Chapter 065

Become Overpowered CEO of Hero Clan – 065

– Suaaah –

Black fog boiled up from the corpses of the dead monsters. The fog was absorbed by the evil spirit, creating a new body.

Twisting grotesquely, he roared lengthily as he acquired the massive physique of a minotaur. He had become a bipedal beast once again. Not only that, but in a more powerful state than before,

His level steadily increased, surpassing the mid-70s, with two additional rare-grade mutations added, making him a class beyond what the members could handle. Then, the suppressed grudge materialized and growled.

“Krrrr!”

Does it want to fight? Anyway, I had to use the Leader skill before that evil spirit could do anything.

[Used Final Finish.]

[The next attack to have the power of a finishing blow.]

– Hooong! –

Gunggi evolved into an adult form, fluttering its wings. The minotaur, which had been full of momentum, was frightened and stepped back cautiously.

‘Is something wrong with him?’

It was strange for a level 70s to have four mutations, two of which were rare mutations. Anyway, let’s take care of him quickly before he does anything.

– Pah-

Gunggi vanished into a purple mist and reappeared behind the minotaur, swinging its front paw. Twisting its high waist, the minotaur blocked Gunggi’s attack with its huge axe.

– Jjeoeng-

– Paang! –

A small shockwave occurred from the clash of the two attacks. Gunggi swung its front paws consecutively, ruffling the minotaur’s chest. Despite its strength, it couldn’t deflect every attack due to the difference in speed.

In no time, the minotaur, swinging its axe recklessly, was subdued with Gunggi biting its neck.

– Swooook! –

At that moment, another crimson orb surged from the minotaur’s mouth. It was the core of the evil spirit.

“$&%(–!”

The small-shaped evil spirit flew to the center of the circular arena and raised both hands towards the sky.

– Gooooo!-

Then, several layers of magic circles overlapped on the already glowing yellow magic circle above, and the atmosphere began to fluctuate. It seemed like an immense magical ritual was unfolding.

Unfortunately, the dense sound energy accumulated in the magic circle was so strong that even Gunggi’s movements slowed down.

– Suaaah –

Suddenly, a translucent figure of the minotaur appeared in the sky. Its size was so immense that just looking at it sent shivers down the spine.

“Demon King!”

The evil spirit seemed unusually resilient. It was a sentient being of the demon world planted in the mortal realm. As the evil spirit screamed, five layers of magic circles resonated, and sound energy gathered as if it would explode.

I concentrated my mind, infused with determination, and commanded Gunggi.

‘Devour and kill it!’

– Pah.

–

Gunggi turned into a purple mist, leaping forward, ignoring the recoil of the sound energy, and swallowed up the evil spirit that was attacking recklessly. Since Gunggi was an evil spirit, it could deliver a lethal blow even to a spiritual entity without physical form.

[Obtained 730 points.]

– Kugugugung…..…! –

A tremendous pressure was felt from above. A torso of a human with arms attached to a cow’s head was looking down at us. However, as the evil spirit, which was trying to deploy an immense magical ritual, turned into a meal for Gunggi, the fluctuating magic circles shattered, and the gigantic figure in the sky gradually disappeared as it became transparent.

However, the sentient being of the demon world continued to gaze at us until the end, its eerie red eyes flashing.

‘It seems like we caught the attention of a tremendous being.’

But what’s the point of fighting to survive? Anyway, the sentient beings of the demon world don’t appear in Season 1. Even meeting the mental manifestation of the Demon King here undermines the whole premise… They’re not going to lead a massive army just because we purified one mental manifestation.

“Go and take a look.”

“Yes!”

The members searched every nook and cranny of the minotaur’s corpse, from which the evil spirit had departed, leaving only the body. The harvest was three intermediate magic stones, the raging flame of the minotaur, and an unidentified orb.

The unidentified orb couldn’t be identified even through the information window, so it seemed we needed to consult a skilled appraiser to determine its use.

‘Even if there’s dissatisfaction, it’s a big deal.’

The raging flame of the minotaur was a valuable item used as a material for hero-grade equipment, making it worth collecting when creating powerful armaments. The members were visibly delighted, knowing this.

Even though I delivered the finishing blow, it’s only fair to distribute this.

‘I wonder if something changes if it devour the evil spirit.’

As Final Finish was released, Gunggi turned back into a baby tiger. However, it seemed to be uncomfortable with something wrong with its body, and a faint red aura circulated around its torso and eye sockets.

It turned into an evil spirit, climbed onto my head, and fell asleep quietly. It wasn’t uncomfortable as it had no weight.

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Dragon Stream.

A massive water current flowing from the second floor to the third floor underground. A water dragon descending from the sky strikes the midsection of a towering mountain, causing a fierce water storm and a crimson rainbow to bloom.

The valiant water current from the sky slides down to the ground, creating a vast expanse of red sea.

The sea absorbed the energy of the mountain, making it the only place where the vitality of life was abundant. The ominous red light of the artificial sun only illuminated the surface of the sea, while beneath it, various ecosystems unfolded.

– Hooong! –

On such a Dragon Stream, there was a single lever descending. The emblem of the clan ‘Dawn’s Altar’, a star-shaped logo, was engraved on the wings of the lever.

The lever plunged forcefully vertically. Below it, dangerous traps awaited, unbeknownst even in dreams.

– Flash! –

At the opposite midsection of the mountain where the Dragon Stream flowed, two lord-class monsters opened their eyes.

“The feast is upon us. Brothers, partake of what shines the brightest. For this body has not yet fully absorbed the legacy left by the brothers of fire.”

“Thank you. I shall also grow stronger!”

– Parruruuru! –

The leathery wings of the giant reptile trembled, then began flapping at an incredible speed. The strong wind blew, kicking up dust.

– Boooom. –

The villains had summoned small levers in advance to float in the air. The levers varied in shape, from oval discs to surfboards and jetpacks. Among them, the villain riding the disc-shaped one grumbled with a bewildered look on his face.

“Leader, is this the right thing?”

“There’s no other choice. Besides, if the major mutation of the lizard is enhanced, there’s no need to wait. It’ll make battles at the Royal Tomb easier for us. Besides, I’m curious about what’s inside the hero’s magical space.”

“That’s true, but still… I wonder if it’s worth the risk, considering they’ll consume all the spirits.”

“We can’t digest the spirits like those monster bastards do. Since there are no alchemists in the country who can handle spirits, even if we obtain them, it’ll be a long time before we can try enhancing the mutations.”

“In the end, we can only hope that the heroes have valuable items.”

– Hooong! –

At that moment, the giant lizard lifted Wendia Lord with its forelegs and soared high into the sky. Wendia Lord had a unique ability called ‘Cloud Step’ that allowed it to fly through the sky, but its slow speed made it indebted to the lizard.

The villains also rushed towards the lever with the star logo flying upwards. In the process, the villain leader whispered secretly to the two lords, so the other villains smirked wickedly, having heard what was said.

– Crackle! –

The lizard’s long tongue quickly wrapped around the lever with the star logo. Sparks flew wildly from the translucent shield surrounding the lever.

However, the heroes’ counterattack was formidable as well. The lever disappeared in an instant, and six heroes floating in midair rushed to attack the lizard.

– Ziiiing! Swoosh! –

A blue beam shot from Wendia’s horn. The heroes twisted their bodies in panic to avoid the beam, but one of them disappeared as if erased, leaving only the waist and part of the pelvis.

“Ah!”

Hero Ellie shouted in anger. She summoned the lever again to dock the heroes onto the jet’s upper part and pulled out a huge bow.

Following a special ritual engraved on the bow, magic gathered on the arrow, emitting yellow sparks.

Seeing the power of the arrows, the two lords stopped their attacks and cautiously watched Hero Ellie.

– Ziiing! Shuuuuung! –

As the tightly drawn bowstring was released, the arrows, wrapped in two strands of blue spiral energy, shot straight ahead.

The giant lizard tried to take off by flapping its wings. However, the accelerating arrows suddenly aimed for the lizard’s face.

The lizard reflexively lashed out its tongue to deflect the arrows.

– Thwack! –

“Eek!”

The arrow lost its momentum only after piercing through the tough tongue of the lizard. As if to avenge the lizard, wendia Lord attached to its foreleg flickered its horn once again.

A blue beam shot straight towards the lever, and this time, the villains also joined forces and rushed towards the heroes.

“It’s useless to resist!”

– Spang! –

– Pffft! –

“Cough!”

Hero Ellie managed to retrieve the lever in one breath, avoiding the destruction of their means of transportation. However, one B-grade hero suffered a severe wound to the waist from the villain leader’s punch and let out a desperate scream.

After driving away the female villain wielding a dagger, Ellie pulled the lever again and aimed at the villain leader.

– Swoosh! –

But Wendia Lord’s blue beam was faster. It precisely aimed for Hero Ellie’s chest and flew towards her. Ellie, facing imminent death, released the lever, but the villain leader even shattered the returning arrow with a punch.

“Aaaah!”

At the moment of life and death, a bright white light enveloped the heroes.

– Pfft –

“What?!”

The heroes, who were falling helplessly, disappeared in an instant. The villains, who were planning to raid the heroes’ magical space, lost their minds in astonishment.

The two lords were equally furious.

“Space manipulation ritual! Did the prey we anticipated come to us?”

“Glory. Vanished. I. Am hungry…”

In the end, the alliance of villains and lords couldn’t gain anything. In fact, this phenomenon was not caused by a spatial manipulation ritual but by the reverse ritual of the hero association chairman, God Hand.

While spatial teleportation rituals required immense magical power, the reverse ritual was an application of God Hand’s talent, ‘contact restoration’, which restored the target to the moment when the initial ritual was engraved.

When the supervisor first distributed the yellow identification badges, the reverse ritual was engraved on all the heroes. Unlike spatial teleportation rituals, which consumed much less magical power, the cost was God Hand’s lifespan.

The villain leader, suppressing his excitement, said bitterly.

“Other heroes will pull off similar tricks. Let’s move to the Royal Tomb now.”

“We need to hurry. The prey’s strategies are so thorough. There must be some trickery at the Royal Tomb as well.”

“Don’t worry about that. Until last year, there were no countermeasures at the Royal Tomb.”

“How can you be so sure? Have you planted spies?”

“Yes, indeed. Is there anything in the world that can’t be done with money?”

“I’ll trust you then. Anyway, let’s head towards where the red light shines. Brothers, don’t hesitate. Beneath this land lies prey more valuable than any spirit.”

“Prey…! Necessary. Eat. Devour.”

The alliance of villains and lords began flying belatedly towards the giant sinkhole leading to the fourth floor.

At the same time, the Harmony Clan, having defeated the spirits within the black fog, was already stationed in a corner of the giant sinkhole, preparing their weapons.

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The current battle gauge is at 77%. After waiting for six hours, we can use Final Finish again.

As a precaution against possible ambushes, several discs were placed around the lever to set up concealment shields. From the outside, they blended seamlessly with the rocky terrain. Unless a highly perceptive high-level monster appears, it’s unlikely they’ll detect our presence here.

– Zim –

“Leader! I only see Sand Scullers and Crimson Crawlers around. Shall we continue hunting?”

“Yes. Report immediately if you observe any abnormal phenomena.”

“Yes! I’ll be right back.”

Hwang Man-deuk, who had gone hunting, went back down as soon as he came up from the lower entrance. Seems like he loses control if he doesn’t move after reaching the 2 stars.

Well, the travel time is quite long anyway.

“They’re all level 40. Should be fine.”

The Sand Sculler, a large scorpion, and the Crimson Crawler, a giant worm, were typical monsters found in the red desert. It’s said to be a perfect hunting ground for warming up.

Although the rare variants of these two monsters hold valuable materials, I didn’t want to use the Corrupted Crystals to go hunting in such a dangerous place.

The evil spirit from earlier wasn’t in the reports from the association. With such a vast and historically significant desert, who knows when and where we might encounter dangerous phenomena.

– Ting.

–

At that moment, a system message appeared at the bottom of the field of vision.

[Hero Hwang Man-deuk has sustained minor injuries.]

[The battle gauge has increased by a tiny amount.]

‘It’s only been a while since he left, and he’s already encountered monsters.’

Actually, I didn’t stop the members from wandering around because of this.

It’s the first time encountering this situation, so I’m experimenting with various things. It seems like the system is activated as long as the distance from the members is roughly within 3 km.

When I checked with the radar network, if they were further away, the combat situation message didn’t appear. Of course, the battle gauge didn’t increase either, and considering the resources filled by the members, it’ll take about 3 hours to fill it up completely.