A Critter charged with its mouth wide open. Darion rolled on the floor, avoiding its attack, and then counterattacked!

His gladius cleaved through the air. However, Darion's one-sided physical attacks wouldn't work on a ghost-type monster. Of course, Darion was well aware of this, so he used a skill.

Blade Honed with Fighting Spirit!

Gladiators often used this skill against ghost-type monsters. A weapon infused with fighting spirit was capable of harming ghosts.

Darion's blade glowed with resplendent energy like the setting sun.

Swish!

His blade left behind a clear yellow scar on the Critter's body, which exploded with shards of light. But the Critter was no pushover. It quickly opened its mouth and attempted to devour him.

Inhale!

Though Darion tried to resist it, he was slowly getting pulled in. Getting eaten by a Critter meant death. No two ways about it.

'What do I do?'

Darion looked for a way out. Fortunately, he wasn't alone; Eder was by his side.

"Burn even the soul!" Eder swung his short staff like a conductor swinging their baton.

Soul Burn!

His staff unleashed purple fire, which devoured the Critter. As a result, the Critter began to violently writhe.

Eder smiled wickedly.

He was both a Healer and a Necromancer! What were Necromancers? They were mages that dealt with death, corpses, and the soul! There was no one better at handling the soul than a Necromancer.

"Thank you." Once he stopped getting sucked in, Darion thanked his teammate.

"Go all out. I have your back," Eder yelled.

"Yes!" Darion rushed at the burning Critter, and instantly swung his gladius four times.

Swish, slash, swish, slash!

Boom!

Darion's blade suddenly unleashed an explosion.

There was a fixed chance that Darion's gladius, 'Custony's Trap', would unleash a powerful explosion, so it was called the explosive sword.

The Critter, who was caught in the explosion, writhed in pain once more.

Then, a black-dressed Crona came flying over. She stretched out her arms, shooting black energy at Darion.

Taint.

It was a wicked spell that'd allow her to take control of her target!

"Not a chance." Eder pointed his staff at Crona.

Sharp bone spikes surged from the ground. However, bones couldn't damage a ghost-type monster like Crona.

'But explosions can.' Eder clenched his off-hand.

Bone Bomb!

Boom!

The resulting explosion caused bone fragments to go flying everywhere. However, Eder's Bone Bomb now, and the one he'd used while possessing Lich Eclipse's body, was quite different.

'As I thought, it's weaker.' Eder clicked his tongue.

Honestly, in terms of pure destructive power, his necromancy was far superior when he was in the Lich's body. In exchange, he regained his ability to heal people, so he didn't have much of a problem with it.

'Indeed.'

Eder had gone through so much trouble to get his body back, after all! He'd be sure to cherish it this time around.

However, that vow was almost broken instantaneously. A Cereb suddenly popped out of the ground! It transformed its arms into sharp drills and stabbed at Eder.

"Ugh!" Eder was caught by surprise.

But there was someone watching him. It was Kang Oh.

"Phew."

'That idiot. So he's the type that lowers his guard during battle.'

There was no helping it. He would have to bail him out.

"Summon Eder!" Kang Oh yelled. However, nothing happened. "What?"

He could save the 'Why isn't it working?' for later. Saving Eder took precedence right now.

Stab!

The Cereb stabbed Eder with its drill arm.

"Ugh." His face grimaced with pain.

Then...

Whoosh!

A gladius flew over and hit the Cereb. Even though it was immune to physical attacks, the attack had damaged it. The Cereb wobbled around as shards of light burst from its body.

Darion, who'd thrown the sword, quickly came to Eder's side and protected him.

"Are you alright?"

"Hoo, I'm alright. Thank you." Eder pulled out a potion from his bag and downed it.

Darion clashed with the Cereb a few times, and eventually picked up his fallen gladius. The gladius radiated dim holy light. It was only natural; the sword was imbued with the holy element.

It was called 'Rakan's Honor'; it was a holy weapon bestowed to gladiators that served Rakan.

The explosive sword, Custony's Trap.

The holy sword, Rakan's Honor.

His third and final gladius, Steel Heart, was a masterpiece created by the craftsman, Yatu.

Darion's style of combat focused on switching between these three swords depending on the situation. Of course, he would sometimes dual-wield them too.

Like right now.

"Haahp!" Darion swung Custony's Trap in his right hand and Rakan's Honor in his left as if he were in a trance.

His attacks were powerful enough to ward off the evil spirits.

With Darion holding them back, Eder was safely able to cast his spells. Whenever he swung his staff, simple spells like bone magic, fireballs, etc. would go flying.

'Soren and Karin are as skilled as I expected. Darion also seems more effective than I thought he'd be. Eder's magic is slightly below par, but I guess it makes sense; Healer's his original class.'

Kang Oh carefully analyzed his teammates' skills and movements, making sure to remember them.

"Now then, let's end this."

His teammates had been fighting so intensely, but only now did Kang Oh decide to fight in earnest.

And...

"Wow!"

"Oppa..."

Karin and Soren's eyes sparkled with awe.

With every swing of his blade, he sliced through an evil spirit! He moved so gracefully, forbidding any from even touching his collar! Then there was his varied skill use!

Kang Oh was way too strong; so much so that they shivered!

Once the battle was over, Kang Oh approached Eder.

"Eder."

"Yes?"

"I couldn't summon you."

"I thought as much."

"You knew?"

"Yes. That ability only worked when I was a ghost."

"That so?"

Now that he thought about it, a system message had informed him that he could summon Eder after he'd attached to him.

"Yes."

"Be careful in the future. I won't be able to bail you out." Kang Oh patted his shoulder.

"I'll keep that in mind."

"Darion."

"Yes?"

"You fight well. You did good defending Eder too."

Darion scowled, not expecting Kang Oh to compliment him. "Pardon me?"

'This guy's complimenting me?'

"Yeah. Protect Eder and the others from now on."

"Ahem. Understood." Darion felt kind of bitter, but he nodded his head nonetheless. After all, he couldn't say, 'Why are you complimenting me?'.

"Soren and Karin..."

"Yes!"

"Yes, Oppa!"

The two stared at him in admiration. It seemed like his skills had left quite the impression on them.

"Your teamwork is great. I'll be counting on you in the future."

"Ok!" the two replied simultaneously.

"Alright. I'm going to start treating these evil spirits like they're Galmoss, so try and keep up!"

Kang Oh and his teammates strode forward.

A short while later, they encountered a ton of evil spirits.

* * *

Velin's Palace was a popular hunting ground for high level players.

It was really accessible, since it was in the middle of a major city, and there were rumors that the Master Architect, Velin, had left behind the 'Create Dungeon' skill somewhere inside.

Plus, it was more efficient to hunt evil spirits, as they had lower HP and defense than other monsters, if you knew how to take them down properly.

There was a player called Light Spring hunting here.

Light Spring was a paladin of the Church of Light, which worshipped the God of Light, Garuna. He'd just reached level 350, so he honestly wasn't ready for this place yet.

However, his older brother was the party leader, and the party consisted of his older brother's friends, so they carried him through without much issue.

Moreover, his older brother was a middle ranker, and his friends were pretty well-known too, so Light Spring's involvement or lack thereof didn't really matter.

"Hehe, I leveled up again," Light Spring said.

"Congratulations."

"Congrats."

His older brother and his friends congratulated him.

"This really is Velin's Palace. I'm leveling up really fast. You're killing the evil spirits so quickly too."

It took them about 10 to 20 minutes to kill a group of evil spirits. Considering the fact that their enemies were level 400 evil spirits, it was quite fast.

"Hoo, we have to hit level 400 ASAP," his older brother said. He and his friends were in their latter 300s. They were almost there.

"Let's hunt late into the night," a party member said.

"Ok."

"We can do this."

They were all motivated.

However, they heard a huge commotion from the far side of the passageway.

"What's going on?" Light Spring stared into the passageway.

A short while later...

A party came out of the passageway. The party consisted of three men and two girls. They strode forward and passed Light Spring's party.

However, there were players following them.

"Mr. Rande!" Light Spring's brother said, recognizing one of the players following them.

"Ah, hello."

"What are you doing?"

"As you can see, I'm watching."

"Watching what?"

Rande pointed at the party that'd just passed them.

"Who is it?"

"One of the Numbers."

"What?"

"He's amazing. I'm filming, so if you'll excuse me." Rande departed.

"Want to follow them?" Light Spring asked. He'd never seen one of the Numbers before.

"Should we?"

"Let's do it."

Light Spring's party followed Rande.

"Who do you think it is?" Light Spring moved quickly and asked. He was essentially asking, 'Which of the Numbers do you think it is?'.

"Kang Oh," his brother replied.

"Kang Oh? I didn't see anyone wearing tiger-striped armor."

"I saw a player with a black sword. After speaking with Mr. Rande, I remembered who that sword belonged to. That sword belongs to Predator Kang Oh."

"Wow, the Predator."

Kang Oh's original nicknames were the Black Beast and Red Wing, but after killing Draka, he'd gained a new nickname.

Predator!

That was also the name of the program which depicted Kang Oh's fight against Draka. It was clear that the Wyvern King, Draka, was at the top of the food chain, and yet, Kang Oh had defeated it. Thus, people began calling him the Predator.

"Let's hurry!" Light Spring urged.

Predator Kang Oh was the most recent addition to the Numbers! No one had heard of him for a while; to think he was here in Velin's Palace!

A short while later...

'Is that Predator Kang Oh!?'

Light Spring was finally able to see him; the sight of a swordsman slicing an evil spirit in two!

"H-How are they killing them so easily?" He gaped.

Kang Oh and his teammates only took about 3 minutes to kill a group of evil spirits. Seeing Kang Oh slice through an evil spirit with every swing of his sword was the best part!

'The evil spirits here ain't slimes!'

"Next."

Kang Oh's party proceeded without rest, searching for their next prey. Light Spring and the other spectators followed Kang Oh's party as if possessed.

* * *

Demon Sword Ubist had the ability to cut through ghosts. No ghost was exempt from this ability.

Depending on the strength of the ghost, however, the wound he inflicted may quickly stitch itself together, or a sliced off area may regenerate more quickly.

This was true for the evil spirits in Velin's Palace too. Even if he cut them in half, they'd instantly return to their original state.

Kang Oh was currently fighting against an evil spirit whose regenerative abilities far surpassed the norm.

The Insatiable Critter, Glutton!

He was fighting a named Critter, one that was at least four times as large as a normal one. Its mouth's suction force was tremendous, and it had tentacles on its body like an octopus.

As said, its regenerative abilities were extraordinary, so a normal attack wouldn't be enough to take it down.

'Then I just have to damage it faster than it can regenerate.'

Cut, thrust, cut, short thrust, diagonal slash, and another cut!

Kang Oh's attacks were both quick and precise, striking at the same location over and over again.

Like a steadily enlarging crack in a dam, the scars on Glutton's round body began to get larger and larger. Kang Oh kept attacking and dealing damage faster than it could regenerate.

Glutton randomly swung its tentacles around, attempting to stop Kang Oh's focused assault.

Getting hit by these tentacles would apply a curse that slowed one's movement. This ability stacked, so the more one got hit, the slower they'd become.

In other words, if he let himself get hit by one tentacle, then it'd become easier for Glutton to hit him with another!

However, Kang Oh didn't allow a single one to hit him. He treated its tentacles like Galmoss's Reaper of Souls and avoided them at all cost.

Of course, Glutton's tentacles weren't very fast, and their movements were incredibly simple.

However, it was still an incredible accomplishment; he dodged the countless tentacles whilst swinging his sword at the exact same location time after time.

At some point...

Kang Oh felt Demon Sword Ubist's power welling up. It was a familiar feeling.

Blackness, one like a starless night sky, engulfed his blade.

Darkness Strike!

Swish!

His sword fell from above.

Of course, his blade crossed the area he'd been attacking thus far! The jet-black energy transformed into a beast-shaped wave and ripped Glutton apart.

Bam!

The spherical Glutton was bisected like an apple split into two equal halves!

It was truly a memorable sight.

[You have defeated the Insatiable Critter, Glutton, using Darkness Strike.]

[You have completed the spontaneous quest, Darkness Strike 2. You are rewarded with a large amount of proficiency.]

[Darkness Strike has risen to high-rank.]