The Dullahan, Clovis, attacked Eder with his twice Hellfire Maces.

Repel, Suppression, and Violent Strike!

He used skill after skill on Eder, instantly pushing him back.

Clang, clang, clang!

His Hellfire Maces endlessly bashed on Eder's skull shield.

Eder looked like he'd been driven into a corner and yet, he didn't panic at all.

'This is nothing.'

To Eder, who'd fought countless monsters with Kang Oh, Clovis wasn't a difficult foe to contend with.

Plus, he was wearing the Dullahan set.

"Take this!"

While enduring Clovis's assault, Eder calmly pinpointed a weak spot and swung his mace as quick as lightning.

At that moment, the Dullahan set gave him herculean strength.

Whack!

His attack gave off a refreshing 'whack' and his hand tingled. It was so electrifying that he felt a shiver go down his spine!

Clovis was pushed back by the unexpected blow.

Then, Kang Oh let out a Baramut's Roar.

Kuheong!

Kang Oh, now infused with the power of a tiger, took out the BB-rank gloves that he'd bought from the auction house.

Gluttony!

[Demon Sword Ubist has consumed the Red Metal Gloves.]

[It is a BB-rank item.]

[Entering Gluttony mode.]

[For the next 10 minutes, the demon sword and your character's abilities are doubled.]

'I don't think I'll need Devil Trigger.'

Ubist's assimilation rate was over 90%. He'd eventually need to overcome the Trial of the Demon Sword again, but today wouldn't be the day.

Clovis wasn't powerful enough to warrant using Devil Trigger.

If he wasn't pressed for time, then he wouldn't have even used Gluttony.

'Anyhow, let's kill him quickly and then run.'

Kang Oh relentlessly swung his sword.

Slash, cut, cut, thrust!

Kang Oh's flawless, weighty attacks forced Clovis onto the defensive.

Not to mention that Eder and Sephiro were helping out too.

Clovis's HP went down quickly, and proceeded to the 3rd phase.

Three magic circles appeared on the ground, and three named Dullahans arose from them.

Clovis summoned enough Dullahans to match the size of one's party. Since Kang Oh's party consisted of three members, only three Dullahans were summoned.

"Eder, keep the Dullahans busy."

"Alright."

Eder led the Dullahans away from his party and then attacked them.

"C'mon!"

Though he was up against three named Dullahans, he didn't get overpowered.

In fact, he'd throw in an attack here and there, which actually caused them to topple over.

'Ooh, so this is how much of a difference gear makes.'

Eder was really satisfied with his new equipment.

While Eder did his thing, Kang Oh and Sephiro concentrated all their efforts on Clovis.

Upon entering the third phase, Clovis became enraged, which further increased his strength and speed.

He continued to use Repel, Suppression, and Violent Strike, and also used some skills he hadn't used before, like Flames of Death and Hellfire Sweep.

This was the first time they'd actually seen him use these skills, but Kang Oh and Sephiro were already aware of them, so they didn't panic at all.

Ting, whizz, whizz!

Thwock, thwock, thwock!

Sephiro's arrows would never go astray.

Clovis was pretty much struggling at this point. Kang Oh would either avoid or block his attacks and then much too easily land an attack.

'This is easy. Really easy.'

The level 230 boss, Clovis.

He was much weaker than the likes of the Minotaur brothers, Blood, or the Snake Queen, Cassio that he'd fought in the Great Forest.

'Let's end this.'

Kang Oh deliberately exposed his side. Then, Clovis came flying towards it.

At that moment...

Tempest Tiger!

A golden aura erupted from his blade, and his flame-shaped necklace began to glow.

Boom!

The quadrupled strength Tempest Tiger pounced on Clovis.

It was so powerful that it created an indentation on Clovis's thick armor.

Not only had Clovis fallen, but he had also rolled more than ten times on the floor.

[You have defeated the Headless Dullahan, Clovis.]

[Clovis is a boss monster that only drops set items.]

[Clovis has dropped a Hellfire Mace and a Necromancer's Diminishing Secret Potion.]

Clovis died before the whirlwind had even started.

The Dullahans that Eder had been fighting against instantaneously turned to black smoke and dispersed into the air.

Once the whirlwind died down, Kang Oh quickly picked up the items.

Then he said, "Take a look around. Make sure there's nothing here that can lead them back to us."

Just in case, Sephiro picked up all of the arrows that he'd used, which included the ones within Clovis's body and the ones scattered about.

Eder didn't have anything that he could've dropped.

"Let's go."

"That's what I like to hear."

Both Kang Oh and Sephiro took out return scrolls and ripped them apart.

Silver powder glittered around them, and their bodies began to fade. Eventually, they completely disappeared.

After that, Eder's body began fading as well. Kang Oh, who had returned to Altein, was summoning him.

Ultimately, all they had left behind were the traces of battle, Clovis's headless body, and the broken skeleton horse. There was nothing moving inside the fourth floor.

Sometime later...

The door to the boss room opened, and in came the Empire Guild's Assassination Squad.

"Huh?"

"Eh?"

"What?"

They had come to a boss that had already been defeated and stared dumbfounded.

Then, the squad leader regained his composure and realized what had happened.

"Someone got here before us."

He didn't know how exactly they did it, but he was sure that they'd killed the boss and run.

After all, a boss wouldn't kill itself, and there were also traces of a battle taking place.

"How did they get here before us?" one of the squad members asked.

"I'm not sure yet. I need to report this to headquarters first, and then we'll go from there."

"That seems best," another squad member agreed.

The squad leader sent a message to the Empire Guild's vice-captain.

- Vice-captain.

- What is it?

- Someone killed the Kainshell boss and ran away.

- Who would dare...?

- I'm not sure. What's worse, I have absolutely no idea how they got into the boss room before us.

- So you're telling me that there's a thief out there that fearlessly killed a boss under the Empire Guild's control?

- Yes.

- Then we have to capture them and then teach them a lesson. Pay back twice what you're owed. That's the ironclad rule of the Empire Guild.

- Yes. If we don't deal with this swiftly, then similar events will occur elsewhere.

- I'll send Sweeper Kraal. He'll deal with this issue.

- Understood.

After closing the message window, the squad leader said, "I've given my report. The vice-captain is sending Kraal."

"Kraal... That Kraal?"

One of the squad members widened their eyes.

"The very same. He's sending the Mad Dog."

"Mm..."

"In any case, this has nothing to do with us anymore. Kraal will deal with this matter."

* * *

Altein, Eder's residence.

Kang Oh, Eder, and Sephiro gathered at Eder's house.

"I didn't think this crazy plan of yours would work."

Sephiro still couldn't believe it.

"Hoo, hoo. Who do you think made that plan?"

Kang Oh grinned.

"Agreed."

Eder gave him a thumbs up. 'It really was a terrific plan!'

"But will the Empire Guild really not come after us?" Sephiro said concernedly.

They'd stirred up the hornet's nest, so he was uncomfortable with the aftermath.

"They won't sit still, that's for sure. But how would they know that it was us?" Kang Oh said calmly.

Not getting caught in the first place was best!

"Still..."

Sephiro hesitated.

"If you're that worried about it, then go to the Empire Guild headquarters and tell them that it was me. I'm sure they'll be like 'Oh, no. You're such a good boy.' and let you live. Who knows?"

Kang Oh and Sephiro knew that that was an impossibility. The moment he confessed would be the moment he died.

"Tch."

"We'll be fine."

Eder patted Sephiro's shoulder and comforted him.

"Now then, shall we look at the items that Clovis dropped?"

Kang Oh removed the Hellfire Mace and the Necromancer's Diminishing Secret Potion from his inventory.

"This is..."

Sephiro grabbed the vial containing green liquid.

[Necromancer's Diminishing Secret Potion]

A secret potion created by an unknown necromancer. If applied to a weapon, then it may have some special effect on it.

"No way."

Sephiro slightly opened his eyes.

"Way."

"Clovis dropped this?"

"Clovis and a few other undead bosses drop this."

"The price of this alone is..."

"About 500 gold."

"That makes sense... I was wondering why you were so insistent on killing Clovis, even though it wouldn't benefit you at all. Now I understand why you made such a crazy plan... Was it because of this?" Sephiro asked.

'You really are horrible!'

"Sort of."

Kang Oh shrugged his shoulders.

He'd acquired better gear for Eder, made some money, and gave the Empire Guild, a large guild that occupied the dungeon and forced people to pay an admission fee, the middle finger. Not bad, huh?

"What is this anyway?" Eder jumped in.

"If you apply this to your weapon, then it'll reduce its equip requirements by 20%," Sephiro explained.

"Ah, is that the Necromancer's Diminishing Secret Potion?"

"You know what it is?" Kang Oh asked.

"I remember reading about it back when I was studying necromancy."

"Do you know how to make it?"

Kang Oh stared at Eder, eyes filled with anticipation.

"Not really..."

Eder scratched the back of his head.

"Tch."

Kang Oh looked disappointed. The recipe would've sold for quite a bit.

"Anyway, I'm going to sell the secret potion at the auction house."

Kang Oh returned the potion to his inventory.

"20% is mine," Sephiro said.

Kang Oh nodded his head.

Then he looked at Eder and said, "Use the Hellfire Mace well. Don't forget what I've done for you."

"Hehe, thank you very much."

Eder politely grabbed the mace with both hands.

[Hellfire Mace]

The weapon that Kainshell's boss monster, Clovis, used. It contains the power of a low rank fire demon, so it is always engulfed in flame.

+ Hellfire: Mighty flames rise from the weapon, inflicting fire damage. It will occasionally burn your opponent.

+ Crush: Landing an attack will reduce your opponent's defense by 10% at most.

Rank: AA

Abilities: Attack Power +310, Physical +40, Mental +20, fire and darkness skills/magic damage +5%.

Minimum Requirements: Undead only.

"Ooh."

After looking over the item's abilities, Eder was in awe.

Its attack power far surpassed his previous weapon's, and the item's abilities were much better too.

"Do you like it?" Sephiro asked.

"I like it very much."

Eder raised his new mace high into the sky. It was spiked, and flames rose from the main section of the mace.

"The aftermath is kind of worrying, but... If you like it, then all that hard work was worth it."

Sephiro beamed.

"Kuu, Brother!"

Eder looked deeply moved.

"I'll buy you a shield from the auction house later, so keep using the skull shield for now," Kang Oh said.

"Alright."

"Oh, right. Give me Jakma's Mace and the Cursed Blood Knight set back."

The gear he'd been using thus far had been lent to him by Kang Oh. Now that he had some new equipment, he needed to return the gear he'd borrowed.

Kang Oh and Eder had already agreed to this prior, so Eder returned the equipment without complaint.

'I can use these for Gluttony.'

Jakma's Mace, which emitted poisonous mist that also damaged its wielder, and the 'Cursed' Blood Knight set, which reduced the equipper's abilities.

All of the equipment had major flaws, so they obviously wouldn't sell. Thus, using it for Gluttony would be a far better choice.

"Then that's all for today folks."

Kang Oh stood up.

"Good work everyone."

"See you tomorrow."

Kang Oh believed that that was the end of everything.

However...!

That was wishful thinking.