TL: Hayath
Chapter 10
After becoming E-rank, the first task was clear.
It was collecting monsters.
The unprecedented skill, Servant, requires the corpses of dead monsters. This was a different aspect from Necromancers.
“It’s a whole different level compared to those who can only summon skeletons by consuming mana.”
His tone was full of pride. From his experience, skeletons could never compare to servants.
Skeletons, with neither intelligence nor learning ability, were only as effective as the proficiency of the skill used.
Servants are the only skill that can utilize all the characteristics of a monster when it was alive.
While they require thorough management, their efficiency is beyond words.
“I need to create eight more servants. Preferably strong ones.”
Now, he could collect a total of ten servants.
If Johan continued to make servants like this, he himself could be considered a one-man guild.
“What kind of monster should I make into a servant to get praised for doing a good job?”
He succeeded in having the boss monster King Kobard under his command.
It was the strongest monster he could get at this point, and now it was time to meet other monsters.
“There are monsters that match my current level.”
As an E-rank Awakened, the highest dungeon he could enter alone for hunting, not as part of a commission, was an E-rank dungeon. For others, he needed to form a team.
This meant he had to find the strongest monster he could encounter in an E-rank dungeon.
Swish—
He looked through the list of dungeons. Among the numerous E-rank dungeons, there were three that had monsters Johan was interested in.
“Should I go to this one?”
One dungeon happened to be vacant. He immediately made a reservation, quickly prepared, and left the house.
The dungeon was under an overpass in Mapo-gu, not far away.
After a simple authentication process, he entered the dungeon.
Inside the dungeon was a vast plain.
Whoosh—
Green reeds swayed with the wind.
The cool breeze and warm sunlight made it seem like a resort.
“This place is still beautiful.”
He had been here a few times before.
Even then, he had been impressed by the overwhelming scenery, and the unchanged grandeur was still impressive now.
“Complacency.”
He immediately carried his coffin. The most common mistake made by people entering this place was complacency.
“This is still a dungeon, after all.”
Except for the 10 meters around him that he had cleared for visibility, the rest was a reed field.
The reeds were about 1.5 meters tall.
They grew so densely that visibility was essential for the surroundings.
“Let’s start the hunt in earnest?”
Swish—
He opened the coffin. King and Cowen emerged from the coffin.
They gripped their axes and guarded Johan front and back.
There couldn’t be a more reliable escort.
“Footprints. They were made not long ago.”
He saw the footprints of a beast. They were huge, over 30 cm in diameter.
Given the lack of damage, they must have passed by within an hour.
Slice—
King cut through the reeds, pioneering the way.
Standing nearly 2 meters tall, he had a perfect view of the surroundings.
“Signal me if you see anything.”
King nodded and scanned the surroundings.
The monsters they were targeting would have already caught their scent.
They were undoubtedly creatures with keen senses of smell.
Rustle—
The sound, whether from the wind or the monsters moving, echoed from all directions.
Johan chose to trust his instincts rather than rely on his hearing.
His heightened senses were sufficient to detect the monsters.
Swish—
He sensed an unusual rustle of grass. Along with that, he felt something quickly approaching from all directions.
Four of them. It was the charge of beings filled with murderous intent.
“They’re here!”
He crouched, thrilled. As the monsters that his senses had caught leaped, King and Cowen also prepared for battle.
Growl—
A low growl from the beasts.
Whoosh—
The creatures that leaped from all directions were wolves. Wolves with incredibly long arms.
“Vork!”
The beast-type monsters were similar to wolves but had legs as long as their bodies.
Slash—
The sturdy claws that cut through the fragile reeds aimed at Johan.
After confirming their positions, he blocked the attack with his coffin.
Thud—
The coffin easily withstood the attack.
Having failed their surprise attack, the creatures retreated into the bushes.
These creatures, knowing nothing but slaughter, used the reeds as a geographic advantage and their speed as their primary weapon.
“How dare these bastards target me?”
He was enraged at being targeted.
These creatures have the habit of dealing with the weakest first.
This meant they saw him as weaker than these two.
There was no need to spare creatures with no discerning eyes.
“Focus on one. King!”
Nod—
Reading Johan’s will, King threw his axe. It flew towards a spot in the bushes.
Thud—
The axe accurately pierced the back of a creature hidden in the bushes. It seemed to be due to Johan temporarily sharing his senses.
“Cowen, guard my back. You should protect the weakest-looking one, right?”
Tilt—
Cowen tilted his head as if to ask why he was being unfairly blamed.
Johan ignored that look. He would never admit that he was weaker than even Cowen.
Huff, huff—
Pushing through the bushes, they found the Vork, barely breathing.
The strength of the boss monster King easily pierced the Vork’s thick hide.
“Yeah, I acknowledge you, little one.”
Tilt—
Ignoring King’s reaction, Johan drew his dagger.
To make use of the corpse as a servant, he needed to end its life completely, granting it its final rest.
Thunk—
However, he couldn’t move the dagger easily.
He was torn by one dilemma.
“Ugh. Fine, you guys take it all. Take it all!”
Cowen approached and ended Vork’s life on Johan’s command.
At that moment, he felt the amount of spirit within Cowen increase.
He had yielded for Cowen’s growth.
“Yeah, they’re mine anyway, so what does it matter?”
Why feel jealous of these creatures? After all, they were his to command.
Pat—
Cowen patted Johan on the shoulder. It was a nod of encouragement.
He gave a dry smile.
These adorable little guys.
Having resigned himself in the right direction, Johan opened the coffin.
Swish—
The bandages that spilled out dragged the Vork’s corpse inside.
[1 corpse stored. Spirit stat increased by 1.]
As the coffin closed, the creatures attacked again.
Johan, filled with venom, swung his coffin with force.
“Never underestimate me again!”
Bang—
He smashed the head of a creature that bared its fangs at him.
With a single blow, the head was completely crushed. The creature convulsed intermittently and died without being able to resist.
After going through the coffin ten times, Johan was at a level where Vork was no match for him.
Growl—
As two of them died in an instant, the remaining two retreated in fear.
They instinctively realized they were no match.
“Catch them.”
With the command, the blue eyes of the servants lit up.
The creatures moved, each targeting one of the remaining creatures.
With speed comparable to the Vork, they closed the distance instantly. King didn’t even need a weapon to kill one of the creatures.
Rip—
After grabbing its jaw, he ripped it apart easily. The creature, with its jaw dangling, couldn’t even scream and died.
Shriek—
On the other hand, Cowen systematically took down the Vork. He targeted its vital points, cutting its tendons to disable its mobility.
Then, he went for the arms, thighs, and abdomen.
It took only 10 seconds to decapitate the creature. Using his axe like a sword, Cowen was beyond the realm of ordinary monsters.
“Cowen really absorbs my movements well. Is there something special about the first servant?”
Cowen even removed the heartstone from the dead creature and handed it to Johan. It was definitely an unusual behavior.
“Servants.”
He stored the three additional corpses in the coffin. The coffin trembled slightly as if it was filled to its limit.
Swish—
The coffin opened, and the Vorks wrapped in white bandages emerged. As soon as they saw Johan, they whimpered and crawled on the ground.
“Using those fierce eyes to act cute is cheating.”
Although they wagged their tails, their fierce intent remained.
Their sharp teeth seemed ready to tear apart any monster.
They were like well-trained hunting dogs.
“Let’s head to your habitat. We need to bring your friends too.”
Bark!
They barked vigorously and led the way.
They pressed their noses to the ground and moved forward without hesitation. There was a reason Johan made them his servants.
“The more servants there are, the harder it will be to control them perfectly. It’s better to focus on a few and fill the rest with instinct-driven creatures.”
If he granted the undying ability to creatures that attack indiscriminately, it would be nothing short of a disaster.
The ferocity of creatures that cling to their prey until death shines brightest when they are resilient.
Bark, bark—
One of them lifted its head and barked at Johan.
It meant there was a habitat ahead.
“Let’s see.”
He climbed onto King’s shoulder and scouted ahead.
Indeed, about 200 meters ahead was a field of soft grass that covered up to the calves instead of the tall grass.
Creatures were comfortably napping there, unaware of the approaching threat.
There were six of them, including one that appeared to be the leader.
“The wind is blowing our way too. Perfect weather for an ambush.”
He raised his bow. He drew the string as close as possible, matching the swaying speed of the grass.
They were at a distance of about 100 meters.
The leader rolled on the ground. Perhaps due to his tough hide, the arrow didn’t penetrate deeply. The others were thrown into confusion.
He stopped King and took a stance before drawing the bowstring.
He aimed the bow at the one who appeared to be the leader, who was furthest away.
“Go. Tear them all apart.”
Bark!
The creatures with glowing eyes charged. The ones awakened from their slumber by the strange sound.
Squeak-
However, it was too late. The arrow had already struck the leader squarely in the forehead.
Thud-
The leader fell to the ground. Perhaps due to his tough hide, the arrow didn’t penetrate deeply. The others were thrown into confusion.
Bark!
At the same time, Vork jumped up and bit the neck of one of his kind.
With powerful jaws, he shook his grip fiercely from side to side without letting go of the bitten neck.
Yelp-
The startled creatures twisted their bodies in confusion. The scent of a fellow creature attacking them caused their brains to freeze.
The more they struggled, the deeper the teeth sank.
One creature, not bitten, bit down hard on the bandage to try to save its comrade.
Sniff-
But it was a futile effort.
Whether their legs were torn or not, they snorted and only focused on biting and biting the same spot to ensure the enemy’s death.
This was also an order from Johan.
Thud-
Another arrow pierced the abdomen of the remaining creature.
The fallen one struggled as it saw Cowen approaching with the intent to behead it.
Slash-
A clean strike severed its neck. The creature spewed blood and slowly lost its movement.
Cowen also beheaded the remaining four creatures. His precise attacks narrowly missed his allies.
[Servant ‘Cowen’ has leveled up. Lv. 5 -> Lv. 6]
[Servant ‘Cowen’s’ stats have slightly increased.]
“Boy, you’ve gotten stronger.”
Cowen, who had already reached level 6, now had stats that made it embarrassing to still call him a kobold.
He had become strong enough to face King in a match.
Grrrr-
As if not wanting to be outdone, King also began to assert his presence.
The killing intent emitted by a D-grade monster was more than enough to completely engulf the surroundings.
Growl-
The leader, who had pulled out the embedded arrow, responded with his own killing intent.
He was determined to kill everyone who had entered his territory.
Thud-
King blocked the creature’s path. His proud eyes looked down on the leader.
Leap-
The leader leapt to bite King’s neck. His speed was noticeably faster than other Vorks, and it seemed like he would tear King’s neck apart in no time.
Chomp-
But that was a misconception.
King easily caught the leader’s neck and crushed his ankle with the edge of his giant axe.
The moment clearly displayed the superiority of strength.
Bark!
The leader writhed in pain as he was thrown to the ground. With broken ribs, he could not easily get up.
Slash-
The axe cleaved the leader’s head. The cleanly severed head fell to the ground.
The surroundings were stained with blood.
Clink-
King put his hand on his waist.
Looking back and forth between Cowen and Johan, King was clearly conscious of Cowen.
“Yeah, you’re still the boss.”
Johan gave a thumbs up.
King nodded in satisfaction.
Certainly, surpassing King’s position was still impossible. The innate difference in strength was not something easily bridged.
The only regret was that King did not grow.
No one knew what mechanism allowed only Cowen to grow, but one day Cowen would surpass King.
It was also quite enjoyable to watch Cowen’s growth.
“Servant.”
Swish-
He absorbed all the dead Vorks. Even the damaged corpses were completely absorbed.
With the number of coffins, he had succeeded in maximizing the servants to their limits. The purpose of coming here was completely fulfilled.
“With an army of this size, it’s enough to conquer most D-grade dungeons.”
He had gathered enough forces to produce much greater synergy than most teams.
Considering it usually took about five people to clear a dungeon, this was an overwhelming amount.
[Two corpses have been stored. Stored corpses can be turned into servants at any time.]
[You can store up to ten corpses. The number of servants increases in proportion to the morale stat.]
Two excess corpses were stored in the list. The list could be checked like the coffined corpses.
“The fact that servants can be immediately replenished if destroyed is a big advantage. The more you stock up, the better.”
Anyone who has experienced infinite waves in a defense game would know.
The never-ending onslaught of attacks incites fear and despair.
“If I distribute the timing well, I can create an endless cycle of infinite waves.”
Whether summoning ten servants or one, the morale consumed per servant was one.
By utilizing the moment morale was recovered, an endless cycle of monsters could be created.
Screech-
The coffin silently opened. Four Vorks, including the one-and-a-half times larger leader, sat down in front of Johan.
Finally, the moment the number of servants exceeded ten. The morale stat also reached ten.
Then, a notification sounded.
It was an alert that answered the questions so far.
[Morale stat has reached 10. Vassal registration is now active.]
