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 âJailbreakâ quest as well.
âLetâs use our buff potions first.â
Kang Oh picked the strength and agility potions from his belt.
âOk.â
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.
âOnce I go through the door, Iâm going to go full force, so⊠Make sure to keep up,â Kang Oh requested.
âYou donât have to worry about me.â
âAlright. Letâs go.â
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 encounteredâŠ!
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 Baramutâs Roar.
Baramutâs Roar would instill his body with the essence of a tiger for 30 minutes.
That wasnât all.
âLetâs use Devil Trigger too!â
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 heâd pass the trial a second time.
Thatâs why heâd used Devil Trigger so sparingly; he also hadnât used it as of late. However, Kang Oh was going to use it today.
âLetâs go!â
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 Ohâs 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, Ubistâs 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 beastâs 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.
âLetâs end this quick!â
He was competing with Tae Gyuâs team, so he couldnât 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 didnât back down and swung its sharp claws.
Whoosh!
The Evil God Worshipperâs claws were tougher than steel, with strength and speed to match.
However⊠The demonized Kang Ohâs abilities were far superior.
Whack!
Kang Oh easily parried his opponentâs 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 someoneâs 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 heâd just inflicted began to heal right before his very eyes.
âI already knew that.â
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!
Jailaâs 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 Jailaâs Burning Brand.]
[Satiation has increased by 0.005%.]
âAn opening.â
His Hyper Intuition activated, showing him an opening.
Kang Oh thrust his sword.
Stab.
The tip of his blade pierced through the monsterâs 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 Godâs Arm!
It was said that the evil god, Jailaâs 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 godâs 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, heâd 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.
âI have to end this!â
Kang Oh used Abyss Transfer to teleport behind it.
âHaahp!â
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 wasnât 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]
âLetâs move!â
Kang Oh immediately began running.
Asu, whoâd merely watched as she couldnât 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 Gyuâs appearance was quite showy.
It was only natural, since his guild had set him up with S-rank equipment that was over level 200.
âThatâs not allâŠâ
He also possessed ten Godâs Relics; these items possessed varying abilities, and also increased a playerâs stats from within their inventory.
His guildâs 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 hadnât reached level 100 yet, she could still cast all sorts of blessings, which only strengthened him further.
âIâm both overgeared and overbuffed. I may even be able to beat one of the Numbers with all this.â
Tae Gyuâs power was overwhelming. He brimmed with confidence, thinking that no one could beat him.
Heâd have to return the equipment and the Godâs Relics later.
âI have to go even higher.â
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 momentâŠ
Kyaahk!
An Evil God Worshipper appeared.
âDie!â
Tae Gyu swung downwards with his showy red sword.
Swish!
His sword cleaved the worshipperâs side. Then, red plant roots sprouted from the wound.
The bladeâs healing debuff, which would decrease the monsterâs healing to 0, had activated.
With this, the worshipperâs monstrous regenerative abilities had been sealed!
After that, Tae Gyu used all sorts of showy Swordsman skills.
Lorianâs Spinning Slash!
Air Slash!
Septuple Slash!
Although it had lost its healing ability, the monster wasnât so weak to fall from a single attack.
The Evil God Worshipper used Evil Godâs Arm, which turned its arms bronze, and counterattacked.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Tae Gyuâs blade and the monsterâs 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.
âIt really is good.â
Tae Gyuâs necklace allowed him to use the Magic Reflect skill.
âThe cooldownâs only 2 minutes too.â
It was a formidable ability, but it had its downsides. First, it used a ton of MP and second, it couldnât 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.
âLetâs go!â
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.
Heâd picked this course because itâd 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 â1 hour hellâ hadnât 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.
âThere are three of them. Do your best to hold out,â Kang Oh said to her.
âOk. Iâll hold out no matter what.â
Kang Oh picked the A course because he trusted Asu. He trusted that she wouldnât die while he took on the Evil God Worshippers.
âGood.â
Kang Oh drew a Gladionâs 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.
âI guess itâs time to use it.â
Kang Oh took out the lion-shaped armor from his inventory.
âDevour!â
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 Julioâs Lion-Shaped Armor.]
[It is an A-rank item.]
[Entering Gluttony mode.]
[For 20 minutes, the demon sword and your characterâs abilities are tripled.]
Kuwaang!
The darkness, which rose from his body like a haze, spread outwards like a hedgehogâs spines.
âLetâs give them a warm hello!â
Kang Oh forcefully swung his sword with his overwhelming strength.
âUhaahp!â
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 Godâs Arm.
They then crossed their bronze arms in an effort to defend themselves.
âGo ahead and try!â Kang Oh yelled.
The prison shook from the force of his triple strength Tempest Tiger.