The port of House Elathion rippled with frenetic activity.

  The thick purplish mist of the lake consumed most sound and light, but even from House Elathion’s castle walls, if one squinted, they might see the brief flashes of illumination through the smog.

  Within the damned district, a great battle was taking place.

  On one side, the literal hordes of Hell, endless in numbers and fury.

  And on the other… A deranged young pyromaniac with too much time and energy on his hands.

  [Unarmed Arts, Ascetic Fire Monks’ Third Form: Explosive Stinger]

  Eri exhaled through gritted teeth, his breath steaming under the cold air, as a blazing stinger protruded from his right wrist. His form low and knees braced, the boy surged forth and brought his hands hammering upwards.

  The stringer burst forth like a bolt from a crossbow, propelled into the air before detonating violently into a swarm of flying imps.

  [Imps (x8) slain!]

  Eri kept moving; he could not afford to stop.

  From the roofs came the discharged razor quills of Krillfangs, each a projectile sharp enough to skewer him in two upon a direct hit. The flooded streets teemed with endless Blackwater Spawns, chittering with ravenous pincers that would take off his foot should he linger in the mud for longer than a split second. The warehouses vomited massive Marrowcrabs, the armoured titans angrily roused from their nest by the disturbance of Eri’s explosive presence.

  The boy slashed with knives, tossed grenades, and used his myriad Artes to murder himself a path deeper into the corrupted port.

  Eri bit off the charge of an entropic mine — a rare explosive used by the Imperial military — and tossed it into the swarm behind him, ripping their flesh into giblets as he engaged the greater foes before him.

  /-/

  Marrowcrabs

  Lvl 65 Crab Demon

  A giant Silver-Core aquatic Demon the size of a building. Heavily armoured in a formidable bone-like exoskeleton, this behemoth is the bane of even experienced Chosens, for its endurance is only matched by its pincer’s crushing lethality.

  /-/

  Two of the hulking titans barred his path. Against their armour, his daggers would prove little use. Explosives could work, but it would take too long to crack their shell.

  Eri leapt, hopped, and danced around the aquatic leviathans, his expression calm as the monstrousities spat with ghastly acids. Eventually, by running up the walls and pillars of the flooded district, he landed right upon one of their heads.

  He placed a naked palm down on its crown.

  [Unarmed Arts, Ascetic Fire Monks’ Second Form: Rippling Heat]

  Superheated seismic tremors were emitted from his hand, reminiscent of volcanic earthquakes. They rippled through the Marrowcrab defences, cooking the delicate flesh and brain beneath. The beast let out an agonising shriek that left Eri’s ears deafened before it collapsed, steaming biomatter leaking from its eyestalk holes.

  Eri quickly chugged down a health potion and wiped the blood from his ears before engaging with the second Marrowcrab. Seconds later, the leviathan suffered the same fate as its brethren and went down.

  The boy didn’t waste a second to celebrate or catch his breath. He simply sprinted on, dodging the countless other demons hounding his steps.

  He healed himself as he ran, fought as he ran, killed as he ran. Eri never stopped moving, for even a moment’s hesitation meant death.

  He was alone and outnumbered in every direction. The demons he faced were ever-growing in might, with most of their Core strength matching or even exceeding his. It was utter madness for him to remain in the port. Any sane individual would be fleeing for their lives by now, seeking escape.

  But unfortunately for him, Eri was not a sane individual. Rather than fleeing the den of demons, he was instead delving deeper into the corrupted district.

  And through it all, he never — not for a single minute — stopped killing.

  [Drownlings Slain (x9)!]

  [Krillfang Slain (X5)!]

  [Chillmire Toads Slain (x1)!]

  [Blackwater Spawns slain (x4)!]

  [All monster parts added to inventory!]

  Grenades reduced Copper-Core swarms to meat, daggers butchered Bronze-Core beasts like cattle, and burning fists pulverised Silver-Core behemoths to chunks of sizzling flesh.

  Eri had missed this: the thrill of proper combat, the rush of satisfaction hearing that ‘ding’ of notification whenever he scored a kill.

  None of that morality nonsense he faced when killing Chosens. No ridiculous immortal endurance like Gunther’s.

  Only the endless prizes before him — demon-wrapped gifts of XP and loot. Grinding, farming, and playing the System’s game.

  Eri had no need to think. He simply kept killing, his brain soaked in dopamine while his senses gained an addiction for demon screams, blood, and that beautifully vindicating ‘ding’ noise from the System that accompanied each death.

  This is dangerously satisfying.

  Even as the Sun set, Eri never stopped moving.

  ~~~

  The boy fell to the ground, panting heavily.

  His muscles burned. His clothes and boots were covered in blood, not all of it the black bile of his opponents. He could barely lift his dagger.

  He finally allowed himself to stop moving, and the reason for that was apparent.

  Everything before him was dead.

  Drownlings. Krillfangs. Marrowcrabs. Countless dozens of demon corpses lay blasted, sliced, or burning across the port.

  How many had he killed? Eri had completely lost count. Fifty? Sixty? Surely not a hundred?

  And to think he was still only within the east perimeter of the port…

  He had gone deep, deeper than he had initially intended, but it was clear from the strength of his opponents that he had yet to truly delve into the corrupted heart of Port Violet.

  Copper, Bronze, and Silver Core Demons in abundance… But no Gold or Ruby Cores. Not yet.

  It was for the best, probably. Eri’s strength was absurd for his age, but even he was not yet to the stage where he could comfortably go up against a Gold-Core and survive.

  Fighting Gunther with my demonic artes is one thing. If I try that here, even if I win, I will likely be in no condition to retreat afterwards.

  The Gold-Core Demons would dwell closer to the lake’s shore, where their nests and brood could feed off the malignant energy of the Hellgate. The Ruby Hellgate itself festered beneath the Violet Maw’s depth, where countless Ruby-Core nightmares swan in its blood-hued waters.

  Eri freely drank health and magic potions. Each would likely cost a week’s wage in silver for the average worker in Kaldreach, but with how much Heroism Points and Gold he was swimming in, the monetary loss mattered little.

  Once I sell the monster parts I collected, I’ll have even more money. It’s nice for the System to harvest the key parts for me automatically.

  The System didn’t completely harvest the kills — flesh and bones were left behind, while valuable organs or claws were collected — but his experience taught him that the Demon’s leftover remains were of little value. The System’s harvest of each demonic kill accounted for roughly 80% of the corpse's monetary value, which was more than fair in Eri’s opinion, considering how much time and convenience was saved.

  Can’t imagine having to go back and butcher each mangled corpse. Eri chuckled tiredly.

  The one exception to this harvesting rule was that the System didn’t touch Chosens or sapient creatures. Eri was glad for that. He would not know how to react if he found his inventory full of pilfered human organs after his run-in with Gunther’s brigands.

  A pity I can’t sell the monster parts in the System Shop. What I really need are Heroism Points, not gold.

  Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.

  Perhaps it was childish of him to complain. He was already blessed beyond his heroic peers. There was no need to be even greedier.

  As Eri sat against a mossy wall and allowed the potion to repair his body, he took a look at his Skill and Attribute screens, all the while making sure his Observation Skill was still keenly sensing for any approaching threat.

  /-/

  Key Skill (Max 6)

  Daggers: Expert Proficiency (7% Progress)

  Unarmed: Expert Proficiency (4% Progress)

  Sneaking: Adept Proficiency (35% Progress)

  Observation: Expert Proficiency (2% Progress)

  Athletics: Expert Proficiency (3% Progress)

  Demolition: Adept Proficiency (51% Progress)

  Medicine: Adept Proficiency (15% Progress)

  General Skills (Unlimited)

  Novice: Lockpicking, Crafting, Willpower, Reading, Light Armour

  Student: Cooking, Cleaning, Intimidation, Alchemy

  Unique Skills

  Legend: Bloodflame Demonic Arts

  Adept: Sky Giant Arts

  /-/

  His Skills had grown rather well, all things considered. A few of his Key Skills had advanced to ‘Expert Proficiency’, granting him access to even more abilities.

  However, past reaching ‘Expert Proficiency’, progress seemed slowed to a crawl. His Dagger Skill, for example, had barely risen since he last checked months ago.

  No surprise there. The System warned me before that higher tiers of Proficiency would require even greater training to advance. Unless something drastic changes, I will probably need years to get it to ‘Master Proficiency’...

  That meant he would not have access to the Fifth Forms Artes for a while, but that was fine. Fourth and Fifth forms of magic were the domain of Jewelled Chosens or Saints. He was not even a Gold Core yet.

  Now for his Attributes…

  /-/

  Eri White

  Lvl 45/60 Pyrefang Saboteur

  Str: 54

  Dex: 132

  End: 38

  Wis: 59

  Cha: 7

  /-/

  When he had been Coreless, Eri had been earning 3 Attribute Points per level up — a sum he had thought incredible back then when his Base Attribute Stats started at only 3 points each.

  It seemed so paltry now. After he passed the Goddess Trial, his Copper Core gave him 5 Attribute Points each level. Now, his Bronze Core gave him 8.

  The recent System quest rewards have been more generous as well, giving him heaps of Attribute Points that would have taken him weeks or even months of Side Quest hunting to match back when he had been in Footfall.

  His Attributes were developing exponentially. It matched with how Chosens grew in strength, and so it came as little surprise to Eri to see how far he had come.

  The understanding did little to stifle his immense satisfaction with his progress. Eri swore his punches and dagger slashes were this close to breaking the sound barrier. When the day came that he could move faster than sound, he would be able to match most Chosens on Thamlyra, barring the Saints who resided in the Mythic Core ranks.

  I can now reliably kill Demons that are a rank higher than me. The same likely goes for any Chosens I have to face in the future.

  He was still nowhere near his original strength back when he was a Demon King, but Eri found far more satisfaction in this nascent and steady growth than the all-powering stagnancy he was created with in his past life.

  I wonder if she felt the same way… That peasant girl who eventually killed me, Saint Ariane.

  Is this the calling of all Heroes? This… addictive progression in power?

  There were probably other reasons — Dreams and motivation beyond the pursuit of strength.

  Eri did not know enough about Heroism yet, but he felt he was getting closer each day.

  Maybe when I become even stronger than my old self, I will be able to understand her feelings.

  That Heroine who killed me… If only I could talk to her, and ask her why…

  Eri shook his head. That was enough idle thoughts.

  He stood up and stretched painfully. His bones and muscles ached like hell, but all his wounds were healed, and his mana had been forcefully replenished.

  His body and Core were still strained, but he had more than ample strength to return to the castle walls.

  “Sun’s already down. It’s getting late,” Eri murmured to himself. “I should get back before Elen starts yelling, or— Hmm?”

  Eri frowned, immediately shutting up and crouching low.

  Were those… voices?

  Outsiders? Here and now? Impossible. The Sun had already set, and Eri was deep in corrupted territory.

  Except… The sounds of words being exchanged were unmistakable. It was a relatively large group as well, with heavy footsteps that suggested they were well-armed and armoured.

  Why would anyone venture so deep into the port at this time? They were going to attract more demons at this rate. Coming here in the first place was already a risk, but to do so at night?

  Honestly, which moron was it that was leading this stupid—

  ~~~

  “— stupid expedition! I mean, really, out of all the hare-brained ideas your father had proposed, this has to be one of the dumbest!”

  “I know, woman,” the beleaguered leader of the party sighed. “You already told me that at least fifteen times. An impressive number considering we have only been in this port for all of one hour.”

  “Oi, Boss, can you get your peasant girlfriend to shut up?” another party member grumbled. “She’s going to attract demons to us at this rate.”

  The woman snorted. “First off, this oaf here would be lucky to get someone like me as his girlfriend, peasant or not. And second, what demon?! This port is completely empty!”

  Everyone grimaced. No one could disagree with that. The port was empty.

  For the entire hour, the group of five Chosens had not encountered a single demon.

  Such a fortuitous turn of events should leave them ecstatic. It allowed them to make excellent progress in their mission, after all.

  However, the absence of demonic opposition was beginning to unnerve them. Their bickering was but one such symptom.

  “Maybe they are afraid of the Boss’s presence,” one of them snorted. “After all, he is the ‘hero’ who took down a Silver-Core Demon in his Trial when he was Coreless, right? Who knows how much more powerful he is now that he has a Bronze Core?”

  The party leader sighed wearily.

  “I already told you countless times that it wasn’t me,” Jorrais Dervaine, face-scarred Chosen and heir to House Dervaine, stressed. “Someone else was responsible.”

  “That’s not what your father says, though, right?” another woman tsked. “Whole of the North knows you as ‘Jorrais the Bloodied Face’, slayer of demons, woe of women, and the biggest prodigy this side of the continent.”

  “Why are you questioning the facts? You were there yourself, Alvine!” Jorrais hissed, giving up on silence. “In fact, all of you were!”

  The other four Chosens — Julie, Alvine, Bori, Raharim; all Chosens who graduated from the same Trial — shrugged at once.

  “I mean, I was only there for the first part of the Silver-Core fight,” Alvine admitted sheepishly. “I was the first one out of the Trial the moment all the wounded were through the portal.”

  “Coward,” Bori called out, to which Alvine just rolled her eyes. “I was gone before I saw how the Capragore died. Only you and Julie know what happened to the Goat Demon. You two were the last ones out.”

  “Not just us. The white-haired mutant kid, Eri, was there as well!” Jorrais angrily pointed out. “He’s obviously the one who killed the demon! How can you guys not remember him?!”

  “Going to be honest, chief, I’m 90% sure I was just tripping on clouds for that entire Trial,” Raharim shrugged. “Looking back at it now, it feels like a fever-dream. I mean, really, a nine-year-old kid killing demons?”

  “Doesn’t help that the Church forcibly examined all our memories afterwards, too. Messed up our heads,” Julie spat. “Nobody knows where the boy went, not even the overseers. Then you came in and acted the gloryhound, taking all the clout for yourself—”

  “For the last time, that was my father,” Joarris protested. “I don’t want any of this stupid glory!”

  “I’ll take it if you don’t want it. All those pretty noble girls hanging around you in Kaldreach all the time…” Bori sighed dreamily. “Having them fawn over me would be so much nicer than trudging through this muck.”

  Alvine snorted. “It would be the only way you’ll get anyone to pay attention to you. Though I do agree on one thing: this mission stinks. Something’s off, and I’m not talking about just the water.”

  Jorrais grimaced. He couldn’t deny the noblewoman’s statement.

  “Shouldn’t we be glad at the lack of demons?” Raharim pointed out. “I mean, this is a Ruby-ranked Hellgate we are walking into…”

  “Oh, quite being a baby,” Julie yawned. “So long as we stick to the outermost perimeters, there shouldn’t be any problem. The Gold and Ruby Demon make their nest inside the lake. Out here? Maybe a couple of Silver-ranks, at best. We can take them, no problem.”

  “Unless something here draws the big monsters of the lake out to play,” Bori nervously said. “This complete absence of demons doesn’t worry anyone? What if one of the Gold-Core serpents decides to investigate? We’ll be screwed.”

  “Look, we just have to reach the first pumping station, check the quality of the Caustic Oil, then leave,” he sighed. “Lord Horatio Dervaine wants an idea if this place still has value. All of you volunteered for this, and I’m paying you well enough—”

  “Don’t you mean your father’s paying?” Bori pointed out.

  “—to finish the job,” Joarris continued through gritted teeth. “The station is right up ahead. All we have to do is—!”

  Before the scarred-face fighter could finish, the ground began shaking.

  Instincts took over. He turned to shout, “Scatter! Now!”

  The five of them dived for cover, just in time before the doors of a nearby warehouse shatter.

  Joarris saw too many teeth, heads, and scales. The bulk of the monster covered his entire vision.

  He sensed its feral Gold-Core pulsating within.

  It was coming in too quickly.

  An ambush. I’m dead, he thought resignedly to himself, even as he raised his shield and activated his defensive artes. What a stupid way to go. I hope Father’s happy.

  He closed his eyes.

  Then… A strangely familiar sensation of weightlessness.

  Someone small, tossing his armoured bulk effortlessly over their shoulders, and then running away at superhuman speeds.

  There was a massive crash as the Gold-Core Demon collided with empty ground.

  Joarris tentatively opened his eyes.

  White.

  White hair of a shade he would never forget, as well as a twin pair of damning purple eyes.

  “Nobleman Jorrais,” Eri said, his voice the same hard, flat edge that haunted Jorrais for the last three years, “You have pulled aggro, and everything in here will one-shot you. It seems it falls to me again to make sure you make it out alive again.”

  The boy sighed, voice softening. “Let’s see if I can get all of us out in one piece this time.”

  [New Bonus Objective: ‘Saving Rookie Heroes, Round 2!’]

  [Ensure members of Joarris’s party make it out of the Port alive!]

  [Reward: +3 points to all attributes per Hero saved, with an additional +5 points to all attributes if all heroes make it out alive]