Chapter 55 – General of the Underworld (５)

[Seeker’s Flame]

-+100% Fire Attack Power against Dark-attribute enemies.

-+50% Additional Damage against Dark-attribute enemies.

-Damage against Dark-attribute enemies +20%

-Magic Power +10% when Dark-attribute enemies are within a 20m radius

‘…This is insane.’

The effect of the Seeker’s Flame was simply jaw-dropping.

It was the moment the Legend-grade Fireball ascended to B-rank, transforming into a weapon monstrous enough to match the Seeker class itself.

‘With this…’

Tartaros. The battlefield.

No matter where, it could unleash devastating power.

And that held true even now, in this very moment.

Against this bastard—a General of the Underworld, his entire body steeped in Dark attributes—the Seeker’s Flame would be the perfect skill, superior to anything else…

BOOM! BANG-BANG-BANG-BOOM!

Fireballs burst forth again from Gijun’s hands.

In that instant…

“Ghk, ghkrrrk…?!”

Ricardo’s face twisted.

The bastard felt it.

That Gijun’s Fireball was now fundamentally different.

The Fireballs kept coming.

The relentless explosions coiled around Ricardo’s entire body.

“Arrogant…”

Ricardo’s eyes shot wide as he swung his fist.

But Gijun dodged the attack with ease.

Thanks to his senses being linked with Libre, his perception was razor-sharp.

But Ricardo was no pushover either.

Even as his balance faltered, he pressed the attack in that unstable state.

Ricardo’s leg lashed into the air, and Magi tension spread across his foot.

FWOOM!

The bastard’s foot came crashing down toward Gijun.

It’s fine.

Gijun had seen through it all.

WHOOOSH!

A Fireball, already fully cast, shot toward Ricardo.

“Kraaaaaah!”

Ricardo’s body lurched backward, sent flying a good distance.

No surprise—his balance was already shot when that powerful Fireball struck him.

That didn’t mean the bastard was down.

Ricardo was still standing.

But it didn’t matter.

Thanks to the B-rank Fireball, a new opening had appeared.

For now, that was more than enough.

Amalta moved too, unleashing a barrage of attacks at Ricardo.

Ricardo scrambled to his feet, blocking Amalta’s strikes and counterattacking.

But Gijun wasn’t about to let him have his way.

A shape-shifted Fireball was already streaking toward Ricardo.

BOOM-BOOM!

The clearly empowered shape-shifted Fireball smashed into Ricardo’s entire body.

The Fireball punched through the bastard’s flesh and detonated on impact.

On top of that, Gijun cast Strong Wind.

Amplifying the Fireball’s explosion while lacerating the open wounds across the bastard’s body.

“Insolent whelps!”

Blazing with fury, the bastard tried to lunge at Gijun.

But…

SHWOOOOSH!

“Grrrk!”

This time, it was Amalta.

The blazing spear carved across Ricardo’s torso, trailing flames.

Then Amalta’s spear, driven with all his strength, punched through the bastard’s abdomen.

Blood burst from the wound.

“Gh—guhk…!”

Ricardo’s mouth spilled crimson.

“Now!”

Amalta shouted.

“Yeah, I know.”

The casting was already complete.

Once more, the Shape-Morphed Fireball streaked toward Ricardo.

A barrage of impacts thundered.

The Fireball punched through him again.

A violent explosion followed.

Amalta and Jun didn’t stop—they pressed the attack without losing the rhythm.

A full minute passed.

Now, with both of them pouring out every ounce of their power.

“Grrk, kuh… guh…”

Ricardo emerged, his body shredded to rags.

Blood streamed endlessly from his mouth.

His entire form was a mess of gore.

“You—you insolent… insolent…”

In that instant.

Thud!

“Silence, you routed dog.”

With Amalta’s words, his spear drove through Ricardo’s heart.

“Y-you bastards… dare…”

Even so, Ricardo didn’t die.

A vitality that made the tongue stumble.

Instead, Amalta gripped the shaft and began to push.

“What—”

Amalta’s eyes flew wide in shock.

He was being pushed back.

But that was as far as it went.

No matter how tenacious his life force or monstrous his strength,

Flash!

His opponent wasn’t just Amalta.

Crunch! Crack!

The Shape-Morphed Fireball punched through Ricardo’s body again.

Simultaneously piercing his head, neck, both shoulders, and abdomen.

“Guuhhk…”

An explosion erupted from within Ricardo’s body, wreathed in raging flame.

[You have defeated Ricardo, General of the Underworld!]

[Level up!]

[Level up!]

[Level up!]

[Level up!]

.

.

.

[Impossible Achievement Unlocked!]

[All Stats increased by 20!]

“Finally…”

The moment Ricardo was at last slain.

[I am worn out.]

With that single line, Libre dropped onto Jun’s shoulder.

[This body is truly dying, master. Console me at once.]

At her feeble words, Jun patted Libre on the back.

‘Is it finally over?’

He’d killed the General Hamal spoke of.

Hamal should now have the power to release his seal.

‘Now then…’

Just as he turned to leave.

“And where do you think you’re going?”

Amalta said.

“Huh?”

There stood Amalta, his face twisted with naked greed.

He was already rifling through Ricardo’s equipment chest.

“Magnificent. The bastard had a whole hoard of excellent weapons stashed away.”

Gijun walked over to join him.

Ugh.

But nothing in there was wearable for him.

Ricardo had been a melee fighter, after all.

Still, it wasn’t a complete waste.

This much ought to do.

Gijun picked out a few items that caught his eye.

[Darklight Circlet]

>Equip Requirement: Level 120

>Grade: Rare

>Defense: 350

>Magic Defense: 235

>Magic Attack +50%

>Physical Attack +50%

>Magic Power +20

[General’s Boots]

>Equip Requirement: Level 110

>Grade: Unique

>Defense: 450

>Movement Speed +80%

>Defense +30%

>All Stats +5

[Ring of Deep Shadow]

>Equip Requirement: Level 105

>Grade: Unique

>All Stats +15

>Magic Attack +30%

>Physical Attack +15%

Whoa…!

He’d managed to cherry-pick these from a sparse selection.

And that explained why Amalta’s grin was stretched wide enough to split his face.

Alright, then.

Time to head back and see Hamal.

*

[You did well.]

At that very moment,

Hamal too sensed the shift within Tartaros.

The crushing pressure that had been binding him felt just a little bit lighter.

[Remarkable.]

Hamal muttered, genuinely astonished.

Even a General of the Underworld was no easy opponent.

Especially one that would have given even that mage he’d met before a vicious fight.

[To think you’d dispatch a general this quickly.]

He’d hoped for success, yes — but he hadn’t expected it so fast.

[Prepare yourselves, all of you.]

Either way, if they’d truly killed one of the Underworld’s generals, he was bound to keep his promise.

The Monarchs of the Underworld wouldn’t fail to notice one of their own gone missing.

Soon enough, the Monarch herself would start to move.

So it was only right that he, too, lend the mage his strength.

And now —

[You’re here.]

Gijun appeared in the Temple of the Warrior.

*

[Thank you. Thanks to you and Amalta taking down that general, I’ve gained some breathing room. My power is slowly returning.]

True to his word, Hamal’s body began to take on shape from his spectral form — bit by bit.

Though he still looked far from fully restored.

“Give it a little more time, and I will reclaim my true body. Recovering my full Strength will take longer still, but first—take this.”

Hamal gestured, and something settled onto Gijun’s palm once more.

[Hamal’s Tablet of Invocation]

-Grade: Unique

-Using this item summons the Plains Warriors who answer Hamal’s call.

-Cooldown: 24 hours

‘…!’

Hamal’s Tablet of Invocation.

Exactly as the description read—an item that could call forth the Plains Warriors.

It could only be used once every twenty-four hours, but it was bound to prove incredibly useful.

“Before long, the Monarch of the Underworld will begin to move as well. Against him, your strength alone will not suffice. He is, after all, a monarch who commands a vast army.”

“Yes.”

It was just as Amalta had first said.

Fighting even a single general was no easy task already; facing the Monarch’s full army was outright impossible.

“But my sons will aid you. Of course, it will be your own power that carries this fight to victory—but I can assure you, they will be of great help.”

Hamal smiled as he spoke.

“First, you would do well to press on against the remaining generals. Now that I have opened my eyes as well, the Monarch can’t move so freely anyway.”

And then—

[Quest activated!]

[Eliminate the Five Generals!]

-Grade: Class

-Eliminate the Monarch’s five generals (1/5)

-Reward: Third Fragment of the Ancient Heart.

‘…!’

A quest appeared in an instant.

A Class Quest.

A quest ordering him to defeat the five generals.

And the reward was the third Heart.

‘Just as I thought…’

The moment it was revealed that the third Heart lay hidden in Tartaros.

‘Well, that certainly settles the motivation.’

“Understood.”

He had been wondering what to do next anyway.

Now a new goal had been set.

“Good. You’re coming with me, right?”

“Of course.”

Amalta answered Gijun’s question readily.

“Let’s fight as much as we can before the Monarch moves.”

*

“Ughhh…”

Gijun rose from the link gear and stretched.

‘Busy, really.’

Roughly a week.

He had kept up the fight in Tartaros without pause, and had already taken down another general.

Now there were five generals left to defeat before he could get his hands on the third Heart.

‘The resistance is getting fiercer.’

Ricardo, the first he had killed, had fallen through a surprise attack—barely. The second was no easy fight.

To take that bastard down, he had to topple an entire stronghold.

And wipe out every enemy inside.

Of course, Gijun and Amalta hadn’t done it alone.

‘Had help from the Plains Warriors.’

Literally.

He had summoned the Plains Warriors through Hamal’s Tablet of Invocation, and together they had torn down the stronghold, finally killing the second general as well.

“That aside, is the gate to Tartaros still not open?”

A fair amount of time had passed since Gijun entered Tartaros, yet not a single other Player had appeared.

“Is Manta not the type to respawn?”

Truth be told, that was a pretty serious problem for him too.

No matter how fast Gijun was growing, conquering Tartaros alone was impossible.

By this point, with the second general even taken down, the entire region of Tartaros was swarming with the Underworld’s warriors—it had become hard to even move.

‘I heard somewhere that Tartaros alone was the size of a continent.’

According to Hamal, the land of Tartaros was supposedly as vast as a whole continent.

He couldn’t even begin to guess how many enemies lurked in that sprawling expanse.

‘I really wish someone—anyone—would show up.’

To keep pressing forward, he desperately needed people to hunt the Underworld’s warriors for him.

‘Maybe I’ll check the community for a bit.’

Gijun logged onto the community.

Unsurprisingly, the hottest topic was still Tartaros.

Then—

“Huh?”

Gijun’s eyes went wide.

[Purchased Manta’s Jewel.]

– Author: Hera

A post was up from a User named Hera, saying they’d bought Manta’s Jewel.