[Large Quantity of Adamantium]

A large adamantium gemstone. Adamantium is the world's toughest metal. This particular gemstone has been exposed to darkness for some time.

Material Rank: S.

The adamantium reminded him of the night sky. While mostly dark, it also glimmered like the stars above.

Kang Oh placed the adamantium into his inventory.

"See you later." Kang Oh waved his hand.

"..."

As the Dragon Bone had essentially been stolen from him, Eder looked extremely displeased.

Kang Oh left the Diana Bank and headed for the Beast's Tower. The Beast's Tower was located in the western grasslands, and was also the second soul dungeon that Kang Oh had acquired.

The handsome, Platinum Lion, Violf, was the guardian's dungeon!

"It's been a while, Master."

Kang Oh appeared atop the magic circle, and was promptly greeted by Violf.

"How've you been?"

"Bored."

Kang Oh came over and stroked its fur. "You have something for me, right?"

"I do."

"Give it here."

Bright light radiated from its body, and then gold coins, leather, and metal appeared before him! This was his monthly soul dungeon reward.

Kang Oh stashed the 800 gold and 50 leather pieces, and then picked up the metal.

[Violf's Platinum]

An extremely rare metal that can only be obtained from Platinum Violf. The metal is capable of reflecting ranged attacks or spells.

Material Rank: S.

He'd acquired another item that the dwarves could draw inspiration from.

"I'll be going now."

"Visit more often, Master," Violf said, looking disappointed.

"I will." Kang Oh stroked its fur again, and then got onto the magic circle. "Black Hammer Dwarves' Hideout!"

The world in front of him instantly changed. He headed for Randelhoff's room as soon as he arrived.

"You're back."

There were five other dwarves beside him. They stared at Kang Oh with sparkling eyes.

"These are our most skilled blacksmiths."

"Ah, I see." Kang Oh looked them over.

'I wonder which one of them will be able to make me the sword?'

"Do you have it?" Randelhoff asked.

"Here." Kang Oh dropped the adamantium gemstone, Dragon Bone, and Violf's Platinum from his inventory.

"Oooh!"

"Wow!"

"Hoh!"

The Dwarven Blacksmiths' eyes darted around.

"This is adamantium!"

"This is Dragon Bone!"

"Hoh, I've never seen this metal before."

They all looked excited, as if they were children who'd just received some toy robots.

"Dragon Bone?" Randelhoff looked shocked.

"I tried bringing a couple other rare materials too." Kang Oh grinned.

"Ooh, good work." Randelhoff gave him a thumbs up.

"Please become skilled enough to handle these materials," Kang Oh said.

"Leave it to us!"

"I'm going to start sleeping just two hours a day!"

"I won't put my hammer down!"

The Dwarven Blacksmiths took the materials and went someplace else.

"If you're able to create the sword, or you have other news for me, then please tell Mr. Man Bok," Kang Oh said.

"Got it." Randelhoff nodded his head.

'I hope they have some good news for me soon.'

Kang Oh truly wanted to hold his new demon sword.

* * *

Kang Oh bought three items from the auction house: Quinton's Shield (AA-rank), Von Rene's Shoes (AA-rank), and Maurelion's War Sword (S-rank).

They all had different effects! He'd bought a variety of equipment, allowing him to pick and choose among them depending on the situation.

Eder bought a new pair of rings, as he'd offered the Sun and Moon Ring to the Goddess of Death as tribute.

The Red and Blue Skull were an item set. Equipping them both would greatly increase one's MP regeneration, and also increase the power of necromancy.

Sephiro hadn't bought anything. Waryong was slightly bigger, that's all. However, Waryong would need at least another month before it could participate in battle.

Anyhow, Man Bok had provided them with plenty of supplies, so Kang Oh's party immediately teleported to their house in Latnia City.

Kang Oh pulled out a map from his inventory and spread it out over the table. It was a map of the Goddess's Land. Though not exactly precise, it did show the geographical features within the northern and western regions. Deborah's priestess, Cyndia, had given it to them.

Then, Kang Oh pointed at a certain area on the map.

"This is where we're going today." He slowly pulled his finger away, showing the words 'Kalma' underneath. "The Kalma's home base!"

Kang Oh stared at Eder and Sephiro. They both looked ready.

"Let's go."

They had taken their first step in completing the goddess's quest!

The River of Despair existed within the Goddess's Land. Crossing this river would put you right into the Mayanes and Kalma's domain.

Kang Oh's party cut down a tree and created a small canoe. After that, they crossed the river without much difficulty.

"Mm."

They were greeted by the sight of an ashen wasteland. They couldn't sense any 'life' anywhere.

The few trees here were completely black and dried out, with no leaves growing on their branches. All the grass had turned yellow as well.

Whistle.

They blew their whistles and summoned their mounts. Walking through the endless wasteland on their own two feet was a stupid idea.

"Let's go!" Kang Oh rode his black horse and forcefully pulled the reins.

Neigh!

The black horse galloped with a forceful 'neigh'. Sephiro and Eder's horses were right behind him.

They were heading northwest. That was where the Kalma's headquarters were.

According to Cyndia, no monsters resided in the ashen wasteland. The Human Hunters, or Kalma, showed up instead. There were ten of them in total.

"We've struck gold. To think there'd still be people who actually cross the river." A Kalma, who wore a skull necklace and had a scar on his cheek, licked his lips.

He must've thought, 'Delicious prey had come over voluntarily!'.

"Don't let down your guard. They look pretty strong," another Kalma said.

"Hmph, it won't matter in the end." The Kalma with a scar on his cheek snorted.

Kang Oh, still on horseback, charged with Blood in his hand.

"Giddyap!"

Neigh.

Gallop, gallop!

"Throw the nets and chains!"

"Catch him!"

The nets and chains flew right at Kang Oh. As his horse galloped forward, Kang Oh swung Blood.

Tempest Tiger!

The golden tiger dashed forward and blew away the nets and chains.

"Dodge!"

The golden aura closed in, and the Kalmas acted quickly. Some of them kicked their camels' sides, while others abandoned them entirely.

Boom!

None of them were hit by the Tempest Tiger.

Whoosh.

The whirlwind sucked in the gray sand, becoming a raging sandstorm. In an instant, the world became hazy.

Then...

White bones rose from the ground.

It was the work of Eder, who'd raised his scythe into the air.

"Careful of the floor!" a Kalma yelled.

Then, an arrow pierced through the sandstorm, striking the Kalma's forehead.

Headshot!

This was obviously Sephiro's work.

"Grr, calm down!"

"Prepare for their attacks!" a Kalma yelled.

Whoosh.

Kang Oh pushed through the sandstorm.

"Uhahk!"

Bam.

His horse trampled on a Kalma and kept going. After that, Kang Oh swung his sword.

"Get a grip!"

A Kalma, who was riding on a camel, blocked and then counterattacked.

"Catch him first!"

"Paralyzing needle!"

The Kalmas surrounded him, while keeping an eye out for bone magic and arrows.

"Hmph." Kang Oh arrogantly swung Blood.

He didn't have much experience fighting on horseback, but it was much easier than a midair fight with a wyvern.

Slash!

He cleaved a white line into the air, leaving behind a lengthy wound on a Kalma.

Paralyzing needles came from behind, but Kang Oh turned his body and swung Blood, deflecting all of them at once. Then, a Kalma swung their sickle downwards.

"Go!" Kang Oh yelled.

His horse dashed forward. The sickle struck nothing but air.

"Haahp!"

Swish, slash, swish, slash!

Though he was fighting on horseback, his swordsmanship was flawless. None of their sickles reached him. Kang Oh sliced through several of them simultaneously and made his way forward.

The sandstorm soon died down.

Earth Shaking Arrow!

Bone Mass!

Eder and Sephiro began attacking in earnest. Kang Oh turned his horse around, and charged at the Kalma once more.

What followed was a one-sided battle.

'As expected.'

According to Cyndia, the Kalma's elites were always in the southern jungle or the western grasslands. Thus, the Kalma here were extremely weak.

It was exactly as she said. These Kalma were weak. Kang Oh's party killed them in no time at all.

[You have defeated Kalma Boltrender.]

[Demon Sword Blood has leveled up.]

[Demon Sword Blood has reached level 20.]

[Demon Sword Blood has gained a new ability.]

"Oho."

What a joyous message!

Kang Oh immediately looked over Blood's updated item info.

[Demon Sword Blood (Lv.20)]

Blood, the demon that made all beings within the Great Forest tremble in fear, is sealed within this sword.

The snow-white blade emanates scarlet energy, making the sword extremely beautiful but also ominous.

The sword has an ego of its own. It sees, hears, and feels the world through its wielder, and grows.

Untradeable.

Upon death, there is a high chance that the demon sword will drop, or that you will become a monster under the demon's control for 24 hours.

+ Evolving Weapon: Has its own level. Takes a portion of its wielder's experience points. These experience points are what the demon sword uses to grow. The higher the level, the more powerful the sword and its abilities become.

[Next Level Up: 0.002%]

+ Life Steal: Dealing damage restores your HP. The amount of health restored is based on the damage you deal and the demon sword's level.

+ Vampiristic Reinforcement: Successfully life stealing increases the sword's attack power by 2%. Life stealing again within a 15 second period causes this effect to stack (15 stacks max).

+ Blood Bomb: Usable when you reach max reinforcement stacks (15 stacks). Consumes all stacks to unleash a blood red explosion.

+ Red Butterfly's Dance: Evasion doubles for 10 seconds. Cooldown: 10 minutes.

Rank: SS.

Abilities: Attack Power 444, Physical +55, HP +1,000.

Minimum Requirements: Clear the Trial of the Demon Sword.

'Red Butterfly's Dance.'

Kang Oh had both Hyper Intuition and high evasion. What if he were to add Red Butterfly's Dance to the mix?

'I wouldn't be jealous of Sephiro's evasion, that's for sure!' Kang Oh grinned.

As expected of an SS-rank demon sword! It never disappointed him.

* * *

There was a forest within the ashen wasteland. However, it wasn't a normal forest; you know, the ones that are filled with life, with luscious trees and the sound of birds chirping.

It smelled like a mix of blood and another foul odor, and the trees were black and decaying! Their destination was located somewhere within this forest.

"It's over there," Kang Oh said.

He peeked through the faded thicket and saw a white hill. That was the Kalma's main headquarters!