The Demonic Body Quest

“......”

I stood frozen in place like a statue for a while, staring intently at the message.

......A quest?

A quest out of nowhere. This was unprecedented.

Until now, the system had been utterly unhelpful with me. It only showed my status window or notified me when a trait leveled up. Not even when I first fell into this world, or when I caught my first villain, or when I made contact with ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the artifact. Even when I acquired Demonic Body, it stayed silent. So why react the moment I set foot in these mountains?

One year. Not a long time, but more than enough to grasp the situation and set a goal. And now, suddenly, it hands me a quest? With a specific deadline of three years, no less?

“Ha, what the hell.”

A wry chuckle escaped my ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠lips. My mind raced.

Why now? Right after I entered these mountains. What was the reason? Were the Helm Mountains that important? Or because Demonic Body hit level 2? Or had it figured out the level-up conditions for Demonic Body?

Countless thoughts flashed through my head. But I couldn't pinpoint the system's intent.

I tried to reason it out, but all that came back was the silence of the forest. The system had no intention of answering my questions.

“Rewards and penalties both question marks. Plays hard to get like a pro.”

Confusion swirled, but I snapped out of it soon enough. Whatever the reason, the direction was clear now. If the system was giving me a quest, it wanted me to grow stronger—and so did I. Our interests aligned, so there was no reason to refuse.

I tightened the strap of my backpack and pressed deeper into the mountains.

-Crunch, crunch.

As I climbed higher, the plants grew unnaturally massive. The grass reached my thighs, and the trees towered like skyscrapers, dozens of meters tall. Surprisingly, this wasn't rare in this world. Creatures several meters long roamed freely, so plants were even more exaggerated.

The forest was quieter than expected. Sure, birds chirped and insects buzzed endlessly, but that wasn't the point.

Demon beasts should be showing up by now.

Managed areas had few or no demon beasts. They monitored those zones 24/7, dispatching troops and heroes the moment a rift appeared to wipe them out. But in rugged terrain like this mountain range, that was impossible. Rifts formed in unseen spots.

Watchtowers dotted the flatter areas, but they weren't nearly enough. So places like this should teem with demon beasts, though not as densely as that massive forest over there...

I spot monsters here and there, but no demon beasts.

Should I cut myself and let the blood draw them? Right as that thought crossed my mind—

-Rustle.

My super senses picked up the faint sound. I held my breath, crouched low, and crept toward it.

Just ahead, beyond a massive bush. A prickling discomfort stabbed at my skin.

Demonic energy.

-Slink.

I quietly extended tentacles, anchored them to nearby tree trunks, and pulled. My body lifted lightly off the ground. From the treetop, I peered down.

And soon, something emerged.

From the bushes crawled a demon beast that looked like an ant and centipede mashed together. Its body was covered in dark purple exoskeleton, green drool oozing from its jaws.

I narrowed my eyes, sizing it up.

...Much weaker than the Swarm Captain.

Without hesitation, I dropped. My body plummeted straight down, slamming into its back.

—Kieeeek!!

It shrieked at the sudden assault. I clung to its thrashing back, then swiftly climbed to its head. Twisting five tentacles into a drill on my right arm, I plunged it down.

—Kwachak!!

—Kieeeek!!!

The exoskeleton shattered, the drill piercing its skull. Black blood sprayed everywhere. It twitched briefly before going limp.

Confirming it was dead, I pulled up my status window.

“......Just as I thought.”

A smile tugged at my lips. The 1% had jumped to 3.4% after killing it. My hypothesis was correct. Demonic Body grew by hunting ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠demon beasts. It fed on them like experience points.

Motivation surged. A 2.4% gain meant about 40 more to hit level 3.

I set off immediately for the next one.

For the next few hours, the hunt continued relentlessly. I roamed the forest like a madman, taking down five hyena-like demon beasts, three giant venomous moth types, and one serpent form.

And now.

Demonic Body lv.2 Growth Progress: ■□□□□□□□□□ (11.3%)

“......Not rising as fast as I'd hoped.”

Nine more kills, but only modest gains.

7.9% total, so roughly 0.8% per beast? The initial 2.4% was probably a newbie boost or tutorial.

At this rate, I'd need over 100 for level 3. Fast leveling was off the table.

Well, if it were quick, the quest wouldn't have a three-year timer.

The slow growth made sense. Demon beasts were scarce, too. I'd expected the Helm Mountains to swarm ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠with them, but no.

Demon beasts attacked anything alive on sight. Here, most living things were monsters. So fights between them were inevitable.

Demon beasts get the first hit on monsters and end up shredded.

Just thirty minutes ago, I'd seen a long purple one charge a boar with tusks like elephant ivory—and get absolutely mangled.

The demon beasts I'd encountered were either numerous, small and hard to spot, or slow movers. Ones that avoided monster superiority or contact.

This'll take longer than expected. Move spots?

I'd decide later. For now, I glanced at the sky. Orange hues tinged red—the sun was setting. Faster than usual in these mountains.

Call it here for today. Need a base camp.

Night brought nothing good. Even with super senses, visibility dropped sharply. Plus, nocturnal predators activated. No point fighting monsters that gave no EXP and were harder than demon beasts.

I scanned for a spot to overnight. Soon, I found a small hole under a sheer cliff, veiled by vines. Narrow entrance, but deep inside.

Perfect.

As I stepped toward it, a chill crawled up my neck—and a system alert flashed.

My foot halted instantly.

“A dungeon......”

Memories surfaced. Stories picked up wandering the world post-possession. Strange caves in the wilds, brimming with treasures. They even had an official name: dungeons.

Mysterious entrances scattered or appearing suddenly worldwide. Inside, entirely different worlds unfolded. Botch it, and you'd vanish without a trace—breeding ground for horror tales.

Urban ones were cleared long ago, but deep in mountains like this? Pure unknown.

I stared at the cave mouth, darkness roiling like waves.

“......”

Eerie. The air seeping out felt subtly off—colder, laced with faint blood.

I hypothesized. Dungeon worlds were wholly separate. A desert entrance might lead to a lush jungle. Could house unreal monsters or.

Demon beasts inside, maybe?

Possible. I pulled a flashlight from my bag and shone it in. No natural cave features. The walls gleamed smooth gray rock—or rather, metallic panels, inorganic.

Far too suspicious for a natural cave.

I stepped into the dungeon's gloom without hesitation.

-Click.

One step. The air's density shifted. Ears popped; insect chirps from the outer forest cut off like a lie.

“......”

Looking back, the entrance and beyond were clear.

-Click.

Two steps. Turn again—the sunset shrank like a pinhole, then blacked out as if someone flipped a switch.

-Click.

Three steps. My vision drowned in total darkness.