By defeating Bart in a Sacred Duel, Kang Oh became the new owner of the Twisted Fortress.

As per Bart's request, Kang Oh also met with the Twisted Fortress's previous owner.

"This is Katrina." Bart pointed at the female player at his side.

"Hello, my name is Katrina."

Katrina wore a striking red dress, which really brought out the auburn in her eyes.

"Katrina? As in one of Altein's three best seamstresses?" Sephiro asked.

"That's her," Bart said.

"My name is Kang Oh, and this is Sephiro." Kang Oh introduced himself and Sephiro too while he was at it.

"I know. Predator Kang Oh," Katrina said.

"Anyhow, you said you wanted to buy the Twisted Fortress back?" Kang Oh went straight to the point.

"Yes."

"For how much?"

"Is 5,000 gold enough?"

"Hmm." Kang Oh stroked his chin.

He'd already checked the dungeon's rewards.

It would give him 700 gold, some items that the monsters dropped, and an AA-rank material, 'Floras's Mysterious Cloth'. Altogether, it would be worth about 1,000 gold a month.

In other words, he would have to keep the dungeon for 5 months in order to make that much money.

'It's not a bad offer.'

A soul dungeon was normally sold at a rate of three to six times its total monthly yield. Katrina had offered him five times what the dungeon was worth.

It definitely wasn't a bad offer.

"If you don't want to sell the dungeon to me, then please sell me Floras's Mysterious Cloth every month," Katrina said.

Her goal wasn't the soul dungeon itself, but the cloth that the soul dungeon offered her!

"No. I'll return the Twisted Fortress to you for 5,000 gold," Kang Oh said.

"Ok!"

"I have one request."

"What is it?"

"Please make some beautiful clothes for me."

Sephiro wasn't the only one who'd heard of her. Katrina's Dress! Apparently, her dresses were in extremely high demand.

"But I only make dresses, women's clothes."

"I need a dress. I want to give it to my girlfriend." Kang Oh grinned as he thought of Asu.

"I have a request too."

"Yes?"

"Please don't come after the Twisted Fortress anymore."

Her request was fair. It would be wrong to sell the dungeon to someone else, and then steal it again by force.

"I won't come after the Twisted Fortress so long as you're its master."

"Then let's sign a contract."

Kang Oh and Katrina wrote a contract right then and there, and both of them signed it.

With this, the Twisted Fortress returned to its original owner, and Kang Oh received 5,000 gold. 20% of it, or 1,000 gold, went to Sephiro.

* * *

The eastern part of the Arth continent was a vast desert, which contained oases and oasis cities that were built around them.

At the eastern edge of this region lay a canyon that was reminiscent of the Grand Canyon.

Royal Family's Canyon!

It contained the graves of the royal families of old, and also contained the graves of the Baiyan Kingdom's royal family.

This place was completely off limits to outsiders, and even the Baiyan Kingdom's nobles couldn't just come to this place whenever they wanted.

If one entered the Royal Family's Canyon by mistake, then it'd be hard to come out alive. The Grave Keepers wouldn't let trespassers go unscathed.

However...!

These powerful, loyal Grave Keepers' bodies were strewn across the canyon.

Demons either devoured them or brutalized their bodies. They were accompanied by Evil God Worshippers, who wore their traditional black robes, and were enveloped in wicked energy.

"Hurry and find Axion's tomb," a man yelled. He seemed to be the leader of the group.

The man was bald, yet possessed an extremely muscular physique. His body was covered in tattoos of people writhing/screaming in pain.

He was the Evil God's Third Disciple, Slaughter Lubatchi!

He'd killed everyone here for one reason: Axion's tomb.

Long ago, when the Evil God's followers were at their strongest, and spread pain, misery, and death throughout the continent, there was a party that destroyed the Great Temple of Jaila and stole their sacred treasures.

One of their members had been Axion; he had been a part of the then desert kingdom, and was its most powerful warrior.

Following his death, the sacred treasure he'd guarded had been buried with him.

This information had only come into their possession just a short while ago. Thus, they had only now come and slaughtered everyone here.

However, it had been hundreds of years since Axion had been buried. No one knew which one was his, nor did they know where it was located. There were no records of it anywhere either.

Ultimately, the Evil God Worshippers killed the Grave Keepers and were forced to look through every single grave.

"Yes, sir!"

Grr.

The Evil God Worshippers, accompanied by their demons, searched the Royal Family's Canyon.

"We'll find it soon," Lubatchi said.

A man wearing a bronze mask stood beside him. There was a giant sword strapped to his back.

"We have to. Lord Jaila's sacred treasure must return to its rightful place: with us."

"Of course."

Sometime later...

The Baiyan Kingdom's army showed up.

They had gotten word that the Evil God Worshippers had trespassed into the Royal Family's Canyon, and had slaughtered all of the Grave Keepers.

Baiyan's army was led by Heinel, a Master Warrior.

"These damn Evil God Worshippers! Where do they think they are!? How dare they step foot into this holy land!?"

He was truly angry.

The Royal Family's Canyon was both a forbidden area and a holy land. How dare the Evil God Worshippers dirty this holy land with their presence!?

This was a huge offense, one that couldn't be forgiven even with their lives.

"We're reclaiming the holy land before nightfall."

"Yes, sir!"

"Kill them all."

The Evil God Worshippers and the Baiyan Kingdom's elites fought.

However...!

The battle ended unexpectedly.

Baiyan Kingdom's Master Warrior, Hainel, was killed! Their army of 10,000 strong was completely annihilated too!

* * *

Kang Oh, who'd gone looking for soul dungeons, returned to Altein after an unsuccessful haul.

- Mr. Kang Oh.

Man Bok sent him a message.

- Yes?

- The demon sword is ready.

- Really?

- Please visit the Black Hammer Dwarves' Hideout. Mr. Hoffman is waiting for you.

- I'll be right there.

Kang Oh suddenly stood up, and headed for the Black Hammer Dwarves' Hideout.

A demon sword made out of the world's toughest metal was waiting for him! To be more specific, it was made out of Halium, an alloy that incorporated adamantium!

'I wonder what kind of sword it'll be.'

Hoffman had specifically told him that he'd create a dragon slayer, a sword capable of killing the apex species in this world.

Kang Oh's heart pounded as he entered Altein's intercity transfer gate.

"Black Hammer Dwarves' Hideout!"

Kang Oh's environment immediately changed.

He reappeared amidst black walls and passageways. A bushy bearded dwarf with short, thick arms and legs stood before him.

"Welcome, Mr. Kang Oh," a Black Hammer Dwarf said. His face was flushed, so Kang Oh assumed he had been drinking Phamas Beer.

"Do you know where Mr. Hoffman is?" Kang Oh asked impatiently. It was only natural. After all, he wanted to see the demon sword ASAP.

"Hoffman? Not sure. I haven't seen him anywhere lately."

"Understood."

Kang Oh went to Randelhoff's room.

"Hoffman's inside his personal workshop," Randelhoff said.

"Where is that?"

"Once you leave my room, take a right and go straight. You'll eventually come to an underground stairway. It'll be at the end of the stairs."

"Thank you."

Kang Oh headed there in a hurry.

Once he went downstairs, his nose was assaulted by a stale smell, and he could feel the heat of a furnace. He could also see the faint glow of light too.

"You're here," Hoffman said as soon as Kang Oh came through. He looked completely exhausted. But underneath it all was a sense of accomplishment.

"You've finally completed it." Kang Oh's voice shook.

'A demon sword! A new demon sword!'

"That's right."

"Is that it?" Kang Oh pointed at the large display stand that stood beside Hoffman. There was an object inside of it, covered in cloth.

"Please take a look."

"Yes."

Kang Oh gripped the edge of the cloth and pulled it off, revealing the demon sword Hoffman had created.

"Ooh!" Kang Oh couldn't help but marvel at the sight.

The demon sword was a long, gently curved longsword. The blade itself was purple with a deep black sheen.

The hilt was made out of dragon bone, which was wrapped with long, tough dragon skin like a bandage. The area that adjoined the blade and the hilt was made out of dragon scales and dragon claws.

Hoffman had processed the dragon scales so that they'd shine like gems; the scales were spaced evenly apart, and the dragon's claw formed a unique pattern!

Several claws were layered on top of each other, making them look like outstretched wings.

Gulp.

Kang Oh swallowed, and grabbed the demon sword as if he were propping it up.

He was surprised by what he felt.

'Why's it so light?'

His new demon sword was obviously lighter than his greatsword, Ubist, but it was also lighter than his one-handed sword, Blood, too.

Kang Oh immediately looked at its information.

[Demon Sword Akanhoff]

A once in a lifetime masterpiece created by Hoffman! You would be hard pressed to find a finer blade than this.

The blade is made up of the mysterious alloy, Halium, and various dragon materials were used to create the hilt.

Halium makes the blade extremely light, yet tough. At the same time, the blade is unbelievably sharp.

Hoffman's skill, which enabled him to put the sharpest edge on the world's toughest alloy, Halium, has even shocked the Blacksmith God, Orgon!

The blade is imbued with the power of darkness, which is as dangerous as it is powerful.

Hoffman's desire for vengeance is contained within this sword. When you face Inarius, a latent ability will activate.

The weapon becomes untradeable once equipped. Upon death, there is a high chance that the demon sword will drop.

+ Absolute Destruction: Anything that clashes with this blade will break. This includes weapons, armor, tough scales, and even bone! The object in question will eventually break, depending on how tough it is.

+ Damage Amplification: Always increases the damage you deal to your enemy. At minimum, increases damage by 1.5 times, and at maximum, increases it by 3 times. Will stack with critical hits!

+ Dangerous Gamble: Demon Sword Akanhoff's wielder loses 1% of their HP every 5 seconds. In exchange, the demon sword's attack power increases for every percent of HP lost.

Rank: SS.

Abilities: Attack Power 1200.

Minimum Requirements: Master Swordsman, or 50% proficiency in High-Rank Demonic Swordsmanship. 500 in all main stats, 70% darkness resistance.

Gulp.

Kang Oh swallowed again.

'It's completely overpowered!'

That's the first thing he thought after looking it over.

Demon Sword Akanhoff was like the Reaper of Souls. Why? It was completely unavoidable like the Reaper of Souls.

It crushed anything in its way, and did a considerable amount of damage via Damage Amplification and Dangerous Gamble!

What's worse, its original attack power was extremely high. Demon Sword Ubist's attack power was 850, while Demon Sword Akanhoff's starting attack power was 1200!

Hoffman's promise that he'd create him a dragon slayer wasn't hot air.

Akanhoff's incredible attack power, coupled with its abilities, would be able to break through a dragon's tough skin, scales, and bones. It would truly allow him to slay a dragon!

However...!

It's said that wielding such a powerful weapon would hurt its wielder too!

Demon Sword Akanhoff's attack power was off the charts, but it also drained its user's HP. It really was like a traditional 'demon sword'.

'It takes 1% of my HP every 5 seconds, so it'll take 500 seconds to kill me at full HP. So I have a little more than 8 minutes.'

However, Kang Oh already possessed a weapon that gave him a powerful Life Steal ability.

What if he were to use Blood and Akanhoff in tandem?

Dangerous Gamble wouldn't be much of an issue.

Moreover, he didn't have to take the Trial of the Demon Sword, most likely because there was no demon sealed within it yet.

In exchange, the equip requirements were really, really high.

Fortunately, Kang Oh met those requirements.

His Demonic Swordsmanship was both high-rank and at 67% proficiency!

Plus, Demon Sword Ubist and his amazing gear increased his main stats significantly, allowing him to fulfill the stat requirements within any issues.

Because of that, his main stats were all over 500. What's worse, his Sense stat, which he'd invested all of his level up stat points into, was over 1,500.

The last requirement, 70% darkness resistance, was already met just by being a Demonic Swordsman. The class itself gave him an extremely high resistance to darkness!

Kang Oh could equip Akanhoff right away. His body tingled with excitement. He wanted to test out this weapon's absolute power.

"Do you like it?" Hoffman asked.

"Absolutely. 100%," Kang Oh immediately replied. Then, he asked a question that he suddenly thought up. "But why is it called Akanhoff?"

'Akanhoff. What does that mean?'

"Akan means hero in the ancient tongue. Hoff is the name of my son, who was killed by Inarius."

"Ah."

"You promised to kill Inarius with this sword."

"That's right."

"If you do, then people will remember my son's name. They'll remember the sword that killed Inarius, Akanhoff. Hoff always dreamt of becoming a hero. He can no longer achieve that dream of his, but I wanted people to know his name," Hoffman said bitterly.

"I promise to kill Inarius for you," Kang Oh pledged.

'I'll kill him one day!'

"Please kill him in the most painful and embarrassing way possible!" Hoffman said, his voice cracking and filled with resentment. He clenched both his fists, and his eyes were filled with rage.

"Yes!"

"That sword is now yours."

"I'll use it well."

Kang Oh respectfully brought Demon Sword Akanhoff to his chest. He had finally obtained his third demon sword.