"Now that you said no one is allowed there, I'm really curious about what's going on," Nox said, his eyes fixed on the top of the castle.
"We're all curious, but that place is only reserved for the top ranker," Jogo said with dreamy eyes.
"Don't forget that a demon was killed because his curiosity got the best of him," Snakey warned, though she was equally as curious as them.
"Hmmmm." Nodding, the party stepped into the castle, entering a massive, wide reception area crowded with demons bustling to and fro. Nox followed the group to a counter where a feminine-looking demon with two horns and three eyes was seated.
"Good day, sir. What brings you here?" the demon asked politely upon noticing Nox's level.
"I'd like to register for the hunting competition," Nox said in a deep, authoritative voice.
"Just a moment, sir." Though curious about the higher demon wanting to participate in the hunting game, she kept her thoughts to herself and swiftly registered Nox's name under the alias "The Hound."
"Rank 3000, huh?" Nox muttered, seeing his name at the bottom of the Legacy demon ranking.
After registering, Nox went into the wild to hunt beasts. Snakey and her group insisted on accompanying him, but he refused for obvious reasons.
If they saw him fight, they'd discover he was a fraud, which was something Nox wanted to avoid. His main goal was to level up and tame more beasts, not attract unnecessary attention.
After spotting a Giant Ant standing 8 feet tall with a red, crest-like carapace, Nox summoned Thirteen and Fluffington.
The two beasts appeared, taking in their surroundings. When they saw the ant, they became excited.
Fluffington: [Finally, we'll battle real monsters! I was getting tired of those filthy undead.]
[Panda, fight monsters!] Thirteen also jumped up in excitement. They looked like eager children who couldn't hold themselves from opening a Christmas present.
'In a sense, they are children,' Nox smiled. He wasn't sure if he should be happy that his pets were battle maniacs. 'Still, it's better than those that would hide behind me.'
With Nox's consent, the two creatures charged at the giant ant with astonishing speed, leaving Nox impressed. A few weeks ago, they weren't this fast, but the training with Eve had paid off.
With lightning speed, Fluffington closed the distance and buried his claws into the ant's body. A fountain of green blood splashed out like a broken tap.
The giant ant shrieked, bringing down its mandibles to grasp the hateful cat tormenting it. However, it then saw a small, curled black-and-white panda slam into it like a juggernaut, sending it reeling in pain.
The giant ant struggled to maintain its footing; its antennae quivered. The two were too fast, and their battle combination was very impressive. It didn't even see the panda coming, only at the nick of time when it was already too late.
At this rate, if it went easy on the two, it might lose. When the ant regained its bearings, its red eyes glowed menacingly as it felt something climbing its body, and a blinding pain shot through it.
Twisting its antennae, the Crimson Scourge Ant's eyes turned bloodshot.
It was the hateful cat!
Fluffington, climbing the ant's legs with frightening balance, continued to use his super-sharp claws to inflict more damage on the ant. Because of his skill: [Wallwalker], running on the ant's body was no different from walking on the ground.
The creature's crested carapace was rendered useless, and more fountains of green blood spilled out, causing the ant's health to continue decreasing.
Thirteen wasn't standing idly either. With his powerful jaws, he chomped on the ant's legs, hoping to bring down the giant and deal additional damage.
As Nox watched, he was fascinated. He had not given a single command, yet his pets were handling the situation well. He couldn't believe they were dealing with an Intermediate-rank beast without sustaining any damage.
In Eos, even a single rank gap was massive. A lower rank would always struggle against higher-ranked beasts. An Intermediate-tier beast had the strength to defeat ten Wildlings on a good day, but today it was struggling against two!
'Things are about to get serious,' Nox warned Fluffington and Thirteen telepathically when he saw the ant's antennae light up. He drew his trusty dagger.
Thanks to his [Analyze] skill, he could see that the ant had activated one of its abilities as a desperate attempt before it succumbed to the combined pain it received from its two assailants, who were hell-bent on draining its Health points.
"Wait!" Nox called out to Fluffington and Thirteen. They stared at him in confusion. Why would he stop them just when they were having fun toying with this overgrown ant?
[Panda, not done yet!] Thirteen protested with an annoyed expression, jaws still clamped around the ant's slim legs.
Yes, Fluffington and Thirteen could have finished this fight much faster, but they had purposely delayed it because of their sick nature and wanted to toy with the poor ant.
Even Nox knew this, but he didn't stop them because he wanted the beast to activate its skill.
At that moment, several ant creatures started popping out of thin air. Some had wings and mandibles dripping with toxic green goo that incinerated the ground on contact.
Loud, piercing buzzes reverberated as the army of insect-type beasts announced their presence. The collective aura of Wildlings and Intermediate-tier beasts burst forth, slamming into Nox and forcing him back a step.
Usually, he would have hesitated to face the horde, but remembering the beating he received from Hendrix and his sister's swollen face, his dark eyes glowed even darker.
Then there was the blessing from the lion god.
[Brave and Fearless!]
The blessings were like a trait that activated automatically when Nox felt fear, and when activated, all trace of fear would be dismissed, making him fearless and brave like the lion.
Even Nox was unaware of this, thinking the gods of the Pantheon of Mythical Beasts were just wishing him well, but they were actually strengthening his soul.
With the collective blessings of all the beasts, Nox was the true honored one.
"Fluffington, Thirteen, deal with the small flies!" Nox ordered, his eyes locked on the humanoid ant that looked different from the others. The ant was roughly human-sized, not large like the rest, but she radiated the most terrifying aura of them all.
She was the one Nox should've been most cautious of, yet he was charging forward, his trusty dagger in hand.
[Crimson Scourge Ant Queen—Intermediate Tier Lv9]
"How many stabs would it take to drain your Health points? Let's find out!"
Meanwhile, in Blight Castle, on the topmost floor shrouded in wild flames, a pair of crimson eyes watched the battle about to unfold.
Unbeknownst to Nox, he had captured the attention of the baddest and meanest demon living on the top floor of Blight Castle.
Please remember to support with Golden Tickets, Power Stones, and reviews so the story can gain more publicity. Because of this, here is the monthly Golden Tickets Goal:
50 Golden Tickets = 2 Chapters
Every 100 Power Stones = 1 Chapter
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