Chapter 263
Chapter 263
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 263
Chapter Title: Red Axe Drokshi (2)
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“Uwaaaack! You damn bastard, you bastard!”
A barren plain stretched out endlessly. In its center stood a thick iron pillar. Bound to it with iron chains was a stocky figure struggling desperately.
It was Drokshi, the celestial dwarf known by the prestigious title of Red Axe.
Who could have done such a thing?
It went without saying. Rokan.
Kyaak?
But he was nowhere to be seen. All that was visible was the bound and thrashing Drokshi, and a bizarre bird rolling its eyes as it watched him.
[Monstrous Bird Makina][Lv 382]
This flying monster had a bounty twice as high as others of its level due to the hassle it posed.
While both celestials and demons had wings, they couldn’t match the flight capabilities of a monster born to soar the skies. Plus, skills designed for ground combat lost power when used in the air.
Rokan was the exception, of course.
Kyaack!
“Uwaaack! Save me! Please save me!”
The creature circled above Drokshi’s head before attempting a dive.
It enjoyed tormenting its prey before devouring it, but after watching for a while, it had realized he couldn’t move.
So it opened its maw wide, aiming to swallow him in one gulp.
“Nooo! Go away! I taste awful!”
Drokshi bellowed a roar to drive it off, but it was futile. The Monstrous Bird Makina wasn’t weak enough to flinch at mere noise.
It bared its saw-like teeth and gaped its jaws even wider.
“Master of Blazing Flames!”
But Drokshi had his own countermeasure.
Master of Blazing Flames.
He activated the skill that heated his body to scorching temperatures, making himself impossible to swallow.
Chomp. Kyaack!
Thanks to that, Makina shrieked as it clamped down on him.
It was like biting into a huge mouthful of scalding food.
It had flame resistance, so it didn’t spit him out immediately, but it writhed in subtle agony.
“Heh, gotcha, you bastard!”
At that moment, Rokan emerged from stealth.
He matched the speed of the startled, twisting Makina and seized its wings with both hands.
Brrrr. Snap!
With overwhelming strength, he ripped out its shoulder bones entirely.
The creature’s prized flight prowess was neutralized in an instant.
Kyaaaaaack! Ptooey.
But it hadn’t given up. It spat the hot lump it had been rolling in its mouth at Rokan and rolled across the ground.
“Bounce!”
An ally was incoming.
He could have caught it with both hands, but Rokan didn’t.
With his free left hand, he casually swatted it aside, then lunged forward as his body stretched like taffy.
“Slaughter Strike!”
Splat!
Makina had slammed itself into the ground to realign its shoulder bones, but it was too late. Before it could take flight again, agony pierced its belly, leaving it to scream in silent torment.
“Good job, Drokshi!”
Rokan flashed a thumbs-up at the creature as he landed an additional blow.
As expected, Drokshi made an excellent decoy.
“You bastard worse than any demon! How could you use me like…! Uherherheung!”
Drokshi, covered in the beast’s saliva and dirt, wore an almost tearful expression.
After enslaving him, Rokan had first extracted information. Details on the heavens and the celestial race.
Then he’d used him as a guide.
Unlike the starting village, the border village was surrounded by abundant hunting grounds.
Countless monsters had bounties on their heads, and since you could travel from here to cities in the heavens, demon realms, or neutral zones, there were plenty of places to go—but it was all very complex.
Up to that point, it was fine. You could get used to it with frequent visits, but a guide made navigating and memorizing routes far easier.
The problem was that this damn human had started using him as bait.
When there were too many enemies around, he’d toss Drokshi out to lure in the Monstrous Bird Makina, which wouldn’t appear otherwise.
But the real issue was that this wouldn’t end after just once.
“Sniff sniff, that damn guy won’t even die.”
Through the process, Drokshi had confirmed that Rokan was a visitor—and a pure berserker class build, no less.
“Damn it. If I’d known it’d come to this, I should’ve stuck to one thing…”
Surprisingly, though, Drokshi didn’t question Rokan’s strength itself.
The heavens were full of insanely powerful freaks, and among the famous ones, ‘pure classers’ stood out especially.
Combining classes improved skill versatility and combos, making hunting easier and one-on-one duels stronger. But those who stuck to a single class grew slower—yet ended up undeniably powerful.
Masters, experts, grandmasters of their craft, you might say.
But regretting it now was pointless.
Sure, there were ways to reset your class, but it meant abandoning everything and starting from scratch.
For someone at high master level or above, the odds of succeeding? Close to zero.
[You have defeated Monstrous Bird Makina.]
[Return to the city to claim your bounty.]
“Phew, that was a breeze.”
“Breeze my ass! You left me in this mess…!”
Anyone overhearing might misunderstand, but the two were getting along decently. Or rather, Rokan was just easy to exploit.
“Yeah, yeah. I’ll take responsibility. That make you happy?”
“What? What bullshit are you…?”
As they traveled the heavens’ nooks and crannies, the pair had grown close enough to bicker lightheartedly.
“Damn it! Where to next, huh?”
“Heh heh heh! Don’t worry, I won’t use you as bait anymore.”
“Shit. What shady scheme are you plotting now…?”
Rokan’s eyes gleamed slyly, just as Drokshi accused, before he headed to the next area.
Since he was out, he’d picked up multiple bounty quests—going back after each one would be a hassle.
And this time was different.
Not just one—it was wiping out an entire colony, drying up their species.
[Bounty: Ant Den Extermination][Quest]
Exterminate the slaughter ants destroying the ecosystem.
-Bounty: 5 million coin, massive fame, massive EXP
Ant Den Extermination.
There were similar ones on the surface, but this was a tough quest.
The dens were labyrinthine mazes, infamous for their depth and complexity.
Crawling through, killing every last ant—it was grueling and boring.
They lived in hordes, and once they committed to battle, the numbers pouring out were no joke.
But flip that around, and that’s exactly why it mattered.
The harder the challenge, the greater the reward, right?
Plus, with ‘that item’ from the starting village’s general store, it could be pretty easy.
“Ant den? Heh heh, screw up and you might come back empty-handed?”
Drokshi knew those twisting maze paths well.
Slaughter ants had tough exoskeletons and jaws, but nothing he couldn’t handle.
He’d hunted them a few times and even rallied people to raid a den once.
But they’d failed.
You didn’t need to map everything, but bad luck could mean facing just a handful and retreating.
Hearing Rokan wanted to go there stirred odd mix of relief and worry in Drokshi.
He might just wander and come back empty, but if they got nothing, who knew what this maniac would do next.
“Heh heh, no worries there. Just follow me.”
“Urgh… How’d I end up… Sigh!”
He’d learned he could dodge formal speech by trailing off, after being forced into it multiple times.
But he couldn’t control his actions, so he had no choice but to follow.
“Kai!”
With the skies peaceful after the Makina hunt, summoning Kai was no issue.
“Ride here… Huhk?”
Kyut!
Kai could carry two easily, but it shuddered and refused when Drokshi tried to climb on carelessly.
It turned its head away in a huff, nearly dumping him on the ground, then ignored him.
“Hmm, looks like no dice. You’ve got wings, so you’re fine, right? Follow along!”
Rokan watched, communed with Kai, took to the air—and left the pigeon-wing-flapping Drokshi behind, flying straight to the ant den region.
[You have entered the Slaughter Ant Den.]
[First entry bonus: EXP gain increased by 30% for 3 days.]
[First entry bonus: Drop rate increased by 30% for 3 days.]
[Title ‘Pioneer’ effect: First entry bonuses enhanced by 10%.]
Entering the Slaughter Ant Den wasn’t hard. The entrance and early layout were known, and he had an experienced guide.
“Huff, huff… What the hell was that? Not even a wyvern, but that fast?”
Kai wasn’t even in great peng form, yet its speed and stamina made it hard for Drokshi to keep up. Inside the den, he couldn’t hide his panting.
“Here, drink.”
Rokan handed him a stamina potion.
The guy had been looted of most underwater items, leaving him with just a few health and mana potions.
‘Bait, too.’
And there was another ulterior motive, but only Rokan knew that.
“Alright, let’s go?”
The first entry bonuses lasted just three days.
But Rokan had no plans to use them all. Half a day—one day tops—would suffice.
‘If it takes three full days to clear this, better find another spot.’
With Drokshi leading, they pushed deeper into the den.
“Hup!”
Crack.
Drokshi’s axe blade shattered a slaughter ant’s tough shell.
Each time, they lunged with their hard mandibles, but they only bit air.
As if he already knew their patterns, he smashed their heads and bodies without getting bitten.
“Whoa, you fight well.”
It might sound mocking, but it was true.
No wonder he’d boasted the grand title Red Axe Drokshi—his combat prowess was top-tier among high masters.
Surface-wise, upper echelon; here in the heavens, mid-to-high rank. He excelled at hit-and-run, leveraging his strengths.
“Hmph! What’d you take me for?”
Slaughter ants dropped in under a minute each, and Drokshi strutted, drenched in their green fluids.
“Good. It’s widening finally.”
Without lifting a finger, they advanced until a spacious chamber appeared.
Dozens of tunnels branched from it—clearly the hub where paths diverged.
“Drokshi, lure some over!”
“…What? Huh?”
Drokshi, mid-rampage, froze with a ‘what the hell’ look.
Lure? Kids? Who?
Rokan explained to his dumbstruck face.
“From now on, I hunt. Circle the tunnels, bait the ants over! Don’t touch ’em!”
“Damn it, I knew it.”
Better to just get beaten senseless than this—luring without killing jacked the difficulty by 1.5 times at least.
But what could he do? If ordered, he obeyed.
Grumbling to himself, he waddled into one visible entrance on short legs.
Soon after, he returned, wings flapping nonstop.
Trailing over a dozen slaughter ants.
Using unfamiliar wings drained massive stamina, so he saved it for escapes.
All those gathered ants became Rokan’s EXP.
“Damn it! How long you gonna make me do this crap?”
“Heh heh heh, this much is fine. Here, have a drink.”
After repeats, Drokshi’s complaints erupted.
He’d snagged some kills, but it still drained huge mental and physical energy—no wonder he griped.
Rokan soothed him with a potion bottle.
Gulp gulp.
“Huh? This tastes weird… Wait, why’s it black?”
But Drokshi’s face twisted mid-chug. Not the stamina potion flavor he knew—and black? Rare color.
What he’d drunk was a Darkness Aura potion.
“You tricked me!”
Its effect made monsters in range view him as their mortal enemy.
Black light spread from Drokshi’s body, flowing into every hole in the den, summoning the slaughter ants.