After slaying the Stonetusk Sow, Kaius turned his attention to the other parts of the battlefield.

Calydon was beating up one of the Stonetusk Boars thanks to his superior attributes and extra skills. Cenos was slowly wearing down the other Stonetusk Boar with her unrivaled speed. Only Dio was still playing tag with the remaining Stonetusk Sow.

“Seems like I need to give Dio some evolved corpses to consume after this battle.”

Kaius sprinted towards Dio to go help him out.

The Stonetusk Sow chased Dio into a residential area.

Boom!

The Stonetusk Sow crashed into a house and charged out the other side, with its eyes fixed on Dio.

Grasp of Enfeeblement!

Since the Stonetusk Sow as distracted by Dio, Kaius was able to accurately hit his spell.

Shadow Bolt! Shadow Bolt! Shadow Bolt!

Kaius continuously bombarded the Stonetusk Sow with his spells while running towards it.

Oink!

The Stonetusk Sow squealed in pain due to the True Damage it was taking. Turning around, it changed its target to Kaius and got ready to activate its innate ability.

Paralyzing Bite!

Dio sneak attacked from behind and bit the Stonetusk Sow right in the butt.

Oink!

Enduring the pain, the Stonetusk Sow activated its innate ability and charged at Kaius with incredible speed.

Kaius did not retreat, but rather continued running towards the oversized pig.

When the two were less than a meter apart, the Stonetusk Sow lowered its head and pointed its sharp tusks directly at Kaius.

With a heavy step, Kaius launched himself into the air and jumped over the Stonetusk Sow with his agile movements. Right as he flew above it, Kaius activated Focused Strike and stabbed down at the Stonetusk Sow.

Oink!

The Stonetusk Sow squealed in pain. It turned its head and saw that Kaius was crouched on its back, with one hand holding his sword that was halfway embedded into its back and the other hand grabbing onto its fur. The Stonetusk Sow became frenzied due to the pain and the fear of having Kaius on its back. It no longer paid attention to anything and charged in random directions, trying to shake Kaius off.

However, Kaius held on tightly and pushed his sword down even deeper while activating Bloodthirst’s Blood Absorption skill.

The Stonetusk Sow freaked out even more and its eyes turned bloodshot. With more and more blood being drained out of it, the effects of the paralysis venom finally started to take effect.

Thud!

The Stonetusk Sow felt a sudden weakness in one of its legs and lost its balance, causing it to tumble onto the ground.

Oink!

Oink!

Oink …

The Stonetusk Sow’s horrified squeals grew weaker and weaker, until it no longer had the strength to make any more sounds.

Shortly after, Kaius gained two more Blood Essences. The sounds of the System notifications rang out once more.

[Level up!]

[3 attribute points acquired.]

[1 additional attribute point acquired due to Nether Physique.]

[Intelligence increased by 5 due to Nether Physique.]

[2 additional attribute points acquired due to Favor of the Nether God.]

Two white orbs of light floated out from Stonetusk Sow’s body.

Kaius distributed all attribute points into dexterity and collected the two items dropped. One of the white orbs gave 529 System Coins, while the other one gave a piece of equipment.

Kaius stored Stonetusk Sow’s corpse inside Fay’s Ring and examined the equipment.

Name

Augmented Chausses

Category

Leg Armor

Use Restriction

Minimum stats requirements: Strength: 35; Vitality: 35

Vitality

+6

Dexterity

+3

Description

A pair of light chausses.

Skills (active)

Augmented Movement (15MP): increases Dexterity by 10%. Duration: 10 minutes.

“Nice, a new piece of usable equipment,” Kaius promptly equipped the chausses.

With both of the Stonetusk Sows eliminated, Kaius and Dio went back to reinforce Cenos since she was the closest.

By the time Kaius and Dio got near Cenos, the Stonetusk Boar that she was facing was already in a severely injured state.

Thanks to the Corrosive Nether Domain, Cenos was able to apply Vital Break stacks with her swift attacks as well as deal continuous corrosive damage thanks to Corrosive Armor. The attribute gap between her and the Stonetusk Boar was further widened by both the domain and Nether Lord’s Aura. Hence, she was able to completely overwhelm the giant boar.

Countless slash wounds could be seen on the Stonetusk Boar’s body. A significant amount of blood flowed out of all the wounds, turning the boar’s original dark brown fur into a dark red color.

Seeing Kaius and Dio arrive, the Stonetusk Boar activated its innate ability.

Kaius and Cenos were just about to enhance their own speed; however, contrary to expectations, the Stonetusk Boar turned around and charged in the opposite direction, fleeing away from its enemies.

“Seems like it’s not completely brainless, unlike another boar I know,” Kaius looked onwards with amusement. “However, it’s too late to run now!”

Augmented Movement!

Sudden Burst!

Cenos activated her innate ability as well and arrived behind the Stonetusk Boar first.

Slash!

Cenos mercilessly swiped her claws at the boar’s hind leg, severing its tendons.

Oink!

The Stonetusk Boar cried out in pain and lost its balance, tumbling a few meters along the ground. It tried to get up quickly, but another sharp pain coursed through its other hind leg.

Focused Strike!

Kaius had finally arrived and hacked down with all his strength, severing the tendons on the other hind leg.

Oink! Oink!

The Stonetusk Boar repeatedly squealed in pain and horror. With all tendons cut in its hind legs, it could only crawl pitifully using its front legs.

“Let me help put you out of your misery.”

Puchi!

Kaius drove his sword through one of the Stonetusk Boar’s eyes and into its brain.

[Level up!]

[3 attribute points acquired.]

[1 additional attribute point acquired due to Nether Physique.]

[Intelligence increased by 5 due to Nether Physique.]

[2 additional attribute points acquired due to Favor of the Nether God.]

Two white orbs of light floated out from Stonetusk Boar’s body.

Kaius distributed all attribute points into dexterity and collected the two items dropped. One of the white orbs gave 547 System Coins, while the other one gave a random skill box.

Kaius used Blood Absorption on the Stonetusk Boar’s corpse to gain 2 Blood Essences, then stored it inside Fay’s Ring. Next, he used the random skill box, which gave a General active skill.

Name

Hold The Line

Category

Skill Book

Class Use Restriction

None

Description

Upon use, allows the Player to learn the active skill: Hold The Line.

Hold The Line (20MP): caster must shout out the phrase “You shall not pass!” in order to activate the skill. Upon successful activation, increases Vitality by 12, summons a great barrier capable of block all damage types or reinforces an existing barrier type skill.

Kaius grimaced at the thought of having to shout out a phrase in order to activate the skill.

“What’s with the ridiculous activation requirement… Let’s give this to the lieutenant.”

Kaius stored the skill book inside his inventory and went after the final Stonetusk Boar by himself. He had sent Dio and Cenos away to help Lieutenant Bennet kill off the remaining Stonetusk Piglets.

When Kaius arrived to reinforce Calydon, the Stonetusk Boar he was facing was already in an extremely sorry state.

The Stonetusk Boar’s underbelly had been shredded into a bloody mess, with blood continuously dripping onto the ground. One of its tusks was broken and its eye on the same side as the broken tusk had been gouged out. There were gore wounds all over its body. Blood flowed out of the gore wounds and dyed its dark brown fur in a dark red color. It barely managed to hold itself upright with its trembling legs.

With the vast difference in attributes and the extra skills, Calydon had easily beaten the Stonetusk Boar into a bloody pulp. He could have finished it off by now, but purposely left it alive to beat it up even more for laughing at his lack of family jewels earlier.

“Great job Calydon,” Kaius complimented from a few meters away. “Stop playing around and finish it off.”

Whee!

Calydon squealed in acknowledgement and charged at the Stonetusk Boar.

The Stonetusk Boar turned around and tried to activate its innate ability to flee, but before it could take one more step, Calydon had already arrived beside it.

With a forceful swing of his head, Calydon pierced his tusks through the Stonetusk Boar’s neck and lifted it up in a triumphant pose.

Oink…

The Stonetusk Boar let out a weak, muffled squeal. Its own blood had completely blocked off its windpipe, causing it to be unable to make any further sounds. It flailed its feet wildly in the air, trying to escape. But Calydon’s tusks had it hooked tightly in place.

Seeing all the blood pouring out of the Stonetusk Boar, Kaius promptly dashed beside it and stabbed Bloodthirst at its throat. All the blood pouring out of the neck began to flow into Bloodthirst instead.

After a short while, the Stonetusk Boar finally stopped moving.

[Level up!]

[3 attribute points acquired.]

[1 additional attribute point acquired due to Nether Physique.]

[Intelligence increased by 5 due to Nether Physique.]

[2 additional attribute points acquired due to Favor of the Nether God.]

Two white orbs of light floated out from Stonetusk Boar’s body.

Kaius distributed all attribute points into strength and collected the two items dropped. One of the white orbs gave 551 System Coins, while the other one gave a random item box.

Kaius finished absorbing the Stonetusk Boar’s blood and gained 2 Blood Essences, then stored it inside Fay’s Ring. Next, he used the random skill box and examined the item obtained.

Name

Random Skill Upgrade Scroll

Category

Consumable Item

Use Restriction

None

Description

Strengthens a random skill.

Kaius gave it some thought and decided to use the scroll immediately. A series of System notifications sounded inside his head.

[Skill: Shadow Bolt had been upgraded.]

[Skill: Shadow Bolt had changed to Skill: Shadow Bomb]

Kaius examined his newly upgraded skill.

Skill (active)

Shadow Bomb (10MP): shoot out a nether energy bomb that explodes upon contact. Able to also channel for (Intelligence/10) seconds to increase explosive force. Mana cost increases by 10MP for each second channeled.

“Not bad. Now I can do some serious damage with this new skill.”

Kaius turned his attention back to his surroundings. Linking up with the shared vision of the Starpho in the sky, Kaius surveyed the progress of the battle in the central section of the town.

Since Kaius had to fight against the evolved cursed beasts, the undead army barely managed to hold its own thanks to the aura buffs and the help of Lieutenant Bennet. The tides only started to turn in their favor once Dio and Cenos joined the battle.

Dio and Cenos easily harvested the lives of the Stonetusk Piglets with each of their attacks. They were like two ruthless grim reapers, leaving behind a trail of death everywhere they went.

Kaius turned to Calydon and gave a command.

“Go help them out. I want to finish the battle before lunch time.”

Whee!

Calydon happily complied and went on a rampage amongst the poor little piglets. He trampled and gored every Stonetusk Piglet he came across.

One Stonetusk Piglet had its hind legs crushed by Calydon. It tried to crawl away using its front legs when it noticed a huge shadow descend upon it.

Calydon opened his gaping maws and mercilessly chomped down on the pitiful piglet.

Crunch! Crunch!

The sound of bones being crushed could be heard from within Calydon’s mouth. The Stonetusk Piglet’s blood overflowed out of his mouth, causing a small trail of blood to trickle down the corner of his mouth.

Time passed by quickly.

Soon, it was almost noon and the central section had turned quiet once more.

Kaius scanned the area through shared vision with Starpho and saw no more movements from any Stonetusk Piglets.

Lesser Reanimation!

Kaius went around the central section and reanimated every dead Stonetusk Piglet with a relatively whole corpse. Out of the 500 Stonetusk Piglets, Kaius managed to reanimate around 300 of them. Combined with his remaining undead army, the total number added up to be around 340. Afterwards, Kaius went to a Tim Hortons in the central plaza and met up with Lieutenant Bennet.

Dio, Cenos, and Calydon stood outside to guard the place, while the remaining undead army went around the central section to clean up any straggling Stonetusk Piglets.

“Great work lieutenant,” Kaius walked up to the tired Lieutenant Bennet.

“You too,” Lieutenant Bennet nodded. “Thanks to us forming a party within the System, I was able to gain enough experience to level up 5 times during the past two battles.”

The System allows Players to form parties with each other. Each party has a party leader and there’s no limit to how many Players can be in a party at the same time. While inside a party, the experience gained by each Player are stored inside a pool. The party leader can distribute the accumulated experience however they wish. This function is useful for high-level Players to help lower-level Players to quickly level up.

Kaius and Lieutenant Bennet had formed a party back when they first entered Georgetown. During the last two battles, Kaius had distributed all the experience gained from killing Stonetusk Piglets to the lieutenant, while keeping all the experience gained from killing the evolved cursed beasts for himself. Killing over 600 Stonetusk Piglets had helped Lieutenant Bennet to level up 5 times in under two days.

“By the way, my undead army had not seen any survivors or even human corpses in the east and central sections of the town,” Kaius commented. “Most likely the people here got eaten by these pigs.”

“That seems to be the case,” Lieutenant Bennet sighed. “There’s still the west section left, but I fear it’ll likely be devoid of all human life as well.”

“Speaking of these pigs, how about having some pork for lunch?” Kaius retrieved the corpse of a Stonetusk Sow from Fay’s Ring.

“Aren’t cursed beasts inedible?” Lieutenant Bennet questioned.

“They are, but I got a skill recently that lets me cook them in a way to make them safe for consumption.”

Kaius carved out the belly portion of the pig and put it on a table. He read through the process of cooking Stonetusk Sow as stated in Beginner Mana Cooking Techniques inside his mind. Armed with the necessary knowledge, Kaius began the preparation process.

Beginner Mana Cooking Techniques describes the method to remove poisonous mana from various cursed beasts. Following the stated method, Kaius injected his own mana inside the pork belly. His mana travelled a specific path inside the pork belly. Every few seconds, Kaius’ mana would come across a small poisonous mana node inside the pork belly. Kaius manipulated his mana as instructed and purified the poisonous mana node, turning it into harmless mana.

The entire process lasted around six minutes. The pork belly finally became safe for consumption and can be cooked using any convention cooking method.

“It’s done,” Kaius sighed in relief as he stored the remaining Stonetusk Sow’s corpse back inside Fay’s Ring. “We can cook this in any way we want, and we won’t suffer any side effects.”

“Really?” Lieutenant Bennet asked eagerly. “Alright, time for me to show off my cooking skills. I learned all sorts of survival skills while being in the military and cooking was one of them.”

The duo took the pork belly and went inside the kitchen.

“I can provide any ingredients you need,” Kaius retrieved one cooking supply after another from Fay’s Ring. All of these were obtained back when he was at the hotel’s kitchen in Mississauga.

Lieutenant Bennet wasted no time and started cooking right away. First, he scored the skin in a diamond shaped pattern. Then, he took a healthy amount of salt, pepper, and various other spices and rubbed them all over the pork belly. He placed the pork belly in a skillet and roasted it inside the oven with the skin side up for 90 minutes. Next, he took out the skillet and poured in some cooking oil to brown the pork belly for a few minutes. Finally, after letting it rest for a short while, he sliced the pork belly into thick, even pieces and drizzled some honey on top.

To go with the pork belly, a fresh pot of pasta had been cooked as well. Lieutenant Bennet drained the pasta and divided it evenly on two plates.

For the vegetables, lettuce, cucumbers, and tomatoes were sliced up and tossed with shredded parmesan cheese and salad dressing.

Looking at the plates of food on the table, Kaius and Lieutenant Bennet couldn’t help but drool a little.

“Let’s dig in!”

Lieutenant Bennet jabbed a piece of the pork belly with a fork and put it in his mouth.

“So good!!! The meat is so tender and juicy that it practically melts in your mouth! The crispiness of the skin gives it a nice crunch. The sweet taste of honey and the blend of spices perfectly compliments the naturally flavourful meat without overpowering it.”

Kaius also got a piece of the pork belly and tried it.

“!!!”

“Lieutenant, this is so good! You should have been a chef instead of being a soldier.”

Even back in Kaius’ previous life, he never had anything as delicious as this pork belly. This reason alone made Kaius determined to keep the lieutenant safe.

In a matter of minutes, the duo had devoured all the food on the table.

“I haven’t had anything this good since the portals first appeared,” Lieutenant Bennet rubbed his belly in satisfaction.

“Lieutenant, as long as you don’t recklessly put yourself in danger, I promise to keep your cooking skil – ah, I mean, keep you safe,” Kaius looked Lieutenant Bennet with a serious gaze.

“Um… thanks?”

After resting for a short while, Kaius gathered his undead army and headed towards the final west section.

…

Elsewhere, in the city of Mississauga.

The entire city had been overrun by spider-type cursed beasts.

At the center of the city is the Square One Shopping Center.

This large shopping center used to be a prosperous location frequented by countless people. But now, countless spider-type cursed beasts crawled all over the place.

Within the deepest level of the shopping center’s underground parking lot, numerous Ash Spiders were busy scurrying about. Groups of Ash Spiders worked together to continuously bring in human corpses wrapped up in spider silk. Small mounds of human bodies formed everywhere.

In the inner section of this deepest level, dozens of Ash Spider Lords could be seen standing around in vigilance, as though they were guarding something.

Within the encirclement of these Ash Spider Lords, a giant cocoon made of spider silk pulsated with a powerful life force.

Ba-dum! Ba-dum! Ba-dum!

The sound of a strong beating heart reverberated throughout the deepest level of the underground parking lot.

Skree! Skree!

Hearing the visible heartbeat, the surrounding Ash Spider Lords screeched in joy.

BA-DUM! BA-DUM! BA-DUM!

The sound of the heartbeat grew even louder, which caused the Ash Spider Lords to become frenzied in excitement.

Puchi!

A sharp and slender spider leg punctured the cocoon from the inside. The spider leg sliced downwards, creating a large slit in the cocoon. Four pairs of spider legs slid out of the opening in the cocoon and pried it open even further.

A majestic spider with regal bearings emerged from the giant cocoon.

All the Ash Spider Lords prostrated in reverence at the newly emerged spider.

This spider stood tall at 7 meters and had a dark purple color, with exquisite grey stripe patterns spiralling around its legs and abdomen. Four pairs of emerald-colored eyes lined across its head and shone with intelligence.

Skree…

The dark purple spider looked around and screeched gently.

All the Ash Spider Lords parted to make room for the dark purple spider to make its way to the nearest mound of human corpses.

Upon arriving in front of the human corpses, the dark purple spider did not stand on ceremony and began to devour them one after the other.

Skree! Skree!

The Ash Spider Lords screeched in pure jubilance.

The Ash Spiders scurried even faster to bring in more human corpses.

The fallen city of Mississauga started to bustle with a flurry of activities.