Dungeon Predator

The jet-black energy, which had flowed in every direction, was sucked back into the blade.

The demon sword soon calmed down.

From first glance, the sword looked unchanged.

However, the sword's master, Kang Oh, was able to ascertain the changes it had undergone.

The plume of darkness, which had misted off from the blade like smoke, was gone. Instead, the blade had become an even darker shade of black.

"What's the matter all of a sudden?" Darion asked.

He couldn't help but be curious. Just a second ago the sword had raged, yet it soon calmed down.

"The demon sword has grown stronger now," Kang Oh curtly said and opened the magic sword's item window.

[Demon Sword Ubist (Lv31/+1)]

The sword where Ubist, the King of Demonic Beasts and the Abyss Predator, was sealed.

A refined darkness resides within the blade. It is made of an unknown alloy. 

Untradable.

If you die, there is a high chance that the demon sword will either drop, or you will become a monster under the demon sword's thrall for 24 hours. 

+ Predator: Eats any and all items. When it is completely sated, the demon sword will become stronger and gain special abilities.

[Satiation: 0.01%]

+ Gluttony: By consuming a BB-rank item or higher, all abilities double for a limited time and enters a Gluttony state.

Steals stats from fallen enemies when in the Gluttony state. This feature can only be used once a day.

+ Abyss Blade: A jet-black blade made of darkness. It is capable of cutting those with an ethereal form like ghosts or spirits. 

May absorb magic coming towards you once every 30 seconds. If magic is absorbed, satiation increases. (+1 reinforcement ability)

Rank: SS

Abilities: Attack Power 80, Physical +16.

Conditions: Clearing the Trial of the Demon Sword.

Abyss Blade!

He could cut spirits or ghosts with it and it allowed him to absorb magic as well.

For Kang Oh, who currently needed to face off against Skeleton Mages, it was truly a useful special ability.

Now he didn't need to fear magic.

"You're all dead."

Kang Oh set his sword over his shoulder and walked forward commandingly.

A fireball came flying at him.

Come on!

Kang Oh rushed towards the fireball and simultaneously swung the demon sword.

The fireball swirled around and was sucked into the sword!

[Ubist is absorbing the fireball. Satiation has increased by 0.02%.]

Kang Oh rushed forward and swung his sword downwards, whacking the Skeleton Mage's head.

Darkness Strike!

Koong!

The huge pressure and shock caused the Skeleton Mage to shake. Then, the Skeleton Mage was reduced to bone pieces.

[You have defeated a Skeleton Mage.]

[Stats have been stolen through Darkness Strike.]

[Magic +1]

Kang Oh stared at the demon sword and grinned.

'As expected of an SS-rank masterpiece.'

Abyss Blade increased the speed at which he defeated mages at an astonishing rate.

It was because the fireball spell that the Skeleton Mages used could be absorbed by his demon sword.

"They are coming," Darion yelled.

As he said, there were two Skeleton Warriors approaching.

Kang Oh, who had been peacefully looking at his demon sword, was snapped out of his reverie by Darion's voice. 

Although the Skeleton Mages were no longer an issue, he still needed to do his very best to defeat the Skeleton Warriors.

"Come here, you experience points!"

Since they yielded such a huge amount of experience points he treated them as such.

* * * 

Kang Oh explored and hunted within He Who Defies Death, Eder's Secret Laboratory, for three days.

'That's the only place that's left.'

The only place he hadn't explored was a passageway protected by four Skeleton Warriors and two Skeleton Mages.

It was likely that the dungeon's master was waiting for him within.

And...

A huge fortune awaited him as well!

Of course, he needed to take care of the four Skeleton Warriors and two Skeleton Mages first.

"I'll take care of the mages. You take care of the warriors," Kang Oh said.

"I will take care of the mages, so please take care of the warriors, Sir Kang Oh," Darion said.

"I can absorb their magic, so I'm faster at taking them down!"

It was the rational and correct choice, but Darion shook his head.

"The four Skeleton Warriors are harder to deal with than the two mages. You are stronger than me, so you should take care of them," Darion said, unwilling to back down.

"You're a higher level than me!"

"You beat me in the duel!"

"I'm your employer!"

Kang Oh used the last trick up his sleeve.

"I'm not doing it. Do what you want."

Darion was going on strike!

Kang Oh and Darion stared at each other intensely.

Darion's eyes were combatative.

For the past few days, Darion had gone through all sorts of abuse and had been worked like a horse, so all he had left was spite.

'The next time I form a contract, I need to remember to add in an obedience clause.'

He wasn't sure if Darion would renew his contract, but that's what he'd do if the opportunity arose. He then came up with a new offer.

"Let's decide through rock-paper-scissors!"

"Alright."

* * *

"Uuak!" Darion yelled, as he dragged the Skeleton Warriors with him.

'It doesn't matter. You're still Darion.'

Kang Oh was obviously the winner of rock-paper-scissors.

"We'll see!" Darion yelled. 

That's a line villains say.

"Now then."

With Darion acting as bait, the Skeleton Warriors had been drawn away from the mages.

Kang Oh rushed towards the Skeleton Mages.

Then, the two mages unleashed fireballs at him.

Fireballs were coming from the left and right!

Kang Oh cut through the right-sided fireball and approached the respective mage.

Boong!

Kang Oh swung his sword; his sword cleaved through the air and struck the mage's head.

The mage spun from top down like a spinning top.

Kang Oh continued his assault.

He'd ascertained its weakness with his Hyper Intuition and hacked away at the defenseless mage.

Red shards exploded from its body!

The mage couldn't withstand his assault.

The other Skeleton Mage soon met the same fate and returned to its grave.

"Sir Kang Oh!"

Once he was finished killing the mages, he heard Darion anxiously calling for him.

"I'm coming!"

Kang Oh rushed over to Darion, who was surrounded by the four Skeleton Warriors.

A while later, they defeated the last of the Skeleton Warriors.

"Heok, heok."

Darion gasped for breath. 

That had been a close one. It felt like he'd narrowly escaped death twice in a row.

Of course, that only referred to Darion.

In any case, the path leading to the boss was now open.

"Would you stop panting? Let's go kill the boss!"

Being considerate towards Darion was a luxury. Kang Oh dragged Darion with him.

'He Who Defies Death, Eder.'

What kind of guy is he!?

* * *

It was a giant hall.

Once they entered the hall, a shadow was cast and a giant fist came flying towards them.

The two quickly threw themselves out of the way and evaded the fist.

Kwang!

Once the fist struck the ground, the earth shook and dust flew everywhere.

Koong!

Koong!

A golem, formed of countless bones, pushed through the dust cloud and approached them.

Its fists were huge, its forearms were thick, and its body was a square shape; though its legs were as thick as pillars, they were short. 

It didn't possess a head, but the pattern on its square torso was shaped like a face.

It was none other than the boss monster, He Who Defies Death, Eder!

It probably wasn't higher than level 100.

"Be careful of its fists," Kang Oh said to Darion and swung his sword at Eder.

Peok!

Kang Oh's blade passed right through Eder's body, causing bones to pour out. 

Eder stamped on the area where Kang Oh had just been.

Of course, Kang Oh had sensed the danger through his Hyper Intuition and avoided the attack.

Kwang.

The ground retained the footprint of the golem.

If Kang Oh hadn't evaded its attack, then he'd be dead already.

"You rats!"

A voice rang out from Eder's body.

"What did you say, you pile of bones!" Kang Oh said. You're just a monster!

Eder raised its arms to the heavens. A red light shined from its square body.

Then, the thick bones that covered its body exploded in every direction.

"Uak!"

He could hear Darion's screams.

"Damn it!"

Kang Oh quickly planted his sword into the ground and hid behind it.

"Get behind me!"

Darion threw himself towards Kang Oh and managed to get behind him safely.

Peobeobeobeok!

Countless bones made contact with the demon sword.

Any bone that made contact with his blade shattered like glass and scattered.

A few of those pieces hit Kang Oh and Darion as well.

[You were grazed by some bone fragments. You have taken 32 damage. A wound has been formed.]

[You have been pierced by some sharp bone fragments. You have taken 80 damage.]

While they were holding out against Eder's barrage of bone fragments, Kang Oh's eyes changed to that of a predator seeking its prey.

He could see something green show up whenever Eder used its special ability.

And his Hyper Intuition was urging him to aim for that 'something'.

There was something suspicious within the golem; his Hyper Intuition was telling him that that was its weakness.

'It's the core!'

What kind of monster was a golem?

Though they were incredibly tough and powerful, they could be felled with ease if their core was destroyed.

If that's the case, then...

Kang Oh shielded his body with the demon sword and stepped forward, towards where his Hyper Intuition guided him.

"Ugh, what the hell are you doing!?" Darion yelled from behind him.

Pababak!

Even more bones struck his sword. Thus, they were struck by even more bone fragments.

It was probably worse for Darion, but it didn't matter. Since it was only Darion.

The barrage of bones became worse and worse the further he got.

Kang Oh's HP soon dropped below half. Obviously, Darion was closer to death than he was.

"Ahk!"

Darion continued to scream from behind him.

Despite that, Kang Oh pressed on.

How far had he gotten?

"Get away from me!"

Kang Oh definitely heard it, even in the midst of this hail of bones. It was Eder's voice.

'As I expected. Such a powerful attack has its drawbacks.'

The drawback was that the golem's core was exposed.

Since the technique utilized the bones which protected the core, it seemed like an obvious drawback.

Soon, as if he had entered the eye of the storm at some point, no more bone fragments came flying at him.

He lowered his sword and saw something green!

The golem's core was a green ghost that looked human.

Kang Oh grinned.

'Nice.'

Abyss Blade, which absorbed magic, was also capable of cutting ghosts and spirits.

"Become experience points!"

Kang Oh raised his sword, ready to strike.

"W-Wait!"

The green ghost quickly shook its hands.

"And drop some good items."

Kang Oh wasn't swayed by its pleas in the least.

There were no need for words!

The demon sword fell.

At that moment, the ghost yelled, "I'll give you money! No, I'll give you everything I own!"

* * *

The jet-black sword grazed the front of his ghostly body; Kang Oh had altered the course of his sword mid-swing.

"Ugh."

Even though the demon sword hadn't even made contact with him, Eder groaned.

'This damn sword is the enemy of all ghosts.'

As a ghost before the demon sword, he was like a rat before a snake; he stiffened and his eyes shook.

Normally, the hidden dungeon's boss, Eder, was by no means an easy opponent.

If its core was attacked while still in its golem form, it would change into a ghost mage that would use all sorts of magic and prompt the second stage of the battle.

But that's only if things went like normal.

However, as the demon sword approached him, he, as a ghost, instinctively realized what it could do to him.

To ghosts, which were impervious to physical attacks, this sword's darkness was a natural enemy.

And if he was struck by that sword even once, he'd die!

Thus, Eder didn't even try to fight him.

"Everything?" Kang Oh asked as he looked upon the trembling Eder.

He was interested in that word: "everything". That's why he'd turned his sword mid-swing.

"Y-Yeah. Everything!" 

Eder's voice trembled.

"Hmm."

Kang Oh pointed his sword at the ghost's neck.

Although ghosts couldn't experience cold sweats, it sure felt like it.

"Just kill him," Darion said.

Darion spoke in a timely manner, which was quite unlike him. Though he probably just wanted to kill him.

"Should we?"

"P-Please!"

Eder begged, clasping his hands together.

'He Who Defies Death, Eder...'

As his name might imply, he was the type of person who'd do anything to avoid death.

Kang Oh placed his demon sword increasingly closer to Eder's neck.

"Then talk. What can you give me?" Kang Oh added, his eyes filled with bloodlust.

"You know what'll happen if I'm not satisfied, right?"

Eder frantically nodded his head at Kang Oh's threat.

* * *

In the past...

There was once a healer who was said to have the power of God.

The healer helped several people, then more, and more still.

Their fame grew so much so that it was said that they had conquered death itself.

Riches, honor, power.

They gained it all.

The healer became prideful of their great power and said pride soon turned to conceit.

"I have conquered death," the healer had yelled in high spirits.

The healer who conquered death!

What a glorious title.

But that's when everything went wrong. The healer's words had enraged the Goddess of Death, Deborah.

"Let's see if you really have conquered death."

Deborah had said within the healer's dream.

Because of her black veil, he couldn't see her, but her voice was ice-cold, like the top of a snow-covered mountain.

When the healer awoke, they began to suffer from an unknown illness.

They attempted to cure themselves with every means available to them, but nothing worked.

There were rumors that the healer had been cursed by the Goddess of Death herself and that they couldn't cure their own illness, so no one sought the healer anymore.

And so, the healer's reputation, as one who could conquer death itself, was down in the dirt.

The healer, who'd lost everything, was left with only spite.

They became absorbed in their research, research to overcome death no matter what.

The healer didn't care what methods they used. They attempted anything and everything.

They attempted medicine, holy treatment, magic, and even necromancy!

However, the Goddess of Death's illness was much too strong.

Ultimately, the healer froze their body within a glass tube. Fortunately, they were able to stop the advancement of their disease.

And with necromancy, their soul was able to escape their body and continue their research.

"And that's me."

Eder spoke, kneeling before Kang Oh.

He Who Defies Death, Eder, was none other than the healer, Eder, He Who Conquered Death!

"What are you going to do?"

Kang Oh picked his ear. 

He wasn't interested in Eder's circumstances at all.

However...

He was really interested in the riches he possessed.

Especially the money!

He needed money to pay off his family's debt on the house, buy a new house, buy a capsule, and send his sisters to college.

Kang Oh furrowed his brows.

"Whatever, bring out everything you have."