"There it is!"
With his mind made up, Natsuki Subaru unhesitatingly activated his Sprint skill at full power. His speed soared, and a blurry black shadow shot toward the ruins.
"ROAR!"
The Flame God of Greed demon roared and pursued him, its great club crashing down with immense force!
"BOOM—!"
Sand and stone flew as the blow demolished a large part of the structure.
However, Natsuki Subaru had already used the crumbling walls to leap into the air, his body swooping down like a falcon.
"Take this!"
Natsuki Subaru gripped his dagger with both hands, channeling all his strength into the strike, aiming straight for the crown of the demon's head.
But the Flame God of Greed demon seemed to have anticipated this. It abruptly raised its head, opened its massive maw, and shot out a searing fireball!
"What? It has magic attacks, too!"
Natsuki Subaru's eyes narrowed. He quickly twisted his body in mid-air, narrowly avoiding the fireball.
"—BOOM!"
But the searing shockwave still sent him flying, and he crashed heavily onto the sandy ground.
"Cough… cough…"
Natsuki Subaru struggled to his feet. This demon lord not only had terrifying strength, but it also possessed ranged attacks.
"ROAR!"
The next second, the Flame God of Greed demon gave Natsuki Subaru no time to breathe. Its maw opened and closed repeatedly as three massive fireballs shot out in a triangular formation, precisely sealing off all his possible escape routes.
At the same time, that fearsome great club swung again with a whistling sound, pinning him from above and below and creating an almost inescapable kill zone!
At this critical moment, a look of determination flashed in Natsuki Subaru's eyes.
"I'll have to take a gamble!"
Facing a desperate situation, he made an unexpected decision. Instead of retreating or dodging, he charged head-on toward the first approaching fireball!
Just as the fireball was about to engulf him, Natsuki Subaru suddenly dropped into a slide, his body almost scraping the ground as he passed beneath it in a hair's breadth escape.
"BOOM!"
The scorching flames flew past his back, the extreme heat instantly melting the sand behind him into a patch of shimmering, glass-like crystals.
Simultaneously, Natsuki Subaru's mind raced as he activated a skill:
"Ruler's Authority!"
The dagger, as if pulled by an invisible thread, carved a bizarre arc through the air, abruptly changing direction and shooting toward the relatively weak nape of the demon lord's neck with lightning speed.
"ROAR!"
The Flame God of Greed demon clearly sensed the fatal threat from behind and was forced to divert its attention. As a result, the swing of its great club toward Natsuki Subaru slowed by a fatal beat.
"A perfect chance!"
It was this momentary hesitation that gave Natsuki Subaru a precious opportunity to counterattack. He instantly closed the distance, getting under the demon's body. The dagger in his hand,凝聚ing all his strength, plunged viciously into the ankle supporting its body.
"AAGH—!"
The Flame God of Greed demon let out a pained and furious roar. Its massive body swayed violently, and it crashed to one knee.
Natsuki Subaru seized the opportunity, pushing off with his foot and retreating like a bolt of lightning, instantly putting more than fifty meters between them as he regained his footing.
"Hah… hah… This guy is a real pain to deal with."
Natsuki Subaru panted lightly. His body was covered in wounds and burns of varying severity, and his clothes were torn in many places, revealing bruised skin underneath.
His stamina was nearly half-depleted, and his health was down to about two-thirds.
On the other side, the Flame God of Greed demon was also wounded in several places, with dark red blood dripping continuously from its gashes.
But in the next second, those wounds began to heal at a visible rate, with new flesh rapidly knitting over the damaged areas.
"Dungeon bosses really do all come with some insane auto-regeneration ability…" Natsuki Subaru thought as he moved quickly to dodge, rapidly analyzing the battle in his head.
"It seems normal attacks won't be enough to deal a fatal blow. I have to find an opening for a single killing blow… or, in other words, severing its head completely to zero out its health bar!"
"But the problem now is that this thing is a cut above me in defense, speed, and reaction time. It's incredibly difficult to handle."
Just as Natsuki Subaru was pondering his strategy, the long-awaited system notification finally sounded clearly in his mind:
"[Notification: The Flame God of Greed's 'Berserker's Roar' skill effect has ended.]"
"My chance is here. Its buff has finally worn off. Now it's my turn."
Natsuki Subaru's spirits lifted, and the fighting spirit in his eyes reignited.
And just as the system notification faded, the Flame God of Greed's movements became noticeably more sluggish, although its base speed was still on par with his own unbuffed state.
"First, though, I need to constrain its unpredictable attack rhythm."
Natsuki Subaru continued to circle the Flame God of Greed demon, maintaining a careful distance while rapidly formulating a winning strategy.
"ROAR!"
Just then, the Flame God of Greed demon suddenly attacked, its massive arm swinging out and creating a blast of searing wind pressure.
Natsuki Subaru dodged with a side flip, and the spot where he had been standing was smashed into a deep crater.
But the demon's assault didn't stop there. It opened its great maw again, and another searing fireball shot out.
"Hmph, this trick again… Run!"
Natsuki Subaru clicked his tongue and used his skill to accelerate again, his figure blurring as he avoided a direct hit from the fireball.
Then his eyes suddenly caught sight of the skeleton of an abandoned building, about ten meters high, not far away. A bold and risky plan instantly formed in his mind.
"I've got it… I'll lure it over there!"
Without hesitation, Natsuki Subaru pushed off forcefully with his feet, and in a few nimble leaps, he reached the top of the precarious structure.
"ROAR…"
Just as he predicted, the Flame God of Greed demon, its mind consumed by rage and bloodlust, had completely lost its ability to think clearly. It let out a deafening roar and charged forward without hesitation, its massive body violently smashing through every obstacle in its path, paying no mind to whether the surroundings might hide a trap.
Just as I thought. Its extreme rage has made it drop its last shred of caution…
Standing high above, Natsuki Subaru calmly watched the giant demon charging below like a war chariot, silently calculating the perfect moment to strike.
"Now!"
Suddenly, a sharp light glinted in Natsuki Subaru's eyes. Seeing the perfect opportunity as the demon charged directly beneath the building, he tensed the muscles in his legs like a fully compressed spring and leaped from the top of the crumbling structure.
"Die!"
His right hand gripped Kasaka's Venom Fang as he poured the surging power of his entire body, the astonishing speed of his descent, and the boiling shadow energy within him into the blade without reservation.
In that instant, the dagger erupted with an unprecedented, brilliant light, aiming with perfect precision for the demon's thick neck.
"Pshhhk—!"
The peerlessly sharp Kasaka's Venom Fang met almost no resistance, slicing through the Flame God of Greed demon's neck as smoothly and precisely as a hot knife through butter.
"AAGHH…!!"
The Flame God of Greed demon let out a final, distorted, inhumanly shrill scream. Its massive head, with its猙獰, curving horns, separated from its body, tumbled through the air a few times, and finally slammed heavily onto the sand.
Then, its enormous headless body, now devoid of all strength, convulsed violently twice before crashing to the ground like a collapsing mountain.
Almost at the same moment the demon fell, a series of system notifications sounded clearly in Natsuki Subaru's mind:
"[Notification: You have eliminated the Ruler of the Lower Floors, the Flame God of Greed.]"
"[Notification: Obtained material 'Fragment of the World Tree'.]"
"[Notification: Obtained Epic-grade equipment 'Flame Orb of Greed'.]"
"[Notification: Obtained 'Permit to the Next Floor'.]"
"[Notification: Level Up…]"
"[Notification: Level Up…]"
"[Notification: Level Up…]"
"[Notification: Your level has reached 80. You have acquired the Shadow Monarch exclusive skill — 'Monarch's Domain'.]"
As the golden light of the level-up enveloped his body, Natsuki Subaru instantly felt a warm and powerful energy flow through his limbs.
The heavy exhaustion from the fierce battle vanished without a trace. His wounds healed rapidly at a visible rate, and under his tattered clothes, his new skin was as smooth as before, without a single scar.
"Back to full health again. The feeling of leveling up is just as amazing every time."
Natsuki Subaru flexed his newly re-energized arms, feeling the new power surging within him, a satisfied look on his face.
"Three levels in one go. The EXP from killing a big boss like this is really generous, far more than what you get from clearing out mobs."
Natsuki Subaru carefully observed the changes in his body and couldn't help but remark,
"This kind of all-around improvement—stamina, strength, agility, and even mental perception—is far beyond what mere training can achieve. The growth from the system is truly simple, direct, and efficient."
With that, Natsuki Subaru turned his gaze to the huge demon corpse before him and let out a light breath:
"Finally took care of this big guy. Red-named, Lord-class bosses are no joke. High attack, thick HP, and they even have phased rage modes… Enemies like this are a real pain to deal with."
"But luckily, in this 100-floor Demon Castle, monsters of this caliber don't appear too frequently. Otherwise, it would be impossible to advance."
Natsuki Subaru thought to himself,
"Speaking of which, the only ones with this kind of special red name and terrifying power were the Cerberus guarding the Demon Castle's gate and this Flame God of Greed demon on the 50th floor."
"One at the gate, one on the 50th floor…" Natsuki Subaru stroked his chin, musing,
"Following this pattern, there wasn't one on the 25th floor, so it's unlikely there will be one on the 75th either."
"By that logic, when I reach the 100th floor, there will inevitably be a final, and strongest, gatekeeper boss."
It makes sense. After all, for a 100-floor ultimate challenge, there has to be a final guardian.
"Its strength will probably be more terrifying than the Flame God of Greed demon and Cerberus combined."
Natsuki Subaru shook his head, temporarily pushing that pressure aside.
"Whatever, it's too early to think about that now. I have to take it one step at a time, one floor at a time. The priority now is to process my gains from this battle and increase my strength further."
"The rewards this time are quite substantial, well worth the tough fight." A glint shone in Natsuki Subaru's eyes.
He first examined the red orb in his hand, about the size of a fist and radiating waves of scorching energy.
"A piece of magic equipment? Judging by its quality… Flame Orb of Greed. The name is straightforward enough, and the stats are excellent."
"[Flame Orb of Greed]"
Category: Accessory
Description: A strange orb containing a portion of the Flame God of Greed's original power. One can feel the surging fire elemental energy within it upon touching it.
Although it contains a trace of the will of greed, one who can master it will gain immense power.
Effect: Increases fire-type magic power by 100%. Increases fire-type casting speed by 100%.
"The stats on this piece of equipment are great," Natsuki Subaru said in admiration as he read the item's description.
"A one-hundred percent power boost, plus a bonus to casting speed. This could instantly turn a regular fire mage into a mobile cannon."
"Although, since I'm a Shadow Monarch and rely mainly on physical attacks, this orb would be wasted on me…" Natsuki Subaru quickly concluded, but then a gleam appeared in his eyes.
"However, in the hands of the right person, this thing is incredibly valuable. I can give it to my Shadow Mage units. It should double their magic power and raise their overall damage output by a whole tier."
Especially for those Shadow Mages who specialize in fire magic, their strength could likely double on the spot.
"This will provide even better guarantees for the Shadow Legion's mid-to-long-range fire coverage and burst damage capabilities."
Next, Natsuki Subaru examined the few emerald-green fragments that emanated a gentle life aura.
"[Fragment of the World Tree]"
Category: Material
Description: A fragment shed from the legendary tree that supports the world. It contains the purest essence of life and is a coveted core catalyst in many ancient recipes.
It is one of the three core materials for crafting the Holy Water of Life. It can also be used in forging or enchanting to infuse items with powerful life properties. Extremely precious.
"Fragment of the World Tree…" Natsuki Subaru's eyes narrowed in pleasant surprise.
"One of the three core materials for the Holy Water of Life. Just two more materials, and I can craft it. This is a life-saving item; at a critical moment, it's like having an extra life."
"And the new skill I acquired, Monarch's Domain…"
Finally, what Natsuki Subaru was most excited about was the exclusive Shadow Monarch skill he obtained upon reaching level 80. He focused his mind, sensing the skill information flooding into his brain.
Skill: Monarch's Domain
Overview: Awaken the monarch's might latent in your bloodline, deploying an absolute domain with your own shadow as its core.
Within this domain, all Shadow Soldiers loyal to you will feel the Monarch's encouragement, unlocking deeper potential.
Effect: Within the shadow domain deployed by the user (initial radius 500 meters), all allied Shadow units receive a 50% boost to all stats, their morale remains constantly high, and they ignore some low-tier fear effects.
The domain's range and buff effects expand and strengthen in sync with the skill's level and the user's own level.
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