Dungeon Predator (WN)

Hunting certain monsters would count as a great feat. For example, killing the Mamonas (a giant, gluttonous whale) would work.

It was a raid boss that inhabited the Golden Desert, and there were several stories passed down about it.

The Golden Desert was originally a lush grassland. However, the Mamonas came and ate everything in sight, and spat out sand. Thus, the area eventually became a desert.

That was just how gluttonous it was. It was equally as strong too! Defeating the Mamonas would definitely count as a 'great feat'.

However, Kang Oh shook his head.

'It's impossible.'

Players weren't strong enough to take it down yet. Dragons, Mamonas, Vivolga, Titanos, Liviola, etc. were all beyond their reach.

Kang Oh looked for monsters that satisfied two conditions: hunting them had to count as a great feat, and killing them had to be within the realm of possibility. However, he couldn't think of anything that would fit those two conditions.

'What about monsters that aren't well-known?'

In other words, monsters that had never been seen before, but were written about or there were rumors of.

Kang Oh tapped his finger as he thought about it.

"Ah!"

A light bulb went off in his head.

"What's the matter?" Sephiro asked.

"I found a monster that satisfies both conditions."

"Who is it?"

"The Tuslam Champion." Kang Oh grinned.

'I've decided on you!'

* * *

Once Arth was released, the gaming networks became extremely busy. People's attention was inevitably drawn to the events that occurred in the large world.

A short while ago, the Evil God's followers appeared and seized a large city. In response, countless people banded together and fought against the threat.

Every single gaming network showed footage of the battle, and the reactions to it were satisfactory. But another battle had begun in the eastern desert before the battle with the Evil God Worshippers had reached its conclusion.

The Arabas Kingdom versus the Baiyan Kingdom! To be more specific, the Arabas Kingdom had invaded the Baiyan Kingdom!

By now, everyone knew that the Empire Guild had seized control of the Arabas Kingdom. Some said that the Empire Guild was beginning their plan to conquer the eastern kingdoms.

They were right.

The Arabas Kingdom's Supreme Commander was Emperor Dukeram. Self-proclaimed experts in the art of warfare or battle maniacs put up posts analyzing the war between the two kingdoms on Arthtory.

[Desert Warfare, Tactics, and Strategy.]

[Comparing the full strength of the Arabas and Baiyan Kingdoms.]

[I'll tell you who'll win the battle between the two.]

[The Empire Guild's objective: Conquer the Baiyan Kingdom, and eventually unite the eastern kingdoms under one banner.]

...

Most people believed that the Arabas Kingdom would completely crush the Baiyan Kingdom. After all, they were controlled by the Empire Guild.

It was only natural.

Not only was the Arabas Kingdom originally the most powerful of the three eastern kingdoms, but the most powerful guild was added to that. How in the world could the Baiyan Kingdom hope to face off against the two?

Some of the battle maniacs even debated on ways the Baiyan Kingdom could win.

- The Baiyan Kingdom needs to bring in the Dellas Kingdom no matter what.

- They need to fight a war of attrition, and cut off the Arabas Kingdom's supply lines. This is the answer.

- Fighting them head-on is an act of lunacy.

The Baiyan Kingdom's leaders were no fools. They were well aware of the fact that they couldn't win this war by themselves.

Their prime minister, Abdullah, headed to the Dellas Kingdom and begged for their aid.

"Great Dellas King, please help us. The desert kingdoms have long since been split into three. But if the Baiyan Kingdom falls, then the balance of power will crumble, and the Dellas Kingdom will be next."

"I'll send troops immediately," the Dellas King said.

Indeed, if the Baiyan Kingdom fell, then the Dellas Kingdom would be next. If that's the case, then the Dellas Kingdom had to send aid before the Arabas troops set foot in their territory. It'd be better to fight in Baiyan territory than their own.

"Thank you so much!"

The Baiyan Kingdom also sent their princes and princesses to the free cities to ask for their aid.

"Please help us. We won't forget what you've done for us."

"I'm sorry."

However, the free cities had already sent troops to stop the Evil God Worshippers, so they didn't have the soldiers to spare.

The Baiyan Kingdom would take all the help it could get. They also hired mercenaries, as well as adventurers, promising to reward them handsomely.

Of course, they didn't expect much. After all, the quality of the mercenaries and adventurers surely wouldn't be that high. However, something completely unexpected happened.

Breaker and Storm had agreed to help the Baiyan Kingdom! Raon, Hernandez, and Han Seol had come in person.

"Thank you. We won't forget this!" The Baiyan King thanked them personally.

The player base went crazy too.

- Storm and Breaker have joined Baiyan!

- Then it's Empire versus Storm + Breaker. Who will win?

- Apparently, Dellas's reinforcements will arrive soon.

- We still don't know who'll win!

The Storm and Breaker Guilds had joined forces with the Baiyan Kingdom, while the Arabas Kingdom was backed by the Empire Guild.

In other words, this war would determine which guilds would be the dominant force.

And right now...

The invading and defending forces clashed for the very first time. They fought at Tamur Fortress, a key strategic location for the Baiyan Kingdom.

* * *

The battle at Tamur Fortress ended in a single day.

"Uwaaah!"

The Baiyan Kingdom's troops watched as the invading force ran with their tails between their legs.

"Go back to mommy!"

"Where do you think this is!? Don't come back!"

"Woooo!"

The Baiyan troops sent all sorts of insults to the retreating Arabas troops.

"What a good start."

"Indeed."

Baiyan's mercenaries and players grinned.

"Uhaaa!"

"The Empire Guild's nothing special!"

Members of Breaker and Storm gave the Empire Guild's flags a thumbs down.

"Don't let down your guard. This is only the beginning!" the Storm Guild's vice-captain, Han Seol, said calmly.

"Don't be like that. They're just trying to calm down," Hernandez said from beside her.

Han Seol glared at him, causing him to look away and begin whistling. She then sighed, but said nothing more.

Whatever the case, the Baiyan Kingdom was able to repel the Arabas Kingdom's forces in their first battle. However, the war had only just begun.

* * *

Kang Oh, Eder, and Sephiro traveled to the giant ruins of Talastrum.

"I should be able to satisfy the conditions by fighting a Tuslam Champion."

The Tuslam Tribe was divided into three categories: Tuslam Soldiers, Tuslam Warriors, and Tuslam Champions.

He hadn't encountered a Tuslam Champion before, but he could imagine how powerful they would be based on the power disparity between a soldier and a warrior. A champion was either as strong as a Master or close to it.

However, he didn't know where to find one, so he planned to search the entirety of Talastrum. He would keep going until he found a Tuslam Champion!

"Let's go!"

After coming through the magic circle, Kang Oh's party exited the sewers. They were then ambushed by a group of Tuslam Soldiers.

"Kill the trespassers!"

"Come at me!"

The Tuslam Soldiers threw their boomerangs simultaneously.

Swish!

The boomerangs flew through the air with a threatening 'swish'. It didn't just sound dangerous; the force behind those boomerangs was tremendous.

"Eder, show me what you can do," Kang Oh said.

"Of course." Eder pulled out a lengthy bone staff. There was a round, eyeball-shaped ornament at the end of it.

"...I rule all bone."

Eder completed his incantation in a flash. His quicker cast speed was the fruits of his labor.

Bone Mass!

Eder formed watermelon-sized bone masses around him. He had matched the number of boomerangs flying at them.

"Go!"

The bone masses each flew at a different boomerang like homing missiles. Of course, striking the boomerangs would cause the bones to shatter.

"Devour them!" Eder swung his staff.

Then, the bones spread out like nets and wrapped around the boomerangs.

Of course, the boomerangs' power was extraordinary. One second later, the bone masses shook. They were one step away from breaking completely.

Eder clenched his offhand.

Bone Bomb!

Eder cast his signature move.

Boom, boom, boom!

Fabulous explosions filled the air.

The boomerangs and bone fragments fell to the floor.

However, Kang Oh and Sephiro were already familiar with this combination attack. They obviously weren't surprised one bit.

"Is that it?" Kang Oh asked impatiently.

"This is just the beginning."

Eder's staff began to glow. He had already completed the incantation.

Whir!

A giant magic circle appeared on the ground, and yellowish-white bone began to pile up.

Koo!

Something popped out of the heap of bones. It had the head of a bull, but the body of a human being. It was made up of a Minotaur's bones.

The Bone Minotaur wielded a shimmering bone axe with both hands.

Summon Bone Minotaur!

"Hoh."

Kang Oh was surprised. It was clearly a powerful undead monster.

Eder continued to cast new spells.

Bone Armor!

The Bone Minotaur was, like a knight, covered head to toe in thick armor.

Shrink Muscles!

Then, he applied a curse that weakened the target's strength. As a reminder, curses actually had the reverse effect on the undead; they strengthened them instead of weakening them. Thus, the Bone Minotaur's strength went up instead.

He cast other curses, such as Rusty Armor, Age, Slow, etc. to increase its defense, speed, and the rest of its abilities!

"Go, White Horn!" Eder said, and the Bone Minotaur rushed at two of the Tuslam Soldiers.

Although it was enormous, it was actually quite fast. So was its attack speed as a matter of fact.

Whoosh!

It horizontally swung its sharp axe. The Tuslam Soldiers avoided White Horn's attack, and then counterattacked with their own weapons.

Bam! Bam!

However, White Horn's bone armor didn't break; instead, bone powder flew through the air. Bone Armor had increased its defense far more than Kang Oh had anticipated.

Uoooh!

White Horn let out a bull-like roar. It was entirely made up of bone, so he wasn't sure where the roar came from; it was a mystery.

Spinning Slash!

Bull Charge!

Earth Crush!

White Horn used all manner of Minotaur skills. However, its skills were far more powerful than any Minotaur that Kang Oh had ever fought against.

However, he did notice one downside to it; it didn't fight intelligently.

Despite that, White Horn was fighting the Tuslam Soldiers evenly. The Tuslam Soldiers were by no means weak, so the fact that White Horn was capable of fighting two of them at once meant that it was just that strong.

At that moment...

One of the Tuslam Soldiers rushed at Eder.

Then, Eder summoned a new undead monster.

Summon Bone Saber-toothed Tiger!

This time, a long, 3 meter size bone tiger with sharp teeth popped out of the heap of bones.

"Protect me, Goni!"

Apparently, the tiger's name was Goni. It was derived from the Korean word for canine.

It moved as fiercely as a real saber-toothed tiger, standing in front of Eder and protecting him from the Tuslam Soldier. Due to its protection, Eder was able to move relatively freely.

He pulled out bandages and medicine from his large bag.

"Mr. Sephiro, please come over here."

Kang Oh and Sephiro had also engaged the Tuslam Soldiers. But because Sephiro and Waryong were far weaker than Kang Oh, they were having a much harder time than him. Obviously, they were slowly accruing all manner of wounds.

However, Eder's First Aid and bandages instantly restored Sephiro and Waryong's HP to full. Moreover, he gave them medicine that increased their combat abilities too.

As expected of a legendary Master Healer!

In the midst of all that, White Horn and Goni were fiercely fighting against the Tuslam Soldiers.

'Amazing.' Kang Oh couldn't help but marvel at Eder's performance.

Normally, Eder would be busy out of his mind. He had to cast necromancy spells and heal his companions, after all. But right now, he was effectively doing both at the same time.

Eder was primarily a Healer, so he allowed his summons to do the fighting for him! If he didn't have anyone to heal, then he could use bone magic, curses, etc. to help his summons or his companions.

This was the new and improved Eder!