A large variety of monsters charged at us. They were direwolfs, killer ants, stone golems, few rare monsters like formida or hellhounds, and a large swarm of direrats.

After stopping rocks from the initial explosion, the magic circle under feets of guild master was still there and after it glowed brightly again, I was sure he is capable of chantless incantation. It's very useful if you don't want to expose your attack by shouting a name of the spell.

The effect of his next spell could be seen immediately as most of the monsters began to sink.

Quicksand! This was a high-level earth magic. And you don't need sand for it to work. Basically, it turns the ground into a liquid. You can be strong, fast, but none of this helps when the very ground you stand on wants to swallow you.

Mages among soldiers and adventurers took advantage of this and started to bombard incapacitated monsters with their spells. Their priority was fast monsters like hellhounds.

Most of direrats were dealt in a flash, if they didn't drown from the liquid-like earth, they died from explosions caused by spells. After all, they were weakest among monsters and usually were just a food for others.

"Flamethrower!" I heard familiar voices.

An intensive stream of fire killed monsters in droves, and even a few formida screamed from the pain. Usually, they wouldn't sit idly while cooked alive, but the more they struggled, the faster they sank.

I immediately recognized fusion spell of Megildur and Morohtar. This was an emergency request, so it wasn't strange that most of the adventurers were here. From somewhere further I even picked a scent of that scum Blaze.

While quicksand was considered as one of the most dangerous spells, it was slow to kill. Soon some monsters, used bodies of others nearby and after climbing on them jumped forward. Even while by doing so only a few of them reached the safe zone outside the reach of quicksand, many other monsters used their bodies as stepping stones and the battle has started.

All of us were not sitting idly and a hail of bullets never stopped to sow death. Save for a few formida and hellhounds, monsters were falling one after another like flies. With my metal manipulation, I was aiding the aim of our party members and each and every shot always hit its target.

After our earlier fight I realized my mistake and now all of our weapons were marked with my mana, even those that were made by Phoenix. 

"So it's true, those firearms... you must be a Champion." the cloaked man spoke while looking in our direction.

All this time he was calmly watching the battle and each time our bullets or some spells were about to hit him, a green barrier was flaring up around him. Even when fusion spell of twins reached him, the barrier blocked it with ease.

Grrr! This arrogance!

While I can't see what kind of face he is making, I was sure that he was looking down on us.

I looked to the side and the disc, that was still buried in the ground, raised in the air. It started to spin. Faster, even faster. When it looked like a blur in the air, I thought it's enough and launched it straight at the man with a cloak.

Few unlucky monsters that got int the way were cleaved in half. Sadly, just like every other attack, the disc was stopped by the barrier.

I activated my analyze.

<< STATUS >> Name:   Qin Kalh'dor Level:   54 Race:   High Elf Gender:   Male Age:   2 Class:   Warlock Subclass:   Enchanter

Kalh'dor... wait, his age is just two years? Is he some kind of summoner? When Darson was in his arachne form, his status said that his age was only one year. Maybe it's something similar? No. Something isn't right... 

"This is it? I was hoping for more from a Champion." I could hear his taunting tone.

"I will deal with him." I said to Phoenix and after activated my limit break to the third stage, launched forward.

There were some obstacles on the way, but it was nothing a 'gentle' push couldn't deal with.

Suddenly I saw adventurers falling one after another. When I looked around I found the reason. It was a monster I hoped to never see again. Irregular!

Dammit! I really, really hate worms! 

There is no time to deal with it like we did in the dungeon. I steeled my will for what comes next and dashed forward.

A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

With phantom claws, I crushed his body in a single moment. Its dark aura, like the one we fought before, sprung into action and tried to absorb my mana...

It tried.

I wasn't like before! My mana was now a part of my body, and I won't let this thing to have even a single drop.

I activated my devour mana with all the speed I could muster. And disgust for spending even a single moment near this 'thing' gave me an unimaginable strength.

Devour Mana has reached level 6.

Devour Mana has reached level 7.

Devour Mana has reached level 8.

Devour Mana has reached level 9.

Just in a second, the fight was over and there was nothing left from its dark aura.

I might have been uncertain in our last fight, but now, even without receiving any experience, I was sure it was dead.

Suddenly a shadow caught my attention, and when I looked to the side, I saw a large hand, made from earth, sending a group of monsters flying. Fist of the Titan! I thought that this spell should disintegrate after one swing. It seems that the title of guild master isn't just for show.

The target of guild master wasn't monsters still flying in the air, but one of crystal guardians. They are a rare type of golems. And just as its name implies, they are made of crystal. They have a sturdy body, and lightning strikes anyone who gets too close. Worst of all they are almost immune to magic.

Yet here it was, one-sidedly beaten by a magic.

When the massive hand grabbed crystal guardian, it squeezed hard and the crystal body of monster started to crack. While the hand was indeed created by magic, the force it applied was physical in nature and so Crystal Guardian's immunity to magic didn't help it in the slightest.

I looked back at the cloaked man, and while I couldn't see his face, he now looked a bit wary.

Soon it will be your turn.

I charged forward again but there was one formida on the way. I stabbed her head with my bare hand, and my fist entered from another side of her head. I lifted her lifeless body and tossed it to the side while looking at the cloaked man. As her body was flying, yellow blood was spraying from a large hole.

"Do you think those weaklings can protect you?" I looked at him with disdain.

Then I heard Darson cursing from behind. Sorry, we will have to find another for your summon.

While it looked like I killed it with my bare hands, in fact, this formida died from my phantom shift. Just before stabbing my hand I activated this skill and then canceled it when my arm was inside. This way, the part of my hand in her body erased the flesh of monster. 

Though there was a higher cost than I anticipated. Unlike that time, when I experimented with the tree, the amount of mana consumed to erase her flesh was larger.

I didn't notice it back then, as the wood isn't exactly extraordinary material, but it seems that if I do something like this, the consumption of mana is even higher, especially if the material of erased obstacle is very sturdy. If I used the same method without replenishing my reserves of mana, at best I could kill only three more.

He doesn't need to know that.

"Wow! Did you see that?!" shouted someone from behind.

"It's the Red Beast!"

"Are you sure? I heard Red Beast is a descendant of dragon. She looks like a cat beastkin to me."

What?

"Descendant of a dragon? That would explain her name..."

I am not a beast!

"You know, I am usually skeptical about rumors. But from what I see, I think that most of them... no... all of them might be true."

Dammit! How the hell rumors turned out like this. 

I looked at the cloaked man with boiling anger and then charged forward leaving a large crater behind me.

*BOOM*

With a loud bang, my phantom claws landed on his barrier, and the dust from impact covered us in a wide radius. Even with all this power, there were no signs of the barrier weakening.

"I admit, you are a bit stronger than I anticipated. But this doesn't change the fate of the city. It would be a waste if you perished here with the others. I can feel the darkness in your heart, a peaceful life doesn't suit you. Why don't you join us?" started to speak the man.

"And why should I do this? It's only a matter of time before you are dealt with." I asked and then activated my devour mana through claws still on the barrier.

Devour Mana has reached maximum level.

Skill "Devour Mana" has evolved into "Devour Soul".

Devour Soul - Your ability to absorb mana has reached new heights and even spirits are no longer safe in your presence. By successfully absorbing a soul of a powerful being, you have a chance to learn its skill or magic.

I could feel a large amount of mana entering my body, and even by storing excess into mana potions inside dimension, I couldn't handle it all. Just how much mana does he have?

"Ha! The reign of Evelyn is over! Soon this world will be ruled by a True God!" he shouted when he heard me.

It seems he didn't notice what I was doing.

Works for me. I can try to gain some information.

"I have to admit that going against her sounds tempting. I don't like that Goddess in the slightest. Let me guess, the God of Chaos is behind this?" I asked when remembered the story about Dark Ages. 

"Not even close! He is... wait! What are you doing?"

"Tsk!" I stopped talking and increased the speed of swallowing mana.

I started to collect all excess mana inside my dimension, without even bothering to store it inside mana potions.

"So all this talk about Goddess was just a distraction..." Qin then looked at nearby monsters and they charged at me.

No. I really would like to get revenge for what she did... but not like this. I don't think that Phoenix and others would like this world if they succeeded, but there is no point to tell this to my enemy.

With my hands still on the barrier, I used my phantom tail to deal with monsters, but there was simply too many of them, with every passing second, even more of them rushed from the deepest parts of the dungeon.

The disk, that was still there after my earlier attack, raised from the ground and started to seed death around me. Soon, I let the sword at my waist to join the dance. But with me standing in one place, it was still not enough.

Luckily, Phoenix with the rest was there, and when he noticed that I am in the pinch, a swarm of bullets gave me a breathing room.

After so much time of contact with the barrier, I learned its structure and frequency. I realized that all this mana wasn't his own. Somehow Qin was connected to the dungeon. With one more push, in a single moment, I absorbed an amount of mana that surpassed my own by hundreds of times and when the spell integrity collapsed the barrier shattered like a broken glass.

"Your soul is mine." I said with an evil smile and swung my phantom claws at his body.