"A dungeon break!" The mage shouted in pure shock, then he suddenly burst into a nervous laughter.
"Hahaha, That was a nice joke sir Phoenix" he said with forced humor, but seeing Damien's face still bearing that soul-chilling seriousness, cold shivers started running down his spine like ice water.
"You're serious, you, stopping a dungeon raid by yourself?" the mage asked, his voice trembling as he looked around desperately hoping to see another mage and if luck might be on his side, maybe another Legendary Phoenix, but his expectations was shattered as he saw no one in the empty surroundings.
"You, what is your name?" Damien asked the mage with a slight frown creasing his brow.
"U-umm, it's Gerald, Sir Phoenix". The mage stuttered, sweat beading on his forehead.
"Now listen closely, Gerald. I want you to do exactly as I say and immediately, starting by setting that teleportation spell, because in the event that you might die horribly by my hand, I swear I won't enjoy it so immensely." Damien declared, his words saturated with such overwhelming bloodlust that Gerald's hands immediately began weaving the teleportation spell with frantic desperation.
'Hah, I hope I didn't threaten him that bad. Tsk, I can't help it, every minute I waste here am loosing control of my body, even my fangs are starting to grow back' Damien thought with growing frustration.
'Tsk, if you die there, what do I care you arrogant jerk' Gerald thought with a weary sigh.
"S-sir Phoenix, the teleportation circle is ready" Gerald said with a flimsy smile that barely masked his fear.
"Good, you're coming with me" Damien said firmly, and Gerald's eyes widened in shock, his face going pale.
"B-but sir Phoenix, am not really that much of a battle mage, my magic attribute is teleportation" Gerald said frantically. No mage in their right mind would willingly want to walk straight to their death.
"You don't need to fight anything, you're just following me so you could teleport me back, and quit it with the Sir, just call me Phoenix or Damien" Damien clarified as he stepped onto the glowing teleportation circle, watching Gerald release a breath heavy with profound relief.
"May I ask, what rank is the dungeon?" Gerald asked out of pure curiosity, his voice barely above a whisper.
"It's a D-rank dungeon." Damien said grimly. Back in his previous life, immediately after the magic knight selection exam was ended, a dungeon break occurred that night and wiped out the whole villagers, not a single one was left alive and this was the first time it has ever happened in the kingdom of Avalon.
That left rumors saying that this years entrance exam was a bad omen. After that massacre, it took princess Anita von Britton and other magic knight to defeat the monsters.
'No matter how strong a Phoenix think they are, taking care of a D-rank dungeon break with a C-rank dungeon boss is practically suicide. may your soul rest in peace.' Gerald thought silently with a heavy sigh.
"Teleport to the Mist Village" Gerald casted and immediately the ground beneath their feet begin to glow with it's ancient runes spinning in mystical patterns, and in the blink of an eye, the both disappeared.
Damien blinked, finding himself in a different location. The surrounding was covered in thick mist, shrouding the underdeveloped village in ghostly white. But Damien's eyes widened in alarm, the air was filled with a strong stench, he recognized that stench all too well, the unmistakable metallic stench of blood.
'Damn it, the dungeon has already broken and the monsters are beginning to kill the villagers.' Damien's mind raced with urgency.
"Hey, change of plans. I need you to take the villagers to safety, the dungeon has already broken." Damien said with deadly seriousness.
"What! but i..." Before Gerald could complete his desperate protest, Damien vanished into the mist in the blink of a eyes, leaving only disturbed air.
"Damn it, so much for 'I won't be fighting anything,'" Gerald sighed heavily as he began his frantic search for the villagers through the dense fog.
Damien stood atop of a crumbling building and just watched the chaos below. He saw hundreds of monsters, Goblins to be exact coming out of the dungeon portal like a green tide. His gaze shifted to the Left and right, watching as the Goblins had almost surrounded the village in a deadly circle.
"Alright, time to engage." Damien said as he stretches out his hand forward with determination.
"Avarice!" he roared, and immediately a small Portal opened in front of him as his legendary sword Avarice began emerging from the void. He grabbed the weapon's ornate handle, completely pulling it out of the portal then he launched himself from the building, sighting three goblins attacking one of the villagers, and in lightning-quick fluidity, he moved with immense speed, slashing their necks clean off in one devastating motion.
[You have killed three Goblins and earned: 150 Experience Point]
"Nice, I won't hold back!" Damien bellowed in blood-drunk frenzy as he leaped high, landing directly at the epicenter of the Goblin horde. What followed was an utterly one-sided blood bath. The Goblins didn't even get a reaction time before they kept getting butchered like livestock. All Damien could hear was the grotesque sound of their inners gushing out and the system's relentless notifications chiming with each kill.
Meanwhile, Gerald remained frantically occupied evacuating the surviving villagers.
"Everyone—follow this path immediately!" he shouted with gritted teeths to the terrified villagers who followed his word like lost sheep. Of course, Gerald would have found it more comforting in he had just ignored Damien's commands and just escaped. But something in him knew that if Damien had survive, he wouldn't live to even beg for mercy. After gathering what was left of the villagers to the teleportation circle and teleported them to the kingdom of Avalon for safety, he decided to check how Damien was fairing.
He approached the place where he could hear the violent sound of swords clashing, the his eyes widened in absolute horror. He saw strength he had never seen before. Damien stood triumphantly in the middle of at least a hundred fallen goblins, their blood painting the ground crimson.
"Huu, huu, huu" Damien inhaled and exhaled deeply, his chest rising and falling rapidly.
"If my counting is correct, I've already killed a hundred of this goblins. Now time to use gluttony to..." before he could finish his sentence...
DING!
A system notification suddenly pops up on front of him like a floating screen.
[QUEST COMPLETION NOTIFICATION]
[You have successfully completed: Feed the Gluttony]
Quest Summary: You have satisfied Gluttony's ravenous hunger by consuming 100 souls.
[Rewards:]
- Experience Points: 3,000 XP (experience points added to your current level progression)
- Avarice Gear 2 Unlocked: INDRAH'S ARROW (Mana Cost: Dependent upon user's capability)
"What the, but I didn't use gluttony" that was surprising to him until a realization dawned on him like lightning. His gaze shifted to the sword Avarice that he was holding with his right hand.
"Don't tell me... is this cursed blade an extension of Gluttony itself?" Damien muttered in confusion, staring at the blade. He still couldn't fully comprehend this mysterious system and its supernatural abilities, but since he remained deep in enemy territory, he couldn't afford to lose focus. He noticed a single goblin running towards him with a rusty blade raised high above it head, snarling viciously.
"Tsk, dumb cunt. Come to think of it, I haven't tested this particular skill yet," Damien sneered with a devilish smirk spreading across his face.
[- Phase 1: Compulsion; Allows the user to bend weaker wills to their command (Mana Cost: 30 MP)]
"So how does this work?" Damien muttered as his gaze flickered to the running goblin soldier charging at him.
"Alright, let's say, 'I Command You To Stand Still' " Damien declared, his eyes blazing crimson red, and instantly the goblin froze completely, obeying his command like a mindless puppet, its weapon still suspended in mid-air.
"Interesting." Damien murmured with a sinister, bone-chilling smirk. He walked around the frozen goblin, it could see him and Damien could tell that it was fighting the urge to break free but it couldn't move a muscle.
"Fascinating. Now let's try this. ' I Command You To Slit Your Throat' " Damien commanded with cold authority and without a second thought, the goblin pulled down it's knife to it's throat and slash it deep, dropping dead instantly with a wet thud.
Just immediately, another massive wave of goblins, led by five towering hobgoblins, emerged from the dungeon's portal in the distance. Damien's smirk widened predatorily..
'There's at least a hundred more, this is gonna be a pain in the butt. I need strength and speed, am also running out of stamina. Damn it.' Damien thought in frustration until a system notification chimed in front of him.
DING!
[You can distribute your accumulated experience points to your Status Attributes]
[Experience Points: 20,000/ 20,000]
Damien eyes widened in absolute surprise, his mouth falling open.
"What!, really?. Come to think of it, I already possessed 12,000 points when my system initially awakened. I seriously doubt it's a benevolent gift from Being X. Don't tell me—could it be from the countless E-rank monsters I slayed in my previous life? " Damien muttered with growing realization. Nevertheless, he was grateful that his hardship in his previous life wasn't in vain.
"Open Status Attributes" Damien commanded.
DING!
[Status Attributes:]
- Strength: 60
- Agility: 40
- Intelligence: 35
- Vitality: 50
- Defense: 30
"Alright, distribute 5,000 XP to Strength, 5,000 XP to Agility, 3,000 to Vitality and 2,000 to Defense. I don't see a need to add points to Intelligence, I'm not exactly an idiot, Tsk..." Damien declared with a frustrated sigh, unable to shake the daunting feeling that the system was mockingly taunting him, even though he knew it was all in his head.
Then immediately...
[Status Attributes:]
- Strength: 200
- Agility: 200
- Intelligence: 35
- Vitality: 170
- Defense: 150
As soon as the points were allocated to their specific Stats, Damien felt an overwhelming surge of energy coursing through his entire body. He clenched his fist with tremendous force, and his muscles violently tore apart the long-sleeved shirt he wore.
"Now, this is starting to get fun" he declared with a sinister, blood-hungry smirk.