Chapter 244: Chapter 243

Thud—!

In the middle of the pure white land, Baran's massive, headless body collapsed.

Flare!

The Demon King's soul, his head completely blown off by the Breath of Destruction, was engulfed in crimson flames and began to boil.

Whoosh—!

Steam, the Demon King's energy, rose from there in droplets and was sucked into Suho's body. The result was astonishing.

[Level Up!]

[Level Up!]

[Level Up!]

[...]

[Level Up!]

[Level Up!]

[Level Up!]

[...]

"Wh-what is this?" Suho couldn't help but be bewildered.

A feast of tremendous level-ups that he had never experienced before! He could feel his strength increasing in real-time. And it wasn't just his level that was rising.

Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding!

[Level of Skill: 'Storm of Black Flames' has increased.]

[Level of Skill: 'Giant's Armor' has increased.]

[Level of Skill: 'Martial Arts' has increased.]

[Level of Skill: 'Tenacity' has increased.]

[Level of Skill: 'Dual Wield' has increased.]

[...]

It was truly amazing. Seeing Suho's impressed expression, the Dragon King smirked and replied,

[What else would it be? Baran is experiencing what he tried to do to you, in reverse.]

Baran tried to devour Suho and absorb all the high-quality nutrients contained in his soul. But in the end, it was Baran himself who was devoured.

[Baran was a soul that started as a resident of the gap and became the Demon King. All the nutrients contained in that soul are now being absorbed by you.]

Originally, there was no way a mere human could absorb the power of a Monarch created from the Primordial Darkness. However, the level-up system created by Kandiaru was designed to allow a weak human to accept the 'power of death.' There was no reason why the masterpiece, which could even accept the power of the Shadow Monarch, couldn't handle the power of the 'mere' Monarch of White Flames.

[Tsk. A damn memory surfaced.]

If the level-up system didn't exist, the second Shadow Monarch, Sung Jinwoo, wouldn't have been born, and he wouldn't have suffered that humiliating defeat. Antares, suddenly recalling the memory of the day he was defeated by Sung Jinwoo, gritted his teeth as he looked at Suho's face, which greatly resembled his damn father's. All the Monarchs died, and with the Shadow Monarch's victory, all wars ended. But...

[Sigh.]

[Well, it doesn't matter now.] Antares soon chuckled.

Yes.

What did it matter?

Since when did he care about other Monarchs?

He was Antares.

The 'first Monarch' and the 'strongest Monarch' born from the Primordial Darkness.

That meant he had experienced countless victories and defeats in the war against the Rulers that had never ended since the beginning of time.

Death?

Defeat?

What did they matter?

'The war will never end anyway.'

Because Antares was the first Monarch, he was the one who fought most fiercely and for the longest time in the midst of that cruel and endless battlefield. That's why the most important thing to him wasn't the victory or defeat in the war. Even death wasn't something scary. There was only one thing he feared.

'Not being able to fight again' Hellfire blazed in Antares' chuckling eyes.

[I don't care as long as I can fight again.]

That's right. He was the king who reigned over all dragons, a being who symbolized fear and destruction. He was simply frustrated that he could no longer go out and fight on the battlefield filled with blood and screams because he had died. But not anymore...

[Now that I have been resurrected like this, I can fight again.] The Dragon King's lips curled up as he looked at Suho.

[So, is that damn level-up over?]

"Yes." Suho nodded, and Antares could see his status window.

[Level: 122]

[Tsk.] Antares clicked his tongue with a dissatisfied expression.

[You've become quite strong, but you're still weak. You're insignificant compared to your father.]

Truly insignificant. Probably because he was a dead soul, even after absorbing the entire Demon King, he had only grown this much.

[It seems like it's because Kandiaru ripped off Baran's spiritual body and created a replica to raise your father... Well, if it weren't for that, you wouldn't have been able to defeat Baran so easily.]

But this was only from his perspective. The Dragon King Antares was a rival who had competed with Sung Jinwoo for decades, so he knew Shadow Monarch's power better than anyone. That's why it was only natural that no matter how strong Suho became, it wouldn't satisfy him. Suho also knew this fact, so he could sense that there was a considerable amount of praise mixed in Antares' harsh criticism. He chuckled and asked him,

"But I passed the trial, right?"

[...Well, a promise is a promise.] Antares waved his hand as if he was reluctant.

Ding!

[You have met the completion conditions for Job Change Quest: 'Dragon King's Trial-3'.]

A quest completion window popped up before Suho's eyes.

[Quest completion reward has arrived.]

[Would you like to check the reward?]

[Y/N]

"Check reward! Accept!" Suho snatched the reward as if he had been waiting. And then something strange happened.

Ding!

"...?!"

Suddenly, Suho's inventory opened on its own, and the Item: 'Javier Soulstone' that was quietly placed inside popped out.

[Item: Javier Soulstone]

[Acquisition Difficulty: ??]

𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

[Type: Gem]

[A gem made by compressing a magic spirit.]

"Ah, Father?" Suho's eyes widened.

But despite his expectations, what happened last time didn't repeat itself.

– Just in case, put it in your inventory.

Sung Jinwoo's illusion had placed various magical devices on the soul of the demonic spirit named Javier in preparation for when Suho met the Dragon King. And unlike the decisive battle with the Dragon King... This time, it spat out something completely different instead of Sung Jinwoo's illusion.

Flash!

A tremendous energy erupted from the soulstone, swirling and compressing to a high density.

What appeared were two daggers.

"This is...?" Suho was mesmerized and grabbed the weapons with both hands.

His main weapons, Item: 'Vulcan's Horns,' had been shattered by Baran. The fact that a new weapon appeared at the perfect timing felt like Sung Jinwoo's illusion had prepared it for this moment. But...

Grit!

[...This crazy bastard!] The moment he confirmed the identity of the daggers that appeared before Suho, Antares couldn't help but explode in extreme irritation.

[Item: Kamish's Wrath (Damaged)]

[Acquisition Difficulty: ??]

[Type: Dagger]

[Attack Power +1,500 (-1,000)]

[The sharpest fang among the dragon's teeth.]

[Crafted into the finest dagger by the hands of a master craftsman.]

[Its sharpness is unmatched, and its sensitivity to mana is also outstanding]

[Which can make it much more powerful depending on the user's ability.]

[However, the blade is currently dull due to numerous battles.]

A long description. The identity of that weapon was none other than Kamish's Wrath, which Sung Jinwoo used as his main weapon during his long battle with the Dragon King...

Antares felt as if Sung Jinwoo's illusion was waving at him with a grin from somewhere far away in the universe.

"If it's Kamish, could it be Ragnar's...?"

Grit!

The Dragon King couldn't help but grind his teeth even more at Suho's gaze, which suddenly turned to him.

[How far are you going to mock me, you damn bastard!]

But regardless, Suho couldn't help but be astonished by the attack power of the item in his hand.

'Is this for real?'

This was crazy.

'1,500? Just the attack power?'

The base attack power was 1,500 without any modifiers! Unfortunately, it was reduced to '+500' because the blade was quite dull. But still, this was amazing. Suho checked the information of the Item: 'Vulcan's Horns' he had been carrying. Although the blade was completely shattered by Baran, leaving only the hilt, he could still check the stats.

[Item: Vulcan's Horns (Damaged)]

[Acquisition Difficulty: ??]

[Type: Sword]

[Attack Power +40 (-40)]

[A sword made from the horns of the greedy demon Vulcan.]

[Inflicts more damage with Vulcan's power imbued within.]

[However, it is completely destroyed and cannot be used as a weapon.]

[Effect 'Destruction Desire': Increases physical damage by [300%].]

[Effect 'Demon Devourer': Vulcan's power grows stronger as it devours demon souls.]

Gulp.

'...It's embarrassing to even compare.'

Attack power 40. Even with the option that tripled the attack power, it was only 120. And even that was an effect that only increased physical damage. But Kamish's Wrath, even with a dull blade, had a base attack power of 500, so it was almost shameful to compare the two. Besides, it wasn't just the attack power that was outstanding.

'Excellent mana sensitivity?'

Mana was magic power. To see what it meant to have excellent mana sensitivity, Suho immediately channeled his magic power into the dagger. And then...

Whir—

The dagger 'Kamish's Wrath' trembled as if greeting its new owner. And at the same time, black-red aura began to blaze from the entire weapon, flowing from Suho's hand.

Flare!

'It's Kamish's Fang... It's reacting to the Dragon King's Heart.'

It wasn't just the aura that was changing. The weight of the dagger that had been filling his hand disappeared in an instant. Like magic... The dagger became lighter than a feather.

"Wow..."

A weapon which weight could be freely adjusted according to the user's will. Suho's heart pounded as he gripped the handle.

Thump! Thump!

He wanted to fight with this dagger.

He wanted to wield this dagger.

He didn't know if it was the dagger's will or his own, but...

According to that will, the system responded.

Ding! Ding!

[Skill: 'Dual Wield' is upgraded to Skill: 'Advanced Dagger Mastery'.]

[Learned Skill: 'Vital Strike Lv.1'.]

"Hmm?" Suho couldn't help but have a puzzled expression.

The skill suddenly changed on its own. As if asking him to use daggers from now on. Suho couldn't help but chuckle, feeling as if he could hear his father's voice from somewhere.

"Daggers aren't really my style... but with a dagger like this..." Antares gritted his teeth at that sight.

[That damn bastard...]