There were very few options left when it came to magic.
Among them were shadows, something Kaito would not be foolish enough to try using against a shadow wolf, and ice.
The ice ability he had stolen from Yukinoshita was not as powerful as the original, but once it merged with his elemental master it had improved to level five just like the others, with the exception that he did not obtain a weapon like normal magic users.
"I wonder if Yukinoshita's weapon can freeze that thing" Kaito wondered, remembering the description Yukino had given him of her special weapon.
But against the wolf, Kaito's ice was as useful as earth. Its freezing effect did not even apply, basically turning into huge chunks of ice that only pushed it back or were shattered by its bite.
"Looks like magic is useless" Kaito sighed. Though he was not really that disappointed. He was not actually a mage, so against powerful enemies it was only natural that his magic would not work.
Without knowing what Kaito was thinking, the wolf attacked him, but when it reached his position he was no longer there.
It did not have time to turn around before Kaito crashed down onto it, slamming it into the ground with all his strength.
Then, without waiting for it to get back up, and Kaito knew it would, he pierced its heart while vibrating as usual.
"Awoooooo!"
It did not work. Although the wolf let out a howl of pain, proving that it felt it, and Kaito was able to confirm that its heart had been completely disabled, the beast still kept moving.
"Damn it, I just pierced your heart" Kaito complained. Without removing his hand, he ripped out the entire vital organ in one motion.
"Awoooooo!"
The wolf let out an even worse howl of pain than before, this time with a hole in its chest from which blood would have poured if it were a normal creature.
But even without a heart and with a hole in its chest, the wolf continued moving weakly toward Kaito. A few meters away from him, it finally collapsed to the ground, gave everything it had, crawled a little farther, then let out a pitiful howl before finally dying.
[You have hunted a Basic Shadow Wolf]
[+1.000.000.000 XP, +100.000.000 Gold]
"How much?" Kaito said in shock.
After checking again, Kaito could not help but smile. This was one billion experience. Kaito's level, which had not increased in quite some time, rose by two levels at once because of it.
The cost-benefit ratio of hunting these things was simply too good. After all, they were not that strong, they were mostly annoying because of their durability. Kaito could have killed it faster if he had not tried using magic first.
"If only I could get more" Kaito muttered greedily as he looked around. Some had already finished with ease, others were still fighting, and some were clearly losing.
In this group, Kaito had to admit he was only average.
However, just as he was about to greedily take a step toward the wolves belonging to the others, he felt immense pressure coming from the balcony and immediately stopped.
"Alright, looks like Gid doesn't want me interfering" Kaito conceded.
With that discarded, Kaito turned his attention to his status. He quickly used his experience points to reach level 40 and remain about 550 million away from level 41.
He also placed all twenty new stat points entirely into Agility.
After another twenty minutes, the trial came to an end with only twenty-two participants dead, leaving a total of 295 participants. The remaining wolves were placed back into boxes and removed, much to Kaito's disappointment.
"It seems most of you are up to the task" Gid said in a deep voice. "As for what these dangerous creatures are, most of you should already know, but if you want to learn more about them, you'll have to reach the end of the trials."
Once Gid said that, Kaito realized that although he had not really thought about what they were, now that he considered it, he did know.
"They're those things that are destroying worlds" Kaito recalled an image he had seen before.
He had not seen wolves specifically but other creatures, yet the style, so to speak, was identical.
However, that wolf was clearly a mindless creature, and while it could be because it was a low-class creature, Kaito was more inclined to believe that someone was commanding them.
After all, no matter how you looked at it, a multiversal-scale invasion was not something simple mindless creatures would come up with.
Besides that, there was also the fact that such shadow-made creatures looked far too much like those from a famous work of fiction Kaito knew.
"Hey System, is this enemy the Shadow Monarch?" Kaito asked.
[Classified information]
"I don't need you to give me information. This is something I figured out myself. I just need a yes or no."
[...]
[No]
"That makes it even worse, huh?" Kaito thought. "If the enemy is not the Shadow Monarch but commands creatures that only follow the Shadow Monarch, then it can only mean one thing:
The Shadow Monarch himself is under his command"
And while Kaito did not know whether it was Sung Jinwoo, the protagonist of Solo Leveling, or simply someone else with the same abilities, that was not important. What mattered was that this person who went around destroying worlds as if he had nothing better to do had someone like that under his command.
And if he had someone of that level under his command, who knew how many more he had.
In fact, the possibility that he had many was far more believable than the idea that he only had one.
While Kaito was thinking about this, Gid finished explaining the next trial, which was a race.
Needless to say, Kaito obviously won. Though several people who did not even seem focused on speed came surprisingly close, which shocked Kaito quite a bit.
After that there was a skills test where everyone had to use their abilities in the best way possible to solve a specific situation.
Then...
"Damn it, what is this? A high school festival?!" Kaito complained as he looked at the endless list of ridiculous tests that seemed straight out of a school manga.
"You can withdraw if you want" Gid's voice sounded from the balcony, having clearly heard him.
Kaito was tempted for a moment, but remembering that Gid had said the winner would receive considerable resources and, most importantly, an explanation about those creatures, he decided to stay.
Seeing him give in, Gid nodded with a hint of disdain.
"Good choice. These tests were made by my daughter, so show them proper respect."
"I noticed" Kaito thought. In fact, because most of them were tests from Earth that he already knew, he had a considerable advantage even against stronger people.
Gid snorted from afar.
"Tsk, and with that attitude he wants to marry my daughter."
The moment Gid said that, Kaito watched in slow motion as Lala's eyes widened in shock and she snatched the "microphone" from her father, trying to silence him.
"Dad!" she complained immediately before looking toward Kaito, hoping he had not heard.
But Kaito's expression made her realize instantly that it was already too late.
"I told you not to say that!" she complained at once to her father.
"What's the problem?" Gid said without much concern. "Everyone already knows anyway."
"Not everyone!" Lala snapped.
"Excuse me" Kaito raised a hand while they argued, drawing both of their attention. "I'd like to withdra..."
"It's over! It's over!" Lala interrupted before Kaito could say anything. "Everyone is disqualified. The winner is Takayama Kaito of Planet Earth. Congratulations!"
"What?!"
"You can't..."
"What do you mean..."
Chaos immediately erupted among the hundred contestants who remained, and many looked at Lala resentfully, thinking she was talking nonsense.
"Silence. Since my daughter has decided, that is the result. The rest of you, leave."
But Gid silenced them all immediately.
Once silence returned to the arena, Gid made a movement with his wrist and everyone except Kaito disappeared from the coliseum.
"As expected of the King of the Galaxy, he doesn't need to explain himself to anyone" Kaito thought in surprise.
Maybe this was how Hakari had felt before.
While thinking that, Kaito was also teleported, only to another room, the one where the entire Deviluke royal family was gathered.
The moment he appeared, Lala looked away guiltily, avoiding his gaze.
"Are you stupid? What's the point of all this?"
"W-well. You know, my father wanted to do all this testing of the strongest people in the galaxy to find a successor" Lala explained. "I told him it was unnecessary and that I'd find a fiancé on my own, but he wouldn't listen, so I arranged for you to win.
I was sure you'd think it was a hassle and leave, so I decided... not to tell you.
Ah! But the rewards are real, so don't worry."
"Then why didn't you just get engaged to me from the start?" Kaito asked, unable to understand Lala's thought process.
"Hehe, about that..." Lala laughed nervously. "I'm a princess, a princess. How could I be the one to propose to someone?" she said with an unbelievably spoiled attitude.
"I swear I'll cut your laboratory budget in half if you pull something this stupid again."
"What?! Don't do that. Sorry, marry me. I don't want Dad to marry me off to some stranger, I want to keep having fun on Earth!"
"Can you stop bullying my daughter?"
While they were talking, Gid finally interrupted them, reminding Kaito that they were not alone.
When he turned back, he found himself facing Gid's murderous glare. Beside him, Queen Sephie simply smiled while Momo and Nana watched him with undisguised curiosity in their eyes.
"My apologies, Your Majes..."
"No need" Gid interrupted Kaito's noble-style greeting. "Let's start with the most important matter. From this day forward, you will be the fiancé of my eldest daughter, Lala. This will make you the target of many forces throughout the galaxy. While you will inherit my privileges in the future, my responsibilities will come with them as well. Are you willing?"
"I am" Kaito nodded confidently without hesitation.
"Good. Now..." the king smiled at his answer, but it only lasted a second before turning into something far more cruel. "Why don't you tell me how you know my daughter? The two of you seem to be quite close."
______________________________________
+15 chapters in advance on Patreon.
p-atreon.com/IAMME26
(just delete the hyphen)
80 power stones = 1 extra chapter (cumulative)