Chapter 265: The Vampire King, Desmond (1)

Submitting to stronger monsters was the way of the monster ecosystem, and this was especially true in places where a powerful boss reigned, like a dungeon. Led by a formidable entity, the monsters of a dungeon were more organized than field monsters. However, the wave of mutated ghouls surging toward Kai and his party were somewhat unusual.

These guys have no sense of unity whatsoever. Why is that?

They simply charged like beasts, drooling, their eyes red. There was no trace of order in their movements. Because of this, they fit the description of a wave of monsters perfectly. The way they trampled over their allies’ shoulders and heads to get to the humans made them look like a tsunami.

“Balter, we have to hold out,” Kai said.

“Damn it, damn it!”

In this situation with psychological pressure of having the entire front view filled with mutated ghouls, any normal player would have been trembling.

But instead, Balter furrowed his brows and shouted, “Alright, come try and get past me, you cockroach bastards!”

Once again, his mana barrier split the clearing precisely in half and shielded the party. Above it, the mutated ghouls’ body slams exploded. Their claws scraped against the mana barrier, creating eerie noises.

“

Kugh

, damn!”

It sounded as unpleasant as fingernails scraping a chalkboard. Fortunately, however, the barrier showed strong resistance against cutting and slashing attacks.

“

Kieeek!

”

“Human, human! Human!”

“Eat... looks delicious!”

That was the reason why the monsters of

MID Online

, known for their advanced AI, had changed their attack method. They began using their tough heads and shoulders.

Thud, thud. Thud!

Even as blood flowed from their heads crashing into the barrier and their shoulder bones shattered, the mutated ghouls continued to slam into the barrier as if they had lost all sense of pain.

“Th-this is insane...! The barrier’s durability is melting away! It’d be better to push them back by charging now!”

At Balter’s cry, Kai coldly stared at the mutated ghouls beyond the barrier and muttered, “Not yet. Hold out a little longer.”

“Fuck, don’t you see how many monsters there are?! Normally, this would have required at least three tanks!”

“Still no. Not yet... Just a little longer.”

“

Argh

...!”

Balter bit his lip tightly, planting both feet and his shield into the ground like iron stakes. Even so, his body had been steadily pushed backward.

The mutated ghouls’ headbutts and shoulder charges were as powerful as a siege engine breaking down a castle gate. But Kai kept repeating the same words like a machine.

“Kai! I also think we should push them back by charging and clean this up now...!”

𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

“Not yet! Just wait a little longer!”

Watching Balter on the verge of collapsing, Seol Eun-Yeong spoke up, but Kai remained firm.

Just a little more, just a little more.

He was desperately waiting for one single moment. The one instant when he could topple the tower of mutated ghouls in front of him. Kai’s eyes glowed, finally witnessing something.

“

Kireuuk?

”

“The front is... blocked...”

“Move, move! I want to eat humans too!”

On the opposite side of the clearing, the only entrance, the steady influx of mutated ghouls suddenly came to a stop.

It’s time.

Thanks to Balter’s relentless endurance, the clearing had become so densely packed with mutated ghouls that there was no room left to step. Their numbers reached a staggering one thousand.

Kai looked at the tower of mutated ghouls letting out eerie screams and shouted, “Now! Push them back!”

Seol Eun-Yeong, Yoo Ha-Rin, and Kai immediately placed their hands on Balter’s back, channeling their strength into him. With the support of his comrades, Balter mustered every ounce of his strength and lifted his foot off the ground. His foot trembled midair, unable to advance forward, but only for a moment.

Then, a thunderous roar erupted from Balter’s mouth, shaking the entire clearing. “

Aghhhhhh!

”

At the same time, his suspended leg stepped forward. The first step was always the hardest. Gaining momentum, Balter surged forward like an unstoppable bull.

“Barrier Strike!”

Whoooom!

The blue barrier made of mana began to glow white. At the same time, it bulldozed through the mutated ghouls, who had been relentlessly attacking it. Whenever Balter’s strength wavered, Kai swung his sword from behind, sending powerful slashes of wind to assist. As a result...

“

K-kiieeeek!

”

“M-my body is stuck!”

“Back up! Back up!”

“Th-there’s no space!

Ahhhh!

”

“The passage is too narrow!”

Driven solely by their greed to devour humans, the mutated ghouls had crammed themselves into the narrow space. There was no way for them to escape the clearing. The only available passage was just wide enough for two ghouls to pass through side by side, but the ones pushed back by Balter’s Barrier Strike had completely blocked that exit.

“Well done. You did great.” Kai patted Balter’s shoulder armor.

Balter, looking as if he had aged two weeks in that brief moment, stared at Kai.

Kai... So this was the strategy he had planned?

Of course. The mutated ghouls we fought earlier specialized in speed and claw attacks.

By dividing this open space in two and filling the other half with mutated ghouls... he nullified both their attack options and their ability to dodge. He caught both birds with one stone.

This proved that the wave of monsters Kai had triggered was no spontaneous idea.

“Spring of Restoration.”

Kai placed four Spring of Restorations behind Balter and said, “Now, let’s begin.”

With those brief words, Kai launched into action. However, what he started was not a mere hunt. It was pure slaughter.

Slash, slash!

With every swing of Kai’s sword, arms, legs, or even heads of the mutated ghouls were severed. They struggled desperately to avoid him, but there was no room to dodge.

The same was true for Yoo Ha-Rin and Seol Eun-Yeong.

Crunch, slash, splatter, splatter!

They showcased their skills without hesitation, slashing the helpless mutated ghouls. Their attacks were as fluid as fish in water, swiftly reducing the enemy numbers. As a result, radiant lights continuously burst in the clearing.

“Oh, Jesus! Was

MID Online

always this fun? Faaantastic!”

Michael’s body emitted a bright glow approximately every two seconds. Balter, whose level was comparatively higher, shone roughly once every twenty seconds. It was a true frenzy of level-ups!

Damn, this XP gain is amazing.

Even Kai, the highest-level member of the party, had gained two levels in that short span of time.

It only took about twenty-three minutes to eliminate all one thousand mutated ghouls that had filled the clearing.

“N-No way...” Balter’s shield trembled in his grasp.

Just a few hours ago, he had been level 287, and now he was a level 318 ranker.

I-is this real?

He removed his helmet and slapped his cheek, but the pain system was functioning normally. In other words, this wasn’t a dream.

But even this...

Balter turned his head.

Thirty-one levels up was undoubtedly an astonishing rate of growth, but it wasn’t much in comparison to Michael. Michael had surged from level 177 to level 242—an increase of sixty-five levels.

Even Seol Eun-Yeong had gone from 322 to 335, and Yoo Ha-Rin had climbed four levels from 357 to 361.

“

Whew

, nice and clean.”

The floor shimmered with countless loot left behind by the mutated ghouls, and Kai casually went through them, checking their information.

Seeing his composed demeanor, Balter yelled, “Hey! W-why are you so calm? Shouldn’t you be, I don’t know... a little more excited?”

“

Hm?

Why would I?”

“Well... you leveled up twice too.”

“It’s not like I went from second to first place. It’s just maintaining the status quo.”

“Wait, don’t tell me you always hunt like this, do you?”

“Something like that,” Kai vaguely responded with a smile.

The remaining four party members instinctively understood.

This guy... Now I see why people accused him of being a bugged player.

A completely irrational, rule-breaking playstyle... Even witnessing it firsthand, I still can’t believe it.

How Kai had managed to surpass countless rankers and claim the throne of number one was not simply a matter of having a hidden class.

To them, Kai was someone who easily ignored existing rules, a true rule breaker.

“Well then, why aren’t the rest of them coming?” Kai turned his gaze toward the entrance of the clearing.

There, the mutated ghouls that had failed to enter earlier were standing frozen. Yet, none of them dared to step forward.

K-kieeek. That human is crazy.

Kieeek, that human is a lunatic.

Going in means death!

The reason monsters obeyed the strong was simple—defying them meant death. They were beings sensitive to death, and the only thought dominating their minds was that entering clearing meant dying.

But suddenly, something exploding behind them was heard. It was like the sound of a drum being torn apart, or a paintbrush soaked in thick paint flinging streaks in all directions.

“

K-kieeeek!

”

“It’s Shardan!”

The mutated ghouls turned their fearful gazes back and forth between the entrance and whatever was behind them.

Then, a booming voice erupted from behind them. “Enter. Go in and tear the adventurers apart! Drink their blood, and feast on their flesh! Cowards will die by my hand!”

Is that the boss?

Kai smiled. He had stirred up the house enough, and now the owner had come rushing out.

“It’s the boss,” Seol Eun-Yeong said as she watched a muscular ghoul, twice the size of the others, step into the clearing.

“Level 390... Just saying this in advance, but I can’t block that. It’s not that I don’t want to—I literally can’t,” Balter shook his head, declaring his surrender.

It wasn’t because he lacked determination. His character’s stats were simply far too inadequate.

“Don’t worry. I at least have that much common sense in me.”

“

Oh?

So you did have that?” Balter scoffed, raising his shield. “I can’t handle that boss, but I can at least keep the mobs occupied.”

“Alright. Seol Eun-Yeong, please assist Balter in dealing with the mutated ghouls.”

She briefly glanced at Yoo Ha-Rin and the boss monster, Shardan, before giving a nod. “Understood.”

Like Balter, she knew she wasn’t at a level where she could take on the boss.

“Yoo Ha-Rin, you and I will handle that thing.”

Yoo Ha-Rin nodded in response.

The Striker and Winger simultaneously launched themselves forward.

At the same time, Balter drew the monsters’ aggro and retreated to the back. “Taunt!”

Shardan. The King of Rotten Corpses.

The moment Kai saw the dark, dirty claws at the tips of Shardan’s fingers, a system notification appeared.

Ding!

[Poison Master skill activated.]

[Analyzing...]

[Poison analysis complete.]

[Corpse Poison]

Rank: Unique

A poison imbued in the claws of Shardan, the ghoul king who has defied death and feasted on humans for ages.

Merely brushing against the skin causes poisoning, and the victim’s health drains rapidly.

Rarity: ★★★★

Toxicity: ★★★★★

Poison, huh.

If the opponent had been anyone other than himself, it certainly would be a deadly poison.

And its weakness is obvious.

Kai put his sword back into its sheath and summoned the Holy Sword. The weapon switch was completed in the blink of an eye.

“How dare you come here... This is no place for lowly humans to set foot—”

“Final Attack.”

Final Attack was a one-hit kill skill that completely ignored the opponent’s defense. However, the skill’s target was neither Shardan’s head nor his heart.

Crunch!

“

Hm...?!

”

Both of Shardan’s wrists, still attached to his arms just moments ago, were now soaring through the air. His eyes widened in disbelief.

Kai calmly observed his expression before commanding Yoo Ha-Rin, “Your turn.”

Yoo Ha-Rin shot forward like a lightning bolt, her sword piercing straight through Shardan’s heart.