Demonic Power

The skill window for Demonic Power floated before my eyes.

A chuckle slipped past my tightly closed lips.

Sergei really gave me the real deal.

The Destruction Monarch’s ultimate trump card. An all-or-nothing skill that could become a game-changing joker depending on how it was used.

It’s even better for someone like me whose class boundaries are blurry.

High-rank skills usually come with class restrictions. Just having high mana doesn’t mean you can cast magic freely. But I can extract magic skills from the essences of monsters. And when I need raw strength, I can dump everything into power with Demonic Power instead.

A skill I never learned in my previous life. Since Sergei used it, I might as well test it myself.

“Demonic Power.”

The displayed stat read 752. Adding the effect of Genius would boost it another 20 percent, bringing it to 902.

“Kuh.”

A short groan escaped me. A crushing sense of weakness pressed down on my shoulders—the aftereffect of every stat except magic dropping to 1.

—Art thou well, my contractor?

“It’s just the skill’s backlash making me a little weak. Nothing serious.”

I reassured Nyx and began rearranging the swollen mana inside me.

[Earth Spike]

Rumble—!

The ground nearby shook violently, as though an earthquake had struck. The power was several times stronger than usual! The moment Earth Spike collided with a building pillar, the column shattered into pieces with a thunderous crash.

—My partner, the skill’s might seems far greater than before.

“Because I converted every stat into magic power.”

This time I thrust my hand forward. Whoosh! A completed Fireball shot toward the remaining stump of the pillar. With a deafening explosion, even the leftover column turned to dust.

—It did not rise as dramatically as Earth Spike.

“Because it’s not a channeling skill. The effect doesn’t scale directly with the stat increase.”

Earth Spike could maximize the benefit of the boosted stat because it continuously poured mana into the spell. Fireball, on the other hand, only consumed a fixed amount of mana to cast.

The last skill I wanted to test was Energy Bolt, obtained from the mana deer.

[Energy Bolt]

[Maximum mana has been charged.]

The blue sphere was several times larger than I remembered. When I hurled it at the ground, a hole several meters deep opened up.

If I charge it to the limit, it looks stronger than Fireball.

I stroked my chin. If even beginner-level magic reached this level of power, how much stronger could I make it by extracting and learning higher-grade spells in the future? And it wasn’t limited to magic. I could also amplify agility for escapes or apply it in countless other ways.

“This is promising.”

The more I thought about how to use Demonic Power, the wider my grin grew.

—There thou goest again.

Nyx’s sigh echoed in my ears.

After sixty seconds, my physical abilities returned to normal. There was no lingering backlash from the skill itself—the real risk had been the temporary reduction of every other stat to 1. The moment Demonic Power ended, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠I immediately selected the sixth-floor matching.

—Thou hast only just finished a great battle. Art thou certain?

“As you can see, I’m perfectly fine.”

It wasn’t bravado. The injuries I sustained fighting the impostor were minimal—only a few small scrapes, all of which had already been healed by the blessing of the Earth Mother Goddess and Regeneration. I wasn’t the only one who benefited from skills.

“My body’s warmed up. Time to move on to the next mission.”

The sixth-floor mission was a global match.

The sixth-floor mission began on a vast plain. In front of me stood a fortress perched on high ground; behind me were a few crude palisades and tents.

—It seems we must assault a fortress located in the mountains.

“Yeah.”

Nyx pointed at one of the tents with her right hand.

—What is that shabby cloth?

“Our main camp.”

If those tents were destroyed, the mission would immediately be marked as a failure. Nyx examined the tents from various angles and shook her head.

—It looks as though it would collapse from a single breath of wind.

“Right. That’s why we have to keep defenders stationed there at all times.”

—How utterly worthless.

Nyx grumbled while I smiled lightly and scanned my teammates. Because it was a global match, the team was racially diverse. There was just one problem.

“No support-class players?”

“Guess we can forget about a quick clear this time.”

“Clear? I’m not even sure we can take the fortress.”

The mood among the team was grim. I checked the mission status.

—Why do they lament so greatly?

“Because there are no supports.”

—Is that alone enough to cause such despair?

“There are things only support classes can do in this mission.”

I opened the sub-mission window.

—So a battering ram requires a support-class player.

“Well, we could try climbing with ladders, but…”

—But?

“It’ll be pretty difficult.”

The fortress sat on high ground. Even if we leaned ladders against the walls, the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠structure made ascent difficult. On top of that, a defensive barrier protected the fortress, so magic attacks wouldn’t deal proper damage to the guards on the walls.

“Siege warfare always favors the defenders.”

Normally, the attacking side needs three times the defenders’ numbers to take a castle. That common sense applied inside the Tower as well.

—Then there is no answer?

“Not necessarily… Ah, the attack is starting.”

I pointed at the fortress. Creak—! The gates swung open and stone figures began advancing slowly toward the tents. They stood about two meters tall—autonomous weapons wielding fists or stone blades: Combat Golem Type E.

—I was told this mission was a siege.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

“The description said they’d attack periodically.”

—Strange. The defenders hold the advantage, yet they choose to expend their own forces.

“The maximum number of golems that can be stationed inside the fortress is 500. They’re sending them out to make room for reproduction.”

There was a golem production plant inside the fortress. If they left the forces idle, new golems would be manufactured. Once capacity was reached, they launched offensives like this.

“It’s a wave!”

“Damn it. Let’s hold them off for now.”

“We can’t afford to waste a challenge attempt.”

The players reluctantly prepared for battle as the golems approached. What a mess.

—It seems the team will not be ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠of much help.

“When have they ever been?”

I grinned. Wave timing was random. It was rare for one to appear right at the start. In a way, this was convenient.

No need to waste time trying to gather everyone’s opinions.

When pushing my own plans while climbing the Tower, nothing was more effective than a show of force. The mission had laid the stage for me. No reason to refuse.

I pushed through the crowd of players and stepped forward.

“Excuse me, you look like a beginner. If you don’t maintain formation, you’ll be eliminated.”

A Caucasian player tried to stop my solo action. How considerate. I waved my hand in greeting and charged straight at the golem horde.

「Enemy detected.」

「Initiating elimination sequence.」

The leading golem spread red light from its eyes and drew its arm back. I clenched my fist and met its charge head-on.

[Herculean Strength]

I struck the golem’s torso with all my might. BOOM! The 330% amplified blow punched a hole twice the size of my fist through the golem’s chest.

「Operation… halted.」

Thud.

The combat golem collapsed.

“Come at me, all of you.”

I crooked my right index finger.

* * *

Louis William was a veteran who had cleared the sixth floor dozens of times. The reason he kept repeating the floor instead of climbing higher was simple.

The rewards on the sixth floor are good.

Behind Barun Fortress lay a rare-metal mine. Since players could remain for a while even after clearing the mission, he repeatedly challenged the sixth floor to obtain minerals only found in that mine.

Perhaps that was why, the moment the mission began, he checked the team list and sighed.

This team is finished.

To take the fortress, they had to breach the gates. Scaling the walls with ladders was impossible with teammates found through random matching.

Just treat it as one wasted attempt.

Louis steeled himself. Failing missions was something he had grown used to while climbing the Tower. Yet the moment the first wave appeared, his thoughts flipped 180 degrees.

“What the……”

A single player stood alone against the golem horde. It was because of Jinho.

[Razor Claws]

[Blessing of Greed]

[Blood Claw Technique]

Every time Jinho swung his hand, the stone bodies of the golems were torn apart.

“He’s ripping golems to pieces without even holding a weapon?”

“Jesus……”

The players watched Jinho’s performance in stunned silence. Louis was among them. Occasionally a golem’s attack struck Jinho. Even tanks would have found the force difficult to ignore. Yet Jinho showed no sign of pain as he continued destroying golems, thanks to the layered [Spiked Carapace] from multiple essences. Without shedding a single drop of blood, he annihilated nearly fifty golems.

It was overwhelming power!

If that guy is here, maybe we actually have a chance at breaching the walls?

The reason support classes had become essential on the sixth floor was the difficulty of scaling the walls. Climbing ladders to take down golems? Even promoted players couldn’t underestimate the golems’ combat ability. Louis saw the possibility of clearing the sixth floor in Jinho’s display.

At that moment—

“You all want to clear this mission, right?”

Jinho turned around and looked at the team, including Louis. Every gaze focused on him, drawn by the overwhelming performance he had just shown against the golems.

“If you want to clear it, just follow my lead.”

Overwhelmed by his words, the teammates nodded.