As expected, an earthquake occurred as soon as Kang Oh and Asu entered the prison. As a result, they obtained an escape route and also received the ‘Jailbreak’ quest as well.

"Let's use our buff potions first."

Kang Oh picked the strength and agility potions from his belt.

"Ok."

Asu followed suit.

They both drank the potions in one go.

[You drank a strength potion.]

[For 30 minutes, strength and all strength-related abilities increase.]

[You drank an agility potion.]

[For 30 minutes, agility and all agility-related abilities increase.]

Kang Oh picked up the hourglass that lay atop the shelf.

Then, he reversed it six times, and then the hourglass showed a 60 in the middle of it.

With this, one hour had passed, causing all of the prison guards to transform into monsters.

"Once I go through the door, I'm going to go full force, so... Make sure to keep up," Kang Oh requested.

"You don't have to worry about me."

"Alright. Let's go."

Once they left through the opening, they began running at top speed.

Tap, tap.

[00:01]

They were being timed now.

At their first forked road, they unhesitatingly went right.

Then, they encountered...!

A worshipper of the evil god, a monsterized prison guard.

There were no traces of human features left.

Its body was completely covered by dark red fur like an animal, and also possessed sharp claws on both its hands and feet.

Not only that, but it possessed bat wings that protruded out of its back, red eyes, and sharp shark-like teeth.

Kyaaaahk!

The Evil God Worshipper shrieked. Bodies of prisoners that had attempted but failed to escape were strewn all around it.

Kuheong!

Kang Oh used Baramut's Roar.

Baramut's Roar would instill his body with the essence of a tiger for 30 minutes.

That wasn't all.

'Let's use Devil Trigger too!'

Using Devil Trigger for a minute increased the assimilation rate by 1%; when the assimilation rate reached 100%, then the wielder had to face the Trial of the Demon Sword once more.

There was no guarantee that he'd pass the trial a second time.

That's why he'd used Devil Trigger so sparingly; he also hadn't used it as of late. However, Kang Oh was going to use it today.

'Let's go!'

Kang Oh charged at his opponent whilst using Devil Trigger.

The darkness spread from his right hand, which was holding Ubist, to the rest of his body.

His body was covered in jet-black darkness, and his face was covered with a beast-shaped mask. Kang Oh's eyes shone red, as if they were embedded with red gems, and a tail protruded from behind him which glimmered with starlight. A black haze rose from his body like cigarette smoke!

Not only that, but the Abyss Predator, Ubist, had manifested as a shadow.

[You can now use the King of Demonic Beasts, Ubist's power as your own.]

[You may take full control over the darkness. Now, the darkness around you will move as you see fit.]

[You may now use Abyss Prison, Abyss Aura, Abyss Shield, and Abyss Transfer.]

[You now have complete resistance against the darkness element.]

[If you are in the dark or even the shade, HP, MP, and Stamina replenish quickly.]

[In you dwells a beast's strength and ferocity.]

[You now possess the full power of predation. Devour your foe!]

[Ubist lies in your shadow. Ubist moves as he wills.]

Kang Oh was right in front of his opponent by the time his transformation had ended.

'Let's end this quick!'

He was competing with Tae Gyu's team, so he couldn't afford to waste any time.

Kang Oh immediately swung his demon sword.

Abyss Aura!

His sword emanated a sharp, jet-black energy.

Kyaa!

The Evil God Worshipper didn't back down and swung its sharp claws.

Whoosh!

The Evil God Worshipper's claws were tougher than steel, with strength and speed to match.

However... The demonized Kang Oh's abilities were far superior.

Whack!

Kang Oh easily parried his opponent's arm and then attacked once more.

Slash!

He swung upwards in a diagonal line, his blade cutting through furry chest flesh.

Kang Oh dealt so much damage that a shard of light the size of someone's face burst forth.

At the same time, the Evil God Worshipper shook from the force of his attack.

However, its regenerative abilities were off the charts.

The wound he'd just inflicted began to heal right before his very eyes.

'I already knew that.'

Kang Oh followed up with another attack.

He unleashed another Abyss Aura amplified attack. Not only that, but Shadow Ubist clawed at the worshipper from behind.

Kyaahk!

The worshipper shrieked and its hand began emanating dark red energy.

Roar!

Jaila's Burning Brand!

The worshipper threw a fireball right at him.

Then, Kang Oh positioned his sword.

Suck.

The fireball was absorbed by his sword.

[Ubist has absorbed Jaila's Burning Brand.]

[Satiation has increased by 0.005%.]

'An opening.'

His Hyper Intuition activated, showing him an opening.

Kang Oh thrust his sword.

Stab.

The tip of his blade pierced through the monster's heart, causing deep red shards to burst out.

Kya!

The monster swung its left fist; its left hand, arm, and even shoulder had turned to bronze.

Evil God's Arm!

It was said that the evil god, Jaila's body was entirely made of bronze.

Therefore, the followers of the evil god possessed an ability to change a portion of their body into bronze.

However, the evil god's bronze was no normal bronze; it was tougher than steel, and way lighter too.

Anyway, the bronze fist came flying at him, but Kang Oh reacted quickly.

Normally, he'd dodge and then counterattack, but now that he was in his demon state, he could attack and defend simultaneously.

Swish.

A veil of darkness blocked the bronze fist.

Abyss Shield.

Bam!

Darkness of an unknown depth blocked the bronze fist.

Kang Oh forcefully grabbed his sword with both hands and swung downwards.

Darkness Strike!

Black beasts erupted from his sword and ravaged the Evil God Worshipper.

'I have to end this!'

Kang Oh used Abyss Transfer to teleport behind it.

"Haahp!"

Kang Oh swung his sword thrice.

A downward strike, an upward cut, and a diagonal slash!

Swish!

His final attack was amplified by Fang-Bearing Blade, causing a huge black shard to burst forth.

No matter how monstrous its regenerative abilities were, this wasn't an attack it could withstand.

Thud.

The Evil God Worshipper fell flat on its face.

[You have defeated an Evil God Worshipper.]

[Devil Trigger is active.]

[Stats have been stolen.]

[Magic +1]

"Let's move!"

Kang Oh immediately began running.

Asu, who’d merely watched as she couldn’t find an opportunity to jump in, quickly followed him.

The two quickly trekked through the dark and dreary passageway.

* * *

He wielded a lavishly decorated sword and wore refined, golden armor with silver boots. His gloves were shaped like a beast, and his black belt was made of the best leather. The man also wore a necklace with a giant diamond embedded within it, as well as two precious rings on either hand!

Tae Gyu's appearance was quite showy.

It was only natural, since his guild had set him up with S-rank equipment that was over level 200.

'That's not all...'

He also possessed ten God's Relics; these items possessed varying abilities, and also increased a player’s stats from within their inventory.

His guild's Alchemists had also poured their heart and soul into making him some buff potions, which would further increase his abilities.

Moreover, his partner, Se Hwa, was a Priestess who served the God of Light, Garuda.

Though she hadn't reached level 100 yet, she could still cast all sorts of blessings, which only strengthened him further.

'I'm both overgeared and overbuffed. I may even be able to beat one of the Numbers with all this.'

Tae Gyu’s power was overwhelming. He brimmed with confidence, thinking that no one could beat him.

He'd have to return the equipment and the God's Relics later.

'I have to go even higher.'

If he wanted to wield even greater power within the guild, then he needed to assume a higher position.

He would use this opportunity to obtain the adamantium ore, and then assume the vice-captain position.

Tae Gyu burned with ambition.

At that moment...

Kyaahk!

An Evil God Worshipper appeared.

"Die!"

Tae Gyu swung downwards with his showy red sword.

Swish!

His sword cleaved the worshipper's side. Then, red plant roots sprouted from the wound.

The blade's healing debuff, which would decrease the monster's healing to 0, had activated.

With this, the worshipper's monstrous regenerative abilities had been sealed!

After that, Tae Gyu used all sorts of showy Swordsman skills.

Lorian's Spinning Slash!

Air Slash!

Septuple Slash!

Although it had lost its healing ability, the monster wasn't so weak to fall from a single attack.

The Evil God Worshipper used Evil God's Arm, which turned its arms bronze, and counterattacked.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Tae Gyu’s blade and the monster's claws continued to clash.

Clang!

For a moment, they created some distance between each other.

Kyaahk!

The Evil God Worshipper threw a dark red fireball at Tae Gyu.

Then, Tae Gyu smirked. At the same time, his necklace gleamed.

Clack!

The fireball crashed into some invisible barrier and was reflected onto the Evil God Worshipper, engulfing them in their own flames.

Kyaahk!

It shrieked.

'It really is good.'

Tae Gyu's necklace allowed him to use the Magic Reflect skill.

'The cooldown's only 2 minutes too.'

It was a formidable ability, but it had its downsides. First, it used a ton of MP and second, it couldn't reflect spells that were too powerful.

Tae Gyu then barraged the monster with a series of brutal attacks.

A short while later, the Evil God Worshipper fell to its knees.

"Let's go!"

Tae Gyu began running.

They were using Course B.

Although the road was longer and more dangerous than Course A, they would never have to face more than four Evil God Worshippers at a time.

He'd picked this course because it'd be difficult to fight them all off whilst protecting Yoon Se Hwa.

Thump.

Se Hwa, who provided support and healing from behind, kicked off the floor and followed him, running as fast as she could.

* * *

Course A, the course Kang Oh and Asu had selected, was definitely the shortest route to the exit.

Despite that, most of the players that had attempted to clear the '1 hour hell' hadn't chosen this course.

The reason was simple.

More Evil God Worshippers would swarm them in this route than the others.

Like right now!

Three Evil God Worshippers blocked their advance. They were stomping on the bodies of the pitiful prisoners.

"There are three of them. Do your best to hold out," Kang Oh said to her.

"Ok. I'll hold out no matter what."

Kang Oh picked the A course because he trusted Asu. He trusted that she wouldn't die while he took on the Evil God Worshippers.

"Good."

Kang Oh drew a Gladion's Dagger from his belt and threw it.

Swoosh!

Smack!

The Evil God Worshipper swung its hand, deflecting the dagger.

The battle had begun!

Kuha!

The three monsters rushed towards them.

"I guess it's time to use it."

Kang Oh took out the lion-shaped armor from his inventory.

"Devour!"

Gluttony!

The Shadow Ubist climbed over his body and began devouring the armor.

Crunch, crunch!

Kyaa!

It seemed to enjoy its meal as it looked like a howling wolf.

[Demon Sword Ubist has consumed Julio's Lion-Shaped Armor.]

[It is an A-rank item.]

[Entering Gluttony mode.]

[For 20 minutes, the demon sword and your character's abilities are tripled.]

Kuwaang!

The darkness, which rose from his body like a haze, spread outwards like a hedgehog's spines.

'Let's give them a warm hello!'

Kang Oh forcefully swung his sword with his overwhelming strength.

"Uhaahp!"

Tempest Tiger!

A giant tiger aura erupted from his sword.

The three charging Evil God Worshippers seemed to sense something amiss, as they stopped moving and activated Evil God's Arm.

They then crossed their bronze arms in an effort to defend themselves.

"Go ahead and try!" Kang Oh yelled.

The prison shook from the force of his triple strength Tempest Tiger.

Boom! Boom! Boom!