"Ewww... What a stink. Hey, Selina, isn't there any way you can get those mana cores yourself?"

Arthur clamped his nose shut with disgust on his face, trying to slice through the carcass of the mana beast with one hand. The monster looked like a huge mutated rat, with skin like a snake instead of fur. It emitted such a nauseating smell that Arthur had to take a break every two minutes to catch his breath.

"You are of no use at all, you little spider. I gave you the simple task of hitting the rats in the legs. And you didn't even make a single impact."

Selina crawled to the nearest rock and then tapped it once with her paw.

"Oh, that's right, sorry... you did hit one." - Arthur chuckled. He wasn't really mad at her, she'd actually helped him a lot when they'd been attacked by two G rank rats. It was just that this sewer was getting on his nerves. The darkness, the lack of oxygen, the disgusting smell...

The small town of Lacraige, where the Mann family lived, was built on the ruins of the capital of an ancient civilization.

When about 100 years ago spatial rips began to appear everywhere in the world of Eridanus and thousands of demons broke free, one of those places was the ruins deep beneath the city.

How did Arthur find out about this?

There was an event in Rise of Darkness during which Eric Mann, for the only time in the entire novel, returns home. But if you thought this arc described the touching reunion of the two brothers... then, are you idiots? Who cared about the main character's weak younger brother anyway?

Eric Mann came for the sole purpose of protecting one of his "potential love interests." One of the important heroines in the story visited this place to explore the ancient ruins beneath the city. And Eric Mann followed her like a hero protector.

In the dungeon, they accidentally stumbled upon a demon who, after closing all the rifts, was trapped below and unable to escape to the surface.

It was for this demon that Arthur arrived on the hunt today.

"I'm sorry, Eriс if I suddenly deprived you of your harem member." - The boy grinned and finally managed to get the slime and blood-covered mana core out of the rat's belly.

Arthur had managed to kill two more rats on the way here and was now rejoicing in his newfound wealth.

"So... I have to absorb two cores to fill the Ethereal Heart... No, why did I have to so idiotically waste my golden energy yesterday?"

The boy shook his head unhappily and took one of the ball-shaped objects in his hands. A cold stream of energy ran up his arm toward the newly formed heart.

"How pleasant, I feel completely recovered... Come on, Selina. I'm ready to kill invincible demons all alone now..."

Arthur moved forward, but after walking only a few meters he turned around and noticed that the spider was still standing there.

"What's wrong with you?"

Selina unleashed an [Energy Blow] on the wall and kicked up stone dust.

"What on earth are you doing? Ahhhh... Do you need to be charged too? And I was so hoping to keep one mana core to spare."

The spider couldn't use mana indefinitely either, it needed to absorb cores too. Greed pressed on Arthur, and with a heavy heart, he tore away such an expensive item he had received after a difficult battle.

Finishing the process, they walked forward through the dark sewers. He held a stone of light in his hand, lighting his way, and a communicator in his other hand, constantly checking for the right direction. Fortunately for him, the path was not very difficult, so he could relax.

After walking for about half an hour they never found another rat. The guy had time to do other things.

"Status," - he said.

[Status.]

Name: Arno Mann.

Overall Rank: G-.

System-level: 1

Experience: 430/3000

Mana Core: -

Bloodline Grade: -

Strength: 2.2

Agility: 1.1

Stamina: 1.8

Perception: 1.7

Luck: 0.5

Charisma: 0.1

Skills:

[Manipulation of Mana]: Advanced. (passive)

[Path of Fear]: Max. (active)

Original Powers: Laws of Sargon

[Laws of Influence.

(Level 1) Description: Touching any living creature allows you to affect the target's physical body. Any word you say is a law.

Limitations: The success of this Law depends on the rank of the opponent and the current rank of the user. The more complex and influential the order, the more golden energy is consumed.

"Why is it so unfair? To get the 1st level of the system required only about 900 experience... and for level 2 it's already 3000? How many mana beasts would I have to kill to complete the mission?"

Suddenly he was scratched by Selina's paw. But Arthur didn't resent the insidious attack this time. He had already learned to understand this mechanical creature's messages a little. Since it was not a painful blow, it meant that she was trying to draw his attention to something.

Arthur emerged from his state of contemplation and saw that the sewers were already over. He stepped out into a wide-open area illuminated by a strange purple light. In the distance, he could make out the silhouettes of fallen columns and some buildings.

"We're here. As far as I remember, we have to walk a little bit more before we run into that rabid thing..."

The boy took the bag off his shoulder. It was time to get ready for battle. He pulled out a drink of Living Death as well as 3 metal balls. 3 grenades.

He opened the lid of the bottle and poured the entire contents onto the three items.

"[Path of Fear]"

The seal released energy that spread throughout the area. His personal detection skill pointed to a certain area.

"About 30 meters to the right. Get ready, Selina."

Arthur crept silently, hiding behind the still partially preserved buildings.

"On Earth, archaeologists would have turned this place upside down already. And in this world, if there's no artifact stored here, nobody cares... There you are!" - Arthur whispered, eyes wide.

A huge red creature, with large and muscular limbs, lay only twenty paces away. The two long spurs on its back, which resembled two burnt wings, rose up and down with every breath the demon took in and out.

The demon, the most dangerous creature in the world, was now sleeping peacefully, lying beneath one of the surviving buildings. He had been in those ruins for almost a hundred years, stuck in a kind of trap.

The demons were relatively immortal. They didn't need food or water. They could live until their bodies ran out of the chaos energy that filled their home, the abyss. And after all these years, he was almost out of energy.

That's why Arthur decided to do this thing alone. If the creature wasn't so weakened he didn't stand a chance against it with his G-rank. What's more, he also brought with him a drink of Living Death, which destroyed Chaos Energy within a certain radius.

"Oh, well... it's showtime. Selina, clamp your ears," - the guy said, smiling, and activated the grenade.

*******

At the same time as what was going on down deep underground, there was a heated argument just one floor above.

"Rin, I don't understand why we all had to go together... we were given a simple job to do. A little punishment for Arno Mann. We could have caught him anywhere..." - said a voice that belonged to a young man in his twenties.

"Derek, you say that over and over again. You know Arno hasn't been home for three days, we only caught him today..." - the woman answered him rudely.

"But it was Craster's fault for hitting him in the guild... he's the one who got us banned. That dumb-ass giant could have done it himself..."

If Arthur were here he could probably remember the group of hunters he had his first conflict with after transmigrating to this world.

The whole foursome was on his trail now. Miss Lin had given them an unofficial mission. And for the sake of regaining access to the guild, they were willing to do it any way they could.

"Yes, I could have done it myself," - the huge giant said awkwardly, holding an axe on one shoulder.

"Shut up, Craster. If I had let you go alone, you might have done something stupid... But aren't you all interested?"

"Interested?" - The youngest hunter among them, named Derek, asked. He was an expert with daggers, and always took them out and sharpened them on each other when he was nervous. That was the case now.

"Well, of course, aren't you curious why Arno Mann, the weakest hunter in our guild, would go off alone to a place like this? Remember, when he was with our group, he always cowardly hid behind..." - The voice of the leader of their group, with the exquisite bow behind him, sounded very excited, as if he had stumbled upon something truly amazing.

"Did you hear that?" - Finally, the last member of the group, a petite girl healer, interjected.

The rumble of the explosion spread far and wide in the void of the sewers. Everyone felt the shudder of those old and fragile walls.

All four of them simultaneously turned their heads warily in the direction of the source of the sound. They walked forward slowly, prepared for any turn of events, including the ambush of the enemy, covering each other. Soon they saw the same thing that Arthur had discovered earlier. Ancient ruins.

Except that, for them, the place was not deserted. Faintly ahead of them could make out the lonely, frail figure of a skinny boy with blond hair. On his shoulder hung an interesting-looking rifle, and he was waving his arm broadly, while actively talking. Though who he was talking to was unclear, except for him no living creature was visible...

They thought so until they realized that the guy was not standing next to a building or a large boulder. What they finally saw made everyone almost jump with amazement.

This something was the size of a truck. It was a creature that everyone in this world knew well but seldom seen with their own eyes by ordinary people - a demon.

"That... what is that? A demon?"- Mia whispered nervously. Her hands trembled and her heart raced. Even just the appearance of the creature gave people a feeling of uncontrollable fear.

"It looks like that... I want to see what he's doing" - Rin said, and the corners of her lips curved into a sly grin.

But suddenly for all of them, the guy took off running. His shadow quickly disappeared around the corner of the building.

"Where the hell did he run to?" - angrily asked the giant Craster and spat on the ground.

"He saw us... We have to catch him."

The words of the group leader were an unquestionable law. They instantly grabbed their weapons and ran after the guy.

"Stop..." - Mia tried to stop them, but her weak voice was drowned out by the sound of stomping boots.

At that moment, Arthur peered from behind the wall, searching for unexpected opponents. The seal on his arm warned him that uninvited guests were approaching. And the red that surrounded them meant nothing good to him.

'Who the hell is that? Where in the ancient ruins could anyone have come from? They're probably here for a reason... Have they come especially for me?'

" Hey, Arno, come out. Stop hiding."

From around the corner, a girl with a short haircut carelessly appeared as if on a walk. Arthur vaguely remembered seeing her somewhere before. But where? He had a terrible memory for faces.

He pointed [Blade of the Void] at her and put his finger on the trigger.

"One more step and I'll make another hole in you... tiny one."

The girl froze when she saw the serious expression on the boy's face, and then she couldn't help laughing.

"Arno, what are you going to do with a gun? That's too idiotic a bluff even for you... you have no mana core, everyone here knows that. Have you forgotten?"

But she was no longer laughing when the next moment the sound of a gunshot rang out and a bullet flew toward her. She didn't even have time to react; her life should have been cut short right now.

Derek, who was standing next to her, came to her rescue. He wasn't so relaxed when he saw the gun in Arno's hands. He thought it damned odd that a man who didn't actually have a mana core wouldn't be too lazy to bring it here.

"[Mana shield]" - He managed to shout, and a dense shroud of mana rushed between the bullet and the stunned girl's head. There was a thud and the shot dissipated.

"How?" - Rin could barely stand on her feet. She was an experienced hunter and had fought many monsters on the hunt, but now her life was closer than ever to its end. And the reason for that was the hateful little ugly kid who was always messing around under their feet.

"You..." - Rin screamed and was about to attack back. But there was one person who beat her to it.

Craster swung his heavy axe over his head, striking the ground with all his might.

"[Mana Explosion]"

The energy concentrated in one blow divided the ground in a wide swath over the two and flew, collecting puffs of earth, toward the defenseless Arthur.

He managed to leap aside in time, but still not fast enough. His reaction and agility were too low to dodge. Even if he was expecting a backlash.

Some of the energy hit him exactly in the stomach, knocking him backward away from the wall he was hiding behind.

Craster grabbed his axe and ran at full speed into another attack. Anger clouded his mind. He had just seen their beloved leader nearly killed, and he was determined to exact his revenge.

"Craster, stop." - Derek shouted as the [Energy Blow] made an arc and hit his friend in the shoulder. The blood rushed from the wound, splashing even on Rin, who was standing behind him.

Selina stood firmly on guard over her wounded master. Her mechanical body was storing mana in case another attack was launched.

But the chances of winning were tiny. A spider and a weak boy against four experienced hunters.

Now aware of the danger emanating from their seemingly easy opponent, they would not make such a ridiculous mistake.

'What to do?' Arthur thought worriedly. The last option that crossed his mind was just as unlikely.

He took out a grenade with a wind element inside and threw it at the four hunters. Then immediately turned and ran in the opposite direction.

The grenade exploded spectacularly, throwing out powerful slashing streams of wind. The razor-sharp blades rained down on the hunters.

The only thing was that each of them was ready for it and had time to form a mana shield. The blast was completely useless.

Rin, the archer, didn't hesitate to take her bow off her shoulder and fire two arrows at the fleeing Arthur. The two shots were expectedly equal to two accurate hits. Both of the boy's arms were pierced through. [Blade of Void] fell from his hands. And he collapsed face-first into the ground, like prey caught in a hunt.