《Daily life of An Avenger (An Arifureta Fanfic)》


 V1.C1 Craze, Grief

    Inside some old building,


    Leo looked at the blonde man, James standing before him. The problem was James and a dozen men pointed a gun at him.


    He shook his head. "I can''t get away now, can I?"


    "We are so fed up with your games, kid," James said. "Give me that book and I might think about sparing your life."


    Leo inhaled deeply on his burning cigarette and puffed out the smoke. "Just kill me now, I burned that book already."


    "What!? You burned that book?!" James yelled. "Do you even know the powers of that book? We could have become Gods with its help."


    He shrugged his shoulders. "Don''t know about that."


    James simply wanted to kill the bastard in front of him, yet he had to wait for his boss. This young bastard single-handedly gave him more trouble than all the governments combined. He was like an immortal cockroach, surviving their attacks every single time.


    Leo looked at his watch and yawned. "Let''s get this over with, I still wanna meet my Uncle."


    James shook his head and let out a sigh filled with regrets. "Unfortunately, I can''t kill you, the boss will be the one to do the honor."


    Leo flashed a mischievous grin at James. "So Robert will come, why don''t we all drink together? It''s going to be fun."


    "Act all you want, kid. You might not get another chance."


    "You sure are a patient one, I thought I would die on the spot after killing those dogs of ''The Apocalypse."


    "You son of a¡ª" James stopped when he heard footsteps from behind. An old man came smoking a cigarette.


    "So, how is the progress?" the old man said.


    "Mission accomplished Boss," James said.


    Leo glanced at the old man. ''This is the old man I saw killing my parents in my dreams.''


    He clenched his fists, his nails dug deep in his skin. He ignored the blood dripping down and yelled, "You fucker! Are you the one who murdered my parents?"


    Robert looked at the young man. "Your surname Evans," he thought for a moment and laughed. "Now I remember. You must be Albert''s kid. Looks like your family tree will end here today."Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.


    "Bastard!"


    Leo cursed angrily as a pitch-black aura slowly oozed from his body and wrapped his body like embracing him.


    Robert thought he was dreaming, what''s that?


    "Do you also see it?" Robert asked.


    James replied, "Yes, I don''t know, but it looks dangerous."


    Robert decided to make him angrier, his crazy mind wanted to see if it was a supernatural power or something like it. "Or should I say that I enjoyed torturing your parents so much that just recalling their screams makes me thrilled."


    "You will die here today, shitty old man!"


    Leo glared at the old man. His aura grew, even his deep blue eyes gradually turned black. A chilly wind coiled around the neck of Robert and others, being a veteran they all knew about it. The young man in front of them gave the feeling of ''Death''.


    Before they could take any action, Leo said, "I planted C4 all over the building. I knew you will chase me here."


    Robert stared in the eyes devoid of all emotions except craziness.


    "FIRE!!!"


    James and the dozen men followed Robert''s order and fired at Leo.


    Leo burst into laughter and pressed the activate button.


    "DON¡ª" Robert couldn''t complete his sentence.


    BOOM!!!


    The bomb exploded, demolishing one-third of the building, leaving the place peaceful moments later. No one might get to know what transpired here.


    Mother¡­ Father¡­ I did it¡­


    Leo thought and his consciousness faded¡­


    Half an hour later¡­


    A car stopped outside the now ruined building, a blonde woman stepped out of the car.


    Thap!


    She slammed the car''s door and ran inside the building. After removing the debris here and there, she found corpses buried in the gravel. She desperately examined every corpse.


    "Please don''t be here¡­ Please don''t..."


    A soft voice akin to begging leaked past her lips as she pulled out another body. She turned over the body with difficulty. It was unscathed even after experiencing the explosion.


    She ripped the burnt clothes and touched his chest. There wasn''t any sign of breathing or heartbeat.


    "...Why? ¡­ Brat, why the fuck you didn''t wait for me?"


    She lashed out her grief at the cold corpse in front. Unable to hold on any longer, the dam of sorrow burst openand hot tears streamed down her cheeks without any break.


    She moved her shaking hands and pulled out a gun from the blazer and aimed at her own forehead.


    The cold muzzle and the smell of gunpowder brought a little sanity to her eyes.


    "How could it happen in two days? ...My family just scattered..."


    She removed the gun from her forehead. "I''ll find the kid¡­"


    She put the body on her shoulders and walked outside the building with unsteady steps.


    "Leo¡­ Tell me what I do about her if I meet her. I can recover, my own life was a shitty one before I met you¡­ but she might just¡­"


    She whispered while gazing at the full moon in the sky. She put the stiff body on her side seat.


    "What a nice place you chose to die¡­ These shitty ruins and how can you die with your body still fine?"


    She tried to touch his cheeks, but her hands met nothing but air. The body in front of her slowly disintegrated into dust, her face turned pale in fright.


    She couldn''t believe her eyes, how can a body disappear like this? She stood there for a long time in disbelief.


    [author] Hate or love, any kind of feedback is appreciated xD[/author]

 V1.C2 The Pain, Memories

    In an Unknown place¡­


    A young man shifted his gaze throughout the place, it was pitch black darkness everywhere, even beneath his legs.


    He plopped on the somewhat cold ground. "What''s wrong with me? Why do I feel better after dying? I don''t hear those whispers anymore."


    He gazed at the dark sky filled with stars. "Just where is this place? It does not look like hell."


    A massive kaleidoscope abruptly appeared in front, filling the sky with colors. Its end couldn''t be seen.


    The sight of the gigantic Kaleidoscope spinning startled him before he could do anything a sudden tugging sensation enveloped him.


    His surroundings changed, he found himself what seemed to be inside the Kaleidoscope.


    The sudden increase in temperature baffled him before he screamed in pain, he was being burned in lava. His throat became dry from screaming¡­ Nobody heard his cries filled with despair.


    It stopped after what felt like eternity. His legs gave away and he fell down with tears streaming down his cheeks.


    But his nightmares had just started. The Kaleidoscope spun again, he turned and tried to run, his face twisted in sheer horror.


    What did I do to deserve this? Who is doing this to me? Why am I here? WHY? WHY? WHY?


    The intensity of pain increased this time.


    Every time was different torture, repeating over and over. Each time it stopped, the youth sat there motionless, until a day came when something broke inside him. His figure started fading.


    A silver-haired woman gazed at Leo figure fading like mist. She came over and yanked him to his feet and slapped him hard, again and again. She saw no light in his eyes, only emptiness.


    "It''s time to use ''that'' or his soul will scatter," she whispered and walked away.


    The Kaleidoscope spun once again. The young man looked at everything, his eyes dead. Familiar images showed up in front of him. Something welled up in his chest when he saw them. The warm feeling in his chest brought tears in his eyes.


    Thump Thump Thump


    He sat there and heard his heart beating again. Laying on the ground, he curled up and cried like a child.


    No one knew the reason for his tears¡­


    A couple watched the child, their faces filled with anguish. The female tried to reach out to him, still, it couldn''t touch him.


    "Please forgive us," she wiped her tears and disappeared from the place¡­


    ***


    Leo woke up and pressed his right hand against the chest to feel the slow and rhythmic heartbeat.


    He couldn''t believe someone so cruel existed, but the inhumane things he witnessed in his life brought this thought to an end. The humans had committed far more cruelties than he could thought.


    Just remember this no matter who you are, I''ll kill you someday. It''ll be my revenge.


    Leo was once again taken out of his body. This time he looked at his life playing in front of him.This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    ***


    11 years ago¡­


    Leo''s was just a six-year-old normal kid. His father, Albert Evans, a strict and loving father and his mother, Emily Evans, a gentle and kind mother, loved and doted on him. He was glad to have such parents. Being famous archeologists, they only stayed with him for a few days every month, still, it only increased his love for them further.


    All of this ended when his Uncle told him about his parent''s death. He ran to his room, cried and prayed to the Gods and hoped for them to return¡­ however, nothing changed...


    He screamed, seeing his parents getting killed by an old man. It was a nightmare like always.


    He couldn''t sleep again, his eyes filled with exhaustion and fear. He kept hearing the devil''s whispers in his mind.


    Avenge them¡­


    Take it from them...


    Torture them...


    Kill them¡­


    He made a choice that day


    Next day...


    Leo went to his father''s room. Opening the drawer, he saw an ancient-looking book.


    He heard them talking about its importance. He burned the book out of hatred. The wind carried away its ashes. He stood there with wet eyes¡­


    ***


    Leo knocked on his Uncle Max''s house. A tall, muscular man opened the door.


    "Uncle Max."


    "Hey, kid."


    Leo went inside and sat on a chair. "Uncle, can I ask for a favor?"


    "Shoot it, kiddo."


    His uncle seemed to be in a good mood. He formed a serious expression unfitting of his age and stared in his Uncle''s eyes.


    "Uncle, tell me who killed my parents?"


    Max looked somewhat troubled from the sudden question. "No kid, your parents died in a car accident, who told you about that."


    "I just know it," he replied in a calm voice.


    "Kid, stop looking for these things and focus on your future," Max said and ruffled his hair.


    "B-But, mom and dad won''t be there. I-I want to avenge them!"


    Max saw the kid had dark circles under his eyes. "Can''t sleep anymore?"


    "I-I can''t, I see an old man killing my parents every time I sleep."


    Max wide smile froze before his eyes stretched wide in shock. He was incredulous as to why this kid got to know the real culprit. Supernatural powers, he thought.


    "You really want to do this? There will be no turning back after this, so think hard and tell me."


    "Please Uncle help me, I won''t be able to do it without you."


    Max sighed and decided to give this kid a try. Maybe this really had supernatural powers.


    "So you knew I was a secret agent?"


    "Yes."


    "Fine, I will train you first. The results will depend on you," his face turned serious. "Don''t expect me to go easy on you."


    Leo nodded his head. "I will do anything!"


    "Okay, kid, come to my house this evening, we''ll start your training."


    ***


    Three years went by, Leo attended school and focused on training. His Uncle taught him everything from Martial arts to Firearms. He still heard some whispers in his head, they only broke him more. Still, he never told anyone about it.


    Finally, he beat his uncle in a spar, being praised as a prodigy. Nobody saw the effort he put in to reach here, the pain he suffered from overexerting his immature muscles. The whispers in his head fueled his rage, allowing him to demonstrate something scientifically impossible. His uncle in fear of him becoming a lab rat never asked him and he wasn''t the one to talk over something so insignificant.


    Japan¡­


    Leo came here to kill his first target, a local drug dealer. No, he had the cover of a drug dealer. He was a part of ''The Apocalypse'', the lead suspect in his parent''s murder.


    Killing his target brought him no sense of satisfaction he had hoped for, instead it dragged his mind further to darkness. The crimes he saw in that building, he wouldn''t forget for eternity.


    The way they treated the girls¡­ He could only clench his fists in anger. He was tired mentally, still, the sleep just wouldn''t come to him. The image of his mother kept appearing in his mind, overlapping with the face of girls.


    He checked the time to see 6 am and decided to do some morning exercises. He went out of the simple yet luxurious apartment and wandered around aimlessly on the streets.


    After crossing several streets, he stopped in front of a bridge. The frigid breeze brushed his cheeks and faint sunlight caressing his face gently with warmth. All tension released from his body as his fatigue gradually disappeared.


    Clunk!


    He followed the noise and noticed a little girl trying to climb up the bridge. He ran and grabbed the metallic rod of the bridge and pulled himself up.


    "Here, take my hand."

 V1.C3 Meeting, Uneasiness

    Leogave a hand to the girl, which she seized without any second thought.


    She raised her head and stared at him with empty eyes. He sat at the edge and patted the space beside him. The girl followed his gesture and satdown tiredly.


    "You didn''tcome here to see the view, did you?" he asked in Japanese.


    Only silencegreeted him. He closed his eyes, the sound of running water calmed his mind.


    Seconds passed into minutes, people down there looked at two and ignored them. One boy tried to shout, asking them to stop but nobody paid him any attention.


    Unable to take the silence anymore, the girl asked, "Why?"


    He lowered his head and gazed at the steadily flowing water. "My parents were killed¡­ when I was six ¡­ I wanted to ¡­ but I couldn''t ¡­ I made my choice and I don''t like the look on your face... It reminds me of my mother."


    He didn''t know why but he wanted to tell her about it whenhe saw her empty eyes.


    "I''m sorry."


    "Can you talk about it now?" he asked in a soft voice.


    She nodded her head. "Otou-san died protecting me when I was five. Okaa-san abused me every dayafter that. I still thought this will e-e-end one day and my gentle mother will be ba-ack ... b-but she married anot-ther man. T-That man ¡­ lusted after m-me. I only hoped to be ignored. That man tried to ... when mom was out. I s-screamed ¡­ and he was arrested. I told O-Okaa-san ... but she ... s-slapped me ¡­ ''How d-dare you seduce t-that ... I¡­ I..."


    She choked up as streams of tears flowed down her cheeks, just recalling this stirred deep emotions inside her.


    Her painful sobs evoked something inside him, his heart empathized with the girl in front. He found himselfunable to look away from the girl.


    "All I can say is... Life is a precious thing even with all the absurdities in it," his voice turned gentle. "You need my help?"


    "H-Help me, please¡­ I don''t want to go back... to that homeanymore," she said and cried loudly.


    He placed his hand on hers and called his Uncle.


    "What''s up kid?"


    "Uncle, I have a favor to ask."


    "Just tell mekiddo."


    "I want you to adopt a girl. She is a friend of mine. Her mother abuses her, so please help her."


    "You are one hell of a kid to pick up a chick in one day. I''m envious."


    "Stop joking, Uncle."


    "Yeah, yeah, I''ll do it. But she''ll be adopted by a female friend inJapan. She okay with that?"


    Putting his phone on hold, he asked, "You wanna get adopted by a woman?"


    She hesitated alittle, he caressed her hair. "Don''t worry, just tell me if anyone bullies you. I''ll come and beat them up."


    She smiled, her face covered in tears and snot. Still, that smile was of a pure-hearted girl.


    "Thank you."


    "I''m Leo, and you?"


    "Nakamura Eri, please call me Eri," she stood and bowed.


    "Let''s go to your new home," he said with a smile.


    They went home and slept like logs, feeling each other''s warmth.


    Next day¡­This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    The two woke by aloud sound. Leo opened the door, a beautiful blonde woman stood there. She appeared to be in her early twenties.


    She smirked at the kid. "You nephew of that geezer?"


    His lips twitched in response. "Uncle Max sent you?"


    Leo moved his head by instincttododge the sudden punch. Gripping the hand he flipped her to the ground.


    "Ouch! that''s no way to treat a beautiful lady."


    He snorted at her words. "Never saw a narcissist woman like you."


    "Jeez, you won''t be able to get a woman for yourself lik¡ª" she paused and looked at the cute girl peeking from the door. "You already got one at home, huh."


    "You''re going to adopt her," he said in a cold voice.


    "Kids nowadays are so violentand cold," she sighed, acting like an old woman. "Girl, you wanna live with me?"


    Eri looked at Leo and noddedher head.


    "Don''t worry, I''ll also come hereoccasionally. She''ll die before she tries anything funny."


    Eri nodded her head, his care induced a warm and fuzzy feeling in her heart.


    He looked at the blonde woman. "What about her education?"


    "About that, she will go to her school like before. No need to change her school or anything. This apartment looks nice, I''ll crash here with y''all."


    "Shameless woman," both of them said in unison.


    Her brows twitched at being called shameless. "How about an introduction, I''m Maria."


    "Leo."


    "Eri."


    Both of them replied coldly.


    ***


    After this, Eri became a normal student. Maria taught some of her self-defensetechniques to Eri.


    Maria was shameless yet quiteperceptive. She became like a big sister to Eri, evenmanaged to make Eri call her Maria nee-chan.


    Eri voice wasn''t gloomy anymore. She also grew her hair, nobody knew the reason except Maria.


    Leo went on another mission a weeklater. She sent him off with a smile, he knew she was sad. he gave her a hug and kissed her forehead.


    He looked at Maria with cold eyes. "I''ll kill you if anything happens to her."


    Maria''s face twitched in response. "Brat, you wait."


    ***


    His missions were all over the world. He went country to country killing scum.


    He came back to Japan tired andbroken inside. He still couldn''t believe the things he witnessed, the dark side of society. He went tosleep, completely exhausted.


    He woke up greeted by a fragrance. Maria was hugging him tightly, nearly suffocating him. He tried to free himself.


    His attempt woke her up, she squeezed him tighter in her embrace.


    "I don''t know what you saw out there kid, but stay strong. That girl looks up toyou more than you ever know, think about herfeelings if she sees you like this."


    He released himself from her graspand nodded his head. His cold gaze softened a little. "Thanks, shameless woman."


    Maria was a bit amazed by this kid''s mentality. She knew about his goals to bring down an organization, her heart ached tosee a child like him suffering. But she knew nothing would stop him now, the fire of hatred inside him will only burn wilder if she suppressed it.


    "You''re welcome, Leo."


    Leo promised to never let Eri seehim like this. He hated to see her cry. He hated the one who made her cry.


    "I''m going out."


    Nobody noticed the girl outside escaping in a hurry.


    ***


    Years went by, Leo spent all his time with Eri when he wasn''t on his mission.They played games together, went on severaldates and did lots of things together. Eri was really a book freak. She had filled her room with Japanese Manga, even Maria got addicted to them. He also read a few, but he was more of an RPG lover. He was really grateful to herand Maria, the trio really became close enough to call each other family.


    Eri made many friends in high school. She looked more mature and beautiful with her long black hair and brown eyes. She became one of the idols in her school and had many friends. He met them, they were all good kids except one.


    On the other hand, he also found the intel about his parent''s killer, Robert and his right-hand man, James.


    But, that is a story for a later time.


    ***


    Leo was about to board the flightback to Japan.


    Bzzzt! Bzzzt!


    His phone vibrated inside his pocket, he apologized to the hostess with asmile and answered the call.


    "Hello, Uncle¡­"


    "How are you? You completed themission?"


    "What happened?"


    "Nothing, it''s just..."


    "Just cut to the chase."


    "Eri and her classmates disappeared."


    He furrowed his brows. "How?"


    "This happened yesterday, nobody saw them getting out of school, even CCTV footage has nothing. We are searching for a hidden exit in school, there is nothing like thathere."


    "Call me if you find her," He hungup and touched his heart.


    For some reason, his heart thumped wildly inside his chest, an uneasiness creeping around his mind.


    He was interrupted by another call, it was Maria this time.


    "Kid, you okay? Don''t worry aboutEri, this lady will find her, even if it breaks mybones. Just stay strong and believe in me."


    Her worried voice conveyed through the phone, it only strengthened his premonition further.


    "Thanks for the help, don''t pushyourself too much Maria," he said, his voicecontaining a hint of care.


    Maria noticed the change in his voice. "Look, who is finally caring about this lady."


    "It''s not like I hated you¡­ after that," he whispered the last part and hung up.


    Maybe I should start the plan now.


    He hated this plan after finding afamily but every time he wanted to stop, the nightmares pulled him back. He feared that ''The Apocalypse'' will bare their fang at his family someday. So, he decided to rootthem out of the place, in other words, a final battle to eradicate them. Only the future will decide the survivor or maybe both sides will perish.


    He decided to spread rumors ofthe book to lead Robert to himself. It was his last gamble to lure him out, and it was successful.


    Robert made his entry, only to blasted to smithereens. He never knew Leohadthis deep thirst for revenge.

 V1.C4 The Deal, Inside the Forest

    Leoopened his eyes after rewatching his entire life, a silver haired woman greeted him. Her face covered in a mask, it had a circular blood-red marble fixed where her forehead should be.


    "Who...are you?"


    He couldn''t speak correctly with a dry throat. He coughed hard and tried to whisper some words.


    "I am theEntity who governs over Souls," she said, her voice cold and apathetic.


    "Was it... You?"


    His face morphed into a crazy expression. Pitch-black aura flowed from him, even his eyes sclera turned black.


    He rushed at her but something stopped him, he saw pure white chains binding both his hands.


    Something cold pressed on his cheeks. "Calm down, Child."


    Her voice still sounded so unemotional, yet it brought him enough comfort to calm him down.


    "I did all this to make your soul stronger," she said. "Your soul couldn''t get through the cycle of reincarnation because of high karma. It might have dissipated if I didn''t do this."


    He lowered hishead. "I have high karma, I never did anything good..."


    She thought for a moment. "You saved many people from Robert''s Organization, but most importantly, you burned the ''Grimoire of Death'', a cursed evilartifact."


    "The book.. was ''Grimoire of Death''?"


    "Yes, giving control over ''Laws of death'', it takes away rationality. You did good not opening it, or you would have gone berserk and ended everything."


    Her words made himshudder in fear.


    "The book was thatpowerful? How come my parents had it with them?"


    She shook her head. "I can''tanswer that question."


    "Why?"


    "I can''t answer that question as well."


    He gritted his teeth. "Thentell me why Robert knew about that book?"


    "The Grimoire has a consciousness, which tends to attract people with high negative karma and corrupt their soul."


    "What am I gonna do now?" He said, gazing at the ground.


    She raised his chin up. "Do you want to pass over or do you want to becomestronger?"


    He thought for a moment and showed a bloodthirsty smile. "I want tobecome stronger to slaughter people like you."


    "Then, I have a deal for you," she said without hesitation.


    Her words were tempting him somehow.


    "Nakamura Eri, your childhood friend. She, who mysteriously disappeared withher classmates."


    His eyes opened wide in shock. "E-Eri? W-Where is she?"


    "She was summoned to anotherworld, to fight a hopeless war against the Demons. She will be killed if you don''t do anything."


    "Why are you telling me this?"


    "I want to give you something," she snapped her fingers and a rainbow-colored Orb appeared floating there. "It can fulfill anydesires of yours. I call it ''The Creed''. Blurring the line between Reality and Beliefs, it can give you unimaginable powers."


    "What do you get from this?" heasked cautiously.


    He was tempted but he would be damned if he had to become a slave of hers.


    "You see, this is something I madewith my powers. I need a strong soul with high karma to activate it. I need your consent to fuse it with your soul, there is still a price to pay."


    Her words sounded too good tobe true, he stared at her masked face. "What price?"The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.


    She continued, "You won''t ever be able to reincarnate if you die. Your soulwill be consumed by Void and roam endlessly there feeling nothing."


    He was stunned for a moment before his face cracked a fearless smile. "That is a very little price to pay if I can save Eri."


    "Great," she brought the Orb nearhis chest and it vanished inside him.


    He felt something connecting with him, giving him a warm feeling.


    (Establishing connection with User... Connected... Fusing with User''s Soul: 1%... 14%... 50%... 78.... 100%... Fusion Completed)


    He heard an artificial voice speakingto him.


    "I just heard a voice."


    The Entity freed his hands fromthe chains, unable to react to sudden change, he fell to his knees.


    She leaned and brought her face closer. "So it finally connected! What did it say? Tell me quickly!"


    He stared at her with a blank face. "It says ''Fusion Completed''."


    "Very well, then I will fulfill my part of the deal and send you to Tortus and remember this, you have 4 months to help Eri Nakamura."


    She waved her hand and opened a portal. He was picked up and thrown inside.


    After sending Leo, the Entity turned back to see a man with a twisted smile on his face.


    "What do you want now?" she said in a cold voice.


    His smile didn''t falter. "Nothing, nothing, I just wanted to confirm something."


    Her face under the mask twisted in disgust every time she saw his smile, shewould rather not do his bidding. But she had no choice.


    Maybe sensing her distaste, he turned to her and started laughing crazily.


    His madness echoed through theplace¡­


    ***


    In an unknown forest¡­


    A young fell in the forest hittinghis head on the ground. Dazzling sunlight blinded his deep blue eyes. The chirping of birds reached his ears and a refreshing breeze brushed hisdark brown hair. It was a beautiful sight. But the youth¡­


    "Damned Entity, I''ll have my revenge once I get stronger."


    [Converting Host''s experience into basic skills...]


    [''Marksmanship'' skill acquired]


    [''Martial Arts'' skill acquired]


    [''Weapon Mastery'' skill acquired]


    [''Pain tolerance'' skill acquired]


    [''Swift steps'' skill acquired]


    [''Mental Fortitude'' skill acquired]


    These weird texts appeared infront of him.


    "What''s this?" He tried to touch them but his hand just passed through them.


    (These are the skills you learned in your previous life.)


    He heard a gentle voice in his mind. "Who?"


    (I am consciousness of ''The Creed''. I have adjusted my voice to your preference.)


    He scratched his cheeks awkwardly when she called out his preference. She chuckled in his mind.


    (I can hear your thoughts and respond to them telepathically. Just say ''Menu'' in your mind to access the system.)


    ''Just call me Leo. I''ll call you ''Jen'' which is short for ''Jenica''.''


    (Okay, Leo.)


    Leaning against a tree comfortably he thought,''Menu''


    A list of text appeared in frontof him, he tilted his head and the texts also changed their angle in sync.


    [Status]


    [Inventory]


    [Shop]


    [Locked]


    [Locked]


    [Locked]


    ([Status] show your current parameters, skills, and abilities. You can store anything in [Inventory]. The [Shop] is useful for buying some items in this world, but you need Shop Points or SP to buy them. Other functions will unlock by completing various quests.)


    He touched status and anothermenu popped up.


    [Status]


    Name: Leo Evans


    Title: ¨C


    Race: Human


    Age: 17


    Level: 1


    Job: Berserker


    Strength: 70


    Vitality: 80


    Defense: 80


    Agility: 60


    Magic: 300 (Sealed)


    Magic Defense: 300


    ''Why is my magic so high compared to other stats? I haven''t even used magic yet.''


    (Magic stat is directly related to Soul. As your Soul is tempered by The Entity,it has evolved nearly to the limit of a mortal and your body is still not strong enough to match your soul. Raise your base stats and level to remove the seal.)


    ''Does that mean I have the potential to become a ''God''?''


    (Yes.)


    Her nonchalant words dumbfounded him. They were talking about Gods for Christ''s sake.


    Her melodic laughter chimed inside his mind.


    (Gods are not that omnipotent as you think.)


    He reluctantly nodded his head, he needed every bit of power to help Eri so it was a good thing. Just thinking about the clingy black haired girl brought a smile to his face.


    ''You are strong for acting normal after all that,''thought Jen.


    [Skills]


    [Martial Arts (Passive skill)]


    Increases physical strength ofthe user


    [Marksmanship (Passive skill)]


    Improves skill with ranged weapons


    [Melee Weapon Mastery (Passive skill)]


    Improves skill with Melee weapons


    [Swift steps (Passive skill)]


    Improves movement speed of the user


    [Pain Tolerance (Passive skill)]


    Increases resistance to pain


    [Mental Fortitude (Passive skill)]


    Increased resistance to any mental status


    ''These skills¡­ are OP.''


    (You got [Martial Arts], [Marksmanship], [Melee Weapon Mastery] and [Swift steps] from your time on Earth. The last two wereachieved with your time in the Entity''s domain.)


    He nodded his head in approval. He was confident when it comes to shooting guns and taking lives. It was all he did on Earth, he survived the most gruesome state thanks to his unknown supernatural abilities. He even charged into a storm of bullets only relying on the ability of his healing to survive.


    (Your time in [Kaleidoscope of Memories] tempered your mind but your trauma is still being suppressed by [MentalFortitude]. So try not to be too emotional.)


    He flinched hearing it beforenodding his head seriously.


    [Innate Abilities]


    ...

 V1.C5 Innate Ability, Vicious fight

    [InnateAbilities]


    [Spirit Language] (S)


    Gives theability to communicate with any sentient being.


    [Avenger] (SSS)


    Gives the urge to avenge wrongdoing inflicted upon the user. Trigger mental status that eats away rationality over time. Only thirst for revenge is left.


    Berserk (Active skill): Fueled by hatred, it increases stats by 3x at the price of rationality.


    Wrath Aura (Active Skill): Covers the user in a black aura.


    Effects: Unknown


    ?? (??): ????? ]


    ''What''s an innate ability? Is this the reason for all the nightmares in my previous life? [Wrath Aura] seems familiar.''


    (I think so, this one can cause nightmares if you don''t give in to the urge.)


    ''Anything to help from that berserk thingy?''


    (Don''t worry, your passive skill ''Mental fortitude'' has somewhatsuppressed it. Even if it couldn''t, I can pull you back by giving a shock to your soul.)


    Her words sent a chill down his spine, he swore to never lose his mind.


    ''How did I even have this innate in the first place?''


    (Some peopleare born with innate, or some abilities evolveto the level of innate. But those cases are very rare. As Innate is directly connected to the soul, it can influence user personality.)


    ''So that''s why I have so much urge to take revenge.''


    (True.)


    ''I will try to live for myself this time. I don''t know how it will work out with my instincts.''


    (...)


    ''I also don''t need to worry about communicating with anyone here, right?''


    (Yes, [SpiritLanguage] will help with that.)


    ''Nice!''


    He startedchecking other functions of the system. A 5x5 grid popped out in front of him. It was his [Inventory].


    He opened [Shop] to see a huge list of items.


    [Shop]


    [Creation Magic - 100,000SP


    Evolution Magic - 100,000SP


    Spirit Magic - 100,000SP


    Gravity Magic - 100,000SP


    Spatial Magic- 100,000SP


    Restoration Magic - 100,000SP


    MetamorphosisMagic - 100,000SPStolen novel; please report.


    Ambrosia -50000SP


    Demonic Sword of Demise - 200,000SP


    Dragon Bow- 100,000SP


    Divine Arbiter- 100,000SP


    Holy Sword of Ancient Hero - 100,000SP


    Katana of Sword Hero - 90,000SP


    Hand Fortress - 80,000SP


    ¡­..]


    ''How much SP do I have?''


    (Zero.)


    He silently closed the shop menu. The number of zeroes blinded his innocent eyes.


    (You can gain SP by selling mana crystals. Physical itemsrequire more SP to materialize. As for magic skills, they require less SP. The Creed can directly interfere with your soul to imprint skill.)


    A dejected sigh leaked past his lips before he psyched himself up for this unknown world. His stomach rumbled loudly, he shook his head and decided to search for any city.


    He headed toward the north carefully. After walking for tenminutes, he heardloud noises of metal clashingand some loud roars. He hurried in the direction and took cover behind a tree to peak.


    His narrowed eyes caught sight of a fight happeningbetween three people and a large monster.


    First one was a Swordsman donned in armor. Second, most probably an Assassin, the way he swiftly moved the dagger. The last one was a female in theback equipped with a stick of some sort inher hand. A bunch of ice spears shot from it, only to be blocked by Monster''s thick bulky arms.


    The monster was over seven feet tall, fighting against 3 easily, no, rather than fighting, it was toying withthem.


    [New Quest available: Kill the Mutated Ogre]


    [Kill the Ogreand save the adventurers. Mutated Ogre is a rare subspecies of Ogre.


    Difficulty: B+


    Rewards:Unlock [Minimap] function, 2000 SP, 1x [C-Rank Weapon]


    [Accept / Decline]


    (Will you do it?)


    ''Of course, I''ll do it.''


    (Be careful.)


    He owned noweapons, so he decided on a sneak attack. He kicked the ground and dashed in the direction of Ogre. His own speed amazed him, he leaped and kicked the Ogre''s back of the head.


    Clunk!


    He swear he heard a metallic sound from the head as if madeof metal. Still in air, he moved his leg upwardas it hit Ogre right in its jaws.


    Relying on therecoil, he flipped backward and looked at thestunned adventures.


    "Give me your sword!".


    The dumbfoundedadventures snapped out of daze and threw a sword. He caught the sword and slashed atOgre neck. Blood spurted, but the resistancehe faced was enormous as if cutting steel rather than someone''s skin.


    The Ogre roared angrily and tackled him. He couldn''t dodge in time and crashed against a tree. A trickle of blood flowed down his lips, his instincts heightened at the familiar smell.


    Truthfully, it hurt him more than any car wreck. He stood uphurriedly and barely dodge a punch.


    Bam!


    The solid tree fell apart from the impact. The Ogre was like an angry beast, hitting everything in sight. He tried ''hit and run tactic'', but his attacks onlygrazed past its skin without any major injuries.


    ''I never thought I would use it this early.''


    "Berserk"


    Memories of his nightmares flooded his mind. His heightenedinstincts started craving blood, he just wantedto go wild.


    He roared likea beast and pushed his fist forward. TheOgre chest flew backward as its chest cavedfrom the powerful strength behind the punch.


    Leo mountedon Ogre and pounded his fist on its face brutally.


    Bam! Bam! Bam!


    The Ogrewhimpered on the ground, begging for mercy. But all it got was more vicious punches.


    The head of Ogre was crushed thoroughly, it was a gruesome sight. It was hard to decide who was the monster here.


    Leo raised his head, a roar similar to a wild beast came out of his mouth.


    ''Leo! Snap out of it! Do I really have to do it?''


    "...?"


    He came back to his senses and looked at the sight in front. An overwhelming sense of satisfactionaccompanied with a tingly pain surged throughhis body. His body seemed stronger than before.


    ''Thanks, Jen, I won''t use it again, unless I have no other choice.''''


    (Good, or I willteach you the hard way.)


    [Level up]


    [Quest Completed]


    Rewards obtained: [Minimap] unlocked, 2000SP, 1x C-Rank Sword


    ''So it will happenevery time I go crazy. What is this level up?''


    (Levels andstats determine your potential here. You can increase it by training or pushing your body to the limits.)


    ''What betterway to increase the level than fighting in a battle to death.''


    "Brother, who might you be?"


    He turned his sideway and caught three shocked faces at the corner of his eyes. A grin formed on his face, showing his canines.


    "Finally some humans."

 V1.C6 Apostle? Heiligh Kingdom

    Thethree adventurers stare dumbfoundedly at the monster or human in front of them. A tall and handsome man with dark brown hair and deep blue eyes. This scene would be perfect if he wasn''t covered in blood.


    The guyswere nearly scared to death by him, this man was a Berserker. They didn''t know what would happen to them now. Mutated Ogre, which were known for their higher physical stats, yet he crushed its head with sheer strength. Its strength was equal to any monster found on the 40th floor on the Orcus Labyrinth.That Black aura and ferociousness still give them chills.


    The femalemagician had an indescribable expression on her face.


    Seeing her, the Assassin and Swordsman duo shook theirheads. No matter what, he saved their lives.


    The swordsman was the first one to speak. "Brother, who might you be?"


    The newcomer turned his head and grinned, sending a chill up their spine.


    He walked toward them in small steps. His deep blue eyes shining, as if looking at some prey.


    "Me? I just wanted my revenge from this Ogre. This bastard ambushed me when I was bathing. I lost all my possessions because of it. Well, at least I grabbed my clothes or I might still be butt-naked."


    "....."


    "....."


    "....."


    ''You will fight an Mutated Ogre to death just for that?''was their thought, but no one said it aloud.


    With his lips forming a wide grin, he asked, "Shouldn''t you introduce yourself first before asking others?"


    The femalemagician flinched before she made a bow. "Sorry, I''m Irene, this swordsman is Dale and that assassin is Tris. We are Purple-ranked adventurers."


    "I see, so you guys are adventurers. Can you show me the way to the nearest town?"


    "Of coursewe can," she said and pointed at the Ogre''s corpse. "You don''t need the mana crystal?"


    Leo closed his eyes.''How do I take it out?''


    (Ogre mana crystal is inside their chest.)


    He used Dale''s Sword to take out the mana crystal. Strangely, the skin wasn''t as hard as it was before or maybe he got stronger after the level up.


    ''His skills are good,''thought adventurers.


    "You guys can dismantle the rest," he said while playing with the magic stone.


    Dale and Tris gave Irene a thumbs-up behind Leo''s back and started dismantling the Ogre.


    Leo pocketed the magic stone. "Let''s talk about you while they do their stuff."


    She searchedthrough her small bag and took out a water bottle and a cloth. "Here, I''m Irene, 20 years old and still single."


    His jawdropped open from her introduction, how can you say that with a calm face.


    "Call me Leo and where might you be from?"


    "Horaud Town," she said and stared at him intently.


    "Not telling," he said playfully and took off his jacket full of blood and wiped his face and arms with the wet cloth.


    He was left in a black T-shirt and jeans. Irene looked at his figure with a calm smile, her heart was a differentmatter.


    She averted her gaze and asked, "Why did you go wild likethat? Was that caused by some sort of skill?"


    "I¡­ can we not talk about it?"


    This woman still wants to know more about me, even after seeing me like that. Should I keep my distancefrom her?


    Dale and Tris were done with the dismantling.


    "Let''s go,"Tris said.


    Dale also came with a bag on his shoulder and grinned.


    Thus, thegroup started walking towards Horaud Town with Dale and Tris in the front, while Leo and Irene strolled behind them.This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.


    After spending so much time without any human interaction, Leo was starving to speak with anyone. Still, he tried to probe bits of pieces of information from Irene during their conversation.


    [Questavailable: Join the Adventurer Guild]


    Enter the city with adventurers and join the guild as an adventurer


    Difficulty: D


    Rewards: Unlock [Analyze] function, 100SP


    [Accept / Decline]


    ''Accept it, Jen.''


    He wantedto become an adventurer anyway. Irene''s party seemed good to him, only if they wanted a berserk guy like him.


    "Are youalright?"


    Ending the conversation with Jen, he glanced at Irene, a pale-skinned woman with long light blue hair and silver eyes. He found her rather beautiful even in comparison to the women he met on Earth.


    "Yeah, I''m fine. Just a little hungry."


    An amused smile made its way on her way on her face, she never met someonetrulyhonest like him.


    "Don''t worry about that, I''ll show you the best delicacies in town."


    "I''m truly grateful for this favor."


    "You shouldbe."


    They looked at each other and cracked a smile.


    "What''s it like working for Adventurer Guild?"


    "Adventurers do all kinds of quests, you know like monstersubjugation, collecting raw material and all sorts of odd jobs."


    "Can I jointhe Adventurer Guild without any Identity?"


    Irene showed a confused expression before rememberingthe words he said earlier. "You lost it while running?"


    "Yeah..." hepurposefully trailed off, a sad expression on his face.


    Unknown to him, her eyes were shining with a faint glow. "I will get you a new status plate."


    ''What''s a Status plate, Jen?''


    (It''ll costyou 1SP. I''m sorry, but I''m also restricted by ''The Creed''.)


    ''Okay, take it and no need to be sorry.''


    (It''s an Artifact used in this world. It acts as a form of Identification and quantifies your parameters and skills.)


    He nodded his head at her explanation, this was one useful artifact to multitask as identity and growth tracker.


    "Thank you, Irene," he expressed his gratitude with a smile, a little relieved inside.


    She also smiled. "It''s the least I can do after you saved our lives."


    After walking for 15 minutes, a sight came in view thattruly dumbfounded Leo. His eyes were unable to hide the surprise as he stared at the massive walls with a large gate made of iron-like metal embedded in it, probably for entering the Kingdom.


    He shook off the surprise, he didn''t want to appear too suspicious.


    "Halt!"


    A loud was heard accompanied with a man clad in armor, probably a Guard.


    "Show usyour status plate or Identification," said the 2nd Guard who came out of the small post madenear the gate.


    Irene put her hand in the pocket of her mage robes and took out a squared plate. She pressed her finger against it and flashed the status plate. The soldier examined the plate, his eyes about to pop out of sockets in shock.


    "I-I-Irene-sama!"


    The soldier''sshocked expression was noticed by Leo, who came to the conclusion that this easy going woman held an influence strong enough to scare these guards.


    The Guards looked at him suspiciously, well, he couldn''tdeny it. He wore a black T-shirt and jeans in a fantasy world, any passerby would think of him weirdly.


    "A-Are you one of the Apostles?" asked the guard fearfully.


    "Forgive my rudeness but I bought these clothes from a passing merchant. As for Apostles, I grew up in a small village so I have no knowledge pertaining to any Apostle."


    The soldiernodded his head, he never heard any news of missing Apostle. "I meant one of the summoned heroes."


    "No, I''m not," he denied with a serious face.


    They must be talking about Eri and her classmates. Looks like I came to the right place.


    "He is my friend "


    Before the guard continued Irene cut him off in a rather coldmanner.


    The Guard stepped back as his large shrank in fear. "P-Please don''t c-cripple me."


    Seeing her face twitching in anger, he tried hard to suppress the laugh threatening to come out.


    "Just open the damn door!"


    "Hai!"


    He orderedanother guard to open the door.


    Leo entered the gate with eyes brimming with curiosity. His first impression was that the Heiligh Kingdom looked really similar to a medievalcity. Old fashioned streets packed with citizens, caravans passing by here and there. Kids playing on the streets. Guards donning light armor patrolled the streets. The small shops on either side of the streets created a rather lively atmosphere.


    They hired a caravan to Horaud Town. Irene and Leo sat together facing Dale and Tris.


    She looked at him. "How old are you?"


    "...17"


    Dale and Tris were speechless.''Damn! This guy is 17 and still stronger than us. Must be a genius.''


    He sighed at their reaction, the same people of his Uncle''scircle gave him.


    He lowered his head, his mind lost in old memories. "My uncle trained me since I was 6. Maybe that''s the reason I''m strong."


    He glanced at them to see a warm? smile on their faces, he didn''t know the reason.


    "Anyways, how is Horaud town? I''ve never been there," hesaid, trying to change the depressing topic.


    Dale said, "It''s a town for adventurers, most people gothere for Orcus Labyrinth. We also dive in sometimes."


    "Can you show me around?"


    "Sure, I''lldo it," Irene volunteered herself with a smile.


    ''So Ice Princess can smile now?''Dale and Tris thought.


    They chattedabout random things for the rest of the way. Leo just nodded his head, muddle-headed.


    His eyes were fixed at the right corner of his vision, acircular map was there, showing blue, yellow and white dots.


    ''So that big blue dot is for me, yellow for allies, white forstrangers and maybe red for enemies.''


    (Yes, it can show enemies on it. If they are not hiding using any skill. The maximum range is 100m fornow, and undiscovered areas are left blank.)

 V1.C7 Adventurer Guild, New skill

    Abrown-haired youth walked on the streets accompanied by a blue-haired woman. He seemed oblivious or just ignored the surprised gazes of people and kept looking around around with a astonished expression.


    HoraudTown was different, it was bustling with adventurers. The streets loaded with different stalls,the merchants shouted to compete with each other. A water fountain in the middle of the town''s plaza, it all looked really impressive.


    He wascurious about a gate ahead of the fountain. It looked like an entrance to some underground cave.


    "What''s that?" he asked, pointing at the gate.


    "Oh, that''s the entrance to Orcus Labyrinth."


    "I see."


    "Let''s eat something first, shall we?"


    "Yeah, my stomach is killing me for a while."


    They went by a few streets and stopped in front of a building that looked like an inn or restaurant. Leo tilted his head up to see a wooden board with some unknown letters carved on it.


    "It''s the most affordable inn in this town, only costing 7000 Luta for a month with the best food."


    He nodded his head and asked Jen about Luta, shesnickered in his mind asking for 1SP again.


    ''Take it, you miser.''


    (Luta is the currency used in human countries, with the same value as Japanese yen. It comes in blue, red, yellow, purple, green, black, silver, goldwith their values being 1, 5, 10, 50, 100, 500, 1000, 5000 and 10,000 respectively.)


    "Here, take it."


    He snapped out of his thoughts and saw Irene giving him 3 black coins, 3000 Luta.


    "Why?"


    He was unable to believe that someone could be so kind after seeing him in his berserk state. But her face held no fear, only kindness.


    "You lost your money, right? So keep it."


    Hescratched his cheeks and took it.


    "Thanks."


    "Don''t worry about it," she replied with a beautifulsmile.


    ''Maybe she isn''t that bad after all.''


    "Now let''s go in," she said and pulled him inside.


    Leo ate his fill after a long time, devouring all food on the table. He gave a thumbs-up to Irene,earning him a smile from the poker faced woman.


    He rented a room for one week with breakfast and dinner for 3000 Luta. It was such a cheap deal.


    They went out to buy some supplies and commoner clothes for Leo. He borrowed another 1000 Luta from Irene and promised to pay herback in the future.


    ***


    Leo and Irene stepped inside the adventure guild. It was clean inside with a neat counter in front and some people gossiping on the side. Some turned toward him and whistled loudly.


    "Kid got guts dating Ice Princess,"


    "Irene-samaaaaa."


    All sortsof weird whispers reached him.


    Irene splendidly ignored them and walked to the counter. "Is the branch head busy?"


    The receptionist, a young girl looked up and her face froze. "N-No, Young miss, Loa-sama is free."


    "Then, I''m going in."


    Inside the room, Leo eyed the old bald man with a scar on his right eye, his ripped body showed he wasn''t one to be messed with.


    "Uncle, I need a status plate for my friend," Irene said.


    So sheis the niece of Branch Head, that explains her reputation. But she shouldn''t be feared that much, right?


    Irene''s uncle without any word threw a plate at her.


    Irene gave the plate to Leo. "Drip some blood in the center.


    He bit his finger and dripped blood on the plate. A magic circle flared with a faint red glow and the plate was dyed blood red.


    "Idiot!"


    She put his finger in her mouth and sucked on it, lookingat him with puppy eyes. She looked so cute and seductive.


    He coughed dryly and pulled back his finger forcefully.If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.


    "This much pain is nothing," he said with an awkward smile.


    Feeling a sudden chill, he looked at Irene''s uncle who in turn eyed him sharply.This man is really strong.


    Irene''s uncle nodded his head in approval.''This kid has good instincts.''


    Tch


    He looked at Irene, she still had a calm smile on her face. Maybe it was just an imagination, he thought and inspected the status plate.


    Leo Evans


    Age:17 Male


    Level: 2


    Job:Berserker


    Strength: 90


    Vitality:100


    Defense: 100


    Agility: 80


    Magic: 340


    Magic Defense: 340


    Skills:Swift steps ¡ª Martial Arts ¡ª Marksmanship ¡ª Weapon Mastery ¡ª Mental Fortitude ¡ª Pain Tolerance


    (Touch the minus icon, quickly!)


    Leotouched the icon as Jen said.


    ''What was that about?''


    (Your parameters are way too high for a mere level 2. Stay low profile until you get stronger.)


    ''What''sthe average stats of people here.''


    (10 in everything.)


    That''s pretty weak. But there would be some old monsters here, like the guy in front of me.


    "I want to join the guild as an adventurer," he said, looking at Irene''s Uncle.


    "Sure,give me your status plate."


    Leo tossed the plate to Irene''s uncle and saw himwriting something on it before throwing it back. He noticed an extra adventurer listed as a new Job in it.


    "You will get a 10% bonus to sales in the guild and 10%-20% off in shops doing business with guild related shops."


    Heshrugged his shoulder and looked at Irene. "Let''s go."


    [QuestCompleted: Join the Adventurer Guild.]


    Reward Obtained: [Analyze] function unlocked, 100SP


    Irene quietly followed him, leaving her Uncle speechless.When did this kid start to date someone?


    ***


    "Youdon''t like your Uncle?" asked Leo, he saw her acting rather oddly with her Uncle.


    "He is annoying," she said plainly. "Let''s meet tomorrow, we will go to the Great Labyrinth to collect some raw materials. Will you come?"


    He was waiting for this chance, so he gave a quick nod. "Sure."


    They both parted ways with a simple goodbye. He took a glance at the sun already sunk half below horizon and returned to the inn.


    After a refreshing cold bath, he entered his simple room including only a single bed and chair. He threw everything to the back of his head and rested his body on the bed.


    "Today sure was tiring, it''s been a while since I enjoyedmyself so much."


    (.....)


    ''Why areyou so silent now?''


    (I wasjust thinking about how simple-minded you are.)


    ''Says the cheap woman. Tell me about [Analyze] function.''


    ([Analyze] can scan and quantify any living and non-living thing.)


    He looked at the bed.''Analyze''


    [Wooden Bed]


    [A simplebed made of wood with a mattress stuffedwith wool.]


    He really hit the jackpot with this skill. It''ll be very helpful in Labyrinth for checking stats of monsters. He opened inventory and equipped his new sword. A sturdy built sword appeared in his hands, made of Iron.


    ''Analyze''


    [Tempered Iron Sword]


    A swordmade from high tempered iron, giving it high durability and sharpness.


    Rank: C


    <ol>


    <li style="font-weight: 400"> Attack +100</li>


    </ol>


    ''Cheap sword, but it will do for now. The ranks start from?''


    (F-Rank is lowest.)


    ''Sell me information about this world. I don''t want to look too suspicious asking common things here.''


    Jen thought about selling him normal info or¡­. the realone. This might be a good trial for him to overcome. As usual she deducted 1SP as her payment, every SP was useful for her own growth.


    (As you know this world is known as Tortus, ruled by 3 races. Human rules Northern half, while Demon rules Southern half of the continent. Whereas beastmen or demi-humans live in the far east side of the continent. Humans and Demons waged war for centuries over their beliefs. Humans believe in Creator God Ehit and Demons believe in their Demon God.)


    ''So, It is safe to say that Ehit is the one who summonedEri.''


    His lips twisted in a vicious smile as his instincts craved revenge.


    (As you are now, you will die against his weakest soldier.)


    She poured cold water on his plans.


    ''Howmuch for a detailed map of the Tortus?''


    (30SP)


    ''Rob me. How much SP will that Ogre mana crystal sell for?''


    (100SP. The mana crystal has accumulated quite a bit ofmana.)


    ''Take it, and buy the map.''


    He took out the map from inventory. It showed locations of all important places, there were blue marks showing''Seven Great Labyrinths''.


    ''Good, now spit out the price for a detailed map of everycity here. I don''t want to explore every city to finish the [Minimap]''


    (1000SP, it will decrease your workload by a margin.)


    ''...Not buying. Tell me about the Great Labyrinths.''


    (1SP)


    He was tongue-tied by her cheapness, asking 1SP for everything.


    (The Great labyrinths are seven labyrinths scattered all over the continent also marked on your map. They all have different types of trials to overcome. The one located in Horaud Town is Great Orcus Labyrinth, said to be 100 floors high with every floor harder than the previous one. No one has cleared it yet.)


    He hadfour months to help Eri, his first goal was to reach at least Level 60 or 70 during this time.


    (Don''t meet her before that, or you will regret it for the rest of your life.)


    He never heard her this serious.''And why is that?''


    (.....)


    [Quest available: Save Eri Nakamura and her classmates]


    Yourchildhood friend and her classmates will be in big trouble as said by ''The Entity'', save them before they die.


    Difficulty: S


    Rewards: Upgrade [Minimap] function, Upgrade [Analyze] function, 10000SP, 1x [MysteryShop] Coupon


    [Accept / Deny]


    ''How do I use magic?''


    (2¡ª) ''Take it!''


    (First, you need a magic circle inscribed on a paper in Ancient or God of ages language. Then chant the incantation to channel mana in it. Differentinscriptions are needed for various effects such as size or area of the spell. An Affinity in elements ignores the usage of extra inscriptions of that certain element.)


    Leo nodded his head at her simple explanation.


    ''Which affinities do I have?''


    (You have¡­)

 V1.C8 Magic skills, Summoning of Eri

    (Your affinity is none.)


    ''.....''


    (But fret not, you can buy them from Shop with SP.)


    Her cheerful voice sounded like mockery in his head.


    ''Show me all Magic Skills under 10,000SP.''


    [Skills]


    [Body Strengthening - 10,000SP


    Image Composition - 9000SP


    Spell Melding - 7000SP


    Fire Affinity - 3000SP


    Earth Affinity - 3000SP


    Light Affinity - 3000SP


    Water Affinity - 3000SP


    Dark Affinity - 3000SP


    Ice Affinity - 3000SP


    Lightning Affinity - 3000SP


    Wind Affinity - 3000SP


    Barrier Affinity - 3000SP


    Mana Control - 2000SP]


    Leo shook his head at the price of Magic Affinities and they were important. Otherwise, his magic stats would be a waste.


    (I recommend buying [All Elemental Affinity])


    [All Elemental Affinity - 40000SP]


    ''So these 8 are not the only elements, there are others?''


    (You sure are pretty sharp in weird ways. I also recommend [Mana Manipulation])


    ''.... Show me [Mana Manipulation].''


    [Mana Manipulation - 35000SP]


    ''What the hell! It is so expensive. You want to annihilate all monsters to buy a skill?''


    (10SP for info)


    ''Take it!'' he yelled in his mind.


    (.....)


    (Mana Manipulation allows the use of Magic without any chant and magic circle. I can help you get it cheaper. Only monsters can do that, it''s the rarest skill for other races. I can help you get it che¡ª)


    ''Not paying anymore today.''


    She wanted to rob all his SP in one day, he won''t let her.


    (.....)


    He would focus on leveling up for now, magic will have to wait till he has enough SP.


    ''What was that Entity saying about Beliefs and Reality? I didn''t understand it clearly.''


    (You aren''t strong enough to know about it¡­ yet.)


    ''... How much SP do I have now?''


    (2053SP)This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.


    Laying on his side, he whispered, "Thank you."


    ***


    A blue-haired woman walked on the streets, her cold eyes terrorized people enough to make way for her. She ignored all of them and continued to her destination.


    She entered her house and locked the door thoroughly.


    After taking a bath, she sat on her bed with a serious expression.


    "How can he..."


    ***


    Japan¡­


    A few days ago...


    A bespectacled black-haired girl and a little girl with twin-tails sprinted on the streets.


    "Hurry up Suzu!" the taller girl said.


    "Eriri~ Why is your stamina so high?" Suzu panted heavily.


    "I work out regularly, you should also try," Eri replied.


    "I can''t do much with this body," Suzu said in a depressed voice.


    "Don''t worry, there are plenty of guys in our school that like you," Eri said, trying to cheer up her friend.


    "Of course~ I''m the cutest girl in the world~," she said cheerfully.


    Eri smiled at her friend Suzu, who was a bundle of energy. She really felt grateful to her. She also wanted him to join the school, but he had no time for school outside missions. At least he spent most of his time at home.


    Both managed to reach the classroom before the bell rang. Eri saw Kaori helping Hajime Nagumo and Shizuku teasing her friend.


    ''Kaori is doing more harm than good to Nagumo, he will only get more isolated like this,'' Eri thought, looking at Hajime getting his usual death stares from everyone.


    Shizuku cheered her friend from behind.


    ''She still has her inferiority complex.''


    Then came Kouki Amanogawa with his bright smile and Ryutarou Sakagami following him.


    "Good Morning Everyone," said Kouki, his face encompassing a brilliant smile.


    ''He will really regret it if he didn''t change himself.''


    She always tried to analyze things reasonably, but her calm mind always crumbled in front of a certain someone.


    She shook her head and sat in her usual seat.


    Lunchtime¡­


    Eri ate her lunch with Suzu and watched the usual Kaori''s drama taking place in her class.


    Kaori liked Nagumo, but the lucky guy didn''t, no, he wouldn''t dare believe it. Their interactions always brought an amused smile to her face.


    Kouki as usual thought of Hajime as worthless and interpreted her care for Hajime as kindness.


    ''He doesn''t have a chance with any one of them,'' she thought and shook her head.


    Suddenly a dazzling light appeared in the classroom, it was a strange circle with a glowing pattern on it. It began to glow brighter and brighter.


    Eri''s eyes opened wide at the ominous circle.


    "Everyone! Get out of the classroom!"


    She heard Aiko-sensei yell and dashed for the door, but the light flared up in a brilliant explosion of light.


    Eri slowly opened her eyes to see a sight she will never forget.


    A massive mural, more than ten meters long, showing a faintly smiling figure with long flowing blonde hair and a halo on their head. Plains, mountains and lakes, the figure wide arms trying to embrace them all.


    It was a beautiful sight, but her eyes turned sharp. Her classmates were still in shock from the situation.


    ''This... Where is this place?''


    There was a crowd of people surrounding her, their hands crossed in front of chest in a praying gesture. All clad in white with gold embroidery.


    Seeing their expression, a deep sense of anxiety rose up in her heart. One priest stepped forward, he was an old man in his seventies dressed like a rich medieval noble.


    The staff in his hands jingled as he walked toward them.


    "Welcome to Tortus, brave heroes. It is our pleasure to welcome you here. I am the pope of the Holy Church, Ishtar Langbard. It is an honor to make your acquaintances."


    He introduced himself and led them toward an empty room filled with furniture and chairs. It was an extravagant treatment for students like them.


    Nobody said anything or rather they were too shocked to say anything and took a seat on chairs.


    Kouki with his ridiculous charisma was kind of helpful here.


    The doors opened and a number of maids entered with carts. The boys looked at them with lust.


    Eri shook her head, a little disgusted by their act. I wonder what he would do in his situation? He will most likely go berserk. The one thing he hates the most is fanatics.


    Her lips curled in a soft smile as she remembered him.


    The maids served them with drinks. Eri refused them with a polite smile. It was far too suspicious to trust anything here.


    After that, Pope started the explanation.


    The world is called Tortus, people can use magic here. Monsters roamed the lands and Demons were enemies of all humanity. The students were summoned here as Braves or Heroes to fight against the demons.


    The pope spouted nonsense for a long time, like a fanatic she believed him to be. Her sensei, Aiko protested against them for letting children fight in the war, but Kouki''s Sense of Justice stopped her.


    She knew they were sugar coating all of this bullshit. They were summoned here as nothing more than tools for war. The fanatic smile on everyone''s face proved it.


    What do I do now?


    "Eririn~ What are you thinking?"


    Suzu''s usual energetic voice woke her from the daze.


    She shook her head and sighed audibly. "Nothing, this all just feels unreal. I just want to go back home to my family."


    "Let''s do our best here~ and go back home quickly~"


    Eri nodded her head, but her mind was already planning something else.


    No way I will lose my life here, fighting for a bunch of nobodies. I''ll find a way back myself.

 V1.C9 Orcus Labyrinth, New Quest

    A young boy skipped on the street, humming a song. Things fell from his bag as he hopped around, but he was too lost to pay any attention.


    People smiled unconsciously when they saw him, his cheerfulness was spread around like a contagious disease.


    The boy still skipping passed through a large gate and arrived at the door of a fairly large house.


    He reached out and pressed the lower doorbell of the house. He waited for several minutes yet nobody opened the door. He pushed the door to see it was open.


    It was dark inside. Blaming it on cutoff, he threw the bag.


    "Mama!"


    He found it odd to see no one in Kitchen, his mother usually cooked delicious meals at this time.


    He stumbled in darkness to the living room, nearly slipping from liquid on the ground. The light wasn''t enough to check what it was.


    His eyes lit up when he noticed light inside the living room. Using both arms he pushed open the door.


    "Welcome~"


    An energetic voice greeted him. He froze in his place and his eyes widened to the limit. An old man and a blonde-haired man stood there with a wide smile on their faces.


    His parents laid there with heads twisted at an impossible angle. A look of horror still present on their face.


    "No!!!"


    He screamed and ran as fast as he could to the door. Terror gripped his heart as he sped through the dark corridors.


    "Where are you going? Next turn is yours~"


    But the old man stood there with his mother''s head in his hands.


    "Aaah!"


    Leo woke up with a scream, his mind still playing the old nightmare. He took several deep breaths to calm down and drank some water.


    He started his normal workout to distract himself.


    (You can talk about it, you know.)


    He heard Jen''s soft voice inside his mind. He paid no heed to the consoling voice and continued doing pushups. After the bath, he equipped his sword.


    "Buy a cheap sheath for this," he said in a blunt voice.


    (100SP)


    "Okay."


    A simple yet beautiful wooden sheath appeared in his hands, adorned with small runic letters carvings.


    He wasn''t in the mood to retort about it and enveloped the sword in the sheath


    He went down to see Irene waving at him with a smile. So he joined her at the table. After forcefully stuffing himself, he went out with Irene.


    "What''s on our schedule today?" Leo asked.


    Irene thought for a moment. "First is Orcus Labyrinth, then we will see later."


    "Okay¡­"


    Leo with Irene in tow arrived at the entrance of Orcus Labyrinth. He was amazed to see the stalls positioned all the way to the entrance of the Labyrinth.


    A cute receptionist sat there behind a counter. With a pen in her hands, she wrote something while checking a status plate.


    "What does she do? Record entry and exit?"


    Irene nodded her head confirmingly. "It''s easier to find someone missing this way."


    Dale and Tris also arrived in several minutes.


    "Yo! Let''s go," Dale said with a bright smile.


    Tris nodded his head in greeting.


    The receptionist checked their status plates and recorded it. She asked for Leo''s contact information with a shy smile to which he declined politely.


    ***


    After the entrance came a five-meter wide passage. An ore buried in the wall to act as the light source making the passage dimly lit, making it enough to see without a torch. It increased his tensions further.


    ''Analyze''


    [Glowstone]


    A stone that glows when filled with mana. Causes a blinding flash of light when destroyed.


    ''Flashbang?''


    Leo and Irene walked in the back, while Dale and Tris guarded the front.


    Irene looked at the sheathed sword in Leo''s hands. "New sword?"The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.


    When she saw him yesterday he was broke to even buy clothes. Here he was today, flaunting a new sword wrapped in a beautiful sheath.


    "Borrowed it from an acquaintance," he replied indifferently.


    Leo kept an eye on the map for enemies. After a few minutes of walking, they stopped in an open area. He peeked up curiously to see many gray furballs jumping from the cracks in walls.


    The furballs were actually monsters. Nearly two meters in size with buffed up muscular bodies, their red eyes shone ominously within the thick fur as they charged at the party.


    ''Analyze''


    [Ratmen]


    Strength: 15


    Vitality: 20


    Defense: 20


    Agility: 25


    Magic: 30


    Magic Defense: 20


    "Leo! These monsters are Ratmen. Not too strong but very agile. I''ll distract them and you finish them off."


    Dale yelled the bare minimum information and charged toward them.


    This Musclehead, they all thought.


    "Time to fight!"


    Leo drew the sword from the sheathe. A ratman already reached in front of him, its maws opened wide to bite him.


    He swung his right hand, the sword traced an arc in the air and beheaded the ugly rat. He lightly evaded to the side and slashed another monster''s neck.


    He smiled in nostalgia at the familiar sensation and charged inside the flocks to slaughter them.


    Irene chanted a spell, while Tris guarded her from any ambush.


    "Ice harder than steel, pierce mine enemies! Pierce their hearts! Ice spears!"


    A hail of ice spears emerged from thin air and charged at the ratmen. Painful howls echoed in the area as most of them died under the spell, leaving only a few wounded one.


    Tris dashed and finished off the rest with his dagger.


    Leo came back with his sword drenched in blood.


    "It stinks so bad."


    His mind was refreshed after some killing.


    ''Jen, I''m really sorry for ignoring you like that.''


    (Don''t worry about it.)


    ''I¡­ Thanks¡­''


    Dale and Tris harvested the magic crystals from the monsters.


    The party advanced and met a group of goblins on the next floor, which they made quick work of. It was pretty easy until the 10th floor.


    His map showed 9 red dots ahead. A group of kobolds waited on the 11th floor.


    Kobolds were a race of monsters possessing a dog head and hideous body.


    ''Analyze''


    [Kobold]


    Strength: 35


    Vitality: 40


    Defense: 30


    Agility: 35


    Magic: 55


    Magic Defense: 30


    He turned his head to Irene. "Let me do it alone."


    A group fight against these monsters couldn''t push his limits. He had only leveled up once after killing all these monsters. He wouldn''t be able to grow stronger without putting his life on line.


    Kicking up the floor, he charged at them with his full speed, his sword  two Kobold heads off and smashed his on one head, he lowered his head to avoid the claw attack and slashed upward, bisecting the Kobold.


    His breathing was already a mess. Trusting his instincts, he blocked an attack from the left as his fist crushed one neck.


    "Gugh!"


    He winced in sharp pain, one Kobold had sunk its dirty teeth in his left hand. He shoved his fist in its stomach and stepped back to swing the blade in a full arc to behead another two monsters.


    One Kobold took this chance to pounce on his back, its claws encircled his neck trying to choke him to death.


    Irene started casting a magic spell to help him.


    "Don''t!"


    He yelled and smashed his back against the protrusions on the wall. The Kobold backbone was crushed as it fell on the ground and let out whimpers filled with pain.


    He mercilessly stomped on its head causing it to burst like a watermelon.


    Seeing no enemy left, he plopped on the ground in exhaustion.


    ''Why the hell am I so exhausted? I used to fight for hours before. What happened now?''


    (Your soul is still adapting to this body. This is not your body from the earth. It is altered by ''The Creed'' to give you maximum potential. It might take a few days or so to adapt.)


    He breathed a sigh in relief, but someone grabbed his collar to pull him up forcefully. His eyes stared in a pair of silver eyes filled with rage and worry..


    "You bastard! You could have died here."


    Irene growled while tightening her grip on his collar. Her calm demeanor was nowhere to be seen.


    "I''m sorry for worrying you, but I need to do this. I won''t die from things like this."


    Her expression softened a little and she released him and took out a healing potion.


    "You are forbidden to come here until you heal."


    "Okay, Onee-san," he settled, intending to rebel later.


    The party climbed back up and sold the raw materials to the guild for 20,000 Luta. After a brief argument Leo was given 6000 while the rest was divided.


    Irene wanted to eat dinner with him, so they strolled towards the inn.


    He took out four black coins from his pocket.


    "Here."


    She looked at the coins for a moment before shaking her head.


    "No, I won''t," she replied and shot a glare at him as she entered the inn alone.


    He stood there with four black coins in his hands. Shaking his head, he put them back in inventory and entered the inn.


    Irene sat there with a cold face, completely ignoring his presence.


    "What are you so upset about?"


    "Nothing¡­"


    "You really won''t take the money?" he asked again.


    Her eyes turned cold. "Do you really see me as just an acquaintance?"


    "What are you talking about? Aren''t we friends? Or you don''t want it?"


    "Of course, I want it!" she stood up and exclaimed like her cold attitude before was just a facade.


    All eyes in the inn gathered on Irene, she assumed her poker face and sat down.


    "Are you really Irene?" he asked in a suspicious tone.


    "W-Why are you asking about it?" she asked with a puzzled expression.


    Leo leaned forward with a serious expression.


    "The Irene I observed is a woman, who rarely smiles. Isn''t Ice princess supposed to be cold to everyone? Tell me who are you? Where is my friend?"


    A soft smile briefly touched her lips. "Stop blabbering nonsense idiot."


    His smile turned to a chuckle. "Seriously, you should smile more often. It looks beautiful."


    "Are you trying to seduce me?" she asked, her voice filled with honey and a hidden suggestion.


    "Nope."


    She hung her head and clicked her tongue in annoyance. Thankfully, Leo didn''t see or he would have retorted hard.


    ''Does this woman really like me? Or she is just playing me?''


    (.....)


    The dinner came. He devoured it hungrily without any manners.


    "You too have some," he said and gave her a chicken leg.


    Her cheeks twitched visibly. "Eat with some manners."


    He laughed and started eating faster. Irene shook her head in an exasperated manner.

 V1.C10 Cursed Sword, Trap

    Leo sat in his room and released a deep sigh.


    ''I can''t save Eri like this. I need power...''


    (You are doing well, Leo. You need to get better equipment and level up.)


    [Hidden Quest triggered: Greed]


    Your greed to become stronger has triggered a hidden quest. You shall reach the 100th Floor within a month.


    Difficulty: SS


    Penalty: ''The Creed'' all functions locked for three months


    Rewards: Unlock [Mystery Shop] Function, 20,000SP


    [This Quest can''t be denied]


    ''Does the system really want to kill me? I can''t even clear 20 floors by myself. There is no way Irene''s party will help me on this suicidal quest.''


    ''Then I''ll become a madman and clear the fucking Labyrinth.''


    He fell on his back and closed his eyes to sleep. He was already exhausted from all the fighting.


    ***


    Leo woke up by a loud knock on the door. He staggered to the door and opened it. Irene stood on the other side dressed in casual clothes.


    "Good Afternoon Leo," she greeted.


    "Good Mo¡ª wait, it''s afternoon already?" he replied in a stupefied manner.


    Irene shoved something in his face, he clasped it to see a lunch box.


    "Wait here for a bit," he said and went to brush his teeth.


    Irene stood there blushing. Why the hell was she blushing?


    A chilly wind hit his chest, he moved his head to see his slender muscles out in the open. Looking back, he shot a dubious gaze at her.


    After he ate the delicious breakfast, they went out for some shopping.


    "Where are we headed for?" he asked curiously.


    "Blacksmith," she said.


    He nodded his head and followed her inside the shop and saw an old man sitting on a crude wooden chair, his hands moving the sword back and forth against a whetstone.


    "Hey little girl, got yourself a boyfriend?"


    Irene shook her head with a sigh, this old man always annoyed her like this.


    "Uncle Tars, stop calling me little girl and he is not my boyfriend."


    The old man laughed merrily. "So what do ya need from these old bones?"


    "Show some good armors for him," Irene said.


    Tars scratched his beard while examining Leo. "Hmm¡­ what kind of armor do you want?"


    Leo pondered for a moment before answering, "Durable and easy to move in."


    Tars moved his gaze to the sword tucked on Leo''s waist.


    "Swordsman?"


    "Yes."


    He fought with swords, so technically he was a swordsman.


    The old man tinkered around his collection for several seconds before he pulled out three armors. He separately placed them on the counter sitting to the side of his chair.


    "These are the best armors for agility based fighters."


    ''Analyze''


    [Lizard Skin Armor Set]


    Light Armor made from lizard skin, boosts defense.


    Rank: C


    <ol>


    <li style="font-weight: 400"> Defense. 50 M. Defense. 20</li>


    </ol>


    [Bearskin Armor Set]Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.


    Light Armor made of bearskin, boosts defense.


    Rank: C


    <ol>


    <li style="font-weight: 400"> Defense. 60 M. Defense 25</li>


    </ol>


    [Leather Armor Set]


    Light armor made from leather, boosts defense.


    Rank: C


    <ol>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">P. Defense. 50 M.Defense 20</li>


    </ol>


    He chose the leather one without any second thought. The other two looked too ugly in his eyes.


    Leo pointed at leather armor. "How much for this?"


    "You got good eyes boy."


    Irene also nodded, satisfied by his choice.


    "It''s 8000 Luta."


    "4000 Luta."


    Leo replied, instantly cutting the price in half.


    He bargained with the old man until they agreed for 5000 Luta. He laughed seeing the old man sulking after Irene scolded him.


    Leo wore on the armor, satisfied by the looks of it.


    The old man whistled loudly. Irene stood there with a poker face, but one could see the blush on her face.


    "Let''s go," he said with a shrug.


    ***


    Leo followed Irene, she wanted to take him somewhere again.


    "Where we headed for this time?"


    "To buy a new sword," Irene said seriously.


    "For whom? That old man shop wasn''t enough?"


    She pointed at him. "You can''t survive with that crappy sword and I have an acquaintance that has better swords."


    "Don''t call my sword crappy, even though it''s crappy."


    "You could have died back then, I¡ª"


    Ignoring the cold look in her eyes, he smiled. "Don''t worry, it will take far more than that to kill me."


    "Honestly, you are stupid."


    "I''m not stupid, you idiot."


    "....."


    "Let''s go and kill some monsters," he asked with hopeful eyes.


    "You are not going anywhere today, I''ll keep an eye on you," she said in a cold voice.


    His lips curled in a playful grin. "Just tell me if you want to spend time with me, no need to find excuses."


    Irene looked away with a smile, ignoring his words.


    ***


    They walked inside a big shop and a man in his early twenties welcomed them.


    "Hey Irene, long time no see."


    Irene flinched at his greeting then stared at the man. "Jacob, show some good swords for my friend."


    Jacob glanced at Irene''s friend, a young man in leather armor. His smile cramped when he saw Irene talking to the man with a smile.


    ''She never showed a smile and always treated me coldly. What does he have that I don''t? His handsome face?'' he thought.


    Envy and hatred surged inside his heart, but he kept a calm face and went inside to pick a sword with a sinister smile.


    Leo shook his head with a bitter smile. "Looks like he dislikes me? Poor guy is jealous."


    Her eyes turned hollow, his words angered her. "We used to be friends, not anymore."


    "Friend¡ª"


    "He confessed to me, saying he loves me so much. But I didn''t feel the same," her eyes turned cold. "He kept annoying me so I skewered him with Ice spears. Now we are back to acquaintances."


    ''Remind me to never mess with her.''


    (.....)


    Jacob came out with a Longsword in a black sheath.


    ''Analyze''


    [Cursed Magic Sword]


    A Magic Sword cursed by Spirits. The wielder needs to have a strong mind, or they will lose their will to the sword.


    Enchantments: [Aura] [Final Death]


    Rank: A


    <ol>


    <li style="font-weight: 400"> Attack +150 </li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400"> Attack +100</li>


    </ol>


    ''It''s pretty powerful, I can use it right Jen?'' he thought excitedly.


    (If you can''t, then nobody can.)


    "How much for it?"


    "It''s 20,000 Luta normally, but you are a friend of Irene so only 5000 Luta will do," Jacob replied with a smirk.


    ''This bastard wants me to die, huh.''


    (Jealousy¡­)


    "I''ll buy it."


    He grabbed the hilt and pulled out the blade, black longsword gradually appeared, crimson runes carved on it. It was a masterpiece in both craft and beauty.


    ''Absolutely gorgeous, my new baby.''


    Leo sensed something inside the sword, but he ignored it. After sheathing the sword, he saw Jacob standing there, his mouth opened wide in shock.


    Leo extended his hand and grasped his neck.


    "If you ever try anything like this, I''ll kill you. Feel free to try me if you want."


    He put some strength in his hand and lifted the weakling.


    "Guhh!"


    Jacob struggled to break free, digging his nails on Leo''s hand. He couldn''t even put a little scratch.


    He released his hand. Jacob collapsed on the ground holding his neck. "I-I... sorry."


    Irene watched everything with a poker face. Leo glared at his miserable state and walked out.


    He really would''ve killed him if he stayed there any longer, but he had to stay in this town for now.


    Jacob sat there in fear and confusion. ''Wasn''t it a cursed sword? What kind of monster is he?''


    Irene looked at him, her eyes emitting a cold and chilling light. "If you dare to do anything to him, even if he spares you. I''ll not. Understand?"


    She threatened Jacob and ran out of shop in a hurry. Irene caught up to him as Leo walked rather slowly and started walking beside him in silence.


    Leo broke the heavy silence. "Looks like you want to ask something?"


    She thought for a moment then said, "How did you know it was cursed?"


    "Just a skill of mine," he replied indifferently.


    "This is my first time seeing someone wield this sword."


    ''She didn''t stop me despite knowing it was a cursed sword. Maybe she doesn''t care about me, just wants to repay me for saving her.''


    (.....)


    They strolled around for the rest of the day, bought some things (Which Leo paid for), kicked ass of a thief and some random stuff.


    Leo ate dinner and escorted Irene to her home. No way he would let her go alone this late.

 V1.C11 Bitter fight

    Next day¡­


    Leo completed his normal routine and met his party at the entrance of the labyrinth.


    They went in like always killing monsters easily till the 11th floor.


    Leo wanted to check his new sword. "Let me do it alone this time.


    "NO!" yelled Irene, her worried eyes made him hesitate.


    Leo scratched his cheeks. "I''m more prepared than last time with new armor and sword."


    "Still no."


    Her stubbornness was higher than any child he met.


    "Fine."


    Dale and Tris stayed away from their circle, which looked like a forbidden zone from their eyes. Around red targets showed up on the map.


    "I sense enemies in front."


    The party saw a group of Goblins and Ratmen.


    ''These ugly fucks helping each other.''


    He grabbed the hilt of his ''New baby'' and shot forward. As for monsters¡­


    [Level up]


    They went in deeper this time, it was easy with Leo''s new Sword and Irene magic spells. Leo reached level 6.


    Tris helped out a lot with traps, but he couldn''t detect every trap. Leo also helped with his [Analyze]. Things were going well until.


    On the 20th floor¡­


    Leo had a bad feeling about this floor, still, he continued and prepared himself for any ambush.


    "This will be the last one!" shouted Irene.


    A red dot appeared on Leo''s map, he searched around finding nothing.


    "There is an enemy here," he yelled.


    The others were now convinced of his detecting abilities, blaming it on his instincts.


    "Dale and Leo to the front! Tris you stay back! Stay alert, there might be a Rockmount here!"


    ''She has some leadership skills.''


    (Who knows?)


    An instant later, the wall or monster disguised as a protrusion on the wall came out. It stood on two legs and started beating its chest with thick muscular arms.


    ''Analyze''


    [Rockmount]


    Strength: 80


    Vitality: 60


    Defense: 60


    Agility: 40


    Magic: 65


    Magic Defense: 65


    Skills: [Intimidating Roar]


    Leo darted toward the monster. With a light kick to the ground, he launched in the air and slashed the sword downwards. The Rockmount body fell to ground, cleanly bisected in two.


    ''Did I really get this strong in two days?''


    (... Having high magic stats improves your body faster.)


    Others didn''t have a chance to retort to his cheat ability as another Rockmount ambushed Dale, blowing him with its punch.


    "Ice harder than steel, pierce mine enemies! Pierce their hearts! Ice Spear!"


    Rain of ice spears destroyed a chunk of wall and stunned Rockmount.


    Tris took the opportunity to stab its eyes.


    Roar~


    The monster roared loudly, stunning Tris and Dale.


    "O Spirit of Ice, heed my call! Protect mine friends! Ice barrier!"


    A barrier made of ice endured the attack of Rockmount in place of Dale. Leo took this chance to stab the neck of Rockmount.


    He sighed in relief. "That barrier was awesome!"


    Irene gave a polite smile. "Thanks."


    Dale and Tris sat in exhaustion, after saying thanks to Irene they started dismantling the Rockmount.


    Irene didn''t reply, clearly distracted by something. Leo noticed she was looking at a beautiful crystal embedded in the wall.


    ''Analyze''


    [Glanz Crystal: Fake]


    Triggers a magic circle of [Teleport].


    "Pretty," Irene who was lost in thoughts, reached out and touched it.This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it


    "DON''T!!!" Leo tried to stop her.


    A magic circle large enough to cover everything in the area emerged from the Crystal.


    "Retreat! Irene! We are ru¡ª"


    It was all futile now...


    ***


    Leo fell on the ground after the light receded. He swept his gaze over the now different ceiling.


    "Fuck, we got teleported."


    He sprang on his legs and scanned the area and almost relaxed himself after finding the whole party here but the current situation was still unknown.


    They were on a stone bridge maybe a hundred meters in length. The ceiling was quite high around 20 meters. The party stood in the middle of the bridge, one side going up and the other one going deeper.


    "Guys, looks like we stepped in a trap."


    Irene bowed, her eyes trembling from the guilt. "I-I''m sorry everyone because of me¡ª"


    The anger inside him died down seeing the guilt on her face. With a wry smile, he said, "We all make mistakes, it''s nothing to be sorry about."


    "Yep, don''t worry about it," said Dale as he massaged his own butt.


    "Yeah," Tris also spoke this time.


    "Pack your shit, we are going back upstairs."


    Suddenly, a huge magic circle appeared in front, he looked back to see countless blood-red magic circles on the side of stairs. Hundreds of skeleton monsters came out of it, their eerie red eyes glowed inside hollow sockets of skull, holding a sword and shield in their hands.


    ''Analyze''


    [Traum soldier]


    Strength: 70


    Vitality: 90


    Defense: 60


    Agility: 40


    Magic: 110


    Magic Defense: 110


    But this side seemed weaker to him than the huge magic circle, his instincts rang from whatever it was in front.


    "Irene, give me all your potions and everyone retreat to the stairs."


    She nodded and tossed the backpack to him, her poker face working splendidly.


    The magic circle in front glowed crimson and a huge monster appeared from it. It had four legs with some kind of helmet on its head, surges of flame swirled around its long horns.


    Leo smacked his dry lips, he hoped his instincts were wrong this time. This monster wasn''t something he could fight without putting his life on line.


    Roar~!!!


    The roar took all power from Dale as he collapsed on the ground.


    Tris whispered, "That''s... a Behemoth."


    ''Analyze''


    Behemoth


    Strength: 400


    Vitality: 450


    Defense: 550


    Agility: 200


    Magic: 350


    Magic Defense: 300


    Skills: [Fire breath] [Intimidating Roar] [Charge]


    "Idiots! Snap out of it and retreat! I''ll clear the way."


    Leo hurried toward the stairs and started attacking the skeletons. Black aura covered him slowly, as his anger rose at the monsters.


    The number of skeletons wasn''t decreasing but the Behemoth was already coming, shaking the very bridge with every step.


    The party was panicking, if this went on any longer they would without a doubt die here.


    Leo could escape easily, but he couldn''t ignore the party. They were his friends in this world, besides he wasn''t the one to cower in front of death. The countless days suffering the torture numbed his mind in face of death.


    He inwardly cursed the Fake God that summoned his childhood friend here.


    "Get the fuck out of here! I''ll keep it busy!" he yelled and ran toward behemoth.


    He kicked the ground and jumped high, dodging the torrent of blazing flames in process. After then he landed on Behemoth''s head and stabbed the Cursed sword in its head, but the armor-like bones on its head blocked the sword from going deeper.


    The behemoth started shaking its body furiously, he put strength in his arms and grabbed ahold of its sturdy horn.


    His brain furiously searched for solutions, but nothing came up except escaping. His lips bent in a vicious smile and killing intent leaked out of his body.


    The behemoth froze from the dense killing intent, Leo exploited the opportunity and pounced forward to stab the sword deep in its eyes.


    Roar~!!!


    The howls filled with pain nearly popped his eardrums, with his hands still holding the sword, he stomped both his legs and used the recoil to dodge backward.


    The now one-eyed behemoth charged at him like a berserk monster. He couldn''t dodge in time and got blown backward. A familiar metallic taste came up in his mouth.


    He ignored the pain wrecking his chest and rolled to dodge another furious charge.


    Time passed into minutes, Leo''s condition wasn''t getting better. A handful of his ribs already broke, every attack sapped life out of him.


    He glanced at his party being overwhelmed by skeletons. His face took a resolute expression.


    (You can just run away, no one will blame you.)


    ''You think so lowly of me, huh? I would rather die than live the life of a coward.''


    He wiped the blood from his face and prepared his mind to suppress his instincts.


    ***


    Tris and Dale defended Irene as she casted Ice magic spells without rest.


    The numbers were overwhelming, her magic couldn''t keep up. She glanced at Leo and froze. The furious Behemoth knocked him all over the bridge, but he kept getting back up.


    She swallowed another mana pill and started casting her magic.


    ''Please stay safe.''


    ***


    "Berserk"


    He used the cursed skill again, his mind flooded with thoughts of carnage. He bit his tongue and concentrated his senses.


    He dashed forward with triple power and swung the sword at behemoth''s right leg.


    Thump! Thump! Thump!


    His heart throbbed violently inside his chest, his droopy eyelids nearly covered his vision.


    The behemoth fired another barrage of violent flames at him, he evaded to the side and slid the sword across its left legs.


    Smelling something burning, he checked to see his back was burned, still, his aura slowly healed him.


    ''I won''t last much like this, Jen, buy [Mana Control].''


    Chants to activate the skills of cursed sword appeared in his mind.


    He raised the sword in his right hand.


    "Accursed sword, heed my call! Devour my flesh, raze my bones! Engulf my emotions, consume my soul! Final Death!"


    The Cursed Sword''s ultimate skill [Final Death], grants an incredible strength in exchange of life force. An enormous gray aura shot up and destroyed the ceiling. He pointed his sword at the behemoth.


    "Come!"


    The behemoth had a scorn on its ugly face, the blood already stopped flowing down its stabbed eye


    He shut his eyes tightly from nightmares overwhelming his mind. His parent''s death, their murderer Robert and the countless tragedies he witnessed on earth flashing in his mind.


    He opened his eyes, his eyes took the same shade of aura embracing every part of his body.


    Behemoth for the first time in this fight felt threatened, the creature in front triggered its instincts. It opened its mouth wide and shot another burst of flaming hot fire.


    "AAARGH!!!"


    Leo yelled to keep his senses and leaped through flames, he tightly gripped the sword enveloped in gray aura and struck down with every ounce of strength in his body.


    Booooom!!!


    The whole floor shook from the attack, the aftershock cracked the bridge before it completely crushed behemoth.


    (Leo! Leo!)


    Jen knew Leo wouldn''t die by falling here, yet she couldn''t do it. She also couldn''t shock his soul which will make him unconscious. She was panicking horribly.


    Leo heard Jen''s voice. He used the sword as a stick to move, despite his body screaming at him to stop and just pass out right here.


    He peered at the strangers in front who screamed for some reason, his heavy mind couldn''t identify the owner.


    He closed his eyes and shook his head sideways and extended his hands in hope to reach out, but he lost his footing as the bridge fell apart taking him along with it.


    He hugged his sword and whispered, "Shit."

 V1.C12 Heroes, Story of an Orphan

    A few minutes before Leo fell...


    The sheer number of Traum soldiers overwhelmed Irene''s party. They could take on a few, but hundreds were too much with their ability. Injuries after injuries piled up on Dale and Tris bodies. She was too powerless to prevent it.


    Suddenly, a magic circle appeared near her. It glowed bright and a group of strangers fell from it.


    She was surprised to see an acquaintance, Knight commander of Heiligh kingdom, Meld Loggins among them.


    A ray of hope lit up inside her. She ran through the Traum soldiers, intending to plead for help.


    Being ambushed by skeletons, the strangers started chanting magic.


    A girl with a ponytail sliced their heads using her sword.


    A handsome guy donned in glorious armor used holy magic like it was nothing.


    A girl in priest robes casted advanced healing spells without break.


    They were all surprised to see a woman here.


    The young man with the holy sword stepped forward. "Tell me what happ¡ª" his eyes opened wide when he saw someone fighting the behemoth.


    Everyone stared at the guy engulfed in black aura fighting a behemoth alone, no, rather it looked like he was fighting in half-dead state. His appearance reminded them of demons from manga.


    They saw his sword covered in an enormous gray aura attacking the behemoth.


    One strike shook the floor and killed the unkillable behemoth.


    Meld eyes widened in shock, he couldn''t believe it. It was the first time someone killed a behemoth. Even the strongest hero perished facing the behemoth.


    He couldn''t help but ask, "Just who is he?"


    "Meld-san, please help!"


    He turned back to see an acquaintance.


    Near the bridge, one certain black-haired girl stood in daze, countless emotions flashing in her brown eyes seemingly locked at the figure who killed the behemoth.


    She snapped out of her trance and ran toward Leo, but the bridge started falling. She could only stare at him walking with the support of a sword and trying to reach out to her, yet she couldn''t grab it.


    "LEO!!!" she screamed.


    The girl in priest robes grabbed her shoulders to prevent her, or she might have fallen with him.


    Irene stared at the bridge falling apart before running forward with shaky steps, her body exhausted with the overuse of magic.


    "Leo!"


    Her legs gave out when she saw him falling down the bridge. The ponytail girl grabbed her from behind.


    "What was this all about?" was the question in everyone''s mind.


    The handsome guy in armor tried to support Irene but the deathly glare by the woman stopped him.


    "Don''t touch me."


    He scratched his head awkwardly. "What happened here?"


    She hugged her knees and silently sobbed, her heart breaking sobs stopped anyone from approaching her.


    "Leave her alone!" Meld yelled.


    "Eriri, snap out of it," said a little girl with twin-tails.


    Eri just sat there with blank eyes, ignoring everything around here. The girl in priest robes hugged her, she sobbed loudly in her embrace.You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.


    The ponytail girl looked at the bridge that was no longer there. "Was that Leo-san?" she whispered and put the right arm of blue-haired girl over her shoulder and started to climb back up.


    ***


    A few days later¡­


    Irene sat in a room, her eyes looking at the black-haired girl, Eri Nakamura who was carried here after she fell asleep in Kaori''s embrace after the incident.


    ''Why did I have to do that just for a glanz crystal? Please stay safe and come back...''


    She brought her hands in front of her chest to pray.


    ***


    Irene Verglas, an orphan from her birth. Her parents left her at the gate of an Orphanage. When she was 5, she began to see weird aura around the people around her. She slowly analyzed this and found out the colorful aura appeared to be emotions of people. She made it her goal to train this ability.


    Later, a man called Leo Bawavis adopted her from the orphanage. He was searching for talented people to train them in outstanding adventurer, the girl''s talent in ice magic astounded even him.


    Still, she never called him anything other than Uncle. She saw his true nature, his aura was dangerous. But she still called him lovingly just for the act. She had no one to rely on beside him.


    It became her habit to always use her ability on the people she met. Slowly, she became disgusted by all the adults around her.


    One day, something happened to her ability, it evolved. She tried it again on her Uncle and saw a grey ball in her Uncle''s chest. After some experimentation, she came to a conclusion, the ball-like thing was what people called Soul.


    Her loathing toward adults only increased over time. People with disgusting aura, hiding behind an amicable smile, this was her definition of adults.


    She started acting cold to everyone when she saw their souls, showing emotions was a weakness in her eyes. Her treatment of others was based on their aura toward herself.


    She especially loved children, after looking at shades of gray her entire childhood, their pure white souls fascinated her, while her night time consisted of staring at the moon and stars.


    Time passed by, she grew up into a beautiful girl, her uncle started to force her for blind dates with influential nobles. She couldn''t deny it. No matter how he was, she owed him too much and even though he had high ambitions, he cared for her from his heart.


    So she agreed under the condition that she will only agree to date if she likes them. Who knew she might end up meeting  someone in a chance.


    But that was just her wishful thinking, she ended up crippling the first noble child she met. Their aura toward her disgusted her, sickly red full of lust trying to devour her.


    Even her childhood friend who she met after a long time had the same aura. So she skewered him with her Ice spears. With her magic talent and beauty, every man she came across looked at her this way. Even if they don''t show it on their face, their aura gave them away.


    But one day she met two men who didn''t look at her with the same eyes. When she asked about it, they replied that they were not ''normal'' men. After some thought, sh4 created a party with them for adventure quests.


    Life was the same for her, crippling a man every few weeks, doing quests to earn money for her future.


    One day, she took a quest to collect medicinal plants from outside the Heiligh Kingdom, things were going well until a Mutated Ogre ambushed them.


    Her party couldn''t fight against it. The Ogre was toying with them with a smirk on its face.


    Her magic couldn''t even penetrate its arms, she felt powerless and nearly lost all her hope.


    ''Are we really going to die here? I still haven''t met the one I want to marry... I wanted a kid of my own... I¡ª''


    Her thoughts stopped when a young man appeared out of nowhere and kicked Ogre''s head.


    She activated her ability unconsciously, but what she saw stunned her.


    A ball of pure white wrapped by eerie black chains. The chains looked as if trying to devour the ball of light but it could do nothing. The brightness of light overpowered the darkness. There was no other way to describe it.


    ''How can this be? It is... Impossible.''


    She checked again and again, but the results were one and same.


    ''I''ll check it myself.''


    She was once again shocked when the young man went berserk and crushed the head of Ogre like a beast.


    But his soul still shined, unaffected by darkness around it.


    ''Why? How can someone still be so kind with so much darkness? Is he really a human? Is my ability not working correctly?''


    She started talking to him when he came to them. She even tried to tease him, but he didn''t look at her with lust.


    ''Only Apostles wear this kind of clothes,'' she thought about a group of people entering the labyrinth.


    His aura nearly became pitch black of hatred when he brought up his parents then it returned to normal.


    She tried to seduce him in the Adventurer Guild, his aura was lustful but it only lasted for several seconds.


    ''Is he also like them?''


    She really liked talking to him. His words were always sincere. He only lied about his identity, which she thought was feasible since he is from another world. His eyes were quite pure when he looked at her.


    ''Is he a saint?''


    She eventually ended up staring at his face every time they met. A warm and fluffy feeling rose inside her every time she looked at him.


    ''What is this feeling? Is this what people call love? Am I in love?''


    Before she could confirm it, her own mistake ended everything.


    She nearly teared up remembering all of this.


    "Even if she wants to kill me, I''ll agree. I¡­"

 V1.C13 Eri and Irene, In the Abyss

    Eri eyelids fluttered gently then her eyes snapped open. Her body jerked as she sat up on the bed.


    Her mind was still lost in the memory of Leo falling, she took a few deep breaths and quieted her pounding heart. She rubbed her eyes and found a blue-haired woman sitting there.


    "Who are you?"


    "...I''m Irene, Leo''s friend¡­ ¡­ Everything that happened in the labyrinth was my fault."


    Eri felt the guilt and resentment in her voice. "What did you do?"


    Irene opened her lips and shut them tight, after repeating it for several moments, she opened her trembling lips. "We were on the 20th floor¡­ I-I saw a beautiful glanz crystal¡­ I touched i-it without a thought and we w-were teleported there¡­ s-so k-kill me¡­ b-because of m-me, he¡­ to p-protect us..."


    After confessing her crime Irene slumped on the chair and began crying.


    Eri''s calm face wore off, for a moment resentment welled up inside her. But she shook her head along with the anger.


    "No, I won''t."


    Irene was surprised, she thought she''ll be killed when she saw that aura of hatred.


    "W-Why?"


    "If it was old me, I would have tortured you for all eternity, but I won''t do it anymore," she said, "his kindness changed me? I won''t do anything to you if he chose to protect you. I can''t even kill myself¡­ this life was given by him¡­ I don''t have the right to take it."


    Eri hung her head as a loud sigh mix of sorrow and helplessness escaped her lips.


    In Irene''s eyes a dark blue aura of depression surrounded her. She stood from the chair and gently pulled the depressed girl in her Embrace.


    "We will find him... I''m sure he is alive, he said ''I won''t die from something like this''. So let''s believe in him, right?"


    Eri nodded her head, she herself saw him surviving miraculously from the most wounds that would have killed any healthy person.


    ''He will survive this time too and come back like always.''


    "Yeah, I will find him and... keep these things away from my face."


    Irene just laughed and hugged her tighter, the weight on her chest became a tad bit lighter.


    Knock


    Hearing the knock, Irene released Eri and began to wipe the tears from her face.


    "Come in!"


    The door opened and two beautiful girls entered.


    "How are you feeling now?" asked the ponytail girl with a smile.


    "I''m good."


    Anyone could see her eyes red from crying.


    "Way to ruin the mood Shizuku-chan," the girl in priest robes scolded her.


    Shizuku glared at her, telling her to read the mood. Her friend had just lost an important person and here her another friend was making out of place gags.


    After silencing Kaori, Shizuku moved her warm gaze to Eri. "Was that Evans-san?"


    Eri understood the nature of Shizuku, who would try her best to answer the expectations placed on them.


    She gave a curt nod. "... Yes."


    A thoughtful look appeared on Shizuku''s face. "How did he come here? He wasn''t summoned with us."


    "I¡­ don''t know," answered Eri. She herself was stumped about it, how did he come here? Was he summoned by the same God who summoned them?


    Irene with a contemplative expression said, "So my guess was correct, Leo really is an apostle."


    "Yes, he is my... Childhood friend. He must have received some cheat skills," Eri answered, her feelings were complicated. She knew that Irene had deep feelings for Leo.


    ''I won''t let you go this time,'' she thought.


    Meanwhile, the others were still stunned. The door opened once again, this time a rather short girl with twin tails came.


    She jumped on Eri and hugged her. "Say Eriri, do you love him?" was her question.


    Eri formed a delicate smile as she answered, "Yes."


    Her direct answer astounded the girls, Kaori had an envious glint in her eyes.If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.


    "I won''t lose!" declared Irene.


    Eri lips curled in an amused smile. "I''ve spent 8 years with him, I went on dates with him, I kissed him(on cheeks) and I slept with him(when we were little). Can you still say that after hearing it?"


    "Yes," Irene said with her poker face on. She was jealous, spending childhood with Leo, she thought with a smile.


    "I see."


    The others were surprised by their exchange, they thought there would be some kind of carnage like they watched in TV dramas.


    Kaori replied, "I-I''m confessing to Hajime today."


    She didn''t want to end up like Eri, unable to confess her feelings before she lost him.


    "Good for you," whispered Eri.


    Suzu hugged Eri from behind and began fondling her breasts with a perverted smile. "No~ Eriri~ will always be mine. I won''t let him have you, he needs to go through me first."


    Eri released herself from the grasp of perverted girl and looked at Irene with an inquisitive gaze. "Tell me how you met him?"


    With a nod of her head, Irene started her explanation,


    "My party went to the forest outside Heiligh kingdom to collect plants for a quest, we ran into a mutated Ogre. It was a hopeless battle, we were about to get killed."


    After taking a breath she continued, "Then he appeared and fought against it like a beast and killed it. I used my unique skill to check his soul, it was like a ball of pure white bound by dark chains. He was¡­"


    "I see," said Eri. "He was always like that, trying to hide his pain behind a smile. I saw how much he suffered in silence, never saying a thing about it. If it wasn''t for him, I wouldn''t be alive."


    "He is an amazing guy," whispered Shizuku.


    The door opened once again and three boys entered. A brown haired handsome young man accompanied by a hulking 2m tall man with brown hair and a black haired average boy.


    Kaori stood from the bed and walked to the black haired boy. "Nagumo-kun!"


    The sudden shout of Kaori puzzled Hajime. "S-Shirasaki-san," he replied in a panicked voice.


    Without any words, Kaori grabbed his wrist and dragged him outside.


    The girls looked at Kaori''s back in admiration. While the boys were puzzled by this development.


    "What was that about?" asked the handsome young man.


    "Nothing, you will know soon~ Right Eririn~" replied Suzu in a cheerful voice.


    Eri confirmed her words with a nod.


    Shizuku looked at Kouki with worried eyes, she understood his character more than anyone, still, she tried her best to amend his relations with everyone. But she knew it would test his patience this time.


    "Just don''t panic, Kouki."


    Kouki''s puzzled expression grew further as he tilted his head sideways.


    "How are you now, Nakamura-san?" asked the last youth.


    He was a level high above the rest with a muscular build added with his spiked hair he gave off the air of a delinquent.


    "I''m fine now."


    Kouki flashed a bright smile at Irene. "How are you, Irene-san?"


    "I''m good," Irene replied with a polite smile and grabbed Eri''s hand. "Can I join your party? I want to know more about him."


    "You can join, but what about your old party?"


    Irene leaned forward and whispered something in her ears. Eri''s eyes widened before a wide grin appeared on her face.


    "Okay, you can join."


    "Irene-san, don''t worry about your safety, I''ll protect you," Kouki said with his signature smile.


    Irene ignored him and continued her talk with Eri.


    Kouki lips twitched seeing this. Ryutaro patted his shoulder and went out of the room. Kouki shook his head and followed him.


    Meanwhile, two men walking on the street sneezed.


    ***


    (Wake up!)


    Leo heard someone shout accompanied by the sound of running water. After releasing a groan he opened his heavy eyes to see darkness.


    "Did I die again?"


    He moved his head with difficulty and saw a river lit up by glowstones. His lower body was submerged in it.


    "Still alive, I guess."


    He whispered and dragged his broken body to rock nearby and leaned against it. With cracked bones, he wasn''t in a condition to survive in this Labyrinth. Even a single Kobold could kill him with his current strength.


    He opened his mouth and coughed up a mouthful of blood. Using his sleeves, he wiped the blood and asked, "Where is this place?"


    [Hidden Quest completed: Greed]


    Rewards obtained: [Mystery Shop] unlocked, 20,000SP


    "100th floor?"


    (Check the new shop!)


    ''Mystery Shop''


    [Mystery Shop]


    [Lucky Pervert Skill - 5,000,000SP


    Gae Bolg - 1,000,000SP


    Dragon Handle - 600,000SP


    Reaper''s Scythe - 500,000SP


    Mana Crafting Skill - 100,000SP


    10x Mid-MP potions - 10,000SP


    10x Mid-HP potions - 10,000SP


    P.S- Shop will update every month.


    Update in 29d23h58m]


    He lacked any energy to retort to the top option.


    (Buy HP potions.)


    He barely moved his hands to the potion option and checked on buy. He took out the potion from his inventory, a bottle filled with red liquid appeared in his hand. He opened the lid and gulped it down every drop of it.


    The wounds healed in front of his eyes, his bones were still broken, but he could at least walk now.


    ''Any item like a torch?''


    (200SP)


    A simple lantern appeared in his hands. His armor was beyond repair, so he took it off. He looked around for cursed sword, which he found near the shore.


    ''Good thing I hugged my baby when I fell, or it would be lost forever.''


    (.....)


    He opened his status.


    [Status]


    Name: Leo Evans


    Title: [Behemoth Killer]


    [Behemoth Killer] - The one who kills giants.


    Effect: Increases stats by 10% against giant enemies


    Race: Human


    Age: 17


    Level: 10


    Job: Berserker


    Strength: 252


    Vitality: 260


    Defense: 260


    Agility: 240


    Magic: 660 (Sealed)


    Magic Defense: 660


    ''So I went up four levels, a bit less than my expectations. Whatever, let''s get out of here.''

 V1.C14 Quest, the wolves

    Leo kept the lantern in his inventory, having it in hand would only increase his chance of getting noticed by monsters.


    He followed the only passage, it was like a cave around twenty meters, uneven protrusions peeked out of everywhere. Even the most narrow place was 10 meters wide. It was nothing like the narrow caves in the upper floors.


    He muffled his steps and advanced while keeping a close eye on the map for enemies. After walking for some time, he met a fork road ahead.


    He heard some roars from the left and decided to check it. Four red dots appeared on his map. Taking cover behind a boulder, he peeked his head out.


    Three wolves like monsters were fighting against a rabbit-like monster. The wolf monster was as big as a large dog, murky white fur with two tails. The rabbit monster wasn''t quite a rabbit, it had white fur, long ears, and muscular legs. Crimson mana veins pulsing throughout both rabbit and wolf bodies. The rabbit monster looked outright repulsive in his eyes.


    The wolf monster leaped and shot crimson lightning at the rabbit monster.


    The rabbit vanished and appeared in front of the other wolf and kicked with a speed that left afterimages. A second later the wolf body fell on the ground in two halves.


    ''What the fuck are these monsters? The behemoth I fought to death looks like a kid in front of them.''


    ''Analyze''


    [??]


    Strength: 350


    Vitality: 280


    Defense: 280


    Agility: 600


    Magic: 300


    Magic Defense: 300


    Skills: [Air Dance] [+Aerodynamics] [+Supersonic Step]


    [??]


    Strength: 320


    Vitality: 300


    Defense: 300


    Agility: 400


    Magic: 250


    Magic Defense: 250


    Skills: [Lightning field] [+Lightning resistance] [+Lightning Shot]


    ''What''s that ?? and +''


    (?? means no one has any record on them. The plus sign shows derivative skill.)


    ''That ugly rabbit will be [Kickboxer Rabbit] and that wolf will be [Twin-tailed Wolf].''


    (.....)


    He checked again and they were named as he thought.


    Graaawwr~!


    Another roar came and a monster like bear except for his larger front limbs and claws slowly walked out of passage.


    The kickboxer rabbit eating the wolf trembled. It escaped in a burst of speed and stopped 200 meters away.


    His eyes widened when he saw rabbit head falling to the ground followed by its waist and lower body.


    Thump Thump Thump


    He hurriedly moved back and sensed heart beating like a drum in his chest. The bear monster was too powerful for him, he wouldn''t even survive a single bout against it. He had fought against the behemoth who was at least beatable but here he was like an chicken ready to be slaughtered.


    ''I can''t die here, I will survive.''


    ''I still have to save Eri.''


    He repeated inside his mind to strengthen his determination.


    [Quest Available: Clear Orcus Labyrinth]


    Survive and clear the Orcus Labyrinth.This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.


    Difficulty: SS


    Rewards: 1x [Skill Evolution Coupon], 50000SP


    [Accept / Decline]


    ''...Accept.''


    (...5000SP for ''How to survive here''.)


    ''...Take it.''


    He answered without batting a single eye, what use would the SP be if he died here. Grotesque sound of munching entered his ears and he cautiously peeked his head. The bear was feasting on the rabbit corpse.


    ''Analyze''


    [??]


    Strength: 500


    Vitality: 300


    Defense: 400


    Agility: 500


    Magic: 350


    Magic Defense: 350


    Skills: [Gale Claw] [+Triple Gale Claws] [+Flying Gale Claws]


    ''The attack that killed the rabbit was [Gale Claw]''


    ''I will name it [Claw Bear]''


    (Go to your left.)


    Leo followed her instructions and stopped in front of a wall that looked nothing special but his map showed a cave inside.


    (Destroy it.)


    ''Wait! That bear is still there, he will hack me to pieces!''


    (...Wait.)


    Leo hid behind the boulder again and waited for the bear to leave, which it did after it sniffed around the area.


    Leo hurried back and struck the wall with his sword, chipping it a little. He repeated it, ignoring the intense pain ravaging his body. He slashed again and again until he saw an opening.


    It was a dark cave, filled with a putrid smell. There was some liquid on the ground.


    ''Analyze''


    [Ambrosia]


    A liquid that flows from [Divinity stone]. It can extend one''s life, heal wounds and recover mana. It cannot sate one''s hunger.


    Rank: SS


    He shut his wide open mind and talked to Jen.


    ''Buy a container, we are going all in.''


    (...300SP)


    A jar appeared in his hands. He flicked the jar with one finger.


    Tink


    He silently praised the jar for its durability and stored every bit of Ambrosia inside it. It wasn''t much, but every drop of it was a treasure.


    After that, he began the search for Divinity Stone. He carefully scratched the wall like he was treating a gem. After several minutes, he found a beautiful basketball-size stone, it was glowing dark blue. He drew out his tongue and gave the gem-like stone a lick. All of his pain and fatigue quickly vanished.


    ''Analyze''


    [Divinity stone]


    Crystallization of a large amount of mana clamped together for a long time. The only source of Ambrosia in existence.


    Ranks: SSS


    ''Thanks, Jen! You are the best girl ever!''


    (...You still need to do something about hunger.)


    ''Can''t I buy something from the shop?''


    (No, you will eat monster meat here.)


    ''Isn''t it inedible, people die after eating it.''


    (You will eat it.)


    Her voice was stern, unlike her gentle tone.


    ''Fine¡­ The weakest monster is that wolf, but they come in packs. I''ll have to lure them or that bear will slice me in half.''


    Leo went out of the cave and covered it. Racking his brain to create a plan on how to lure one or two twin-tailed wolves. He hid behind the usual boulder and observed the place where the previous fight took place.


    After an hour of non stop staring, three twin-tailed wolves came out of the darkness and started eating the Kickboxer Rabbit corpse.


    ''I can manage three, Ambrosia will deal with the wounds.''


    Leo picked a stone from the ground and threw it near his feet.


    The wolves ears perked up at the noise. He gripped his sword tightly and waited in ambush. The wolves growled and dashed toward the boulder.


    Thump Thump Thump


    His heart sped up as if trying to burst out of his chest. He hardened his grip on the sword''s hilt.


    One of the wolves pounced from the other side of boulder. He concentrated all strength in his arms and slashed.


    Shiing~


    The attack ripped the air and caused a deep wound on wolf''s stomach and its injured body crashed on the ground. After some painful howls it stopped breathing.


    [Level up]


    The sudden level up stunned him, he didn''t have time to brood over it as both wolves tried to pounce at him. He refused to fight here and retreated to the cave and stood with his back against it.


    ''No attack from the back.''


    "Accursed Sword, Heed my call! Embrace me in your Aura!"


    He silently cursed the one who made this chant as a mild gray aura surrounded the sword. The wolves closed the distance in seconds.


    He slashed at the sharp claws attacking him. Still, the defense of these monsters was nearly the same level as behemoth so his sword only created a small wound on the claw.


    A deep frown appeared on his face as a sharp pain traveled through his left hand. He raised his fist and pounded it on the wolf''s head biting his hand. The blow stunned it before it roared and leaped back.


    The wolves became cautious, eyeing the enemy in front of them. They circled around him and charged from both sides.


    He swiftly evaded to the side and took a defensive stance. The battle turned into a stalemate.


    ''All or nothing.''


    He darted forward and stabbed the wolf''s neck pushing his broken body to the limits.


    It struggled and covered its body in lightning also bit his hand. But he didn''t pull back and pushed the sword deeper. The wolf twitched on the ground and stopped breathing moments later.


    [Level up]


    The last wolf shot crimson lightning at him. His already numb body turned lost all sttentgh, the sword slipped from his fingers to the ground. The wolf pounced on the powerless prey and viciously bit his neck.


    "Aargh!"


    Leo tried to break free by punching its head, but the wolf persisted. He was close to passing out.


    A sudden black aura erupted from him, scaring the wolf as it jumped back and eyed him cautiously.


    Leo instincts took over and his eyes turned bloodshot. "DIE!" he yelled and dashed forward.


    The wolf felt threatened, following its instincts it ran back deeper into the caves.


    ''Having a high magic defense has its perks, huh.''


    Seeing no enemies nearby, his torn body  collapsed on the ground and drank some Ambrosia. Picking himself up, he dragged the monster bodies into the cave and covered it with stones.


    (You could have put them in inventory.)


    ''...''


    He took out the mana crystal from both corpses. It was dark red, just like the veins running throughout their body.


    ''This one will sell for?''


    (400SP)


    He clicked his tongue. ''Too low, I''ll keep it for now.''


    He dismantled the wolves and took out the flesh that looked edible and carried it to the river and cleaned it thoroughly with water.


    ''Buy me something to cook it.''


    (2000SP)


    ''So high... buy it.''


    Some sort of oven appeared in his hands, it was thrice the size of normal ones.


    ''Analyze''


    [Magic oven]


    An artifact that cooks food up to 700 degrees Celsius, powered by mana crystal.


    "..."

 V1.C15 Mutation, Eri thoughts

    Leo fixed a mana crystal in the backside of the oven and stuffed it full with meat. The crystal lit up and started heating the meat with mouth-watering sizzling sounds.


    He forgot to wipe the leaking drool from his mouth and stared at the meat cooking in the oven.


    Ding~


    He stabbed the sword in the piece of meat and pulled it out.


    (Take out some Ambrosia before eating it and remember it will hurt like hell, even with your pain tolerance and there is a chance of dying.)


    He gulped his dry saliva and nodded. He expected there to be some bad consequences in eating monster''s meat. As it is filled with mana, allowing them to use magic and skills without any magic circle.


    ''What will I get from this?''


    (Power.)


    ''Good, that''s all you need to say. If it''s about pain, I think no one can endure it better than me.''


    He sunk his teeth in the meat and took out a huge chunk. Slowly the meat that could feed three adults disappeared. It tasted like shit but thinking about power, he ate up every bit of it and relieved the hunger.


    A sudden discomfort coursed through his stomach, he bent on his knees and coughed a handful of blood. He hurriedly took out the bottle of Ambrosia and drank it.


    The pain came again, eating him from inside out. His whole body pulsated like it would burst open any moment. Heart threatened to jump out of his mouth with every violent heartbeat.


    His bones started breaking but Ambrosia healed them in a few seconds. The pain increased with every moment, he released the scream he held back all this while.


    ''It hurts! It hurts! It hurts!''


    He kept drinking ambrosia. Black aura appeared around him increasing his healing further, making the experience all the more gruesome. He writhed on the ground in misery.


    (Don''t give up!)


    "I¡­ I won''t¡­ It''s¡­ nothing... compared to... before..."


    He clenched his teeth and persisted. His body broke down over and over, twisting his organs. Drinking Ambrosia stopped him from dying. So the hellish cycle of gruesome pain continued.


    Someone stood behind him watching the entire process. It tried to touch Leo''s head, but it passed through him.


    ''Stay safe¡­''


    After an unknown time, Leo regained his senses, a dense smell of blood assaulted him.


    He groaned and stood, his clothes suffocated him a little. His senses felt sharper than ever. He inspected his body and noticed faint red veins on his arms, just like the monsters here.


    ''What happened to me...''


    (Check your status.)


    [Status]


    Name: Leo Evans


    Title: [Behemoth Killer]You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.


    Race: Human-Monster Hybrid


    Age: 17


    Level: 14


    Job: Berserker


    Strength: 400


    Vitality: 450


    Defense: 350


    Agility: 400


    Magic: 1400 (Sealed)


    Magic Defense: 1400


    [Skills]


    ...


    [Iron Stomach](Passive skill)]


    Allows the user to gain power and skills by eating equal or stronger monsters


    [Lightning Field] (Active skill)]


    Generates a lightning field around the body, can''t be expelled without proper conduction


    [Innate Abilities]


    [Mana Manipulation] (S)


    Allows the user to directly manipulate mana without any chant or circle


    ¡­


    Leo stared in amazement. "What kind of monster did I become?"


    (Don''t get arrogant, there are still monsters out there that can kill you. Even with all this power.)


    He clicked his tongue in annoyance, even after all this pain he couldn''t become stronger than some labyrinth monster.


    (Do you even know that just a single one of these monsters can wipe out human countries alone.)


    He ignored her chiding and concentrated on the dark red veins on his body, something was there than other blood. He tried to control it with his thoughts and direct it toward the sword in his hand. Gray aura started flowing from the sword.


    [''Mana Discharge'' has been acquired]


    [Mana Discharge] (Passive skill)


    Allows the user to focus and emit mana from body


    ''So this is mana. How much SP do I have?''


    (7453SP)


    ''How do I use this skill?''


    (...Focus on the mental image of skill.)


    ''Okay, I promise I won''t ask next time, I have relied on you long enough besides I can''t depend on you forever.''


    (.....)


    He remembered that the twin-tailed wolf used this skill to shoot lightning. He forced the pulsing mana inside his right arm and tried to simulate the same lightning ball wolf attacked him with.


    Crackle~


    Blood-red lightning flashed around his arm and shifted to his fingers. He found it unable to shoot it like the wolf.


    He increased the amount of mana in the skill. The lightning expanded from his hands to cover his entire body.


    [''Lightning Resistance'' skill acquired]


    [+Lightning Resistance] (Passive skill)


    Increase resistance to lighting spells and lighting based attacks


    It might be useful in numbing the body of my opponents, he thought.


    ''Time to hunt that fucking wolf.''


    He smiled with a twisted face, his instincts craving revenge.


    (Get your ass together.)


    He was shocked to see Jen cursing him. She never did it before. He calmed down and put all his stuff in the inventory and went to the river for a quick bath.


    Leo stared at his face in the river. White hair, and eyes of different colors. His left was still deep blue but his right had turned blood-red, the same color as his mana. Dark red veins of mana were vaguely visible on his sharp handsome face.


    ''Is this Marie Antoinette Syndrome? Or I evolved or something? My body looks taller than before, I was already 177cm. Now, I would be 181cm or something.''


    (The correct word is ''Mutation''. Your body mutated by consuming Monster Flesh, which never happened before and your body grew from overcompensation. The thing with your hair is indeed Marie Antoinette Syndrome.)


    ''So, I''m first. How do you know about that?''


    (.....)


    ''Forget it.''


    He sighed and went back to his usual peeking spot to hunt down that wolf, then devour the rabbit for its skills and finally the ferocious bear monster.


    But with his shit luck, not a single soul appeared even after waiting for an hour.


    "Screw it, I''ll go in myself," he cursed and strode deeper into the caves¡­


    ***


    Heiligh Kingdom¡­


    After Kouki and Ryutaro left the room, the girls sneaked from the room and followed Kaori, intending to watch the drama unfold between her and Hajime.


    They followed Kaori as she dragged Hajime and stopped in an open ground with several wooden dolls standing there. It was the training area for Students.


    The girls watched as Kaori poured her heart out and conveyed all her feelings. Hajime was close to passing out from embarrassment but stopped when he saw Kaori nearly tearing up and nodded his head to agree.


    Kaori exclaimed in happiness and jumped at him, making them fall on the ground.


    Scribble Scribble


    Eri heard a strange sound, she turned her head to see Irene furiously moving her fingers holding a pencil to write something on a diary she took out of who knows where.


    "What are you doing?" she asked.


    Irene looked embarrassed for a second then assumed a poker face.


    "It''s nothing."


    She said and hid the diary behind her back.


    Eri shook her head sideways then looked at Shizuku''s face carrying a motherly smile and Suzu looking at the couple in daze while whispering, "So romantic¡­"


    ''Some people are really weird.'' she thought.

 V1.C16 Training with new skills

    Leo ran in the caves, wishing for some prey to appear in his minimap. He could do it all day with his enhanced endurance and a lick of divinity stone.


    (Don''t treat it like some candy.)


    He caught sight of a Kickboxer Rabbit dashing in bursts, causing sonic booms with every dash.


    ''I should teach this bastard that it''s illegal to break sound barriers.''


    (.....)


    He followed it while keeping a distance, he nearly lost sight of it multiple times. The rabbit headed for the river to drink water.


    He had a flash of inspiration as his lips stretched in a cruel smile.


    Kickboxer Rabbit drank water cautiously. Feeling something, its ears twitched and it looked around. Finding nothing Rabbit resumed drinking water with a good mood, happy about not meeting the Claw Bear.


    The water below it changed from faint blue to red. Following its instincts, Rabbit tried to jump but a numb feeling stopped it. After that all it saw was a flash and the cave spinning.


    Leo looked at the Kickboxer Rabbit corpse greedily. He stopped [Final Breath] and stored the corpse in inventory and went back to his home(cave).


    He cooked the meat in his precious oven and consumed it.


    The pain came, it was not brutal like before. It still made him groan, it was over before a minute. He felt his sense getting sharper. He concentrated his vision to see everything in slow motion. His head started buzzing after two seconds.


    [''Air Dance'' skill acquired]


    [''Aerodynamic'' skill acquired]


    [''Supersonic Step'' skill acquired]


    [''Extreme focus'' skill acquired]


    [Air Dance (Passive skill)]


    Increases the base reaction speed of the user, and gives the ability to move at high speed


    [+Aerodynamic (Active skill)]


    Allows the user to create small plates of compressed air under their feet


    [+Supersonic Step (Active skill)]


    Allows the user to move with a speed that breaks the sound barrier.


    [+Extreme Focus (Active skill)]


    Increases perception to the limits for a short time. Causes mental fatigue if used too much.


    Leo Evans


    Age:17 Male


    Title: [Behemoth Killer]


    Race: Human-Monster Hybrid


    Level: 16


    Strength: 480


    Vitality: 580


    Defense: 500


    Agility: 600


    Magic: 1500 (Sealed)


    Magic Defense: 1500


    ''I''m stronger now! I need to train these skills, then I will confront that Claw Bear. 100th floor is the goal after that.''


    (.....)


    ''[Air Dance]¡­ That rabbit used explosive power in its legs to achieve such speed. It should be [Supersonic Step]. Let''s try it.''Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.


    He made a mental image of mana gathering in his legs and dashed forward, only to slam face-first on the wall. The collision formed craters on the wall.


    "Ouch!"


    He stood and checked his body to find no injury.


    ''Damn, my endurance is monstrous. Next is [Aerodynamic], it should be the skill that Rabbit used to change direction mid-air.''


    He leaped and made a mental image to create something solid below his feet. The wind compressed itself into a solid platform for him to stand on. He balanced himself to avoid falling and sighed in relief but the plate disappeared making him fall.


    After training the skills for a day, he hunted three twin-tailed wolves and one kickboxer rabbit. He ate them but his stats didn''t increase much.


    ''So my stats won''t increase from eating a monster over and over. One more reason to descend quickly. But I need that Claw Bear''s skill.''


    Leo ran through the caves, using aerodynamic to dodge the protrusions. His figure blurred in the caves.


    He searched for the claw Bear while collecting all kinds of ores here. He wanted to make a gun from them later. A dozen kilogram was already stocked up in his inventory.


    [Blastrock]


    An ore that burns slowly and explodes violently if a large amount is burned in a confined place.


    Basically gunpowder of this world.


    [Taur stone]


    An ore that can easily handle heat and impact. It becomes fragile and brittle when cooled.


    Best material for bullets, he could make a gun, but he lacked the necessary tools to make it.


    "Forget it, I''ll try after I leave he¡ª" his eyes fell on the Claw Bear munching on something with its back wide open and his face formed a vicious smile.


    He held his sword tightly and faced the bear. Using supersonic step with extreme focus, he vanished from the spot.


    The claw bear chewed on a kickboxer rabbit. Its aura intimidated other monsters on this floor, so no one messed with it. It never stayed vigilant, it had the pride of a king of the floor. But it suddenly felt a chill, it tried to dodge the sneak attack, but something was shoved in its backhole.


    The bear cried loudly in pain, most likely for mercy. Even Leo felt bad for it. "Yo!" and activated his cursed sword ability [Final Death] with mana manipulation.


    The bear tried to turn back but the sword was fixed firmly in its asshole. Gray aura moved from sword to the inside of claw bear and burned everything there.


    [Title: ''Cruel Hunter'' Acquired]


    [Cruel Hunter]: The one who can hunt anyone, anywhere and anytime in the most cruel and vicious manner.


    Effects: Increases Stats by 20% when striking undetected.


    His lips twitched seeing its description.


    ''It''s survival of the fittest here bastard.''


    He drank some Ambrosia and put the corpse in his inventory. His inventory only had 25 slots, each could hold 1000kg. 1 slot was nearly filled with ore and corpses.


    (Good job, Cruel Hunter.)


    Jen said in a sarcastic tone.


    ''.....''


    He was kinda grateful to her, if it weren''t for her he would be dead after the fall or he would have broken once again, which he never wanted to experience again.


    "Just wait for me, Eri¡­" he said, his voice filled with yearning.


    He ransacked all the ores, even green glowstones were not spared. The labyrinth looked really terrifying in the darkness.


    ***


    Leo stood in front of the stairs of the next floor, only darkness reflected in his heterochromic eyes. There were no green glowstones here, giving him a creepy feeling.


    "I was never good with horror," he whispered.


    He held the lantern with his left hand, his right hand open to take care of any monster. He moved forward using his senses to the limits, glancing every now and then at the map. He was sure he would get ambushed.


    (The Cruel Hunter became the prey.)


    Jen laughed in his mind.


    ''Well someone is having fun today.''


    He saw something moving ahead and goosebumps appeared on his body.


    "I really don''t want to be here."


    He sensed something from the right and dodged. Moving his lantern quickly to the place, he saw a large grey lizard with i5s golden eyes shining menacingly in darkness.


    He looked at his left hand slowly being petrified.


    ''Analyze''


    [??]


    Strength: 350


    Vitality: 450


    Defense: 400


    Agility: 500


    Magic: 350


    Magic Defense: 350


    Skills: [Petrification Eyes] [Night Vision] [Sense Presence]


    He calmed down his heart and covered his hands in dark-red lightning. Closing the distance with supersonic step, he punched its head with his right hand. It was an insta-kill.


    He quickly sprinkled Ambrosia on his arm and drank some to stop the petrification.


    "[Minimap] won''t work here, huh."


    After killing another basilisk, he found a small and narrow cave. He took out a basilisk corpse and started to dismantle it. After cooking it, he ate the meat, still unable to digest its taste.


    This time he didn''t feel any pain.


    [Level up]


    [''Night Vision'' skill acquired]


    [''Petrification resistance'' skill acquired]


    [''Sense Presence'' skill acquired]


    [Night Vision (Passive skill)]


    Allows better vision in dark or night


    [Petrification Resistance (Passive skill)]


    Increases resistance to petrification


    [Sense Presence (Passive skill)]


    Allows the user to better understand the surroundings and sense presences in a radius of 10 meters radius.


    ''Just what I needed to get out of this place.''


    He checked his status.


    [Status]


    Name: Leo Evans


    Title: [Behemoth Killer] [Cruel Hunter]


    Race: Human-Monster Hybrid


    Age: 17


    Level: 19


    Job: Berserker


    Strength: 600


    Vitality: 700


    Defense: 650


    Agility: 700


    Magic: 1700 (Sealed)


    Magic Defense: 1700


    [Gale Claw]


    Creates pressurized blades of wind or mana which attack nearby objects


    His stats had reached a next level after one day training.


    ''How strong am I compared to Ehit''s weakest servant?''


    (Not even 10%)


    He was dumbfounded hearing this, he had more than 600 points in strength and he was not even 10%.


    ''Then I just have to devour more monsters. I will devour every one of them here and go kick his ass. I''ll devour him too.''


    His lips morphed into a bloodthirsty expression.


    (He is ugly.)


    ''Then forget it.''


    He moved towards the stairs of the next floor and killed 5 more lizards in the process. He had collected every useful thing he could find in his inventory.


    He descended the stairs to another floor.

 V1.C17 On the bridge, The Strange door

    After descending another floor Leo looked around for signs of any monster. All he found was a floor with sticky tar everywhere. He used aerodynamic to move through the air, fully concentrating his sense presence skill.


    [Flamrock]


    An ore that melts into tar when burned. It melts at 50 degrees celsius and burns at 100 degrees celsius. It can reach up to 3000 degrees celsius.


    He gulped seeing its description, fortunately he didn''t use his lightning skill here or he would be crisped alive, not even his mutated body could withstand burning in fire.


    He picked up the pace, following the only passage and came to a place where the path split into three.


    ''Where should I go? Let''s try from left first.''


    He started walking, fully prepared for ambush. At the moment, a shark-like monster pounced at him with its maw wide open.


    The shark closed its mouth with a snap right in front of him, its razor sharp teeth shining with metallic glint.


    ''Analyze''


    [??]


    Strength: 450


    Vitality: 500


    Defense: 600


    Agility: 580


    Magic: 450


    Magic Defense: 400


    Skills: [Hide Presence]


    ''This bastard is a perfect assassin, I want that skill. You will be called Assassin Shark''


    (.....)


    Before he could attack the shark retreated back in Tar. Leo spread his senses all around him. He concentrated to his limits the moment he heard the noise. He could see the shark from the corner of his eye coming at him with open jaws.


    He swung his hands, tracing a wide arc to create a wind blade. It was [Gale Claw], skill of Claw bear.


    The blade hit and a deep cut appeared on shark''s neck. It twitched and tried to stand up, Leo moved mana to his legs and kicked on its head to finish it.


    [''Steel Legs'' skill acquired]


    [Steel Legs] (Active skill)


    Allows the user to reinforce their legs and increase the power and strength of their kicks.


    ''Fuh, [Extreme focus] sure takes a toll on my head.''


    Putting the body in inventory, he took it to a safe place to eat.


    [Level up]


    [''Hide Presence'' skill acquired]


    [Hide Presence] (Passive skill)


    Allows the user to hide presence to avoid getting tracked by others.


    And he descended yet another floor.


    ***


    Back in Heiligh Kingdom, Kaori and Hajime started dating. Every classmate saw it coming, except two who were unable  to believe it.


    On a quiet night, one black haired boy was sketching on a piece of paper. He was interrupted by a knock on the door.


    He grumbled and opened the door to see his new girlfriend dressed in a pure white dress.


    His heart sped up seeing her. He still couldn''t believe the fact that the beautiful idol level girl was his girlfriend.


    "Sh¡ª Kaori, what are you doing here?"


    He said her last name unconsciously but stopped when he saw her chilly smile.


    She entered the room and sat on the bed. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    "Hajime-kun, can we talk?"


    He sat on the far corner on the bed, Kaori closed the distance and glued her body to him.


    He nodded his head with a wry smile. "I also wanted to talk."


    "It''s about Kouki, he is not doing good. Lately, he has a fake smile on his face," Kaori whispered.


    "I also saw it, maybe it was a mistake for you to date an Otaku like me," he said in a depressed voice.


    "Hajime! I-I L-Like You! So please don''t say things like this again."


    "Kaori, I-I also¡­" Kaori put a finger on his lips.


    "Let''s talk about it later, what were you doing with that?" she said as she pointed at the tools scattered everywhere.


    "Nothing, I thought I could make something that can help everyone. After all, I''m just a weak synergist."


    "You are not weak, your heart is stronger and kinder than everyone else," Kaori said with a gentle smile.


    "Thanks," he whispered.


    Her smile grew wider hearing that. She noticed something on the floor, she bent and picked it up. There was a design of Revolver on it.


    "Hajime-kun, can you make it?"


    He nodded his head. "I''ll be able to make it in a week."


    "With this, we have more chances to win the war and go back home faster. We''ll get a house there and get married. Yes! We''ll do that!" she babbled, lost in her delusions.


    "I also want to go home," he said with a sigh.


    One boy watched Kaori enter Hajime room. He had a furious expression on his face, killing intent radiated from every fiber of his body.


    He entered his room and hit the wall with his fists. Blood kept dripping but his punch only grew fiercer.


    He stopped and started laughing, it was filled with malice and hatred.


    "Damn you, Nagumo. I''ll get her back."


    ***


    Orcus Labyrinth¡­


    Leo travelled floor after floor, meeting all kinds of powerful monsters. Among them was a rainbow-colored frog that could spit poison.


    A giant moth that spread its scales throughout the air, it could paralyze anything. The floor also had a poisonous mist scattered everywhere. Frog and butterfly teamwork nearly cost him his life but Ambrosia saved him.


    He ate the frog with a disgusted expression, surprisingly it tasted better than any monster meat he ever ate. As for the moth¡­


    Then, there was another floor which looked like a jungle, even the air was incredibly humid like a real forest. Here he was ambushed by a centipede, which split into thirty cockroaches. He used [Final Breath] and destroyed everything in his sight. He nearly went berserk from disgust.


    Then, Giant living trees chased him all over the place. They were very kind, giving him crimson tasty fruits. He even thought about gifting himself to them but shook his head and used the Cursed Sword to cut them into pieces. He wiped the drop of tear from the corner of his eyes.


    His hide presence skill combined with the title effect, he ambushed most of the monsters he met. Some of them were too gruesome and brutal to describe in words. Something awakened within him when he heard those cries.


    Currently he was facing against a two meter large what could only be described as a ugly penguin. Even the temperature around here was reaching more than 10 degree celsius below 0. A thin layer of frost covered the walls and ground of the cave.


    He was currently unarmed as his opponent''s defense that rendered his sword useless.


    ''Analyze''


    [??]


    Strength: 800


    Vitality: 1100


    Defense: 900


    Agility: 600


    Magic: 1200


    Magic Defense: 1000


    Skills: [Ice breath] [Ice needles]


    ''Truly an abomination of a penguin.''


    He calmly watched as the thing opened its filthy mouth and sucked in a large amount of air, an instant later, a hail of ice needles shot out.


    He twisted his body with a flexibility that would leave professionals in awe and protected his vitals. The penguin already began to prepare another attack, he closed the distance in several seconds and jumped enough to look down on the penguin.


    His foot rose in the air, nearly reaching his shoulders. With a smirk he activated steel legs and brought down the leg on its head.


    With a loud crack the skull of the penguin split open and its large body fell backward scattering its brain and stuff on the floor. All of this took place within 3 seconds. His skill extreme focus proved to be very useful in fast paced fights.


    After placing the corpse in his inventory, he descended another floor.


    He searched around and found no monsters here but something more mysterious. He shook his head and created a camp to eat the Penguin corpse.  After eating the ugly creature¡­


    [Level up]


    [Status]


    Name: Leo Evans


    Title: [Behemoth Killer] [Cruel Hunter]


    Race: Human-Monster Hybrid


    Age: 17


    Level: 28


    Job: Berserker


    Strength: 950


    Vitality: 1100


    Defense: 950


    Agility: 1050


    Magic: 2400 (Sealed)


    Magic Defense: 2400


    [Skills]


    ...


    [Gale Claw (Active skill)]


    [+Triple Gale Claw (Active skill)]


    Allows the user to create three wind or mana blades instead of one


    [Night Vision ''Active skill)]


    [Petrification Resistance (Passive skill)]


    [Sense Presence (Passive skill)]


    [Farsight (Active skill)]


    Allows the user to have an increased range of vision by focusing mana into the eyes


    [Detect Magic (Active skill)]


    Allows the user to detect and perceive the flow of mana and activation of hidden or ranged spells and magic


    [Poison Resistance (Passive skill)]


    Increase resistance to poison.


    [Paralysis Resistance (Passive skill)]


    Increase resistance to paralysis


    These were his current stats and skills. After he was done with all preparations, he set off to explore the new location.


    His heart throbbed with a sense of excitement, which he nearly forgot. It was different from all the things he saw here.


    He was facing a double door, its size made him look like a dwarf. The golden pattern carved on it only served to increase its magnificence. It was truly a masterpiece even if he saw it a second time.


    With magic circles placed all over the door, it was suspicious as hell, increasing his curiosity.


    He pushed the door, it didn''t budge. He punched it, kicked it, and tried everything.


    As a last resort, he put one hand on the door and gathered his mana to it.


    Zap~


    A small bolt of lightning ran through the door, he jumped back. Smoke rose from his charred hands, he drank a HP Potion to heal it.


    Roar~!!!


    A loud roar echoed throughout the place. He raised his head up and saw something...

 V1.C18 Cyclops, Vampire Princess

    Leo kicked the ground and bounded backward, prepared to run if an absurdly strong monster appeared.


    Looking up, he caught sight of two statues struggling to break free from the tomb. They were huge, more than three meters with only one eye. It would be a comical sight if it weren''t for the nearly 4 meters sword in their hands.


    ''Analyze''


    [??]


    Strength: 1200


    Vitality: 1400


    Defense: 1700


    Agility: 700


    Magic: 1500


    Magic Defense: 1200


    Skills: [Diamond Skin]


    ''I''ll call it Cyclops.''


    He held the cursed sword and activated final breath, with a huge amount of mana focused on his legs, he shot upward like a bullet leaving a large crater on the ground.


    Boom~


    His attack hit and exploded one of Cyclops into meat pieces. The wall behind Cyclops was half pulverized by pure shockwave. He caught the mana crystal and landed back on the ground, his legs still a tad bit numb.


    He drank some Ambrosia to recover the weakness from [Final Breath] and looked at his sword breaking down after the attack, it was a miracle it lasted so long here in the abyss.


    ''Thanks for all the help.''


    He walked forward and picked up the huge sword of Cyclops.


    ''Analyze''


    [Giant Sword]


    Rank: S


    A sword made from a compound of azantium and taur ore, focusing on pure destructive power.


    Effects:


    <ol>


    <li> Atk +400</li>


    <li> Atk 0</li>


    </ol>


    ''Perfect weapon for destruction.''


    It weighed nearly 500 kg but he waved it with ease and flashed a disdainful smirk at Cyclops.


    The now freed Cyclops jumped down and roared at him.


    Leo covered the distance with supersonic step and swung down the sword on Cyclops. It hurriedly raised the sword to block the attack. A deafening boom later, both sides stood their ground. The cyclops size and mass gave it an edge over Leo who was not even half of it but Leo had a 10% stats boost from the title [Behemoth Killer].


    He freed his left hand from sword and shot a wind blade at its large eyes.


    Roar~!!!


    A burst of blood erupted from the single eye of Cyclops. The large sword in its thick arms waved around without any target, he dodged the attacks and retreated back.


    Looking at the berserk monster coming, he completely hid his presence and moved to its back and pounced on its back. He slashed its defenseless back with double boost from [Cruel Hunter] and [Behemoth killer].Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.


    After a thin resistance, the sword tore the defense provided by diamond skin and dug through the thick muscles and crashed against its backbone.


    "Argh!"


    He yelled and applied more strength, the backbone of cyclops snapped and with it the life of cyclops ended.


    He took out its mana crystal and kept the corpse in inventory. He went up to the door again and noticed two indents in it, the same size as Cyclops mana crystal. He brought one of them near the door, like a magnet the mana crystal was pulled inside the indent.


    "Just what is here for someone to use two strong monsters to guard it?"


    The mana crystals began to glow red. He used [Detect Mana] to see a huge amount of dark-red mana pouring into the magic circles from mana crystals.


    Click~


    A clicking noise was heard then the light faded slowly. A faint layer of mana covered the door and illuminated the place. His mouth opened wide at the light he hadn''t seen for days.


    He shook off the surprise and pushed open the door. What appeared in his sight was a pitch black hall. He could still see after enhancing his eyes with night vision.


    The interior was made with finely crafted marble, two thick rows of pillars spaced out and extended all the way to the end. A cube of stone in the very center of the room, reflecting light coming from outside.


    There was something sticking out from the stone, he focused mana on his eyes to check and nearly screamed in horror.


    "... Who goes there?" a hoarse female voice called out to him.


    What he saw was a girl buried from the neck down in the stone. Golden-blonde hair concealed her face, eyes as red as blood peeked out from the gaps of hair covering her face. She looked young, too young to be here. He became suspicious.


    ''Analyze''


    [Aletea Galdea Vesperitio Avatarl]


    Race: Vampire


    Age: 323 Female


    Level 55


    Job: Divine Priestess


    Strength: 50


    Vitality: 150


    Defense:50


    Agility: 80


    Magic: 3970


    Magic Defense: 4050


    Skills: [Automatic Regeneration] [+Pain Dampener] [+Regeneration control] ¡ª [All Elemental Affinity] ¨C [Spell Melding] ¡ª [Mana Manipulation] [+Mana Emission] [+Mana Compression] [+Remote Manipulation] [+Increased Efficiency] [+Ether Absorption] [+Body Strengthening] ¡ª [Image Composition] [+Increased Imagination] [+Multiple Spell Image Composition] [+Delayed Casting] ¡ª [Blood Conversion] [+Body Strengthening] [+Mana Conversion] [+Stamina Conversion] [+Mana Strengthening] [+Blood Oath] ¡ª [High speed Mana Recovery]


    This was the first time he used [Analyze] on a human, no, a vampire and the result left him stunned.


    ''What the hell is with these skills? She is even more of a monster than me.''


    ''Jen, what should I do?''


    The vampire girl had her eyes wide open, she never expected someone to reach here. A spark of hope flared up inside her long dead heart.


    (Do what your heart says.)


    "Please! ¡­ Help me!"


    The girl shouted, her rough voice brought out a sense of pity inside him.


    He couldn''t ignore her now. So he walked closer and stood in front of her. His eyes locked in her empty eyes.


    He couldn''t help but ask, "Why are you here?"


    "I¡­ was betrayed..."


    She only said these words but he could feel the sorrow and regret in her voice.


    He shook his head. "I can help you but you are a vampire, a long extinct race. I still can''t trust you when you can kill me easily with your strength."


    "H-How do you know about that?" she asked in a panicked voice.


    "I can see the status of other people, just a gift of mine."


    "That is¡­ impossible¡­" she said and coughed loudly.


    He folded his arms in front of his chest, his lips twisted in a grin.


    "You have [Automatic Regeneration], [Mana Manipulation] with 6 of its derivative skills, [Image Composition] and a dozen other skills."


    She lowered her head with a gloomy expression. "You are¡­ right."


    He let out a sigh and plopped his butt on the ground.


    "Go ahead and tell me your story. If you were betrayed then why did they seal you here?"


    She closed her eyes, her brows furrowed in a helpless frown.


    "I''m an atavistic vampire¡­ I was granted great power from birth¡­ because of it, I worked hard for my country¡­ But one day my retainers said... I wasn''t needed anymore¡­. So Uncle became the king¡­ I was fine with that¡­ My power was a threat to them¡­ They couldn''t kill me¡­ So they sealed me here."


    She talked slowly, her voice becoming more hoarse after every word.


    Leo looked in her eyes full of sadness and despair.


    "So you are a Former Vampire Queen and current Vampire Princess?"


    She nodded her head to acknowledge.


    "Why can''t you die? Automatic Regeneration?"


    "Injuries heal immediately... Even if decapitated."


    He flinched at her words, she was basically an immortal. But the pain she had to go through would be unimagina¡ª no, he himself had experienced far more inhumane pain.


    "Please help me¡­"


    Leo weighed his options, if he helps her he could ask her to teach him magic. There is a chance of being betrayed. Or he can just ignore her and walk back.


    The more time he took in deciding, the more grim Yue''s face became.


    After a long discussion with himself, he came to a decision. He stood and looked at her pale face and opened his mouth.


    "I¡­"

 V1.C19 Scorpion, the might of Vampire princess

    "I¡­ can confirm you aren''t lying. So I''ll free you but if you ever betray me... I will make sure to kill you one day. I have died once for revenge, I don''t mind dying again for it."


    She stopped the urge to tear up and said, "...I can''t hope to betray my... saviour."


    Leo nodded and tightly gripped the giant sword in his hands.


    Her eyes widened as disbelief spread across her doll-like face.


    "W-Why?"


    She thought he would save her, now even he wants to harm me. Why was everyone so cruel to her?


    He tilted his head to the side, puzzled by the sudden change in her mind.


    "Should I not free you? It''s the only option for me."


    "N-No, you can j-just pour your mana in this magic circle. It might free me."


    "Okay¡­"


    He bent down and put his hands on the magic circle and poured mana inside the circle, exuding a dull light by his blood red mana.


    Yue stared at his mana the same as the color as her eyes. She saw the light she hadn''t seen for centuries. The suffering she held for hundreds of years finally came out in form of warm teardrops rushing down her cheeks.


    Leo discharged all the mana he could, every ounce of it. It still wasn''t enough.


    His face turned serious. "Dammit, my mana is not enough to directly break it¡­ Berserk."


    With pitch black aura around and blood red mana in his hands, he created a rather cutting figure in the darkness. He bit his tongue and poured every mana inside. Craters formed on the ground from sheer mana pressure.


    Cracks started forming on the unknown stone, just from mana. He saw it and continued. Unable to contain such mana, the magic circle broke. Crack by crack the whole stone broke into pieces.


    Yue fell to the ground naked. Even Leo couldn''t deny her charm when he saw her like this.


    He drank a few drops of Ambrosia to replenish his mana and gave her a hand, "You sure look young for a 323-year-old hag?"


    She heard his words and a furious expression appeared on her face. "You!"


    Golden lightning danced around her body threatening to attack him, only to die down seconds later. She fell again from mana exhaustion.


    He gave a hand to her. "Haha, try that again. You don''t even have mana to cast a single spell."


    She glared at him, her eyes still blank.


    Holding his hand tightly, she whispered, "Thank¡­ you."


    Leo could sense the heavy sentiment behind those words. How happy would one be to get their freedom after being caged here for¡­


    ''Jen, are there other vampires on Tortus?''


    (1SP¡­ They went extinct 300 years ago.)


    ''Then she is here for three hundred years?''


    "I''m also sorry," he took out his old shirt from inventory and covered her little body.


    "You are strong staying here alone for three centuries¡­ I can somehow relate to that¡­"


    She nodded her head. "What''s your name?"


    "Leo Evans. Yours?"


    She muttered something under her breath and looked at him. "Name, grant me."


    "Isn''t your name Aletea? Or you forgot it?"


    Her mouth opened wide, yet her eyes were still vacant. "... I don''t want that name anymore."


    "Didn''t your parents give you that name? How can you let go of it just like this?" he was a bit angry at her, remembering about his own parents.


    "I¡­ my parents¡­"


    And he immediately regretted saying it. ''I truly am an idiot. That might have triggered some bad memories or something.''The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    He rubbed her head gently. "It''s fine. I''m sorry for reminding you of something bad. Let me think of a new name for you."


    He closed his eyes.


    ''Jen, tell me some good names for her. Something that means moon or blood-red like her eyes.''


    (20SP)


    ''Fine, tell me.''


    (Ayla, Selene, Yue, Selene, Elara, Artemis. Need more?)


    ''Yue, Yue is good, I love it.''


    He saw her looking at him with hopeful eyes.


    "How about Yue? It means ''Moon'' where I came from. Your golden hair and red eyes remind me of the fully eclipsed moon."


    Her eyes opened wide, clearly not expecting a name with such deep meaning.


    "Yue¡­ Yue¡­ Yue¡­ Then from today onwards, I will be Yue."


    She stared at him with her stoic expression, but he could see happiness in her eyes. It looked like she forgot to express herself, staying in this abyss for centuries.


    Leo stored all the pieces of [Sealing Stone] inside his inventory and noticed something carved there.


    Yue also came over when she saw him looking at something attentively but stopped midway. Leo sense presence also detected something above.


    Both of them looked up to see a monster sticking on the walls. He picked up Yue and ran toward the doors. He couldn''t fight protecting her when she was exhausted.


    Creak~


    The door closed itself. He looked back to see the monster, a giant scorpion with four razor-sharp arms, eight legs that made a cackling noise when it moved. Two tails that ended with stingers, most likely filled with poison.


    It wasn''t there when he entered the room.


    ''It must be the last trap they sat for her. Just how much these bastards want her to suffer. Don''t let me find you or I might just kill you accidentally.''


    ''Analyze''


    [??]


    Strength: 1400


    Vitality: 1800


    Defense: 2100


    Agility: 800


    Magic: 1900


    Magic Defense: 1500


    Skills: [Diamond Skin] [Needles rain] [Steel Arms]


    ''It looks troublesome with that defense.''


    He stared in her eyes and saw a determination lurking inside there.


    He smiled at her and equipped his giant sword and dashed.


    Clank~


    The sword clashed with the steel-like pincers, he nearly dropped the sword from his numb hands. He blocked the double pincer attack and used supersonic step to escape the pincer attacks.


    The monster barraged him with acid and earth needles. While spraying a deadly acid from the stingers. Some needles pierced his stomach making him groan in pain.


    He dashed again, gulping some Ambrosia. He forced some in Yue''s mouth when she was too lost in thought.


    He was being cornered by the constant rain of needles and steel-hard pincers. The needles could explode midair into hundreds of small shards. His clothes were filled with countless holes.


    He coughed up some blood and drank the last HP potion and saw Scorpion charging at him.


    Putting down Yue, he concentrated mana on his legs and jumped on the Scorpion''s back. After evading the tail, he covered himself in lightning and slammed the sword on the diamond hard shell of the scorpion.


    Screee~!


    The impact or the lightning caused the scorpion to raise a loud screech. He kicked the pincers and rolled to dodge another tail attack.


    After being annoyed by the attacks, he jumped in the air and landed near Yue.


    "Leo!"


    Yue yelled and ran over to him with a worried face.


    "I''m fine, just a little scratch here and there. Just wait in the corner, I''ll be done in a moment."


    "Why¡­?" was her question.


    He tilted his head in response. "What?"


    "Why don''t you escape?" she asked with a blank expression. She wanted him to run, yet she also wanted him to stay and protect her. Her mind became a mess with these thoughts.


    His eyes turned sharp. "You looking down on me? I will run just to save my skin here? Besides the gate is closed¡­"


    "I''m sorry¡­"


    "Besides, I''ll have you teach me some magic after it."


    She nodded her head and did a sudden jumped and wrapped her small arms around his neck.


    Her actions confused him. "This is not the time for this stuff, right?"


    She ignored him and kissed his neck. He felt a sudden tickle on his neck.


    "Ouch! Don''t bite me suddenly, you bloodsucker."


    She bit him harder in response, sucking more blood. He also wrapped his hands around her back for support. She hugged him harder, trying to bury herself in him.


    "You''re using your skill [Blood Conversion]?"


    She released him and nodded. Her coarse skin before was now filled with vitality. With her rosy pink cheeks and golden blonde hair, she really looked like a porcelain doll.


    Roar~!!!


    Their moment was interrupted by an unwanted guest.


    She licked the blood on her lips and smiled in an awkward way.


    "Thanks for the meal¡­ it was sweet and filled with mana."


    She aimed her hand at the scorpion and golden mana swirled around it and brightened the dark room. The golden mana and shining blonde hair made her appearance closer to an angel than a vampire.


    "Azure Blaze," she muttered and a massive blue-white fireball around 6 or 7 meters, appeared above scorpion and fall on its body.


    The scorpion screeched in pain and ran backward. From the howls, he could tell it was more painful than his sword. Yue didn''t allow it to escape, her fingers danced elegantly in the air and the fireball danced to her tunes.


    He blinked in admiration at the Overpowered Vampire Princess. After the flames disappeared, Scorpion twitched on the ground in agony. Its shell fused with its skin.


    Yue fell in exhaustion, he caught her gently and sat her down.


    "Leave the rest to me," he whispered.


    He used aerodynamic to reach near the ceiling. With his legs against the ceiling he used steel legs again and aimed his giant sword like a spear at scorpion''s back. Kicking his weight against the ceiling, he accelerated at a breakneck speed. He also activated lightning field in its full power.


    "Berserk."


    ''It will be my strongest attack ever.''


    His figure was wrapped with a black aura, blood-red lightning flashing about fascinated Yue. There was a look of excitement in her usual blank eyes.


    Booom!


    The collision formed a deep crater, the Scorpion was flattened to the ground.


    He laid on the ground, taking deep breaths to calm down his berserk thoughts.


    "I overdid it again. This move will be called [Judgement]"


    Yue also came over and stared at him with her stoic expression. He nodded and stored the flattened corpse inside the inventory.


    "I''m really exhausted this time."


    "...Let''s go," Yue said.


    He thought about using this as a base for the time. But her stoic eyes showed no signs of rejection.


    He licked divinity stone and went back to his cave with a partner, he could talk to any time.


    (Don''t ignore me!)

 V1.C20 Resolve, New Goal

    nside a cave lit by a lantern sat a white-haired youth. He had heterochromatic eyes, left blue and right blood red. A sharp handsome face that could make any girl stare in admiration. It would be quite a sight¡­ if the said youth wasn''t drooling uncontrollably at the meat cooking in an oven.


    A girl around 12 or 13 with golden hair sat there. Her captivating blood red eyes could charm any man. An aura of royalty flowed from her whole being. Her eyes fixed at the youth with an expressionless face.


    It was a strange, yet harmonic scene.


    Ding~


    Leo hurriedly took out Cyclops meat and gulped it down in big bites.


    ''At least it''s better than eating a moth.'' he nearly vomited when he thought about it again.


    "You want some¡­ No, forget it," he didn''t want her to feel the same pain.


    She stared for a moment before shaking her head. "I don''t need any."


    "Do vampires eat food or they only drink blood?" he asked curiously.


    Vampires in his previous world only drink human blood.


    "We can absorb nutrients through food as well, but blood is more efficient."


    She stuck out her small tongue and licked her lips. "Your blood is sweet and delicious, full of mana."


    He decided to change the topic. "So Yue, do you know a way to get out of here? Or we will just follow the stairs blindly as I did?"


    "... No," her reply was as stoic as ever. "...But this place was built by one of the Mavericks."


    "Mavericks?" he asked curiously, never hearing this term in his pitiful three-day journey into the human world.


    ''Do you know about it?'' he asked Jen.


    (1000SP for the real truth, 50SP for a brief.)


    ''How much do I have?''


    He didn''t remember after selling so many mana crystals.


    (42400SP)


    ''Good, close to buying [All Elemental Affinity]. Tell me 50SP one.''


    (Clear this labyrinth, you will get your answers.)


    ''.....''


    He wanted to curse her, but stopped when Yue kept staring at him intently.


    He let out a dry cough and asked, "Who are the Mavericks?"


    "Seven strong people¡­ who tried to end the world¡­ God stopped them and banished them to seven places¡­"


    "The Seven Great Labyrinths?"


    "Nn. They were said to reside in the deepest part of this abyss here¡­ We might find a way out there."


    His lips bent in a vicious smile. "My plan was to clear the Labyrinth anyway."


    Yue hugged her knees and stared down blankly. She was still in his oversized shirt, a lonely look on her face. As for the shirt it was his last unused one left in his inventory. He could buy more if the time called.


    He couldn''t believe this beautiful girl lived for three centuries.


    She looked up at him with a frown. "...You thought something really rude, didn''t you?"


    "No," he denied with a serious face.


    ''Is this so-called Woman''s Intuition?'' he asked Jen.


    (.....)


    Suddenly his body started throbbing, he knelt down and groaned, "Damn!"Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.


    "Leo! What happened?"


    He showed a wry smile. "I''m fine, just the side effect of eating a monster meat."


    Yue nodded and continued staring at him blankly.


    [Level up]


    [Level up]


    [''Diamond Skin'' skill acquired]


    [Diamond Skin] (Active skill)


    Covers the user in a shell of mana, which increases defenses and protects them from all attacks to a certain degree.


    He checked his status.


    [Status]


    Leo Evans


    Age:17 Male


    Level: 30


    Class: Berserker


    Strength: 1050


    Vitality: 1200


    Defense: 1200


    Agility: 1150


    Magic: 2550 (Sealed)


    Magic Resistance: 2550


    He cracked his knuckles, feeling the surge of strength in his body.


    ''Next is Scorpion.''


    A brief look of surprise flashed across her face when the mana she felt from him increased all of a sudden.


    "...You got stronger?"


    He nodded his head, there wasn''t any need to lie about it. "I can become stronger by eating monster flesh."


    "... What are you doing here?" she asked, wondering how he got into this abyss where only monsters lived.


    He scratched his cheeks. "I fought with a behemoth on the 65th floor. I killed it, but the bridge was destroyed in the aftermath and I fell here."


    "You could''ve killed it with one punch with your strength."


    "I was weak at that time¡­ I ate monster meat to grow stronger and gained [Mana Manipulation] and many skills from it¡­ I wanted more power¡­" he said, lost in thoughts.


    Two thin hands filled with warmth wrapped around his waist, he opened his eyes to see Yue looking up with an apprehensive gaze.


    "...Don''t worry, I''ll do everything to help you."


    He raised his hand and ruffled her hair, "Thank you¡­"


    A silence took over as he kept stroking her hair, she closed her eyes with a smile.


    Looking at the naive girl, his eyes turned determined. "I¡­ I am from another world."


    He decided to trust her, their circumstances were too similar. He really empathized with her, she also depended on him. He didn''t think she''d betray him.


    Yue released him and stared at him with wide eyes. "...You mean you were summoned?"


    He shook his head. "...No, I was sent here by a god of a different world. I am here to save my childhood friend."


    He saw her vacant eyes before she hung her head to hide her expression.


    "... Will you go back... to your world?"


    "Yeah, I still have to meet someone on the other side."


    His voice turned nostalgic, recalling his uncle and a certain shameless woman who might be a bit too worried about him. He hoped she didn''t end up doing something dangerous when both, he and Eri weren''t with her.


    Hearing this, her eyes became more vacant.


    "...I don''t have a home to go back¡­ not anymore¡­"


    she whispered silently. But he heard every word of hers.


    He formed a serious expression and asked, "Do you want to come?"


    ''I really have no resistance against those eyes.''


    He knew what Yue felt for him, her eyes when she looked at him sometimes. Those were the eyes of someone looking at their entire world like Eri used to look at him until Maria helped her.


    ''Dammit, what will I say to Eri? ¡­ I''ll just talk to her when the time comes?''


    He scratched his head furiously in stress while Yue eyes widened at his question. The words of gratitude got stuck in her throat and she just stood there, tears flowing from her eyes like a broken dam.


    Leo could see the happiness inside her blood-red eyes. With a sigh he continued,


    "It''s a boring world, no magic, no monsters. You can''t use any violence. It might seem boring to someone powerful like you, but it''s my¡­ home."


    "Can I really come with you?" she asked in a low voice, looking at him with eyes filled with hope.


    He smiled at her unusual expression. "Sure."


    She smiled brightly in return, it was the first time he saw her smile.


    He rubbed her hair gently. "Just keep smiling like this, but first we have to kill an Idiot God."


    His smile turned into a bloodthirsty one.


    Yue was taken aback by his change but still nodded. "Why do you want to kill..."


    "He summoned my childhood friend here, just to fight as tools of war. I''ll show him that no one messes with my family... I also don''t want him to summon us again."


    (Show off.)


    "Nn," Yue nodded her head meekly.


    ''Mystery shop''


    [Mystery Shop]


    Lucky Pervert Skill - 5,000,000SP


    Gae Bolg - 1,000,000SP


    Dragon Handle - 600,000SP


    Reaper''s Scythe - 500,000SP


    Mana Crafting Skill - 100,000SP


    10x Mid-MP potions - 10,000SP


    P.S- Shop will update every month.


    Update in 15d4h58m]


    His eyes twitched at the first option.


    ''What the hell is that lucky pervert skill anyway, and is that Gae Bolg from Irish mythology?''


    (These are random items from different worlds. I don''t know about it.)


    Jen said in a voice overflowing with innocence. She looked suspicious as hell in his eyes.


    ''Show [Mana Crafting] info.''


    [Mana Crafting] (Passive skill)


    Allows the user to craft any artifacts and enchant them with mana. Causes mental fatigue.


    He looked at his clothes, no, it couldn''t even be called proper clothes, just some ragtags bunched together. He remembered the fight with Cyclops and Scorpion, despite being this strong, his weapon couldn''t harm the monsters. All good weapons in shop surpassed 50000SP.


    ''Screw [All Elemental Affinity]. I''ll buy this first. I have 15 days to buy it. I''ll kill every monster I come across. Every mana crystal will be taken. Hahaha.''


    Yue hugged him tightly. "Don''t make that face, it''s scary."


    His smile even scared a three-centuries-old vampire. He could feel her body trembling in his embrace.


    "....."


    "You have [All Elemental Affinity], right?"


    "Nn." she nodded in his embrace.


    "Can you teach me some magic later?"


    She released him and tilted her head cutely. "Not now?"


    He shook his head. "I can''t do it now."


    "Nn."


    "Let''s go and conquer this shitty labyrinth!"

 V1.C21 Beach? Scared Crabs

    The same day...


    Orcus Labyrinth 65th floor¡­


    Eri and Irene stood together and stared at the bridge in front of them. It was very similar to the one where Leo fell.


    All of the students trained harder after the incident. At first, they were depressed to see someone die in front of them. The guy was also from Earth and strong enough to solo a behemoth.


    Their eyes opened after the fact that they can die here, this is not some game where they would die and revive.


    Death means¡­ Death.


    It traumatized them, some of them didn''t pick up their weapon again. The Pope tried to persuade, but Aiko-sensei returned from the farm expedition and opposed him.


    Only some of them were ready to come to Orcus Labyrinth again. Kouki group, Hajime Nagumo and Suzu were also present her3. There were nine students other than Eri and Irene. Meld watched them from behind.


    The girls trained hard after the incident. They all had different motivations but they were determined to become strong.


    The bridge was the only way to go to the next floor. All of them were stuck in their place after seeing the familiar bridge.


    Suzu saw Eri''s dazed state, she called out, "Eriri¡­"


    Eri opened her eyes and her expression became determined. "I''m fine."


    Kaori patted her shoulder, she could somehow relate to her. Even she was confused by it.


    Irene looked back at everyone and said, "Let''s move."


    "Irene-san, Eri-san, please don''t worry about it. This time I''ll protect you," Kouki said with a bright smile.


    Her eyes turned cold when she glared at Kouki. "Can you please stop addressing me so casually?


    She knew what kind of human, Kouki was. He was a hypocrite, always trying to twist things from his own perspective.


    Kouki was taken aback by her reply, he bowed. "I''m sorry for my disrespect."


    Shizuku, with a helpless expression said, "Please forgive this idiot, he is just like this¡­"


    Irene shook her head and showed a soft smile. "It''s fine."


    "Let''s go~," Suzu said, trying to cheer up the mood.


    They all advanced toward the bridge in heavy steps.


    A chill ran through Hajime''s body, he had felt death stare many times, but this time the malicious intent was on another level.


    ''Another Kaori fan?''


    He was already bullied in the past, but now he mostly stayed with the Kaori''s group, so nobody messed with him.


    ''I hope it''s just my imagination.''


    A certain figure glared at Hajime, his eyes were full of hatred. He smirked and kept walking.


    Irene glanced at him, she could see his soul. It was nearly black. In her eyes, he was a lost cause. She already warned others about him.


    ''He will do something soon, I hope he doesn''t go too far, or I will...''


    A cold smile appeared on her face. They were her first friends she could open herself to, they understood her and never tried to take advantage of her. She was happy to be friends with them.


    ''I''ll kill anyone who messes with them.''This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    A familiar magic circle appeared in front of her.


    Everyone stopped seeing this. Just looking at it sent a shiver down their spine.


    Irene gazed at it with calm eyes. "It''s the behemoth."


    "Y-You''ve gotta be kidding me¡­ wasn''t it killed?" Cold sweat ran down Kouki''s cheek when he heard her.


    "Seriously? Didn''t he kill it?" Ryutarou screamed in panic.


    No matter how much of a musclehead he was, he could say this thing was death itself for him.


    More magic circles appeared behind them. Traum soldiers popped out in dozens every second from it.


    "We are still not sure what causes monsters to spawn here, So stay sharp! We will retreat if you can''t fight it now!" Meld shouted.


    "We''ll fight," Eri said, her eyes were full of hatred.


    Irene supported her with a simple nod.


    "Yeah, Get ready everyone, we will fight!"


    Kouki also agreed and charged with his holy sword.


    Thus, the revenge of two women against the behemoth began¡­


    ***


    Leo packed up the stuff and entered the stairs with Yue trotting behind him childishly. After their conversation she became a bit more cheerful and a lot more clingy.


    After crossing the dimly lit stairs, they finally saw the floor.


    "Huh?"


    "What the hell?"


    A curse naturally escaped his mouth, the scene in front of them was too random.


    An island surrounded by shallow river. The riverside contained sand just like a beach. Completing this scene were a forest after the beach and the glowstones in the wall painted the scene in a faint light, increasing this scene charm even further.


    "There is water, water means bath¡­ How about a rest on the beach?" he whispered.


    She replied with a nod and stared at him with puppy eyes.


    He sighed and lowered his back. "Hop on."


    "Nn~"


    He gripped her slender arms around his neck and jumped in the air and stepped on wind plates to reach the island.


    Yue hopped off his back and ran over to the water. She turned back and showed a delicate smile.


    "Come Leo!"


    Seeing her smile, he also formed a soft smile. "Sure."


    He undid the clothes covering his chest and lower body, leaving only an underwear.


    Yue eyed his body with a predatory gaze while licking her lips. She looked at the shirt covering her body, without any hesitation took it off.


    "Leo¡­ look, am I beautiful?"


    Leo gulped at her bare naked appearance, modest breast dotted with pink cherry nipples. He forced his gaze away to not gawk any further and covered her body with the shirt.


    "Please have some dignity¡­"


    Yue pouted her face with indignant eyes. "...Am I not your type?"


    "No no no, it''s not like that. It''s just that..."


    His words got interrupted by a sudden surge of water from the shallow river. Both of them watched as the water rose even further and a monster came out of it. It was what anyone from Earth would call ''Crab''.


    Snap! Snap! With a loud noise the crab closed both its claws, trying to intimidate them. He silently named its species.


    "...Yue."


    "Leave it to me~"


    With a slightly puffed chest she thrusted her right hand.


    "Crimson Javelin"


    She whispered and fire gathered before her hands and formed in a blazing fire spear. She hurled the spear at the incoming crab monster, blasting half of its body into rain of blood.


    Leo shot an incredulous gaze at the small girl killing the monster without any effort.


    ''Power of a top-tier magician, I guess.''


    Yue turned to him, her eyes brimming with anticipation.


    He plopped his hand on her head and softly stroked her hair, making her squint her eyes with a smile.


    He shook his head at her behaviour, he only stayed with her for a day at most but this girl already trusted him like she knew him for all her life.


    ''I can''t betray this trust now, can I? But if this goes on I might end up spoiling her a bit too much.''


    Snap! Snap! Snap! Snap! ¡­


    Yue opened her eyes, her brows drew together in a frown. Seeing the incoming party of crabs, she scowled, "...Destroy."


    "O-Oi, let me kill them."


    He turned back and faced the crabs.


    ''Analyze''


    [Crab wannabe]


    Strength: 750


    Vitality: 1200


    Defense: 1000


    Agility: 650


    Magic: 800


    Magic Defense: 700


    Skills: [Claw Arms] [Telepathy]


    ''Isn''t telepathy amazing for a monster of 51th floor? I hope it''s tasty.''


    His lips formed a hungry smile, the crabs felt a chill down their carapace and their body began trembling in fear. One of them turned its body and eyed the other crabs and made some weird gestures while snapping its claws.


    ''Are they communicating with telepathy to create some plan against me?''


    Just as he thought, his eyes widened when the crab monsters began escaping in all three directions except his. Some went for the forest, some hid in the water. Some started covering them with sand.


    He was speechless along with Yue before letting out a hearty chuckle.


    "...Can you believe it? I can scare away so many monsters with just a smile."


    "...I can believe it... Even I was scared before," she said the last part in a feeble voice.


    "Well, I''ll try to hunt down as much as I can."


    He leaped on one of the frightened crab''s back and pounded his fist on the hard shell using new skill he obtained from scorpion.


    [Steel Arms] (Active skill)


    Allows the user to reinforce their arms and increase the power and strength of their punches


    His fist without any resistance crushed the hard shell of crab until he saw the tender flesh under the shell. He equipped the giant sword and pierced more than two meters to end its life.


    He tried to search for more but what greeted him was a calm silence. He shook his head and grabbed the leg of the now dead crab and dragged it back to Yue.

 V1.C22 Happy Yue, Brutality

    Leo tied the whole crab to a thin tree and roasted it with the help of Yue''s magic. He went to the river and collected a bucket full of water. He went through all this effort to obtain some salt, the taste of meat without salt, he couldn''t describe it in mere words.


    After repeating this process for the umpteenth time, he had gathered nearly a dozen pounds of salt.


    He took a bite of the crab soft meat.


    "Goddammit, why does it taste so bad?"


    Yue tilted her head. "...Maybe Mana inside the meat?"


    He grumbled and stuffed his stomach full.


    [Skill ''Telepathy'' acquired]


    [Telepathy] (Active skill)


    Allows the user to communicate with others by transference of thoughts in their mind within a limited range


    "Yue, can you hear me?"


    "...Leo!"


    "How was it?" he asked without telepathy.


    "Oh, so I really heard your voice¡­ I thought it was a dream?"


    He simply nodded his head and explained the new skill.


    "It''ll improve our teamwork to the next level."


    "Nn. We can talk even in sleep, fufu."


    "..."


    After eating, he took off all his clothes except underwear and jumped inside water. The cold water washed away the dirt accumulated on his body. He sighed and turned back to see Yue displaying her completely naked body with a smile.


    "Let me wash your hair with some shampoo."


    He said and filled the normal bucket he bought for 20SP full of water and poured it on her. Seeing her shudder from the cold water, he chuckled and purchased a shampoo from the shop which cost him 10SP. With a squeeze on the bottle, a lemon-flavored liquid fell on his left hand.


    She looked up with moist eyes. "...Shampoo? ¡­ It smells good."


    He rubbed his hands together and applied shampoo on her smooth golden hair. After massaging her hair for several minutes, he poured another bucket full of cold water to wash away the foam.


    Her loose expression turned teary-eyed in an instant, earning another chuckle from Leo.


    After Yue washed his hair, where he had to lower his head, they played around for an hour. With a happy smile on their faces, the duo started the journey further down the abyss.


    Days passed by, the duo of Berserk Monster and Vampire princess conquered floor after floor doing some nasty hunting. Sometime along the way Yue awakened her sadist side, killing the monsters with a gentle smile. As for him he completed his dream of creating a gun which was designed after the infamous Desert Eagle. His own strength increased with every new monster he ate. Some of them tasted very disgu¡ª delicious.


    On one floor, they found many T-Rex look alike monsters controlled by some other monster. They charged through the floor and met a woman-plant hybrid, a face that could scare away 10 out of 10 people. It used her skill to take control of Yue''s body and hid behind her. He swore to create something that''ll stop these possession-type skills.


    He, an individual proud of his marksmanship shot without any hesitation and ended the ugly monster. He watched its head exploding in slow motion, only thing he missed here was some popcorns.This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    After coaxing the angry Yue, who sucked his blood till he fainted. He still lived thanks to his high vitality or he would''ve been roaming the voids now. Quite a tragic death for the one swore to slay the God of this World.


    Now, the said duo stared at the monster in front of them. A green-skinned giant standing higher than five meters with an extremely sturdy body. A face resembling an orc with two fangs growing out of its mouth. Its thick muscular arm holding a giant wooden club.


    ''Analyze''


    [??]


    Strength: 2200


    Vitality: 2400


    Defense: 2000


    Agility: 1300


    Magic: 1500


    Magic Defense: 1500


    Skills: [Wind Roar]


    The orc stretched its mouth wide to suck in an enormous amount of air.


    Kraaaawrrr~!!!


    A massive explosion of wind came followed by a thunderous roar. Leo smiled fearlessly showing any intention to dodge. The shockwaves caused by roar crashed against his body, he stood there without moving an inch.


    After enduring the attack with diamond protection, the final derivative skill that boosted his defense to another level. He looked at the monster, it could be called the very definition of brute strength.


    "Yue, let me fight against it. You conserve mana for any surprise attack."


    Yue nodded with a reluctant face. She wanted to help him, but he was also correct.


    He noticed the hesitation on her face and decided to use the final trump card. "Yue is the best partner for me."


    "Nn."


    The orc also neared them, he wanted to win this fight without any weapons. He just wanted to test his raw strength. He lightly kicked the ground and dashed forward leaving after images. Looking at Orc ugly face, he shoved his fist forward with steel arms.


    Orc sneered at the puny human''s attack and folded both arms on its chest. Little did it know the attack was more dangerous than it thought.


    Bang!


    His relatively small fist connected with Orc''s face and broke one of its fangs and made it spin 180.


    Leo already noticed this monster was pretty intelligent in comparison to the mutated orc he met before.


    "Heh, out with just one punch?"


    Orc replied with a devastating punch. Before it could hit him he evaded sideways. He jumped again and kicked its jaw while activating steel legs.


    Bam!!!


    The orc lost balance and fell on its back. He wasted no chance and pounced on its face.


    He strengthened his hands and battered its face, his mind forgot everything and focused on beating until he stopped hearing the whimper.


    He stepped back and snatched the towel from Yue and wiped the blood from his face.


    He looked at the orc''s body as if admiring a masterpiece. Using wind blades, he cut a part of the body and put it inside the inventory.


    He searched around the floor and found no other monsters, he built a camp near the stairs while Yue cooked (Roasted) the meal. Although he felt a bit of disgust from eating the humanoid shaped monster but strength was necessary for survival.


    Inside the camp, he laid on the comfy blanket. Yue rested her head on his chest from the right. Despite the fact they looked so intimate, they had yet to cross the final line.


    ''Status''


    [Status]


    Name: Leo Evans


    Title: [Behemoth Killer] [Cruel Hunter]


    Race: Human-Monster Hybrid


    Age: 17


    Level: 62


    Class: Berserker


    Strength: 2150


    Vitality: 2500


    Defense: 2750


    Agility: 2000


    Magic: 5000 (Sealed)


    Magic Defense: 5000


    [Skills]


    ....


    [Gale Claw (Active skill)]


    [+Triple Gale Claw (Active skill)]


    [+Flying Gale Claw (Active skill)]


    Allows the user to shoot the wind blades as projectiles


    [Sense Heat (Active skill)]


    Allows the user to track and detect heat emitted around


    [Diamond skin] (Active skill)]


    [+Diamond Protection] (Active skill)]


    Boosts the defense further


    [+Focused Hardening] (Active skill)]


    Allows the user to focus the defense in one part


    [Intimidate (Active skill)]


    Allows the user to cast Fear or Panic status by amplifying presence in proportional to the amount of mana used


    [Telepathy (Active skill)]


    Allows the user to communicate with others by transference of thoughts in their mind within a limited range


    [Innate Abilities]


    ...


    [Mana Manipulation] (S)


    Mana Discharge (Active skill): Allows the user to focus and emit mana from their body


    Mana Compression (Active skill): Allows the user to compress and expel mana


    Remote Manipulation (Active skill): Allows the user to control the emitted mana


    His strength was already on another level, diamond protection granted him a defense no monster could break in single attack. Gale claws being his attacks for range enemies but Yue filled the gaps with her powerful magic.


    After some rest, the duo stood in front of the stairs of the next and final floor of Orcus Labyrinth. The boss monster inside might be tougher than everything they ever encountered in this Labyrinth.

 V1.C23 The Guardian

    How strong am I compared to Ehit servant now?''


    (You will die in one move.)


    ''Damn, just how strong that bastard himself is?''


    (....)


    "Let''s go."


    "Nn."


    They descended the stairs cautiously, leading them to a huge open room filled with crystal pillars. Each one of them had a pattern engraved on it. Every pillar was evenly spaced and extended up to thirty meters ceiling. The ground was paved and clean, not like the cave they came from.


    Leo stood there staring in amazement at the design. He took a step forward to see the pillars glow dimly one after another.


    Finding nothing, they walked forward for about 200 meters and stared at the wall with a ten-meter double door. A heptagon was carved on it with every edge having a peculiar pattern.


    "This place looks like¡­"


    "Maverick''s room," Yue replied in a dazed manner.


    Thump Thump Thump


    His heart sped up and his instincts warned him to not move forward. Yue also had sweat dripping down her forehead.


    His lips bent in a fearless smile. "As if I''ll run, my goal is still a shitty god. I won''t run from small fry."


    "... Yeah," Yue said in a determined voice.


    Stepping forward together, they passed the last pillar. As if reminding him of his past, a massive thirty meters magic circle appeared between them and the gate. Pulsing with dark red mana and inscriptions far more complicated than the circle to summon behemoth.


    "The monster will be huge," he said and gave Yue three vials of Ambrosia.


    "We will¡­ win."


    Her determination was no joke, the magic circle stopped glowing and let out a last burst of light.


    The duo covered their eyes when the light receded they finally saw the monster. More than thirty meters in length, six different


    colored head and a serpent. If he had to make a resemblance, it would clearly match the Mythical Hydra.


    ''Analyze''


    [??]


    Strength: ??


    Vitality: ??


    Defense: ??


    Agility: ??


    Magic: ??


    Magic Defense: ??


    Skills: [Fire Breath] [Ice Breath] [Wind Blade] [Diamond Skin] [+Diamond Protection] [Healing] [Fear Inducement]If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


    ''Why ?? on its stats?''


    (Every head possesses different stats with different skills.)


    "Be prepared for Fire, Ice, Wind attacks. There might be a mental attack and healing," he said to Yue with telepathy.


    Graaaaah~


    Hydra let out a loud roar accompanied by an intense bloodlust.


    Completely unfazed by the bloodlust, Leo declared, "Bring it on!"


    The red head opened its maws and sent a burst of flames. Leo and Yue dodged in different directions.


    He took out a bone spear and held it tightly. Using [Extreme Focus] for a second and threw the spear with all his physical strength. It shot forward like a gust of wind and blew the red head off.


    ''Spear is best for explosive power.''


    The white head let out a screech and red head was healed back in moments.


    ''This is troublesome.''


    "Yue, white is healer, red is fire, blue and green should be ice and wind, that golden head would be defensive, I''m not sure yet. White is our priority for now."


    "Got it," Yue said and targeted the white head with Ice spears.


    The golden head came between and took the attack easily and looked at them with scorn in its red eyes.


    "Crimson javelin."


    She muttered and a flame spear shot forward and exploded on the gold head. After that, she hopped on his back.


    He glanced at the unscathed gold head and said, "Ready Azure blaze and fire when I say."


    He leaped in the air and activated aerodynamic and made use of the recoil of compressed wind plates to narrowly dodge the attacks of different elements. After a few moments, he was already near the gold head.


    "Now!"


    "Azure blaze"


    Yue didn''t waste any time and cast the already prepared Azure blaze. A sphere of bluish-white flames appeared and flew at the white head.


    Hydra as if understanding the destructive power of spell used the Gold head to shield the healer white head. Too bad, the spell after some delay managed to tear through the defensive gold head after that green, blue and red head tried to save the white head but perished instead. But they succeeded in saving the white head.


    Leo without any delay darted toward the white head before it could regenerate the gold head. He and Yue stared into the reptilian white eyes with a disdainful smirk.


    The black head widely opened its maws and flashed its sharp fangs in an attempt to scare him.


    He ignored the useless threat and delivered a crushing punch filled with lightning to the white head. After shattering the thick scales, his steel hard fist dug into the flesh and blew its head to the side.


    "Crimson javelin!"


    The blazing spear blew the white head into oblivion.


    "Yue, we did it!"


    He equipped the giant sword and ready to charge toward the black head. But before that.


    "Leo¡­ don''t leave me¡­ I''m alone."


    He heard Yue scared whispers, he clicked his tongue and retreated to the crystal pillar fully ignoring the now useless Hydra.


    He unwrapped Yue''s hands from his neck and put her down. Looking at her mumbling with a dazed expression, he whispered, "Mental attack?"


    (Yeah.)


    He gave a light slap to her cheeks, receiving no response, he poured down a vial of Ambrosia down her throat.


    "Yue! Can you hear me?"


    His efforts bore no success as her eyes still appeared to be lost in trance. He peeked his head through the pillar and saw the black head was coming while dragging the weight of other heads.


    He moved his head closer to her and pressed his lips on her soft lips.


    "Mmh!?"


    Yue came to her senses after experiencing the solitude where everyone left her alone. She saw Leo sealing her back in the Abyss.


    Her teary eyes met with Leo''s gaze before she closed her eyes and began enjoying the moment.


    Leo released her and glared in her ruby eyes. "Why the hell would you believe I left you? Don''t joke with me, didn''t I say I''ll take you back!?"


    Yue timidly hung her head. "...Sorry."


    He shook his head with a smile at the corner of his lips. "Don''t ever think like that again. Now, let''s go and kill this damn thing!"


    "Nn."


    He stood and gave a hand to Yue. "How much mana do you have?"


    Yue expressed a confident smile. "Enough to torture a snake!"


    "Good, now go and take your revenge~"


    "Nn."


    She ran out of the pillar in small steps and aimed her hand at the sole head of hydra.


    "Wind blades"


    The air around her conjured into numerous blades and sped toward Hydra. A stream of blood gushed from the wounds on the hydra body.


    Graaaarrh~!!!


    The pain brought out an agonized roar from its mouth. It tried to cast the mind magic again but the little creature in front only showed an indifferent expression.


    Yue glanced at smiling Leo and decided to end the fight. She used crimson javelin to blast the hydra head.


    She brushed her finger on her cheeks and wiped the sweat before she trotted toward Leo with a wide smile.


    Suddenly, blinding light engulfed her whole body...

 V1.C24 Snap, Revenge of women

    Leo''s body moved on reflex when he saw the sudden attack. He grabbed Yue and barely dodged the scorching aurora beam. He glanced at the Silver headed Hydra emitting an oppressive aura.


    ''Analyze''


    [Hydra]


    Strength: 8400


    Vitality: 9500


    Defense: 7000


    Agility: 3000


    Magic: 8000


    Magic Defense: 7500


    Skills: [Aurora Breath]


    After looking at the stats that were more than thrice of his own, he retreated behind a crystal piller with Yue.


    He patted her cheeks with a smile. "Yue, you recover here. I''ll go and keep it busy."


    She gulped down a vial of Ambrosia to recover some mana while regretting over the mana she wasted on torturing.


    "...No. I won''t leave you alone."


    "Then get on my back."


    She said and twined her hands around his neck and moved to his back.


    He felt a moist and soft feeling in his neck before his neck went numb.


    He nodded his head and took out a bone spear from inventory. It was nearly two meters in length with sharp blade like protrusions on both sides.


    With the spear in his hands, he sprinted toward Hydra. He activated supersonic step to narrow the gap.


    Hydra launched numerous balls of light at Leo who waved the spear to block and kept moving around the hydra in circles with Hide Presence skill activated.


    His blurring figure confused hydra''s mind for a moment.


    Hydra exploited the brief opening and jumped on hydra back. He raised the spear in the air and stabbed the thick silver scales with all his strength. But he only managed to create a small wound.


    ''It''s not enough.''


    "Berserk."


    He hit the same place again. Blood sprayed like a fountain from the deep hole created by the spear.


    Hydra screeched in pain and shook its body trying to shake him off.


    He firmly gripped the spear and pushed it deeper with twists. His mind struggled hard to pacify the berserk thoughts, it was less than the time he used berserk for the first time.


    Hydra couldn''t use aurora attacks on its own back. Blinded with rage, it opened its maw trying to eat the creature wreaking havoc on its back.


    Leo withdrew the bone spear and begrudgingly jumped from its back and retreated toward Yue.


    "Yue!"


    Yue slowly walked out of the hiding place. "...Yeah!"


    He glanced at Hydra shooting Aurora breath for Yue. "Dodge!"


    Yue hurriedly rolled to the side but a part of the attack grazed her back and took her hand away with it. Looking at her bloodied figure all the rage inside him exploded and snapped something inside him.Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.


    Ba-Thump!


    He fell on his knees with a hand on his chest, his face twisted in excruciating pain wrecking. Darkness covered his vision and he lost his consciousness.


    Thump!


    A loud heartbeat reverberated through the floor. Hydra face twisted in terror. Yue unconsciously raised her head to see a figure clad in strange black armor.


    Thump!


    The oppressive aura around the figure caused Yue heart to sped up. She then stared in surprise when hydra tried to run desperately.


    Thump!


    Yue saw the black figure vanish and appear in the face of Hydra. With a wide open mouth Hydra shot a large aurora breath at him.


    Thump!


    Yue used her remaining mana to cast Hallowed Grounds, but after her body regenerated her remaining mana was very low so the barrier only lasted for several seconds.


    "Run from there!"


    Thump


    The beam broke the barrier and hit the figure only to get dispersed moments later. The figure raised its hand and punched the head of hydra.


    Bang!!!


    A deafening sound was heard and the head of Hydra exploded in a blood mist. Cracks formed on the crystal pillar behind Hydra just from aftershock of the attack.


    The armored figure lost consciousness and dropped to the ground.


    Yue used her last strength to run and caught him. Her small body shielded him from impact. His weight nearly crushed her bones. She laid him on the ground and examined his body. The strange armor wasn''t there anymore. His wounds looked mostly healed. She drank some Ambrosia and poured some into his mouth.


    Creak~


    Her face turned pale as she saw the door opening itself.


    "What do I do if there are monsters?"


    She was determined to fight to death with her pitiful remaining mana, but nothing came out. She waited for a while then slowly dragged him inside the door.


    ***


    Orcus Labyrinth, 65th Floor¡­


    Behemoth roared and charged at the students.


    "Soar unto heaven, O divine wings! Celestial Flash!"


    Kouki sword shot a light shockwave and hit the chest of the behemoth causing blood to spray from injury.


    "Let me deal with it, you take care of skeletons," Irene said coldly and stepped forward.


    "Ice harder than steel, pierce mine enemies! Pierce their hearts! Ice spears!"


    More than a hundred Ice spears formed in the air. With a wave of her hand, they shot forward and penetrated every part of its body.


    Behemoth released a roar filled with pain. The ice spears punctured the armor and pierced its flesh.


    This was the result of her training, she along with Eri trained harder than anyone. Her talent in ice magic was already very high to begin with some help from students and Royal mages, she could single-handedly wipe out a dozen of mutated orcs.


    The scene induced a surprised look from everyone.


    Behemoth charged furiously with flames whirling around its horns. The heroes retreated to confront the traum soldiers.


    Eri had no fear in her eyes as she raised her staff.


    "Wicked Wrap!"


    The behemoth stopped suddenly and stood there in a daze.


    Seeing her spell working, she looked at Irene. "Use that spell."


    Irene nodded and pointed her staff at the behemoth.


    "O Spirit of Ice, Heed my call! Crush mine enemies underneath your force! Judgement Hammer!"


    A giant hammer nearly 3 meters materialized in the air, it appeared to be made of pure ice.


    Irene waved her hand and the hammer fell down on the behemoth. Cracks appeared on its hard armor like bones.


    Eri caught the exhausted Irene and watched the behemoth''s misery. It roared and stood back up, ready to charge at them.


    Eri pointed her magic staff forward. "O God of Death, Heed my call! Devour mine enemy, drag them to hell! Summon your mighty warriors aid of mine! Hell''s Gate!


    A magic circle appeared on the ground and hands rose from the magic circle. Numerous skeletons appeared and attacked behemoth with their swords.


    The behemoth fired flames and killed a good amount of them. Eventually, skeletons overwhelmed the behemoth. They leaped on its giant body and stabbed their bone sword everywhere on its body.


    Behemoth growled and shook its body furiously trying to shake away the bony creatures. But the magic circle ate away Eri''s mana and kept summoning skeletons.


    Blood flowed from its giant body. Finally, the behemoth exhausted itself and collapsed on the ground. The skeletons attacked until it roared painfully one last time¡­


    Kouki and others had also dealt with the traum soldiers at that time and gaped in shock. Then a chill ran down their spine seeing the merciless death of Unkillable Behemoth.


    Two girls killed the behemoth. The behemoth was killed yet again.


    ''Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned,'' thought every man.


    ''What is this? They are even more powerful than the hero. I should keep an eye on them,'' Meld thought.


    Eri and Irene sat together and stared at the behemoth dying a painful death. Their faces were pale from mana exhaustion yet the sweet smile on their faces didn''t falter.


    Irene released a sigh in satisfaction. "We really did it."


    "Yeah," Eri replied.


    Irene looked at her and smiled. "Who could have thought that two oddballs like us will slay the behemoth that even the strongest Hero couldn''t kill."


    "He took it down alone though," she said, her voice brimming with pride.


    Irene smirked. "That will be our next goal then, taking down a behemoth alone that is.".


    Eri also grinned. "Sure."


    Suzu jumped at Eri. "My Eriri~ is the best, hehe~"


    She tried to grope her body but Shizuku picked her up from the scruff of her neck.


    "Let them rest."

 V1.C25 Demons wrath, Ancient magic

    Orcus Labyrinth, Deep in the Abyss


    Leo opened his eyes but the bright light forced him to close them.


    ''Am I still in a dream?''


    [Quest completed: Clear Orcus Labyrinth]


    Difficulty: SS


    Rewards obtained: 1x [Skill Evolution Coupon], 50000SP


    He rubbed his eyes with one hand, his other hand was enveloped in something warm.


    He looked around to find himself laying on a soft bed covered by a fluffy blanket. He uncovered the blanket to see Yue sleeping peacefully while clinging on his arm. They were both naked.


    He breathed a sigh of relief and pulled her closer.


    ''Thank god she is alive. Jen, where is this?''


    (This is inside the gate you saw behind the hydra.)


    His eyes opened wide in realization.


    ''How did we survive?''


    He couldn''t remember anything after he saw Yue getting hit by the aurora beam. A gentle wind touched his cheeks, making him relaxed. He caressed the soft cushion.


    ''Is this heaven? Status''


    [Status]


    Name: Leo Evans


    Title: [Behemoth Killer] [Cruel Hunter]


    Race: Human-Monster Hybrid, ??


    Age: 17


    Level: 65


    Class: Berserker


    Strength: 2300


    Vitality: 2700


    Defense: 2850


    Agility: 2100


    Magic: 5500 (Sealed)


    Magic Defense: 5500


    [Skills]


    .....


    [Innate Abilities]


    [Spirit Language] (S)


    [Avenger] (SSS)


    Berserk (Active skill)


    Wrath Aura (Active Skill)


    Effects: Increases Strength, Healing


    Demon''s Wrath (Sealed) (Active skill): ??


    Effects: Increase stats by 9x, Unlocks [??] skill, ??


    ''Demon''s Wrath? And what''s that ?? in my race?''


    (It''s a part of your innate skill. As for your race I don''t know.)


    ''Forget it, I''ll know when the time comes right? How did we survive? Did I kill the hydra with that skill?''


    (Ask Yue for details.)


    He shook her gently. "Yue, wake up... Yue¡­"


    "Ahn! Leo¡­ be gentle¡­" she muttered and clung tighter.


    He shook his head and flicked her forehead.


    She released him hastily and rubbed her forehead with teary eyes.


    "Leo?"


    "Yeah?"


    "Leo!"


    She stared at him blankly for a moment then leaped into his chest. Her skin gave him a warm sensation and a sweet aroma tickled his nose.


    She sobbed quietly in his chest, he brushed her hair gently.


    "I''m sorry for worrying you. So can you stop crying already?"


    "You¡­ nearly died¡­" she said and hugged him harder.


    ''This girl... Jen, how much SP do I have now?''


    (145000SP)


    ''Finally, I can buy [Mana Crafting] and [All Elemental Affinity]''


    He breathed a sigh of relief. Now he could get much stronger.


    ''I won''t let anyone die, not again.''The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.


    His head started throbbing, memories of [Mana Crafting] were being imprinted in his mind. He felt like he was crafting things for years.


    "Huh!?"


    Yue looked up with a worried face, her eyes red from crying.


    "It''s nothing. What happened after you¡­ got hurt?"


    "You¡­ killed the Hydra... in one punch."


    "Really?"


    She nodded her head cutely. "Nn."


    He couldn''t believe it, defeating that monster with one punch.


    "What happened after that?"


    "The gate opened and I carried you here."


    He patted her head with a smile. "Thanks¡­"


    Her eyes curved into a crescent as her face formed a soft smile.


    "Why are we naked then?"


    She licked her lips. "You were dirty¡­ So I cleaned you up."


    He shook his head. "You really are one horny vampire princess."


    "Fufu."


    "Let''s check this place out."


    Yue pulled out some clothes she found exploring this place. The clothes fit him nicely.


    He looked at Yue who was dressed in a single shirt. It fitted her body tightly, emphasizing her modest breasts. She looked charming, despite her young body.


    ''Seriously, this girl won''t leave a chance to seduce me.''


    "You look beautiful."


    He took the head of Vampire princess puffing her chest proudly and exited the bedroom.


    The scene outside really shocked him.


    Warm sunlight covered every part of the room, a giant conical structure hung up high above the ceiling with a dazzling orb that was responsible for the light. The sunlight felt really warm without any artificial feeling in it.


    ''Interesting.''


    "...It looks like a moon at night."


    "Amazing."


    He heard water falling at a distance, looking back he saw a waterfall in the back side of the stadium-sized room. Water fell through a hole in the ceiling and followed the river below into a cavern on the wall.


    Looking closer, there were some fish in the river. A small farm located near the river with a barn being next to the farm. The room was filled with green with trees scattered all over the place.


    It looked like a luxurious resort in his eyes. He shook his head and decided to check the closest place here. A building that looked like it was carved out of white limestone illuminated by another one of the artificial sun hung up on the ceiling. It gave a neat and clean appearance


    The duo still hadn''t adapted to the light here after living in darkness for so long.


    "...I investigated it earlier, most of the doors were locked."


    "I see."


    They entered the building warily, it never hurt to be too cautious.


    A thick carpet laid near a fireplace, a living room filled with sofas, furniture, even a kitchen, and a bathroom. Everything still looked clean, even after not used for who knows how long.


    Leo and Yue continued deeper into the house. After a while they stood outside again, greeted by an oval-shaped door. It led them to a place like a backyard with a lion statue.


    He poured mana into the magic circle next to the statue. Hot water gushed of the lion''s half-opened maw.


    "It''s a bath now. It''s been a while since we took one."


    "Let''s take one together¡­"


    "Later..."


    The duo made their way to the second floor and found a library and a workshop. But everything was locked, so they went up to the third floor and stared at the single door.


    "Let''s go."


    Leo said and pushed open the door. An eight meters long magic circle inlaid on the floor, even Yue was stunned at its complexity.


    His eyes stopped on a figure sitting on a chair next to the magic circle. Only bones left from the decayed corpse inside a black and gold without a single speck of dust on it. It looked more like a decoration than a real corpse.


    Seated in a relaxed posture, its hollow eyes stared down at its own figure as if the person died this way. The skeleton and the magic circle were the only things in the room.


    "It looks suspicious, what do you think?" he asked Yue, who was far more experienced in magic than him.


    ''Analyze''


    [??]


    ??


    ''Jen, what is this?''


    (Your current [Analyze] can''t scan it.)


    ''Is that circle safe?''


    (...Yes.)


    "I''ll try that magic circle, be ready for anything," he said and walked over to the magic circle.


    "Be careful."


    He stepped in the magic circle, nothing happened. When he reached the middle, bright yellow light filled the entire room.


    He closed his eyes and felt something invading his mind, memories of his time in the abyss flashed from the time he fell to him killing hydra in one punch.


    The magic circle glow died down a little and the light dimmed. He opened his eyes to see a black figure standing in front.


    He quickly drew his sword from inventory. But the figure just stood there so he tried to analyze but it didn''t work. It began to speak.


    "I congratulate you on overcoming my trial. My name is Oscar Orcus. I am the man who created this labyrinth. I suppose to the world I am known as a Maverick."


    "By the way, don''t ask any questions. This is nothing more than a recording, so I cannot answer any queries you may have. I wanted to tell those who made it this far why it was that we, who learned the truth of the world, chose to fight against the gods... so I decided to leave a message. I want you to know¡­ that though we were mavericks, we were truly not rebels."


    They listened to the man who spoke shocking truths one after another.


    After the Age of the Gods, the world was engulfed in a never-ending war. A group called The Liberators, direct descendants of a god, rose up to stop the war. Their leader had learned the true intentions of the gods by a coincidence. The gods were just playing a grand game of chess with the world.


    But before Liberators could start the war, the gods manipulated the sentient races to regard Liberators as the ones trying to destroy the world.


    Being branded as traitors the Liberators chose to escape rather than fight. As a result, they were killed one by one. The last most powerful seven of them realized they couldn''t fight back now, they scattered all over the world and created Seven Great Labyrinths as their base. They created a series of trials, for someone who might be able to stop the mad gods and fulfill their wish.


    "I don''t have any intention of forcing my own dreams of god''s demise on you. I simply wanted you to know what it was we fought, and died, for¡­ As a reward for hearing me out. I shall grant you my strength. How you use it is entirely up to you. I can only pray you won''t use it for evil. Thank you for listening to the end. May the ''blessings'' of the Gods never reach you."


    Oscar figure vanished after it finished talking.


    Leo felt something entering his mind. It was a numb feeling rather than pain. The magic circle stopped glowing.


    [''Creation Magic'' Ancient Magic acquired]


    [Creation Magic] (Ancient Magic)


    Allows the user to interfere with any inorganic material and grants the ability to shape or transform them in any way.


    "Yeah!" Leo nearly jumped in excitement. "I can make my equipment now. With [Craftsman] and [Creation Magic] I''m unstoppable!"


    His eyes shone brightly in excitement. Both skills eliminated other''s weaknesses. With [Mana Crafting] he could grant skills to any object and [Creation Magic] could create any type of ore.


    He looked at Yue smiling gently and smiled awkwardly.


    "You should try it too. It''s a magic from the Age of Gods."


    "Huh!?"


    She was stunned to hear it but she composed herself quickly and walked in the magic circle.


    "I congratulate you¡­"


    The message played again, Yue turner back and asked, "What will we do now?"


    A vicious smile appeared on his face. "I have one more reason to kill that shitty god. What about you?"


    "I''ll go where Leo goes."


    He already expected to hear it. "Let''s bury him. He deserves a proper burial at least," he said while pointing at the skeleton.


    The light of the magic circle faded.


    "Nn. I learned the magic, even though I can''t make any artifacts," she said in a gloomy voice.


    He patted her head. "Leave creating artifacts to me."


    "Nn."

 V1.C26 New Innate, Blackout

    The duo dug a grave for the skeleton after searching everything in its robes. From its pocket came out a ring, they looked at each other and grinned.


    "This is definitely not grave robbing."


    "Nn. This is a gift from Orcus."


    They opened the closed rooms with the ring. They found designs of the whole establishment in the library. Even though it wasn''t too detailed, it stated the purpose of every floor.


    Yue also wanted to go back to the surface after spending three centuries here. They found memos on an independent golem maintaining the whole facility. The lights from artificial actually had the same property as sunlight, they could grow anything in the farm. The workshop acted as the storage for all artifacts and materials Orcus made during his lifetime.


    "Another gift from Sir Orcus, he was such a kind man."


    "Yes~"


    After searching more, Yue found Orcus Memoir, containing the daily lives of his former comrades, especially the eight core members.


    Within one of them was a record related to Labyrinths. According to Memoir, all six others were ready to pass their Ancient magic to the one who conquers the Labyrinth.


    "In other words, we can get Creator''s Ancient magic after conquering the Labyrinth. Yue, we are doing this!"


    He can get many of the overpowered magic without a single SP.


    Yue smiled in response. "Yes."


    The Workshop was filled with many tools for crafting and the Library, on the other hand, contained theory books for Transmuters and Craftsman.


    "...Yue, can we stay for a little? This place is best for making artifacts and training. I still have to eat that hydra."


    She gripped his hands and smiled. "Anywhere is fine with you."


    "..."


    Evening of the same day, Leo relaxed in the bath while gazing at the gentle moonlight coming from the Orb.


    Pitter Patter


    Yue entered the bath with a smile and sat behind him with nothing covering her body.


    "Ahn¡­ It feels good¡­"


    She moved her gaze all over his body and licked her lips.


    His lips twitched. "At least wear a towel idiot."


    With a seductive smile on her face, she moved closer and leaned on him.


    "¡­Look at me, I''m all yours."


    Her blood-red eyes captivated him. Golden hairs sticking on the sides of her face looked really charming. The sweet scent coming from her dragged him deeper in the trance.


    She wrapped her hands around his neck and brought her face closer and pressed her lips against his.


    After kissing gently for half a minute, she invaded his mouth with her tongue and joined together to passionately taste each other''s.


    After the mind numbing pleasure, he came back to his senses and took back his lips. A thin thread of saliva connecting their lips.


    Yue opened her mouth and panted heavily, her moist eyes filled with love and lust.This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.


    "...Leo."


    He moved his head a little and sighed. "I like you but this... I can''t hurt Eri feelings... not like this... I''m sorry."


    Yue blinked in surprise for a moment before her expression turned dark.


    "...I know, still I..."


    She buried her head in his chest and started sobbing. In her heart she knew he loved someone else but she only placed him in her heart after he saved her from the abyss. She''d stay single than let any other man touch her.


    After observing him for days, she came to the conclusion that he was suffering from some kind of deep trauma. She, a former queen was never good with emotional words so she wanted to find someone who could. Maybe his childhood friend, that''s why she was ready to share him with others. As one of the Royalty, she was very familiar with the concept of Polygamy.


    Leo wrapped one hand around her back and tenderly brushed her back with other hand, trying his best to calm the trembling body in his embrace. Every tear of hers stabbed like needles in his heart. Oblivious to thoughts of Yue, he grabbed her shoulders and separated her.


    Yue confusedly raised her head and stared with eyes a little red. "Hmm?"


    He felt a pang in his heart at her haggard appearance. He cupped her cheeks and gently wiped the tears away.


    "I''m sorry, I know that I am being selfish but you are important to me... Can we do this after I solve my problems?"


    She stared back with a blank expression. "...That''s not fair... You''re being too selfish."


    He smiled wryly at her answer. "...I know, but Eri, she waited for a long time. I would have confessed to her if Ehit left her out of the summon.


    "I''ll wait¡­ But only for three months, if you didn''t," her lips curved in a seductive smile. "I will attack you right in front of your childhood lover."


    Seeing her consideration, a warm feeling surged in his heart. He pecked her lips and said, "...Thank you."


    Yue proudly puffed her modest breasts and proclaimed, "Of course... I''m Yue, the woman who will do anything for my beloved... even if it means doing something I might regret."


    He ignored the heat rising inside his body and softly rubbed her head. He put one hand on her back while the put the other under her legs to pick her up in bridal carry.


    "It''s your reward."


    He strolled towards the bedroom.


    ''Fewh! she stopped pushing me. I was already at my limit.''


    (.....)


    He lowered her on the bed. After giving a peck on her lips, he stared into her blood-red eyes, she did the same. Time seemingly stopped as they gazed at each other.


    He forcefully tore his gaze away and laid beside her and covered his face. He might go something against his own words if he kept looking at her.


    Yue moved closer and snuggled into his chest.


    ***


    Next day, Yue woke up surrounded in a warmth. She raised her hand and gazed at his sharp handsome face and silky white hair. Instead of being happy, she was annoyed.


    ''Why is he so handsome? He already has a childhood lover and there will definitely be more who will come to like him in the future. From what he said about this childhood friend, Eri. She is more of a level-headed woman.''


    Her expression turned serious. ''People will try to take advantage of his kindness. Or they will scheme against him. I have seen enough politics in my reign as a queen.''


    ''I won''t let anyone hurt him, not even the god.''


    She stopped her train of thoughts when she saw him yawning. She also gazed into his gentle eyes.


    "Good morning."


    She really wanted to take him right now, but she stopped herself.


    ''I''ll be patient. It''s only three months or so, nothing compared to three hundred years,'' she thought and nodded her head.


    "Forget it, let''s do it now," she whispered and crawled toward him.


    Don~


    "Eeeh!"


    she yelped while holding her head with teary eyes.


    "Horny Vampire."


    She glared at him. "...That''s racism."


    He raised his fist again.


    "...I''m sorry," she apologized in fear of getting another hit.


    Leo chuckled seeing the teary eyed Vampire Princess.


    "Let''s get ready, we have so much to do today."


    ''Jen, what''s this [Skill Evolution] coupon?''


    (It allows you to upgrade any skill. They have a little chance to evolve into an innate.)


    ''That''s amazing.''


    He thought about which skill upgrade would help him the most. The skill that helped him the most¡­


    [Iron Stomach] (Passive skill)


    Allows the user to gain stats and skills by eating equal or stronger monsters


    He had a sudden urge to evolve it so he touched the red evolve button next to it.


    [Upgrade ''Iron Stomach'' in progress]


    [Commencing User compatibility check]


    [Compatibility check finished]


    [Skill ''Iron Stomach'' has evolved to Innate Ability ''Gluttony'']


    [Gluttony] (SSS)


    Allows the user to consume anything to gain strength. Power gained depends on the amount of mana present in food. Increases hunger to an extreme level.


    [??]: ??


    Leo gulped audibly. This skill is too powerful but extreme hunger worried him a little.


    Noticing Yue''s stare, he smiled in response.


    "Where is the hydra cor¡ª"


    He winced at the sudden piercing pain in his head. He clutched his throbbing head.


    "Aaargh!"


    "Leo!"


    The last thing he heard was Yue''s worried voice before he passed out.

 V1.27 Strange dream, Updated Shop

    "Child¡­ Wake up¡­"


    "Huh!"


    Leo woke up hearing some whispers and found himself inside a dark room. Only thing present here was a door and bed. He tried to call Jen but Jen gave no response. Even minimap and inventory refused to work here.


    "Come outside¡­"


    He heard the whisper again. Finding nothing else here, he shrugged and opened the door and walked out.


    A narrow corridor welcomed him. Paintings hung on both sides of the walls at a similar distance. The blurred faces in the painting gave him chills.


    ''Why am I getting horror movie vibes here?''


    He followed the only way. The path in front was split into left and right. Pitch black darkness shrouded the left path while the other shone brilliantly with a white glow.


    "Go left."


    He alternated his gaze between left and right, trying to discern the purpose of this.


    "Black as my heart, huh..."


    He whispered and walked to the left. After he walked in the dark corridor for a while. A gust of wind hit his face and a door appeared out of nowhere. The space around the door looked like it was warping.


    He opened the door and went inside. A room appeared in sight with nothing but a large round table surrounded by six chairs. Five figures sat there leaving one chair empty.


    He went forward and sat leisurely. He noticed numbers carved on the table in front of every figure, he also had a number which was six.


    He observed five figures staring intently in his direction, their blurred faces looked really creepy to him.


    He could still discern their gender from their silhouette. Two were female and the rest three male.


    "Welcome to the Soul room of ¡­ ¡­. ..." All five of them said together.


    He only heard half of their words, the rest sounded like glitch in his mind.


    "Who¡­ are you guys?"


    "We are ¡­ ¡­. ¡­."


    "I can''t hear you clearly."


    The only two women whispered among each other.


    .


    "I guess it''s not time," said the woman with number three. Her voice was very soft and pleasing.


    "For what?" he asked.


    His head felt dizzy just from staring at their faces. He felt a sense of powerless when he stared at their face.


    "Just keep getting stronger, you will know it... one day. It is your destiny as one of the ¡ª¡ª¡ª" answered the men seated in front of number one in a tone filled with majesty.


    Their voice was silenced by something, he could guess the culprit.


    "Do you guys know about the silver haired woman who calls herself Entity?"


    "You must be talking about ¡­ She sure is one hell of a bitch, taking orders from ..." replied the man with number five in a shrill voice.


    "Hahaha."


    Every one of them burst into laughter leaving Leo wondering about this whole talk.


    "Well looks like this is it for our first meeting," replied the woman in an apathetic voice, seated in front of number two.


    "You guys are..."


    Before he could reply everything vanished in a mist. He opened his eyes, still feeling a little dizzy.


    ''What were they about to say? Jen, you know something right?''


    (.....)


    ''If any one of them ever tried something on me or my family¡­ you know the rest.''


    "Leo!"


    Yue jumped at him, tears threatening to burst from her eyes. Seeing him collapse with a pained expression, she was left in a state of despair.The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.


    "Don''t worry," he murmured, soothingly, "I''m fine."


    After comforting the sad Vampire princess with a kiss and some headpats, he walked out of the room with two tiny holes in his neck.


    Yue followed behind, her rosy cheeks glowing with vitality.


    They crossed the large door and saw the destruction. One of the crystal pillars he saw before was¡­ shattered into pieces. Hydra silver head wasn''t there on its body. Blood was everywhere on the ground with bits and pieces of meat.


    A look of disbelief spread on his face. Even after witnessing it in the Orcus room, he still couldn''t help but doubt it.


    Yue nodded with a smug face."Nn."


    Ignoring Yue who puffed her chest proudly for some reason, he stored the hydra body in his inventory. He went back and ate the meat of silver head. He ate nearly six times of his udual diet.


    [Level up]


    [Level up]


    [''Aurora Breath'' skill acquired]


    [Aurora Breath] (Active skill)


    Allows the user to shoot breath that causes corrosive and destructive damage, proportional to mana.


    His mouth opened wide in surprise. He picked up Yue and used supersonic step to return to the place where he picked up the Hydra corpse.


    "Leo?!"


    Stepping outside the door, he aimed his hand forward and made a mental image of the same aurora breath Hydra used.


    A silver flash of light shot forward and hit the crystal pillar and slowly disintegrated it.


    "...Amazing, as expected of Leo."


    "That''s too much praise for me¡­ Let''s start my magic training."


    "Nn."


    He then earnestly started his magic training with Yue. She started from very basic and taught him how to properly use mana for beginner spells. After getting lectured by a girl who appeared to be thirteen he wanted to experiment the new crafting skill.


    He came to the workshop of Orcus and ''borrowed'' some tools. He grasped the hammer with an odd feeling. He never used any kind of hammer except the one time he used to smash some heads¡­ the hammer felt familiar to him.


    His hands moved skillfully and started beating the hammer on an already melted azanthium ore.


    He could do it instantly with Creation Magic, but his hands were itching to do it.


    Clang! Clang!


    Hammer waved around in the air and struck the ore slowly turning it into a round ball of metal. He picked it up and poured mana in it while focusing his mind on a skill he was dying to get.


    A sudden sharp pain in his head stopped him.


    ''It really is hard to create a skill out of nowhere.''


    He concentrated hard this time, ignoring the headache. After a few moments, the ball glowed with a faint red then dimmed down.


    [Mana Crafting successful]


    He used creation magic to shape it into a golden ring with a crimson wavy pattern carved on its shank and a blood red ruby fitted on its head.


    "Fuuh"


    He fell back on the carpet in exhaustion and gazed at the beautiful ring in his hands.


    ''Analyze''


    [??]


    Rank - SS


    A ring made to nullify any mental status including possession type skills.


    Enchantment - [Mental Immunity]


    He stored it in inventory and closed his eyes. After seeing Yue caught off guard twice with mental attacks, he was really hoping to create something like this. Thinking about it he slowly fell deeper in slumber.


    He opened his eyes and felt something soft under his head. His gaze met with Yue softly brushing his hair and realized he was resting on her lap. He wanted to get up from her lap but threw away the thought after seeing affectionate look in Yue''s eyes.


    He grabbed her left hand and pushed the golden ring on her fragile fingers.


    "Hwah!?"


    The sudden attack took Yue by surprise, after processing it for a few seconds, a beautiful smile blossomed on her face.


    "It''s a yes¡­"


    He couldn''t bear to tell it was an artifact instead of a proposal ring. He stood and started to create a few extra rings for Eri and maybe her friends.


    [Mana Crafting successful]


    He created a simple silver ring with a black diamond on it. Eri always liked simple things.


    His mind was totally exhausted, this skill really sucked up all his mental strength. He turned back to see Yue smiling bewitchingly.


    "Not here, you lusty princess!"


    Despite that he was attacked and drowned in her affectionate kisses.


    ***


    One week later, Leo leaning against a tree


    ''Yue is too cruel. How can she throw tens of fireballs at her lover, just because I didn''t let her drink blood?''


    His clothes were all tattered from training. He looked at Yue smiling brightly.


    [Mystery Shop Updated]


    [Check out new items available]


    ''Woah¡­Mystery Shop''


    [Mystery Shop]


    Aphrodite Undies (Freshly worn) - 5,000,000SP


    Chains of Heaven - 150,000SP


    1x Random World Ticket - 50,000SP


    2x Aphrodisiac potion - 50,000


    10x High-MP Potions - 15,000


    10x High-HP Potions - 15,000


    P.S- Shop will update every month.


    Update in 29d23h59m]


    He deadpanned seeing the first option.


    ''Jen, do you really want me to become a pervert?''


    (.....)


    For a moment he thought about buying the Aphrodisiac potion and fed it to Yue. But he slapped his cheek to shake away the thought.


    ''What the hell is happening to me? Is she really influencing me that much?''


    ''I really need to gather some SP for HP potion. What is that world ticket anyway? I can go to any random world like how I came to this world?''


    (Yes¡­)


    ''Chains of Heaven...''


    That price shook away any thoughts of buying it. He opened his eyes to see Yue sleeping on his lap.


    ''I will go up some floors and collect SP for HP potions. I can save some Ambrosia by using it.''

 Interlude: The change in Hero (I)

    In Heiligh Kingdom, a youth gazed absent-mindedly at calm water flowing under the bridge he leaned against. His long brown hair covered his indescribable expression.


    On his side, a tall black haired girl slouched carelessly on the bridge and stared at the moon in a daze. Calm wind fluttered her long ponytail making it a mesmerizing sight for any men.


    The girl broke the silence. "Hey!"


    "What?" the youth asked back.


    The girl without looking away from moon continued, "You have been acting annoying for a while."


    The youth had a surprised expression for a second, which turned gloomy moments later. "What do you mean?"


    "Kouki please try to be open-minded about it. Kaori can choose who she loves. You can''t decide who she falls in love with."


    He gritted his teeth. "I know¡­ I just¡­ I feel something dark inside every time I see them flirting¡­ I want to know what does she even see in that Otaku? He is just an average guy with no specialties."


    "She has loved him since middle-school, but couldn''t bring herself to confess. She only did it after she saw what happened to Evans-san and Eri."


    "Even so..." he continued with a pained expression. "Will you also leave me like her?"


    The girl released a disappointed sigh. "Like I said, you need to respect people''s choices."


    With her words Shizuku walked away.


    "How long will you keep doing that?" she muttered under her breath.


    Koumi stood there gazing at the back of his childhood friend. He plopped down and buried his face in his knees.


    "Hey, do you want power?"


    A voice called out to him. He looked up to see a beautiful woman with striking silver hair and shining blue eyes dressed in a nun outfit.


    ''Beautiful.''


    The nun tilted her head. "What are you looking at?"


    "Huh?"


    "My Lord wants to grant you power... will you take it?"


    "Creation God?" he asked in confusion.


    "Yes... the one and only God."


    She sounded like a fanatic except her face showed no emotions.


    Kouki stood and walked away from her.


    The Nun called out to him. "Find me anytime in the Church if you change your decision."


    He ignored her and kept walking.


    "My Lord is really amused by this hero stunts... Will he come to ask for power like My Lord said?"


    She brought her hands near her chest and prayed to her only Lord.


    ***


    Next day, Heiligh Kingdom Royal palace¡­


    Shizuku walked through the corridors. Her ponytail swayed as she walked while occasionally greeting maids on the way. In all honesty, she was a bit creeped out by the way they called her ''Onee-sama''.A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    She slowly made her way over to Kaori''s room. Recently, her friend felt very happy. She hummed cheerfully as she killed monsters in the labyrinth.


    ''What will I do about that girl?''


    She thought and a smile appeared on her face. This was what people called ''A warm Motherly smile''.


    Puchi~


    She looked down to see a toy trapped under her shoes. She bent down and picked it up. It was a blue colored plushie of a dog.


    "C-Cute."


    she said unconsciously and searched around for the owner. Finding no one, her inner side started acting as she started rubbing her face against the cute plushie.


    "O-Onee-sama."


    She froze at the voice from behind. She turned her head slowly to see a little girl of around nine years, a child of one of the knights.


    "K-Ki-chan, is this yours?" she asked and raised the cat plushie in front of her face.


    The girl nodded her head repeatedly. "Yes!"


    She gave it to her with a reluctant expression and escaped with her skill to hide her beet red face.


    She took a deep breath in front of Kaori''s room and entered.


    "Hey, guys."


    "Hi Shizuku," Irene greeted with a smile.


    "Shizu Shizu we were just talking about you," Suzu said.


    "Shizuku-chan, I kissed Hajime yesterday," Kaori said and dove into her embrace.


    Shizuku patted her head with a helpless smile.


    "As expected of Onee-sama," Eri said with a smirk.


    Shizuku sighed and said, "People from the Empire are coming today and Kouki head isn''t in the right place."


    "Should I teach them a lesson?" Irene said with a chilly smile.


    "No, we¡ª"


    Creak~


    The door opened and a beautiful teenage girl with long blonde hair and blue eyes entered. The elegant smile on her face gave everyone a good impression. The people of the earth will scream ''Princess! Princess!'' at her mere sight because of the strong aura of royalty around her.


    She bowed with graceful movements. "Thank you for helping our kingdom."


    Everyone waved their hands to stop her.


    Shizuku shook her head with a smile. "Don''t worry about it Lily, aren''t friends supposed to help each other?"


    The girl was the princess of Heiligh Kingdom, Liliana S. B. Heiligh.


    Liliana looked at Kaori. "I''m sorry for my little brother''s misconduct. Please don''t take his act seriously. He will get better."


    Kaori sighed and released Shizuku. "I''m also sorry for treating him like that, but he shouldn''t have said that about Hajime."


    Liliana''s brother Randell had a crush on Kaori. He lashed out at Hajime when he heard about Kaori dating him. Kaori ended up slapping him in the face to stop him.


    Liliana bowed even deeply. "I''ll educate him properly."


    Shizuku decided to change the topic. "What about Empire Envoys?"


    "Hero Kouki-sama will meet them. Can you girls accompany him?"


    Everyone nodded their heads.


    Shizuku smiled bitterly. "That idiot mind is going through a lot lately. He needs to take a break from all this stuff."


    Irene smirked and said, "My offer still stands."


    Eri shook her head. "We don''t want a war between human countries when the devils are already preparing for war."


    Liliana had a puzzled expression.


    ***


    All of the students and Leaders of Heiligh kingdom along with a group of priests gathered in a large hall to receive the Envoys of the Hoelscher Empire.


    The King, Eliheid S. B. Heiligh stepped forward and greeted the Envoys.


    Shizuku watched as the king called Kouki who was lost in thought. She patted his shoulder, but he still didn''t respond.


    "Kouki!"


    "Hugh?"


    "Go and greet the Envoys," Shizuku said with a bitter smile.


    "So you are Sir hero. Quite a dreamer, I must say. Pardon my rudeness,  but did you really defeat the behemoth on the 65th floor?"


    "N-Yes, we did."


    The Envoy looked at him suspiciously, making Kouki uncomfortable as he wasn''t the one who defeated the behemoth. But the royal family still announced it as Kouki defeating the behemoth to keep Hero''s face in public.


    All of the students felt comfortable at this, but Irene and Eri had no problem with it so he also agreed.


    Kouki proposed the map of 66th floor and various small proofs, but Envoy still had suspicious glint in his eyes.


    "There is a quicker method than that. Would you have a mock battle with one of my guards? So we can confirm your strength immediately, Sir Hero."


    "Well, I don''t mind that, but¡­"


    Kouki looked at the King who in turn looked at Ishtar for approval. Ishtar nodded as this was the easiest way for the Empire to accept them as the Leader of Humanity.


    "Very well, Sir Kouki. You may show them your strength as the Hero."


    "It''s decided then. I must implore you to prepare ground for duel."

 Interlude: The change in Hero (II)

    Eri gazed at Kouki standing in front of his opponent with a bokken in his hands.


    His opponent, a guy who was neither tall nor short with an ordinary face. He held his large edgeless sword without any particular stance.


    ''This guy is one of those silent protagonist types?''


    She saw Kouki charge toward the guard with a somewhat furious expression. Kouki swung the bokken downward stopping just an inch from his guard''s head.


    But Guard just casually knocked his bokken upwards pushing Kouki back.


    Eri shook her head, she knew that Kouki was holding back his strength.


    She saw the silent guard sending some taunts. Kouki took a serious stance in response.


    "There are no next times on the battlefield."


    "ORAAAA!!!"


    Kouki let out a war cry and charged forward again and swung his bokken. His slash left afterimages, yet the guard used a minimum of movements to dodge and counterattack.


    Eri saw Kouki getting cornered and hit all over his body. Even though Kouki stats were higher than the guard. She realized this was the difference between a former student and a veteran soldier.


    The guard attacked more violently after every slash. Kouki had cold sweat running down his cheeks from the pressure.


    ''So Empire would rather kill him than letting him become leader of humanity. That''s such a shame.''


    The guard was about to swing the sword down to deal the final blow, Eri saw Shizuku clenching her fists in worry.


    She readied herself to cast her Dark magic [Wicked Wrap] but before that a brilliant flash of light blasted the guard away. Kouki who stood there emitting a pure white aura from his body. His face twisted in fear and anger.


    The guard grinned at his reaction, "That''s a better face than your wimpy one."


    Kouki expression darkened. "Wimpy face? You were aiming to kill me."


    "Now you understand that? How will a guy like you even survive on the battlefield? And you are supposed to lead the whole humanity. Are you even aware of that?"


    "I''m aware.. I will save every-" he stopped when he looked toward Kaori and Hajime holding hands in the audience.


    The guard didn''t notice this and continued, "Now swing your sword to kill than being a little kid who is afraid of blood."


    The guard said and charged forward with an abnormal amount of killing intent coming from his body.


    Kouki also charged with.. Killing intent. The guard was surprised to see this, but he didn''t stop and swung his sword. Kouki vanished and appeared in his front with a crazed expression.


    Thud


    Something fell on the ground with a heavy noise, the guard couldn''t move his sword. He moved his head to see his hand¡­ wasn''t there anymore.


    "Aaargh!!!"This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    He screamed in pain, but still stood and held onto his consciousness.


    The scream woke Kouki up from his stupor, who moved his gaze between the bloody arm on the ground and the Guard. He closed his eyes and fainted on the spot.


    Eri shook her head at the drama, she half expected it to happen after seeing his expression.


    ''Now we have to deal with the aftermath of this event. I''d rather dream about Leo than rack my brain for greedy politics.''


    "Hey Irene, you also expected this, right?" She whispered to Irene.


    Irene watched everything with a calm face. "Well, yeah. His soul is getting a little darker every passing day. I don''t think he is fit to be a hero anymore."


    "Lord Gahard!"


    The Envoys ran toward the guard and healed him with magic. A Priest ran hastily and attached his arm back hastily with a light magic spell. Kaori also helped them. In a few moments the Guard or Gahard''s arm was as good as new.


    Everyone in the audience blinked in surprise at the unimaginable event. They couldn''t believe that guard was none other than Gahard D. Hoelscher, current Emperor of Hoelscher Empire.


    This revelation brought out another sigh from Eri as she whispered, "Another mess."


    Gahard came toward the King. "This kid isn''t bad, but he seems to be struggling mentally."


    The King nodded in apology. "We are sorry for Sir Hero''s behaviour."


    Gahard just laughed heartily in response. "Don''t worry, I aimed to kill him then I should have expected for some retribution."


    Eri shook her head, seeing the guard acting as the Emperor. "Shit just got more real."


    Irene grinned in response and walked out of the hall.


    The Emperor gazed at the beautiful girl''s back in a stunned manner but calmed himself and went back to his room.


    Eri stood there speechless. "What do I do with this girl?"


    Meanwhile, Shizuku gazed at Kouki sleeping peacefully. Releasing an audible sigh, she slouched on the chair. ''What do I do with this idiot?''


    Both girls had their own problems with friends¡­


    ***


    Next Morning, Irene and Eri woke up by a knock on her door. Irene stayed in the same room as Eri after defeating the behemoth, so they could train magic even in late night.


    "Eri, go and check," Irene said lazily from her bed.


    Eri cursed her silently and opened the door, her calm eyes opened wide at the visitor. Seeing the flower in his hands, her lips curved into a thin smile.


    "What does your Majesty want with students like me?"


    Gahard assumed his poker face. "I would like to meet Irene Verglas-dono."


    Eri without any respect smirked at the Emperor. "She is sleeping."


    Gahard wasn''t the one to stuck up on exchanging pleasantries. Still he asked with a polite smile. "Can you wake her up?"


    "She won''t wake up, no matter what I do," with a shake of her head. "As for these flowers, I can give her when she wakes up."


    Gahard sighed in dejection. "Okay."


    Eri took the flowers and closed the door, she walked to Irene''s bed and threw the flowers at her.


    "You got a new admirer, hell, he is ''The Emperor''. I bet he will gladly take you as his mistress."


    Irene sat up and glared at her. "Screw off, there is only one man worthy of I, Irene Verglas."


    "Stop with the narcissism," Eri face turned serious. "What will you do about him if he pesters you? He is still an Emperor."


    "Frost," Irene whispered and a thin layer of ice blanketed the flowers.


    With a grin Irene said, "I''ll skewer his ass with Ice spears." she threw the frozen flowers on the ground, shattering them in the process.


    "Try that and I won''t ever help you with ''that''."


    Irene raised her hands in surrender. "Fine."


    ***


    Inside the Training Hall, a girl was swinging her wooden sword. Her ponytail danced around with every elegant swing of the sword.


    Clap Clap Clap


    She turned to the one who interrupted her, a surprise look flashed across her face for a second before she bowed respectfully.


    "What brings your majesty here?"


    "Nothing, I was just admiring a beautiful woman."


    "A unrefined woman like me isn''t beautiful," she muttered under her breath. "Please cut to the chase, I still have to finish my daily training."


    A smile appeared on Gahard''s face. "Your words are sharp as your sword. I like your beauty and elegance. I want to take you as one of my mistresses."


    Shizuku shook her head. "No, I''m not into old men."


    Gahard''s smile twitched in the corner. "Well, I''m not in a hurry. I''ll make you fall for me."


    He laughed and walked away.


    "Perverted old man," Shizuku whispered and resumed her training.

 V2.C1 New equipment, Reisin Gorge

    Leo stood in front of the magic circle with Yue standing beside him dressed in a frilly white shirt and a black frilly mini skirt, revealing her slender legs and a cute black ribbon on her head.


    As for him, his clothes included a long black windbreaker outside a white T-shirt. A white dragon sewed on its back and simple black pants completely designed by Yue.


    He used mana crafting to enchant all their clothes with every comfort possible. From elemental resistance, physical resistance, auto cleaning to nearly indestructible properties making them more powerful than a national artifact.


    In these two months, Leo learned about structures of ore which he needed to replicate them using [Creation Magic]. He also experimented with his crafting and made an artifact every now and then. His stats skyrocketed after completely eating the hydra and Yue''s training also helped a lot. He also gained some extra skills from previous floor bosses with his new innate ability [Gluttony].


    His current inventory had tons of items such as,


    [Drachen]


    A modern off-road vehicle that uses mana instead of fuel


    [Schnelle]


    A modern motorbike that uses mana instead of fuel


    [Nemean Spear]


    A spear crafted using Azenthium ore. Boasts enough destructive power to be named after Nemean Lion.


    Rank: SS


    Enchantments: [Pierce] [Tempest]


    <ol>


    <li style="font-weight: 400"> Attack+900</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400"> Attack+500</li>


    </ol>


    [Magic Daggers]


    A pair of magic dagger which can be imbued with any element to increase attack power.


    Enchantments: [Sharpness] [Element Control]


    Rank: S


    <ol>


    <li style="font-weight: 400"> Attack+300</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400"> Attack +500</li>


    </ol>


    [Hand Fortress]


    A Giant shield crafted using a compound ore of Azenthium and Sealstone. It can shrink and expand up to 3x base size providing enough defense to be named as fortress.


    Enchantments: [Mode: You ain''t worth it] [Mode: Just a little hard] [Mode: Bring it on!]


    Rank: SS+


    <ol>


    <li style="font-weight: 400"> Defense +500, +1000, +1500</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400"> Defense+300, +600, +900</li>


    </ol>


    [Spirit Necklace]


    A beautiful necklace that allows the user to increase the mana recovery rate and boost natural healing.


    Rank: S


    Enchantments: [Sprit blessing] [Self-Heal]


    [Severance]


    A modern sniper rifle that shoots a bullet of mana that can be changed with user affinity.


    Rank: S


    Enchantments: [Elemental Shot]


    And lastly,


    [Cursed Sword]


    A Magic Sword cursed by Spirits. Recreated more powerful than ever.


    Enchantments: [Sharpness] [Aura] [Final breath]


    Rank: SS+


    <ol>


    <li style="font-weight: 400"> Atk +750</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400"> Atk +750</li>


    </ol>


    His first (second) and most used sword. It helped him a lot. He couldn''t have survived in this abyss without it. This sword had a special place in his heart.


    These were only S-Rank items, the rest were experimental modern guns that he might not even use.


    [Random World Ticket]


    Transfers the user to a random world. SP is needed to transfer more than one person.


    Rank: ??


    He bought it just for emergency measures. It might come in handy.


    As for Yue, she was still as horny as ever, trying to seduce him at every opportunity. She only showed her Sadist side during training while rest of the time she acted like a sweet lover.


    [Status]


    Name: Leo Evans


    Title: [Behemoth Killer] [Cruel Hunter]


    Race: Human-Monster Hybrid, ??


    Age: 17


    Level: ??


    Strength: 12150


    Vitality: 14000


    Defense: 15500


    Agility: 12950


    Magic: 35000


    Magic Defense: 35000If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


    [Skills]


    ...


    [Intimidate (Active skill)]


    [+Fear Inducement (Active skill)]


    Attacks weakest mental spot of target


    [Telepathy (Active skill)]


    [Mana Crafting (Passive skill)]


    [Aurora Breath (Active skill)]


    [Foresight (Active skill)]


    Allows the user to perceive the movements of target


    [Fire Breath (Active skill)]


    Allows the user to shoot fire breath, area of effect and range is proportional to amount of mana used


    [Ice Breath (Active skill)]


    Allows the user to shoot Ice breath, area of effect and range is proportional to amount of mana used


    [Wind Blade (Active skill)]


    Allows the user to freely conjure wind blades, size of wind blade is proportional to amount of mana used


    [Elemental Resistance (Passive skills)]


    Increases resistance against elemental magic attacks


    [Fear Resistance (Passive skill)]


    Increase resistance to fear based status effect


    [Steel Arms (Active skill)]


    Allows the user to reinforce their arms


    [Limit Break (Active skill)]


    Allows the user to temporarily gain 3x stats. Can cause extreme body fatigue and repeated use damages the body.


    [Sharp Sense (Passive skill)]


    Increases the capability of all five senses.


    [Self Heal (Passive skill)]


    Increase self healing ability of user


    [Increased Mana Recovery (Passive skill)]


    Increases the mana recovery rate of user


    [Innate Abilities]


    [Spirit Language] (S)


    [Avenger] (SSS)


    Berserk (Active skill)


    Wrath Aura (Active Skill)


    Demon''s Wrath (Sealed) (Active skill): ??


    Effects: Increase stats by 9x, Unlocks [??] skills, ??


    [Mana Manipulation] (S)


    Mana Discharge (Active skill)


    Mana Compression (Active skill)


    Remote Manipulation (Active skill)


    [Gluttony] (SSS)


    [??]: ??


    He had grown stronger, far more than any being from three races in Tortus. Humans only had 300 stats max where demons and demi-humans stats were around 600.


    He could use many advanced level spells that Yue taught him but the power of breath spells was on another level.


    His level already exceeded 100 and now showed ?? where the maximum level possible for any race is 100. His half-monster body with the body tweaked by ''The Creed'' made his potential nearly limitless. With his new Innate [Gluttony] he will only get stronger overtime.


    What will he do now? Should he go straight to Eri?


    But the Old God Ehit made him hesitate. From what Jen said, Ehit had destroyed the sentient races multiple times. He could manipulate the leaders of countries or just use his army of Apostles to wipe them out.


    The path he walked was a hard one, he needed to be prepared to go against the whole humanity. But the harder the revenge looked the more his excitement rose.


    Yue tightened her grip on his hand when she saw him deep in thoughts. She also looked a little nervous, after all she hadn''t seen the surface world for centuries.


    "Yue, we will be against the world if Ehit gets to know my intentions. We might suffer the same fate as Liberators. Do you still want to stay with me?"


    He couldn''t help but ask it, even though he knew her answer.


    She grinned brightly. "We''ll annihilate anything in our way."


    He nodded his head and poured mana into the magic circle. It shone brightly for a moment then left the room empty. A golem maid opened the door and began cleaning the room.


    Leo opened his eyes to see darkness, using night vision he saw something like a cave.


    "Did we not get out?" he asked.


    He faced Yue, who tugged his shirt with a smile.


    "Secret passage¡­ is always hidden."


    He facepalmed hearing her opinion. "Thanks, I just jumped to conclusions. No way Orcus would directly connect it to the surface world."


    He picked up Yue and dashed using supersonic steps. They met many doors and seals which they unlocked with Orcus ring.


    Yue finally saw something she longed for, the light of the surface world.


    Light from front gradually became bigger, they could feel the fresh smell of the air. A smile appeared on the duo''s face as they advanced out of the cave.


    What greeted them was high mountains everywhere. Faint sunlight poured down on their faces. Fresh and cold air tickled their noses. They gazed at the sun setting in the distance for a full minute, then the realization hit them.


    "I can eat normal food again!"


    He was sick and tired of eating monster meat, more so when he had to eat nearly seven times an adult food, courtesy of his new innate ability.


    Yue who didn''t smile often had a wide smile at this moment. "Yeah!"


    "Raisen Gorge?"


    "...Yes."


    "It starts from Gruen Desert in the west to the Sea of Trees."


    Leo used SP to learn every common knowledge about this world, leaving only 17500SP after buying MP and HP potions. He still had Hydra''s mana crystal left.


    ''Still, we dropped too far from the Heiligh Kingdom.''


    "Yue, we have three options now. First is the labyrinth in Gruen Desert and second is the labyrinth in the Sea of Trees or we search around for the labyrinth here in Raisen Gorge."


    "...You decide."


    He wanted to scream right there, why do you act so meek normally when you are a bonafide sadist during training?


    "...You thought of something rude, didn''t you?" she asked in a sharp voice.


    "...Let''s go to the Sea of Trees. We''ll relax there and conquer the labyrinth."


    "Nn."


    Searching around his inventory, he took out his first artifact for transport. An off-road jeep materialized in front of them. It was colored pitch-black, a blood red and blue pattern on both sides. He named it ''Drachen''.


    The duo nodded in satisfaction seeing the Drachen.


    They didn''t pay attention to the several monsters surrounding them, too busy admiring the vehicle.


    "...Leo, some bugs want to eat us."


    "...Let me take care of them."


    He used analyze to check their worth. They were far too weak. He aimed his hand at monsters and a wave of fire shot forward.


    Three monsters in the front were completely fried. The other monsters in the back felt a chill seeing their comrade die so horribly. They shrieked loudly and escaped in all directions.


    He shook his head and harvested the mana crystal.


    ''Killing with weapons feels better, well, ranged attacks are still convenient.''


    "Magic is really suppressed here."


    He had to use more than more than five times the usual mana to activate the skill as the mana dispersed at a faster rate.


    Yue tried to use some magic at the monsters. "...Only ten percent efficiency."


    Leo also cast wind magic spell, a sharp blade of wind shot forward, cutting a deep gash in a mountain. "Same for me, well, I have too much mana anyway."


    Yue licked her lips. "I know."


    He shrugged at her words. "It takes more time to replenish all of my mana. We have to find another Great Labyrinths. Beastmen might try to stop us, so we''ll sneak in or..."


    "...Annihilate."


    He sat in the driving seat, Yue came and rested her head on his lap. After checking everything he poured mana through the steering wheel and started the vehicle without any sound as Mana directly controlled the parts connected to the wheels, so there wasn''t a single sound.


    "Hmm¡­ It''s been a while since I drove a vehicle."


    "...It''s good."


    Roar!!!


    Different kinds of dino type monsters tried to attack them. Yue without a care in the world kept her head rested on his lap.


    He released his focused intimidate on the monsters causing them to run. Feeling an instinctive fear, no monster came near them.


    Raisen Gorge was a cliff extending from north to south. There was only a single way to Sea of Trees.


    "...lp."


    His face formed a serious expression after hearing someone''s voice in the far distance.

 V2.C2 A plea for help, hope

    Leo focused his senses to hear the voice clearly.


    "Please stop¡­ Let me go please¡­ D-Don''t¡­ Someone help¡­ Stop it."


    It was more than two kilometers but he could hear it with his sharp senses. It was filled with pain as if someone was torturing the owner of the voice. He changed direction and poured more mana to increase the speed.


    Yue also noticed the sudden change in his expression and asked,"...What happened?"


    "Someone needs help."


    He sped forward the switchback roads. It took him fifteen minutes to clear the roads because of U-turns. The more he heard the more fierce his expression became.


    ''These scum.''


    He exited the Reisen Gorge to see a large tent surrounded by many small tents. He was sure that the atrocities were being committed inside the bigger tent .


    He drove past the humans sitting around a campfire and stopped in front of the big tent. The duo stepped out of the Drachen, he gave a signal to Yue and entered the tent.


    [Caution:- The scene ahead is a bit gory, so if you don''t like violence or rape. Please don''t read until you see this warning again.]


    The screams of women mixed with the crazy laughter of men. The three women begged for mercy but the dozen men continued assaulting them. The horrible wounds on the bodies of women showed the inhumane torture they endured at the hands of these men.


    One woman with ears like rabbit noticed him and tried to warn him to run. He shook his head and used intimidation with enough mana to cause the men to only lose consciousness. He wasn''t going to let them off so easily.


    He silently threw three daggers in front of the women and walked out of the tent. One moment later, cries for help were heard. But this time men called for help while the woman took out all their grievances in form of torture.


    Yue stood outside the tent with a serious expression. She could guess what was happening inside the tent.


    "Yue, please treat the women inside¡­ I''ll go check out the caravans."


    "Leave it to me¡­"


    He walked toward the caravans parked a few meters away from the tent.


    [End of the gruesome? scene]


    Inside a dark place, several women and children huddled together, their limbs were bound by ropes like some animal. Some were crying while others sat there awaiting their cruel fate.


    A girl stood out amongst them, not because of her different light blue hair color, not because of two bunny ears on her head. But her blue eyes shone like a pair of gems in the dark, they were filled with determination and hope amidst the people despairing.


    ''Stay strong Shea. They will¡­ come. I just need to wait¡­''


    But the pained screams coming from outside crushed her courage over and over.


    ''What did we do to them? We never harmed anyone. Then why do we have to suffer like this?''


    ''I should have fought more¡­ but they took the children hostage.''


    Shea, a girl born with power to manipulate mana was ostracized by the people outside her tribe and called her a Monster. But her mother comforted her but even she passed away from an illness.


    ''Okaa-san, you said I''ll meet them one day. The people who will cherish me¡­''


    ''Still, I didn''t lose hope¡­ I tried to change the fate of the tribe¡­ I tried everything¡­ yet I couldn''t.''


    ''We are nothing more than slaves in their eyes¡­ If only I¡­''


    Her bunny ears twitched hearing some screams filled with pain not of women but women. Then came a deathly silence.


    Everyone''s eyes opened wide with different expressions. Some eyes lit up with hope while some despaired more from the screams. Sound of light footsteps resounded in the silence.Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.


    They hugged each other tightly, hoping to hide their children from the one coming. Pale sunlight poured inside the caravan. All eyes fixed on the person who opened the door. They looked at the pair of blood-red and blue pupils, an unusual color for anyone in Tortus.


    "I''m here to help."


    Only four words¡­ still they were enough to give them hope. Tears of relief poured from everyone''s eyes.


    But one girl wasn''t crying, no she just stared in the unusual eyes of the young man who was here for help.


    Then she saw her waving his hand to create wind blades and freed three people. He threw several daggers at them.


    ''Without chant¡­ same as me? Is he the one Okaa-san told me about?''


    The girl called Shea finally saw some hope in her life. The burden she had to bear felt a bit lighter.


    "Take everyone and gather outside, I''ll free the rest in the meantime."


    The man said and vanished from her sight.


    Her friend cut her rope, she stood and walked outside hastily. Her father stood there with her tribe members.


    "Otou-san!"


    She ran and hugged her injured father.


    "Ouch! Slow down a little."


    "S-Sorry."


    Everyone watched them with a warm smile, a stark contrast to the one they had moments ago.


    A girl around thirteen came with three women of her own tribe. The wounds on their bodies reminded her of the atrocities that happened here.


    She blinked in surprise when their wounds healed in a few seconds. But no one noticed it, they were too busy admiring the girl. Her blood-red eyes captivated everyone in the vicinity. She looked around the tent and noticed some headless bodies near the large tent. It scared her but she knew they all deserved it.


    The youth also came with some beastmen children. The blonde girl beside him stared in her direction, so she also stared back.


    ''Why does her eyes remind me of... Okaa-san?''


    Her father bowed in front of the young man. "I''m Cam Haulia, the chieftain of the Haulia tribe... Thank you for helping us. You are the Saviour of our whole tribe... We will never forget this favor of yours."


    Everyone from her tribe followed her father and bowed, she also bowed clumsily.


    The youth shook his head. "Please raise your heads. I am Leo."


    She raised her head to see a gentle look in his eyes.


    The golden haired girl also nodded. "...Yue."


    She repeated their names in her mind to not forget.


    "What happened here? Can you tell me about it if you don''t mind?"


    Her father nodded his head. "We ran from Sea of Trees to live near the mountains, but someone imperial soldiers saw us. We escaped to Raisen Gorge¡­ they didn''t follow us there. Monsters nearly killed us, so we came back here to see imperial soldiers waiting. They captured us and¡­"


    Her father clenched his fists tightly.


    With eyes filled with curiosity, Leo asked, "Why did you run in the first place?"


    She couldn''t stay silent anymore, gathering her courage, she stepped forward. "It was all my fault. I¡ª"


    "¡ªMy daughter¡­ Shea was born with the power to manipulate mana¡­ We hid her from everyone in Verbergen¡­ but they found out somehow¡­ we fled from there to avoid being executed."


    The youth stared into her eyes, making her nervous.


    "Do you have the power to predict the future?"


    "H-How did you know?"


    ''Why does he know about it? Nobody from the tribe would tell him that. No point in hiding now.''


    She nodded her head in answer.


    "What will you guys do now? I don''t think you can go to Sea of Trees or survive in Reisen Gorge."


    This question was directed at her father, the Chieftain of the tribe.


    "We really don''t know, more soldiers might be out there. We''ll get captured again and sold as slaves."


    Leo assumed a thoughtful expression. "Can you guys guide us to the Great Tree? From what I heard humans tend to easily lose their way inside the fog."


    Shea saw everyone in her tribe hesitating. They will surely get executed if anyone from Verbergen caught them.


    "The beastmen their will¡ª"


    "You don''t have to worry about your safety. If anyone tries to harm you," he squinted his eyes. "I will kill them."


    Shea felt chills just from looking in his eyes.


    Her father also must have felt it, but he nodded. "Okay."


    She saw Leo summoning a peculiar object out of thin air. He connected it with four caravans and sat inside it. "Get inside the caravans, we''ll go full speed."


    She looked at her father who was sending some signals from his eyes she couldn''t understand.


    "Idiot, go sit with them," her father whispered.


    "Okay!"


    Leo looked back to see Shea standing behind the Drachen while clutching her miniskirt in nervousness.


    "C-Can I sit with you guys?"


    He came out and opened the back seat door.


    "Sure, hop in."


    Shea sat comfortably and asked, "Leo-san, I-I saw you using magic without chant. Are you guys also?"


    Leo nodded his head. "Yeah, we both can manipulate mana like you."


    Shea looked at them silently before she buried her face in her knees. "Hic, Okaa-san, I''m not... the only one¡­"


    Yue got up from his lap and squeezed into the back seat. She pressed Shea''s head into her chest and brushed her hair gently.


    "...Let everything out¡­ I''m here for you."


    Leo smiled at the pair. ''Guess she sympathizes with Shea. They both had unique powers from birth, only to suffer. Shea is also tough to endure till now. She reminds me of myself in a sense.''


    He checked behind to see every Haulia seated inside caravans and drove toward the Sea of Trees.

 V2.C3 Cams mistake, Nostalgic hunt

    Leo looked at Shea sleeping peacefully in Yue''s embrace. Yue rubbed her rabbit ears gently with a smile. It''s been a few hours since they departed with Haulias.


    "So, Yue can care about someone other than me?"


    "...I''m the most caring woman in the world."


    He focused mana in his eyes and saw trees in the distance.


    "Well, our destination is near. You should wake her up."


    Yue shook Shea gently to wake her up. Shea rubber her eyes.


    "...Haltina woods is near."


    Shea looked confused for a moment before she apologized to Yue for falling asleep.


    After a brief moment of silence, Shea asked, "...Can you guys tell me about yourself like where did you come from?"


    "...Horaud Town."


    "What''s your purpose in going to the Sea of Trees?"


    "Our goal is to conquer the Great Labyrinth there, then every other Great Labyrinth after that."


    She went silent for a couple of seconds.


    "...Why did you guys help us?"


    Leo tilted his head a little, confused by her question before realizing her meaning. "Ah! You must be talking about them¡­ Those bastards weren''t humans in my eyes... I wish I could''ve come sooner," he whispered the last words and increased the speed of Drachen.


    Shea asked in a low voice, "Can I travel with you two?"


    Leo stared at her with a serious expression. "No, you can''t."


    Her bunny ears drooped down on her head in a pitiful way.


    "...You are too weak."


    He said in a straightforward manner to stop her from harboring any hopes to join them. He didn''t want her to suffer more on his journey. Feeling a little regret to lose a reliable ally who could literally see the future if something bad happened to anyone close to her.


    He stopped in front of what looked like a forest.


    "Now then, Leo-dono and Yue-dono stick close to us when we are inside. You want to go to the center where the Grand tree is located?" asked Cam.


    "Yes, that might be the entrance of the labyrinth."


    According to Cam, the Grand Tree was a massive tree that sat in the deepest reaches of the forest. The beastmen called it as Sacred Tree Uralt, and the area around it was considered holy. No one entered there normally as it was like a tourist spot for beastmen.


    Yue and Leo first thought that the entire Haltina woods is a labyrinth, they then realized beastmen won''t even have a chance to live here with monsters that strong lurking there. So they decided to check the Grand Tree for any clues.


    "Leo-dono and Yue-dono, can you guys erase your presence as much as possible. We are wanted from beastmen so we would like to not found by them."


    A smile appeared on Leo''s face. "Alright, we are really good at hiding ourselves."


    He said and activated hide presence at a low level. Yue also used her magic to hide.


    "Ah! Yes, good."


    "Lead the way."


    The party stepped inside to see a dense fog almost instantly, limiting their sight.


    ''So this is the reason humans get lost here.''


    Cam still led them without hesitation. It was like he could see in this fog. Although it was not known why only demi-humans were able to understand their current location and accurately move around the Sea of Trees.


    While advancing, suddenly Cam and his tribe stopped and began to look around their surroundings. Leo and Yue also sensed the monsters surrounding them.


    Haulia tribe assumed what he thought as defensive formation. If it was normal, they''ll just escape with their ability, but they can''t do it now. Grim expressions appear on all of the tribe members.


    Leo was about to use his magic when Yue stopped him.The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.


    "Wind blade"


    A wind of blade shot forward and cut the head of a monkey like monster. It was 60 cm tall with four arms.


    "KIII?"


    The other monkey like monster screamed in panic before it was slashed in half by Yue wind blades.


    Two monsters moved separately from others. One tried to sneak attack a child and others charged toward Shia. She closed her eyes when she saw the sharp claws attacking her¡­ but nothing happened.


    She opened her eyes to see the monster encased in ice like a statue.


    "T-Thanks, Leo-san."


    "O-Onii-chan, thanks."


    He nodded his head curtly before walking toward Yue ignoring the stars in eyes of bot he saved. A gloomy look appeared on Shea face before a determined expression replaced it.


    Cam smiled gratefully then continued to guide them again. Some monsters still tried to attack them, but Yue took care of them in high spirits.


    After several hours, Cam suddenly halted. Leo and others also stopped.


    "What happened?"


    Every Haulia scratched their cheeks and avoided his gaze.


    "L-Leo-dono, it seems we arrived at the wrong time. Fog is very dense near Great Tree during this time of the month. Even beastmen get lost in that dense fog."


    Leo deadpanned hearing him. "So when will it clear?"


    "At least a week. Let''s go out before someone sees us here."


    He rolled his eyes at them. "Go ahead."


    He raised his fist a little to stop the giggling Vampire.


    The group arrived back outside in a few hours.


    He took out Drachen and caravans and searched for a place to spend the night.


    He parked in front of what looked like a natural cave.


    He entered the cave with others. The cave ceiling was quite high around ten meters. He covered his nose from the disgusting stench inside. His senses detected five presences here.


    "Yue, you sensed it?"


    "Nn."


    "Everyone get behind me, there are some monsters here!"


    Haulias trembled in fear before following him silently.


    Screech~


    The monsters also sensed the party and screeched in delight. They looked like a wyvern with two meters in length.


    ''Analyze''


    [Hyveria]


    Strength: 190


    Vitality: 300


    Defense: 250


    Agility: 250


    Magic: 230


    Magic Defense: 190


    ''Weak.''


    All of them charged at the party, he shook his head and used extreme focus. Time slowed around him, he couldn''t help but chuckle at comical expressions on Cam and other''s faces.


    He summoned the long ranged weapon. It gave the impression of a sci-fi gun because of its pointed tip like a sword with a small grip in the middle and a ball shaped red orb fixed behind it.


    He took aim at the Hyverias flying in slow motion and poured mana in it while activating ice breath. The orb glowed blue for a second and a tiny blue ball gathered at the tip and shot forward and blasted the head of a Hyveria into pieces.


    Pushing extreme focus skill to the limits, he blew every other Hyveria''s head. Their headless bodies crashed on the ground.


    He slapped his cheeks to shake off the dizzy feeling from overusing extreme focus.


    ''I can use it for nearly six seconds if I push myself. That''s a plus.''


    "...Yue, use wind magic to clear the area."


    "...Okay."


    He went ahead and harvested the mana crystals which sold for 150SP per Hyveria and stored their headless bodies in inventory.


    ''I hope it is tasty.''


    Cam stepped forward with a towel. "Here, Leo-sama."


    He nodded his head and looked at Yue using wind magic to clean the area. He also fixed green glowstones on walls to lighten up the cave.


    "Now we can stay here for a week."


    "Nn."


    He looked at Cam and asked, "What will you guys eat?"


    Cam sheepishly scratched his cheeks as he replied, "We''ll go and hunt something."


    He shook his head and took out his magic oven and stuffed it with meat. "Yue watch it, I''ll go out and hunt something," he looked at Cam. "Don''t drool at this, it''s a monster''s meat."


    "W-Won''t it kill you if you eat it?"


    Shea raised her hands and said, "Leo-san, I''ll also come!"


    "...Okay."


    He went out of the cave with a cheerful? Shea. He couldn''t comprehend her change, she was pretty depressed earlier.


    Shea eagerly sneaked glances at him. After seeing no response, she asked, "Leo-san, can you train me? I don''t want to stay weak anymore."


    Her question surprised him. He turned to her and answered with a serious expression, "...Ask Yue, she is the best teacher (Sadist), but be ready for some pain (Hellish one)"


    Her eyes shone with determination as she pumped her fist in the air. "I''ll do anything!"


    (Didn''t you say the same words to your Uncle.)


    ''Yeah¡­''


    He heard some rustling sound in the distance.


    "Stay here."


    He whispered and hid his presence and walked over to the sound. A bear munched on something behind a giant boulder. A nostalgic smile appeared on his face. He closed the distance with supersonic step and sucker punched the bear.,


    He carried the bear on his shoulder and made his way over to Shea, who blinked in surprise before a wide smile formed on her face.


    "It should be enough for today?" He asked while being unsure of the appetite of 41 people in her tribe.


    "Yes!"


    He went back to the cave and gave the bear to Haulias. They actually cried after killing the bear.


    ''These guys¡­ I need to do something about them.''


    He stuffed himself with not so tasty monster meat.


    [+1 Strength]


    [+2 Vitality]


    He took out a luxurious tent made of monster skin giving it uselessly high durability, it was enchanted with [Auto temperature].


    Haulias watched in anticipation as he set his tent.


    He glanced at them and took out seven tents for them.


    "Leo-dono, can you let Shea sleep with Yue-dono?"


    He turned to Shea who hid her face with bunny ears. Her cheeks blushed red in embarrassment.


    "Okay," Yue replied.


    He shrugged and went inside the tent to sleep.

 V2.C4 Shea is training, Shameless

    Midnight, Leo woke up hearing some whispers.


    "Okaa-san..."


    He looked at Shea''s face contorted in pain and fear. She was arranged to sleep a little further from the couple.


    He sighed and moved near her. Looking at her face, he put his hand on her bunny ears. His body relaxed unconsciously from the fluffy soft feeling in his hands.


    ''No wonder people capture them as slaves, these ears are¡ª''


    Something hit his stomach, he saw Shea hugging his waist with a smile on her face.


    He tried to release her iron grip without much force. He might break her arms if he used too much strength.


    ''I don''t care anymore,'' he thought and laid down beside her carefully to not disturb her.


    He deadpanned one last time and closed his eyes, ignoring the two soft things pressed on his waist.


    Morning, Shea woke up to feel something hard in her face, she sniffed unconsciously and smelled a familiar scent.


    ''This¡­ smells like Leo-san.''


    She noticed her hands latched onto him tightly. Thinking of it as a dream, she dozed off happily.


    Yue woke up and tried to hug Leo, but her hands met nothing. She opened her eyes and noticed him sleeping with Shea.


    A vein popped on her forehead. An idea appeared in her mind and her lips curled into a sadistic smile.


    She covered her hands in golden lighting. Even after being ready to share him, it hurt her heart a bit. She settled her resentments with the golden lightning at the cheating couple (in her eyes).


    "Ababababa!?"


    Shea released him and twitched on the ground.


    A numbing pain woke Leo up, he sat up and rubbed his eyes. "...A mosquito?"


    After shaking the drowsiness, h4 noticed the angry expression on Yue''s face.


    "...Why were you sleeping with her?"


    "Hehe~ How can I leave such a beautiful rabbit alone in the night?"


    He explained the actual situation with telepathy, he knew this woman was childish and prone to jealousy.


    Shea shot him a blaming look at Leo. "H-H-How c-can you do something like that? I-I won''t be able to m-marry now. Y-You need to take responsibility for sullying my innocence."


    The duo stared at her with dead eyes.


    "W-What, t-that''s not wrong, right?"


    Her change from lovable to shameless really surprised him but he didn''t forget to reply, "No!"


    Shea buried her face in her knees and started sobbing.


    ''Hehe~ I won''t let this chance go to waste,'' she thought.


    "O-Oi don''t cry here, go outside," Leo said.


    Shea cried harder in response. He looked at Yue and flashed a ''Help me'' look.


    "Hmph!" Yue turned her face and ignored him.


    ''Fuck, should I let her cry? Technically, it was her mistake not mine, but her tribe will regard me as a womanizer, even though I didn''t do anything.''Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.


    His face formed a helpless look as he said, "Fine, I''ll fulfill one of your wishes, if it''s within limits."


    Shea hurriedly raised her head and answered, "Take me with you!"


    "No!"


    "Hic, i-instant rejection, Uwah!"


    "Now I get it, you were¡­ messing with me," he said in a cold voice.


    Shea showed a somewhat furious look and said, "You always call me weak this and weak that. Then let me come with you if I can defeat Yue-chan."


    Yue glared at her coldly. "...Don''t call me Yue-chan. I am eighteen years old¡­"


    He ignored Yue''s blatant lie and looked at Shea. "Why do you want to come with us?"


    She replied with a smile, it was filled with sorrow and regret, taking them by surprise.


    "I don''t want to burden my tribe anymore. They nearly became slaves just to protect me. I have made them suffer enough just because of my existence."


    "Still y¡ª"


    "¡ªBesides, I think I can get along with Leo-san and Yue-san~"


    A vicious smile appeared on Yue''s face. "You think you can defeat me... I''ll allow you to come with us... if you can put a single scratch on me."


    ''Her useless pride got in the way of her rationality.''


    Shea ignored the smile on Yue''s face and raised her right hand in the air. "Bring it on!!!"


    "...I''ll make you regret it, stupid rabbit."


    Leo shook his head and walked out of the tent. He took the glass of water from Cam who stood there naturally.


    "Leo-sama, how is my daughter? She sure takes after her beautiful mother."


    He took out his beloved Desert Eagle and pressed its muzzle on Cam''s head. "So it was your idea?"


    He tilted the gun upwards and shot.


    Bang~


    A chunk of rubble fell on Cam''s head. Cam covered his bunny ears from loud sound.


    His lips curled into a murderous smile.


    "Gather everyone outside in an hour... I have a surprise for you all."


    Cam sweated bullets seeing the smile on his face. "...As you wish, Leo-sama."


    After eating breakfast, Leo went outside the cave. All adult Haulias stood there whispering something.


    He walked and stood in front of them with a solemn face and asked in a serious tone.


    "You Haulias consider yourself very skilled in Hiding and Tracking, right?"


    He saw every Haulia puffing their chest with pride.


    "Y-Yes, Leo-sama. We are unbeatable when it comes to hiding and tracking."


    "Oh, how about this?" he said and completely hid his presence.


    Haulias eyes opened wide, they couldn''t feel a bit of his presence, even their sensitive nose failed to catch a whiff of his scent.


    Leo undid his skill with a smirk. "Are you still best at hiding?"


    "NO!" they shouted together.


    "Do you still want to stay weak like this, so any random group comes and rape your wives and children? ¡­ Answer me, you pathetic weaklings!"


    "NO!!!"


    Haulias vigorous voice resounded through the area. His words made them recall the event of yesterday. A murderous look flashed on their face.


    "Do you want to become stronger so something like that won''t happen again?"


    "YES!!!"


    "What will you do when some messes with your family?"


    "...."


    "Twist your daggers in their throat," said Leo.


    "What will you do when someone looks at your family with lecherous eyes?"


    "Gouge their eyes out and castrate them," One woman replied with a bloodthirsty smile on her face.


    "Good. What will you do if you meet Imperial soldiers again?"


    """KILL!!!"""


    "Good, then I''ll reforge your body through training, but the pain will make you cry. So don''t piss your pants later. Do you agree?"


    "YES!"


    "Stop moaning like a whore and show some energy."


    """YES!!!"""


    "I''ll turn you weaklings into the best assassins in this world. Every nation will cower in fear from just your name."


    """PLEASE!!!"""


    "Let''s start with a 100km sprint around the mountains."


    """YES!!!"""


    Haulias seemingly replied on autopilot then understood the meaning of his words.


    He smirked seeing their bunny ears twitching in panic. "Start running already, you bunch of worthless rabbits."


    ''Acting like a villain is kinda fun.''


    Meanwhile, Shea was running in panic with hundreds of fireballs chasing after her. She had a bit of regret for the choice but some feelings overpowered the regret.


    Yue stood there with a sadistic smile on her face. "Fufu, you wanted to beat me and come with us? I won''t let you."


    Shea still heard it with her sharp hearing. "W-Why?"


    "...You are too weak," Yue stopped for a moment. "You won''t last a single move against our enemies."


    Shea suddenly stopped and let every fireball crash into her body. Her eyes didn''t waver in the least from the pain and stared directly in Yue blood-red eyes.


    "...Then I''ll become stronger. I won''t cry even if it breaks my bones," she bowed deeply. "So please teach me how to use my monsterous abilities."


    Yue didn''t expect this and stood still for a moment.


    "... ¡­ So you can talk big. Fine¡­ I''ll make you a monster if that''s your wish."


    "Yes! Make me a true monster capable of helping Leo-san."


    Shea''s request made her training ten times harder.

 V2.C5 Annoyed Yue

    Leo eyed the Haulias corpses lying all over the ground.


    "Break time is over!"


    One of them stood in terror. "B-But we Gugh!"


    A wind bullet hit his stomach and he collapsed on the ground with a pained face.


    "No excuses."


    He felt a bit bad for them but he won''t be here to help them forever. He did save them selfishly so he''d see this through till the end. But their innately kind nature created a barrier for him to overcome.


    He noticed Yue coming with Shea peeking her head from behind her. It was strange to see a 160cm girl hiding behind a 140cm girl.


    "What happened to her? On a second thought forget it. I''ll go train Haulias in Raisen Gorge," he said with telepathy.


    "...Okay"


    He took out caravans from inventory and dumped the rabbit corpses inside and drove off the Drachen toward Reisen Gorge.


    "...Yue-san, let me rest¡­"


    "So you lied before¡­ you bring shame to your mother."


    "Don''t bring my mom into this or I-"


    Yue with a disdainful smirk, asked, "I what?"


    Shea gritted her teeth. "I''ll kick your ass. You flat-chested woman."


    Yue hung her head, her bangs covering her expression. Golden lightning covered her petite body.


    "...Any last words."


    Shea cowered in fear but still squeezed out her last wish. "I don''t wanna die as a virgin! So give me Leo-san for a day~"


    "Even I didn''t do it yet," Yue whispered.


    Shea eyed Yue with a haughty expression. "I think Leo-san likes big boobs~ Didn''t you see how tightly he hugged me last night?"


    She hugged her own boobs tightly to emphasize them. A vein popped on Yue''s forehead.


    "Die!"


    That day Shea painful screams echoed through the mountains, making nearby monsters shiver in fear.


    ***


    Leo after sensing some weak monsters nearby stopped Drachen.


    "Time for hunting!"


    Haulias came out of the caravans and started scanning the place warily.


    He pointed at a monster, which was two meters in length with Razor-sharp teeth peeked from its mouth.


    "Go and kill that thing."


    Cam gulped audibly in fear. "B-Barehanded? We can''t hope to kill it."


    "You need a weapon to kill that weak monster?"


    He asked in a cold voice, completely immersed in his villain act.


    "O-Okay, we''ll try."


    "Just treat it as one of the imperial soldiers and don''t even bother to show your sorry asses to me if you can''t kill that monster."


    "YES!"


    Every Haulia eyes beamed with determination while women had ferocious expressions on their faces.


    ''The women don''t ever want to go through that again.''


    He watched as Haulia charged barehanded, some still had the dagger he gave them. It was a B-Rank Weapon, enough to kill a monster on the 40th upper floor of Orcus Labyrinth.


    Cam and two others lured the monster under a high cliff. Four Haulias climbed the cliff and pushed a heavy rock on the head of Raptor.


    The Raptor was stunned, giving Haulias the opportunity to leap and stab its head. The Raptor tried to shake them off with its weak body.


    Hauliad backed off and surrounded it cautiously. More monsters tried to approach, but Leo sniped them from the distance.


    Haulias finally took down the Raptor. The women had a scary expression like they killed their archnemesis while some of the men were¡­ crying as they dismantled the Raptor.


    ''These guys¡­''


    He sniped a few animals and ordered some men to bring them. Storing everything in inventory, he drove Drachen back to the cave.


    Yue greeted him with a bright smile, Shea laid there in clothing which was nothing better than being naked. Glimpses of her parts were exposed for the world to see.Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.


    "Oya youth¡­" "Oh my, First wife setting mistress on the right path." "My Shea has grown up."


    His brows twitched at their reaction. ''Bastards look at her, she is lying there half-dead and you have time to gossip about this stuff.''


    He waved his hand at the teary-eyed Shea and threw one of his shirts at her and prepared a luxurious meal from... monster meat.


    He took out a bear corpse and tossed it at Haulias while reminding them. "Go and eat your fill, tomorrow will be a hard day."


    Their bunny ears drooped down, which garnered a distressed look from Shea. Haulias shook their heads and accepted their fate.


    Shea changed into a long shirt and left upper buttons open which exposed her cleavage. She came over and sat beside him with a sweet smile.


    "Leo-san, check my stats."


    ''Analyze''


    [Shea Haulia]


    Level 22


    Age: 16 Female


    Race: Rabbit


    Job: Diviner


    Strength: 44


    Vitality: 55


    Defense:45


    Agility: 65


    Magic: 1550


    Magic Defense:1600


    Skills: [Future Sight] [+Automatic Activation] [+Branching Paths] [+Prophetic Vision]  ¡ª [Mana Manipulation] [+Body Strengthening] [+Partial Strengthening]


    ''Impressive, she leveled up twice in a day. Yue really pushed her that much.''


    "You worked hard, you are much stronger than yesterday."


    She leaned on his shoulder and sobbed. "Hic, thank you, Leo-san."


    He knew she wasn''t acting, she was really crying. He sighed and patted her head.


    "...I''m sure you can do it."


    She closed her eyes with a smile. "Umm."


    Yue looked at them with a gentle look in their eyes. She thought of Shea as annoying but respected at the same time.


    "What do you think about her?" he asked Yue with telepathy.


    "Her affinity with body strengthening is monstrous... She can become like us if trained well."


    His mouth opened wide in surprise. This random girl they met had so much potential.


    "Don''t push her too far."


    "...I know."


    ''I still need to learn [Body Strengthening] from Yue, using 10000SP to learn it is a waste.''


    ***


    Next Morning, Leo woke up to notice something heavy on his chest. He thought it was Yue but she was very light compared to the weight on his chest. He opened his eyes to see Shea arms wrapped around his chest. Drool leaked from the corner of her mouth, wetting his shirt.


    He smirked and covered his body with blood-red lightning.


    "Abababababa!?"


    She jolted away and twitched on the ground.


    Yue also woke up and rubbed her eyes in confusion.


    Shea glared at him with a ''Why did you do it?'' look on her face.


    "Who gave you permission to sleep on my chest? Didn''t you sleep with your tribe yesterday?"


    She turned her head to the side. "I-I must have sleep walked here."


    He deadpanned at her lame excuse.


    "...You worthless rabbit with saggy boobs. Storm Gust."


    A sudden gust of wind took Shea away with it. The tent didn''t even shake thanks to its uselessly high durability and enchantments.


    Yue wiped an imaginary bead of sweat from her brow and crawled to his lap. She only had a loose white shirt to cover her body.


    "I want to..."


    He cut her off with a quick peck on her lips.


    "Just tell me if you feel lonely, I''m always here."


    She kissed him in response and tried to probe for his tongue. He laughed in his mind and ignored her.


    She released him with a frown. He kissed her again and forced his tongue inside her mouth. He put his hands on her modest breasts and squeezed them gently.


    "Nnnh!!!"


    "W-W-What a-are you doing in the m-morning?"


    Too bad someone interrupted them. They both stared blankly at Shea, who blushed heavily at the kiss.


    Yue ignored her and kissed him again.


    "D-D-Don''t do it in front of me or let me join in too"


    "...Get out! You perverted rabbit! Storm Gust!"


    Another storm took Shea away with it.


    "Let''s do it later, I still have to train them," said Leo.


    "...Fine."


    Cam greeted him with a glass of water.


    "Here, Leo-sama."


    "Since when did you become my butler?"


    Cam bowed deeply. "The moment you saved my tribe from that hell... I still am grateful for the things you are doing for us," he raised his head and smiled. "Besides, you are my future son-in-law."


    He showed a bitter smile and said, "Stop pushing Shea on me."


    "But Leo-sama she really likes you," Cam retorted politely.


    "I should increase your training, you can''t fail as my butler, right?" Leo grinned and patted Cam''s shoulder.


    Cam bunny ears sagged down in dejection.


    ''Why am I eating this shit after coming out of Abyss? Haulias don''t have any spices to make it taste better.''


    He thought while chewing on the Raptor''s leg.


    ''[Mystery Shop] is still frozen, I need to collect SP for [Chains of Heaven]. But it won''t work on Ehit according to Jen. That bastard is not an actual God. Just an ancient human with powers. Hmm¡­ will [Chains of Heaven] work on someone on the level of Entity?''


    (No. She also has her own version of it.)


    ''The guys I met in Soul Room?''


    (Somewhat... They are not divine beings in the first place.)


    ''Are they that strong?''


    (Just one rank below the Entity.)


    ''One Rank? Where do they actually live? Heaven?''


    (.....)


    ''What happened to you today? Telling me all this information without SP.''


    He mentally said in a sarcastic voice.


    (.....)


    ''Those guys¡­ I saw are in a different league of their own. I felt like an ant in front of them. What kind of Destiny bullshit they were spouting? Even Ehit is supposed to amount to nothing in front of them, when that bastard actually has the power to do anything here.''


    (.....)


    ''Still silent, eh? Where is your ''I can''t tell you now'' excuse that you use every time? Even with all this power I''m nothing in front of a God and my fate seems to be already decided by them which I presume is something I can''t deny.''


    Leo was losing his patience thinking about what those guys will do to him or his family.


    (...I''m sorry. But please believe me, I''ll never do anything that will harm you.)


    Jen replied in a low voice.


    [Magic +1]


    [Agility +2]


    He shook his head with a helpless expression and started walking to the exit of the cave.


    ''Forget it. Just don''t ever hide the important stuff from me.''


    (...Okay¡­ Thanks.)


    He stopped in his tracks and stared at Shea lying in a corner like a corpse.