Hm...well, quite evidently, using Devour and Drain on a large number of weaker Monsters is more efficient than one stronger Monster.
Guess it’s quantity over quality with these Skills...well, considering that they’re my Gluttony Skills, I suppose that makes sense.
And, to be fair, the amount of points I gained from the Demon is easily the most I’ve ever gotten from a single Monster before, by a fair amount.
Also, I consumed literally hundreds of Hellhounds on the lower floors, so of course those numbers were going to add up.
So, I’m definitely not complaining, especially when I’ve gotten a lot stronger in this raid than I’d anticipated. And the boost to my stats aside, I’ve gained quite the valuable addition to my arsenal.
My new weapon, Desecrator.
Its special abilities are more than handy, definitely a massive upgrade to my previous weapon...plus, as a bonus, it looks really fucking cool.
Anyway, Ariella and I then began trying to wake the others one by one, after I stored my new blade in Treasury. Most of them were still alive, but we did have a couple of casualties.
The Protector was dead, a chunk of rubble lodged in her chest, it must have gotten launched at her when the Demon’s Negative Energy blast went out of control and erupted.
The Ice Mage was dead too, there was a hole in his head, but nothing in it...the ice wall he put up, a shard of ice must have shot back and pierced his head when the blast shattered the ice wall, killing him with his own Magic.
The ice must have melted away during the fight.
The others had sustained a few injuries, but nothing fatal. As Ariella woke up Ferna, she began healing each of us after taking care of her own injuries, her hair matted down with blood.
"I see, so we’ve had two casualties-...no, three, including Hal. I know how this might sound, but I’m surprised more of us weren’t killed. What happened?" She inquired, glancing at me and Ariella.
"Well, um...I killed the Demon with Kai’s help," Responded Ariella, her gaze shifting around a bit.
Huh. Okay, so she’s not a very good liar.
"Yeah, I got rid of the vines while she fought the Demon, and after I finished dealing with the vines, I backed her up. The Demon was strong but not very skilled, so Ariella managed to overcome the gap, though it was pretty close," I chimed in.
I mean, the first half of that is technically true, so I’m not completely lying.
"Uh, yeah, what he said. He kept distracting the Demon and gave me openings, and I eventually managed to land a hit on her head and damage her brain. And I finished her off after that," Added Ariella, a bit more convincingly this time.
"I see. Well, whatever the case, the most important thing is that we’re still alive. With three deaths, we can’t exactly say that the raid went well, but it could’ve been a lot worse. We should leave now. We’ve got a lot of ground to cover to get back to the entrance," Remarked Ferna solemnly.
She used her Healing Magic to close up the wounds on the corpses, before the Detector, Healer and Trey carried the bodies as we began heading back, since Ariella and I was pretty visibly exhausted.
Everyone was quiet, hardly saying a word as we headed back down the Dungeon. While we all knew that death was a very real possibility during raids, I don’t think anyone actually expected this.
Even if we all pass the exam, I wonder how many of the others will actually go through with becoming Hunters after what happened today?
I certainly will, of course.
While I do feel bad for those who died, and was pretty shocked when they died, I don’t actually feel any real grief...I know that might sound cold, but I mean, I barely knew any of them.
All I’m really thinking about right now is how much stronger I’ve gotten, particularly regarding my new weapon, Desecrator.
Speaking of which, Ai...what was that before, when you were linking me to it? I didn’t know you could freeze time, would’ve been real useful to know about that.
<Incorrect, the Sinner System has no such ability>
<That was caused by the weapon>
Wait, what?
<It is not that time stopped, more than your perception was temporarily raised to the point where it felt like time was stopped>
<And that was caused by the weapon>
<Once I began to establish a link between it and you, that happened automatically>
<And it is a good thing it did>
<The weapon was highly complex and difficult to link with, it would have been impossible for you to do it on your own>
<Even with the Sinner System, I barely established the link, it was a tremendous amount of information to process>
<Had you attempted to link with the weapon on your own, it would likely have overwhelmed your brain and left you in a vegetative state>
Yikes, glad I managed to avoid that. I see, so that’s why the Demon said that it should be impossible for a human to wield that weapon.
<Yes, Demons appear to perceive Mana differently to humans, they possess a greater fundamental understanding and comprehension of it>
<Furthermore, ordinarily, you would have had to kill her in order to nullify her ownership over the weapon>
<But I was able to overwrite it without needing to kill her>
Glad you managed to pull it off, because I’d probably be dead otherwise. Taking control of that weapon was the turning point, not only did it weaken her but it strengthened me on top of that, and even then, I just barely won.
<By the way, what made you choose the name Desecrator?>
I just went with the first thing off the top of my head, not like I had the luxury of taking the time to think it over, after all.
But I’m pretty happy with the name, it fits the whole Sinner theme I’ve got going, after all.
<Yes, I suppose so>
<On another note, how will you hide the fact that you are able to grow more powerful after this?>
Good question.
I’ll try to bullshit my way through, but that’d be pointless if they measure my Power Level and Potential. I may have to come clean this time, though I certainly don’t plan on revealing everything.
<Actually, there might be something I can do>
Oh? Go on, I’m listening.