Chapter 11 Nobility?

In front of Mark, stood a Werewolf.

Its pelt was dark.

Drool was going down its sharp fangs.

Mark now stood as a Unique Abyssal Weretiger.

Red pelt covered by black stripes.

Orange piercing pupils.

'Alright. Let's test this new body!'

Mark sprinted towards the Werewolf.

Taking full advantage of his superior Agility, he slashed the Monster's body upward before it could react.

The Werewolf stepped back.

Mark's "Fire Claws[E]" Skill burnt the wounds left by the claws, but the next second,

[You have lost the Skill "Fire Claws[E]".]

It was the second Skill he had lost.

The first being "Infernal Breath".

They were Skills that came with the body of an Infernal Hound.

And since he wasn't one anymore, they were lost.

The Werewolf tried to counterattack but Mark grabbed its arms.

He squeezed the Monster's wrists until they broke.

'Oh.'

It seemed the Unique Abyssal Weretiger was surprised by its own strength.

Mark opened his mouth and a Fire Bomb appeared.

[You have defeated one Werewolf. 100Gold Coins and 200Experience Points earned.]

'That was easy enough. Didn't even have to use this...'

Behind Mark was a long tail resembling that of a scorpion.

It was the only Body Modification that was available, apart from Sharp Fangs and Sharp Claws.

'The tail's tip is highly poisonous. I'd like to get used to it, since it's a poison that doesn't use Mana Points ...' Mark thought as he devoured the Monster.

After hunting some more, he went back to the cave.

His heart refused to settle down.

'I can't wait to test my strength against stronger Monsters!'

A bit later, his 5 Underlings came back.

Other than Cer, Light and Kalès, he now had two other Underlings.

One of them was the combination of two Werewolves and a Wererhino.

It had the body structure and agility of a Werewolf but also the sharp horn and the tough skin of a Wererhino.

'Physically, it looks wrong. But its strength is pretty good.'

The Underling was called Nor.

The second one was much smaller than all the other Underlings.

It was the combination of two Great Paralyzing Bats and one Great Poisonous Scorpion.

The result was an Elite Abyssal Venomous Bat that was as big as a cat.

Mark showed his sharp fangs at the Underling's sight.

It might have been a smile.

If so, it was a monstrous one.

While its size was nothing to boast about, the potency of its venom was nothing to laugh at.

After inserting its fangs into a Werewolf, the latter died one minute later.

The Underling Monster was simply called Bat.

'Bat is great for recon as he has a high Sense Stat. He and Light are great stealth types. Kalès and Nor are strong and bulky. Cer too. Additionally, he can also fight from afar very well. This is a pretty good team I'd say...'

...

A couple of hours passed after Mark's Evolution into a "Unique Abyssal Weretiger".

'It's time for us to go a little further.'

He was followed by his Underlings as they walked away from the cave.

Mark had previously ordered his five Underlings not to hunt Monsters that were further than three kilometers away from the cave.

Anything further than that was the territory of Monsters that seemed stronger.

'There are way fewer Monsters than when we first arrived. I guess we turned this into my territory.'

After a bit, they passed the 3 kilometers limit they had never crossed before.

In front of the group was a huge lake.

'That's the one I had seen back when I was still an Infernal Hound Skeleton. Tsk. Can't fly anymore...'

On the lake, various Monsters were minding their own business.

Giant sea otters, crocodiles and even some Monsters that looked like an ancient dinosaur, the Pistosaurus, could be seen swimming at the surface.

But those were not the Monsters Mark was looking for.

The group walked closer to the lake.

'Mmm...'

Dark shadows danced under the water.

'Pretty deep. Cer, let's shoot those underwater Monsters.'

The next instant, a combination of Infernal Bombs and Fire Bombs rained down on the lake.

Huge waves splashed and bubbles started rising.

The peaceful Monsters on the surface were surprised at the sudden explosions and all turned towards Mark's group.

Their eyes shined with anger.

Mark showed what looked like a smile.

'Come then.'

A Monster that resembled a big crocodile went underwater and started rapidly swimming towards the group.

But the next instant, that Monster's body reemerged again.

It was lifted above the water, before being split in two by a huge pincer.

'Here we go. You should have come sooner.' Mark thought as he readied himself.

A dozen or so gigantic crabs started emerging from the water and attacking the Monsters on the surface.

None of them stood a chance against the sharp pincers that cut Monsters in two like it was nothing.

'I'm guessing they can go on land... Cer, let's start shooting them. Try to shoot as many of them as possible. We don't want them to die and sink. Let's guide them to us. What are they called? Rank?'

[Simple Noble Crabs: [E+] Rank Monsters.]

'Simple Noble? What kind of name is that?' Mark thought.

A series of explosions made water splash everywhere.

Seconds later, more than a dozen pairs of weird-looking eyes were looking at the group.

'Damn... Their shells are pretty hard. Some of them lost a leg, but not one of them died...'

The next instant, the "Simple Noble Crabs" started moving as fast as they could towards the group.

They even stepped on one another to get there faster.

'Let's step back. There are 14 of them. Cer, only shoot the closest ones. Bat, try poisoning those all the way behind.

Three Infernal Bombs hit the closest Monster's pincers.

It lost its two forelegs.

Mark raised his right arm towards the sky.

'Let's try it.'

Above his hand, three balls of a black liquid appeared.

A second later, the balls of black liquid changed shape.

They turned into sharp arrows.

Mark lowered his arm.

Instantly, the three arrows flew towards their targets, which were the closest Monsters.

Each arrow hit a Monster's eye and wounded it.

They turned back to the liquid they were made of and entered the wounds.

It was Mark's Skill "Corrupting Arrow".

The closest monster, which was already damaged by Cer, started crying blood that was dark as night.

A bit later,

[You have defeated one Simple Noble Crab. 600Gold Coins and 1200Experience Points earned.]

'Oh. 1200... Alright. Everyone step back.'

Mark and his Underlings stepped away from the incoming Monsters.

Most had now left the water.

'Let's have you level up. Kalès, use your Life Force Stream. Kill all of them.'

A red ball appeared in front of the Unique Abyssal Orc Chief.

He swallowed it.

A huge and powerful stream of energy was shot at the Monsters.

Mark's eyes widened.

'It's much more powerful than the one he had used before... His HP, MP and Endurance Points are practically full right now...I'm not getting any of those Experience Points but whatever.'

The stream of energy could easily penetrate the shells of the Monsters.

After all, the Magic Skill converted the Ex-Guardian's life force into energy.

There was no way such an attack wouldn't decimate the enemies it fell upon.

Kalès turned his head from right to left, completely obliterating all the Monsters on the lake.

[Your Underling Kalès has leveled up!]

[Your Underling Kalès has leveled up!]

'Maybe this wasn't the best idea... Your Stats are so high that adding one Stat Point to them doesn't help much... What level do my Underlings need to be at to evolve?'

[Three-Headed Abyssal Wolf Cer:

Current Level: 14.

Level necessary before Evolution: 50.

Elite Dark Wolf Light:

Current Level: 12.

Level necessary before Evolution: 30.

Unique Abyssal Orc Chief Kalès:

Current Level: 3.

Level necessary before Evolution: (MAXED OUT).

Elite Abyssal Venomous Bat Bat:

Current Level: 9.

Level necessary before Evolution: 25.

Modified Werewolf Nor:

Current Level: 7.

Level necessary before Evolution: 40.

]

'So Kalès is maxed out... Mmmm, maybe an Orc can't really get much stronger than this? I'll have to fuse you with Monsters stronger than you are so that you're used to strengthen them instead of being the base for the newborn Monster in that case. I wonder if making my Skill evolve will, at one point, give me the freedom to fuse my Underlings however I want... Anyways, take these.'

Mark bought Healing Potions and gave them to Kalès who gobbled them right up.

The instant the Underling's Health Points hit 50%, the ground started to shake.

'What now?'

Mark asked himself, amused.

Gigantic waves appeared on the lake.

Something huge was about to leave the water.

Once it appeared, even though half its body was still underwater, Mark knew that this enemy was different than the rest.

His amusement had suddenly turned to worry in front of the Monster's giant pincers.

'What is this?? It's nothing like the others... The scale...Is too different!'

[Esteemed Crab King: [D] Rank Monster.]

'Rank [D], huh?'