With supernatural speed, a figure dashed through the forest leaving a trail of blood in his wake. As time passed, the haggard demon began to slow as the side effects from his technique, compiled with his injuries, began to take their toll. With eyes alight with flames of hatred, he glanced back in the direction he came. He wished to kill the human that had turned him into this state. While it was possible to kill Martel, he gave up because he was not certain he could do it in time. Additionally, he sensed a strong presence quickly approaching. Just as he was about to turn and continue, a voice suddenly stopped him.

"Since you were so generous on your first visit, I should pay you back."

Startled, the demon couldn't help but look towards the source of the voice. He was certain the strong presence he had sensed hadn't followed them, nor had he sensed anyone's approach. Upon seeing the speaker, his eyes lit with greed as he licked his lips. Girl, how-" the demon began, but his words were cut short by the sound of a sword being drawn that seemed to pierce the world. The demon's eyes wildly changed as he felt the temperatures around him drop sharply, and a sword that carried lightning struck him so fast he would've struggled even if he was in his prime. With a scream, his left arm flew, but that was only the start of the pain. Lightning wreaked havoc throughout his body as it tore through him while his arm began to freeze, so cold it felt as if it was burning. With sweat pouring down his forehead, he could barely speak through his gritted teeth. "You, who are you?"

"The person who killed you. If you have a next life, don't amger me." And with a swing sword, his head joined his arm.

…

"Brat, you…"

"Old man, you are late," Martel replied to the Grand Guild Master, whose words were cut short as he saw Martel holding his severed arm.

The old man sighed. "It's unfortunate. Thanks to the teleportation, I could finally try to hunt down the demons when they exited the Waves. Unfortunately, their abilities to hide are quite thorough."

"It would appear so," Martel replied nonchalantly. Blame the old man for not finding the demon as he felt he would have had difficulty detecting the demon without his SRIN and a bit of luck. However, that mattered little as he inspected the strange energy that permeated his wound and showed slight signs of spreading.

Noticing Martel's frown, the old man spoke up. "We call it demonic energy. It appears to be the source of the demons' powers and has similarities to ki, but is notably stronger. Thankfully, there doesn't appear to be much at the wound, so it should be cleaned up after a few days if you use ki and mana. Whatever you do, don't leave it untreated. It will eventually take over your whole body. Then you will become a demon, subservient to other powerful demons."

"I understand. I don't want to waste a few days, though. Cali, if you would?" Martel said to Cali, who was standing next to him.

Cali gave a subtle nod before sending a wave of destruction magic that instantly melted the demonic energy.

"You were able to get rid of it instantly?" The old man said in shock.

"Cali, how much do you think you can get rid of one go?"

Cali tilted her head. "10 times."

The old man's eyes suddenly lit up. "10 times? That's amazing. Do you know how many of our own we had to put down after dealing with the last demon? With this, we can-" the old man began before he stopped with his mouth open so large you could stuff an ostrich egg in it as he watched Martel appear to simply reattach his arm. However, he noticeably stumbled, and his face became even paler.

"Martel sighed as he tested his muscles and fingers. "Thankfully, there was a clean-cut, and not much was missing else would be troublesome."

"… I think calling you a monster is an understatement."

Martel was about to reply, but their complexions suddenly changed as they heard the sound of the sword being unsheathed in the distance as if it were a bell, followed by the brief sensation of a sharp sting across their skin. Martel was a little confused, but the old man's expression became serious, and he took off toward the direction of the sound. Seeing the old man leave and knowing it was in the direction the demon left, Martel scooped up Cali and took off to follow. In a few minutes, he finally caught up to the old man to find something that shocked him. The demon, minus his head and arm on the ground, stood upright, encased completely in ice.

"Was this what you fought with?" The old man said with a frown.

"Yes. He used the technique to increase his strength, so he should have been weakened from the sequelae."

"You're lucky to have only lost an arm, then. Even I wouldn't want to fight one of these guys alone if they use that technique."

"At least he's dead."

"Yes, but by who?"

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"I mean, he was weakened."

The old man shook his head. That's not what I was referring to. While he was weakened, that doesn't mean he should have been unable to escape, much less this appearance of a one-sided slaughter." The old man said before he turned to look at Martel. "How much do you know about Skill Levels?"

Martel was a little confused by the sudden change in topic but replied honestly. "There are five levels of skills. Each time you level in a skill, it gives corresponding benefits."

"That's correct. Unlike before the System, we can improve our Swordsmanship by using it repeatedly. However, this progress stops just before the fifth level for any skill. This is because the fifth level can only be utilized by combining everything taught by Skill Levels. In a sense, reaching the fifth level means you have utilized all the information at your disposal."

"I understand. What are you trying to say?"

"Did you know there are more than five levels?"

Martel was slightly surprised and shook his head as the skill levels were capped at five.

"Unlike the other Skill Levels, the only way to go beyond Level V is the one's understanding of something, which is something the System cannot do. This state is seemingly illusionary, but those who do grasp you get to control and use powers that exceed common sense."

Martel halfheartedly nodded, not fully understanding. However, he recalled that the system upgrade had a new section that sounded somewhat similar to what the old man described. "I don't suppose you tell me why you're bringing this up?"

"I'm telling you because I know that the person who killed this demon has a Swordsmanship skill above level V."

"And how do you know this?"

"Because I've experienced it before. The high elves have an elf named Drake, who used to follow a former sword hero who has achieved that level. The sound of a sword being drawn rang like a bell when on suppressive a dead giveaway sign. In addition, that stinging sensation we felt was the sword becoming sharper, one of the benefits of exceeding the limit."

"Then could Drake have done this?"

"There is almost next to no chance. Besides the fact he would rarely leave the Elven territory, his Swordsmanship is different. He fights with a rapier, so his Swordsmanship focuses more on piercing than slashing. The difference is subtle, but I could feel it. Additionally… Additionally, I sense no mana from the ice and the fire or lightning that charred the body. Thus, I can only come to the terrifying conclusion that their skills for them also exceeded level V."

"And what significance does that entail?"

Real men gave Martel a serious look. "It means that the person who killed this demon is most likely the most powerful person in the world, and I have no idea who they could be."

"At least they appear to be allies."

"I hope so."

...

After quickly dealing with the aftermath of the Wave and collecting his spoils, Martel made his way back to Hastings. His tired eyes suddenly lit up as he greeted the sight of Freyja walking in, still drying her hair. "Did you enjoy your bath?"

Freyja smiled as she walked over and hooked and rubbed his left arm. "I did. Speaking of which, you probably should take one." "Thanks for the compliment. I'll do that after I check in with everyone."

"Follow me. They are already waiting."

Martel obediently, Freyja led him to a nearby room where everybody was chatting and laughing, seemingly after having bathed. Seeing everyone not only okay but in high spirits, Martel sighed in relief. "Morgan, you have there."

"This little gal? I found her by chance and the city, and she such a sweet thing." Morgan replied, gently stroking the noticeably older red cat napping on her lap.

Martel chuckled but didn't say anything. He encouraged his wives to take up hobbies. At this moment, Miyuki suddenly got his attention. "Anata, I was wondering if you would allow me some time away."

"What for?"

"Well, by chance, I found records of a race of people often known for using ice magic. I was hoping to find them learn something."

"I don't mind. Would you like someone to go with you?"

"Oh, no. I don't want to waste time on this wild goose chase. I was only going to try for a few days and return anyway."

"All right, but you're not alone. Don't hesitate to ask others for help."

"Of course," Miyuki replied with a smile.

"I just wanted to let you know that I will be unavailable for a little while. I have a lot of corpses, and I feel I can get a few abilities from them, but it might take a while."

"Of course, we will hold down the fort while you're gone," Freyja replied.

Martel nodded and kissed everyone goodbye before disappearing in a flash of purple.

...

In a dark cave, Martel sat along with the mountain corpses. The most notable of the courses was the Blink Hounds. Thankfully, the Devourer Talent had some sense that something could be obtained, and he would have to waste his time. However, it was difficult to know how long it would take or the potential repercussions of the ability. He felt that there was a small risk to using his ability on these creatures as their meat, along with all the meat from the other world, appeared to be toxic. However, with his natural abilities, along with the help of potions, he felt confident that he would be over. As such, it only took him a split second to continue. However, something happened he did not expect.

Given the sheer number of corpses and worried that direct digestion would be harmful, Martel decided to devour by touch. Unfortunately, he had never tried to devour a pile of creatures. The instant he began to devour, it didn't affect just one creature but every creature in the pile. Startled, he tried to stop but was suddenly hit hard with intense racking pain as these creatures entered his body. He felt as if his entire body was on fire as it began to change, and he could soon think of nothing as the pain overwhelmed him except for a shred of consciousness that kept him awake. It affected him so badly that even his soul clones dissipated. And as a result, he was completely helpless, unable even to think. It turned out that the second he made that decision,

WARNING! Morgan's life signs are drastically dropping. ERROR! Available HP cannot be used. The mortal injury appears to be Nonphysical and must be treated immediately.

…

WARNING! Miyuki's HP has reached 0! Treat immediately!

Was the second he regretted.