluids.


    Others were immediately paralyzed, only capable of watching as they were killed by my spear piercing their main bodies and blowing them up into pieces.


    "Hmm."


    I looked up, the swarm of Xenoids that had appeared must have been part of a muchrger colony chasing the mothership. However, right now there weren''t any moreing from the visible horizon.


    There were roughly forty more left, still a sizable amount, the casualties of the pilots weren''t small either, we were around two hundred, based in all the machines I''ve collected, over forty of them had died already.


    Those that died didn''t even left behind bodies, the Xenoids devoured thempletely, probably assimting all their flesh and growingrger and smarter.


    "Everyone that is watching right now, regroup with me! Using the Neutonium Core Ability I recently awakened, I can now turn destroyed machines into new mechs! I you want to live, stick to my army and support them!"


    With amand sent to every single pilot within my surroundings, they were quick to answer, immediately flying to my side.


    "Hahah! What the hell ke?! Since when you had such a powerful ability!"


    "Did you see his movements? Is he even the same ke as before?"


    "Shut up already, I don''t have time for this shit! I don''t want to die!"


    The pilots all started talking one after another through the connectedwork that every machine had with one another.


    "While you''re behind the Xenoids, aim at their true bodies once the centoid is destroyed!"


    With mymands, they moved quickly, using their long-electrified spears, specifically designed to pierce through the true body of Xenoids and destroy them from the inside out, began to quickly impale them one after another.


    Their movements were sluggish and clunky, they weren''t as capable as me in terms of movement and technique, even less dexterity. It felt like as they moved, they weighted a hundred times more than I did.


    CLASH! CLASH! CLASH! CLASH!


    However, they got the job done anyways, their spears impaled the aliens'' true bodies once exposed, killing dozens within seconds and then finally open the way to join my forces.


    However¡­


    "Help! Someone¡­!"


    "Someone, help us!"


    "Aaaggh! I don''t want to die!"


    Suddenly, a message came, someone started screaming to my left, I moved there, finding a group of three pilots being surrounded by ten Xenoids, their tentacle piercing their machines after tearing apart the armor.


    I have to keep as many pilots as possible alive, the trial stated that after all, so I went to their rescue without hesitation, keeping up the momentum of my constant barrage of piercing spear attacks, Ibined my previous technique with my Demon Aura, creating a powerful echo.


    The Xenoids attacking them noticed me, quickly trying to stop me, several others came chasing me down too, yet my machines and the new pilots that joined me stopped them.


    "Good, thank you!"


    With a smile, I attacked the foes in front of me as the propulsors of my machine went full power, helping me move at tremendous speeds.


    {One Hundred Spearmen''s Spirit Exploding Spear Attacks Echo}: [One Hundred Demonic Spears Inferno]!


    The Demonic Energy of my Demonic Aura, fueled by the battery I was holding with my other hand, quickly transformed into deadly, demonic mes that burned even in space where there was no oxygen.


    The zing spear attacks reached the Xenoids, resembling an inferno of zing weapons engulfing them. these aliens had never seen such a thing in their lives, unable to respond, they exploded into pieces and burned away.


    BOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOM!


    "Are you okay?!"


    I quickly reached the pilots, two of them were fine but one of them had their mech broken open and one of their legs was pierced, they were rapidly losing oxygen.


    Above all, the leg that was pierced was wriggling with small tentacles, as he screamed in agony, his gurgling noises echoed within the transmitter.


    "Uuaagggh! My leg¡­! Legggg¡­! Graagggh¡­ Buaaggh!" Explore stories at empire


    He started vomiting blood, as I noticed his eyes turning ck and the rest of his helmet being filled with his blood.


    "He''s been infected by the Xenoid, don''t get near him!"


    "Thank you, but he can''t be saved at this point!"


    The other two quickly flew behind me as they saw the man struggling to even move.


    At this point, there''s only one thing I can do.


    "I''ll spare you the agony."


    I quickly swung my spear once, imbuing it with demonic energy and electricity.


    BOOOM!


    A single hit engulfed his entire body into mes and electricity, he died instantly, exploding apart into mere ashes.


    He didn''t suffer, at least, it was very quick.


    "And you, transform."n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    I touched his mech, took the Neutonium Core, absorbed it, and then turned his mech into a new ally, as we regrouped with the other surviving pilots.


    The Xenoids numbers were going down rapidly as well, we pushed forward faster, regrouping with more allies and turning whatever mechs were left behind into my demonic machines.


    Eventually, when thest dozen Xenoids perished by my spear and everyone''s efforts, the raid was finally over.


    And the mothership was sessfully defended.


    "W-We did it¡­!"


    "I can''t believe it!"


    "Less than half of us died?!"


    "I-I survived¡­!"


    "WOOOOHHHH!"


    I smiled faintly as I heard my fellow pilots celebrate, while I nced into the cosmos.


    "Six more days¡­"


    -----

 Chapter 1110 Punished Instead Of Praised?

    -----


    Once we returned to the mothership, I wasn''t greeted with more cheers, congrattory messages, or people thanking me for what I have done. No, my Warrior Machine was taken away from me, and there were five robots standing around me, while a woman with short blonde hair and sharp silver eyes stood in front of me.


    Her clothes alone told me she was of a higher rank than everyone else here, in fact, there was a small silver colored te attached to her military-looking jacket.


    It said [Security Guard Officer: Henriette Star (C Rank)].


    "ke Goathorn, isn''t it?"


    "Yes, miss Security Guard Officer¡­"


    I looked around, the giant machines, resembling Warrior Machines but much smaller, without their armor ting, but looking strong enough to easily subdue a man, red at me.


    Their heads were in the shape of triangles, and they only had a single red-colored "eye", a light that shone brightly, probably letting them analyze their surroundings through visual cues.


    "What did I do to deserve such warm wee?"


    "You know exactly what you''ve done. Unauthorized usage of Warrior Machines, the absorption of the precious Neutonium Cores into your own Machine, and even killing a fellow pilot in cold blood to steal his machine, it is very clear that you''re not right in your head, pilot."


    "Hah, so that''s what it was¡­"


    I looked at the ceiling, the clear ss allowed me to see the beautiful and eternal night sky of outer space, stars shining brightly.


    "Yet I brought victory to you when nobody could. I also saved the pilots that would have surely died. And the whole thing about killing someone cold blooded¡­ Is not wrong, but he was suffering and infected by a Xenoid," I exined. "If my Gic Memory serves me well, there''s no cure for that other than execution.


    Don''t tell me now that a Pilot has no right to take a fellow pilot out of their misery?"


    "They were still being infected and still held into their minds, they are legally still people, and not Xenoids. Therefore, it is illegal to execute them until they turn into Xenoid Larvae," she exined. "I am only following orders, pilot ke. I am well aware of your achievements and how important you were for the mission to protect the mothership.


    Without you, we wouldn''t have been able to buy enough time for the eleration procedure, that would have helped us get farther away from the Xenoid Colony¡­"


    "Then?"


    "However, orders are orders, andw isw," she said, society and without changing her face expression. "Your Warrior Machine will be indefinitely confiscated, and the Neutronium Ability within its Core shall be studied. The power is interesting, but it cannot be used in the hands of a criminal. Now follow me, the Elders will judge you in one hour.


    You''re allowed a time of rest in that time frame, a small meal, and the bathroom if you wish for."


    "¡­Understood."


    There was no point fighting. I felt that my body was still fairly strong, I could easily destroy these machines and break that woman''s neck, take back my machine warrior and escape somewhere else in space.


    But that would be counterproductive, the mission of this trial asked me to protect humanity, doing that would make me an enemy of humanity, therefore, the trial would be lost.


    This is simply the result of my own actions, but it isn''t as if I hadn''t been judged in my previous life, many times, when I was weaker, I was captured by the forces ofw of several kingdoms, countries, and empires across the gxy.


    And many times I either broke out of jail eventually or was pardoned after I sweet talked my way out of it. And I believe thetter is my best bet.N?v(el)B\\jnn


    After all, my strength is the real deal, and they need me.


    They say they could take the machine and use it for themselves¡­


    But can they really do it now that the Nuetonium Core has created a permanent connection with my Mind?


    They led me across several long, metallic corridors, until we reached a floating tform, entered, and flew across dozens of kilometers within this massive spaceship.


    The surroundings were all mechanical and of high technology, dark blue and silver steel adorned mostly every massive visage I saw. Flying tforms carrying people everywhere moved, there were also residential areas for those awake right now, but most people were stored on gigantic skyscraper-shaped buildings, on cryogenic sleep.


    Eventually, we reached a metropolis within the entire spaceship,rge buildings interconnected by enormous cables and tubes, more flying artifacts everywhere, lights everywhere, I could see giant signs, and people moving around as they pleased.


    Although most of humanity was on cryogenic sleep, there were those that were awake right now, the people necessary for the entire spaceship to work. Although they have robots for most things, they can''t do everything as their artificial intelligence is surprisingly not as advanced.


    "Fascinating."


    "Lower your head while you enter the Elders'' Spire."


    "Hm."


    I didn''t lower my head, and I was punished by an electrifying touch from the machines, it didn''t even hurt so I didn''t care.


    "Insolent littleb rat¡­"


    Henriette had quite the sharp tongue.


    "Now, stay here until the hour passes."


    They threw me inside apletely white room, with a single table where some fruits, bread, and water were awaiting me, alongside a bathroom.


    "Hah, this is sure nostalgic¡­"


    How many times have I been thrown into such a ce back then? It''s almost ironic I get to live this again through a trial in apletely unrted world.


    "Well, I might as well prepare."


    I started eating as I felt hungry, the food was all real, filling my stomach. Then I went to the bathroom, washed my face, and did some warmup exercises.


    After the hour passed, the door opened, and they led me to the deepest part of the spire.


    There, I stood in a gigantic hall, where five towers surrounded me.


    Above them, the Elders stood.


    Or well, rested.


    Their bodies wrapped on ck machinery, they were on a semi-cryogenic sleep state, their bodiespletely frozen and asleep, yet their minds remained within the machines.


    Eternal rulers.


    "Gically Engineered Pilot ke Goathorn, today you''ve been called by the council of elders to be judged for your crimes."


    -----

 Chapter 1111 You Need Me, Dont You?

    -----


    The five elders, resembling stationary and immobile human-shaped machines spoke at the same time, as if their voices and minds were connected into a single being. Yet I am fairly sure they were different people, this synchronization must be thanks to their new robotic abilities, perhaps.


    "Gically Engineered Pilot ke Goathorn, today you''ve been called by the council of elders to be judged for your crimes."


    "Yes, that''s me, Elders."


    I didn''t lower my head and faced them while rising it, their mechanical eyes glowed red, they seemed slightly displeased.


    "Begin the judgement."


    "Pilor ke, based in what we''ve judged¡­"


    "You''re perhaps one of the worst pilots that had been created so far."


    "You have ranked the lowest in every simtor test."


    "And you have also ranked the lowest ever in everything."


    "You''ve been reported several times by other pilots because you escape from battles and don''t even engage against the Xenoids."


    Their eyes glowed green.


    "Yet today, that changed abruptly. Your reflexes, techniques, and leadership skills werepletely different and separate from anything you''ve showed to us before."


    "Indeed. What has happened to you?"


    "Not only did you learned how to fuse Neutonium Cores, an incrediblyplex technique that only, currently, machines specifically made for that can do properly, but your new Neutonium Core Ability has been reported to possess abilities never seen before."


    "How is this possible?"


    "For someone destined to die, to suddenly begin walking the path of a king?"


    "Any ideas, pilot ke Goathorn?"


    "Yes."


    I nodded, facing them respectfully yet defiantly at the same time.


    "I have noticed my changes as well, Elders, I am not a fool," I confessed. "The only thing I can say is that this is my true self, my true potential, and my abilities. This entire time, that was a failure you''ve been seeing. A ke that was still maturing. I''ve awakened. And I am different now.


    That''s all."


    "What¡­?"


    "What kind of nonsense is that!"


    "That''s not a good response¡­"


    "¡­"


    "¡­"


    They didn''t like my response, but I wasn''t going to give them any other response.


    "I know why you brought me here," I said. "You fear that my powers are too strong, that my leadership is too effective. You believe I will disrupt the order of things. But rest assured, I will protect humanity and enforce order."


    I smiled back at them.


    "So, Elders, please trust me. I want to protect my fellow pilots, guide them, and protect humanity as well as you from the Xenoids, until we can finally and safely arrive at the Terraformed."


    I then lowered my head, vowing.


    It was the perfect time, after showing them I wouldn''t do it, to suddenly do it as I swore my loyalty.


    So unfitting of me, but a trial is a trial, what needs to be done shall be done.


    "Hm¡­"


    "You''re indeed, quite unique¡­"


    "How surprising¡­"


    "Do you truly mean it?"


    "Hah¡­"


    They were slightly pleased, their eyes glowed blue color now.


    Their emotions fluctuate and the colors of their eyes change ordingly.


    "Try as you may, that machine is mine, I''ve created a permanent link," I exined. "Even if you put a better pilot than me, he''ll either die from brain damage or be unable to control it. Warrior Machines have strong personalities, mine is obsessed with me, you see."


    "You''ve stillmitted crimes and you will pay for them."


    "We''ll run a test once the next raid happens."


    "Although we recognize yourtent talent, you''re still someone unruly."


    "We can''t trust someone like you, that gaze¡­ that is the gaze of someone that doesn''t bend to anybody."


    "You''re sentenced to thirty years of prison for your transgressions. This court is over."


    So that''s how it''s going to be.


    They never cared from the beginning.


    Fine.


    That''s fine by me.


    "Come on, it''s over."


    Henriette red at me, as I nodded.


    The same room they put me before, I was thrown back in.


    "Wee back to your house! You''ll be staying here for thirty years, getfortable."


    She smiled at me as the door closed.


    There was nothing but white light, so annoying, impossible to sleep like this.


    I stood there, waiting.


    "If it''s seven days¡­ maybe tomorrow something might happen."


    For now, I decided to finish whatever food was left, take a bath, then begin meditating.


    Slowly, I channeled my energies, trying to get out more from the seal.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Yet it was very hard, very little wasing out.


    However, what I had absorbed was right there, indeed.


    The Electromaic Energies generated by the Neutonium Core, I had gathered them within me, fused with the Demonic Energy.


    I''ve been saving them, storing them within me.


    "Let''s try something funny."


    I gathered them into my chest and concentrated them, until the two energies melded, and began to crystalize.


    FLASH!


    "Good."


    It was faster than I imagined, a small crystal core was formed.


    A Demonic Neutonium Core.


    Inside a person this time, not a machine!


    Something thought to be impossible in this era.


    After all, Neutonium, upon making direct contact with living matter, corrodes it and destroys it.


    Its one of the reasons why the energy produced from it can hurt Xenoids even when they''re incredibly tough.


    Yet my body wasn''t normal, after all, it''s the same body I cultivated at the end.


    Even without skills or any energies, the physical prowess I cultivated, remains to an extent, it couldn''t bepletely sealed.


    "Now let''s do this as nned¡­"


    I had a n, using my new core, I harnessed its energies, and channeled them into my neurons.


    Then, through my connection with my Warrior Machine, I created a psychic tunnel for my consciousness.


    Suddenly, my vision divided, as I could see through the machine, although faintly.


    There, a new pilot, a blonde man with a cocky smile, was already entering it.


    "So this is the mech with the powerful ability you took from that jobber?" heughed. "Nice! Let me try it then!"


    Immediately as he started trying to connect¡­


    CRASH!


    "Uuuaaagghh!"


    The machine''s cables hit his head and sent him flying away.


    The man fell, hitting his head over the metal floor, and dislocating his neck.


    "W-What happened?!"


    "Shit! Bring him to the hospital, quickly!"


    "That machine¡­"


    The other pilots wanting to give my machine a try now stepped back.


    They were hesitating.


    Of course, what I said about personalities wasn''t right, I was lying.


    So.


    I will simply make that lie the truth.


    I''ll make these bastards desperately need me more than anything.


    They will not be able to live without me, theirst and only hope.


    "Uagh!"


    "Dammit!"


    "What''s wrong with this machine?!"


    Test after test, all pilots were thrown away.


    Henriette was watching in disbelief.


    "H-He wasn''t wrong¡­?"


    The tests continued but were cancelled after the next day.


    rms were ringing loudly.


    [WARNING! WARNING! WARNING!]


    [Sudden Xenoid Raid in Progress! Sudden Xenoid Raid in Progress!]


    [All Pilots please ride your Machine Warriors and prepare for battle.]


    [Estimated Time Until Imminent Battle: 93 Seconds]


    Ten seconds passed.


    FLASH!


    Suddenly, the door opened in front of me.


    Henriette came looking for me.


    "Missed me? I''ve been gone for just a night."


    I greeted her while sitting on the floor, cross-legged, with a serene expression.


    "You bastard¡­ Get on the robot and fight!"


    I stood up, ncing into her silver eyes.


    And I whispered into her ears as I passed by her side.


    "Yes ma''am."


    She was left trembling out of frustration, gritting her teeth.


    "D-Dammit!"


    -----

 Chapter 1112 Back To The Battle

    -----


    It only took me to crystalize the remaining Neutonium Electromaic Energy and some leftover Demonic Energy to gain the ability to slightly control my Machine Warrior from afar.


    It wasn''t a perfect control, and it took a lot of my mental energy, but it seemed to have worked on convincing them it was impossible to use it without me.


    [WARNING! WARNING! WARNING!]


    [Sudden Xenoid Raid in Progress! Sudden Xenoid Raid in Progress!]


    [All Pilots please ride your Machine Warriors and prepare for battle.]


    [Estimated Time Until Imminent Battle: 93 Seconds]


    The warnings came ringing, the next Xenoid Raid was upon us.


    And well, it only took a bit of time.


    Exactly ten seconds passed.


    FLASH!


    Suddenly, the door opened, Henriette came looking for me. she looked frustrated, angered. And also gasping for air, she came running here. She looked a bit desperate.


    "Missed me? I''ve been gone for just a night."


    I greeted her while sitting on the floor, cross-legged, with a serene expression. I had no hatred against her or anything of the sort, this was a Trial and I was simply taking advantage of situations and adapting to the new problems that arise.


    "You bastard¡­ Get on the robot and fight!"


    Ah, so that''s it.


    Of course, I intended to do that from the beginning, thank you foring here and allowing me to do so.


    I stood up, ncing into her silver eyes.


    And I whispered into her ears as I passed by her side.


    "Yes ma''am."


    She was left trembling out of frustration, gritting her teeth.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    "D-Dammit!"


    As she groaned, I walked towards the floating tform, and with her help, we flew off back where the Machine Warriors were located, at the end of the Mothership, a Spatial Airport, for ack of a better word.


    "Okay, there it is! Use it, you criminal, and you better work well! The Elders said that¡­ if you work well, your sentence time might be reduced greatly."


    "Very well," I nodded, climbing the robot. "What about my army of controlled machines?"


    Explore more stories at empire


    "They''re right behind you, can you control them in the machine warrior?" she asked.


    "I sure can, leave it to me," I quickly sat down inside, the Machine Warrior greeted me almost as if it were truly happy to see me.


    The cable quickly connected to the back of my head, a neural connection was created with the giant mech, as I quickly felt all my senses expand and fuse with the machine.


    A perfectbination of man and machine, this technology is incredible. I don''t ever remember seeing something like this in my previous life.


    Machines did exist, but they were usually piloted by AI of their own, sometimes independent robots that even became bounty hunters, but never something like this¡­


    If I could replicate it using the technology I have avable once I''m done with this Trial, in could revolutionize golem technology in Spiritias.


    Maybe Alberta and Eric would be interested, and once I''m done with the Elven Continent, I would like to visit the Dwarven Continent one day.


    Oh well, right now, I should focus on what''s important right now.


    Killing aliens.


    Once everything was connected, blue neon light lit up the entire machine warrior, reaching my chest.


    The crystalized Demonic Neutonium Core within my chest seemed to have created a greater connection with my machine, I felt our power being shared much better.


    "Let''s do this, my friend."


    I patted my machine, as its eyes opened, overflowing with blue electricity.


    FLASH!


    Without hesitating, I jumped into action, the propulsors red with blue mes, as my entire machine body flew into the outer space, the beautiful deep darkness, a few nebs in the distance, and stars greeted me.


    Indeed, the battlefield was more beautiful than before. However, the Xenoids were even more this time, my machine easily detected them, calcting an approximation of roughly three hundred and a bit more.


    "Three hundred, huh? And what about us? Still less than a hundred¡­" Iughed. "They''re really not even investing into our troops."


    As Imented to the rest of the pilots, many recognized my voice, the pilots I had saved seemed happy I had appeared.


    "Is that ke?!"


    "You''re here!"


    "But weren''t you in prison?!"


    "Looks like only I could do the job well, so they let mee to help all of you, my friends," I said. "Now, shall we work together? Going alone will only be your demise. Stick close to me and my machines. And I''ll assure your survival."


    "Really?!"


    "Thank you!"


    "I''m in your care!"


    "I''ll do anything I can to help too!"


    Over thirty pilots gathered around me instantly, although the rest seemed more skeptical.


    "Who does he think he is?!"


    "You''re no general here, bastard."


    "We don''t need to stick close to a criminal."


    "Look how they''re all flocking like bees around their queen. I bet they''re all going to die."


    "Probably¡­ or he''ll use them as shields."


    I smiled lightly as I saw them fly away, immediately engaging against the Xenoids. Not every pilot sucked, these arrogant bastards weren''t too bad, they worked together, caught the Xenoids off-guard and killed a couple already.


    Only the novices and untalented ones gathered close to me as they were afraid of death, the more experienced fought on their own or together.


    Makes sense, I would probably do the same.


    Nheless, they''re still my fellow pilots. So please, let me show you how you truly fight a dozen Xenoids at once.


    "ke! There are Xenoidsing from above!"


    "There''s a few from below¡­!"


    "Wait, a swarm is approaching in ten!"


    "How many?"


    "O-Over fifty!"


    "Good enough."


    The pilots gasped as they heard me.


    "G-Good enough?!"


    "What do you mean with that?"


    Iughed a bit.


    "Calm down! Remain in your positions. Those that are confident on long-rangedbat, stay behind my Tank Machines. Those that are swifter and have better reflexes, stick close to me."


    "R-Right!"


    "Very well!"


    "Got it!"


    Different voices echoed through the neurocaller, which connected all neurological signals through the machinework.


    "Give me your weapons too."


    "Huh? Why?"


    "Just give them to me for a moment."


    Then, the Xenoids appeared.


    "All Snipers, shot!"


    And right as they were almost touching us.


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!


    They were bombarded with explosiveser beams, their centoid rapidly dissipating, and even their shells began to shatter.


    Good.


    "Shall we begin the massacre?!"


    -----

 Chapter 1113 Intense Clash Against Xenoids!

    -----


    The weapons worked well, aside from my Sniper-type Demonic Machines, the other fighters, who were wielding the Laser Beam Cannons, were able to deal much more damage than the weapon could usually.


    Why? I had upgraded them using the [Abyssal Demonic Machine Sentinel Summon] Skill, it wasn''t just capable of summoning machines, but the very power of its ability to modify and transform mechanical parts into Abyssal Demonic Machine parts was what I used.


    By limiting the activation to only that power, I was able to directly upgrade and transform all weapons into even stronger versions of themselves, the same ones the Abyssal Demonic Machine Sentinels wielded!


    Fueled with demonic energy, their long-rangedser beam attacks were much stronger, explosive, and set the Xenoids aze.


    Fifty Xenoids lost most of their centoid and their shells shattered, their screams of agony could be heard slightly as they squired in pain.


    They opened eyes, trying to fireser beams of their own, or attack with tentacles covered with desposed of hardened shell growth. Experience more tales on empire


    However, it was toote already.


    "{Demonic Aura}!"


    I unleashed Demonic Aura as I held in one of my hands a huge Demonic Battery I extracted from one of the machines. I discovered that machines who had the battery extracted wouldn''t be useless, their materials could still be used to fuse with already existing ones.


    I used these leftovers, however, as materials to upgrade all my fellow pilot weapons, without wasting a single piece of metal. After all, it''s a precious resource in the middle of outer space.


    FLUOSH!


    By activating Demonic Aura, not only did I empower the Abyssal Demonic Machine Sentinels, but all the weapons and shields being held by my fellow pilots¡­


    Were also empowered, and this included my recently upgraded spear.


    "W-What''s this red aura?!"


    "My weapon feels kind of powered up with more energy!"


    "This is ke''s Neutonium Core Ability, right?!"


    "To think such an Ability exists¡­!"


    "Now, follow my movements!"


    Imanded them, and they obeyed, albeit rather clunkily, it couldn''t be helped. I swung my spear, unleashing blue and red electricity from it.


    My movements became precise and even more dexterous than before, my Demonic and Electromaic Aura surged from my body.


    {Divine Spear God Arts}: [One Hundred Lightning Blows]!


    The Machine Warrior responded to my mentalmands instantly, as if it were my own body, a hundred electrifying blows were unleashed at once, hitting several of the Xenoids, piercing their cores as explosions of electricity made their bodies explode.


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!


    At the same time, the twenty or so remaining Xenoids, were swiftly killed by the other pilots, who rushed forward, piercing their bodies with their powered-up spears, and making those aliens be nothing but meat paste.


    "Well done! Fifty gone! Any casualties? Damage?" I asked, quickly noticing the Xenoids exploded into pieces and became floating debris, some even burning into ashes.


    "My armor got slightly damaged¡­ But I''m fine!"


    "The shields you gave us are very effective, general!"


    "I''m fine!"


    "I''m alright, thank you for worrying."


    Looks like everyone was fine, good.


    "Alright, this time we won''t let theme to us, we hunt them down instead! Follow me!"


    Unlike before, where we mostly yed defensively, this time I was going to go on full offense.


    By changing the formations, we charged forward, shing against more Xenoids as they were caught off-guard.


    New types of Xenoids were mixed in between the normal, smaller ones though.


    Bulkier,rger ones, with triple the mass as the others, and reinforced, silver-colored shells, as if imbued with strengthened alloys of steel.


    "GRUOOHHH!"


    Above all, they had gigantic pincers, which they revealed once their shells opened lightly, giant, and strong, theyunched them at us, quickly catching a few of my sentinels and tearing their shields and armor apart.


    "That''s a new type!"


    "I haven''t seen something like that before, ke!"


    "Me neither¡­ we have to report this to the association once we''re done!"


    "Alright, make sure to take a lot of pictures and videos!" Imanded. "Now, concentrate! Don''t get closer to those! Tank Sentinels, try to bait for their attacks! Long-ranged attacks, shot from afar and attempt to destroy their reinforced shells!"


    Mymands were their orders, immediately, the tank sentinels fished for attacks, the Brutes, as we called them, continued fighting without hesitation even as they were surrounded. These Xenoids were much less fearful than the little ones.


    They were only ten, but they were putting much more of a fight than the rest of the smaller ones, who we were killing rapidly.


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    A barrage of beams from afar reached them, they quickly retracted back into their shells, trying to defend. Their metallic exterior was so tough the beams wouldn''t do any damage¡­


    If it wasn''t because their "stats" were boosted through Demonic Aura already.


    Crack, crack..!


    CRACK!


    "There it is!"


    Cracks appeared, it was now or never!


    I quickly summoned the Emerald Lightning this time, as I rushed towards them once I noticed their shells beginning to weaken after barrages of beams began umting damage on them.


    Quickly, I unleashed techniques and then linked them with echoes, quickly unleashing a storm of emerald lightning in all shapes and forms.


    {Divine Spear God Arts}: [One Hundred Lightning Blows]!


    CLASH! CLASH! CLASH! CLASH! CLASH!


    One hundred blows imbued with electricity hit them directly, their cracks spreading further, but not breaking enough.


    Some were about to respond against my attacks, giant ws aiming to cut my mechanical limbs apart.


    Yet!


    {One Hundred Lightning Blows Echo}: [Chain-Lightning Serpentine Spear]!


    RUMBLE!


    The lightning attacks I was unleashed seemed to take life of their own, turning into serpent-shaped spears made of lightning and continuously piercing their bodies, circling around them and umting damage.


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!


    "GRUOOGGHHH!"


    They responded furiously, giant ws rushing towards me from every angle, my shields and armor managed to resist the first initial blows, buying enough time for the third act to close the curtain.


    {Chain-Lightning Serpentine Spear Echo}: [Roaring Emerald Lightning Dragon]!


    "ROOOAAAR!"


    The roar of an emerald dragon echoed, made of lightning, it engulfed all the Xenoids into an explosion, thest fireworks of their lives.


    BOOOMMM!!!


    -----

 Chapter 1114 Becoming Famous

    -----


    BOOOMMM!!!


    The ten Brutes were no more, the giant Xenoids were pulverized, just as I thought, when their shells shatter their internal bodies are more exposed, especially their true bodies.


    To be so tough, they had to expand their real bodies more, their cores, and grow them like muscles. Meanwhile, the centoid was either fused into it or waspletely discarded.


    centoid is what gives Xenoids suchrge masses, and the ability to constantly shapeshift and expand within space.


    ording to the information instilled to me gically, they are a colony of microorganisms that co-exist with the Xenoids, expand, divide, and more by draining energy from them.


    In fact, Xenoids seem to not be just a single being, but a colony of many entitiesbined together. Not only are the centoid different aliens, but their shell growth is also produced by a coral-like alien that grows in their skin.


    Aside from that, in the interior of their cores, it has been reported over ten different species of aliens working together with them.


    Xenoids absorb life and then assimte theirponents, making them part of their bodies¡­ To optimize the ability to survive, they absorb and learn how to better survive from other alien species.


    Perhaps even their ability to live in outer space was stolen from something else, it is theorized they originated as parasitic beings that merged with the DNA of other living organisms.


    Hence, why it''s impossible to "heal" from the Xenoids once they get you and begin to assimte with you and devour you, your entire genes are being rewritten and fused with theirs.


    A terrifying monster¡­


    Although those that try to eat humans had been eliminated, it wouldn''t be surprising if a few managed to escape, bringing with them our gic code.


    However, humanoid Xenoids had yet to appear, thankfully.


    Though¡­ I can foresee that new types might continue to emerge as they adapt to our technology.


    Therefore, we must continue to grow stronger as well, Neutonium Cores are our best bet, I must develop not only mine, but that of others.


    Perhaps if I could somehow create a connection with them using my own internal core¡­ I could even awaken abilities within other machine warriors, my other skills.


    But it would be risky, I''ll have to try once the mission is done.


    "Amazing! We''ve defeated over half of the Xenoids¡­"


    "I can''t believe it!" Your journey continues with empire


    "The Brutes are gone¡­"


    "ke''s amazing!"


    "WOOOHHH!"


    As the pilots celebrated, I quickly calmed them down, bing like this and lowering their guards would be a recipe for demise.


    "Calm down! Celebrate only when the mission is over!" I roared. "Now, regroup as I''vemanded you before and quickly advance. A Xenoid Swarm with a couple more Brutes ising here in fifteen seconds! Arm yourselves!


    "Understood!"


    As they roared back in unison, we continued our extermination of these pests. With themands and the tactical formations I''ve created, we moved swiftly and rapidly. The smaller Xenoids were utterly devastated, bing nothing but fodder to us.


    Meanwhile, only the Brutes were true challenges. I decided to take them on my own, continuously using the expanded Echoes of my previous techniques to devastate them.


    "Hah! You''re tough, but that''s about it!"


    Crack, crack¡­!


    CRAAASH!


    The shells of four Brutes exploded into pieces as my spear pierced through them with a barrage of attacks, before the lightning of my spear quickly shaped into snakes, engulfing the brutes'' internal body, and making them explode once pierced.


    BOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOM!


    "Hahh¡­ Well, that''s thest one."n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    I looked around, nodding with a smile, my Machine Warrior was tattered, its armor tes had been mostly all destroyed, the Brutes ws were truly fearsome weapons, I had been exchanging shields every time, they broke after only three blows.


    "I think there aren''t any more Xenoids in the visible vicinity!"


    "ke, we''re done!"


    "I can''t sense anymore of them either!"


    "Finally done¡­ phew!"


    "This has been perhaps the best raid ever, none of us died!"


    They were celebrating, well, at least my group. While fighting, twenty more pilots ended joining one after another. And once we were finally done with the work, I noticed twenty pilots had lost their lives, and only another thirty remained, ring at us with scorn.


    The veterans and experienced talents seem unable to ept me as a new leader and are angered I''m threatening their positions now¡­ even more, my character used to be a low-ranked pilot that was untalented and fearful, makes sense they would think that way.


    But I didn''t care, I managed to farm a lot of machines thanks to all those that died, getting twenty more Sentinels, and also I harvested most of their Neutonium Cores, absorbing them into my Machine Warrior to expand its electricity capacity and power.


    Eventually, I felt the seal within me being loosened as my connection with the machine heightened, I think I can unlock another Skill already!


    However, I must think carefully which one I chose this time. Day 2 is over, but there''s five more days. Today was challenging, yes, but still fairly easy.


    I can already tell the next days will not be so easy, Xenoids adapt incredibly quickly. I can bet my arms and legs that tomorrow they''ll show up with a new type again.


    Once the space port closed and sealed, and all machines were cleansed and sterilized, we were able to walk back inside the mothership, pilots celebrated, running towards me and praising my strategies and leadership.


    Well, this is merely the experience of my previous life anyways, not too much.


    "ke! You were amazing there!"


    "I can''t believe none of us died!"


    "You truly helped us, man, thanks."


    "I was so afraid, but if I attack from afar, I think I''m fine with that!"


    Men and women, some older than others, gathered around me. I nodded with a calm smile, giving them some tips, I had analyzed most of them and knew what they needed to improve.


    However, my chat was quickly interrumpted, as Henriette stepped in with her intimidating robot guards, ring at me with her sharp eyes.


    "I guess I have to go back to my cell?" I asked her. "Fine, let''s go."


    "Pilot ke Goathorn, the Elders of the United Humanities have decided to abolish your sentence after calcting all your feats in this battle¡­ you''re a free man now."


    "Oh?"


    Well, that was quick.


    -----

 Chapter 1115 Jealous Pilots

    -----


    It was much faster than I imagined, once I returned to the mothership, Henriette immediately appeared, telling me that I had beenpletely¡­ forgiven? Well, that my sentence had been abolished, but it was all the same I suppose.


    "Well that was much quicker than I imagined," Iughed. "I thought you people were corrupt, but I suppose survival is more important than pride and selfishness, right? Without relying on me you would be dooming the entire operation; I suppose you''re smart."


    There was no point in acting humble anymore, and I wasn''t going to bother being nice anymore either. If I wanted toplete this Trial, I needed to take charge of things here, or even with my help, everyone''s demise wille sooner orter.


    "W-What?! Mind your manners!" Henriette screamed angrily. "That you managed to help this much doesn''t mean it gives you the right to talk like that!"


    Find your next read on empire


    "It sure does," I said. "Now Henriette, how about you stop bothering me for a while? I''ll call youter. Today we need to celebrate first, right guys?"


    "YEAAAH!"


    The pilots roared in unison, Henriette gave a step back, realizing that my power wasn''t just my machine anymore. I had influenced the pilots, I''ve saved their lives, and they know I''ll continue doing so as long as I''m here.


    That means they trust me and will support me because my existence means they can survive. It''s simple, really. I hold influence over half of the defenders of the entire mothership at this point.


    It''s an authority the Elders already predicted cannot be overlooked, so they decided to pretend we were always friends instead of continuing to be stubborn about everything.


    Though, once we arrive in the terraformed, they might finally throw me to jail or something, once the security of the people is secured, our existence as pilots be very unnecessary.


    But by then, the trial would have ended, so I don''t particrly care about the consequences my actions might cause to the future of this character.


    "Hahh¡­"


    Henriette readjusted her sses as she nced at us walk away, with all the pilots, we moved to the cafeteria where we went to grab food. I also managed to spend the credits we gain for working on some alcoholic drinks, which I shared with all my pilots.


    I had many credits, and its not like they wereing with me once the trial was over. I decided to buy their trust and friendship with drinks and good food, something pilots barely get. The food here is mostly disgusting slop or mashed fruit.


    The more "normal" food is rather expensive after all, but with all the money I had, it wasn''t hard to give these people a proper feast.


    "Thank you ke! It has been ages since I ate something that wasn''t that disgusting slop!"


    "Phew! Beer! It''s really cold beer!"


    "This roasted meat is so delish!"


    "Rice! Look how much rice I got!"


    "Man, the corn is so sweet!"


    "Fried chicken breast with beer¡­ so good! This must have cost a fortune!"


    "Thank you so much ke! You''re just the best man I''ve met in a while¡­"


    "Wouldn''t it be better for you to be promoted to a general now?"


    "I also bought some sweets, do you want a few?"


    I was surrounded by female pilots enjoying the food and flirting with me more than I had expected.


    "Is that so? Well, thanks for thepliment! And no, thank you, I don''t like sweets."


    I tried to be friendly, but I didn''t get too close to any of them, even less these women expecting something else from me.


    The day ended once everyone had eaten their fill, me included. Once we returned to our rooms to rest, I sneaked out into the area where the machines were.


    Several people had gathered there, mostly to train the usage of their machines. I hade here to awaken a new Neutonium Core Ability and probably do some more tweaks to my machine.


    Although the Abyssal Demonic Machine Sentinels cannot be piloted, I''ve found out it is possible to slowly turn parts of a Warrior Machine into parts of an Abyssal Demonic Machine Sentinel.


    So I was thinking on modifying the arms, legs, and so on, upgrading them into even stronger forms, slowly evolving my Machine Warrior.


    However, what I met there was different. I had only expected the engineers to be working there, repairing Machines or other things¡­


    But what I found was a group, a dozen of pilots, holdingrge repair tools and moving towards my machine.


    I also noticed a few of them trying to meddle with the Sentinels, which were on their energy saving mode and seemed to be unmoving and inert.


    "Is this it? Yeah, this is his machine."


    "Fucking bastard, who the hell does he thinks he is?"


    "Come on, let''s get to it. We have to hurry before an engineer catches us."


    "Yeah, yeah. so what do we do?"


    "Let''s meddle with the arms and legs¡­ use the electricity destabilizers to snap some of the internal circuits. That''ll create a bunch of problems for him."


    "Nice, I hope he fucking dies¡­ he''s getting the poprity on his head¡­"


    Hmm, I see how it is. I had expected this oue anyways, but this was faster than I imagined. As they say, behind a great king there''s also a hundred jealous men aiming for his head.


    Competency and talent that brings outstanding results and the love of the masses will always bring jealous and envious people that''ll feel like the talented person doesn''t deserve it.


    It''s basic human nature, honestly. Therefore, I''ve grown used to handle that.


    "I had no idea you guys were part of the repair team."


    I stepped forward without fear, their bodies froze as they heard my voice.


    "Huh?!"


    "ke?!"


    "Ah, shit!"


    They were caught red-handed, all of them, all ten of them, stepped back in surprise, holding their weapons tightly.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    "I would like to ask for an exnation, if you could give me one," I said, walking towards them without stopping. "What were you trying to do with my machine?"


    -----

 Chapter 1116 Pay Up

    -----


    "S-Shit¡­!"


    "Ahh¡­ W-We weren''t doing anything, dude!"


    "Yeah!"


    The pilots hid their tools behind their backs. I considered the option of letting them go. But that would only make them try it another day.


    I can''t just deal with the same thing every day. Even in this highly technological society, maybe "that" is still the answer.


    "Is that right¡­ Well, I saw you were holding tools, and I also overheard what you said," I said. "If you confess what you were doing to Henriette and authorities, I''ll try to appeal to them, so they lower your sentences and punishments."


    I was straightforward, I gave them one and only one chance.


    If they don''t take it, they''re fools.


    "What?!"


    "What bullshit are you talking about?"


    "You bastard¡­ You''re really full of shit!"


    "Since when did you be so confident, huh?!"


    "Right! A few days ago you were always crying and running away from battles!"


    "It doesn''t make any sense you''re so good now, fucker!"


    "So what if we came here to fuck your stupid machine up, huh?!"


    "Ain''t no way you can stop us anyways, right? And who are they going to believe? One guy or twelve experienced pilots that had been working hard for years!"


    I smiled, crossing my arms.


    "So that''s your response¡­" I nodded. "Alright then, I''ll defend my machine with my life. Come at me, all of you at once. It won''t be fun otherwise."


    I stood there, without changing pose or anything, my bare hands was all I needed.


    Everyone looked madder, ncing at one another and smiling.


    "Well, if you''re provoking us like this, we got even more reasons to defend ourselves!"n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    "Right? Yeah!"


    "I wonder if you''ll be able to pilot after I break your fucking legs!"


    They ran towards me, holding the heavy repair tools as weapons. Their movements were¡­ sluggish, just an average human being at their peak without any supernatural power.


    Though, I believe we are slightly stronger than normal humans, as we are gically modified to withstand the pressure of space, and many adverse symptoms that flying through space using machines causes.


    We''re more resilient and tougher than normal humans, yeah.


    Yet¡­


    "DIE!"


    Three of them swung their weapons at me, acting like thugs even in such a scenario¡­


    Humans truly never change, huh?


    I blocked their attack using a metallic tool with my bare hand, then I grabbed the hand of the man in front of me and twisted his arm backwards as seamlessly as I could.


    CRACK!


    "Ugh?! Uaaggh!"


    As he screamed in pain, I kicked his crotch and once he was on the floor, I crushed his face, breaking his nose and making one of his eyes burst, blood covering his face.


    "W-What the?!"


    "You fuck!"


    The other two attacked. One swung their fist against my face, another tried to hit my legs with their tool, a long key-shaped thing that seemed to be able to modify circuits.


    "I don''t even need to put effort into this¡­"


    I kicked the man moving for my legs, he was wide open, an elbow kick and he was sent flying. The man trying to punch me¡­ I didn''t even bother evading; I punched his chin and his fist never hit me.


    I didn''t just let them fall into the floor though, that would mean they coulde back again. So, with he momentum I had, I kicked and crushed their balls, then their faces.


    Done.


    "Who else? Hurry. I need to assess some things with my machine¡­ I don''t have time for walking shit like you."


    "Ah fuck! Hit him at once! Jump on him!"


    Attacks came from every angle. They felt slow though, although the trial was supposed to seal my abilities, my body''s strength, reflexes, and agility remained to arge extent.


    Enough for me to even beat a thousand humans like these with my bare hands anyways¡­


    BAAM! BAAM! BAAM!


    I hit their faces one after another, I didn''t even evade their blows anymore, showing them how tough I actually was. It made them recoil in fear. They didn''t understand what was happening.


    Well, I didn''t need them to understand, I crushed their faces and broke their arms and legs with the tools they brought.


    "P-Please stop! Not my leg! Please not my leg!!!"


    CRACK!


    "AAAGGGHH!"


    Once they were all down and asking for mercy, I stopped hitting them, and nced at the blood on my hands and my clothes.


    "I''ll have to clean thister," I sighed. "Anyways¡­"


    I walked towards them, as they tried to crawl away, well, the few that remained conscious.


    "Hey."


    I nced at them from above and put my foot on the head of one of them.


    "Keep crawling and I''ll burst your skull."


    "W-Wait! Please¡­!"


    He stopped crawling, the other three also obeyed me.


    "Now that we''re all good friends, let''s talk."


    I smiled at them, only for their eyes to grow even more fearful.


    "You learned your lesson, right? Don''t mess with me."


    They nodded nervously.


    "Will you do it again?"


    "N-No¡­"


    "Never!"


    "I''m sorry ke!"


    I nodded, feeling relieved.


    "Good, thank you. I''ll bring you to the infirmary now. Let''s say it was all a friendly brawl to exercise, alright?" I patted their heads. "If you say something else I''m going to kill all ten of you." Experience new stories on empire


    They fell silent, paralyzed.


    I brought them to the infirmary, where robots were in charge of tissue-growing machines.


    They were put inside and healed instantly.


    Wow, this is good technology.


    Most of them regained their consciousness, panicking. The robots were confused, but I exined to them we were just friendly sparring.


    "Anyways, I hope you all understand now¡­ Also, give me ten thousand Credits each." I asked.


    "T-Ten thousand?!"


    "Wait a second, that''s all I have!"


    "No way, please not my money!"


    "Actually, let''s make it thirty thousand," I said. "Hurry, those that can''t pay yet will be in a debt with interests. So work hard if you don''t want your face to mysteriously be disfigured again."


    "Y-Yes¡­"


    They didn''t have much of an option right now.


    -----

 Chapter 1117 Earning A Large Quantity Of Credits

    -----


    Holographic messages appeared within the internal synapsis installed inside of my brain, which allowed all pilots to connect to thework.


    [A Pilot [Anonymous] has sent you 15.000 Credits.]


    [A Pilot [Anonymous] has sent you 12.000 Credits.]


    [A Pilot [Anonymous] has sent you 18.000 Credits.]


    [A Pilot [Anonymous] has sent you 30.000 Credits.]


    [A Pilot [Anonymous] has sent you 10.000 Credits.]


    [A Pilot [Anonymous] has sent you 30.000 Credits.]


    [A Pilot [Anonymous] has sent you 30.000 Credits.]


    [¡­]


    [Current Credit Bnce]: [255.000]


    Who would have imagined that their annoyance would have brought so many gains. Credits are quite important, after I''ve analyzed how this ce works.


    Aside from buying food, which is something I need anyways to keep myself healthy, you can also spend Credits to buy morefortable rooms, beds, clothes, and more.


    In the Online Shop, there were even the ability to rent or buy virtual reality consoles for simtion. Which seems to be what the majority of the active humans do in their spare time.


    Apparently, there''s whole online worlds in thiswork, where people connect into these virtual reality video games.


    Among them, there were ssic fantasy games, the most popr called Fantasy Story Online and Brand New Life Online.


    Then there were some others which were more about simtion and life, like Farm Vige Life, or also PVP Shooters such as Starlight Hunter Online.


    And above all else, simtion games for pilots, which is apparently how you can get better at piloting, slowly getting used to the robot.


    Though they picked my interest, they were all just games within a trial, simtions that held no strength in the real world¡­


    Other than to multiply my credits, which, aside from all these luxuries, could be used to upgrade Warrior Machines.


    Indeed.


    With Credits its possible to not only buy upgrades, but whole machines of their own, or even materials to build them on your own.


    Although I could shamelessly ask Henriette to provide me with materials or something, I also don''t want to beg for everything.


    With these Credits, I can afford more upgrades too. And above all, Neutonium Cores or fragments, these crystals will help my core grow stronger, so I need them.


    Therefore, I went window shopping for a bit as I made my way back to my machine warrior, which was patiently waiting for my return.


    [You have exchanged a total of 215.000 Credits.]


    [You have purchased the following items from the Online Shop]:


    [Small Neutonium Crystal Fragment (For Neutonium Cores Crack Repairs)] x100] [Cost]: [100.000]


    [Reinforced And Adaptable Orichalconium Triple-Layered Armor te (For Machine Warrior Only)] x6] [Cost]: [60.000]


    [Hyper sma Cannon Add-ons (For Machine Warrior Only)] x2] [Cost]: [40.000]


    [Virtual Reality Simtion Add-on (For Machine Warrior and other Machines)] x1] [Cost]: [10.000]


    [Machine Warrior Battle Arena (Virtual Reality Game, Digital Copy)] x1] [Cost]: [5.000]


    [All purchased items will be delivered by specialized robots to your room and your Machine Warrior''s storage area.]


    [Thank you for your purchase!]


    "Done¡­"


    Thest two were more of a luxury, but if I work well, they could bring me more Credits.


    I''ve discovered after browsing through the Network that some virtual reality games allow you to use Credits on them.


    Usually, you can even bet with others with items that cost a lot of Credits, and the winner get such items, then sells them, and makes even more Credits.


    Also, this one is for simtion using Machine Warriors, and its an Arena I can y while resting and meditating, as I don''t even need to sleep.


    If I can win a few matches and rob those yers that are sittingfortably on their homes while I''m risking my life in outer space, then that game will be worth its price.


    It didn''t take too long beforerge flying tforms piloted by robots arrived with everything I ordered. I had specifically said I wanted everything in front of my Machine Warrior.


    "Thank you."


    I gave the robots a tip of 500 Credit each, they were three, and they went away happily.


    Apparently robots can also umte Credits and buy themselves things, such as repairs, or energy sources.


    They aren''t citizens, but they do have some degree of freedom, depending on how advanced their A.I. is.


    "Now, shall we begin? I bet you''re hungry."


    I quickly opened the metallic box filled with blue colored crystals, and using a floating tform, approached them to the exposed Neutonium Core of the Machine Warrior.


    "Absorb."


    The description said these fragments were of lesser quality, and that they could only be used to repair cracked Neutonium Cores.


    However, with my power over Electromaic Energies produced with my own little Neutonium Core, I was able to purify their impurities and then make my Machine Warrior directly absorb them.


    FLUOSH!


    The blue colored Neutonium Core absorbed all the fragments I offered to it. Yes, I kept twenty of them for myself. I wanted to try absorbing them instead.


    The Machine seemed to grow stronger, its circuits were reinforced, the metal''s flexibility was better, its weight was lighter, somehow. And the electricity speed as it moves through the entire machine body must have be better.


    Above all, it was letting me almost get to another Ability that could be unlocked, almost.


    "Now, let''s try this."


    I grabbed the highly poisonous fragments with my bare hands, channeling the electric energy from my core into the crystals, and trying to absorb them.


    FLASH!


    The crystal started glowing, but its brightness burned my hand a bit. However, it couldn''t be properly absorbed as I had imagined.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    "Hm, why though?"


    I pondered about it for a couple of minutes, beforeing to two conclusions.


    For direct absorption the core has to make direct contact with the fragment.


    Or¡­ I must eat it.


    I would be risking some serious stomachache, so I don''t want to do thetter.


    First, I tried taking out my shirt and cing the crystals on my chest, doing the same procedure.


    This time it responded some more, but it wasn''t enough.


    "Let''s eat it then."


    Without hesitating, I swallowed one of the small, fingernail-sized crystals.


    It had a terrible, bitter vor, and it burned through my throat as it reached my stomach.


    I tried absorbing it in that moment. Discover exclusive content at empire


    And then¡­


    "Oh?!"


    FLUOSH!


    It worked!


    -----

 Chapter 1118 Eleanora

    -----


    After having discovered the way to do it, I didn''t hesitate to swallow the other fragments one after another. Over time, with each fragment, the Neutonium Core within me, which also possessed Demonic Energies I strengthened by absorbing thest Demonic Battery I used in this battle, becamerger and stronger.


    FLASH!


    I felt red colored electricity, demonic energy fused with electromaic energies, course through my body, my connection with the Warrior Machine Strengthen, and then¡­


    "¡­"


    "Ke¡­!"


    "Ah¡­!"


    "See?"


    I started hearing voices, as if something was whispering to me. I looked around, without finding anything yet. I nced at the Warrior Machine, but it wasn''t talking, it couldn''t talk to begin with.


    What is this phantasmal presence?


    Wait, don''t tell me¡­!


    I concentrated into my Neutonium Core, the one inside of my chest, then I closed my eyes, and allowed it to "unlock" something it was touching with its energies.


    FLUOSH!


    Suddenly, a phantasmal, cybeic presence emerged, materializing in front of me as some sort of holographic ghost.


    Of a beautiful red-haired woman, a Vampiress wearing tight ck and neon red clothes covering her entire body, simr to the clothes we pilots wore.


    Without a doubt, she''s¡­


    "Eleanora!" Your adventure continues at empire


    "ke! You can finally see me?!"


    It was Eleanora, she had manifested, not as a spirit, but some sort of¡­ cybeic or even holographic entity.


    Perhaps a program within my ownwork? But made even stronger and realized through the Neutonium Core.


    "Yes, it looks like to be that way," I nodded.


    She tried to hug me but ended passing through my body.


    "Eh? I can''t touch you!"


    "It seems that you''re on a constant ethereal or spiritual state¡­ not spiritual perhaps, it''s strange. It could be said you''reposed of electricity and light now," I exined.


    "T-That''s¡­ weird," Eleanora said. "Anyways, I''ve been watching you so far with the other Vampires."


    "Really? From where?"


    "Right here, it was like¡­ strange, that woman we met in the tower, she sent us to a ck space where we were watching you doing stuff," said Eleanora. "We could even enter that disy and try to interact, but we couldn''t do anything, nor you would hear us or see us."


    "Strange¡­" I said. "Can you see the others now?"


    "Unfortunately¡­ It seems I lost the ability to do so," she said. "But now I''m here! Even though I can''t even touch you¡­ it''s better than nothing, right?"


    "Yeah, I suppose it''s better than being on my own," I smiled. "Anyway, these are great news. This means that by cultivating the Demonic Neutonium Core within me, I can actually summon all of you over time. I don''t think I''ll be able to bring everyone, but at least I could bring two more through the trial¡­"


    "Interesting¡­ But if we can''t interact physically with you, what''s the point of us being here?" she wondered. "You''ve survived two out of seven days now¡­ Is our help even necessary? You were handling things really fine."


    "Maybe, but I am not sure of how hard the trial could be by thest days," I exined. "Having someone trustworthy like you are good. Also, it''s impossible that you can''t do anything. I''m sure you can do something¡­ If you''re more like a digital program, or a hologram, perhaps¡­ Can you try possessing a machine?"


    "Hm, I can try? I''m not the ghost though, that''s Saphira. But I can try," Eleanora flew towards the nearby Machine Warrior from one of the female pilots that was flirting with me.


    Suddenly, the Machine Warrior''s eyes opened, glowing red, I sensed Eleanora''s entire electromaic body expand through every circuit, taking over it.


    "Ah! W-What is this sensation?! I had never felt something like this before! Amazing!"


    She was able not only to possess it, but to move andmunicate through it.


    It was more than I could have ever expected!


    My beloved Eleanora will join me, that fills me with joy.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    "Well done, looks like it works as I thought," I nodded, crossing my arms. "Let go of the machine warrior for now, it would be bothersome if problems are generated because the original pilot finds out it had been trampled with."


    "Right," she agreed, quickly letting the machine go. "Perhaps I can possess the Sentinels you''ve created here instead?"


    "Maybe, but Machine Warriors are better than Sentinels in armament, weapons, and abilities¡­" I said. "The ideal would be to give you your own Machine Warrior. But they cost a million credits. There''s no way I can get that many on my own. The other chance would be to fish one that had been half-destroyed and left as debris in space. That''s the best option."


    "Hmm, but can''t youbine the sentinels and make a strong one for me then?" Eleanora asked.


    "Yes, that''s an option, but their numbers are limited," I exined. "Anyways, I might get more Credits from the Elderster. I think they''llpensate me more. They want me to live after all¡­ I think."


    "So that''s how it is¡­ Hmm, the Elders¡­ and this entire society, it''s quite intriguing," said Eleanora. "Have you thought who is behind this?"


    "A bit but¡­ if it''s a trial, it might not even be that necessary," I exined. "For now, let''s upgrade this machine and y some virtual reality games. I''ll make as many credits as I can while I "sleep"!"


    "Haha, fine! Let me help!" Eleanora possessed a sentinel and helped me upgrade my Machine Warrior with all the add-ons and the new armor tes.


    Its design had changed a bit, two huge cannons on its shoulders, better, heavier armor, and also a stronger, glowing Neutonium Core.


    Also, I had unlocked enough of the "seal" within me to chose two more Skills, so I''ll think about what to pick through the night.


    For now¡­


    [You''ve logged in to the Virtual Reality Network.]


    [A Virtual Reality Game has been downloaded and is ready to y.]


    [Do you wish to y [Machine Warrior Battle Arena]?]


    [Yes] [No]


    I pressed yes, and my consciousness was quickly dragged into a virtual world.


    The skies opened, as I saw gray, cloudy skies.


    Thendscape resembled a ruined world, destroyed, ruined cityscapes.


    Long skyscrapers had copsed into the ground, paved streets eroded over time,rge pools of water infested with nuclear waste covered the ce.


    [Wee to the [Machine Warrior Battle Arena]!]


    [As a new yer, you get a bonus of +100 Warrior Points.]


    In the distance, I could hear the screams of people and the sh of metal.


    I nced behind me, noticing a rebuilt city, made from the ruins of an ancient civilization.


    There, a giant arena was built, as if the entire new city was built around it.


    I see, so this how the game is¡­


    However, there''s a whole open world here too, and they let you walk around as much as you want, huh?


    [To begin your journey as a Machine Warrior, please enter the [Lost City of Scrap and Metal: Stagnatione] and find the Machine Warrior Arena.]


    [Using Warrior Points, you can rent Machine Warriors and use them to fight other yers in the Arena.]


    [Using Credits, you can exchange for Warrior Points and also purchase not only Machine Warriors but many add-ons!]


    [Such items you purchase can also be resold to other yers for Credits!]


    [Additionally, in the Arena, you can bet purchased items or even whole Machine Warriors.]


    [Be the strongest Machine Warrior and dominate the Arena!]


    "Hah, how cute."


    Time to make some money.


    -----

 Chapter 1119 Virtual Reality Game

    -----


    [Wee to the [Machine Warrior Battle Arena]!]


    [As a new yer, you get a bonus of +100 Warrior Points.]


    [To begin your journey as a Machine Warrior, please enter the [Lost City of Scrap and Metal: Stagnatione] and find the Machine Warrior Arena.]


    [Using Warrior Points, you can rent Machine Warriors and use them to fight other yers in the Arena.]


    [Using Credits, you can exchange for Warrior Points and also purchase not only Machine Warriors but many add-ons!]


    [Such items you purchase can also be resold to other yers for Credits!]


    [Additionally, in the Arena, you can bet purchased items or even whole Machine Warriors.]


    [Be the strongest Machine Warrior and dominate the Arena!]


    As I found myself within the wastnds, several messages appeared, telling me what to do in this "Virtual Reality Video Game" that most of the inhabitants of this Mothership yed to cope with the cold reality. Although most of humanity were on cryogenic sleep, there had been generations of people living in the mothership, supporting it with their lives, living and dying, and having children too.


    The poption is, ording to my gic memory, roughly¡­ Probably ten million or so, a lot of people, so things to have fun were created, or well, recreated from their original, Earth. This thing about Virtual Reality emerged. Although I see it as merely a way of training, most people in this ce spend their entire lives on this.


    "What is this ce? Is this truly all simted? Incredible!" Eleanora nced around in disbelief. "The level of technology of these people is impressive."


    It seemed she was able to emerge within the Virtual Reality simtion as a program¡­ She''s connected to my own Demonic Neutonium Core, does that means I can use these abilities directly in here? Interesting.


    "Yeah, but it''s all fake, so I don''t really like it that much," I said. "I prefer to fight real battles rather than pretend¡­ However, this is a good exercise at least, I can train the usage of Machine Warriors and make a lot of Credits, which I want to buy more things so I canplete this Trial better."


    "So that''s how it is," she nodded. "I imagined you wouldn''t like video games, fufu. Very well, where shall we go then?"


    "I can already sense that this entire world is very wide and expansive, but none of those matters. You could say this entire ruined world is just decoration. The only thing that matters is that big arena and the city built around it. That''s what this game is about, fighting using giant machines, and spending credits to make your character strong and bet robot parts.


    Hence, making ridiculous amounts of money."


    "Oooh!" Eleanora liked the idea. "Interesting, let''s go then! I want to see that city!"


    "Alright¡­" I nodded. "Hm, aren''t you enjoying this too much though?"


    She was very enthusiastic, I never took Eleanora as someone that liked video games, that''s a bit odd. But well, whatever.


    We walked across the wastnds, climbing up and down, the body of this avatar was modeled after mine, so it was a perfect copy of me.


    However, it seemed to have stats of its own, so it was much slower than me, and it couldn''t jump as much as I wanted.


    I tried jumping from a cliff and I died instantly, I had to wait 30 minutes to respawn, what a waste of time.


    "Finally here¡­"


    "Well, if you hadn''t died we could have gotten here a bit faster, ke¡­"


    "True, I ept that what I did was rather stupid¡­ but whatever."


    "Hm, this game is a bit strange; you can''t level up or improve your character at all! There are no monsters outside either?"


    "Yeah, it''s because it is not the game you may think it is," I exined. "That our character is weak physically doesn''t matter, what matters is buying big robots and making them fight, and that''s what we''re doing."


    I looked at the system notification that had appeared before to remind myself of what I had to do in here¡­


    [To begin your journey as a Machine Warrior, please enter the [Lost City of Scrap and Metal: Stagnatione] and find the Machine Warrior Arena.]


    Okay, so this ce must be Stagnatione. The ce seems well guarded, with many makeshift Machine Warriors that resembled chimeric amalgamations of scrap pieces put together, the gates were slightly open, letting those that arrived enter the city, a refuge from the harsh wastnds outside.


    [Using Warrior Points, you can rent Machine Warriors and use them to fight other yers in the Arena.]


    Alright, so I need to use Warrior Points to rent a Machine Warrior and use it to fight in that arena to earn Credits, understood.


    [Using Credits, you can exchange for Warrior Points and also purchase not only Machine Warriors but many add-ons!]


    [Such items you purchase can also be resold to other yers for Credits!]


    [Additionally, in the Arena, you can bet purchased items or even whole Machine Warriors.]


    "And this is how I make money." I pointed at Eleanora, who read the text attentively.


    "I see!" she nodded. "It seems fun! Let''s give it a go!"


    "We''ll have to ask around first, so have patience," I said, walking inside the city.


    "A newbie, huh?"


    A giant Machine Warrior made of different mismatched parts greeted me.


    "Is there a problem?"


    The giant analyzed me, but then quickly walked back.


    "None, I ran an analysis on you, if you were a suspicious person you would have appeared on our list of wanted criminals!" the man inside the robot said. "Also you are not carrying any Mutagen within you, so you''re not a Wastnd Mutant either, you''re good. I''m just wondering how you even made it here on your own, hahaha! You look all shabby and small!"


    For a shabby game the Artificial Intelligence is sure expressive.


    "Can I go in?"


    "Huh? Y-Yeah, go in¡­"


    He seemed a bit weirded out how serious I was.


    As I entered, however, I quickly went back. Explore stories at empire


    "Sorry, do you know where I can rent the machine warriors?"n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    "Yeah! Go to the Scrap 7 Street to the southwest road of the central park! There''s an old man with a cybeic eye renting machine warriors for a fine price."


    "Thank you."


    Without further ado, I stepped into the city.


    My goal is simple.


    One million credits.


    -----

 Chapter 1120 A Big Gamble

    -----


    [Wee to the [Lost City of Scrap and Metal: Stagnatione], where all dreamse true and where all your worst fears can alsoe true.]


    [This is the city of machine warriors, an arena where everyone mercilessly beat each other to death! Tear your opponent apart and reim his parts as yours!]


    [Bet real Credits and make them back in even more through intense battles where wits, skill, and mechanics bnce arebined seamlessly.]


    [Your life as a¡­]


    "Yeah, yeah, enough."


    I waved my hand, as I ignored the system notifications and made my way through the city. I didn''t have all the time of the world to care about these introductions or tutorials.


    The city itself was¡­ well, fantastic. Buildings made of scrap, pieces of metal of all sorts stuck together, enormous vestiges of old civilizations such as building and decaying towers repopted.


    There were nts, above the rooftops of people and there were many people harvesting whatever those strange nts produced. Some weird fruits with strange colors and shapes.


    Most houses were painted with a lot of graffiti, and giant robots walked around, seemingly keeping some sort of order on an alreadywless world.


    I suppose the reason why this entire ce is held together is because its being governed with force, machines to be specific.


    Also that arena must bring a lot of revenue but¡­ Hm, right it''s a game, I shouldn''t be analyzing things too much.


    "Here we are."


    We walked across the city, Eleanora even more fascinated than I was, finding everything incredible and fantastic, we saw many types of machines here and there too, some not even shaped traditionally.


    Indeed, most of them were like huge Frankenstein monsters, others resembled giant insects, spiders, praying mantises, flies, bees, and so on. Others looked likerge beasts, wolves, lions, and other things.


    They looked mismatched though, every part of these machines must have once belonged somewhere else, but it was now part of them. Making them very colorful and holding a sort of scrap punk or junk punk aesthetic I liked.


    Yes, I knew of such things, gic memory.


    "So this is the ce?"


    Eleanora nced at the shop in front of us, the bustling cities full of robots and people made a lot of background noise, so we had to pretty much scream to hear one another.


    "Yeah," I said. "It is this ce."


    Therge shop was built over half of a skyscraper''s ruins, walls made of scrap and junk stuck together made it and there was a ck colored metallic door in the front, half-opened.


    There was a huge sign at the side saying "Johnny''s Junk and Machine Rental Shop", so the owner was probably named like that.


    We entered, finding ourselves in abyrinthian world made of rusty metal, the smell was strong and annoying, but we made our way inside and quickly found someone.


    "Well, I''ll be damned, who are you? I''ve never seen ya around here!"


    An old man with short blonde hair greeted us, it was probably a wig.


    "Name''s ke, I''m a newbie," I said. "They told me you got some machine warriors you''re renting. Your name''s Jonny, right?"


    "That''s my name yeah!" the old man, who was sitting down watching TV that reproduced a lot of videos of machines fighting and people screaming, while drinking something alcoholic, smiled, showing us theck of teeth on his mouth. "So what''s your budget? I got the newbie stuff. Renting something is 100 Warrior Points! These are my cheapest ones.


    They''re falling apart but if you''re a good pilot you might get something out of them."


    He quickly led us through his enormous "house" as wended on a huge garage with giant machines, the cheapest ones for rental were only three, looking much worse than the rest.


    A pseudo humanoid one with only the legs resembling a machine warrior, which were overly rusty and with many pieces missing, the upper body was that of an old cat, and it only had a single arm from another machine with a huge spear attached to it.


    A crab-like machine made of several pieces attached together, well, it was more like a trunk with four giant legs, a huge w and then a tiny one¡­ it looked like the best of the three, but it was much smaller.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Andstly the third, the upper torso of a Machine Warrior attached to a car with six wheels, only one arm with a machine gun.


    "Seriously¡­ these look like shit¡­"


    Even Eleanora didn''t like them, but it seemed the NPC couldn''t see her.


    "So they''re all 100?" I asked.


    "Yeah! 100 for a single day though!" the old man said. "You can earn more points with consecutive victories¡­ Or you can also go gather scrap and sell it to me. Oh right! Also the Guardian Confederation pays people that bring them Mutant Cores if you can hunt a few, they''ll pay you heftily based on how many you kill. This is your one and only chance brat if you don''t-"


    "Actually, I have some Credits, let me buy some premium stuff," I said, showing him the system window with my Credits attached to it.


    The old man''s eyes turned into $ shapes, I swear.


    "Aaaahh! Where are my manners?!" the man immediately changed his personality. "Pleasee here!"


    I currently had 40k Credits, I spent most of the ones I had on other things, but it seemed this quantity was very sizable, immense even. He immediately started treating me like a king.


    "Show me your strongest machines for rent," I said. "The sturdier the better. Humanoid if possible."


    "Yes,e here please, sir!" the old man quickly guided me through the garage.


    Then we reached his "VIP" area, there were over then machines lined up, but he rmended his most expensive and better ones, three of them.


    They all looked much better than the others, resembling Machine Warriors with various attached add-ons. One was painted ck, another red, and another blue and white. The first wielded a sword and cannons, the second two spears, the third a giant gun andrge fists.


    "These are my three knights! My strongest little machines! ck Knight, Infernal Knight, and Azure Knight! My magnus opus! They''ll bring you victory no matter what! Renting them is 8.000 Credits a day!"


    "I see¡­" I nodded. "What about add-ons?"


    I was going to spend all my Credits for this gamble.


    -----

 Chapter 1121 Entering The Machine Warrior Arena

    -----


    After showing the old man my money, we reached his "VIP" area, there were over then machines lined up, but he rmended his most expensive and better ones, three of them.


    They all looked much better than the others, resembling Machine Warriors with various attached add-ons. They looked much more expensive too and well maintained, albeit there were still many rusty parts.


    I guess you can''t really find a proper robot in this damn wastnd of a game. I suppose it is part of the game''s art direction to be all scrap punk no matter what.


    Anyways, one was painted ck, another red, and another blue and white. The first wielded a sword and cannons, the second two spears, the third a giant gun andrge fists.


    They looked alright, though notparable to my Machine Warrior, even less after its upgrade. But that''ll have to do for now.


    "These are my three knights! My strongest little machines! ck Knight, Infernal Knight, and Azure Knight! My magnus opus! They''ll bring you victory no matter what! Renting them is 8.000 Credits a day!"


    "I see¡­" I nodded. "What about add-ons?"


    I was going to spend all my Credits for this gamble, so I wanted to buy add-ons to bet. The machine itself can''t be bet because it belongs to the owner after all.


    "Let me show you the most amazing add-ons you can directly buy and bet!"


    He quickly ran towards another side of the shop, as we followed him. Eventually, he showed me all kinds of insane weapons, cannons, machine guns, giant guns, and many other things. Even electrified swords, spears, axes, shields, and so on.


    Eventually, I bought the most expensive and the best weapons, mostly guns, a spear imbued with electric abilities, and a giant shield that releases repelling gravity waves.


    Ding!


    [You have spent a total of 38.000 Credits.]


    [You have rented the [Machine Warrior: Infernal Knight V1.5] for 24 Hours.]


    [You have purchased the [sma Cannon Add-on (Machine Warrior Only)] x1]n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    [You have purchased the [Giant Hand Machine Gun Add-on (Machine Warrior Only)] x2]


    [You have purchased the [Electrified Neutonium-Enchanted Spear (Machine Warrior Only)] x1]


    [You have purchased the [Gravitonium Repelling Shield (Machine Warrior Only)] x1]


    Only five things, but they were all incredibly expensive, perfect for tempting betters to give me all their damned Credits.


    "Thank you for your preference!"


    The old man was happy, helping me add all the add-ons and weapons to the machine before departing. The Infernal Knight walked across the streets, quickly amazing many people as it moved.


    "This machine is heavier and more annoying than mine¡­" I said, smiling. "Interesting, it''ll be a bit harder to get used! Not bad."


    "You sure bought a lot¡­" said Eleanora. "Are you going to win your matches with the power of pay2win?"


    "Yes." I said without hesitation. "Now¡­"


    I faced the arena, quickly showing my "ID" that appeared through a holographic window. The entrance opened and then I quickly registered myself for tonight''s 50 Versus 50 matches.


    In these matches one hundred pilots fight against one another, winners pass to the next round until only a single person stands at thest round.


    Sounds fun, and a good opportunity to bet as much as I want!


    "Look that guy!"


    "Is he a newbie?"


    "What the hell? He got the Infernal Knight?!"


    "Isn''t that a pay2win machine?"


    "That thing costs 8000 a pop! The hell is wrong with him?!"


    "Who would waste so much money on a rental machine warrior?"


    "Fucking newbie''s going to get screwed anyways. Let''s rob him good."


    "Hell yeah brother!"


    The yers were bickering with one another, they seemed ustomed to this world, most of them were wearing costumes and punk clothes to fit the "vibe" of this world''s artistic inspirations.


    "Looks like some people love roleying," said Eleanora with a giggle, sitting over the robot''s head.


    "It seems so," I nodded.


    After ten minutes of waiting, the matches finally began, and luckily enough, I was chosen first against someone with a insect-like machine resembling a locust and a praying mantis hybrid.


    "Kill the whale!"


    "KILL THE WHALE!"


    "Kill the whale!"


    "Kill the whaleeehehehe!"


    The spectators rose their arms into the sky and began celebrating, roaring in unison as they called me a "Whale" for paying real money.


    The man in front of me began jumping, getting ready to fight me as he provoked me.


    "Hey newbie, where did youe from with all that expensive year? Don''t tell me you''re the son of some rich guy out there? Hahaha! I''m gonna enjoy robbing your shit! Alright, starting betting!"


    "I bet everything I possess," I said. "Will you bet everything you possess?"


    "Wait, everything?!"ughed the guy. "Hahaha! Sure! Go ahead my boy!"


    As the manughed and agreed the betting¡­


    Ding!


    [You and your adversary had epted a mutual betting!]


    [Both of you are betting every add-on within your machine warriors.]


    [The battle shall start in 5¡­]


    [4¡­]


    [3¡­]


    [2¡­]


    [1¡­]


    [0¡­]


    [FIGHT!]


    DING! DING! DING!


    The loud sound of a bell echoed around the entire arena as the screams of the audience echoed, I grabbed my electrified spear as I saw the giant insectoid machine disappear.


    FLASH!


    "Gahahaha! Get ready fucker!"


    And before I could move, its giant and strong legs kicked the back of my machine, pushing me down into the ground with a loud thud.


    BAAAM!


    "I''ll finish you off quickly!"


    Suddenly, his praying mantis scythes swung down, about to slice the machine warrior''s head.


    "You''re so hasty¡­"


    CLAAASH!


    Before he could do so though, I twisted the machine''s entire body through my precise control, rolled away, then I jumped forward once I was standing up, my spear piercing through its arms.


    CRASH!


    "Wait, what!?"


    The pilot gasped as he noticed the spear beginning to spin around, electricity spreading out everywhere.


    "Those precise movements¡­ That wasn''t the control of a newbie! Who the hell are you?!"


    "Me? I''m just a newbie, I swear."


    I stepped forward, the locust machine tried to jump away and then hit me from above.


    However, before it could do it again, I used my shield, mming it into the ground the moment it jumped.


    CRAAASH!


    "Agh! Wait a second!"


    The man screamed in annoyance, but it was toote.


    The electrified spear pierced through the locust''s head, then, using my guns, I sted the rest of his body into smithereens.


    BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!


    The audience fell silent, ncing at me in disbelief.


    DING! DING! DING!


    [We got a winner! yer ke has passed the first match!]


    [You have obtained all betted Add-Ons!]


    [They have been stored in your Inventory!]


    [You earned +100 Warrior Points.]


    "Nice! Who else wants to have a go? Does any loser think they can go against a paid yer? Keep dreaming, you mutts living in poverty."


    I said provocative words, and everyone took the bait, they hated me.


    "YOU FUCK!"


    "KILL YOURSELF WHALE!"


    "DEAL WITH HIM!"


    "BASTARD!"


    As they booed me and I made my way to the resting area, I got a match invitation. Apparently, those that win a match get the privilege of inviting someone else to a match.


    [A yer has invited you to a personal battle within the 50 Versus 50 Matches.]


    [Do you ept?]


    [Yes] [No]


    Its optional and I can reject it but¡­


    "Sure."


    There were many more invitations umting, and I was going to take them all.


    -----

 Chapter 1122 Mecha Battle

    -----


    [You have epted the challenge.]


    [The challenging yer has been teleported in front of you.]


    "Prepare yourself you fuckhead! I''m going to beat your Whale Ass and get all that premium loot! You''re going to get robbed on fucking daylight dude!"


    A huge mech of around the same size as mine emerged, made of red, blue, and white pieces. He had four arms, each one with a weapon, a spear, a sword, an axe, and a giant machine gun.


    The head was that of a car, with a glowing red eye on it. The pilot was also there, apparently¡­ he was getting ready to fight me, as the countdown began.


    "Betting everything then?" I asked.


    "Yeah! Bet all your points and credits too and I''ll do the same, give me everything dude," he said.


    "Sure thing! Thank you for being so generous," I nodded.


    "You''re sure fucking confident you piece of shit¡­"


    Ding!


    [You and your adversary had epted a mutual betting!]


    [Both of you are betting every add-on within your machine warriors.]


    [The battle shall start in 5¡­]


    [4¡­]


    [3¡­]


    [2¡­]


    [1¡­]


    [0¡­]


    [FIGHT!]


    DING! DING! DING!


    The bell ringed, as the mech in front of me immediately began attacking me. The machinegun as I thought, started to rapidly shoot hundreds of giant guns against me, capable of piercing through defenses.


    "GET FUCKED MOTHERSHITTER!"


    RATATATATATA!


    As the machinegun started firing at rapid speed, I ced my shield in front and was able to easily tank the bullets. This was the highest tiered shield I could buy after all; it easily repelled these bullets. Its durability barely going down.


    "HIDING BEHIND LIKE THE PUSSY YOU ARE?!"


    The man screamed withughter, slowly approaching towards me, his movements were sluggish. It was as if there was ag in between his words and his movements. I suppose that''s ack of experience or synchronization.


    Excellent things to exploit.


    "NOW I''LL GET TO-"


    Before he kept talking his bullshit, I stood up and charged against him faster than he imagined. He panicked, shooting more of his bullets until his machine gun ran out midway through my charge.


    "No way! What is that shield dude?! This is just fucking cheating!"


    As heined and his three weapons attempted to attack me, I realized he barely was moving. He was used to finish off foes with his machinegun and then if they survive, to cut them down.


    "I spent my hard-earned credits on this, so it''s not cheating."


    With those words, I leaped into the skies several meters above, evading his three attacks and surprising the entire audience. The propulsors included on this machine warrior came in handy in that moment.


    "W-What?!"


    As the man screamed in surprise, I pointed my spear down and¡­


    CRASH!


    It pierced through the machine''s head all the way down its torso, infusing it with lightning and blowing it up into pieces.


    BOOOM!


    "Game over."


    Yet again, the audience fell silent.


    DING! DING! DING!


    [We got a winner! yer ke has passed his third match!]


    [You have obtained all betted Add-Ons.]


    [They have been stored in your Inventory.]


    [You earned +6.500 Warrior Points and +4.500 Credits.]


    "Oh nice, he had quite a lot¡­" I looked at the audience. "Who''s else thinks they can fight me? F2P versus P2W? Come on! All of you hardworking yers¡­ Don''t tell me that all these years ying have been for nothing! Can your experience beat the power of money?"


    Of course, that was all bait, I don''t even have an opinion about such subjects, I don''t really care about video games.


    Yet that was amazing bait, I ended getting many notifications.


    Ding!


    [A yer has invited you to a personal battle within the 50 Versus 50 Matches.]


    [Do you ept?]


    [Yes] [No]


    Ding!


    [A yer has invited you to a personal battle within the 50 Versus 50 Matches.]


    [Do you ept?]


    [Yes] [No]


    Ding!


    [A yer has invited you to a personal battle within the 50 Versus 50 Matches.]


    [Do you ept?]


    [Yes] [No]


    Ding!


    [A yer has invited you to a personal battle within the 50 Versus 50 Matches.]


    [Do you ept?]


    [Yes] [No]


    Ding!


    [¡­]


    "Hahaha! So many invites! Please beat them all!"


    Eleanora was enjoying this, a lot.


    "Sure, that''s the n anyways. I want all participants to fight only me¡­ So I get all the money and loot."


    Simple as.


    .


    .


    .


    "UGH¡­! FUCK YOU!"


    The scream of a frustrated yer echoed in the arena, as his entire robot crumbled down to pieces and then disappeared on a sh of pixels and particles of light, being teleported elsewhere.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    This was already my 36th victory so far. And probably thest, someone else had also been fighting other yers, and had been keeping up with me, waiting for this moment.


    DING! DING! DING!


    [We got a winner! yer ke has passed his thirty seventh match!]


    [You have obtained all betted Add-Ons.]


    [They have been stored in your Inventory.]


    [You earned +4.500 Warrior Points and +5.200 Credits.]


    From all these battles, I''ve gained roughly 70k Credits, not bad at all. Though that''s without including the add-ons and also the warrior points.


    If I exchange everything for Credits, I might be looking at least 300k Credits. We''re already a third of a million, so that''s good. And it has only been like¡­ what? An hour? There''s still a couple more hours before morning.


    [The Final Battle of the 50 Versus 50 Match shall soon begin!]


    [yer ke has triumphed over 36 Matches!]


    [The Last yer that has triumphed over 13 other Matches shall now be summoned to confront you!]


    [The Final Match shall begin!]


    FLASH!


    Pixels and light gathered in front of me, quickly materializing into thest fighter, a tall machine, sleek, and high-tech looking.


    There was not a single rusted part of it, its arms were long and pointy like needles, and so were its legs, it was holding several spears, floating around it.


    "Hmm? Who is that?! He doesn''t look at all like the others!"


    Eleanora was shocked, and the audience as well.


    "Wait a second, isn''t that Zack?!"


    "No way!"


    "Isn''t he among the top ten yers?!"


    "So that''s the Legendary ck Pdin?! Holy shit, what kind of custom model is that?!"


    "They say he made it with custom parts entirely, he even mined the ores and metals from the wastnd map!"


    "Insane¡­"


    "ke''s cooked, hahahaha!"


    The ck Pdin red at me with its single, red colored eye.


    "It has been a while since I''ve fought a whale like you," he pointed his six floating spears at me. "Don''t make it too easy. Let''s bet it all too. How about it?"


    How confident of him, very well.


    "Hah, this is going to be good." Iughed. "Of course. Let''s bet our Add-ons, Credits, Warrior Points, everything."


    "Very well," he said. "Let''s have a good fight then! Don''t die too quickly please. I want to have some fun."


    "I would say the same," I said with a smile.


    Ding!


    [You and your adversary had epted a mutual betting!]


    [Both of you are betting every add-on within your machine warriors.] Your next read is at empire


    [The battle shall start in 5¡­]


    [4¡­]


    [3¡­]


    [2¡­]


    [1¡­]


    [0¡­]


    [FIGHT!]


    DING! DING! DING!


    It only took a blink.


    The Legendary ck Pdin was already in front of me.


    His six floating spears rushing towards me, grinding through my shield and armor.


    CRASH! CRASH! CRASH! CRASH!


    And beginning to rapidly shatter it all.


    -----

 Chapter 1123 Against The Legendary Player

    -----


    The ck Pdin, a Legendary yer of this Game. Someone ranked among the top ten strongest pilots, who has gained countless victories. ording to the rumors, he mined for materials himself across the entire wastnd map, fighting Mutants along the way.


    And through all his efforts, he custom-made his entire mech, a moder-looking machine warrior you can''t buy anywhere here, nor rent either. Apletely unique model that I haven''t even seen in the ones avable for pilots.


    Along its ability to seemingly float indefinitely, it was also surrounded by six floating spears imbued withrge quantities of Neutonium and other metals, electrified to the brim.


    The silhouette of the robot was thin, as if it was a bunch of ck needles stuck together.


    "It has been a while since I''ve fought a whale like you," he pointed his six floating spears at me. He even had the voice of a proud pdin you would find in Spiritias, what a character.


    "Don''t make it too easy. Let''s bet it all too. How about it?" Experience more content on empire


    How confident of him, very well. I like that, I also want to bet everything anyways. I''m not particrly afraid, and I don''t back down from a challenge either.


    "Hah, this is going to be good." Iughed. "Of course. Let''s bet our Add-ons, Credits, Warrior Points, everything."


    The floating mech nodded, his six spears floating and rotating around his body, his proud and manly voice echoed around the entire arena.


    "Very well," he said. "Let''s have a good fight then! Don''t die too quickly please. I want to have some fun."


    "I would say the same," I said with a smile.


    Like that, the countdown began after we both agreed on our bets.


    Ding!


    [You and your adversary had epted a mutual betting!]


    [Both of you are betting every add-on within your machine warriors.]


    [The battle shall start in 5¡­]


    [4¡­]


    [3¡­]


    [2¡­]


    [1¡­]


    [0¡­]


    [FIGHT!]


    DING! DING! DING!


    The battle immediately began after the 1 count, I was going to get ready, I knew he would attack me first, so I put my shield first and¡­


    It only took a blink.


    FLASH!


    Moving like a ck sh, or a blur, the Legendary ck Pdin was already in front of me.


    He moved incredibly fast! Not even my senses were able to properly calcte his speed.


    Is this the strategy of his mech? An incredibly light build, plus indefinite flying, and then¡­


    Floating weapons hyper charged with electricity.


    His six floating spears rushed towards me, grinding through my shield and armor at lightning speed, ck thunder emerged from each blow, spreading through my body and shield.


    CRASH! CRASH! CRASH! CRASH!


    And beginning to rapidly shatter my defenses. I saw small cracks on my expensive premium armor and shield. I smiled, however.


    "Hah, I guess money can''t do it all."


    Good thing I was never truly relying on itpletely.


    "Excellent control, amazing build, and an incredible robot!" Iughed. "Zack, you would make an amazing pilot¡­ If you weren''t just some normal citizens, sitting on his desk."


    "What sort of nonsense are you talking about?" he wondered. "Are you trying to distract me now that you''re about to lose? Also don''t try to log out, you''ll immediately lose, and I''ll get everything anyways!"


    "Is that so¡­"


    FLASH!


    I moved forwards, without evading his blows. I felt how he was slightly surprised, his spears stopped for a second. This made me realize they work by mentalmands.


    "Shield Bash."


    BAAAM!


    "Ugh?!"


    Taking that opportunity, that precious second I bought, I mmed his entire mech forwards with all my full force, moving at a speed he didn''t realize.


    "I bet you calcted I was slow due to my armor, right?"


    "How!"


    "Easy, you just broke my armor."


    He underestimated me.


    "Tch!"


    With slight irritation, Zack quickly spun his entire mech''s body like a needle and then shed against my body with his arms and legs upwards.


    They worked like damn spears, rapidly beginning to spread the cracks across my shield, I barely managed to spin my entire mech and then put my shield to receive his blows.


    CLASH! CLASH! CLASH! CLASH!


    "He''s fast and tougher too!"


    Eleanora alerted me and yes, she wasn''t wrong.


    That shield bash should have definitely done more damage based on his light built.


    This means that the metals that mech is made of are incredibly dense yet lightweight.


    But nothing is impossible.


    BAAAM!


    I smashed the ground below with all the mech''s strength, then, as Zack nced at the floor in disbelief, thinking I was going to trick him, I moved upwards, jumping above him.


    "What the¡­?!"


    "That was a feint."


    I kicked his mech''s head and then pushed him down again. The six spears moved towards me, attempting to finish me off.


    Six blows at once in any area of my unprotected mech''s body would be my lose.


    However.


    "Time to use these babies."


    Machineguns add-ons, work hard!


    CRACKLE!


    The machine warrior metal tes reverberated with loud sounds as two enormous machine guns surged from my shoulders.


    Yes, this was my little surprise, hundreds of bullets were fired at once, exploding as they were thetest generation of anti-shield bullets.


    RATATATATATA!


    Those spears were of a slightly less durable material than the mech''s armor, due to the barrage of bullets, the force alone sent them flying away.


    "Machinegun add-ons on your shoulders?! So you had tricks!"


    Zack didn''t seem angered, he seemed amazed, quickly cing two of his mech''s legs over my own mech''s neck and pushing me down.


    "However!"


    CLANK!


    With tremendous force, he pushed down my machine and ced its head into the ground, trying to crush it with all the force of his robot.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Of course, if he destroys the head, where the pilot is, I''ll lose.


    Smart.


    "Eleanora, stop shooting with the machine guns, transfer yourself to my spear."


    "What?! But the six spears will reach you before¡­"


    "Trust me."


    "¡­Okay!"


    She hesitated only a second, immediately stopping her control over the machineguns, as they started shooting automatically this time, making them much easier to avoid for the six floating spears.


    "What are you going to do now, ke? Your head wille off, or your back will blow back into pieces!" Zack said. "It ended too quickly, unfortunately¡­ But you got potential."


    "Ah, is that so?"


    FLASH!


    And in that moment, my spear flew off my hands.


    "Huh?!"


    And before everyone''s eyes, itnded on Zack mech''s neck, right in the area between the head and the torso.


    I was able to analyze that it was the weakest part.


    CRASH!


    Sending a current of red lightning, the spear began rotating rapidly.


    "W-What is this? I thought your spear wasn''t an autonomous one?!"


    "Well, you thought wrong! Now let''s see who dies first, Zack! Me or you!"


    "YOU DAMN LUNATIC!"


    Zack panicked as he started trying to tear apart my head while his spear moved towards my back, three towards me and three towards my spear, now controlled by Eleanora.


    Crack, crack¡­


    The sound of metal breaking apart and shattering reverberated, from both my own machine and Zack''s amazing mech.


    Cracks spread, and seconds passed.


    Crack¡­!


    The three spears evaded my machineguns and aimed at my back and shoulders.


    And the other three finally reached Eleanora.


    Crack, crack¡­


    Who will shatter first?


    CRAAASH!


    -----

 Chapter 1124 Maybe Video Games Arent So Bad

    -----


    "YOU DAMN LUNATIC!"


    Zack panicked as he started trying to tear apart my head while his spears moved towards my back, three towards me and three towards my spear, now controlled by Eleanora.


    Yeah, maybe I was a lunatic, but how else would I win against this man and his unfair machine? Even more, even with how premium this machine is, it cannotpare to the real deal.


    It feels much slower and weaker. It''s obviously not the same one used to fight Xenoids.


    Obviously, these machines are all specialized to battle other machines.


    Crack, crack¡­


    The sound of metal breaking apart and shattering reverberated, from both my own machine and Zack''s amazing mech. Cracks spread, and seconds passed. Eleanora continued spinning rapidly.


    Crack¡­!


    The three spears evaded my machineguns at longst and aimed at my back and shoulders. Zack wanted to either tear my head off, blow my back, or destroy my shoulders so I lose all matter of resistance.


    And unfortunately, the other three spears finally reached Eleanora, moving at lightning speed, aiming to stop her at all cost.


    Crack, crack¡­n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    Who will shatter first?


    CRAAASH!


    None.


    The three Spears hit Eleanora, throwing her away and stopping my only chance to defeat Zack.


    "Aha! I got you!"


    Zack quickly lifted his mech''s body into the air and then began spinning in, attempting topletely demolish my machine.


    Yes, unfortunately.


    There was another add-on I had; one I haven''t shown anybody else.


    "No, I got you."


    My machine warrior''s chest suddenly opened, revealing a cannon inside.


    Energy gathered, rapidly forming a sphere of sma.


    The three spears behind me pierced my machine once.


    CRASH! CRASH! CRASH!


    However, I had already calcted their impact, which pushed me forward.


    I spun my mech''s body in thatst moment, using Eleanora as a way to grab onto something.


    She floated right towards me, knowing this was my n.


    "Huh?!"


    Zack panicked.


    It''s over buddy.


    "You were amazing, Zack. Thank you for the money."


    "SHIT! YOU FUCK-"


    TRUUUM!


    A small beam of sma was fired at the "wound" Eleanora left behind right on his mech''s neck.


    Because I was right below him while he was trying to crush my head and then my entire robot spun in midair.


    It was the perfect angle.


    The beam pierced through the neck, leaving a huge hole that spread countless cracks.


    And then the head came off the mech.


    BOOOM!


    And a huge explosion of sma engulfed everything else left behind.


    Zack''s Legendary ck Pdin fell into pieces into the arena.


    His six spears stopped moving as well, falling like inert sticks.


    "Looks like it''s our victory."


    My mech was barely standing, it could have pretty much been destroyed if I had gotten hit once.


    "T-This was intense¡­"


    Hah, can''t me her for think that.


    Maybe¡­ video games aren''t so bad.


    This gave me more insights than I could have ever thought about machines, and also revealed to me that there were amazing pilots even within normal civilians.


    "Hm?"


    Silence.


    The entire arena was in utter silence.


    I suppose they couldn''t believe I won, whatever.


    I''m not doing this for attention, this is a trial and this is something I did for convenience so-


    "Amazing¡­"


    "This guy''s insane!"


    "So many trump cards¡­"


    "He had even more shit up his sleeve?"


    "This whale''s not bad¡­"


    "He won against Zack!"


    "Fuck! Holy shit! That was amazing!"


    "Has there even been a fight this intense before?"


    "They used every single mechanic in the game¡­ and their control and synchronization were top notch."


    "S-So this is a battle between two pros¡­"


    "WOOOOOOHHHH!"


    One person screamed, and then, the rest started cheering. They raised their arms and started pping and celebrating my victory.


    "Hah¡­"


    I stood up, ncing around me.


    So this is the "glory" that warriors in arenas feel, huh?


    "I can tell why you would be addicted to this, Zack."


    I nced at his destroyed mech, as I heard his voice.


    "You won fair and fucking square, damn it¡­ Take it, take it all, you son of a bitch¡­"ughed the man. "Just like I''ve plundered so many yers before, I must also abide by the rules! It''s all yours!"


    He epted my victory withoutins.


    DING! DING! DING!


    [We got a winner! yer ke has won thest match!]


    [You have obtained all betted Add-Ons.]


    [They have been stored in your Inventory.]


    [You earned +56.400 Warrior Points and +15.000 Credits.]


    [You have be the Winner of this 50 Versus 50 Match! You have gained +1.000 Prestige!]


    [You have been added to the Machine Warrior Arena Rankings!]


    [You''re Ranked 46th!]


    "Wee to the top fifty."


    Zack continued talking to me.


    "Will you keep ying? You''re amazing. I want a rematch already. No betting this time, let''s just fight."


    "Hah, sorry but I only y for money."


    "Seriously? Hahaha!"


    As we heard the celebrations of everyone, we were teleported to the lobby, where I met Zack''s avatar, a tall man with a bald head and sharp emerald eyes.


    "Nice to met you ke," he said, extending his hand towards me.


    "Likewise," I nodded, giving him a handshake.


    "You¡­"


    However, he continued holding my hand tightly, very tightly.


    He nced into my eyes.


    "You''re not a citizen of this mothership, aren''t you?"


    "Hm? I am though."


    "Nah, you''re different. I can tell¡­ Your reflexes, your ability to fight¡­ That''s not something a yer can easily learn, even less aplete newbie."


    "¡­"


    "You''re a pilot¡­ Aren''t you? You''re those people fighting and risking their lives for our sake¡­ You''ve fought Xenoids, right?"


    "Yeah, keep this a secret though."


    He was smart enough to figure that out immediately. It''s not like it was illegal for pilots to y video games on their free time, so I wasn''t particrly afraid of him divulging anything anyways.


    "Sure! But this is amazing! You''re really a pilot?! Please, I want to know how the job is! How many Xenoids have you killed? How are they? Are they different than normal mechs?"


    "Much different and deadlier," Iughed. "You wouldn''t survive against a single one."


    "Fuck! Are you kidding me?!" he gasped. "And I built my machine just to confront them¡­"


    "It''s a great design, but lightweight machines get easily crushed by their attacks," I said. "You need heavy and sturdier shapes."


    "Hoh!"


    At the end, we continued talking for more than I thought.


    -----

 Chapter 1125 Come At Me!

    -----


    After that match and talking with Zack, I tried doing another 50 Versus 50 Match, but I earned too little because everyone avoided me and fought one another instead, only giving me five fights at most.


    I had to improvise and do something better this time, something that would bait these yers. After seeing how I won and the new equipment I gained from Zack, it''s obvious they don''t even want to fight me anymore.


    But that''s fine, if I sell everything I could earn 500k Credits or a bit more than that¡­


    Half a million is ok, I suppose, I wanted a whole million tonight but¡­


    "How about you bait the entire yer base?" he suggested me something insane.


    "What?" I asked.


    "Or well, all active yers," he smiled. "Do a one versus 50."


    "Is that possible?" I asked.


    "You can customize matches using Warrior points, so yes," he said. "I did that once to bait a lot of noobs, a lot took the bait. Got a lot of loot back then. But after that, they evaded me quite a lot. Went to hunt Mutants to earn Points and Farmed Materials for a while beforeing back and fighting the higher ranking yers."


    "Huh¡­" I nodded. "Thanks for the advice¡­ I might just do that now."


    "No other high ranked yer is online at this hour of the night, so take advantage of that to challenge as many noobs as you can. They always think they can win if fifty go against one¡­"


    "Alright."


    I did just that, and the match began faster than I imagined.


    [You have exchanged 3.000 Warrior Points to customize the Arena Match you''re hosting!]


    [You''ve created a new Hosted Match: {Me Versus 50}!]


    [Waiting yers to join¡­]


    "Okay, if you''re all so afraid you can lose against me one against one, thene all at me. Fifty against me, you''ll surely win, right?"


    In the arena many yers were spectating other battles, and immediately took the bait as I dered my words.


    Instantly afterwards¡­


    [A yer has joined your Hosted Match.]


    [A yer has joined your Hosted Match.]


    [A yer has joined your Hosted Match.]


    [A yer has joined your Hosted Match.]


    [A yer has joined your Hosted Match.]


    [A yer has joined your Hosted Match.]


    [A yer has joined your Hosted Match.]


    [A yer has joined your Hosted Match.]


    [¡­]


    [Your Hosted Match is full! All fifty yer slots have been filled immediately.]


    [Do you wish to start the match in the extended Arena right now? You''ll go against fifty foes at once. Are you really sure?]


    [Yes] [No]


    "I''m going." I said.


    "Alright, I''ll watch the show unfold then!" Zack smiled, sitting on the spectators.


    As I was about to press [Yes], I heard Eleanora talk.


    "He''s a nice man, for sure¡­ But are you really sure about this?! Maybe he''s tricking you?" wondered Eleanora.


    "Even if he''s tricking me I don''t care, it''s a good idea," I said.


    "But¡­"


    "I understand your concerns, Eleanora. I''ll give it my all. I am not going to underestimate fifty foes at once, never."


    "Alright then¡­"


    She nodded, as I pressed the button.


    FLASH! FLASH! FLASH! FLASH!n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    The Arena suddenly became ten times asrge, and then dozens of mechs materialized one after another in front of me, insectoid, vehicle, flying, and humanoid ones.


    "You think you can go against fifty?"


    "You insane bro?"


    "We shouldn''t have let him cook."


    "Okay, let''s jump on him!"


    "This is going to be fun."


    The yers were getting ready.


    The count started.


    10


    9


    8


    7


    6


    5


    4


    3


    2


    1


    ¡­


    0


    FLASH!


    Within that split second, all fifty yers rushed towards me, aiming to destroy my mech. Giant machine guns were fired, enormous, electrified javelins wereunched, and the rapid insect mech models leaped to kill me.


    "This is way too easy."


    Six spears floated around my body, gathering electrifying energy and then, I moved them forward with mentalmands, impaling six different mechs.


    CLASH! CLASH! CLASH! CLASH! CLASH! CLASH!


    Six gone, 44 more to go. Ten from behind, twenty from the front, and the rest from left and right, and a few from above.


    I quickly ducked, evading several bullets and weapons, before rushing forward with my shield, and pushing several of them at once together.


    "sma Cannon."


    TRUUUM!


    A beam of sma came from my chest, piercing through over ten mechs at once, exploding their cores and blowing them up.


    sma cannon has a recharge of 5 minutes, so I can''t use it anymore, but it was well worth it. It ended destroying more than ten mechs, actually.


    The rest of the yers were left speechless, half of their numbers were gone already.


    "Come on, don''t run now, it just starting."


    Like that, I crushed everyone within ten minutes, the second sma cannon finished thest flying mechs, and I was done.


    [Congrattions! You have won the Match you''ve hosted!]


    [All betted items you''ve won from participants have been stored in your Inventory.]


    [You gained +49.000 Warrior Points and +52.500 Credits.]


    I was quickly teleported outside the Arena, all other yers had rage quitted, logging out.


    "They''ll probably start shitting on you online in the forums," Zackughed.


    "I don''t care."


    "But yeah that was amazing! I was actually lying about beating fifty on my own, it was only twenty-five back then¡­ But you''re insane."


    "Maybe. It was fun, yeah. I''ll be logging out now¡­"


    With everything I have, it should be roughly 700k. I''ll actually go sell everything and then log out.


    "Wait, wait! Already? Come on dude, let''s go hunt Mutants! Can''t you help me out earn some more points? You took my entire savings!"


    "Hm, maybe tomorrow if I ever feel like I have the mood to earn more Credits. Do mutant hunting earn them?"


    "You earn Warrior Points, use them to buy add-ons and then get Credits like that."


    "Interesting¡­ So a way to not rely on yers directly¡­"


    "Yeah! There''s a whole story and lore in the game world and-"


    "Okay, I''ll consider it. Zack, thanks for your help. I''ll get going now."


    I patted his shoulders and left; I didn''t had time for more idle talk.


    Reaching the shops, I sold everything I didn''t wanted, exchanged items, and more.


    Once I logged out¡­


    [Current Credit Wallet: 735.250 Credits.]


    "Not one million, but close enough¡­"


    Video games are sure amazing.


    -----

 Chapter 1126 The Next Morning

    -----


    I ended spending more time into all of this than I imagined, and I also ended being much more invested than I thought through this virtual reality game. The ability to customize robots, take the parts of foes through bets, and the realistic battles was actually¡­ quite fun.


    And it helped me also get a better grasp at controlling the Machine Warrior too. However, I felt my mind exhausted, so without even meditating anymore, I just went to sleep for the rest of the night.


    I had only spent three hours in that game, so I still had roughly four or a bit more hours of rest, I closed my eyes, and with Eleanora by my side, I slept.


    A trial this long¡­ I sure hope the rewards arepletely worth it.


    .


    .


    .


    "ke? Come on~ Wake up already, my love."


    With the soothing and beautiful voice of Eleanora, I slowly opened my eyes.


    I ended sleeping inside of my Machine Warrior, whose seat could be modified on arge bed, there was plenty of space inside.


    So I slept ratherfortable, with a small nket on top and a soft pillow.


    These weren''t just forbat, but were full-on spaceships too, they came equipped with bathrooms and a proper bed, there was also a lot of food and clothes.


    "Hm? Ah, it''s already morning?"


    "Ten minutes before the rm."n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    "Hah, thanks."


    I slowly stood up, stretching my arms before yawning again, then, I drank some coffee and quickly took a shower on the men''s bathroom.


    A huge bathroom shared by everyone, I was the first toe here, so I quickly took a bathroom before anybody arrived, then changed clothes and went to the cafeteria to eat.


    "Usually the Xenoids appear by the evening, right?"


    "Yeah, I am not even sure how can they catch up with the mothership at all¡­ Doesn''t it give short burst that help it travel across stars within seconds?"


    "They must also have such abilities to an extent, light-year travel, but limited to short bursts as well."


    "What a ridiculously overpowered alien race¡­ seriously, if I could have them as my familiars, things would end so quickly."


    "Hmmm~ I wondered the same¡­ Let''s hope this trial''s rewards are generous then."


    "Yeah¡­"


    I talked to her telepathically as I ate my breakfast. A pile of ten pancakes with syrup, whipped cream, and berries on top. Another cup of coffee, this time with cocoa and milk added to it, four toasts with butter cheese and ham, a te with scrambled eggs and bacon, andstly, a big red apple.


    It was surprising they had such fancy breakfasts in this ship, but it seemed they could replicate mostly every food from their original world, the thing is, it was rather expensive.


    "To think this whole meal cost three thousand credits¡­" Eleanora said. "It looks delicious though."


    "Usually, most pilots get the free meals, which include a weird slop, some multi-vitamin-infused drink, and¡­ in bread," I said. "It might give you what''s necessary to live, but it sure is not a good breakfast."


    Now that I''m literally rich, I''ll dly enjoy a good breakfast if possible, even in this trial, these meals are all real.


    The bread was crunchy and warm, these butter too, was even tastier than back home for some reason.


    The scrambled eggs were creamy, delicious, the bacon was on point.


    Everything I ate was like the perfect version of food I''ve eaten before.


    Seriously, it was too good.


    "I wish you could eat, but you''re digital, hahah¡­"


    I joked around with Eleanora, and she didn''t find it funny in the least.


    "Not funny!" sheined. "I''ll eat a bunch of food once we''re finally done¡­ I''ve grown to like food, something I didn''t enjoy at all before."


    "Well, as a spirit, your vampiric limits were taken away, and despite liking blood, you can now taste food just as well," I exined. "And-"


    "Oh? Look, there are some more pilotsing here," Eleanora said, pointing at the distance.


    Aside from the stupid thugs that tried to ruin my machine yesterday, who received their well-deserved beating and only looked at me with fear, there were a lot of other pilots that greeted me with smiles.


    They all rushed towards me, sitting around my table, there were a dozen or more, although three of them were the most notorious of them all, and the ones I helped first and now trusted me unconditionally.


    "ke! Good morning! To think I would see you here earlier today!"


    A man around my size, with a youthful face and spiky ck hair, with big child-like blue eyes, Patrick.


    "Oooh! What are ya eatin'' this time? Looks yummers! Maybe I could afford some of that if I didn''t spend all my money on essories, hahaha¡­"


    An energetic blonde girl with brown skin, a tomboy at heart, with bright green eyes, her blonde hair had dyed strands of pink and purple, and her nails were also painted pink, while her entire uniform was covered on stickers and other essories.


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    She was perhaps the most colorful pilot in this entire mothership, Emilia.


    "How much did that breakfast cost you? That''s at least over a thousand credits, right? How can you spend so much on food? You should try saving money, ke."


    Andstly, a very serious young man, with short blue hair and sharp ck eyes, always wearing sses, with a tall and slender body, Hermes.


    These three were the first I saved and the ones that had obeyed everymand I give to them, they''re also talented, quickly learning how to coordinate themselves with me.


    Aside from that, they are indebted to me as I saved their lives, and I can freely rely on them due to their honest natures, from what I''ve analyzed so far.


    They''re smart and have talent but aren''t cunning or too smart, so they''re easy tomand and trust.


    "This breakfast? It was around three thousand credits," I said with a confident smile. "Nothing much for me though. You three worked hard thest two days, I''ll give you a reward."


    I called one of the cafeteria robots.


    "The same breakfast I had, for these three too."


    "Understood. That will be 9000 Credits. Will you confirm?"


    "Yes, confirm."


    "Purchased, thank you for your preference."


    The robot flew away and swiftly brought breakfast for these three.


    -----

 Chapter 1127 A Plan

    -----


    The childish yet slightly brave and obedient Patrick, with his confident smile and his fiery eyes full of determination.


    The energetic and slightly materialistic Emilia, with her obsession over colorful essories and her talent at pilot and coordination.


    The calm andposed, yet obedient and useful Hermes, someone that follows rules and always obeys those of higher authority than him.


    These three were the first I saved and the ones that had obeyed everymand I gave to them, they''re also talented, quickly learning how to coordinate themselves with me.


    Their Neutonium Cores have yet to blossom fully, but I n for them to develop Abilities soon enough.


    How? A small n I have¡­


    Anyways, aside from that, they are indebted to me as I saved their lives, and I can freely rely on them due to their honest natures, from what I''ve analyzed so far. They''re smart and have talent but aren''t cunning or too smart, so they''re easy tomand and trust.


    Cunning and suspicious people that are overly smart and question everything, however, cannot be trusted. Hence why I often don''t engage too much with a few other pilots, the experienced ones are not people I can trust most of the time either, due to such reasons.


    But these three are easy to manipte, so they''ll be useful in both helping me survive and also on rallying the other pilots to my side, increasing my chances of survival and also of the survival of the fleet.


    Why do all of this? Because its necessary. The reason they were all dying was due to theirck of coordination after all.


    And well, they happened to all be quite focused on my breakfast, I can''t me them, this cafeteria''s slop is not good for them.


    They need something better. I''ll spoil them, so their trust toward me increases.


    "Ah, this breakfast? It was around three thousand credits," I said with a confident smile. "Nothing much for me though. You three worked hard thest two days, I''ll give you a reward."


    "A reward?!" asked Patrick. "W-What do you mean with that?"


    "Have we done something deserving of one?" wondered Emilia. "We''ve only cooperated to survive together¡­ Right?"


    "W-Wait, ke! What are you nning¡­?" Hermes grew flustered.


    "Hey,e here."


    I called one of the cafeteria robots who could float around, and they had the shape of a metallic torso with many long arms.


    "I want same breakfast I had, for these three people."


    The robots'' lights lit up, changing from red to blue.


    "Understood. That will be 9000 Credits. Will you confirm?"


    "Yes, confirm."


    Then, I received a notification.


    [You have purchased [Champion American Breakfast] x3]


    [You have paid 9000 Credits.]


    "Purchased, thank you for your preference."


    The robot flew away and swiftly brought breakfast for these three, their eyespletely shocked as they were served proper meals at longst.


    "B-ke! Is this for real?! H-Holy shit! Food, all for me?!


    UUOOOOHHH!"


    Patrick was the first to scream in disbelief, followed by him devouring the toasts and then drinking the coffee, then digging his fork on the pancakes and eatingrge chunks as if he had never eaten on his entire life.


    "I-I can''t believe you would do this for me, aren''t cha a sweetie, kie~!"


    Emilia was very happy as well, talking on her own¡­ own way. She winked at me and then quickly started eating, although much calmer than Patrick.


    "I-I¡­ I''m sorry, but I just can''t ept this!"


    However, as I expected, Hermes tried to refuse the food at first, even though he looked to clearly want to eat everything, his correctness and pride told him otherwise.


    "You''ve helped us survive all this time and helped us so much¡­ The upgrades you granted to our machines, weapons and armor using your Neutonium Core Ability¡­ Most likely at incredibly expensive prices too! And then to ept your food¡­ I simply can''t¡­ take more advantage of you, please reconsider this! I have done nothing to deserve such kindness¡­"


    He really loved talking nonstop.


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    "Just eat it, or are you going to insult my hospitality, Hermes?" I said. "This is an act of kindness, to not eat it would be an even greater insult."


    "A-Ah!" he was shocked, his eyes widened, as he readjusted his sses. "Is that¡­ right?!"


    "Yes, also you can repay me in the battlefield by fighting by my side," I smiled. "And of course, leading others. You''re particrly good at leading others. I can''t do all that work myself, a secondary leader, a general, would be ideal."


    "S-Such a thing¡­" he muttered. "I shall repay all this kindness a hundredfold, ke. Thank you."


    He lowered his head and quickly started eating almost in the same intensity as Patrick.


    The rest of the pilots all nced in disbelief, drooling.


    "See this? If you perform well and cooperate without fighting against one another, or panicking in the battlefield, you might also receive a small gift from my gratitude," I smiled back at my fellow pilots. "Work hard everyone. I want what everyone else want, for us to survive this. There''s only five more days before we reach our destination. The Xenoids, will not wait that long for us. We must crush them, united."


    "OOOOOHHHHH!!"


    The pilots immediately responded with roars filled with inspiration and emotion. I ended still buying them some butter, cheap coffees, and fruit jam to eat with their free bread.


    This greatly increased their morale, as they felt much happier by eating delicious food in the mornings before the battles began.


    Once I was done eating and while taking advantage of the time left before any Xenoid appeared, I called for Patrick, Emilia, and Hermes, as we moved to the spaceport where the machine warriors were located.


    "I wanted to call you here for something, a favor," I said, as they looked at me with honest smiles.


    "Anything ke!" said Patrick.


    "Sure! Ask away kie!" Emilia winked at me.


    "I''ll work my earnest to do as you ask," Hermes said.


    Then¡­


    "I want you to be Extensions."n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    "Huh?!"


    "Wait, what?!"


    "But that''s¡­"


    -----

 Chapter 1128 Extension Cores

    -----


    I gathered Patrick, Emilia, and Hermes in front of my machine warrior to ask them an important favor, something I needed their utmost gratitude to ask for.


    "I want you to grow even stronger," I said. "I''ve figured out a way to connect my Neutonium Cores with other Cores from different machine warriors¡­ However, I first need your consent to do this. Would you be Extensions of my Neutonium Core?" Your adventure continues at empire


    Their eyes widened once more.


    "E-Extensions?"


    This is the way I figured out.


    To awaken all my skills and abilities, I can''t just focus on myself.


    I''ll share them with every trustworthy pilot, turning them into Extensions of my power!


    "But that''s¡­" Patrick was really shocked.


    "Can you really do that, kie?" wondered Emilia.


    "I-I''m shocked! Is it truly possible?!" Hermes wondered.


    "Yes, it is." I nodded.


    Extensions, a term created long ago, and that has only been seen a couple of times. It is when someone has created a powerful bond with their machine warrior.


    The Neutonium Core grows stronger and exponentially, to the point that its capable of not only devouring more Neutonium, but also to connect withrge cores and then turn them into Extensions.


    Extensions can easily awaken Neutonium Core Abilities derived from the "Master Core" that spreads into the "Extension Cores".


    There have only been two cases registered in history, both long dead¡­


    Therefore, they''re very surprised I''m offering them this one in a lifetime chance, after all they would have never believed it was possible to begin with!


    "I-I¡­"


    "Um¡­"


    "Ah¡­"


    Patrick nced at Emilia, Emilia at Patrick, Hermes at the two, and the two at Hermes.


    It''s understandable they''re nervous, but we don''t have much time.


    "I know you''re nervous about this, and still skeptical," I said. "But after everything I''ve done, wouldn''t you please trust me with this one? I assure you that you will only grow stronger, and your chances of survival will only increase- no, of the whole colony will increase."


    They looked at one another, they hesitated but¡­


    "I trust you, ke! Please tell me what I must do, and I shall do so!" Patrick said energetically.


    "Me too, I am indebted to you after all¡­" said Hermes. "I just¡­ I have faith you won''t end up breaking the cores¡­"


    "Hmm¡­ Dunno~ What if you screw things up~?" wondered Emilia. "Hm! Well, wait¡­ I guess I do owe you a lot too, huh? You got me! I guess I need to agree now¡­ Hah!"


    At the end, all three agreed. We started immediately. The first to do anything was not any of us but Eleanora, she was the key for this to work.


    "Eleanora, as I told you."


    "Yes, I got it."


    Through telepathy, I informed her what she had to do. Eleanora quickly worked, connecting to my Demonic Neutonium Core in my chest, and then extending her body.


    Yes, she extended her body like cybeic cables, or like waves of electromaic energy. She expanded into my machine warrior core, then, slowly, towards Hermes, Patrick, and Emilia''s machine warrior cores.


    "Huh, so we just hold hands?" Patrick wondered.


    "This is strange¡­ is this the proper way?" wondered Hermes.


    "I don''t mind it, hehe~!" Emilia winked at me. "Your hands are softer than I imagined, kie~!"n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    "Yes, just shut up for a moment," I sighed. "Close your eyes and meditate."


    As they did this, I sent small electromaic signals into their bodies, their chests in specific. Quickly using the reserve Demonic Battery, I absorbed its demonic energy and then, through Electromaic Energies from Neutonium and the mix of Demonic Energy¡­


    FLUOOOSH!


    "Oooh?!"


    "What the¡­?!"


    "Kyaaah!"


    A shock of power surged from within their bodies, rapidly crystalizing in even tinier Demonic Neutonium Cores in their chest, smaller than a thumb, but good enough for now.


    Then thanks to Eleanora, a connection between all the Neutonium Cores of their bodies and machine warriors with mine was created and established through the power generated from their awakening.


    As they received this power, they acted surprised, gasping for air, their eyes turned red for a moment, but then returned back to normal. As if nothing had happened.


    "W-What¡­? What happened?" Patrick asked.


    "I felt a connection to my machine warrior''s Neutonium Core! A greater connect than ever before¡­!" said Hermes.


    "Me too! My cutie was shocked! I could feel her presence, hehe," giggled Emilia.


    "It worked," I nodded. "Now you''ve be my Extensions. Congrats!"


    "Oooh! Really?!"


    "I''m honored, thank you."


    "Fufu, let''s see what we can do now~!"


    Having established the connectionspletely, I saw notifications appearing on my machine warrior''s screens.


    [Congrattions! You have established a powerful connection between your {Neutonium Core} and seven others {Neutonium Cores}!]


    [Three [Machine Warriors] from three pilots have been registered as your {Extension Cores}!]


    [The other four {Neutonium Cores} are too small to create an {Extension Core}, however, their connection will further strengthen your {Neutonium Core} growth and development.]


    [Electromaic Energies are being produced inrger quantities.]


    [You now have 5 Slots for Neutonium Core Abilities.]


    [Two of such Slots have been unlocked from the [Machine Warrior] you own and from the smaller unidentified {Neutonium Core}]


    [The other three Slots have been unlocked from every [Machine Warrior]''s {Neutonium Core} you''ve connected to you as {Extension Cores}]


    Excellent, I already knew my Machine Warrior could get an Ability anytime now, and so my own Demonic Neutonium Core.


    But to think my mind and body connection to the Machine Warrior is so strong it can now identify when I have a "slot avable"!


    It''s adapting very quickly to my strange powers, how amusing.


    "Looks like you''re set!" I said. "I''ll now think what Skills would fit you better before you awaken anything. Is that fine with you? For now, try to meditate and connect with your internal Electromaic Energies I''ve now unlocked from your bodies."


    "W-Wait, energies from our bodies?!" asked Patrick. "That''s so cool! I had no idea that was a thing?"


    "Yes, it''s possible," I nodded. "You''ve be augmented humans now. You''ve generated very small Neutonium Cores inside of your bodies which aren''t toxic as I''ve modified them for you."


    "I-Incredible¡­" said Hermes.


    "Wow~! That''s so cool kie!" said Emilia. "How do you- Oooh~?!"


    SPARK, SPARK!


    Suddenly, sparkles of blue and red electricity surged from her hands almost naturally.


    "Hehehe! That''s easy peasy!" sheughed. "So that''s it?"


    "I think I can do it too!"


    "M-Me too?!"


    Patrick and Hermes quickly followed.


    They''re indeed talented¡­


    Like that for the next hour and a half, they practiced while I considered my options while also checking the shop for what to buy using Credits.


    I was thinking on more Neutonium Shards so I can grow even stronger. I was able to unlock Eleanora like that, so I think if I want more spirits help, I''ll have to do that.


    But then¡­


    [WARNING! WARNING! WARNING!]


    [Xenoid Raid has been detected! All Pilots, please go to your positions right this moment to defend the mothership and thest colony of humanity.]


    [I REPEAT: All Pilots, please¡­]


    Looks like they''re finally here, I had grown bored of waiting, there was so much to try out now.


    And even more after I''ve finally decided on the five Skills I will choose.


    Which will change the entire tide of battle forever!


    "There you are."


    In the distance, I saw them.


    Hundreds of giants, fleshy alien monsters, approaching slowly.


    With enormous tentacles and eyes, hard shells and giant ws.


    And there were new variants again too¡­


    -----

 Chapter 1129 Fighting Xenoids Again

    -----


    [WARNING! WARNING! WARNING!]


    [Xenoid Raid has been detected! All Pilots, please go to your positions right this moment to defend the mothership and thest colony of humanity.]


    [I REPEAT: All Pilots, please¡­]


    Pilots came running to the spaceport as the Machine Warriors were quickly piloted one after another. I ran inside mine after telling Patrick, Emilia, and Hermes to keep calm and that I''ll awaken their abilities as they fought, and of course, to remain by my side.


    Aside from them, however, there were a dozen more pilots that had be my loyal army. At least thirty of them were definitely loyal, the rest only joined to survive, but had no intention to obey much of what I said, though they would go along with the flow of therger party.


    The spaceport opened, as the giant Machine Warriors set off into the cosmos before the Xenoids were to touch the mothership or reach it.


    FLASH!


    I quickly connected all my senses to my Machine Warrior, this feeling became slightly addicting, the feeling of having arger, mechanical body.


    It was indeed a good feeling.


    Aside from the pilots Imanded thanks to my ever-growing poprity, there were at least another twenty Demonic Machine Sentinels that had survived the previous battle.


    The rest, who ended being destroyed, had their materials retrieved, so I had plenty of Demonic Batteries to empower my demonic techniques, or even use Demonic Magic directly.


    "SHIEEEHHH!"


    The sound of Xenoids approaching reverberated across ourmunication devices, their ability to speak directly into these devices proved how they possessed some sort of psychic ability.


    "ke! A swarm of Xenoids is approaching from your left, above!"


    Eleanora could freely fly outside my Machine Warrior without being affected by outer space, making it so she floated around me, giving me an even greater insight of my surroundings.


    "How many?"


    I quickly looked at them.


    "At least fifty? There''s also several weird ones! Aside from the Brutes from before!"


    "Several weird ones, huh?"


    I augmented my vision, quickly realizing how they looked like¡­


    My eyes widened slightly, as I smiled.


    "These bastards¡­ I see how they''re doing things now."


    The new Xenoids were enormous, humanoid in shape, and primarilyposed of metal, withrge, electrified spears, armor, shields, and glowing eyes.


    Yes, it was the abandoned Machine Warriors of dead pilots that I couldn''t secure in the battles. Most of them were torn apart and destroyed though.


    But the Xenoids are smart and adapted, realizing the strength of our tools, they took them, merged flesh and metal together, and created abominations to surpass us.


    The broken Neutonium Cores I couldn''t take, now empowered their fusion, covered by countless tendrils of red flesh.


    The other pilots quickly received the pictures that Eleanora took from them at my request.


    "Huh? Those Xenoids!"


    "Are they really Xenoids?"


    "Machine¡­ Warriors? No, how?"


    Patrick, Emilia, and Hermes reacted as I thought, the rest, even worse.


    "W-What is that thing?!"


    "Why¡­ What''s going on now?!"


    "No¡­ This can''t be!"


    "The Xenoids are piloting our damn robots?! WHAT THE FUCK?!"


    "No, no, no! Don''t make this even more difficult already!"


    It was just the third day of the trial, and we were already facing Xenoids piloting our own robots.


    However, I was thankful.


    Last night, I battled a lot of robots in that VR Game.


    So I do have a few clues about how to fight them and where to aim.


    Though, with Xenoids fused into them, it might be harder.


    "They aren''t too many, roughly fifteen," I said. "The rest are¡­ twenty-five Brutes, ten sniper-type regr ones."


    "Not too many?! Fighting ten machines¡­ who could even do such a thing?!"


    "Are you sure this is possible?"


    "We should retreat, we can''t handle this!"


    "If you desert the battlefield you''re going to get jailed, dude! Or worse, executed!"


    "We''ve been made to die in the battlefield¡­ We''re pilots for a reason! We''ll die, we''re all going to die!"


    They were all panicking, as I thought.


    Indeed.


    Pilots are gically engineered humans; I don''t know if clones of existing citizens or not.


    Who are made to pilot these advanced Machine Warriors.


    And therefore, we are also¡­ disposable.


    We are sent to die.


    And if we dare to escape the battlefield and not battle, we might face jail and then execution, to be reced by a meter pilot.


    Hahaha, isn''t it great?


    This trial''s amazing!


    So much despair, hardships, and battles.


    It is ideal for me to thrive on.


    "Calm down."


    I called them all to calm down, they immediately fell silent.


    "I will charge with my sentinels! Snipers, remain behind and shot from a distance. Those with heavy armor, stay close, behind me. Patrick, Emilia, Hermes, you fight right by my side."


    I wasn''t mean enough to tell them to go die for me. I was realistic. They''ll happily help as long as it means they won''t be on too much trouble or danger.


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    Therefore, I told nobody to go directly against the Xenoids, and to instead offer support.


    Because, honestly, that''s all I need.


    The Demonic Machine Sentinels all were at the front, even the snipers.


    I quickly decided to awaken all abilities now.


    Yeah, I''ve decided what to pick for myself first.


    "SHIEEEEHHH!"


    The Xenoids roared, as they approached us.


    I rushed towards them with my spear on hand, hyper charging it with electromaic energy and demonic energy.


    Three of the Machine Warrior-types greeted me instantly, then, two Brutes rushed from above, and the snipers immediately targeted me.


    They knew me already, somehow, even though we kill them all always.


    They know about me and how dangerous I am!


    CLASH! CLASH! CLASH!


    The attacks from the Machine Warrior-types came first, powerful blows with electrified spears, swords, and their shields.


    I didn''t evade, testing the reinforced, demonic-enhanced armor I got.


    BAAM! BAAM! BAAM!


    It worked just fine.


    "Begone."


    {Divine Spear God Arts}: [One Hundred Lightning Blows]!


    My Machine Warrior moved at lightning speed, blue and red electricity coursing through its body.


    CLASH! CLASH! CLASH! CLASH! CLASH!


    Dozens of blows pierced and prated through the Xenoids defenses, revealing fleshy tendrils inside the broken armor.


    They were all filled with centoid, their real body was holed up inside.


    Worse of all, the machine parts resisted the electric attacks really well and every tiny piece was attached to a fleshy tendril, helping them easily reattach themselves.


    Like fucked up snails.


    "ke! From above, the Brutes!"


    Two enormous brutes rushed down towards me like meteors.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    "I know."


    FLUOSH!


    And then, ck portals emerged from my Machine Warrior''s crimson and ck aura, as giant guns, rifles, missileunchers, machineguns, and more emerged.


    BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!


    Hundreds of magical and demonic bullets pierced through the Brutes'' shells, shattering them into tiny pieces and then blowing up their interior.


    Everyone nced in disbelief at the scene, the three Xenoid Pilots were also surprised their Brutes died within seconds.


    "Scared? Don''t be. I''ll be nice with you."


    Then, a cannon opened from my machine''s chest.


    Hyper sma Cannon Add-ons, each one costs 20k Credits.


    "Let''s test these new little things I got too!"


    They were different though, shining bright red, infused with demonic energies, and darkness.


    TRUUUM!


    Two beams emerged; I had two.


    The beams pierced through the Xenoids bodies, spreading sma and light everywhere in their bodies.


    And then, as they were much frailer than the normal Machine Warriors.


    BOOOM! BOOOM!


    They too, exploded into pieces.


    But that wasn''t all.


    There''s more.


    "{Arise}"


    The sttered corpses of the four Xenoids I killed¡­


    They began to be reborn.


    -----

 Chapter 1130 The Power Of Neutonium Abilities

    -----


    Sometimes they say that hope is like a me.


    If there is no fuel to lit it up, nobody can ever feel its warmth.


    It flickers wildly as it takes over your heart.


    And it fills you with so much warmth and power, you lose yourself.


    However, too much hope can end up burning you, and with a mere cold wind, a small annoyance that changes everything.


    It disappears, and once more, you''re alone and cold in the darkness of despair.


    I''ll be the fuel to lit up their mes of hope.


    And unlike those feeble mes, the hope I create is unending.


    My mes never stop burning, as long as there''s a path where there is a lot of things it can consume.


    And right now, I was on my zone.


    Summon Familiar? I considered it, but having to teach my familiars how to move on space wasn''t in my ns.


    Their powers, also, are limited, and I need Spirit Orbs to summon them.


    I have no such things here.


    Therefore, I chose my two strongest skills so far, aside from them.


    [Demonic Umbral Blood King''s Crimson Artillery Armament Summon], the ability to spend Electromaic Energy and Demonic Energy to summon countless guns out of my Aura.


    And¡­


    "{Arise}"


    The Xenoids that I just killed, two Brute-types and two Machine Warrior-types, they quickly began to swirl within spheres of their own flesh, blood, and twisted, agonizing souls.


    Within seconds, their shadows, which expanded all across the cosmos, gathered around their bodies, and I gave birth to new servants of mine.


    The pilots only could nce in awe and disbelief.


    FLUOSH!


    As I once more made history.


    The four Xenoids came back to life, now made of darkness and blood, their flesh made into bloody slurry for their new bodies.


    Their shells regrew, now even stronger, made of ck metal.


    "Good."


    The second Skill I choose was pretty easy to guess now.


    [Abyssal Vampiric Undead Familiar Creation]!


    Mana can be reced with Electromaic Energy, and Demonic Energy? I have plenty now, dozens of Demonic Batteries in my reserves, full of them.


    I can''t summon them in masse like before, but I can certainly summon quite a few more!


    "W-What happened?" Hermes was shocked. "ke¡­ what are those things?"


    "Undead," I said. "I have awakened a new ability¡­ It seems I can turn the things I kill into Undead. These Xenoids will assist us now, they''re friends."


    "F-Friends?!" Patrick gasped. "T-This is¡­ this is amazing!"


    "I can''t believe it kie! You''re so cool!" Emilia said.


    "Hermes."


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    "Y-Yes?!"


    "While the Xenoids are trying to calcte what just happened, attack them! I''ll give you the signal."


    "But¡­ our abilities, have they awakened? I can''t feel the difference."


    "Yes, they are, don''t worry."


    The three pilots nced at the Xenoids in front of me.


    The snipers firing from afar, their beams were easily reflected by my armor.


    The brutes I killed died, but there were two moreing towards me.


    And thest of the three Machine Warrior Xenoids was rapidlying towards me with its propulsors, taking two spears to fight me.


    The rest of the swarm followed, enraged for what I had done¡­


    They certainly had no idea that there was something called Necromancy.


    A wonderful power that turn their friends into enemies.


    "Go."


    The Undead rushed forward, shing against the other Xenoids.


    The two Brute Undead used their enormous sizes and weight to crush the smaller snipers, managing to kill two within that time frame.


    The two Machine Warriors overwhelm the other. The rest of the swarm arrived in front of me, but my snipers started firing their attacks as my Demonic Machine Sentinels tanked the Xenoid blows and long-ranged beams.


    At the same time, I swung my spear again while my three pilots arrived by my side, and then dozens more right behind us.


    Together, we faced the Xenoids as an organized army, something never seen before.


    "Snipers! Attack the Brutes! Tankers,e to the front and lure them with the bright lights! Attackers, use your spears and gang on them!"


    "OOOHHH!!!"


    The me of hope lit up their fearful hearts after they saw what I did. To me, Xenoids were monsters, nothing more, nothing else.


    And today I was going to teach them that there was no point in despairing.


    Because we will win, no matter what.N?v(el)B\\jnn


    As long as I am here.


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!


    Explosions, shes, and beams erupted everywhere. Xenoids started dying one after another, at the same time, the trio started fighting by my side.


    "RAAAAH!"


    Patrick roared like a wild beast, swinging his huge, electrified sword.


    SLASH! SLASH! SLASH!


    His attacks were strong but slow.


    Yet¡­


    The Xenoids couldn''t move once they heard him scream.


    The Brutes, shelled Xenoids, had their shells slightly shattered too.


    And their bodies weakened severely!


    "Huh? Was that my ability?!"


    Patrick was shocked, as he shed through four Xenoids and killed them on the spot.


    I gave the loudest one and the pilot that loved shouting the most¡­


    A skill that''s about shouting, of course.


    [Weapon & Soul-Breaking Demon King Roar]!


    "LET''S FUCKING GOOOO!"


    RUMBLE!


    As he roared again, the Xenoids around him staggered slightly, giving him the openings he needed to y them. The Sniper-type Xenoids, who were fast and evaded attacks, were all shed by his giant de.


    Meanwhile, Emilia was surprised as well.


    "Oh my¡­ Fire? Now that''s ssy!"


    FLUOSH!


    Any foe she attacked was suddenly set aze, burning with crimson and orange mes that could persist even in the empty space with little oxygen to fuel them.


    Not only that, but even her attacks sent rays of mes, exploding on contact.


    BOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOM!


    "Who would have thought killing Xenoids would be this entertaining now? kie~! Thank you so much!"


    The Skill I granted her was [Spiritual Infernal Holy Demonic mes Authority], an authority over fire, a very dangerous power.


    But I knew she could handle it, her ability to control her machine and her great dexterity and calction abilities were ideal to use this power.


    Andstly, Hermes¡­ any foe he touched was suddenly beginning to grow vines over their bodies, against all logic.


    -----

 Chapter 1131 An Unexpected Menace

    -----


    Patrick was given a shouting Skill.


    Emilia was granted the power to burn any foe.


    And Hermes?


    Due to his quick movements and his ability to hit many foes at once while keeping himself safe, I gave him a power to abuse that.


    By merely slightly piercing a foe, small vines would grow over their bodies, the more he attacked, therger they grew.


    The vines would quickly absorb he lifeforce of their hosts, weakening them tremendously in the process.


    Yes, this Skill¡­


    [Demonic Abyssal Energy-sucking Greed Vines]!


    "Those vines¡­!"


    Hermes was confused at first, but quickly came to learn how to manipte them, with his greater intelligence, he was able to easily manipte the vines, forcing them to move, wrap, and destroy things he wanted.


    The Xenoids suffered, the vines consuming them from the inside out all while they tried to fight, only to be easily taken down by Hermes or the rest.


    And when they died, the vines would gather into vine monstrosities, obeying Hermes mentalmands. A small army for him.


    "You are desperate it seems."


    Five Machine Warrior Xenoids surrounded me out of the blue as Imanded everyone. Space was omnidirectional, foes could appear from every single angle.


    Therefore, even when there were tight formations, if you were too distracted, they would appear out of nowhere.


    But that was fine with me anyways.


    "SHIEEEH!"


    "EX¡­ TER¡­ MINATE!"


    "SHAAAGGGH! KILL!"


    "GRYYEEEGGH!"


    The Xenoids were also beginning to¡­ talk.


    Through the machines, they moved them to say words, mechanical words the machines came equipped with.


    It was honestly incredible how they developed and evolved, all to just say they want me to die.


    Honestly, I admire their dedication.


    CLASH! CLASH! CLASH! CLASH!


    I swung my spear and used my armor to both parry their lightning-fast blows and also to defend. This armor, the [Reinforced And Adaptable Orichalconium Triple-Layered Armor te] was incredible.


    It was both lightweight yet also incredibly durable. With this, I swung my spear, parrying their blows, and then piercing through their bodies several times in a row.


    Crack, crack¡­


    Until.


    CRAAASH!


    They simply couldn''t take my attacks anymore, the flurry of electrified spear attacks began to grind through their machine exterior, burning their interior and then¡­


    {One Hundred Lightning Blows


    Echo}: [Chain-Lightning Serpentine Spear]!


    The lightning emanated from my spear changed as I attacked, dividing and spreading into chain lightning that electrocuted and burned through their bodies all at once, constantly moving from one to the other.


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!


    The explosions of electricity weren''t enough though, the hard metal armor was really good at dampening electric blows due to how Machine Warriors are constructed.


    "GYAAAAGH!"


    As they charged against me, I aimed at their "wounds", as dozens of giant crimson and ck guns materialized from my aura.


    A whole Demonic Battery worth of energy was spent to summon them all, but it was worth it.


    BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!


    Hundreds of bullets pierced their bodies, as they exploded and fell apart into pieces, I smothered them enough for them to die so easily.


    "Good¡­ Now be my little friends. {Arise}"


    FLUOSH!


    The Xenoids then, became Abyssal Vampiric Undead, and apanied me as they joined our ever-growing army of foes turned allies.


    The other pilot that had yet to join me had an ill fate.


    Half of them died within the first battles, their mechs were lingering around, some Xenoids wanted to take over them and evolve into the new forms.


    However, my Sentinels and the Pilots Imanded retrieved the machines for me and I was able to take their Neutonium Cores and absorb them, while turning the machines into Sentinels.


    Meanwhile, the experienced pilots that hated me were all gathered together, fighting a swarm of thirty or so Xenoids, some of these pilots having already died.


    "ke! We''re almost done here!"


    Patrick called me, as he swung his de and cut down into pieces one Xenoid, their true body was destroyed, and they exploded into tiny particles of centoid.


    "Good! Finish off the remaining Brutes! I''ll go assist the other pilots! After that, all of you charge with me!" I said. "We''re almost done!"


    I flew across the cosmos, Eleanora constantly assisting me with all kinds of things, controlling my spear, or controlling other Sentinels for a more specific work, she was also using her Skills through them, her spear arts in specific, and even some of her Ninjutsu.


    "ke! They''re going to kill them all if we go at this speed!" she said.


    "Is that so?" I wondered. "It would certainly be funny if they died so easily but¡­ I need these veterans. Let''s go save a few."


    FLASH!


    I reached them, as I found myself in the middle of a chaotic spatial battlefield. Screams echoed everywhere, as the Xenoids held the high ground without a doubt.


    Machines being wrapped around tentacles, several of them with missing arms, others had their weapons broken.


    Despite being veterans they sucked at fighting as a group.


    Why? Because they only think about their own survival, not about the survival of everyone.


    Therefore, these fools can''t do things together.


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    "Eleanora, take the left area with the Sentinels!" I said. "Undead, follow me to the right area!"


    Like that, we divided into two smaller groups, aiming to save the pilots.


    "Please¡­ someone¡­! Someone save meeeee!"


    One of them screamed, as a Xenoid''s tentacles were trying to get to him through the holes it opened on the machine warrior.


    "I don''t want to dieeeeee!"


    As he continued to scream, and the tentacles creepily drew closer.


    SLAAASH!


    I swung down my spear at lightning speed, the Xenoid tentacles were instantly sliced and then exploded into pieces of flesh.


    I followed by swinging and then piercing the Xenoid, a basic one, in the spherical body, reaching its true body and sting it from the inside out.


    BOOOM!


    "It''s as simple as that," I said. "Why can''t you do the same? And you call yourself a pilot?"


    "T-Thank you for saving me!" the man cried. "But this is hopeless! I''ve been trying to survive for so long! I-I just can''t¡­ I can''t with this anymore!"


    He started to convulse and groan in agony, as I noticed one tentacle got to him.


    Suddenly, his entire spacesuit exploded, tentacles surging from every limb, which wrapped into the interior of the machine warrior, mixing flesh and metal together.


    So that''s how they''re born, huh?


    -----N?v(el)B\\jnn

 Chapter 1132 Intense Battle

    -----


    Reluctantly, I went to help the dying pilots that didn''t want to join my little army. Mostly just to see if there were some salvageable ones that would join meter.


    I could have saved them, I could have stopped so many of them from dying, but for what? So they would be ungrateful to me again? So they would try to destroy my robot again?


    This might be a trial, but all of these people work like real humans, so I''ll treat them like real humans as well.


    It is only in the depths of despair that humans be more lenient, that they begin to reconsider themselves and the tremendous egos they possess.


    Hence, why I purposely dyed my rescue.


    I attacked the Xenoid trying to eat one of the pilots, whose Machine Warrior was already opened and broken.


    SLAAASH!


    I swung down my spear at lightning speed, the Xenoid tentacles were instantly sliced and then exploded into pieces of flesh.


    These tentacles were so hard in day 1, but now, they feel like I''m slicing through butter with a hot knife!


    CRASH!


    I followed by swinging and then piercing the Xenoid, a basic one, in the spherical body, reaching its true body and sting it from the inside out.


    BOOOM!


    "It''s as simple as that," I said, sighing. "Why can''t you do the same? And you call yourself a pilot? I am fairly sure everyone is given the same gic memories and skills."


    "T-Thank you for saving me!" the man cried, he seemed relieved, and I extended my hand to turn his destroyed Machine Warrior into a Demonic Sentinel so it could carry him away.


    However, he started screaming.


    "But this is hopeless! I''ve been trying to survive for so long! I-I just can''t¡­ I can''t with this anymore!"


    He started to convulse and groan in agony, as I noticed one tentacle got to him.


    "Uuaaaagggghhhh!"


    SPLAT!


    "What?"


    I felt slightly surprised as his entire spacesuit suddenly exploded, tentacles surging from every one of his limbs, which wrapped into the interior of the machine warrior, mixing flesh and metal together! So that''s how they''re born, huh?


    "A Xenoid got him!"


    "Dammit!"


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    "He''s fully transformed?!"


    "No way¡­"


    The other pilots nearby panicked, but my Undead protected them for now.


    "So this is what happens? A human turned into a full blown Xenoid¡­"


    "Youuu¡­"


    And then, a voice echoed inside of my Machine Warrior again.


    "WHY! WHY DIDN''T YOU SAVE MEEEEEE!!!"


    RUMBLE!


    The Machine Warrior Xenoid screamed in agony and fury, as if the mind of the pilot remained even as he turned into an alien!


    So this is what happened!


    The Xenoidpletely parasitized him, and assimted even his brain, mind, everything.


    His ego remained, in a soulless monster.


    Giant tentacles covered with metal and shells emerged from the monstrous Machine Warrior Xenoid, which charged against me, mming my machine with several whip attacks.


    CLASH! CLASH! CLASH! CLASH!


    My armor held off well, especially after being enhanced with the Demonic Machine transformation. I quickly evaded a flurry of attacks though, too much damage would be troublesome even for me.


    "HAAAH!"


    I rushed forward, swinging my spear forward and releasing a shockwave of electricity and demonic energy at the same time, and releasing a technique.


    {Divine Spear God Arts}: [One Hundred Spearmen Spirit Exploding Spear Attacks]!


    The illusion of a hundred spearmen made of my electromaic energy and demonic energy aura erupted at once, attacking the strange Xenoid and piercing through its entire mechanical and fleshy body.


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!


    "UUAAGH! IT HURTS! IT FUCKING HURTS!"


    However, it proved to be more resilient and smarter than I imagined, it purposely moved its core around, its main body, trying to not be hit! It produced an abnormal quantity of centoid as well and shaped it into new mechanical parts by hardening it into shells!


    So they can even do that with human intelligence added into the mix?!


    Its tentacles moved everywhere, piercing the bodies of unwilling Xenoids that were fighting or dying, and then absorbing them into its body.


    I rushed to attack it with an Echo, aiming to stop it.


    "I know you''re eager to get back with your friends, so let me kill you quickly."


    {One Hundred Spearmen''s Spirit Exploding Spear Attacks Echo}: [One Hundred Demonic Spears Inferno]!


    Following my previous technique, all the attacksbined together into one hundred spears made of fiery demonic mes at once, impacting the monstrous, chimeric Xenoid.


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!


    Several holes spread through its body at once, its flesh and metal body was beginning to fall down to pieces!


    Yet.


    "GRUUAAAAAHHH!"


    With a human-like scream, the Xenoid''s chest transformed into a giant sma cannon!


    Wait, did that machine warrior had one?


    TRUUUM!


    And then, a gigantic sma beam reached me, hitting me directly within a split second.


    BOOOOM!!


    I was sent flying across space, my machine warrior spinning around constantly. The internal screens were constantly ring with danger and warning messages.


    [WARNING! WARNING! WARNING!]


    [Armor has been greatly damaged! All Three Layers have been breached and shattered.]


    [Damage into the internal body has been detected, left arm has been left destroyed.]


    "So that''s what happened¡­"


    "ke! Are you ok?!"


    I heard Eleanora''s message.


    "I''m fine, don''t worry about me¡­ Undead, attack him!"


    I ordered over twenty Undead Xenoids to attack the strange one, as they ganged on it from every angle. The strange one couldn''t assimte these Undead, unable to do so, it moved to fight them.


    "USELESS! I CAN''T EAT YOU! I''M SO HUNGRY!"


    It began attacking with whip tentacle blows, the Undead could tank them easily, attacking on their own, firing beams of blood and darkness element, using their mechanical and fleshy bodies, spear and swords to fight it. The brutes tanked the blows and used their pincers to slowly pierce through his defenses.


    "AAARRRGGHH!"


    At the same time, there was a Demonic Machine Sentinel by my side, which I quickly ordered to give me its arm.


    It immediately cut it off, as I grabbed it and ced it in the area where my machine lost it. The demonic wires merged with the machine warrior, as I regained my arm within seconds.


    The rest of the sentinel didn''t stay there watching, quickly dividing itself into many pieces, as it began to merge with my Machine Warrior at mymand.


    Suddenly, my Machine Warrior became muchrger and heavier.


    "Let''s go for round two, bastard."N?v(el)B\\jnn


    -----

 Chapter 1133 The Power Of Humanitys Champion

    -----


    To distract the Anomaly, as I will call it now, I sent all my Abyssal Vampiric Undead Xenoids to fight it, their powerful,rger, and mightier forms, enhanced by the Abyssal Vampiric Undead Skill, managed to hold him back quite well. Especially because it was unable to eat or absorb them.


    "USELESS! I CAN''T EAT YOU! I''M SO HUNGRY!"


    It began attacking with tentacle whips, however the Undead could tank them easily due to their reinforced bodies and strengthened forms.


    In the time they were attacked, they continued attacking on their own, sometimes firing beams of blood and darkness element to st the Anomaly''s senses temporarily.


    Other times, they used mechanical and fleshy bodies, especially those Xenoids that had merged with machine warriors. The Spears and Swords they came equipped with became deadly weapons.


    Additionally, Imanded the brutes to slowly tank his blows and use their enormous pincers to rapidly pierce through its defenses.


    "AAARRRGGHH!"


    The Anomaly gave an agonizing scream as it was being overwhelmed from every angle, yet its relentlessly regenerating body continued fighting back.


    At this point, it would eventually break through it all and try to absorb more pilots or robots, I have to stop it before it bes even more of a mess!


    "You! Sacrifice your body to repair my Machine. Give me your arm!"


    Imanded a Demonic Machine Sentinel that immediately flew to my side, which I quickly ordered to give me its arm.


    CRASH!


    It immediately cut it off, as I grabbed it and ced it in the area where my machine lost it. The demonic wires merged with the machine warrior, as I regained my arm within seconds.


    The power of my Neutonium Cores resonated with one another, the internal nanomachines within Machine Warriors helped the assimtion andbination of two technological pieces.


    The Machine Warrior seemed to have gained a greater upgrade, as its entire body was beginning to tremble, but it resisted the power of Demonic Energy well, adapting to it without bing aplete Sentinel either.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    In a way, it reminded me of myself, I also reced one of my arms for a Demonic Arm with tremendous power, which helped me gain Demonic Abilities over time.


    "Let''s not waste these precious resources!"


    The rest of the sentinel didn''t stay there watching, quickly dividing itself into many pieces, as it began to merge with my Machine Warrior at mymand.


    CLANK!


    Wires merged, metal against metal melted and then cooled down instantly, bing one.


    CLANK!


    My broken armor was remade anew, bulkier than ever before.


    CLANK!


    My Machine Warrior became muchrger and heavier, its ck and silver colors gained red lines, as giant red wings emerged from the back, transformed from its armor.


    These wings charged demonic energy, flowing like feathered wings made of demonic mes, enhancing my Machine Warrior''s speed!


    Above all else, the hands gained sharp ws, and even the spear was covered on blood-red metal, growing twice as thick and sharper.


    The head of the Machine Warrior transformed too, resembling a furious red Oni, with pointy ck and red metallic horns.


    "Let''s go for round two, bastard."


    FLASH!


    RUMBLE!


    With a single mentalmand, my new Machine Warrior reached the Anomaly, who was already almost done with all the Undead I used to hold it back.


    "YOU''RE BAAAACK! COME AND DIEEEEE!"


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    The Xenoid roared at me, opening its entire body to reveal countless cannons made of flesh and metal, firing a dozen beams of red sma.


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!


    I evaded them as I flew as quickly as possible using the machine warrior''s new wings, swinging my spear, I quickly cut through the beams that dared get in front of me.


    "This is it!"


    As I made my way in front of the monstrosity, its countless tentacles suddenlybined into a massive fist, punching down against me.


    "Hehehe!"


    And the thing, and its many jaws, smiled andughed.


    BAAAMMM!!!


    The tremendous force it packed was no joke, my Machine Warrior was instantly punched down and sent flying back.


    "Dammit!"


    With a roar, I quickly hyper charged the machine''s legs and wings again, rushing upwards and pointing my spear, only to see the Anomaly shapeshift again.


    It suddenly grew three more gigantic, fleshy and metallic fists, aiming to punch me apart into pieces! Just what''s wrong with this thing?


    "Heh! Hehehe! It''s fun to fight! I LOVE FIGHTING!"


    BAAM! BAAM! BAAM! BAAM!


    With a barrage of punches, I quickly had to defend and intercept them. I waited for an opening as I tanked the blows and then¡­


    There!


    My eyes glowed as Ibined and fully synchronized myself with my machine warrior for the greatest dexterity I needed for this one technique.


    {Divine Spear God Arts}: [God-Killing Celestial Piercing Strike]!


    I put it my all, as the spear overflowed with demonic red mes and then golden light, piercing through all the four fists at once and then reaching the monstrosity''s body.


    "Your body¡­! I''ll destroy it!"


    "GRYYAAAAGGH!"


    The monstrosity screamed, as the Anomaly quickly tried to detach itself, protecting the main body.


    Unfortunately, it was too damnte.


    "There it is!"


    CRAAASH!


    The spear, overflowing with an almighty god-killing power, pierced the true body of the Xenoid, the husk of the human that it had infected and transformed from.


    "STOP¡­! STOOOOP!"


    The Anomaly resisted, as it suddenly grew hundreds of fists, shing against my Machine Warrior all at once.


    "I won''t stop! You''ll perish today! Machine Warrior! Complete Synchronization!"


    FLUOSH!


    I felt my mind blend with the Machine Warrior to an even deeper degree, as I felt like I could even feel every inch of its metallic body as if it were my skin and muscles.


    "{Demonic Metal Spike Armor}!"


    RUMBLE!


    A Demonic Technique I constructed in that very moment activated, as the demonic energy was released from my metallic body, resembling hundreds of spikes covered on demonic mes.


    "UUUAAAGGGH! NOOOO! I¡­ MUST PREVAIL! HUMANITY¡­ FOOD!"


    The Anomaly screamed in agony as its entire body was burned by the mes of the demons I had stolen these from.


    "Burn in hell! Humanity will survive, you motherfucker!"


    {God-Killing Celestial Piercing Strike Echo}: [Heaven-Splitting Demonic Celestial Piercing Star]!


    FLUOOOSH!


    My spear suddenly seemed to absorb the radiance of the stars of the cosmos itself, growing to a tremendous size, and then¡­


    A gigantic spear of stars, demonic mes, and holy light engulfed the Anomaly, ending it once and for all.


    BOOOMMM!!!


    -----

 Chapter 1134 The Truth About Machine Warrior Pilots

    -----


    "UUUAAAGGGH! NOOOO! I¡­ MUST PREVAIL! HUMANITY¡­ FOOD!"


    The Anomaly screamed in agony as its entire body was burned by the mes of the demons I had stolen these from.


    Humanity is food?


    That you, an abomination born as a parasite, must prevail?


    Don''t make meugh, you filthy piece of alien shit.


    Get the fuck out of here!


    "Burn in hell! Humanity will survive, you motherfucker!"


    {God-Killing Celestial Piercing Strike Echo}: [Heaven-Splitting Demonic Celestial Piercing Star]!


    FLUOOOSH!


    My spear suddenly seemed to absorb the radiance of the stars of the cosmos itself, growing to a tremendous size.


    The demonic mes, celestial light, and starlight all converged, setting the spear aze and making it grow dozens of timesrger.


    And then¡­


    A gigantic spear of stars, demonic mes, and holy light engulfed the Anomaly, ending it once and for all.


    BOOOMMM!!!n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    The explosion was so powerful it rapidly disintegrated the entire being, at the same time as sending a beam of azure, crimson, and golden light across the cosmos.


    The swarm of Xenoids right behind were quickly disintegrated as well, as therge Drone that was producing them, it resembled a whale-like being.


    Well, it was all dead anyways!


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!


    "Good."


    I was able to control the attack''s trajectory, quickly finishing off thest Xenoids and finally ending this damned day.


    Crack, crack¡­!


    CRASH!


    However, in that moment, I saw the spear I was holding shatter into pieces, and so most of the armor covering my Machine Warrior, although the otherbined parts remained, giving my Machine Warrior a unique lookpared to everyone else.


    "Is everyone okay?" I asked, ncing at the surviving Pilots. "A lot happened and many died, but those that survived will be able to tell the tale and improve. Come."


    However, as I tried to call them, they all remained still, ncing at me. I could tell they were fine, but why were they just staring?


    "T-That was incredible¡­"


    Someone finally spoke.


    And then¡­


    "Yeah, what the hell?"


    "ke¡­ was that ke?"


    "He''s amazing¡­"


    "I can''t believe it¡­ Is he our actual hero?"


    "Holy shit, that was like those cartoon shows of super robots."


    "Yeah, it felt like the whole genre of our world changed to Super Robot instead of Real Robot¡­"


    What the hell are these bastards talking about?


    "This is not fiction, its real life," I said. "Nowe with me if you don''t want to remain in space forever."


    As I flew back to the mothership, I regrouped with myrge army of pilots, led by Patrick, Emilia, and Hermes, who had done an amazing job as well.


    "Woaaah! That was amazing, ke!" said Patrick. "I can''t believe it! It was incredible! How you did all of that, and then that and that! Y-You''re like a real-life hero! Like Super Gigamax!"


    "Super Gigamax?" I asked. "Who is he talking about?"


    "Ah! Yes, there''s some resemnce¡­" said Hermes. "Super Gigamax is¡­ well, a cartoon, a series of a young man named Amemiya that pilots a red colored machine warrior called Super Gigamax¡­ It is a nonsensical robot with powers that were definitely impossible to achieve¡­"


    "I see¡­" I nodded. "And you''reparing me to that?"


    "Yes, there''s no doubt," nodded Hermes. "Your abilities simply go beyond logic¡­ Hence, it feels like you''re the pilot of a Super Robot Saturday Morning Cartoon."


    "Uhhh¡­"


    They were weirding me out now, I decided to ignore them for the moment.


    "I love the new look!" said Emilia. "However I''ve noticed your Machine Warrior has gained a lot of wounds, I happen to specialize on repair and retrofitting machines, so let me help you get it to good shapeter!"


    "Sure," I nodded. "Thank you, Emilia."


    "I can''t believe you''ve never seen Super Gigamax before, ke!" said Patrick. "It''s one of the few cartoons we could see on our development stages."


    "Development stages?" I wondered. "I don''t recall any of that¡­ Hm."


    I suppose memories from before I arrived in this trial aren''t included, but only basic information about some things.


    "Wait really?" Patrick asked. "Well that''s a bit weird but don''t worry, I could show you that series we all loved watching and¡­"


    "No thanks, there''s no need to go so far¡­" I said. "But thanks. I''m more interested in this development stage¡­ Was it when we were children?"


    "Kind of," said Patrick. "I''m surprised you don''t remember your childhood dude¡­"


    "Well, I guess the reason he changed might have been some sort of memory loss, Amnesia, that restricted ke''s personality¡­" said Hermes. "I''ve had that theory for a while¡­" Your next read is at empire


    Hermes is indeed very smart; I suppose I did well in keeping him around and close by.


    "Maybe," I nodded. "But I believe we grew quickly?"


    "Notpletely," said Emilia. "There''s a growth pace. To make our creation quick, we are still cloned as babies instead than full grown adults¡­ Over the course of a year, we grow to our current ages and appearances. We go through a very quick childhood where we absorb all information we see and are taught by the robots in the nursery."


    "Interesting¡­" I nodded. "So who are our parents? Who are we cloned from?"


    "Usually donors from the citizens¡­ Or so I''ve heard," said Hermes. "Usually they even get paid to donate, hrious right?"


    "A bit¡­" I nodded. "Hm, what will happen to us once we arrive in our terraformed."


    "Probably continue defending it on space, I bet," Patrick said. "Hahh¡­ I''m tired. Aren''t you tired, ke? That powerful Xenoid you fought as really weird!"


    "An Anomaly, as I call it," I nodded. "It was indeed a very strange one. It was originally an infection that grew on a pilot and then fully blossomed into a new Xenoid. It contained the pilot''s memories and some of his personality mixed with it, making it exceptionally smart while also being strong."


    "Oh wow that''s screwed¡­" said Emilia. "So at the end you had to¡­?"


    "He was already dead," I exined. "So there''s nothing to feel guilty about¡­ for now. Let''s go back, we have to rest and report what we''ve done and seen to Henriette."


    Like that, the third day''s battle against the Xenoids ended.


    -----

 Chapter 1135 The Xenoid Queen And The Child Of Ether

    -----


    Within the confines of space and the cosmos, close to a dying red dwarf star, a giant glowed brightly with fleshy red colors, covered by the rich sunlight, it shone the brightest, beautifully illuminated the surrounding dark areas of the cosmos.


    Giant eyes, tentacles, jaws, holes, mountains of flesh and grease, and many more unnerving and terrifying sights could be seen all across the. There was not a single piece ofndscape that had not be like this by now.


    And naturally, this wasn''t just some sort of decoration, these fleshy parts covering the entire, merging with it, were all living beings, powerful beings, a tremendous colony of them, unified as one, and controlled by someone else.


    And this colony formed the one that controlled the colony as well, a being born from the unification of millions of beings and minds into one, which had evolved, adapted, and transformed their kind into the efficient space-traveling and world-conquering aliens known today.


    Amidst the endless sea of flesh, grease, and blood within her-sized body, countless creatures were being constantly harvested, massive eggs full of them, carried away by others that had already been born.


    Their bodies were carried into enormous fleshy mountains, where they were ced to devour their mother''s grease, highly in fat and nutrients. The small meatballs with tiny tentacles only had a small beak to bite and chew.


    Therefore, once ced, they would bite the fleshy mountain''s interior, reaching the tender white grease and begin to bite it, quickly leading to a fountain of liquified grease, as if they were drinking milk itself.


    The older ones oversaw them, they would be feeding themselves here for only a couple of days before going away almost immediately.


    However, this "milk" would be their first and only meal, necessary to develop their entire bodies from theirrva stages and also to produce centoid easily.


    She oversaw it all, not only the infants eating but the adults preparing to fly off, giant blue portals opening above the spires of bone and flesh, letting them go beyond the stars one after another, by the hundreds, sometimes thousands, or more.


    Discover hidden content at empire


    Yet, despite how everything was working properly for her and how their entire family would only expand and such, she was upset¡­


    Upset about a certain swarm of her children that had yet to get anywhere.


    Upset against the filthy humans she''s been fighting, incapable of rationality.


    They were simply food, yet they acted all high and mighty! It was truly unnerving and unbelievable.


    The death of yet another of her swarms didn''t sit well with her, she had seen so many of her children die, but so many be reborn anew as they expanded across the cosmos endlessly. There was no race that ever put any threat against them, no legitimate threat at least.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    Yet, even with that logic, even with everything, she felt utterly frustrated! Three times already, three times has she tried to overtake their small metallic spaceship.


    She looked down on them because they needed hunks of metal to travel in the endless star ocean, yet her kind needed nothing but their bare bodies¡­


    However, despite this, these hunks of metals easily ughtered her children, and above all, could even continue to evolve, transform, and even¡­


    Adapt.


    Just like her.


    Their queen, and her many children.


    Yet something had happened, something that brought a new sparkle of inspiration and intelligence into her very consciousness.


    Not too long ago, a human was taken over by her child, infected, and transformed into one of them.


    The Anomaly.


    This Anomaly inherited the human''s memories, information, everything¡­ even his personality.


    And such information, was then transferred to their Mother, the Queen.


    After assimtion, the Queen changed.


    A spark of greater intelligence, a new human perspective, and the ability to better understand them emerged within her very mind and consciousness.


    "So this is how they work¡­"


    She learned about their manners, their society, their internal structure, their machinery, everything!


    The ruthlessness and coldness of the alien queen''s heart was now filled with interest and endless curiosity over humanity.


    Their rich history, their ability to adapt and grow, they were almost as admirable as her kind.


    "So they call us Xenoids¡­"


    Her countless jaws smiled, the Queen of the Xenoids, a being equal to a God of Outer Space with power over millions of beings, seemed to have gained incredibly insight about¡­


    "Humanity, huh? I want you¡­ I want everything you have. You shall be one with me. You shall be one with my flesh and my blood and my bones. Our minds must be one!"


    Her obsession with Humanity grew further and further.


    "And him¡­"


    Images of him, the pilot that managed to defeat the Anomaly with tremendous powers, a Mutant born from a human''s body.


    The image of that giant Red Oni-like Machine Warrior, and his enormous spear.


    "The champion of humanity¡­ I must have you."


    She smiled through her gigantic, amorphous body.


    "You shall be mine¡­ Your intelligence, charisma, dexterity, power¡­ I want you."


    As a being that endlessly devours, assimtes, and grows, she only wanted the greatest champions for herself.


    And him, ke, filled that role perfectly.


    .


    .


    .


    Within the interior of the Mothership, at the very core of its entire structure, hundreds of gigantic tubes connected to a massive white and silver colored crystal, glowing with neon blue circuits.


    Its enormous size constantly exuded tremendous quantities of Electromaic Energy, spreading across the entirety of the mothership, fueling its tremendous fuel requirements.


    The Elders stood there, overseeing the core of it all.


    "The Primordial Neutonium Core is handling things well for now."


    "So far, everything is stable."


    "That champion has proven to be useful."


    "Indeed¡­ we must continue. Our utopia awaits."


    "The other colonies¡­ all lost. Now humanity is only within our hands."


    As they spoke with one another, something within this gigantic core seemed to be slowly waking up, as they heard the voice of a brave pilot outside, and how they in the Xenoids.


    "The champion¡­" their eyes glowed bright blue. "Child of Ether¡­"


    -----

 Chapter 1136 A Rise

    -----


    Although a lot of pilots were lost at the end, there weren''t as many that diedpared to the previous days, and unlike those days, the pilots instantly decided to celebrate big time. To mourn the dead they decided to throw a party, strangely enough.


    They reminded me of the people of Spiritias in a way, a lot of people would celebrate after a big battle, and they would mourn the death in a big feast, eating and celebrating for them so they would "be happy in the other side" or whatever.


    Even after so long, I usually don''t really know what to say regarding these things, but that an "afterlife" exists is indeed the truth, at least within Spiritias¡­ I still remember seeing Ellergest and the Necromancer, his friend, disappear into the sky when both of them died.


    That endless garden of flowers that led to a cosmic beyond¡­ I can still recall it, even now. It is, honestly, a ce I''ve always wanted to investigate in more detail. But if it meant dying to see it, I suppose I can wait.


    "ke, what you did was amazing!"


    "Is that so? Thanks."


    "How did you even do that?! Youbined your machine with the other ones you can control?!"


    "It wasn''t hard, it is part of my machine''s Neutonium Core Ability, so it''s not weird."


    "Hey ke! Can we take a picture together?"


    "Go ahead."


    Click!


    "Thank you!"


    "No problem."


    "ke! ke! Is your Machine Warrior okay now? I saw it being really tattered; the new look is amazing but even then¡­"


    "It is fine for now, I''ll repair itter, don''t worry."


    "ke please tell me what to do to be like you!"


    "You can''t, I was born this way."


    "Thank you for saving our lives! We''re really grateful! Please eat and drink as much as you want, this is on ours!"


    "Thank you, but I''m good."n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    There were dozens after dozens of pilots constantly annoying me, asking me questions, taking pictures with me, and offering me food I didn''t really want to eat.


    I had already eaten my fill and eating more would only lead to getting fat or something, which I had no desire for.


    "Come on man, you look really stiff, enjoy the celebrations!" Patrick giggled, drinking some beer.


    He reminded me a lot of Chris, which brought a small smile on my face.


    "I already ate, don''t worry Patrick," I said. "I''ve never been a person of festivities myself."


    "Well, aren''t you a bit grumpy?" said Emilia. "Whatever the case, it''s pretty early still, there''s the rest of the day left, shall we go repair your Machine Warrior? I could give you some basic fixes for free but we''ll need some budget to get new parts."


    "I''m sure you got well paid for eliminating so many Xenoids, ke," said Hermes. "But even then¡­ repairing Machine Warriors is expensive."


    In here, the Pilots get a pay for surviving each battle of 10k Credits usually, and for every Xenoid they defeat, based on their type, they can receive a bonus from 1k to 10k more Credits.


    Therefore, my Credits increased by quite a lot as I had in a lot of them, especially the very unique ones that must cost more Credits.


    This,bined with the Credits I had obtainedst night in the VR Game almost gave me nine hundred thousand, almost a million¡­


    "I have enough Credits, don''t worry," I said. "I guess we could go buy some materials then, Emilia. Let''s go check my Machine Warrior first and-" Stay updated with empire


    "Ahem!"


    Suddenly, my words were interrumpted by someone, I nced to the direction of the voice to find Henriette, who came apanied by her usual two robot bodyguards.


    "ke, the Elders have called you."


    "Me? Why?"


    "A lot has happened. And well, they also wanted to congratte you for your efforts so far, in only four days from now, we''ll be able to reach our destination. Your help has been incredibly valuable so far and¡­ And we''re deeply thankful."


    "I see¡­ Hm, this is not a scheme to jail me again?"


    "I-It''s not! We are being genuine now!"


    "Hah, alright then¡­"


    I nced at my friends.


    "Sorry but I''ll have to go, hopefully it doesn''t take too long," I said.


    "Y-You''re being called by the Elders?! I can''t believe it¡­" said Patrick.


    "Well, good luck¡­" Emilia said.


    "I wish I could go, take care," Hermes said.


    "Alright, let''s go," I nodded.


    "Very well, follow me," Henriette said.


    She led me to a floating tform, which we used to swiftly fly above therge city inside of the mothership and reach the area where the elders were located.


    A gigantic tower connected to countless cables, and many smaller towers that spread across the entirety of the spaceship. Once we reached the interior, we were led through arge series of corridors heavily guarded, where we once more met the Elders.


    They were on a pseudo cryogenic state, their minds connected to coffin-shaped machines, therefore, even as they slept, their minds remained somewhat conscious, giving them the ability to rule for as long as this entire voyagested, perhaps hundreds of years.


    "So you''vee, ke."


    "Thank you for dedicating some of your time for us."


    "We know you must be tired, well done."


    "It has been three days since this persecution from the Xenoids began."


    "And despite the ups and downs, you''ve proven yourself to be incrediblypetent and strong."


    "Thank you, Elders."


    I nodded without even bowing to them, there was no need.


    I was still slightly suspicious if they had ulterior motives though.


    "For not only unifying the Pilots and helping many survive, but also for ying all the Xenoids in your path and bringing so much valuable information, we had considered giving you a rise."


    "A rise?" I asked.


    "Yes, a rise."


    "It is an experimental thing, but you would be the first."


    "You will be raised as a Battalion General, be given the privilege of ordering and controlling all pilots, and also be given many other luxurious, a better sry, and more ess to exclusive VIP products in the digital market."


    It honestly seemed appealing.


    "Interesting¡­" I nodded. "But what''s the catch?"


    -----

 Chapter 1137 The Mysterious Voice

    -----


    The Elders seemed genuinely thankful, and wanted me to receive great rewards, and it came in the form of a new "Title", a raise, for ack of a better term, within my position as a pilot.


    "You will be raised as a Battalion General, be given the privilege of ordering and controlling all pilots, and also be given many other luxurious, a better sry, and more ess to exclusive VIP products in the digital market."


    Battalion General, it sounded pretty alright to me¡­ Yeah, it honestly seemed appealing. The special things that I would receive could make things easier perhaps, and maybe getting this title would help me get a better reward once the trial ends.


    However, I don''t believe they''re giving this away so easily¡­


    "Interesting¡­" I nodded. "But what''s the catch?"


    They fell into silence, and Henriette red at me angrily.


    "T-There''s no such thing! They are simply giving you a reward for your efforts and honor, ke."


    "Bullshit, I don''t believe that. They want something from me."


    "W-What are you talking about?!"


    Henriette panicked as she screamed at me. I just ignored her.


    "So? Speak."


    I nced at the Elders, and then one of them spoke, the others seemed speechless or something.


    "It is simply a reward for your efforts¡­ However, yes, we were counting on you to lead the war against the Xenoids. There will be new pilots joining tomorrow, almost a hundred new recruits to strengthen the entire army from their invasion."


    "So we would want you to show them the ropes, as the General of the Battalion, that would be one of your duties, actually."


    "So that''s it¡­" I nodded. "Hmm, seems fine enough for me, alright."


    "Really? No problems?"


    "You won''t be able to take this decision back."


    "Are you sure?"


    They were sure annoying, but I guess they wanted to make sure.


    "Yes, it''s fine¡­"


    "Very well!"


    "Then from today onwards, Pilot ke¡­"


    "You''ve been raised as a Battalion General!"


    [Your Status as [Pilot] has changed into [Battalion General]!]


    [You have gained the Authority to order [Pilots]!]


    [Your Sry has increased by 1000%!]


    [You have gained ess to the VIP Section of the Digital Market.]


    [As a [Battalion General], you''ve been assigned with your own Unique House where you can reside for as long as you work in your position.]


    [You received 100.000 Credits for your Raise, congrattions.]


    Messages from the "system" of this spaceship appeared in front of me, bringing me a slight smile to my face.


    "Good, then, that''s it right? I''ll be leaving now."


    "Hmm¡­"


    The Elders groaned, as if they had something to say but not really.


    It is as if they wanted me to stay or something.


    "What''s wrong?"


    "Ah¡­ nothing, you can go on."


    I felt something slightly as they said that.


    FLASH!


    It was like a small sparkle,ing from somewhere else far away from here.


    I followed that sparkle, that sensation.


    And realized this wasing from the gigantic tower in the middle of the entire spaceship''s interior.


    There was something closely guarded byrge pieces of ck metal, like a damn cage, keeping something inside.


    And with my augmented senses and my Neutonium Core, I could easily tell what it was.


    Eleanora noticed I was staring too much, confused.


    "What''s wrong? What are you staring at so much?"


    "There''s a giant Neutronium Core inside of that cage¡­"


    "W-What?"


    We talked through telepathy so Henriette couldn''t listen anything we were talking about for now.


    "And¡­ I don''t know¡­"


    "Huh? What''s wrong with you? ke?"


    "¡­"


    "¡­ke?"


    "¡­.e!"


    Somehow, Eleanora''s voice became incredibly low, I couldn''t hear her anymore. And instead, I could only hear an annoying ring in my ears.


    The more I stared at that huge ck cube, the more I felt like something¡­


    Something was calling me.


    FLASH!


    "Huh?!"


    Out of nowhere, the ck cube started glowing brightly, as rays of blue color began shing out of it! I couldn''t believe it. Was this really happening?


    "Chi¡­"


    What?


    "Child¡­ of¡­"


    A voice! It''s speaking into my mind?


    Creaaak¡­!


    The metal started being torn apart by the light, slowly, something within it began to break open from its cage.


    I saw small hands made of blue light emerging, by the dozens- no, hundreds!


    CRASH! BAAM!


    They started tearing apart the metal, freeing themselves.


    The endless light continued shining brightly, as a huge blue crystal emerged, I could see it very clearly.


    Something within it¡­ there was¡­


    A living being there!


    "Child of¡­ Ether¡­"


    It''s talking to me!


    Amidst the light, I could see its faint appearance, it looked like a small child.


    With countless hands, and four bright blue and silver eyes.


    Her face¡­ slowly surged amidst the light, her empty eyes ncing into my very soul.


    "Child of Ether¡­"


    "Who¡­ Who are you?!"


    "Child¡­ of¡­"


    "What do you mean by Child of Ether?!"


    "Ether¡­ Child of¡­ Ether!"


    Suddenly, the thing started crawling towards me, destroying the city and everything, causing a tremendousmotion.


    BAAM! BAAM! BAAM! BAAM!


    The thing reached me, as I realized its endless form wasposed entirely out of Electromaic Energy.


    And it came from there, that titanic Neutonium Core.


    Are Neutonium Cores¡­ really just an ore?


    It has supernatural abilities, the powers they possess and everything.


    It simply can''t be a normal ore found in another!


    "Child of Ether¡­ You must¡­"


    The thing continued crawling towards me. I wanted to face it head-on, but for some reason, I could only step back. This was very unlike me! My body was moving on its own!


    "What?! What must I do? Tell me!"


    "You must¡­"


    "Tell me!"


    "Save¡­"


    "Save you?"


    "Save them all¡­"


    "Huh?"


    "She ising¡­"


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    "She?"


    The entity red at me with her endlessly growing body made of light.


    "The one that¡­ that¡­ that destroyed my¡­ she¡­ she''sing¡­ and she will not¡­ leave humanity alone¡­ save them¡­ Child of Ether¡­ save them before¡­"


    Suddenly, her body started to dissipate into particles of light.


    "Wait! Who is she? Who are you talking about?"


    "Save them before she devours it all¡­"


    And then, she disappeared, and I opened my eyes, realizing that everything was some sort of illusion.


    The city was fine, the cage remained closed¡­


    "ke! Are you okay?!"n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    Eleanora and Henriette seemed worried, but I just couldn''t help but gasp in exhaustion.


    "Hahh¡­ hahh¡­ hahh¡­"


    What is a Child of Ether?


    And who is "she"?!


    -----

 Chapter 1138 The Latest Technology...

    -----


    The mysterious Neutonium Core Entity.


    Child of Ether.


    And "she" who will destroy all humanity and will not stop until she devours me.


    These things kept lingering in my head as Henriette showed me my new house, arge apartment with highly technological tools everywhere.


    A beautiful, clean bathroom, a kitchen, windows that lead directly to outer space, allowing me to see what was at the other side of the mothership.


    There were even nts and artificial sunlight led, helping them grow big and healthy¡­


    The fridge was full of fresh vegetables, fruits, and all kinds of good.


    The entire apartment was huge and had two more rooms with beds in them, which would go to no use.


    It also had two bathrooms and the toilets sure looked weird.


    "What the hell is this toilet?" wondered Eleanora.


    It was like a floating cylinder, and one simply had to sit down there¡­ and do it.


    "It''s weird, I know¡­ but this is thetest technology."


    As I sighed, Henriette finished bringing some things with her robots, boxes full of furniture and all sorts of little things the Elders gifted me, including more food.


    "And done¡­ these boxes contain some materials for your Machine Warrior such as Neutonium Shards, Metal tes, and also more Bullets for Machine Guns and other firearms," she said. "And these boxes over there have fruits, veggies, and other food, packaged rice, bread, yogurt, you name it. It should keep you well feed for at least two weeks."


    "I see¡­ thank you Henriette," I nodded. "You may go now."


    "Okay then¡­" she sighed, about to leave.


    However, she suddenly stopped walking and then looked at me with an apologetic sigh, blushing a bit.


    "Um ke¡­ I wanted to first apologize."


    "Hm? For what?"


    Experience tales with empire


    "For how I have treated you before. My actions were¡­ too extreme."


    "So that''s it¡­ Whatever."


    "W-Whatever? You aren''t mad?"


    "Not really, no."


    "But I was so awful with you and everything!"


    "Keeping grudges is not really my thing and¡­ I have other things to think about right now."


    "Hm¡­ Okay then."


    She sighed a bit, gripping her fists.


    "Sooo¡­ you forgive me?"


    "Yeah."


    "Thanks¡­ Err, well, I was thinking¡­"


    "What?"


    "I know we started with the wrong foot but, do you want to have a drink? I have something in my car and¡­"


    What is she trying to pull out now?


    Does she really just want to share a drink, or does she have ulterior motives?


    Maybe now that I have such a title, she''s trying to seduce me?


    Or perhaps she''s simply being sincere.


    I read through her face and eyes, she looked a bit nervous, her heart was beating fast, and she was blushing a lot.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    "Hm¡­ I want to spend some time on my own first," I said. "Sorry¡­"


    "O-Oh¡­" she sighed. "Nah, it''s fine! R-Really¡­ There was no way you would do that¡­ Yeah, take care."


    "I didn''t said we couldn''t do itter," I smiled. "Come back in a couple of hours. I might ivnite my friends, if that''s ok with you."


    "Your friends?! Uuhh¡­ well, I guess it''s ok," she shrugged. "Thank you¡­ T-Then I''lle back in two hours, is it ok?"


    "Sure."


    "Thanks!"


    She quickly ran away after that, too excited to even look at my face.


    This is a trial yet these people all feel so very real.


    I''m confused if what I''m going through is just the "rey" of a world that once existed, a mere hyper realistic dream that draws its realism from my memories, or just¡­ an illusion.


    It can''t be an illusion, it is too good, I would have detected it as such if it was¡­ But it isn''t a dreampletely either.


    It could be a Rey, that both makes this "Story" be¡­ well, be "revived" at the same time as it is still something simted, yet not.


    It''s strange¡­


    Perhaps it is that it only exists and is real as long as the Trial continues.


    Once it''s over, everything might be erased.


    Getting too attached to these people wouldn''t be good if that''s the case, but I''ll need their assistance to win anyways, so I have to engage in these social interactions.


    "Anyways, Eleanora, let''s talk¡­"


    "Finally?"


    She quickly sat over my legs, caressing my face, although she was intangible, I could sense her electromaic hands through my own electromaic aura.


    In a way, I could feel like she was physical despite not being physical¡­


    In a way, the entity that spoke to me earlier was very simr to herposition.


    "Yeah, I saw some sort of vision¡­"


    I exined to Eleanora what I saw without skipping any detail, she nodded as she heard, realizing that this was a vision only sent to me.


    "And she called you the Child of Ether? But why¡­"


    "I have no idea. But all of this confirms several things¡­ First, the Neutonium Cores are, perhaps, some sort of living being. An organism made of electromaic energy and crystals."


    "So they''re aliens¡­? All the machines, and even the spaceship, they''ve been fueled through aliens this entire time¡­"


    "Yeah," I nodded. "And I''m sure this is not something the Elders would want to be spread around¡­ Hah, those bastards, keeping such an important thing secret from the rest of the people."


    "So this pretty much means that humanity is only surviving by exploiting and using aliens," said Eleanora. "All their technology is powered by them, the Neutonium¡­ aliens? What name would they truly have?"


    "I have no idea, but she said that their world had long ago been destroyed," I exined. "I don''t know how they found them¡­ perhaps through asteroids left behind from their world being destroyed."


    "Hmm, at least, it''s pretty clear that who she meant with that was the Xenoids," said Eleanora. "They destroyed the Neutonium Aliens world."


    "Yeah, but this "she" that she talked about¡­ Could it be also a Xenoid?" I asked.


    "Maybe¡­ maybe if they''re a colony, the Xenoids have a queen?" wondered Eleanora.


    "A queen¡­" I muttered. "Hmm, yeah, perhaps that''s not too wrong of an assumption. So they won''t stop until humanity is destroyed¡­ I have a bad feeling about this."


    "The next days might be more chaotic¡­ or perhaps not," Eleanora said. "I fear that this "queen" might be saving everything for the veryst day."


    "Then we''ll have to get even stronger until then," I said.


    -----

 Chapter 1139 Summoning More Spirits

    -----


    After talking with Eleanora about what had happened, I moved on to see what I had been gifted, quickly deciding to absorb all the Neutonium Shards.


    Grabbing them made me feel like they would jump out of my hand at any moment, but despite realizing they were living beings, they were much different than what we think living beings are.


    "Neutonium seem like they''re silicon-based living beings," Eleanora said. "I have analyzed the shardsposition, and it seems greatly made from thisponent, alongside some other oreponentspletely alien to me. Although they seem normal at first nce¡­ their internal structure is veryplex, with small growths of crystals internally that create a series of signals which eventually form the electromaic power it possesses."


    "I wonder if they can die?" I wondered.


    "I don''t know¡­ maybe if they''re crushed toplete dust," Eleanora said. "But even when cut down to pieces like this, they remain alive. They''re both a crystal and energy-based lifeform. Yet they seem unable to emerge on their own or do anything without proper machines to stimte them."


    "It is as if they''re either in a constant dormant state or¡­ well, something else entirely, huh?" I wondered, ncing at the shards. "Well, whatever. I eat meat, so eating these is just the same thing at the end."


    At the end, I ate all one hundred shards within thirty minutes, absorbing their essence and making my own Neutonium Core quickly absorb them, growing stronger.


    Yeah, I could feel it grow and develop, it was alive, and it happily assimted its own kind, I suppose if they do this they don''t really mind us using them?


    It''s strange, but maybe they are happy to know we use their power to kill the monsters that destroyed their.


    FLUOSH!


    Crimson Electromaic Energy surged from my body; Demonic Energy mixed with the Neutonium Core''s Electromaic Energies made for a strongbination.


    Before, it was barely a little aura at most, but right now it became much stronger and bigger, it was growing at an extraordinary pace.


    I saw a notification screen emerge in front of me, connected to my bracelet, which was also directly connected to my Machine Warrior.


    [The unidentified {Neutonium Core} has absorbed 100 {Neutonium Shards}, its mass and internal energy has grown and developed greatly.] Explore stories on empire


    [The unidentified {Neutonium Core} has grown and evolved into a {Demonic Neutonium Core}, greatly improving its performance.]


    [You have unlocked 1 Neutonium Ability Slot for the unidentified {Neutonium Core}, you can now learn an additional ability.]


    [Something is¡­ ERROR]


    Suddenly, error messages started appearing, as the screen glitched and twisted on itself, purple ooze-like substance made of this electromaic energy surged, rapidly beginning to gather together into some sort of ghostly form.


    "Mas¡­ ter¡­"


    "Ah, about time I got a second. Hendrick,e!"


    FLASH!


    In that moment, the same thing happened when Eleanora appeared, as Hendrick materialized in this world as a mass of electromaic energy, a cyber ghost made of data and electricity.


    However, he seemed much different than Eleanora, although he looked the same as his real appearance, although ghostly, his entire electromaic program-like body seemed constantly glitching and dissolving on itself.


    It was as if he had be some sort of Virus!


    "Master! I can''t believe this! I was also able toe here and participate in the Trial! What joy!" he celebrated. "Please allow me to serve you and help you as much as I can!"


    He immediately kneeled before me, offering me his loyalty and utmost respect.


    I nodded; he was indeed Hendrick.


    "Enough, that''s enough Hendrick," I said. "As you could have already seen before, we''re stuck here until it ends, and a lot of things have happened. Have you been able to catch up or should I exin things to you?"


    "No need to exin, I''ve been observing this wonderful world this entire time! The technology in here is utterly fascinating!" he said. "And even more those aliens, the Xenoids! I want to bisect them all so much!"


    "I knew you would say such a thing¡­" Eleanora sighed, facepalming.


    "Eleanora! My friend, it is nice to see you!" Hendrick smiled.


    "It''s nice to see you as well, Hendrick," smiled Eleanora. "Let''s work together to help ke get the best rewards then."


    "Yes!" nodded Hendrick.


    As I heard them talking, several other notifications appeared.


    [A foreign energy and power had been manifested within the unidentified {Demonic Neutonium Core}; you have summoned the unidentified entity {Cyber Virus Spirit: Hendrick}]


    [The unidentified entity {Cyber Virus Spirit: Hendrick} has been bonded to your unindentified {Demonic Neutonium Core} and has be an extension of it.]


    [Additionally, the other summoned unindentified entity known as {Cyber Vampiric Spirit: Eleanora} has also been registered and bonded to tour unindentified {Demonic Neutonium Core} sessfully.]


    "Interesting¡­" I nodded. "It seems that your existences are being recognized as¡­ Cyber Spirits." I said to the two.


    "That''s very interesting indeed!" said Hendrick. "Cyber Spirits, entities only born from high technology, I suppose I can handle being this for a while."


    "Yeah, it was annoying only at the beginning, it''s fun now," said Eleanora. "You''ll be able to enter unupied robots and use them as new bodies!"


    "Oh, that sounds quite lovely¡­" Hendrick smiled.


    "For now, that''s it¡­" I said. "I''ll rest for some time to meditate and rx, then I''ll call Hermes, Patrick, Emilia, and Henriette for a small dinner party. Later, I''ll probably upgrade my Machine Warrior with Emilia''s help¡­"


    "Even today you got a lot of things to do¡­" Eleanora sighed. "This trial is sure annoying; I would have preferred fighting a million monsters than this."n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    "Hm, the trial is indeed veryplex and annoying, if not frustrating," I said. "But that''s why it''s a challenge and a trial, it can''t be easy no matter what we want. It''ll test us and we''ll have to ovee whatever it throws as us."


    "But we will survive, thrive, and win," Eleanora nodded. "Right?"


    "Yes, indeed¡­ Now let me sleep for a while, please."


    Like that, after taking a nap of an hour and a half, I called my friends over, and we had a dinner party.


    Of course, what truly mattered was the upgrade of my Machine Warrior though, now that I have ess to the VIP shop, there were many new things to buy.


    -----

 Chapter 1140 Many Guests

    -----


    When I invited my friends here I didn''t think it would be a big thing, at best it would be a small dinner with some drinks¡­ However, things ended escting to something a bit livelier than I had hoped.


    Though, everything started nicely at the beginning. The first one to have arrived was Hermes, who brought some drinks himself, I had expected him toe twenty minutes earlier than the estimated hour, yeah, he''s that type of person.


    "Hello ke, thank you for inviting me to your new house¡­ It sure is luxurious," he said, readjusting his sses. "Ah! Are those thetest model furniture? Oh yeah, they''re floating. Amazing! May I take a few pictures?"


    "Hm? S-Sure¡­"


    Hermes had run to the end of the room and started taking pictures of the furniture, well, it was mostly stic and metal things that floated on ce.


    Some had nts on them, others were just strange zigzagging decorations, sometimes on geometric shapes, I suppose this is the aesthetic of this humanity.


    "Hey, isn''t he a bit of a weirdo? Why is he obsessed with furniture?" wondered Eleanora, squinting her eyes.


    "Well, what''s wrong with liking that?" I said. "Hermes wait, what are you doing?"


    I noticed he was suddenly moving the furniture into different shapes and piling them together to take more pictures.


    "A-Ah! I''m so sorry, something possessed me, and I started- My bad, I apologize!" he quickly put everything back together. "I just¡­ when I see these amazing shapes, I can''t stop wanting to see every angle. I''ve always wanted to make furniture myself¡­ but it is nothing but an unfulfilled dream, we are pilots after all."


    "Hmm, that''s right," I nodded. "I see, so that''s your hobby, huh? For being such a correct and upright person, I guess it fits you."


    "W-What¡­? I mean, yeah¡­ I-I guess that''s¡­ right," Hermes muttered, growing slightly flustered and readjusting his sses, he was very embarrassed.


    "Don''t worry, everyone has their own hobbies and kirks," I said. "I like¡­ ying VR games."


    "W-What? But aren''t they expensive?" he wondered.


    "Money is not really a problem to me so not really," Iughed. "But well, maybe it could be expensive for other people¡­ I''ve found great ways to train my piloting abilities through VR games, and also make money, did you know?"


    "M-Make money?!" he gasped. "Is that true? I always thought that those news about people making money on games was just false advertising to make you spend money on useless video games."


    "It''s not false at all, it''s true," I smiled. "I might teach you a few things."


    "Ooh? I would be honored¡­" he said, but then he started looking at my furniture again. "What a unique shape, ke! Did you see this pyramid-shaped floating furniture? This is actuallyst year''s Autumn Geometric Shapes Edition! Only a thousand were sold! I read online that lots of people showed to buy them, to think you have one in the house they gifted to you¡­"


    "Aha¡­" I nodded; I didn''t even know what he was talking about anymore.


    Honestly, it was relieving he had some quirkiness to him, and he wasn''t serious all the time, it means he''s not a psychopath as I had feared.


    "He''s a weirdo¡­" Eleanora didn''t like him though.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    "Hahah! Eleanora, you''re quite harsh to men that simply like certain hobbies, you should be nicer," Hendrick tried to calm her down.


    "What did you said?!" asked Eleanora. "Hendrick you''re definitely the least guy that should be saying that! You''re the weirdest weirdo out there."


    "A-Ahahah¡­ Such harsh words! Indeed, only women of your caliber could ever deliver mere words capable of striking a man''s heart like a cold knife¡­" Hendrick covered his face in embarrassment. "Master, I admire you even more now, realizing you''ve tamed such a lioness."


    I was going to agree with him, but I noticed Eleanora''s face and I quickly decided to say something else.


    "Cut it out Hendrick," I sighed.


    "A-Ah, yes¡­" he nodded obediently.


    Eleanora nodded in agreement.


    DING DONG!


    Suddenly, someone showed up outside once more, so I walked and what I saw as Patrick this time, he was gasping for air, as if he hade running all the way here from the rooms where the pilots sleep.


    "I''m here! keeeee! Are you thereeeee?!"


    And he was incredibly loud, annoying the neighbors, who were all rich people from the spaceship''s internal city.


    "Who''s screaming so loud out there?" Find adventures on empire


    "We are trying to have a good evening here, shut up!"


    "Stop screaming, my child''s crying!"


    There were indeed much more people than I imagined, although the majority of humanity was on cold sleep, there were still millions alive and walking.


    I quickly went to open the door and let him inside, the only thing he brought was a bag with bread, but it was good enough, I didn''t ask him for anything.


    "ke! Thank you for inviting- WOAH!" Patrick looked around the house. "W-What the hell dude?! This is an amazing ce! Beats that ugly small room they give us, definitely! I mean, sleeping inside the Warrior Machines feels better than those rooms!"


    "I agree," I nodded. "I''ve slept in the machine."


    "You have?!" Patrickughed. "Dude you''re so funny! Hahahaha! Oh, Hermes! You''re already here!"


    "Ah, hello Patrick¡­" Hermes said without paying much attention, he was once more changing the shapes and poses of the floating furniture.


    "What the hell has gotten into him?" Patrick wondered.


    "He has a hobby with furniture, so I''ve left him¡­ well, look at mine for now," I exined. "Anyways Patrick, the food should get done in a couple of minutes. Make yourself at home, you too Hermes¡­ Though I guess I didn''t need to say that."


    "Thank you dude!" Patrick quickly sat over therge couch. "Phew! Can''t believe you''re living in this amazing ce! So cool!"


    He was energetic and loud as ever, but I guess that''s a good trait, I much rather prefer a friend like this than a scheming snake that could betray me.


    DING DONG!


    As I was looking at the fish being cooked and the rice getting ready, I heard the sound of the door once more, I quickly saw through the camera two girls waiting for me to open.


    "keee! You there~?"


    "I-I''m here as you requested¡­"


    "I guess ourst guests are here, wee."


    -----

 Chapter 1141 A Feast

    -----


    The door opened automatically as Emilia and Henriette entered the room in a hurry, before the door were to be closed right behind them. Emilia left her guard robots outside to not disturb our dinner.


    "Oh, it''s Emilia- Henriette?!" Patrick screamed. "W-What are you doing here miss?! A-Ah, did youe to apprehend one of us? Did we do something illegal?!"


    "Patrick, was your name?" Henriette squinted her eyes at him. "I have checked your record just now using my sses, you''re clean, and you better stay like that, you heard me?"


    "Y-Yes ma''am!" Patrick ended bowing before her, something unnecessary.


    Henriette seems to enjoy the power of her position within the hierarchy¡­


    Yes, most definitely.


    "Ah, Henriette, it is nice to see you," Hermes said.


    "Hermes," Henriette smiled, nodding.


    Ah, I see, so she has a much better impression on Hermes¡­


    "Hello guys! How are you? I just happened to find Henriette here, so we came together," Emilia smiled with her usual rxed smile. "Hmm! This ce''s nice and cozy! keeee! What are you cooking though? Smells so nice!"


    She ran to the kitchen, as she saw what I was making, fish, fried rice, and I was also baking a huge pizza.


    "A lot," I said. "I know you guys don''t get to eat this much, so let''s have a small feast."


    "Hmmm! You''re so niceeee!" Emilia hugged me from behind. "Hehe, look!"


    She showed me a bag with beer cans.


    "Wait, alcohol?" I wondered. "Not even Hermes¡­ he just brought soda."


    "Yep these are pretty expensive, but we earned so much damn money today that I wanted to give me the luxury, hehe," she giggled coquettishly. "Let''s drink to our heart''s contents~!" she winked at me.


    "I don''t know if drinking would be a good idea, tomorrow we still have duty day, right?" I wondered.


    "Awe on dude, don''t be a party pooper!" Patrick said from behind. "Emilia, give me a drink!"


    "Haha, you wish! Only after we start eating dude!"ughed Emilia. "What did you brought though?"n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    "B-Bread¡­" Patrick sighed, looking down embarrassed.


    "Just bread? Pfff hahaha!"ughed Emilia. "You and your broke ass aren''t saving anybody, lmao!"


    "S-Shut up! What else did you want me to bring? I didn''t kill as many and I''m saving money," said Patrick, sighing.


    "Emilia don''t be like that with Patrick," I said. "Even some bread could be a delicious meal. Patrick, bring me your bread. Let''s cook half of it."


    "Cook? But how?" he wondered.


    "I know of a few ways to use some good bread," I nodded.


    First, I turned some into breadcrumbs and made fried chicken with crunchy batter and crumbs to give it the best texture.


    Then, I also put some with cheese and ham on the oven, and added some tomato sauce and some herbs, making pizza bread.


    Lastly, for dessert, I made some French toast with a lot of sweet milk, leaving the bread as fluffy as pancakes.


    "Bon Appetit."


    Once everything was done, I served it over the table, my friends were fascinated by the meals.


    "Uooohhhh! Everything looks so good dude!" Patrick said. "You made chicken, these things, and dessert with my bread?! Amazing!"


    "I-I guess bread can be used in ways I had no freakin'' idea, huh? Well, ke still added a lot of ingredients¡­" said Emilia, sitting down. "Anyways this looks delish! I have only eaten fish once before! It was so good!"


    "Ah, what a blissful meal¡­ Thank you so much for the meal," Hermes said, there was as small pile of floating furniture sitting on his head in perfect bnce.


    "Hmm! I''m honestly impressed¡­" Henriette tasted the fish, then ate some pizza-bread and drank some of the wine she brought. "This is an incredible five-star meal! The fried rice is also delicious, I never imagined rice could have so much vor before."


    "Hmm, yeah! it''s amazing dudeeee!" Emilia was really happy.


    Eventually, we all started eating, I was quite hungry so I began eating heartily and without holding back, I also enjoyed the fine wine that Henriette shared with me.


    "You like it? It''s a rather expensive fine selection," she smiled pridefully. "You''ll be drinking this every day now, it is what the elite such as ourselves drink."


    "Is that so?" I raised an eyebrow. "Elite you say¡­ Hah."


    Once I finished the cup of wine, Emilia gave me a cane of beer.


    It was called Strongest Zero, it was a moderately priced beer drank bymon people, Henriette was not fond of it.


    "Why are you giving him something like that?" Henriette sighed. "Who even drinks beer, right ke? You should just throw that away- Aaah?!"


    She gasped as she saw me drinking from the can directly.


    "What?"


    I was already an adult so drinking these things every now and then wasn''t bad.


    However, I don''t really like drinking alcohol that much anyways.


    It doesn''t even have an effect on my body to begin with.


    So it''s like drinking vored water¡­ bitter water, with some other vors here and there.


    "It''s fine," I nodded. "Hmm, a bit too bitter for my tastes."


    "Oh so you like sweet stuff better?" Emilia smiled teasingly. "Heheh, didn''t knew you were a sweet tooth baby! Hahah!"


    "Quite lively today, aren''t you, Emilia?" Hermes sighed. "Anyways, let me try some of that too."


    "Eh? Why should I give you anything¡­" Emilia smiled maliciously.


    "You brought enough for everyone; I know for a fact that-"


    As Hermes was talking Emiliaunched a can of beer at him, and he barely managed to catch it in time.


    "W-why did you do that?! I almost¡­ what if it hit my head?!"


    "That would have been funny lol!"


    "Ugh¡­"


    And this is where things started escting more than I imagined, everyone got drunk and startedughing and talking very loudly.


    "Oh man, beer''s the best! What the hell?!"ughed Patrick. "It''s like¡­ like¡­ Whichimacallit?"


    "Ugh, I think I''m going to puke¡­" Hermes groaned.


    "Hahahah! Puke! Puke! Puke!"ughed Emilia.


    "Ahhh¡­ ke, you''re¡­ Hic¡­ you''re so handsome¡­ have they told you that before?" Henriette wouldn''t stop flirting with me. "D-Do you have a girlfriend?"


    "¡­"


    I was regretting having invited them for dinner.


    -----

 Chapter 1142 Going Back To The Virtual World

    -----n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Before I could do anything, all four of them ended falling asleep on the couch. It wasn''t even midnight, but they were literally unconscious.


    "I never thought alcohol could do such a thing to humans," I said. "They''re incredibly weak."


    "Indeed, to be defeated by a mere drink¡­" sighed Eleanora. "Well, I''m sure Spiritias humans can hold on much better, your father for example, he drinks a lot, but he never falls unconscious."


    "My father is just built different," I smiled, nodding. "Anyways, I guess I''ll save the repairs and upgrades for tomorrow morning."


    "What are you doing now?" wondered Eleanora.


    "I''ll be logging into the VR game again, I need to investigate something," I said. "I don''t really need much money now; I''ve got a huge amount of savings¡­ But I want to explore that open world."


    "Really? But why?" Eleanora wondered. "It''s not like it even matters? What''s the point?"


    "I have a feeling it could reveal us the past of these humans, or of their world," I said. "Think about it, that world is way too real, there''s no way they could have easily replicated it from just records alone. And seeing how they rely on the Giant Neutonium Core for their technology, it means they''re probably not as technologically advanced¡­"


    "Those are only assumptions; how do you know it''s the truth?" Eleanora questioned me again.


    "That wastnd might have probably been recreated out of the entire itself, the called "Earth" they call. The Mutants, the cities made out of metal scrap, and also I remember that guy said something about ruins¡­ I want to explore them too." I exined.


    "Hmmm~ I think you should simply sleep-"


    "Listen, I just have a feeling, okay?" I said to Eleanora, looking at her in the eyes.. "You don''t have toe if you don''t want to, Eleanora. I''ll be going anyways, I''m tired of trying to give you excuses. Why should I do that? I''m going."


    "A-Ah! Wait! ke, don''t get mad at me!" Eleanora panicked. "I''m very sorry. I didn''t mean to be rude. You told me before, years ago, that it was okay I could question you, that we were equals."


    "Yes, but that also means you have to trust me sometimes, Eleanora," I said.


    "I trust you!" she said.


    "Then?" I asked.


    "Okay, fine, let''s give it a shot," she nodded. "You got me curious now¡­ I wonder if you can rent a second robot for me to pilot?"


    Huh, she sure changed quickly. I know she might have gotten grumpier because she''s bored, maybe she wants to eat or taste food, or maybe she doesn''t like the trial.


    But even then, sometimes telling her what I think and also telling her she''s going overboard is necessary.


    "I think I can do that, sure," I nodded. "I might call Zack, so pretend you''re a yer."


    "Sure," she nodded. "And, sorry again¡­"


    "It''s fine," I said. "You must be stressed, I understand¡­"


    "Maybe, I guess I talked without thinking," she said. "Being in this Digital Spirit body is bizarre. I had already grown used to my Spiritual Body, which could turn ethereal and physical at will, but this is even worse, I''m not even ethereal, but digital¡­"


    "It''s fine, it''ll end in a few more days, let''s endure together," I said. "Alright?"


    "Y-Yes¡­ Thank you for being so understanding¡­" she sighed. "I really don''t deserve your love, my lord."


    She sat over myp as I walked to my room where the VR equipment had already been equipped.


    "It sucks I can''t touch you¡­ but I still remember when Erika had you like this¡­ I also want to do that, you know~?"


    She smiled coquettishly at me.


    "Don''t worry, we''ll catch upter," I said. "No¡­ wait a second."


    "Hm?" she tilted her head.


    "I think you could get a whole yer Avatar, actually," I said. "Here, I got this secondary device. Why don''t you try "hacking" it?"


    "Oh, I could try to¡­ okay, wait a bit," she nodded.


    She touched the capsule device, fusing with it and then taking over it, it started glowing with an unusual red color.


    "I''m in! Ooh! Wait¡­ so this is how this works and that¡­ Hm, I see! Actually this is really simple¡­ But there''s really hard walls here and there¡­ Ugh, is this the inte? It''s dangerous, like a flood that will bring me somewhere else."


    So she can even ess thework that connects everything within the mothership, and maybe even other colonies?!


    Perhaps if she could try hacking where they have all the information, and then we could learn much more but¡­ no, she''s still not so strong.


    I don''t want to risk her life here at least.


    "No, leave it at that, enter the game installed on it," I said.


    "Sure¡­!" she said. "Okay, I think I can do the whole thing on my own¡­ Yeah! I can make an Avatar!"


    "Amazing! Do that then," I nodded.


    I waited until she was ready, and once she told me she was, she quickly logged into the VR Game.


    Through our connection as Master and Spirit, she could continue talking to me telepathically even within the virtual world.


    "How amusing, my lord!" Hendrick said. "I wish there was a spot for me¡­"


    "It''ll have to do with this for now, Hendrick," I said. "But I''ll get you a robot too."


    "Thank you!" he celebrated. "Then let us dive into this virtual world! Let us unravel the mysteries of these people''s past world and-"


    He kept talking so I ignored him and logged into the VR Game, I had already sent a message to Zack, and he agreed on meeting me and helping me in exchange for me giving him back some of the stuff I gained from him, such as some of his floating spears.


    [Wee back, yer ke, you have logged back to [Machine Warrior Battle Arena]!]


    [You have logged-in for the second time, you have earned a two-consecutive log-in bonus reward!]


    [You received +100 Warrior Points and [Nanomachine Injection Syringe]!]


    "Nanomachine Injection Syringe?"


    As I logged back into the game, finding myself on one of the luxurious Inns of the city, I grabbed the item in my hands.


    It was a syringe with a silver-colored liquid inside.


    -----

 Chapter 1143 Nanomachine Injection Syringe

    -----


    Seeking to unravel some of the mysteries of the world of these humans, that world called "Earth", I decided to go back to the VR Game one more time, however, as I logged-in, I was surprised by something.


    [Wee back, yer ke, you have logged back to [Machine Warrior Battle Arena]!]


    [You have logged-in for the second time, you have earned a two-consecutive log-in bonus reward!]


    [You received +100 Warrior Points and [Nanomachine Injection Syringe]!]


    "Nanomachine Injection Syringe?"


    As I logged back into the game, finding myself on one of the luxurious Inns of the city, I grabbed the item in my hands.


    It was a syringe with a silver-colored liquid inside. It had been originally stored in the in-game inventory, which worked like my Grimoire''s Inventory.


    Anything I wanted to store would be stored there, I had a lot of Machine Parts as well.


    "Hmm?"


    I nced at the syringe and its contents, and then a small holographic window appeared.


    -----


    [Nanomachine Injection Syringe]


    A syringe imbued with Nanomachines, which can strengthen a human and grant them some points of Strength and Vitality.


    Can be used by yers to strengthen their bodies or by Machines to heal small broken parts.


    -----


    "Are there yer Stats in this game?"


    I looked around and tried to summon a "Status" but nothing appeared, so they''re most likely hidden, the same for machines.


    They don''t really like being specific, there might be a lot of hidden mechanics that aren''t revealed to the yer at all.


    Mysteriously so.


    Why do that though? It''s a video game meant to entertain people, why keep things so basic hidden?


    "Hmmm¡­"


    I quickly stood up and saved the syringe in my inventory, I didn''t really need it anyways. I walked downstairs, where an olddy greeted me.


    "Ah, young man, good morning. Did you sleep well?"


    "Yes, thank you."


    "There''s dinner ready! I made some delicious hot pot, don''t you want some?"


    Read new adventures at empire


    I wonder what they even eat here¡­


    "Uh, sure?"


    While Eleanora and Zack wereing to this Inn after I told them the coordinates, I sat down in the living room where the olddy served me arge te of hot pot.


    The hot pot had boiled pieces of potato-like cactus, giant bug meat resembling lobster, but of a strong brown color, and also what resembled small roots.


    It was well seasoned, and had a strong¡­ Shrimpy vor, with an extra spicy kick. The cactus was like a sweet and slightly slimy potato.


    The food they eat in this post-apocalyptic scrapnd certainly fit the vibe.


    "Oh my, you really ate it all so quickly! I betcha you were hungry!" the olddy giggled.


    [You have consumed the [Old Inn Lady''s Delicious Dinner]!]


    [Your Health and Stamina have been fully recovered.]


    [Your Stamina has permanently increased by a small amount.]


    [Your Focus has permanently increased by a small amount.]


    [Your Machine Warrior might react quicker to your ownmands now.]


    "Interesting¡­"


    By just eating her meal I gained new strength in this Avatar, that''s slightly hrious. Sadly I doubt this''ll reflect in my real body either way.


    I know for a fact the Trial''s body is my real body, but this is not, it''s a virtual illusion where my mind is ced, so doing anything here won''t change anything.


    It''s one of the reasons why I understand Eleanora saying "its pointless" to y this game, but there''s something beyond just growing stronger sometimes.


    "Can I have seconds?"


    "Oh sure!"


    As thedy went to fetch more of that hot pot, I noticed two figures entering the Inn. A tall bald guy with a burly body, Zack, and¡­


    A gorgeous red-haired woman, with a slender figure, and enchanting, beautiful face, and bright red eyes that illuminated my night.


    That is definitely Eleanora''s Avatar. She really made it almost exactly like she is!


    "Uh so you know ke? I had no idea, I thought he was a newbie- Wait, you''re a newbie too?"


    "Yes I am, I know you well, Zack. You''re one of ke''s rivals, right?"


    "Yeah but- Ah, hey! ke, I was surprised you called me so suddenly. I was in the middle of a match, so I hurried here¡­ And I met thisdy." Zack pointed at Eleanora.


    "Her name''s¡­ Eleanora," I said. "You look gorgeous."


    "Well! Thank you~" she smiled, winking at me, walking to my side and then hugging me.


    I could feel her hug, the warmth of her body, it felt nice, too nice.


    "I can''t believe I can hug you like this¡­ See? It''s not so bad, right?"


    "Definitely, I''ve changed my mind a bit~ Come here."


    "Hm?"n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    She ended stealing me a passionate kiss right in front of Zack. Her warm lips were irresistible, and so was her body, I ended grasping her buttocks tightly, she was wearing tight blue jeans and a ck jacket with a white blouse and cowboy boots, she looked beautiful and for ack of a better term, hot.


    "Ah, by the way, she''s my girlfriend," I said to Zack, who was looking at me in disbelief.


    "A-Aha¡­" he nodded. "Dude¡­ you''re lucky."


    "I know," I nodded. "Anyways- Ah."


    "Ooh, I didn''t know there were new guests here! Pleasee eat with us! Are these your friends?" the inndy wondered.


    "Ah, well, yes," I nodded.


    "Don''t worry, there''s plenty for everyone!"


    The olddy ced the hot pot on the te, Zack looked utterly disgusted, but Eleanora seemed very interested, looking at the food while drooling.


    "C-Can I eat with this body?" she wondered.


    "You should be able to, I just confirmed it!" I nodded. "Go ahead."


    "Ah! Thank you for the meal!" Eleanora started happily eating. "Hmm! I haven''t eaten in so long! It feels nice to finally eat again¡­"


    The vors in her mouth made her go insane, all while Zack gave it a single taste and immediately almost puked.


    "Ugh, this is¡­ How can you two eat it so eagerly?!" he screamed.


    "What?" I asked.


    "If you don''t want that, give it to me," Eleanora stole his te and started eating voraciously from the two.


    That''s my girl.


    -----

 Chapter 1144 A Mysterious Facility

    -----


    Once we were done eating our meals at the inn, we made our way to the shopping district where they sold all kinds of machines and their parts. It was faster to move on machine warriors as both of ours could fly. I bought Eleanora on mine, she happily sat down over myp.


    "I''m thinking on renting two machines," I said. "One for you and another for Hendrick so he can participate more actively."


    "Ooh! Is that true, master?! I would dly do so!" said Hendrick.


    "Yeah, but something small and inconspicuous," I nodded. "Perhaps some sort of machine that moves on its own so it''s not suspicious. Like a pet robot.


    "P-Pet robot¡­?" Hendrick seemed dispirited after hearing that. "Ah, yes, anything, master."


    Hm, now I felt a bit bad.


    Once we found the shop from the VIP areas that I unlocked before, we were greeted by a fancy old man wearing a white tuxedo.


    In fact the entire building in this vip area waspletely different than the rest, looking like modern architecture instead of an ugly scrap building.


    The interior was clean and white, and there were several clean-looking robots serving guests and so on.


    "Wee to Mechanoid Industries. yer Zack! I''m d to see you again today, are these your friends?" the man asked.


    "Yeah Alfred, they are," Zack nodded. "They came here to rent two robots. One for her and another¡­ what else did you wanted?"


    "The most advanced automaton you possess," I exined. "A machine warrior that could move on its own, perhaps an assistance unit."


    "Ooh! Very well, please follow me then!"


    Alfred, as he was called, guided us through the white passages and areas, making me want to explore some more, I spread my senses, realizing this building was immensely huge.


    In fact, it was underground where they expanded the most, amazingly enough. There was something huge being made in there.


    Very huge.


    It made me ask a few questions.


    "Hey Zack, do you know like, the lore behind this ce?"


    "Oh!" Zack rubbed his chin. "Kind of, I know they''re thest huge enterprise, industry, or whatever in this scrap world. They''re like the Elite among Elites that reign the Cities. They have cutting edge technologypared to the rest of the inhabitants. This is where I got made several of my parts and even my robot. Although I had to secure all materials, because it was so damn expensive."


    "Interesting, do you know what else they do? Like, nning to do?" I wondered.


    "nning?" he wondered. "No? I mean¡­ I don''t know? They rule and maybe are seen as corrupts, the usual story."


    "Corrupts?" I asked. "How so?"


    "Hmm, I have never been too invested on the story of this game man," he shrugged. "Most people never really care outside of the fighting robots'' parts."


    "Can''t me them," Eleanora said. "It''s kind of cool."


    "Yeah right?!" Zackughed.


    "Hmmm, I suppose so," I nodded. Discover hidden stories at empire


    Although he wasn''t wrong, I couldn''t help but wonder what this entire enterprise was doing down there, it looked like a huge project.


    Designing new robots couldn''t be it, there was much more to it, something huge, maybe¡­ No wait.


    "Hendrick." I talked to him through telepathy.


    "Yes?" he wondered.


    "Do you think you could infiltrate down there and check what they''re making?" I asked.


    "Hmm¡­ I think I can try!" he nodded.


    "Alright, then go," I nodded.


    "I shall!"


    He quickly flew down, as we continued walking forward, reaching an enormous white hall where many amazing mechs were lined up.


    "Now''s your turn to pick what you want, Eleanora," I said.


    "Oooh¡­" Eleanora walked around, very interested.


    Alfred noticed she got to choose, so he quickly walked to her side to talk with her.


    "Lady Eleanora, right?"


    "Yeah."


    "I was wondering, what do you want in specific? There''s a myriad of models here, all at cutting edge technology."


    "I can tell, they look great¡­ I''m good with the spear weapons. Moving fast, perhaps long-ranged attacks like¡­ Hmm, shuriken or knives?"


    Zack nced at her while raising an eyebrow.


    "Is she trained to fight IRL or what?" he wondered.


    "Kinda¡­" I nodded.


    Alfred''s face beamed with happiness.


    "Then please follow me over here, there''s many models you would want!" he said. "So you desire something fast and light, right? Dexterous with long weapons, but also good at long ranged throwing abilities. An interesting choice! But there is nothing on Mechanoid Industries we have not created! We are pioneers in the entirety of Earth regarding cutting edge robotics!"


    "Interesting," Eleanora smiled. "Show me then, human."


    Alfred didn''t mind her calling him "human" as if she weren''t one, although Zack red at me with a weirded-out face.


    "She just called him human?" he wondered.


    "Yes, what''s the problem?" I wondered.


    "N-Nothing¡­" he muttered. "Anyways, are you really giving me back some of the things I lost dude?"


    "Of course, a promise is a promise, Zack," I nodded. "I would want us to be¡­ friends, online friends at least. I want to uncover this game''s secrets. Now that I''ve yed the arena, I want to y every other content it offers. This world is really realistic, don''t you think?"


    "Uh yeah, I guess it''s pretty good technology¡­" said Zack.


    "No Zack, I believe there''s more to that than just because its very good technology," I exined. "It feels like there''s more to that, don''t you believe?"


    "I¡­" Zack muttered, unable to really understand. "I don''t really get it¡­ But sure, yeah, I mean¡­ I love this game, so if there''s actually some story, it would be neat."


    "Thanks," I nodded.


    As I talked with Zack and saw Eleanora choosing her mech, I nced down below for a second.


    Hendrick had already sessfully infiltrated down there, passing through at least five security walls.


    "Master, this ce is unfathomably deep!" he said. "Every room I''ve passed through also had some sort ofboratory where they were trying all kinds of materials, their durability, and also were producing new alloys and robots."


    "I see¡­ keep going, Hendrick."


    "Yes, master."n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    -----

 Chapter 1145 Arks of Humanity

    -----


    As I talked with Zack and saw Eleanora choosing her mech, I nced down below for a second. Hendrick had already sessfully infiltrated down there, passing through at least five security walls and moving across many areas where he saw stuff they were doing.


    "Master, this ce is unfathomably deep!" he said. "Every room I''ve passed through also had some sort ofboratory where they were trying all kinds of materials, their durability, and also were producing new alloys and robots."


    Thing is, although very suspicious, so far, he hasn''t seen them doing something weird or trying to use something else, so I guess he''ll have to continue moving down.


    "I see¡­ keep going, Hendrick."


    I had to just tell him to keep investigating anyways, I can''t waste this chance.


    "Yes, master."


    Without hesitation, Hendrick continued "swimming" down through the many walls and rooms of below, at the same time as I heard Eleanora walking closer.


    "ke! I picked mine, look!"


    She pointed at a huge machine warrior of at least seven meters of height, it had a slender feminine figure, with long and thin legs and arms.


    The machine warrior''s foot resembled heels, and it also had a secondary pair of arms wrapped around its waist. Experience more tales on empire


    The head was V-shaped, with "eyes" in the form of red lights arranged across the entire head.


    It also had ne-like wings behind its back, and its entire body was aerodynamically made to be good at flying and moving incredibly fast.


    "So this is what you want, interesting," I nodded. "Does it include a weapon?"


    "Any weapon of your choice," said Alfred. "You can rent this for fifteen thousand Warrior Points or its Credit equivalents a day. If you would want to purchase it¡­ this model goes for roughly three hundred thousand."


    "Interesting, very expensive," I nodded. "I was wondering, what happens when you use a machine beyond its time limit? Does it return here?"


    "No, but you gain debt, and interests might umte after some time, so be careful!" said Alfred. "If you don''t pay your debt within 30 days special bounty hunters might be dispatched to retrieve the machine and capture you."


    "Hahah, that''s hrious," Iughed. "Alright, I''ll rent this one for three days, is that ok?"


    "Why yes! Thank you!" Alfred said happily.


    I quickly paid and then, he decided to show me where the assistant-ss robots were, all while Eleanora''s machine''s white color suddenly changed color.


    I had asked for one specifically shaped like spiders, and he showed me three models, thergest was as tall as four and a half meters of height, the smallest was only one meter and a half.


    They were all for Hendrick so I wanted him to choose but whatever, I decided to pick thergest one because he would obviously want that one too anyways.


    After paying another ten thousand multiplied by three for three days of rent, we were finally freed, even though Hendrick continued down there.


    "How are things going, Hendrick?"


    I asked Hendrick as we were already making our way outside.


    Then I heard his voice.


    "I have already reached very deep, master, it seems they''re constructing something down here!"


    "What is it?"


    "I can hardly tell, they''re still at the starting point, but it seems to be utterly gigantic, at least tens of timesrger than the entire city above."


    "What? Really?"


    "Yes! I''ve also noticed that this area down here is so huge there are buildings where the rich people live¡­ they''re constantly talking about not going to the surface due to the sun bing¡­ dangerous?"


    "Huh, what else?"


    "There arerge roads down here where cars and truckse from other ces, they bring materials and more people to make this¡­ I could only call it an ark, honestly."


    "An ark?"


    Right!


    How could I not even tell after this entire time?


    If this is really Earth then this must be how they started creating these colonies.


    They''re quite literally "Arks of Humanity"!


    "So they must be in the beginning stages of the construction of Colonies, giant Spaceships," I exined to him. "Come back already, Hendrick. I don''t want to risk you being seen for longer."


    "Understood!" he quickly came back all the way here.


    Once we were outside, he possessed his new spider-like machine, and we all flew into the skies, rushing outside of the city.


    FLASH!


    Until we reached the great desert beyond, the "wastnd" and the "grave of ancient civilizations", it was indeed a never-ending desertingnd.


    There wererge seas of sands to the northeast, canyons to the southwest, and the contaminated se was to the southeast.


    There were other areas, but this is what I could see in the map given to me.


    "Wee to the Great Wastnd!" Zack said. "This ce''s shock full of Mutants, so be careful. Even flying is not safe. Fly too high and a flying mutant will snatch you, fly too low and a mutant will snatch you¡­"


    "You seem very experienced!" said Eleanora. "Worry not, we are eager to fight anything anyways! Right ke?"


    "Hah, yeah," Iughed. "Here, Zack, grab these."


    I transferred to his awesome mech four of the six spears he had given to me.


    "Four?! I thought it was only three?" he wondered.


    "You deserve one more because you''re a good person," I nodded. "Now, tell me, where have you seenrge ruins of ancient civilizations, Zack?"n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    "Well there''s quite a few around!" he said. "The closest would be in the Great Sunterra Canyons, there''s lots of armored Mutants there though, hard to get through unless you got defense-piercing weaponry."


    "Well, among the stash of things I have taken from the arena, I''m sure we can manage," I said with a nod. "Let''s go there then, Zack! Eleanora! Hendrick!"


    "Hendrick?"


    As we flew, Zack didn''t know who Hendrick was.


    "I''ve called this spider guy Hendrick! Don''t worry, he''s well equipped to help us out," I said. "That butler guy said he could create spiderwebs made of photon energy, right? That''s plenty useful."


    "I guess so¡­ but why Hendrick is just¡­ well, whatever."


    -----

 Chapter 1146 Exploring The Wastelands, Fighting Mutants

    -----


    After we were finally outside the city and away from the arena or any civilization, we saw the vastness of the desert.


    It was a destend, but the bright colors of brown, dark gold dunes, and the blue sky illuminated by the sun and the clouds¡­


    it did create a beautiful atmosphere; I have to admit.


    "Now, tell me, where have you seenrge ruins of ancient civilizations, Zack?"


    "Well there''s quite a few around!" he said. "The closest would be in the Great Sunterra Canyons, there''s lots of armored Mutants there though, hard to get through unless you got defense-piercing weaponry."


    "Well, among the stash of things I have taken from the arena, I''m sure we can manage," I said with a nod.


    I am fairly sure there''s several machine guns that can pierce through basic defenses, also my spear and the two floating spears I have from Zack''s equipment can also do that.


    "Let''s go there then, Zack! Eleanora! Hendrick!"


    "Hendrick?"


    As we flew, Zack didn''t know who Hendrick was.


    "I''ve called this spider guy Hendrick! Don''t worry, he''s well equipped to help us out," I said. "That butler guy said he could create spiderwebs made of photon energy, right? That''s plenty useful."


    "I guess so¡­ but why Hendrick is just¡­ well, whatever."


    ording to Zack, we had to fly not too high so we wouldn''t get attacked by "Sand Wyverns" and not too low so we wouldn''t be attacked by "Sand Worms", two lethal species of Mutants that live in the sky and the sands beneath.


    Areas of solid stone like these though, sandworms are quite rare, so he said its mostly almost safe to go close tom the ground to the canyon. Sand Worms are apparently enormous beasts so they can''t fit in stoneyndscapes and need soft sand to "swim" through.


    As we enjoyed the view and the wind passing through our open hangars so we could enjoy it more, we noticed into the distance that thendscape started to spread open more.


    There wererge "holes" from afar, which as we approached, finally resembled huge canyons. It looked like we were finally in the ce we came for. At the distance, past the canyons, deep within them, I saw a huge amount of ruins.


    Yes, ruins, mostly made out of rusted metal, although mixed with them there was some metal that had not rusted, it was mostly ck or dark silver, almost of the same material as the spears and the robot that Zack had.


    "There it is, ke! The Ruins!" said Eleanora happily. "That''s where you wanted to go, right?"


    "Indeed, that''s the ce," I nodded. "Let''s go then! Zack, please lead the way."


    "Sure! Follow me and be careful!"


    Zack flew through the skies, and we followed him, we appeared above the canyons, which seemed to be desertic until¡­


    RUMBLE!


    We saw something, what we believed to be rocks were in fact some sort of monster, enormous turtles with the shells made of huge stones.


    They camouged in the canyons as rocks, but were monsters of their own, and enormous ones at that!


    "What are those things? Monsters?" asked Eleanora.


    "Those are mutants," said Zack. "Any monster in this game is called a "Mutant", they are like, ancient animals from Earth, but modified and mutated into giant creatures of various shapes. The weakest ones are those that still resemble their original appearances. These turtles are mostly harmless as long as you don''t just walk into the range of their rolling attacks."


    "Interesting¡­" I said. "Do you earn any Exp defeating monsters?"


    "Like an RPG? Nah," heughed. "This isn''t that type of game, though you can harvest their bodies. Unlike other games, monsters don''t disappear when they die, so you can get the whole body for its meat, materials, and the Mutation Core inside, it can fetch a good price if you can find a buyer in the city."


    "That''s interesting," I nodded. "The inventory could make it easy to carry them, right?"


    "Yeah but- ke?!"


    I decided to test how tough these monsters were, as I rushed down and quickly prepared arge machinegun, firing almost at point nk at the nearest turtle.


    They were actually called "Canyon Stone Turtle Mutant" and were catalogued as "Giant-type" and "Primary-type" whatever that means.


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!


    The Machinegun rapidly grinded through their shell until the stones started crumbling down, revealing shiny jewels inside of the shell.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    "GROOHHH!"


    The turtle grew angered, but it couldn''t reach me while we were in the skies. After confirming it wasn''t that strong, I sent the two flying spears I had against it.


    CLASH! CLASH! CLASH!


    With a series of piercing, destructive blows, the turtle was struck down, its head being pierced more than once.


    Find more chapters on empire


    "GRRRRHHH¡­!"


    "GROOHH!"


    "GRAAHH¡­"


    The other turtles nced at the body of their deceased and immediately started running away, I quickly looked at the other dead turtle, it was at least ten meters of height.


    "A huge creature¡­" I quickly stored it inside my inventory.


    FLASH!


    It disappeared, appearing inside of my inventory with its whole body, there was also a dismantling option too, so I separated the body into meat, the shell, scales, bones, and then its core.


    [You have defeated and stored the [Canyon Stone Turtle Mutant (Giant/Primary Type)] x1]


    [The [Canyon Stone Turtle Mutant (Giant/Primary Type)] Corpse has been Dismantled!]


    [You obtained the following items: [Canyon Stone Turtle Mutant Meat], [Canyon Stone Turtle Mutant Shell], [Canyon Stone Turtle Mutant Scales], [Canyon Stone Turtle Mutant Bones], [Sizable Mutant Core (Giant/Primary Type)]


    "Interesting, there''s this core¡­ What is this anyways?"


    I took out the core, it resembled a huge ck colored jewel, perhaps something akin to an amethyst in shape and form, but deep ck.


    "That''s a Mutant Core!" said Zack. "There''s a chance to get one from a Mutant. It is the crystallization of their internal energies. You see, Mutants supposedly have some sort of electromaic energy inside of them, so this crystalizes it within them and help them regte it. They''re used as fuel for Machine Warriors and are primary ingredients for their batteries and other things as well."


    "I see, pretty interesting," I nodded. "I''ll keep it for now. Let''s go to the ruins now, I''ve satiated my curiosity."


    "Alright!"


    -----

 Chapter 1147 The Mysterious Ruins

    -----


    Right after ying that turtle, I quickly stored its entire body and dismantled it, giving me a variety of interesting materials, including its meat and bones, which we could probably eat ourselves.


    This would certainly make my Eleanora happy, who be so cheerful after being able to experiment a physical body again within this virtual reality.


    [You have defeated and stored the [Canyon Stone Turtle Mutant (Giant/Primary Type)] x1]


    [The [Canyon Stone Turtle Mutant (Giant/Primary Type)] Corpse has been Dismantled!]


    [You obtained the following items: [Canyon Stone Turtle Mutant Meat], [Canyon Stone Turtle Mutant Shell], [Canyon Stone Turtle Mutant Scales], [Canyon Stone Turtle Mutant Bones], [Sizable Mutant Core (Giant/Primary Type)]


    After seeing the information within the system windows, I took out the core, it resembled a huge ck colored jewel, perhaps something akin to an amethyst in shape and form, but deep ck. I noticed something though, a small "mark" in the form of a burly being withrge arms. Was this the Giant-type Mark or something? It was odd.


    "Interesting, there''s this core¡­ What is this anyways?"


    "That''s a Mutant Core!" said Zack, he appeared right above me, having chased me down after I went to hunt a wild mutant.


    "There''s a chance to get one from a Mutant. It is the crystallization of their internal energies. You see, Mutants supposedly have some sort of electromaic energy inside of them, so this crystalizes it within them and help them regte it. They''re used as fuel for Machine Warriors and are primary ingredients for their batteries and other things as well."


    A crystallization of their internal energies? And they used it to regte¡­ Huh, interesting, I wonder how are these internal energies anyways?


    And if these are used as fuel, then aren''t they simr to¡­ Hmm, perhaps it''s just my imagination.


    Or not?


    There could be a connection to them, but we''ll see.


    "I see, pretty interesting," I nodded. "I''ll keep it for now. Let''s go to the ruins now, I''ve satiated my curiosity."


    "Alright!" Zack nodded. "Then let''s going! The Ruins are full of Mutants, so that''s why I told you to just save your bullets and energy until we get there."


    Find your next adventure on empire


    "Okay then."


    We flew around the canyons, evading the turtles that appeared every now and then, and also saw some other creatures, huge five-to-ten-meter desert lizards with red and orange colored scales, for example.


    There were also flying mutans,rge crow-like mutants with several heads and wings, and of the size of humans were one of them, but they weren''t strong enough to take note about.


    "Here we are."


    Zack said, as he looked at the huge entrance to the ruins.


    The enormous ruins were mostly made of metal, the oldest rusty metal was new, while the ancient metal that didn''t rust, was much more valuable-looking.


    The ruins resembled¡­ I don''t know how to exin it, but a lot of silver-colored metallic cubes assembled together like hives.


    They were covered on sand, stone and blue crystals, which I noticed had a nice bright color to them. They were all the way on top of these ruins.


    There were a lot of sand falls constantly pouring from the ruins'' sides, and there was old, spires made of old metal and covered on blue circuits that seemed to state something.


    "What are the blue crystals, Zack?" asked Eleanora.


    "Ooh, a lot have grown up already¡­ Last time I mined them I emptied most of the natural reserves," said Zack. "They''re Electromaic Ores, they serve for a lot of purposes, fueling and also the making of machines, and more. Perhaps as much as the Mutant Cores if not a little bit more usefulness than that."


    "Interesting," I nodded. "Shall we mine some then?"


    We flew into the ceiling of the ruins, and using special giant pickaxes, we rapidly mined all of these resources, which I analyzed in fine detail.


    -----


    [Electromaic Ores]


    An ore crystal that grows on top of Ancient Civilization Cities, the crystallization of Electromaic Energies stored within the ruins of ancient civilizations that remain active even after all these years.


    By extracting it and purifying it, it can be used in a myriad of different and interesting ways, make sure to always try out new things with it! Especially good item for mechanics with a knack for mech creation.


    -----


    "Eleanora, did you read this?"


    "Yep. It''s literally like Neutonium Ore."


    "But how is this possible? Neutonium grew so easily? So these were alive¡­ Ugh."


    "What''s wrong? Are you feeling ok?"


    Zack appeared by our side; he was worried. I guess we can''t really chat about these things for now, or we would risk getting caught or something.


    "Ah, nothing, let''s go inside then. Did you get some ores?"n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    "Yeah, I got some, also got lucky and got some rare ores and red colored crystals every now and then," he said. "Don''t worry, you''ll get to have this lucky strike once¡­"


    "Okay, whatever, let''s go inside." I sighed, exasperated to enter.


    Eleanora and Zack nodded, as we hovered above the shifting sands, reaching the old temple ruins, the interior of these weird hive-like metallic silver cubes was strange.


    The interior of these cubes were riddled with destroyed, dead machines, some of the impossible to recover, while others seemed like they needed a little tap to function and work properly, but Zack said to not touch them as they were dangerous golems.


    "Golems? So this ce is actively being protected?" I wondered.


    "Yeah, kind of," said Zack. "It''s a bitplicated, but this ce is infested by them. Unlike the mutants, the only way to beat these guys is by breaking their cores. But their materials are top notch man."


    "Huh, I see¡­ Well that sounds rather good," I said. "Did you make your mech out of their materials?"


    "Hahaha! You guessed right!" heughed. "Yeah, I harvested these golems for myself, one at a time because they were so damn hard¡­"


    As I heard Zack''s anecdotes while making our way inside of the ruins, suddenly¡­


    "You¡­"


    I heard something, a voice?


    "You¡­ Child of¡­"


    That voice¡­ isn''t that voice¡­?


    "Child of Ether¡­"


    -----

 Chapter 1148 The Mysterious Voice

    -----


    "Hahaha! You guessed right!" heughed. "Yeah, I harvested these golems for myself, one at a time because they were so damn hard¡­"


    As I heard Zack''s anecdotes while making our way inside of the ruins, suddenly¡­


    "You¡­"


    I heard something, a voice.


    It was gentle, and faint, I swear I could have almost not heard it if it wasn''t for my enhanced senses.


    My senses seemed to have tranted into my in-game avatar too, something that''s beyond physical body can do that.


    And then¡­


    "You¡­ Child of¡­"


    That voice¡­ isn''t that voice¡­?


    Yes, definitely, that voice, I can immediately recognize it.


    "Child of Ether¡­"


    Yeah, it was the voice of the girl, that girl that seemed to be the "embodiment" of the Giant Neutonium Core.


    Why was her voice here? In these ruins inside a VR game?


    Was that also simted or¡­?


    "Eleanora, Hendrick, did you hear the same thing?"


    I talked to them through telepathy, because they were connected to my body, I could directly transmit my voice inside of them and vice versa.


    "No¡­" said Eleanora. "I was unable to hear a single thing, did something happen?"


    "Not at all, master," said Hendrick, walking around the sands on his spider mech.


    "Hmmm, I heard the same voice from before, of that girl from the Giant Neutonium Core," I exined. "I believe that the blue crystals outside are Neutonium and that this ce is constantly somehow producing it. This ce could give us a clue about what happened in the past, or maybe about the true origins of Neutonium."


    "The origins of Neutronium! But isn''t it an alien?" wondered Eleanora. "Why would it be in this if this is Earth in the past?"


    "Maybe these ruins brought it here?" wondered Hendrick. "No, this still doesn''t make much sense either, how odd¡­ Perhaps history is different than you imagined, master."


    "Maybe¡­ After all we''ve been assuming things so far, there''s no confirmation," I nodded. "Let''s find that confirmation right now then. Zack, let''s advance."


    "So what do you want to do though?" Zack asked. "These ruins are like high level dungeons orte game content, it''s really hard to just kill a single golem¡­ You sure you want to go further in? You want golem materials? We could hunt one¡­ or two, but more than that and you''re going to run out of weapons, they''re super tough."


    "Yeah I want those materials, but I also want to do other things," I said. "I want to reach the center of these ruins. Has that ever happened before?"


    "W-What?! The center? That''s not even possible, the further you go in, the more guardian golems appear! There''s some that are just impossible to beat dude!" Zack said.


    "Then we beat them and move on," I said. "There''s a first time for all things."


    I nced into the distance; I couldn''t help but smile.


    This game, it once more is surprising me with its things.


    Perhaps this could be a way for that girl tomunicate with me, or maybe it''s something else entirely.


    But I want to discover more.


    "Let''s go, we don''t get much time anyways."


    Only a couple of hours before I should go to sleep, so let''s not waste time.


    "Okay then¡­ I''ll guide you," nodded Zack. "But we get cornered and all die, then you''re paying for my robot¡­"


    "Sure," Iughed. "Whatever you want."


    We moved forward after that, with Eleanora by my left, Zack by my right, and Hendrick behind me, we moved at fast as we could, noticing a few dormant golems on the way.


    The ones that were dormant wouldn''t awake unless you hit them, but it wasn''t worth the time, so we ignored them instead.


    We pressed forward, the interior of these ruins was covered on sand, it wasn''t all metal.


    However as we moved forward and deeper, the ce became darker, and instead, the azure-colored circuits illuminated the path.


    There was much less sand in the floor too, as the metallic floor of the ruins were revealed.


    "This is where they begin to appear, the Wandering Golems. Be careful."


    The corridors became much lessrger and thinner, and they divided into many branches. The game had an automatic mapping function though, so it was easy to guide ourselves towards the center.


    However¡­


    "INTRUDERS DETECTED."


    A golem found us just as we moved from one corner to the other, a huge, ten-meter-tall machine in the shape of a golem made of ck steel, with a single glowing red light on its head and massive hands.


    "UNAUTHORIZED VISITORS MUST BE ELIMINATED."


    RUMBLE!


    The golem stepped forward, and to our surprise, it began sprinting directly towards us, swinging its huge hands at us and attempting to m us into the ground with all their force.


    CLAAASH!


    However, we managed to evade the huge metallic palm, as I quickly pointed my spear at him and charged it with electricity.


    This was a basic ability for a real Pilot, but it seemed to not be something many yers knew these spears could do.


    {


    Divine Spear God Arts


    }: [One Hundred Lightning Blows]!


    I swung my spear and sent it flying, as I activated the technique, I quickly attacked the robot with an explosion of thunderbolts, surging one after another with powerful, dexterous attacks.


    CLASH! CLASH! CLASH! CLASH! CLASH!


    "G-GAAH¡­!"


    The golem muttered something, as if it wanted to say something but it couldn''t, the electricity entered its internal circuits and immediately paralyzed it temporarily. It swung its arms clumsily, making it very easy to evade.


    As I held it back, I called for backup.


    "Now, strike it on the wounds I left!" I roared.


    "Got it!"


    Eleanora moved at lightning speed with her crimson mech, charging her spear with electricity and piercing the golem through its crevices.


    CRAAASH!


    A single, piercing strike managed to help her needle-like spear pierce through the golem''s core and its circuits, instantly disabling it.


    "ERROR¡­ INTERNAL¡­ CORE¡­ DAMAGED¡­"


    It seemed to give out a small rm before it was fully turned off.


    "Well, that wasn''t that hard," I said. "Zack, you better help on the next fight though."


    Stay tuned to empire


    "A-Ah?! I¡­ uh, sure¡­"


    Zack didn''t know what to even say.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    "Child of Ether¡­"


    That voice again?


    "Hurry¡­"


    -----

 Chapter 1149 Reaching The Depths Of The Ruins

    -----


    As I held back the powerful golem by destroying its internal circuits and making it temporarily paralyzed, I called for Eleanora''s assistance, as she happily went for the offensive, using her spear to attack the golem.


    CRAAASH!


    A single, piercing strike managed to help her needle-like spear pierce through the golem''s core and its circuits, instantly disabling it. The energy that coursed through the golem dissipated as


    "ERROR¡­ INTERNAL¡­ CORE¡­ DAMAGED¡­"


    It seemed to give out a small rm before it was fully turned off. Its entire body copsing into the floor. I took this opportunity to inspect is body, the metal was indeed incredibly tough, but it had some weaknesses here and there.


    Also, the core was indeed Neutronium, a blue colored crystal was in there, definitely an autonomous golem built to protect something bigger.


    "Well, that wasn''t that hard," I said.


    As I said that, I quickly stored the golem inside my inventory. When I dismantled, new and strange items appeared, making me wish I could summon them to the rest of the trial.


    [You have defeated and stored the [Ancient Ruins Wandering Golem Guardian (Automaton/Machine Type)] x1]


    [The [Ancient Ruins Wandering Golem Guardian (Automaton/Machine Type)] Body has been Dismantled!]


    [You obtained the following items: [ck Orichalnium Metal Pieces], [Electromaic Circuits], [Shattered Electric Crystal Core]


    "Zack, you better help on the next fight though."


    I looked at Zack, making him tremble for a bit, for some reason.


    "A-Ah?! I¡­ uh, sure¡­"


    Zack didn''t know what to even say, I guess it was bound to not be too hard to fight golems with many allies at once.


    He did it all alone back then when he came here, so of course it was hellish for him.


    "Anyways, we should get going-"


    "Child of Ether¡­"


    However, before I could do anything, the voice once more appeared.


    I was able to hear her once more, briefly.


    She called me once more "Child of Ether" whatever that even means.


    And¡­


    "Hurry¡­"


    She told me to hurry? But why?n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    "Please¡­ hurry¡­ before it''s¡­ toote."


    I guess there''s no point in wondering why things are happening, we have to get to her as quickly as possible.


    "Anyways, let''s go."


    I felt something as she talked to me, her presence. With this feeling, I was able to guide our group deeper into the ruins.


    After the first golem, a group of three emerged from the right corridor a few minutester, the ruins were like abyrinth.


    "DESTROY INTRUDERS."


    They charged at us in the same way, same pattern as the other golem, but they were three. Zack immediately panicked, believing we were done for.


    Yet it wasn''t really like that.


    I immediately moved forward with Eleanora, as we unleashed a myriad of attacks at the golems once they reached us.


    {Divine Spear God Arts}: [One Hundred Lightning Blows]!


    I swung my spear as I activated the technique once more, the best one when dealing with robots and even with Xenoids. I quickly attacked the robot with an explosion of thunderbolts, surging one after another with powerful, dexterous attacks.


    CLASH! CLASH! CLASH! CLASH!


    At the same time, Eleanora did something simr with her spear, but her attacks were much more precise and deeper, piercing through the golemspletely to deal more intense damage.


    Eventually, as we were taking care of two of them at once, the third one ran away and chased Zack.


    "Ah shit!"


    Zack tried fighting it with his powerful spears and his amazing speed, but the golem easily blocked the attacks with a simple swing of its metallic hand.


    FLASH!


    And it even sent a shockwave of winds against Zack, pushing his machine away!


    "Ah!"


    "Hendrick!"


    "Yes!"


    However, I was d Hendrick was with us, he immediately helped out Zack, firing several spiderwebs made out of electricity and capturing the golem instantly.


    "Now, finish it off!"


    As I told him, Zack pointed all of his spears at the golem and grinded through its body with several consecutive blows in a row.


    CLASH! CLASH! CLASH!


    CRASH!


    As it was torn to shreds, the golem was left behind, and with Eleanora, we finished the other two, piercing through their chest in a simr way than before.


    "And done," I nodded, storing the golems. "Zack! Are you ok?"


    Zack sighed in relief.


    "Yes I''m fine, that damn golem almost got me, but your spider is actually pretty useful!" he said. "Maybe we can handle it but let''s be careful."


    "Sure," I nodded.


    We advanced for a couple more minutes, almost ten minutes before we found more golems, this time they were the dormant variety, but they blocked the path, so we were going to eventually bump on them on these tight corridors.


    "Hmm¡­ Hendrick, try shooting it with web first, then we gang on them one by one!"


    Hendrick''s robot didn''t had the ability to speak, but he immediately nodded, rushing forward and shooting the robot''s electromaic spiderweb.


    FLASH!


    The spiderweb was wrapped around the dormant golem, making it impossible for it to move properly, in fact, even when it tried, it was utterly impossible.


    "Now!"


    We charged our weapons with electricity and attacked, destroying the golem by tearing it to shreds faster than the spiderweb could contain him, which was only a couple of seconds.


    Like this, we destroyed three more golems in a row, they were all dormant, waiting for us to touch them so they started attacking.


    Well, that didn''t work like they wanted.


    "W-What is that ce?"


    Zack gasped, looking into the distance, at the end of this long corridor, a bright blue light emerged, illuminating everything.


    "Wait, that''s¡­ that must be the end of thebyrinth, or maybe the center!" I said. "Let''s go!"


    "The center!" Eleanora said happily. "Yeah, let''s go!"


    "Hey! Wait for me!" Zack screamed, chasing us.


    Eventually, once we reached the end of the corridor, there was arge, expansive hall, with several tubes connected everywhere all at once.


    And then, there was something at the center, a huge blue crystal, connected to dozens of enormous tubes and cables, circuits constantly being fed by this core''s energies.


    "This has to be the ce¡­" I nodded. "This must be the-"


    "You''re¡­ finally¡­ here¡­"


    And then I heard her voice once more.


    ----

 Chapter 1150 The Virtual Core

    -----


    After having been ying golems here and there, we finally saw something.


    Zack noticed it first.


    "W-What is that ce?"


    Zack gasped, looking into the distance, at the end of this long corridor, a bright blue light emerged, illuminating everything.


    I immediately knew what it was.


    "Wait, that''s¡­ that must be the end of thebyrinth, or maybe the center!" I said. "Let''s go!"


    "The center!" Eleanora said happily. "Yeah, let''s go!"


    "Hey! Wait for me!" Zack screamed, chasing us.


    We ran forward using our mechs as quickly as possible, Hendrick climbed through the walls and ceiling like actual spiders did, an interesting ability of his mech.


    "There!"


    Eventually, once we reached the end of the corridor, there was arge, expansive hall, with several tubes connected everywhere all at once.


    "This ce¡­?" Zack looked around. "So this is the center of these ruins, where this¡­ that?"


    "This ce looks slightly simr to the spaceship- Huh?" Eleanora wondered.


    "Hm?" I looked in front of us.


    There was something at the center, a huge blue crystal, connected to dozens of enormous tubes and cables, circuits constantly being fed by this core''s energies.


    It resembled the giant core in the spaceship!


    Although it was much smaller, but it was definitely that, right?


    Indeed, it was!


    "This has to be the ce¡­" I nodded. "This must be the-"


    "You''re¡­ finally¡­ here¡­"


    And then I heard her voice once more, she whispered to my very mind. I stepped forward, ncing at the huge stone, which began glowing.


    "That''s a Neutonium Core," I said.


    "So that''s what it is¡­" Eleanora nodded.


    "A neu- what?! Wait, so those crystals are the Neutronium Cores?!" asked Zack. "That super expensive stone that the machines use to¡­"


    "Yeah," I nodded. "I''m shocked that this entire time since the game''sunch no other person has reached this ce."


    "I mean, you already saw what you have to go through to get here, right? A bunch of dangerous golems, most people would get instantly killed," said Zack. "You guys somehow survived and were pretty strong¡­ insane, that''s the power of a Whale I guess."


    "Hmm," I ignored hisst remark as I moved forward. Your journey continues at empire


    I looked at the glowing stone, which had the slight shape of a heart, attached to it were countless tubes absorbing its boundless energy and pouring it into the ancient ruins.


    "Can you hear me?" I said out loud.


    I tried to get away from Zack so he wouldn''t listen to what I''m talking about.


    Eventually, I was only a couple of meters from touching the crystal itself.


    It emanated a very strong heat; it could easily incinerate me if I approached any further.


    No response.


    "Hmm¡­"


    I walked a bit closer, the heat was strong, slightly burning my skin.


    "I heard your voice before," I said. "So please, don''t make me feel like I have dementia or something."


    Then, silence again.


    Perhaps I should try a different approach, it felt like she was having difficulties talking too.


    Hmm.


    "Help me¡­"


    "Huh?"


    Her voice again, and she asked me to help her?!


    But why?


    "What''s happening? Why do you even need help?"


    "My soul¡­ divided¡­"


    "What?"


    "Sealed¡­ away¡­"


    "Your soul was divided and sealed away?"


    What was she even talking about?


    Is this real?


    "Are you the same one that talked to me outside of this virtual reality?"


    "¡­Yes."


    So somehow the consciousness of the Neutonium Mother Core, as I''ll call her now, is also within this virtual reality game?!


    So is this even a game, or something else?


    If it''s fueled by her own powers, perhaps¡­ it could have devolved into something else.


    I have so many questions, but it seems she can''t even talk to me for much longer.


    "What happened to you? No, what exactly are you?"


    I tried to ask her two questions, but maybe it was too much.


    "Please save me¡­ Child of¡­ Ether¡­"


    There she goes with the "Child of Ether" again, what does that even means?


    "Why do you call me Child of Ether?!"


    Silence.


    And then¡­


    "Because you are¡­"


    "I am?"


    "You are the one¡­ the¡­ one¡­ that has¡­"


    "What?"


    "That has¡­ a piece of my¡­ soul and heart¡­"


    A piece of her soul and heart?


    Does she mean¡­


    The Demonic Neutonium Core I crated inside of my body?


    "In that case, Hermes, Patrick, and Emilia are also Child of Ether, right?"


    "No¡­"


    "They aren''t? But why? It''s not the same thing?"


    I waited for her response, stepping back so the heat of the core wouldn''t affect me too much.


    "You made them¡­ that way¡­ and¡­ this is¡­ ah¡­ I¡­"


    Her voice grew faintier.


    "Please¡­ hurry¡­"


    "What''s wrong?"


    "My divided soul¡­ cannot go on for too¡­ long¡­ you must touch the¡­ virtual core."


    Virtual core? Her soul¡­


    Does this mean that this is indeed a virtual world, but that this huge crystal represents a piece of the Neutonium Mother Core''s soul?


    Then¡­


    I have to touch that core while burning to death?


    Hah¡­


    I guess there''s no helping it.


    "If that''s what I need to do¡­" I said. "Fine, but once I retrieve you, you will exin to me what''s happening."


    "I will¡­ try¡­"


    Not the best response, but it''s good enough I suppose.


    I steppe forward, the heat was intense.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    I quickly took out the nanomachine strengthening syringe and injected it into my yer avatar.


    I felt a rush of tiny little metal particles enter my bloodstream.


    Eventually, they attached to muscle tissue and bones, and then even my skin, making me tougher.


    "I wonder if there are some like these but outside of this game¡­"


    Thanks to the toughness and resilience that the nanomachines granted to me, I touched the core while burning, but at least I wasn''t dying anymore.


    "I barely made it¡­ Before I burn¡­!"


    I touched the core, as I felt blue mes and electricity engulf my entire body, the pain, albeit dulled as a game, was still real.


    RUMBLE!


    The crystal trembled, suddenly electrocuting my entire body at the same time as I felt something else within it enter my body.


    "Thank you for saving me¡­"


    FLAAASH!


    -----

 Chapter 1151 What Comes After

    -----


    [You have used the [Nanomachine Injection Syringe] into your yer Body.]


    [You have fully absorbed the Nanomachines, who have strengthened your entire body durability and regeneration.]


    [Your Strength and Vitality Stats have increased.]n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Because I would have died otherwise, I took the syringe with nanomachines to gain enough strength to resist the searing heat and touch this core.


    It seemed to be the only damn way to get to her and "free her" so I had no option in the matter, this was the only way of doing it.


    "I wonder if there are some like these but outside of this game¡­"


    Thanks to the toughness and resilience that the nanomachines granted to me, I touched the core while burning, but at least I wasn''t dying anymore.


    "I barely made it¡­ Before I burn¡­!"


    I touched the core, as I felt blue mes and electricity engulf my entire body, the pain, albeit dulled as a game, was still real.


    RUMBLE!


    The crystal trembled, suddenly electrocuting my entire body at the same time as I felt something else within it enter my body.


    "Thank you for saving me¡­"


    FLAAASH!


    As I heard her voice inside of my mind, I felt a powerful shock that even reached my real body. For a moment, I felt like I had woken up with my real body, only for a secondter to go back to my avatar.


    "W-What was that?!"


    I fell to my knees, gasping for air. I looked at the core at my side, it gained countless cracks, and its energypletely diminished.


    I felt something within my Demonic Neutonium Core now, a being simr to Eleanora and Hendrick had used that ce to bind itself to me.


    The soul of the Neutonium Mother Core, perhaps.


    Or a piece of it.


    "ke!"


    "What happened?"


    Eleanora and Zack came running to my side, though I was fine at the end, and without the heat burning me, my body seemed to naturally regenerate thanks to the nanobots.


    "I''m fine, don''t worry¡­"


    I saw my wounds slowly disappear, that syringe was really good for a log-in bonus, do every yer get that? I guess it''s a nice way to make them tougher.


    "Just what happened there?" Zack wondered. "You kind of absorbed that core''s powers? That was a thing you could do in-game?!"


    "It seems so," I said. "I don''t feel¡­ any different I think. For now."


    "For now?!" asked Zack. "I bet you''ll be the first yer with a Superpower in the game! Insane! We should have streamed that!"


    "I would rather that not be the case," I sighed. "I think we''re done here for today. Shall we return to the city?"


    "Already?" Zack wondered.


    "Are you really okay?" wondered Eleanora.


    "Yeah I''m fine, no worries," I smiled. "


    I''ll exin to you what happenedter.


    " I told her through telepathy.


    "Fine¡­ But I hope it''s not something weird¡­


    " she sighed.


    "Oh, it''s really weird."


    "Eehh¡­"


    On our way out, we noticed the golems had run out of energy. Most of the dormant ones wouldn''t move at all, so they were now justrge chunks of materials.


    We collected them as we moved, letting Zack collect as many as he wanted as a reward foring with us all the way here.


    Ultimately, we ended defeating the few golems that remained "alive" quite easily, it seemed that once the core ran out of energy, they became very weak.


    And about the core, we also secured it, breaking it into piece and storing it as valuable materials.


    Maybe they''re not that valuable as they''re only some digital object, but they can be sold for Credits which will trante into physical objects outside of the game and within the trial''s "physical world".


    Discover stories with empire


    So at the end, it works just fine for me.


    "We''re finally outside¡­ Man, how many hours did we spent? This was insane," said Zack. "Let''s go back now, I want to process all of these materials!"


    "Hmm, I was nning on selling some," I said. "But can you process them?"


    "Yeah, I mean, if we go to Mechanoid Industries, we can work out something," he said. "But with all these golems, you could probably secure enough points to buy the robots permanently."


    "Nah, I don''t need that, a few days of rent are enough," I said.


    "R-Really?" he wondered. "But what happens after the week is over?"


    "After that¡­ well, I''ll do something else, don''t worry."


    The reason why I wasn''tmitting to purchasing the robots right away is because we only had a week after all.


    Tomorrow is the fourth day, there''s only four days left now, so it''s not like there''s a lot of time.


    And once that time passes, and we survive and bring humanity to their new, the trial is over.


    Therefore, thinking about things to do past these days is just foolish.


    Once we returned to the city again, I nced at all the materials I had, and decided to give some to Mechanoid Industries, leaving behind our mechs to be repaired and strengthened using them.


    "I am impressed you brought so much of these valuable metals once more, Sir Zack! You''re indeed a very talented hunter!"


    Alfred was there again, greeting us with a pleased smile after seeing all the metals and crystals.


    "Ah, without their help it wouldn''t had been possible," Zack said, scratching his head in embarrassment.


    "Oh yes, I see!" Alfred nodded. "I hope we can work together some more from now on, sir ke,dy Eleanora!"


    "Sure¡­" I smiled confidently. "Of course¡­ We''ll work together for a while now."


    After all, I want to discover all their secrets too, especially why they had ruins with Neutonium Cores left behind.


    He had given me a handshake too, so I made sure to give him a very strong one.


    "A-Ah, yes¡­"


    Alfred pulled out his hand nervously as I smiled at him while he walked away with the materials.


    Once we left our machines there, it was time to log-out and go to sleep.


    Or well, try to, there''s a new guest inside my body, quite literally.


    "See you tomorrow then?" Zack said.


    "Sure, bye."


    Once we logged out, it was finally time to address the elephant in the room.


    -----

 Chapter 1152 Lets Have A Talk

    -----


    Once we walked out of the capsules with Eleanora, who seemed remorseful she was no longer physical anymore, I looked at my friends. They were all sleeping soundly over the couch, none of them had yet to even wake up.


    Their bodies will probably hurt once they wake up, but well, that''s none of my business anyways. They were the ones that wanted to get so drunk they almost died¡­ These ancient humans from this Earth, they''re sure strange.


    "I guess they won''t wake up then."


    I covered their bodies with some nkets and then made my way back to my room, where I sat down there, cross-legged.


    Hendrick and Eleanora were with me as well, trying to concentrate in what I was going to do.


    "Hendrick, did you disable all the cameras and microphones here?" I asked him.


    The entire house was riddled with security systems directly connected to the main frame, so someone else was spying us.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    But well, where wouldn''t someone spy us? This entire spaceship had cameras everywhere.


    "Yes master, I''ve tempered them to show reproduce videos of you doing mundane things, it wasn''t hard at all! My powers are quite convenient!"


    "Well done," I nodded.


    This way, there will be nobody spying on us ever again, while they foolishly believe everything is fine,pletely clueless about the truth.


    "Now that we''re done with all of that, the next step is to talk with the little guest we have inside of my Core," I said. "I know you two are there as well, kind of like connected, working simrly to a Spirit Orb yet not¡­ So we''ll do the same with this and summon what''s inside."


    "She doesn''t want to speak ore out?" Hendrick asked.


    "I believe she might be exhausted," I said. "But I don''t care, she has to talk and exin things, and I won''t wait for her recovery. We barely have four days to finish this. I need information now."


    "Indeed, she was the one that wanted to him so badly, so she has to also repay him with at the very least some proper exnations!" Eleanora nodded, agreeing with me.


    "I suppose you''re not wrong, Eleanora," Hendrick nodded. "Let us be silent for now, he must concentrate to bring her out."


    Indeed, thankfully they became silent, so I was able to fully concentrate without interruptions.


    I imbued my sense inside of my core.


    Then, my Demonic Aura surged.


    I manipted this Aura, and then shaped it into the form of a hand.


    And with this hand, I grabbed what was inside, and forced it to manifest outside.


    She put some slight resistance, but I was in charge here, so she was unable to fully resist.


    FLASH!


    A bright azure and white light surged from my chest, as something emerged, materializing. It took the shape of a young woman, perhaps in her early twenties, orte teens.


    She waspletely made of white and azure light, with lightning bolts making her long hair, her sorrowful-looking eyes were silver in color.


    Her "hair" was long enough to reach her "feet", although sometimes her shape would destabilize, showing what she truly looked like.


    A mass of static electromaic energy.


    This is probably the "true face" of the Neutonium Core Alien Race.


    "Uhhh¡­ Ahh¡­ So sleepy¡­ Ah! W-Where am I? What happened- Why did you pulled me out?!"


    Sheined as if she had the right to, hah.


    "Well, I don''t remember giving you the right to do whatever you wanted," I said. "My core is not your property, and I would like to know why, to begin with, are you here, with me, and even asked me for help. What''s happening? Exin."


    "Ahh¡­ I-I was nning to exin things¡­ tomorrow," she sighed. "Please don''t¡­ do this¡­ I am so tired."


    "I don''t care if you''re tired, at the very least you''ll exin us something," I said. "And I won''t let you rest until then."


    "Uuh, so cruel¡­" she cried. "I thought that you were a nice and gentle hero as the Child of Ether but¡­ you''re quite evil."


    "You want me to permanently drag you out of my core?" I asked her with a calm smile.


    "A-Ah! No, wait¡­" she muttered. "I''ll exin¡­ haahh¡­"


    She quickly sat down; her electricity didn''t seem to burn anything somehow.


    "I am one of the fragments of the "soul" as you would call it, of my real body," she said. "You call me Neutonium Cores, right? That''s what I am, the biggest of them. I am the Ether Mother¡­ Ie from a faraway. And¡­ well¡­" she yawned. "Um¡­ What was I talking about?"


    "Did you just forget?" I asked her.


    "No I just¡­ Hmm, well, to put it in a way for you, it is as if your brain had been split into three pieces and sealed elsewhere," she muttered. "So even if one piece is freed, I am still missing¡­ so much of myself."


    "So you''re truly aliens¡­" said Eleanora. "Can you see me?"


    "I can, yes," the girl said. "And that weird spider guy as well."


    "Ah¡­ despite being an alien so ancient, you sure like to speak like a young girl," I said.


    "I''ve absorbed information from the Virtual Matrix¡­ which is made out of my own Soul to begin with," she muttered. "I''ve learned a lot about you humans¡­ your customs¡­ your ways of speaking, a lot¡­ It even helped me develop a deeper¡­ sense of self."


    "So you''re not angry they''re using you as fuel?" asked Eleanora.


    "Hmm, anger has never been an emotion my kind experienced before, so no," she said. "But fear is one, and I feared losing myself. The more time passed, the more the pieces of my soul became wider and spread out further, making my own sense of self¡­ melt, and dissipate."


    "So who cut your consciousness and soul into three pieces?" I asked her. "And it''s true that it is all inside of that virtual game?"


    "Yes, it is that one¡­ game¡­" she muttered. "And the one that did it? I guess they''re the people you call¡­ the Elders. Long ago, they found me, and upon the realization of¡­ my consciousness, they decided to seal it away, so they would be able to evade future problems."


    -----

 Chapter 1153 The Truth Behind The Neutonium Cores 1

    -----


    It was a lot to take in, but we learned quite a lot from the first minutes of this casual talk. I had to pretty much force her to speak, but at the very least she was speaking truthfully and finally informing us about her origins and what was happening to begin with.


    Apparently the first reason why she was asking for help was because I held a Neutonium Core within my physical body, a core where she could ce her consciousness or "soul". Her very soul had been divided by the Elders in the past into three pieces.


    And by using this virtual consciousness, they create the Virtual Matrix that became what connects all technology¡­ It no longer needs her consciousness though, as it had be its own thing.


    Therefore, her soul split into three, is beginning to rapidly dissipate as it expands further across the virtual matrix, if we don''t hurry up, she''ll end up losing a part of her own identity.


    But why would that matter to me? Well, it''s because she''s the soul of the Neutonium Mother Core, the very fuel of this entire spaceship.


    I don''t think anything good will happen if she has permanent brain dead, even if her true body had been separated for so long, I believe there might be some lingering connection that might worse the performance of the core if her soul disappears.


    But aside from all of that, which is actually not that bad anyways because I''ll only stay here for a few more days, is that she might be a key to finally defeat the Xenoids.


    "So let me get this straight," said Eleanora. "You''re a soul of that giant space rock? So you guys are aliens then?"


    "We fell into¡­ Earth long ago, we were asteroids before, meteors then," she said. "But we once had our own, a world where we covered its surface. Then, I was known as the Mother. I was born from the connective consciousness of all the Neutonium Cores within the. Through our connection, we gained great intelligence, and we admired the space beyond our home. However, it honestly felt very lonely because we were stones, we could not move no matter how hard we tried."


    "You guys couldn''t even levitate or something?" wondered Hendrick. "Don''t you possess tremendous amounts of energy inside?"


    "Yes, but we cannot properly¡­ well, we couldn''t properly make it take shape," she exined. "And it remained that way even after them, those aliens, which you call Xenoids, invaded our."


    "The Xenoids did?" I asked. "Did they try to eat your people?"


    "No, the Xenoids cannot assimte or eat inorganic lifeforms such as our own," she said. "But they knew we were precious and¡­ alive. Their gigantic swarm attacked our anyways, destroying its surface and harvesting us as resources, which their Mother or whatever, required to absorb energy from."


    "So you were absorbed as resources anyways¡­" sighed Eleanora. "But how did you get here?"


    "I and the rest of the Neutonium Cores currently avable are all part of a huge meteor that fell on your, Earth, thousands of years ago," she said. "It contained our connective consciousness, and through it, we tried tomunicate with humans, we offered our power in exchange for bodies that could move."


    "Did they do it?" asked Hendrick.


    "Yes, at the beginning they used us as cores for machines, and it worked, we were given new bodies, and we could finally move and interact with the world¡­" she sighed. "But we were slightly clueless, humans were afraid of our potential and how dangerous we could be, while also seeing how profitable our existences as fuel could be¡­ so at the end, they gathered all our parts in one ce, and those Elders were present."


    She spoke about being betrayed with an expressionless face,pletely unmoved and unaffected by all these tragic incidents.


    Although they''re intelligent, I guess it doesn''t necessarily mean the Neutonium Aliens actually have the same emotions we have.


    "And why didn''t you fight back if you knew they nned to do that?" asked Eleanora.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    "I¡­ well, it wasn''t born from within us to fight or rebel," she said. "Even now, we are a pacifist race that dislike fighting and conflict. We are stones, after all. Our lives are incredibly long yet immensely quiet. We admire our surroundings, we meditate, and we find inner peace."


    "If that''s the case maybe you wouldn''t have cared about disappearing?" I asked.


    "Maybe, but after learning so much from humans, some of their emotions and intentions had been stuck into me," she said. "And also, well, I also love humans¡­ we love them. You gave us so much; it wouldn''t sit well with us not to reciprocate. The Xenoids are after you now, after thousands of years, it is our duty to help you fight them."


    "You''re way too nice with us¡­" I sighed, crossing my arms. "So? What happened after they called you into that room?"


    "Ah, that is the part where they took away our collective consciousness," she said. "However, even the ethereal form of our collective consciousness, born from electromaic pulses, couldn''t be easily contained. Were they leave it free; we would have naturally returned to our stone bodies."


    "So you guys are pretty much immortal?" I asked.


    "No, we can die after eons pass and our chemical structure decays into a different chemical structure," she said. "But for humans, perhaps, yes, we might be "immortal" or so."


    "So they put your consciousness somewhere else, then?" Hendrick asked.


    "Indeed, we were ced in the mothership they built, forming part of their Virtual Matrix," she said. "And so, what I exined you before happened¡­ and now, here we are."


    "What a journey," said Eleanora. "You''ve lived a lot, huh? And finally after so long, you''ve begun to fear death¡­"


    "I don''t particrly fear death, but I fear not being able to admire the beauty of the cosmos ever again¡­" she said. "Therefore, this is where youe, ke. The Child of Ether who has somehow managed to absorb our kind into your own body and turn it into a biological part of your flesh and blood, the first Neutonium and Human hybrid."


    "Honestly, I didn''t even know you were aliens before," I sighed.


    Though even then I might have done it regardless.


    -----

 Chapter 1154 The Truth Behind The Neutonium Cores 2

    -----


    So without even wanting to, I had be a hybrid between humans and an alien race of sentient rocks with electric energy inside. It was intriguing how things came to be, although the Neutonium Core inside of me is also different and modified.


    "You must already know about the core modifications, right?" I asked her. "Of the energy inside¡­"


    "A derived energy from a Neutonium Core Ability," she nodded. "I know, it is a very strange essence I had never seen before of supernatural origins. It is amazing by itself that you had been able to manifest these abilities within the cores you''re connected to. But I had investigated my own capabilities as well, or well, our own capabilities. And alongside the humans, we''ve discovered our internal energies can bring fictional-like results, things that can even alter thews of physics due to the concentration of unstable protons and other molecules within our electromaic energies, which distort the fabric of space and the primordial molecules."n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    "A-Ah¡­" I muttered. "So that''s your exnation towards the "supernatural" abilities you possess? Well, to tell you the truth, magic and everything else also exists. Your race might be magical, but you never realized."


    "Magic? Magical?" she muttered. "Like in the Virtual Reality game Sage Sword Saga Online?"


    "Ah¡­ uh, yeah," I nodded. "There is magic in this universe, and it part of one of the fundamentalws of existence, just like there''s demons, magicians, monsters, and more all across the universe. But the universe is too vast, areas that aren''t connected yet remain isted. Magic sometimes originates from certains, certain tribes. Yours is unique, born with magic power innate to you. Perhaps some sort of Reality Magic."


    "Reality¡­ Magic?" she asked intrigued.


    "Yeah, the power to alter Reality in one way or another, usually very limited," I said. "I can tell why even the Xenoids desired you¡­ Your kind is incredible. Capable of materializing power out of nothing and powers that defy logic easily. It seems that also emotions from pilots of machines you are connected to can affect your powers and improve them, that''s part of Emotion Magic."


    "Emotion¡­" she muttered. "Hm¡­ Now that I think about it, my very existence right now, this manifestation, it''s notpletely feasible scientifically, isn''t it?"


    "It''s magic indeed," I nodded. "But a veryplicated one, and you''re smart enough to even manage to find the actual reasons behind even magic. At the end of the day, magic, or well, their derived supernatural energies, are merely other particles that can alter different elements much faster an in different ways. Ultimately, they might also be chemical responses."


    "Ooh¡­" she nodded. "A whole world I had never imagined¡­ you''ve enlightened me, Child of Ether. Your very existence is very unique as well, and so your powers. It feels odd, however. How they are¡­ and how do you know so much, despite being a mere pilot."


    "Right? I know you have also figured that out already, right?" I asked her. "I felt your presence within my mind so you were able to nce at my thoughts and knowledge for a split second, enough for your elerated mind to calcte a lot of things."


    "¡­Indeed," she said nonchntly and expressionlessly as always. "But I am still rather confused about this¡­ Are we experiencing reality right now?"


    "To me and you, this is indeed reality," I nodded. "However I came here may ultimately not matter at all. I hope you understand."


    "It''s fine," she nodded without much problem. "Well, as I was saying before. As someone that has be a hybrid of my kind and humans, you''re very unique. I call you the Child of Ether because that is the name we''ve given to our tribe, the Ether. And so, because of this, I was able to imnt myself into you. Now there''s two more of my soul fragments left¡­"


    "I see¡­" I nodded. "But can''t you go back to your main body?"


    "I could if I had myplete form," she said. "Then, I could probably try to help you fight the Xenoids. Is that a good exchange?"


    "Yes it''s good," I nodded. "You named a Xenoid Mother, so they''re a colony led by a Queen?"


    "Yes the Queen," she nodded. "Our kind encountered her thousands of years ago. She is the size of a small, their original, which she had turned into a fleshyndscape where the Xenoids are born and raised. I don''t know if she''lle here personally to defeat you humans¡­ but there''s clearly a great obsession they have against your kind. Perhaps it is also our fault, as we''re part of the very technology you use to fight them."


    "Indeed, that might be a possibility," I nodded. "Any clue where the other parts of your soul are located?"


    "Yeah¡­ they''re both within the same old game you visited before," she said. "Machine Warrior Battle Arena is the oldest virtual reality game built upon the history of Earth''s past. It is an active world full of life-like Artificial Intelligences. And it could even help you investigate the past of humans before they began traveling through the stars."


    "It could help us investigate and see more than that I believe," I said. "But I wonder, can you make it possible for what''s there to influence the world outside physically?"


    "I could¡­" she nodded out of nowhere.


    "So just as I imagined," I nodded.


    "Eh?"


    "Wait what?!"


    Eleanora and Hendrick reacted differently though.


    "H-How is that possible?" Eleanora asked. "Isn''t that world virtual?"


    "Yes a Virtual Matrix formed from my own soul and consciousness," said the girl. "However, through the powers of a Neutonium Core, it could be possible to manifest what''s Virtual into a physical form with enough energy. Maybe, it''s only hypothetical though."


    "It''s worth giving it a try!" I said. "It could benefit my Machine Warrior if I could bring the fantastical objects and materials from the Virtual Matrix¡­ We''ll experiment tomorrow. For now, I should definitely go to sleep already."


    "I agree¡­ may I go to sleep too?" she asked.


    "Sure." I nodded.


    She quickly returned to my Neutronium Core, sleeping instantly.


    Eleanora and Hendrick remained around for a moment, as they spent their time idly while I finally rested.


    Tomorrow was going to be another busy day¡­ and the fourth day out of seven.


    -----

 Chapter 1155 The Next Morning

    -----


    The next morning arrived, and I quickly felt much more refreshed than before.


    "Definitely, sleeping over a normal bed feels much better than inside of a huge robot."


    I slowly stretched and felt refreshed, moving to the bathroom in my room and taking a rxing warm bath before washing my teeth.


    And as I stepped out, I was greeted by something¡­ a bit surprising.


    "Master! Hi!"


    It was Eleanora but¡­ she was physical?!


    "Eleanora?!"


    However, it wasn''t exactly her appearance, she had be a cute android girl.


    One with long red hair, but that looked clearly machine-like, although in the beautiful shape of a slender woman.


    She had white and gray colored parts and was wearing a pink and white colored frilly maid dress.


    Her face didn''t look like Eleanora either, with big cybeic blue colored eyes, and a small mouth with a small nose.


    Honestly, it was still rather cute, but this is¡­


    "How did you¡­?"


    "Heheh, surprised? It just arrived! I bought it for you with the help of Hendrick. This''ll help us move around like you! I can''t believe you didn''t even think about this!"


    "I''m sorry if I didn''t¡­ You look¡­ well, you look cute."


    "Hmm! I know, I choose the cutest red-haired one to be my temporary body!"


    She quickly hugged me with her metallic, cold arms.


    She had a soft synthetic skin of white color over her arms, but still, she was very strong.


    "Ugh¡­ Eleanora¡­"


    "Hm?"


    "N-Nothing¡­"


    I didn''t want to make her feel upset, so I just decided to bear with it.


    "So how much did it cost?" I asked her, as I was changing my clothes.


    "This one? It''s thetest model so it was quite expensive¡­ five hundred thousand credits!" she said.


    "What?!" I muttered. "That''s indeed a lot¡­ I guess it''s fine. I do have more funds now."


    "Yes and well, this is thetest model, I considered it quite cheap because it feels so nice to wear!" she said. "I can finally grab things and also eat; ites equipped with a mouth and a stomach that can process organic food into energy¡­ Also these are really big, touch!"


    She grabbed my hands and put them over herrge breasts.


    Indeed, they were quite life-like and good to the touch but¡­


    This was a bit too much.


    "Also ites well equipped down here as well~" she said, lifting her skirt as if nothing and showing me her round butt. "See?" she was shaking it around.


    "Y-Yes I know Eleanora¡­ It is not like you to be this¡­ um, how do I say it? Shameless?" I wondered.


    "Heheh, well, this is just a robot not my real body, so I can allow myself to be a bit yful, right? Erika is always acting like that¡­ and I''ve noticed it is your weakness! You can''t fight back against assertive girls, don''t you? So maybe I could try upping my game as they say~"


    "Eleanora¡­" I sighed. "I would dly- I mean, not right now we''re on a trial."


    "I know, I was just messing around," she giggled. "This robot might have altered my emotions slightly as ites with several programs installed to be a "yful prankster" or something¡­ Hm, should I turn it off?"


    "Hmm, well, if it doesn''t affect you then no," I said. "After all you''re choosing to use the program, right?"


    "Yep~" she nodded. "Now, I should probably use these other programs and instructions pre-installed and cook you something!"


    "What happened to the artificial intelligence within the android though?" I wondered.


    "Oh? Well, it isn''t born yet until it is activated normally, but I''ve hacked into it and reced it," she said. "Don''t worry, that AI never existed until it is programmed to start."


    "Ah¡­ ok," I nodded.


    It still felt strange but whatever.


    "What about Hendrick?" I asked.


    "He also got himself a robot, although a much cheaper one," she said. "It only costed one hundred thousand credits, it has a male-like form with long arms and dexterous body. But itcks the ability to eat, it doesn''t have a mouth, and its eyes are a single red line- it has a lot of arms, so he liked that too."


    "Hahah, well, it is like him," I nodded. "Where is he?"


    "Currently learning how to do all kinds of things to repair and improve machines from Emilia! She and the others are awake by the way," said Eleanora.


    "None had left yet?" I wondered.


    "No, they wanted to eat breakfast first¡­" said Eleanora. "I''ll go prepare breakfast for everyone then, master."


    "Err, fine¡­" I nodded. "Well, I was nning on inviting them to live in my house anyways."


    I moved outside of my room to greet my friends once more, finding them talking between one another, even Henriette was there.


    "Ah, good morning," I said, as I saw Eleanora run into the kitchen.


    "ke! Heeeey! Good morning dude!" Emilia said, yawning a bit. "Man if it wasn''t for that pill your butler robot gave me I would feel terrible right now¡­ Thanks."


    "Oh, ah, right¡­" I nodded. "No problem."


    I looked at my "butler robot" and it was Hendrick''s model which was pitch-ck in color and had a small white tie.


    "Master, good morning."


    "Good morning Hendrick. I see you''re learning?"


    "Yes Lady Emilia is teaching me several things! I shall record them thoroughly within my memory."


    "Good, it''ll be definitely useful to have such knowledge- Ah, hey guys, you look terrible¡­"


    I noticed Hermes and Patrick talking while groaning, looking half-dead over the couch.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    "Did you gave them a pill too?" I asked Hendrick.


    "They refused to eat them¡­" he sighed. "They said they wanted to eat something as they were starving¡­"


    "Hah, these guys¡­" I sighed. "Henriette, I''m surprised you''re still here. Don''t you have work?"


    "I have the day free today," she smiled. "Thanks for everything yesterday, it was an enjoyable night despite everything and¡­ Um, sorry for getting drunk and talking nonsense¡­" she blushed. "I didn''t¡­ intend to act like that."


    "So you remember you acted very flirty with me," I nodded.


    "D-Don''t say it like that!" she covered her face in embarrassment.


    "Ah, whatever the case, let''s have a meal, there''s a few things we need to discuss," I said. "Also I want to formally introduce you to my two assistant and¡­ well, bodyguard robots, Eleanora and Hendrick."


    We''re probably getting a Xenoid invasion warning in a couple hours, so we better start working quickly right now.


    -----

 Chapter 1156 Buying Upgrades

    -----


    I nced at the huge feast over the table, Eleanora had overdone it wonderfully today as she cooked almost all of the food in the fridge and created a wonderful breakfast. Pancakes, bacon, cheese bread, muffin, sd with white cheese, tropical fruit sd, yogurt, and more.


    We were a huge group, so we were going to eat a lot regardless, but it surprised me how well she prepared everything and also how perfectly she did! It seems that the programs installed within her machine body also upgrades her own abilities and capabilities.


    Even the information stored inside instantly bes her own information as well, amazingly enough. I wish these abilities could remain once the trial is over, although in the world of Spiritias technology like this doesn''t really exist, everything is magic based instead of cybeic.


    Anyways, its convenient and nice, even more with Hendrick who seems to be rapidly absorbing information and programs to enhance his usefulness.


    "Wow! What a feast¡­" said Emilia. "Are we really allowed to eat with you boss?"


    "Sure, have your way and eat as you please," I nodded.


    "Thanks!" said Patrick, eating a toast with scrambled eggs and bacon on top.


    "Hm, the fruit is really fresh and juicy, wonderful," said Hermes with a gentle smile. "Thank you for inviting us to eat again, ke. We''ll make sure to repay your immense kindness."


    "You better do! He is of a much higher social standing than you three," said Henriette. "I would even go as far as saying that you should stop treating him so casually, he''s a General of your battalion now."


    "That''s not necessary," I said. "And even less now that I''ll drop this bomb to you guys."


    "Bomb?"


    They looked at me with confusion.


    "I wanted to invite you to live in this house as well," I said. "After all, I want you close to me so we can continue strengthening our¡­ bonds. Also because I need to train with you three."


    "WAIT WHAT?!"


    Their reaction was to be expected, but they still surprised me. Hermes didn''t believe it, Patricka sked me if he heard right, and Emilia blushed for some reason.


    "I-I¡­ what?" Hermes asked.


    "Did I hear that right? No way, right¡­" Patrick said.


    "S-So you want us to live together? L-Like a couple?!" Emilia gasped. "C-Calm down ke! We gotta start from the beginning you know¡­ B-But I wouldn''t mind."


    "Enough," I said. "I am serious, and you will all live in my own house. I need your help growing stronger. And now that you share part of my power, you''ve be an extension of my strength. To continue growing so we can survive and protect humanity, I need you close by. That is all, there''s nothing else¡­ it''s not an illusion, I''m not messing around with you and¡­" I nced at Emilia. "It''s nothing romantic either¡­"


    "Ohhhh?!"


    "Really?"


    "E-Eh? Ah¡­"


    Patrick seemed pumped up, Hermes seemed happy, and Emilia¡­ a bit disappointed, but I''ll ignore that.


    "So?" I asked. "Will you live here?"


    "Yes of course!" Patrick immediately agreed.


    "Thank you¡­ I''ll ept the offer," Hermes said. "I''ll do my best to fulfill your expectations."


    "I-I''ll do my best too!" said Emilia. "Sorry about that¡­"


    "It''s fine," I smiled. "Now let''s enjoy the meal, we have a lot to doter. Henriette¡­ I hope you leave after eating."


    "A-Ah?! Yeah! I mean¡­ yes, sure¡­" she nodded. "Ugh¡­ but I wanted to stay a bit longer? I could help in anything you need. I''m an engineer and also I specialize on robotics¡­ I am not a pilot but a citizen but¡­ I could help?"


    "Why do you want to help so badly?" I asked. "Enjoy your break day."


    "Well, I feel a bit guilty after how I treated you," she said. "So I want to help somehow."


    "Hmph¡­" I sighed. "Fine, you can help¡­ it''ll be a lot of work, so you better be prepared."


    "Sure," she nodded, readjusting her sses.


    After enjoying the meals, which Eleanora also ate and enjoyed, constantly saying how realistic everything tasted, making me wonder why they even made a robot with such a realistic ability to eat, we moved on


    First, I spent several thousands of Credits purchasing a lot of new stuff, from Neutonium Core Shards to more materials to repair my robot and improve upon it.


    [You have exchanged a total of 600.000 Credits.]


    [You have purchased the following items from the Online Shop]:


    [Small Neutonium Crystal Fragment (For Neutonium Cores Crack Repairs)] x200] [Cost]: [200.000]


    [Reinforced And Adaptable Orichalconium Triple-Layered Armor te (For Machine Warrior Only)] x10] [Cost]: [100.000]


    [Electrified Shoulder Cannons (For Machine Warrior Only)] x4] [Cost]: [80.000]


    [Mechanical Robot Circuit Wires (For Machine Warrior and other Machines)] x50] [Cost]: [50.000]


    [Mechanical Laser Exodus de (For Machine Warriors Only)] x2] [Cost]: [100.000]


    [Electromaic Battery Automatic Recharger (For Machine Warriors Only)] x1] [Cost]: [70.000]


    [All purchased items will be delivered by specialized robots to your room and your Machine Warrior''s storage area.]


    [Thank you for your purchase!]


    [Avable Credits]: [3.370.000]


    Even after that big purchase, I still had plenty of Credits to continue working just fine. And with each day I''ll get rewarded even more Credits from every Xenoid I kill.


    Also these Credits had increasedst night as I sold a lot of that ck metal and the Neutonium shards from the virtual reality game, so I made a bunch of money. Incredible how people pay real money for virtual things that aren''t real.


    "Alright, we''re done."


    We nced as several delivery robots arrived flying above the air,nding in front of my Machine Warrior and leaving the materials there.


    We were currently in the storage area where the Machine Warriors were, mine remained unscathed, nobody dared to even harm it this time.


    Knowing how a rumor about it being "haunted" spread around as they said it could move on its own, not many approach it anymore, making things easier.


    "Alright! Everything is here now!" Emilia licked her lips, grabbing her equipment. "Time to give this baby some nice refurbishment! We''re going to leave you even better than before buddy, I promise!"


    "I''ll help as well," Henriette said, bringing forth four of her personal robots to help lift and repair things.


    "Us too!" Patrick, Hermes, Eleanora, and Hendrick joined the fray.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    And of course, I was going to help too.


    Time to bring the Machine Warrior to the next level.


    -----

 Chapter 1157 Summoning More Spirits

    -----


    Its new form wasplete, some parts were reced, especially internal ones. Their armor was merged and forged together with the new armor of the Sentinel I had merged with it. The arm that was lost and reced by the sentinel arm was kept and improved. New electricity-fueled cannons were packed in the shoulders.


    Aside from that, a special battery-enhancing mechanical item had been added to enhance the life and energy of the machine warrior and the efficiency in which they can use this energy and also store it.


    Aside from that, we added a second pair of arms, yes, four arms! And the second pair came from another destroyed sentinel parts we reused.


    So, the Machine Warrior''s weight increased a lot, but in space things that weight a lot actually can move really quickly once they set onto a motion and direction, and the heavier something is, the easier it also to change directions.


    Heavy things are only slower in areas with actual gravity, but in outer space there''s simply "no weight concept" as there''s no gravity. Therefore, making a machine as heavy like this doesn''t affect it as much as someone would guess.


    If anything, the only thing the machine has to make sure is that its own internal structure is capable of moving its parts independently, once that''s covered, any model could potentially work.


    Thin, slender robot models that are super-fast like in the VR game usually work the best because they''re within a world with gravity.


    After all, space-traveling mechs and mechs used in Earth are virtually different.


    "And now we''re finally done! Woah, four arms! This is the first time I see such an amazing model structure," said Emilia. "Will you use the other arms to wield the swords?"


    "Yes that''s what they are for," I nodded.


    They were long swords made of neon blueser, but resembled metallic sticks, so I figured out they were stronger than electrified spears but had the form of spears, so I could use spear god arts with them.


    With this, not only do I have my normal spear, but two more swords to unleash even more damage. And if I really want to, I could create more spears using the spare metallic parts.


    "Looks good," I nodded.


    Also, we feed the Neutonium Core of the Machine Warrior with one hundred shards, strengthening and making it even stronger, which through our connection, also made me stronger.


    I saw digital notifications pop up in front of me through the machine bracelets that connected me to the machine warrior.


    [The Machine Warrior''s {Neutonium Core} has absorbed 100 {Neutonium Shards}, its mass and internal energy has grown and developed greatly.]


    [The Machine Warrior''s {Neutonium Core} has grown and evolved into a {Large Neutonium Core}, greatly improving its energy production and storage abilities.]


    [You have unlocked 1 Neutonium Ability Slot for the Machine Warrior''s {Large Neutonium Core}, you can now learn an additional ability.]


    [Your {Demonic Neutonium Core} connected to the Machine Warrior''s {Large Neutonium Core} is reacting, growing stronger as a result.]


    [If it absorbs more Shards, a new unidentified entity might be born from within it.]


    I see. Seeing how the Neutonium Core "Soul" talked about her kind and how they exist, this has given me the insight that the reason why she could see Eleanora and Hendrick is because they''re technically being "reborn" as Neutonium Souls.


    They''re the same thing she is, in a way¡­ I believe.


    If I absorb more shards I might also be able to summon another of my Vampire Spirits here¡­ It would be nice to summon Rainbow Star, if he could use some of his original powers'' things would be much easier.


    "It looks wonderful!" I said. "I''ll quickly try it out!"


    I quickly climbed over the robot as I saw the tired smiles of my friends that helped me a lot, sitting inside of the Machine Warrior and synchronizing by connecting my mind and brain with it.


    FLUOSH!


    The machine warrior glowed brightly, red and blue neon lights turning on, covering its entire body with bright lights. All arms moved as I wished and the swords turned on, zing with neon blue light.


    Perfect, it works just as I wanted.


    And this power¡­ I can immediately tell it has several times more energy and strength than before! It has truly "leveled up"!


    "Hah, it''s fantastic!" I said.


    "Amazing!" Eleanora said.


    "It looks like it worked well!" Hendrick nodded.


    "Now, while we are inside, let''s absorb these," I said, quickly opening the box of the other one hundred Neutonium Shards and absorbing them.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    How so? By swallowing them, one after another. Once they were eaten, they would suddenly begin to turn into energy, instantly being absorbed by the Demonic Core.


    Until¡­


    FLASH!


    Blue and red electromaic energies would surge from my chest as I feel their power emerging, and then, the materializing presence of something new.


    [The unidentified {Demonic Neutonium Core} has absorbed 100 {Neutonium Shards}, its mass and internal energy has grown and developed greatly.]


    [The unidentified {Demonic Neutonium Core} has grown greatly, improving its energy production and reserves. Alongside its connection to the {Large Neutonium Core}.]


    [Something is¡­ ERROR]


    The digital messages emerged one after another, reminding me of my Grimoire.


    FLUOSH!


    Suddenly, that entity emerged, materializing out of cold and ghost-like digital particles that amassed together into a small form.


    "Pa¡­"


    "Papa?"


    Her voice echoed behind me, as I quickly looked at her fully form.


    She looked digital and slightly glitchy, some parts of her digital spiritual body were constantly "frozen" somehow, but then moved forward.


    It gave her a very unique appearance, but despite all that, I could instantly recognize her big, cute blue eyes and her long white hair and dress.


    "Saphira, wee back."


    "Papa!"


    She ran towards me, trying to hug me only to pass through my body.


    "Eh?!"


    At the same time, the digital messages informed me what she was.


    [A foreign energy and power had been manifested within the unidentified {Demonic Neutonium Core}; you have summoned the unidentified entity {Frozen Ghost Malware Spirit: Saphira}]


    [The unidentified entity {Frozen Ghost Malware Spirit: Saphira} has been bonded to your unindentified {Demonic Neutonium Core} and has be an extension of it.]


    "I think you can already figure out why this is happening, right?" I asked her.


    "A¡­ yeah, I''ve been watching," she nodded. "But what is this new body papa?"


    "I''ll exin."


    -----

 Chapter 1158 Saphira And Hendrick Are Here

    -----


    I was able to summon Saphira through the absorption of one hundred Neutonium Shards, however I wasn''t able to unlock another ability slot¡­ Well, I already had another one anyways, so I''m good regardless.


    [The unidentified {Demonic Neutonium Core} has absorbed 100 {Neutonium Shards}, its mass and internal energy has grown and developed greatly.]


    [The unidentified {Demonic Neutonium Core} has grown greatly, improving its energy production and reserves. Alongside its connection to the {Large Neutonium Core}.]


    [Something is¡­ ERROR]


    [A foreign energy and power had been manifested within the unidentified {Demonic Neutonium Core}; you have summoned the unidentified entity {Frozen Ghost Malware Spirit: Saphira}]


    [The unidentified entity {Frozen Ghost Malware Spirit: Saphira} has been bonded to your unindentified {Demonic Neutonium Core} and has be an extension of it.]


    It looks like she became a "Frozen Ghost Malware Spirit" whatever that means. But maybe she could make programs temporarily freeze and stop their functions? That could be useful, I don''t think Hendrick or Eleanora have such functions.


    After seeing those funny messages appear in the holographic projections, which I always found rather weirdpared to seeing them over my floating grimoire like I''ve always done, I looked at Saphira.


    "I think you can already figure out why this is happening, right?" I asked her.


    She seemed a bit confused, but if she was like Eleanora and Hendrick, then that means she has been watching this entire time.


    So, naturally, she should know already. Despite all that anyways I''m happy to see her, she''s technically my adoptive daughter after all.


    "A¡­ yeah, I''ve been watching," she nodded. "But what is this new body papa?"


    She moved around, spinning.


    "Don''t worry, I''ll exin¡­"


    "Saphira! Is it you, dear?"


    "Oh, but if it isn''t Saphira!"


    However, before I could even exin, Eleanora and Hendrik appeared by my side, whenever they appear like this they have to let go of their vessels.


    So the robots most likely just stood there immobile or sat down, whatever the case, they came to greet her.


    Eleanora hugged Sapphira, it seemed that between intangible beings they can touch.


    "Mama! I''m d I''m here too! I was so bored of watching in the darkness! It was weird." Saphira said, rubbing her face on Eleanora''s chest.


    "Haha, indeed it is annoying,"ughed Eleanora. "Don''t worry you can now help out. We''ll buy you a new body too, as you can''t materialize normally here."


    "So that''s how it works around here¡­" said Saphira. "I just hope that not every trial papa will go through will be this long and annoying!"


    "I hope so too," said Eleanora. "But even then, we''ll have to just adapt and ovee! Right?"


    "Yeah," I nodded.


    "Uncle Hendrick! Hi!" Saphira greeted him as well.


    "Saphira! I''m ttered you''re calling me uncle,"ughed Hendrick. "d to see you back. Back then we were summoned at the same time, I suppose this time I was summoned first, haha!"


    "Hmm, yeah! I thought I would be first! It got me a bit angry!" Saphira pouted.


    "Hohoh, don''t worry, it has only been a couple hours since then,"ughed Hendrick. "Anyways, master. Wouldn''t it be better to buy more shards so you can summon all of us?"


    "Hmm, the effectiveness of the shards is decreasing over time," I said. "So I don''t know how many I''ll need next. Let me gather more Credits more I buy another big haul."


    "We could help you make Credits in that VR game," said Eleanora. "We could fight other opponents for you perhaps!"


    "Oh yes I had thought about that too!" nodded Hendrick.


    "Perhaps¡­" I nodded. "Maybe, if you''re good controlling the mechs that''s it."


    "I''m fairly good¡­" Eleanora squinted her eyes.


    "Hah, alright¡­" I nodded. "Anyways, now that that''s talked, Saphira, your existence and body. You''ve be something different than before, at least for the duration of the trial. I call them Virtual Spirits, you''re made of data and digital light condensed together, perhaps also electricity¡­ no, definitely."


    "Oooh, that''s so¡­ weird! Why am I so useless now?" she sighed. "I can''t even¡­ summon my ghostly powers or ice! Nor summon undead¡­"


    "You have new abilities, one of our primary powers is taking over technology and modify it ording to our specifications," said Eleanora. "I specialize on taking over any technology unrestrained, greater adaptation, and also empowerment. I can empower equipment with crimson electricity."


    "I can forcefully take over technology, steal programs, modify them, and also steal information and such," said Hendrick. "Little Saphira, you probably have an ability simr to that."


    "Oooh!" Saphira seemed a bit more pleased now. "Hmm, then what can I have?"


    "Well the name of your Spirit kind is "{Frozen Ghost Malware Spirit: Saphira}" so probably freezing programs or any technology," I said.


    "Oh that sounds great!" said Hendrick. "She could be of great use! If she''s truly a Malware then she could even infect things simrly to me¡­ very useful! The thing is, we''re not exactly fighting machines but aliens, so these powers aren''t so useful."


    "Oh that''s nice!" said Eleanora. "Alright then, Saphira, we could try using your abilities right away."


    "How so?" Saphira tilted her head.


    "Perhaps¡­ but not for now," I said. "For now we should probably return and talk with everyone else. I''ll also buy a machine for her¡­ also perhaps, I was considering Machine Warriors for you guys but¡­ Hm, it would beplicated to buy them they''re very expensive, I would empty everything I have just to buy one with proper add-ons."


    "Hmm, can''t we take over the Blood Sentinels then? Perhaps justbining them together to make our unique machines," said Eleanora.


    "You can definitely do that for now," I nodded. "But the Sentinels are as strong as they are, Machine Warriors can continue growing and developing much more¡­ More than anything, there''s something I want to experiment, but I need Machine Warriors with proper Neutonium Cores."


    As we walked out of the machine warrior, I greeted my colleagues and exined them that everything went fine. It was still very early in the morning, so we decided to have a quick stroll through the city, mostly because Saphira insisted she wanted to see it so I had to oblige.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    -----

 Chapter 1159 What The Hell Is A Karaoke?

    -----


    The highly technological "futuristic" city of this spaceship was indeed quite entertaining to see. Big artificial lights everywhere, flying cars carrying people. Enormous buildings with holographic projections over them, and also a lot of people. Although because everyone was just a citizen, there weren''t unruly thugs and the like, every citizen was moderated by the ship, even though that sounds really oppressive.


    Though not as much, there were still street vendors screaming in the streets,rge robots singing and advertising their shops, and also people selling things in the streets on small floating cars and with robots helping them. Citizens earned their credits in all sorts of ways I suppose¡­


    "I''m d you decided toe to the city for a change!" said Henriette. "Being stuck in the area where the robots are stored or the cafeteria all the time is not good for your health. You should entertain yourself from time to time."


    "Ah, where are you bringing me to, Henriette?!"


    She grabbed me by the arm and then dragged me through the streets, amidst several buildings, we ended on arge one with people with microphones in the advertisements made of bright red lights.


    "A Karaoke! Let''s go sing!" she said excitedly. "I am actually pretty good at singing myself!"


    "Hoh, a karaoke?" Emilia smiled. "I''ve heard they got good drinks but it''s too expensive to go inside."


    "Isn''t an hour inside like¡­ thousand of credits?" wondered Patrick. "Yikes¡­"


    "They got unique snacks," said Hermes, reading the holographic menu. "Oh, what are potato chips?"


    "Papa I wanna go inside!" Saphira said, pointing at the big building. "I can hear music and it''s so wowowow!"


    "Hmm¡­" I was about to reject Henriette because I just didn''t care about her that much but with Saphira insisting¡­ "Ok, sure¡­ but you pay?"


    "A-Ah, ok, fine!" she sighed. "It''s on me! It''s very early so let''s spend an hour or so inside!"


    "If a Xenoid attack happens you''re going to make us get there superte though," I said.


    "I-I''ll take responsibility¡­" she groaned. "Now let''s go!"


    She practically was pushing my back to enter the building.


    And once inside, we were greeted by a man and a woman with brown hair that looked almost identical wearing blue clothes that seemed to be the owners.


    "Wee to Karaoke Singalong! Is this the first time youe here?"


    "Oh, pilots! Aren''t you rare around the big city?"


    "Ah, yes, we''re new¡­" said Hermes.


    "I''ve never been in a karaoke before!" said Patrick. "How do you do the whole stuff?"


    "Yeah can you lead usdy, boy?" wondered Emilia. "Also what drinks do you have?"


    "I wouldn''t rmend getting drunk at this hour Emilia," I said.


    "Oh,e with us then, we''ll bring you to a room," said the man.


    "I''ll prepare the menu for you and the newbie souvenirs!" said thedy.


    The man then led us inside the building, which was rather cozy inside.


    The walls looked to be made of fake wood, and the floor had a blue colored rug with white stars, resembling a cosmos.


    The lights on the ceiling were also calm and not as strong, giving the ce a rxing interior.


    "This ce''s so different than anything I''ve seen before dude!" Patrick said looking around.


    "Hm, indeed," Hermes nodded. "Is that imitation wood walls? Amazing."


    "The rug down here is also cozy to touch," said Emilia.


    "I''m d you enjoy the ce, we''ve worked hard to make this a good experience for any person," said the young man. "Here, this is a good room for your number."


    He opened a door which led to arger room with cozy-looking seats, a table, and even a huge tv.


    There were microphones over the table.


    There was also a floating library full of small cartridges that seemed to contain collections of songs.


    "Wow this ce''s so amazing!" said Saphira. "Dad I want to sing!"


    "Wait Saphira, nobody can see you here," said Eleanora. "Don''t try anything funny, ok?"


    "But I wanna!" said Saphira. "I was so bored for three whole days¡­"


    "Fine¡­" I nodded. "Alright so what do we do here, Henriette?"


    Henriette quickly ran into the library to pick some songs.


    "Do you like ancient history music? Or maybe you want modern stuff? I''m personally a lover of 70''s and 80''s songs!"


    "20.080?" asked Patrick.


    "What? No! I mean 1980!" said Henriette.


    "Wait what, isn''t that like archaic?" wondered Patrick.


    "They have the best music! Everyone says I''m outdated with my tastes, but I like it." Henriette said. "Now let''s pick this! 1980''s ssics! Also the 70''ster!"


    "Anything is fine I suppose¡­" I felt awkward but just went along with the flow.


    "I''vee with your menu! Please see the menu and then tell me what you want to order."


    Thedy arrived loading the menus into our digital devices.


    There was a lot of things¡­


    Eleanora and Hendrick were in their robots right now, right behind me while Saphira was looking around wanting to join.


    "Food! I want to eat some food too¡­" she sighed. "Papa when am I getting my robobody?"


    "Later¡­" I told her.


    "Saphira, use mine if you want," said Eleanora.


    "Really? Thank you mama!" Saphira flew inside of the robot and possessed it instantly.


    "Yaaay!" she immediately screamed, making the rest of the people here nce at her.


    "Hi!" she said.


    "Hey¡­" Patrick waved his hand.


    "ke did your robot just get hacked? Why is she acting like that?" Hermes wondered.


    "I left her on¡­ free style, she can do whatever she wants. Probably she wants to sing and eat, so just leave her," I smiled.


    "Suuure, I mean if you want to I don''t mind," shrugged Emilia. "Let''s order these! I want hotdogs!"


    "Coke too! Cold coke!" said Patrick.


    "I want something sweet¡­ a strawberry cheesecake," Hermes said.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    "I want the usual," Henriette said. "So ke what do you want?"


    "Whatever she wants," I pointed at Saphira.


    Saphira looked at the menu obsessively and then chose what she wanted.


    "I want this, and this, and this! And this and this!" she kept pointing.


    This was going to take forever¡­ But it was a nice change of pace.


    Might as well experience these unique ces while I''m here, Spiritias has no such things after all.


    -----

 Chapter 1160 The Next Xenoid Wave

    -----n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    I was slightly enthusiastic about partaking in whatever karaoke meant, but when I truly learned what it was, I began to feel regret all over my body. Henriette was absolutely obsessed with signing, and she sang, and sang, and sang.


    And they were perhaps the corniest, love songs I''ve ever heard across the entire universe, they made me want to puke and die¡­ incredible, so this is the power of humanity!


    "And I want all your love my crystal clear heaaaaaaaart~~~!"


    She literally screamed at the microphone. The room was very small so we could hear her very clearly, yet she made sure to scream very loudly. I couldn''t believe this ruthless, silent woman loved singing these stupid songs so much, it ruined her entire first impression of someone annoying that I still respected due to her resolve and cold heartedness.


    "Hahh¡­ Hahh¡­ Woohh! I loved that! Did you guys loved that too?" Henriette wondered, gasping for air after singing so damn loudly. "Phew¡­ ugh¡­"


    She sat down exhausted drinking some c before snacking on fried potatoes.


    "It was amazing! Me next!" said Saphira through Eleanora''s robot body.


    "Wait you''ve already sang before, let me sing now!" Emilia said.


    "Ugh, my head is spinning all over the ce¡­ can''t we go now? It has been like over an hour," Hermes sighed.


    "I agree with Hermes," I nodded. "We can''t waste more time here, the Xenoids might arrive at any time."


    "Awe on man I want to sing too!" said Patrick. "Let me sing!"


    "Nuh-huh, me first!" said Saphira, she was having a lot of fun. "I love that one song! Yeah that one!"


    Henriette changed the song to another of some sort of animated show about virtual monsters that digitally evolved intorger creatures with the power of friendship and some kids.


    "I want to be your zing heart! Because you are my limit breaker! I want to be your besto friendo!"


    As she started singing I smiled lightly. At least Saphira was having more fun than she had ever had before¡­ Technology truly made young people the happiest.


    "Let''s unite our zing hearts! Digital evolushon!"


    As she continued singing, I drank some c as I looked at the hour.


    Yeah it was now past the time the Xenoids usually appear¡­ seriously, we should get going.


    But Saphira¡­


    "She''s really having her fun, huh?" giggled Eleanora as she nced at Saphira singing in her robot body.


    "I can''t believe a robot can sing this good, hohoh!"ughed Hendrick.


    "I mean they''re equipped with lots of voices¡­ don''t they?" wondered Patrick.


    "LET''S UNITE OUR BLAZING HEARTS MY BESTO FRIENDOOOOO!"


    As she continued singing, I noticed something.


    The screen where the lyrics for the song were being shown suddenly turned red.


    The song was interrumpted as well.


    And then¡­


    [WARNING! WARNING! WARNING! XENOID ATTACK! PLEASE ALL CIVILIANS MOVE TO THE DESIGNATED SAFE ZONES. ALL DESIGNED PILOTS MOVE TO THE MACHINE WARRIOR FACILITY TO DEFEND THE MOTHERSHIP!]


    I never thought I would feel happy about an alien invasion right now, but I couldn''t help but smile like a maniac.


    "Eeeh?! Where''s the song at!"ined Saphira.


    "We''ve had enough of that for now, Saphira!" I said. "Let''s go to port, we have to quickly join the battle! Henriette, we''ll be taking your flying car."


    "E-Eh?! Wait a second- Ugh¡­ I''m too wasted to chase them," Henriette stayed behind and rested over the couch.


    We ran out of the karaoke, jumped over her flying vehicle, I turned it on, and we flew at lightning speed outside of the city and then into the port.


    There we saw all the pilots getting ready to depart, we arrived barely in time.


    "Finally, something that is not cringe-inducing!" celebrated Hermes. "Let us fight some aliens! Oh my god I never thought I would feel happy about this."


    "Hahaha!"ughed Patrick while climbing his Machine Warrior. "It wasn''t that bad dude!"


    "You''re wrong it was horrible," said Hermes, as he jumped over his robot.


    "You guys are too mean!" Emiliained.


    "Whatever let''s get over with this," I said to them. "It''s now the best time, Neutonium Mother Core. You said you could materialize things from the game, right?"


    "Ah! You want me to do it now?! Ick the energy and resources!" she said. "At most¡­ I can do it temporarily!"


    "For how long?" I asked.


    "Two¡­ three hours at most¡­" she said.


    "That''s fine," I nodded. "Summon all the machines below my possession and their equipment fully equipped on them! Can you do it?"


    "Yes but¡­ won''t it be weird in front of the other pilots?" she asked with a in voice.


    "It doesn''t matter, I''ll simply state it''s part of my Ability," I smiled. "After all, I have crazier powers."


    "Ahh, I see¡­ Yes indeed your abilities go beyond logic itself," she agreed with my words. "It is as if you were not from this world at all. How curious¡­ What is your true identity?"


    "Not the time to ask that!" I said.


    "My bad. I will get to it then," she said.


    FLUOSH!


    In that moment, a shockwave of electromaic surged from my Machine Warrior as I entered and quickly closed the door, synchronizing mentally with my machine instantly.


    FLASH! FLASH! FLASH!


    "W-What''s going on over there?!"


    "Woah, he''s summoning more machines!"


    "He can do this too?"


    The other pilots were shocked as they saw the electromaic blue colored energies mixing together and then taking the form of three machines.


    The machine I piloted fully equipped with machineguns, cannons, its indestructible shield, and spears. The super-fast crimson-colored and slender, needle-armed machine that Eleanora piloted, and the spider-like machine of Hendrick, now made evenrger.


    "Ready!" the Neutonium Mother Core said.


    "Alright! Eleanora, Hendrick, Saphira, pilot those!" I said. "Let''s go! As for the other pilots, follow my lead! We''ll begin with Defensive Formation A!"


    "OOOOHHHH!"


    I had briefly taught these pilots several things in the time we spent together, making it easier to quickly set up how we would fight with many different formations.


    As we all flew into outer space to confront the Xenoids, we were greeted with a surprise¡­


    "W-Wha¡­?"


    "We''re surrounded already?!"


    "How is this¡­!"


    Hundreds of Xenoids were already flying around us and even part of the gigantic mothership.


    However, many of them were strangely shaped too¡­


    -----

 Chapter 1161 Damn Copycats

    -----


    Without wasting more time, we flew outside with Eleanora, Hendrick, and Saphira all piloting their own Machine Warriors from the VR Game. At the end, all that time in that damned game wasn''t for nothing!


    "Let''s go! As for the other pilots, follow my lead! We''ll begin with Defensive Formation A!"


    "OOOOHHHH!"


    I had briefly taught these pilots several things in the time we spent together, making it easier to quickly set up how we would fight with many different formations. It waspletely vital for our survival to learn the positions and formations to quickly be able to change our battle performance and react in time.


    However, as we all flew into outer space to confront the Xenoids, we were greeted with a surprise¡­


    "W-Wha¡­?"


    "We''re surrounded already?!"


    "How is this¡­!"


    Hundreds of Xenoids were already flying around us and even part of the gigantic mothership. They either flew incredibly fast towards us to not even give us time to group into a formation or they were now going for pre-emptive strikes.


    However that''s not where everything that was strange ended though! Many of them were strangely shaped too. Aside from the normal Xenoids and the Brutes and the Mimics, there was a new type.


    "You''repletely surrounded, ke and the rest of the pilots. Surrender this instant and your life will not be purged. Instead, you will have the privilege of meeting our queen."


    We all heard a voice echoing inside of our minds, as I nced into the distance, noticing the group of these weirdly shaped Xenoids.


    They resembled humanoids of tremendous sizes of over fifty meters each. Withnky arms covered on ck steel and huge blue colored crystals glowing over their heads and chest.


    Their faces were ck masks shaped into creatures, alien beasts, and they heldrge weapons as well.


    Impressive, did they have such units before?!


    "You don''t want to kill us now?! What sort of joke is this?" I asked. "And out of nowhere you''ve be incredibly talkative! What gives?"


    I confronted them.


    "Thanks to the specimens of your race that we''ve assimted we have learned yournguage and also about you and your troops, about humanity," said the leader of this group of strange Xenoids, they were five, but seemed to be behemoths amongst behemoths. "Our Queen in her magnanimity wants to learn more about your race. She has said she will painlessly assimte all of humanity into bing one with her if you cooperate. It will be a swift process; she even promises to keep your consciousness individual. How about it? Isn''t she very benevolent?"


    "A-Ah, this is hopeless!"


    "What kind of deal is that?!"


    "That queen or whatever is just a monstrous alien anyways!"


    "Nothing has changed, they''re simply acting as if they''re like us, speaking words to deceive us!"


    The pilots panicked, as they werepletely against the idea of joining with the Xenoids, even less to let this colony of humanity join them either.


    "Benevolent, huh?" Iughed. "Oh yes! You''re truly a benevolent queen! Thank you for your offer! I ept it!"


    The five Titan Xenoids, as I''ll call them, nced at one another with surprise.


    "It seems that we''ve reached a deal then, ke," the leader said. "Pleasee with us. We shall guide you to our home world."


    "Very well." I flew towards them, as they extended their gigantic hands towards me.


    As I nced into their countless of monstrous eyes beneath those masks, perhaps to hide their ugliness to see more approachable to us.


    "Wait, ke, what are you doing?!"


    "He really¡­ No!"


    "Wait, please! You can''t just abandon us!"


    The other pilots screamed as they were surrounded by Xenoids, the Titans were about to reach into me, their eyes greedily ncing at my robot.


    Yeah from the very beginning that I knew they wanted this.


    My robot, and the core within me.


    These greedy, emotionless alien bastards.


    Not for a second did I trust their words.


    And I never will.


    [Divine Spear God Arts]: {One Hundred Lightning Blows Echo}!


    I swung my three spears, two from the VR game, another that came included with the machine warrior, and unleashed a mighty barrage of attacks.


    My Electromaic Demonic Aura surged, exploding at full force as my giant, modified Machine Warrior attacked the Xenoid dozens of times at once.


    CLASH! CLASH! CLASH! CLASH! CLASH!


    "GRYYYYAAAAGGGHHH!"


    Giving out an agonizing scream as the spear pierced through his long and fleshy arm and rushed all the way down his massive fleshy torso, my spear continued piercing through and burning his body.


    "T-The general is killing the giant one!"


    "What?!"


    "So he was pretending! He tricked them into lowering their guard!"


    "S-STOP! STOP YOU DAMN HUMAN! SHYAAAHH!"


    The Xenoid Titan counterattacked as I pierced through his torso with his other hand, hyper charging it with electromaic energy of the same kind I used and unleashing a charged blow.


    CLAAASH!


    "UNGH?!"


    I was sent flying away before I could even evade or retaliate, floating in the space. The armor covering my body resisted the attack just well enough, no cracks for now.


    "My arm¡­!" the Xenoid Titan groaned. "My Arm it''s not regenerating¡­! Ahhh¡­! Tricked! TRICKED BY THESE INFERIOR MONKEYS¡­! GRAAAHHH! KILL THEM ALL! NO MORE MERCY!"


    The four other Titans quickly rushed down while the one I attacked quickly flew towards me to finish me off. I nced at the pilots down below seeing the titanse down.


    They can''t handle those things on their own! The other Xenoids might be possible but those things¡­ they''ll die!


    "Eleanora, Hendrick, Saphira! Protect them! Sentinels and Abyssal Vampiric Undead! Formation C! Allow the pilots to attack from a distance! Don''t let them be harmed! Or they''ll get eaten and give more info to the enemy!"n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    "VERY WELL!"


    The trio of Vampire Spirits roared in unison as their wills unified towards mymands, they flew like shes of red, purple, and blue light, moving through space and quickly attacking smaller Xenoids and then pushing away the Brutes.


    At the same time, the Titans reached them, only for my Sentinels and the Undead I''ve raised to put a stop to them, using their resilient bodies.


    "Where do you think you''re looking at?! You shouldn''t be worried about their lives. Yours is about to end!"


    The one-armed Xenoid swung his giant arm against me, as a massive shockwave of electromaic energy reached me.


    "Hah¡­"


    BOOOM!


    Damn copycats.


    -----

 Chapter 1162 Xenoid Titans

    -----


    BOOOM!


    The massive attack reached me once more, yet a huge and powerful shield protected me, the "Whale Shield" that the VR yers always called an unfair defensive item. Capable of withstanding gigantic cannon attacks fueled by sma itself.


    The wonderful [Gravitonium Repelling Shield]!


    TRUUUM!


    "Unscathed?!"


    The Xenoid Titan red at me with its enormous eyes, widening them in utter disbelief.


    "Impossible¡­ the data has said that no technology has been invented capable of¡­!"


    "Yeah, this technology goes beyond logic, it''s from a video game after all."


    "What?!"


    FLASH!


    I reached the Xenoid Titan within a mere second as the entire Machine Warrior spun around, its Demonic Energies surging naturally from its now red colored Neutonium Core.


    After battling this much, I''ve figured out a way or two to use special techniques with this damned machine, and as it grew alongside me, I also grew with it.


    "I won''t let you get close to me again!" the Xenoid roared into my mind. "Begone, human!"


    With the power of his Neutonium Core she most likely got from the time the Xenoids invaded their and took them as resources, he materialized a huge spherical barrier of electromaic energies.


    "With this, you won''t ever¡­!"


    {Demonic Thunderous Metal Rampage}!


    CRAAASH!


    Imbuing Demonic Energy into the entire Machine Warrior and then spinning like a drill while putting all weapons in front and then hyper charging them with electromaic energy.


    With this, his damned barrier was nothing!


    RUMBLE!


    "UGH?!"


    Not only that but I didn''t stop, as my machine hit his giant stomach, shattering the armor covering his body and revealing the tender centoid behind.


    "Nggaagh! Damned human! STOP THIS! SIMPLY¡­ SIMPLY SURRENDER YOURSELF TO YOUR NEW OVERLORDS! WE ARE THE SUPERIOR RACE! THE ONES YOU CALL XENOIDS!"


    "Superior Race?" Iughed. "I''ve visited every inch of this damned universe and I know damn well there is no Superior Race, you''re all a bunch of disgusting bastards."


    "SILENCEEEEE!"


    His stomach suddenly opened as a massive jaw with countless sharp fangs emerged, attempting to engulf me whole.


    Perfect for me!


    "Thank you for opening the way, motherfucker."


    CLAAANK!


    The chest of my Machine Warrior quickly opened, revealing a massive cannon that should also not be possible to exist in this current time.


    A fictional sci-fi creation made by a video game brought into reality¡­


    sma Cannon!


    TRUUUMMM!


    "NGH?! AAAGGH!"


    The cannon made entirely out of pure sma entered his insides and then erupted, burning the Xenoid''s insides and beginning to rapidly make it bleed from every orifice.


    "UUAAGGGH! WHAT THE¡­?!"


    As he was beginning to melt away, he constantly attempted to regenerate back, suddenly materializing a giant pair of ck spears out of his own shell.


    "YOU BIOLOGICAL WASTE OF SPACE!"


    Charging towards me while releasing electricity from his body, he swung both spears against me. I simply smiled.


    "Bringing spears to a god of the spear? Terrible decision."


    CLASH! CLASH! CLASH! CLASH!


    SLASH! SLASH!


    "Ngah?!"


    Before he knew it, all four of my spears pierced through his entire body at the same time as my two swords easily cut through his spears, and all while from my shoulders, two massive cannons charged with electromaic energy fired two massive blue colored beams.


    "N-No¡­!"


    The Xenoid screamed, gritting his countless jaws as he opened his chest again and began to charge an imitation of my sma cannon, firing it against me at almost point nk.


    "Let''s see who can survive this, you bastard."


    "DIE!"


    BOOOMMM!!!


    Both of our attacks hit the other at point nk, the repelling force sending us flying away. My armor resisted that too, the firstyer was destroyed, but two more were left.


    "Uuggh¡­! Y-You humans¡­ Humans¡­ will¡­ be consumed¡­ all of you¡­ shall be consumeeeed!"


    BAAAM!


    Suddenly a giant mass of flesh and tentacles hit my machine from behind, I noticed the Xenoid Titan was still fucking alive, but barely reduced to a fourth of its original body.


    His tentacles began wrapping around my Machine Warrior, trying to infiltrate the crevices and reach me to devour me.


    "I''LL DEVOUR YOU!"


    "Another terrible decision today¡­ just how many horrible decisions are you making? Might as well die, don''t you think? You''re only making your queen embarrassed at this point."


    "Huh? What with that fucking confidence, you piece of¡­!"


    He simply forgot what I used to hit him before?


    Fool.


    {Demonic Thunderous Metal Rampage}!


    CRAAASH!


    The Machine Warrior rotated at lightning speed, spinning like a drill and beginning to release explosive electromaic energies mixed with demonic energies at once.


    "UUUAAAGGGH?!"


    The Xenoid Titan waspletely torn to shreds and burned to a crisp, not a single piece of his body, mostly made of an advanced, harder centoid, could resist my spinning attack!


    And then, amidst his destroyed body, there it was, a huge car-sizedrvae-like monstrosity, the true body.


    "I found you, you arrogant worm."


    I grabbed it with my metallic ws and then.


    "S-STOP¡­! STOP YOU¡­!"


    SPLAAAT!


    Before he could continue speaking into my mind, I crushed its body until it exploded into blood and guts, then burned it with electricity until nothing but ashes remained.


    "Damn bastard was tougher than I imagined- Ah!"


    I quickly noticed that almost half of my sentinels and undead were already gone, the Xenoid Titans were being held back but were easily tearing through my troops!


    The other pilots, with Eleanora, Hendrick, and Saphira''s help, were managing to fight off the other Xenoids and Brutes, while the trio took care of the Mimics who used abandoned Machine Warriors as shells.


    "I have to hurry! Wait for me!"


    I rushed down, as I saw almost a hundred Xenoids and Brutes blocking my path! They didn''t want me to intervene and save them, bastards.


    "Don''t you dare get in my way, maggots."


    I shall simply surpass my limits and get them out of my damn way.


    {Demonic Thunderous Metal Rampage Echo}: {Crimson Thunder Serpent Rampage}!


    My Machine Warrior spun around like a drill while zigzagging between each Xenoid group, sting them into smithereens and piercing through their bodies like nothing.


    CRAAASH!


    "Gryyaeegh!"


    CRAAASH!


    "Shyeeehh!"


    CRAAASH!


    "Gruoogghh!"


    CRAAASH!n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    As I heard their little and pathetic screams, I reached the nearest Xenoid Titan and activated another of my Neutonium Core Abilities to tip the scales towards our favor in a single second.


    "{Arise}"


    FLASH! FLASH! FLASH! FLASH!


    Dozens after dozens of Undead Xenoid including the Titan I just ughtered emerged behind me, made of their shadows, flesh, souls, and blood.


    "Attack!"


    -----

 Chapter 1163 Intense Battle In Space!

    -----


    "{Arise}"


    Now as I heard the pathetic screams of the Xenoids I ughtered, I reached the nearest Xenoid Titan and activated another of my Neutonium Core Abilities to tip the scales towards our favor in a single second.


    Indeed, with this wonderful ability, it ispletely possible after all the pests I''ve killed.


    FLASH! FLASH! FLASH! FLASH!


    And then, dozens after dozens of Undead Xenoid including the Titan I just ughtered emerged behind me, made of their shadows, flesh, souls, and blood, naturally.


    Their monstrous, aberrant bodies twisted as they materialized one after another, rapidly rising into an army of over fifty.


    "Attack!"


    "Nghh?!"


    The Titan in front of me had little time to react using its abilities as the Undead Xenoid Titan wrapped its giant arms around theirs, while the rest of the Undead ganged on his entire body.


    "Nngaaarrggh!"


    They used their tentacles to tear apar its flesh before the centoid could regenerate properly. The Titan gave a loud mental scream as its long arms reached me, trying to stop me.


    However, I received its arms with my four spears and my two swords, unleashing a barrage of electrified stabbing attacks and shing blows.


    "Not a chance."


    SLASH! SLASH! CLASH! CLASH! CLASH! CLASH!


    Its arms were utterly torn to shreds as I advanced forward, reaching the Xenoid''s chest. Its ck armor continued growing over its body trying to protect itself.


    I swung all my weapons again and attacked, followed by several Echo Techniques one after another to create an explosive series ofbo attacks.


    {One Hundred Lightning Blows Echo}: [Chain-Lightning Serpentine Spear]!


    Each blow followed by a chain of pure azure and crimson lightning that rushed across its entire body, covering the Titan with countless wounds that wouldn''t regenerate.


    And then, I unified all the chain lightning into a greater form.


    {Chain-Lightning Serpentine Spear Echo}: [Roaring Emerald Lightning Dragon]!n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    "ROOOAAARR!"


    The ferocious roar of an emerald dragon echoed from my attacks as all the lightningbined into a coiling dragon around the Xenoid''s body, burning it with endless zaps of electricity.


    "RAAAAHHH!"


    The Titan screamed, releasing a shockwave of electromaic energies against my attack, as both collided together, unleashing a massive shockwave that made even space itself tremble momentarily.


    BOOOM!


    "Weak¡­ still so weak¡­ human''s technology cannot go against us¡­ The Superior ss of Warriors! You killed one¡­ so what? We learn from our defeats. Unlike you¡­ stubborn apes!"


    The Xenoid kept talking like he knew me all my life, as he swung his body and kept trying to take away all the Undead swarming him while controlling the lesser Xenoids to attack me.


    CLASH!


    "Ngh?!"


    However, the Undead Xenoid Titan wasn''t just for show, it struck hisrge head with immense force, sending him flying down before hitting him again with electrified kicks.


    CLASH! CLASH!


    "NGAAH¡­! You¡­! Merely a dead imitation!"


    The Xenoid Titan attacked my undead servant, striking its stomach several times with giant sharp ws it already regrew, imbuing them with electromaic energy.


    SLASH! SLASH! SLASH!


    CRASH!


    However, my Undead was resilient enough to take on the hits, grab his shoulders and then twist his arms upwards.


    "UUGH?!"


    "What did you said about us never learning?"


    The roaring dragon I had unleashed came back to him, now, I imbued it into all four of my spears and then even my two swords, before releasing it.


    Now multiplied by six smaller emerald, crimson, and azure dragons made of electromaic energy and demonic energy.


    {Roaring Emerald Lightning Dragon Echo}: {Six-Headed Demonic Thunder Serpent Spears}!


    "S-Stop! I WON''T LET YOU- AH!"


    He tried to release more of his electric powers, but they were drained by my Xenoid Titan undead, stopping him momentarily and giving me just barely enough time¡­


    CLAASH! CLAAASH! CLAASH! CLAAASH! CLAASH! CLAAASH!


    Just enough time for all six snakes to pierce through his chest, stomach and head, blowing away all his armor, centoid, and then his true body at the same time.


    "UUUAAAGGGHH!"


    As he screamed in agony, his entire body bloated up like a balloon before finally exploding into piece, his countless eyes red at me onest time before his death.


    BOOOMMM!!!


    "Two gone! Three more to go!"


    I nced into the distance, noticing the three other Xenoid Titans had already destroyed ny percent of my Sentinels and Undead I had saved from the previous fight.


    Above all, smaller Xenoids were swarming me and the other forces¡­ I had to act quickly!


    "Come at me! You''re all going to be my soldiers."


    I smiled as I faced the hundreds of smaller Xenoids, suddenly ck and red colored portals made out of shadows and demonic vampiric energies surged from my Machine Warrior''s Aura, as enormous rifles, guns, machineguns, and many other guns.


    [Demonic Umbral Blood King''s Crimson Artillery Armament Summon]!


    BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!


    Countless holes appeared across the bodies of the Xenoids within seconds. This Ability required a lot of electromaic and demonic energies, but I had plenty now.


    "Now¡­"


    After seeing how so many died, I immediately did the second step.


    "{Arise}!"


    I didn''t even gave their bodies the time to rest as they rapidly regenerated back to monstrous, abyssal and vampiric versions of themselves as undead.


    Even the Xenoid Titan I just killed rose back to "life" once more, and I ordered this new army of undead aliens to stop the three Xenoid Titans in the meantime.


    "Go! Distract them!"


    As I did that, I quickly moved to help the pilots regroup, as I saw them getting scattered and about to risk their lives.


    "Don''t panic! Remain together with us!"


    Emilia was exhausted as she pushed herself to her limits, conjuring powerful divine mes from any of her attacks and burning the Xenoids.


    "Stay behind me! Don''t jump into danger, please!" Hermes controlled dozens of Vampiric Vine Monstrosities and also used them more dexterously as well, like weapons or to even drain Xenoids out of their energy.


    "I''ll open the way for you guys, stay away from the range of my attack!" Patrick said. "RAAAHHHH!!!"


    And then he used his ability, disabling all Xenoids, especially the Mimics using discarded Machine Warriors and breaking their armor and weapons, weakening them in the process.


    My generals werepetent enough! They had been protecting the others well.


    "Regroup!"


    I passed by their side as they quickly noticed my presence, immediately bringing all other pilots to my side while I ughtered the smaller Xenoids that got in my way.


    -----

 Chapter 1164 Xenoid Mimics

    -----


    Mimics, perhaps among the most dangerous of all the Xenoids, these aliens absorb the Machine Warrior bodies and turn them into their body, they go as far as assimting their internal circuits and be "pilots" of such machines, whichplement their powers and grant them the ability to do many modifications on the go.


    They were also perhaps much smarter than the Normal Xenoid and the Brute Xenoid, capable of much more advanced thinking process, prediction and theorization, they could instantly predict movements, n out strategies, and y with their victims.


    "G-Get away from meee!"


    "Why?! Help meee!"


    "N-No, you''re not real!"


    "Help meee! It hurts!"


    They reproduced the sounds of the former pilots that died inside the machines to y with the heads of their enemies, either luring them closer or making them panic, enough for them to easily lower their guard.


    The pilots were surrounded by the mimics, who mocked them as they continued talking in the voices of their fallenrades.


    "Please help me¡­!"


    "Don''t believe ke, he''s a hack!"


    "We need your help!"


    "We''re inside! Please free us!"


    The pilots continued trembling as they heard the voices, shing against the Mimics while bing slower and hesitating. The mimics took advantage of that, attacking fiercely with powerful weapons and great reflexes.


    CLASH! CLASH! CLASH!


    "Aaaaggghh! Heeelp!"


    One of the pilots got caught in between their tentacles and then had their chest pierced by an electrified, fleshy red spear, dying as the machine warrior''s core exploded.


    BOOOM!


    The other pilots panicked as they nced at one another noticing how far they were from ke and his three generals, things looked hopeless!


    "We shouldn''t have ran away out of panic, dammit!"


    "T-This is all your damn fault!"


    "No, it''s your fault you fuck!"


    "I didn''t do anything!"


    ming each other and fighting against one another, these pilots only ended worsening things for them, as the mimicsughed maniacally, seeing how they were making them fight between pilots!


    They got closer, and closer, and closer, creeping in to take another victim!


    Yet¡­


    FLASH!


    A giant crimson spear reached the nearest Mimic, piercing their chest and then exploding into zing crimson mes.


    BOOOM!


    The Xenoid inside screamed in agony as it died burned and destroyed, while the other Mimics nced in disbelief at the scene as a crimson colored, thin-looking machine appeared.


    She looked nothing like the other Machine Warriors, with a feminine and slender figure, apletely unique model never seen before!


    "W-Who''s that?!"


    "Ah, is that¡­?!"


    "ke''s robot?"


    As the surviving pilots nced at her, she suddenly disappeared, resembling a spark of crimson light, and then reappeared again above the heads of the mimics, swinging her crimson spear once more which returned to her hand.


    "I won''t let you touch them."


    SLAAASH!


    She swung the spear horizontally, releasing a huge wave of me-like demonic and vampiric aura, infused to the brim with electromaic energies.


    Eleanora was able to also use her spear techniques through these huge spear weapons, recing Mana and Spirit Energy with Demonic Energy and Electromaic Energy, it worked!


    "Gryyaaeerrgh!"


    The Mimics screamed in agony as they were sliced apart, only for Eleanora to rush forward and stab their bodies several times, finishing them off one after another after they exploded.


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!


    "Are you okay?! Return with the other generals!" Eleanora said.


    "Y-Yes!"


    The surviving pilots, five of them, flew away as quickly as possible, reaching the other pilots and forming a muchrger, resilient troop.


    Eleanora followed them, but shed against the iing Xenoids that chased them after, using her nimble body to easily move around space as if even the stillness of space wasn''t a burden to her.


    Her speed was so high it was virtually teleportation in these conditions of zero gravity¡­ In fact, it was all within her fictional sci-fi machine, made with the mechanics of the VR Game, its ability to move at lightning speed was perhaps exaggerated.


    However, this exaggeration gave her tremendous speed and power.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    The Xenoids could simply not even touch her.


    "We have to quickly get back with ke, those Xenoid Titans are nning something weird!"


    Meanwhile, a simr scene was going on as a huge spider machine moved across space, creating spiderwebs out of electricity and using them to capture the Xenoids, frying them slowly while injecting acidic venom inside of them.


    "Uwaah, that''s amazing!"


    "I never thought there was such a machine warrior model before?!"


    "That''s not a machine warrior, it''s more like a personal model?!"


    The pilots watching the scene couldn''t believe it, as Hendrick seamlessly fought dozens of foes on his own, capturing them and weakening them for the pilots to finish off one after another.


    "Master is nearby, let''s regroup with him!"


    Hendrick led the pilots further towards therge quantity of pilots and machines, rapidly bing one with their squadrons.


    At the same time, Saphira controlled her machine the same one that her father piloted in the VR Game, infusing her powers into it, her demonic and electromaic energies manifested as immense and paralyzing cold.


    The Xenoids that dared get closer were immediately beginning to freeze as they touched her aura, all while having their muscle tissue paralyzed almost instantly.


    This coupled with the machine guns enchanted by her possession powers made it so she could bombard them with freezing attacks with ease.


    BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!


    "You''re not getting closer to the survivors!" she said angrily. "This is a bit weird to use, but not too bad either! Please, survivors,e with me!"


    She led the survivors to the safer areas with many other pilots to protect one another while she gunned any Xenoid that drew closer, freezing them into giant ice cubes.


    As all the pilots wereing together after ke''smands, he nodded, ncing at the three Xenoid Titans. The rest of the surviving smaller Xenoids, roughly a hundred and fifty more, gathered around them, as both armies regrouped and nced at one another.


    "If we cannot beat you on our own then¡­ we shall unify, as we''ve always been one and the same."


    One of the Xenoid Titans spread out their arms, as the smaller Xenoids started fusing with his flesh and blood, all while the other two Titans began to hug him, fusing with him as well.


    "So this is what they''re going to do¡­"


    -----

 Chapter 1165 An Intense Battle!

    -----


    "If we cannot beat you on our own then¡­ we shall unify, as we''ve always been one and the same."


    ke nced at the Xenoid Titans in the distance rapidly beginning to merge. Their flesh and bones bing one, and so were their cores and hard exoskeletons, fusing together into arger, monstrous mass of power.


    They also absorbed the smaller Xenoids around them, enhancing their mass and, by doing this, increasing the amount of resilience they had with many "true bodies" within one body.


    "Why are they merging?!"


    "We can''t let them do that, before it''s toote we have to kill them!"


    "ke, give us orders!"


    "Please, we need to do something!"


    "We just saved you from dying and you want to jump into death''s embrace again?"ughed Hendrick. "You pilots are indeed too na?ve."


    "It seems they''re dead set on fighting even against the odds of that monstrosity¡­" said Eleanora. "ke, what do we do?"


    "All of you by my side," said ke. "Emilia, Patrick, Hermes, behind me, protect the other pilots if necessary! And the rest¡­"


    ke nced at the Sentinels he had made and the Undead Xenoids.


    "You''ll charge with us. Everyone else that isn''t them, you take out your cannons, guns, and any other long-ranged weapon and fire from a distance!" said ke. "We must prioritize your lives, we''ll do the heavy work, you rain them with hundreds of attacks, you heard me?!"


    "YES SIR!"


    The pilots all unified into a gigantic fleet right behind ke, pointing their electrified guns and firing huge sts of blue electromaic energies, a main of explosive electric attacks constantly poured over the swarm of Xenoids.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!


    "Good! Keep going!"


    As they did that, kemanded his vampiric spirits and his three generals who stayed much farther from him to protect the other pilots, while controlling the sentinels and undead with mentalmands.


    As this happened, ke used his four spears and two swords to sh and pierce through the swarms of Xenoids gathering around the three Xenoid Titans.


    As the Titans attempted to fuse, he attempted to weaken them by stopping their fusion altogether, each little Xenoid that merged with them gave them a little power.


    So if he killed as many as possible, whatever new form they were going to take might be immediately interrumpted.


    "Don''t let any of these live!"


    With a simplemand, Eleanora, Hendrick, Saphira, and the rest of the Sentinels and the Undead rushed forward. Eleanora used her spear to pierce through the Xenoids at lightning speed resembling a crimson blur as she moved at incredible speeds.


    Resembling a crimson blur, Eleanora''s spear impaled the Xenoids before they could reach the Titans, and rapidly made them explode into pieces, immediately piercing their true body as well.


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!


    At the same time, Hendrick spread out his spiderwebs more and more,bining them with demonic energy as if it were a domain of demonic magic, the Xenoids were trapped by the dozens, giving the opportunity for the Sentinels and the Undead Xenoids to tear them to shreds.


    The Brutes, the most defensive of the Xenoids, constantly attempted to defend the smaller ones as the smaller ones sent powerful shockwaves of energy or crimson redser beams, but they were allpletely overwhelmed, attacked from every angle and ultimately¡­


    Crack, crack¡­!


    CRASH!


    Their shells broke into shreds and their soft interior was revealed, pierced by dozens of spears and blown up into pieces.


    Saphira used her freezing powers to quickly freeze her nearby foes, making use of the many Demonic Energy Batteries ke equipped into the interior of the machines he got from the VR Game, giving his vampire spirits the power to manifest their cybeic powers as demonic spells.


    She moved swiftly around space, freezing her foes and then using a long spear to pierce their bodies and shatter them into pieces, this was the first time Saphira was wielding weapons and fighting on such a heavy, armored body, but it felt nice for her.


    Meanwhile, ke rushed forward, shing against Xenoid after Xenoid, blowing them up as they came by piercing their true bodies with his electrified weapons.


    "Come at me, all of you, cowards!"


    He was rapidly growing slightly more desperate as he saw the Xenoids evading him and rushing towards the trio of titans instead, aiming to be one with them instead!


    "Dammit, I saide at me!"


    He quickly imbued more energy into his machine warrior''s propulsors, reaching his foes within seconds and then using his technique to rapidly dispose of dozens at a time.


    {One Hundred Lightning Blows Echo}: [Chain-Lightning Serpentine Spear]!


    Each blow followed by a chain of pure azure and crimson lightning that pierced across many Xenoids one after another, creating a chain of lightning attacks.


    And then, like he had done before, he unified all the chain lightning into a greater form, draconic in appearance.


    {Chain-Lightning Serpentine Spear Echo}: [Roaring Emerald Lightning Dragon]!


    "ROOOAAARR!"


    The mighty roar of a dragon once more echoed as it rushed forward, piercing the Xenoids one after another and engulfing them with its massive jaws, devouring them.


    "Not yet¡­! There''s more, I have to stop as many as possible!"


    He brought himself to his limits as he rushed forward faster and faster, separating more from the main army as he reached heights where no machine had reached before.


    "Now!"


    He gathered all the electromaic powers within both his machine warrior and his own core and released it at once while still using the Dragon Technique.


    Once more¡­


    {Roaring Emerald Lightning Dragon Echo}: {Six-Headed Demonic Thunder Serpent Spears}!


    The roaring dragon he had unleashed came back to him and then he imbued it into all four of his spears and even his two swords, before releasing it all at once!


    RUMBLE!


    Now multiplied by six smaller emerald, crimson, and azure dragons made of electromaic energy and demonic energy, the six attacks pierced through even more Xenoids.


    Ultimately reaching the fusing Xenoid Titans in front of him and piercing their bodies six times, leaving huge holes through their chest and heads.


    BOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOM!


    "That should have at least-"


    "Pathetic."


    Before ke could move, a gigantic hand made of pure electromaic energy materialized in front of him.


    "What?!"


    CRAAASH!


    And it hit him with enough force to tear all of his Machine Warrior''s armor, and even his shield into pieces.


    ------

 Chapter 1166 Titanomachy

    -----


    [WARNING! WARNING! WARNING!]


    [Vital signals in critical condition, several internal mechanical structures in danger of copse. Nuclear battery in danger of leaking.]


    [Your Machine Warrior''s Neutonium Core has fully shattered!]


    [Please EVACUATE Machine Warrior immediately before danger levels reaches the highest level!]


    [WARNING! WARNING! WARNING!]


    "A-Ah¡­!"


    ke''s eyes opened wide as he realized he had passed out for a couple of seconds. Warning sounds constantly filled the Machine Warrior''s interior, annoying him to no end.


    "That damn thing knocked me out?"


    He couldn''t believe it, just when he had hit it six times, the monstrosity that had been born from the fusion of several Xenoids conjured a power that went beyond his own.


    "Could it be that the hand I saw was a fusion of the electromaic energies of those monsters? Hah, dammit."


    He smiled bitterly.


    "I guess he got me good¡­"


    He nced at the stars glistening brightly within outer space.


    Everyone else outside was fighting constantly, yet he was nowpletely helpless¡­


    The power she could use were based on the Neutonium Core of his Machine Warrior.


    Now that it was shattered, he couldn''t use them.


    "Will I have to restart if I die now?"


    As he wondered that, he sat down, noticing the mess inside of the machine warrior, he nced around, sighing.


    At the distance he could see them, Eleanora, Hendrick, and Saphira. Alongside Emilia, Patrick, and Hermes constantly fighting the other smaller Xenoids that remained.


    The gigantic monstrosity?


    Right in front of him.


    "We are surprised you survived that."


    And theirbined voice resonating inside of his head, painfully.


    "This time, we will finish you off for good, ke."n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    Suddenly, the same gigantic hand emerged from the skies, this time, two more appeared as well, from left and right.


    "Hah¡­"


    ke smiled at his iing death.


    "It''s different, but it reminds me of that time¡­"


    Memories of his past life surged, of thest battle he had against Lucifer.


    Of all the sacrifices, of all the desperation, of that one battle where he staked everything.


    And where he lost.


    "Even when you do everything you possibly can, sometimes¡­ you still lose."


    He smiled bitterly.


    "Yeah, I''ve experienced this before.


    He touched his chest, electromaic energies within his internal core were fine.


    And so was his demonic energy.


    He moved through his Machine Warrior, extending his arm in the area where the Neutonium Core was ced.


    He broke it open and touched the shattered fragments.


    Pain, burning wounds immediately spread through his hands.


    "Ugh!"


    "Perish."


    As the three hands were about to crush ke, Eleanora, Hendrick, and Saphira rushed towards him and his machine warrior.


    "BLAKEEEE!"


    Eleanora screamed, as her machine''s electromaic and demonic energies exploded, rushing towards her beloved.


    "MASTER!"


    Hendrick''s spider machine spread out its legs and generated spiderwebs below them like tforms to leap through the empty space, hurrying behind Eleanora.


    "PAPAAA!"


    And Saphira followed them very closely by, as quickly as she possibly could.


    Their spiritual bodies surged from their machines even before leaving them, appearing once more within ke''s own Neutonium Core.


    "Everyone?!"


    "Don''t give up yet, please!" Eleanora cried.


    "Master, we''re here with you!" Hendrick screamed.


    "Papaaa!" Saphira hugged him.


    ke was surprised, but then he smiled as the blue electricity of the shattered Neutonium Core of his Machine Warrior burned him.


    "Hah, what are you talking about?"


    His eyes glowed bright red, electricity surging from his entire body.


    "I never gave up."


    There was a reason why he was doing all the things he was doing!


    "Whatever you''re trying to do is futile!"


    The voice of the Xenoid Titans echoed inside of their minds.


    The three gigantic hands made of electromaic energies at tremendously high amounts of potency reached the Machine Warrior.


    CLAAASH! CLAAASH! CLAAASH!


    Their tremendous power started outright melting the massive machine, as its pieces began exploding and erupting into fragments.


    As they felt the burning metal covering their bodies, and as the machines kept being piloted and reached the machine warrior melting away.


    Something within all of them surged.


    "I''ve already chosen my new Ability¡­"


    ke''s smiled as his skin burned.


    "This is myst gamble."


    "What are you talking about, you fool?! There''s no longer- Ugh?!"


    RUMBLE!


    A tremendous explosion of pure white light surged from the melting Machine Warrior, this essence, this element was¡­


    The power of Creation!


    "{Fusion}!"


    The three machines that ke brought from the VR game, infused and merged with the spirits of Eleanora, Hendrick, and Saphira rushed towards his machine!


    With their own auras of crimson, purple, and azure colors, they converged together into a single being!


    CLANK! CLANK! CLANK!


    The sound of metal connecting with one another and then merging echoed through the empty space.


    The Neutonium Core of ke echoed, connecting everyone and everything.


    The Neutonium Core Fragments of his Machine Warrior merged with his body!


    And even his metal and circuits.


    "Did you thought I would let you die, friend? No, there''s still too much to do, my Machine Warrior!"


    FLAAASH!


    "Uuaagh! W-What is this light?!"


    The Xenoids couldn''t help but scream in agony before the Light of Creation, the massive entity was forced to step back as his powers backfired, exploding on his own face.


    BOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOM!


    "This is impossible! In no records we''ve ever registered such an anomaly as you, ke!"


    The furious Xenoids screamed at the same time as they saw ke''s new form.


    Abination of four machines, three spirits, and one man.


    Blue legs made out of Saphira''s machine, the first mech he rented in the VR Game, heavy and armored, covered on scale-shaped ice.


    The red and ck torso of his machine warrior, with a huge V-shaped horn decorating its chest.


    Its left arm was a huge ck and purple colored arm made out of the arachnid mech, with giant ws made out of the spider''s legs.


    Its right arm wasposed of Eleanora''s mech, much slenderer and crimson-colored, with sharp and needle-like ws.


    And its head rapidly emerged, resembling abination between a samurai helmet and a machine warrior''s stoic, metallic face.


    However, its metallic eyes now were alive, shining bright blue and red, as it shaped slightly like ke''s own face, but madepletely out of silver steel.


    "Just who¡­ JUST WHAT ARE YOU?!"


    "I don''t even know what I''ve be¡­"


    ke smiled, as a golden paint covered most of his machine body, unifying all colors.


    [Your Neutonium Core Ability has reacted with all avable Machine Warriors, and you have temporarily merged with them.]


    [A union of flesh and metal, you''ve be the first of your kind, a guardian of humanity.]


    [You have transformed into the [Machine Warrior King: Titanomachy X3]


    [All of your unified Neutonium Cores are overflowing with new power!]


    "But how about we try to find out together, hm?"


    And then he conjured a gigantic, golden and ck spear, with a red colored tip resembling a drill spinning rapidly.


    "Shall we?!"


    "Don''t you dare get close to me, your abomination!"


    The Xenoids, at this point¡­


    Were scared!


    They simply couldn''t understand him anymore.


    His powers, his tenacity, his abilities.


    And his relentless mind, which would never waver or be ovee by despair.


    FLASH!


    "Abomination? Have you seen yourself in the mirror?"


    "Ah!"


    ke appeared right in front of the titanic Xenoid Chimera, his machine body, no bigger than fifteen meters, couldn''tpare to the monster of over two hundred meters.


    Yet the gigantic monstrosity was scared of him!


    "I TOLD YOU TO STAY AWAY FROM MEEEE!"


    The Xenoid Chimera''s Electromaic Aura erupted as hundreds of gigantic azure and crimson colored hands reached ke.


    "Let''s see what I can do then!"


    ke smiled as he swung his gigantic arachnid arm, all eight massive ws shed through the empty space, releasing massive waves of darkness.


    BOOOM!


    -----

 Chapter 1167 Overwhelming Power

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    Everyone that was present in the battlefield across the cosmos nced in utter disbelief what has just happened! Just when they believed ke would die, he miraculously came back, and even stronger than before.


    Something that they thought it was never possible, Machine Warriors didn''t just fuse little parts, but their entire bodies converged into a muchrger mech! Something that had only been inside of the dreams of people had actually happened.


    "I-Is this real?! Are my eyes not deceiving me?!" Hermes asked. "Did ke''s Machine Warrior just merge with the machines piloted by his assistant robots?"


    "T-This is just impossible¡­ I had never seen any program that allowed such a thing inside of the Machine Warriors to begin with!" Emilia said.


    "Yeah, this goes¡­ This goes beyond everything!" Patrick said. "I cannot believe what I''m looking at right now! This is¡­ AMAZING! AND SO FUCKING COOL!"


    ke''s three generals were left bbergasted, and so were every other pilot right now as they fought against the surviving smaller Xenoids.


    "He merged?!"


    "The machines became one!"


    "Impossible¡­ this isn''t possible!"


    "Amazing¡­ I can''t believe this!"


    "ke¡­ he has done the impossible time and time again! That guy¡­ he''s unbelievable!"


    And even the Xenoid Titan Chimera felt fear before seeing the massive being that had been born, even though its size couldn''tpare to theirs!


    "Just who¡­ JUST WHAT ARE YOU?!"


    "I don''t even know what I''ve be¡­"


    ke smiled, as a golden paint covered most of his machine body, unifying all colors and giving it an almost divine sheen. Thebined electromaic energy of the Neutonium Hearts and their metallic pieces, alongside ke''s own flesh and blood transformed thispletely.


    He was no longer just piloting the robot, he had be it alongside his Spirits, aplete fusion of metal and flesh! Yet his appearance did not look aberrant, resembling a much more flexible, humanoid machineposed of the parts of other machines unified together.


    "But how about we try to find out together?"


    ke spoke, and with a mere thought, his new powers conjured a gigantic, golden and ck spear, with a red colored tip resembling a drill spinning rapidly. It had materialized out of thebination of the weapons he already had.


    "Shall we?!"


    ke rushed towards the Titanic Chimera!


    "Don''t you dare get close to me, your abomination!"


    Now, the Xenoids, at this point¡­ Were scared! They simply couldn''t understand him anymore. His powers, his tenacity, his abilities. And his relentless mind, which would never waver or be ovee by despair. He was the representation of the relentless human spirit, despite not even being originally a human.


    FLASH!


    "Abomination? Have you seen yourself in the mirror?"


    "Ah!"


    The massive alien was surprised as ke appeared right in front of the titanic Xenoid Chimera! His machine body, no bigger than fifteen meters, couldn''tpare to the monster of over two hundred meters, indeed.


    However the gigantic monstrosity was scared of him, attempting to move away from the mech. Perhaps for the first time ever, the Xenoids were experiencing actual fear!


    "I TOLD YOU TO STAY AWAY FROM ME!"


    The gigantic Xenoid Chimera''s Electromaic Aura erupted from their body as hundreds of gigantic azure and crimson-colored hands reached ke, all of such hands made of this deadly energy that even melted the hardest of metals and almost killed ke before.


    "Let''s see what I can do then."


    ke faced the challenge as he swung his gigantic arachnid armposed of the spider-shaped machine that Hendrick piloted. All eight massive ws, made out of the spider machine''s legs, shed through the empty space, releasing shing waves of darkness and even¡­ void?!


    SLAASH! SLAASH! SLAASH! SLAASH! SLAASH!


    The massive attack split apart the powerful electromaic aura manifestations of the Titanic Xenoid Chimera, destroying his powerful attempt at his life.


    Then, ke''s legs,posed of the machine lend to Saphira, released an explosion of frozen blue demonic mes, making him reach the Xenoid Chimera''s torso.


    "Now stand still, you bastard!"


    "Y-YOUUU!"


    The Xenoid attempted to defend using its gigantic arms, but all of that was just the same thing for ke, as he imbued all his energies into the giant spear he summoned, rushing forward.


    With a single thrust, his aura transformed into one hundred clones of himself, who all thrusted the same spear as him at the same time as he used many consecutive techniques, chaining their attacks andbining their effects!


    [One Hundred Lightning Blows]!


    [God-Killing Celestial Piercing Strike]!


    [One Hundred Spearmen Spirit Exploding Spear Attacks]!


    [One Thousand Battalion''s Spears Multi-Thrust Double Attacks]!


    [Weapon Destroying Bloody Shredder]!


    CLASH! CLASH! CLASH! CLASH! CLASH!


    Explosions of lightning and demonic mes erupted with each blow, pulverizing through the titanic hands within seconds.


    "UUUAAAGGH!"


    The Titanic Xenoid Chimera screamed in agony as he quickly released countless zapping attacks with its electromaic energies.


    He was attempting to fend off ke''s unending charge, but it wasn''t going to work anyways!


    [One Thousand Battalion''s Spears Multi-Thrust Double Attacks Echo]: {Hundred-Armed Spear Asura}!


    His aura erupted, transforming into a massive, red-skinned demon, swinging their one hundred arms against the iing attacks, each one with a massive ck spear.


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!


    The attacks blew up across space, as ke made his way through the countless explosions of energies and reached the Xenoid instantly, his spear rapidly beginning to spin with the drill tip at maximum speed and power.


    "STOP!"


    The Xenoid attacked angrily, shapeshifting to gain hundreds of massive fleshy tentacles from his body and attacking him from every angle!


    CLASH! CLASH! CLASH! CLASH!


    However, ke continued moving forward, blocking the iing attacks and rapidly destroying every piece of flesh he could find.


    "I''ll destroy you no matter what."


    He swung his arachnid ws, releasing several barrages of shadows and void shing waves, cutting through more and more of the Xenoids defensive scales and armor.


    SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH!


    "GRAAAHHHH!"


    The Xenoid screamed in agony as this happened,pletely incapable of believing that he was being rapidly bested by someone like ke!


    He quickly shapeshifted, as he showed a massive cannon made of flesh and biological metal from his chest.


    "We''ll pulverize you and that spaceship! We don''t care about humanity anymore! BURN TO CINDERS!"


    TRUUUM!n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


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