บท 48: Are you perhaps, Scared?

After casually resolving himself to search for this missing and likely terrified girl in the depths of the Catacombs, Cassius ventured toward said depths himself. He sauntered through dimly lit intersecting tunnels, all of which ended up leading deeper and deeper into the land of the Kobolds. Of which he met plenty on his journey.

Five minutes quickly passed.

Our intrepid protagonist now sat atop a small hill of varying-sized Kobolds, some scarier-looking than others. He nonchalantly laid his chin against his fist, with his icy blue eyes glued on the changes brought about in his system interface.

BLING!

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[Name: Idle Evolution System]

[Host: Cassius] - [Lvl 21]

[Title: Advent Devil (D+)]

______________________________

[HP: 2050/2050] [MP: 3400]

[FATIGUE: 13]. [AP: 50]

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[STRENGTH: 51] (Try casually kicking cars. It might work.)

[AGILITY: 91] (Mach 1. Produce air donuts in your wake.)

[ENDURANCE: 46] (Try getting a woman. It might work out, but then again…)

[INTELLIGENCE: 48] (Looking to obtain Sage status already?)

[PERCEPTION: 50] (If you squint hard enough, you can probably see through a woman's clothing.)

[CHARISMA: 26] (Experienced Model-level)

{[Skills:]}

[Shadow Step (A)(D-)(Lvl3)], [Muscularity (P)(F-)(Lvl4], [Slash (A)(F)(Lvl4], [Sprint (A)(F)(Lvl3]

[Harden (A)(E+)(Lvl3)], [Extreme Fortitude (P)(E-)(Lvl3)], [Mind Focus (P)(F)(Lvl3)], [Tinker Tools (P)(F)(Lvl3]..... –[Extend to see more…]

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"My Title ranked up?" Cassius's interest was drawn to his Title section, where the Advent Devil Title now had a '+' next to it. "Now that I think about it, I never really delved into that Title. It kind of just appeared after clearing the E-Rank Gate 'Savage Jungle.'"

Wishing to understand what this Title actually meant for him, he pulled up all relevant details, which led to another blue illusory screen materializing into view.

BLING!

{[Advent Devil (D+)]}

—[Effect 1: Increased terror image before living beings of weaker strength]

—[Effect 2: All blood stained on your hands leads to the improvement of a 'Killing Intent,' which surrounds your body at all times, unless you will it not to. (Will appear bloody and savage to others, and will become worse the more you kill. Possibility to stun weak-willed foes.)]

Cassius was left speechless at the seemingly useless effects of his Title. "Maybe it will obtain better effects the more it levels up," he mused optimistically.

Not wishing to think any more on the matter, he turned his attention toward the mercilessly glowing red eyes making their appearances in the burrowed holes placed through the Catacombs.

"It seems like the fun has only just started," he declared in a tone bereft of emotion. He pulled Lilith out of the massive mangled corpse of a D- Kobold Lord, his eyes now peering through the darkness and spotting nearly a dozen similar Kobold Lords. "It's no wonder that the previous Hunter Party embraced death in these Catacombs… But if you think I will be the same easy prey, you are sorely mistaken."

"Kakaka!!!" The Kobolds jeered in response, cackling through their toothy mouths. Drool and blood spewed out of those same putrid pits as they multiplied in quantity, all surrounding a prey that was far outnumbered.

Cassius counted hundreds of E+ Kobolds, dozens of D- Kobolds, and one who sat in the back. This one was presumably in the D Rank, which would surely… be fun to fight.

"Tell me," began Cassius, his stalwart figure blurring in and out of view, "—can you even… see me?"

Fwooop!

Like a blur of black and scarlet, the lone human vanished from the Kobolds' sight.

Through many improvements to the Agility stat, Cassius had brought his speed to the very pinnacle of the D-Rank, only a few steps away from the C-Rank. Now, what did this mean for the unsuspecting Kobolds still smugly mocking the 'weak' human?

SHING! SHING!

"So, were you able to see me?" asked Cassius as he reattached Lilith to his arm, causing her to euphorically shimmer in response. Yet, after a couple of seconds of hearing nothing come back, he wordlessly huffed. "It seems I expected too much from a bunch of mutts."

SPURT! SPURT!

Hundreds of Kobolds burst into bloody fireworks in the same instant, all dying with satirical expressions. They left for the afterlife without even knowing how they died. That was… besides one…

"Oh?" Cassius stopped in his tracks, yet did not take out Lilith again. "It looks like you were able to see me…" He cocked his head slightly to the left, presenting a terrifying view for the Kobold Titan.

It was a D-Rank monster that had lived knowing it was one of the most powerful beings among the Kobold ranks. Other than its King and a couple dozen other strong Kobolds, it should have been the undisputed strongest Kobold around! Even when it came to the previous overconfident party of Hunters, all it needed was itself, a few Kobold Lords, and a Kobold Champion to overwhelm them!

Now, here it was… struggling to merely keep its balance after enduring an onslaught of unbelievably swift and sharp slashes. It felt its skin peel off and its blood gush out. Yet, more than that, it felt an indescribable sense of terror upon watching the tiny humanoid figure cloaked in black. Its pupils dilated and shook erratically as it staggered backward.

The Kobold Titan didn't know why, but seeing that monster slowly approaching it with eerily glowing blue eyes scared the wits out of it! How could something with no aura possibly be so powerful!? All of its forces had died in an instant, and the only thing it saw were the apathetic afterimages that phased through the area, following death after death!

"Why are you just standing there?" Cassius stood just below the towering figure of the five-meter Kobold Titan. Suddenly realizing something from the excessive perspiration of the Kobold, his lips curled up into a scarily amused grin.

"...Are you perhaps… scared?"

"!!!"

The Kobold Titan stumbled backward, crashing into the stone wall closest to it. Pure fear was etched across its animalistic features, yet that didn't stop the soft, thunderous footsteps from ringing out louder in its ears!