Dungeon Predator (WN)

The yellow-eyed Basilisk spat black poison out of its mouth.

Petrifying Poison!

Kang Oh's party avoided the poison and spread out. However, the poison splattered, so they couldn't avoid it entirely.

"The great power of mother nature!" Yericka, who wore an antler-shaped headband, cast a spell.

Detoxifying Light!

She raised her owl staff into the air, and released a yellowish-green aurora.

Hiss!

Due to her efforts, the Petrifying Poison had little to no effect on her party. Seeing that, the Basilisk went on a rampage with its giant body.

The Basilisk swung its tail like a whip at the ground and the walls, and shot its sharp scales everywhere.

Kang Oh, Plum, Sephiro, and Dambi were busy dodging its attacks.

"Grow, roots of the great world tree!" Yericka cast another Druid spell.

Giant Roots!

Tree roots shot out of the ground, and wrapped themselves around the Basilisk. They were thick and tough enough that even the Basilisk couldn't easily break free.

After that, Helena unleashed a powerful spell. Due to the effects of Double Casting, she was able to skip the incantations and cast two spells simultaneously.

Exploding Lightning! Ignite!

Earth Spear! Torrent!

Whirlwind! Ice Drill!

Bam, bam, bam!

Various elemental spells filled the room.

Hiss! Hiss!

However, even that wasn't enough to take the Basilisk down. On the contrary, it didn't seem affected at all, and charged at Helena with increased ferocity.

Plum, who was covered in blue armor, stood in front of her. Her blade radiated faint light.

Honorable One's Strike!

Though she landed her attack, it wasn't enough to stop the Basilisk's charge.

At that moment...

A red demon with outstretched wings came flying over. It was Kang Oh.

Festival of Blood!

His snow-white blade was encased in scarlet red energy. Even the hilt and the decoration that hung from it was affected. Thus, it looked like he was wielding a giant red cross, not a sword.

Kang Oh sliced the back of its neck.

He'd already killed nineteen other Basilisks, so this would be his last. After fighting so many of them, there was no way he wouldn't know what their weaknesses were.

Swish!

His blood sword cleaved right through.

Spurt!

Red shards of light burst out.

Kang Oh didn't stop there. In a single breath, he swung his blade five times.

Swish, slash, swish, slash. Bam!

Darkness Strike activated on his final swing. A bat-shaped red wave struck the Basilisk.

Hiss!

The Basilisk, which had been aiming for Helena, switched targets. It extended its neck, intent on devouring Kang Oh in a single bite.

However, it completely missed him.

Like a butterfly that suddenly changed course, one of Kang Oh's wings fluttered, and he soared into the air. He had completely avoided the Basilisk's attack!

Kang Oh dove at the Basilisk's weakness: the back of its neck.

Fresh Blood Wave!

His blade swelled with red energy, and he directed the accumulated energy right at the Basilisk.

Bam!

Kang Oh landed, and then immediately leapt into the air. He was like a wasp! He ferociously attacked the Basilisk.

Drawing its attention like this pulled the pressure off of Kang Oh's teammates.

Sephiro's Giant Killer and Dambi's Crystal Arrow pierced through its skin, and embedded themselves in its flesh.

Helena took a deep breath, and unleashed spell after spell from her hand and staff.

However, their opponent was a Basilisk, a monster that was over level 600! It wasn't something that could be defeated so easily.

The Basilisk's attacks became even fiercer.

No one let down their guard. If they let down their guard for even an instant, they'd turn to stone, be trampled on, or they'd be hit by its tail.

They successfully killed nineteen Basilisks before, but none of those battles had been easy.

Kang Oh's team had never successfully fought off two Basilisks at once. They had to give it their all just to beat one.

The same applied to this situation.

Kang Oh's party gritted their teeth and fought. They definitely weren't in an advantageous situation.

* * *

Yericka died.

She hadn't let down her guard. The Basilisk was simply strong enough to kill her.

However, her absence became a bigger problem than they expected. Her death hit them harder than any of their other teammates' deaths!

The Basilisk shot its sharp scales everywhere; it was a deadly weapon, which slowly cut down their HP over time. Despite that, Kang Oh's party had been able to persevere and continue the fight for one reason, and only reason only: Yericka's healing spells.

The Petrifying Poison was another issue. They no longer had the means of curing the poison.

In other words, Kang Oh's party didn't have a lot of time. If they didn't kill the Basilisk quickly, then its AoE attacks would finish them off.

"Attack!" Kang Oh yelled firmly. It was also a statement that running wasn't an option.

Switch!

He swapped to Ubist, and transformed into the Black Beast.

Gluttony!

Ubist consumed an A-rank ring, and his body brimmed with power.

Bam!

Kang Oh kicked off the floor, and pushed into the Basilisk's side.

Slash, Abyss Claw, Lightning Breath, Tempest Tiger, Everlasting Darkness, and Transcendent Blade!

Do or die! Kang Oh used everything in his arsenal.

Whizz!

Buster Shot!

Whizz!

Arrow Hell!

A hundred arrows rained down from six magic circles, while Arrow Hell caused Dambi's arrows to proliferate indefinitely!

Helena used Overload, which tripled the power of her spells, and unleashed her magic upon the Basilisk too.

Hiss!

The Basilisk stiffly raised its head. It shot out even more scales at them, and spat out Petrifying Poison over a wide area in a fan shape.

Kang Oh and the rest of his teammates began losing HP/MP fast. Their fingertips and their toes had already begun turning to stone.

Of course, the Basilisk had taken significant damage too. Its giant pool of HP was slowly melting away, like an ice cream sundae on a hot summer day.

Sometime later...

"Damn... it!" That was the final thing he said before his face turned to stone.

'Leaving Waryong with the Tamer Guild was a good idea,' Sephiro thought before he completely turned into a statue.

Helena, who'd used up all of her MP, turned into a strand of light. She had just taken a direct hit from the Basilisk's charge.

This was the effect of her SS-rank ring, the Light of Salvation! If she took fatal damage, then she would turn into light and return to a designated area.

"Attack!"

"Please!"

"Die!"

Plum, Dambi, and Kang Oh screamed, and kept attacking till the very end.

Before Dambi's right hand turned to stone, she let loose one final arrow.

Wind God's Arrow!

A green arrow, which was larger than Sephiro's Giant Killer, arced through the air, and struck the Basilisk's neck.

Whoosh!

Kang Oh swung Ubist twice, forming an X. He used Tempest Tiger first, and followed it up with an Abyss Claw.

Bam! Bam!

Red shards of light fell from its body like fresh blood.

The Basilisk's body was riddled with wounds. It barely had any HP left too. But it had enough left in it to swing its tail, flinging Dambi away, and spewing its Petrifying Poison at Kang Oh.

Ptoo!

Moon's Protection!

He activated his barrier, which would protect him from all harm for 3 seconds. Black liquid slid down the top of his full moon shaped barrier.

Then...

"Haahp!" The blue armored Plum leapt into the air, and forcefully swung her sword at the Basilisk's weakness, the back of its neck.

Steel Slash!

Split!

Her sword went right through its thick neck.

Plop.

Its severed head fell to the ground, but the Basilisk didn't close its eyes, as if unable to accept its death.

"We did it!"

Once she killed the Basilisk, Kang Oh clenched his fists.

[You have defeated a Basilisk.]

[There is a huge level disparity between you and the Basilisk.]

[You have received a large amount of bonus experience points.]

[You have leveled up.]

Kang Oh's gold/black ring glowed with dim light.

[You have successfully killed twenty Basilisks.]

[The spontaneous quest, High-Rank Devil Trigger, has been completed.]

[As a reward, proficiency in Devil Trigger increases significantly.]

[Devil Trigger has risen to high-rank.]

[High-Rank Devil Trigger!]

'Finally!'

Devil Trigger had risen to high-rank.

* * *

The three survivors, Kang Oh, Dambi, and Plum, returned to Altein. After all, the three of them couldn't take down any more Basilisks.

Sephiro, Yericka, and Helena were waiting for them.

"Thank you for everything." Kang Oh bowed his head. 'Because of your efforts, I was able to complete the spontaneous quest!'

"Good work."

"Good job."

Plum and Dambi said.

"We're done now, right?" Yericka said, looking disappointed.

"Yes." Kang Oh nodded his head.

For the time being, he wouldn't fight anymore Basilisks. After all, hunting Basilisks was a much too dangerous endeavor.

'If I die, I'll be controlled by the demons again.'

Turning into a demon once was enough for one lifetime.

"Then, I'll be going now."

"See you later."

Helena left with Plum, Dambi, and Yericka.

"Then I'll be going too..." Sephiro looked at Kang Oh, waiting to see how he'd react. He was worried that Kang Oh would tell him to hunt again.

"Ok." Kang Oh nodded his head.

'Yes!' Sephiro enthusiastically disappeared into the crowd.

Now that he was alone, Kang Oh entered Altein's intercity transfer gate.

"The Goddess's Land."

Kang Oh immediately headed for the Saul Graveyard. Since it was filled with high-rank undead, it was the perfect place to test his High-Rank Devil Trigger.

'Let's see here...'

Kang Oh opened the system messages.

[High-Rank Devil Trigger!]

[You have a stronger hold over the demon swords now.]

[All skills usable in Devil Trigger have been strengthened.]

[You may now use Devil Trigger with two demon swords at once.]

[Max assimilation rate has increased significantly, from 200% to 1000%.]

[Assimilation rate no longer applies to each demon sword separately. Rather, it applies to every demon sword in your possession.]

[Once your assimilation rate reaches 1000%, you will undergo an even harder Trial of the Demon Sword.]

[The demons sealed within your blades will appear in this trial. It is much more dangerous, so please be careful!]

It was exactly what Kang Oh wanted.

He was now capable of activating Devil Trigger with both swords at once. His max assimilation rate had risen to 1000% too.

However, he hadn't expected the trial's difficulty to increase too.

'Mm, I'll probably have to fight Ubist and Blood simultaneously.'

The Abyss Predator, Ubist!

The Great Forest's Demon, Blood!

To think he'd have to fight both of these monsters at once! He would need to undergo the trial to know for sure, but he didn't think it'd be easy.

'Well, that's a matter for later.'

His body itched with excitement. He was really curious what would happen if he used Devil Trigger with both swords in hand!

"Alright then. Let's see what happens!"

He held Demon Sword Ubist in his right hand; darkness flowed out of the jet-black blade.

In his left hand, he held Demon Sword Blood; a wicked scarlet energy flowed from the sleek, snow-white blade.

Devil Trigger!

Jet-black darkness crept up his right arm and covered his entire body. Red energy, which was thicker and darker than blood, extended from his left hand too.

Kang Oh's entire body was covered in red and black energy. It was like paint was mixing together, or perhaps it was like a twisted bread stick!

A short while later...

A Dual Demon appeared, one which possessed the power of both Ubist and Blood.