The Hunt

The dagger user’s spiritual power and mana were absorbed into Pernok.

[Shadow Step Lv.3]

Assimilates into darkness to move to dark places.

Only possible within a 30m radius.

Pernok alternately looked at the archer positioned in the shadows and the spearman running toward the bright place.

Soon his body was sucked into the shadows.

‘What?’

‘That’s Lenok’s….’

For them who’d judged Pernok as a physical enhancement type mage, it was a bewildering sight.

The confusion was brief.

When the arena shook with unusual mana, they hardened their faces and burst their mana together.

‘I heard it was acceleration magic, but he’s using completely off-the-wall magic.’

‘He’s an incomprehensible bastard. We absolutely can’t drag out time.’

The spearman and archer’s eyes met.

Having competed for a long time, they knew each other’s habits thoroughly.

The two mages’ cooperation continued sharply, to the point it didn’t seem like a hastily formed collaboration.

BANG!

Ice arrows poured like rain without distinguishing guards and monsters.

‘Where is he?!’

All places to step were full of cold air.

The moment Pernok revealed himself, the cold air would catch his ankle and his movements would slow.

Immediately after, the spearman’s sharp strike would pierce through Pernok.

The two people’s judgment was extremely rational.

However.

“Ran!”

When the spearman let out a scream-like sound, the archer Ran realized all plans had become tangled.

“Narrow vision.”

A dry voice rode down the ceiling’s shadows and descended behind Ran.

And Ran died with his throat cut simultaneously as he tried to turn around.

Considerable mana and spiritual power flowed in from Ran, who couldn’t close his eyes as if wronged.

Swish!

There was no leisure to savor the magic.

He moved his sword following the sharp air-cutting sound.

Bang!

Pernok’s sword couldn’t withstand the spearman’s piercing and shattered.

Beyond the scattering sword fragments, the spearman gazed at Pernok with calm eyes.

‘Why?’

A swordsman drunk on victory was bound to show openings.

Pernok, who’d killed Ran, also showed brief elation in that instant.

The spearman aimed for the gap and broke Pernok’s flimsy sword as expected.

But Pernok remained indifferent. Without panicking, he curled his fist and threw it straight forward.

Bang!

“…!”

Rather, the spearman was shocked.

The unified offense-defense technique of deflecting the fist with the spear shaft while trying to pierce Pernok’s heart with the spear blade turned futile with one punch.

‘What kind of strength is this…!’

It was as if a lump of iron struck.

Among the VIP players, none had shown such monstrous strength.

‘What on earth?’

He’d heard it was acceleration magic, but suddenly he rode shadows, and going even further, he boasted monstrous strength enough to send the spearman flying.

No matter how much he tried to stop thinking, his head became confused because of Pernok’s ever-changing appearance.

‘What is this bastard’s magic?!’

As soon as the spearman landed on the ground, Pernok surged up from below riding the ice.

Barely dodging by tilting his chin back, Pernok kicked off the ground and leaped into the air, doing a back flip.

As soon as the back foot with added elasticity fell, the spearman raised the spear shaft above his head.

Crack!

Blocking above his head was a mistake.

With the spear shaft raised, the spearman’s ankles were buried in the ground.

His thighs swelled as if they’d burst, and his knees that couldn’t withstand the load shattered.

“You thought my specialty was swordsmanship. I like hand-to-hand combat.”

He should have been concerned about techniques, not magic. As if scolding like that, when Pernok lightly twisted his ankle, the spearman’s balance crumbled.

He didn’t give leisure to recover stance again.

Simultaneously as the spearman tried to retrieve his spear, Pernok’s knife-hand pierced through his throat.

“Grrk…”

Vomiting thick blood, the spearman collapsed.

Absorbing that mana and spiritual power, the synchronization rate showed a distinct change.

Synchronization Rate – 7%

Thanks to increased spiritual power, the Observation Eye’s duration increased by 2 seconds.

But the feast wasn’t over yet.

“Sa-save me!”

“Block him!”

“Deploy all guards here!”

Pernok froze all exits with the archer’s magic and leisurely moved his steps into the battlefield turned hellish.

* * *

Mana Reinforcement displayed greater power in chaotic battles.

“Bl-block… gack!”

Killing a low-level mage who’d turned attention to a monster, he absorbed the bursting spiritual power.

Faint mana flowed in together with magic.

As soon as mana recovered, he used magic.

Mana was consumed again, but it didn’t matter.

It was enough to kill mages and extort it.

‘As expected, the body becomes fatigued.’

However, the problem occurred that the body overheated as much as mana circulated without rest.

‘To endure the rising synchronization rate, I need to make mana and body harmonize.’

Each time combat continued, Pernok grasped problems he’d only thought about in his head.

He rapidly divided problems he could solve right now and points to supplement later as he broke through the corridor.

‘Kill them before the body overloads.’

He could escape like this, but Pernok planned to feast on as many mages as possible to lay groundwork for the future.

“Number 15 is there!”

“Maintain formation!”

The moment he judged there were no experts here to be concerned about, Pernok flew like a shell and rammed into the middle of the guards.

When the guards’ barrier broke, monsters rushed in as if waiting.

As Pernok raised his knife-hand in the battlefield rampant with flesh and blood, two medium-sized monsters split in half and collapsed.

The monsters’ gazes concentrated on Pernok, but mana didn’t wither.

Whether human or monster, everything that opposed Pernok here was merely nourishment for spiritual power.

“Kyaaaaa!”

The cunning monsters didn’t attack when Pernok drove back guards.

But the story changed when he began seriously attacking even monsters.

Monsters instinctively aimed for the most threatening target.

Bipedal monsters charged at Pernok holding iron weapons.

Flying-type monsters dove from the sky, and low-level mages shot elemental magic from the rear.

Pernok didn’t even consider them worth worrying about.

With his body that maximized mana, he blocked elemental magic and tore apart the maw of charging monsters with both hands.

He chased fleeing bastards to crush their larynxes, stole weapons to slash, cut, and crush for 20 minutes.

“Hahahaha!”

Spiritual power surging from all directions stimulated Pernok’s elation.

This battlefield where blood and souls rampaged.

He finally felt alive.

* * *

‘Damn it! Damn it!’

The manager threw off his mask. Even while fleeing to the safe zone with the VIPs, he couldn’t believe the situation.

‘What on earth!’

The scene of Pernok cutting down Iron Man in one stroke and even the guard captain dying without being able to exert strength was vivid before his eyes.

It was divine prowess possible only for mages corresponding to Level 4 like himself.

‘Monsters poured out too. The underground prison was breached, which means if even the bastards who’ll fight subjugation battles or death matches all escaped?’

The moment any of these things escaped the fighting pit and entered the castle, it would become troublesome.

“It’s alright. The lord will understand.”

A secretive voice pierced in.

He knew who it was without looking.

“Huff, Sir Dro. This situation…”

“I know. Anyone can make mistakes. That’s what ‘we’ are for, preparing for such times.”

This young man who followed as a VIP’s guard was a knight from the marquis’s territory.

He was an existence like an errand runner the lord scattered, saying let’s cooperate with each other in return for permitting the black market.

“After escorting the VIPs to a safe place, I’ll handle it.”

“The VIP players must have handled Pernok.”

“You’re saying words you don’t mean when you saw his level yourself, manager.”

Dro was also a Level 4 mage like himself.

Though he was at a level that couldn’t even be selected for the knight order, he had a special point.

Anti Magic.

He could nullify mages of the same level or lower.

The magic that started at shield size at first had now expanded to a field of about 10m.

Mages who entered this domain died to Dro without knowing why their magic didn’t activate.

“That bastard is strong. But displaying such swordsmanship is all thanks to magic too. If I erase his ‘acceleration’ with my magic and push with physique, tearing apart that withered body will be easy.”

“He pierced through Iron Man.”

He expressed concern that perhaps they’d all misidentified Pernok’s magic until now.

But Dro smirked and answered leisurely.

“It might not be acceleration. There’s a possibility he disguised simple muscle strengthening magic as acceleration and burst forth power enough to kill Iron Man. But all of those are ultimately just magic. Ordinary people without magic can’t handle my force.”

Dro boasted innate swordsmanship ability along with Anti Magic.

In the marquis’s territory, only two people could match him in swordsmanship—the knight commander and vice-commander.

“Then I’ll trust and request it.”

“Aren’t we being too stiff with each other? Don’t be nervous. An unexpected accident burst forth, but let’s handle that bastard and ask the castle for cleanup. While at it, calling my name together would be good too. Hahaha.”

Seeing Dro’s eyes curve like a crescent moon, the manager’s insides twisted.

‘Just imagining how much he’ll extort is dreadful.’

Dro was one who coveted greed unsuited to his talent. But right now, he wanted to borrow even fern-like hands.

Even if he had to pay Dro some price, he had to put out the urgent fire first.

“I’ll protect the VIPs from that place.”

“I’ll sort things out and come back right away.”

Dro turned around confidently, and the manager entered the safe zone with the VIPs.

It was a resting place with an antique table filled with all kinds of alcohol.

“Weren’t we going outside?”

“The exit is on the opposite side. But that place is blocked by monsters and Number 15.”

“My player must have killed that bastard!”

“Mine too!”

“Rather, they probably died by his hands.”

“What?”

“The guard captain died without even proper resistance. He’s at least Level 3 or above.”

At the manager’s calm evaluation, the VIPs stamped their feet furiously.

“Didn’t you say he was merely Level 2!”

“I don’t believe it either. Clearly, when he fought subjugation battles, he was nothing but a feeble toy…”

The manager shook his head.

“…However it happened, the situation is serious, and Pernok has reached a dangerous level. I sent Sir Dro now, so please wait here briefly. I’ll also contact the castle to quickly suppress the situation.”

“What were you doing, unable to properly control one such bastard!”

The manager wanted to twist the VIP’s throat right away, but suppressed it firmly and walked to the small hole in the safe zone.

‘I’m also curious! Why that brat who would die without the antidote is opposing me!’

He packed the surging irritation into a note and pushed it into the hole.

The moment the contact outside discovered the note and delivered it to the castle, the knight order would rush in.

Each knight was composed of high-level mages of Level 5 or above.

Especially if just the knight commander corresponding to Level 6 came out alone, the situation would be easily sorted.

‘I’ll tear your corpse to shreds and throw it as food for pigs and dogs, you damn brat.’

The manager believed without doubt that Pernok would be sorted out by Dro.

Now the remaining problem was only how to sort out the arena’s chaos.

“The castle will dispatch forces soon.”

“That’s welcome news. But how will you pay for wasting my precious time and players?”

“I’ll prepare a compensation plan that will satisfy you later.”

“You must fulfill expectations.”

“Of course. When have I ever disappointed VIPs?”

When the manager suppressed his irritation and smiled, the VIP snorted and asked.

“So when is Sir Dro coming?”

“Shouldn’t he be returning by now?”

“Maybe he hasn’t found that bastard yet. Everyone, don’t worry and have a drink.”

But no matter how much time passed, Dro didn’t return.