You have killed fifteen Gnolls, you have earned the tittle [Gnoll Hunter] Gnoll Hunter – Gain 5% damage against Gnolls.

‘That’s helpful.’

Ashe Zhang

Race: Human

Title: Cataclysm [Eternal Stigma] → Gnoll [email protected]!$ #@$ Invalid Error → Cataclysm [Eternal Stigma]

Because of the Eternal Stigma, the Tittle Cataclysm cannot be replaced. An Eternal Stigma can only be erased once a set of requirements are met.

“What’s the requirements…? No answer, huh? That’s a shame. Vine, have you finished sucking up the blood of the Gnolls?”

“Yes.”

A snake moved quickly and wrapped itself on Ashe’s Arms. Vine was a monster; it was nothing but a beast that’s supposed to move according to its instincts.

Ashe wouldn’t trust it if not for two reasons.

It tried to save him once despite the danger and its capability. Also, the more it got attached to him, the higher the Astral Page’s level became.

[Astral Page (Level 4)]

‘It should gain Pages the more I level it up, right?’

He deemed Vine useful.

‘I wonder, where those Seekers are now? They arrived days ago, I wonder how much they have explored.’

“Vine, how are the seven Strangers doing?”

“Fighting, Gnolls, Ten.”

“They don’t even know how to pick fights? This doesn’t bode well. I don’t want them to die, and leave me alone in this place. Taking care of the Boss myself is a problem, isn’t that right, Vine?”

“We, Help.” Vine nodded its head but added two words.

“No, no, we don’t help. It’s too dangerous, let them do all the work.”

“But…” Vine was disappointed by Ashe’s answer. Its head hanged low as it feared Ashe’s words.

“…Well, don’t worry, I may not want to help them, but I’ll protect you. I have taken a liking to you, after all.” Ashe laughed as they disappeared to somewhere else while dragging the carcass of a Gnoll.

That would be his dinner for the coming night.

***

‘Three of them.’

Ashe hid behind a tree twenty meters away from three Gnolls. There was no way he could take on three with his current strength.

‘What’s more, it’s harder to fight because I’m commando. Everything is hanging.’ It was very uncomfortable.

He knew of his limitations, but that only goes for head-on encounters. Ashe had ways to take care of such a number disadvantage.

“Vine, move.”

“Vine, Moving.”

Like a snake, Vine slithered and darted forth. It was fast-moving, faster than the Gnolls could react.

It would even be deadlier if it knew a form of attack. However, that was the problem, Vine did not know such a thing.

It was a peace-loving Treant Vinesnake. It liked companionship and hated Gnolls—nothing in between.

“Gha?”

“Ghayaaaa!” a Gnoll was bound by Vine, it shrieked aloud and tried to make a futile attempt to escape.

The Gnolls with it, however, did not panic but instead rejoiced at the sight of Vine. The Gnolls didn’t care about their restricted companion; they reached to take Vine away.

Vine trembled in fear; it wanted to let go but didn’t and cried, “Human, Help.”

Swoosh!

“GHAARA~”

A shrill and deep cry of pain echoed as a rusted spear hit one of the Gnolls. The spear was not sharp enough to pierce through the Gnoll’s tough hide and flesh, but it was enough to injure them and have it stagger.

A figure cut through the wind; Ashe appeared behind the uninjured Gnoll. They say it was cowardly to sneak up behind an enemy, but Ashe’s philosophy was, ‘Whatever it takes.’

Such stupid thoughts were not something he appreciated. In the end, everything that mattered was survival.

Slash! A head flew off.

Now, Ashe was one on one with an injured Gnoll which he bashed its head to a mush using the spear’s shaft.

He killed the restricted Gnoll last.

“This is the 28th Gnoll I killed. My stamina is improving, and I am getting used to it, my body is still not suitable for Aeol usage—Oooh, they have Skill Runes.”

Ashe picked his spirits up as harvested the weapons and the Skill Runes. While doing so, Vine slithered to his neck and repeatedly bit his head.

“Human, Slow, Me, Captured, Me, Die.”

“I’m sorry, forgive this human. I shall do better in the future.” A monotonous tone came out of Ashe, further angering Vine, it pecked him multiple times.

Ashe paid its grudge no heed resulting in Vine to feel left out. It was ignored by this Human Companion.

It was about to dish out its special punishment when it suddenly stopped moving.

“Hey, what’s wrong? Aren’t you going to strangle me next?”

Ashe already experienced its punishment and found it weird Vine wasn’t strangling him while collecting the Skill Runes. He turned to look the Vine and saw it observing a particular direction.

Ashe knew what it was looking at. He didn’t like its thoughts.

“Vine, let it be. If you go there, we will be facing massive trouble.”

Ashe didn’t want to get mixed in with useless matters.

“Those people should have already met the Boss by now, just let it be, and let’s wait for them to kill it. Our presence is not needed—VINE!”

“Vine, Assist, New, Companions, Save.”

However, the snake-like, dog-like Vine ignored his words and abruptly took off without hesitation.

Ashe looked at the Vine, speeding away and sighed in exasperation, “This Vine is too much of a headache.”

Ashe didn’t want to get too embroiled in any problem, “If Vine is taking action, then those guys must all be weak. Why did they even enter this dungeon? I really don't want to get into too much trouble.”

He said as he quietly followered Vine.

***

“Fall back! We can’t face it head-on!” before the Seeker named Matt was a Boss Monster that towered for three and a half meters.

⌜Gnoll Knight⌟

The Gnoll Knight was the second evolutionary phase of a Gnoll. It was stronger, faster, and more terrifying than its previous form.

Their tough hide had layers of muscles protectin its organs and bones, the Gnoll Knight’s defenses were nothing to laugh at. And with its robust body, the Bastard Sword that it wielded generated so much power that it was a nightmare even for Tankers.

Matt thought they were prepared to fight such a beast; however, he was now being taught how wrong he was. Because what he didn’t account for was the number of Gnolls under the boss’ command.

Surrounded by three dozen Gnolls, they were in a precarious situation.

“Dylan, Harvaos, go and prepare a defensive line and stall the Gnoll Knight!”

“Yes!” “Understood!” The human Dylan and the Dwargon Harvaos nodded their heads as they held onto their ground as [Shielder].

“Adya, support them!!”

“On it,” The woman healer agreed in a heartbeat.

Matt looked around and saw Lisa, their [Archer] taking down a Gnoll. The two Mages were preparing a spell, meant to slay the Gnoll Knight.

‘The Mages are preparing for the spell, and the Lisa is sniping the weaker Gnolls…I need to clean them up to lessen the pressure on us.’

Matt drew his sword and went to clear out the Gnolls, trying to flank them.

Slash!

He would draw blood with every swing of the sword, but he would not necessarily take a life. He wanted to kill them, but he lacked the skills to do so. Seconds turned to minutes, and the onslaught of the Gnolls continued.

“GHARA!”

“ACK!” Matt was stabbed by a spear. The Gnoll laughed, but Matt’s eyes turned blood red.

Status: Prerequisites have been met, [Raging Swordsman] can now be activated.

Raging Swordsman – once your health and stamina reach a certain point, you will be given the option to activate this skill. Once activated you would be given a 20% boost in strength and speed for a minute.

“Lisa, I’m going to activate Raging Swordsman, you’re taking over command. Protect Macie and David as they prepare the spell.”

“Understood.” Lisa readily agreed.

As Matt made up his mind, his body suddenly burned with power. His sclera turned red, and his mind blurred. He lost sight of himself as his body pierced through the pack of Gnolls before him.

Raging Swordsman was a powerful skill. It gave him a boost in strength, but the only thing he could think of was to slay the enemies when activated.

‘Kill the Monsters.’

That was all he could think about. With a sword and leather armor, Matt thirst for blood.

This was his and the team’s trump card and as he killed Gnolls with a single slash proved his skill’s strength. One after the other, Matt slew without rest.

He only had a minute; his best bet was to thin out the Gnolls as much as possible. The Gnolls roared, and so did Matt.

Lisa watched out for his rear, making sure he would not be backstabbed while protecting the Mages on her own.

‘We can do this.’ Thought Lisa as she saw everyone doing their job seamlessly. However, they made one mistake, they activated an unnecessarily bad flag.

GRAAAAAA!

The Gnoll Knight stepped back and roared aloud, the Gnolls in the vicinity responded with a roar of their own, signaling their response to the leader’s calls.

Bam! Bam! Bam-Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam-Bam!

A rhythmic and melodic stomping of the Gnolls that was away from the fight stomped their feet. They call upon strength. They roared to strengthen the morale of their pack.

GIRIAAAA!

The Gnoll Knight planted its feet on the ground, it bit the handle of its large sword. It got on its four legs, its tough and rugged hind legs prepared, and then—BOOM!

A powerful, almost canon-like explosion reverberated in the ears of the Seekers as the earth beneath the Gnoll Knight cracked.

The Shielders tasked with keeping the beast at bay saw it, a pair of yellow eyes and a twisted grin from the Gnoll.

“HOLD!” Dylan and Mark roared as they anticipated the Gnoll Knight’s attack. They feared it, but still decided to hold on to protect their team.

The Shielders screamed their hearts out, they roared as they called upon the strength to defend their allies. They drew out what power they could muster, sadly…strength does not come from screaming like a Saiyan.

BAM!

“Dylan! Mark!”

As Lisa’s cries echoed throughout, the bodies of both Dylan and Mark flew like fireworks.

The bones on their limbs were now broken.

Lisa’s eyes widened as she watched the Gnoll Knight dash towards her direction. Fear kept her from drawing the bow.

She looked around, searching for help. However, Matt was too preoccupied and could not react.

‘Dammit!’

It was then that an inconceivable sight happened. An evergreen snake appeared from behind her, screeching!

[Treant Vinesnake]

The Vinesnake wrapped itself around the Gnoll Knight with a fervor more potent than anyone.

The Treant Vinesnake restricted the body of the Gnoll Knight, keeping it from moving forward.

Monsters were fighting before her, ‘What luck!’ she celebrated deep within.

‘Vine, Help, Humans, Lonely, Not, Want!’

The Gnoll Knight roared as Vine poured everything to keep it at bay.

Vine no longer wanted to be alone in this Dungeon filled with enemy.

It first saw the humanoids from outside its Dungeon fighting Gnolls, thus deemed them to be good. However, humanoids waved it away for being a Monster.

Vine remained alone, that was until it tried to once more save a naked human. It gained a Companion, and the Vine thought that its ideas of befriending humanoids was not a mere dream.

Just like before, Vine thought it would be met with curious gazes or a smiling expression if it helped other humanoids. However, as it turned to the humanoids it just helped; it only saw a speeding five-meter large spear made of flames.

“[Agni Spear]!” The humanoids’ shouts echoed.

Fwuuuu………BOOM!

A spear made of fire pierced the Gnoll’s right chest and then detonated into a mighty blaze, swallowing even the Vinesnake that came to their rescue.

It got greedy and wanted more companions. For its greed, the price it had to pay was a life.

As for the humanoids, they rejoiced for the timely infighting of the Monsters.