Becoming the Dark Lord

Luke ran through the forest beside Angie and Charlie.

The three of them had already scouted the area and mapped out the route. When Angie and Charlie slowed down, he kept going alone, slipping silently between the trees. His steps barely made a sound on the damp earth. A short distance later, the ground dropped into a slope, and Luke slid several yards before leaping into a thicket. He pushed through the brush and emerged into a clearing.

“I think we should split up and—”

The man never finished. Luke’s kukri took his head off in a single clean swing.

[You have slain a Human...]

[+1 Soul Fragment]

“Allan!” the other man shouted.

Luke hurled the kukri at him. The man raised a round shield and managed to block it, but only for a second. The next moment, a spear dropped from the sky and pierced through his head.

The third drew a sword and rushed Luke, but Charlie teleported in beside him, Lulie flying nearby. Her punch landed squarely and drove the man into the ground.

“One group down,” Angie said, landing beside them.

Luke gave the bodies a quick look.

That group had sent three people to attack. That meant three more were defending their temple. The Beacon allowed groups of up to ten, which left one annoying question. Had they entered with only six from the start, or had the others already died?

The trio kept moving toward the boss’s area. Past the forest, the land opened into a massive crater. Even from a distance, it was obvious the creature was there.

Like him, the people they had fought had come out of one of the holes in the ground connecting the region to their starting temple. The best strategy might be to let the others move in first and deal with the creature on their own while Luke watched how the monster fought. Or maybe it would be better to hunt down the remaining participants first and only then focus on the boss.

Too many scenarios.

Luke was improvising. They advanced while he searched for any nearby presence. Once they left the forest, they entered a small ruined stone town. Some buildings were still partially standing. Others were nothing but collapsed rubble, coated in moss and split by cracks.

A sound cut through the air. An arrow streaked past in the distance and landed in one of the farther streets.

“The shooter’s still there,” Luke said, narrowing his eyes as his vision zoomed in. “Probably aiming at another group.”

“What’s the move? Want me to fly over there?” Angie asked.

Luke drew a kukri from its sheath.

“Who says we need to go to him?”

He began pouring the power of [Burst Throw] into the weapon. The kukri was launched into the sky. When it began to fall, Luke activated another skill.

[Telekinetic Impulse activated]

The weapon dropped like a bullet, following a precise path. Seconds later, it slammed into the top of a tall building and collapsed it under the force of the impact.

[You have slain a Human...]

[+1 Soul Fragment]

“Right in the head,” Luke said.

After that, they crossed the ruins without worrying about the shooter. When they started descending into the crater, they saw a flooded forest at its center. Water covered the ground like a shallow lake, reflecting broken light between the trees.

“It’s an eel,” Luke said, watching through his zoom. “And it’s fighting a group.”

“Want me to check it from above?”

“No. We keep moving on foot. There are still other groups that haven’t reached this area.”

Inside the forest, the water came up to their knees.

“Electric eel?” Charlie asked.

“Yeah.”

“Then I’ve got the advantage. Electricity doesn’t hit me as hard,” Angie said.

Luke looked down at the water.

The water would conduct the eel’s electricity. Fighting that boss would be a problem.

Charlie suddenly turned her head. “People are coming.”

“Where?” Luke asked.

She pointed. Luke threw a knife between the trees. The blade vanished for a moment, cutting through leaves and branches, until it struck something metallic.

They blocked it.

A moment later, a group of four appeared. Two men and two women. All of them wore clothing made from beast hides, and all of them were tall, broad, and muscular. Even the women looked built for direct combat.

Close-combat classes?

But each of them carried a large shield.

“If Magnus let three people through, then something happened to him,” the bearded man said.

“Gods rest his soul,” another said, cracking his neck. “He was a damn good archer.”

“You’re wasting your time with us,” Luke said. “There’s already a group fighting the boss.”

“And who cares?” The bearded man smiled. “Let the idiots soften it up for us.”

Luke understood their strategy. Dirty, but effective.

“Master Luke, leave them to me,” Charlie said. “Go. I’ll handle this.”

“You sure, Charlie?”

The answer came before the words.

[Blood Familiar Armor] activated. The little bat turned into blood and spread across Charlie’s breastplate, staining the armor red. The metal reshaped itself around her, growing stronger, heavier, and more imposing. Her eyes began glowing red. Now that she had activated the skill, there was no going back.

“Fine,” Luke said. “Catch up when you’re done.”

“Who says we’re letting you leave?”

Charlie drove a brutal punch into the ground toward the enemy group. The impact, charged with arcane power, tore open a trench in front of her, hurling dirt, water, roots, trees, and everything else in its path. The next instant, Luke was already in the air, pulled by Angie toward the boss.

Their strategy was better than it had looked. They had never planned to fight the eel head-on. They were waiting for another group to do the hard work, then swoop in and steal the kill.

“I’m sending Charlie help,” Angie said, letting go of Luke for a moment.

Still in the air, her body became wrapped in blue lightning. When the light faded, an identical version of Angie appeared beside her, made of blue mana and condensed electricity. It was her [Lightning Valkyrie] skill. The clone flew back to help Charlie while Angie and Luke continued toward the boss.

Ahead of them, a man was fighting the eel, dodging its attacks in the shallow water. Near him, a body floated, missing limbs and partly charred. Farther away, a woman crouched while holding an unconscious man covered in blood. She was crying.

Luke appeared behind her without a sound and pressed a knife to her throat.

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“The guy fighting the eel. Is he your friend?” he asked.

“P-please, don’t hurt me. We don’t care about the reward anymore. The dungeon, the boss, any of it. We just want this to end.”

“Answer my question.”

“Y-yes. Yes, he is!” she said, trembling.

“Then why didn’t he run with you? Why is he still fighting the beast?”

“W-we tried to run, but the eel wouldn’t let us. Please don’t kill me.”

Luke tilted his head, watching the fight. “I’m going to kill the eel. But if you or anyone in your group so much as twitches because you think you can steal the kill, it’ll be the last mistake you ever make.”

“We w—”

Angie struck the woman in the head, knocking her out before she could finish. The injured man was already unconscious.

“Nancy!” the fighter shouted, glaring at Luke with hatred.

He tried to run toward them while the monster chased him, but a spear hit him and threw him into a tree. Angie had thrown it. The eel turned to attack him, but Luke caught its attention before it could advance.

“Y-you killed my fiancée!” the man screamed.

When he touched the spear lodged in his body, electricity ran through him. The man was electrocuted until he passed out. Angie removed the spear and pointed her hand at the wound, healing it just enough to stop the bleeding and nothing more.

Luke was already facing the eel. Angie dropped from above and struck the monster from overhead.

[Sathren, the Drowned Conduit - Lvl 140]

“The woman’s a high-level healer, my lord,” Angie said. “She may wake up in a few minutes. Healers have passive spells for this kind of situation.”

“We’ll finish before she wakes up. Can you keep the eel busy for me?”

“I can!”

Luke split his attention. With the power of [Soul Infiltration], he watched the fight through Charlie’s eyes. She was battling the enemy group with Angie’s Valkyrie helping her. Out of the four, only two remained.

While Angie kept the eel occupied, Luke threw a kukri toward the forest. Through Charlie’s eyes, he followed the exact moment. She was attacking an enemy’s shield with her sword, and the shield had expanded until it became enormous, almost like an iron wall. Then Luke’s kukri appeared from behind and struck the man in the back.

“Fuck!” he shouted.

Charlie used the opening and pushed forward, pressing him with her sword. At the same time, the Valkyrie finished off the other enemy. Once they were done, the two of them started running toward the boss.

Luke pulled both kukris back through the air with his magnet power and focused on the eel again. A few minutes later, Charlie and the Valkyrie arrived.

“Thank you for the help, Master Luke,” Charlie said.

“Now we have this problem to deal with.”

At the same time, he activated his [Horns of the Demon of Darkness].

“The water around the eel has a stronger electrical charge. Be careful.”

Luke began firing [Shadow Ball] at the monster. Charlie charged in with her sword in hand. The Valkyrie joined Angie, and the two attacked the eel from the flanks. As resistant to electricity as Angie and her clone were, their strongest attacks were also based on electricity. And the eel had protection similar to hers against that type of damage.

The creature was so large that most of its body remained above the water. It twisted between the trees, crushing trunks and sending shallow waves of electrified water outward with every movement.

[Demoniac Predator Hands activated]

Anyone looking at Luke in that moment would see black demonic hands and forearms, along with a pair of horns on his forehead. He looked less like a human using skills and more like an actual demon.

He threw a kukri charged with [Burst Throw] and activated two more skills on the weapon.

[Telekinetic Impulse activated]

[Knife Storm activated]

The eel was struck in the side. The force of the impact knocked it sideways, opening space for Luke to rush in with a kukri in hand.

[Crimson Fang activated]

The monster felt that one. Luke drove the blade into its flesh and ripped, opening a deep wound. Electricity ran through his body at the same instant. The beast generated an even more violent charge, and Luke had to pull back before the shock locked up his muscles.

Electricity flooded the forest. The smell of burning flesh spread from the corpse floating in the water as it slowly charred. The kukri flew back into Luke’s hand, and he kept supporting the others, throwing his blades at the monster whenever he saw an opening.

Charlie struck the creature with her sword, ignoring the shocks tearing through her body. When the eel bit her arm and began electrocuting her, Charlie screamed, activated [Arcane Power Punch], and hit the monster with everything she had. The eel’s head slammed into a tree, cracking the trunk. She couldn’t use that punch again. If she did, she would lose the arm.

Even so, Charlie drove her sword into the eel and kept pushing. Angie supported with her spear, attacking whenever the creature tried to turn on Luke. Then the eel lunged like a snake. Its massive mouth closed around Charlie, and the creature discharged electricity straight into her.

Luke struck the monster in the side. When Charlie hit the ground, her ruined armor began glowing crimson.

That’s…

[Blood Frenzy activated]

The power came from the armor Charlie began healing with the eel’s blood. The [Blood Familiar Armor I] absorbed the blood too quickly, closing wounds, repairing damage, and even restoring part of her injured arm. Her strength increased. Even though Charlie hadn’t entered a frenzy on her own, she was receiving the bonuses from that power. She abandoned the sword and charged with her fists. Every punch drove the eel back.

The monster roared, electrocuting everything around it. The water flashed with violent discharges, trees cracked, and the air grew heavy with ozone and burned flesh. Charlie raised her fist. When the eel tried to bite her again, she punched.

[Arcane Power Punch activated]

This time, the blow came with even more power.The impact cracked like thunder. The monster was launched upward, but the Valkyrie appeared in its path, grabbed the creature, and pinned it to the ground. Angie advanced with her spear.

[Angie has slain Sathren, the Drowned Conduit - Lvl 140]

Your class [Demonic Predator] has reached Level 99! (+10 Lethality, +7 Perception, +6 Agility, +6 Vitality, +6 Intelligence, +5 Endurance, +8 Free Points)

[You have reached Level 99! Half-Demon (Rank E)] (+2 bonus points to all attributes, +5 free points)

Charlotte Vespertilio’s Class [Blood Death Knight] reached Level 99! (+18 STR, +10 INT, +8 END, +8 VIT, +4 AGI, +2 PER, +10 Free Points.)

[Charlotte Vespertilio has reached Level 92! Vampire (Rank E)] (+2 to all stats, +7 free points.)

Charlotte Vespertilio’s 2nd Class [Black Ash Fighter] reached Level 92! (+18 STR, +8 INT, +7 END, +6 VIT, +6 PER, +5 AGI, +5 Free Points)

[Charlotte Vespertilio has reached Level 93! Vampire (Rank E)] (+2 to all stats, +7 free points.)

Angie’s 2nd Class [Light Cleric] reached Level 86! (+22 WIS, +14 WIL, +8 VIT, +7 TGH, +5 END, +4 INT, +2 PER, +15 Free Points)

[Angie has reached Level 96! Angel (Rank E)] (+4 to all stats, +10 Free Points.)

Angie’s Class [Lightning Valkyrie] reached Level 99! (+18 STR, +18 LTH, +10 END, +8 VIT, +6 TGH, +6 WIS, + Free Points.)

Angie’s Class [Lightning Valkyrie] reached Level 100! (+18 STR, +18 LTH, +10 END, +8 VIT, +6 TGH, +6 WIS, + Free Points.)

[WARNING: Angie’s class has entered Mandatory Evolution!]

[Angie has reached Level 97! Angel (Rank E)] (+4 to all stats, +10 Free Points.)

A moment later, a massive notification appeared.

[Challenge complete!]

[You have completed the Phase 5 Beacon Dungeon!]

The unconscious group disappeared.

“We finished the dungeon. Finally,” Luke said.

“I’m out of mana,” Charlie said.

The red breastplate had dissolved away. She was covered in wounds.

“You okay?”

“I am, Master Luke.”

“I maxed out my class,” Angie said. “The evolution option unlocked.”

Suddenly, all three of their bodies began to glow.

“I need to check if the eel has a core. Fast,” Luke said, heading toward the monster.

Angie moved with a burst of speed to the eel’s body.

“No core. I checked with my cleric power.”

Luke looked at the dead creature.

It would have made a good second form for the spectral beast.

Then they disappeared.

When they reappeared, they were back in the temple. The room was filled with monster corpses. Evangeline stood in the middle of the hall while Anne healed her. Eleanor remained on guard.

“Looks like you managed it,” Eleanor said.

“And just in time, because I…” Evangeline lifted her arm with a grimace. “Broke my arm.”

[The exit has been unlocked!]

[Your reward is available in the chest!]

[Beacon 5 Completion Panel]

[Congratulations on completing a Beacon. In addition to the chest reward, you receive other bonuses that may prove useful.]

[Exit the Dungeon]: Places you outside the dungeon in the exact location where you were when you entered.

[Teleport to the Sky]: Sometimes a Beacon is not located somewhere convenient, or unpleasant surprises may be waiting outside. This option teleports you into the sky above the Beacon. After all, what good is completing a Beacon if you die the second you set foot outside it?

[Locate a Person]: Allows you to locate an event participant, but only someone you have interacted with in your life. Useful for finding friends… or enemies.

Luke read the options without surprise. It was the same as the last time he had been the leader of a Beacon. He clicked the locate option and searched for a name.

[Jonathan Laziurus]

Lasiurus?

Luke narrowed his eyes. That guy actually managed to get a surname from one of the vampire bloodlines. Surnames are only given to those turned by a very powerful and ancient vampire within the bloodline. How did this guy manage to catch the attention of a vampire like that? And is there even a vampire like that in my universe?

They were questions that made Luke curious, though not exactly because of Jonathan.

“Now for the best part,” Evangeline said, opening a chest.

Luke went to the chest with his name on it. Inside was a dark green ring, simple, aged, and almost unimpressive at first glance.

[Ring of the Sunken King (Rare)]:

Each region of [Sunken Realms] was ruled by a king titled [Sunken King]. They were some of the most powerful and wisest figures of their Era, hungry for knowledge ever since discovering a [Universe Fragment] in their waters. The kings were locked in their own race to become Emperors, like waves following their course. Little did they know that this ambition would be responsible for the ruin of their world. Among the countless treasures of those kings, a simple, humble ring survived until it found a new owner. The ring’s power increases magical channeling speed by 15% and offensive spell damage by 10%.

Enchantments:

[Key of the Sunken King (Legendary)]: A simple, humble ring also hides its secrets. This ring has the power to open the chamber of this region’s King of [Sunken Realms]. Be warned, however: many keys have been scattered among [Beacon] items for participants who possess a Guide, and only one treasure chamber waits to be found. Good luck winning the treasure race.

Information:

Rarity: Rare

Core: D

Type: Equipment

Bonuses:

Requirement: Caster Class level 70+

[Discovery Quest: Tomb of the King]

Luke stared at the message for a moment. Well, look at that. An item with a secret quest attached.